pipes, oumtnly ANPuLENeuA».
~
aA
THE
GARDENERS MAGAZINE,
CONDUCTED
By J.C. LOUDON, F.L.S. H.S. &c.
AUTHOR OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF GARDENING, OF AGRICULTURE, AND OF COTTAGE, FARM
AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE, AND EDITOR OF THE ENCYCLOPZIDIA OF PLANTS,
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN,
PATERNOSTER-ROW.
1834.
LonpDon :
Printed by A. Spotriswoopr,
New-Street-Square.
PREFACE.
I this Tenth Volume we have complied with the unanimous request
of our readers, and with the spirit of the times, in bringing out the
Gardener's Magazine monthly and at a reduced price; and the suc-
cess of this measure, we are happy to say, has fully answered our
expectations.
The improvements which we contemplate in the succeeding
Volumes are as follows: —1. An occasional article to be headed
Pomological Notices, or Notices of new Fruits deserving, or seeming
to deserve, general cultivation; 2. Olitorial Notices, or Notices of
new Culinary Vegetables, either originated in this country, or intro-
duced from other countries, which seem to merit, or have been proved
to deserve, general introduction in kitchen-gardens; and 3. Arbori-
cultural Notices, or Notices of new species or varieties of hardy Trees
or Shrubs, useful or ornamental, which merit a place in shrubberies
or pleasure-grounds, as hedge plants, or in useful plantations.
To aid us in perfecting these Notices, the Council of the Horticul-
tural Society of London have kindly granted us permission to apply,
from time to time, for information, to their head gardener, Mr. Munro,
and to their fruit-gardener, Mr. Thompson ; and we have received the
same indulgence from the Council of the Caledonian Horticultural
Society, with reference to their head gardener, Mr. Barnet. We have
directed the attention of all our foreign correspondents to these stand-
ing articles; and we earnestly request the assistance of the secretaries
of all horticultural societies, of the curators of all botanic gardens, of
all nurserymen, domestic and foreign, and, in short, of every gardener
and amateur of gardening, in order that we may render them as com-
plete as possible.
We intend, in future Numbers of this Magazine, to direct particularly
the attention of our readers to the more general distribution of foreign
hardy trees and shrubs in our pleasure-grounds and plantations. We
cannot help regretting that the taste of amateurs should be so much
absorbed in the acquisition of temporary novelties, chiefly of herbaceous
A 2
iV PREFACE.
flowering plants, or of plants requiring the protection of glass; while
many trees and shrubs that have been long in the country, though
they are as little known as if they had never been introduced, and
which would contribute to the permanent ornament and improvement
of country seats, are suffered to remain uncalled for in our nurseries.
- Thus, while considerable sums, all over the country, are given for a
new florist’s flower, a new variety of camellia, or a hybrid calceolaria,
which require the most assiduous care and attention to prevent them
from degenerating, and which are, perhaps, lost the year after they
are received, those more noble objects, foreign hardy trees and shrubs,
which are less expensive to purchase, require far less care in culture
and management, and which, when once established, will increase every
year in size and in beauty, and will remain useful and ornamental
objects on an estate for generations, are comparatively neglected. Of
a taste for fine flowers and a taste for fine trees and shrubs, it surely
will not be denied that the latter is of a far more elevated kind than
the former. It is more elevated, because it is more useful, more
durable, and more influential on the general face of the country ; and
because it not only affords enjoyment to the possessor and the close
observer, but to every one for whom landscape scenery has any attrac-
tions.
One reason why a taste for foreign trees and shrubs is not more
common among country gentlemen is, the neglect of nurserymen to
preserve and exhibit, in their nurseries, specimen trees of the more
uncommon kinds, of eight or ten years’ growth. Were this a general
practice, the result could not be otherwise than advantageous. To
compensate, in some measure, for the neglect of nurserymen, and to
aid in promoting an object which we consider of national importance,
we have undertaken our Arboretum Britannicwum, which, we con-
fidently anticipate, will be more useful, both to nurserymen and
planters of trees, than any work on Arboriculture that has hitherto
been produced. The plan is altogether original, as will be seen by
the notices of it in p. 558. and p. 581.
We have left ourselves no room to expatiate on the contents of the
present Volume of our Magazine; and have, therefore, only to refer
our readers to the Table of Contents, in which, under the different
divisions of the subject, they will find, we are confident, a rich fund of
instruction and entertainment. In conclusion, we beg to thank, mest
sincerely, our contributors and our readers, and to solicit a continu-
ation of their favours.
Bayswater, Nov. 10. 1834. de Cale
CONTENTS.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS,
GENERAL SUBJECT.
Notes on Gardens and Country Seats, visited
from July 27. to September 16., during a Tour
through Part of Middlesex, Berkshire, Buck-
inghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorset-
shire, Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent. By the
Conductor - = 1.97. 193. 245. 301. 413. 469
A short Account of a Jate Journey through Bel-
gium and Part of France in the Autumn of
1833, by Joseph Knight, Esq. F.H.S. Com-
municated by Mr. Knight - - -
Investigation of the Theory of the Rotation of
Crops. By the Authox of the ‘‘ Domestic Gar-
dener’s Manual,’? C.M.H.S. = - 12
On the Scientific Management of Hot-houses, so
far as it regards Temperature. By Scientiz et
Justitiz Amator - - oo iS
Description of a portable Hot-water Apparatus.
By Mr. Joshua Major, Landscape-Gardener
and Garden Architect - - - Q1
Remarks on the State of Gardening in the Neigh-
bourhood of Ramsgate. By Calycanthus - 119
Notices of some Country Seats in the North-
Eastern Counties of England, By G. W. ty
94
On the Advantages which Gardeners may derive
from inspecting the Gardens of others; and on
the Destruction of different Insects. By R. T.
122
Notice of a Hot-water Apparatus, invented by
Mr. John Darkin, Engineer, Norwich. By
Mr. Darkin . - - - 302
On the different Modes of Budding ; and of Her-
baceous, or Summer, Grafting 5 - 304
Notes made during a _ Professional Journey
through Belgium and Part of France, for the
House of Messrs. Low and Company, Nursery-
men, Clapton, in March and April, 1834. By
Mr. William Garvie, Foreman in the Clapton
Nursery - = - - 357. 419
Short Notices of the Gardens at Ravensworth
Castle, the Seat of Lord Ravensworth ; and of
Gibside, the Seat of —— Bowes, Esq. M.P. for
South Durham. By G. W. - - 363
On the Importance, to Gardeners, of visiting
Gardens; and on the Restrictions, in some
Cases, thrown in the Way of their doing so.
By Scientia et Justitie Amator - - 365
An Experiment made with a view to determine
the Efficacy of Oxalic Acid in stimulating dor-
mant Vegetable Life. By William Hamilton,
Esq. M.D. : - - - 368
On Live Moss as a Substitute for Potsherds,
Cinders,.and similar Matters, as Drainings for
Pots. By Mr. Thomas Parkins - - 369
Notices of the State of Gardening in Part of
France, as observed in a recent Excursion in
that Country. By Mr. George Charlwood,
Seedsman, Covent Garden = - 473
Observations made during a Horticultural Tour
through the Eastern Part of the County of
Fife. By Mr. William Smith, Gardener to
John Small, Esq., the Priory, St. Andrew’s,
Fifeshire = - - - 525
LANDSCAPE-GARDENING AND GAR.
DEN ARCHITECTURE.
On the different Kinds of Fountains adapted to
Gardens, By William Mason, Jun. Esq. 23
Design for a Gardener’s House, adapted for the
South Wall of a Kitchen-Garden. By Mr. Ro-
bertson, Architect - - 24
Descriptive Notice of the Garden of the Rev.
Thomas Garnier, at Bishopstoke Vicarage,
Hampshire. By the Conductor - - 124
Observations on the Landscape-Gardening of
Germany, as compared with that of England.
By the Chevalier Charles Sckell, Director-Ge-
neralof Gardens in the Kingdom of Bavaria 197
Remarks on the Leafing of Oak Trees, and the
Tints of the early Foliage. By the Rev. W. T.
Bree, A.M. - - - - 200
On producing Picturesque Effect in Plantations,
as well as Shelter and Profit. By Mr. T. ae
A Series of Designs for laying out Kitchen-Gar-
dens. By Mr. T. Rutger. Design 1., Contain=
ing an Acre within the Walls, 259. ; Design 2.,
Containing an Acre within the Walls, and
Half an Acre in the Slips, 313.; Design Shoo
Containing an Acre and a Half within the
Walls, and about the same Quantity in the
Slips, 373; Design 4., Containing Two Acres
within the Walls, and an Acre and a Half in
the Slips, 429; Design 5., Containing nearly
Three Acres within the Walls, and an Acre
and a Quarter in the Slips, 485; Design 6.,
Containing Three Acres and a Half within the
ale and Two Acres and a Half in the Slips,
OF.
Design for a Gardener’s House, adapted for the
North-Fast Angle of a walled Kitchen-Garden.
By Mr. Robertson - 261
Strictures on disposing Plants in Masses. By
Calycanthus 5 - = - 263
On the distinguishing Characters of Trees, con-
sidered with regard to Landscape-Gardening.
By Mr. T. Rutger = - - 370
Hints on Landscape-Gardening, on the Use of
Botanical Rarities in Picturesque Scenery, and
on the Size and Arrangement of Flower-Gar-
dens. By Calycanthus - - - 3/2
Design for a Gardencr’s House, for the North.
West Angle of a walled Kitchen-Garden. By
Mr. Robertson - 2 - - 375
Considerations on the various Modes of con-
structing Forcing-Houses, relatively to the
Degree of Heat to be obtained in them from
the Sun’s Rays. By Mr. George M‘Leish 376
On the improper Choice that is frequently made
of Trees and Shrubs for furnishing small Por-
tions of Pleasure-Grounds, By Mr. T. Rutger
477
Hints on Shrubbery and Ornamental Planting.
By Charles Lawrence, Esq. = - 479
On Wooden Rustic-work as Garden Ornaments.
By Selim = = - - 485
On the Employment of Vases as Receptacles for
Plants in Town Gardens ; with some Remarks
on their Use in Garden Scenery in the Country.
By the Conductor ° = - 489
A Description of the Moss House in the Flower-
Garden at Bagshot Park. Designed and exe-
cuted by Mr. Andrew Toward, Gardener to
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Glouces-
ter. Communicated by Mr. Toward - 5382
ARBORICULTURE.
On adopting a regular Plan in forming Plant-
ations, with a view to facilitating their after
Management, By Charles Lawrence, Esq. 26
On the Trees and Shrubs which are most suit-
able for Planting, to afford Food and Shelter
for Game, and more especially for the Phea-
sant. By Mr. James Munro = - 431
Brief Observations on preparing the Ground for
Planting, on Pruning, and on the Cultivation
of Trees for Timber. By Mr. Geo. Burton 378
Notice of a remarkable Ash Tree at Kincairney,
in Perthshire. By Mr. A. Gorrie, F.H.S. C.S.
&e. : - - - - 584
On raising Plantations near the Sea. By Mr. T.
Rutger - - - - 495
On Pruning Forest Trees; and on Planting and
Managing Belts of Trees. By Mr. T. Rutger
539
On the Rot in Larch; with Information on the
Dimensions of the Layers of Wood produced
in the Annual Growth of the Larch Tree, in a
Series of Years, in connection with a State-
ment of the Quantity of Rain which fell in
each of those Years. By Mr. A. Gorrie, F.H.S.
C.S. &c. - - - - 544
FLORICULTURE.
Considerations on the evil Effects of exposing
Green-house Plants to the open Air of Britain
during the Summer Months, By Mr. Robert
Marnock - - - ~ 3l
V1
A Notice of certain Conditions in connection
with which Rhododendrons have been found
to grow and flower very satisfactorily. By Mr.
John Gow - - - - _- 33
Floricultural Memoranda. By Mr. T. Rivers,
Jun., Sawbridgeworth, Herts - - 131
A Note on the Culture of /xie and Gladioli.
By Mr. T. Rutger - - - 134
The Result of Experiments tried with Coal Cin-
ders as Drainage for Pots. By Mr. Henry
Turner, Curator of the Botanic Garden, Bury
St. Edmunds = - = - 134
Description of a Machine for removing Orange
Trees and other Plants in large Tubs or Boxes.
By Mr. John Davidson, Gardener to the Mar-
quess of Ailsa, at St. Margaret’s, Middlesex 156
A Sketch of a Flower-Garden, with Remarks.
By Mr. T. Rutger = - - 204
On planting Cape Ericas in the free Soil, and
sheltering them with a sashed Frame. By Mr.
Robertson, Nurseryman, of Kilkenny - 206
On growing Ferns and other Plants in Glass
Cases, in the midst of the Smoke of London ;
and on transplanting Plants from one Country
to another, by similar Means. By N. B. Ward,
Esq. F.L.S. - - S - 207
Descriptive Notice of the Gardens of the Misses
Garnier, at Wickham, near Fareham, in Hamp-
shire ; by the Conductor: with a Monthly Ca-
lendar of the Work dene, and of the principal
Flowers produced ; by Mr. James Moore, Gar-
dener to the Misses Garnier == 209)
HORTICULTURE.
Description of the Lime, Citron, Orange, and
Lemon Trees at Coombe ‘Royal, the Seat of
John Luscombe, Esq., Devonshire. Commu-
nicated by the Proprietor = - 36
On-training the Peach Tree. By Mr. Edward
Callow, Author of a Treatise on the Cultivation
of the Mushroom 5 = o = Sy
A successful Mode of securing a Crop of Fruit
on Pear Trees. By Mr. B. Saunders, Nursery-
man in the Island of Jersey = - 40
On growing large Gooseberries for Exhibition.
By Mr. M. Saul - - - 42
On propagating the Purple Broccoli from Slips,
and on the Agency of Manure prepared from
Sea Weed in improving various Vegetables.
By My. T. Rutger = S - 42
On the Mode of securing a supply of young Car-
rots throughout the Year. By Mr. T. Rutger 44
Remarks on the Cultivation of Sea-kale, as prac-
tised by the Bath Gardeners. By Walter Wm.
Capper, Esq. 3 5 - 45
On the premature Shriveling of Grapes in Forc-
ing-Houses. By Mr. J. D. Parkes, F.H.S., Nur-
seryman, Dartford - - a 1ey/
On the Coiling System of cultivating the Vine in
Pots. By Mr. John Mearns, F.H.S., Gardener
to His Grace the Duke of Portland, Welbeck,
Nottinghamshire - e = 138
A Defence of the Practice of Cropping the Bor-
ders in which Wall-Fruit Trees grow ; and
CONTENTS.
various Considerations in relation to the Cul-
ture of Wall-Fruit Trees. By Mr. John Mearns,
F.HLS. - - - 141
On forcing Asparagus; by Mr. T. Rutger: with
an Account of the French Method, translated
from the ‘* Bon Jardinier ” for 1834 - 146
On the Management of the Vinery. By a Young
Gardener - - - - 221
Notes on the Cultivation of the Peach Tree. By
Mr. James Hart - - = 222
On the Laying out and Planting of Fruit-Gar-
dens. By Mr. John Jennings, of the Shipton
upon Stour Nursery - - _- 224
On Defects in the Management of Fruit Trees.
By Mr. Robert Errington - - 264
Notes on Vines and Vineries. By An Expe-
rienced Grape-Grower - - - 266
Notice of some Modes of training Wall Trees,
practised in the Gardens of Hopetoun House.
By Mr. James Smith, Gardener there —_~ 267
On the Culture of the Onion by Sowing and
Transplanting. By Mr. Wm. Taylor, Gardener,
Liverpool : - - - 268
On taking up the Roots of the Scarlet Runner
in the Autumn, preserving them through the
Winter, and replanting them in Spring. By
Mr, James Cuthill, Gardener to Lawrence Sul-
livan, Esq., Broom House, Fulham - 315
On Fruits and Fruit Trees. By Mr. T. Rivers,
Jun. - = = - 316
On the Culture of the Cucumber at Stoke Place,
with a Ground Plan and Elevation of the Pits
in Use there. By Mr. Patrick - - 386
On the Culture of the Cucumber during the
gloomy Months of Winter. By Mr. James
Young, Gardener to J. Pulteney, Esq., Norther-
wood, New Forest, Hants - - 388
On the Cultivation of Potatoes, the Cause of the
Curl, and the Manner of keeping and preparing
the Sets. By W. M. - = - 433
An Account of a Mode of cultivating Potatoes
in the Neighbourhood of Aberdeen ; preceded
by some Remarks on the Potato Culture of
the Neighbourhood of Dublin. By Mr. James
Wright, Gardener at Westfield, near Aber-
deen = = - - 435
A Method of expediting the Fruiting of Kidney-
beans in the open Air; and a Mode of obtain-
ing a Second Crop from those forced in the
Stove. By Mr. James Cuthill, Gardener to
Lawrence Sullivan, Esq., at Broom House, Ful-
ham ie 2 ae - 438
A Diary of the Course of Culture applied to the
Grape Vines at Oakhill, East Barnet, in Herts.
By A. Forsyth - 5 - 547
On the Culture of Persian Melons. By a Hert-
ford Journeyman Gardener - - 550
On Protecting and Preserving Fruit Trees. By
Mr. James Eaton, Gardener to the Earl of Il-
chester, at Melbury, Dorsetshire ~ - 552
On the Method of growing Mushrooms practised
at Stoke Place, with a Plan of the Mushroom
House there. By Mr. Andrew Patrick - 554
Short Communications ~- 148, 225. 389. 459, 499
REVIEWS.
Transactions of the Horticultural Society of Lon-
don. Second Series. Vol. I. Part III. 226. 500
1. Paxton’s Magazine of Botany and Register of
Flowering Plants. 2. Maund’s Botanic Garden.
3. Harvison’s Floricultural Cabinet. 4. Har-
yison’s Gardener’s and Forester’s Record.
5. Paxton’s Horticultural Register - 230
The Physiology of Plants, or the Phenomena and
Laws of Vegetation = es - 269
Ladies’ Botany; or, a Familiar Introduction to
the Study of the Natural System of Botany. By
John Lindley, Ph.D. F.R.S. &c. = - 390
Hooker’s Journal of Botany, &c. Part III. 391
Royle’s Illustrations of the Botany and other
Branches of the Natural History of the Hima-
layan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cash-
mere, &c.. Part Lil. - - = 392
Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticul-
tural Society of India = = - 440
L’Horticulteur Belge, Journal des Jardiniers et
Amateurs - - - - 444
Elements of Practical Agriculture ; comprehend.
Literary Notices = -
ing the Cultivation of Plants, the Husbandry
of the Domestic Animals, and the Economy of
the Farm. By David Low, Esq. F.R.S.E., Pro-
fessor of Agriculture in the University of Edin-
burgh = co = - 447
An Inquiry into the Causes of the Fruitfulness
and Barrenness of Plantsand Trees. By Joseph
Hayward, Esq. - - - 500
Report of the Exhibition of Agricultural Pro-
ductions, new Implements, &c., at the Premises
of Dickson and Turnbull, Perth - 504
A new Descriptive Catalogue of Roses, By T. |
Rivers and Son, Nurserymen, Sawbridgeworth,
Herts - - - - 509
Arboretum Britannicum. By J. C. Loudon,
F.L.S. H.S. &c. 2 = - 558. 581
Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture,
Botany, Rural Architecture, &c., lately pub-
lished, with some Account of those considered
the most interesting - 49. 149. 232. 270. 319.
448.
- 51, 156. 449
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.
Vil
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
General Notices - 53. 233, 272. 321. 393. 450, bis.
56
Foreign Notices = 54. 157. 234. 272. 322. 516. 569
Domestic Notices - 56. 160. 234. 273. 323. 394. 451.
516. 571. 587
Floricultural and Botanical Notices of new Plants,
and of old Plants of Interest, supplementary to
the latest Editions of the “ Encyclopedia of
Plants,”’ and of the ‘* Hortus Britannicus ”
63. 169. 237. 284. 347. 399. 458. 511. 564. 583
Retrospective Criticism - 73. 179. 240. 289. 350.
405. 520. 573
Queries and Answers - 80. 181. 242. 294. 353. 408.
462. 576.
INDEX to Books reviewed and monies =
GENERAL INDEX -
Arboretum Britannicum ; or, Portraits, to a Scale
of a Quarter of an Inch to a Foot, of all the
Trees which endure the Open Air in Britain 581
London Horticultural Society and Garden - 188.
244. 298. 355. 410. 468. 523. 579
Covent Garden Market ~- 84, 191. 243. 297. 354.
409. 467. 522. 578
Supplement to the Notices of the Provincial Hor-
ticultural Societies for 1833 = - - 86
Notices of the Exhibitions of the Provincial
Horticultural Societies for 1834 - - 588
- 96. 192. 300. 412, 468.
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.
No. Page
OPERATIONS.
44—55. Illustrations of twelve modes of per-
forming budding - 305—310
56—61. Illustrations of six modes of ingraft-
ing herbaceous plants - - 310—312
5. A figure of a tree of the white nectarine,
in exhibition of the effects of a com-
mended mode of training - -
37—40, Illustrations of a mode of pruning
and training apple trees and pear trees
through six successive years - 267, 268
6. A diagram exhibitive of a mode of
blanching sea-kale, and of a mode of
forcing it - - -
MEANS OF HEATING.
23—_34, Diagrams explanatory of modes of
applying steam, conducted in narrow
tubes, to the heating of water and beds
of stones, relatively to the culture of
plants of various kinds - - 226—229
43, The plan of an apparatus for heating
water, and then circulating it - 303
1, A view of a portable apparatus for heat-
39
ing water, and then circulating it a
PLANS OF GARDENS.
22. A garden for fruit plants only - - 224
35. A kitchen-garden to contain 1acre with.
in the walls - 260
63. A kitchen-garden to contain 1 acre with-
in the walls, and half an acre in the
slips; or, the same quantity to be ap-
propriated, in part, to a flower-garden,
the remainder to a kitchen-garden =
A kitchen-garden to contain 14 acre
within the walls, and about the same
quantity in the slips -
A kitchen-garden to contain 2 acres
ees the walls, apd 13 acre in the
slips -
A eiteheneatden to “contain nearly
3 acres within the walls, and 13 acre in
the slips 5 - - 484
A kitchen-garden to contain 32 acres
within the walls, and 22 acres in the
slips
The flower-garden of the Rev. Thomas
Garnier, and the disposition of the
plants in it, at Bishopstoke Vicarage,
Hampshire - 126, 127
The flower-garden of the Misses Garnier,
and the disposition of the plants in a
at Wickham, Hampshire
A geometrical flower-garden, half of
which was once made at Woolmers - 205
A flower-garden in the Dutch style, to
adjoin an entrance = a ih
70.
75.
79;
95.
- 538
11.
15.
14,
62,
2
7)
10, 211 |
Obituary -
Calls at Nurseries and Suburban Gardens - 167.
279. 325,
- 621
- - ~ 622
No. Page
ARBORICULTURE.
3. A plan for laying out ground intended to
be planted with trees designed for
timber - 7
4. A plan for the disposition of trees of the
kinds oak, ash, and larch, in a plant-
ation = 29
41. A diagram of the results of leaving trees
designed for timber unpruned = 293
42, A diagram of the results of pruning HERS
designed for timber 93
88. A sketch illustrative of the effects of
wind upon plantations of trees growing
near the coast ci : = 4096
97. A figure of a tree, as a specimen of the
figures to be introduced into the A7bo-
retum Britannicum = - 582
LANDSCAPES,
10. A view of the vicarage house, at Bishop-
stoke, in Hampshire = 125
69. A view of St. Michael’s Mount, “Cornwall 351
STRUCTURES.
2. A design for a gardener’s house adapt-
able to the south wall of a Stiga
garden 29
36, A design for a gardener’ 3 house adapt
able to the north east aoe of a walled
kitchen-garden - - 262
71. A design for a gardener’s house adapt-
able to the north-west angle of a walled
kitchen-garden = 375
72,73. Diagrams of forcing-houses to y exhibit
the relation of the inclination of their
roofs to the incidence of the rays of light,
in illustration of the effects of this upon
the temperature and light within - 376
74. The ground-plan and elevation of a pit
suited to the culture of the cucumber - 387
96. The ground-plan and a transverse sec-
tion of a house suited to the cultivation
of the mushroom in the winter - 557
89—94. The ground-plan, sections, elevation,
and details of structure, of the moss-
house in the flower-garden at Bagshot
Park - 533—537
19. A view of a roofed seat ‘lined with moss
and hazel rods - =
80. A view of a rustic seat for a garden - 488
20, 21. Trellised arches for supporting
climbing plants = 212
78. A design for a building for the accom- fa
modation of dogs - - 473
VASES.
66. A vase devoid of a plinth - - 826
67. A vase upon a plinth - - 326
Viil LIST
No. Page |
68. A vase upon a pedestal and plinth - 327
82—87. Figures of vases designed as recep-
tacles of plants in town gardens - 490—492 |
81. A rustic vase of wood as a receptacle
for plants, and placed upon a tripod
pedestal, in ornament of a country gar-
den - = s = - 489
18. Figures of rustic vases - = 211
i MACHINE.
12. A machine for transporting orange trees
in their large tubs or boxes, and other
plants alike conditioned = 3 IBIs
GATES.
8. A mechanical device for effecting the
opening of a gate by the pressure of the
approaching vehicle - | o
9. A mechanical device for effecting the
OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Page
opening of a gate, by turning a winch
within a house contiguous to the gate
7. A fall-down gate-stopper = =
VARIOUS OBJECTS.
64. A hook for holding aquatic plants in
pots, suspended at any required height
in the water - - os
65. A sectional view of an aquarium to show
the application of the mentioned hook 326
16, 17. Patterns of iron rods for supporting
rose shrubs, and other shrubs requiring
support - - -
13. Figures of earthenware tallies for label-
ing plants 2 - - 164
77. An instrument for gathering, singly,
fruit beyond reach without it =
76. A dibble for planting potatoes with
greater despatch than is usual = 437
No.
81
54
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Abdalonymus, 408. A Constant Reader, 295.
Adamson, W., jun., 405. Adolescentulus, 163.
499. A Florist and a Reader, 181. A Hertford
Journeyman Gardener, 550. Allen, William,
936. An Admirer of good Gardening, 181. An
Amateur of Flora, 296. An Asker, 182. An
Experienced Grape Grower, 266. _ Anon., 241.
A. S., 499. A Subscriber, 276. 577. A Young
Gardener, 221.
B., 570. Ballard, Stephen, 76. Barnard, Frances,
186. Bateman, James, F.H.S., 572. Baxter,
William, A.L.S., 289. 350. Bradford, William
M., 290. Bree, Rev. W. T., M.A., 148. 166. 200.
941. 291, 299. 296. 439. 572. 575, 576. Brooks,
John Thomas, 518. Brown, John, 182. 466.
Browne, Henry A., 55. Burton, George, 378.
Callow, Edward, 37. Calycanthus, 119. 184. 263.
372. Calvert, W.C., 575. _ Cameron, David,
A.L.S., 163. Capper, W. W.,45. Charlwood,
George, F.L.S.,473. C. L.,154. C. M. W., 354.
Cockburn, James, 573. Cuthill, James, 315. 438.
D. B., 55. 295. Darkin, John, 302. Davidson,
John, 136. Davidson, William, 56. Davis, P.,
408. Denson, J., sen., 576. Dunsford, Wil-
Eaton, James, 522. E. B., 186.
E. L., 608. Elliott, G. M., 69. 587.
Ensor, George, 81. E. P., 186.
Ephebicus Horticultor, 74. 78. Errington, Ro-
bert, 264.
F. 1. 8., 272. Forsyth, A., 547.
G., 241. Garvie, William, 357. 419. G. C.,
86. 192. 244, 298. 355. 409. 468. 523. 579.
Geddes, G., 324. Godsall, William, 58. Gorrie,
Archibald, F.H.S. F.C.H.S., 183 384. 398. 4.57.
544. Gow,John, 33. G. P., 462. Gracchus
Colonus, 162. G. W., 120. 194. 363.
Hamilton, William, M.B., 61. 296. 368. 396. 405.
453, 454. 577. Hart, James, 222. Haydon, Sa-
muel, 236. H.B.,185. Hertz, William, 159.
Hodson, N.S., A.L.S., 166. Howden, John, 293.
Hoy, J. D., 277. Hurst, William, 453. Huth-
waite, F., 322.
J. B., 82. J. B. W., 290. J. D., sen., 66. J. D.
P., 295. Jennings, John, 224. J.F., 322. J.G.,
181. 296. 300. J. M.,577. J. M., Philadelphia,
406. 570. J.S.B., 54. J.S. P., 466. Juvenis,
295, 236.
Kendall, Henry, 324. Kent, William, 407.
Knight, Joseph, F.H.S.,7. Knight, T. A., Pre-
sident of the London Horticultural Society, 74.
Lawrence, Charles, 26. 465, 466. 479. Lindley,
Dr. John, 50. L. L. L., 54. Luscombe, John,
36.
M‘Leish, George, 376. Maddison, John, 55.
Major, Joshua, 21. Malcolm, William, F.H.S.,
351. Mallet, Robert, 62,241. Marnock, Ro-
bert, 31. Mason, William, jun., 23,74. Mearns,
John, #.H.S., 138. 141.145. Mills, George, 466.
Mitchinson, James, 242. Moore, James, 209.
Munro, James, 77. 406. 431.
N.S. N., 407.
O. P. Q., 578.
P.,157. Parkes, J. D., F.H.S., 137. 184. Parkins,
Thomas, 369. Patrick, Andrew, 386. 554. Phil-
noe George, 70. P.N., 398. Priest, Myles,
57. 79.
R., 80. 452. 520. 571.575. Rauch, C.,323. Redyer,
W., 575. Rivers, T., jun., 131. 185. 242. 316.
408. 452. Roberts, James, 466. Roberts, John,
3899. Robertson, John, architect, 24. 261. 375.
Robertson, John, Kilkenny, 185. 188. 206.
Rowan, Martin, 78. R.'T., 83,84. 122. Rutger,
T., 42. 44. 80. 154. 146. 165. 185. 202. 204, 249.
259. 294. 296. 313. 353, 354. 370. 373. 429. 477. 485.
495. 539.
S., 574. Salter, John, 575. S. A. M., 267. Sang,
John, 94. Saul, Matthias, 42. 61. 96. 451. 453.
518. Saunders, B., 40. Scientia et Justitize
Amator, 18. 270, 295. 365. 465. Sckell,Charles,
158. 179, 180. Selim, 485. 572. Simson, James,
520. Smith, James, 267. Smith, John, 188.
Smith, William, 525. Solus, 82. Stewart, D.
W., 465. Stewart, John, 572. Strachan, James,
573. S. W., 236. ;
T., 296, 395. T. A. B., 59, 60. 80. 82, 83. Taylor,
William, 268. The Author of The Domestic
Gardener’s Manual, 12. Thompson, John, 159.
Thompson, Robert, Lieut.-Col., Royal Engi-
neers, 56. Thompson, Robert, 518. ‘Toward,
Andrew, 532. Trevelyan, W. C., F.L.S., 452,
er Turner, Henry, 134. 179. 188. 518. T, W.,
V., 54.
W. A., 353. Wallich, N., L.L.D., 272. Ward,
N. B., F.L.S., 207.
Wilson, Thomas, 84.
James, 435.
&. Y. Z., 295.
Young, James, 388.
Zoller, Charles, 323.
Whiddon, William, 78.
W. M., 433. Wright,
THE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
FEBRUARY, 1834.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art.I. Notes on Gardens and Country Seats, visited, from July 27.
to September 16., during a Tour through Part of Middlesex, Berk-
shire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, W. iltshire, Dorsetshire, Hamp-
shire, Sussex, and.Kent. By the Conpucror.
(Continued from Vol. IX. p. 683.)
CaversHam Park.— Aug. 9. We proceeded to this place
through the village of Caversham (in which are many beautiful
cottage gardens), up the hill road, and entered by the back ap-
proach. We must notice one of the cottage gardens, which has,
in two angles, formed by small wings projecting from the front
of the house, two small green-houses in the form of outside
cupboards, with shelves full of pots of flowers, the glass doors
being removed. We had never seen anything of this kind before ;
and we like it, not that we think it in good taste, but because
it shows such a thorough love of plants. Every one who has
read the descriptions of the fine old places of England, in
Whately’s Observations, §c., knows something of Caversham,
and therefore we shall say nothing of the magnificent mansion,
containing fifty rooms, and its broad gravelled terrace, 50 ft.
wide and a furlong in length, on a perfect level. ‘Though the
mansion is dilapidated within, yet exteriorly it is in good repair.
The place is worth visiting for the grandeur and beauty of the
situation of the house, the terrace, and more especially the
descending approach, which has been so finely described by
Whately. The pleasure-ground scenery is now entirely over-
grown, and only to be recognised by a few cedars and other
trees. The kitchen-garden forms a deplorable ruin; the walls
Vou. X.— No. 48. B
2 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats :—
are overgrown with bushes, the hot-houses leaning in all di-
rections, the back sheds roofless, and even the gardener’s house,
which held out till within these few years, uninhabitable. ‘The
commanding position of the mansion, and the extensive and
varied prospect seen from it, are the same as they ever have
been. Among the trees along the descending approach are a
number of very large maples.
Comparing Caversham Park with Bear Wood, the situation
of the house, in the former case, is much more commanding
than in the latter, because of its greater elevation. The pros-
pect is also more extensive for the same reason, and because
at the base of Caversham Park is the broad and extensive valley
of the Thames. The grandeur and dignity of expression, there-
fore, of the house at Caversham Park are greater than those of
the house at Bear Wood. Comparing the grounds of the two
situations, those of Bear Wood are distinguished by undulations,
knolls, valleys, and steep banks; those at Caversham, on the
other hand, present a uniform surface, flat on the upper part of
the park behind the house, and gently sloping on all the re-
maining part in front of it. There are, therefore, no sources of
natural beauty and variety in the grounds at Caversham. When
once the view from the house has been seen, nothing about the
place remains worth seeing; nothing invites to further exa-
mination.
There is thus an essential difference between these two situ-
ations; for, though both are grand, but in different degrees, yet,
in one, the grounds are positively varied and beautiful, while
those of the other are wholly without either beauty or variety.
For a constant residence, it is evident that the place containing
the greatest natural variety and beauty would be by far the more
desirable, independently altogether of the heightening of these
beauties by gardening.
By reflecting on the natural features of Bear Wood and Caver-
sham, and on their respective capabilities for improvement, the
reader will see the immense importance, in the choice of a
country residence, of fixing on one that possesses positive natural
beauties ; that, unassisted by art of any kind, is capable of affect-
ing the imagination, and raising the emotions of grandeur,
sublimity, or beauty. On such a foundation, the art of the land-
scape-gardener and the architect will work with tenfold effect ;
whereas, where natural beauty is wholly wanting, though art,
more particularly in the house, may doa great deal, yet it can
never supply the deficiencies of nature. There is this disadvan-
tage, also, in the beauties created by art, that they require con-
tinual care and expense in order to maintain them; whereas those
engrafted on nature in a great measure maintain themselves.
The ride from Reading to Pangbourne, along the banks of
Caversham Park, Basildon Park. 3
the Thames, is one of very great beauty. The valley is about
half a mile in width, bounded on each side by chalk hills, ex-
hibiting the greatest variety of outline; sometimes clothed with
grass, and at other times with corn or wood, or crowned by a
gentleman’s seat. Near Purley is Purley Hall, a place of con-
siderable beauty, from the undulation of its surface, and the
judicious disposition of its woods. ‘There are also some beautiful
cottages with gardens, and some small villas, both at Purley and
Pangbourne.
Basildon Park, Sir Francis Sykes, Bart.—'The house, a large
quadrangular pile with wings, by Carr of York, is placed on a
piece of table land on the top of a hill, and commands very
extensive views. ‘The ascent to it is by a very steep approach,
which is both disagreeable and dangerous. We repeat here,
what we have frequently stated before, that in no possible case
need the read to a house be steeper than an inch to a yard.
The approach here might have been led to the house at that
rate with the greatest ease, and horses might have trotted up
and trotted down. ‘There is but very little pleasure-ground,
and this is placed on one side of the house; but the park and
farm are of considerable extent. ‘The pleasure-ground has been
taken care of for many years past by a local labourer, of the
name of Hillsbury, who appears to have some natural taste for
laying out flower-beds. He showed us different scroll-like
shapes which he had laid out, and lamented his ignorance of the
names of plants and their culture. His master, he said, had
ordered-him to collect some ‘“ fir apples” (cones), and sow the
seeds of them, and he would be glad to know the proper season
for doing so, with the manner of sowing, &c. ‘This shows the
great necessity of gardeners being reading men, and possessing
books on the subject of their art. ‘This man is doubtless an
honest and faithful servant, as he has held his present situation,
as he told us, nearly 30 years. ‘The kitchen-garden is on the
side of a hill, facing the east, and contains upwards of four
acres, with an extensive range of hot-houses; the soil is ex-
cellent, and the crops abundant, but choked up with weeds, as
there is no assistance allowed for either the kitchen-garden or
the pleasure-ground, but a boy. The kitchen-gardener, who is
also a local labourer, we did not see. We observed heaps of
leaves and twigs being burned, which we would never suffer
under any circumstances, as it is throwing away a certain portion -
of valuable manure. We observed also a paling fence round a
part ofthe pleasure-ground, with the pales, instead of being
placed vertically, nailed to the rails at an angle of 45°. ‘The ob-
ject of this, we were told, is to prevent the entrance of rabbits,.
which might get between upright pales at the same distance
apart, but which must necessarily place their bodies in an angular
B 2
4 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
position to get through these. This, it is found from experience,
they cannot readily do. !
Mongewell, Uvedale Price, Esq., now occupied by Mrs. Ba-
thurst. — Our principal object, in visiting this place, was to see
if there were any remains of the botany and gardening of the
celebrated Daines Barrington; and of the landscape-garden-
ing of Major Price, an amateur, who assisted the late Bishop of
Durham in laying out some part of the grounds here, and who
laid out Frogmore, and also a small place at Hast Sheen near
Richmond, the residence of Lord Chief Baron Macdonald. We
were on the whole disappointed. Nothing remains that can be
attributed to Daines Barrington, and there is only a small flower-
garden, which, we were informed, was laid out by Major Price.
It is an irregular glade, partly surrounded by trees, but open to
the south, with a walk round it, and the turf varied by roundish
clumps. Altogether, it is very well designed, and it is kept very
neatly. The kitchen-garden is under the management of Mr,
Perry, formerly in business for himself at Leamington: his crops
of wall fruit are excellent, and the garden seems well managed.
The peach trees, when in blossom, are protected by beech boughs
with the leaves on; the branches being cut green, and dried and
stacked for that purpose, as birch boughs are in some districts.
The fruit was now covered with cotton wadding, instead of wool,
to preserve it from the birds. In a conservatory there is a branch
of Araucdria excélsa planted in the ground, which has attained
the height of 12 ft.; the stem is half an inch in diameter at 1 ft.
above the ground, but increases to 1 in. in diameter at about half
its height. There is a large mass of woody matter at its root,
from which, we have no doubt, an upright shoot will, sooner or
later, be produced. ‘The church is close by the house, and near
the latter are a flower-garden and an opaque-roofed green-house.
The plants were out, and their place was supplied by a large
table and several chairs; on the table were bulbs, that the young
ladies, we were informed, were sorting, naming, and putting
away in bags for the planting season ; thus occupying themselves
at once usefully and agreeably. Close by the kitchen-garden we
met with Mr. Munn, a native of Bedfordshire, who has been
here 47 years; part of the time as gardener, and the remainder
as steward and general manager of the estate. He is a fine
elderly gentleman-like man; and, when we saw him, it being
evening, he had on his blue apron, with his watering-pot in his
hand for watering his own garden, and seemed to us a personi-
fied beau idéal of a gardener of the old school, such as we may
see in some of the frontispieces to the works of Mawe or Aber-
crombie. He 1s very intelligent, and, among other interesting
things, informed us that a sum of money was left for keeping up
for ever the fine old geometric gardens at Wrest Park, Bedford-
shire (see III. 245.), where he had been gardener in his youth.
