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uaa

THE

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF
HORTICULTURE;

oR,

AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OF
GARDENING UPON PHYSIOLOGICAL GROUNDS.

BEING THE SECOND EDITION OF THE

THEORY OF HORTICULTURE,

MUCH ENLARGED.

By JOHN LINDLEY, Ps.D. F.R.S.

Corresponding Member of the Institute,
Vice-S. ry of the Horticul ‘1 Society, P of Botany in University College, London,

&e. &e. &e.

“Though Iam very sensible that it is from long experience chiefly that we are to expect
the most certain rules of practice, yet it is withal to be remembered that the likeliest
method to enable us to make the most judicious observations, and to put us upon the
most probable means of improving any art, is to get the best insight we can into the
nature and properties of those things which we are desirous to cultivate and improve.”

Haves’s Vegetable Staticks, i. 376.

LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS.
1855.

LONDON:
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS,

TO THE

RIGHT HONOURABLE THOMAS FRANCIS KENNEDY,

Lately one of Her Majesty’s Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues,

CAjo Endeaboured to Reform

A PUBLIC DEPARTMENT

IN WHICH UNSKILFUL MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN MOST DISASTROUS,

THIS EDITION

OF A WORK ON THE PRINCIPLES OF CULTIVATION,

ts Enecribe

AS A MARK OF RESPECT FOR HIGH OFFICIAL CHARACTER AND ILL-REQUITED
PUBLIC SERVICES,

BY HIS FAITHFUL SERVANT,

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
(1840.)

—_—+—.

Tuts book is written in the hope of providing the intelligent
gardener, and the scientific amateur, correctly, with’ the
rationalia of the more important operations of Horticulture ; in
the full persuasion that, if the physiological principles on
which such operations, of necessity, depend, were correctly
appreciated by the great mass of active-minded persons now
engaged in gardening in this country, the grounds of their
practice would be settled upon a more satisfactory foundation
than can at present be said to exist. It is, I confess, sur-
prising to me, that the real nature of the vital actions of plants,
and of the external forces by which they are regulated, should
be so frequently misapprehended even among writers upon
Horticulture ; and that ideas relating to such matters, so very
incorrect as we frequently find them to be, should obtain
among intelligent men, in the present state of what I may be
permitted to call horticultural physiology. There must be a
great want of sound knowledge of this subject, when we find
an author, who has made himself distinguished in the history
of English gardening, giving it as his opinion, “ that the weak
drawn state of forced Asparagus in London is occasioned by
the action of the dung immediately upon its roots!”

It does not seem possible to account for this in any other
way than by referring it to the want of some short guide to the
horticultural application of vegetable physiology, unmixed with

vi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

other things ; and so arranged that the intimate connexion of
one branch of practice with another, and of the whole with a
few well ascertained facts upon which everything else depends,
may be distinctly perceived from a single point of view. The
admirable papers of Mr. Knight are scattered through the
Horticultural Transactions ; and the writings of other physi-
ologists are dispersed through so many different works, that
the labour of finding them, when wanted, is greater than is
willingly undertaken even by those who have access to ample
libraries. With regard to general works on Horticulture, it is
very far from my wish to say one word in disparagement of the
many excellent publications upon this subject which have
already appeared in this country; on the contrary, the
improved state of gardening among us may be reasonably
ascribed to the influence of some of these valuable works: but
it must be admitted that the true principles of physiology are
not, in such books, so separated from the details of routine on
the one hand, or so applied to them on the other, as to be
readily understood by those who want either the skill or the
inclination to distinguish empirical directions from rules which
are plainly founded upon the very nature of things. I must
also be permitted to observe that, although results are correctly
stated in such books, they are not unfrequently referred to
wrong causes. .

In preparing the following pages for the press, my anxious
desire has been to strike out all unnecessary matter, even
although it may be required to complete the physiological
explanation of common facts; and to introduce little beyond
that which every gardener can verify for himself. Vegetable
anatomy is no doubt the foundation of all correct views of
physiological action; chemistry is of the first importance, when
the general functions of plants are considered in a large and
general way; and electricity probably exercises an important

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDI'TION. vii

influence over the vital actions of all living things. But these
are the refinements of science, belonging to the philosopher in
his laboratory, and not to the worker in gardens; they are
indispensable to the correct appreciation of physiological
phenomena, but not to the application of those phenomena to
the arts of life; electricity, in particular, appears to me, in the
present imperfect state of our knowledge of its relation to
vegetable functions, altogether incapable of forming a part of
any horticultural theory.

What the gardener wants is, not a treatise upon botany, nor
a series of speculations upon the possible nature of the
influence on plants of all existing forces, nor an elaborate
account of chemical agencies inappreciable by his senses and
obscurely indicated by their visible results ; but an intelligible
explanation, founded upon well ascertained facts which he can
judge of by his own means of observation, of the general nature
of vegetable actions, and of the causes which, while they control
the powers of life in plants, are themselves capable of being
regulated by himself. The possession of such knowledge will
necessarily teach him how to improve his methods of cultiva-
tion, and lead him to the discovery of new and better modes.

It is very true that ends of this kind are often brought about
by accident, without the smallest design on the part of the
gardener ; and there are, doubtless, many men of uncultivated
or idle minds, who think waiting upon Providence much better
than any attempt to improve their condition by the exertion of
their reasoning faculties. For such persons books are not
written.

I hope that what has now been said will not lead any one to
suppose that this sketch is offered to the reader as a complete
theory of Horticulture in all its varied branches ; such a work
would be alike tedious to the author and the reader, and, I fear,
as unprofitable ; for, if a gardener, when once made acquainted

viii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

with the general principles of science, has not the skill to apply
them to each particular case, it is to be feared that no disquisi-
tion, however elaborate, would enable him to doso. So far has
it been from my intention to enter into subordinate details,
that I have carefully avoided them, from a fear of complicating
the subject, and making that obscure which in itself is suffici-
ently clear. All that a physiologist has really to do with
Horticulture is, to explain the general nature of the vital
actions of a plant, and the manner in which these are commonly
applied to the arts of cultivation; if he quits this ground, he
extends his limits so much that there is no longer a horizon in
view. No one, indeed, could advantageously investigate the
minor points of cultivation in all their branches, unless he
were both a good physiologist and a practical gardener of the
greatest experience, a combination of qualifications which no
man has ever yet possessed, and to which I, most assuredly,
have not the shadow of pretension.

In conclusion, let me, in impressing upon the minds of gar-
deners the importance of attending to first principles, also
caution them against attempting to apply them, except in a
limited manner, and by way of safe experiment, until they fully
understand them. The difference between failure and success,
in practice, usually depends upon slight circumstances, very
easily overlooked, and not to be anticipated beforehand, even
by the most skilful; their importance is often unsuspected till
an experiment has failed, and may not be discovered till after
many unsuccessful attempts, during which more mischief may
be done by extensive failures than the result is worth when
attained. No man understood this better than the late
Mr. Knight, the best horticultural physiologist that the world
has seen, whose experiments were conducted with a skill and
knowledge which few can hope to equal. So fully was he aware
of the uncertain issue of experimental investigations in Horti-

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. ix

culture, that he thought it necessary, in recommending a new
mode of cultivating the Pine-apple, and in objecting to methods
at that time commonly in use, to express himself in the fol-
lowing words :—“ TI beg it to be understood that I condemn the
machinery only which our gardeners employ, and that I admit
most fully their skill in the application of that machinery to be
very superior to that which I myself possess. Nor do I mean,
in the slightest degree, to censure them for not having
invented better machinery, for it is their duty to put in
practice that which they have learned; and, having to expend
the capital of others, they ought to be cautious in trying
expensive experiments, of which the results must necessarily
be uncertain; and, I believe, a very able and experienced
gardener, after having been the inventor of the most perfect
machinery, might, in very many instances, have lost both his
character and his place before he had made himself sufficiently
acquainted with it, and consequently become able to regulate
its powers.”

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

ae eet

Arter a lapse of fifteen years the author has been called
upon to prepare for the press a Second Edition of this work.
In obeying the call, he gladly avails himself of the only public
opportunity that he can have for thanking his foreign editors
for the honour they have done him by translating the book into
German,* Dutch,} and Russian.{ é

He has always felt that the naked principles laid down in the
First Edition were less interesting than they would have been
if they had received more extensive illustration from examples
and frequent reference to practical operations. He has now,
therefore, greatly extended the matter, and endeavoured, when-
ever it appeared necessary, to support the doctrines of physiology
by an appeal to facts which are or should be familiar to culti-
vators. In doing this he has to express his sincere gratitude
to the numerous intelligent contributors to the Gardeners’
Chronicle, who during more than fourteen years have honoured

* Theorie der Gartenkunde, &c., uebersetzt mit Anmerkungen von Ludolph
Christian Treviranus. Erlangen, 1843.

Theorie der Gartnerei, &c., aus dem Englischen tibersetzt von S. G., mit einer
Vorrede, Anmerkungen, und einem Anhange, versehen von einigen Freunden der Horti-
cultur. Wien, 1842.

++ Grondbeginselen der Horticultuur (Tuinkunst) naar het Engelsch van John
Lindley, &c. ; mit bijlagen door W. H. de Vriese. Amsterdam, 1842.

+ Teoria Sadovodstva ili opuit iziasnenia glavneishich proizvodstv sadovodstva iz
natshal rastitelnoi phisiologii. Edited, with various notes and additions, by J.
Schychowsky. St. Petersburg, 1845.

xii PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

him with their confidence, for avast accumulation of horticultural
information upon almost every point that can engage the
thoughts of a gardener; it is they who have put principles to
the test of experience, and who have shown how little there is
of doubtful or unsound in the Theory of gardening; and he
thinks it due to them to acknowledge that whatever new merit
this book may possess is owing greatly to the experience
gained by their friendly cooperation.

Acton GREEN,
April, 1855.

ERRATUM.
re

Page 101, for Baroness Rolfe read Baroness Rolle.

‘CONTENTS.

Pree eer
BOOK I. PAGE
OF THE PRINCIPAL CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH VEGETABLE LIFE
WHICH ILLUSTRATE THE OPERATIONS OF GARDENING i, o 5
CHAPTER I.
Vital Force . i . ‘ F : : - é ‘ v4
CHAPTER II.
GERMINATION.
The Nature of a Seed.—Its Duration.—Power of Growth.—Causes of Ger-
mination.—Temperature.—Light.—Humidity.—Chemical Changes - 18

CHAPTER III.
GROWTH BY THE Root.

Roots lengthen at their Points only.—Absorb at that Part chiefly.—Increase
in Diameter like Stems.—Their Origin.—Are feeding Organs—without
much Power of selecting their Food. Nature of the'latter.—May be
poisoned.—Are constantly in Action.—Have been thought to poison
the Soil in which they grow.—Have no Buds—but may generate them. 17

CHAPTER IV.
GROWTH BY THE STEM.

Origin of the Stem.—The Growing Point.—Production of Wood, Bark, Pith,
Medullary Rays.— Properties of Sap-wood, Heart-wood, Liber, Rind, &c.
Nature and Office of Leaf-buds. eee -buds. = Biulbé, saa cas

of Sap, and its Nature 33

xiv CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.
ACTION OF LEAVES.

Their Nature, Structure, Veins, Epidermis, Stomates.—Effect of Light.—
Digestion or decomposition of Carbonic Acid.—Insensible Perspiration.
Formation of Secretions.—Fall of the Leafi—Formation of Buds sic
Leaves .

CHAPTER VI.
ACTION OF FLOWERS.

Structure of Flowers.—Names of their Parts.—Tendency of the Parts to
alter and change into each other, and into Leaves.—Double Flowers.—
Analogy of Flowers to Branches.—Cause of the Production of Flowers.
Of Productiveness.—Of Sterility—Uses of the Parts of a Flower.—
Fertilisation.—Hybrids.—Crossbreds a i Fi : ‘

CHAPTER VII.
OF THE MATURATION OF THE FRUIT.

Changes it undergoes.-—Is fed by Branches upon Organisable Matter fur-
nished by Leaves.—Physiological use of the Fruit.—Nature of Secre-
tions.—The changes they undergo.—Effect of Heat—of Sunlight—of
Water.—Seeds.—Source of their Food.—Cause of their ahaa aaa
their Destruction.—Difference in their Vigour. . .

CHAPTER VIII.
OF TEMPERATURE,

Limits of Temperature endurable by Plants.—Effects of a too high Tempe-
rature—of a too low Temperature.—Frost.—Alternations of Tempera-
ture.—Day and Night.—Winter and Summer. ee of Earth
and Atmosphere . . . F .

BOOK II.

OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE OPERATIONS OF
HORTICULTURE ESSENTIALLY DEPEND : e

CHAPTER I.
Of Bottom Heat . . . P eo ; Z P ‘ r 2

CHAPTER II,
Of the Moisture of the Soil.— Watering

PAGE

54

81

97

106

133

159

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.
Of Atmospherical Moisture and Temperature

CHAPTER IV.
Of Ventilation

CHAPTER V.
Of Seed-sowing

CHAPTER VI.
Of Seed-saving . 5 -

CHAPTER VII.
Of Seed-packing and Plant-packing

CHAPTER VIII.
Of Propagation by Eyes and Knaurs

CHAPTER IX.
Of Propagation by mere Leaves

CHAPTER X.
Of Propagation by Cuttings .

CHAPTER XI.
Of Propagation by Layers and Suckers

CHAPTER XII.
Of Propagation by Budding and Grafting

CHAPTER XIII.

On Pruning . a. of 3 ; 4 1%

CHAPTER XIV.
Of Training .

xv

PAGE

177

213

227

239

245

263

271

281

301

308

361

421

xvi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.
Of Potting

; CHAPTER XVI.
Of Transplanting .

CHAPTER XVII.
Of the Preservation of Races by Seed

CHAPTER XVIII.

Of the Improvement of Races

CHAPTER XIX.

Of Resting

CHAPTER XX.
Of Soil .

CHAPTER XXI.
Of Manure . Z 5 . .

InpDExX .

PAGE

431

445

463

481

507

525

539

581

af

THE

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF
HORTICULTURE.

HoRrTIcULTURE is that branch of knowledge which relates to
the cultivation, multiplication, and amelioration of the Vege-
table Kingdom. It divides into two branches, which, although
mutually dependent, are, in fact, essentially distinct: the art
and the science. Under the art of horticulture is compre-
hended whatever concerns the mere manner of executing the
operations connected with cultivation, multiplication, and
amelioration; the science explains the reasons upon which
practice is founded. Itis to the consideration of the latter
subject that the following ‘pages are dedicated.

It must have been remarked by all intelligent observers, that
in the majority of works upon horticultural subjects, the
numerous directions given in any particular ramification into
which the art is susceptible of being divided, are held together
by no bond of union, and that there is no explanation of their
connection with general principles, by which alone the sound-
ness of this or that rule of practice may be tested; the reader
is therefore usually obliged to take the excellence of one mode
of cultivation, and the badness of another, upon the good faith

of gardening authors, without being put into possession of any
B

2

laws by which they may be judged of beforehand. Horticulture
is by these means rendered a complicated subject such as none
but practised gardeners can hope to pursue successfully ; and,
like all empirical things, it is degraded into a code, of
peremptory precepts.

It will nevertheless be found, if the subject is carefully
investigated, that in reality the explanations of horticultural
operations are simple, and free from obscurity ; provided they
are not encumbered with speculations, which, however inter-
esting in theory, are only perplexing in practice in the present
state of our knowledge. When, for example, refined chemical
disquisitions or minute anatomical details, or references to
electrical action, are introduced, a plain subject becomes
embarrassed with considerations too learned for the majority of
readers of gardening works, and having little obvious applica-
tion to practical purposes. Instead, therefore, of introducing
points of obscure or doubtful application, or such as are merely
speculative and which only tend to complicate the theory of
horticulture, it seems better strictly to confine attention to the
action of the simplest vital forces; for the general nature of
these has been undoubtedly ascertained, and is easily under-
stood by every class of readers. It is certain, for instance,
that plants breathe, digest, and perspire; but it may be a
question whether the exact nature of their respiration, digestion,
and perspiration is beyond all further explanation ; it is there-
fore better to limit our consideration to the naked fact, which
is all that it imports the gardener to know, without inquiring
too curiously into those phenomena. For it must always be
remembered that the object of a work like the present is not to
elucidate the laws of vegetable life in all their obscure details,
but to teach, to those acquainted with the art of gardening,

what the great principles are upon which their practice is
founded.

3

In order to attain this end it is necessary, in the first place,
to explain, however briefly, the nature of those vital actions which
have a direct reference to cultivation ; and further to show how
those facts bear upon the routine of practice of the horticulturist,
by making them explain the reason of the practical methods
employed in various branches of the gardener’s art.

The first part of this work therefore embraces the principal
laws and facts in vegetable physiology, as deduced from the
investigations of the botanist; and the second an application of
those laws to practices established by the experience of the
horticulturist.

If the laws comprehended in the first book are correctly
explained, and the facts connected with them rightly interpreted,
they must necessarily afford, in all cases, the reasons why one
kind of cultivation is better than another; and all kinds of
practice at variance with those laws must be bad. Seeing that,
from the very nature of things, this cannot be otherwise, it
follows that, by a careful consideration and due understanding
of such laws, the intelligent cultivator will acquire the most
certain means of improving his practice.

B22

BOOK I.

OF THE PRINCIPAL CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH VEGETABLE

LIFE WHICH ILLUSTRATE THE OPERATIONS OF
GARDENING.

A pLANnT is a living body composed of an irritable, elastic,
hygrometrical matter, called tissue. It is fixed to the earth by
roots, and it elevates into the air a stem bearing leaves, flowers,
and fruit. It has no power of shifting its place except when it
is acted upon by wind or other external forces; it is therefore
peculiarly susceptible of injury or benefit from the accidental
circumstances that. may surround it; and, having no free
agency, it is above all other created beings suited to acknow-
ledge the power of man.

In order to turn this power to account, it is necessary to
study the manner of life which is peculiar to the vegetable
kingdom, and to ascertain what the laws are by which the
numerous actions essential to the existence of a plant are
regulated. It is, moreover, requisite that the causes which
modify those actions, either by increasing or diminishing their
force, should be understood.

The vital actions of plants have so little apparent resem-
blance to those of animals, that we are unable to appreciate
their nature in even the smallest degree by a reference to our
own sensations, or to any knowledge we may possess of animal
functions. Nevertheless, when we carefully reflect upon the
phenomena of vegetation, we discover certain unquestionable
analogies of a general nature, between the animal and vegetable
kingdoms. And although it is necessary that plants should be

6

studied by themselves, as an abstract branch of investigation,
without attempting to reason as to their habits from what we
know of other organised beings; still it must never be forgotten
that they are living things, possessed, like animals, of vitality,
that mysterious force which modifies all chemical and mechanical
phenomena, and which so essentially distinguishes the organic
world from the brute materials of which it is composed.

In discussing this subject, it will be most convenient to
divide the matter into the heads of, 1. Vital force; 2. Ger-
mination ; 8. Growth by the Root; 4. Growth by the Stem ;
5. Action of the Leaves; 6. Action of the Flowers; and,
7. Maturation of the Fruit. By this means the life of a plant
is traced through all its principal changes, and an opportunity
is afforded of introducing under one or other of these heads
every point of information that can be interesting to the
cultivator ; who will be most likely to seek it in connection
with those phenomena he is best acquainted with by their
effects.

CHAPTER I.

+——

VITAL FORCE.

Mr. AnpREw Kwnicut asserted that, in the course of his
numerous experiments, he had never been able to trace the
existence of anything like sensation or intellect in plants, but
that they always appeared to be influenced by the action of
surrounding bodies, and not by any degrees of sensation and
passion analogous to those of animal life. This seems to have
led to the belief that they do not even possess a vital principle,
but are mere chemical laboratories.

One writer ventures to call a plant a porous system—endowed with
no vitality other than the power of forming Cytoblasts,* and arranging
cellules after a definite type (Gardner in Phil. Mag. xxviii. 482). Even
here it is admitted that some vitality exists; for the arrangement of
cells, or in other words the construction of plants, each after its kind,
out of cells, implies vitality of a high order, although the writer seems
to have meant that a plant is little more than a bag of quaternary
compounds, and to have overlooked the fact that a plant when dead is
a porous system as much as when alive. Nec deus intersit is however a
favourite maxim with a certain class of modern writers, although nec
absit would appear to be more consistent with all we know of the

living world.

But many discoveries have been made since the days of
Knight, and a body of facts, showing the existence of high
vitality, if not sensation, among plants, has been collected,
with which he was wholly unacquainted. So that it is not too
much to say, that the vegetable kingdom is now known to stand
at least as high in the scale of life as the inferior orders of the
animal kingdom.

* A Cytoblast is the vital centre round which the cell and all its contents is even-
tually formed.

8 PROOFS OF VITAL FORCE.

This is shown, a, by the influence exercised over plants
by substances such as laudanum and arsenic; b, by the active
and visible motions of the fluid contained within their cells ;
c, by the unerring directions taken by the delicate apparatus
which ensures reproduction by seed; and d, by the locomotive
power possessed by the reproductive apparatus of the lower
classes of plants.

w. It was long ago shown by Marcet, that if the common Kidney
Bean, the Lilac, and other plants, were exposed to the action of such
poisons as destroy animal life, they will perish not only under their
influence, but in a manner analogous to what occurs among animals.
If an animal is dosed with arsenic, or corrosive sublimate, or any
poisonous metallic salt, it perishes by inflammation or corrosion : plants
die ina similar way, their leaves turning yellow and withering, no art
sufficing for their recovery. On the other hand, vegetable poisons
destroy life by a species of paralysis, leaves bending, and becoming
flaccid, and the whole plant rapidly falling into a state resembling
stupefaction, and ending in death. Every one knows that if the inner
face of the stamens of the common Berberry is touched they suddenly
rise upwards and dash their anthers against the stigma; that after a
time they fall back, and then become able again to present the same
phenomenon. Macaire showed that when a twig of the Berberry in
flower is placed in weak Prussic acid, or a solution of opium, the stamens
lose their irritability, and become so flexible that they may be moved
backwards and forwards without difficulty. When, however, the
Berberry is placed in solutions of arsenic or corrosive sublimate, the
stamens equally lose their excitability, but instead of becoming flexible,
they are made stiff, hard, and brittle. Similar effects are produced
upon the Sensitive Plant and other species. Here we have direct
proof that the life of a plant is affected by destructive agents in the
same manner as animals,

The curious effect of anzesthetic substances is the same upon plants
as on animals, Dr. Marcet has shown this by means of Chloroform,
“Tf,” he says, “a drop or two of pure chloroform be placed on the
point of the common petiole of a leaf of the Sensitive Plant, the petiole
is soon seen to droop, and directly afterwards the leaflets collapse in
succession, pair by pair, beginning with those that are situate at the
extremity of each branch. A minute or two afterwards (the time vary-
ing with the irritability of the plant), most of the leaves near that on
which the chloroform was placed, and situate below it on the same
stem, droop one after the other, and their leaflets collapse, althouch
not in so decided a manner as those of the leaf to which the chloxotomn
was applicd. After a certain time, which varics with the condition of

VITAL FORCE IN SENSITIVE PLANTS—IN CHARA. 9

the plant, the leaves gradually open; but when touched they can no
longer be irritated so as to collapse, as they do in their natural condition.
They remain in this passive state, benumbed, as it were, for a consider-
able time, and generally it is not until some hours have elapsed that
they regain their original sensibility. If, however, while in this passive
state, the leaves be again touched with chloroform, they collapse as
before. It is not till after several doses that they lose their sensibility
entirely, or at all events until the next day; sometimes they wither
completely after too many applications of the chloroform. The purer
the chloroform and the greater the excitability of the plant, the greater
are the effects produced.”

Similar experiments with rectified ether gave results quite analo-
gous. When the author repeated the experiment with chloroform, he
found that the leaflets remained paralysed, as it were, and still unable
to open after eighteen hours’ rest; they seemed to be dead. This was
apparently caused by excess of chloroform, a larger dose than that em-
ployed by Dr. Marcet having been used. It is thus seen that overdoses
of chloroform kill plants as well as animals, though small doses are
innocuous.

6. There grows commonly in ditches and stagnant water a plant
called Chara, in the large cells of which a current of green globules
steadily rises up one side and falls by another, presenting an appearance
calling to mind the motion of an endless chain. If one of these cells is
choked by a ligature, then the motion continues exactly as before in
each of the two divisions so produced. The singularity of the
motion, and the ease with which it may be observed, have rendered this
plant a favourite object of examination by young microscopists. Those
philosophers who refused to admit this to be a vital motion analogous
to that of the blood, imagined that they had found an explanation in
electrical action. But Dutrochet, who once held this opinion, when
he attempted to establish his hypothesis upon experiment, found that
the magnetic force, even when prodigious, exercises no influence
whatever upon the circulation of fluid within the cells of Chara, and he
was obliged to admit the presence of a vital force, of the nature of which
we are wholly ignorant. Motion of an analogous nature has been. now
remarked within the cells of so many plants that we cannot doubt it to
be a universal phenomenon.. It is to be remarked that this kind of
movement is wholly independent of the general motion of the sap.

c. When a grain of pollen falls upon a stigma, it protrudes a tube of
extreme tenuity. The tube penetrates the stigma, much in the same
manner as the root of a seed pierces the earth. Thence it procceds
unerringly to the tiny opening which it is destined to enter, passing by
all obstacles, turning to the right or to the left, and now ascending,
now curving back again, with the same constant certainty as would
attend an act of consciousness. Nor is this all; in certain cases the

10

* The foramen is a minute passage through the integuments of an o

MANIFESTED BY POLLEN-TUBES, ETC.

entrance of the pollen-tube into the young seed. through its foramen,* is
assisted by movements on the part of the seed itself, as in the common
garden Thrift (Armeria) in which a horizontal strap, interposed between
the pollen-tube and the foramen, is spontaneously removed in order to
enable the former to enter the latter. These phenomena, varying as the
structure of plants itself varies, and destined as they evidently are
to ensure that great end, the propagation of species, are wholly inex-
plicable upon any other principle than that of high vitality ; so high
indeed that they are only less than voluntary actions.

d. But perhaps nothing places the presence of a powerful vital force
in stronger evidence than the facts which modern botanists have
discovered in connection with the propagation of the lower orders of
plants. It has been known from the observations of the younger
Agardh, that in fresh-water Conferve the seeds (technically called
spores) swim about with activity in the interior of the cell which
generates them, that they eventually force their way through a thin
part of the cell wall, and thence darting into the water move about with
great activity, the lighter end downwards, and therefore contrary to the
force of gravitation. These motions last for several hours. More
recently it has been demonstrated that the motion is caused by delicate
vibratile cilia or fringes attached to the small and narrow end of the
seed (spore). This motion is stopped instantaneously by any poison,
such as iodine, being allowed to mingle in the water. Discoveries of a
similar nature have been made among other races of plants. Modern
research has shown that in the greater part of the lowest forms of
vegetable life, and probably in all, minute spiral bodies exist having
the power of active locomotion in many cases. These are called
ANTHEROZOIDS in consequence of the bodies or antherids which contain
them being regarded as analogous to the anthers of the higher orders of
plants. Sea-weeds bear both spores and antherozoids. According to M.
Thuret, whose observations are not open to doubt, by placing certain sea-
weeds in a damp atmosphere, the spores and antherids are freely
expelled, and remain on the surface of the fronds, from which they can
be readily collected and transferred to vessels containing sea-water.
M. Thuret found that when put into separate vessels, the antherids
placed by themselves immediately emit their antherozoids; the latter
move about with great activity, even for two days successively, but on
the third, begin to decompose. Spores, also, when placed in sea-water
by themselves, retain their vitality for some time, not decomposing in
less than a week; they even make attempts at growth, but abortions
are the only consequence, and at last they perish also, It is
otherwise when the spores and antherozoids are mingled in the same

vule or young

seed, into which the pollen-tube must enter in order to vivify the latent embryo,

VEGETABLE IRRITABILITY. i

vessel of sea-water. Then occurs a series of most curious phenomena.
The antherozoids attack the spores, creep, as it were, over their surface,
and communicate, by means of their vibratile cilia, a rotatory
motion, which is sometimes very rapid. ‘ Nothing,” says M. Thuret,
‘‘is more curious than the appearance of great brown spores rolling and
tumbling about in the midst of a swarm of antherozoids.” The result
is the fertilisation of the spore, which then begins to grow, and in ten
days becomes a little cellular brown oval body, supported by a trans-
parent rootlet. Sea-weeds are by no means the only plants in which
these most remarkable phenomena have been detected. Most cryptogamic
plants have now been observed to possess locomotive organs, analogous
to antherozoids and bearing the same name. Liverworts, Mosses,
Lycopods and Ferns themselves are supplied by nature with parts of
the same description. When a Fern-seed vegetates it forms a small,
thin, two-lobed green plate or scale lying horizontally on the damp
surface of the ground. In this scale, called a protothall, lodge anthero-
zoids and spores. By unknown means the former creep up to the latter,
and fertilisation is accomplished. Wherever Fern-seeds have fallen,
there a crop of these scaly protothalls springs up, as may be seen on the
walls, or pots, or damp earth of any Fern-house. In each protothall is
lodged an abundance of antherozoids and spores, the former active and
capable of moving from place to place, the latter passive and stationary.
Nor is there any thing in their structure which enables the observer to
say whether the motions are voluntary or involuntary, so much do they
resemble what is witnessed in animal life.

So far then as the important phenomena of reproduction are con-
cerned, we have indications not only of vitality, but of such a force
being present in plants in great activity.

Evidence of this kind, proving as it does beyond all
doubt the presence of a vitality among plants identical with
that of animals, though different in its manifestations, is greatly
strengthened by the many known cases of what is called
vegetable irritability.

That of the Sensitive Plant, which shrinks from the touch; of the
Oscillating Saintfoin (Hedysarum gyrans) whose leaves move with as
much appearance of spontaneousness as the polype; the sleep of leaves
and flowers which close at night and expand in the day; the violent
recoil of the column of Stylidium, or of the lip of Drakea, when
touched; the oscillation of the labellum of many Bolbophylls and
Pterostyles; the snap of the traplike leaf of Dionsea which closes
with great force whenever one of its six bristle-shaped springs is
disturbed—phenomena familiar to the naturalist—are all intelligible

12 VITAL PRINCIPLE UNIVERSAL.

upon the supposition that they are the result of high vitality, inexpli-
cable if referred to the operation of mere material forces.

One of the causes which have most embarrassed the
progress of cultivation is not perceiving the presence among
plants of this vital principle. Because plants neither walk, nor
fly, nor crawl; because they are not endowed with the sense of
pain or pleasure ; because they neither struggle nor shriek, we
are too apt to forget that they are alive, and consequently to
treat them as if but rods of metal or plates of leather. Once
grant that they are living beings, that they breathe although
we see no mouths, that they digest although no stomachs are
discoverable by common eyes, and above all things, that they
feel, however low their sensations may be, and half the modes
of cultivation employed by unskilful gardeners will stand con-
spicuous as palpable errors. Only show that plants are endowed
with a life, identical in its nature with that of animals, and men
must necessarily make it their first business to study the history
of that life, and to master all which interferes with its healthy
exercise. Such a step once taken, no cultivator would poison
plants by a contaminated atmosphere, or paralyse them by an
eternal footbath of cold water, or suffocate them in places where
no air can reach them, or starve them by withholding the food
without which they cannot exist, or cram them with incessant
meals of heavy indigestible matter, which can but reduce them to
the condition of an apoplectic glutton. That power which causes
the bud to sprout, the leaves to form, the pollen to act, the seed
to produce its embryo; which enables vegetation to breathe,
and feed, and grow; which distinguishes all organised beings
from the brute matter of which they consist, is the same as
what gives to man the high attributes of his nature. It is
viTaLiry ; a word which so-called philosophers in theirignorance,
or presumption, may sneer at, but which in truth is the un-
known force that controls the energy of matter, and directs it
to special ends. It is only when cultivation is conducted with
a full appreciation of this fundamental truth that Horticulture
rises above the level of unreasoning custom, and acquires a
solid base upon which the rationalia of the practices which
experience seems to sanction can be permanently secured.

CHAPTER II.

——

GERMINATION.

THE NATURE OF A SEED.—ITIS DURATION.—POWER OF GROWTH.—CAUSES
OF GERMINATION. — TEMPERATURE. — LIGHT. — HUMIDITY. —CHEMICAL
CHANGES,

A sEED is a living body, separating from its parent, and
capable of growing into a new individual of the same species.
It is a reproductive fragment, or vital point, containing within
itself all the elements of life, which, however, can only be called
into action by special circumstances.

But while it will with certainty become the same species as
that in which it originated, it does not possess the power of
reproducing any peculiarities which may have existed in its
parent. For instance, the seed of a Green Gage plum will
grow into a new individual of the plum species, but it will not
produce the peculiar variety called the Green Gage. This
latter property is confined to leaf-buds, and seems to be owing
to the seed not being specially organised after the exact plan of
the branch on which it grew, but merely possessing the first
elements of such an organisation, together with an invariable
tendency towards a particular kind of development.

Under fitting circumstances a seed grows; that is to say, the
embryo which it contains swells, and bursts through its integu-
ments; it then lengthens, first in a direction downwards, next
in an upward direction, thus forming a centre or axis round
which other parts are ultimately formed. No known power
can overcome this tendency, on the part of the embryo, to
elevate one portion in the air, and to bury the other in the
earth. It is an inherent property with which nature has
endowed seeds, in order to insure the young parts, when first”

14 PHENOMENA OF GERMINATION.

called into life, each finding itself in the situation most suitable
to its existence; that is to say, the root in the earth, the stem
in the air.

The conditions required to produce germination are, exposure
to moisture, and a certain quantity of heat; in addition, it is
necessary that a communication with the atmosphere should be
provided, if germination is to be maintained in a healthy state.
A seed, when fully ripe, contains a larger proportion of carbon
than any other living part, and so long as it is thus charged
with carbon, it is unable to grow. The only means it possesses
of ridding itself of this principle, essential to its preservation,
but forming an impediment to its development as a new plant,
is by converting the carbon into carbonic acid, for which
purpose a supply of oxygen is necessary. It cannot obtain
oxygen in sufficient quantity from the air, for it is cut off
from free communication with the air by various means, either
natural, as being inclosed in a thick layer of pulp, or in a hard
shell or stone ; or artificial, as being buried to a considerable
depth below the surface of the soil. It is from the water
absorbed in germination that the seed procures the requisite
supply of oxygen; fixing hydrogen, the other element of water,
in its tissue: and thus it is enabled to form carbonic acid,
which it parts with by its respiratory organs, until the propor-
tion of fixed carbon is lowered to the amount suited to its
growth into a plant.

It has been objected that the evidence adduced in support of this
explanation is not conclusive; and that there is nothing to show that
the hydrogen of decomposed water enters into new combinations or is
fixed in tissue. But since no hydrogen is evolved during germination,
it must necessarily be fixed or recombined after water has been decom-
posed. That this last phenomenon occurs is proved by the experiments
of Edwards and Colin, as given in the Comptes rendus (vii. 922), and
quoted in Lindley’s Introduction to Botany (4th edit., II. 261 and 272),

But the formation and respiration of carbonic acid takes
place most freely, though not exclusively, in darkness; if
exposed to light, the seed again parts with some of its oxygen,
and again fixes its carbon by the decomposition of its carbonic
acid.

INFLUENCE OF WATER AND HEAT UPON GERMINATION. 15

In addition to this, the absorption of water causes all the
parts to soften and expand; many of the dry, but soluble,
parts to become fluid; sap, or vegetable blood, to be formed ;
and a motion of fluids to be established, by means of which
a communication is maintained between the more remote parts
of the embryo.

Heat seems to set the vital principle in action, to expand the
air contained in the numerous microscopic cavities of the seed,
and to produce a distension of all the organic parts, which thus
have their irritability excited, never again to be destroyed
except with death. What degree of heat seeds find most
conducive to their germination, probably varies in different
species. Chickweed (Stellaria media) and Groundsel (Senecio
vulgaris) will germinate at a temperature but little above
32° Fahr.

e

It has been imagined that ELECTRICAL acTIon also promotes the
germination of seeds. Sir H. Davy found that seeds placed in the
vicinity of the positive pole of a voltaic pile, germinated sooner than
those near the negative pole; and judging from the known powers of
electricity it was not unreasonable to expect, that, like light and heat,
it would exert influence on the growth of vegetables. Professor
Edward Solly, however, has shown, experimentally, by an extensive
series of trials in the Garden of the Horticultural Society, that this is
not so. Seeds of Barley, Wheat, Rye, Turnip, and Radish, were, in
several different experiments, found to germinate with increased
rapidity, when exposed,to the influence of a feeble current of electricity
of very low tension, and the plants not only came up sooner, but were
more healthy than others; but, on the other hand, a number of
experiments on other seeds had given quite opposite results, proving
either that the germination of some seeds was retarded, whilst that of
others was facilitated, by electricity ; or, that the effects, observed in
both cases, were merely accidental. Out of a series of fifty-five
experiments on different seeds, twenty appeared in favour of electricity,
ten against it, and twenty-five showed no effect whatever; and, on
carefully counting the whole number of seeds up in the entire series, it
was found that twelve hundred and fifty of the electrified, and twelve
hundred and fifty-three of the non-electrified seeds had grown.

Germination being established, by the absorption and decom-
position of water, and by the requisite elevation of temperature,
all the parts enlarge, and new parts are created, at the expense

16 INFLUENCE OF WATER AND HEAT UPON GERMINATION.

of a mucilaginous saccharine secretion which the germinating
seed possesses the power of forming. With the assistance of
this substance, the root, technically called the radicle, at first a
mere point, or rather rounded cone, extends and pierces the
earth in search of food; the young stem rises and unfolds its
cotyledons, or rudimentary leaves, which, if they are exposed to
light, decompose carbonic acid, fix the carbon, become green,
and, by processes hereafter to be explained, when speaking of
leaves, form the matter by which all the pre-existing parts are
solidified. And thus a plant is born into the world; its first
act having been to deprive itself of a principle (carbon) which,
in superabundance, prevents its growth; but, in some other
proportion, is essential to its existence.

cece
GROWTH BY THE ROOT,

ROOTS LENGTHEN AT THEIR POINTS ONLY.—ABSORB AT THAT PART CHIEFLY.
— INCREASE IN DIAMETER LIKE STEMS.—THEIR ORIGIN.—-ARE FEEDING
ORGANS,— WITHOUT MUCH POWER OF SELECTING THEIR FOOD.—NATURE
OF THE LATTER.—-MAY BE POISONED.—-ARE CONSTANTLY IN ACTION.—
SOMETIMES POISON THE SOIL IN WHICH THEY GROW.—-HAVE NO BUDS.
—BUTI MAY GENERATE THEM.

Tue root, being the organ through which food is conveyed
from the earth into the plant, is the part which is the soonest
developed. Even in the embryo, atthe earliest commencement
of germination, it is the part immediately connected with the
root, that first begins to move, by lengthening all its parts, and
protruding itself beyond the seed-coats into the earth.

But as soon as this primitive lengthening of the root has
taken place, and the upper part of the embryo, namely, the
young stem, has begun to exist as a separate organ, the root
changes its property, ceases to grow by a general distension of
its tissue, and simply increases in length by the addition of
new matter to its point. A root is therefore extended much in
the same way as anicicle by the constant superposition of layer
over layer to its youngest extremity, with this difference how-
ever, that an icicle is augmented by the addition of matter from
without, while the root lengthens by the perpetual creation of
new matter from within.

For this reason, the extreme points of the ee are eX-
ceedingly delicate, and are injured by very trifling causes;
moreover, since all newly formed vegetable matter is extremely
hygrometrical, they have the power of absorbing, with rapidity,

0

18 NATURE OF SPONGELETS.

any fluid or gaseous matter that may be presented to them.
On this account they are usually called spongelets.

In the roots of ordinary exogens, when the tissue is very
young, the spongelet (Fig. I. a) consists of very lax tender

Fig. I.—Section of a Spongelet, magnified.

cellular tissue, resting upon a blunt cone of woody matter,
composed principally of woody tubes, and connected with the
alburnum of the stem (Fig. I. 6); itis, therefore, placed in the
most favourable position possible for communicating to the
general system of circulation the fluids taken up by its highly
absorbent tissue. In some roots a cap exists, called a
pileorhize, which guards as it were the spongelet beneath it,
or forms part of the spongelet.

It is the opinion of most vegetable physiologists, that the
absorbing or feeding powers of roots are conducted principally
at these points; and that the general surface of the root
possesses little or no power of the kind. And, indeed, it seems
highly probable that this is so, when we consider how thick is
the bark of the root, through which fluids would have to pass
before they reach the alburnum.

But although there can be no doubt that the spongelets act
as absorbents with more force than any other part of the root,
yet it is equally certain that the whole surface of young roots
also possesses an absorbing property, only in a more limited
degree. Itis not until their tissue is solidified that roots

THEIR ABSORBING FORCE. 19

become incapable of passing fluid through their sides; and
when very young and soft, there is probably but little difference
between their action and that of the spongelets themselves ;
for it is to be remembered that the latter are not special organs,
but are only the very youngest part of the root.

The absorbent power of the spongelets must be much greater
than would have been supposed, if we consider thatit is almost
entirely through their action that the enormous waste of fluid,
which takes place in plants by perspiration, is made good; and
hence their importance to plants, and the danger of destroying
them, become manifest.

Roots being furnished with the power of perpetually adding
new living matter to their points, are thus enabled to pierce
the solid earth in which they grow, to insinuate themselves
between the most minute crevices, and to pass on from place
to place as fast as the food in contact with them is consumed.
So that plants, although not locomotive like animals, do per-
petually shift their mouths in search of fresh pasturage, although
their bodies remain stationary.

Many examples of this might be adduced. The following are, however,
sufficient. In a Garden at Turnham Green, a Populus monilifera
(Canadian Poplar) was found to have sent a root thirty feet horizontally,
including its dip beneath the foundations of a wall, and then to have
passed into an old well to the depth of eighteen feet, having then broken
up into a mass of fibres so finely divided as to resemble yarn.

In another case, a root of the Deciduous Cypress was found by the
author, eleven feet long, which had passed nearly to that length without
division in search of water.

Mr. Tyso, a Florist at Wallingford, mentions the case of a Mignonette
plant which had penetrated through several courses of bricks, and
descended far into a wine cellar. Over the cellar, which was outside
the dwelling-house, was 4 brick pavement, between the joints of which
Mignonette seed had been sown from year to year. At the extreme end
a small portion of soil was allowed, and here a plant or two grew more
vigorously than the rest, though not so luxuriantly as is often found in
a common border.' The roots of these plants had penetrated through
eighteen inches of brickwork, and some of them were hanging inside the
arched roof, nourished by the damp atmosphere only. A few, more
favourably situated, were attached to the end wall of the cellar, and had
descended five feet five inches down the wall into the decaying sawdust

of the wine-bin. Others were beautifully spread over the wall, with a
o 2

EXCESSIVE DEVELOPEMENT OF ROOTS.

thousand ramifying rootlets, bespangled with
minute crystal-like damp drops, and extending
over a space of five feet in width. It was dif-
ficult to trace the brittle roots that had pene-
trated the sawdust, but he measured some
upwards of seven feet below the surface of the
brickwork on which the plants were growing.
It is this peculiarity which renders it so diffi-
cult to keep drains or wells in working order
where roots have access. A well six feet wide
has been known to be filled with roots by a
common Laurel bush. Turnips and Mangel
Wurzel, as well as mere weeds, have great
power in this way. Patrick Neill mentions an
instance of a plant of Ragwort (Senecio
Jacobeea) which had insinuated the point of
its roots into a drain, and had then extended
them so much as to fill the drain completely
for about twenty feet. And thus it is seen
that it is by the point that roots extend, with
an indefinite power of branching, and that the
finest thread once introduced into a drain-pipe
will rapidly become the origin of most exten-
sive mischief, provided the plant is perennial.
A still more remarkable case is mentioned in
the Gardeners’ Chronicle for 1849, of a line of
pot-pipes from forty to fifty feet long, socketed
and cemented, and thought to be perfectly
closed, having become so choked by roots as to
be unserviceable in fifteen years. In the side
of one of the pipes there had been one mere
chink ; and through that chink some tree had
insinuated the point of some root... Once in-
serted the point lengthened and divided, and
lengthened and divided over and over again,
till at last the drain-pipe was filled by an en-
tangled mass of fibres which had pressed so
firmly against each other as to form in some
places a tolerably perfect mould of the cavity.
Roots lengthen, as already stated, not by
extension, but by perpetual additions of very
soft cellular matter to their points. That mat-
ter is in fact in the beginning mere mucilage
capable of organisation. A small portion of this
mucilage finds itself in contact with a minute

INCREASE OF ROOTS IN DIAMETER. 21

cleft; conditions, the real nature of which is unknown, cause the mucilage
to press against the cleft; the mucilage is introduced, it organises, solidi-
fies, and the point of a root is established in the cleft... The point forms
more mucilage in advance ; that also solidifies, and a further lodgment
is made; and thus the growth goes on, through all the sinuosities of the
narrow passage that it traverses. In the annexed figure, the space from
a to 6 represents the part where the root passed through the pipe, which
must have been nearly two and a half inches thick; the root, there,
was as thin as paper, and had followed every’ bend in the crack. As
soon as it reached the inside of the pipe (at 6) it swelled, acquired its
usual cylindrical form, and thence proceeded to develop and branch in
the manner already described. The thin connecting plate was sufficient
to maintain the vitality of the roots for many years.

The only known exceptions to the rule that roots do not
lengthen by a general distension of their tissue, occur in parts
growing in air or water, which are non-resisting media, or in
certain “endogenous trees, whose roots lengthen to such a
degree as to hoist the trunk up into the air, off the ground with
which it at first was level.

It is not, however, merely in length that the root increases ;
if such were the case, all roots would be mere threads. They
also augment in diameter, simultaneously with the stem, and
under the influence of exactly the same causes. Neither is it
by an embryo alone that roots are formed. A plant, once ina
state of growth, has the power’ of producing roots from various
parts, especially from leaves and stems.

The well-known emission of roots by the stems of the common Laurel
is a phenomenon due, as it seems, to the death of the lower part of the
stem, the live part of which is thus compelled to organise its descending
sap in the form of roots. Vines in damp hot-houses, with their roots
in a cold border, habitually exhibit the same tendency. And as a further
illustration, one published by Mr. W. B. Booth may be introduced.
This was the case of a Spanish Chestnut between ninety and one hundred
years old, and of considerable size, cut down in 1849. With the excep-
tion of its foliage, which always had a yellowish, sickly tinge, there
was scarcely anything else about it that indicated decay. Its trunk
seemed perfectly sound, and the young shoots it annually made,
appeared to be pretty strong and healthy. No sooner, however, had
the workmen commenced cutting, than it was discovered that for ten
feet high, as much as two-thirds of the bark round the trunk was dead
and reduced to a mere shell. On removing this thin covering, the sap-

22

FORMATION OF ROOTS BY THE STEM.

wood was found to have become a mass of decayed vegetable matter,
through which a complete net-work of roots passed to the ground, and
extended themselves for a considerable distance from the main stem.
Some of these roots were about the size of an ordinary walking-stick.

Fig. I1J.—Spanish Chestnut which had thrown out roots under the bark ten feet
above the ground.

On tracing them to their source, they were observed to spring from the
edge of the healthy portion of the tree, immediately above the part
that had been injured and gone to decay; and as only a few of the
larger ones reached the ground, the whole of the nourishment conveyed
by the others to the tree, must have been derived from the gradual
decomposition of its own sap-wood. A still more remarkable case is

FORMATION OF ROOTS BY LEAVES. 23

mentioned in the Gardeners’ Chronicle-of 1846, p. 43, where an old
Apple-tree, blown entirely out of the ground, so that all its roots were
broken off, nevertheless produced roots from the hard trunk, although
the accident occurred in summer when the tree was loaded with fruit.

The same observer mentions an Episcia bicolor that happened to have
one of its leaves injured by.an accident, which cut.the midrib and a
portion of the leaf on both sides of it. After a certain time the wound

Fig. IV.—Leaf of Episcia bicolor, which had its midrib cut across by accident, and formed a
young plant at the part that had been injured. .
healed, the part next the base of the leaf remaining of the same thickness
as before the injury, while the edge of the outer portion gradually
thickened, and developed a small bud close to the midrib, from which
a number of minute fibrous roots issued, and eventually a stem and
leaves, as represented in the accompanying sketch. For several months
the perfect plant continued to exist in this state, with no other nourish-
ment than what the portion of the leaf on which it grew, and the air
of a warm, damp, hothouse afforded it. As the plant increased in size,
the old leaf gradually became exhausted, and perished altogether as
soon as the young leaves gained the ascendancy and deprived it of the

24 FORMATION OF ROOTS BY LEAVES,

_scanty means that had previously supported it. Similar instances are
familiar to careful observers, not the least interesting of which is that
of a broken Celery leaf which had sent out roots from the lowermost of
its wounded edges.

Fig. V.—Leaf of Celery producing roots from the lower edge of a wound.

The immediate cause of the formation of roots is involved in
obscurity, and is one of the most important parts of vegetable
physiology still to be investigated with reference to horticulture.
We all know how difficult it is to cause the cuttings of some
kinds of plants to produce young roots, and how rapidly they
are emitted by others ; it is to be supposed, that the difficulty
would be diminished in all such cases, if we knew exactly under
what circumstances roots are formed. Nothing, however,
sufficiently certain and general to merit quotation has yet been
ascertained concerning this important property, which appears
to be connected with specific vitality, except the following
facts, viz. that roots are most readily, if not exclusively, formed

CAUSE OF THE FORMATION OF ROOTS. 25

in darkness and moderate moisture; that they are not, like
branches, the development of previously formed buds, but
appear fortuitously and irregularly from the woody rather than
the cellular part of a plant; and that their production is in
some way connected with the presence of leaves or leaf-buds,
because portions of a stem having neither leaves nor leaf-buds
produce roots unwillingly, if at all; and such roots perish
if their appearance be not speedily followed by the formation of
leaves. Thus although the first appearance of the root in the
embryo plant, at the time of germination, precedes the expansion
of the seed-leaves, yet the young root will not live unless the
seed-leaves are enabled to act. It is certain moreover that
their formation is greatly facilitated by the soil being warm, as
is sufficiently proved by the readiness with which they are
emitted by trees transplanted in August and September; as
also by the abundance of them in warm soil, and their fewness
and weak condition in soil not warmed by good drainage.

It has been remarked by a translator of this work that ‘the young
roots of some genera live for a very considerable time without the
cotyledons exercising any functions. The seeds of the Peony, sown in
January, will have formed roots in September, but the cotyledons will
not be visible for four or five months later, viz., in January or
February of the next year.”

But, although the immediate cause of the formation of roots

is unknown, the remote cause is apparently the elaboration of
organisable matter by the leaves; for there can be no doubt

that the development of roots is much assisted by the descending

sap. When aring of bark is removed from a branch, if the

wound is wrapped in damp moss, roots will invariably push

from the upper lip of the wound, while the lower will produce .
none; a fact so well known, that it has been one of the causes

of an opinion, that roots are bundles of wood liberated from the

central perpendicular system, and that the wood itself is nothing

but a mass of roots formed by the leaves and buds.

The principal office of the root is to attract food from the
ground. For this purpose it is furnished, as has been seen,
with an extremely hygrometrical point or spongelet, which is
capable of absorbing incessantly whatever matter of a suitable

26 ROOTS ABSORB AT ALL SEASONS,

kind may lie in its neighbourhood. Its force of absorption is
always proportioned to the quantity of food that a plant
requires: when the sap is consumed rapidly by the leaves, as
in the spring, the roots are in rapid action also; and as the
autumn advances, and leaves require a smaller quantity of
food, the roots become more and more torpid.

The proportion borne by the root to the stem is very variable-
In such plants as succulent Euphorbias, and probably in all
plants whose perspiring powers are feeble, the roots are much
smaller than the stem; but, in others the circle occupied by
these organs must be very much greater than that of the
branches. In young Oaks this is well known to be the case,
but the disproportion diminishes as such plants advance in age.

There is no period of the year when the roots become
altogether inactive, except when they are actually frozen. At
all other times, during the winter, they are perpetually attract-
ing food from the earth, and conveying it into the interior of
the plant, where, at that season, it is stored up till it is required
by the young shoots of the succeeding year. The whole tissue
of a plant will therefore become distended with fluid food by
the return of spring, and the degree of distension will be in
proportion to the mildness and length of the previous winter.
As the new shoots of spring are vigorous or feeble in propor-
tion to the quantity of food that may be prepared for them, it
follows, that the longer the period of rest from growth, the
more vigorous the vegetation of a plant will become when
once renewed, if that period is not excessively protracted.

A critic remarks that, of the continually-absorbing power of the
roots, the simile of a wick of a candle is certainly one of the most
appropriate. The wick (as well as the spongioles of the root) by its
hygrometric quality continually conducts fluids to the flame, only the
spongioles, being continually renewed by their constant formation,
onwards, are permanent. Others doubt whether any winter absorption
occurs, a fact however familiar to practical observers, and proved by such
examples as those quoted at pages 50 to 52.

Powerful as the absorbing action of roots is found to be,
those organs have little or no power of selecting their food ; but
appear, in most cases, to take up whatever is presented to them

ROOTS CAN SELECT THEIR FOOD. 27

in a sufficiently attenuated form. Their feeding property
depends upon the mere hygrometrical force of their tissue, set
in action in a peculiar manner by the vital principle; this
force must be supposed to depend upon the action of capillary
tubes, of which every part of a vegetable membrane must, of
necessity, consist, although they are, in all cases, invisible to
the eye, even aided by the most powerful microscopes.
Whatever matter is presented to such a set of tubes will, we
must suppose, be attracted through them, provided its
molecules are sufficiently minute; and, as we have no reason
to believe that there is, in general, any difference in the size of
the molecules of either gaseous matter or fluids consisting prin-
cipally of water, it will follow that one form of such matters
will be absorbed by the roots of plants as readily as another.
For this reason, plants are peculiarly liable to injury from the
presence of deleterious substances in the earth, and it is
probable that, if in many cases they reject it, it is because it
does not acquire a sufficient state of tenuity; as in the case
of certain coloured infusions.

But, although this appears to be a general rule, there are
some exceptions of importance. Ifa Peaand a grain of Wheat
are placed side by side in earth of the same kind, and made to
grow under the same circumstances, the Wheat plant will
absorb abundance of silex in solution from the earth, and the
Pea will absorb little or none; whence it would seem that the
Pea is unable to receive a solution of flint into its system, and
that, consequently, it possesses what amounts, practically, to a
power of selection. In like manner, Dr. Daubeny has proved
that Pelargoniums, Barley, and the Winged Pea (Tetragono-
lobus) will .not receive strontian; and it is mentioned by
Saussure, that he could not make Polygonum Persicaria
absorb, by its roots, a solution of acetate of lime, although it
took up muriate of soda (common salt) freely.

It is a curious fact that the poisonous substances which are
fatal to man are equally so to plants, and in nearly the same
way. So that, by presenting opium or arsenic, or any metallic
or alkaline poison, to its roots, a tree may be destroyed as
readily as a human being.

28 . THE NATURE OF THEIR FOOD.

The natural food of plants consists of carbon in the state of
carbonic acid, of nitrogen, certain earths and salts, and water.
The latter, if distilled, has little power, by itself, of sustaining
vegetable life: but, as in nature it is universally mixed with
various other substances, it conveys to the roots the nutritious
matters that are required ; and it furnishes, by its decomposi-
tion, a considerable supply of the oxygen consumed in the
formation of carbonic acid, as well as much of the hydrogen that
is assimilated by plants. It has been proved, experimentally,
that plants cannot long exist upon pure water ; but, if they are
so circumstanced as to be able to obtain and decompose
carbonic acid, they will grow in the absence of other matters.
It is only, however, when the peculiar principles, whether
earthy or saline, on which they naturally feed, are presented to
them, that they become perfectly healthy: and especially when
they have the means of obtaining nitrogen, which appears, from
its great abundance in the youngest parts, to be indispensable
to plants upon the first formation of their tissue.

The researches of chemists have shown that all rain-water contains
ammonia, a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, and thus the source
of the nitrogen absorbed by plants was explained. But it has also
been shown, especially by M. Barral, that other substances, upon which
plants feed, are contained in rain-water to a much greater amount than
was suspected. This observer was led, during six months of 1851, to
examine minutely the water collected in the rain-gauges of the
Observatory at Paris. His mode of investigation is declared by
Messrs. Dumas, Boussingault, Gasparin, Regnault, and Arago, names
foremost in French Science, to be free from all objection, and to bear
the most severe counter trials to which they could expose it. M. Barral
states, that although the quantities of the following substances varied
in different months, yet the monthly average, from July to December
inclusive, was as follows :—

SUBSTANCES IN A CUBIO METRE OF RAIN-WATER.

Nitrogen . : . 8.36 grammes = 129 eprains
Nitric acid : » « 19.09 <s = 294 ,,
Ammonia. . - 3.61 3 = 55.7 ,,
Chlorine . : « «W227 $5 = 35 ,,
Lim 2 . » BS, Site
Magnesia . . >» 212 ‘5 = 32.7,,

ROOTS FEED ON WATER, ETC. 29

He did not ascertain whether all these substances are contained in
rain-water collected at a distance from towns. But Dr. Bence Jones
found at least nitric acid in rain-water collected in London, at Kingston
in Surrey, at Melbury in Dorsetshire, and far from any town at
Clonakelty in Ireland. If we assume that M. Barral’s averages
represent what occurs on an English acre, the quantity of such
substances deposited on that extent of ground may be safely estimated
as follows :—

The average depth of rain which falls in the neighbourhood of
London is well ascertained to be about twenty-four inches per annum.
This is at the rate of 87,120 cubic feet, or 2466 cubic metres of rain-
water per acre; and this, according to the proportions per cubic metre
in the preceding table, would afford annually of—

Nitrogen : y ‘ : : « 45% Ibs,
Nitric acid - : ; ; : » . 103 ,,
Ammonia . ‘ ; ‘ ® é - 193 ,,
Chlorine . : ‘ ‘ , ; & & “2h. )
Lime . . F . : : : . 386 ,,
Magnesia . ; ‘ : , . & We! “Hey

Annual total per acre 227

Of these substances the three first are of the utmost importance, on
account of their entering so largely into the indispensable constituents
of the food by which vegetable life is sustained. The quantity of
ammonia thus ascertained to exist is about what is expected in two
hundred weight of Peruvian guano; and bountiful nature gives us,
moreover, nearly one hundred and fifty pounds of nitrogenous matter,
equally suited to the nutrition of our crops.

It has been confidently asserted that in addition to their
feeding properties, roots are the organs by which plants rid
themselves of the secreted matter which is either superfluous
or deleterious to them. If you place a plant of Succory in
water, it will be found that the roots will, by degrees, render
the water bitter, as if opium had been mixed with it; a Spurge
will render it acrid; and a leguminous plant mucilaginous.
And, if you poison one half of the roots of any plant, the other
half will throw the poison off again from the system. Hence it
has been thought to follow that, if roots are so circumstanced
that they cannot constantly advance into fresh soil, they will
by degrees be surrounded by their own excrementitious
secretions. More correct experiments have however shown

30 THEIR SUPPOSED EXCRETIONS.

that such results are only obtained when roots are lacerated,
and that they have no greater power of excreting matter than
other parts of the surface of a plant.

This theory of root excretions was sustained by Liebig, who regarded
excretion as the necessary result of secretion. It is now abandoned.
A correspondent of the Gardeners’ Chronicle rightly observes, in
answer to the question of what becomes of the inorganic matters which
plants are constantly taking up? that in many instances, when taken
up in large quantities, they are deposited in the tissues themselves so
profusely as to obstruct the functions necessary to the life of the plant,
and death is the consequence. Where these inorganic substances are
not taken up in sufficient quantities to destroy the life of the plant,
they are deposited in the tissues of the plant, either externally or
internally, or both, according to its structure. Plants growing on the
sea-shore, as Salsola and others, when’ exposed to the absorption of
large quantities of sea-water, deposit in great abundance crystals of
chloride of sodium in their tissues and upon their epidermis. He
has examined Charas growing in pools, where the waters, from the
presence of carbonic acid, hold in solution great quantities of carbonate
of lime, and he has found this salt filling their large intercellular
cavities, and forming a crop of beautiful erystals on their epidermis,
whilst those of the same species, growing in ponds with a less quantity
of carbonate of lime, have exhibited a comparative paucity of crystals.
The colouring of wood, also, by introducing solutions of the metallic
oxides into trees, is a good illustration of the mode in which superfluous
inorganic matters are disposed of in the tissues of a plant.

As to the excretion of organic matter, there is no need to limit that
function to roots, for nature assigns it to all parts of the surface, stems,
leaves, flowers, and fruit, as is seen by such familiar facts as honey-
dew, glandular discharges like those of the Sweet-Briar Rose, nectarial
emissions, &c.

In general, roots have no buds, and are, therefore, incapable
of multiplying the plant to which they belong. But it con-
stantly happens, in some species, that they have the power of
forming what are called adventitious buds; and, in such cases,
they may be employed for purposes of propagation. There is
no rule by which the power of a plant to generate such buds by
its roots can be judged of; experiment is therefore necessary,
in all cases, to determine the point.

Exceptions to the common rule are found in the Moutan Peony,
in the Plum tree, or the Pyrus (Cydonia) japonica, which may be

ROOTS CAN GENERATE BUDS. 31

increased with great facility by small bits of the root being inserted
in a shady border and covered with a hand-glass; but in none of
them does the power reside in the same degree as in the Japan Anemone.
If a root of this plant be taken from the ground after flowering, it will
be found to resemble brown cord, divided into a great number of
ramifications, as is represented in the accompanying cut. Upon its
surface will be perceived a multitude of white conical projections,
sometimes growing singly, sometimes springing up in clusters, and

Fig. VI.—Root of Anemone japonica.

occasionally producing scales upon their sides. A magnified view of
these bodies is shown at Fig. VI. a. They are young buds, every one of
which, if cut from its parent, will grow and form a young plant ina
few weeks. These buds are not confined to the main trunk of the root,
but extend even towards its extremities; so that every fragment of the
plant is reproductive. It is certain that vitality is stronger in the roots
than in any other part of a plant. Live roots have been found in land
many years after the trunks to which they belonged had been destroyed.
Ihave myself seen live Whitethorn roots taken out of a field on the
London clay where no one could recollect having seen a Whitethorn
hedge. This fact was long since pointed out by Mr. Knight, who, in
his experiments with fruit-trees, found continual evidence, as he has

32

ROOTS CAN GENERATE BUDS.

stated, of the roots of such trees possessing far more constitutional
vigour than the branches. See his Physivlogical Papers, pp. 83, 325.

The following is another instance of the kind :—On the banks of the
river Derwent stood a large Hawthorn hedge, which, being undermined
by the water, fell in, and left the greater part of the roots in the bank,
about one or two feet below the surface; the bank still wearing away
has exposed them to the air for the length of three feet or more, and
they are now in every respect similar to branches, developing buds, and
consequently all the appendages of the axis; they appear anatomically
the same as branches, excepting the pith, of which they are destitute.
Now, it appears that roots when so circumstanced perform all the
functions of the stem, confirming Knight’s theory, that sap can at any
time generate buds, without any previously-formed rudiment, when
circumstances are favourable to their production.

CHAPTER IV.

—+—

GROWTH BY THE STEM.

ORIGIN OF THE STEM.—THE GROWING POINT.—PRODUCTION OF WOOD, BARK,
PITH, MEDULLARY RAYS.—PROPERTIES OF SAP-WOOD, HEART-WOOD,
LIBER, RIND, ETC.—NATURE AND OFFICE OF LEAF-BUDS.—EMBRYO-
BUDS.—BULBS.—CONVEYANCE OF SAP, AND ITS NATURE.

As soon as the root is fully in action, which is shortly after
it has begun to lengthen, the vitality of the living point that
exists at the bottom of the seed-leaves is excited, and a stem
begins to be formed. At, first the stem is a mere point of
living matter, often invisible to the eye, but sometimes partially
developed ; in which latter case it is called the plumule. But,
as soon as nutritive matter is conveyed into it by the nascent
root, all its parts receive an impulse, which forces them into a
growth upwards; what matter already exists is distended,
enlarged, and solidified ; new matter is rapidly generated in all
directions ‘from the vital centre, and if it were not for the
current setting upwards from the root, it would possibly grow
into a spherical figure. Pressed upon, however, by the
surrounding earth, impelled upwards by the current of sap
ascending from the root, and attracted into the air by the
necessity of respiration, the young stem assumes a cylindrical
form, its sides having a tendency to solidify, and its point to
grow longer. This point, or plumule, or first leaf-bud, soon
attracts to itself the food which the root procures from the
earth, and a part of the nutritive matter which is stored up in
the seed-leaves. It feeds especially upon the latter until they
are exhausted, and by the time this happens it is clothed with

leaves which are themselves able to feed it after the seed-leaves
D

34 ORIGIN OF STEM AND WOOD.

have perished. In brief, the stem is a branch produced by the
first leaf-bud which the embryo plant possesses.

When the stem is first called into existence, it is merely a
vegetable cell, afterwards increased into a small portion of
cellular tissue: an organic substance, possessing neither
strength nor tenacity, and altogether unsuited to the purposes
for which the stem is destined. If the stem consisted exclu-
sively of such matter it would have neither toughness nor
strength, but would be brittle like a mushroom, or like those
parts of plants of which cellular tissue is the exclusive com-
ponent, such for example as the club-shaped spadix of an
Arum, or the soft prickles of a young Rose branch. Nature,
however, from the first moment that the rudiment of a leaf
appears upon the growing point of a stem, occupies herself
with the formation of woody matter, consisting of tough tubes
of extreme fineness, which take their rise near the leaves, and
which, thence passing downwards through the cellular tissue,
are incorporated with the latter, to which they give the neces-
sary degree of strength and flexibility. In trees and shrubs,
they combine intimately with each other, and so form what is
properly called the wood and inner bark; in herbaceous and
annual plants, they constitute a lax fibrous matter. No woody
matter appears till the first leaf, or the seed-leaves, have begun
to act; it always arises from near their bases; it is abundant,
or the contrary, in proportion to the strength, number, and
development of the leaves; and in their absence is absent also
as a general rule.

The exceptional cases are those of “leafless” plants; that is to.say,
of plants in which leaves never advance beyond the condition of scales,
and usually drop off soon after their formation. To this class belong
green succulent plants like Stapelias, Cacti, and many Euphorbias.
Here the ba is excessively developed, and has the colour, texture, and
structure of leaves, of which it performs the functions. Such plants
form true wood, but of little solidity and in small quantity compared,
with their bulk. It is also found that in them the wood has a lateral

communication with every leaf-bud, as that of ordinary plants has with
every leaf.

When woody matter is first plunged into the cellular tissue
of the nascent stem, it forms a circle a little within the circum-

GROWTH OF STEM. 35

ference of the stem, whose interior it thus separates into two
parts: namely, the bark or the superficial, and the pith or the
central, portion; or, in what are called Endogens, into a super-
ficial coating analogous to bark, and a central confused mass of
wood and pith intermingled. The effect of this, in Exogens, is,
to divide the interior of a perennial stem into three parts, the
pith, the wood, and the bark.

Since the cellular tissue of the stem is not sensibly length-
ened more in one direction than in another, and as it is that
kind of organic matter, which, in stems, chiefly increases later-
ally, it is sometimes convenient to speak of it under the name
of the horizontal system; and, for a similar reason, to designate
the woody tubes which are plunged among it, and which
increase by addition of new tubes having the same direction as
themselves, as the perpendicular system.

Wood properly so called, and liber or inner bark, consist, in
Exogens, of the perpendicular system, for the most part; while
the pith and external rind or bark are chiefly formed of the
horizontal system. The two latter are connected by cellular
tissue, which, when it is pressed into thin plates by the woody
tubes that pass through it, acquires the name of medullary
rays. It is important, for the due explanation of certain
phenomena connected with cultivation, to understand this
point correctly, and to remember that, while the perpendicular
system is distributed through the wood and bark, the horizontal
‘system consists of pith, outer bark, and the medullary pro-
cesses which connect these two in Exogens, and of irregular
cellular tissue analogous to medullary rays in Endogens. So
that the stem of a plant is not inaptly compared to a piece of
linen, the horizontal cellular system representing the woof, and
the woody system the warp.

Whenever the stem is wounded, the injury is repaired by
the cellular or horizontal system, which forms granulations
that eventually coalesce into masses (Fig. VII. a), within which
the perpendicular system or woody matter (B) is subsequently
developed. Thus the restoration of the communication between
the two sides of an annular excision is effected by granulations

of the upper and lower lips, and of the medullary rays, which
Da

36 RENOVATION OF WOOD.

finally run together over the wood (Fig. VII. B), and form a
coating below which new liber and alburnum may be generated.

Fig. VII.—Reproduction of tissue upon a decorticated space.

In cuttings, the “callus,” which forms at the end placed in the
ground, is the cellular horizontal system, preparing for the
reception of the perpendicular system, which is to pass down-
wards in the form of roots. Many plants will endure extensive’
lacerations of their surface, and close up such wounds with
great facility. The well known fact of large inscriptions cut in
trees deeper than the bark (which inscriptions were effected by
removing very broad spaces of the bark and wood) being
covered over in time by new bark and wood, so as to be no
longer visible from the outside, sufficiently prove this. In such
cases, however, the reparation of the injury takes place chiefly,
if not exclusively, by the annual addition of new matter to the
lips only of the wound, the effect of which is to reduce its area
annually till at last the wound is closed.

RENOVATION OF WOOD. 37

“Certain it is,” says Mr. Towers, “that the bark of trees, when
wounded or cut in amputation of branches proceeding from the trunk,
converges from all points, and not solely, as some assert, from the upper-
most cross incision. The Elm-tree may furnish the best examples for
investigation, some of which are to be seen in every hedge-row. In the
public road leading from Waddon to Mitcham Common, there stand
several large Elms in front of a gentleman’s house. A wound was
made in one of them fully eighteen inches long, and in the middle five
or six wide, by which the bark stripped off to that extent, exposed the
wood below it. The young liber came rolling forward on every side,

Fig. VIII.—Closing up of an oval wound.

and is now seen approaching pretty equally, though with projections of
a redder colour, which mark the more recent processes. A line of posts
and rails, with a chain at top, extends along the front, close to the row
of trees. An abrasion or wound had been made in close contact with a
part, of the chain, which now is buried, and firmly fixed in the bark, by
a knotty boss formed of cortical matter.”

_ A striking instance of the power of. reparation by mere superficial
increase has been recorded by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley: ‘‘ A vigorous
Oak had been mischievously barked all round, and to such an extent as
to preclude all probability of ultimate union of the severed edges. The
tree, however, for a year or two seemed to suffer very little from the
injury, as new tissue was thrown out from the exposed extremities of the
medullary rays; and to such an extent, that had not the parties who

38

INSCRIPTIONS BURIED IN WOOD.

first injured the tree been so bent on its destruction as to cut away the
newly-formed tissue, union would have speedily been effected, and. the
tree in all probability preserved. The growth of new tissue was not
assisted by any thin strips of the inner park still adhering to the tree,
by which the descending tissue could have been conducted, but proceeded
simply as indicated above, from the medullary rays.”

M. Trécul has shown (Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Oct. 1853)
that the denuded surface of the young bark (in the Elm for example) is no
less capable of giving rise to a similar growth, and this whether the
strips of bark separated from the stem are torn upwards or downwards,
and are connected therefore with the tree above or below. New wood
and bark may also be formed where there is not a single leaf, as in the
case of vigorous trees cut off level with the ground. Many such
instances are on record, but none more remarkable than that described
by Goeppert in the Silver Fir (Abies picea, &c.) In some cases of this
sort there was an inosculation with the roots of other trees; in others
no such inosculation was possible.

The manner in which figures or letters carved in trees are gradually
filled up affords another example of the process in question. Of this
the following striking instance is illustrated in the Gardeners’ Chronicle
of 1841, by Professor Henslow :—

An Ash-tree in Coxwold, near Thirsk, was ordered to be felled and
split for firewood. Upon being riven asunder, the outer part of the
tree was cleft in two, like a case, leaving the inner portion of the trunk
entire ; and the rude inscription represented in the accompanying cut
was discovered, distinctly legible, both upon the inner part of the trunk,
and with the letters inverted, upon the outer casing.

There is no date to the inscription, but the period at which it was
made may be ascertained, with much probability, from the following
considerations. The tree is deposited in the Museum of the Hospital at
Kirk Leatham, between -Stockton-upon-Tees and Redcar. The porter
of the Hospital, now living, can vouch for its having been there upwards
of seventy years; and the tradition respecting the tree is, that it was
given by Lord Falconburg, from his manor at Coxwold, to Mr. Cholmley
Turner, who died on the 9th of May, 1757. It would therefore appear
that the tree had been cut down nearly a hundred years. Also, by the
number of rings in the wood, each indicating a year’s growth, the tree
appears to have been about fifty-five years old when the inscription was
made, and to have subsequently grown for nearly two hundred years.
The closeness of the rings near the circumference renders it highly
probable that the inscription was made about three centuries ago.
The height of the fragment of the tree is 5 feet 4 inches. The cir-
cumference of the inner block measures, at the upper part, 2 feet
1:5 inches; and at the lower part, 2 feet 10°75 inches: that of the
outer block measures 4 feet 8-5 inches at the upper part, and 6 fect

INSCRIPTIONS BURIED IN WOOD. 39

4-5 inches at the lower part. The manner in which this inscription has
been preserved and brought to light is in every respect most interesting.
The letters were cut through the bark into the alburnum, or white
wood below, and this very marring of the bark became the means of

{
vl

ed
= 2

Fig. [X.—Ancient inscription covered over by new wood.

perpetuating and discovering the inscription. As the tree continued to
grow, new wood would be formed between the inscription and the bark ;
and thus the record became buried for centuries in the heart of the tree.

In the bark of trees and shrubs, two distinct parts are
found: the one external and cellular; and the other internal,
resting upon the wood, and consisting of woody matter mixed
with cellular. The external is the RIND or cortical integument,

40 HEARTWOOD AND SAPWOOD.

the internal is the txsER. These two parts grow independently
of each other, by their inner faces; the rind belonging exclu-
sively to the horizontal system, the liber composed of the
perpendicular and horizontal systems intermixed.

In all Exogenous plants whose stems acquire an age beyond
that of a very few years, the wood is distinguishable into two
parts, heart-wood, and sap-wood or alburnum. The former is
more or less central, and coloured brown or some other tint ;
the latter is external, pale yellow, and much softer. Heart-
wood was originally alburnum, and altered its nature with
age, in consequence of the solid matter with which all its
tubes and vessels were choked up; alburnum is the youngest
wood, with all its communications free and open, no solid
matter having had time to accumulate within them. The
reason why solid matter collects in the tubes of wood, so as
gradually to choke them up, is this: the wood is the channel
through which all the fluid matter of a plant, whether crude
or digested, passes, in its way upwards to the leaves, or in
its horizontal direction from the bark to the central parts
of the stem. When sap leaves the earth and passes into the
stem, it ascends by the woody matter of the finest fibres of the
root: having left them, it flows into the new wood with which
those fibres are connected, and passes along this until it
reaches the leaves; on its return from them it descends
through the liber, in part passing off horizontally towards the
centre through the medullary rays. Wherever it passes it
deposits a portion of its solid parts; and, consequently, that
portion of the wood, namely, the oldest or the heart-wood,
through which it has passed the most frequently, will have the

greatest quantity of matter accumulated within it, independently
of all other reasons for its hardening.

In consequence of their peculiar manner of growth, new living matter
being continually formed near the circumference of the trunk, and over
that which is older, Exogenous trees arrive at an old age wholly
unknown in the rest of the creation, And although some of the state-
ments on this subject may be exaggerations, yet as there is a certainty
that some individual trees have lived for more than one thousand years
$0 it is quite possible that others may have existed for a very os

LONGEVITY OF PLANTS. 41

longer period. It is, however, not probable that Exogenous trees have
a power of indefinite life. Upon this subject the following remarks by
Professor Mohl are among the best which have been made :—

“The peculiarity of their organisation, and the unlimited power of
growth of plants, offer many difficulties to the definition of the duration
of plants, and have given: rise to many incorrect theories. Every
individual cell, and every individual organ, has a determinate end to
its life; but the entire plant has not, since the individual shoots run
through their periods of development quite independently, and only share
in the weakness of age of the older organs when these are no longer
able to convey to the young shoots the needful amount of nourishment,
in which case the latter do not die from deficiency of vital energy, but
are starved. It therefore depends wholly upon the mode of growth of a
plant whether this occurs or not. When a plant possesses a thallus
spreading horizontally by the growth of its circumference, it can
annually extend itself into a larger circle, after the old parts in the
centre have been long decayed, as is seen in old specimens of crustaceous
Lichens, in the fairy rings caused by Fungi, &e. In like manner when
a higher plant has a creeping stem, and possesses the power of sending
out lateral roots near the vegetating points, and in this way. conveys
nourishment directly to the young terminal shoots, the latter are wholly
independent of the death of the older parts of the stem and of the
primary roots, and there exists no internal cause for death in such a
plant. It is truly a different plant every new year and vegetates in a
new place, but there is no definite boundary between it and its prede-
cessors; such a plant is like a wave rolling over the surface of a sheet
of water; it is every moment another and yet always the same.
Thousands of inconspicuous plants, of Mosses, Grasses, Rushes, &c.,
have vegetated in this manner upon peat bogs and similar localities
perbaps for thousands of years. Plants with upright stems are placed
in much more unfavourable circumstances. It has been declared of
these also; and particularly of the Dicotyledonous trees (De Candolle,
Physiologie Végétale, ii. 984), that they have no internal cause for
death, but I believe incorrectly. Examples of very old trees, such as
De Candolle collected (e. g., Taxus 3000, Adansonia 5000, Taxodium
6000 years old, &c.), only prove, naturally, that death occurs at a very
late period in many plants placed in favourable circumstances, but not
that it does not necessarily happen. To me there appears to exist in all
trees, whether they belong to the Dicotyledons (Exogens), or, like the
Palms,. to the Monocotyledons (Endogens), an internal cause which
must produce death in time—namely, the increasing difficulty of
conveying the necessary quantity of nourishment to the vegetating
point, resulting from the elongation of the trunk from year to year.
Even when the force which carries the sap up, suffices to raise it to two
hundred feet or more (many Palms, as Ceroxylon andicola, Areca

42 LONGEVITY OF PLANTS.

oleracea, attain a height of one hundred and fifty to one hundred and
eighty feet; some Conifers, e. g., Pinus Lamberti, Abies Douglasi, of
more than two hundred feet), yet a maximum is reached there, and the
terminal shoot is less perfectly nourished every succeeding year, becomes
stunted more and more, and the tree at length dies. Ifwe are surprised
at the intensity of the vegetative force of individual plants, in conse-
quence of which it re-appears with new, unweakened energy in every
bud, so must we marvel at the force committed to so simple an organ as
a cell is, if we reflect what an influence it exerts upon the total economy
of nature, as one of the grandest of phenomena. The plant lives almost
solely upon inorganic substances; its cells are chemical laboratories in
which these are combined into organic compounds. The plant
prepares in this way not only the nutriment required for its own
development, but also the food on which the entire animal kingdom
depends. But plants not only nourish animals, they maintain the air
in a fit state for their respiration, since their breathing process removes
carbonic acid from the atmosphere and replaces it by oxygen gas. In
all these functions the plant is thoroughly dependent upon the outer
world ; its food is brought to it without its own cooperation by water and
air; its respiration takes place without activity of its own, through a
penetration of its substance by gases with which it is in contact, in
consequence of a physical law; not even does its internal circulation of
juices depend on a mechanical activity of a circulating system ; thus
every necessity for motion is removed. It is true we here and there
meet with movements in this or that organ, but these, occurring isolated
in the vegetable kingdom, are also altogether of subordinate kind in the
individual plant.”

The stem of a plant consists, then, of the following parts, viz. :
1. Wood, the oldest of which is heart-wood, and the newest
alburnum ; this is the substance through which sap ascends:
2. Bark, the external coating, down the liber or inner face of
which sap descends : 8. Pith, a central portion of the horizontal
system: and, 4. Medullary Rays, serving to connect the bark
with the pith, to hold all the parts together, and to maintain a
communication between the centre and the circumference of a
stem. The stems of all plants have these four parts more or
less evident. They are most visible in European trees or
shrubs, in any of which they can be distinctly observed ; they
are least apparent in annual and herbaceous plants, because
their lines of separation are not defined, all the four parts

adhering to each other so firmly as to render it difficult to
t

Shays
*

EXOGENS AND ENDOGENS. 43

separate them ; and in Endogens they are all mixed together,
in consequence of the manner of growth of those plants not
requiring the same kind of arrangement of parts asis indispen-
sable in Exogens.* ‘This will be sufficiently illustrated by.
the comparison of the stems of an Oak, a Cabbage, and an
Asparagus.

Tubers, the root-stock of the Iris and Ginger, what are
called the roots (corms) of the Colchicum and Crocus, are all
so many different forms of stem.

It is the property of a stem, during its growth, to form upon
its surface, at irregularly increasing or diminishing distances,
minute vital points of the same nature as that in which the
stem itself originated. Each of those points becomes, or may
become, a leaf-bud, capable of forming other stems or branches
like that on which it appeared; and each is protected and
nourished by a leaf which springs from the bark immediately
below the bud. Such leaf-buds are the parts that enable a
stem, when reduced to the state of a cutting, to produce a new
individual like itself; and, without them, propagation by
portions of the stem is, under ordinary circumstances, impos-
sible.

Leaf-buds are capable, under fitting circumstances, of
growing when separated from their mother branch, whether
they are planted in the earth, or inserted below the bark of a
kindred species. In the former case, they emit roots into the
soil; in the latter they produce wood, which adheres to the

* As this work excludes everything botanical that does not directly bear upon horti-
cultural purposes, I have not explained the difference between Exogens and Endogens ;
wishing the reader to refer for information upon such points to works upon pure
botany. Nevertheless as these words are of frequent occurrence, I may as well state
that they denominate the two greatest classes in the vegetable kingdom, to one or
other of which almost all the flowering plants of common occurrence are referable, and
that they derive their names from the peculiarity of their manner of growth. ExocEns
(literally, outside-growers) are plants whose woody matter is augmented annually by
external additions below the liber ; and, consequently, they are continually enclosing
within their centre the woody substances formed in previous years ; to such plants, a
lateral communication between the centre and the circumference, by means of
medullary rays, seems necessary. Enpogens (literally, inside-growers) are plants
whose woody matter is augmented annually by internal additions to their centre ; and,
consequently, they are continually pushing to their circumference the woody substance
formed in previous years.

44 LEAF-BUDS AND BULBS.

wood on which they may be placed. Under ordinary circum-
stances, leaf-buds will not form anywhere except at the axils *
of leaves; but occasionally they appear from other parts, such
as the root (see page 31), the spaces of the stem which lie
between the leaves (the internodes), and even from the leaves
themselves (see page 23). In all such cases, they are termed
adventitious, because of the uncertainty of their appearance.
A very remarkable state of them is the embryo-bud, a name
applied to the knaurs, knurs, nodules, or hard concretions,
found in the bark of various trees, which seem to have, occa-
sionally, the power of propagating the individual, notwith-
standing their deformed and indurated state. .

The connection between the formation of timber and the action of
buds will be considered hereafter, when speaking of the wood-forming
power of leaves, which are organs resulting wholly from the develop-
ment of buds. :

Buxss are buds of a particular kind, larger than common,
containing an unusual quantity of organizable matter, and
separable, spontaneously, from the part which bears them.

Fig. X.—a. Bulb of Tiger Lily contrasted with B. a Leaf-bud.

They are magazines in which certain plants store up the
nutritive matter assimilated by the leaves. The identity of a
bulb and a bud, in all essential circumstances, is obvious, if the

* The awil is the acute angle formed by a leaf and stem, at the origin of ¢ i
all bodies growing within that angle are said to be axillary, s he former ;

COURSE OF THE SAP. 45

bud of any tree (Fig. X. 8.) is compared with the bulbs of the
Tiger Lily (Fig. X. a.) - :

Since leaf-buds are thus the parents: of wood, one of the
means of propagating the individual to which they belong, the
origin of branches, and consequently the. source of the develop-
ment of leaves themselves, they may be considered the most
important organs of vegetation, so far as any one organ can be
called most important where all areso mutually dependent the
one on the other, and so powerfully concur in maintaining the
system of vegetable life, that it is difficult to abstract one part:
without impairing the efficiency of the remainder.

The office of the stem is, to convey the crude fluid obtained
by the roots from the soil, and called sap, into the leaves for.
elaboration, and then to receive it back again. Sap is,
originally, water holding in solution gaseous matter, espécially
carbonic acid, together with certain earths and salts, but as:
soon as it enters the stem, it dissolves’ the vegetable mucilage’
it finds there, and becomes denser than it was’ before ; it is
further changed by the decomposition of a part of its water,
acquires a saccharine character, and, rising upwards through
the whole mass of wood, and more especially the alburnum,:
takes up any soluble matter it passes among. [ts specific
gravity keeps thus increasing till it reaches the summit of the
branches; by degrees, it is wholly distributed among the
leaves. In the leaves it is altered, and then returned into the
general system, more especially into the fruit, and the bark,
through which it falls, passing off horizontally through the
medullary rays into the interior of the stem, and fixing itself
in the interior of the bark, especially of the root, when it
undergoes various changes, the results of which are known
under the name of vegetable secretions.

It may be said, that, in trees, the alburnum and liber have
each two equally important offices to perform: the alburnum
giving strength and solidity to the stem, and chiefly conveying
sap upwards ; the liber not only conveying sap downwards, but
covering over the alburnum, protecting it from the air, and
enabling it to form without interruption. The central wood is
_ of little consequence, and may be destroyed, as it constantly is

46 COURSE OF SAP NOT PREVENTED BY WOUNDS.

in hollow trees; and the outer rind is of comparatively small
importance, for it is continually perishing under the influence
of the atmosphere: but liber and alburnum are the seats of
vitality in trees and cannot be permanently injured without
destruction to the plant.

If indeed this were absolutely the case it would be indis-
pensable that liber and alburnum should be most carefully
guarded; and so they are in nature by the thick integument
of mere bark, which overlies them. But it continually hap-
pens that the usual vegetative processes are interrupted by
accidents, while the power of repairing injuries is so great
that many of the usual functions of a plant may be destroyed
without serious injury, such functions being performed ad
interim by other organs until the injury is repaired; so
that although, under ordinary circumstances, the sap of exogens
rises through the wood and descends through the liber, yet
the simplicity of structure in plants is such, that, together
with the permeability of their tissue, it enables them to propel
‘their fluids by lateral instead of longitudinal communica-
tions. The trunk of a tree has been sawed through beyond
the pith in four opposite directions; namely, from north to
south, from west to east, from south to north, and from east
to west, at intervals of a foot, so as completely to cut off
all longitudinal communication between the upper and lower
parts of the stem, as effectually as if those two parts had been
dissevered ; and yet the propulsion of the sap from the roots
into the head of the tree, and vice versé, went on as before:
which could only have been effected by a lateral transmission
of this fluid through the woody tissue. So when “ ringing”
is practised, and the alburnum is partially destroyed, the
descending fluid diverges into the stratum of wood beneath the
annulation; and when it has passed by, it again returns into
its accustomed channels.

A striking example of this was given by Mr. Curtis in the Gardeners’
Chronicle for 1846 (p. 597). It was the case of a Pollard Ash-tree
(Fig. XI.) struck with lightning on the 7th or 8th of May, 1845, and
thus deprived of the bark all round the trunk for a space of eight foot at
fig. 8, and of three feet two inches at fig. 1. Nevertheless in J uly 1846

DECORTICATED TREES. 47

the tree was in full leaf as shown in the cut. In this case the descend-
ing sap must have either accumulated above the wound, or, which is

Fig. XI.—Decorticated Ash-tree.

more probable, must have reached the lower part of the system by
passing through the wood itself, till it reached the point 2; as indeed
Knight showed must happen in other but less striking instances of
complete decortication (Physiol. Papers, p. 130), such as ringing.

48 ARTIFICIAL OBSTACLES TO SAP. ,

Some curious experiments upon this subject were contrived
by Mr. N. Niven (Gardeners’ Magazine,vol. xiv.). In one case,
he divested the stem of a tree of a deep ring of bark, and of the
first twelve layers of wood below it (Fig. XII.) ; nevertheless the

EE

Fig. XII.—Ringed tree, having wood removed as well as bark.

tree continued to live and be healthy. From the exposed
surface of the wood no sap made its appearance, except from a
cut which had been inadvertently made with the saw on one
side, to the depth of, perhaps, five or six layers of wood beyond
the twelve actually removed. From that cut a flow of sap took
place, and continued to run during the whole of the season in
which the operation was performed. In this case, the sap
cannot have ascended exclusively by the alburnum, but must
have chiefly passed through the central wood.

In another case, by making four deep and wide incisions into
the trunk of atree (Fig. XITT.), and removing the centre, the upper
part of the trunk was placed upon four separate pillars of bark

ARTIFICIAL OBSTACLES TO SAP. 49

and alburnum; and the tree upon which the operation was
performed continued to live for two years, after which it was
not observed. In this instance, no doubt can be entertained

Se

ietsu ll fog
h AH Hee SS eee 2,

@ ——— pea eee =< aul
tt —_ it

Ee

Fig. XILI.—Crucial incisions. in the trunk of a tree.

that the whole of the sap was directed into the four pillars,
after passing through which it was conveyed laterally both in
ascent and descent until the whole system was again filled.
The cause.of the flow of the sap appears to be the attraction
of it by the leaves, which continually diminish its quantity ;
and the necessity that the sap abstracted should be replaced by
a further supply sent upwards from the roots. The conse-
quence of this is, that sap always begins to flow at the ends of
branches, a circumstance which has led to the erroneous idea
that it proceeds from above downwards through the alburnum.
The flow of the sap must not, however, be confounded with the

motion of the sap, which takes place in the winter as well as
E

50 BLEEDING FROM ROOT AND STEM.

in the summer, and is a mere impletion of the system, caused
by the absorbing force of the roots, unaffected by the exhalation
of the leaves.

Occasionally they discharge sap in such abundance from the
wound that they are said to BLEED; and when the sap is red, as
in Pergularia sanguinolenta, the discharge has the appearance of
being identical with the bleeding of animals. When trees
begin to grow in the spring, sap flows abundantly from their
wounds; it may even be collected for fermentation, as occurs to
the Birch-tree, whose juice, obtained by tapping, in the early
spring, becomes converted into a sparkling wine; or, by boiling,
the saccharine matter dissolved in sap may be collected in abun-
dance, as is the case in North America with the Sugar Maple.
Tf allowed to continue for too long a time such bleeding causes
incurable debility or death. The roots of a tree will bleed as
much as the stem; and with the same consequences. A case
is mentioned by the Hon. Jas. Stuart Wortley of a very fine
Birch-tree, whose roots were cut through in making a new walk
near it. They were about five in number, and averaged about
an inch and a half in diameter, and continued bleeding so
incessantly for a fortnight, that the walk at the end of that time
stood in puddles, and the sap still bubbled up through the
gravel. The same circumstance was observed in lowering the
ground near a large Walnut-tree, when some great roots having
been cut through, so much bleeding took place in consequence
that the tree died.

A third occurrence of the same nature has been recorded by
Mr. Spencer, gardener to the Marquess of Lansdowne, at Bowood.
In forming anew walk, he had occasion to cut through three
large roots belonging to an adjoining Beech which remained
exposed. Some time about the middle of March he observed
the roots were bleeding considerably, and they continued to do
so till the end of April, the flow being materially influenced by
the state of the weather. By the beginning of April the bleeding
was sufficient to saturate the walks. On examining the roots
with an ordinary microscope, he observed the discharge pro-
ceeded from the whole of the exposed cells through the section ;

but, from the larger diameter of the vessels towards the exterior

CAUSE OF BLEEDING. 51

of the root, the bleeding, as a natural consequence, was greatest
at that part. He also remarked that bubbles of air were
frequently formed on the cut surface, evidently showing that
some kind of gas was present, either in the sap or in the
cells. The discharge was perfectly visible to the naked
eye, and in bright weather the microscope enabled him to see
distinctly the downward passage of the sap, through all the
root cells.

Such cases are doubtless much more common than is
supposed. The cause of the phenomena was in part demon-
strated more than a century since by Hales. In discussing
the question of the circulation or non-circulation of the
sap, this great experimentalist uses the following words ;—
“We see in many of the foregoing experiments, what
quantities of moisture trees do daily imbibe and perspire.
Now the celerity of the sap must be very great, if
that quantity of moisture must, most of it, ascend to the
top of the tree, then descend, and again ascend, before it is
carried off by perspiration. The defect of a circulation in
vegetables seems in some measure to be supplied by the much
greater quantity of liquor which the vegetable takes in, than
the animal, whereby its motion is accelerated; for by Experi-
ment Ist, we find the Sunflower, bulk for bulk, imbibes and
perspires seventeen times more fresh liquor than a man every
twenty-four hours. Besides, Nature’s great aim in vegetables
being only that the vegetable life be carried on and maintained,
there was no occasion to give its sap the rapid motion which
was necessary for the blood of animals. In animals, it is the
heart which sets the blood in motion, and makes it continually
circulate; but in vegetables, we can discover no other cause of
the sap’s motion but the strong attraction of the capillary sap
vessels, assisted by the brisk undulations and vibrations caused
by the sun’s warmth, whereby the sap is carried up to the top of
the tallest trees, and is there perspired off through the leaves :
but when the surface of the tree is greatly diminished by the
loss of its leaves, then also the perspiration and motion of the
sap is proportionably diminished, as is plain from many of the

foregoing experiments; so that the ascending velocity of the
E2

52 CAUSE OF ASCENT OF SAP.

sap is principally accelerated by the plentiful perspiration of
the leaves.”

The sap then ascends in consequence of an attracting force
exercised from above downwards by the foliage of plants. But
it is evident that this is only a partial explanation of the
phenomenon ; for it does not account for the ascent of sap in
winter when leaves are absent. In order to explain that fact
we must have recourse to the action of endosmose, a force the
effect of which is to produce propulsion. A tree may be
assumed to be a combination of hollow tubes freely communi-
cating with each other, and enclosed in a skin through which
Slwids are capable of being absorbed on the one hand and
expelled on the other. If we conceive a body of this kind, in
which the tubes are nearly empty, to have its lower extremity
plunged in water, the absorbing power of the skin at that part
will begin to introduce the water into the interior, and this
continuing to go on for a sufficient time, the tubes must neces-
sarily become at last filled with water rising upwards from
below. To effect this, no attracting force at the upper end of
the cylinder was necessary ; every particle of water which was
absorbed by the lower end, having driven before it a corre-
sponding volume of the water previously existing in the appara-
tus. Under the influence of this operation the tubes would in
time become full, and if unelastic the introduction of more
water would be impossible. But if such tubes and the skin
that encloses them were elastic and extensible, then any such
further quantity of water might be introduced as the apparatus
could receive without bursting. If we then suppose that the
one end of the apparatus were cut open the sides of the tubes
would collapse, and the water would be forced out till there was
no more left than the tubes held in their original unstretched
condition. A tree is just such an apparatus. Its tubes are
nearly empty at the fall of the leaf. During winter the roots
absorb water from the soil and fill the tubes again. By the
arrival of spring they are filled almost to bursting, and then if
the stem is cut it bleeds; or if the roots are cut they bleed.
Bleeding ceases as the leaves unfold. The Vine, the Walnut,
the Birch, are all as incapable of bleeding ag other trees when

BLEEDING. 53

their leaves are formed; because the leaves gradually empty
the tubes, put an end to their distension, and prevent its
recurrence so long as they remain in an active state.

The excessive loss of sap in the above-mentioned cases
would not have taken place if the roots had been wounded in
the summer or autumn. It is probable, moreover, that the
bleeding was increased by the unusual coldness of the spring
in which these instances occurred. Hales himself was aware
that sap falls back at night in consequence of the contraction
of the tubes by cold; Mr. Knight observed the same fact: and
it has more recently been proved experimentally by M. Biot.
It may therefore be supposed that excessive cases of bleeding
occur, because, in addition to the natural contraction of the
tubes of the wood, their mechanical contraction by unusual
cold has to be taken into account.

CHAPTER V.

—+—

ACTION OF LEAVES.

THEIR NATURE, STRUCTURE, VEINS, EPIDERMIS, STOMATES.—EFFECT OF
LIGHT.—DIGESTION OR DECOMPOSITION OF CARBONIC ACID.—INSENSIBLE
PERSPIRATION.— FORMATION OF SECRETIONS.—-FALL OF THE LEAF,—
FORMATION OF BUDS BY LEAVES.

A LEAF is an appendage of the stem of a plant, having one
or more leaf-buds in its axil. In those cases where no buds
are visible in the axil, they are, nevertheless, present, although
latent, and may be brought into development by favourable
circumstances. As this is a universal property of leaves, to
which there is no known exception, it follows that all the
modifications of leaves, such as scales, hooks, tendrils, &c., and
even the floral organs, hereafter to be described, may have the
same property.

Buds are, however, formed with difficulty by such modified leaves as
brown scales or mere membranous expansions, even although the
latter are capable of assuming the usual condition of leaves when
anything occurs to increase their force of development. The more
green, the more succulent, the more perfectly organized a leaf is, the
greater is its power of forming axillary buds; and vice versd. That
the power of forming buds really exists among leaves even when most
unlike their usual state is proved by such examples as that at p. 90 of
this work, where they are appearing even from among carpellary leaves.
In the Author’s Elements of Botany, p. 75, « case is figured of buds
from the axils of leaves in the state of petals, and he has now before him
an example of a Clematis Sieboldi, received from Mr. Wilson, Gardener
to the Earl of Burlington, in which six buds are formed in the axils of
stamens. Such examples are, however, wholly exceptional,

All leaves arrive at their final condition through intermediate
states ; and if their growth is arrested by any cause, whether

DEVELOPMENT OF LEAVES. 55

constitutional or accidental, then they remain fixed in the
state in which the arrest occurred. Owing to this cause, we find

them in the form of points, scales, straps, or perfect organs on
the same plant.

The history of their development has been explained by M. Trécul
better than by any other writer. The following is the substance of
his remarks :—The stem terminates in a very delicate cellular tumour
(growing point) from the sides of which the leaves are developed.
These first present themselves in the shape of still smaller tumours,
alternate, opposite, or verticillate. When opposite or verticillate leaves
are to be united at the base, a circular elevation precedes them on
the axis; when they are not confluent the tumours are isolated ; lastly,
when alternate leaves are sheathed, the sheath either takes its rise
from a circular eminence round the stem, or else the rudimentary
tumour which first shows itself, enlarges, and finally embraces the
stem, Leaves are developed after four principal types, the centrifugal
(from below upwards), the centripetal (from above downwards), the
mixed and the parallel. In the cENTRIFUGAL formation all the parts are
formed from below upwards, the leaf is pinnate, and furnished with
stipules, the petiole (rachis) first makes its appearance; on its sides
come the stipules, then the lower pair of leaflets, then the second pair,
then the third, fourth, and so on. If the leaf is supra-decompound the
primary tumour or rachis in growing throws out secondary petioles, and
these latter tertiary ones, &c., according to the composition of the leaf
at the extremity of which the leaflets form. The development of simple
leaves may be explained by that of the Lime-tree. This leaf commences
with a rudimentary tumour at the apex of the stem. This tumour
lengthens and enlarges, leaving at its base a contraction which repre-
sents the petiole. The blade, at first entire, is soon divided from side
to side by a sinus. The lower lobe is the first secondary nervure ; the
upper part is subdivided in the same manner five or six times, in order
to form as many nervures of the same sort. About the time that the
third or fourth upper lobe makes its appearance, the lower one, which was
formed first, having also extended, becomes sinuous at its edges. These
sinuosities are the indications of the origin of five or six ramifications
of the lower nervure. At this period the leaf is furnished with as
many toothings as there are nervures. But in a short time fresh
toothings appear between those first formed, these correspond with the
development of as many secondary nervures. The nervures which
unite transversely with the adjoining nerves are produced at the same
time. The hairs which cover the under surface of the leaf are also
formed from below upwards. Thus the various kinds of nervures in the
leaf of a Lime-tree develope like the different sorts of shoots in the tree
that bears them. To leaves developed cENTRIPETALLY belong those of

56 ANATOMY OF LEAVES.

Burnet, Roses, &c. In these plants the terminal leaflet is produced
before all the others, the pair of leaflets nearest the apex of the leaf
next make their appearance, then the second pair, the third, and so on,
from the apex to the base. All digitate and radiate leaves belong to
the centripetal mode of formation. In Potentilla reptans, &c., not
only do the leaflets grow from the top downwards, but their secondary
nervures and toothings appear in the same way. In plants belonging
to the MIXED TYPE, the two preceding modes of development are combined.
The lobes of the leaves of Acer platanoides, &., and the midribs of
those lobes which are digitate, form from above downwards; the lower
lobes are produced last, but the secondary nervures and the toothings
are developed like those of the Lime-tree. The PARALLEL FORMATION is
common to many Endogens: All the nervures are formed in a parallel
manner; but in this, as well as in the case of dicotyledonous plants,
the sheath is the first that makes its appearance (Carex). The leaf
lengthens more especially by the base of the blade, or that of the
petiole when it exists (Chamerops) ; the sheath, often extremely small,
does not increase in growth till a later period ; the same holds true with
regard to Exogens when they have a sheath. As regards the growth of
leaves, which has been confounded with their mode of formation,
M. Trécul has shown that all leaves which are furnished with sheaths, or
those which are very much protected by having their lower portions
enveloped with other organs, grow most by the base; on the other
hand, those of which the whole petiole is exposed to the air at a very
early period, in consequence of the stem lengthening, grow much more
towards the upper part of the petiole (Tropeolum majus, Aisculus, &c.)
Nevertheless, there is a short space near the insertion of the petiole in
the blade where the increase in length is less than a little lower down.

Considered with respect to its anatomical structure, a leaf is
an expansion of the bark, consisting of cellular substance,
among which are distributed veins. The former is an expan-
sion of the rind; the latter consist of woody matter arising
from the neighbourhood of the pith, and from the liber. As
the tissue forming veins has a double origin, it is arranged in
two layers, united firmly during life, but separable after death,
as may be seen in leaves that have been lying for some time in
water. Of these layers, one is superior and arises from the
neighbourhood of the pith, the other inferior and arises from
the liber ; the former maintains a connection between the wood
and leaf; the latter establishes a communication with the bark.
Since sap, or ascending fluid, rises through the wood, and more
especially the alburnum, afterwards descending through the

THE EPIDERMIS. 57

liber, it follows from what has been stated, that a leaf is an
organ of which the upper system of veins is in communication
with the ascending, and the lower system with the descending,
current of sap.

This statement must be understood to express nothing more than
what may be called the typical condition of a leaf, and especially of
such as are thin and abundantly furnished with veins. In succulent
plants no layers can be distinguished, but the veins are dispersed among
pulp; in membranous leaves it is uncertain whether more than one
layer is present ; finally in some there are three distinct layers, as in
Brexia spinosa, which has a middle system of coarsely and irregularly
netted veins, and immediately below both the upper and lower skin a
layer of much finer and closer oblique veins.

A leaf has moreover a skin, or epidermis, drawn over it.
This epidermis is often separable, and is composed of an
infinite number of minute cells or cavities, originally filled with
fluid, but everitually dry and filled with air. In plants
growing naturally in damp or shady places it is very thin;
in others inhabiting hot, dry, exposed situations, it is hard
and thick, its texture varies between the two extremes,
according to the nature of the species. The epidermis is
pierced by numerous invisible pores, called stomates, through
which the plant breathes and perspires. Such stomates are
generally largest and most abundant in plants which inhabit
damp and shady places, and which are able to procure at all
times an abundance of liquid food; they are fewest and least
active under the opposite conditions. It will be obvious, that,
in both these cases, the structure of a leaf is adapted to the
peculiar circumstances under which the plant to which it
belongs naturally grows. Now as this structure is capable of
being ascertained by actual inspection with a microscope, it
follows, as a necessary consequence, that the natural habits of
an unknown plant may be judged of with some certainty by a
microscopical examination of the structure of its epidermis.
The rule will evidently be, that plants with a thick epidermis,
and only a few small stomates, will be the inhabitants of
situations where the air is dry and the supply of liquid food
small; while those with a thin epidermis, and a great’ number

58 ITS PROPERTIES.

of large stomates, will belong to a climate damp and humid ;
and intermediate degrees of structure will indicate intermediate
atmospherical and terrestrial conditions. It is, however, to be
observed, that the relative size of stomates is often a more
important mark in investigations of this nature than their
number; those organs being in many plants extremely
numerous, but small and apparently capable of action in a very
limited degree; while in others, where they are much less
numerous, they are large and obviously very active organs.
Thus the number of stomates in a square inch of the epidermis
of Crinum amabile is estimated at 40,000, in that of Mesem-
bryanthemum at 70,000, and of an Aloe at 45,000; the first
inhabiting the damp ditches of India, the last two natives of
the dry rocks of the Cape of Good Hope: but the stomates of
Crinum amabile are among the largest that are known, and
those of Mesembryanthemum and Aloe are among the smallest,
so that the 70,000 of the former are not equal to 10,000 of the
Crinum. Again the Yucca aloifolia has four times as many
stomates as a species of Cotyledon in my collection, but those
of the latter are about the 74, of an inch in their longer
diameter, large and active, while the stomates of the Yucca are
not more than zo, of an inch long in the aperture, and
comparatively inert. The Yucca, therefore, with its numerous
stomates, has weaker powers of perspiration and respiration
than the Cotyledon.

A leaf, then, is an appendage of the stem of a plant, con-
sisting of an expansion of the cellular rind, into which veins
are introduced, and enclosed in a skin through which respiration
and perspiration take place. It is in reality a natural con-
trivance for exposing a large surface to the influence of external
agents, by whose assistance the crude sap contained in the
stem is altered and rendered suitable to the particular wants
of the species, and for returning into the general circulation
the fluids in their matured condition. In a word, the leaf of a
plant is its lungs and stomach, traversed by a system of veins.

It is well known to Gardeners that the efficiency of leaves is much
promoted by their being kept perfectly clean. The great cause of the
unhealthiness of plants in towns is the amount of dirt which unavoidably

ACTION OF THE EPIDERMIS. 59

collects upon their surface. Ifsuch impurities are constantly washed off,
plants will grow as well in cities as in country places. This was found
experimentally by M. Garreau, who in the course of his inquiries into
the functions of the skin of plants, found that soap and water had great
value ; plants well washed acquiring a power of absorption much
beyond what they possessed in their unwashed condition. Thus the
rate of absorption in the Tangiers Ferula was as 4 to 0 after ablution;
and in the yellow Gentian as 30 to 20. In like manner, the petals of
the Peony took up five and six times as much after as before being
cleaned; and the leaves of the Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Ivy, and
Clematis about twice as much. It was found that soap and water had
a far greater cleansing effect than mere water ; thus, a Fig-leaf, which
had been lathered, absorbed 90 parts, while after a mere water-bath it
took up only half the quantity; and a bramble, which soap and water
provided with 130 parts of water absorbed, could only consume 10 parts
when cleaned with water alone. It was thus shown that perfect
cleanliness is as indispensable to plants as to animals, and that dirty
gardening is necessarily bad gardening. Plants breathe by their
leaves; and if their surface is clogged by dirt of whatever kind, their
breathing is impeded or prevented. Plants perspire by their leaves ;
and dirt prevents their perspiration. Plants feed by their leaves, and
dirt prevents their feeding. So that breathing, perspiration, and food,
are fatally interrupted by the accumulation of foreign matters upon
leaves. Let any one, after reading this, cast an eye upon the state of
plants in sitting-rooms, or ill-kept greenhouses; let them draw a white
handkerchief over the surface of such plants, or a piece of smooth white
leather, if they desire to know how far they are from being as clean as
their nature requires. Half the business of a good gardener consists
in sponging and washing the leaves of his plants.

As the leaf is an extension of the rind of a stem, its
epidermis is also an extension of the skin of the same part;
and hence it is that in plants which produce no true leaves,
such as the Stapelia, the office of the leaf is performed by the
rind and epidermis of the bark.

The functions of respiration, perspiration, and digestion,
which are the particular offices of leaves, are essential to the
health of a plant; its healthiness being in proportion to the
degree in which these functions are duly performed. Conse-
quently, whatever tends to impede the free action of leaves,
tends also to diminish the healthiness of a plant.

One of the translators of this work objects to the word digestion
employed in the preceding paragraph, upon the ground that the essen-

60 SOLAR LIGHT.

tiality of digestion in the animal organism consists in the conversion
of food into a homogeneous fluid, a function which plants do not
exercise. But digestion also means the conversion of raw materials
into substances capable of being assimilated or rejected; and in that
sense the word is here employed.

These functions are performed by means of the vital forces
of vegetation, which we cannot estimate or comprehend,
assisted by the influence of an external agent, the nature of
whose action may be understood from its effects. That agent
is solar light.

It is the property of solar light, when striking upon the leaf
of a plant, either directly or indirectly to cause: 1. A de-
composition of carbonic acid; 2. An extrication of oxygen ;
and, 8. Insensible perspiration. By their vital forces plants
appear to decompose water, independently of the action of
light.

Carbonic acid is originally introduced into the interior of a
plant, either dissolved in the water it imbibes by its roots, or by
attraction from the atmosphere, or by the combination of oxygen
resulting from the decomposition of water or from other sources,
with the carbon in its interior. When a leaf is exposed to the
direct influence of the sun, it gives off oxygen, by decomposing
the carbonic acid; whereupon the carbon remains behind in
the interior of the leaf in a solid state. In the total absence
of solar light, there is little or no extrication of gaseous matter,
and what little is given off will be found to be carbonic acid,
which plants exhale at all times in small quantities; oxygen
however, which was before expelled, is inhaled. Hence plants
decompose carbonic acid during the day, and acquire it again
during the night, and, during the healthy state of a plant, the
decomposition by day, and recovery by night, of this gaseous
matter, is perpetually going on. The quantity of carbonic acid
decomposed is in proportion to the intensity of the light which
strikes a leaf, the smallest amount being in shady places; and
the healthiness of a plant is, ceteris paribus, in proportion to
the quantity of carbonic acid decomposed; therefore, the
healthiness of a plant should be in proportion to the quantity
of light it receives by day.

EFFECTS OF LIGHT. 61

**Most physiologists have connected the exhalation of carbonic acid
during night with the absorption of oxygen from the atmosphere, and
consider this function as the real respiration of plants, which (as we
know) produces in animals a decarbonisation of the blood. There is
scarcely an opinion which rests on such a feeble basis. The water
received by roots contains carbonic acid, which is not decomposed in
the absence of light, but remains dissolved in the sap which pervades
all parts of a plant; and every moment, along with the water evapo-
rating through the leaves is a proportionate amount of carbonic acid
expelled. Soil in which plants vegetate. luxuriantly contains a certain
quantity of moisture (an indispensable condition of their life), and such
a soil is never deficient in carbonic acid, either derived from the atmo-
sphere or from the putrefaction of vegetable matter. No water, either
rain or that of springs, is free from carbonic acid; and at no period of
the life of a plant does the capability of its roots to absorb moisture,
and consequently air and carbonic acid, altogether cease, Can it
therefore surprise us that carbonic acid, conjointly with the evaporating
water of the plant, is returned to the atmosphere, when the cause of
the fixation of carbon, viz. light, is deficient? That exhalation of
carbonic acid is as unconnected with the process of assimilation and
with the life of a plant as the absorption of oxygen. They do not bear
the least relation to each other; the one is a purely mechanical, the
other a chemical process. A wick of cotton shut up in a lamp which
contains a fluid impregnated with carbonic acid will be in just the
same position as a living plant in darkness. Water and carbonic acid
are absorbed by the power of capillary attraction, and both evaporate
again on the surface of the wick.” —Liebig’s Organic Chemistry, 1840.
The foregoing passage is objected to by some physiologists who do not
believe that carbonic acid can pass through « plant without being
decomposed. And Mr. Haseldine Pepys, in his careful experiments on
Vegetable Respiration, arrived at the conclusion that no carbonic acid
whatever is parted with either by night or day.

Whether plants do or do not give off some small quantity of carbonic
acid, this at least is certain, that they do not in this way deteriorate
the atmosphere in any appreciable degree. If there is one absurdity
among popular prejudices greater than another, or leading more to
privation of comfort when most wanted, it is that of fancying that
growing plants vitiate the air of an apartment by the carbonic acid they
emit. The reasoning on which this is founded is as follows:—
1. Growing plants form carbonic acid in their interior, by absorbing
oxygen from the atmosphere; they thus rob the air of that which is
most necessary to animal life, and therefore they are prejudicial, espe-
cially to sick persons. 2. Growing plants also give out carbonic acid
or fixed air, a pernicious gas, in which animal life cannot be main-
tained; therefore, they should be expelled from all apartments, espe-

62 EFFECTS OF LIGHT.

cially those oceupied by invalids: for how can a physician, careful of
the health of his patient, permit the presence of objects which are thus
incessantly contaminating the air? It may be true that plants destroy
oxygen gas and form carbonic acid; butif everything that produces
that effect was also to be expelled, the patient herself must be
separated from herself, for a human being consumes more oxygen, and
gives off more carbonic acid, in five minutes, than all the plants in a
sitting-room in twenty-four hours. It is wonderful that this notorious
fact should not have removed the prejudice about plants deteriorating
the air of sitting-rooms. It is still more surprising that the idea
should be retained at the present day, at least when it is also well
known that plants, in fact, purify instead of vitiating the atmosphere.
If it is true that they do a minute amount of harm, by destroying some
vital air, and producing some fixed air, it is equally true that they do
a great amount of good by producing a large quantity of vital air, and
destroying a large quantity of fixed air. It is one of the most beautiful
provisions we know of in nature, that the deleterious air breathed forth
by animals is purified and rendered salubrious by plants; if it were
otherwise, the globe would become uninhabitable. But every leaf,
every blade of grass—nay, the finest of the green silken threads that
float about in pools of water, is incessantly occupied, during daylight,
in effecting this most important change of pestilent air into an atmo-
sphere of life. One thing, however, is to be observed regarding plants.
Although it is false that they contaminate the air of a sitting-room, in
the way that is supposed, or in any other way, in the majority of cases,
yet it is certain that unpleasant effects are occasionally produced upon
peculiar constitutions by their odour. The flowers of the glaucous
Magnolia are said to bring on sickness and headache; the Jonquil, the
Tuberose, and the Lilac, are apt to cause faintness—an effect, indeed,
which we have seen produced by a few Violets, even in the open air;
and Linneus mentions a case of death, said to have been occasioned by
sleeping in a room where the Oleander was in flower. But this class of
effects does not in any way justify the exclusion of all plants from
sitting-rooms ; it only shows the necessity of avoiding the presence of
such as have powerful and oppressive odours.

But, while this is true as a general axiom, it is necessary
to observe that some plants are naturally inhabitants of shady
situations, and are so organised as to be fit for such places and
for no others: plants of this description will not endure full
exposure to the sun; not because an abundant decomposition
of carbonic acid is otherwise than favourable to them, but
because their epidermis allows the escape of water too freely by
insensible perspiration, under the solar stimulus,

MOONLIGHT. 63

As far as is yet known, solar light alone has the power of
producing any practical effect upon vegetation. That of the
moon has, however, been shown to be not without influence.
That the moon has a great mechanical effect upon our globe is
undisputed. Of this, we need not say that the perpetually
alternate ebbing and flowing of the tide affords the most
evident proof. But, whilst the effects of the moon are
admitted to be extremely powerful in this respect, the influence
of her light, except as regards illumination, has been
often considered by scientific men as inappreciable; and the
proverbs to the contrary, current among the unlearned, have
been accordingly estimated as popular errors. It has, however,
been at last demonstrated that the moon’s rays are very far
from powerless. We learn from a note by M. Zantedeschi
(Comptes Rendus, October, 1852), that these rays do affect vege-
tation. This philosopher states that, “the influence, physical,
chemical, and physiological: of the moon's light, which has
hitherto been the object of so much research and speculation
amongst scientific and agricultural writers, has been recently
investigated by him in consequence of his having had occasion
to give a historical summary of the works on the subject. In
the course of his inquiries he found it necessary to clear many
doubtful points, in doing which his attention was forcibly
arrested by the movements exercised in mere moonlight, under
certain circumstances, by the organs of plants; and this led
him to make the whole subject a serious and profound study.
His observations were commenced in 1847, in the Botanic
Garden at Venice; they were continued in 1848 in the Botanic
Garden at Florence, and at Padua in 1850, 1851, and 1852.
In the whole series of his experiments M. Zantedeschi always
remarked certain motions in plants having a delicate organiza-
tion as soon as they were brought under the influence of
the lunar rays. In those experiments the rays were always
diffused, being neither concentrated by lens nor mirror. Such
movements could not be obtained by the action of heat, in
whatever way thermal influences were applied. It was in vain
to elevate or depress the temperature: in the absence of
moonlight the phenomena in question could not be elicited.

64 MOONLIGHT.

The plants on which M. Zantedeschi principally experi-
mented were Mimosa ciliata, Mimosa pudica, and Desmodium
gyrans. He always took great care to determine exactly the
position of the leafstalks and leaflets of the plants after they
had been exposed to the open air, and before they were directly
illuminated by the lunar rays. He thus avoided any causes of
error which might have arisen from the imperceptible motion
of the air, or from a slight change of temperature ; and he
satisfied himself fully that the effects observed did result
entirely from the action of the rays of light from the moon.
Without entering into minute details, it is sufficient to say
that the results were ascertained when the temperature of the
air was 70° Fahr.; and when Saussure’s hygrometer indicated a
medium state of humidity. Under such conditions, the leaf-
stalks of Mimosa ciliata were raised half a centimetre, or about
four-tenths of an inch; those of the Mimosa pudica were raised
one inch and two-tenths; whilst the leaflets of Desmodium
gyrans exhibited distinct vibrations. It was thus demonstrated
that moonlight has the power, per se, of awakening the Sensitive
Plant, and consequently that it possesses an influence of some
kind on vegetation. It is true that the influence was very
feeble, compared with that of the sun; but the action, such as
it is, is left beyond further question. This being so, the
question remains; what is the practical value of the fact?
It will immediately occur to the reader that possibly the screens
which are drawn down over hothouses at night, to prevent loss
of heat by radiation, may produce some unappreciated injury
by cutting off the rays of the moon, which Nature intended to
fall upon plants as much as the rays of the sun.

Even artificial light is not wholly powerless. De Candolle succeeded
in making Crocuses expand by lamp-light, and Dr. Winn, of Truro,
has suggested that the oxy-hydrogen lamp may be made subservient to
horticulture in the long dark days of winter. It does not, however
appear that this hypothesis rests upon any experimental basis,

?

The mere fact of plants absorbing water from the earth
would render it probable that they have some means of parting
with a portion of it by their surface; but that they do perspire

PERSPIRATION. 65

is susceptible of direct proof, and is by no means a mere
matter of inference. We do not indeed see vapour flying off
from the surface of plants; neither do we from that of animals,
except when the air is so cold as to condense the vapour; yet
we know that in both cases perspiration is perpetually going
on, and it would appear that in plants it takes place more
abundantly than in animals. If a plant covered with leaves is
placed under a glass vessel, and exposed to the sun, the sides
of the vessel are speedily covered with dew, produced by the
condensation of the insensible perspiration of the plant. If
the branch of a plant is placed in a bottle of water, and the
neck of the bottle is luted to the branch, so that no evaporation
can take place, nevertheless the water will disappear; and
this can only happen from its having been abstracted by the
branch which lost it again by insensible perspiration. Hales,
an excellent observer, devised many experiments connected with
this subject ;* among others the following, which he relates
thus :—“ August 18. In the very dry year 1723, I dug down
two and a half feet deep to the root of a thriving baking Pear-
tree, and laying bare a root half an inch in diameter (Fig. XIV.),
I cut off the end of the root at i, and put the remaining stump
(i n) into the glass tube d r, which was an inch in diameter, and
eight inches long, cementing it fast at r; the lower part of the
tube d 2 was eighteen inches long, and a quarter of an inch
diameter in bore. . . . Then I turned the lower end of the
tube (z) uppermost, and filled it full of water, and then imme-
diately immersed the small end z into the cistern of mercury
at the bottom, taking away my finger which stopped up the end
of the tube z. . . . The root imbibed the water with so much
vigour, that in six minutes’ time the mercury was raised up the
tube d z as high as 2, namely, eight inches... . The next
morning at eight o’clock the mercury was fallen to two inches
in height, and two inches of the end of the root 7 were yet
immersed in water. As the root imbibed the water, innume:
rable air bubbles issued out at i, which occupied the upper
part of the tube at 7 as the water left it.” On another occasion

* See Vegetable Staticks, London, 1727.

66 PERSPIRATION.

he planted a sunflower three and a half feet high in a garden
pot, which he covered with thin milled lead, cementing all the
joints so that no vapour could escape except through the sides

Fig. XIV.—Hales’s experiment to determine the amount of perspiration,

of the pot and through the plant itself; but providing an
aperture, capable of being stopped, through which the earth in
the pot could be watered. After fifteen days, viz., from J uly 3
to August 8, he found, upon making all necessary allowances
for waste, that this sunflower plant, three feet and a half high,

PERSPIRATION. 67

with a surface of 5616 square inches above the ground, had
perspired as follows :—

OvUNcES AVOIRDUPOIS.

In twelve hours of a very dry warm day. ‘i . 30,
On another day . ‘ : ‘ » «» 20,
In a dry warm night wiition’ dy 5 r a
In a night with some small dew 5 . «te! 08

and that when the dew was copious, or there was rain during
the night, the plant and pot were increased in weight two or
three ounces. Other persons have instituted other experiments
of a similar nature, the result of all which is, that the insensible
perspiration of plants is very considerable. Hales says his
sunflower perspired seventeen times more than a man. There
is, however, this important peculiarity in vegetable perspiration,
that it takes place only or principally in sunlight. The last
experiment shows that, while the sunflower was losing from
twenty or thirty ounces of water daily during the day, it lost
only three ounces during the night without dew, and that there
was no loss whatever if a slight dew were present. Here it
is probable that the small amount which was lost at night was
parted with by the sides of the garden pot, and that the
plant itself lost nothing ; for it is in evidence that the perspi-
ration of plants is in proportion to the quantity of sunlight
that strikes them, and that in darkness they perspire little or
not at all.* It is no doubt true, that in a dry atmosphere
plants will lose their water day and night; but it is equally
certain that under such circumstances they will lose very
much more by day than by night. They will, however, lose
much more by day in a dry atmosphere in a given time, than
they will in an atmosphere abounding in moisture.

Although perspiration thus appears to be principally excited
by the solar rays, and to be in a given plant in proportion to
their intensity, yet we are not authorised in concluding that
perspiration is not increased or diminished by the medium in

* M. De Candolle distinguishes between exkalaison, or perspiration, which is a
vital action, and deperdition or evaporation, which is merely physical. But the
latter is too small in amount to be worth taking into account for practical purposes.

F2

68 GARREAU’S EXPERIMENTS.

which a plant grows. Submerged in water, perspiration is
necessarily arrested; in an ordinary atmosphere, it will be in
proportion to the quantity of elastic vapour the atmosphere may
contain ; and it is probable, although there are no experiments
upon the subject, that it is increased in proportion to the
rarefaction of the air.

Among the experiments of M. Garreau to which allusion has been
already made, was one on the relative amount of perspiration by the
two surfaces of ordinary foliage. Leaves growing on healthy plants
were selected, and u circular portion inclosed between two closely
fitting glass receivers, so arranged that the leaf formed the division
between the two glasses—the upper surface was in the one glass, whilst
the under surface of the leaf was in the other. The quantity of
moisture given off was ascertained by placing in each glass a weighed
portion of dry chloride of calcium, which, being very greedy of
moisture, would absorb all the vapour as fast as the surface of the
leaves gave it out. The result of this experiment was that the lower
surface of leaves gives off, from an equal quantity, three times as much
as the upper surface; sometimes the proportion was as high as five to
one; and the ratio was-independent of the -position of the leaf itself.
This exhalation of water has some connection with the number and size
of the stomates, but is by no means wholly dependent on it, as there is
evidently a large quantity of water given off independently of them.
The evaporation is most abundant along the course of the nerves, and
in those parts of the epidermis, on which there is the least quantity of
oily matter. -Hence it is apparent why carefully washing with soap
and water proves so beneficial (see p. 58), The operation increases
greatly the power of evaporation.

All such experiments teach us that under ordinary circumstances the
growth of a plant causes the formation and development of certain
substances, Which in time fill up its pores, check perspiration, and
consequently interfere with the nourishment and further growth of the
plant. But, on the one hand, it is possible that in hot weather these
matters may be useful in checking extreme perspiration, and in
diminishing for the time the powers of the plant to absorb too much
food from the air, or to part with water and oxygen too rapidly. On
the other hand, the effect of rain must be to wash away a portion of
these deposits, and so to favour the perspiration and consequent growth
of the plant. Moreover, as the more heat a plant is exposed to, the
more it perspires, and the faster it grows, the greater will the tendency
be to fill up its pores; so it follows that when plants are exposed to
great heat in a close house, and are not washed or syringed, they are
placed in an unnatural condition, where the care of the gardener
defeats, to some extent, the object which he has in view.

FORCE OF SUCTION BY LEAVES. 69

Since a plant does not perspire at night, and since its
absorbing points, the roots, remain during that period in con-
tact with the same humid medium as during the day, they will
attract fluid into the system of the plant during the night, and,
consequently, the weight of the individual will be increased, as
Hales found to be the case. In like manner, if plants in the
shade are abundantly supplied with moisture at the roots, they
also will gain more than they can lose; and, as this will be a
constant action, the result must necessarily be to render all
their parts soft and watery. ,

It is evident, from what has been stated, that leaves must
derive the food they digest from the earth through the medium
of the roots, and from the air; and that they, while alive,
maintain a kind of perpetual sucking action upon the stem,
which is communicated to the spongelets. That this must be
of a very powerful nature is apparent from the fact, that the
smallest leaf at the extremity of the branch of a lofty tree must
assist in setting in action the absorbing power of roots, at a
distance equal, perhaps, to three thousand times its own length.
If this reciprocal action is not maintained without interruption,
and if anything occurs to check it during the period of vege-
tation, the plant will suffer in proportion to the amount of
interruption. For example, if the roots are placed in a warmer
medium than the branches, and are thus induced to absorb fluid
faster than the slower action of the leaves can consume it, the
superfluous sap will burst through the stem and distend its
tissue till the excitability is impaired or destroyed. Or if, on
the other hand, a branch is caused to grow in a warm medium;
while the roots remain in a very cold medium, the former
will consume the liquid sap faster than the latter can
supply it, and the consequence will be, that the leaves will
die, or the fruit will fall off, or the flowers be unable toset their
fruit, from want of a constant and sufficient supply of food; or
the fruit will shrivel, or, as it is said, will “shank.” Not that it
is necessary for the temperature of the earth and air to be
equal, for this does not happen in nature; but it is requisite
that they should have some near relation to each other.

It is generally, however, believed, that leaves absorb fluid

70 FORMATION OF SECRETIONS.

from the air. Their stomates appear well adapted for that
purpose, by their position in most abundance on the under side
of leaves; and the possibility of recovering drooping or sickly
plants, by syringing their epidermis copiously, seems to render
this fact almost certain. It is, however, imagined by some,
that leaves have no power of absorbing water, even in an elastic
state ; and that the renovation of plants by syringing is merely
owing to a diminution of perspiration, which is improbable.

It is to the action of leaves,—to the decomposition of their
carbonic acid, and of their water; to the separation of the
aqueous particles of the sap from the solid parts that were
dissolved in it ; to the deposition thus effected of various earthy
and other substances, either introduced into plants, as silex
and metallic salts, or formed there, as the vegetable alkaloids;
to the extrication of nitrogen; and, probably, to other causes
as yet unknown,—that the formation of the peculiar secretions
of plants, of whatever kind, is owing. And this is brought
about principally, if not exclusively, by the agency of light.
Their green colour becomes intense, in proportion to their
exposure to light within certain limits, and feeble, in proportion
to their removal from it; till, in total and continued darkness,
they are entirely destitute of green secretion, and become
blanched or etiolated. The same result attends all their other
secretions; timber, gum, sugar, acids, starch, oil, resins, odours,
flavours, and all the numberless narcotic, acrid, aromatic,
pungent, astringent, and other principles derived from the
vegetable kingdom, are equally influenced, as to quantity and
quality, by the amount of light to which the plants producing
them have been exposed.

It is evident that the possibility of the downward distribution
described in the previous paragraph rests upon the certainty that
elaborated sap descends and is dispersed through the system. That this
occurs is so certain, that it would have been needless to maintain it by
further proof if some modern naturalists had not ventured to call it in
question. To deny it is tantamount to questioning the existence of
wood, or its formation as it appears to our eyes when the bark is
stripped from a young growing shoot; asin a Lilac for example. In
such a case new wood can be demonstrated to descend from each leaf
downwards, till it is lost among the multitude of descending currents.

DESCENDING SAP. 71

Upon this has been built the theory that wood grows downwards from
leaves—which is now known to be erroneous; but although wood does
not descend from leaves, it is certain that the organised matter out of
which wood is formed does descend. If, indeed, the descent of elabo-
rated sap is denied, it becomes impossible to explain why, when a ring
of bark is removed from a branch, the new growth takes place princi-
pally on the upper edge of the wound and very slightly on the lower;
and why gum, prepared by the leaves of a Potato, is afterwards found
in the tubers, in the final form of starch. It is impossible for those
who have any practical acquaintance with living plants not to agree
with Prof, Mohl (The Vegetable ceil, p. 71, English edition), that.a denial
of a descending current of sap in bark is quite incomprehensible,
Certainly, as he says, it is no improvement upon the theory which men
attempt to cast aside to say that increased growth above an annular
wound is explained by artificial interruption of the upward current of
crude sap, in consequence of which the fluids contained in the upper part
of the plant must soon become greatly concentrated and potential for
development. ‘‘ When we can succeed in fattening an animal by
depriving it of a portion of its accustomed food this explanation may be
received as satisfactory.”

This explains why there is usually more wood on the south
side of a tree than on the north; and why depriving trees of
their branches (and leaves) is invariably attended by a
diminution of the quantity of timber.

Upon this curious subject some of the best observations are those of
Van Hall, as recorded in one of the reports of the Ray Society. This
gentleman remarked that the growth of trees in thickness only com-
mences after the leaves are capable of fulfilling their functions; this
was proved by all his measurements. The influence of the leaves upon
the increase of trunks in thickness exhibited itself most distinctly in
the Italian Poplar. On one of these trees being deprived of almost all
its branches, in the month of March, the increase in thickness was pro-
portionably slight during the months of June and July. The growth
of a Lime-tree, on the other hand, in which the side branches, also
those lower down on the trunk, as well above as beneath the point of
measurement, had, for the greater part, been purposely left, was consi-
derable, and increasing every year. An experiment was made with
two equal sized Oaks, situated under the same circumstances; all the
lateral branches were taken from one and left on the other; the result
was, that the increase of thickness, in the tree which had not been
pruned, was much more considerable than in the one which had been
pruned. But the fact is familiar to all intelligent woodmen.

It may be regarded as an axiom in horticulture that the health of

72

IMPORTANCE OF LEAVES.

other parts of a plant is in proportion to the health of leaves. There is
no real exception, and the neglect of it is the fruitful parent of failures.
Nature has given plants leaves not merely to decorate them or to
shade us, but as a part of a wondrous system of life quite as perfect as
that of the animal kingdom. It would be of no use for a plant to suck
food out of the earth by its roots, unless there was some place provided
in which such food, consisting principally of water and mucilage, could
be digested, and so converted into the matter which maintains the
health of the individual. The stem cannot do this; firstly, because it
is a mere channel through which fluids pass; and secondly, because
many plants have no visible stem, as in the instance of the Primrose ;
and yet in all such cases the plant feeds and must digest its food. It
is to the leaves that this important office is assigned, and to enable
them to execute it God has formed them with wisdom no less infinite
than has been displayed in the creation of man. The leaves have veins
through which their fluids pass, and cells in which they are held while
digesting, myriads of little caverns through whose sides respiration is
maintained, a skin to guard them from the air, and pores for carrying
off perspiration. A leaf is, in fact, both a stomach and lungs; and to
destroy it, is to do the same injury to a plant as would be effected in
an animal by the destruction of the parts to which those names are
given. Of this we may be certain, that neither taste, perfume, colour,
size, nor any other property, can be given to a plant except through
the assistance. of the leaves; and that the more numerous these are, the
larger, and the more luxuriant, so, within certain limits, will be all
that a plant is capable of forming. Strip the leaves off a tree, and no
more wood will appear until the leaves are restored; feed its roots in
the hope of thus compensating for the loss of its leaves, and the stem
will be filled indeed with watery matter, but the latter will collect in
the interior until it forces its way through the bark, and runs down in
putrid streams, as happens to the Mulberry-tree when it is incessantly
stripped for silk-worms, and as occurs to trees whose leaves are con-
tinually destroyed by a noxious atmosphere. Strip the ripening
Grapes of their green garments, and no colour or sweetness will be
collected in their berries. Rob the Potato of its foliage, and you will
seek in vain for nourishment in its tubers; and so of all things else.
On the other hand, leave the Mulberry, the Vine, and the Potato unin-
jured, to the genial influence of the sun and the air, and the dews of
heaven, and wood is formed in the one case, sugar and colour in the
other—and flour, the staff of life, in the last: and these products will
all be in exact proportion to the health and abundance of the foliage.
Why then mow off the leaves of Strawberry plants in the autumn as
some dof—the only effect of which must be to rob the plants of the
materials out of which the fruit of the succeeding year is to be pro-
duced, and to destroy the natural protection afforded during winter by —

LEAVES MAY BE REMOVED. 73

the foliage to the tender and delicate flowers which are to spring up on
the return of warm weather. Why mutilate forest-trees by barba-
rous summer pruning? Every leaf that is then removed would have
added something to the quantity and solidity of the timber, had it been
spared; and although the quantity of timber formed by the separate
action of each particular leaf may be, and doubtless is, extremely small,
yet it must be remembered, that, in pruning, millions of leaves are
removed, and that it is by millions of minute quantities that a forest is
constructed.

But although the general rule is to allow as many leaves to remain on
a tree as can be kept in health, yet there are circumstances which justify
their removal, and, indeed, render it necessary. For example, when a
tender tree is trained to a wall, a great object with the gardener is to
secure ripe wood; for unless he does this, the frost of the succeeding
winter may destroy the branches, or the buds may be so imperfectly
formed as to produce feeble shoots the ensuing season. To attain this
object, those leaves must be removed which prevent the sun from
striking upon the branches to be ripened, the effect of this being to
stop the rapid growth of the branches:and to consolidate their tissue, in
consequence, partly, of the excessive perspiration, and partly of the
rapid digestion of the sap, which is thus induced ; for the rate of diges-
tion and perspiration in a healthy plant is in proportion to the quantity
of light and heat to which it is exposed, Hence the removal of those
shoots which in summer overshadow that wood of the Peach-tree which
is intended to be preserved another year, is useful; there can be no
doubt, however, that as few shoots as possible should be thus removed.
Another case in which the removal of leaves is justifiable occurs in the
Vine. In this plant the fruit is borne near the base of lateral shoots,
which will, if unchecked, go on lengthening and producing leaves to a
considerable distance. Now all the food of such a lateral shoot is
obtained from the main branch, which, however, is only capable of
furnishing a certain quantity. If the lateral shoot is allowed to grow
unchecked, it will consume its portion of food in the production of
many leaves and some Grapes; and the more there is of the former, the
less will be the weight of the latter. But if the shoot is stopped after
having formed two leaves, all that quantity of food which would have
been consumed in the production of other leaves is applied to the
increase of size in the Grapes and the two leaves that are left; while,
on the other hand, the general crop of leaves on the Vine will be amply
sufficient to prepare those secretions which are to give flavour, colour,
and sweetness to the Grapes. This’ will, perhaps, be better explained
by the annexed diagram. Let the line a g represent a lateral Vine-
branch, bearing fruit at B, and leaves atc, d, e, f. Suppose six ounces
of sap are destined to support this lateral a g, during the summer ;
it is evident that, if equally distributed, each leaf and branch will

74 GROWTH WITHOUT LEAVES.

ig receive one ounce of sap as its proportion. Butif e, Si, Gy are
removed, it is obvious that the three which remain will have
two ounces each, or double the supply.

Why, then, it may be asked, not remove ¢ and d also?
because, in that case, B, the bunch of fruit, would have the
f whole six ounces of sap to itself. The reason why this should
not be done is this: if all the leaves on the lateral are removed
there will be no force left upon it wherewith to attract from
é€ the main branch the food that belongs to it; for the power
which the parts of plants possess of attracting fluid is in pro-
portion to the amount of their perspiration. Now leaves per-
spire copiously, but the Grapes themselves scarcely at all:
whence their gradual conversion from a substance of the texture
ec of a leaf intoa mass of pulp. In the instance of Vine-pruning,
the great object is to leave on the laterals just as much force
B as may be required to secure for the bunches the food that is
intended for them, and at the same time to deprive the laterals
of the means of expending that food uselessly in the production
i of leaves instead of fruit.

Notwithstanding the unquestionable importance of leaves to
plants, yet a class of facts is familiar to practical physiologists
which seems to point to an opposite conclusion. Twenty years
ago Dutrochet brought to notice the unexpected fact that in
the Jura may be found the roots of Fir-trees, still alive and
growing, at the end of forty-five years after the trunks were
felled. A similar example is recorded by the Rev. Mr. Berkeley
in the case of an Ash-tree which had been sawn over level with
the ground. Gardeners know very well that the tuberous
Tropezolums, the stems of which have been accidentally broken
off, will continue to grow for a long time afterwards; as also
will tuberous Bindweeds. It chanced that in the Conservatory
of Chiswick House a plant of Sello’s Ipomcea was in November,
1840, destroyed to the ground by frost, from which period
to 1852 it had neither made buds nor leaves. Nevertheless, its
root continued increasing rapidly in size. In fact it was fre-
quently repotted as its increase in size demanded it; for in 1840
at the time of the accident, it was but a small root. Davin
this long period it was subjected to a high temperature. At last
the root formed a coil, one foot across, six inches deep, and
weighing seven pounds and a quarter. We have no seen of

GROWTH WITHOUT LEAVES. 75

its weight at the time when the stem perished, but as it con-
tinued to grow for nine years and a half, and was originally in
a small pot, it is not unreasonable to assume that it had
acquired at least seven times its original weight. Although no
leaves had been formed, yet many attempts at the production
of stems were visible upon the specimen, in the form of short
stunted tubercles or incipient branches; and the root was in
1852 full of vitality. Here we have a striking proof that
plants may possess an inherent power of growth without leaves.
It is probable that in this case the bark, of which a large
surface had been exposed to light, acted as a substitute for
foliage, perspiring, and assimilating food, as all green parts do,
whether leaves or not. It is also possible that the surface of
the root which rested upon the earth, had constantly attracted
from the soil the food which the bark is assumed to have
assimilated. But if such a power can be recognised in an
Ipomea, we must also admit its existence in the tuber of a
Potato, even although that tuber is not exposed to light; and
the vital force of the latter must be allowed to be capable not
only of converting into starch the gum supplied by the leaves,
but of absorbing gaseous and fluid matters from the soil, and,
by their assimilation, of continuing to grow, although perhaps
for only a limited time.

M. Durand, of Caen, arrived at similar conclusions. In some experi-
ments published in the Comptes Rendus, Aug. 16, 1852, it was found
that Poplars, Apple-trees, Acacias, &c., on which nothing was left
except Miselto, grew in diameter notwithstanding the loss of their
green organs. The two following experiments were more especially
conclusive :—-Exp. 1. At a yard and a half above the soil, an old Elm-
tree was cut across before winter. The tree thus mutilated was a mere
fragment of trunk under whose bark some adventitious buds were
collected, so as to form a bur. The wound was covered with plastic
clay. As soon as the adventitious buds began to move in the spring,
they were carefully removed as fast as they appeared. Nevertheless, a
layer of wood was formed. In the following years the same thing hap-
pened, that is to say, in the absence of leaf-buds, leaves, or any green
parts, a layer of wood was formed every year; and it was ascertained
that the roots of the Elm under experiment were not accidentally
grafted with the roots of other Elms, as is said to have been the case
with the Fir-trees brought into notice by Dutrochet. Lime-trees

76

THE LOIS WEEDON PRACTICE.

operated upon in the same manner gave the same result. Exp. 2. A
ring was cut out of a Beet-root standing above ground; the incision
was made between two and three inches below the crown, where the
buds and leaves grew. The crown was cut off immediately below the
first leaves, excepting that a rudimentary leaf-bud was saved on one
side of the plant. The bud grew; the root increased in all directions.
Below the bud was formed a small protuberance, which, when
examined, was found to consist of five new woody layers; but those
layers did not extend round the root; they went no further than the
protuberance itself. Right and left of the protuberance the plant had
the same number of layers of wood as it had when the experiment com-
menced, which was seven. Nevertheless, the diameter of the Beet-root
had much increased in the parts not beneath the protuberance. Some
variation was made in this experiment, but the result was the same; it
was clear that bulk increased without the assistance of leaves, &c.

A most interesting practical example of this neglected fact is
recorded by the Rev. J. Smith, of Lois Weedon, the soundness of
whose physiology is attested by his brilliant success where he applies
principles to practice.

This gentleman has recorded in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, for 1852,
p- 707, the unexpected fact that he is able to take off his Turnips, when
they have become fully organized, a crop of tops, for the use of his
stock; that nevertheless the roots continue to swell, and produce a
second crop of foliage, to be applied like the first: so that this part of
the Turnip crop is in some sort doubled. It would be unjust not to put
this fact upon record in Mr. Smith’s own words. ‘‘I have made the
experiment this year on an acre of Swedes, which, on my usual plan of
cultivation, were managed thus:—The land—a heavy clay, with a
staple originally of only five or six inches—has been gradually brought,
by trenching and horse-hoeing, to a pulverised state eighteen or twenty
inches deep. In the autumn I buried the manure (made by cows and
swine, fed on Swedes and bran, with the other usual fodder) with two
or three inches of the bottom of the rows intended for my plants; and
in April, over that manure, and within five or six inches of the surface,
I stirred in one hundred weight of guano. The first week in May I
drilled my seed, together with a sprinkling of superphosphate, in single
rows five feet apart. The result was—as it always has been under the
same system, pursued for several years—that at the beginning of
September the leaves of the plant met across the five feet intervals, and
eg nlany Leste a yield equal, perhaps, to the measured produce of

year, ch amounted to twenty-seven tons. It will be understood
by those who know the constituents and the properties of clay made
friable to the depth I have described, how the continuous and
inexhaustible supply of moisture in such a soil saves the plant from
mildew, the common result of early sowing in shallow ground, but from

REASONS WHY ORGANS MAY GROW WITHOUT LEAVES. 17

which I have never suffered, even in the driest season. Now for the
confirmation of your statement, that plants will increase in bulk in the
absence of leaves. Early in September, when the roots had reached
their state of complete organization, when the tops had grown from
two and a half to three feet in height, the lower leaves generally
extending five feet wide, I began to cut the tops as they were wanted
about half an inch from the crown; and from that time to this the
bulbs have been proved by actual measurement to continue to grow;
and are throwing out, all round the crown, a fresh supply of luxuriant
leaves for another feed. From this source the bulk of keep for my
cattle has been enormous; and the importance of such a supply
at a time when, in common seasons, the Grass begins to fail, is
beyond a doubt, especially for growing stock, since it has been proved
-that the leaves of the Turnip contain more of the bone-making
material than even the bulb itself. -I claim no merit for this experiment
as a novelty, for there is a report of a somewhat similar process in the
Prize Essays of the Highland Agricultural Society, vol. iii.; the only
difference being that in that instance the Swedes had been transplanted.
I would add, that it is there shown, besides, that, on analysis, as com-
pared with Swedes treated in the common way, the root only suffered in
value to the extent of containing a small per centage more of water, the
quantity of solid matter being displaced in the same proportion, while
the quality of the food remained uninjured.” The practice of cutting
off the Potato haulm in order to arrest the Potato disease, one of the
best remedies for the evil yet known, points to the same general fact.

It must, however, be borne in mind, that we have no warrant
for supposing that roots can grow in the absence of branches
and leaves, until roots have arrived at a state of complete
organization. If a plant producing tubers loses its top when
the tubers are young, the latter perish or cease growing ; but if
the tubers are considerably advanced in formation, then they
will continue to grow, notwithstanding the loss of the leaves.
It would seem from this undoubted fact that a considerable
amount of vital force is required in order to render a plant
independent of its green organs ; but that it becomes indepen-
dent as soon as that amount, whatever it may be, has been
acquired. In the beginning the green organs, exposed to light,
appear to possess exclusively the property of elaborating the
aqueous and gaseous matters which they absorb, and of 80
forming the material out of which growth or increase of size
elsewhere is provided for. This operation takes place at that

78 REASONS WHY ORGANS MAY GROW WITHOUT LEAVES.

time exclusively in the cells of the green organs, the tubes and
vessels of the vegetable structure being mere recipients organ-
ized by the matters so elaborated. This power of assimilation
is believed to be owing to the high vitality of the cells of the
green organs; but in proportion as the subterranean parts
become organized their vital force increases, and at last it
becomes sufficient to enable them to act independently of the
leaves or green parts. If, then, at the time when a subterranean
organ is cut off from communication with the leaves, its vitality
is sufficiently high, its cells not only absorb water and other
matters, as was the case from the beginning, but also decompose
and elaborate them, in the same way as the cells of the leaves.
The result of that elaboration is increase in bulk, partly
arising from the distension of the cells and the consolidation of
their contents, partly from the increase of the number of
the cells themselves, and also from filling the last formed
cells with the matter peculiar to the species. What is
required in order to secure increase in bulk is the power of
organization; that power depends upon the presence of a
sufficient amount of vital force ; therefore, when a subterranean
body has gained enough vital force, it has gained all the
organic capabilities which are necessary for increase of size, or
growth, and is able to enlarge even though cut off from
communication with green organs. It must not however be
inferred that an underground organ will increase as rapidly
in the absence of leaves as it will if they are present. On the
contrary, in the latter case, it grows by virtue of its own vitality
and that of the leaves combined; a double power is brought
to bear upon its increase, and at least twice as much food in
an organizable condition is presented to it for consumption.
All that we are justified in asserting is, that although leaves
may be gone, growth will go on—and to a much greater extent
than is supposed. If, then, a root-crop is from any accident
deprived of its leaves, it is by no means a necessary conse-
quence that the crop is arrested in its growth; on the contrary,
provided the defoliation does not occur till towards the end of
the season, growth will go on notwithstanding,

It is to be observed that, as has already been stated, the

FALL OF LEAF. 79

capability of plants to bear the action of direct light varies
according to their specific nature. One species is organized to
suit the atmosphere of a dense wood, into which diffuse light
only will penetrate; another is planted by nature on the
exposed face of a sunburnt rock, upon which the rays of a
Shadeless sun are daily striking: in these cases, the light
which is necessary to the one would be destructive of the other.
The organic difference of such species seems to consist chiefly
in the epidermis, which regulates the amount of perspiration.
It is therefore to be remarked, that it is not the greatest
quantity of light which can be obtained that is most favourable
to the healthiness of plants, but the greatest quantity they will
bear without injury. Ifthe former were true, the concentrated
light of a lens would be better than the strongest ordinary
light; but the effect of the concentrated light of alens is to
burn the surface, and the ordinary solar rays produce the same
effect upon many plants, probably by exhausting the tissue of
its water faster than it can be supplied from the roots.

In the course of time, a leaf becomes incapable of performing
its functions ; its passages and surface are choked up by the
deposit of impurities; there is no longer a free communication
between its parenchyma and that of the rind, or between its
veins and the wood and liber; or the air and its interior. It
changes colour, ceases to decompose carbonic acid, absorbs
oxygen instead, gets into a morbid condition, and dies: it is
then thrown off. This phenomenon, which we call the fall of
the leaf, is going on the whole year round, except mid-winter,
in some plant or other. Those which lose the whole
of their leaves at the approach of winter, and are called
deciduous, begin, in fact, to cast their leaves within a
few weeks after the commencement of their vernal growth;
put the mass of their foliage is not rejected till late in
the season. Those, on the other hand, which are named ever-
greens, part with their leaves much more slowly; retain them
in health at the time when the leaves of other plants are
perishing; and do not cast them till a new spring has com-
menced, when other trees are leafing, or even later. In the
latter class, the functions of the leaves are going on during all

80 MULTIPLICATION BY LEAVES.

the winter, although languidly; they are constantly attracting
sap from the earth through the spongelets, and are, therefore,
in a state of slow but continual winter growth. It usually
happens that the perspiratory organs of these plants are less
active than in deciduous species.

