contrives to fasten to- ° (/-
gether, back to back, be-
fore they are expanded,
giving the packet the ap-
pearance of a fan folded
up. (fig. 115. d.) The
insect then pierces a hole
through the mass, attach-
ing the leaves together
with silken cords, which
prevent them from flying apart. It is thus provided with an
ample supply of food; and the outer leaves, which, notwith-
cc 2
WAY sy
LW
Wy
WQ\ LY /
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N \We
Y Ay
a
Pri
Yj
Wy iy
iy
Wy
388 Insects most injurious to Cultivators.
standing their being fastened together, make an effort to grow,
are forced out of their natural position, and become distorted
and unsightly, the holes bitten by the insect increasing in size,
according to the growth of the leaf. In like manner, they de-
light to fasten one or more leaves upon the surface of a bud
whilst very young, which serves them as a defence beneath which
they devour part of the petals of the bud as well as the leaf.
(jilge TNs. 25)
The caterpillar (jg. 115. 6, natural size; and jig.114. g, mag-
nified), when disturbed, quits its retreat, running backwards very
quickly, and leaving a web, which it spins from its mouth, and
by which it will often suspend itself from the leaf in the air. It
is of a fleshy substance, and of a dark flesh colour, with a black
shining head. There are 2 black patches on the upper side of
the Ist segment, and the 2 following segments are spotted
with brown. It has 6 short black articulated legs, attached in
pairs to the first 3 segments of the body after the head. The
4th and 5th segments are simple; but the 6th and 3 follow-
ing segments are respectively furnished, as well as the extremity
of the body, with a pair of short fleshy false legs (prolegs),
which are employed in motion, and which are of a dark flesh
colour. The extremity on the upper side is brown, and a few
hairs are scattered about the body.
When full grown, it either attaches two leaves together with
silken threads, leaving a space between them, which it lines with
silk ; or it curls up the edge of a leaf, fastening it with threads
so as to prevent its unfolding, and lining the curved part in a
similar manner. Within the retreat thus made it assumes the
chrysalis form, casting off its caterpillar skin: it is generally about
the end of June that this operation takes place. ‘The chrysalis
(fig. 115. c, natural size; fig. 114. 2, magnified) is of a shining
pale reddish brown colour, of the ordinary form, without any of
those angular projections which are to be observed in the chrysa-
lides of some butterflies: each of the abdominal segments is,
however, remarkable for having two rows of minute points, or
hooks, directed backwards, as in the chrysalis of the goat moth,
the use of which is to assist the chrysalis in pushing itself partly
out of the whorl of the leaf, previously to assuming the perfect
state; by which means the little moth becomes at once at liberty,
and is not under the necessity of working its way through the
curled-up leaf, which may now, perhaps, have become dry and
shriveled. ‘The body is terminated by a curved horny hook.
In the present season, these insects arrived at the winged state
about the middle of July. F
The extirpation of these insects is matter of difficulty. They
are, it is true, very conspicuous in the winged state; and, if care
were taken to employ children in catching and killing them just
Instructions for Truffle-Searching. 389
at the time when they make thelr appearance as moths, the
laying of the eggs would be prevented, and the trees saved from
the next year’s broods. Bouché, however, recommends brushing
the twigs of the rose in the winter with a stiff brush, which
would have the effect of destroying the egos; but as these are
deposited in the most secure places, at the roots of the eyes and
under the base of the young twigs, there is some danger and
much difficulty in this method. An inspection of the trees in
the early spring, before the insects have done much damage, will
easily show the places of lodgment of the larvae, which may then
be readily destroyed by the hand.
Moreover, they have natural enemies belonging to their own
class. I have this year reared two ichneumons, nearly as large
as the moth itself, from one chrysalis. They are of a black
colour, with pitchy red legs, and beautifully iridescent wings.
A species of sand wasp, belonging to the genus Odynérus, also
collects these caterpillars, of which it lays up a store in its cells
for its progeny; and I was greatly amused by watching the pro-
ceedings of a sand wasp in attempting to dislodge one of the
larvee from its stronghold in the leaves. After pacing about the
tree, and endeavouring, apparently with its antennze, to discover
the retreat of the hidden caterpillar, it paced more demurely
about a packet of leaves, and introduced its sting into the sub-
stance of the leaf; immediately after which it ran to the edge of
the whorl, in order to ascertain whether the larva was endea-
vouring to make its escape from its unknown enemy. It repeated
this operation several times; so that I was convinced its object
in wounding the leaf was to alarm or, perhaps, slightly wound
the larva, so as to cause it to quit its retreat, when it would have
been pounced upon and carried off, to be laid up, with others of
the same kind of caterpillars, as a store of food for the future
progeny of the wasp.
Art. II. Instructions for Truffle-Searching. Translated from the
German of V. F. Fischer. By Francis Mascatt, Esq., of Epple-
ton, Durham.
(It has frequently been suggested to us, that the cultivation of
the truffle would form a very fit subject for premiums to be
offered by the principal Horticultural Societies; and a friend has
been kind enough to translate for us this article and the following
one. Could the truffle, indeed, be subjected to. cultivation as
effectually as the mushroom, it would be one of the grandest
triumphs of horticultural skill; and it would contribute towards
rendering of general use an article of luxury which is now
enjoyed but by few, and which would prove an additional source
of industry and profit to the market-gardener. In our opinion,
cc 3
390 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
a premium of 1002. would not be too much to offer for the suc-
cessful propagation and cultivation of this fungus. ]
PREFACE of the Translator. — The translation of the following
treatise on truffle-hunting properly precedes that on the cultiva-
tion of truffles; as well because the tubers are directed to be
planted in ground prepared for their cultivation (which cannot
be done unless they are previously found), as because the diffi-
culties attending their cultivation are mentioned in the first-
mentioned treatise, in such a manner as to induce strict attention
to the precepts laid down in the second. ‘The pamphlet has the
following title: Anleitung zur Triiffehagd, ein Beytrag zur Forst-
und Jagd-Wissenschaft ; von V. F. Fischer, Karlsruhe, 1812;
bey Mohr und Zimmer in Heidelberg. It, as well as the treatise
on the cultivation of truffles, has been carefully translated, as
it seemed important that the ideas of those whose endeavours,
either in the search or cultivation of these singular productions,
had been crowned with success, should be faithfully presented
to the reader: more especially as the attempts, both of cultivators
and philosophers, of all former ages, and of all civilised coun-
tries, to multiply truffles like other vegetables, have, till a few
years ago, been completely baffled. — #. M.
§ 1. THE Inducement to this Work. — * Is any thing printed
wherein instructions are given for what is usually called truffle-
hunting, or truffle-searching, and for training such dogs as are
required in it?” Such was the enquiry made in the esteemed
Forest Journal of Hartig, by an anonymous person who wished
to know the title of such a work, or to read in that journal a
short treatise upon the subject. ‘The celebrated editor of that
publication added the following remark to his correspondent’s
query: ‘ The only treatise with which I am acquainted (and
that is by no means a complete one), on what is called truffle-
hunting, is in the Manual of the Practical Forest and Hunting .
Departments, part iil. p. 316. A complete treatise on this sub-
ject would assuredly not be unacceptable to the readers of this
journal.”
Many readers of the Forest Journal, in consequence, looked
eagerly forward to a complete treatise on this subject, a subject
upon which so little had as yet been written. But alas! very
soon after this the publication of the Journal ceased, and the
wishes of the person who first mentioned the subject, as well
as those of M. Hartig and his readers, remained unsatisfied ;
and, notwithstanding the multiplicity as well of authors as of
compilers, no work upon this subject appeared. I previously pos-
sessed some theoretical and practical knowledge of truffle-search-
ing ; and, from vicissitudes in the nature of my office, had an
‘ opportunity of extending the latter, by the actual exercise of
Natural History of the Truffle. 391
my employment in the company of experienced truffle-hunters.
This is the reason of my publishing the present work, which,
though it lays no claim to be considered a complete treatise, yet
perhaps may be more satisfactory than the former ones, that are
generally to be found dispersed in dictionaries of natural history
or of husbandry. Of these the best seems to me to be that in
the Natur-und-Kunst-Lexicon of Lippold and Funke, vol. tii.,
article Truffel.
I. Tue Natura History or THE TRUFFLE.
§ 2. Classification. — 'Two esteemed botanists (Braune in his
preface to the third part of the Flora of Salzburg, and Bork-
hausen in his Botany, § 3. and 412.), in their subtleties, have
denominated mushrooms the spectres of the inanimate vegetable
kingdom; and the immortal Linneeus, in his Regnum vegetabile,
still more unaptly calls them vagrants and barbarians, a thievish
race, voracious creatures, &c. He, who in a capricious fit
chooses to give an equally suitable appellation to truffles, may
call them the gnomes of the immaterial vegetable kingdom ; for
they are only a kind of mushroom which grows under the sur-
face of the earth, and are for the greater part of their existence
externally invisible ; being observable only fora short period,
and by certain favoured animals, after which they speedily un-
dergo dissolution.
By some botanists, mushrooms or fungi are assigned to an
intermediate kingdom; by a very few they are referred to the
animal kingdom; but by most they are retained in the vegetable
kingdom. That they are not properly organised plants is correct,
for they want most of the characteristics of plants. No distinct
organs of generation, no decided seeds, have as yet been observed
in them, and no one has, as yet, succeeded in methodically in-
creasing them by artificial cultivation, on the same principle as
other vegetables, with the exception of the garden mushroom.
Truffles are usually developed where vegetable life ceases, and
where the first step of the decomposition of vegetable matter
has commenced, under the requisite degree of moisture, warmth,
and light.
The counsellor of regency, Medicus of Mannheim, lately
deceased, a very excellent botanist, in his theory upon the for-
mation of truffles, which has great merit, calls them educts, not
products, of the vegetable kingdom, and endeavours by the
idea of a vegetable crystallisation, to present to the senses the
manner of their coming into existence, in which they assume
determinate forms, from which they never vary. Other vegetable
physiologists brought the former seed theory upon the tapis, and
endeavoured to place it beyond a doubt, that fungi are simple
plants, with most simple imperceptible organs of generation.
cc 4
392 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
(See F.C. Medicus, rece ante Hae Abhandlungen, 3tes
bandchen; Leipzig, Graf, 1803; Borkhausen’s Botanical Dic-
tionary (Borkhausen’s Wortbuche, Giessen, 1797, 2ter theil,
seite 210.); and Funke’s Lexzcon of Natural History: im which
works are found, at length, the different opinions of their au-
thors on the formation of fungi). In the eleventh edition of
the Systema Plantarum of Linnzus, truffles are arranged in the
class of plants with invisible organs of fructification, and their
place is there assigned in the genus of dust or globular fungi
(Lycopérdon); in the family of subterraneous globular fungi
(Lycopérdon subterraneum), which comprehends three species,
the name Lycopérdon Tuber being given to them.
Later botanists have established a new genus, viz. Zuber,
comprehending four species, and have called the edible truffle,
Tuber gulosorum. The French call them truffes; and the
Italians, tartufi.
We shall distinguish and describe two kinds which are found
in the neighbourhood of the Rhine, although our principal
object is the black edible truffle.
§ 3. Description of Truffles. — The edible truffle is, as has been
already mentioned, a globular fungus. When ripe, it is covered
with a black, or often a dark brown, nearly regularly shaped
(generally having six sides), chapped, hard, and rough rind or
shell, which has nearly the appearance of a fir cone before it
opens. Later botanists in their description of this rind are often
indistinct, and call it merely wrinkled. Geoffroy the younger,
as early as the year 1711, in his treatise entitled Observations
sur la Végétation des Truffes, very correctly observes its regular
form, saying: “ Les Truffes sont couvertes @une espéce de crotite
dure, chagrinée, et gercée ad sa superficie, avec quelque sorte de
régularité, telle d peu pres quon Vappercoit dans la noix de cypres.”
No fibre, no small root, is to be seen on this rind, and when the
truffle is carefully dug out, it generally leaves the form of its
rind behind it, just as if it had been pressed against the clay or
loam, for the purpose of making an impression. Its shape is
sometimes globular, or of a longish round or oval, but some-
umes like that of a kidney, and it has on the surface an appear-
ance like tuberous plants, sometimes having protuberances and
sometimes depressions. The truffle, when cut, shows a differ-
ence in its texture and colour. It is generally of a netted, cel-
lular, veiny consistence. It is often watered, of a dirty white,
sometimes flesh-coloured, or clouded with grey; but most
generally, and especially in the vicinity of the Rhine, marbled.
of a dark or light brown, and, when this is the case, is always
strongly veined with white, or mottled like the nutmeg. This
difference of colour depends upon the earth in which the truffle
is produced, upon its situation, upon the place in which it is
Natural Eistory of the Truffle. 393
found, and also upon its age; for all our brownish ripe truffles
are, till they are nearly ripe, more or less of a whitish colour.
In the veiny consistence of truffles are many cavities, filled
with vegetable mucus, in which are contained several small dark
points. These, some take for seeds, and some for the embryos
of other truffles that have-received their form, and, increasing
in size, grow after the dissolution of their parent.
The flesh of truffles is solid, partly juicy, and partly dry like
the kernel of many fruits of trees ; for instance, like that of the
oak, hazel, &c. It is either mealy or soapy to the touch; and,
when raw, has a somewhat sweet, but peculiar, taste. Before
it is ripe, the truffle has no other smell than that of the mouldi-
ness of fertile earth, or decayed vegetables; and in that state,
therefore, is not easily perceived and found by animals that have
a delicate sense of smelling; but as it approaches to ripeness, it
attains the truffle smell so agreeable to epicures, which, at first,
is fragrant, and often like musk; as it is nearer being ripe, it
become sharper and more urinous; and when too ripe, or going
back, and putrescence or insects have begun to make their
attacks upon it, is disagreeable, and nearly resembles the smell
of a cow-house. There are also truffles, in many places, which
diffuse a strong smell of garlic, many of which are found in a
small district of the Weingartner Forest. In husbandry, in trade,
and by some botanists, they are, according to their colour, smell,
and taste, considered as different species; but most botanists
look upon these kinds only as varieties. ‘There is as yet much
obscurity in the mode of ascertaining the different species of
fungi. Many species, even of truffles, may incontestably be
discovered, with respect to which, regard, in my opinion, should
not be had to one peculiarity alone, but to several taken together ;
and especially to the place where they are found, to the soil, and
to their being produced at one and the same time, in one and
the same spot. In a ripe state, truffles are observed by divers
animals, even when deep in the earth, and found, as we shall
learn, by the assistance of certain species of them.
There are ripe truffles, from the size of a bean to that of a
large fist, and from a pound to a pound and a half in weight.
Heavier ones were unknown to Geoffroy. I have never seen
heavier ones found, and I do not believe that there are truffles,
as some maintain, of from twelve to fourteen pounds’ weight.
Here and there ripe truffles are indeed met with the whole
year through; but the most of them ripen from the middle of
August, especially when rains fall about that time, till late in
autumn, when frosts come on.
§ 4. The Swine-truffle, which, in this neighbourhood (Carls-
ruhe), grows along with the black edible trufile, is, in its external
colour, its shape, and particularly in its smell, essentially different
394 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
from the common edible truffle. By some botanists, however,
it is esteemed to be the same in a young state, and by others is
said to be a variety. It has a leathery, thin, yellowish red rind
or skin, covered with small dark warts. Its juicy flesh is, for
the most part, of the colour and consistence of that of the edible
truffle. It is, nevertheless, very often more coarsely marbled.
Its taste, when raw, is not equal to that of the edible truffle,
and its smell is unpleasantly sour, nearly approaching to
that of the swine, from which it derives its name. Many
writers, following each other, enumerate the longish round
truffles amongst swine-truffles, and reject the use of them. I
have, however, found this quite incorrect. ‘The external form
is very various in truffles, and cannot alone afford any charac-
teristic.
When ripe it usually attains the size of a bean, or that of a
small walnut, but sometimes that of a hen’segg. On account
of its disagreeable taste and smell, it is not eaten; and therefore
when it is abundantly met with, it is by no means welcome to
the truffle-hunter, but is immediately thrown away. My own
observations have sufficiently informed me that it belongs to a
peculiar species, and that therefore it properly ought to be called
Tuber, or Lycopérdon, suile.
§ 5. Origin and Habitat of Truffles. —The circumstances
under which truffles are produced, viz. their growth, and the
place where they are found, particularly deserve the attention of
truffle-hunters and foresters ; in order that they may be able to
calculate, from what wood districts, by means of obtaining these
astonishing productions, an accessory advantage may be pro-
cured. ‘They are met with in mould formed from decayed
vegetables, or in the upper stratum of earth which consists
chiefly of vegetable soil, in ploughed land, and especially in a
sand which is mixed with vegetable mould. A proper degree of
shade seems to be essentially requisite to their production, and
they are generally met with in thinly planted forests, in which
rain and warmth can easily operate upon the ground, as also
where there are small groups of trees. ‘They are principally
found in thinly planted oak woods, which have either no under-
wood, or at the most, only thorn bushes that are quite stunted,
or other single bushes. ‘They are also found in thinly planted
pole woods of different kinds of trees, of from forty to sixty
years’ growth, which contain timber trees of oak and beech ;
thirdly, also in districts which are covered with pollards of horn-
beam, elms, maples, &c., along with which there are a few
bushes. ‘They are always most abundant under-oak trees, as it
has been long ago observed. ‘They there generally lie near to
the stem, amongst the roots, but sometimes at a distance trom
them. ‘They grow in the woods near the Rhine, and almost as
Natural History of the Truffle. 395
numerously under the roots of the whitethorn (Cratz‘gus
Oxyacantha), which shoots up with difficulty in thinly planted
woods and pollard districts, as under the oak. Single ones are
also found at the roots of other trees, and even at a distance
from all roots, under thin and not matted grass and similar
plants. That they are never found under apple, pear, and nut
trees, that where a truffle lies no grass or herbaceous plant
will grow, and that this is caused by the exhalation of the truffle,
as some maintain, is incorrect, and contrary to experience. I
have often been an eye-witness that truffles have been dug out
from under pear and apple trees, as also out of tufts of grass,
and soil covered with grass seeds.
In shady, moist, and fertile soil, truffles grow larger, and lie
nearer the surface, than in dry and barren places, that are not
shaded. In the first, they often rise with one half above the
earth, so as to be exposed to sight; or they lie 1 in. or at most
2in. deep, and grow to the largest size that truffles ever attain.
In the last situations, however, they are often dug out from the
depth of 6 in. and only as large as a hazel nut. But it is not
merely by the truffles rising above the surface of the earth, and
appearing to the sight, that they are discovered, there are other
indications that betray their hidden existence. In districts where
truffles of the sort described grow, the earth in certain places is
frequently arched up in the form of a hemisphere, having cracks
or clefts in it: one or more truffles are usually the cause of this.
An insect which pierces truffles and deposits its eggs in them, a
species of fly in considerable numbers, often continues where
truffles lie hid, and is, as I have often observed, chased away
by the search. Funke, in his Lezicon of Art (Kunst-Lezxicon),
endeavours, though vainly, to deny this indication; which, in-
deed, is of no use where truffles are sought for by the aid of
dogs.
Truffles are sometimes found singly, sometimes a good many
together, in which latter case however, as may be easily sup-
posed, they are of different sizes, and are never so perfect,
as when only a single one is found, or a few are found together
in a favourable situation. Weidenbach, the most experienced
truffle-hunter in the neighbourhood of Carlsruhe, found last
autumn (1811), in my presence, under the roots of a white-
thorn, more than thirty truffles of different sizes, from that of a
pigeon’s egg, to that of a bean. ‘This, as he assured me, was
the only instance of his having found so many together. He
had never before found more than from twenty to twenty-two
together, in a practice of more than thirty years.
In Piedmont and Upper Italy, truffles are said to be found
in stubble-fields, vineyards, and meadows. Whether this be
correct or not, I pretend not to determine. Notwithstanding
396 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
many enquiries, I have never learnt that a truffle was ever found
in Germany in an open space entirely devoid of trees.
Truffles are extended over the whole surface of the earth,
and are natives as well of the cold north, as of temperate and
hot climates. Linnzeus found them in Lapland, and Keempfer in
Japan, where also they are eaten as a delicacy. ‘They are dug
up in Africa, America, and in great abundance in many parts
of Asia. They are found principally in the temperate countries
of Europe, in England, Spain, and France, especially in the
south of that country; in Italy, in Switzerland, and in the
north and south of Germany. In the last country they are
abundant in the kingdom of Wiurtemberg, and in the Grand-
Duchy of Baden, along the Rhine.
§ 6. Propagation of Truffles—Notwithstanding the numerous
plans which have been formed, and the many experiments which
have been made, to effect the propagation of truffles by art, none,
to the best of my knowledge, have succeeded. Even in the
neighbourhood of Carlsruhe, the experiments made by the late
Margravine Caroline Louisa of Baden, the grandmother of
the present most illustrious grand-duke, an excellent, ingenious,
and learned lady, who was very much attached to natural
history, were attended with no favourable result.
Truffles were several times taken up uninjured, with the
earth surrounding them, without their being displaced from it,
and again planted in the same circumstances under which they
had originated: but they always underwent dissolution; and
no increase or renewal of them succeeded, which, however, must
have taken place, if the truffles had contained either seeds or
embryos. Bradley, Von Justi, Count Borch, and Bulliard, have
in their writings, respectively, proposed plans for the propagation
of truffles. ‘They say that a soil should be made choice of for
the purpose, which resembles as much as possible the soil in
which truffles are produced; that it should be dug about two
or three feet deep: furrows or trenches should then be drawn
through it, into which pieces of earth should be put or sunk, in
which many truffles have grown, or even single truffles may be
stuck into it. Whether these plans have been already carried
into execution, and have had a more fortunate result than the
experiments which have been made in our country (Carlsruhe)
is to me unknown; but, though I much doubt it, I am not
inclined entirely to decide against the possibility of planting
truffles artificially, since success has been attained in the
cultivation of other fungi. Many requisites for the formation
of truffles seem only to be covered with a thick veil, which
futurity, and the exertions of diligent natural philosophers, will
perhaps raise or remove.
§ 7. The Enemies of Truffles, and the Remedies against those
Natural History of the Truffle. 397
Enemies. — Man does not alone seek after truffles, which he
places on the tables of the rich; both wild and domestic swine
are fond of this delicacy. In the woods of which these animals
are natives, man may save himself the trouble of endeavouring
to obtain truffles for his palate; as, in this instance, they do not
share so fairly with us, as they did the acorns with our fore-
fathers ; they not only collect and root out the truffles in order
to eat them, but by turning over the soil, they prevent their
formation.
The badger also, as well as the swine, is fond of truffles.
The gamekeeper, seeing the soil broken, often says: ‘ A badger
has pricked, or has rooted, here.” This expression, in places
where truffles are found, means, when translated from the
hunter’s language: “ Here a badger has eaten a truffle.” ‘The
red deer are remarkable for seeking and eating a peculiar
kind of globular fungus or truffle, which is called the hart-
truffle, hart-rut truffle (Taber cervinum), and they also consume
edible truffles; the roebuck, as I have been assured, is also
very fond of them, As domestic dogs are made use of in the
search for truffles, and sometimes eat them very greedily, it is
not to be doubted that the wild dog and the fox often dig for
them. Squirrels, mice, and red wood snails (Limax rifus), I
lately saw feeding upon this delicacy.
Besides these enemies, many insects lay their eggs in truffles,
and dispose them to putrescence, or at any rate render them
useless; because the larvee which arise from these eggs pierce
the truffles through and through, and impart to them a bitter
taste. Geoffroy observed two kinds of flies which pierce the
truffle, one blue or violet, the larvae of which dwelt in the sound
truffle, and a black one whose larve inhabit the decayed
truffle. Morand, and Reaumur observed the larvee of another
fly, which is of a red brown colour. (See Mémozre sur les Vers
de Truffes, et sur les Mouches qui en proviennent, par Morand,
Mem. de I’Académie Royal des Sciences; année 1782; Paris,
1785: and Reaumur’s Mémoire pour servir a I Histoire des
Insectes.) ‘Together with these flies, I discovered a beetle in
truffles which pierces them in great numbers, making burrows
through them, which it continues in the earth. It is a species
bostrichus (Béstrichus Fabr. 5 Derméstes Linn.), and of the
size of the beetle that destroys the bark of the firs (Derméstes
pinipérda Zinn.); but is nevertheless of a lighter red-brown
colour, has no hair, and no indentations on the wing-coverts.
§ 8. The Use of Truffles. — Truffles are made use of as food ;
but not being found every where, they are consequently rare
and dear, and seldom appear except on the tables only of the
rich. They were known as a delicacy by the ancients, and
were especially esteemed amongst the Romans, as a dainty and
398 Instructions for Truffle- Searching.
favourite dish. Dioscorides and Pliny make mention of them;
the latter (Hist. Mund., lib. xix. cap. 2.), in particular, relates an
extraordinary circumstance which happened at a Roman truffle
feast. As Lartius Licinius, the Roman pretor at Carthagena
in Spain, was eating a truffle, he bit a penny piece (denarius), a
small Roman silver coin. Whence Pliny infers truffles arise from
the accretion of matter deposited in the earth, which fact Geoffroy
endeavours to disprove.
They are very nourishing, and are said to be strong stimu-
lants. They are often eaten, peeled raw, thinly sliced and then
soaked in wine, or only roasted in ashes. The art of cookery
teaches us how to prepare them in many different ways, and to
make them very palatable; they are used as an addition and
seasoning to meat pies, sauces, and ragouts, and a particular
dish is made of them nearly alone. ‘They are also used for
stuffing turkeys, &c. In medicine they were formerly employed,
when boiled, as a cataplasm for the quinsy; but now like
many other medicines in that disorder are but little esteemed.
Many physicians prohibit their being eaten, and ascribe colic,
palsy, and other disorders to them. The classical Frank, in his
Medicinal Policy, vol. iii. p. 309., also points out certain con-
sequences as proceeding from their immoderate use.
In trade, truffles perform an inferior part, they are marinated
(salted, and afterwards preserved in oil and vinegar), and sent
principally from Aix, Avignon, Bordeaux, Perigord, Cette, and
Nice, to all the principal towns of Europe, where they are
served up at table even in winter. The merchants have
different ways of preserving them. Some, after they are dug
out, immediately wrap them, whilst fresh, in waxed paper, lay
them into a glass from which the air is extracted, and set the
glass in a larger vessel filled with water. Others merely dip
them in oil or fat, by which means, the effect of the air, and in
some degree, dryness, withering, and decay, are for a time
prevented. In trade, truffles are distinguished by different
names, which have relation partly to the place where they are
found, as Perigord truffles; and partly to some peculiarity in
themselves, as white truffles (bianchetti), &c. They are sold
in the neighbourhood of Carlsruhe, and in other places where
they are found, at two florins (about half a crown) per pound,
and cost when sent to a distance, especially in winter, from six
to ten florins (from 7s. 6d. to 12s. 6d.) per pound. In the arts,
as far as I know, they are not used. In London they sell at
from 7s. to 16s. per pound.
§ 9. Literature relating to Truffles. —'To those who wish to
read more of the natural history of truffles, omitting the ancient
writings of Dioscorides, Pliny, Matthiolus, Tournefort, and
others of less consequence, I recommend the following treatises
»
Truffle- Hunting. 399
and larger works : —1. Mentzelius, Pugillus rariorum Plantarum.
2. Sur les Truffes, et Observations sur la Végétation des Truffes,
par M. Geoffroi le jeune, in Histoire et Mémoires de 1 Académie
Royale des Sciences, année 1711; Amsterdam, 1715. 3. Dr.
Bruckman, Spec. botan. exhibens Fungos subterraneos, vulgo Tubera
Terre dictos; 4to,1720. 4. Micheli, Nova Plantarum Genera, &c.,
Florent., gen. 221. tab. 102. 5. Bradley, Physzcal Observations
on Gardening. The same in French, Nouvelles Observations
physiques et pratiques sur le Jardinage et 0 Art de planter, tom.
iil. p. 208., et tom. iii. p. 263., translated from the English.
6. Gleditsch, Methodus Fungorum, exhibens Genera, Species, Vari-=
etates cum, Charactere, Differentia specifica, Synonimis, Solo, Loco,
et Observationibus, Berol. 1753, p. 157. n.6. 7. V. Justi, On
the Cultivation of Truffles, in his economical writings, Ist vol.,
Berlin and Leipsig, p. 210. 8. Lettres sur les Truffes du
Piedmont, par le Comte de Borch, a Milan, 1780, 1789. 9.
Linnzus’s complete Systema Plantarum, after the 14th Latin
edition, &c., 13th part, Ist volume of the cryptogamic plants,
Nurnb. 1786. 10. Kerner, The poisonous and edible Fungi
which grow wild, as well in the Duchy of Wiirtemberg, as in the
rest of Germany, 1786, p. 65. 11. Batsch, Elenchus Fungorum,
accedunt Icones Fungorum nonnullorum Agri Fenensis ab Auctore
depicte, eri incise, et vivis coloribus fucate ; ili. partes (to 1789,
with 232 figures, a German and also a Latin text). 12. Bulliard,
Fiistoire des Champignons de France, ou Traité élémentaire renfer-
mant dans une Ordre méthodique les Descriptions et les Figures des
Champignons qui croissent naturellement en France ; Paris, 1791 ;
avec, 177 estampes. 13. Lippold and Funke’s Lexicon of Nature
and Art, 3d part, 1804, under the article Truffle.
In some of these works no mention is made of truffle-
searching ; in others, the subject is dismissed in a few words.
From them, therefore, the reader can expect to glean but little
on the subject upon which we are now about to treat.
Il. Trurrie-Huntine, orn TRUFFLE SEARCH, IN PARTICULAR.
§ 10. General Remarks on Truffle- Hunting, or Truffle Search.—
The act which has for its object the getting possession of wild,
useful, or injurious animals, by searching for them according to
art, and catching or killing them with an apparatus to that
effect, and for the most part by the assistance of domestic
animals trained for the purpose, is commonly called hunting.
To the obtaining of other natural productions from other
natural kingdoms, unless we speak figuratively, we cannot
apply the term “hunting,” althorgh at the same time many
individual marks of the idea may occur. The searching for
and obtaining of truffles, which are a product of the vegetable
kingdom, cannot therefore be properly called truffle-hunting,
4:00 ~ Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
since the taking up of better-organised bulbous roots is
certainly not called hunting. No indication of the idea of
hunting occurs in the acquisition of truffles, except that they are
usually sought for by trained tame animals, and by particular
persons whose employment it now is; though this has not
exclusively, or for a considerable time, been the case. It would
be better, therefore, to make use of the term truffle-searching
than truffle-hunting, as some writers who make slight mention
‘of truffle-hunting have very properly observed; for example,
Justi in his Technological Dictionary, and the editor of the
Practical Forester and Gamekeeper, and several others. In the
mean time this shall not prevent us from making use of the
expression that has been adopted, and has once been current ;
the question here is merely a verbal one, and zn verbis simus
faciles. The use of an expression is not, however, entirely a
matter of indifference, inasmuch as it may easily mislead us to
adjudge the benefit of truffles to the chase, and to him who has
the right of hunting, as in many countries is actually the case.
It by no means belongs te the chase, but to the beneficial
interest in the forest or wood; because it occurs almost exclu-
sively only in woods and wood soil, and not throughout the
whole hunting district. In the proper sense of the word it can
be specially enumerated only amongst the accessory advantages |
of woods.
The truffle search is practised in various ways : methodically,
by proper truffle-hunters with dogs or swine that are trained, in
which way only ripe truffles are found ; or by arbitrary irregular
digging, in those places where indications of the existence of
truffles are perceived, in which way truffles of all ages are got,
and many embryos (if I may use the expression) are destroyed,
the further formation of truffles is prevented, and the truffle
district ruined.
The last kind may be compared to what the unsportsmanlike
chase of hunting a trail is in hunting, or the unforesterlike use
of the productions of the forest is in the management of a
forest, and ought by no means to be permitted, but always
punished as a forest prodigality. Besides, truffles in later times
have become considerably more rare. The many falls of woods,
and exterminations of forests, which have been occasioned by
the present wars and the former calamities of the country, the
increase of population, and the converting of many woods to
other purposes, have in several districts In a great measure
extirpated truffles, and consequently they ought not to be made
still more scarce, and in whole districts entirely destroyed.
I shall, therefore, speak more at large only of the methodical
truffle-hunting with dogs, by means of which that with swine
has been, in later times, in a great measure supplanted; and
Tools for Truffle-Hunting. 401
which former mode, as far as I am acquainted with both, deserves
the preference. I shall treat of that with swine only superficially.
§ 11. How long Truffle-Hunting has been practised. — ‘The
methodical search of truffles with dogs or swine seems to be a
device of later times; for I have discovered no traces of it in
ancient writings. Accordingly, the ancients appear to have sought
for truffles in the destructive mode above mentioned; viz. by
digging up whole districts.
In Italy, France, and Spain, where rare and exquisite delica-
cies were more and earlier esteemed, this mode of truffle-
searching was earlier known than in Germany. Nevertheless,
as may be conjectured from an observation of Geoffroy, it was
not practised in the first-mentioned countries before the middle
of the seventeenth century; and in the beginning of the last it
was transferred to Germany. Stisser, in his Hizstory of German
Forests and Hunting, 1st ed. 1738, chap. vii. sect. 65., informs
us that, in sometdiena fon of his yearly delivering a quantity of
truffles, a privilege for the searching for truffles in the princi-
pality of Halberstadt was first given to Bernard Vanino, an
Italian; and that the proper hunters had nothing in common
with the truffle-hunters.
In the court of the Grand-Duchy of Baden, the first truffle-
hunter existed about seventy years ago, and was a Frenchman.
iaisitr ue, this man carried on the search of truffles in a rather
expensive way ; but he may be said to have established the art,
since several persons whom he had employed in it learnt it from
him. The truffle-hunters at the other German courts were also
all Italians, Piedmontese, Savoyards, or Frenchmen, who made
truffle-searching with dogs the order of the day.
§ 12. The requisite Tools Jor Truffle- Hunting. — The truffle-
hunter does not require for his chase an equipment so care-
fully made, and such a numerous collection of instruments,
as the huntsman. His tools are simple, and few in num-
ber. A hunting-bag is indispensably necessary for him, to
keep such truffles in as he may find, and for provision for
himself and his dogs; to which, as is said below, a morsel, by
way of encouragement, must frequently be given. A sharp,
strong, not costly cutlass, is essentially useful, to cut the shrubs
and small roots which may obstruct his digging out the truffles.
The most necessary to-him is a simple instrument, his principal
tool, with which the truffles are dug out. This consists of a
ene -shaped shovel, of from 3 to 4 inches in length, and
33 inches in breadth ; and of a hoe horizontally bent, of the
same size, and also hear t-shaped. These two pieces must, by
means of two hoops, be both fastened upon one wooden shaft, of
about 2 ft. long; the hoe to the upper, and the shovel to the
under, part ae fe In using this instrument, the earth must be
Vou, XIII. — No. 90. DD
402 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
carefully scraped away with the hoe till the truffle is visible : the
instrument is then turned, and the shovel is thrust a few inches
deep into the earth near the truffle, which must be raised out as
with a spade.
Of all other instruments which different truffle-hunters get
made after their own ideas, this seems to me the best adapted
for the purpose ; besides which it requires no great outlay. ‘The
truffle-hunter, when he uses in his search more than one dog;
must be furnished with a pair of dog-couples, to couple his dogs
with when he goes out, to prevent their wearying themselves
with running about before they arrive at the place where they
are to search.
§ 13. Choice and training of Truffle Dogs. — Truffles are per=
ceptible to animals with a delicate sense of smelling, chiefly by
the smell which they diffuse when ripe. The dog, as is welk
known, is at the head of domestic animals with an acute smell;
and there is no doubt that dogs of all races, provided they are
somewhat docile, may be used in truffle-hunting ; though water-
dogs (pudelhunde) are preferred for this purpose, and next to
them are spaniels and setting dogs. The last, incontestably,
would do quite as well for this search as poodles or water-dogs,
if their instinct did not lead them away from the search of
truffles, to follow the track and scent of game. Pudel, or as we
spell it in English, poodle, is a German word, and is used to
designate that race of dogs which formerly used to be called
water-dogs. Poodles seldomer pursue such track of game; and
even if they start it, they appear frightened, and keep eloser to
their work, from which property they are peculiarly fit for truffle
dogs. Dogs are taken indifferently of the pure poodle breed ;
no matter whether those from which they are bred have been
truffle-finders or not. The colour, upon which some lay a stress,
is of no consequence. ‘The name which is given to the young
truffle dog is of still less importance; and it is extremely ridicu-
lous that some insist upon the truffle dog being named Putta, in
the Italian language.
A good truffle dog must be, 1. Very tractable, or be at a call;
2. He must search diligently and indefatigably; 3. When he
scents a ripe truffle, he must hunt for it; 4. When he has com-
pletely discovered it, he must show the place where it is, by
scratching with his fore feet; and, 5. When he has got it com-
pletely out, he must take it to his master without breaking into
or devouring it. A dog that has these qualities may be called
quite steady, and is trained in the following manner : —
The first training is begun very early. When the dog is nine
weeks or a quarter of a year old, he is taught to come at a call.
You must whistle to him, or call to him, saying, * Here ;” and
praise him when he comes immediately, or punish him, though
Training of Truffle Dogs. 4.03
gently, when he is inattentive either to the whistle or the call.
This must be daily practised and repeated, till he comprehends,
and is obedient to, his master’s voice or signal. If very stubborn,
he must, like a setting dog, be led by a cord, and, upon a
whistle or cal], be so long pulled in, till he is at last obedient of
himself. ‘Then a beginning is made with fetching and carrying,
which is the thorough base of a good truffle dog. This is fre-
quently learnt in play by the young poodle, with which force is
not nearly so necessary as with the young setting dog, the latter
being often obstinate. ‘To teach the dog to fetch and carry, a
light piece of wood, or a wisp of straw made up for the purpose,
is thrown before him. If he fetches it, he is praised and re-
warded with a morsel of bread, &c.; if he does not fetch it, he
must be instructed to do it. The piece of wood is placed in his
mouth; let him carry it a few steps, and caress him at the same
time. The docile poodle soon comprehends what is required of
him. If he fetches the wood, potatoes, apples, pears, bulbous
roots, and even truffles, are then thrown before him. These
objects he fetches just as willingly as the piece of wood. Care,
however, should be taken that dead animals be not thrown to
him; as by this his love of the chase might easily be awakened.
Whenever he fetches a bulbous root, &c., he must be rewarded
with a small piece of white or brown bread, and at the same
time he must have a truffle to taste. Although this is the cause
when he seeks for truffles that he sometimes breaks into them,
yet it is essentially advantageous ; because by this means he be-
comes perfectly acquainted with the object which he is hunting
for, like a hound that is permitted to eat game. If at that time
of the year no truffles are to be had, let a little old cheese, which
has nearly the same effect, be given to the dog. But let both
be given to him, not only at the very time of his training, but as
a dessert at his usual time of feeding, during the whole time of
his instruction.
If the dog fetches every thing without distinction, as metal,
gold, beans, &c., and is no longer stubborn, the elementary
instruction, or chamber-training, is finished, and the train-
ing in the field is now proceeded to. ‘This is begun by
the dog’s “ seeking what is lost, or fetching it.’ This is first
done with wood, with fruit, and with truffles, which are so
hidden somewhere on the surface that he may easily find
them. ‘The instructor may also now begin to form artificial
truffles, when no natural ones are to be had. They are prepared
from strong-smelling cheese and fresh bread, which are mixed
and formed into the shape of a truffle, to which is added a little
of what is called truffle oil; that is, olive oil in which truffles
have been boiled. If the dog does his duty, and easily finds the
objects he has been accustomed to seek, the natural or artificial
DD 2
404 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
truffle is lightly covered with earth, and the dog is told to ‘seek
what is lost.” If he do not find it, he is led to the place, and
attempts are then made to induce him to scent and grub out
what is hidden. The dog must then be rewarded in the way
that has been already so often mentioned.