Mongewell, Walling ford. 5
This sum, he said, was sufficient to pay 14 men throughout the
year, and that number would keep the gardens in the highest
possible order and neatness. As far as we recollect, when we
saw these gardens in 1826, there were only three or four men
employed on them, and many parts were then in disorder, and
going to decay. We hope some one interested in this subject will
look into it, for the sake of the beauty of the neighbourhood and
the credit of gardening. It is highly desirable that there should
be at least one place, in the geometrical style, kept up for ever
in high order, as a standing specimen of that mode of art. Wrest
Park, we believe, was one of the very last gardening works of
London and Wise.
Wallingtord. — Aug. 10. 'This is a comfortable little town, on
the site of a Roman station. The ancient fosse forms three
right-angled sides of a square, of which the Thames is the fourth.
A few years ago, Wallingford was unknown in the annals of
gardening; but of late it has become celebrated for florists, of
whom our esteemed correspondent, the Rev. J. Tyso, constitutes
the life and soul. Two other florists of eminence, whom we
visited, are Mr. Allnatt, jun., the son of the mayor of the town,
and Mr. Clarke, a banker. Mr. Tyso is well known by his
Catalogue of Ranunculuses, one of the best which has ever been
published, and of which he has just produced a new edition for
the year 1833. (See IX. 612.) By this it appears that Mr. Tyso’s
son is possessed of the same enthusiasm for flowers as his father,
and that the latter intends, in a very short time, to transfer the
whole of this department of his occupations to the former. We
first visited Mr. Tyso’s garden, in which we found the laying of
carnations in a state of forwardness; the first crop of ranun-
culus roots was taken up and dried; the second crop was in
full foliage, but not yet showing flower stems; the collection
of heartseases was beginning to fade; and the georginas, for
the greater part, were in bloom. ‘The miscellaneous collection
of Mr. Tyso’s garden included a select assortment of pelargo-
niums, a few heaths, some of the newest annuals, and several of
the better sorts of roses, and other flowering shrubs, such as the
different noisettes, wistaria, chimonanthus, &c. Mr. Tyso has
four gardens, of which we saw three. ‘The fourth is a kitchene
garden. ‘The garden of Mr. ‘T'yso’s residence may be considered
that of the parsonage-house of the very respectable body (the
Baptists) to which he belongs, and it is in part used as a burial-
ground. It was something new to us to see peach trees arranged
on the walls, and graves and tombstones in the compartments; but
on expressing our surprise to the reverend occupier, he replied,
that, if his congregation continued to increase as rapidly as it was
now doing, the whole of his garden might be occupied in the same
manner. We were much gratified to learn, from this gentleman,
-B3
6 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats.
that though there are a number of varieties of the protestant
species of Christianity in Wallingford, yet not only the mem-
bers but even the clergy of the different congregations all live
in perfect harmony. We sincerely hope that the period will soon
arrive when all religions and all clergy shall be placed upon a foot-
‘ing of equality in every respect, each depending for support on his
hearers; and, when this is the case, we feel certain that Christian
harmony will be confirmed in such a manner that neither time
nor accident shall be able to prevail against it.
Allnatt, Esq. — The garden of this gentleman surprised
and delighted us. It contains nearly an acre of seedling hearts-
ease, and upwards of that extent of seedling georginas. ‘The
beauty of some of the varieties of heartsease astonished us, not-
withstanding we had seen the 270 varieties in the Epsom Nur-
sery, and the select collection of Messrs. Brown at Slough.
The colour and shading of the petals of some of the varie-
ties were as superior to those of the common heartsease of
the gardens, as those of the finest green-edged auriculas are to
those of the native self-coloured flowers of that plant. As to the
georginas, we will not speak of them; they are too numerous
for our circumscribed learning in this flower, and we were lost
in admiration among them. Mr. Allnatt, jun., cultivates a variety
of articles besides these two flowers. We saw the same rare
shrubs and annuals as at Mr. Tyso’s, and a variety of excellent
practices displayed in the culture of culinary vegetables. For
example, there were melons of a new variety, grown to a great
size, in a bed of tan, heated by a lining of dung introduced
through a porthole in a wall, covered by a shutter, so as to show
nothing but the luxuriant bed of melons; a tall-growing variety
of Indian corn in pots, having, from the scitamineous character
of its foliage, a most Oriental, or Tropical, appearance; the
Altrincham carrot, grown in rows 18 in. apart, and the carrots
at the same distance from each other in the rows, the roots
attaining the thickness ef a man’s thigh, and the length of 3 ft.,
with a vigorously growing top, for feeding cows or other cattle ;
Spanish and Portuguese onions in rows at the same distances,
the size enormous; and all other kitchen crops in proportion.
Mr. Allnatt, sen., has grown on his farm a large quantity of
Bishop’s dwarf pea, for Mr. Ronalds of Brentford; and he has
a moderate breadth of that new and valuable field turnip, Dale’s
hybrid, the bulb of which is said to be as solid and nourish-
ing 2s a Swedish turnip, and as tender as an early Dutch.
It is also said to be not in the least degree injured by the frost,
and it is thought that it will prove to be invaluable for field
produce in wet soils. The seed of this variety is also for Mr.
Ronalds; and, if a fourth part of what we heard of this turnip be
true, it must be a prize of immense value to the farmer. An
apple called the creeping apple, a variety of the burr-knot kind,
Journey through Belgium in 1838. 7
and, like the Carlisle codling, coming early into use both for
sauce and eating, is a great favourite with Mr. Allnatt; and the
trees are now, as they are every year, covered with abundance of
fruit. (See Eincy. of Gard., § 4803. new edit.) We had almost
forgotten to express our admiration of a long straight walk, bor-
dered on each side with a row of China asters, and beyond these
by three rows of georginas, the first row dwarfs, the second
higher, and the third highest ; also of dung hot-beds, the sides of
which were thatched with drawn rye straw, kept close to the
dung with rods and hooks, in order to prevent the escape of
heat and moisture, to exclude the external rains, and to produce
a neat appearance.
The Garden of Clarke, Esq., contains a superb collection
of seedling georginas; an assortment of heartseases, and a good
collection of heaths. Mr. Clarke is an enthusiastic cultivator of
the first-named flower, and grows heaths far better than any
person whom we have seen between Wallingford and Slough.
Altogether, he is a most enthusiastic florist, and a fit cooperator
with Mr. Allnatt, jun., and Mr. Tyso.
(To be continued.)
Arr. If. A short Account of a late Journey through Belgium and
Part of France in the Autumn of 1833, by Joseph Knight, Esq.
F.H.S. Communicated by Mr. Knicur.
Sir,
Accorp1NG to your request, I now endeavour to give you a short
account of my late journey through Belgium and part of France.
As horticulture is not in so advanced a state in those countries
as in England, I directed my attention to various other subjects
as they came in my way.
I left home on the 11th of October, by way of Dover and
Calais. Near the latter place, the land is barren, sandy, and
neglected. Near Gravelines the soil improves, and continues to
do so on to Dunkirk, where it varies. From thence to burg, we
found chiefly very rich grazing land. The farmers are indus-
trious, but poor. ‘The pigs and sheep are of a long-legged
bony description; the cows and horses are tolerable; the imple-
ments of husbandry are heavy and inconvenient; the poultry
is abundant. We next ascended to Mont Cassel, a small town
considerably elevated, from which the prospect over an extensive
country is very fine and picturesque: the neighbourhood is much
undulated, wooded, and interesting to the traveller.
On the road to Poperingen, the land is rich, crops various, con-
sisting of wheat, beans, rape, with mangold wurzel, grass, and
wood: the latter consists of alder, willow, poplar, elm, &c.,
chiefly planted in rows and by the roadside, at from 10ft. to 15ft.
B 4
8 Journey through Belgium
apart. Thetrees selected for planting are from 1} in. to 2 in. in
diameter: before they are planted, the heads are cut off at about
8 ft. high. After two or three years’ growth pruning commences,
and is performed with great judgment and good effect; the timber
becoming generally straight, to the height of from 30 ft. to 40 ft.
The practice is, to cut the larger shoots close and smooth, which
is usually performed in August or September, leaving the smaller
branches perfect. It is probable that this operation is performed
every fourth year. In the second pruning the strong shoots
are cut off close as before, when the smaller branches, before
left, are also cut off close. This is done with great care, not
to injure the trunk of the trees, which become, generally, as
straight as the mast of a ship. The branches are chiefly cut
upwards with chisels of various sizes, having handles of different
lengths. This operation is performed with great despatch, ge-
nerally, I conceive, by two men, one guiding the chisel, and
the other striking with a mallet, cutting the branches perfectly
smooth and close to the trunk of the tree: these wounds, in con-
sequence of being made before the return of the sap, become
nearly, if not entirely, healed over before the winter.
[A similar practice will be found accurately described, II. 226.
and 461. We consider it excellent, and are happy to find it
confirmed by so intelligent an observer as Mr. Knight. ]
The cottagers in these parts, though destitute of many do-
mestic comforts, are much less wretched than in England: ge-
nerally they are provident, industrious, and economical; but
few attend to cottage gardening; and, where they do, the produce,
from want of the best varieties of seeds, and a better manage-
ment, is but of little value.
From Poperingen on to Ypres, the land is good: near the
latter town there is a tolerable nursery-garden for forest trees:
the land is rich, and the country generally flat. Through Cour-
tray to near Ghent, the land is rich and well cultivated. Rape
appears to be an important crop, and is cultivated to a very great
extent in this country. It is surprising how few indigenous
birds are to be seen, which is the more extraordinary in a
country abounding so much with food for them: the sparrows
are few, the magpies rather numerous, and there is a grey crow
or rook seen occasionally,
Near to Ghent there are some market-gardeners, who cultivate
excellent vegetables, but display little or no taste for neatness or
regularity. Ghent is a large manufacturing town, abounding in
nursery-gardens, the cultivators of which are a very industrious
class of men, but rather limited in the objects of their cultivation.
They have many good and some rare plants. Magnolias and
azaleas thrive with them admirably. There is a botanic garden
here, which may boast more of its antiquity than it can of its
stock of new plants.
and Part of France in 1833. 9
Apples, pears, cherries, plums, &c., thrive well, produce
abundantly, and remain healthy. ‘The apples are grafted chiefly
on paradise stocks, the pears on quince stocks, which limits their
growth, and renders them productive at an early age. ‘The mode
of culture here, as in France, is worthy of imitation; a well-
arranged fruit-garden being an object of great profit as well as
amusement. ‘The trees are planted at 10 ft. or 12 ft. apart, and
trained and pruned in the pyramidal form, by which means
abundant crops of good fruit are obtained from small trees.
Among the conveniences which attend on this mode of training
may be reckoned, that it allows space to remain for inspecting
the fruit, and performing all the operations required.
The pleasure-grounds of the rich here, in Holland, and in
France, appear meagre and cold, when compared with those of
England, being nearly destitute of laurels, phillyreas, alaternus,
arbutus, bays, laurustinus, &c. The general opinion is, that
these plants will not survive the Continental winters; but I have
seen some proofs of the contrary, and am of opinion that the
plants mentioned might be inured to all these countries, and I
have no doubt but many of the Chinese plants would be found to
thrive well there ; as camellias, pittosporums, &c. &c.
Beyond Ghent the land is rather light; but near to and
beyond Aloste the quality improves, and hops are cultivated.
About Brussels the country is slightly undulated; the land is
tolerably good, and the market-gardeners are rather numerous;
but they are cf the old school, and do not appear desirous to
improve either in their mode of culture, or in the quality of their
stock. Brussels sprouts, dwarf savoys, dwarf red cabbage, and
a few other articles, are very good. ‘There is here a new bo-
tanie garden, which, in external appearance, is a noble establish-
ment, and is seen from the Boulevards to great advantage [a
view of this garden will be found in V. 327, and a ground plan
and description in VIII. 401.]. The collection of plants is not
modern, but the director, M. Woters, and the head-gardener,
M. Bresurs, are both very anxious to improve.
About four miles from Brussels, on the left of the road to Ant-
werp, stands the palace of Lacken, upon a gentle eminence, oc-
cupied by the king of the Belgians, who is fond of gardening, and a
promoter of it. ‘To accomplish his objects, and establish some of
the British principles of gardening at Lacken, he has had his gar-
dener, Mr. M‘Intosh, from Claremont, who is carrying on great
improvements in the erection of hot-houses, green-houses, pits,
&c., upon the most modern and best English construction; and
it is reported to be the intention of His Majesty to erect conser-
vatories, &c., and to have a good and general collection of
rare and ornamental plants, to which he is very partial. The
orangery here is a large, noble-looking, well-proportioned build-
10 Journey through Belgium
ing; it is 360 ft. long, 50 ft. wide, and 40 ft. high, with a slated
roof, and contains a very large stock of as handsome and healthy
orange trees as are to be found any where. ‘The pleasure-grounds
have been lately increased, and are very extensive, but require
the introduction of new ornamental plants, and particularly of
evergreens, of which they, like most of the pleasure-grounds
in these countries, are almost wholly deficient.
At Enghien, a few miles beyond Brussels, there is a nursery —
garden, belonging to M. Parmentier, who has a considerable
collection of exotic plants, and amongst them some rare and
good species. ‘The Duke d’Aremberg has here a small country
residence and garden; the range of hot-houses, &c., in it is
handsome and extensive; but the duke’s collection of plants,
though spoken of here as good, contains little that is rare.
The road from Brussels, through Louvain, is slightly undu-
lated and well wooded. ‘The land is tolerable, but not rich. At
Louvain there is a botanic garden, containing a good collection
of tropical plants and others, which are in a state of high cul-
tivation: the place is altogether in good keeping, and does high
credit to M. Donkelaar, the head gardener, who, for civility and
attention, is an ornament to the establishment. ‘The Duke
d’Aremberg has near this a large old mansion, in ruins, and an
extensive and tolerably well kept kitchen-garden, in which are
cultivated some very excellent apples and pears. ‘There is a
considerable extent of land, here called pleasure-ground, in the
most neglected state that it is possible to conceive.
M. van Mons, M.D. Professor of Chemistry, &c., has given
very great attention to the cultivation of pears. On visiting his
garden and fruit rooms, I had ample proof of his labour and
attention. Both must have been incessant, and the result must
be of great public advantage. He has sown seed, and proved
the quality of the produce of, as I was told, eleven ‘thousand
seedling pear trees, from these, they say, he has obtained about
three hundred good sorts. I saw the fruit of many of excellent
quality, adapted to the various seasons and objects for which this
fruit is applicable. I hope the day is not distant when all the
really good sorts will not only be cultivated in this country, but
also accurately described.
The road to Liége is through a country of little interest to the
traveller. The land is tolerable, but the cottages are miserable
poor clay huts, and the general surface of the country is bleak
and open, for want of bridges and trees. At Liége, a large
town on the banks of the river Meuse, which is there about
equal in width to the Thames at Chelsea, there is a nursery
garden, kept by Mr. Jacob Makoy, where an excellent col-
lection of exotic plants is cultivated. Coals are here abundant,
and also from this place to Namur. ‘The road is on the bank of
and Part of France in 1833. 11
the river Meuse, which is very romantic and beautiful; re-
sembling much the road from Bakewell to Buxton, in Derby-
shire. ‘The country abounds in mines of lead, iron, and coal,
and quarries of marble. ‘The latter may at no distant day prove
an article of great commercial importance; it is obtained in
blocks of various lengths, some nearly 20 ft. long: it is uniform in
its quality, is easily worked by the chisel or saw, and is readily
converted into slabs of large dimensions, of less than an inch in
thickness. [See Mag. Nat. Hist., vi.76.] Orchard fruits are
cultivated here to a considerable extent; and, on the southern
exposure of the hills, vineyards are numerous and extensive.
Along the road to Charleroi, Mons, Comines, and Valenciennes,
coals are abundant and good, and produce little smoke. The coun-
try is open, and the soil moderately good. Succory is cultivated
to a very great extent; it is taken up at this time (the latter end
of October), and laid im large heaps about the farm yard, pre-
paratory to storing it up for the winter, during which season it
is forced in cellars and the blanched leaves sent to market as
salading. [See the practice described in detail, II. 460.]
The road through Péron to Paris traverses an open agricul-
tural country, affording little interest to the traveller. Approach-
ing to Paris, the land is partially occupied in the cultivation of
culinary vegetables in alternate ridges or beds, of corn, &c., in
which neither art, regularity, nor neatness of method is attended
to. Near to Paris the greater part of the land is occupied in the
cultivation of vegetables for the Paris market, where they appear
to much greater advantage than in the gardens. At a village
called Montreuil, about four miles east of Paris, the chief part of
the peaches for the supply of this great metropolis are grown;
and, considering the rough state the trees are kept in, the fruit is
surprisingly fine, and the crops abundant. The trees are trained
on stone walls, generally plastered over, of 8 or 10 feet high,
enclosing portions of ground, varying from the eighth of an acre
to an acre, and they are planted on all aspects with similar suc-
cess. ‘The mode of pruning these trees seems to be without rule
or regularity, notwithstanding which, they retain perfect health
to an old age, and grow to a good size. ‘The soil is of a brown
free-working loam, upon a loose freestone bottom, never very
wet or very dry. [See Encyc. of Gard., new edit. § 474.
The nursery gardens in and about Paris are somewhat nu-
merous. ‘The few engaged particularly in the cultivation of
exotic plants are not in a prosperous state, nor do they possess
a great variety of species, though they have many good plants.
The nursery gardeners of Vitry, a village about four or five
miles from Paris, are very numerous, and are chiefly engaged in
the cultivation of hardy fruit trees, forest trees, and shrubs,
which they grow well, considering the great irregularity and the
12 Investigation of the Theory
confused way in which they crop their lands. Their nurseries
are chiefly in open fields, and their trees are grown on alternate
ridges with crops of wheat, rye, &c. On the same ridge may
frequently be seen, intermixed, apples, pears, plums, cherries,
and peaches, but very rarely a number stick, to indicate the
particular kind of any of the sorts; so that little dependence
can be placed on the accuracy of the growers as to names or
sorts.
The nursery gardeners, or florists, who supply the markets of
Paris with flowers, reside chiefly in or very near that city; the
produce of their labours, at all the seasons in which I have visited
Paris, from July to November, has always surprised me much.
The beauty and superiority of the articles they bring forth
amount to perfection itself, and are truly surprising. ‘To enu-
merate all the articles which I saw exposed in the Paris flower-
markets would form a very long list, and, indeed, would be
quite beyond my recollection.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.
JosEPH KNIGHT.
Exotic Nursery, King’s Road, Chelsea, Jan. 8. 1834.
Our readers, we are sure, will agree with us in thanking Mr.
Knight for this interesting communication, and entreating him
(as he makes an annual Continental tour) always to give us a
similar account of it. We wish all nurserymen and gardeners
who travel on the Continent could be persuaded to do this.
There is a great want of spirit among the young nurserymen
about London. ‘They think they have done a great deal if they
have ventured as far as Paris; but we are sure, that, if they were
to travel through Germany, and even into Italy, they would greatly
enlarge their minds, acquire much more professional inform-
ation than they have any idea of; and, what they will, perhaps,
like best of all, extend their commercial connections. —Cond.
ArT. III. Investigation of the Theory of the Rotation of Crops. By
the Author of the ‘“ Domestic Gardener’s Manual,” C.M.H.S.
Sir,
My attention was arrested by the remarks of the reviewer of
what is termed ‘ De Candolle’s Theory of the Rotation of Crops,”
in a late number of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture (xxi.
320—327.). I shall notice a few of these remarks as I proceed ;
but, before I do so, I feel imperatively called upon to place
before you and your numerous readers a statement of a few
plain facts. ‘They who know me, or who have perused any of
of the Rotation of Crops. 13
my papers with candour and disinterested feelings, will, I con-
ceive, acquit me of undue assumption, or of endeavouring to set
up a claim for originality, without just and sufficient reason.
That which I borrow I ever wish to avow, as a subject from
which I have derived benefit and improvement; but, if I feel
confident of having advanced an opinion, or advocated a practice,
that, as far as my means of information extend, I conscien-
tiously believe to be originally my own, I should be unjust to
myself to relinquish that confidence, until, by proof positive, I
become convinced that I have laboured under a mistake.
To quit further preamble, I observe that, at p. 324., we read,
‘* Brugmans stated that a portion of the juices which are ab-
sorbed by the roots of plants are, after the salutiferous portions
have been extracted by the vessels of the plant, again thrown
out by exudation from the roots, and deposited in the soil. This
idea has been more fully pursued by De Candolle, who sees in
it the true theory of the rotation of crops. He thinks it pro-
bable that it is the existence of this exuded matter, which may
be regarded in some measure as the excrement of the preceding
crop of vegetables, that proves injurious to a succeeding vege-
tation.... The particles which have been deleterious to one
tribe of plants cannot but prove injurious to plants of the same
kind, and probably to those of some other species, while they
furnish nutriment to another order of vegetables. Hence it is
why one kind of corn crop is injured by immediately succeeding
another of the same kind; hence why different kinds of crops
may with advantage succeed one another; hence, in short, the
propriety of a rotation of crops.”
I do not by any means object to the theory alluded to in this
quotation ; far from it, I believe it to be substantially correct:
but why is it termed ‘ De Candolle’s theory?” That learned
professor has advocated the facts stated: so, it appears, did Pro-
fessor Brugmans. I was not, indeed, aware that that learned
German had written at all on the subject; nor do I now know
in what work his opinions are to be found; but it appears that
he preceded M. de Candolle at the least. Dr. Lindley, also, it
can be proved, published a hypothesis by no means at variance
with the theory under consideration. In his Oudlenes of the Lirst
Principles of Horticulture (No. 52—56.) we read, ‘ Spongioles
secrete excrementitious matter, which is unsuitable to the same
species afterwards as food ; for poisonous substances are as fatal
to the species that secrete them as to any other species.... But
to other species the excrementitious matter is either not unsuit-
able or not deleterious. . . . Hence, soil may be rendered impure
(or, as we inaccurately say, worn out) for one species, which will
not be impure for others.... This is the true theory of the
rotation of crops.”
14 Investigation of the Theory
Which of the two professors can lay just claim to priority ?
for the theory is one and the same. But now we come to another
consideration. What did Z write in the Domestic Gardener’s
Manual in 1829, which work was published complete in 1830?
The reader who can turn to that work, at p. 397., under the
-head ** General Remarks upon the Raspberry,” will find the
following observations : — “ Whenever raspberry plants are re-
moved to another situation, the old ground ought to be well
manured, deeply digged and turned, and then it should be placed
under some vegetable crop. By this mode of treatment it will
be brought into a condition to support raspberries again in two
or three years. ‘This is a curious and interesting fact, one which
proves that it is not solely by exhausting the soil that certain
plants deteriorate, if planted on the same ground year after year ;
for, were this the case, manuring would renovate the ground ;
but it fails to do so: and thus, if peas or wheat, for example, be
grown repeatedly on a piece of land, the farmer may manure to
whatever extent he chooses, his crops will dwindle, and become
poorer and poorer. .. . To account for this specific poisoning of
the soil, we must suppose that particular plants convey into the
soil, through the channels of their reducent vessels, certain spe-
cific fluids, which, in process of time, saturate it, and thus render
it incapable of furnishing those piants any longer with wholesome
aliment: in fact, the soil becomes replete with fecal or excre-
mentitious matter; and, on such, the individual plant which has
yielded it cannot feed. But it is not exhausted ; so far from that,
it is, to all intents and purposes, manred for a crop of a different
nature: and thus, by the theory of interchange between the
fluids of the plant and those of the soil, we are enabled, philo-
sophically, to account for the benefit which is derived from a
change of crops.”
The foregoing remarks, whether they be correct or incorrect,
philosophical or unphilosophical, are tolerably pointed and
definite: they cannot be misunderstood; and it will scarcely be
contended, that I did not pen them in the year, and in the work,
above mentioned.
But Brugmans, it may be said, wrote to the same effect. I
deny it not: I only observe, that I know not when he did so.
I am ignorant of all concerning his writing, except from the few
lines which I have extracted from the Quarterly Journal of Agri-
culture. His works are, and have been, wholly unknown to me;
and you, Sir, do not appear to have referred to any of them in
your Encyclopedia of Plants or Hortus Britannicus. He therein
only is named as having given a new title to a semihardy and
most beautiful shrub, formerly called Datiéra arborea, now Brug-
mansza suaveolens. It is of little consequence what and when
he wrote, in respect to the subject under consideration; it is
of the Rotation of Crops. 15
enough to be able to adduce proof of the priority of the hypo-
thesis of the Domestic Gardener’s Manual to that now ascribed
to M. de Candolle. That learned professor may have presented.
enlarged views of the theory, he may have added fact to fact in
corroboration thereof; but still his claim to originality falls to
the ground.
It is not contended that the necessity of a change of crops is
a new theory; far frem it: the practice is proved by fact to be
more or less expedient. Let me not be mistaken; what I argue
for is simply this: that the theory of a fecal exudation of some
matter by the roots, saturating the soil, and rendering it poisonous
or unwholesome to the individual, but nutritive and salubrious
to some other plant, is new; and appears never to have been
advanced, or even hinted at, until I wrote the passage extracted,
as above, from my work.
I do not for a moment desire to detract from the ability or
authority of so able a botanist as De Candolle; but, great and
deservedly high as his name and reputation may be, I, a com-
paratively nameless writer, cannot abandon the consciousness
that I penned, from my own unassisted observations and reflection, |
in 1829, those remarks that now form the sum and substance of
what is considered a new theory. I have supposed it possible
that Brugmans may have anticipated me and every one else; but,
even in this case, as was before hinted, what becomes of the
present claim? But I have good reason to believe that the fact
was not so; for, in a letter very recently received from the pre-
sident of the Horticultural Society, that gentleman observes : —
** The Continental naturalists have lately imagined that trees emit
some matter into the soil, of the nature of excrement, which sub-
sequently becomes noxious.” If, then, the doctrine be deemed
recent, the priority ought to rest with one who wrote nearly four
years anterior to the publication of the theory which is thus
blazoned forth as new. I quit this part of my subject, in order
to allude to matters of pleasing interest in the other parts of the
article by the reviewer.
It appears that M. Macaire has made many experiments to
confirm the theory of the exudation of matter from the roots.
He is stated to have ascertained the fact from a comparison of
results, in attempting to raise plants “in pure siliceous sand,
pounded glass, washed sponge, white linen, and particularly in
rain water. After cleansing the roots thoroughly, he placed
them in pure water. After they had put forth leaves, expanded
their flowers, and flourished for a time, he ascertained, by the
evaporation of the water, and the use of chemical reagents, that
the water contained matter which had exuded from the roots.”
I cannot allow myself space to quote the experiments at large.
One, however, with the bean (Vicia Faba) must be noticed.
16 Investigation of the Theory
“The bean grows pretty well in pure water. It was found, on
trial, that the water continued clear, but assumed a yellow tint.
Chemical tests and evaporation seemed to detect a matter similar
to gum, and a little chalk. Another bean was placed in this
liquor, and would not thrive: and then, in order to determine
whether this was occasioned by the want of carbonic acid, or by
the presence of some exuded matter, plants of wheat were placed
in the water. They lived well, the yellow colour of the fluid
became less intense, the residuum less considerable, and it was.
evident that the new plants absorbed a portion of the matter
discharged by the first. Hence, the practice of cropping wheat
after beans is justified by this experiment.”
The potato scarcely coloured water wherein it was placed,
left little residuum, and gave but little taste. “‘ This experiment,”
M. Macaire observes, “‘ was made upon a piant at an early stage
of developement. ‘The experiment would lead to the inference,
that the potato is not a very good preparation for corn crops,
which is known to be the case in practice, unless it is assisted by
an extraordinary quantity of manure. All these facts tend to
prove the theory of the rotation suggested by M. de Candolle.”
From the foregoing passages, the reader may draw some infer-
ence concerning the theory, and the nature of the experiments
recorded. I am by no means disposed to retract what I had
written upon the philosophy of the rotation of crops; on the
contrary, I rejoice to feel myself supported by physiologists of
so much eminence. To know, beyond a doubt, that a Lindley
and a De Candolle have adduced a theory exactly in accordance
with that which some years past impressed my own mind, is at
least highly gratifying: to ascertain that the direct experiments
of another man of science have tended, as far as they have been
carried, to confirm it, is still more so. But I must not neglect
to say, that the practice of the rotation of crops may be, and is,
carried too far. There can, I think, be no doubt that, whenever
a crop fails upon repetition, that failure ought to be attributed to
an unhealthy (specifical) saturation of the soil: but rotation, as a
sine gud.non, an indispensable and never to be omitted practice,
ought not:to be insisted upon. They who have boldly ventured
to persist for a time in recroppings have not found a certain
deterioration: As to the potato, it is no uncommon thing to
hear of the'same ground being planted and replanted, year after
year, -for-a great period of time. M. Macaire’s experiment with
the' potato. bears upon the assertion, for it tends to show that it
does not produce much radical matter. That plants, in many
instances, give forth a considerable portion, may be inferred from
the’peculiar odour which they impart to the soil; and also from
thecolour, the change of tint, which the ground acquires from
croppings. Let new-turned maiden earth be put into a garden
of the Rotation of Crops. 17
pot, and with it a single strawberry plant, without any manuring
substance. ‘The soil, in the first instance, shall be of an ochreous
yellow hazel colour. In a single year, how many shades, ap-
proaching to black, will it acquire from the deposition of carbonous
matter, although it be watered with pure rain water only? Let
experimenters determine this and other facts of the like nature,
for their own satisfaction: I throw out the hint as a stimulus.
Tt must be conceded, that great difficulty surrounds experiments
of a nature similar to those instituted by M. Macaire; for
plants in water are not in a purely natural situation: they live,
and perhaps grow; but they are not, as the plants in the field,
rooted and established in soil, and exposed to the stimulus of the
great natural agents. Hence, there is great danger of being
deluded by appearances. A cutting, placed in a coloured in-
fusion imbibes the colouring matter, and has induced microscopic
observers to suppose that they have thereby detected the genuine
channels of the sap: but, as I have shown (VIII. 142.], rooted
plants do not evince the same appearances of colour, although
the soil in which they have grown has been moistened for a long
time with deeply coloured infusion. Plants, in a word, elaborate
their own food; they are their own chemists, and ought to be
placed in their peculiar spheres of action; otherwise, though life
may be protracted, their functions are not naturally performed,
nor are their secretions regularly and healthily effected.
The writer in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture invites che-
mists to investigate and experimentise, in order to improve upon
and establish, or to disprove, the theory of Professor de Can-
dolle. I, for one, would volunteer my services, the more espe-
pecially to consolidate my own hypothesis; but I must, in justice,
caution every one, that, in order to determine the causes of
natural phenomena, the subjects of trial must be placed in truly
natural situations. Cuttings afford fallacious data. J am inclined
to fear that even rooted plants, growing in pure water only, would
not yield products exactly corresponding with those afforded to
the soil. In order to operate efficiently, I conceive it would be
prudent to wash a sufficient bulk of maiden earth in rain water,
to drain it thoroughly, then to plant the subject in a pot of the
washed earth, and to water it during its growth solely with fil-
trated rain water. Plants so treated, and duly exposed to sun
and air, might be expected to yield their specific radical exudation
to the soil. After a given time, the mould should either be
repeatedly watered to excess, and the drainage collected for
experiment, or, the plant being removed, the whole bulk of soil
should be immersed in rain water, and stirred over and over
again, After three or four hours, the water might be filtrated
through strong bibulous white paper, and tested according to art,
These crude hints are thrown out, leaving the minutia to the
Vou. X.— No, 48. c
18 Scientific Management of Hot-houses
science and skill of the operator. I could add much to this
paper; but, having trespassed very far on your pages, I must not
farther enlarge.
Dec. 4.1833. G. IT.
Art. 1V. On the Scientific Management of Hot-houses, so far as t
regards Temperature. By Scient1® Er JusTit1z AMATOR.
Sir,
WueEwn we take into consideration the exertions made by
philosophic individuals for the purpose of enlightening the
mystified processes of vegetable developement, and impressing
upon gardeners the importance of conducting their operations
upon scientific principles; it is scarcely more amazing to mark
the indifference with which (comparatively speaking) we have
treated their doctrines, than it is to behold the tenacity with
which we have clung to systems of management, which can only
be defended by pointing out the success which has followed
them, and citing the authority of some distinguished writer,
whose name we hold in veneration ; while a little calm investigation
would be sufficient to convince us, that even a greater degree of
success might be realised by other means, attended with less
expense, and more in unison with the general operations of
nature. In illustration of this position, few subjects could be
more appropriately introduced, than the general management of
hot-houses, so far as temperature is concerned. In using the
word general, I beg leave to say that I am quite aware thata
great many gardeners conduct their hot-house operations ina
scientific natural manner; but, so far as my observation informs
me, they as yet prove exceptions from the great body, who con=
tinue to keep, within a few degrees, as high a temperature in
their houses at night, as when they are exposed to the influence
of a cloudless sun. That a system so opposed to nature should
so extensively prevail may be accounted for by the fact, that we
have been more anxious to become acquainted with, and to act
upon, the opinions of others, than to investigate for ourselves,
taken in connection with the circumstance, that, with the ex«
ception of the celebrated Mr. Knight, and a few modern writers,
the system has received the support of almost every author
whose writings are recommended to the attention of the tyro in
gardening, as containing nothing which has not received the
sanction of practical experience. That the prosecution of such
a system has been practically successful I will not dispute; but,
at the same time, it appears clear as noonday that that success
must wholly depend upon causing the means employed, in them-
selves opposed to nature, so to counteract each other as to pro-
with regard to Temperature. 19
duce finally the result which would be the effect of an adherence
to the simple dictates of nature.
Almost every gardener is aware that, for all practical pur-
poses, well-ripened, firm, short-jointed wood is greatly preferable
to that which is luxuriant and long-jointed ; and, therefore, as
an increase of temperature exerts the same expanding influence
upon vegetables as upon other bodies, and as this expansion, in
the case of vegetables, is greatly accelerated by their being kept
in the shade, and in a humid atmosphere, it follows that the
keeping up of a strong moist heat in hot-houses, at night, is the
very best means for producing elongation of stem and long-
jointed wood. But as it is very doubtful if; in these circum~-
stances, much valuable substance is added to the plant, as it is
only when exposed to the agency of light (so say our most
celebrated philosophers) that the process of decomposing car-
bonic acid is effected, and the sap receives its final elaboration,
so as to become, as it were, the nourishing blood of the plant;
it becomes necessary to counteract this tendency to the pro-
duction merely of elongation of stem, by preventing the ther-
mometer from rising more than a few degrees above the fire-
heat standard, by admitting large quantities of air during the
day. By this means the internal is reduced to almost an
equality with the external atmosphere, and, by making an im-
proper use of artificial heat, the cultivator is under the necessity
of depriving himself of the advantages which he might otherwise
have derived from the heat of the sun. ‘The tendency of keeping
a high temperature at night is to over-stimulate the plants,
causing them to expend prematurely their powers of excitability,
and, if not counteracted by the means I have referred to, the
prejudicial effects soon become apparent. As one instance, I
may mention, that last season (1832), it being very desirable to
have grapes in a pine stove ripe as soon as possible, no trouble
was spared to keep up a high temperature both night and day ;
and the consequence was, that, although the vines made pretty
good wood, the fruit never was high-flavoured, nor yet well-
coloured, and soon became shriveled, or rotted off. As the
shriveling of grapes is very much complained of, it may be
worth the attention of the gardener to enquire, if, in addition to
leaving too much fruit for the strength of the vine, &c., it may
not sometimes be owing to the keeping up of a high temperature
both nightand day ; by which, notwithstanding the accommodating
capabilities of plants, their powers of excitability become ex-
pended before the fruit has received its due share of nourishment.
But the circumstances to which I wish particularly to direct the
attention of my “ brothers in youth and in trade” is, that, inde-
pendently ofall ourexertions, the grapes, inthe pine stove referred
to, were not fit to cut above eight days sooner than those in a
c 2
20 Management of Temperature in Hot-houses.
late vinery, which had received little assistance from fire heat
except at the blossoming season. During this season (1833),
the pine stove referred to, as well as all the other houses, were
managed upon a natural system. ‘The temperature at night in
the pine stoves was frequently below 60°, and in the vineries as
~ Jow as 50°, while during the day the temperature ranged from
80° to 110°, the atmosphere being kept in a moderately humid
state. The grapes in the pine stove formerly noticed were ripe
from three weeks to a month sconer than last season; the fruit
was of the finest quality, both as respects colour and flavour, and
so free from shriveling, that a number of bunches that were left
upon a white muscat vine with very large berries were cut, in
the end of last month, without containing one shriveling berry.
Several gardeners with whom I have conversed upon the
subject, while allowing that the present general practice is un-
natural, at the same time contend that, when fruit is wanted
early, it is necessary to keep up a high temperature both night
and day; but the instance I have referred to tends to show that
such a practice, instead of accelerating maturation, actually
retards it, or, at any rate, leaves very little chance of obtaining
fruit of the best quality. As an additional fact, I might refer to
our field crops, which ripen most rapidly when exposed alter-
nately to the cold dewy nights and bright warm sunny days of
autumn. By allowing the temperature to fall at night, and to
rise by sunshine during the day, much less air will be necessary
than is generally given, and almost universally recommended, and
much labour will be saved. Indispensable as atmospheric air is
to plants, it appears to me that its importance has been greatly
overrated. However necessary its free admission is, to counter-
act the prejudicial effects of keeping a high temperature at
night, it is not in like manner necessary when the plants are
cultivated in accordance with the dictates of nature; as the ex-
panding influence of a high temperature, from sunshine, will, at
the same time, be counteracted by the agency of light effecting
the elaborating and decomposing processes. Its free admission,
for the purpose of imparting colour and flavour to fruit, may be
very proper when the fruit has attained its full size, and the
temperature is not much reduced; but it is worth enquiring
if, even here, light be not the principal agent. The very argu-
ment made use of by many, that it is necessary to admit a free
current of air, for the purpose of keeping the atmosphere pure
in which the plants are grown, will, when duly weighed, recoil
upon themselves ; as it is only at night that plants can deteriorate
the atmosphere, while they perform a salutary process of
purification during the day: to act consistently, it is during the
night that gardeners ought to give the greatest quantity of air.
I know that even this practice is recommended by some, but it
Portable Hot-water Apparatus. 21
cannot be much adhered to in this country with advantage, unless
the weather be very warm; or the plants cultivated be such
as do not require a temperature higher than that which our
climate at the time affords. In general, it will be found most
economical to shut up the house early in the afternoon, so as to
have all the advantage of sun heat, and then open the top sashes
a little the first thing in the morning, which will allow the close
heated air to escape ; and, what is of some consequence, especially
when the fruit approaches maturity, it will help to dry the
leaves and fruit before the sun’s rays become very powerful.