In general, a leaf is an organ of digestion and respiration,
and nothing more; some leaves have, however, the power of
forming leaf-buds, if placed in or upon the earth, under suitable
circumstances.

The Bryophyllum calycinum forms buds at the indentations of its
margin; Malaxis paludosa throws off young buds from its edge;
Tellima grandiflora occasionally buds at the margins of its leaves; the
same thing happens to many Ferns; the five leaflets of a pinnated
Rose-leaf yield, under proper culture, five little plants; Cape Ornitho-
galums often produce bulbs from the edge of their leaves; the same
fact has been observed by Mr. Rogers on the broken edge of a
Lachenalia leaf; and numerous similar instances might be quoted.

os

CHAPTER VI.

—

ACTION OF FLOWERS.

STRUCTURE OF FLOWERS.—NAMES OF THEIR PARTS.— TENDENCY OF THE
PARTS TO ALTER AND CHANGE INTO EACH OTHER, AND INTO LEAVES,
-—DOUBLE FLOWERS.—ANALOGY OF FLOWERS TO BRANCHES,—CAUSE OF
THE PRODUCTION OF FLOWERS.—OF PRODUCTIVENESS.—OF STERILITY.
— USES OF THE PARTS OF A FLOWER,— FERTILISATION. —HYBRIDS,—
CROSSBREDS,

A FLOWER is that part of a plant which is formed for the
purpose of reproducing the species by means of seeds. It
consists of floral envelopes and sexes.

The floral envelopes are: 1, the calyx, which is usually
green, and always the most external; and 2, the corolla, which
is commonly thin, gaily coloured, more fugitive than the calyx,
and placed next within it: each of these consists of leaves,
called sepals in the calyx, and petals in the corolla. Both
calyx and corolla are usually present; but in some cases only
one envelope is formed, as in the Marvel of Peru; and in other
cases the flower has no envelopes, as in the Willow. Envelopes
are, therefore, not a necessary part of a flower.

In the middle of the flower stand the sexes, called stamens
and pistil, of which the pistil occupies the centre, and the
stamens surround it ;' except in those cases where the sexes.
‘are produced in separate flowers, when each sex is central in its
own flower. The stamens consist of a filament and an anther,
in the interior of the latter of which is secreted a powdery
substance termed pollen. The pistil consists of ovary, style,
and stigma, in the interior of the first of which are ovules or
young seeds.

Although the floral envelopes may be, and often are, absent,
G

82 TRANSFORMATIONS OF FLOWERS.

wholly or in part, yet the sexes are always present. Conse-
quently the latter are all that is essential to a flower, and no
part can be a flower from which they are absent.
Notwithstanding the difference in form and office of the parts
of a flower, they have evidently a strong tendency in cultivated
plants to change into or assume the appearance of each other.
In the Poppy, the Garden Anemone, and many others, the

Fig. XV.—Transformation of organs in an Amaryllis.

stamens change into petals; in the Anemone, the Ranunculus,
&c., the pistil changes into petals; in the Primrose, Cowslip,
&ec., the calyx changes into petals; in the Houseleek, the
stamens become pistils; and so on. Hence the origin of
double flowers. In a double Barbadoes Lily, described by me
in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, in which the
parts were very much confused, the young seeds were borne by
the edges of the stamen-like petals (Fig. XV.).

In their ordinary state the parts of a flower are extremely
unlike leaves, and each has its allotted office, which is not the

TRANSFORMATIONS OF FLOWERS. 83

office of a leaf; they are also incapable of forming leaf-buds
in their axils. But, although such is the case, there is found a
strong and general tendency on the parts of both the floral

envelopes and sexes to change to leaves, similar to the leaves of
the stem.

Fig. XVI.—Transformation of Clover.

In the white clover (Trifolium repens, Fig. XVI.) all the parts often
become leaves; in the Fraxinella (Fig. XVII.) this has also been

Fig. XVII.—Transformation of Fraxinella.

remarked.* Partial alterations into leaves are in fact of very frequent
occurrence in the parts of a flower. In the Rose, the sepals and pistil

* Proceedings of the Horticultural Society, vol. i. p. 37. :
a

84

FLOWERS GROW INTO BRANCHES.

are frequently changed into leaves, of which the case represented in =e
following cut (Fig. XVIII.) is a most striking example. In this case the

Fig. XVII1.—Transformation of a Rose into a branch.

calyx-tube was absorbed or not developed ; the sepals were half converted
into leaves; the petals were more than half changed into sepals; the
outer carpels were partly in their customary state, those nearer the centre
were converted into small leaves, and the remainder were carried up
upon the axis or centre, which had lengthened into a branch in every
conceivable state of transition, until the last-formed, namely, the

FLOWERS PRODUCE BUDS AND TUBERS. 85

uppermost, assumed the usual appearance of the ledves of the stem.
(See Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1847, p. 171, for this and similar facts.)
In the Double Cherry, the pistil is almost always to be found in the
form of a leaf; and books on structural botany abound in the records of
similar cases. It. sometimes happens that buds are not only formed,
but developed, at the axils of the parts of a flower, as in a Celastrus

Fig. XIX.—Transformation of Celastrus.

scandens observed by Kunth (Fig. XIX.). Rose-buds are frequently
-seen growing out of Roses. A very striking and uncommon accident
was observed by the late Mr. Knight in the Potato (Fig. XX.), whose

Fig. XX.—Tubers produced in the axils of sepals and petals.

flowers produced young potatoes in the axils of the sepals and petals.*
Occasionally, the centre of a flower lengthens and bears its parts upon
its sides, as in the Pear and Apple, whose fruit is often found in the
state of a short branch. Still more rarely a flower lengthens, and
produces from the axils of its parts other flowers arranged over its sides,
as in the Double Pine-apple of the Indian Archipelago.

* Proceedings of the Horticultural Society, vol. i. p. 39, fig. 2.

86 FRUIT GROWS INTO BRANCHES.

The following cuts represent three Pears, produced in
different places, and in different conditions. A Pear blossom
consists of a calyx composed of five sepals ; within these appear
five petals, next to which stand about twenty stamens ; and in
the centre of all are five carpels, or hollow cases, arranged in a
ring, and containing seeds. All these parts are regarded in
theory as leaves in an altered state, and the whole flower as a
very short branch, destitute of the usual power of lengthening,
or, which is the same thing, as a leaf-bud, the centre of which
will not extend. In the beginning the sepals, petals, stamens
and carpels of a Pear flower were scales, placed upon a fleshy
centre, and not distinguishable from those scales which in the
leaf-bud become leaves. To use a gardener’s language, there
was at first no difference ‘between the blossom-bud and the
wood-bud. But, after a time, the parts which were identical
begin to be organized differently ; in the blossom-bud they
gradually change into sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels; in
the wood-bud they become young leaves. But if anything
occurs to disturb the development of the blossom-bud as a
blossom, then it becomes a wood-bud, or approaches that state,
more or less, according to the period at which the disturbing
force began to act. It thus appears that whether a bud
becomes a flower or a branch, depends entirely upon some
unknown force, which acts at a particular moment upon parts
originally of identical nature and quality, and capable of
becoming leaves; if this action is complete, a flower is the
result; if incomplete, a monster; if altogether withheld, then
the rudimentary parts, not having their nature changed, proceed
to acquire the condition of leaves. Hence it is that when from
accidents, such as unusual heat and wet at a critical moment,
exuberance caused by the excessive application of rank (azotized)
manure, or any circumstances of a similar nature, the usual
order of development is disturbed, flowers are not formed—or
we have them converted into tufts of leaves, or even branches.
The following examples offer conclusive evidence as to the
truth of this theory :—

Fig. XXI. represents a Pear, in which the calyx and its five
sepals are not much disturbed, but in which the petals and

FRUIT GROWS INTO BRANCHES. 87

part of the stamens, developed in the form of leafy scales,
adhere round the centre of the flower, which has lengthened
somewhat like a branch, while the remainder of the stamens
and the carpels are concealed within the summit, in the form
of withered rudiments. The constitutional tendency to fleshi-
ness, which is the characteristic of the Pear, is not lost, in this
or either of the two other cases, but is preserved throughout,
ouly diminishing towards the eye.

Fig. XXI. Transformed Pears. Fig. XXII.

In Fig. XXII. the phenomena take a somewhat different
direction, the leafy tendency being greater in some of the
sepals, but the tendency to acquire succulence having been
preserved in a far greater degree; as if the disturbing. cause,
whatever it may have been, which originally prevented the
young parts from becoming petals, &c., and which forced the
centre to lengthen like a branch, was effectually withdrawn
and overcome by the tendency to become succulent, which
the parts had already acquired, when the disturbing cause
began to act.

88 FRUIT BRANCHES.

In Fig. XXIII. the change advances further, and in another
direction. That dislocation of the rings of parts belonging to
the flower, which was so visible in the two last cases, is here
carried still further ; and, in addition, two of the young parts
near the middle of the whole structure have each formed in

Fig. XXIII.—Transformed Pear.

their axil one bud, which has become a deformed flower, and
produced a deformed Pear. No organ of the plant, except
leaves and their modifications, has the power of producing a
flower from its axil.

~ The following additional illustrations of these factsmay be mentioned :—
Fig. XXIV, represents a branch of a Pear in which one flower (a) is in a
deformed state, but still sufficiently recognisable, and another completely
changed into a branch; the calyx assuming the appearance of leaves or.
leafy scales (s s), the petals also partially transformed into leaves (pp),
while the whole apparatus of stamens and pistils is converted into an

FLOWERS BECOME BRANCHES. 89

Fig. XXIV.—Transformed branch of Pear-tree.

90

FLOWERS BECOME ROSETTES OF LEAVES.

ordinary branch. Fig. XXV. shows the state of plants a sacar
nepalensis with their flowers changing to branches: a are oe
ordinary condition ; at 6 it is partly changed in a slight cae ' i
the sepals, petals, and stamens are converted into leaves, but the p

are little changed; at d the sepals, petals, and stamens are but little

5
Fig. XXV.—Transformed Potentilla.

altered, but the receptacle of the fruit is lengthening into a branch, and
is covered by the carpels partly converted into leaves, and some of them
near the apex producing flowers from their axils; finally, at e, the
whole of the floral apparatus is changed into a rosette of leaves. A
monstrous Foxglove has been seen to present analogous appearances.

FLOWERS OTHERWISE TRANSFORMED. 91

Of such a case, Fig. XXVI. is a representation of the natural size. Its
structure was as follows:—Firstly, a calyx, consisting of 12 sepals,
distinct to the base. Secondly, a corolla as large as the Hebe’s Cup
Rose, lobed with considerable irregularity; deep rich rose, with the
peculiar ocellated spots of Digitalis. Near its base were 12 perfect
stamens. Thirdly, another calyx, regular, cup-shaped, with 13 short
triangular teeth. Fourthly, within this a second corolla, paler, with

Fig. XXVI.—Transformed Foxglove.

purple not ocellated spots, almost hemispherical, very irregularly lobed,
in three irregular whorls, with 11 stamens in a more or less monstrous
state. Fifthly, in the midst, a lengthened axis covered with numerous
leafy, petal-like or stamen-like lobes, forming a confused tuft. No
pistil; but all sorts of ‘transitions from stamens to scales and leaves.
This further evidence assists in proving not only that a flower is a branch,
but that irregular flowers will occasionally become regular; and that,
becoming so, they make up for all the deficiencies and peculiarities of
the ordinary structure, by taking on the customary state of regular
flowers; that all the parts of a flower are leaves in various states of
development ; and that the axis of a flower is a growing point, capable
of indefinite extension as soon as the forces which determine the
production of a flower are disturbed.

It is therefore clear that although the parts of a flower are
different both in appearance and office from leaves, yet they do

92 INFERENCES.

all assume, under particular circumstances, the same appear-
ance and office. Hence itis inferred that they are really
nothing more than leaves in a modified state; and, conse-
‘quently, that a flower is a very short branch, and a flower-bud
analogous in many respects to a leaf-bud. A leaf-bud is a
collection of leaf-scales of the same or similar form, arranged
round a central very short branch, having a growing point. A
flower-bud is a collection of leaf-scales of different forms,
arranged round a central very short branch, not having a
growing point under ordinary circumstances. In this latter
respect it resembles those buds of the Larch which form leaves
in starry clusters, without extending into a branch. Many
points in horticulture could not be explained until the exis-
tence of this analogy was made out.*

What it is that causes a plant to convert some of its buds
into flowers, by fashioning the leaves into calyx, corolla,
stamens, and pistils, while other buds become branches clothed
with ordinary leaves, is beyond the reach of explanation.
There are, however, certain facts connected with it which
require notice. It is clear that plants begin to fructify at
some determinate period, varying in different species. In
annuals this occurs in a few weeks or months after germination ;

* This doctrine has been taught at different times, by different independent
observers. Among other persons, I find that Mr. Knight had come to the same con-
clusion, at a time when the views of Wolffius and Goethe were quite unknown in
England. He says: ‘‘The buds of fruit-trees which produce blossoms, and those
which afford leaves only, in the spring, do not at all differ from each other, in their
first stage of organization, as buds. Each contain the rudiment of leaves only, which
are subsequently transformed into the component parts of the blossom and in some
species of the fruit also, I have repeatedly ascertained that a blossom of a Pear or
Apple-tree contains parts which previously existed as the rudiments of five leaves,
the points of which subsequently form’ the five segments of the calyx; and I have
often succeeded in obtaining every gradation of monstrosity of form out five congre-
gated leaves (that is, five leaves united circularly upon an Eaperfent fruit-stalk), to
the perfect blossom of the Pear-tree. The calyx of the Rose, in some varieties, ne
sents nearly the perfect leaves of the plant, and the large and long leaves of the
Medlar appear to account for the length of the segments, in the empalement of its
blossom. The calyx of the blossom of the Plum and Peach-tree is formed precisely as
in the preceding cases, except that the leaves which are transmuted into the cal:
de at the base of the fruit, and become deciduous, instead of passing aaah
and remaining a component part of it.” (Transactio i i
ail a aee Maye 1h ( ms of the Horticultwral Society,

AGE AT WHICH PLANTS CAN BEAR FRUIT. 93

in biennials a longer period is required before this condition is
arrived at; and in shrubs and trees a still greater age must be
acquired. The American Aloe will not flower before it is thirty
years old, under the most favourable conditions; and, under
unfavourable circumstances, the age at which it fructifies is so
much increased as to have given rise to the vulgar belief that
it flowers only after ahundred years. This curious subject has
been little investigated, and: we have no comparative state-
ments of the ages at which different species begin to bear; but
the fact is certain. It is often, however, in the power of man
to advance or retard these periods artificially. Whatever pro-
duces excessive vigour in plants is favourable to the formation
of leaf-buds, and unfavourable to the production of flower-buds ;
while, on the other hand, such circumstances as tend to
diminish luxuriance, and to check rapid vegetation, without
affecting the health of the individual, are more favourable to
the production of flower-buds than of leaf-buds. Thus, a plant
in a sterile soil and exposed situation flowers sooner and more
abundantly than one in a rich and shaded place; young vigorous
plants flower later and less abundantly than old ones. In
India and China fruit-trees are made to bear by cutting their
roots, or exposing them periodically to dryness; and in this
country the same practice is observed, especially with the Fig
tree. An apparent exception to this law is found in the fact
that a seedling fruit-tree may be made, by grafting upon an
old stock, to bear flowers at an earlier age than it otherwise
would have done; for the effect of grafting it thus is certainly
not to render it-less vigorous, but the contrary. But it is
probable that all these facts arise out of one common law, which
is, that the period when a plant begins to flower depends upon
the presence in its system of a sufficient quantity of secreted
matter fit for the maintenance of the flowers when produced.
Under ordinary circumstances, a considerable part of all the
nutritious secretions elaborated by the leaves are expended in
the production of new leaves ; but after a time, a greater supply
is formed than the leaves require, and the residue collects in
the system; as soon as this residue has arrived at the necessary
amount, flowers may begin to form. If the sterile branch

94 AGE AT WHICH PLANTS CAN BEAR FRUIT.

of a tree is ringed,* it ceases to be sterile; and this can only
be accounted for upon the supposition that the secreted matter
of the branch, instead of being conveyed away into the trunk
and roots, is stopped by the annular incision, above which it is
compelled to accumulate. If a tree that is unproductive be
transplanted, it begins to bear; in this case the operation
injures its roots, sap is therefore less abundantly supplied in the
succeeding season to the leaves; the leaves are therefore less
able to grow than they previously were, and they consequently
do not consume the nutritious matter lying in the branches, and
which they would have expended, had they been able to grow
with their former vigour; hence the nutritious matter accumu-
lates, and flower-buds are formed. In this country, if a fruit-
tree has its crop destroyed one year, it bears the more abun-
dantly the next; owing, no doubt, to the accumulation in its
system of that nutritive matter which would not have been
present there, had the crop which was destroyed been allowed
to grow: and the reverse of this is well known. to be the fact;
an excessive crop one year being followed by a scanty crop the
succeeding year. So, when a young seedling fruit-tree is
made to bear prematurely by grafting it upon an old stock, the
effect of which will apparently not be to diminish its vigour, it
may be conceived that, in the first place, the seedling will
receive a considerable quantity of nutritive matter from the old
stock, where it had been already collected, and that thus the
supply will be greater than the consumption, however large the
latter may be; and, secondly, that, at the time of union of
itself with the stock, there will be sufficient interruption of
continuity in the bark to oppose some obstacle to the descent
from the seedling of whatever matter it may have received or

* One of the effects of ringing has been observed to consist in the formation of
numerous barren shoots below the wound, while fertile shoots appear above it. This
is conformable to the theory of the formation of flowers, being determined by a super-
abundance of nutritious matter in a given place. The bark below the annular excision
is cut off from a supply of the sap elaborated by the leaves above it ; and, at the same
time, in consequence of the obstruction of the wound to the ascent of the crude sap,
an unusual supply of the latter is forced towards the buds in the bark below the
wound, which buds, being chiefly fed with crude sap, push forth into branches and
leaves, but bear no flowers.

USES OF THE PARTS. 95

formed. Hence, it is an axiom in vegetable physiology, that
the production of flower-buds depends upon the presence of
nutritive matter in sufficient abundance for their support.

The use of the calyx and corolla is too uncertain and unim-
portant to demand much notice. The calyx is usually regarded
as a protecting organ, and ‘the corolla as a part for the
embellishment of the sexes. They neither appear to be of
much physiological importance ; more especially not the corolla,
or it would not be absent in such large numbers. of plants.

The use of the stamens is to effect the fertilisation of the
young seed contained in the pistil. To this end, the pollen of
the anther must be applied to the stigma, the result of which
is, that an embryo, the rudiment of a future plant, is generated
in the inside of the young seed, and, when mature, is capable
of multiplying the species. It is, however, to be observed, that
the seed, when ripe, will not renew the species from which it is
derived, with all its individual peculiarities ; the seed of a Green
Gage Plum, for instance, will not, with any certainty, produce
a plant having the sweet green fruit of that variety, but it may
produce a*Plum whose fruit is red and acid. All that the
seed will certainly do is to produce a new individual of the
Plum species: the peculiarities of individuals are perpetuated
by other means, and especially by leaf-buds. (See Book IL.)

Tt has been remarked that the freshness of flowers may be much
prolonged by any circumstance which hinders the act of fertilisation.
Orchidaceous plants in hothouses are an instance of this. In general,
from the absence of insects, or of those other disturbing causes to which
Orchidaces: are exposed in their native places, the pollen cannot come
into contact with the stigma, and so long as this is prevented the flowers
of many species will retain their freshness for weeks, as if in expecta-
tion of that event for which they were created. But as soon as the act
of fecundation is accomplished, that is to say, from twelve to twenty-
four hours after the pollen touches the stigma, the flowers collapse, the
bright colours become dim, the ovary begins to enlarge, and the beauty
of the flower is gone. The same fact has been noticed in the Night
Flowering Cereus, whose flowers will retain their beauty during the
day after blossoming, provided the stigma is removed.

Tf the pistil of one species be fertilised by the pollen of
another species, which may take place in the same genus, or if

96 HYBRIDS AND .CROSSBREDS.

two distinct varieties of the same species be in like manner
intermixed, the seed which results from the operation will be
intermediate between its parents, partaking of the qualities of
both father and mother. In the first case the progeny is
hybrid, or mule ; in the second it is simply crossbred.

In general, crossbreds are capable of producing fertile seed,
and thus of perpetuating one of the species from which they
sprang. Hybrids, on the contrary, are often sterile, and
therefore incapable of yielding seed.

Reasoning from a few facts, and from the analogy of the
higher orders in the animal kingdom, it has been believed that
all vegetable hybrids are sterile; and, when sterility is not the
consequence of the intermixture of two species, it has been
thought that such species are not naturally distinct, however
different their appearance. But facts prove that undoubted
hybrids may be fertile; and when we consider that plants are
not analogous to the higher orders of animals, but to the
lowest, concerning whose habits we know little, it is obvious
that no analogical inferences can be safely established.

.

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE MATURATION OF THE FRUIT.

CHANGES IT UNDERGOES.—IS FED BY BRANCHES UPON ORGANIZABLE MATTER
FURNISHED BY LEAVES.—PHYSIOLOGICAL USE OF THE FRUIT.—NATURE
OF SECRETIONS.—THE CHANGES THEY UNDERGO,—EFFECT OF HEAT.—
OF SUNLIGHT.—OF WATER.—SEEDS.—ORIGIN OF THEIR FOOD.—CAUSE
OF THEIR LONGEVITY.—OF THEIR DESTRUCTION. — DIFFERENCE IN
THEIR VIGOUR,

Arter the fertilization of the seed has taken effect, the
pistil by itself, or the pistil and surrounding parts, go on
growing ; alter their appearance, as well as size; acquire new
qualities of colour, texture, flavour, &c.; and become the fruit.

A flower being a kind of branch, as has been already shown
(see page 88), and the fruit being the advanced stage of a flower, it
follows that a fruit is also a kind of branch. It has originally
the same organic connexion with the plant as other branches,
and like them requires to be supplied with food, in the
absence of which it perishes or languishes.

It may be conceived that, as the fruit is an altered state of a
leaf, its physiological action will resemble that of a leaf, in pro-
portion as it retains its organic similitude; and this is found to
happen, a fruit decomposing carbonic acid, &c., under the
influence of light, so long as it retains its original green
foliaceous character. In the Pea, for example, whose pod is
green until if begins to die, the action is always similar to that
of a leaf, but in the Peach, whose texture becomes pulpy and
unlike that of a leaf, the physiological action eventually ceases
to be that of the latter organ.

But although a fruit has, like a leaf, the power of forming

secretions by elaborating the sap which is attracted into it, yet
H

98 EXHAUSTING EFFECT OF FRUIT. -

because of its smallness, the amount of this power is incon-
siderable ; it contributes little to the general secretions of the
plant that bears it, depends for its nutriment upon the
neighbouring leaves, and expends its powers in the elaboration
of matter for its own use. That it does, however, form wood,
like ordinary leaves, is evident, if the flower-stalk of a Cherry
is compared with the stalk of the fruit of the same tree; and
this becomes still more apparent when the elaborating forces
of many separate fruits are, in consequence of their compact
arrangement, brought to contribute to the lignification of a
common stalk, as in the Pinaster tree.

The exhausting action of fruit is well illustrated by the well
known fact, that when plants cultivated for the sake of their
flowers only, are permitted to ripen their fruit, the power of
flowering in a succeeding season is diminished. This is seen
in Rhododendrons, and Azaleas. When the Rhododendron goes
out of flower, it forms clusters of seed-vessels, which swell
during the summer, and by the autumn become ripe, whether
the seeds they contain are good or not. In their mature state
they are of considerable size ; and they arrive at it by feeding
upon the organizable matter formed in branches during summer
by the leaves. This organizable matter, if not consumed by
the seed-vessels, is stored up and applied to the formation of
flowers: if itis consumed in the creation of fruit itis abstracted
from whatever means the plant may have of generating flowers.
It is, therefore, obvious that to prevent the formation of fruit
is to promote the future production of flowers, and, acting upon
this principle, all good gardeners break off the young Rhodo-
dendron fruit, as soon as the flowers have fallen. The same
rule applies to all other cases.

The great purpose for which the fruit is formed seems to be
the protection and nutrition of the seed, the perfect maturation
of which is essential to the perpetuation of the races of plants.
In most cases the whole of the fluid or nutritious parts is
consumed in effecting this end; but in certain instances there
is a surplus, which, if sweet, and unmixed with deleterious
secretions, becomes fit for food. In either case, the fruit has, in
common with leaves, the power of attracting food from the

ACTION OF LEAVES ON. FRUIT. 99

surrounding parts; and we see that this property causes the
destruction of some fruits by their neighbours which are more
advanced in growth, or accidentally more vigorous, and whose
attracting power is so great as to draw to themselves all the food
intended for the weaker fruits, which then fall off. Of the food
thus to be consumed in the maturation of the fruit, a portion
is derived from the atmosphere, but the principal part has to
be prepared by the leaves, which obtain it in a great measure
from the earth through the roots. It is, therefore, evident,
that all causes, of whatever nature, which interfere with the
healthy and regular action of the leaves and roots will also
interfere with the fruit. Or, if the leaves are placed in such a
manner with respect to the fruit, or at so great a distance from
it, that the fruit is unable to attract food from them, it must
either suffer or perish. “This explains why fruit formed upon
naked branches will not continue to grow, and why the presence
of a leaf immediately above a fruit, on the same branch, is so
beneficial to it. The size and excellence of fruit will hence be
in proportion to the abundance of organizable matter prepared
and stored up in its vicinity.*

It occasionally happens that stone-fruit will swell upon naked
branches; but such cases are exceptional, and probably depend upon
circumstances unrecorded by those who have observed them. It has
been admitted that, in some instances, such fruit has been altogether
deficient in flavour ; though in others it is said to have been otherwise.
See the Gardener’s Chronicle for 1842, p. 588, and for 1843, pp. 43 and
115.

* The accumulation of sap, and its consequent viscidity, may, however, be
attended with disadvantage to a plant, as really happens in the Potato, the most
farinaceous varieties of which are liable to a disease called the ‘‘curl.” Mr. Knight
attributed this to the inspissated state of the sap, which, he conceived, if not
sufficiently fluid, might stagnate in and close the fine vessels of the leaf during its
growth and extension, and thus occasion the irregular contractions which constitute
this disease. He therefore suffered a quantity of Potatoes, the produce almost wholly
of diseased plants, to remain in the heap, where they had been preserved during
winter, till each tuber had emitted shoots of three or four inches in length. These
were then carefully detached, with their fibrous roots, from the tubers, and were com-
mitted to the soil, when, having little to subsist upon except water, not a single
curled leaf was produced, though more than nine-tenths of the plants which these
identical tubers subsequently produced were much diseased. The same effect has
been produced by other persons, by taking up the tubers intended for seed before
they were full grown, and, consequently, before the excessive inspissation of their

secretions had taken place. 4
H

100 RIPENING FRUIT.

Although fruit “has, in common with leaves, the property of
elaborating the sap, yet there is this difference between them ;
that, while leaves return back into the stem what matters they
form, fruit retains the principal part of what it secretes for the
use of itself or of the seeds it contains. This difference is
probably to a considerable extent dependent upon the imperfect
condition of the fruit-stalk, which has little power of carrying
off from the fruit the matter which is formed within it. In
those cases, however, in which the fruit has stomates, the
aqueous particles are given off through the sur face of the fruit
which then becomes hard or dry when ripe; but in others, in
which there are no stomates, or few, or imperfect ones, aqueous
particles cannot be extricated to any considerable amount, and
the fruit becomes succulent.

The maturation of the fruit is dependent, then, upon the
action of the leaves and roots, and the secretions that it forms
are principally derived from the former. Consequently,
whatever contributes to the healthy condition of the leaves
and roots will have a directly beneficial influence upon the
fruit, and vice versé. It is, however, certain, that the juices
furnished by the leaves undergo a further alteration by the
vital forces of the fruit itself, which alteration varies according
to species. Thus the fruit of the Peach is sweet, but there is
no perceptible sweetness in its leaves; and the fruit of the Fig
is bland and wholesome while the leaves of that plant are acrid
and deleterious.

Among the immediate causes of the changes that occur in
the secretions of fruit are heat and light; without which the
peculiar qualities of fruits are imperfectly formed, especially in
species that are natives of countries enjoying a high summer
temperature. It is found that among the effects of a high
temperature and an exposure to bright light is the production
of sugar and of certain flavours; and that under opposite
circumstances, acidity prevails.

In this respect, fruit only obeys the general laws which
regulate the formation of vegetable secretions. Heat and light
are unquestionably the agents, though perhaps not the sole
agents, upon which all the qualities of plants depend. For

IMPORTANCE OF FREE AIR. 101

example, the Cinanthe crocata, whose leaves and roots are
poisonous in the midland counties of England, is innoxious
in the lower temperature and cloudier sky of Edinburgh ; no
art can induce the Rhubarb plant to form in Europe the
medicinal substances which give value to the drug in those
bright, and heated regions of Asia which it inhabits ; nor can the
Tomatoes or Aubergines ripenedin England be for a moment
compared for excellence to those produced in the North of
Africa.

It must however be observed, that the effect of heat and
light is greatly increased by free exposure to currents of air,
such as are incessantly acting upon the surface of plants in the
open ground. Whether this results from the greater abstraction
of moisture, or from a more abundant supply of gaseous food to
be absorbed from the atmosphere, or from any unknown
circumstance, it is certain that all vegetable secretions, of
whatever kind, are improved in quality when air has the fullest
access to the plants. Of this we have abundant proof when we
contrast the pallid, subacid Pine-apples of forcing houses, with
those ripened out of doors as has been practised in the garden
of the Baroness Rolfe at Bicton; or when we compare the
brilliant colours and rich perfume of flowers and fruit formed
in thoroughly ventilated hothouses, with the same productions
taken from glass houses to which the air has very little access.

The following is the manner in which the Pine-apples above alluded to
were grown at Bicton.

In May Mr. Barnes, having some plants ready, opened a trench, casting
the earth right and left, so as to form a bank on each side, which would
afford shelter from cold winds; in the bottom of the trench he placed
bricks in threes, in the form of a triangle, so as tomake a dry bottom
for the plants to stand. on, and at the same time to secure a ready
passage for air and water. ‘The plants having been placed on the
bricks, were packed to the rims of the pots in leaves which had been
used during the winter. This being done, the whole surface, banks and
all, was covered with charred hay or grass, for the purpose of absorbing
heat, retaining it, and giving it off gradually. Although the weather
proved cold, with frosty mornings, and many sunless days, yet no
injury was sustained, and when the sun did appear the fruit made
great progress; at the same time the suckers which sprung up grew
vigorously and were most healthy. The varieties employed consisted

102

BICTON PINE-APPLES.

chiefly of Queens, Black Jamaica, Montserrat, Enville, Moscow Queen,
Anson’s Queen or Otaheite, and Black Antigua. The plants employed
had never been subjected to fire heat at any time. They were turned
out after they had blossomed. The fruit, ripened under these
circumstances, was of the highest quality in point of flavour; and
although the night temperature to which the plants were exposed, was
occasionally below 40°, no injury was sustained by them. The cold
winds were kept off by banks thrown up across the prevailing currents.
The want of a sufficient amount of earth heat was compensated for by a
“lining” of leaves still capable of fermentation. And by covering the
scene of the experiment with « black substance, the heat-absorbing
power of té:e ground was so much increased as to enable it to maintain
a night atmosphere round the plants high enough to repel the late frosts
of Devonshire, and to maintain a healthy growth during the day.

The admirable flavour of the fruit could not have been owing to high
temperature, nor to bright and long-continued sunshine, for the
weather was stormy, with many dark sunless days. It was caused by
the free access of air constantly passing over the leaves, incessantly
feeding them on the one hand, and helping them on the other to
elaborate their juices by the as incessant removal of their superfluous
water. The fruit was not indeed very large, but its size was as great
as sufficed to render it an ornament to a table, as the following weights
of fruit cut in 1847 prove.

July 7—2 Queens, whose united weights were 8 Ibs. 6 oz.
18—1 ” ” ” 4
WT 4,

Aug. 11—1__,, 3

14—1 _,,
21—1 Enville
24—1 Queen
31—1 _s—=»,

Sept. 26—1 Enville

Oct. 4—1 Montserrat

9—1 ”

SCWMROMANNAOHS

4
4
4
6
” ” 4
4
6
4
5
5

Total . ‘ ‘i - 65 Ibs, 15 oz.

Others, cut at intervals, weighed from 3 Ibs. 8 oz. to 4 Ibs.

One of the most essential of the alterations which occur in

fruits during ripening is the decomposition or dissipation of
the water that they attract from the stem. A diminished supply

of

water will, under equal circumstances, produce an accelerated

maturation, because less time will be required to decompose

VITALITY OF SEEDS. 103

or dissipate this constituent; and, on the other hand, an
excessive supply of water will retard or prevent ripening, in
consequence of the longer time required for the same purpose.

Seeds are affected by all circumstances that affect the fruit,
which, indeed, as has been already stated, appears to be
created for their nutrition and preservation. In general, the
fruit attracts organizable matter from the stem through the
stalk, and the seed from the fruit through its placenta; * and
this accounts, independently of other causes, for the importance
of the fruit to the seed:

When the seed is ripe it is dry, all its free water being
parted with ; and its interior is occupied by starch or fixed oil,
or some other such substance, together with earthy matters. It
would seem that, so long as these secretions remain un-
decomposed, so long does the vitality of the seed continue
unimpaired ; and hence the great age at which certain kinds of
seeds have been found to grow. But, as it is difficult to
prevent their decomposition, so is it difficult to preserve
seminal vitality for any considerable time; and the differences
found in the duration of the growing powers of seeds probably
depend principally upon differences in their chemical consti-
tution. Oily seeds, which readily decompose, are among the
most perishable; starchy seeds, which are least subject to
change, are the most tenacious of life.

Not to speak of the doubtful instances of seeds taken from the
Pyramids having germinated, Melons have been known to grow at the
age of forty years, Kidneybeans at a hundred, Sensitive-Plant at sixty,
Rye at forty; and there are now living, in the garden of the
Horticultural Society, Raspberry plants raised from seeds sixteen-
hundred or seventeen-hundred years old. The seeds of Charlock
buried in former ages spring up in railway cuttings; where ancient
forests are destroyed, plants appear which had never been seen before,
but whose seeds have been buried in the ground; when some land was
recovered from the Baltic sea, a Carex was found upon it, now unknown
in that part of Europe. M. Fries, of. Upsala, succeeded in growing a

* The placenta is a soft part of the interior of a fruit, upon which the seed is
formed. It is composed of thin-sided parenchyma, the most absorbent of all the
forms of tissue, and is in communication, by its whole surface, with the parenchyma
of the fruit.

104 -GERMINATION.

species of Hieracium from seeds which had been in his herbarium
upwards of fifty years. Desmoulins has recorded an instance of the
opening of ancient tombs, in which seeds were found, and on being
planted they produced species of Scabiosa and Heliotropium. And
many more such cases are on record, establishing conclusively that,
under favourable conditions, the vitality of seeds is preserved for
indefinite periods.

Warmth, moisture, and an excess of oxygen, but especially
warmth and moisture, while they are the greatest causes of
germination, are probably, on that same account, the chief
causes of death. It seems as if seeds remain dormant so long
as the proportion of carbon peculiar to them is undiminished ;
water is decomposed by their vital force; and itis believed that
its oxygen, combining with the carbon, forms carbonic acid,
which is given off. The effect of access of water is, therefore,
to rob seeds of their carbon; and the effect of destroying their
carbon is to deprive them of the principal means which they
possess of preserving their vitality.

Be this as it may, it is incontestable that as soon as seeds begin to
germinate, their vitality is exhausted and they perish, unless the seed
is in a condition to continue its growth by obtaining sufficient food from
surrounding media.

Although a seed, if fully formed, is in all cases capable of
perpetuating its race, yet there is a difference in the degree to
which this capability extends. All seeds will not equally
produce vigorous seedlings: but the healthiness of the new
plant will correspond with that of the seed from which it
sprang. For this reason, it is not sufficient to sow a seed to
obtain a given plant: but, in all cases where any importance is
attached to the result, the plumpest and heaviest seeds should
be selected, if the greatest vigour is required in the seedling;
and feeble or less perfectly formed seeds, when it is desirable
to check natural luxuriance. It is apparently for this reason,
that old Melon seed is preferred to new; for the latter would
give birth to plants too luxuriant for the small space in which
the Melon can be cultivated, under the artificial circumstances
required in this country.

REMOVAL OF FRUIT BENEFICIAL. 105

Since both fruit and seeds are maintained at the expense of
the leaves, the destruction of the former, when young, will
enable the latter to deposit against a succeeding season, for the
support of future flowers, all that organizable matter which the
fruits and seeds destroyed would have otherwise consumed.

CHAPTER VIII.

+
OF TEMPERATURE.

LIMITS OF TEMPERATURE ENDURABLE BY PLANTS.—EFFECTS OF A TOO
HIGH TEMPERATURE.—OF A TOO LOW TEMPERATURE,.—FROST.—ALTER-
NATIONS OF TEMPERATURE.—DAY AND NIGHT.—WINTER AND SUMMER,
—-TEMPERATURE OF EARTH AND ATMOSPHERE.

Tue extreme limits of temperature which vegetables are
capable of bearing, without destruction of their vitality, have
not been determined with precision; it is, however, known,
that, on the one hand, certain seeds may be boiled without
being killed, and that, on the other, they are capable of bearing
many degrees of freezing without suffering. In like manner,
some plants are found to endure the most intense cold known
upon the globe, while others sustain, occasionally, a tempe-
rature as high as 140°, as was -observed by Dr. Coulter on the
banks of the Rio Colorado.* The number of plants, however,
capable of sustaining such extremes of temperature is small,
and the greater part of the species known to us are proved to
exist within the limits of 82° and 90°. What amount of tempe-
rature a given species will prefer, under different circumstances,
seems reducible to no general rule, but has to be determined
experimentally in each case, or is judged of by the known climate
of which a plant may be a native. It is probable that every
species has a constitution better suited to some particular
amount of temperature than to any other, although it can bear
a greater or less degree without sustaining injury.

Although many plants will live in a temperature much below

* The temperature borne by Oscillatorias in thermal springs is much higher than
this; but no such power is possessed by cudéwable plants,

EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE. 107

that of freezing, yet no plant is able to grow unless the
temperature is above 32°, for physical reasons that require no
explanation. When temperature rises, the air contained in the
minute cells of plants expands, the fluids become thinner, the
excitability of the tissue is aroused, and, at the same time,
insensible perspiration is commenced, the effect of which is to
augment the absorbing powers of the roots, and thus to set
the machinery of vegetation in action. The degree of tem-
perature required to produce this effect is extremely variable
in different species of even the same climate, and is, of course,
much more variable between plants of different climates. For
example, the common weeds called Chickweed; Groundsell,
and Poa annua, evidently grow readily at a temperature very
near that of 82°; while the nettles, mallows, and other weeds
around them, remain torpid. In like manner, while our native
trees are suited to bear the low temperature of an English
summer, and, in most cases, suffer if they are removed into a
country much warmer, such plants as the Mango, the Coffee,
&c., inhabitants of tropical countries, soon perish, even in our
warmest weather, if exposed to the open air.

When, in the case of a given plant, the temperature is
permanently maintained at a much higher degree than the
species requires, it is over-excited. If the atmosphere is pre-
served in a proportional state of humidity, the tissue grows
faster than the vital forces of the plant are capable of solidifying
it, its excitability is gradually expended, the whole of its
organization becomes enfeebled, the vital functions are
deranged, and a state of general debility is brought on.

According to Mr. Knight, the effect of an excessively high tempera-
ture is to cause, in unisexual plants, the production of male flowers
only, while a very low temperature produces the contrary result. A
Water Melon plant was grown in a house, the heat of which was some-
times raised to 110° during the middle of warm and bright days, and
which generally varied, in such days, from 90° to 105°, declining
during the evening to about 80°, and to 70° in the night; the air was
kept damp by copious sprinkling with water, of nearly the temperature
of the external air, and little ventilation was allowed. The plant,
under these circumstances, grew with great health and luxuriance, and
afforded a most abundant blossom; but all its flowers were male.

108 HIGH TEMPERATURE.

“This result,” he says, ‘did not, in any degree, surprise me; for I
had many years previously succeeded, by long-continued very low
temperature, in making Cucumber plants produce female flowers only ;
and I entertain but little doubt that the same fruit-stalks might be
made, in this and the preceding species, to support either male or female
flowers in obedience to external causes.” (Hort. Trans. vol. ili. p. 460.)
It would seem that among Cucurbits, the power to form pollen in
the nascent floral leaves is increased by heat; and that being so, to
raise the temperature unduly, will have the effect of forming male
flowers instead of females; on the contrary, cold seems to interfere
with the formation of pollen, and in that case a low temperature must
produce females in preference to males. In what precise way a high
temperature acts upon the Cucumber, we cannot judge of. We see
the effects, but we cannot perceive the immediate operation of the
cause. It is, however, notorious, as has already been shown (Chap-
ter VI.), that there is something at work in nature which does influence
the fashioning of leaves into stameus or carpels; and there is reason to
believe that the former are often the result of increased vigour. Thus,
in the Hemp plant, the males may be known from the females by their
larger size, and greater strength ; and Fir-trees will bear cones.in the
feebleness of youth, but not their clusters of stamens, till, the tree is in
the prime of its age. And it may very well be, that in the case of the
Cucumber, the application of unwonted heat may have, and probably
does have, the effect of so increasing the vital force, as to throw into
the nascent leaves of the flower-buds that quality which results in the
development within their cells of the highly organized material called
pollen.

One of our German translators says that in a moist atmosphere, and
low temperature, Pelargoniums will form little or no pollen, while,
under opposite circumstances, even mules produce pollen enough to
become fertile.

Plants, forced in such an improperly high temperature, are
soft and watery, with thin leaves, long joints, slender stems,
and with no disposition to produce flowers. A slight lowering
of temperature affects them more than a much greater lowering
would have done under other circumstances; and a permanent
abstraction of light readily destroys them. Their inability to
decompose carbonic acid, and to assimilate their food in pro-
portion to their rate of growth, prevents their becoming so
green as is natural to them, and gives them a pallid hue; and
if it is their nature to form other colouring matter, that uli is
greatly diminished. But, if, with a preternatural elevation of

LOW TEMPERATURE. 109

temperature, there is a proportionate abstraction of moisture,
the loss of fluid, by perspiration and evaporation, goes on faster
than the roots can make it good, or the tissue transmit it; old
leaves “burn” and dry up; and young leaves perish as fast as
they are formed.

Such being the result of preternaturally high temperature
in dryness and in moisture, it is éasy to conceive that, although
such extremes cannot but be prejudicial, yet that they may be
approached for particular purposes with advantage. A high
temperature, and dryness, will be favourable to the formation
of secretions of whatever kind, while a high temperature, with
moisture, will lead to the production of leaves and branches
only.

According to Humboldt, this happens to the Wheat grown about
Xalapa in Mexico, which will not mount into ear, but produces an
abundance of grass, on which account it is cultivated as a fodder plant.

An unnaturally low temperature is productive of evils of
another kind. A certain amount of heat is necessary to each
particular species, to enable it to grow at all: the immediate
effect of heat being to rouse the vital forces, and to bring them
into action. If the amount of heat to which a plant is exposed
be sufficient to effect this purpose, the functions of the plant
are natural and healthy; the consequences of exceeding it
have been explained, those of diminishing it are not less
disadvantageous. Ifthe temperature to which a growing plant
is exposed is not lowered so much as to destroy it, but just
reduced to that point within which it will continue to live, the
plant is brought, by the absence of a sufficient exciting cause,
into a state not unlike that already described as resulting from
over-excitement. It absorbs food from the earth and air, but
it cannot assimilate it; its tissue grows, but is not solidified by
the incorporation of assimilated matter; aqueous particles
accumulate in the interior, a general yellowness ensues, partly
from the want of a sufficient power of decomposing carbonic
acid, and partly from inability to decompose the water collected
in the interior. The consequence is a want of the means of
forming the usual secretions; flavour, sweetness, nutritive

110 FREEZING.

matter, are each diminished ; and the power of flowering and
fruiting is lost. If the unhealthiness of the plant is not so
great as to prevent the production of flowers, still they may not
expand, as often happens to double roses in cold summers in
England; or, if the flowers do unfold, the fertilising power of
the pollen is impaired or destroyed, and no production of seed
takes place. x

That the absence of healthy colour is sometimes owing to
low temperature is certain. But the cause of the formation of
different colours in different plants is too obscure a subject to
suit the purpose of this work. Itis, however, as well to observe
that the effect of decomposing carbonic acid and exhaling
oxygen is the production of a green colour, the intensity of
which is, in general, in proportion to the decomposing cause,
that is to say, to light: but that, if from any circumstances
water is not given off, but is retained in the system and allowed
to accumulate, the green colour is altered and changes to
yellow; as if the vegetable blue, which must exist in combi-
nation with yellow in order to form green, were discharged.
Such, indeed, is Macquart’s explanation of the phenomenon;
and it appears most conformable to theory and fact. It may be
regarded as incontestable, that among the most efficient means
of securing intense colours is free exposure to air as well as
light. Experience tells us that, all other circumstances being
equal, flowers, fruit, or leaves produced without artificial
covering and at a moderate temperature, are much deeper in
colour than those which are developed under glass, in highly
heated buildings, where fresh air has little access.

Should the temperature be so much lowered as to result in
freezing, a destruction of some plants and injury to others takes
place, owing to physical causes quite different from those whose
operation has been explained in the last paragraph. In what
degree frost acts upon the vegetable fabric depends upon the
specific nature of a plant, the least frost destroying some
species, while others, under equal circumstances, endure any
known amount of natural cold.

The manner in which coxp acts upon plants is one of the problems
which have never yet been solved, and probably never will be. We see

FREEZING. 111

its effects, but all attempts at investigating their causes have proved
eminently unsuccessful. That a low temperature, or frost, acts
differently upon different plants very nearly allied to each other is
notorious ; and this even where they are mere varieties of each other.
The China Rose, for instance, resists any amount of English cold; the
variety called the Tea-scented perishes, or suffers severely, in every
ordinary winter. The gay-flowered Senecios of the Canaries, known in
gardens under the name of Cinerarias, shrink from the mere approach
of frost, and perish upon its first arrival ; yet the Ragworts, and Mug-
worts, and Groundsels, all equally Senecios, can bear a Russian winter.
In like manner Oaks, Chesnuts, Conifers, exhibit similar differences in
their power of resisting frost.

It has been suggested that the fluids contained in different species of
plants may themselves act differently in the presence of cold; just as
oil of turpentine requires a temperature of 14° to freeze, while oil of
Bergamot freezes at 23°, and Olive oil at 36°. But although this may
be true to a limited extent, yet it by no means explains the phenomenon
in question. The plant z,. for instance, perishes from frost, while
another, identical with it in nature, lives with impunity within two
yards of it, both having been exposed to the same temperature. In
this case the fluids of the two will be chemically the same, and yet the
results are opposite. Again, the Long-leaved Pine (P. longifolia) is
quite tender, while the Gerard Pine, exceedingly like it, is hardy; in
this case there is no ground for supposing that the fluids contained in
these species are different. In fact, except that all plants suffer from
cold in proportion to the quantity of water they contain, we have no
kind, of evidence to show that the quality of their fluids has any
material influence upon their power of resisting cold; for it is by no
means true, as some foo hastily assert, that resinous trees, like Conifers,
are rendered hardy by the resin they contain ; the Norfolk Island Pine
and the Malay Dammar are tender, although both resinous and
coniferous.

In this, as in so many other horticultural questions, the difficulty of
the subject vanishes when we desist from a ‘vain search after un-
discoverables. It is by attempting to explain every phenomenon of life
by the known laws of chemistry, electricity, and similar agencies, that
we plunge into a labyrinth of perplexity—

‘* And find no end, in wandering mazes lost.”

But the moment we admit the presence everywhere among all plants
of a vital principle, and thus recognise a direct analogy between plants
and animals, the principle of life in the two kingdoms being identical,
but differently manifested, then we tread on the firm ground consoli-
dated by the march of ages, and find in the experience of animal

112

FROZEN PLANTS.

physiology the elucidation of what is obscure in that of vegetables.
Tt is true that we then abandon the pursuit of first causes, and confess
the vanity of that curiosity which nothing can satisfy ; but we exchange
rationalism for materialism, and we learn how to apply experience to
daily uses.

It is an axiom in animal physiology, that ‘‘the general effect of cold
on living bodies is a diminution of vital activity, which terminates, if
the cold be intense, and its application continued, in death.” (Pereira.)
Henee it is to be inferred, that all living things whatsoever must finally
perish beneath the influence of cold, provided it is severe enough, and
prolonged enough. But living things have each their separate consti-
tutional vitality, the power of which in resisting cold differs between
species and species, or variety and variety, and even between individual
and individual. It is a peculiarity derived from the great source of all
things; a reality; inexplicable but indisputable; like light, and heat,
and electricity. We see it manifested among plants between the yellow
and the spider Ophrys, and the Tea Rose and the China Rose; as
among animals between the ass and the zebra, the Negro and
the Esquimaux, the terrier and the Italian greyhound. The moment
we admit this principle, the mode of dealing with cold in gardens
becomes analogous to that which experience tells us is effectual in the
animal world. When a man is frozen, if he is suddenly thawed, he
dies, or his limbs drop off; and so of frozen plants; nothing brings
them such certain death as a sudden elevation of temperature. When
the French retreated from Moscow, frozen noses and limbs were common,
but immediate rubbing them with snow removed the tendency to
congelation, and hence it became a practice for the unhappy men to
look narrowly after each other’s noses ; for each could see his neighbour’s
although he could neither feel nor see his own. As long ago as the
days of Hippocrates it was known that a man who had had his feet
frozen, lost them if plunged into warm water. It is exactly the same
among plants; it is certain that a frozen plant, though tender, will not
perish if it is gradually thawed, by being watered plentifully with cold
water. Thus early Peas, Kidney Beans, and the like, are often saved by
merely giving them a good watering the first thing in the morning
before the sun is on them. It is asserted, and we doubt not with
perfect truth, that wall trees, whose blossoms have been frozen, have
had their crop saved by copiously syringing before sunrise, In all
these cases it is, however, indispensable that the artificial thawing be
practised before the solar rays can fall upon the object frozen; the
sudden elevation of temperature, necessarily produced by morning
sunbeams, renders all after-applications useless, And hence it is that
the need of artificial thawing is altogether removed by planting tender
things at the back of north or west walls, or behind screens, In such

Situations, sudden changes of temperature will not occur; but the

EFFECTS OF COLD. 113

natural thawing must of necessity be very gradual. In the summer of
1849, an evergreen New Holland Beech, well known to be tender, was
planted experimentally on the north of a ruined wall. In the
succeeding winter it was remarked that.the upper part of it was not
screened from the sun; but about three-fourths of it next the ground
was perfectly screened. On the approach of spring it was found that the
part exposed to the sun was killed fo the level of the wall; while the
parts below the level were unchanged even in colour. When we add
- this to the cases of Fuchsias, Camellias, Tree Ponies, &c., now becoming
so generally well known, it seems impossible to doubt that, the vitality of
plants and animals being the same, the same methods of treatment
which are known to be requisite in the one case are equally effectual in
the other.

The congelation of the aqueous particles contained in plants
is in itself sufficient to cause such a derangement of function
as may end in death, and other supposed causes may be left
out of consideration. It will thus follow that, omitting
differences arising out of the peculiar nature of different species,
plants will suffer from frost in proportion to the abundance and
fluidity of their secretions; those whose tissue is driest, and
whose secretions are most dense, being the most capable of
resisting frost. Hence young shoots are destroyed by a degree
of cold which does not affect old shoots of the same species ;
and hence, also, the diminished capability of “unripe” shoots,
or of plants growing in wet situations, or of trees when they
first begin to vegetate, of enduring extreme cold.*

The effect of cold is, as has been seen, to diminish excita-

* M. De Candolle gives the following as the laws of temperature with respect to its
influence upon vegetation :—

1. All other things being equal, the power of each plant, and of each part of a plant,
to resist extremes of temperature, is in the inverse ratio of the quantity of water they
contain.

2. The power of plants to resist extremes of femperature is directly in proportion
to the viscidity of their fluids.

8. The power of plants to resist cold is in the inverse ratio of the rapidity with
which their fluids circulate.

4, The liability to freeze, of the fluids contained in plants, is greater in proportion
to the size of the cells.

5. The power of plants to resist extremes of temperature is in a direct proportion
to the quantity of confined air which the structure of their organs gives them the
means of retaining in the more delicate parts.

6. The power of plants to resist extremes of temperature is in direct proportion to
the capability which the roots possess of absorbing sap less exposed to the external
influence of the atmosphere and the sun.

I

114 DIURNAL VARIATIONS OF TEMPERATURE.

bility ; of heat, to stimulate it ; but, if the latter stimulus were
constantly equal, it may be conceived that the excitability
would soon become impaired or expended. Nature has, how-
ever, provided against this result, not only by the fluctuations,
of temperature that occur at different periods of the day, but
more particularly by the periodical fall of temperature at night
and its rise during the day; an arrangement intimately con-
nected with all the vital actions of vegetation. In the day,
when light is strongest, and its evaporating and decomposing
powers most energetic, temperature rises and stimulates the
vitality of plants, so as to meet the demand thus made upon
them; then, as light diminishes, and with it the necessity for
excessive stimulus, temperature falls, and reaches its minimum
at night, the time when there is the least demand upon the
vital forces of vegetation; so that plants, like animals, have
their diurnal seasons of action and repose. During the day,
the system of a plant is exhausted of fluid by the aqueous
exhalations that take place under the influence of sun-light;
at night, when little or no perspiration occurs, the waste of the
day is made good by the attraction of the roots, and by morning
the system is again filled with liquid matter, ready to meet the
demand to be made upon it on the ensuing day. No plants
will remain in a healthy state unless these conditions be ob-
served.* It is however to be remembered, that the amount of
rest, or, in other words, the amount of difference between day
and night, varies greatly in different countries, owing to circum-
stances imperfectly explained, but especially to radiation at
night. Thus, at midsummer, the range of temperature is
nearly 23° near London; in Australia, according to Sir Tho-
mas Mitchell, 55° (see Journ. of Hort. Soc., III. 288); but at
Madras not more than 11°. Such peculiarities point to the

different treatment demanded by Australian plants and by those
from the peninsula of India. .

From very careful comparison of the hourly temperature Observed at
Madras, from. 1841 to 1845, Mr. Robert Thompson has calculated the
following table, which exhibits the average lowest temperature at

* The incessant vegetation of arctic countries during their summer is an exception
to this rule ; but not such as to affect the general truth of the foregoing propositions.

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT MADRAS AND CHISWICK. 115

night, the average highest temperature in the day, and the average
range of daily temperature, in each month, at Mapras, lat. 13° 4’:—

Average | Average | Average

Mowrus. dees. | ene: eee ae

ture. ture. ture.

January. . . . . «| 727 «| Sil 8-4
February. . . . . «| 726 83:6 11:0
March. . . . . . .) 769 87°6 10°7
April... ... .| 81:0 91:4 10-4
May .......| 824 | 929 | 105
June . .. 5s... .| 82:0 93-0 11:0
July... ... «| 815 | 923 | 108
August . . . . . .{ 801 90-2 10:1
September . . . . «| 79:2 88'5 9°3
October . . . . - .] 774 84:9 75
November .... .| 74:3 82°8 85
December. . . . . .| 73:0 80°6 76
Year . ..... {| 77°76 87-40 9°65

He also finds that the average lowest temperature at night, the
average highest temperature in the day, and the average range of daily
temperature, in each month, at Curswicx, near London, from 1826 to
1858, are as follows :— :

Average Average Average
Mowras, ieenprre. | Ganper: [of earnest

ture. ture. ture.

January . . . . . «| 80°78 42:59 11°81
February. . . . . .{ 82°42 | 45°83 | 13-40
March. . . . . . «| 83°72 50°74 17-01
April. . . . . . «| 86°89 57:42 20°53
May ...... .| 42:90 | 6479 | 21-89
June . . ... . «| 49°16 71:86 22°70
July... . . . «| 51°98 74:36 22°38
August . . . . . .| 51:01 73:04 22:03
September . . . . .| 46°64 67°33 20°69
October . . . . . «| 41°36 58°76 17:40
November . .. . .| 86:22 49:93 13-71
December. . . . . «| 88°95 45°33 11:37
Year . . . . . . «| 40°59 58°50 17°91

12

116 ALTERNATION OF SEASONS.

“From the preceding tables it will be seen, that the average daily
range is nearly one-half less in a tropical climate than it is in the
neighbourhood of London, and that it does not exceed 11°, the average
being a little more than 94°; whilst in the higher latitude it is
nearly 18°,”

The alternation of seasons seems to be intended to produce
the like effects in a more extended manner, so that the summer
season may be regarded as one long day, and the winter as a
night of similar duration. The long days, bright light, and
elevated temperature of summer, push the powers of vegetation
to their limits; towards the end of the season excitability
becomes impaired, all the vessels and perishable parts are worn
out, leaves choke up, and can neither breathe nor digest, and
the system of a plant, by the incessant exhalation of aqueous
matter, becomes dried up, as it were, and exhausted. At that
time temperature keeps falling, and light diminishing, till at
last, upon the arrival of winter, neither the one nor the other
is sufficient to excite the vital actions, and a ‘plant sinks into
comparative repose. At this time, however, its vital. actions
are not arrested ; if they were, it would be dead or absolutely
torpid: they are only diminished in intensity. The roots
continue to absorb from the soil food, which is slowly impelled
into the system, whence it finds no exit: it therefore gradually
accumulates, and in the course of time refills all those parts
which the previous summer’s expenditure had emptied. In the
meanwhile the excitability of the plant is recovered by rest,
and may be even conceived to accumulate with the food that
the absorbent system of the roots is storing up. At length,
when the temperature of the season has reached the requisite
amount, excitability is once more aroused, an abundance of
liquid food is ready to maintain it, and growth recommences,
rapidly or slowly in proportion to the amount of excitement, to the
length of previous repose, and to the quantity of food which had
been accumulated. In hot climates, where winter is unknown,
the requisite periodicity of stimulus and rest is provided for by
what are called the dry and the rainy seasons, the former
being equivalent to the winter, the latter to the summer, of
northern latitudes.

[411 a6nd aovf o7,

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IMPORTANCE OF TEMPERATURE, 117

A very extensive and valuable series of temperatures, observed all
over the world, has been compiled by Mr. Thompson, and published in
the Journal of the Horticultural Society, Vol. IV., to which the reader
is referred.

As plants have little power of generating heat, like animals,
except in particular cases, and very locally,* they are princi-
pally dependent upon the media that surround them for the
heat which they require. Considering the great importance of
heat in their economy, it is, for the purposes of gardening,
necessary to ascertain what proportion is usually borne to each
other, in different countries, by the temperatures of the earth
and atmosphere, the chief media by which plants can be affected.
Upon the temperature of the atmosphere there are numerous
observations in many countries; upon that of the earth much
fewer. It has been considered that the temperature of springs
affords sufficient evidence of the temperature of the, earth ; but,
so far as vegetation is concerned, this evidence.is unsatisfactory.
Springs, deriving their origin from considerable depths, have a
nearly uniform temperature all the year round: but the tempe-
rature of the earth’s surface varies with the seasons; is
extremely different in summer and winter;‘and ‘is affected by
the quality of the soil, in proportion as that is more or less
absorbent and retentive of heat. What we want to know, as
respects vegetation, is, not the mean temperature of the earth
at some distance from its surface, but the temperature imme-
diately below the surface; i. e. of that part of the soil which
the roots of plants penetrate, and whence they derive their
food. It is also requisite that this should be ascertained

monthly, so as to furnish the means of comparing the terres-
trial temperature with the periodical state of vegetation. Such
being the case, the temperature indicated by springs will be too
high in winter, and too low in summer, a most material error.

I am indebted to Mr. Robert Thompson for the following highly
important tables indicating the ascertained temperature of the earth in
various parts of the world.

* Allusion is here, ‘of course, made to the extrication of heat during the periods of
flowering and germination, phenomena which have no obvious connexion with cultiva-
tion.

118 TEMPERATURE OF ENGLAND.

II,—Mean TempErature oF THE Harta AND oF THE Arr at Cuiswicx, Lat. 51° 29’ ;
ON THE AVERAGH oF 10 yuars, 1844—1853.

MAN TEMEEEA TUES mu OF DIFFERENCE.
Mean of Earth | Earth
Months, 1 foot. | 2 feet. | land 2 warmer | colder
feet. than air. |than air.
January . . . | 40°07 | 41-02 | 40°54 || 38-21 || 2°33
February. . . | 39°74 | 40°51 | 40°12 || 38-42 |) 1-70
March. . . . | 40°96 | 41°57 | 41-26 || 40°49 |) 0:77
April. . . « | 46°47 | 46-25 | 46-36 || 46°57 0:21
May . . . «| 53°11 | 52:01 | 52°56 || 53-54 0-98
June . . . « | 60°02 | 58°47 | 59-24 || 60-45 1-21
July . . . . | 62°85 | 61-71 | 62-28 || 63-40 1:12
August . . . | 61°80 | 61:26 | 61°53 |] 61:28 || 0-25
September . . | 57:54 | 57-89 | 57-71 || 56-14 || 1-57
October . . . | 51:52 | 52°79 | 52°16 || 49°35 || 2°80
November . . | 46°01 | 47-28 | 46-64 || 42-89 || 3°75
December . . | 41°13 | 42°83 | 41:98 || 38:14 |] 3-84
50°10 | 50°30 | 50-20 || 49-07 |] 1:13

From the above it appears that, in the first three months of the year,
the thermometer at the depth of two feet indicates a somewhat higher
temperature than that at one foot deep. The latter, from April till
August, is higher than the one at two feet. But from September till the
end of the year, or in fact till April, the ground at two feet deep is warmer
than at one foot. Again, it will be seen that in April, May, June, and
July, the earth at one and two feet deep is on the average nearly a degree
colder than the air; but in all the other months it is warmer.

TEMPERATURE OF SWEDEN. 119

JII.—TemPeratuRe OF THE EARTH AND OF THE AIR AT Upsat, Lat. 59° 52’;
ON THE AVERAGE oF 8 yEaRS, 1838—1845. (Calculated from data in a
Mémoire sur la Température de la Terre & Upsal, par A. J. Angstrém.)

MEAN

MEAN TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH. Temp. oF || DIFFERENCE.
THE AIR.
Mean of Earth
ag Bt 1p
monte | AS ER] tas Nee
e~ |S*
January . | 33:55 | 36-85 | 41-27 | 45-38 | 35-20 || 23-70 |] 11-50
February. | 31-43 | 35°25 | 37-57 | 43-36 | 33-34 || 19-96 || 13-37
March. . | 31:16 | 34-22 | 36-32 | 41:84 | 32-69 | 25-65 || 7-038
‘| April. . | 34:87 | 34°85 | 37-90 | 40°66 | 34:86 || 37-17 2°31
May . .| 46-44 | 43-44 | 89-86 | 41-15 | 44-94 || 49-07 4-13
June . .| 56-49 | 50°38 | 48-53 | 44-47 | 53-43 |] 57-61 4:18
July . . | 60-12 | 55-10 | 51-27 | 48-90 | 57-61 |] 60-64 3-03
August . | 60-96 | 57-79 | 53°78 | 52°36 | 59-37 || 60-52 114
September | 56°11 | 54:91 | 53:59 | 54-22 | 55-31 || 52-06 || 3-44
October . | 45°57 | 48-48 | 49-81 | 53-66 | 47-02 || 40-30 || 6-72
November | 38-54 | 42-63 | 47-18 | 51-21 | 40-59 || 31-49 |} 9-09
December | 35-21 | 88°65 | 41:41 | 48-00 | 36-93 || 28-41 |] 8-51
44-26 | 44-19 | 44-22 | 47-11 | 44-22 || 40-68 || 3-54

Notwithstanding the intensity of the Scandinavian winters, it appears
that the thermometer at two feet deep falls very little below freezing,
although the mean temperature of the air is far below that experienced
in this country in the most severe winters. The difference between the
temperature of the earth at 2 feet and 3 feet 103 inches, on the average,
and that of the air, is no less than 13-37° in the month of February.
This great difference is doubtless owing to radiation of heat from the
earth being prevented by a covering of snow. From April till August,
the air, as at: Chiswick, is warmer than the earth.

120

TEMPERATURE OF DENMARK.

IV.—TemPrRATURE OF THE EARTH AND OF THE AIR AT CoPENHAGEN, LAT, 55° 41’;
?

ON THE AVERAGE oF 8 yEARS, 1842—1849.

Society of Denmark.)

(Transactions of the Royal

Mean temp. DIFFERENCE.
Name, “nt ipiect | ofan. | Barth | Barth

deep. than air. air.
January . soe ew «| 68662 31:99 4°63
February. » . «| 3484 | 29°60 4:74
March, . . oe a | 85°25 33°60 1°65
April. . . . | 40°65 | 48-61 2:96
May .. . | 50°34 | 52-98 2-64
June . | 58°71 60°60 1:89
July . ~ . » | 60°36 62:33 1:97
August oo Seber C1 63°12 0:35
September . 57°34 | 54°62 2°72
October ee ee | 50°45 48-02 2°33
November oe ee | 44:24 40-06 4:18
December 2 es a 6 | 89°79 84°95 4°74

47:50 46:39 111

Earth warmer than the air in winter, early spring and autumn, but
colder during the summer, are the results of observations made at
Copenhagen by Mr. Weilbach. On the year, the average excess of the
ground temperature above that of the air is almost the same as at
Chiswick, the former being 1:11, the latter 1:13.

TEMPERATURE OF THE NILGHERRIES. 121

V.—MeEsn TEMPERATURE oF THE EartTH AND or tHE AIR at DopABETTA,
Nitewzrry Hrurs, var. 11° 23’; wLEvaTIon 8640 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL
OF THE SEA. (Met. Obs., by 7. G. Taylor, Esq.)

TEMPERATURE OF THE _ TEMPERATURE

EARTH, AT 1 FOOT DEEP. OF THE AIR. DISFERENCE,

| 34
Months. | Max. | Min. | Mean. || Max. | Min. | ‘Mean. Bee |
Fs

Earth
colder
than Air.

January . | 62°00 54:00 | 58-00 j 58°60: 44-40 | 51:50 || 6°50
February. | 57°70 | 54:00 | 55°85 | 56°70 | 45-90 | 51°30 || 4°55
March, . | 63°40 | 58°30 | 60°85 | 61°70 | 47-10 | 54°40 |] 6:45
April. . | 62°40 | 58°60 | 60°50 | 61°30 | 51-20 | 56°25 || 4:25
May . . | 63°60 | 59°60 | 61°60 | 62:40 | 49°90 | 56-15 || 5:45
June . . | 56°80 | 54°70 | 55°75 | 54°90 | 46-10 | 50°50 || 5:25
July . . | 56°30 | 53°30 | 54°80 | 54:40 | 47-90 | 51°15 || 3°65
August , | 57:80 | 53-80 | 55°80 | 55-10 | 46°80 | 50-95 || 4°85
September | 54°40 | 53°70 | 54:05 | 54:90 | 47-40 | 51°15 || 2-90
October . | 58-40 | 54:40 | 56:40 | 55-60 | 48-10 | 51°85 |) 4-55
November | 59°30 | 53°80 | 56°55 | 55°60 | 47-20 | 51°40 || 5-10
December | 55-70 | 51:00 | 53-35 | 54-00 | 45-10 | 49°55 || 3-80

58-98 | 54:93 | 56°95 | 57°10 | 47°26 | 52°18 || 4°77 | 0-0

At this latitude and elevation, the average temperature of the earth
at one foot deep is higher throughout the year than that of the air:
the average difference being 4:77. The greatest difference occurs in
January and March, and the least in September.

122

TEMPERATURE OF THE HIMALAYAS, -

VIL—Trmprrature or tHE Barta AND of THE Arr AT DoRJILING, LAT. 27° 3;
ELEVATION 7430 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL oF THE SEA. (From data in
Hooker's Himalayan Journal.)

Meantemp. DIFFERENCE.
Months. Sea fe to | ora. | arth | Barth
Ofisdeep: than air. | than air.
January. » + e+ + 46-0 40-0 6:0
February. . 2. 2 ss 48-0 421 5:9
March .... se 50°0 50°7 0-7
April. 2. 2. 1. 2 we 58-0 55°9 21
May... sess 61:0 57°6 34
JUNE p> Soo a Ae en BS 62:0 61-2 0-8
duly av aw es «| O22 | Bre | os
August 2... ee 62:0 61-7 0-3
September . . .. . 61:0 599 11
October . . . sw we 60:0 58:0 2-0
November . .... 55°0 50°0 5:0
December ..... 49:0 43-0 6:0
| 56:2 | 53:5 | 27

Here, as in the Nilgherry Hills, the temperature of the earth is in
every month above that of the atmosphere, excepting in March. The
descrepancy, as in lower situations and higher latitudes, is in favour of
the earth being on the average warmer than the air, but more especially
so in winter. They nearly coincide in March and August.

VII.—TempEratTurE oF THE EARTH AND oF THE AIR IN THE PLAINS OF BENGAL.

At Dacea, lat. 23° 50’, and 72 feet above the level of the sea, Dr. Joseph
Hooker found the temperature of the earth at the depth of two feet
seven inches was 84°, in the end of May; and the mean temperature
of the air ranged at the same time from 75:3 to 95°5; its mean therefore
nearly corresponded with that of the earth. At ten stations in these
plains, varying from 72 to 131 feet, above the level of the sea, the
mean of the indications of the ground thermometer during May was
85°53; the approximate mean temperature of the air was 82°30; the
difference therefore was only 3-23.

OF THE PENINSULA OF INDIA, AND AUSTRALIA. 123

VIII.—TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH AND AIR, AS OBSERVED BY Caprain NEWBOLD
aT BELLARY, ON THE CENTRE OF THE TABLE-LAND oF PerninsuLaz Inpra,
tat, 15° 5’ N.; evevatron 1600 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE SEA. In the
hot month of May, sky unclouded; soil reddish and light in texture, completely
sheltered by a thatched roof; depth of thermometer for temperature of the
earth one foot.

SUNRISE. Two P.M.
Barth, | {ir in Bath, | ge
First Day . . 1. . «| 865 81-0 1-3 96'5
Second Day. . . . . . | 85:0 78:0 89:0 92:0
Third Day. . . . . «| 855 78°5 90:0 95:0
Fourth Day. . . . . . 87:0 15:0 89-0 92:0
| 86:0 | 78-1 | 89:8 | 93-9

Mean temperature of the earth one foot deep at sunrise and

2pm.» . . . . ‘ : : ‘ ‘ - . 87-9
Mean temperature of the air at sunrise and 2 p.m. . ‘i . 86:0

Difference 1:9

From the above it appears that the earth was nearly four degrees
warmer at 2 p.m. than at sunrise; and that on the average it was
nearly two degrees warmer than the air.

IX.—Vanriattons of TemPERATURE IN New HoLiand, accorpine To Sir Taomas
MrroHEty’s OBSERVATIONS.

a. Noonday Temperatures.

Lat. Months. | Averages. Max. | Min.

29° s. | Nov. Dec. of 3 observations 102° | 103° | 62°

32° s. | Jan. Feb. », 18 rr 974; 115 | 73
31° s. | Feb. March | ,, 17 +3 90 | 110 | 80
30° s. | March 3) 20 is 95 | 105 | 84

b. Night Temperatures.

Occasional Temperature at Sunrise.

Noy. Dec., averaging at noon 102° 62° 58° «61°
Jan. Feb, » «97% 61 59 47
Feb. March, ,, » 90 61 54 48
March, ‘5 » «=—«9 68 55 47

(See Journal of Horticultural Society, III. 297.)

124 TEMPERATURE OF EARTH

X.—Mean Temperature of tHe Earta anp or THN Arr AT TREVANDRUM, IN
Inpra, Lat. 8° 304, N.; enevation 200 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE
SEA, AS OBSERVED BY JoHN CaLpEcorT, Esg., ASTRONOMER To THE Ragan
oF TRAVANCORE, DURING THE YEARS 1843, 1844, 1845.

MEAN TEMPERATURE OF MEAN DIFFERENCE.

TEMP. OF
HE ARIES var Am. || Earth at 3 feet.

Earth | Earth

Months. 12 feet. 6 feet. 8 feet. warmer} colder
than air.|than air,

January. .| 85°528 | 85°618 | 84-954 | 78-930 || 6-024
February .| 85°784 | 86-625 | 86-838 || 80-386 || 6-452
March . .| 86-373 | 88-110 | 88-789 || 82-730 || 6-059

April. . .| 86:916 | 88:527 | 89-614 || 83-370 || 6-244
May. . «|... | 88224 | 88-413 || 81-603 || 6-810
June. . .| 86:878 | 86:883 | 85-012 || 79-023 || 5-989
July. . .| 86:537 | 85:114 | 83-250 || 78-450 || 4-800
August . . |: 85°894 | 84°736 | 83:566 || 78-990 || 4:576
September. | 85°633 | 85:133 | 84:575 || 79-973 || 4-602
October. .| 85°680 | 85°632 | 84-722 || 79-076 || 5-646

November .| 85°651 | 85°271 | 84-622 || 79-750 |j 4:872
December .| 85°607 | 85°303 | 84:228 || 78-030 || 6-198

86:043 | 86:264 | 85°715 || 80-025 |] 5-690 | 000

Here, as at Dodabetta, the mean temperature of the earth averages
higher than that of the air in every month throughout the year, the
excess on the whole being upwards of 54 degrees. At Trevandrum, it
appears that the highest mean temperature of the earth at three feet
deep oceurs in April, and is nearly 90°; the lowest occurs in July, when
it is a little above 83°. Its mean range is between 6 and 7 degrees.
The mean temperature of the air is highest in April, 83-37°, and lowest
in December, 78°; so that the difference between the hottest and coldest
months is only 5 or 6 degrees.

The preceding tables exhibit the relative temperature of the earth
and air at a number of places very differently situated both as regards
latitude and elevation; from Upsal in lat. 59° 52’, to Trevandrum in
lat. 8° 30’; and from Chiswick, Copenhagen, and the Plains of Bengal,
all near the level of the sea, to Dodabetta and Dorjiling, respectively
8640 and 7430 feet above that level. The general results deduced from
these tables are as follows :—

First.—That in all cases the mean temperature of the earth exceeds
that of the air, on the average of the whole year.

IN THE PENINSULA OF INDIA. 125

“Second.—That in some localities, the monthly mean temperature of
the earth is in every month, more or less, higher than that of the air.

Third.—That in other localities the mean temperature of the air
exceeds that of the earth in the summer months only, or from April
till July or August; but from September till March, the earth is
warmer than the air.

The excess of mean temperature of the earth above that of the air,
on the average of observations taken at different places, is as follows :—

Chiswick. . . .« . . 1:18
Upsal . 7 7 : a » . 854
Copenhagen . . . . » dl
Dodabetta . : . . ree a
Dorjiling . . . : - 2°70 :
Plains of Bengal . . . » « 3:23
Bellary . . . .« «. . 1:90
Trevandrum io » 6 » 569

Average 3°01 .

From this it will be seen that at these places the average difference
between the temperature of the earth and the air is least at Copenhagen,
and greatest at Trevandrum. But it must not be thence inferred that
the difference is uniformly greater within the tropics than in high
latitudes, for we have, on the other hand, a greater difference at Upsal,
than at Bellary on the centre of the table-land of India,

There appears to be no series‘ of direct observations upon the
superficial temperature of the earth, at the different periods of
vegetation, in other countries; but some statements are to be
found, here and there, concerning the temperature occasionally
observed, from which it is to be inferred that the earth is
heated, at least for short periods of time, very much above the
atmosphere, and it is probable that this excessive elevation of
temperature is necessary to the healthy condition of many plants.
From some interesting observations communicated to me by Sir
John Herschel, it appears that the temperature of the earth at
the Cape of Good Hope is often excessive. On the fifth of
December, 1887, between one and two o’clock in the day, he
observed the heat under the soil of his bulb garden, to be 159°;
at three p.m. it was 150°, and even in shaded places 119°:-the
temperature of the air in the shade, in the same garden, at the
same period, was 98° and 92°. At 5 p.m. the soil of the garden,

having been long shaded, was found to have, at four inches in

126 EARTH TEMPERATURE.

depth, a temperature of 102°. “On the third of December, a
thermometer buried a quarter of an inch deep, in contact with
a seedling fir of the year’s planting, quite healthy, and having
its seed-leaves marked as follows :—at 11" 25™ a.m. 148°2°, at
0b 48m p.m. 149°5°, at 1 84™ p.m. 149°8°, at 12 54™ p.m. 150°8°,
and at 2 46™ p.m. 148°.” Sir John Herschel observes that
such observations “go to show that at the Cape of Good Hope,
in the hot months, the roots of bulbous and other plants which
do not seek their nourishment very deep, must frequently, and,
indeed, habitually, attain temperatures which we can only imitate
in our hothouses by actually suspending over the soil plates of
red-hot iron. For it must be remarked, that heating the
ground from below would not distribute the temperature in the
same way.”

Memoranda concerning the temperature immediately below the
surface of the earth, occasionally remarked in different countries :—

According to Edwards

Egypt. . . .|133°—144°. . and. Colin.

Tropics . . .|Often 126°—134° -|Humboldt, Fragm. As,
Coarse white sand at 140°, ;
Oronoco . the eee being } | Humboldt,
84:°5°
PERO G8 <e atmosphere being 91:5° Edwards and Colin.
Chile. .. Boussingault.

grass
85° usual summer pa
one foot below surface .
159° under the soil of a
bulb garden .
142° thermometer barely
covered.
Water of rice fields ‘ase;
adjacent sandy soil much
Lantao, China higher ; for towards midday| \Meyen.
the black sides of the boat
were 142°50° . . .

Hay, in Loudon’s Gard.
Mag., vi. 437.

Herschel (AZS'S.).

New Grenada

Cape of Good
Hope . .

Bermuda. .

118°—122°; once 2127, the | Arago, as quoted by
g Col. Emmet,

|
eerie make dry
|

These observations seem to confirm the late Mr. Harvey's
suspicions, that the real force of the sun’s rays in tropical
countries is still far from being ascertained. When, therefore,

EARTH TEMPERATURE. 127

we are informed by travellers that the temperature in the sun,
at Gondar, has been seen to be 118° (Bruce); at Benares 110°,
118°, 118° (Harvey); or at Sierra Leone, 138° (Winterbottom) ;
it must be supposed that, in reality, the temperature would
have been found much higher in those places had more efficient
means of observation been employed. Mr. Foggo, indeed,
succeeded, by means of a large thermometer, having the ball
covered with black wool, and fully exposed to the direct rays of
the sun, unsheltered from the wind, in obtaining, at Edinburgh,
on the 29th of July, at 3h 10™ p.m., an indication of 150°, and at
2h p.m. of 140°, while another instrument, similarly prepared,
and resting in contact with herbage, was found to indicate only
119° and 110°; so that, as Mr. Foggo remarks, a difference of
80° was produced in these cases solely from the manner in
which the instruments were exposed. (Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal, No. xxvii.)

For horticultural purposes a far more extensive series of
observations than we at present possess requires to be made at
a great number of different places, with a view to determine the
connexion between the temperature of the soil and the seasons
of vegetation. In making these, the nature of the soil in which
the thermometers are plunged should, among other circum-
stances, be very precisely described; for it is obvious that the
result will be essentially affected by the peculiar conducting
power of the earth. In the meanwhile the two following
diagrams, and the observations which follow, for which we are
indebted to Mr. Thompson, throw much light upon this obscure
subject.

“Tt will be seen from the diagram of the mean monthly tem-
perature of the earth and air at Chiswick, that the earth, at two
feet deep, is warmer than the air by two or three degrees at
the commencement of the year; but the lines representing the
progress of the respective temperatures gradually approximate,
the ground one falling and the air rising a little towards the
end of February. In March, both take a decided start, and
towards the end of that month the lines coincide, and then the
air temperature is higher than that of the earth till August,
when the contrary takes place. The mean temperature of the

EARTH TEMPERATURE, LONDON.

128

T n
Ze Ze
oF ||
q ne iQ
N Pa
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ePS \ Z- =e.
SA AN VA
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XN X YA
ov SS, L oF
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ra
X Pa
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‘ XY 4
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SIN ‘f
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99 9
‘oog | “on | “990 | adeg | “Suy | Ate | ome | Ae | Tedy | ae | qed | Tee
; ; ; ‘IY FHL JO WUALVUAaNAY, Nvay WHY, ‘G9
{aqGq IMag OMY, LV HIXVY AHL 10 WUALVUAANA], HHL SINGSAuaTY ‘op “NOIMSIHO LY Uly MHL dO ANY HIUVY YHL 10 TuALVaTaNay,

129

EARTH TEMPERATURE, INDIA.

‘searep eo1Ty UeYY ALOU OPT] st soUZEyTP TOY, “-AeYE Jo yNOU oy} UL ‘pedueg jo surerd oy} ur suoTEys U9 ge ‘Ire a4} Jo orNyurodmay

UvOUr a} 4 Aojaq ouO oy} pue “Wyre ony Jo amngvredurey oy} syuesorder auO payop ayy : padtesqo oq [ILA SOUT] TeyUOZTIOY 0444

‘auInjoo STy4 UT ,

q = er ——
08 Ph 0s
“ vail
an Al
Oo aaa) GN ai a Pe ae
qT ee ae 5
58 < ae ra _
= = —
a ae ee le : 06
eg | “on | OQ | 3deg | Suny | Amp [-ounp CN | THdy| sep | qaq | une

'daiqd Lang gray,

‘aIV aH a0 SUOLVURENAY, NVEW THY, ‘9g

LY HLUVY FHL dO TAALVAAdWAY, GAL SINESAUday ‘op ‘“WOUGNVATAL LV aly IHL dO any HIV] FHL Jo TUALVaaAN Ay,

130 RELATION BORNE BY THE TEMPERATURE

air begins to decline about the middle of July; that of the earth
about the Ist of August; and as the latter does not rise so high
nor so quickly with a generally ascending temperature, so it
falls more slowly and not so low as the air when the general
temperature is declining. The diagram for the temperatures
at Trevandrum, exhibits two nearly parallel curved lines, the
earth averaging a little more than five and a half degrees higher
than the air. The greatest approximation is in August and
September, as is generally the case at other places in the tropics,
and likewise in colder latitudes; but in the latter there is a
coincidence of the lines in March or April which is not followed _
at Trevandrum. On the contrary, the powerful sun-heat
which there prevails in the months of February, March, and
April, appears to heat the earth more than the air, till the
setting in of the rainy season, in consequence of which the
earth is lowered from its maximum, 89°61 in April, to its
minimum 88°25 in July, or more than 6°; whilst the air is
lowered, during the same period, scarcely 5°.

“From the foregoing facts and diagrams we can form a
tolerably correct idea of the relation which the monthly mean
temperature of the soil bears to the monthly mean temperature
of the air throughout the year. The latter is known at a vast
number of places; but that of the earth comparatively at very
few. It may, however, be estimated with sufficient accuracy
for all practical purposes connected with horticulture and agri-
culture. For example, we may take the tables and diagram for
Chiswick as our guide, for all places having nearly the same
monthly and annual temperature. Where the winters are
colder, as at Copenhagen, we must add 2° or 8° more than
for Chiswick to the temperature of the air in January, in order
to obtain, approximately, the temperature of the soil for that
month. In April, throughout the world, from lat. 60° to lat. 30°,
the mean temperature of the earth and air may be considered
to average alike, or to differ rarely more than 1°. From April
to July, subtract about 2° from the monthly mean of the air
for that of the earth. In August the temperatures again coin-
cide. The earth, after this, maintains a higher temperature
than the air throughout the remaining months; so that in

i.

OF EARTH TO AIR. 131

September, 1° to 2°; October, 2° to 3°; and in November and
December, between 3° and 4° must be added to the mean
temperature of the air, in these months respectively, in order
to obtain the approximate mean temperature of the soil. This
will apply to all places having a climate resembling that of
Chiswick. But where the temperature of the air falls very
low in the end of autumn, and beginning of winter, as at Upsal,
where the mean of the air in October is 12° below that in
September, 6 or 7° must be added to the mean of the air, for
the mean temperature of the earth; and 8 or 9° in each of the
two following months. On the contrary, where the winters are
milder than at Chiswick, the difference between the earth and
air temperatures will be somewhat less than that which appears
in the table, and represented in the diagram for that place.
““Within and near the tropics the earth, it appears, is, on the
average, always warmer than the air by several degrees. In
some months, and at some places, both temperatures are nearly
alike ; and in other instances they differ as much as 6 or 7°,
much depending on the fall of rain, and the nature of the soil.
If we add 2° to the temperature of the air, in June, July, August,
and September, and 4° in the other months, we shall approach
the monthly mean temperature of the soil between 0° and 30°
latitude, sufficiently near for all practical purposes; certainly
much nearer than the temperature to which plants from that
soil have been subjected by artificial treatment in this country.”
It must, however, be understood that such calculations are
necessarily uncertain, and can only be taken as rough approxi-
mations to truth, near enough for practical purposes, but
nothing more. An infinite multitude of circumstances,
reducible within no general rules, modify all such estimates.
As regards the Indian seasons, the greater part of the west
and south coast of the peninsula is so damp that the growing
and flowering season lasts all the year round. Even of Rice
there are, according to Buchanan Hamilton, two crops in
Malabar :—one sown in May, transplanted in June, and reaped
in July; another sown in August, transplanted in September
and October, and reaped in November. In Northern India the

growing season for tropical crops—Rice, Millet, &c.—generally
K2

182 TROPICAL SEASONS.

speaking begins with the rains (May and June), and lasts all
the rains; August and September are fruiting months, and
these are followed by rest for such crops. Then, however,
Oats, Barley, Tobacco, Wheat, Sesamum, Poppy, and all
Pulses are put in to be reaped in spring. In Malabar on the
average the seasons are the same, but the dry season is so damp
that the most tropical crops can be raised all the year round.

Of course in the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are the
reverse of those in the Northern, midwinter in Sydney cor-
responding with midsummer in Europe.

In the tropical parts of America, where Humboldt found
the mean temperature of the coldest month not to be lower
than 79°16° at Cumana, we shall be justified in concluding that
the temperature of the earth’s surface never falls permanently
below that amount; and as the mean summer temperature of
the place was found to be 82°04°, so it is probable that the
earth will have something above that degree of warmth, on an
average, in the summer.

For the warmest month, this great observer gives 84:38° as the mean,
which corresponds remarkably with the temperature a foot below the
surface in New Grenada, where, according to a correspondent of Mr.
Hay, it is 85° during summer, “‘as a gentleman, a planter there, wrote
home for his information.” (See Loudon’s Gard, Mag., vi. 487.)

BOOK I.

—o——

OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE OPERATIONS
OF HORTICULTURE ESSENTIALLY DEPEND.

ALL operations in horticulture depend for success upon a
correct appreciation of the nature of the vital actions described
in the last Book; for although there have been many good
gardeners entirely unacquainted with, the science of vegetable
physiology, and although many points of practice have been
arrived at altogether accidentally, yet it must be obvious that
the power of regulating and modifying knowledge so obtained
cannot possibly be possessed, unless the external influences by
which plants are affected are clearly understood. Indeed, the
enormous difference that exists between the skill of the present
race of gardeners and their predecessors can only be ascribed
to the general diffusion, that has taken place, of an acquain-
tance with some of the simpler facts in vegetable physiology.

In attempting to apply the explanations of science to the
routine of horticultural practice, it appears desirable, in order
to avoid frequent repetition, that mere details should be
omitted, and that those general operations should alone be
adverted to which, under many different modifications, and in
various forms, constitute the foundation of every gardener’s
education.

CHAPTER I.

OF BOTTOM HEAT.

Turis term is, in common practice, made use of only in those
cases where the temperature of the soil in which plants grow is
artificially raised considerably above that which we are ac-
quainted with in England; and there seems to be a general
idea that such an artificial elevation of temperature is only
necessary in a few special instances. It has, however, been
shown (p. 125) that the mean temperature of that part of the
soil in which plants grow is universally something higher than
that of the air by which they are surrounded, and consequently
it appears that nature, in all cases, employs some degree of
bottom heat as a stimulus and protection to vegetation. At the
same time, it must be admitted that, in some cases, the amount
is extremely small; for Von Baer found Ranunculus nivalis and
Oxyria reniformis flowering in Nova Zembla, where the soil
was not warmed above 344°; and, in Jakutzsk, Erdmann states
that Summer Wheat, Rye, Cabbages, Turnips, Radishes, and
Potatoes are cultivated, although the ground is not thawed
above three feet in depth.

How the warmth of the soil may act as a protection to plants will be
easily understood. A plant is penetrated in all directions by in-
numerable air passages and chambers, so that there is a free communi-
cation between its extremities however far they may be apart. It may
therefore be conceived that if, as necessarily happens, the air inside the
plant is in motion, the effect of warming the air in the roots will be to
raise the internal temperature of the whole individual; and the same
is true of its fluids. Now, when the temperature of the soil is raised to
160° at noonday by the force of the solar rays, it will retain a con-
siderable part of that warmth during the night: but the temperature

NATURAL TEMPERATURE OF SOIL. 135

of the air may fall to such a degree that the excitability of a plant
would be too much and suddenly impaired, if it acquired the coldness of
the medium surrounding it; this is prevented, we may suppose, by the
warmth communicated tothe general system, from the soil, through the
roots ; so that the lowering of the temperature of the air, by radiation
during the night, is unable to affect plants injuriously, in consequence
of the antagonist force exercised by the heated soil. It is not impro-
bable that this fact may be hereafter applied in gardening to the
acclimatising of half-hardy plants. Were an open border heated
artificially in the winter, it is possible that plants might endure an
amount of cold upon their stems and leaves, which in the absence of
such heat would be fatal to them. An experiment upon this subject
was tried some years ago, and although it was conducted so negligently
and unskilfully, as not to justify any inference being drawn from it,
yet the result, such as it was, was full of promise.

That elevating the temperature of moist soil produces an
unusual degree of vigour in plants unaccustomed in nature to
such an elevation is a fact which requires no proof; it is
attested by the condition of vegetation round hot springs, and
in places artificially heated by subterraneous fires; and this
has probably been the cause of the employment of tan and
hot-beds, by which means bottom heat has been generally
obtained for rearing delicate species, and especially seeds.
But if this stimulus acts in the first instance beneficially
in all cases alike, it soon becomes a source of mischief in those
species which are natives of climates where such terrestrial
heat is unknown, the latter “drawing up,” as the saying is,
becoming weak and -sickly, and speedily presenting a diseased
appearance.

On the other hand, it is equally well known that, unless the
temperature of the soil be raised permanently to at least 75°, the
seeds of tropical trees will not germinate; or, if they do, they
push forth feebly, and from the first present the sickly appear-
ance of plants suffering from cold. Hence arises the impossi-
bility of making the seeds of tropical plants germinate when
sown in the open air in this country, where the mean tempera-
ture of the earth seldom rises to 65°, and that for only short
periods of time. It is, therefore, obvious that all plants require
some bottom heat; but the amount varies with their species,
and the only means of determining what the amount should.be

186 SOIL OF THE ORANGE AND VINE.

is afforded by the known degree of warmth of the climate of
which a plant may be a native.

When plants are cultivated in glass houses, there is little
difficulty in supplying them with the amount of bottom heat
which they may require ; but this can either not be effected at
all, or only to a limited degree, by a selection of soils and situ-
ations, when plants are cultivated in the open air; and hence
one of the many difficulties of acclimatising in a cold country
the species of awarmer climate. It is true that plants will exist
within wide limits of temperature, and, consequently, a few
degrees of difference in the natural bottom heat to which they
are exposed may not affect them so far as to destroy them; but
it cannot be doubted that the conditions most favourable to
their growth are those which embrace a temperature rather
above than below that to which they are accustomed in their
native haunts.

The Orange-tree is found in perfection where the tempera-
ture of the soil may be computed to rise to 80° or 85°, and
never to fall below 58°, as in the Bermudas, Malta, and Canton.
How injudicious, then, is our practice of exposing it during
summer to the open air, in tubs, where the soil scarcely rises
in temperature above 66°, and preserving it during winter in
cold conservatories, the soil of which often sinks to 36°; under
such circumstances the Orange exists indeed, but where are
the perfume and juiciness of its fruit, and where the healthy
vigour of its noble foliage ? The Vine cannot be grown in the
open air of this country to any useful purpose, except when
trained to walls, in soils and situations unusually exposed to
the beams of the sun; it is only then that it can obtain for its
roots such a permanent warmth as 75° which it will have at
Bordeaux, or 80° in Madeira.

It may hence be considered an axiom in horticulture, that
all plants require the soil, as well as the atmosphere, in which
they grow, to correspond in temperature with that of the
countries of which they are natives. It has also been already
shown, that the mean temperature of the soil should be above
that of the atmosphere. How much above depends upon
climate and season. The mean difference in favour of the

WARMTH CAUSED BY DRAINAGE. 137

ground at Chiswick is only 1°18 as is shown at p. 125, while
that of Trevandrum, an Indian station, is 5°69. Butit must be
remembered that, disregarding means, the monthly temperature
exhibits very much greater differences. Thus at Chiswick
the earth is nearly 4° warmer than the air in December, and
that of Trevandrum is nearly 64° warmer in the month of
February : these differences are themselves insignificant when
contrasted with what occurs at Upsal (p. 119), where the earth
is warmer than the air by 18°37 in the month of February. It
seems evident that in the examples of a high winter tempera-
ture of the earth in severe latitudes, we have an example of the
protection thus afforded to. the vitality of plants in the manner
suggested in the preceding page.

There can be no sort of doubt, that the advantage derived from
draining cold countries, is owing greatly, if not exclusively, to the
augmented temperature which attends the removal of stagnant water
from land. UnpEreRounD CiiMarts is not less important than that
which is experienced above ground. It is only by perfect and skilful
drainage that underground climate is improved. No other means of
effecting it on a large scale are known; it is probable indeed that the
superiority of common littery stable manure over artificial composts, as
well as the increased efficacy of the latter when mixed with the former,
is a mere exemplification of the advantageous effects of perfect
drainage.

Some believe that the advantage of drainage consists in removing
water. But water is not of itself an evil; on the contrary it is the
food of plants, and its absence is attended with fatal results. It is the
excess of water which injures plants, just as an excess of food injures
animals. Those who imagine that the advantage of drainage arises from
the removal of stagnant water, or any such cause alone, overlook the great
andimportant fact that drained land is, in summer, from 10° to 20°
warmer than water-logged land. Professor Schubler long ago came to
the conclusion that the loss of heat caused by evaporation in undrained
lands amounted to 114° to 133° Fahr. Mr. Parkes has shown, in his
‘¢ Essay on the Philosophy of Drainage,” that in draining the Red Moss
near Bolton-le-Moors, the thermometer in the drained land rose in
June, 1837, to 66° at seven inches below the surface, while in the
neighbouring water-logged land it would never rise above 47°, an
enormous gain. In the garden of the Horticultural Society the mean
temperature of the thoroughly drained soil at one foot below the surface
is, in the month of July, 63°49; if we take that of water-logged land
to be the same as spring water, or 47°, there is a gain of 163°. Thus it

188

DRAINING SOIL WARMS IT.

is evident that drainage produces the very important effect upon land of
raising its temperature; it communicates bottom heat, in the absence of
some amount of which, even the common Nettle and Groundsel would
perish; and as scarcely any of our cultivated crops are natives of
countries so cold as our own, it is manifest that they all require to have
the earth warmed for them, or are much the better for it.

The reason why drained land gains heat, and water-logged land is
always cold, consists in the well-known fact that heat cannot be
transmitted downwards through water. This may be readily seen by
the following experiments :—

Experiment No. I.—A square box was made of the form represented
by the annexed diagram, eighteen inches deep, eleven inches wide at
top, and six inches wide at bottom. It was filled with peat saturated

bt
Seer

=!
2 Ss

Fig. XXVII.

with water to c, forming, to that depth (twelve and a half inches), a
sort of artificial bog. The box was then filled with water tod. A
thermometer (a) was plunged so that its bulb was within one and a
half inch of the bottom. The temperature of the whole mass of peat
and water was found to be 394° Fahr. A gallon of boiling water was
then added; it raised the surface of the water to ce. In five minutes
the thermometer a rose to 44°, owing to conduction of heat by the
thermometer tube, and its guard. At ten minutes from the introduction
of the hot water the thermometer a rose to 46°, and it subsequently
rose no higher. Another thermometer (6), dipping under the surface
of the water at ¢, was then introduced; and the following are the indica-
tions of the two thermometers at the respective intervals, reckoning from
the time the hot water was supplied :

DRAINING SOIL WARMS IT. 139

Thermometer b. Thermometer a,
20m .... 150° oo + « 6469
1h30m .... 101 ee ee) 646
2h30m .... BU: ge a a HD
12h40m .... 45 oe es . 40

The mean temperature of the external air to which the box was
exposed during the above period was 42°; the maximum being 47°
and the minimum 37°.

ExrERIMEnt No. II.— With the same arrangement as in the preceding
case, a gallon of boiling water was introduced above the peat and
water, when the thermometer a was at 36°; in ten minutes it rose to
40°. The cock was then turned for the purpose of drainage, which was
but slowly effected, and at the end of twenty minutes the thermometer
a still indicated 40°; at twenty-five minutes 42°, whilst the ther-
mometer 6 was 142°. At thirty minutes the cock was withdrawn from
the box ; and more free egress of water being thus afforded, at thirty-
five minutes the flow was no longer continuous, and the thermometer b
indicated 48° The mass was drained and permeable to a fresh supply
of water.

Accordingly another gallon of boiling water was poured over it
and in

3 minutes the thermometer a rose to 77°

5 5 i fell to 763
15 ” ” ” 71
20 a », Yremained at 701
1h, 50 ” ” ” 10%

In these two experiments the thermometer at the bottom of the box
suddenly rose a few degrees immediately after the hot water was
added; and hence it might be inferred that heat was carried down-
wards by the water. But in reality the rise was owing to the action of
the hot water on the thermometer, and not to its action upon the cold
water. To prove this, the perpendicular thermometers were removed.
The box was filled with peat and water to within three inches of the
top; a horizontal thermometer (af) having been previously secured
through a hole made in the side of the box by means of a tight-fitting
cork, in which the naked stem of the thermometer was grooved. A
gallon of boiling water was then added. The thermometer, a very
delicate one, made by Newman, was not in the least affected by the
boiling water in the top of the box.

In this experiment, the wooden box is a field; the peat and cold
water represent the water-logged portion; rain falls on the surface
and becomes warmed by contact with the soil and thus heated descends.
But it is stopped by the cold water, and the heat will go no further.
But if the soil is drained and not water-logged, the warm rain trickles
through the crevices in the earth, carrying to the drain-level the high

140 COLD BORDERS CAUSE SHANKING.

temperature it had gained on the surface, parts with it to the soil as it
passes down, and thus produces that bottom heat which is so essential
to plants, although so few suspect its existence.

This necessity of warmth at the root undoubtedly explains in
part why it is that hardy trees, over whose roots earth has been
heaped or paving laid, are found to suffer so much, or even to
die; in such cases, the earth in which the roots are growing is
constantly much colder than the atmosphere, instead of
warmer.

It is to the coldness of the earth that must be ascribed
the common circumstance of Vines that are forced early
not setting their fruit well, when their roots are in the
external border and unprotected by artificial means ; and to the
same cause is often to be ascribed the shanking or shrivelling
of grapes, which most commonly happens to Vines whose roots
are in a cold and unsunned border.

Mr. Knight long since mentioned an important fact connected with
this subject :—‘‘ It is well known,” he said, ‘that the bark of Oak-trees
is usually stripped off in the spring, and that in the same season the
bark of other trees may be easily detached from their alburnum, or
sap-wood, from which it is, at that season, separated, by the interven-
tion of a mixed cellular and mucilaginous substance; this is apparently
employed in the organisation of a new layer of fibre, or inner bark, the
annual formation of which is essential to the growth of the tree. If, at
this period, a severe frosty night or very cold winds occur, the bark
of the trunk, or main stem, of the Oak-tree becomes again firmly
attached to its alburnum, from which it cannot be separated till the
return of milder weather. Neither the health of the tree, nor its
foliage, nor its blossoms, appear to sustain any material injury by this
sudden suspension of its functions; but the crop of acorns invariably
fails. The Apple and Pear-trees appear to be affected to the same
extent by similar degrees of cold. Their blossoms, like those of the
Oak, unfold perfectly well, and present the most healthy and vigorous
character ; and their pollen sheds freely. Their fruit, also, appears to
set well; but the whole, or nearly the whole, falls off just at the period
when its growth ought to commence. Some varieties of the Apple and
Pear are much more capable of bearing unfavourable weather than
others, and even the Oak-trees present, in this respect, some dissimi-
larity of constitution.” (Hort. Trans., vi. 229.)

It is also the coldness of the soil which causes the production
of roots upon the stems of the Vine in a hot damp Vinery ;

AERIAL VINE ROOTS. 141

which diminishes or prevents colouring; which renders it
impossible to ripen wood; and which deteriorates the quality
of the Grape. Hence all good Vine-growers now look more
to the temperature of their borders than to its mechanical
condition.

The ForMATION oF AERIAL Roots by Vines isan unmistakeable sign
of the coldness of the border. Vineries may be seen with these roots
hanging down like beards from the branches; and these are always
followed by bad grapes, unless means are taken to heat the border.
The explanation of the phenomenon seems to be this :—

The Vine possesses a very strong vegetating power, which is mani-
fested whenever sufficient heat and moisture are present. It is also
well known that if one portion or shoot of a Vine-plant is introduced
to an atmosphere congenial to its growth, the buds will push into
foliage and shoots; whilst the rest of the plant, exposed to cold, will
not be perceptibly affected, and will contribute nothing to the active
vegetation of the branch introduced to heat and moisture. According
to circumstances, therefore, vegetation may be active in one part, and
at the same time comparatively dormant in another part of the same
Vine-plant. If the natural roots are dormant owing to the low
temperature to which they are exposed, then unnatural roots will be
formed by branches if in a state of growth. Moisture favours the
formation of these roots; they shrivel in hot dry weather, but push
again on the return of a dull or moist state of the atmosphere. They
arise from the shoots being in a highly favourable situation for growth,
and the roots in the reverse. The leaves elaborate a quantity of sap
proportionate to their size, and to the share which light has had in
perfecting their development. Part of this elaborated sap is appro-
priated by the above-ground portion of the plant. But in ordinary
cases, and more especially where a vigorous growth is promoted, there is
always a surplus beyond what the stem and its dependencies above
ground require, and the proper destination of this is the roots, in order
that their increase may correspond with that of the plant above them.
But roots in a border five feet deep, and of a clayey nature, will be in a
temperature little above 40° early in spring. At about 40° water has
its greatest density. Under such circumstances any movement in the
fluids of the roots must be extremely sluggish; and were these roots as
open to observation as the stem is, there is no doubt they would be
found as dormant as a shoot left outside in the cold, compared with
another introduced to the heat of a forcing-house. When the roots of
Vines are healthy, in proper soil sufficiently warm, their growth proceeds
in due proportion to that of the top, but if they are badly conditioned,
they can neither act their part nor appropriate their share of the
returning juices; consequently an accumulation of the latter takes

142

AERIAL VINE ROOTS.

place in the stems, and, favoured by the moist warm atmosphere of the
Vinery, bursts through the bark in the form of fibres, continuing to
lengthen till they are checked by drought. An extraordinary pro-
duction of these aérial roots was observed to take place whilst an
experiment was being made with a Black Hamburgh Vine, in the garden
of the Horticultural Society. It had grown vigorously in an open
border, when, being in freedom, no rootlets broke from the shoots.
A 8-light frame was placed over this plant, and made as air-tight
as possible ; the sashes were never opened, except to supply water to the
roots; a thermometer inside the frame was generally raised every day
above 140° by sun heat. An Orchid placed in a shaded part of the
frame was killed in two days, yet the Vine continued to grow.
It burst its winter buds rapidly into shoots, and almost as soon
as the buds on these young shoots were formed, they also pushed,
weaker of course, and again still weaker growths proceeded from
these secondary shoots. Meanwhile a vast number of roots issued
from the shoots trained horizontally near the glass, and these
roots soon reached the surface of the ground, which became
matted by them, for it was moist, and for a little way sufficiently
warm, by reason of the sun-heated air in the frame. But with
regard to the old roots in the earth, the case was very different. The
heated air of the frame could but slightly affect the soil at the depth
where they were situated, whilst those extending beyond the limits of
the frame were of course entirely beyond its influence.

The consequences of a profusion of branch-roots on the Vine are
these; they absorb moisture from the air in the house, and so tend to
increase the breadth of the foliage and swelling of the berries; even
the thickness of the wood is considerably increased by them, for it is
not uncommon to see a Vine branch smaller at the base than higher
up; in short they are sources for the supply of nourishment,
but they are sources which dry up when they are most wanted.
They assist in forming a widely expanded foliage during moist weather;
and when dry weather demands a greater supply, to compensate for
increased evaporation from broad foliage, the stem-borne rootlets
contribute nothing. To their precarious supply may be partly attributed
the shanking and shrivelling of fruit. They should be checked in time
by allowing the air in the house to become occasionally dry. But above
all things, their appearance should be prevented by maintaining a due
proportion between the temperature of the air and earth in which
the Vines are plunged.

The effect of ARTIFICIALLY WARMING A VINE BORDER in this country
has been seen in many instances; not the least instructive of which
occurred to Mr. Purday, the eminent and scientific gunsmith. In his
garden at Bayswater, a Vinery was filled with wood and produced an
abundance of excellent Grapes in little less than two years, by merely

VINE BORDERS HEATED ARTIFICIALLY. 143

warming the border. The first year the Vines made wood thirty-seven feet
long, strong, short-jointed and well ripened. But the plan was carried out
still better at Castle Malgwyn, near Pembroke, the seat of A. L. Gower,
Esq., by Mr. Hutchinson, who has described it in the Journal of the
Horticultural Society. ‘‘ The bottom of the border,” he says, ‘‘is gently
sloped from the houses to the extreme edge, where is built a box-drain
extending the whole length of the border, as shown in the accompanying
section marked 1; this drain is one foot square, the top of it being level

RANSON

5; at J sects |

“@aoner BOILER@®
Fig. XXVIII.—Ground plan of houses, showing cross walls beneath the Vine borders.

with the bottom of the border, as also shown in section. When this was
completed dwarf walls, marked 3, were built across the border, three and a
half feet apart, one foot square, in the pigeon-hole manner: on the top
of these walls are laid rough flags; these in reality form the bottom of
the border, and upon these is placed about six inches of broken stones
and bricks, marked 4, then covered with turf with the grassy side
down, to prevent the soil mixing with the stones. There are flues or
chimneys at each end of the border and centre communicating with the
drains in the bottom, as shown in section marked 2. The top of these
flues is nicely made of stone ten inches square, through which is cut a
hole of six inches square, into which is inserted a plug of a wedge-like
form, so as to fit tightly, but removeable at pleasure; these flues are
about an inch above ground. At the back of the border are placed
cast-iron pipes (marked 5), perpendicularly, and also communicating

144

CONCRETING VINE BORDERS.

with the drains underneath; those being higher than the flues in front
cause a motion in the air beneath the border. After a long continuance
of rain the plugs in the flues in front are taken out, thereby creating a
great circulation of air, and thus to a vast extent accelerating the proper
drying of the borders, which is deemed of much importance. In the
winter season the borders are covered with leaves and stable manure to
the depth of twelve inches. It is obvious that the whole aim of the con-
structor of this border was to do that which experience shows to be so
important. He not only got rid of superfluous water, but he introduced
air in abundance, and at the same time the natural warmth which it
carries with it. The result was Black Hamburgh Grapes, weighing
JSrom two pounds nine ounces up to five pounds a bunch—beautiful fruit
of admirable quality, on Vines just seven years old.

The experiments with concRETING VINE BORDER, were all made with
the same end in view, namely, the elevation of the temperature of the
soil in which Vine roots are formed. By keeping them near the
surface, they derive much more advantage from the sun than if they
penetrated deeply into the ground, which a concrete bottom renders
impossible, Mr. Fleming, the experienced gardener at Trentham Hall,
in Staffordshire, found it impossible to obtain good Grapes in that cold
soil until the plan of concreting was employed. As soon as the bottom
of his border was artificially rendered impenetrable by the Vine roots,
all difficulty disappeared. In illustration of the effect of the system
he mentions in the Gardener’s Chronicle for 1850, p. 723, the following
circumstance. In one of the houses which had been planted eight
years, the black Grapes ceased to colour well; and as the border was
well made, and rested upon well prepared concrete, having a declivity
to throw off the wet quickly, he was much disappointed. Upon opening
the ground in front of the border, the cause of the Grapes not colouring
was immediately discovered ; the roots had got into the drain, and
across it into the subsoil beyond the concrete.

Mr, Spencer, of Bowood, one of the most experienced and perfectly well
informed of all our great English gardeners, has carried out the plan of
concreting in a different manner, of which he has given an account,*
which contains so much practical wisdom that it is here republished
with little curtailment.

“On many descriptions of soils, the Vine grows with great vigour,
and will bear large crops of fruit, with but little or no assistance in the
way of manure—such appears to be the case with the one at Cumber-
land Lodge,t the Hampton Court Vine, and others in various places.

* See Gardener's Chronicle for 1850, p. 772,

+ The following is the history of the great Vine at Cumberland Lodge, in Windsor
Park, which is alluded to by Mr. Spencer. It was planted about fifty years ago, in
common light garden soil resting upon a bed of hard gravel and clay. In 1850 it produced

BEST SOIL FOR VINES. 145

The two Vines in question both grow on shallow rich soils, the one at
Cumberland Lodge being a light sandy loam resting on the gravel and
clay of the London basin, while at Hampton Court itis a finely divided
alluvial soil resting on gravel, the subsoil in both cases being dry and
compact. Such being the case, it matters little what the material con-
sists of, for a clay bottom may be equally good with a gravel one if
drained naturally by fissures, or other causes. In such situations the
Vine finds all the elements it requires for its growth. The fertilising
particles of matter are equally distributed through the soil. There is no
disposition in any portion of such soils to run together, or to become sour ;
every facility is afforded the roots. to permeate the earth, while the finely
divided state of the various ingredients composing them (and their
perfect admixture) favours the production of those minute fibrous roots
(never found on strong heavy soils) which are so essential an element of
success in Grape growing. Here, then, is all the Vine requires to
produce good and abundant crops, and to form for itself a constitution
enabling it to supply generations with its generous produce. I am not
aware of any peculiarity in the loams resting on the London clay (such
are, however, much the best for all descriptions of potting) except it be
in the finely divided state of the parts composing them, and the presence
of rich calcareous matter; but I have seen the Vines growing on similar
soils in Hampshire with much freedom, and ripening out of doors fruit
in good perfection. Again, on the southern slopes of the hills near
Bath the Vine grows vigorously in the natural soil, though the oolite
rocks on which the surface soil rests is much colder than either a
gravelly or a well-drained clay one. Many of these soils are rich in
potash, from being more or less mixed with portions of the fuller’s-earth
beds. The best natural soils for the Vine are those formed by the
decomposition of yoleanic rocks, such being invariably of a dry, porous
quality, and are rich in inorganic matter. Such being the nature of
‘the soils on which the Vine thrives in the greatest perfection, it would
be supposed that in the formation of borders expressly for its growth,
some approximation would be made towards them by making the
borders for the most part, if not all, of the same constituents; or in
other words, forming “‘a warm, light, dry, shallow soil.” In place of
this, however, much labour and expense have been incurred in making
borders, in which the Vine refuses to thrive at all, ,What I may term
artificial Vine borders are generally composed of various ingredients, of
which loam, dung, and some dry material, as brickbats, mortar, rubbish,
&c., niay be considered as the principal. To these some add carrion, or
other similar substances. Now we will suppose these materials to be

two thousand large bunches of magnificent Grapes, filled a house one hundred and
thirty-eight feet long and sixteen feet wide, and had a stem two feet nine inches in
circumference. The border in which it grows is warm, light, dry, and shallow.

L

146

SPENCER’S OPINION AS TO

the best of their kind, that they have been properly mixed and pre-
pared, and that the border has been made, and the Vines planted, in
the usual way. There can be no question but that (if other things are
favourable), on a border of this description, the Vine will grow
vigorously, and mature fine crops of Grapes. But let us wait some
eight or ten years, when the fibre of the loam is rotted, and its elasticity
destroyed, by which time the dung has become a sour pasty mass;
while the rain during that period will have washed down the more
soluble parts, and will have partially, if not totally, stopped the natural
drainage. If at the same time the loam has been somewhat of a heavy
texture, the evil will be increased. In fact, it will be found, on exami-
nation, that what was, for the first few years, a rich porous border, has
become, through causes perfectly natural, unsuited for the growth of
the Vine.

‘‘T consider that when healthy and permanent Vines are wished for,
more loam, and that of a sandy nature, should enter into the composi-
tion of Vine borders, and that a large portion of the following should
be intimately incorporated with it, viz., charcoal dust, charred matter,
wood ashes, and soot. What manure is used should be perfectly rotten,
and as dry as can be procured, and that road scrapings, or (what is
better) the sweepings of large towns, well rotted, and mixed with the
above, will be found one of the best materials for a sound healthy
border.

“In preference to concreting the bottom, I would recommend the
border to rest on any description of rough paving stones, raised
on rough walls, one foot or more, according to the situation, thus
forming a series of air drains under the border, the outlet to
which may either be in the house, or in some place enabling you
to connect them with the external air. With a bottom of this
description I would then certainly concrete the surface. I use gravel,
lime, and coal ashes made into mortar, and spread two inches thick ; in
addition, when the above is dry, it gets a coat of gas tar over the sur-
face; this forms a compact substance, treading firm underfoot, and
effectually throwing off rain ; common 3-inch draining pipes are placed
upright in the border previously, which stand one inch above the surface
when the concrete is laid on. When it is necessary to water the border,
it can be done to any extent by pouring water down the pipes. In
winter, all agree the drier the border the better; and plugs are then
placed in them. It will, however, be found that less water will be
required than might be expected, arising from the obstruction to free
evaporation by the concrete. In a small Vinery, planted in August,
1848, the border of which was conereted after planting, I have only
watered the outside border once (the inside border being only two fect
wide), and yet the Vines have never shown the least indications of
having required more, irrespective of the advantage of having in our

THE BEST SOIL FOR VINE BORDERS. 147

climate the roots of the Vine under control as respects moisture.
Another point gained by concreting is the additional heat the border
gains by the absorption of solar heat. I have proved frequently that a
border, concreted as I have described, obtains an increase, at twelve
inches deep, of from twelve to fifteen degrees, and even more during
hot sunshine. This increase of heat on the surface of the border will
have the effect of causing that part of the border to be the dampest, as
it will be the warmest ; the roots accordingly will be more numerous
immediately under the concrete, and precisely in that position most
favourable for their healthy development. An additional advantage of
the concrete is its preventing the border becoming compact, from
walking over it, and consequently its porosity is preserved. I say
nothing of the disadvantage ascribed to it, from its supposed prevention
of atmospheric air to the border, because I believe the thing impossible;
and on the principles described above, air has access at all times under-
neath the border, if it is required, which I believe itis not. It certainly
looks somewhat unsightly during summer, but a few pots of flowering
plants set on it during summer, and a slight coat of Fern or thatch
during winter will do away with its formal appearance.”

This plan of concreting the surface is, as will have been seen, intended
to increase the temperature of the Vine border. In order to secure all
the advantages of the method without any disadvantages, it seems
essential that the border should rest upon rough materials, so put
together that air can readily find its way upward through them into
the border. Mr. Spencer’s border rests on rough paving-stones raised
on rough walls, and is then connected with the external air or with
that of the Vinery itself. Under such circumstances, air will find its
way to the roots more readily than by any other known method; and
thus the conditions demanded in a perfect Vine border, viz., warmth,
dryness in winter, and damp in summer, with permeability at all
seasons, are perfectly fulfilled. That the raising the border on a
vaulted bottom is of very great value, concrete or no concrete, is
admitted by the best Grape growers. Mr. Hutchinson’s borders at
Castle Malgwyn are so managed; and the early houses at Trentham,
built under Mr. Fleming’s direction, have borders of the same kind.
We would not, however, be understood to say that these contrivances
are at all times necessary. On the contrary, when soil and situation
are naturally suitable to the Vine, very fine Grapes are obtained
without any such aids. The important point is, how to deal with this
valuable fruit-tree when, as so often happens in Great Britain, the soil
and situation are unfavourable ; and that can be only accomplished by
securing a sufficient amount of bottom heat.

Mr. Reid, of Balcarras, has shown that one of the causes of

canker and immature fruit, even in orchards, is the coldness of
L2

148 NECESSITY OF BOTTOM HEAT.

the soil. He found that, in a cankered orchard, the roots of
the trees had entered the earth to the depth of three feet; and
he also ascertained that, during the summer months, the
average heat of the soil, at six inches below the surface,
was 61°; at nine inches, 57°; at 18 inches, 50°; and at three
feet, 44°. He took measures to confine the roots to the
soil near the surface, and the consequence was, the disap-
pearance of canker, and ripening of the fruit. (Memoirs of
Caledonian Hort. Soc., vi., part 2; and Gardener's Magazine,
vii. 55.) The same fact has been observed in many other
instances.

Tf, on the other hand, we take cases of growth in the artificial
climate of hot-houses, we find that Bignonia venusta, and many
other tropical plants, will not flower, unless in a high bottom
heat; and that Palm-trees, planted in the soil of conservatories
which it is impracticable to heat sufficiently, soon become
unhealthy.

The reason why it is necessary to plants in a growing state,
that the mean temperature of the earth should be higher than
that of the air, is sufficiently obvious. Warmth acts as a
stimulus to the vital forces, and its operation is in proportion
to its amount, within certain limits. If, then, the branches and
leaves of a plant are stimulated by warmth to a greater degree
than the roots, they will consume the sap of the stem faster
than the roots can renew it; and, therefore, nature takes care
to provide against this by giving to the roots a medium perma-
nently more stimulating, that is, warmer, than to the branches
and leaves.

‘We regard warmth not merely as a stimulus of vegetation; it is
extremely necessary for the solution of various substances with which
the water comes in contact. It also sets free certain gases which the
leaves take up, and through these sources of nourishment promotes the
growth of plants.—German Ed,

Such being the fact, it is obvious that one of the first of a
gardener’s cares should be, to secure the means of insuring a
proper temperature to the soil in which he grows his plants,
and that this is requisite for hardy as well as tender species.

‘CHERRIES AND LETTUCES, HOW FORCED. 149

I entertain little doubt that the time is at hand when it will be
considered quite as necessary to furnish heat for the soil as for
the air; not, however, heat without moisture, for that. would
evidently produce much greater evils than it was intended to
cure, as has indeed been found by inconsiderate experimenters.
Mr. Writgen is probably right in believing that it is the
temperature and moisture of a soil quite as much ag its
mineralogical quality, that determine its influence upon vegeta-
tion. (See Hrster Jahresbericht, éc., am Mittel und Nieder-
Rhein, p. 64.) It must not, however, be supposed that the
nature, whether chemical or physical, of soilis unimportant. A
crop of wheat cannot be had on peat, nor will salt plants thrive
when the soil contains no marine salt.

Mr. Fintelmann, the king of Prussia’s gardener at Potsdam,
is celebrated for his success in the difficult art of forcing
Cherries, and he has given an account of his practice (Gard.
Mag., vol. iii., p. 64), in which it appears that the most peculiar
feature is the strict attention he pays to the temperature of
the roots. He first soaks the roots in water heated by the
mixture of equal parts of boiling and cold water ; he afterwards
sprinkles the trees with luke-warm water, and he continues to
employ it of the same temperature as long as watering is
required. Thus his roots are constantly maintained at the
requisite temperature by the trickling of the warm water into
the soil.

It seems, indeed, clear, that the success of the Dutch in
obtaining an abundance of fresh vegetables, such as Lettuces,
during the whole winter, is in part owing to their being able to
maintain a gentle bottom heat. No doubt this is connected
with the abundant light which their forcing structures admit,
and with other causes of considerable importance, such as an
abundant, constant, and skilful introduction of fresh air; but
none of those causes can be supposed likely, in the absence
of the bottom heat, to produce such a result as ae Dutch
gardeners obtain.

If it is necessary that the temperature of the soil in which
plants grow should be carefully regulated, and adjusted to their
natural habits, it is no less requisite that the water in which

150 WATER FOR AQUATICS MUST BE WARMED.

aquatics are cultivated should be also brought to a fitting heat.
Mr. William Kent succeeded well in making many tropical species
flower, by growing them in lead cisterns plunged in a tan-bed
(Hort. Trans., iii. 34) in a close heat. In like manner, Mr.
Christie Duff procured flowers in abundance from Nymphea
rubra, ceerulea, and odorata, by placing them in a cistern in a pine
stove upon the end flues; where the fire enters and escapes; or
by plunging them into tan-beds in pine-houses, varying in
temperature from 80° to 100°. (Hort. Trans., vii. 286.) Very
lately, Mr. Sylvester, of Chorley, in Lancashire, obtained fine
flowers from Nelumbium luteum, by paying attention to the
temperature of the water. When he kept the latter at 85°, the
plants grew vigorously, and were in perfect health, but flowerless ;
but by lowering it to 70°—75°, which more nearly approaches
the heat to which the plant is naturally accustomed, the mag-
nificent blossoms were produced and succeeded by seeds; the
red Nelumbium, however, which inhabits countries with a
greater summer heat than the yellow, at the same time suffered
by this lowering of temperature, none of its blossom buds
haying been able to unfold. (Bot. Mag., xiii., n. s. t. 8758.)
The water of rice fields, in which the red Nelumbium flourishes,
was seen by Meyen at 118° at Lantao, in China.

The Victoria Lily affords another instance. It will grow while its
roots are in a temperature wholly insufficient to enable it to flower.
And another water plant, the Aponogeton distachyum, flowers abun-
dantly even in winter wherever the temperature of the pond in which it
grows rises sufficiently.

Well-regulated bottom heat being thus shown to be of such immense
importance in gardening, it is surprising that more attention should not
be paid to economising the waste water of steam engines where factories
are conveniently situated. What may be done, without cost, by atten-
tion to this, is shown by the following experiment tried by Mr. Dillwyn
Llewellyn, of Penllergare. From a small eight-inch cylinder engine,
employed by him for agricultural purposes, this gentleman conducted a
jet of steam for twenty minutes daily, through an inch iron pipe, into a
bed of rough stones, covered by a glazed frame. A journal of the tem-
perature was kept for eleven days, with the following result :—

APPLICATION OF WASTE STEAM. 151

Srarement or ExPeriment witn Waste Sruam, AS A MEDIUM oF Borrom Hzat,
MADE AT PENLLERGARE, 1850.

Dale | opemidea,| meee
April. Degrees.

9 .112Noon . 61 Steam introduced about 12 o’clock,
» -+| OPM. . 54

af. a\ Baie? s 56
10 .J12Noon . 68 Steam introduced.

» | SPM. . 73

» | ORM. . 85

gy OB 96

11.) 7am. .| 108 Steam not introduced.
»» {12 Noon . 104

3) ORM. s 98

12 10am. . 83 Steam not introduced.
S| CEP. 79
13 10am... 69 Steam introduced.

sp. cal) GOB. as 75
14 10am... 82 Steam not put on.

» | 7RM. | 79
15 10am... 70 Steam introduced.

» | ORM. . 73
16 ./104a.m.. .|. 81. [Steam introduced.
17 10am. 76 Steam introduced.

» | 4PM. 79

18 10am... 94 Steam introduced.

» | ORM. . 110

19 10 a.m... 108 Steam not introduced.
» | 6PM. .| 96

From this it appears, 1st, that although steam was introduced among
the stones for only twenty minutes a day, the temperature was raised
from 51° to 68° in the first twenty-four hours; 2nd, that the tempera-
‘ure continued to rise for many hours after the second application of
steam, until the thermometer reached 108°; 3rd, that at the end of
nineteen lours the heat of thé‘frame diminished; yet 4th, that at the
end of seventy hours the temperature still was 69°, This appears a
conclusive answer to those who.think that masses of heated water, or
heated porous materials, like rough stones, will become so reduced in
temperature by a few hours’ withdrawal of the prime heating power as
to‘endanger the plants cultivated in houses thus warmed. The experi-
ment continued to be successful, and enabled Pine-apples of the most
perfect quality to ripen.

152 DOUBTS ABOUT BOTTOM HEAT.

An opinion has, nevertheless, been entertained, that bottom
heat is useless; there is in the Horticultural Transactions,
(vol. iii, 288) a paper to show that it is injurious; and the
authority of Mr. Knight has been referred to in support of the
opinion, in consequence of that great horticulturist having
expressed a belief that the “bark-bed is worse than useless.”
(Hort. Trans., iv. 73.) But Mr. Knight repeatedly disavowed
entertaining any such sentiments. In one place, he stated that
the temperature of the air of the stoves in which his Pine-apple
and other stove plants grew, without bark or other hot-bed, usually
varied from 70° to 85°; and that the mould in his pots, being
surrounded by such air, acquired and retained, as it necessarily
must, very near the same aggregate temperature, but subject
to less extensive variation (Gard. Mag., v. 865):in another, he
says the temperature of the air was varied in his stove generally
from about 70° to 85° of Fahrenheit; and he ascertained, by
keeping a thermometer immersed in the mould of the pots, that
the temperature of the soil varied very considerably less than
that of the air of the stove; the mould being in the morning
generally some degrees warmer than the air of the house, and in
the middle of the day, and early part of the evening, some
degrees cooler. (Hort. Trans., vii. 255.) It is, therefore, clear
that he considered a high temperature necessary for the roots
of his Pine-apple plants; and we find from one of his papers
(Hort. Trans., iv. 544), that he considered it better to obtain the
requisite temperature from the atmosphere than from a bark-bed,
the usual source of bottom heat, “because its temperature is
constantly subject to excess and defect ;” and he even admitted
that if the bark-bed could be made to give a steady temperature
of about 10° below that of the day temperature of the air in the
stove, Pine plants would thrive better in a compost of that
temperature than in acolder. The dispute about bottom heat
was not as to the necessity of it, but as to the manner of
obtaining it, which, as it concerns the art of gardening, I need
not further notice.

We have, doubtless, much to learn as to the proper manner
of applying bottom heat to plants, and as to the amount they
will bear under particular circumstances. It is, in particular,

EXTREME CLIMATES. 153
5

probable that in hot-houses plants will not bear the same
quantity of bottom heat as they receive in nature, because we
cannot give them the same amount of light and atmospheric
warmth; and itis necessary that we should ascertain experi-
mentally whether it is not a certain proportion between the heat
of the air and earth that we must secure, rather than any absolute
amount of bottom heat.

It may also be, indeed it no doubt is, requisite to apply a very
high degree of heat to some kinds of plants at particular seasons,
although a very much lower amount is suitable afterwards; a
remark that is chiefly applicable to the natives of what are
called extreme climates, that is to say, where a very high
summer temperature is followed by a very low winter tempera-
ture. Such countries are Persia, and many parts of the United
States, where the summers are excessively hot, and the winter’s
cold intense. The seeming impossibility of imitating such
conditions artificially will probably account for many of the
difficulties we experience in bringing certain fruits, the Newtown
Pippin, the Cherry, the Grape, the Peach, and the Almond, to the
perfection they acquire in other countries.

The great point to attend to in these considerations is the
extremes of temperature to which plants are subject when
growing; for this reason the calculations of M. Boussingault
have less value than might have been anticipated. This dis-
tinguished French writer upon rural economy proposed, some
years ago, a method of determining what amount of HEAT a
plant requires, in order to be enabled to perform the functions
allotted to it by Nature. This method consisted in determining
the length of time over which a function extends, and also the
mean temperature during that period. Thus, if a given plant
requires 20 days to ripen its seeds after flowering, and the mean
temperature during that time was 10°, it would be assumed that
the plant in question requires 200° of heat to complete the
ripening process. Or if the period occupied was 10 days, and
the mean heat 10°, then only 100° of heat would be required,
and soon. M. Boussingault’s method was a great improvement
upon the previous modes of computation. Observers had been
previously contented with annual or quarterly, or other long

154 INUTILITY OF MEAN AIR TEMPERATURES.

means of temperature, as furnishing the elements required to
determine whether a given plant could be advantageously
cultivated in a given country. But these means were all more
or less fallacious, and might have led to serious mistakes.
Mean temperatures are useless to cultivators unless they repre-
sent what takes place during the period of vegetation. We do
not want to know what the temperature is of seasons when, or
of places where, plants do not grow, unless for the purpose of
determining the amount of winter protection which they may
require; and all indications of climate in which the dormant
season is mixed with the growing season only mislead. Suppose,
for example, it was to be said that the mean annual tempera-
tures of Longville and Bretville are the same (say 35°), this
would be no proof of similarity of climate, for Longville might
have the winter mean 20°, the summer mean 50°; while
Bretville might have the winter mean 30°, and the summer
mean 40°—cold winters and temperate summers characterising
one place, mild winters and bad summers characterising the
other. Nor are daily means much more useful. Let us suppose
that Longville has in June a daily mean of 45°, while that of
Bretville is 50°; it might be that these means represented hot
days and cold nights in the one case, and cool days and
mild nights in the other—conditions which for the purposes of
cultivation are wholly different. That M. Boussingault’s
method of explaining the relation between plants and climate
was an important improvement upon the usual indications is
not to be denied. But it was not wholly satisfactory. Pushed
to its limits the theory was manifestly untenable, for it amounted
to this—that if a plant requires 20 days with 10° of heat in each
day, or 200° to do a certain thing, and if it can do the same
thing in 10 days, with 20° of heat in each day, then it ought to
accomplish the same end in one day by the aid of 200° of heat,
which is absurd.

In all considerations relating to ground temperature, the
gardener should inform himself more especially upon three
points :—1, the temperature of the soil when plants are at rest;
2, that when they are in vigorous growth; and 8, that when
they are ripening their fruit. The first points out the bottom

NATURAL GROUND TEMPERATURES. 155

heat to be maintained in winter, the second in summer, the
third in autumn. Information upon this question can be had
by consulting the tables of temperature published in the
Journal of the Horticultwral Society, vol. iv., and comparing
them with the remarks at the pages following p. 118 of this work.
In what way such evidence is to be practically employed will be
seen in the succeeding table, calculated by Mr. R. Thompson,
with a view to explaining what the natural temperature is to
which certain plants commonly cultivated are exposed in the
climates best adapted to their healthy development.

I,.—A Tasiz or Grounp TEMPERATURES NATURAL To CERTAIN PLANTS, AS EITHER
ACTUALLY OBSERVED, OR CALCULATED FROM KNOWN AIR TEMPERATURE.

aNaite Suitable Climate, | Growth. | Ripouing. | Hest

Apple, Pear, &c. . .|North of France| 59 64 41
Peach and Nectarine ./Persia . . .| 65 78 55
Apricot . . . . .|Armenia. . .| 57 72 27
Cherry. . . . . .|Asia Minor. .| 56 68 43
Gooseberry, &.. . .|Lancashire . .| 54 61 44
Quince. . . . . .|Portugal . .| 62 70 55
Vine, Muscats . . .|Sicily. . . .| 66 80 55

» Sweetwaters. .|Paris. . . . 58 66 41
Fig. . . . . . Smyrna. . .| 60 80 46
Melon. . . . . Smyrna. . | 60 80
Plantain, or Banana .|Jamaica. . .| 82 88 80
Pine-apple . . . ./Surinam. . .| 82 88 81
Mango. ... . .jBengal . . | 85 | 89 83
Vanilla .. . . .jSurinam. ...| 82 88 81
Orange ... . .|Malta. . . .| 60 T7 56
Mangosteen . . . .|/Malacca.-. .| 84 86 81
Loquat .. . . Japan. . . -| 70 80 49
Litchi. . . . . .fCanton . . | 74 86 59
Oats . .. . . (Scotland. . .| 51 57 41
Barley. . . . . ./England. . | 54 62 42
Wheat. . . . . .|Castile . . .| 61 78 46
Maize... . . ./Virginia. . .| 70 79
Rice . . . . . JJBengal . . .| 89 92

156 NATURAL GROUND TEMPERATURES.

II. —A TABLE OF THE ASCERTAINED, OR ESTIMATED AVERAGE GROUND TEMPERATURES
IN DIFFERENT Parts of THE WORLD.

Country. : Season of | Ripening. | Rest.

Lonpvon (Chiswick) . . . | 85 62 42
Africa, South (Cape of Good ane. F 62 67 58
PD » (Graf Reynet). . . . 65 74 58
Alpierg! © 62 sae las Ge) gy RS 66 | 76 57
» (Constantine). . . . .., 66 82 49
Amsterdam . . 1. 1... eae 57 64 40
Armenia (Erzeroum) . ....., 57 72 27
Astrachan. . . eS 56 74 23
Australia (Coburg Petiinsala) soap cdi 88 85 80
» (PortJackson). . . . «| 67 75 58

oe Western (Perth). . . . 67 81 59
AVES eo OR OR de eS 79 88 68
Azores (St. Michael’s). . . . . .] 65 68 60
Batavia. te 05 0 ae we a we 82 83 80
Benares. ae ie @ ina a 84 | 91 67
ae ae ea es 64 36
Berne e485: ah Gh oad es Se! ELS 49 59 33
Beyrout < ws. eae we 65 | 79 59
Bogota. 3% 6 fe ew ae 64 64 62
Bombay . ....... a. 84 87 82
Brussels 2... 6 6 es we 59 | 65 41
Bucharest. 2. 2. 2. 2. we ee 58 65 30
CON. 5p gt. a A we Ww wl) AB 87 62
Calcutta . 2... ww ee 82 90 75
Canada (Toronto) . . .. . . 58 | 66 30
Canton. . . . a ea 74 84 57
Caraccas (Mansoaybay ie bree Be a 87 | 89 86
Ceylon (Badulla) . . . ...., 73 75 71
yi. RCONAY) a2 eo oe a> woe ae 75 | 8 74
Constantinople . . . . . 1. 4, 64 73 44
Dantaie . 3 gs Kw woe KR ey 54 64 30
Dablitti 44> 52 ae ho A ea 56 60 44
Edinburgh . 2. 1... A, 61 57 41
Falkland Islands . . . . . . , 49 56 42
Florence . . 1... 64 76 44
Fort Vancouver. . . . . . . , 54 65 41

NATURAL GROUND TEMPERATURES. 157

TaBLe or AVERAGE GRounD TEmMprratTuREs—continued.

Country. pena Ripening. Rest.

HIGENCVA,. « on ws ae et 58 70 33
(HOMOGE 5 se Ge pies RY APS eR 65 76 51
MGuntemiale a —-& gy ae aw al) 8 72 70
Guineas a Se ee ww 86 |) O87 84
Havannah, . . . . . wee 80 83 7
Himalayas (Khasia) . . . .. . 78 85 64
Hobart Town, . . . . . ew se 53 62 44
Honolulu. . . 1... 1 wee 17 80 74
Tilinois (St. Louis). 2. . . 1 65 77 34
Jamaica (Kingston), . . . . . | 82. _ 88 80
Java (Buitenzorg) . . . . . s . 80 81 79
Jerusalem. ». 2. 1 ee we 65 76 52
Timid ee a A ew 75. _ 82 70
Taisho. Seve. ko EG a Aa Ee 64 71 56
Liverpool... 2. 1 1 1 we ew 54, 62 44
Macao: a.) ee al oe we A 72 85 60
Madeira (Funchal). . . . . . «] 68. 74 67
Midd rags 4. ah ce 85 88 83
Madridis ¢.-<ar, 2-4 sac Se eae eS! CE 78 46
Manilla 4... © @ «© % # *« % 78. 90 74
Melbourne. . . . 1. 1 ew wae 60 65 51
M6XIG0; ws ase we ae 64 67 58
Montpellier . . 1. 1. 2. 2. we 65 74 46
Montreal . . . 2 1 1 ee ee 65 | 72. 25
Moscow’ - & «@ % aw oN eB we 8 57 65 24
Munich: | 6: 4) Ge ai se eee aS 59 64 33
Naplésis. ig: ar oped Bee ke oes 64 76 50
New Orleans. . . . . . 2... 76 84 56
New York; 2 © «© s © % % @ 4 64 72 36
New Zealand (Auckland). . . . . 59 66 53
Nova Scotia (Halifax). . .... 50 69 25
Niger? 2-5. oe RE wg 88 91 84
Ootacamund. . ... + ese 63 66 56
ORAM i $e. sean GR. a. eb oa Se BP 8 66 75 53
Oregon (Columbia). . . . ... 65 75 41
Palermo «: 4 <> « @ @ « a ~ « 66 80 55
Pariat (6a we ae) ae a 58 66 41
Penzance. . . » «© © «© «© e > 56 63 47

NATURAL GROUND TEMPERATURES.

apie or Average Grounp TeMPERATURES—continued.

Country. ponaen ‘ Ripening. Rest.
Persia (Bushire) . . . . - + + 79 90 64
Persia (Mosul) . 2. 2 2. ee 65 | 93 48
Polynesia (Raiatea). . . . . - s 81 84 79
Quebecw 2. 2 1 ee et 58 71 20
Quito. 6k a 64. 66 63
RioJaneiro . . . 1. ee es 77 84 74
Rome! ¢ 3. @ Bo 4 4 & # Gow « 64 76 49
St. Petersburg . . . . 1 - ss 45 60 25
Sebastopol. . . 6. 6. 1 ee ee 60 70 39
Shanghae. . . 1. 2 1 we 73 80? 49
Simcapore. . . 1 1 ee ee 84 85 83
Surinam (Paramaribo). . . .. . 82 88 81
Tellis « 4 3 # © & # + 4 & 4 65 77 37
Trebizond. . 2. 1». 3 se ee 63 75 50
Trincomalee. . . . ss we ss 84 88 80
Virginia (Norfolk). . . . . . . 68 80 48
Vera Cruz. 2. 6 1 ee ee 81 86 74
Wenlees: «a vo ee ee ee 60 14 40
VienNas « 6 «2 i ew w «8 2 ah 68 69 34
Washington . . 2. 1. 1 ew 60 77 84

The temperature here estimated as that of the season of rest is to be
understood as what roots are probably exposed to at a foot below the
surface. Of course, upon the surface, the temperature would be lower.

CHAPTER II.

—~—

OF THE MOISTURE OF THE SOIL.—WATERING.

Ir has already been shown that water is one of the most
important ingredients in the food of plants, partly from their
having the power of decomposing it, and partly because it is the
vehicle through which the soluble matters found in the earth
are conveyed into the general system of vegetation. Its
importance depends, however, essentially upon its quantity.

We know, on the one hand, that plants will not live in soil
which, without being chemically dry, contains so little moisture
as to appear dry; and, on the other hand, an excessive quantity
of moisture is, in many cases, equally prejudicial. The great
points to determine are, the amount which is most congenial to
a given species under given circumstances, and the periods of
growth when water should be applied or withheld.

When a plant is at rest, that is to say, in the winter of
northern countries and the dry season of the tropics, but a small
supply of water is required by the soil, because at that time
the stems lose but little by perspiration, and consequently the
roots demand but little food; nevertheless, some terrestrial
moisture is required by plants with perennial stems, even in
their season of rest, because it is necessary that their system
should, at that time, be replenished with food against the
renewal of active vegetation. Hence, when trees are taken out
of the earth in autumn, and allowed to remain exposed to a dry
air all the winter, they either perish, or are greatly enfeebled.
Tf, on the other hand, the soil in which they stand is filled with
moisture, their system is distended with aqueous matter at a time
when it cannot be decomposed or thrown off, and the plant either

160 EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE WINTER-WET.

loses its roots by rotting, or becomes unnaturally susceptible of
the influence of cold in rigorous climates, or is driven prema-
turely into growth, when its new parts perish from the
unfavourable state of the air in which they are then developed.
The most suitable condition of the soil, at the period of vegetable
rest, seems to be that in which no more aqueous matter is
contained than results from the capillary attraction of the

earthy particles.

During the season of 1852 and 1853, in which rain fell, with little inter-
mission, from November till March, and inundated permanently gardens
in low situations, Rhododendrons, although fond of moisture, perished
to a great extent. During winter they seemed to be healthy, but when
spring arrived their leaves became dull, changed to brown, and withered,
and the buds refused to push; or, when attempts were made by plants
to renew their vegetation, their growth was feeble, and most of them
died in the course of the following autumn or winter.

Nevertheless, there are exceptions to this, in the case of
aquatic and marsh plants, whose peculiar constitution enables
them to bear with impunity, during their winter, an immersion
in water ; and in that of many kinds of bulbs, which, during their
season of rest, are exposed to excessive heat and dryness. The
latter plants are, however, constructed in a peculiar manner;
their roots are annual, and perish at the same time as the leaves,
when all the absorbent organs being lost, the bulb cannot be
supposed to require any supply of moisture, inasmuch as it
possesses no means of taking it up, even if it existed in the soil.

The conditions under which true aquatics exist have been so well
explained by a philosophical writer, in the Gardener’s Chronicle,
1852, p. 19, that I quote his statement without curtailment, although
his remarks, in part, refer to other questions besides the moisture of the
medium in which roots are placed :—

Plants growing entirely under water are to some extent protected
from those great and sudden changes of temperature to which ordinary
land plants are frequently exposed ; at the same time, however, water

' plants are very often injured by cold, and it not unfrequently happens,
that on a cold winter’s night plants in a pond will be greatly injured, or
even killed, whilst those in a neighbouring.pond will remain quite

uninjured. In order to understand the precise cause. of’ this pheno-
menon, we must examine the conditions under which plants grow, and
the peculiar sources of injury to which they are consequently exposed.

EVAPORATION—CONDUCTION, 16L

‘There are three perfectly distinct modes in which the surface of the
earth becomes cooled, and these are by evaporation, by conduction, and
by radiation. When water evaporates it becomes colder, because, in
the formation of vapour, heat is always absorbed. This simple fact is
of the greatest importance to the life of both plants and animals.
When plants are exposed to a hot sunshine, the moisture which they
contain gradually evaporates, and in so doing absorbs the great heat of
the sun’s rays, which would otherwise injure plants and burn them up.
Evaporation from the surface of the leaves is generally in proportion to
the direct heat of the sun, and it is necessary as a means of keeping the
plant cool, and preventing it from being scorched ; if soil is dry, so that
the plant cannot obtain, by means of its roots, a constant supply of
moisture to keep up this daily evaporation from its leaves, it has no
power of withstanding the heat of the sun, and it withers and fades the
first hot day. Whenever, and in whatever manner, we check the
constant evaporation which always goes on in the leaves of a healthy
plant, we run a risk of killing it by exposure to hot sunshine, The
common experience of the gardener gives plenty of examples of the
truth of this; but there are other cases in which, though the same effect
is produced, and the same principle is involved, its influence is not so
self-evident. When, for example, a plant is placed in a close hothouse,
confined in a hot damp air, its perspiration is checked, because the air
being already saturated with moisture, it has little power of carrying
off the moisture evaporated by the leaves, and consequently the plant
has less power of withstanding the heating influence of the sun’s rays
than it has in the open air, or in a state of nature.

As evaporation, on the one hand, is a natural means of counteracting
the excessive heat of the sun, so, on the other hand, it is the chief
cooling agent in nature, and every circumstance tending to increase
evaporation from the surface of the soil tends also to cool it, As a
moist air and a diminished circulation are most unfavourable to evapora-
tion, so a dry air and free circulation greatly facilitate it. The cooling
effect of a cold dry wind is familiar to every one; its influence depends
on the fact, that dry air readily absorbs moisture from any surface
exposed to it, whilst the rapid motion of the wind, by carrying away
the moisture as fast as it is formed, insures a constant supply of fresh
dry air, and thus, by aiding in the formation of moisture, rapidly cools
the surface on which it blows.

The second mode in which plants are cooled is by conduction, or by
the mere contact of cold air; and this is quite independent of the cold
produced by evaporation. When a cold wind drives along the surface
of the ground it gradually cools it, and, of course, likewise the plants
growing on it, by the simple abstraction, or carrying away of heat. So
long as the surrounding air is colder than the plants it will tend to
reduce their temperature ; and if the air is in motion, as fresh portions

M

162

RADIATION.

of cold air will continually come in contact with the plants, they must
gradually get colder and colder, even though no evaporation takes
place, till they are as cold as the air itself.

Radiation, the third mode in which plants are influenced by cold,
depends upon the curious fact, that when two substances are placed
opposite to each other in the free and open air, if the one is warmer
than the other, it will immediately begin to give out its heat, which
will be received by the colder substance. The difference between this
mode of cooling and mere conduction is, that in the latter heat travels
from the hot to the colder surface by contact, and therefore only when
they absolutely touch each other, whilst in radiation, the two surfaces
are at a distance, and the heat passes at once through the air, and
without in any way warming it. The heat of the sun is radiant heat—
it passes through the clear air without communicating any warmth to
it, though it warms the earth below; and then when the sun’s rays
have warmed the earth, the latter in turn begins to warm the surround-
ing air—but this effect is no longer one of radiation, it is simply an
effect of conduction. On a clear night the surface of the ground may
be exposed to all three of these cooling influences at once; it may be
cooled by evaporation, by contact with cold air, and by radiation, In
reality, however, it is very seldom that all these cooling influences are
in operation at the same time, because there are several counteracting
powers at work tending to keep the surface of the soil at a tolerably
uniform temperature ; and foremost of these is the formation of dew.
As the evaporation of water is a cooling process, heat being absorbed,
so the condensation of moisture is a warming process, an equal amount
of heat being given out; consequently, just in proportion as the surface
of the earth after sunset is cooled by radiation, it will acquire the
power of condensing the moisture in the air, and by that very act will
gain heat. It must also be remembered that radiation only takes place
in a still and clear night ; when there are clouds or mist, radiation does
not occur. .

Water may be cooled either by evaporation, or by the contact of cold
air, but it differs from the soil in the facility with which it is moved,
and the readiness with which currents are formed in it. "When the

earth is exposed to cooling infiuences, the surface soon becomes cold,
-but as heat travels very slowly through the porous soil, it takes a very

long time before the cold penetrates, or rather before the heat escapes

from any depth below the surface; in the case of water it is quite

different, because when the surface is in any way cooled, the water
becomes heavier or denser, and a kind of circulation is immediately
established, the cold water descending, and the warmer water rising to
its surface. In this manner, then, so long as the cooling influences
continue, the water goes on sinking in temperature, the whole body of
it getting colder ; this, however, does not continue after it has arrived

COOLING OF WATER. 163

at a temperature of 40°, or about 8° above the freezing point ; when this
is the case, all circulation in the water ceases, because if the surface
water is then cooled still lower, it no longer continues to contract and
become denser, but on the contrary expands, so that it then remains
floating on the surface. It follows from this very interesting fact, that
when on a cold winter’s night the surface of a pond is cooled, the whole
body of water sinks in temperature to 40°, after that, the surface only
continues to get colder, and a film of ice is soon formed, while the
water below continues at a temperature of 40°. In consequence of this
kind of circulation, and the facility with which it is produced, a body
of water is easily cooled down to within 8° of freezing, but when once
it has arrived at that point its further cooling proceeds very slowly,
even though the cold becomes much more intense; for the water below
is in fact protected from contact with the cold air by the film of ice at
the surface, and ice is so bad a conductor of heat that the freezing of
the water under the ice goes on very slowly; in temperate climates ice
is seldom more than a few inches in thickness, and the water in deep
ponds not only never freezes, but, indeed, never falls in temperature
much below 40°.

Water plants, therefore, are, in fact, preserved from cold by the
coating of ice which forms over the surface of the pond in which they
grow; if the water is deep they are seldom injured ; but if the water is
shallow, and the cold long-continued, the whole depth of it will in time
freeze, and the plants will be more or less injured. Plants growing in
water thus walled over with ice are protected from all the three cooling
influences to which we have alluded ; but there are some circumstances
under which water plants suffer greatly, and from a very singular
cause, but one which, when looked into, is sufficiently simple and
intelligible.

The surface of clear water does not become cold from radiation, but
from contact with cold and dry air; consequently in a fine but very still
night it is much less rapidly cooled than the earth, which, in addition,
is exposed to the cooling influence of radiation. Under such circum-
stances it sometimes happens that the usual order of things is reversed,
the bottom of the pond cooling more rapidly than the surface; on a
clear still cold night radiation sometimes occurs from the bottom of a
pond, the plants and soil in which they are growing radiating towards
the sky just as if the water were not above them, and the consequence
is that they become very cold, in fact, some degrees below the freezing
point, though the water above them is still at 40°. This effect can only
happen in clear water, and on a night when there are no clouds, for the
same circumstances which prevent radiation from the surface of the
ground will also prevent its taking place from the bottom of a pond.
When plants under water are cooled by radiation, they soon become
encased in ice, and though the ice thus formed generally melts the next

um 2

164 SEASON OF GROWTH DEMANDS WATER.

morning, yet at the time of its formation the plants are often exposed to
a very intense cold.