The dog is assiduously practised in this ‘seeking what is
lost;” the truffle is put deeper into the earth, and the dog is
now first taken into actual truffle districts. ‘The proceeding
there is to be the same as before. Never omit to encourage him
when he finds, and points out the place by scratching. By
degrees he is accustomed to a continued regular search, like a
setting dog; and he is admonished by the thrilling whistle with
the mouth, by the expression, “Seek further,” or “ Goseek,”
or “ Forward.” When the dog scents a ripe truffle, and draws
to, or in any way approaches it, as hounds do when they scent
any thing, his instructor says, “‘That’s right,” “ Gently,” &c., to
make him more careful and diligent till he points it out. Here
endeavours are made, by further speaking to him, either to pre-
vent his injuring, digging out, and eating the truffle; or else, by
the word “ Fetch,” to make him bring it to his master when he
has completely dug it out, which is easily done when it lies near
the surface.
When a dog begins to break into the truffles, and to eat
them, or when he refuses to give them up, endeavours must be
made to break him of this by gentle punishment, and by holding
out bread to him. He must likewise be chid for digging after
mice, or hunting after birds and hares, to which poodles are
inclined.
By a little practice, the dog soon acquires a certain degree of
steadiness; and, after these two courses of instruction, is imme-
diately fit to be used in truffle-searching, of which a short outline
will now be added. It must still, however, be observed, that the
dogs must have good and nourishing food, chiefly of vegetables.
They must not run at large too much, but be confined a good deal
to the kennel; and, to keep them in practice, they must be led
out to seek truffles the whole year through, although no great
quantity can be expected to be met with.
§ 14. Zruffle-Hunting, or Search, with Dogs. — When the truffle-.
hunter goes out upon search, he must beforehand be able te
form an opinion in what places, according to the districts,
truffles are to be found; he must be acquainted with the local-
ities. When he goes out upon search, he must either not feed
his dogs at all, or very sparingly, that they may be diligent in
seeking. ‘This precept is also observed in the chase of every
kind of game, and with every species of hound. He must,
lastly, be furnished with bread for his dogs, and with the neces-
sary implements. He can seldom in his search superintend
Truffle-Hunting with Dogs. - 405:
more than two dogs at a time; and with these, in districts that
aré rich in truffles, he will have his hands full, and not be able
to drive his work quick enough forward. In searching, he pro-
ceeds in the same way that has been already mentioned in the
training. He encourages his dogs by whistling, and mildly
speaking to them. He redoubles the last when the dog finds a
truffle, and points it out. In this case, he lastly calls him, and
immediately gives him a suitable piece of bread. By often giving
them bread (which, with respect to dogs that are used in the
chase of animals, is neither so necessary, nor so carefully ob-
served), truffle dogs are prevented from eating the sound truffles.
If the truffle is not yet visible, it is scratched out and raised
with the instrument described in section 12., in the manner
there directed. When a truffle is taken out and examined by
its smell, it is advisable to search the place further; to scratch
away the seil with the hoe part of the instrument, or to dig it
up: there are often found in it more truffles, some ripe, and
some unripe, as is mentioned in section 5. These the truffle-
hunter takes along with him also; for a few unripe or scentless
truffles make, in a large quantity, no great difference, and do no
harm. It is besides advisable, in such a place, to look carefully
about, especially when it is perceived to be a good, fertile, and
moist vegetable soil; as then, even with the naked eye, fine
truffles are often discovered only half-hidden in the earth, though
they have not the ripe smell that is peculiar to truffles, and have,
consequently, not been earlier found by the dog. He that
chooses to have no truffles but ripe ones, may mark those
which he has discovered by the eye, and in a fortnight or three
weeks afterwards may seek them out, when they will be ripe, and
may be had, if no animals have previously grubbed them up.
The search is proceeded in in the manner directed; but since
the truffle dog does net so easily, and from such a distance, scent
the truffle which is concealed in the earth, and diffuses an earthy
smell around, as a hound scents game in a good wind, a person
must go much more accurately to work in searching a district
that produces truffles, that in seeking for game, and not be
impatient at going through a place twice, and even three times,
and at remaining a long time upon a small spot. The trouble is
often richly rewarded, by the frequent finding of the dogs.
Although truffles ripen and may be sought for the whole year,
yet the time preferably made choice of is from July to Novem-
ber, when the frosts set in, in which time the greatest number of
truffles ripen. he months which yield the most are September
and October ; nevertheless, good truffles are found after the frost
has commenced, if it be not too severe.
It frequently happens that the indication of the dog is decep-
five, and that nothing is found at the place pointed out. In such
; DD3
406 Instructions for Truffle-Searching.
place a truffle has generally been taken out, the scent of which
was perceived by the dog.
§ 15. The Truffle Search with Swine, and the Manner of train-
ing them. — In the 7th section it has been already mentioned
that wild and domestic swine are fond of truffles, and seek them
assiduously. It has, moreover, been more than once remarked,
that animals with a delicate sense of smelling easily find ripe
truffles. ‘The domestic swine belongs likewise to this class of
animals; and upon the two qualities which have been mentioned
is founded their use in truffle-searching, which has already long
prevailed in the south of Europe, in Spain, in the south of
France, and in some districts of Italy, but which in those coun-
tries has in a great measure been supplanted by the more con-
venient use of dogs. I once saw a French emigrant, many years
ago, practise truflle-searching with swine; but this, as he assured
me, was more for want of a poodle than from any other cause.
Undoubtedly the search with dogs has the advantage of that
with swine. ‘The dog is more intelligent, more active, and may
be used a greater number of years. All these qualities are
wanting in the swine. I therefore here give the outline of the
training and use of swine in truffle-searching, rather historically,
and to make this work more complete, than because I recommend
its practice.
As soon as the pigs are weaned, a lively one is made choice
of, usually a female, and is separated from the rest. It is more
habituated to human society. Endeavours are made to make it
obey the call and whistle, and follow its master like a dog,
either when it is at large, or fastened by the hind leg. This it
does without much trouble, when it is fed by a person’s own
hand, and is allured by food from one place to another; and
when it is sometimes caressed like a dog. ‘There is a very in-
teresting instance of the taming of a young boar that was caught
wild, which went a hunting with the hounds. It is to be met
with in the delightful Forest Journal of Hartig, first year, 1806,
p. 545. When four months old, the young pig may, in a proper
place, be accustomed to the search. Lither real or artificial
truffles, or fruits that swine are fond of, such as apples and
pears, or potatoes, &c., which have been smeared with trufile
oil, are then hidden, and the pig is allowed to grub them up.
He finds them without much difficulty. They are taken from
him, and his usual food is given to him: a few acorns, chestnuts,
fruit, and such like are the best; and for this he, in general, will-
ingly exchanges what he has found. When in his fifth or sixth
month, the swine may be first used in the actual search. He is
led whilst fasting, or very sparingly fed, into the truffle district,
and closely followed always by a person on foot. If he begins
to turn his nose to the wind, to smell, and to grub up, you can
Aluniing with Swine. 407
either search the place and take away the truffle before he has
brought it to the day, or let him root it out himself, and take it
from him quickly, by way of exchange, as has been mentioned.
But swine often devour the truffles so greedily and so quickly
after they have rooted them out, that you can seldom or never
take them from them. In this case, in France, their mouths are
bound either by a metal ring, or a leathern muzzle, which is
strapped over the snout, and fastened behind the ears. Some
truffle-hunters put this also in practice with dogs that are spoiled;
but it is one of those extremes to which a keen hunter is not
easily led, and he generally prefers parting with his dog.
The search for truffles is often tedious and wearisome with
swine, which not only root after truffles, but after other articles
of food, as roots, insects, larvee, worms, &c. Expectation is
often disappointed, and we cannot always be sure of what is
found, as with dogs, when they hunt for and, by scratching,
point out the presence of the truffle. Besides this, a swine can
be used for the search only a year, or, at most, two summers and
autumns. In the third year they become too large, too unruly,
and in a condition in which they must be made use of with a
view to economy; that is, must be killed. Proper truffle-hunters,
therefore, very seldom seek them with swine, but leave this to
the peasants; who, in the South of France, and some districts
of Italy, pursue the practice. ‘This mode of search is said to be
there carried on chiefly by women.
§ 16. Conclusion. — Much still remains to be investigated with
respect to the nature of truffles, especially as to their origin and
increase. Feresters endowed with a spirit of enquiry, and some
botanical, and particularly physiological, knowledge, might still
make many interesting discoveries with respect to these dis-
tinguished productions of nature, if in their sylvan excursions
they would pay a closer attention them. I will myself, at every
opportunity, which offers, endeavour to advance in my enquiries
and observations, and, when I find the latter sufficiently interest-
ing, communicate them in some periodical paper. I shall par-
ticularly endeavour, along with a practised chemist, to make and
publish a chemical analysis of truffles; since the old one, which
was communicated, now exactly 100 years ago, by Geoffroy,
whom I have so often mentioned, and according to which truffles
are said to contain sulphur and volatile alkali, now that chemistry
has made such great progress, is no longer satisfactory. If this
slight sketch, which was made for the purpose, gives some in-
struction to such of my brother foresters as are not experienced
in the art, and only half-satisfies the connoisseur, I shall not look
upon my attempt as entirely unsuccessful.
Dp 4
408 Cultivation of Truffles:
Art. III. A Treatese on the Cultivation of Truffles. By Alexander
von Bornholz. Translated from the German by Francis Macsatt,
Esq., of Eppleton, Durham.
Tue treatise in question has the following title:—Der Triiffel-
bau, oder Anweisung die schwarzen und weissen Triiffeln in Wal-
* dungen, Lustgebuschen, und Garten, durch Kunst zu ziehen, und
grosse Anlagen dazu zu machen. Von Alexander von Bornholz.
Quedlinburg und Leipzig, 1825. Bei Gottfried Basse. Its
author nowhere states that he has actually cultivated truffles, it
is however to be presumed, from what he says, that he has; and
I was moreover informed by Count Salm of Vienna, that a per-
son in Hungary had, by cultivating them as recommended by
M. Bornholz, “ made a good thing of it.’ This was the ex-
pression actually used, the conversation being partly carried
on in the English language. I was first informed by the count
of the existence of this treatise, which, after some search, and
with some difficulty, I procured at Vienna. There, however, the
treatise was little known. Such was also the case with the treatise
on truffle-hunting by V. F. Fischer [Art. I. p. 385.], which the
bookseller of whom I got M. Bornholz’s treatise remembered
he had, but being ignorant of the author’s name he could not
for some time find it.
Truffles are found in England, if my information be correct,
in Sussex, at or near Goodwood, a seat of the Duke of Rich-
mond; and in Northwood, a wood of about a thousand acres
belonging to Lady Newburg, and situate near the parishes of
Slindon and Irtham; also in Kent, at Broome, the seat of Sir
Henry Oxenden. In the county of Durham, they are met with,
if I mistake not, in Castle-Eden dean, and are to be found in
many other parts of England. Truffles grown in England may
be bought, both fresh and dried in Covent Garden Market in
London, where the fresh ones have this year (1833) been sold
at the rate of 10s. [this year, 1837, they were 14s., see Market
List, p. 384.] per pound.—/. M.
THE Cultivation of Truffles, or Instructions for artificially raising
and making large Plantations of Black and White Truffles, in
Woods, Shrubberies,and Gardens. By Alexander von Bornholz.
Introduction. — Ripe truffles, freshly taken up, are more dif-
ferent from those that are dried, dipped in oil, wrapped in
waxed paper, or preserved in glasses, which the Italians and
French sell us for German gold, than a beautiful Borsdorfer
apple is from slices of a dried apple. Nevertheless the best in
the woods of Germany are not dug up, and not unfrequently,
either from ignorance or the avarice of those that deal in them,
bad and useless sorts (such as the swine-truffle) are mixed along
ne
Cultivation of Truffles. 409
with the edible ones. Every admirer of truffles (and who is not
such, when he has once tasted perfectly ripe ones ?) will rejoice
to learn that they may be, and have been, raised upon situations
adapted to them, as well as mushrooms; and that the planting
of them is neither expensive nor troublesome. Every one who
has a proper situation for them on his estate, will most willingly
make plantations of them according to the directions here given.
At a small expense, he will augment at once the pleasures of
his table, and also his income; for in a few years the crops will
have so increased, as to enable the planter to offer them for sale.
He will then not only receive back his first expenses, but also
a considerable surplus. ‘There is no reason to apprehend that
truffles will, by means of numerous plantations of them, sink in
value (as almost all productions of landed property have done),
so as to be hardly worth any thing; since most of those who
buy truffles dwell in large towns, and are so engaged as to have
no time to raise them. On the contrary, by the extension of
the cultivation of truffles, the money now paid for them to fo-
reigners would be spared to our country, at which every sincere
lover of it would rejoice; and the consumption of the article
would probably be very greatly increased. We may confidently
expect an active participation in extending the cultivation of
truffles, from the exertions of our horticultural societies. By
this extension, not only will the profit of land be increased, but
also the pleasures of society, as these are more promoted by
delicacies for the table than by the rarest flowers.
Amongst the various species of fungi which man has applied
to his nutriment, the truffle is of the greatest value. Morels
are much inferior to it. Even the highly esteemed cultivated
mushroom is not to be compared with it, still less are other edible
fungi. With connoisseurs it is in higher estimation than the
pine-apple amongst fruits, and the oyster amongst bivalves. The
high estimation in which truffles are held, and their dearness,
are not however occasioned by their peculiarly fine aromatic
flavour alone, but by the difficulties which are connected with
seeking them in woody situations. Dogs must be broken in, or
swine must be accustomed to discover and turn them up; and
only a few people understand the art of accustoming these animals
to resist their natural voracity, and to leave to man the food they
have discovered.
On this account, the truffle, in Germany, appears only upon the
tables of the wealthy, and of those who have large landed pos-
sessions; in which they seldom cause truffles to be sought for,
but buy them at a high price from foreigners. ‘Truffles grow in
several woods; but people avoid the trouble of either digging
them up, or of training dogs and swine, to enable them with
facility to take them out of the earth. German truffles are left
410 Cultivation of Truffles.
as food for worms and for swine, and people are satisfied with
such as the industrious French or Italians have sought out in
their own country, and have sent abroad as merchandise.
As truffles are produced in woods, the proprietors of woods
are the only persons that are entitled to cause them to be dug
out. Only a few proprietors of extensive landed property or
of large gardens possess woods, or, even if they have such, the
soil of the wood does not possess such a mixture of earths as
this species of fungus requires for its production and growth.
It cannot therefore be produced, and the proprietor of landed
property is compelled to purchase fresh truffles elsewhere ; or,
since they grow only in few places, and are generally sold to
favourites, must accommodate himself with such bad ones as are
offered for sale.
The relish of the truffle arises from very fine matter, which
is so volatile that it rises through the strata of earth, and betrays
at the surface the deeply hidden fungus to certain animals en-
dowed with an acute sense of smelling. In order to preserve
this volatile matter from escaping, those truffles which are in-
tended for sale by the French and Italians are preserved or
marinated, enclosed in glasses from which the air is excluded,
or dipped in oil, and then wrapped up in waxed paper. Notwith-
standing all these contrivances, this valuable matter cannot be
completely retained; and the bought truffles are as much inferior
to fresh ones that have been lately dug up, as asparagus pickled
or dried for winter consumption, or the beans and peas pre-
served in the same way, are to the same fresh vegetables cooked
in spring and summer.
It must be very desirable to every proprietor of lands and
gardens to become acquainted with a practice by which he can
raise truffles himself. By such means the pleasures of the table
will be enhanced, or, if he should prefer it, the profit of his
landed property will be increased by the sale of fresh truffles.
It is long ago that the great advantages which such cultivation
would produce have been perceived ; and in the last century
many attempts were made, although fruitlessly, to transplant
and cultivate truffles. How, indeed, could it have been possible
to transplant, with the requisite skill, a fungus, the nature of
which was totally unknown, and the circumstances under which
it was possible for it to arise and thrive were not attended to?
Whether truffles, as fungi in general, should be ranked
amongst plants or animals, was a disputed point: but now the
conviction is, that they belong exclusively to neither, but stand
in the midst between the two kingdoms, and incline equally to
both. They are not propagated by seeds, as was formerly be-
lieved ; but are formed in the upper strata of the earth, as hyda-
tids in animal bodies, or the infusoria, visible only to the eye
®
Cultivation of Truffles. 411
that is assisted by a microscope, in water that contains organic
matter. Since no man either has seen, or can see, the seed of
fungi, it was assumed to be so small as not to be visible even by
the assistance of the best microscope. ‘This seed, then, must
have filled the air, and laid hold of every small place which
made the germination and increase of the young plant possible.
Such a supposition was admissible in the case of those fungi
that grew in the open air, but impossible with regard to those
which were found in the earth. How, in this case, should the
fine seed escape out of its closed grave, drawn forth by the
attracting powers of the soil, and be carried to distant places to
produce in them new truffles ?
The error, however, was the occasion of trials, which, being
founded upon a wrong supposition, could not be attended by a
successful result. In order to cultivate mushrooms and truffles,
old fungi were dug up, and planted in the places destined for
them, to shed their seed and be the origin of a new race of
fungi. Peculiar care was bestowed upon truffles: they were
cautiously dug up from their ancient place of growth, and taken
to the new soil, which, however, was neither properly prepared,
nor the mixture of earths given to it which was requisite to the
prosperity of the fungus. It then appeared to be inconceivable,
why, with all this attention, the experiment failed; and the old
truffle soon died, without leaving any successors. It was ex-
pected to scatter seed in the soil, but had disappeared without
leaving a trace behind it. Was the proceeding here observed
at all different from cutting a hydatid out of one animal, and
inserting it into another? or causing an intestinal worm to be
swallowed, and then imagining that the minute animal should be
increased in its new situation ?
The hydatid and intestinal worm are not produced by trans-
fer, but by such changes taking place in the mixture of the
component parts of the animal bodies in which we find them, as
to occasion that species of worms to be produced and thrive.
We sometimes find newly born, and even unborn, animals in-
habited by worms, which, nevertheless, are not transferable.
Other animals, on the contrary, are free from worms to the
extreme of old age; for their bodies present not to these worms
such a habitation as is requisite to their thriving. Just in the
same manner fungi, viz. mushrooms and truffles, which are very
obstinate in their choice of situations (habitats), arise and thrive
only under favourable circumstances, in a soil suitable to their
nature.
Many attempts failed before it was known how to raise mush-
rooms upon places where they were wanted, and yet this fungus
is not near so delicate in its choice of a habitat and mixture of
soil as the truffle, whose artificial increase was not successful.
419 Cultivation of Truffles.
The secret of raising the mushroom upon places that were as-
signed to it, was only comparatively recently discovered in Italy.
Without being able to give any exact account of the grounds
upon which the experiments were made, the object in view was
attained by means of several experiments. ‘The preparations
that were made, and in general the whole procedure, were
imitated in France, and succeeded. ‘The raising of truffles
would be still easier in Germany; since here the proceeding
might be commenced with proper views of the nature of the
fungus, and of its manner of originating and formation: its
proper treatment could, therefore, be easily pointed out.
There are several kinds of truffles, which must be critically
known and distinguished by any one who proposes to lay out a
situation for this species of fungus. Without this, the planter
would be exposed to the hazard of planting bad and useless
kinds, instead of the good and eatable ones. To enable him to
avoid this, the following description of the different kinds will
be useful to most readers : —
Linnzeus and other ancient botanists comprehended all the
different species of truffles under the genus Lycopérdon, which
is said to be distinguished from the rest of the fungi by having
a round body filled with powdery seeds. The lycoperdons
have, while alive, a fleshy body, with veins running threugh it,
which, by means of absorbing organs, like roots, either draw
their necessary nutriment from the earth, or sit upon plants and
rob them of their juices. For example, to the first division
belongs the commonly known puffball (Lycopérdon Bovista) ;
and to the last, the grated puffball (Lycopérdon cancellatum),
upon the leaves of the pear tree. When dead, the inside of the
body, of most kinds, quickly becomes an extremely fine dust,
which, for a considerable time, is included in the dry, more
durable, paper-like external skin. Formerly, in this fine dust
the seed was looked for ; and it was supposed to be carried by
the winds into very distant districts. This belief was so strong,
that it could not be shaken by all the unsuccessful attempts
which were made to raise young fungi by sowing the supposed
seed.
Later botanists have separated the family of such lycoperdons
as grow within the earth from the two other kinds which grow
upon its surface, and have raised them to a separate genus,
under the name Juber. ‘The latter differs much more from the
former, than the cherry does from the plum, or the bean from
the pea. ‘The new genus includes many species, though not all
of them; especially those which grow in deeper strata of earth
are sufficiently known to be distinctly different. The following
are the only ones that are accurately known : —
1. The true Truffie (Tuber gulonum, T. gulosorum, Lyco-
Cultivation of Truffies. 413
perdon Tuber L. [Tuber cibarium Sibth.,
Jig» 116.]). — Of a round form, more or
less approaching to that of a sphere, or
of an egg, or sometimes kidney-shaped, and
somewhat rough with protuberances. ‘The
colour of the surface is, when it is young,
whitish; but in those that are full grown, it is either blackish, or
a deep black. The colour of the inside is whitish, with dark
blue and white, grey, reddish, light brown, or dark brown
veins, of the thickness of a horse-hair, which are usually vari-
ously entangled, and which form a kind of network, or mat.
Between the veins are numerous cavities, filled with a great deal
of mucilage and small solid grains. ‘These scarcely visible
glands were formerly said to be the seeds or germs of the young
truffles. ‘The less the inside of the truffle is coleured by dark
veins, the more tender and delicious is its flesh. The blackish
external rind is hard, and very rough, by means of fine fissures,
grains, and protuberances; and forms, with its small facets,
which are almost hexagonal, an appearance by which it some-
what resembles the fir-apples of the larch.
Whilst the truffle is young, its smell resembles that of putrid
plants, or of moist vegetable earth. When it first approaches
the point of time at which it has attained its full growth, it dif-
fuses an agreeable smell which is peculiar to it, resembling that
of musk, but which lasts only a few days; it then becomes
stronger, and the nearer the fungus is to its death and its disso-
Jution, which speedily ensues, so much the more unpleasant and
urinous is the smell, till at last it is quite disagreeable and
putrid. Whilst young, the flesh is watery, and its taste insipid :
when fully formed, its firm flesh, which is like the kernel of
the almond and the nut, has an extremely aromatic and delicious
taste; but as soon as the fungus begins to decay, and worms and
putrescence to attack it, its taste is bitter and disagreeable.
Wherever truffles are produced, there they are to be found
the whole year through, from the beginning of spring till late in
autumn; but in the greatest plenty from towards the end of the
month of August to the latter end of October. They thrive
extremely, like all fungi, in warm moist autumns, and are then
most delicious. After warm continuing showers, they are found
nearer the surface of the soil, sometimes so high that they form
little hemispherical mounds of earth, in which small clefts are
produced by the sun’s rays. If the soil is loose, and dry weather
succeeds, the earth which was raised up falls down, and the truffle
is seen half-uncovered. Nevertheless, these truffles are of small
value, as they are generally either dead or worm-eaten.
The favourite habitat of truffles is a somewhat moist light
wood-soil, which is defended from the immediate effect of the
A14 Cultivation of Truffles.
burning rays of the sun by large oak trees, standing at a distance
from each other, but is not deprived, by thick bushes, of the
free access of currents of air. Where, in woods, there are
places bare of timber trees, and with but few bushes, or covered
with pollarded wood that does not stand thick, they thrive under
an oak, beech, whitethorn, and even under a fruit tree, and
sometimes attain the weight of from a pound to a pound and a
half: this unusual size, however, is only met with in moist warm
grounds. Here they lie nearer the surface of the soil. The
drier the soil is, the deeper they are produced in it; but are
usually so much the smaller: to this the vicinity of springs is
the sole exception.
There are some varieties of truffles which differ in the greater
or less degree of roughness of their external rind, in a stronger
smell, resembling that of garlic, and in a lighter or darker
colour. Amongst all truffles, the white variety is of most value,
and is preferred to every other. It grows in Upper Italy, chiefly
in Piedmont. Its surface is of a yellowish brown, or pale grey-
yellow, covered with protuberances resembling warts. The veins
in the inside are more delicate than in the black kind, and are
of a reddish yellow colour. Between the veins, the flesh of
truffles that are fully formed, and their sap-vessels and glands,
are of a reddish colour. The smell and taste of the white truffle
are much superior to those of the black, and on that account it is
more deserving of cultivation. Only the first plantation requires
to be circumstantially attended to, as living pieces can seldom
be procured, and to plant dead ones in new plantations is useless.
Since this white truffle never degenerates to the black, but con-
stantly produces the same, it appears to be not a variety, but a
particular species. It is also found in vineyards, meadows, and
even in ploughed fields ; but the black ones are found only near
to forest trees.
2. Hog-Truffle, Swine-Truffie, Wild Truffle (Tuber suillum).
— This truffle, which is generally kidney-shaped, usually reaches
the size of a bean, and only under very favourable circumstances
that of a small hen’s egg. It has a thin, leather-like rind, which
is covered with many small round warts, without any flat inter-
stices. By means of these, it is distinguished from the true
truffle, which sometimes also assumes the kidney shape. ‘The
flesh is juicy, and traversed by coarse veins, which are not very
crooked. ‘The smell is disagreeably sour, and is like that of
swine’s dung, on which account it has received its name. Its
taste is unpleasant and insipid. On account of its disagreeable
taste and smell, it is not used as food; and none but avaricious
truffle-hunters mix it amongst the edible truffles, along with
which it is often found. ‘There are, nevertheless, districts in
which none but swine-truffles are to be met with. Being hardier
Cultivation of Truffles. 415
than the real truffles, they can easily give such properties to the
soil of woods, that it produces none but swine-truffles. They
are usually found in abundance in such tracts of land as are not
mellow, but incline to sourness. Young plantations of truffles
may easily be spoilt, and all labour and expense be useless, if,
through inattention or want of knowledge, this swine-truffle is
transferred from its old place of growth into the new. As the
real truffle prefers the oak, so the swine-truffle seems to prefer
the whitethorn, to all other trees. | Under its roots they are
formed from twenty to thirty together; on the contrary, the
edible truffle seldom occurs so many together : it usually lives
singly.
3. Small Truffle (Tuber minimum). — This species of truffle
lives in much society, and always occurs in great numbers to-
gether. It attains only the size of a pea, and is of an irregular
form approaching to that of a sphere. Formerly it was thought
to be the young progeny of the edible truffle.
4. The Stag-Truffle (the Stag-rut Fungus, Tuber cervinum).
— This is the largest kind. It has a globular form and a loose
spongy flesh, which, in the midst of its body has so little co-
herence, that it forms a dusty core or heart. It is not used by
man, but red deer scrape it.
All truffles draw nourishment from the earth; not by means
of roots, of which no trace is to be found, but by absorbing ves-
sels which cover their whole superficies, in the form, generally,
of small warts. For this reason they can thrive in none but
moist situations, which offer them, in sufficient quantity, matter
dissolved in water. In proportion as the earth about them dries
up, the fungi must wither away. ‘They have indeed, in their in-
terior, vessels which contain water, to enable them for a time to
do without external moisture; but, if the drought continues,
their internal provision is exhausted, the truffle becomes un-
healthy, and must at length perish from thirst.
Notwithstanding the want of moisture is thus injurious to the
cultivation of truffles, too great a quantity is equally destructive
to them. Acids are generated, mould and numerous other
parasitic plants get a footing upon the surface of the tubes, and
by degrees obstruct the absorbing vessels, and the body of the
truffle is consumed or putrefies; the mould also allures many
small worms which establish themselves upon the truffle and live
upon its flesh.
Upon the first production of the truffle its size is scarcely per-
ceivable; as it proceeds in its growth, the earth that is around
it is pressed together and pushed off. On this account the
truffle can prosper in none but a loose soil. If the soil is every-
where equally loose, the truffle assumes a globular form; but
this is changed if there is on one side a greater opposition than
416 Cultivation of Truffles.
on the other; as, for instance, by a root ora stone. Hence the
different forms of the tubers may be explained. Where the soil
is most moist, whether above or under the truffle, there it will
either rise up or sink deeper. ‘The degree of power of attrac-
tion of the moisture in the earth, to that in the truffle, necessitates
such achange of place. In moist summers, and in wet winters, we
find the truffles near the surface, even projecting above it. In
dry summers, upon poor dry places in woods, they have often
to be dug from a depth of more than half a foot. Here is im-
posed upon them a greater pressure of superincumbent soil. If
the earth is not very light, they cannot be fully developed, and
therefore remain small. The largest are, consequently, in general,
found not deep under the earth, and in shaded light soil that
is somewhat moist; they are not, however, so well tasted as
those of middling size; they are also usually injured, and there-
fore of a bitter taste. ‘The access of their enemies, viz. worms,
snails, and quadrupeds, is much facilitated when no deep stra-
tum of earth protects them against these attacks.
As truffles were found in such soils only as contained many
putrid parts of vegetables, especially roots and leaves, or twigs
of trees; it was in old times the opinion, that these fungi were
neither plants nor animals, that they did not arise from germs, but
that they had been formed by a globular secretion and attraction
of matter found in the earth. According to this supposition, they
no further differ from minerals than that in them the materials
of the earth unite in forming a new substance; but here, in the
case of truffles, the new body is formed by parts of.plants in so-
lution. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, was of the same opinion,
and adduces, as a proof, the experience of a Roman preetor,
Lartius Licinius. ‘This person, a few years before, had eaten
truffles in Spain, and had met with something hard in one of
them. Upon a closer examination he found a small Roman
silver coin, a penny (denarius) ; which, therefore, being acciden-
tally present in the mechanical accretion of its component parts,
was enclosed along with them. [See p. 398.] Taking the fact
for granted, it by no means proves the assumed opinion. If the
coin were really found in the body of the truffle, and had not in
the cooking accidentally found its way in, it had been pressed
in by the quick growth of the fungus. Being a hard body, it
did not give way to the truffle equally with the loose moist soil,
and was included in the substance of the fungus, as nowadays
small foreign bodies, such as stone and metals, are met with in
wood, and in the inside of more juicy plants. When such are
met with, they are supposed to have been accidentally included;
because it is known that a tree or plant continually increases in
circumference from its youth to its old age. ‘There is no reason
in these instances, from the presence of these foreign bodies in
Cultivation of Truffles. 417
wood, to infer a mechanical accretion of component parts, and
there is as little for the inference in the case of the truffle. This,
nevertheless, is still believed by individuals, who pretend that all
fungi are formed from the putrescence of dead vegetables.
There is, however, some truth in this clumsy representation.
As the infusoria are more readily produced, and in greater num-
bers, in water that contains a solution of organised matter, so fungi
are produced where the soil is mixed with such matter as must
necessarily be used for their formation. When truffles are to
be produced by artificial means, nature must be imitated as
closely as possible, and such circumstances introduced as are
always met with in the habitats of this fungus.
We meet with truffles, at least in Germany, exclusively in
moist woods, as well in mountainous tracts as in plains, but not
in thiekets, which cannot be penetrated by the rays of the sun,
or moved by a draught of air; but in vacant places, which are
somewhat shaded by lofty trees, but by very little underwood.
Of all species of trees, an oak standing aloof from other trees,
with its branches widely extended, collects about it the greatest
number of edible truffles. It keeps off the burning rays of the
sun, but at the same time permits the free cooperation of the
air and of warmth. Under it truffles acquire the most delicious
flavour, and sometimes are so large as to be 3 or 4 inches in di-
ameter, and to weigh from a pound to a pound and a half.
Truffles are also dug up in woods that are not crowded, under
hornbeams (weissbuchen), elms, maples, and other deciduous
trees ; but less plentifully, not so well flavoured, and less in size.
In close pine woods they entirely fail, and are rare in woods
of mixed kinds of trees.
Hence vegetable mould from oak leaves and decayed oak ap-
pears to contribute to the production and the growth of truffles,
as advantageously as the dung of horses and asses does to the
production of mushrooms. In this case, a peculiar animal mat-
ter produces the effect ; in the other, a peculiar vegetable matter:
perhaps the tannin, or some other yet undiscovered product of
the oak tree. The more of this matter any species of tree con-
tains, with the greater facility are truffles produced in its vicinity,
and in greater numbers. He, therefore, who wishes to lay out
truffle beds must endeavour to accumulate this matter in the
soil where he intends them to be, and to introduce those circum-
stances under which the production and thriving of this fungus
are rendered possible and promoted.
In laying out truffle beds a distinction must be made between
wood land and garden land. ‘The former needs not much pre-
paration, and promises a surer profit than garden land, with
which must be artificially mixed those species of earth that, in
the latter, have for several years been accumulated by nature.
Vou, XIII. — No. 90. EE
418 Cultivation of Tru es.
He, therefore, who can take for new truffle beds wood land,
especially that which for centuries has produced the above-men-
tioned trees, spares both time and expense.
But, whether the truffle plantation be made in a wood or a
garden, the first requisite is a somewhat moist soil in a low situ-
ation. In level ground, such soil is generally found in the
vicinity of brooks, rivers, lakes, and meadows. The ground
itself, however, must not contain any sharp or sour component
parts, but must be mellow and fertile. Least of all are adapted
to the purpose situations in the neighbourhood of morasses or
turf moors; and especially those low situations the subsoil of
which is full of saline or sour matter. This is easily known by
the reeds, horsetail (Zquisétum), coarse kinds of grass, and
mosses, which grow upon their surface, and, whether green or
dry, are rejected by cattle and sheep, or only eaten by them from
excessive hunger.
He who has no such mellow soil, in a depressed situation, upon
his property, may most easily form it by art in the neighbourhood
of springs, or at the foot of a rising ground; but the first plant-
ation is thereby proportionally rendered more expensive. The
ground designed for the cultivation of truffles must, in the first
place, be dug out from 4 ft. to 5 ft. deep, and be lined at the
bottom, and on the sides, with a stratum of clay or very fat
loam of a foot thick, that the spring water which is conducted
to itmay not strain through, and run off. If the subsoil be
loam or clay, the thickness of the stratum of clay to be placed
upon it may be diminished; but, if it be a dry sand, it must be
more than a foot thick. This artificial depression is then filled
with earth artificially prepared, and now the spring, or small
brook, is turned upon it. ‘Truffles certainly require a moist soil,
but they cannot endure boggy ground or standing water; a ditch
must, therefore, be cut to carry away all superfluous water.
This ditch is either opened or shut accordingly as a superfluity
or want of water renders necessary. But if, in very hot dry
summers, the supply of water should itself fail, the truffle beds
must be sufficiently moistened with pure river water. This is
the expedient to which recourse must be had in dry situations,
that neither possess a spring, nor a small brook for watering a
plantation of truffles. Since only small beds, and not large
fields, are taken for the cultivation of truffles, the greatest care
may be taken in the preparatory steps, the expense of which
will, however, never be so considerable as to be much felt by
the landed proprietor. He, therefore, who has upon his pro-
perty no such mixture of earths as the growth of truffles re-
quires, must endeavour to obtain it artificially.
We find the most and finest truffles in a light, ferruginous,
calcareous soil. Such a one must, therefore, also be given to
Cultivation of Trifles. 419
the plantations. This is found naturally only in particular situ-
ations; for which reason truffles do not grow everywhere. That
which is accidentally in the new plantation is looked upon as
a welcome present, and those materials only are mixed with it
which the raising of truffles indispensably requires. A ferru-
ginous calcarecus soil is generally too compact, seldom too loose,
and frequently not sufficiently ferruginous. The first fault may
be remedied by the addition of ferruginous sand; the second,
by a mixture with loam; and the third may be remedied by
beating ferruginous sandstone (which is to be had almost every
where) to fine sand, and mixing a fourth, at the most a third,
part of it, with the natural soil. If iron-stone is not to be had,
the want of it must be supplied by iron shavings, iron filings,
sparks and other cheap small refuse which falls from iron in
manufacturing it: this must be added to the mixture of earths,
and made to rust and dissolve by the addition of moisture.
A calcareous or chalky marl forms the groundwork of all
artificial mixtures of soils for the cultivation of the truffle.
When this is to be had in the neighbourhood, it is mixed with
the fourth part of iron sandstone. If this marl be not in the
environs, then finely beaten calcareous stone or beaten chalk
must supply its place: to this must be added from the fourth to
the third part of ferruginous sand, and the whole mixed to-
gether as uniformly as possible. With this artificial calcareous
marl the truffle-bed (which has been dug out from 23 ft. to 3 ft.
deep) is filled up a foot high, in the place of the natural earth.
It is advantageous when the pit, which is dug out for that pur-
pose, before it is filled with the new soil, is lined on the sides and
bottom with unburnt calcareous stone. By this means, not only
will mice, and several kinds of worms, be prevented from esta-
blishing themselves in the new truffle beds, and preparing to
destroy the young germs of the truffles, but sudden heavy rains
will be prevented from occasioning an injurious mixture of the
different kinds of earths. Where calcareous stone is not to be
had, sandstone may be used instead of it, especially if it contains
iron; or, at all events, either other natural stones, or artificial ones
made by the hands of men, may be made use of. The bottom
of the pit must not, however, be paved so as to be water-ticht,
in order that the water may sink into the subsoil, and not cause
an injurious bog, instead of the moist depression that is intended.
If, when the pit is dug out, a compact subsoil is met with,
for example, a loamy bottom, the paving of the bottom of the pit
is supeifluous: it would obstruct the binding of the under
strata with the new-laid bottom of the truffle plantation. It
sometimes happens, that, in digging out the pit, a bed of clay is
met with, which is impervious to water. In such a case, it is
better to leave the place and choose another, than to spend
EE 2
420 Cultivation of Truffles.
money upon the plantation, and, instead of raising truffles, only
to make a small bog.
All the above preparations are necessary for wood lands, and
for plantations in large gardens and English shrubberies ; but the
further filling up of the pit is different for each place. In woods,
the soil contains much vegetable matter; but that is not enough,
especially when an artificial mixture of earths is undertaken. In
order to obtain a very nutritious vegetable earth, let pure cow-
dung be carried into heaps in the spring, and left to fall into
earth in the course of the summer. ‘That is best which is col-
lected as fresh as possible on pastures and commons. ‘That it
may not lose its nutritious matter through drought and heat, the
heaps must be made in a shady place, be turned from time to
time, and, in dry weather, be often moistened with cow’s urine, or
with soft river water. ‘This watering must not be so abundant
as to allow the dung to become lixiviated, in which case its
most valuable powers will be communicated to the ground
underneath.
In autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees, the dung is
for the greatest part converted into earth. The fourth or fifth
part of this earth is to be added to the natural wood soil; and of
fallen oak leaves, or, if these are not to be had, of fallen horn-
beam leaves, as much in bulk as half of the mixture amounts
to: the whole must then be carefully mixed together. The
pit is to be completely filled with the mixture, which is to be
covered with a layer of oak leaves, of from 4 in. to 6 in. thick.
A wood soil, with much vegetable earth from oak trees, requires
a smaller addition of oak leaves, than a soil that contains less of
it. ‘The greatest is required by the mixture of one half or the
third part of natural wood earth with the before-mentioned fer-
ruginous calcareous marl. In this case, which often occurs, as
many leaves are added as the proportion of the calcareous earth
occupies in space; and the pit, when filled, is covered over with
a thick layer of leaves.
There is no fear of this cover of leaves being carried away by
the storms that prevail in autumn and winter, as the truffle
plantations are made in low situations, sheltered by trees, and
not exposed to a strong current of air. If, however, this were
not to be avoided, the scattering of the leaves may be prevented
by some earth taken from the mixture being spread over them,
or by small branches of oak being laid upon them, and secured
by stones. Such a cover of leaves is of great service to the
planting of truffles; since by the moisture of the winter the
most efficacious matter is extracted from it, and communicated
to the soil beneath. For this reason, a new cover must be laid
upon it every autumn. Early in the following spring, the upper-
most layer, beg exhausted by the air, is to be taken away; but
Cultrvation of Truffles. 421
the under and moister one lightly dug im, or, which is still
better, raked flat, lest the tender germs of the truffles should be
injured or destroyed; but, when the truffle plantation is first
made, the whole cover must be deeply dug down.