It will be perceived that these observations are merely general,
and do not at all refer to what may be called critical periods in
the forcing of fruits, &c. Due attention must also be paid to the
native locality of plants, as in some situations plants experience
little difference of temperature during day and night. That the -
system I have pointed out will be attended with less labour and
expense than the one generally acted upon requires no demon-
stration. The young man who knows experimentally what it is
to run about like a lamplighter, giving and taking away air, just
as the sun emerges from or enters a cloud; or who has had _his
health impaired by a midnight attendance upon furnaces ; in both
cases, for the purpose of keeping the thermometer at the ordered
degree; will duly appreciate the ease and comfort with which
hot-houses may be managed, by adopting a system more in unison
with nature. Diminution in the quantity of fuel will of itself
produce a reduction of expenses. ‘To a great many of your
readers, there will be nothing new in these remarks; but, should
you judge them likely to be of any use, your publishing them
may be the means of leading young gardeners rigidly to seru-
tinise all doctrines and opinions for themselves, and may teach
them not to be the implicit followers of any man; for, small and
confined as my knowledge of the science of gardening is, it has
already taught me that, by attending to its dictates, results and
advantages will be obtained, which industry and perseverance,
unaided by its influence, never could accomplish.
Iam, Sir, yours, &c.
Dec. 27. 1833. ScrENTIZ ET JusTiTL£ AMATOR.
Art. V. Description of a portable Hot-water Apparatus. By Mr.
JosHua Masor, Landscape-Gardener and Garden Architect.
Sir,
I wave sent for your inspection a model of a portable hot-
water apparatus, which I have recently constructed, and wish to
make known. While designing various fancy structures for a
c 3
ZY Portable Hot-water Apparatus.
gentleman’s pleasure-crounds, I was led to suppose that some-
thing like the apparatus now sent might be advantageously ap-
propriated to such of them as require some little artificial heat.
My chief aim was to avoid the appearance of smoke and chim-
neys, which cannot usually be dispensed with, in the case of the
~ introduction of coal or wood fires; and my next object was, to
have the apparatus portable, so as to be able to remove it from
place to place, as it might be wanted. It is probable the appa-
ratus may be advantageously used, in small frames, to assist any
insufficient heat in severe weather; and [I think it could not
fail also to be useful, were it introduced into some of the small
green-houses which are frequently to be met with in the metropolis
and other large towns; and which, being generally destitute of
any mode of supplying heat artificially, seldom, if ever, exhibit
healthy plants.
I have employed this portable hot-water apparatus In warming
one of the entrances of the conservatory formerly belonging to
Bretton Hall (VIII. 361.), but which is now connected with a
gentleman’s drawing-room, for the reception of plants as they
come into flower, which could not conveniently be warmed in any
other way; and, while writing this, I have received an order for
one to be sent into Lincolnshire, of the size here described, for a
very small green-house, 9 ft. by 6 ft.. which, no doubt, will be
quite sufficient for a place of that extent.
The apparatus may be made of tin or copper; the latter,
though, of course, it would cost more at first, would, owing to
its durability, in the end, no doubt, be the cheapest. Charcoal
is employed for heating the apparatus; oil lamps have been tried
instead of it, but with not near so good an effect. As it is ne-
cessary to employ pipes to conduct the effluyium (arising from
the charcoal) out of the place required to be warmed, it will, in
order to secure all the heat possible, be of importance to intro-
duce a sufficient length to allow the whole heat to pass off,
before the ends of the pipes are turned to the outside. In order
to make the smoke conductors suitable for any situation, it is
only necessary, in addition to the elbow-pipes, to be provided
with several lengths of straight pipes, placing one elbow upon
the permanent smoke conductor connected with the fire, and the
other at the extremity, or midway, of the piping, as it may be
required. ‘The largest-sized apparatus could not well be more
than 8 ft. long; as, if larger, it would be inconvenient to move
about. ‘The size of the one which appears the most useful is as
follows:—The whole height of the centre portion of the apparatus,
comprising the boiler, &c., is 15 in., and width 54in. by 72in.;
the fire-pan is 52 in. by 43 in., and 34in. deep; surrounded on
three sides by a boiler half an inch in diameter, which becomes
more spacious upwards as the fireplace diminishes. The opening
Different Kinds of Fountains for Gardens. 23
necessary for the reception of the fire-pan, and for supplying it
with fuel, is 6in. wide by 54 in. deep: at the top of this opening
the fireplace commences tapering ; consequently the water in the
boiler expands more immediately over the fire; the smoke pipe
takes its regular width (14 in.) in the boiler, about an inch below
where the lid unites; the horizontal water pipes (/ig. 1. a) are
each 28in. long, by 2in. in diameter; the end pipes (5) are
144 in. high, by 3 in. in diameter: a feeder (c) is added, in case
it should be thought better to have the lid fixed tight on the
boiler. In order to promote the circulation of the water, small
holes are to be perforated in the top of the lids (d d), which are
also intended to be fixed tight. ‘The apparatus may either be
placed on the floor of the place to be warmed, or raised by
bearers, or suspended by wire or cord, the two latter methods
assist the fire to burn more freely. I am, Sir, yours, &c.
JosHua Magor.
Knowstrop, near Leeds, Dec. 12. 1883.
Art. VI. On the different Kinds of Fountains adapted to Gardens.
By Witi1am Mason, Jun. Esq.
Sir,
Toucuine the arrangement of fountains, promised in my last
(LX. 538.), I have only to observe that, as method, ever so little
pursued, does, in the same proportion, facilitate operation, so
would I say, that, by giving fountains the names of class and cha-
racter, we shall assist the projector in his communications with
those who employ him. ‘Thus, then, I should divide fountains
c 4
24 Gardener's House, adapted for
into two classes, the cascade and the jet: the cascade foun-
tain invariably falling from an unseen source above and the jet
fountain rising into the air from a source that is visible below.
These classes I should again divide into the natural, the simple
architectural, and the enriched. The taste of the projector
- must adapt class and character to the situation, or, as those have
it who forget their mother tongue, to the docale: as, for instance,
bad taste might, perhaps, adopt the jet near a Swiss cottage, where
a natural cascade would be harmonious with the scene; and, vice
versa, would, perhaps, adopt the natural cascade in a geometric
garden, and reject the jet, which would there be probably more
in keeping with the general features, particularly if made of the
enriched character. When such absurdities are put in juxta-
position with each other, the critic is apt to scout the idea of
treating such contradictions as chimerical; but the shade of
Repton is not wanted to be summoned up, to testify that the
remark is justified by every day’s experience.
Now, as to character: the natural speaks for itself, whether
cascade or jet: the one falling from rockwork above, and form-
ing rills below; the other rising from a rockwork base, and falling
into a pool around or against it.
The simple architectural has nothing in it but what geometry,
in the hands of a stone-mason, may execute; while, on the con-
trary, the architectural enriched opens a wide field for genius
to display all its glorious riches by the hands of the sculptor.
Having now briefly given all that perhaps may be said on the
methodical arrangement of fountains, I beg to send you in this
sheet a design for a natural cascade fountain and hermitage; or,
according to the foregoing project, a fountain of Class I. character
1., and subscribe myself, till my next, Yours, &c.
Necton, Norfolk, Nov. 1833. “Witiram Mason, Jun.
We have not engraved the design sent, because there are
many such already published; several will be found in the new
edition of our Encyclopedia of Gardening, now publishing in parts.
For example, in Part 1. fig. 20, and Part 111. fig. 134. We shall
be glad of a continuation of Mr. Mason’s communications.— Cond.
Art. VII. Design for a Gardener's House, adapted for the South
Wall of a Kitchen-Garden. By J. Ropertson, Esq. Architect.
In conformity with our promise, made in Vol. VIII. p. 551.,
we proceed with our designs for gardener’s houses, suitable for
being joined to the walls of a kitchen-garden. We have already
given a design for an east wall (VIII. 551.), one for a west wall
(VIII. 659.), one for a north wall (IX. 477.), and we now give
one for a south wall. (fig. 2.)
the South Wall of a Kitchen- Garden. 25
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26 On forming Plantations on a regular Plan,
Art. VIII. On adopting a regular Plan in forming Plantations, with
a view to facilitating their after Management. By Cuartrs Law-
RENCE, Hsq.
Sir,
As you number amongst your readers many scientific men
and persons of taste, I must premise that, on the present
occasion, I have nothing to say to the one or the other; but
that my business is with the country gentleman, who is thinking
nothing about either science or taste, but who has the cacozthes
plantandi upon him, and is about to plant his twenty acres of
land this winter, merely as a crop; and who, should he ever
hereafter dream of thinning his plantation, would be much too
idle to mark every tree which ought to be removed until the
crop was half spoiled; when he would at length merely order
men, probably without much more thought or judgment than
the tools they wield, to “ thin the plantation.”
I am sure I am far within bounds, when I assert that. at least
half the trees which are planted, whether for ornament or profit,
are either disfigured, or rendered comparatively valueless, by
being originally planted too near together, or by being allowed
to remain too long without thinning. As there are but few that
plant who, from want of observation and experience, are capable
of directing this operation to the best advantage, and many of
those who are competent are indisposed to undertake a task
which requires so much time, attention, and perseverance; and
having personally felt it a very irksome task to mark a large plant-
ation of small trees, it occurred to me, some years ago, that, after
selecting those species of trees which were best adapted to the
soil under culture, instead of planting them indiscriminately, it
would very much simplify both the first setting and the thin-
ning, if they were planted upon a regular plan. I have tried
this repeatedly, and can strongly recommend the adoption of the
system by those who are planting merely for profit, and without
any view to scenic effect.
The first point to be considered is the selection of such trees
as are observed to flourish most in the particular locality, and
as are known to thrive in the soil you are about to operate
upon. ‘The next matter to be determined is the ultimate object
in view; viz., whether you wish to create a permanent wood, or
to plant merely as a means of converting land, in its actual
state neither profitable under tillage nor as pasture, into good
pasture eventually; for this has been accomplished over and
over again, especially by the agency of the larch. In order to
explain my views intelligibly, I will suppose that the land to be
planted has been previously cropped with the view of getting
it perfectly clean (a very essential preliminary), and that it is
with a view to their after Management. 27
intended for permanent wood; that the soil is suitable for oak,
larch, and ash; and that the situation is sheltered, or at any rate
not much exposed to winds.
It is necessary, in the first place, to set out roads at suitable
distances, with reference to the shape of the ground, in order to
get out the trees as they are cut, without injuring those which
are to remain. ‘These should be 20 ft. wide, and so-laid out
that every part of the wood be equally accessible. (See fie. 3.
the margin of which is intended to represent the outer fence.)
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The land, if retentive of moisture, should be formed into beds
22 ft. wide, by throwing out alleys 2 ft. wide between them,
which will give four rows to each bed; the outer rows, on either
side, being 2 ft. from the alleys. ‘The holes should be dug over
the entire piece immediately after harvest, about 2 ft. in diameter,
and spade deep; well loosen the bottom of each, in order that
the soil may be thoroughly exposed to the sun and air for two or
three months, till the beginning of November. ‘To perform
this operation with regularity, get a line, and tie a shred of
scarlet cloth, or a bit of yarn, on it, at intervals of 6 ft. When
the line is strained, dig round each shred, making that the centre
of every hole. When the holes are dug the length of the line,
measure off 6 ft. from the centre of the first and of the last
hole in the first row, at right angles with them; then insert the
stick exactly opposite the centre of the interval between the
two first holes, and strain the line, dig round the shreds as
before, which will bring every hole in the second row opposite
the intervals in the first row, as shown in fig. 4. This 1s
28 On forming Plantations on a regular Plan,
material, inasmuch as it breaks the force of the winds. When
the beds are dug over, then the roads are to be holed upon the
same plan, leaving the holes in this case 5 ft. apart, which will
take four rows, allowing 2 ft. space from the edge on each side.
I recommend trees that have been two years transplanted, and
not exceeding 3 ft. high. These will be found to answer in-
finitely better than larger trees. It is a very common practice,
in planting, to hold the tree in the bottom of the hole, throwing
the soil over it, and then drawing it up, and shaking it, as it is said,
to get the mould between the roots. This should be avoided ;
for the obvious effect, or rather defect, of this is, to close the
roots into a ball, whereas they should be spread out widely.
Plant the tree as shallow as possible, consistently with its being
firm in the ground.
If the land be of a loose texture, and properly prepared, one
hoeing, during fine sunny weather, in the month of May, for the
first three years, will be sufficient. If it be of a close tenacious
quality, a crop of potatoes (two rows between each line of trees)
in the second year will be very beneficial. In the second winter
after planting, cut off all the oak and ash, within 3in. of the
ground. In the following summer select the best shoot from
each stool, and rub off all the rest: this will produce much
better ash poles, and much straighter and more free-growing
oak trees, than would otherwise grow.
I have been led much more into detail than I contemplated ;
and part of what I have said may appear to many very un-
important; but I have felt decided practical advantages, and
much subsequent convenience, result from a little attention to
these minutiz, and I therefore insist on them. I now come to
the main point which induced me to take the pen in hand; viz.,
to show that the thinning, so essential to a crop, need not be
deferred for want of opportunity to the proprietor to mark, or
from an indisposition to leave the operation to mere labourers
for fear of damage, if the land be planted on a regular system.
Fig. 4. is a plan for one square of a plantation formed of
oak, ash, and larch, as an example.
At the distance of 6 ft. apart, no thinning will be required
until the ash attains a sufficient size for hurdles, hoops, &c.,
which will be from twelve to fifteen years’ growth, according to
the quality of the land; or even eighteen, if very poor. At this
period cut out the ash in all the roads, with a downright blow,
rather under the ground, which will prevent its shooting again.
Unless there be a great demand, this will produce as much
wood as could be disposed of at one time to advantage. In the
following year cut off every other ash, in the rows composed
exclusively of ash, with a blow in an upward direction, from
2 to 3in. above the ground, in order that the stools should
with a view to their after Management. 29
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shoot again. In the third year cut off the ash between the
larch and oak in the same manner. In the fourth year cut out
the remainder of the ash with a downright blow, under the
ground, to prevent their shooting again. ‘The ash left for stools
will produce, in the summer after cutting, several shoots: these
should be thinned out, leaving not more than three or four of
those best placed for a crop. When these have attained suf-
ficient growth to be crowded by the larch, the latter will be
from 20 to 25 years’ growth, and should be cut out as soon as
the sap is sufficiently in action to admit of their being barked ;
for, though their bark does not bear a price in proportion to that
of oak, with reference to the tan it yields, it will pay for stripping.
At this age, larch, in almost any soil but clay, is extremely
useful for roofs of barns, cottages, sheds, and a variety of
agricultural uses; its value and usefulness for these purposes is
as yet very little known in many districts. It has not sufficient
credit for durability. I have used larch of this age for protecting
_ young whitethorn fences. By cutting off the but end, 6 ft.
long, and sawing it through the middle, two posts are obtained ;
the remainder, sawed through, will give two rails of considerable
length and strength. With a fence thus made, I have reared a
quickset hedge till it was a perfect fence against any cattle; and,
80 On forming Plantations on a regular Plan.
on taking up the posts and rails, I found them sufficiently sound
as a fence to raise a second quickset hedge.
Upon this plan it is obvious that any labourer could effect the
necessary thinning without any superintendence; he could not
make a mistake. Ifa variety of timber be desired, sweet chest-
nut may be substituted for every other oak; both thrive well,
generally, on the same soil; or any other timber trees may be
planted more suitable for the particular soil, keeping them in
the same places assigned in the plan to oak. ‘The underwood
may also be varied, by the introduction of oak, wych elm
(U/lmus montana), Salix caprea, hazel, &c., all of which form
excellent coppice wood ; but they must be introduced in regular
order, with reference to future thinning.
If the ultimate object be a return to pasture, all the ash must
be cut off under the ground; the timber trees will then stand,
after the removal of the larch, 36 ft. apart every way. Many
will require removal; and this may be accomplished according
to the taste of the proprietor, selecting generally the largest, as
the most useful for gate-posts, fencing, &c.
In very bleak exposed situations, I would recommend planting
a Scotch pine, or some other nurse, between the trees, so that
the whole plantation should stand, at first, only 3 ft.apart; and
that all these should be cut out at four or five years’ growth,
when the other trees are well established. If the planter be a
game preserver, he may, at intervals of 100 yards, plant a
patch of laurel, holly, and yew, and in every tenth or twelfth row
of ash substitute spruce, silver, or balm of Gilead firs for every
other ash: this will shed a gloom over the plantation, and
afford a secure roost for the pheasants on a moonlight night.
I cannot conclude without cautionmg gentlemen against what
is misnamed cheap planting ; merely loosening the earth with a
pickaxe, sticking in the trees at so much per thousand, without
any previous preparation or subsequent care. ‘This is wretched
economy; a term, by the way, sadly misunderstood, notwith-
standing the lucid exposition of it which I recollect to have seen,
I think, in the writings of Burke, —‘ Economy is a distributive
virtue. It consists not in saving, but in selection. Great ex-
pense may be an essential part of true economy.” I am sure
this is true as applied to planting. I feel half inclined to submit
a few hints upon planting and managing ornamental shrubberies ;
but I will forbear, for fear of occupying space to the exclusion
of much more valuable matter from the pens of others.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.
Cirencester, Oct. 4. 1833. CHARLES LAWRENCE.
WE shall be particularly obliged by our correspondent’s re-
marks on the subject mentioned ; and, indeed, by any article, on
any subject suited to our pages, from his pen.— Cond.
Hvils of exposing Green-house Plants during Summer. 31
Art. IX. Considerations on the evil Effects of exposing Green-house
Plants to the open Air of Britain during the Summer Months. By
Mr. Rosert MArnock.
Sir,
Tue practice of turning green-house plants out of doors in
summer may be necessary under particular circumstances, and
with regard to certain species of plants; but, in cases where
green-houses are properly constructed, and solely devoted to the
cultivation of plants, these will generally be found to be injured,
rather than benefited, by this treatment; particularly when
turned out early in the season. Were it possible to. manage
ereen-house plants during the winter as it could be wished, and
as they require, exposing them to the open air in summer would
no doubt be highly beneficial to them; but, from the changeable-
ness of our climate, and the frequent (though often unnecessary)
application of fire heat, to guard against the sudden attacks of
frost, a considerable degree of excitement is induced, and, before
the season has arrived at which they can be safely exposed to
the open air, they are all, or nearly all, in a state of vigorous
erowth. Without regard to this circumstance, they are at once
removed to their summer quarters, when, although the frosty
nights may have gone by for the season, the temperature during
the night is often so low that a complete check is given to their
growth, from which they seldom recover till towards the approach
of autumn; when, after having regained their energy, and become,
as it were, inured to their new climate, they once more make an
effort to grow. From the gross habit which they have, how-
ever, now acquired, together with the lateness of the season, the
shoots are seldom well matured, and the plants are, therefore,
in the worst possible condition to resist the effects of frost,
mildew, damp, and other causes by which green-house plants
are liable to be injured. But, when plants are retained under
glass during the summer, both the first and second growths are
ripened sufficiently early in the autumn; and, unless very im-
proper excitement be applied, they will remain in a state of
comparative rest till the following spring, when their flowers
will be both more perfect, and much more abundant than such as
may have stood out the preceding summer.
I do not wish to be understood as recommending green-house
plants to be kept crowded together in the house the whole of the
summer, in the way we generally find them to be in winter.
Duplicates and all the coarser and hardier kinds may very
properly be removed out of doors; and these would, in most
cases, be sufficiently numerous to afford room enough for those
that are left, to stand without touching each other. During the
summer the whole of the movable sashes in the roof and front
32 = Evils of exposing Green-house Plants during Summer.
of the green-house ought, except during long-continued rain or
thunder storms, to be kept open both day and night, to admit as
much air as possible; and the plants should occasionally be
syringed over-head with water, which may be done at any hour
of the day, without regard to the shining of the sun. I mention
this, from having been myself sometimes cautioned never to wet
the leaves of plants when the sun was shining upon them, unless
I wished to have them burned. When the roots of plants thus
exposed to the sun can be preserved in a tolerably cool and
moist state, their tops will not only bear the sun, but his full
influence is indispensable to their health and vigour, and the full
developement of their flowers.
Orange trees, camellias, and, indeed, all plants with coriaceous
or thick fleshy leaves, are, from a variety of causes, liable to have
their foliage injured by the sun; but this injury would seldom
accrue to them were they retained in the house both summer and
winter, and kept as cool as possible during the latter season.
Consistently with the above considerations and provisions, fire
heat need never be applied till the thermometer in the house
has indicated three or four degrees of frost.
I offer these remarks in particular application to evergreen
plants with heath-like foliage, but more especially to the several
genera composing the two splendid natural orders Lriceee and
Hpacrideze, which perhaps contain a greater number of really
beautiful plants than are to be found in the whole of the other
orders put together. Most of the plants belonging to these two
orders are furnished with roots of an exceedingly delicate nature,
but, from the fine hair-like substance of which they are composed,
ne plants are better adapted for growing in pots, or are sus-
ceptible of a higher degree of perfection by this mode of culture.
The means, however, which enable the attentive cultivator to
produce specimens of great elegance and beauty, also operate to
cause disappointment where the least neglect occurs, either in
the application of too much or too little water; and these are
evils which cannot always be guarded against, even by those who
are the most careful. In plants having their roots confined
within the limits of a garden pot, and exposed to the sun on the
shelf or stage of a green-house, and watered at certain periods
of the day, without much regard either to the state of the weather
or the degree of their several wants, it is no wonder that, when
so treated, some of them should, occasionally, appear sickly, and
others of them die; indeed, it is certainly less to be wondered
at than that they should exist at all.
The chief objection, therefore, to plants being kept in the
house in summer is, that, being exposed to the sun, the earth in
the pots becomes dry, and the extremes of heat and cold, wet
and dry, to which the roots are thence subjected, cause the
Conditions favourable to the Rhododendron. 33
plants to assume a brown and unhealthy appearance; and,
generally, the leaves on the lower branches to fall off. These
evils may, however, be effectually prevented by using double pots,
as recommended by Mr. Blair in IX. 576., with this modification,
that his pots, being intended for growing marsh or aquatic plants,
require to be cemented together at the bottom; but, for the
purpose of which I speak, nothing more is necessary, than that
the empty pot, which is intended to form a screen for the other
which contains the plant, be sufficiently large to receive the
latter within it, so that the tops of both are nearly on a level. I
have practised this, less or more, for the last three years, both
with stove and green-house plants, and, during the dry weather
of last summer, at least one hundred of the latter had their pots
protected in this way.
Those who cultivate many of the tropical ferns will also find
it of service in preserving the delicate roots of those plants from
the effects of dry heat. I am, Sir, yours, &c.
Bretion Hall, Nov. 6. 1833. R. Marnocg.
Art. X. A Notice of certain Conditions in connection with which
Rhododendrons have been found to grow and flower very satisfactorily.
By Mr. Joun Gow.
Sir,
Wuen I undertook, in Sept., 1827, the superintendence of
these gardens, I found that my predecessor had left me a
valuable legacy of several thousand seedling plants of Rhodo-
déndron ponticum, in a three-light frame. In the last week of
July, 1828, I had the whole of the plants lifted very carefully
from the seed-bed, with a little ball of earth attached to each.
Three thousand of the largest and the best were sized, and
planted in nurse beds, in a north border behind the forcing-
houses, in rows across the border; the rows 1 ft. asunder, and
the plants 9 in. apart in the rows. I had, preparatorily, had the
original soil removed to the depth of 14 in., and the excavation
filled up with peat earth: after the planting, I gave a good
watering with a pot and rose. As I had still upwards of 1,500
left, and the expense of preparing beds of peat earth was very
considerable, I resolved upon giving them a trial in the common
garden soil, which is of a light sandy nature. A part of a north
border, within the kitchen-garden, was selected for the purpose.
I had it well dug, and the surface made smooth with a rake ;
the best of the plants were then again selected, and planted in
rows across the border, at the same distances as before: after
the planting, a good supply of water was given. Upwards of
Vou, X.— No. 48. D
34 Conditions favourable to the Growth
700 of the worst plants still remained; and, as I had not a
spare piece of ground for them in a sheltered situation, I chose
a spot on the outside of the garden, among a young plantation
of filbert trees, with the soil of the same quality as that of the
garden, but in a very exposed situation; the ground was well
dug, and the surface made smocth with a rake: in this they
were planted in rows, at the former distances.
I have now to state the progress of each plantation; and, in
doing so, I shall first remind you, that only the two first men-
tioned stand upon an equal footing in point of climate. The
first had an advantage in the vigour of the plants; and they
certainly did make considerable progress in the first and suc-
ceeding years, insomuch that three fourths of them were planted
out in groups, in various parts of the pleasure-grounds and
woods, in the winter of 1830 and 1831, without any other pre-
paration than the ground being well trenched 2 ft. deep, and
the surface well broken in the bottom of each trench. They
continue to grow with luxuriance, and flower profusely. The
second plantation, as might be expected, did not grow very
strongly the first year after being planted; but, the second year,
they began to grow very vigorously, as they still continue to do.
The greater portion of them have flowered during the last two
seasons; and they are equally as well rooted, and can _ be lifted
with as gocd balls attached, as those planted in the peat earth:
a circumstance which very few would credit did they not see it;
but a circumstance which has been witnessed by many perfectly
well qualified to judge, and, among others, by Mr. W. M‘Nab
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. ‘This eminent hor-
ticulturist, when he saw them, said, in his usual straightforward
way, “ They look healthy and well, but I should like to see the
bottom of them:” which request was instantly complied with ;
when he expressed himself satisfied with the success of the
experiment. The plants of the third parcel, which were planted
in the exposed situation, did not make much progress for the
first two years after being planted; neither have they as yet
made such strong shoots as the plants of either the first or
second parcels. ‘This I attribute, in a great degree, to the
exposure of the situation; and to want of shade, of which the
family of rhododendrons seems to be peculiarly fond. Still the
plants are very healthy, and flower profusely: their average
height is from 2 ft. to 3 ft.
It will be seen, by the above statement, that the adoption of
my present practice was a matter, not of choice, but of neces-
sity; and, from the success which has attended it, I am led to
infer, that, in all sheltered situations, where a moderate degree
of shade is afforded, and where the soil is of a light sandy
nature, the &hedodéndron will grow and flower well, without
and Flowering of the Rhododendron. 35
any peat earth whatever; provided the ground has been pro-
perly prepared, by trenching and breaking of the surface, so
that all the grass and vegetable matter be properly mixed. I
deprecate the too general practice of pitting and planting with-
out the ground being previously well trenched. It may be
proper to state, that the Zhododéndron is to be seen growing
here very luxuriantly, in banks of very strong clay : in this case,
after the ground had been well trenched and broken, I had pits
made according to the size of the plants, and a portion of peat
earth placed under and around each plant (say, from one to two
barrowfuls, according to the size of the plant). Notwithstand-
ing my having filled the pits with peat earth, I am satisfied that
rhododendrons, and other American plants of the same tribe,
usually grown in peat, will grow and thrive even in clay, and
perfectly well in loam, if it be trenched, and a portion of leaf
mould and of the scrapings off roads be mixed with it; the plants
being planted in the neighbourhood of large trees, so as to be
benefited by their shade. I have planted American shrubs with
success at all seasons, but prefer from the second week of Au-
gust to the end of December ; always taking advantage of a mild
day, and always giving, after the planting, a good supply of
water. I would add, that the same treatment that I have recom-
mended for rhododendrons is here applied to kalmias, azaleas,
andromedas, vacciniums, and cistuses: and to all with an equally
satisfactory result.
I would recommend all, who may wish to cultivate the Aho-
dodéndron pénticum extensively, to provide their stock of plants
by raising them from seeds. ‘The mode is a cheap one; and,
besides the number of the plants which may be obtained by it,
a considerable variety of kinds is acquired. In those which I
have reared, the variety is almost endless, as to the shape, size,
and colour, both of the leaves and flowers, particularly of the
latter. The seeds should be sown in February, upon a gentle
hot-bed.
In offering the above observations, I disclaim all notion of
originality : all I can say is, that I have attempted to give a
detailed account of the method practised here. Should any
admirers of these beautiful evergreens feel inclined to adopt the
practice which I have endeavoured to describe, I can, with con-
fidence, assure them, that it will be found an economical mode of
obtaining fine healthy flowering plants.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.
Joun Gow.
Tulliallan Gardens, Dec. 13. 1833.
=]
(ee)
36 Limes, Citrons, §¢., at Coombe Royal.
Art. XI. Description of the Lime, Citron, Orange, and Lemon Trees
at Coombe Royal, the Seat of John Luscombe, Esy., Devonshire.
Communicated by the Proprietor.
TueE following brief description of the lime, citron, orange,
and lemon trees at Coombe Royal, and of the manner in which
they are treated, may not prove unacceptable to the readers of
the Gardener’s Magazine : —
The trees are planted against a south wall, which is divided
by buttresses, forming recesses, in which the trees are trained
in the manner of common fruit trees. Each recess is 123 ft.
wide, and about the same in height; and is protected, during
the winter, by a frame of wood, which is wholly removed in the
summer; and partially, by day, at other seasons, the trees only
requiring to be guarded from severe frost. A more interesting
sight cannot well be imagined by the lovers of horticulture, than
that which is presented by these trees on a sunny day in winter,
when the open frames furnish a display of the richest foliage,
and of fruit rivalling the produce of foreign countries. The
soil, which is seldom manured, is light and rich, on a slaty sub-
stratum, and seems admirably adapted to trees of the citron tribe;
the situation in which they are grown is in a sheltered valley,
protected from wind. It is necessary to add, that the lime is
grown under glass in winter; but it is believed that the tree
would thrive equally well under wood, and be more secure from
frost and storms, a fine tree, in full bearing, having been de-
stroyed a few years since by the accidental breaking of a frame
or two of glass in winter. The fruit is produced abundantly by
the citron, oranges, and lemons; by the lime, more sparingly,
from the tree being young, and in a vigorously growing state:
and, when gathered at a proper period, the fruit is of a fine
flavour, and full of juice. Specimens of the fruit accompany this
communication ; and some idea may be formed of the size which
they attain, when it is stated that citrons are every year ripened,
measuring from 14 in. to 18 in. in circumference : and, as a fur-
ther proof of their luxuriancy, the reader is informed that there
are now on the tree between three and four dozen green fruit,
from blossoms produced in May and June last; some of which
measure, at this time (September), 12 in. and 14 in. in circum-
ference. Several young trees have recently been planted, which
are in a thriving state.
A Banksian medal was presented to the late John Luscombe
Luscombe, Esq., by the London Horticultural Society, for
oranges, lemons, and citrons exhibited in April, 1827.
Coombe Royal, Devon, Sept. 25. 1833.
On training the Peach Tree. 37
Tue fruits received excited the admiration of ourselves and
every one who saw them, both for magnitude and colour. Their
weight and dimensions were as follows : —
One citron, measuring 183 in. round the long, and 17 in. round the short,
circumference, and weighing 36 oz.
One citron, 182 in. by 163in.; and weighing 37% oz.
One green citron, 15 in. by 144 in.; and weighing 173 oz.
One lemon, 114 in. by 9in.; and weighing 5 oz.
One unripe lemon, 114 in. by 83 in.; and weighing 73 oz.
One orange, 94 in. by 94 in.; and weighing 64 oz.
One orange, 104 in. by 92 in.; and weighing 63 oz.
One orange, 94 in. by 92 1n.; and weighing 5 oz.
Among the leaves which enveloped the fruit, one of those of
the citron measured 102in. in length, and 6? in. in breadth ;
and the others were large in proportion.
On tasting the fruit, we found the oranges without much
® juice; but the citrons and lemons were full of juice, and most
excellent. Of the oranges and citrons we made a most delicious
preserve; and the lemons were used for culinary purposes. —
Cond.
Art. XII. On training the Peach Tree. By Mr. Epwarp Ca.tow,
Author of a Treatise on the Cultivation of the Mushroom. (See
VIII. 213.)
Sir,
I rrusr the result of a long and successful practice in training
the peach tree will not be refused a place in your pages, or
be thought undeserving the attention of your readers. I profess
no new theory of training, and, indeed, suspect that, perhaps, the
many that have been sent abroad to the world, tend rather to
bewilder than to instruct, and to draw the attention of the gar-
dener to fantastic forms, instead of simply teaching him to observe
the dictates of nature.
The peach tree will, for the first few years of its growth, endure
to be trained in almost any form, and may, for a short period,
bear fruit under almost any mismanagement; but when a tree is
trained to a shape very different from what it would naturally
assume, it can, I conceive, have a life of but short duration. The
weak and diseased trees which are so frequently seen against our
fruit-tree walls (the miserable state of which is generally attri-
buted to soil, situation, or climate) are more frequently produced
by improper treatment than any other cause; for it is common
in the practice of horticulture to attribute all failures to natural
causes, when, in truth, many of them are the effects of our own
folly or inattention.
In my first attempt at training the peach tree, I followed the
D3
38 On training the Peach Tree.
fan manner, but found the lower branches to become soon weak,
and, in a few years, to decay altogether, leaving the under
parts of the wall naked and unsightly; and, in such cases, re-
planting after eight or ten years became necessary. But this
was not a decay from age; it was produced by the lower branches
_ having been laid at a less angle than others, which deprived them
of their due propertion of sap. While striving to obviate this
difficulty, I was struck with the form of the lower branches of
some large elms, which, though they projected ever so far ho-
rizontally, still had their extremities always inclined upwards.
Taking these branches for my guide, I altered my mode of
training, and, by turning up the extremities of the branches”,
so as to give to all an equal inclination and equal curvature,
convex towards the horizontal line of the earth, I was enabled
to maintain all parts of the tree in equal vigour. This mode of
training has continued to be my practice upwards of thirty years,
and, under it, the trees have grown to a large size, and have
continued in a full state of health to a considerable age.
Mr. Knight has observed “ that each variety of the apple tree
has its own peculiar form of growth, and this it will ultimately
assume, in a considerable degree, in defiance of the art of the
pruner.” ‘This observation is most correct with regard to all
standard fruit trees, and it is in some measure applicable to those
trained against walls. We may see a whole tribe of plants with
a tendency to assume some decided form, and again, in the va-
rieties, marks of slight variation; yet all this is totally disregarded
in a tree placed against a wall; its branches are then compelled
by shreds and nails to follow a course forced upon them by the
often capricious will of the gardener. But Nature, though she
appears to be awhile submissive, soon tires of undue restraint,
and sickness and disease in the trees are the inevitable conse-
quences of forcing her to abandon her accustomed habits.
The sketch herewith sent (fg. 5.) is that of a white nectarine
tree, now growing in the gardens of the Honourable and Reverend
George Neville Grenville, at Butleigh: this will illustrate my
ideas of shape and form, and, from its age and size, your readers
will be enabled to form some estimate of the merits of the plan.
This tree was planted in 1810; it completely covers a wall of
12 ft. high, and extends to 44 ft. in width; its sides are of equal
strength, and the curvature of the branches gives it a pleasing
appearance. Its produce, when thinned to four fruit per square
foot, will be from about 150 to 180 dozen; a quantity not un-
usual for it to bear.
I agree with Mr. Lindley [in his excellent Guide to the
Orchard and Kitchen Garden] in recommending the annual
* This seems to resemble Mr. Hayward’s mode of training peach trees.
See VIII. 653.
On training the Peach Tree. 39
shortening of the young wood;
for this is necessary to insure
a succession of bearing shoots,
without which the crops must
be partial and defective. In-
deed, I have practised the
method of pruning approved
of by that writer, and have
nothing to add to his brief
observations, but my entire
concurrence in them.
The soil of the border in
which the nectarine tree above
| referred to, and many others,
\ were at the same time planted,
is a strong loam; the border
was made 12 ft. wide, 2 ft.
deep, and the bottom paved
with flag stones: no dung
nor any manure was used in
making the border, or at any
subsequent period. Insects
were particularly attended to,
and, whenever they appeared,
they were carefully destroyed.
In dry weather the trees were
washed with the engine twice,
and sometimes three times a
week. Disbudding was prac-
tised ; no more shoots were left
in thesummer than were neces-
sary for producing fruit the
next year. The fork only
was used for stirring the bor-
der (which was frequently
done during the summer
months), but in the winter it
was slightly dug with thespade,
and laid in ridges: no vege-
tables were sown or planted on
it, except a few lettuce or en-
dive near the walk. Whenever
a luxuriant shoot or large
branch was to be taken out, it
was done in the months of
June or July [so that the wounds made were always healed over
before winter]. The trees, when in blossom, were protected by
Dp 4
SSS
= eS
————
40 Successful Mode of securing
bunting: to effect this, hoards six inches wide were fastened
under the coping; to these boards iron rods were fastened: on
these the bunting was suspended by rings; each piece of bunt-
ing was of the size of the tree; and in the daytime it was
drawn from the sides to the middle, and fastened to the wall.
This covering not only protected the blossoms, but the tender
shoots also; and prevented the formation of those large blis-
tered leaves, which are so destructive to the young wood, and
which render it quite unfit for producing fruit. ‘The trees being
kept thin of wood, not more than four fruit, on an average, were
left, at the final thinning, on a space of one square foot.
On the first appearance of the aphides, Scotch snuff was
thrown on the extremities of the shoots; no eurled leaf was re-
moved before the snuff was laid on, nor until the shoot advanced
m growth and had formed two or three clean leaves; the curled
leaves were then taken off, and the tree washed with the engine.
Although so much has been written on the pruning, training,
and management of peach trees, all that is necessary to be known
may be reduced to a very few words, and carried into effect by any
person who will attend to the following short directions: —Use
a strong loam for the border; never crop it; add no manure;
keep the trees thin of wood by disbudding, and the early re-
moval of useless wood; shorten each shoot, according to its
strength, at the spring pruning; elevate the ends of the leading
branches, so that they may all form the same curvilinear inclin-
ation with the horizon: and, what is of the utmost importance in
the culture of the peach, at all times keep the trees in a clean and
healthy state. I remain, Sir, yours, &c.
Epwarp CaLLow.
Butleigh, near Glastonbury, Dec. 28. 1833.
Art. XIII. A successful Mode of securing a Crop of Fruit on Pear
Trees. By Mr. B. Saunpers, Nurseryman in the Island of Jersey.
Sir,
Tue fact that many disappointments are experienced by gar-
deners, and also by amateurs, in their endeavour to procure
crops of many fine sorts of pears, is so well known, that it needs
only to be mentioned to be assented to. The practical appli-
cation of the following suggestion will, however, remove, in
many instances, these disappointments, and insure good crops.
There are many varieties of pears, which, every year, blos-
som very abundantly; and yet, to the great disappointment of
the cultivator, the whole of the flowers fall off without setting
a single fruit, although the soil and situation may be very con-
a Crop of Fruit on Pear Trees. 41
genial, and every care has been taken in planting, &c. This is
the case with the Duchesse d’ Angouleme, and with many others
I could mention. ‘The trees of these varieties, according to my
observations, devote the whole of their strength and sap to the
production of a superabundance of blossoms; but, unless they
are assisted by art, they have not sufficient strength to set their
fruit. In order, then, to remedy this defect, and to assist nature
as much as possible, I have adopted the following plan, with
great success and satisfaction, for the last three years: —
Take a pair of scissors (such as are used for thinning grapes),
and go over the corymbs of flowers, or rather of flower-buds, as
soon as they are sufficiently elongated to allow the points of the
scissors to pass between them (that is, some days before the
blossoms are expanded), and thin them; leaving only five or six
blossoms in each, according to the size of the corymb: always
preferring to leave the flowers which have the stoutest stalks,
and those which are nearest the centre. This operation has the
effect of diverting the sap to the flowers which remain, and gives
them sufficient strength to set from one to three fruits in each
umbel; which will prove a sufficient crop, and weli repay the
labour bestowed. Another mode, less tedious than the abeve,
is also practised here, with success, on young trees. It consists
in deferring that part of the pruning of them which is termed
shortening the young wood, until the blossoms are in about the
same state as is described in the above directions for thinning, and
then shortening them back to the required length. This also
checks the progress of the sap, and enables the tree to set fruit very
freely. Jam aware that my plan is a tedious one, and one that is
almost impracticable on a large scale ; but it is decidedly an
excellent plan for dwarf trees in gardens, whether they are cul-
tivated in the guenouille mode, against walls, or as espaliers ; as
these trees come within the reach of the hand, of a pair of steps,
or of a ladder. In the hope that these remarks may, through
your indulgence, avail my fellow-labourers in horticulture, at the
coming season, I am, Sir, yours, &c.