A singular effect, somewhat similar in nature, though caused in a
very different manner, is sometimes observed ; as clear still water offers
no obstruction to the passage of radiant heat, it occasionally happens
that water plants are injured by the great heat of the sun’s rays; like
land plants they receive abundance of radiant heat from the sun, but,
unlike land plants, they do not experience the compensating effect of
evaporation ; they only feel the less perfect cooling influence of the sur-
rounding water. It therefore occasionally happens that plants growing
in water, and surrounded by it, are burnt and scorched by the heat of
the sun’s rays, the radiant heat of which produces no effect on the water
through which it passes, any more than it does in passing through the
air; its effects only become evident when its rays fall upon a solid
substance, such as the surface of the ground or the leaves of a plant.

It is when plants are in a state of growth that an abundant
supply of moisture is required in the earth. As soon as young
leaves sprout forth, perspiration commences and a powerful
absorption must take place by the roots; the younger the leaves
are, the more rapid their perspiratory action; their whole
epidermis must, at that time, be highly sensible to the stimu-
lating power of light: but as they grow older their skin hardens,
the stomates become the only apertures through which vapour
can fly off, and by degrees even these are either choked up, or
have a diminished irritability. As a general rule, it is safe to
conclude that the ground should be abundantly supplied with
moisture when plants first begin to grow, and that the quantity
should be diminished as the organization of a plant becomes
completed. There are, however,some especial cases which
appear to be exceptional, in consequence of the unnatural state
in which we require plants to be preserved for our own peculiar
purposes.

It has been remarked by one of the translators of this work that “ care
should be taken that plants in pots have not too great a quantity of
moisture when they first begin to vegetate.” Plants should not have too
much moisture at any time. The meaning of the caution seems to be
that, as plants in bud are less able to assimilate moisture than if in
full leaf, so the supply of moisture to the former should be in proportion
small, But this caution is needless if the cultivator recognises the
general axiom that ‘PLANTS SHOULD NEVER HAVE MORE MOISTURE

«

CULTIVATION OF BULBS. 165

THAN THEY CAN CONSUME,” whether by assimilation, or rejection in the
form of perspiration (see p. 65).

In the case of bulbs, which may be kept perfectly dry, while
really at rest, when they are stimulated into growth, moisture must
be administered with the greatest caution. When a bulb has lain
dormant in the earth during its natural period, it is ready to spring into
renewed life upon the application of warmth and moisture; and it may
seem to matter little whether it is suddenly transferred from dryness to
moisture, or whether the change takes place gradually; because its
powers of life are unimpaired, But in nature no such sudden changes
occur: on the contrary, when rain begins to fall, it soaks slowly into
the earth; and when it reaches the bulb, it is still arrested in its action
by the numerous dry coats with which this body is invested, and through
which it must gradually filter. But when a bulb has been long out of
the earth, its vital energies are much diminished, and it cannot bear
even that slow supply of moisture which is furnished by wet soil,
whose humidity penetrates the bulb coats, and is absorbed by the living
tissue. Ifa weakened bulb is suddenly brought in contact with water,
it will absorb it, but may be unable to digest it. The water will then
become stagnant and putrid, and destroy the bulb; although, could the
bulb have digested it, it would have been converted into new elements
and have proved a proper aliment. The rule, therefore, to observe
with newly-imported bulbs is, to place them where they absorb moisture
very slowly. The driest earth is full of water, which can only be
driven off by the application of intense heat. A bulb, therefore, should
be planted in what is called dry soil, and placed in a shady part of a
green-house until it has become plump, and begun to shoot; if it has
begun to shoot when received, still the same treatment should be
observed, and the driest soil used to plant it in. It is only when
decisive signs of natural growth can be detected that a very little
water should be given, while the temperature is at the same time
slightly increased; and no considerable quantity of water should be
administered until the leaves are an inch or two above ground, and
evidently disposed to grow rapidly. If these precautions are taken, no
failures are ever likely to occur; if neglected, no success can be antici-
pated. A chest full of bulbs of Calochortus macrocarpus, one of the
rarest and finest of all plants, was destroyed in the Garden of the
Horticultural Society by an unskilful gardener, who planted them in
the wet earth of an open border immediately after their arrival from a
fifteen months’ voyage. Every bulb would have grown had he under-
stood the principles of horticulture.

Dutch gardeners perfectly comprehend this, as will be seen from the
following practical remarks on the management of Hyacinths, by Mr.
Theodore Storm, one of the most experienced Dutch growers of this
plant. Moisture being the most destructive agent against which the

166

is,

CULTIVATION OF BULBS.

amateur has to guard, great care should be taken to protect Hyacinths
from it, by selecting the most elevated spot in his garden. If this is
surrounded by a shallow trench, a little distance off, it will be useful ;
and the bed should also be raised seven or eight inches above the ground
level. It must not be imagined that this precaution is useless because
many parts of England are more elevated and lie drier than Holland,
an opinion too prevalent among foreign amateurs, which occasions them
the loss of many bulbs. In all the treatises that have appeared on the
culture of the Hyacinth, this important circumstance has been almost
wholly overlooked. The truth is, that the soil which suits the
Hyacinth is very light, and disposed to absorb the rain and snow which
falls between the months of November and March. The paths around
the beds being more close and compact, do not absorb this moisture
which lodges upon the beds, and renders them so wet that they
absolutely become like mud to the depth of sixteen or twenty inches.
The bulbs having by that time formed roots eight or twelve inches in
length, their extremities are continually immersed in water, which,
from want of a slope to carry it off, causes the roots to putrify, and to
communicate a disease to the bulbs, which either totally destroys them,
or renders the flowers poor and small, The bulb becomes weak, and
when taken up will be found shrivelled and separating into scales, To
prevent this there should always be a gentle descent or small trenches
around the beds to drain off the wet. The surface of the beds should
also be at least seven or eight inches above the path.

The vitality of a bulb being thoroughly aroused, and the leaves being
in full and healthy action, many of these plants may almost be regarded
as aquatics, their leaves being able to consume all the moisture that
the roots, even though immersed in water, can absorb, Of this the
Hyacinth is a familiar example; Crinums, Pancratiums, Hippeastrums,
and all such soft-leaved genera are others, as is seen by the case of the
Amaryllis Belladonna, which acquires its greatest beauty by the side of
ditches in Madeira, where it is dried up at the period of rest, and deluged
while in leaf.

One of the effects of an excessive supply of moisture
to keep all the newly formed parts of a plant tender and

succulent, and therefore such a constant supply is desirable
when the leaves of plants are eaten as in the case of Spinach,
Lettuces, and other oleraceous annuals. Another effect is, to
render all parts naturally disposed to be succulent much more

so

than they otherwise would be; thus we find market-gardeners

deluging their Strawberry plants with water while the fruit is
swelling, in order to assist in that, to them, important operation.
‘While, however, in this case, the size of the fruit is increased

RELATION OF WATER TO SUCCULENCE. 167

by a copious supply of water to the earth, its flavour is, in
proportion, diminished ; for, in consequence of the rapidity with
which the Strawberry ripens, and, perhaps, the obstruction of
light by its leaves, the excess of aqueous matter taken into the
system cannot be all decomposed, and formed into those
products which give flavour to fruit; but it must necessarily
remain in part in an unaltered condition.

It is for the reason just given that the quantity of water in
the soil should be diminished when succulent fruit is ripening;
we see this happen in nature, all over the world, and there can
be no doubt of its being of great importance. Not only is the
quality of such fruit impaired by a wet soil, as has just been
shown, but, because of its low, perspiratory power, the fruit
will burst from excess of moisture, as occurs to the Plum and
Grape in wet seasons.

Some fruits are much more subject to this bursting or cracking than
others, as is seen in the Stanwick Nectarine, the Chasselas musqué

grape, &c. In such cases it is clear that the Anyneis of the soil is of
more than ordinary importance.

It is also to be observed that bursting may arise from mere sith
disease ; as happens with mildewed or rusty grapes, in which, by one
cause or other, the power of the skin to distend as the berries fill with
fluid is destroyed—in the one case by the action of a mildew-plant, in
the other by greasy fingers or currents of cold air, or impurities of the
atmosphere caused by bad fumigation, sulphuring, &c.

The Melon, although an apparent exception to this rule, is
not really so; that fruit acquires its highest excellence in
countries where its roots are always immersed in water, as in
the floating islands of Cashmere, the irrigated fields of Persia,
and the springy river-beds of India. But it is to be remem:
bered that the leaves of this plant have an enormous perspira-
tory power, arising partly from their large surface, and partly
from the thinness and consequent permeability of their tissue,
so that they require a greater supply of fluid than most others;
and, in the next place, the heat and bright light of such
countries are capable of decomposing and altering the fluids of
the fruit with a degree of rapidity and force to which we here
have no parallel. In this country the Melon does not succeed

168 EFFECTS OF WET SOIL.

if its roots are immersed in water, as I ascertained some years
ago, in the Garden of the Horticultural Society, by repeated
experiments. Melons were planted in earth placed on a tank
of water, into which their roots quickly made their way ; they
grew in a curvilinear iron hot-house, were trained close under
the glass, and were consequently exposed to all the light and
heat that could be obtained. They grew vigorously and pro-
duced their fruit, but it was not of such good quality as it would
have been had the supply of water to the roots been less
copious. In the tropics, if the quantity of rain that falls ina
short time is enormous, and plants are forced by it into a rapid
and powerful vegetation, they are at the same time acted upon
by free currents of warm air and a light and temperature bright
and high in proportion, the result of which is the most perfect
organization of which the plants are susceptible; but, if the
same quantity of water is given to the same plants at similar
periods in this country, a disorganization of their tissue is the
result, in consequence of the absence of air, light, and heat in
sufficient quantity.

The effect of continuing to make plants grow in a soil more
wet than suits them is well known to be not only a production
of leaves and ill-formed shoots, instead of flowers and fruit,
but, if the water is in great excess, of a general yellowness of
appearance, owing, as some chemists think, to the destruction,
by the water, of a blue matter, which, by its mixture with
yellow, forms the ordinary verdure of vegetation. If this con-
dition is prolonged, the vegetable tissue enters into a state of
decomposition, and death ensues. In some cases the joints of
the stem separate, in others the plant rots off at the ground,
and all such results are increased in proportion to the weakness
of light, and the lowness of temperature. De Candolle con:
siders that the collection of stagnant water about the neck of
plants prevents the free access of the oxygen of the air to the
roots; but the great mischief is undoubtedly produced by the
coldness of the soil in which water is allowed to accumu:
late. It is also possible that the extrication of carburetted
hydrogen gas is one cause of the injury sustained by plants
whose roots are surrounded by stagnant water; but upon

MADDEN ON DRAINAGE, 169
this point we want much more satisfactory evidence than we
yet possess.

Dr. Madden’s views of the effects of drainage may be quoted in con-
nection with this subject (see his prize essay). 1. One great evil pro-
duced by an excess of water in soil, is the consequent diminution in the
quantity of air within it; which air we have proved to be of the
greatest consequence, not only in promoting the chemical changes
requisite for the preparation of the food of plants, but likewise to the
roots of the plants themselves; for Saussure and Sir H. Davy have
proved that oxygen and carbonic acid are absorbed by the roots ; which
gases, however, especially the former, can be conveyed to them only by
the air. 2. An excess of water injures soil by diminishing its tempe-
yature in summer and increasing it in winter—a transposition of nature
most hurtful to perennials, because the vigour of a plant in spring
depends greatly upon the lowness of temperature to which it has been
subjected during winter (within certain limits of course), as the difference
of temperature between winter and spring is the exciting cause of the
ascent of the sap. 3, The presence of a large quantity of water in soil
alters the result of putrefaction, by which some substances are formed
which are, in all probability, useless to plants,—such, for example, as
carburetted hydrogen,—and diminishes the proportion of more useful
ingredients, as ulmic acid. 4. An increase in the proportion of fluid in
soil has a most powerful effect upon its saline constituents, by which
many changes are produced diametrically opposite to those that take
place in soil where the water is in much less quantity; and in this
manner the good effects of many valuable constituents are greatly
diminished, as, for instance, the action of carbonate of ammonia upon
humus, and of gypsum upon carbonate of ammonia. 5. The directions
of the currents which occur in wet soil are entirely altered by drainage;
for whereas in undrained soil the currents are altogether from below
upwards, being produced by the force of evaporation at the surface, and
consequently the spongioles of the plants are supplied with exhausted
subsoil water, when land is drained the currents are from the surface
to the drains, and the roots are consequently in this manner supplied
with fresh aérated water. Lastly, an excess of water in soil produces
a constant dampness of the atmosphere, which we have shown to be
injurious to plants in three distinct ways:—1. by diminishing evapora-
tion, and thus rendering the process of assimilation slower; 2. By
diminishing the absorption of the carbonic acid, and thus lessening the
atmospheric supply of food; 3. By creating a tendency in the plant to
produce leaves possessing a different structure from those which the
same plant produces in dry situations, Thus we have six distinct
methods in which an excess of water in soil has been proved to be
greatly injurious to plants, ; ,

170 IMPORTANCE OF DRAINAGE.

The removal of superfluous water by drainage has been
already shown to be attended by an elevation of earth-tempe-
rature (see p. 187). Its other effects, of taking out of land
the water which plants cannot assimilate (and no more), and
at the same time of enabling rain water charged with salts
of ammonia, a direct food of plants, to reach the roots with
every shower, probably constitute the whole rationale of this
important operation.

In bibulous soils lying high this contrivance may be unne-
cessary ; but in those which are tenacious, or which, from their
low situation, do not permit superfluous water to filter away
freely, such a precaution is indispensable. No person has ever
seen good crops produced by trees growing in lands imperfectly
drained; and all experienced gardeners must be acquainted
with cases where wet unproductive borders have been rendered
fruitful by contrivances which are chiefly valuable because of
their efficiency in regulating the humidity of the soil.

Such precautions as are detailed in the following good account of
preparing a Vine border, show how important it is to provide effectually
for the removal of superfluous water from roots, and how useless a waste
of money is that which is expended in forming deep rich beds of earth,
“In preparing a Vine border,” says Mr. Griffin of Woodhall, a success-
ful grower of Grapes, ‘‘one foot in depth of the mould from the surface
is cleared out from the whole space ; a main drain is then sunk parallel
to the house, at the extremity of the border, one foot lower than the
bottom of the border; into this smaller drains are carried diagonally
from the house across the border. The drains are filled with stone.
The cross drains keep the whole bottom quite dry ; but if the subsoil be
gravel, chalk, or stone, they will not be necessary. The drainage being
complete, the whole bottom is covered with brick, stone, or lime rubbish,
about six inches thick, and on this is laid the compost for the Vines.”
(Hort. Trans., iv. 100.) This is in accordance with a practice well
known in vineyard countries. ‘‘In France, in the Vine districts, where
water frequently collects in great quantities at a certain depth in the
earth, the trees are planted upon an under-layer of stones, which are
covered with earth, and in this manner the roots are kept from too much
moisture, and the water is drained away.” (German Translator.)

The practice of placing large quantities of potsherds or
broken tiles at the bottom of tubs, or pots, or other vessels in
which plants are rooted, is only another exemplification of the ;

WATERING THE SOIL. 171

great necessity of attending to the due humidity of the soil, and
to the prevention of stagnant water collecting about the roots.
In like manner the injury committed by worms upon the roots
of plants in pots chiefly consists in these creatures reducing
the earth to a plastic state, and dragging it among the. pot-
sherds so as to stop up the passages between them and destroy
the drainage.

One of the means of guarding the earth against an access on
the one hand, and a loss on the other, of too much water, is by
paving the surface of ground with tiles or stones, and the
advantages of this method havé been much insisted upon. But,
in cold summers at least, such a pavement may prevent the
soil from acquiring the necessary amount of heat; and it may
in some degree obstruct the free communication between the
atmosphere and the roots. It is therefore a. practice that
should be adopted cautiously.

It is in places fully exposed to the gun, and liable to ‘ burn”
in summer, in consequence of loss of moisture, that paving
answers best. On heavy land where trenches have been formed to
hold peat for American and similar fibrous-rooted plants, it. is sometimes
found impossible to keep them alive in summer until the surface is
paved, after which they succeed perfectly. Here, however, it is found
that the best kind of paving consists of round pebbles of gravel spread
over the surface, with peat sifted between them. Flagstones, tiles, or
large nodules of flint are objectionable. ,

More commonly recourse is had to the operation of simple
watering, for the purpose of maintaining the earth at a due
state of humidity, and to render plants more vigorous than they
otherwise would be; an indispensable operation in hot-houses,
but of less moment in the open air. It is, indeed, doubtful
whether, in the latter case, it is not often more productive of
disadvantage than of real service to plants. When plants are
watered naturally, the whole air is saturated with humidity at
the same time as the soil is penetrated by the rain ; and in this
case the aqueous particles mingled with the earth are very
gradually introduced into the circulating system, for the
moisture of the air prevents a rapid perspiration. Not so
when plants in the open air are artificially watered. This

172 WATERING IN THE OPEN AIR.

operation is usually performed in hot dry weather, and must
necessarily be limited in its effects; it can have little if any
influence upon the atmosphere: then, the parched air robs the
leaves rapidly of their moisture, so long as the latter is
abundant; the roots are suddenly and violently excited, and
after a short time the exciting cause is withdrawn, by the
momentary supply of water being cut off by evaporation, and
by filtration through the bibulous substances of which soil
usually consists. Then, again, the rapid evaporation from
the soil in dry weather has the effect of lowering the
temperature of the earth, and this has been before shown
to be injurious ; such a lowering, from such a cause, does not
take place when plants are refreshed by showers, because at
that time the dampness of the air prevents evaporation from
the soil, just as it prevents perspiration from the leaves.
Moreover, in stiff soils, the dashing of water upon the surface
has after a little while the effect of “puddling” the ground and
rendering it impervious, so that the descent of water to the
roots is impeded, whether it is communicated artificially or by
the fall of rain. It is, therefore, doubtful whether artificial
watering of plants in the open air is advantageous, unless in
particular cases; and most assuredly, if itis done at all, it
ought to be much more copious than is usual. It is chiefly in
the case of annual crops that watering artificially is really
important; and with them, if any means of occasionally
deluging ground can be devised by means of sluices or other-
wise, in the same way as water-meadows, it may be expected to
be the most advantageous.

The best gardeners employ overhead watering in the open air only
in cases of absolute necessity. A curious case is recorded of a garden
in a sandy soil at Tonbridge, in Surrey, which, through the hot and
dry summer of 1842, remained in the most luxuriant beauty without
receiving any assistance from watering. In this case the gardener
stated that the garden in question was some eight years previously
partly pond, and partly a sandy bank. The former was filled up with
earth; the latter was removed to the depth of three feet. A compost
prepared of sandy loam, decayed vegetable mould, silver sand, and
lime, well mixed and scasoned, was substituted, to the depth of three
feet; and, under these circumstances, although not even a thunder

WATERING IN THE OPEN AIR. 173

shower fell, some Lobelias and Fuchsias were the only plants that
needed water.

Watering is, however, sometimes: indispensable, When that is so,
various plans are adopted to increase its efficiency, and as a substitute
for overhead showers, Myr. 8. Taylor, in the Gardener’s Magazine
for 1840, recommends the use of bottles, with two small holes in the
sides, near the bottom. The bottles are buried to the neck near the
roots of the flower which requires watering; and after being filled and
corked, the water is allowed gradually to exude through the holes. This
is objectionable, because the roots of the plants are liable to be injured in
plunging the bottles, and it requires too many of them, where copious
watering is necessary. Mr. W. P. Ayres thinks—“ A better plan is to
take moderate-sized flower-pots, and having placed an inch or two of
rough gravel in the bottom of each, to place them round the plant to be
watered, and fill them with water, which as it percolates gradually
through the gravel, will soak into the ground. For plants such as
Standard Roses, Rhododendrons, &c., closely turfed over on lawns, or
for anything in a sloping situation, this is a most excellent plan, as the
pots filled with water may be placed at night and removed the next
morning, so as not to become an eyesore. Watering plants in flower-
beds is at all times a difficult matter, because if the borders are ‘suffi-
ciently full of soil to give them a convex form, which they always
ought to have, the water runs to the sides of the borders as fast as it is
poured on. In such cases it will be found advisable to perforate the
beds as thickly as possible, without injuring. the roots, to the depth of
six or eight inches, with a stick one inch in diameter, and by filling
these ten or a dozen times the ground-will become thoroughly soaked.
With Annuals, Verbenas, and other grouping: plants, I have found this
a most excellent method.”

The TIME oF DAY at which watering should be practised in the open
air has given rise to much difference of opinion. Some gardeners
insist upon the morning, others upon the evening. The first rest their
opinions upon such considerations as the following: ‘‘ Two acknow-
ledged agents in vigorous growth are heat and moisture; plants out of
doors must take the heat as they find it, and as we cannot increase, our

-object should be not to diminish it: moisture is under our control, but
if we exercise that control, and water our plants in the evening during
dry weather, we do so at the expense of a great portion of the heat we
desire to preserve. Two influences are at that time brought into
operation in cooling down the plants, and retarding their growth, which
we thus vainly endeavour to urge forward by moisture: these are
evaporation and radidtion, Evaporation is the more rapid in proportion
to the dryness of the air; and hence it is most energetic, when the
necessity for watering is most urgent: but evaporation cannot take
place without producing cold, and that cold is proportionate to the

174

THE APRIL MOON.

rapidity of the process. Chemistry points out the reason of this, vapour
having a greater capacity for heat than water, the heat sensible in the
water becomes latent in its vapour, and the sensible temperature falls ;
additional heat to keep up the temperature not being quickly enough
supplied by the surrounding media, Let us look at the effect of this
evening’s supply of water to plants: the air is dry, evaporation goes on
briskly ; the temperature sinks, the plants are chilled, there are no
sun’s rays to communicate fresh warmth, and their growth is sometimes
even more unsatisfactory than that of such plants as are growing in the
apparently arid soil, and which have been allowed to take their chance.
The other source of diminished temperature I noticed was radiation :
every warm body tends continually to throw off its heat to all others of
lower temperature, near or remote: but radiation in meteorology is
more particularly confined to ‘the radiation of heat from the surface
of the earth and objects on it into a clear sky.’ All objects do not
radiate heat with equal rapidity : rough surfaces do it more readily than
smooth, and dark surfaces than those of a lighter shade of colour.
Apply the latter remark to the process of evening watering: almost all
soils are darkened in their colour by moisture, and hence soil by this
practice is reduced to the best possible condition for getting cooled down
during the night.”

This is, in fact, a commentary upon what the French call the Zune
Rousse or April moon, which they fancy rusts their crops. M. Arago
has shown that this notion is erroneous, the effect alluded to being clearly
owing to another cause, but one which must necessarily be in active
operation on bright moonlight nights. He observed that in the months
of April and May the temperature at night is often not more than four
or six degrees above the freezing point ; and under these circumstances,
when the sky is most unclouded and the moon shining brightest, heat
will be radiated from the earth sufficient to reduce the temperature at
the surface some degrees lower, or below freezing point; hence the
tender leaves and roots of plants are nipped by cold, and that appear-
ance given to the former which is intended to be conveyed by the
French word rousse. But it may be doubted whether, under such con-
ditions as are above assumed to exist, watering should be practised at all.
The principle is not to water if it can be avoided; it is in hot. dry
weather that the operation is most needed, and at that time the
lowering of temperature at night is more beneficial than disadvanta-
geous. Itis evident indeed that the arguments just quoted are alto-
gether one-sided, the real questions to be determined are, Ist, Whether
such a loss of heat is detrimental to plants P and 2ndly, Whether there
may not be some compensating advantages? We believe that all
plants are retained in a more healthy state by lowering their tempera-
ture at night, and that no error is greater than that of supposing warm
nights advantageous to them. In all countries nature cools down the

WATER SHOULD BE WARM. 175

soil very considerably at those seasons when plants are growing, and
she ceases to do so only when vegetation is exhausted—or, perhaps,
we ought rather to say, vegetation is exhausted when she ceases to do
so. Itis doubtless true that this cooling process may be carried too
far, But that the amount of evaporation is not very considerable at
night, is shown by the damp state of the soil the next morning after a
watering. In watering at night the ground is soaked with moisture
at a time when plants are exhausted of their fluids in consequence of
the perspiration that has been going on all day long; the sooner that
loss is supplied the better; and during the night, when perspiration
ceases, or very greatly diminishes, a plant is enabled to absorb by its
roots the water it wants, so that by the return of day it is filled with
fluid, and in the best possible state to resist the renewed action of the
sun. But when water is applied in the morning the result is very
different. The plant is called on to throw off moisture by its skin
before it has been refilled by the absorbing action of the roots; the
ground, too, which at night retains its water and conveys it to a plant,
is called on to give it up immediately to the dry, warm, and gradually
heating air. So that, in fact, a morning’s watering cannot convey to
the interior of a plant anything like so much water as that of the
evening,

I entertain no doubt that the great object of the cultivator should be
to avoid the necessity of watering ; by shading the earth, or the plants
themselves, or by the common operations of mulching and top dressing.

When watering is inevitable the TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER is a
matter of great moment. Theoretically water should always be a few
degrees warmer than the soil; practically this cannot be always ensured.
All that a gardener can do is to keep his attention fixed upon the
principle. In summer the earth may be taken to stand at 60° while
cold spring water is not more than 50°; to be beneficial the water ought
to be 62° at least ; if warmer so much the better. For this reason water
from ponds or-other places heated by the sun, should always be
employed when circumstances permit it. In hot-houses rain water is
now generally preserved in raised tanks which acquire the tempera-
ture of the house. By such means warm water is secured. The practice
has been arrived at by the teaching of experience, which shows that
cold water applied to the roots of hothouse or greenhouse plants, is in
the highest degree injurious, if not fatal.

Among the evils of watering plants, is hardening the soil by the
mechanical action of water frequently dashed upon it. In this way a
hard crust:is formed upon heavy soil, or the particles of sandy land are
forced together into a compact mass, which interferes with the perco-
lation of rain, and the free access of air to the roots. It is for this reason,
that the application of liquid manure by engines, or by any contrivance
that may cause it to fall from a height, is regarded as objectionable, and

176 MILDEW PREVENTED BY WATERING.

even likely to frustrate the object for which it is used. To meet this
difficulty subterranean irrigation, by means of pierced pipes filled with
fluid under pressure, has been advocated by Mr. Chadwick, Mr.
Kennedy and others ; and there is no doubt that it is the most effectual
and unobjectionable of all methods proposed for communicating fluids to
the soil. It is, however, to be feared that cost will always be a bar to
the adoption of this plan.

Mildew, which is so often produced by cold dry air acting
upon a delicate surface of vegetable tissue, is completely pre-
vented in annuals by very abundant watering. The ravages of
the Botrytis effusa, which attacks Spinach; of Acrosporium
monilioides, which is found on the Onion; and the mildew of
the Pea, caused by the ravages of Erysiphe communis, may all
be stopped or prevented by abundant watering in dry weather.

Mr. Knight first applied this fact to the securing a late crop of peas for
the table, in the following manner :—The ground is dug in the usual
way, and the spaces which will be occupied by the future rows are well
soaked with water. The mould upon each side is then collected, so as
to form ridges seven or eight inches above the previous level of the
ground, and these are well watered; after which the seeds are sowed,
in single rows, along the tops of the ridges. The plants very soon
appear above the soil; and grow with much vigour, owing to the great
depth of the soil, and abundant moisture. Water is given rather pro-
fusely once in every week or nine days, even if the weather proves
showery ; but, if the ground be thoroughly drenched with water by the
autumnal rains, no further trouble is necessary. Under this mode of
management, the plants will remain perfectly green and luxuriant till
their blossoms and young seed-vessels are destroyed by frost, and their
produce will retain its proper flayour, which is always taken away by
mildew. (Hort. Trans., ii. 87.)

CHAPTER III.

—+—
OF ATMOSPHERICAL MOISTURE AND TEMPERATURE, *

Tue constituents of the atmosphere that surrounds us are
either the same in different regions, or the differences, if any,
are not appreciable by chemical processes. It is far otherwise,
as regards temperature and humidity, which are so intimately
connected that they cannot be considered apart from each
other.

From what has been already stated (Book I. Chap. V.), it is
apparent that of the vital functions of plants none are more
important than perspiration and evaporation; and that, while a
certain amount of loss of fluid particles is necessary to them,
a great excess or diminution of the loss must be injurious.
Although the solar rays appear to be the immediate cause of
perspiration, which proceeds in proportion to their intensity,
yet this action is necessarily modified by the state of the
medium, that is, of the atmosphere, which surrounds them; in
proportion to its heat and dryness will their power be aug-
mented, and in proportion to its cold and moisture diminished.
The physiological effect of an excessive augmentation of
perspiration is to dry up the juices and to destroy the texture
of the leaves; on the other hand, an excessive obstruction of
that function prevents the decomposition and assimilation of
fluids, and the formation of new organised matter, as well as of

* This subject has already been fully treated by the late Professor Daniell, in his
excellent paper ‘‘On Climate with regard to Horticulture,” published in the Transac-
tions of the Horticultural Society, vol. vi. p. 1. It is impossible to discuss the same
topic without profiting largely by this important treatise, which I have much followed
in the present chapter.

N

178 THE HYGROMETER.

the secretions peculiar to a species. A state of the atmosphere,
therefore, which is most favourable to the maintenance of the
perspiratory action in the most healthy state, is that which it
must be the business of a gardener to secure by all the means
in his power.

The fitness of an atmosphere for maintaining a healthy
vegetation depends upon the amount of moisture suspended in
it, and upon its temperature. The hygrometer indicates the
former, as the thermometer does the latter.

Among the hygrometers intended for measuring the quantity of
elastic vapour in the atmosphere, the most convenient for use is that
invented by Daniell. In this instrument, the amount of moisture in a
given atmosphere is indicated by what is called the dew-point ; that is
to say, by the point of the thermometric scale at which the cold is
sufficient to cause a deposition of dew.

It is impossible for any one to know what degree of moisture
he really maintains in a forcing-house without an instrument by
which to measure it; that instrument is the hygrometer. Of Daniell’s
hygrometer the annexed cut exhibits the general appearance. It
measures the moisture in the air quickly and precisely, and is
not subject to get out of order. The air we breathe is a per-
manently elastic fluid, containing watery vapour in mixture, its
power of retaining which is greater when temperature is high than
when low. It may be compared to a sponge; if this substance, when
dry, is soaked in water, a portion of the fluid is absorbed; but if the
sponge is again dipped without squeezing, and before it has had time to
dry, no additional quantity of water will be taken up by it, because the
first immersion saturated it; in like manner, when air has taken
up as much moisture as it can contain, it is said to be in a state of
saturation. If when thus saturated a reduction of temperature takes
place, the capacity of the air for moisture is diminished, and precipita-
tion ensues. When air, on the contrary, is in an undersaturated, or
dry state, it takes up moisture from the substances with which it comes
in contact. If moist air is brought into contact with a substance
sufficiently colder, a part of the moisture is condensed, and is so con-
verted from a state of invisible vapour into water. If, for instance, a
cold wine-glass is brought into a warm room, the sides of the glass
become covered with dew, which is the water that existed in the air as
vapour, and which, condensed on the cold glass, is changed into water.
The effect, therefore, of bringing warm moist air into contact with a
cold surface is to rob the air of a part of its moisture. Thus, in a cold
night, the glass roof of a greenhouse may be seen streaming with
water, which runs down and forms “drip,” and in this often unsus-

THE HYGROMETER. 179

pected manner air is rendered dry, notwithstanding the operations of
syringing, steaming, &c. Daniell’s hygrometer is constructed with
reference to these considerations. The figure represents two hollow glass
‘balls, containing ether, and communicating by the glass tube which
rests on the support. The ball which forms the termination of the
longer leg is of black glass, in order that the formation of dew on its
surface may be the more perceptible ; it includes the bulb of a delicate
thermometer, dipping in the ether, its scale being inclosed in the tube
above the ball; and whatever change takes place in the temperature of
the ether is indicated by this thermometer. The other ball is covered
with muslin. In making an observation, it is first necessary to note
down the temperature of the air, next to turn the instrument so that when
the muslin-covered ball is held in the hand the ether may escape into
the blackened ball ; and it should also be held till the included ther-
mometer rises a few degrees above the temperature of the air, when it
should be replaced on the support. Then drop, or gently pour, a little
ether on the muslin; the evaporation of this extremely volatile sub-
stance produces cold, and attention must be instantly directed to the
black glass ball and included thermometer ; the latter will be seen
falling rapidly, and at length a ring of dew will appear at the line
which runs across the black ball,—quickly if the air is very moist,
slowly if the air is dry. If the air isin a very dry state no moisture
will be thus deposited till the thermometer falls to perhaps 10°, 20°, or 30°
below the temperature of the air; but at whatever temperature the dew
forms that temperature should be noted as the dew-point and the differ-
ence between it and the temperature of the air at the time is the degree of
dryness according to the indications of this hygrometer; thus, in a
moderately dry day, let it be supposed that the temperature of the air
is 65° in the shade, and that the muslin requires to be kept moist,
before dew is formed, till the blackened ball containing the ether has
its temperature reduced to 50°, as indicated by the included ther-
mometer, there are then said to. be 15° of dryness. Again, supposing
the temperature is 85°, and the dew-point found, as before, to be 70°,
the degree of dryness is still expressed by 15°; but the quantity of
moisture diffused in the air is, notwithstanding, somewhat greater
in the latter case than in the former. If 1000 represent complete
saturation, the quantity of moisture when the temperature is 65° and
the dew-point 50°, will be 609; but when the temperature is 85°, and
the dew-point 70°, the moisture will be represented by 623; these
numbers being ascertained by tables prepared for the purpose. The
difference, however, in such a case, is so small that it is not worth
taking into account in a horticultural point of view. But as these
numbers can only be ascertained by calculation it is more convenient
to reckon by the degrees of dryness, bearing in mind that the dryness
of the air is indicated by the difference between the temperature of the
n2

180

DANIELL’S HYGROMETER.

air and of the dew-point. Thus, if the ring of dew is formed as soon
as ether is applied, and only one degree of difference is observable, the
air is nearly saturated ; if the difference is 5° to 10°, the dryness is very
moderate, while 15° to 20° of difference indicate excessive dryness, and
beyond this the air is parching.

Fig. XXIX.

The objection to this instrument consists in its not being well suited to
the hands of a person unaccustomed to use philosophical apparatus. In
order to overcome this difficulty, Mr. Harris has proposed the following
contrivance. ‘‘ It consists of an old-fashioned instrument commonly sold
in the opticians’ shops as Leslie’s differential thermometer, (Fig.
XXX, in the opposite page). It is arranged so that when not in use the
fluid stands at zero in the stem, A; over the bulb of the opposite stem,
I, place a piece of muslin, C, wlth has been well soaked in a strong

solution of common salt in water; the muslin having been cut into a
circular shape, is laid on the bulb whilst wet, and the moisture will
make it adhere sufficiently. A shelf, or bracket, with sides, top, and
back, is made for it to stand on, to seclude it from the sunshine, an
essential precaution, and also to prevent the damp wall from having
effect upon the muslin, so that it may draw all its moisture from the
atmosphere alone. It will be found convenient to have a thermometer
hung on the same stand, as in all hygrometric observations the state of
the thermometer must be attended to. The rationale of its action is
simple. If the absorption of moisture exceeds the evaporation from the
muslin, heat will be generated which will expand the air in the bulb,
C, and drive the fluid up the opposite stem, indicating the degree by

HARRISS HYGROMETER. 181

its rise. On the contrary, if thé evaporation exceeds the absorption,
cold will be produced, causing the fluid to fall. The general range of
the scales made are from zero to 40°. In Mr. Harris’s stove, under
the general treatment of orchidaceous plants, temperature ranging from
78° to 95°, the hygrometer usually ranged from 15° to 30°.”

E30
Eas
LL ogee
=
Fig. XXX.

Of this instrument it has been complained that its divisions are in a
great measure arbitrary and different from those of the thermometer to
which gardeners are accustomed. But this is unimportant, inasmuch
as men soon become acquainted with the value of the indications of any
instrument, and it gives an absolute, if not a comparative result, which
latter may be dispensed with. Mr. Wailes has expressed his opinion
that “‘the wet-bulb thermometer, which has been long known, though
recently improved in form, under the name of Mason’s Hygrometer, is
the one best fitted for the hothouse, being ‘ simple, self-acting, econo-
mical, and certain,’ and requiring the least attention to keep it in
working order, Mason’s instrument is, however, not indispensable,
as every gardener may readily convert any common thermometer into

182

TABLE OF DEW-POINT.

a hygrometer. All that is required is to cut away a portion of the
wood on which the tube is mounted, so as freely to expose the bulb,
and to cover the latter with a fold of cambric, to which water must be
supplied by means of a few threads from a phial placed near. Of course
another thermometer, to indicate the temperature of the air, requires to
be suspended near to that with the wet bulb, and care must be taken
that, when dry, both mark the same degree of heat. To be quite
accurate the dry-bulb thermometer should be covered with a similar
piece of cambric, though this is hardly necessary, and may be incon-
venient where the syringe is so often used.

The mode of using any wet bulb thermometer is explained by the
following table and the remarks accompanying it, which were published
some years ago by Mr. Wailes, of Newcastle.

Tasie or Tan Dew-PoInt WHEN THE TEMPERATURE OF THE AIR, IN THE SHADE,
IS BETWEEN 55° anp 100° or FAHRENHEIT.

Difference between the dry and Moistened Thermometers
Tempe- in degrees of Fahrenheit.
rature.

a | 5° | 6° | 7°

1s } 2° | 3° «| 9° | 10°} 11° | 12° | 18° | 14° | 15°

55° || 53 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 43 | 41 | 39} 36 | 34 | 32 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 20
56 || 54| 51 | 49| 47} 44 | 42 | 40 | 37 | 35 | 33 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 21
57 || 55 | 52 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 43 | 41 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 24 | 22
58 || 56 | 53 | 51 | 49 | 46 | 44 | 42 | 39 | 37 | 35 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 23
59 || 57 | 54| 52 | 50 | 47 | 45 | 43 | 40 | 38 | 36 | 33 | 31 | 29 | 26 | 24
60 || 58 | 55 | 53 | 51 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 41 | 39 | 37 | 34 | 32 | 30 | 27 | 25
61 |] 59 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 49 | 47 | 45 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 26
62 || 60 | 57 | 55 | 53 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 43 | 41 | 39 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 29 | 27
63 || 61 | 58 | 56 | 54 | 51 | 49 | 47 | 44 | 42 | 40) 37 | 35 | 33 | 30 | 28
64 || 62 | 59 | 57 | 55 | 52 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 43 | 41 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 31 | 29
65 |] 63 | 60 | 58 | 56 | 53 | 51 | 49 | 46 | 44 | 42 | 39 | 37 | 35 | 32 | 30
66 || 64] 61 | 59 | 57] 54 | 52 | 50 | 47 | 45 | 43 | 40 | 88 | 36 | 33 | 31
67 || 65 | 62 | 60 | 58 | 55 | 53 | 51 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 41 | 39 | 37 | 34 | 32
68 || 66 | 63} 61 | 59 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 49 | 47 | 45 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 35 | 33
69 || 67 | 64 | 62 | 60} 57 | 55 | 53 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 43 | 41 | 89 | 36 | 34
70 || 68 | 65 | 63 | 61 | 58 | 56 | 54 | 51 | 49 | 47 | 44 | 42 | 40 | 37 | 85
71 || 69 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 59 | 57 | 55 | 52 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 43 | 41 | 38 | 36
72 || '70| 67 | 65 | 63 | 60 | 58 | 56 | 53 | 51 | 49 | 46 | 44 | 42 | 39 | 37
73 || 71 | 68 | 66 | 64| 61 | 59) 57 | 54 | 52| 50] 47 | 45 | 43 | 40 | 38
74 || '72| 69 | 67 | 65 | 62 | 60 | 58 | 55 | 58] 51 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 41 | 89
75 || 73 | '70 | 68 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 59 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 49 | 47 | 45 | 42 | 40
76 || '74| 71} 69 | 67 | 64 | 62 | 60 | 57 | 55| 53 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 43 | 41

TABLE OF DEW-POINT.

183
TapLy oF THE Dew-Point, &c., continued.
Difference between the Dry and Moistened Thermometers
Tempe- in degrees of Fahrenheit. (Continued.)
rature. |
: 1° | 2] 3° | 4° | 5° | 6] 7° 78? | 9° | 10° 11°} 12° | 13° | 14° | 15°
77° \|'75 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 65 | 63 | 61 | 58 | 56 | 54 | 51 | 49 | 47 | 44 | 42
78 ||'76) 73 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 59 | 57 | 55 | 52 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 43
79 || 77 | 74 | 72 | 70 | 67 | 65 | 63 | 60 | 58 | 56 | 53 | 51 | 49 | 46 | 44
80 || 78) 75 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 66 | 64 | 61 | 59 | 57 | 54 | 52 | 50] 47 | 45
81 || '79| 76 | 74 | 72 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 62 | 60 | 58 | 55 | 53 | 51 | 48 | 46
82 ||80| 77 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 59 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 49 | 47
83 || 81 | 78 | 76} 74 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 64 | 62 |-60 | 57 | 55 | 53 | 50 | 48
84 || 82| 79) 77 | 75 |'72| 70 | 68 | 65 | 63 | 61 | 58 | 56 | 54] 51 | 49
85 ||83| 80} 78/76 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 59 | 57 | 55! 52 | 50
86 || 84} 81] 79 | 77 | 74) 72 | 70 | 67 | 65 | 63 | 60 | 58 | 56 | 53 | 51
87 || 85 | 82 | 80| 78 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 66 | 64 | 61 | 59 | 57 | 54 | 52
88 || 86| 83 | 81 | 79 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 62 | 60 | 58 | 55 | 53
89 || 87 | 84 | 82 | 80 | 77 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 59 | 56 | 54
90 || 88} 85 | 83 | 81 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 64 | 62 | 60 | 57 | 55
91 || 89] 86 | 84) 82 | 79 | 77 | 75 | 72 | 70| 68 | 65 | 63 | 61 | 58 | 56
92 || 90 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 80 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 59 | 57
93 |) 91] 88 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 74 | 72) 70 | 67 | 65 | 63 | 60 | 58
94 || 92 | 89 | 87 | 85 | 82 | 80| 78 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 66 | 64 | 61 | 59
95 || 93 | 90 | 88 | 86 | 83 | 81 |-79.| 76 | 74 | 72 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 62 | 60
96 || 94 | 91 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 82/80] 77 | 75] 73 | 70 | 68 | 66 | 63 | 61
97 || 95 | 92 | 90 | 88 | 85 | 83 | 81 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 64 | 62
98 || 96) 93 | 91 | 89 | 86 | 84] 82 | 79} 77) 75 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 65 | 63
99 || 97) 94] 92 | 90 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 80| 78] 76 | 73] 71 | 69 | 66 | 64
100 || 98} 95 | 93 | 91 | 88 | 8G | 84 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 74] 72 | 70 | 67 | 65

The bulbs of both thermometers should be covered with a fold of
white silk or muslin, and pure water supplied to. one of them from a
phial or other vessel placed near it, by a thread of floss silk acting asa
siphon. The cover of the moistened bulb and the thread must be
renewed occasionally.—The above table is sufficiently accurate for all
practical purposes, but the true decreasing ratio is 2°33 for each degree
of depression indicated by the moistened thermometer,*

After having obtained by Mason’s hygrometer, Ist, the temperature
of the air, as indicated by the dry thermometer, and, 2nd, the difference

8),

* To find the corresponding degree of Leslie’s hygrometer, multiply the number of
degrees of difference between the dry and moistened thermometers by 6.

184 OTHER HYGROMETERS.

between that and the indication of the wet-bulb thermometer, the
dew-point can be ascertained by the accompanying table thus :—

Supposing the temperature of the air, as indicated ae the dry

thermometer, is . r A . . 70°
Whilst the wet-bulb (ranmomisian 3 is : . ‘ ‘ . 64°
Degrees of dryness by this instrument . : . : . 6°

If we look in the left hand column, headed “temperature,” we shall
find 70°; opposite this, and under 6° in the top column, we find 56°,
the dew-point, or temperature at which the dew is deposited, according
to Daniell’s hygrometer, and 70°—56°=14° the degree of dryness by
Daniell’s instrument. By practice, or rather experience, a gardener
would form as true a notion of the condition of his plants, with regard
to moisture, by the indications of one instrument as he would by the
other. He would learn that by Mason’s 3° was a moderate state of
dryness, but that 12° was excessive, just as easily as he would by
observing 7° of dryness was moderate, according to Daniell’s, but
that 28° was parching (8 and 7, 12 and 28 are the corresponding
degrees on the two instruments), So far these instruments are
on an equality as regards their results; whilst Mason’s has the
advantage of not requiring any experiment to be made, nor an ex-
pensive substance like ether to be applied.

Other modifications may be adopted, such as Rutherford’s thermo-
meter; or by using Six’s, or one constructed after Dr. Traill’s method,
the maximum and minimum of moisture can be registered by one
bulb. Finally there is Simmons’s Hygrometer, or more properly
hygroscope, which has been much used, and of which a full account by
Mr. Belville will be found in the Gardener’s Chronicle for 1847, p. 815.
The fault of this is that like all wood hygroscopes it is apt to get out of
order, and to lose its hygrometrical property with time.

By means of these and similar contrivances, we are at all
times able to ascertain exactly the quantity of water that exists
in an elastic state in the air. When the hygrometer was first
brought into use, what was called a damp atmosphere was
frequently seen to indicate a degree of moisture falling short of
500, saturation being represented by 1000; and it was found

. that (120 was not uncommon—a state of things sufficient to
impair the vitality of the most vigorous vegetation.

In this country, the changes of moisture are said to extend
from 1-000, or saturation, to °889, or even so low as ‘120, under
a south wall for a short space of time; “a state of dryness

MOISTURE OF THE AIR. 185

which is certainly not surpassed by an African harmattan,” but
one which produces less disastrous consequences, because it is
accompanied by a far lower temperature and a weaker solar
radiation. The mean degree of moisture of the air near
London has been found by Mr. Thompson to be °897, on an
average of ten years, while the mean temperature is 50°62 :*
in other parts of the world it is very different; and the amount
of those differences, together with the means of imitating them
artificially, constitutes one of the most delicate and difficult
parts of the gardener’s art. All that relates to this subject,
however, to be treated usefully, must be considered in a very
special way, and in such detail as can only be expected in a
separate work upon the subject. An idea of the difference
between the atmospherical moisture of London and that of
other parts of the world may, however, be collected from the
following table showing the amount of rain that falls in a few
different countries.

Inches per annum.

Lonpon .... . 24:01 Average of 10 years.
St. Petersburg . . . 16
Algiers... 27:
Fattehpar (East Tats) 35°94 Average of 4 years.
Madeira. . . 31°

Sagar (East Taian). . 31°15 to 64°76
Sikkim, at 11,000 feet . 40°

Bahamas . . . . . 54:99

Calcutta . . . . . 59°83 to 81:

Ceylon . . . . » . 84:3

Macao... . . . 48:8 to 1073

Equator. . . . « « . 96°

Dorjiling . . - « 122/26

Coast of Malabar . + . 123°50 Average of 14 years.

Grenada. . . ». - » 126

Leogane, St. Domingo . 150:

Bengal. . . . . . 20 to 22 inches in a single month.

Bombay. . . . . . 82 inches in 12 days.

Tavoy { 203-5 inches in six months; as much as 83
in a day (July 31, 1831).

* See the various meteorological journals published by the Horticultural Society,
in their Transactions, from the year 1826 inclusive.

186 WIND CAUSES EVAPORATION,

We possess, to a small extent, the power of modifying the
moisture of the air, even in the open air, and have almost
complete control over that of glazed houses.

It is found by experience that the effect of wind is to increase
the dryness of the air, and, consequently, the perspiration of
vegetable surfaces. Itis through wind that the moisture of plants
and the earth is constantly borne away, and thus the evaporation
of plants is increased. “Evaporation,” says Daniell, “increases
in a prodigiously rapid ratio with the velocity of the wind; and
anything which retards the motion of the latter is very effica:
cious in diminishing the amount of the former. The same
surface which, in a calm state of the air, would exhale 100 parts
of moisture, would yield 125 in a moderate breeze, and 150 in
a high wind.” Hence, the great importance, in gardens, of
walls and screens, which break the wind, and keep the air in
repose in their vicinity. The difference between the effect of a
given amount of cold upon the blossoms of exposed fruit trees,
and those of the same species trained upon walls, is well known;
and appears to be owing to this circumstance, much more than
to any difference of temperature in the two situations.

This has been illustrated by Howard, in the results of some interest-
ing experiments made by him on the annual amount of evaporation.
During three years, in which the evaporating gauge was placed forty-
three feet from the ground, the annual average result was 37°85 inches ;
during other three years, when the instrument was lower and less
exposed, the average was 33:37 inches; and when the gauge was upon
or near the ground, the annual average was only 20:28 inches, or little
more than half the amount evaporated in a free and elevated exposure.

It is to be remarked that the easterly winds are, in this
country, both the coldest and the driest. Daniell tells us that
the “moisture of the air flowing from any point between N.E.
and S.E. inclusive, is, to that of the air from the other quarters
of the compass, in the proportion of ‘814 to ‘907, upon an
average of the whole year;” and Mr. Thompson has found the
hygrometer to indicate not uncommonly from 20° to 80° of
dryness, during the long prevalence of the north-easterly winds
in spring. At the same time, the air is very cold, the effect of
which is to cause the sap-vessels of the stem to contract, and

AND CONSEQUENTLY COLD. 187

refuse to convey their fluid, so that the blossoms of fruit-trees
in a north-east wind, while they are robbed of their fluid con-
tents by evaporation, can get no assistance from the roots
through the stem, and necessarily perish; and this is no
doubt one reason why open standard trees cast their flowers
under a low temperature during the cold dry winds of our
springs.

I have now before me a standard Washington Plum, bearing a crop
of fruit in a garden where nearly everything else lost its blossoms on the
24th of April, 1854, when the thermometer fell to 18° Fahr. In this
case a pile of firewood had been heaped round the stem to the height of
the branches, and thus effectually guarded it from cold, Probably
something was also owing to the warmth radiated from the pile of
wood, This, however, only belongs to a class of facts of which the
Magnolia grandiflora is an instance. Formerly there were trees of this
species in Paris, whose only protection in winter was a heap of dry
straw piled over their roots, so as entirely to cover them, and thatched
to the height of five or six feet, so that the head of the trees formed the
apex of a cone, the base of which was straw. By this precaution the
earth is unable to freeze, and the fluids in the interior of the tree are
maintained at a temperature approaching to that of the earth. While,
on the other hand, if the earth is frozen hard, the fluids in the roots
are frozen also, and they thus tend to lower the temperature of the
fluids and the branches. But this is, perhaps, not the only reason why
tender trees are preserved by this sort of protection. It is to be
observed that the destructive effects of frost are in proportion to the
succulence of the parts on which it acts; and it may be, that the con-
tracting influence of cold gradually forces the fluids out of the unpro-
tected branches into those lower parts which are guarded from the
action of cold. Then the branches being pro tanto emptied of fluid, or
dried, are thus deprived of a part of their susceptibility to cold.

It has been objected by a critic that there is no experimental proof of
contraction of tissue taking place under the influence of cold. But if the
reader will turn to Biot’s curious and little known observations, briefly
reported in Henslow’s Botany, p. 205, he will find that contraction under
cold has received the most conclusive experimental proof at the hands of
one of the best of modern observers. There is also a fact on record which
has hitherto remained without explanation, but which was probably con-
nected with the contracting power of cold. In the winter of 1838, when
the thermometer fell to 2° Fahr., Mr. Rogers observed the following
phenomena :—During the extreme cold the branches of a Lime-tree,
which overhung a part of his garden, drooped so as completely to lie
upon the ground, and those above fell proportionately. The branches

188 SOUTH WINDS ARE THE DRIEST

recovered themselves as the day advanced and grew warmer, and
eventually they so completely regained their original position that
Mr. Rogers at first thought his gardener had cut away all that drooped
and impeded the path the day before. In this case it is almost certain
that the drooping was caused by the expulsion of air and fluid from the
tissue by the contraction caused by cold, and that the revival was
attributable to the reflux of air and fluid.

I find, however, from Mr. Thompson’s observations, that the
greatest dryness we experience in this climate is, not when the
wind is in the east, but when it is in the south. For example:
in nine years, between 1826 and 1834, the four driest days
were in the year 1834, in June, when it was 33° on. the Ist, 35°
on the 2nd, and 81° on the 21st; on the 1st of June, 1833, it
was 30°, and always with a south wind; and, during the whole
of those nine years, there was but one other day on which the
dryness was found as high as 80°, namely, on the 10th of April,
1834, with a north-east wind. The duration of dryness, with a
south wind, was, however, very short, not exceeding one or at
most two days, and was invariably accompanied with great heat
and followed by heavy rain, while the north-easters last for weeks,
without rain, and with a comparatively low temperature. The
following statement puts this in a clear light. There occurred
between 1826 and 1834, inclusive,—

Wind North. . . . . . 7 days, above 20° of dryness,
” North-East . . . .( 39 ” ” ”
” East 4 48 ” ” ”
” South-East . N27 ” ” ”
” South. . . . . , 3885 ” ” ”
», South-West. . . . 30 ” so ”
” West . . . . . » 388 ” ” ”
» North-West. . . . 22 ,, ” ”

These facts sufficiently explain the fatal effects of certain
winds upon vegetation, the small comparative value in this
country of walls with north and east aspects, and the general
want of success that attends late spring planting. Here, also,
we in part discover an explanation of the utility of shades
interposed between the sun and plants newly committed to the
earth: they not only cut off the solar yays, but also intercept

SCREENS AGAINST WIND. 189

currents of air, and thus diminish the amount of perspiration by
two opposite methods.

For screening plants from dry winds various means are employed, of
which the following is a good example. In France a basket is
employed, composed of two moveable semi-cylinders,
constructed in the way of straw hives. To these
semi-cylinders are fixed solid feet of wood, for the
purpose of being driven into the ground. If it is
only necessary to shelter one plant from east or
north-east winds, one semi-cylinder is sufficient ; but
if it is a plant which you are forced to protect, is
delicate, and requires a more complete protection, you
inclose it between the two semi-cylinders fixed one to
the other by means of hooks represented in the
drawing. A lid of the same construction, furnished
at its edge with a circle in woodwork, is fitted, when
necessary, upon the cylinder, and thus, perhaps,
offers a more effectual shelter against the severity of
cold winds and excessive heat than any other. These
sorts of shades are light to move, very solid, and
very warm; for, letting but little of the exterior Fig. XXXI.
air penetrate, they preserve at night the heat which
accumulates in the interior. They also guard plants well from the
action of sun, and thus offer a means of checking the natural
perspiration of green parts.

The following table, for which I am again indebted to Mr.
Thompson, will be found to show that the average degree of
dryness, in the middle of the day, throughout the year, is,
with a—

Degrees Amount
of Dryness. of Moisture.

Northwind... 6 ee ee eee ew 65S

= 816
North-east . 6. - ee ee ee ew ee . 780 = «794
Basti. 4S. ea hen BO a a Se a ZO! 825”

Average, with wind from the three ; ee.
coldest points . . 1% 2. . ww Ceo

Southwind... 2. 1 ew ee ew ee ew 4238 = BIT
South-west .°. 2. 2 ee ew ee ee ee 2 470 = 85D
West... ee ai BO Ye . 6:20 = 733

Average, with wind from the three }

“warmest points << ... . 5:04 = 823

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191

TABLE OF DRYNESS AND WINDS.

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192 DRYNESS IMPORTANT TO RIPENING.

The dryness of the atmosphere, which proves so fatal to
plants when in «@ state of growth, is, when accompanied by
warmth, of the greatest importance to them while ripening thew
fruit. Together with the high temperature of the soil, it is
this which causes so great a difference in the quality of the
same kinds of fruit ripened in the South and the North. The
excellence of Syrian Apricots is not approachable in England.
The Grapes of the Mediterranean shore are only equalled in
England in the best managed hothouses, when sun heat and
artificial heat are skilfully employed to dry as well as warm the
air, atthe season of ripening. The richest and strongest wines
in the world are those of Hungary, which, according to
Wahlenberg, owe their excellence to the great dryness of the
autumnal climate of the valley of the Theiss. Dryness of the
air then, which is fatal to plants in a rapid state of growth, is
in the highest degree beneficial when their functions are limited
to the consolidation of tissues already formed and the elabora-
tion of their final secretions. In the open air in England, the
ripening process is usually incomplete, and hence the
inability of plants from the United States, and other countries
with hot autumns, to bear with us a winter far less severe than
that which is natural to them.

Nothing can illustrate this truth in a more striking manner than the
following statement by the late Sir Augustus Foster. Writing from
Genoa he says :— “‘ Being under the impression that single Orange or
Lemon-trees, or rows and groups of Orange or Lemon-trees, might
with care be brought to grow out of the ground in England
like other plants, I have thought it might be worth while to
mention the success which has now for several years attended a
plantation that I made of seven Orange-trees in a much colder climate,
in the garden of my country residence, on the hill of Turin, facing the
highest range of the Alps. Iwas led to make the experiment from
having by accident, in the first year of my arrival at Turin, seen the
way in which the Orange-trees in boxes were treated in the cellars of a
Piedmontese nobleman’s house during winter, where they were placed
for several months, without light, or heat, or water, and exposed to severe
cold which almost every winter reaches to —12° or even—16° of
Reavmour’s thermometer (+5° to 4° Famr.). My group of Orange-trees
were taken out of boxes, and planted in earth prepared for the purpose,
in the year 1826, In the very severe winter of 1828-9, three of them

HARDINESS OF THE ORANGE-TREE. 193

perished, but not of the cold so much as the damp, for they were ex-
amined, and seen to be still safe in February, after the frost had reached
above 15° of Reaumur (—2° Faur.), and perished a few days later
from a return of the cold, attended by the drippings of a previous thaw.
I had the three which died replaced, and from that time to this they
have flourished and increased in size. I have them covered with a
round cabin of planks, roofed with straw on the outside, at the end of
October or beginning of November, and uncovered in April. They bear
abundance of Oranges and Lemons, the former occasionally becoming
eatable with sugar. At no other place in this country am I aware that
the experiment has been tried, unprotected bya wall. But with a wall
and a covering of wood and straw, to be taken off in the summer, I can
scarcely doubt that the plants might be made to grow, without the
clumsy accompaniment of large wooden boxes, in an English garden.”

This case establishés the fact that in the north of Italy the Orange-tree
bears a degree of winter cold unknown in England. For this it is
prepared by the complete ripeness of its wood, a state to which it can
never arrive in this climate in the open air. But are we therefore to infer
that it will not live with less shelter than it now receives? Such an
inference is scarcely justified, and it is worth the consideration of those
who have Orange-trees at command, whether they will not pass the
winter in barns, or dry out-houses, or under wooden screens where no
artificial heating is applicable. Dryness in such an experiment is the
first condition to secure; darkness is the second. The Orange-tree will
bear to be deprived of water during the whole of its season of rest,
provided its roots are kept in the earth they grew in; how much
dryness, beyond this, they will bear, is shown by the long exposure to
the air which they undergo in the shops of the Italian warehousemen
in London; and experience tells us that the effect of cold upon plants
is feeble in direct proportion to their dryness. All trees kept in the
dark, or at least kept where no sun can shine upon them, will bear
without injury a degree of cold which would be fatal to them if ex-
posed, when frozen, to the direct rays of the sun. Camellias, Chinese
Azaleas, Indian Rhododendrons, and many New Holland plants, take
no harm in cold pits in winter, provided those pits face the north.
Some of them live out of doors perfectly well during winter, if under
north walls ; and we have in our possession a small Orange-tree which
passed the winter of 1853-4, when the thermometer fell to 4 ° Fahr. un-
injured in a cold pit facing the north,

As to temperature in the open air, unconnected with
atmospherical humidity, there seems to be no means of regu-
lating or modifying it to any considerable extent. In some
respects, however, we have even this powerful agent under our

0)

194 SOLAR RADIATION.

control; but in order to exercise such control, it is necessary
to understand correctly the theory of what is called RapraTIon,

This cannot be better explained than in the words of Daniell. ‘The
power of emitting heat in straight lines in every direction, indepen-
dently of contact, may be regarded as a property common to all matter ;
but differmg in degree in different kinds of matter. Co-existing with
it, in the same degrees, may be regarded the power of absorbing heat
so emitted from other bodies. Polished metals and the fibres of vege-
tables may be considered as placed at the two extremities of the scale
upon which these properties in different substances may be measured.
If a body be so situated that it may receive just as much radiant heat
as itself projects, its temperature remains the same; if the surrounding
bodies emit heat of greater intensity than the same body, its tempera-
ture rises, till the quantity which it receives exactly balances its
expenditure, at which point it again becomes stationary; and if the
power of radiation be exerted under circumstances which prevent a
return, the temperature of the body declines. Thus, if a ther-
mometer be placed in the focus of a concave metallic mirror, and
turned towards any clear portion of the sky, at any period of the
day, it will fall many degrees below the temperature of another
thermometer placed near it, out of the mirror; the power of radi-
ation is exerted in both thermometers, but to the first all return of
radiant heat is cut off, while the other receives as much from the
surrounding bodies, as itself projects. This interchange amongst bodies
takes place in transparent media as well as tm vacuo; but in the former
case, the effect is modified by the equalising power of the medium.
Any portion of the surface of the globe which is fully turned towards
the sun receives more radiant heat than it projects, and becomes heated ;
but when, by the revolution of the axis, this portion is turned from the
source of heat, the radiation into space still continues, and, being un-
compensated, the temperature declines. In consequence of the different
degrees in which different bodies possess this power of radiation, two
contiguous portions of the system of the earth will become of different
temperatures ; and, if on a clear night we place a thermometer upon a
grass-plat, and another upon a gravel walk or the bare soil, we shall
find the temperature of the former many degrees below that of the
latter. The fibrous texture of the grass is favourable to the emission of
the heat, but the dense surface of the gravel seems to retain and fix it.
But this unequal effect will only be perceived when the atmosphere is
unclouded, and a freé passage is open into’ space ; for even a light mist
will arrest the radiant matter in its course, and return as much to the
radiating body as it emits. The intervention of more substantial
obstacles will of course equally prevent the result, and the balance of
temperature will not be disturbed in any substance which is not placed

SOLAR RADIATION. 195

in ‘the clear aspect of the sky. A portion of a grass-plat under the
protection of a tree or hedge, will generally be found, on a clear night,
to be eight or ten degrees warmer than surrounding unsheltered parts;
and it is well known to gardeners that less dew and frost are to be found
in such situations, than in those which are wholly exposed.” (Hort.
Trans., vi. 8).

This very important subject has received further explanation from
a writer, whose words we quote, with some omissions, from the
Gardener’s Chronicle of 1853, pp. 579 and 627. The action of the
sun upon all. things that receive his rays is a matter of common
notoriety. How important to the growth of plants, to the formation of
colour and taste, to the ripening of fruit, to the consolidation of all
vegetable tissues, is solar light it is needless to say. But few
persons are aware of the amount of that force, or of the views of modern
philosophers as to the manner in which it takes effect. We may view
the surface of a lake exposed to the sun’s rays during a warm summer’s
day, whilst the whole scene may seem to be one of the utmost tranquillity,
so that we might naturally conclude that no movement of any import-
ance was then going on- It will be found, however, that such in
reality is not the case ; for the rays of the sun exert a force of which
we can scarcely form any adequate idea. Supposing the lake is only
two miles square, it may be calculated that there will be raised from its
surface in one day more than sixty-four thousand tons weight of water
(64,821), by means of solar radiation. This is at least equal to the work
of 10 steam-engines of 200 horse-power each for the same space of time,
presuming that the above weight is only raised to an average height
of between 300 and 400 feet. To balance that weight, a hill of earth
would be required, 30 feet high, 100 feet wide, and 600 feet in length,
In making the calculations which have led to these statements, it has
been assumed that, in a hot day in summer, a quarter of an inch of water
would be evaporated from an exposed surface of a lake in twelve
hours, and this from an area of two miles square would amount to
2,323,200 cubic feet, which, at 624 pounds per cubic foot, is equal to
64,821 tons. Now, a quarter of an inch is not a maximum amount
of evaporation. The Comte de Gasparin observed 0°59 inch (Gardener’s
Chronicle, 1849, p. 757), and on five successive days the average
exceeded half an inch. Howard, in his Chmate of London, has
recorded as much as 0°39 inch in one day. It therefore appears that
0-25 inch, that which we have assumed, is not an exaggerated
quantity ; on the contrary, it is but one-half of that which, according
to good authorities, has been actually removed by evaporation, and
under a temperature of from 73° to 75° Fahr. Instead of 64,000
tons, facts would justify us in stating that 130,000 tons might be raised
in one day from a surface of water not exceeding two miles square.

Some idea may be formed from these statements of the immense

0 2

196

SOLAR RADIATION.

power of solar radiation in a comparatively limited space; but the many
thousands of tons raised from that space do not represent the full power
of the sun’s rays. They merely represent weight raised, without our
taking into account the force exerted in converting the water into
vapour, and in that form elevating it hundreds, or it may be thousands
of feet, notwithstanding the pressure of the atmosphere. In a commu-
nication on the Mechanical Action of Radiant Heat or Light, by
Professor William Thomson, Philosophical Magazine, fourth series,
vol. iv., p. 256, it is stated that ‘‘ mechanical effect of the statical
kind might be produced from the solar radiant heat, by using it as the
source of heat in a thermo-dynamic engine. It is estimated that
about 556 foot-pounds (that is, so many pounds raised one foot high)
per second of ordinary mechanical effect, or about the work of ‘one-
horse power,’ might possibly be produced by such an engine exposing
1800 square feet to receive solar heat during a warm summer
day in this country; but the dimensions of the moveable parts of
the engine would necessarily be so great as to occasion practical
difficulties in the way of using it with economical advantage that might
be insurmountable.” This is more than twenty times the power we
have assigned to the raising of water, and even this appeared so vast
that until the data were thoroughly examined, the statement appeared
incredible.

The same author proceeds to state that ‘the deoxidation of carbon
and hydrogen from carbonic acid and water, effected by the solar light
on the green parts of plants, is a mechanical effect of radiant heat. In
virtue of this action, combustible substances are produced by plants,
and its mechanical value is to be estimated by burning them, and
multiplying by the mechanical value of the thermal unit. Taking from
Liebig’s Agricultural Chemistry the estimate, 2,600 pounds of dry
Fir-wood, for the annual produce of one Hessian acre, or 26,910 square
feet of forest land, which is at the rate of 4208 pounds or nearly 2 tons
per English acre, and assuming, as a very rough estimate, 4000 thermal
units centigrade as the heat of combustion of dry Fir-wood, the author
finds 550,000 foot-pounds, or the work of a horse power, for 1000 seconds,
as the mechanical value of the mean annual produce of a square foot of
the land; and taking 50° 34’, that of Giessen, as the latitude of the
locality, he estimates the mechanical value of the solar heat, which,
were none of it absorbed by the atmosphere, would fall annually on each
square foot of the land, at 530,000,000 foot-pounds; and infers that
probably +55 of the solar heat which falls on growing plants is con-
verted into mechanical effect.

‘When the vibrations of light thus act during the growth of plants,
to separate, against forces of chemical affinity, combustible materials
from oxygen, they must lose vis viva to an extent equivalent to the

statical mechanical effect thus produced, and therefore quantities of

SOLAR RADIATION. 197

solar heat are actually put out of existence by the growth of plants, but
an equivalent of statical mechanical effect is stored up in the organic
products, and may be reproduced as heat by burning them. All the
heat of fires obtained by burning wood grown from year to year is in
fact solar heat reproduced.” And so, we may accordingly add, must be
the heat derived from the combustion of at least the portions which
have had a vegetable existence, of wood-coal and other matters.

Professor Thomson has concluded, and with reference to an equivalent
conclusion by Sir John Herschel, that heat radiated from the sun
(sunlight being included in this term) is the principal source of
mechanical effect available to man. From it is derived the whole mecha-
nical effect of animals working, water-wheels worked by rivers, steam-
engines, and galvanic engines, &c. Vegetation is the great support
of animal power, but vegetation could not be maintained without the
action of the sun’s rays, received directly or indirectly. Without such
powerful evaporation caused by the sun’s rays, as we have endeavoured
to exemplify, the rivers would soon lose their general source. And it
has been. already stated that combustible materials, without which
steam-power could not be generated, are stores of solar heat.

This gives some idea of the immense power of solar radiation; and
within their respective spheres of action, both horticulturists and
agriculturists may advantageously direct their attention to the subject.
For instance, the former would avoid watering at a time, and in a
manner, that would render nearly all the water he supplied liable to be
carried off by evaporation before it could reach the principal roots of his
plants; and the farmer, knowing the effects of radiation on a moist
surface, would hesitate before he flooded say four acres with manure
water, at the risk of losing a hundred tons of it, together with its
portion of ammonia, by evaporation.

The same subject is taken up by the Comte de Gasparin in a commu-
nication to the Institute, printed in the Comptes Rendus for June, 1853.
The effects, he observes, of solar radiation on vegetation are so apparent
and so well known that no one doubts their importance. When one
plants a Vine, he does not require scientific information to direct him in

: choosing a southern aspect; nor to plant fruit-trees against a wall which
receives and reverberates the rays of the sun; nor to place exotic plants
under glass, which readily admits direct rays of heat and light, but
through which obscure heat, or that derived from a heating apparatus
in a hothouse, passes slowly, and thus an accumulation of heat takes
place; practical men do all these things as a matter of course. But
there are many other effects resulting from the same cause, which do
not come so directly under our senses, . The Olive is unproductive at
Agen, with a mean temperature of 57° Fahr., and fertile in Dalmatia
with 553° ; the limit of the Vine is arrested by 54° mean temperature
on the banks of the Loire, but grapes ripen where the mean temperature

198 SOLAR RADIATION.

is only 50° on the Rhine; the harvest near London is matured with a
mean summer temperature of 62°, and in the same time at Upsal with
59°. When we take these phenomena into consideration, we must
conclude that they depend upon the presence or absence of that
important element of heat, solar radiation, by which the temperature
of opaque bodies is raised above that which they could receive from the
diffused heat of the atmosphere. When we also know that the absorp-
tion and assimilation of carbon, the substance of which about half the
mass of plants is composed, does not take place except under the
influence of light, and is proportionate to its intensity, we feel assured
that the determination of its effects must prove interesting to cultivators.
Under this impression, the Comte de Gasparin made various experiments.
In 1840 he communicated some observations on three Mulberry-trees, of
the same variety. One of these was fully exposed to the rays of the
sun, the second only till noon, and the third was wholly in the shade.
The solid matter of the leaves of the first was 45 per cent. of their
weight ; that of the second, 36 per cent. ; whilst that of the third was
only 27 per cent. In 1852 he cultivated some Broad-beans on a plot
of ground divided into two equal parts by a partition which shaded one
half the ground from the rays of the sun. After being dried, the plants
grown on the south side weighed 21 ounces; but those grown on the
north side, although much taller, weighed only twelve ounces. The
difference in their fructification was, however, still more remark-
able. The plants on the south side had 131 pods, those on the north
only 47. It is impossible to attribute these results to the simple
augmentation of heat. The plants in the above experiment had a mean
atmospheric temperature of 595° Fah. for 84 days, and 534° was the
average daily amount of solar radiation. Certainly an additional
54° of obscure heat would not produce such results.

The laws indicated by Daniell plainly direct us to the
means we are to employ to moderate atmospherical temperature.
A screen, of whatever kind, interposed between the sun and a
plant, intercepts the radiant heat of the sun, and returns it into
space; and thus, in addition to the diminution of perspiration
by the removal of a part of the stimulus that causes it, actually
tends. to lower the temperature that surrounds the plant. In
like manner, the interposition of a screen, however slight,
between a plant and the sky, intercepts the radiant heat of
the earth; and, instead of allowing it to pass off into space,
returns it to the ground, the temperature of which ig main-
tained at a higher point than it otherwise would be. Hence it
is that plants growing below the deep projecting eaves of

NOCTURNAL RADIATION, 199

houses, or guarded by a mere coping of thatched hurdles, suffer
less in winter than if they were fully exposed to the sky.

It is also obvious from what has been stated that plants
growing upon grass will be exposed to a greater degree of cold
in winter than such as grow upon gravel: but it does not
therefore follow that hard gravel is, with respect to vegetation,
a better coating for the surface of the ground than turf; it has
its disadvantages as well as its advantages, and the former
probably outweigh the latter. Its superior heating power is its
only advantage; the objections to it are, its dryness in summer,
and its comparative impermeability to rain, so that it causes
the force of perspiration to be inversely as the absorbing
power of the roots.

In Germany, where the winters are very severe, it is customary to
cover the roots of plants on grass with a mulching of leaf mould, six
inches deep and a foot in diameter; but this can have, I think, no
sensible effect; upon roots, because of the inconsiderable area that it
occupies.

It is well known that blackened surfaces absorb heat much
more than those of any other colour; and it has been expected
that the effect of blackening garden walls, on which fruit-trees
are trained, would be to accelerate the maturation of the fruit ;
but, notwithstanding a few cases of apparent advantage, one of
which, of the Vine, is mentioned in the Horticultural Transac-
tions, vol. iii., p. 380, this has been, in general, found either
not to happen at all, or to so small an extent as not to be
deserving of notice in practice. It is true, that so long as the
wall is-but little covered by the branches and leaves of a plant,
the absorbent power of the blackened surface is brought into
play; but this effect is lost as soon as the wall becomes covered
with foliage. In the early spring before the leaves appear, the
flowers are brought rather more forward than would otherwise
be the case, which is in England a disadvantage. It would
seem, however, that in autumn the wood becomes more com-
pletely ripened; but the effect is very slight.

It is rather to a judicious choice of soil and situation that
the gardener must look for the means of softening the rigour
of climate. Wet tenacious soils are found the most difficult to

200 RELATION OF SITUATION TO COLD.

heat or to drain, and they will, therefore, be the most unfavour-
able to the operations of the gardener; extremely light sandy
soils, on the other hand, part with their moisture so rapidly,
and absorb so much heat, that they are equally unfavourable.
It is the light loamy soils, which are intermediate between the
two extremes, that, as is well known, form the best soil for a
garden. Situation is, however, of more consequence than soil,
for the latter may be changed or improved, but a bad (that is,
cold) situation is incurable. Cold air is heavier than warm air,
and, consequently, the stratum of the atmosphere next the soil
will be in general colder than that above it. When, therefore,
a garden is placed upon the level ground of the bottom of a
valley, whatever cold air is formed upon its surface remains
there, and surrounds the herbage: and moreover, the cold air
that is formed upon the sides of low hills rolls down into the
valley as quickly as it is formed. Hence the fact which to
many seems surprising, that what are called sheltered places
are in spring and autumn the coldest. We all know that the
Dahlias, Potatoes, and Kidney-beans of the sheltered gardens
in the valley of the Thames, are killed in the autumn by frosts
whose effects are unfelt on the low hills of Surrey and
Middlesex. Daniell says he has seen a difference of 30°, on
the same night, between two thermometers, placed the one in a
valley, and the other on a gentle eminence, in favour of the
latter. Hence, he justly observes, the advantages of placing a
garden upon a gentle slope must be apparent; “a running
stream at its foot would secure the further benefit of a contigu-
ous surface not liable to refrigeration, and would prevent any
injurious stagnation of the air.”

One of our German translators has expressed his opinion that no such
difference as 80° can have been observed, and alters the statement to 3°
Reaumur! But if he had consulted Daniell’s Meteorological Essays, Ed.
2. p.525, he would have found that the quotation is exact. No doubtit
was an extreme case; but Mr. Thompson remarked last April that at
the time when fruit-buds near the ground had been universally killed by

_ 14° of frost, they were safe on trees twenty-five to thirty feet above the
level, and he believes there may have been a difference of 10°—12° in
favour of even that slight height. :

As a good example of the practical mode of dealing with low

LOW SITUATIONS, HOW IMPROVED. 201

situations, with a cold bottom, the following operation, described
by Mr. W. Billington the elder, may be advantageously imitated :—
“About the middle of June 1800, I arrived at Brocklesby, Lincoln-
shire, as gardener to the late Lord Yarborough. At that advanced
season I found the Peach-trees in a deplorable state, with scarcely any
leaves upon them, few branches, and very little fruit; the few leaves
that remained were all curled or diseased, and soon after shrivelled up
and fell off. The trees were not very old—about thirty years, but had
extended over a fine wall without flues. The site of the garden was
very unfavourable, a worse could not have been found near the mansion ;
for it was both low and wet. Previously to its being made into a
garden, the water used to stagnate and cover a great part of it through
the winter; but it had been drained at a great expense, and fresh soil
had been brought in for the fruit-tree borders, &c. But after all the
situation could not be essentially improved, nor the ill effects upon
vegetables and tender fruit-trees entirely averted in an atmosphere so
damp from the exhalations that arise in such places in the autumn and
spring months, when sunny days and frosty nights are so prevalent.
The fruit-tree borders had been well made and well drained; the trees
had grown luxuriantly and covered the walls: but no fruit was pro-
duced of any consequence, and that was not well-flavoured, either on
the walls or elsewhere. The Peachesand Apricots on walls would make
efforts in the spring of each year to produce wood and leaves, but when
the cold weather prevailed, in April, May, and June, with easterly
winds and frost, the leaves became diseased and curled, and were either
pulled off or fell of themselves in June or July. Thus the trees became
inactive for want of healthy leaves, at the time when they should have
been making and perfecting the wood for the next year’s crop. But
towards the end of summer, when the earth had become dry and warm
to a great depth, the trees would make fresh efforts and throw out
plenty of strong luxuriant shoots. Then the early autumnal frosts
would set in before such late wood was half matured, so that during
the winter and spring the greater part of these strong shoots was killed,
and the remainder had no time to make strong flower-buds. And thus,
season after season, there was nothing but disappointment, notwith-
standing an immense expense: the walls were bare, the trees naked
and unsightly, without fruit or with luxuriant or cankered wood.
Instead of rooting out these sickly trees and planting young ones in
their places that I might have the pleasure of planting and training my
own trees under my own management, knowing it would be several
years before there could be fruit from young trees, I was induced to
consider what I could do to bring the existing trees to bear a little fruit
till young trees could arrive at a bearing state, between the old ones;
for nearly all the old Peaches and Nectarines were destitute of young
wood half the height of the wall. Early in the autumn of the year

202

IMPROVEMENT OF

1800 I began with what I termed RAISING THE ROOTS (not ‘root-
pruning’) of some Peaches and Apricots, for the latter were in as un-
fruitful a state as the others from the same cause. The method I
devised was as follows :—First, by digging out a trench at from four to
five feet from the stem of the tree, and about two feet wide, till I found
the roots which were at the bottom of the good soil near three feet
below the surface. This had been caused by planting too deep at first,
and always digging the borders deep, which forced the roots still lower
beneath the surface ; but I must remark I found all the roots healthy,
which showed that the disease in the branches and leaves had not
affected the roots, nor been derived from diseased or cankered roots,
even in that damp situation. After the earth was thrown out of the
trench, we began to fork out the soil with a three-pronged fork into the
open trench, throwing it out till we got all the roots bare to within
eighteen or twenty inches of the stem (of course this was root-pruning,
for I cut them all off to that distance), when we lifted them up and
bent them backwards, if not too strong, or held them up while the soil
thrown out in the operation of clearing the roots was returned into the
hole, to within nine inches or a foot of the surface, treading it well
down that it might not subside and admit the roots deeper than I
intended. I then carefully replaced the roots upon the soil, covering
them with the remainder, without adding either fresh soil or manure of
any kind. When finished, the roots lay from about nine to twelve
inches from the surface, instead of three feet, as before. But as the
trees had been planted very deep at first, or the soil had been raised in
the course of years, the extremities of the shortened raised roots were
much nearer the surface after the operation than where they issued from
the collar of the root; for we could not raise that part so high. My
reason for doing them this way was to prevent too great a check by an
entire removal or lifting them up, and I left what may be termed a good
ball at the bottom of the stem undisturbed ; but I took good care to
hollow it well under, so as to get to every root that went perpendicular
from the stem, so as to raise them up, and lay them in a horizontal
position. If too strong to bend upwards, as some of them were, I cut
them entirely off, but I preferred raising them up, if possible, with
their extremities pointing to the surface, to prevent their making fresh
roots downwards; my object was to encourage the formation of roots
as near the surface as I could, conceiving it more beneficial to the trees
and fruit. Afterwards I never suffered the borders to be dug above
half a spit deep, my main design being to have fruit as soon as possible,
and of good quality. I beg to remark I did only half a tree at once, in
order to prevent its subsiding in the operation. I pursued this plan
with all the Peaches and Apricots, but not in one season, because it was
only an experiment I was trying. Some of the trees done in this
manner were very large, particularly the Apricots, and some Pears.

LOW SITUATIONS. 203

“The first year after the operation I had the secret pleasure of seeing
my trees make healthy shoots, from nine to fifteen inches long, without
any thick, curled leaves. The first shoots and leaves that were made
were not injured as previously, but continued healthy all through the
spring and summer, ripening their wood early in the autumn, and
forming fine blossom-buds for the ensuing season; and what fruit
appeared was earlier than usual by three weeks, with an excellent
flavour, equal to any on a hot wall. The year after the operation we
had plenty of fine fruit, early and well-flavoured. I did not think so
much of finely-trained trees, pruned, and nailed according to the rules
of the art, as of seeing a wall well covered in the season, when the
proprietor expects to find something more substantial than a smart
appearance; I trained the young shoots in any direction I could lay
them in, so as to cover the bare spaces, After the first years I had
more Peaches and Apricots largé and well-flavoured than could be well
consumed by the family. I tried the same experiment upon other kinds
of fruit-trees, especially Pears, with the same success; and I also
planted a great number of young fruit-trees of various kinds on
‘prepared bottoms,’ to prevent the roots getting too deep in such an
unfavourable situation, where nearly all the first-planted trees had
failed, become cankered, and were rooted out, having never produced
fruit fit to send to table. Had I continued in his lordship’s service, I
intended, after the roots had extended over those prepared bottoms, and
struck down into the damp ungenial subsoil, to have shortened and
raised them again to the outsides of these prepared bottoms, which
were from four to five feet in diameter for the dwarf trees in the borders
by the sides of the main walks, and about the same diameter for the
trees against the walls. I prepared my young trees for such planting
by having them for a year or two in the garden, so as to have long
roots to spread horizontally, when I finally planted them out on the
prepared bottoms, taking especial care afterwards not to dig deep over
the roots. The materials of which the prepared bottoms were formed
consisted chiefly of broken bricks, tiles, cinders, and slags from the
hothouse furnaces or fire-places, with lime crops or riddlings over all,
firmly rammed down hard, from eighteen to twenty-four inches thick,
with about a foot of good soil over them, and elevated a little in the
centre to plant them on.”

This experiment seems to have laid the foundation of the modern

system of root-pruning, and root-raising, when fruit-trees are doomed
to grow in places unsuited to them.

It has been said that, to obtain the most favourable con-
ditions of climate in this country, a garden should have a
south-eastern exposure. This, however, has been recom-
mended, I think, without full consideration. It is true that in

204 FROZEN PLANTS MUST THAW GRADUALLY.

such an exposure the early sunbeams will be received; but, on
the other hand, vegetation there would be exposed to several
unfavourable actions. There would be little protection from
easterly winds, which, whether south-east or north-east, are the
coldest and driest that blow: in the next place, an exposure to
the first sun of the morning is very prejudicial to garden pro-
ductions that have been frozen by the radiation of the night ;
it produces a sudden thaw, which, as gardeners well know,
(see Hort. Trans., iii. 48.) causes the death of plants which, if
slowly thawed, would sustain no inconvenience from the low
temperature to which they had been exposed.

The following well authenticated cases will exemplify this important
practical truth. 1. In the early spring of 1846, a quantity of Geraniums,
and other soft-wooded plants, were conveyed some twenty miles by
waggon on a frosty night, and not being properly protected were
completely frozen when they arrived at their destination, by daylight
in the morning. So much were they frozen; that the succulent tops for
several inches were apparently masses of ice, and the greater part of
the leaves had suffered more or less. The whole of these plants were
quickly removed to a dark cellar; and a covering of mats, supported
by a temporary frame-work, was thrown over them. Water, just
above the freezing temperature, was freely applied to the foliage, and
no light admitted for twenty-four hours, On removing them, scarcely
a leaf had suffered, except such as had been bruised in the unpacking,
2. One night, in mid-winter, the person in charge of a conservatory
forgetting to apply the necessary artificial temperature, found on
entering the house at 4 o’clock in the morning, that the tender plants
were much frozen, He applied fire to the boiler, raised the temperature
a degree or two above freezing, and then liberally applied cold water
with a syringe. The result was that nothing beyond a few leaves or a
stray shoot sustained any damage. 3. A house of Pelargoniums was
penetrated by frost, the plants much frozen, and the frost on the
increase when the circumstance became known in the morning. Cold
water was in this case applied, but without the precaution of raising
the temperature above freezing. The result was that the water, as
soon as it fell on the foliage, became ice. The more water the greater
evil. This detected, a fire was. lighted, and the necessary temperature
acquired, when the result was all that could be wished. Sunlight was
prevented reaching the plants until their fluids were once more in
motion. —A sudden thaw is easily obviated, by syringing frozen
plants with cold water a few degrees above 32°, Mr James Cuthill
mentions the following occurrence in illustration of this: “ In the spring

DAMPNESS OF GLASS-HOUSES. 205

of 1826, or 1827, when I resided at ‘the Cedars’ at Putney, the only
border which my next door neighbour and myself had for growing
early Peas, had an east aspect. A very severe frost (10°) came over
that district about the 15th of May. The Peas were in full bloom on
my neighbour's border, as well as mine. I syringed all mine with cold
water. My neighbour, on witnessing the operation, said that he would
not kill his in that way. I saved all mine, he lost all his, This
taught me a lesson which I never forgot; and by the same means I have
often saved the Peach, Pear, and other fruits, as well as Gooseberries,
after they were a good size.” Itis to be remembered, however, that
this plan is serviceable only in the case of morning frosts of short
duration.

In our glazed houses, we have full control over the state of
the atmosphere, as regards both its moisture and temperature,
by means familiar to every gardener; but the manner of
applying those means, and the causes that oppose their action,
deserve to be the subject of inquiry.

It will have been seen, from what has been already stated
upon that subject, that in general, in warm countries, the air is
occasionally at least, if not permanently, filled with vapour to a
much greater extent than in northern latitudes*, and, as in our
glazed houses we cultivate exclusively the natives of warm
countries, it is also obvious that, as a general rule, the air of
such houses requires, at certain periods, to be damper than
that of the external air. Those periods are when vegetation
is most active. On the other hand, countries nearer the equator
are subject to seasons of dryness, the continuance of which is
often much greater than any thing we know of here in the open
air, and consequently artificial means must also be adopted
to bring about, in glazed houses, that state of things at particu-
lar periods; namely, those of the repose of plants. These facts
afford abundant proof of the necessity of regulating the
moisture of the atmosphere with some certainty.

The dampness of glass-houses is easily maintained at any
required degree by various contrivances: such as inundating

. * Captain Sabine, in his meteorological researches between the tropics, rarely found
at the hottest period of the day so great a difference as 10° between the temperature
of the air and the dew-point ; making the degree of saturation about ‘730, but most
frequently 5° or *850; and the mean saturation of the air could not have exceeded
*910.” (Daniell.)

206 SYRINGING AND BEDEWING.

the floors and flues, which is one of the best means of supplying
the atmosphere with a steady supply of elastic vapour; or by
discharging steam into a house, by open tanks of water resting
on pipes or flues; or by syringing, which not only throws mois-
ture into places not easily reached by other means, but disturbs
the numerous insects which infest such places, and removes
the dust and honey-dew which accumulate in the absence of
natural rain. The immense importance of the last of these
results has been fully explained at pages 58 and 59.

It will be evident that syringing is an imitation of rain or dew; of
rain when water is dashed violently upon leaves; of dew when it is
forced through fine roses and gently deposited upon leaves. Gardeners
confound the two operations under one common name; but it would be
better, as I have suggested elsewhere, if the term SyrRrneIne were
confined to the imitation of rain, and the more gentle method were
denominated BEDEWInG. The French call the latter bassinage. In
this, as in all things else, the operations of Nature should be imitated
with all the exactness possible; we may be certain that what we call
Nature is right, and that we, when we neglect her precepts, are wrong.
Dew is not deposited in the morning or at noon ; therefore bedewing at
noon or in the morning is to be carefully avoided. Dew falls in the
evening, clings to plants during the night, disappears as the sun gains
power. Bedewing, then, should be @ effected i in the 2 evening, and i in such
This is opposed to the practice of the older gardeners, but its fitness is
shown by such considerations as the following :—

When plants are bedewed at night, no perspiration is going on; all
the surface is engaged in absorption. In this way the loss of fluid by
day is virtually repaired. During the dark hours the tissues absorb
the moisture in contact with them; drooping leaves straighten, bending
stems stand once more erect, and the very hairs that clothe the surface
of a leaf, on which they lay relaxed at sun-down, presently fill,
stiffen and rise up, and drink till they can drink no more, the limpid
fluid at last hanging in drops from their gorged points. Were it
otherwise, vegetation would perish in the autumn, however vigorous it
might have been during the summer; for in autumn the earth is
exhausted of its moisture, and plants feed chiefly by their green
surfaces. Each returning sun expels from a plant more fluid than the
earth can possibly supply ; but the waste is amply made up by the dews
which act from sunset to sunrise. What occurs out of doors also
occurs in a hothouse, so far as waste of fluid is concerned; but ina
glasshouse there is little or no restoration at night, because dew will
not form beneath a roof, and therefore the process of artificial bedewing

SCORCHING IN DAMP HOUSES. 207

becomes indispensably necessary. There is no doubt that bedewing
by day does more harm than good. Experience shows that when plants
are so treated they lose their verdure and become yellow, especially if
the sun shines on them immediately after the operation. It cannot be
useful, for it dries up before it can be absorbed. It must do harm ;
because the rapid evaporation from the surface of a wet leaf under a
bright sun is attended by a degree of cold which paralyses the vitality
of the leaf itself. "When rain falls by day the sky is overcast; or if we
have a rainstorm in sunshine the occurrence is casual and the effect is
transient, but in a hothouse so mismanaged a gardener has to encounter
the consequence of a continually recurring bad effect.

But there are some circumstances, easily overlooked, which
interfere very seriously with this power, and which, it will be
conceived, may reduce it very much below the expectations of
the cultivator. The most unsuspected of these is the destruc-
tion of aqueous vapour by the hot, dry, absorbent surface of
flues. The advantages of hot-water pipes over brick flues
arises in great measure from the former not drying the air.
Gardeners explain the difference in the action of the two, by
saying that the dry heat produced by hot-water pipes is sweeter
than that given off by flues; which is not a very intelligible
expression. The fact is, that, in houses heated by flues, the
soft burnt clay of the brick flues robs the air of its moisture,
while the unabsorbent surface of iron pipes abstracts nothing.

Another source of dryness is the coldness of the glass roof,
especially in cold weather, when its temperature is lowered by
the external air, in consequence of which the moisture of the
artificial atmosphere is precipitated upon the inside of the
glass, whence it runs down in the form of “drip.” Daniell
observes that the glass of a hot-house, at night, cannot exceed
the mean of the external and internal air; and, taking them at
80° and 40°, 20° of dryness are kept up in the interior, or a
degree of saturation not exceeding 528. To this, in a clear
night, we may add at least 6° for the effects of radiation, to
which the glass is particularly exposed, which will reduce the
saturation to "424; and this is a degree of drought which must
be destructive. It will be allowed that this is by no means an
extreme case, but one that must frequently occur during the
winter season. Some idea, he adds, may be formed of the

208 SCORCHING IN DAMP HOUSES.

prodigiously increased drain upon the functions of a plant,
arising from an increase of dryness in the air, from the
following consideration:—If we suppose the amount of its
perspiration, in a given time, to be 57 grains, the temperature
of the air being 75° and the dew-point 70°, or the saturation of
the air being ‘849, the amount would be increased to 120
grains in the same time, if the dew-point were to remain
stationary, and the temperature were to rise to 80°; or, in other
words, if the saturation of the air were to fall to °726. (Hort.
Trans., vi. 20.) It is well known that the effect of maintaining
a very high temperature in hot-houses at night, during the
winter, is frequently to cause the leaves to wither and turn
brown, as if scorched or burnt; and this is certainly owing to
the dryness of the air, in consequence of the above causes.

Nothing perplexes inexperienced gardeners more than this unsuspected
source of mischief, which is of constant occurrence in Vineries supposed
to be managed with the utmost skill. When a gardener is told that it
is of little use to pour water into a tub with a hole in the bottom, for
that in a few minutes the tub will be as dry as if it had received no
water at all, he admits the truth of the observation. But if he is assured,
that the more he heats and damps a Vinery the drier it will become, ha
will lend a less ready acquiescence ; and yet, in cold weather, the one
assertion is as true as the other.

When Vine leaves are young they are always thin, and imperfectly
formed ; they are in that state where any unfavourable circumstances
are more likely to take effect upon them, than if they were hard and
fully formed, especially if they come out of Vineries carefully managed,
with plenty of heat and moisture by day, and more, if there is any
difference, at night, All is right on some eventful day, let us say the
3rd of February; the house is locked up; there is a clear moon and a
bright sky, with every sign of a hard frost, and therefore the fires are
looked to; andthe Vinery is duly visited at midnight. It is impossible
that anything can go wrong. Next day, the 4th of February, the
leaves are not so green as they were before; by night they are unmis-
takeably brown; and on the 5th half are evidently dead. ‘ How is
this?” “Oh!” it is said, “the 4th was a bright sunny day, and the
leaves were sunburnt.” This answer is considered satisfactory ; blinds
are provided against another year. When February comes they are
drawn down every sunny day, and withdrawn at night. But the leaves
are tenderer than ever, and another disaster befalls them; they are
again burnt worse than before. The sun then cannot be in fault. A flue

CAUSED BY EXTERNAL COLD. 209

must have leaked; and gas must have escaped into the house; yet the
house is warmed with water in pipes. In that case, it must have been
something from the pipes; ora hole must exist between the inside of the
Vinery and the furnace, or the stoke-hole. Finally it is suspected that
the Vines must be poisoned by something in the soil, or in the water.
But in all such cases the injury proceeds from dryness and nothing else.

If a piece of cold glass is introduced into a warm damp room, moisture,
in the form of dew, is immediately formed upon the glass. This mois-
ture previously existed in the form of elastic vapour ;-and the dew that
forms on the glass is at the expense of the vapour surrounding it; so
that if a cubic body of such vapour be represented by 1000, and 250
parts of it be abstracted by precipitation, or condensation, upon the cold
glass, it is clear that there will be only 750 parts left; in other words,
the air will be one-quarter drier after the introduction of the cold glass
than it was before. Now, if we suppose that this abstraction of vapour
were carried to its utmost limits, it is evident that the end would be the
total drying of the air, in consequence of the condensation of all its
vapour on the surface of cold glass. The Vine leaf, when young, will
not bear an atmosphere the degree of saturation of which is much below
800. If the saturation falls to 500, it will be dried up and perish.
This being so, the force of Daniell’s remarks will be obvious. And when
it is considered that a temperature at night of 20° is no very unfrequent
occurrence in this country when the saturation of the air may fall to
120°, that is to say, instead of the atmosphere surrounding Vine leaves
amounting to 7 or 8 parts in 10, which is what they require, it may not
amount to more than 1} in 10, which is fatal to them, the amount of
the danger becomes still more striking :— Thus, in an atmosphere of
heat and moisture, the Vine leaves may actually die of drought’; and
that this occasionally happens, and isa frequent though unsuspected
cause of injury to tender foliage, near a glass roof, is perfectly certain.

It is evident that the mode of preventing this drying of the
air by the cold surface of a glass roof will be, either by raising
the temperature of the glass, which can only be effected by
drawing a covering of some kind over our houses at night, so
as to intercept radiation, or by double glass sashes ; or else by

keeping the temperature of the air of the house as low as
possible, consistently with the safety of the plants, and so
diminishing the difference between the temperature of the
external and internal air.

The objections to external coverings are, 1st, their expense, and, 2nd,
the trouble attending them. If, however, the needless cost of fuel, and
the injury sustained by plants, be placed in one scale, and the expense

be

210 IMPORTANCE OF

of an external covering in the other, it would be found that the balance
would turn in favour of the latter. The trouble of covering a house
with mats, every night, is no doubt the main obstacle to their employ-
ment. Long ago, Sir Joseph Paxton used moveable thatched roofs
running in a sort of groove or rail, capable of being pushed over a house
every night, and pushed off again at one end every morning ; and this
device left nothing to be desired in principle. But it demanded space.
For every fifty feet run of glass house fifty more feet were required at
the end of it to receive the moveable roof during the day, and it is only
here and there that so much space can be afforded. Nor is the plan
applicable at all to houses of any considerable dimensions. It therefore
still remains for some ingenious person to show how glass houses may
be covered every night cheaply, and without trouble, by a moveable
roof.

It is to the attention that, since the appearance of Daniell’s
paper, in 1824, upon this subject, has been paid to the
atmospherical moisture of glazed houses, that the great
superiority of modern gardeners over those of the last genera-
tion is mainly to be ascribed: there are, however, traces of the
practice at a much earlier period, although, from . not under-
standing its theory, no general improvement took place. In
the year 1816, an account was laid before the Horticultural
Society of a successful mode of forcing Grapes and Nectarines,
as practised by Mr. French, an Essex farmer, with rude
materials, and under unfavourable circumstances. It is not a
little remarkable, that, although Mr. French himself correctly
referred his success to the skilful management of the atmo-
‘spherical moisture of his forcing-houses, the subject was so
little understood at that time that the author of the account
not only shrank from adopting the opinion, but evidently, from
the manner in which he speaks of the explanation, had no idea
of its justness.

“« About the beginning of March, Mr. French commences his forcing
by introducing a quantity of new long dung, taken from under the cow-
cribs in his straw yard ; being principally, if not entirely, cow dung;
which is laid upon the floor of his house, extending entirely from end to
end, and in width about six or seven feet, leaving only a pathway
between it and the back wall of the house. The dung being all new at
the beginning, a profuse steam arises with the first heat, which, in this
stage of the process, is found to be beneficial in destroying the ova of

A DAMP ATMOSPHERE. 211

insects, as well as fransfusing a wholesome moisture over the yet
leafless branches; but which would prove injurious, if permitted to rise
in so great a quantity when the leaves have pushed forth. In a few
days, the violence of the steam abates as the buds open, and in the
course of a fortnight the heat begins to diminish; it then becomes
necessary to carry in a small addition of fresh dung, laying it in the
bottom, and covering it over with the old dung fresh forked up: this
produces a renovated heat, and a moderate exhalation of moist vapour.
In this manner the heat is kept up throughout the season, the fresh
supply of dung being constantly laid at the bottom in order to smother
the steam, or rather to moderate the quantity of exhalation; for it must
always be remembered that Mr. French attaches great virtue to the
supply of a reasonable portion of the vapour. The quantity of new
dung to be introduced at each turning must be regulated by the greater
or smaller degree of heat that is found in the house, as the season or
other circumstances appear to require it. The temperature kept up is
pretty regular, being from 65 to 70 degrees.” (Hort. Trans., i. 245.)

In this case, which attracted much attention at the time, it
is evident that the success of the practice arose principally out
of two eircumstances: firstly, the moisture of the atmosphere
was skilfully maintained in due proportion to the temperature ;
and, secondly, a suitable amount of bottom heat was secured.
This is, as will be elsewhere remarked, the principal cause of
the advantages found to attend the Dutch mode of forcing.
The reporter upon Mr. French’s practice speaks with surprise
of the rudeness of the roof of his forcing-houses, and of the
numerous openings into the air through the laps of the glass’
and the joints of the sashes; but these were points of: no
importance under the mode of management adopted..

The impossibility of preserving any plants, except succulents,
in a healthy state, for any long period, in a sitting-room, is
evidently owing to the impracticability of maintaining the
atmosphere of such a@ situation in a state of sufficient
dampness.

An excess of dampness is indispensable to plants in a state
of rapid growth, partly because it prevents the action of
perspiration becoming too violent, and partly because under
such circumstances a considerable quantity of aqueous food is
absorbed from the atmosphere, in addition to that obtained by
the roots. But it is essential to observe that, when not in a

2

212 AXIOMS AS TO DAMP AIR.

state of rapid growth, a large amount of moisture in the air
will be prejudicial rather than advantageous to a plant; if the
temperature is at the same time high, excitability will remain
in a state of continued action, and that rest which is necessary
will be withheld, the result of which will be an eventual
destruction of the vital energies. But, on the other hand, if
the temperature is kept low while the amount of atmospherical
moisture is considerable, the latter is absorbed, without its
being possible for the plant to decompose it; the system
then becomes, in the younger and more absorbent parts,
distended with water, and decomposition takes place, followed
by the appearance of a crop of microscopical fungi; in short,
that appearance presents itself which is technically called
“damping off.”

A skilful balancing of temperature and moisture in the air,
and a just adaptation of them to the various seasons of growth,
constitute the most complicated and difficult part of a
gardener’s art. There is some danger in laying down general
rules with respect to this subject, so much depending upon
the peculiar habits of species, of which the modifications are
endless. It may, however, I think, be safely stated that the
following maxims deserve especial attention :—

1. Most moisture in the air is demanded by plants when they
first begin to grow, and least when their periodical growth is
completed.

2. The quantity of atmospheric moisture required by plants
is, ceteris paribus, in inverse proportion to the distance from
the equator of the countries which they naturally inhabit.

8. Plants with annual stems require more than those with
ligneous stems.

4. The amount of moisture in the air most suitable to plants
at rest is in inverse proportion to the quantity of aqueous
matter they at that time contain. (Hence the dryness of the
air required by succulent plants when at rest.)

CHAPTER IV.

—t
OF VENTILATION.

It is probable that no horticultural question has excited
more difference of opinion than that of ventilating glass-houses.
On the one hand it has been contended that plants in such
places require no more air than will necessarily be introduced
through crevices, sashes, and doors; on the other it has been
insisted by gardeners of great experience that plants require
an incessant and abundant supply of fresh air in motion.

Those who support the latter view point to the facts that
meet the observer at every step in wild nature, where plants are
to be found in the most vigorous health. In the open air the
atmosphere that surrounds them is incessantly in motion, even
in the calmest day; and by evening or during the night, when
they most especially are feeding, in rapid motion. The atmo-
sphere is their pasture, and its ever-varying density is a natural
phenomenon most intimately connected with the maintenance
of vegetable health. It is a beautiful compensation for their
want of locomotion; as plants cannot move to the atmosphere,
the atmosphere is ever moving towards them. It is therefore
certain, without inquiring into the exact philosophy of the matter,
that free access to abundant air must be secured, if the health
of plants in glass-houses is to equal that in the open air.

On the other hand the advocates of a confined atmosphere
believe that those who attach so much importance to ventilating
houses abundantly, scarcely consider the nature of plants, and
suppose that they require to be treated like man himself, thus
consulting their own feelings rather than the laws of vegetable
growth. It is true that animals require a continual renovation

214 NECESSITY OF VENTILATION.

of the air that surrounds them, because they speedily render it
impure by the carbonic acid given off, and the oxygen abstracted
by animal respiration. . But the reverse is what happens to
plants; they exhale oxygen during the day, and inhale the
carbonic acid of the atmosphere; and, considering the manner
in which glass-houses are constructed, the buoyancy of the air
in heated houses will enable it to escape in sufficient quantity
to renew itself as quickly as can be necessary for the main-
tenance of the healthy action of the organs of vegetable
respiration. It, therefore, is improbable that the ventilation of
houses in which plants grow is so necessary to them as is
supposed. So it is said, we

There can, however, be no doubt that the latter argument is
fallacious, and that gardeners who judge of the requirements of
plants by their own, are not so much in error as has been
supposed. ‘It is true that ventilation is not required in order
to supply plants with food enough to maintain existence; they
get from tranquil air as much gaseous food as will support
life. But it is one thing to exist, and another to thrive.
Moreover, the admission of abundant air is not merely for the
purpose of feeding a plant; it enables it to perspire copiously,
a function not less indispensable than feeding, for perspiration
with plants is only a part of the process of digestion. Let us only
watch the effect of allowing a continual change of air to take
place among plants in a greenhouse. The best managed house
within our knowledge, in which the plants are always dark
green, short jointed, and loaded with flowers, is one with a
span roof, the lower half of which is moveable and the upper
fixed; by raising or lowering the lower sashes a strong current
of air can at all times be carried through the plants, among
which it incessantly plays. In this place there are no yellow
leaves,.no mildew, no spot, no languor, no fogging off. At
Sion the Clove has borne flowers, the Litchi and Nutmeg
ripened their fruit with all their natural aroma, and the
Mangosteen is growing as if at Batavia; this has been
effected in a stove so constructed as to secure the presence of
constant currents of air. The Mango has never flourished
more than if did at Walcot, in the days of the late Lord Powis;

IMPORTANCE OF AIR IN MOTION. 215

it grew there in a house in which air was necessarily in
constant and very rapid motion. The best flavoured Grapes
are ripened out of doors; no one would compare our hot-house
Grapes for flavour with those of the climates where they ripen
naturally. The best coloured Grapes are ripened out of doors ;
no one ever saw ripe black Grapes deficient in colour in the
openair. The best Peaches, Strawberries, Apricots, are ripened
in the open air. The best flavoured Queen Pine I ever tasted
was one ripened at Bicton in the open air.*

It is not improbable that one of the advantages of ventilation
depends upon a cause but little adverted to, but which certainly
requires to be well considered. It was an opinion of
Mr. Knight, that the motion given to plants by wind is bene-
ficial to them by enabling their fluids to circulate more freely
than they otherwise would do; and in a paper printed in the
Philosophical Transactions for 1808, p. 277, he adduces, in
support of his opinion, many experiments and observations ;
of which the following is sufficiently striking :—

“ The effect of motion on the circulation of the sap, and the consequent
formation of wood, I was best able to ascertain by the following expedient.
Early in the spring of 1801, I selected a number of young seedling
Apple trees, whose stems were about an inch in diameter, and whose
height between the roots and first branches was between six and seven
feet. These trees stood about eight feet from each other; and, of
course, a free passage for the wind to act on each tree was afforded.
By means of stakes and bandages of hay, not so tightly bound as to
impede the progress of any fiuid within the trees, I nearly deprived
the roots and lower parts of the stems of several trees of all motion, to
the height of three feet from the ground, leaving the upper part of the
stems and branches in their natural state. In the succeeding summer,
much new wood accumulated in the parts which were kept in motion
by the wind ; but the lower parts of the stems and roots increased very
little in size. Removing the bandages from one of these trees in the
following winter, I fixed a stake in the ground, about ten feet distant
from the tree, on the east side of it; and I attached the tree to the’
stake at the height of six feet, by means of aslender pole, about twelve
feet long ; thus leaving the tree at liberty to move towards the north.
and south, or, more properly, in the segment of a circle, of which the

* See p. 101. The author regrets to see that the name of Lady Rolle is mis-
printed Rolfe, at that place.

216 KNIGHTS OBJECTION TO VENTILATION.

pole formed a radius; but in no other direction. Thus circumstanced,
the diameter of the tree from north to south in that part of its stem
which was most exercised by the wind, exceeded that in the opposite
direction, in the following autumn, in the proportion of thirteen to

eleven.”

Now, if the effect of motion is to increase the quantity of wood in a
plant, it is evident that ventilation, which causes motion, must tend to
produce a healthy action in the plants exposed to it; and such a state
must also be favourable to the development of all those secretions upon
which the organisation of flowers, the setting of fruit, and the
elaboration of colour, odour, flavour, &c., so much depend. Some
suggestions by Mr. Knight, as to the manner in which this result can
be artificially produced, will be found in the Hort. Trans., vol. iv.
p. 2. and 3. (See also Hort, Zrans., new series, i. 34.)

It is not a little remarkable, however, that the same great
gardener as well as physiologist should have expressed himself
unfavourable to abundant ventilation. It would seem as if he
scarcely perceived the whole bearing of the interesting
experiment just recorded. It may be objected, he says, that
plants do not thrive, that the skins of Grapes are thick, and
other fruits without flavour, in crowded forcing-houses: but in
these it is probably light, rather than a more rapid change of
air, that is wanting ; for, in a forcing-house which I have long
devoted almost exclusively to experiments, I employ very little
fire heat, and never give air till my Grapes are nearly ripe, in
the hottest and brightest weather, further than is just necessary
to prevent the leaves being destroyed by excess of heat. Yet
this mode of treatment does not at all lessen the flavour of the
fruit, nor render the skins of the Grapes thick ; on the contrary,
their skins are always most remarkably thin, and very similar to
those of Grapes which have ripened in the open air. (Hort.
Trans., ii. 225.)

Mr. Knight would not even admit that in forcing-houses
ventilation is useful at the period of ripening ; but the following
extract,'in which this opinion is expressed, shows that he did
not use the word ventilation in its ordinary sense. “A less
humid atmosphere is more advantageous to fruits of all kinds,
when the period of their maturity approaches, than in the
earlier stages of their growth; and such an increase of

HOW EXPLAINED. 217

ventilation, at this period, as will give the requisite degree of
dryness to the air within the house, is highly beneficial,
provided it be not increased to such an extent as to reduce the
temperature of the house much below the degree in which the
fruit had previously grown, and thus retard its progress to
maturity. The good effect of opening a Peach-house, by
taking off the lights of its roof during the period of the last
swelling of the fruit, appears to have led many gardeners to
overrate greatly the beneficial influence. of a free current of air
upon ripening fruits; for I have never found ventilation to
give the proper flavour or colour to a Peach, unless that fruit
was, at the same tume, exposed to the sun without the intervention
of glass ; and the most excellent Peaches I have ever been able
to raise were obtained under circumstances where change of
air was as much as possible prevented, consistently with the
admission of light i glass), to a single tree.” (Hort.
Trans., ti. 227.)

This remark makes it evident that Mr. Knight used the
word ventilation in the sense of a draught or current of air;
for it is difficult to conceive how plants can be more abundantly
supplied with fresh air than by removing the glass sashes
which obstructed its admission.

It is not merely in heated houses or during the summer
season that free ventilation is required. It is justas necessary
in winter, or when plants are torpid. We cannot suppose that
the substances contained within the living bark are at rest
during half the year, because the leaves have fallen away. On
the contrary, the change of colour which gradually takes place
in branches during winter, is proof enough that chemical action
is still going on in obedience to vital force. Itis inconceivable
that such actions should be unconnected with the atmosphere
that surrounds the branches, although chemists may be unable
to explain the connection ; and without waiting for the rationale,
we may assure ourselves that those motions of the air which
are so indispensable in summer are at least as much needed in
winter ; perhaps more so.

As to cold pits and cold greenhouses, they require that their
air’ should be kept in motion just as much as that of heated

218 CULTURE OF ALPINE PLANTS.

structures. If we only look at the plants discovered when
mats are removed from pits which have long been closely
covered up during a tedious winter, dropping mb from
limb, covered with mouldiness, musty and rotten, instead of
the healthy specimens originally placed there, we shall require
no argument to show that ventilation in winter is as necessary
as in summer, and in cold pits as well as heated buildings. If
this is indispensable when plants are in a state of torpor, how
much more is it needed in such places as dung-pits or frames,
especially where salad, cucumbers, and similar plants are
grown. In those cases the object is in part to dry the air, in
order that the plants may not absorb more aqueous particles
than they can decompose and assimilate. Although plants of
this kind will bear a high degree of atmospherical moisture in
summer, when the days are long and the sun bright, and when,
consequently, all their digestive energies are in full activity,
yet they are by no means able to endure the same amount in
the short dark days of winter, when, from the want of light,
their powers of decomposition or digestion are comparatively

feeble.

One of the causes of success in the Dutch method of winter forcing
is, undoubtedly, their avoiding the necessity of winter ventilation, by
intercepting the excessive vapour that rises from the soil, and which

would otherwise mix with the air. For this purpose they interpose
screens of oiled paper between the earth and the air of their houses, and
in their pits for vegetables they cover the surface of the ground with
the same oiled paper, by which means vapour is effectually intercepted,
and the air preserved from excessive moisture.

It is highly probable, if not yet proved, that the true cause
of the difficulty of cultivating alpine plants in the lowlands,
arises from the impossibility of maintaining around them a
damp atmosphere associated with low temperature, and the
copious evaporation caused by the rapid currents of air to which
they are exposed in their native stations. Some plants indeed
are able to dispense with these conditions, and live indifferently
in elevated regions and on plains; of which the common
Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella) and Cardamine hirsuta are
Indian examples quoted by Dr. Hooker; but the majority can

WHY IMPRACTICABLE. 219

only exist ‘under those peculiar conditions in which they have
been placed by nature.

This explanation of a well known horticultural difficulty
seems better to agree with facts than the suggestion of Baron
Humboldt, to which I formerly assented, that diminished
atmospheric pressure was the cause. On this point
Dr. Hooker has remarked that “a comparison of Arctic
vegetation with that of elevations of 17,000 feet, where
literally fifteen inches of pressure are removed, shows no
difference in the characters or habits of such plants as are
common to both regions ; it certainly induces no peculiarity of
vegetation, or there would be a character common to the
Alpines of India and of America which the temperate and
Arctic regions should not share; but though the Alpine
floras of these tropical regions widely differ from each
other, they are both Arctic floras in the greatest degree,
generically.”

In his Himalayan Journals this distinguished trayeller has some
additional observations, which deserve quotation. ‘It has long been
surmised that an Alpine vegetation may owe some of its peculiarities to
the diminished atmospheric pressure ; and that the latter, being a con-
dition which the gardener cannot supply, he can never successfully
cultivate such plants in general. I know of no foundation for this
hypothesis ; many plants, natives of the level of the sea in other parts
of the world, and some even of the hot plains of Bengal, ascend to
12,000 and even 15,000 feet on the Himalaya, unaffected by the
diminished pressure. Any number of species from low countries may
be cultivated, and some have been for ages, at 10,000 to 14,000 feet,
without change. It is the same with the lower animals; innumerable
instances may with ease be adduced of pressure alone inducing no
appreciable change, whilst there is absence of proof to the contrary.
The phenomena that accompany diminished pressure are the real
obstacles to the cultivation of Alpine plants, of which cold and the
excessive climate are perhaps the most formidable. Plants that grow
in localities marked by sudden extremes of heat and cold, are always
very variable in stature, habit, and foliage. In a state of nature we
say the plants ‘accommodate themselves’ to these changes, and so they
do within certain limits; but for one that survives of all the seeds that
germinate in these inhospitable localities, thousands die. In our gardens
we can neither imitate the conditions of an Alpine climate, nor offer
others suited to the plants of such climates.” (Vol. ii., p. 415.)

220 SIKKIM RHODODENDRONS.

The notorious difficulty of cultivating some of the Sikkim
Rhododendrons is probably to be explained by similar consi-
derations. In the Sikkim Himalaya there is little continued
sunshine, and the warm air is perpetually charged with
moisture brought by the southerly winds, which discharge it to
the extent of 120 to 140 inches annually (Hooker). There
appears to be no means of imitating such a state of things
artificially. We may secure the temperature, and we may load
warm air with vapour, but when we attempt to set.the latter in
active motion, the humidity disappears.

To the reasons already offered for regarding free ventilation
as a necessary condition of high cultivation, may be added the
importance of removing deleterious matters, such as sulphu-
rous acid, or of diluting those which, like carbonate of
ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, hydrochloric acid, &c. are
only wholesome when administered in quantities almost if not
entirely inappreciable by the senses.

We know too little of the effects of volatilised corrosive sublimate, to
say whether free ventilation would not prevent the destructive action
of that agent upon plants kept in greenhouses built of Kyanised wood.

It has been thought that an irresistible argument against
the need of free ventilation is to be found in the moveable
structures called Warpian Caszs, in which it is alleged that
plants grow luxuriantly although cut off as far as possible
from all access to air. But in reality such contrivances are
not at all suited for the cultivation of plants; they are only
applicable to their preservation for limited periods of time. It
was the success that attended the latter which led gardeners to
suppose Ward’s Cases equally well suited to the former, and
to fall into the error of disbelieving in the necessity of free

ventilation,

As the Wardian Case is largely employed in Horticulture, especially
in the decoration of sitting-rooms, it seems desirable to point out in
this place what are its real merits and defects.

When Mr. Ward first remarked a Grass and a Moss growing inside a
damp bottle, he merely saw what gardeners had witnessed for a couple
of centuries at least. He beheld the propagator’s bell-glass with its

WARD'S CASES UNFIT FOR CULTIVATION. 221

edges dipping into wet sand—a close cavity, with transparent sides,
and an interior possessing an uniform and unchangeable degree of
humidity, Thirty or forty years since, and probably long before, the
same principle was employed in the drawing-rooms of the wealthy for
the preservation of the freshness of cut flowers: the flowers were placed
in a vase; the vase stood in water, and a bell-glass, dipping its edges
into the water, covered the whole. There is not the smallest difference
in principle between these old contrivances and the modern Wardian
Case. But all such plans were merely preservative ; no one thought of
cultivating plants in close cases, though they found the latter invalu-
able for keeping plants alive. A cutting under a bell-glass was
surrounded with moist air until it had formed roots; but the moment
the action of roots was secured it was transferred to the open air.
What Mr. Ward did, when he proposed the case that bears his name,
was to contrive a large portable bell-glass and its supporter, made of
materials strong enough to bear the rough usage of a sea voyage. He
demonstrated the defects of the old travelling greenhouses, and sug-
gested a remedy, pointing out at the same time upon what principles
the remedy depended. That principle was—Ist, to expose plants to
light, and—2nd, to ensure their being constantly surrounded by a
medium damp enough to keep their system in a state of activity. The
old travelling greenhouses, or plant cases, were open at the joints, and
the water originally contained in them quickly evaporated, leaving a
mass of parched earth in which no vegetation could long survive;
they were also glazed with talc, or oyster shells, or other half-opaque
materials, through which no such amount of light could pass as plants
require for the preservation of their vitality.

When properly constructed, the Wardian Case answers perfectly as
a means of transporting plants to great distances. It also has its value
in places where the air is filled with floating soot or dust; or where it
is naturally too dry for vegetation, as in sitting-rooms. There the
lives of certain kinds of plants may be maintained for a long period of
time, with the appearance of health; shade-loving races, such as Ferns
and Mosses, will even thrive there; and others, like dry Crocuses and
Hyacinths, which have been previously made ready by the usual pro-
cesses, out of doors, may be led to blossom in perfection for a season, or
in some instances for more.

It is asserted indeed that plants have been known to grow well, and
flourish in Wardian Cases. To that statement I lend an incredulous
ear. It will be always found, upon inquiry, that such cases are opened
daily and ventilated freely, and thus, or otherwise, relieved from the
moisture with which the air is saturated. But those are not Wardian
Cases at all; they are merely greenhouses on a small scale, in which
plants grow well or ill, according to the care and skill with which they
are managed. A Wardian Case demands neither care nor skill; its

222

FAULT OF WARDIAN CASES.

operation is essentially automatic; it is its own gardener in every way.
The moment its structure enables the possessor to give it daily atten-
tion—in short, to cultivate the plants within if, it ceases to be
Wardian, and may as well be called by any other name, as has been
already shown. Plants cannot be cultivated well in the absence of free
access to air in motion. The more rapid the motion, within certain
limits, the higher the health of plants, and vice versd. This is the
foundation of good gardening; and it is precisely this which is unat-
tainable in a Wardian Case. The latter is the opposite ofa natural
condition ; but plants demand all the resemblance to natural conditions
which is to be secured by art. Direct, constant, and unrestrained
communication with air, perpetually striking and then quitting them,
is as necessary to a plant as to an animal; and that the Wardian Case
is intended to render impossible. It is not indeed too much to add that
so far as gardening, properly so called, is concerned, the Wardian
Case has done nothing more than was effected years before it was sug-
gested. As a convenient means of enabling plants to support existence
under difficult circumstances it has value; and that is all, In short,
it is to plants what tripe de roche, Bark-bread and Fern-root are to
man—a means of prolonging life under difficult circumstances.

Nature no more causes plants to grow in half air-tight rooms than
amidst rays of coloured light. In the natural world vegetation
subsists in its greatest activity in the presence of white light; red
light, and yellow light, and blue light are unknown; and if green
light occurs, it is only in the recesses of deep forests, where little is to
be found except Fungi, or Mosses and Ferns. So it is with unventi-
lated places; they are the exception to the natural law, which declares
that living things shall have access to air. The lowest orders of
animals and the lowest of plants thrive indeed in such localities, for all
places seem to have their allotted inhabitants; but the great world of
vegetation knows of no healthy existence except where the air moves
freely around it. In suffocated places we find lean and sickly races,
too weak to stand alone, and struggling to reach a better atmosphere ;
these places are the Ward’s Cases of the wilderness ; natural accidents
from which all things endeavour to escape.

When the external air is admitted into a glazed house

containing a moist atmosphere, it, under ordinary circum-
stances, is much colder than that with which it mixes; the
heated damp air rushes out at the upper ventilators, and the
drier cold air takes its place; the latter rapidly abstracts from
the plants and the earth, or the vessels in which they grow, a
part of their moisture, and thus gives a sudden shock to their

WINTER VENTILATION. 223

constitution, which cannot fail to be injurious. This abstrac-
tion of moisture is in proportion to the rapidity of the motion
of the air. But it is not merely dryness that is thus produced,
or such a lowering of temperature as the thermometer
suspended in the interior of the house may indicate; the rapid
evaporation that takes place upon the admission of dry air
produces a degree of cold upon the surface of leaves, and of the
porous earthen pots in which plants grow, of which our instru-
ments give no indication. To counteract these mischievous
effects many contrivances have been proposed, in order to
insure the introduction of fresh air warm and loaded with
moisture, such as compelling the fresh air to enter a house
after passing through pipes moderately heated, or over hot-
water pipes surrounded by a damp atmosphere, and so on, the
advantages of which, of course, depend upon the objects to be
attained.

If ventilation is merely employed for the purpose of puri-
fying the air, as is often the case in hothouses and in dung
pits, it should be effected by the introduction of fresh air damp
and heated. If it is only for the purpose of lowering the
temperature, as in greenhouses, or in the midst of summer,
the external air may be admitted without any precautions.

But it is very commonly required in the winter, for the
purpose of drying the air in houses kept at that season at a
low temperature; such, for instance, as those built for the
protection of Heaths, and many other Cape and New Holland
plants: in these cases it should be brought into the house as
near the temperature of the house as possible, but on no
account loaded with moisture. One of the principal reasons
for drying the air of such houses is, to prevent the growth of
parasitical fungi, which, in the form of mouldiness, constitute
what gardeners technically call “damp.” These productions
flourish in damp air at a low temperature, but will not exist
either in dry cold air or in hot damp air. If the air of cool
greenhouses is allowed to become damp, the fungi immediately
spring up on the surface of any decayed-leaves, or other matter
which may be present, when they spread rapidly to the young
and tender parts of living plants; and when this happens they

224

PRACTICE OF VENTILATION.

consume the juices, choke the respiratory organs, and speedily
destroy the object they attack.

Pg PO,

How to ventilate houses without producing results even more inju-
rious than the absence of free air, is a horticultural problem by no
means solved, It is necessary—1, that the air should be as warm as
that of the house; it is necessary—2, that the gardener should have
the means of rendering the ventilation dry or damp at pleasure; it is
necessary—3, that the method should be simple and economical. It
was this which led to what is called Polmaise heating, which excited so
much discussion in the pages of the Gardeners’ Chronicle some years
since; and there is little doubt that when it was skilfully applied Pol-
maise answered the three preceding conditions. But mechanical and
other difficulties haying led to the abandoning that method, it seems
to be desirable to point out some of the other plans which have been
found to succeed more or less completely.

In the invaluable collection of scientific papers, by Mr. Andrew
Knight, collected into a volume, after his death, we find, p. 224, an
account of a curvilinear Vinery, in which he attributes the inferior
quality of Queen Pines grown in it to ‘‘the want of efficient ventila-
tion;” and he proceeds to state how he remedied the evil by an
improved mode of ventilation. In this house he had acquired the
power of almost wholly preventing any change of air whatever ; and he
exercised that power too extensively, after the fruit was shown, and
particularly after a part of it had nearly acquired maturity. This led
him to adopt a mode of ventilation, from which he expected to derive
all the advantages of change of air, without materially lowering the
temperature of the house; and the success of it greatly exceeded his
expectations. He first formed certain cylindrical passages of nearly
two inches diameter through the front wall. Through these, which
were placed eighteen inches distant from each other, along the whole
front wall of the house, the air, whenever the weathes was warm, was
suffered to enter freely, and its entrance at other times was more or
less obstructed in proportion to its coldness; but it was never wholly
excluded, except during the nights in very severe weather. The
passages through the front wall were placed at just such a distance
from the ground as would occasion them to direct the air, which
entered, either into contact with, or to pass closely over, the heated
covers of the flue. It consequently became heated, and was impelled
amongst the Pine-apple plants, which stood in rows behind each other,
each row of plants being so far elevated above that before as to keep
every plant at nearly an equal distance from the glass roof. A ther-
mometer was so placed as to be equally distant from each end of the
house, and he observed that the temperature of that part of the house
in which the thermometer stood was raised between 2° and 3°, when

KNIGHT’S VENTILATION+-WILLIAMS’. 225

the external air was at 40°. This effect, was produced by the heated air
being impelled into the body of the house amongst the plants, instead
of being permitted to rise, as it had previously done, and to come
instantly into contact with the roof: by suspending light bodies
amongst the plants, he ascertained that the previously confined air was
thus constantly kept in a state of rapid motion. The air was suffered
to escape through passages of four inches wide and two inches and a
half high, just below the junction of the roof and back wall, which
passages were placed at the same equal distances as those in the front
wall, and, like those, were ‘opened or closed as circtimstances required.
The trouble of opening or closing such passages, after substances of
proper form were prepared and, suspended for the purpose, was much
less than that of moving the lights of any house of ordinary construc-
tion; and the effect of the kind of ventilation obtained upon the
growth of his plants and fruit, was everything he wished it to be.
(For the plan referred to, see Physiological Payers, t, 7.)

Another method, employed by Mz. Kyieut, was the following :—By
passing pipes, open at each end, through the heating materials of a
hotbed, one end being in the interior of the frame, and the other
exposed to the open air, he succeeded in constantly renewing the
atmosphere of the frame, and in keeping the leaves in motion, with, as
he tells us, the happiest effect.

Mr. Williams, of Pitmaston, pursued another course. He kept the
south end of his Melon-frame open to the outward air night and day,
except that it was covered over with a screen of ‘‘fly-wire”’ painted black,
and continued in the inclination of the roof. This screen received the
rays of the sun from 10 a.m. to 3 P.M, all summer long; it became
heated to 80° or 100°, and consequently heated the air that passed
between its interstices, By raising the sashes at the back, a very
powerful current of air was established; the thermometer ranged
from 80° to 90° below the leaves in a sunny day, and in short the
‘atmosphere was as hot as is experienced in the southern parts
of Italy, with almost as much ventilation as if
growing in the open air.”—See Journal of Horti-
cultural Society, vol i., page 43. The plan of
Mr, Williams might be modified by such a contrivance
as is shown in the annexed section. Let A B repre-.
sent a section of a front wall, or wooden frame; C, a
hole; D E F, a screen of zinc or iron, painted black,
nailed to it in front. It is obvious that when the
sun shines on the black plate, D E, it will rapidly
heat, and communicate its temperature to the air b
below it; the latter would immediately pass through "8 XXXII.
C, and with a force proportioned to the elevation of its temperature.

At Drayton Manor, the late Sir Robert Peel, with tle advice, we

Q

226

VENTILATION BY DRAINS.

believe, of the celebrated George Stephenson, effected thus the ventila-
tion of a vinery heated by hot-water. Underground drains were sunk,
3 feet deep, at right angles to the front wall, and extending from its
inside to a walk about 12 feet distant from the house, and parallel with
it. At each end of the drains was a perpendicular shaft; that in the
inside opened immediately behind and below the hot-water pipes, and
was never closed ; that in the open air was closed by a moveable square
plug. So long as the plug remained in its place no ventilation took
place. As soon as the plug was removed, the denser external air
pressed down into the shaft, and, rushing through the drain, delivered
itself among the hot-water pipes, expanding rapidly in the house, and
dispersing itself among the plants. The drains being always damp, on
account of their depth in the moist heavy clay of Drayton Manor, the
air which passed through them was always charged with as much
moisture as was required. When the author saw this apparatus at
work, some years since, its action was all that could be desired; and
it would appear, from the following communication, made to the
Gardeners’ Chronicle, of January 28, 1854, that the merit of the plan is
recognised in the neighbourhood :—‘‘I beg to add my testimony to the
advantages of underground drains for admitting air constantly to plants,
especially in such weather as we have lately had, when other means of
aération must have been but limited. The plan adopted here is
different from that at Drayton Manor; one large pipe is laid 3 feet
deep, beginning at 90 feet from the front flues; it is carried to within
15 feet of the intended openings in the house, where three small pipes
are cemented with their ends inside the larger one, one giving air in
the middle of the house, the two others at equal distances on either
side. It was inconvenient to bring the drain in front of the house,
consequently it begins at the back, and is carried under the floor of the
potting-shed and the house itself to the front flues. Besides the advan-
tage of furnishing air at all times, the drains materially assist in
keeping out frost; taking, for instance, the morning of January 3,
when the thermometer was at 4°, I firmly believe that the plants would
have been frozen, had it not been for the air admitted at the tempera-
ture of the earth three feet deep. I should prefer the plan employed at
Drayton Manor, where the drains are in front, and each drain entire
throughout. The late Mr. Milne (once gardener at Drayton) told me
that the drains exceeded his most sanguine expectations, as indeed the
health of his plants abundantly testified. I should mention that the
heating apparatus in the house above alluded to is very small—quite
insufficient for such extreme cold as that on the night of January 2.
On stopping the drains on cold nights, the temperature of the house has
‘een lower than on similar nights when the drains have been open,

.the external temperature in both cases being the same.—Z. Dowell,

Amington Hall,”

CHAPTER V.
—+
OF SEED-SOWING.

WaeEn a seed is committed to the earth, it undergoes certain
chemical changes before it can develope new parts and grow.
These changes are brought about by heat and water, assisted
by the absence of light. In many seeds the vital principle is
so strong, that to scatter them upon the soil, and to cover
them slightly with earth, is sufficient to insure their speedy
germination; but in others the power of growth will only
manifest itself under more favourable conditions: it is, there-
fore, necessary to consider well upon what the circumstances
most suitable to germination depend.

Moisture is necessary, but not an unlimited quantity. Ifa
seed is thrown into water and exposed to a proper tempera-
ture, the act of germination will take place: but, unless the
plant is an aquatic, it will speedily perish; no doubt because
its powers of respiration are impeded, and it is unable to
decompose the water it absorbs, which collects in its cavities
and becomes putrid. There must, therefore, be some amount
of water, which to the dormant as well as the vegetating plant
is naturally more suitable than any other; and experience
shows that quantity to be just so much as the particles of
earth can retain around and among them by the mere force of
attraction. To this is to be ascribed the advantage derived
from those mixtures of peat, loam, and sand, which gardeners
prefer for their seedlings; the peat and sand together keep
asunder the particles of loam which would otherwise adhere and
prevent the percolation of water; the loam retains moisture

Q 2

228 DEPTH AT WHICH TO SOW SEEDS.

with force enough to prevent its passing off too quickly through
the wide interstices of sand and peat.

If, during the delicate action of germination, the changes
that the seed undergoes take place without interruption, the
young plant makes its appearance in a healthy state; but,
if by irregular variations of heat, light, and moisture, the
progress of germination is sometimes accelerated and some-
times stopped, the unstable forces upon which vitality depends
may become so much deranged as to be no longer able to act,
and the seed will die. It is for the purpose of securing unifor-
mity in these respects, that we employ, in delicate cases,
the steady heat of a gentle hot-bed, shaded; and, in other
cases, the assistance of a coating of earth scattered over the
seed,

Under what depth of earth seed should be buried must
always be judged of by the experience of the gardener: but it
should be obvious that minute seeds, whose powers of growth
must be feeble in proportion to their size, will bear only a very
slight covering; while others, of a larger size and more vigour,
will be capable, when their vital powers are once put in action,
of upheaving considerable weights of soil. As, however, the
extent of this power is usually uncertain, the judicious garde-
ner will take care to employ, for a covering, no more earth
than is really necessary to preserve around his seeds the
‘requisite degree of darkness and moisture. An erroneous
opinion is not uncommonly entertained, that seeds must be
“well” buried in order that the young plants, when produced,
may have “sufficient hold of the ground.” But a seed, when
it begins to grow, plunges its roots downwards and throws its
stem upwards from a common point, which is the seed itself;
and, consequently, all the space that intervenes between the
surface of the soil and the seed is occupied by the base of the
stem, and not by roots. This is well illustrated by the germi-
nation of such seeds as those of the Araucaria, which always
grow best when merely laid on the surface of the soil with a
little earth raised round their edges.

The finest Oaks spring from acorns dropped in the forest
and covered by a few leaves. The Sycamore, the Ash, the

EVILS OF DEEP SOWING. 229

Beech, thé Horse Chesnut will all sow themselves wherever
their seeds can stick to the ground until a coverlet of leaves is
moistened by an April shower and warmed by an April sun.
Neither have such seeds any difficulty in steadying themselves
by their roots; a fang is driven by vital impulse into the earth,
as in the Araticaria, and it is to that, and not to the buried

Fig. XX XIII.—Germination of Araucaria imbricata ; a, the seed after it has inserted its radicle
in the soil, the stem leaves just appearing ; b, the same seed at a later period
firmly fixed in the ground by its root.

neck of the stem, that the seedling trusts for support and .
nourishment.

It is not a little remarkable that not only do seeds germinate
unwillingly if buried too deep; but that although they may
grow they cannot, even if forest trees, develope with vigour for
many years. It is for the purpose of placing seeds in the
most favourable condition as regards air, light, and moisture, that
when very small they are merely scattered upon the surface of
the soil, and covered with a coating of straw or moss, which
may be removed when the young seedlings are found to have
established themselves. Inverting a garden pot over seeds in
the open ground is practised for the same purpose. In other
cases very minute seeds are mixed with sand before they are
sown,

230. TEMPERATURE OF SOIL IMPORTANT,

The latter practice is not, however, merely for the sake of
covering the seed with the smallest possible quantity of soil,
but has for its object the separation of seeds to such a dis-
tance, that when they germinate they may not choke up each
other. If seedlings, like other plants, are placed so near
together that they either exhaust the soil of its organizable
matter, or overshadow each other so as to hinder the requisite
quantity of light, some will die in order that the remainder
may live; and this, in the case of rare seeds, should, of course,
be guarded against very carefully.

‘The injuriousness of covering seed with too much earth arises less
from the superincumbent pressure of the soil, than from the exclusion
of atmospheric air, which is quite indispensable to germination, The
seed of the common Flax comes up at different periods, according
as it is planted in one, two, or three inches depth of soil; if it be
sown four inches below the surface it will not come up at all. Not that
air does not penetrate to this depth in the soil, but the quantity of air
will very much depend on the looser or denser character of the soil.
Thouin, in his Cours d’ Agriculture, remarks that small seeds should
be covered only a line deep with earth, and this spread over very
loosely ; seeds of the size of Peas and Beans, about three-quarters of an
inch deep, and the bulky seeds of our fruit-trees, such as the Apricot,
Nuts, Peaches, Almonds, with from two to three inches of soil,”—
German Translation,

With regard to the temperature to which a seed should be
subjected, in order to secure its germination, this, undoubtedly,
varies with different species, and depends upon their peculiar
habits, and the temperature of the climate of which they are
native. So far as general rules can be given upon such a
subject, it may be stated that the temperature of the earth
most favourable for germination is 50° to 55° for the seeds of
cold countries, 60° to 65° for those of “greenhouse plants,”
and 70° to 80° for those of the torrid zone. We are assured
by Mr. Cowan, that although the Cocoa-nut is cultivated in
the mountainous parts of Jamaica; where the atmospheric
temperature varies from 60° to 90°, it only assumes the
characteristic grandeur of Palms, and can only be propagated
with certainty, by the seaside, where the heat of the soil exceeds
120°. And it may be laid down as a rule, in sowing tropical

EXPERIMENTS ON TEMPERATURE BY EDWARDS AND COLIN. 231

seeds, that, how well soever a plant may grow at the minimum
temperature of its native locality, the maximum temperature of
that spot ought to be maintained while the seeds are vegetating.

We have no exact experiments upon this subject, except in a
few cases recorded by Messrs. Edwards and Colin, by whom
there is a very valuable set of observations upon the tempera-
tures borne by certain agricultural seeds (Annales des Sciences,
Qnd series, vol. v. p. 5), the result of which may be thus
stated :—

At 446°, Wheat, Barley, and Rye could germinate.
95°, in water, for three days, + of the Wheat and Rye, and all the
Barley, were killed. ,
104°, in sand and earth, the same seeds sustained the temperature
for a considerable time, without inconvenience.
113°, under the same circumstances, most of them perished.
122°, ditto ditto all perished,

But it was found that, for short periods of time, a much
higher temperature could be borne.

At 143-6, in vapour, Wheat, Barley, Kidneybeans, and Flax retained
their vitality for 4 quarter of an hour; but in 271 minutes,
the three last died at a temperature of 125:6°.

167°, in vapour, they all perished.
167°, in dry air, they sustained no injury.

It will be presently seen that some seeds will bear a much
higher temperature.

“ In order to render this important subject yet more clear, we subjoin
a report on the labours of Edwards and Colin, derived from the pages
of Froriep’s Zeitschrift. Messrs. Edwards and Colin read an article
upon this subject before the Academy of Sciences on the 18th of April,
1837, which constitutes the third part of their Researches upon Agrt-
cultural Phystology. Their experiments led to the following results :—

1. “‘In free moist air, yet considerably removed from the point of
saturation, seeds did not germinate.

2. “Germination took place among Cereal plants, Summer Wheat,
Winter Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye, when placed in an atmosphere fully
saturated with moisture.

3, ‘* When placed under water they required eight times as long a
period before they germinated.

232

of

or

EXPERIMENTS ON TEMPERATURE BY EDWARDS AND COLIN.

4, “If the number of seeds or grains be increased, and twenty-five be
employed instead of five, and brought into an atmosphere saturated with
moisture, without placing the experiment under a larger bell than in
the last instances, germination does not take place.

5. “The same is also the case if the original number, for instance,
five grains are employed, and covered with a bell much larger, in which
case germination is very much retarded, if not prevented.

6. ‘* The circumstances which produce this retardation or hinderance
of germination, depend on the influence of temperature upon the
moisture of the air.

7. “Tf the temperature is low, and undergoes little or no change,
germination will take place as soon under a small bell as under a
large one.

8. “If the temperature is higher, moderate, and changeable, the
germination will be retarded under a large bell.

9. ‘This occurs when during the daily change the temperature
increases, and the air has a tendency to depart from a state of perfect
saturation, and if the space is great, the diffused vapour is in part
absorbed by the seed, and the air never reaches the point of
saturation,

10. ‘ These effects probably do not ‘proceed from the fact that the
seed had not absorbed enough vapour; in a low constant temperature
seeds absorb less water than in a higher, and in the first case germina-
tion takes place, and in the last it is retarded or entirely prevented.

11,.‘‘These remarkable facts are produced by the air not being
sufficiently saturated with vapour to allow of the necessary a
of moisture to the external membrane of the seed.

12, ‘In germination, two principal conditions with regard to the
vapour are required to take place ; first, that the seed absorbs enough
vapour for the function of nutrition ; and second, that the external air
be saturated with sufficient vapour to soften -sufficiently the testa of
the seed.

13. “Through the simultaneous action of water and vapour, germina-
tion constantly takes place, and earlier where the air is saturated with
moisture..

14, “With regard to the application of these principles to seeds
sown in different kinds of soil, the authors found that germination took
place by the agency of vapour when seeds were placed in sand and clay,
but in both cases the process was longer, especially in the clay, which
absorbed the vapour slowly, and imparted it slowly to the seeds.”—
German Translation.

The foregoing observations apply to seeds in a perfect state
health; when they have become sickly or feeble, from age
other causes, some precautions become necessary, to which,

EVIL EFFECTS OF WATER IN EXCESS. 233

under other circumstances, no attention requires to be paid.
When the vital energies of a seed are diminished, it does not
lose its power of absorbing water, but it is less capable of
decomposing it. The consequence of this is that the free
water introduced into the system collects in the cavities of the
seed, and produces putrefaction ; the sign of which is the
rotting of seeds in the ground. The remedy for this is to
present water to the seed in such small quantities at a time,
and so gradually, that no more is absorbed than the languid
powers of the seed can assimilate; and to increase the quantity
only as the dormant powers of vegetation are aroused. One of
the best means of doing this is to sow seeds in warm soil toler-
ably dry; to trust for some time to the moisture that exists in
such. earth and the atmosphere for the supply required for
germination ; and only to administer water when the signs of
germination have become visible; even then the supply should
be extremely small. If this is attended to, carbonic acid is very
slowly formed and liberated; the chemical quality of the con-
tents of the seed is thus insensibly altered, each act of
respiration may be said to invigorate it, and by degrees it will
be brought to a condition favourable to the assimilation of food
in larger quantities. Mr. Knight used to say that these effects
were produced in no way so well as by enclosing seeds between
two pieces of loamy turf, cut smooth, and ‘applied to each
other by the underground sides; such a method is, however,
scarcely applicable to any except seeds of considerable size.

“Tt will happen at times that small seeds, such as Cabbage seed,
Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, &c., do not come away after they are sown,
during dry and warm seatlion: Last spring, some of my crops failed
in the first sowing. About a month after the regular time for sowing
these seeds, a few drills were made in moist peat, and in the drills was
“put some guano, to cover which peat-mould was also used. The seeds
were afterwards sown, being chiefly Broccoli, Cabbages and Iceland
Greens. After they were sown and covered up, the heat still continued;
the surface of the peat became as dry as tinder, and would have burned
if fire had been applied to it. However, the seed that was sown
vegetated freely, the plants grew rapidly, and were as fit for planting
out at the proper time as the few that remained of those that had. been
sown a month before,, Another great advantage attended those that

234 PECULIAR MODES OF SOWING.

‘ were sown in the peat: when they required to be lifted, the roots
brought a ball of peat along with them, which I think was very bene-
ficial to the plants, in keeping the roots moist after they were planted
in the ground where they were to remain. It may not be necessary to
sow at all times in such a soil; but I believe that a garden would be
none the worse in having a few square yards of well-broken peat for
sowing some kinds of seeds upon, as occasion might require.” —Peter
Mackenzie, in the Gardeners’ Chronicle,

Tn all cases it is useful to sow seeds on fibrous matter of some kind
when they have to be transplanted. Mr. Knight used chopped hay;
others use broken horse-droppings, the object in every case being to
give the seedlings something in which their roots may be entangled
at the time of transplantation, so as to remove without injury.

Other expedients have occasionally been had recourse to
successfully. Where seeds are enclosed in a very hard dry
shell, it is usually necessary to file it thin, so as to permit the
embryo to burst through its integuments when it has begun to
swell. Under natural circumstances, indeed, no such operation
is practised: but it is to be remembered that such seeds will
have fallen to the ground as soon as ripe, and before their
shell acquired the bony hardness that we find after they have
become dry.

Sometimes it has been found useful to immerse seeds in
tepid water until signs of germination manifest themselves, and
then to transfer them to earth; but this process cannot be
applied with advantage to seeds in an unhealthy state; and it
is only of use to healthy seeds, by accelerating the time of
growth, a practice which may, in out-door crops, be desirable
when applied to seeds which, like the Beet, the Carrot, or the
Parsnip, will, in dry seasons, lie so long in the ground without
germinating that they become a prey to birds or other animals.

During the spring months, seed sowing is very apt to get into arrear.
When such is the case, a fortnight may be recovered by having recourse
to the steeping process, and it is always a safe plan during the pre-
valence of drought, There is sometimes moisture in the ground suffi-
cient to induce the first stage of germination, yet by the time that is
accomplished, and before the tender radicle has extended beyond the
veach of accident, drought has overtaken it. But in all cases if a seed
is on the eve of germination, previous to its insertion in the soil, and if
the soil is fresh dug, the young plant will in general establish itself in

EFEECT OF BOILING SEED. 235

safety. A method employed by practical men is to steep seed in water
of about 80° for about six hours or more, according to the character of
the seed, and to place the vessel where it will maintain that temperature ;
then to strain the water away, and to remove the vessel to a more
moderate temperature, say 65°, until the first signs of sprouting, when
the seed-bed should be instantly prepared ; the vessel, after pouring the
water off, should be covered with a cloth to prevent the surface seeds
from drying up; itis also necessary to turn the seeds once or twice, in
doing which care must be taken that the young radicle, if it has
chipped the shell, be not broken off,

Of late years the singular practice has been introduced of
boiling seeds to promote germination. This was, I believe,
first recommended by Mr. Bowie, who stated, in the Gardener's
Magazine, vol. viii. p. 5. (1882), that “he found the seeds of
nearly all leguminous plants germinate more readily by having
water heated to 200°, or even to the boiling poimt of
Fahrenheit’s scale, poured over them, leaving them to steep
and the water to cool for twenty-four hours.” Subsequently,
the practice has been adopted by other persons with perfect
success; and, some years ago, seedlings of Acacia lophantha
were exhibited before the Horticultural Society by the late
Mr. Thomas Cary Palmer, which had sprung from seeds boiled
for as much as five minutes. I am also acquainted with other
cases, one of the more remarkable of which was the germina-
tion of the seeds of the Raspberry, picked from a jar of jam,
and which must therefore have been exposed to the temperature
of 230°, the boiling point of syrup. Itis difficult to understand
in what way so violent an action can be beneficial to anything
possessing vitality; the fact, however, is certain. As such
instances of success are confined to seeds with hard shells, it is
possible that the heated fluid may act in part mechanically by
cracking the shell, in part as a solvent of the matters enclosed
in the seed, and in part’as a stimulant.

Some years since Mr. Lymburn, nurseryman at Kilmarnock,
called attention to the effect produced upon germinating seeds
by alkaline substances. He stated that experiments narrated
in Brewster’s Journal of Science, having shown that the negative
or alkaline pole of a galvanic battery caused seeds to germinate
in much less time than the positive or acid pole, he was induced

236 EFFECT OF DEOXYDISING SEED.

to observe the effects on seeds of acetic, nitric, and sulphuric
acids, and also of water rendered alkaline by potash and
ammonia. “In the alkaline the seeds vegetated in thirty
hours, and were well developed in forty; while in the acetic
and sulphuric they took seven days; and, even after a month,
they had not begun to grow in the acetic.” This experiment
led to others upon lime; ‘a very easily procured alkali, and
which he inferred to be more efficient than any other from the
well known affinity of quick or newly slacked lime for carbonic
acid. Lime, as taken from the quarry, consists of carbonate of
lime, or lime united to carbonic acid; but, in the act of burning;
the carbonic acid is driven off; and hence the great affinity
of newly slacked lime for carbonic acid. He depended, there-
fore, upon this affinity to extract the carbon from the starch,
assisted by moisture;” (Gard. Mag., xiv. 74) and he reported
that the results were exceedingly striking. Old Spruce Fir
seed, which would scarcely germinate at two years old,
produced a fine healthy crop when three years old, having been
first damped and. then mixed with newly slacked lime; and,
under the same treatment, an average crop of healthy plants
was obtained when the seed was four years old. The manner
in which the original experiments upon acids and alkalies were
conducted is not explained ; it is to be presumed that the water
employed was only acidulated with the acids spoken of. It is,
however, certain that whatever effect may be practically experi-
enced when particular solutions are employed it has no relation
to electrical action. Mr. Edward Solly proved experimentally
in the garden of the Horticultural Society that electricity has
no discoverable influence upon vegetation either in its active
growth or during the period of germination. (See Journal of
Hort. Soc, vol. i., p. 81, and ii, p, 45.)