Every previous preparation is thus made for the cultivation of
truffles. We now come to the mode of causing them to be pro-
duced. Since they are neither sown, nor, like animals, propa-
gated by eggs and young ones, the only thing that remains for
us to do is, to cause the soil to produce truffles. We know from
experience that many forms (viz. crystallisations) are easily pro-
duced, when bodies of their own sort, already formed, are intro-
duced into the mass of forming matter. ‘Thus, sugar easily
forms in crystals, when crystals of the same sort are hung in a
fluid mass saturated with saccharine matter. Fungi are also pro-
duced in a similar manner, where living bodies of the same kind,
or such as have not long been dead, or even parts of them lately
pulled off, meet with a soil adapted to them. ‘Thus, mushrooms
thrive well if horse’s or ass’s dung be mixed with pieces of this
fungus. ‘The same takes place with truffles; only here greater
circumspection is requisite,
The mushroom raises its head above the dark earth, and lives
and thrives in the open air, and in warm sunshine. When
taken from its parent soil, neither the operation of the circum-
ambient air, nor the gentle access of the sun’s rays, immediately
destroys it. As long as its body contains sufficient moisture, it
continues to live, and may, without much precaution, be removed
from one place to another. If the journey does not last too
long, it still retains the degree of vitality necessary to impart to
the new soil the property of producing young mushrooms. On
this account, good mushroom beds, that are carefully made,
seldom fail, and the expectation of a good crop is constantly
justified.
Not so the truffle. It cannot bear the immediate access of
the air, and still less of the sun’s rays, but dies when it is ex-
posed to them, as quickly as a delicate fish when taken out of
the water, or an intestinal worm when torn from the animal body
which is its habitation. A dead body of a truffle, which, more-
over, soon becomes putrid, cannot, even under the most favour-
able circumstances, induce in the new habitat assigned to it a
formation of young fungi of its own species. ‘This is possible
only to the living truffle: but its complete vitality is hardly suffi-
cient to give such a direction to the powers subsisting in the
strata of earth, as to produce and form new truffles in a soil that
had never produced them; but, if this power of production is
once awakened, it is easy to retain it for years.
If, therefore, truffles are to be transported from one situation
to another, and to be promoted to be the ancestors of their
EE 3
422 Cultivation of Truffles.
species, the greatest precautions must be taken, lest they die on
the journey, and become useless. ‘This is the greatest difficulty
to be encountered in the planting of truffles, and thus the plant-
ation may easily fail. If truffles naturally grow in the vicinity
of the new plantation, the experiment may be repeated without
much expense ; but, when truffles have to be sent a considerable
distance, it is very unpleasant to lose both time and money.
Truffles, at their full growth, must not be chosen for transplant-
ing: at that time their vital powers are too feeble; they are then
too near dying to cause the production of this species in their
new situation. They are as little able to bear the violent re-
moval from their ancient situation, and transplantation into a
new one, as an old tree (for instance, a fir or an oak) that has
arrived at its full growth. Most of the early attempts to remove
truffles from one situation to another must have failed, because
large, and consequently old worn-out, truffles were chosen for
the purpose; and it was expected that they should survive this
treatment, contrary to their nature, and combined with their
transplantation. Already, during their journey, or even after
being planted, they fell a prey to death; and their bodies, soon
becoming putrid, were unable to operate efficaciously upon the
vicinity assigned them.
Equally injurious is the planting of tender truffle germs, or
very smal] truffles. They also cannot be taken from their
parental earth, and abandoned to their new situation, without
being exposed to the same hazard of dying as a young hound
which is taken from its mother’s breast and left to itself, even
with heaps of meat and drink about it. How could it be even
possible that the tender truffle germ should operate so power-
fully upon the new soil, where truffles had never grown, as to
collect about the tender plant the matter necessary for the
support of the fungus, and to change it to its nutriment ?
Let, therefore, truffles of a middle size, and in the full pos-
session of their vital powers, be chosen for transplanting. There
is no great difficulty in finding truffles in a place in a wood
where many grow. ‘Truffles are generally found in groups; so
that many, of all ages, are found near to fully grown ones. If
the dog has found the place where such as are fully grown exist
(for he can discover none but by the smell which is diffused
around them, and the young ones have no smell), we only need
carefully search the ground near to find more truffles, both
young and fully grown ones. In the general search, the young
unripe ones are mostly left unnoticed, but so torn from their
situation, that they must soon die.
Nevertheless, these half-grown truffles often greatly resemble
the other before-mentioned truffles, that are not edible; and an
experienced eye is necessary to distinguish them from such use-
Cultivation of Truffles. 423
less kinds as are frequently met with near them, especially as, in
doubtful cases, the smell decides nothing; for the edible truffle
first receives, when it is become ripe, that smell which designates
it, so as not to be mistaken. In order that no useless truffles
may be brought into the plantation (viz. the swine truffles), not-
withstanding “they would come quickly forward, let those be
thrown away respecting which it is uncertain whether they are
of the edible kind or not. If the place be known where half-
crown truffles are, let them be taken up on a showery day,
or at least a cloudy one, in such a manner as that they
may remain completely enveloped in a ball of earth, and be
as little as possible exposed to the access of the air. If the
earth is very loose, so as not to hold firmly together; or if,
through previous drought, it had lost its natural vicidity, which
it has not fully recovered again through the last rain; the place
where the truffles are must have a great deal of water poured
over it a few hours before they are taken up. The fungi
will then be easily taken up, together with the earth about
them, and put into a wooden case, which must be filled with
moist wood earth, from the place of growth of the truffles, and
closely fastened down. ‘Truffles may thus be sent many miles,
without any danger of their perishing. Only upon long journeys,
which last several days or weeks, the case must often be
opened, for an hour at a time, and the earth from time to time
be moistened with fresh river-water, that the truffles may not be-
come mouldy and putrid. This practice is necessary with respect
to the white truffle, which has hitherto been considered to grow
only in Upper Italy, but can, nevertheless, be transplanted, as
well as the black sort.
When the truffles have reached their appointed destination,
the case must be immediately opened in an airy but shady place,
and the earth moistened, if necessary; after which, they must
be planted as soon as possible in the situation intended for
them. It is not advisable to distribute the truffles over the
whole of the bed; it is better to plant them upon a small part
of it. As, upon a newly made bed, the matter in the earth
has not taken the direction necessary to the production of this
species of fungus, it is easily conceivable that a single truffle
cannot act sufficiently to produce this direction, but that the
united power of several is requisite. In the earlier attempts, it
was, indeed, expected from a single fungus, or even from pieces
cut off, that they should exert this power upon the new soil; but
the expectation was continually frustrated. According to the
nature of the soil, whether more or less moist, the tr uffles are
set from 2 in. to 4in., or, at the most, 6 in., deep. The soil in
which they were enveloped in their journey is left upon them,
and the utmost efforts are made to prevent their being exposed
EE 4
424 Cultvvation of Truffles.
to the access of the air, or even to that of the sun’s rays. On
this account, the planting of them must take place only in the
evening, when the sun is gone down, or in very cloudy weather.
Holes of the depth required must be made beforehand, the bot-
toms of which must be strewed with soil out of the case; then
each truffle must be carefully lifted up, with the soil that is
about it, planted, and the soil that still remains in the case be
distributed in the holes. If the holes are not filled with this,
they must be filled with the soil of their new situation, which
must be moistened with repeated sprinklings of water. The
new plantation must then be amply covered with twigs cut from
the oak or hornbeam; and the soil must be planted with young
trees of these kinds, not crowded, but at such a distance as to
give sufficient shade, so as to prevent the land from being
dried up. .
The best time for transplanting truffles is towards the middle
of spring and in the beginning of autumn, about which latter
season the greatest number of half-grown truffles is to be found.
About this time, the land is usually moist enough of itself, so
that it is not necessary to water it to prevent its being dried up.
But, in case it should be dry from great drought, it must assuredly
be moistened in this manner; in doing which, the water, never-
theless, must not be poured on in streams, as the germinating
brood would thereby be easily choked, or entirely destroyed.
It has already been observed, that, in the succeeding autumn,
the new plantation should be covered with a layer of oak
leaves.
The plantation thus remains undisturbed till the next autumn,
only that it is to be freed from large plants that shade it too
much, and exhaust all the strength of the soil; but small fine
grasses must he suffered to remain, as they give the ground
beneficial shade, and prevent too great exhalation. In general,
at least in the first years, let endeavours be made to imitate the
wood soil as much as possible, in order to obtain the sconer a
rich return of truffles.
In the first year, the truffles will be little increased. These
fungi have, as yet, too little strength to act powerfully upon the
environs, and to compel them to bring forth a large number of
tubers. If the plantations have been made in the spring, there
will be found in the next autumn some few young truffles, about
the size of a nut, with a yellowish outer rind, and of a spongy
consistence ; an indication that they must remain a longer time
to attain their ripeness, and, along with it, their firm consistence
and dark colour. In the mean time, these young truffles are
the most certain indication that the plantation has succeeded,
and that a well-furnished truffle bed will be obtained in the
sequel. It is very advisable, in a large plantation, to renew the
Cultivation of Truffles. 425
plantation in the succeeding year; and, for this reason, at the
first planning, to divide the intended bed into two equal parts;
and, in two consecutive years, to plant these fungi more towards
the middle than towards the ends. If in one year the planting
were to fail, the whole bed is not therefore quite uselessly pre-
pared, but is at least duly arranged on one side, by which
means it will be easy to furnish the second half in the same
way.
Hitherto, the question has been only respecting wood soil. As
truffles are produced in this, so also they may be produced in
artificial woods, and in English shrubberies. These have also
- commonly moist low situations, and oak trees also grow in them;
but places free from trees, and the deep stratum of fruitful wood
soil which has arisen from decayed leaves, are wanting in them,
From the continual clearing of the plantations, the leaves that
fall in autumn are removed, and cannot be converted into that
fertile soil above mentioned. Here, therefore, we must have
recourse to art.
In such English plantations, a somewhat moist place must be
made choice of, in the vicinity, if possible, of a large oak, horn-
beam, Spanish chestnut, or other deciduous tree with spreading
boughs, which must be freed from the other trees and lofty
shrubs. In such plantations, open grass-plots in the neighbour-
hood of a lofty tree are the best calculated for the purpose. The
tree, however, must not be one whose large leaves prevent every
ray of the sun and current of air from penetrating, and which
form a connected roof, as the different kinds of maples, horse-
chestnuts, planes, and other trees do. A tall tree with small
leaves must be on the south side of the place destined for a
plantation of truffles, to screen it from the burning rays of the
southern sun. In a large plantation, a single tree is insufficient,
and more are requisite towards the south side; which, however,
must stand so far apart as scarce to touch each other with the
extremities of their boughs. The natural soil which is found
upon this place must be dug out the depth before mentioned,
and carried away, as it has too little resemblance to that of
ancient woods to be used in the mixture of new soil for the
truffles. If good wood earth of oaks can be had in the vicinity,
the filling of the pit is not at all different from that of lofty
woods previously directed; but very often there are no woods
in the neighbourhood, or, at least, no oak woods; and, in that
‘case, soil produced from dung must be mixed with very rich
vegetable mould. ‘This is found under groups of trees that
have stood a long time, upon places that have been long planted
with poplars, willows, or fruit trees, or even upon hills; but not
in wet and marshy meadows and pastures.
It often happens that this natural soil is too loose or too com-
426 Cultivation of Truffles. —
pact. In the first case, it contains too much sand, and must be
mixed with clay or loam; but a too compact soil has in its com-
position too little sand, and requires an addition of loam or
meagre clay. If marl is to be met with in the neighbourhood,
especially calcareous marl, it much improves the mixture; but,
if there is none at all in the vicinity, its place must be supplied
by calcareous stone or pieces of chalk reduced to powder. All
these species of soil must, at the same time that the earth from
dung is prepared, be brought together in a heap, to which must
be added as much of the parts of plants, viz. the refuse of the
vegetables used in the kitchen, leaves, sawdust of oak or other
deciduous trees (but not of pines), or wood earth from falls of
wood, as the different soils occupy in space. Such a heap of
soil must be turned over every week, and moistened in dry
weather; and, if not in the shade, must be protected by a high
wall from being suddenly dried by the rays of the sun. _ It is
advisable, every time that it is turned over, to cover it with young
oak leaves, and to mix them well with it the next time it is
turned over. For want of the leaves of this species of tree,
those of other trees (for instance, hornbeams, beeches, elms,
hazels, and others) may be taken. The heap having been assi-
duously and carefully wrought over, the earth, in the course of
the summer, will have become very rich in vegetable soil, and in
the autumn may be applied to the making of the truffle bed. The
mode of making it differs from that which has already been de-
scribed for soil in lofty woods, in nothing, except that, instead of
the wood earth, which is there made use of, this artificial earth
is taken.
If all the precepts which have been given have been observed
in planting the truffles, the proprietor of artificial groups of
trees may enjoy the pleasure of raising fresh tubers, as well as the
proprietor of wood soil. It is advisable not to make the first plant-
ation too large, in order at first to have merely a nursery from
which truffles may be taken at any time. When this is once
upon an estate, larger plantations may be made, which are not
restricted to the pleasures of the table, but also increase the
income.
Plantations of truffles in large gardens are combined with
more circumstances and greater difficulties. Here is a want of
wood soil, oaks, and hornbeams, which must be supplied or new-
planted. It would be too tedious a process to plant an oak in a
garden, and wait for its spreading so far as to afford the shade
necessary to a plantation of truffles. An old pear tree, a high-
trained apple tree, or several plum and cherry trees, will answer
the purpose. In the south of Germany, sweet chestnut and
almond trees attain such a height and spread of boughs, as to.
supply the place of the oak, and are preferable to the before-
Cultivation of Truffles. 427
mentioned fruit trees. Even in Italy, the delicate white truffle
is reared under chestnut trees.
In most cases, oak leaves, or, at least, the leaves of the horn-
beam, are to be had in the neighbourhood, or, at least, at the
distance of a few miles. If, however, they are not, which
would certainly be a very extraordinary case, a small plantation
of young oaks and hornbeams, that are not too weak, must be
made a few years before, in a corner of the garden, that the ne-
cessary foliage may be obtained from them; or nurseries of both
species of tree be raised from seed, that there may be a pre-
vious supply of young trees for planting the truffle bed. This,
in most cases, will not be necessary, as the young trees may be
obtained in the environs. ‘The preparation of the soil for plant-
ations of truffles in large gardens is, when a sufficiency of oak
leaves can be had, not different from similar plantations in
pleasure grounds, only the earth is more abundantly mixed with
oak leaves. When all the previous preparations have been
duly made, the truffles are to be planted in the same way that
they are in the tall timber woods; and the new plantation may
be somewhat thicker planted with young oaks and hornbeams,
so as that they may be the most numerous, viz. in the proportion
of two thirds or three fourths. ‘This truffle bed must also,
every autumn, be covered with a layer of oak leaves about a foot
thick, that the earth may by degrees impart to the plantations a
large quantity of the matter of the oak tree. For the same rea-
son, it is very advantageous, if, instead of wood earth, pounded
oak bark, or spent bark, that has already been used by the
tanners, be made use of; nevertheless, the first is more effica-
cious, two thirds or three fourths of it having more efficacy than
when the whole is of spent bark. But a heap of soil consisting
of a mixture of the two kinds of bark requires a longer time
than the usual wood earth for complete decomposition, and for
becoming a useful earth. It is necessary, therefore, that it
should be prepared, not in the spring, but in the autumn pre-
ceding, thereby to give it more time to moulder.
The truffle beds made in gardens require constant attention,
lest they should be overshadowed and exhausted by high-grow-
ing plants. _ All such plants must therefore be early removed ;
but the kinds of grass that do not grow too thick may be spared.
The truffle plantation must occupy the lowest situation in the
garden, that it may not suffer from drought; but, as soon as the
ground becomes somewhat dry, it requires to be moistened by a
moderate watering. Man, as in all plantations in wardens,
fields, and woods, has te contend with many sorts of animals, which
force their way into his possessions, and contend for the property
which he has assumed. ‘Truffles are also sought for and con-
sumed by many animals; and they are the more easily detected
428 Cultivation of Truffies.
by these creatures, as they betray their place of growth by the
smell which they diffuse around them.
In a lofty wood, inhabited by wild swine, it is not advisable to
make a plantation of truffles: the swine would easily discover and
destroy them, especially as they are fond of low situations. Red
deer and roes, which scrape out and eat them, are less danger-
ous. Where, therefore, many red deer are in a forest, the new
plantation must be secured from their attacks by a high hedge.
This also keeps off the fox, which attacks them in the same
manner ; so also does the badger, though this animal is become
too rare, in many parts of Germany, to do much damage; and, if
one should be desirous of breaking into the truffle plantation, it
would be discovered and become the welcome prey of the game-
keeper. More dangerous than these are the squirrels, which
are very dexterous in scraping up the tubers and eating them:
all the squirrels which are found in the vicinity of the new
truffle plantations, must be shot. Mice also seek truffles that
are ripe, at which time they betray themselves by their smell.
If the plantation be surrounded by a hedge, the mice may be
poisoned, which in one that is not hedged about cannot be done,
lest the game should be destroyed. Mice live in woods gene-
rally only in society ; and, by a little attention, may, in separate
places, be easily dug out, caught, and extirpated.
The security of truffles is combined with the greater difficul-
ties in pleasure-grounds, which usually adjoin the open fields,
from which they are visited by field mice. Here, catching and
poisoning them is a security only when, at the same time, the
whole of the environs can be freed from these voracious
animals. Owls and crows are the greatest enemies of mice. If
these birds, especially the first, can be habituated to dwell in
the neighbourhood of truffle plantations (which, through com-
plete protection, it is easy to effect), mice will not be able todo any
great mischief, at least not greater than in every other garden
and field plantation. Snails, both the red and the black wood
snails, are only in wet weather injurious to plantations in which
the truffles lie too shallow, or rise quite above the surface.
Worms do much more damage, especially in such truffle plant-
ations as are made in gardens or pleasure-grounds. The drawing
here of worms from the environs cannot be avoided, as, from the
cover of leaves, they lie warm in winter, and, from the quiet
which the truffle beds enjoy, are not disturbed in sammer. The
larvee of many species of beetle (viz. of the Melolontha Der-
méstes pinipérda, M. horticola, M. solstitialis, A’pate capucina),
the maggots of several flies, scolopendre, millepedes, &c.,
penetrate the truffles in all directions, give them a bitter taste,
and often are the cause of their death. That new plantations
sometimes fail is not to be attributed either to a process that is
Cultivation of Truffles. 429
defective, or to the impossibility of completing a good one.
These worms may be the cause that all labour and expense were
applied in vain. That plantations which are new are the most
exposed to these enemies is easy to be explained. «The earth is
not yet sufficiently penetrated by the tannin of the oak, which
is offensive to these kinds of insects, and drives them away.
They are usually brought here by the dung-earth, especially
when it contains parts that are not entirely converted into soil.
For this reason, the frequent turning of the heap of earth is
necessary. If, when this takes place, it be observed that many
worms have established themselves in it, only let there be
mixed in it some unslaked lime, or ashes that have not been
lixiviated, which will speedily kill these animals. For this pur-
pose, the heap must be strewed with a thin layer of lime or
ashes, and then well stirred. The earth may also, some time
before the making of the truffle plantation, be shot into a hot
place, and be completely dried; by which means all the worms
will be destroyed: but, in this case, before making the plant-
ation, the earth must be sufficiently moistened ;' and, from the
drying which it has undergone, it will be found to have lost a
considerable part of its efficacy in manuring.
If, by accident or mistake, the first planting of truffles should
not succeed, there is only by this a whole or half a year’s time
lost; but the bed itself has gained, since, by means of the de-
cayed oak leaves, a richer matter has been imparted to the earth,
so that the truffles removed to it in the succeeding autumn or
spring will succeed better and produce greater numbers. It is
advisable, before the repeated planting of the fungi, to dig over
the place destined for them and to manure it well with oak
leaves. If there be time enough from the moment of the dis-
covery of the failure of the plantation, to the time of replanting
it, this manuring with oak leaves may be twice, or oftener,
repeated. ‘Too much matter from oak trees cannot be accumu-
lated upon the plantation ; since experience informs us that the
taste of truffles growing wild in the woods is more delicate and
aromatic in proportion as they have stood nearer to oak trees,
and have grown in their shade. ‘The same experience has been
repeated in the case of artificial plantations of truffles. He
who bestows much diligence and great care upon such plant-
ations will secure to himself, in a few years, a rich harvest of
well-tasted tubers, and may thank the author of this small
treatise for having helped him to obtain them.
[Our readers will find a short review of the French trans-
lation of this work in our first Volume, p. 320; and some ob-
servations on the culture of the truffle in Vol. II. p. 480., Vol.
III. p. 102., and Vol. IV. p. 262.]
430 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
Art. IV. Floricultural and Botanical Notices on Kinds of Plants
newly introduced into our Gardens, and that have originated in them,
and on Kinds of Interest previously extant in them ; supplementary
to the latest Editions of the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” and of
the ** Hortus Britannicus.”
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing
eight plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c.
Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, each containing
eight plates; 4s. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Lindley,
Professor of Botany in the London University.
Sweet’s British Flower-Garden ; in monthly numbers, each containing
four plates; 3s. coloured, 2s. 3d. plain. Edited by David Don,
Esq., Professor of Botany in King’s College, and Librarian to the
Linnean Society.
RANUNCULA CE.
1631. CLE’MATIS 14472 florida [Pax. mag. of bot. iv. p. 147.
*yar. 3 Sieboldii D. Don Siebold’s — or10 jn P.G Japan 1836 L s.l Swt. Br. fl. gard. 396. ;
“This plant is one of the valuable additions made to our
collections by Dr. Siebold, by whom it was introduced from
Japan, of which interesting country he is now engaged in the
publication of a complete account of the history, social state, and
natural productions.”
‘¢ The present plant,” says Professor Don, “ appears to have
been regarded as a distinct species; but, after a most carfeul
comparison with the ordinary form of C. florida, we are satisfied
of its being only a variety of that highly ornamental species.
The leaves and branches are rather more hairy, and the petals
suffused with violet spots; so that the flower has, in florists’
language, a dark eye. No plant, however, possesses stronger
claims to a place in the flower-garden, from its graceful habit,
‘and from the size and beauty of its blossoms. The plant thrives
best in a mixture of peat and loam, and is increased by layers.”
(Swi. Br. Fl.-Gard., Aug.)
Caryophigllee.
1415. LY'CHNIS
12006a *Bungedana Fisch. & Mey. Bunge’s y A) spl 12 s S China 1834 C p.l Bot. mag. 3594.
Received at the Glasgow Botanic Garden (where it flowered
in a warm open border) from My. Booth of Hamburg, under
the name here adopted, and evidently intended to commemorate
the services, rendered to science and botany in particular, of
Dr. Alexander Bunge, who not only accompanied Professor
Ledebour in his celebrated travels in the Altai, but was attached
to the Russian mission which went to Pekin, during which he
collected many plants in the north of China. It is nearly allied
to L. grandiflora Jacg., and was found by Dr. Bunge in a garden
at Pekin. (Bot. Mag., Aug.)
supplementary to Encyc. of Piants and Hort. Brit. 431
Leguminose § Papilionacee.
$392. HOSA’CKIA
*stolonifera Lindi. creeping-rooted ~ A cu 3 jn R N. Amer. ?1830 S s.l Bot. reg, 1977.
A stoloniferous, hardy, herbaceous plant, with a smooth taper
stem. Among the last seeds sent from California by Mr. Douglas
were some of this plant. It is much larger than any other known
species of Hosackza, forming a stout bush about 3 ft. high, and
multiplying itself readily by its creeping roots. ‘* Although its
flowers are unattractive, it forms a good shrubbery plant, where
it is desirable to give the appearance of undergrowth quickly ;
for it resembles a shrub during the summer, and it spreads so
fast as soon to extend far beyond its original station.” It pro-
duces abundance of seeds in August. The embryo has some-
times three cotyledons. (Bot. Reg., Aug.) {
1985. LUPI‘NUS
*versicolor Lindl. party-coloured yy A or 2 ms B.Y.P California ?1831 S co Bot. reg. 1979.
«¢ A very beautiful perennial lupine, introduced from Cali-
fornia by the Horticultural Society, and hitherto but little
known. It has been called in the Society’s garden a dwarf
Lupinus rivuldris; but the affinity of the species seems to be less
with Z. rivularis than with Z. nootkaténsis, for it has nothing of
an arborescent habit. The decumbent habit of this species
renders it well suited for a bed in a flower-garden: it produces
a great profusion of its pale many-coloured flowers, breathing
the sweet perfume of the field bean during all the months of
May and June, after which it ripens its pods, and remains
shabby for the rest of the year.” (Bot. Reg., Aug.)
Onagrdacee.
1185. CLA’RKIA gaurdides Doug. MS.; D. Don in Swt. Br. Fl.-Gard., 379.; Gard. Mag., xiii. p. 216.
Synonyme: C. rhomboidea Doug. in Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., i. p.214.; Lindl. Bot. Reg., 1981.
Composite.
*BAERI4 Fisch. & Mey. (In honour of Professor Baer, of the University of Dorpat.) [Br. fl.-gard. 395.
*chryséstoma Fisch. § Mey. golden-anthered © el 1 apjn Y California 1835 S co Swt.
** A curious genus of Compdésitee, raised from seeds received
from M. De Fischer, director of the Imperial Botanic Garden at
St. Petersburg, and recorded in the Appendix to the Catalogue of
Seeds of that garden for 1835.” It is a native of the Russian
colony of Ross, in New California, and is nearly related to the
genus Callichroa. (Swi. Br. F.-Gard., Aug.)
Ericacee.
1339. RHODODE'’NDRON 11012 arboreum var. cinnamdmeum Bot. Reg., 1982.; Arb. Brit., p. 1147.
Synonyme: H. cinnamomeum Wall.
Mr. Herbert informed Dr. Lindley that the old white variety
of #. arboreum is hardy, and has stood twelve or thirteen years
in the garden at Spofforth ; whence Dr. Lindley infers that this
variety may also possess the same quality. (Bot. Reg., Aug.)
439 Covent Garden Market.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Arr. I. Covent Garden Market.
Tue market has been fairly, but by no means heavily, supplied during the
last-month. The weather being generally fine and dry, all ripe fruits have
met a steady and regular demand, at prices which may be considered remu-
nerating to the growers. Since my last report, we have experienced two very
high winds, and some considerable showers of rain: the former have caused a
great influx of common apples and pears, blown frem the trees, which have
been literally given away, and had the effect of temporarily depressing the
market; otherwise, the ordinary fruits of the season being in demand would
have been considerably higher in prices. Cherries were much damaged by the
wind and rain; raspberries were almost entirely destroyed by the same cause.
Early summer pears have not been very plentiful, nor have apples been furnished:
very abundantly, in a general way. Of wall fruit we have as yet but little, nor
is the crop generally good. Vegetables generally are in supply quite equal to
the demand: the prospect for them is promising. Potatoes have been excel-
lent, and continue to be supplied abundantly. —C.G. M. Aug. 24. 1837.
The Cabbage Tribe. ee pao Ms Aes Mag 2 i
Cabbage, per dozen : Marjoram, per dozen bunches| 0 3 0/90 0 O
White - - - |0 010] 0 1 8\\Savory, per dozen bunches- |0 2 6/0 0 0
Red a = - |0 4 0]|0 O Oj/Basil, per dozen bunches - |0 3 0/0 0 O
Plants, or Coleworts - - |0 2 0|0 3 0j|/Rosemary, per dozenbunches|9 4 0/0 0 0
Cauliflowers, per dozen - |0 8 0]0 5 Oj|/Lavender, per dozenbunches}0 3 0/0 0 O
Broccoli, Cape, per bunch - |0 9 9]|0 1 O/|Tansy, perdozen bunches - |0 1 0)0 0 0
Legumes. Stalks and Fruits for Tavis,
Peas, fPersieve - - 1/0 30/0 46 Pickling, &€¢.
> Upersack - - |0 8 0] 012 0O|\Vegetable Marrow, perdozen|9 0 6/0 0 8
Kidneybeans, per half sieve Oph Ono a0, Tomatoes, per sieve = 08 01|0 00
Scarlet beans, per half sieve | 0 2 0/0 1 3|/Green Capsicums, perhund. |0 1 6 000
1 Tubers and Roots. Edible Fungi and Fuct.
mex ton = - |315 0/4 0 O|/Morels, per pound - - |016 0;0 0
Potatoes ~ per cwt. - |0 3 6/0 4 Ol\iTruffies, English, per pound | 0 12 0/014 0
dper bushel = (0) #95 )-0)) 2) 0} : :
New, perpound = - = 0) 0 2 0) 0-2) Fruits.
Turnips, White, per bunch- | 0 0 2|0 0 3]|Apples, Dessert, per bushel|:
Carrots, young, perbunch ~ | 0 0 4/0 9 5] Juneating 2 - |0 70/0 8 0
Red Beet, per dozen - |0 0 9]0 1 O}} Red Astracan o = 10 9 0/015 0
Horseradish, per bundle - |0 1 6/0 3 6] Baking - - - |0 30/0 40
: Pears, Dessert, per half sieve :
The Spinach Tribe. Jargonelles = - |010 0/015 0
Spinach, per half sieve - |0 1 01/0 1 6/)| Citron des Carmes S10 So: O1O @ ©
New Zealand : - |0 1 6/0 2 0O)|Peaches, per dozen = 1012 0/1 00
5 x Nectarines, per dozen a O18 Ol wo ©
The Onion Trzbe. Apricots at 3 S08 O10 & C
Onions, for pickling, per half 4 a Almonds, per peck ok dis 0 i 0;0 00
sieve - - - 3 0 4 0 er 2 sieve | 0 0;0 8 O
Leeks, per dozen bunches - |0 1 0/0 1 6 Plums, Dessert, fee punnet|0 0 8]0 1 O
Garlic, per pound - - |0 0 5/0 O 6||Green gages, per punnet - |0 2 0/0 4 0
Shallots, per pound - - 1|0 0 8]|0 010|| Baking, per halfsieve - |0 2 6/0 3 0
A Cherries, per pound :
Asparaginous Plants, Dukes Z - So Ore OO 2
Salads, &c. Florence Heart ae IO2 Glo 3.
Lettuce, per score: Mulberries, per gal. (2 pottles)) 0 0 8/0 1 0
Cos - - 0 1 0] 0 O 0)|Gooseberries, per half sieve O SOO 2
Cabbage’ - : - |0 1 0/0 0 O|/Currants, per half sieve :
Celery, per bundle (12 to 15) 0 09/0 1 6] Black c - - ; 3 e 050
White - - - ORIG
Pot and Sweet Herbs. Red, for wine é SO 1 ONO Oo
Parsley, per half sieve os |O ! OO D & Dessert =) lee S10 8 BO & @
Tarragon, per dozen bunches | 0 4 0|0 0 0)|Filberts, English, per 100 Ibs. | 5 00/0 00
Fennel, per dozen bunches- | 0 2 0] 0 0 0j)|Pine-apples, per pound SO o ONG wy (0)
Thyme, per dozen bunches 0 2 6]0 0 Oj|Grapes, hot-house, per poun 016/0 4 0
Sage, per dozen bunches 0 2 0} 0 0 Oj||Dutch Melons, each oO 1b Gi Os) 1)
Mint, per dozen bunches - |0 2 0/0 0 Oj| English = = - |0 2 6/0 5 0
Peppermint, dried, per dozen Grapes, Lisbon, per pound - |0 0 9/0 1 O
bunches - . - |0 1 0]0 O Oj|/Nuts, Barcelona, per peck 07 0\9 00
THE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
OCTOBER, 1837.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art. I. A Series of Articles on the Insects most injurious to Cultiva-
tors. By J. O. Westwoop, F.L.S.; Secretary to the Entomological
Society of London.
No. 8. THE sMALL Ermine Moru.
Tue injuries to which our fruit trees are subject may be di-
vided into four kinds:— 1st, those by which the young shoots
and buds are destroyed; @dly, those by which the leaves are
affected or consumed; 3dly, those by which the fruit, in a more
or less mature state, is destroyed ; and, 4thly, those by which the
bark is damaged. Perhaps the second of these injuries is of
the most ordinary occurrence, and of the greatest extent; for it
must often necessarily happen, that, should the fruit remain unat-
tacked, the destruction of the leaves will prevent its coming to
due perfection.
Of the leaf-destroyers, the most injurious species are those
which live in society, enclosing themselves in a common web,
which they either enlarge from time to time, or quit for the pur-
pose of forming a larger domicile, in a situation where they can
obtain a more abundant supply of food than in that which they
have left. There are many species of these webbed caterpillars ;
and their effect is sometimes so extensive, that not only is the fo-
liage completely consumed, but the fruit entirely destroyed, and
the branches enveloped in so strong a tissue of webbing, that
the young shoots, which the tree may possibly possess the power
of throwing out, are impeded in their growth, and unable to force
themselves through the web with which the branch is enveloped.
The apple tree appears to be more especially liable to this
species of injury. At the commencement of the month of July
last, I observed this devastation carried to a lamentable extent
in the apple trees with which the road sides between Abbeville
and Paris are planted, and which for miles were completely de-
foliated. The branches were covered with webs, and not the
least portion of green was to be seen; the webs were suspended
Vou. XIII. -- No. 91. Fr
43.4 Insects most injurious to Cultivators : —
from the branches in festoons reaching to the ground, which,
beneath the tree, appeared carpeted with silk, in so remarkable a
manner as to attract the attention of the most incurious pas-
senger. Some kinds of apples, however, as well as the pear
trees, escaped. It appeared, indeed, surprising, that certain trees
should be untouched, whilst the rest were so completely de-
stroyed that it was doubtful whether they would have strength
to throw out fresh shoots. ‘This fact, however, depending upon
the nice discrimination in the taste of the insects, might be bene-
ficially employed, by inducing the planting of those varieties
which appear to be most unpalatable to these destructive crea-
tures. M. Audouin, in one of his lectures* delivered this
season at the Jardin des Plantes, adverted to this circumstance,
and regretted that the old law commanding the inhabitants to
uncaterpillar (décheniller) the trees had been suffered to fall into
disuse.
I at first considered that this mischief had been done by the
caterpillars of the barred tree lackey moth (Clisiocaémpa cas-
trénsis), which, during the preceding month of June, had been
very numerous on the apple and some other trees at Ham-
mersmith; but M. V. Audouin informed me that it was the
Yponomeuta padélla, or small ermine moth of the English col-
lectors, that had attacked these trees; and, since my return, I
have ascertained from Mr. Bainbridge, and some others, that
this moth has been very injurious upon the apple trees round
London. Fortunately, however, we can congratulate ourselves on
its injurious propensities being far less extensive in this country
than in France; for never did I witness in this country such
wholesale devastation as that exhibited by the apple trees be-
tween Paris and Abbeville, mentioned above.
ee Lee (See art. Rose Moths, p. 386.)
Family, Yponomeutidee Stephens. So named from the typical genus.
Genus, Yponometta Fabricius; evidently derived from the Greek word hupo-
nomos (feeding secretly, or a burrow); having allusion to the web-
spinning habits of the caterpillars.
Syn. of the genus, Phale‘na Jinea p. Linn.; Erminea Haworth; Nygmia
Hubner.
Species, Yponomeuta padélla. (So named from Prunus Padus, or bird cherry,
one of the trees upon which it occasionally feeds.)
Syn. Phalz‘na Tinea padélla Linneus; Erminea padi Haworth. (Fig. 117.:
f of the natural size; and e the same magnified, with the wings expanded.)
* I attended several of these lectures (the entire course of which consisted
of about fifty, in which the professor especially treated upon the insects
‘injurious to vegetation) ; and I was gratified at observing the considerable
number and respectability of the audience, whose interest in the subject
was evinced by the copious notes made by many of them. Several ladies
were amongst the number.
Small Ermine Moth. 435
Anterior wings ordinarily of a leaden white, with about thirty
remote minute black spots, disposed somewhat regularly in lon-
gitudinal rows, but on the hinder margin they are more irre-
gular, and tend to a transverse disposition: cilia livid. Pos-
terior wings lead-coloured: cilia rather paler. Extremely
variable: some examples having the ground of the anterior wings
white; others with the costa livid, and the inner margin white ;
some with a livid or pale lead-coloured central cloud; others,
again, entirely of a pale or deep lead colour; and all interme-
diate shades occur: the number of spots also varies. (Stephens
Illust. Brit. Ent. Lepid., vol. iv. p. 243.)
The caterpillar ( fg. 117., g, rather magnified) of this moth
is of an ashy white colour, with a brownish head, and a
number of small black spots, of which the largest form a series
on each side of the body. It has sixteen feet, the three
anterior pairs being articulated, and attached to the three an-
terior segments. The four following pairs are membranaceous,
false, ventral legs; and the terminal pair anal, and also mem-
branaceous. ‘They are below the middle size, and the body
is smooth. In regard to the predilection of this caterpillar for
any particular kind of food, I have already noticed that only
some kinds of apples were affected ; which is the more remark-
able, because its principal food (whence its specific name is de-
rived) is the bird cherry, although the white thorn is also even
more subject to its attacks; whole hedges being sometimes en-
tirely defoliated in summer, and covered with webs, The re-
mark of De Geer and Réaumur (Mémoires, tom ii. mém. viil.
p. 324.), that caterpillars, in general, prefer that particular kind of
plant upon which they were produced, will enable us in some
measure to account for this predilection; but, unless we suppose
that the parent moth always chooses, in like manner, the kind of
tree upon which it had fed whilst in the caterpillar state for the
reception of its eggs, we can hardly account for the fact, that in
one situation the white thorn alone is attacked, and the fruit
trees untouched; whilst in another it is only one kind of apple
tree that is injured.
It is a peculiarity in the history of this insect, that it is not
only social in the caterpillar state (7g. 118. a), but that it retains
its sociality during the period of its pupation (d), the cocoons
FF 2
436 Insects most ingurious to Cultrvators : —
Ci
/ fe
lac ed yf YY is
WY WHOL G
ye 7, sa 5 YYYA
BZ
being formed within the web which had served for the abode of
the caterpillars. These webs are quitted from time to time, and
new encampments established at short distances from each other ;
hence, each brood constructs several webs in the course of its
caterpillar state; the reason of which is, that the caterpillars do
not quit their webs to feed, but only eat such leaves as are en-
closed in each web. ‘The number of inhabitants in a colony
varies from one hundred to two hundred; and, hence, the more
numerous the colony, the more frequently is a change of resi-
dence required. ‘These webs consist of a great number of
threads not unlike spider webs, arranged somewhat irregularly,
but sufficiently loose to enable the inhabitants to be seen through
the covering. The caterpillars eat only the parenchyma of the
upper side of the leaf; they also arrange their threads longi-
tudinally, each, apparently, having a thread of its own, along
which it moves either backwards or forwards without disturbing
its neighbours, which, when in repose, are arranged side by side.
The larger-sized nests include several of the smaller branches
or twigs with their leaves; and some parts are of a firmer tex-
ture than the rest, apparently for resisting the wet. When the
parenchyma of the upper sides of the leaves enclosed in the web
have been consumed, the nest is abandoned, and a new one
made, enclosing a fresh bunch of twigs, each of the caterpillars
spinning a considerable number of threads; and thus, each
colony constructs as many as six or eight distinct webs, dis-
figuring the tree, especially when, as is often the case, there are
Small Ermine Moth. 437
many societies established upon it. The leaves, thus half con-
sumed, wither up, as well as the young branches, for want of
support, and the tree assumes the appearance of having been
entirely scorched up with fire. The caterpillars rarely quit their
nests; but, when alarmed or disturbed, they endeavour to make
their escape by spinning a long thread, and dropping to the
ground. When touched, also, they writhe about with great
activity, and will run backwards nearly as fast as forwards.
When full grown, about the beginning of July, each cater-
pillar encloses itself in a long and nearly cylindrical cocoon of
white silk (fig.117. d), of a leathery consistence; and these
cocoons are arranged side by side at one end of the nest, forming
a mass not unlike, only considerably larger than, a mass of ants’
eggs, as the cocoons of the ant are commonly called. As the whole
of a colony has been reared from one brood of eggs, it is gene-
rally the case that the entire number commence the construction
of their cocoons at the same time, and the whole are generally
completed in the same day. In this cocoon, the insect imme-
diately undergoes its change to the chrysalis state (fig. 117. c);
and its chrysalis, which does not materially differ from those of
other small lepidopterous insects, is of a shining chestnut colour.