BrrNaRD SAUNDERS.
Nursery, Island of Jersey, Dec. 6. 1833.
WE recommend the above article to the particular attention of young
gardeners. The system of disbudding advised in the preceding paper by
Mr. Callow, and that of thinning out blossoms suggested in the above paper
by Mr. Saunders, are applicable to all fruit trees ; and, if generally adopted,
would insure important results. We know an instance of a large apple
orchard, the property of a commercial gardener in Kent, in which a knife has
never been used: every thing is effected by disbudding, and pinching out
young wood with the finger andthumb. The proprietor is not a scientific gar-
dener; and he adopted the above practice from no particular theory, but
simply from his own observation. and experience, to save labour, and to
insure good crops of large fruit. We hope to see his orchard next summer,
and to report on it. — Cond.
AQ Purple Broccoli from Slips.
Art. XIV. On growing large Gooseberries for Exhibition.
By Mr. M. Saut.
Sir,
In the year 1827, I sent you an account of the mode then
practised in this county, of training gooseberry trees, so as to
make them produce large show fruit. (See III. 421.) At that
time, it was generally supposed that to obtain fine show goose-
berries it was necessary to train the trees; and that, if so treated,
in five or six years they would be found to have become strong,
and would be sure to produce large fruit. ‘The result of seven
years’ experience, however, proves that training is quite unneces-
sary. Gooseberry bushes are only found to produce fruit suit-
able for exhibition when they are four or five years old; because
the fruit after that age decreases in size, though it increases in
number. Gooseberries rarely, if ever, produce fruit of a very
large size for more than two years together; and generally only
one season. ‘The mode usually now practised here is, to take a
gooseberry tree out of the nursery in its second year. ‘The next
year (being the first after transplanting) it is not allowed to
bear any fruit; but the year following, that is, in the fourth year
of its age, it is in its prime, and will produce its largest and
finest fruit. We seldom hear of the same tree producing equally
fine fruit for even two years in succession : the Bumper, which
produced the largest berry in 1832, weighing 30 dwts. 18 grs.
(LX. 98.), this year (1833) did not produce any berry weighing
above 22 dwts. 5 grs.; and many other examples might be given.
[The weights of the largest gooseberries grown in 1833 will be
found (in p. 96.) under the head of Provincial Societies.] ‘There
are fewer new. gooseberries going out this season than last.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.
M. Saut.
Sulyard Street, Lancaster, Dec. 6. 1833.
Art. XV. On propagating the Purple Broccoli from Slips, and on
the Agency of Manure prepared from Sea Weed in improving various
Vegetables. By Mr. T. Rutcer.
Sir,
On reading Mr. Kendall’s article upon the propagation of cab-
bages from slips (IX. 226.), I feel inclined to draw the attention
of your readers to the growing of purple broccoli in the same way ;
a practice which was adopted, some years since, in the west of
Cornwall, and, for aught I know, may be still continued there.
The variety thus treated seemed to be rather peculiar in its
habits, and compact and handsome in its growth. The head
Agency of Manure from Sea Weed. 43
being removed for culinary purposes, the method was to let the
stump remain, which had already thrown out sprouts * below;
and these, on being left to grow, showed no indication to form heads
for that season. In the month of June, the sprouts were suffi-
ciently advanced to be slipped off; and, after being exposed a day
or two in the sun to cauterise the wound, they were planted out
in the usual manner. In two or three weeks they had taken
root, and in the course of the autumn made fine stocky plants.
I have seen many, instances of the broccoli thus grown having
heads three feet in circumference, and as close and compact as
possible; but this extraordinary luxuriance was, I believe, prin-
cipally owing to the nature of the manure used.
This manure consisted principally of sea weed, of the genus
U'lva, several varieties of which are drifted on the sands in im-
mense quantities in stormy weather. ‘The weed forms a principal
article of manure to the farmers, as well as to the market-gar-
deners in the neighbourhood of Penzance and other parts in the
west of England, and is sought with avidity by both classes after
a heavy gale, it being found, from experience, to be an excellent
manure for a single crop. The farmers in that neighbourhood
mix it up with earth collected from furrows ploughed at certain
distances in the field, and with sea sand, and, thus mixed, it ra-
pidly decomposes, and soon becomes fit for use. ‘The market-
gardeners and cottagers frequently make use of it as a manure, in
its raw state, for onions, potatoes, &c. For onions, the ground
is so prepared, that, after a layer of it is spread over the surface,
there may be a sufficient quantity of earth to cover it about two
or three inches thick; after this has been levelled, the seeds
are sown and raked in, and the produce, in many instances, is but
little, if any thing, inferior in size to the onions imported from
Lisbon. For potatoes, it is used either by putting a layer of it
over the sets, whether in furrows or beds, and afterwards covering
it with earth ; or putting a layer ofit first, placing the sets upon it,
and then a covering of earth. In reference to the kidney potato,
I think I may safely aver, that in no part of England are po-
tatoes of this description to be found equal in quality to those
grown in the neighbourhood of Penzance; where, by extraordi-
nary labour and care, they are frequently brought to market from
the open ground by the middle of May. ‘The sort principally
grown for an early crop is known there by the name of “ the
Yorkshire kidney.” I am not certain if this be its proper ap-
* The following fact evinces the capacity of broccoli for forming sprouts : —
“ Two dozen of broccoli, a dozen of which were very fine and fit for table,
were, within the last few days, cut from one stem, grown in the garden of
Mr. Lewis, nurseryman, of Chelmsford.” (Bury and Norwich Post, May 29.
1833.) See also a notice of a broccoli plant which had stood six years, and
produced good heads from sprouts every year, VI. 492.— J. D.
Ads Culture of the Carrot for constant Supply.
pellation, but it forms a long, handsome, flattish, tuber, with the
crown of a purplish hue.
With regard to the broccoli noticed above, in the ordinary
course of garden culture, it forms a head averaging about two
feet in circumference; its flavour is excellent, and, as such, it may
be well recommended to notice; more especially as, by its being
propagated from slips, it is secured from any variation from its
natural habit. I am, Sir, yours, Xc.
T. RutTeGeEr.
Shorigrove, Essex, Oct. 1833.
Art. XVI. On the Mode of securing a Supply of young Carrots
throughout the Year. By Mr. T. Rurcer.
Sir,
In cases where young carrots are required all the year round,
the following mode of culture will be found to answer in pro-
ducing them.
In the first week of August, sow a crop of the short-horn
kind in a cold frame, and a crop to succeed it in the third week
of August, also in a cold frame, the latter of which will be at
least two months after the first in coming in. Larly in January
sow a crop on a slow hot-bed, under glass; and early in
February, on a slow hot-bed, under hoops and mats; in the suc-
ceeding months, sow occasionally in the open ground.
The above brief directions are, of course, sufficient, as there is
no occasion for entering into details about soil, thinning, X&c.,
which every one conversant with gardening knows: but perhaps
a question may arise as to the necessity of sowing in frames in
the month of Angust: it must, therefore, be understood, that
these crops are to serve through all the winter; and, therefore, it
will be found that glass will be of essential service, as the weather
grows cold; and not only glass, but a covering of mats also will
be necessary, during the night, in severe weather. One thing,
however, must be attended to in the use of glass; namely, to be
careful to give sufficient air at all times to keep the plants from
getting drawn.
Abercrombie is, in my opinion, deficient upon the culture of
this esculent for the purpose of having it young all the year
round; and I much question if his method will answer fully in
the most favourable situations, as to soil and climate, that Britain
will afford. I remain, Sir, yours, &c.
Shortgrove, Essex, Dec. 1833. T. Rurerr.
We have rectified Abercrombie’s account in the new edition
of our Encyc.'‘of Gard. now publishing, § 4121. — Cond.
Cultivation of Sea-kale at Bath. 45
Art. XVII. Remarks on the Cultivation of Sea-kale, as practised by
the Bath Gardeners. By WautTeR WILLIAM Capper, Esq.
Sir,
Pernars the following peculiar method of cultivating sea-kale
by the Bath gardeners may be acceptable to some of your
readers. As this manner is apparently very unnatural, 1 am
induced to preface it by describing the habits of growth of the
plant, which grows naturally on the sandy shores of Sussex and
Hampshire, and also many other places round the coast of Eng-
land. The buds of some of these plants, during the winter, are
subject to be covered several inches deep with the drifted sand,
so that, in the spring, the young heads which push through it
have their leaves quite close together. ‘Their appearance, when
in this state, being like small cabbages, must have first induced
the inhabitants to eat them; and their delicacy and succulency,
added to their precocity, must have ultimately led to their culti-
vation in gardens. ‘This took place probably about the middle
of last century. (See Lncyc. of Gard. new edit. §4299.) During
my visit to Southampton last year, I saw sea-kale several times
in the market which had been taken from the shore, but it was
very inferior to that raised by the gardeners there.
In the first volume of the Transactions of the Horticultural
Society it is recommended, in a paper dated 1803, to grow sea-
kale under large earthen pots: but these are very expensive, and
difficult to manage; besides, the plants thus treated are not so
productive as they are by the Bath method. My instructor in
this method was Mr. M‘Pherson, who cultivated a large garden
opposite the South Parade at Bath; and, although it is upwards of
thirty years since he taught me, I do not find that his method
has beer improved upon.
The seed is to be sown very thin early in April, on a bed of
4. ft. wide, which is to be kept clear of weeds during the summer.
It is certainly the best way to raise your own plants; but, as a
year is lost in so doing, I should recommend the owners of small
gardens to procure them from some neighbouring nursery, as
they will cost there only from 3s. to 5s. per hundred, and a
season is saved. In taking them up, be careful that their roots
are not broken, or dried by exposing them to the atmosphere ;
for in either case the plants will not thrive with so much vigour
the following summer.
Having procured the plants in the month of March or April,
select a part of the garden sloping to the sun : its breadth from
east to west should be wider than its depth from north to south,
that the rains may the sooner run off the ground. ‘The soil
should be light, and dug two spades deep, with a moderate
quantity of rotten dung well intermixed. Particular attention
should also be paid that every clod is well broken; for the roots
46 Cultivation of Sca-kale,
run very deep. Then mark out the whole of the ground from
east to west into divisions of 2 ft. 3in. each; down the centre of
the second and every other division put in the plants one foot
apart: these divisions I shall call the beds, and the others the
paths ; but remember to begin with one path, and finish at the
farther end with another, and put short strong stakes at the
corners of every bed. During the summer these paths are to be
dug over at least three times, to the depth of 10 in., in order to
render the soil extremely fine; but, should it be ofa close texture,
then remove part of it, and bring, in the place of what you
remove, an equal quantity of sand. On no account use riddled
ashes, instead of sand; for their rugged surfaces injure the soft
cellular vessels of all roots, and hurt their soft expanding leaves.
The plants will not be sufficiently strong, the second year of
their growth after planting, to be worth forcing with hot manure ;
but they will be worth the trouble of covering with the soil from
the paths: besides, they must be cut off to increase the number of
their suckers. About the third week in February, when the
weather is dry, mark out the paths 2 ft. 3 in. wide, and when the
soil is finely broken, lay it upon the beds 8 or 9 in. thick; so that
the beds and the paths, when covered, will appear like ¢ in fe. 6.
As spring advances, examine the plants by removing the soil
d
with your hands, and when they are grown 7 or 8 in. high, cut
them off a little below the bottom leaf: their heads will be found
perfectly white, and all the leaves growing close together.
As you gather the heads, throw a little soil over their roots.
Although the buds have grown in soil, very little will be attached
to them; and this little is easily removed by plunging them into
water, holding them by the upper end of the stem.
If the weather is settled about the end of April, the beds are
to be entirely uncovered; this operation will appear to many to
be most extraordinary ; but it is essentially necessary, otherwise
the few small heads that may be left uncut will go to seed, and
injure the plant for the two following seasons. The gardener
must take a’sharp bright spade and commence at the end of each
bed and throw the soil down into the paths, cutting off every
head or parts that may be higher than the original level of the
beds (in fg. 6. ab) before the soil was first placed upon them.
The vital principle in the roots of the sea-kale is so great, that
they cannot be injured by being’ cut through; as will be soon
as practised by the Bath Gardeners. 47
seen by the number of suckers or offsets that will arise from
their roots. During this second summer, the beds must be
kept free from weeds, and the paths dug as before, and the
plants carefully examined, retaining only four or five of the
largest suckers at regular distances round their stems. If the
heads of these plants had been left uncut, every one of them
would have gone to seed during the summer, and injured the
plants for the two following summers; besides, by cutting them
off, they throw up a numerous offspring, to select buds from for
future growth. ‘The following winter the plants are to be forced,
and, before the frosts commence, the beds are to be covered with
a little long litter, to prevent the frost from penetrating the soil.
About the middle of December, remove the litter from that
portion you intend to force, and cover the beds, as you did
before, with the soil from the paths; then cover that soil 2 ft.
high or more, and also fill the paths with hot manure, so that
the whole may be on a level, as shown at d in jig. 6.
The following Directions are for the Third Year :— In about
the fourth week the heads will be fit to cut: to do which,
remove the manure with a fork, then displace the soil with your
hands in a very gentle manner, otherwise the leaves will be
broken, for they are extremely tender; cut the heads off a little
below the bottom leaf, and cover the roots again with seil and
manure to keep the frost from injuring them. In proportion to
the number of beds, the period of forcing must be divided; but
where they are numerous, and hot manure is to be regularly had
in abundance, it might be wheeled upon the beds and paths as
it is made, which will give a regular weekly supply: but, where
no manure is to be had, the plants are to be covered with the
soil, and gathered, as before mentioned. ‘The plants, beds, and
paths are to be managed exactly as they were directed to be
during the preceding summer; but on no account suffer the
beds to be raised even an inch above their original level, although
the roots are become much thicker. ‘They are still to be cut
through with the spade where they are too high, otherwise the
beds will be spoiled. After the manure and soil are removed
from the beds during the third spring, dig up every other plant,
leaving the others 2 ft. apart, and they will fully occupy the beds.
Each individual plant during the third summer will consist of
many stems, and each of these will send up many suckers: to
retain the whole would not only weaken the plant, but would
produce the sea-kale of diminutive growth; therefore leave only
four or five of the strongest toeach stem, and remove the rest:
those retained will appropriate to themselves the nourishment of
those removed, and become larger in consequence.
During the Fourth and future Years, the plants are to be
managed according to the directions given for the third; but
48 Cultivation of Sea-kale at Bath.
should too many stems arise from the main root, they must be cut
off. As soon as the plants cease to produce abundantly, new beds
are to be made; the seeds for which may be saved from a few of
the finest plants, by leaving their heads entirely uncovered.
To dress Sea-kale. — Mr. Gibbs, the eminent pastry-cook and
restaurateur at Bath, favoured me with the following method of
dressing sea-kale :—Tie the sea-kale in bundles, boil it in plenty
of water with a little salt in it, for 20 minutes, observing to let
the water boil before it is put in; have a toast ready, dip it in
the water, put it on the dish and the sea-kale upon it; pour a
little white sauce over it, consisting of an equal quantity of veal
gravy and cream thickened with flour and butter. If desired,
a less rich sauce may be made by Jeaving out the gravy, and
substituting milk for the cream.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.
Water Wiliam Capper.
Hanley, near Malvern, Worcestershire, Dec. 12. 1833.
Tue excellence of the sea-kale sold in the Bath market is well
known. ‘The specimen sent to us by Mr. Capper, two years
ago, was of a very superior description; the heads were much
larger than are usually seen about London, and much more suc-
culent. We found it also much richer in taste when dressed.
It is easy to conceive that sea-kale, grown in loamy manured
soil, will have a richer taste than such as grows in a wild state
among the barren sands of a sea-shore, or is grown in sandy
soil ina garden. In the two latter cases, the soil must be de-
ficient in the nutritive matter requisite to produce that degree of
richness, joined to succulency, which is so desirable in this vege-
table, and which the Bath gardeners succeed so well in produc-
ing. ‘The Bath mode of growing this vegetable we have seen
practised by some market-gardeners about Fulham, and also in
some private gardens, but it is by no means so general as it de-
serves to be. Perhaps it may be alleged against this mode of
culture that the thick covering of soil put over the plants will
retard their progress in spring more than the usual coverings of
sand, ashes, or blanching-pots; because the sun’s rays will pene-
trate through the latter more readily than through the former:
but, admitting this to be the case (which, no doubt, it will be,
to a certain extent), the saving of the first expense and annual
breakage of these blanching-pots, and the superiority of the
article produced, will surely afford ample compensation for the
retardation of the crop for a week or ten days. It will be seen
that sea-kale can be grown in the Bath manner with the greatest
ease at any season, by covering the rows with warm dung, more
especially if that dung be partially or wholly protected from
rain. — Cond.
49
REVIEWS.
Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of
those considered the most interesting.
RENNIE, James, A.M., Professor of Zoology in King’s College,
Londen, &c.: Magazine of Botany and Gardening, &c. In
monthly numbers, 4to.
Having noticed this work (IX. 351.) on its first appearance, we
should not have again recurred to it, but for the following letter
from Professor Lindley, which we leave to speak for itself: —
* Dear Sir, In Berrow’s Worcester Journal of the 28th
Nov. 1833, I have been shown the following advertisement : —
‘ Published on the 1st of every month, the Magazine of Botany
and Gardening, British and Foreign. Edited by J. Rennie, M.A.
Professor of Zoology, King’s College, London; asszsted by some
of the most eminent botanists in Europe. Kach number contains
eight plates of the most rare and valuable specimens of plants,
executed by an eminent artist, and coloured from nature; also,
sixteen quarto pages of original matter. ‘The numbers already
published contain a variety of articles by Professor Rennie,
Colonel Capper, Professor Lindley, a valuable article on Botany
by Mrs. Marcet, Professor Burnett, Sir Wm. Jardine, Mr. Jas.
Munro, M. Adolphe Brongniart, Mr. W. Moorcroft, Mr. George
Don, Mr. Jesse, Rev. John Fleming, M. Bremontier, Mr. Doyle,
Dr. G. Johnston, Mr. Henry Marshall, Mr. R. Brown, Mr. John
Donaldson, and many others of equal talent. London: pub-
lished by G. Henderson, 2. Old Bailey, Ludgate Hill; and sold
by all booksellers in town and country.’
‘From the ingenious manner in which this is worded, it must
doubtless be imagined by the public, as it was by the person who
called my attention to the paragraph, that this original matter is
furnished to Mr. Professor Rennie by those writers whose names
he has made use of. But, as Iam not ambitious of the honour of
being considered one of this gentleman’s contributors, I shall be
very much obliged if you will be so good as to allow me to state,
through the Gardener’s Magazine, that no original matter what-
ever has been either supplied or promised to Mr. Professor
Rennie by me. He has availed himself of some passages in
works written by me, as he also has of others in the works of
several of the writers mentioned in the advertisement; and this
Vou. X.— No. 48. E
50 Poynter's Cottage Gardener.
is, I presume, what is meant by being ‘ assisted by some of
the most eminent botanists of Europe;’ but, if so, the public
should understand it rightly. Yours, faithfully.—-John Lindley.
January 2. 1834.”
_ Poynter, Thomas, Market-Gardener at North End, Fulham:
The Cottage Gardener; being a Sketch on useful Gardening,
designed for the Use of the Labouring Cottagers of England.
Pamphlet, 8vo. London, 1833. Is. 6d.
This is an excellent little work, which may be described -as
strictly practical, without pretensions either to theory or science.
The author states, in his introduction, that he does not “ presume
to instruct the gardeners of noblemen and gentlemen,” but to
give a ‘brief sketch, as short and clear as possible, and at a price
that may iet it circulate in almost every cottage in England,” of
the “‘ times, seasons, and methods of cultivating such articles as
may be useful to English labourers.” ‘The work is arranged in
two divisions: the first contains general observations ‘ on cot-
tage gardens, soils, cultivation, manure, and tillage, digging,
hoeing, sowing, transplanting, propagation, layers, budding and
grafting, sowing of seeds, weeds, and on the climate of England :”
the second division contains a cottage gardener’s calendar for
every month in the year. ‘There is an appendix, in three di-
visions : the first is on “* cucumbers, cauliflowers, and sea-kale and
blanching ;” the second on “fruit trees and fruit shrubs, and
their management ;” and the third on “ flowers and shrubs.”
In the paragraph on “ cottage gardens,” the author gives the
following, as what he would “ choose,” if he had a cottage to
build and a garden to lay out: —“ A four-roomed house, con-
sisting of a kitchen, small parlour, two bed-rooms, wash-house,
something of a cellar, and a pantry. ‘The house should nearly
front the mid-day sun. To the west, a cow-house and pigsties;
at the eastern end, a tool and barrow shed; but situations may
be such as to place these more advantageously elsewhere. For
extent of garden, let us take our old Saxon king Alfred’s allow-
ance. _%
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a, Gravel walks, with box edgings where no grass, b, Rosaries, or for genes or for roses and
georginas alternately. c, Clumps for small American We ss, dotted with shrubs ;
1
or pots with green-house plants, sunk in the ground. >, Flower- Dai
206 Culture of Cape Ericas.
should be made to lead off to a sufficient distance, so as to-admit
of shrubs being planted round, to hide it from the view; and,
after passing through, it may lead into the principal walk again.
An arbour, or small reading-room, is almost indispensable, } par-
ticularly when the garden is at a considerable distance from the
house.
A lawn in the front of a house should never be appropriated
to this species of garden, as it will admit of nothing desirable,
when compared with what it will destroy; besides, seclusion is
necessary to render a flower-garden a desirable retreat.
On the supposition that the accompanying sketch were to be
laid down, an arbour or recess might be placed at either or
both ends; and if the situation were convenient for water, with a
little alteration, a fountain, or vase, with a small pond for gold
and silver fish, might be placed in the centre.
Shortgrove, Essex, Feb.11834. T. Ruteer.
Art. VII. On planting Cape Ericas in the free Soil, and sheltering
them with a sashed Frame. By Mr. Ropertson, Nurseryman, of
Kilkenny.
Few see ericas in their native perfection: stunted and im-
poverished, a great proportion of those preserved in our green-
houses must be rather considered as botanical specimens than as
ornamental plants; and it requires no small amount of skill and
attention (both which they unremittingly demand) to keep them
alive. ‘To diminish this labour, and to enjoy ericas in greater
perfection than is usually done, I constructed, some time since,
a small frame for their reception ; and prepared a border within
it, into which I turned the plants early last summer, in the hope
of seeing them there display beauties to which I had before
been a stranger. ‘This hope has been fully realised by their
luxuriant growth; and by their vivid and abundant bloom,
which has continued in beauty much longer than the ordinary
term. Never having seen or read of any thing of the kind having
been done before (though the idea is simple, and such as might
naturally suggest itself [see I. 374., IX. 584.]), I have thought
it advisable to give you a description of my frame, and of the
manner in which I prepared the soil for the reception of the
plants; though, it being merely an experimental attempt, I did
not carry it to the extent which, [ am now convinced, it merits.
The frame is a three-light one, each sash 3 ft. 6 in.; in front it
is 9 in. deep; and, at the back, 4 ft. 6 in., though it should here
have been 6 ft. high, as the heaths have already outgrown it.
The border has, at bottom, 6 in. of loose stones, covered with
6 in. of fine sifted rotten loam mixed with sand, good peat being
Culture of Plants in Glass Cases. 207
scarce here. Over this is a stratum of sandy peat, 16in. or
18 in. deep. The sorts planted were, Erica ignéscens, cruénta,
coccinea, Bowiedna, hybrida, caffra, vestita, cerinthoides, Pe-
tiveridna, mammosa, Patersonédna, cylindrica, Ewerzana, vil-
losa, longiflora, longifolia, Blétza (? bélla?, verticillata, ventri-
cosa, and some others. During summer, the plants require
frequent watering, all possible air on temperate days, and
shading on scorching sunny ones. The shading may be effected
_by a mat; and the ventilation by tilting up the glass at the
ends, so as to produce a thorough current of air. In winter,
the same attention to air is necessary, but no water should be
given: the plants should be screened from rains ; and, of course,
covered up, should severe frosts occur. In Ireland, however, we
rarely have frosts to a degree which requires more protection
than the glass will afford (p. 62.) ; and I am persuaded that a
number of the Cape ericas are sufficiently hardy to stand-our
winters in the openair. Some have with me, and I have planted
out others on trial; but this they cannot be said to have had,
' since, for these three years back, we have had no frost that would
destroy a pelargonium. I have little doubt of ericas succeeding
on the sea-coast, which is of a still milder temperament. ‘The
situation that the frame was unavoidably placed in has not had
an hour’s sun during the winter, yet not one plant has damped off.
Kilkenny, Jan. 6. 1834. J. RoBerrson.
Art. VIII. On growing Ferns and other Plants in Glass Cases, in the
midst of the Smoke of London ; and on transplanting Plants from
one Country to another, by similar Means. By N.B. Warp, Esq.
F.L.S.
_ I was accidentally led, about four or five years ago, to make
some experiments on the growth of ferns, &c., in closely glazed
vessels, from the following circumstance. I had buried the
chrysalis of a sphinx in some moist mould in a large bottle
covered with a lid. ‘The insect attained its perfect form in about
a month, when I observed one or two minute specks of vegeta-
tion upon the surface of the mould. Curious to observe the
developement of plants in so confined a situation, I placed the
bottle outside one of my windows with a northern aspect. ‘The
plants proved to be one of Poa annua, and one of Nephrodium
[Aspidium Swz.] Filix-mas. In this situation they lived for more
than three years, during which time no fresh water was given to
them, nor was the lid removed. ‘The fern produced four or five
new fronds every year; and the Poa flowered the second year,
but did not ripen its seeds. Both plants ultimately perished,
from the admission of rain water, in consequence of the rusting
208 Culture of Plants in Glass Cases.
of the lid. I have repeated this experiment, with uniform suc-
cess, upon more than sixty species of ferns belonging to the fol-
lowing genera :— Asplénium, Aspidium, Adiantum, Biléchnum,
Gheilenthes, DavAllza, Dicksénza, Doédza, Grammitis, Hymeno-
phyllum, Lycopodium, Nephrodium, Niphdbolus, Polypédium,
Ptéris, and Zrichomanes. Various other plants, vascular as
well as cellular, and more particularly those which delight in
humid situations, succeed as well as the ferns. Among others
may be enumerated: — O'’xalis Acetosélla, Anemone nemorosa,
Dentaria bulbitera, Paris quadrifolia, Verdénica montana, Listera
(Neottia) Nidus avis, &c. ‘The method of proceeding is very
simple. The ferns, &c., may be planted in boxes of any size or
shape, furnished with glazed sides and a glazed lid. The bottom of
the box should be filled with nearly equal portions of bog moss,
vegetable mould, and sand; and the ferns, after planting, should
be most copiously watered, and the superfluous water allowed to
drain off through a plughole in the bottom of the box: the plug
is then to be put in tight, the glazed lid applied, and no farther
care is requisite than that of keeping the box in the light. In
this way many plants will grow for years, without requiring any
fresh supply of water. It is scarcely necessary to point out the
advantages which this plan (subject to some modifications, ac-
cording to the nature of the enclosed plants) offers to the horti-
culturist, and to the physiological botanist. To the one, it
furnishes a ready mode cf importing most plants, without risk,
from the most distant regions of the globe; and, to the other, the
opportunity of making more accurate experiments than have
hitherto been practicable, on many important points connected
with vegetable economy ; such as on the germination of seeds, and
the developement of plants in various kinds of air and soil, &c.:
but upon this part of my subject I need not here enlarge. ‘The
numerous experiments I have already made have, T think,
established one important fact, that the air of London, when
freed from adventitious matter, is as fitted to support vegetable
life as the air of the country. I cannot conclude this short
account without expressing my warmest acknowledgments to the
Messrs. Loddiges, who have at all times furnished me with every
plant I required from their invaluable collection.
Wellclose Square, London, N. B. Warp.
March 6.1834.
WE have before (p. 163.) suggested that miniature conservatories might be
constructed and managed-in rooms, in the same manner as Mr. Wood con-
structs and manages his glazed cases for ferns. A little farther consideration
will convince any one, that even large green-houses and conservatories might
be constructed in the smoky air of London, on the same principle ; and kept
free from the grosser impurities of the atmosphere, by causing all the air which
should enter them to filter through fine cloth. The purity of the air in living-
rooms might also be increased by filtration. — Cond.
Gardens of the Misses Garnier. 209
Art. IX. Descriptive Notice of the Gardens of the Misses Garnier,
at Wickham, near Fareham, in Hampshire; by the Conpuctor:
with a Monthly Calendar of the Work done, and of the principal
Flowers produced; by Mr. JamEs Moore, Gardener to the Misses
Garnier.
In the course of our tour, in the autumn of 1833, we called
at the villa of the Misses Garnier, near Wickham, which has
long been celebrated for its flower-garden; and, much as we
had heard of it, from Mr. Page of Southampton, Mr. Young of
Epsom, and other nurserymen and gardeners, it very far sur-
passed our expectations.
The grounds are flat, with no exterior advantages whatever,
and therefore the merits of these gardens are entirely dependent
onart. The walks and beds are laid out according to the ground
plan (jig. 15.); the beds are most judiciously planted; and the
order and keeping of the whole are of the very highest and most
refined description. In this respect, the garden at Wickham be-
longs to the same class as the gardens of'the Rev. Thomas Garnier,
at Bishopstoke; of Mrs. Corrie, near Birmingham ; Mrs. Robert
Phillips, near Cheadle; Lady Boughton, near Chester; Mrs.
Starkey, at Bowness; and a few others. The first view of the
garden of the Misses Garnier, when the door marked a in the
plan (fig. 15.) was opened, which looks into it from the garden
forming the entrance court, struck us with astonishment and
delight ; the bold masses of brilliant-coloured flowers in the fore-
ground, and, afterwards, the succession of masses of flowers, with
their intervening glades of turf, extending to a considerable dis-
tance, till the colours were almost lost in the boundary plantation,
produced a landscape of the most brilliant kind. In walking
round, we found the walks brimful of gravel, with the turf edging
nowhere deeper than halfan inch. The beds, in some places, were
planted in masses of one or two species or varieties; in others,
by the different species of one genus; and, in some, by a miscel-
laneous assemblage. ‘The plants were in all cases, except those of
creepers and the kinds planted in masses, placed at such dis-
tances from each other, as not to touch when in full growth and
bloom, in consequence of which every individual plant was
covered with flowers from the base to the summit; but the
creepers were sufficiently close together to cover the whole of
the beds with their foliage. Pelargoniums, China asters, stocks,
and other plants intended to display masses of flower of one
colour, were also planted so as to cover the entire bed.
The woody plants consist of roses, climbers, and twiners, with
rhododendrons, azaleas, and other American and _ peat-earth
shrubs, and of the larger exotic shrubs and flowering trees.
The roses are displayed in a rosary, in masses on the lawn, or
singly as standards; the climbers cover trellised arches, or sup-
Vou. X. — No, 50. P
210 Gardens of the Misses Garnier,
ports of trelliswork (fg. 16.), or of three or four iron rods,
as shown in fig. 17.; the twiners run up poles ; the iow American
shrubs are partly disposed in masses, and partly as single plants ;
and the larger shrubs and ornamental trees are distributed along
the margin of the garden, and also scattered throughout, as will
appear by the details of the ground plan. From the drawing-
room window at d, there is a vistato the trellised arch e, and
————
RS OOZES oe
=S—
1. to 5. Herbaceous plants. 6. Perpetual roses. 7. and 8. Roses edged with pansies. 9. German
stocks edged with pansies.
10. Trellis enclosed by herbaceous borders. 11. Delphiniums and digitalises. 12. Calceolarias and
potentillas edged with Viola cornuta. 13. and 14. Herbaceous plants. 15. Hollyhocks edged by
various China roses. 16. Crotalaria élegans. 17. American plants, with C¥tisus elongatus
in the centre. 18. Lobelia in sorts. 19. Collection of best pinks.
20. American and large-growing shrubs, with tree roses forming vista to arch. 21. and 22. Hollies
twined with honeysuckles and roses, and blended with flowering shrubs. 23. and 24. American
and large-growing shrubs. 25. Pelargoniums. 26. Roses in the centre, with herbaceous
plants in the two borders. 27. and 28. Large shrubs, hollies, &c. 29. American plants edged
with Geranium sanguineum.
80. to 33. Forest trees, evergreens, and shrubs. 34. Verbéna chameedrifolia, a bed of. 35, Salvia
spléndens. 36. to 47. Forest trees, evergreens, and flowering shrubs. 48. Hollyhocks. © 49. to
53. American shrubs, backed by hollies and honeysuckles, with trees behind, and broken to
supply a view of the contiguous ground. 54, Rosary, comprehending a fine collection of roses,
enclosed by evergreens, flowering shrubs, &c. 55. Collection of phloxes. 56. Scarlet arbutus.
57. Leondtis Leontrus. 58. Tree rose. 59. Pedestal of Caprifdlium flexudsum.
60. Rdsa bracteata, and caprifolium in sorts. 61. Daphne Dauphinz (D. hybrida), and Gaulthéria
procimbens. 62. Andrémeda arborea. 63. Fachsia cénica, edged with Lobélza triquetra.
64. Magndlia conspicua. 65. Sophora japinica var. pendula. 66. Cupréssus sempervirens.
67. Lupinus mutabilis var. Cruckshankszanus. 68. Caprifolium, sorts of, over cross-shaped basket.
69. Polygala latifolia.
70. Yucca gloridsa. 71. Halimodéndron argénteum. 72. Hydrangea horténsis. 73. Petinia
pheenicea. 74. Basket of Verbéna chamedrifolia. 75. Tripod basket of pelargoniums.
76, Correa specidsa. 771. Yacca aloéfolia. 78. Magndla Soulangedna. 79. Hhododéndron
at Wickham, near Fareham, Hampshire. 211
another to an old oak tree at,f- The kitchen-garden is entered by
the door marked 0 in the plan (fg. 15.); and there is a green-house
Ss ie
17
catawbiénse. 80. Basket of plants in pots. 81. Cytisus purptreus, standard. 82. Kalmia
latifolia. 83. Palitrus aculeatus. 84. Tree rose. 85. Photinia serrulata. 86. Schubértza
Gisticha. 87. Brugmansia suaveolens. 88. Bérberis Aquifdlium. 89. Kélreutéria paniculata.
90. C¥tisus elongatus. 91. Upright cypress. 92. Técoma capensis pyramidalis. 93. Tree rose.
94. Ameldnchier Botryapium. 95. Fachsza arberea. 96. Magnolia tripétala. 97. Basket of
pelargoniums. 98. Ligdstrum licidum. 99. Mimulus glutinodsus.
100. Juniperus virginiana. 101. Crate*gus Azarolus. 102. Pxdnia Modtan papaveracea.
103. Obelisk clothed with A"pios tuberdsa. 104. Tropz*olum tricoldrum. 105. Rhododéndron
alta-clerénse. 106. KAlmia latifolia. 107. Periploca gre*ca. 108. Rhododéndron arboreum.
109. Pxdnia Moitan. 110. Cupréssus sempervirens horizontalis. 111. Cross basket of Capri-
folium gratum. 112. Rhododendron Smithz. 113. Chionanthus virginica. 114, Xan-
théxylum ciava Héreulis. 115. Weeping ash. 116. Broussonétza papyrifera, 117. Cérasus
nigra. 118. Large holly. 119. Vibarnum strictum.
120. Hemlock spruce (Pinus canadénsis). 121. Holly. 122. Cedrus Libani. 123, Rhodo-
déndron atropurptreum. 124. Gymnécladus canadénsis. 125. A’cer Psetdo-Platanus.
126. Holly. 127. Pinus Cémbra. 128. A’rbutus procéra. 129, Vibt’rnum licidum.
130. Phérmium ténax. 131. Camellia, sorts of. 132. Fuchsia grandiflora. 133, Basket of
Russian stocks. 134. Rdsa Boursatiltiz, pedestal. 135. Aralia spindsa. 136, Tilia europz*a.
137. Atragéne austriaca, pedestal. 138. A*bies excélsa. 139. Rhododéndron pénticum.
140. Piptanthus nepalénsis. 141. Hydrangea horténsis. 142. Tree rose. 143. Rhododéndron
maximum. 144. Ilex myrtifolia. 145. Pednia Mottan. 146. Sophora japénica péndula,
147, Eriobétrya japénica. 148. Tree rose. 149. Magndléa glatca.
150. Caragina frutéscens. 151, Magndlia grandiflora. 152. Tree rose. 153. Maclira aurantiaca,
154. Tree rose. 155. Catalpa syringefdlia. 156. Noisette rose. 157, Latrus nébilis, with
georginas, 158. Six tree roses, with herbaceous plants ; evergreens near the house. 159. Hollies,
honeysuckles, China roses, herbaceous plants in front. 160. Seats. 161. Trellised arches,
P 2
212 Gardens of the Misses Garnier : —
= —_=
(eee
I li tl wu
ah
c, besides pits, frames, &c.; and a reserve garden at g, for
keeping up a stock of herbaceous plants, roses, &c., for the lawn
or flower-garden. ‘The trees on the walls of the kitchen-garden
are trained with the greatest neatness, and completely cover
the wall from the ground to the coping; the wall borders were,
when we saw them, very slightly cropped, and in some places
not cropped at all. Every part was in the best order; and,
indeed, there was an appearance of freshness, health, and vigour,
in all the gardens and scenery, which, joined to the fineness of
the day, completed the effect of their gaiety and beauty.
There are a few buildings, or artificial ornaments, in these
grounds, of a simple rustic description, such as the seat
formed of moss and hazel rods (jig. 19.); trellised arches for
climbers (jigs. 20. and 21.); rustic vases (fig. 18.) ; and iron rods
for roses and other slender-growing shrubs. (jigs. 16. and 17.)
MONTHLY CALENDAR OF THE FLOWER-GARDEN.
January, 1833.— During this month there is but little doing in the flower-
garden. The gravel walks are kept clear of weeds, and neatly rolled, and the
turf is swept once a week, or oftener, as it may require. Honeysuckles,
clematises, and other deciduous climbing plants, are now pruned and tied. If
the weather is mild and dry, the coverings are removed from the half-hardy and
green-house plants which have been kept out during the winter, to prevent
them from damping off; it is necessary, however, to replace the coverings
carefully before the sun is off the plants. Slugs must be destroyed when the
weather is mild, by hand-picking or lime water ; the latter method I find the
most effectual, being careful to let it settle well before using it, otherwise it
leaves a whiteness on the leaves of the plants.
Floricultural Calendar. 218
The productions of the flower-garden at this season are not numerous ; its
beauty depending chiefly on the green turf and evergreens, among which the
laurustinus is one of the most conspicuous, being now in full flower. Cydonia
japénica, common China roses, and the winter aconites, are also now in
bloom; and in mild seasons Neapolitan violets, Anemone coronaria, A. hor-
ténsis flore pléno, Aubriétia hesperidiflora, Daphne collina, and neapolitana,
Aletris airea, white queen stocks, and a few varieties of heartsease.
February. — We now begin to be more busy in the flower-garden. The
roses are pruned, except the evergreen varieties; and the borders are well
dressed with strong stable manure, which is dug in a spade deep. Young
plants are put in to fill up any vacancy. Old plants that are become very
luxuriant are taken up, with as much earth as will adhere to their roots, and
replanted. This checks their growth, and causes them to produce less wood
and finer flowers. A good heap of compost is now prepared, in which the
more delicate kinds of half-hardy and green-house plants are to be planted in
May and June. Ranunculus roots are now planted. The turf and gravel walks
and the destroying of slugs, require to be attended to as in the last month.