The last method of promoting germination, to which it is
necessary to advert, is the mixing seeds with agents that have
the power of liberating oxygen. It has been shown that a seed
cannot germinate until the carbon with which it is loaded is to
a considerable extent removed ; the removal of this principle is
effected by converting it into carbonic acid, for which purpose
a large supply of oxygen is required. Under ordinary circum-

INUTILITY OF SEED-STEEPING. 287

stances, the oxygen is furnished by the decomposition of water
by the vital forces of the seed; but when those forces are
languid, it has been proposed to supply oxygen by some other
means. Humboldt employed a dilute solution of chlorine,
which has a powerful tendency to decompose water, and set
oxygen at liberty, and, it is said, with great success. Oxalic
acid has also been used for the same purpose. Mr. Otto, of
Berlin, states that he employs oxalic acid to make old seeds
germinate. The seeds are put into a bottle filled with oxalic
acid, and- remain there till the germination is observable,
which generally takes place in from twenty-four to forty-eight
hours, when the seeds are taken out, and sown in the usual
manner. Another way is to wet a woollen cloth with oxalic
acid, on which the seeds are put, and it is then folded up and
kept in a stove; by this method small and hard seeds will
germinate equally as well asin the bottle. Also very small seeds
are sown in pots and placed in a hotbed; and oxalic acid,
much diluted, is applied twice or thrice a day till they begin to
grow. Particular care must be taken to remove the seeds out
of the acid as soon as the least vegetation is observable.
Mr. Otto found that by this means seeds which were from
twenty to forty years old grew, while the same sort, sown in the
usual manner, did not grow at all (Gard. Mag., viii. 196):
and it is asserted by Dr. Hamilton (Zb., x. 868, 458,) and others,
that they have found decided advantages from the employment
of this substance. Theoretically it would seem that the effects
described ought to be produced, but general experience does
not confirm them; and it may be conceived that the rapid
abstraction of carbon, by the presence of an unnaturally large
quantity of oxygen, may produce effects as injurious to the
health of the seed, as its too slow destruction in consequence
of the languor of the vital principle.
It is an old assertion, revived within the last few years, that certain

agents have a powerful action not only upon the germinating seed, but
upon plants in their after growth, and that marvellous crops have been
obtained by mere SEED-sTEEPING, in certain solutions, without other
aid, A German, of the name of Bickes, has more especially made

himself: conspicuous for the enthusiasm with which he has propagated
this opinion. That he laboured under some delusion, is, however,

238 DURABILITY OF SEED-LIFE—COLOURED LIGHT. |

certain ; for no such results as those he speaks of can be obtained. (See
Journal of the Hort. Soc., vol. ii. p. 35.) The subject has been treated
with great care by Professor Edward Solly, whose experiments are
recorded in the Transactions of the Hort. Soc., 2nd series, vol. iii,
p- 197. Not only did he fail to discover any practical advantage in
steeping seeds in chemical solutions, but upon the whole his results
showed it to be injurious ; and in no one instance did it appear that the
effect of the steeping went beyond the period of germination. The
trial of Bickes’ method equally failed in the Jardin des Plantes, as we
learn from the Revue Horticole,

The length of time that some seeds will lie in the ground,
under circumstances favourable to germination, without growing,
is very remarkable, and inexplicable upon any known principle.
If the Hawthorn be sown immediately after the seeds are ripe,
a part will appear as plants the next spring; a larger number
the second year; and stragglers, sometimes in considerable
numbers, even in the third and fourth seasons. Seeds of the
genera Ribes, Berberis, and Peonia have a similar habit.
M. Savi is related by De Candolle to have had, for more than
ten years, a crop of Tobacco from one original sowing; the
young plants having been destroyed yearly, without being
allowed to form their seed. This matter does not, perhaps,
concern the theory of horticulture, for theory is incapable of
explaining it; but itis a fact that it is useful to know, because
it may prevent still living seeds from being thrown away, under
the idea that, as they did not grow the first year, they will
never grow at all.

Mr. Hunt believes that coloured light exercises a peculiar
influence upon germination; that yellow light prevents it, and
red light impedes it, while blue light accelerates it in a
remarkable degree. But when seeds have been made to
germinate beneath red, yellow, and blue plates of glass, no
other result has been practically obtained than what may be
referred to the action of bright light on the one hand, and
shade on the other. If under blue glass seeds germinate more
quickly than under red or yellow, it seems to be because they
are much more shaded. At all events Mr. Hunt’s ingenious
inquiries into the effect of coloured light on plants seem to
have no practical bearing.

CHAPTER VI.

—+—
OF SEED-SAVING.

Tue maturation of the seed, being a vital action indispen-
sable to the perpetuation of a species, is, in wild plants,
guarded from interruption by so many wise precautions, that
no artificial assistance is required in the process; but in
gardens, where plants are often enfeebled by domestication,
or exposed to conditions very different from those to which
they are subject in their natural state, the seed often
refuses to ripen, or even to commence the formation of an
embryo. In such cases, the skill of gardeners must aid the
workings of nature, and art has to effect that which the
failing powers of a plant are unable to bring about of them-
selves.

Sterility is a common malady of cultivated plants; the finer
varieties of fruit, and all double and highly cultivated flowers,
being more frequently barren than fertile. This arises from
several different causes.

The most common cause of sterility is an unnatural develop-
ment of some organ in the vicinity of the seed, which attracts
to itself the organizable matter that would otherwise be
applicable to the support of the seed. Of this the Pear, the
Pine-apple, and the Plantain are illustrative instances. The
nutrition which is intended for the seed is applied to the
enlargement of the fleshy part of such fruits, and the seeds
are starved. The more delicate varieties of Pear, such as the
Gansel’s Bergamot and the Chaumontelle, have rarely any
seeds; of Pine-apple, none, except the Enville now and then,
have seeds, and that variety, though a large one, is of little

240 CAUSE OF STERILITY.

value for its delicacy, and probably approaches nearly to the
wild state of the plant; of Plantains few, except the wild and
crabbed sorts, are seedful. The remedy for this appears to be,
the withholding from such plants all the sources from which
their succulence can be encouraged. If, in consequence of
any predisposition to form succulent tissue (on which the excel-
lence of fruit much depends), the organizable mattér of the
plant be once diverted from feeding the seed to those parts in
which the succulence exists, it will continue, by the action of
endosmose, to be attracted thither more powerfully than to
any other part, and the effect of this will be the abortion of
the seed’: but a scanty supply of food, an unhealthy condition
of the plant itself, or withholding the usual quantity of water,
will all check the tendency to luxuriance, and therefore will
favour the developement of the seed, whose feeble attracting
force is, in that case, not so likely to be overcome by the
accumulation of attracting power in the neighbouring parts.
Thus we see that Pine-apples are more frequently seedful
under bad cultivation, than in highly kept and skilfully
managed pineries. Abstraction of branches, in the neigh-
bourhood of fruit, has also been occasionally found favourable
to the formation of seed; evidently because the food that
would have been conveyed into the branches, having no outlet,
is forced into the fruit, and thus reaches the seed. °

Another cause of sterility is the deficiency of pollen in the
anthers of a given plant, as in vegetable mules, which usually
partake of the spermatic debility so well known in similar
cases in the animal kingdom. It has often been found
that sterility of this kind is cured by the application, to the
seedless plant, of the vigorous pollen of another less debilitated
variety. ;

In some plants, such as Pelargoniums, when cultivated, the
anthers shed their pollen before the stigma is ready to receive
its influence, and thus sterility results. All such cases are
provided for, by employing the pollen of another flower. (See
Sweet in the Gardener's Magazine, vii. 206.)

_ An unfavourable state of the atmosphere obstructs the
action of pollen, and thus produces sterility. Pollen will not

CAUSES OF STERILITY. 241

produce its impregnating tubes in too low a temperature, or
when the air is charged with moisture ; neither, in the absence
of wind or insects, have some plants the power of conveying
the pollen to the stigma, their anthers having no special
irritability, and only opening for the discharge of the pollen,
not ejecting it with force, unless the filaments are irritable
enough to knock the anther violently against the pistil ; or,
unless the stigmatic apparatus possesses special irritability, as
is the case with certain Orchids. If we watch the Hazel, or
any of the Coniferous order, in which the enormous quantity
of pollen employed to secure the impregnation of the seed
renders it easy to see what happens, it will be found that no
pollen is scattered in damp cold weather; but, in a sunny,
warm, dry morning, the atmosphere surrounding such plants
is, in the impregnating season, filled with grains of pollen
discharged by the anthers. In wet springs the crops of fruit
fail, because the anthers are not sufficiently dried to shrivel
and discharge their contents, which remain locked up in the
anther cells till the power of impregnation is lost ; or perhaps
because, as a critic has suggested, the wet operates injuriously
upon the very constitution of the pollen, and of the stigmatic
surface. In vineries and forcing-houses generally, into which
no air is admitted to disturb the foliage, nor any artificial
means employed for the same end, and when the season is too
early for the presence of bees, flies, and other insects, the
grapes will not set: and in the frames of Melons and
Cucumbers, from which insects are excluded, no seed is formed
unless the pollen is conveyed by hand, from those flowers in
which it is formed, to others in which the young fruit alone is
generated. In all cases of this kind, the remedy for sterility,
where plants exist in an artificial condition, is evidently to set,
or fertilise them by hand; but, when they occur in the
orchard or the flower-garden, science suggests no assistance.
It is by hand-setting alone that in hot-houses, and in tropical
Asia, the Vanilla, a native of tropical America, can be
made to bear fruit; because, as is believed, the insects which
haunt the Vanilla flowers in America, and set them, are
unknown in Europe and Asia.

242 MONSTERS ARE STERILE,

It sometimes happens that particular parts of plants, distant
from the fruit, are so constructed as to attract to themselves the
food intended for the fruit, and thus to prevent the formation
of seed. For example:—The early varieties of Potato do
not readily produce seed, owing to the abstraction by their
tubers of the nutritive matter required for the support of the
seed. Mr. Knight found that by destroying the tubers in
part, as they formed, seeds were readily procured from such
varieties. .

But perhaps the most frequent cause of sterility is the
monstrous condition of the flowers of many cultivated plants.
& was explained in Book I. that the floral organs of plants are
nothing more than leaves, so modified as to be capable of
performing special acts, for particular purposes ; but they are
not capable of performing those acts any longer than they
retain their modified condition: and therefore the stamens
cannot secrete pollen, when, by accidental circumstances, they
are changed into leaves, as happens in double flowers ; in such
cases, there is nothing to fertilise the stigma, and, of course, no
seed is produced. Or the carpels themselves may be converted
into leaves, and have lost their seed-bearing property. Double
flowers in the latter case cannot possibly bear seed; but in the
condition first mentioned they may, and often do. To bring this
about, the cultivator plants in the vicinity of his sterile flowers
others of the same species, in which a part at least of the
stamens are perfect, and they furnish a sufficiency of pollen for
the impregnation of the other flowers in which there are no
stamens.

In some cases, principally in those of Composite flowers, the
seed is formed and advanced towards perfection, and then
decays; this is owing to the flower heads of such plants being
composed, in a great measure, of soft scales, absorbent and
retentive of moisture, to which, in their own country, they are
not exposed in the: fruiting season, but by which they are
affected under the hands of the cultivator. When the heads of
such flowers are soaked with moisture, which they cannot get
rid of, the scales rot, decay spreads to all the other parts, and
thus the production of seed is prevented. The Chinese

SEEDS MUST BE RIPE. 243

Chrysanthemum is a familiar instance of this. Such plants
seed readily if the flower heads are kept warm and dry; and it
is thus that the sterile Chrysanthemum has been made seedful;
that is to say, by growing it in a dry warm winter border, pro-
tected from showers by a roof of glass; or by using some
similar means of guarding it; or by rearing it in a warm dry
climate.

When seeds are freely produced, it is not altogether a subject
of indifference in what way they are saved, if it is desired that
their progeny should be the most perfect that can be obtained.
Weak seeds produce weak plants, and therefore recourse should
be had, in all delicate cases, to artificial means for gaining
seminal vigour. In general, the cultivator trusts to his eye for
separating the plumpest and most completely formed seeds; or
to floating them in water, selecting only the heavy grains that
sink, and rejecting all those which are buoyant enough to float.
But the energy of the vital principle in a seed may be,
undoubtedly, increased by abstracting neighbouring fruits, by
improving the general health of the parent plant, by a full
exposure of it to light, and by prolonging the period of
maturation as much as is consistent with the health of the
fruit.

It is a general rule that seedlings take after their parents,
an unhealthy mother producing a diseased offspring, and a
vigorous parent yielding a healthy progeny in all their minute
gradations and modifications; and this is so true, that, as
florists very well know, semi-double Ranunculuses, Anemones,
and similar flowers, will rarely yield double varieties, while
the seed of the latter as unfrequently give birth to semi-double
degenerations.

Independently of these things, it is indispensable that the
seed of a plant, when saved, should be perfectly ripe, if it is
intended to be laid by for future sowing. The effect of ripening
is to load the seed with carbon in the form of starch, or some
other substance of a similar kind, and to deprive it of water,
conditions necessary for its preservation: but, if a seed is
gathered before being ripe, these conditions are not secured ;

and, in proportion to the deficiency of the requisite elements
» 2

244 SEEDS MUST BE KEPT DRY.

which maintain vitality, and superabundance of water, is the
seed liable to perish.

The complete maturation of the seed is, however, a disad-
vantage, when it has to be sown immediately after being
gathered; for the embryo is formed, and capable of germinating,
long before the period of greatest maturity. There are two
periods in the latter part of the organization of a seed which,
although separated by no limits, require to be distinguished. The
first is that when the embryo is completed; and the second is
when nature has, in addition, furnished it with the means of
maintaining its vitality for a long period. It is just as capable
of growing at the expiration of the first period as of the second;
it will do so immediately if committed to the ground; and we
see it actually happening to Peas, Beans, Corn, and other field
crops, in wet summers; but at the end of the second period, it
cannot germinate till it has relieved itself of matters not
required for vegetation, which, during that period, were deposited
in its tissue. ‘

If seeds are to be preserved for a length of time, a state of
complete dryness is so necessary to them that it has been re-
commended to increase it by artificial means; not, however,
by the application of heat, or by any process like that of kiln-
drying, which would destroy their vitality; but by some of
those chemical processes that dry the atmosphere without rais-
ing its temperature. It occurred to Mr. Livingstone, that air
made dry by means of sulphuric acid might be advantageously
employed for this purpose, and he says that the success of his
experiments was complete. He placed the seeds to be dried
in the pans of Leslie’s ice machine, and carefully replaced the
receiver without exhausting the air; small seeds were suffi-
ciently dried in one or two days, and the largest seeds in less
than a week. (Hort. Trans., iii. 184.) Other contrivances might
easily be adopted. Muriate of lime, for instance, which has
the property of absorbing the moisture of the atmosphere,
might, perhaps, be employed with advantage in drying the air
in which seeds are placed after being gathered. But such
devices have little practical value, the sun being the great power
to which the gardener very properly trusts.

CHAPTER VII.

—e—

OF SEED-PACKING, AND PLANT-PACKING.

Tr seldom happens that seeds are sown as soon as they are
ripe; it is sometimes desirable that they should be preserved
for long periods of time ; the power of conveying them for great
distances, through various climates, is one of those upon which
man most depends for the improvement of the horticultural
resources of all countries ; and for this purpose large sums are
annually expended, both by governments and individuals. It
is, therefore, an object of the first importance to ascertain what
is not well understood, as it would seem, namely, the causes
by which the destruction of the germinating power of seeds is
effected ; for it is only by doing this, that their preservation can
be secured.

Seeds are probably possessed of different powers of life, some
preserving their vital principle through centuries of time, while
others have but an ephemeral existence under any circum-
stances. The reasons for this difference are unknown to us,
and apparently depend upon specific vitality, over which we
have no control; but the fact of great longevity in some seeds
is certain, and it is highly desirable that the conditions which
enable them to preserve their germinating power for long
periods of time should be discovered.

It is, however, extremely difficult to reconcile with all known
facts any theory which physiology may suggest. What applies
to one class of cases fails to explain others. The instances
already mentioned at p. 108, are sufficiently conflicting; for
they include examples both of dryness and wetness, and of ex-
clusion of air and its admission; dryness and exclusion of air

246 HIGH VITALITY OF SEEDS.

being generally regarded as the immiediate causes of long pro-
tracted seminal vitality. The following instance mentioned
by a correspondent of the “ Gardeners’ Chronicle, (1848, p. 862)
is still more difficult of explanation. “In the progress of some
improvements about my premises, we had occasion to remove
an old privy, with its cesspool. After the removal of the soil
from the cistern of the latter, a ladling or dipping-hole was
discovered at one corner, completely filled with Gooseberry,
Currant, and Grape seeds, and a few Cherry-stones; in all,
about halfa bushel. It was evident that these seeds had been
the contributions of many summers, and that after resisting the
decomposing powers of human digestion, and then of the
putrid mass in which they had lain so long, they had made
their way, by their superior gravity, into the hole in question,
to the exclusion of all the more soluble materials. The cess-
pool and its superstructure were known to be at least fifty
years old; and although it was occasionally cleared out, it had
never been thought worth while to make the clearance so com-
plete as to empty the hole in which this curious ‘ depdt’ had
been made. The brickwork being grubbed up, and the soil
and seed thrown into a compost, little more was thought of the
matter till the next year, when, and for three or four years
after, seedling Gooseberries, Cherries, and Currants were found
springing in great numbers all about my garden, in various
parts of which the manure of this compost had been distributed.”
The ingenious observer from whom this fact was derived, sug-
gested in explanation, that “although we are not warranted in
supposing that any animal ovum can exist for years, much less
centuries, unchanged, under the most favourable circumstances
we can have any conception of, resistive of external agencies,
yet, such instances as the above, and that of Elder-seed,” men-
tioned in the Magazine of Natural History, for 1848, which
when strewed on the ground for manure came up in abundance,
although twice boiled in the process of making wine and even
afterwards present during fermentation, “would incline one to
believe, that in a lower order of created beings certain mole-
cular attractions may subsist for an indefinite period. conserva-
tive of the predisposition to vegetative action. This can hardly

MOISTURE FATAL. 247

be called life; it must be merely chemical combination, with
aptitude for life.”

The prevailing opinion on this subject among physiologists
is, that germination can only take place when moisture,
warmth, and a free communication with atmospheric air are
simultaneously present. If so, then such cases as the preceding
may be explained by the absence of one or other of the three
conditions assumed to be indispensable, moisture, heat, and
communication with the air.

The power of moisture exposed to the air, and in contact
with inert vegetable matter, such as a torpid seed, is by degrees
to produce decay, which rapidly spreads to the neighbouring
parts. But, if the vitality of a seed is excited by a fitting
temperature, the moisture with which it is in contact is then
decomposed, the oxygen so obtained combines with the carbon
of the seed, and forms carbonic acid which flies off, other
changes take place, and by degrees the matters lodged in the
tissue of the seed are brought into that condition which is best
suited for the growth of the embryo; then, if the embryo is so
situated that it cannot obtain from the surrounding medium
food upon which to subsist, its germination stops, and its stable
constituents having been exchanged for unstable ones, the
safeguard of its vitality is removed, and it perishes. If, how-
ever, the amount of moisture in contact with a seed is very
small, as in the dry earth at the bottom of a tumulus for in-
stance, the temperature at the same time low, and the access
of atmospheric air cut off, neither putrefaction nor germination
is likely to occur.

When seeds are exposed to a high temperature in dryness,
they will not perish, unless the temperature rises beyond
any thing likely to occur under natural circumstances.
Edwards and Colin found that even wheat, barley, and rye,
inhabitants of temperate countries, would bear when dry 104°
for a long time without injury, although they died in three
days in water at 95°; and a much higher prolonged tempera-
ture may be expected to produce no ill effect upon seeds in-
habiting hotter countries. There is no apparent reason why
the exposure of dry seeds to the air should destroy vitality,

248 HERMETICAL ENCLOSURES BAD.

unless the exposure is very much prolonged; nor have we any
evidence to show that it does, so long as they remain dry. The
way in which the atmosphere would act injuriously upon dor-
mant seeds is, by its oxygen abstracting their carbon; and it
was formerly supposed that the carbonic acid extricated by
germinating seeds was formed in this way. But the very valu-
able observations and experiments of Messrs. Edwards and
Colin (See Comptes rendus del Académie des Sciences, vii. 922)
show that carbonic acid is formed by the assistance of the
oxygen obtained by the decomposition of water.

Chemists may question the sufficiency of this explanation; but, at all
events, it will not be denied that the preservation of vitality in seeds
depends upon preserving the stability of the chemical compounds of
which they consist. This we believe to be the hinge upon which every-
thing turns. Before a seed is quite ripe its elements are highly unstable
ot liable to change, and the least alteration in the conditions to which
they may be exposed will cause it either to germinate or perish, as is
seen in Oranges and Cucumbers, whose seeds will often germinate while
hidden within the fruit that bears them. But when a seed is perfectly
ripe its elements become comparatively stable or indisposed to change,
and to induce germination is in proportion difficult, while those altera-
tions which are succeeded by death are slow in taking effect.

Ifwe apply these considerations to the plans usually em-
ployed for preserving artificially the vitality of seeds, we shall
find them offer an explanation of the success that attends some
methods of packing, and the failure of others.

The great object of those who have devised means of packing
seeds for distant journeys has, in general, been to exclude the
air, and all other considerations have been subordinate to this.
Enclosure in bottles hermetically sealed, in papers thickly
coated with wax, in tin boxes, and similar contrivances, have,
therefore, been resorted to: but no advantage can be derived
from excluding the air, and the disadvantage is very great;
for the effect of excluding the air is to include whatever free
moisture seeds may contain or be surrounded by; this mois-
ture is sufficient, in high temperatures, to excite germination,
which, when it cannot be continued, inevitably ends in a decay
of the tissue, especially of the seed coats, which have no vitality
themselves, and the embryo perishes.

ALL CLOSE PACKAGES INJURIOUS. 249

What has, perhaps, tended to confirm this erroneous opinion have
been the stories current about seeds enclosed in mummy-cases for thou-
sands of years, having germinated. The newspapers abound in such
tales, which are all apocryphal, if not absolutely false. Even Mr.
Tupper’s mummy wheat, said to be the produce of grains taken out of
a mummy-case by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, (See Gard. Chron., 1846,
p. 757.) has been declared, by very high authority, to be a mystifica-
tion of the Arab guides. It is, however, to such instances that we may
ascribe the origin of wrapping seeds in wax-cloths, like the cerements
of the dead, or soldering them up in metal boxes, or hermetically sealing
them in glass.

Packing in charcoal has been recommended, it is difficult
to say why ; and experience shows what might have been anti-
cipated, that it produces no other effect than packing in earth
or other dry non-conducting material.

Clayed sugar has been employed, and, as it is said, occa-
sionally with advantage; but I have seen no instance of success,
and, on the contrary, its tendency to absorb moisture from the
air till it becomes capable of fermenting, is in itself an objec-
tion to the employment of this substance.

It is obvious that any contrivance which keeps out of a
packet of seeds the air of our atmosphere, will keep in the air
of theirs. Now the air of our atmosphere is dry, or if occasion-
ally damp, soon becomes dried, if seeds are exposed to it ina
room in which we live. On the other hand, all seeds are neces-
sarily damp, and they communicate their moisture to the air
that surrounds them ; the papers too in which they are packed
are damp, as may be seen by holding such papers before a fire,
when the damp will dry off in the form of vapour; and if this
air which surrounds the seeds is enclosed in an air-tight vessel
of any kind, it must always remain damp, because it cannot
‘be dried by ventilation. We may therefore assume, that
seeds in air-tight vessels are damp, but in situations freely
communicating with the atmosphere are comparatively dry.
So long as seed-packages are kept at a low temperature, this
difference is of no moment; because seeds cannot germinate,
or, in other words, cannot revive from their torpor, in a low
temperature: but let the temperature rise and the case is
altered. What seeds require in order to grow are moisture

250 CONDITIONS OF SECURITY.

and warmth; they cannot grow in damp without heat, nor in
warmth without moisture. It is the combination of these two
conditions that is absolutely requisite. "When they arrive in
warm latitudes, or are placed in warm situations, such as the
hold of a ship, the seeds in air-tight cases, being surrounded
with moisture, attempt to grow; those, on the contrary, which
are in ventilated packages, not being surrounded with moisture,
remain unchanged. The commencement of growth made by
the seeds in air-tight cases is presently arrested, in consequence
of the unfavourable circumstances under which it takes place,
and the seeds not being able to return to the state in which
they were before they began to germinate, speedily perish ;
but the seeds in ventilated packages, not having begun to
grow, still remain unaltered. The irresistible conclusion from
this is, that the true mode of packing seeds for long voyages
is, to put them in well-ventilated packages, and not in closed-
up cases. Such dryness as seeds can acquire from exposure
to the air cannot hurt them, but will, on the contrary, tend to
preserve their germinating powers.

Upon the whole, the only mode which is calculated to meet
all the circumstances to which seeds are exposed during a
voyage is, to dry them as thoroughly as possible, enclose them
in coarse paper, and to pack the papers themselves very loosely
in coarse canvass bags, not enclosed in boxes, but. freely ex-
posed to the air; and to insure their transmission in some dry
well-ventilated place. Thus, if the seeds are originally dried
incompletely, they will become further dried on their passage ;
if the seed paper is damp, as it almost always is, the moisture
in it will fly off through the sides of the bags, and not collect
around the seeds. It is true that, under such circumstances,
the seeds will be exposed to great fluctuations of temperature,
and to the influence of the atmosphere; but neither the one
nor the other of these is likely to be productive of injury to
the germinating principle. The excellence of this method I
can attest from my own observation. Large quantities of seeds
have been, annually transmitted from India for many years,
doubtless gathered with care, it is to be presumed prepared
with attention to the preservation of the vital principle, and

EXCEPTIONAL CASES, 251

certainly packed with all those precautions which have been
erroneously supposed to be advantageous; the hopelessness of
raising plants from such seeds at length became so apparent,
that persons would not take the trouble to sow them when
they arrived. On the other hand seeds sent from India,
packed in the manner last described, exposed to all the
accidents which those first mentioned can have encountered,
germinate so well, that we can scarcely say that the failure
has been greater than if they had been collected in the south
of Europe.

It is not to be doubted that the general badness of the seeds
from Brazil, from the Indian Archipelago, and from other
intertropical countries, is almost always to be ascribed to the
seeds having been originally insufficiently dried, and then en-
closed in tightly packed boxes, whence the superfluous moisture
had no means of escape.

But although experience shows that as a general rule in
SEED-PACKING, the great points to observe are the drying
seeds thoroughly before packing, and the preserving them in
that state afterwards by means of ventilation, there are a few
exceptions to this general and important rule.

If Acorns or sweet Chestnuts are preserved dry, they soon
lose their vitality; the same is apparently true of the Mango,
of Magnolias, the Chilian Araucaria, and some other plants.
The reason of this has never been satisfactorily explained, and
is the less obvious when it is considered that some of these
seeds are oily, others resinous, and others astringent. On this
account the treatment of them in a long voyage is merely
empirical. It is, however, known that the most certain mode
of conveying them is to place them in a situation where they
are unable either to absorb moisture or to lose it. The best

manner of effecting this is to pack them solidly in dry sand or
nearly dry loam.

The manner of using sand or loam as a packing material is this :—
Take a box, of wood sufficiently stout to resist pressure from within ;
strew three inches of sand or earth on the bottom; upon this place a
thin layer of seed, taking care that the outside seeds are not nearer
than three inches to the side of the box ; then cover this layer with an

252 PACKING SEEDS IN EARTH, WAX, ETC.

inch and a half or two inches of sand, according to the size of the seeds,
and go on placing the seed and sand in alternate layers, till the box is
full; place three inches more sand on the upper layer of seed, and
fasten down the lid. With these precautions, such seeds as those above
mentioned, and others of a similar kind, will travel for some months
without injury. It is, however, necessary to observe, that the sand, or
earth, must be pressed down very firmly, so that it may not be able to
settle away from the sides of the box after the lid is fastened down.

For short periods perishable seeds may be packed in the manner
described by Sir William Hooker, in a communication to the Gardeners’
Chronicle (1844, p. 558). ‘‘ Seeds of the Nutmeg-tree, by Mr, Lockhart,
of Trinidad, were removed from the pulp and mace, packed in moist
moss, and closed in a tin box almost hermetically. They germinated
during the voyage, and threw out a radicle and a plumule to the length
of an inch or more each, and apparently could not have come in a fitter
state for planting with a prospect of their success.” It may be sup-
posed that in this instance either the decaying moss furnished the
young nutmegs with food, or that there was not time for germination
to be arrested. Probably they would have come still better in a bottle
of moss kept damp, but supplied with air; as is done with aquatic
seeds,

Dr. Royle states that in consequence of the difficulty
experienced in sending to the Himalayas such seeds as the
Filbert and Spanish Chestnut, he tried the effect of immersing
such seeds in wax just melted, and met with complete success
in repeated attempts. The Chestnuts and Filberts are de-
scribed as arriving at Bombay, Calcutta, and Saharunpore, in a
perfectly sweet and fresh state.

It seems worth inquiring whether all seeds would not preserve
their vitality most perfectly if kept in an atmosphere of car-
bonic acid, which seems likely to oppose an effectual barrier to
those changes which destroy seminal life. It would not be
difficult to have bottles so contrived that after being filled with
seeds their air might be exhausted and replaced by carbonic
acid, which might be retained by hermetically sealing the
aperture in the bottle. An attempt to verify this conjecture
was made, in 1847, by the Horticultural Society, who sent seeds
thus packed to New Zealand; but the result was never reported
by the agents of the New Zealand Company. The experiment
deserves a new trial, If it fails, the loss will be trifling; if it
succeeds, the gain would be great, for the cost of bottles and

SINKING IN SHIPS WATER TANKS. 253

their proper preparation would bear no proportion to the value
of the seeds preserved.

There is also on record (see Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1844,
p. 88) an interesting experiment by Mr. James M‘Gall, at the
time gardener to Colonel now Sir William Reid, the governor of
the Bermudas. In those islands there are sudden and violent
changes of climate, caused by the dry winds of the north
shifting to hot southerly winds, bringing an atmosphere loaded
with moisture. In consequence of this there is a great difficulty
in preserving seeds, which, although they spring luxuriantly
before the middle of summer, immediately afterwards lose their
germinating power. Bottles, carefully sealed, and thick brown-
paper packages are generally employed for their preservation,
and kept in a cool and well-aired room. But although this
preserves them from insects, yet the advantage does not appear
to extend further. In the beginning of May last, Mr. M‘Gall
was induced, from the evenness of the temperature there, to
put a bottle of Onion-seed, carefully sealed, which had arrived
at Bermuda from Madeira in the beginning of February, into
the bottom of a cistern of rain-water five feet below the surface
of the earth. The cistern was cased with Roman cement, and °
had a free circulation of air above the cement, about seven feet
from the bottom. Onthe 1st of November, about the usual
time of sowing, this bottle was taken out and its contents sown,
together with those of four other bottles of the same package,
which had been kept in a cool warehouse during the summer,
and of three others. In all cases the seed came up more or
less; that in some of the bottles to the extent of about a fifth
part, others of about a tenth, but in some scarcely at all. The
seed, however, which had been kept under water came up
regularly, and four or five days sooner than the others; the
plants were strong, and not more than a fifth part of the seed
failed. The seed in three of the bottles looked pale when
opened, and several seeds were chipped or broken; the fourth
bottle, in comparison with that taken out of the water, seemed
equally fresh, though very few seeds sprung. It is no doubt
possible that some of the seed was not good when first imported ;
but be that as it may, the seed kept under water came up as

254 PACKING BULBS.

quickly as new seed. This is a new fact, and if further
experiments confirm Mr. M‘Gall’s experience, it may possibly
be found that the best place for seeds on board ships bound to
distant countries, is, as Sir William Reid suggested at the time,
in bottles plunged in ship’s tanks, where they may be exposed
to a more uniform temperature than can be otherwise secured.

It must not be supposed from anything now said, that the
conditions on which the preservation of seminal vitality
appears to depend, are also such as in all cases govern the
preservation of the life of perfect plants or their parts while
torpid. The reverse is the fact; for as a general rule that
dryness and exposure to air, which is favourable to seed, is
prejudicial to the vitality of perfect plants, if too much
prolonged.

No perfect state of a plant approaches the seed so nearly as
the Bus, for like a seed, it consists of a vital point, sur-
rounded by a soft mass of tissue, which parts with its
moisture slowly, in part in consequence of the obstacles
offered to evaporation by the membranes that invest it, and
in part by reason of the thickness of the sides of the cells
of which its tissue consists. The precautions demanded in
packing bulbs for long voyages are therefore much like those
of seeds; except that bulbs will not bear dryness for a very
considerable length of time. Two years form probably the
longest period during which we have certain information that
bulbs have been preserved in a torpid state.

We find the following report on this subject in the Journal of the
Horticultural Society, vol. I. p. 79. Bulbs, experimentally prepared for
avoyage to England, were received from India by the Court of Directors
of the East India Company, and sent to the Garden for examination.
One half of the bulbs were simply wrapped in cotton and packed in
brown paper, while the other portion (of the same kinds of bulbs) was
encrusted in a kind of white wax, and covered with cotton like the
others. When received at the Garden, in June, 1844, those bulbs
which were simply packed in cotton and brown paper had emitted
roots on the journey, and the tops in most cases had grown consider-
ably, while those coated with wax remained quite firm and as fresh as
when first packed; although, according to the statement on the out-

PACKING CUTTINGS. 255

side of the parcel containing them, they must have been confined in
the wax three months. The bulbs transmitted in cotton began to grow
first, but soon showed symptoms of debility; while those sent in wax
did not move much before a month after they were potted, but then
they grew strong and healthy. In one or two cases the bulbs perished
in the cotton, while the same kind packed or coated in wax survived
the journey.

In Corrines nature has provided no special means of
resisting exposure to unusual conditions and consisting, as
they do, of but small masses of lax, thin-sided vegetable
tissue, they much more readily part with their vitality than
seeds or bulbs. Dryness is fatal to them; at the same time
moisture in excess induces them, if in only a moderate
temperature, to shoot and exhaust their vitality while packed
up. The amount of moisture which they can best bear without
risk of excitement in warm weather, is that which is natural
to them, and no more. The attention of the gardener should
therefore be directed to this point. It has been supposed that
this might be accomplished by sealing the ends of cuttings with
wax, or by dipping them in a solution of gum-arabic, or by
enveloping them in sheet India-rubber; but although such
precautions have enabled cuttings to travel from London to
Simla without having lost their vitality, or, in some cases,
having suffered much exhaustion during a journey of so many
thousand miles, yet the success of such methods is too
imperfect to satisfy the wants of colonists. It may be worth
consideration whether a cutting would not retain its vitality
longest if dipped in collodion, and then dried before being
packed up. Of course the operator would take care that the
cuttings selected are packed in some non-conducting material,
such as cork, charcoal, or dry saw-dust.

Dr. Royle states that cuttings of Apples, Pears, and Plums, have
been sent successfully from England to India, after having had their
ends dipped in bees-wax. The following details were communicated
by him to the Gardeners’ Chronicle in 1843. Jargonelle Pear
cuttings having been sent successfully from Falmouth to Bombay, a
distance of 6000 miles, so as to arrive at their destination in January,
and others, wrapped in cotton enveloped in India-rubber, after their
ends were dipped in bees-wax, having reached Saharunpore 900 miles

256 PACKING CUTTINGS.

up the country, it was determined to repeat the experiment in November ;
when cuttings are in a fit state to travel, and the temperature is lower
than at any other time of the year, if we consider the time of their
departure from this country, and that of their arrival in India. Some
modification was made in the mode of packing. Instead of the ends
being dipped in sealing-wax, the whole cutting was coated with bees-
wax, then wrapped in cotton, and afterwards enveloped in India-rubber
cloth. The packets were made up at the India House on the 30th of
October, and must have left Falmouth on the 1st of November. From
Bombay, which the mail usually reaches in about forty days, the
cuttings had to be carried a land journey of about 1320 miles, to the
Botanic Garden at Calcutta, which they reached on the 30th of
December. A letter from Mr. Griffith states that three out of five
Apple-cuttings seemed quite fresh. This experiment was made rather
for the purpose of ascertaining how the mode of packing would answer,
than with the hope of the cuttings succeeding completely. - By the
same mail cuttings were sent to the Botanic Garden at Saharunpore ;
where they arrived on the 28th of December. Dr. Jameson, on the
20th of January, made the following report of the state they arrived
in: 1. Duchesse d’Angouléme, one specimen alive, the other dead,
probably owing to the lateral twigs having been cut off and not sealed
up. 2. Golden Pippin, with faint vitality, the pith discoloured, and the
liber faintly green. 3. Glout Morceau, one dead, owing to the lateral
branches having been cut off and not sealed; two alive, being devoid
of them. 4. Malo di Carlo, in fine condition. 5. Gansel’s Bergamot,
upper end faint vitality ; two specimens dead, the lateral twigs having
been cut off and not sealed; three specimens in good condition. 6.
Colmar, faint vitality upper end. 7. Jargonelle, eight specimens, all
in good condition. From the above statement it will be seen that this
transmission may be considered successful, and if cuttings void of
lateral branches are sent, every one would probably have arrived in
good condition.

Much of the success of these operations evidently depends
upon the condition of the cuttings when they are packed up.
If they are soft or unripe, no precaution will secure their
safe arrival; if perfectly ripe, with their tissues consolidated,
they will probably endure the journey. Mr. Beaton, a
skilful practical gardener, has proposed the following method
of preparing fruit-tree cuttings for long voyages. In the
month of August, cut off the tips of a branch half-way
between two buds or joints, and the force of the ascending
sap will nearly heal over the wound in two months. Now, if
you ring the shoot where you intend it to be cut off, you will

PACKING GROWING PLANTS FOR LONG VOYAGES. 257

have all the strength and accumulation of this autumn’s
growth concentrated in the graft, as far as art can do it; and
this, no doubt, will help, so far, their. safe transmission.
Besides, the store of vegetable matter, which will accumulate
in the callosity over the ring, will be ready to break forth into
roots as soon as the shoots are put into their natural element.
Moreover, the partially healing over of the wounds in this
way, will be almost sufficient to supersede the use of wax
altogether.

In long voyages, the best way of sending live plants is no
doubt in Ward’s cases (see p. 221), which, if well constructed,
answer perfectly, provided the plants are firmly secured in
their places (a precaution often neglected), and not over-
watered upon being finally closed; but the apparatus is
expensive, and very liable to accidents at sea.

To pack otherwise live plants, not dry bulbs or mere
cuttings, so as to endure the consequences of suspended
growth, during long voyages, is an operation of considerable
difficulty, unless they have hard skins, and a great store of
moisture, like the pseudobulbs of Orchids, and the race of
succulents. The latter are best preserved by being packed
dry, and so separated that they cannot press together, and
ferment, which is fatal to them.

The difficulty in question consists in the apparent impossi-
bility of causing live plants to maintain their vitality for four
or five months, except in a growing state, because of the
power which the heats of the tropics possess of exciting
vegetation, which can only be maintained when plants are fully
exposed to light. If it were possible to retain plants in a
torpid or dormant state, they might then be transported to
any distance, enclosed in packing cases, like dead goods.
Now, the conditions required to preserve a plant in a torpid
state are these: the temperature must be low and equal, and
the plant must be kept in the dark. If these conditions can
be fulfilled, a plant may be preserved, probably, for a twelve-
month without growing, and certainly for six months. The
great difficulty lies with its natural excitability, which leads
it, whenever possible, to renew its growth at an appointed

8

258 PACKING GROWING PLANTS FOR LONG VOYAGES.

time, after which very extraordinary measures are required to
repress its desire to grow. It is, however, possible to do
this. If a plant—a Vine—after having been rested in the
natural way for four months, is introduced into a forcing-
house, it shoots freely ; if the rest has extended to six months,
it pushes with still greater force ; but if it has only rested for
two months, its excitability is less easy to arouse; and
supposing the period of repose to have been only a week or
two, the renewal of its growth takes place with difficulty, and
feebly. It is therefore evident, that in a case where it is
important to repress excitability, the plant should be operated
upon as soon as possible after it has naturally gone to rest.
Accordingly, it has been found, that if plants in this country
are packed up in the month of November, they may ‘be made
to travel for considerable spaces of time if kept damp,
tolerably cool, and closed up from light, which is the great
stimulating power. In this way Camellias have been sent, by
Cape Horn, to Lima, and other plants to the Australian
continent, by Messrs. Loddiges.

The mode of proceeding is this: plants, three or four years old, with
ripe, well-formed wood, are, in November or October, placed in layers,
in a stout chest, and well packed with an abundance of sphagnum,
trodden down as tight as possible, so that no open spaces are left in the
interior, but that the whole mass is firm and compact. By these means
the plants are surrounded by a substance which conducts heat very
badly, and will scarcely part with its moisture at all under such cir-
cumstances. The chest is then securely fastened down, and no further
care is demanded, except insuring its being placed between decks, in a
ventilated situation, during the voyage. It would, however, we con-
ceive, be an improvement if the chest of plants were guarded by
another case, the space between the two being filled with charcoal, and
the whole enclosed in a polished tin cover; for by these means the
variations of temperature would be most securely guarded against.

The success of operations of this kind will, after all, depend
greatly upon the specific vitality of plants. In this respect
they vary remarkably, as the following well-attested facts may
serve to show. We are indebted for them to M. Pépin, Super-
intendent of the Jardin des Plantes.

“The Orange, as is well known, is capable of resisting bad treatment

LONG VITALITY OF THE ORANGE-TREE. 259

for a long period; but there are no known examples Which offer so
convincing a proof of its strength as the following :—In 1833 I saw an
Orange-tree in a garden in Normandy, whose trunk was 63 inches in
diameter at two feet from the surface of the soil, and nearly two yards
high before it branched. This plant had been neglected for a long
time; water was frequently withheld during the summer, and there
being no convenient shelter for it in the winter, it died back every
year, The tub in which it had been planted at last fell to pieces with
age, and then the plant was removed. Reduced to almost nothing by
the successive loss of its branches, the trunk was preserved for two
years in the corner of a cellar ; after which the principal branches and
roots were cut off near their origin. The stem of this Orange remained.
in the same place for four years more, laid horizontally on the ground,
to serve as a stage to set casks on; and during these six years it
showed no indication of vegetating. At the end of this period the
bark was observed to be still green, and in 1831 the trunk was planted
with care in a tub filled with rich light vegetable mould. In this state
it remained for some months, no more water being given to it than was
strictly necessary ; soon afterwards swellings were seen on several parts
of the bark, and a number of rootlets appeared about the sections of the
old roots, from which new ones were developed. The trunk also
showed some little productions of cellular tissue, from which new buds
proceeded the following year. All those which were imperfect or
crowded were rubbed off, and in 1837 this tree had a vigorous well-
formed head and fine foliage; and since that time it has continued to
flower every year.

“In 1762, or 1764, the Count de Charolais had a fine estate in what
is now called the quartier Montmartre, the garden attached to which was
magnificent, and kept with a great deal of care; and the Orangery,
which was one of the finest of that age, contained 300 large Orange-
trees. M, de Charolais was a great amateur, and -believed that these
trees were as beautiful as those at Versailles, or in the other royal
gardens. Being exiled from Paris by the Parliament, he, at his
departure, had all the doors and passages to his hotel closed, and the
Oranges remained immured in the Orangery without air and water for
the six years during which his exile lasted. M. Audebert, the gardener
attached to the house, was ordered not to go into the plant-houses, nor
even into the garden. When M. de Charolais returned, the windows
and doors of the Orangery were opened, and what was the despair of
the gardener at finding the trees, which previously had been the
admiration of everybody, changed to dry sticks, dried up, and com-
pletely deprived of leaves; in fact, to all appearance dead! Notwith-
standing this, M. de Charolais wished his Oranges to be placed in the
same order that they were before his exile. On examination, the roots
were found to be in the same state as the branches ; they were cut back

8 2

260

LONG VITALITY OF THE ORANGE-TREE,

close, cleaned, and those which were quite dead removed. A mixture
of good well-sifted earth was prepared, after which the trees were
replanted in the same tubs; a thick stratum of potsherds being put in
first. Water was applied to the trees with the greatest caution; the
branches which formed the head were either drawn together or cut off
to within a yard of the stem, and the two or three years-old wood was
cut back to the young branches. ‘This operation being performed, they
remained for a year without exhibiting any sign of vegetation ; but the
following year, one hundred out of three hundred developed buds. M.
Riché, who saw them, assured me that they were very vigorous, and
bid fair to become fine trees.

‘© When woody plants are placed in analogous conditions, they can,
notwithstanding they are deprived of a large portion of their organs
of nutrition, live for a long time. It will be observed, that the trunk
of the Orange which remained for several years in the cellar, was in a
more favourable position for absorbing moisture by its bark, than those
Oranges which were for six years in a conservatory hermetically sealed,
each planted in a separate tub, the earth in which, without doubt, was
much drier than the soil and atmosphere of the cellar. I have also
made experiments in a somewhat*similar situation as the cellar of
which I have spoken. I have placed stems there with or without roots,
after having cut the branches to three or four inches in length, and the
roots in the same manner ; for without this precaution all that I have
tried have not lived more than a year. The situation was moist rather
than dry, and almost dark. Different stems of trees so treated have
developed adventitious buds for several years,.and being afterwards
replanted, they have grown well without showing any remarkable
alteration. Two stems of Morus alba from 2 to 3 yards long, one being
64, the other 4 inches in diameter, produced, during four years, in this
situation, adventitious buds, from which young branches 4 to 6} inches
long sprung, furnished with small leaves; but these young shoots were
partly destroyed during the winter by the moisture. Two pieces of
Ulmus campestris, of nearly the same thickness, have grown during
five years. Two pieces of Robinia pseudo-acacia, one 7 inches in
diameter, and the other 53, have both vegetated for three years, as
well as a common Pear-tree 4 inches in diameter; so also the stem of
a Whitethorn 33 inches in diameter. Populus virginiana and P, nigra,
64 inches in diameter, have produced buds during five years.

“T have made the same experiments on some pieces of Willow from
1 to 2 inches in diameter; they also produced new buds, Moreover,
there formed, every year, on these stems, at intervals, productions
which then dried down to the wood, and were soon afterwards covered
with fungi and mouldiness; but notwithstanding this, buds were
developed on the green parts, and these continued to grow, like the
preceding.

OF PLANTS DEPRIVED OF WATER, AND OF OTHERS. 261

*«M, Bové, in his relation of a botanical journey in Egypt in 1829,
says, ‘in visiting the estate of Ibrahim Pacha, one of his directors
pointed out, near the village of Kouba, a stock of a Locust-tree (Cera-
tonia siliqua), which he said had been planted about 300 years. The
tree was cut down by the French, during their invasion; its roots
remained in the earth, and gave no indications of vegetation till the
Pacha caused the earth to be broken up about it in 1826, and a well to
be sunk, the moisture from which induced it to throw up three branches,
which in three years were three or four yards high, and almost 12
inches in circumference at the base. Even flower-buds seemed dis-
posed to show themselves on the branches. Thus this stock remained
buried for 30 years without perishing, and probably without ceasing to
increase in size. This surprising fact may be placed by the side of that
mentioned. by M. Dutrochet of a kind of Pine, whose root year after
year produced new layers of wood for 90 years, without any existence
ofastem. M, Gaudichaud has also made known a remarkable instance
of the duration of life in a shoot of Cissus hydrophora, which after
being dried three years in a herbarium, and even after being placed in
an oven, furnished cuttings, by which it has been propagated in the
hothouses of the Museum of Natural History.

“T have noticed that fleshy roots, like those of Ponies, do not
produce tops when they are cut, except those of Chinese Ponies. The
same thing occurs with bulbous and fusiform roots, deprived of their
buds or eyes, although others produce tops, although they have been cut
into several pieces. There are perennial grasses whose roots are
preserved for more than a year in the earth without emitting roots.
The same takes place with the rhizomes of many Asters, Solidagos,
Cinerarias, and Helianthuses, and a great number of other genera.
Analogous facts are remarked among succulent plants, and such
monocotyledons as Dracena, Arads, &e. Ihave had for eight years
shoots of a Cereus peruvianus, which, in the freé air of a room, left
without water or earth, produced every year new roots about an eighth
of an inch long, and were thus preserved for a year or two before they
dried up. During the first three years these shoots grew an inch or
more every year; for two years afterwards they lived, but did not
grow. Many Cactus cuttings remain three or four years without any
appearance of vegetation, although the pots in which they are planted
are filled with roots. Shoots of Cactus phyllanthoides, under similar
circumstances, every year formed a portion of a stem, at the extremity of
the old one, and on these stems two flowers have been seen to blossom, after
which the old shoot became yellow, then dried, became tough, and
what had grown upon it gradually perished. I have also preserved
without water shoots of Stapelia asterias, variegata, cespitosa, and
hirsuta, and they have all produced flowers; and the same has happened
with Aloes, which have lived for three or four years, producing new roots,
and forming buds along their whole length.”

262

PROLONGED VITALITY OF PLANTS.

In conclusion, M. Pépin gives a list of plants, fragments of whose
roots have remained buried and torpid for several years. The more
remarkable are the following :—Bignonia radicans, 10 years; Gymno-
cladus canadensis, 10; Locust trees, 10; Ulmus campestris, 6; Dodartia
orientalis, 8: Euphorbia dulcis, 6; Hoffmannseggia falcata, 10; Sola-
num carolinianum, 10; Pulmonaria virginica, 5; Urtica cannabina, 4.

It is almost needless to add, that with plants like those mentioned by

“M. Pépin, very slender precautions suffice to insure their living through

the longest voyages, if prepared in the manner adopted by Messrs.
Loddiges, as already described, and that his statements sufficiently
establish the fact that plants possess different powers of vitality, those of
some being infinitely greater than what belongs to others.

CHAPTER VIII.

—+—.
OF PROPAGATION BY EYES AND KNAURS.

TuE power of propagating plants by any other means than
that of seeds depends entirely upon the presence of leaf-buds
(Fig. XXXTYV.), or, as they are technically called, “ eyes,” which
are in reality rudimentary branches in organic connection with
the stem. All stems are furnished with such buds, which,
although held together by a common system, have a power of

Fig. XXXIV.

independent existence under fitting circumstances; and, when
called into growth, uniformly produce new parts, of exactly the
same nature, with respect to each other, as that from which
they originally sprang.

Under ordinary circumstances, an eye remains fixed upon
the stem that generates it. There it grows, sending woody

264 PROPAGATION BY EYES.

matter downwards over the alburnum, and a new branch
upwards, clothed with leaves, and perhaps flowers; but it
occasionally happens that eyes separate spontaneously from
their mother stem, and when they fall upon the ground they
emit roots and become new plants (p. 44, Fig. X.). This
happens in several kinds of Lily, and in other genera.

Man has taken advantage of this property, and discovered
that the eyes of many plants, if separated artificially from the
stem and placed in earth, will, under favourable circumstances,
produce new plants, just as such eyes would have done if they
had spontaneously disarticulated ; hence the system of propa-
gation by eyes, an operation employed only to a limited extent
in actual practice, but which in theory seems applicable to all
plants whatever. The species most generally so increased are
the Potato and the Vine. Of the latter, the eye, with a small
portion of the stem adhering to it, is commonly used as
the means of obtaining young plants; being placed in earth,
with a bottom heat of 75° or 80°, and kept in a damp atmo-
sphere, it speedily shoots upwards into a branch, and at the
same time establishes itself in the soil by the development of
the requisite quantity of roots. In order to insure success in
this operation upon the Vine, it is only necessary that the eye
should be dormant, and that a small piece of well-ripened wood
should, as has been already stated, be separated with it; it will
then grow in much the same way, and under the same circum-
stances as a seed. There is no doubt that many plants could
be thus multiplied as easily as the Vine, but it is equally certain
that a far larger number cannot be so increased. The reason
is, probably, that such eyes are not sufficiently excitable, and
that consequently they decay before their vital energies are
roused; and, in addition, that they do not contain within them-
selves a sufficient quantity of organisable matter upon which to
exist until new roots are formed, and capable of feeding the
nascent branch.

Mr. Knight’s explanation of this, although in part applicable
to cuttings only, yet seems to deserve being introduced in this
place. “Every leaf-bud is well known to be capable of extend-
ing itself into a branch, and of becoming the stem of a future

EYES ARE ASSISTED BY OLD WOOD. 265

tree ; but it does not contain, nor is it at all able to prepare and
assimilate, the organisable matter required for its extension
and development. This must be derived from a different
source, the alburnous substance of the tree, which appears the
reservoir, in all this tribe of plants, in which such matter is
deposited, I found a very few grains of alburnum to be
sufficient to support a bud of the Vine, and to occasion the
formation of minute leaves and roots; but the early growth
of such plants was extremely slender and feeble, as if they
had sprung from small seeds; and the buds of the same
plant, wholly detached from the alburnum, were incapable
of retaining life. The quantity of alburnum being increased,
the growth of the buds increased in the same _propor-
tion; and when cuttings of a foot long, and composed
chiefly of two-years-old wood, were employed, the first growth
of the buds was nearly as strong as it would have been, if
the cuttings had not been detached from the tree. The
quantity of alburnum in every young and thriving tree,
exclusive of the Palm tribe, is proportionate to the number of
its buds; and if the number of these were, in any instance,
ascertained and compared with the quantity of alburnous
matter in the branches and stem and roots, it would be found
that nature has always formed a reservoir sufficiently extensive
to supply every bud. But those of a cutting, under the most
favourable circumstances, must derive their nutriment from a
more limited and precarious source; and it is therefore
expedient that the gardener should, in the first instance, make
the most ample provision conveniently within his power for
their maintenance, and that he should subsequently attend very
closely to the economical expenditure of such provision.”
(Horticultural Transactions, ii. 115.)

A practical mode of carrying out these views consists in

detaching a mature leaf along with the bud which is to
propagate.

The mode of doing this has been thus described by Mr. R. Markham,
the very experienced gardener at Hewell Grange :—‘‘The Camellia
peoniflora being the strongest growing sort with which I am acquainted,
is the one I select for the purpose. In March, with a sharp knife, I cut

266 EYES ARE ASSISTED BY LEAVES.
off as many leaves close to fhe branch as I want, taking, of course, the
‘buds off with them. The leaves are potted immediately in 48-sized
pots, in peat and sand, and are placed about one-third their depth into
the soil, and the pots are then plunged into a tan-bed where no fire-
heat is employed; they are covered with a hand-glass, kept moderately
moist, and shaded when necessary. These leaves strike root, grow
vigorously, and in two seasons make good stocks for grafting on.
This mode of raising Camellia stocks is very convenient, for it is often
easier to procure leaves than grafts, and the plan answers well when
leaves are sent from a distance. In April, 1848, a blossom of a new
double Camellia was sent to me; it had travelled upwards of 300 miles,
and was so dry that I could not discover its colour; there were,
however, two or three leaves attached to it, one of which was treated as
above, and I have now from it a very strong plant, five feet six inches
in height, producing nine flower-buds ready to expand. The plant has
been stopped twice in order to cause it to throw out branches, which
are now eleven in number; the circumference of the stem is an inch and
a half at the bottom. I likewise raise Orange stocks in a similar
manner: the leaves are cut off in August, and are potted but not
covered with hand-glasses. The stocks which I use for Orange-graft-
ing are Citrons, which being strong growers, make excellent plants by
the following summer. The Citrons, I imagine, may, however, be
grown much quicker by putting in the leaves in February instead of
August. I have no doubt that the plants will be sufficiently strong to
be grafted by the end of July or early in August.”
This is a very different process from propagation by mere leaves, the
subject of the next chapter.

In the Potato the requisite provision of organisable matter
is always secured, in consequence of the great difficulty of
separating an eye of that plant, without fragments of the fleshy
tuber adhering to it.

The provision of alimentary matter may, however, be, in
some cases, disadvantageous. by promoting too great a develop-
ment of stems and leaves, of which the Potato itself is an
instance. Theoretically, the more nutritive matter there is for
the eyes, the greater crop there will be, ceteris paribus, and so
there probably is of leaves and stems; and it would seem that
whole potatoes should be more advantageous to plants than sets.
But I have proved by a series of numerous experiments, that the
weight of potatoes is per acre greater, under equal circum-
stances, from sets than from whole tubers, by upwards of from

EXCESSIVE FOOD FOR EYES INJURIOUS. 267

seven cwt. to three tons per acre; and considerably more, on com-
parison of the clear produce, after deducting the weight of sets
employed in both cases. (Hort. Trans., n. s.,1. 445, and ii.
156.) In these instances, I supposed the rankness of the vege-
tation from the whole tubers to be the cause of the diminished
crop, for the stems not only expended their strength in self-
augmentation, but were unable to support themselves, and were
blown about, laid, and broken by the wind.

While, however, in such plants as the Potato, all the eyes
are equally capable of forming new tubers, it is found by
experience that they do so with different degrees of rapidity,
according to the age of that part of the stem or tuber which
furnishes them. It is stated by a writer in the Gardener’s
Magazine (vol. i. p. 406.), that it is well known in Lancashire
to some cultivators of the Potato, “that different eyes germinate
and give their produce, or become ripe, at times varying very
materially, say several weeks, from each other; some being
ripe or fit for use as early as the middle of May, and others
not till June or July. This will be understood by reference to
the accompanying sketch. The sets nearest the
extremity of the Potato (Fig. XX XV. a) are soonest
ripe, and, in Lancashire, are planted in warm
places in March or the beginning of April, and
are ready for the market about the 12th or 15th of
May. The produce of the next sets (b) is ready
in about a fortnight after, and that from the root —Fig. XXXV.
end (¢ and d) still later. These root end sets (from b to d) are
usually put together, and the extremity of the root end is
thrown aside for the pigs.” This fact, if correctly stated,
shows, not that the youngest eyes, or those nearest the point of
the Potato, are the ripest, which is impossible, but that they
are more excitable, and consequently grow more rapidly than
those at the middle or base.

Besides the cases of propagation by eyes now mentioned,
there is another of which a notice is given by Signor Manetti
(Gardener’s Magazine, vii. 668.), as practised in Italy upon the
Olive. It appears that, from old Olive-trees, certain knots or
excrescences, called wovoli, are cut out of the bark, of which a

268 PROPAGATION BY KNAURS.

portion is left adhering to them, and, being planted, grow into
young Olive-trees. Of these we have no further account; but
it is evident that the uwovoli are no other than our knaurs
(Fig. XXXVI), already spoken of under the name of embryo
buds ; concretions found in the bark of many, and probably of all,
trees, and supposed to have been adventitious buds developed
in the bark, and, by the pressure of the surrounding parts,
forced into those spheroidal woody masses in the shape of which
we find them. They often present an oblong or conical form,

Fig. XXXVI.—Knaurs.

are sometimes collected into clusters (Fig. XXXVI. a), and may
exhibit little or no appearance of a tendency to further growth.
It is, however, not- uncommon to find them lengthening into
branches, as is shown in the Poplar (Fig. XXXVI. ¢), for which I
am indebted to Sir Oswald Mosley; and although they have never
yet. been used for the purposes of propagation, except in the
case of the Olive, there seems to be no reason why they should
not be so employed, if any necessity were to arise for them.
The real amount of their powers of growth is unknown, and
would be a good subject of investigation.

Tt will have been seen that the mode of propagation here
explained is analogous to that by seed, both having for their

PROPAGATION BY DIVISION NOTA CAUSE OF DEBILITY. 269

object the increase of a given race. There is, however, this
very important difference, that while eyes multiply the
individual, seeds only multiply the species.

For example the Green Gage Plum is a variety of the species Prunus
domestica. The seed of a Green Gage will undoubtedly produce Prunus
domestica, but not a Green Gage. On the other hand an eye (cutting or
graft) of the Green Gage Plum will increase that particular variety.

‘ Although it occasionally happens that some one branch of a plant
disagrees from the rest of the branches in certain small peculiarities of
growth, such as the colour of the leaves, the doubleness of the flowers,
the character of the fruit, &c., thus acquiring the properties of a special
variety, yet this is an exception torule. Every part detached from
a plant continues to correspond with its parent after its separation, and
for this reason propagation by division affords the means of multiplying
varieties which either could not be propagated at all by seed, or only
with uncertainty.” Mohl.

It has, however, been generally asserted that varieties
multiplied for many generations by eyes (cuttings or grafts)
gradually degenerate, become diseased, and disappear; whence
it is said that propagation by eyes can only be employed with
safety for a few generations. For this idea there seems to be
no sufficient foundation ; but as it will be further examined in
Chapter XVII., I content myself for the present with quoting
the opinion upon the subject of Prof. Mohl, the greatest of
modern German physiologists. “Thousands of experiments,”
he observes, “have shown that the young shoots of old. trees,
when used as grafts, slips, &c., furnish as strong plants as the
shoots of young trees. Even in the Palms (Pheenix dactylifera)
experiment has proved that the apex of the stem, when its
vegetation begins to slacken in an old tree, grows again into a
strong tree when cut off and planted in the earth. Not one
single experiment speaks in favour of the opinion promulgated
by Knicut, that all parts of a tree have a common end to their
life, and that the different trees which have been raised from
one and the same tree by grafts, decay about the same time as
the parent plant. A whole series of cultivated plants (I will
only mention the Vine, the Hop, the Italian Poplar, and the
Weeping Willow) are propagated by division, without any

270 DISEASE NOT CAUSED BY PROPAGATION BY DIVISION.

decreased power of vegetation ever being seen. Nothing was
in greater contradiction to the laws of vegetable life, than the
frequently expressed. opinion, that the Potato disease of recent
years was to be ascribed to a degeneration of the Potato plant,
arising from the unceasing propagation by tubers.”

CHAPTER IX.

— oe

OF PROPAGATION BY MERE LEAVES.

In the beginning of the last century, Richard Bradley, a
Fellow of the Royal Society, published a translation from the
Dutch of Agricola, of a book upon the propagation of plants by
leaves, in which it was asserted that, by the aid of a mastic
invented by the author, the leaves of any plant, dipped at the
stalk end into this preparation, would immediately strike root ;
and the book was adorned with copperplates exhibiting both
the process and its result,in the form of fields stuck full of
Orange leaves growing into trees.

One of these plates illustrates, ‘‘How by means of fire and mummy;
leaves, twigs, buds, and branches may be turned into shrubs and trees
by planting them in the ground.”

‘Having observed,” he adds, ‘‘that the leaves of some plants may
very well be used instead of joints or shoots, I shall now undertake to
show how the leaves take root. The curiosity for cultivating vegeta-
bles, it is well known, has long since been carried so far as to occasion
an attempt to raise a tree from a leaf, just as F. Mandirola made the
experiment with a Lemon-tree-leaf. His words upon this subject,
taken out of his writings, are as follows:— ‘I tryed a masterpiece, to
wit, to plant Citron, Lemon, and such like. leaves after the following
manner. I took for that purpose a sort of little fower-pot full of the best-
sifted earth ; I planted in it some leaves of those kinds of trees, with
their stalks so deep that the third part of the leaf was covered with
earth; over that pot I fastened a small pitcher full of water, so as
that it might drop directly down into the middle of the pot, and the
hollow which was made by the falling of the drops I continually filled
up with fresh earth: thus they cost me but a little trouble, and they all
shot up and grew very well. I pursued it with the greatest patience in
the world, and found that through a too often dropping of the water,
the leaves began to rot, and so wasted away of themselves by little and

272 MERE LEAVES PROPAGATE.

little, so that at last nothing was left but the stems; but it having
been observed since, that from the callous matter that came forth at
the bottom, both roots and branches shot out, it appears that all exotic
leaves may at any time be converted into trees. For this operation I
make choice of the months of July, August, and November; but those
who have stoves and greenhouses may perform it even in winter, and
in that case they shoot the better in the spring. Those who have a
mind to do it in the spring will have some success; but it is not so
very sure, which ought to be chiefly ascribed to the inconstancy of
that season.’”

Although this work was absurd, yet it originated in the
discovery that the mere leaves of some plants will grow under
special circumstances ; a fact often supposed to be much more
rare than it really is. In Professor Morren’s French translation
of my Outlines of the First Principles of Horticulture, Rochea
falcata* is named as producing adventitious buds from the
upper side of its leaves; and the Orange, the Aucuba, and the
Fig, as other instances of leaves which will multiply their
species: the power of Bryophyllum to do the same thing is
familiar to every one. Echeverias have been remarked to grow
immediately from the leaves that naturally fall off even its
flower-stalks. Hedwig found the leaves of the Crown Imperial,
put into a plant press, produce bulbs from their surface.
There is a well-known case of the same effect having been
observed in Ornithogalum thyrsoideum. Mr. Auguste de
St. Hilaire mentions an instance of leaf-buds generated by
fragments of the leaves of “ Theophrasta,’ which had been
buried by M. Neumann, chief gardener at the Garden of Plants
at Paris, and of young Drosera intermedia. Mr. Henry Cassini
is said to have seen young plants produced by the leaves of
Cardamine pratensis; English botanists know that offsets
spring from the margins of the leaves of Malaxis paludosa; in
our stoves we see Ferns of many kinds, especially Woodwardia
radicans, propagating themselves by offsets from the leaves;
Mr. Turpin tells us that floating fragments of Watercress
leaves, cut up by a species of Phryganea for its nest, “ produce
presently from their base, and below the common petiole, at
first two or three colourless roots, then in their centre a small

* See, also, De Candolle’s Physiologie Végétale, ii. 672.

SCALES PROPAGATE, 273;

conical bud, green, in which are found, or rather froin which
successively arise, all the aérial parts of a new Watercress
plant, while the roots multiply and lengthen.” (Comptes
rendus, 1839, sem. 2., 488.) Mr. Flourens also mentions a
case of Purslane, whose leaves, divided into three, produced as

Fig. XXXVII.—8cale of Zamia sprouting.

many new plants, each having a root, stem, and leaves. In
the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, is an account of a
Zamia, each of whose scales (Fig. XXXVII.) produced a new

vu

274 INSTANCES OF LEAVES ROOTING.

plant, when the central part of the stem was decayed. Finally;,
the following case is named in the same work (vol. v. p. 242) by
Mr. Knight :—“ In an early part of the summer, some leaves
of Mint (Mentha piperita), without any portion of the substance
of the stems upon which they had grown, were planted in small;
pots, and subjected to artificial heat, under glass. They
emitted roots, and lived more than twelve months, having
assumed nearly the character of the leaves of evergreen
trees; and upon the mould being turned out of the pots, it was
found to be everywhere surrounded by just such an interwoven
mass of roots, as would have been emitted by perfect plants of
the same species. These roots presented the usual character
of those organs, and consisted of medulla, alburnum, bark, and
epidermis; and as the leaf itself, during the growth of these,
increased greatly in weight, the evidence that it generated the
true sap which was expended in their formation appears
perfectly conclusive.”

In gardens, we have many other cases of the same kind.
Hoya is a common instance, and three others are here figured
(Fig. XXXVIIT.); viz., Gesnera (a), Clianthus puniceus (0b),
Gloxinia speciosa (c). In these, and all such cases, the first
thing that happens is an excessive development of cellular
tissue, which forms a large convex “callus” at the base; from
which, after a time, roots proceed; and by which eventually a
leaf-bud, the commencement of a new stem, is generated.

It is not surprising that leaves should possess this quality
when we remember that every leaf does the same thing
naturally, while attached to the plant that bears it; that is to
say, forms at its base a bud which is constantly axillary to
itself. Leaves, however, have not been often employed as the
means of propagating a species; and it is probable that most
leaves, when separated from their parent, are incapable of
ae so, for reasons which we are not as yet able to explain.
The most common case of their employment i is in 1 the form of
new plants under frouribls cireumsiaaces. Those—circum-
stances are, a strong bottom heat, moderate moisture, and a
rich stimulating soil. :

INSTANCES OF LEAVES ROOTING. 275

When plants are produced by leaves under ordinary circum-
stances, the conditions most favourable to their doing so are of

PS

Fig. XXXVIII.—Rooting leaves of a, Gesnera; b, Clianthus puniceus; c, Gloxinia speciosa.

the same nature. A moderate amount of moisture prevents
their dying from perspiration or perishing from decay; a good
bottom heat stimulates their vital forces, and causes them to
exercise whatever power they possess; and, in addition, they
are covered by a slightly shaded bell-glass, which maintains
around them an atmosphere of uniform humidity, and, at the
same time, cuts off the approach of those direct solar rays,
which, acting as a stimulus to perspiration, would have a
tendency to exhaust the leaves of their fluid before they could
organise, at their base, the new matter from which the leaf-bud
is eventually produced.

‘The rationale of this operation seems to be as follows.
t 2

276 HOW TO STRIKE LEAVES.

No plant can form a new individual without first organising
abud. That must be in all cases the first step in the process
of propagation. Now buds are known to spring exclusively
from the soft pulpy or cellular matter that constitutes the flesh
of plants, and not from their solid woody parts. This cellular
matter is formed by Nature out of organisable fluids produced
by the leaves, and by the leaves only, or their equivalent, as in
the instance of the green bark of the leafless Cacti. Hence it
follows that leaves are really the great agents of propagation in
any case, whether layers, cuttings, or other forms of multipli-
cation are had recourse to; for the power possessed by the
parts of plants so named is derived immediately and exclu-
sively from the leaves. But leaves in their natural state are
connected with the stem by a peculiar and admirable mecha-
nism, which insures their being continually and abundantly .
supplied with food out of which they may prepare the
organisable matter that is in the first instance to engender
cellular substance and afterwards a bud. If this mechanism is
disarranged the leaf dies, or becomes unhealthy, and loses its
bud-creating power. No disturbance of the mechanism in
question can well be greater than that which separates the leaf
from its stem, and therefore the chances of the leaf dying are
great in proportion. But if, notwithstanding the separation of
a leaf from its supply of food, means can be found to nourish it
in some other manner, it may be kept alive; and if its vitality
can only be preserved long enough, it must necessarily go on
forming cellular matter, which again will obey that irresistible
impulse which compels a bud to be engendered; and the bud
being formed, a new plant will follow as a matter of course.
The problem to solve is how to nourish a leaf as well- as it was
nourished by its parent. To that question propagators have
exclusively to direct their attention, for there is no fact more
certain in nature than that if the supply of proper food to a
leaf is but kept up, form a new plant it inevitably must.

The difficulties connected with the question will perhaps be
diminished, if we first ascertain what the means are by which
certain leaves have been made to grow already. Mandirola
tells us that he struck his Lemon and Orange leaves by

HOW TO STRIKE LEAVES. 277

keeping the soil in which they were inserted continually wet;
that those of July, August, and November struck best, and the
spring leaves worst. Mr. Knight, who made the leaves of the
common Peppermint grow, planted them in the early part of
summer, in small pots, in heat, under glass. Bits of Water-
cress leaves will strike root freely ; but it is only such as float
on the water. .The common way of converting succulent leaves
into plants is to place them on damp sand, under a, bell-glass,
or without one, according to the nature of the leaf. These
practical details show that water is employed to replace the
sap on which leaves usually subsist. But other points are of
equal importance.

Of these, the first.is to select leaves at the right season: if
they are too young, they are not capable of feeding themselves
when sundered from their parent; if too old, their vigour is
impaired, and their vitality on the wane. . Skilful propagators
therefore take care to employ leaves fully grown, but not
beginning to change colour; such as those found about the
middle of a branch in full vigour.

A second precaution is the application of more warmth than
the leaves had been previously subject to. All the vital
energies of plants are increased under the influence of heat,
and in a case of this sort nothing must be neglected that will
stimulate the flagging powers of life. Aided by warmth the
leaves form their secretions faster, generate their cellular matter
faster, and so form their callus sooner. Quickness of action
is of great importance in such an operation as leaf-striking.

A third condition will be perfect equability of moisture ; the
leaf must not be expected to feed by the end of its stalk
exclusively, but food must be presented to its whole surface ;
not, however, too much nor too little. If too much, the leaf
will be unable to digest it, and will perish of repletion; if too
little, the cells will collapse, their excitability will be impaired,
and there is an end of the experiment. Herein consists the
main difficulty of the operation, for leaves have very different
powers of taking in food and ‘digesting it; and nothing but
experience can adjust exterior conditions to the peculiar
organization of species.

278 LEAVES UNWILLING TO FORM BUDS.

The last point to which attention need be directed is the
necessity of exposing leaves to the free influence of light. In
natural conditions, a leaf does something more than feed—it
breathes. The one act is as needful as the other. In the light
respiration goes on freely; in the dark. it is suspended, or at
least is much impeded. But in sunlight a leaf not only
breathes, but loses water—a circumstance of no importance
to it whilst upon its parent plant, because all loss is then made
good from instant to instant, through the veins which pass out
of the stem. Separated from its natural source of supply, the
condition of the leaf is entirely altered; and it cannot be
expected that the loss occasioned by evaporation should be as
equally and instantaneously compensated. The only way of
meeting this difficulty is by covering leaves with bell-glasses,
whose edges are sunk in the damp sand or earth, in which the
leaf is to be struck. In this way, the leaf will always be in
contact with moist air. Under a bell-glass the perspiration of
a leaf in sunlight is then so much diminished as to be of no
importance, because, if the leaf is losing water, it is also
absorbing it, and this as copiously as its necessities demand.
It may therefore be exposed to the conditions favourable to its
breathing, without danger of injury.

The great objection to employing leaves as a means of pro-
pagation consists in their unwillingness, in many instances, to
form a bud as well as roots. A leaf of Hoya carnosa has been
known to remain without change for nine or ten years, although
it produced roots. The leaves of roses. strike freely, but will
not bud. These peculiarities belong to the nature of species,
and are not susceptible of explanation.

The following is Mr. Neumann’s practical account of the manner in
which his experience as a propagator teaches him to proceed with
leaves :—

‘A single leaf cut near the stem and planted, is sufficient, in
some plants, to produce new individuals. The leaves intended for this
operation ought not to be pulled off the stem; there is no need of
taking away the eye which shows itself at their axil; in this method of
striking by cuttings it is not the eye which developes itself, as many
people imagine; the effect which takes place is similar to that produced
when cuttings are struck from the branch of Abies. It is upon the

NEUMANN’S STATEMENTS. 279

cluster of small bulblets which form on certain parts of the leaf, that
the shoot shows itself. Fig, XXXIX. a, indicates at what place we
may cut the leaf without hurting the plant; the leaf being placed in
the earth forms a callus at its base, Fig. XX XIX. 6, whence the roots,
and consequently more shoots spring up.

“ Leaves intended for cuttings should be taken about the middle of a
branch; the result is more certain than if we choose the lower leaves,
Gloxinia, Bryophyllum, Lilies, &c., multiply well by such cuttings.
If we wish to get on very quickly, the midrib on the lower face of the
leaf may be broken in several places, without injuring the limb, and so

Fig. XXXIX.—Cuttings of leaves.

lightly that the broken places can scarcely be distinguished; the lower
face of the leaf is then placed on the earth of a pot. Soon at each
fracture a little callus developes itself, which gives rise to roots, as is
seen in Fig. XXXIX. c. Some leaves, when employed as cuttings,
send out roots and buds at each incision, as, for example, in Hemionitis
palmata, Bryophyllum, &e. Fig. XX XTX. d shows how this effect is
produced.

‘“ Cuttings of leaves are often a long time before they show any sign
of succeeding; the care which they require is in consequence of their
delicate nature; most especially must attention be paid to burying the
end of the petiole, or the base of the leaf. When their buds are strong
enough they may be accustomed, by degrees, to the free air of the
greenhouse, in which they are to remain, then treating them like
cuttings from branches,

‘‘ Having succeeded with the leaves, of which Ihave just spoken, I

280

NEUMANN’S EXPERIMENTS.

tried, in 1839, to multiply Theophrasta latifolia with its leaves cut in two,
with which I made two cuttings; these portions took root and developed
buds, as is seen in Fig, XXXIX.¢. This experiment evidently proves
that some plants may be reproduced by cuttings of the midrib of their
leaves. The primitive bud, as I have remarked, rises from the callus
above the root which first shows itself, and about 1-16th of an inch
from the base of the midrib. The dotted part, shown in the upper half
of the annexed leaf, e, was removed in order to put the leaf into a little
pot, but this did not prevent the success of the cutting.”

CHAPTER X.

_—

OF PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS.

Tus, which is the most common of all modes of artificial
propagation except grafting, depends upon essentially the
same principle as propagation by eyes; that is to say, the
pieces of a plant called cuttings possess a power of growth in
consequence of their bearing leaf-buds or eyes upon their
surface. In striking by eyes, we have the great difficulty to
encounter of keeping the eye active till it has organized roots
with which to feed itself; the earth furnishes such a supply
unwillingly or unsuitably, nature intending that the bud
should, in the first instance, be supported by the soluble nutvi-
ment ready prepared and lodged in its immediate vicinity, in
the pith or some other part of the stem. For this reason,
cuttings, which consist of eyes and the part containing their
proper aliment, usually strike root more freely than eyes by
themselves.

This being so, it is plain that a cutting is only capable of
multiplying a plant when it bears buds upon its surface; and
as the stem is the only part upon which buds certainly exist,
so the stem is the only part from which cuttings should be
prepared. And again, as the internode, or that space of the
stem which intervenes between leaf and leaf, has no buds,
their station being confined to the axil of the leaves, a cutting
prepared from an internode only is as improper as one from
the root. It is no doubt true, that we constantly propagate
plants from pieces of what are called roots, as in the Potato, or
the Scirpus tuberosus ; but such roots are, in reality, the kind
of stem called a tuber, and, in like manner, other cases of

282 CUTTINGS FROM ROOTS.

similar propagation are also successful, because the part called
a root is, in reality, an underground stem covered with the
rudiments of leaves, to each of which an eye belongs. The
Rose, the Lilac, and many other plants have subterranean
stems, cuttings of which will therefore answer the purpose of
propagation. It also occasionally happens, that, owing to
unknown causes, morsels of the true root will generate what
are called adventitious buds; and hence we do occasionally see
the root employed for propagation, as in Cydonia japonica,
Anemone japonica, &c., but these are exceptional cases, and do
not affect the general rule.

Since, however, there are many such cases, the propagator will do
well to try roots whenever a plant refuses to strike by ordinary
methods. Where unexpected difficulty is found to exist, the best way
of proceeding is to place the cuttings of roots on damp sand, pressed
half way into it, covered close with a bell-glass, exposed to moderate
light, and kept at a temperature of from 60° to 65°. There is every
reason to believe that moderate light contributes greatly to the excite-
ment of vital action, and consequently to the formation of buds.

Monsieur Neumann in his very useful treatise on propagation gives
several examples of root-striking, from among which the following may
be selected. Dais cotinifolia propagates readily by its roots cut into

Fig, XL,—Root-cuttings of Paulownia imperialis.

pieces and laid on earth in a hothouse, although its branches strike
most unwillingly, In like manier, in the case of Paulownia imperialis,
portions of the roots from { to ? of an inch in diameter, and from 1 to
21 inch long, root well. The month of March is the most favourable
time for striking these cuttings; for in February they often rot. The

CUTTINGS FROM ROOTS. 283

shoots of this plant, struck from root cuttings, come out round the root
asis seen in Fig. XL., m; this gives the means of splitting the roots into
several pieces, which, separately, strike as well as an entire root, Fig. XL.,
o, In Maclura aurantiaca, Fig. XLI., roots are formed between the wood

Fig. XLI.—Root-cutting of Maclura aurantiaca,

and the bark by an innumerable number of exceedingly minute bulbs,
which turn green and produce buds. Cuttings of this plant strike
easily in the open air. ‘In Cydonia japonica, if we cut the roots the
size of a pen into pieces 2 or 24 inches long, and plant them
upright, we shall have the same year as many plants as there were
pieces planted. These cuttings should be made in the open air, along a
border or strip of peat, without any other covering than the soil where
they are to grow. Ifwe plant them vertically, we should cover them
very slightly with earth; and at the first watering the cut will be
uncovered. If we place them horizontally, they should be covered
with earth about 3, of an inch deep. This last method succeeds
equally well, but it is less certain than the first. Mons, Neumann’s
experience has also showed that even Conifers may be struck from
pieces of the root, concerning which he makes the following statement.
During six years he had many times tried to strike an Araucaria
from cuttings of the roots, but without success; at last, on the 10th May,
1844, he perceived that the cuttings of the roots of Araucaria
Cunninghami, ? inch in diameter, and about 22 to 3 inches long,
planted in October, 1848, were sending forth shoots, He attributes hig
failure, up to this time, to the presence of the glasses with which he
covered the cuttings: the constant presence of air charged with an excess
of moisture making them perish. In the first place, the pots which
contained the roots were, in October, plunged into tan still gently
warm ; perceiving in March that the earth in the pots was decomposed,
he changed it, without being able to distinguish the least sign of
vegetation on the cuttings. The pots were then placed upon a bench

284 STEMS ROOT IN AIR.

and exposed to a moderate temperature; in April these pots were placed
upon a warm bed of tan; and it was this, doubtless, which, a month
afterwards, excited vegetation. He expresses his opinion that all
Conifers may be multiplied in a similar manner if root cuttings are
employed in Spring. This opinion is not, however, generally entertained
by others.

When the Vine grows in a very warm damp stove, its stem
emits roots into the air; the same thing happens to the Maize
on the lower part of its stem; and in these and all such cases,
the roots are found to be emitted from buds. Hence it has
been inferred that the roots of a plant are as much productions
of buds as branches are, and that the stem is nothing more
than a collection of such roots held together under the form of
wood and bark. The present is not the place for a renewal of
this discussion, for the arguments in favour of and opposed to
which, the reader is referred to my Introduction to Botany, 3d
edit.-p. 809, &c. Itis sufficient here to remark, that the question
turns upon whether the buds and leaves actually. themselves
produce roots, or merely furnish the organizable matter out of
which roots are formed; and that, therefore, for the purpose
of horticulture, either one or the other is equally capable of
explaining the facts connected with cuttings.*

As far as physiology can explain the operation of propa-

* The following curious fact, recorded by Mr. Livingstone, which seems to have
escaped observation, deserves to be mentioned here ;—‘‘The Pterocarpus Marsupium,
one of the most beautiful of the large trees of the East Indies, and which grows in the
greatest perfection about Malacca, affording, by its elegant wide-expanding boughs,
and thick-spreading pinnated leaves, a shade equally delightful with the far-famed
Tamarind tree, is readily propagated by cuttings of all sizes, if planted even after
the pieces have been cut for many months, notwithstanding they appear quite dry,
and fit only for the fire.. I have witnessed some of three, four, five, six, and seven
inches in diameter, and ten or twelve feet long, come to be fine trees in a few years.
While watching the transformation of the log into the tree, I have been able to trace
the progress of the radicles from the buds, which began to shoot from the upper part
of the stump a few days after it had been placed in the ground, and marked their
progress till they reached the earth. By elevating the bark, minute fibres are seen to
descend contemporaneously as the bud shoots into a branch. In a few weeks these
are seen to interlace each other. In less than two years the living fibrous systém is
complete ; in five years no vestige of its log origin can be perceived ; its diameter and
height are doubled, and the tree is in all respects as elegant and beautiful as if it had
been produced from seed.” (Hort. Trans, iv. 226.)

CONDITIONS NECESSARY TO A-CUTTING. 285

gation by cuttings, it appears that_roots are formed by the .

action of leaves; that branches are developed from the buds; ;

and that the buds are maintained by the suitable aliment stored °

up in the stem. Everything beyond this seems to be connected
with specific constitutional powers, of which science can give
no explanation.

In considering what conditions are most favourable to. the
maintenance of a cutting in the state required, in order to
enable it to become a young plant, it will be most convenient,
in the first place, to examine the rationale of some one method
which is known to be successful. For this purpose, the follow-
ing detail, by Mr. Knight, of his mode of striking the Mulberry,
is selected :—

“A considerable number of cuttings were taken from the
most vigorous bearing branches of a Mulberry-tree, in the
middle of November, 1812, and were immediately reduced to
the length adapted to small pots, in which I proposed them
ultimately to be planted, and which were between four and five
inches deep. Each cutting was composed of about two parts
of two-years-old wood, that is, wood of the preceding year, and
about one third of yearling wood, the produce of the preceding
summer; and the bottom of each was cut so much aslope,
that its surface might be nearly parallel with that of the bottom
of the pot in which it was to be placed.

“The cuttings were then inserted in the common ground,
under a south wall, and so deeply immersed in it that one bud
‘only remained visible above its surface, and in this situation
they remained till April. At this period the buds were much
swollen, and the upper ends of the cuttings appeared similar to

those of branches which had been shortened in the preceding .

autumn, and become incapable of transmitting any portion of
the ascending fluid. The bark at the lower ends had also
begun to emit those processes which usually precede the pro-
duction of roots. The cuttings were now removed to the pots
to which they had been previously fitted, and placed in a
moderate hot-be@; a single bud only of each cutting remained
visible above the mould, and that being partially covered; and
in this situation they vegetated with so much vigour, and

286 RATIONALE OF STRIKING CUTTINGS.

emitted roots so abundantly, that I do not think one cutting in
a hundred would fail with proper attention. Some of the pots
were placed round the edges of a Melon bed, which affords a
very eligible situation where a few plants only are wanted.”
(Horticultural Transactions, ii. 117.) In this case success
appears to have depended upon the following circumstances :—

1. The cuttings were prepared in November, at the end of
the season of growth, when all the organizable matter required
for the cutting was formed, and locked up in the proper places
in its interior. It was not necessary, therefore, to take any
means of insuring a further supply of aliment. But had it been
otherwise, that is to say, if the cuttings had been prepared in
the summer, in the midst of their growth, it would have been
indispensable to allow a leaf or two to remain attached to the
upper end of the cutting, to assist in the formation of alimentary
matter.

_2. Although but one eye was allowed to grow, yet the
cuttings themselves were four or five inches long, and they
consisted, to the extent of two-thirds, of two-years-old wood.
By this means the quantity of food for the nascent branch was
intended to be so great as to insure it against suffering from an
inadequate supply, until it had formed roots. The importance
of this has already been shown by Mr. Knight in a previous
part of this book.

' 8. The cuttings were taken off in November, and not in the
spring. This gave them time to form granulations of cellular
substance at the lower or wounded end before the powers of
absorption by the alburnum were aroused, and so to protect
themselves against a too copious supply of aqueous matter
before the growing bud could dispose of it by its leaves. This
protection is afforded by the thinnest stratum of new cellular
tissue, which covers the ends of the wounded vessels, and acts
as a vital filter through which all the crude food must pass
from the soil.

4. The lower end of the cuttings was so divided as to be
parallel with the bottom of the pot, and it appears from the
context, although it is not expressly so stated, that this end was
to touch the bottom of the pot. The importance of this pre-

NEUMANN ON THE SOIL FOR CUTTINGS. 287.

¢aution is well known; cuttings of the Lemon and Orange,
which are by no means willing to strike if it is neglected,
become young plants readily if it is attended to; and in all
difficult cases it is had recourse too. The object of it seems to
be to place the absorbent or root end of the cutting in a situ-
ation where, while it is completely. drained of water, it may,
nevertheless, be in the vicinity of a never-failing supply of
aqueous vapour. If it were surrounded by earth, water would
readily collect about it in a condensed state, and the vessels
being all open in consequence of being cut through, would rise
at once into the interior; but the application of the root end
immediately to the earthen bottom of the pot, with which it is
so cut as to be nearly parallel, necessarily prevents any such
accumulation and introduction of water, unless over-watering is
allowed, and this all good gardeners will take care to avoid.

M. Neumann gives the following practical advice as to the earth in
which cuttings strike most readily.:—‘‘ Different sorts of trees do not
root equally well in all soils. There are some cuttings which can
scarcely be made to succeed in saline earth, while others succeed in it
~very well. The soils-considered the best for striking cuttings in the
open air are those which are free, sandy, and soft to the touch. Tamarix
elegans and T. germanica prosper in a soil rich in saltpetre; but the
Gingko and Poplars cannot strike in it. Cuttings made in glass-houses
generally require to be planted in earth mixed with peat in preference
to any other, but varied according to the nature of the plant. What-
ever composition we use, we must take care not to employ it too dry or
too moist; in the first case, the earth not being able to sustain itself in
a convenient manner around the cutting, the latter falls or is displaced
when we wish to water it; in the-second case, the earth being too com-
pact, it hinders the formation of roots; Nature makes vain efforts, and
the cutting suffers, decays, and dies, in spite of its disposition to
vegetate.”
Other substances are occasionally employed with some advantage as
a substitute for earth, such as chopped damp moss, brick dust, charcoal
dust, burnt clay, &e. The three last substances probably act in conse-
quence of their being bad conductors of heat, powerful absorbents

of gaseous matter, and in the best mechanical state for preserving the
cuttings from contact with excess of moisture.

cy

An ingenious plan of Mr. Forsyth’s is intended to answer
this purpose rather more perfectly. He puts a small sixty pot

288 POTS SUITED FOR CUTTINGS.

(Fig. XLII. a d) into one of larger size, having first closed
up the bottom of the former with clay (a); then having filled
the bottom of the outer pot with crocks, he fills up the sides
(c c) with propagating soil, in which his cuttings are so placed
that their root ends rest against the sides of the inner pot; the
latter is then filled with water, which passes very slowly

through the sides until it reaches the cuttings. .(See Gardeners’
Magazine, vol. xi, p. 564.) In many cases, especially in
striking such plants as Heaths, gardeners employ a stratum of
silver sand, placed immediately over the earth in which such
plants love to grow. The cuttings ave inserted into the sand,
but so near the earth that the roots, presently after their
emission, find themselves in it, and consequently in contact
with a source of food. This sand answers the same purpose as
placing the root end of the cutting in contact with the pot, and
is an ingenious device for doing that with small cuttings,
which cannot be conveniently done otherwise except with large
ones.

5. The cuttings are eventually placed in a hot-bed. This is
for the purpose of giving them a stimulus at exactly that time
when they are most ready to receive it. Had they been forced
at first in bottom heat, the stimulus would have been applied
to cuttings whose excitability had not been renovated, and the
consequence would have been a development of the powers of
growth so languid that they probably would not have survived
the coming winter: but, the stimulus being withheld till the

ADJUSTMENT OF FORCES. 289

cuttings were quite ready for growth, it told with the utmost
possible effect. 3

What is demanded when cuttings of plants are to be struck, —
is a due adjustment of heat, light, and moisture. The first
stimulates the vital processes, the second causes the formation
of matter out of which roots and leaves are to be organized, the
third is at once a vehicle for the food required by the cutting,
and a part of it. The great difficulty is to know how to adjust
these agents.

If the heat is too high, organs are formed faster than they
ean be solidified; if too low, decay comes on before the
reproductive forces can be put in action. When light is too
powerful, the fiuid contents of the cutting are lost faster than
they can be supplied ; when too feeble, there is not a sufficiently
quick formation of organizable matter to construct the new
roots and leaves with. If water is deficient, the cutting is
starved; if over-abundant, it rots.

It is, then, the adjustment of these forces to the peculiar
nature of the cutting to be acted upon that constitutes the art
of propagation. It is this which theory cannot supply, but
which depends upon skill and experience. If any part of the
operations of cultivation can be called empirical, it is this.
And yet the operator is not without rules to guide him in this
adjustment ; the misfortune is, that they are too general. The

_softer_a cutting, the quicker must be the excitement and.
application of the formative process. “The more hard and
“woody a cutting, the slower will be the operation.

The great enemies of the propagator, says Mr. Neumann,
are rotting and drying; for this reason cuttings are preserved
in the midst of a temperature and humidity always equal, the
evaporation of the soil is hindered, and the perspiration of the
cuttings is prevented. Heat, light, and moisture being the
agents to whose assistance we must look for success, and by
whose mismanagement the hopes of the gardener are ruined, it
is of the first importance to determine how each can be best
and most efficiently controlled. And first of heat.

We know that plants are distributed over all parts of the
habitable globe ; that in neighbouring countries the species are

wT

290 AMOUNT OF HEAT NECESSARY.

nearly alike, that distant countries are clothed with vegetation
of entirely different kinds, and that the distinction in the
vegetation is in proportion to the distance of the countries
from each other. There are not, perhaps, a dozen species in
Normandy that do not grow wild on this side the Channel ;
there are not a dozen species common to England and Bengal.
Species, in fact, are in general limited by similarity of tempe-
rature, and cannot exist beyond such limits. One of the first
considerations for the propagator, therefore, is what amount of
heat is natural to a species during its season of growth. With
less than that it is hopeless to make cuttings grow. It is only
when plants strike freely that the natural amount of heat is
sufficient ; in general they require more. The amount of heat
found in their natural climate may be enough for them. to grow
in; but a greater degree of excitement, by means of a higher
temperature, will be demanded by them to strike root in, when
cut up into the fragments called cuttings. A Willow-cutting
stuck into the open ground will strike root, but it does so
faster and more vigorously if placed ina hotbed. A Whitethorn
_ cutting in the open ground will not root at all; ma warm
propagating house, it will do so readily; and, to reverse the
illustration, cuttings of tropical plants, which naturally enjoy a
very high temperature, will perish if it is reduced, and will only
put forth roots when it is raised considerably above their
natural standard. Thus Mr. Neumann mentions that Nutmegs,
Guaiacum, Mangoes, &c., will not succeed unless in a tempe-
rature of about 100° Fahr. That degree of heat would be fatal
to greenhouse plants.

But it is not the temperature of the atmosphere that requires
to be maintained above that to which plants are naturally
subject: it is the soil that must be warmed. The first object is__
to obtain roots; those organs once formed, leaves will follow.
The vital action which causes the production of roots is, in the
first instance, local; roots are produced by the development of
the cellular matter of the underground part; that cellular
matter requires to be stimulated by unusual warmth; but the
necessary stimulus cannot be communicated by a heated
atmosphere: it is the warmth of the soil in which the cellular

BOTTOM HEAT. 291

matter lies buried that must be secured. Unusual warmth of
the air would have the effect of stimulating the buds, and would
cause a premature appearance of leaves, which would be any-
thing rather than conducive to the success of acutting. If soil
were to be kept at 88°, and the air at 84°, leaves would form,
but no roots would be emitted under ground, however skilful
the operator; and then, unless roots were thrown out above
ground, the cuttings would speedily exhaust themselves. On
the other hand, if the soil were kept at 84°, and the air at 38°,
leaves would certainly be formed as soon as the roots had
struck out, although in a pinched and shivering condition.

A proper degree of bottom-heat, then, is the first point for
consideration, for all other processes are subservient to that
fundamental requisite ; and the rule is, that it should always be
higher by several degrees than that to which plants are
naturally subject. Suppose, for example, that it is required to
strike a cutting of some plant from Algiers, and that the mean
temperature of the summer there were 70°, the safe course for
the gardener to take would be, to plunge his cutting in soil
warmed up to 75°.

The action of light and moisture upon cuttings is hardly
inferior to that of heat. The moment light strikes a green
plant it excites perspiration. Let us imagine that a cutting
weighed 20 at daybreak ; the uninterrupted action of light upon
it during the day would perhaps reduce its weight to 5, unless
it were supplied with water to replace that which the sunlight
drives off: the effect of this would, of course, be to kill it.
But such a result does not often happen to rooted plants,
because they are able to suck fluid out of the earth as fast as
the sun drives it off from their leaves, and the circulation of
the plant is active enough to prevent any part from being
exhausted of fluid. If it is not sufficiently active, then we have
leaves withered at the end, or branches struck with dryness.
But a cutting, having no roots, is unable to contend against the
sun’s influence, and therefore it must be shaded ; for, as we
cannot make it feed, we must prevent its wanting food. Thus
in tropical countries we learn from Mr. Neumann that cuttings
are struck in sheds shaded by straw and watered occasionally ;

u2

as

292 ACTION OF LIGHT, ETC.

with us the same point is also gained by cutting off the leaves,
or a part of them.

But there is this disadvantage in cutting off the access of
light, that roots are formed more rapidly when cuttings are
exposed to light than when they are shaded, provided they can
be kept alive. It is therefore a great problem to determine
how much light a cutting will endure with impunity. The
power of bearing light varies from species to species, and is
only to be determined by experience. One plant fades
presently, because its powers of perspiration are very great, as
is the case with the young shoots of most species of herbaceous
and shrubby plants; but as they grow older the loss by
perspiration diminishes, because their thickened skin opposes
a mechanical obstacle, and they can bear more light. It would
therefore seem, at first sight, that ripened cuttings must in all
cases be preferable to those which are young and tender.
Certainly, they are less liable to die quickly ; but they are also
much more ore unwilling t to root quickly. In fact, notwithstanding
the difficulty of keeping very young cuttings alive, they present
the only means of striking very difficult species, such, according
to Mr. Neumann, as the Cashew, the Mahogany, and the Litchi.
We may lay it down as a certain rule that the power of rooting
. is always greatest in all cuttings when they are first pushing,
/ provided they have light. The misfortune is, that they are so
‘extremely perishable at that time.

Water is our aid in this case. It is true that the sun’s
influence can have no injurious tendency so long as the roots
can drink and the system digest as fast as the surface perspires ;
and that the reverse is fatal. But the whole surface of a plant
absorbs as well as evaporates, and the younger it is the more it
absorbs. It is therefore possible to give plants water by their
leaves ; and if this is done with skill, the bad influence of the
sun is prevented. In that case the cutting has time enough
to make roots, by which its grosser food may be conveyed to it.
Hence has arisen the practice of striking plants under bell-
glasses, fitting tight to the soil on which they rest. Ignorant -
people believe that the use of a bell-glass is to keep out air,
which is impracticable and useless. Bell-glasses act by keeping

OTHER INDISPENSABLE CONDITIONS. 293

in moisture. From the surface of warm damp soil water is
perpetually escaping in the form of invisible vapour; if the
soil is freely exposed, that yapour is dispersed as fast as it is
formed ; but when it is confined beneath a bell-glass the air is
unchanged, and the vapour remains in a state of suspension,
bathing and invigorating the whole surface of the cuttings.
When this is well managed, the whole of the injurious effects of
sun-light are prevented, and all the advantages of it secured.

But it is not sufficient to place cuttings under a bell-glass
with a moist soil and a due supply of bottom-heat. Two other
things must be considered: the one is, to preserve the external
air in a uniform state; the other is, to take care that the soil
is not too wet.

If the air on the outside of bell-glasses is not as warm as
that beneath them, or warmer, the moisture floating in their
interior will condense on the sides of the glass and run down,
by which means the air that surrounds the cuttings will
fluctuate as to the quantity of water it holds suspended ; and if
the external air is much colder than the internal, will, in fact,
be dry, instead of damp. In their delicate state tender cuttings
will not bear this ; it is of the utmost consequence to them that
all the conditions to which they are exposed, except light,
should be perfectly steady.

The condition of the soil as to water is also of infinite!
importance. If it is wet, cuttings are apt to rot; if dry, |
are sure to fade. When a cutting is placed in a wet medium, it
may attract more water than it can digest; in that case its
fluids will become putrid, and its solid fabric must decay. It
is therefore indispensable, in all delicate operations, that the
soil should be of such a nature as to be incapable of holding
much water between its particles; and hence the value of silver
sand, the most favourable of all the materials within a gardener’s
reach. Nevertheless, there are some hard-wooded plants which
will not only bear an excess of water, but are the better for it,
We have seen the common Ghent Azaleas struck by placing a
cutting of the young wood, with a heel to it, in a bottle of water,
inclosed within a large Ward’s Case, none of the leaves having
been removed. In such plants as the Azalea, however, it is to

294 EMPLOYMENT OF COLLODION.

be observed that the dense texture of the wood prevents the
introduction of much water at a time, that the cuttings are very
slender, and the leaves very large. Plants that are differently
constituted can bear no such treatment. Let it be tried with a

Succulent plants, indeed, will generally do best where there is
no more moisture in contact with them than what the air holds
suspended. When they are gummy, or milky, or resinous, it
is necessary to let the end which is to be plunged in the ground
become dry, so that the mouths of the veins may contract, and ,
thus hinder the too rapid introduction of water. Mr. Neumann's
mode of doing this is ingenious. When he takes off cuttings of
Araucarias, Euphorbias, Vahea gummifera, and such plants, he
plunges them in a pot, in damp earth, not pressed down, with
their lower end upwards, so that the latter only is exposed to
the air, the whole head being buried. By this means he dries
the wound, without allowing any of the water of such cuttings
to escape. After leaving them for 24 or 86 hours, or even
more, he wipes the end, so as to remove the gummy matter that
has exuded, and then puts them in again in the usual way,
when they take, and the more freely according as the wound is
neatly made.

In order to meet the difficulty of maintaining cuttings in an
equable state with respect to both external and internal mois-
ture, Mr. Lowe has proposed to dip their ends in CoLLODIoN,
a substance possessing great adhesive power, impenetrable by
water, and impervious to air. Believing that the great difficulty
attendant upon the multiplication of plants by cuttings arises
from the tissues rotting by the excessive introduction of water,
which the cuttings cannot decompose, or throw off as vapour, it
occurred to him that if the fresh end of a cutting were smeared
with collodion the injurious access of water would be cut off, and
the risk much diminished. The result of his experiments con-
firmed his anticipations. Out of 26 collodionised cuttings of
stove plants 23 grew, while only 12 out of 26 grew when the
collodion was omitted. In like manner, of 33 collodionised
cuttings of greenhouse plants 23 grew, but only 11 out of the
game number took in the absence of the collodion. Similar

succulent plant, and the cutting would be rotten in a week.

i

EXCITABILITY NECESSARY TO SUCCESS. 295

results attended other trials. Itis probable that the failures
in the process were ascribable to what seems to be an imper-
fection in his process. If, instead of merely covering the cut
end of the cutting with collodion, he had in some cases covered
the cutting itself, as far as it was plunged in the soil, he would
perhaps have had still greater success. There are two kinds of
cuttings which are likely to demand this treatment—the one of
succulent or very soft plants, which absorb abundantly: through
their skin; and the other of hard-wooded plants, of little
substance, which become exhausted by the drying-up of their
organizable matter before roots can be formed.

It is known that plants possess some quality analogous to
animal irritability, to which, for want of a better, the name of
excitability has been given. In proportion to the amount of
excitability in a given plant is the power which its cuttings
possess of striking. The great promoter of vegetable excita-
bility is heat. Therefore the more heat a given plant has been
exposed to, within certain limits, the more readily its cuttings
will strike root. This explains what seems to have puzzled
Mr. Neumann. “ The young wood,” he says, “of trees grow-
ing in the open air will not do for cuttings; and yet, if those
same trees are forced in a hothouse, their cuttings are almost
sure to succeed. Physiologists have not discovered the cause
of this singular phenomenon. Many attempts have been made
to strike cuttings from trees growing in the open air; but with-
out success. If, for instance, we take an old branch of
Pawlovnia imperialis, in the month of March, and put it into
earth, or tan, or even water, in a stove with a good tempera-
ture, its buds will soon appear, and as soon as they are long
enough to make herbaceous cuttings, will strike freely. But if
you take them as they form upon a tree exposed to the open
air, they will not grow at all.” Vegetable excitability, a most
important attribute, but little thought of, is the obvious expla-
nation of this fact.

In addition it seems desirable to add some observations upon
the object of additional precautions often taken by gardeners.

Cuttings are covered by bell-glasses, whose edge is pressed
into the earth. This is for the purpose of preserving a

296 BELL-GLASSES EMPLOYED.

uniform degree of humidity in the atmosphere breathed by the
cuttings. It is generally necessary to leave one or more leaves
upon a cutting, in order to generate organizable matter, and to
assist in the formation of roots; but this is a delicate
operation, for, if the leaf is allowed to suffer by excessive
perspiration, the cuttings must necessarily perish. To main-
tain a steady saturated atmosphere around a cutting stops this
danger, and hence the use of a bell-glass. A double glass has
even been recommended ; but, if this precaution is of any value,
it must be, not because it preserves an even temperature, which
is injurious rather than useful, but because it prevents con-
densation upon the inner bell-glass, and the consequent
abstraction of atmospheric moisture, and probably acts at the
same time as a kind of shade.

Notwithstanding the precaution of covering cuttings with a
bell-glass, shade is also necessary, as a further security
against perspiration; for light acts as a specific stimulus,
whose effects are very difficult to counteract. It must,
however, be employed with great caution; for, if there is
not light enough, the leaves attached to the cuttings cannot
form that organizable matter out of which roots are produced.

Alt gardeners know that the root end of a cutting should be
close below a leaf-bud; this is to facilitate the emission. of
roots by the buds, which emission must necessarily take place
with greater or less difficulty in proportion as their exit is
facilitated or impeded by the pressure of bark on them.

A mode of overcoming some of the practical difficulties attending the
propagation of plants by cuttings has been described by Prof. Delacroix,
of Besangon. This gentleman states that he, some years since, con-
ceived the idea of insuring the success of cuttings, by putting the lower
end in water, and the middle in earth, a circular incision being made
between the earth and water. This was not attended with all the
advantages he expected, but it led to the discovery of the following
plan, which he designates a simple, economical, and certain mode of
propagation. His process is described in the following words :—

“My cutting is placed entirely under-ground, so as to form a
subterranean curve, of which the convexity is uppermost, the very
middle of the curve being on a level with the surface of the soil. At
this middle point there must be a good eye, or a small shoot. In this
way the whole length of the cutting is protected by earth, and the

DELACROIX’S METHOD. 297

smaller end, instead of becoming the seat of dryness, which is always
more or less injurious, becomes a passage for absorption. The bud,
which, under these circumstances, is the only part exposed to the air,
bears, without injury, or rather with advantage, all the causes of
excitement, Although I did not commence my experiments before the
end of June, I have seen quite enough to satisfy me that the method
may be of serious advantage. Two drills about three inches apart were
drawn parallel with each other, in a kitchen garden of indifferent
quality, situated on a calcareous plain near Besangon, A hundred
cuttings of Apples, Pears, Plums, Apricots, Tulip-trees, Roses, &c.,
almost all of this year’s wood, were bent and buried in the manner
described, with their ends in the two drills. They were watered a few
times, and at this moment every cutting, in the open air, and exposed
to the full sunshine, is just as fresh as it was when planted. In most
of them, the part exposed to the air (the bud) is the seat of active
vegetation, especially in the Pears and Tulip-trees, the buds of which
have already made some progress.”

Another ready mode of dealing with cuttings, when the means of the
propagator are circumscribed, is that of striking in vials of water. A
correspondent of the Gardeners’ Chronicle thus describes his practice.
‘tie vial-bottles together by the necks, and hang them in the windows
of our small greenhouse, having filled them with clean soft water. I
then put in slips of Salvia, Calceolaria, Mimulus, Myrtle, or anything I
wish to propagate of the same description of plants; in about two or
three weeks, or a month, the little silver-like roots appear, and in a
week or ten days I plant them in small pots well watered; they never
seem to flag or mind the change, and I rarely lose a slip. Myrtles are
longer in forming roots—cuttings from the same plant have varied from
six weeks to twelve months: they were putinin November. A string of
bottles I also hang against the back of the greenhouse, where they have
plenty of light, and they do equally well, though not quite so quickly.”
The practice is old, and well suited to soft-wooded plants, Even some
-hard-wooded kinds, such as Azaleas, strike freely in this manner.

Conifers may be increased by cuttings. About the month of
September, or any time when the wood is three parts ripe, procure
cuttings of the current year’s growth with a small portion of the old
wood attached, or what is termed a heel, selecting the small terminal
short-jointed shoots, which are those most likely to form leaders; for
although you may strike some of the more weakly side-shoots much
easier and quicker, they are afterwards of little value, as they frequently
are years before they form a good leader. Having procured the cuttings
fresh from the tree, which is of great consequence,—for if they are
allowed to remain any considerable time before they are put in after
separation from the mother plant, there is little hope of success,—
prepare them by taking the bottom leaves partly off, which should

298

CUTTINGS OF CONIFERS.

either be done with a sharp knife or scissors. When the cuttings are
thus made, procure some wide-mouthed or shallow pots, and well drain
them, placing over the drainage a small portion of tufty peat or moss,
and over that a layer of loam about one inch thick, filling up the
remainder of the pot with white sand (the loam prevents the cuttings
from cankering after they are rooted, which they are apt to do when
placed in sand only); then plant the cuttings from 3 to 3 of an inch
deep, according to their size; but the shallower they are placed the
better, provided they are made secure and not allowed afterwards to
get dry, and particularly if covered with a bell-glass at first; this is
not absolutely necessary if the cutting-pots are put into a frame kept
quite close, as an equal temperature, both for heat and moisture, is
requisite at this time. Having placed the cuttings properly in the
sand, give them a copious watering, and finally remove them to some
cold frame, kept close and well shaded when necessary. They may
remain in this situation till the end of October, when they should be
removed to some cold pit for the winter, care being taken that they do
not suffer from frost or damp; but they must on no account have much
artificial heat. About the end of February remove the cutting-pots to
a moderate hot-bed frame, and place bell-glasses over them (if not done
before) ; the cuttings will then root readily, and many of them will be
fit to pot off by the end of June, at which time those cuttings which are
not rooted should be again placed in sand, and treated as before.
When first potted off, the young plants should be treated like seedlings,
and afterwards hardened to the open air.

Cape Heaths, which are among the more difficult plants to strike from
cuttings, are treated thus :—No particular time can be specified for the
operation, because the plants are in a fit state for taking off cuttings
at different times; but the earlier in the season the better, although
many cultivators succeed perfectly so late as the months of August and
September. The plants from which the cuttings are taken must be
perfectly healthy. The wood should be firm and nearly ripe; if taken
when very young it is almost certain to damp off. The short lateral
shoots, about an inch or an inch and a half long, should always be
chosen, the leaves stripped off them to about half their length, and the
ends cut across with a sharp knife ; in this state they are ready for the
cutting-pot. The cutting-pots should be prepared in the following
manner:—Fill them about two-thirds with broken pots, and cover these
with a thin stratum of turfy peat or some other substance, to prevent
the sand with which the pots are filled up from choking the drainage.
The silver-sand common about London is very well adapted for striking
Heaths, but almost any white sand will answer the purpose. The cut-
tings must be inserted in the sand, not deeply, but merely deep enough
to support themselves; from a quarter to half an inch is quite sufficient.
They must then be well watered, which will carry down the particles of

CUTTINGS OF HEATHS. 299

sand round each cutting, and render them firm enough without further
trouble. Bell-glasses are of great service in striking them, but not
indispensable. When they are used, they must be frequently taken off
and wiped dry, otherwise the moisture will probably rot the cuttings.
When they are dispensed with, the cuttings should be placed in a situ-
ation which is moist and shaded, and then they will be surrounded in a
great measure with the same circumstances as under a bell-glass. Very
little artificial heat is necessary in striking Heaths; much is certainly
injurious. A Cucumber or Melon frame nearly exhausted, or the shaded
part of a cool stove, will answer the purpose early in spring ; and later
in the season when the sun-heat is greater a close frame slightly shaded
is all that is required. The care afterwards is to shade during bright
sunshine, taking means to remove the shade early in the afternoon, so as
to allow the rays, which are not then strong enough to injure the cuttings,
to heat the frame, and also to see that the watering is not neglected.
More, perhaps, depends upon the kind of water which is used, and the
regularity with which it is given, than upon anything else in the opera-
tion, if we except the selection of proper cuttings. Rain or river
water is by far the best kind to use; spring-water is usually injurious.
After the cuttings have struck root, they should be gradually hardened
by exposure to the air before they are potted off. Small thumb-pots
are the best for the first potting, and the soil used should be very sandy
peat. The greatest care should be taken to preserve the young rootlets
from injury, because if this is not attended to the plants will receive a
sudden check at first, which is very prejudicial. These examples will
teach any intelligent person how to deal with other kinds of plants.

No further precautions are taken with cuttings, nor does it
at first sight appear possible to suggest any: nevertheless
the enormous constitutional difference among plants is such,
that, while numerous species will strike without any difficulty
under almost any circumstances, with the wood ripe or half-
ripe, just formed or aged, there are many others which no art
has yet succeeded in converting into plants; and itis by no
means uncommon to find that, out of a potful of cuttings of the
same species, apparently all alike and subjected to exactly the
same treatment, one will grow and the remainder fail.

It has been thought worthy of inquiry whether bell-glasses
of different colours will not produce different effects upon
cuttings, in consequence of their different power of transmitting
light. It has been shown by Dr. Daubeny, in a very interest-
ing paper in the Philosophical Transactions for 1886, page

300 EFFECTS OF COLOURED LIGHT.

149, that glass of different colours exercise very different
effects upon the plants exposed to the rays of solar light
passing through it; that both the exhalation and absorption
of moisture by plants, so far as they depend upon the influence
of light, are affected in the greatest degree by the most
luminous rays, and that all the functions of the vegetable
economy, which are owing to the presence of this agent, follow
in that respect the same law. In these experiments it was
ascertained that the glass employed admitted the passage of
the rays of light in the following proportions :—

Transparent. Orange. Red. Blue. Purple. Green,
Luminous rays 7 6 4 4 3 5
Calorific rays 7 6 5 3 4 2
Chemical rays 7 4 0 6 6 3

M. Decaisne found, during some experiments to ascertain
the effect of light in causing the production of colouring matter
in the Madder plant, that when the lower parts of a plant
were enclosed in cases glazed at the side with transparent
green, red, or yellow glass, the leaves and stem of the part
surrounded by red glass, became pallid, and exhibited signs of
suffering in a greater degree than under the other colours, but
all were affected more or less.* (Recherches sur la Garance, p. 23.)

Many ingenious experiments of a similar nature have been
made by Mr. Hunt as has been already stated (p. 238). But we
have not ground at present to believe that they possess practical
value. No advantage seems to have resulted from glazing the
great Palm House at Kew with green glass of a tint selected by
Mr. Hunt himself; and, in short, we have every reason to
conclude that the white light which is natural to plants is that
which is best adapted to their constitution ; nothing more being
required of the gardener than to moderate or increase its
intensity.

Full details respecting the experiments of Mr. Hunt will be found in
the Gardeners’ Chronicle for 1847, p. 524, and for 1848, pp. 138, 155.
In the same work for 1845, p. 55, are also recorded Zantedeschi’s
observations upon the influence of coloured light.

* The nature of these experiments has been misapprehended in the translation, by
Mr. Francis, of Meyen’s Report on Vegetable Physiology for 1837, p. 51.

CHAPTER XI.

——-

OF PROPAGATION BY LAYERS AND SUCKERS.

Wiru regard to layers, there is little which it is necessary to
say regarding them, if what has been stated respecting eyes,
leaves, and cuttings, has been rightly understood and well
considered. A layer is a branch bent into the earth, and half
cut through at the bend, the free portion of the wound being
called “ a tongue.” It is, in fact, a cutting only partially
separated from its parent.

The object of the gardener is to induce the layer to emit
roots into the earth at the tongue. With this view he twists
the shoot half round, so as to injure the wood-vessels; he
heads it back so that only a bud or two appears above ground;
and, when much nicety is requisite, he places a handful of
silver sand round the tongued part; then pressing the earth
down, so as to secure the layer, he leaves it without further
care. The intention of both tongueing and twisting is to pre-
vent the return of sap from the layer into the main stem, while
a small quantity is allowed to rise out of the latter into the
former ; the effect of this being to compel the returning sap to
organize itself externally as roots, instead of passing downwards
below the bark as wood. The bending back is to assist in
this object, by preventing the expenditure of sap in the
formation or rather completion of leaves; and the silver sand
is to secure the drainage so necessary to cuttings.

In most cases, this is sufficient; but it must be obvious that
the exact manner in which the layering is effected is unimpor-
tant, and that it may be varied according to circumstances.
Thus, Mr. James Munro describes a successful method of

802 PROPAGATION BY LAYERS.

layering brittle-branched plants by simply slitting the shoot at
the bend, and inserting a stone at that place (Gardeners’
Magazine, ix. 302): and Mr Knight found that, in cases of
difficult rooting, the process is facilitated by ringing the shoot
just below the tongue, about midsummer, when the leaves
upon the layers had acquired their full growth (Hort. Trans.,
i. 256); by which means he prevented the return of sap
further downwards than the point intended to root.

It will sometimes happen that the branch of a plant cannot
be conveniently bent downwards into the earth; in such cases,
the earth may be elevated to the branch by various contri-
vances, as is commonly practised by the Chinese. In this
no other care is necessary than that required for layers, except
to keep the earth surrounding the branch steadily moist.

Suckers are branches naturally thrown up by a plant from
its base, when the onward current of growth of the stem is
stopped. Where this occurs the onward growth of a plant is
arrested, the sap is driven to find new outlets, and adventitious
buds (see p. 44) are very likely to be developed ; the well-known
effect of cutting down a tree is an exemplification of this.
Such branches, if they proceed from under ground, sometimes
form roots at their base, in which case they are employed as a
means of propagation; in the instance of the Pine-apple, they
are made use of for the same purpose, although they do not
emit roots till they are separated from the parent. Gardeners
usually satisfy themselves with taking from their Pine-apple
plants such suckers as are produced in consequence of the
stoppage of. onward growth by the formation of the fruit: but
these ‘are few in number, and not at all what the plant is capable
of yielding. Instead of throwing away the “stump” of the Pine-
apple, it should be placed in a damp pit, and exposed to a
bottom heat of 90° or thereabouts, when every one of the latent
eyes will spring forth, and a crop of young plants be the result.
Mr. Alexander Forsyth, an experienced writer upon these sub-
jects, pointed this out some years since in the Gardeners’ Maga-
zine (xii. 594); and there can be no doubt that his observations
upon the folly of throwing away “stumps” are perfectly correct
both in theory and practice.

CHAPTER XII.

. =

OF PROPAGATION BY BUDDING AND GRAFTING.

THESE operations consist in causing an eye or a cutting of
one plant to grow upon some other plant, so that the two, by
forming an organic union, become a new and compound
individual. The eye, in these cases, takes the name of bud,
the cutting is called a scion, and the plant upon which they are
made to grow is named the stock.

Propagation by eyes and cuttings is, therefore, the same as
budding and grafting, with this important difference, that in
the one case the fragments of a plant are made to strike root
into the inorganic soil, and to grow “ on their own bottom,” as
the saying is, while in the other they adhere permanently to
living organic matter. In like manner, the operation of
inarching, or causing the branch of one plant to remain
attached to its parent, and at the same time to grow upon the
branch of another tree, is analogous to layering.

The objects of these operations are manifold. Many plants,
such as the Pear and the Apple, will bud or graft freely, but
are difficult to strike from cuttings, Species which are
naturally delicate become robust when “worked” on robust
stocks ; and the consequence is a more abundant production of
flowers and fruit: thus the more delicate kinds of Vines
produce larger and finer grapes when worked upon such
vigorous sorts as the Syrian and Nice. The Double Yellow
Rose, which so seldom opens its flowers, and which will not
grow at all in many situations, is said to blossom abundantly,
and grow freely, when worked upon the common China Rose.
(Hort. Trans., v. 870.) One plant may be made to bear a

804 USE OF GRAFTING.

different variety upon every branch, as has been seen with
Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, and Cacti. (Gard. Chron., 1844, 119,
213.) The peculiar qualities of some plants can only be pre-
served by working: this is especially the case with certain
kinds of variegated Roses, which retain their gay markings when
budded, but become plain if on their own bottom. (Ib. 492.)
Fruit may be obtained from seedling plants by these processes
much earlier than by any others, the quality of seedling fruit-
trees may be ascertained in two or three years instead of twenty
or thirty, and thus long and objectless expectation may be
avoided: indeed, Mr. Knight ascertained that it is possible to
transfer the blossom-buds of one plant to another, so as to
obtain flowers or fruit from them immediately. He thus fixed
on the Wild Rose the flower-buds of Garden Roses, “and these
buds, being abundantly supplied with nutriment, afforded much
finer roses than they would have done had they retained their
natural situation.” He repeated many similar experiments
upon the Pear and Peach-tree with similar success ; but in the
case of the Pear, he found that if the buds were inserted earlier
than the end of August or beginning of September, they became
branches and not flowers.

The modes in which these operations may be practised are
exceedingly various, and an abundance of methods (often
fanciful) have been devised, for a complete account of which the
reader is referred to Thouin’s Monographie des Greffes; to the
article “Greffe” by the same author, in the Nouveaw Cours
complet d Agriculture, &c., edition of 1822; to Loudon’s
Encyclopedia of Gardening, part ii.; to the Gardeners’
Magazine, vol. x. p. 805, and to future pages of the
present work.

Buppine consists in introducing a bud of one tree, with a
portion of bark adhering to it, below the bark of another tree.
In order to effect this, a longitudinal incision is made through
the bark of the stock down to the wood, and is then crossed at
the upper end by a similar cut (Fig. XLIII., a), so that the
whole wound resembles the letter T. Then from the scion is
pared off a bud with a portion of the bark (Fig. XLIIL., b), and

OPERATION OF BUDDING. 305

the latter is pushed below the bark of the stock until the bud
is actually upon the naked wood of the stock; the upper lips
of the wound in the stock and that of the
bud are made to coincide, the whole are
fastened down by a ligature, and the
operation is complete.

The ligature has usually been of bast,
applied wet; but it is apt to become loose.
A better material is narrow tape, or narrow
adhesive straps, made as directed in a suc-_
ceeding page (340). White and green worsted
are also employed in preference to bast,
It is also said that for delicate operations,
with green parts, collodion painted over the
juncture of the scion and stock, forms an
effectual ligature.

Fig. XLII.
Shield-budding.

By these means we gain the important
end of bringing in close contact a
considerable surface of young organizing matter. The
organization of wood takes place on its exterior, and that
of bark on its interior. surface, and these are the parts
which are applied to each other in the operation of budding;
in addition to which the stranger bud finds itself, in its new
position, as freely in communication with alimentary matter, or
more so, than on its parent branch. Union takes place of the
cellular faces, or horizontal system, of the stock and bark of
the bud, while the latter, as soon as it begins to grow, sends
down organizable matter, out of which wood, or tlfe vertical
system, is constructed. In consequence of the horizontal
incision, the returning sap of the scion is arrested in its course,
and accumulates a little just above the new bud, to which it is
gradually supplied as it is required. Sometimes the whole of
the wood of the bud below the bark is allowed to remain; and,
in that case, contact between the organizing surfaces of the
stock and scion does not take place, and the union of the two
is much less certain: as it is, however, usually practised with
tender shoots before’ the wood is consolidated, the contact
spoken of is of less moment.

306 BUDS MUST BE RIPE.

It is generally thought that, in all cases, a portion of the
wood of the bud must be left adhering to it, or the bud will
perish; because its most essential part is the young woody
matter in its centre, and not the external surface, which is a
mere coating of bark. But this is not the case. Buds take
perfectly well without the assistance of any portion of their
own wood; nor does the removal of the wood injure the eye,
which is a vital portion of cellular matter firmly encased in
the scales of the bud. Lymburn and other experienced
practical men even advocate the total removal of the wood; and
they are doubtless right, because it is only so much inactive
matter interposed between the surface of the branch and the
nascent tissue there, to which the vital point of the bud has to
adhere. What is really essential is that the bud shall be
“ripe,” or fully formed; and also that it shall be sound.
Immaturity or unsoundness are the usual causes of “blind
buds.”

Mr Lymburn even recommends, as the result of long experience, that
for the usual mode of shaving a bud off a branch with some of its own
wood, the operator should cut the bark all round the bud, to the exact
shape and size wanted, without disturbing the wood at all. After this,
if the thumb is applied to the side of the bud and gently squeezed.
upwards, the bud will come out as smooth as glass, in the cut, if the
bark is free; and unless it is so, the budding is not likely to do well.
For Cherries, Plums, Peaches, and fruit-trees in general, he considers
this the best of all methods.

A practical writer in the Gardeners’ Chronicle (1842, 604) makes the
following statement as to the necessity for the bud to be ripe :—-‘‘ Many
buds have I inserted in early days in which the eyes have not been
sufficiently swollen, and no produce has come forth; and many a bud
have I inserted in the hope that the cambium would fill the vacant hole
which fear told me was too large, yet which a scanty supply of buds
induced me to retain, but all in vain; for though the bark adhered, the
eye was lost, and many a woody bud inserted thus has become dry
before it could adhere. I believe the great secret to be—taking the
bud in its proper state, ¢. e., full-formed (not too near the base of the
stock, from which it will part with difficulty, nor too near the top,
because insufficiently ripe), and to insert it when the receiving plant
and the weather are in a favourable state to continue the elaboration of
those juices necessary to form a junction. The period of year is,
comparatively speaking, immaterial; I have inserted buds at all times,

REVERSE BUDDING. 307

and have now in my possession a plant that was worked on 21st October,
ten years ago.”

In the Agricultwral Journal of the Pays Bas for October,
1824, it is recommended to reverse the usual mode of raising
the bark for inserting the buds, and to make the cross cut at
the bottom of the slit, instead of at the top, as is generally
done in Britain. The bud is said rarely to fail of success,
because it receives abundance of the descending sap, which it
cannot receive when it is under the cross cut. This method is
said to be practised by the orange-growers of the South of
France.

Since the young bud is to be nourished at first by the
leaves above it on the stock, the best place to insert it is close
beneath some leaf in full activity; it is not, therefore, the most
open and smooth part of the stock which is to be selected.
For the same reason, it might appear injudicious to shorten
the branch into which a bud is inserted; but if the shoot is not
stopped, the rising sap will be attracted into the youngest
leaves, and expended in their increase, while on the other
hand, if the shoot is stopped, the sap will be forced laterally
into the buds already forming on its sides, and the new bud
will participate in this advantage. It is therefore, upon the
whole, advantageous to cut off a part of each shoot into which
a bud is introduced; the removal of a quarter of it is enough
to answer the intended purpose.

As it is important that the vigour of the budded branch
should be preserved for the buds which it is forming, all
flowers or fruit should be removed both from it and from the
twigs in its vicinity, otherwise those parts will consume the
organizable matter which would be applied to the service of the
new buds. Prickles, however, do no harm, and may possibly
be useful, although we do not know what their use is.

Another point is the propriety of leaving a leaf upon the bud
to be inserted. This question is one which practice can answer
better than theory. Theory says the leaf will injure the bud
by carrying off its fluid particles, and assist it by the secretions
it will send down to it, and to the nascent tissue forming
beneath it. Now, since the abstraction of fluid is rapid and

x 2

306 BUDS MUST BE RIPE.

It is generally thought that, in all cases, a portion of the
wood of the bud must be left adhering to it, or the bud will
perish; because its most essential part is the young woody
matter in its centre, and not the external surface, which is a
mere coating of bark. But this is not the case. Buds take
perfectly well without the assistance of any portion of their
own wood; nor does the removal of the wood injure the eye,
which is a vital portion of cellular matter firmly encased in
the scales of the bud. Lymburn and other experienced
practical men even advocate the total removal of the wood; and
they are doubtless right, because it is only so much inactive
matter interposed between the surface of the branch and the
nascent tissue there, to which the vital point of the bud has to
adhere. What is really essential is that the bud shall be
“ripe,” or fully formed; and also that it shall be sound.
Immaturity or unsoundness are the usual causes of “blind
buds.” “

Mr Lymburn even recommends, as the result of long experience, that
for the usual mode of shaving a bud off a branch with some of its own
wood, the operator should cut the bark all round the bud, to the exact
shape and size wanted, without disturbing the wood at all. After this,
if the thumb is applied to the side of the bud and gently squeezed
upwards, the bud will come out as smooth as glass, in the cut, if the
bark is free; and unless it is so, the budding is not likely to do well,
For Cherries, Plums, Peaches, and fruit-trees in general, he considers
this the best of all methods.

A practical writer in the Gardeners’ Chronicle (1842, 604) makes the
following statement as to the necessity for the bud to be ripe :—-‘‘ Many
buds have I inserted in early days in which the eyes have not been
sufficiently swollen, and no produce has come forth; and many a bud
have I inserted in the hope that the cambium would fill the vacant hole
which fear told me was too large, yet which a scanty supply of buds
induced me to retain, but all in vain; for though the bark adhered, the
eye was lost, and many a woody bud inserted thus has become dry
before it could adhere. I believe the great secret to be—taking the
bud in its proper state, ¢. e., full-formed (not too near the base of the
stock, from which it will part with difficulty, nor too near the top,
because insufficiently ripe), and to insert it when the receiving plant
and the weather are in a favourable state to continue the elaboration of
those juices necessary to form a junction. The period of year is,
comparatively speaking, immaterial ; I have inserted buds at all times,

REVERSE BUDDING. 307

and have now in my possession a plant that was worked on 21st October,
ten years ago.”

In the Agricultural Journal of the Pays Bas for October,
1824, it is recommended to reverse the usual mode of raising
the bark for inserting the buds, and to make the cross cut at
the bottom of the slit, instead of at the top, as is generally
done in Britain. The bud is said rarely to fail of success,
because it receives abundance of the descending sap, which it
cannot receive when it is under the cross cut. This method is
said to be practised by the orange-growers of the South of
France.

Since the young bud is to be nourished at first by the
leaves above it on the stock, the best place to insert it is close
beneath some leaf in full activity; it is not, therefore, the most
open and smooth part of the stock which is to be selected.
For the same reason, it might appear injudicious to shorten
the branch into which a bud is inserted; but if the shoot is not
stopped, the rising sap will be attracted into the youngest
leaves, and expended in their increase, while on the other
hand, if the shoot is stopped, the sap will be forced laterally
into the buds already forming on its sides, and the new bud
will participate in this advantage. It is therefore, upon the
whole, advantageous to cut off a part of each shoot into which
a bud is introduced ; the removal of a quarter of it is enough
to answer the intended purpose.

As it is important that the vigour of the budded branch
should be preserved for the buds which it is forming, all
flowers or fruit should be removed both from it and from the
twigs in its vicinity, otherwise those parts will consume the
organizable matter which would be applied to the service of the
new buds. Prickles, however, do no harm, and may possibly
be useful, although we do not know what their use is.

Another point is the propriety of leaving a leaf upon the bud
to be inserted. This question is one which practice can answer
better than theory. Theory says the leaf will ayure the bud
by carrying off its fluid particles, and assist it by the secretions
it will send down to it, and to the nascent tissue forming
beneath it. Now, since the abstraction of fluid is rapid and

x2

310

DALBRET’S PRACTICE—PUSHING EYES.

they only cut them back when the inserted buds are in a good state of
vegetation,

There are fruit-trees which cannot be budded thus until the leaves -
make their appearance, such as the Mulberry, Walnut, Chestnut, &c. ;
and in order to succeed well with these it is necessary to take buds
from two-year-old wood, in which case the
branches had better be cut off in March
and preserved carefully in earth. When
the vegetation of the stocks for the reception
of these buds shall have become decidedly
active, the branches should be washed
without much rubbing, wrapped in a damp
cloth, and placed from thirty to forty hours
in a moist atmosphere of between 60° and
70° F., in order to expand their latent sap,
so as to cause their bark to run. The buds
are removed as follows:—With the blade
of the grafting knife we cut the shoot
obliquely (see Fig. XLV., c); then we
place the knife about three-quarters of an
inch above the eye for the purpose of raising
it with a large slice of bark; to do this the
more readily we make the slope towards the
eye, cutting through the bark and a small
portion of alburnum. The knife should
preserve the same slope while passing under
the eye, and continue its course till it meets
the first cut. This eye should be examined
by taking it lightly between the fingers of the left hand and with one
of these gently bending down the portion of bark placed above the
growing point; then, by means of the thumb of the right hand and the
blade of the grafting knife, placed in the same hand, we can lay hold
of the alburnum and remove it; but the removal should not extend
beyond the growing point, which ought to be preserved entire. If from
want of practice the patch of alburnum is too thick (and this we shall
always know to be the case when it brings the eye along with it), we
must thin the whole in order that it may separate without tearing out
that essential part. Then proceed as follows: With the grafting knife
make a horizontal incision, which shall embrace almost one-third of the
stock, cutting through the bark as far as the alburnum; another incision
to the same depth should be made downwards and perpendicular to the
first, the two representing the letter T; then slightly raise. the bark
at the circular cut, taking care that in doing so the handle of the

budding knife does not bruise the cambium,
Thus prepared, as seen at Fig. XLV. d, the bud should be pushed

Fig. XLV.—Buds with pushing
eyes.

D’ALBRET’S PRACTICE—DORMANT EYES. 311

under the two lips of the cut, only partially opened previously, for it is
by gently pushing in the bud with the thin part of the handle of the
budding knife that the opening is sufficiently effected. "When the bud
is perfectly fitted at the base and placed as is represented, the portion
of its bark which extends above the transverse line is cut off. This
operation is represented by Fig. XLV. 6. The two lips are then brought
together and fixed over the bark of the bud by means of woollen or
thick cotton thread, the length of this thread being proportioned to the
thickness of the stock; two-thirds of the length should be kept in
reserve in the right hand, the rest in the left. Thus divided, we place
it opposite the bud and draw the two ends with a moderate force,
crossing them above the bud and as close to it as possible without
crushing it. Two or three other turns should be made in the same
manner, winding the thread continually in the same direction, and
finally securing it by a half-knot. When the stocks are strong it is as
well to inspect the ligatures soon and to loosen them occasionally, in
order to preserve the buds from strangulation, When the bud shall
have completely taken the ligature may be removed, and we then cut
off all shoots springing from the stock below the bud in order that the
latter may appropriate the whole of the sap.

Dormant Eyes (a@ etl dormant).—Some time before performing this
operation select the place on each stock which the bud is to occupy, and
remove all shoots likely to deprive it of the free contact of air. If this
precaution has been neglected, then the removal of the shoots should
only take place at the moment when the bud is inserted, and even then
there is a chance of failure. It has long been known that this mode of
pudding has great advantages over others, seeing that if the buds do
not succeed the stocks are but little deteriorated by the proceeding ;
there is frequently an opportunity of repeating the operation ten or
twelve days after the first, and, as a last resource, these stocks may be
grafted over again in the following season. Experienced budders judge
that it is time to perform the operation when three-fourths at least of the
shoots of each stock have ceased to push; in this state the bark is mature,
and yet can be easily detached from the woody substance which it
covers, and the sap being more stationary, we no longer dread impetu-
ous superabundance, which is always detrimental to the buds, frequently
causing them to perish from plethora, or as we say to be drowned in
sap. If, however, circumstances render it necessary to bud before this
excessive flow of sap is over, which is indicated by the great number of
shoots still forming, it is proper to cut back all the soft tops as soon as
the bud is inserted. The ligature should be removed at the fall of the
leaf, in order to avoid the stagnation of moisture about the bud. The
heads of the stocks thus budded should be cut back in the following
spring, for we must not be in too mynch haste, especially with delicate
species having viscid sap. Cut back: ‘the stock to within an eighth of an

312

D'ALBRET’S PRACTICE—SHIELD-BUDDING.

inch above the bud and sloping. In extensive operations the cutting
back is done roughly at three or four inches above the bud, in order
that the stump may serve as a support to the shoot produced by the
bud, which for a time is fastened to it.

Shield-budding without alburnum (Fig. XLVI. b.— Greffe en écusson
dénué de bois),—This is employed for propagating delicate trees and
shrubs with slender wood and thin tender bark. The form of the
shield is usually traced with the blade of the grafting knife, cutting
completely through the bark ; then having removed a portion of that
which is above it, we press the shield between the fingers, and with a
jerk detach it from its position along with the small fleshy growing
point ; if by mischance the latter is bruised or remains attached to the
alburnum, the shield must be destroyed and another substituted. To
avoid this inconvenience we employ a fine wire, as indicated at b, which,
by pulling the two ends, is made to glide along the alburnum, easily
detaching the shield with the growing point adhering to it.

Inverted 1 budding (Fig. XLVI. a).—Prepare a shield the point of
which shall be above the eye—see a. Raise this shield by means of a
wire, as above explained; make in
the stock an opening by the cut
indicated in the figure, and there
insert the shield by introducing its
point at the base of the opening;
unite the parts, and secure the
whole by a ligature, which should
commence below the eye. This
mode of budding is preferable to all
others for propagating the finest
varieties of Oranges and Olives, and
all tender trees with viscid sap.

Square Shield - budding — (Fig.
XLVII. ¢. Greffe en écusson, dite
emporte piéce).—F rom a strong tree,
remove a square patch; raise from a
strong branch another piece of the
same shape, but larger, and fur-
nished with an eye; fit this piece into
the place of the first ; and. cover it
with a piece of paper, pierced with
a hole for the eye, securing the
whole by a ligature. This is to be
employed for trees with very thick
bark and large eyes; such as Walnut
and Mulberry-trees. It may be performed in spring, for budding with
the pushing eye; or even with the dormant eye, in August, or later.

' ‘Fig. XLVI.

D’ALBRET’S PRACTICE—FLUTE-BUDDING, 313

Flute-budding (Greffe en tuyau dite en filte).—Of this, which is
an ancient practice, two modifications only deserve mention—the first,
with the pushing eye; the second, with the dormant-eye.

a. Flute-budding with Shooting Eyes (Fig. XLVII. a).—In spring,

Fig, XLVIL.

when the bark of both stock and scions runs freely, the latter are cut off,
and immediately wrapped in a moist cloth, in which they may be kept
four days ; but it is better not to cut them till a short time before the buds
are to be taken off, after which the operation must be as expeditious as
possible. Before attempting to remove the bark of either the scion or
stock, cut off all angular parts; then at the summit of the latter make
three or four longitudinal incisions in the bark, in order to separate it
easily, as is represented at letter a, Then, from the scions select one a
little stronger than the stock, and trace on it two circles which mark
the length of the tube of bark, on which there should be at least one
good eye, or two when they are not wide apart; see letter b, The
scion should then be held in the hand for a minute or two, in order to
warm and expand the bark, which’ will then be more easily detached
from the alburnum by.a smart twist. The fiute or tube thus separated,

should be immediately transferred to the naked part of the stock ;
but this being smaller, the bark is stripped down till the flute in
descending fits tight, all its interior surface being in contact with the
alburnum of the stock. This being effected, we sometimes bring up
the strips of bark over the flute to protect it from the contact of air.
More generally, the loose bark is cut off; but in this case it is necessary
to cut the naked part of the stock above the flute into thin strips, 80 as

to form a ne for protecting the parts operated upon from air and
water.

314 DALBRET’S PRACTICE—FLUTE-BUDDING.

b. Flute-budding with Dormant Eyes (Fig. XLVII. d).—This is
practised exclusively, during the month of August, with wood produced
by the spring sap. The part from which the buds are taken ought to be
as thick as possible; and as soon as it is separated from the parent tree,
the leaves are removed, a small part of their stalks being alone
preserved ; immediately after which the buds are raised. The operation
differs from the preceding in nothing except slitting the bark longi-
tudinally, laying the tube open through its whole length, and thus
rendering it easy to extract all adherent parts. This done, it is applied
to the stock, of which we preserve the top; the lower part of the stock
should be as thick as the tube itself. From the stock we remove a tube
of the same dimensions as the other, by which it is immediately
replaced, care being taken that the edges everywhere coincide ; it is
kept in its place by a ligature, which had better be removed before
winter. The stock is not headed down till spring, in order that the
bud may partake of the general growth. This mode is difficult to
perform, and is only used for propagating delicate trees, whose bark
will not readily run in spring, and when a supply of descending sap is
absolutely necessary for success. F

In Grartine no attemptis made to apply the inner surface
of the bark of a scion to the outer surface of the
wood of the stock; but tle contact is effected by
the wood of the two, and their bark only joins at the
edges. Whip-grafting (Fig. XLVIIL) is the com-
monest kind; it is performed by heading down a
stock, then paring one side of it bare for the space
of an inch or so, and cutting down obliquely at
the upper end of the pared part, towards the
pith; the scion is bevelled obliquely to a length
corresponding with the pared surface of the stock,
and an incision is made into it near the upper end
of the wound obliquely upwards, so as to form a
“tongue,” which is forced into the corresponding
wound in the stock; care is then taken that the
bark of the scion is exactly adjusted to that of the
stock, and the two are bound firmly together.

Here the mere contact of the two enables the
sap flowing upwards through the stock to sustain
Fig. XLVI. the life of the scion until the latter can develop its
buds; at the same time the cellular system of the parts in

GRAFTING. 315

contact unites by granulations; and, when the wood forms,
it passes through the cellular deposit, and holds the whole
together. The use of “tongueing” is merely to steady the
scion, and to prevent its slipping. The advantage of this
mode of grafting is, the quickness with which it may be per-
formed; the disadvantage is, that the surfaces applied to
each other are much smaller than can be secured by other
means. It is, however, a great improvement upon the old
crown-grafting, still employed in the practice of some Conti-
nental gardeners, but expelled from Great Britain; which
consists of nothing more than heading down a stock with an
exactly horizontal cut, and splitting it through the middle, into
which is forced the end of a scion cut into the form of a wedge ;
when the whole are bound together. In this method the split
in the stock can hardly be made to heal without great care, if at
all; the union between the edges of the scion and those of the
stock is often imperfect, because the bark of the former
necessarily lies upon the wood of the latter, except just at the
sides; and, from the difficulty of bringing the two barks
sufficiently in contact, neither the ascending nor descending
currents of sap are able freely to intermingle. This plan,
much improved by cutting out the stock into the form of a
wedge, instead of splitting it, may, however, be advantageously
employed for such plants as Cactacee, the parts of which,
owing to their succulence, and consisting chiefly of cellular
matter, readily form a union with each other.

The method employed in grafting Cacti is thus described, in, the
Gardeners’ Chronicle, by Mr. John Green, one of the most skilful
growers of ornamental plants that this country has known :—‘I grow
for stocks, Pereskia aculeata, Cereus hexagonus, and Cereus speciosissi-
mus; I prefer the latter, on account of its hardy, lasting, and robust
habit. I grow the stocks freely till they attain the height that I
want them. Some I grow with five or six stems, from one to five feet
high; others I grow with one stem, from one to four feet; the short
stems I engraft at the top with the Epiphyllum speciosum and Acker-
manni, the tall single stems with E. truncatum, and some from the
surface of the pot to the top, all of which is of course according to indi-
vidual fancy; E. truncatum should always be engrafted high, without
which, from its drooping habit, the greater part of the beauty of the

316

PRACTICAL MANNER OF

bloom is lost. The grafts that I find to succeed the best, are young-
growing shoots, about one and a half or two inches long. I pare off
the outer skin or bark for about half-an-inch at the base of the graft,
and cut what is intended to be inserted into the stock in the shape of a
wedge; I then make an incision in the angles or top of the stock, with
a pointed stick made the same shape as the scion. When the grafts
are first put in, to prevent their slipping out, I pass through each a
small wooden peg or the spine of a thorn; I then cover each with a
small piece of moss, and place them in a shady damp house, and syringe
them over the tops occasionally in the evening ; they will all adhere to
the stocks in ten days or a fortnight, and make good plants by winter.
By engrafting the finest kinds of Cacti on the stocks that I recommend
above, noble specimens can be grown in a few years from one to ten feet
high if required; and the size and colour of the blooms are much
superior to what they ever produce when grown on their own roots.
E, truncatum by the above treatment becomes quite a hardy greenhouse
plant, and will bloom three months later than it does when grown in
the stove on its own roots in the usual way.”

Mr. Henry Ford, another successful grower, gives the following
detailed account of his practice :—‘‘ Last year, having several plants of
Pereskia aculeata, from eight to ten feet high, which had previously
been grafted at the top with Cereus flagelliformis, I inserted at various
heights upon the latter grafts of different kinds of Epiphyllum, such as
Ackermanni and truncatum, with Cereus speciosus and C. triumphans.
The beauty in June last of a plant of this kind which had been grafted
in the previous autumn I cannot describe. In grafting them, I make,
with the point of the knife, an incision upwards, into which I insert
small grafts, pared a little on both sides, of the kinds required. A
small piece of matting is bound round the wounded stem, to keep
the grafts tight until they have taken hold, which generally is the
case in three weeks’ time; the bast is then untied. Where room
is no object, I think it preferable to graft E. truncatum upon spe-
cimens by itself, as it flowers in the autumn, whereas the other
kinds bloom in the spring and summer. The pendulous habit of
Cereus flagelliformis allows of its being trained in any form, accord-
ing to the fancy of the owner. I have grafted Cacti at all seasons
of the year, but I find that the best time is from the end of Sep-
tember until November; probably owing to the plants being in a
more dormant state. I apply no fire to the house during this period,
unless to dry up damp or exclude frost. One specimen of Pereskia
aculeata, nine feet high, which was grafted two years ago with
E. truncatum, the grafts being inserted three inches apart, along the
whole height of the stem, and alternately on each side, has now the
appearance of a pillar, and in about six weeks’ time will be covered
with many hundred flowers. It is advisable in grafting these plants

GRAFTING CACTI. 317

to insert the scion upside down, especially if worked upon the main
stem ; in which case I remove a small piece of the bark from the stock,
and fit a thin piece of the desired kind upon it. If this is bound up so

bi
Hi Ih
‘til

Hh
Ny!
it

Fig. XLIX.

as to prevent air from entering between the parts, it will take quite as
well as if grafted in the usual way. Where this operation is performed
upon spurs, the latter should be trained downwards previously to

318 SADDLE-GRAFTING.

being grafted, otherwise the grafts, especially those with fleshy leaves,
are apt to break off when they attain to any size. I have also grafted
E. truncatum upon a stock of Cactus braziliensis, which makes an
excellent standard, as from its robust habit it does not require any
support. E. truncatum succeeds better if suspended, with a ball of
earth about its roots, in a wire basket filled with moss, than when
grown in a pot.”

The brilliant effect produced by plants treated in this manner may be
judged of from the accompanying sketch (Fig. XLIX.) of a specimen
growing in the year 1847, in the garden of Mrs. Huskisson of Eartham,
where it had been made by Mr. Webster, her Gardener.

A far better method than whip-grafting, but more tedious,
is saddle-grafting, in which the stock is pared obliquely
on both sides, till it becomes an inverted wedge, and the
scion is slit up the centre, after which its sides are pared
down till they fit the sides of the stock. In this method the
greatest possible quantity of cellular surface is brought into
contact, and the parts are mutually so adjusted, that the
ascending sap is freely received from the stock by the scion,
while, at the same time, the descending sap can flow freely
from the scion into the stock. Mr. Knight, in describing this
mode of operating, has the following observations :—

“ The graft first begins its efforts to unite itself to the stock
just at the period when the formation of a new internal layer
of bark commences in the spring; and the fluid which generates
this layer of bark, and which also feeds the inserted graft,
radiates in every direction from the vicinity of the medulla to
the external surface of the alburnum. The graft is, of course,
most advantageously placed when it presents the largest
surface to receive such fluid, and when the fluid itself is made
to deviate least from its natural course. This takes place most
efficiently when (as in this saddle-grafting) a graft of nearly
equal size with the stock is divided at its base and made to stand
astride the stock, and when the two divisions of the graft are
pared extremely thin, at and near their lower extremities, so
that they may be brought into close contact with the stock
(from which but little bark or wood should be pared off) by the
ligature.” (Hort. Trans., v. 147.) To execute saddle-grafting
properly, the scion and stock should be of equal size; and

SADDLE-GRAFTING. 319

where that cannot be, a second method, in which the scion
may be much smaller than the stock, has been described by
the same great gardener. This (Fig. L.) is practised upon
small stocks almost exclusively in Herefordshire; but it is

never attempted till the usual season of grafting is past, and
till the bark is readily detached from the alburnum. The
head of the stock is then taken off, by a single stroke of the
knife, obliquely, so that the incision commences about the
width of the diameter of the stock below the point where the
medulla appears in the section, and ends as much above it,
upon the opposite side. The scion, orgraft, which should not
exceed in diameter half that of the stock, is then to be divided
longitudinally, about two inches upwards from its lower end,
into two unequal divisions, by passing the knife upwards, just
in contact with one side of the medulla. The stronger
division of the graft is then to be pared thin at its lower
extremity, and introduced, as in crown-grafting, between the
bark and wood of the stock; and the more slender division is
fitted to the stock upon the opposite side. The graft, con-

-

320 NATURAL GRAFTS.

sequently, stands astride the stock, to which it attaches itself
firmly upon each side, and which it covers completely in a single
season. Grafts of the Apple and Pear rarely ever fail in this
method of grafting, which may be practised with equal success
with young wood in July, as soon as it has become moderately
firm and mature.

What is called herbaceous grafting, depends entirely upon
the same principles as common grafting. When two vigorous
branches cross each other, and press together so as not to
move, they will often form an organic union; if two apples
press together, or if two cucumbers are forced to grow side by
side in a space so small as to compel them to touch each other
firmly, they also will grow together; herbaceous grafting is
merely an application to practice of this power of soft and
cellular parts to unite.

The theory of grafting is explained by those natural
operations in which the process is performed by plants them-
selves, silently and unobserved; in which a leaf is grafted to
leaf to form a flower, or leaf-edges to form a fruit. This
process, which never misses, which is perfect in its result, and
which effects-such a surprising change in the whole appearance
of.the parts operated on, takes place when the tissues are in
their earliest and most tender condition; when the substance
of the plant is more pulpy than firm, and when the growing

.” parts are compelled to press against each other in consequence

_ of the narrow space in which they lie. It is clearly therefore

the business of the grafter to execute his task also when the
tissues are as young as he can work upon; and at all events
before they become hardened by the process of lignification.
This is really at the very moment when buds are bursting in
the spring. If at that time the naked surface of two young
shoots, just lengthening, were brought in contact with sufficient
skill, we doubt not that the most perfect possible joint would
be the immediate result. But this practice is opposed in the
spring by difficulties which we do not as yet know how to
surmount, and therefore recourse is had to parts much older,
and yet young enough to form an adhesion; and as young
tissue is continually growing in the inner bark of all branches

HERBACEOUS GRAFTING. 321

while young, the routine of grafting is reduced to cutting a
slice off the two barks to be united, bringing their naked
surfaces in contact, and binding them together till the adhesion
is complete. No doubt ripe-wood grafting answers very well
for many purposes, and we do not in any way question its
advantages under certain circumstances. But most certainly
herbaceous grafting is the more natural, is more conformable
to true theory; and when it can be practised should be in-
variably employed. All “propagators” of plants are aware of
this, and their results are not uncommonly a marvel to the
uninitiated.