It differs, however, from the chrysalides of the leaf-rollers, in want-
ing the tranverse series of hooks with which the abdominal seg-
ments of the latter chrysalides are furnished; and hence, when,
at the expiration of about twenty days, the perfect insect is ready
to come forth, the. insect being unable to work the chrysalis out
of the cocoon, the escape of the imago is effected within the latter,
and the moth, with its wings in an unexpanded state, makes its
way out of one end of the cocoon, after which its wings soon
spread to their full size.
The perfect insects, owing to their very conspicuous appearance,
and their great numbers, are to be observed in the greatest abun-
dance flying over the trees of hedges. In this state, their
only object is to perpetuate their kind. The manner in which
the eggs are deposited, and the young caterpillars developed, ap-
pears first to have been noticed by Mr. Major (Treatise, p. 51.) ;
but subsequently, with more precision, by Mr. Lewis (Trans.
Ent. Soc., 1. p. 22.). The former writer states that, on the 29th
of July, he found the parent coating her eggs over, which she
appeared just to have been depositing, with gummy matter
(employing her tail in the operation), which, when dry, forms a
thin shell or scale, about the eighth of an inch in diameter. On
the 19th of October, on examining the scale, he found twenty-
six caterpillars existing, which he was persuaded had never left
their abode, as at that time all the parts were completely shut
up, and, indeed, the edges of the scale were fast cemented to the
9
EF o
438 Insects most injurious to Cultivators.
branch. He thinks it probable that they may derive some little
support from the sap of the branch under the shell or covering
where they reside; but it is quite clear that they never emerge
from their birthplace to obtain food, or form any additional re-
sidence, till they are influenced by the warmth in the following
spring: —Mr. Lewis takes up the observation where it had been
left by Mr. Major, and states that, about the time that the trees
are coming into leaf, the caterpillars make their escape; but they
do not commence spinning webs immediately : they cannot yet eat
the epidermis of the leaves, and they require some protection
from the cold and rain, which their tender frames are not yet
fitted to endure: to effect this they mine into the leaves, ea ting
the cellular tissue only, and leaving the epidermis untouched.
Having acquired sufficient strength to withstand the vicissitudes
of the atmosphere, and to devour the epidermis of the leaves,
they make their way out; and the anxious gardener, who has
hitherto only observed the brownness of the leaves caused by the
mining, but which is by him attributed to the withering blast
of an easterly wind, is astonished when he perceives myriads of
caterpillars swarming on his trees, and proceeding with alarming
rapidity in their devastating course. The fact of their mining
sufficiently explains the reason of their sudden appearance: it
shows how one day not a single caterpillar may be visible on the
trees, and the next they may be swarming with larvee, of so
large a size as to rebut the idea of their having been recently
hatched.
For the destruction of these insects, various plans have been
recommended. Mr. Major says that nothing more is required
than the application of strong soapsuds forcibly applied with
the engine, so as to break the web, that the suds may reach the
insects. Where the trees are not much infested, gather the webs
including the caterpillars, by hand, and destroy them in any way
most convenient. Care should, however, in these cases, be
taken to kill, and not merely to disturb, the caterpillars. Mr.
Lewis suggests the picking off and burning of the leaves whilst
the caterpillars are in the mining state; the presence of the
insects being indicated by the blighted outward appearance of
the leaf: but prevention is always better than cure, and it seems
to me easier, as well as more advantageous, to destroy the moths
as soon as they are produced, and before they have had time to
deposit their eggs. The generally simultaneous appearance of
the entire brood in the winged state, together with the very con-
spicuous appearance of the moth, will render this a matter of
great facility. A sheet may be laid beneath the branches in the
daytime, which should then be sharply struck with a stick; when
the moths, which at that time are sluggish, will fall into the sheet,
Gardens and Gardening in Durham. 439
and may be easily destroyed; and the destruction of one moth
will thus prevent the injuries arising from one, if not several,
colonies ‘of caterpillars in the following season.
Art. Il. Some Account of Gardens and the State of Gardening in
the County of Durham. By J. B. W.
(Continued from p. 203.)
DARLINGTON is a thriving town, a few miles on the Durham
side of the Tees, which river separates the counties of Durham
and York. Its prosperity is owing, in a great measure, to the
coal trade, for which it is a central dépot, being connected by a
railway with Wilton Park colliery and the port of Stockton, and
by another railway with a village called Croft, whence an ex-
tensive district is supplied with fuel. Several branches of manu-
facture are likewise carried on at Darlington, but not to any
great extent.
Many of the principal merchants and bankers have villas on
the outskirts of the town, to some of which neat gardens are
attached. One of the best of these belongs to Joseph Pease, Esq.,
jun., M.P. This gentleman is a member of the Society of
Friends, of whose creed it is well known to be a leading prin-
ciple to abjure the “ glitter and glare of ornament ;” and the
influence of this principle is as visible in the absence of archi-
tectural embellishment from the exterior of their buildings, as it
is in the simplicity and neatness of their dress. All the mansions
that I have seen belonging to gentlemen of this persuasion have
a great similarity of character: they are plain brick structures,
with, in most cases, an equally plain portico at the chief entrance,
and generally having roses and other flowering shrubs trained up
the walls. Mr. Pease’s house and grounds occupy an angle formed
by the junction of two public roads, which constitute the boundary
line on two sides: notwithstanding this disadvantage, however,
considerable skill is displayed in the laying out of this circum-
scribed space, particularly in placing the plantations so as effec-
tually to hide the view of the adjoining town, and in causing the
paddocks in front of the house to assume something of a park-
like character, by judicious planting, and the absence of con-
spicuous fences. On the lawn, among many of the less common
varieties of Quércus, Crataegus, &c., there is a fine specimen of
the fern-leaved beech, which appears to keep pace in growth with
the common species. ‘lhe hot-houses stand at the back of the
lawn, between the mansion and the kitchen-garden. Stove plants
are grown in one, and in the other is the best collection of pelar-
goniums I have yet seen in the north; but, as the roofs of these
FE 4
“jae then common, and have vines trained upon the
valteis, wey are not well adapted for the cultivation of plants ;
neither do the vines seem to succeed well. Some variously
formed beds in front of and about these houses constitute the
flower-garden, in which there is a good selection of herbaceous
plants, and an excellent assortment of calceolarias, dahlias,
and pansies. Mr. Stephenson, the gardener, is an inveterate
hybridiser, and has raised several distinct and superior varieties
of these flowers, and also of pelargoniums and petunias.
In the kitchen-garden (which is separated from the flower de-
partment by a screen of trees and shrubs), there is a wall of
fine young peach trees, which, when I saw them (June 20.),
were just recovering from the blighting influence of the late un-
paralleled spring. The soil excavated from a pond contiguous
to the flower-garden has been turned to good account in the
formation of a small mound, upon the top of which Mr. Ste-
henson has constructed an exceedingly pretty moss-house.
At West Lodge, late the Residence of J. Backhouse, Esq., the
pleasure-ground is, for a suburban place, extensive; and the
trees it contains bear marks of greater age than those usually seen
at such places. ‘The mansion, too, looks more ancient than any
of the surrounding villas; and the whole place has an expression
of solitude, which a visitor feels more forcibly from its proximity
to a bustling and populous town. A large, but most unornamental,
green-house stands in a corner of this lawn; and joining this
house, at one end, there is a sort of home-made aviary, one
division of which has been clumsily metamorphosed into a
plant-house. But the green-house, although so uninviting in its
exterior, contained, at the period of my visit (June 20.), a large
collection of calceolarias most superiorly cultivated: in fact,
previously to my seeing these plants I had no conception of the
perfection to which the calceolaria might be brought by care and
skill. The general collection of green-house plants is respectable ;
and, among them, I was particularly struck with a beautiful light-
coloured salpiglossis, called there S.striata. On the north side
of the pleasure-ground, a square plot (formerly the kitchen-
garden) is laid out as a geometrical flower-garden ; but the beds
do not exhibit much variety or elegance of form. The divisions
between the beds are of gravel, with box edgings. Herbaceous
plants occupy most of these beds; a few, however, are planted
with flowering shrubs, as roses and fuchsias; and others are
devoted to bulbs, which are succeeded by dahlias or annuals.
There is a small vinery in this department, which is fitted up for
the reception of plants in winter: vines are also grown in the
large green-house ; but, as is generally the case in similar places,
the fruit they produce is not very good.
In the melon-ground I noticed a fine-looking variety of cucum-
Gardens and Gardening in Durham. 444
ber, called somebody’s white-spined. Of melons, the Egyptian
green-fleshed is preferred to all others.
In the kitchen-garden (which stands behind the flower-garden
and the melon-ground) a highly picturesque Swiss cottage has
lately been erected for the gardener, Mr. Lawson.
The mansion is well situated on the brow of a gentle slope,
looking to the east, and commands a fine view of the Cleveland
Hills over the intervening vale. Here there is a very pretty lawn
in front of the house, but no regular flower-garden; and the
kitchen-garden is merely a narrow slip; it, however, can boast
of a wall of the best peach and apricot trees that I have seen for
some years.
A few hundred yards from the last-mentioned place, and pos-
sessing similar natural advantages, is Polam Hill, the residence of
another of the Messrs. Backhouse. But the grounds at this place,
in defiance of their natural capabilities, exhibit a wretched per-
version of taste, or, I should rather say, a total absence of taste,
in the laying out. Seen from a slightly raised grass terrace on
the south front, the pleasure-ground greatly resembles a game-
cover, in which the trees have been planted ‘ without end or
aim,” except for producing shelter. The terrace is continued
along the east front; and a gravel walk leading from it descends
by a few steps into a small geometrical flower-varden on the
north side of the mansion. The kitchen-garden here is of a good
size, and two hot-houses in it contain the best-managed vines
that have come under my observation in the neighbourhood of
Darlington. These houses are heated by hot water, and, in winter,
are filled with pelargoniums and other flowering plants, in the
culture of which Mr. Byears, the gardener, is said to excel.
When the convenience and cheapness of fuel are considered,
it is rather a matter of susprise that the forcing of fruits and
vegetables is so little practised round Darlington. Not one of
the four gardens above described contains a peach-house; nor
does the grape appear to form part of the dessert earlier than the
end of June or the beginning of July. Floriculture, in its many-
coloured mantle, is decidedly in greater favour than its more
substantial relative, horticulture, although its claims to our con-
sideration are unquestionably of a much weaker character. Ido
not sympathise in taste with that celebrated personage who ex-
claimed, ‘“‘ Of all the flowers in the garden, give me the cauli-
flower ;” still the immense importance of fruits and vegetables,
as articles of subsistence, leaving out of view the comforts and
pleasures they afford us, assuredly demands for them the highest
rank in our estimation.
August, 1837.
442 On acclimatising exotic Plants
Art. III. On acclimatising exotic Plants in British Gardens.
By N. M. T.
NotTwiTHsTANDING the small progress that has been made
in acclimatising exotics, it is evident that a numerous class of
these plants, when in proper condition, are capable of bearing
the severity of our winters. Of this fact, the great numbers
that survive the first winter after planting out afford a most
convincing proof; and, by paying a little attention to the subject,
we find that those that die are destroyed by the shortness
of our summer, rather than the severity of our winter. We
often find a plant that has stood several hard winters cut off
in one that is comparatively mild; and, therefore, its death must
be attributed to the condition of the plant, not to the great
degree of cold to which it is exposed.
At midsummer, I planted out several sorts: all of them had
completed their growth for the season; consequently, they had
the rest of the summer to ripen their wood, and form vigorous
buds for next season. ‘Those planted out a year sooner are
in a very different condition: they have merely begun to grow,
and will scarcely have completed their growth before winter ;
it will therefore be found that their shoots are green, full of sap,
and altogether unable to resist any degree of cold. If they are
not completely killed by the first frost, their shoots will be
destroyed to a few of the first-formed buds, which will make an
effort to expand, until the tree is completely worn out. ‘Two
or three years, according to circumstances, will put an end to
this stunted existence. That many plants, when planted out,
will perish, even under the best management, is evident ; still
I consider the rapid decline of many may, in a great measure,
be attributed to the treatment they receive. At the approach
of winter, while yet green and full of sap, they are cooped
up in some sort of covering; where, in a close, putrid, rotting
atmosphere, ready for every frost, they are compelled to
remain (should they survive) until spring. On the first few
fine days that may then occur, the covering is partly or wholly
removed ; lest its shelter should induce the plants to precede
the season. A plant thus deprived of protection, when it is
most necessary to its existence, has its juices chilled and stag-
nated ; the bursting bud, or young shoot, is destroyed ; and the
plant, thus checked in its vegetation, is left to produce a few
green and feeble shoots, late in autumn. Yet a plant, so
plainly destroyed by its treatment in spring, is calmly placed
to the account of the deaths occasioned by the severity of the
succeeding winter. But this treatment ought not, in every case,
to be laid to the charge of the gardener: his employer is often
altogether to blame. The unsightly objects of protection
in British Gardens. 4.43
become unbearable eyesores in spring; and, as such, they must
.be removed, at whatever risk. The gardener, who is thus
compelled to expose his plants, is often doomed to find those he
left rich in foliage, a putrid wreck.
If such a practice so materially shortens the duration of
tender plants, might not one more natural do much to avert
such a calamity ? As many of them are able to withstand our
winters, protection, except in cases of extreme severity, is
unnecessary. But it is of the greatest importance to call them
into early and vigorous action, and thereby to lengthen the
duration of summer, so that they may be able completely to
establish themselves before winter. ‘To accomplish this, I
would extend the winter protection to the roots and stems only ;
and withold the rest until early in the spring. Exotics naturally
commence growing much sooner than our climate, without
some artifice, will admit. Protection, applied at the time they
are thus excited, must be extremely grateful, and in some
it will act like spring. Instead of being removed as the season
advances, such protection ought to be augmented, and every
stimulus applied and continued, until summer be finally esta-
blished, and a recurrence of hard weather out of the question.
Plants thus forwarded would be able to make the most of every
gleam of summer, and would be ready to retire to rest at its
decline.
Such a system of protection would be attended with splendid
results, were the portable glass structures that you have so
often recommended in general use: nothing, but our bigoted
adherence to that which 7s, could so long have kept them from
occupying the station that they must some day hold in the
establishment of the horticulturist. A fixed peach-house or
vinery will probably be as great a curiosity in the next century
as a curvilinear one would have been in the last. Who would
raise an expensive fixed structure, that could be used only half
the year, when a portable one would cost less, and might be
employed to advantage every day? When such a revolution
takes place, it must be a death-blow to curvilinears ; for, with all
their docility, I do not think they could be adapted to the
migratory system. Iam not by any means hostile to curvilinear
houses: I know them to be well adapted to the culture of many
things, according to the present mode; and, were I a pro-
prietor regardless of expense, and anxious for something to
look at, I should most probably raise one with more curves
than ever graced yours at Bayswater. But, were I to erect
what I consider would be most useful, I would not think of
building a fixed glass structure for plants of any sort.
I have by me plans of several of my proposed movable
structures ; and, if you think that they can interest any of your
44.4 Propagation of the Conifere by Cuttings.
readers, they are at your service. [We shali be exceedingly
lad to receive these plans. ]
Should my remarks in the preceding part of this paper meet
your approbation, I hope that, in more forcible language, you
will press them on the attention of your readers: there is
something in the present practice radically wrong.
Folkstone, August 4. 1837.
Art. IV. On the Propagation of the Pine and Fir Tribe, and other
Conifer, by Cuttings. By T. M. Linpsay, Gardener at High
Clere.
From some time previous to the summer of 1835, on to the
present time, I have taken considerable pains to ascertain the
best possible means of procuring plants of those species of Co-
niferse which, at present, are extremely rare in this country, and
yet very desirable; and of the seeds of which there are so many
difficulties attending the procuring and importation, that it is
absolutely necessary for those who wish to have such things, to
devise some other means of procuring them than that of raising
them from seed.
Having been successful in raising a few of the scarcer species,
and also some of the more common, by cuttings, and, with no
great deal of trouble or attention, I have at last arrived at a con-
clusion, that the whole tribe of Coniferge, in the absence of seeds,
may be very advantageously raised by cuttings. The species
that I have raised by cuttings are as follows : —
Ta’xtnm& Richard. A’bie amabilis.
Taxus baccata var. variegata. nobilis.
Pichta.
CuprRE’ssIN& Richard. Picea.
Juniperus rectrva. eee
Tournefértz. Lari ee
expAnsa. arix microcarpa.
maya: Cédrus Libani.
Pp atas A
a Deodara.
; Pinus excélsa.
ABIE TINE Richard. mo nticola,
Abies Morinda. Cémbra
Douglasz. halepénsis.
Menziész. sylvéstris.
oN ot uke oN
Webbiana. ‘ Araucaria imbricata.
Clanbrasiliana. Cunninghamia lanceolata.
I have found the autumn the best time to put in the cuttings ;
and, though the early spring will answer the purpose, I have not
found success so certain at that season. The sort of cuttings I
prefer are the smallest I can select, from 2 in. to 3 in. long, of the
current year’s growth, just as the wood has ripened; say about
a re
Lowering of the large Palm at Hale Hall. 445
the beginning or end of October. The cuttings should be taken
off close, at the commencement of the season’s growth; or if
stripped off, and then cut, so much the better. I have found
silver, or pure white, sand, with asmall portion of peat or heath
mould, answer the purpose better than sand alone. With re-
spect to bottom heat, I have been successful both with and with-
out it; but should certainly say that a little, at a certain season,
was of service, although by no means when the cuttings are first
put in. I would recommend the cuttings, for the first five or six
weeks, to be covered with a bell-glass, and placed in a shaded
part of any house or pit where the thermometer generally stands
about 60°; after which they may have a little bottom heat,
which may be increased until they are rooted. It is doubted by
many, whether plants of Coniferze raised from cuttings will ever
form leaders, like seedling plants, unless a leader be selected
for the cutting. I can only say that all I have raised have formed
good leaders, and many of them have grown 6 in. this season
(1837). Itis well known to many that the common spruce fir and
others will, in certain situations, layer themselves, and from the
points, &c., of their lower branches throw up as good trees as
the original. ‘In the statement of the “Whim Spruce” ({p. 249.),
and also on this estate, we have instances of the common spruce
performing exactly the same thing; and here, in many in-
stances, they have formed the fourth tree from the original, the
situation being quite different from that at the Whim, and an
exposed place on a solid bed of chalk. When layers are
found to form good leaders, I think cuttings are quite as likely
to do so.
Fiigh Clere, July 20. 1837.
Art. V. An Account of the Mode in which the large Palm at Hale
Hall, Lancashire, was lowered Five Feet. By Joun Nickson,
Gardener to J. J. Blackburn, Esq., M.P., at Hale Hall.
Tue following is the method in which the large palm at Hale
Hall was lowered 5 ft. in April, 1834; and I shall feel proud if
ou think it worthy of a place in your Magazine.
The Sabai Blackburnidna (a description and history of which
are given in Vol. V.) becoming too high for the house, I received
permission to lower it, which I accomplished in the following
manner : —
For several months previous to the undertaking, the house
was kept at a low temperature, and water was withheld from the
roots, in order to suspend the growth of the tree, and enable
it to withstand the operation. A drain was also cut, of suffi-
cient depth to keep the foundation dry. I then commenced by
44.6 Mode of training the Sweet Pea.
cutting a broad trench round the wall, which I expected en-
closed the roots, but found they had penetrated through several
fissures to the full extent of the house. Believing the destruc-
tion of these might prove injurious, I had them carefully taken
up, the wall removed, and the roots placed upon the ball, and
covered with mats, to protect them from injury. ‘The trench
was then continued 8 ft. deep, which left the tree upon a square
base of marl, which I caused to be stayed on all sides to keep
it upright. A cut, 18 in. wide, and 24 in. deep, was then made
underneath the roots, from north to south, and one also from
east to west, which reduced it to four pillars, that gradually
gave way by the weight of the tree, as the base of each pillar
was diminished. This was repeated until the tree was brought
(without the least shock) to the required depth. ‘The wall
was then rebuilt, leaving a space of 9in. round the wall,
which was filled with fresh sandy soil, and the roots spread
therein as the wall advanced. This being completed, the
trench was then filled with warm oak leaves, diffusing a mild
heat through the ball, which was watered by a gentle stream,
until the whole mass becamne saturated; the house was then
‘kept warm and moist ; and the tree, thus excited, soon exhibited
a growth at each extremity that removed all apprehensions for
its safety. When the heat of the oak leaves had declined, and
a renewal was no longer necessary, I had them removed, and
the space filled with broken bricks, to keep it dry; upon these a
walk is formed on a level with the surface of the roots, commu-
nicating by steps with the front and back paths of the house.
The sides are supported by rockwork, planted with moss, fern,
and other umbrageous plants, which has certainly improved the
appearance of the palm, and added novelty to the arrangement.
I was informed by many for whose horticultural skill I have
great respect, that I was running great risk of depriving this
country of one of its greatest vegetable ornaments, or, at least, of
bringing on a sickly appearance, if not sudden death ; but, with
confidence in the above arrangements, which I had planned
after long consideration, I persevered, and have now the satis-
faction to see it flowering for the fourth time in its new situation,
and growing as vigorously as ever.
Hale Hall, Aug. 18. 1837.
Art. VI. A Mode of training the Sweet Pea in Flower-Gardens.
By Joun Fyrre, Gardener at Milton Bryant.
THE sweet pea is esteemed by most lovers of the flower-
garden for its rich profusion of flowers, and the delicate perfume
which they put forth after a refreshing shower. We conse-
a Riga wn
Culture of an early Crop of Melons. 447
quently meet with it in most of our flower-gardens, either in
rows or patches, supported in the common way by brushwood
stakes; though this method is very unsightly to the eye of a
lover of neatness and order, making the flower-garden resemble
the kitchen department, from which it ought to be kept quite
distinct.
The method which I have adopted for training the sweet pea
is this: — Having procured a quantity of straight hazel rods about
the length of 6ft., I cut them down the centre, painting them
with light green paint, and place them in the manner shown in
Jig. 119.; fixing them firmly in the
ground, and tying them at the top }
with small twine. When finished in
the above manner, they have a much
neater and more agreeable appear-
ance to the eye of a lover of floricul-
ture, than rough brushwood stakes,
which are so unsightly, and appear
so unsuitable among delicate flowers.
After the hazel rods are fixed in the
above manner, I plant the peas among
some rich stuff along the bottom, in a
row (having previously forwarded them
in a cold frame) ; and, by tying them
neatly to the trellis with matting as
they advance, they will have a neat
and light appearance when the trellis
is covered.
I also think that fuchsias, helio-
tropes, salvias, salpiglossises, eccre-
mocarpuses, lophospermums, cobceas,
tropzolums, maurandyas, rhodochi-
tons, &c., would look very well trained
in the above manner, the height of
the stakes being regulated according to the growth of the
different species.
There are several plants trained in this manner here, and they
have a good effect. The good taste which Mrs. Mansfield
possesses for flowers, induces her to spare no expense in
beautifying and adorning the flower-garden.
Melton Bryant, July 17. 1837.
Art. VII. On the Culture of an early Crop of Melons.
By James CuTHILL.
Ir is always my earnest wish to lay before my brother gar-
deners, any improvement that it may be my good luck to find out,
448 Culture of an early Crop of Melons.
hoping that they will do the same in return. Publicity has done
much for our business these last ten years; but I am sorry to
say that there are some gardeners who condemn all writers and
books upon gardening, and who yet take in all gardening pub-
lications, and very much profit by them, though they never
make known their own improvements. I have been requested
by several of my acquaintances to inform them if I had made
any improvement in the culture of early melons; and I have
taken the only way to inform them that all gardeners should
take; that is, ina public way. The melons that I cultivate for
the first crop are the early Cantaloup, not the golden. Its
greatest weight is about two pounds; its flavour is good when
grown with plenty of sun; but, like all other early fruits
that are forced without much sun, the flavour cannot be ex-
pected to be so good, and more particularly in such seasons as
we have had of late. During the last spring, up to the 13th of
May, we had only 150 hours’ sun altogether. ‘The seeds of
my early melons were sown upon the 30th of January, once
topped, and planted in the pit the 8th of March: they showed
fruit April 1st, and set upon the 5th, which fruit they ripened
upon the 5th of May; and upon the 13th of last May a medal
was awarded for one of mine at the London Society. Now, the
‘grand secret (and when the idea first struck me I was quite
enraptured, well knowing that it was good) is this: — As soon as
the melon was the size of a walnut, I covered it with a
propagating glass, which I filled with sand; and, at the same
time, plunged a thermometer into the sand, which generally
stood about 90°, while the atmosphere of the pit stood about
75°. Later than May, the plan will not answer, because we
allow the lining to get low. ‘The great thing in my improve-
ment is, that the gardener can get early melons whether there is
sun or not. ‘To the above, I shall add a few useful hints. In
the first place, I never top young plants more than twice: if
topped more, they throw out more vine than is wanting; and then
the knife is used, which they dislike above all things. Secondly,
after the hills are first made, I do not add to them, but mould all
over the pit; so that at each moulding the roots are starting
upwards. Thirdly, watering is done in the middle of the day,
in order to steam the plants and to keep down insects, but
never upon the centre, for fear of canker. Fourthly, I prefer
having the fruit a good distance from the roots; as, when the
sap has to pass so many leaves and joints, the fruit are un-
doubtedly better-flavoured. The compost I use is loam and
dung, not too hard pressed.
Dyrham Park Gardens, August 15. 1837.
On the forcing of early Cucumbers. 449
Art. VIII. On the forcing of early Cucumbers in Pits heated by Fires.
By J. Wicutron, Gardener to Lord Stafford, Cossey Hall.
Turis method possesses a decided advantage over the old plan
of beds made with manure, which are very uncertain, and at-
tended with great trouble. Beds made with dung soon lose
their heat, which must be renewed by linings of manure; and
these often burn the roots of the plants. If great care be not
also taken, the steam from the dung will make its way into the
beds, and destroy the plants. ‘The heated vapour from the
dung, when it penetrates the beds, is injurious to the plants;
and, in dull weather, it keeps the beds in a wet state, so that the
plants will become sickly, if they do not decay with damp.
All this is prevented by forcing with fire heat; for the heated
flue prevents the necessity of using linings of manure, and keeps
the pits dry, and free from noxious vapours. ‘There is, also, no
danger of burning the roots of the plants, as the flues are above
the soil. The pits are filled with oak leaves, and thus keep their
heat for a long time.
One of my pits is heated by hot water. This I consider pre-
ferable to brick fiues for pits; because the pipes occupy less
room, the heat is more steady and uniform, and less fire is requi-
site. I keep the pits up to from 60° to 75° of Fahrenheit ; and
use no covering at night, unless the weather be very cold. I
allow one plant only to a light; sprinkle the plants every morn-
ing and evening with water a little warmed; and pour some on
the flues, to produce a steam, which greatly promotes the growth
of the plants.
As old customs are not easily relinquished, various objections
will probably be raised against this method. In the first place,
it may be objected that the expense would be greater than the
old method with manure; secondly, that the dry heat will en-
courage the red spider; and thirdly, that it will never answer to
set a large pit to work in order to raise a few plants.
To the first objection, it may be replied, that, where a good
deal of forcing is going forward, a supply of early cucumbers is
highly desirable; and, if they are grown for sale, they will
amply pay for the expense of firing. Tc the second, I have
used the fire pits for eight years, and never found the red spider
more common than in the old-fashioned beds. ‘They are kept
off by the watering and steaming. To the third, I may observe
that my plants are raised in one of the forcing-houses. Since
this method of growing cucumbers has been adopted, I have
been very successful, and have not had half the anxiety which
was inseparable from the old plan of beds with manure.
Cossey Hall, Feb. 10, 1837.
Vou. XIITI.— No. 91. GG
450 On the Culture of the Pea.
Art. IX. On the Culture of the Pea. By A. Forsytu.
Tue best sorts that I am acquainted with are, the early
frame, early Warwick, Bishop’s early dwarf, Spanish dwarf,
Knight’s wrinkled marrow (tall and dwarf), blue Prussian,
dwarf green imperial, Charlton.
Peas are forced, in pots (about 12 plants in a 16-sized pot),
placed on the shelves, or planted out in the area of the peach-
house, or any other forcing-house where a mild temperature is
maintained; and, if plenty of air can be given, without injury to the
fruit trees, and the pea blossoms can be brought anywise near
the glass, most of the early varieties will succeed well: early
frame and early Warwick I should prefer.
To obtain an early crop in the open border, the simplest and
surest system that I have proved is as follows : — About
Martinmas, sow a bed of peas, as thick as one seed can lie
by another; say, nine seeds in a square inch: at this rate, a
square foot of seed-bed will plant 54 ft. of row, at two plants to
an inch; or, a bed 13 ft. long, and 5 ft. wide, will give plants for
20 poles of ground; and can be protected (see my article on
strawberries) with four mats, erected on a few straight sticks,
which any labourer may get up in one hour; and can be covered,
or uncovered, in one minute. Early in March, they maybe planted
out in drills, 6in. and 3 ft., alternately, apart ; and 1 in. lower
than they stood in the seed-bed.
About Christmas, another sowing may be made in the matted
bed, for a succession, and treated as above; and a third, in the
open ground, about Candlemas, in drills, as above, running
north and south, about 3 in. deep, and three seeds to an inch,
longitudally. A row of plants, of Bishop’s early dwarf, may
be planted in the slip close to the wall, on a south border, early
in March, without being injurious or unsightly, on account of
their dwarf habits: it is a very common and sure-footed rule,
to sow a successional crop as soon as the plants of the preced~-
ing, are lin. above ground. As the plants advance, let the
cround between the rows be frequently stirred, drawing it to-
wards the rows of peas, which, when about 6 in. high, will re-
require to be supported by sticks, corresponding in height with
their respective habits of growth. Peas may be dwarfed a
little, and somewhat forwarded into fruit, by topping their
leaders a little before the blossoms appear. For late peas,
take out trenches, 3 ft. apart, 9 in. wide, and 9in. deep; in the
bottom of these, lay a layer of old hot-bed dung, 3in. deep,
and over this a layer of soil, 3 in. ; then sow the peas as directed
above, and cover them with about 1 in. of soil; give the whole a
good drenching with water ; fill in the rest of the soil, and pass
the roller over the whole square. ‘This stratum of dung, when
thoroughly wetted, will retain a moisture under the peas, which
x
rh
i
Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 451
will prove of the greatest service at this trying season, which
may be from the Ist of June till the middle of July; say three
sowings, June 4. and 24., and July 14. The system of sow-
ing peas onstr ips of turf, in a cold frame, to be planted
out en masse in March, is a beautiful and workmanlike system,
where it can be practised; but even turf, common as it is, is
sometimes both scarce and dear in the suburbs. In ordinary
cases, I should not sow peas in the open ground, where they are
to remain, before February.
Isleworth, January, 1837.
ArT. X. Floricultural and Botanical Notices on Kinds of Plants
newly introduced into our Gardens, and that have originated in them,
and on Kinds of Interest previously extant in them ; supplementary
to the latest Editions of the * Encyclopedia of Plants,” and of
the ‘“* Hortus Britannicus.”
Curtis's Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing
eight plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c.
Eidwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, each containing
eight plates; 4s. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Lindley,
Professor of Botany in the London University.
Sweel’s British Flower-Garden ; in monthly numbers, each containing
four plates; 3s. coloured, 2s. 3d. plain. Edited by David Don,
Esq., Professor of Botany in King’s College, and Librarian to the
Linnzan Society.
The Botanist ; in monthly numbers, each containing four plates, with
two pages of letterpress ; 8vo, large paper, 2s. 6d.; small paper,
ls. 6d. Conducted by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by the
Rev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge.
Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.
The Floral Cabinet ; in monthly numbers, 4to; 2s.6d. each. Con-
ducted by G. B. Knowles, Esq., and Frederick Westcott, Esq.,
Honorary Secretaries of the Birmingham Botanical and Horticul-
tural Society.
RANUNCULA CEL.
1599. DELPHYNIUM 14154 intermédium
*ceruléscens Lindl. downy-leaved Y A or] jl LB .. ?1836 D co Bot. reg. 1984.
A very striking variety of D. intermedium, with the palest
flowers of any that Dr. Lindley is acquainted with, and perhaps,
also, the tallest stem. The leaves have their base decidedly
truncate, as in D. palmatifidum B. #., 1963., which is another
variety of D. intermédium. There are plants in the Horti-
cultural Society’s Garden. (Bot. Reg., Sept.)
GG 2
A452 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
Caryophillee.
1388. SILE‘NE 11627 compacta
Synonyme : S. purpurea Knowles & Westcott, Flor, Cab. 42. A
A hardy annual, growing to the height of about 3 ft., covered
with a glaucous hue; branched towards the top, where the
flowers, which are in dense heads on short pedicels, assume a
livid purple colour, more or less intense. It is a beautiful and
free-flowering annual, continuing in bloom from the beginning
of June till the end of August. It requires no particular soil,
and ripens seeds freely. If sown in the autumn, it will endure
our ordinary winters, and come into flower in May; and, sown
late in spring, the plants will continue flowering till killed by the
frost. (Zor. Cab., Sept.)
Oxalidee.
1414, O/X ALIS £398-
*alba D. Don white-flowered § A pr 2 my W ? America 1836 O co Swt. Br. fl.-gard
*“‘ Nearly related to QO. bipartita of the FZ. Brasil. Merid. of
A. de St. Hilaire, but in that the scapes are dichotomous,
bearing from three to seven flowers; the sepals biglandose at the
apex ; the stamens monadelphous, with the longer ones toothless,
and the styles combined at the base.” Its native country is not
known; but it is probably American, being nearly allied to O.
bipartita and divérgens. ‘The plant was received, by Dr. Neill
of Edinburgh, from Mr. Lawson, seedsman cneres who had it
from Messrs. Henry Storr and Sons, florists, Haarlem. The
leaves have a singular appearance, being ternate, with the leaflets
deeply bipartite, and the divisions linear and divaricate, and
2in. long. (Swt. Br. £.-Gard., Sept.)
Leguminose.
1258 EUTA’XIA
*Baxter? Knowl. & Westc. Baxter’s % t_] pr 6 .. Y N. Holl. 1830 C s.pl Flor. cab. 43.
« An evergreen, and by no means handsome in its growth,
being naked until near the top of the stem, when it sends off
several long rambling branches; but, notwithstanding, its foliage
and inflorescence form a pleasing addition to the green-house.
The plants are rather disposed to run too high; to prevent
which, and to form bushy plants, the leading shoots should be
often topped during summer. Leaves opposite, or in threes,
leathery, inversely Ounie. mucronate, veined. Flowers axillary, in
threes.” (lor. Cab., Sept.)
Rosdacee.
1535a. *COWA‘NIA D. Don. Tae Cowanra. (In honour of the late Mr. James Cowan, who, in th
capacity of a merchant, had occasion to visit Peru and Mexico, whence he introduced a numbe
of interesting plants, then new, to our collections.)
*plicata D. Don plaited-/eaved pr 2 jn R Mexico ... D sp Swt. Br. fl.-gard. 400.
Cowanraé. Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5. Ovaries 5—14. Ovule
erect. Styles terminal, continuous. Achenia awned with the
plumose persistent styles. Kmbryo erect. Evergreen, leafy,
much branched shrubs; natives of Mexico. Leayes lobed, co-
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 453
riaceous. Stipules adherent. Flowers terminal, solitary, almost
sessile; red, and very handsome. (D. Don.)
Spec. Char., §c. C. plicata. Leaves wedge-shaped, oblong,
pinnatifid, plaited. Ovaries 14. (D. Don.)
“‘ A rigid, evergreen, decumbent, much-branched shrub, about
2ft. high, and furnished with a dark-brown bark. Branches
copiously clothed with stalked glands, scaly below from the re-
mains of past leaves. Leaves cuneately oblong, pinnatifid,
plicate, half an inch or more in length, dark green; minutely
glandular and shining above; white and downy beneath with
adpressed cottony pubescence. The nerves prominent. Lobes
varying from 5 to 7, short, obtuse; the margins revolute and
occasionally toothed. Petioles very short, slightly channelled
above, sheathing at the base. Stipules adherent; the free apices
subulate, hairy, green, shorter than the adherent portion.
Flowers terminal, solitary; when in the bud state, exactly like
those of Aosa. Peduncles scarcely a nail long, cylindrical,
thickened towards the apex, copiously downy and glandular,
and furnished at the base with a single, linear, acuminate, chan-
neled, glandular bractea. Calyx turbinate, hollow, copiously
downy and glandular; tube glabrous, shining, and green within;
limb 5-parted, spreading; segments ovate, acuminate, entire.
Petals 5, obovate, double the length of the calycine segments, of
a rich lilac. Stamens 72, disposed in many series. [*ilaments
capillary, glabrous, white, pink at the base. Anthers cordate,
yellow, bilocular; the cells parallel, and opening lengthwise.
Ovaria 14, free, arising from the centre of the torus, which is
seated at the bottom of the calyx; oblong, clavate, copiously
silky. Styles continuous, short. Stigmas terminal, simple,
yellow, minutely papillose. Achenia about 8, turbinate, silky,
crowned by the persistent feathery styles, which are 13 in. long.”
“We have seldom,” Professor Don remarks, ‘had an op-
portunity of laying before our readers a subject of equal interest
and beauty with the present, which is not only a new species,
but an entirely new genus, to our gardens. It was raised by our
zealous friend Mr. Thomas Blair, gardener to Mr. Clay, at
Stamford Hill, from seeds picked from a specimen collected by
Captain Colquhoun in the Uplands of Mexico. It promises to
be sufficiently hardy to endure our winters in the open air; and,
as it is an evergreen shrub, with a peculiar habit, and large
showy blossoms resembling a small rose, it must be regarded
as the most valuable addition made to our gardens for some
years past. ‘The genus was originally founded by us in the 14th
volume of the Linnean Transactions, upon another species, col-
lected in the same country by Sessé and Mocino, and which is
distinguished from the present one by its tripartite leaves with
entire lobes. The genus is exactly intermediate between Dryas
GE 3
454 HMoricultural and Botanical Notices,
and Purshza; differing from the former in the quinary arrange-
ment of the floral envelopes and definite ovaria; and from the
latter, in the more numerous achenia, crowned by the persistent
feathery styles.” (Swt. Brit. Fl.-Gard., Sept.)
Loaseze.
2194. BLUMENBA‘CHIA [Bot. mag. 3599.
*multifida Hook. wmultifid-leaved * © ori jln Gsh. R.and Y Buenos Ayres 1826 S r.m,
This new Blumenbachza was first detected by the late Dr.
Gillies at Buenos Ayres; and Sir W. J. Hooker noticed his spe-
cimens, preserved in his herbarium, under the name of B. insignis,
at t. 2865. of the Botanical Magazine. Since that discovery, Mr.
Tweedie has gathered the same plant in the Pampas of Buenos
Ayres, and seeds from him have been raised in the Glasgow
Botanic garden. ‘The plants flourish extremely well in the open
border, and preserve all the characters of native dried ones; so
that there can be little doubt of the species being distinct from
B. insignis. It is much the stronger growing plant of the two;
and the leaves are much larger, 5-partite in a palmated manner ;
the middle lobe the longest, but all of them bipinnatifid, and
wrinkled upon the surface. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
1478. MENT ZE‘LIA
*stipitata Dec. stalked ye AJ or 2 o Y Mexico 1835 C s.1 Botanist, 34.
The present species is a native of Mexico, whence it was sent
by Mr. Bates to the Liverpool Botanic Garden, and flowered in
the green-house there. The flowers of all the species hitherto
known are orange-coloured, and only expand when exposed to
strong direct solar light, and continue in bloom only a few hours,
but follow each other in rapid succession. They are devoid of
perfume. The hairs of many species, and of Blumenbachza
insignis, secrete a pungent juice, much more potent than that
of the nettle ; and, as it is probable that this property is possessed
by some mentzelias, it is prudent to avoid touching them care-
lessly. A mixture of sandy loam and peat seems to suit this
plant best. Leaves alternate, exstipulate, petiolate, somewhat
lobed or angular; pointed at the top, with large unequal teeth ;
both surfaces hairy; upper surface deep green; under, lighter.