We have but few flowers to boast of during this month, and what we have are
chiefly Cydonia japonica, laurustinus, daphnes, and a few common China and
Noisette roses. These roses flower nearly all the year in Miss Garnier’s garden,
and, contrasted with the dark green foliage of the common bhollies, against
which they are planted, have a beautiful effect ; flowering among the branches
to the height of twenty feet; and I think it is owing to their being protected
by these hollies that they afford flowers during the winter months.
March. — About the beginning of this month, I proceed to pot the geor-
ginas, and place them in a cold frame or pit. German stocks and asters, and
other tender annuals, are now sown on a slight hotbed. Lobeéléa speciosa
and L. fulgens are potted and placed on a frame in a gentle heat. The seed
of georginas must be sown in large pans, and likewise placed on a gentle heat.
The seeds of Nicotiana fragrans, Lobelia bicolor and gracilis, and other
green-house plants intended for the open borders, are also sown during this
month. The edgings of the gravel walks are now cut with the edging-iron :
I mention the edging-iron more particularly, as this is the only time in the
year that I cut the edges with it, as I always cut them after, throughout, with
shears. The gravel is turned over, and fresh gravel added, filling the walks
so full as not to allow the edges to be more than half an inch in depth. The
turf is now repaired where it has been destroyed by the drip of trees or
any other cause; and pots of hyacinths and tulips are plunged mto the bor-
ders, to produce flowers in April and May. The flower-garden is now
beginning to be more gay. The daphnes and cydonia still continue in bloom.
Polyanthuses, hepaticas, single and double crocuses, periwinkle, Cyclamen
coum, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Rhododéndron datricum var., and R. datricum
var. atrovirens, are now in bloom.
April. — At the beginning of this month the turf is swept, rolled, and
mowed; the flower borders are edged, carefully stirred up, and broken as fine
as can be with the garden prong: I defer using the rake until next month.
Seeds of hardy annuals are now sown in the open borders. The coverings of
moss, coal ashes, &c., are partially removed from the half-hardy and green-
house plants. Caprifolium flexudsum, Jasminum revolutum, and all the
varieties of evergreen roses, are now pruned and trained. Seedling georginas,
which were sown last month, are now pricked out on a slight hotbed, covered
at night with mats. Cuttings of Verbéna chameedrifolia, pulchélla, Lamberti,
&c., Salvia spléndens, coccinea, involucrata, angustifolia, cardinalis, and Gra-
ham, are now planted on a slight hotbed under hand-glasses, to produce
plants for turning into the open borders in June. Heartseases are propagated
by cuttings during this month; seeds of hollyhocks are sown, and tuberoses
potted for late flowering in the open borders. The box edgings are also cut
_down during this month.
The following shrubs and herbaceous plants, which are in bloom, are, Mag-
P 3
214 Gardens of the Misses Garnier : —
nolia conspfcua, Ribes sanguineum, Andrémeda dealbata, O’robus vernus,
Erythronium déns canis, Z‘ris vérna and pérsica; Phlox subulata, carolina,
divaricata, setacea, nivalis, and vérna; Verdnica vérna, Gentidna vérna, Sol-+
danélla alpina, Zychnis alpina, Sanguinaria canadénsis, Polemonium réptans,
Claytonia virginica, fritillarias, tulips, and hyacinths, narcissuses, double poly-
anthus, double wallflowers, &c.
May.— During this month the flower-garden takes up my whole time and
attention; which you areno doubt well aware that such a garden as this must
do, if proper attention be paid to it. Iam, however, a real lover of plants
myself, and I am proud te say I am supported and encouraged by my em-
ployers in every respect, which makes the arduous task I have to perform a
source of delight. I now take away the remaining part of the coverings from
the half-hardy and green-house plants, adding fresh soil to such as are standing
on turf. The borders are now raked down, but not broken very fine, as the
borders not only look better for not being raked so very smooth, but the
plants thrive better, and the soil keeps more open and healthy. F now sow
on a warm border, or slight hotbed, a succession of annual flowers, such as
German asters, German stocks, clarkias, cenotheras, &c. Those sown in
March are now planted out, and the cuttings of salvias, verbenas, &c., being
now sufficiently rooted, are potted. off, to strengthen them for final transplant-
ing next month. Sweet peas are now sown for late flowering. The roses are
carefully examined twice or thrice during this month, to destroy a little brown
grub [that of one of the Yenthredinide *], which infests them at this season ;
the most effectual method of destroying which is by picking them off. The
borders of heartsease, &c., are now watered, late in the evening, with clear lime
water, which I have found to be an excellent method of preserving the flowers
from the depredations of slugs and other insects. Lobélia speciésa and fal-
gens are planted together in a bed. The flower stems of phloxes and many
other strong-growing herbaceous plants, are thinned out, cutting away about a
third part, as I have noticed that the plants which have been thinned
* It is only the enthusiastic gardener who can fully feel the evil of this
insect’s ravages. To have manured, dug, planted, pruned, and taken suckers
away from one’s rose bushes in beds, and, as they sprout in spring, to be
painting in imagination the rich, the brilliant display of their variedly beautiful
blossoms in July ; and, in the midst of this anticipation, to be compelled to
perceive that hidden enemies are working a frustration of your exulting hopes,
is annoying, vexing, saddening, chagrining, mortifying, &e. The enemies are
the caterpillars (grubs, maggots, or larva) of, I believe, one of the sawfly tribe
(Tenthredinidz ), which, when full grown, just previously to their changing into
the pupa state, are about half an inch long, about as thick as a crow’s quill,
usually brown in the body, sometimes rather glaucous, with the head black.
Before, however, any one of them has attained this state, it has done a world
of mischief ; has eaten into, through, and out of, possibly, and not very impro-
bably, half a dozen “ roses in the bud.”’ The caterpillars are quite minute at
first, and begin to eat and do mischief before the sprouting shoot, in which the
embryo rosebuds are, has attained more than half its length. While the shoot is
lengthening, the caterpillar is feeding unremittingly (except during the changings
of its skin); and, by the time that the shoot has become developed, and the rose-
buds it bears obvious, one, two, several perhaps, sometimes all, of the buds in
a cluster, are found incapacitated from blooming by the ravages effected within
them, and sometimes down their peduncles, by the caterpillars mentioned. To
what species of insect does it belong? Does it proceed from eggs deposited
by the parent fly upon the branches of the rose bush in the autumn preceding ?
T have met with the caterpillars of the rose-eating insect by the middle of April.
T once found a minute caterpillar, not very dissimilar, inside the bursting bud
of a species of willow; and another, still more like it, on the common honey-
suckle. —J. D.
Floricultural Calendar. 215
always produce the finest flowers. The turf is now mown once a week, and
the gravel is attended to as in the preceding months. Of all the flowers which
adorn the garden during this month, those of the Ponta Mottan and Moiitan
papaveracea are the most showy; but there is also now in bloom Magnolia
Soulangedna, and M. acuminata. Azalea indica alba and purptrea (which in
this garden have survived the winter for the last four years, only protected by
a slight covering of furze) are now beginning to expand their beautiful
bloom; also Lédum latifolium, Kalmia glatca, Caragana frutéscens, Robinia
hispida, Halésia tetraptera, Vaccinium stamineum, Mahonia fascicularis and
Aquifolium, and R2bes missouriénse. Of the herbaceous plants that flower during
this month, the following are the most showy : — (‘ris pumila, Veronica gen-
tianoides and répens, Gentidna acatlis and alpina, Erpétion reniformis, Cam-
panula punctata, Erythre‘a aggregita, Trillium grandiflorum, Gnothera
pumila, Saponaria ocymoides, O’xalis flava and floribunda, Potentilla rupés-
tris; Aquilégia sibirica, grandiflora, and canadénsis; Pentstémon campanulatus,
Erddium romanum, Trifolium uniflorum, Calceolaria rugosa, Asphddelus albus,
Adyséton saxatile, @/nothéra Lindleyana and bifrons, Clarkza pulchélla, Schi-
zanthus pinnatus (the annuals having been sown in September, and kept in
a frame during winter), and heartsease in almost endless variety.
June. — The first object of my care, at the beginning of this month, is the
rosary, which [ carefully examine, in order to destroy any grubs that may yet
remain; and also the green fly (A‘phis) which infests the roses at this season,
which is easily killed with tobacco water. JI put half a pound of the best shag
tobacco to a gallon of hot water, and as soon as the infusion has become cold,
I dip all the buds and infested parts of the young shoots into it, letting them
remain afew seconds in the water. If they are very much infested, I go over
them a second time. After this I wash them with clean water; and I am
amply rewarded for my trouble with clean, beautiful, well-blown flowers. I
now plant out georginas, mostly on borders by themselves, from 4 ft. to 5 ft.
apart each way. By planting them at this distance asunder, and growing
them with single stems, they produce larger flowers, and do not attain more
than two thirds of the height they usually reach when planted only two or three
feet asunder. I now plant out in a bed by themselves all the varieties of cal-
ceolarias, which have been forwarded for this purpose in a frame. Nothing
can exceed the beauty of a bed of this beautiful tribe of plants. The follow-
ing green-house shrubs are now planted in the turf: — Acacia lophantha and
dealbata; Fuchsia cénica, gracilis, arborea, and /ycidides; Mimulus gluti-
nosus, Corrze‘a speciosa, Lavatera triloba, Othdnna [?] septémfida, Lupinus
mutabilis var. Cruckshankidnus, Boronia denticulata, Leonotis Leontrus,
Humec élegans, and Polygala latifolia. I also place on the turf baskets of
pelargoniums, ixias, and sparaxises, German stocks, Schizanthus Hodkeri,
and Verbéna chameedrifolia. In the borders are planted all the dwarf sorts of
fuchsias and cinerarias, pelargoniums, teucriums, cistuses, E’pacris grandi-
flora, Délichos ligndsus, escallionias, arctotises, Sutherlandza frutéscens,
Genista canariénsis, heliotropiums, &c. Young cuttings of sweet-scented
and other China roses are planted in a shady border under hand-glasses.
I prefer this month to any other for striking roses, as the cuttings soon form
roots, and most of them will flower in autumn. Tuberoses are now planted
in the rosary; and these, with the perpetual-flowering roses, keep up a con-
tinual bloom in this part of the garden till October. The productions of the
flower-garden during this month are numerous and beautiful. The azaleas,
kalmias, rhododendrons, and some species of Andrémeda, are now in full
bloom. The fragrance of the azaleas, together with that of a bed of pinks of
about thirty varieties, German stocks, honeysuckles, &c., quite perfumes the
garden. In this month we have also in bloom the beautiful Wistarza Con-
sequana, Hovea Céls?, Sutherlandia frutéscens, Arctotis auréola, Phldx ovata,
amoe‘na, and réptans; Arthropodium paniculatum, Arnopogon Dalechampz,
Coronilla montana, Lupinus polyphyllus and polyphyllus albus; O’robus
fathyroides, Cineraria cruénta and alba, A’ster alpinus, Lychnis fulgens, Po-
p 4
216 Gardens of the Misses Garnier : —
tentilla Hopwoodidna and formésa, Papaver bracteatum and orientale, Cistus
vaginatus and crispus, Helianthemum formdsum, Pzednia Reevesii, albiflora, albi-
flora Hime, albiflora fragrans, &c.; Delphinium exaltatum, Trodlius asiaticus
and intermédius, Pentstémon Scoileri and pubéscens, Verbena pulchélla and
Aublétia, Hrinus /ychnideus, Lubinia atropurptrea, E’pacris grandiflora, Petunia
nyctaginiflora, gigantéa, and phoenicea; Nierembérgia gracilis, Ramdénda py-
renaica, Dodecatheon Meddia, Hakea acicularis, Watsonia falgida, Gladiolus
byzantinus, Salvia angustifolia and cardinalis, Alonsoa intermedia, Corrze‘a spe-
ciosa; GZnothéra speciosa, cheiranthifolia, and acatlis ; Fichsia gracilis, conica,
globésa, microphylla, coccinea, /ycidides, and microphylla grandiflora; Ther-
mépsis fabacea; I‘ris xiphidides, versicolor, variegata, cristata, &c.; Verdnica
caucasica and latifolia, Czackia Liliastrum, Scilla peruviana, A’llium flavum,
Hemerocallis flava, Fankia ovata, Zephyranthes grandiflora, Linum trigynum
and flavum, R2bes specidsum, Lobélia lutea, dellidifolia, caerulea, and bicolor ;
Campanula ptmila and pilla, Aquilégia glandulosa, Magnolia cordata and
acuminata.
July. — The flower borders are now cleared from weeds where any appear,
and raked over ; and the stems of all the plants that are past flowering are
cutaway. I find that many kinds of herbaceous plants, if cut down as soon as
the first bloom is past, will shoot up a second time, and produce some good
spikes of flowers in September. The rosary, which consists of nearly 200
varieties of roses, is now in high beauty. I look them over about twice a
week, and cut away every flower that is overblown. The borders are also
raked over, to give the whole a neat appearance. The baskets of ixias, spa-
raxises, and lapeyrousias being now past blooming, the pots which they
were in are taken out, and the baskets refilled with German stocks, pelar-
goniums, &c., which continue in bloom until October. The annual flowers,
sown in May for succession, are now planted cut. Cuttings of fuchsias,
calceolarias, linums, anagallises, pelargoniums, and many other half-hardy
and green-house plants, are now planted in a shady border under hand-
glasses. The turf and gravel walks, edges, &c., are attended to as in the
preceding months. The large hollies in the shrubberies, which grow very
luxuriantly here, now present a beautiful appearance, being covered with roses
from the bottom to the very top. The sorts are, the common and pale blush
China, Noisette, bengalénsis, scandens, Madame d’Arblay, burnet-leaved,
Single Macartney, the Dundee rambler, Boursailti, and Rosa ruga. The
standard roses, which are situated on the turf, also have roses of the perpetual-
flowering kinds planted against their stems, which takes off that stiff appear-
ance which the naked stem of a tree rose always presents. The shrubs and
herbaceous plants which flower here during this month are very numerous.
The following are the most rare and beautiful kinds : — Echinacea hetero-
phylla; Gentidna crinita, septémfida, lutea, and cruciata; Lilium candidum,
longiflorum, japonicum, bulbiferum, spectabile, concolor, &c.; Vallota pur-
ptrea, Habranthus robastus; Alstroeméria Simsd, Hookeri, Pelegrina, and
Pelegrina alba; Asclépias carndsa and pilchra, Phyteuma orbiculare and
hemisphe‘ricum, Lobélia pubéscens, caerulea, colorata, senecioides, mucro-
nata, gracilis, &c.; Campanula speciosa, carpathica, nitida, pyramidalis, aggre-
gata, azurea, &c. &c.; Wahlenbérgia grandiflora, Polemonium ceruleum,
certleum flore albo, and gracile; Primula farindsa, Anchusa paniculata and
ochroletca, Marica ceertilea, Cypélla Herbérti; Gladiolus Colvilli, natalénsis, and
blandus; Salvia Graham?, chameedrydides, &c.; Commelina tuberdsa, Schizan-
thus rettsus, Rhéxia virginica, @’notheéra glatca, Fraser?, and triloba; Calan-
drinia grandiflora, Baptisia australis; Dianthus Fischer2, latifolius, and his-
panicus; Silene régia and compacta, O’xalis Déppez, Lychnis vespertina flore
pléno and flds cuculi; Potentilla americana, Russelliana, &c.; Geum cocci-
neum, majus, &c.; Dryas octopétala; Delphinium élegans, sinénse, grandi-
florum, &c.; Aconitum variegatum, Haller/, and albidum; Dracocéphalum
altaiénse, argunénse, and roseum ; Streptocarpus Réx#; Pentstémon pulchéllus,
Miller, ovatus, roseus, vendstus, atropurpureus, &c.; Verbéna chameedrifolia,
Floricultural Calendar. OH Ur
Lambérti, venosa, &c.; Maurandya Barclayana, semperflorens, and a new seed-
ling of a pale lilac purple colour ; Mimulus ringens, rivularis, and variegatus ;
Geranium lancastriénse, sibiricum, sanguineum, and Wallichianwm ; Lupinus
perénnis, &c.; Senécio élegans, white and red double-flowered; Pascalia
virginica [? Helianthus difftisus], Centrocérpha chrysomela, Gazania rigens,
Cypripedium spectabile ; Calceolaria bicolor, Atkins¢dna, péndula, corymbosa,
Hopeana, epsoménsis, angustifolia, integrifolia, arachnoidea, plantaginea, and
many seedling varieties; Linaria alpina and tristis, Bouvardia triphylla, with
some varieties of phloxes, veronicas, sisyrinchums, saxifrages, annual ceno-
theras, clarkias, silenes, marigolds, &c. &c.
August. — The edgings of box are now neatly cut, and the flower-borders
are weeded and cleaned, cutting away all the stems of herbaceous plants that
are past flowering, and filling up every vacancy by plunging in pots of Lobelia
falgens, Thunbérgia alata, mesembryanthemums, hybrid calceolarias, and
others, Schizanthus rettsus, &c., which have been potted and grown for this
purpose. Under this system of management, this garden is kept in full
beauty throughout the summer. The pinks, being now past blooming, except
four or five kinds that continue in flower till October, I plant out between
them a quantity of German stocks, which were sown in June and potted for
this purpose. These soon become strong plants, and flower beautifully, until
destroyed by frost. The evergreens in the shrubberies are now pruned so
that each plant may stand separate. Gathering seeds is also attended to
every fine day. The flower-garden is now more beautiful than in any other
month of the year. The georginas are in full bloom, consisting of more
than a hundred varieties. The hollyhocks are also in full flower: some
are planted in beds in the centre of the garden, others among the shrubs,
which, towering up over the evergreens, are grand beyond description, some
of them having attained the height of 17 ft. To grow them to this height, at
the season for planting I dig a hole for each plant 2 ft. deep, and put in three
or four shovelfuls of strong stable manure. There are now in flower in
this garden forty-six double varieties of these beautiful flowers; thirty-four
of which I have raised from seed myself within the last four years. The
principal bloom of roses is now past; yet there is still a good show of
the perpetual-flowering kinds, such as the yellow Noisette, odorata, flavés-
cens, semperflorens, Barclaydna, indica alba, purpurea, Fraseridna, and, that
most valuable of roses, the crimson perpetual. The following shrubs and
herbaceous plants are in flower : — Ceanothus azureus; Lobélia fulgens, spe-
closa, cardinalis, &c.; Asclépias tuberdsa and nivea, Eryngium maritimum,
Kalosanthes coccinea and odoratissima; Campanula fragilis, persiczefolia
flore pléno and flore albo pléno, rhombofdea, urticeefolia, Trachelium, lactiflora,
&c.; Gentidna asclepiadea, Pneumonanthe, Saponaria, &c.; Lilium cana-
dénse, Ipomee‘a coccinea, Spigélia marilandica, Verbascum phceniceum, Ly-
simachia Hphémerum and verticillata, Nolana grandiflora, Grevillea rosmarini-
folia, Gladiolus floribindus flore albo; Salvia spléndens, involucrata, coccinea,
falgens, bicolor, bracteata, chamedrydides, and violacea; Cnothera mis-
souriénsis, longiflora, and ¢araxacifolia ; Epilobium Haller: and angustifolium,
Eutaxia myrtifolia; Andrémeda pulverulénta, speciosa, and poliifolia; Sapo-
naria caldbrica, Dianthus arbiscula, Lychnis coronata, Lythrum difftisum,
Mesembryanthemum spectabile, &c. &c.; Macrotys racemosa, Argemone
grandiflora, &c.; Cistus salvieefolius, créticus, &c.; Helianthemum formdsum,
Clématis flérida and flére pléno, Phlomis tuberdsa, Physostégia specidsa,
TLécoma capénsis ; Salpigldéssis, many varieties ; Pentstémon speciosus, Richard-
soni, Digitalis, &c.; Chelone glabra, Thunbérgza alata; Digitalis ambigua,
lanata, ferruginea, falva, and purpurea alba; Fachsia multiflora, virgata, &c. ;
Tigridia pavonia and conchiflora, Eroddium Gusséni, Amérpha Lewis; Lupinus
mutabilis, mutabilis var. Cruckshanksidnus, arboreus, perénnis, &c.; O’robus
Fischeri, Polygala latifolia, A\pios tuberdsa, Coronilla ibérica, Lathyrus
grandiflorus and tuberdsus, Délichos ligndsus, Anagallis africana and Monell:
erandiflora, Catananche ceerulea and czertlea bicolor; Lidfris spicata, pumila,
218 Gardens of the Misses Garnier : —
spheerdidea, and intermédia; Centrocarpha hirta major, Arctotis grandiflora,
&c.; Veratrum nigrum ; and the following kinds of the genus Phléx, — Thomp-
soni, paniculata, p. alba, and p. grandis, acuminata, odorata, variegata, ma-
culata, excélsa, triflora, tardiflora, corymbosa, Wheéleri, refléxa, americana,
carnea, suavéolens, glabérrima, Listonidna, amee‘na, nitida, elegantissima, &c.
Some varieties of veronicas, geraniums, monardas, and tradescantias are also
_ in bloom.
September. — I now embrace every opportunity that occurs to collect seeds
of all the most rare and choice plants. This requires strict attention, and
takes up a considerable part of my time during this month. The flower-
borders are again looked over, hoed, and raked, and all decayed flower-stems
are cut away as they appear. I now also look over the georginas, and cut off
all overblown flowers, except a few of the most beautiful kinds, which are
left for seed. Cutting away the decayed flowers not only gives the plants a
much neater appearance, but causes the succeeding flowers to blow much
finer than they otherwise would do; as, if all the seed were left to ripen, the
blossoms would be thereby deprived of much nourishment. The turf and gravel
are attended to in every respect as usual. Of all the shrubs which adorn the
garden at this season, the Acacia lophantha and 4A. dealbata are the most beau-
tiful. These two plants were turned out from the green-house in June, and
planted on the turf in a mixture of loam and peat, with a third part of manure
from a decayed hotbed. The A. lophantha was, when planted out, 5 ft. high ;
and the A. dealbata was 3ft. high. The former has now attained the height
of 10 ft., and its branches extend 18 ft. in circumference; and the latter has
attained the height of 8 ft. I shall take both plants up next month, put them
in large tubs, and place them in the green-house for the winter. 1 doubt not
that Acacia dealbata will stand the winter in the open garden, protected by
furze, when the wood is become more mature. I have little hopes of A.
lophantha ever surviving the winter in the open garden. They must, how-
ever, both be left out another season, as they will be too large to be taken up ;
and the result will form a subject for an article in a future Number of the
Gardener’s Magazine, if you consider it will be of any service to your numer-
ous readers. [We shall be happy to receive this article.) The three follow-
ing are also beautiful plants for setting out on the turf,— Lupinus mutabilis
var. Cruckshanksianus, Polygala latifolia, and that superb green-house plant,
Leonotis Leontrus, which is now standing on the turf 6 ft. high, with twenty-
four spikes of flowers, which will expand before the end of the month. This,
as well as the Polygala, will be taken up next month, and placed in the
green-house during winter. The above, and many other green-house shrubs
treated in like manner, become very large, and add considerably to the beauty
of the garden during the summer months. During this month we have in
flower, besides georginas, hollyhocks, tuberoses, &c., the following shrubs and
herbaceous plants: — Fankia subcordata, Zephyranthes candida, Alstreeméria
psittacina and Pelegrina, Leucdjum autumnale, Palitrus aculeatus, Lobélia
Tupa, ceeléstis, &c.; Chirdnia /inifolia, Fachsia arborea, Cassia marilandica,
Andrémeda speciosa, Dianthus piingens, O’xalis Bowie, Lythrum virgatum,
Potentilla Hopwoodiana, &c.; Chelone obliqua and barbata, Verbéna venosa,
&c.; Antirrhinum molle, &c.; Mimulus glutinosus, Erddium multicatle, Cro-
talaria élegans, Genista canariénsis, Lupinus versicolor, Lotus jacobz‘us,
Wistaria frutéscens, Erythrina /aurifolia, Erythrola‘na conspicua, Humea
élegans, Tagétes lucida, Echinacea purpurea, Gaillardia bicolor and aristata,
Othénna [?] septémfida, Tradescantia virginica and flore rubro pléno. Several
varieties of phloxes, liatrises, campanulas, cenotheras, asters, salvias, delphi-
niums, pentstemons, German stocks, German and China asters, and a few
varieties of pinks, still continue to bloom.
October.— The leaves of elms and many other deciduous trees and shrubs
are now beginning to fall; the flower-garden therefore requires to be swept
over daily, which is done the first thing every morning, as I never suffer a
barrow or a broom to be seen in the flower-garden later in the day than one
Floricultural Calendar. 219
o'clock, if I can avoid it. I now begin to take up the more tender green-
house plants, and pot them, and place them in their winter quarters, letting
such kinds as will bear a slight frost remain a little longer. Should there be
any appearance of frost, I cover at night with worsted netting some of the
more choice kinds, such as Fachsia arborea, Polygala latifolia, Lupinus mu-
tabilis var. Cruckshanks?dnus, and some others that are still in full bloom.
By this means I have often kept them uninjured till the end of the month,
when the fear of losing them by frost prevents my leaving them out any longer.
Georginas are taken up as soon as they are touched by the frost, laid out in
the sun to dry, and afterwards packed in boxes, and placed in a dry situation
secure from frost. The flower-garden is still very gay; but I now expect
every day to be the last. The nights hitherto have been favourable, and there
is now, October 10., a great number of plants in bloom, such as Lobélia lutea,
bellidifolia, bicolor, speciosa, unidentata, czertlea, &c.; Campanula speciosa ;
O’xalis floribinda, Déppe?, and Bowiéi; Lychnis vespertina; Potentilla Rus-
sellidna, formosa, americana, and Hopwoodidna; Delphinium exaltatum,
Garnierdnum, and élegans; Magnolia grandiflora, Leonotis Leontrus ; Pentsté-
mon pulchéllus, venustus, rdseus, ovatus, digitalis, Richardsoni, &c.; Verbéna
venosa, Lambért?, Aubletia, pulchélla, &c.; MJimulus glutindsus, Erodium
Gusson2, Crotalaria élegans, Sutherlandia frutéscens, Coronilla glaica, Cata-
nanche bicolor, Arctotis auréola and grandiflora; Senécio élegans, red and
white double-flowered; Linaria triornithdéphora, alpina, and tristis; Arnopo-
gon Dalechampzi, petunias and nierembergias, Nicotiana fragrans, all the kinds
of salvias aforenamed, a few kinds of phloxes, eleven kinds of fuchsia, annual
cenotheras and clarkias, China roses and the crimson perpetual.
November. — The half-hardy and green-house plants being now all taken up
and removed to their winter quarters, I proceed to cut away the stems of the
herbaceous plants, &c.; and the borders receive a good dressing of leaf-
mould previously to being dug; which I perform during this month and De-
cember if the weather permit. I now screen all the half-hardy plants, such as
Amorpha Lewis, Azalea indica, cistuses, and fuchsias, that are left to stand
the winter in the open garden, with furze or baskets of wickerwork, which I
find answer much better than close coverings, as the plants are not so liable
to damp off, and mats are easily thrown over at night should the weather be
very severe. I also cover with coal-ashes or moss the roots of Erythrina
Jaurifolia, Tageétes lucida, Bouvardia triphylla, Watsonia falgida; O’xalis
Bowieéi, floribtnda, and Déppez; Zephyranthes grandiflora, Alstroeméria psit-
tacina, &c., to protect them from frost. The turf is now swept over twice a
week, and mown once during this month, if it be mild open weather. There
are but few flowers to speak of during this month; still the garden is not
without its charms. We have now the large bright red fruit of Cratz‘gus
Oxyacantha major and Azardlus, the snowy white berries of Symphoria race-
mosa, and the large glossy green hollies, some almost covered with fruit, and
others intermixed with a few clusters of Noisette and common China roses,
which still continue to expand among their branches. All tend to enliven the
scene at this dreary season.
December. — Very little is doing in the flower-garden during this month. If
any borders remain to be dug, they are now finished; and, to such as are
planted annually with lobelias, German stocks, verbenas, &c., I give a good
dressing of strong stable manure, and dig them over two spades deep. By
thus preparing the beds, the plants root deeper, and produce finer flowers
than they would do if the ground were not prepared; and,should the summer
prove dry, they do not require half the watering they would do if the beds
were dug only half the above depth. The turf is now mown down close for
the last time this season. Ifthe weather is open, I always mow the last time
during this month, as I have proved by experience that the later I mow in
autumn, the finer the turf always is in the following spring. It may not be
requisite in all gardens to mow so late as December, but much, of course,
depends on the mildness of the season and the situation of the garden. The
220 Gardens of the Misses Garner.
garden here lies rather low, and the soil is a strong loam ; consequently the
grass continues to grow until near Christmas. I now collect a good heap of
leaves, and mix a considerable portion of fresh-slacked lime with them to
hasten their decay; and, by turning them over twice or thrice during the
ensuing summer, they make fine mould for the flower borders the following
winter. The productions of the flower-garden during this month are less
numerous than in any other during the year; yet even now it is not without
some objects of beauty, or even a few flowers. The Christmas rose (Hellé-
borus niger) is now beginning to expand; a few anemones are also still in
bloom; and the Daphne neapolitana, which continues in bloom the whole
year, is now in great beauty. In fragrance, this plant is not inferior to the
jasmine or the sweetest rose. Among the evergreens (on which the beauty of
the garden chiefly depends at this season), the gold, the silver, and the green-
edged varieties of I‘lex Aquifolium are objects of great beauty.
Thus far have I attempted to give a correct account of my
method of managing the flower-garden during each month in
the year. There are many more plants than I have enumerated
‘which flower here during the summer months; but those named
deserve a place in every good flower-garden.
Wickham, near Fareham, Hants, James Moore.
January 10. 1834.
THis communication must very much avail the young gardener, both in the
notice of the successive operations needful to the satisfactory management of
the flower-garden, and also, and not less, in the detailed naming of the genera
and species of plants which most contribute to its splendour. A few words
may be added on hardy bulbous plants, whose efficient service in the object of
decoration seems not much insisted on. No plants are more beautiful at any
time ; but as several genera of them (Galanthus, Crocus, Narcissus, Fritillaria,
Trichonéma, Scilla in some of its species, Tviipa, Erythronium, Gagea) dis-
play their very pretty flowers earlier than the time at which herbaceous plants
generally are coming into flower, no plants are then so beautiful. Happily,
no plants, also, are more free of culture and increase. Only two con-
ditions are, perhaps, imperative with them ; a soil not adhesive, and absolute
exemption from disturbance while they are in a state of growth. As to soil,
though freedom from adhesiveness be its essential requisite, it is capable of all
degrees of farther adaptation to the various species of bulbous plants cul-
tivated, by regulating its degree of dryness, and increasing its richness and
friableness by the admixture of manure, leaf-mould, sand, &c., and by appro-
priating to bulbous plants, in preference, those beds or borders which are at
once most sheltered, and have the sunniest aspect. That bulbous plants
should not be disturbed at all while in a growing state, every gardener well
knows ; and to every one beginning to be a gardener, bulbous plants will soon
teach the fact. The disturbing of them while growing may be rendered needless
by marking on a label the kind and colour wanted in any particular spot,
placing there that label ; and affixing to a clump of the required kind, that in-
cludes plants enough to spare some, a label stating its kind and partibleness.
In obedience to the same condition of not disturbing bulbous plants while
growing, invariably divide and transplant such of them as you wish to part, or
deem to need it (most bulbous plants will, perhaps, grow three years without
becoming choked by their own offsets), as soon as ever they have ceased
growing ; a state which they have reached when their leaves have become
of a brown colour. Then dig up, part, and replant them forthwith; and of
course recollect to occupy the blanks observed and labelled in spring with the
kinds and colours noted as wanted in them. The bulbs are now, once for all;
Management of the Vinery. 221
in their places, ready to follow their natural habit of emitting roots in autumn
for the acquisition of energies to flower freely and finely in the following
spring. There is trouble in this mode, and so, unluckily, there is in every
other; and by myself the “ once for all” mode is preferred, as absolving one
from the after-care of “ I must get in my bulbs” on this, that, and the other
day (as unexpected occupation may cause you to defer the day), and the
annoyance of seeing them lie sprouting and shooting, and tacitly chiding you
for inconsiderately disabling them from flowering so as “ to charm all human
eyes” in the spring succeeding. — J. D.
Art. X. On the Management of the Vinery.
By A Youne GARDENER.
In order to prevent the fruit from suffering from the effects
of damp (an evil so often complained of in vineries), the young
wood should always be kept thin, by taking the tops from the
shoots, three or four joints above the fruit; and not allowing
them to ramble through the house, shading the fruit from the
sun, and preventing the free circulation of air among the bunches
and berries. For the same reason, the lateral shoots, which
push from the young wood, should be cut or pinched off at the
first or second joint, so as not to endanger the bursting of the
bud on the main shoot.
It is well known, that every place from which the sun and air
are partially excluded is sure to be damp: the walls of a house,
for instance, which are covered with ivy, if it is not in a very
dry situation, will be found wet and uncomfortable in the inside.*
When this is considered, it will appear evident, that, upon the
same principle, the vinery in which the wood is not properly
thinned must suffer in the same manner, though in a less degree.
Particular attention should be given to the thinning of the fruit ;
taking out most berries in the heart of the bunch; leaving those
towards the extremities; and making the whole very thin.
Those kinds of grapes the bunches of which are of a branchy
nature, such as the black Hamburgh, the Syrian or white Nice,
&c., should always be stretched out a little, and tied up with a
* Ivy, when not fully grown, may be liable to the objections of our corre-
spondent ; but when it has grown a sufficient time to clothe the face of a wall
with its foliage, no covering whatever can more completely protect it from
moisture. Our correspondent’s objections apply with their full force to deci-
duous plants of every kind trained against the walls of houses; and both
deciduous plants and evergreens afford protection and breeding-places for many
kinds of insects, slugs, &c. We have known snails and earwigs infest bedrooms
two and three stories from the ground, in houses, the walls of which were
covered externally with ivy. For this reason, we would never have any de-
scription of plant, either deciduous or evergreen, trained on a cottage close to
the windows. On walls wholly without windows, or architectural ornaments
of any kind, ivy will form a valuable protection from rain, and also a non-
conductor of heat, either from without or within. — Cond.
222 Cultivation of the Peach Tree.
small piece of matting, that they may have room to swell, and
be kept from crowding each other. ‘This is not only a means of
preserving the bunches from damp, but also of having better-
swelled and finer-flavoured berries. It is a common practice
with those who have fruit in their vineries, when the season is far
advanced, to keep up the temperature of the house, throughout
the night, with artificial heat, and to let their fires go nearly out
when the morning dawns. [See p.18.] I do not, however,
approve altogether of this plan. Let any person go into a vinery
in the morning, before it is aired, and when the sun is shining
upon it, he will feel the atmosphere moist; and, on examining
the fruit, will perceive that it is covered with dew. Now, if this
moisture be allowed to remain for any length of time, it certainly
must prove injurious; and to remedy the evil seems to be an
object worth attention.
A very small degree of artificial heat will be found sufficient
throughout the night; but, as soon as the sun arises in the
morning, and shines upon the house, by increasing the temper-
ature, and giving a sufficient quantity of air, the moisture will
be expelled, and the atmosphere of the house will become dry.
It may not be unnecessary to remark, that the fruit should be
often examined ; and, if there are any of the berries on which the
damp has taken effect, they should be carefully picked off; as,
if they are suffered to remain, the damp will soon spread over
the whole bunch.
Mid-Lothian, Sept. 18. 1833. A Youne GARDENER.
Art. XI. Notes on the Cultivation of the Peach Tree.
By Mr. James Hart.
Tue garden of Sir F. N. Burton, of Burcraggy, county of
Clare, lies on a limestone rock, varying from 2 ft. to within a
few inches of the surface: the soil is a pure black loam, probably
of the same chemical qualities as the yellow; it has the same
unctuous feel. ‘The peach trees growing some years ago in this
soil and garden could not be surpassed for health, and they bore
the most abundant crops of the finest fruit that could be possibly
produced. I dare say the crop of 1813 is still remembered in
some parts of the county of Clare. Neither mildew nor fly was
to be seen on these trees, nor any disease whatever. I had them
covered one spring with bast mats; but the last spring that I
was there they were not covered at all, yet neither did the trees
suffer in the smallest degree from the severity of the weather,
nor did the crop of fruit which followed show that any injury
had been sustained. One might fancy that these trees enjoyed
the privilege of growing among the rocks; they had the appear-
Cultivation of the Peach Tree. 223
ance of being quite happy. As the garden was small, I had to
crop the borders: the crops were winter spinach, early peas,
and turnips, and these allowed the borders to be clear during the
summer, when I had them mulched about 3 in. thick, with rotten
dung from the old hotbeds. The peach tree cannot endure
dung that has any strength in it to be dug in among its roots,
although it bears the moisture from the dung when filtered
through the earth to its roots very well. ‘To the peach tree,
strong dung in among the roots is almost instant death; and
is at least sure to bring on the mildew, and that so abundantly,
as totally to prevent the recovery of the tree.
The above facts suggested to me, that, in making borders for
peach trees, when the soil is not naturally suitable, and has to
be excavated and carried off, and a loam substituted for it, it
will be well to have a part of the excavated border, say to the
depth of 3 ft., filled up with large pieces of rock, or lumps of
stones, reaching from the bottom to within a few inches of the
surface. ‘This provision would prevent the roots from lying in
superabundant moisture, and at the same time keep them out of
harm’s way, and the hazard of being cut with the spade in stirring
the ground. The heat of the stones, and the moisture collected
about them, would attract the fibrous parts of the roots into con-
tiguity with the stones, and so prevent them from foraging about
the surface Of the soil in quest of heat and moisture. The cutting
of the roots in digging the borders is injurious to the trees in
the highest degree ; for trees that are so treated, although they
grow vigorously through the summer, are still unhealthy, and
become the victims of mildew and fly in the peach tree; fly and
caterpillar in the plum tree; and caterpillar in the gooseberry
bush. The soil and climate are the chief essentials for the health
of all plants, and eminently so for that of the peach tree, which,
in regard to the soil eligible to it, cannot be kept in health unless
in a strong sound loam: no mixtures of soil suit it. The plum
tree, the gooseberry bush, and the currant bush, do very well on
any soil, provided you do not cut the roots of either in digging,
not even by digging dung in among them. Mulch the plum tree
with rotten dung, and, when required, loosen the earth with a
fork; dung the gooseberry bush and currant bush, and cover
the dung applied with earth, as I have mentioned in a former
note on these two. (VIII.694.) The ground must be kept rich
about these three, and no curtailment of their roots allowed;
if they be not preserved in this condition, but left to poverty,
and exposed to a lessening of their roots, they will soon be
attacked with disease, and be rendered a prey to the caterpillar,
the fly, or the mildew.
Gardeners have long known which is the kind of soil most
conducive to the health and welfare of the peach tree. As early
224 Laying out and Planting of Fruit-Gardens.
as 1809, I had a considerable quantity of border made of a yel-
low loam for peach trees, for W. S. Poyntz, Esq., of Cowdray
Lodge, Sussex. I think it was rather light, but it was the best
to be had. In general it has been, not the want of a knowledge
of the fittest soil for the peach tree, but the want of knowledge
of the after-management, that has caused it frequently to make
- such a pitiful figure.
The whole of these remarks relate to the nectarine tree equally
with the peach tree. James Hart.
Drumcondra, Dublin, Sept. 21. 1833.
Art. XII. On the Laying out and Planting of Fruit-Gardens. By
Mr. Joun JENNINGS, of the Shipton upon Stour Nursery.