In order to secure success in herbaceous grafting, the scion
and stock, being pared so as to fit together accurately, are
firmly bound to each other, without being crushed; parts in
full vegetation, and abounding in sap, are always chosen for
the operation, such as the upper parts of annual shoots, near
the terminal bud; perspiration is diminished by the removal of
some of the leaves of both stock and scion, and by shading;
and by degrees, as the union becomes secured, buds and leaves
are removed from the stock, in order that all the sap possible
may be impelled into the scion. This method, if well
managed, succeeds completely in about thirty days, and is
useful as a method of multiplying lactescent, resinous, and hard-
wooded trees, which refuse to obey more common methods.
Baron de Tschudy succeeded in this way in working the
Melon on the Bryony (both Cucurbitaceous plants), the
Artichoke on the Cardoon (both Cynaras), Tomatoes on Potatoes
(both Solanums), and so on. The following account of
managing Conifers, where herbaceous grafting is used, is taken
from the Gardeners’ Magazine, vol. ii. p. 64., and sufficiently
explains the practice.

“The proper time for grafting Pines is when the young
shoots have made about three quarters of their length, and are
still so herbaceous as to break like a shoot of Asparagus.
The shoot of the stock is then broken off about two inches
under its terminating bud; the leaves are stripped off from
twenty to twenty-four lines down from the extremity, leaving,
however, two pairs of leaves opposite, and close to the section:

¥

$22 HERBACEOUS GRAFTING.

of fracture, which leaves are of great importance. The shoot
is then split with a very thin knife between the two pairs of
leaves (Fig. LI. a), and to the depth of two inches. The
scion is then prepared (0):
the lower part, being stripped
of its leaves to the length of
two inches, is cut, and in-
serted in the usual manner
of cleft-grafting. They may
also be grafted in the lateral
manner (c). The graft is tied
with a slip of woollen, and a
cap of paper is put over the
whole, to protect it from the
sun and rain. At the end of
fifteen days this cap is re-
_moved, and the ligature at
the end of a month; at that
time also the two pairs of leaves (a), which have served as nurses,
are removed. The scions of those sorts of Pines which make
two growths in a season, or, as the technical phrase is, have a
second sap, produce a shoot of five or six inches in the first
year: but those of only one sap, as the Corsican Pine,
Weymouth Pine, &c., merely ripen the wood grown before
grafting, and form a strong terminating bud, which in the
following year produces a shoot of fifteen inches, or two feet.”

Fig. LI.—Herbaceous grafting.

With regard to mnaRcHING, which was probably the most
ancient kind of grafting, because it is that which must take
place accidentally in thickets and forests, it differs from
grafting in this, that the scion is not severed from its parent,
but remains attached to it until it has united to the stock, to
which it is tied and fitted in various ways; the scion and stock
are therefore mutually independent of each other, and the
former lives upon its own resources, until the union is com-
pleted.

In practice, a portion of the branch of a scion is pared away,
well down into the alburnum; a corresponding wound is made

INARCHING. 323

in the branch of a stock ; “tongues” are made in each wound
so that they will fit into each other; and the liber and alburnum
of the two being very accurately adjusted, the whole are firmly
bound up; grafting clay is applied to the wound, and the
plants operated upon are carefully shaded; in course of time
the wounds unite, and then the scion is severed from its
parent. Gardeners consider this the most certain of all the
modes of grafting, but it is troublesome, and only practised in
difficult cases. The circumstances most conducive to its
success are, to stop the branch of both stock and scion under
operation, so as to obtain an accumulation of sap, and arrest
the flow of sap upwards; to moderate the motion of the fiuids
by shading; to head back the stock as far as the origin of the
scion, as soon as the union is found to be complete; and at the
same time to remove from the scion a part of its buds and
leaves, so that there may not be a too rapid demand upon the
stock, at a time when the line of union is still imperfectly
consolidated.

One of the most happy applications of the art of inarching is that by
means of which old naked branches are clothed with new wood. Itis well
known that if herbaceous grafting or inarching (Fig. LIT.) is employed
with the Pear-tree, in the month of July, the scion will have “taken” in
three weeks, and will reach the length of perhaps fifteen inches before
autumn. Of this the French gardeners take advantage in a very
ingenious way, in order to restore to fruit-trees their lost limbs, or to
complete the symmetry of form on which they so justly pride them-
selves. Mr, Thompson, in an account of a visit to the gardens near
Paris (Journ. Hort. Soc. ii, 239), says that he viewed with astonish-
ment some trees thus treated at Corbeil, near Fontainebleau. They
were fine trees, covering a wall, and trained horizontally. But they
were not planted when young, and trained progressively in order to
produce this regularity. On the contrary, they were planted when
large and irregularly grown, having in some places a redundancy, in
others a deficiency, of branches. Various means are frequently resorted
to with the view of supplying branches where wanted ; such as notching,
budding, or side-grafting the stem; but here the desiderata were
obtained by inarching the growing extremities of adjoining shoots to
the parts of the stem whence the horizontals should proceed. Suppos-
ing the branches of a tree are trained horizontally a foot apart, with
the exception of some where the buds intended to produce branches did
not break, as is often the case; then a shoot, a, is trained up, and,

xy 2

324

SELF-INARCHING OLD PEAR-TREES.

when growing in summer, a small slice is taken off near its extremity,
and a corresponding extent of surface immediately below the inner
bark of the stem is exposed; the two are joined together, and the
point of the shoot @ is inclined in the direction to form the branch ec,

Fig. LII.—Old Pear-branches inarched with young wood.

“The most remarkable feature in the trees at Corbeil was the
uniformity of vigour in the respective branches, It appeared as if the
supplied branches ce, had been allowed to grow in connection both
with the stem at 5b, and the branch from which they originated at a a,
till their length and thickness corresponded sufficiently with that of the
branches above and below them. This is a great advantage which the
mode possesses over budding or side-grafting. At the distance of a
foot apart for the horizontal branches, it takes as many years to cover
the wall as the latter is feet in height; for although the leading
shoot may grow three or four feet in length in a season, yet by short-
ening it to two feet, although the branches d d would be produced, the
buds at 64, to furnish the intermediate stage, most probably would
not. In fact, the attempt to form two tiers of horizontals in one season
is generally followed by more or less disappointment, The interme-
diate stage might, however, be readily supplied by the method above
detailed ; and a wall twelve feet high might be covered as well in six
years as it otherwise would in twelve.”

The advantage of this plan is obvious. The method is much more
expeditious than common grafting, and is especially suited for the
purposes of the amateur, who is usually in a hurry to obtain results.
It must not, however, be understood that the Corbeil method is
unknown in England. On the contrary, Mr. James Abraham, of
Charlton Park Garden, near Cheltenham, has been in the habit of prac-
tising this method for years. He says that he has operated upon Vines,

. Apples, Pears, and Plums, with complete success; he has had a Vine

SELF-INARCHING, 825

make upwards of thirty feet of wood in the same season as that of the
operation. Mr. Abraham has produced examples of his manner of
proceeding ; but his method of grafting is not so good as that of the
French. He employs tongue-grafting ; they merely apply the two
surfaces, and keep them in contact with a bandage. The disadvantage
of summer tongue-grafting is that it wounds each of the branches
operated upon, is tedious, and needless. The only object of a tongue is
to keep a scion firmly in its place, and this is necessary where ripe-
wood grafting is employed with loose scions, because the union is in
that case slow, and the scions are apt to be displaced by accident; but
no such risk is run in summer-grafting, and a sounder joint is made
without the tongue,

A method of propagating Camellias, by putting the end or
heel of a scion into a vessel of water, mentioned in the
Gardeners’ Magazine, ii. 88. is essentially the same as
inarching. The water communicated to the scion through the
wounded -end supplies it with that food which, under natural
circumstances, would be derived from the roots of the plant to
which it belongs.

ca

In the succeeding pages is given the substance of D’Albret’s practical
directions for the principal kinds of grafting employed in France :—
Inarching (Greffe par approche) is distinguished by the circumstance
that both the individuals intended to be united live on their own roots,
and mutually co-operate in forming a union, It is thus that we
increase trees and shrubs which cannot be propagated by other modes,
or at least not by any that are so well adapted for bringing plants
rapidly to maturity. By some modes we can make large trees assume,
in parks and forests, picturesque forms, or curved and angular timber,
useful for the navy and the arts. M. Thouin has described thirty-nine
modes of inarching: a few only possess general interest, Inarching is
best performed when the sap is in full flow in spring. All the modes
require ligatures, and some little apparatus for bringing the two
portions into shape. When high stocks are destined to form curved
timber, &., take care to allow some weak shoots and branches to grow
along the stems, in order to increase their thickness ; without, however,
robbing the parts operated upon. .
Inarching Stems, for the purpose of supporting and invigorating
them (see Fig. LIII.), is a modification of the Greffe Michauz.
Select a strong tree, near which there is a slender one of the same kind
or if not, plant one, and when well established, bend it against the
stem of the stock, in order to determine the most convenient, place. for

326

DALBRET’S VARIETIES

the union; then cut off the head of the weaker, and thin the end, as at
a; make in the bark of the stock, 5, two incisions, which, together,
form an inverted T (1), from the bottom of which remove a small semi-
circular piece of bark (as at c);
that above will be easily raised
for introducing the extremity, a,
the cut surface of which will rest
on the alburnum, upon which it
should be immediately fixed by
stays and ligatures; and if the
inarched tree, 6, is large, and
exposed to wind, the work is
completed by driving a nail or
two through the part joined.
This sort of inarching may be
repeatedly performed at the same
time on the same individual,
when there are subjects adjoin-
ing that can be adapted to it.
We may also apply it to bending
flexible branches to their own
stems, and inserting the ex-
tremities as above described.
Inarching Branches (Greffe
Monceau), Fig. LIV.—This may
be employed for the same purpose as the last, and answers better for ever-
greens; but whenever it is adopted, it is best to use wood one or two
years old, and to take care that the portions joined are of the same age
and thickness. Prepare a stock of the same size as the plant which is
to join it. Make in the scion a cleft through the substance of the young
wood opened from below upwards, and reaching the medullary sheath ;
two nearly equal parts are thus obtained, a; the other, 4, is cut into a
long wedge, and inserted into the cleft, so that the whole may coincide.
When this mode is employed for rare plants, difficult to unite by other
means, we rear the stock in a pot to the height which the plant to be
inarched may require. When well taken, the inarched portion (a) is
detached from the parent and depends entirely on the stock (6).
Hymen Inarching (Greffe Hymen), Fig. LIV.—This may be
employed for the same purposes as the preceding; in forming arbours
we may thus unite three or four trees. I have inarched trees in this
way, under which a coach could pass in every direction, It is best
practised with two subjects rather than more, and may thus be made to
form an arch and posts for gateways. Prepare two trees of the same
height and thickness; bring their tops together where they most
readily touch ; shave from each at this place an equal-sized longitudinal

Fig. LIII.

~ OF GRAFTING. 327

slice, deepest in the middle, where it should pass through a small
portion of the medullary sheath; thus prepared, the two cuts are

as Fig. LIV.—Forms of inarching.

united, so as to mutually cover each other, and they are firmly secured
by ligatures, &e.. When the parts are as thick as the little finger, and
they should not be thicker, a wire nail may be driven through the
junction, In performing this operation care must be taken that the
head of one tree exactly balances the other. In employing this for
propagating rare plants, as soon as the union is well formed, the stock
is headed back to a little above the union; and the sort inarched is
separated from the parent as before directed.

Sylvan Inarching (Greffe Sylvain), Fig. LV., is best adapted for
forming lozenge-shaped openings in Pear and Apple-trees trained
in the form of vases, where much wood has to be supported by the
branches below. If performed at their points of contact, it puts their
sap in.communication and unites the different parts in a remarkable
manner. It may also be performed on trees with strong stems. In
such cases, bend their heads towards each other so as to cross; make at
this point a notch in each (as at a), and unite the parts, as at b; if
they are thick, secure the joint by a strong nail, which should always
be preferred to ligatures when there is much strain. The trees inarched
in this way make capital hedgerows.

Inarching small Plants on large Stocks, Fig. LVI.—When one has

328

D'ALBRET’S VARIETIES

plants with slender shoots to inarch on strong stocks, proceed as
follows :—Cut the head of the stock in a slanting direction opposite to
an eye or small branch; make at the lower side of this wound a trian-

gular perpendicular cut through the bark and alburnum, as at a; its
dimensions should always be in proportion to the size of the part to be
inarched ; cut the latter of an opposite form, and unite the parts. This
union is sometimes difficult, on account of the difference which may
exist between the thickness of the barks. When perfectly taken, the
inarched portion is separated from its parent stem as usual. After
this we cut off the heel, which has hitherto served as a point of
‘attachment for the ligature, and a magazine for the sap which has
aided in uniting the parts inarched. If this mode of inarching is to be
performed on a large tree, of which the top has been broken by wind,
we plant near it a young one, which can be inarched on the broken
trunk as above explained, excepting that, instead of being sloped, the
stock is cut horizontally. M. Thouin says that this mode is employed
in the good climate of Caux; but in other places they prefer crown
grafting, while others prefer grubbing up the trees.

Cleft Grafting.—Of this there are two principal kinds. The first
comprehends those of which the stocks are thicker than the grafts, and
for which ligatures may be generally dispensed with. In the second,
the parts intended to be joined ought to be of an equal size, and must be

OF GRAFTING. 329

maintained in that position by a casing of paper; all should be secured
with cotton thread, india rubber, or other elastic substance. Those
grafts on which the leaves are preserved, should be kept in a moist

Fig. LVI.

temperature of between 60° and 75°, without air, and not exposed to
bright light for a few days, according to the tenderness of their foliage.
The height at which this kind of grafting ought to be performed is
quite uncertain. Sometimes it is below the level of the ground on roots
left undisturbed ; or upon roots separated from their parent tree, which
are planted in the ground after being worked. Most generally, we
graft at from four to six inches above the ground, or even higher, up to
as much as thirty feet. All scions intended for this sort of grafting
ought to be roughly cut back in winter, before they exhibit signs of
vegetation, to eight or twelve inches above the point intended to be
grafted. The object of this is to retain in the stock all the sap for the
benefit of the grafts when they come to be put on. The shoots which

330

DALBRET’S VARIETIES

spring from the stems of grafted trees should be checked as soon as they
make their appearance, if the stock is small; but with large subjects it
is different. In these some shoots must be left near the graft, in order
to draw up the sap, which, in large trees, is sluggish, and difficult to
move without them; but as soon as the sap moves freely they also
should be headed back, the effect of which will immediately become
visible in the rapid growth of the scions.

Cleft Grafting with one Scion, the Stock cut Sloping (Fig. LVII.).—
This is one of the most usual modes of propagating many woody plants.
The stock is prepared as indicated by the figure. The lower part of the
scion, a, should be made thin by slicing
off a portion from each side, and forming
a small shoulder at the top of the slope,
as near as possible to which there should
be an eye; the side of the scion on which
the bark is left should be broader and
longer than the opposite side, by one-
fourth, one-third, or more, according as
the stocks are large or small. For the
latter, the inside of the scion should be
cut very thin, with a short slope; and
when intended for large stocks, the same
side should be left fuller, so that the scions
may better resist the pressure to which
they may be subjected when they are in-
troduced into the cleft. We usually leave
two eyes to the scion, but the second
is often superfluous; for the one nearest
the small shoulder has an immense advan-
tage in this respect, that when the scion
is introduced, as is represented at 8, it
is close to the top of the stock, and as
| soon as it begins to grow, it rapidly co-

Fig. LVIL. operates in healing over the wound of the

stock. The cleft to receive the scion should

be prepared as follows, by means of a strong knife, or preferably by a
sort of cleaver and small mallet. The instrument should be placed
across the section of the stock, and driven in so as to split the bark
before the wood; always taking care that the cleft extend but little, if
at all, to the bark at the lower part of the slope, on the opposite side ;
and on the side where the scion is to be inserted it ought to be, at first,
shorter than the wedge-shaped portion of the graft. This being done,
the instrument is easily knocked out by a stroke or two of the mallet,
thus avoiding any kind of twisting. The wedge-shaped handle of the
cleaver is next introduced slightly into the. cleft, so as to keep it suffi-

OF GRAFTING, 3381

ciently open for the introduction of all the wedge-part of the scion ;
this should be done in such a manner that the inner bark of the stock
may correspond with that of the scion. But as we cannot always judge
when this is the case, it is better that the liber of the scion should be
slightly outside that of the stock rather than in contact with the young
wood. The graft being properly placed, we cover the wound with a
mixture of equal parts of fresh loam and cow-dung; but it is better to
do over the parts with the resinous composition used for covering large
wounds of trees. This composition consists of 500 grains of Burgundy
pitch, mixed with 125 grains each of common black pitch, rosin, and
wax, the whole well melted together, and should be applied most espe-
cially to the eye of the scion next the top of the stock, in order to
secure it against insects and bad weather. When the sap is put in
motion, the resin liquifies sufficiently to permit the growing shoot to
pass freely through it.

Cleft Grafting with one Scion, the Stock cut Horizontally (Fig. LVIII.).
This mode is much used for large tuherous roots, herhaceous stems, &c.,
on which we graft, successfully,
herbaceous stems and others; but
itis bad for woody plants in all
cases where the stocks are as thick,
or thicker, than the little finger,
because their tranverse horizontal
section is difficult to heal. For
small shoots it is well adapted.
When we employ this mode of
grafting on herbaceous stems or
branches, they ought to be cut
above a leaf, or young branch,
opposite to which the cleft should
be made; and these small produc-
tions from the stock immediately
below its section ought to be pre-
served almost entire until such
time as the graft shall have com-
pletely taken. The young shoot is
split on one side (see Fig. LVIII. a);
and the scion is introduced. If it
should happen that the latter is
too large for the stock, and its Fig. LVIIL.
fibres are not sufficiently elastic to
permit the scion to be inserted, we shave one or two small parings off
the cleft, so as to give it a triangular form (see Fig. LVIII. 8) ; in this
case we also modify the form of the scion, so that it may fill exactly
the opening prepared for it.

882

DALBRET’S VARIETIES

By this method we may propagate many hard-wooded evergreens
and herbaceous stems, such as the young shoots of Pelargoniums,
Melons on Gourds and Cucumbers, Tomatoes on the stems of Potatoes,
Sunflowers on the Jerusalem Artichoke, &c. For the latter, shading is
indispensably necessary.

Cleft Grafting with two Scions (Fig. LIX.).—The stock is cut
horizontally, then split across the middle into two equal parts, or
nearly so, without regarding the medullary sheath. The operations
are similar to those required for Fig. LVII., excepting that the stock
is cut across horizontally, and two scions are inserted. This mode is

it

only used for stocks that are too large for one scion, and too small to be
cleft for four. In many cases we cut back one of the grafts when both
take, if their growths are likely to prove injurious to each other.
This, however, is not the case when the grafts are intended to form
either fan-trained, or vase-shaped trees. We also use the method for
grafting the strong stem of a bad Vine with a better variety; but the
wood of the Vine being flexible, it is necessary to bind, securely, the
parts operated upon; when the graft is above ground, and exposed to
the sun, we cover the wound with resinous composition, (p. 331,) held
together by a piece of cloth, in order to prevent the composition from
being loosened, or thrown off by the flow of sap. Vines should be

OF GRAFTING. 333

grafted when their sap flows abundantly from small trial cuts made on
their stems. [To prevent bleeding they should be in leaf.]

Cleft Grafting with Stock and Scion of equal size (Fig. LX.).—
This is applicable ¢ither to herbaceous or woody parts. The scion
should be cut wedge-shaped at the base; the stock should be split
down the middle, and the two parts thinned, as in the figure, so that
the wedge-shaped part of the scion may coincide in every point.

English Cleft Grafting, or Whip Grafting (Fig .LX1.).—This we
do not generally employ, except for hard-wooded plants, with little sap
and small pith. Take a straight well-grown shoot, and cut it to the
length of two or three eyes; cut the base with a long slope opposite the
lower eye; make a longitudinal slit in the face of the slope, so as to
form a tongue. Let a counterpart be made in a stock of the same size
as the scion ; introduce the tongues of each into the slits prepared for
them, and thus unite the whole. (See page 314, Fig, XLYIII.).

aD

Fig. LXI.

Cleft Grafting in the Side of Shoots of the same size as the Scion
(Fig. LXIT).—Whatever may be the nature of the scion, its base
should be cut in as lengthened a wedge-shape as circumstances will
permit. The place intended for it should be previously fixed upon, and
always in the fork of a small ramification of the young stem, or in the

334

DALBRET’S VARIETIES

axil of one of its leaves, or of an eye. The stem should be cut back a
little above the place intended for the insertion of the scion, always
taking care that the stump has one or two eyes left, or some small
branchlets, leaves, &c. Make in the stock a cut somewhat slanting
downwards, till it reach the pith, dividing it into two nearly equal
parts. The cleft should be made by a single cut, and as quickly as
possible, so that the blade of the knife may not have time to deposit
iron-rust, which is always injurious to vegetation, The place being
thus prepared, the scion is inserted, and must be maintained in its
position, and otherwise attended to according to the practice in other
eases. This mode possesses many advantages ; for it is applicable to
plants whose branches are of the smallest possible dimensions. I have
grafted in this way Heaths and Junipers which were scarcely one-
twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter. Oaks, Beeches, Walnuts, and
Chestnuts, &., either in the solid.or herbaceous state, generally take
well by this mode. We can easily com-
prehend the advantages which arise from
the small stump being’ reserved for the
purpose of drawing the sap, which, forced
to collect in it, descends along the bark,
and powerfully contributes to the union
of the adjoining parts. During the time
that the graft is taking, the sprouts that
appear on the small stump should be
pinched, or otherwise kept in check;
after the graft has fairly taken the stump
should be gradually reduced, till it en-
tirely disappears.

Crown Grafting.—The name of this
sufficiently indicates the manner in which
it is performed (see Fig. LXIII.). It is
adapted for regrafting large old Pear and
Apple-trees, but not stone fruits. The stocks
should be treated in February like trees
intended to be cleft-grafted. It does not
make old trees young, as has been stated
by many authors; but it gives them a
somewhat youthful appearance by the
renewal of their branches. It is an advan-
tageous substitute for lopping in good

Fig. LXIIL sorts, because shoots from grafts are

more proper for training than those are

which spring naturally through the old bark. We know the proper
time by the ‘motion of sap in some shoots set apart, as in cleft-
grafting ; or we may. ascertain whether the bark of the stock is able to

OF GRAFTING. 335

tun, in which case we proceed as follows. Before amputating the
branch or trunk, fix upon the most suitable place for grafting, and
with a saw shorten back to that point, regulating and smoothing the
wound with a knife; then mark out the place for each scion, about an
inch and-a quarter apart, always choosing those places where the bark
is the most regular; but as the latter is always coarse and tough on,
such trees, cut it lengthwise for about an inch in length, taking care
that the blade of the grafting-knife does not penetrate the alburnum,
As this instrument is frequently insufficient for raising the bark so as
to make way for the scion, make use of a small piece of hard wood, cut
in the form of the scion, such as the latter is represented (Fig. LXITI. a) ;
and in introducing the point between the bark and. alburnum, we must
always be careful to bruise the latter as little as possible. In order to
avoid this, the instrument should not go down farther than the end of
the cut made in the bark, thus effect-
ing merely a slight entry for the
scion, which, it will be observed, is
cut with a long slant, and a small
shoulder at the upper part of the slope,
opposite to an eye. The scion thus
prepared is inserted in the opening
commenced for it, and gently pushed
down till its shoulder rests on the top
of the stock. The operation is the
same with all the other scions. The
whole being placed, they are secured
by a split Osier firmly fixed to the
stock, and brought two or three times
round, and as near to the amputated
part as is possible.

We employ this mode of grafting,
in some extraordinary cases, without
cutting off the top of the stock, when
we wish to place one or more scions
along a stem destitute of lateral
branches. By means of a sharp chisel,
three-quarters of an inch broad, make
in the stock a transverse cut the whole breadth of the chisel(Fig. LXIV.),
and about as deep as the thickness of a finger ; above this, cut out with
the same tool a somewhat triangular notch, one and a-half to two
inches in length, with its depth reduced to nothing at the top, but
increasing as the chisel penetrates towards the bottom of the first
cut, as is represented at a. The object of this notch is to stop a small
portion of the ascending sap, in order that it may be absorbed by the
scion. In putting on the latter, place it as directed in the preceding case.

336 CELLULAR SURFACES

To all these may be added what has been termed Plug- Grafting.
According to Thouin this was used by the Romans in grafting their
Olives and Vines, and is mentioned by geoponical writers. The opera-
tion, which is performed in the spring, is as follows: a shoot of the
previous year, having one or two eyes, is taken and shaved into a
longish cylindrical form, immediately below the lower eye ; a hole two
or three inches deep, and as large as the graft, is then bored in the
side of the stock; the graft is placed in this hole, and driven in until
it fits it exactly, leaving no space between itself and the stock. IE this
is done, the libers will be in close contact, and the joining of the graft
secure. Some years since this method was revived by a M. Vard, and
submitted to the examination of a French committee, who endeavoured
to ascertain whether the plan was likely to be of any importance.
M. Vard said it might be used with advantage; Ist, in filling up with
branches the spaces left in pyramids.; 2nd, in introducing on lateral
branches fruit-spurs, if they, and where they, are absent. As to the
first of these uses, the committee remarked that the grafts of last spring
resemble fruiting branches more than common branches, which they
thought was owing to the almost horizontal position of the graft upon
the stock, the ascent of the sap of which is consequently obstructed,
and they decidedly preferred side-grafting, heel-grafting, or spur-
grafting, whenever possible, if the object aimed at is the filling up the
spaces left in pyramids. The second advantage attributed to this
method the commission thought real and important. The plug-graft is
easy of application, requires no ligature, is quickly inserted, and is
by no means unsightly. Such advantages the committee thought likely
to recommend the plan when the object is to obtain fruit-spurs from
branches which have them not.

In all these methods, and in every other that could be
named, it is indispensable that the cellular surfaces should be
brought as much as possible into contact; for the more
completely this is accomplished, the more certain is the
operation to succeed. It is undoubtedly true, that, as the
cellular system of a tree is diffused through its whole diameter,
it is impossible to apply a scion to a stock without their
cellular systems coming in contact; and, therefore, it may
appear indifferent whether bark is applied to bark, and
alburnum to alburnum, or whether the bark is adapted to the
wood and the latter to the liber. But it is always to be
remembered that each of these parts has special modifications
of its own, which modifications require contact with parts

MUST COME INTO CONTACT, 337

similarly modified, in order to unite readily and firmly; and
also, that, although the cellular horizontal system, through
which union by the first intention takes place, may be alive on
all parts of the section of a branch, yet that it is in the bark, on
the surface of wood, and in the space between the bark and
wood, that its development is most rapid, and its tendency to
growth most easily excited and maintained.

Nor are these the only circumstances to which it is neces-
sary to attend, in order to ensure the success of these
operations. It has already been seen (p. 267), that the
youngest buds of the Potato are more excitable than those
more completely matured ; and the same appears to be true of
the buds in other fruits.

“The mature bud,” says Mr. Knight, “takes immediately
with more certainty, under the same external circumstances: it
is much less liable to perish during winter ; and it possesses the
valuable property of rarely or never vegetating prematurely in the
summer, though it be inserted before the usual period, and in
the season when the sap of the stock is most abundant. I have,
in different years, removed some hundred buds of the Peach-
tree from the forcing-house to luxuriant shoots upon the open
wall; and I have never seen an instance in which any of such
buds have broken and vegetated during the summer and
autumn ; but when I have had occasion to reverse this process
and to insert immature buds from the open wall into the
branches of trees growing in a Peach-house, many of these,
and in some seasons all, have broken soon after being inserted,
though at the period of their insertion the trees in the Peach-
house had nearly ceased to grow.” Hort. Trans., iii. 136,

This property was turned to practical account by Mr. Knight
in budding the Walnut. Owing to the excitability of its buds,
this tree is difficult to work, because its buds exhaust all their
organizable and alimentary matter before any adhesion can be
formed between themselves and the stock; but by taking the
small, fully matured, and little developed buds, found at the
base of the annual shoots of this plant, time is given for an
adhesion between them and the alburnum before they push
forth, and then they take freely enough.

Zz

338

WALNUT GRAFTING.

Mr. Knight described his method in the following manner :—“ The
fluid which the seeds of the Walnut-tree contain, when that is fully
prepared to germinate in the spring, and which was deposited within it
for the purpose of affording nutriment to the seminal buds, or plumule,
in the preceding autumn, is sweet, as in a great many other kinds of
seeds: but during germination this becomes, in the seed of the Walnut
tree, bitter and acrid. Similar changes take place in the sap which is
deposited, for analogous purposes, in the bark and wood of the Walnut-
tree, during the germination of its buds; and I was led by the
discoveries of M. Dutrochet to infer the probability, that the sap
during, and subsequent to, its chemical changes, might acquire new
and more extensive vital powers. I therefore resolved to suffer the
buds of my grafts, and those of the stocks, to which I proposed to
apply them, to unfold, and to grow during a week or ten days; then
to destroy all the young shoots and foliage, and to graft at a subsequent
period. A very severe frost in the morning of the 7th of May saved
me the trouble of destroying the young shoots; but it deranged my
experiment, by killing much of the slender annual wood, which I pro-
posed to use for grafts; so that I found some difficulty in choosing
proper grafts. The swelling of the small, and previously almost
invisible, buds, within a few days enabled me to distinguish the
living wood from that which had been killed by the frost, and the
stocks were grafted upon the 18th of May. My grafter had more than
once been previously employed by me to graft Walnut-trees in various
ways, and never haying in any degree succeeded, he did not seem at all
pleased with the task assigned him, and very confidently foretold that
every graft would die: and I subsequently found that he had insured,
to some extent, the truth of his prophecy, by having applied grafts
which were actually dead. The whole number employed was twenty-
eight, and out of these twenty-two grew well; generally very
vigorously, many producing shoots of nearly a yard long, and of very
great strength; and the length of the longest shoot exceeding a yard
and five inches. The grafts were attached to the young (annual) wood
of stocks, which were between five and eight feet high; and in all cases

‘they were placed to stand astride the stocks, one division being in some

instances introduced between the bark and the wood; and both
divisions being, in others, fitted to the wood or bark in the ordinary
way. Both modes of operating were equally successful. In each of
these methods of grafting it is advantageous to pare away almost all
the wood of both the divisions of the grafts; and therefore the wide
dimensions of the medulla in the young shoots of the Walnut-tree do not
present any inconvenience to the grafter. No difficulties will hence-
forth, 1 conclude, occur in propagating varieties of Walnuts by grafting ;
and I am much inclined to believe, that different species and varieties of
Oaks may be successfully grafted by the same mode of management.”

OTHER CONDITIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN GRAFTING. 339

The French work the Walnut in a variety: of ways, especially
preferring flute-budding (p. 308). They find it necessary, however,
that the sap should be in full flow, whatever the method they employ.
When the ring is properly fitted, the lips of the wound and the edges
of the ring being accurately adjusted, the whole is secured with graft-
ing wax, prepared by melting together $ of pitch, 3 resin, + yellow
wax, 2 tallow, with the addition of as much fine brick-dust as will
give it consistence; it is used as hot as the finger can readily bear it.
This sort of graft is never tied. In this way the French succeed in
grafting old trees which have been headed back; but they, in such
cases, operate upon the shoots which such trees throw up from the

pollarded head.

Buds should either be inserted when the vegetation of a
plant is languid, or growth above the place of insertion should
be arrested by pinching the terminal bud; otherwise the sap,
which should be directed into the bud, in order to assist in its
adhesion, is conveyed to other places, and the bud perishes
from starvation. For similar reasons, when a bud begins to
grow, having firmly fixed itself upon the stock, the latter
should be headed back nearly as far as the bud, so as to
compel all the ascending current of sap to flow towards it;
otherwise the buds of the stock itself will obtain that food
which the stranger bud should be supplied with.

In grafting also it is always found that a union between the
scion and the stock takes place most readily when the latter is
headed down; but this is not the only point to attend to.
The scion should always be so prepared that a bud is near the
point of union between itself and the stock; because such a
bud, as soon as it begins to grow, assists in the formation of
wood and also in binding the two together. The scion
should be more backward in its vegetation than the stock,
because it will then be less excitable; otherwise its buds may
begin to grow before a fitting communication is established
between the stock and scion, and the latter will be exhausted
by its own vigour: if, on the contrary, the stock is in a state of
incipient growth, and the scion torpid, cellular granulations
will have time to form. and unite the wound, and the scion: will
become distended with sap forced into it from the stock, and
thus be able to keep its buds alive when they begin: to shoot

%2

er

340 LIGATURES.

into branches. In order to assist in this part of the operation,
a “heel” is sometimes in difficult cases left on a scion, and
inserted into a vessel of water, until the union has taken
place; or, for the same purpose, the scion is bound round with
loose string or linen with one end steeped in water, so as to
secure a supply of water to the scion by the capillary attraction
of such a bandage. Indeed, the ordinary practice of surround-
ing the scion and stock at the point of contact with a mass of
grafting clay is intended for the same purpose; that is to say,
to prevent evaporation from the surface of the scion, and to
afford a small supply of moisture; and hence, among other
things, the superiority of clay over the plasters, mastics, and
cements occasionally employed, which simply arrest perspira-
tion, and can never assist in communicating aqueous food to
the scion.

For the information of those who nevertheless prefer wax to clay, it
may be useful to add the two following receipts for making grafting
wax. 1, Bees’ wax and tallow, equal parts, laid on warm with a
painter’s brush. 2, Four proportions, by weight, of pitch, four of
resin, two of bees’ wax, one of hogs’ lard, and one of turpentine, melted
and well mixed. When this, or some similar composition, is spread on
brown paper, it forms grafting paper, as it is sometimes termed, which,
being cut into slips, can be easily applied.

Another substitute for grafting clay is sheet India-rubber, cut into
narrow strips or bandages, from one-half to three-quarters of an inch
broad. The India-rubber is said to present all the requisites sought for
in clay; it is air-tight and water-tight, and will not fall away ; also it
is elastic, which admits of the swelling of the scion in its growth, and
it is applied with perfect ease and quickness. After wrapping the
bandage round the graft and stock, as a linen bandage is applied to a
cut finger, the last turn only requires securing by tying with a bit of
thread or thin bast.

In some plants the scion is so slow in forming an adhesion to
the stock that neither claying nor impermeable ligatures are able
to keep it alive for a sufficient length of time. In that case the
graftis “put on” as close as possible to the ground level and is
then buried or banked up with earth till only one bud of the
scion is exposed. This is called “earthing up” and is of great
practical utility.

EARTHING UP. 341

The following list includes the names of the plants to which earthing

up is usually applied :—
Willows. : Mistletoe on Apples. | Ashes,
Ligustrums. Beeches, Vines.
Euonymus. Acacias, Azaleas.
Pinuses. Elms, Rhododendrons.
Daphnes. Poplars, Andromedas.
Oaks. Chesnuts, Kalmias,
Loniceras. Limes. Lilacs,
Jasminums. Almonds. Deutzias.
Pears on Quinces, Cytisus. Arbutus.
Pears on Thorns. Sorbus. Phillyreas,
Laurel on Cherries. Currants. Caraganas.

( Cotoneaster on Hollies. Ribes, and

Thorns, &c. Laburnums, Amelanchiers,

Here also must be noticed certain practices, which experience
shows to be important, of which theory offers no satisfactory
explanation. Mr. Knight, for example, asserts that cuttings
taken from the trunks of seedling old trees grow much more
vigorously than those taken from the extremities of bearing
branches; and it is an undoubted fact that the Beech, and
other trees of a similar kind, cannot be grafted with any
success, unless the scions are made of two-years-old wood;
one-year old wood generally fails. Some recommend taking
scions from the shoots produced at the extremities of healthy
vigorous trees. And this is much insisted upon by M. De
Jonghe, a very experienced practical as well as theoretical
cultivator. D’Albret, however, entertains a different opinion,
and considers the following experiment conclusive.

“Some years,” he says, “ before the first transfer of the Ecole
des Arbres Fruitiers du Jardin des Plantes, effected in 1824, I
was obliged to take grafts from more than four hundred trees,
of different sorts, in a state of complete decrepitude, often
covered with canker, &c. Such grafts put on healthy young
stocks all grew with remarkable vigour, and the trees raised
from them when from twenty to twenty-six years old, many
being more than thirty-six feet high, all bore fruit in prodigious
quantity, and were free from disease, when they fell under the
axe in 1841.”

, Shoots for grafting and budding, says D’Albret, are not easily

342 HOW TO KEEP SCIONS FRESH.

; known by the inexperienced. In general scions ought to be of

\

_ medium thickness, excepting those having slender wood, in

which case the thickest ought to be preferred; all should have
made the greater part of-their growth, so that the buds on the
lower part of the shoots may be completely formed. If the
parts are too tender and soft when adapted to the stock, they
are apt to be rotted by the abundance of sap in the latter
which ought always to be in greater flow than that of the scions.

When prepared for working, scions should not be exposed to
the air, but be kept in a cool moist place till they can be
budded ;. but under all circumstances they must be so packed
as to run no risk of heating. French gardeners often place
them in the hollow of an old Cucumber, and, according to
D’Albret, even pack them in honey, without injury, if they have
far and long to travel.

“Tt has been long known that in order to preserve grafts, especially
for transportation, they ought to be separated from the parent tree
before they have begun to grow. In the climate of Paris, the month
of February appears to be the best time for taking them off; they ought
then to be placed in a northern exposure, in a horizontal position, on
the ground, and covered with earth to the depth of about two inches
and a half. They should remain in that position till their buds are well
swelled, by which time the stock intended for their reception will be
much more advanced, a necessary condition of success. If scions have
to be conveyed to a distance, it is best to send them off as soon as they
are taken from the tree, If the journey require only three weeks or a
month, it is sufficient to tie them up in packets, putting some dry moss
between them, in order to prevent their being bruised, and to insert
their bases in a ball of moist clay covered with fresh moss, the whole
tightly enveloped in a thin coating of straw. But if the cuttings have
to be sent to a great distance, so as to be several months on the way,
they should be enclosed in a box, in small parcels, all laid with their
tops in the same direction, their thick ends covered with clay and fresh
moss, the whole compactly fastened with laths likewise coated with
moss. If for a long sea-voyage care should be taken to close the box
hermetically, some holes being made in the top to prevent the shoots
from becoming mouldy. I have sent grafts packed in this way to
St. Petersburg, New York, &c., and they have always arrived in good
gondition.”—D’ Albret.

So long as it was believed that absolute wood was formed
corporeally from above downwards, it was inferred that the

HOW STOCK AND SCION UNITE. 343

lower parts of a plant must be gradually encased in solid matter
derived from branches, and that consequently, of necessity, the
stock of a plant must be enveloped in layer above layer of the
wood of the scion. It is needless to repeat the arguments
employed in support of this view; they were cogent, and for a
long time held to be irrefragable. The application of the theory
to grafting led, among other things, to the conclusion that if a
scion would take it would speedily form a sheath of wood over
the stock, and thus secure itself forever. Once, to form'a good
union was, therefore, looked upon as sufficient security for the
permanent life of the grafted plant. It is true that cases,
apparently at variance with the theory, occurred

every now and then, but plausible explanations

of such instances were readily found.

It is, however, now certain that although
wood is formed by a descending process, yet.
that its descent is not in an organized state.
Fluid matter, out of which it is produced,
passes, indeed, from above downwards, but the
formation itself is wholly local and superficial,
and consequently there is no such thing as an
encasement of the lower part of a tree by.
wood descending from above. That important
fact having been once established, the union
of ascion and its stock evidently: becomes a
case of mere adhesion, extremely powerful in
some cases, feeble and readily destroyed in
others. There are, therefore, two essentially
different results obtained by grafting—the one
permanent, the other transitory. The follow-
ing example affords a new demonstration that
the union between a scion and its stock is no
other than that now described. (Fig. LXV.)

About the beginning of September, 1853,
Dr. Allan Maclean, of Colchester, an ingenious
experimentalist and good physiologist, grafted a young plant
of the White Silesian Beet upon a root of Red Beet, and
vice versd. At the time of the experiment the plants were

344 RED AND WHITE BEET GRAFTED.

each about as thick as a straw. A complete junction was
effected, and when, in 1854, the plant of White Beet grafted
on red was taken out of the ground, its longitudinal section
exhibited the appearance represented in the annexed figure.
There was a slight contraction at the line of junction, much
like that formed by “choking” a rocket-case; above the line
of contraction the plant was absolutely white, below it it
was absolutely red. Not a trace of blending the two colours
could be discovered. By similar experiments on other vegeta-
bles and plants, Dr. Maclean had so far assured himself of
the perfect independence of scion and stock as to acquire the
belief that neither the colouring nor any of the specific characters
of the one or the other would or could be altered by their union.
The result of the trial wholly confirmed that view, and demon-
strated that the White Beet adhered to the Red Beet by mere
junction of cellular matter, that of the scion and stock holding
together in the first instance, and each afterwards producing its
own colouring matter in its own new cells as they formed super-
ficially, the red cells adhering to the white cells while in the
nascent state, but retaining each the peculiarity belonging to it,
without any interchange of contents through the sides of the
cells in contact.

This is entirely consistent with all that has been discovered
by the modern physiologists who have applied themselves to a
study of the nature of the individual cells of which plants
consist. They have clearly shown that each cell has its own
special inherent power of secretion, as indeed may be seen by
any one who examines thin sections of variegated leaves or
other parts. It will then be found that some cells are filled
with a red colouring matter, some with yellow, some with green.
In other words one cell has the power of secreting red matter,
another yellow, and so on. The colours do not run together,
but are contained each within the cell that produces it. Why
this is so no one knows; all that we are acquainted with is the
fact. In the cells of the Red Beet resides a power of forming
red matter, and in those of the White Silesian Beet that of
forming yellow, and this peculiarity is not affected by the one
growing to the other. Red-forming cells produce their like,

STOCK AND SCION MUST HAVE THE SAME CONSTITUTION. 345

and yellow-forming theirs. Thus the limit between the scion
and its stock is unmistakeably traceable, and, notwithstanding
the combination of the two sorts in one, each perseveringly
retains that which is natural to it.

It hence becomes evident that no junction can be permanent
unless the stock and scion have a great similarity, not only in
every part of their structure, but also in constitution, and that
the strictest consanguinity alone offers security that a grafted
plant shall be as durable as each of the two individuals thus
artificially joined is when left on its own roots. A temporary
union may indeed be effected, but it is soon dissolved, as we
everywhere see in collections where grafted varieties are
brought together instead of plants “on their own bottom.”

“A detached portion of a plant is not merely capable of
producing the organs necessary to the formation of a perfect
plant, but it has also the property of being able to blend with
another plant, and lead a common life with it. On this
capability depend the numerous garden operations which are
known under the not very apt name of ennobling (veredeln,
grafting). The contact of young succulent parts, which are in
the course of development, is a necessary condition of this
blending. Such a condition is very easily brought about in
dicotyledonous plants, because in them there exists between
the bark and wood. that layer of young tissue in course of
development called cambiwm ; and there is little difficulty in so
bringing together two plants, that this layer in each shall meet
at some one point. But in the monocotyledons, in which the
vascular bundles lie scattered through the whole stem, and no
definite cambium layer exists, the conditions are far more
unfavourable. It is true, according to De Candolle’s account,
that Baumann, of Bollwiller, succeeded in grafting Dracena
ferrea on D. terminalis ; but the scion died after the first year.
The experiments, indeed, of Caldrini on grafting Grasses had
a more favourable result, for he succeeded in grafting even
species of different genera, such as Rice upon Panicum crus
gal. This result may be explained by the fact that in Grasses
the lower part of the internodes enclosed in the leaf-sheath
remains for a long time soft and succulent. A second and

346 IMPOSSIBLE GRAFTS.

indispensable condition in grafting is a great similarity of the
stock and scion; they must not only be nearly allied botanically,
but be much alike in the composition of their sap.”

To this effect writes Mohl in that admirable treatise of his
on the cells of plants,* the best work on Vegetable Physiology
in any language. And this shows philosophically why it is
that the operations of grafting and budding cannot be performed
indifferently between any two species, although such was
formerly a general belief, it being even asserted that. Roses
became black when grafted on Black Currants, and Oranges
crimson if worked on the Pomegranate.t In reality such
operations are successful in those cases only where the stock
and scion are very nearly allied ; and the degree of success is
in proportion to the degree of affinity or constitutional resem-
blance. Thus, varieties of the same species unite the most
freely, then species of the same genus, then genera of the same
natural order; beyond which the power does not extend,
unless, in the case of parasites like the Mistletoe, which grow
indifferently upon totally different plants.t . For instance, Pears
work freely upon Pears, very well on Quinces, less willingly on
Apples or Thorns, and not at all upon Plums or Cherries ;
the Cherry will take on the Laurel, or vice versd ; the Lilac on
the Ash, the Olive on the Phillyrea, the two last cases occurring
among plants of the same natural order. De Candolle even
says that he has succeeded, notwithstanding the great difference
in their vegetation, in working the Lilac on the Phillyrea, the
Olive on the Ash, and Bignonia radicans on the Catalpa; but
plants so obtained are very short-lived. For some curious
particulars upon this subject, see Physiologie Végétale,
p. 788., &o. j

* Principles of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Vegetable Cell; translated by
Henfrey. 8vo. Van Voorst. 1852.
+ Et steriles platani malos gessére, valentes
Castanex fagos, ornusque incanuit albo
Flore pyri, glandemque sues fregére sub ulmis..
: Georg. lib. ii.
+ Grafting the Mistletoe should be performed about the middle of May. The Apple
or the Crab is the best stock, but it has succeeded on Balsam-Poplar, Willow, and
many other trees, Mr. Beaton has succeeded in even working it on the Oak.

IMPOSSIBLE GRAFTS. 347

The Hon. Algernon Herbert succeeded in grafting the common Laurel
on the Wild Cherry-tree ; the scions, he tells us, shot vigorously, and
formed a small head; but they died off in the second and third years,
Deodar Cedars grafted on the Larch take freely, but soon die; and in
general worked Coniferous plants are perishable and worthless, in con-
sequence of the -impossibility of finding suitable stocks for them.
When, however, varieties of the Yew are inserted upon the common
Yew, and Deodars on Cedars of Lebanon, the plants so obtained are
permanent. When China Roses are worked upon briars they stand
indifferently, and the same appears to be the case with Rhododendrons
when varieties of ponticum are worked on catawbiense, or vice versd,
although grafted Rhododendrons are sound and permanent when
catawbiense is inserted on catawhiense, ponticum on ponticum, &c.

There are two supposed cases apparently at variance with
this law; both of which require explanation.

1. Columella asserts that, by a particular manner of grafting,
the Olive may be made to take upon the Fig-tree, and his
words have been repeated by many writers; but Thouin
proved, experimentally, that no such union will take place, and
that where success appears to attend Columella’s~ operation, it
is owing to the scion rooting into the soil, independently of the
Fig stock (see Mémoire sur la prétendue Greffe Colwmelle), and
becoming a layer.

2. Mention is made by Pliny of a tree in the garden of
Lucullus, at Tivoli, which is described in his Natural History.
On the trunk of one tree he saw branches which produced
Pears, others Figs, Apples, Plums, Olives, Almonds, Grapes,
&c.; but he adds, a little farther on, that this wonderful tree,
which he considered as produced by the art of grafting, did not
live long, and that it died some years after he first examined
it. “It is probable that this tree had been formed merely
by planting different species within some other. Even at the
present day the gardeners of: Italy, especially of Genoa,
Florence, and Rome, sell plants of Jasmines, Roses, Honey-
suckles, &c., all growing together from a stock of Orange, or
Myrtle, or Pomegranate, on which they say they are grafted.
But this is a deception, the fact, being that the stock has its
centre bored out, so as to be made into a hollow cylinder,
through which the stems of Jasmines and other flexible plants

348 IMPOSTORS’ GRAFTS.

are easily made to pass, their roots intermingling with those of
the stock ; after growing for a time, the horizontal distension
of the stems forces them together, and they assume all the
appearances of being united. M. Thouin, who calls this “The
Impostors’ Graft” (Greffe des charlatans), tells us that he

Impostors’ graft,—Fig. LXVI.

himself tried the operation with perfect success upon both a
Linden and an Ash-tree a foot in diameter. He contrived to
give both of them heads consisting of Plums, Hazels, wild and
cultivated Services, Walnuts, Peaches, and Vines, the branches
of which were thoroughly interlaced. Of one of these he gives
a figure, which is here reproduced, and which perfectly illus-
trates the system.

HOW TO CHOOSE STOCKS. 349

In the park of the Duke of Devonshire, at Chiswick, there is a very
old Cherry-tree, which has been decayed in the centre for many years,
Its hollow trunk has been occupied by a common Birch-tree, so that the
same stem appears to support a top composed of Birch and Cherry
branches, The Cherry trunk is 7} feet in circumference, and 6 feet in
height to the place where the branches diverge from it. To this
height the Cherry-tree once completely enveloped the Birch ; but of
late years the diameter of the Birch has increased so much that it has
burst the decaying case of Cherry wood on the north-east side, where it
is partially exposed to within 18 inches of the ground. Below this the
cylinder of Cherry wood is still complete. It is not surprising that the
Birch should have burst the Cherry on the north-east side; for that
side has usually the thinnest layers of wood, and would consequently
give way the soonest to the expanding force of the Birch. The latter
is now above 50 feet high, and measures 5 feet 4 inches in circumference
at 6 feet from the ground, where it issues from the hollow Cherry. The
portion of Cherry-tree still alive is 20 to 25 feet high. Some such case
in ancient days may be well supposed to have given rise, in the first
instance, to Virgilian fables, and afterwards to ingenious imitations.

From what has been now stated, it may be easily conceived
that the choice of the stock on which a given plant is to be
worked is by no means a matter of indifference, but that the
operation may be seriously affected by the skill with which the
most suitable stock is selected. If, indeed, we had no other
object in view in grafting than to unite one plant to another,
that object would doubtless be best attained by using the same
species, and even a similar variety of the same species, for both
stock and scion; the end of grafting and budding is, however,
beyond this, and it may happen that the species to which a
scion belongs, or the nearest variety, is the worst on which it
can be worked.

One of the first objects of budding and grafting is, to
multiply a given species or variety more readily than is possible
by any other method. If this is the only purpose of. the
cultivator, that stock will obviously be the best which can be
most readily procured; and hence we see, in the ordinary
practice of the nurseries, the common Plum taken as a stock
for Peaches and Apricots, the Wild Pear and Crab for Pears
and Apples, and so on. When there is a difficulty in procuring
a suitable stock, pieces of the roots of the plant to be multiplied

350 ROOTS AS STOCKS. _

are often taken as a substitute, and they answer the purpose
perfectly well; for the circumstance which hinders the growth
of pieces of a root into young branches is merely their want of
buds: if a scion is grafted upon a root, that deficiency is
supplied, and the difference between the internal organization
of a root and a branch is so trifling as to oppose no obstacle to
the solid union of the two.

Pear-trees are sometimes grafted on roots, and it was reported by the
late Mr. Wedgewood that root-grafting Vines is an invariable practice
in Greece.

Knight was the first physiologist who showed the possi-
bility of grafting scions upon roots. An account of his
method of doing this was given ata very early period of the
existence of the Horticultural Society (June, 1811), and he at
the same time suggested the possibility of the practice being
applied to grafting scarce herbaceous plants upon the roots of
their commoner cogeners; an operation now commonly
practised with the Dahlia, Peony, and other plants of a similar
kind; and lately a method of multiplying Combretum pur-
pureum by similar means has been pointed out in the
Proceedings of the Horticultural Society, i. 40.

Mr. George Gordon, a good practical gardener, gives the following
advice upon this subject:—This operation is performed in two ways,
either by grafting on the already established roots of young plants, or
on pieces taken from the roots of older ones. The former is the easiest
method for obtaining strong plants, and is best suited for plants in
which a trunk is the object. In grafting upon already established
roots of a young plant, first clear the soil away from the neck of the
stock, and cut the head off as much below the soil as possible, at the
same time observing that a sufficient length of the neck is left to receive
the graft. The graft should be cut wedge-shaped, and inserted in the
slit or crown-graft way (p. 330), tied tightly with a soft worsted thread,
and afterwards covered with the soil, only a portion being left exposed
to light and air. It greatly increases the chances of success if the
worked plants are kept close, in a rather moist atmosphere for a few
days, until they commence growing, but much depends upon the
operation being performed at the proper time, which in most cases is
just before new growth commences. In grafting on pieces of roots
taken from an older plant, such pieces should be selected as are of
sufficient size to receive the scion, and have some small fibres attached

STOCK AND SCION MUST GROW AT THE SAME RATE. 351

to them. ‘The roots may either be at once worked and afterwards potted
or planted, or the roots may be potted a short time previous to being
worked, being afterwards treated according to the nature of the plants
to which they belong, whether stove, greenhouse, or hardy; but even
plants belonging to the latter class are the better for a gentle moist heat
for a few days to start them. In this way many plants may be
increased, such as Clematis, Berberis, Roses, Combretums, Moutan
Ponies, &c., where the roots of the more common kinds are easily
procured, and where suitable accommodation can be afforded; but
under ordinary circumstances the chances are against the success of
the system, which should only be resorted to in the case of very rare
plants.

Mere propagation is, however, by no means the only object
of the grafter; another and still more important one is, to
secure a permanent union between the scion and stock, so that
the new plant may grow as freely and as long as if it were on
its own bottom under the most favourable circumstances. If
this is not attended to, the hopes of the cultivator will be
frustrated by the early death of his plant.

Whenever the stock and graft or bud are not perfectly well
suited to each other, an enlargement always, as is well known,
takes place at the line of their junction, and generally to
some extent either above or below it. This is particularly
observable in Peach-trees which have been budded, at any
considerable height from the ground, upon Plum stocks; and
it would seem to arise from the obstruction which the descend-
ing sap of the Peach-tree meets with in the bark of the Plum
stock; for the effects produced, both upon the growth and
produce of the tree, are similar to those which occur when the
descent of sap is impeded by a ligature, or by the destruction
of a circle of bark. In course of time this difference between
the scion and stock puts an end to the possibility of the
ascending and descending fluids passing into each other, and
the death of the scion is the result. This arises in part at
least from the power of horizontal growth in the stock and
scion being different; and in part no doubt from irreconcileable
constitutional difference between the two. For example: the
Hawthorn and the Pear are so nearly allied that the latter may
be easily worked upon the former; the Hawthorn is, however,

352 EFFECTS OF STOCKS

a slow-growing bush or small tree, the Pear is a large forest-
tree of rapid growth; and the Pear will grow an inch in
diameter while the Hawthorn is growing half an inch.
Moreover all the qualities of the Pear are different from those
of the Hawthorn.

The difference in the rate of growth or in other respects, if
not excessive, may be taken advantage of for particular
purposes. When trees grow too large for a small garden, it is
desirable to dwarf them; and when they are naturally unfruit-
ful, to render them productive; both which effects result, at
the same time, from grafting them upon stocks that grow
slower than themselves. Thus the Apple is dwarfed by
grafting on the Paradise stock, and the Pear by the Quince,
The physiological explanation of trees dwarfed by being
compelled to grow upon a stock which compels their descend-
ing sap to accumulate in the branches has been already given,
Instead of repeating it here, I take the following paragraph
from the paper by Mr. Knight, “On the Effects of different
Kinds of Stocks in Grafting,” published in the Horticultural
Transactions, i. 199.

“The disposition in young trees to produce and nourish
blossom-buds and fruit is increased by this apparent obstruc-
tion of the descending sap; and the fruit of such young trees
ripens, I think, somewhat earlier that upon other young trees
of the same age, which grow upon stocks of their own species;
but the growth and vigour of the tree, and its power to nourish
a succession of heavy crops, are diminished, apparently, by the
stagnation, in the branches and stock, of a portion of that sap
which, in a tree growing upon its own stem, or upon a stock of
its own species, would descend to nourish and promote the
extension of the roots. The practice, therefore, of grafting the
Pear-tree on the Quince stock, and the Peach,and Apricot on
the Plum, where extensive growth and durability are wanted, is
wrong; but it is eligible whereyer it is wished to diminish the
vigour and growth of the tree, and where its durability is not
thought important.

“When,” adds this great gardener, “ much difficulty is fouind
in making a tree, whether fructiferous or ornamental, of any

ON THE SCIONS. 353

species or variety, produce blossoms, or in making its blossoms
set when produced, success will probably be obtained in almost
all cases by budding or grafting on a stock which is nearly
enough allied to the graft to preserve it alive for a few years,
but not permanently. The Pear-tree affords a stock of this
kind to the Apple; and I have obtained a heavy crop of Apples
from a graft which had been inserted in a tall Pear stock only
twenty months previously, in a season when every blossom of
the same variety of fruit in the orchard was destroyed by frost.
The fruit thus obtained was externally perfect, and possessed
all its ordinary qualities; but the cores were black and without
a single seed; and every blossom would certainly have fallen
abortively, if it had been growing upon its ‘native stock. The
experienced gardener will readily anticipate the fate of the
graft; it perished in the following winter. The stock, in such
cases as the preceding, promotes, in proportion to its length,
the early bearing and early death of the graft.”

It is sometimes desirable to increase the hardiness of a °
variety, and grafting or budding appears to produce this effect
to a certain extent, not, indeed, by the stock communicating to
the scion any of its own power of resisting cold, but by the
stock being better suited to the soil of latitudes colder than
that from which the scion comes, and consequently requiring a__
lower bottom-heat to arouse its excitability. Mr. ‘Knight,
indeed, denies this fact, because “the root which nature gives
to each seedling plant. must be well, if not best, calculated to
support it;” and it is so, under the circumstances in which the
species was first created; but, in gardens it is placed otherwise,
Probably, in Persia, the native country of the Peach, that
species, or its wild type the Almond, is the best stock for the
former fruit; because the temperature of the earth is that in
which it was created to grow. But in a climate like that of
England, the summer temperature of whose soil is so much
lower than that of Persia, the Plum, on which the Peach takes
freely, is a hardy native, and suited to such soil, and its roots
are aroused from their winter sleep by an amount of warmth
imsufficient for the Peach. Experience, in this case, com-
pletely confirms what theory teaches: for, although there may

AA

354 ADAPTATION OF STOCKS TO SOIL.

be a few healthy trees in this country growing upon Almond
stocks, it is certain that the greater part of those which have
been planted have failed; while, in the warm soil of France
and Italy, it is the stock upon which the old trees have, in
almost all cases, been budded.

In determining upon what kind of stock a given fruit-tree
should be grafted, it is important to be aware that certain
species prefer particular soils and dislike others, for reasons
which are not susceptible of explanation. In the case of the
common stocks employed for the propagation of the Apple,
Pear, Peach, and Cherry, it was found by Mr. Dubreuil, an
intelligent gardener at Rouen, that in the chalky gardens about
that city neither the Plum nor the wild Cherry would succeed
for stone fruit, nor the Doucin or Quince stock for Pears and
Apples: but that the Crab suited the Apple, the wild Pear the
cultivated Pear, the Almond the Peach, and the Mahaleb the
Cherry. I formerly witnessed the result of those experiments
while in progress, and I well remember the sickly state of his
Peaches and Cherries grafted on Plum and Cherry stocks in
the calcareous borders of the rampart gardens of Rouen, and
the healthiness of the same fruit-trees in the same garden
when worked upon the Almond and the Mahaleb, while the
latter were unhealthy in their turn in the borders composed
artificially of loam. The result of this experiment has been
mentioned in the Hort. Trans., iv. 566, and is as follows :—

Loamy Soil. Chalky. Light.*
Apple . . . «| Doucin Crab Doucin.
Pear . . . .| Quince Wild Pear Quince.
Plum .. . ./| Plum Almond Almond.
Cherry. . . .| Wild Cherry | Mahaleb Wild Cherry.

Mr. Brown, of Merevale, relates the case of a Grosse Mignonne Peach
which for ten years bore fruit, though rarely in abundance ; at last a
crop of ten dozen fruit having set and nearly ripened, it suddenly died,
the stock being one mass of gum and canker. It was either a Peach or
Nectarine stock, as was ascertained by a sucker which sprang up from
a surface root. :

* That is, with an admixture of sand and decayed vegetable matter.

THE STOCK AFFECTS THE FRUIT. 355

As this work treats exclusively of those operations in gar-
dening which can be explained upon known principles of vege-
table physiology, all further reference to the question of stocks
ought, in strictness, to be dismissed at this stage. It may be
as well, however, to add that there are some well attested facts
relating to the preference of particular varieties for one kind of
stock rather than another, which we cannot explain, but which
are so important in practice as to deserve to be studied care-
fully. There appears to be no doubt that, as is asserted by
Mr. Knight and others (Hort. Trans., ii. 215; Gard. Mag., vil.
195), the Apricot succeeds better on its own species than on
the Plum. Nurserymen know very well that what they call
French Peaches, such as the Bourdine, Belle Chevreuse,
and Double Montagne will only take on the Pear Plum, while
other varieties prefer the Muscle Plum; and a variety called
the Brompton suits them all equally well, making handsome
trees, which are, however, uniformly short-lived.* The Lemon
is also found to be a better stock for the Orange than its own
varieties.

Tt is asserted that the tendency of the Stanwick Nectarine to crack is
cured by first budding the White Magnum Bonum Plum on a Brussels
stock as soon as it is strong enough for the purpose and as near the
ground as possible, and afterwards by budding the Nectarine on the
Magnum Bonum Plum about three feet from the ground. The same
method is stated to be highly advantageous for all Peaches and

Nectarines, upon the authority of a gardener at Warminster. (See
Gard, Chron., 1853, p. 694.)

It is not merely upon the productiveness or vigour of the
scion that the stock exercises an influence; its effects have
been found to extend to the quality of the fruit. This may be
conceived to happen in two ways—either by the ascending sap
carrying up with it into the scion a part of the secretions of the
stock, or by the difference induced in the general health of a
scion by the manner in which the flow of ascending and
descending sap is promoted or retarded by the stock. In the
Pear, the Fruit becomes higher coloured, and smaller on the
Quince stock than on the wild Pear, still more so on the

* See G. Lindley's Guide to the Orchard and Kttchen Garden, p. 299.
AA2

356 THE STOCK AFFECTS THE FRUIT.

Medlar; on the Mountain Ash stock the Pear bears earlier ;
and in these instances the ascent and descent of sap is
obstructed by the Quince more than by the wild Pear, and by
the Medlar more than by the Quince. Similar effects are
produced in the Apple by the Paradise and Siberian Bittersweet.
stocks. Mr. Knight mentions such differences in the quality
of his Peaches. His garden contained two trees of the Acton.
Scott variety, “one growing upon its native stock, the other
upon a Plum stock, the soil being similar, and the aspect the
same. That growing upon the Plum stock afforded fruit of a
larger size, and its colour, where it was exposed to the sun, was
much more red ; but its pulp was more coarse, and its taste and
flavour so inferior that he would have denied the identity of the
variety had he not with his own hand inserted the buds from
which both sprang.” (Hort. Trans., v. 289.)

Since the quality of fruit is thus affected by the stock, it
seems allowable to infer that the goodness of cultivated fruits
is deteriorated by their being uniformly worked upon stocks
whose fruit is worthless; for example, the Almond or the
austere Plum can only injure the Peaches they are made to
bear, the Crab the Apple, and so on. On the other hand, if
trees of excellent quality were used for stocks they ought to
improve the fruit of the scion that is worked upon them.
Some German writers, proceeding upon such reasoning as this,
recommend gardeners to practise the art of “ ennobling” fruit-
trees by taking the best varieties for stocks instead of the
worst; and they assert that, by such means, the excellence of
fruit is greatly increased. Treffz is represented by Meyer, as
translated in Taylor's Magazine, to have made known as long
ago as 1808 several instances of ennobling, from which it
appears that Apple-trees twice ennobled bore fruit of distin-
guished excellence ; Currants and Gooseberries improved after
one ennobling, and much more so after the operation had been
repeated three and four times. An Apricot is said to have
been worked on a Greengage Plum, and a Quince upon the
autumn Bergamot Pear; the Apricot became as juicy as the
Greengage, and far more delicate: the Quince was much more
tender, and less gritty.

THE STOCK AFFECTS THE FRUIT. 357

This is confirmed by Mr. William Billington, an experienced gar-
dener, who mentions the following cases :—‘‘I budded a Bergamot and a
Swan’s-egg Pear upon a Jargonelle on a south wall, I was surprised
to find them produce fruit nearly as large again as I had ever seen the
kinds bear before on any tree or aspect, and the flavour was much
improved; I have seen Apples grafted upon the old English Codlin,
Gennet Moil, and other Apple stocks, which are increased by burr
knots, acquiring a tendency to emit roots at the joints above the ground,
The effect on Apples worked upon these stocks was similar to that on
the Pears just mentioned; the King of the, Pippins was one, and the
best judge of Apples would not have conceived it to be the same when
grafted on a Burr knot as when on a Crab stock, the former being so
much larger and better in every respect. I have seen the Orange Pearmain
‘ worked on the English Codlin, and besides improving in flavour and
size it also became more prolific. I have budded Jargonelle and other
Pears on the common Hawthorn and Mountain Ash, on which they
took freely ; the Pears on the Hawthorn have borne fruit three years,
but the fruit is not half the common size and scarcely eatable, being
harsh and gritty, and having a hard core. I have come to this conclusion
—that independent of the improved size and flayour upon such stocks
as the above mentioned; I think a harsh tart Apple will be much
improved in flavour if grafted upon a stock of a milder sort, and a soft
vapid one on a Crab, while a late austere Apple double-worked upon a
luscious early Apple would be improved both in flavour and earliness.
The same will apply to Pears, as the late or gritty Pears might be much
improved in flavour and time of ripening by double-working on the
Jargonelle and other early buttery or melting Pears. I have budded
Peaches and Nectarines on the Moorpark Apricot, which greatly
improved them in size and flavour. Would not, then, some of the late
Peaches be much improved and come earlier into season by being
worked upon Apricots?” It may be added that D’Albret regards the
productiveness, fragrance, and succulence of fruits to be greatly
influenced by the stock on which they are worked.

It is moreover certain that the quality of a stock is affected,
in some cases at least, by the scion. Old writers on gardening
assert that if you bud a yellow variegated Jasmine on a green
one, the whole stock will become variegated; this is denied by
Duhamel, who misunderstood the nature of the experiment,
imagining it to relate to the colour of the flowers, and not of
the leaves. That the colour of the leaves of a stock is affected
-by the scion has been demonstrated. The late Wm. Anderson,
of the Physic Garden, Chelsea, budded the variegated ‘white
Jasmine upon one branch of a fine plant of the revolute

858 THE SCION AFFECTS THE STOCK.

Jasmine, the leaves of which were green. The bud adhered to
the bark of its stock, but never pushed. The succeeding year
a slight appearance of variegation came out upon the leaves of
the revolute Jasmine. The next year a workman cut out the
branch which had been budded; so that the revolute Jasmine
was thus apparently deprived of all infiuence from the
variegated bud. Nevertheless, the variegation in the remain-
der of the plant continued to increase, and some years since
the leaves and branches are all variegated, even more than the
white Jasmine whose bud was originally inserted. This proves
that, under -some circumstances, the scion will affect the
quality, although not the organization, of the stock; and if a
taint producing variegation can be thus communicated, why
not some other quality? It is highly probable, if not certain,
that the curious Cytisus Adami, or purple Laburnum, which is
sometimes Cytisus Laburnum, sometimes C. purpureus, some-
times a mixture of the two, is a common Laburnum tainted by
a purple Cytisus in the same way as Anderson’s Jasmine.

A correspondent has pointed out a passage in Scripture which bears
upon this subject. It occurs in the 11th chapter of the Epistle to the
Romans, and more particularly in the 24th verse :—* For if thou wert
cut out of the Olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and were graffed
contrary to nature into a good Olive-tree, how much more shall these,
which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own Olive-tree!”
Bloomfield says, in alluding to this chapter, ‘(Commentators have
assigned many reasons for the departure from the usual mode of
grafting trees, but these are rendered nugatory by the researches of
Bredenkamp, who has ascertained that in ancient times it was usual to
engraft the wild into the garden tree, to promote fruitfulness.” It
would thus appear that decaying trees might be revived by an insertion
of branches from a vigorous wild tree, and that the custom was practised
when St. Paul made use of it to illustrate the relative positions of the
Jewish and Gentile churches. The practice in question was known to
Pliny, and is thus spoken of by his editor, Holland (xvii., c. 18): ‘In
Barbarie, the people have this practice peculiar to themselves; for to
graft in a wild Olive stocke, whereby they continue a certain perpetuity ;
for even as the boughs that were graffed and (asI may say) adopted
first, wax old and grow to decay, a second quickly putteth forth afresh,
taken new from another tree, and in the same old stocke sheweth
young and lively; and after it a third successively, and as many as
need; soas by this means they take order to eternize their Olives;

ANCIENT PRACTICE WITH THE OLIVE. 359

insomuch as one Olive-plot hath been knowne to have prospered in
good estate a world of yeares. This wild Olive aforesaid may be graffed
either with scions set in a clift, or els, by way of inoculation, with the
scutcheon aforesaid.” Pliny himself describes the whole much more
briefly, e. g.: ‘Afriee peculiare quidem in Oleastro est inserere.
Quadam eternitate consenescunt, proxima adoptioni virga emissa,
atque ita alia arbore ex eadem juvenescente : iterumque et quoties opus,
sit, ut svis eadem oliveta constent. Inseritur autem Oleaster calamo,
et inoculatione.”

Before concluding this part of the subject it is desirable to
advert to the trifacial orange, 2 most singular production
known in some places by the name of Oranger hermaphrodite.
Mr. St. John, in his Travels in the Valley of the Nile, gives the
following account of this very curious tree in Boghos Bey’s
garden at Alexandria. ‘Here I was shown an extraordinary
fruit-tree, produced by an extremely ingenious process. They
take three seeds, the Citron, the Orange, and the Lemon, and
carefully removing the external coating from both sides of one
of them, and from one side of the two others, place the former
between the latter, and binding the three together with fine
grass, plant them in the earth. From this mixed seed springs
a tree, the fruit of which exhibits three distinct species
included in one rind, the division being perfectly visible
externally, and the flavour of each compartment as different
as if it had grown on a separate tree. This curious method of
producing a tripartite fruit has been introduced by Boghos
Joussouff from Smyrna, his native city, where it is said to have
been practised from time immemorial.” This statement is
illustrated by the following note to the Gardeners’ Chronicle
of 1841, from the Rev. G. C. Renouard, at that time Foreign
Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society.

“When resident at Smyrna as chaplain to the factory there,
in 1812, a fruit produced, as I was told, by an Orange-tree on
which a Lemon had been grafted, was sent to me from the
garden of a friend at Hajilar, a village in the neighbourhood,
so singular in its appearance that I should have preserved it in
spirits had I been aware of the circumstance I shall presently
mention, Boghos Yusuf (i. e. Paul J. oseph) is a most estimable
Armenian, universally esteemed, and was employed in his

860 TRIFACIAL ORANGE,

youth under the British Consul at Smyrna. He might,
therefore, have had his tree from the same garden as that in
which the one I speak of grew. The fruit sent to me had the
size and appearance of a large Orange with two or three large
patches of Lemon neatly stuck on it; the colour, almost to
the very edges of the different pieces, being distinctly that of
the respective fruits; and on removing the rind, which, as in a
common Orange, was all of one piece, the portions beneath the
Lemon-coloured parts had not only a considerable degree of
acidity, while the Orange had its proper degree of sweetness,
but they were separated from their sweet neighbours by a
distinct membrane, which in some degree accounted for their
difference in taste. The pulp was also, I believe, of a lighter
hue. The patches of Lemon were merely superficial, and of
no great thickness. They made bumps, or irregular elevations,
on the rind of the fruit.”

Up to the present time we have no evidence to show whether
or not it is practicable to graft three embryos in the manner
stated by Mr. St. John’s informant? Is it physically impos-
sible that the result should be such as is described; namely,
that each fruit should consist of three parts, the one of the
nature of a Lemon, the other of a Citron, and the third of an
Orange? I think not. If the stems of two or three plants,
-when brought in contact, will adhere and become one, so may
the sides of two or three embryos: and, in fact, this occurs occa-
sionally in the Mistletoe, the Cress, the Sun-spurge, and others,
without the assistance of art. Nowif three embryos of different
varieties could be made to unite, would their several natures be
so blended as to form but one whole, consisting of a mixture of
each; or would they grow in union, each retaining its own
peculiar qualities ? This is a question that vegetable physiology
does not at present enable us to answer.

CHAPTER XIII.

os
ON PRUNING.

“Tia taille est une des opérations les plus importantes et les
plus délicates du jardinage. Confiée communément a des
ouvriers peu instruits, observée dans les résultats d'une
pratique trop souvent irréfléchie, elle a di nécessairement trou-
ver des détracteurs méme parmi les physiologistes. Il en edt
sans doute été autrement, si on l’avait étudiée dans les jardins
du petit nombre de praticiens qui ont su de nos jours la bien
comprendre. Sagement basée sur les lois de la végétation, elle
contribue, entre leurs mains, non seulement a régulariser la
production des fruits, 4 en obtenir de plus beaux, mais encore
a prolonger l’existence et la fécondité des arbres.”

Nothing can be more just than these words, addressed to the
Horticultural Society of Paris, by their President, M. Héricart
de Thury ; and, if they do not apply with as much force to our
gardeners as to those of France, they do most fully to our
foresters.

The quantity of timber that a tree forms, the amount and
quality of its secretions, the brilliancy of its colours, the size of
its flowers, and, in short, its whole beauty, depend upon the
action of its branches and leaves, and their healthiness. The
object of the pruner is to diminish the number of leaves and
branches; whence it may be at once understood how delicate
are the operations he has to practice, and how thorough a
knowledge he ought to possess of all the laws which regulate
the action of the organs of vegetation. If well directed,
pruning is one of the most useful, and, if ill-directed, it is

362 PRINCIPLES OF PRUNING.

among the most mischievous, operations that can take place
upon a plant.

The object of pruning is either to influence the production
of flowers and fruit, or to augment the quantity of timber,
These two purposes demand separate consideration.

A. Pruning for Flowers or Fruit.

When a portion of a healthy plant is cut off, all that sap
which would have been expended in supporting the part
removed is directed into the parts which remain, and more
especially into those in the immediate vicinity of it. Thus,
if the leading bud of a growing branch is stopped, the lateral
buds, which would otherwise have been dormant, are made to
sprout forth ; and, if a growing branch is shortened, then the
very lowest buds, which seldom push, are brought into action;
hence the necessity, in pruning, of cutting a useless branch
clean out; otherwise the removal of one branch is only the
cause of the production of a great many others.

This effect of stopping does not always take place imme-
diately ; sometimes its first effect is to cause an accumulation
of sap in a branch, which directs itself to the remaining buds,
and organizes them against a future year. In ordinary cases,
it is thus that spurs or short bearing-branches are obtained in
great abundance. The growers of the Filbert, in Kent,
procure in this way greater quantities of bearing wood than
nature unassisted would produce; for, as the Filbertis always
borne by the wood of a previous year, it is desirable that every
bush should have as much of that wood as can be obtained, for
which every thing else may be sacrificed; and such wood is
readily secured by observing a continual system of shortening
a young branch by two-thirds, the effect of which is to call all
its lower buds into growth the succeeding year; and thus each
shoot of bearing wood is compelled to produce many others.
The Peach, by a somewhat similar system, has been made to
bear fruit in unfavourable climates (Hort. Trans., ii. 366); and
every gardener knows how universally it is applied to the Pear,
Apple, Plum, and similar trees, and even to the Fig-tree.

BLEEDING MUST BE PREVENTED. 363

The influence produced upon one part by the abstraction of
some other part, thus shown in the development of buds
which would otherwise be dormant, is seen in many other ways.
If all the fruit of a plant is abstracted one year when just
forming, the fruit will be finer and more abundant the succeed-
ing year, as happens when late frosts destroy our crops.
If of many flowers one only is left, that one, fed by the sap
intended for the others, becomes so much larger. If the
late Figs, which never ripen, are abstracted, the early Figs the
next year are more numerous and larger. If of two unequal
branches, the stronger is shortened and stopped in its growth,
the other becomes stronger; and this is one of the most useful
facts connected with pruning, because it enables a skilful
cultivator to equalise the rate of growth of all parts of a tree;
and, as has been already stated, this is of the greatest
consequence in the operation of budding. In fact, the utility
of the practice, so common in the management of fruit-trees
when very young, turns entirely upon this. A seedling tree
has a hundred buds to support, and consequently the stem
grows slowly, and the plant becomes bushy-headed: but, being
cut down so as to leave only two or three buds, they spring
upwards with great vigour, and, being reduced eventually to
one, as happens practically, that one recéives all the sap, which
would otherwise be diverted into a hundred buds, and thrives
accordingly, the bushy head being no longer found, but a clean
straight stem instead. In the Oak and the Spanish Chestnut
this is particularly conspicuous.

Nothing is more strictly to be guarded against than the
disposition to bleed, which occurs in some plants when pruned,
and to such an extent as to threaten them with death. In the
Vine, in milky plants, and in most climbers or twiners, this is
particularly conspicuous; and it is not unfrequently observed
in fruit-trees with gummy or mucilaginous secretions, such as
the Plum, the Peach, and other stone fruits. This property
usually arises from the large size of the vessels through which
sap is propelled at the periods of early growth, which vessels
are unable, when cut through, to collapse sufficiently to close
their own apertures, when they. necessarily. pour forth their

364 BLEEDING MUST BE PREVENTED.

fluid contents as long as the roots continue to absorb them
from the soil. If this is allowed to continue, the system
‘becomes so exhausted as to be unableto recover from the shock,
and the plant will either become very unhealthy, or will die.
‘The only mode of avoiding it is to take care never to wound
‘such trees at the time when their sap first begins to flow;
after a time, the demand upon the system by the leaves
becomes so great that there is no surplus, and therefore
bleeding does not take place when a wound is inflicted.

The Vine often bleeds excessively when pruned in an improper
season, or when accidentally wounded; and, I believe, no mode of
stopping the flow of the sap is at present known to gardeners. I there-
fore mention the following, which I discovered many years ago, and
have always practised with success :—If to four parts of scraped cheese
be added one part of calcined oyster shells, or other pure calcareous
earth, and this composition be pressed strongly into the pores of the
wood, the sap will instantly cease to flow; so that the largest branch
may, of course, be taken off at any season with safety.” (Knight, in
Hort. Trans., i.'102.) Mr. Lowe proposes collodion as a remedy for
bleeding, which he found to be readily prevented by smearing wounds,
immediately, with the substance. To this operation, the substance
seems admirably adapted, by reason of its adhesiveness, its impenetra-
bility, and its excessive toughness. Whether it will stop the bleeding
of Vines, Walnuts, and similar trees requires to be ascertained.

All these things show how necessary it is to perform the
operations of pruning with care and discretion. But, in
addition to the general facts already mentioned, there are
others of a more special kind that require attention. The first
thing to be thought of is the peculiar nature of the plant under
operation, and the manner in which its special habits may
render a'special mode of pruning necessary. For example, the
fruit of the Fig and Walnut is borne by the wood of the same
season; that of the Vine and Filbert by that of the second
season; and Pears, Apples, &¢., by wood of some years’
prowth; it is clear that plants of these three kinds will each
require a distinct plan of pruning for fruit.

' The pruner has frequently no other object in view than that
of thinning the branches so as to allow the free access of light
and air to the fruit; and if this purpose is wisely followed, by

SEASON FOR PRUNING, 365.

merely removing superfluous foliage, the end attained is highly
useful: it is clear, however, that in order to arrive at this end;
without committing injury to the tree which is operated on, it
is indispensable that its exact mode of bearing fruit should be
in the first instance clearly ascertained.

The period of ripening fruit is sometimes changed by skilful
pruning, as in the case of the Raspberry, which may be made
to bear a second crop of fruit in the autumn, after the first crop
has been gathered. _ In order to effect this, the strongest canes,
which in the ordinary course of things would bear a quantity
of fruiting twigs, are cut down to within two or three. eyes of
the base; the laterals thus produced, being impelled into rapid
growth by an exuberance of sap, are unable to form their fruit.
buds so early as those twigs in which excessive growth is not
thus produced, and consequently, while the latter fruit at one
season, the others cannot reach a bearing state till some weeks
later. Autumnal crops of summer Roses, and of Strawberries,
have been sometimes procured by the destruction of the usual
crop at a very early period of the season; the sap intended ta
nourish the flower-buds destroyed is, after their removal;
expended in forming new flower-buds, which make their
appearance at a later part of the year.

The season for pruning is usually midwinter, or at mid»
summer; the latter for the purpose of removing new superfluous
branches, the former for thinning and arranging the several
parts of a tree. It is, however, the practice, occasionally, to
perform what is called the winter pruning early in the autumn;
as in the case of the Gooseberry, and of the Vine when weak :
and the effect is found to be, that the shoots of such plants, in
the succeeding season, are stronger than they would have been
had the pruning been performed at a much later season. This
is necessarily so, as a little reflection will show. During the
season of rest (winter) a plant continues to absorb food solely
from the earth by its roots; and, if its. branches are
unpruned, the sap thus and then introduced into the system
will be distributed equally all through it; let us say from b to
cdand ¢in the accompanying diagram. If late pruning is
had recourse to, and the branches from a.to ¢d and ¢ are

366 EFFECT OF PRUNING.

removed, of course a large proportion of the sap that has been
accumulating during the winter will be thrown away, and b to
c will retain no more of it than the exact pro-
portion which that part bears to the part

abstracted. When, however, early or autumnal
"a “pruning is employed, a to ¢ d and e¢ are
: % Va removed before the sap has accumulated in

them, and then all which the roots are capable
of collecting during the period of repose
will be deposited in the space from b to a;
a4 consequently branches from that part will
necessarily push with excessive vigour. As,
however, pruning is by no means intended
at all times to increase the vigour of a
plant, late or spring pruning, if not deferred
till the sap is in rapid motion, may be more
judicious.

With regard to pruning plants when transplanted, there can
be no doubt that it is more frequently injurious than beneficial.
It is supposed, or seems to be, that when the branches of a
transplanted tree are headed back, the remaining buds will
break with more force than if the pruning had not been
performed; but it is to be remembered that a transplanted
tree is not in the state supposed in the case put above,
Fig. LXVII. Its roots are not fully in action,.and from the
injuries sustained in removing, they are capable of exercising
but little influence on the branches. The great point to attain,
in the first instance, is the renovation- of the roots, and that
will happen only in proportion to the healthy action of the
leaves and buds: if, therefore, the branches of a plant are
removed by the pruning-knife, a great obstacle is opposed to
this renovation ; but, if they remain, new roots will be formed
in proportion to the healthy action of the leaves. The danger
to be feared is, that the perspiration of the leaves may be so
great as to exhaust the system of its fluid contents faster than
the roots can restore them, and in careless transplanting this
may doubtless happen: in such cases it is certainly requisite
that some part of the branches should be pruned away ; but no

d

&b
Fig. LXVIL.

ROOT-PRUNING. 367

more should be taken off than the exigency of the case obviously
requires; and, if the operation of transplanting has been well
performed, there will be no necessity whatever. In the case of
the transplantation of large trees, it is alleged that branches
must be removed, in order to reduce the head, so that it may
not be acted upon by the wind; but in general it is easy to
prevent this action by artificial means.
- In the nurseries it is a universal practice to prune the roots
of transplanted trees ; in gardens this is as seldom performed.
Which is right? If a wounded or bruised root is allowed ta
remain upon a transplanted tree, it is apt to decay, and this
disease may spread to neighbouring parts, which would other-
wise be healthy; to remove the wounded parts of roots is
therefore desirable. But the case is different with healthy
roots, We must remember that every healthy and unmutilated
root which is removed is a loss of nutriment to the plant, and
that too at a time when it is least able to spare it; and there
cannot be any advantage in the removal. The nursery practice
is probably intended to render the operation of transplanting
large numbers of plants less troublesome ; and, as it is chiefly
applied to seedlings and young plants with a superabundance
of roots, the loss in their case ig not so much felt. If
performed at all, it should take place in the autumn, for at that
time the roots, like the other parts of a plant, are comparatively
empty of fluid; but, if deferred till the spring, then the roots
are all distended with fluid, which has been collecting in them
during winter, and every part taken away carries with it a
portion of that nurture which the plant had been laying up as
the store upon which to commence its renewed growth.

It must now be obvious that, although root-pruning may be
prejudicial in transplanting trees, it may be of the greatest
service to such established trees as are too prone to produce
branches and leaves, instead of flowers and fruit. In these
cases the excessive vigour is at once stopped by removal of
some of the stronger roots, and consequently of a part of the
superfluous food to which their “rankness” is owing. The
operation has been successfully performed on the wall-trees at
Oulton, by Mr. Errington, one of our best English gardeners,

368 CHINESE PIGMY TREES.

and by many others, and has never proved an objectionable
practice under judicious management. Its effect is, pro tanto,
to cut off the supply of food, and thus to arrest the rapid
growth of the branches; and the connexion between this and
the production of fruit has already been explained. It is
in some measure by pushing the root-pruning to excess that
the Chinese obtain the curious dwarf trees which excite so
much curiosity in Europe. Mr. Livingston’s account of their
practice is so instructive, and contains so much that an
intelligent gardener may turn to account, that it is worth
repeating here.

“‘ When the dwarfing process is intended, the branch which
had pushed radicles into the surrounding composition in suffi-
cient abundance, and for a sufficient length of time, is separated
from the tree, and planted in a shallow earthenware flower-pot,
of an oblong square shape ; it is sometimes made to rest upon
a flat stone. The pot is then filled with small pieces of
alluvial clay, which, in the neighbourhood of Canton, is broken
into bits, of about the size of common beans, being just
sufficient to supply the scanty nourishment which the par-
ticular nature of the tree and the process require. In addition
to a careful regulation of the quantity and quality of the earth,
the quantity of water, and the management of the plants with
respect to sun and shade, recourse is had to a great variety of
mechanical contrivances, to produce the desired shape. The
containing flower-pot is so narrow, that the roots pushing out
towards the sides are pretty effectually cramped. No radicle
can descend; consequently it is only those which run towards
the sides or upwards that can serve to convey nourishment
properly, and it is easy to regulate those by cutting, burning,
&c., so as to cramp the growth at pleasure. Every succeeding
formation of leaves becomes more and more stunted, the buds
and radicles become diminished in the same proportion, till at
length that balance between the roots and leaves is obtained
which suits the character of the dwarf required. In some trees
this is accomplished in two or three years, but in others it
requires at least twenty years.” (Hort, Trans., iv. 229.)

‘The practice of root-pruning was long ago recognised by Switzer,

ROOT PRUNING AN OLD PRACTICE. 369

who in his Practical Fruit-Gardener has these words :—“ Barrenness
proceeds from too great an affluence of sap through those large roots,
and therefore those roots ought to be taken off; yet because I have
found by experience that there is some danger in the practising this
upon old trees, I thought it might not be an unuseful tryal to begin
first on young ones, even by taking them clear up once in two or three
years, and cutting away all the great roots. This would effectually do
what I desired, and it has answered accordingly.” The late Mr. Beattie,
gardener at Scone Palace, Perthshire, in 1811, cut the roots of Peach and
Apricot-trees, on a south wall, four hundred feet long, to within two and
three feet of the stems; the result was satisfactory,—over-luxuriance
was checked, and fruitfulness produced. Beattie acted on the principle
of depriving the tree of the means of obtaining such a great quantity of
sap, thereby preventing it from growing so freely, and of course
inclining it to become fruitful. Nicol suggests the same expedient, in
his Forcing and Fruit-Gardener, fourth edition, p. 240. Indeed no
gardener with ordinary powers of observation can have failed to
observe the effect produced upon fruit-trees by transplantation, which
is a rude kind of root-pruning. It needs but a small amount of
physiological knowledge to be aware that if the roots of a plant are
large and numerous, the head must be so too, for this plain reason, that
the amount of fluid food received by a plant is in proportion to the size
and extent of its roots, and that food must be expended in the formation
of branches. There can be no interference with such a law as this.
Suppose one tree absorbs twenty pounds of fluid food (or sap), and the
other forty pounds, by the roots, all other circumstances being
equal, it is evident that the one will have twice as much organizable
matter as the other ; and, as such matter cannot be returned back into
the soil, but is irresistibly driven upwards by the force of vegetation, it
can only be expended in the organization of leaves and branches ; and
consequently the leaves and branches will be twice as large or twice as
numerous in the one case as in the other. Of course the reverse of this
is equally true.

It is, however, to Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, that we are indebted
for pointing out the whole advantage and application of root-pruning,
of which he has given a very full account in a paper published in the
Proceedings of the Horticultural Society, page 136, and in his own
Miniature Fruit Garden, to which the reader is referred.

We have still to consider that peculiar kind of pruning which
is technically called ringing (Fig. LXVIII.). This consists in
removing from a branch one or more rings of bark, by which
the return of sap from the extremities is obstructed, and it is

compelled to accumulate above the ring. Mr. Knight explains
BB

370 RINGING.

the physiological nature of the operation so well that I cannot
do better than quote his words.

“The true sap of trees is wholly generated in their leaves,
from which it descends through their bark to the extremities
of their roots, depositing in its
course the matter which is suc-
. cessively added to the tree, whilst
We. Whatever portion of such sap is
not thus expended sinks into the
alburnum, and joins the ascend-
ing current, to which it commu-
nicates powers not possessed by
the recently absorbed fluid. When
the course of the descending cur-
rent is intercepted, that naturally
stagnates and accumulates above
the decorticated space; whence it
is repulsed and carried upwards,
to be expended in an increased
production of blossoms and of.
fruit: and consistently with these
conclusions I have found that
part of the alburnum which is
situated above the decorticated
space to exceed in specific gravity
very considerably that which lies
below it. The repulsion of the
descending’ fluid, therefore, ac-
counts, I conceive, satisfactorily
for the increased production of
blossoms, and more rapid growth
of the fruit upon the decorticated branch; but there are
causes which operate in promoting its more early maturity.
The part of the branch which is below the decorticated space
is ill supplied with nutriment, and ceases almost to grow; it in
consequence operates less actively in impelling the ascending
current of sap, which must also be impeded in its progress
through the decorticated space. The parts which are above it

Fig. LXVIIL

RINGING. 371

must, therefore, be less abundantly supplied with moisture, and
drought in such cases always operates very powerfully in
accelerating maturity. When the branch is small, or the space
from which the bark has been taken off is considerable, it
almost always operates in excess; a morbid state of early
maturity is induced and the fruit is worthless. :
“Tf this view of the effects of partial decortication, or
ringing, be a just one, it follows that much of the success of the
operation must be dependent upon the selection of proper
seasons, and upon the mode of performing it being well adapted
to the object of the operator. If that be the production of
blossoms, or the means of making the blossoms set more
freely, the ring of bark should be taken off early in the
summer preceding the period at which blossoms are required ;
but if the enlargement and more early maturity of the fruit be
the objects, the operation should be delayed till the bark will
readily part from the alburnum in the spring. The breadth
of the decorticated space must be adapted to the size of the
branch; but I have never witnessed any except injurious
effects, whenever the experiment has been made upon very
small or very young branches, for such become debilitated and
sickly, long before the fruit can acquire a proper state of
maturity.” =

It appears from the following case, among others, that permanent
ringing is not always speedily injurious. It is recorded in the Gardeners’
Chronicle (1842, p. 707) that a Mr. Dawson of Tottenham had a Jargo-
nelle Pear-tree, which he planted against the gable end of a coach-
house, and consequently trained higher than it could be on an ordinary
garden-wall. One of the principal limbs, at a little more than a foot
from its junction with the main stem, was cankered three inches of
its length on one side, and for more than six inches on theother. The
part affected was about an inch and a half thick one way, by three-
fourths of an inch the other. Above and below the wound, the circum-
ference was about six inches. There was not the least bark or young wood
eonnecting the upper and lower parts of the branch, the diseased part
being black and the wood extremely hard. Nevertheless this branch
produced every year an abundant crop, invariably about a fortnight
earlier than the rest of the tree, The fruit was not equal to that grown
on the other branches, but it ripened: earlier. Excepting fruit-spurs,
this branch had not made an inch of wood during the last four years,
BB2

372 RINGING AFFECTS THE FRUIT.

although the rest of the tree was very vigorous. There was neither
bark, liber, alburnum, nor any other living substance externally on the
diseased part. It was under observation for four years; and there was
reason to believe that the wound was much older.

The effects of ringing, in altering the appearance of the
fruit, is very striking. In the Horticultural Transactions,
lii. 867, the following cases are reported :—In a French Crab,
the fruit; by ringing, was increased to more than double the
size, and the colour of it was much brightened. In a Minshull
Crab the size was not increased, but the appearance of the apple
was so improved as to make it truly beautiful; its colours,
both red and yellow, were very bright. In the Court-pendu
Apple the improvement was still more conspicuous, the colours
being changed from green and dull red to brilliant yellow and
scarlet. Many others of a similar kind are to be found
recorded in books on horticulture. It is, however, by no
means alone to the maturation or production of fruit that
this operation is applicable ; it will, of course, induce also the
production of flowers, and it has occasionally been used for
that purpose, as in the Camellia. It is best performed in
the early spring, when the bark first separates freely from the
wood.

This operation has, however, the disadvantage of wounding
a branch severely: and, if performed extensively upon a tree,
it is apt, if not to kill it, at least to render it incurably un-
healthy ; for if the rings are not sufficiently wide to cut off all
communication between the upper and lower lips of the wound
they produce little effect, and if they are, they are difficult to
heal. For these reasons, the operation is little employed,
other methods being used instead. By some persons ligatures
are employed, and they would be preferable if they answered
the purpose of obstructing the sap to the same extent as the
abstraction of a ring of bark. In Malta, one of the objects
of ringing, that of advancing the maturation of the fruit, is
practised upon the Zinzibey, or Jujube-tree, by merely fixing
in the fork of a branch a very heavy stone, made fast with
bandages; its weight forces the branches a little into a hori-
zontal direction, and thus, independently of the pressure it

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 373

exercises upon the parts it touches, obstructs the free circu-
lation of the sap.

The details of the practice of pruning are so extremely long and minute,
that the reader is necessarily referred to special works on the subject,
among the best of which are George Lindley’s Guide to the Orchard and
Kitchen Garden, D’Albret’s Cours théorique et pratique de la taille des
arbres fruitiers, and Lepére On the Peach-tree, translated in the 8th
Volume of the Journal of the Horticultural Society. All these works will,
however, be the more intelligible if the reader keeps in view the following
leading explanations, chiefly taken from notes by the author, Mr. Thompson,
and others, published in the Gardeners’ Chronicle for 1847 and 1848. The
woodcuts there employed, and now reproduced, are unsurpassed, if not
unequalled, for accuracy and the exact information they convey.

THE MANIPULATION OF PRUNING.

By pruning is not meant hack- a b &
ing or mutilating trees merely to
reduce their bulk, nor that sort of
random cutting out which is often
supposed to be expressed by the
name. Those operations belong
to plashing and slashing, not to
pruning. Pruning is the art of
removing scientifically certain
branches, orparts of them. Skilful
gardeners have but one way of
performing this operation, Their
method may be called ‘the clean
cut ;” and consists in removing a
shoot by means of a sloping
wound, forming an angle of about
45°, just at the back of a bud,
as atc. The reason is, that as
soon as the bud pushes, this
wound is readily and rapidly co- ;
vered with new wood. In some i
trees it will, in fact, heal over |
in a few weeks. An awkward
way of performing this, Trepre-
sented at }, is “the cut to the
quick.” Here the wound ig made Fig. LXIX.—Good and Bad Pruning.
too low down, and exposes to the drying action of the air the communication

between the base of the bud and the interior of the stem; the consequence

d

374 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

of which is that the bud dies, and the new shoot not only does not come
where it was expected, but is surmounted by a dead joint, which will after-
wards have to be removed. In order to avoid the risk of ‘‘the cut to the
quick,”’ some gardeners make use of ‘‘the snag cut” (d, e, f,) in which
the wound is made on the same side of the branch as that occupied by the bud,
slanting downwards towards it. That plan is objectionable ; for it involves
the necessity of leaving behind a dead portion of the branch, to be removed
at a later pruning, so that work must be done twice over; moreover, it is
an admission of a want of the skill required to make ‘the clean cut”
skilfully. Lastly, there is “the slivering cut” (a), in which a long
ragged unequal shave is taken off the branch, much too low in the begin-
ning, and much too high at the end. It is the cut made by garden labourers.
It is clumsy, ugly, awkward, and dangerous, for it is apt to injure the
branch on which it is made. In all cases the amputation should be made
by one firm-drawn cut. The clean cut can be performed by a dexterous
operator to within a shaving of the right line: and the mastery of this art
is no mean acquisition. Expert pruners will grasp a branch in their left
hand, and with one sharp quick draw remove a shoot as thick as the thumb.
But for this purpose a knife must be keen, and not blunt and notched,
as what are miscalled pruning knives frequently are.

THE APPLE-TREE.

The Apple-tree, left to its natural growth, forms generally a low stem,
branching out into a top, which ultimately becomes hemispherical, towards
the outside of which fruit-spurs, leaves, and fruit are most abundant; to
support these, the branches interiorly may be considered as a sort of frame-
work, for they are often destitute of spurs or foliage. The Apple never bears,
except accidentally, on young wood. It is on wood two or more years old,
and on the stunted branches, called ‘‘ spurs,” that its fruit appears.

This fruit being chiefly grown as a standard, it will be sufficient to
mention that form.

A Standard should have a clean, straight, substantial stem. Every leaf
which appears along it while young, should be encouraged. If any strong
shoot break out let it be checked; but all other laterals should be allowed:
to go on at least till the end of July, when they may be stopped by pinching
off their points. In the following autumn cut them off closely from the
lower portion of the stem, and shorten the rest back to one eye. In the
following season these eyes will push fresh shoots; treat them like their
prodecessors in summer, and clear an additional portion of the stem below,
in autumn, by closely cutting the laterals which may have pushed there-
from. By this mode of procedure self-supporting stems can be generally
insured.

The formation of the top must now be considered. The height of clear
stem being determined, the upright leader exceeding that height in summer

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING, 375

by several inches, must be shortened back at the
ensuing winter pruning, so that the lowest of
three buds immediately below the section shall
correspond with the intended height of stem.
These three buds will give rise to three shoots, é
which should be encouraged for the commence-
ment of the branches of the tree. Each of them,

as they proceed in growth, should be made to
diverge at an angle of about 45°, or half way
between the horizontal and perpendicular direc-
tions; and, at the same time, the shoots should

be kept equidistant from each other. At the
winter pruning, they should be shortened to
within nine inches or a foot of their bases, par-
ticularly observing to cut above two buds point-

ing outwards in the direction which it would be Gi
desirable the shoots proceeding from them should

take. Six limbs will be thus originated. Again

a little attention in summer will ensure an equal
divergence of the shoots from the perpendicular,

and equal distances from each other. Mean-

while, a gradual removal of the
temporary shoots on the stem is
presumed to have annually taken
place, as above recommended.
The scars resulting from the g
suppression of those on the lower
part of the stem will have nearly
or quite healed over.

After the principal branches.
have been started, it is well to
regulate the growth of the top for a few years
longer, by checking, about midsummer, any
shoots that are over-luxuriant, or that are taking
a wrong direction. Afterwards, little pruning
will be required. The branches should be kept
thin enough to admit sufficient sun and air;
and after bearing heavy crops, portions of the
extremities should be a little shortened. More-
over all that cross each other so as to “whip”
in windy weather, and all that are broken or
cankered, should be cut out,

Fig. LXX,—Shoot of the Apple-
a, u, 4, a, a, a, dlossom-buds; 8, b, 4, b, b, tree.

wood-buds; ¢, ¢, scars or spurs where fruit was attached last season.

376 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING,

THE PEAR-TREE.

This, like the Apple-tree, bears its fruit on wood more than one year old,
but chiefly on spurs, and very rarely on two-year branches. The object of
the pruner is to secure spurs by stopping branches and arresting luxuriance,
at the same time maintaining the plant in perfect health.

There is no difficulty in obtaining the requisite number of branches, at
proper distances, by observing the following directions:—Plant a maiden
tree in autumn ; allow it to establish itself for one year, and then head it
back to a good eye, a few buds from its base. Let one shoot grow as strong
and upright as possible during the summer, and head it back to within
thirteen inches of the ground in autumn, cutting very close to a bud, in
order that the shoot springing from it may form little or no bending; train
it upright, whilst three or four shoots, from buds immediately below it,
should be more or less inclined to a horizontal direction, according to their
strength; the strongest should be most depressed. These three or four con-
stitute the commencement of the first or lower tier. For the next tier, head
back the upright leader to within eighteen inches of its base, if the soil is
rich ; if not, to fifteen inches; and from the shoots produced in the following
season from buds, just under the cut, train a shoot for a leader, and three or
four somewhat horizontally, as before, for a second tier. Precisely in this
manner tier after tier must be started, till the tree attain its assigned height.
All this can be effected in accordance with the natural disposition of the tree
to form an upright stem, and with the tendency of the sap to develope the
uppermost buds of a shortened shoot. But it is not to be done without
serious difficulties.

The shoots started for horizontal branches will rarely take that direction ;
on the contrary, they will generally diverge at an angle of 45°. This may,
and should be overcome by tying down. The disparity of vigour in the
upper, as compared with the lower branches, is a more serious affair, If
allowed, the former will soon overgrow the latter, and the pyramid will
ultimately become inverted. It is, therefore, evident that, in order to have
well-conditioned pyramid Pear-trees, means must be adopted to maintain
vigour in the lower tiers of branches, and repress over-luxuriance in
the upper.

With the view of invigorating the lower, permit the shoots to grow
without restraint till September, and then bend them towards a horizontal
position. They will thus be much stronger than if they had been made to
follow a horizontal direction from the beginning. Shorten them a little at
the winter pruning, in order to obtain a stronger leading shoot than would
otherwise be produced. Cut to a side bud; one on the upper side would
produce a stronger shoot, but the latter could not be brought down without
occasioning an unsightly bend. Besides a leader, some other shoots will
probably be produced ; let them grow, for their foliage will assist in forming
channels, or layers of wood containing channels, for the transmission of sap

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 377

along these branches in the following season. The growing shoot should
have its point elevated till September, as before. No reduction of foliage
connected with the lower branches should be made by summer pruning.
Their leading shoots must not be overshaded.

In order to prevent excessive luxuriance in the upper branches, recourse
must be had to summer pruning as the most efficient means. The shoots
should be trained horizontally from their origin, their points depressed
instead of elevated. In short, they must be subjected to a treatment
generally the reverse of that recommended for the lower branches.

Against walls, the horizontal mode of training answers well for the Pear.
When the young tree is planted, head down the shoot to a foot, or four
courses of bricks, above the level of the ground. Train a shoot upright,
and one right, another left, at an angle of 45°; if these prove unequal in
point of vigour, depress the strong and elevate the weak. Lower them
both about the middle of September to the horizontal line represented by the
joint between the fourth and fifth course of bricks. Their origin on the
stem was somewhat below this line, and therefore they must ascend a little
to reach it. This, as regards the lower branches, is an advantage, for the
sap flows more freely into limbs thus diverging, than it does when con-
strained to proceed from the stem directly at right angles. The lower
branches being apt to become the weakest, may be afforded this advantage,
whilst towards the top of the wall the branches may be made to proceed
horizontally immediately from the stem.

The tree having now a central upright shoot, and two horizontal side
shoots, shorten the latter at the winter pruning according to their strength ;
if weak, nearly to their bases; the upright one to the fourth course of
bricks above that to which the first shoot was cut. Train the shoot from
the uppermost bud in a perpendicular direction, and one on each side as
before. Proceed thus to obtain an upright and two horizontal branches
every year till the tree reach the top of the wall. When the horizontal
branches are sufficiently strong, they may be trained along the courses of
bricks without shortening.

If properly managed in summer, fruit-spurs will begin to form along these
branches. The accompanying cut (Fig. LXXI.) represents a spur in which
a is progressing to form a blossom-bud, whilst 4, 5, are already blossom-buds,
known by their plumpness; and from this period of the season such buds
exhibit signs of active vegetation, but in a the surrounding scales remain
undisturbed till late in spring. The scar at cis where a portion of spur
that has borne fruit has been cut back, and at the winter pruning after b, b,
have produced fruit, they must likewise be cut back'to others likely to form
at their bases, as they did at the base of c.

The pruning of the Pear-tree trained against an espalier differs in nothing
from that which it requires when trained against a wall, except that the
spurs of espalier trees need not be so much shortened.

In the Garden of Plants at Paris there exist certain pyramidal Pear-trees,

378 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

which may be regarded as models of that form of the tree for which the
French are celebrated. Mr. Thompson describes them as being from 10 to
15 feet high, or more, having a regularly tapering outline from the base to
the top, where they terminate in a single shoot. The young plant is stopped
according to its strength, and so as to furnish side branches. These are not
in stages at uniform distances along the stem ; on the contrary, almost every
shoot which breaks out from the stem is allowed to grow; but the laterals
produced on these are pinched in summer, and even such of the leading
shoots as appear likely to be-
come too strong for the others
are stopped. M. Cappe, who
manages them, pinches all the
’ young shoots, not required to
form branches, when in a very
young state ; when they have
scarcely pushed a finger’s
length, they are shortened to
about one inch, or from that
to one and a half inch. The
portion left forms the basis of
one or more fruit-buds, bear-
ing fruit in the following
season, or a spur on which
blossom-buds are formed for
bearing in the second season.
The plan succeeds admirably
in the climate of Paris. The
fruit is abundant, large, and
fine. The trees are healthy
and vigorous, and well fur-
nished with blossom-buds.
Supposing the branches of
a tree are properly thinned and
regulated at the winter prun-
ing, and that so far as they
extend, their number is quite
sufficient for the space they occupy; presuming, also, that the tree is in
good health, a number of laterals are sure to spring. They are, of course,
superfluous ; and every one of them should be pinched as already mentioned.
If the last year’s shoot has been shortened at the winter pruning, then,
besides the terminal one on the part left, one, two, or three next to it are
almost sure to push ; and these M. Cappe commences to check by pinching
when about three inches in length; but those nearer the base of the shoot
he allows to grow till they attain the length of six or eight inches before he
shortens them. The terminal bud is of course allowed to go on for the

Fig. LXXI.—Spur of the Pear-tree.

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 379

‘prolongation of the branch. It frequently happens in France, and the
liability will be still more in the climate of England, that after a shoot is
pinched back, the newly-formed buds on the part left
will push a secondary shoot in the same season.
When this is the case with those under the care of
M. Cappe, he also pinches these secondary shoots to
an inch or an inch and a half from where they origi-
nate. They rarely push again; but if they do, their
growths are again reduced as before.

THE QUINCE-TREE.

The accompanying cut shows that in the preceding
year a blossom-bud, similar to those marked a, a, and
sessile like them, was situated at 1. In the course of
last season that bud pushed a sort of shoot, furnished Y@
with leaves, and bearing at its extremity a single
blossom, producing one fruit, which at its maturity
had either been pulled or had dropped off, leaving a
scar at ce. The portion be-
tween 1 and e may be termed
a branch, as it was furnished
with leaves, and buds appear
that were formed in the axils
of those leaves ; but still it is
an imperfect branch, inas-
much as it has no terminal
bud for its prolongation, the
place of such bud having been
occupied by the fruit, As
this portion is only furnished
with weak buds, it is not
necessary to be retained, and should be cut off at 1.

If the tree is planted in rich, rather moist soil,
it will send up a long but flexible shoot; and if
from this all laterals are pruned closely off, with
the view of making a clean stem, the latter will
be rendered much weaker than it would be if left
to Nature. The plant, therefore, must be cut #
back to within eighteen inches of the eround io. LX
more or less according to its strength, naval sid Ge ee
three buds next the section will push in the fol- . a,<, blossom-buds; b, b, wood-
lowing season ; select the shoot best adapted for baa etch peor aa
continuing the stem, and train it as upright as ,

possible. Shorten this at the winter pruning, and spur in the laterals. In

880 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

every successive year, a well-managed young tree of any kind ought to have
an increased quantity of foliage; certainly not by any avoidable means
should it be reduced to a condition under which it could only produce a
decreased quantity. ‘A por-
tion should be removed at
every winter pruning, but
the quantity should bemore
than compensated by that
of the young shoots pro-
duced above in the preced-
ing summer, By attend-
ing to this, and annually
shortening the leading
shoot, a stout stem, requir-
ing no stake for support,
will be the result. When
the stem has attained the
desired height, the forma-
tion of the head should be
commenced. Three shoots,
cut back at least to half
their length, will afford
two shoots each in the fol-
lowing season; and thus
six principal branches will
be originated. Afterwards
very little pruning will be
required. It will chiefly
consist in early checking
over-luxuriant upstarts,
and thinning out cross-
branches.

Fig. LX XIII.—Branch of the
Mulberry-tree.

a, a, a, a, wood-buds ; b, b,
blossom-buds ; ¢, a bud likely
to elongate into a short shoot
or sort of spur, bearing usually
two fruit; d, d, buds apt to
remain dormant, but may be
stimulated to form a shoot

Tue MvULBERRY-TREE.

The tree will thrive in
any rich deep soil, not too

if necessary, by, cutting off J stiff. It should be planted

the parts of the branches on ‘ ‘ i

which they are situated immediately above them. in a situation open to the
sun, yet sheltered from

strong winds. As a standard, it requires but little pruning, merely the

removal of cross or ill-placed branches; and this should be done in

autumn.

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

Tue FI@-TREE.

The accompanying figure represents a shoot of the
last summer’s growth; on which a, a, a, a, a, are fruit-
buds ; 6, 5, wood-buds; ¢, ¢, ¢, ¢, e, ¢, scars where the leaf-
stalks had detached themselves at the fall of the leaf,
It thus appears that the fruit-buds of the Fig-tree are
formed on the young shoots, in the axils of the leaves.
Sometimes it happens that leaves are not accompanied
with fruit-buds; but they are frequently formed in the
axil of every leaf, from the base of the shoot to its apex.
In a congenial climate, fruit-buds thus progressively
formed, result in a succession of ripe fruit. But in our
climate, although young Figs are produced in great
abundance, they rarely acquire maturity in the same
season in which they originate, unless assisted by
artificial heat. Shoots may be seen plentifully fur-
nished with green Figs, some of the latter attaining a
considerable size before autumn, but seldom ripening
even at that period; and then the temperature begins
to decline below that which is necessary for carrying
on the active vegetation of the plant; the leaves drop;
the fruits still hold on; but they wither even if pro-
tected from frost. Such being the case, those fruit-
buds which may be expected to yield mature fruit in
the open air, are not to be looked for on the lower part
of the shoots where the fruit-buds have become de-
veloped. It is towards the extremity of the shoots,
where fruit-buds are yet in embryo, compact and sessile,
like those represented by a, a, a, a, a, that we have to
look for a crop. Such buds retain their vitality till
the following spring, if they are not killed by frost, or
cut off by a badly-directed pruning-knife. The mode
of bearing will thus be readily understood, and the
necessity of protecting the extremities of the shoots of
Figs from frost.

‘‘ Whenever,” says Mr. Knight, ‘a branch of this
tree appears to be extending with too much luxuriance,
its point, at the tenth or twelfth leaf, is pressed
between the finger and thumb, without letting the
nails come in contact with the bark, till the soft succu-
lent substance is felt to yield to the pressure. Such
branch, in consequence, ceases subsequently to clon-
gate; and the sap is repulsed, to be expended where it
is more wanted, A fruit ripens at the base of each leaf,

381

*
Fig. LXXIV.—Shoot of
a Fig-tree,

382 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

and during the period in which the fruit is ripening, one or more of the
lateral buds shoots, and is subsequently subjected to the same treatment,
with the same result. When I have suffered such shoots to extend freely
to their natural length, I have
found that a small part of them
only became productive, either in
the same or the ensuing season,
though I have seen that their _
buds obviously contained blossoms. I made
several experiments to obtain fruit in the
following spring from other parts of such.
branches, which were not successful: but’
I ultimately found that bending these
branches, as far as could be done without
danger of breaking them, rendered them
extremely fruitful; and, in the present
spring, thirteen Figs ripened perfectly
upon a branch of this kind within the space
of ten inches. In training, the ends of all
the shoots have been made, as far as prac-
ticable, to point downwards.” — Hort.
Trans., iv. 201,

THE FILBERT-TREE.

The Filbert-tree is one of those which
does not contain all the parts necessary for
the production of fruit in the same bud.
Some buds develope only the male parts,
and others only the female; the former are
comprised in those pendant yellow catkins,
easily recognised in the end of winter and
early spring. The female portions are less
conspicuous, all that appears of them are
some slender, deep crimson stigmas, pro-
truding beyond the apex of the buds, as
represented at 6, 6. On these, fertilising
particles from the catkins either fall natu -
rally, or are otherwise brought in contact

ie a 4 Fig. LXXV.—Branch of the Filbert.
with them whilst being blown about by aa, a, wood-buds ; 6, b, blossom-buds.

the winds; and fruitfulness is the result,

Tf, on the contrary, there are no catkins, or if they are prematurely cut away
in pruning, there can be no fruit. Pruning should not be commenced till
after the appearance of the crimson stigmas at the apex of such buds as 6 3,

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 383

and after the full expansion of the catkins. When the latter have fulfilled
their purpose, they fall off. After fertilisation, the buds 6, 6, lengthen into a
twig much the same as other buds ; but towards midsummer the formation
of the cluster can be seen. The cluster is always terminal. :

The county of Kent has been long celebrated for the production of large
crops of Filberts. The method pursued by the Maidstone cultivators is
minutely detailed by the Rev. William Williamson in the fourth volume
of the first series of the Transactions of the Horticultural Society.

‘‘ Plant the bushes unpruned, and after being suffered to grow without
restraint for three or four years, cut them down within «4 few inches of
the ground. From the remaining part, if the trees are well rooted in the
soil, five or six strong shoots will be produced, In the second year after
cutting down, these shoots are shortened; generally one-third is taken
off. If very weak, I would advise that the trees be quite cut down a second
time, as in the previous spring; but it would be much better not to cut them
down till the trees give evident tokens of their being able to produce shoots
of sufficient strength. When they are thus shortened, that they may appear
regular, let a small hoop be placed within the branches, to which the shoots
are to be fastened at equal distances. By this practice two considerable.
advantages will be gained—the trees will grow more regular, and the middle
will be kept hollow, so as to admit the influence of the sun and air. In the
third year a shoot will spring from each bud; these must be suffered to
grow till the following autumn, or fourth year, when they are to be cut off
nearly close to the original stem, and the leading shoot of the last year
shortened two-thirds, In the fifth year-several small shoots will arise from
the bases of the side branches which were cut off the preceding year ; these
are produced from small buds, and would not have been emitted had not the
branch on which they are situated been shortened, the whole nourishment
being carried to the upper part of the branch. It is from these shoots that,
fruit is to be expected. These productive shoots will in a few years become
very numerous, and many of them must be taken off, particularly the
strongest, in order to encourage the production of the smaller ones 3 for those
of the former year become so exhausted that they generally decay ; but
whether decayed or not they are always cut out by the pruner, and a fresh
supply must therefore be provided to produce the fruit in the succeeding
year. The leading shoot is every year to be shortened two-thirds, or more
should the tree be weak, and the whole height of the branches must not
exceed six feet. The method of pruning above detailed might, in a few
words, be called a method of spurring, by which bearing shoots are pro-
duced, which otherwise would have had no existence. Old trees are easily
induced to bear in this manner, by selecting a sufficient number of the main
branches, and then cutting the side-shoots off nearly close, excepting any
should be so situated as not to interfere with the others, and there should
be no main branch directed to that particular part. It will, however, be
two or three years before the full effect will be produced,” .

384 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

The management of the laterals must be varied according to the nature of
the soil, and the greater or less humidity of the climate. If the soil is rich
and moist, strong shoots, too strong for any but wood-buds being formed
on them, will be produced. Instead of the fruitful laterals produced on the
Kentish soil, rod-like walking canes will be produced when the plants are
grown in many other parts of the kingdom. They must be cut back, other-
wise they would form strong cross branches; but then we must consider
that each of these rods, with their ample foliage, has coutributed to the for-
mation of roots during the summer; that these roots will be adequate to
supply nourishment in the following season to all the shoots made in the
present season ; but when the shoots are necessarily reduced, say more than
one half, either by shortening or cutting out entirely, then the remaining
portion has more than double the quantity of roots necessary for its nourish-
ment; and it will, in consequence, be stimulated to grow with excessive
luxuriance.

THE PEAcH AND NECTARINE-TREE.

The mode of bearing is as follows :—A, represents the branch of a Peach-
tree. The figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, denote the respective ages of the portions of
branch opposite. The asterisks at the sides of the shoots, indicate the place
to which these may be shortened at the winter pruning. B, isa portion of
a bearing shoot furnished with both wood and blossom-buds ; a, a, a, wu, are
blossom-buds; 2, b, b, 6, wood-buds.

Peach and Nectarine-trees bear their fruit exclusively on wood of the
preceding summer’s growth. For example, if one pull a Peach in the summer
of 1847, it must be from wood formed in the summer of 1846, and which
had no existence, as a shoot, in 1845, although then its origin might have
been traced to a vital point within a bud. Such an almost invisible point
was the shoot B, in 1845. In summer 1846, this point, developed from a
bud, grew a shoot, furnished with leaves disposed singly, in twos or in
threes, along the growing shoot. In the axil of each of these leaves, the
rudiments of a bud were formed. The leaves, having accomplished their
office, dropped in autumn, whilst the energy of the young buds continued
to increase. Their winter appearance is represented in Fig. B. The blossom-
buds are distinguished by their plumpness: they have an ovate form,
which gradually becomes: globose: they have a hoary appearance, owing
to the scales opening and exposing their downy integuments. The wood-
buds are slender and conical. Their scaly covering is less deranged by
expansion of their interior parts in early spring, and consequently they
exhibit less of that hoary pubescence by which the others are distin-
guished. In the case of triple buds the middle one is generally a wood-bud.

The Peach differs materially from the Pear and Apple-trees. In these a
shoot may be shortened to any bud, and the one immediately below the cut
will almost invariably produce a shoot; but the Peach shoot must be cut to
where there is a wood-bud; for if cut to a blossom-bud only, no shoot can

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

Fig. LXXVI.—Shoot of
Peach-tree.

’_ its base, or by a
branch,

385

result. Sometimes all the
buds on a shoot are blos-
som-buds, except the ter-
minal one and one or two
at the base. Such shoot
must either be left its
entire length, or cut back
to the wood-bud at its
base. The shoots of the
Peach naturally terminate
witha wood-bud. If this
be cut off, the blossoms
on the part left will ex-
pand and the fruit may
set, but all will prema-
turely drop; thus, if all
the buds marked 6b were
blossom-buds, they would
expand; but the eight
blossoms would either
drop without setting, or
the fruit would drop at
the time of stoning; at
all events, a leafless, bud-
less shoot would result,
incapable of further ve-
getation. It dies down-
wards to the first wood-
bud. The blossom-buds,
a of B, will produce four
Peaches, but one is enough
to leave to come to per-
fection. From the wood-
bud, 6, shoots will pro-
ceed ; these, in the course
of the summer, will form
buds for future bearing ;
and a twelvemonth hence
they will appear similar
to those on B, which

having once borne fruit can do so no more,
and therefore its place must be supplied by the
most appropriate shoot it produces at or near

shoot from an adjoining

ed

386 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

These facts are the foundation of all the long intricate plans for pruning
and training this tree. The following are, I think, the best concise directions
which have yet been given on this subject :—

‘Commencing with the winter pruning, the first rule to be laid down as a
basis for all the rest, is to shorten every shoot in proportion to its strength,
and to prune to where the wood is firm and well ripened: this will cause all
the pithy and unripened wood to be removed, thence ensuring a supply of that
which is better ripened for the ensuing year. But in order to give every
facility to the ripening of this wood, it must be trained thin, not in pro-
fusion according to the general custom, but such shoots only as may be
required for the following year.

‘Trees which have arrived at a bearing state should have their strongest
bearing shoots shortened to twelve or fourteen inches, those next in strength
to eight or ten, and the weaker ones to four or six inches, pruning each to
what is termed a treble eye, or that where there is a blossom-bud on each
side of wood-bud: where branches are not in a bearing state, these treble
eyes will not be found; they must therefore be pruned to a wood-bud alone,
which is always known by its sharp point.

“In May, the season for disbudding the tree, all foreright shoots, as well
as those from the back, must be carefully removed with a sharp small
bladed knife, taking care to cut close to the branch, but not into the bark:
a few, however, of these foreright shoots had better be cut within a quarter
of an inch only, which will leave two or three leaves to each, to shade the
young fruit, and such slight wounds in the branch as have been occasioned
by cutting the shoots off close.

“As soon as the young shoots have grown long enough, the leading one
from each branch should be nailed neatly to the wall, selecting one or two
of the side shoots produced lower down the branch, and training them
parallel also. This applies to those of the stronger branches, at and near
the extremity of the tree. Those in the middle and near the bottom, will
allow of but one shoot probably in addition to the leaders ; this will depend
upon the space left in the winter pruning ; if sufficient, it is always better
to have a young shoot on each side as well as the leader, than to have only
one, for it is by this arrangement that a succession of young wood can be
kept up throughout every part of the tree.

“Should young shoots, indicating extraordinary vigour, any where make
their, appearance, they should immediately be cut out, unless where a
vacant part of the wall can be filled up, because an excess of vigour in one
part of the tree cannot be supported without detriment to the other. Peach-
trees, when in a state of health and vigour, generally throw out laterals
from their stronger shoots; when this is the case, they should not be cut off
close, but shortened to the last eye nearest the branch; and if there is
room, one or two of those first produced may be nailed to the wall; or the
middle shoot may be cut out, leaving the two lowest laterals, and allowing
them to take its place; thus frequently obtaining two fruit-bearing

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 387

branches, when the former one would in all probability have been wholly
unproductive of fruit the following year.”

THE APRICOT-TREE.

The accompanying cut represents a portion of an Apricot branch, con-
sisting of one and two-year old wood; the former marked 1, the latter 2.
@, A, GG, A, d, A, a, a, a, are
blossom-buds ; 8, , 8, 6, b, 6,
are wood-buds.

It will be observed that
blossom-buds are produced
on the young wood and on
short spurs on the two-year
old wood ; they are also pro-
duced on such spurs on wood
three, four, or more years
old. The principal branches
must therefore be trained
wider apart than those of
Peach and Nectarine-trees,
but in other respects they
should be regulated by the
same principles, which need
not be repeated. The main
branches of the Apricot may
be fifteen inches apart,

The spaces between the
main branches should be oc-
cupied by younger wood,
which may be allowed to
bear for several years, and
before it is removed, a young
shoot should be encouraged
for succession, Shorten the
shoots more or less according
to their strength, the weak-
est requiring to be most
shortened, but seldom to less
than six inches, whilst the
stronger may be left as long yo)
as eighteen inches. A shoot \__7
not wanted to be laid in may Fig. LXXVIL—Branch of Apricot-tree,
be shortened at the winter

pruning, to form a spur; and when the spurs extend too far they should be
cut back to buds near their bases,

ee

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

THE PLUM-TREE.

amining the buds of the Plum-tree, it will be found that the wood-
“wee So sharp-pointed that there is little danger of mistaking them for
blossom-buds, the latter
being obtuse. In the wood-
buds the rudiments of the
leaves are convolute, rolled
nearly round each other,
and so as to form a sharp
cone, having the growing
point in the centre at the
base. As they increase in
size the blossom-buds show
more disposition to expand
outwards than to become
elongated. Although the
Plum and Cherry are in
many respects closely al-
lied, yet they differ essen-
tially as regards their leaf-
buds. In those of the
Plum the rudiments of the
leaves are rolled up as
above explained ; in those
of the Cherry they are
simply folded.

When the stem of a
standard Plum-tree has
attained sufficient height
let it be headed back to
three buds above the place
from whence the lowest
limb is required to pro-
ceed. Encourage three
shoots from these upper
buds to grow at full length
during the summer ; and at

Fig. LXXVIII.—Shoots of the Plum-tree. the winter pruning shorten
each of them to about a

1, portion of shoot one year old.

2, two-years old wood. foot in length. Two shoots

3, three-years old do.

cctv: ‘Cleaeomn nak: from each of these three 80

2, b, b, B, B, 8, b, wood-buds, cut back will originate six
principal limbs to form the

head. Most cultivated varieties of the Plum have naturally spreading tops,
so that the principal care requisite in pruning, after the head has been

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 389

formed, is to prevent in time any shoots from crossing others, and thinning
such as appear likely to cause too much obstruction to light.

In forming a trained tree, let the maiden plant be headed back, when
planted in autumn, to within a foot of the ground. In the ensuing summer
train a shoot on each side, and the one from the uppermost bud upright.
Now this upright one will naturally grow much stronger than the others,
and the consequence will be that when all three are headed back at next
winter pruning the buds on the base of the strongest shoot, that is the
central one, will produce much stronger shoots
than those on the lower side shoots, which are
destined to furnish ultimately the lower part of
the wall. It is therefore desirable that the
vigour of the central shoot should not, in any
degree, exceed that of the side ones; and in
order that it may not do so, recourse must be
had to the means of checking its luxuriance in
summér. These are, pinching off its top before
midsummer, inclining it from the perpendicu-
lar; and if these are not fully effectual, the
leaves on its upper part may be clipped across
to the extent of half their length.

At the winter pruning, shorten the three
shoots to within nine inches of their bases.
Train two from each of the side ones, and three
from the central one. Proceed thus till a suffi-
cient number of branches are originated, always
taking care to check in time any that are likely
to become over-luxuriant as compared with
others. Ifthe wood is well matured, the ter-
minal shoots need not be shortened where addi-
tional branches are not required. When the
trees come first into bearing, the spurs require
only a little thinning; but as they elongate
and extend too far from the wall, they must be
shortened back to buds near their bases.

THE CHERRY-TRER.

The Cherry-tree bears its fruit chiefly on
spurs formed on wood of two, three, or more
years old; and frequently fruit-buds cluster

Fig. L ~
round the base of the last year’s shoot. In = tua is

the Morello the fruit is chiefly borne on 1 Part of a shoot one year old,
“, wood two years old.
the young wood. 8, wood forse years old.

‘ . a, d, G, A, a, a, a, @, @, blossom-buds,
Grown as a standard, the terminal shoots 2, B, b, b, b, wood-buds.

3890 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

seldom require to be at all shortened after a sufficient number has been
obtained: Care should be taken that the branches are not too numerous in
the first instance; for Cherry-trees are apt to gum when large branches are
cut out; and therefore the necessity for so doing should be prevented whilst
the tree is young. Espalier trees should have the branches trained horizon-
tally, but with an inclination upwards from the stem in the first instance.
The branches may be a foot apart in the May Duke varieties, but rather
wider in the case of those with large leaves, like the Bigarreau, Elton, &c,
The terminal shoots need not be shortened.

Wall-trees are best trained fan-shape. After a sufficient number of
branches has been obtained, the shoots may be laid in at fulllength, All
fore-right shoots should be pinched back to one or two inches in the beginning
of June. The Morello, however, requires that a sufficient number of young
shoots be annually preserved for bearing, and in order to afford them room,
a portion of those that have borne must be cut out.

In the Guide to the Orchard and Kitchen Garden, the brief but excellent
practical directions are these :—

‘Standard Cherries for the orchard require the same management,
generally, as standard Apples, and the same method may be pursued as
directed under that head; but as the former of these are more gencrally
raised from buds than from grafts, they will at first require a different
treatment, namely, that of heading them down the first year. On this
account they ought never to be planted later than the end of October, or
the middle of November : this early planting will enable the trees to make
fresh roots previously to the spring, when, in April, as soon as the buds
begin to break out, they should be headed down to within three or four
inches of the place where they had been budded. If the trees be good,
there will be a sufficient number of eyes to produce as many shoots as will
be required to furnish the head: should more than four be produced, they
should be reduced to this number, of such as are the best placed. These
must be allowed to extend at length without being shortened, nothing
further being required than to cut out superfluous shoots, so as to keep the
head uniform and handsome. If the heads of young trees be carefully
attended to the first three or four years, they will rarely get into confusion
afterwards.

‘‘Espalier Cherries, and those trained against the wall, require precisely
the same management, both as to pruning and training. For this purpose,
trees which have been grafted are always to be preferred to those which
have been raised from buds: they must be cut back at the commencement,
as directed for Apricots; but the branches, except in Morellos, must be
trained horizontally instead of obliquely, and always continued at their
full length. In Dukes and Hearts the branches should be eight or nine
inches apart, beginning at the bottom of the tree, and continuing each
additional shoot in a parallel direction, till the number of series the wall
will permit be completed.”

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 391

THE GOOSEBERRY-BUSH.

Left to its natural growth, the Gooseberry
becomes an almost impenetrable thicket, not
at all adapted for producing such fine fruit as
is produced by plants properly cultivated and
pruned.

In the accompanying cut it will be seen
that the wood-buds, a, a, a, a, are on the last
summer’s shoot, whilst the fruit-buds, 0, 5, b, b,
are on two-years old wood, and produce the
largest and finest fruit, but they may be seen
on wood much older. The buds marked a,
are called wood-buds, because from them young
shoots are produced, but usually not from all
of them; for it appears, that of the buds on
the two-years old wood, which, a twelvemonth
back, were similar to those now marked a,
three had produced shoots, ¢, c, e, and the
others formed the fruit-buds, 6, 6, 6, b.

After the plants have formed shoots, these
maust be shortened according to their strength ;
if moderately strong, to about six inches, In
shortening, care must be taken to cut to a bud
pointing the most towards the direction which
the branch should follow, in order to complete
the form in which the plants are intended to
be kept. The general mode is to keep the
bush hollow in the middle, and six, eight, or
ten branches, at equal distances, or as nearly
so as possible. If two branches are likely
to approach too near each other, one or both
must be cut to buds pointing in the opposite
direction ; thus, in the accompanying figure,
supposing the branch were intended to be
prolonged more towards the left, then the
young shoot is properly cut, as represented,
for the uppermost bud « to proceed in that
direction. On the contrary, if the uppermost
bud @ had been on the inside of a shoot, of
which it would have been desirable that the
direction should be outwards, towards the
right, then it would have been entirely wrong
to cut at that bud.

Observing thus to cut at proper buds, each
leading branch may be made to diverge out-

Fig. LXXX.—Shoot of Goose-
berry-bush,

a, &, a, &, wood-buds.
b, b, b, b, fruit-buds. 2
¢, ¢, ¢, young shoots cut back.

392 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

wards, or to either side, to an extent sufficient for ordinary cultivation.
The pruning of one of the leading branches may now be detailed from
its commencement. In autumn, or early part of winter, the shoot ought
to be shortened to some extent, bearing in mind that generally the
three buds immediately below the section will break into shoots: therefore,
it will be advisable to cut where another leader is required to originate.
This is the first winter pruning. The second will consist in shortening the
leading shoot about one-third ; and also the other shoot intended for an
adjoining leader. If there should be another young shoot growing strongly
where not wanted, it may be cut off close; and others, weaker, may be cut
like that marked c on the right of the engraving. The next season the
leader should be shortened, and laterals cut to one eye, if weak, but other-
wise three or four eyes may be left on these, some of which will probably
break into shoots, and others will form fruit-spurs. The other branches will
require a similar treatment. Young shoots should be trained up to supply
the place of any branch exhibiting symptoms of decay.

In the midland and northern counties an open cup form of bush is
generally aimed at in pruning; on the contrary, in some cases in the south,
although the branches are pruned and thinned, yet some are left in the
centre for the purpose of shade, otherwise the fruit would be scorched.

THE CURRANT-BUSH.

Under every mode of training, the red Currant, and also the white, require
to be regularly pruned every year. In rearing the young plants, the first
thing to be aimed at is a clear stem, about five inches in length, free from
suckers. In preparing the cutting, care should be taken to remove all the
buds on the portion intended to be inserted in the ground, otherwise many
of them would form suckers, injurious to the plants, and troublesome to dis-
place effectually. In some cases cuttings can be obtained long enough to
afford at once the proper length of stem; but when such cannot be had,
when the cutting is altogether too short, or proves so after the necessary
removal of the imperfectly formed wood at top, then three buds above the
surface of the ground will be sufficient, These will generally produce three
shoots, all of which may be allowed to grow during the first summer after
the cutting has been planted, in order to assist in forming roots. Supposing
the plant is intended for the open ground, and that it is to be trained in the
usual way, open in the centre; then in autumn, after the leaves have fallen,
two out of the three shoots which the plant has made should be cut off, and
the third, selected as the most eligible for a stem, should be shortened, so
that the third bud below the cut may be five inches above the ground. Three
shoots will generally be produced the following summer. In autumn the
plants will require to be planted out where they are to remain, and at the
same time the shoots should be cut back to about four inches, taking care to
cut above buds pointing outwards. We have now a stem five inches high,

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 393

and three branches diverging from it, each of them shortened to about four
inches. Two shoots should be encouraged from each of these three, so that
in autumn the plant will have six shoots,

corresponding with the ultimate number of
branches necessary. All other shoots must be
spurred to within an inch of their bases. The

six shoots selected for leaders should be cut
back so as to leave them from four to six inches
long ; and, like those of the former season, they
should be cut to buds pointing outwards. At
every future winter pruning the terminal shoots
of the six branches should be shortened to be-
tween four and six inches long, according to
their strength. When the branches nearly
attain the intended height, the terminals may
be shortened to two or three buds. With
regard to the lateral shoots, they must all be
cut to within an inch of the old wood at every
winter pruning.

When Currants are intended to be trained
against a wall, they should be planted three
feet apart, and a strong shoot trained upright
fora stem. This should be shortened to six
inches, and the two uppermost shoots trained
horizontally right and left. From these, four
upright shoots should be trained, so that the
distance between them may be nine inches.
In order that these may not run up without
being sufficiently furnished with fruit-spurs,
they should be shortened to six inches, and
every year, at the winter pruning, the upright
terminal shoots of the branches should be
shortened according to their strength, shorter
if weak, and if strong they should not be left
longer than is consistent with their breaking
into spurs not more than six inches apart. The
laterals may have their points cut off annually
in June, and cut nearly close to the old wood
at every winter pruning.

No fruit is more improved than the Currant,
by good pruning. When left to itself both 4, «, @, a, wood-buds, 8, b, fruit-
bunches and berries are small and worthless; Duds. 6 o, clusters termed fruit-
it is only when carefully thinned, skilfully buds, but amongst them there are
pruned, and annually divested of old spurs, Srotuedool he ee
that the fruit acquires its proper excellence.

Fig. LXXX1.—Shoot of Currant.

394 THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING.

Tur RasPBERRY-BUSH.

The accompanying figures represent wood of the preceding summer’s
growth.

The portion with buds marked a, a, is from the upper part of the shoot ;
that with buds marked 4, is
taken from the lower part of the
shoot or cane. The buds g, a,
can scarcely be termed blossom-
buds, inasmuch as they do not
contain the rudiments of flowers
like the blossom-buds of the
kinds of fruits previously no-
ticed; but each of them pos-
sesses the power of producing a
branchlet, and on this blossom-
buds are formed. The buds 3, 8,
on the lower part of the cane,
do not generally push unless
the upper have been cut away,
and then the lower are sti-
mulated, producing, however,
shoots and fruit later in the
season than those obtained from
the buds a, u. Advantage is
sometimes taken of this to pro-
cure a succession of fruit in
autumn.

Raspberry shoots or canes, it
is well known, grow up in one
summer, produce fruit in the
next, and then die to the ground,
a succession having, in the mean-

Fig. LKXXII.—Wood of the Raspberry. while, sprung up. The pruning

usually consists in the obvious

operation of cutting away all the dead wood, that which has borne fruit ;

and in shortening that which is alive, thinning the canes so as to leave
three, four, five, or six from a plant according to its strength.

An improvement may, however, be effected on this general mode; and
this improvement cannot be better explained than it is in the Guide to the
Orchard and Kitchen Garden, p. 481:—‘ As the finest and best of these
fruits are, in all cases, the produce of strong and well-ripened canes, it
becomes necessary that the stools should have every advantage afforded
them. This may be readily effected by causing all the former years’ canes
to be cut down to the ground as soon as they have produced their crop,

THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. : 395

instead of allowing them to stand till the winter or spring; this removes
an unnecessary incumbrance, and at a season when sun and air are of
infinite importance to the young canes, consequently to the succeeding crop
of fruit.”

In autumn, or the early part of winter, the young canes should be
shortened to about four-fifths of their original height, or to the place where
the growth of the upper part of the shoot forms a sort of bending or twisting.
They may then be either tied to stakes or arched, by tying their tips to
those of the adjoining plant. When a late succession of fruit is desired,
some plants may have all their shoots cut back to within a few inches of the
ground.

B. Pruning for Timber.

To procure flowers or fruit forming no part of the object of
those who grow trees for the sake of their timber, the
principles which ought to guide the forester are of quite
another class from those just explained. The forester desires,
1. to obtain the greatest possible quantity of timber in the
shortest possible time; and, 2. to secure trees with tall straight
stems, except in those cases where crooked timber is required
for ship-building. Of the latter there is generally no deficiency
in consequence of the accidents to which trees are liable; or it
may be readily provided by artificial methods that must
suggest themselves to every one practically, if not theoretically,
acquainted with the laws which regulate the growth of trees.
The two first objects are all that need be considered on the
present occasion.

Timber is the woody texture of a tree. The woody texture
does not form itself; it does not grow independently of all other
parts; it is only a portion of a living system, arising from
the action of other organs; itis toa plant what flesh and bones
are to an animal. The bones and flesh: of cattle are not
increased in quantity of themselves, but by means of food
swallowed by the mouth, and digested by the stomach. To
swallow food without digesting it is an entirely useless opera-
tion both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. The
digesting organs of trees are their leaves; it is the foliage
which constitutes the stomach of a plant; therefore, to deprive
a plant of its leaves is like depriving an animal of its stomach.

396 PRUNING FOR TIMBER.

Emaciation is the consequence in both cases; it is indicated in
animals by leanness and debility; in plants, by the loss of
woody texture, or timber. But a plant has not a single
stomach, as an animal has; it is covered with stomachs in the
form of leaves, every one of which performs its part in the
action of digestion, and so contributes something to the
formation of wood. (See page 72.) Although out of the
millions of leaves that clothe a tree many may be destroyed,
and no appreciable diminution of the wood be remarked, yet it
is certain that some diminution takes place; when the destruc-
tion of leaves is excessive, the diminution will be excessive
also. We should be a long time emptying a fish-pond with a
tea-spoon; but in time we should succeed; and the only effect
of using a pump for the purpose would be to accelerate the
operation.

Pruning is nothing less than the removal of leaves. To cut
off a branch in summer is evidently so; and if the branch is
naked still its removal is the destruction of the part frem
which leaves would have been produced had it been permitted
to remain. The effect of violent pruning, as illustrated by
Pontey’s barbarous method of trimming trees into poles is now
notorious ; it shows the consequences attendant upon pruning
trees excessively. Upon less pruning less evil results; but
the difference is only one of degree.

Prune not at all—should therefore be the maxim of a
forester. Plant thickly, thin constantly, stop carefully, and
leave the rest to nature. But unfortunately it does not happen
that he who plants well always thins constantly; it is still
more rare that stopping is thought of, and so a maxim, one of
the soundest in the whole system of foresting, cannot be
observed. Hence pruning may be regarded as a necessary
evil, to which the wise must submit because of the ignorant;
the careful to cure the evils inflicted by the careless.

Stopping consists in destroying the point or last buds of a
branch while young and in process of formation; the finger and
thumb can perform the operation without aid. Pruning is the
removal of a branch already formed, and must be executed
with a cutting instrument. Stopping prevents the formation of

PRUNING FOR TIMBER. 397

useless parts, compelling a tree to expend its force in the
production of what is valuable; pruning is the abstraction of
useless parts upon forming which a tree has expended some
part ofits power. Stopping is prevention; pruning is cure—or
is intended to be.

The respective

B

effects of , doing A

nothing, stopping,

and pruning may

be illustrated by

diagrams. Let A

represent a young

tree disposed to be

bushy-headed, all

its branches being

equal. TIfn othing Fig. LXXXIII.
is done to such a plant, each branch will grow larger at an equal
rate, and produce a few laterals; by the end of a second season
the tree will be somewhat larger, but in other respects much
what it was before, as is shown at B.

But suppose that A, instead of having been

D
left untouched, had had three of its branches
stopped by breaking off their points, as is shown
at C. In such a case the current of sap being
arrested in the laterals, would flow strongly
into the leader, which ;
would lengthen rapidly,
while the laterals would ;
only produce some small ‘
spray; and the result, at
the end of a second year, \, :
would be what is repre-
sented at D. In this
case the tree would have
been very little deprived

of its foliage, and yet Fig. LXXXIV.

the production of a permanent leader would have been effected
as well as if the pruning-knife had been employed, or indeed

398 PRUNING FOR TIMBER.

much better. For observe the contrast. E represents the
same plant A pruned up to a leader by the total removal of
its lateral shoots in the usual way. F will
show what such a plant may be expected to
become at the end of the season, instead of
D, which it would have been under the
influence of stopping only.

The same observations will apply to
cases where a pair of leaders contend with
each other, as at G. If one of the leaders
only is broken off and stopped, as at a,

scarcely any of the energy of the tree will

“Fig. LEXXY. be destroyed, but the sap will be thrown
into one of the leaders much more than the other; and
at the end of the season the plant may be expected to
resemble H. If, however, instead

of being treated thus, G be de-

a:

prived of all its laterals, and left
by the pruner as at I, the digest-
. ing powers of
the plant will
be so com-
G I pletely _—_re-
moved that we
can _ hardly
é , expect it to
\ become at the
end of the first
\ year _ better
than at K—the
difference be-
tween which
' and H is ma-

nifest.
These dia-

Fig. LXXXVIL grams explain
the true principles of managing young forest-trees, so far as
controlling their form is concerned. They are now recognised

F

IMPORTANCE OF STOPPING. 399

by all intelligent foresters. Mr. Billington pointed out their
importance in 1825, thus showing how low the art of arbori-
culture had at that time fallen, for they were well known in
the days of Miller and Duhamel, and were carefully observed
by the great Norfolk planters when the author was a boy.
When trees are young, most, except Conifers, have a tendency
to form bushy heads, or many branches of equal strength; and,
when neglected, such plants are long in forming timber, if they
ever do form it; and they seldom produce a clean straight
trunk. In order to meet this evil pruning is had recourse to.
A. cuts off the upper limbs, B. prefers the lower, while C. is
satisfied with nothing less than the whole. What they would
do if they considered well the nature of plants would be—
nothing at all, except stopping or breaking back a few laterals
while in a growing state. When branches are removed much
of the vigour of a tree is removed too, its power of growth is
more or less impaired, and the operation defeats the object it
is intended to serve. But when branches are merely stopped
no loss is incurred; all that happens is that growth ceases in
the direction of the stoppage, and the sap which would have
been expended in forming the shoots whose growth is arrested
is impelled into other shoots, or, more correctly, into that one
which is intended for a leader. But as this is impossible
in large plantations, and not very practicable anywhere, rival
leaders will be found after many weeks’ growth ; in such cases
the removal of a terminal bud will not result in the conveyance
of food enough into the selected leader. It then becomes
necessary to break the young shoots which are superfluous—to
break, not to cut, not to break of’; the shoot should be
simply snapped across, and allowed to hang downwards from
the limb, retaining its vitality “as long as it can. If the
operation is performed skilfully the broken end will remain
alive for several weeks. The reason of the practice is this;
if a portion of a growing branch is suddenly removed the buds
below it are almost certain to break into secondary laterals,
and to consume the sap intended for the leader; but if the
branch is broken it slowly consumes the sap that reaches it,
prevents the buds below from pushing into laterals, and thus

400 PRUNING PROPER

compels all the superfluous sap to travel into the leader where
it is wanted.

Nature of herself performs this operation in countries where
forests spring up naturally. Multitudes of trees start, self-
sown, from the earth; a thicket appears; all lateral shoots
perish—they are stopped by the consequences attendant upon
want of light and air, and a vast array of poles is the result.
By degrees the weakest poles die; spaces are thus cleared in
the forests, room is made for the trees which remain, and
enables them to develope their heads; long straight timber is
the result. But this is a costly process that can scarcely be
imitated with advantage.

Pruning then becomes inevitable, and the forester is required
to determine how it can be best performed.

No one will deny that the sooner it is performed the better,
wounds in young wood healing quickly; and that the longer it
is deferred the worse the consequences, the wounds in old wood
being large and incurable. The operation may be considered
under four different heads—pruning, properly so called; fore-
shortening ; snagging, or lopping; and amputating.

1. Pruning.—This is performed upon branches which can
be removed by a “draw” or two from the knife of a strong
man. It should always be made perpendicularly and close up
to the stem whence the branch is removed. The wound thus
formed soon disappears, and although the surface of the wound
remains as a permanent fault in the timber, yet it is so small
as to be of no practical importance. Where stopping is
neglected, such pruning is the most unobjectionable substitute,
and it must be admitted that on large woodland property it is
unavoidable.

Considering the great difftrences that exist among trees it
seems impossible to reduce the art of pruning for timber to
anything more than general principles. The Oak grows
differently from the Ash, the Beech from the Sycamore, the
Scotch Pine from the Larch Fir, and so on. In plants like
the Spruce and Larch Mr. Andrew Knight used to remove the
lower alternate tiers annually, and eventually all the lowest;
but this could not be done with an Elm, whose branches

PRUNING PROPER. 401

do not grow in layers. Nevertheless writers on foresting
confidently recommend particular methods for everything, an
example of which will be found in the following directions given
by Gavin Cree, a well-known Scotch forester.

‘Were thinning properly attended to, it would do much to accelerate
the growth of trees; but in most cases if is neglected. I am of
opinion, however, that in addition to thinning, pruning is advantageous
in promoting the size and value of timber. Stopping, or breaking off
the points of the branches, fulfils, to a certain extent, the purpose of
pruning, although I do not think it can so fully accomplish the benefit
which pruning will effect. The great object of the forester ought to be
to increase the digesting powers of the plant, and thereby administer to
its health and vigour. Now I maintain that shortening the branches
multiplies the quantity of leaves, and, at the same time, gives greater
activity to the sap. A large branch surely puts forth more leaves than
a small one, for by shortening, the number of twigs or branches is
multiplied almost indefinitely, so that the quantity of foliage, in the
aggregate, is far greater on the pruned than on the unpruned plant;
while the foliage is more healthful and efficient; presenting leaves
as broad as two or three of those on the branches which are of an
extravagant length. The principle of stopping and shortening seems
to imply a similar design in those who practise the different methods ;
namely, to keep the branches within due bounds. The difference is,
the person who stops them takes no more from the large than from the
small branch; whereas the pruner curtails each tier of branches to a
uniform length ; the tiers extending in breadth as they descend, in the
form of a cone. This, at least, is my method. I consider it to be
beyond the bounds of human ingenuity to act successfully in this case
without some regular system. I shorten the shoot next the top to one
half the length of the leader, and allow the lower tier to extend farther
than the one above it, till I reach the undermost, which is, of course,
the broadest. When the tree is about eighteen feet high, and fifteen
inches in circumference, I cut off the lowest tier close to the stem, and
continue yearly to cut off a tier (regularly) upwards. I have by this
means raised hard wood to as great a height, within the same time, as
Larch; and have not discovered, either by observation or otherwise,
that trees were ever raised so rapidly to the same altitude, as those
trained on the above plan. They sometimes grew ten feet in the course
of three years.” Mr. Cree says nothing about the unsoundness of
timber thus pruned when eighteen feet high,

Better directions are given by an old forester in the Gardeners’
Chronicle, writing under the name of Philo-Sylva. His words are
these :—‘‘The only-rule to attend to is to keep the top taper, preserving
the leading shoot clear and free from clefts, and the bole from all the

DD

402 FORESHORTENING.

largest branches, leaving those only of the smaller kind that are requ
site for the health and support of the tree, and clearing the tree, fro:
the bottom, of all its branches as it advances in age. But the bo
should be cleared very slowly at first when the trees are young. Onl
keep the branches that are left thereon small by often pruning, so ¢
not to injure the tree when it becomes timber. By the heads of tree
being kept tapering when young, the rapidity of the growth is greatl
increased, on account of the sap being confined to the most useft
points, and not allowed to spread in support of large wnnecessar
branches. By attending to these rules, and the operation of prunin
being executed every year, the bole will be extended to a great height
and at the end the grand object attained, viz., the production of soun
unblemished timber. The proportion which will be found to be mos
consistent with full-sized trees is fifty feet trunk to thirty-five feet c
head. It is of the utmost importance that trees should have circum
ference of stem in suitable proportion to their height. If the circum
ference is one inch for every fifteen inches in height, so much th
better. Trees should be examined every year till they are fiftee
inches in circumference ; the highest will then be fully eighteen feet.”