Flowers large, orange-yellow, solitary. (Botanist, Sept.)
Lobeliacez.
609. LOBE‘LIA 5103 syphilitica
_var: *hybrida Hook, Y A or2 jn.0 B we oe C s.p Bot. mag. 3604.
Synonymes : L, specidsa, and L. Millerz Hort.
“‘ There are few more beautiful hybrid vegetable productions
than the present, which, though known in our gardens by a |
peculiar specific name, as if it were a legitimate individual, is
now universally acknowledged to be the offspring of L. syphi-
litica on the one hand, and of some scarlet-flowering species (L.
falgens, or cardinalis, or splendens) on the other. It is quite
hardy, growing, in the open air, to the height of 2 or 3 feet;
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 455
blossoming through the summer months, and continuing in great
beauty, till cut off by the autumnal frosts.” (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
Gesneraceze.
1698. GE/SNERA
*Lindleyz Hook. Lindley’s y (A) s.pl 2 jn.jl. S.Y Brazil 1825 C pi Bot. mag. 3602.
Synonyme: G. rutila atrosanguinea Lindl., Bot. Reg., t. 1279.
** ‘This is a very striking plant, handsome in its foliage and in
its flowers; which latter, though each is but of few days’ duration,
are succeeded by others in the same whorl for a considerable
length of time. Leaves alternate, entire, or laciniate, rarely fis-
tulous. Flowers in racemes, terminal or axillary, solitary. Pedi-
cels bibracteate or naked. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
Convolvuldcee.
492a. *PHARBITIS Chois. Tur Puarsitis. (From pharbé, colour; on account ‘of the elegance and
variety of colour in the flowers.)
*diversifolia Lindl. 3-lobed _4 10] pr 5 jn s B.R Mexico ?1836 R co Bot. reg. 1988.
A very pretty little half-hardy annual, about half the size of
the common Convélvulus major, of which it has very much the
appearance. It differs, however, in constantly producing, at the
latter part of the year, 3-lobed leaves, instead of entire ones; so
that specimens of the same plant, collected at different seasons,
would be thought essentially different. In the first stage of its
growth, it is like P. hispida; at the next, it resembles P. hedera-
cea, only that the calyx and inflorescence are distinct. Leaves
cordate, acuminate. Flowers purple, with blood-coloured radii.
(Bot. Reg., Sept.)
Solanaceae.
588a, GRABO’WSKIA Schlech. 4694 boerhaaviefolia (Crabowskia G. Don.)
Synonyme : L¥cium boerhaaviefoliwm Linn, ; Ehrétéa halimifodlia L’Herd¢. ; L¥cium heterophfilum
UrTAY-
** A spiny scrambling shrub, with singular, fleshy, glaucous
leaves, which give it a gray appearance, like triplex Halimus.
It is hardy enough, in the garden of the Horticultural Society,
to live out of doors against a south wall, where it does not suffer
at all in moderate winters: even in the last severe one, it was
not much injured. Notwithstanding the dull aspect of both
leaves and flowers, it forms a pleasing appearance when mixed
with other and greener plants. It is a native of Brazil, where
Sellow found it in the fields and woods of the southern provinces,
a common shrub, growing from 6 ft. to 10 ft. high. It is also
found in Peru. Leaves obovate, somewhat wedge-shaped at
the base. Flowers opposite, solitary. Calyx fleshy, rather
irregular, often laterally cleft. Corolla pale, lead-coloured, im-
bricate in zestivation; segments reflexed at the margin; veins
green, reticulate at the base; 5 series of succulent articulated
hairs occupying the neck, filaments, and tube of the corolla.
Disk orange-yellow, fleshy, quickly absorbed by the growth of
the ovary. Ovary fleshy, 4-celled; ovule solitary, spherical,
ascendant in each cell; style simple, glabrous ; stigma thickened,
Gat
456 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
green, bending downwards at both sides, scarcely 2-lobed.”
(Bot. Reg., Sept.)
In the Arboretum Britannicum, p. 1274., a plant is stated to
have stood out, for several years, in the Epsom Nursery, in the
open garden; from which it appears to be as hardy as Lycium
europe um.
Scrophularidcee.
1783. MI’”MULUS
var. Harrison¢a@nus Paxt.
«This showy hybrid is the result of impregnation between
M. cardinalis and M. roseus, it having been obtained from seeds
of the latter, the flowers of which were impregnated with the
pollen of the former.” Raised by Messrs. Low and Co. of the
Clapton Nursery; and is, in all probability, quite hardy. (Paz.
Mag. of Bot., Sept.) ‘This, and M. Hédsonz, noticed p. 333.,
will probably form two valuable additions to the flower-garden,
not only from the brilliancy of their colours; but because, by a
little judicious cutting and watering the root in dry weather,
they may be kept in flower all the summer. All the mimuluses
will grow in any common soil, kept moist; but a sandy loam
appears to suit them best.
Labiate.
£1693. SCUTELLASRIA 15290 alpina hes
*sanguinea D. Don red Y A ori jno R ... 1835 D p.l Swt, Br. fl.-gard. 399.
** The plant is a hardy perennial, easily increased by division.
Like the other varieties of alpina, it continues in flower for a
considerable time; and, from the size of its blossoms, and its
dwarf habit, it is equally entitled with them to a place in the
rockwork, or front of the flower border.” ‘There are plants in
the Birmingham Botanic Garden. Stems procumbent, 3 in. to
5in. long. Leaves ovate-oblong, crenated, 3 in. long. Flowers
with large bracteas; the calyx and the bracteas both purple co-
loured. On the whole, this appears a most valuable addition to
the flower-garden. ‘The English name, skullcap, given to this
genus, is a translation of the Latin word Cassida, the name ap-
plied to it by Tournefort. (Sw. Br. £l.-Gard., Sept.)
Primulacee.
451. PRYMULA
*ventista Host neat ~ A or ap.my P Hungary 1833 D sl Bot. reg. 1983.
Synonyme: P. Freyeri Hoppe.
Brought from the Botanic Garden, Vienna, by the Hon. W.
F. Strangways. It is distinguished from P. auricula by its
smooth toothletted leaves, long-tubed calyx, and purple flowers.
It is a native of the hilly parts of Hungary, and the crevices of
rocks at Krain, near Idria. (Bot. Reg., Aug.)
Orchidacee.
9554. EPIDE/NDRUM { [D_ p.r.w_ Bot. mag. 3595.
*coriaceum Parker MSS. coriaceous-leaved € [7] orl ... Gsh spotted with P Demerara ...
This plant was sent from Demerara, some years ago, by C.
Parker, Esq., to the Liverpool Botanic Garden. It was at first
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 457
considered a variety of E. variegatum Bot. Mag., 3151.; but Sir
W. J. Hooker thinks that it is distinct. (Bot. Mag., Aug.)
9593. CYMBI’DIUM 22636 ensifdlium [reg. 1796.
*estriatum Lind. streakless y [A] fra 22 jn.o Gspotted with R China ... D l.p Bot.
*“‘ It is a very easy plant to cultivate, requiring nothing more
than good green-house management, when it produces quantities
of its slightly fragrant flowers in the spring. C. xiphiifolium,
with spotless pallid flowers, is very near this species, and is, per-
haps, a variety.” (Bot. Reg., Aug.)
2530a. MONACHA/’NTHUS discolor [mag. 3601.
var. *viridiflora Hook. greenish-flowered & [A] orl au G Demerara ?1835 D p.r.w Bot.
‘“‘ Like so many of the epiphytal Orchidez, the present species
is probably liable to considerable variation. ‘Three plants of it,
received at different times from Demerara, have all proved dif-
ferent in colour, and somewhat in the shape of the flowers.
All are eminently singular, and deserving of cultivation.” (Bot.
Mag., Sep.)
2580. CYPRIPE‘DIUM | i [ Bot. reg. 1991.
*purpuratum Lindi. purple-flowered YY A orZ n P Malayan Archipelago 1836 R s.p
Imported by Mr. Knight of King’s Road, Chelsea. Its
leaves are most like those of C. ventstum ; but are more oblong,
and far less rigid, besides having a pallid colour. (Bot. Reg.,
Sept.)
*MACROCHI‘LUS Knowles & Westcott. Macrocuitus. (From makros, long, and chedlos,alip; in allu-
sion to the unusual size of that part of the flower.) [cab. 45;
*Frydnus Knowles & Westcott. Fry’s € (A) orl .. R.andG Brazil 1835 D pxrw Flor.
This plant, which is perfectly new to this country, is a native
of the Brazils, whence it was received, with many other rarities,
by the Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society, in the
autumn of 1835. ‘The flower is strikingly handsome; the deli-
cate cream-coloured sepals and petals presenting a fine contrast
with the unusually large and beautifully marked labellum ; and,
upon the whole, it cannot fail to be regarded as an elegant and
most valuable addition to our present stock of orchideaceous
plants. It should be planted in rough sandy peat, mixed with
a considerable portion of fine drainers, using, also, plenty of drain-
ers at the bottom of the pot. ‘The creeping stems, from which
the pseudo-bulbs grow, ought to be entirely upon the surface.
To facilitate increase, the stems may be cut half through (which
will cause young shoots to be sent out), and, finally, cut through
a month or more before dividing. (for. Cab., Sept.)
Amaryllidacese.
975. HABRA’NTHUS 28907 Andersonz
*var. 5texanus Herb. Texian ¥ AJ orl .. Y Texas 1834 O s.1 Bot. mag, 3596.
Of this pretty Habranthus four varieties are noticed by Mr.
Herbert in the Botanic Register, all, apparently, from Monte
Video. ‘The plant,” Sir W. J. Hooker observes, *“‘ must have
an extended range. I possess specimens from Buenos Ayres,
gathered by Tweedie; from Araucania, South Chili, by Mr.
Reynolds; and Mr. Drummond sent the species from Texas
458 Floricuitural and Botanical Notices.
which Mr. Herbert has pronounced to be the same,” (Bot.
Mag., Aug.)
Liliaceae.
1017. TULIPA [reg. 1990.
*scabriscapa Strangways Yrough-stemmed § A or2 apmy R.Y Italy 1837 O rm Bot.
The tulip, in its cultivated state, assumes appearances so un-
like what are proper to it when wild, that it is only after long
and patient investigation that garden varieties can be referred
to their original species. Mr Strangways’s residence at Florence,
and the enquiries he was able to institute on this subject, have
enabled him to investigate the genus successfully; and he has
characterised four varieites of 7. scabriscapa; viz. Z. s. primu-
lina (Lady Hawarden’s tulip), Z. s. strangulata, Z. s. mixta,
and J. s. Buonarrottidna, which might be taken as the wild or
original of the Van Toll, or Dutch sweet-scented tulip.
“¢ These four tulips agree in the form of the flowers, which are
elegantly cup-shaped ; petals pointed, though less so than in 7.
O’culus solis; germen prismatic; stigma overhanging, not so large
as in Gesnerzdna ; bulb smooth; scape rough, pubescent, or even
hairy in strong plants, in which they differ from all other tulips.
The petals of all have two strong furrows down the middle.
Their leaves are glaucous, more or less undulated. ‘They may
possibly be the original stock of a tribe of second-rate garden
tulips, neglected for the more showy varieties of T. Gesnerzana,
which are met with in some of our gardens, and which betray
their origin by their pointed petals, honey smell, and more or
less pubescence on the stalk. Of these garden varieties, the Van
Toll has been noticed. ‘Those that are in cultivation at Florence
are either the improved 7. s. mixta, or a large very double sort
of a mixture of white, pink, and green-pointed petals; short
scape, smooth as far down as one or two green or party-co-
loured leaves, like bractee, and rough below them, where the
true scape begins ; the upper smooth part with its leaves (de-
tached petals) being, in fact, a monstrous elongated fiower; also
some English or Dutch pink or lilac, and white, with pointed
petals, and stalks pubescent towards the base: that called the
early Edgar is one of this set. In cottage gardens in the west of
England are often seen two varieties that can only be referred
_ to this class of tulips: one is exactly the strangulata of Florence,
with a perfectly smooth stalk ; the other, a handsome variety of
the same, having the black and yellow eye of 7. O. solis, from
which, however, it differs in every important character. These
pointed-petaled tulips are frequently introduced into Italian
paintings; and in the gallery Gualtieri at Orvieto are six ob-
long pictures of flowers, with the date 1614, in which many of
these tulips are represented, besides other flowers, with the Italian
names of that time.” (Bot. Reg., Sept.)
General Notices. 459
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Art. I. General Notices:
ReEw’s new Hydraulic Engine (fig. 120., to a scale of 1in. to 1 ft.)
— Our readers are aware of the important improvement made by Mr.
Reid in the garden syringe, in 1819, by the introduction of the ball-valve,
almost the only description of valve of which it may be said that it never
goes out of repair; and that it will continue to act perfectly for a life-
time, or till the materials of which it is composed decay. Mr. Reid has
recently made a great additional improvement in this syringe, by which it
is, in effect, turned into a garden engine; the difference between a com-
mon syringe and an engine being, that the latter forces out the water in
one continuous stream. Mr. Reid’s improvement consists
in an arrangement by which a volume of air is compressed
to an indefinite extent, by the working of the piston for
forcing out the water, and without any sensible increase of
Tin WY labour to the operator. The manner in which this effected
ii will be understood by the diagram
il Jig. 121.; in which a is the piston
i and cylinder, as in the common
syringe; 6, a case in which this
syringe, and also the discharge-
tube (c), are enclosed ; d, asmall
hole in the side of the discharge-
tube; and e, a valve at the bottom
of the discharge-tube: f is a
| valve to the suction-tube, by
which the water is drawn up
from a watering-pot, pail, or any
120. jill other vessel. On the motion of
drawing up the piston (a), the
il water enters by f; while, by
Ht pushing down the piston, the
valve at f is closed, and the :
water is forced up the valve at e, :
into the discharge-tube; but, as
some more water is forced into this tube than can pass
i through it, it escapes, by the small opening at d, into the
vessel ofair in which the working barrel and the discharge-
tube are encased. As the air cannot escape from this vessel, it
is necessarily compressed by the water which enters through
the small opening at d; and, consequently, when the piston
(a) is drawn up, and no longer forces the water up the
discharge-tube (c), the action on that tube is kept up by
the expansion of the compressed air which shuts the valve
at e, and, consequently, forces the water along c.
A great beauty in this arrangement is, that no exertion of
the operator is lost; nor can he exert himself without pro-
ducing a corresponding result ; for if, by rapid and powerful
action he drives much water into the air-vessel, the greater
degree in which the air is compressed will force the water with the more
rapidity through the discharge-tube (c). In this way, it may be said that the
superfluous exertion of the operator is not only saved, but turned to powerful
account in producing a continuous stream. Mr. Reid states that this saving
of labour is one third as compared with other engines of the kind.
Fig. 120. shows a general view of the engine, to a scale of 14 in. to 1 ft.; by
which it appears to be 3 ft. in length; and the outer casing is 23 in. in diameter.
It weighs between 5lb. and 6lb.; it works with remarkable ease, and is
Ezz
—
iS)
a
460 General Notices.
warranted by Mr. Reid to last a lifetime. By the addition of a flexible tube
of 4ft. in length, it becomes an excellent veterinary syringe, and, as such, will
be nearly as useful to a farrier as to a gardener. Like Mr. Reid’s common
syringe, it is also valuable for aiding in the extinction of fires newly broken out :
for which purpose we have recommended it in our Suburban Gardener, to be
kept in every house, in a particular place, familiar to all the occupants of the
house ; and we keep one ourselves, at the back of our entrance door. — Cond.
Mr. Gowan’s Mode of grafting the Vine. — After relating my success inthe
herbaceous grafting of A\bies Smithidna (Morinda) on A’bies excélsa, I cannot
omit noticing the important discovery of grafting vines by Mr. Gowan, at
Cadder House, by Glasgow. He is a most unassuming man ; and, in my opinion,
has not yet had that attention paid to him that his merit deserves: indeed, I
was a little sceptical in my opinion of the matter; but, in March, 1836, J had
a few kinds grafted, and two of them bore fruit the same season ; and that year,
on application to the Horticultural Society of London, a few cuttings of vines
were sent to this place, and grafted at the end of March. Some of the shoots
are now 10 ft. long, and will be in fine condition for bearmg next year. Is
this not of importance in old established vineries, where any new sorts are
wanted ? The success in grafting vines depends on the time, which appears
to be when the young shoots of the stocks have advanced from 15 in. to 18 in.
long; but, as Mr. Gowan has given a particular description of his method
(p. 117.), it would be improper for me to advance any thing more upon the
subject. — James Smith. Hopetoun House, July 1.1837.
Heracleum perénne. — The Scotch newspapers, particularly those of Ayr,
are directing public attention to a new species of Heracléwm, or cow-parsnep,
introduced from Siberia, by our amiable and intelligent friend Mr. Smith of
the Ayr Nursery. “ Its qualities for feeding, especially dairy stock, have been
proved by many respectable individuals to be very superior; and its bulk of
herbage far exceeds that of any vegetable yet known in Brita. It is very
hardy, and from 4:to 5 weeks earlier than any other plant in cultivation in this
country; which alone adds to its value beyond price. Such an acquisition of
early feeding in backward springs will prove of incalculable benefit, as it grows
freely upon any soil, and is easily managed. Mr. Smith sows it im drills, and
treats it in the same manner as lucerne. It is a true perennial, and the older
the plant, the more vigorous is its growth, and the greater the bulk of vege-
table matter which it produces.” (Ayr Advertiser.)
Rhubarb Jelly. — At the Caledonian Horticultural Society’s show, held on
July 12., a new and interesting article of confectionary was exhibited in the
Council Room, and tasted by many of the company. This consisted of jelly
and jam made from the tender leat-stalks of a peculiar variety of red rhubarb,
cultivated in the Society’s Garden. The flavour was considered equal, if not
superior, to that of currant jelly, and it may be prepared in the spring, three
months before currants are ripe. The Society’s honorary silver medal was
unanimously voted to Mr. James Macnab, who has the sole merit of
introducing this novelty. (Scotsman, July 19.)
Rhubarb Wine. — The leaf-stalks of the giant rhubarb, cut into pieces as if
for tarts, and bruised with a wooden mallet to express the juice, will make a
delicious wine, quite equal to green gooseberry, and very closely resembling
champagne. — J. W. L.
Keeping of Filberts.— This being the nut season, I may as well inform
ou that a dish of filberts, the growth of 1835, was exhibited in our garden, on
the 2d of this month, by J. Johnson, Esq., of this town. His experiment was
most successful, for the kernels of most of them were sound, and of good
quality. A prize was awarded to Mr. Johnson on the occasion. The filberts,
when perfectly ripe and dry, are packed, with their husks on, in earthen jars ;
a layer of salt is spread over the surface ; a piece of brown paper is fastened on
to exclude the air ; and they are kept in a dry cool cellar. The Turkish method
of preserving filberts (Gard. Mag.,iv. p.307.) is somewhat akin to the
above. — A. Campbell. Manchester, August 15. 1837,
Foreign Notices : — France. 461
* The Wood of the Phillyrea is, perhaps, next to box, the best for wood-en-
graving. Ihave used it for this purpose with entire success, with the advan-
tage that blocks of large size can be had of it, without joining. It works quite
as well as box; and, for hardness and durability in printing, seems to be but
little inferior. — Samuel Hassell, Littleton, near Somerton, August 1. 1837.
Fibre of the Pine-apple Plant.— At an evening meeting at the Gallery of
Practical Science, M. F. B. Zincke explained the advantages that would be
derived from the use of the fibre obtained from the leaf of the pine-apple plant
in the textile fabrics of this country. The fineness and strength of the fibre
was shown by experiment, and specimens of it prepared, both plain and dyed
of various colours. M. Zincke also advocated its cultivation, as giving a new
value to West India property, which, he said, was now suffering, and was
likely to suffer still more, from the dislike evinced by the emancipated negroes
to engage on any terms in the sugar cultivation. M. Zincke explained that
the cultivation of the pine-apple plant required but little labour or expense ;
that it was but little affected by the casualties of weather, which so often prove
so detrimental to other crops; that the machinery necessary for preparing the
fibre from the plant was of the simplest kind; that every part of the process
could be managed either by Europeans or negroes ; and he calculated that it
might be delivered in England, exclusive of profit or duty, at 4d. per pound.
(Atheneum, June 17. 1837.) The foregoing paragraph being copied into L’ Echo
du Monde Savant, a French periodical, has had its meaning quite altered, from
translating pine-apple plant by the term Coniferes.
To render Fuci and Lichens edible. —'The Royal Society of Arts for Scot-
land, among their prizes for 1837-8, have offered the silver medal, value five
sovereigns, “ for a mode of depriving the mucilage of fuci and lichens of
its disagreeable taste and odour.” (See Scotsman, August 9. 1837.)
Plants rich in Potash can never be petrified. — Hence, only trees and shrubs
occur in a fossil state, and never herbaceous plants. Shrubs occur more rarely
than trees ; because, though they contain less potash than herbaceous plants,
yet, when calcined, they yield more than trees. (Goppert on Fossil Plants, and
on the Process\of Petrifaction, as translated in Jameson’s Journal, July 23, 1837.)
Art. II. Foreign Notices.
FRANCE.
Paris, July 4. 1837.— I send you herewith a Monograph on the Genus Ca-
méllia, by my friend the Abbé Berléze, under secretary to the Horticultural
Society of Paris; and I think you will agree with me, that this little work 1s
one of the best that has been published for guiding both amateurs and gar-
deners as to the choice and culture of that beautiful shrub. Secondly, I
send you three polemical letters of mine, relating to the encouragement given
in this country to agriculture. It was in consequence of these letters, and
another addressed to the king, and which was sent to the ministers, that the
Minister of Public Works decided on offering a prize for the best elementary
works on agriculture, for the use of children educated in the public schools
in the French provinces. [also send a chapter on the parterres in old French
gardens, extracted from an Encyclopedia of Gardening, which some of my
friends and myself have undertaken to publish in France, in imitation of your
English one: but we are not here seconded, as you are, by the rich proprie-
tors. The taste for elegant horticulture is absolutely extinct in France; ana,
as a proof of this, there is not one single stove or green-house in or near
Paris that deserves the name, except those of M. Rothschild. There is no
knowledge here of the beautiful plants necessary to form the collection of an
amateur; and to this is joined a parsimonious spirit, which thinks every thing
“too dear.” The Parisians preter using their fuel to cook palatable dishes,
rather than to keep rare plants; and, when the price of any one of these
exceeds a crown, they will not even look at it. — Soulange-Bodin.
462 Foreign Notices : — France.
Summary of Subjects proposed for Prizes by the Agricultural Society of France
at their Meeting in July, 1837.—{ i. To be decided in 1838. For the introduc-
tion of organised and mineral manures. For the translation of useful works
on agriculture, written in foreign languages. For biographical notices of per-
sons who have rendered benefits to agriculture. For works, essays, or practical
observations relative to veterinary surgery. For essays on practical irriga-
tion, and information respecting the statistics of irrigation in France. For
information respecting the cultivation of apples and pears for perry and
cider, in France. For an essay on the uses which may be made of the dead
bodies of animals, killed by accident, or which have died of diseases in the
field. For a hand threshing-machine, which, without breaking the straw
more than the flail, shall separate the corn and winnow it with the greatest
economy. For the best method of forming Artesian wells. For a rasp for
preparing potatoes for making flour and starch. For a system of a rotation
of crops without a fallow. For plantations of mulberries, and for rearing silk-
worms, in those departments of France into which they have not yet been
introduced. For the extraction of sugar from the beet-root, in small esta-
blishments. For the discovery of a simple method, which might be practised
by small cultivators, for preserving corn from insects ; for stopping the ravages
of insects when the corn is already attacked; and for good observations on
the natural history of the msects which attack corn. For the draining of
wet clayey soils. For the composition of elementary works on agriculture,
for the use of children in the national schools.
§ il. Zo be decided in 1839. For the imitating, in France, of the best
Dutch, Cheshire, and Parmesan cheeses. For the best method of prevent-
ing or curing the diseases of silkworms. For observations, founded on ex-
perience, on the best method of harnessing oxen.
§ iii. Zo be decided in 1845. For plantations of cork trees on sandy or
bad soil, in the south of France, made before the end of 1838.
§ iv. Zo be decided in 1848, For the propagation of good kinds of fruit
trees by seeds.
§v. Zo be decided in 1850. For plantations of any of the three follow-
ing kinds of oak, all of which may be employed in dyeing : — 1. Quércus tinc-
toria, the quercitron, or yellow oak, a native of North America (see Ard.
Brit., p. 1884.) 2. Q. infectoria, the gall-nut oak, a native of Asia Minor (see
Arb. Brit., p.1928.); and, 3. Q. AZ’gilops, the Valonia oak, indigenous in
Greece. (See Arb. Brit., p. 1861.)
Insects destructive to the Vine. — The mayor of the commune of Argenteuil
has written to the Academy of Sciences on the subject of an insect which,
for many years, has devastated the vines in that commune. This insect, or
maggot, was observed in the year 1783, and disappeared some years after-
wards. Twenty-four years later, it reappeared, and caused like ravages during
from six to ten years. It has recently returned, and increased so fast, that at
present it occupies about three fifths of this territory, leaving complete deso-
lation behind it. This insect, after having gnawed the leaves, and injured
many of the grapes, envelopes itself in one of the leaves, and there under-
goes itsmetamorphosis. The damage done by it this year cannot be estimated
at less than from 500 to 600 francs. The larva changes into a moth in July,
and deposits its eggs on the vines in September, which come forth in the May
of the following year. MM. Duméril and A. Saint Hilaire, being appointed
by the Academy to verify the damages stated in the letter of the mayor of
Argenteuil, visited this locality, and have made a report of their examination.
For a considerable space, they saw all the vines stripped of their leaves, and
dried up. The greater part of this destruction is caused by a well-known
Pyralis, which, in the caterpillar state, rolls up and twists the leaves, and
causes them to wither. M. Duméril placed before the Academy this insect
in the state of larva, chrysalis, and moth, as well as the eggs: but two other
insects have also attacked the grapes, and contributed to the destruction of
the vine in this place. (L’? E’cho du Monde Savant, Aug. 2.'1837.)
Acclimatising Plants at Hiéres,in the South of France.— M. Rantonnet, hor-
Foreign Notices :— France. 463
ticulturist at Hiéres, has published some curious observations on the inten-
sity of the last winter’s frost, and on the damage which it has caused in
Provence. The frost commenced December 26. The thermometer already
indicated 2° below zero; on the 29th, it fell to 5°; and on the 31st, to 42°:
there was then a little snow, which lasted three days. The frost diminished to
the Ist of January; and, from the 6th to the 10th, the weather set in fair,
and continued so until the 23d of March. The frost then returned, and there
was tolerably thick ice. On the 10th of April, there was snow still seen on
the mountains, at three leagues from Hiéres. At Hiéres, the lemon trees,
the bergamottes, the citron tree, the great lemon, the mellarossa, the
lumies, limes, &c., all suffered so much, that it was necessary to cut them
down to the roots. Among the exotics which perished, are noticed the Echi-
nus candicans, Clethra arborea, Visnea Mocanéra, Acacia lophantha, Cassia
tomentosa, Phlomis Leontrus, Eucalyptus diversifolia and obliqua, Solanum
betaceum, Gréwia orientalis, Linum trigynum, Cineraria platanifolia, Ficus
elastica, and all the date trees from the age of three to six years, The Ery-
thrina Crista-galli also died, as well as the climbing plants trained against the
walls; such as the Técoma capénsis, Jasminum grandiflorum and azéricum,
Cobe‘a scandens, Phaséolus Caracélla, and Délichos lignosus. The Casuarina
equisetifolia, Melaleuca linarifolia, Nérium spléndens and Album, and Schinus
Molle, scarcely suffered at all; but the young plants of these latter mentioned
were completely killed.
The bamboo, the Acacia farnesiana, Pittésporum nanum, Salvia formdea
and mexicana, Solanum auriculatum, the guava (Psidium pyriferum), and
Brugmansia suaveolens, nearly all died. As for Acacia latifolia, Hibiscus
mutabilis, Lantana Séllowi, Citrus bizzaria and myrtifolia, they scarcely suffered
at all.
The tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke, which are harvested generally in
January and February, were frozen, Usually, they sell at 10 or 15 centimes the
dozen; but there are so few this year, that they are 1 franc 80 centimes the
dozen.
The following plants escaped without suffering any injury :— Menispérmum
Jaurifolium, Cistus créticus, Baddlea salvifolia, Ceanothus czrileus, Vibirnum
sinénse, Cassia corymbosa, Daphne Delphinw, Hakea australis, Acacia flori-
banda, Yucca aloifolia and gloridsa, M/¥rtus communis flore pléno, Tarentina
variegata, Nandina doméstica, Eriobétrya japdnica, Correa alba, O‘lea fra-
grans, Phormium ténax, Convélvulus olezfolius, C. Cnedrum, and Andropogon
squarrosum, cultivated in the open field, which, on the 6th of April, were
visibly growing.
At Toulon, the winter was more destructive than at Hiéres. Many vege-
tables, which resisted the cold at Hiéres, died in the Botanic Garden of the
former town.
At Draguignan, Trans-Brignolles, places situated fifteen leagues from the
sea, the thermometer fell to 70°, and some olive trees were damaged : but this
tree can support 8° of cold.
To conclude, at Nice they had snow for eight days. The oranges were
frozen upon the trees ; but the trees themselves did not suffer: only some feet
of lemons, bergamottes, and lumies (kinds of Citrus), were a little hurt. M.
Rantonnet saw there, in the governor’s garden, on the 5th of January, a
cobcea covered with fruit and flowers, (L’ E’cho du Monde Savant.)
Paris, April 9. — My journey on the Continent having taken up more time
than I anticipated, I shall be unable to pass through England on my return
home, as I intended when I left London. I went from Holland (by the
Rhine), through Prussia and Baden, to Geneva, and found Switzerland much
better cultivated than I expected. The peculiarity, and, I may say, the ex-
cellency, of the agriculture in that country consists in good ploughing, great
care, judicious application of manure on the crops, and irrigation of meadows
and pasture grounds. I found France, also, much better cultivated than I
had a right to expect, from the article I read in a late number of the Ldinburgh
464 Foreign Notices : — Germany.
Review. The wheat especially in France, looks uncommonly fine. It appears
to me that France is emphatically a wheat country.. Their mode of ploughing
on the Continent, as far as I have travelled, seems to me, however, to be any
thing but economical : it is the same as that I saw in some parts of England ;
that is, a wheel plough, and from three to five horses en suite. But the Swiss
and French farmers turn up a very good furrow ; the plough itself (aside from
its ridiculous appendages) being well adapted to its purpose. I really wish
it were proper for me to notice this ridiculous part of European husbandry
in a way it deserves. It is possible I may give it a passing notice on my return
to the United States. I regret exceedingly that I must forego the pleasure
of visiting London again, and spending a day or two with you.— 4d. D.
Spoor.
Nepénthes distillatoria. — A plant in a stove at Montmartre was observed to
have one of the pitchers half full of water, which the gardener, having tasted,
found sweet, with the flavour of honey. A statement of the fact was sent to
the Paris Horticultural Society, m August, 1837. (L’ E’cho du Monde Savant,
Aug. 5. 1837.)
GERMANY.
MM. Tischke, son of the court gardener to the King of Saxony at the
Japan Palace, Dresden, is now in this country, and has already made a
general tour, including Scotland and Ireland, with the great advantage of
recommendations to the nobility and gentry, procured from the ambassador
of his country, resident in London. M. Tischke, like M. C. Rauch, M. F.
Rauch, M. Rosenthal, M. Antoine, and other German gardeners, lately or
now in England, has not only taken time to see all our best gardens, but has
taken pains to acquire a competent knowledge of the English language ;
so that when he returns, by means of English books, he will always be able
to keep himself aw fait at what is going forward in the gardening world in
Britain. ,
MM. Wolf, the curator of the Botanic Garden of the University of Wurlz-
burg, one of the most scientific gardeners, as Dr. Martius informs us, of the
south of Germany, has lately spent upwards of a month in this country, and
visited, in company with M. Antoine of Vienna, all the principal garden
establishments in the neighbourhood of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and
Dublin, as well as the botanic and horticultural gardens at Birmingham,
Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, and the gardens at Eaton Hall, Chats-
worth, Woburn Abbey, and various others. He returns home through
France and Belgium; and we hope to hear from him, from time to time, with
the gardening news of his country.
M. Sckeil, the director-general of gardens to the King of Bavaria, has
lately published a description of the royal gardens and pleasure-grounds under
his direction, accompanied by a beautifully lithographed plan of the gardens of
Nymphenburg, with all the latest improvements.
Counsellor Von Hazzi, who may be considered the father of modern agri-
culture in Bavaria, who was in England in the summer of 1836, has lately
published his Tour in this country, in two thin 8vo volumes. M. Hazzi is
a highly enlightened and benevolent man, and of the most unwearied activity
in the publication of works calculated to improve the agriculture and
domestic economy of his country. — Cond.
Koller’s History of Insects injurious to Cultivators, and to the Proprietors} of
Forests and Plantations.—I rejoice at being able to send you a book which
will be the more interesting to you, and other horticulturists, as it contains an
elaborate account of insects injurious to vegetation, the injury they commit,
and the most practicable modes of destroying them; for which a wish has
been expressed in several numbers of your Magazine. This work is the
joint labour of three gentlemen, who have great practical knowledge, and par-
ticularly M. Schmidberger, a priest of St. Florian, near Linz, who is one of
the first pomologists in Austria, and perhaps in Germany. Had I a little
Foreign Notices : — Holland. 465
more time than I have at present, I should be most happy to communicate
what little knowledge I possess on this subject; and also to send you speci-
mens of those insects which have been so injurious to our gardens round
Vienna this spring. The Curctilio pyri, C. pomorum, and Péntia cratze‘gi,
appeared in such numbers, and destroyed every bud so immediately atter its
appearance, that, until the middle of May, the trees were without bud or leaf.
Even now these butterflies are so plentiful, that there is a bad prospect for
next year, although we searched for them in all their various metamorphoses,
and still catch thousands of them in the mornings and evenings, when they are
crowded together on different flowering plants, especially on Valeriana rubra,
Delphinium Ajacis, and Philadélphus sp. I intend making a collection of all
these injurious insects, and putting them into a frame and glass, for the in-
spection of those who may be desirous of knowing them. This will enable
young gardeners to know them at once, and at any time; and, by reading their
different distinctive qualities, any one may easily remember their forms; which
would not be the case, if a person were left to observe them in their different
states and seasons alone; therefore, I would recommend such a collection in
every garden. — C. Rauch. Rennweg, near Vienna, July, 1837.
The very interesting and valuable work above referred to by M. Rauch
was published by the Agricultural Society of Vienna, who have also sent us
a copy of it. It is now being translated for us, and will very shortly be pub-
lished, in as cheap and convenient a form as possible, for the use of young
gardeners. M. Rauch’s idea of forming collections of destructive insects, in
glazed cases, for the use of gardeners, is excellent, and we hope to see it
adopted by many of our readers. — Cond.
HOLLAND.
Prizes offered by the Academy of Sciences at Haarlem, which held its eighty-
fifth annual meeting on the 20th of May last. The Academy’s gold medal, and
a gratuity of 150 florins (12/. 16s. 3d.), were awarded to Dr. C. F. Gaertner of
Calew in Wurtemberg, for a Memoir in German, on hybrid plants, obtained by
the fecundation of certain species with the pollen of others.
The Academy proposes the following Questions to be answered before January
1. 1839: —What are the different species of marine animals which destroy
piles, and other wooden structures, by perforating them? According to certain
botanists, some algze, of simple structure, if placed in favourable circum-
stances, will develope themselves, and be changed into vegetables quite dif-
ferent, and belonging to genera much higher in the scale of organisation,
though these same algae, if not in favourable circumstances, would be fecun-
dated and reproduce their primitive forms. The Academy is desirous that these
observations should be extended to other vegetables, which have not yet been
examined under this point of view; and that the truth or falsity of this transi-
tion of one organised body into another be proved by exact descriptions and
detailed figures. It has often been observed that some plants, in certain cases,
give out a phosphorescent light, such as Tropze‘olum, Caléndula, Lilium bulbi-
ferum, TYagétes, Huphérbia phosphorea, Rhizomérpha, &c. The Academy
wishes that, from researches made on purpose, this phenomenon may be ex-
plained; that it may be determined how much of what has been said on this
subject is to be admitted as true; under what circumstances the phenomenon
takes place; and what is the cause?
The following Questions were last Year proposed by the Academy, to be an-
swered before January 1. 1838 : — How is wood formed ? Does it take its origin
immediately from the sap, or from the cambium under the bark; or is it formed
by the vessels which descend from the buds and the leaves, as the observations
of M. Du Petit Thouars, and of M. Giron de Buzareingues, seem to prove ?
What application can be made of a knowledge of the true manner in which
wood is formed, to the culture of useful trees? The Academy desires, Ist,
an explanation, illustrated by figures, of the metamorphoses of at least fifty
species of coleopterous insects, the metamorphoses and economy of which
Vou. XITI.— No. 91. Wu
466 Foreign Notices: — Denmark.
are not yet known or described; 2dly, a methodical arrangement of coleop-
terous insects, founded upon the metamorphosis of the structure of the larvee
and chrysalides; 3dly, instructions, based on a knowledge of the metamor-
phoses, for preventing the too great increase of these noxious insects. How
much has been proved, by experience, with respect to the utility of a circular
incision, in form of a ring, made in the bark of trees, for the purpose of aug-
menting their fertility ? How far can this manner of augmenting the produce
of fruits be explained, conformably to the actual state of vegetable physiology ;
and what rules does this explanation furnish for effecting the process, without
endangering the trees, or running the risk of losing them ? What is the nature
of chlorophylle (phyllochlore, chromule) in vegetables ? What is its form and
composition ; and in what character does it differ from other vegetable matters ?
Ts it different according to the kind of plant ; and what constitutes this dif-
ference ? What are the circumstances by which, during vegetation, it is pro-
duced, or changed, or modified, in plants ?
The prize for each of these questions is a gold medal, value 150 florins, and
a gratuity of 150 florins, when the answer shall be deemed worthy of it. The
answers, written in Dutch, French, English, Latin, or German, are to be
addressed to M. Van Marum, the secretary to the Academy. (L’E’cho du
Monde Savant, July 15. 1837.)
DENMARK.
M. Petersen, gardener to the King of Denmark at Rosenburg, who made
a tour through England, and part ef Scotland, in the year 1831, was in this
country during great part of the month of July last, and has returned home
through France, Belgium, and Germany. M. Petersen having spent five or six
years in this country, before he was appointed court gardener to his sove-
reign, not only acquired a thorough knowledge of all the newest gardening
practices in the neighbourhood of London, but such a knowledge of the English
language as enables him, while in his native country, to keep pace with the
progress of improvement in England by means of English books. When M.
Petersen returned to Denmark in the year 1827 (see Gard. Mag., Vol. III.
p- 346.; and Vol. IV. p. 274.), gardening was in such a backward state, that an
inhabitant of Britain now hardly credits the facts stated by M. Petersen, at that
time, in the Gardener’s Magazine ; viz. that tart rhubarb was not known there as
a culinary vegetable ; that not a single pine-apple had been ripened on the 3d of
September, 1827,but some were expected to be ready by about the middle of that
month. The first melon was cut on August 30., and the first grapes only a tew
days sooner; mushrooms and sea-kale were not at all cultivated; most of the
New Holland plants were unknown, even in the botanic gardens; and the only
new North American annual grown there at that time was the Callidépsis
tinctoria. Such was the state of gardening of Denmark in the year 1827. In
the course of 10 years, things have been entirely changed. Every culinary
vegetable grown in English gardens is now produced in the royal kitchen-
gardens at Copenhagen; many of the best varieties of hardy fruit trees have
been not only introduced in the royal gardens, but even propagated in the
public nurseries; almost all the fine herbaceous plants, annuals, and perennials,
sent home by Douglas, have been introduced, and some of them are beginning
to appear in the gardens of merchants. Pine-apples are cut in the royal
gardens every month in the year; and some of them of such a size (M.