I wisH to direct your attention to the laying out of fruit-
gardens. What are termed kitchen-gardens are, in point of
fact, fruit, flower, and culinary vegetable gardens, presenting to
=ER
EX a
22
a, Pond of water for the use of the garden. b, Walks. c, Entrance at the sunk fence,
d, Borders for wall-fruit trees. e, Strawberry zone. J, Raspberry zone. g, Currant zone.
h, Gooseberry zone. z, Cherry zone. k, Plum zone. Z, Pear zone. mm, Apple zone.
Culture of Cereus speciosissimus. 225
the eye an incongruous mass, and ill adapted to the vigorous
growth of any article that they contain. It is my wish to see
one garden exclusively appropriated to the growth of fruit, and
another to that of culinary vegetables. Let each be kept dis-
tinct: the flower-garden should be void of fruits and culinary
vegetables ; the kitchen-garden of fruits and flowers; and the
fruit-garden of culinary vegetables and flowers. Impressed with
this idea, I have sent the accompanying sketch (jig. 22.) of a
garden for fruit only; and I think that this or some other
similar plan ought to be generally adopted. If some such plan
were adopted, it would at once strike at the root of the per-
nicious practice of digging and cropping among fruit trees; the
injurious effects of which have been so often pointed out in this
Magazine that they require no farther comment from me. I
would recommend the zones to be planted as described in the
figure ; taking care to keep the different sorts in their proper
places, because, by so doing, the fruits, that are generally
ravaged by birds, &c., might be easily protected from them by
covering the whole centre with netting, in the manner the cherry
garden is covered at Hylands. (III. 596.)
The wall is an octagon, with a border for trees on each side ;
and a sunk fence, with a hedge of common holly and hawthorn,
surrounds the whole; thus making an impenetrable fence, and
facilitating the draining of the garden, should it be found
necessary. JoHN JENNINGS.
Days Nursery, Shipton upon Stour, Feb. 26. 1834.
Art. XIII. Short Communication.
THE Céreus speciosissimus at Woodhall gardens, in Renfrew-
shire, attains an extraordinary size and beauty. The late excel-
lent Mr. Henderson, gardener there, used soil composed of two
parts of rich loam, three of decomposed manure, and one consist-
ing of equal quantities of peat, sand, and broken tiles. ‘The plant
is placed in a large pot, and trained to the back trellis of a pine
stove ; where, in July, 1833, when I saw it, it occupied a surface
of 84 square feet, and had 300 flowers all open at the same time.
Mr. Denholm, the present gardener, gives this and other species
of the Cactus family a more ample supply of water than is
usually done, while they are maturing their flower-buds; and to
this he attributes, in a great measure, the vigour of the bloom.
In winter, when the plant is in a state of rest, little or no water
is given. — Juvenis. Glasgow, March 7. 1834.
VoL. X. — No. 50. Q
REVIEWS.
Art. I. Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London. Second Series.
Vol. I. Part III. 4to. London, Hatchard.
28. Journal of Meteorological Observations for 1829. By Mr. W.B. Booth, A.L.S.
Twenty-six pages of figures, and a plate of diagrams.
29. Description of various Modes of heating by Steam for Horticultural Purposes.
By Mr. Henry Stothert, Civil Engineer, Bath. Read Feb. 21. 1832.
OnE of the most economical modes of applying steam to the heating of
hot-houses is, to apply it to a bed or mass of loose stones. This mode
appears to have been first adopted by Mr. Hay of Edinburgh, in 1807 (V. 443.,
and VIII. 330.); and has been subsequently applied, by the same eminent
garden architect, to a number of pine and melon pits in different parts of
Scotland. It has also been adopted in England, and on a very extensive
scale, in connection with heating pipes and cisterns of water, at the nursery
of Miller and Co. at Bristol. Nothing can be more simple than this mode of
applying steam. The bed of stones to be heated may be about the usual
thickness of a bed of tan or dung; the stones may be from 3 in. to 6 in. in.
diameter, hard round pebbles being preferred, as less liable to crumble by
moisture, and having larger vacuities between. The pipe for the steam is
introduced at one end of the bottom of this bed, and is continued to the
opposite end. It is uniformly pierced with holes along the two sides, so as
to admit of the equal distribution of the steam through the mass of stones.
The steam-pipe may be of any dimension, it being found that the only differ-
ence between a large pipe and a small one is, that the steam proceeds from
the latter with greater rapidity. The steam only requires to be introduced
once in twenty-four hours in the most severe weather; and, in mild weather,
once in two or three days is found sufficient. After the steam is turned on,
it is kept in that state till it has ceased to condense among the stones, and,
consequently, has heated them to its own temperature. This is known by
the steam escaping, either through the soil over the stones, or through the
sides of the pit ; or, when a mass of stones is enclosed in a case of masonry,
as in the stone flues of the Bristol Nursery, the point of saturation is known
by the safety-valve of the boiler being raised. When we consider the small-
sized pipes that may be used for conveying and delivering steam by this mode
of its application, there can be no doubt that it is the cheapest mode of heat-
ing on a large scale known; and when we revert to the circumstance of its
never requiring to be applied oftener than once in the twenty-four hours, and
reflect that this renders all night-work unnecessary, the superiority of the plan
does not admit of a doubt. In VIII. 330., there is a copious account, illus-
trated by engravings, of the application of this mode of heating to certain pine
and melon pits in Scotland, taken from the Memoirs of the Caledonian Horti-
cultural Society ; but the description is so encumbered with words, and the
engravings with letters, that the simplicity of the plan is rendered, at first sight,
23 so intricate by them,as,no doubt,
to deter many from adopting it.
Those, however, who wish to
know all that has been said on
the subject, will revert to that
article, as well as peruse the
present one. Stothert’s appli-
cation of steam to beds of stones
—— may he thus abridged : —
ses ScaeE T For heating Pine Pits. —Figs.
23. and 24, represent a mode of
|
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|
i
N arom orp oo
TUSenOaAL
L
my Se
S
g
iS}
f =
|
Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 227
obtaining bottom heat by means of “a cistern of water heated by small steam-
pipes, which are introduced near the bottom, leaving only sufficient drainage
to take away the condensed water. The depth of water in the cistern is about
1 ft.; which is warmed, generally about twice a day, by means of two one-inch
steam-pipes, each going to the farther end of the cistern, and returning again
in the opposite direction, as shown in jig. 23.: by this means the heat is very
24. easily distributed. At each end
of the cistern, a small passage
(a) is left, for the purpose of
ascertaining the temperature ef
the water ; and this passage will,
if left open, admit considerable
humidity to the house or pit.
Across the cistern are laid joists, which support a paving of stone or brick,
laid without mortar, on which is placed a bed of broken stones or bricks,
about 1 ft. in thickness, which, towards the top, are about the size commonly
used for macadamising the public roads: this is again covered with a bed of
ashes, in which the pots are placed, as in the usual way.”
For Bulbs and Cacit, “a
paved water-tight bottom may
be built on stones, or any suit-
able support, with’a declivity of
lin. in 10 ft., to any convenient
point for the purpose of drain-
age, as shown in figs. 25. and
26. Channels are formed about
3 in. deep, and the same width,
crossing each other, as shown
in fig. 26.; which also repre-
sents two small steam-pipes,
each three quarters of an inch
in diameter, closed at the far-
ther end, and having perfor-
ations about one tenth of an
inch in diameter opposite each
other, and in the middle of the
channels. The result is, that, when steam is admitted into the pipes, it is
discharged in opposite directions, through the orifices, fillmg the whole space
of the channels with hot vapour; the channels being covered with brick or
stone, jointed without mortar, as shown in jig. 26. The vapour which per-
colates between the joists is arrested by a bed of stones or broken bricks,
similar to those used in jig. 24., and about 14 in. in depth above the paved bot-
tom: on this, again, is placed a bed of sand, about 1 ft. deep, in which the
pots are plunged to any suitable depth. The vapcur is so completely arrested
by the strata of stones and sand beneath the pots, as to communicate a heat
congenial to the health of the plants, without the least excess of moisture.”
For Melon Pits, a hollow chamber is formed over the bed of stones that
cover the steam-pipes, as in the plan for pines. ( jigs. 23. and 24.) “ Imme-
diately over the bed of stones are laid joists, supporting a paved bottom,
jointed without mortar, on which is placed another bed of stones, &c., about
8in. thick; and on this is placed the mould containing the plants. The
objects of these arrangements are, first, to obtain a perfect uniformity of tem-
perature; and, secondly, to prevent the possibility of any of the roots receiving
injury from heat, should they accidentally strike through the mould into the
bed of stones; both of which objects are perfectly attained. Figs. 27. and
28. represent an elevation and plan of a melon pit erected for W.W. Salmon,
Esq., at Devizes, showing also the mode of heating the atmosphere of the
pit by flues of loose stones heated by steam-pipes. The arrangement of
these pipes, and the paved bottom channels for vapour, &c., are precisely the
Q 2
fj nn a
228 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society.
o7 same as above de-
scribed ; but, in lieu
ai ; i of the bed of broken
; stones, &c., bricks
=< = are here placed edge-
: SA igus mi wise, one over the
I ay other, four deep, ar-
To) Qa ranged in the same
om i 5
| wna manner as for burn-
; aaa ing in a kiln: over
== these bricks is laid
= ——— =— a flat cover, jointed
close without mor-
tar; and, on this,
the mould contain-
ing the plants.”
For Aquatic Plants.
— Ig. 29. “ shows
a mode of warming a
cistern or reservoir
of water for the preservation of aquatic plants, as erected at Mr. Miller’s
nursery at Clifton, in front of one of the green-houses, and having a glass
29 roof. Steam is ad-
mitted by a pipe,
three quarters of an
inch in diameter,
having perforations
of about one tenth
of an inch at each foot in length ; the extremity of the pipe being closed, the
steam issues through the small apertures, filling the whole internal area of the
large pipe in which it is enclosed, and imparting an equable temperature to the
whole extent of surface. This effect cannot be obtained by applying steam
in the common way, when but a small increase of temperature is required ;
as the water immediately in contact with the pipe where the steam is admitted
would absorb nearly the whole of its heat, till it arrived at a temperature far
beyond what could be allowed in a case of this kind. The dimensions of the
reservoir alluded to are about 3ft. by 3 ft. 6 in., and 20 ft. long. The external
pipe is 4 in. inside in diameter ; and the condensed water from it is taken away
by a small inverted siphon at the farther end.”
Heating the Atmosphere of Conservatories, Hot-houses, §c. — Figs. 30, 31,
and 32. “represent a mode of heating water in pipes by the agency of steam.
31
Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 229
It is well known, that, by the common hot-
water apparatus, the heating of an extensive
and unconnected establishment of houses by
one fire is impracticable in most cases; but,
in the mode here represented, the extent of
application is ina manner unlimited, whatever
be the number or situation of the houses
requiring heat. It likewise combines all the
advantages of steam, as a conductor of heat,
with that of a bulk of water as a retainer.
The first adoption of this mode was in a
forcing-house, belonging to Mr. Sturge, near
Bath. The water-pipes were 8 in. in diameter,
and about 28 ft.long. The steam-pipe, of 1 in.
in diameter, entering at the centre of one end,
and proceeding in rather an inclined direction to the other, is then returned,
still inclining, and passed out at the bottom of the bore immediately under the
place where it entered: it is then formed into a siphon (4) about 3 ft. deep,
whence the condensed water is conveyed away. A smaller pipe is also con-
nected with the top of the large one, to receive the increase of water by
expansion when heated ; which, as the large pipe cools, returns into it again.
Fig. 32. shows the arrangement of the front pipes under the floor. The air
being admitted from the air-chamber underneath, through an opening extend-
ing the whole length of the pipes, and passing through the upper chamber on
each side of the pipes, is discharged through the grating into the house. The
arrangement of the back pipes is similar. Shallow cisterns are connected
with the upper part of the pipes, about 18 ft. from each other, by means of
hollow screws, which admit the water to pass to and fro reciprocally ; the
capacity of the cistern is more than sufficient to receive the increased bulk of
the water, which expands when heated, and returns again into the pipes as
the water cools. The external diameter of the front pipes, in this instance,
is 13in.; and of the back pipes, 103 in.: each set of pipes is divided in the
middle of their length, except that the nearest division of the front pipes
returns about half-way round, the end being in length rather more than 60 ft.
These water-pipes have 11 in. steam-pipes; extending in them their whole
length, and returning again, preserving a regular inclination throughout. The
back pipes have steam-pipes, of lin. in diameter, passing through them in
a similar way; and the teeding-pipes are so arranged, that either division of
the pipes may be heated separately, or in conjunction with the rest. Another
advantage attending this mode of applying heat is, that, as no returning pipes
are necessary, as in the common hot-water apparatus, the bulk of water is
doubled, with the same extent of heating surface; and the retaining power of
the apparatus is doubled accordingly. The cisterns are farther serviceable for
regulating the humidity of the house, which can be done with the greatest
accuracy by attending to the covers.”
Mode of heating the Atmosphere of Conservatories, Hot-houses, §c., by Steam
discharged into Cases of Masonry or Brickwork, —Figs. 33. and 34. “ represent
a mode of heating, by introducing steam into cases of stone or brick-
work, filled with rubble-stones, or pieces of broken brick. This mode
is equally applicable to the largest and smallest establishments. The
agent being steam, it possesses the same facility of application as
steam applied to hot-water pipes, and, consequently, the same ad-
vantages ; and may be adopted in conjunction with hot-water pipes
or not, as it may be thought desirable. ig. 33. represents a cross
section of a case of masonry or brickwork, suitable for a green-
house of 14 ft. wide, with glazed roof, and 2 ft. 6 in. of glass in front.
Fig. 34. shows a view of the same, with part of the front taken away at each
end to show the inside. The steam-pipes are placed about 4 in. above the
bottom, and have perforations of about one tenth of an inch in diameter ;
Q3
230 Paxton’s Magazine of Botany,
which vary from 15 in. to 18 in. asunder throughout their whole length, but
become more frequent at. the farther end, which is closed. The general
direction of the holes is upwards, except some few in the bottom, to keep the
pipe clear of condensed water. The case being built inclining towards the
most convenient spot for draining, the condensed water is taken away by
a small siphon, about 3 in. or 4:in. deep, as shown in jig. 34. A steam-pipe
of lin. diameter is sufficient for a case of 50ft. in length; and, if proper
attention be paid to the dimensions and distance of the holes, which, in this
instance, need not be above one sixth closer at the farther end than at the com-
mencement, the temperature at one end of the case will scarcely differ perceptibly
from that at the other; an effect utterly unattainable in the best constructed
fire-flue, which, in appearance, it so much resembles. There is, however, no
particular proportion of the height to the breadth ; that depending entirely on
convenience. Where freestone cases are used, it is found necessary that
they should receive two or three coats of linseed oil, to prevent the escape
of steam through them. It is better to give moisture to the house by steam-
cocks fixed at the top of the cases, as shown in fig. 34.; humidity can then be
regulated at pleasure.”
Art. If. 1. Pazxton’s Magazine of Botany and Register of Flowering Plants.
By Joseph Paxton, F.L.S. H.S., Editor of the Horticultural Register, &c.
Nos. L., IL., and III., for February, March, and April, 1834. Small 4to..
2s. each.
2. Maund’s Botanic Garden. \n monthly Numbers. Small 4to. Is. each.
3. Harrison’s Floricultural Cabinet. Yn monthly Numbers. 8vo. 6d. each.
4. Harrison’s Gardener's and Forester’s Record. In monthly Numbers. 8vo.
6d. each.
5. Paxton’s Horticultural Register. In monthly Numbers. 8vo. Is. each.
In the introduction to Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, we are informed that
the high price of some botanical periodicals “ places them beyond the reach of
most flower cultivators: while the cheap periodicals, although unobjection-
able in respect to price, are manifestly defective in other points of greater
importance ; the plates they contain bearing but little resemblance to the plants
they are intended to represent. ‘To obviate these objections, each number of
the Magazine of Botany will contain four engravings of plants, of the natural
size, beautifully coloured from original drawings,” &c. (p.2.) The work
may, therefore, be considered as something intermediate between the Botanical
Register, monthly, at 4s., and the Mloricultural Cabinet, monthly, at 6d. It
has no pretensions to being an original botanical work; and, therefore, it
may fairly be compared with Maund’s Botanic Garden, and the Floriculturat
Cabinet. In estimating its value relatively to these works, the first observ-
ation which we shall make is, that figures, “ beautifully coloured,” of plants
already in the nurseries and gardens, are of no value whatever to the practical
gardener, beyond that of being ornaments in the line of his profession. What
reading gardener, for example, who could afford to expend in books Qs.
monthly, would give that sum for a work, the principal recommendation of which
is, that it consists of finely coloured engravings cf such plants as Ribes san-
guineum, Schizanthus rettsus, Petunia violacea, and Streptanthéra ctprea
(the four plants figured in Paxton’s No. 1.), all of which haye been in the
Maund’s Botanic Garden, sc. 231
nurseries for several years? The same may be said of the figures of plants
in Maund’s Botanic Garden, and in Harrison’s Floricultural Cabinet. All
three works we consider to be out of the question with reference to the
reading gardener, as far as it respects their figures. We shall next compare
them as to their letterpress, meaning that part of it which treats of culture
and management. Here we find that Maund’s work is exceedingly meagre,
as compared with either Paxton’s or Harrison’s. The two latter, in point
of the quantity and quality of the practical information which they contain,
appear to us to be as nearly as possible on a par; and, therefore, considering
that the price of the one is 2s., and of the other only 6d., we need not say
which we think best suited for the practical cultivator of flowers, Harrison’s
Cabinet, indeed, we consider to be one of the most useful of the floricultural
periodicals of the day, as it is also, we believe, by far the most extensively
circulated; and though its coloured figures, which vary from one to six in
each number, are inferior both to Mr. Maund’s and to Mr. Paxton’s in exe-
cution, yet they are sufficiently accurate to give a tolerably good idea of what
they are meant to represent. Compared with the figures in Mr. Maund’s
work, we greatly prefer those in the Floricultural Cabinet, as approximating
nearer to the natural size; for, in the Botanic Garden, they are so reduced,
and the large, as well as small, confined to so diminutive a square, that a
general observer can scarcely obtain a really useful impression on his mind, of
the natural appearance of the plant. Notwithstanding this, however, Mr.
Maund’s publication has done a great deal of good; but Harrison’s Cabinet,
as may be expected from the lowness of its price, and the great quantity of
excellent practical matter which it contains, will] penetrate much farther into
the mass of society.
To return to Paxton’s Magazine: on looking over the three numbers before
us, we find them distinguished by the same characteristics as the Horticultural
Register. There is, however, less general carelessness with regard to language,
but there are more plagiarisms; though not quite so many quotations from the
Gardener’s Magazine. As plagiarisms from that work, we refer to some or
all of the woodcuts in pages 12. 23, 24. 36. and 47., which are either fac-
similes of cuts that first appeared in the Gardener’s Magazine, or very trifling
variations from them, taken without the slightest acknowledgment. With
respect to plagiarisms in the Horticultural Register, we shall only refer to the
article signed Peter Mackenzie (vol. ii. p. 512.), and to the Notes on Mildew,
in the same volume (p. 327. and 328.), the latter with cuts ; because, having
spoken to Mr. Paxton on the subject, he promised to discontinue these plagia-
risms, and we believe he has done so. The quotations, however, from our work
are as numerous as ever; there being, in the Horticultural Register for April
last, no fewer than five articles from the preceding number of the Gardener’s
Magazine, and these too inserted under the head of Original Communi-
cations!!! Two of these articles have engravings, one of which was taken from
a drawing made, at some expense, from a tin model sent to us; while Mr.
Paxton had nothing more to do than to tell his wood engraver to copy it from
our woodcut ; the expense to him thus being not a tenth part of what it was
to us. This is not only ungenerous in Mr, Paxton towards us, but unjust
towards the public; for it is deceiving the public, to call that origmal which
has already appeared in another work. We cordially approve of cheap
publications, and of cheap Gardener’s Magazines among the rest; but this
cheapness should be produced by fair competition, otherwise it will soon
cease either to benefit the public, or to act as a stimulus on the competing
parties. It is perfectly allowable to quote from a magazine into a larger per-
manent publication, and the contrary. It is even fair to quote from a maga-
zine that has been several months before the public, into another magazine ;
or to quote from a magazine treating on one subject, into a magazine which
treats on another subject: but the sense of justice, implanted by civilisation
in the human breast, must tell every man that it never can be fair, in the
editor of one magazine, to fill his pages from another magazine of the same
Q 4
239 Works on Gardening, Agriculture, §c.
kind, which has just appeared. Every one who knows any thing about getting
up a magazine, knows that to receive a MS. communication and an original
sketch or perhaps model, or to have liberty to inspect the original and make
a drawing from it, having afterwards to prepare these for the printer or the
engraver, is a very different thing from printing or engraving from articles
already engraved or printed. We may safely state that, on an average, the
expense is treble in one case what it is in the other. Now, supposing it were
lawful to copy the greater part of one magazine, just after its appearance,
into another magazine sold at the same price; it is evident that, while the
magazine containing original matter was losing, the other which copied from
it would be making a handsome profit. The losing magazine would have no
alternative, but either to give up appearing, or to adopt the practice of the
other, and to take its articles ready prepared from some other published work.
Both magazines, in consequence of this, would be rendered almost worthless
to the public. This is an extreme case, put hypothetically, to show what
unfair competition is, and what would be its consequences to individuals and
the public.
A good deal of borrowing, and some plagiarism, were carried on for some
time by Mr. Harrison. The article on the pronunciation of botanic names,
in No. i. of the Floricultural Cabinet, was taken verbatim from us, without the
slightest acknowledgment ; and one number of the Gardener’s Record, we forget
which, was almost entirely made up from the Gardener’s Magazine. Having
written at that time to Mr. Harrison, he has since been more moderate, and
we hope he will continue to be so.
We may observe here, that numerous articles are taken verbatim, both by
Paxton and Harrison, from the Gardener’s Magazine, which we had translated
for that work, from the French, German, or Italian, and the name of the ori-
ginal work is given as the sole authority. This is a most disingenuous mode,
altogether unworthy of that straightforward conduct which alone can per-
manently insure public confidence. Much as we deprecate this practice, we
do not consider it nearly so bad as that which Mr. Maund commenced some
months ago, noticed IX. 457. The amount of injury which would be done
by Mr. Maund to us, or to any other person from whom he might choose to
quote in the manner described in the page referred to, might possibly not be
very great; but a more disingenuous mode of quoting, or one more repug-
nant to our feelings, we have not met with since we commenced our literary
career.
Though we have travelled far from Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, we return
to it to say, that we think it will be very useful to the manufacturers of
articles which are decorated with figures of plants; such as cotton-printers,
porcelain manufacturers, paper-hanging manufacturers, &c. To botanists it
is of no use; as the plants are neither new, nor described with scientific
accuracy. Gardeners who wish to become acquainted with the newest plants,
and the proper method of describing them botanically, will consult the Bo-
tanical Register, the Botanical Magazine, or Sweet’s British Flower-Garden ;
and for the gardener who does not pretend to much botanical knowledge, the
amateur in moderate circumstances, and the floricultural operative, there is
the Floriculturai Cabinet.
Art. Ill. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, Rural Archi-
tecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those considered the most
interesting. ,
THE Journal of Botany, being a second Series of the Botanical Miscellany: con-
taining figures and descriptions of such plants as recommend themselves by
their novelty, rarity, or history, or by the uses to which they are applied in
the arts, in medicie, and in domestic economy; together with occasional
General Notices. 233
botanical notices and information. By Wm. Jackson Hooker, LL.D. F.R.
A.& L.S. &c. Parts I. and Il. 8vo. London, 1834,
We are glad to see a new series of this work commenced at a reduced
price. To botanists in every part of the world, it will be alike interesting ;
and even the mere horticulturist, and the general reader, will occasionally find
scraps “in the arts, in medicine, and in domestic economy,” which will interest
him. For example, it is stated that the inferiority of the dried figs of Madeira
is owing to the radiation of heat from the figs while drying; in consequence of
which, instead of their becoming properly dry, moisture is deposited on them
from the warm circumambient atmosphere. (p. 32.) In Dalmatia, a botanist,
without stirring from the spot where he was sitting, could at once collect
twenty-one different species of plants, of which only two are to be found in
Germany. (p. 79.) Observations on some of the classical plants of Sicily,
by John Hogg, M.A. F.L.S. &c. (p. 98.) contain many curious notices, in
addition to those, by the same writer, which will be found in our Mdag. Nat.
Hist., vol. iii. p. 105, But we refer the reader to the work itself.
The Practical Irrigator or Drainer. By George Stephens, Land-Drainer, Irri-
gator, &c. A new edition. 8vo. London, 1834.
Having before given some account of this work (V.317.), and characterised
it as “ plain and practical,’ we have only now to state that this new edition
has received considerable additions and improvements, and that we think
the work, taken altogether, is the best extant on the subjects upon which
it treats.
An Address to the Owners and Occupiers of Land in Great Britain and Ireland,
on the important Discovery of the Decomposition of common Salt, for the Pur-
poses of Manure ; whereby an Acre of Land is prepared for the Reception of
any Crop, at a Cost of Ten Shillings only. By Henry Kemp. Pamph. 8vo.
London, 1834.
The substance of this pamphlet of 72 pages is, that soda, sown on poor
land, at the rate of 10s. worth per acre, will add a third part to the agricultural
produce ; that the author has discovered a cheap mode of liberating soda from
common sea salt: but that, before he discovers this to the public, he must
either have a reward from parliament, or a handsome subscription. If he
cannot get either, perhaps he will try Mr. Sutton’s mode of publishing. (p. 154.)
The Calendar of Nature ; or Natural History of the Year. With twelve designs,
by George Cattermole. 12mo. London, 1834.
This is a reprint of a work, by the late Dr. Aikin, with additions to the
letterpress, and a series of most beautiful wood engravings. It is well cal-
culated for giving young persons a taste for natural history, and for reminding
all, in a few words, of the characteristics of each month. We can therefore
strongly recommend it to them who either love the country, or who wish to
infuse a taste for its peaceful occupations and harmless enjoyments into their
children.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
ART. I, General Notices.
A STATISTICAL Society, that is, a society for collecting and arranging facts
of every kind, as well agricultural as topographical, moral, political, &c.,
was formed in London, on March 14th. It may be considered as a branch
of the British Association for the Advancement of Knowledge ; and, what that
association is likely to effect for science, this is intended to do for the social
condition of mankind. A Statistical Society was founded three or four years
234 Foreign Notices: — North America.
ago in Paris, and similar societies are now forming in other countries. This
disposition of mankind to associate together for common objects, will lead, at
no distant period (viz., at the time when representative governments shall have
become general), to European, American, and Cosmopolitan Societies, com-
posed of members of all the governments of Europe, America, or the world,
meeting together to devise plans for the good of all mankind. Among these
will be, universal education, a universal system of weights, measures, and
moneys, one common language, one common law, and universal freedom of
commerce. As to the question of peace or war, there will be very little
danger of the latter, when it is not the interest of any particular class of men
to make it. — Cond.
To poison Moles. — Collect earthworms, kill them, and mix them with the
powder of nux vomica. After the mixture has remained in a heap twenty-
four hours, strew a few of the worms in the holes and paths of the moles.
(Bulletin Universel.)
Art. II. Foreign Notices.
NORTH AMERICA.
THE Magnificence and Splendour of the Forests of North America are peculiar
to that division of the world. “ In Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and even in
South America, the primeval trees, how much soever their magnitude may
arrest admiration, do not grow in the promiscuous style that prevails in the
great general character of the North American woods. Many varieties of the
pine, intermingled with birch, maple, beech, oak, and numerous other tribes,
branch luxuriantly over the banks of lakes and rivers, extend in stately gran-
deur along the plains, and stretch proudly up to the very summits of the moun-
tains. It is impossible to exaggerate the autumnal beauty of these forests ;
nothing under heaven can be compared to its effulgent grandeur. Two or
three frosty nights, in the decline of autumn, transform the boundless verdure
of a whole empire into every possible tint of brilliant scarlet, rich violet, every
shade of blue and brown, vivid crimson, and glittering yellow. The stern in-
exorable fir tribes alone maintain their eternal sombre green. All others, in
mountains or in valleys, burst into the most glorious vegetable beauty, and
exhibit the most splendid and most enchanting panorama on earth.” (J/‘Gre-
gor’s British America, 1831.)
To render the woods of Europe in some degree like those of America, we
have only to plant American trees. All of those which produce the brilliant
colours spoken of by Mr. M‘Gregor, are as hardy as the native trees of Britain.
They are chiefly oaks, acers, birches, liquidambars, pines, &c., of different sorts,
all of which may be purchased, in plants of three and four years’ growth, in
our principal nurseries; or, in the state of seeds, from those seedsmen, such
as Mr. Charlwood, who import American seeds on a large scale.
Art. III. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.
KENSINGTON Gardens. — The woods in these gardens, which we have before
described as thin with excessive thickness, have undergone a second weeding
in the course of last winter; and they will bear several more thinnings in
succeeding years, till the trees have sufficient room to admit of their putting
out lateral branches, and thus preventing the masses from being seen through.
It is also said to be the intention of government to take down the boundary
wall of the south side of the garden, and substitute an open iron railing. If
this be done on the south side, where there are no houses along the park
road, it is to be hoped that it will also be done on the Bayswater side. There,
besides the great improvement which it would be to the entrance to London by
Oxford Street, it would abate a great public nuisance: the numerous angles
Domestic Notices : — England. 235
formed by the crooked line of the wall, and the numerous buttresses raised
from time to time to keep it from falling, forming receptacles for every de-
scription of filth, The inhabitants of Bayswater petitioned for the removal
of this wall some years ago, and they were answered by putting the question,
will the inhabitants pay the expense? We now, in our turn, ask who will
pay the expense of taking down the south wall ? since there are no houses close
to the road, which can be called on to do so? Till we know to the contrary,
we shall conclude that the expense is to be incurred by government, for the gra-
tification of that part of the aristocracy who drive along the park road close to
the wall, in order to enter the gardens by the south gate. Either Kensington
Gardens are public property, or they are not. If they are, they ought surely
to be managed with a view to the whole of society, and not merely to the
gratification of a small part.
We never speak of these gardens without being ready to exclaim, How
delightful and instructive they might be made, by the addition of a great variety
of American and other exotic trees and shrubs! but the time does not seem
arrived for expecting any thing of this kind. Even in Hyde Park, where a
number of trees are now planting, no kinds are made use of, but the very
commonest sorts; and this, while in many of the nurseries there are hundreds
and thousands of large forest trees, choice oaks, acers, horsechestnuts, sweet
chestnuts, ashes, birches, purple beeches, American limes, liquidambars, tulip
trees, gleditschias, robinias, deciduous cypress, cedars, pines, firs, and dozens
of other genera, so large, that, in a year or two, if not sold, they will have to
be burnt.
The Zoological Gardens have lately received presents of herbaceous plants
from the Kew, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Botanic Gardens. We hope each
genus will be planted by itself, so as to form irregular, scattered, straggling
groups along the borders; and that they, and also one specimen of each of the
better kinds of trees and shrubs, will be named in a conspicuous and durable
manner.
At the Metropolitan Flower Show held at the Crown and Anchor tavern,
April 16., there were a number of very fine specimens of choice green-house
plants; many fine hybrid rhododendrons, some very beautiful Ghent azaleas ;
and, as might be expected, a great many choice auriculas. There was one of
the finest specimens of Hovea Célsi which we ever saw, and one equally re-
markable of Dillwynia glycinefolia ; both, we believe, as well as a number of
the Ghent azaleas, sent by Mr. Harrison of Cheshunt, one of the greatest
encouragers of gardening in the neighbourhood of London. There was a fine
collection of named auriculas sent by Mr. Groom, and an assortment by Mr.
Glennie, which last seemed to have carried off most of the prizes. The
number of persons who came to view this exhibition was very considerable;
and if it were found practicable to continue it for two or three days at a small
rate for each person, there can be no doubt that it would tend to spread a
taste for fine flowers, and more firmly to establish this very useful society.
Grapes and Strawberries were exposed for sale in Covent Garden market
early in April, and we find by the Cork Constitution newspaper of March 29th,
that grapes and pine apples were sent off from Lord Doneraile’s garden on the
28th of March.
Grafts of the best Varieties of Apples and Pears are advertised to be sold by
Mr. Saul of Lancaster, at 4d. each. Why should not nurserymen and the
horticultural societies who have gardens, do the same thing ?
The Sheffield Botanical and Horticultural Garden is commenced; and Mr.
Marnock, late gardener at Bretton Hall, is appointed curator. Mr. Marnock
was also the successful competitor in the plan for laying out the garden:
a circumstance which does him great honour, and will be no small advantage
to the garden; since not only gardens and grounds, but even houses, and
other architectural and engineering works, are often materially injured in the
execution, from the want of accordance between the mind of the designer and
that of the executor. The second prize for a plan was given to Mr. Taylor,
an architect of Sheffield. There were other plans also exhibited, which, 1t 1s
236 Domestic Notices : — Scotland.
said, possess considerable merit. We should like to see the whole of them ;
and this gratification their authors might easily afford us, by sending us tracings
and descriptiens. — Cond.
The Colony at Lindfield is flourishing: we have now six cottages for labour-
ers, with an acre and a quarter of land, which we let for 3s. a week each; we
have six more with the same quantity of land at 2s. 6d. a week each ; and other
six with still the same quantity of land, at 2s. a week ; that is, eighteen in all.
Besides those, we have seven cottages more, with from five to six acres of land
attached to each; all tenanted, and going on well. The school farm, culti-
vated mostly by the boys, is also in excellent order.— Wm. Allen. Paradise
Row, 24th of the third month (March), 1834.
The Milford Nursery.— We all went ovt to call on Mr. Young, agreeably
to your recommendation, and were highly gratified. Mr. Penny is a most
interesting person, enthusiastically devoted to botany, and evidently hoping
and believing that he will be able to make this nursery the first in the
world. Mr. Webb, the proprietor, gives them every encouragement, and they
tell us that he has promised to open a correspondence for them with the prin-
cipal nurseries and botanic gardens on the Continent; independently of the
seeds, which he will, of course, send to Milford in preference to any where else.
You are no doubt aware that Mr. Webb, assisted by M. Bertholet and
Decandolle, is about to publish a flora of the Canary Isles, and that many
of the plants which will appear in that flora are already at Milford, though
their names have not been published. We found Messrs. Young and Penny
sowing a large collection of seeds collected by Brotero and others, in South
America, which had been sent them by Mr. Webb, and many of the seeds
which you sent (p. 170.) are already up. They have just finished buildmg a
green-house 100 ft. long, a pit of the same length, a stove 50 ft. in length, and
a turf pit 360 ft. long, and 6 ft. wide, exclusively devoted to fine specimens
from the Canaries, Teneriffe, Madeira, and South America. We saw in it
some fine statices, alstroemerias, mahonias, berberis, &c. They are preparing
a border about 500 yards in length, and 9 ft. in width, in which to display
their more choice herbaceous plants and flowering shrubs; and, as to trees,
you are aware what an extent their arboretum occupies. All this, we take
it upon us to state from recollection chiefly, but the following list of plants in
flower was given us in writing by Mr. Penny :—Cineraria céna, Ononis pe-
duncularis, Taxanthéma pubérula, Lotus spectabilis, Cytisus tetragonocladus
(a new species, allied to C. canariénsis, both fragrant), Scrophularia elongata,
Sempervivum cruéntum, Huphérbia atropurpurea, Lavatera acerifolia, Viola
pulmonénsis.—S., W., and E., M. Guildford, March 23. 1834.
Scions of a new seedling Pear, which we have called Haydon’s seedling,
have been sent us by a correspondent of that name, residing at Mount Radford,
near Exeter. The seed was sown in 1823, and the tree is now a standard,
16 ft. high. The fruit is ripe about the middle of October, and is remarkable
for its luscious sweetness, but it does not keep. It began to bear in its ninth
year, and appears to produce abundantly. This fruit has twice obtained a
prize. — Sam. Haydon. Mount Radford Terrace, near Exeter, March 19.1834.
We have sent the scions to the Horticultural Society’s garden, and shall be
glad to taste the fruit, when the season for doing so arrives. — Cond.
SCOTLAND.
Woodhall Gardens, Renfrewshire.—On calling here, during a short tour
which I lately made, I was agreeably surprised to find that, in addition to the
gardener’s lodge or shed, in which with the rest of the young men I cooked
my victuals and:slept some years ago, a good-sized room was built, well lighted,
with a good fireplace, and fitted up with writing-desks, tables, and book-
shelves. There is a lobby between this and the cooking-room, so that the
noise produced in that room, by those who do not read, is not heard in the
reading-room. This last circumstance I consider an important one. A room
similar to this at Woodhall is wanted in almost every garden in Scotland. —
Juvenis. Glasgow, March, 1834.
e
Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 237
Art. IV. Floricultural and Botanical Notices of new Plants, and of
old Plants of Interest, supplementary to the latest Editions of the
“ Encyclopedia of Plants,” and of the “ Hortus Britannicus.”
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine; each monthly Number containing eight plates;
3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Hooker, King’s Professor of
Botany in the University of Glasgow.
Edwards's Botanical Register ; each monthly Number containing eight plates ;
4s. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Lindley, F.R.S., Professor of Botany
in the London University.
Sweet's British Flower-Garden; each monthly Number containing four plates ;
3s. coloured, 2s. 3d. plain. Edited by David Don, Esq., Librarian to the
Linnzan Society.
DicotyLeponovus PotyretTatous PLants.
IX. Crucifere.
1827a. STREPTA’/NTHUS Nut. (Streptos, twisted, anthos, flower ; claws of petals twisted.)
5 iS)
15.2
obtusifdlius Hook, blunt-Ifd. © orljaus Ro Arkansa 1833, Ls Bot. mag. 3317
A pretty plant, much resembling Moricandia arvénsis. The stem is simple
or branched ; the leaves are glaucous, elliptic, stem-clasping. The branches
terminate in long racemes of numerous flowers; whose petals are of a fine
rose colour, with a very deep lake-coloured spot at the base of each limb. A
second species, named S. maculatus, is known in America; but we are not
informed that this has yet been introduced to Britain. (Bot. MJag., April.)
XLVI. Cactee.
1472. CEXREUS. a, [of bot. i. 49. with a figure
28299a splendidus splendid-corollaed ® _|spl 1sn S Mexico 1831. C.s..ru Paxton’s mag.
** Epiphyllum Hitchénz [the name of the author of the epithet not stated], scarlet flowers, nearly
8 in. in diameter ’’ Hitchen in Gard. Mag. Feb. 1833, vol. ix. p. 114.; Epiph¥llum spléndidum
Paxton in his Magazine of Botany, i. 49., with a coloured figure, April, 1834.
Its flower, in size and splendour, far surpasses the flower of any other
species or variety at present known. We obtained it from Mr. Hitchen’s
celebrated collection of succulent plants, while this collection was in the
possession of Mr. Hitchen; who has since sold it to Mr. Frederick Mackie,
nurseryman, Norwich [see p. 63.]. Its flowers were stated to be 10 in. broad ;
which we feel not the shadow of a doubt about, as ours, though [produced
by] a very small plant, in October, 1833, measured, when in full blow, 8 in. in
diameter. Neither the C. speciosfssimus, nor even the C. grandiflorus, will
bear a comparison with it in size of flower. Its flower is entirely destitute
of that beautiful purple so characteristic of the flowers of the C. speciosissi-
mus; and has something of an orange colour, all the petals being nearly
transparent. In point of the shape of the flower, and in some other respects,
it bears a good deal of resemblance to the C. speciosissimus. (Paxton’s Ma-
gazine of Botany and Register of Flowering Plants, April.)