2. Foreshortening.—This differs from pruning inasmuch a
it does not cut back a shoot to its origin, but merely remove
one third or half of it, the lower part remaining furnished witl
twigs which contribute to the formation of timber. This, whic]
is advocated by Billington, undoubtedly deserves to form |
part of the process of good timber-growing, provided it is s
managed that the branch does not die back. Its real objec
is to enable leaves to be formed and nevertheless to produc
the advantageous effects of pruning. It preserves a latera
branch alive for some years, but diminishes its rate of growth
so that it may be eventually taken off, having done it
work, without inflicting any extensive wound; or it ma’
preserve a branch alive as long as the tree of which it forms :
part continues to exist, and thus enables the forester t
remove a limb without injuring the main trunk.

When it is possible to ensure the life of these foreshortene:
limbs, the method is open to no serious objection ; but i
practice it is found that such limbs are apt to lose their smal
wood and to die, in which case they produce all the mischie
that follows snagging or lopping. Sir Joseph Paxton, Prof
Henslow, and others have long since shown how likely this i

SNAGGING OR LOPPING. 403

to occur, and the practice is now employed by first-class
foresters only under very special circumstances.

3. Snagging or Lopping.—Ignorant woodmen, when called
upon to remove a branch, lop it off nearly down to the trunk
which produced it. More skilful men cut it off at some distance
from the trunk, leaving a spray on it to keep it alive; but the
spray is apt to die, and then the more skilful practice becomes
undistinguishable from the woodman’s lopping. The first is
merely a foreshortening, which cannot be
made to preserve a permanent effect and
fails in its intention. When this happens
it is the worst of all known methods of
pruning, the effect of which is represented
in the accompanying cuts. The knots in
deal are well known ; when a squared piece
of deal is converted into planking, it is
sometimes full of knots which drop out as at
Fig. LXXXVII. These are sections of dead
or dying branches which became imbedded
in sound wood in consequence of their
having been left by nature in the un-
pruned, closely-packed natural forest. Had
such branches been removed, no faults like these would have
been discoverable. They sometimes render deals almost
worthless.

The consequence of leaving snags is exhibited at Fig.
LXXXVHI., which fully illustrates the meaning of the follow-
ing opinions.

“There is a method of pruning,” said Mr. Sandys, the
skilful and experienced forester at Holkham, “ still practised
by some persons, of leaving a foot or more of the branch on
the tree to die and rot off, which if only an inch in diameter
may take several years to accomplish, during which time the
stem increases, and when the stump falls down, a hole is left as
deep as the tree has grown since the snagging, which hole must
have time to Jill up after the rotten branch is gone. The healing
of the wound is consequently delayed, and the defect in the timber
greater. Instead of taking off a large branch by the stem, a great

Be

404 SNAGGING OR LOPPING.

part of it may be cut off at a distance from it, leaving a small
side branch to draw the sap and keep it alive, which is better

ih

|
|

|

NAY
\
iV

‘fe

j
\
|
ff fA

Fig. LXXXVIII.—Consequences of Snagging.

than leaving a snag; but this method should seldom be practised,
being only the result of former bad management.”

AMPUTATING, 405

* All scientific planters,” wrote Mr. (now Sir Joseph) Paxton,
several years since, “are of the same opinion as to the propriety
of removing dead or decayed branches. Whenever dead branches
are found on any tree, they cannot be too soon removed; and
even Fir plantations, which when thickly planted are generally
self-pruned, will be improved by having all the dead wood
pruned off quite close to the stem.”

Some years ago, Lord Braybrooke submitted to the examina-
tion of Prof. Henslow, than whom no man possesses a sounder
judgment, a number of specimens of timber in which the
branches had been allowed to die back. The result of that exa-
mination, now before me, was as follows :—‘In the specimens
sent for my inspection, the foreshortened branches were all in a
state of decay, and where the experiment was pronounced com-
plete, the stumps had become imbedded in new wood which
had closed over them, exactly as,it does over the surface of the
cut produced by close-pruning. Now the only difference between
the two results appears to me to be this: that in the close-pruning
we have two clean surfaces, the one of the old and the other of the
new wood, brought into close contact; whilst in the case of the
foreshortened branch, we have the decayed remains of a rotten
stump surrounded by an irregular surface of the new wood.”

4. Amputating—When a branch is broken and dead and
requires removal, it should be cut off close to the trunk; but
this should never be done if it is possible to avoid it, and it
never is necessary except in consequence of previous mis-
management; it is even doubtful whether it can ever be
justified. Assuming, however, that it is inevitable, then it is
certain that the amputation should be effected by as perpen-
dicular a cut ds it is possible to effect. It is an axiom in
physiology, that live tissue cannot form an organic union with
that which is dead. Ifin amputations shoots are not removed
close to the stem, the remaining part, or snag, dies; and the
lips of the wound will not heal; or if the wound is healed
externally, either a cavity or a piece of dead wood remains
‘behind. On the other hand, if the branch is cut off close to
the trunk, the permanent injury sustained by the tree is a
disunion of the tissue for a space equal to the diameter of: the

406 AMPUTATING.

original wound. We must, however, remember that the large
wounds produced by the amputation of the limbs of a tree can
never be healed, although they may be concealed; so that if
the scar left by the process is a foot in diameter, an interruption
of the tissue to that extent must always remain, to the
destruction of the strength of the timber. By amputation a
blemish is necessarily introduced always proportionable to
the size of the wound inflicted, that is to say, to the size of the
branch removed. In some cases the old wood becomes par-
tially rotten before the new wood closes over the wound; but.
this more frequently happens when the cut slopes a little out-
wards from the trunk, and is not quite perpendicular. In the
former case, the new wood and bark, which for a time form a sort
of collar round the wound, allow the wet to lodge, which thus
facilitates decay. But where the wound has been vertical and the
cut clean, little or no decay takes place, as is proved by a speci-
men of Beech which the author has seen, from which a very large
limb had been removed, and in which the blemish was of course
proportionably great, though the old wood was perfectly sound.

The reason why sloping amputations are followed by rotten-
ness, while perpendicular amputations remain sound, is that
rottenness commonly takes place in presence of water, which a
sloping wound allows to accumulate, while a perpendicular
wound allows no water whatever to lodge. Amputated wood,
which is shaved to a smooth surface, will not rot when perpen-
dicular. That is certain. One of the many proofs of this
important fact will be seen by referring to the curious example
of imbedded letters represented at p. 39, and also by Figures
LXXXIX. and XC., which show the consequence of oblique
and perpendicular amputation.

Allusion has already (p. 400) been made to leaving young
trees very near each other, with a view to imitate nature and to
dispense with the necessity for any pruning whatever. Some
one says that “thick planting and annual pruning come the
nearest possible to the unassisted operation of natural causes,”
and that all pruning may be resolved into a question of
thinning. And this, we believe, is practically followed in some
celebrated German forests. There is no doubt that the natural

AMPUTATING. 407

anpruned forests of Hungary produce trees of the utmost
excellence, and that in the north of Germany successful
attempts are made to bring about the same result. But much
skill, constant supervision, and great practical knowledge of

2 TL
AA] ini Hine
EEE || LUT

Fig. LXXXIX. Fig. XC. =;

vegetable physiology are employed in producing it, such as at
the present time certainly does not exist, with a few exceptions,
in this country.

Among concise directions for managing close plantations advan-
tageously, I have seen none which more deserve attention than the
following, given by an experienced correspondent of the Gardeners’
Chronicle, writing under the name of Philo-Sylva:—

“ The value of a timber-tree is much deteriorated by numerous rami-
fications attracting and retaining a large proportion of the elaborated
sap, which, if properly directed by judicious pruning, would go to fotm
valuable timber in the main trunk of the tree. Thinning timeously
prevents the necessity of excessive pruning. Thick planting and
annual pruning come the nearest possible to the unassisted operations
of natural causes towards the formation of straight and well-grown
timber. Now, when we find this, which may be considered natural
pruning, to produce the straightest and cleanest timber (when this is
the object we have in view), ought we not in artificial pruning to attend

408

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

to these processes of nature, and endeavour to imitate them as closely
as we are able ?

“In order to produce the most beneficial effects, the process of
pruning should be begun early, and not carried to any great extent at
once, but renewed every year as the tree advances, until it is brought
to the most perfect form its nature will admit of. At this early period
the knife is the most suitable implement, and the top is the principal
part which requires attention. In order that only one shoot may be
allowed to remain as a leader, the others next in size, if not very
inferior, should be headed down generally to about one half the length,
and all the stout branches on the tree headed in the same manner.
If the tree be stunted, care must be taken to select a leader that is
healthy.

“We cannot too strongly reprobate the common error of clearing
young trees entirely of the side branches up to a certain height at the
Jirst pruning, and afterwards to operate only on the under branches of
the tree. This tends to produce a small trunk, an irregular top, and
side branches more vigorous than the leader. When this is practised
in exposed places (hedge-rows), not one in a hundred ever becomes a
large or valuable tree. It is one great and common error to cut off in
one year branches to the height perhaps of fourteen feet from a tree not
above twenty feet high. When this is done the trees remain nearly
stationary, and are often stunted to such a degree as to assume the
appearance of old age. Such an excess of amputation destroys the
health of the tree, by depriving it of the organs by which a sufficiency
of sap is secured, to be afterwards converted into wood.

‘Tt is well known that when the leading shoot is destroyed, the
growth of the tree is greatly impaired. Itis the danger of losing it
which makes wise planters so careful in fencing their plantations. By
increasing the number of leading shoots the strength of the nutritious
principle is rendered in a great measure ineffectual. To counteract the
deviation of a strong vertical tendency from nature’s own more perfect
forms, and to confine to the production of one valuable stem the vegeta-
tive power which in a forked tree luxuriates in a multiplicity of
branches with comparatively trifling effect, is the main object of the
system here advocated. Pruning is only of much advantage when
performed early in those branches which are apt to bear too great a
proportion to the leading branch, thereby modifying the tree, and
directing its energies gradually to the top, preserving at the same time
a sufficient quantity of foliage.

“« By proper pruning trees can stand closer together without requiring
to be thinned, and the whole of the branches are enabled to retain their
vegetative power and live for any length of time in luxuriant beauty.
By a different management we often see trees thus reduced to the
appearance of so many tufted poles, presenting no obstruction to the

GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 409

winds which sweep through the plantation, and render the ground so
hard that the trees in consequence become unhealthy. But by this
method the green branches preserve moisture in the earth to make
them healthy, and to arrive at great magnitude. Provided we use
proper caution in pruning, and do not cut very large branches, it is not
of very material consequence what season we choose for the operation ;
and the smaller wounds caused by the prudent and gradual pruning
above recommended will heal in a reasonable time and without any
great damage at any season of the year.

“Where hedge-row trees and trees in open situations are intended
for profitable timber, pruning should commence at an early period of
their growth, encouraging the leading or main stem by displacing or
foreshortening all over-luxuriant or aspiring side-shoots, by ripping off
buds likely to contend with the leader, gradually clearing the lower
part of the stem or side-shoots, and forming the top into the shape of a
very open cone; that cone, while the trees are under ten years of age,
occupying nearly half the length of the tree, and generally diminishing
from that proportion as the tree advances, till eventually, when about
thirty years of age the tree will have acquired sufficient length of stem,
the cone or top may occupy from a third to a fourth part of the whole
length. All lower branches should be removed before they exceed an
inch in diameter. Trees thus managed will form close and healthy
stems without any interior blemish, and be trained to any reasonable
altitude, according to the soil, subsoil, and situation on which they
grow; but if neglected, such is the propensity of most sorts of what
are called ‘round-headed trees,’ in open spaces, to run into branches,
that without due attention the foliage will become too voluminous for
the roots, and a check to loftiness and the formation of useful timber
will ensue.”

To trust to close planting and to disregard thinning under
the idea that nature-pruning is all that trees require is one of
the great errors into which inex-
perienced persons fall. The evil
consequences attendant upon
such a course are shown by such
examples as the following sent to
me some years ago by Mr. Hamer-
ton, of Hellifield Peel. “The two
following transverse sections as nearly as possible resemble the
originals, one of which is taken from a tree of my own growth,
and the other from a crowded plantation of about 1000 acres,
which it gave me very great pain to view. The one is pro-

Fig. XOL.

410 EFFECT OF CLOSE PLANTING.

gressively advancing to maturity; the other retrograding, dying
year by year—the diminution of its concentric rings proving to
demonstration that it has not room to grow.”

Upon this subject the reader may consult a paper by Mr. Gosse, in the
Transactions of the Society of Arts, vol. xlviii. p. 214.

In this case it is sufficiently evident, that in the right-liand
specimen the growth was at first, when the trees did not choke
each other, fully as rapid as in that on the left, when they
continued to be properly thinned; but after the third year, the
formation of timber in the former case began to be arrested,
and was immediately after reduced to a minimum quantity;
while in the latter it continued to form, with little variation,
year by year.

The same friendly hand also furnished a specimen of Spruce-
fir from an estate in his neighbourhood, in which reliance had
been placed upon crowding as a substitute for careful tending.
The rates of growth were as follows.

In the first five years the tree grew 26-10ths of an inch in diameter.

Second ,, 5 24 9
Third ,, 5 20 5
Fourth ,, 9 12 4
Fifth > ” 8 ”
Sixth ay ” 6 ”?
Seventh ,, 5% 10 3

Here, in thirty-five years, the tree only acquired a diameter
of ten inches and a half, the annual formation of timber
beginning to diminish after the fifth year, more rapidly after
the fifteenth, as the trees became more and more crowded
together; and it was only after the thirtieth year, at which
time the increase in diameter had been reduced from more
than five-tenths to little more than one-tenth of an inch
annually, that the formation of timber began to be restored,
and this, which was apparently owing to some accidental
clearing, only in a slight and very unequal degree; for, from
the section it appeared that, although on one side an inch of
increase in diameter took place in five years, yet over the
principal part of the circumference not more than two-tenths of

IMPORTANCE OF THINNING. 411

an inch of timber were formed in five years. Had this tree
been properly treated, it ought, by the end of thirty-five years,
to have been eighteen inches in diameter, instead of ten inches
and a half.

But, bad as are the consequences of a crowded growth to the
formation of timber, and also to its quality, it is not the only
evil. Plantations which have been crowded for many years
cannot afterwards be thinned successfully. The trees become
bark-bound and rootless, and are blown over by the first storm.
Roots, like timber, are formed in proportion to the quantity
of foliage, and to the space a tree has to grow in. A tree
whose trunk is divided into limbs, loaded with healthy leaves,
fixes itself to the soil by gigantic roots, which hold it immove-
ably, and help it to defy the storm. But a tree drawn up to a
pole, with a few limbs at the summit, has neither the means of
forming roots, nor the space in which to develope them. A
few fibres are all that it produces, bearing no due proportion to
the head; and the moment the protection of the trees around
it is withdrawn, it necessarily falls over.

As to the manner of thinning plantations, it does not
appear possible to give particular rules for such an operation.
Instead, therefore, of saying that when a tree is of such a
height it ought to be at such a distance from those around it,
it seems better to state as a general rule, that no one tree
should be permitted to touch another, but that they should be
allowed to remain as close as circumstances will permit, pro-
vided theiy branches do not touch. Practically, it is impossible
to adjust the thinning of a plantation with much exactness;
and in the annual removal of such trees as are touching others,
spaces larger than are actually requisite, according to this rule,
will be formed. This is, however, an advantage, because it
allows the wind to find its way freely among the trees, and
give them sufficient room to spread their roots about.

The planter should be careful to mark during summer the
trees that are to be removed in winter; because it is only at
the former season, when trees are covered with leaves, that it

is possible to ascertain in what degree deciduous trees really
interfere with each other.

412 FAST-GROWN TIMBER

One of the most important objects to be kept in view in
timber management, whatever mode of pruning is adopted, is
to cause timber to be formed rapidly. This is little known,
and indeed is contrary to the opinion of many woodmen;
nevertheless it is susceptible of rigorous demonstration. ;

Most people believe that the slowest-grown timber is the
best; we continually hear it said that wood cannot be good
because it has been grown fast, and we find writers on foresting
following in the same line of assertion. In one place we observe
the following passage :—“‘It is well known that the common Oak
in Italy, where it grows faster thanin this country, is compara-
tively of short duration ; ahd that the Oak which grows on the
mountains of the Highlands of Scotland is much harder and closer
than any produced in England, though on these mountains it
seldom attains one-tenth part of the size of English trees.” It
would be difficult to collect in the same space more fallacies
than are contained in this short paragraph. In the first place
Oaks do not grow faster in Italy than in England; the reverse
appears to be the truth, as will be seen by reference to a
succeeding table, where the greatest rate of growth in Italian
Oak is shown to be only 2°72 10ths per annum, some of it not
more than 0°76 of a tenth, while in English Oak the growth is
in one case aS much as an inch a year. Secondly, if it were
true that Italian Oak grows faster than English Oak, it would
not prove that fast-grown Oak is bad; because some Italian,
or at least Sardinian, Oak is of excellent quality, and because,
moreover, we neither know what is meant by the words “ com-
mon Oak,” nor are we informed under what circumstances of
soil, &c., that which is said to be bad may have been produced.
A great deal of Italian Oak is Q. pubescens, and of this,
whether fast-grown or slow-grown, the quality is always bad.
As to Highland Oak; in the absence of positive evidence it is
permitted to doubt the statement made respecting it, especially
when we call to mind the Oak forests formerly covering at least
apart of Inverness-shire—the size of which, as reported by
Dr. Walker and Sir T. D. Lauder, indicated anything rather
than slow growth. ;

The author from whom the foregoing paragraph is quoted,

IS THE STRONGEST. 413

undertakes to prove, upon physiological principles, that fast-
grown timber must necessarily be bad. He says that the effect
of an improved soil, climate, and situation, is to expand the
parts of the whole vegetable; that cutting off part of the
vegetable above the ground will expand those parts that
remain; and he illustrates this his notion about timber by
reference to Lettuces, Cabbages, Spinage, and other esculents,
which he says are softer the faster they grow, and also to
Willows, Poplars, Raspberries, &c., which he says are the
fastest-growing of all woody plants, and the softest-wooded.
Therefore, he continues, “ whatever tends to increase the
growth of a tree tends likewise to expand the vegetable fibre ;
and whenever the vegetable fibre is expanded, the timber must
be less hard, and more permeable by air, &c., and of course
inferior for all purposes of timber.” These speculations are
described by another writer as “ interesting, ingenious, and
philosophical.” I must therefore suppose them to have carried
conviction to some minds. In truth, however, they are a
tissue of absurdity, evincing a total ignorance of the nature of
vegetable organization.

All plants consist of one or other of two substances—the one
cellular, the other fibro-vascular. The former'is composed of
roundish cells, the latter of long tubes; both are termed tissue
by physiologists. The cellular tissue, or substance, is brittle,
has little force of adhesion, and gives to the parts in which it
occurs the texture of a mushroom, or of the pith in an Elder
bush. On the other hand, fibro-vascular tissue is tough and
strong in various degrees, but in all cases much more tough
and strong than the cellular; its nature, in a separate state,
may be compared to that of hemp, flax, or other vegetable
fibres, which are always composed of fibro-vascular substance.

Timber consists of these two tissues intermixed; when it
grows fast, it produces a large quantity of fibro-vascular tissue,
and but little cellular; when it grows slowly, it is more cellular
than fibro-vascular. There is never any expansion of the fibro-
vascular parts ; all that happens is that the aggregate number
of the latter is increased. Thus, suppose a stick an inch in
diameter contains 500 tubes ; if you make it grow twice as fast,

414 FAST-GROWN TIMBER

it will not expand those tubes, but it will add 500 more to its
original number in the same period of time. As regards the
cells, they may possibly be somewhat larger in plants of a
very soft texture when highly cultivated, than when wild, but
this is doubtful, and the difference between wild and cultivated
esculents principally depends upon the greater quantity of the
cells, and especially of the fluid matter contained in them.
Expansion, in the sense in which the writer above-mentioned
uses the word, has no existence.

Now, the difference between esculent herbs and woody plants
consists mainly in this, that the former are composed principally
of cellular substance, and the latter of fibro-vascular. Any
addition to, not expansion of, the cellular tissue, renders plants
more brittle and more succulent, and therefore more fit to eat.
But it is most absurd to say that, therefore, any augmentation
of the quantity of fibro-vascular tissue will also render plants
more brittle; on the contrary, it is an addition of toughness and
flexibility, and the only conceivable effect its augmentation can
have will be to render timber yet stronger than before.

With regard to Willows, Poplars, and other plants of that cha-
racter, they are not soft, because they grow fast; for they are just
as weak when they grow slowly—and weaker. Their want of
strength and durability arises from their being unable to consoli-
date their tissue by depositing within it matter of lignification.
The sap-wood of the Oak is as soft and perishable as Lime-wood,
and for the same reason ; namely, because that peculiar matter
which the Oak deposits in its tissue, and which gives its heart-
wood strength, is not separated and deposited in the sapwood.

The fact is, that so far as vegetable physiology is able to
throw, of itself, any light upon this curious subject, it would
lead to the conclusion that fast-grown timber is tougher than
slow-grown, and superior for all purposes of utility.

The reader will be careful to observe, that in making these
remarks I intend them to apply only to the same kind of wood
under the same circumstances. Wood grown fast in one place
may be worse or better than wood grown slowly in some others ;
but that is a different question.

. As to the accuracy of these statements, evidence enough is to

“IS THE STRONGEST. 415

be found by those who look to facts instead of books, and the
following is conclusive proof that Oak, at least, is best when
fastest grown and worst when slowest grown.

In the highly interesting collection of naval woods which
was formed by the late Sir William Symonds, at the Admiralty
Offices in Somerset House, there exists an abundance of speci-
mens of Oak-timber whose quality had been ascertained by
actual experiment. To this distinguished officer the author
was indebted for the opportunity of examining them, and the
result of that examination is given in the following table, which
shows the annual rate of growth of twenty-three samples of Oak-
timber, given in tenths of an inch for the sake of comparison,
together with their respective qualities, as ascertained in her
Majesty's dockyards :—

Annual rate of
Name or Locality. Bees ey in Ascertained Quality.
tenths of an inch.| -
Duke of Wellington’s estate 10. Very good for Plank.
English. . . 2... 6.66 Good for Plank.
Out of Ship “Gibraltar” . 6.44 Good.
Do. do . . 4.61 Very good.
Sardinian . . 1... 4.28 Good.
French . 2. 1 2. 4, Bad.
Styrian, Ist class. . . . 3.33 Indifferent and light.
Dantzic, Ist class. . . . 2.85 ) Tolerable for Plank.
Tuscan, Q. ischia, . . . 2.72 Good for Plank.
Istrian, Ist class . . . 2.57 Bad.
Poliah, a: ier on ae A 4 2.50 Indifferent.
American Live Oak. . . 2.39 Good.
English, seasoned . . . 2.37 Good.
American White Oak . . 2.15 Bad.
Russian. 2. 2... 2.07 Bad.
‘| Hainault . . .. . , 2. Bad.
Circassian. . . . 1.79 Indifferent.
Tuscan. 2 www, 1.33 Good.
East Prussian. . . . 1.17 Indifferent.
Podolian . . .. 1.17 Bad,
Canadian . . . .. , 1.07 Bad,
Crimea. . ...,, 0.96 Tolerable.
Tuscan, Q. Farnia . . , 0.76 Bad.

416 FAST-GROWN TIMBER

I also find, upon looking to evidence of another kind, that
the following are the rates of growth of various other specimens
of Oak.

Annual rate of
Name or Locality. is Ne a ty Apparent Quality.
tenths of aninch.
. : Excellent, hard, and
Ruins of York Minster . . 7:78 heavy.
; Best quality on the
Arundel. . . 2. ww, 3.38 Duke of Norfolk’s
Estate.
Penrhyn, N.W., White Oak 2.50 Inferior.
Do. do. Red Oak . 2.35 Very good.
Wainscot . . . . . . 2.0 Good.
Northumberland... . 1,81 Good.
Arundel. . 2. 2... 1.48 Inferior.
Yorkshire . . . 1... 1.43 Tolerably good.
2 Average of several
Wainscot . . . . 1,25 specimens, including
good and bad.
Moss Oak, Ayrshire. . . 0.99 Light and bad.
Wainscot . . 2... . 0.80 Brittle and bad.

It is to be hoped that the evidence now produced will satisfy
the most sceptical person that fast-grown Oak is, both in
theory and in fact, greatly superior to that grown slowly. In
the first of the foregoing tables the best in quality was from
Strathfieldsaye, and grew as much on an average as an inch in
diameter annually, and all those others which grew above four-
tenths in diameter were of good quality. On the other hand,
all the slowest-grown timber in both tables was bad or
indifferent. It is true that some of the Navy Oak of bad
quality was fast-grown, as the French, Styrian, and Istrian;
but this may have been caused by soil or have been owing to
the species. There is reason to believe that some kinds of soil
will grow Oak fast without furnishing the matter required for
hardening the timber, and that some species common in the
South and East of Europe, particularly Q. pubescens, the
Downy Oak, are never of value as timber. The specimen of

IS THE STRONGEST. 417

wood marked French, from the dockyards, was very like that of
the Downy spécies.

There is other evidence of incontestable value which ought
to satisfy any reasonable man upon this subject.

If the reader will turn to a pamphlet published in the year
1829 by Mr. Withers, of Holt, in Norfolk, a planter of great
experience, he will find a considerable body of evidence in
support of the statement that fast-grown Oak is the best. The
pamphlet was called a A Letter to Sir Henry Steuart, and was
written for the purpose of doing away with any impression
which might have been made by that gentleman when he
stated that slow-grown timber is the best. By the evidence of
timber-merchants and other persons familiar with the sub-
ject, Mr. Withers proved that the very reverse was the case.
Mr. John Stenning, of Hast Grinstead, expresses himself thus :—

“ Another very desirable quality which quick-growing timber
possesses is, that it is much stronger and tougher than that
which grows slow. The one would bend where the other
would break. Iam convinced that a ship built exclusively of
quick-growing timber, and striking against a rock, would be in
safety, when one exclusively built of slow-growing timber would
fall to pieces : the former, from strength and toughness of the
wood, would yield and clear off; and the latter, from the short-
ness of the grain of the wood, and its consequent tenderness,
would break without reaction. I contend, in contradiction to
Sir Henry Steuart, that the heart of such timber is very
superior, that it is considerably heavier, and must consequently
contain more virtue and condition than that which he
recommends to the public as the best.

“Independent of the advantage which the quickness in growth
gives to the quality of Oak timber, the bark from the same
cause possesses an equal if not greater superiority; as the very
highest price is given by the London tanners for bark from
this county, where the growth, as I have before mentioned, is
very rapid compared with its progress in many parts. The
bark from such timber is very thick and fleshy, whereas from
that which grows slowly it is thin and drossy.

“The only inducement I have to fall in with Sir Henry

ESE

418 FAST-GROWN TIMBER IS STRONGEST.

Steuart’s notions on the quality of timber is, the consideration
‘that the strength of work is the decay of trade.’

“ Before concluding my remarks, I beg to state that my

observations are the result of thirty years’ experience; during
that period I have superintended the management and growth
of Oak timber, have purchased no inconsiderable quantity, and
have been a good deal engaged in the conversion and application
of it for different purposes; and I can assert, without fear of
contradiction from any experienced individual, that the quicker
Oak timber is produced, the better the quality will be.”
- The opinion of Thomas Andrew Knight was to the same
effect :—That gentleman’s answer to the query put by Lord
Glenbervie—“* Whether Oaks which grow in poor soils, and
slowly, are of a firmer nature and more durable timber than
when grown in richer land ?”—was as follows:—‘‘No; their
timber is more porous, lighter, and less durable. The heaviest
and best Oaks for all purposes grow in strong, deep, red loams,
where the Oak frequently increases annually. more than an inch
in diameter. A layer of very porous wood marks the commence-
ment of each year’s growth; and when the growth is small,
these porous layers touch each other. The superior value of
the English Oak depends on its vigorous and rapid growth,
which frequently exceeds that of the Oak imported from the
North of Europe in the ratio of ten to one.”

And finally, the experiments of Professor Barlow, at
Woolwich, quoted by Mr. Withers, all prove exactly the same
fact. In one instance, two specimens of Oak were selected;
one (No. 1) from a fast-grown tree, and the other (No. 2) from
a slow-growing tree. “The former was grown upon a very
strong good soil. Its age was, he supposed, about sixty years,
and it contained from thirty-eight to forty cubic feet of timber.
The other (No. 2) was about one hundred and twenty years
old, and was grown upon a light soil with gravel about two
feet below the surface. This tree contained about eighty cubic
feet; but my informant considers that if No. 1 had stood
to attain the same age as No. 2, it would have made at least
forty feet more than that tree.” Professor Barlow gave the
following as the result of his examination.

PRUNING SHRUBBERIES. 419

“The two pieces were squared down each to two inches.
They were broken on props fifty inches asunder. Their
specific gravity, elasticity, and ultimate and comparative
strength, were as below :—

Spec, grav. enh its Broken with baer
No. 1. 903 660 Ibs. 999 Ibs, 1561
No. 2. 856 414 lbs, 677 Ibs. 1058

“No. 1, it appears, is therefore about of medium strength,
my mean number being for English Oak 1470. No. 2 is very
weak, my weakest specimen being 1205 (see Essay on Strength
of Timber). We tried, besides, two very choice specimens of
English Oak which had been very long in store, and the
numbers were,

Spec. grav. Deflected 1-50th with Broken with Comp. str.
748 896 Ibs, 1447 Ibs. 2261
756 680 Ibs. 1304 Ibs. 2037

“These again, compared with your weakest piece, show that
your No. 1 is about the common run of English Oak.”

Another experiment upon strength gave exactly the same
result. These are incontrovertible proofs that, ceteris paribus,
the fastest-grown Oak is the best; and it may be added that all
evidence goes to show that what is true of the Oak is true of
other trees.

Few remarks are called for as regards the pruning of shrub-
beries. The knife is only wanted there to thin the branches
so as to prevent them from dying from want of light and air, or
to shorten them so as to prevent the shrubbery becoming naked
at the bottom. Winter is the season in which the operation is
best performed; September and October are the worst months,
because the buds of pruned shrubs are apt to break after the
last of those months, and the young shoots have’ not time to
ripen. Eyen midsummer pruning will in damp autumns
produce the same disadvantageous result. Nevertheless there
are those who advocate autumn pruning for all Evergreens. It
is alleged that when Evergreens are cut back in the autumn,
the roots, which are not affected by the pruning, continue to
absorb during the whole winter, and to render all the mutilated
branches turgid with sap against the return of spring; the

EE2

420 PRUNING EVERGREENS.

consequence of which is, that every bud pushes with great
vigour. It is also said that if pruning Evergreens is delayed
till the spring, the removal of branches filled with the sap,
which would otherwise have been concentrated in the trunk or
stock, produces the effect of weakening the tree, and rendering
its sprouting thickly less certain. Possibly in mild situations,
where there is no danger from severe frost, this mode of reason-
ing is correct: But it is to be recollected that the greater part
of our Evergreens are natives of countries much warmer in
summer than our own. The common Laurel is from the
Black Sea, the Portugal Laurel from Portugal and Madeira,
the Phillyrea from the coast of the Mediterranean, and the
Alaternus, Arbutus, Evergreen Oak, and many more, from
similar climates. It is true that such trees are sometimes
exposed to severe frost; but their winters succeed extremely
hot summers, which have the effect of ripening the wood so
thoroughly as to render it far more capable of resisting cold
than with us under even the most favourable circumstances.
It is found in practice in this country that if Evergreens are
cut down in the autumn, a hard winter is certain to injure
them severely, partly, perhaps, because the natural protection
afforded by the leaves to the soil they grow in is removed, and
partly, no doubt, because the turgid state to which, the naked
branches are brought by the influence of the roots, above
adverted to, renders the wood more susceptible of cold. It is
notorious that a given plant suffers from cold in proportion to
the quantity of fluid it contains.

Autumn-pruning Evergreens, then, is disadvantageous in
cold climates; for the adverse action by frost is much greater
than the favourable effect of the accumulation of sap.

Upon the whole, spring is to be recommended in England
for pruning Evergreens. Nowhere are the Laurel hedges more
beautiful, or in better order, than at Dropmore; and the
practice of Mr. Frost, who has the management of them,
entirely supports this opinion. He has had great experience in
the matter, and has invariably found the months of March
and April most advantageous ; indeed, if the weather at the end
of March remains severe, he defers the operation till April.

CHAPTER XIV.

—_

OF TRAINING.

Trarmntnc is one of the most artificial operations that
gardeners are acquainted with, its object being to place a plant
in a condition to which it could néver arrive under ordinary
circumstances. It is so nearly connected with the art of
pruning, that the French speak of both under the common
name of la taille. The practice of it forms one of the most
complicated parts of horticulture, each species of tree demand-
ing a method peculiar to itself; but the principles’ on which
training depends are few and simple.

' Those who desire to understand the routine of training must
refer to their garden library. In all works devoted to the art
of gardening, full instructions are given for the management of
every kind of tree in common cultivation. From Miller’s
Dictionary up to Mackintosh’s very useful Book of the Garden
we find the most minute instructions hoi to train a tree ; there
is wall-training and espalier-training, pyramidal-training and
balloon-training, dwarf-training and standard-training, pillar-
training, horizontal-training, zigzag-training, and a host of other
devices which ingenious persons have invented. Some are
necessary, some useful, some fanciful. In matters horticultu-
ral there are martinets as well as in matters military ; and.
many a gardener practically falls into the error of supposing
that the goose step, a tight jacket, leather stock, and pipe clay,
make the soldier. He measures the angles of a tree, pinions
its limbs, drills its branches by inexorable rules, “cuts hard in,”
“lays in close,” and then believes he has exhausted skill. The
tree looks well perhaps, but a small matter makes it ill, limb

422 THE OBJECTS OF TRAINING

after limb dies away, fruit does not set, and all its spruceness
ends in rags and tatters. This comes of neglect of first
principles. Not that a gardener should undervalue in the
smallest degree the rules which long experience has estab-
lished; quite the contrary. It is because it is observed without
intelligence, and without a thought to first principles, that
mere routine, however excellent, is apt to lead to failure. And
it may be asserted with perfect truth that in training fruit-
trees, it is better to understand principles and to be ignorant
of rules of practice, than to be familiar with the latter and
unacquainted with the former. In this place principles only
have to be adverted to. oe

It is probable that the intention of the first gardener who
trained a tree was to gain some advantage of climate, by
availing himself of a wall or other screen; and this is still one
of our greatest objects; partly with a view to guard the flowers
in spring from cold, and especially cold winds, partly to expose
the leaves and fruit to a hotter temperature than would other-
wise be gained, and in some measure to ripen wood with more
certainty.

That training a tree over the face of a wall will protect the
blossoms from cold must be apparent, when we consider the
severe effect of excessive evaporation upon the tender parts; a
merely low temperature will produce but little comparative
injury in a still air, because the more essential parts of the
flower are very much guarded by the bracts, calyx, and petals,
which overlie them, and, moreover, because radiation will be
intercepted by the branches themselves placed one above the
other, so that none but the uppermost branches which radiate
into space will feel its full effects; but, when a cold wind is
constantly passing through the branches and among the flowers,
the perspiration, against which no sufficient guard is provided
by nature, becomes so rapid as to increase the amount of cold
considerably, besides abstracting more aqueous matter than a
plant can safely part with. To prevent this being one of the
great objects of training trees, it is inconceivable how any one
should have recommended such devices as those mentioned
in the Horticultwral Transactions, ii. Appendix, p. 8., of

TO GAIN A HIGHER TEMPERATURE. 423

training trees upon a horizontal plane; the only effect of which
would be to expose a tree as much as possible to the effect of
that radiation which it is the very purpose of training to guard
against.

The actual temperature to which a tree trained upon a wall
facing the sun is exposed is much higher than that of the
surrounding air, not only because it receives a larger amount
of the direct solar rays, but because of the heat received by the
surrounding earth, reflected from it and absorbed by the wall
itself. Under such circumstances the secretions of the plant
are more fully elaborated than in a more shady and colder
situation ; and, by aid of the greater heat and dryness in front
of a south wall, the period of maturity is much advanced. In
this way we succeed in procuring a Mediterranean or Persian
summer in these northern latitudes. When the excellence of
fruit depends upon its sweetness, the quality is exceedingly
improved by such an exposure to the sun; for it is found that
the quantity of sugar elaborated in a fruit is obtained by an
alteration of the gummy, mucilaginous, and gelatinous matters
previously formed in it, and the quantity of those matters will
be in proportion to the amount of light to which the tree, if
healthy, has been exposed. Hence the greater sweetness of
Plums, Pears, &c., raised on walls from those grown on
standards. It has been already stated that an increase of heat
has been sought for on walls by blackening them; and we are
assured in the Horticultural Transactions (ii. 830) that, in the
cultivation of the Grape, this has been attended with the best
effects. But, unless when trees are young, the wall ought to
be covered with foliage during summer, and the blackened
surface would scarcely act; and in the spring the expansion of
the flowers would be hastened by it, which is no advantage in
cold late springs, because of the greater liability of early
flowers to perish from cold. That a blackened surface does
produce a beneficial effect upon trees trained over it is, how-
ever, probable, although not by hastening the maturation of
fruit; it is by raising the temperature of the wall in autumn
when the leaves are falling, and the darkened surface becomes
uncovered, that the advantages are perceived by a better com-

424 TO DIMINISH THE RATE OF GROWTH

pletion of the process of growth, the result of which is the
ripening the wood. This is, indeed, the view taken of it by
Mr. Harrison, who found the practice necessary, in order to
obtain crops of Pears in late seasons at Wortley, in Yorkshire
(see Hort. Trans., iii. 330, and vi. 458). It hardly need be
added that the effect of blackening will be in proportion to the
thinness of the training, and vice versd.

Another object of training is, to place a tree in such a state
of constraint that its juices are unable to circulate freely, the
result of which is exactly that already assigned to the process
of ringing (see p. 870). If a stem is trained erect it is more
vigorous than if placed in any other position, and its tendency
to bear leaves rather than flowers is increased; in proportion
as it deviates from the perpendicular is its vigour diminished.
For instance, if a stem is headed back, and only two opposite
buds are allowed to grow, they continue to push equally, so
long as their relation to the perpendicular is the same; but, if
one is bent towards a horizontal direction, and the other
allowed to remain, the growth of the former is immediately
checked ; let the depression be increased, the weakness of the

‘branch increases proportionally; and this may be carried on
till the branch perishes by a process of abstracting food
analogous to starvation in animals. In training, this fact is
of the utmost value in enabling the gardener to regulate the
symmetry of a tree, and to cause one part to balance another
exactly, which is one of the first objects the trainer has to
attain. Whenever one branch or one side of a trained tree
becomes stronger than another, the difference increases till the
larger succeeds in starving the former. It however by no
means follows that, because out of two contiguous branches,
one growing erect and the other forced into a downward direc-
tion, the latter may die, that if all branches are trained down-
wards any will die. On the contrary, a general inversion of their
natural position is of so little consequence to their healthiness,
that no effect seems in general to be produced beyond that of
causing a slow circulation, and the formation of flowers. Hence
the directing of branches downwards is one of the commonest
and most successful contrivances employed by gardeners to

BY TRAINING DOWNWARDS. 425

render plants fruitful. Mr. Knight was the first to recommend
the practice, in the following account of his recovery of an old
and worthless Pear-tree.

“ An old St. Germain Pear-tree, of the spurious kind, had
been trained in the fan form, against a north-west wall in my
garden, and the central branches, as usually happens in old
trees thus trained, had long reached the top of the wall, and
had become wholly unproductive. The other branches afforded
but very little fruit, and that never acquiring maturity was
consequently of no value; so that it was necessary to change
the variety, as well as to render the tree productive. To attain
these purposes, every branch which did not want at least
twenty degrees of being perpendicular was taken out at its
base; and the spurs upon every other branch, which I intended
to retain, were taken off closely with the saw and chisel. Into
these branches, at their subdivisions, grafts were inserted at
different distances from the root, and some so near the extre-
mities of the branches, that the tree extended as widely in the
autumn after it was grafted, as it did in the preceding year.
The grafts were also so disposed, that every part of the space
the tree previously covered was equally well supplied with
young wood. }

“As soon, in the succeeding summer, as the young shoots
had attained sufficient length, they were trained almost perpen-
dicularly downwards, between the larger branches and the wall,
to which they were nailed. The most perpendicular remaining
branch upon each side was grafted about four feet below the
top of the wall, which is twelve feet high; and the young
shoots, which the grafts upon these afforded, were trained
inwards, and bent down to occupy the space from which the
old central branches had been taken away; and therefore very
little vacant space remained any where in the end of the first
autumn. A few blossoms, but not any fruit, were produced by
several of the grafts in the succeeding spring; but in the
following year, and subsequently, I have had abundant crops,
equally dispersed over every part of the tree; and I have
scarcely ever seen such an exuberance of blossom as this tree
presents in the present spring.” (Hort. Trans., ii. 78.)

426 ROSE-TRAINING ON HOOPS.

The practice was then followed by Sir Joseph Banks, whose
fruit-trees trained downwards over the walls of his garden at
Spring Grove, and facing the high road, long excited the
astonishment of passers by; and it has now been generally
applied to other cases. What are called Balloon Apples and
Pears, formed by forcing downwards all the branches of

Fig. XCII.

standard trees till the points touch the earth, are an instance
of this ; and they have the merit of producing large crops of
fruit in a very small compass: their upper parts are, however,
too much exposed to radiation at night, and the crop from that
part of the branches is apt to be cut off. One of the prettiest
applications of this principle is that of Mr. Charles Lawrence,
described in the Gardeners’ Magazine, viii. 680, by means of
which standard Rose-trees are converted into masses of
flowers. The figure given in that work, and here reproduced
(Fig. XCII.), represents the variety called the Bizarre de la

TRAINING IMPROVES QUALITY. 427

Chine, “which flowered most abundantly to the ends of its
branches, and was truly a splendid object.”

All roses will not however submit to this process; it is only
the free-growing kinds, such as those having a little alpine or
Chinese blood in them or bred from the Damask and Provence
Roses that really look well. The Gallicas and short-branched
sorts in general are unfit for the operation; which, when well
performed upon such sorts as the Coupe d’Hébé for example,
produces plants unsurpassed for beauty by any ornament of
the flower garden. This training should always be performed
in mid-winter, when there is little sap in the branches. If
delayed till the sap flows in the spring, the branches become
brittle, and break instead of bending.

The last object of training to which it is necessary to advert
is that of improving the quality of fruit, by compelling the sap
to travel to a very considerable distance. The earliest notice
of this, with which I am acquainted, is the following by Mr.
Williams of Pitmaston.

“Within a few years past,” he says in 1818, “I have
gradually trained bearing branches of a small Black Cluster
Grape, to the distance of near fifty feet from the root, and I
find the branches every year grow larger, and ripen earlier as
the shoots continue to advance. According to Mr. Knight’s
theory of the circulation of the sap, the ascending sap must
necessarily become enriched by the nutritious particles it
meets with in its progress through the vessels of the alburnum ;
the wood at the top of tall trees, therefore, becomes short-
jointed and full of blossom-buds, and the fruit there situated
attains its greatest perfection. Hence we find Pine and Fir-
trees loaded with the finest cones on the top boughs; the
largest acorns grow on the terminal branches of the Oak, and
the finest mast on the high boughs of the Beech and Chestnut;
so likewise Apples, Pears, Cherries, &c., are always best
flavoured from the top of the tree.” (Hort. Trams., iii. 250,
251.) The merit of the Fontainebleau mode of training the
Vine (Fig. XCIIL), in which many of the stems are carried to
very considerable distances, seems to depend in some measure
upon this principle ; and there is a well-known Black Hamburgh

428 VINES AT FONTAINEBLEAU.

Grape at Bath, growing in a garden formerly belonging to
Mr. Farrant, the stem of which, owing to local circumstances,
is necessarily conveyed to a very considerable distance before
it is allowed to produce its bearing branches, the quality
of whose fruit is of very unusual excellence. These facts seem
capable of being applied to many important improvements
in fruit management. .

Vd Uddttdediittede
wrk

Fig. XCIII.—Vine-training at Fontainebleau.

The foregoing are the principal advantages which arise from
training plants ; let us next consider what disadvantages there
may be. The only trees which at all approach in nature the
state of trained plants are climbers and creepers, whose stems,
unable to support themselves, cling for a prop upon whatever
they are near; some of them enclose the stem of another plant
in their convolutions; others simply attach themselves by
means of tendrils as the Vine, by hooks as the Combretum, or
by other contrivances; and some, like the Ivy, lay hold of
walls, rocks, or the trunks of trees, by their rootlets, To none

EVILS CAUSED BY TRAINING. 429

of these can that motion be necessary to which some plants
are naturally exposed, and which, as has been already seen,
is of so much importance to the healthy maintenance of their
functions. Hence it is, that among fruit-trees the Vine never
suffers from being trained: indeed its anatomical structure is
specially suited to such a mode of existence; while all erect
trees, of whatever kind, whose branches nature intended to be
rocked by the storm, and perpetually waved by the currents of
air to which they are exposed, in all cases suffer more
or less.

One of the commonest and worst diseases induced by training
is a gradual impermeability of tissue to the free passage of sap,
which appears to stagnate, so that in time the branches become
debilitated and juiceless: the obstruction to the flow of the sap
tends to produce coarse shoots from various parts of the
branches, and especially from the roots. The cause of this
seems to be the too rapid deposit of the matter of lignification,
and to be induced by want of motion and excessive exposure of
the leaves and branches to the sun. The effect of the latter is
to inspissate all the juices, and to promote their formation;
while the former increases the evil by not keeping the fluids in
rapid circulation ; just as we know that a slow stream from a
muddy source deposits its impurities much more copiously
than a rapid stream. As this evil arises out of the operation of
training, and seems to be inseparable from it, there can be no
expectation of a remedy being discovered.

The increase of the saccharine quality of fruit is by no
means an advantage in all cases; it improves the Peach, the
Nectarine, the Pear, and the Plum, in which sweetness is the
great object: but it deteriorates the Apple and the Apricot,
which are chiefly valued for their peculiar mixture of acidity
and sweetness.

The protection received in the spring by trees trained upon
walls exposed to the sun, while it advances the period of
flowering, at the same time causes it to take place at a season
when they are not sufficiently secure from spring frosts; and
hence the necessity of protecting such plants artificially by
coping, screens, bushes, curtains, and other contrivances. It

480 PROTECTION IN SPRING NECESSARY.

is on this account that the utility of flued walls is so much
diminished, and that they are found, in practice, more valuable
for ripening wood in autumn, than for guarding blossoms in
the spring.

CHAPTER XV.

—~+—

OF POTTING.

Wuen a, plant is forced to grow in a small earthen vessel like
a garden pot, its condition is exceedingly different from that to
which it would be naturally exposed. The roots, instead of
having the power of spreading constantly outwards, and away
from their original starting point, are constrained to grow back
upon themselves; the supply of food is comparatively uncertain ;
and they are usually exposed to fluctuations of temperature
and moisture unknown in a natural condition. For these
reasons, potted plants are often in worse health than those
growing freely in the ground; but, as the operation of potting
is one of indispensable necessity, it is for the scientific gardener, .
firstly, to guard against the injuries sustainable by plants to
which the operation must be applied; and, secondly, to avoid,
as far as may be possible, exposing them to such an artificial
state of existence. That the latter may be done more frequently
than is supposed will be sufficiently obvious, when we have
considered what the purposes really are that the gardener needs
to gain by potting.

The first and greatest end attained by potting is, the power
of moving plants about from place to place without injury;
greenhouse plants from the open air to the house, and vice
versd; hardy species, difficult to transplant, to their final
stations in the open ground without disturbing their roots;
annuals raised in heat to the open borders; and so on: and,
when this power of moving plants is wanted, pots afford the
only means of doing so. It also cramps the roots, diminishes
the tendency to form leaves, and increases the disposition to

432 CONSTRUCTION OF GARDEN-POTS.

flower. Another object is, to effect a secure and constant
drainage from roots of water; a third is, to expose the roots to
the most favourable amount of bottom-heat, which cannot be
readily accomplished when plants of large size are made to grow
in the ground even of a hothouse; and, finally, it is a convenient
process for the nourishment of delicate seedlings. Unless some
one of these ends is to be answered, and cannot be effected in
a more natural manner, potting is better dispensed with.

Many suggestions have been made with a view to improve the
construction of the common garden-pot. The following deserve to be
recorded. One is a contrivance by Mr. Fry, of Blackheath, for
examining the roots of plants in very large pots. It is not possible to
take the ‘‘ball” out of such pots by the usual process of inverting
them, and allowing the ball to drop, because they are too heavy. Mr,
Fry meets the difficulty by the following contrivance. A pot is made
with a moveable bottom, concave on the upper side like a saucer.
When the ball of such a pot is to be examined, the latter is placed
upon a heavy wooden block cut into a cylindrical form, which forces
upwards the moveable bottom, and carries the ball with it without the
slightest disturbance. After the roots have been examined, the pot is
lifted upwards till the ball is replaced, and the wooden cylinder is
removed. Mr. Beaton proposes to do away with the hole at the bottom
altogether; and, instead of the flat bottom, the maker elevates the
centre of it, like the bottom of a common black bottle; drainage-holes
being round the sides at the bottom. From two to six holes, according
to the size of the pot, are sufficient. ‘‘The roots cannot get through
the bottom, neither can the worms get in, and water cannot hang under
the pot in winter.” Another proposal is, that when plants are intended
for bedding out, they should first be put into pots having both ends
open, and that the seeds should be sown on the broad end, which is kept
uppermost,

That potting may be dispensed with in many cases, is
evident from several facts more or less well known. The
nurserymen prefer “pricking out” their delicate seedlings into
pans, or moveable borders, instead of pots; and they always
thrive the better. In conservatories, the necessity of shifting
plants from place to place may be often avoided; while, under
judicious management, those which are planted in the open
soil have greatly the advantage of others, both in healthiness
and easiness of management; and it is found that Pine-apples

SOIL IN POTS SOON EXHAUSTED, 433

succeed better unpotted, if planted freely in soil exposed to
a proper amount of bottom-heat. This was first asserted by
Mr. Martin Call, one of the Emperor’s gardeners at St. Peters-
burg (Hort. Trans., iv. 471), and has been since practised very
successfully by others. In the year 1830, a Pine-apple,
obtained by this treatment, weighing 91b. 40z., was sent to the
King of England by Mr. Edwards, of Rheola; and in modern
practice all great Pine growers adopt this plan when circum-
stances permit them to do so. (See A Treatise on the Hamiltoman
System of Cultivating the Pine Apple. By Joseph Hamilton.
Ed. 2, London, 1845.)

The exhaustion of soil by a plant is one of the most obvious
inconveniences of potting. The nutrient matter in a soluble
state, contained in a garden pot, must necessarily be soon
consumed by the numerous roots crowded into a narrow
compass and continually feeding upon it. The effects of this
are seen in the smallness of leaves, the weakness of branches,
the fewness and imperfect condition of flowers, &c.; and the
gardener remedies them by applying liquid manure, by frequent
shifting, or by placing his plants in pan-feeders, shallow earthen
vessels containing manure, to which the roots have access
through the holes in the bottom of a pot. Itis, however, to shift-
ing more particularly, that recourse is had for renovating the
soil; and this, if skilfully performed, without giving a sudden and
violent shock to the plant, is probably the best means; because
the roots are thus allowed more liberty of distribution, and the
earth is kept more permeable than when consolidated by
repeated applications of liquid manure. There is, however, a
difficulty in shifting plants without injury to their roots, in the
midst of full vegetation; and at such times the application of
liquid manure is preferable when the soil requires renovation.

Every one knows that the soil of a farm will not bear, year
after year, the same kind of crop, but that one kind of produce
is cultivated on a piece of ground one year, and is succeeded
by some other kind; which practice, in part, constitutes the
important system of rotation of crops. Not, however, to refer
to matters extra-horticultural, it is notorious that an Apple

orchard will not immediately succeed upon the site of an old
FF

434 SHIFTING.

orchard of the same kind of fruit; a wall-border, in whict
fruit-trees have been long grown, becomes at last insensible tc
manure, and requires to be renewed; and, not to dwell upon ar
undisputed fact, Dahlias do not “like” the soil in whick
Dahlias were grown the previous year. What is the real cause
of this? Not exhaustion of ordinary fertilising ingredients
because that exhaustion is made good and yet to no purpose
Are we to assume, what seems to be the fact, that land contains
something mineral which each species prefers to feed on, anc
which is not contained in ordinary manure? This will be
further considered in the final chapter on soil and manure.

It is not, however, merely for the purpose of removing
deteriorated earth or adding manure, that shifting is important
in all potted plants the ball of earth, by the continual passag:
of water through it, is in time reduced to a state of hardness
and solidity unfavourable to the retention of moisture or the
growth of roots, and this is of course cured if the operation o:
shifting is judiciously performed. I must, however, confess ]
have seen gardeners contented with lifting a plant with a harc
old matted ball, out of one pot into another of a little large:
size, shaking some particles of fresh earth in between the bal
and the side of the pot, and pressing the whole down with a:
much force as the thumbs can give. Do such men deserve thi
name of Gardeners ?

It is found that the roots of potted plants invariably direc
themselves towards the sides of the pot, as must indeed neces:
sarily happen in consequence of their disposition to grov
horizontally. Having reached the sides, they do not turr
back, but follow the earthenware surface, till at last they form
an entangled stratum enclosing a ball of earth; then, if no
relieved by repotting, they rise upwards towards the surface, o1
they attempt to force themselves back to the centre. Thi
greater number of roots are, however, always found in contac
with the porous earthen sides of the vessel; and especially al
the most powerfully absorbent, that is to say the youngest
parts. They are, therefore, in contact with a body subject t
great variations of temperature and moisture, in consequenc
of exposure to the sun, or to a dry air in motion, unless 1)

PLUNGING.: 435

those cases where the air is kept, by artifivial means, shaded
and uniformly damp. The extent of these changes gardeners
are hardly aware of; a few years ago I foundin a conservatory,
in the months of May and June, that the temperature of the
soil in a small flower-pot was as low as 40° at one period of the day
and as high as 90° at another period. In a dry summer day,
when the leaves are perspiring freely and requiring an abund-
ance of water from the roots, the latter are placed in contact
with a substance whose moisture is continually diminishing;
or in a greenhouse, where the pots are syringed, the heat of
the earth in contact with the roots is lowered by a copious
evaporation from the sides of the pot, just when, in nature, the
bottom-heat should be the greatest. The evil consequences of
this are well known to gardeners, who however often neglect
taking sufficient precautions to prevent it. Greenhouse plants
exposed to the open air in summer always suffer severely from
the irregular condition of the sides of the pots, whence the
common practice of plunging them in the earth, for the purpose
of bringing them into the condition of plants growing in the
open ground.

This is, however, attended with some disadvantage, for the
plants root, through the bottom of the pots or over the edges,
among the earth in which they are plunged, and when taken up
in the autumn for removal they must have all such roots cut off
again, for there are no means of bringing them within the limits
ofa pot. For these and similar reasons, no good gardener will
expose his greenhouse plants to the open air in summer, if he
can help it, unless they are duplicates, or unless there is some
object to be attained very different from the strange notion
that they are rendered more hardy by the process. The effect
that is really produced upon them is to give them a sort of
artificial winter in summer, that is to say to expose them to a
period of comparative rest from growth, which in many cases is
useful, or to expose them more fully to the sun at a time when
they are ripening fruit. Mr. Knight assures us that by having
the sides of their pots exposed fully to the air, the taste and flavour
of the Peach and Nectarine, and still more of the Strawberry,
are greatly improved, and the Fig-tree in the stove is made to

FR

436 DOUBLE POTS.

afford a longer succession of produce, owing to the succession
of young shoots which are caused to spring from its larger
branches and stems; and, in all cases when trees can be made to
retain their health in exposed pots, the
period of the maturity of their fruit is
very considerably accelerated.” (Hort.
Trans., vii. 258.) This seems to have
led Mr. Rivers to his happy idea of
orchard-houses and miniature fruit-gar-
dens, now so much in request.
The best method of counteracting the
ee injurious effects of exposure to the air
is by employing double pots (Fig. XCIV.), as recommended in
the Gardeners’ Magazine, ix. 576, and by Captain Mangles in
his Floral Calendar, p. 44; the space (6) between the two pots
being filled up with moss or any other substance retentive of

moisture.

There are two ingenious contrivances of this nature: one by Mr.
Robert Brown, potter, at Ewell, and the other by Mr. William
Rendle, the nurseryman at Plymouth. In both cases the object is
the same, namely, to have a double-sided pot in one piece. It is
obvious that by such contrivances, if the sides of a pot are left
empty, the stratum of air contained between them will prevent the
earth from becoming heated; and if they are filled with water, the
inconvenience of over-watering, on the one hand, or over-drying, on
the other, will be prevented in summer, because water will be continu-
ally filtering slowly through the inside lining as the roots require it.
The latter reason renders them valuable for striking cuttings, and for
window gardens, where it is almost impossible to keep plants duly
supplied with moisture. Doubtless, in winter, if water be introduced
between the sides of this kind of pot, its inner surface will be always
wet; the young roots will receive too much fluid, and the plant will
die: but if the empty space be permitted to remain empty, the inner
portion of the pot receiving moisture only from the watering required
for the well-being of the plant, the outer side having water occasion-
ally poured on it, or the pot being immersed for a few minutes in it,
the sides of the pot will be kept so fully saturated, that they will be
constantly giving out into the empty space a vapour, by which the
inner portion of: the innermost pot (towards which the young roots
always incline, and with which they are in contact) will be kept suffi-
ciently cool and moist, and the roots will be preserved from injury.”

DRAINING. 437

Of Rendle’s pots (Fig. XCV., a and 4), a differs in no material
degree from Brown’s, except that. its lower angles are made stronger,
and it is better contrived for drainage; the other (b, which was pro-
posed for striking cuttings) has a central hollow space which enables

Fig. KCV.

the bottom-heat to be better maintained. Neither of the plans seem,
however, to have found favour among gardeners, probably on account
of the expense ; indeed, it is manifest that three common pots of unequal
size can be readily so arranged as to produce all the effect of even
Rendle’s second sort.

Of course the inconveniences thus described are principally
sustained by plants in small pots. When the quantity of earth
is considerable, as in tubs or the largest kind of pots, the loss
of water through the sides is of little moment, and the variation
of temperature is more than counteracted by the large surface
exposed to the direct influence of the solar rays. In these, as
in all other cases, perfect drainage is of the greatest service, and
should be carefully secured by placing an abundance of broken
tiles, potsherds, &c., in the bottom of a pot, so as to prevent the
stagnation of water about the roots.

Mr. Macnab, in his excellent practical treatise upon the
cultivation of Cape Heaths, points out very forcibly the value of
good draining to that class of plants. There is scarcely any
danger, he says, of giving too much draining; and, in order to
effect this essential object still more perfectly, he, in shifting
his Heaths, constantly keeps the centre elevated above the
general level of the earth in the pot or tub, so that at last
each plant stands on the summit of a small hillock.

438 DRAINING POTS.

In order to counteract the risk of excessive drainage,
without in reality diminishing it, great advantage is derived
from the introduction into the earth of fragments of some
absorbent stone. Mr. Macnab uses “coarse soft free-stone
broken into pieces from one inch to four or five inches in
diameter ;” because in summer these stones retain moisture
longer than the earth, and in winter allow a free circulation of
any superabundant moisture.

The mode of effecting drainage practically is thus described by Mr.
W. Moody, an experienced correspondent of the Gardeners’ Chronicle :—

‘‘The materials for this purpose should be perfectly dry and free from
dust, whether they be crocks, charcoal, or sandstone ; they should be
broken into different sizes, each size being placed separately ; thus, if
I were using 3-inch pots, I first clean the pot well inside if required,
then place a piece of crock at the bottom, nearly as large as will cover
it, but convex, so as to allow the water free egress; on this I place a
layer of broken crocks, or other material, about the size of Beans, and
on this again a slight layer about the size of Peas. When I use pots of
a larger size, I use larger pieces, always keeping the coarsest at the
bottom and the smallest at the top. With very few exceptions, the
plants will be benefited by placing a thin layer of turfy loam or peat
over the drainage, as this keeps the smaller particles of earth from
being carried downwards. Although there is no fear of drainage being
impaired, if properly constructed, yet, to make doubly sure, let: each
pot be crocked as regularly as possible, one having no more drainage
than another, so that in the next shift each may get the same propor-
tion of soil as well as drainage. Pieces of sandstone mixed with the
soil are very useful in drainage for hard-wooded plants, as are also
pieces of charcoal and bone-dust for soft-wooded ones; in either case
the roots will be found closely adhering to these lumps. There are
many gardeners who say, ‘I have no time to attend to such a routine
of breaking and layering ;’ but crocks do not spoil by being broken and
sorted in the coldest day in winter, nor yet if done in wet weather,
when nothing can be done out of doors. The different sizes may be
placed in large pots, and put somewhere out of the way, where they
will be dry until the crocks are wanted for use, which is generally in
spring and summer seasons, when work is pressing; thus time is saved
by having crocks previously prepared, and plants are benefited by
judiciously arranged drainage, which is sure to be effectual.” This
advice is selected from among many others, because it seems to describe
the best kind of practice in the fewest words. Another, and very good
method, is the following :—

‘The ordinary way of putting at the bottom of the pot a large

DRAINING POTS. 439

quantity of crocks is but a clumsy proceeding, and one which, if it
affords an opportunity for roots to spread themselves freely, affords
also a harbour for worms, slugs, woodlice, and other vermin.. To
remedy this, I put at the bottom a piece of perforated zinc, an inch and
a quarter, or more, square, according to the size of the pot, so as com-
pletely to cover the hole ; this perforated zinc may be had for a trifle of
any brazier or tin-plate worker, and may, by the help of a strong pair
of scissors or small shears, be readily cut to the requisite size; upon
this I place a small potsherd, with its convex side upwards, taking care
that by resting partly upon the zinc it renders it immovable. I then
put in a quantity of good moss so as to form a layer of a third of
an inch, or more, thick, when pressed together by the mould, and
proceed to finish as usual the operation of potting the plant. I have
found this method to succeed perfectly: constant drainage is effected ;
the moss, particularly with the addition of the potsherd, prevents the
earth from choking the holes of the zinc, and by partial decomposition,
where it is in contact with the soil, affords an agreeable receptacle for
the roots of the plant, in which they appear to delight. All sorts of
vermin are excluded ; the operation of shifting is facilitated, as the
earth comes out of the pot unbroken ; and it is, moreover, a much more
cleanly process than the one commonly used. I must, however, add,
that if the pots thus treated are placed out of doors, it will still be:
desirable that they should be put upon tiles or slates, or something of
the sort; because, as the compost is generally rich, the worms will be
attracted by the water which drains from it, and although they cannot
get into the pot, if the bottom, inside, be level so as to keep the zinc
close all round, they will fill the hole below it with their casts, and
thus impede the drainage.”

Materials for drainage abound among the refuse of all gardens,
Broken pots, called crocks, are usually employed, and, if not burnt too
hard, are amongst the more useful. It is, however, of considerable
importance that the material, be it what it may, should be soft and
porous. Burnt clay, pounded bricks, fragments of charcoal, all which,
by virtue of their porosity, retain gaseous matters, are among the best,
inasmuch as they not only drain soil, but feed plants. For the same
reason bones, crushed with a hammer into pieces varying in size from
that of a hazel nut to a walnut, may perhaps be regarded as the best
of all.

Tf woody plants are allowed to remain growing in the same
pot for many years, as is sometimes the case, one of two things
must happen: either the roots, matted into a hard ball.
become so tortuous and hard as'to be unfit for the free passage
of sap through them; or they acquire a spiral direction. In

440 CORK-SCREWED ROOTS.

either case, if such plants are turned out of their pots in a
conservatory, or in the open ground, with a view to their future
growth in a state of liberty, new roots will be made with
difficulty, and it will be a long time before the effects of growth
in the free soil will be apparent. Where the spiral or cork-
screw direction has been once taken by the roots, they are very
apt to retain it during the remainder of their lives; and if,
when they have become large trees, they are exposed to a gale
of wind, they readily blow out of the ground, as was continually
happening with the Pinasters some years ago, when the
nurserymen kept that kind of Fir for sale in pots. In all such
cases as these, the roots should be carefully disentangled and
straightened at the time when transplantation takes place. To
prevent the possibility of this occurrence it is not unusual to
place trees intended for
transplantation in old
baskets. Through their
wicker sides the roots
readily penetrate, and
when this has happened,
the half decayed baskets
are lifted and “ potted”
in other baskets of a
larger size.

The annexed sketch of
the rootof a Laricio, taken
up at Hatfield, by Mr.
William Ingram, the gar-
dener there, after having
been planted ten years,
illustrates the effects of
eorkscrewing better than
any description.

Under ordinary cir-
Fig. XCVI.—Root of Pinus Laricio, cumstances a potted plant

when young, is placed in

as small a pot as it will grow in, and is transferred from time
to time to larger pots as it advances in size. If this is done,

SUCCESSIVE SHIFTING. 441

the warmth to which the pot is exposed is immediately felt by
the roots; and the latter, as they grow, ramify regularly
through the mass of earth. The practical effect of this is well
shown by the Rev. William Williamson, who thus describes
his mode of treating the Balsam.

“ As soon as they have got four leaves, I transplant them
singly into the smallest pots I can procure, and in such a
manner that the stem of the plant may be covered somewhat
more than it was at first, and then all are to be again placed in
the frame. In a short time, if there be a sufficiency of heat,
that part of the stem which is covered with the mould puts
forth fibres, by which nourishment is conveyed more immedi-
ately to the principal stem of the plant. As soon as the plants
are a little advanced in growth, they are again removed (if
possible without disturbing the earth) into somewhat larger
pots, still planting them rather deeper than before. The same
process is repeated five or six times, till, at last, they are
removed into their final pots. I have found it best to give them
their last removal after they have opened their first blossoms,
as it gives additional brilliancy and size to the flowers. By
following this method the plant acquires extraordinary vigour,
throwing out its branches from the surface of the mould,
exhibiting flowers nearly as large as a full-blown rose, and a
stem measuring two, and sometimes three, inches in circum-
ference.” (Hort. Trans., iii. 128.) It must here be borne in
mind that the plan of continually sinking the stem with every
succeeding potting, although useful to the Balsam, because it
puts forth roots in abundance from its stem, and to all plants
having the same property, ought never to be practised with
those having a different nature; for, if stems do not root as
fast as they are buried, nothing but injury will follow from the
sinking.

It is by paying constant attention to the shifting of the
growing plant, by the employment of a very rich stimulating
soil, and by a thorough knowledge of the kind of atmosphere
which suits them best, that have been obtained many of those
magnificent “specimen plants” which so justly excite the admi-
ration of every body at the Metropolitan exhibitions of flowers.

442 ONE-SHIFT SYSTEM.

In order that plants which have arrived at any considerable
magnitude may suffer as little as possible from shifting, experi-
ence tells us that the operation is most advisable at the end of
autumn when growth for the year is over, so that they may be
ready to root with vigour when the growing season of spring
returns.

It must not, however, be supposed that all the noble
specimens of potted plants that decorate English gardens are
obtained by repeated shifts. On the contrary, in some cases a
plant is placed at once in the pot which is ultimately to contain
it, and is thus enabled to grow as if in the open soil. This is
called technically the “ one-shift system,” and was first brought
under public notice by Mr. W. P. Ayres, the substance of whose
statement was as follows:—The peculiarity of this system is,
that, instead of taking a plant through all the different sized
pots, from a thumb to a 24 or 16, or any other size that it may
remain in permanently, it is removed to the permanent pot at
once, or at any rate to one very considerably larger than is the
general custom; thus, in purchasing small specimens of new
plants, they may be placed at once in a 24, 16, or 12 sized pot,
in which they will remain for four or five years. A cutting of
Clianthus puniceus was given to Mr. Caie, gardener to the
Duchess of Bedford; who at the end of twelve months had
grown it into a plant 7 feet in height, beautifully branched,
and covered with bloom; while the original plant under my
care, although attended with regularity, would not bear a
comparison with it. I learnt from Mr. C., that his cutting,
directly it was established in a small cutting-pot, was removed
to a No. 4 sized pot, well drained, and filled with rough turfy
loam fresh from the field, and a little leaf-mould. About the
same time Mr. C. offered me some small plants of Erica physodes
and pinifolia, but they were in such a deplorable condition that
I did not consider them worthy of carriage. To show me,
however, how much I was mistaken, Mr. C. removed them
from the small pots in which they were then growing into 16s,
in rough turfy peat and silver sand, and in two years they were
handsome specimens, 18 inches high, from four to five feet in
circumference, and beautifully furnished with branches. Since

ONE-SHIFT SYSTEM. 443

that time, I have practised this mode on various plants with
success; but to Mr. Goode, gardener at Ealing Park, belongs
the credit of applying this system more extensively and with
greater success. Amongst the plants at that place, he has a
great number in 24, 16, 12, and 8 sized pots, forming magni-
ficent specimens, which are on an average from three to five
feet in circumference, and which a year since were either in
small 60 or thumb-pots. They have, in reality, made from
three to four years’ growth in one season, and are flowering in
the greatest profusion. Among other genera, may be mentioned
Boronias, Eriostemons, Leschenaultias, Pimeleas, Gnidias,
Helichrysums, Ericas, Epacrises, Chorozemas, Polygalas,
Roellas, Mirbelias, Dillwynias, Croweas, and Gompholobiums.
The principal thing to attend to is to have the pots thoroughly
drained ; for if water stagnates in such a mass of soil, all hope
of success will be at an end. In growing specimen plants, it
is a good plan to drain the soil with an inverted pot, taking great
care to prevent the soil from falling among the drainage, by
covering it securely with Moss. Porous stones of various.sizes,
in considerable quantities, sticks in a half-decomposed state, and
even charcoal for some plants, have been used, with satisfactory
results. The roots of Leschenaultia formosa and of Chorozemas,
thus treated, wrap round the porous stones and charcoal in the
most beautiful manner. The principal things to attend to in
this system of potting are, to use the soil as rough as possible.
Plants potted in this way will not require so much attention as
those potted in the usual manner; because one watering will
serve them for several days—whereas in small pots, they require
constant attention.

Innumerable criticisms of this method of cultivation were
published when it was first brought into notice; but they are all
forgotten, and no other valid reason can now be given for object-
ing to it than that it is too favourable for growth, and renders
plants inconveniently large for most people’s space and means.
There can be no doubt that, under good management, if the
gardener’s object is to make a plant as vigorous as possible, it is
better to avoid the troublesome details of shifting from one sized
pot into another. No better evidence of this is needed than what

444 QUALITY OF POTS.

we see in nature. A plant in the open ground, or in the border
of a well-managed conservatory, grows fast, acquires a rich
deep green healthy colour, and produces its flowers and fruit as
soon as it has arrived at the proper age; on.the other hand,
the same kind of plant, under the same circumstances, managed
by the same gardener, but kept in a pot and subjected toa
course of shifting, although it may be healthy at first, soon
ceases growing, and becomes yellow, lean, and starved. It is
not, indeed, the wish of every cultivator to grow plants for
horticultural exhibitions. Beautiful as large well-grown
specimens may be, it is not in every garden that they can be
properly accommodated; and where that is the case, it is
useless to attempt it.

Gardeners till lately entertained the opinion that in pot
cultivation it is of great importance that the pot itself should
be manufactured from some soft porous material. The latter
was thought to have the merit of keeping roots in free com-
munication with the air. But no well-grown plants are ever
so placed as to have their roots cut off from communication
with the atmosphere; the loose crocks used for drainage, and
the interstices in the soil itself, enable the air to reach the
roots without any assistance from the sides of the pots. Others
were of opinion that the porous sides of soft-burnt pots act as a
continual drain, carrying off the superfluous water of the soil.
That is no doubt true; but there is as much inconvenience as
advantage attending it, because, in dry weather, the earth in
pots is disadvantageously dried by the escape of vapour through
their sides, and cooled down by the rapid evaporation going on
there. Besides, such a mode of drainage cannot be necessary
if the bottom of the pots is preserved in a proper state. The
absorbent power of soft-burnt garden pots, a quality due to
their porosity, was also regarded as rendering them better than

‘hard ones for cultivation. Experiment has, however, settled
the question by showing that plants will grow in glass, in slate,
in glazed earthenware just as well as in soft-burnt pots; and it
is now admitted on all hands that if plants are ill-grown it is
the fault of the gardener, not of the pot, whether it be hard

or soft.

yaaa

CHAPTER XVI.

——.

OF TRANSPLANTING.

As goon as man attempted to beautify his residence with
trees planted round it, he would naturally obtain them from the
forest, and he then would find that, of many that he removed,
all or some at least would die; if, however, he persevered he
would at last discover that while constant failure attended his
efforts at one time, comparative success would crown them at
another; and he would thus be led to investigate, according to
his skill, the causes of success and failure. Out of this would
grow in time the art of transplanting, among the most important
business of the gardener.

I fear, however, it is too generally practised as an empirical
art, without sufficient attention being paid to the principles on
which its success or failure depend ; at least, one hardly knows

‘how to draw any other conclusion from the opposite opinions

held by planters, the dogmatical manner in which they are too
often expressed, and the obscure and unintelligible phraseology
of what are called explanations of the practice by amateurs, to
whom it is not necessary to allude more particularly. If there
is any one part of the art of Horticulture in which post hoc has
been mistaken for propter hoc more commonly than another,
it is surely in what concerns transplantation.* And yet the
rationale is simple enough, if we do not labour to render it
confused by imaginary refinements.

_* It is scarcely necessary to say that these remarks do not, in any way, apply to
Mr. Macnab’s Hinis on the Planting and general Treatment of Hardy Evergreens in
the Olimate of Scotland, an excellent treatise, which it is impossible to recommend
too strongly to the attention of the planter.

446 SEASON FOR TRANSPLANTING.

When a plant is taken out of the ground for transplanting,
its roots are necessarily more or less injured in the process,
and consequently it is less able to support the stem than it was
before the mutilation took place; its loss of this power will
also be in proportion to the extent of the mutilation, which may
be carried so far as to amount to destruction.

But the importance of their roots to plants is not alike at all
seasons; in the summer, when there is the greatest demand
upon them in consequence of the perspiration of the foliage,
they are most essential; in winter, when the leaves have fallen,
they are comparatively unimportant, as is evident from a very
common case. Leta limb of a tree be felled in full leaf in
June; its foliage will presently wither, the bark will shrivel
and dry up, and the whole will speedily perish; but, if a similar
limb is lopped in November, when its foliage has naturally
fallen off, it will exhibit no sign of death during winter, nor
till the return of spring, when it may make a dying effort to
recover, but the means it takes to do so, namely the emission
of leaves, only accelerates its end.

These two propositions really include all the most essential
parts of the theory of transplantation, as will presently be seen;
it is necessary, however, that they should be applied in some
detail, for which purpose it will be convenient to consider,
first the season, and secondly the manner in which transplant-
ing can be best effected.

It is the powerful perspiratory action of the leaves of
deciduous trees which renders transplanting them in a growing ,
state so difficult, that for practical purposes it may be called
impossible; for the operation is necessarily* attended by a
mutilation of the roots which feed the leaves. At no period,
then, can the operation be performed if such plants are growing.
Even if the buds are only pushing, the process should be
avoided, because immediately after that period the demand
upon the roots is greatest; for although in consequence of the
smallness of the surface of the young leaves the action of

* Transplanting from garden pots, in which the roots are preserved artificially
from injury, may be performed equally well at any time, and is, of course, not included
in this statement. ;

SEASON FOR TRANSPLANTING. 447

perspiration may seem to be feeble, yet the thinness of the
newly formed tissue will not enable it to resist the drying
action of the atmosphere unless there is a most abundant
afflux of sap from the roots. In England, too, the months
when buds begin to burst forth are objectionable, not only on
account of their dryness, but of their coldness, which prevents
the free circulation of sap; and the evil effects are felt not
only by the roots through the foliage, but directly, as will be
shown hereafter.

The season, then, which ought to be chosen is the period
that intervenes between the fall of the leaf in autumn and the
earliest part of spring, before the sap begins to move and the
dry cold winds of that season to prevail. I entirely agree with
Macnab, that the earliest time at which planting can be effected
is, upon the whole, the best; a conclusion to which he has come
from his extensive practice, in which my own observation of a
great deal of planting for the last twenty-five years coincides,
and which is, in all respects, conformable to theory. As soon
as a plant has shed its leaves it is as much at rest for the
season as it will be at any subsequent period, unless it is
frozen; its torpor, indeed, is greater at that time, because its
excitability is completely exhausted by the season of growth,
and it has had no time to recover it. If, at that time, a root is
wounded, a process of granulation or cicatrisation will com-
mence, just as it does in cuttings; and from that granulation,
which is a mere development of the cellular system, roots will
eventually proceed. Now, it is obvious that since roots must
be wounded in the process of transplantation, the sooner the
wound is made the better, because it has the longer time in
which to heal: and therefore the earlier in the autumn trans-
planting is effected, the less injury will be sustained by the
plant submitted to the process; in the technical language of the
gardener, “it has the more time to establish itself.” Deci-
duous trees usually begin to assume their autumnal hue in
September, and as soon as that has happened they may be
transplanted with safety.

Autumn and early winter are, moreover, the best seasons,
because of their great dampness. It will be seen by reference

448 ROOTS ARE FORMED DURING WINTER.

to Mr. Thompson’s tables (page 954), that the air is very
generally in a state of saturation in the months of October,
November, December, January, and February, and that it is
seldom in that condition at any other season. Now, although
the perspiration of plants is greatly diminished by the removal
of the leaves, it is not destroyed, for they also absorb and
perspire through their young bark; and therefore a saturated
atmosphere, which prevents much of the perspiratory action
which remains from being exercised, is a condition, even when
plants are leafless, much too beneficial to be overlooked. Nor
is the action upon the perspiratory power of the stem the only
mode in which a saturated atmosphere is important at the time
of transplantation ; it exercises a directly favourable influence
on the formation of roots themselves.

It is sometimes necessary to assist a tree, when it begins to grow, by
syringing it with a water-engine, or by binding the main branches and.
stem with moss. The object of this is partly to stop evaporation through
the bark, and partly to encourage absorption by the bark.

It is doubted, indeed, whether in the cold months of the
year trees make roots. Some physiologists peremptorily deny
the possibility of roots appearing in the absence of leaves, and
therefore, although they do not altogether object to the assertion
that roots are formed in winter or late autumn, they only admit
that possibility in the case of evergreens. Their theory is that
roots are formed by the action of leaves; and that therefore
when leaves are off roots will not grow. Their theory is wrong;
they should use their eyes. In 1845 I examined, on the 26th
February, the roots of various trees, and found young ones
formed abundantly on Sambucus racemosa, Ribes sanguineum
and divaricatum, the Sycamore, Plum, Peach and Apple. Such
evergreens as Hollies, Garrya, Common Broom, and Portugal
Laurel, had also produced them in large quantity. The state-
ment, therefore, that roots can only be formed in the presence
of leaves is erroneous.

Roots at their spongioles, or most absorbent points, are
extremely delicate parts, unprotected by a fully organized
epidermis, destined to exist in a moist medium, and capable of
being easily killed by exposure to dryness as well as by actual

SEASON FOR DECIDUOUS TREES. 449

violence. The accidents to which the roots of transplanted
trees are liable, from the very nature of the operation, are of
such a kind that it is impossible to prevent their being exposed
to the air, sometimes for considerable periods of time; it is
therefore obviously a point of the first importance, that the air
should be as nearly of the humidity of the soil from which the
roots have been extracted as can be secured. How unfavour-
able, in this point of view, the months of March, April, and
May are for planting, is apparent from Mr. Thompson’s tables
above referred to; how little the matter is attended to by
nurserymen, gardeners, and labourers, all great planters know
to their cost. Macnab, who thoroughly understood all this,
preferred a moist rainy day; although, as he says, he has “at
times been as wet in planting evergreens, as when exposed for
hours on the windy side of Ben Nevis in a wet day, without
great coat and with a broken umbrella.” It may be very true
that good plantations have been made in March and April; it
may be equally true that no such care as I have described is
necessary for all plants ; but no wise man would, on that account,
neglect the precautions which the nature of plants shows to be
necessary to insure success with all things. Very wet and
warm springs may prevent the loss of any considerable pro-
portion of the trees planted in March and April, especially if
succeeded by a dull, warm, wet summer; and a Willow may be
planted with success at midsummer: but we cannot tell before-
hand what sort of spring is coming, and all plants have not the
tenacity of life possessed by a Willow.

If the months from September to December are the most
favourable for transplanting deciduous trees, and March and
April the worst, how much more important must be those
periods to evergreens. An evergreen differs from a deciduous
plant in this material circumstance, that it has no season of
rest; its leaves remain alive and active during the winter, and
consequently it is in a state of perpetual growth. I do not
mean that it is always lengthening itself in the form of new
branches, for this happens periodically only in evergreens, and
is usually confined to the spring; but that its circulation,
perspiration, assimilation, and production of roots are incessant.

ag

450 TRANSPLANTING EVERGREENS.

Such being the case, an evergreen, when transplanted, is liable
to the same risks as deciduous plants in full leaf, with one
essential difference. The leaves of evergreens are provided
with a thick hard skin, which is tender and readily permeable
to aqueous exhalations only when quite young, and which
becomes very firm and tough by the arrival of winter, whence
the rigidity always observable in the foliage of evergreen trees
and shrubs. Such a coating as this is capable, in a much less
degree than one of a thinner texture, such as we find upon
deciduous plants, of parting with aqueous vapour; and, more-
over, its stomates are few, small, comparatively inactive, and
chiefly confined to the under side, where they are less exposed
to dryness than if they were on the upper side also. But
although evergreens from their structure are not liable to be
affected by the same external circumstances as deciduous plants
in the same degree, and although, therefore, transplanting an ever-
green in leaf is not the same thing as transplanting a deciduous
tree in the same condition, yet it must be obvious that the great
extent of perspiring surface upon the one, however low its
action, constitutes much difficulty, superadded to whatever
difficulty there may be in the other case. Hence we are
irresistibly driven to the conclusion that whatever care is
required in the selection of a suitable season, damp, and not
too cold, for a deciduous tree, is still more essential for an
evergreen. It is, therefore, most extraordinary that it should
have ever been the practice to defer the planting evergreens
till late in the spring upon the supposition that it is the very
best season for them, as if cold winds, accompanied by from
20° to 80° of dryness in the air, which is not more than °500 or
‘857 of moisture, with a bright sun beating on the roots which
are exposed, and exciting the action of the perspiring surface
to the utmost extent of its power, were external conditions
with which the gardener has no concern; and yet, as Macnab
justly observes, half a day’s sun in spring and autumn will do
more harm immediately after planting than a whole week’s sun
from morning to night in the middle of winter.

The Holly, says a writer in the Horticultural Transactions,
does not succeed well, if transplanted at any other season of the

TRANSPLANTING EVERGREENS. 451

year than the end of April or beginning of May; at this time
the buds are just breaking open into leaf, and I have rarely
failed of success in transplanting small, or even very large old,
trees, (ii. 857.) Although such statements cannot be too
strongly contradicted as guides to practice, yet it is not difficult
to explain their origin, Since evergreens are never deprived of
their leaves, so they are never incapable of forming roots; on
the contrary, they produce them abundantly all winter long,
and rapidly at any other period of the year which is favourable
to their growth; so that they are capable of making good an
injury to their roots much more speedily than deciduous
plants: especially as in the majority of cases the roots are
numerous and fibrous, and not so liable to extensive muti-
lation when transplanted. Now, if an evergreen is planted in
the month of May and the weather happens to be cloudy, warm,
and damp, as the plant is just then commencing the renewal of
its growth, and is forming fresh roots abundantly, if such a
state of weather lasts for a week or two, there is no doubt that
the plant will succeed very well.

“‘T differ with the doctors about planting evergreens in spring; if it
happens to be wet weather, it may be better than exposing them to a
first winter ; but the cold dry winds that generally prevail in spring
are ten times more pernicious. In my own opinion the end of September
is the best season, for then they shoot before the hard weather comes,”
— Horace Walpole, page 176, vol. 3.

It is said that if a tree is just budding when planted it is in the most
favourable state, because it will immediately make fresh roots, the act
of vegetation upwards being simultaneous with growth in a downward
direction ; and that is true. There is here, however, a fallacy; it is
assumed that the upward and downward vegetation will go on when a
plant is transplanted as well as if it is left in its former place; that,
however, depends upon the external conditions to which it is exposed,
If the surrounding air is damp, and remains so, evaporation being thus
prevented for a sufficiently long time, roots will be quickly formed, and
the plant will go on growing ; on the other hand, if the air is dry and
exhausts the branches of their moisture, new roots cannot be formed,
and the plant will die. Life, in such a case, is staked upon the chance
of the atmosphere being in a very favourable state, and the chances are
ten to one against its being so. The cause of death when trees are
removed is almost entirely, as already stated, that they lose the fluid
contained within them faster than it can be renewed, the end being the

aa2

452 TRANSPLANTING EVERGREENS.

drying up of their vessels, which is immediately followed by a loss of
vital force. If we inquire whether the circumstances to which spring-
planted trees are exposed are favourable or unfavourable to this fatal
loss of fluid, we find them to be the former in an enormous degree. The
air is peculiarly dry in the spring, and frequently in rapid motion at
the same time; all objects exposed to a current of dry air must part
with their moisture rapidly, and consequently such a state of things is
most unfavourable to plants which require to retain their moisture, At
first their young bark is the channel through which the moisture flies off,
but as soon as young leaves appear, should the trees live long enough,
and the perspiring surface is thus extended, this loss goes on with far
greater rapidity, and life is soon extinguished. Evergreens, which have
always a very large perspiring surface, are on that account exposed to
much more danger, and consequently the losses among them are much
greater. That the excessive loss of fluid from the interior is the true cause
of death in newly-planted trees was proved by, we think, Mr. Knight,
who surrounded their stems with damp moss and thus preserved them.

In the year 1822, in the month of August, there were
planted in the garden of the Horticultural Society of London
above six thousand Hollies, from two to three feet high, for the
purpose of forming fences; few plants in all that number
ever exhibited any traces of having been removed, and I do not
believe that a hundred died. The weather was dry, but the
plants were deluged with water when placed in their holes, and
they had been obtained from the Regent’s Park, where they
grew in the stiff clay of that side of London, the consequence of
which was that, when taken out of the ground, so much earth
adhered to them that they were almost in the state of plants
removed from pots. Transplanting evergreens even at mid-
summer has many able advocates, and there is no questioning
the fact that this season has been found eminently propitious.
But at midsummer the air and soil are in a very different state
from any part of the spring. Both are warm and moist,
and furnish the operator with highly favourable conditions.

The proper time at which to transplant evergreens has now
been finally and conclusively determined, so far as the south
of England is concerned. Mr. Glendinning, a nurseryman of
great experience, agreeing in opinion with Horace Walpole, has
recorded it as the result of his practice that August is a good
month to begin in, September being the safest month. Many

TRANSPLANTING EVERGREENS. 453

experiments have been made year after year to test the sound-
ness of that conclusion, and they have uniformly confirmed it.

In September, 1849, the following work was done within my
own observation. 1. Some hundred feet of a Holly hedge,
about twenty-five years old, were transplanted, and although
from the dryness of the soil, badness of roots, and other
causes, there was great reason to fear the result, these plants
were in June, 1850, with a very small number of exceptions,
safe and growing. 2. A Holly-tree about twelve feet high,
forming part of the same hedge, which had been left for some
days with its roots covered by a mat, and was much dried, was
carried a quarter of a mile and replanted. It cast its old
leaves, and pushed well. 8. The following plants were also
transplanted at the same time. Several common Laurels and
Portugal Laurels, from four to six feet high, dug out of a
shrubbery; seventy-five Rhododendrons, fourteen Arbor-Vite,
four to five feet high; sixteen Laurustinus; nine Yews, four to
five feet high; four green Hollies of the same size, two
Cupressus torulosa, and some other plants. They were all
taken from the open quarters of a nursery, not having been
potted; the weather was hot and dry. The only casualty
among them consisted in one Arbor-Vite having died. The
Cypresses were half killed by the winter; and a few of the
Yews made buds slowly, but lived.

Mr. Glendinning urges the great importance of consider-
ing the temperature, of the soil in the autumnal months, and
prefers the earliest available period because of the higher
temperature of the soil at an early than at a late period. He
very justly says that early in the autumn the roots of transplanted
evergreens find themselves in a “gentle bottom-heat.” Mr.
Thompson’s invaluable tables of ground temperature near
London show what is the real gain in this respect. He found
the mean temperature of the soil, on an average of six
years, to be—

_ One foot deep. Two feet deep.
August 2... 1... . 6287 2... 6195
September . . . . . . 5835 . . , 89-04
October... 1 . . . 5288 6... 8B 4
November . . . . . . 4679 . . . 48:09

December . . . . . . 4075 . . . 42°89

454 REASONS WHY AUTUMN IS THE BEST SEASON

Thus, in August, the earth is from 8° to 10° warmer than in
October, and in September about 6° higher than in October,
10° to 12° higher than in November, and 16° or 17° higher
than in December.

Here we have a great element of advantage in favour of
August; for although evergreens will make new roots all the
year round, if the earth is not too cold, yet itis certain that they
will do so much more quickly and abundantly in warmth than
in cold; and 10° form what may be called, without exaggeration,
an immense difference in their favour. But, on the other
hand, they will be seriously obstructed in the operation of
forming new roots, even in “ bottom-heat,” if their leaves are
shrivelled up and destroyed: as is always to be dreaded at
too early a period of the year. If we examine the facts from
which we are to judge of the dryness of our autumnal months
we find them to be as follows :—

Mean degree of dryness according to Daniell’s hygrometer,
on an average of nineteen years.

August 2. 2 5 1 0 1 6 0 © to 445

September . . . 2... 2°11
October . . 2 1 1 ew ew ew we ww 61°62
November . . 2. 21 eo tw ew « 0°93

December . . «1 1 © ee eo « O72

Dryness of the above period according to the hygrometric
scale, saturation being represented by 1000.

August . . . 1. © 2 «1 ws ee 85l:
September . . 2. 1. 1. 1 ue es + 903°
October 2 «© 2s ee ewe ee ee ® OAT
November, ». «© 2 «© « « © «© © « 963°
December. . . . « «se we se 6969"

Mean temperature, average twenty-three years.

August 2. 1 ew we ee ew) 62°17
7 September . . . . . . . . . 66°72
October «1 1. ww ww ew ee 5046
November. . . . . . . 1. . »©48°,00
December. . . . . . 1 1...) 896

These facts show that August is fully twice as dry as Septem-
ber, and nearly four times as dry as October ; also that the mean

FOR TRANSPLANTING EVERGREENS, 455

temperature of August is more than 6° higher than that of
September, and of September than of October. Now as the
loss of water by trees is to a great degree dependent upon the
dryness of the air, it is obvious that in that point of view
August is almost: four times as dangerous as October.

It must also be borne in mind that perspiration in plants is
caused by the direct action of light, and that loss by perspira-
tion is in proportion to the length of time during which the
surface of plants is exposed to sunlight; heat and dryness
only increasing the amount. Now, in August the days are not
only longer but brighter than in September, and in September
than in October; and here, again, the state of the atmosphere
is against the first month and in favour of the latter.

If from these data alone we had to decide theoretically which
of the autumn months is the best, the choice would fall on
September; and this coincides with experience. August has
the advantage in the temperature of the soil, but is too dry and
light. In September dryness and light have become more
moderate; the temperature of the soil has not fallen more than
4°, and evergreens then planted have two clear months in
which to form new roots. October has the advantage in a
lower temperature and more diminished light; but the soil is
6° colder than in September and it leaves the worst of two
months for new roots to develope in. For such reasons it
would seem that September is better than either August or
October, October than August or November, and August better
than November.

Macnab rightly adverts to the importance of choosing a
suitable day, as well as season, for the operation; and it must
be evident from what has now been stated, that this ig very.
necessary: “In winter, you may plant with perfect safety in a
dull calm day, whereas in spring or autumn a moist rainy day
is preferable to any other; but where a person has not the
choice of such weather, then the work should be performed in
the evening, when the sun gets low, especially in spring or
autumn planting.”

_ Next in importance to the selection of a fitting season, is the
preservation of the roots of transplanted trees ; the former ig

456 MECHANICAL MEANS

of little consequence, if the latter is not attended to. We
know, indeed, that some plants will live with the rudest treat-
ment, and bear the most severe mutilation without much
suffering; but those are special instances of extreme tenacity
of life, and do not affect general principles. The value of
great attention to the roots, in the operation of shifting, has
already been pointed out (p. 448), and transplanting is only
shifting under another name. It would be the duty of the
gardener to save every minute fibre of the roots, if it were
practicable; but, as that is not the case, his care must be
confined to lifting his trees with the least possible destruction
of those important organs; remembering always that it is not
by the coarse old woody roots that the absorption of food is
most energetically carried on, but by the youngest parts, and
especially the spongioles. The mechanical means by which
this is best effected do not belong to the present subject; I
may however remark, without quitting the limits of theory,
that, as the greater part of the young fibres is produced at the
circumference of the circle formed by the root, the earth should
be first removed at some distance from the stem, so as to insure,
as far as possible, their being taken up entire; if this is not
done, but the spade is struck into the earth near the stem, or
if the rude nursery practice, justly enough called drawing, is
employed, a large part of the most valuable roots must neces-
sarily be cut off or destroyed by tearing.* The greatest
difficulty, beyond that of mechanical removal, in transplanting
trees of considerable size, is this preservation of roots; and, if
it were possible to carry without injury such heavy masses as
old forest trees, there would be no physical obstacle to trans-
planting them, if the extrication of the fibrous part of the
roots could be secured. As, however, the latter is a trouble-
some and very difficult operation, even when trees are only ten
or twelve feet high, it has been, from time out of mind, the
custom of skilful planters to prepare such trees for removal by

* The violent manner of transplanting trees by McGlashan’s machinery, in which
large roots are torn up with much laceration, is, however, very favourably reported on.
But so far as very large trees are concerned it stills stands at the bar of public opinion,
and will have to be judged hereafter.

USED IN TRANSPLANTING. 457

cutting back their main roots one year before they are to be
transplanted; if this very simple operation is properly per-
formed, all the principal limbs, so amputated, will emit young
fibres in abundance from their extremities, and the gardener,
from knowing where to find those roots, can easily take them
up without material injury.

A better method is to describe in August a circle round a
tree at three or four feet from its trunk; outside that circle to
cut a very narrow trench, with a draining spade, or some
similar instrument, two to three feet deep; and to fill in the
trench with leaf-mould or some rich loose material, among which
fibres will readily form. If this is done at the time when trees
are making their second growth so large a quantity of fibrous
roots will have been formed by October as to render it possible
to transplant trees thus prepared without risk of losing them.

In order to effect the same end, but in another way, the
following expedient has been occasionally employed for large
trees. A deep trench has been opened, in mid-winter, round
a stem, at such a distance as to be clear of the principal fibres;
the tree has then been carefully undermined, till, at last, the
earth belonging to it has formed a huge ball; upon the approach
of frost, water has been freely poured over the ball so that its
whole surface may be converted into an icy mass; in that state
it has been raised by powerful tackle, and conveyed without
disturbance to its intended site. This operation is unobjection-
able for hardy trees of great size, but is expensive, and only
capable of application in a limited degree ; its success is entirely
owing to the young and tender fibres being placed in such a
position that they cannot be injured by the act of transport.

Although it is a principle with vegetable physiologists that a tree
of any age, or dimensions, may be safely transplanted, provided its roots
can be preserved, and mechanical means be found for lifting a mass so
ponderous as a forést-tree with the earth in which its roots are embedded,
yet the difficulties attendant upon carrying out the principle are suchas
to deter most persons from trying the experiment. That there really is
no difficulty in the matter, except'such as skill and adequate means can
wholly overcome, is sufficiently proved by the extent to which the trans-
plantation of large trees has been carried at Elvaston Castle. But people
evidently thiak that Lord Harrington’s success is an exceptional case ;

458

VERY LARGE TREES

they do not put entire confidence in Sir Henry Steuart’s results, and
they feel alarmed at what that writer says of the issue of a great
experiment tried at Edinburgh some years since, when the site of
the Botanic Garden was changed. In the first place, as to the expense
of the experiment, this writer says it would be needless, as well as
invidious, to investigate that, as it could be no object in a royal
institution; and, secondly, he speaks rather coldly of the result, when
he merely says that ‘‘ the removals were executed with a safety which
could scarcely have been anticipated.” The meaning which this was
intended to convey is now explained in the notes to the third edition of
the Planter’s Guide, page 386, where we are distinctly informed that
although some things had succeeded well, yet that ‘‘the ordinary
forest-trees on the other hand, such as the Lime, the Birch, and the
Walnut, appeared by no means so successful, although powerfully sup-
ported with cordage.” Faint praise like this was not calculated to hold
out great expectations of success in transplanting large trees, con-
sidering that Macnab was the operator; and it must have greatly
contributed to damp the ardour of those who would have been other-
wise encouraged by the success said by Sir Henry to have attended his
own proceedings.

The practicability of removing large trees by ordinary means has,
however, been finally set at rest, 7 a manner open to no question, by a
large experiment in transplanting trees from ten to forty-nine feet in
height, at Amport House, near Andover, the seat of the Marquess of
Winchester. Mr. Joseph Holmes, the gardener there, has published an
account of the operation in a paper in the Journal of the Horticultural
Society (vol. vi. p. 14). In this communication he describes with minute-
ness the method he pursued, the difficulties that occurred, and the final
result of transplanting about a couple of hundred trees of large size
from a sheltered valley to much higher ground, The trees consisted of

Yews . ... ‘7. . . from 10 to 24 feet in height.
Gakis: ce: eter ge TBE ee ae ce gp TOR I gy ‘3
Beech . . . . 60... «4 16,,49 ,, 4
ih 2k ow Secese o 20S ae oes
ie, a a a ee Sw ee TR Be ge
Limes . . . - 8 « « « 45, 18,, 36 ,, 3
Hornbeam. . . 36 . . . ,, 80 (on an average)
Horse-chestnuts. 25 . . . 4, 14,, 33 ,, 5
Sycamores. . . 28 . . . 4, 15,, 87 ,, 5

In all 204 such trees were planted, of which 199 remain. The only
one which failed is thus spoken of by Mr. Holmes. ‘In transplanting
upwards of 200 trees, not one of the number failed, and it was found
necessary to sacrifice only one tree. The instance I allude to was that
of a fine Beech, forty-two feet high, removed onsSir H. Steuart’s

MAY BE TRANSPLANTED. 459

principle. The tree was rooted equally well with any of its contem-
poraries, but it had no ball; hence it was difficult to rear upright, and
notwithstanding every care in propping, the first high wind laid it
prostrate, when it was not considered worthy of further trouble.”

His mode of proceeding, after the trees were deposited in the places
intended for them, is described thus:—“‘In placing the tree onits new site,
nothing more is necessary than to have a good hole made a foot or more
wider every way than the roots extend. A roadway for the truck is cut
from the natural surface to the bottom of the hole, and on the opposite
side means are afforded for the horses to get out of the hole. The truck
being in the middle of the latter, loosen the chain, take out the pole,
bring down the head of the tree, so as to allow the edge of the ball to
touch the bottom of the hole, then draw out the truck; and should the tree
not have got quite an upright position, pull the ropes to render it so, at
the same time packing the ball with fine soil, until it stands upright of
itself. Every root that has been injured in taking up, should now be
cut smooth, and every one laid out as straight and natural as possible,
resembling the rays of a circle, great care being taken to pack fine soil
firmly round the ball, and to surround every fibre with the best and
finest soil, until every root is covered. Immediately after transplanting,
every tree was mulched with old thatch, as far as the roots extended ;
and they also had a covering of about half an inch of straw around
their stems, from eight to twelve feet from the ground. This was done
principally with the view of lessening the demand made upon the tree
by evaporation, The straw was found to keep damp a considerable
time after every rain. A ridge of soil was also placed around each
tree, at the extremity of the roots, forming a sort of cup; and I have
frequently seen water standing in these cups half an hour after heavy
rain, during the second summer after planting, as by this time, from
various causes, the mulch had disappeared, and the surface was firm,
owing to the constant treading of sheep, which were allowed to feed
among the trees during the second summer after planting, and which
was, no doubt, favourable to them. No further care was bestowed or
considered necessary ; and no tree was ever watered, except during
the first three weeks after transplanting, when the water-cart was used
to most of the two groups of Hornbeam at the time they were in green
leaf; and it was thought that thereby an early root action would be
induced.”

The precise fate of each tree is described in a set of tables, from
which we gather two or three striking facts, A Beech-tree, forty-two
feet high, made wood twelve inches long the first year, and seven
inches in the two succeeding years; another, forty-eight feet high,
made eight inches in the first year, and eight and six inches afterwards :
another, forty-nine feet high, which did not make more than four
inches of shoot the first year, made six the second, and eight the third

460 TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.

year (1850), The annual extensions in the three years after removal
were thus in the following instances :—

Elm ... . 21 feethigh 4 —12—13 inches,
oe) me wee OE ae —_——
a eee ae a ae
Birhi« 2x = @ »% — oa ae
es; ae f—B 8
ss oe ee a | ae
ee as ae a
Hornbeam . . 30 53 3— 6— 7 ,, onchalk.
o « « % 1380 $5 8h— 4-4 ,, in loam.
Sycamore . . 36 rr 7—6—6 ,,
se ee a ae
ar. ae a ans ae

What was very important, with reference to the final issue of this
experiment, was the state of the roots, after three years’ removal, and
an excessively dry autumn. I can state that their condition was in
every respect satisfactory. I myself saw fine fibrous roots, three feet
long, taken from the Sycamore No. 16, thirty-seven feet high, when
transplanted, whose shoots lengthened two inches the first year, two
inches the second, and three inches the third. This tree was trans-
planted December 29th, 1847; it was taken from a very low, damp,
dense shrubbery, surrounded by tall trees, and was transplanted to the
most high and exposed part of the new park; apparently for fourteen
years the tree had had two leaders; one of these rival leaders was cut
off in March, 1849, This tree was also affected by the wind more than
any other, by reason of its heavy head, as compared with the stem. It
was, therefore, a good one to be subjected to a root examination, as no
tree had to contend with such a number of unfavourable circumstances,
or appeared to be doing worse. The roots, however, were found, on
examination, to be an entire mass, similar to what I have described, in
a hole of eleven feet diameter.

Under ordinary circumstances, the roots must necessarily be
injured more or less by removal; in that case, all the larger
wounds should be cut to a clean smooth face; not in long
ragged slivers, which is only substituting one kind of mutilation
for another, but at an angle of about 45°, or less. If the ends
of small roots are bruised, they generally die back a little way,

“and then emit fresh spongioles; but the larger roots, when
bruised, lose the vitality of their broken extremity, their ragged
tissue remains open to the uncontrolled introduction of water,
decays in consequence of being in contact with an excess of

PRUNE ROOTS BEFORE PLANTING. A461

this fluid, and often becomes the seat of disease which spreads
to parts that would otherwise be healthy. To this it may be
added that decaying roots become the seat of dry-rot fungi,
which, once established, rapidly introduce their spawn among
the living tissues, and produce diseases which only end in
death.

When, however, the wound is made clean by a skilful pruner
the vessels contract, and prevent the introduction of an excess
of water into the interior; the wound heals by granulations
formed by the living tissue, and the readiness with which this
takes place is in proportion to the smallness of the wound. It
may be sometimes advantageous to remove large parts of the
coarser roots of a tree, even if they are not accidentally wounded
when taken up, the object being to compel the plant to throw out,
in room of those comparatively inactive subterranean limbs,
a supply of young active fibres. This is a common practice
in the nurseries when transplanting young Oaks and other
tap-rooted trees, and is one of the means employed by the
Lancashire growers of Gooseberries, in order to increase the
vigour of their bushes; in the last case, however, the operation
is not confined to the time when transplantation takes place,
but is practised annually upon digging the Gooseberry borders.
The reason why cutting off portions of the principal roots
causes a production of fibres appears to be this: the roots are
produced by organizable matter sent downwards from the stem ;
that matter, if uninterrupted, will flow along the main branches
of the root, until it reaches the extremities, adding largely to
the wood and horizontal growth of the root, but increasing, in
a very slight degree, the absorbent powers; but if a large limb
of the roots is amputated, the powers of the stem remaining
the same, all that descending organizable matter which would
have been expended in adding to the thickness of the ampu-
tated part is arrested at the line of amputation; and, unable to
pass further on, rapidly produces granulations to heal the
wound, immediately after which young spongioles appear, soon
establish themselves in the surrounding soil, and become the
points of new and active fibres. .

By many excellent planters, the advantage of deluging the

462 SUBSTITUTE FOR ROOT-WATERING.

roots with water, when newly planted, is much insisted on;
and in the case of large plants, particularly evergreens, it is,
undoubtedly, an essential process, partly because it causes the
flagging and injured roots to be immediately surrounded by an
abundant supply of liquid food, which, if the operation be
skilfully performed (see Macnab’s Treatise, pp. 24 and 25), will
not subsequently fail them; and partly because it is the only
means we possess of embedding with certainty all the fibres in
soil. When the earth is reduced to the state of puddle, it will
settle round the finest roots, and place them as nearly as
possible in the same condition, with regard to the soil, that
they were in before the plants were removed. But the opera-
tion of puddling is unnecessary to small plants, if removed at a
proper season of the year, especially to deciduous trees of all
kinds; and it may be injurious. This was long ago stated by
Mr. Knight (Hort. Trans. iii. 159), who found by experience
that when trees are very much out of health, in consequence of
having become dry, excess of moisture to the roots is often
fatal. This appears to arise from the languid powers of the
plant being insufficient to enable it to decompose and assimi-
late the water rapidly introduced into its system through
wounds in its root, or by the hygrometrical force of that part;
under such circumstances, water will dissolve the mucilaginous
and other matters intended for the support of the nascent buds,
which matters then putrefy, lose their nutritive quality, and
destroy the tissue. The substitute for root-watering contrived
by Mr. Knight in such cases was, to keep the plants in a situa-
tion shaded from the morning sun, and to moisten their bark
frequently ; by these means water is presented to them slowly
through the young cortical integument, which, partaking of the
nature of a leaf, slowly absorbs it, probably decomposes it, and
transmits it laterally through the liber into the alburnum,
where it finds itself in the ordinary channel of the ascending
sap, and thus enters the system of circulation. In this way
Mr. Knight succeeded in preserving American Apple-trees,
which reached him in the middle of April, in go bad a state
that they seemed “ perfectly lifeless and dry,” and “‘much better
fitted for fire-wood than for planting.”

CHAPTER XVII.

oe aes
OF THE PRESERVATION OF RACES BY SEED.

Tue manner of preserving the domesticated races of plants
by the ordinary means of propagation, such as cuttings, layers,
grafts, and so on, has already been explained; there are,
however, other topics connected with this important subject
which require to be touched upon.

Propagation by division is inapplicable to annuals or
biennials, or at least can be practised upon only a very limited
scale, and for such plants the gardener has to trust to seeds
alone. But itis an axiom in vegetable physiology that seeds
reproduce the species only, while buds (that is, propagation by
division) will multiply the variety; and this is undoubtedly
true as a general rule. But the skill and care of the gardener
often enable him to perpetuate by seed the many races of
cultivated annuals, varieties of the same species, improved and
altered by centuries of domestication, with as much certainty
as if he were operating with cuttings. Ina well managed farm
we see the various breeds of Turnips and Corn preserving each
its own peculiar character unchanged year after year, and yet
they must all be propagated by seed alone; and in gardens the
varieties are innumerable of Peas, Lettuces, Cabbages,
Radishes, &c., whose purity is maintained by the same means.
The manner in which this is effected is of the first importance
to be understood.

Although it is the general nature of a seed to perpetuate the
species only to which it belongs, and it cannot therefore be
relied upon, in ordinary cases, to renew a particular variety of

464 SIMILITUDE RETAINED BY SEEDLINGS.

the species, yet there is always a visible tendency in it to
produce a seedling more like its parent than any other form of
the species. Suppose, for example, the seed of a Ribston
Pippin Apple were sown; if untainted by intermixture with
other varieties, it would produce an Apple-tree whose fruit
would be large, sweet, and agreeable to eat, and not small, sour,
and uneatable like the Wilding Apple or Crab. The object of
the gardener is to fix this tendency, and he does it by means
not unlike those employed in the preservation of the races of
domesticated animals, namely, by “ breeding in and in,” as the
phrase is. An example of this will be more instructive than a
dissertation. The Radish has, when wild, a long pallid root;
among many seedlings one was remarked with roots shorter
and rounder, and more succulent than the remainder ; this was
a “sport,” to which all plants are subject. Had that Radish
been left among its companions, and the seed saved from them
all indifferently, the tendency would have disappeared for that
time ; but its companions were all eradicated, and the better
one produced its seed in solitude. The crop of young plants
obtained from this Radish was, for the most part, composed of
individuals of the wild form, but several preserved the same
qualities as the parent, and some, perhaps one only, in a higher
degree: in this one, then, the tendency was beginning to fix.
Again were all eradicated, except the last-mentioned individual,
whose seeds were carefully preserved for the succeeding crop ;
and, by a constant repetition of this practice for many years, at
last the habit to produce around and succulent root became so
fixed, that all the Radishes assumed the same appearance and
quality, and there were none left to draft or “rogue.” Every
variety of annual crop, not still in its wild state, must have
gone through this process of fixing; and thus the varieties of
earliness, lateness, and productiveness, colour, form, and
flavour observable in garden plants, have been secured for our
enjoyment.

The following experiment has been recorded by an intelligent
observer writing under the name of Lusor:—‘‘ If we breed live stock,
of whatever kind, we invariably select the parents from the best of our
flock or stud. So, with regard to flowers, no one would sow seed from

ORIGIN OF DOMESTICATED CARROTS. 465

inferior flowers, but would select from the best specimens ; and it is by
following up this system (even without more crossing than is performed
by Nature, and the bees), that great improvements have been made,
Thinking the same effects would accrue from a more careful selection of
culinary seeds, and that a much greater degree of productiveness might
be attained, about three years ago I began an experiment with long-pod
Beans; I carefully selected the finest and fullest pods for seed, taking
none with fewer than five Beans in each. Next year I had a good
sprinkling of pods with six seeds in each; these were saved for seed.
The following year there were many six-seeded pods and some with
seven. Following up the same plan, I find this season many more six
and seven-seeded pods, than of a less number, and some with eight
seeds; there are still a few plants which produce five-seeded pods, and
it is worthy of remark, that the five-seeded plants have seldom a six-
seeded pod upon them, but all fives; on the contrary, a six-seeded
plant generally has nearly all the pods bearing six Beans or more.”

By a similar process M. Vilmorin obtained domesticated Carrots from
wild ones in a few generations (Hort. Trans., 2nd ser., vol. ii., p. 348),
and the curious experiments of M. Esprit Fabre upon fixing the cha-
racter of Wheat in plants derived from an Atgilops, were conducted upon
the same principles (Journ. Agr. Soc., vol. xv., p. 167). In fact it is
thus, and thus only, that in annual plants any improvement in quality
can be rendered permanent. '

There is a class of facts apparently opposed to these views. It is said
that the fruit of Apple-and Pear-trees, raised from the seeds of varieties
of the highest excellence, will often be little better than that of
wildings. This obscure subject will be considered i in the next chapter,
in connection with hybridity.

But to fix a new habit in annual plants is not the only care
of the cultivator, whose patience and skill would be ill employed
if it could not be preserved. If a plant has some tendency ta
vary from its original condition, it has much more to revert to
its wild state; and there can be no doubt that, if the arts of
cultivation were abandoned for only a very few years, all the
annual varieties of our gardens would disappear, and be replaced
by a few original wild forms.

For.the means of preserving the races of plants pure, the
means vary according to the nature of the variety, As far as
concerns early and late varieties, it often happens that, as in
Peas, the tendency i in such plants to advance or retard their
season of ripening was originally connected with the soil or

climate in which they grew. A plant which for years is
Hi

466 SOIL AFFECTS PERMANENCE.

cultivated in a warm dry soil, where it ripens in forty days, will
acquire habits of great excitability ; and, when sown in another
soil, will, for a season or so, retain its habit of rapid maturity :
and the reverse will happen to an annual from a cold wet soil.
But, as the latter will gradually become excitable and pre-
cocious, if sown for a succession of seasons in a dry warm soil,
so will the former lose those habits, and become late and less
excitable. Hence, the best seedsmen always take care that
their early varieties of annuals are procured from warmer and
drier lands than those on which they are to be sown; our
earliest Peas, for example, are obtained from France, and the
next in time of ripening from the hot dry fields of Kent, the
Suffolk coast, and similar situations. ‘Thus, also, the Barley
grown on sandy soils, in the warmest parts of England, is
always found by the Scotch farmer, when introduced into his
country, to ripen on his cold hills earlier than his crops of the
same kind do, when he uses the seeds of plants which have
passed through several successive generations in his colder
climate ; and Knight found that the crops of Wheat on some:
very high and cold ground, which he cultivated, ripened much
earlier when he obtained his seed-corn from a very warm
district and gravelly soil, which lies a few miles distant, than
when he employed the seed of his vicinity. It would seem as
if this were in some way connected with the mere size of a seed,
the smallest seeds of a given variety producing plants capable of
fructifying quicker than those of a much larger size. We have,
at present, but little information upon this subject; but there
are some most curious experiments relative to it by Edwards
and Colin, who found that, although Winter Wheat cannot, in
France, be made to shoot into ear, if sown in the spring,
provided the largest grains of the variety are employed, yet
that, if the smallest grains are picked out, some will ear like
Spring Wheat (see Annales des Sciences Naturales, v. 1). Out
of 580 grains of Winter Wheat, sown on the 28rd of April, and
weighing 7 ounces 52 grains, not one pushed into ear, they
tillered abundantly, but the tillers were excessively stunted,
and concealed among the tufts of leaves ; in short, they formed
nothing but turf: on the other hand, of 530 other grains,

DEBILITY SECURES PERMANENCE IN SOME CASES. 467

weighing 8 ounces 56 grains, and sown on the same day, 60
pushed into ear.

Some facts tend to show that many of our most esteemed
garden plants are the result of debility, and that the succulence,
the sweetness, or the excessive size, which render them so well
suited for food, are only marks of unhealthiness. At least, it
is almost necessary to assume this to be the case, in order to
account for the efficacy of one of the modes of maintaining races
genuine. It is perfectly well known, that, if such an annual as
a Turnip is transplanted shortly before it runs to seed, the
characters of its variety will remain more strongly marked, and
have far less tendency to vary, than if, all other circumstances
remaining the same, the seed is saved without the process of
transplantation having been observed. Now, the only effect
of transplanting, at the season immediately preceding the
formation of a flower-stalk, would seem to be that of checking
the luxuriance of the individual operated on; or, upon the
above assumption, of increasing its debility of constitution.
And the same explanation appears applicable to a strange
custom mentioned by Mr. Ingledew as being practised in the
Dekkan, to prevent the rapid deterioration, in that climate, of
the Carrot, the Radish, and the Parsnep, the favourite table
vegetables of the inhabitants. He states that the Indian
gardeners, in the first place, prepare a compost of buffalo’s
dung, swine’s dung, and red maiden earth, mixed with water
till they have the consistence of paste, and scented with a small
quantity of asafcetida, the use of which seems to be
imaginary. “The vegetables for this operation are drawn,
when wanted, from the beds, when théy have attained about
one-third of their natural growth, and those plants are chosen
which are the most succulent and luxuriant; the tops are
removed, leaving a few inches from their origin in the crown
upwards; and a little of the inferior extremity, or tap-root, is
cut straight off likewise, allowing nearly the whole of the edible
part to remain, from the bottom of which to within about an
inch of the crown, are made two incisions across each other
entirely through the body of the vegetable, dividing it into
quarters nearly tothe upper end. They are then dipped into the:

Hu 2

468 DANGER OF HYBRIDISING.

compost until they are well covered by it, both externally and
internally, and are immediately placed in beds, previously
preparéd for their reception, at the distance of fifteen or
sixteen inches from each other, and so deep in the ground that
the upper extremities only appear in sight. They are after-
wards regularly watered; and when they take root, and fresh
tops have made some advance in growth, they require but little
attention. The tops speedily become large, and grow into
strong and luxuriant stalks, the blossoms acquire a size larger
than ordinary, and the seed they produce is likewise large and
vigorous, and superabundant in quantity. Innumerable roots
are thrown out from the incised edges of these plants; they
consequently receive a greater abundance of nourishment,
which occasions their luxuriant growth, causes them to yield
not only a more than ordinary crop of seed, but also of a
superior quality.” (Hort. Trans., v. 517.) The operation is
performed at the beginning of the dry season.

Besides “roguing out” (i.e. eradicating) all individuals
having the slightest appearance of degeneracy from among the
plants intended for seed, care must be taken that the crop
is so far from any other of a similar kind as to incur no risk of
being spoiled by the intermixture of its pollen. This
substance is conveyed to considerable distances by wind and
insects; and it is scarcely possible to be secure from its influence,
if similar crops are cultivated within some miles of each other ;
whence we find certain villages, in different parts of Europe,
celebrated ‘for the purity of the seed of particular varieties ;
this usually happens in consequence of the villagers cultivating
that variety and no other, as happens at Castelnaudary with
Beet, at Altringham with the Carrot, and in Norfolk with
different kinds of Turnip.

It is, however, to be observed, that the deterioratiou of seed
by bastardising happens to a greater extent to single plants
than to large masses of them; and it seldom happens that
good seed can be saved in a garden, or near gardens, from a
single individual. Solitary specimens of the Turnip, the
Cauliflower, and such plants, have been frequently selected on
account of their perfect characters, and been carefully planted

IMPORTANCE OF SETTING FLOWERS. 469

in gardens for a stock of seed, but their produce has as
frequently been of the worst description, bearing no resem-
blance to the parent. In such cases as these, it would seem as
if bees and other insects were attracted from all quarters by
the gay colours, or odour, of such isolated individuals, and,
arriving from a hundred flowers which they had previously
visited, bring with them so many sources of contamination.
When, however, the action of other flowers can be prevented,
as in the Melon and other unisexual plants, by “ setting,” the
largest, healthiest, and most cultivated varieties will yield seed
of the purest and finest quality. The tendency of Persian
Melons to degenerate in this country was remarked soon after
their introduction: and for a long time it was thought impos-
sible to preserve them for many generations. Knight, in his
numberless experiments upon this fruit, found that to be the
case, for his fruit at one time became less in bulk and weight,
and deteriorated in taste and flavour. But when he came to
consider that “every large and excellent variety of the Melon
must necessarily have been the production of high culture and
abundant food, and thata continuance of the same measures which
raised it to its highly improved state must be necessary to pre-
ventits receding, in successive generations, from that excellence;”
the cause of his Persian Melons deteriorating became apparent,
and he found that by bringing the cultivation of the plants to a
state of great perfection, he succeeded completely in rendering
the original quality hereditary, as long ‘as those precautions
were observed. No man was more successful in the cultivation
of the Melon than Knight, and it is in the memory of many
persons that the quality of his Sweet Melons of Ispahan has
very rarely been equalled. The peculiar methods that he
adopted appear to have been the complete and most careful
preservation of the leaves from injury of whatever kind, the
full exposure of their surface to light, and the augmentation of
the ordinary warmth of a Melon bed by availing himself of the
heat reflected from brick tiles with which his bed was paved.
To such an extent was his care of the leaves carried that he
would not allow even the watering to be performed “ over-
head,” but he caused his gardener to pour water from a vessel

470 CASE OF BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

of proper construction upon the brick tiles between the leaves
without touching them. .(See various papers upon the Melon
in the Horticultural Transactions, and especially that in
vol. vii., p. 584.)

While, however, such are the general principles upon which
the preservation of the peculiar qualities of the many races of
cultivated annuals necessarily depends, it must be confessed
that, according to report, there are circumstances upon which
science can throw no light, and which, if correctly stated,
depend upon conditions as yet unsuspected to exist. Of this
class is the following, respecting the Brussels Sprouts Cabbage,
given upon the authority of M. Van Mons.

“Much has been said of the disposition of this plant to
degenerate. In the soil of Brussels it remains true, and I have
lately observed it to do the same in Louvain; but at Malines,
which is the same distance from Brussels as Louvain, and
where the greatest attention is paid to the growth of vegetables,
it deviates from its proper character after the first sowing; yet
it does not seem that any particular soil or aspect is essential
to the plant, for it grows equally well and true at Brussels, in
the gardens of the town, where the soil is sandy and mixed
with a black moist loam, as in the fields, where a compact
white clay predominates. The progress of deterioration at
Malines was most rapid; the plants_raised from seed of the
true sort, which I had sent there, produced the sprouts in little
bunches or rosettes, in their true form; seeds of those being
saved, they gave plants in which the sprouts did not form into
little cabbages, but were expanded ; nor did they shoot again
at the axils of the stem. The plants raised from the seeds of
these last mentioned only produced lateral shoots with weak
pendant leaves, and tops similar to the shoots, so that in three
generations the entire character of the original was lost. From
a plant inthe state last described, seed was saved at my
request, and sent back to me. I had it sown by itself, and
carefully watched the plants in their growth; I was not long
in discovering that they retained the same character of
degeneration they had assumed at Malines, and preserved it
throughout the whole course of their growth, yielding pendu-

RACES ARE SAID TO WEAR OUT. 471

lous leaves with long petioles, and having no disposition to
cabbage. I suffered these plants to run to seed at a great
distance from my true sprouts, which the extent of my garden
allowed me easily to do. The second sowing brought them
back a good deal to their true character; the plants yielded
small cabbages regularly at each axil, but not generally full or
compact, and they did not shoot a second time, as the true sort
does. I again suffered these to run to seed, using the same
precaution of keeping them by themselves. I sowed the seed,
and this time the plants were found to have entirely recovered
their original habits, their head, and rich produce.” (Hort.
Trans., iii. 197.)

I continue to quote this passage for the sake of exciting
attention to the subject, but it stands so entirely alone that it
has probably arisen in some mistake. At all events it is now
ascertained that the quality of English-saved Brussels Sprouts
seed is fully equal to that from Brussels itself, as has been
conclusively shown by Mr. Judd, a skilful gardener in Southill
Gardens, near Biggleswade.

It hasbeen often asserted that propagation by seed is the
only natural process of multiplication, and that by propagation
by division the races of plants wear out; that when a tree or
other-perennial plant becomes unhealthy from old age, all the
offspring previously obtained from it by cuttings in all parts of
the world becomes unhealthy too. Is such a doctrine a reagon-
able inference from known facts? or is it forced upon us by
evidence although not deducible from mere reason? This
is an important question, to a laboured advocacy of which
pamphlets and newspapers have been abundantly brought
into requisition. The subject. has been already adverted to
in these pages; it is now necessary to examine it more
carefully.

The species of plants, like those of animals, appear to be
eternal, so far as anything mundane can deserve that name.
There is not the smallest reason to suppose that the Olive of
our days is different from that of Noah; the Asa dulcis stamped
upon the coins of Cyrene still flourishes around the ‘site of that
ancient city ; and the Acorns figured among the sculptures: of

472 RACES ARE SAID TO WEAR OUT.

Nimroud seem to show that the same Oak now grows on the
mountains of Kurdistan as was known there in the days of
Sardanapalus. There is not the slightest evidence to show
that any species of plant has become extinct during the present
order of things. All species have continued to propagate
themselves by seeds, without losing their specific peculiarities ;
some appointed law has rendered them and their several
natures eternal.

It would seem moreover that, with the exception of annuals
and others of limited existence, the lives of the individual
plants born from such seed would be eternal also, if it were
not for the many accidents to which they are exposed, and
which eventually destroy them. Trees and other plants of a
perennial nature are renovated annually—annually receding
from the point which was originally formed, and which in the
nature of things must perish in time. The condition of theix
existence is a perpetual renewal of youth. In the proper sense
of the word decrepitude cannot overtake them. The Acorus
creeps along the mud, ever advancing from the starting point,
renews itself as it advances, and leaves its original stem to die
as its new shoots gain vigour; in the course of centuries a
single Acorus might creep around the world itself, if it could
only find mud in which to root. The Oak annually forms new
living matter over that which was previously formed, the seat
of life incessantly retreating from the seat of death. When
such a tree decays no injury is felt, because the centre which
perishes is made good at the circumference, over which new
life is perennially distributed. But inevitable accidents inter-
fere, and trees are prevented from being immortal.

Species, then, are eternal; and so would be the indivi-
duals sprung from their seeds, if it were not for accidental
circumstances.

No reasonable person now pretends that the species of plants
disappear. It is alleged, on the contrary, that seeds renew the
languid vigour of a species as often as they are sown; and that
if an unhealthy plant is multiplied from seeds the immediate
offspring becomes healthy. It is also said that multiplication
by seed is the only natural mode of propagation known among

RACES ARE SAID TO WEAR OUT. 473

plants, and that all other kinds of increase are artificial, and
lead to debility. :

It would, we think, be difficult to find an hypothesis more
entirely at variance with notorious facts. That propagation by
seed is a natural method of multiplication is doubtless true ;
but to say that no other natural means exist is absurd. The
Sugar-cane is rarely propagated by seeds; its natural mode of
propagation is by the stem, which when blown down by the
storm emits roots at every joint. Of this natural property
man has availed himself as a means of artificially extending
the plant. The Tiger Lily naturally propagates itself by
bulbs, formed in the bosom of its leaves; we never saw it form
a seed. The Strawberry has been more propagated by its
runners than by its seeds; and where do we find any signs
of debility there? The Jerusalem Artichoke was introduced
before the year 1617; for nearly two centuries and a half it
has increased itself entirely by tubers, and never by seed.
Couch Grass incréases chiefly by its creeping roots ; we wish
we could adduce this, at least, as one instance of failing vigour
in a plant whose seeds are but little yielded. It therefore is
not true that plants, multiplied much or wholly by other means
than seeds, become on that account unhealthy. Every gardener
knows that his Achimenes are principally multiplied by little
scaly bodies resembling tubers, and that these are formed in
such abundance as to render seed unnecessary. In short, the
denial of this could only arise from an entire unacquaintance
with common facts. Such examples sufficiently show that
Nature does provide other means of propagating plants than
seeds, and that tubers are one of those means. The Hyacinth
and the Garlic propagate naturally, not only by seeds, but also
-by the perpetual separation of their own limbs, known under
the name of bulbs, their bulbs undergoing a similar natural
process of dismemberment; and so on for ever. The Potato
plant belongs to a similar class. Another plant bends its
branches to the ground; the branches put forth roots, and, as
soon as these roots are established, the connection between
parent and offspring is broken, and a new plant springs into
independent existence. Man turns this property to account

474 RACES DO NOT WEAR OUT.

by artificial processes of multiplication ; one tree he propa:
gates by layers, another by cuttings planted in the ground.
Going a step further he inserts a cutting of one individual
upon the stem of some other individual of the same species,
under the name of a bud or a scion, and thus obtains a
vegetable twin.

It is not contended, for there is nothing to show, that these
artificial productions are more short-lived than either parent,
provided the constitution of the two individuals is in perfect
accordance. There is not the smallest evidence—it has not
been even conjectured—that if a seedling Apple-tree is cut into
two parts, and these parts are reunited by grafting, the dura-
tion of the tree will be shorter than it would have been. in the
absence of the operation. No one indeed alleges’ that the
Garlic of Ascalon has only a short life, although it has been
propagated by sub-division from the time when it bore the
name of Shummin, and fed the labourers at the Pyramids;
nor do we know that the bulb-bearing Lily is supposed to have
less inherent vigour than if it were multiplied by seeds instead
of bulbs.

Seeds, however, are said in all instances to produce healthy
plants. But this, like the previous assertions, will not bear
exact investigation. The health of a seedling depends upon
that of the seed. Under no circumstances will unhealthy
seed yield vigorous offspring in the first generation; this is
proved every day by what comes from grain debilitated by age.
And there cannot be found a gardéner, of any large experience,
who does not know that seedlings will exhibit every diversity
of constitution from health to decrepitude. This has been
strikingly shown in the case of the Potato; which, when
attacked by disease, in 1845, was said to be the victim of dege-
neracy, and to require renewal by:fresh seed-sowing. Attempts
were made in all directions to carry out this idea, and large
quantities of seedling potatoes were raised. Among them great
diversity of vigour and other qualities was, as usual, observed;
some were much more healthy than others, as was always the
case; but the evidence thus obtained failed to support the
hypothesis that renewal by seed would prevent disease. On

SEEDS WILL NOT ALWAYS PRODUCE HEALTHY PLANTS. 475

the contrary, the seedlings were often more prone to disease
than their parents.

But although it cannot be said that species wear out or
degenerate, whatever their mode of propagation, it is confidently
asserted that varieties, themselves artificial productions, obey
another law, and that they do in fact perish from gradual loss
of vitality. Passing by the objection that nobody has yet been
able to show how what is called a species among. plants really
differs from what is called a variety, a very little examination
appears to negative the idea of a degeneracy of race being any
part of the System of the Universe. .

Some maintain that vegetable, like animal life, has its fixed
periods of duration, and that there is a time beyond which the
debility incident to old age cannot be warded off; and this is true,
so far as individuals are concerned. But it is to confound indi-
viduals with races to infer from this that all the cultivated races
of plants require to be incessantly renewed by seed, in the
absence of which precaution they gradually become unhealthy,
and unfit for cultivation. It is thought that although the wild
Potato possesses indefinite vitality, yet that the varieties of it
which are brought into cultivation pass their lives circumscribed
within very narrow limits; and the same doctrine has been
held concerning fruit-trees.

The first person who proposed this theory was the late
Thomas Andrew Knight, who, in the latter part of the last
century, finding that the orchards of Herefordshire no longer
contained healthy trees of certain varieties of Apple, which
were said to have flourished fifty years before, and failing in
his attempt to restore health to such varieties by grafting,
assumed that old age had overtaken them, and that they were
incurable. ‘Thence he extended the theory to all other plants;
aud here and there writers on vegetable physiology, rather out
of respect to Mr. Knight's great name than from any correct
examination of the facts for themselves, have blindly adopted
his views. But reason and evidence are alike opposed to the
conclusion, which seems to have sprung out of a mistaken
application of the laws of animal life to that of vegetables, and
a desire to push analogy beyond its proper limits.

476 SOME PLANTS ARE NATURALLY SHORT LIVED.

All who understand the nature of plants, and the manner in
which they grow, and have witnessed that incessant renewal
of their vitality with which Providence has so wonderfully
endowed them, would hesitate to adopt Knight’s views except
in the presence of facts capable of no other possible inter-
pretation. No physiologist can separate the nature of what
gardeners call varieties (of course mules are not here included),
from that of a wild race. In their intrinsic qualities they are
the same. It can make no difference in the nature of a plant
whether it is sown by a gardener or by winds, birds, animals,
or other agents. The Oak which springs up in a forest is not
in the smallest physiological particular different from that
which rises from the bed of a nurseryman. The Cabbages
which load the waggons of a market gardener are in their
essence the same as those which sprout forth from the sea-
beaten cliffs of the ocean. They may be greener or redder,
more succulent and larger; but they are physiologically the
same. We therefore must dismiss from our argument the
word variety, which only leads to a confusion of ideas.

Among plants, as among animals, there are ephemeral and
perennial species. The butterfly perishes in a few hours;
nothing can defer the arrival of that early death which is the
portion of such beings. Man, on the contrary, is endowed with a
longevity the limit of which is hardly definable. In plants we
have annuals, biennials, and perennials, to the last. of which
belong all trees and bushes. Now, wild perennial plants,
whether woody or herbaceous, whether forming a trunk or a
mere permanent root, have never yet been shown by any trust-
worthy evidence to be subject to decrepitude, arising from old
age. On the contrary, every new annual growth is, as has just
been stated, an absolute renewal of their vitality, in the absence
of disturbing causes. Hence the enormous age at which trees
arrive. A thousand years is still youth to a forest-tree which
no accident has injured; and there is no intelligible reason
why it should not, if guarded from violence, continue to grow
to eternity. Travellers believe that they have found, in the
forests of Brazil, trees that were seedlings in the age of Homer.
There seems to be no doubt that the Wellingtonias, now

ASCERTAINED LONGEVITY OF RACES. 477

growing in California, were born in the days when Mahomet
was in full career. ,

It is true that plants do in reality perish commonly without
attaining any such longevity; and that constitutional feeble-
ness is notoriously one of the accompaniments of advancing
age. But this arises from external, not intrinsic, causes. The
soil which surrounds them is exhausted, their roots wander
into uncongenial land, water in unnatural excess is introduced,
the food they require is withheld, violence rends them, men
mutilate them, severe cold disorganizes them, and these and
other causes produce disease, which may end in death. But
this is very different from dying of mere old age; and for
practical purposes it is material to draw the distinction.

If no evidence exist to show that wild plants suffer from
mere old age, we cannot admit such a property to be incident
to those which are cultivated. ,

Nevertheless, what are called facts, have been adduced to
prove that if plants do not die of old age in a wild state, yet
that they incontestably do wear out when artificially multiplied
by division. In opposition to this it would seem to be suffici-
ent to quote the White. Beurré Pears of France, which French
writers assure us have been thus propagated from time imme-
morial, and which exhibit no trace of debility; or the
Jerusalem Artichoke already named; or the cultivated Vines
of which the very varieties known to the Romans have been
transmitted by perpetual division, and without deterioration or
decrepitude, to our own day. The Vitis precox of Columella is
admitted by Dr. Henderson, on the authority of the most
trustworthy writers, to have been the Maurillon or Early
Black July Grape of the present day; the nomentana to have
been the German traminer ; the grecula the modern Corinth
or Currant ; and the dactylt our Cornichons or Finger Grapes.
The oldest known variety of Pear is the autumn Bergamot—
believed by Pomologists to be identically the same fruit culti-
vated by the Romans in the time of Julius Cesar,—that is to
say, the variety is nearly two thousand years old.

Still it is affirmed that some cultivated plants have really
worn out. The Redstreak, the Golden Pippin, and the Golden

478 THE THEORY OF WEARING OUT

Harvey Apples are among the number quoted. The first of
these is little known to us, and we have no evidence about it;
but the Golden Pippin and Golden Harvey are certainly not:
capable of being employed in support of Knight’s theory.
Both are to be found in various places at this moment in as
perfect health as they ever enjoyed. In the United States we
are assured by American writers that all our diseased European
Apples and Pears exist in the highest vigour. The Golden
Pippin is among the most healthy Apples of Madeira: the
Golden Harvey is in many good gardens. Of the former,
healthy trees were many years since shown to exist in Norfolk;
in warm dry places it had no particular appearance of suffer-
ing. Recruited by the fine climate of France, the Golden
Pippin has been received back to this country in as healthy
a state as ever, and is now growing in the garden of the
Horticultural Society. The old Nonpareil was well known in
the time of Queen Elizabeth ; in cold places it cankers, and no
doubt always has cankered; but what can be more healthy
than that variety in favourable places? One writer infers
because the Gooseberry growers of Lancashire find the weight
of their fruit diminishes “ after the varieties have been cultiva-
ted some time,” that therefore these varieties are dying of old
age, and he has expended no inconsiderable quantity of learn-
ing in attempting to fit this speculation to the Potato. So
impressed, indeed, is he with a conviction of its truth, that he,
as well as others, recommends people to be sent to Peru, or
wherever else the Potato grows wild, in order to get seeds and
tubers of vigorous wild plants. But what is called evidence
breaks down wherever it is examined; and this part of the
argument about the wearing out of races, proves to be baseless.

“Certain French writers, about this time, gladly seized Knight’s theory
as an explanation of the miserable state into which the fine old sorts of
Pears had fallen about Paris, owing to bad culture and propagation.
They sealed the death-warrant, in like manner, of the Brown Beurré,
Doyenné, Chaumontel, and many others. Notwithstanding this, and
that ten or fifteen years have since elapsed, it is worthy of notice that
the repudiated Apples and Pears still hold their place among all the
best cultivators in both England and France. Nearly half the Pear-
trees annually introduced into this country (the United States) from

IS CERTAINLY ERRONEOUS. 479

France are the Doyenné and Beurré. And the ‘extinct variéties’ seem
yet to bid defiance to theorists and bad cultivation.” — Downing.

““We may easily conceive,” says De Candolle, ‘‘that every cultivated
variety owed its origin to some special circumstance, which once
occurred, and but once. In such a case the variety has been multi-
plied by division, and every plant so obtained from it has been a
portion of the same individual; which accounts for their all being
exactly like each other. An identity of origin in all the plants of the
same variety has led some physiologists to imagine that these varieties or
fractions of an individual might die of old age. ‘But it is difficult to
admit, upon such a single fact, an hypothesis opposed to all other facts.
That varieties will last, so long as man takes care of them, appears to
be proved by many of them having been preserved from the most
remote periods. But it is also certain that negligence will cause some
to disappear, just as accident or industry brings others into existence.”
—(Phys. Végétale, p. 731, somewhat abridged.)

Although an examination of evidence leads to the conclusion,
that the wearing out of the races of plants by old age does not
occur, yet it is not intended to deny the accuracy of the state-
ments made by some recent writers on the subject. We may
admit their facts, but reject their reasoning, and the inferences
they would have us draw.

In The Florist’s Directory by James Maddock, 1792, are
the following observations :—‘ The constitution of Anemones.
undergoes considerable changes with age, which is, perhaps, in
a greater or smaller degree, the case with all other vegetables.
The Anemone will not last more than twelve or fifteen years
without degenerating, unless it be frequently removed to a
different soil and situation; nor will any removals protract or
prolong its existence more than thirty or forty years. It
generally blows in its greatest degree of perfection from the
fifth to the tenth or twelfth year, after which it becomes
gradually smaller and weaker, and if the flower was originally
very full and double, with age it loses that property; the
petals diminish in number, become small and irregular, and
finally the sort perishes. It has more than once occurred that
the same sort, although in possession of many persons,
residing at remote distances from each other, has been entirely
lost in one season, without the possibility of accounting for the
fact in any other manner than the above.” In a foot-note the

*

480 DISEASED GRAFTS WILL CONTINUE DISEASE.

author observes—‘“ The Ranunculus will last about twenty or
twenty-five years in perfection, after which it degenerates and
perishes.” It does not appear that this period of duration is
confined only to seminal varieties of vegetables, for although
the original wild parent still continues to flourish, as it has
done since its creation, yet there is no evidence to show that
the wild individuals are each more long-lived than those which
are domesticated. The fact appears to be that Anemones and
Ranunculuses are very short-lived species. In a wild state
they are annually renewed by self-sowing; in gardens they
enjoy a forced extension of vitality secured by artificial means,
which are, however, temporary in their effect, just as annuals
may be made to live for two or three years by similar means.

In like manner when we are told that grafts taken from an
old diseased fruit-tree produce young diseased plants, as is
undoubtedly the case, it is not to be inferred that its race is
wearing out. The only inference which the fact justifies is
that when an individual becomes diseased, a limb from that
individual, if transferred to another plant, carries its disease
with it. To prove the theory of degeneracy it is necessary to
show, what has never yet been done, that no care can preserve
a perennial variety from decrepitude.

In the case of the Apple-trees and Gooseberry-bushes lately
adverted to this seems to be the true explanation of the facts.
relating tothem. A tree, from some cause or other, becomes
unhealthy; a piece cut from it and put upon another tree
carries its disease with it; again divided, the disease is again
propagated, and this will go on as long as the unhealthy plants
remain exposed to the influences which originally caused
their bad health. But change the circumstances, place the
plants under more favourable circumstances, keep off the cause
of the evil, and the evil will gradually disappear, as has actually
happened to our diseased fruit-trees when carried to better
climates than our own.

The best recent statement, with which I am acquainted, of facts in

favour of wearing out will be found in a paper communicated to the
Gardeners’ Chronicle (1853, p. 372) by Mr. Masters of Canterbury.

CHAPTER XVIII.

_
ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF RACES.

Wuar has been stated in the preceding chapter, concerning
the preservation of the races of domesticated plants, is in some
measure applicable to their improvement; because the very
means employed to preserve those peculiarities of habit, which
render them valuable, will, from time to time, be the cause of
still more valuable qualities making their appearance. There
are, however, other points of great importance on which the
gardener has dependence.

Sudden alterations in the quality of seedling a often occur
from no apparent cause, just as those accidental changes, called
“sports,” in the colour or form of the leaves, flowers, or fruit,
of one single branch of a tree, occasionally break out, we know
not why. Of these things, physiology can give no account;
but it is certain that, when such sports appear, they indicate a
violent constitutional change in the action of the limb thus
affected, which change may be sometimes perpetuated by.seed,
and always by propagation of the limb itself where propagation
is practicable. It is possible that even new forms of shrubs
might be procured by keeping these facts in view, and that
climbers might be deprived of their climbing habits, for it is
known that the handsome evergreen bush called the Tree Ivy,
which grows erect, with scarcely the least. tendency to climb,
has been procured by propagating the fruit-bearing branches of
trees of considerable age.

A sport is a mutatio per saltwm, or, a sudden change of one

thing into another, different in some very striking respect, as
It

482 SPORTS ARE OR MAY BECOME PERMANENT,

when a Peach-tree produces a smooth fruit (a Nectarine) amon
its own downy brood. These sudden changes seem to b
essentially different in their nature from the gradual alteration
which cultivation brings about in all plants; they are violer
transformations produced by unknown causes, and in whic
there is a natural tendency to preserve the altered condition
Some examples and their known results will make thi
plainer.

The annual Clarkia pulchella bears naturally a purple flower
Unexpectedly, among other seedlings, a plant appeared in whicl
the flowers were pure white—a vegetable Albino. That was :
sport. The seed was saved and sown; the produce consiste
of many purple and many white-flowering individuals. Th
purples which had lost the new tendency were removed, ant
seed again saved from the pure whites; the next batch o
seedlings was much more white than purple; the next batcl
was all white, and thus the oxiginal sport was fixed.

When the Provins Rose produced a branch on which thi
flowers were buried among those glandular. expansions of thi
calyx and its footstalk which we call mossiness, the first Mos:
Rose was born :—that again was a sport.

When some Celosia suddenly formed its flowers upon :
thickened, flattened (fasciated) stalk, and they became mor:
crowded than usual, we had a Cockscomb, and that again was :
sport. The plant thus changed, by whatever cause, had gaine:
a constitutional tendency to grow in the cockscomb or fasciate:
manner; by repeatedly saving seed from the most fasciate:
and the dwarfest seedlings, that which was at first a mer
tendency or predisposition became as fixed a constitutiona
character as was acquired by the greyhound when he firs
became a new variety of some other. kind of dog.. Thi
fasciated character was at first a mere monstrosity, such as wi
see around us here and there in a great variety of plants
which no one has yet thought of fixing the habit. If it ha
a tendency to disappear under neglect, as those who buy chea}
seeds know that it has, so, on the other hand, it has also :
tendency to increase under skilful management, as was show
‘by Mr. Andrew Knight when he, by one single effort, brough

SPORTS ARE OR MAY BECOME PERMANENT. 483

a Cockscomb plant to measure eighteen inches across and only
seven inches high.*

An analogous change is that represented at Fig. XCVIL.,
which is not at all uncommon in the Canterbury Bell, whose
flowering stem becomes fasciated, and the flowers run together

Fig. XCVII.—Monstrous Canterbury Bell.

into a magnificent crescent-shaped head. Gardeners have
never attempted to fix this striking character, and yet it might
perhaps be secured as the Cockscomb.

Mr. Salter, of Hammersmith, observed among his seedling
Dahlias one which produced a number of green scaly flower-
heads, but no perfect flowers. This was propagated and every
plant was covered with similar heads of scales. All the plants
were vigorous, but there was not a single ‘perfect flower-head
upon any one of. them, so that the sport became immediately
fixed. (See Fig. XCVIIL.)

M. Esprit Fabre observed that a kind of wild Grass (Aigilops
ovata) was subject to a sport (Zi. triticoides). Of that sport he
sowed the seeds, and he found that while on the one hand there

* This was in 1820. A drawing of this specimen hangs in the library of the
Horticultural Society. The manner in which the experiment was conducted is
described in the Hort, Trane., vol iv. yp. 821,

T1rQZ

484 ARGILOPIAN WHEAT

Was no disposition to return to its original form, there was on
the other a decided tendency to sport still more. Of that
tendency he availed himself with admirable patience. Year by
year the change went on—but slowly. Little by little one part
altered or another.
The hungry grain
grew plumper; the
flour in it increased;
its size augmented.
The starved ears
formed other spike-
lets; the spikelets
at first containing
but two flowers at
last became capable
of yielding four or
five. The straw
stiffened, the leaves
widened, the ears
lengthened, the corn
softened and aug-
mented, till at last
Wheat itself stood
revealed, and of
such quality that it
was not excelled on
the neighbouring
farms.
‘ It is, in fact,
Fig. XCVIII.—Monstrous Dahlia. through — attention
to sports that many
of the most striking of our flowers and fruit have been obtained.
A single dwarf Larkspur sports by chance to double; the seeds
of the sport are saved carefully and sown; three-fourths of the
seedlings are single; but a few are double; the first are thrown
away, the best of the second are saved for seed, and the second
crop of seedlings comes truer. Thus arise the race of double
Larkspurs. A double Larkspur next sports to a stripe, that is

AND OTHER SPORTS. 485

to say, bands of red or of violet appear upon the pale ground of
the petals of a few flowers; these flowers are marked, the seed
is saved, and so begins the breed of what are called Uniques,
at one time the pride of the flower-garden, though now dis-
carded for newer favourites. In the same way, first came
Camellias, Chrysanthemums, and others. The old purple
Chrysanthemum accidentally sported to buff: the buff branch
was struck, proved true to its new nature, and became the
ancestor of a race of other buffs. The colour of a red Camellia
“breaks ;” red streaks appear in the flowers of a ‘sporting
branch; that branch is separated, and grafted upon a stout
stock; on goes the sportive branch, retains its tendency,
produces striped flowers all the better for the new blood infused
into them, and the tendency is fixed; skilful gardeners cut it
limb from limb, and every mutilated morsel starts into life
another variegation.

It is the same with vegetables ; a wild Carrot accidentally
found in cultivated ground refuses to run to seed, but builds
up a root stouter than any Carrot had before. The watchful
eyes of a gardener remark the change; the changeling, still
a sport, flowers at last; its precious seeds are saved, and
committed to still richer ground. Nine-tenths of the seedlings
run back to the wild form—but a very few prove obedient to
the will of man, shake off their savage habits, refuse to flower
till the second year, spend their autumn and winter in the
further enlargement of their roots, then rise up into blossom
invigorated by six months’ additional preparation, and. yield
other seeds, in which the fixity of character, or habit of domes-
tication, is still more firmly implanted. And thus begins the
race of Carrots.

Nectarines, Pears, Peaches, Plums, aa other valuable fruits,
must be supposed to have in numerous instances derived their
origin from similar circumstances; they were far more the
children of accident than design, and we see to what they have
come.

Gardeners, ‘i, should keep a. santehtal eye upon every
tendency to sport, which peas may remark among the plants
entrusted to their care.. The sports, howeyer unpromising,

486 CONSTITUTIONAL TENDENCY TO VARIATION.

should be made the subject of repeated experiment; year after
year seeds should be saved, seed-beds “ rogued,” and attempts
made to secure fixity of character. If they end in nothing, as
they often will, such experiments have the advantage of also
costing nothing ; but if they lead to a good result a permanent
-gain is secured.

The tendency of plants to variation being so general, and in many
cases so remarkably great, we may reasonably expect that by taking
proper advantage of it we may obtain much, if not all that we would
wish. ‘ We see every day the wide range of seminal diversities in our
gardens,” said Dean Herbert, in the Journal of the Horticultural
Society. ‘‘ We have known Dahlias from a poor single dull-coloured
flower break into superior forms and brilliant colours; we have seen a
Carnation, by the reduplication of its calyx, acquire almost the appear-
ance of an ear of Wheat, and look like a glumaceous plant; we have
seen Hollyhocks in their generations branch into a variety of colours,
which are reproduced by the several descendants with tolerable certainty.
We cannot, theréfore, say that the order to multiply after their kind
meant that the produce should be précisely similar to the original type ;
and, if the type was allowed to reproduce itself with variation, who
can pretend to say how much variation the Almighty allowed? "Who
can say that this glorious scheme for clothing the earth was not the
creation of a certain number of original plants, predestined by Him in
their reproduction to exhibit certain variations, which should hereafter
become fixed characters, as well as those variations which even now
frequently arise, and become nearly fixed characters, but not absolutely
so, and those which are more variable, and very subject to relapse in
reproduction ?”