Petersen being a disciple of the late Mr. Shenan, and keeping his plants, as all
plants without buds ought to be kept, in a continually growing state), that
we are afraid to state the weight; and, finally, a horticultural society has
been established at Copenhagen. All this has been effected through the
agency of M. Petersen, than whom we do not know a single individual, in any
country, who (without the advantages of birth, rank, or fortune, and simply
on account of his holding a public situation, and being a lover of his country,
and enthusiastically attached to gardening) has effected so very remarkable a
change in so shorta time. The greatest reward which such a man as M.
foreign Notices: — North America. 467
Petersen can receive is, doubtless, the consciousness of having done so much
good: but we trust his royal master will, by some means, be rendered aware
of the very extraordinary merits of M. Petersen; and how much he, in com-
mon with his subjects, is indebted to him for the introduction of what will
eventually prove of so much real good to the country. There is no one who does
not benefit from the introduction of new and improved culinary vegetables and
fruits, from the peasant to the prince; or any garden, whether that of a cottage
or a palace, that will not be increased in beauty by new flowers. Besides this,
there is a moral influence in gardening improvements, of far greater importance
than the mere physical enjoyments that they afford. A taste for peaceful
occupations is created; reflections on the works of nature are induced ; man
begins to enquire and to read; he becomes humanised, and so far cultivated
as to look upon his fellow creatures in other countries as his brethren ; and, as
a consequence of this, he will soon learn to loathe that scourge of the human
race, war. — Cond.
NORTH AMERICA.
Carouie, near Quebec, the seat of William Atkinson, Esq., is mentioned in
Vol. TX. p. 161., by our valued correspondent Counsellor Hart of Montreal.
The proprietor, Mr. Atkinson, is now in England, after having made the tour
of France, Italy, and Germany, and collected every where plants, seeds, sculp-
tures, pictures, books, and other objects for enriching and ornamenting his
beautiful seat. He describes Carouie as situated on a piece of table land on
the top of a precipice 200 ft. high, and flanked by a wooded mountain range.
From the windows of the balcony of the principal front of the house, the
shipping in the harbour of Quebec is distinctly seen. A part of the grounds,
called Spencer Wood, was occupied by the troops under General Wolfe when
he attacked the town. The trees in the park, from what Mr. Atkinson stated
to us, appear to be chiefly the white and red oak, and the hemlock and white
spruce. The house is built of hemlock spruce ; and the walls are so constructed
as to admit of a free circulation of air from the bottom of the masonry to
the eaves. Though built upwards of a century ago, the interior of the walls is
as fresh as if they were newly put up. It seems the hemlock spruce begins to rot
at the centre of the trunk; and, to prevent this, the trees were sawn up the
middle, so as to expose the centre to the air. After placing one tree on
another, to the height of the wall, in the usual manner, both the inside and
the outside were battened with pieces of quartering from 1 in. to 6 in. in thick-
ness; and to these the weather-boarding outside, and the laths for plastering
inside, or the wainscoting, when that mode is employed, are nailed in the
usual manner. A concealed opening is left under the lower weather-board,
and at the eaves of the roof; in consequence of which, there is a constant cir-
culation of air between the outside weather-boarding and the inside wains-
coting, or plastering. Mr. Atkinson, from whom we hope to hear frequently,
has an excellent Scctch gardener, Mr. Melville, who, we trust, will be induced
by his master to become a regular correspondent. The principal botanist in
the neighbourhood of Quebec, Mr. Atkinson informs us, is Mrs. Shepherd.
Mr. Atkinson’s kitchen-garden is 4 acres in extent, and contains a range of
glass 300 ft. long. The dwelling-house, a beautiful lithographic view of which,
and the surrounding scenery, was presented to us by Mr. Atkinson, is connected
with a splendid conservatory.
Shell-bark Hickory Nuts and the Black Wainut. — You did net mention the
receipt of the large hickory nuts I sent you in the summer of 1835 ; and, there-
fore, I send now a few real shell-bark hickory nuts, which are double the size
of any I ever saw before. These grew in New Jersey. The hickory nuts I pur-
chased in the Pittsburg market, in September, 1834. The shell-barks, large
or small, are delicious; whereas the meat of the black walnut, as you remark
in the Arboretum, is “ scarcely eatable.” The reasonis, that the kernel abounds
with oil ofa strong taste. I think that the remarks you have quoted (p. 1429.)
from Michaux, of the black dye from the walnut husks, and of the oil obtained
HU 2
“468 Domestic Notices : — Lingland.
from the kernels, refers to the Jtglans nigra solely. In Pennsylvania, many
mills are employed in crushing these nuts to make oil for painters, who use it for
mixing up with paint for inside house work. I know, also, that the husks are
extensively used for dyeing brown and black, by the German farmers, and others
in the interior, who think it more economical to make their clothing from their
own wool than to purchase foreign cloth.
The Washington Chestnut. — Having engaged, last autumn, a plant, from the
tenant of Belmont (the former seat of Judge Peters), of the sweet chestnut the
growth of the tree the nut of which was planted by President Washington, I
went, a few days since, and brought it away, with another growing beside it.
The man assured me that he found two nuts under the original tree, in June
last, in a state of vegetation, and planted them in a safe place; and that from
these came the plants I purchased. I must keep them until a vessel offers
direct for London from this port. Washington planted the nut the day after
his period of service as President expired; viz. March, 1797. He attended the
inauguration of President Adams, his successor, and dined the same day with
Judge Peters. °
The Silk-Grower’s Manual. — IJ also send the Stik Manual, published by
Congress, in 1828, which I prepared for Mr. Rush, then Secretary of the
Treasury, who was charged with the duty of procuring one. I thought I had
previously sent it; but I suppose I did not, as I find that no notice is taken of
the many facts it contains on the genus /Zorus, in Nos. 30. and 31. of the
Arboretum ; or of the culture of silk in this country while colonies of England.
Maple Sugar. — I send, also, some maple sugar, made from the sugar maple
of which tree there are whole forests in the United States, though it is not
‘‘ cultivated”? there, as was said by Dr. Kidd in his Bridgewater Treatise. —
James Mease. Philadelphia, April 17. 1837.
AUSTRALIA.
Elizabeth Bay, near Sydney, the residence of Alexander M‘Leay, Esq., for
many years secretary to the Linnzan Society, is described in a work recently
published at Sydney, by the late Mr. Shepherd, a landseape-gardener and
nurseryman there, as one of the finest places he has seen either at home or
abroad. Mr. Lawrence, a surgeon, who has just returned from Sydney, speaks
of it to. us in raptures. We hope, in some future Number, to be able to give a
plan and views of Mr. M‘Leay’s residence; and, what will be particularly
interesting to European readers, a catalogue of the trees, shrubs, and plants,
including even grasses, which form its verdant scenery. We regret to observe,
that Mr. M‘Leay is no longer Government Secretary ; but, as he appears to have
lost the office in consequence of some misconception of the Governor at Sydney,
we have no doubt that the government at home will speedily restore it to him,
should he be inclined -to remain in Australia. We are gratified by.observing
it stated in the letters which passed between the government and Mr. M‘Leay
on this subject, and which are printed for circulation among the friends of the
latter, that he enjoys as good health as ever he did at any period of his life.
To those who know the extraordinary activity, both of body and mind, of Mr.
M‘Leay, while he was in this country, and his now advanced age, this will be
considered as no small recommendation of the climate of Sydney — Cond.
Art. III. Domestic Notices.
. ENGLAND.
M. EvcE\NE MELINON, who has been two years in this country, -chiefly
under Mr. Paxton, in the gardens at Chatsworth, has lately made a tour in
the North, and been with Mr. M‘ Nab, and Mr. Stewart Murray. He will
shortly return to the Paris garden; and, as he understands English
thoroughly, will have great advantages there.
MM..Le Roy, sons of the nurseryman of that name at Angers, are now
BET Ee
Domestic Notices : — England. 469
in this country on a working tour, to acquire gardening information, and the
language.
The Gardens of Buckingham Palace are undergoing great improvements and
alterations by direction of Her Majesty. Upwards of 200 workmen are em-
ployed in diversifying and planting the grounds from the rear of the palace to
the triumphal arch entrance at the top of Grosvenor Place. (Newsp.) It
would indeed be contrary to nature, if an amiable and enlightened young
woman were not fond of flowers: and attachment to gardening follows as a
matter of course. We trust that, under Her Majesty’s auspices, a general re-
form will be commenced in the royal parks and gardens, and that in these will
be included the substitution of an open iron railway for the present unsightly
wall which forms the northern boundary to Kensington Gardens. This wall
is a very great public nuisance, from a little way to the west of the Victoria
Gate, Bayswater, all the way to Silver Street, Kensington Gravel Pits. We
trust that it, and also the present kitchen-garden attached to Kensington
Palace, will not be lost sight of by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests.
The kitchen-garden ought, undoubtedly, to be joined to the pleasure-ground ;
and as to the forcing-ground, as there is no part of the royal family would
ever think of walking into it, we would have that and the adjoining barracks
thrown into the gardens also. It is now just as easy to purchase pine-apples
and melons to any extent which the royal family, or any other, might want,
from the London shops, as it is to purchase apples or oranges: witness the
numbers that are produced on the occasion of any public dinner. Mr. John
Aiton, the present kitchen-gardener at Kensington, would, of course, receive a
compensation for the loss of his situation in the event of our wishes being
realised.
Kew Gardens. — The illiberal system established at Kew Gardens by Sir
Joseph Banks, whereby the rare plants collected there were hoarded with the
most niggard jealousy, and kept as much as possible out of the sight of any
enquirer, led, in the first instance, to a feeling of satisfaction whenever it was
known that the garden had been plundered, and some of its hidden treasures
brought into circulation ; and the indifference with which such thefts were
regarded, if they were not actually winked at, by cultivators, led to such great
laxity of conduct, that, until the practice was stopped by a prosecution,
every private collection became exposed to like depredations; and the false-
hoods that were told to cover the theft occasioned a great deal of confusion
concerning the native habitation of plants introduced at that period. It was
the narrow-minded doctrine of Sir Joseph Banks, that he could only render
the king’s collection superior to others by monopolising its contents ; and by
so doing he rendered it hateful and contemptible; whereas, if he had freely
given and freely received, and made its contents easily accessible to those
who were interested in them, it would have been a pleasure and a pride to
the nation. It is now near twenty years since I have visited that odious and
useless establishment. Formerly, I went there often, but always in vain; for,
if I enquired for any rare plants which I had reason to believe were in the
collection, except those which, from their size, could not be concealed, my
conductor always denied any knowledge of them; and, if I asked whether I
could speak to a person better acquainted with the plants, I was told that I
could obtain no further information. The multitude of rare plants that have
flourished and perished there unobserved I believe to be very great. 1 owe
no thanks to that establishment, but for the mere permission to walk straight
forward through the houses. I must do Mr. Salisbury the justice to say, that
he repeatedly remonstrated with Sir Joseph Banks in vain on the subject.
(Herbert's Amaryllidacea, p. 247.)
When I spoke (p. 247.) of the evil consequences which flowed from the
bad system pursued there, tending to loosen the ties of morality, and to
create a feeling of satisfaction when it was known that cuttings had been
stolen from the large plants hoarded there, by which the public were enriched
without any perceivable loss to the collection, I should, perhaps, have stated
HH 3
470 Domestic ‘Notices : — England.
for fear of misconstruction, that, far from justifying, I much lamented such a
feeling ; and I observe that I have incautiously admitted a stronger expression
concerning the unpopularity of the principle on which that earden has been
conducted than I should wish to have used. (Herb. Amar. p. 410.)
A Zoological Institution, Museum, and Garden, for the County of Kent, is, we
rejoice to observe by an advertisement i in the Mor ning Chronicle of August. 23.,
about to be established. The situation is about half a mile to the westward
of Gravesend. A handsome new pier has already been erected by the pro-
prietor of this and the adjoining ground, to be devoted exclusively to the
visitors of Rosherville. None but ‘houses of the first respectability are to be
built in the neighbourhood. The gardens are encompassed by chalk cliffs of a
vast height, around which a splendid promenade is to be made for the visitors.
The animals, plants, &c., will be procured under the direction of gentlemen,
most competent and experienced judges of zoological and botanical science.
The grounds will be laid out by a most eminent artist. A capital of 10,0007.
is to be raised by debentures of 20/. each.
Dr. Mac Fayden, President of the Horticultural Society of Jamaica, whose
name our readers must have frequently seen in this Magazine, is now in this
country, superintending the printing cf the Flora of his adopted island. The
doctor has been the means of successfully introducing the aracacca plant to
the Glasgow Botanic Garden, where it is growing vigorously. Dr. Mac
Fayden is of opinion that this vegetable will, in all probability, soon be added
to the number of our culinary esculents. The root is about the size and
colour of that of the parsnep; and it has nearly the same flavour. We hope
to receive some account of the mode of treating the plant in the Glasgow
Botanic Garden from our friend the curator, Mr. Stewart Murray.
Mr. Charles H. J. Smith, landscape-gardener, Edinburgh, is now on a tour
in France, Belgium, and Germany, for improvement in his profession.
Vicinity of Trees to Highways. — An important decision, under the General
Highway Act, was given at the Guildhall, Canterbury, on Monday, May 11.,
before the mayor, aldermen, &c. The surveyors of the highways had given
notice to Mr. Sandys to remove certain trees which he had recently planted
in front of his dwelling-house in Bridge Street, Canterbury. Mr. Sandys
contended that the trees were planted on his own freehold ; and he produced
a grant from the corporation in 1812, which comprised the land in question ;
and, although he had dedicated the footpath to the use of the public, yet he
had retained, by posts and chains, the line or boundary upon which the trees
were planted. Mr. Sandys pointed out a great number of other places where
the trees were within 15 ft. of the centre of the road. The mayor, having con-
ferred with the other magistrates, stated that they were unanimously of
opinion that Mr. Sandys’s trees are within the act, which makes it illegal to
plant trees within 15 ft. of the centre of any road. (Kentish Gazette, May 17.)
New Plant-Houses at Woburn Abbey and Trentham Hall.— A correspondent
informs us that Mr. Clark, the hot-house manufacturer of Lionel Street, Bir-
mingham, is now at work at a very extensive range of flower-houses for the
gardens at Woburn Abbey, which, when completed, will form one of the most
spacious and magnificent range of houses in the kingdom. He is also at work
at a conservatory, to be erected at Trentham, for the more immediate use and
recreation of the Duchess of Sutherland, and which is altogether upon a
novel and greatly admired mode of construction.
Black Grub of the Turnip Saw-fly. — An arrangement has been made be-
tween the Entomological Society and the Agricultural Association of Saffron
Walden, whereby the sum of ten guineas has been proposed as the prize for
the best essay (to be drawn up from personal observation) upon the natural
history and habits of the turnip saw-fly, the larva of which is known under
the name of the nigger, or black Jack ; to be illustrated by figures ef the
insect in its different states; together with the result of actual experiments
made for the prevention of its attacks, or the destruction of the imsects
themselves. The essays are to be accompanied by testimonials of the success
Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 47]
of the remedies proposed by the writers, and must be forwarded to the
secretary of the Entomological Society, No. 17. Old Bond Street, London,
with fictitious signatures, on or before the fourth Monday in January, 1838 ;
when they will be referred to a committee, to stand upon their respective
merits ; after which, with the permission of the writers, both the prize essay,
and any others of value, will be published. The essays must be respectively
accompanied by a sealed letter, indorsed with the fictitious signature adopted
by each author, and enclosing the real name of the writer. — J. O. W.
Victoria regilis. — This is the name given, by permission of Her Majesty, to
a new plant allied to the water lily, discovered in the river Berbice, in Janu-
ary, 1837, by Dr. Robert H. Schomburgh. A description of it was read at a
meeting of the Botanical Society, held September 7., by which it appears that
the leaves are orbiculate, from 5ft. to 6 ft. in diameter, bright green above,
and bright crimson below. The stem of the flower is | in. thick, and the
flower itself is 15 in. in diameter, consisting of many hundred petals, passing
in alternate tints from pure white to rose and pink. When the flower first
Opens, it is white, with pink in the middle, which spreads over the whole
flower as it advances in age; and the second day it is generally found of a
pink colour. The flower is sweet-scented, and, like the genera Melimbium,
Nymphee'a, &c., it possesses a fleshy disk, with the petals and stamens passing
gradually into each other. (Atheneum, Sept. 9. p. 661.) [We hope this
splendid plant will soon be introduced; and that an aquarium worthy of Her
Majesty, and of the present advanced state of horticultural science, will be
formed in the Botanic Garden at Kew for its reception. — Cond.]
Eucaljptus alpina. — Enclosed, I send you a specimen of Eucalyptus
alpina, gathered from a plant which has had no protection this winter. It
has been planted out only one year (it is now three years from the seed), and
is 2 ft. high. It appears to be of a slower growth than any other species that
I am acquainted with, and is of a bushy compact habit, of which the specimen
sent will give some idea, sending out laterals at almost every joint. I think
I mentioned before, that it was sent me by James Backhouse, from Van
Diemen’s Land, who describes it as a tree growing on the highest parts of
Mount Wellington, where the climate is very similar to that of England.
Frederick Mackie. Norwich Nursery, May 4. 1837.
Pavia macréstachys ( fig. 122.) at the Vicarage, Rickmansworth, is 16 ft. in
height, and consists of numerous branches from the same root, overhanging a
space of 29 square yards. I purchased it
about twenty-eight years ago, when the
plants of the late Emperor Thelluson
Woodford, Esq., of botanical celebrity,
were disposed of on his quitting Spring-
well Place, in this neighbourhood. It
stands within a few yards of a rivulet, in
a dark porous soil, en a bed of fine
gravel, about 2 ft. below the surface ; and
which is very evidently such a soil as suits
it. I have given numerous layers and
suckers to different friends ; but, though ©
many of them have flourished, none have
done so in a degree equal to that of the
parent plant.— Ldward Hodgson. [This
appears to be the largest plant of Pavia
macrostachys in England; the next largest is that at White Knights, 15 ft.
high. See Arb. Brit., p.474., where, among other information, it is stated
that the fruit of this plant, in America, is eaten boiled, or roasted. —Cond.]
SCOTLAND.
Allanton Park, the seat of the late Sir Henry Steuart, author of the Prac-
tical Planter, is now in the possession of Sir Henry’s daughter, Lady Mac-
HH 4
472 West London Gardeners’ Association.
donald Steuart. A correspondent, who has lately visited the place, informs
us that she is as enthusiastically devoted to arboriculture and landscape-
gardening as her late father. That part of the Park, he says, “ which has
been planted a /a Steuart astonished me not a little. I took out my tape and
book, and made measurements and notes, and I shall endeavour to put them
together for you as soon as I have leisure.” [We trust our correspondent will
bear his kind promise in mind; for we are sure any information respecting
Allanton Park must be interesting to our readers. — Cond.]
‘The Marriage Beech at Inverary. — 1 have been always on the look out for
any thing particular in our fine, and have stumbled across nothing but a cu-
riosity in the shape of a beech at the Duke of Argyll’s, Inverary, called “ the
Marriage Tree.’ It has two stems, which are united, about 20 ft. from the
ground, by an arm in a very singular manner, which I hope a drawing I have
made will render quite comprehensible. I measured every requisite, and was
extremely particular with my pencil, not only in giving the general appearance
of the tree, but also the junction at large. — W. A. N. Edinburgh, Aug. 5.
1837. [The portrait of this tree will be given in the Ard, Brit. — Cond.]
Singular Oak in the Western Highlands. — Near the waterfall at the head of
the river Leven, which runs into the salt-water lake of that name, is the trunk
of a decayed oak, rotten within, but alive on some parts of the outside. From
one of these, a shoot grows out, about 15 ft. from the ground ; and this shoot
has protruded from its lower part a root, which, after haying reached the
ground (8 ft. below, and a bare rock), runs along the rock in a horizontal
position, about 30 ft. further, till it reaches a bank of earth in which it has
taken root. This remarkable tree was seen, in 1819, by Mr. Mackay of the
Trinity College Botanic Garden, Dublin, who gave us the above account. The
waterfall where the tree stands is about 10 miles above Ballyhulish, opposite
to Glencoe. This remarkable oak was pointed out to Mr. Mackay by the
Rev. Mr. Brown of the Episcopal chapel, Aberdeen. If any of our readers
have seen the tree lately, we shall be very much obliged to them for an account
of its appearance at the time they saw it. The moisture of the atmosphere in
such a situation accounts for the root running to such a distance above ground ;
in a dry and warm atmosphere, it could not have done so. — Cond.
Art. 1V. The West London Gardeners’ Association for mutual
Instruction.
FEB. 27. 1836. — Mr. Ayres read an essay upon the propagation of plants
by cuttings, and referred chiefly to the practice of allowing the leaves to remain
on the cuttings, or not, according to the situation in which they were placed,
as liable to, or prevented from, evaporating their juices ; also to the system of
cutting the shoots of some hard-wooded green-house plants half through,
for some time before inserting them in the cutting pots; and the propriety of
allowing all cuttings to remain in the same temperature as that in which the
plant was placed from which the cuttings were taken, until the base of the
cuttings gave evidence that a callus was formed, when they might be placed
in bottom heat, for the purpose of expediting the protrusion of roots. Mr.
Ayres left the construction and general management of the propagating-house
to another opportunity. Mr. Fish corroborated the general propositions of
Mr. Ayres. Mr. Gibbs instanced a case, in which he lost a considerable num-
ber of pelargonium cuttings, from putting tham at once into bottom heat. Mr.
Russel mentioned a successful mode of propagating the Zlichrysum proliferum ;
namely, taking off the shoots of the previous year close to the stem ; inserting
them in fine silver sand under a bell-glass; watering them moderately, and
setting them close to the glass in a hot stove.
March 13. — Mr. Leyton gave a lecture upon mineral waters, illustrated by
many chemical experiments. After urging the Society to persevere in the
West London Gardeners’ Association. 473
praiseworthy cause they had taken up, and having pointed out the emulation
which companionship in study calls forth, Mr. Leyton pointed out the neces-
sity of using soft and pure water for the more delicate botanical productions ;
showing how it was reasonable to suppose that mineral waters would injure
plants in various degrees, according to the circumstances in which they were
placed; and giving it as his decided opinion that mineral waters would be
poisonous to vegetables, unless the mineralising portion of them could be proved
to be a necessary ingredient in the plant to which they were applied. He then
showed the distinction between rain water, sea water, and mineral water ; and,
by means of prepared waters, and various chemical tests, he practically ex-
plained how any substance, hitherto found in mineral waters, could be de-
tected and recognised. He also showed experimentally that, at most, not more
than eight of the various substances he had enumerated, and produced tests
for, could exist in any one water at the same time, on account of the several
double decompositions which they cause amongst one another, by which some
of their component parts would be precipitated in the shape of insoluble
compounds. After the lecture, the meeting was addressed by Mr. Keane,
Mr. Caie, and others, with respect to the motives and usefulness of the
institution.
March 27. 1837. — A letter was read from Mr. Aiton, stating the impossi-
bility of his being present to give his essay upon the cultivation of the pine-
apple; when it was resolved that the subject should nevertheless be discussed.
Mr. Fish opened the discussion, by referring to the importance of gardeners,
when cultivating tropical fruits, proportioning the temperature to the pre-
sence of light, as the effects of heat upon a plant would,be very different, when
growing in our stoves in winter, to what it would when the same plant was
exposed to heavy dews at night, and the full influence of a tropical sun by
day. He detailed some experiments, some of which had been unsuccessful,
but the results of which convinced him that if, in the winter months, the roots
of pine-apples were kept in a temperature of 50° or 60°, the top of-the plant
would receive no injury at 40°, provided the leaves were kept dry. In con-
nexion with this, he also referred to the great saving of time, and expense for
fuel, that was the result of keeping a low temperature at night, and a high
temperature, with little air, during the day. He also adverted to the different
methods of supplying heat. The varieties which he recommended for cultiva-
tion were, the queen, Otaheite, and Providence, for summer; and the black
Jamaica, and globes, for winter. The soil, fresh loam, or a year old, but never
turned previously to bemg used; mixing sand and leaf-mould when too ad-
hesive, and old mushroom dung if not rich enough. He also adverted
to the system of propagating from old stools, and the different methods of
shifting, before placing the plants in the fruiting pots; preferring keeping
the best of the roots of nursery and succession plants, after shaking the earth
from them, to either potting them with balls entire, or cutting all the roots
away.
Mr. Russel corroborated the leading ideas of Mr. Fish, but considered one
great point had been overlooked; namely, the means of destroying insects,
and he gave the recipe which he had found most effectual; viz. the pouring of
boiling water on two ounces of quicksilver, in a six gallon pot, and using it
when milk-warm. He, however, mentioned a gardener who was very success-
ful in growing good pines, and yet whose plants were foul, and who had never
tried to make them clean. Mr. Ayres approved of the general statements
advanced ; recommended the true Montserrat, as the best pine for winter
fruiting ; ridiculed the prevalent notion of black pines being so long in fruit-
ing; detailed an instance, in which the fruit being taken from the plant in
autumn, the suckers were removed from the stools in February, and brought
excellent fruit in November following ; and also an instance, in which a few
good queens were cut in six months after being moved from the parent plant.
He attached little importance to insects, contending that, under good cultiva-
tion, they would soon disappear; and asserted that the remedy proposed by
4.7 4 West London Gardeners? Association.
Mr. Russel failed even under Speechly, the originator of it. He then adverted
to a case in which a gardener, who had a beautiful stock of pines, intended to
shake them out of the pots, and repot them when they had done flowering ;
and mentioned a method of making plants start into fruit ; namely, the watering
them with a solution of pigeons’ dung. Mr. Judd stated that he had seen fine
fruit from plants grown in a temperature of not below 70° in winter, and 90°
in summer; but ultimately agreed in the correctness of Mr. Fish’s statements
upon this point, though he considered he had been very unfortunate in select-
ing his winter fruiters. He recommended the Jamaica and smooth Havannah.
The remedy for insects which he had seen prove most efficacious was, washing
the plant in a solution formed of three pounds of yellow soap in a gallon of
water. He had known old and fresh soil used with equally advantageous
results, and recommended enriching the soil with deer dung; noticing that
black pines delight in light soils, and thrive well when a little peat is added to
the loam. Mr. Keane considered that, in cultivating the pine, we should imi-
tate nature; but he thought that the low temperature at night, and in winter,
which was recommended, was not natural to the pine. Mr. Caie contended,
that, although we could command the heat of Jamaica, we could not command
its sunlight, and that therefore a uniform degree of temperature in this climate
was not natural ; illustrating his remarks, by detailing an instance, in which
the attempt was made to imitate closely the temperature of a tropical climate ;
but, though the plants grew remarkably well, the fruit were like buttons. A
number of other members addressed the meeting; but no new idea was
elicited.
A letter was read from Mr. Main, containing some wise parental advice to
the Society ; expressing his anxiety and his willingness to clear up, as far as lay
in his power, any knotty question which came before them, Mr. Leyton was
unanimously elected a member of the Society.
_April 3. — Mr. Caie read an essay upon the grouping system of flowers in
flower-gardens, with a coloured plan; and referring, amid a number of other
facts, to the importance of planting naturally luxuriant plants shallow, and in
poor soil, for the purpose of insuring a profusion of bloom. All united in
expressing their high approbation of this essay: but an animated discussion
took place on it, from Mr. Fish expressing his doubts if ever the system
would become prevalent, unless in small places, and under liberal employers,
owing to the extra expense attending it when a reserve garden was kept ; and,
when one was not kept, the unsatisfactory results of attempts at grouping, the
flower-garden being quite useless till the month of July; or the young plants
being to be observed in it groping their way through masses of the decaying
herbage of bulbs, &c.; or, what was worse, the leaves of the bulbs must be
cut down prematurely, and thus their flowerimg injured for a following year.
Also, that there was a discrepancy among the supporters of the grouping
system; some contending that it was the highest perfection of the art; and
others, that it was the closest imitation of nature, as, in reality, while the form
on the clumps indicated art, the mass of flowers in the clumps showed that,
after the plants had been put into the soil, little more art had been put in
requisition ; and that, as gardening was universally allowed to be an art, the
application of that art ought at all times to be perceptible, &c.
Mr. Judd considered that bulbs would suffer little from being cut down a
little too early ; made some remarks upon unity of idea; and contended that it
was quite unnatural to see plants standing as isolated specimens. Mr. Russel
contended that an industrious gardener would always find time for the grouping
system, if he were disposed. Mr. Ayres showed how the form of the garden
should be in accordance with the point of sight, and the form of the clumps,
such as to constitute a whole. He also adverted to several plans in the Gar-
dener’s Magazine, and to the striking deficiencies in the arboretum and flower-
garden of the Horticultural Society ; and concluded with hoping that gardeners
would imitate Mr. Caie, and show such an acquaintance with the subject, that
they would no longer be obliged to succumb to the ideas of architects, and
* ° . hm
West London Gardeners Association. 475
would-be landscape-gardeners, however inconsistent with the principles of
design and true taste these ideas might be.
April 17. — Mr. Leyton gave an introductory lecture upon chemistry. He
commenced by tracing the rise and progress of chemistry from the earliest
ages. He first treated of the great progress it must have made before the
time of Moses, from the curious manufactured articles mentioned in the
sacred writings. He next viewed the profound depth which the Egyptians
must have penetrated, into this science from the relics yet extant, and the ap-
parent miracles which their adepts in the science were able to perform. He
also touched upon the chemical improvements introduced by the Persians, the
Pheenicians, the Arabians, and the Chinese. Mr. Leyton then explained, at
considerable length, the false notions of the alchymists, in respect of their
doctrine of the philosopher’s stone; the panacea, or universal remedy, the
universal dissolvént, and the universal ferment. He also showed how several
useful discoveries were brought to light in the midst of these wild schemes of
infatuated deception, and finished by enumerating what great men, what great
discoveries, and what altered notions of philosophy, brought about the change
from alchymy to a rational system of chemistry.
May |. 1837. — Exhibited. Three rose plants, from the Duke of Devon-
shire’s villa at Chiswick, very full of buds, which had been taken out of the
ground, and potted the same spring. Mr. Judd read an essay upon the pre-
paration of the cherry tree for forcing, with hints upon the construction and
general management of the cherry-house. Mr. Judd approves of the May
duke variety ; recommends purchasing the trees from the nursery two years
before forcing them ; planting them, at first, in the open ground ; taking them
up and potting them early upon the following autumn; plunging the pots in
an open space of ground; covering them with old dung; watering them liberally
during summer, and pinching off any blossoms that appear ; giving plenty of
air on removing them to the forcing-house, commencing at from 40° to 50°
Fahr.; shading the house when the fruit are stoning; raising the temperature
when beginning to colour; and using tobacco-smoke and tobacco-water for
thrip, black fly, and caterpillar. A great number of members delivered their
sentiments on this essay; the only objection made being to the accompanying
plan ; some considering that it was rather flat for early forcing ; and that, as
two fires were used, two small houses might have been as serviceable. Mr.
Temple recommended syringing with water, scarcely so hot as the temperature
of the house. Mr. Ayres disapproved of animal manure for stone fruit ; which
was met, and remet, by instances and facts corroborative of its favourable and
unfavourable tendencies. A discussion took place with respect to clearing
cherry trees from insects; washing or painting them all over with various so-
lutions, in winter, being considered the best method; and various remedies
were mentioned for the destruction of the thrip, though it was allowed no
effectual mode of destroying that insect has yet been discovered.
May 15. 1837. — Mr. Leyton gave his second lecture upon chemistry, and
commenced by exemplifying the theory of Phlogiston, invented by Stahl,
which was supported for nearly half a century by all the greatest chemists of
the age. He then proceeded to elucidate its overthrow by the more rational
theory of Lavoisier (after the discoveries of Priestley and Black), who esta-
blished oxygen as the universal acidifying and alkalising power, as well as the
supporter of life, and combustion. He then referred to the overthrow of the
latter theory, by the sublime discoveries of Sir Humphry Davy in respect of
chlorine, iodine, &c.; showing that the most powerful of the acids (muriatic
acid) was destitute of oxygen, &c. Mr. Leyton, dividing his subject into three
divisions (the simple substances, the compound substances, and the laws of
decompositionand recomposition ), expatiated upon the simple gaseous elements,
and the peculiar compounds they form with each other. He then pointed out
the remarkable contrasts effected by the combination of some of the gases,
such as in nitrous and nitric acid, which are composed of the same substances
as form atmospheric air, but in different proportions, showing that a greater
476 Retrospective Criticism.
volume of oxygen than that existing in the atmosphere is unrespirable and
destroys life. He also alluded to the undisputed fact, that water is a compound
of the elements of fire, and that, during the action of burning, it is actually
produced ; with many more chemical phenomena of equal importance.
ArRv. V. Retrospective Criticism.
Errata.—In Vol. XIL. p. 445., in the Botanical and Horticultural Tour
in Lombardy, there occur several errors of the press, which I should be
much obliged to you to correct. In page 445. line 24., for “ La Casino,” read
“ La Cusani;”’ in lines 28. and 30., for “‘ Casani,” read “ Cusani;” in line 29.,
for “ 200,” read “300.” In page 446. line 12., for “scopra,” read “ scopre ;” in
line 36., for “ Ni strepito,” read “ Né strepito ;”’ in line 38., for “ Ancor turbo,”
read “ Ancor turbo ;” in line 42., for “ scorza de faggi,” read “ de’ faggi;” in
line 43., for “ Segnio,” read “ Segno.”’ In page 447. line 4., for “ Sien volto,”
read “Tien volto;” in line 10., for ‘ Piranesi,’ read ‘“ Piermarini;”’ in
lines 18, 19, and 20., for “ Villaresi,’ read “ Villorese;” in line 23., for
“ Pelagi,” read “ Palagi.” In page 448. line 21., for ‘ Cabrisi,” read
“ Cabrini;”’ in line 23., for “ Bartolotti,” read “ Bertolotti.” In page 449.
line 8., for “via spuona,’ read “ vix spinosa.” —G. Manetti. Monza,
January 4. 1837.
Grafting Oranges on the Pomegranate.— The American Consul at Malta
will write to you to confirm the fact I mentioned in my paper on the
influence of the stock on the graft, that oranges are ingrafted on the pome-
granate, to give the flesh ared hue, The practice is common in Sicily and
Malta. —J. Mease. Philadelphia, July 28. 1837.
Grafting the Plum on the Fig, §c. (Vol. XII. p. 52.) — There are axioms in
horticulture, which have been inculcated by the poets of antiquity, by which
it was established, that the graft will grow on any tree chosen, provided the
bark of the stock resembles that of the graft; and I remember having read
in a work written on horticulture by Abu-Zacaria, an Arabic Spaniard, of
grafting the vine on the plum, the peach on the willow, the rose on the
pomegranate, and the almond on the vine: but what made me laugh the most
heartily was, that, when the vine is grafted on the broom, the grapes are
bitter. You know that we were for a long time governed by the Spaniards ;
and, in leaving their superstions behind them, it is natural to suppose that
they also left these admirable maxims in horticulture. There is little doubt but
that what I am about to relate to you is a superstition left by the Spaniards.
You know that, in Italy, the greater number of the houses in the country
front the south, and are generally covered with vines and other kinds of fruit
trees, which (as may naturally be supposed) are of the best kinds. Mice
and rats abound more near the houses than in the fields; because they find
food there without much trouble; and, as soon as the fruit begins to ripen,
they do exactly as I would do myself; that is, they eat as much as they can of
it. To prevent this mischief, the peasants prune their vines or other fruit trees
oa the vigil of the Annunciation, that is, the 24th of March ; hoping by so doing
to obtain a curse on these poor animals from the Virgin, and a blessing on
the vine, and by this means to preserve its fruit. Do you think that, because
the vines are pruned on the vigil of the Madonna, the mice refrain from
tasting them? Yet the good peasants (though not all of them, as there are
some who laugh at it) believe in this practice, and continue it, attributing a
failure in the crop to their ss! Among the gardeners, there are some, and
those not few in number, who persist in doing what their fathers did before
them, who still believe that the moon has a great deal of influence on
vegetation; and who still stand with a watch in their hand waiting for the
time of the full moon in March to sow the seeds of the violet; but there
are, I believe, no longer any who believe that, if the pith be taken out of a
branch of a fruitful tree, that branch will produce fruit without seed. —
G. Manetti. January 4, 1837
Queries and Answers. 477
Encyclopedia of Agriculture. —-I have been lately perusing, with much
pleasure, the new edition of your Encyclopedia of Agriculture. — Before you
publish another edition, you ought to get more correct information from
this colony, which is becoming a much more interesting country than you
seem to be aware of. It is certainly the most prosperous part of the British
dominions. — Alexander M‘Leay. Sydney, March 13. 1837.
The Manchester Botanic Garden.— Your correspondent Mr. Thomas of
Prestwich remarks that our garden has “a remarkably flat surface.” I
consider it a raised uneven platform in the centre of an extensive plain,
which, in clear weather, is seen bounded on the east by the huge hills of
Yorkshire, and on the south by the agreeable undulations of the hills of
Cheshire. The view from the terrace walk in front of the range is varied and
delightful. — A. C. Manchester, August 13. 1837.
The Yew and the Smalt-leaved Elm.—n your Arboretum Britannicum, you
seem to doubt whether the yew and the small-leaved elm are natives of
Britain. These trees are both found (the latter in abundance) buried deep
in the bogs of Somersetshire, which I think conclusive evidence of their being
both indigenous. I have also found the remains of our common small-
leaved elm in the foundations of Roman villas. This elm will sometimes
ripen its seed in this country ; and I can point out at Jeast one variety which
must have been so produced.— Samuel Hassel. Littleton, near Somerton,
August 1. 1837.
Lhe Fungi of the Oak.—In your history of the oak in the Arboretum
Britannicum, you notice my discovery of Urédo Quércus in this neighbourhood,
which I conclude you had from the Rev. Mr. Berkeley, to whom I have sent
all the #ungi [ have collected; and I also conclude that he has furnished you
with notices of all the others, which he might have received either from me
or his various correspondents. In your last number of the Arboretum, under
the hornbeam, you say Sphee‘ria fimbriata and carpinea on the leaves have.
not been observed in this country. S. fimbriata is very abundant in this
district, especially on the Norfolk side of the river; and I have sent Mr.
Berkeley a great number of specimens: indeed, I could, if necessary, send
him any number. It is published in the English Flora, and also in his (Mr.
Berkeley’s) first fasciculus of specimens, which came out, I think, in the
early part of last year. — Daniel Stock. -Bungay, August 4, 1837.
Art. VI. Queries and Answers.
Two Villas at Stanmore. — Can you, or any of your readers, inform me if the
following description, translated from the original edition of Piickler Muskau’s
Letters, be real or imaginary? It is many years since I passed through the
beautiful village of Stanmore on my way to Cashiobury; and I certainly do
not recollect any villa at all striking. —J. A., Chester, July, 1837.
“ We setout this morning early, unfortunately a very wet day. At ten miles
from London, we already began business in the pleasant village of Stanmore, by
seeing two villas anda large park. The first villa was in the Gothic style
throughout, with ornamental pointed tile roofs ; a style in which the English
architects are very fortunate, and which, I may almost say, is their favourite.
The interior was most delightfully arranged in the same style, yet perfectly
habitable and comfortable. Even the doors in the walls which surround the
kitchen-garden had painted old windows above them, which had a striking
appearance amongst the flowering shrubs. The small flower-garden was also
laid out in Gothic-formed beds, ornamented by gravel walks; and the effect
was very good. l
“The second villa presented a very different appearance; it was in the Italian
taste, with large vases in front, in which, instead of flowers, were seen small
pumpkins, and yellow and green scooped-out oranges, towering upwards.
Somewhat too many wooden and white-painted statues adorned, or rather
- disfigured, the garden ; amongst which was a lion in the attitude of suddenly
478 London Horticultural Society and Garden.
rushing forth, and meant to inspire terror, but in vain. In like manner, a Cupid,
in the branches of a tree, was threatening to shoot his arrows at the passers
by.” (Briefe einers Verstorbenen, vol. ii. p, 205.)
’ The Gothic villa alluded to in the above letter was built by Dr. Hopper; the
other by Mr. Orme, the printseller of Bond Street, after he had retired from
business; a proof that familiarity with fine pictures does not always improve the
taste. — Cond.