LXXVII. Leguminose.
42154. LABLA‘VIA. (The name Labiad means, in Arabic, simply, a twining plant; and is applied
indiscriminately to the convolvulus and many others of similar habit. I have, besides giving it
a Latin termination (which should, I think, be always done in the case of barbarous words
adopted in botanical nomenclature as generic names), also changed the 8 into v: a liberty which
the genius of the Arabic allows. —D. Don.) 17.4. Sp. 5.— :
19484 vulgaris as in Hort, Brit., except that the figure in Sw. Fl. Gar. 2. s. 236. is preferable to that in Bot,
Mag. 896.
2 purpurea Dec.
Ldblab purpureus G. Don in Hort. Brit. No. 19485., Délichos purpireus Jac.
3 albifldra Dec.
Ldbiab bengalénsis G. Don in Hort. Brit. No. 19486.; Délichos bengalénsis Jac.; and Mr. D. Don
teaches, in Sw. Fl. Gar. 2. s. 236. (and, in doing so, goes farther than Decandolle), that the follow-
ing names are but synonymes of this variety : — Ddlichos Albus Lowr., D. Ldblab Gertner, Lab-
Zab nankinicus Savi, and Lablab leucocarpus Save.
Lablavia vulgaris is cultivated in India, China, Egypt, and many other
countries of the East, and also in the West India Islands, on account of its
legumes, which are prepared and eaten in the manner those of kidneybeans
238 floricultural and Botanical Notices,
arein Europe. It is an extremely showy plant; and is admirably suited for
being trained to trelliswork or over a veranda. Mr. Little, nurseryman,
King’s Road, Chelsea, has cultivated it for some years as an ornamental
plant ; and he finds it to be quite as hardy, and to require the same treatment,
as the kidneybean. Its seeds ripen in the open air. (Zhe Brit. flow.-Gard.,
April.)
CLVII. Begoniacez.
2654. BEGO‘NTA. [Bot. reg. 1668
428661 heracletfoléa Schlecht. & Cham. WHeracieum-Ifd. 3% AJor2allsea Ro Mexico 1831. Orm
B. radiata Graham in Edin. New Phil. Journ. July, 1833.
It is a very free-growing hot-house plant, producing its rosy flowers in
every month of the year. All that it demands at the hands of the cultivator
are, heat, moisture, and a full exposure to light. If kept too much in the
shade, the flowers lose the bright rosy tint which is natural to them, and with
it their beauty. Some of the leaves produced by this species are 7 in. across.
Plants of it are in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, the London Horticultural
Society’s garden, and in other gardens. (Bot. Reg., April.)
DicoryLeponous Monoretatous PLants.
CXC. Cinchonacee.
389. MANE’TTIA. [Sw. fl. gar. 2. s. 233
glabra Cham. & Schlecht. smooth-surfaced $ \_jor 5? au.d S Buenos Ayres 1831. C pl
M. cordifdlia Hooker in Bot. Mag. t. 3202., Gard. Mag. 9. 107.
** It is, doubtless, the M. glabra of Chamisso and Schlechtendal; who enumerate, in the Linnea,
several other nearly related species, differing chiefly in the degree of pubescence, and in the
proportions of the calycine segments. — D. Don.
This is an exceedingly elegant plant: its delicate and graceful form, and its
long (14in.), tubular, scarlet corollas, contrasted with its broad deep green
leaves, render it one of the most beautiful objects that can well be conceived.
Mr. Neill of Canonmills, near Edinburgh, has raised and possesses this plant.
It thrives in soil composed of peat and loam. “ It will doubtless succeed
well in the open border during summer.” (The Brit. Flow.-Gard., April.)
CXCVI. Apociynee.
ALY’XIA R. Br. In the Bot. Mag. for April, this genus is much elucidated. Mr. Allan
Cunningham has supplied the distinctive characters, synonymes, and habitats of eleven species.
A. actinophylla Cun., spicata R. Br., tetragona &. Br., stellata R. & S., lavrina Gaudichaud,
obtusifolia A. § S., scandens #. & S., Gynopdgon FR. & S, daphnoldes Cun., ruscifdlia #. Br.,
Suxifodlia R. Br. Dr. Hooker has added to these the names of six other species, which are also
known; namely, A. odorata Waill., stellata R. Br., calophylla Waill., lucida Waill., oliveeférmis,
and Torresééna. This enumeration is accompanied by a figure of A. daphnoides Cun., and one
of A. ruscifdlia R. Br.; and detailed descriptions, by Mr. Cunningham, of these two species.
From these descriptions, and those in the enumeration, we revise the species given in Hort. Brit.
p. 67. and 580.
532. ALY’XTA. ;
4373. Gynopdgon #. & S. bearded-styled a ~_JorS5 ... WwW Norfolk Island 1831. C pl
Gynopdgon Alyxia Forster, Alyxia Férsteri Cun. MSS. 1830, Loudon’s Hort. Brit. No. 28594.
4374 daphnoides Cun. Daphne-like mj fra? 52 W Norfolk I. 1831. C p.l Bot. mag. 3313
4374a ruscifdlia #. Br. Butcher’s broom-lfd.# __|fra 5 aun W N. Holl. 1820. C p.l_ Bot. mag. 3312
A. Richardsdnz Swt., Loudon’s Hort. Brit. No. 4373. ; Gynopdgon pugioniférmis Cun. MSS. 1828 ;
Alyxia pugioniférmis Cun., Loudon’s Hort. Brit. No. 28595.
More of the species enumerated above may be extant, alive, in British collections; but it is not
stated that more than the three which we have tabulated are.
The alyxias are not attractive-looking shrubs; but their foliage is pleasing:
and the leaves are, in several of the species, disposed four in a whorl ; the
flowers, small and white, are, in A. ruscifolia, “ exceedingly fragrant, smelling
like jasmine ;” and, it appears, in some other species as well. (Bot. Mag.,
April.)
537. ECHWTES.
stellaris Lindl. star-eyed-corollaed $ [Jor 10? au Ro.Y RioJaneiro 1831. R p.} Bot. reg. 1664
Its characters approach nearly to those of Z. pubéscens Willd. .
A tender, stove, climbing plant, introduced by the Hon. Robert Gordon to
the Horticultural Society. In the month of August, its flowers [which are
represented as produced in corymbose clusters, each of about fourteen flowers,
and these severally wider, in the spread of the limb, than a shilling is broad]
perfume the part of the hot-house in which it is placed with a delightful smell
of primroses..... We have named it with reference to the coloured eye of
supplementary to Eincyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 239
the corolla; which, being deep rosy red in the centre, with five starry lobes,
bordered with a sort of orange yellow, gives a striking appearance to the
flowers. . stellaris grows readily in peat and loam; but is scarcely to be
propagated except by cuttings of the root. (Bot. Reg., April.) j
CXCIX. Convolvuldcee.
491. IPOMG:*A. [Bot. mag. 3315
4083a Horsfallie Hook. Mrs. Horsfall’s $ ([]spl 20 d.ja Ro Africa? East Indies? 1831? C pl
“ Unquestionably one of the most beautiful of all the species to descriptions
of which I have had access, as well as of a most extensive collection of spe-
cies of the genus in my herbarium. The seeds, from which plants of it have
been raised, were received by Charles Horsfall, Esq., Everton; under the care
of whose very skilful gardener, Mr. Henry Evans, the plants produced their
lovely blossoms, in great profusion, during December, 1833, and Jan. 1834:
a season when so gay a visiter to the stove is particularly welcome.....
Leaves quinate, upon rather long petioles. Peduncles axillary, about as long
as, or longer than, the petiole, bearing a dichotomous cyme of many flowers.
Corolla funnel-shaped, spread at the top to the width of a penny-piece; of a
very deep rich and glossy rose colour, equally dark within and without. (Bot.
Mag., April.)
CCXI1. Scrophularinee.
1775. LINA‘RIA 4 ii. Prostrate. [S sl Sw. fl. gar. 2. s, 235
15789a circinata D. Don curve-/fd. 2.? %? 6? Y? A? _jorzjnjl Y N. Africa? Buenos Ayres? 1833.
A pretty species, with small revolute leaves, arrow-shaped at the base ; and
with a good proportion of flowers, whose corollas are “ larger than those of
L. vulgaris.” It is, therefore, among small prostrate plants, a showy one.
Mr. Anderson of the Chelsea Botanic Garden has raised the species from
exotic seeds. (The Brit. Flow.-Gard., April.)
1783, MI’MULUS. [i. 54. with a figure
Smithz Mr. Smith’s y¥ Alor Zfn Y.Spot Eng. hyb. 1832. D p.l Paxton’s mag. of bot.
IM. Smithz and M. Yoingz, which bear a very close resemblance to each
other, are the most beautiful kinds of Mimulus known. MM. Smithii is a
hybrid, raised probably between the J. rivularis and M. variegatus. It par-
takes much of the habit of JM. rivularis, and produces flowers profusely.
(Pacton’s Magazine of Botany, April.) Mr. Dennis, nurseryman, Chelsea,
possesses plants of the JZ. Smithw.
Scrophularinee § 3 Gratiolee.
1787a. ARTANE*‘MA D. Don. (Artad, to append, néma, a filament; a toothis borne on one side of
each of the longer filaments.) 14.2. Sp. L— [Bot.mag.3104
fimbriatum D. Don fringed-corollaed yg \_J or 3 jn.aut Pa.B Moreton Bay 1830. Cp.l
orem scAbra Grah., Loudon’s Hort. Brit. No. 29293., Bot. Cab. 1990., Bot. Mag. 3104., Gard.
ag. 9. 707. ;
We consider it essentially distinguished from Torénia by its deeply-parted calyx, the serrated lobes
of its corolla, the structure of its stamens, the form and consistence of its capsule, and, finally,
by its large succulent placenta. — D. Don.
Artanéma fimbriatum will be found, although usually treated as a green-
house plant, to succeed in the open border during the summer months ; freely
producing its blossoms and ripening its seeds. It should be planted in a
mixture of peat and loam; and is increased by seeds or by cuttings. The
plant has a good deal of the aspect of a Mimulus ; its blossoms are large and
showy; and we consider it an interesting addition to the gardens. Mr. Neill
of Canonmills, Edinburgh, Messrs. Loddiges, and, doubtless, others, possess
the plant. (The Brit. Flow.-Gard., April.)
MonocoTyLepoNous PLANTS.
CCXXXVIII. Amaryllidee.
969. AMARY’LLIS 7992 atilica ‘* seems liable to much variation. We [Dr. Hooker] have represented
a splendid variety, in Bot. Mag. t. 2983., with green lines in the centre, running nearly the whole
length of each petal; with a very obsolete glandular disk ; and with long narrow glaucous-leaves.
Between this variety, and the variety platyp¢étala Lindley in Bot. Reg. t. 1038., and the original
A. atilica Ker in Bot. Reg. t. 444., our present plant [figured in the Bot. Mag. for April, 1834,
t. 3311.] seems intermediate. The points in which our plant differs from the A. atlica Ker are,
the petals are less sharply acuminate, and the base of the petals is of a darker green, The bulb
240 Retrospective Criticism.
was presented to the Glasgow Botanic Garden by —— Pearson, Esq. ; who had brought it from
the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro, in Brazil, where it is a native.” (Bot. Mag., April.) A. atlica
itself, and all varieties of it, are, when in flower, superb plants.
935. ISMEXNE 7642 Amancaes }
2 sulphirea Herb. sulphureous.flwd. ¥ (jor 3... Su Eng. hybrid 1829. O sp Bot. reg. 1665
It has been originated from a seed of Isméne Amdncaes which had been fertilised by the pollen of
I. calathina Herbert. [In Hort. Brit., the neuter adjective calathinum is wrongly associated with
Isméne, instead of the feminine calathina. ]
A very ornamental hybrid ; and interesting, in evidencing the great change
which has been wrought by the impression of the male species. The colour
of the flower is intermediate ; and the scent, though powerful, is not delight-
fully fragrant as in calathina, nor so disagreeable as that of Amancaes. The
constitution is vigorous, like that of the former species; from which it
also inherits a more robust stature and less attenuated leaves. (Herbert in
Bot. Reg., April.)
CCXL. Orchidee.
9530. CATASE‘TUM.
liridum Lindl. lurid-flwd. €@@Xlor1sn G.Y.Br Brazil 1832. D r.w.Lpotsh Bot. reg. 1667
Although it cannot be compared for beauty with Catasétum tridentatum, it
is, nevertheless, an interesting species. The spots cn the lip are of the
deepest and richest ruddy brown; while the horns of the column may be
compared to the fore legs of some spider, lurking in the bosom of the flower
to seize upon the victims that may enter it. Plants of this species are pos-
sessed by Messrs. Loddiges, Mr. Knight, Mr. Bateman, and the London
Horticultural Society.
CCLI. Lihdcee.
3337. CYCLOBO’THRA Swi. (Kyklos, a circle, bothros, a pit; a circular depression, which is
nectariferous, in each petal.) 6.1. Sp. 5—
ittea Lindl. yellow-petaled ¥& Aj or 13 aus Y Mexico 1827. Op.1 Bot. reg. 1663
C. barbata Szvz. in Brit. Flow.-Gard. 1. s. 273., Loudon’s Hort. Brit. No. 28170., where the synonyme
Fritillaria barbata Kth. should, according to what follows, be cancelled.
¢¢ When this plant was first introduced, it was supposed to be the same as the Fritillaria barbata
t published in M. Kunth’s account of the plants discovered by Humboldt and Bonpland ; but we
learn, from the last volume of Rémer and Schultes, that that species has a bearded horseshoe mark
on its sepals, no trace of which can be found in the plant now figured. We are, therefore, unwill-
ingly obliged to amend the name by which this has hitherto been known: a name which would
be untenable even if Fritillaria barbata were the same plant, because it [expressive of the bearded
inward face of the petals] is equally applicable to every species of the genus. (Bot. Reg., April.)
Cyclobéthra Alba and pulchélla, described in our last, in p. 179., are figured in the Bot. Reg. for
April; C. pulchélla Bot. Reg. 1662. ; C. alba Bot. Reg. 1661. In Bot. Reg. 1662., a synopsis of the
known species of the genus is supplied, which are shown to be nine in number ; but only four, or
at most five, of these have been yet introduced (alive) into Britain.
CCLVI. Arotdee.
2672. CALASDIUM. [Bot. mag. 3314
234890 fragrantissimum Hook. most fragrant € § [_]4? fra ja Crea.R Demerara 1832? Cs.p
Introduced from Demerara, to the Liverpool Botanic Garden, by C. S
Parker, Esq. It is a species with an extending rooting stem; petiole 2 ft. or
more long; expansion of the leaf 14 ft. to 2 ft. long, oblongo-cordate. Spathe
almost 9 in. long, cream-coloured, in its lower part richly tinged with red.
“ The whole inflorescence yields a fragrance, which I [Dr. Hooker] can only
Apel) with that of the O'lea fragrans, but far more powerful.” (Bot. Mag.,
April.
Art. V. Retrospective Criticism.
CorRECTION.— In “ hedges of yew are of low growth,” in p. 185., lines 14.
and 15., for “ low” read “ slow.”
Decandolle’s Theory of the Rotation of Crops. —In the February Number
of the Gardener’s Magazine is an article entitled an “ Investigation of the
theory of the rotation of crops; by the author of the Domestic Gardener’s
Manual ;” a very interesting subject to the gardener and vegetable physio-
logist. The writer seems to claim at least a share of priority in the discovery
of what is termed “ De Candolle’s theory ;” assuming that trees and plants
emit excrementitious matter into the soil, hurtful to some and favourable to
the growth of other plants. In the progress of scientific knowledge, it is not
Retrospective Criticism. 241
at all uncommon to find different men simultaneously discovering the same
physical facts; and we are not sure but Mr. Shirreff of Mungoswells, East
Lothian, a scientific farmer, might also claim kindred with this popular bant-
ling; for it is several years since he recorded the same opinions, in an essay
on “ The gregarious nature of grasses.” [See Quart. Jour. of Agric., vol. ii.
p. 242.] Gardeners, of all others, have an excellent opportunity of investi-
gating this theory ; and we recommend this and similar articles to their serious
attention. (G. in the Dundee, Perth, and Cupar Advertiser, March 14. 1834.)
Directions for dissolving Indian Rubber by Means of Pyroligneous Ether.
[IX. 243.]— When a work is put forth in the style which distinguishes the
Encyclopedia of Gardening, it is but reasonable to expect correctness at least
in the information it professes to afford, beyond all other publications. A
specimen of that correctness may be found in the Number for April, 1833,
which contains directions for dissolving Indian rubber by means of pyroligneous
ether. Had you known any thing of the matter, you must be aware that
“ pyroligneous ether”’ will not act upon caoutchouc in any way. What was
the solvent you might intend under that name is not to be divined.— Anon.
with the Hereford postmark, Feb. 17. 1834.
[We sent this letter to Mr. Mallet, and have received the following reply.]
I have returned the anonymous note which you sent me. Although ad-
dressed to you, I am alone responsible for the charge which it contains. This
note is full of mistakes. The writer first mistakes you, the conductor of the
Magazine, for the author of my notice respecting the solution of Indian
rubber ; secondly, he mistakes the Encyclopedia of Gardening for the Gar-
dener’s Magazine ; thirdly, he mistakes the number in which the article in
question occurs; and, lastly, he mistakes in the general assertion of his note,
viz. “ that pyroligneous ether will not act upon Indian rubber in any way.”
As this is a simple assertion of fact, it does not admit of argument: I, therefore,
only say, if the author of the note remains incredulous on the subject, and
will venture to come forward, I will send you some of the solution for his in-
spection. A word or two more may possibly enlighten him as to the origin of
his mistake. The fluid to which the name of pyroligneous ether is applied,
differs much in its properties, as obtained from different manufactories: some
of it will dissolve Indian rubber, and some of it will not. For the truth of
this he may have the authority of Berzelius :—“ Les contradictions que pre-
sentent ces données sur des expériences aussi simples, paroissent indiquer
qu'il existe plusieurs espéces d’esprits pyroligneux qui ont de l’analogie sous
certains rapports, mais différent les uns des autres par quelques-unes de leurs
propriétés.” (Traité, &c., tom. vi. p. 674.) I confess myself to blame in
not having noticed this in my former observations upon this menstruum.
However, since I made that communication, I have found that there is no
solvent of Indian rubber so good for gardening and most other purposes, as
refined coal tar, sold under that name by drug merchants, which is only com-
mon coal tar deprived of water by boiling. — Robert Mallet. 24. Capel Street,
Dublin, March 19. 1834.
‘Mr. Munro’s Suggestion (p. 551.) for the Formation of a Sylvan’ Society
I am much pleased with,,and I agree with him in almost all he says on the
subject. I seldom pass by other people’s woods or plantations but my fingers
itch to thin, and weed, and prune out. In short, as Mr. Munro has truly
said, “ the greater proportion of our woods, from neglect or mismanagement,
look as if they belonged to nobody.” —W. T. Bree. Allesley Rectory, near
Coventry, Warwickshire, Oct. 19. 1833.
The Oak Trees which turn away their Heads from the South-west (p. 548.),
described by Mr. Clarke, are by no means peculiar to his part of the country
[Poole, Dorsetshire]. Years ago, I was much struck with the same thing in
the Isle of Wight, and have often said, that, were I ignorant of the points of
the compass, I could immediately discover them by looking at an_oak tree.
Even in Warwickshire, in exposed situations, the oak trees show their aversion
to the south-west, by turning away their heads from that quarter. — Id.
Vou. X.— No. 50. R
242 Queries and Answers.
Art. VI. Queries and Answers.
TRAINING the Branches of Espalier Trees downwards. —I shall feel obliged
to any of your readers for their opinions on the following suggestion, as to
planting standard apple and pear trees behind espaliers, and traiming the
branches down over the front. Would it have the effect of increasing the
fruitfulness of the trees by the inclination of the branches downwards ? — Jas.
Mitchinson. Pendarves, March 20. 1834.
Training Trees on Trelliswork arched over the principal Walks of a Garden.
—Would it not be making the most of a garden, to have trees trained to trellis-
work over the middle and cross walks? Suppose standards were planted,
their branches might be trained over to the side opposite to that of the stem
and roots, which would give an inclination downwards, the real effect of
which I should be glad to be informed of ? Would not iron bars, an inch
square, fixed in stones, and placed at proper distances, with cross-bars from
one upright to another, as stiffeners, and small rods of a quarter of an inch in
diameter, put through holes at about 8 in. distance, make a very light and cheap
trellis for this purpose ? It would also be very durable, if kept well painted.
The Wyken Pippin Apple. — 1 think I have heard that this favourite apple
was raised from seed in the neighbourhood of Coventry, and that every cottage
garden in that part of Warwickshire has a tree or two of it growing in it. Can
any of your readers tell me if this is correct, and where the parent tree is to
be found? The tempestuous wind at the beginning of last September blew
down the finest old apple tree in this nursery ; the stem of which measured
more than 5 ft. in girth; its branches extending many yards. We suppose
this tree to have been about eighty years old; it was a Wyken pippin; and
plants from it were easily distinguished by their peculiarly upright growth
when the trees were young, and by the flatness and spotted yellow skin, with
a rich aromatic flavour, of the fruit, when it was ripe. — Z’. Rivers, jun. Saw-
bridgeworth Nursery, Feb. 1834.
[In the second volume of this Magazine (p. 486.) our correspondent will
find all the particulars of which he desires to be informed |
Packing Grapes. (p. 84.) — The following is the mode of packing grapes
which I adopted with success for many years, having to send them nearly
three hundred miles. A box having been prepared, a bed of clean wool, well
separated, was laid in the bottom, on which a layer of grapes was placed; each
bunch being separately enveloped in tissue paper. A portion of wool was
then introduced between each bunch, and all the interstices filled up with it,
and then a layer of wool put over the top. For a second layer, a small ledge
of wood was fixed at each end in the box at the level wanted, and a thin board
made to fit in easily, so as to fall down upon the ledges; in the board there
were two finger-holes made with an inch centre-bit ; and the board, being fixed
down upon the ledges, with a couple of small brads at each end, driven in
half-way, a second layer of grapes was laid in as above, and so on for a third
layer, if wanted. I think Mr. Wilson will find the above method of fixing in
the separation board an improvement upon his mode; at least I prefer red it,
after trying both ways. The finger-holes I also found very convenient for
getting out “the board, after drawing the small brads with a pair of pincers. In
cases where wool is an object, or may be thought too expensive, moss well
dried, cleaned, and thrashed, will be found a tolerably good substitute; but
the superior elasticity of the wool renders it patra — T. Rutger. Short-
grove, Feb. 1834.
The Cornish Hollick.— There is an A’lltum grown in some of the cot-
tagers’ gardens in Cornwall, which is commonly called there hollock, or
hollick, and the tops of which are used by the common people for making
pies. I should be glad to know its botanical name; also the botanical name
that is attached to the variety of A/llium Cépa, called the potato onion.—
T. Rutger. Shortgrove, Jan, 1834, [As to the latter, A. Cépa var. aggregatum.]
at Bishopstoke Vicarage, Hampshire. 125
most select trees. It is a perfect gem of botanical beauty in the
foreground, heightened in effect by interesting gleams of distant
scenery, seen between and over fine oaks and elms, on the lower
part of the declivity.
In order to give our readers a correct idea of the details of
this garden, so exceedingly rich in choice plants, we applied to
Mr. Garnier for a ground plan; and he has obligingly had one
prepared for us, of which jig.11.is an engraving. He has also
sent us a small view of the vicarage house. (jig. 10.) The fol-
lowing are the details of the plan: —
1. Hhododéndron maximum, new. 2. Pink-flowering thorn. 3. Bed of a variety of choice roses.
4. Bed of pinks in summer, China asters in autumn. 5, Cornus flérida. 6. &hododéndron,
a new variety. 7. Rhododéndron catawbiénse. 8. Small bed of Verbéna chameedrifodlia.
9. Large azalea.
10. A’rbutus. 11. Portugal laurel. 12. Laurustinus. 13. Bed of heartseases. 14. Variegated
rhododendron. 15. Rhododéndron datiricum atro-virens. 16. Large narrow-leafed bay.
a Rhododéndron pénticum. 18. Two superb elms, 19. Bed of a variety cf herbaceous
plants.
20. Azalea dedifdlia (indica alba). | 21. Round bed of herbaceous plants. 22. Rhododéndron pén-
ticum. 23. Rhododendron, hybrid. 24. Rhododendron, hybrid. 25. Oval bed of pelar-
goniums, stocks, and sorts of Résa odorata. 26. Laurustinus. 27. Rhododéndron voseum.
28. Kalmza latifolia. 29. Clump of American plants. “
30. Humea élegans. 31. Oval bed of choice herbaceous plants. 32. Large Rhododéndron
arbdreum. 33. Peonia Moutan. 34. Rhododéndron alta-clerénse. 35. Magndl¢a grandi-
flora, 26 ft. square.
Growing under veranda : — 36. Caméllia japénica myrtif dlia. Camélléa striped, orange-leafed myrtle,
and citron. 37. Magnificent broad.leafed myrtle. &8. Caméllia japénica atrérubens.
39. Camélla japénica, double white. 40. Caméllia japénica Pomponia. 41, Camélléa
japénica peonieflora, and double striped ; and stand of pelargoniums.
42. Magnolia grandiflora. 43. Rosa Banksie. 44. Magnolia purpurea. 45. Jasminum
revoliitum. 46. Magnolia grandiflora, 30 ft. high. 47. Noisette rose. 48. Long bank of
the choicest American plants, chiefly consisting of the new hybrid rhodcdendrons ; and in-
cluding all the new varieties of Azalea indica. 49. Vibarnum licidum.
50. Adzcuba japonica. 51. Vase containing pelargoniums, blue lobelias, and Lophospérmum eru-
béscens. 52. Rhododéndron catawbiénse, variety. 53. Standard Magndléa grandiflora.
54, Vase, containing scarlet pelargoniums and Maurandya@ Barclayd@na. 55. Standard Caméllza
japénica, 56. Azalea rhododendron, hybrid. 57. Magnodléa purptrea. 58. Vase, contain-
ing pelargoniums, and Verbéna chameedrifdlia. 59. Very large elm, with seats.
60. Rhododéndron arbdreum. 61. Vase of scarlet pelargoniums, and pink Mauréndya [? semper-
fldrens]. 62. Ficus elastica. 63. Red cedar. Juniperus virginiana. 64. Bed of pinks in
summer, China astersin autumn. 65. Adzcubajapénica. 66. Nérium plénum [? N. Oleander
var. spléndens]. 67. Round bed of scarlet and white varieties of georgina. 68. Oval bed of
herbaceous plants. 69. Fachsia gracilis.
70. Chiondnthus [?] falgida. 71. Bérberis diversifdlia. 72. Vacca gloridsa. 73. Oval bed of
' Rodsa odorata and of Calvert’s Noisette roses. 74. Pinus Webbidna. 75. Oval bed of tree
and dwarf roses. 76. Azalea indica alba. 77. Large standard single-flowered camellia.
78. Oval bed of varieties of hybrid rhododendrons and azaleas. 79. Rhododéndron arbodreum.
80. Large mass of rhododendrons. 81. Round bed of choice azaleas. 82. Rhododéndron mag-
nolief olium. 83. Azalea nudifldra coccinea. 84. Bed of varieties of georginas. 85. Ligtis-
trum lucidum. 86. Kalm/a latifolia. 87. Aristotélia Mdcqui, new variety. 88. Bed of
hydrangeas. 89. Araucdaria imbricata.
Vou. X.-— No 49. *y 7
126 Garden of the Rev. Thomas Garnier,
90. Clump of rhododendrons. “91. Round bed of georginas. 92, Edwardséa grandiflora.
93. Three fine elms in a group. 94. Photinia serrulata. 95. Large vase. 96. Rhododén-
dron microphyllum. 97. Very large rhododendron. 98. Oval bed of choice herbaceous
plants. 99. A very large spreading oak tree, with seats.
100. Bed of choice herbaceous plants. 101. Magndlia auriculata. _ 102. Malachodéndron ovatum.
103. Magnd/za glatica. 104. Very large clump of rhododendrons. 105. Cotoneaster micro-
phylla. 106. Bed of sorts of Chinese chrysanthemums. 107. Rhododendron azalea, hybrid.
108. Bed of twelve of Calvert’s new varieties of Rdsa odorata and standard perpetuals. 109. Gor-
dodnia pubéscens.
110. Drace‘na australis. 111. Standard Cydonia japénica. 112. Azalea. 113. Bed of choice
azaleas. 114. Magndlza citrioddra. 115. Pxodnia Moutan rdsea. 116. Pyrus spectabilis,
large. 117. Edwardsia grandifldra. 118. Large arbutus. 119. Daphne péntica.
120. Chimondanthus fragrans, 121. Large Rhododéndron catawbiénse. 122. Large rhododen-
dron and large bay tree. 123. Kalmza latifolia. 124. Oval bed of choice herbaceous plants.
125. Magnolia conspicua. 126. Magnolia cordata. 127. Round bed of Lobélza falgens and
of double tuberoses. 128. Magndlia maxima. 129, Eriobétrya japénica.
130. Round bed of tree and dwarf roses. 131. Magndl¢a Thompsonzana. 132. Magndlza pur-
pirea. 133. Magndléa macrophylla. 134. Oval bed of dwarf georginas. 155. A’rbutus
procéra, 136. Magndlza acuminata. 137. Clump of rhododendrons. 138. Bed of pelar-
goniums, border of German stocks. 139. Covered seat made with reeds.
140. Fachsza microphylla. 141. Rhododéndron Smithiz. 142. Clump of evergreens and rhodo-
dendrons. 143. Oval bed of choice azaleas. 144. Round bed of camellias. 145. Pxdnia
Motitan papaveracea. 146. Bed of rhododendrons. 147. Yticca gloridsa. 148. Horse-
chestnut, with a seat. 149. Deciduous cypress.
150. Myrtle. 151. Oval bed of herbaceous varieties of Pxdnia. 152. Portugal laurel.
153. Kalmza latifolia. 154. Rhododéndron maximum, new variety. 155. Azalea indica
alba. 156, Cupréssus lusitanica. 157. Magndlia glaica. 158. Round bed of azaleas.
159. Weeping willow.
160. Bérberis fascicularis. 161. Osminda regalis. 162, Oval bed of herbaceous plants.
163. Pinus occidentalis. 164. Oval bed of Calvert’s Noisettes. 165. Ahododéndron arboreum
maximum. 166. Rhododéndron 7dseum. 167. Oval bed of herbaceous plants. 168. Aris-
totelia Macquz. 169. Magndlia purpirea.
170. Bed for georginas. 171. Araucaéria brasiliana. 172. Drace‘na ovata. 173. Cedar of.
Lebanon. 174. Magndlia glatica. 175. Vaccinium uligindsum. 176. Rhododendron
maximum, old variety. 177. Kalma latifolia. 178. Single red camellia, 5ft. high.
179. Rhododéndron alta-clerénse.
180. Magndlia tripétala. 181. Oval bed of Cydonia japénica, red and white. 182. Large azalea.
at Bishopstoke Vicarage, Hampshire. 127
179 17
176 177 $s
ple =
fist
r=
1625
183. Round bed of georginas. 184. Magnolia Thompson7zana. 185. Round bed of Verbéna
chamzdrifolia and of Thunbérgza alata. 186. Ribes sanguineum. 187. Rhododéndron
ponticum. 188. Rhododendron. 189. Oval bed of azaleas.
190. Bed of Verbéna vendsa. 191. Sophora japonica péndula. 192. #’/sculus rubictinda (7dsea
Bot. Reg.). 193. Robinza hispida arborea. 194. Bed of herbaceous plants. 195, Chionan-
thus maritima. 196. Oval clump of rhododendrons. 197. A’rbutus longifolia. 198. Cra-
te ‘gus Azarélus. 199. Rhododendron catawbiénse.
200. Myrtle. 201. Large yellow azalea. 202. Variegated holly. 203. Broussonétza papyrifera.
904. Chiondnthus virginica. 205. Juniperus bermudiana. 206. Round bed of azaleas,
907. Large American bed. 208. Late-flowering azalea. 209. Magndlia auriculata.
210. Oval bed of varieties of Lobéléa. 211. Sophodra japonica. 212. Oval bed for flowers.
213. Erica arborea, 214. Rhododendron, new variety. 215. Rhododendron. 216. Raphid-
lepis indica. 217. Iex myrtifolia. 218. Bed of anemone-flowered georginas. 219, Cun-
ninghamia lanceolata.
990, Round bed of varieties of pelargoniums. 921. Diospyrus Lotus. 2292. Gleditschza hérrida.
993. Rhododéndron maximum, new variety. 294. Large Kalmia latifolia. 295. Prinos
nepalénsis. 296. Catdlpa syringe folia. 297. Rhamnus latifdlius. 228. Chinese arbor-vite,
Thija orientalis. 999, Bérberis fascicularis.
930; Large Magndléa tripétala. 231. Cupréssus pendula [? Schubértéa disticha pendula]. 232. Round
bed of lily of the valley. 233. Myrtle. 934. Hydrangea. 235. Rhododendron, new
variety. 236. Arbutus. 237. Bed of Scotch roses. 938. Rhododendron. 239, Schinus.
240. Holly. 941. Oval bed of American plants. 249. Bed of dark China rose. 243, Ledum
latifolium. 944, Rhododendron. 245. Round bed of sorts of Hrica. 246. Eugenia,
947. Rhododendron, 248. Rhododendron, a new variety. 249. Davata denticulata.
250. Ydcca gloridsa. 251. Variegated rhododendron. 252, Pavia discolor. 253. Round
clump of American plants. 954. Magnolia cordata, 255. UMex stricta. 256. A’xbutus
speciosa. 257. Oval bed of China roses. 258. Azalea. 259. Rhododendron.
260. Seedling rhododendron. 261. Ammyrsine buxifolia. 262. Large bed of rhododendrons.
263. Dark Ribes sanguineum. 264. Virgilia lutea. 265. Dwarf hollyhocks. 266. Pyrus
nepalénsis. 267. Bed of hollyhocks. 268. Round bed of Lobélza specidsa, &c. 269. Laburnum.
970. Rhododendron, in varieties. 971. Bed of double tulips in spring, and scarlet pelargoniums
in summer. 972. Bed of single tulips in spring, and of heliotropes in summer. 273. Con-
servatory. 974. Cytisus purptreus. 975. The wall, covered with a collection of choice
plants. [See p. 129.] 976. The inner circle, occupied by tree roses and dwarf georginas 5
the two next circles, different sorts of dwarf roses; outer circle, collection of herbaceous plants
of the brightest colours. 277. Fence of evergreens. 978. Shrubbery of evergreens and
large trees. 979. Entrance to kitchen-garden, with trellis. 980. Covered seat of wood,
281. Undulating ground, with large trees.
#1 8
128 Garden of the Rev. Thomas Garnier,
The first thing we saw, on entering Mr. Garnier’s grounds, was
a Magnolza grandiflora against the house, 27 ft. high and about
25 ft. wide, which was transplanted in the month of August,
when in flower, 12 years ago, without sustaining the least injury ;
the reason being, that every root and fibre was preserved, and
the latter not exposed to the air for more than five minutes.
There are other magnolias against the house, equally high. The
wall, against which are trained so many fine plants, has been
built about six years, and is about 10 ft. high, with a coping
projecting about nine inches, and a copper trough to collect the
rain which falls on it; the latter is found to be a great protection
to the rocts of the shrubs, and to the herbaceous plants below.
Among the plants on the wall, the more uncommon are several
of the New Holland species, of the genera Acacia, Metrosidéros,
Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, &c.
The herbaceous plants, at the base of the wall, are several
Amaryllidee; ixias, and other [rideze; and a good collection of
mesembryanthemums. Among the plants on the lawn are
groups of camellias, which stand the winter without any pro-
tection, the loquat, myrtles, tree rhododendrons, araucarias ; Abies
Webbzdna, and other rare species; all the magnolias, including
maxima, and that variety of conspicua which is named citriodora ;
the former has flowered, but it dropped without the colour having
been ascertained. We must, from necessity, pass over the names
of a great number of other valuable plants, as well on the lawn
as on the wall, and conclude by noticing a very neat span-roofed
conservatory, designed by Mr. Page, and placed on a plinth of
three steps, which forms a termination to the terrace walk.
The outer border of this walk is ornamented with vases, placed
at regular distances.
Among the general principles which regulate Mr. Garnier’s
management, we shall mention three of preeminent importance:
first, he arranges all his flowers and shrubs in masses of one
kind, even to the varieties of Georgina, by which he produces
brilliant masses of the same colour ; secondly, all his groups and
masses are of plain forms, such as circles, ovals, squares, and
parallelograms, in the genuine English manner, adopted by
Mason in the flower-garden at Nuneham Courtenay, and by the
late Major Price, in the flower-garden at Mongewell ; thirdly,
he transplants the azaleas, rhododendrons, and other American
shrubs every year, and at any season of the year, so as to keep
every individual plant detached from the rest, though close to
them (we saw some beds of azaleas and rhododendrons, which
had just been removed, looking perfectly well, notwithstanding
the extraordinary dryness of the season) ; and, fourthly, his great
secret in acclimatising, or, in other words, in enabling tender
plants to stand the winter in the open air, is to have a perfectly
Covent Garden Market. 243
Art. VII. Covent Garden Market.
: From To From To
The Cabbage Tribe. Be ds od £5. dl£ s. d.
Cabbage, per dozen: Endive, per score - 016/020
Whit és - |0 0 9]0 19 || Celery, per bundle (12 to 15) 00 4/010
Plants or Coleworts. - |0 2 6/0 4 0) cyan salads SPer half sere f A 3 f 20
Broccoli, per bunch: er punnet - 0 3
= White y - o - |0 1 6;0 3 6/|| Watercress, wes Guzen small
Purple oO 3 Ss hO 21010 4 oO bunches 5 - |0 04/0 06
Legumes. ; Pot and Sweet Herbs.
Peas, forced, per punnet - | 010 0 0 0
Kidneybeans, forced, p.hund.|}0 1 6/0 2 0 Taragon, Ber dozen bunches 8 g 8 f 8 %
| Tabers and Rots Se re ena a Oe HN COR
per ton 5 0 0!]0 O O||Sage, perdozen bunches - |0 2 0/0 0 0
Potatoes - § per cwt. 0 5 0/0 O O|| Mint, per dozen bunches - 10 40/000
per bushel |0 2 6/0 0 O Dried - 010/000
Kidney, per bushel - - |0 5 0|0 O O|| Peppermint, dried, per dozen
Scotch, per bushel - |0 30/0 0 0 bunches - 0 10/0 00
New, per pounds - 0 2 0/0 2 6]| Marjoram, dried, per dozen
Jerusalem Artichokes, per half| bunches - 0 10;0 00
sieve A 0 1 0/0 1 6||Savory, dried, per doz. bun. 010;0 00
Turnips, White, per ‘punch |0 0 1/0 0 2/| Basil, dried, per doz. bunches|0 1 3/0 0 0
Carrots, per bunch : Rosemary, green, per dozen
Old - S a - 10 0 4/0 0 6 bunches - 05 0;)0 00
Young a = - |0 0-6!0 O 8]| Lavender, dried, per dant bun. 03 0/0 00
Horn O - = 10 1 0/0 1 6}| Tansy, dried, perdoz. bunches} 0 10/0 0 0
Parsn d - - {0 09/0 1 0 3
Red Bese io dozen - |0 10/0 1 6|| Stalks and Fruits for Tarts,
Skirret, per bunch - - |0 16/0 0 0 Pickling, Sc.