But we are by no means destitute of the power of procuring,
with some certainty, improved varieties, by an application to
practice of physiological principles. In the last chapter has
been shown the importance of securing the production of seed
by plants in the most healthy state possible, because a robust
parent is likely to afford a progeny of similar habits to itself.
In annuals, however, this is apparently restrained within
narrower limits than in woody plants, from the great difficulty
of fixing a new peculiarity in the former, and the facility with
which it may be effected in the latter case, by means of buds,
cuttings, grafts, and similar modes of propagation. The object
of the scientific gardener who desires to improve the varieties

THE BEST SEEDS PRODUCE THE BEST BREEDS. 487

of plants upon principle will be, then, by artificial means, to
bring the parent from which seed is to be saved as near as
possible to that state at which he desires the seedling to arrive.

It is known that the abstraction of fruit and flowers
augments the vigour of the branches, or of the parts connected
with them, and that the removal from the former of any part
which takes up a portion of the food employed in the support
of the flowers increases their efficiency. Thus those varieties
of the Potato, which will neither flower nor fruit otherwise,
may be made to do both by stopping the development of tubers;
and, on the other hand, the size and weight of the tubers them-
selves are increased by preventing the formation of flowers and
fruit. The course, then, to take, in obtaining the largest
possible tubers in a new variety of the Potato, would be, in the
first place, to effect that end temporarily, but during several
successive seasons, by abstracting all the flowers and fruit, and
by such other means as may suggest themselves; and then to
obtain the most perfect seed possible by a destruction of the
tubers during the season when seed is finally to be saved. Mr.
Knight found, in raising new varieties of the Peach, that, when
one stone contained two seeds, the plants these afforded were
inferior to others. The largest seeds, obtained from the finest
fruit, and from that which ripens most perfectly and most early,
should always be selected (Hort. Trans., i. 89); and, in his
incessant efforts to obtain new varieties of fruit of other
genera, he had reason to conclude that the trees, from blossoms
and seeds of which it.is proposed to propagate, should have
grown at least: two years in mould of the best quality; that
during ¢hat period they should not be allowed to exhaust them-
selves by bearing any considerable crop of fruit; and that the
wood of the preceding year should be thoroughly ripened (by
artificial heat when necessary) at an early period in the autumn;
and, if early. maturity in the fruit of the new seedling plant is
required, that the fruit, within which the seed grows, should be
made to acquire maturity within as short a period as is con-
sistent with its attaining its full size and perfect flavour. Those
qualities ought also to be sought in the parent fruits, which are
desired in the offspring; and he found that the most perfect

488 IMPORTANCE OF CROSSING.

and vigorous progeny was obtained, of plants as of animals,
when the male and female parent were not closely related to
each other, (See the Horticultural Transactions, i, 165.)
There are no processes known to the cultivator so efficacious
in producing new varieties as that adverted to in the last
paragraph, that is to say, muling or cross-breeding; and it
is to these operations, more than to anything else, except
accident, that we owe the beauty and excellence of most of our
garden productions; more, however, I think, to cross-breeding
than to muling. By cross-breeding is meant the intermixture
of varieties ; by muling or hybridising, that of species. It was
by the first of these processes that have been so greatly multi-
plied and improved our fruits for the dessert, and the gay flowers
that adorn our gardens. The Pelargonium, the Calceolaria,
the Dahlia, the Verbena, and a thousand others—what would
they be, but simple wild flowers, without the power of man
exercised in this way? “To the cultivators of ornamental
plants,” says Mr. Herbert,* “the facility of raising hybrid
varieties affords an endless source of interest and amusement.
He sees in the several species of each genus that he possesses
the materials with which he must work, and he considers in
what manner he can blend them to the best advantage, looking
to the several gifts in which each excels, whether of hardiness
to endure our seasons, of brilliancy in its colours, of delicacy in
its markings, of fragrance, or stature, or profusion of blossom;
and he may anticipate, with tolerable accuracy, the probable
aspect of the intermediate plant which he is permitted to
create: for that term may be figuratively applied to the
introduction into the world of a natural form which has
probably never before existed in it. In constitution the mixed
offspring appears to partake of the habits of both parents;
that is to say, it will be less hardy than the one of its parents
which bears the greatest exposure, and not so delicate as the

* See much the most valuable and practical accounts of cross-breeding and muling
which have been yet published in regard to horticulture, in the Amaryllidacce of Dean
Herbert, p. 335, et seq., and in the, same author’s papers published in the Journal of
the Horticultural Society, vol. ii. pp. 1 and 81. See also a most important memoir
upon the same subject, by Gartner, translated by the Rev.'M. J. Berkeley, in the same
work, vol. v., p. 156, and vol. vi., p. 1.

EXPERIMENTS IN CROSSING. 489

other: but, if one of the parents is quite hardy, and the other
not quite able to support our winters, the probability is, that
the offspring will support them, though it may suffer from
a very unusual depréssion of the thermometer, or excess of
moisture, which would not destroy its hardier parent.”

‘In few characters is the influence of muling more striking than in
the size and colour of blossoms. In many closely allied species, which
differ but little in habit or foliage, the colour of the corolla is of great
importance. In a wild state it is for the most part constant, and is
often indicative of distinct groups or species. In other groups, on the
contrary, it is extremely variable, and is notably different at different
periods of growth. Where, however, colour is the most constant and
distinctive, union is often practicable, and in general the consequence
of hybridisation is a complete derangement of the laws on which such
constancy of hue depends. Neither are the hues resulting from the
union necessarily intermediate. Blue and yellow, for instance, do not
produce green, as is proved by Verbascum pheniceum and phlomoides.
Gladiolus cardinali-blandus exhibits the less brilliant hue of the male
parent rather than the splendour of the mother; and in some cases the
tone of colour of one of the parents is exhibited under a more brilliant
tint, as in Nicotiana suaveolenti-glutinosa,

‘Little has been done at present in the hybridising of cereals, but
Herbert believed that more useful varieties than at present exist of
Wheat, Oats, and Barley, might be produced by combining the fruit-
fulness of one variety with the hardiness of another, to both of which
might be added the thin skin and consequent superior weight of a third.
Knight’s wrinkled Peas are a proof of what may be done by hybridising,
and it is probable that much might be effected in Beet, Cabbages, Car-
rots, Celery, &c., by especial attention to this point.

“Amongst woody plants also there are instances of peculiarly
luxuriant growth, such as Lycium barbato-afrum. Varieties therefore
might be produced, of much more rapid growth, which for some pur-
poses might have their value, though the quality of the timber would
probably suffer.

“ Another peculiarity of hybrids is their precocity, of which advan-
tage may be taken where early fruit is desirable, or where the summers
are not long enough to ripen the later fruit. _

‘‘A very important quality of hybrids is also their power in very
many cases of enduring a greater degree of cold than the pure species
from which they are derived, and hence the acclimatisation of many
useful plants by means of hybrid forms or varieties may be effected.
The hybrids, for instance, of Nicotiana are far less susceptible of frost
than their pure parents, a circumstance of very great importance if the
cultivation of Tobacco were to be materially extended.

490

GZERTNER’S CONCLUSIONS.

“The great fruitfulness of many hybrid varieties is also a material
point as regards their useful qualities, especially in orchards and vine-
yards, and where ornament, effect, or what the Germans call esthetic
botany in its various branches is concerned, hybrids supply an endless
subject of experiment.

“And lastly, the longer duration of many hybrids and their more:
persistent larger blossoms make them especial objects of favour and
delight.

“The great difficulty in the way of experiment is the frequent want
of fertility in the seeds of hybrids, and their tendency to wear out,
wherever there is a possibility of impregnation from neighbouring
varieties.

‘The simple hybrid reverts to the mother type by repeated impreg-
nation with the maternal pollen, or when the paternal pollen is applied,
goes forward to the type of the father: the conversion of the mother
into the father is, however, seldom synchronous with the contrary
change. Nicotiana rustica was changed in this manner by Kélreuter
into N. paniculata, and similar changes have been effected by others.

‘When hybrids are impregnated a third or fourth time with the
pollen of the original male parent, they gradually approximate more
and more to the male type, and at last are not distinguishable from it,
except perhaps in a less degree of fertility, though this negative sign
vanishes sooner or later. There is no certainty as to the number of
successive impregnations necessary to produce this complete change.
Different species exhibit in this respect very different results. Nico-
tiana rustico-paniculata, even in the fifth degree, is occasionally com-
pletely sterile either as to the stigma or anthers, but especially as
regards the latter.

“The tendency of varieties to return to the maternal type seems to
be a peculiarity general to the vegetable kingdom, especially if left to
themselves, free from the trammels of cultivation, This return, how-
ever, in the second generation of simple hybrids, or of paternal mules of
the second degree, is always effected by fructification, and not by any
other mode of propagation. It seems also more easy than the approach
to the paternal type, though in neither case does it take place to a
considerable extent, nor does it take place in all genera, and when it
does occur the produce is less fertile.”—Gertner.

The following are the practical instructions for hybridising given by
Mr. Isaac Anderson, one of our most skilful operators in this way :—

‘To those who would attempt the hybridising or cross-breeding of
plants, I will now offer some suggestions for their guidance. It is an
essential element to success that the operator be possessed of indo-
mitable patience, watchfulness, and perseverance. Having determined
on the subjects on which he is to operate, if the plants are in the open

ANDERSON’S PRACTICE. 491

ground, he will have them put into pots, and removed under glass, so
as to escape the accidents of variable temperature—of wind, rain, and
dust, and, above all, of insects. A greenhouse fully exposed to the
sun is best adapted for the purpose, at least as regards hardy and
proper greenhouse plants. Having got them housed, secure a corner
where they are least likely to be visited by bees or other insects. The
plants which are to yield the pollen, and the plants which are to bear
the seed, should be both kept in the same temperature; but where this
cannot be managed, pollen from an outside plant, in genial summer
weather, may be used, provided it can be got; for there is a class of
insects which live exclusively on pollen, and devour it so fast after the
pollen vessels open, that, unless the plant is under a hand-glass (which
I would recommend), it is scarcely possible to get any pollen for the
required purpose. To secure against chances of this nature, a sprig
with opening bloom may be taken and kept in a phial and water inside,
where it will get sufficient sun to ripen the pollen. But here, too,
insects must be watched, and destroyed if they intrude. An insect
like, but smaller, than the common hive bee, which flits about by fits
and starts, on expanded wings, after the manner of the dragon-fly, is
the greatest pest, and seems to feed exclusively on pollen. The hive
bee, the humble bee, and wasp, give the next greatest annoyance. All
these may be excluded by netting fixed over apertures from open
sashes or the like. Too much care cannot be bestowed on excluding
these intruders, whose single touch, in many cases, might neutralise
the intended result; for the slightest application of pollen native to the
parent plant is said by physiologists to supersede all foreign agency,
unless, perhaps, in the crossing of mere varieties; and the truth of
this observation consists with my own experience. Without due pre-
caution, now, the labour, anxiety, and watchfulness of years may
issue in vexation and disappointment, As a further precaution still,
and to- prevent self-fertilisation, divest the blooms to be operated on
not only of their anthers, but also of their corollas. Remove also all
contiguous blooms upon the plant, lest the syringe incautiously
directed, or some sudden draft of air, convey the native pollen, and
anticipate the intended operation. The corolla appears to be the
means by which insects are attracted; and though, when it is removed,
the honey on which they feed is still present, they seem puzzled or
indifferent about collecting it; or if, haply, they should alight on the
dismantled flower (which I never have detected), the stigma is in most
cases safe from their contact. It will be some days—probably a week
or more, if the weather be not sunny—ere the stigma is in a fit condi-
tion for fertilisation. This is indicated in many families, such as
Ericacee, Rosacee, Scrophularine, Aurantiaces, &c., by a viscous
exudation in the sutures (where these exist) of the stigma, but gene-
rally covering the entire surface of that organ. In this condition the

492

ANDERSON’S PRACTICE.

stigma may remain many days, during which fertilisation may be
performed : and this period will be longer or shorter as the weather is
sunny, or damp or overcast, In certain families, such as the Malyacee,
Geraniacee, &c., where the stigma divides itself into feathery parts,
and where the viscous process is either absent or inappreciable by the
eye, the separation of these parts, the bursting of the pollen, the matu-
rity of the stigma, and all which a little experience will detect, indicate
the proper time for the operation, sunny or cloudy weather always
affecting the duration of the period during which it may be successfully
performed. As to the proper time and season best adapted for such
experiments, a treatise might be written ; but here a few remarks must
suffice. As for the season of the year, from early spring to midsummer
I would account the best period; but, as I have just observed, I regard
all cold, damp, cloudy, and ungenial weather as unfavourable. On
the other hand, when the weather is genial, not so much from sun
heat as at.times occurs fromthe atmosphere being moderately. charged
with electricity, when there is an elasticity, so to speak, in the balmy
air, and all nature seems joyous and instinct with life, this, of all
others, is the season which the hybridist should improve, and above all
if he attempt muling, The hybridist should be provided with a pocket
lens, a pair of wire pincers, and various coloured silk threads. With
the lens he will observe the maturity of the pollen and the condition of
the stigma, whethér the former has attained its powdery, and the latter
(if such is its nature) its viscous condition. If he find both the pollen
and the stigma in a fit state, he will, with the pincers, apply an anther
with ripened pollen, and by the gentlest touch distribute it very thinly
over the summit of the stigma. The operation performed, he will
mark it by tying round the flower-stalk a bit of that particular coloured
silk thread which he wishes to indicate the particular plant which bore
the pollen, and at the same time tie a bit of the same silk round the
stem of the latter, which will serve till recorded in a note-book, which
should be kept.by every one trying experiments on a large scale.

“It is quite unnecessary to offer any directions as to the results to
be effected. If it is desired to reproduce the larger, finer formed, or
higher coloured bloom of a plant having a tall, straggling, or too robust
a growth, or having too large or too coarse foliage in a plant without
these drawbacks, I need not suggest to select, in another species of the
same family, a plant of an opposite character and properties—say of
dwarf compact growth, handsome foliage, and free flowering habit ;
and if such can be obtained, work with it, making the latter the seed-
bearer. Or, if it be desirable to impart the fragrance of a less hand-
some kind to another more handsome, I would make the cross upon the
latter. I cannot speak with certainty from my own experiments how far
perfume may be so communicated; but I have some things far advanced
to maturity to test it; and I entertain the hope that fragrance may not

ANDERSON’S PRACTICE. 493

only be so imparted, but even heightened, varied, and improved. Or
if it be desired to transfer all, or any valuable property or quality,
from a tender exotic species to a native or hardy kind, work upon the
latter; for so far as constitution goes, I agree with those who hold that
the female overrules in this particular. I would offer this caution to
those who wish to preserve the purity of certain flowers for exhibition,
especially those having white grounds, not to cross such with high
coloured sorts. I once spoiled a pure white-bloomed Calceolaria for
exhibition by crossing it with a crimson sort; all the blooms on those
branches where the operation had been performed, being stained red,
and not the few flowers merely on which the cross was effected. In
this note, already too long, I cannot further illustrate my remarks, by
recorded experiments in the various tribes upon which I have tried my
hand; but I cannot leave the subject without inculcating, in the
strongest manner, the observance of the rules I have laid down to
prevent vexatious disappointments. If any doubts arise about the
cross being genuine or effectually secured, let not the seeds be sown.
Three, four, five, and even six years, must oftentimes elapse with trees
and shrubby things ere the result can be judged of; and if eventually
it prove a failure, or even doubtful, it is worse than labour lost, inas-
much as it may mislead. If there is no great departure from the
female parent, the issue is to be mistrusted. It is singular, if well
accomplished, how much of both parents is blended in the progeny.
Gentlemen eminent as physiologists have read nature’s laws in these
matters a little differently from what my own humble experience has
taught me, and assigned to the progeny the constitution and general
aspect of the one parent, while they gave the inflorescence and fruit to
the other. I have crossed and inverted the cross, and can venture to
give no evidence on the point, except, perhaps, as to constitution, to’
which the seed-bearer, I think, contributes most. A well-managed
hybrid should and will blend both parents into a distinct intermediate,
insomuch so as to produce often what might pass for a new species. If
the leaning be to one more than another, it is probably to the female,
though this will not always be the case. Again, it is asserted that a
proper hybrid—i.e., one species which is crossed with another species,
which is separate and distinct from it—will produce no fertile seeds.
This does not accord with my observations. Dr. Lindley has remarked
very justly (Theory of Horticulture, p. 69), ‘But facts prove that
undoubted hybrids may be fertile.’ My hybrid, Veronica Balfouriana
(an intermediate between V. saxatilis and V. fruticulosa), seeds, I
would say, more abundantly than either parent ; and-the progeny from
its self-sown seeds I find to be of various shades of blue, violet, and
red, rising in my garden, some having actually larger, finer, and
higher-coloured blooms than the parent bearing the seed; and I am
familiar with the same result in other things. Yet I am far from

494 PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN CROSSING.

asserting fertility in the produce between two members of allied but
distinct genera—such, for example, as in the Brianthus, which I have
found to be unproductive, whether employed as the male or female
parent. As above conjectured, its parents were far too remote in
nature’s own arrangement. The hybridist has a field before him ever
suggestive of new modes of acting. He may try, as I have done, what
may be effected under various tinted glass. My persuasion is that I
effected from a pale yellow a pure white-grounded Caleeolaria, by
placing the plants under blue shaded glass, by which the sun’s rays
were much subdued. He may also apply chemical solutions to plants
with ripening seeds. Nature, in producing, as it. sometimes does,
plants with blooms of colours opposite to those of the parent, must be
governed by some law. Why may not this law be found out? For
example, under what influence was the first white Fuchsia, the F.
Venus Victrix, produced, the purest yet of all the race, and the source
from which all the whites have been derived ?”—McIntosh’s Book of
the Garden.

In the many successful attempts made by Mr. Knight to
improve the quality of fruit-trees by raising new varieties, his
method was to obtain crossbreds by fertilising the stigma of
one variety of known habits with the pollen of another also of
known habits. But, in doing this, his experiments were not
conducted at random, and without due consideration; on the
contrary, we learn from himself, that he was very careful in
selecting the parents from which his crossbreds were obtained.
He found that the general opinion, that the offspring of cross-
bred plants as well as crossbred animals usually presents great
irregularity of character, is unfounded; and that if a male of
permanent habits, and of course not crossbred, be selected, that
will completely overrule the disposition to sport, “the perma-
nent character always controlling and prevailing over the vari-
able.” He tells us that he usually propagated from the seeds
of such varieties as are sufficiently hardy to bear and ripen
their fruit, even in unfavourable seasons and situations, without
the protection of a wall; because, in many experiments made
with a view to ascertaining the comparative influence of the
male and female on their offspring, he had observed in fruits,
with few exceptions, a strong prevalence of the constitution and
habits of the female parent. This, however, is the reverse
of the result at which Dean Herbert had arrived in the very

DEAN HERBERT’S INFERENCES. 495

great number of experiments performed by himself on that
subject, he believing that the male parent generally influences
the character of the foliage, and the female that of the flowers.
(Amaryllidacee, p. 848, 377.) Ata later period of his experi-
ments he even ventured to say, “as far as I have observed, the
prevailing disposition of crossbred vegetables seems to assimi-
late more to the male than to the female parent, though the
appearance may possibly be sometimes the reverse, and often
strictly intermediate; as far as I have seen, if we obtain a
cross between a hardy and a tender species, the produce, where
the male is hardy, will be much more hardy than where the
female is hardy and the male tender. This is very important
and very conspicuous in crossbred Rhododendrons.” (Journ. of
Hort. Soc.) It does appear to me that, in the majority of cases,
Dean Herbert’s opinion is the more correct of the two, yet I
fear there is too little certainty in the results of hybridising
to justify the establishment of any axiom upon the subject.

In the midst of many experiments conducted without exactness, from
which no safe conclusion can be drawn, there are some which, in the
hands of such men as the late Dean, seem to justify the inference, that
in general the properties of the male parent will be most conspicuous in
the hybrid. For example, he crossed the long-yellow-cupped common
Daffodil, with the small red-edge-cupped Poet’s Narcissus; and the seeds
of the common Daffodil furnished a bulb with most of the attributes
of the Poet’s Narcissus, The same experimentalist also obtained out
of a capsule of Rhododendron ponticum, inoculated by Azalea pontica,
seedlings which had entirely the habit of the latter or male parent.
In like manner the arborescent crimson-flowered Rhododendron altacle-
tense was raised from the seed of the dwarf pallid R. catawbiense
hybridised by the arborescent crimson R. arboreum ; and when the
common scarlet Azalea, with its crimson flowers and narrow leaves,
was inoculated at Highclere by Azalea pontica, Mr, Gowen found that

its seeds produced plants much more like the male than the female
parent. Exceptions, or apparent exceptions to this, no doubt exist, and
hybrids could be found which are either half-way between their father
and mother, or more like the mother than the father ; but as far as any
means of judging at present exist these would seem to be the exception
and not the rule; and therefore the greater influence of the male may
be taken as a tolerably safe guide in experiments upon this subject.
Some highly interesting experiments, by M. Lecog, upon muling
Marvels of Peru, are on record. (Gardeners’ Chronicle, 18538, p. 483.)

496

GERTNER’S INFERENCES,

Hybrids were obtained between the species Mirabilis Jalapa and M.
longiflora, A plant of the latter was crossed with the former, but not
one fertile seed was obtained. From M. Jalapa fertilised with pollen
of M. longiflora, some plants were raised which produced seed. The
flowers were of various colours; and the roots of these hybrid plants
were of enormous size—three and a-half feet in length. The general
conclusion to which these experiments led was, that hybrids between
species are exactly intermediate, at least in the case of the Mirabilis.
But he arrives at the singular result that hybrids from hybrids do not
follow this law, but become infinitely varied and far removed from their
original type ; that all hybrid plants are not sterile, and although they
may produce seeds but sparingly, yet when the plants from these are
crossed with their own parents, the plants resulting are of great
fertility. This completely justifies the opinion that no absolute rules
for judging of the effect of an experiment in muling have been yet
discovered.

The conclusions of Gertner as to this point are as follows :—

1. Various notions have existed, both in the animal and vegetable king-
dom, with respect to the degree of influence which the sexes have in the
production of hybrids: according to one authority, the male, in animals,
giving origin to internal qualities, the female to external; to another,
the former to the cellular system, the latter to the nervous, &c.
Amongst plants, the difference of opinion is as great; but the truth
appears to be, that no general rule can be laid down—in Digitalis the
influence of the female parent being predominant, in Nicotiana that of
the male, and the differences exhibited by individual species are no less
decisive against any universal law. And this is no less true as to
comparative degrees of fruitfulness. Indeed, the identity of the
produce, when the sexes are reversed, is a sufficient proof of its non-
existence.

2. When impregnation takes place between two pure species, it is an
universal rule, ‘‘ that the characters of the parents never remain pure
and unaltered in the formation of the hybrid.” In general every part
of the new production is modified, so that it presents a decided differ-
ence from either of the parents, though resembling the one more than
the other. In no case, however, are anomalous forms generated bearing
no resemblance to either. At the same time they are not produced
according to mathematical formule and ratios; their differences are
mingled in unequal proportions.

3. When the hybrid is impregnated by the sivas male fe the
result is much the same as in simple hybrids self-fertilised, both in
respect of the types produced and the degree of fertility. Various
forms are raised from one capsule, and the different individuals’do not
present the same degree of susceptibility for impregnation. Different
capsules, too, offer very different results. When these mules are in

MULING IS CONFINED WITHIN NARROW LIMITS. 497

turn self-impregnated, either naturally or artificially, they are com-
monly more fruitful than they were after the first impregnation. As
might be expected, the seedlings approach nearer to the paternal type:
when the original simple mules in their second generation and the
paternal hybrids of the second degree exhibit a return to the type of
the maternal ancestor, such a return is never perfect, but only partial.

This power of muling, properly so called, is confined within
very narrow limits, and can hardly be said to exist at all
between species of different genera, unless under that name are
comprehended some of the spurious creations of inconsiderate
botanists. There are, indeed, many cases of species very
closely allied to each other which it is either impossible to
mule, or so difficult that no one has yet succeeded in effecting
it. Mr. Knight never could make the Morello breed with the
common Cherry. I have in vain endeavoured to mule the
Gooseberry and Currant, and we do not possess any garden
production known to have been produced between the Apple
and the Pear, or the Blackberry and the Raspberry, any of
which might have been expected to intermix. As to mules
obtained between plants of distinct genera, we have, no doubt,
upon record, some experiments said to have been performed
successfully in crossing a Thorn-Apple with Tobacco, the Pea
with the Bean, the Cabbage with the Horseradish, and so on;
but Mr. Herbert regards these cases, and I think with great
reason, aS apocryphal, and not to be relied on; the fact being,
as he truly states, “that in this country, where the passion for
horticulture is great, and the attempts to produce hybrid inter-
mixtures have been very extensive during the last fifteen years,
not one truly bigeneric mule has been seen.”

He never could cross a Bomarea and Alstraemeria, near as they are to
each other. But he succeeded, without difficulty, in making Hermione,
Ajax, and Queltia breed together, as might have been anticipated from.
the unbotanical grounds upon which these spurious genera have been
carved out of Narcissus, The long and carefully conducted experi-.
ments of Gertner ended in the same result; and this author remarks,
that supposed cases of muling between Cucumis and Melo, Cheiranthus
and Matthiola, Brassica and Raphanus, Lychnis and Saponaria,
Pisum and. Vicia, and some others, all seem to be more or less uncertain
in some part of their history.

KEK

498 CROSS-BREEDING EXTREMELY EASY.

On the other hand, cross-breeding will take place as readily
among plants as among animals, and it is difficult to estimate
the alteration which this process has really produced, although
unperceived by us, in the amelioration and alteration of long
cultivated plants. We cannot reasonably doubt that a process
so simple as that of dusting the stigma of one plant with the
pollen of another, which must be continually happening in
our gardens, either through the agency of insects or the
currents in the air, and which, where it takes place between
two varieties allied to each other, must necessarily produce a
cross,—we cannot suppose, I say, that this occurs in our
crowded gardens and orchards at that time only when we per-
form it artificially.

The operation itself, although so simple, consisting in
nothing more than applying the pollen of one plant to the stigma
of another, nevertheless requires to be guarded by some pre-
cautions. In the first place, it is requisite that the flower
whose stigma is to be fertilised should be deprived of its own
anthers before they burst, otherwise the stigma will be self-
impregnated, and although superfcetation is not impossible,
yet it is not likely to occur. Then, again, the application of
the stranger pollen should be made at the time when the
stigma is covered with its natural mucus; if not, the pollen will
not act, either in consequence of the necessary lubrification of
itself being withheld, from the stigma being too young, or
because the stigma, from age, has lost its power of receiving
the action of the pollen. Neither should the stigma be in
any way injured after fertilisation has apparently taken place.
The art of fertilisation consists in the emission, by the
pollen, of certain tubes of microscopical tenuity, which
pass down the style, and eventually reach the young seed,
with which they come in contact; and, unless this contact
takes place, fertilisation misses. Now the transmission of the
pollen tubes from the stigma to the ovule, through the solid
style, is often very slow, sometimes occupying as much as a
month or six weeks, as in the Mistletoe.

Gertner’s experiments lead him to these practical con-
clusions :—1. The time when impregnation will take place is

ELECTIVE AFFINITY. » 499

comprised within certain limits, varying with the particular
species. Very early experiments in hybrid fecundation before
the expansion of the blossom seldom succeed, and no impreg-
nation will take place with strange pollen when the stigma has
arrived at such a state that its own pollen is not able to
fecundate the whole ovary. In any case, however, there is no
difference in the hybrid types resulting from the experiment.
2. The stigma, when ready for the reception of the pollen,
secretes in every case a greater or less quantity of moisture,
which doubtless acts an important part in the process of
fecundation. In certain cases it may be thought necessary to
apply some fluid to the stigma for the better retention and
development of the pollen grains. For this purpose the honey
secreted by the flower, or that of some allied species, may be
used without any modification of the produce. Oily fluids,
such as various purer oils, also have been used with success,
though not uniformly. Water, on the contrary, is generally
unfavourable, though in some water-plants, in strict analogy
with the observations of Spallanzani on the fecundation of the
ova of certain aquatic reptiles, it has clearly no injurious if not
a beneficial influence. 8. In some cases, especially in those
where hybridisation is rare, outward conditions, such as
increased temperature, predispose plants for hybrid impreg-
nation, and cultivation in general is favourable to this end, as it
is to the production of deviations from a normal condition.
Varieties are usually far more disposed to mix than the species
from which they are derived, and hence the great difficulty of
keeping our most valuable vegetables pure and genuine. Of
all genera Calceolaria seems to present the greatest tendency
to hybridise ; the pure species unite with the utmost facility,
and their hybrids are all fertile and disposed to fresh
admixture.

He also attaches great importance to what he calls ELECTIVE
AFFINITY, or the preference which the stigma has for the pollen
of one plant rather than of another. He found that when
the stigma is dusted at the same time, or within certain limits,
with its own pollen in sufficient quantity, and that of some

other species, the latter is wholly inert, and the result is plants
KK 2

500 HYBRIDS ARE DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE.

not differing in any respect from the matrix; nor is the
effect. different if a division or portion of the stigma be dusted
with either pollen separately, precaution being taken that
there shall be no possibility of admixture. The elective
affinity for the natural pollen makes the other completely
negative. :

After all his experience Gertner was finally obliged to con-
fess that experiment shows a great, perhaps the greater portion
of plants not to be susceptible of hybridisation. Out of seven
hundred species submitted to nearly ten thousand distinct sets
of experiments only two hundred and fifty true hybrids were
raised. Allowing the possibility of repeated experiments
proving that union is possible in some cases where it has not
yet been ‘obtained, the result is sufficiently striking, showing
especially when taken in conjunction with the large number of
failures where success has in some cases been obtained, not
only that the least portion of the vegetable kingdom is capable
of hybrid fecundation, but that as a general rule it is a forcing
of nature. It, moreover, seems to be a general rule that the
pollen of a species possessing a greater elective affinity
neutralises the influence of that of one less closely allied in
that respect, as also does that of the matrix the fertility of the
pollen of another species.

Those who occupy themselves in attempts at improving the
quality of cultivated plants should be aware of this; namely,
that the real quality of either the fruit or the flower of a seed-
ling cannot be ascertained when they are first produced, for it
is only as plants advance in age that the secretions necessary
for the perfect production of either the one or the other are
elaborated. Of this fact the first produce of the Black Eagle
Cherry-tree afforded a striking example. A part of it was
sent, with other Cherries, to the Horticultural Society; and it
was then, in the Fruit Committee, pronounced good for
nothing. It was so bad, that Mr. Knight, who raised it, would
most certainly have taken off the head of the tree, and employed
its stem as a stock, but that it had been called the property of
one of his children, who sowed the seed which produced it, and
who felt very anxious for its preservation. It has now become

MODE OF OBTAINING DOUBLE FLOWERS. 501

one of the richest and finest fruits of its species which we
possess.

It may be expected that some mention should here be made
of double flowers, and of the manner in which they are to be
obtained. But I confess myself unable to discover, either in
the writings of physiologists, or in the experience of gardeners,
or in the nature of plants themselves, any sufficient clue to an
explanation of the causes to which their origin may be ascribed.
There are, however, several facts, apparently connected with
the subject, which deserve mention.

A double flower, properly so called,* is one in which the
natural production of stamens or pistils is exchanged for petals,
or in which the number of the latter is augmented without any
disturbance of the former; in other words, it is a case of the
loss, on the part of a plant, of the power necessary to develope
its leaves in the state of sexual organs. But what causes that
loss of power we do not know. It can hardly be a want of
sufficient food in the soil; for double flowers (the Narcissus,
for instance) become single in very poor soil. On the other
hand, it can scarcely be excessive vigour, for no one has ever
yet obtained a double flower by promoting the health or energy
of a species.

On the contrary, the French rely upon a debilitating process to pro-
cure double flowers, if we are to credit a writer in the Revue Horticole,
who expresses himself thus :—Every gardener who sows seed, wishes to
obtain plants with double flowers, so as to obtain blossoms which pro-
duce the greatest effect. Every donble plant is a monstrous vegetable,
To produce this anomaly, we must attack the principle of its creation,
that is to say, the seed. This being granted, let us examine in what
way these seeds ought to be treated. If, after having gathered the
seeds of Malcolmia annua, or Ten-weeks Stock, we sow them imme-
diately afterwards, the greatest number of the seedlings will produce
single flowers, whilst, on the contrary, if we preserve these same seeds
for three or four years, and then sow them, we shall find double flowers
upon nearly all the plants. To explain this phenomenon, we say that

* What is called a Double Dahlia is misnamed ; and so are all so-called double
composite flowers. The appearance of doubling is ene in these plants by a mere
alteration of the florets of their disk into the form of florets of the ray, a very different
thing from double flowers,

502 DOUBLE FLOWERS ACCIDENTAL,

in keeping a seed for several years, we fatigue it and weaken it. Then,
when we place it in a suitable soil, we change its natural state, and
from a wild plant make it a cultivated one. What proves our position
is, that plants, in their wild state, shedding their seeds naturally, and
sowing them as soon as they fall to the ground, yet in a long succession
of time scarcely ever produce plants with double flowers. We think,
then, after what we have said, that whenever a gardener wishes to
obtain double flowers, he ought not to sow the seeds till after having
kept them for as long a time as possible.—This practice ought to be
observed with all plants that we wish should produce double flowers,
for all varieties of the Brompton Stocks, ‘Pinks, &e.

When plants are excessively stimulated by unusually warm
damp weather at the period of flowering, their flowers in such
cases sometimes become monstrous: but the effect of this is to
lengthen their axis of growth, and to form true leaves instead
of floral organs, just the reverse of what occurs in a truly
double flower; the varieties of Rosa gallica often exhibit this
kind of change. In damp cloudy summers, some flowers
assume the appearance of being double, by the change of their
sexual organs into small green leaves, as occurred very
generally to Potentilla nepalensis in the summer of 1839, a
representation of which is given at page 90; but there was, at
the same time, scarcely a trace of any tendency, on the part of
those leaves, to assume the colour or texture of petals.

There is, evidently, a greater tendency in some flowers to
become double than in others, and especially in those having
great numbers of stamens or pistils. All our favourite double
flowers, Hepaticas, Psonies, Camellias, Anemones, Roses,
Cherries, Plums, Ranunculuses, belong to this class ; and, in
proportion as the natural number of stamens diminishes, so do
both the disposition to become double, and the beauty of the
flowers when altered. The Pink and Carnation with ten
stamens are the handsomest race next to those just mentioned ;
while the Hyacinth, the Tulip, the Stock, and the Wallflower
with six stamens, and the Auricula and Polyanthus with five,
form altogether an inferior race, if symmetry of form, and
regularity of arrangement in the parts of the flower, are
regarded as beauties of the highest order. If the mere circum-
stance of a plant having but a small number of stamens be a

BUT MAY BE PRODUCED ARTIFICIALLY. 503

bar to its beauty when made double, how much greater an
obstacle to it must be the natural production of unsym-
metrical flowers. This occurs in the Snapdragon, which,
with a five-lobed corolla, has -but four stamens; and the
consequence is, that, when it becomes double, the flower is a
confused crowd of crumpled petals issuing from the original
corolla, —

Attempts have been made to produce double flowers by
artificial processes, but I never heard of the smallest success
attending such cases, unless the tendency to their production
had already manifested itself naturally ; as in the Stock, which
will frequently become single from having been double, in
which case its original double character may be recovered. A
mode of effecting this has been described by Mr. James Munro.
(Gard. Mag., xiv. 121.) Having a number of Single Scarlet
Ten-week Stocks, he deprived them of all their flowers as soon
as he found that five or six seed-vessels were formed upon each
spike, by which means he compelled all the nutritive matter
that would have been expended upon the whole flower-spike
and its numerous seed-vessels to be concentrated in the small
number which he left; and the result, he says, was, that from
the seed thus saved he had more than 400 Double Stocks in
one small bed.

Gertner asserts that in the production of double blossoms,
itis a matter of indifference whether the pollen be taken from
a double or single variety, provided the flower of the mother is
double.

There can be little doubt that, if any original change to a
double flower can be effected by-art, it will be more likely to
occur with respect to those species which have an indefinite
number of stamens, where the tendency to this monstrosity
already exists. It is not many years since the Chryseis
(Eschscholtzia) californica, a polyandrous plant, was introduced
to our gardens: and I, at one time, made some attempts to
render it double, conceiving it a good subject for experiment
on that account, but I had no success; it, however, accidentally
became semi-double in Mrs. Marryat’s garden, at Wimbledon ;
and we still see semi-double plants in our gardens.

504 HIGHLY-CULTIVATED RACES ARE SAID TO

It appears from evidence, the truth of which can scarcely be
questioned, that in some cases the most highly improved races
of cultivated plants suddenly revert to, or far towards, their
wild state when raised from seed.

M. Chevreuil, in an ingenious essay on “ Species,” makes the
following statement :— In North America, neither Pear-trees,
nor Apple-trees, nor Peach-trees exist in a wild state, belonging
to the species of our own continent. The Europeans, in
settling there about three centuries since, carried thither the
seeds of these trees ; but instead of reproducing our cultivated
variety, they yielded at least in Virginia, in the first generation,
trees producing nothing but wild fruit, too austere to be eaten by
people accustomed to our cultivated fruits. The seeds of the
American fruits of this first generation, produced trees whose
fruit was a little less bad than those of the preceding gene-
ration; and finally, from generation to generation, there was a
perceptible improvement, but still of such a nature that the
fruits last produced are still inferior to our own; and, what is
remarkable, those which have improved the most from seed
differ from the fruits of Europe in taste and perfume. These
facts, which M. Poiteau collected in Virginia five-and-forty
years ago, prove the modifications produced by a succession of
generations of plants, the issue of a single seed, and at the
same time justify my definition of a species. And if it is said
that the seeds of the first fruit-trees sent to Virginia could not
have belonged to varieties possessing qualities of the same
excellence as the varieties now cultivated, nevertheless the fact
would remain that fruits gathered in Virginia were absolutely
different from those which their ancestors produced at the same
time in Europe.”

Thatcher, in his American Orchardist, confirms this. He
says, that “a hundred seeds of the Golden Pippin will produce
large-leaved Apple-trees (the Golden Pippin itself has a small
leaf), bearing fruit of a considerable size; but the tastes and
colours of each will be different, and none will be the same in
kind with the Pippin. Some will be sweet, some bitter, some
sour, some mawkish, some aromatic; some yellow, others
green, red, or streaked.”

REVERT SUDDENLY TO THE ORIGINAL TYPE. 505

From this it would seem that we are to infer that the climate
of N. America is so unfavourable to the Apple and Pear, that
when these trees were first raised there from seeds, they imme-
diately lost their domesticated qualities, and went back to their
original wild nature. If the facts are really as stated, we must
infer that the seeds had been accidentally crossed in Europe
with wild races ; which is quite possible, and this becomes the
more probable when it is recollected that in the remote times,
three centuries ago, to which the American authorities refer,
wild Pears and Apples must have been much more abundant
than now, and their pollen was far more likely to contaminate
domesticated plants.

We can scarcely doubt indeed that something of this kind
‘occurs even now. Mr. Thompson states as the result of his
own great experience that “Seedlings from the same tree not
only differ widely from each other, but even those from pips,
taken from the same Apple, produce fruit possessing qualities
entirely different. For example, the excellence of the Ribston
Pippin need only be mentioned; but the “Sister Ribston
Pippin” was a white, semi-transparent, sour-fleshed Apple, or
rather a large Crab. It therefore appears that the same fruit
may contain the germs of good and bad, both protected by the
same pulp and nourished by the same juice. Whether the fruit
of the parent tree of these- possessed intrinsic merit has not
been ascertained; but this we know, that many seeds from the
Ribston Pippin have been raised, yetnone of its progeny are found
to inherit its peculiar flavour and excellence. The same remark
applies to the old Nonpareil.” From these facts he infers that
there is a strong tendency in plants from seeds of cultivated
Sruit-trees of high quality to revert immediately to the state of
wildings.

Undoubtedly this may be so, but we incline to refer such
sudden changes much more to accidental cross-breeding. We
do not now receive from our colonies complaints of the bad
quality of the seedlings raised from highly domesticated
European fruits, and yet for at least twenty years the
Horticultural Society has annually sent considerable quantities
of Peach, Nectarine, Plum, Cherry, and Apricot stones, pips of

506 THAT IS SCARCELY TRUE.

Apples and Pears, and seeds of Strawberries, Raspberries,
Gooseberries, and Currants, always selected from the finest
varieties cultivated in England. It is, moreover, entirely at
variance with the experience of the great Belgian fruit growers.

(See De Jonghe on raising Pears from seed in the Gardeners’
Chronicle, 1855, p. 21.)

CHAPTER XIX.

——

OF RESTING.

A GARDENER is said to rest a plant when he exposes it to a
condition in which it cannot grow, aud which is analogous to
its winter state. For many parts of gardening, especially what
relates to forcing, and the management of exotic plants, this is
a subject of the first importance.

If we look over the different climates of the world, we shall
find that in each there are a season of growth, and a season in
which vegetation is more or less suspended; and that these
periodically alternate, with the same regularity as our summer
and winter. I do not know that there is in nature any excep-
tion to this rule: for even in the Tierra templada of Mexico,
where it is said that, at the height of 4000 to 5000 feet, there
constantly reigns the genial climate of spring, which does not
vary more than 8° or 9°, intense heat and excessive cold being
alike unknown, and the mean temperature varying from 68° to
70°, we cannot suppose that, even in that favoured region, a
season of repose is wanting; for it is difficult to conceive how
plants can exist, any more than animals, in a state of incessant
excitement. Indeed, it is pretty evident that these countries
have a period when vegetation ceases; for Xalapa belongs to the
Tierra templada, and we know that the Ipomoea purga, an
inhabitant of its woods, dies down annually like our own
Convolvuli. We also know that Jonquils, Hyacinths, and
Tulips when grown in the Bahamas, where they are unable to
take the rest which is natural to them, refuse to flower.

But, although all plants have naturally a season of repose,
their winter is not in all cases cold. In the topics it is marked

508 PERIODS OF RESTING

by coolness and dryness, while the summer is rainy and very
hot; and in extra-tropical countries the two seasons vary in
their character, according to latitude and local circumstances.

In some parts of Persia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia, the
summer heats are excessive, while the winters are rendered
cold by the proximity of mountains. Bagdad is described as
having a cold winter, because of the proximity of the mountains
of Koordistan; yet its heats are intense: in August, 1819, the
thermometer stood at 120° in the coldest parts of the house,
and at 108° at midnight in the open air. This was preceded
by heavy rains, which raised the Euphrates 7} feet above the
ordinary level: the whole country was like a vapour bath, and
multitudes of persons dropped down dead: twenty-two in three
days in a single caravan. In the northern provinces of Mexico
the winters are of German rigour, while the summers are those
of Naples and Sicily; the Tierra fria of its southern provinces
has however a very different climate, the mean heat of the
summer being 76°, and the winters so mild that the thermo-
meter only occasionally falls below 82°.

At the Cape of Good Hope there are districts in which the
period of wet is long and very severe; and many of the favour-
ite flowers of our gardens are produced by those districts.
The Karroos are plains of great extent, destitute of running
water, with a soil of clay and sand, coloured like yellow ochre
by the presence of iron, and lying on the solid rock. During
the dry season the rays of the sun reduce the soil nearly to the
hardness of brick: Fig-Marigolds, Stapelias, and other fleshy
plants, alone remain green ; nevertheless, the bulbs and tubers
of Irids and other plants are able to survive beneath the sun-
scorched crust, which appears indeed to be necessary to their
nature. But in the wet season these bulbs are gradually
reached by the rain; they swell beneath the earth; and at last
develope themselves so simultaneously that the arid plains
become at once the seat of a charming verdure. Presently
afterwards, myriads of the gay flowers of Irids and Mesembry-
anthemums display their brilliant colours: but in a few weeks
the verdure fades, the flowers disappear, hard dry stalks alone
remain; the hot sun of August, when in those latitudes the

IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 509

days begin to lengthen, completes the destruction of the few
stragglers that are left, the Karroo again sinks into aridity and
desolation, and the desert reappears. What succulents survive
are covered with a grey crust, and derive their nourishment
only from the air. In other parts of the Cape of Good Hope
the mean range of the thermometer in winter is 48° to 98°,
with cold rain, while that of the summer is from 55° to 96°,
with dry days and damp nights.

In the Canaries we have the season of growth from Novem-
ber to March, when rains fall like those of Europe, and the
mean temperature is 66°; the period of rest is April to
October, when it never rains, and the mean temperature is 78°.

In Brazil the seasons are thus described by Mr. Cald-
cleugh :—‘‘ The summer begins about the months of October
or November, and lasts until March or April. This is the wet
season; but the rains by no means descend from morning till
night, as in some other tropical countries, but commence
generally every afternoon about four or five o’clock with a
thunderstorm. The heaviness of the rain can only be con-
ceived by those who have been in these latitudes. This fall
naturally arrests the sea breeze, and the succeeding night is
dark and cloudy. Formerly these diurnal rains came on with
such regularity that it was usual, in forming parties of
pleasure, to arrange whether they should take place before or
after the storm. During this period of the year there is
seldom, if ever, a deposition of dew. From April until
September very little rain falls; vegetation almost stops, and,
to the eye of every one who has not just arrived from Europe,
a wintry appearance is discernible. The land and sea breezes
do not sueceed each other with the same regularity, and are,
besides, more frequently disturbed by violent gusts from the
S. W., imagined to be the tails of those destructive winds, the
Pamperos of the River Plate. The nights are beautifully clear;
Venus casts a shadow, and the southern constellations are seen
in all their beauty. The dews, as might be expected, are at
this season very copious.” (Brande’s Journal, No. 27. p. 41.)

The periods of rest and activity in the vegetable world are, however,
not always evident. The vegetation of the primitive forests of Brazil,

510 ANNUAL REST IS UNIVERSAL.

writes Aug. de St. Hilaire, isin a state of constant activity. The winter
is only distinguished from the summer by a changed green of the leaves,
and if some trees lose their leaves it is only to be immediately replaced
with new ones. In some districts, however, the trees become leafless
every year. This happens when the rains, which endure for six months,
suddenly cease, which takes place in February, and the heat increases
gradually till June. In this latter month the trees are almost leafless,
but in August again, before the rain commences, the buds have again
expanded, and the trees are covered with leaves. The cause of this
fall of the leaf is no doubt owing to the dryness of the soil, but it can
only occur in some exposed districts of the primitive forests, as in most
cases the trees are found on the borders of great rivers and on naturally
damp soils, where the earth into which they strike their roots is never
dry.— Treviranus.

In other parts of the tropics the seasons of growth and rest
are equally marked. In Ava, during the rainy season, which
lasts from May to October, the mean temperature varies from
78° to 91.5°; while, in the dry season, from November to
April, it falls to from 68° to 80°. At Calcutta, in the growing
season, from April to October, fifty-eight inches of rain com-
monly fall, with a mean temperature of 79° to 86°; while
during the season of rest, from November to March, there is not
perhaps an inch of rain, and the thermometer sinks to from 66°
to 80°. At this time vegetation is said, in such countries, to
“labour under a deadly languor; but one night’s rain converts
an arid plain into a verdant meadow.”

In most of the West India Islands situated under the tropic
of Cancer, there is said not to be much difference in the
climate, so that accurate observations made on any one of
them may be applied with little variation to them all. Malte
Brun gives the following sketch of their seasons. “The spring
begins about the month of May; the savannas then change
their russet hue, and the trees are adorned with a verdant
foliage. The periodical rains from the south may at this time
be expected; they fall generally about noon, and occasion a
rapid and luxuriant vegetation. The thermometer varies con-
siderably; it falls sometimes six or eight degrees after the
diurnal rains, but its medium height may be stated at 78°
Fahrenheit. After these showers have continued for a short
period, the tropical summer appears in all its splendour.

ANNUAL REST IS UNIVERSAL. 511

Clouds are seldom seen in the sky; the heat of the sun is only
rendered supportable by the sea breeze, which blows regularly
from the south-east during the greater part of the day. The
nights are calm and serene, the moon shines more brightly
than in Europe, and emits a light that enables man to read
the smallest print ; its absence is in some degree compensated
by the planets, and above all by the luminous effulgence of the
galaxy. From the middle of August to the end of September,
the thermometer rises frequently above 90°, the refreshing sea
breeze is then interrupted, and frequent calms announce the
approach of the great periodical rains. Fiery clouds are seen
in the atmosphere, and the mountains appear less distant to
the spectator than at other seasons of the year. The rain falls
in torrents about the beginning of October, the rivers overflow
their banks, and a great portion of the low grounds is sub-
merged. The rain that fell in Barbadoes in the year 1754 is
said to have exceeded eighty-seven inches. The moisture of
the atmosphere is so great, that iron and other metals easily
oxidated are covered with rust. This humidity continues
under a burning sun; the inhabitants (say some writers) live in
a vapour bath.” (Malte Brun’s Geography, vol. v. p. 569,
Eng. ed.)

It is evident, from what has been said, that the natural
resting of plants from growth is a most important phenomenon,
of universal occurrence, and that it takes place equally in the
hottest and the coldest regions. It is, therefore, a condition
necessary to the well-being of a plant, not to be overlooked
under any circumstances whatever, and there cannot be any
really good gardening where this is not attended to in the
management of plants under glass. Rest is effected in one of
two ways, either by a very considerable lowering of temperature,
or by a degree of dryness under which vegetation cannot be
sustained.

The way in which the physical powers of vegetation are
affected by this has been already explained, and in practice it
is found a point of the utmost consequence. The early fruit-
gardener draws his Vines out of the vinery, and takes the
sashes from his Peach and other forcing-houses, when the

512 EFFECTS OF ANNUAL RESTING.

artificial season of growth is over, in order to prepare them for
the duty of a succeeding season; although this operation is
performed in summer, its effect is to expose them to dryness,
which arrests their growth, and favours the deposit in their
wood of the matter required for the produce of a succeeding
year.

The effects of a very dry atmosphere are necessarily an
inspissated state of the sap of the plant, and this in all cases
leads to the formation of blossom-buds and of fruit. It thus
operated upon some Pine-apple plants in Mr. Knight's garden,
to such an extent as to cause even the suckers from their roots
to rise from the soil with an embryo Pine-apple upon the head
of each, and every plant to show fruit, in a very short time,
whatever were its state and age. Very low temperature, under
the influence of much light, by retarding and diminishing the
expenditure of sap in the growth of plants, comparatively with
its creation, produces nearly similar effects, and causes an early
appearance of fruit. .

The operations of forcing are essentially influenced by these
facts; and, by a skilful alteration of the periods of rest, we are
enabled to break in upon the natural habits of. plants, and to
invert them so completely that the flowers and fruits of summer
are obtained to load our tables even in winter. Of this, the
following instance, taken from a paper by Mr. Knight in the
Horticultural Transactions (vi. 282), is a sufficient illustration.

“A Verdelho Vine, growing in a pot, was placed in the
stove early in the spring of 1823, where its wood became per-
fectly mature in August. It was then taken from the stove and
placed under a north wall, where it remained till the end of
November, when it was replaced in the stove, and it ripened its
fruit early in the following spring. In May it was again
transferred to a north wall, where it remained in a quiescent
state till the end of August. It then vegetated strongly, and
showed abundant blossom, which, upon being transferred to the
stove, set very freely, and the fruit, having been subjected to
the influence of very high temperature, ripened early in the
month of February.”

The Strawberries of February and March are in like manner

SEASON OF FLOWERING MAY BE CHANGED. 518

ocured by exposing the plants to such an amount of dryness
d heat as can be obtained by presenting them unwatered, in
ts, to the sun at an early period of summer, so as to cause a
fficient accumulation of excitability by the end of autumn,
stead of the month of May.
It must be manifest that the operations of the flower-
rdener should be regulated by the same principles, although
may be confessed that they are often little considered; a
‘cumstance the more strange, from the indispensable neces-
y of resting fruit-trees being universally known. It is to
2 giving their plants the proper kind of rest that some garde-
rs owe the magnificent blossoming of their Chinese Azaleas,
cti, Camellias, and other forced flowers, much more than to
y peculiarity in the compost they employ, which is often a
int. of subordinate interest, although often regarded as of the
st importance.
If little progress has been made in altering the time of
wering of particular races, so as to invert their seasons, this
certainly far from being beyond attainment; and there is no
wre reason why a Chinese Chrysanthemum should not be
mpelled to flower at midsummer instead of November, or a
thlia at Christmas, than that Vines and Strawberries should
ien fruit in February. The great difficulty to contend
ainst in obtaining winter flowers is want of light and free
xess to air; but, by the employment of slender iron sash-
rs and large glass, a sufficient amount of light may be
tained in England even at that season of the year; it is
the free admission of warm moist air that gardeners are
ficient (see pages 213, &c.).

It is well known that plants from the northern half of the world,
when they have become naturalised in the south, have changed almost
entirely the time of their vegetating, blooming, and fruit-bearing, so
as entirely to accord with the habits of the indigenous: plants of the
country. Thus we find that at the Cape of Good Hope, Oaks, Alders,

the Almond, Peach, and Apricot, are in full bloom in August.—
Treviranus,

But it is not merely the periodical rest of winter and summer

ut plants require; they have also their diurnal repose: night
“LL

514 NIGHT TEMPERATURE MUST BE

and its accompanying refreshment are as necessary to them as
to animals. In all nature the temperature of night falls below
that of day, and thus one cause of vital excitement is dimi-
nished ; perspiration is stopped, and the plant parts with few
of its aqueous particles, although it continues to imbibe them
by all its green surface as well as by its roots; the processes
of assimilation are suspended; no digestion of food and
conversion of it into organized matter takes place; and, instead
of decomposing carbonic acid by the extrication of oxygen, they
part with carbonic acid, and rob the air of its oxygen; thus
deteriorating the air at night, although not to the same amount
as they purify it during the day. It is, therefore, most
important, that the night temperature of glass houses should
be lower than that of the day. We are told that in Jamaica
and other islands of the West Indies, the air upon the
mountains becomes, soon after sunset, chilled and condensed,
and, in consequence of its superior gravity, descends and
displaces the warm air of the valleys; yet the sugar-canes are
so far from being injured by this decrease of temperature, that
the sugars of Jamaica take a higher price in the market than
those of the less elevated islands, of which the temperature of
the day and night is subject to much less alteration. At
Fattehpar, in the Hast Indies, the difference in temperature
between night and day amounts to from 38° to 45°; in April
the greatest heat by day is 110°, that of night is only 65°; in
January the thermometer falls to 88° at night, while the day is
76°; and there are 40 degrees of difference between the day
and night in May, one of the hottest months, when the ther-
mometer ranges as high as 115°. At Calcutta, in May, the
thermometer averages 98° in the day, and 79° at sunrise; while
in January the temperatures are 77° and 56° respectively for
those two periods.

But it is not merely in the tropics that this great diminution of tem-
perature at night takes place; it is universally the case in all climates
whence our fruit-trees have been derived. When we consider how
clear the sky is in the lands of the East, it is impossible that there
should not be a great amount of nocturnal radiation, the effect of which

will necessarily be to cool down the air to a very considerable extent,
especially in the spring. If we look to the registers of temperature

LOWER THAN DAY TEMPERATURE, 515

kept in such countries, that which was before a matter of inference
becomes established by direct evidence. Take Malta as an example:
in the month of January, according to Dr. Davy, the thermometer
reaches 60° in the day, but falls to 42° at night; and even in July, the
difference between the day and night amounts to 16°. In the Ionian
Islands, Zante, Corfu, Cephalonia, fine Grape countries, the difference
is not less considerable. Nevertheless, many gardeners, when they
begin forcing early Grapes, quite neglect this important fact. With
some it is a maxim to keep the thermometer above 60° at night. But
what does nature do where the Vine thrives best? In Zante, whence
come the Currants, or Corinth Grapes of the shops, the Vine pushes in
March; and it is a common saying there, “that after the 10th March
(Old Style), not even a dog without a tail should be allowed to enter a
Vineyard,” (Davy’s Ionian Islands, ii. 345) because of the risk of his
breaking off the young and tender shoots. Now the average tempera-
ture of Corfu, at 8 a.m, in the month of March, we learn from the
same authority, is only 51°; and of course it must have been some
degrees lower during the night; in April it is not more than 57°; and
it does not reach 61° till May, when, since the Grapes are ripe in
August, the berries must be set. There can be no doubt, then, that
48° is quite high enough at night for Grapes in the first month of their
growth, and 54° in the second.

Butthere are other illustrations if we inquire into the natural history
of the Grape Vine. Nowhere is the climate more sultry than in
Affghanistan. We are told that General Pollock’s troops at Jellalabad
were forced to dig holes in the ground to hide themselves from the
heat. The condition of Cabul must be much the same. At Candahar,
we are informed by Mr. Atkinson that, in May, the heat of the tents
was generally 110°; and at midday, in the sun, 140°. In no part of
the world are the Grapes more delicious than in Candahar and Cabul.
On the 30th June, this traveller saw donkeys laden with panniers of
fine purple Grapes; and at the same time, the paper on which he was
writing curled up and became as crisp as if it was before a blazing fire.
When he reached Cabul, in August, he found the bazaar filled with
delicious Grapes in astonishing profusion. But what sort of nights had
the troops in the spring of the year, when the Vines were growing and
flowering, and preparing themselves to bear fruit? On the 7th March,
near Shikapore, two hundred miles south of Candahar, and above five
hundred south of Cabul, in the Desert, we are told that the march took
place in ‘‘a brilliant starlight night; frost seemed to be in the air, it
was so cool and bracing; after midnight, the servants made up a
blazing fire, for the north wind was blowing bitter cold, and the tra-
veller was glad of hot brandy and water.” Nevertheless, the day
before, Mr. Atkinson had been grilling at Shikapore, and the march
was over level plains, and not among the mountains. Two days after-

LL2

516

AUSTRALIAN NIGHT TEMPERATURE.

wards the weather is described as being oppressively hot at mid-day.
Then on the 19th March there was a hailstorm at night, and the air
was ‘cold and bracing;” and soon. Here, then, in a country totally
different from the islands of the Mediterranean, where the Grapes are
famous for their excellence, we have violent variations in temperature
between day and night in the month of March, when the Vines are
shooting: the air is cold and bracing by night, the sun is grilling
by day.

.It is probable, however, that no one has been prepared for such a fall
of temperature by night as is recorded in Sir Thomas Mitchell’s late
Journal into the interior of tropical Australia. The facts revealed in
this interesting work have been fully extracted and made the subject
of comment in one of the numbers of the Journal of the Horticultural
Society of London. For details the reader is referred to that work.
The following is the author’s summary of the facts.

“In the end of April (our October), in latitude 82° 8., within 44° of
the tropic, at an insignificant elevation, the thermometer stood at 26°
at sunrise, and was as low as 43° at 9 P.u.; nevertheless, the country
produced wild Indigo, Mimosas, Casuarinas, arborescent Myrtleblooms,
and Loranths. A degree nearer the tropic in May (our November), the
thermometer at sunrise marked 20°, 19°, 18°, 17°, 16°, 12°, and on two
separate days, even 11°! On the 22d of May the river was frozen, and.
yet herbage was luxuriant, and the country produced Mimosas,
Eucalypti, Acacias, the tropical Bottle-tree (Delabechea), a Calandrinia,
and even a Loranth. On the 23rd of May the thermometer at sunrise
marking 12°, Acacia conferta was coming into flower; and Eucalypti,
with the usual Australian vegetation, were abundant. On the 30th of
May, at the elevation of 1118 feet, the almost tropical Delabechea was
found growing with the temperature at sunrise 22° and at 9 P.M. 31°,
so that it must have been exposed to a night’s frost gradually increasing
through 12°, And this was evidently the rule during the months of
May, June, and July (our November, December, and January); in
latitude 26° S. among Tristanias, Phebaliums, Zamias, Hoveas,
Myoporums, and Acacias, the evening temperature was observed to be
29°, 22°, 37°, 29°, 26°, falling during the night to 26°, 21°, 12°, 14°,
20°; in latitude 25° §. the tents were frozen into boards at the elevation
of 1421 feet, the thermometer, July 5, sunk during the night from 38°
to 16°, and there grew Cryptandras, Acacias, Bursarias, Boronias,
Stenochiles, and the like. Cymbidium canaliculatum, the only

Orchidaceous epiphyte observed, was in flower under a night temperature

of 33° and 34°; that by day not exceeding 86°. These facts throw
quite a new light upon the nature of Australian vegetation. Tt may be
supposed that so low a temperature must have been accompanied by
extreme dryness, and such appears to have been usually the case.
Nevertheless, it cannot have been always so, for although Sir Thomas

AUSTRALIAN NIGHT TEMPERATURE. 517

Mitchell made no hygrometrical observations in June and July, and
only four in May, yet there ia other evidence to show that the dryness
cannot always have been remarkable. In May the hygrometer indi-
cated *764, °703, 934, or nearly saturation, and ‘596; yet the sunrise
temperature was on those occasions 25°, 28°, 30°, and 34°. On the
22nd of May the Grass was white with hoar frost, and the thermometer
was at sunrise 20° under canvas and 12° in the open air. On the 5th
of July, when it rained all day and the tents were ‘frozen into boards,’
the thermometer sank during the night from 38° to 16°. No doubt this
power of resisting cold is connected with the very high temperature to
which Australian vegetation is exposed at certain seasons, and this is
horticulturally a most. important consideration. We find that in
latitude 32° 8, in January (our July) the thermometer stood eight days
successively above 100°, and even reached 115° at noon; ‘that it was
even as high as 112° at 4 p.m, ; that in the latter part of February one
degree nearer the line it was twice 105° and once 110°; that in March,
one degree further northward, it frequently exceeded 100°, and there
was not much fall in this excessive temperature up to the end of April.
This will be more evident from the following ©

Table of Noon-day Temperatures.

Latitude. Max, | Min. |

29°8.| Nov., Dec. .| Average of 3 Observ., 102° | 103° | 62°

32 8,| Jan., Feb. . » 18 4 Off | 115 | 7
31 8.| Feb., March | 59 17 i 90 110 80
30 8.| March . | » 20 4 95 | 105 | 84

‘Even such heats as ‘ise do not, however, destroy ide power of vege~
tation, for we find in the midst of them all sorts of trees in blossom; a
few bulbs, and even here and there (in damp places, ‘no doubt) such soft
herbs. as Goodenias, Trichiniums, Helichrysum, Didiscus, Teucrium,
Justicia, herbaceous Jasmines, Tobacco, and Amaranths. During these
heats the night temperature seldom remains high. Sometimes, indeed,
the thermometer was observed as much as 88°, and once even 97° at
sunrise, the average noon-heat of the month being 974°, but generally
the temperature is lower. Thus:

. Temperature
oceasionally at Sunrise.
Nov. and Dee., averaging 102° at noon, 62°, 58°, 61°
Jan, and Feb. 95 97% » 61 60 59 47°, &e,
Feb. and March a5 90 » 61 59 54 48 &e,

March . . ‘s 95 » 68 55 51 47 &e.”

These facts seem to demonstrate that it is the purpose of
nature to reduce the force which operates upon the excitability

518 EXPERIMENTS ON GROWTH BY NIGHT.

of vegetation at that period of the twenty-four hours, when,
from other causes, the powers of digestion and assimilation
are suspended. As far as is at present known, that power is
heat; and therefore we must suppose that, to maintain at night
in our hot-houses a temperature at all equal to that of the day,
is a practice to be condemned. Plants will no doubt lengthen
very fast at night in a damp heat, but what is at this time
produced seems to be a mere extension of the tissue formed
during the day, and not the addition of any new part; the
spaces between the leaves are increased, and the plant becomes
what is technically and very correctly called “drawn”; for, as
has been justly observed, “the same quantity only of material
is extended to a greater length, as in the elongation of a
wire.”

Some observations made in the garden of the Horticultural
Society a few years since place this in a striking light. Certain
plants were placed for several weeks in a stove, with a high
night temperature—supposed to average 69°: the following
were the rates of growth in inches :—

Night. Day.
Big-a a 2 owe = a e 9:60 5% & @ 19:02
Willow. . . . . . «1908 . . . . 21,55
Passionflower. . . . . 36.20 . . . . 35.85
Vines 2 0 ew ee 2 415... 445
99.03 101.77

That is to say, they grew as fast by night as by day, for the
apparent difference is obviously unimportant. But when these
and other plants were grown in the open air, exposed to the
low night temperature of England, the result was wholly differ-
ent, as will be seen by the following table :—

Night. . Day.
Fig... 1. es 1638 2... 6680
Willow. ...... 877 2... . 994
Hop... .. . + . 4202 . . . .100.53
Vina: « « w «hy « 284... . 4.20
Scarlet Runner .*. . . 28.11 . . . « 97.72
Jerusalem Artichoke . . 8.23 . . . . 22.25
Gourd . . « . 6 «© . 21.28 . . . . 48.05

102.33... 289.49

NIGHT TEMPERATURE TO BE KEPT DOWN. 519

The last experiment being carried still further, by observa-
tions continued during a part of another month, the result
remained the same, the total growth by night being 119.07,
and by day 887.16. Thus we see that plants exposed to
natural circumstances only made one inch of growth by night
while they made three by day; but that, on the contrary,
under bad artificial treatment, they grew equally day and night.
The inevitable consequence of this inversion of natural
‘growth is immature or unripe wood, with imperfect ill-
constructed buds, and a feeble constitution, incapable of bearing
the shock of great falls in temperature. More especially, water
accumulates in the system, and-is never decomposed or removed
by perspiration, in the requisite degree. In short, plants
growing fast by night can neither ripen their wood nor form
their inner structure well. And therefore they are incapable
of developing their natural beauty, or of resisting those
extremes of temperature which are natural to them.

This seems to explain why our greenhouse plants would
perish under the night temperature to which they are exposed
in New Holland. They are in the condition of a Peach-tree
kept growing fast in a forcing-house, and turned out for the
winter without having ripened its wood: if that is done it
dies, and yet the Peach-tree, when properly ripened, is capable
of resisting much severer winters than England ever knows.
An Oak-tree, treated in the same way, would be as tender.

If, however, the English gardener cannot command an
Italian or Australian sun, if he cannot expose his plants for
days together to a temperature of 100°—115°, and if, therefore,
he cannot harden their tissues, and strengthen their constitu-
tio so as to enable them to bear the rudeness of their native
land, there are other things which he can do. He can keep
down their growth at night, he can maintain among them
continual currents of air, and having done this skilfully he will
have done all that the circumstances of his position render
possible.

It will be apparent from these remarks that gardeners are
not recommended to freeze their greenhouse and stove plants,
because they are frozen habitually in Australia, and occasionally

520 EVEN STOVE PLANTS

in Bengal. He cannot possibly do artificially all that is
requisite to enable plants to bear such extremes. But that is
no reason why he should not approach the operations of
Nature as near as the different circumstances will permit, and
why he should not so treat his plants as will enable them to
bear a degree of cold to which, when mismanaged, he dare not
expose them.

That greenhouses ought not to be heated at night more than
is sufficient to exclude frost is certain; that, if properly pre-
pared, plants will bear frost is also indisputable, as indeed is
proved by the Camellias, Chinese Azaleas, and similar plants
which are kept in cold frames through our hardest winters, and
where they thrive far better than in greenhouses.

With stove plants it is different: experiments are needed to
determine how much cold they will bear at night. There seems
to be no doubt that the colder they can be safely kept the better
for the plants. We must not forget that Mr. Barnes fruited
admirable Pines in the open air, and that where Cymbidium
canaliculatum was found by Sir Thomas Mitchell in full
flower, the thermometer fell at night to 88° and 34°. It is
probable that a minimum night temperature of 40° or 45° will
be found sufficient, as Mr. Beaton long since asserted; especi-
ally if the soil can be maintained at 60° or 65°.

Mr Henry Bailey, of Nuneham, a most experienced and intelligent
practical gardener, has expressed his fear that a low night temperature
will not agree with stove plants, and mentions the following experiment
tried by himself. His employer having no stove for plants, he has been
in the habit of growing a few kinds every year by removing them from
one structure to another, as dictated by convenience, One year some fine
specimens were thus obtained of Euphorbia jacquiniflora and punicea,
Stephanotis floribunda, Clerodendron splendens and others, which having
completed their growth by the end of September, were removed into a late
Vinery varying in nocturnal temperature from 35° to 48°. In this place
they received scarcely any water ; their treatment in all other respects
being subservient to the preservation of the Grapes, for which slight
fires were lighted every morning, and ventilation given on all possible
occasions to dispel damp. All went on apparently well, till a house
being about to be started for forcing flowers, the plants were removed
into it, with a night heat of from 45° to 50°, allowing it to rise 10°
more with sun heat. The Clerodendron splendens, which maintained

REQUIRE COOL NIGHTS. 521

the most luxuriant verdure of leaf up to this time, then sickened and
died, every leaf falling off. Euphorbia jacquiniflora lost all its leaves,
but-the Stephanotis was not materially injured.

On the other hand, Mr. Spencer, another of our great gardeners, has
had to manage a house at Bowood, which, though generally called a
stove, and filled with stove plants, is never kept during the winter
months at a higher temperature than from 40° to 50° by fire heat. The
plants are principally used for decorating rooms, and for this purpose
late flowering plants are mostly cultivated. The roof is partially
covered with creeping stove plants, including Combretums, Bignonias,
Passifloras, Stephanotis, &c, The effect of this low temperature on
these and similar plants is to produce not only an entire cessation from
growth in winter, but in some cases they become partly deciduous, and
he found that they bore this low degree of heat not only without injury,
but when the warm days of spring returned they broke with unusual
strength and vigour, enjoying as they do, in fact, almost a natural
climate. It is generally thought Bignonia venusta will not bloom freely
except it grows in bottom-heat, That plant grows in a border inside
this house, without having any bottom-heat beyond what the house
affords, which, during the autumn and winter, is necessarily very low;
and yet the plant is every season covered with bloom for two or three
months. Stephanotis blooms equally well in July, and the Combretums
and Passifloras nearly throughout the year. Echites splendens blooms
equally well in the summer, and he finds the flowers of a much higher
colour than those from plants grown in a warmer house; in the winter
Echites becomes a deciduous tree.

The same result was obtained at Drayton Manor, where, in a Vinery,
Pergularia odoratissima, Echites splendens, Stephanotis floribunda,
Bignonia Chamberlayniz, Combretum purpureum, and Clerodendron
volubile were planted in the year 1847 against the back wall, and
where they grew in the greatest vigour. Mr. Milne’s account of their
treatment is this :—‘‘ When the stove climbers were planted on the
back wall of the Vinery, it was with the understanding that they
should receive the same treatment as an early Vinery requires, and live
or die. Atthe same time what could be done was done for them, in
order to preserve them through the winter ; water was withheld from
them after September, in order to induce rest. before the dead of the
year. No particular attention was paid to the thermometer in the house,
few fires were used in the winter, and the temperature of the house was
frequently as low, in the mornings of frosty nights, as 35°, and on
one occasion 32°, when the earth in watered pots in this house was
frozen ; no fire was made to thaw, but they took their chance. The
house was fully opened on all mild days, and partially so every day
during the winter. The temperature of the earth about their roots was
not always measured, but it is known to have been 58°, and in the absence

522 THESE FACTS ILLUSTRATE

of all moisture it may have indicated not less than 50° in January. The
most difficult period to deal with those climbers was found to be the
time of starting. In a short time after the application of heat they
began to exhibit some signs of debility, but a low night temperature
(40°), and water withheld still, overcame this small difficulty. Similar
results were obtained by Mr. D. Beaton, and others,

Upon the right understanding of these great facts depend
all the details of forcing, which is never successful unless the
habits of a plant in a wild state are carefully followed. . ‘By way
of illustration, the case of the Strawberry may be taken as a
very common and well understood plant, from which, however,
unskilful gardeners obtain no crop when forced, although, as
they say, they give it plenty of heat, shut it up close at night, and
expect to gather ripe fruit from it in six weeks. They evidently
do not consider how it is that the Strawberry is made to bear
fruit naturally. The cold of winter does not suddenly change
to the heat of the dog-days, Warm dew does not incessantly
bathe the rising herbage. The nighits of spring are not more
oppressive than the days. Inshortthe climate in which the Straw-
berry naturally delights is not in the smallest degree like that
which is provided for it. On the contrary, where the Strawberry
dwells the temperature rises very slowly, and at about the same
rate as light increases; if one day is warm another is cold, and
the nights are always so; the air, too, is dry more often than
damp—as will be evident if we bear in mind how ceaselessly
the east wind breathes upon the land of Strawberries. Three
long months of steady growth are required to produce the
Strawberry under these favourable circumstances. It is there-
fore folly to imagine that in six weeks the same end is to be
accomplished by unnatural means. We may assist Nature, we
cannot compel her. What is true of the Strawberry is equally
so of all other forced productions, whether fruits or flowers.

Knight pointed out as one of the ill effects of high tempe-
rature during the night that it exhausts the excitability of a
tree much more rapidly than it promotes its growth, or
accelerates the maturity of its fruit, which is, in consequence,
ill supplied with nutriment at the period of its ripening, when
most nutriment is probably wanted. The Muscat of Alexandria

THE TRUE PRINCIPLES OF FORCING. 523

and other late Grapes are, owing as he thinks to this cause,
often seen to wither upon the branch in a very imperfect state
of maturity, and the want of richness and flavour in other
forced fruits is often attributable to the same cause. The
same great experimentalist records (Hort. Trans., ii. 185) the
result of his own management of a Peach-house, where a due
regard was had to the preservation of a sufficiently low tempe-
rature at night. “As early in the spring as I wanted the
blossoms of my Peach-trees to unfold, my house was made
warm during the middle of the day, but towards night it was
suffered to cool, and the trees were then sprinkled, by means of
a large syringe, with clear water, as nearly at the temperature
at which that usually rises from the ground as I could obtain
it, and little or no artificial heat was given during the night,
unless there appeared a prospect of frost. Under this mode of
treatment the blossoms advanced with very great vigour, and
as rapidly as I wished them, and presented, when expanded, a
larger size than I had ever before seen of the same varieties,
which circumstance is not unimportant, because the size of the
blossom in any given variety regulates to a very considerable
extent the bulk of the future fruit.” It is, however, proper to
add that the observations of Knight referred to a period when
the principles of gardening were not generally understood so
well as they now are.

The preceding remarks apply exclusively to plants in a
state of growth. When growth ceases and fruit begins to ripen,
circumstances in some instances wholly change.

In its favourite regions the Grape ripens its fruit at the
hottest and dryest period of the year. In Corfu the Grapes
are ripe in September. It appears from Dr. Davy’s observa-
tions that the range of the thermometer in that island, day and
night, is in August from 77° to 84°; and in September from
74° to 82°; that is to say, it is never colder at night than 74°
in September, or than 77° in August. At Malta the lowest
temperature observed in August was 74°; and in September
69°. In Candahar, Mr. Atkinson found Grapes ripe in June.
The night temperature of Candahar in May and June is not
given; but we may be very sure that in a country like

524 RIPENING FRUIT REQUIRES WARM NIGHTS.

that, where a burning sun has been shining for three
months, and the ground is excessively heated, there must of
necessity be a very high temperature at night. In fact, in
Persia, which is nearly the climate of Candahar, the midnight
temperature of August has been known to be as high as 108°;
and it is certain that in all such countries the difference
between the temperature of the day and night, at the hot season of
the year, when Grapes ripen, is inconsiderable. We may, there-
fore assume that a night temperature of from 70° to 80° ought
to be secured when Grapes are ripening.

At that period of their existence much atmospheric moisture
is unnecessary, or rather injurious to Grapes, for it will inevi-
tably cause the Vine to break into a multitude of little
branches to the impoverishment of the fruit. In the Vine
countries the air is parching; Mr. Atkinson’s paper curled up
in Candahar, while he was writing on it; and the Vine will bear
such a climate well, if it is gradually inured to it, provided the
roots are in a moist soil, and there is a free circulation of
air. It is to be recollected that when a tree is ripening its
fruit, it isin quite a different condition from what occurs when it
is flowering. At the latter period its energies are all directed
to organizing itself, and consolidating the parts that may have
been formed ; it is growing, and hardening its growth. But at
a later period organization and consolidation are accom-
plished, and it is the elaboration of the fluids, stored up within
the plant, that has to be provided for. The fruit of such a
plant as the Vine is incessantly sucking fluids out of the
branches ; but that fluid is little more than water and mucilage.
Tt is after reaching the fruit that it thickens by evaporation,
and changes owing to chemical combinations brought about by a
variety of phenomena; the result of which is the conversion of
acid into sugar, and the creation of the delicate flavours which
give the Grape its value as a fruit.

CHAPTER XX.

OF SOIL.

Tue word soil signifies that portion of the crust of the earth
in which plants grow; what lies below it is rock. It is toa
great extent formed by the wearing down or decomposition of
rock, with the addition of matters derived from the action of
plants and animals, and from their decay. Soil, therefore,
consists of two kinds of matter arising from different sources:
one formed by the decay of rock is inorganic; the other
originating in living things is organic. Clay or loam, sand,
lime, and all the earthy or alkaline matters found associated
with them, are inorganic. Peat, mould, and every thing which
is convertible into these two substances, is organic. The
supposed action upon vegetation of these kinds of matter has
been scientifically investigated by all modern writers upon
rural chemistry, to whose most valuable labours the reader in
search of chemical facts will have recourse. In this place they
will be regarded merely from a practical point of view.

Cxay is a dense, plastic substance, pasty when wet, abounding
in iron, tenacious of water, hardening and cracking when long
exposed to dryness, and having the power of condensing
ammonia and other gaseous matters. Its peculiar properties
are chiefly owing to its containing alumina, a substance in-
capable, when pure, of supporting vegetation. In cultivated
land clay always occurs mixed with sand or chalk, or both, in
variable proportions. Heavy clay contains about 20 per cent.
of sand; loam 50 or 60 per cent.; calcareous loam has a con-
siderable quantity of lime (chalk) in addition; fibrous loam

526 CLAY AND LOAM.

contains the roots of herbaceous and fibrous-rooted plants in
greater or less abundance.

The term ‘‘loam” (Angl. Sax. Zam) comes from an ancient word in
different languages, signifying a fat, unctuous, tenacious earth. Under
the name of ‘‘loam” there is comprehended a class of compound or
mixed earths, composed of dissimilar particles—hard, stiff, dense, harsh,
and rough to the touch—not easily plastic while moist, readily diffusible
in water, and usually composed of sand and a tough viscid clay. Loams
are very concisely divided into two kinds—the friable and crumbly
sorts, composed of sand and a less viscid clay—and the tough and viscid
in texture, that are composed of sand and a more adhesive clay. The
colours have also been used to distinguish loams—the black and white,
which are not acted upon by acids; yellow loams, some of which are
affected by acids; the alkaline brown loams, that are acted upon by
acids; and the green loams, that suffer no disturbance.

According to Woodward, loam consists of clay mixed with fine sand ;
or of clay with a superabundance of sand; and Bergman found a good
loam to contain 87 per cent. of a reddish grey sand, as fine as meal, and
13 per cent. of alumina. Supposing clay to contain, as it most frequently
does, 70 per cent. of fine sand and 30 of alumina, we shall find, as Mr.
Kirwan observes, that loam of the best kind contains an excess of sand.
amounting to 17 per cent.; if the excess of sand be greater it will form
a “sandy loam,” if smaller, a ‘clayey loam.” When anything
calcareous is found in the loam, it inclines to the nature of marl, or a
‘¢marly loam,” which may be either sandy or clayey, according as the
proportion above indicated is exceeded on either side. But loams most
frequently contain a portion of oxide of iron, which produces a con-
siderable variety in the colour, and probably in the vegetative powers
of the loamy earth, if its proportion be considerable, viz., 4 or 5 per
cent.; they often contain, also, some proportion of sulphuric acid.
The sandy part of the loam often has much effect in giving the colour.
When gravels and pebbles are mixed with loams, the distinctions arise
of ‘gravelly, stony, siliceous, and limestone loams,” according as the
substances predominate.

Loams are generally understood to consist of clay, siliceous sand, and
some carbonate of lime. The quantity of iron, magnesia, and various
salts, is so inconsiderable, as never to alter materially the texture of
the loam. Decayed vegetable and animal matters in the form of humus
are often found in loams in very considerable quantities, and the soil is
fertile in proportion, Loams vary in quality; those composed of loose
sand with little humus, and impregnated with iron, are very unpro-
ductive ; those which contain too much clay, and lie upon an impervious
subsoil, are difficult to cultivate. Between these two extremes there
are soils that form the very best that are found on the face of the globe.

SAND. 527

Loam seems to be naturally formed for the purposes of fertility; the
pure earths are in themselves almost entirely barren ; sands receive and
discharge moisture much too quickly; clays retain it too long in their
own substance, refuse it when wanted, and starve the roots of plants in
a cold impervious mass; chalk has the same mechanical quality, and
contains very little organic or soluble matter. Sand and clay alone
would not make a rich soil, but a portion of calcareous matter and of
humus being added, the mass is rendered open and porous, and the clay
and sand are prevented from forming a mortar which hardens too
rapidly, and prevents the influence of the air from reaching the roots.
The invaluable quality of loams is that their texture allows the due
circulation of air and moisture. Moist climates require a greater
portion of sand to make a fertile loam, but less in proportion as humus
abounds. All fertile soils contain some portion of calcareous earth.
The climate of England requires one-half of the soil to be sand, one-
third clay, and the rest chalk, to form a good loam, and rather light
than heavy. Loams require less tillage than stiffer soils, and will bear
more stirrings to clean them than sands—the produce is always certain
and abundant. Every kind of manure can exert the proper action in
loams, as they find a variety of substances on which to apply their
influence.

The constituent parts of a good loam being correctly ascertained, and
the deficiencies of inferior soils being also learned, it only remains to
supply the wants in the latter as they appear from a comparison with
the former. If clay be in excess, chalk and sand may be added; and
a portion of the clay may be burned, in order to destroy the attraction
for water, and thus act the part of sand in helping to form the loam,
Limestone, gravel, and sand are also useful for this purpose, as they
equally correct too great porosity, or too much tenacity. If there be
too much sand in any loam, clay and chalk will be the remedy; and
though the utmost art of man is able to effect “only” a mechanical
mixture in place of the chemical combination of the substances that are
sought to be amalgamated, yet the repeated stirrings which the land
undergoes in the process of time doubtless tend to the most perfect
blending of the matters to be assimilated.—J. D. in G. Chron. 1849,
p. 628,

Sand consists of minute fragments of flint, or silica. It is
white when pure, and is then called silver-sand, but is usually
red or brown in consequence of the presence of iron. It has
no power of cohesion, and therefore allows water to pass
through it freely. In its natural state it is usually mixed with
some portion of clay. It is more or less soluble in water
holding alkaline matter or carbonic acid in solution; and

528 SHELL SAND—LIME—MOULD.

constitutes a portion, sometimes a most important portion, of
the food of plants. For garden purposes that kind of sand is
alone suitable which has been rounded in water. The angular
particles of “road-sand” form hard impermeable masses, and
should never be employed.

Shell sand is not sand at all, but rounded particles of carbonate of
lime, fragments of shells and corals long rolled in water.

Lime occurs commonly in the form of its carbonate (chalk).
It is to some extent soluble in water, and forms an important
portion of the food of many plants, especially when combined
with acids, as in the sulphate (gypsum), or the phosphate (bone
earth). It readily dries, absorbs and detains heat, and has
great value in modifying the wet tenacious quality of clay. In
its caustic state it has the power of decomposing animal and
vegetable substances, the result of which is a compound partly
soluble in water, and peculiarly fit for the food of plants. It,
however, requires to be used with caution, in consequence of
the property it possesses of setting free ammonia, one of the
most indispensable constituents of the food of plants.

Prat consists of the dead remains of roots, branches, and
leaves, mixed with various proportions of sand. It also com-
monly abounds in iron. When reduced to a powdery con-
sistence by decay, it becomes mould or humus (black mould,
leaf-mould). It has the important property of restoring alkaline
matter to soil, of producing carbonic acid by slow combination
with oxygen, and of aiding greatly in preserving soil in an
open state, so as to allow water and air to pass freely through
it. In the state of mould it condenses gaseous matter by
virtue of its porosity.

These four kinds of matter are all that concern the business
of the cultivator. Hach, in its pure state, has little or no power
of sustaining healthy vegetation; but when mixed in various
proportions, they constitute the richest soils in the world.
Hence it is that gardeners constantly employ a mixture of
loam, peat, and sand, from which lime is only absent in
‘appearance, abounding as it does in all good loam in the state
of chalk. Nature demands no other means of sustaining

SOILS PECULIAR TO PLANTS. 529

retable life except clay, lime, and sand, with the aid of water
1 the gaseous matters of the atmosphere. Those gaseous
tters are nitrogen, brought to the land by rain, in the form
ammonia, or of nitric acid (see page 29), and carbonic
d, or other gaseous forms of carbon. Phosphoric acid and
phur seem to be sufficiently abundant in all sand or clay
enable plants to exist at least, if not to grow in them with
our ; for although chemists, in their analyses, report in some
ies only a trace of such substances, yet it must be remem-
red that, as Dr. Daubeny has remarked, if only ~ticth
tt may be present in a given sample of soil, yet even that
wesents more than 850lbs. as existing in the soil of an acre
wn to the depth of a foot.
What the gardener tries to imitate is the soil in which plants
: naturally found in the greatest vigour. When he learns
it the pedunculate Oak always thrives best in strong clay, he
ers that heavy clay is necessary to that kind of tree. If he
's that the Box-tree delights in chalky hills, and the Saint-
o in chalky fields, he is justified in considering that cal-
‘eous land is what they each prefer; and when he knows
it fibrous-rooted plants, like Rhododendrons and Heaths,
urish wherever peat and sand occur, he has: recourse to
ut and sand for their cultivation. Nor is he to be censured
' this. On the contrary; even if his conviction that the
\s in which plants grow wild are what suits them best should
theoretically wrong, he at least knows that it is practically
ht; and that if following mature closely shall not lead to the
st possible results, it is sure not to lead him astray, provided
has the skill to interpret natural phenomena with accuracy.
It is probable, however, that the influence exercised by soil
on vegetation is due as much to its physical conditions as
its chemical nature. At all events, I entertain no doubt
tt the former have been too much lost sight of in the search
chemical evidence ; and that in gardening, which is always
cultivation of fertile soils, it is the subject which most
nands attention. Soil, considered without reference to the
ranizable substances it contains, appears to act upon plants
efly by its power of absorbing and parting with heat and

MM

530 THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF SOIL IMPORTANT.

moisture. When soil is tenacious, or plastic, it absorbs heat
slowly, and it parts with its water with great difficulty, as is
the case in the London clay; the number of cultivated plants
to which this is suitable is so small that it is almost expelled
from gardens, where the object is to expose the cultivated
Species to conditions more favourable than those afforded
them by nature. The small amount of bottom-heat afforded
by clay, and the difficulty of draining it, sufficiently explain
the badness of its quality for gardening purposes, even without
taking into account the resistance experienced by plants in
passing their spongioles through so compact a substance. On
the other hand, loose sand, whose particles have no cohesion,
although it imbibes water with great facility, parts with it as
readily, and, being easily heated by the sun’s rays, becomes so
soon dried up as to be for that reason as unsuitable to most.
plants as the worst plastic kinds of clay. It is by obtaining
a mean between these extremes that the soil is formed most
favourable to the growth of plants in general.

As has been already stated, the artificial soil of the gardener
is for the most part a combination, in various proportions, of
loam, sand, and peat. The loam is a source of fertility, and
parts with water reluctantly; sand increases porosity; and
peat, in addition to any manuring value it may have, at once
prevents consolidation, secures free drainage, and enables
delicate roots to spread without hindrance. If chalk is seldom
or never employed by gardeners, except as a manure, it is
because that substance is abundant in garden loam. They
know by experience the best loam to be what is called cal-
careous, and that they always obtain, if possible.

It is by no means meant by the author that the whole use
of such substances is dependent upon physical qualities; it
is only suggested that their principal mode of action is such
as has been described, and that the precise chemical condition
of loam, sand, and peat, is of comparative unimportance in
horticulture. With agriculture it is otherwise.

For example, it was once a general belief, and still is in some places,
that a fruit-tree border could only be made by paring off the surface of
an old pasture, and employing the sods after having been laid in a

ARTIFICIAL SOILS—FRUIT-TREE BORDERS. 531

heap till the live turf had perished. There can be no doubt about the
excellence of this material, which is moderately rich, retentive of
moisture, and yet permeable to air and water in all directions. But
to destroy an old pasture in order to obtain this result, is an act of
mere ignorance. The points to be attended to in forming a substitute
for turfy sods are—t1, to obtain an equivalent for the roots that pene-
trate sods in all directions, forming myriads of fine tubes, which convey
air and moisture through the whole mass of earth; 2, to exclude every
kind of matter which gives rankness to growth, as all putrid or putre-
fiable materials do. This can be done by imitating the roots of the
Grass that formed the turf: a neglect of that precaution can only end
in failure. The roots of Grass aré merely underground straws, of a more
compact texture than usual; the two are chemically, as well as orga-
nically, the same, so far as cultivation is connected with them, Re-
place roots with straw: stable litter, but little fermented, contains
all the equivalents—organic matter, saline matter, an absence of
azotized matter in excess, and mechanical properties. Provided proper
soil is procurable, everything else is thus furnished; and this litter
is better than even decayed leaves, because it keeps the soil more
open. The difficulty consists in the thorough incorporation of the
requisite materials. It is difficult to incorporate Jong litter with
anything. It could be shortened by chopping, and then the difficulty
would vanish.

The best way of preparing a substitute for a turf border is to pro-
cure a light calcareous loam, and incorporate it with a quarter of
its bulk of tolerably fresh stable litter and horse droppings. This
incorporation may be effected by turning the mass over a few times
during the three or four months which are required to reduce the
straw to a proper state.of decay, and it is then-fit for use.

In like manner peat, so extensively used for ‘‘ American plants”
is by no means essential to their health. They grow very well in fine
sandy loam, in leaf-mould, or in any very loose soil which is noé
calcareous, provided it is damp atthe time when they are in full growth.
Rhod. maximum grows in damp deep woods (4, Gray) and on the
borders of mountain streams and lakes, requiring cool and perennial
streams for its nourishment and support (Elliott) ; R. ponticum thrives
on the face of the oozy hill at the back of St. Leonards in soft loam.
Captain, now Lieut.-Col. Monro, says, ‘‘ Rhododendron arboreum grows
on the Himalayas in disintegrated granite, mica slate, and gneiss, with-
out anything approaching to peat. Rhododendron nilagiricum, a species
first indicated by Zenker, and one I believe generally considered distinct
from arboreum, does in the Neelgherries grow in a thin stratum of peat,
which, however, is frequently not more than six or eight inches in
depth, and consequently the roots must soon pass through it into the

soil below. The finest mass of Rhododendron arboreum I ever saw was
MM 2

532

PEAT.

within 500 feet of the top of Dodotolia, a hill 10,000 feet high, in
Kumaon, between Almorah and Sireenugger, on the Bhaugeruttie river,
growing in company with Quercus Kamroopit, and just above the
Deodar. Here every possible variety of colour capable of being pro-
duced by a mixture of crimson and white was to be found amongst the
Rhododendrons; the whole side of the hill was one blaze of colour. A
thirst-exciting ascent, in the middle of the day, 23rd April, made me
search eagerly for water, which I could only find in the shape of some
unmelted snow on the north side of the hill in a shady nook, till I
descended at least 5000 feet to the stream in the valley below.” It is,
therefore, clear that peat is by no means indispensable to such plants.

A gardener must attend to three points if he wishes to grow
American plants well: 1, the soil must be loose and rich ; 2, while they
are growing there must be free and constant access of moisture without
stagnation ; and 3, there must be no chalk.—The soil must be light and
rich. Peat is not insisted upon; on the contrary, our great growers
expressly state that other substances will answer the same purpose,
provided they are in the same mechanical condition. The reason of this
is obvious. ‘‘ American” plants have in all cases delicate hair-like
roots, which remain for years without any considerable increase in
diameter; such roots cannot find their way through a soil which offers
much resistance to their progress. Sand, very sandy loam, and decayed
vegetable matter intermingled form the soil that American plants
demand. Peat is a good material, bécause it consists of sand and
decayed vegetable matter; and any other mixture of the same kind
will be also a good material. Decayed leaves, fragments of very rotten
branches or roots, probably charcoal, and such matters mixed with sand,
in order to prevent the soil from becoming too compact, replace it per-
fectly. The value of peat consists in its being a good natural mixture,
readily procurable in large quantities, in many districts. The necessity
for loam depends upon its power of retaining moisture longer than dead
or decayed vegetable matter. Provided the requisite moisture can be con-
stantly secured, loam ceases to have value. Standish and Noble recommend
the following as an excellent compost :—‘‘To two parts of sandy loam
or peat, or in fact any sandy soil that does not contain much calcareous
matter (American plants exhibit a great dislike to that), add one-fourth
leaf-mould, one-eighth sand, and one-eighth rotten manure. If wanted
immediately, the whole should be well beaten, and thoroughly incor-
porated before using. It would, however, be of great advantage to
allow the mixture to remain twelve months, turning it well two or
three times during that period. In old exhausted beds, a good dressing
of rotten manure forked in will be found highly beneficial.”

There must be free and constant access of moisture, without stag-
nation. In American plants the roots are much more quickly dried
than those of other plants. They are not thick, fleshy, cellular

PEAT. 533

masses, coated with a spongy bark capable of detaining moisture with
great force. On the contrary, they are, as has been already stated,
delicate hair-like fibres, whose bark is little more protection to
them than the skin of a leaf. Such being their structure, they are
emptied of whatever fluids they may contain when the earth in contact
with them becomes dry; and if in a growing state they necessarily
perish. All those directions, therefore, which insist upon keeping the
level of American beds below the surrounding surface, when the
situation is not naturally damp, are founded upon a correct appreciation
of the nature of these plants. Why calcareous matter in excess
should be offensive to them we are unable to explain. Such is the
fact; and it is probable that the reason why the American plants at
Knap Hill and Bagshot are finer than any in the valley of the Thames,
is on account of the great abundance of lime in the water of all the
latter district. It appears from analysis that while London water, that
is to say Thames water, contains 16 grains of lime in a gallon, Bagshot
water contains only one grain, or less. The true difficulty, then, in
growing American plants, is not the want of proper soil, for that may
be made, but the want of a sufficient supply of pure water; and it may
be a question whether a very material difference would not be found in
those places where American plants grow badly if rain-water alone were
used in watering them, instead of that from pumps and ditches.

It is as well to observe that the peat from bogs is not suited to garden
purposes, until it has been rotted down by long exposure to weather, or
by the action of lime or caustic ammonia (gas water). This is owing
to the large quantity of free acetic acid and tannin in its composition,
which renders it unfit to support vegetation till the acid is neutralised
and the tannin decomposed. Another way of rendering it a fit sub-
stitute for the upland peat, which gardeners prefer, is to ferment it in
a heap, mixed with stable litter ; if moistened with gas water, so much
the better ; in a twelvemonth it is fit for use, with the addition of loam
and about 80 per cent. of silver sand.

When we see that the Box-tree, the Fig-tree, the shrubby
Buplewrum delight in chalky hills, it is inferred that chalk is
necessary to those plants. But they will also grow in clay,
though not so well; and it is possible that they may prefer the
hills they live on, because they are hot and dry, not because
they are calcareous. Elymus arenarius lives in blowing sand;
but it may occupy that soil because of its extreme looseness and
dryness, not because of its being siliceous. Epiphytes do not
grow in earth; apparently because the peculiar organization of
their roots renders them impatient of having those parts
covered ; and they prefer the branches of trees to rocks, not

534 HERBERTS THEORY OF SOILS.

perhaps because of any peculiar food which they find on trees,
but because wood is a bad conductor of heat, and because they
find shade among branches, while rocks conduct heat more
rapidly, and are exposed to more dryness or to more wetness.
If rocks are soft, shaded, and so placed as to be exposed to no
sudden changes of semen tay then Epiphytes grow as well
on them as on trees.

Dean Herbert, a most acute and experienced gardener, held
that PLANTS DO NOT GROW NATURALLY IN THE sO BEST
SUITED FOR THEM. He contended that the reason why many
plants are found in peculiar places is not at all because they prefer
them, but because they alone are capable of existing there, or
because they take refuge there from the inroads of stouter
neighbours who would destroy them: and consequently he by
no means advised the gardener to imitate, in a servile spirit,
all that he saw happening in the abodes of wild vegetation.

“T saw,” said the Dean, “a Crocus, a Sternebergia, and an
Ornithogalum growing in contact with each other aloft on the
meagre sod of Mount (Enos; but not a seed-pod of the Sterne-
bergia could be discovered, and very few of the Crocus. Ina
more fertile sod they would have been choked by some stronger
plant, but they would rejoice in a better soil, if protected
against the oppressor. * * * The compost in which the Dutch
raise their improved bulbs of various kinds is known to be (see
Sismondi, des Jacinthes) a compost of humus, obtained from
thoroughly decayed Elm-leaves and dung of stall-fed cattle,
and mixed with sand deposited by the sea on a bed of prostrate
timber of unknown antiquity, in which there is probably
nothing calcareous. Does it not then appear that the case
stands thus—not that calcareous matter is essential to the
growth of Crocus, or even a useful auxiliary, but that Crocus
can bear the sterility of elevated calcareous mountains better
than most other plants of stronger growth? If that be true of
one genus, it will probably be applicable to others. * * * It
will be found that Orchis latifolia, removed from the swamp,
in which it struggles with other swamp-plants, will grow more
vigorously where it is cultivated with less wet. The small
Polygala vulgaris is stated in Mr. Babington’s Manual to grow

HERBERT'S THEORY OF SOILS, 5385

in dry pastures, having flowers either blue, white, or red. I
believe the stated habitation to be only thus far true, that it
does not grow in water. I do not recollect seeing it in sandy
pastures ; I know it well on chalk and on clay. In England it
is little admired. In the alluvial and very moist meadows of
Zante, near the sea, in the vicinity of Trieste, it formed a most
conspicuous part of the meadow-crop at the end of May, and
the beauty with which it painted the herbage was to me
astonishing. It seemed that, in a warmer climate, it could
endure more moisture than with us. On the slope of Monte
Spaccato, where no Grass grows, large single plants of it stood
in the bare soil amongst the stones, with every intermediate
diversity of pearl-colour and lilac, showing evidently that the
merits of that little plant under cultivation are not appreciated
or known.”

We believe that in this instance the views ff Dean Herbert
were in perfect accordance with every well ascertained fact
relating to other plants; and that one of the greatest errors
that have been committed is an unintelligent imitation of soils.
Men do not, in fact, distinguish between natural accidents, such as
soil, and natural habits, such as manner of growth coupled with
atmospheric peculiarities. Itis the natural habit of the Sikkim
Rhododendrons to grow in a damp atmosphere, highly charged
with the results of frequent thunderstorms; and they may
never be grown well except in the presence of such conditions
or of their equivalents. But the growing upon the branches
of trees is with them an accident, and they grow quite as well
if not better in soil; for there is nothing in the anatomical
condition of their roots which declares that in air alone are
they capable of existing.

A striking example of this is given in the Botanical Magazine,
Speaking of the management of the Lace-bark tree, Mr. John Smith
says: ‘“‘Mr, Wilson informed us that ‘it is invariably found growing
in very dry situations on marly limestone hills, where there is nota
particle of earth to be seen. The young plants grow in the crevices, or
honeycomb, as it is called, and in order to obtain them with roots, a
hammer or large stone is required to break away the porous limestone.’
He further adds, that ‘ the soil for growing it in should be composed of
one-third marl or lime-rubbish ; for I am persuaded that pure loam

536 NATURAL SOIL NOT ALWAYS THE BEST.

will kill them.’” But Mr. Smith observes: ‘‘In our experience, we
have never found any plant thrive by retaining it in its native soil, or
in soil too closely resembling it. If we could also imitate all the
various influencés of climate that modify and control the growth of
plants in their native localities, it might then be proper for us to
cultivate the Lace-bark tree in marly soil, like limestone; but our
plants afford evidence that such soil is not required when they are
grown in an artificially heated atmosphere. We have used good yellow
loam, mixed with a little leaf-mould and sand. In this they have
attained the height of 8 feet, and continue ina perfectly healthy state.”

This opinion is greatly supported by such facts as the fol-
lowing, which show that great numbers of. plants have no
particular predilection for soil, or at least, that if they have we
cannot show it to exist, and that there are facts in the relation
between plants and soil which remain without explanation.
Mr. Knight observed that varieties of the same species of fruit-
tree do not succeed equally in the same soil, or with the same
manure: the Peach in many soils acquires a high degree of
perfection, where its variety, the Nectarine, is of comparatively
little value; and the Nectarine frequently possesses its full
flavour in a soil which does not well suit the Peach. The
same remark is also applicable to the Pear and the Apple;
and, as defects of opposite kinds occur in the varieties of every
species of fruit, those qualities in the soil which are beneficial
in some cases will be found injurious in others. In those
districts where the Apple and Pear are cultivated for cider and
perry, much of the success of the planter is found to depend
on his skill or good fortune in adapting his fruits to the soil.
(Hort. Trans., i. 6.) Rhododendrons and Kalmias are usually
cultivated in peat earth mixed with sand, and yet they grow as
well in fresh hazelly loam, without any mixture whatever ;
and, than these two kinds of soil, none can be apparently more
dissimilar. The fine American cottons are grown in a cal-
careous sand, those of India in a deep black saponaceous earth ;
the American cotton will not thrive in the latter, nor that of
India in the former, as has now been ascertained; and yet the
species of Gossypium producing the two qualities have no
organic differences which can, so far as has yet been ascer-
tained, explain in the smallest degree the necessity, under

PINE-APPLE SOIL. 587

which it is evident that they labour, of being provided with
different kinds of food. The Alnus glutinosa, or Common
Alder, flourishes in wet clayey meadows; while Alnus incana,
or Upland Alder, is equally suited to a dry and light land: we
are totally ignorant of the reason of such a case as this.
Rhododendron hirsutum and Erica carnea are, in their wild
state, confined to calcareous soil; while Rhododendron ferru-
gineum grows exclusively on granite, and Erica vagans on
serpentine. We are informed by Beyrich (Gardeners’ Magazine,
iii. 442) that’ “the Pine-apple, in its wild state, is found near
the sea-shore; the sand accumulated there in downs serving
for its growth, as well as for that of most of the species of the
same family. The place where the best Pine-apples are culti-
vated is of a similar nature. In the sandy plains of Praya
velha and Praya grande, formed by the receding of the sea, and
in which no other plant will thrive, are the spots where the
Pine-apple grows best. The cause of this lies evidently in the
composition of the sand, which chiefly consists of salt, lime
from decomposed shells, and a very little vegetable mould.
Warmth, lime, salt, and moisture seem thegefore to be the
principal ingredients in which the Pine-apple thrives. Sand
will take a very high and continued degree of warmth, being
often heated by the sun so much as to scorch vegetation, and
yet it seldom dries to a greater depth than from eight inches
to one foot; sea salt is well known for its property of attracting
the nocturnal damps, and retaining them along time. The
lime of the shells seems to be the principal manure, which has
also been proved by the English here, who, by manuring their
Pine-apples with a mixture of stamped oyster-shells and vege-
table earth, produce very large fruit. The natural mould,
usually slightly mixed with sand, is partly of a vegetable and
partly of a mineral origin.” But it is well known that the
Pine-apples of England are much superior to those of South
America, and yet English gardeners grow their plants neither
in sand, nor saline, nor calcareous soil. Moreover we learn
from Mr. Campbell Lees that in the Bahamas the Pine-apple
will neither grow in decomposed Madrepore limestone, nor in
light deep black vegetable soil; but that it thrives exclusively

538 STERILE SOILS UNACCEPTABLE TO PLANTS.

in a red soil, which Professor Edward Solly found to be chiefly
remarkable for an unusually large proportion of oxide of iron.
(Journ. of Hort. Soc. i. 126.)

On the other hand we know that salt plants, like Rear, will
not thrive in the absence of the salt soil in which they naturally
grow; and that others, such as Samphire, the garden Pink,
the Red Valerian, the Sea Beet, are much improved in health
by its presence, to say nothing of Salicornias, and other purely
salt plants, which will not grow in saltless land. Chalk also
appears to be fatal to the healthy growth of others, such as
Rhododendrons, and some Conifers; while Beech and Box
prefer it. Clay again, which is invaluable as a soil for Quercus
pedunculata, is ill suited to Q. sessiliflora, and will not grow
Heaths at all. Therefore the opinion that the soil which
plants inhabit when wild is not necessary to them, requires a
good deal of qualification.

In like manner plants grow naturally and remain healthy in
places where no manure can reach them. But they are not
benefited by the absence of such agents; on the contrary,
even Mosses ang Lichens flourish most where they are best
fed, and plants inhabiting peat, sterile as that soil is, feed
greedily and thrive greatly when well manured. Of this a
se instance is furnished by Bagshot heath.

A more unpromising appearance than that originally belonging to
the present American nursery at Bagshot, can scarcely be imagined. In
its, present improved state, it affords a good example of what can be
done in the most sterile spots, The ground in question forms part of
50 acres, the whole of which is rated in the poor’s-rate book at 87. The
soil, which is from 12 to 15 inches in depth, is a black sandy peat,
resting upon a clayey subsoil very deficient in vegetable matter, and
naturally incapable of producing any crop. With cultivation it has
been rendered in the highest degree productive. The first operation
was to drain it from 3} to 4 feet deep ; it was then trenched 2 feet deep,
and to every acre so treated, from 30 to 40 tons of good farm-yard
manure was added ; and as a precautionary measure, in order to exhaust
the rankness attendant upon this treatment, it was deemed necessary to
take off the land a root crop of Potatoes, Carrots, Turnips, and Mangel
Wurzel. After this treatment, American plants were found to thrive
amazingly ; but, like all crops in very poor soils, they continue to be
benefited by the application from time to time of suitable enriching
materials.—Standish on American Plants.

CHAPTER XXI.

OF MANURE.

To manure a plant is to feed it artificially.

We see that plants and animals exist in a wild state without
the aid of any other food than what is presented to them
Spontaneously. There is everywhere around us a bountiful
provision for sustaining life. Providence has created animals
and plants to be fed on by man, animals prey on animals and
plants, plants subsist upon the decay of animals and plants;
and these mutual relations are so nicely adjusted, that we have
no reason to suppose that any one species has disappeared
since the creation from want of food. When species have
perished they have been exterminated by man.

But although plants are surrounded on all sides by the
materials necessary to sustain life, yet when man invades their
haunts and turns them to his peculiar purposes, natural
circumstances no longer suffice. Water and air and what
belongs to them remain indeed as before, but the food provided
in the soil becomes exhausted; when the races of plants are
altered by domestication they require more abundant nutri-
ment; and to obtain from the earth a greater produce than it
can yield spontaneously becomes a matter of the first neces-
sity; hence arises the application of manure, which is to the
vegetable kingdom what artificial feeding is to animals.

' The object of manuring is either to increase the fertility of
land, or, if fertile by nature, to keep it in that state by con-
tinually returning to it the substances which crops may have
removed, Ifa tree advances in the course of time from a mere

540 NATURAL FERTILITY OF SOIL.

point till it acquires the weight of many tons, it does so by
gradually absorbing from the earth and air such food suitable
to its nature as is found there. What is derived from the air
may be disregarded, the constituents of the atmosphere being
ever renewed and inexhaustible; but inorganic matter, pre-
sented to our eyes by the ashes of the tree when burnt, is
wholly derived from the soil, which is neither ever renewing
nor inexhaustible. Should the tree perish where it stood and
there decay, the soil would receive back all that it had given
up, and no exhaustion would have taken place. But if the
tree is felled and carried away, then the soil is robbed of all
the inorganic matter which entered into the composition of the
timber, and becomes pro tanto exhausted of its nutritive powers.
The matter thus removed is restored by manure. And so of
all plants else. Such is the inevitable result of cultivation.

Although it is unquestionable that all cultivated plants require
manure, on account of the exhaustibility of all soils, sooner or later,
yet it must be remembered that the rate of exhaustion depends upon
the proper nature of soil, and the treatment it receives at the hands of
the gardener. Sandy soils are rapidly rendered barren by cropping
without manure; clayey and loamy soils much more slowly. And
when the latter are skilfully cultivated crop after crop of certain kinds of
plants may be taken from them with no apparent loss of fertility. This
has been strikingly illustrated by the Rev. Mr. Smith, an accomplished
agriculturist residing at Lois-~ Weedon, a remote village on the oolitic
clay of Northamptonshire, where repeated crops of wheat, at the rate of
40 bushels an acre, have been obtained for many years successively,
without manure, by mere spade cultivation. This gentleman thus
succinctly describes his mode of tillage (the land being of course
thoroughly drained) :—

“ At the outset I plough the whole field early in autumn an inch
deeper than the staple, harrow, and roll, and harrow again—pulverising
and preparing it, in short, as for Barley. I then get in my Wheat,
leaving yard-wide fallow intervals between the rows. When the
Wheat is up I begin to dig, which is done thus :—At the end of the
interval I first throw out on the headland about 3 feet of soil to the
entire depth I intend to go the first year, and, supposing the staple to
be 6 inches, and the 4 inches of subsoil to be clay, this depth altogether
will be 10 inches, The spadesman now, with a shallow spit, casts the
6 inches of staple to the bottom of the trench of this yard length of
interval; and then, with another spit still shallower, throws the 4
inches of the subsoil lightly on the top, and so on all over the field.

LOIS-WEEDON CULTIVATION. 541

This process is clearly accomplished at two diggings. My object in
thus keeping the pure subsoil separate and unmingled on the surface,
which no single digging to the same depth could do so effectually, is to
enable the atmosphere during winter to have its full and unobstructed
influence on the clay; and when this effect has been produced, as it
will be found to be in spring, these important results will have ensued :
—tThe clay will have crumbled down to dust, a portion of its known
mineral constituents will have been rendered soluble, and it will be
brought into a condition to receive and retain the organic elements of
fertility contained in the atmosphere. It is only after this that the
horse-hoe in the summer well mixes the now pulverised clay with a
portion of the staple below, and fits the land for the following crop. In
the third and fourth years (the other moiety of the field having gone
through a similar process the second year) an inch more of the subsoil
is brought to the surface; and so on year after year till a depth be
attained by inch degrees, of 20 or 24 inches, ‘beyond which it is
neither needful nor convenient to go.’ The principle of the practice
being that no more of the subsoil be brought to light than can be
wholly pulverised before it be mixed with the staple, it is evident that,
in the end, after many years of gradual deepening, and repeated
stirrings throughout each year, the entire depth of these two full spits
will have become friable as garden mould.” *

Although this is an Agricultural fact, it is one equally applicable to
Horticulture; for it shows that by constantly exposing oolitic clay to
the action of the atmosphere, as much inorganic matter suited to the
food of wheat is annually set free in the soil as is removed by the crop ;
and that where doses of azotised manure are not required, deep and
careful cultivation has a better effect than mere manuring.

On the one hand, with shallow cultivation, puddled furrow-trenches,
and polished furrow slices, rain-water highly charged with the most
nutritious ingredients either runs off to ditches, or is so ill-directed
that it very imperfectly reaches the roots. On the other hand, by
means of close cropping, that which is intended to bathe every part of
a plant, and to be instantly absorbed by its verdant surface, is turned
aside. But at Lois-Weedon the soil is made so deep and kept so open,
that every root is certain to receive its allotted share of the invigorating
shower, and before the rain-water finds its way to drains, it has given
up its fertilising ingredients either to the living suckers, for which they
were intended, or to the soil which detains them till they are wanted.
There, too, the plants are so widely spaced, that no one row intercepts
what is intended for another. Even when manuring is indispensable,
the effect of the manure is much increased by the same kind of culti-
vation. Turnips and similar root crops have 5 feet for every plant to

* For full particulars of this practice, see 4 Word in Season; or How to Grow
Wheat with Profit. 12th ed, London, 1854..

542 EXHAUSTION NATURALLY PREVENTED.

spread in; the lines of wheat are a yard asunder, and catch all the rain
or dew that descends upon them; and thus half an acre of heavy clay
land brings six or seven quarters of Beans, or twenty-seven tons of
Swedish Turnips; and would carry Carrots, Cabbages, Celery, and
Onions, in similar proportion if it were a kitchen garden.

Tt may be added, that by a similar process were obtained some
magnificent British Queen Strawberries, exhibited a few years ago, at
Chiswick, by the Speaker of the House of Commons, which the spec-
tators fancied that the right honourable gentleman must have raised by
excessive doses of guano,

Under natural circumstances exhaustion is provided against
by the decay of plants where they stand, the soil thus receiving
back from the dead not only what it yielded up to the living,
but as much more as the living were able to solidify at the
expense of the atmosphere. And hence the extraordinary
fertility of the soil of some virgin countries. When nature
causes the tree to shed its leaves, it is not merely because they
are dead and useless to the tree, but because they are required
for a further purpose—that of restoring to the soil the principal
portion of what had been abstracted from it during the season
of growth, and thus of rendering the soil able to maintain the
vegetation of a succeeding year. Every particle that is found
in a dead leaf is capable, when decayed, of entering into new
combinations, and of again rising into a tree for the purpose
of contributing to the production of more leaves, and flowers
and fruit. If the dead leaves, which nature employs, are re-
moved, the soil will, doubtless, upon the return of spring,
furnish more organizable matter without their assistance;
because its fertility is difficult to exhaust, and many years
must elapse before it is reduced to sterility. But the less we
rob the soil of the perishing members of vegetation which
furnish the means of annually renewing its fertility, the more
will our trees and bushes thrive; for the dead leaves of
autumn are the organic elements out of which the leaves of
summer are to be restored in the mysterious laboratory of
vegetation. They contain the carbon or humus, and the
alkaline substances essential to the support of growing plants;
and although such substances can be obtained from the soil,
even if leaves are abstracted, yet they can never be so well
obtained as through the decay of those organs.

LEAVES ARE THE MANURE OF TREES. 543

For these reasons the practice of removing the leaves which fall in
shrubberies, in order to preserve neatness, cannot be too much con-
demned. Such leaves, when dried, contain from 5 to 10lb. of inorganie
matter, suited for the food of plants, in every 100lbs.; and this is
generally enclosed in a vegetable tissue, which runs rapidly to decay.
It is only otherwise with the hard leaves of certain resinous evergreens,
such as Pine-trees, Neatness, no doubt, must be observed; and this
will be sufficiently consulted if leaves are swept from walks and lawns,
and cast upon the borders in heaps, where they may lie and decay till
the winter has arrived, when they can be spread upon the earth like
so much manure. ,

The subject of manures has been most fully and ably treated
in both a theoretical and agricultural point of view by a great
number of accomplished chemists, whose works of themselves
form a small library,* to which the reader is referred. In this
place it would be superfluous, even were it possible, to present any
other than the slightest possible sketch of so great an enquiry.

In considering the action of manure there are two points
which more especially demand attention—the one, what consti-
tutes the more important part of the food of plants in general :
the other, what special food certain kinds of plants are known to

* Among these may be more particularly mentioned the following ;—

Anderson, in the Journal of the Highland Society.

Boussingault, Economie Rurale considérée dams ses rapports avec la Chimie, la
Physique, et la Météorologie.

Dana, A Muck Manual for Farmers.

‘Daubeny, Three Lectures on Agriculture, Papers in the Journal of the Agricultural

Society, &c.

De Gasparin, Cours d Agriculture.

Dumas, Chemistry of Organic Life.

Johnson, J. F. W., Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry, and Agricultwral Chemistry.

Lawes, Various Papers in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, Journal of Royal Agricultural
Society, Transactions of British Association, &c.

Liebig, Chemistry in its Applications to Agriculture and Physiology.

Mulder, Chemistry of Vegetable and Animal Physiology.

Payen, Chimie Industrielle,

Playfair, in Morton’s Encyclopadia of Agriculture.

Schitbler’s Agricultwr-Chemie. ;

Solly, E., Rural Chemistry, and Various Papers in the Transactions of the Horti-
cultural Society, &c.

Sprengel, Chemie der Pflanzen, Bodenkunde, Lehre von Diinger, Lehre von den
Urbarmachungen. .

Vileker, { in Morton's Encyclopedia of Agriculture.

Way, in Morton's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, and in the Journal of the Royal
Agricultural Society, :

544 CARBONIC ACID.

thrive upon. The first has been already very slightly adverted
to (pp. 28 and 29), but must now be more fully examined.

Nothing can be taken into the system of a plant while in a
solid state. To be suited to absorption, it is indispensable that
matter should be gaseous, or fluid, or soluble in water.

The most important GASEOUS SUBSTANCES are—1l, Carbonic
Acid; 2, Nitrogen; others may be practically disregarded.

Carbonic acid. When a plant is exposed to high heat, it is
soon reduced, however delicate it may be, to a brown or black
substance. That substance is charcoal, which constitutes by
farthe larger part of all vegetable structure. Charcoal is assimi-
lated by plants from carbonic acid, in which all atmospheric air
abounds; the carbon or charcoal is separated by vital force,
and the oxygen is liberated.

Carbonic acid is formed slowly by all animal and vegetable
substances undergoing decay in the presence of moisture ;
hence in part the manuring value of decaying leaves, of vege-
table mould, of the excrements of animals, &c.

It has been doubted, indeed, whether it is by the formation of carbonic
acid, that decaying vegetable matter acts beneficially, and it has been
imagined that what is called humic acid, formed from decaying mould
by the action of alkalies is taken up directly by plants as food.
Opinion is generally unfavourable to this theory ; and since we know
from the experiments of De Saussure and others, and it is not indeed
denied, that dead vegetable matter disappears in consequence of its
gradually combining with oxygen, and forming carbonic acid, there is
no necessity for looking to some supposed action of humates in order
to account for the manuring value of vegetable substances in a state of
decay.

It has been found that charcoal itself is highly beneficial
when introduced into the soil, and it has been inferred that even
charcoal acts by its property of assuming a gaseous form when
combined with oxygen. But chemists believe that it is rather
by virtue of its porosity, whence it derives the power of con-
densing gaseous matter, and slowly parting with it again, that
charcoal acts beneficially. According to Mitecherlich; “ the
cells of wood-charcoal have a diameter of about 33,5 of an
inch, and if a cubic inch consisted entirely of cells, their
united surface would amount to 100 square feet. By expe-

CHARCOAL, 545

riment it can be shown that the cells constitute ths of the
whole cubic contents of the charcoal; and allowing for the
space occupied by the charcoal, the actual surface of the cells
would be about 73 square feet. When charcoal is plunged into
carbonic acid gas, it absorbs into its cells no less than 56
times their cubic contents at the ordinary temperature and
pressure, and consequently the gas is condensed to 56 atmo-
spheres. But according to the experiments of Adami, car-
bonic acid liquefies under a pressure of 36°7 atmospheres, and
we are hence compelled to conclude that above one-third of the
carbonic acid which is condensed on the walls of the cells is in
the liquid state.”

Of late years a great deal has been said of the value of charcoal in
soil. Experiments have shown that in powdered charcoal alone plants
flourish with an extraordinary degree of vigour; charcoal has been
recommended as the best of substances in which to strike cuttings, and
by degrees it has gained a reputation which nothing now can shake.
It is true that some experiments with it have failed, owing, probably,
to its having been used in too fine a state, or to other accidental causes ;
nevertheless, the opinion of practical men is setting steadily in its
favour. Messrs. Loddiges employed it advantageously in the cultivation
of Orchidaceous plants, charring the wooden blocks on which they are
attached : that practice was introduced beneficially at Chatsworth, and
nothing can be more striking than its good effects in other gardens,
where a few weeks suffice to give a dark green healthy colour to the
plants attached to charcoal blocks. By mixing it with the soil of
Orange-trees their health is increased in a remarkable degree ; and it
is used largely as an ingredient in the soil employed by Mr. Barnes for
the production of the fine Pine-apples of Bictong This may be in part
ascribed to the mechanical action of charcoal, and to its freedom from
insects ; or, as chemists maintain, it may be owing to the power
possessed by charcoal of condensing within its pores carbonic acid and
other gaseous substances which are slowly yielded up to plants as they
are required ; or it may arise from a slow formation of carbonic acid,
as Mr. Rigg ascertained to occur ; for in six weeks he obtained more
than half a cubic inch (.64) of carbonic acid from 50 grains of soft Elm
charcoal; and we know from experience the softer the charcoal the
better it is suited to cultivation ; as indeed is shown by Peat charcoal,
a most valuable substance for gardeners.

Fortunately it matters little in practice whether charcoal acts bene-
ficially on plants by forming gaseous compounds from its own substance,
or by seizing them from the atmosphere, locking them in its pores, and
then releasing them as plants require them for their food. That it does

NN

546 CARBONIC ACID.

feed plants, and most abundantly, is proved by evidence that cannot be
controverted.

“The great utility of charcoal and wood ashes,” writes a correspondent
of the Gardeners’ Chronicle, “being admitted on all hands for gardening
purposes, I would direct attention to the necessity of a somewhat syste-
matic course of procedure in the mode by which it is made. Whilst
the felling of trees, the ‘stocking’ of hedges, or thinning of woods are
proceeding, is the time to lay in a considerable stock for the year. The
process of burning is most simple. I begin by burning all the largest
of the brush as a centre of operations ; following up with the smaller
wood ; and when in a due state of combustion, covering the whole with
a rough refuse of the kitchen garden, which has been twelve months in
collecting. Finally, a coating of turves or soil—double if turves; the
latter being reserved for prime potting purposes. The material thus
managed will furnish large masses of charcoal for Orchids, &c. ; smaller
lumps for drainage to pots; and wood-ash in abundance for dressing
seed-beds, for any plants which require fresh material.”

Being heavier than atmospheric air, carbonic acid has a
constant tendency to fall to the earth and to settle down among
its crevices, even if it is not carried thither in water. Hence
we find it abundantly in wells, drains, old sewers, and similar
places, in which, if moisture be present, roots develope with
prodigious rapidity. (See page 20.)

Boussingault and Léwy have ascertained experimentally that the
quantity of carbonic acid in the soil is very much beyond what has
been supposed, especially if it has been recently manured, as appears
from the following statement :—

In its normal condition atmospheric air contains .0004 in volume of
carbonic acid. In soil, on the contrary, twelve months after the appli-
cation of manure, from 22 to 23 times as much were found, and in land
recently manured as much as 245 times in weight. If, however, the
object is to ascertain the quantity of carbonic acid that is placed at the
disposal of the plants growing in the soil, the proportion contained in
the air confined in its pores will not suffice. It is necessary, then, to
know the quantity of air in a given volume of earth. This volume may
be easily estimated by saturating the soil with water, as the volume of
air displaced will exactly equal the volume of water introduced. Some
of the main results of the experiments, instituted for this second object,
are stated by the authors as follows :—

1. The air inclosed in a hectare (10,000 square métres, 11960.33
square yards) of arable land, one year after being manured, contains as
much carbonic acid as 18,000 cubic métres of atmospheric air. That is
to say, inasmuch as taking the average depth at 35 centimetres (about

NITROGEN. 547

14 inches), the hectare contains 3500 cubic métres of soil, the carbonic
acid in the soil in proportion to that in the air, volume for volume, is
as 36:7.

2. In the same quantity of land recently manured, the carbonic acid,
under certain circumstances, may be represented by that contained in
200,000 cubic métres of normal air, or in the proportion of 400: 7.

3. In the loamy subsoil of a forest, taking the average depth, as in
the former instances, the amount is that contained in 5000 cubic métres,
oras 10:7. There are of course more or less especial cases, for every
shade of difference is capable of occurring under peculiar data, In the
sandy subsoil of a forest, for instance, the proportion, as compared with
the loam in No. 3, was only as 1: 2.76,

Nitrogen, or azote, abounds in all the young parts, especially \
while in rapid growth; as organs become old it disappears.
It is evidently connected with high vitality, whatever its exact
action may be; and is as indispensable to the growth of a plant
as carbonic acid itself. The atmosphere consists of 79 per
cent. of nitrogen and 21 per cent. of carbonic acid. But
whether or not plants obtain their nitrogen in its pure state
from the atmosphere is uncertain. There is no doubt, how-
ever, that in the form of ammonia (an acrid gaseous compound
of nitrogen with hydrogen) it is eagerly consumed, provided it
is first reduced to the state of a soluble salt so as to lose its
causticity. The carbonate, sulphate, muriate and nitrate of
ammonia are all common forms of the substance, and being
soluble in water are readily absorbed by all parts of the live
surface of a plant. Lime has the power of decomposing these
salts and setting free their ammonia, for which reason lime
should never be used in conjunction with them. Nitric acid (a
compound of nitrogen with oxygen) is also another source of this
element, whence arises the great manuring value of nitrates ;
it exists abundantly in the atmosphere, as is shown by the
experiments of M. Barral, quoted at p. 29.

Like carbonic acid, ammonia is condensed and detained in porous
bodies. Mr. Way was the first who drew attention to the remarkable
power which soils generally have of absorbing ammonia and its salts.
It had always been believed that all porous soils possessed the power of
condensing ammonia, and it had likewise been long known that, in
addition to this, which might be called a merely mechanical effect, certain
soils possess the power of absorbing or fixing ammonia, in consequence

NNQ

548 AMMONIACAL GAS.

of certain chemical agents present in them; but other facts seemed to
point to some physical property belonging to most soils, in consequence
of which they possessed these powers. Mr. Way’s experiments show
the great absorptive power which the soil has; and give us some
evidence of the mode in which this power practically operates. It
appears that, if strong liquid manure, or a strong solution of ammonia
in water, is filtered through a portion of soil, the ammonia will be
absorbed, and the liquid which passes through will be found to contain
no ammonia, It is plain, therefore, that the small quantity of carbonate
of ammonia which rain-water usually contains, will be absorbed by the
surface soil, and that in a very heavy shower of rain, sufficient to render
the soil thoroughly wet to a considerable depth, there is no fear that the
ammonia thus supplied to the soil will be washed away by the con-
tinuance of the rain. ‘‘It is also evident,” says a writer in the
Gardeners’ Chronicle ‘‘that, when land is flooded, the ammonia
which the water contains will be for the most part arrested by the soil
over which it flows. The great fertilising effects produced in Egypt
by the waters of the Nile, in its periodical floods, were no doubt partly
due to this cause; the benefit resulting not from the small quantity of
slimy mud which the water left behind, but from the saline matters
which it brought with it, and which were absorbed and retained by the
surface of the soil as the water flowed over it. Mr. Way’s experiments
show that a good soil (one which contains a reasonable quantity of clay,
which is essential to this effect) has the power of thus absorbing or
fixing ammonia in whatever state that substance is presented to it; it
is the same whether the ammonia is in its free and uncombined form or
whether it is united to some acid constituting a neutral salt. In the
former case the ammonia is directly absorbed, and the water passes off
entirely deprived of it; in the latter case the salt appears to be decom-
posed under the influence of this peculiar power of absorption, the acid
with which the ammonia was previously combined uniting to lime or
some other base present in the soil.”

Wherever animal matters are decaying there ammoniacal gas
is evolved. Thrown into the air in the form of a carbonate, it
is immediately dissolved in the vapour eternally present, and
when that vapour is precipitated as rain it is conveyed to the
earth and to all the foliage that intercepts it. Absorbed by the
leaves, sucked up by the roots, it adds intensity to the green
colour and vigour to all the powers of vegetation. How it acts
is immaterial; that it does act, and with admirable effect, is
now undoubted.

“The nitrogen of putrefied animals,” says Prof. Liebig, “is
contained in the atmosphere as ammonia, in the state of a gas

MANURING PLANTS THROUGH THEIR LEAVES. 549

which is capable of entering into combination with carbonic
acid, and of forming a volatile salt. Ammonia in its gaseous
form, as well as all its volatile compounds, is of extreme
solubility in water. Ammonia, therefore, cannot remain long
in the atmosphere, as every shower of rain must effect its
condensation, and convey it to the surface of the earth. Hence,
also, rain-water must at all times contain ammonia, though not
always in equal quantity. 3t must contain more in summer
than in spring or in winter, because the intervals of time
between the showers are in summer greater; and when several
wet days occur, the rain of the first must contain more of it
than that of the second. The rain of a thunderstorm, after a
long-protracted drought, ought, for this reason, to contain the
greatest quantity conveyed to the earth at one time.”

This fact has been occasionally applied to the improvement of the air
of glass-houses, by manuring plants through their leaves. When the
philosopher of Giessen demonstrated the important truth that ammonia
is derived from the atmosphere, a new light was thrown upon the
refreshing and invigorating effect of heavy rains, which act, not
merely by their water, as once was thought, but also by the car-
bonate of ammonia which they bring down. So far as agriculture is
concerned this is, however, a truth devoid of possible application,
because the volatile carbonate cannot be advantageously used, arti-
ficially, through the agency of the atmosphere. But it is otherwise
with gardeners, who have to create an artificial atmosphere in a con-
fined space. It is not a little remarkable, then, that so simple an
agent, so easily procured, and applicable with so little trouble, should
have scarcely ever been employed in hot-houses in the proper manner,
Where it has been used it has been almost invariably when dissolved
in water, and applied with a syringe.

The carbonate of ammonia of the atmosphere is suspended, dissolved
‘in invisible vapour. In this state it is incessantly in contact with
every part of the foliage. When rain falls, the ammonia disappears
for the moment, passing downwards in the rain-drops to the ground,
and thence arriving at the roots of plants. But if it is in gardens first
dissolved in water, and then thrown upon plants with a syringe, natural
conditions are by no means imitated, It reaches no part except that
on which the water falls,-half the upper surface and nearly all the under
surface of the foliage is missed, and it is scarcely detained even upon
the parts which the water actually touches. The proper course is to
throw it into the air in the form of gas. This is easily effected in the
following manner. When a greenhouse or hothouse is shut up, warm

550 EFFECT OF AMMONIACAL MANURE.

aud damp, rub upon the heated pipes, the flues, or a hot piece of metal,
a small piece of carbonate of ammonia with some water (not dry) ; the
peculiar smell of smelling salts will be instantly perceived, and if this
is done at the two ends of a house, as well as in the middle, the air
will rapidly receive a sufficient charge of the substance. After it has
been allowed to remain about the plants for a short time, some gardeners
syringe their houses freely ; but it is doubtful whether that is the best
plan, provided the air of the house is naturally damp. The effect of
this simple application is very remarkable, quickly producing a visible
change for the better in the appearance of the plants.

But caution must be used in the application. A piece of carbonate
of ammonia as large as a shilling is sufficient for one charge in a stove
40 feet long ; and it is indispensable that it should be volatilised by
rubbing it in water, otherwise its causticity is too great, and leaves are
burnt.

It is no doubt owing to the quantity of carbonate of ammonia
which they evolve, that ‘“‘dung-linings” have been found so much
more conducive to healthy vegetation, than heating materials of any
other kind, An experienced gardener gives the following directions
for employing it in Cucumber pits, heated by hot water :—Use it twice
a week, in the following manner. When you close the pit for the
night, place a bit of the carbonate (pure), about the size of a large
garden Pea, alternately back and front, under each light, on a small
piece of glass, but dip the glass first in water, to wet it. The surface
of the soil and interior of the pit should also be slightly syringed or
otherwise moistened, in order that a quantity of moisture or vapour
may be formed in the atmosphere at the time of the application; then
shut up close for the night. The only caution required is to take care
to procure pure carbonate of ammonia, and to use it only in a moist
atmosphere, for it is much more caustic in dry than in moist air.

The effect of ammoniacal manure is to promote the growth
of all the green parts, the-colour of which becomes rapidly
more intense under its influence. In excess it causes rank-
ness, that is to say, it forces the vegetable tissue to form faster
than it can consolidate, and in such a state plants are pecu-
liarly subject to the attack of mildew. It is well known among
farmers that rank corn is certain to mildew; rank potatoes
suffer more from the same cause than such as form slowly;
and the fact has been also observed in the case of the Vine
disease. Whether the presence of nitrogen in excess is pecu-
liarly favourable to the development of all kinds of fungi,
which is probable, or whether they merely attack rank plants

PUTRID YEAST—WATER—LIME. 551

because they are in a state of debility, is at present one of
those uncertain subjects which are greatly in need of careful
experimental investigation.

Putrid yeast is one of the most powerful of the nitrogenised manures ;
and it consists chiefly of fungi in a state of decay. The dark green
colour assumed by the grass of fairy rings seems to show how large a
quantity of nitrogenous matter Agarics possess. The property which
such manure possesses of causing an excessive production of green parts
is apparently exemplified by the tendency which Roses, manured with
rank matter, have to form such green leaves in their centre as are
represented at page 84.

The only natural rLum which is of itself a food for plants is
water; and there can be little doubt that, independently of its
important offices as a solvent and a vehicle of other matters, it
does directly contribute to Vegetable nutrition. It forms more
than half the weight of fresh vegetables. When introduced into
a plant it is decomposed and recomposed under the influence
of vital force. Its energy is increased by an augmentation of
temperature, to which may no doubt be ascribed, in part, the
powerful effect of bottom-heat. :

Or SontusLte Supstances those which need engage the
attention of the gardener are chiefly, 1, Lime; 2, Potash ;
8, Soda; 4, Phosphoric acid ; and 5, Sulphur.

Lime.—When this substance is mixed with decaying matter,
it hastens its decomposition, and renders it more easily assimi-
lable by plants. This is its chief horticultural value, if regarded
as a manure. (See p. 528.) In old cultivated land rich in
humus it suddenly increases productiveness in a remarkable
degree, increasing the properties of dormant animal or vege-
table manure. Hence it has a most important effect in kitchen
gardens. But limed land soon loses its productiveness unless
manure is subsequently applied; and poor soils are soon run
out by it. To some plants, such as many Conifers, it is inju-
rious; to others it appears to be an indispensable article of
food, such as Potatoes, Saintfoin, Barley, Beet-root, Peas,
Clover, &. It also expels ammonia from manure.

Combined with sulphuric acid it forms Gypswm (Sulphate of

eee

552 LIME.

Lime). This substance is considered to act in two ways :—
directly, as food for plants, to which, being soluble in water, it
supplies sulphur and lime; and, indirectly, by its action on the
volatile carbonate of ammonia, which, wherever they meet, it
“fixes.” In this latter respect it acts in the soil on the
ammonia of rain-water, as it does when applied to our dung-
hills. Between sulphate of lime and carbonate of ammonia,
when they meet in solution, a double action ensues; each of
these salts is decomposed, and their elements unite in the forms
of carbonate of lime and sulphate of ammonia: the advantage
of the change arising from this latter salt of ammonia not being
volatile as the carbonate is. The ammonia, the most important
ingredient in manures, and the most fertilising element of rain-
water, is thus retained for the benefit of the soil—safe from
risk of loss by evaporation to the air again. Gypsum has been
found to benefit green crops, as the Turnip, Cabbage, Potato,
&c., and leguminous crops, as the Clovers, &c., more than
grain crops. The results of numerous experiments have been
published: much greater importance was at one time attached
to the manure, especially on the Continent, than subsequent
experience has justified, and accordingly its influence on a
variety of plants has been tested in every possible way. Those
who are curious on the subject will find a long and interesting
chapter upon it in Boussingault’s Rural Economy. Johnston’s
Agricultural Chemistry, too, is as instructive upon the theory
and use of gypsum as it is upon all the other points regarding
manures, soils, and plants which come within its province.

As to the rate at which this manure should be used, that of
course is dependent upon the composition of the soil and of
the plants for whose benefit it is to be applied: points so
difficult and expensive to ascertain, that the common practice
of sowing 4 or 5 cwt. per acre broadcast over the young plant
in spring must in general be adopted. And when applied
along with farm-yard manure, for the purpose of retaining the
ammonia evolved during the fermentation of the mass, it must
be used in the same rough way. It is cheap, and of itself
useful as a fertiliser, independently of its indirect value as a
fixer of ammonia. The theory of its action in this latter

GYPSUM—GAS-LIME. 553

respect would probably require in the case of rich manure
nearly 1 cwt. of it to every ton—a quantity much greater than
is generally used, though 20 cwt. and upwards per acre have
been recommended by some writers.

M. Meéne, however, says, that from numerous experiments
he arrives at the following conclusions :—

1. That gypsum has by itself no fertilising power, and is
useless as 2 manure if employed alone.

2. That gypsum is only useful when mixed with substances
containing ammonia; in which case there is a double decom-
position, and the ammonia is stored up for the use of the
plants.

8. That for gypsum may be substituted any other salt which
will fix ammonia, and render it not volatile at the ordinary
temperature.

Gas-lime, or ‘Blue Billy,” a substance poisonous to plants, has been
occasionally employed incautiously as a manure, because it contains a
large quantity of fetid matters which have been thought to be beneficial.
Manufacturers of fraudulent Guano employ it to scent their worthless
compounds, Dr. Ure, speaking of this substance, says, it “contains and
easily affords so much of the cyanic compounds that an eminent Parisian
chemist has taken out a patent in France for manufacturing prussic
acid and Prussian blue from that refuse. The only obstacle to the
profitable working of this patent is the accompanying sulphurets, which
di&charge a great deal of sulphuretted hydrogen, along with the vapour
of prussic and sulphocyanic acids; an aerial mixture of the most intense
malignity to breathing animals.” And he goes on to say that ‘that
vile refuse should be buried many fathoms deep in some barren region,
for when spread on the farmer’s field, after discharging the above
gaseous poison for some time, its sulphur gets oxygenated into sulphur-
ous acid, two volatile products alike detrimental to plants.” Without
going into the chemistry of the subject, it is sufficiently obvious that
fresh gas-lime is a dangerous agent, wholly unfit for use in confined
places.

It must not, however, be therefore inferred that gas-lime is worth-
less or dangerous when properly applied. Its deleterious qualities
disappear upon exposure to the air; sulphuretted hydrogen and
sulphurets are speedily decomposed by contact with air and moisture ;
and any other pernicious matters which it may originally contain
disappear, or enter into harmless combinations. Gas-lime is therefore,
when old, a good calcareous manure, fit for the purposes in which lime
is required—and something more ; for the sulphur-compounds which it

POTASH—SOAPBOILERS’ REFUSE.

‘contains themselves act as valuable manures, as soon as their intensity
is destroyed by diffusion through masses of earth. Such at least
appears to be the general opinion of practical gardeners,

Potash.—The ash which is left after wood or other vegetable
matter is burnt, consists to a great extent of Potash, an alkali
which seems to be indispensable to healthy vegetation. In
uncleared countries the trees are burnt for the sake of this
substance, which, after proper treatment, becomes the pearlash
of the shops. It occurs in all plants, and with Soda and Lime
is regarded by Liebig as specially destined to serve as a base
for the organic acids of vegetation. In its caustic state it acts
on decaying matter like Lime; as a manure it is only known
in the form of some salt, of which the carbonate, chloride, and
nitrate alone deserve mention. The carbonate is the common
form in which it appears in wood-ashes. The periodical
burnings of whole districts of heather, or bushes, or grass
land, so common among savage nations, is for the purpose of
manuring land with carbonate of potash, after which the
scorched land is rapidly covered with a brilliant coat of green.
The chloride exists in soapboilers’ refuse, a good manure, whose
efficacy is chiefly owing to this salt. Nitrate of potash (or
Saltpetre) has a great influence on vegetation, promoting vigour,
and rendering the tissues solid. It probably owes its action in
part to the nitrogen it contains, and in part to the potash.

C According to Persoz, potash contributes directly to the formation of
flowers_and_ fruit, and therefore he recommends it to be applied to
the Vine in the following manner: ‘When it is wished that wood
should be developed, the Vines must be placed in a trench and covered
with 3 or 4 inches of earth, with which have been mixed, for every
square yard of the surface of the trench, 8 lbs. of pulverised bone,
4 Ibs. of pieces of skin, leather, horns, tanners’ refuse, &c., and 15 Ib.
of gypsum. (Here ammonia is depended upon.)

‘“ When the wood is sufficiently formed, which will be in a year or

two, according to circumstances, the roots must be supplied with salts

( of potash, in order that the fruit may be produced. For this purpose
it is necessary to spread over the trench, at a distance of 3 or 4 inches
from the buried wood, for every square yard of surface, 53 lbs. of a
mixture formed of 8 lbs. of silicate of potash, and 23 lbs. of double
phosphate of potash and lime. The trench is then to be filled up, and
the roots have as much potash as they will want for along time. To

SOAPSUDS—SODA—SALT. 555

prevent, however, the exhaustion of the potash, it is as well to spread
every year at the foot of the stools a certain quantity of the marc of
grapes; this mare containing 2.5 per cent. of carbonate of potash, will
restore annually a large proportion of the potash which may have
disappeared from the trench.”

Soapsuds have an undoubted value because of their potash, irrespective
of the animal matter they contain, Upon Cabbages, Cauliflowers, and
all the Brassicaceous race they produce an immediate and very advan-
tageous effect. Potash constitutes the most valuable part of the ashes
left after a plant is burnt, and adds powerfully to the fertilising effect (
of all composts to which they are added.

‘Vegetable or wood ashes are esteemed the very best manure by the
Chinese. The weeds, which are separated from the land by the
harrow, with what they otherwise are able to collect, are carefully
burnt, and the ashes spread. The part of the field where this has been
done is easily perceived by the most careless observer. Indeed, the
vigour of the productions of those parts of their land where the ashes
have been applied, is evident as long as the crop continues on the
ground. The ashes of burnt vegetables are also mixed with a great
variety of other matters in forming the compositions which are spread
on the fields, or applied to individual plants. (Hort. Trans. vy, 52.)

\

Soda is regarded by Liebig and others as a natural
equivalent for potash, although it is present in much smaller
quantities in the structure of plants. Weigman and Polsdorff
found that the Salsola Kali which naturally grows in pre-
sence of a salt of soda (chloride of sodium) grew quite as well
without soda if a salt of potash (chloride of potassium)
were present; but that it would not. grow in soil containing
neither one nor the other. Hence, if this be so, we must
infer that provided soil contains alkaline matter it is im-
material whether that matter be soda or potash; and also that
the salts of soda have as good an effect on vegetation as those
of potash. This point wants further examination. In the
meanwhile it may suffice to say that the influence of the salts
of soda is very analogous to that of salts of potash, as we
believe we see in nitrate of soda and nitrate of potash. But
in these instances it is not at all settled whether their good
effect is owing to their nitrogen or their alkali.

Common salt (chloride of sodium) is very frequently used as a

manure, and to plants naturally found on the sea-shore is indispensable,
The magnificent Asparagus of St. Sebastian owes its excellence in some

556

ACTION OF SALT ON ASPARAGUS.

measure to-the beds being inundated with sea-water at spring tides, as
we learn from Capt. Churchill, and we know that its influence is
extremely beneficial to this crop whenever it is applied while the plants
are making their growth.

The following testimony has been borne to its effect on Asparagus, in
the Gardeners’ Chronicle: —‘‘ I forked into worn-out beds some manure
from an old Cucumber bed, levelled the surface, and completely covered
the beds with fine salt, at least a } of an inch in thickness, leaving it to
be washed in by rains. The result was that every weed was killed, and
the Asparagus has thriven in a remarkable degree, throwing up nume-
rous heads of large size and of excellent quality.” With equally good
success another applied salt in summer at the rate of 2 lbs. per square
yard, A third in the spring of 1843, which was cold and wet, manured
his beds, 14 yards long and 1 wide, with salt at the rate of 2 lbs, to the
yard. He adds that, notwithstanding the unfavourable season, his
produce was greater and finer than ever he previously had it. In the
following year the same plan was adopted, the spring being dry and
frequently hot, and the produce was even greater and better in every
respect than that of the previous year. So satisfied is another corre-
spondent with the system of salting Asparagus beds, that he says :—
“‘T have a bed 30 feet in length and 5 feet in width, on which I put
1 ewt. of salt about the middle of March for two years successively.
The increase of crop, both in regard to size and number, is most extra-
ordinary ; I intend to continue 1 cwt. of salt for this bed every March.”
In like manner other writers used salt at the rate of from 1b. to
24 lbs. per square yard with the most striking advantage, applying it
after cutting off the tops, and in spring in rainy weather. From these
and numerous other instances it would appear that the beneficial effects
of salt as a manure for Asparagus is fully established, provided it is
applied at a proper period, which, in the majority of cases, has been
when the plant was in a growing state. Mr. Bree, of Stowmarket,
however, applied it with great advantage after dressing the beds in
autumn, and again early in spring, using 1 lb. to a square yard. He
argues that the salt has to be washed through a considerable depth
of soil before it reaches the root, and when it does arrive there that its
caustic character will have materially altered by dilution and chemical
decomposition, and that it will do no harm then, but that it is injurious
when applied to the delicate texture of the young shoots late in the
spring. In the few cases in which salt has been said to be injurious,
the beds have either been in bad condition as regards drainage, or it
has been applied to beds newly formed, and therefore to plants with
wounded roots, for such recently planted Asparagus must be considered,
to be, however carefully the plants may have been taken up. The
same may be said of Sea Kale: about 1} lb. is used to the square yard.
It is sometimes employed with advantage for Celery, but in that case

GLAUBERS SALT—PHOSPHORIC ACID. 557

the dose should not be half so strong. Its general effects are not to
force plants and give them a dark colour, like ammonia, but to con-
solidate their tissues, and to render them crisp as well as succulent.
There is no sufficient proof of its preventing mildew, as has been often
asserted ; nor, on the other hand, is there any satisfactory disproof of
that statement.

Glaubers salt (sulphate of soda) has been occasionally recommended,
but it seems to have little value, and is hardly known in gardening.
It may produce such good effect as belongs to it as much by its sulphur
as its soda. According to Prof. Johnston it acts energetically on
Potatoes, Rye, Peas, and Beans, ‘not upon the straw but upon their
pods, increasing their number and enlarging their size.” Dose, not
less than 1 ewt. of the dry salt per acre, applied dissolved in water, or
broadcast in wet weather.

Phosphoric Acid.—It has been long known that bones exercise
a very powerful effect upon plants. If broken bones are used
as the drainage of pots, roots soon find their way down to
them and pierce them. Bone-dust has been used for years as
a most valuable manure for Turnips when drilled in with the
seed. The pastures of Cheshire, exhausted by the continual
removal of grass by the animals that grazed upon them,
recover their fertility when dressed with bones. To what is
this owing? It was at first thought that it was the animal
matter contained in them which gave the value. But boiled
bones, and bones burnt to an ash, proved to be as efficacious
as fresh bones. Then it was imagined that the lime contained
in bones produced the effect; but lime used separately had no
effect. Hence it became an irresistible conclusion that it was
the phosphoric acid that: in combination with lime (phosphate
of lime) constitutes bones, which principally caused such un-
accountable fertility. Hence arose the manufacture of super-
phosphate of lime, by Mr. Lawes, now so indispensable to
cultivators. By mixing bones with sulphuric acid, their lime
is in part seized upon by the acid, and converted into gypsum
or sulphate of lime, and in part remains combined with the
phosphoric acid, forming a superphosphate (or biphosphate)
which readily dissolves in water, and is thus immediately pre-
sented to plants in a form in which it can be absorbed. Mere
bones, on the contrary, part with their phosphoric acid slowly.
The practical consequence is that mere bones continue to

558 PHOSPHATE AND SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME.

produce an effect on land slowly but for a long time; while the
effect of superphosphate, which acts immediately, soon dis-
appears.

Superphosphate of lime is prepared by pouring over bones their own
weight of sulphuric (or hydrochloric) acid, or half their weight;
or by using their acids diluted with twice their weight of water, and
when effervescence has ceased adding to the mass torrified sawdust,
peat charcoal, bone-dust, or any other dry powder, which will reduce it
toa state fit for drilling. Or it is mixed with a large quantity of water,
and used in a liquid form. Or it may be prepared by placing 13 bushel
of finely-ground bones in a tub, with half their weight of acid, diluted
with four times the quantity of cold water; after some hours, a few
bushels of fine mould and some coal-ashes should be added, so as to
make the whole amount to 15 bushels of compost. This may be used
in three days after its preparation, but would be better if kept longer.
The mixture is to be applied at the rate of little more than 2 bushels
per acre; when it successfully rivals 16 bushels of bones. Another
way is the following. Take a large but shallow tub, about 18 inches
deep (regulating the size according to the quantity required), spread
the bones at the bottom of the tub, and add sufficient water barely to
cover them, then pour in the acid, stirring the whole mass with u
strong fork; an immediate effervescence. takes place, and the bones
will be sufficiently dissolved for use in 48 hours, or even less. To
prepare the compost, mix half the quantity of peat or wood ashes—
according to quantity of bones used, passing it, if necessary, through a
coarse sieve—and afterwards adding as much dry mould as the drill
requires. This plan is better than dissolving the bones in a heap of
dry mould, because, without great care, the acid, when poured on the
bones, is apt to escape into the mould, therefore it is better to add the
water first ; a tub is better than an iron vessel; sulphuric acid having
a great affinity for metal will soon destroy it, but it has no effect
upon. wood.