A fine Elm, in a field close by the road leading towards Woburn Sands, and
about half a furlong from Woburn, was struck by the electric fluid on
Thursday last (Aug. 24.), ‘‘and the bark stripped from the top of the highest
branch down to the root. The strip appeared very narrow at the top, and
gradually increased to about 8in. in breadth near the bottom, where the
electric fluid entered the earth. Another elm, near the residence of Capt.
Hoare, in the parish of Waverden, was also struck, and split from top to
bottom, the rent towards the bottom penetrating about a foot into the solid
part of the tree.” (Morn. Chron., Aug. 28.) [We should be glad to know from
any of our readers in the neighbourhood of Woburn, whether there were any
pines or firs in the immediate vicinity of the elms, and of equal height ; and
whether these escaped unhurt? Our object is to confirm or disprove the
hypothesis, which states that resinous trees (resin being a non-conductor) are
less liable to be struck with lightning than broad-leaved trees. — Cond.]
Art. VII. The London Horticultural Society and Garden.
JULY 18. 1837.— Exhibited. Balsams, dahlias, Gnaphalium eximium, Ne-
pénthes distillatoria, Oncidium papflio, Hrica bruniades; Clerodéndrum fra-
arans, double; Amaryllis sp., Pimeléa hispida, Alstroeméria pelegrina, Catasétum
liridum, Gardoquia Hodékeri, and Alstroeméria psittacina; from Mr. Dunsford,
gardener to Baron Dimsdale. A collection of heartsease, pinks, and two
picotees, from Mr. Thomas Hogg. Peaches, nectarines, grapes, a new
green-fleshed melon (Windsor prize), and two dwarf crimson coxcombs, from
Mr. P. Flanagan, F.H.S. Peaches and nectarines, from Mr. Errington, gar-
dener to Sir P. G. Egerton, Bart. Apples of 1835 and 1836, from Lord
Ww. Fitzroy.
From the Garden of the Society. Phacélia tripinnatifida, Quisqualis indica,
Combretum purptreum, Zychnis Bungedna, Lilium japonicum, Gilia tenui-
flora, Alstroeméria pulchélla, Chelone nemorosa, Spirz\a arieefolia, Philadél-
phus Gordonanus, P. grandiflorus (from Mr. Gowan), Chinese, Noisette,
and garden roses; dahlias.
Awarded. Avsilver Knightian medal to Mr. Errington, for nectarines. A
silver Banksian to Mr. Flanagan, for Grapes and to Mr. Dunsford, for Ca-
tasétum luridum.
Aug. 1.— Dr. Henderson in the chair. Dr. Lindley read a copy of an
address which had been delivered to Her Majesty by the Duke of Devonshire,
requesting her royal patronage, which was accorded, A paper was read “ On
a simple and effective Mode of killing the Red Spider, Green Fly, Thrip, and
Scale, without injury to Plants.” It merely consisted in putting the pots
or plants into a frame, well closed, and then laurel leaves, well bruised,
between them ; when, in the course of one hour, the whole of the spiders and
flies would be destroyed by the odour, which, of course, is that of prussic acid ;
while the thrip and scale would be destroyed in about eight hours; the
night time being most favourable for the experiment. For a house 20 ft. by
12 ft., two bushels of leaves would be sufficient.
It is known to entomologists that a bruised leaf of the common laurel, put
into a pill-box, along with a humble bee, will kill it in a few seconds. As
there is a good deal of prussic acid in the leaves of the peach and nectarine,
when these trees get their summer prunings, perhaps some use might be made
of the bruised leaves, by laying them in melon-frames, in which the plants
London Horticultural Society and Garden. 479
were infested with the red spider; or the acid might be procured, and the
plants watered with it in a diluted state ; after which the frame should be shut
closely up. -
Exhibited. Stanhopea insignis, Zygopétalon rostratum, Gongora atropur-
purea, and Acropéra Loddigési, from Mr. P. N. Don, gardener to J. Bate-
man, Esq. Stanhopea insignis var., and Cattléya crispa, from Mr. Paxton,
gardener to the Duke of Devonshire. Twelve varieties of Verbéna, Onci-
dium sp., Campanula fragilis hirsita, Zacsdnia pinnatistipula, and Clarkia
élegans var., from Mrs. Marryat. Stanhopea insignis, from Mr. Pratt, gar-
dener to W. Harrison, Esq. Dahlias from J. Salter of Shepherd’s Bush,
Picotees and roses, from Mr. F. Hogg of Paddington. Roses from 8. Hooker.
Strawberries from the Rev. W. Cobbold, Vicarage House, Selborne, near
Alton. A collection of heaths, Campanula Carolini, Cleome sp., Mymphz'a
cerulea, Clerodéndrum speciosissimum, &c., from Mrs. Lawrence. A dian-
thus, a seedling petunia, and an orchideous plant, from Mr. J. Moore,
gardener to the Misses Garnier, Wickham, Fareham, Hants.
From the Garden of the Society. Lupinus ornatus, mutabilis, and lucidus ;
Lilium longiflorum, Godetia rubicinda and vinodsa, Mddia floribtinda, Malope
grandiflora; Phl6x acuminata, and seedlings; Bartonia atirea, Clématis Hen-
dersoni, Caprifolium hispidulum, Matricaria grandiflora, Digitalis; from Mr,
Bevan. Roses, dahlias, royal duke cherries, grapes; Windsor scarlet-fleshed
melon, 3 lb. 14 0z.; planted out Feb. 15. cut July 29.
Awarded. A large silver medal to Mr. Paxton, for Cattléya crispa. A
silver Knightian to Mr. Kedding, for Oncidium carthaginéuse var. ; and to Mrs.
Lawrence, for heaths. A silver Banksian to Mr. Hooker, for roses; to
Mr. Pratt, for Stanhopea insignis; and to Mr. Hogg, for carnations and
picotees.
Aug. 15.—Read. A paper “ On the Culture of the Randinculus, by Mr. Wm.
Dunstord, gardener to the Hon. Baron Dimsdale.
Exhibited. Evica cerinthdides, Ewerdna, ampullacea rubra, Bowiedna,
&c.; Cychnoches Loddigész, and Poinciana pulchérrima; from Mrs. Law-
rence. Gooseberry pippins of 1836, from Sir Henry Rycroft. Vanda mul-
tiflora, Myanthus deltdides, Astélma eximium, Amaryllis Sweéti, dahlias,
stocks, and China asters, from Mr. Dunsford, gardener to the Hon. Baron
Dimsdale. Hybrid melon, from Mr. J. Duncan, gardener to J. Martineau,
Esq. Balsams, marigolds, and morello cherries, from Mrs. Nichols of
Hammersmith. Seedling and other dahlias, from Mr. J. Salter of Shepherd’s
Bush. Tarnera érioniflora, Peristéria péndula, Acropéra Loddigész, Pan-
cratium Amdncaes, Epidéndrum ciliire, Lantana Séllowi, Vailota purpurea,
and dahlias, from Mr. Glenny. Black Hamburg grapes, balsams, and
three vars. of heaths, from J. Alnutt, Esq. Oncidium Lanceanwm and Eu-
lophia guineénsis, from J. Bateman, Esq. A collection of dahlias, from
Messrs. Chandler. Otaheite, or Anson’s pine, green-fleshed melon (Hamp-
ton Court), early Cantaloup melon, black Hamburg and muscat of Alex-
andria grapes, white spine and black spine cucumber, from Mr. P. Flana-
gan, gardener to Sir T. Hoare, Bart. Varieties of Indian corn, from P. A.
Browne, LL.D. rica Ewerdna, eximia, jasminiflora var. Lee’s tricolor,
ampullacea, &c., from Mr. J. Fairburn of Clapham: Roses and dahlias,
from Messrs. Paul and Son of Cheshunt. Dahlias, from Mr. Mountjoy of
Ealing. Model of an apparatus for preserving fruit from the attacks of wasps
and other insects, from Mr. Masters, gardener to Lady Maria Finch, Bexley
Abbey, near Maidstone.
From the Society’s Garden. Quisqualis indica, @nothéra Drummond, Petz -
nia violacea supérba, Diplopappus incanus, Physianthus undulatus, dahlias,
and gooseberries.
Awarded. A silver Knightian medal to J. Bateman, Esq., and to Messrs.
Paul, for the Oncidium Lancednwm. A silver Banksian to Messrs, Paul,
for roses ; to Mr, Flanagan, for cucumbers; to Mrs, Lawrence, for Hrica Ewer-
dna; and to Mr. Alnutt, for Hrica ampullacea.
480 Covent Garden Market.
Art. VIII. Covent Garden Market.
In consequence of the rains which have so generally prevailed in the early
part of the present month, the market has been supplied liberally with all
sorts of vegetables usually prevalent at this season of the year ; more parti-
cularly with turnips, coleworts, &c. French beans were, for a time, rather
short in supply, but have become more plentiful. Peas are nearly out, but
some few are occasionally furnished. Potatoes are very abundant, and gene-
rally of good quality : the crop, throughout the country, is represented as
being heavy ; consequently, if harvested in good condition, for which the
weather is at present very favourable, we may expect the supply, throughout
the season, to be good at very moderate prices, especially as all other vege-
tables are expected to be equally abundant and good. Of fruits generally we
have had considerable quantities: apples and plums in great abundance. It
has been remarkable, that apples have been actually sold at less than potatoes.
Wall fruit has been more plentiful than was expected. Grapes from the
houses very plentiful. Walnuts, as yet, but in moderate supply, except from
Holland, whence several cargoes have been imported. Filberts are scarce
and dear, and of indifferent quality. —C.G. MZ. Sept. 27. 1837.
é From To From T
The Cabbage Tribe. £ 5.d.\£5. a. Ls. d.|£_s. d.
Cabbage, per dozen : Stalks and Fruits for Tarts,|
White - - - |00 9/01 8 Pickling, Be
Red = - =O 2 On OR SO :
Plants, or Coleworts - - |0 1 6/0 2 Oj/Angelica Stalks, perpound |0 0 6/0 0 0
Cauliflowers, per dozen - | 0 4 0{| 0 7 O||Sea Samphire, p. small punnet]® 1 0/0 0 0
Broccoli, Cape, per bunch - |0 O 91] 0 1 O/|Vegetable Marrow, perdozen|0 1 0/0 1 6
Tomatoes, per sieve SOR Oy) OO. @
Legumes. Capsicums, per hundred :
Peas, per sieve - 0 2 6/0 3 6! Ripe : Z - |0 4 0/0 6 O
Beans, per half sieve - |0 4 0/0 1 6) Green - = St Oo a OO Le
Kidneybeans, per half sieve 03 6/0 0 0
Scarlet runners, per half sieve} 0 19/0 2 Q Edible Fungi and Fuci.
Mushrooms; per pottle a (Oo 2 OO Oo
Tubers and Roots. Morels, per pound = - - |014 0/0 0 0
Potatoes, per ton = S WO O Bo 0) Truffles, English, per pound 0 12 0. 0
Turnips, White, perbunch- |0 1 6|0 2 0 g
Carrots, per bunch - - |0 2 6/0 + 0 Fruits.
Parsneps, perdozen = - |0 1 0/0 O O)|Apples, Dessert, per bushel :
Red Beet, per dozen - |0 1 0/0 O O} Kerry Pippin = SOOO” Or @)
Horseradish, perbundle - |0 2 6/0 4 0O| Ribston S S - 10 9 0/0 0 0
Radishes, white turnip, per Ingestrie = a SOR ON OW @
bunch 2 : - |0 0 1/0 O O} Baking - - ONO 1 OO 26
: : Pears, Dessert, per half sieve :
The Spinach Trzbe. Williams’s - e100 5: O10 7 O
Spi h ee sieve - |0 0;|0 1 6) Marie-Louise = o O12 ON OmOmO
pinach, per halfsieve - |0 0 9!0 1 O| Brown Beurré - - |010 0/012 0
p , Peaches, per dozen =| Omoan On iO mmemO
The Onion Tribe. Nectarines, per dozen - |0 3030 5 0
Onions: Almonds, per peck =.= 105-4 O10 70r 0
Old, per bushel - - |0 4 0]}0 5 0Q)|Plums, dessert, per sieve :
For pickling, perhalf sieve |0 2 6|0 3 6| Green Gages - o = Ord 01 hOMOmO
Leeks, per dozen bunches - |0 1 0/0 1 6] Orleans - S S PO OW OQio B ©
Garlic, per pound 6 - |0 0 6/0 O 8} Mussell - 2 - 10 8 0/0 40
Shallots, per pound - - |0 0 8|0 010 Damsons, per bushel - |0 8 0/0 4 0
Mulberries, per gallon (two
Pot and Sweet Herbs. pottles) - = = Of OF a OMe
Parsley, per half sieve 5 0 1 0/0 1 6|Walnuts, per bushel - - |0 8 0/010 0
Tarragon, per dozen bunches | 0 3 0|0 O 0/Filberts, English, per 100lbs.|5 0 0/9 0 O
Fennel, per dozen bunches- | 0 2 0/0 O O0j|Hazel Nuts, per peck SO 2 Cio sO
Thyme, per dozen bunches 02 0/0 3 0, Pine-apples, per pound - |0 5 0/G 6 0
Sage, per dozen bunches 0 2 0}0 3 0|Grapes, hot-house, per pound |0 1 6/0 3 O
Mint, per dozen bunches - |0 2 0/0 O O|Figs, per dozen - - |0 0 6/0 2 0
Peppermint, dried, per dozen ||Melons, each : -|/016/036
bunches - - = 01 6/0 0 O Oranges § PEt dozen - ONO Or Sard
Marjoram, per dozen bunches} 0 2 6/0 3 0 8 per hundred = Oe Zane el Ona0)
Savory, per dozen bunches - OY | Oe 0) Lemons § Pet dozen SS OF 0 EOP Sha0:
Basil, per dozen bunches - | 0 3 0/0 0 0 per hundred SO: Ze OPO W- ©
Rosemary, per dozenbunches | 9 5 0|0 O 0O/Sweet Almonds, per pound 02 3/0 26
Lavender, dried, perdoz.bun.| 0 2 0|0 0O 0O|Nuts, Barcelona, per bushel 17030) 50 300
Tansy, per dozen bunches - | 0 1 010 O O/|Spanish onions, per 100 - }018 0/110 O
TE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
NOVEMBER, 1837.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art. I. A Series of Articles on the Insects most injurious to Cultiva-
tors. By J. O. Westwoop, F.L.S., Secretary to the Entomologicai
Society of London.
No. 9. Tue stimy GRUB OF THE PEAR AND OTHER FRuIT TREES.
In my last article, I gave the history of an insect which, in the
larva state, feeds upon the leaves of the apple, devouring the
entire leaf. On the present occasion, I have to describe the pro-
ceedings of another leaf-feeder; but in this case the insect ex-
hibits the singular instinct of eating only the upper surface of
the leaf, leavi ing the under parenchyma with all the fibres and
veins untouched. Such is the habit of the larvee of several
species of saw-flies, composing Professor Hartig’s subgenus
-Blennocampa, and which has obtained this name in reference to
the unsightly appearance of the larve, which are ordinarily
covered with a slimy secretion, giving them a resemblance to
minute black slugs. In America, indeed, the name of slug-
worm is given to one of these insects inhabiting that part of the .
world, and which, towards the close of the last century, became
so prevalent as to threaten the destruction of the cherry, pear,
quince, and plum; all of which trees were infested with it: the
smnall trees being covered with insects, and a breeze of air through
those on which they abounded becoming charged with a very
disagreeable and sickening odour. ‘Twenty or thirty were to be
seen on a single leaf; and many trees, being quite stripped, were
obliged to put forth fresh foliage, thus anticipating the supply
of the succeeding year, and cutting off the prospect of fruit.
(W. D. Peck, i ata Fitstory of the Slug-Worm. Boston,
1799.)
The peculiar odour mentioned above was evidently emitted
by the slimy secretion with which the insect clothed itself, and
which might be supposed to have the effect of repelling the
attacks of parasites. Professor Peck, however, has figured a
small hymenopterous parasite, apparently belonging to the
genus Encyrtus (fam. Chalcididee), peculiar to it.
Vou. XIII.— No. 92. 1 i
i
482 Insects most injurious to Cultivators : —
In our own country, for several years past, the same fruit
trees, but more especially the pear, have been attacked by a
species of these Blennocdmpee. In my father’s garden, I have
observed them both on the cherry and pear, and have, therefore,
had opportunities for studying their habits. Mr. Loudon, also,
has received complaints of its attacks from various correspond-
ents, from whose letters the following paragraphs are selected.
Mr. R. Glendinning, under the date of the 20th of July last,
forwarded from Bicton, leaves of the beurré Capiaumont pear,
infested by these slimy grubs, which, “at first sight, present an
appearance similar to that which has been so destructive to the
turnips (described in Vel. XIII. p. 193.); but, on closer inspection,
differing very much. It first attacks the epidermis of the upper
surface of the leaves, which it lacerates, or almost wholly clears ;
although not always entirely so (_/ig.123. a), as some of the pores,
or stomata, appear untouched. ‘The only antidote I have ap-
plied to this (to me) new enemy, is hand-picking them. Their
ravages are astonishingly rapid, and leave the trees as if scorched
with lightning.”
Mr. John Clavier of Compton Gardens, near Sherborne,
Dorset, on the 5th of September, forwarded some leaves with the
larvee, from a tree in that neighbourhood, on which were some
thousands of the latter. Such had been the case for the last
ten years, “the tree having a very bad rusty appearance; and
the leaves every season prematurely dropping off. Nothing
similar to this has ever come under my notice before.”
Mr. John Fox also forwarded from Little Dalby Hall, Leices-
tershire, on the 14th of September, pear leaves with the larve,
‘‘which latter, when they become numerous, soon render the
trees leafless. I saw several pear trees in a garden in this neigh-
bourhood, which, on the Ist of September, were completely de-
foliated. ‘The insects were first observed here about three or
four years ago, and since that time their numbers have rapidly
increased. I could not ascertain that any remedy had been ap-
plied for their destruction; but, if no means is obtained to gain
that end, it is very evident that it will soon end in the destruction
of the trees. I gathered three leaves with insects upon them,
and dusted them liberally with quicklime, which had no other
effect than causing them to cast off their outer skin and assume
a yellow appearance. In four hours from the operation, they
had fixed themselves as firmly to another part of the leaves as
if nothing had been done.”
When full grown, these larvae (jg. 123. a) are nearly
half an inch long, with the body somewhat cylindrical, but
thicker towards the head; the anterior or thoracic segments
having the power of inflation over the head. Except at the time
of casting the skin, the body is covered with a viscid secretion,
Slimy Grub of the Pear Tree. — 483
of a dark greenish-black colour, with the belly dirty clay-
coloured. Whilst feeding, the front of the body is inflated
(fig. 123. 6, the ventral aspect of the larva whilst inflated), and
the hinder segments narrowed; so that the insect somewhat re-
sembles a minute tadpole, or, rather, the excrement of a swallow
or sparrow accidentally dropped upon the leaves, which is in-
creased both by its colour and slimy coat. On denuding it of
this covering, the body appears of a fleshy consistence and
wrinkled surface (fig. 123. c, magnified). It is furnished on the
under side with twenty feet, a pair being attached to each of the
thoracic segments: the fourth segment is footless; and each of
the seven succeeding segments has a pair of fore legs, the ex-
tremity of the body being destitute of these appendages. The
head (fig. 123. d, seen in front) is somewhat convex, of a trian-
gular form, with the angles rounded. Neck narrower than the
thorax, of a pitchy-brown colour, with the mouth dirty buff.
The upper lip gibbous and semilunar. The mandibles (fig.123. e)
with three teeth. The lower jaws (jg. 123./) furnished with
very short 3-jointed palpi; and the lower lip (jig. 123. 2) small,
flat, bipartite, and furnished likewise with very short palpi. The
antennze minute, inserted near the sides of the clypeus, and of
a conical form. The eyes lateral, globose, and placed above
the antennz. The breathing-pores brown. ‘The viscid fluid
with which the body is covered appears to exude from the
articulations of the joints of the body, since, on rubbing it off,
the insect swells itself out at the joints, and shortly afterwards a
fresh secretion is seen to take place. After casting its penultimate
Jarva skin, the power of secreting this liquid appears to be lost ;
the body, also, becomes of a conical-cylindric form, without the
inflation of the thoracic segments. It also assumes a clay
colour.
Dahlbom (Clavis Nov. Hym. Syst., 1835) mentions Pyrus,
Prinus, Cratz gus, and Salix, as being liable to the attacks of
this larva. During the day, it remains quiet on the leaf, with
Il 2
ASA - Insects most injurious to Cultivators : —
the head retracted within the prothorax; but, during the night,
it crawls slowly about from branch to branch. The exuvize
of the larvee (jig. A
123. 0) remain at-
tached to the leaves,
and appear like a
short slender black
thread with a shiny
head. Some of these
larvee, from the white
thorn, collected pre-
viously to the middle
of August, underwent their penultimate change of larva skin
on the 16th of that month, and enclosed themselves in their
cocoons on the 18th of the same month; the perfect insects not
being produced until the following June and July. The cocoon
( fig. 124. h) is very similar to that of the turnip saw-fly; being
brown, and externally covered with particles of earth, fastened
together with silken threads. ‘The retraction of the head within
the prothorax is of service to the insect whilst feeding, since it
is thereby enabled to move its head in various directions, without
changing its situation; and hence it remains stationary until it |
has eaten every part of the surface of the leaf within reach; when
it moves a little further on: its movements, however, are ex-
tremely sluggish. The last segment of the body is generally
elevated; so that when the insect discharges its excrement, it is
compelled to employ considerable force, whereby it is shot
upwards to some height. I have seen them occasionally fall
upon the slimy back of the insect; but the grub has immediately
removed them by twisting its body in various directions, fasten-
ing them with slime upon the leaf. When about to change their
skin, they retire to the under side of the leaf, where they remain
until they have acquired their new coat of slime. Immediately
after they have changed their skin, they are of a clay colour,
and destitute of slime; at which time they will occasionally
bend their bodies, so as to make the head and tail meet. The
secretion is rather glutinous, and has a strong scent, somewhat
like that of red ink.
De Geer states that some of these larvae, which he examined,
enclosed themselves in cocoons at the beginning of October, the
perfect insects appearing at the end of the following July;
having thus passed nearly ten months in the inactive state. The
female deposits her eggs on the upper surface of the leaves, by
the assistance of her curiously formed ovipositor; and, in a
few days, the young are produced.
This insect was known to Linnzeus, by whom it was described
as the saw-fly of the cherry, Zenthrédo cérasi; which name, as
Slimy Grub of the Pear Tree. 4.85
giving the erroneous idea of its being restricted to the cherry,
has been rejected. It is now systematically known under the
following names : —
Order, Hymenéptera.
Section, Serrifera. I See Vol. XIII. p. 195.
Family, Tenthredinide.
Genus, Selandria Leach. (Synonyme of the genus Allantus Bouché.)
Subgenus, Blennocampa Hartig.
Species, Selandria (Blennocampa) /E‘thiops Fabricius, Ent. Syst., ii. p. 121.5
Klug, Mag. Berlin Nat. Fr., viii. p. 279.; Stephens, Illust. Brit. Ins. Mand.,
vol. vii. p. 51. F%g. 124.: 2, natural size; %, magnified.
Synonyme of the species Tenthrédo cérasi Linneus, Syst. Nat., il. p. 923. ;
Réaumur, Mémoires, tom. v. tab. 12. f. 1—6.; De Geer, Mémoires, tom. ti.
part 2. tab. 38. f. 16—25.
Smooth shining black. Four anterior legs with the femora
black, yellowish at the tip. The tibiae testaceous. Posterior
legs dusky black, with the knees, or tips of the femora, and base
of the tibize, yellowish. Wings obscurely hyaline, with the
nervures, costa, and stioma black; and a dot on the second
submarginal areolet. Length of the body, 24 to 2} lines. Ex-
panse of the wings, 5 to 54 lines. (Stephens, loc. cit.)
There are many species of this group very closely allied to-
gether; which, in all probability, are similar in their habits
during the larva state: indeed, it is, perhaps, not improbable
that the larvee found on so many different trees as are mentioned
above may belong to various species, hitherto confounded with
the Yenthrédo cérasi of Linnzus. One species, indeed, has
been separated by Schrank, under the name of ZJenthrédo
fuliginosa.
The genus Selandria, here illustrated, is very closely allied to
Athalia, described in Vol. XIII. p. 195.; differing chiefly in
having only nine, instead of ten, joints in the antennze.
For the destruction of these insects, Mr.Glendinning recom-
mends hand-picking; and Bouché, in his work on garden in-
sects, gives the same advice.
Mr. Major recommends dusting the trees, when dry, with
quick lime; the exuded matter produced by the insect retaining
a sufficiency for its destruction. It will be seen, however, that
Mr. J. Fox mentions the inefficiency of this mode of proceeding;
it is nevertheless evident that the specimens upon which he
operated were, at the time, ready to throw off their skin. Had
the lime, on the contrary, been applied to those which had re-
cently undergone their transformations, a different result might
have been effected. ‘This insect, however, affords a good op-
portunity for a few chemical experiments, which would doubtless
insure a certain means for their destrution. ‘The secreted viscid
matter is so powerful, that any person acquainted with the prin=
113
486 Mode of destroying a Moth
ciples of ordinary chemical analysis would be able to ascertain
its real nature and properties, and, consequently, to propose a
proper remedy.
Art. II. Notice of a Mode of destroying a Species of Moth injurt-
ous to the Vineyards of the South of France, employed by M. Audouin,
Professor of Entomology in the Muséum d’ Histoire Naturelle.
(Extracted from L’ E’cho du Monde Savant, Sept. 9. 1837.)
Tue Société Royale d’Agriculture, having been consulted by
the Minister of Commerce and Public Works, as to the best
means of arresting the ravages caused by a well-known species
of Pyralis in the vineyards of Maconnais, appointed M. Audouin
to proceed thither, in order to gain the requisite information for
stopping the progress of the evil. M. Audouin arrived in that
country on the 5th of August. He soon perceived that the
reports addressed to the minister had not been exaggerated ;
and found the cultivators so much discouraged, that no steps
whatever had been taken to free themselves from the pest.
“This,” says M. Audouin, “was the first difficulty met with, which
I have been fortunate enough to surmount, with the assistance of
a few enlightened individuals, who conceived the happy idea of
forming a union of proprietors, which has had the best effect.”’
In fact, on the day after this union, the greater number of the
assistants set themselves to work in earnest to adopt the measures
recommended by M. Audouin. ‘The season was too far advanced
to allow the author of the Mémoire to study these insects in all
their different stages of developement; but he had already, in
1836, observed some individuals sent to Paris from Romanéche,
a territory of which the vineyards, as well as those of Thorins,
occupied almost the centre of the ravaged country. At these
places he had been able to examine at leisure the chrysalides,
to watch the coming forth of the moths, the laying of the eggs,
and their developement, until the appearance of the caterpillar, -
which takes place in August, at the time when the vines are
covered with new leaves; but the insect does not commence its
ravages till the spring of the following year.
The learned professor described two methods which he had
used with success. It is known that one mode of destroying
these injurious insects is the lighting of fires, to which they are
attracted, and burn themselves. He has taken advantage of his
former experience to modify this process in a very ingenious man-
ner. He places a flat vessel with a light on the ground, and covers
it with a bell-glass, besmeared with oil. ‘The pyralis, attracted
by the light, flies towards it ; and, in the midst of the circle which
it describes in flying, it is caught and retained by the glutinous
enjurious to Vineyards. 487
sides of the bell-glass, where it instantly perishes by asphyxia.
Two hundred of these lights were established in a part of the
vineyard of M. Delahante, about four acres in extent, and at a
distance of 25 ft. from each other. These fires last about two
hours ; and scarcely had they been lighted, when a great number
of moths came flying around, and were speedily destroyed by
the oil. The next day the deaths were counted. Each of the
200 vessels contained, on an average, 150 moths. This sum,
multiplied by the first number, gives a total of 30,000 moths
destroyed. Of these 30,000 insects, we may reckon one fifth
females, having the abdomen full of eggs, which would speedily
have laid, on an average, 150 eggs each. This last number,
multiplied by the fifth of 30,000, that is to say, by 6000, would
givefor the final result of this first destruction the sum of 900,000.
On the 7th of August, 180 lamps were lighted in the same place,
each of which on an average destroyed 80 moths, or a total of
14,400. In these 14,400 moths there was reckoned to be,
not only one sixth, but three fourths, females: but, admitting
that there was only one half females, or 7200; and, multiplying
this by 150 (the number of eggs that each would have laid),
gives a total of 1,080,000 eggs destroyed. ‘Two other experi-
ments were made on the 8th and 10th of August, which
caused the destruction of 9260 moths.
The expense attending this process is a very great objection ;
but M. Audouin had recourse to a less expensive mode, namely,
that of hand labour. These moths, as already observed, lay
their eges in clusters of about 150 each, on the upper side of
the vine leaves. Each cluster contains a greater or less number
of eggs; but 60 may be taken as the average. It is these eggs
which give birth to the devastating insects. If the eggs were
destroyed, the source of the evil would be totally arrested. On
the 7th of August, 20 vine-dressers, women and children, were
set to work, under the direction of M. Audouin, in the vineyard
of M. Delahante; and this operation was continued till August
11. inclusive. The following is the result obtained : — 186,900
clusters of eggs were collected, which was equal to the destruc-
tion of 11,214,000 eggs. ‘This operation was continued from
the 12th of August to the 18th of August, by thirty persons,
during which time 482,000 clusters of eggs were gathered ;
which, multiplied by 60 (the average number in each cluster),
gives 28,920,000. ‘Thus, in twelve days, from 20 to 30 workers
destroyed 40,182,000, which would have been hatched in the
course of from 12 to 15 days.
M. Audouin related several other experiments of the same
kind which had been tried in various places. He thinks that
collecting the eggs is superior to any other mode that has been
proposed or put in practice; and, if used conjointly with the
11 4
488 Moth injurious to Vineyards.
lamps, it would be the certain means of annihilating this injurious
insect. ‘These two modes are far superior to the tedious and
imperfect operation of destroying the caterpillars. It would not
be prudent, however, to neglect the latter operation, which must
only be considered as the resource of the improvident vine cul-
tivator, who, in the preceding year, has neglected to remove the
eggs from his vine leaves.
M. Audouin believes that he has found out a method of de-
struction superior to those just described, but he is desirous of
making more experiments before laying it before the public.
From the above paper, the practical gardener may derive two
very valuable hints. In the first place, he will see the powerful
results that attend the seemingly minute and unimportant practice
of hand-picking; a practice so often recommended by Kirby and
Spence, and by Mr. Westwood, and yet, we fear, too generally
neglected by cultivators. Much might be done in gardens by
the employment of women for picking off the eggs of insects ;
one woman would be sufficient for an ordinary-sized kitchen-
garden, from March to November; and a little experience with
the net would soon enable her to catch and destroy many insects
in the perfect state. The late Mr. Willmot of Lewisham em-
ployed one woman for upwards of 100 acres of nursery ground,
solely for the purpose of keeping his trees clear of the woolly
aphis; and he succeeded. The Rev. Thomas Williams of Hen-
don Rectory (whose garden, though less than an acre in extent,
is yet, in point of culture and high keeping, equal to that of
Mrs. Lawrence at Drayton Green, and, in the gardenesque dis-
position of a collection of the most rare and valuable trees and
shrubs, superior to every other garden that we have seen) keeps
one man during summer for the sole purpose of detecting and
removing insects. on his collection of pines and firs.
The second hint which gardeners may take from M. Audouin’s
paper, is that of employing, during the whole summer, moth-traps
of the kind used by him. Cocoa-nut oil, as being the cheapest,
may be used for the lamps; and any cheap sweet oil for coating
over the outside of the bell-glasses; which glasses may be the
same as those used for striking cuttings, the larger green kind
used for covering cauliflowers, or even common hand-glasses.
Perhaps coating the glass with gum and water might, in England,
be cheaper than coating it with oil. The traps should not be
set till it is nearly dark, and no more oil need be put in the
lamp than what will keep it burning till daylight returns.
Traps of this kind can, of course, only be effectual with winged
insects which fly about during the nighttime, such as moths,
cockchafers, &c.; but, perhaps, some kind of trap might be de-
vised for creeping insects, such as the wood-louse, the ant, the
earwig, &c.,. as effective as M. Audouin’s moth-trap. There is a
Woody Fibre of the Palm. 489
trap sold in the shops for beetles and cockroaches, which is very
effective; and frogs, toads, and hedgehogs, are exceedingly
useful in gardens for devouring insects.— Cond.
Art. III. Remarks on the Origin and Direction of the woody Fibre
of the Stems of Palms. By JAMEs Main, A.L.S.
I am induced to offer a few remarks on a paper read to the
British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Liver-
pool, on Tuesday, Sept. 12. 1837. The paper is said to be,
“Some Observations on the Origin and Direction of the Woody
Fibre of the Stems of Palms.” Among other particulars relative
to their habitat and dimensions, it is added, that ‘In longi-
tudinal sections of the stem of a large species, the bundles of
woody fibre were distinctly seen passing from the sears and
bases of the leaves downwards and inwards, gently curving at
an angle of 18°, till they nearly reached the centre of the stem;
then, changing their direction outwards, they continued their
downward course with greater obliquity than before, till they
approached the external surface of the stem; after which they
still descended in a line parallel with its axis, ultimately be-
coming so much ramified, that it was impossible to trace them.
“To Dr. Lindley’s supposition, that the hardness of the
exterior cannot be owing to the outward pressure of new matter
from within, but to some cause analogous to the formation of
heart wood in exogens, Mr. Gardner replies, that a longitudinal
section of a palm stem, with leaves attached, clearly shows that
the ligneous substance is formed by the leaves; and this affords
collateral evidence of an analogous formation of the wood in
exogens. ‘The only difference between the formation of these
two kinds of stems seems to be, that in the exogenous tribes
the woody fibre always remains between the bark and the last-
formed layer; while, in the palms, the bundles of woody tissue
first pass downwards and inwards to the interior of the stem,
then curve outwards, and finally run down parallel with the
axis, through the previously formed tissues which constitute the
column.”
The gravamen of the above quotation certainly appears to be
this; namely, that the woody fibres of both exogens and indo-
gens are formed by the foliage of the former, and the fronds fo
the latter. I know well that this hypothesis has been embraced
by many eminent men; but it really appears to have been pro-
pounded withont reference to the phenomena it was employed
to explain. That leaves can acquire existence before the parts
to which they are so intimately attached, from which they sprang,
and which nourish and support them, is rather illogical ; and why
490 Woody Fibre of the Palin.
should the observer, in seeking to find out the connexions of the
different members of a stem, begin his tracing at the wrong end ?
Surely, the base of a stem had existence before the leaves, or
fronds, on the top. ‘The tracing should be according to the
natural growth. See, first, where any member had or has its
origin, and trace it upward as far as it extends; but do not pro-
ceed the contrary way, merely because it is stated in books that
the accretion of a monocotyledonous stem is internal; which, by
the by, only means that all new growth proceeds from the
centre of the system. Observe the annual stem of asparagus:
on its first appearance it is as large in diameter as it is when
the seeds are ripe. Its growth is nothing but simple elongation :
each of its attenuated leaves, and each of its capsules, is attached
to the fibrous tissue; but who can assert, with reason, that each
of these members sends down special fibres to compose the bulk
of the stem? It is the same with the perennial trunks of palms:
they are as large when only one foot high as when they are
fifty. The fronds are, no doubt, all attached to, and proceed
consecutively from, the base; each new, or youngest, one having
a longer petiole than the preceding, and each oldest one, in its
turn, dying off, but leaving a part of its base to form, collectively,
the fibrous stem.
That fibrous tissues of the fronds curve inwards towards the
centre, is perfectly true. It cannot be otherwise ; because these,
rising erectly in the middle, fall subsequently sidewise. “A knee
is formed on the footstalk at the point of flexure; but, though
this curvature remains in the grain of the wood, it is every day
becoming more straight by the lateral pressure of the central
growth.
It is very evident that, if Mr. Gardner had never heard that
there were such circumstances as sap and fibres running down
the stems of palms, and if he had not been afraid of differing from
authorities at home, he would have given a far more rational ac-
count of the ligneous structure of the stems of those majestic trees.
Thus, however, it is with every hypothesis relating to natural
phenomena, which is adopted without due reflection and careful
examination. Every appearance of the object to be considered
is bent and twisted, in order that it may dovetail with the
reveries of our learned leaders. Hence, we see Mr. Gardner
drifting with the current, and fixing the capital high in air,
before one stone of the pedestal or column is laid !
That the living embryo exists in a seed before its roots are
protruded, is a fact; and that a living cutting is destitute of roots
until it is placed in a medium favourable to their developement,
is no less evident; but both these are very different from the
connexion between the leaves of dicotyledons, which are arti-
culate with the fibrous membranes, and those of monocotyledons
Growth of Trees at Flasby Hail. 491
which are not. It is, moreover, true, that some leaves of exogens
emit fibres from the costa, when placed in moist heat; but this
cannot be done with any dissevered part of a palm: its consti-
tutional unity forbids all subdivision, except by seeds. There
are no articulations among the members of a palm, except, per-
haps, among those of the inflorescence. The fronds, from their
intimate connexion with the stem, as described by Mr. Gardner,
are only foliar expansions of that member; and, therefore, it
appears much more reasonable to say, as well as believe, that
they are parcel of the stem, rather than the contrary.
Chelsea, September 20. 1837.
Art. IV. Notes on the Growth of Trees at Flashy Hall, near Gar-
grave, in Craven, Yorkshire. By Grorce WINTERSGILL. ,
My employer, with whom I have now been upwards of fifteen
years gardener, and who has long been observant on most subjects
relating to natural history, having lent me his notes in full upon
the growth of trees here, I am induced to forward a copy of
part of them to you with his permission, trusting to your dis-
cretion in their use.
The Dimensions of some particular Trees at Flashy Hail, in
Craven, Yorkshire, first taken in December, 1806; with some
Remarks thereon. — ‘Those on the house side of the water are
chiefly growing on limestone diluvium; and those on the other
side, on the shale beds of Flasby, which have been so ably eluci-
dated by Professor Philips of York; and are the beds which
contain the Ammonites figured by him in the second part of the
Geology of Yorkshire; the debris of which is a strong yellow
clay, covered with hazel loam of the same colour.
Awych elm (UJImus montana), near the south-west corner
of the house, planted in 1789, 16in. from ground, measured,
in 1806, Dec. 1., 42in. circumference; 1816, 64in.; 1823,
70 in.; 1830, 803 in.; 1836, Sept. 12., 86in. This tree is
upon a deep soil, advantageously situated for growth, one side
open to the flower-garden. In 1823, one large branch was
obliged to be cut off, comprising, probably, one third of the
branches; and it is even now not above half covered over.
The beech near the approach road, planted in 1788, 3 ft.
from ground, 1806, 213 in.; 1816, 373in.; 1823,46in.; 1830,
55 in.; 1836, 653in. ‘This tree is in the midst of others. The
whole of the trees are selected, as those most likely to be left as
standards eventually, and are all not very far from the house,
or in its approach. This tree is just upon the edge of the
singular sand and gravel bed upon which the house stands, on
the angle formed by the bend of the valley changing north and
4.92 Growth of Trees at Flasby Hall,
south to east and west. In this sand-bed have been discovered
great quantities of human skeletons. The only bones hitherto
discovered in situ are those of the water-rat, which prove it of
alluvial origin, although it is upwards of nine yards thick, and
60 ft. above the water.
A beech near the last one particularised, 21 in. from ground,
planted at the same time, in 1806, 21 in.; 1816, 34in.; 1823,
444in,; 1830, 564in.; 1886, 68in. ‘Trees, in general, on the
limestone diluvium of Craven, reach water within the yard. They
grow well whilst young, therefore, but are not healthy when once
they have touched the waters. On the limestone rocks there is
seldom much soil; and, although dry, it is too solid to admit
their roots. The ash, however, at the foot of these hills, where
a greater depth of soil prevails, grows luxuriantly, and has been
called the Craven oak.
The oak near the garden, planted in 1787, at 3 ft. from
ground, in 1806, 16in.; 1816, 28}in.; 1823, 33}in.; 1828,
391 in.; 1830, 412in.; 1836, 52in. This oak is situated so
near the level of the water, that it may probably partake, in
some measure, of the debris of the shale which causes it to grow
well; for I have observed that the oak never thrives well on
the limestone, unless it happens to be near the shale bands which
occur more or less through the whole great limestone forma-
tion; and asingular fact I should wish to mention here : — The
common laurel (Cérasus Laurocérasus) could never be got to
grow on the house side of the water; and, thongh it shot well
when first planted, in a short time it as invariably cankered
away and died. By carting a few loads of clay, we have got
it to grow well, and have now some good specimens.
A larch near the last oak, at 4 ft., now cut down: in 1806,
34in.; 1816, 394 in.; 1823, 474 in.; 1828, 4924 in. The last-
named oak, situated so near this larch, had increased 6 in., whilst
this tree made only 2 in. during the same period.
A larch in the drive to the house, planted in 1786: in 1830,
66in.; 1836, 714 in.
The following are all situated across the water: — A larch
at the back of the lodge, planted in 1785: in 1830, 73 in.;
1836, 794in. These two last-named trees grow well: both are -
on the brook edge, upon alluvial gravel. Soil a fertile, light,
sandy loam.
At the entrance from Meatherfield Foot, in the Low Wood,
stand two wych elms on each side of the path, planted in
1787: at 4ft. from ground, upper one, 1806, 265in.; 1816,
42 in.; 1830, 552 in.; 1836, 614 in. Lower one, 1806, 234 in.;
1816, 394in.; 1830, 503 in.; 1836, 57in. The wych elm,
although indigenous to the soil here, does not appear, in general,
to grow so well as on the limestone side ; and, were it on the lime-
near Gargrave, in Craven, Yorkshire. 4.93
stone debris never to reach water, it would arrive at a great size.
On the alluvial gravels in the vicinity it grows well. ‘The elm,
above all trees, once touching water, rots at the heart. All plants,
in excessive droughts, shoot downwards after moisture; the
next winter rains, raising the bottom level of the water, rot the
lower fibres; and a great length of time is necessary for
healing them again. It is upon this principle we have acted, by
bruising, not cutting, in successfully destroying weeds very dif-
ficult to eradicate, such as equisetums and the two tussilagos. The
larger one, with its enormous leaves, often invades our low mea-
dows. A roller, applied in spring, when the plant is in vigorous
sap, destroys it. ‘This was discovered from observing that the
plants were completely destroyed by the summer tread of cattle.
The oak, near the pond, close to the aged oak, planted in 1782,
at one yard from ground, in 1806, 322 in.; 1816, 41 in.; 1830,
51iin.; 1836, 57in. This oak is, of course, more or less. af-
fected by the superior strength of the old one in depriving it of
nourishment. Probably, the death of trees under others is more
caused from the greater vigour of the large one depriving the
weaker of food, than shade. Seedlings soon die awey unless of
a different genera.
Another oak, which stands near the ditch from the pond to
the cascade, planted in 1787, at one yard, measured, in 1806,
174 ft.; 1816, 273 ft.; 1830, 364 ft.; 1836, 41 ft.
The larch oak, at one yard, planted in 1782: 1806, 344 ft. ;
1816, 444 ft.; 1830, 532 ft.; 1836, 60 ft. This oak, so named
from its spiral growth, by Mr. Dixon, of Leith Walk, Edinburgh,
who visited it on the day of the jubilee, 1809. The soil here
is hazel loam, of good depth, on a flat, showing the shale beds
to be soft above, and deep.
The corner oak, at one yard, and planted in 1787: 1806,
18 ft.; 1816, 313 ft.; 1830, 442 ft.; 1836, 54 ft. The average
height of all these trees above the level of the sea is from 380 ft.
to 390 ft. Most of the trees were two years old transplanted
plants when first planted out.
These notes, on the increase in size of trees, perhaps demand
some short description of their locality. Craven is naturally a
cold and wet country, from its elevation above the level of the
sea, its contiguity to mountains, and, above all, its short grass,
being wholly a grazing land. ‘The effect of all this is a greater
radiation into space, which tends to cool its atmosphere con-
siderably. Flasby, the place from which these admeasurements
are derived, is situated in the parish of Gargrave ; and the ap-
proach commences immediately on crossing a bridge leading from
that place over the Eshton brook. Bending on the right, is the
Flasby brook, there flowing in a close wood before its junction
at right angles with the other. This water is a clear trout stream,
494 Growth of Trees at Flasby Hall.
passing over a rough stony bed. On leaving the thicket, a level
plain appears, bounded nearly all round by woods; on the left
the flat is covered with single trees planted in groups. Across the
brook is a steep wooded bank, covered with some ancient oaks,
thorns, hazels, &c. ‘This bank, with the water at its foot, ex-
tends along the side of the road till it begins again to ascend,
and which it does till it reaches the level of the house, during
which space it is always enclosed in wood. On nearing the
house, the road turns sharply to the right; when all at once the
mountain Sharpah bursts upon the view, 2000 ft. above the level
of the sea, with its expansive cove, from which the mountain
takes its name; its broken ground, with its zones of different
woods completely clothing its steep sides ; the larch alone creeping
in places towards the top, which is too exposed and elevated to
allow the trees to attain their upright growth, they being there
only dense shrubs, though quite old. ‘The whole of this wood
shows no fenced outline, and on that account encloses a con-
siderable tract of open heath, which has become old and strong
from the great number of years it has been unused. Amongst
this, various exotics have been from-time to time introduced in
experimental patches, the particulars of which I could give you
if desirable. A large portion of the lower part of the wood
consists of indigenous oak and aged trees. The ground on the
sides is very much broken with rock and deep ravines, down
which the mountain torrents pour; and there are several most
singular slips of several acres in extent, producing nearly flats on
the mountain side. ‘T'wo of these, which lie together, have been
called dead eyes, with nose between, and brows above. ‘The
usual heaths of the north are common. Of rare plants, I have
found Campanula federacea near the top; and in the lower
wood (for I forgot to mention that the first wood is half a mile
or more from the commencement of the continuous ascent on the
hill, a second valley or stream intervening) are found O’rchis
bifolia and Cypripedium Calcéolus, though now become excessively
rare; and in the meadows near the house, O’phrys muscifera
and apifera. The floral arrangement here is various, by reason
of three distinct formations; viz. mountain limestone, shale, and
millstone grit, in addition to the great difference in elevation.
From what I have written, it will appear that there must be
much variety within a small compass; and that this place com-
mands a fine outline of hill and rock, and that that hill is clothed
with a strong contrast of colours, produced from the brown and
purple of the heath when in flower. Above the wood, the light
green of the larch, the blue green of the Scotch pine, and the
massive round tops of the oak, intermix with the deep green of
the alder, and elegant foliage of the birch. The situation of the
hall, also, is good, backed as it is by plantations, and placed
Wilton Shrub-lifter. 495
upon a gentle declivity sloping to the south on an angle formed
from the bend of a valley running east and west in front, and
turning nearly north on the left ; though on that side the valley is
completely filled with wood. Such, then, is the picture I have been
endeavouring to describe to you, and which, I trust, you will
view some time or another; for I can assure you that you will
find several fine mansions in the neighbourhood, well worthy of
your notice.
Art. V. Notice of the Wilton Shrub-lifter. By its Inventor,
Harry ALcock.
Ir you think the accompanying sketches (figs. 125. to 127.)
worthy of a place in your Magazine, pray accept them as a trifling
mite from one who has been gratified for many and many an hour
by the perusal of your different valuable works for us country
gentlemen.
I have called it the Wilton Shrub-lifter, from the name of
this house; and my first reason for thinking of making it was,
when superintending the removal of evergreens, &c., I observed
that half the men’s time was lost in drying to get the tree out of
the hole, after it was loose. Now, Sir, with the /7/ter, I can do as
496 Method of pruning ornamental Trees.
much work with two men, and do it better than I could do-
before with six men; and my mode of operating is this : —
I cut a trench round the tree or shrub; then take the round
part of the machine, fig. 126. (which is made of oak, like a very
flat dinner plate, and crossed with strong iron on the under
side, as represented in fig. 127.), first detaching the handles
from their swivel hooks (fig. 125. ¢). Then, by inclining the tree a
little on one side, I slip the machine under it, and let the tree
fall into its own place, when, taking the choice of two opposite
sides, where the branches are least in the way, we attach the two
handles ; and two men can /f¢ the tree in a few seconds, without
even putting a hand to the stem or branches.
Wilton, near Enniscorthy, Nov. 2. 1836.
Art. VI. An Account of a Method of pruning ornamental Trees,
chiefly Beech. By J. W. B.
Brina aware of your desire to give publicity to any plan
which seems to promise improvement, I have here forwarded to
you an account of a method of pruning ornamental trees, chiefly
beech, which has been adopted by John S. Enys, Esq., and
executed, under his immediate superintendence, at Enys, near
Penryn. Most of these trees were planted about forty years
ago; and, from favourable circumstances of soil and shelter, were
in a flourishing state of growth, and were from 16 in. to 20 in. in
diameter, and perhaps 60 ft. high; but, in consequence of neglect,
they had run up with several competing leaders. The best of
these leaders was left; the others were shortened to one of the
side branches about three years since. The tops cut off varied
from 4 in. to 6 in. in diameter; and a stem was left from 10 ft. to
25 ft. long to its junction with the main trunk of the tree. The
outer side was partly cut first, and the remainder was sawn from
the inner side; so that the weight of the upper branches, aided
by the leaves, as it was never done except in summer, snapped
off the top without splintering.
The intended effect has been produced; viz., the selected
leader has begun to assume the decided character of a main
trunk; while the condemned leaders, whose growth has been
checked in proportion to the amount of top taken off, have
become large subordinate branches, headed by the side shoots
which were left. It should be observed a sufficient quantity of
branches must be left attached to the remaining stem to keep it
in health, otherwise the defect of snag-pruning will not be
avoided.
Although I have constantly passed under these trees since
December, the marks of the pruning are so little visible, that I
Culture of the Pine and Fir Tribe 4.97
have never observed them until pointed out to me oy Mr. Enys;
but Iam so convinced that this method of cutting back large
neglected trees is not only the most effective, but the least ex-
pensive, that I shall always practice it whenever I may have to
direct the pruning of ornamental forest trees.
Art. VII. Notice of the Mede of treating the more rare Species of the
Pine and Fir Tribe. By P. Frost, Gardener, Dropmore.
I wow send you an account of the system we adopt in
planting the different species of Pinus; particularly such as
may be termed pot plants, and which have their roots coiled up
into a ball. In the first instance, I shall describe the manner in
which we prepare the ground for planting them; that is, by
digging a hole from 12 ft. to 15 ft. in diameter, by 3 ft. deep, and
carrying off the major part of the subsoil, which consits chiefly
of gravel. ‘To replace this, we bring a sixth part of bog earth,
with a full half of scrapings and parings from the road sides,
which are of a gritty substance; taking, at the same time, as much
turf as possible; which is all incorporated together. The surface
soil here is very light, rather peaty; and the whole, when mixed,
is very light; and, by using a portion of the gravelly soil na-
tural here, it never binds closely together, but remains open and
kind. When the hole is ready, observing to keep it nearly a
foot higher than the natural surface to allow for sinking, I ex-
tricate the plant from the pot, carefully drawing out every root,
so as to get the whole ball loose, and not minding if every par-
ticle of soil drops. I then extend every root as regularly as
possible; giving them a good watering before I cover them with
soil, which causes the soil to adhere closely, and, I find, does
much more good than watering when the roots are covered. I
find all such plants as have been previously planted with the
balls entire never resist wind, but are often destroyed by such
careless planting. Those planted since I came here are, in
general, growing much more luxuriantly than such as were pre-
viouly planted ; and do not require the same care when exposed
to high winds. I mostly use leaves with the surface mould, as
I keep the better soil as deep as possible; and often make the
soil better near the roots, by mixing up a wheelbarrow-full of
leaves for planting in: I think it gives them a better start at
first. The plants require to be tied up for a short time, till the
eround gets settled; when there is no further care required, ex-
cept occasional pruning, &c.
Dropmore, Sept. 1837.
Vou. XIII. — No. 92. K K
498 Advantages of hardy Annuals.
Arv. VIII. List of Plants suitable for a Flower-Garden, which, it is
Sound by Experience, are not liable to be eaten by Hares, By P.
Frost, Gardener, Dropmore.
Tue following list of plants contains those which, when bedded
out at Dropmore, are seldom gnawed or bitten by hares or rab-
bits, &c.; except those that are distinguished in the list by
an asterisk, which are sometimes gnawed when newly planted.
Newly planted things are more liable to injury than such as have
been in the ground some time.
Tropzolum majus flore pléno. Nierembérgra calycina.
Verbéna Sabiniana. Salvia chameedrifolia.
pulchella. falgens.
* venosa. Grahami.
* chameedrifolia. Senécio élegans.
(Melindris). Kaulfassia amelloides.
Bouvardia triphylla. Mahérnia pinnata.
* Heliotropium sp. Petunia nyctaginiflora.
Calceolaria salvitolia. rosea.
thyrsiflora. pree“nitens.
rugosa. pheenicea.
angustifolia. blanda.
Qinothera macrocarpa. Mimulus roseus.
Pelargonium optabile. Isétoma axillaris.
Daveyanum. Alonsoa linearis.
pavonicum. acutifolia.
Black Prince. Cineraria amelloides.
Fairy Queen. Fachsia globosa,
Scarlets in var.
I IO
Art. IX. On some of the Advantages attending the Culture of Hardy
Annuals. By Joun Cats, Gardener to His Grace the Duke of
Bedford, at Bedford Lodge, Cambden Hill.
Tue regularity and neatness which constitute good keeping in
the flower-garden, however desirable they may be in other re-
spects, tend to do away with many of those invaluable plants
called hardy annuals; because their reproduction from self-
sowing cannot take effect when high keeping is adhered to.
The suitableness of these annuals to the climate of this country,
when sown in autumn, or permitted to sow themselves, is such
as to render them truly useful; and their value was fully proved -
here in the spring of the present year. During the cold weather
which prevailed at that season, not a few of the plants, the seeds
of which were introduced into this country from North America
by the late Mr. Douglas, were here apparently in their proper ele-
ment. As soon as the cold weather ceased, they came into blossom,
and made a brilliant display; a circumstance which goes far to
prove not only their importance for an early show of flowers, but
their adaptation for ornamenting borders of plantations; especially
as many of them are not likely to be eaten by hares or rabbits.
As we do not consider groups of such plants, when in a state of
maturity and in seed, in character with the good keeping which
New or little known culinary Vegetables. 499
is necessary at an early period of the season in the flower-
garden, it will be indispensably requisite to have a piece of
ground set apart for the growth of such, where they will remain
permanently ; and which will prove a store-garden, to which the
gardener may resort when plants are wanted to produce certain
effects; such, for instance, as a show of flowers, previous to the
summer-flowering plants coming into blossom. But, notwith-
standing their suitableness for a spring show, many of them will
continue flowering pretty well during the summer months.
The following list contains a few of the plants recommended : —
Q@nothéra Lindleyana, purple. Collomia linearis, red.
albicans, white. Nemophila insignis, blue.
decimbens, purple. Collinsza grandiflora, blue and white.
viminea, purple. vérna, blue and purple.
Clarkia pulchélla, purple. bicolor, pinkish.
élegans, pinkish purple. Leptosiphon densiflorus, lilac.
Gila tricolor, whitish. androsaceus, lilac.
achilleefolia, blue. Chryséis (Eschscholtzia) crocea,
Madia élegans, yellow. orange.
Collomia grandiflora, pink. californica, yellow.
Ft SAREE IEA
Art. X. Notice of some new, or little known, Sorts of culinary Ve-
getables, cultivated in ihe North Riding of Yorkshire. By J. B.
WHITING.
A xinp of Celery is grown here, which is not noticed in the
Encyclopedia of Gardening, and, probably, is unknown in the
south; but its merit is so great, that it deserves general culti-
vation. It is called, here, the Flat-stalked; one of its distin-
guishing characters being the great breadth and flatness of its
leafstalks, which are white, and perfectly solid. The leaves are
large and spreading, pale green, with broader leaflets, and more
obtuse serratures, than the common white.
In the spring of 1836, I received an excellent Lettuce, called
the®Asiatic Cabbage, from Messrs. Backhouse of York. It is
not a very large lettuce; but it cabbages particularly well, and
stands a long time without running to flower. ‘The leaves are
pale yellowish green. We have here another very superior
cabbage-lettuce, seeds of which were received, some years ago,
from the London Horticultural Society, under a French name.
It is larger than the preceding sort, rather darker in colour,
and the leaves are slightly speckled with brown.
We grow here a Broccoli, which frequently attains an enor-
mous size. In 1835, I measured two heads, one of which was
1 ft. 11 in. across, and 3 ft. 1 in. in circumference; the other was
1ft. Gin. across, and 2ft. i0in. round. It is called Metcalf’s
Gray; having, as I understand, been originated by a gardener
named Metcalf. In flavour, it is inferior to many other sorts.
SS sates
500 Pot Culture of the Grape.
The best broccoli I am acquainted with, for a gentleman’s
garden, is Knight’s Protecting; the heads of which are com-
pact, clear white in colour, and of excellent flavour. Being
closely enveloped in the heart-leaves of the plant, the young
heads are protected from late spring-frests, by which other
white varieties are often discoloured: it, however, is tender, the
last severe winter having destroyed nearly all my plants. Seeds
may be obtained from Messrs. Backhouse.
At.the North Riding Horticultural Society’s meeting (July
28.), some Beans were exhibited, which were greatly superior
to any I ever saw. They were of a new sort, called New
Long-pod, originally obtained from a London seed shop (Field
and Child, I believe, is the name of the firm). ‘The pods were
straight, and well formed, each containing from seven to ten
seeds. — Kiplin, Sept. 17.
Art. XI. Critical Remarks on the Pot Culture of the Grape Vine.
By Witi1aMm Grey, Gardener to Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart.
In my correspondence, in last November, with Mr. Mearns,
who was then gardener at Welbeck, he informed me that the
three-years-old wood of the vine rooted more freely than wood
of any other age; communicating, at the same time, several other
interesting remarks on the vine, which induced me to give the
pot culture of it another fair impartial trial, notwithstanding I
had written against and condemned the system. I have a range
of flued melon-pits here with four divisions: one of the divisions
I prepared with tan, or spent bark, for the reception of thirty
pots of coiled vines. In January last, I selected prunings; viz.,
white muscadine, Miller’s Burgundy, black cluster, and black
Hamburg; and, agreeably to the hints given by Mr. Mearns, I
was careful of having the three-years-old wood coiled into the
pots; the latter end of February being the time that the vines
I had the cuttings taken from had taken their rest, and Were
coming into action. I then plunged the pots into the pit pre-
viously prepared for them, in a mild, growing, bottom heat;
taking the sashes off all the day, to keep the shoots above the
soil as cool as possible, in order to prevent the eyes from pushing
until the bottom heat had put the wood coiled in the pots in
action. to push out roots and support the young shoots and
branches. All went on to my wish; as I found, by the time the
eyes broke forth into leaves, there were fine vigorous roots in the
pots. I then kept the sashes on in the daytime, giving air the
same as in forcing-houses: several of them showed fruit, with from
four to eleven bunches upon one coiled shoot. ‘The plants which
were not fruitful, I took out of the pot, to give more room and
light to those in fruit, and to satisfy myself in the argument
Pot Culture of the Grape. 501
between Mr. Mearns and Philosopher, regarding the roots
pushing only from the eye joints. It will be recollected that Mr.
Mearns contended that roots issued more freely between the eye
joints. I turned the barren plants out of the pots, and found Mr.
Mearns had been perfectly correct, as there were plenty of vi-
gorous roots between the eye joints, more so than from the eyes.
I brought all my young men in the gardens to witness it, as they
had read with great interest (in Paxton’s Horticultural Register)
the debate between Mr. Mearns and Philosopher ; but were at a
loss to know which was right, not having had an opportunity
of seeing any proof of it before. Philosopher must submit to
Mr. Mearns on that subject, as Mr. Mearns’s observations must
have been practical, and Philosopher’s only imaginative.
The vines that had bunches on them I kept plunged in the
tan-bed, where they set their fruit well. The berries swelled
to a good size, according to the sorts; and they are now quite
ripe; but I am certain not one of the bunches will be required
at my master’s table, as I have abundant crops, on established
vines in borders, of the muscat of Alexandria, Frontignan,
Hamburg, &c.; several of the bunches two and three pounds
weight, and the berries the size of small plums. I would ad-
vise those who have not given the coiling system a trial, never
to attempt it; as I am certain the best of success will be disap-
pointment to the cultivator, and perhaps insults from the
employer.
The shriveling of grape berries is very important. Several
methods have been pointed out for its prevention; yet I never
observed the malady decrease. Over-cropping a vine, a damp
bottom, and the foliage being destroyed by red spider, certainly
have a tendency to bringing on shriveling. My opinion, from
practical observation, is, that light crops suffer most. If the
flowers, when coming into blossom, do not expand over all] the
bunch in less than twenty-four hours (be the crop ever so light),
that bunch will shrivel. When vines expand their blossoms in a
lingering state, as a shoulder one day, the other shoulders the
next day, and the extremity of the bunch the third day, such
bunches are sure to shrivel, as the berries that set first begin to
swell immediately, and so keep the lead. ‘They form the seed
stone before the last-set berries; and, when swelling off, and
colouring to maturity, the first-set berries rob the last-set ones,
and cause them to shrivel and decay. ‘The best method I ever
found to prevent shriveling is, to keep a high moist heat when
the vines are coming into blossom, so as it may all expand at
once; and, in thinning, to cut out all the small berries, leaving
those on the bunch as near a size as possible. I will comment
at greater length on shriveling in a future Number.
Blagdon, Northumberland, Sept. 13. 1837.
KK 3 in
502 Canker on Cucumbers.
[ We shall be most happy to receive this promised communi-
cation, as we consider the subject a very important one, and
one that appears at present (notwithstanding the attention it has
excited) to be very little understood. ]
=
Art. XII. On the Spot, or Canker, on Cucumbers. By Joun
WicutTon, Gardener at Cossey Hall.
Tus disease in cucumbers is occasioned by the beds being
cold and damp, as the following observations will prove: — When
the weather is sunny, and the beds warm, the plants will never
be found thus diseased; but only when they become cold and
‘damp. I have taken diseased plants out of damp beds, and
placed them in a pit warmed by fire; and the plants soon
returned to a healthy condition. Many gardeners consider
plants diseased in this manner to be liable to infect others:
this, however, is not the case; it is the bed, and not the plant,
which communicates the disease. ‘This I have proved by ex-
periments ; having put healthy plants in the same bed with
those which were diseased, and found them speedily infected ;
whereas, when I had taken all the diseased plants out of a bed,
and replaced them with healthy plants, these also quickly showed
the disease. On the other hand, I have placed diseased plants
beside healthy ones in a warm bed, and the latter remained unin-
fected. The soil does not cause the disease; for I have taken
soil in which diseased plants had grown, and placed in it other
plants: some of these I have put into a warm bed, and others
into a bed from which the soil came. ‘The result has been,
that the plants in the cold damp bed soon showed the canker,
but not the others. Many suppose light soil to be the cause of
canker. ‘This is so far true, as plants in light soil require more
frequent watering; and this, in time, chills the beds. Canker
follows, not, however, as a consequence of the soil, but of the cold.
The canker has never appeared in my pits heated by fires,
except when I have given the plants much water, and when
this has been followed by dull weather. It has uniformly dis-
appeared after applying a little additional fire-heat. The real
cause of canker is, that the dampness and coldness of the beds
impede the growth of the plants, and cause them to break out
in spots. If the beds were warmer and had less moisture, the
tendency to ooze out and become diseased would go off with
the growth of the plants. ‘The disease is commonly found in
low and damp situations ; and I have seen much more of it since
I have resided in Norfolk than I ever did before. With a view
to ascertain its true cause, the foregoing experiments were
made ; there being much difference of opinion on the subject
‘among gardeners. — Cossey, Feb. 10. 1837.
Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 503:
Art. XIII. Floricultural and Botanical Notices on Kinds of Plants
newly introduced into our Gardens, and that have originated in them,
and on Kinds of Interest previously extant in them ; supplementary
to the latest Editions of the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” and of
the ‘* Hortus Britannicus.”
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing
eight plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c.
Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, each containing
eight plates; 4s. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Lindley,
Professor of Botany in the London University.
Sweet's British Flower-Garden ; inmonthly numbers, each containing
four plates; 3s. coloured, 2s. 3d. plain. Edited by David Don,
Esq., Professor of Botany in King’s College, &c.
Paston’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants ;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.
Bateman’s Orchidacee of Mexico, &c.; in parts ; imp. folio ; 1/. 1s. 6d.
each.
LEGUMINO SE.
41241. THERMO’PSIS 10,465 fabacea Dec. ; Hook. Bot. Mag., 3611.
Synonymes: 'T. rhombifdlia Rich. ; Thérmia rhombifdlia Nuét.; Cytisus rhombifolius Pursh 5
Sophora fabacea Pall.
“T think,” says, Sir W. J. Hooker, “there can be little doubt
of the correctness of the above synonymes. Now, that I have
seen the living plant, I have no hesitation in referring it to the
Thermopsis rhombifolia of Dr. Richardson. Thus it appears
to have a very extended range, being found in the north-eastern
parts of Asia; and in north America, on both sides of the Rocky
Mountains; but no where, as it appears, on the east side of that
vast continent. It was introduced to this country through the
Horticultural Society, having been sent by Mr. Douglas from
dry channels of mountain torrents, in the valleys of the Cordil-
leras, near the Columbia River. It is cultivated in the green-
house of the Glasgow Botanic Garden, where it flowers in
May: but Dr. Lindley speaks of it as a good herbaceous plant,
readily increased by the division of its creeping roots; and it
will probably prove quite a hardy plant.” ‘The stem is herba-
ceous, erect, simple, or branched only upwards, somewhat an-
gular, and quite glabrous below. ‘The leaves are trifoliate,
petiolate; leaflets obovate, approaching to rhomboid, distinctly
veined ; glabrous above, and slightly downy beneath. ‘The ra-
ceme is composed of several yellow flowers, about the size of
those of the laburnum. (Bot. Mag., Oct.)
Rosdcee § Potentillee.
3349, HORKE‘LIA
*fasca Lindl, dusky y A cu 2 jn.au W.Br. N. Amer. .«. D co Bot. reg. 1997.
The plants of this genus are all erect and herbaceous, re-
KK 4
504 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
sembling some potentillas in their general aspect; but with
flowers collected into heads, unguiculate petals, a campanulate
calyx, and 10 stamens, often with ovate petaloid filaments.
They form a transition from Potentilla to the genus Sibbaldza,
and thus assist in establishing a graduated series of structure
between the most highly developed forms of Aosaceze, and such
imperfect forms as we find in Sanguisorbeee. (Bot. Reg., Oct.)
Asclepidadeee.
*PHILIBE’RT/4 Kunth. Tue PaiipertTia. (in honour of M. Philibert, author of an elementary
Treatise on Botany.)
*grAcilis D. Don siender $ A el 6 jn Y.W. Buenos Ayres 1836 C s.1 Swt. Br. f.-gard. 403.
A perennial herb, clothed with soft spreading hairs. Stems
filiform, twining. Leaves opposite, stalked, cordate, acuminate,
soft; green on both sides; 13 in. long; the posterior lobes rounded
and spreading. ‘The plant was raised by Dr. Neill of Canon-
mills from seeds collected by Mr. Tweedie between Buenos
Ayres and Tucuman. The plant was kept all winter in a
vinery, trained to a rafter, where it did not appear to suffer from
being occasionally exposed to a little frost, very little fire having
been employed. (Swi. Br. £.-Gard., Oct.)
Scrophularine.
_ $468: LOPHOSPE/RMUM [Swt. Br. fl.-gard. 401.
*scandens D. Don (Lin. Trans.,’xv. 353.) climbing § —J or 10 jn.o P Mexico 1835 C sl
A scandent perennial herb, clothed with soft, spreading, ar-
ticulated, viscid hairs. Leaves alternate, stalked, cordate, acu-
minate, serrated, with broad mucronulate teeth, palminerved and
reticulately veined; from 2in. to3in. long, and from 13 in. to
Qin. broad; dark green above, paler and less hairy beneath.
Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. or more in length, of a dull purple,
with the tube white on the under side.
‘Tt is with no little satisfaction,” says Professor Don, “ that
we present to our readers a figure of the original species of this
highly-ornamental genus.” ‘The plant was first introduced, in
1835, to the Liverpool Botanical Garden. In habit, it comes
near to L. atrosanguineum; and in the form of its flowers it is
exactly intermediate between that species and L. erubéscens.
(L. scandens Bot. Mag., 3037. and 3038.; Swt. Br. F.-Gard.
68.) (Swt. Br. E7.-Gard., Oct.)
Verbenacee.
1755. PEXTREA Liv. p. 199.
*Staptlie Paxt. Stapelia-flowered § [7] or 20 jn L ?S. Amer. ... C rm _ Pax. mag. of bot.
A twining stove shrub. Leaves oblong, rather acute ; veins
on the under surface, especially the principal, very prominent,
rough on both sides, and of a yellowish-green colour. “ When
trained to the back wall of a stove trellis, or up a rafter, it is
very ornamental, even though not in flower; but in a state of
flowering, although the corolla is rather fugitive, it is, in con-
sequence of the less fugacious nature of the calyx, and the pen-
Te
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 505
dent habits of the racemes from the extremities of the branches,
very graceful and beautiful for a long time. It delights in
free loam, mixed with a little sandy peat; and cuttings in sand,
under a glass, in heat, root freely.” (Paat. Mag. of Bot., Oct.)
Orchidacee.
2547 DENDRO*BIUM 28596. anceps Lindi. Bot. Reg., 1239.
Synonyme : A’porum Anceps Lindl. in Wail., No. 2020.; Hook. Bot. Mag., 3608.
MACROCHILUS Fryanus Knowl. & Westc.; Gard. Mag., xiii. 457.
Synonyme : Miltonéa spectabilis Lindl. Bot. Reg., 1992.
Named Miltonza, in honour of Lord Fitzwilliam, by Dr. Lind-
ley, who observes: ‘I had promulgated the name of Miltonza
spectabilis previously to hearing that Messrs. Knowles and West-
cott had called the plant Macrochilus Fryanus ; and, as the former
name was published a month earlier, the latter will have to give
way.” (Bot. Reg., Oct.) When we previously recorded this plant,
in p. 457., we inadvertently referred to the Mor. Cab. for Sept.,
instead of the Flor. Cab. for Aug.
*CYNO’RCHIS Thouars. Tar Doc Orcuis. (From kudn, a dog, and orchids, an orchis.)
*fastigiata Lindi. fastigiali *% [ZA] cu 2 ap G.R Isleof France ?1835 R sl Bot. reg. 1998.
“*'This is one of the representatives, in tropical countries, of the
terrestrial orchises of Europe, growing in similar situations, and
having knobby roots of the same kind. It occurs in damp
places in the Isle of France, and has a smell very like that of
the O’rchis mascula.” (Bot. Reg., Oct.)
2540. ONC DIUM [1835 D p.r.w Batem. Orch., t. i.
226774. *leucochilum Batem. white-lipped € XI or 4 aus W. and G. spotted with R Guatemala
O. ieucochilum appears to be not uncommen in Guatemala,
where it was found by Mr. Skinner, and sent to Mr. Bateman
in 1835, with whom it flowered in the autumn of the following
year. (Batem. Orch., Part I.)
Ra
; [1836 D p.r.w Batem. Orchid., t. 3.
22688a. *Cavendishidnum Batem. The Duke of Devonshire’s or 4 ja Y.andG Guatemala
‘This is a very handsome and distinct species of Oncidium;
and we have, therefore, no hesitation in naming it after a noble-
man whose devotion to botany and horticulture is now far too
well known to render it necessary for us to enlarge upon it here.
In a few years, we hope to see the beautiful family to which this
plant belongs seated in all their natural majesty on those trees
of which they are the proper ‘incumbents,’ and under the
shelter of the great plant stove at Chatsworth. When this grand
structure is completed, all the most striking vegetable forms of
_ India, Africa, and America will be seen in, perhaps, more than
their native Juxuriance within its ample boundaries; and thus,
amidst the wildest scenery of Derbyshire, there will be found an
example of tropical vegetation, richer and more varied than
could be met with in any of those baleful latitudes themselves.
‘‘It will prove a very easy species to cultivate, and a very
free flowerer ; in which it seems to follow the example of O. luri-
dum; but it will, we fear, long continue a scarce plant, as it
506 Lindley’s Ladies’ Botany.
grows very slowly, and seems indisposed to make more than one
shoot in a year, or than one shoot at a time.” (Batem. Ochid.,
Part I.)
25380. CATASE‘TUM [D p.sr.w Batem. Ochid., t. 2.
-*maculatum Kunth spotted-flowered € WA) or3 .. G.spotted with P. New Grenada 1836
Originally discovered by Humboldt, near the town of Turbaco,
in New Grenada (and at that time it was the only catasetum
known); but Mr. Skinner, who met with it on the eastern coast
of Nicaragua, has the merit of having introduced it into this
country. ‘* Nothing can be easier to cultivate than the different
species of Catasetum: they flower profusely alike under damp
or dry, under hot or cold, treatment; perhaps, however, they
attain their greatest vigour if subjected during the summer to a
powerful moist heat, with a plentiful supply of water; but in the
winter they should be kept tolerably dry.” (Batem. Orchid.,
Part I.)
2530a. CYCNO*CHES [Batem. Orchid., t. 5.
*ventricdsum Batem. ventricose-lipped € (AJ or2 .. G.W Guatemala ?1835 D p.r.w
‘The genus Cycnoches was founded by Professor Lindley,
upon a remarkabie plant from Surinam (C. Loddigesii), the
sepals and petals of which bore as close a resemblance to the
expanded wings of a swan, as did the column to the long arching
neck of the same graceful bird; and these peculiarities are well
expressed in the term Cyecnoches (swan-neck). For upwards of
four years, the genus had consisted of only a solitary species ;
when a second made its appearance in the person of C. ven-
tricosum, which was discovered in the neighbourhood of Istapa,
by Mr. Skinner.” (Batem. Orchid., Part I.)
REVIEWS.
Art.I. Ladies’ Botany ; or, a familiar Introduction to the Study of
the Natural System of Botany. Vol.11. By John Lindley, Ph.D.,
F.R.S., &c-, Professor of Botany in the University College, London.
Arter the favourable reception which the public have given
to the first volumé of Dr. Lindley’s Ladzes’ Botany, it having
already gone through three editions, it seems unnecessary to say
more respecting the second volume, than that it is executed on
the same plan as the first. ‘The number of letters in the first
volume was 25; and the volume before us extends the number
to 50. ‘The plates are admirably executed, from original draw-
ings; and the letterpress is so clear and perspicuous, that no
person, from seeing it and referring to the plates, can have the
slightest difficulty in making out the author’s meaning. This
work will do more towards diffusing a general taste for botany,
and of that kind of knowledge of plants which consists in know-
ing something more of them than merely their names, than any
other work that ever was published. It cannot be sufficiently
Report of the Edinburgh Botanical Society. 507
recommended to the young gardener; or to the parent who
wishes to infuse into his children a kind of taste and knowledge,
calculated, perhaps, to contribute more to their happiness than
any other, in whatever station of life, or part of the world, they
may be placed.
PR SP
Art. II, Icones Plantarum ; or, Figures, with brief descriptive Cha-
racters and Remarks, of new or rare Plants, selected from the
Author’s Herbarium. By Sir William Jackson Hooker, K.H.,
LL.D., F.R., A., and L.S., &c.; and Regius Professor of Botany in
the University of Glasgow. Parts I. II. and III.; 14s. each. The
Work to be completed with Part IV.
Tis work consists, as the title implies, of engravings of
plants, with short technical characters and descriptive remarks.
The engravings are lithographic, and they are very characteristic-
ally executed. The three parts published contain each 50 8vo
plates, and 50 corresponding leaves of letterpress. The best
idea of the kind of plants figured will be obtained from the
following extract from the prospectus : —
“The rich collections, made in all parts of the world, which compose the
author’s herbarium, will insure an ample supply of subjects; among which,
preference will, of course, be given to those that are most remarkable for their
novelty, their structure, or their history; particularly from the vast treasures
that have been sent to this country by Dr. Wallich and Dr. Wight, from the
East Indies; by Colonel and Mrs. Walker, from Ceylon; by the Messrs.
Cunningham, Baxter, Gann, and Lawrence, from Australia and New Zealand ;
by Messrs. Gillies, Tweedie, Cuming, Mathews, Bridges, &c., from South
America; and by Messrs. Drummond, Douglas, and Tolmie, from the northern
part of the New World; besides many collections of minor extent, but not
of less importance, on account of the rarity of the species, from other cele-
brated botanists and travellers. An ardent desire to promote the cause of
his favourite science has alone induced Sir W. J. Hooker to undertake this
work, certainly not the expectation of any pecuniary advantage; for, even
should the publication meet with the success that his fondest wishes
might anticipate, yet the price set upon it is so low as to forbid any hope of
profit.”
There can be no question of this being one of the cheapest
botanical works ever published, and, at the same time, one of
the most original; as no plant is figured in it that has been
figured elsewhere.
<=
Arr. III. First annual Report, Laws, and Transactions of the Bo-
tanical Society of Edinburgh. Instituted March 17. 1836. Pamph.
8vo, 53 pages. Edinburgh.
One of the characteristics of the present age is the formation
of provincial societies for the promotion of science, and the inter-
change of ideas between persons of similar pursuits. The good
508 Batemans Orchidaceae.
that will be effected by such associations, both to science and to
society, is far greater than can be at present foreseen. That
Edinburgh was ripe for something of this kind, is evident from
the great number of resident members, of the greatest respect-
ability, who have all enlisted themselves under its banners, since
the commencement of the society, March 17. 1836. The original
founders are Drs. Graham, Greville, Neill, Balfour, Barry, and
Parnell; and David Falconer, Esq., of Carlowrie. Dr. Graham
is President; W. H. Campbell, Esq., Secretary; and James
M‘Nab, Esq., Superintendent of the Experimental Garden,
Curator. The following extract will show the general views
and objects of the Society : —
“ Tt is intended that the Society shall turn its attention to the whole range
of botanical science, and such parts of other branches of natural history as
are more immediately connected with it.
“It, is proposed to cultivate the knowledge of these, —
“1, By holding periodical meetings for the interchange of botanical inform-
ation; for the reading of original papers, or translations, abstracts, or
reviews of botanical works, regarding any branch of botanical knowledge,
practical, physiological, or geographical; and the application of such know~
ledge to agriculture or the arts.
“2. By the formation in Edinburgh of an herbarium of foreign and
British plants, and of a library and museum for general consultation and
reference.
“3. By distributing annually amongst the members the duplicates received,
and thus contributing to the formation of authenticated herbaria wherever
the Society’s correspondence extends, and affording to botanists at a distance
opportunities of comparison and reference as accurate as are enjoyed by
those having access to the herbarium in Edinburgh.
““4 By printing and distributing along with their collections of duplicates
short annual reports, and inviting enquiries to doubtful questions.
“5. By printing, from time to time, catalogues of plants, with the view of
facilitating the study of their geographical distribution, and furthering the
principle of exchange.
“6. By making botanical excursions in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh,
and to distant parts of Britain.
“7, By appointing local secretaries, from whom, in their respective districts,
all information regarding the Society’s objects and proceedings may be
obtained.”
Art. IV. The Orchidacee of Mexico and Guatemala. By James
Bateman, Esq. Part I. Imp. folio. Ridgway and Sons, London,
1837.
We have already (p. 224.) announced this work, and given
some account of what it is intended to contain; and to this an-
nouncement, in the first place, we beg to refer our readers. We
have been favoured by the publisher with a view of Part L.,
which may be described as by far the most splendid work of the
kind ever published in this or any other country. The ex-
ecution of the plates is not superior to some which have appeared
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