If bones are to be used without preparation it is best to buy half-inch
or inch bones, in order to avoid the frauds of dealers, who are apt to mix
plaster of Paris and other worthless materials with bone-dust. It has
also been suggested that it is advantageous to employ a preparation of
bone, which, being very fine, requires no digesting with sulphuric or
muriatic acid, and is both immediate and permanent in its effects:
that is to say, the sawdust of a button factory ; its effects are astonish-
ing. The progress of the plant after the first shower of rain is so great
that it has been employed by many gardeners with much advantage,
among other things upon Pine plants, and the effects were wonderful.
In 1842 Mr. Spencer, gardener at Bowood, used this bone-dust for
Pelargoniums, and with good results. The roots that were emitted into

PHOSPHATES—SULPHOUR. 559

the soil céntaining the bone-dust, were as large as moderate-sized
goose-quills ; and the plants, in consequence of their having such strong
and vigorous roots, grew to asize almost incredible. And not only were
they large, but they were strong and vigorous evough to support their
trusses without the aid of sticks, although many of the trusses con-
sisted of twelve, thirteen, and fourteen flowers each. The plants had
only a few sticks at the commencement of their growth, merely to keep
the branches at regular distances from each other. The flowers were
half as large again as usual. Some of these plants kept up a succession
of flower from four to six months. A few that were “spotted” were

put in soil containing the bone-dust, and in ten days they had put on

so many young leaves as to completely hide the ‘‘spotted” ones. This

dust was purchased cheap at a button factory in Bristol in 1839, but its

value being soon ascertained, in 1842 the price was more than doubled.

It is obvious that bone-ash only differs from button-dust in the want of
animal matter.

The apparent effect of phosphates is to stimulate vegetation,
and to promote the formation of roots. It is in this way more
especially that they operate upon root crops, whose seeds form
their radicles rapidly under the infiuence of phosphoric acid,
and soon establish them securely in the ground beyond the
reach of dryness. All plants whose ashes have been examined
contain phosphates, which may therefore be regarded as universal
vegetable food. “Alkaline and earthy phosphates form in-
variable constituents of the seed of all kinds of Grasses, of
Beans, Peas, and Lentils.”—Liebig. In Rhododendron ferru-
gineum they amount, according to Saussure, to 17°25 per cent.
To have any value it is, however, indispensable that they should
be soluble. Hence the insoluble phosphate of iron is useless
to vegetation. This is to be remembered in estimating the
worth of manure, for phosphates are now regarded as the most
important ingredient in manure, with the single exception of
ammoniacal salts. Hence when sewage water is deodorised by
salts of iron, the resulting phosphate being insoluble, the liquid
loses much of its value.

Sulphur.— Plants contain, either deposited in their roots or
seeds or dissolved in their juices, variable quantities of com-
pounds containing sulphur. In these nitrogen is an invariable
constituent. Two of the compounds containing sulphur exist
in the seeds of cereal plants, and in those of leguminous

560 SULPHURETTED HYDROGEN.

vegetables, such as Peas, Beans, and Lentils. A third is always
present in the juices of all plants; and it is found in the
greatest abundance in the juices of those which we use for the
purposes of the table.” —Liebig.

This sulphur is obtained from the sulphates contained in
soil. Hence the value of such substances as sulphate of lime
(gypsum), of sulphate of ammonia formed when sulphuric acid
is brought into contact with carbonate of ammonia in dung-
hills, and of the foetid gas called sulphuretted hydrogen, which
is formed abundantly in the decomposition of animal matter.

Sulphur alone has been used to advantage as a manure. Not being
soluble in water, it cannot pass as such into the plants; still, if it is
well pulverised, it will be converted (by attracting the oxygen of the
air) into sulphuric acid, which will then unite with any bases of the
soil into a sulphuric salt. This process will most probably easiest take
place when the soil contains much carbonate of lime, as the lime dis-
poses (by its great affinity for sulphuric acid) the sulphur to unite
quicker with the oxygen of the air. It is, however, very doubtful if
sulphur could be used as a manure on a large scale. In addition to this
it is asserted that experiments have proved the utility of sulphurets
(combinations of sulphur with the metals of lime, soda, or potash) as
manuring substances. It is also stated that they destroy worms and
insects, most probably by developing sulphuretted hydrogen gas by
their decomposition. We have seen before, that gypsum and ashes
often contain sulphuret of calcium and sulphuret of potassium, Further
experiments have to prove whether these substances can ever be use-
fully employed in agriculture on a large scale. I have often used
potashes, containing much sulphuret of calcium, as a manure, but the
effect seemed neither good nor bad.—Sprengel.

The great objection to manures containing sulphuretted hydrogen
is its intolerable fotor. ‘The offensive exhalations produced by putre-
fying matters arise,” says Schattenmann, ‘‘ principally from the flying
off of carbonate of ammonia and sulphuretted hydrogen gas: butif a
solution of sulphate of iron is thrown among such matters, a double
decomposition immediately takes place; the sulphuric acid of the
sulphate of iron combines with the ammonia, and converts it into
a fixed salt; the iron combines with the sulphur, and forms a sul-
phuret of iron. The unpleasant smell of ammoniacal vapour and of
sulphuretted hydrogen disappears immediately, and the putrefying
matter that is acted on retains nothing more than a feeble odour,
which is not in the. slightest degree disagreeable.” The objection to
this mode of disinfecting manure is that the phosphoric acid of manure
is likely to be converted into an iron phosphate and thus rendered

COPPER—IRON—SILICA. 561

useless, and that the free sulphuric acid attacks the straw and renders
it less capable of decay.

It thus appears that the important substances which are
required to form an artificial food for plants are 1, Carbonic
acid; 2, Nitrogenous compounds; 3, Water; 4, Lime; 5, Potash;
6, Soda; 7, Phosphoric acid; and 8, Sulphur. For practical
purposes other matters may be neglected.

We are not, indeed, warranted in regarding the presence of iron,
copper, or other substances, in plants, in minute quantities, as alto-
gether accidental and unimportant; for I do not know what warrant
we have for saying that any of the constant phenomena of nature,
however minute they may seem to be, are accidental. It is certain,
that, where mineral substances occur abundantly in plants, they are
part and parcel of their nature, just as much as iron and phosphate
of lime are of our own bodies; and we must no more suppose that
grasses can dispense with silica in their food, or marine plants with
common salt, than that we ourselves could dispense with vegetable and
animal food. Copper occurs in Coffee, Wheat, and many other plants
(it is believed in the state of a phosphate); iron, as a peroxide, in
Tobacco. John, in his experiments upon these matters, found that
the Ramalina fraxinea and Borrera ciliaris, two lichens, contained a
great quantity of the last metal, although he could not find a trace of
it in the Fir-tree, on the topmost branches of which the lichens grew.
We cannot suppose that such things are the result of accident, and
that it is unimportant to the plants containing minerals thus con-
stantly, whether such substances are present in their soil or not; but
we may be permitted to believe that all cultivated land contains as
much as plants require, and that they need not be supplied artificially.

In order to ascertain which of these is most important to a
given plant, recourse has been had to the analysis of the ashes
of plants, and we have a large quantity of evidence upon the
subject; the value of that evidence has, however, been much
disputed. An eminent chemist speaks with great disrespect of
the laborious analyses of Sprengel, and those of others have
been objected to on various grounds. ‘There are, however,
certain great facts which are admitted. All Grasses and Horse-
tails must have silica in abundance; lime is indispensable to
the Vine, to Peas, Clover, Saintfoin, and Tobacco; soda-salts
to marine plants; alkaline matter, especially potash-salts, to

land-plants, and especially to Conifers and other trees; phos-
00

562 FARM-YARD MANURE.

phates to plants yielding flour, the Jerusalem Artichoke,
Cabbages, Turnips, &c. On the other hand, lime is injurious
to Heaths; manures containing much nitrogen to Conifers and
stone-fruits, and so on.

The progress of Chemistry has not, however, been able to
furnish the gardener with any considerable amount of such
detailed information as he can use; the application of soils
and manures to plants remains for the most part within the
routine of art, and the gardener is still obliged to trust to his
dunghill for the elements of fertility. The author is, there-
fore, content to leave the refinements of manuring within the
province of the chemist, and to point out the peculiar properties
of the manures in common use.

Farm-yard Manure, when well made, is probably the best of
all, because of the great variety of substances which it contains.
It owes its blackness to vegetable mould, its peculiar odour to
ammonia and sulphuretted hydrogen ; it acts mechanically by
the undecayed straws of which it consists, and it contains within
it all the alkaline and earthy salts and phosphates that were
locked up in the tissues of the various plants of which it is
composed. When wood-ashes, the ashes of coal, the highly
fertilising “ house slops” of all kinds, consisting of urine, soap-
suds, grease, are carefully added, it becomes greatly improved ;
and if decaying animal matter is superadded, its nitrogenous
products are so increased as to render it necessary to weaken
its force by mixing it with earth. For garden purposes such
manure is, however, inappropriate, except in the case of kitchen
garden crops like Cabbages, &c., Celery, Asparagus, Sea Kale,
Lettuces, and the like. To fruit-trees it is injurious. When
otherwise used in gardens it requires to be reduced to the
condition of mere mould, when its nitrogenous constituents
shall have been much dispersed. .

According to Richardson’s analysis, 10,000 parts of farm-yard dung
contain 322 potash, 273 soda, 34 lime, 711 phosphate of lime, 226
phosphate of magnesia. Boussingault found only 2 per cent. of nitrogen
in what he examined in the dry state; and Richardson none at all:
from which we must conclude, either that the substance examined was
badly made, or that the analyses are imperfect.

GUANO—NIGHT SOIL. 563

Gardeners may substitute advantageously for farm-yard
manure the following compost. Ina hole or dry ditch deposit
during the year all the leaves, straws, vegetable refuse, that can
be collected; over these pour daily the “house slops.” If
offensive smell arises stop it by Peat, or Peat charcoal, or any
substance which will advantageously deodorise putrescent
matter. Should gas-water be obtainable, an occasional drench
with this will be advantageous. To the whole add from time
to time all that remains after heaps of wood and cuttings have.
been burnt. The “mixen” will contain all the eight sub-
stances by which plants are artificially fed.

Guano, the deposit of sea-birds on dry islands in the Pacific,
is the richest of all natural manures. It will contain, if of
good quality, in the best possible state for application to land,
about 17 per cent. of ammonia, and 25 per cent. of phosphate
of lime, upon which alone its value depends. But it is enor-
mously adulterated.

There is perhaps no garden crop which this does not suit, if not
applied too much at a time; the liquid form is preferred by gardeners.
It would be a most valuable ingredient in the compost just mentioned.

Night Soil.—This is a material of great energy, and was
probably one of the first substances employed by man when he
began to discover the value of manure. It forms the principal
resource of the Chinese, whose agriculture may be assumed,
owing to the unchanging habits of that people, still to bear a
strong resemblance to its primeval condition. In its ordinary
state this is largely composed of water, and is rich in phosphates
and ammoniacal compounds; but it runs rapidly into a state
of fermentation, evolving nauseous gases, and becoming too
offensive for employment in its natural state. Moreover, if so
used, it proves absolutely poisonous to vegetation unless it is
largely mixed with other substances, or diluted with water.
The most advantageous and economical manner of employing
it is to add powdered charcoal, peat, charred sawdust, or even
mere clay, daily, to the receptacles in which it is deposited,
by which means its peculiar gases are detained, and its offen-

sive odour destroyed. Lime should never be mixed with it, if
002

564 PIGEONS’ DUNG—BLOOD.

its value as a manure is to be preserved. Kitchen garden
crops, requiring strong manure, such as Asparagus, are those
to which it is most suitable. Trees, shrubs, and fruit-trees are
the least fit to receive its influence.

Various deodorised preparations of this substance are in the market,
under the names of Poudrette, animalised black, Poitevin’s manure,
Dutch or Flemish manure, &c.; but such preparations are frequently
almost inert, in consequence of unskilful management on the part of
the makers. No state of night-soil is so active as that in which it is
mixed with fine charcoal till its offensive odour is destroyed. Another
valuable preparation consists in mixing it with twice its weight of dry
bog earth, and the same weight of gypsum in fine powder; but in this,
as in all other cases, the urine belonging to it should never be allowed
to run to waste.

Pigeons’ Dung approaches nearly to guano in its effects. In
Persia dove-cotes are kept in the midst of the plains for the
purpose of securing this valuable dejection. The Persians use
it, as the Peruvians use guano, by mixing a small quantity in
the soil in which their Melons and other crops are planted.
Wherever it has been tried in this country, it has been found
of the greatest energy. The only danger in using it is that it
may be too strong and burn. The Belgians employ it as a top-
dressing for flax. When fresh it contains about 23 per cent.
of ammoniacal and alkaline salts, besides a considerable
quantity of phosphoric acid. It deteriorates by keeping.

‘A plant of Heath (Erica australis, I believe) was placed under my
care in the spring of 1823, with a request that I would treat it in any
way I wished. It was then about eight inches high, and growing in
a small quantity of peat earth and sand; and in that it continued to
grow with very little increase of size till the following spring. From
that period it was regularly supplied with water, which, though clear,
was considerably tinged with an infusion of pigeons-dung. I was
apprehensive this kind of food would prove fatal to it; but far from
this being the result, the plant grew with excessive health and
vigour, emitting very numerous branches, eight of which exceeded
eighteen inches each in length, It was then taken away by the owner

of it, and I have not since seen or heard of it, but it left me in a state
of luxuriant health.”—Knight in Hort. Trans., vii. 183.

The Blood of Animals, when dried, yields about 17 per cent.
of ammonia, but no phosphoric acid. Mr. Way suggests that

HAIR—MALT-DUST—SAWDUST. 565

it should be mixed with mineral superphosphate of lime. It
has been much praised as a manure for Orange-trees and
the like.

Hair, horns, shavings, and refuse matter of a similar nature,
are very like blood in their action, as they are in their compo-
sition, each containing about 17 per cent. of nitrogen. They,
however, decompose much more slowly, and may be used
advantageously wherever ammonia is to be formed slowly but
permanently. Vine borders are improved by them, and to
Hops they seem to be of specific value.

Malt-dust, the dried radicles of barley, is very rich in
nitrogen. It is employed as a top-dressing for lawns, or to
promote the formation of roots by sifting over ground about to
be turfed. Its effects are powerful but transient.

Oilcake, in powder, has also a highly energetic though
transitory action. Its great value consists in giving an impulse
to vegetation in the early stages.

Sawdust, Spent Tan, and similar refuse woody materials,
have no value in gardening until they have been rotted down or
charred; on the contrary, they are apt to injure the soil to”
which they are applied. This has, however, been denied.

“The following experiment with Strawberries in tan I saw made‘near
Edinburgh. The soil was very light, and appeared unfit for their
growth, yet finer fruit or of better flavour I have seldom seen. This
was entirely owing to a covering of old tanner’s bark, about an inch
thick, being applied between the rows. The bark not only kept the
ground moist and the fruit clean, but it is the material of all others in
which this plant most delights. Many persons may have remarked
how almost all plants, but particularly the Strawberry, will root into
the old tan of a bed in which they have been; forced, and yet because
they know new tan will kill weeds, they do not think it valuable as a
manure. In the same garden were beds of Strawberries which had
not been covered, but after growing, and flowering well, these bore no
fruit worth gathering (a very common thing if the soil is too light);
others were almost burnt up, whilst those to which the tan had been
applied were luxuriant, and the ground was covered with fine runners

fit to plant out, though the fruit was just in perfection—an uncommon
circumstance near Edinburgh.” —JI. R. Pearson, Chilwell.

Burnt Clay —Why burnt clay should be better than that sort
of soil in its ordinary condition, is sufficiently obvious. Its

566. BURNT CLAY.

texture is changed. In its natural state it is so adhesive, that
air cannot get into it, nor water out of it. It also offers great
mechanical opposition to the passage of roots through its viscid
mass, and hence it is exclusively inhabited by a coarse and
worthless vegetation. Burning changes all this; the particles
of clay lose their adhesiveness, and this alone gives a new
character .to the soil, which offers freedom to the entrance
of air and exit of water, and which crumbles readily away
beneath the advancing roots of a soft and succulent race of
plants. Such changes are in themselves most important; but
this is not all the difference between burnt and unburnt clay.
The roots of plants, which were before unable to decay, are
reduced by fire to their saline constituents, and so enrich the
land. And, moreover, the burnt particles of clay acquire the
power of absorbing ammonia from the air, and holding it within
their pores till showers fall and wash it into the land, where it
immediately acts as a nourishing food to the crops.

Mr. W. Paul, of Cheshunt, says, ‘It has been the custom here for
some years, in spring, when the operations of pruning, &c. are ended,
instead of suffering the rough branches to lie about, presenting an
untidy appearance, to collect them in a heap, and build a wall of turf
round them in a semicircular form, about three feet high. They are
then set fire to, and when about half burnt down, such weeds and other
rubbish as collect in every garden, and will not readily decompose, are
thrown on the top, and ¢arth is gradually cast up as the fire breaks
through. During the first two or three days no ordinary care is requi-
site to keep the pile on fire, but after this, if the fire is not allowed
to break through and thus expend itself, it will certainly spread
through the whole heap, and almost any amount of soil may be burnt
by still adding to the top. The soil we burn is the stiffest loam that
can be found within our limits, and is rather of a clayey nature; also
turf from the sides of ditches and ponds, in itself naturally sour and
full of rank weeds. The clay thus burnt has been found beneficial in
every instance. In black garden mould, where Peach-trees were dis-
posed to sucker and canker, despite of animal manures and drainage,
two or three annual dressings of burnt earth appear so to have altered
the soil that they now grow clean, vigorous, and healthy, are free from
suckers, and produce roots completely matted with fibre. The like
success has attended its application to other fruit-trees. During the
summer of 1842, six beds of Tea-scented Roses, growing in an alluvial
loam (the adjacent fields are of the same soil, and grow large crops of

BURNT CLAY. 567

Wheat and Potatoes, but the particles of soil run together after rain,
and present a smooth cemented surface) were manured with the follow-
ing substances, viz., 1, bone-dust; 2, burnt earth; 3, nitrate of soda;
4, guano; 5, pigeon-dung; and 6, decomposed stable manure. The
guano produced the earliest visible effects, causing a vigorous growth,
which continued through the season; the flowers, however, were
not so abundant, and the shoots did not ripen well, and were conse-
quently much cut with the frost. The bed manured with burnt earth
next forced itself into notice; the plants kept up a steadier rate of
growth, producing abundance of clean, well-formed blossoms; the wood
ripened well, and sustained no injury during winter. The results of
the other manures were not remarkable—acting as gentle stimulants,
the nitrate of soda and bone-dust least visibly so—although they were
applied in the quantities usually recommended by the vendors. From
the fact of the beds of Roses being all planted at the same date, and
their progress being carefully watched, I would suggest the application
of burnt earth as an excellent manure for Roses in adhesive soils, as
well as for fruit-trees where disposed to canker. Whether it acted by
furthering drainage, or by opening the soil to the fertilising influences
of the atmosphere, or by fixing the ammonia conveyed tothe soil by
rain, I do not pretend to say, but its value is sufficiently apparent.
I believe it is considered that the vegetable matter contained in
soils is destroyed by the act of burning; and I do not think the
remains of the materials used in combustion could exercise any extended
influence, as the quantity compared with the earth burned is so small,
and the earth comes from the heap burnt red and hard, and a great
portion quite free from the substances used in ignition.” This is con-
firmed by Mr. Rivers, another eminent Rose-grower, and by Sir Oswald
Mosley, who makes the following remarks :—‘‘I have had for some
time past several of these burning heaps in the environs of my garden,
which produce us in succession a very valuable manure: they are
easily kept in a state of combustion, and all the care they require is, to
cover and surround them occasionally with fresh clay or marl, that
they may not burst out into an open flame. My gardener sowed
two beds of Onion-seeds of the Globe, James’s Keeping, and Strasburg
sorts, mixed together, about the 10th of March last, with one pound of
seed to each bed. The beds were each of them eighteen yards by twelve
yards, and one of them was manured with good stable dung; the other
by this mixture of burnt clay and vegetable ashes. The produce of
the first did not exceed five bushels of an inferior size, the greater part
having been destroyed by the larva of the Onion-fly, whilst that of
the latter was twenty bushels of Onions, as large as those imported
from Portugal. Another remarkable circumstance is, that the former
have not kept well; but the latter are as sound as possible, not a
single bulb in the strings showing the least appearance of decay. The

568 GREEN MANURES.

same burnt mixture has been applied with equal success in my fruit-
garden. I had observed a great decrease in my crop of Apricots for
several years past, and upon a careful investigation as to the cause, my
gardener and I agreed that it must be owing to the tenacity of the
border ; we therefore had the old soil removed, and a quantity of this
burnt mixture with a little fresh loam substituted for it. My gardener
planted the border so renewed with runners of Keen’s Seedlings in
rows; they became strong plants by June, when they flowered and
produced an abundant crop, and all my Apricot-trees were covered
during the summer with well-ripened fruit. I am so fully persuaded
of the excellence of this kind of manure, that I intend to adopt it
generally on my farm. It will there have a double advantage; for I
shall be enabled to save the farm-yard dung for composts, and I shall
have the gratification of seeing my hedges neatly trimmed and my
ditches well cleared out. Our stiff soils will be also rendered more
friable, and will not suffer as they now do from the retention of wet on

the surface.” j

Green Manure is, perhaps, for many places, the best of all,
inasmuch as it consists of young highly nitrogenous matter,
ready to pass immediately into fermentation and decomposition,
and to restore to the earth all that it has abstracted, as soon
as itis buried. Moreover, if the plants used for this purpose
are tap-rooted, they bring up from the depth of the soil a large
quantity of alkaline and earthy matter, and leave it near the
surface, within reach of the roots of plants with less power of
penetration.

It has been said that by this method the most infertile soils
may be rapidly rendered productive. Lupines, Borage, Rape,
Spurry, or in fact any crop that forms large leaves and grows
fast, being sown close, and dug in as soon as they are ready to
come into flower, rapidly enrich land poor in organic matter, or
exhausted by repeated cropping, and render it fit for renewed
cultivation. If crops suited to the climate are selected for this
purpose, two or three crops will succeed each other in the same
year, and each contribute their quota to the soil. It is also
said that, owing to the increased temperature of soil thus
treated, owing to the fermentation of the green matter buried,
each successive crop grows faster and adds more than that
which preceded it. In this way barren sands are said to have
been rendered fertile, and exhausted kitchen gardens are

GREEN MANURES. 569

known to have been speedily renovated. It is no objection to
this mode of treatment, which is of great antiquity, to say
that it has only a temporary value, because the same must be
said of any other way of manuring.

The following experiments attest the value of the practice :—

‘“‘T received from a neighbouring farmer a field naturally barren,
and so much exhausted by ill management, that the two preceding
crops had not returned a quantity of corn equal to that which had been
sowed upon it, An adjoining plantation afforded me a large quantity
of Fern, which I proposed to employ as manure for a crop of Turnips.
This was cut between the 10th and 20th of June; but as the small
cotyledons of the Turnip-seed afford little to feed the young plant, and
ag the soil, owing to its extreme poverty, could not yield much nutri-
ment, I thought it necessary to place the Fern a few days in a heap, to
ferment sufficiently to destroy life in it, and to produce an exudation
of its juices; and it was then committed, in rows, to the soil, and the
Turnip-seed deposited with.a drilling machine over it. Some adjoining
rows were manured with the black vegetable mould obtained from the
site of an old wood-pile, mixed with the slender branches of trees in
every stage of decomposition, the quantity placed in each row appearing
to me to exceed more than four times the amount of the vegetable
mould, which the green Fern, if equally decomposed, would have
yielded. The crop succeeded in both cases, but the plants upon the
green Fern grew with greatly more rapidity than the others, and even
than those which had been manured with the produce of my fold and
stable-yard, and were distinguishable in the autumn from the plants
in every other part of the field by the deeper shade of their foliage.”
—Knight, in Hort. Trans., i. 250,

A writer in a Bavarian weekly journal recommends sowing Borage,
and when it is full grown ploughing it down. The good effects of
this plant as a green manure he has proved by long experience.
What renders it preferable to most other plants for this purpose is the
great quantity of soda and other salts which it contains. It may be
sown in April, and ploughed down in August in time to be followed by
Wheat. (Gardeners’ Magazine, i. 200.)

‘“‘T had been engaged in the year 1810 in some experiments from
which I hoped to obtain new varieties of the Plum, but only one of the
blossoms upon which I had operated escaped the excessive severity of
the frost in the spring. The seed which this afforded, having been.
preserved in mould during the winter, was in March placed in a small
garden-pot, which was nearly filled with the living leaves and roots of
grasses, mixed with a small quantity of earth, and this was sufficiently
covered with a layer of mould, which contained the roots only of
grasses, to prevent in a great measure the growth of the plants which

570 TIME TO APPLY MANURE.

were buried. The pot, which contained about one-sixteenth of a
square foot of mould and living vegetable matter, was placed under
glass, but without artificial heat, and the plant appeared above the
soil in the end of April. It was three times during the summer re-
moved into a larger pot, and each time supplied with the same matter
to feed upon ; and in the end of October its roots occupied about the
space of one-third of a square foot, its height above the surface of the
mould being then nine feet seven inches. In the beginning of June a
small piece of ground was planted with Potatoes of an early variety,
and in some rows green Fern, and in others Nettles, were employed
instead of other manures; and, subsequently, as the early Potatoes
were taken up for use, their tops were buried in rows in the same
manner, and Potatoes of the preceding year were placed upon them
and covered in the usual way. The days being then long, the ground
warm, and the decomposing green leaves and stems affording abundant
moisture, the plants acquired their full growth in an unusually short
time, and. afforded an abundant produce, and the remaining part of
the summer proved more than sufficient to mature Potatoes of an early
variety.” —Knight in Hort. Trans., i, 249.

Provided manure is of a permanent character, it does not
very much matter at °what time it is administered, because, if
it does not act at first, it will sooner or later; but when it is
of such a nature as to be easily dissipated, like malt-dust, or
soot, or putrid yeast, a knowledge of the proper season becomes
extremely necessary. Plants will not receive the influence of

‘manure so readily at any season as when they are in the most
zen and steady growth ; because at that time the absorbing
orce of their roots, and their vital energies, are all greatest.
Tt is for this reason that a top-dressing is almost useless to a
lawn at midsummer, but better in the spring, and best of all in
October. If applied at midsummer, the ground is dry, the
herbage closely shorn, and the vegetation extremely languid,
partly in consequence of the constant operation of the mower,
and partly because our summertide is the winter of herbage
grasses, which only flourish in the cool and damp seasons of
the year. When a top-dressing is applied in the spring, the
lawn profits by it so long as it continues to grow vigorously ;
but the quick approach of summer daily interferes with the
force of this kind of vegetation, and diminishes the effects of
the manure. On the contrary, if October is the season chosen
for the operation, the grasses are then beginning to grow

MANNER OF ITS APPLICATION. 571

steadily, the operations of the mower are, or should be, sus-
pended, and there are seven clear months at least during which
the effects of the manure continue to be felt.

It may be indifferent at what season such manures as bones,
and other kinds of matter which decompose very slowly, are
employed; yet there can be no doubt that upon every known
principle they also should be given at a time when vegetation
is most active, or about to become. so; hence the every-day
practice of digging manure into the borders of a garden in
spring, or shortly before an annual crop is about to be com-
mitted to the soil.

As to the manner of applying manure, it must be obvious
that it can be of no use unless it is in contact with the absorbing
parts of the roots; now those parts are the young fibres and
spongioles, as has been already stated, and, when plants have
arrived at any considerable size, the roots form the radii of a
circle whose circumference is the principal line of absorption,
This being so, if a plant has arrived at the state of a bush or
tree, it is useless to apply manure to the base of the stem,
because that is precisely where the power of absorption is the
weakest, if it exists at all; and, as the circle formed by the
roots is generally greater than that of the branches, the proper
manner of applying manure is, to introduce it into the ground
at a distance from the stem about equal to the radius formed
by the branches. And yet, although this is so evidently right,
I have seen a gardener, who ought to have known much better,
sedulously administering liquid manure, by pouring it into the
soil at the base of the stem; which is much the same thing as
if an attempt were made to feed a man through the soles of
his feet.

Manure may be applied in either a solid or liquid form.
The former gradually parts with its fertilising properties ; the
latter communicates them instantly. When solid manure is
used a certain, and perhaps large, portion of what is volatile is
lost; of liquid manure the whole may be absorbed, or safely
deposited within reach of roots, if precautions are taken
against its running to waste. The application of solid manure
is costly, in consequence of the labour which attends it: liquid

572 SOLID AND LIQUID MANURES.

manure, on the other hand, if distributed by either superficial
or subterranean channels, reaches plants at a comparative
small cost. On the other hand solid manure acts not merely
in its capacity of nutriment, but as an effectual means of
counteracting the natural tendency of soil to consolidation, a
tendency which liquids, repeatedly applied, augment. It
“keeps the land open.” Moreover, it parts with its nutrient
qualities slowly, giving plants time to absorb them, and not
overfeeding them at one time, while at another it starves them.
The last-mentioned advantage on the part of solid manure is,
however, less than it seems to be, for in consequence of the
facility of its application, liquid manuring may be repeated
over and over again without difficulty or material expense.
Upon the whole it seems to be now generally admitted that
when circumstances favour its application on a great scale it is
preferable to solid manure ; and that in the finer operations of
gardening its superiority, under all circumstances, is incon-
testable.

Cultivators who know nothing of manure except from the action of
the solid, and sometimes not very useful, materials produced in farm-
yards, cannot believe that half-a-dozen crops of Grass per annum are
possible, each heavier than the preceding. Nevertheless, such crops are
attained by skilful men, and will one day be common. Liquid manure
works the wonder; it operates like the overflow of the Nile or the
Indus. Where such periodical floods occur, they soak the land within
their reach with the rich ingredients dissolved or suspended in their
waters, and this, combined with the high temperature of the land itself,
forces on vegetation at a rate unknown with us, except where liquid
manure is expeditiously and abundantly administered. That being
done we have the heavy and frequent crops of Messrs. Huxtable,
Dickinson, Kennedy, Telfer and others. Grass begins to grow; it is
deluged with liquid manure; on goes the crop, exhausting the land,
but rapidly forming an abundant swathe; itis cut. Instantly after-
wards the exhaustion is made good by a new torrent of liquid manure,
which restores fertility and something more ; up springs the crop again ;
again it yields itself to the scythe, but more abundantly than ever.
The process of liquid manuring continues to be repeated with the same
results as long asthe season permits of growth ; and it may be repeated
for ever. What is true of a Grass field is equally true of a Cabbage
garden, of Celery, Peas, Lettuces, Asparagus, and all kinds of garden
stuff, so far as the power of liquid manure in causing exuberant growth
is concerned.

LIQUID MANURE. 573

In delicate horticultural operations, liquid manure, prepared
by steeping dung or other fertilising matter in water, and
drawing off the latter when clear, is most generally now -
employed, and is undoubtedly the best form in which it can be
administered, in consequence of its concentration, the facility
of its administration in any quantity, and its containing
nothing but soluble matter. It was first used by Knight,
who not only applied it with much advantage to fruit-trees,
but also to Heaths and other flowers; and it is, with the
exception of bone-dust, the form of manure best adapted to all
plants in pots.

Among the many receipts for making liquid manure, the following
are the best :—One gardener recommends, as ‘‘a composition which is
within everybody’s reach, and which has benefited every plant to which
he has applied it,—soot, dissolved, or rather mixed, with rain-water,
in the proportion of one tablespoonful of soot to a quart of water for
plants in pots, but for Asparagus, Peas, &c., six quarts of soot to a
hogshead of water. It must never be applied to plants in a state of
rest. It succeeds admirably with bulbs.” Another great grower,
though writing anonymously, says, ‘‘ Liquid manure is within the
reach of every small gardener who possesses a supply of water and a
common watering-pot, or an old barrel. Idle boys are plentiful enough,
and will gladly pick off a common a bushel of sheep’s dung for a shilling.
If this cannot be procured, guano is excellent; 11b. of either to six
gallons of water may be applied to the roots of most plants to much
advantage. Annuals, Pelargoniums, Verbenas, Calceolarias, and similar
ornamental plants are astonishingly improved by a watering twice
a-week, especially in dry weather, when these things suffer, and flower
in consequence weakly. The culinary department will also repay the
cultivator for similar attention. Cauliflowers, Celery, Cabbage, &c.,
can scarcely have too much liquid manure. Twice every week will do
immense service. There is no better prevention of mildew on Peas than
this—the crop will be greatly increased by its application, and the
quality infinitely raised.” Mr. Errington suggests some kinds of urine,
combined with good guano in solution, for plants in pots. ‘I have
used this mixture constantly for the last two years, and its effects on
many plants is quite astonishing. Sometimes I use that from the cow-
house, sometimes horse refuse; and Iam not prepared at present to
point out any perceptible difference. I have a reservoir in which these
fluids lay to ferment a fortnight; they are then transferred to another,
when I add highly clarified guano-water, made by dissolving the best
Peruvian guano, in clear tepid water, after the rate of four ounces to
every gallon of the above fluids. My Camellias surprise every one

574 HOW TO APPLY LIQUID MANURE.

who sees them; they are so dark a green that they are almost black,
whilst the texture of the leaves is like that of the Hoya carnosa, and
the buds, with which they are covered thoroughly, are of immense size.
Fibrous masses of soil, in conjunction with thorough drainage, coupled
with the constant use of weak and highly clarified liquid manure,
constitutes, in my opinion, the ne plus ultra of plant cultivation, as far
as the root management is concerned.”

In order that the full effects of liquid manure should be felt,
‘without injury, it is indispensable,—1, that it should be weak,
and frequently applied; 2, that it should be perfectly clear;
8, that it should be administered when plants are in full

owth. If strong it is apt to produce great injury, because of
the facility with which it is absorbed, beyond the decomposing
and assimilating power of plants. If turbid it carries with it,
in suspension, a large quantity of very fine sedimentary matter,
which fills up the interstices of the soil, or, deposited upon the
roots themselves, greatly impedes their power of absorption.
If applied when plants are torpid it either acts as in the case
of being over strong, or it actually corrodes the tissues.

‘Sir Joseph Paxton collects at Chatsworth the manure water from
water-closets, horse-dung linings, and various other sources, into large
covered tanks; the waste, also, from a small bath is emptied into one
of these, by which means the solution becomes very thin. The liquid
so collected passes almost immediately into a state of incipient or partial
decomposition, and thus becomes fit for the food of vegetation ; when
drawn off for use, tt is always greatly diluted with water, and never sup-
plied except when the plants are in a state of activity and growth; other-
wise he considers the effects would in many cases be prejudicial, rather
than otherwise. It is used by him liberally to Vine-borders, Peach-
trees, Melons, Cucumbers, Pines, and other fruits, with the most power-
ful and satisfactory results; in fact, the use of plant food in a liquid
state, if properly prepared and administered, supersedes in a great
degree the necessity for manure in a solid form; and the produce in
favour of the liquid greatly preponderates, being both larger in quantity
and weight, richer in colour, and superior in flavour. These advan-
tages, however, could not be secured with certainty, unless the solution
were so prepared as to suit the habits and requirements of the various
plants to which it is supplied. This preparation is of two kinds :—
First, by diluting the liquid sufficiently with water to prevent the
spongioles of roots becoming glutted with too great a supply of food ;
and, secondly, rendering it of a proper temperature by the addition of
hot water. Pines require the liquid at about a heat of 80° Fahr., and

HOW TO APPLY LIQUID MANURE. 575

other plants in proportion ; fruit-trees, and other open-air products,
however, do not necessarily require the addition of hot water to the
same extent as in-door produce, but are, notwithstanding, much
benefited by receiving it in a moderately warm state. Wherever a
steam-engine is employed, Sir Joseph Paxton’s practice of artificially
warming the liquid manure might be easily adopted, by allowing some
of the waste steam to blow through the tank or pipe. Experience has,
however, amply shown that, for ordinary crops, sewerage in its usual
state ig the most valuable manure that has yet been introduced. By
attention chiefly to the proper administration of liquid food, and other
suitable appliances, the Pine-apple, a plant formerly considered of so
slow a growth as to require three years before it could produce full-
sized fruit, has by Sir Joseph been so hastened in its growth as to yield,
within an average of fifteen months, a far greater supply of finer fruit
than was formerly produced by three years’ expense and labour. From
every day’s experience, an instance or two out of a multitude might be
cited by way of illustrating that even a much shorter period than fifteen
months is not unfrequently sufficient to accomplish all that could be
desired. An ordinary sucker of a Providence Pine was detached from
the old stock during the month of March, and was planted out in a
prepared bed of soil in a pit, and in the following August it produced a
ripe well-grown fruit, weighing 8 lbs. ‘Two suckers also of a Cayenne
Pine were separated and planted out in April, and in the following
September one of them produced a fruit weighing 73 lbs., and the other
one 8lbs. A large pit of Cayenne suckers of various sizes were planted
out in a pit last spring, and in the autumn the fruit, when ripened,
gave an average of one pound in weight for every month the plants had
grown. These were not isolated or extraordinary instances of early
production, but the common and natural result of this system of culture,
which stimulates to extraordinary growth, and the most perfect deve-
lopement. The effects of liquid manure, when applied to the roots of
Vines in pots, and on rafters, and to Cucumbers and Melons, are
equally apparent; the leaves assume a rich deep colour, become
large and spreading, the growth is rapid and healthy, and the produce
is invariably fine, plump, and becomes quickly matured.”—Board of
Health Report.

Let the manure be extremely weak ; it owes its value to matters
that may be applied with considerable latitude; for they are not abso-
lute poisons, like arsenic and corrosive sublimate, but only become
dangerous when in a state of concentration. Gas-water illustrates
this ; pour it over a plant in the caustic state in which it comes from
gas-works, and it takes off every leaf, if nothing worse ensues. Mix
it with half-water—still it burns; double the quantity once more—it
may still burn, or discolour foliage somewhat. But add a tumbler of
gas-water to a bucketful of pure water, no injury whatever ensues ;

576

HOW TO APPLY LIQUID MANURE.

add two tumblers full, and still the effect is salubrious, not injurious.
Hence it appears to be immaterial whether the proportion is the
hundredth or the two hundredth of the fertilising material. Manur-
ing is, in fact, a rude operation, in which considerable latitude is
allowable. The danger of error lies on the side of strength, not of
weakness. To use liquid manure very weak and very often is, in fact,
to imitate nature, than whom we cannot take a safer guide. This is
shown by the carbonate of ammonia carried to plants in rain, which is
not understood to contain, under ordinary circumstances, more than one
grain of ammonia in 1]b. of water; so that in order to form a liquid
manure of the strength of rain-water, 1b. of carbonate of ammonia
would have to be diluted with about 7000 lbs. weight of water, or more
than three tons. Complaints which have been made against guano-
water and the like are unquestionably referable to their having been
used too strong.

Let such manure be applied only when plants are in a growing state.
In addition to Sir Joseph Paxton’s evidence, and to the general notoriety
of this rule, may be usefully added a statement made by Mr. Mitchell,
Lord Ellesmere’s gardener, and quoted by the Board of Health, This
experienced cultivator says ‘“‘That he has never seen any manure
produce so good a crop of Strawberries as the liquid (¢. e. town or sewer
manure) has this year done at the Worsley Hall gardens. Manure,”
he adds, “often causes a crop of Strawberries to be lost, by forcing the
growth of leaves. Liquid may be applied just when the plants are
forming their flower-buds, and the strength of the manure is spent in
producing fruit, not leaves. When the plants were bearing, it could
be seen to a plant how far the irrigation had extended.”

It must be borne in mind—1, that liquid manure is an agent ready
for immediate use, its main value depending upon that quality; 2, that
its effect is to produce exuberant growth ; and 3, that it will continue to
do so as long as the temperature and light required for its action are
sufficient. These three propositions, rightly understood, point to the
true principles of applying it; and, if they are kept in view, no mis-
takes can well be made. They render it evident that the period in the
growth of a plant, at which it should be applied, depends entirely upon -
the nature of the plant, and the object to be gained.

If, for example, wood and leaves are all that the cultivator desires to
obtain, it will be evident that liquid manure may be used freely from
the time when buds first break, until it is necessary that the process of
ripening the wood shall begin. Wood cannot ripen so long as it is
growing ; wood will continue to grow as long as leaves form, and its
rate of growth will be in direct proportion to their rate of develop-
ment; therefore, in order to ripen wood, growth must be arrested.
But the growth of wood will not be arrested so long as liquid manure
continues to be applied, except in the presence of a temperature low

TIME TO MANURE FOR FRUIT. bq7

enough to injure or destroy it. Hence it is obvious that liquid manure
must be withheld from plants grown for their wood and leaves, at the
latest, by the time when two-thirds of the season shall have elapsed.
To administer it in such cases towards the end of the year would be to
produce upon it an effect similar to that caused by a warm wet autumn,
when even hardy trees are damaged by the earliest frost.

In the case of flowers it is to be remembered that the more leaves a
plant forms the fewer blossoms in that season; although perhaps the
more in a succeeding season, provided exuberance is then arrested.
The application of liquid manure is therefore unfavourable to the
immediate production of flowers. It is further to be remarked, that
even although flowers shall have arrived at a rudimentary state ata
time when this fluid is applied, and that therefore their number cannot
be diminished, yet that the effect of exuberance is notoriously to cause
deformity ; petals become distorted, the coloured parts become green,
and leaves take the place of the floral organs, as we so often see with
Roses grown with strong rank manure. In improving the quality of
flowers liquid manure is therefore a dangerous ingredient; nevertheless
its action is most important, if it is rightly given. The true period of
applying it, with a view to heighten the beauty of flowers, is undoubt-
edly when their buds are large enough to show that the elementary
organisation is completed, and therefore beyond the reach of derange-
ment. If the floral apparatus has once taken upon itself the natural
condition, no exuberance will afterwards affect it; the parts which are
small will simply grow larger, and acquire brighter colours ; for those
changes in flowers which cause monstrous development, appear to take
effect only when the organs are in a nascent state—at the very moment
of their birth. Hence it is clear, that in order to affect flowers advan-
tageously by liquid manure, it should be given to plants at the time
when the flower-bud is formed and just about to swell more rapidly.

With fruit it is otherwise; the period of application should there be
when the fruit, not the flowers, is beginning to swell. Nothing is
gained by influencing the size or colour of the flower of a fruit-tree;
what we want is to increase the size or the abundance of the fruit. If
liquid manure is applied to a plant when the flowers are growing, the
vigour which it communicates to them must also be communicated to
the leaves; but when leaves are growing unusually fast, there is some-
times a danger that they may rob the branches of the sap required for
the nutrition of the fruit; and if that. happens, the latter falls off. |
Here, then, is a source of danger which must not be lost sight of. No
doubt, the proper time for using liquid manure is when the fruit is
beginning to swell, and has acquired, by means of its own green
surface, a power of suction capable of opposing that of the leaves. At
that time, liquid manure may be applied freely, and continued, from

PP

578

MANURE FOR ROOT-CROPS.

time to time, as long as the fruit is growing. But, at the first sign of
ripening, or even earlier, it should be wholly withheld. The ripening
process consists in certain changes which the constituents of the fruit
and surrounding leaves undergo; it is a new elaboration, which can
only be interfered with by the continual introduction of crude matters,
such as liquid manure will supply. We all know that when ripening
has once begun, even water spoils the quality of fruit, although it
augments the size; as is sufficiently shown by the Strawberries pre-
pared for the London market, by daily irrigation. Great additional
size is obtained, but it is at the expense of flavour; and any injury
which mere water may produce, will certainly not be diminished by
water holding ammoniacal and saline substances in solution.
Root-crops stand in a different position to any of the foregoing.
They are most analogous to the first of the above cases; for their root:
may be compared to wood, of which they are equivalents. But ther:
is this important difference, that whereas the quantity of wood is ir
direct proportion to the quantity of leaves, the reverse is the case witl
root-crops. The Turnip that throws up an enormous tuft of leaves ha:
a very small bulb; and so of the Carrdt. In these plants the root i
formed by the leaves; but only when they themselves cease growing
vigorously. The true object is to obtain plenty of foliage early enougt
to afford time for the after formation of the root. This is what happen:
under ordinary circumstances. The leaves grow rapidly during the
warm weather of early autumn; but when the temperature falls, thei:
own development is languid, and all their energy is expended ir
augmenting the mass below them. By the constant application o
liquid manure a Turnip might be absolutely prevented from formin;
more root than a Cabbage. In root-crops what is wanted is ar
abundant supply of liquid manure when the leaves are forming, so a
to secure early a large and vigorous foliage; after which no liquir
manure whatever ought to be applied. This is quite consistent wit]
the evidence collected by Mr. Dudley Fortescue, and published in th
Minutes of the Board of Health. Speaking of Mr. Kennedy’s farm i
Ayrshire, this gentleman says: ‘‘Of the Turnips, one lot of Swede
dressed with ten tons of solid farm manure, and about 2000 gallons «
the liquid, having six bushels of dissolved bones along with it, wa
ready for hoeing ten or twelve days earlier than another lot dresse
with double the amount of solid manure without the liquid applicatior
and were fully equal to those in a neighbour’s field which had receive
thirty loads of farm-yard dung, together with three ewt. of guano an
sixteen bushels of bones per acre; the yield was estimated at forty tor
the Scotch acre, and their great luxuriauce seemed to me to justify tl
expectation, From one field of White Globe Turnips sown later, an
manured solely with liquid, from forty to fifty tons to the Scotch ac
was expected. A field of Carrots treated in the same manner as tl

SUBTERRANEAN IRRIGATION. 579

Swedes, to which a second application of liquid was given just before
thinning, promises from twenty to twenty-five tons the acre.”

There is a mode of applying liquid manure, not by super-
ficial channels, but by underground pipes, filled from a head,
which would force the manure upwards into the soil by virtue
of its own pressure. There is no doubt that this plan, which
was, I believe, first proposed by the Right Hon. T. F.
Kennedy, lately one of H.M.’s Commissioners of Woods, &c.,
is theoretically the best. The sole objection to it is the cost
of its application. The Dutch do nearly the same thing by a
method mentioned below, and it may be conceived that a
combination of the two methods would be preferable to either.

Mr, Prideaux remarks that ‘the Dutch, who are admirable gardeners,
had in, the Great Exhibition an instrument called ‘Earth-borer,’ for
manuring fruit-trees without digging the ground. A circle of holes is
bored round the tree, at two feet distance from the tree, and a foot from
each other. Taking the tree at a foot diameter at the surface of the
soil, the circle will be five feet diameter and fifteen feet circumference ;
and if the holes are three inches diameter and a foot apart = fifteen
inches, there will be about twelve holes; more or less according to the
diameter of the tree. They are eighteen inches deep (where there is
enough depth of soil), and slanting towards the centre; are filled with
liquid manure, diluted more or less in dry weather, and stronger as the
weather is wetter.”

“hs Cl at ihe Fisk pean

»

INDEX.

—+—_

Axsorrtion, force of, in spongelets, 19
most energetically carried
on by the spongioles, 456
————— power of, possessed by cer-
tain soils, 548
rate of, in certain plants, 59
Acetate of lime, solution of, rejected by
roots, 27
Acorns, best mode of packing, 251
Aigilopian wheat, origin of, 483
Aerial roots are sources of nourishment
which dry up when most
wanted, 142
—— explanation of the phenome-
non of, 141
Affinity, elective, 499
Air and moisture, axioms relating to,
: 212
— currents of, greatly increase the
effects of heat and light, 101
—— drying of, by means of sulphuric
acid, 244 °
—— evil arising from the external, being
colder than that under bell-
glasses, 293
—— importance of free, to fruit, 101
—— importance of preserving, in an
uniform state, 293
——— in cold pits, necessity of being kept
in motion, 217
-—— in hothouses, 215
—— introduction of heated, to plant
compartments, 223
—— moisture of, at London and other
parts of the world, 185
—— purification of, by plants during the
day, 62, 514
—— roots growing in, 21
Air-passages penetrate plants in all direc-
tions, 134
Alburnum, 40
its connexion with the spon-
gelet, 18
-—__—— its-‘importance, 46

Alburnum, its quantity proportionate to
the number of buds, 265
———— offices performed by, 45
instance of being cut into
and preserved for centu-
ries, 39
Alburnous substance, 265
Alkaline substances, their effects upon
germinating seeds, 235
Alpine plants, probable cause of the diffi-
culty in growing, 218
American aloe, the number of years
before it flowers, 93
American plants, points to beattended to
in their culture, 532
soil for, 531
Ammonia employed to promote germina-
tion, 236
iis sorereme solubility in water,

proportion of, in rain water, 28
power of soils generally to ab-
sorb, 547 :
Ammoniacai manure, effects of, 550
Amputating, effects of, 405
Anatomy of leaves, 56 - : ;
Anemone japonica, adventitious buds in’
roots of, 31 a
Anzsthetic substances, effect of, 8
Annuals, oleraceous, 166
Annual rest of plants, 506
Anther, 81
Antherids, 10
Antherozoids, and spores, phenomena
attending their fertilisation, 11
Apple-tree, pruning of, 374
Apricot-tree, pruning of, 387
Aquatic plants, conditions under which
they exist, 160
—— mode of treating to in-
duce themto flower,150
—_——— —— require the water to be
brought to a fitting
heat, 150

582

Aqueous matter, necessity of its excess
being decomposed during the progress
of ripening, 167

Aqueous particles in plants, effect of
their being frozen, 113

Araucaria seeds, mode of packing, 251

Arid regions, 508

Arsenic, its effects on plants, 8

Ashes, vegetable or wood, as manure,
555

Ash-tree decorticated by lightning, 46
remarkable instance of an in-
scription found in the interior
of one, 38
Asparagus, importance of salting, 556
Atmosphere, a very dry, induces the
formation of flowers and
fruit, 512
gaseous matters of, 529
mean temperature of, rela-
tion it bears to that of
the earth, 130
of hothouses, importance of
being damp, 210
of rooms not deteriorated
by plants, 61
temperature of, at various
places, 117-125
unfavourable state of, acause
of sterility in flowers, 240
Atmospheric dryness or moisture, ex-
tremes of, 188, 189
—__——— moisture, 177
Australia, temperature of, 123
— night temperature of, 516
Axil, 43
Axils of leaves, the situation where leaf-
buds are formed, 44
Azaleas, injury to, when permitted to
ripen their seed, 98
instance of striking cuttings of,
in water, 293
Azote, 28, 547

Batoon training, 426

Bark, 42 :

instance of its power of reparation
by superficial increase, 37

—— its absorbent property, 18

—— its anatomical relation to leaves, 56

its distinct parts in trees andshrubs,
39

—— its production, 35

- unaided by leaves,

38

—— its rind and epidermis in some cases
perform the office of leaves, 59

—— of the root, its office, 18

—— performs the functions of leaves in
“leafless ” plants, 34

INDEX.

Bark, superiority of fast-grown to slow-
grown for tanning purposes, 417

—— when wounded or cut, converges
from all parts to repair the
injury, 37

Bartow, Professor, his experiments on
the strength of oak timber, 419

Barral, M., experiments on rain-water, 28

Barrenness, cause of, 369

Bastardising happens more frequently to
single plants than to large masses, 468

Bedewing, its importance, 206

Beet-root, singular instance of grafting
red and white, 343

Bell-glasses, evil arising from the air
surrounding them being
cold, 293

maintain a steady saturated
atmosphere around cut-
tings, 296

of different colours, 299

their action, 293

their use in propagating,
278, 292, 299

Bigeneric muling, apocryphal, 497

Birch-tree, remarkable instance of one
growing out of the decayed trunk of
an old cherry-tree, 349

Blackening garden walls, doubtful effects
of, 199

50

Bleeding,
cause of, 51

causes incurable debility or

death, 50

materially influenced by the
state of the weather, 50

neeessity of guarding against
in pruning, 363

remedies for, 364

Blood as manure, 564

Blossom-buds analogous to leaf-buds in
the first stage of their organisation, 92

Blue Billy as manure, 553

Bones as manure, 557

time for applying, 571

Borders, artificially warming of, 142

ae the cause of “shanking,”

40

concreting of, 146

formation of, for fruit-trees, 531

——_—-__-—— for vines, 146

Bottom-heat, 134

——_—-———_ amount required by plants
varies with the species,
135

a proper degree of, the
fundamental requisite
in the striking of cut-

tings, 291

INDEX.

Bottom-heat, a stimulus and protection
to vegetation, 134
degree of, communicated
to plants in pots from
the atmosphere of a
stove, 152
——— -——— its effects different from
those resulting from
solar radiation, 126
—__--—_—_— its great importance when
well regulated, 150
+__ —— —- Knight’s opinion respect-
ing its necessity, 152
necessary for the flowering
of many tropical plants,
148

though beneficial in the
first instance becomes a
source of mischief, 135
waste steam as a medium
of, 151
Bradley, Richard, his book on the propa-
gation of plants by leaves, 271
Branches, effect, of shortening, 362
effect of their being in a dif-
ferent temperature from
their roots, 69
—-—_-—— inarching of, 326
———— in which buds are inserted
should be shortened, 307
———— their vigour augmented by the
abstraction of flowers and
fruit, 487

Breeds, the best produced by the best |

seeds, 487
Brussels sprouts, supposed disposition to
degenerate, 470
the question of degene-
racy refuted, 471
Buds, adventitious, developed by the
stems of trees, 260
adventitious, in roots, 30, 302
embryo, 44
formed in the axils of stamens, 54
instances of their formation on
leaves, 80, 272
latent, 54
mature preferable to immature for
the purpose of propagation, 306,
337
mode of propagating by, 265
not the origin of roots, 25
—— power of leaves to form, 54, 80,
272
—— the origin of branches, 25
—— the youngest most excitable, 337
—— their formation in all cases the first
step in the process of propaga-
tion, 276
Budding, D’Albret’s practice, 309

——

Budding, flute, 308, 313
———— inverted J], 312
—_—-— or usually employed in;
30
—~-—— mode of executing, 304, 310
———— ought not to be performed in
wet weather, 309
propagation by, 303
reverse, 307
shield, 305, 312
———— time to perform, 311
Bulbs, 43
a species of bud, 44
cultivation of, 165
in arid regions, 508
mode of treating newly i impor’ ted,
165
precautions demanded in the
packing of, 254
propagation by, 473
Burnt clay as a manure, 565

Cactt, best time for grafting, 316
method of grafting, 315
—— instance of their living for years
without water, 261
Callus, 36
Calyx, its situation and colour, 81
its use, 95
Cambium, 310
Camellias, a method
them, 325
—— packing growing plants of, 258
Canker, cause of, 148
Cape-Heaths, mode of striking, by cut-
tings, 298
importance of good drain-
age for, 437
Capillary tubes give hygrometrical force
to tissue, 27
Carbon, excess of, in seeds, 14
in seeds, 243, 247
requires its proportion
altered before germi-
nation can be effected,
104
its.conversion into carbonic acid
during the process of germina-
tion, 14
Carbonate of ammonia, mode of apply-
ing it to plants,
549
must be applied
with great cau-
tion, 550
Carbonic acid, a component part of the
food of plants, 28, 544
———-— conditions under which it
is slowly formed, 233,
544

of propagating

584

Carbonic acid, decomposed furnishes an
essential part of the
secretions of plants, 545

formation of, in seeds, 248

its decomposition in plants
during the day, 60

——_—1—_-——— its formation during the

process of germination,
14

its formation by plants
during the night, 60
its mode of introduction
' intothe system of plants,
60
———1——— periods at which plants
cease to decompose it,

—-—— — probable effect of preserv-
ing seeds in an atmos-
phere of, 252
Carburetted hydrogen gas, 168
Celery, instance of a broken leaf emitting
roots, 24
Cells of which plants consist, have their
own special power of secretion, 344
Cellular matter formed by leaves, 276
its junction, the cause
of adhesion in the
stock and scion, 344
surfaces must be brought in con-
tact in grafting, 336 |
system, 336
horizontal system, 337
tissue combined with woody
fibre, 35 3
Centrifugal development of leaves, 55
Centripetal development of leaves, 55
Ceratonia siliqua, remarkable instance of
vitality in, 261
Chara, singular motion in, 9
Charcoal, packing seeds in, 249
method of preparing it for gar-
dening purposes, 546
——-—— peat, 545
——-—— powdered, its value when mixed
with soil, 545
Chemical changes in seeds, 227
Cherries, forcing of, 149
—_—_———. propagation of, by budding, 310
Cherry-tree, instance of a Birch growing
out of the decayed trunk,
349
—— pruning and training of, 389
Chestnuts, best mode of packing, 251
— propagation of, by budding,
310

Chinese mode of dwarfing trees, 368

Chlorine employed to promote germina-
tion, 237

-—~—-—— proportion of in rain-water, 28

INDEX.

Chloroform, its effects on plants, 8 |
Circulation of sap, 40
——————-- Hales’s_ experiments
on,
Cissus hydrophora, remarkable instance
of vitality in, 261
Clay, burnt, as manure, 566
its mode of action and great
value, 567
— oolitic, successful mode of culti-
vating a soil of, 540
— its properties, 525
—— soil, has the power of absorbing or
fixing ammonia, 548
Cleft grafting, 828, 330, 831
Climate of Ava, 510
—_——— Brazil, 509
—— Canaries, 509
Cape of Good Hope, 508
Mexico, 507
Persia, 508
W. Indies, 510
Climates, extreme, 153
—— imitation of, 153

Climbers, 428

Cold, effects of, on plants, 113, 140

—— the manner in which it acts upon

plants, 110

Collodion applied to cuttings, 294

————. a remedy for bleeding, 364

—— —— in budding is said to form an

effectual ligature, 305

Colour, absence of, sometimes owing to
low temperature, 110

green, in plants how produced,
110

of leaves influenced by light, 70

yellow in plants, causes of its
occurrence, 109

Coloured light, effects of, on plants, 300

—_—_——— its influence on germina-

tion, 238

Colouring matter in the madder plant,
its production, 300

Colours of plants, cause of their forma-
tion, 109

Columella’s assertion of grafting the olive
on the fig explained, 347

Combretum purpureum, mode of increas-
ing it, 450

Composite flowers require to be kept dry
before they will ripen seed, 242

Compost for American plants, 532

for Dutch bulbs, 534

Concrete applied to vine borders, 144

Concreting; its effects in raising the tem-
perature, 147

Conduction, 161

Conifers, instances of some being struck
from pieces of the root, 283

INDEX,

Conifers, method of grafting, 322
— at of striking, by cuttings,
~ that are grafted, generally worth-
less, 347
Conferve, freshwater, evidence of vital
force in, 10
motion in, stopped
by iodine, 10
Corbeil’s, M., method of inarching the
branches of the pear-tree, 323
Corms, 43
Corolla, its situation and colour, 81
its use, 95
Cortical integument, 39
Cotyledons, 16
supply nourishment to the
plumule, 16
Cree’s method of pruning forest-trees, 401
Creepers, 428
Crops, change of, 483
Cross-breds, 96

——-—— in general are capable of pro-
ducing fertile seed, 96
—_-————. ingeneral assimilate more to
the male than female, 495
Cross-breeding, 488

differs from muling, 488
experiments in, 489, 495
practical instructions for,
490
precautions to be taken
in, 494, 498
——_——--— will take place as readily
among plants as ani-
mals, 498
Crown-grafting, 315
Cryptogamic plants, phenomena of repro-
duction, 11
Cucumbers, advantage of growing, in
forcing houses in winter instead of
pits, 218
Currant-bush, pruning of, 393
Curl in potatoes, 99
Cuttings, amount of heat necessary for
the striking of different
species, 290
———— application of collodion to,
294

———— best kinds of soil for striking,
287

———— bottom-heat a fundamental
requisite, 291

——_—— conditions required in order to
enable them to become
young plants, 285, 293

—-—~ double bell-glasses for, inju-
rious, 296

~—_-—— double pots
striking, 288

employed in

585

Cuttings, evil of the soil in which they
are placed being kept too
wet, 293

importance of their ends touch-
ing the bottom of a pot, 286

in what respect they differ
from seeds, 269

M. Delacroix’s method of
striking, 296

mode of preparing, 298

mode of striking, in phials of
water, 297

necessity for a due adjustment
of heat, light, and moisture,
in the striking of, 289

necessity for the shading of, 291

of succulents, mode of treating,
294

packing of, 255

propagation by, 281

singular phenomenon with
respect to the striking of, 295

the most favourable time for
striking of, 282 ;

their power of rooting always
greatest when they begin to
push, 292

Cytoblast, or vital centre, 7

D’ABReET's practice of budding, 309
practical directions for graft-
ing, 325
Damping off, 212
Dampness, excess of, indispensable to
plants in a state of rapid
growth, 211

——-— of glass-houses, 205

Darkness favourable to the production of
roots, 25 :

Daubeney, Dr., his experiments on the
power of plants to se-
lect their food, 27

experiments on the effect
of coloured light on
plants, 300

Debility brought on by high tempera-

ture, 107

——— propagation by division, not a
cause of, 269

secures permanence in some va-
rieties of plants, 467

Decaisne, M., his experiments relative to
the production of colouring matter in
madder, 300 .

De Candolle, M., laws of temperature
with respect to its influence on vege-
tation, 118

Deciduous cypress, great extension of its

root in search of water, 19

--—_—_—-~ plants, 79

586

Deciduous trees, season for transplanting,

Degeneracy, means of preventing, in seed
crops, 468
of races negatived, 475
of varieties, no foundation
for, 269, 471
Delacroix’s method of propagating by
cuttings, 296
Deleterious matter, when attenuated, is
a likely to prove injurious to roots,
2
Denmark, temperature of, 120
Deodar, grafting of, 347
Development of leaves, 55
Dew point, tables of, 182, 183
Dicotyledonous trees, 41
Digestion a function of the leaves of
plants, 59
, rate of, in a healthy plant, 73
Disease, renewal by seed not always a
preventative of, 474
the manner in which it is pro-
pagated, 480
Diurnal rest of plants, 513
Double bell-glasses for cuttings injurious
rather than beneficial, 296
Double composite flowers, 501
dahlias not truly double flowers,
501
flowers, supposed to arise from a
debilitating process, 501
tendency in some plants
to produce, 502
— conditions under which
they may, and may not
produce seed, 242
their origin, 82, 501
stocks, mode of producing, 503
yellow rose, effect of budding it,

303
Drain pipes, instance of roots choking,
20

Drainage, advantages derived from, 137
———\— effects of, 169
———— essential for plants grown in
pots, 437
experiments relating to, 138
———— importance of, 170
——— modes of effecting, 438
——_—— necessity for, in the striking of
cuttings, 287 ;
————~ probable rationale of, 170
Drained land much warmer than water-
logged land, 137
Drains, ventilation by, 226
Dryness, atmospheric, table of, with re-
gard to the direction of the
wind, 190, 191
— causes of, in hothouses, 207

INDEX.

Dryness, complete, necessary in the pre-
serving of seeds, 244

mean degree of, during the au-
apee months near London,

5
——-—- table of average degree of, in
the middle of the day, 189

— though favourable to seeds, is
prejudicial to plants, 254

though fatal to plants in a state
of growth, is beneficial while
ripening their fruit, 192

Dung-heat, grapes and nectarines forced
by, 210

Durand, M., his experiments to show that
trees may increase in bulk without
leaves, 75

Dutrochet, M., his experiments on the
circulation of fluid in plants, 9

Dwarfing trees, Chinese method of, 368

EaRTH-BORER, and mode of using it, 579
Earth, mean temperature of, in various
parts of the world, 117—125

-—— mean temperature of, relation it
bears to that of the air, 130

temperature of, most favourable
for germination, 230

Earth temperature, India, 129

——~ London, 128

Earths, certain of them enter into the
food of plants, 28

Earthing up, its great utility in certain
cases of grafting, 340

Easterly winds, their dryness, 186

Edwards and Colin, M.M., their experi-
ments on the
temperature
borne bycer-
tain seeds,
231

their experi-
ments onthe
early proper-
ties of plants
raised from
small seed,
466

Elective affinity, 499

Electrical action, 15

Electricity has no discoverable influence
on vegetation, 236

Embryo buds, 44

Endogens, 35, 43

———— mixed arrangement of their

tissue, 35

Endosmose, 52, 240

Ennobling, 356

Envelopes, not a necessary part of the

flower, 81

INDEX.

Epidermis, action of, 59

———-— an extension of the outer bark
of the stem, 59

in its young state highly sen-
sible to the influence of
light, 164

— of leaves, its nature and pro-
perties, 57

of the leaves of evergreens,
450

——-——- of plants inhabiting shady

situations, 62
——-—-- regulates the amount of per-
_ Spiration, 79

Epiphytes, 533

Esculent herbs, difference between them
and woody plants, 414

Espaliers, pruning and training of, 377,
390

Evaporation, affected by elevation and
wind, 186
an oa vital function,
17
danger in checking it, 161
necessary as a means of
keeping plants cool, 161
—————. precautions sometimes ne-
cessary to check, 448
———_——_ prevented by clay, from the
surface of scions, 340
Evergreen plants, 79
Evergreens, epidermis of their leaves, 450
perspiratory organs less
active than in deciduous
plants, 80
produce roots at all seasons,

proper season for transplant-
ing, 452
pruning of, 420
reasons why autumn is pre-
ferable for transplanting,
453
diminished by lowness of
temperature, 113, 514
exhausted by a high night
temperature, 522
in the vine may be re-
pressed, 258
promoted by heat, 295
Excretions of roots, 29
Exogens, 35
——— explained, 43
pith of, central and distinct, 35
longevity of some, 40
Exposure of greenhouse plants not advi-
sable, 485
——~—— to §.E. not so favourable for a
garden as is generally sup-
posed, 204

Excitability

587

Eyes, are greatly assisted by leaves, 266

excessive food for, injurious, 267

occasionally separate from their
mother stem, and form new
plants, 264

propagation by, 263

reason why some plants grow from,
more readily than others, 264

the youngest, more excitable than
those at the middle or base of
potatoes, 267

Fare, M., experiments by, 483

Fall of the leaf explained, 79

Farm-yard manure, 562

—_______——. substitute for, 563

Fertilisation, 95

Geertner'’s practical conclu-
sions respecting, 498

——— the art of, 498

Fibre, woody, originates in the leaves,
84

Fibrous roots, production of, by root-
pruning, 461
Field crops, germination of, in wet sea-
sons, 244
Fig-trees, beneficial effect of removing
late, 363
——_—— mode of pruning, 381
Filament, 81 :
Filbert, mode of pruning, 362, 382
Fir-trees, grafting of, 322
——-—— instance of their roots being
alive many years after their
stems had been felled, 74
Floral envelopes, 81
Flower-buds, 92
their production depends
upon the presence of nu-
tritive matter for their
support, 95
Flowers ere only leaves in a modified
state, 92
become monstrous in warm damp
weather, 502
—-— become rosettes of leaves, 90
-—-— circumstances which advance or
retard their production, 93
double, their origin, 82, 502
essentially constituted only by
the presence of the sexes, 82
grow into branches, 84, 89
manure for, and time of applica-
tion, 577
may be prolonged by any circum-
stance which hinders the act
of fertilisation, 95
produce buds and tubers, 85
pruning, in order to produce, 362
——— sporting of, 485

588

Flowers, tendency of some to become
double, 502
their action, 81
their metamorphosis, 82
their structure, 81
Flowering season of certain plants may
be changed, 513
Flues inferior to hot-water pipes for
heating, 207
Fluids are attracted into the system of
plants during the night, 69
——— ascending channel in plants, 40
—_—-— their lateral transmission, 45
their mode of descent, 40
Flute-budding, 308
Food, artificial, for plants, 561
natural, of plants, 28, 551
—— power of plants to select, 27
—— the amount received by a plant is
in proportion to the size and ex-
tent of its roots, 369
Foramen, 10
Forces of vegetation, 60
— adjustment of, in
the striking of
cuttings, 289
Forcing, cause of success in the Dutch
method of, 218
cherries, successful mode of, 149
importance of a low night tem-
perature in, 515
principles of, illustrated, 522
vegetables, Dutch method of,
149

INDEX.

Fruit, an advanced stage of a flower, 96

—— affected by the stock on which it is
produced, 355

—— aqueous matter in, requires decom-
position, 167 :

-—— cause of the ‘bursting or cracking
of, 167

—— cause of the weaker portion of it
being generally thrown off, 99 ~

hima am which it undergoes, 100,
5

— decomposition or dissipation of
water by, 102

—— derivation of its food, 99

—— differs from leaves in its appro-
priation of the sap it receives,
100

—— effects produced on, by ringing, 372

—— exhausting action of, 98

—— flavour of, improved when plants

are grown in pots, 435
great purpose for which it is
formed, 98
- grows into branches, 86
increases in size but diminishes in

flavour by copious watering, 167,
&

—-— its maturation, 97

its physiological action in certain
cases analogous to that of a leaf,
97

its secretions, 100

manure for, with time and mode of
application, 577

maturation of, accelerated or re-

Foreshortening, 402
ill effects of, 405
Forest-trees, pruning of, 400
true principles of managing
them, 398
Forsyth’s ingenious plan for striking
cuttings, 288
Frost, its accumulation in valleys, 200
its effects on plants, 110
Frozen plants, 112
good effects of watering
and gradually thawing
them, 112
. must thaw gradually, 204
Fructification induced by an inspissated
state of the sap, 512
——__—_—_-—_ influenced by ringing, 94
—— its removal in a young
state strengthens the
functions of leaves, 105
————__—— may be advanced or re-
tarded artificially, 93
period of its commence-
ment in plants, 92
Fruit, action of leaves on, 99
—— age at which plants can bear, 93

tarded by diminished or excessive
supply of water, 102

— on what its size and excellence de-
pend, 99

—— pruning in order to produce, 362

—— raising new varieties of, 487

—— removal of, beneficial in certain
cases, 105

—— ripening of succulent, 167

— the secretions of, influenced and
partly changed by heat and light,
100

— very low temperature causes an
early appearance of, 512
Fruit-tree border, formation of, 531
Functions of leaves, 59
termination of their
. performance, 79
Fungi, deleterious parasitic, 212, 223 -
—— their ravages on crops, 176

GaRpDEn, choice of soil for, 199

— situation for, 200

Garreau, M., his experiments on the func-
tions of the skins of plants, 59

INDEX.

Garreau, M., experiments on the perspi-
ration of leaves, 68
Gertner’s conclusions on muling and
hybridising, 490, 498
Gaseous matters of atmosphere, 529
~—_—— substances most important to
plants, 544
Gas-lime as a manure, 553
—— water as a manure, 575
Germination, 13, 104
causes of, 103
conditions required to pro-
duce it in seeds, 14, 247
electrical action in, 15
influence of coloured light
on, 238
interrupted, 228
is assisted by the absorp-
tion of water, 15
means of assisting, in seeds
with very hard integu-
ments, 234
means of promoting it, 233
requires communication
with the atmosphere, 14
requires different degrees
of heat in different
species, 15
temperature of earth most
favourable for, 230
why best effected in the
absence of light, 14
Glass, coldness of its surface condenses
the enclosed atmospheric va-
pour, 207
experiments showing the rays of
light that pass through differ-
ent coloured, 300
— roofs, their coldness a cause of
dryness in the state of the in-
ternal air, 207
Glazed houses, means of applying tem-
perature and moisture to the atmos-
phere of, 205
Glaubers salts as a manure, 557
Gooseberry bush, pruning of, 391
Grafting, conditions to be observed in,
339, 346
—-— cleft, 328, 330, 331
—-_—— crown, 315, 334
deceptions practised with re-
gard to it, 347
———— D’Albret’s varieties of, 326
———— — degrees of affinity within which
the operation may be per-
formed, 346
———— herbaceous, 321
——-— herbaceous plants, 332
——-—— induces fructification, 93
modes of operation, 304, 325

589

Grafting, natural, 320
only st ful in cases where
stock and scion are very
nearly allied, 346
——_—— on roots, 350
——— pines, 322
——-— plug, 336
——-——— propagation by, 303
———— saddle grafting, 318
——-— summer tongue, disadvantage
of, 825
—— use of, 304
———— whip, 314
Grafting-clay, its use and superiority
over other plasters, 340
———~—-—— its use in preventing eva-
poration and affording
aqueous food to the
scion, 340
—————— substitute for, 340
Grafting-wax, composition of, 331
—— French, 339
oo that are diseased will continue so,
Granulations, formation of, 286, 315, 447
Grapes, cause of “ shanking,” 140
require a high temperature when
ripening, 524
Grasses, Caldrini’s experiments on the
grafting of, 345
Greenhouses ought not to be heated at
night more than to exclude frost, 520
Greenhouse plants, their exposure to the
open air in summer not advisable, 435
Green manure, 568
—————— experiments relating to,

Ground temperature, average of, in au-
tumn near Lon-
don, 453

in various parts of
the world, 156

—_— ——-- —— natural to certain

plants, table of,
155

—_——_———— points on which it
: is necessary to be
informed, 154

Growing point, 33, 55

Growth by night, experiments on, 518

by the root, 16

by the stem, 33

season of, demands water, 164

without leaves, 74

Guano, as manure, 563 .

Gypsum, its action and rate at which it
should be used, 551

M. Mene’s experiments on, 551

Harr, as manure, 565

590

Hales, Dr., experiments on the circula-
tion of the
sap, 51

the perspi-
ration of
plants, 65

Heart wood, its formation, 40

Heat acts as a stimulus to the vital

forces, 148
—— amount of, necessary for the strik-
ing of cuttings, 290
Boussingault’s method of deter-
mining what amount a ‘plant
requires, 153
cannot be transmitted downwards
through water, 138
—— degree of, best suited for cuttings,
282

-—— degree of, most conducive to vege-
tation variable, 15

—— high degree of, required by certain
plants at particular seasons, 153

—— its agency in changing the secre-
tions of fruit, 100

its effect in causing the formation
of pollen, 108

—— necessary to produce germination,

14

—— necessity of adjusting, in the strik-
ing of cuttings, 289
— produces a distention of all the
organic parts, 15
— sets the vital principle in motion, 15
—— the stimulus of excitability, 114
—— unusual degree of, injurious in the
striking of cuttings, 291
Heating by hot-water pipes preferable to
flues, 207
Heaths, mode of striking, by cuttings, 298
much heat injurious to, 299
Heel, a term applied to the part of a
scion that is sometimes left in certain
cases of grafting, 340
Herbaceous grafting, mode of operating,
and precautions necessary to ensure
success, 321
Himalayas, temperature of, 122
Horizontal plane, bad effects of training
on one, 423
—-———- system of stems, 35 ;
—--—- aystems of stocks and scions,
necessity for their corre-
spondence in growth, 35]
Horn shavings as manure, 565
Hot bed, its utility in the striking of
cuttings, 285, 288 : :
Hothouses, bad effects of a high night
temperature in, 208
cause of atmospheric dryness

INDEX.

Hothouses, important that the night
temperature should be lower than
that of the day, 514

Hot springs, their effects on surrounding
vegetation, 135

Hunt, Mr., his enquiries into the effects
of coloured glass on plants, 238, 300

Humus, of what composed, 526, 528

aay remarks on their management,

6

Hybrids are often sterile, 96

~— may be fertile, 493

— their origin, 96

their precocity and power of
enduring cold, 489

Hybridising, Gertner’s conclusions on,

490, 498
greater proportion of plants
not susceptible of, 500
———-—— points to be considered in, 488

———-— practical instructions for,
. 490, 498

———_—— precautions to be taken in,
494, 498

Hydrogen fixed in the tissue of plants, 14

derivation of its supply, 28

Hygrometers, and their mode of appli-
cation, 178, 184

Hymen inarching, 326

ImPossIBLE grafts, 347

Impostors’ graft, 348

Inarching, 322, 325

————_ as performed by the French on

pear-tree branches, 323
———— circumstances conducive to its
success, 323

mode of operating, 323

India, difference between the night and
day temperature in, 514

~—— earth temperature in the peninsula
of, 124

India-rubber bandages, use of, in grafting,

0

Inner bark, 35

Inscription, ancient one covered over by
young wood, 39

Insects conduce to fertilisation, 241

Inverted | budding, 312

Todine, its power in stopping the motion
of conferves, 10

Irritability of certain plants, 11

Ivy, origin of the tree, 481

JASMINE, curious instance of variegation
in, 358

Kwnavrs, analogous to propagating by
seed, 268

jn, 207

—~— propagation by, 44, 268

INDEX.

Knight, Mr., precautions taken by, in
raising new varieties
from seed, 494

result of his experiments
in raising new varieties
from seed, 487

his theory that all parts of
a tree have a common
end to their life refuted,
269, 475

LAcE-BARK tree, soil for, and manage-
ment of, 535

Laudanum, its effects on plants, 8

Layers, propagation by, 301

their nature and method of pre-
paring, 301

Layering, Chinese mode of, 302

Leaf, analogous to the stomach and lungs

of animals, 72

-——~ an expansion of the bark, 56

—— belonging tothe bud should be partly
removed in
budding, 307

doubtful advan-
tage of, in dry
weather, 308

supposed to be
beneficial in
wet weather,
308

—— fall of, 79

Leaf-buds, adventitious, 44

— —— locality of their formation,
43

formation on leaves, 80, 272

591

Leaves, force of suction by, 69
fully grown are the best for the
purpose of propagation,-277
give origin to woody tissue, 34
have universally leaf-buds, either
latent or developed, in their
axils, 54
history of their development ex-
plained, 55
how to strike, 277
instances of their forming buds,
80, 272
—— mixed development of, 56
—— modified, constitute the parts of
flowers, 92
~——— M. Neumann’s modes of propa-
gating by, 278
number of stomates on the surface
of, in various species, 58
objection against employing them
as a means of propagation,
278
—— parallel development of, 56
period when they cease to decom-
pose carbonic acid, 79
propagation by, 80, 272
rationale of the rooting of, 275
remarkable instance of plants
continuing to exist and increase
in size without, 74, 76
rooting of, 23, 274
—— rooting of, conditions favourable
for, 275
their action, 54
their action forms the peculiar
secretion of plants, 70

——— their identity with blossom-
buds in the first stage of
their organisation, 92
——_——- their importance, 45
——~—— the parents of wood, 45
———— their presence universal, either
latent or developed in the
axils of leaves, 54
——-—— their reproductive properties
different from that ofseeds, 13
Leaves absorb fluid from the air, 69
anatomy of, 56
are organs of digestion and respi-
ration, 80
are the great agents of propaga-
tion, 276
cases which justify their remo-
val, 73
centrifugal development of, 55
centripetal development of, 55
experiments to show their in-
fluence upon increasing the
trunk of trees, 71

their action reciprocal with that
of the roots, 19
—--— their attracting force partly causes
the sap to ascend, 52
a colour influenced: by light,
0
—-—- their epidermis, 57
their free action essential to the
health of plants, 59
——-— théir functions strengthened by
the early removal of the fructi-
fication, 105
their great importance, and the
injury plants sustain by remov-
ing them, 72
their nature, 54
their perspiratory action renders
transplantation of deciduous
trees in a growing state diffi-
cult, 446
their physiological: action analo-
gous to that of the fruit, 97
-_—— their power of forming buds, 54,
80, 272

592

Leaves, the practice of removing fallen
leaves in shrubberies con-
demned, 543
—-—— ultimately become incapable of
performing their functions, 79
Lettuces, how forced, 149
Liber, 40
its consistence, 35
its importance, 46
——— its situation, 28
offices performed by it, 45
Ligatures for buds, 305
object of their application, 372
should be occasionally loosened,
311
Light, absence of, conducive to the for-
mation of carbonic acid, 14
absence of, conducive to the for-
mation of roots, 25
action of, on cuttings hardly in-
ferior to that of heat, 291
——— adjustment of, in the striking of
cuttings, 289
artificial effects of, 64
by its action on the leaves is a
principal agent in forming se-
cretions, 70
capability of plants to bear the
action of, varies according to
their specific nature, 79
coloured, its effects on plants, 300
———-——-——- its influence on germi-
nation, 238
detrimental to the germination of
seeds, 14
its agency in changing the secre-
tion of fruit, 100
its effects on the colour of leaves, 70
white, the most natural and best
adapted for plants, 300
Lightning, instance of an ash-tree being
decorticated by, 47
Lignification depends on the action of
leaves, 34
Lime, acetate of, rejected by roots, 27
in its caustic state requires to be
used with caution, 528
its effects in assisting germination,
236
its value as a manure, 551
muriate of, its absorbent proper-
ties, 244
proportion of, in rain-water, 28
should never be used in conjunc-
tion with any nitrogenised sub-
stance, 547
when combined with acids forms
an important portion in the food
of plants, 528, 551
Liquid manure, its importance, 433, 572

INDEX.

Loam, calcareous the best for gardening
purposes, 530
its composition, 526 .
Loddiges, Messrs., mode of packing plants
for long voyages, 258
Lois-Weedon, mode of tillage without
manure,
540
—— the prin-
ciple of,
541
———-—— practice of removing leaves
from crops at, 76
Longevity of plants, 41
Lopping, or snag-pruning, 403

Maciura aurantiaca, mode of increasing
by cuttings of its root, 283

Macquart’s explanation of the cause of
the formation of different colours, 110

Madden, Dr., on drainage, 169

Madder, colouring matter in, experiments
respecting its formation, 300

Magnesia, proportion of, in rain-water, 28

Magnetic force has no influence on the
circulation of the fluids in plants, 9

Male flowers in unisexual plants, 107

Malt dust as manure, 565

Mandirola, F., his mode of striking orange
and lemon leaves, 271—276

Manures, ammoniacal, effect of, 550

farm-yard, 562

gas-lime, 553

— gas-water, 575

Hiquid, 433, 572

best adapted for plants in
pots, 573

- for root-crops and mode

of application, 579

- receipts for making, 573

should be applied weak
and frequently, 574

——_-__—__- Sir Joseph Paxton’s mode

of treating, 574

-_—_———— superior to solid, 572

- true principles of apply-
ing it,

unfavourable to the pro-
duction of flowers, 577

manner of applying, 571

mode of tillage without, 540

objects and necessity for their
application, 539

sewerage preferable to all others,
575

— soluble substances as, 551

— their action, 572

— time of their application, 570,576
works on, 543

Marcett, Dr., experiments by, 8

INDEX.

Marsh plants, 160
Maturation of fruit accelerated or re-
tarded by water, 102
Medullary rays, 35, 42
—_——_—- instances of tissue thrown
out from, to replace a
surface injury, 37
Melons, effects of their roots being im-
. mersed in water, 168
importance of “setting” their
flowers, 469
Mr. Knight’s experiments in the
cultivation of, 469
Persian, their tendency to de-
generate, 469
Melon seeds, reason why old are pre-
. ferred to new, 104
Méne, M., result of his experiments with
gypsum, 553
Metallic substances in plants, 561
sg me ea of the parts of plants,
2—92
Mignonette, remarkable instance of the
rooting of, 19
Mildew, prevented by watering, 176
probable cause of, 550
Mineral substances in plants, 561
Mistletoe, grafting of, 346
Mixed development of leaves, 56
Mohl, Professor, his refutation of Knight’s
theory, 269
remarks on the descend-
ing sap in plants, 71
remarks on the duration
of plants, 41
Moisture, abundant supply of, required
by plants in a growing state,
164.
absorption of, by leaves, 70
action of, on cuttings hardly
inferior to that of heat,
291
————— atmospheric, when amounting
to saturation occasions a ces-
sation. of perspiration in
plants, 68
sa a with temperature,

effects of an excessive suppl
of, 166 sil

effects of, in inducing vegeta-
tion, 261

effects of, on pollen, 241

equability of, a necessary con-
dition in the striking of
leaves, 277

in the air of hothouses, axioms
relating to, 212

————— its mean near London, 185

———— its range, 184.

593

Moisture, its tendency to produce decay
in seeds, 247

maxims relating to the proper
balancing of, 212

much atmospheric, injurious
when fruit is ripening, 524

necessary to produce germina-
tion, 14, 227

necessity of, adjusting in the
striking of cuttings, 289

of hothouses, necessity of re-
gulating, 205

of the soil, 159

preserved by means of oiled
paper, 218

should be sparingly applied to
the roots of trees previously
too much dried, 462

Monocotyledons, 41

Monstrosity, a cause of sterility, 242

causes inducing it, 502

Moon, the April, 174

Moonlight, its effects on plants, 63

Motion of fluid within the cells of plants,
different from motion of sap, 9

Mulberry, Knight’s mode of striking, 285

————. mode of pruning, 380

—— propagation of, by budding,310

Mules, their origin, 96

Muling, 488

almost impossibility of species,
497

bigeneric, apocryphal, 497

Geertner’s conclusions, 496

limits of its operation, 497

practical instructions for, 490

Muriate of lime, its use in the preserva-
tion of seeds, 244

of soda, its free absorption by
roots, 27

Natura grafting, 320
Nectarine-trees, mode of pruning, 384
rules and directions for,
386
Neumann, M., his mode of propagating
; by leaves, 279
by roots, 282
~ his mode of treating cut-
tings of succulents, 294
Night, diminution of the functions of
plants in the, 514
soil as manure, and' mode of ap-
plying it, 563
Nilgherries, temperature of, 121
Nitrate of potash as manure, 554
Nitric acid, 28,547
Nitrogen, or azote, a component part in
the food of plants, 28, 529

derivation of its supply, 28, 548
QQ

594

Nitrogen, in excess the probable cause of
mildew, 550
indispensable for the first for-
mation of tissue, 28
its abundance in young tissue,
547
proportion of, in rain-water, 28
Niven, Mr., experiments by, in regard to
the circulation of the sap, 48
Nodules in the bark of trees, 44
Nutmeg-tree, mode of packing the seeds
of, 252
Nutritious matter in plants influences the
production of flower-buds, 95

Oak, instance of the power which the
bark possesses of repairing an
injury, 37.
—— timber, annual rate of growth of,
4

experiments on the relative
strength of fast and slow
grown, 419
fast grown, superior to slow
grown, 416, 418
Odour of plants occasionally produces
unpleasant effects on peculiar consti-
tutions, 62
Oil-cake, as manure, 565
Oleraceous annuals, 166
Olive, ancient practice of grafting, 358
——- grafted on the fig, explanation of
this assertion, 347
mode of propagating in Italy, 267
One-shift system, 442
principal points to be
attended to, 443
Orangery, Count de Charolais’s, 259
——-—— instance of trees in, remaining
for six years without air and
water, 259
Orange-tree, best stock for, 355
—— hardiness of, 192
— injudicious treatment of, 136
long vitality of, 259
manure for, 565
mode of increasing by bud-
ding, 307
natural temperature of the
soil for, 136
——_—— thrive amazingly in soil
mixed with charcoal, 545
a — trfacial, 359
Origin of various kinds of vegetables, 465
Ovary, 81
Ovules, 81
Oxalic acid employed to promote the
germination of seeds, 237
Oxide of iron, large proportion of, in a
soil in which the pine-apple thrives, 538

INDEX.

Oxygen, derivation of its supply, 28

—employed to promote germina-
tion, 236

extrication of, in leaves by solar
light, 60

— inhaled by leaves in the absence

of solar light, 60

——— is absorbed by leaves when their
functions become languid
through age, 79

is absorbed from water during
the process of germination, 14

Oyster-shells, their use when pounded,537

Packine grafts, D’Albret’s mode, 342
ee plants for long voyages,
25)

seeds, 245

Peonies, root-grafting of, 351

Pan-feeders, 433

Parallel development of leaves, 56

Paulownia imperialis, mode of increasing

from portions of its root, 282
Paving the soil, 171
Peach-tree, cause of the enlargement of
the stem wherebudded, 351

mode of budding, 306

—— —— mode of pruning, 384

———— rules and directions for prun-
ing, 386

Pear-tree, effects of pinching the laterals,
378

inarching the branches of, with
young wood, 324
pruning of, 376
pyramid, French method of
managing, 378
training of, 377
Peas, securing a late crop of, 176
Peat, from bogs not suited for gardening
purposes unless prepared, 533
instances of rendering it productive,
538
-—— in what its value consists, 535
—— its composition and properties, 528
not essential for American plants,
531
Peat-charcoal as a deodoriser, 563
Pendulous training, 424
Pepin, M., his statement relative to the
long vitality of certain plants, 259
Perspiration, a function performed by
the leaves of plants, 59
an important vital function,
177
——_—— arrested when the air is satu-
rated with moisture, 68,
211
commencement of its action,

INDEX.

Perspiration, Dr. Hales’s experiments on,
is affected by winds, 186
———-——— is promoted by solar light,
60, 455 .
its amount is in proportion
to the intensity of the
solar rays, 67, 455
its amount regulated by the
epidermis, 79
———— not performed at night, 69,
514
———— rate of, ina healthy plant, 73
supplied chiefly by theaction
of the spongioles, 19
———— through young bark, 448
Petals, 81
Phosphates, their effect on vegetation,
559
Phosphoric acid abounds in all clay or
sand, 529
— its value as manure, 557
Physiological principles upon which the
operations of horticulture essentially
depend, 133
Pigeon’s dung as manure, 564
Pileorhize, 18
Pine-apple, application of waste steam to
the forcing of, 151
importance of the old stump
for producing suckers, 302
its habit in a wild state, 537
ripening out of doors, at
Bicton, 101
succeeds better unpotted, if
supplied with a proper
amount of bottom-heat,
433
Pine, grafting of, 321
instances of a root forming new
layers of wood without the ex-
istence of a stem, 261
method of striking, by cuttings, 297
Pistil, its parts and situation, 81
Pith, 42
— distinct, and central inits formation,
35 ;
——in endogens is intermingled with
woody fibre, 35
Placenta, 103
Plant, its nature, 5
mode of its birth, 16
Plantations, danger in thinning such as
have been crowded, 411
—— directions for managing, 407
Planting, ill effects of close, 409
ig all cultivated, require manure,
0

alpine, difficulty in cultivating,
218

595

Plants, aphyllous, offices of leaves per-

* formed in, by the rind and
epidermis, 34, 59

artificial food for, 561

are penetrated in all directions
by air passages, 134

at rest, require but little water, 159

cannot long exist on pure water,

capacity of bearing light, variable
in different species, 79

circumstances which advance or
retard the flowering of, 93 .

commencement of the period of
their fructification, 92

conditions required to preserve
them in a torpid state, 257

constitution of certain, undergoes
gouciemble changes with age,
479

cryptogamic, their mode of re-
production, 11

deciduous, 79

decompose carbonic acid during
the day, 59 ©

deteriorate the air at night, 514

do not grow naturally in the
soil best suited for them, 534

do not vitiate the air of rooms, 61

do not wear out when artificially
multiplied by division, 477

effects of arsenic upon, 8

effects of chloroform on, 8

effects of cold, 113

effects of coloured light on, 238,
300

effects of moonlight on, 63

poisons on, 8

facts relating to the long vitality
of, 259

fallacy of growing, in a confined
atmosphere, 214

flowering season of, may be
changed, 513

form carbonic acid during the
night, 60

grafted, should be similar in
structure and constitution, 345

greater portion of, not suscep-
tible of hybridisation, 500

growing in water are protected
from the usual cooling in-
fluences, 163

LE eat

scorched by
sun’s rays,
164

growing on grass, 199
growing under shelter, 199
have a tendency to variation,

486 ;
QQ2

health of, is in proportion to the
health of leaves, 72

imbibe an excess of fluid during
the night, 69

improved by cultivation, have a
tendency to revert to their
wild state, 465, 505

in astate of growth, require an
abundant supply of moisture,
164

injured by excess of water, 137

in numerous instances have no
predilection for soil, 536

in sitting rooms, impossibility of
preserving long in a healthy
state, 211

irritability of, 11

leafless, offices ofleaves performed
by the rind and epidermis, 34,
59

liable to injury from contact with
deleterious matter, 27

like animals have their diurnal
seasons of rest and repose,
114

list of such as require to be
“earthed up” when grafted,
341

longevity of, 42

——— maintain the air in a fit state for
the respiration of animals, 42,
62

may possess an inherent power
of growth without leaves, 75

natural food of, 28, 551

natural mode that some have of
propagating, 478

occasionally formed from “ eyes”
separating from the mother
stem, 264

occasionally increased by cuttings
of the midrib of their leaves,
280

of extreme climates, 153

packing of, in Wardian cases for a
long sea voyage, 257

— perennial, arerenovated annually,

472

—— plunging of potted, 485

possess some quality analogous
to animal irritability, 295

power of producing roots from
various parts, 21

——_— power to select their food, 27

probable cause of the difficulty of
cultivating alpine, 218

prolonged vitality of, 262

raised from small-sized seeds,
supposed to be earlier than
those from large seed, 466

INDEX.

Plants require the soil and atmosphere
to correspond in temperature
with that of the countries of
which they are natives, 136

‘should never have more moisture
than they can consume, 164

species and varieties of, in their
intrinsic qualities the same, 476

oe of, appear to be eternal,

eee should be packed dry,
25)

suffer from cold in proportion to
the quantity of water they
contain, 111, 1138

that are frozen must be thawed
gradually, 204

that grow fast at night do not
ripen their wood, 519

that inhabit shady situations will
not endure full exposure to
the sun, 62, 79

the channel through which their
ascending fluidsare conducted,

the theory of their wearing out
erroneous, 478

their diurnal rest, 513

their healthiness depends on the
free action of the leaves, 59

their limit of enduring tem-
perature, 106

their natural resting, 511

their rest necessary to flowering,
513

— naroeely have a season of rest,

0

vital actions of, 5

vital force in sensitive, 9

Plug-grafting, and mode of performing, 336

Plum-tree, budding of, 306

——_——_ pruning of, 388

Plumule, 33

—— derives its nourishment partly

from the root and -partly
from the seed leaves, 33

Plunging of potted plants, 435

Poisonous substances, fatal to man, prove
equally so to plants, 27

Poisons, alkaline and metallic, destructive
to plants, 27

their effects on plants, 8

Pollen, 81, 498

agents which affect its fertilising
powers, 241

—— deficiency of, a cause of sterility,
240

is conveyed to considerable dis-

tances by wind and insects,
468

INDEX,

Pollen, its fertilising power impaired by
low temperature, 110
its formation induced by high
temperature, 108
Populus monilifera, instance of extending
its roots, 19
Potash as a manure, 554
—— employed to promote germina-
tion, 236
Potato, curl in the leaves of, 99
renewal of, by seed, 474
——— size and weight of, increased by
preventing the formation of
flowers and fruit, 487
tubers of early varieties, their ap-
propriation of nutritive matter,
242
unequal period of its maturity
from different eyes, 267
Potatoes, greater weight of, obtained
from sets than from whole
tubers, 266
———— propagation of, from eyes, 267
Pots, double, for plants, 436
— effects produced by, when plants are
suffered to remain too long in, 440
— for plants, their drainage, 170
—— importance of being well drained,
and mode of effecting it, 438
—— importance of the end of the cut-
ting touching the bottom of, 286
—— necessity of their being proportioned
to the size of the plants, 441
—- need not be made of porous mate-
vial, 444
— suggestions for the improvement of,
432

— suited for cuttings, 288

Potting, 431

cases in which it may be advan-
tageously dispensed with, 432

objects attained by, 431

Precautions to be observed in the
striking of leaves, 277

Preservation of races by seed, 463

Pricking out of seedlings, 432

Principles upon which the operations of |‘

horticulture essentially depend, 132
Productiveness, 94
Propagation, by budding and grafting, only
successful within certain
limits of affinity, 346
by cuttings, 281
————— by cuttings of roots, 282
by division, not a cause of
disease, 270
————_ by eyes, 264
———-—— by eyes and cuttings, diffe-
rence of, from budding
and grafting, 304

597:

Propagation, by knaurs or uovoli, 268

by knots or excrescences, 267

—— by layers or suckers, 301

———:——_ by leaves, 80, 266, 271

———-—— by roots, depends on the
formation of adventitious
buds, 30

by runners, 473

by scales, 273

by seeds, 464

its objects, 304

its rationale explained, 285

natural mode of, by various
plants, 473

Protection afforded by walls, 186

| Protothall, 11

Pruning, 361, 400
—— considerations necessary to be
observed in, 364
——— evergreens, 420
———— for flowers or fruit,
———— for timber, 395
——— good and bad, illustrated, 373
injury occasioned by, when
carried to excess, 408
its effects, 71,73, 366
its objects, 362
-of roots, 367
of shrubberies, 419
of transplanted trees, 366
practice of, 373
principles of, 362
seasons for, 365, 419
Pterocarpus marsupium, facility with
which it may
be increased,
284
remarkable in-
stance of vi-
tality in cut-
tings of, 284
Puddling round transplanted trees not
always necessary, and often
injurious, 462
substitute for, 462
Pyramid pear-trees, French method of
managing, 378

QuINoE-tree, mode of pruning, 379
Raoss of plants, accidental alterations in,
474

—— are said to wear out, 471
—_— eo NOES of, negatived,

improved, suddenly re-
vert to their wild state,
504

improvement of, 465,
481

598

Races of plants, means of fixing their
habits, 464

means of their preserva-
tion by seeds, 463

origin of, 485

theory of wearing out
erroneous, 478

Radiation, 162, 194

——— nocturnal, 199

Radicle, 16

Rain, average depth of, near London, 29

Rain-water, substances found in, 28, 29

Raspberry, period of ripening changed by

pruning, 365

———— pruning of, 394

Receipts for making grafting wax, 340

Repotting, 434 :

Reproduction, property of, in leaf-buds
and seeds, 13

Respiration, a function performed by the

leaves of plants, 59
M. Pepy’s experiments on, 61
———-——_ impeded, the cause of death
to seeds that germinate in
water, 227
Rest of plants, 159
—_—_—— diurnal, 513
how effected, 511
in tropical regions how
imitated, 511
periods of, in tropical
regions, 507
Resting plants, 507
Rhododendrons, difficulty of cultivating
those from Sikkim-
Himalaya, 220
grafting of, 347
injured when permitted
to ripen seed, 98
their natural habits, 535

Rind, 39

Ringing, an operation by which the pro-
duction of roots is accelerated,
25

effects of, 372

— experiments on, 48

induces fructification, 94

— its ultimate consequences, 372

permanent, not always injurious,
371

— physiological nature of the ope-

ration, 370

— proper seasons for, 871, 372

— substitute for, in Malta, 372

Ripening of seeds, the effects of, 243

Root, at first grows by a general disten-

tion of its tissue, 17
—— is the part soonest developed, 17
——— its proportion to the stem variable,
26

INDEX,

Root, mode of its increase in length after
passing the embryo state, 17
—— offices of its bark, 18
—— substance from which it derives its
moeans of accretion, 16
crops, manure for and mode of
application, 578
excretions, theory of, abandoned, 30
pruning, an old practice, 369
—————— as performed by the Chi-
nese, 368
——\——— its effects in inducing fruit-
fulness, 367
————_——. season for, 367
Root watering, substitute for, 462
Roots, absorb whatever is fluid and suf-
ficiently attenuated, 27
are naturally placed in a higher
mean temperature than branches
and leaves, 148
augment in diameter simulta-
neously with the stem, 21
aerial, phenomenon of, 141
bad effects of their being deeply
covered with soil, 140
bruised, necessity of removing,
367, 460
can generate buds, 32
cause of their formation, 25
cause of their production in the
stems of vines, 140
cork-screw, formed from being
confined in pots, 440
differ from branches in not being
the development of previously
formed buds, 25
effects of their being in a widely
different temperature from that
of the branches, 69
emitted into the air, 284
employment of, as stocks for
grafting on, 350
feed on water, 29
growing in water, 21
have no greater power of excreting
matter than other parts of a
plant, 30
—— in general have no buds, 30
instances of, bleeding, 50
excessive develop-
ment of, 20
—— ———— of, forming layers of
wood without the ex-
istence of a stem, 261

——_ ———- 0

——- ———— of leaves producing,
without forming buds,
278

——- ———— of, increasing in bulk
without leaves, 74,
76

INDEX,

Root, instances of their formation by
the stem, 22

of their production ig
leaves, 28, 275

of their remaining buried
and torpid for many
years, 262

—— ———— of vitality in, 30, 31

—--~ lengthen at their points only, 17

local motion of, in quest of fresh
food, 19, 20

matted, 439

may be grafted, 350

mode of increase after passing the
embryo state, 17, 20

most readily formed in darkness
and moderate moisture, 25

nature of their food, 28

never inactive except when frozen,

perish if their formation be not
speedily followed by the deve-
lopment of leaves, 25
—— power of forming adventitious
buds, 30
produced by removing a ring of
bark, 25
——~ produced from various parts of a
plant, 21
propagating by cuttings of, 282
proportion borne to the stem,
variable, 26
——- the fact of their increasing in bulk
without leaves or branches, ex-
plained, 78
——-- the theory that they are only
formed by the action of leaves,
erroneous, 448
——- their action reciprocal with that
of the leaves, 69
——- their deep penetration into cold
soil a cause of canker, 148
— their feeding property depends on
the hygrometrical force of their
tissue, 18, 27
—- their fitness for propagation de-
pends on their power of forming
adventitious buds, 30
——-~ the remote cause of their forma-
tion, 25
——- their great importance, and danger
of destroying them, 19
—--- their hygrometrical properties, 17
——. their immediate cause involved in
obscurity, 24
——— their principal office, 25
-—~- their slender power of selecting
food, 26
—— why their extreme points are
called spongelets, 18

599

Roses, mode of budding, 309

——- neat mode of training, 426

Royle, Dr., successful mode of packing
seeds, 252

Runners, propagation by, 473

SaDDLE grafting, 318

Salt as a manure, and mode of application,
555

Saltpetre as a manure, 554

Salts, certain of them enter into the com-
position of the food of plants, 28

nitrogenous, are connected with
high vitality, 547

Sand employed in the propagation of
cuttings, 288, 293

its composition, 527

loose, unsuitable for plants, 530

sometimes constitutes a most im-
portant portion in the food of
plants, 528 ~

Sap, accumulation of, 99

—— an inspissated state of, produced by

a dry atmosphere, 512

— artificial obstacles to, 48

—— ascending, its force, 67

—— ascends partly in consequence of an

attracting force by the leaves, 52

—— ascent of, explained, 52

—— cause of its flow, 49, 51

—_ so of, not prevented by wounds,

—— descending, 71
—— when obstructed induces fruitful-
ness, 352
—— direction given to, by pruning, 362
experiments in regard to the circu-
lation of, 48, 51
—— falls back at night i in consequence
of cold, 53
— flow of, materially influenced by the
state of the weather, 50, 140
—— generates buds, 32
its ascending and descending cur-
rents communicate with differ-
ent systems of veins in the
leaves, 57
—— its changes during the course of its
circulation, 40
its circulation affected by motion
a to plants by wind,
—— éits constituents, 45
— ae aaa through the stem,
0

—— may be compelled to organise itself
externally as roots, 301

-—— motion of, different from its flow, 49

—— superabundance of, detrimental to

buds, 311

600.

Sapwood, and mode of its formation, 40
Saturation, hygrometrical, 184
Saw-dust as manure, 565
Scales, propagation by, 273
Scion affects the stock, 358
and stock, example to show their
mode of adhesion, 343
should be well suited to
each other, 351
—- effects of the stock on, 353
—— influenced by the stock, 303
Scions, how to keep fresh, 342
- from the trunk of a tree con-
sidered preferable to those
from the branches, 341
should be more backward in their
vegetation than the stocks, 339
Scorching, causes of,in damp houses, and
mode of preventing, 208
Screens, form of, for guarding plants from
wind, 189
— of oiled paper, 218
—their importance in modifying
the dryness of the air, 186, 198
Seasons, alternations of, 116
tropical, 182
Seaweeds, M. Thuret’s experiments on
' the spores of, 10
Secretions, an essential part of them
formed by the decompo-
sition of carbonic acid,
545
———— are generated faster by the
aid of heat, 277
are improved-in quality when
air has the fullest access to
the plants, 101
—-—— of plants, a agents of,
0

———

—_—___—___-——. result from the ac-
tion of theirleaves,
70
—_—_—__-_—_——- their formation fa-
voured by a high
temperature with
dryness, 100
—-—— of the fruit, changes they un-
dergo, 100
saccharine, formed by the
germinating seed, 16
Seed, care required to save, 468
—— its nature, 13 ;
—— its properties of reproduction dif-
ferent from those of the leaf-
buds, 13
Seedlings, health depends on that of the
seed, 474
Mr. Thompson’s experience in
regard to, 505
——— pricking out of, 482

INDEX.

Seedlings, real quality of, cannot be ascer-
re when first produced,
Seeds, cause of their longevity, 103
cause of their rotting in the
ground, 247
—— chemical changes in, 227
—— close packing of, injurious in hot
climates, 249 ‘
—— conditions requisite to produce
germination, 13
—— consequences of gathering them in
an unripe state, 243
—— degree of heat which some will
bear, 247
—— depth at which to sow, 228
— destruction of their vitality, 104
—— difference in their vigour, 104
effect of boiling, 106, 235
effect of deoxydising, 236
effect of electrical action on germi-
nating, 15
evils of deep sowing, 229
excess of carbon in, 14
germinating, effects of, under dif-
ferent coloured glass, 238
germinating, effects produced on,
by alkaline substances, 235
—— germinate from a saccharine secre-
tion, 16
—— growing in air, 21
— influence of circumstances under
which they are matured extends
to the progeny, 243
—— invigorated, 243
length of time they will remain in.
‘the ground without growing, 238
manner of germination, 14
of composite plants, 242
old, of spruce fir, germination pro-
moted in, 236
old, of stocks, &c,, produce double
flowers, 502
of tropical trees, degree of heat
required for their germination, 135
origin of their food, 108
peculiar modes of sowing, 234
—— period of their retention of the
power of germination, 108, 246
—— preservation of races by, 468
—— remain dormant whilst their pro-
portion of carbon is undimi-
nished, 104
—— renew the languid vigour of a
species, 472 |
—— renewal by, not always a preventa-
tive of disease, 474
—— reproduce species only with cer-
tainty, 13, 95, 463
—— ripeness in, 243.

INDEX.

Seeds, small-sized, supposed to produce
plants capable of coming early to
maturity, 466

—— steeping of, useless, 237

—— temperature borne by, 231

—— temperature required for their ger-

mination, 230 ;

the best, produce the best breeds,

487
their preservation, 244
weak, produce weak plants, 243
will not produce the same pecu-
liarities which characterise varie-
ties of the same species, 13, 95,
504

with very hard integuments, means
resorted to for assisting their
germination, 234
Seed-packing, 245
——— best mode for, 250
—— exceptions to the general
rule to be observed in,
351 .

in bottles plunged in
ships’ water tanks, 253

in charcoal, effects of, 249

in clayed sugar, objection-
able, 249

in hermetical enclosures,
bad, 248

successful mode of, em-
ployed by Dr. Royle,
252

Seed-saving, 239

Seed-sowing, 227 ;

—— depth of seeds in the soil,

228

peculiar modes of, 234

Sensitive plant, experiments on, 8, 64

Sepals, 81

Sets of potatoes preferable to whole

tubers, 266
Setting flowers, importance of, 469
Sewerage manure, most valuable of any,
575
Sexes, the essential part of flowers, 81.
Shade, disadvantage of too much, 292, 296
necessary for cuttings, 291, 296
Shank, cause of, 69
Shanking of grapes, 140
Shield-budding, 305
——_-—_—— square, 312
without alburnum, 312
Shifting plants in pots, 433
—————_-—— successive, 441
Shoots, unripe, their diminished capabi-
lity of resisting extreme cold,
113

young, their susceptibility of
frost, 113

601

Silex, in solution, absorbed by the wheat
plant, 27

rejected by the pea, 27

Situation of a garden, 199

——— low, how improved, 201, 203

of more consequence than soil,
200

relation of, to cold, 200

er some casesa mark of unhealthiness,
46

Skin of plants, M. Garreau’s enquiries
into its functions, 59

Smith, Rev. J., his experiments confir-
matory of the fact that roots
increase in bulk in the absence
of leaves, 76

his mode of tillage without
manure, 540

Smyrna, curious practice at, in regard to
the orange, 359

Snagging, or lopping, ill effects of, 403

Soap-boilers’ refuse as manure, 554

Soda as manure, 555

Soil, 525

— adaptation of stocks to, 354

—— artificial, its composition, 530

—— best for striking cuttings in, 287

— calcareousloam the best for general

use, 530

— choice of, for a garden, 199

clay, bad for‘gardening purposes, 530

different, requisite for different
varieties, 354, 536

effects of one too wet, 168

ess of rapid evaporation from,

evil of one too wet for cuttings, 293

for American plants, 532

for fruit-tree borders, 531

imitation of, an error, 535

its exhaustion in pots, 433

its superior heat at top taken advan-
ee of for the cure of canker,

its temperature and moisture more
important than its mineralogical
quality, 149

mean temperature of, is always
above that of the air, 134

moisture of, 159

must be warmed for the striking of
cuttings, 290

—— natural temperature of, 185

—— necessity of its being changed, 434

oolitic clay, successful mode of
cultivating, 540

—— peat, instance of rendering, produc-
tive, 538

relation which the temperature of,
bears to that of the air, 130

i

||

602

Soil, sterile, its effects in accelerating
fructification, 93
—— temperature of, in autumn most
favourable for transplanting ever-
greens, 453
-—— temperature important in the ger-
mination of seeds, 230
—— the kinds of, most essential to the
cultivator, 528
—— the manner in which it appears to
act upon plants, 529
—— the most suitable condition of, at
the period of vegetable rest, 160
—— its power of absorbing ammonia
and its salts, 547
—— warm and dry, influences the ex-
citability and maturity of certain
crops, 466
warmed from being drained, 138
Solar light, difference of its effects on
plants when transmitted
through different colour-
ed media, 300
effects a decomposition of
carbonic acid in plants, 60
its effect on leaves, 60
its influence on vegetable
life, 60
occasions the extrication of
oxygen in plants, 60
promotes insensible perspi-
ration in plants, 60
Solar radiation, 195
——__-——_-- immense power of, 197
Solar rays, the immediate cause of per-
spiration in plants, 177
———— their exhausting effects on
plants under certain cir-
cumstances, 79
Solly, Professor Edward, his experiments
on the effects of electrical action on
germination, 15
Soluble substances as manure, 551
Spanish chestnut, instance of the trunk
of an old tree emitting roots, 22
Species and varieties in their intrinsic
qualities the same, 476
continue to propagate without
losing their specific peculia-
rities, 472
of plants appear to be eternal,
471

the almost impossibility of mu-
ling, 497 ;

Specimen plants, mode of obtaining, 441,
443

Spongelets, act as absorbents, 18

—— are not special organs, 19

— carry on the absorption of

food most energetically, 456

INDEX.

Spongelets, reason of the extreme points
of roots being so called, 18
——~ their connection with the al-
burnum, 18
——-———- their force of absorption, 19
———_——- ba nature and consistence,
Spore of seaweeds, M. Thuret’s experi-
ments on, 10
—— its motion and fertilisation, 11
Sports, are or may become permanent,
how continued, 485
origin of, 481
Springs, temperature of, unsatisfactory as
tr eas that of the earth,
ll
Stamens, buds formed in the axils of, 54
— their parts and situation, 81
their use, 95
Starch, its accumulation in seeds, 243
Steam, application of waste, as a medium
of bottom-heat, 150
Stem, bears a variable proportion to the
roots, 26
— different forms, 43
growth by the, 33
is a branch produced by the first
leaf- bud, 34
is at first merely a vegetable cell,
afterwards increased into cellular
tissue, 34
its horizontal system, 35
its office, 45
its origin, 33
its parts, 35, 42
its perpendicular system, 35
processes by which wounds in them
are healed, 36
its properties of forming leaf-buds,
43 :

| ||

subterranean, suitable for propaga-
tion, 282

transmission of sap through, 40

wounds of, repaired by cellular or
horizontal system, 35

Sterility, 93

—\ causes of, 239, 369

from cold, 109

remedy for, 241, 369

| Stigma, 81, 498

——— elective affinity of, 499

Stock affected by the scion, 357

—— and graft, cause of the enlargement
at their junction, 351

— effect produced by different kinds
of, 352

—— has the effect of increasing the
hardiness of a variety that may

be worked upon it, 353

INDEX.

Stock and scion, adhere by the mere
junction of cellular
matter, 344

curious instance of ad-
hesion in, 843

——-— must have a great si-
milarity of constitu-
tion, 345

Stocks, adaptation of, to soils, 354

—_—— affect the fruit, 355

cutting back of, when budded, 311

when grafted, 339

heading down, 339

— — in some cases promote the early

bearing and early death of the
graft, 358

bud, 336
selection of, a matter of great im-
portance, 349
their effects in modifying the
growth of the tree, 304
——— their effect on fructification, 304
their influence on grafts, 304
Stomates, 57
number of, in a square inch of
. the leaves of various species,
. 58
———— permit the escape of vapour, 164

————— their number and size propor- |

tionate to the natural habits
of plants, 58
their positionand adaptation, 70

Stopping, its importance, 396
Stove plants, night temperature for, 520
Strontian rejected by certain plants, 27
Structure of flowers, 81
Style, 81

Succulency a mark of unhealthiness, 467 |

Succulents are best preserved for a long
voyage by being packed dry, 257
———~—— M. Neumann’s mode of treat-
ing cuttings of, 294

roots, 26
Suckers of the pine-apple, 302
Sulphate of soda as a manure, 557
Sulphur, 559
—— its value as a manure, 560
Sulphuric acid employed in drying air
for the preservation of seed, 244
Summer pruning prevents excessive
luxuriance, 377

Superphosphate of lime, mode of pre-|

paring, and way to apply as manure, 558
Sun’s rays, force of, 127
scorching effects of, on plants
growing in water, 164

necessity of a correspondence in |
growth between their horizontal }
system and that of the graft or |

—— their small proportion of

603

Sweden, temperature of, 119

Sylvan inarching, 327

Syringing, 206

——_———. frozen plants with cold water,

good effects of, 112, 204

newly transplanted trees, 448

System, horizontal cellular, 35

one-shift, in cultivation, 442

perpendicular, of stems, 35

| TanneER’s bark, spent, as manure, 565
|Tap-root, advantageous sometimes to
| remove, 461
| Temperature, a difference between that
of day and night univer-
sal, 514
alternations of, necessary
to plants, 114
——___——- Australian night, 516
average, at Chiswick, 115
average, at Madras, 115
borne by seeds, 232
diurnal variations of, 114
effects of an unnaturally
low, 109
effects of great discrepancy
in, as regards different
portions of a plant, 69
effects of its annual alterna-
tions, 116
— effects of its diurnal alter-
nations, 114
effects on pollen, of one
too low, 241
— effects of one toohigh in hot-
houses at night, 208, 518
effects of one too high on
plants, 107
extremes of, to which planta
are subject when grow-
ing, 153
high, conjoined with dry-
ness, favourable to the
formation of fruit, 109
high, with moisture, favour-
able to the production of
leaves.and branches, 109
importance of securing a
proper onefor plants, 148
inutility of mean air, 154
laws of, with respect to its
influence on vegetation,
113
— limits of, endurable by
plants, 106
—— night must be lower than
day, 514
of drained land, much
higher than that of un-
drained, 138

604

Temperature of earth and air, at Chis-
wick, 128

of earth and air, results

deduced from tables, 124

tropics, always warmer
than the air, 131
of earth, in various parts
of the world, 117, 125
of earth, reason why it is
necessary to be higher
than that of air, 148
of soils, its important in-
fluence on vegetation, 149
— of soils, relation it bears to
that of the air, 130
of springs, unsatisfactory
as indicating that of the

earth, 117
—- of tropical seasons, 1382
——_——-——— sudden changes in, inju-

rious to plants, 435
Mr. Thompson’s tables on,
117

very low, under the in-
fluence of light causes
the early appearance of
fruit, 512
—— which grain will bear, 248
———-——- with regard to the direc-
tion of the wind, 190
Thawing plants that are frozen, 112
Thumb-pots, the best adapted for first
potting of cuttings, 299
Thuret, M., experiments on the spores of
seaweeds, 10
Timber, annual rate of growth in oak, 415
its composition, 413
— pruning for, 395
refutation of the fallacy that slow-
grown is superior to fast-grown,
412
Tissue, cellular, is the component of the
first rudiments of the stem,
34
contracts under the influence of
cold, 187 ;
disorganisation of, 168
fibro-vascular, 413
forming veins has a double origin,
56
general distention of, in roots
growing in air and water, 21
general distention of, in the em-
bryo state of roots, 17
——- its firat formation requires nitro-
gen, 28
——— its hygrometrical force depends
on the action of the vital prin-
ciple, 27

of earth, in and near the |

INDEX.

Tissue, live, cannot form an organic union
with that which is dead, 405
— mixed arrangement of, in endo-
gens, 35
reproduction of, upon a decorti-
cated space, 36
Tongueing, 301
its use, 315
Training, 421
———— diseases induced by, 429
downward, advantageous, 424
its disadvantages, 428
its effects on the circulation of
the juices, 429
——— objects to be attended to, 424
Transformation of the parts of plants,
82, 92
Transplanted trees, importance of pre-
serving the roots of,
455
—__—_—_—_—— languid from previous
dryness, effects on,
by the too rapid
absorption of water,
462
— their pruning often
injurious, 366
Transplanting, 445
effects of, on annuals, 467
— facts relating to, 459
— in spring, objectionable,
450

its rationale, 446

—— leads to the production of
flowers and fruit, 94

——_———— manner of performing the.
operation, 456

of deciduous trees, 446

of evergreens, 450°

preparation of old trees
for, 457

reasons why autumn is
the best season for ever-
greens, 453

seasons for, 447

—_—_ very large trees, 458

Trécul, M., his explanation of the de-
velopment of leaves, 55

Tree-ivy, origin of, 481

Trees and shrubs, are renovated annually,

—_—_—— distinct parts of their
bark, 39

— Chinese mode of dwarfing, 368

—— hard-wooded and resinous, modes
of grafting, 321

~— inscription on, remarkable instance
of, 38

—— instance of being decorticated by
lightning, 47

INDEX,

Trees, longevity of, 40, 41

—— nodules in the bark of, 44

—— remarkable instances of vitality in,
260

Trifacial orange, 360

True sap wholly generated in the leaves,

370 :

Tubers, 43

instances of, formed by flowers, 85

propagation by, 473

UNDERGROUND climate, 137

Unisexual plants, effects of temperature
on, 108

VALLEYS, general coldness of, compared
with higher ground, 200
their liability to sudden cold,
200 :
Van Hall, his observations on the in-
fluence of leaves in increasing the
trunks of trees, 71
Varieties and species, in their intrinsic
qualities the same, 476
Varieties are usually far more disposed
to mix than species, 499
early and late, influenced by
soil, 466
——_ how continued, 485
——— means of fixing them, 464
owe their origin to some special
circumstance, 479
Vegetable, cells, have their own special
power of secretion, 344
excitability, 295
irritability, 11

life, . principal circumstances

connected with, 5

respiration, Mr. Pepy’s ex-
periments on, 61

Vegetation in forcing houses, mode of
resting it, 511

Veins, 56

of leaves consist of two systems, 56

Ventilation, 213

advantages of, 215

by drains, 226

injurious effects of, 222

in winter, 223

its necessity, 214

just as necessary in winter
as in summer, 217

— —— Knight’s remarks and ex-

periments on, 216, 225
———— practice of, 224
———— Williams of Pitmaston’s
mode of, 225

Vine, application of potash to, 554

—— borders, formation of, 146

artificially warmed, 143

605

Vine borders, effect of concreting, 144
—————— mode of concreting, 146
precautions for draining
of, 170 ;
countries, temperature of, 515
—— effects of grafting, 304
— grafting of, 352
——_-——_- in Greece, 350
mode of increasing from eyes, 264
pruning, diagram illustrative of, 72
remedy in cases of bleeding, 364
soil in which it arrives at the
greatest perfection, 144
warmth of soil for, 136
cause of early forced, notsetting, 140
Vital force, 7
in plants decomposes water, 60
——_———— its presence exemplified in
fresh-water conferve, 10
———_—— manifested by pollentubes, 10
— proofs of, 8
— of vegetation, 60
Vital functions of plants, 177
Vital points on the stem, formation of, 43
Vitality explained, 12
in seeds, causes of its destruc-
tion, 104
in plants, evidence of, 11
remarkable instances of, in
plants, 259, 261
Vital principle, its presence admitted,
enables us to elucidate
many things that are
obscure in vegetable
physiology, 111
—____—— stimulated by heat, 15
—— universal, 12

WALLS, effects of blackening, 199, 423

——~—— importance of, in improving
the flavour and hastening the
maturation of the fruit, 423

importance of, with regard to

shelter, 186

Walnut, propagation of, py Padding, 310,

33

b fting, 338
Wardian cases, fault of, oF a
—— unfit for cultivation, 221
—— useful for sending live
. plants by sea, 257
Water, a copious supply of, increases the
size, but diminishes the flavour
of the fruit, 166
a vehicle by which oxygen is sup-
plied during the process of
germination, 14
circulation and cooling of, 162
conduces to germination, 15
effects of immersing roots in, 168

606

Water enters into the composition of the
food of plants, 28
evil effects of, to seeds when
given in excess, 233
excess of, in the soil, injures
plants, 137
injurious effects of, to cuttings,
prevented by collodion, 294
inatepid state applied to roots, 149
instance of the extension of roots
in search of, 19
in which aquatics are grown,
necessity of regulating to a due
degree of temperature, 150
is decomposed by the vital
action of plants, 60
its decomposition or dissipation
by fruit, 102
its effects on maturation, 102
its importance in supplying the
food required by cuttings, 292
pure, cannot solely support vege-
tation for a long period, 28
rain,or river, best for cuttings,299
relation of, to succulence, 167
replaces the sap on which leaves
usually subsist until they emit
roots, 277
roots growing in, 21
should be diminished when fruit
is ripening. 167
the natural food of plants, 551
the temperature for watering, a
matter of great moment, 175
Watering, 159
—__——. a preventative of mildew in
annuals, 176
effects of natural and artificial,
171
——— effects of, on stiff soils, 172
—— frozen plants, good effects of,
112
lowers the temperature of the
soil, 172
newly planted trees, 462
the evils of, 175
————— time of day for, 173
Water-plants, flowering of, 150
Wax for grafting, composition of, 339,
331, 340
Wearing out of plants, theory of, er-
roneous, 478
Wet borders, 170
Wheat egilopian, origin of, 483
Whip-grafting, 314
Wind causes cold, 187
—— its effect in increasing the dryness
of the air, 186

INDEX.

Wind, its effect on the circulation of the
sap, 215
with regard to fertilisa-
tion, 241
—— statement of, with degrees of dry-
ness, 188
Winter ventilation, 223
wet, effects of, 160
Wood, 42
ashes as a manure, 555
charred blocks of, valuable for
orchidaceous plants, 545
central, example ofits removal, 48
central, of little consequence in
comparison with that of the
alburnum and liber, 45
formation of, 34, 70
Wood, formation of, in a root without the
existence of a stem, 261 '
formation of, wholly local and
superficial, 343
— formation of, without the aid of
leaves, 38
—— inscriptions buried in, 39
— of exogens, 35
— of stems, 40
—— reason why more is formed on the
south side of a tree than on the
north, 71
removal of, in budding, does not
injure the eye, 306
— renovation of, 36
— the channel for the ascent of all the
fluids of plants, 40
— theory of growing downward from
leaves erroneous, 71
Woody fibre, originates in the leaves, 34
Woody matter, is abundant or absent
in proportion to the
strength or absence of
the leaves, 34
its first appearance, 34
Worms, injury occasioned by, to plants
in pots, 171
Wounds, of roots, should be cut to a
clean smooth face, 460
of stem, repaired by cellular or
horizontal system, 35
surface, instances of, and power
of reparation, 37

Yeast, putrid, its powerful effects as a
manure, 551

ZANTEDESCHI, M., his experiments on the
influence of moonlight on plants, 63

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CLASSIFIED

rieulture and Rural
Affairs.

tayidon on Valuing Rents, &c. - 4
Road Legislation == - 4
saind’s Prairie Farming - - 6
Jecil’s Stud Farm - - - 6
Joskyns’s Talpa - - - 10
soudon’s Agricutture - - 18
Low's Elements of Agriculture - 1
orton on Landed Property - 16
ts, Manufactures, and
Architecture.
Bourne's Catechism of the Steam rt
En:
pranie Dictionary ‘of Science, &c. 4
«~~ Qrganie Chemistry- - 4
resy’s Civil Engineering = 6
Fairbairn’s Informa. for Engineers 7
Swilt’s Encyclo. of Architecture - 8
Harford’s Eines trom M. Angelo - fa
Jameson’ Saints and Martyrs - 11
Monastic Orders - = - 11
‘“ legends of Madonna .- UL
oe Ee Commonplace-Buok - 11
ig's Pictonal Life of Luther ~ &
Toa n’s Rural Architecture -
Macedon all's Campaigns of Man- a
Macboagall’s "Theory of War - it
Moseley’s Engineering - - 16
Piesse’s Art of cPeriamery ee ag
Scoffern on. peatetnes 19
Steam-Engine, by the Risa Club 4

Ure’s Dictionary of Arts, &e. - B

ography.
Arago’s Lives of Scientific Men -
Baillie’s Memoir of Bate - -
Brialmont's Wellington -
3unsen’s Hippo tus. - - *

Bunting’s (
Crosse’s (Andrew) Memorials
Green's Princesses of England
Harford’s Life of Michael Angelo -
Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia -
arshman’s Life of Arey, Marsh-

”

man, and Ward 14
Maunder’s Biographical Treasury - a

Morris’s Life of Becket 6
Mountain’s (Col agent - - 46
Parry's (Admiral) Memoirs - - 17
Russell's Memoirs ofMome- - 16

Dr.) Mezzofanti - - 19

1
‘immelPenninck’s (Mire.): .) Life - 19
§ eee 5 Life of Wes! ey 21
Ste ephen's Ecclesiastical ography 21
Strickland’s Queens of England - 21
Sydney Smith’sMemoirs - ~- 20
ond’s (Admiral) Memoire. - 2
Toylgrskoya a = -
eslef - - - -
twine’ 8 Memoirs
‘Waterton's ‘Autobiography & Essays 24

.0ks of General Utility.

Acton’ 8 preids Book - - - 38
Cookery - - 8

Biuck’e Toes on Brewing - - - 4
Cabinet Gazetteer - = ee 66
- - - 6

Cust's Invalnd ‘Own Book - 7
Hints on Etiquette - + 9
Hudson’ 's Executor’s Guide - 10
on Making Wills - - 10

Kestev en's Domestic Medicine 12
Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia 12

Loudon’s Lady’ s Country Comper
nion -

VaAMaATaRws

Jed:

INDEX.

M ‘6 Treasury of K 15 Mackin‘osh's Miscellaneous Works
th Biograp: ical ‘Treasury 15 ibd History | of England -
ce Geographical Treasury 15 M‘Culloch’sGeographicalDictionary
pt Scientific Treasury - 14 Maunder’s Treasury of History -
ae ;Treasury of History - 15 Merivale’ 's History of Rome - -
ae Natural History - - 15 Roman Republic- = -

Piesse's Artof Perfumery - - 18 Milner’ s Church History ~- = -

Pitt's How to Brew Goo Beer - 18 Moore’s Genomes) Memorrs, &e. -

Pocket and the Stud = - - aa Mure’s Greek Literature -- =~

Pyeroft’s English Reading - - Normanby’s Year.of Rey olution -

Rich’s Comp. to Latin Dictionary is Perry's Franks

Richardson’s Art of Horsemanship 18 Porter's Rajehts of Malta -

Riddle’s Latin Dictionaries - “- 18 Raikes's Journal -

Roget’s English Thesaurus - - 19 Riddle’s Latin Lexicon

Rowton’s Debater - —- - 19 Rogers's Essays from Edinb. ‘Revie

hort Whist - - - - = 20 “«"“(Sam.) Recollections -
i s Handbook of Dining - 20 Roget's English Thesaurus - -
Thomson’s Interest Tables - - 23 Sehimmery enninct 's Memoirs of
Webster's Domestic Economy - 24 t Royal -
Willich's Popular Tables - - 24 SchimiielPenniey’ 8 Pri rineiples of
Wilmot’s Blackstone - - - 2% Beauty, &c. -
Sehinite’s History of Greece -
. jouthey’s Doctor -
Botany and Gardening. Steen se Ecclesiastical | Bio, eaphy
Hassall's British Freshwater Alge 9 sya ney Smiths en Erencht istory
coker’ s British Flora - - 9 Tectares: 5 a
Sateen few erdene - i “ Memoirs oe
Lindle 's Introduction to Botany x ete.
m Sy: ynopsis of the British - Taylor's they a : ‘
I" -
“ Theory of ‘Horticulture - 13 Thinwal rs History of reece 2
Loudon’s Horns Britannicus - 13 Uwins's Memoirs - aon aes
eZ ES saaeea gure ie 13 Vehse’s Austrian Court at.
ae Gedening ee aS Wade's England’s Greatness = -
‘a jardening BS aS Young's Christ of History - = -
Pereira ie Matera Beiea) BGiec a
ivera’s Rose-Amateur'’s Guide -
Watson's Cybele Britannica - 24 | Geography and Atlases
Wilson’s British Moses = - = - 4 Brewer's Historical Atlas -
i 7 Butler . Geography and Atlases -
i abinet Gazetteer - —-
Chronology Johnston’s General Gazetteer .
Brewer's Historical Atlas - - 4 M‘Culloch’s Geographical Dictiona
Bunsen’s Ancient Egypt - - 6 Maunder's Treasury of Geography
Haydn's Beatson’sIndex - - 9 Murray's Encyclo. of Geography -
J eqtemet ee Chronolog, ey, -u Sharp's British Gazetteer -
Abridged thronology - ll
Nicolas's Chronology of History- 12

Commerce and Mercantile

Affairs.

Gilbart's Logic of Banking -
«- Treatise on Banking
Lorimer’s Young Master Mariner -

8
8
13

M‘Culloch's Commerce & Navigation | ie

Thomson's Intefest Tables - -

Tooke’s History of Prices - 33
Criticism, History, and
-Memoirs.
Brewer's Historical Atlas 4
Bunsen’s Ancient Egypt - 5
se Hippolytus - 5
Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus - 6
Conybeare and Howson’s St.Paul 6
Connolly's Sappers and Miners - 6
Crowe’s History of France - - 6
Frazer's Letters during the Penin-
sular and Waterloo Campaigns 8
Gleig’s Essays - 8
Gurney’s Historical Sketches. - 8
Hayward's Essays- - - 9
Herschel’ ‘3 Essays and Addresses - 9
Jeffrey's (Lord) Essays - -)1
Kemble’s Anglo-Saxons - - 11
Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia - 12
Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. Essays 13
History of England 13
cs Speeches - 13

Juvenile Books.

Amy Herbert- -
Cleve Hall
Earl’s ‘Danghter ( The)
Experience of Life
Gertrude <
Howitt’s Boy’s Country ‘Book
«« (Mary) Children’s Year -
Ivors = -

oer
pare

Kathatine Ashton « = - ~

Laneton Parsonage 2 a

Margaret Percival - = .

Piesse’s Chymical, N atural, and
Physical Magic .

Pycroft's Collegian's Guide & #

Medicine, Surgery, &c.

Brodie's Psychological Inquiries -
Bull's Hints to Mothers- -~ -
« Managementof Children -
«on Blindness __- -
iuediging

Gants Invalid’s Own Book - -
Holland's Mental Physiolog: -
Refec

‘Medical Notes and
Kesteven’s Domestic Medicine
Pereira's Materia Medica =
's Cold- Water Cure
apenger Psychology

‘odd’s vel opzedia, of, Anatomy
and Physiol: 1oey - = 2

2 CLASSIFIED INDEX TO GENERAL CATALOGUE.
Miscellaneous and General Tvore ; or, the Two Cousins 20 Peschel’s Elements of Physies -
Literature. Jameson's Sacred Legends - u Phillips'sMineralogy - -Wi
ae Monastic Legends - 1 ae Guide to Ceology » -«-W
Bacon’s (Lord) Works - - - 3 «« Legendsofthe Madonna 11 Powell's Unity of Worlds) - - 18
Defence of Eclipse of Faith - - 7 «© Lectnzes on Female Em- Smee’s pileciro Metalinzey - = 20
De Fonblanque on Army Adminis ployment. - - 11 Steam- Engi: mail
tration - 2 eS Jeremy Taylor's Works - - -h “Webb's Gaeta jects for | Com-
Eclipse of Faith = - 7 Katharine Ashton ~ 20 mon Telescopes ae oR
fine ners Bacon and Realistic Phi- Kénig’s Pictorial Life of Luther - 8
ene phy 3 i a a - i Tellers to my Ua ~ 20
- Gres ed’s. etters rom Delhi - etters to my Unknown Friends 13 |
teyeonie Select Coreonandenc? - 8 Ta, Germanice - = - an | Rural Sports.
Gurney's Evening Recreations - 8 laguire’s Rome - - - -- s Ri
Hassall'sAdulterations Detected,&c. 9 Margaret Percival- - - - 2 ieee Dictionary of Sports? fou. :
Haydn's Book of Dignities ~ - 9 Marshman’s'Serampore Mission - 14 | Ceoil’s Stable Practice - - 6
ae landis Mental 2 yeiology - 3 | Martineau’s Christian Life- - 14 Stud Farm - 6
ooker’s Kew Guide - = mns - - - id % 7
Howitt’s Rural Life of England = < btudies of Christianity 14 Dery =Fishing Excursion ae Series 7
«¢ Visitsto RemarkablePlaces 10 Merivale’s Christian Records - 16 “ 4g a ogock of ofthe Salmon - 7
Jameson's Commonplace-Book - 11 Milmer’s Church of Christ - - 15 Freeman and Salvin’s Falconry - 8
Last of the Old Squires - - 1 Moore.on the Use of the Body = - ‘164 Hawker's Young S| ortsman - - = 9
Letters ofa Betrothed - - - a “« Soul and Body 16 The Hunting-Field - 9
Macaulay's Speeches «© ’3Man and his Motives - 16 Idle’s Hints on Shooting 3 oe am
Mackintosh’s Miscellaneous Worss it Morning Clouds - - -. - 16 PocketandtheStud - - - 9
Martineau’s Miscellanies - - 14 Neale's Closing Scene_- - - 16 Practical Horsemanship + - 9
Pycroft’s English Reading - m - 18 Pattison’s Earth and Word - - 17] Pycroft’s Cricket-Field - - - 18
Rich's Comp. to Latin y 18 8 0) without 1a u- Richardson’s Horsemanship- -- 18
Riddle’s Latin Dictionaries - - 18 ac Aaism 2 18 | Ronalds’ Fly-Fisher’s Entomology 19
Rowton’s Debater - 7 + 19 Order o ou Nature = = 18 Stable Talk and Table T 9
Sir Roger De Coverley - - - 20 Readings for Li - 20 Stonehenge 0 on the Dog - a1
Southey’s Doctor,&c. - - - 21 Confirmation se ee 20) n the Greyhound 21
Spencer's Essays - - - ~ 2b Robinson’s Lexicon to the Greek The Stud, for] Practical Purposes- 9
Stow's Training System ~ = 21 Testament - - - “- - 19)
Thomson's Laws of Ean - 28 Self-ExaminationforConfirmation 20
Trevelyan on the Native Languages as Ree History of the Early 30)
of India oh ge ‘Charc! -. sang
Willich’s ‘Popular Tables - + 2 Sinclair's Journey of Life - 20 Veterinary Medicine, ‘ae.
: Yonge’s English-Greek Lexicon - 24 Smith's (Sxaner) Moral Philosophy 21 Cecil's Stable Practice Ba) fas Se
« Latin Gradus - ~ 24 ) Wesleyan Methodism 20 d Farm a . 6
Zumpt’sLatinGrammar - - 24 ist Paul’s Shipwreck - 20 Hunt's fave and his Master =~ 11
Sdatheste ‘ife of Wesley = - 21
. Stephen’s Ecclesiastical Biography 21 Leia reper ner a eo tee a
Natural History in general. Taylor's eer - a 7 lee oaths Horse hooks <- =t 1B
Agassiz on Classification = - 3 Cet ae. age PocketandtheStud - - - 9
Catiow" ’sPopular Conchology - 6 Theologia. G: SUchal Pin, oe ae Practical Horsemanship == - 9
Ephemera’s Book of th e Salmon - Z Ureula on e f e) 3 2 90 Bichardson's Horsemanship - ae
$ att's Marvels of Instinct - o able and Table ne ict
7 Zosse’s Natural History of Jamaica 8 Young . Shit of History me ses or Stonehenge on the Dog - Saad + aL
xirby and Spence’s Entomology - 12 Ey? Stud(The) - = = 38
Lee's Elements of Natural History 12 Youatt’s Work on the Dog - = 2
Maunder's Natural History - - 15 Youatt’s Work on the Horse - 24
M ores Anecdotes in_ ‘Natural 13] poet wine D
ist m1 rama.
Quatrefages' N Naturalist’s Rambles 18 oetry a: c
% Stonehenge on the Dog 21 Aikin’s (Dr.) British Poets - 3| Voyages and Travels.
¥|. urton’sShells ofthebritishIslands 23 Arnold's Merope , % 3
i - eh . 5
a Van der Hoeven 8 Zoolsky ia ‘a oe «~~ Poems 3 Bokere Wandermga in Ceylon - H
Hl Waterton’s Essayson Natural His’ U arth’s African Travel moe
Fa * Youatt’s Work it the Dog - - 24 Bailie | Joanna) Poetical Wo ks 4 i Burton’ eEast Africa - - - 6
“1° Youatt's Work onthe Horse - 24 L. E. L.'s Poetical Works - - 13 Medina and Mecca- = - 5
us d's Anthol 0 - 2B Domenech’s Texas - 4
nn G 8 Anthologia Oxoniensis oR «¢ Deserts of North America 7
1-Volume Encyclopzedias bbe seeeteey of Ancient Rome 14: FirstImpressionsofthe NewWorld 7
and Dictionaries. Mac Donald's Within and Without 14 Foresters Sardinia inthe Alpe. =) 8
Blaine'’s Rural Sports - 4 3 Howitt’s Art-Student in Munich - 10
Brande’s Science, Literature, and Art 4 Montgomerie Postal works eS ie (W.) Victoria - — - 10
oy Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 6 core’ et oeneal We ustr shed a) 5 Ie Hue's Chinese Empire -
: Cresy's Civil Engineering - - § e : Hudson and Kennedy" S ‘Mont
Gwilt'’s Architecture - - - 8 Fe Easel ow is? if 0
1D. y ll < Wational Meladieg = © 16 Be ae Aspects ofNature - 10
Loudon's Agriculture - 13 « Sacred Songs (with Music) 16° Hutchinson’s Western Africa 1
Rural ‘Architecture - 18 ee Sonpeand’ eae ard ag Kane's Wanderings ofan Artist - 11
“ Gardening. - - + 13 " ies al = 19 Lady’s Tour round Monte Rosa - 12
“ 223 a eeete oclical Works Pi M‘Clure’s North-West Passage - 17
ae Trees ‘and Shra - MaeDougall's Voyage of the Resolute if
M-Culjoch'aGeographicalDictlonsry q ‘Thomson’s Seasons, illustrated - 28 M radon Now Bt fo Delhi
Dictionary of Commerce 14 Mallhausen’s Tourneytothethores
' Murray's Bayete. of Geography - 16 of the Pacific = - 5
Sharpie Britis Gazetteer - a0 ‘ ; Osborn’s Succes - 7 at
Jre’s Dictionary of Arts, &c.- —- i s in enera: Peaks, Passes, aciers -
Webster's Domestic Economy - 24 The Se a orath hy Scherzer’ s ‘Central America - = - 19
an athematics. Senior’s Journal in ‘Turkey and ;
‘ | Religious & Moral Works. Arago’s M Meteorological Easays - 3 ee aren del Fuego = 2
: Afternoon ofLife - - - - 3 opularAstronomy- - 3 Tennent’sCeylon - - - - 2b
Amy Herbert. - 20, Bourne's “Catechism of Steam: Yon Tempeky's Mexico - - 23
| Bloom field's GreekTestament - 4 Engine - 4 ‘Wanderings in Land of Ham = - 23
| Banyan’s Pilgrim’s PrOgreat = B. Boyd’s Naval Cadet’s Manual > 4 Weld’s Vacations inireland- - 24
Calvert's ‘Wife's Manual - 6 Brande’ 's Dictionary of Science, &c. 4 «” Pyrene: - 2
Catz and Farlie’s Moral | Emblems 6 Lectures on Organic Chemistry’ 4 «United States and-Canada- 24
Cleve Hall 0 Conington’s Chemical Analysis - 6
Conybeare and Howson’s St.Paul 6 ‘Oresy's Civil Engineering ~- - 6
Cotton's Instructions in ipusiatienity 6 De la Rive's Electricity 7
Dale’s Domestic Litu: a Grove's Correla. of Physical Forces @] Works of Fiction.
Defence of Eclipse of laith ~ - 2 7 Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy 9 : th 8 nis 8
Farl’s Daughter. (The) - - 20; Holland’s Mental Physiology - 9 Connolly's Romante of the Ra: ?
Eclipse Orr aith. 74 Humboldt's AspectsofNature - 10 Cruikshank’s Falstaff -
te \ aad 7 | Cosmos - =~ - 10 Hewitt’s Tallangetta - - - 10
Englishman's Greek: Conco: ce 15
“ Heb b &eChald.Concord. 7| Hunt. on Light -u Mildred Norman - = - =
Experience (The): of Life - 20 | Lardner’s* Cabinet iCyclopedia - 12 Moore's Epicurean - - -
Ger rt rude -o- 2 eee Mrs.) Comvareetors - 14 Sewall's Ursale. 5 - - 2 + aa
, ‘hoes — = orell's Elements of Psycho! ‘ir Roger De Coverley -
Harrigon's Light ofthe Eoty asei a0 10 Moseley’sEngineerit rehitecture 18 Sketches (thn), are ‘Tales 5 a
« Abridgment of ditto - 10 Ogilvie's Master-Builder’s Plan - Southey’s The er
Huc’s Christianity in‘China- = - 10 Owen's LecturesonComp.Anatomy 17 Trollope's Barchester Towers =
3 Parables I ted 11 Pereira on Polorised Light - - 17 Warden 23

ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE

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Dr. Bloomfield’s College and School Edition of
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Dr. Bloomfield’s College and School Lexicon
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A CONTINENTAL TOUR .........8¥J. BARROW. | CHINA AND THIBET........ ny Tun ABBE’ HUC,
ucelc vovacns BND wus. BY F, MAYNE, | SYRIA AND PALESTINE............““EOTHEN.”

SCOVERIES ........ =
BRITTANY AND THE aes aieanls By I. HOPE. THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, By P, GIRONIERE,

BRITTANY AND THE CHA! PE.
“CORSICA . are. GREGOROVIUS, IN AFRICA.

MANY. 5 AFRICAN WANDERINGS........ , DEM, WERNE.
ae ae + BYS.LAING, | MOROCCO... cree X. DURRIEU.
IGELAND.. by B. MILES. | 8 NIGER EXPLORATION. py i. J. HUTCHINSON.
NORWAY, A RESIDENCE IN ny 8. LAING, -| THE ZULUS OF NATAL........ By G. H. MASON,
NORWAY, RAMBLES IN.. T. FORESTER. | AMERICK:
By THE MARQUIS DE CUSTINE. | IN AM
RUSSIA AND TURKEY . 33 J. Re MCCULLOCH. By E, WILBERFORCE.

ST, PETERSBURG... .. 2. w M. JERRMANN.
THE RUSSIANS OF THE SOUTH, By 8. BROOKS.

SWISS MEN GND SWISS) 57 R, FERGUSON.

... BY A. M. JAMESON.
DEM. ak HURLBUT,
NOR! Ti Ait “WILDS . x C, LANMAN,

MONT BLANC, ASCENT OF .,....B¥ J, AULDJO, IN AUSTRALIA.
SKETCHES ‘oe meen ald VON TSCHUDI, | AUSTRALIAN COLONIES...... by W. HUGHES,
VISIT TO THE VAUDOIS1 = 3 AIMEE ROUND THE WORLD.

OF PIEDMONT ...... Py co A LADY’S VOYAGE..,.,......BY IDA PFEIFFER,

HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

MEMOIR OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGION. CHESTERFIELD & SELWYN, By A. HAYWARD.
aoe oe pive oF MARSHAL } BY ee ee x, 0. SWIFT AND EDSON, , BY LORD ree e

DEFOE AND CHURCHILL’, Syd. FORSTER,
SCHAMYL.... 3vHODENSTEDT ax WAGNER, | ANECDOTES OF D t. JOHNSON, by MRS. Bozzi.
FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMI-1 4. Ranke, | TURKEY AND CHRISTENDOM.

DIAN 1 aig SGtORTOE * | LRIPSIC CAMPAIG nN, Be aus, REY. G. R, GLEIG,
FRANCIS ARAGO'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, AN ESSAY ON THE’ LIFE AN
THOMAS HOLCROFT'S MEMOIRS, GENIUS OF THOMAS FULLER} “ROGLNS.

ESSAYS BY LORD MACAULAY.

WARREN HASTINGS, LORD BYRON.
LORD CLIVE. COMIC DRAMATISTS OF THE RESTORATION.
WOLIEAAE OF CHATHAM, TOLC ARES CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY
RANKE’S HISTORY OF THE POPES. ? :
GED ye toe De te cen CROKER ‘8 EDITION OF BOSWELL’S LIFE OF

DISON’S LIFE AND WRITINGS,

Bo RACE WALPOLE, LORD MACAULAY’S SPEECHES ON PARLIA-
LORD BACON, MENTARY REFORM,

WORKS OF FICTION.

THE LOVE STORY, mom SOUTHEY'S DOOTOR, | AN ATTIC PHILOSO-} ny B, SOUVESTRE,

5 ‘ROM THE Callan

‘SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY....} sszonaror, | Sik EDWARD SEAWARD'S NARRATIVE OF
§ OF A MAITRE-D'ARMES, nx DUMAS. HIS SHIPWRECK,

{emorrs
CO ENG ALAN & fse-+sB¥ E, SOUVESTRE.

NATURAL HISTORY, &c.

NATURAL HISTORY OF } DR. L. kemp, | ELECTRIC-TELEGRAPH, &c. py DR. G. WELSON.
R. ENG asctecpucartesionea BE: Dee ae * | OUR COAL-FIELDS AND ‘OUR COAL-PITS,
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MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.

Lmorunns ap appnmssus{**2EE RARE or | RAILWAY MORES ANDY.. yy 11 sPENOER,

SELECTIONS FROM SYDNEY SMITH'S MORMONISM ,. er THE REY. W. J. CONTBE ARE,
WRITINGS, LONDON viseeersessesernes BE J. R, M'CULLOCH.
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<=

al Law

_NEW-EBITIONS OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF
MRS. MARY ANNE SCHIMMELPENNINCK.

RRA RAR A RAR enna

LIFE OF MARY ANNE SCHIMMELPENNINCK

Including her AUTOBI
and OORKRES.

AY; w

ious-Extracts from her JOURNALS

md Cop
DENCE. Edited by her relation, CHRISTIANA C.

HANKIN. Third Edition ; with Portrait engraved-byH. Aptarp from a

Painting by Fisuzr

esther cetera etnias Post 8vo. 10s. 6d.

SELECT MEMOIRS OF PORT-ROYAL:

To which are added, Tour to Alet, Visit to Port-Royal, Gift Bhan Abbess; and

THE PRINCIPLES OF BEAUTY, * |

As manifested in Nature, Art, and

deen eee ee eben nennes

ag

Character 3 with a°Classification ot

Deformities, IT. An Essay on the Temperaments (with 12 chromo-lithographic
Illustrations in fac-simile of water-colour Drawings by the Author), III.

Thoughts on Grecian and Gothic Architecture.
relation, CHRISTIANA C. HANKIN........... :

‘Edited. by the: Authors
..1 vol, post 8vo. 12s. 6d.

HERE is a curious old-world
_savour hanging about this volume.
Varied ag it is in its contents, it aims

We listen willingly to our earnest and.
excellent guide, whom we are glad from’

time to time to acknowledge as an in-
structress ; not always sure that we un-
derstand her, or convinced of thé correct-
ness of her judgment, but admiring the
purity of her purpose and th aty of

her information, and confident
that she will never knowingly lead us

_Wrong......The eharm of: the« present
work, as of its author's life,” lies partly

in-its psychological interest ; but mucli
more in that affectionate and devotional
temper which so_ thoroughly. pervaded
} connected-in. practice, if
olly assimilate in ‘theary,
md" feelings of hei ‘early
youth with the religious ‘aspirations of
her wfaturer age. Its purity of tone
and simple innocence of purpose must
attract “many who will be’ gitite indif-
ferent. t6 its subdivision of Beauty, “or
discussions of ‘the Temperaments. We
should-imagine the Prixeiples of Beauty
would have an especial fascination’ for

the young, who, ..if-they cannot learn

from its pages a perfect theory of taste,

may learn from them much which is

a great deal better. :
GuARDIAN, August 24,

‘ondon; LONGMAN, GREEN, and CO.: Paternoster Row.
10-