Scorzonera, perbundle - |0 1 0{|0 1 6)| Rhubarb Stalks, perbundle |0 0 9/0 1 6
Salsify, per bunch = - SO 1 OO 2 d i ff
Horseradish, perbundle - |0 2 0/0 5 0 Edible Fungi and Fuci.
adishes : Mushr ttl cl
Red, per dozen hands (24 to Gre, Rae Aouna, s - é mn G g 5 q
30 each) 0 0 6/0 O 91) Truffles, per pound:
Red Turnip, per bunch - |0 0 2/0 0 O English S - 1014 01000
White Turnip, perbunch | 0 0 13/0 0 2 Foreign, dried so lOm O10.0 0
The Spinach Tribe. Ai aia Fruits.
< per sieve = f
Spinach ee halfsieve - |0 10/100 0 epics; Desserts per bushel: son oul eetoR
Sorrel, per half sieve - - 10) | ON Aes Gasties: 7 ge =P mtomonlio 14 0
The Onion Tribe. American - - 10 15 0/)110 0
Onion ihe easly CUM IE
Old, per bushel - 9 5.0/0 9 Ol. imacne wc Howenlo os o
For’ pickling, per half sieve| 0 4 0/0 5 0 Almonds, per peck To 6 lO OO 8 0
Ciboules, green, per bunch | 0 0 2/0 0 3) ctrawerries, forced, per oz. |0 1 610 2 6
Leeks, per dozen bunches - |0 0 9)0 1 3 Pinctannlee >P %
-apples, per pound - |0 5 0/)014 0
Chives, perdozen roots - |0 16/0 0 0 Grapes, per pound :
Garlic, per pound so 00 6;0 0 8 Hothouse sd - |010 01110 0
Shallots, per pound oo 1 O iy OO. & White Portugal : y 0 0 8 010
B urple Portugal - - 016
Asparaginous Plants, Cucumbers, frame, per brace | 0 2 0/0 5 0
Salads, Sc. per dozen - |0 09/0 26
Asparagus, per 100 - - | 010 0/015 0 Oranges ee hundred - |0 4 0/018 0
phidd d ling - f (0) 8 8 0 || Bitter Oranges, per hundred : 6 g t 4 0
ma = - 6 4 0 per dozen - = 20
Small, per half sieve - |0 50/0 8 0 Eemons per hundred - |O0 4 0/014 0
Sea-kale, per punnet - |0 1 6/0 2 6/|| Sweet Almonds, per pound O 8 O10 2 §
Lettuce, per score: Brazil Nuts, per bushel - | 0 14 0/016 0
Cos o o - |0 1 6]0 2 0O}| Spanish Nuts, per peck - |0 4 0/0 0 0
Cabbage 5 0 0 3}0 O 6]| Barcelona Nuts, per peck - |0 5 0/0 0 O
Ghee yntione lhe market has been better supplied with the articles usual
at this season, than could have been expected from the prevalence of cold wind
and severe frosts at night, during the present month (up to this date); but a
comparison of prices will at once show that a deficiency in supply does and
must necessarily continue to exist for some time to come. Of early spring
cabbages we have had a tolerable quantity, at fair prices, offering an induce-
ment to the growers to send them to market prematurely, which will be the
cause of a deficiency in the ensuing month. The price of coleworts has in-
creased during the last fortnight materially. Of asparagus the supply of forced
begins to diminish very perceptibly, and, as the natural has not yet come to
hand in any quantity, the price of it is considerably higher. Forced sea-kale
is also almost exhausted, and the natural is realising a ‘better price than it did
some time since. Spinach comes to hand plentifully, at a reasonable charge.
24:4 London Horticultural Society and Garden.
Broccoli is furnished in very limited quantities, bringing excellent prices. The
stock of old onions is getting very short, and, from the prevalence of cold
weather, rather in demand: within the last month they have doubled in value.
Old carrots are getting scarce, and as we have no supply of young or new, and
cannot expect any quantity for some time to come, they will undoubtedly be
much dearer. Of potatoes we still have abundance, of excellent quality, from
all parts; but the supply to the metropolis is now so generally furnished direct
from the Thames, that we have little to do in them until the new are furnished
in June or July, when this market usually leads in that article, for price, quan-
tity, and variety. During the last month we have had two or three cargoes of
Dutch apples, which have kept us in tolerable supply; but for this, our stock
would have been extremely low: at present it does not exceed a few hundred
bushels per week. Of American apples there are yet some few in hand, of good
quality, but, of course, high in price, Strawberries begin to be furnished regu-
larly, and, since the introduction of the new varieties, of good size and quality.
Some few pines have also been sent, realising a fair remunerating price ; never-
theless, they are not at all abundant. Forced grapes are also in moderate
supply, but not much in demand, as the prices will plainly indicate. Of peas
we have had a few small parcels (forced), but at present they are not much in
demand. — April 15. 1834.
Art. VIII. London Horticultural Society and Garden.
Marcu 8. 1834.— Read. Hints concerning the culture of Melons (par-
ticularly those of the Hoosainee varieties of the Persian families) as aquatic
or amphibious plants; by G. J. Towers, Esq.
Exhibited. Rhododéndron arboreum, from Sir C. Lemon, Bart. Anemone
horténsis supérba, and four other varieties ; from Mr. James Young, Epsom.
Phaius grandiflorus, from Mr.G. Mills. Caméllia reticulata, and japdnica
Colvillz, from Messrs. Chandler. Cockscomb cauliflower, from Col. Hallen ;
communicated by T. Hoblyn, Esq. [the seeds of this remarkable variety had
been received from Italy.]
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Camellias, narcissuses, Primula ver-
ticillata, Cassia laevigata, Bérberis Aquifolium and fascicularis, three sorts of
Ribes, Evria stellata, Huphérbia bilabris, Echeveéria gibbiflora, &c.; also four-
teen sorts of apples.
Distributed. Scions, from the Society’s garden, of the Brabant bellefleur,
Gravenstein, Pennington seedling, and Boston russet sorts of apples; and of
the Beurré d’ Aremberg and Forme de délices sorts of pears.
Price of Tickets of Admission to the ensuing (see p. 189.) Exhibitions at the
Society's Garden. It was announced, that the price of the tickets would, after
April 1., be 5s. each: their original price was 3s. 6d. each.
April 1.— Read. Meteorological Journal for the year 1833, kept in the
Society’s Garden.
Exhibited. A seedling heartsease, from Mr. T. Thompson, gardener to
Lady Gambier, Iver, Bucks. A species of Kennédya, native of New Holland,
from Boyd Miller, Esq. A seedling auricula, from Mr. Wilmer, Sunbury ;
and ornamental species of green-house plants, from Mr. Glenny and Mrs.
Marryatt.
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Lachnee‘a eriocéphala, Gompholobium
polymorphum, Chorézema Henchmanm, Gésnera Douglasz, Indigd6fera spe-
cidsa, Ornithégalum arabicum, Ribes aureum pree‘cox, and several other
well-known interesting plants.
Scions, from the Society’s garden, for distribution, were provided of the
following varieties of apples : —Red Astrachan, Brickley seedling, Reinette du
Canada, Pearson’s plate, and Gloria mundi; and of the Fondante d’ Automne
kind of pear.
THE
GARDENER’'S MAGAZINE,
JUNE, 1834.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art.I. Notes on Gardens and Country Seats, visited, from July 27.
to September 16., during a Tour through Part of Middlesex, Berk-
shire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Hamp-
shire, Sussex, and Kent. By the ConpucTor.
(Continued from p. 194.)
Hfteuctiere, the Earl of Caernarvon. — Aug. 14. Whoever
has noticed our remarks on the subject of situation, called forth
by Bear Wood (IX. 679.), and by Caversham Park (X. 1.), will
readily conceive that we were delighted with the natural features
of Highclere. Perhaps, taking the latter altogether, we may
venture to call it one of the finest places, as far as ground and
wood are concerned, that we have ever beheld.
** Highclere is situated just at the point where the chalk
downs (extending northwards, from the village of Kingsworthy
on the south of Winchester, to Highclere, a distance of above
twenty miles) are suddenly interrupted; their northern escarp-
ment forming two remarkably bold hills, which are the dis-
tinguishing features of the place, and conspicuous landmarks
to the surrounding country. One of these, called Sidon
Hill, is very beautifully wooded: it constitutes the southern ex-
tremity of the park at Highclere; and, commencing about half
a mile to the scuth of the mansion, it rises about 400 ft. above
the valley which lies below it, and 948 ft. above the level of the
sea. The other, called Beacon Hill, is an outlier to the chalk,
and is exactly 900 ft. above the level of the sea: it is entirely
devoid of wood, and its remarkably square and obtuse outline,
and abrupt termination, together with its smooth surface, form
a striking contrast to the rich woods of Sidon Hill. ‘These hills
are separated, by a valley of moderate depth, from the plateau
of chalk on which the mansion stands. ‘The chalk terminates
about a quarter of a mile from the house; and the remainder of
the park, and the adjacent woods, extending between two and three
miles to the north, are entirely upon diluvial clay, gravel, and
Vou. X.— No. 51. s
246 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats :—
sand, in endless interchange. There are two large pieces of
water: one of these, called Milford, covers between twenty and
thirty acres of ground; it is nearly surrounded with natural
wood, in part of which, on a steep slope, are some very large
beech trees. The other lake is called Dursmere, and, though
not so much varied in its contour as Milford, is yet surrounded
by beautiful scenery.”
In preceeding from Newbury to Highclere, the road passes
through a richly cultivated country, having in some places a
parklike character. In one part, the effect of the trees and
turf, on both sides of the road, lead the traveller to believe
that he is passing through a park. Advancing a little, we come
to a mansion intended for Gothic; and we cannot help feeling
regret that a builder of so little taste should have been at work
in such a scene. ‘The road continues in rather a grand style
for a cross country road, passing a curious corner clump of larch
trees, which, we were informed, constitute the remains of a nur-
sery, and which are now 50 ft. high: these trees, small and
naked in the stem, look like a gigantic crop of oats, rather than
larches ; and present a striking example of how much the cha-
racter of a tree may be changed by the circumstances in which it
is grown. Shortly beyond these larches, and apparently forming
the termination of a straight line of the road, appears the arch-
way, which is the main entrance into the park of Highclere.
The general effect is exceedingly good; but the architectural
details are objectionable, pilasters being used, not at the angles
as supports, but in the middle of the wall as ornaments. After
passing the arch, we find that the first part of the approach
road leads through a thick wood of caks, hollies, and beeches ;
as we advance, the eye penetrates to a deep and wild glen on
the right; shortly after, the scenery opens to the day, anda
sequestered glade, of three or four acres, surrounded by wood,
appears to the left: advancing onwards, the wood thickens, and
gradually approaches close to the road on the left, while the
scenery opens to the right; and, the road making a gentle turn,
the upper part of a circular temple, surrounded by a colonnade,
and surmounted by a dome, appears on a knoll at a short dis-
tance across a woody vale. ‘The road advancing among park
scenery, in which exotic trees, such as hoary-leaved limes,
cedars, &c., begin to be introduced, we see the same temple
crowning the summit of a bold promontory, to which we gra-
dually ascend. ‘The effect of this temple is exceedingly good,
not only from the approach, but from every other part of the
grounds. Its architecture is faulty, inasmuch as its colonnade is
interrupted, and the wall which supports its deme is not shown
above the entablature; but these faults are lost in the feeling of
gratification experienced on observing such an object placed
FIighclere. 2A7
in so fitting a situation. Pausing at this temple, and looking
from it to the lower grounds, we observe a large sheet of water
losing itself, in three “Freetions, among well-tafted woods. The
stranger may now be considered as “initiated in the charms of
the place, and he advances forwards, expecting the continuation
of what he has hitherto experienced, new beauties at every
step. Nor is he disappointed: for, on the one hand, Milford
‘Water, and varied views of rich distant scenery, supply the most
ennobling landscapes; while, on the other, the two striking hills
which form the boundary of the park are leading features. . In
addition to these objects, the house is seen, for the first time,
when we are about three quarters of a mile distant from it; it is
soon lost again, and we do not catch another glimpse of it till
we are very near it. Its first appearance is exceedingly grand,
standing on an elevated table land, backed by the two hills
before mentioned, and commanding a most extensive range of
distant country in front. All that we shall farther say of the
approach is, that the wood on each side of it is disposed so
admirably that there is not a tree that we could wish to alter.
The prominences and recesses of the masses correspond with the
elevations and declivities of the surface in some places, thus fol-
lowing up and increasing the variety indicated by nature; while
in others they are found on declivities, so as to create variety and
intricacy where none naturally existed. ‘There is scarcely a
point, along the whole of this approach, at which an artist might
not stop and sketch a landscape that would be well-propor tioned
in its great component parts; and at least harmonious, if not
striking, in its details. Arriving at the pleasure-ground, we
discovered that the house, the road to it, and some of its
accompaniments, are unfinished; and, therefore, we shall not
consider them as subjects of criticism. The mansion-house,
which was much altered within, and entirely cased with Bath
stone without, by the late earl, who died in the spring of the
year 1833, leaving it unfinished, is a square building, showing
three facades, en about 110 ft. in extent of frontage. alive
style of architecture adopted is the Grecian Ionic, as used in
the Erectheum at Athens. ‘The casing with Bath stone, we
think a needless expense, when it is known that walls of
brick, covered with Roman cement, are much stronger and
ang more durable than any vail of brick conjointly with
stone. The elevations of the three sides, nearly completed,
are plain, and unobjectionable; with the exception of double
pilasters at the angles, instead of returned ones, which does
away with the idea of pilasters as representations of pillars
of support. The chimney tops are also much too low, and
very unarchitectural in their forms. ‘The terrace basement
is wanting; but this, with various other appendages, will
5 2
4
248 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats :—
no doubt be added before the place is completed. In the
interior are some good-sized rooms, particularly the library.
Notwithstanding all this, we are of opinion, that, to produce a
house suitable to the situation, the cheapest and best way would
have been to pull the whole down and rebuild it. The views
from the house, on the entrance front, are singularly grand. To
the right, they command the park scenery, with its high hilly
outline of wood as the boundary, and the temple beforemen-
tioned seen rising from a wooded valley. ‘To the left lies the
valley of the Kennet, several miles in width; a rich hilly corn
country rising beyond. ‘The principal view from the Jawn
front forms a striking contrast to those already mentioned. In
this view we look down to a smooth grassy hollow, and up to the
wild woods of Sidon Hill. ‘To the left of this, the Beacon Hill,
with its bold outline and bare surface, the latter partially con-
cealed by a wooded eminence rising from the valley right before
it, forms a fine contrast to the rich wooded scenery of Sidon.
This last-mentioned hill is ascended by a spiral drive, partly
open, and partly wooded, which terminates unexpectedly in a
triumphal arch, through which the eye looks down on the house,
the pleasure-ground, and the whole park, as on a map. The
substratum of this hill beimg chalk, the turf has the smooth
character belonging to the downs or pastures of chalky districts ;
and this circumstance, together with the wild manner in which
sloe thorns, junipers, and other native shrubs have risen up on
it, forms a remarkable contrast to the smooth polish of the
pleasure-ground, and its groups of rhododendrons and magno-
lias, below. From the east front of the house is seen, within the
pleasure-ground, upon a raised platform, a very handsome Pal-
ladian temple, roofed, and having a floor, but open on all sides.
It is a most impressive and delightful object, and is in correct
architecture, though now somewhat out of repair. This temple
(like the circular one on the border of the approach road) is
seen from many points of view in the grounds, and always with
excellent effect.
‘“‘ The beauties of this place are entirely the creation of the
last two Earls of Caernarvon, father and son. When Henry
George, the first Earl of Caernarvon of the Herbert family,
succeeded his uncle in 1769, the place consisted of a small
pleasure-ground on two sides (the east and south) of the man-
sion-house, and a long avenue of beech trees, included between
two quickset hedges, which connected the pleasure-ground with
Sidon Hill. This hill, which is now covered with the most luxu-
riant vegetation, had then only five beech trees, and a few ash
and oak. To the north of the house, a series of enclosed fields
and a rabbit warren extended to Milford Water, then subdi-
vided into three ponds, with the natural beech wood before-
Fiighclere. 249
mentioned upon its longest side. Before his improvements were
commenced, Lord Caernarvon called in the assistance of the
celebrated Brown, whose plan is still preserved in the mansion
at Highclere, though it was not followed. It serves to show the
great superiority which a proprietor of cultivated taste, who resides
upon his demesne, and makes himself master of its capabilities,
will always possess over the professional landscape-gardener,
taking a transient view, and forming his plan upon undigested
data and imperfect knowledge of local details. Lord Caernar-
von began his operations by partially destroying the avenue
leading to Sidon Hill, throwing down its boundary hedges, and
laying down the ar able fields in grass on its right and ete ; thus
including Sidon Hill within the park, and extending the latter up
to the foot of Beacon Hill, now apparently, though not actually,
within it. Then, turning his attention fan nmarde: the park
was carried over all the fields and rabbit warren between the
mansion-house and Milford Water; which last, having its three
subdivisions formed into one lake, was, with its adjoining woods,
thrown also into the enclosed grounds. Very extensive plant-
ations stretching from the natural beech wood, along the eastern
side of the park, and forming a rich woodland boundary, next
occupied Lord Caernarvon’s attention. After this, his planting
operations upon a large scale were carried to the northwards:
Dunsmere Water, in short, a multitude of operations, followed ;
every successive year producing some extension or developement
of his original plans, which were not only pursued with un-
abated activity during his own life, but were continued by his
son, the late Karl of Caernarvon, with equal ardour. A curious
memorandum book was kept by the first Earl of Caernarvon
[which has been shown tous]. It records many interesting facts
connected with his improvements, chronicles the planting and
progress of his favourite trees, gives the dates of his successive
operations, and must be regarded as a document of great local
interest. ‘The mode of preparing and removing large trees
described by Sir Henry Steuart, was largely practised by Lord
Caernarvon, sixty years ago. Many of the beech trees, now of
large dimensions, in Sidon Vale, to the right and left of the old
avenue, were so removed soon after 1770. In 1795 and 1796,
many large beech trees were transplanted to the north of the
house; again, in 1798 and 1799, others were transplanted ;
again, in 1800; and to various spots, and at various intervals,
between these periods and since. ‘These attempts were almost
invariably successful. ‘lo show how thoroughly Lord Caernarvon
had appreciated the principles of this practice, we copy an extract
from his memorandum book, written at least forty years ago : —
“6¢ The best way of planting large beech trees of any size is, to
cut in the lateral branches, not close to the body, in the begin-
s 3
250 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
ning of February; and, in the autumn following (or even in the
same spring), to cut round the roots, and fill the earth in; letting
it stand till the succeeding autumn, or longer, by which time the
tree will have made young branches and young roots, and be in
vigour, and fit, upon removal, to push immediate roots. It
should be taken up without cutting the roots much more, and
put into a hole with the earth in mud, filled in and well staked.
The young roots will immediately strike, and the young branches
shoot. Planting in earth made thick mud is an excellent way.
The tree should be planted level with the ground; it suffers, if
sunk below the level of the ground. ‘The top or leading branch
of a beech, indeed of any tree, should not be cut off.’
‘¢ When riding round the grounds at Highclere, the fine taste
which dictated the position of the masses of trees, and of single
trees, is obvious: how much attention was bestowed upon this
point by the above-named nobleman, another extract from his
memorandum book will show; and it will, at the same time,
afford a useful lesson to all planters and place improvers.
‘“*¢ In planting single trees about the house, great care should
be taken not to hide the house from essential parts of the park ;
for, though they might be of advantage, when seen from the
house, yet, viewed from Smart’s Hill, ‘Tent Hill, Hopgood Hill,
also from Guines’s Coppice, the head of a single tree may hide
the house, though you may see under it from the house. Great
care has been taken in placing the present trees; which might
have been placed better, choosing their position from the house
only, but, I think, could not have been placed any where else,
taking into consideration the necessity of keeping the view of the
house clear for the beauty of the above-named spots, giving at
the same time sufficient grove near the house. The best way to
ascertain the position of a tree is to fix a white pole, with a
white rag hung to it, and then ride round the park to the heights
from whence the house is seen. ‘Till I adopted this plan, I was
obliged to take away trees inadvertently planted, which is ex-
tremely mortifying.’
‘© The fine cedars which adorn the immediate environs of
the house were (with the exception of two, raised from a
cone brought immediately from Lebanon, by the celebrated
Oriental traveller, Dr. Pococke) all raised from seeds by the
first Earl of Caernarvon; and the largest of them was planted
out between the years 1773 and 1778. These fine trees may
serve to dissipate a commonly prevalent error, which attri-
butes to the cedar of Lebanon the character of slowness of
growth ; and to show planters that this most stately of evergreen
trees actually makes a progress superior to most trees in our
climate. A fine specimen, upon the lawn opposite to the north-
western angle of Highclere House, was planted there in the
Highclere. 251
spring of 1778, being then 4 ft. high, and having been raised
from a cone gathered at Wilton in 1772. Being measured on
the 5th July, 1832, its circumference, at 3 ft. from the ground,
was 10 ft. 23 in.; another, immediately to the south of it, being
examined at the same time, measured 10 ft. 3 in.; a third, in the
park to the north of the house, and close to the back entrance,
measured 10 ft. 6 in.: but it is useless to multiply instances.
Beeches planted about the same time are not nearly so large.
The first Lord Caernarvon, who not only thus improved his
grounds, but also added largely to his mansion, and gave it a
third front to the north, died in 1812. His plans were actively
pursued by the late earl; who, bringing to the task taste of
the highest order, added most materially to the magnificence
of his demesne. A large extension of Milford Water, not yet
completed according to his views ; the creation of the exotic plant-
ations surrounding it; a new line of approach to the house, the
alteration and improvement of which occupied much of his at-
tention during the latter years of his life, and were left incom-
plete; and the creation of the curious collection of American
plants scattered through the shubberies in the pleasure-grounds,
are among the operations of the late Lord Caernarvon. We
have spoken of the magnificent cedars which adorn the lawn
at Highclere. The heath-mould plants, usually denominated
American, are not less striking. Unfavourable circumstances
of local climate, which hardly allow an arbutus to protract a
wretched existence, induced His Lordship to rely principally
upon rhedodendrons and azaleas for the decoration of his
shrubberies. ‘To extend the garden varieties, and protract the
flowering season of the family, became an object which, most
actively pursued, has been attended with uncommon success.
By means of hybrid intermixture, the season for these beautiful
flowers, beginning about the end of April, lasts till the middle of
July, almost three months. The very splendid rhododendrons,
brilliant to the highest degree with their crimson corollas, of
the variety obtained between the Rhododéndron arboreum of
Nepal and £&. catawbiénse, and named, by Dr. Lindley, after
the Doomsday name of Highclere (Alta-Clera), Rhododén-
dron alta-clerénse [see Bot. Reg., vol. iv. t. 1414. and VII.
472.*], come into flower about the third week in April, and
are succeeded by a multitude of splendid varieties both of
Rhodedéndron and Azalea, ending with the crosses obtained
between #hododéndren maximum and Azalea autumnalis rubra.
* In this page, Mr. Gowen, the originator of all these hybrids, is spoken of
as the gardener at Highclere. This is erroneous; Mr. Gowen should have
been designated an amateur of gardening; Mr. Carton was the gardener at
the time the first hybrid rhododendrons were raised, and one variety (see
Hort. Brit. 29193.) is named after him.
s 4
252 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
The number is continually increasing; and, however per-
plexing to the botanist, who will have the disagreeable task
of distinguishing between indigenous species and these endless
horticultural varieties, yet it must be owned that to this art
of hybridising the flower-garden is,. and will be, indebted for
a great accession of beauty and enjoyment. Of the many
achievements of this nature at Highclere, the most striking is
to be found in the crosses effected between #. arboreum and the
hardy species. ‘These hybrids, which as far surpass the com-
mon rhododendrons as the new double Scotch roses do the old
wild ones, are perfectly hardy, exceedingly floriferous, and can-
not be surpassed in splendour. Of the azaleas, the most splendid
are bred between the fine garden varieties of Azalea calendu-
Jacea and Azalea nudiflora var. rubéscens; and it may be pre-
dicated of all these hybrids, that they possess a much greater
tendency to profuse flowering than the unadulterated species.
[Some account of the origination of these will be found in VII. 62.]
The history of the hybrid £&. alta-clerénse is curious in the
way of floricultural anecdote. ‘To obtain it had been a great
desideratum ; but the specimens of #. arboreum at Highclere
had shown no disposition to flower. The only places in England
where it then (1826) flowered were Hylands (Mr. Labouchere’s),
and at the Grange. From the latter place an umbel was obtained
and conveyed to Highclere in a tin case. By means of its
pollen the flowers of #. ponticum and /?. maximum were fe-
cundated, and about 1800 seedlings were raised, many of which,
after supplying his private friends, Lord Caernarvon desired
might be distributed among the nurserymen. ‘This was done in
the spring of 1831. ‘Those which were retained at Highclere
have now attained a flowering age, and form extensive shrub-
beries round the house.”
The pleasure-grounds are about 100 acres in extent, and con-
tain many fine specimens of exotic trees and shrubs, among
which were tulip trees, black walnut, deciduous cypress, Virgilia
lutea, and Magnolza acuminata and tripétala. ‘The climate is
so severe, that M. obovata and the stuartias can hardly exist.
Among the shrubs, a large-leafed variety of Cotoneaster micro-
phylla insulated on the lawn, its branches covering a space of
thirteen yards in circumference, is a very conspicuous object.
The formation of these shrubberies, we were told, was an
arduous operation: the ground has been made to the depth of
between three and four feet, and the mould was carted from the
park woods in the vicinity of the lakes, a distance of nearly two
miles.
** The climate of Hlighclere, as might be expected from
its situation, immediately under the northern termination of an
extensive range of bleak woodless downs, is very unfavourable
Flighclere. 253
to horticulture. The profusion of lichens and green moss upon
the trees attest its humidity. Many shrubs which endure the open
air well at Newbury, only five miles off, live with difficulty here ;
and the only counterbalancing advantage is a comparative ex-
emption from autumnal frosts. ‘he site of the house is about
600 ft. above the level of the sea. Cunninghamza lanceolata
lives out well in a shrubbery in the pleasure-ground. Among
the rhododendrons is a healthy specimen of the very scarce
Rhododéndron campanulatum (Nepal), which has not yet
flowered. It has the habit of a sturdy bush, or rather, perhaps,
of a small tree. Its leaves are about the size of those of R.
catawbiénse, and are of a very deep green on the upper surface,
but beneath are covered with the deepest cinnamon-coloured
pubescence. [This rare and beautiful rhododendron has lately
flowered with Messrs. Loddiges, and in Mr. Knight’s Exotic
Nursery. The corolla is white spotted with lilac, large, and bell-
shaped.] We noticed two beds, containing nearly 100 bushes of
hybrids between Azalea and Rhododéndron. ‘The method lately
pursued, as before mentioned, is to mass the varieties and species
as much as possible together. Thus, Andrémeda acuminata,
forming a small bed, is very ornamental. rica vagans is so
treated, and kept compact by an annual cutting in with the
garden shears; Menziésza czerulea, gualtherias, and the close-
growing vacciniums, are all so treated, and with great effect.
Indeed, small low shrubs, like the humbler rhododendrons,
andromedas, vacciniums, and ericas, planted in large shrub-
beries, produce no effect compared with what they do when
indulged with a space to themselves, where they are free to
show their natural habits. Spiree’a trilobata is very handsome,
when so treated; as are S. bélla and S. arizefolia. Rzbes san-
guineum grows rapidly at Highclere, but dies suddenly in the
middle of summer, when three or four years old, in whatever soil
or exposure it has hitherto been placed. Of Cratee‘gus grandi-
flora and tanacetifolia there are fine specimens, near the
house: the yellow fruit of the latter is eatable, resembling an
apple, but more insipid. Nymphee‘a advena thrives exceedingly
in Milford Lake, and is very hardy. Among the rarer aquatics
is Nuphar minima. A double-flowering American sagittaria
has increased rapidly. Pinus Douglasz: appears to be of very
rapid growth, and extremely suitable to the climate. Tilia
heterophflla is a tree of very fine foliage, and apparently of rapid
erowth. The progress of A’cer macrophyllum has been very
rapid; and it seems probable that most of the trees from north-
western America, near the regions of the Columbia River and
north of it, will find in England a very congenial climate. Vir-
gilia lutea flowered profusely at Highclere last spring, in racemes
of moderate length, inodorous and not showy, being hidden in the
254 Notes on Gardens und Country Seals : —
exuberant foliage. A specimen of Magnolza conspicua, in the plea-
sure-ground, grafted upon a stock of Magnolza acuminata, is in
all respects more vigorous than one raised in the usual manner
upon a stock of Magndlia obovata; its foliage is deeper in colour
and thicker in substance, and its flowers sar more numerous.
‘¢ A fine weeping ash, also in the pleasure-ground, which had
remained for several years stationary in height, suddenly made
a strong perpendicular shoot nearly 10 ft. in length, which now
forms the head of the tree; its luxuriant branches having quite
overwhelmed the original tree. Quércus fastigiata, on the
banks of Milford Water, is interesting, from its perpendicular
habit, resembling that of the Lombardy poplar.”
Besides the shrubs above enumerated, we noticed Diospyros
virginiana, Nyssa aquatica, Negtindo fraxinifolia ; Liquidambar,
both species; Dirca palistris, 3 ft. high, with a stem 6 in. in
diameter ; Rubus nutkanus, which has the habit of the Virginian
raspberry, and bears an eatable fruit, resembling the cloud-
berry in size and appearance; Li. spectabilis, and several other
species; all the new species of Bérderis and Mahonia; a com-
lete collection of named vacciniums; all the azaleas, both of
the British and Continental nurseries, besides numerous new
hybrids already mentioned, some of which were still in flower,
while on others the capsules, impregnated with a view to new
varieties, were nearly ready to gather; and a good collection of
roses, standards, and dwarfs, among which was the Highclere
seedling, one of the most beautiful of the tea-scented China
roses and a free flowerer throughout the whole season: budded
in May, these roses will flower in the August of the same year.
The best stock for this and the other China roses is the #.
Banksze. Among the herbaceous plants, which were now in
splendid beauty, producing most brilliant masses of colour in
groups on the lawn, were, Lilium tigrinum and Z. canadénse, and
Yucca glaucéscens, which has the habit of Y. filamentosa, flower-
ing yearly, but much more freely, with larger and more numerous
blossoms, and more elegant foliage. This plant was first given
to the nurseries from Highclere. Campanula lactiflora forms a
fine lawn plant, either singly or in large masses; the lobelias,
georginas, lupines, phloxes, potentillas, asters, gladioluses, pe-
tunias, mimuluses, and many of the new Californian plants in-
troduced by Douglas, added to the beauty of the scene. It
deserves particularly to be remarked, that the dark purple candy-
tuft and Clarkéa pulchélla form the best masses when mixed
with mignonette, and the same may be said of other showy but
naked-stemmed annuals; and, farther, that al! these flowers, and,
in general, all the ornamental shrubs, are introduced in masses ;
sometimes, as in the case of the snowberry, of one species
only; and in others, as in Rubus, rica, Rhododéndron, &c.,
Enghelere. 255
of several species and varieties of the same genus. If the great
woods of the place were to be planted over again, this principle
would be more attended to, with regard to the forest trees ; but
it must be recollected, that, when these woods were planted,
about the middle of the last century, and, indeed, not till near
the end of it, there was not, in any nursery in the island, above
a dozen kinds of forest trees to be procured, in quantities suffi-
cient for making large plantations.
In a walled flower-garden, on a declivity facing the south,
and concealed by wood, are innumerable valuable plants. The
exterior of the wall is varied by piers and arches of ivy, the
panels between being filled in with choice deciduous climbers
and roses. In this garden we found fine collections of car-
nations, pinks, and other florist’s flowers ; beds of hybrid ixias,
and other hybrid Jridez, raised by that enthusiastic vegetable
hybridiser, the Hon. and Rev. William Herbert of Spofforth,
brother to the late Earl of Caernarvon, whose garden has been
described by a correspondent. (VI. 531.) We were delighted
to find here that Gladiolus natalénsis propagates so readily by
offsets, that one bulb will produce 100 in a season, which, when
well treated, will flower the following year. We trust soon to
see it in every cottage garden. Cypélla Herbértz, a beautiful
ixia-like plant, was in flower. In the plant stove there is a good
collection of epiphytes, well grown, especially rhinanthera.
Plumiérza bicolor was in flower; and also a large plant of La-
gerstroe mia indica, besides numerous smaller or more common
articles. ‘The crops of grapes, peaches, and pines, in the houses
and pits in this garden, were good. ‘To produce a moist heat
from hot-water pipes in the pine-pits, Mr. Carton (the very
excellent gardener) had them covered with moss, which he
watered occasionally with clear water; and, if we remember
correctly, occasionally with horse-dung water, in order to pro-
duce ammoniacal gas to destroy insects, and carbonic gas to
nourish the plants. ‘The practice of watering with horse-dung
water, we believe, originated with Mr. Pillans, late foreman to
Mr. Forrest at Syon, and now head-gardener to Lord Ducie at
Woodchester Park, near Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire ;
who, we hope, will favour our readers with an account of this
and some of his other new and valuable practices. We observed
a number of vines, in pots, raised from the eye the same season,
which were expected to produce several bunches of fruit each
the next year. The cuttings of the vines are first planted in
very small pots, and shifted, as they advance in growth, into
pots of larger size, till the latter are, at last, a foot in diameter,
when they are placed in large saucers, and fed with liquid
manure. ‘The pots are placed at the back of the house, close
under the glass, and the shoots are trained on wires down the
256 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
slope, so as to give the leaves every advantage of sun and heat.
It is expected that each vine will produce five or six bunches of
grapes; those of Mr. Pillans, similarly treated, having produced
450 lb. of grapes from seventy pots; the vines, when the fruit
was ripe, not being more than eighteen months from the eye.
This may be considered as the extraordinary result of extra-
ordinary skill, attention, and perseverance. It may be useful
and commendable in gentlemen’s gardens; but, as it requires
much more labour, as well as skill, than can be afforded by most
persons who wish to grow grapes, it is not intended to super-
sede the simpler and more certain modes. It may be con-
sidered as a prize essay.
The kitchen-garden is here but a secondary object of attention.
The soil is naturally a strong clay; but part of it has lately been
greatly improved by burning some of the subsoil, and mixing it
with the surface. The operation is performed, during the sum-
mer season, on the spot, by heaping up a coating of clay upon a
ridge of fagots, and setting fire to the latter, in the manner
explained in detail in our Encyclopedia of Agriculture. ‘The
clay is put on in rough spadefuls, and, when the burning is com-
pleted, it is spread over the ground from which it was taken, at
the rate of a good dunging. There is here a very good gar-
dener’s house; and we found in it an excellent garden and
miscellaneous library, belonging to Mr. Carton. Among his
miscellaneous books were the Waverley novels and the Cabinet
Cyclopedia.
After spending several hours in seeing the grounds about the
house, we drove down to the sheet of water called Milford.
This was a favourite spot of the late Lord Caernarvon. As a
piece of home lake scenery, it is beautiful ; and, as altogether the
work of art, with the exception of the sloping bank covered with
natural wood, it is admirable. A large wood, remarkable for
the size and richness of its hollies, is connected with this natural
beech wood by extensive plantations of fir and larch. The
holly wood, which is called Penwood, possesses great beauty.
The undergrowth of the woods and islands of this lake of Mil-
ford Water is entirely composed of rhododendrons, azaleas,
kalmias, and other American evergreens, which attain a vast size,
and sow themselves. ‘here are numerous Nepal hybrids here ;
and they are found to stand the drought better than the common
sorts. Altogether, we do not know any place in the country
where there is such a great extent of American trees and shrubs.
There are even some exotic aquatics in the water; and it is in
contemplation to scatter the seeds of many of the most beautiful
of the North American annuals in the woods, as is now doing at
Dropmore. Among the native trees are some very large beeches,
one of. which is 18 ft. in circumference at 3 ft. from the ground,
Highclere. 257
and 24 ft. close to it. Another larger-stemmed tree, close to this,
is 13 ft. 8 in. in circumference, at 3 ft. from the ground. There is
a large ash, near these beeches, which is 13 ft. 8in. close to the
ground ; and there is an ash in the park 16 ft. 8 in. in circum-
ference at 3 ft. from the ground. These large trees are supposed
to be aboriginal.
“The summit of Beacon Hill is crowned with a very fine
British entrenchment. Several barrows at the foot of the hill
were opened some years ago, and found to contain burnt bones,
spear and arrow heads of bronze, and some small ornaments of
thin gold, which had obviously been used as a covering to a
nucleus long since decayed. ‘The elevated barrows had con-
tained the bones of warriors; the smaller ones, which were only
slightly elevated above the surrounding ground, contained smaller
bones (apparently either those of females or young people), which
were unaccompanied by implements of war.’
After this slight outline of the leading features of Highclere,
it remains for us to give our general opinion of its beauties.
Taking it altogether, then, and considering it as a whole, and
with reference both to nature and ar t, we know of no inland
place to equal it. ‘There are more striking portions of ground
at many places ; for example, the brow on which the Ions | is
situated at Pain’s Hill, with the river below: there are more
romantic situations, as at Hafod; situations in which rocks and
a natural river have a prominent effect, as at Auchincruive; or
rocks without a river, as at Hawkstone: there are more striking
situations by art, and where architecture is included; as in the
view of Blenheim, on entering the Woodstock gate; or of the
enchanted valley, at Alton Towers: but, decidedly, in our
opinion, there is no place in England where so much dignity of
character, so much elegant variety, and so much cultivated
beauty, is preserved throughout a place of such great extent. We
set little value on the rhododendrons and other pleasure-ground
ornaments, compared with what we think of the style of planting
which has been everywhere adopted, of the formation of the
water, and of the distribution of the views of the house. The
ground floor of the house is not sufficiently raised; and the
direction of the approach to it might be improved. ‘There are
several minor points which may also admit of correction; and
the woods, and plantations of American shrubs on the lawn,
like all others that are intended to continue to look well, will
require constant thinning: but all these things are as nothing
in the scale, when weighed against the natural beauty of the
grounds, and the judicious disposition of the woods, groups,
and scattered trees. We know no place in which the trees are
as well disposed over so great an extent of surface. Por-
tions of Pain’s Hill, Caversham, Esher, and a few other places,
258 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats.
may be compared with Highclere; but these are only portions,
not in all exceeding a few acres: while here we have a park three
or four miles in length, and averaging a mile in breadth. Let
the reader who has an opportunity compare the planting which
has been done in the park at White Knights, both that done by
the original planter about the same time as that at Highclere,
and that done under the direction of the Duke of Marlborough,
and say in which is the superiority of taste and judgment.
There are few, however, who can profit from the study of such
places as Highclere and Pain’s Hill; and this is the reason
why we have ‘always heard the former place mentioned for its
hybrid rhodedendrons and azaleas, and the latter for having
been the first where rhododendrons were raised from American
seeds ; and never, either of them, for the disposition of the trees.
There is, however, one point, in respect to Highclere, which,
we have no doubt, will come home to the bosoms both of gar-
deners and their employers; and an important point it is: that
is, that all the American trees and shrubs, which now make sucha
conspicuous figure there, were raised on the spot, either from seeds
procured from America, or from plants which had ripened them
in this country. We are assured that not more than 20/. have
been paid at Highclere for nursery plants during the last
twenty years. Perhaps we shall be blamed by nurserymen for
mentioning such a thing. We should deserve blame, however,
much more, if we were to preserve silence. The reason why
gentlemen have had recourse to raising American plants from
seed, is because more has been charged for the plants by the
nurserymen, than many gentlemen could afford to give. So far
from blaming gentlemen for raising trees from American seeds,
we commend them for it; and we are persuaded that nursery-
men would do so likewise, if they saw the result in its true
light; viz. the spreading of a taste for foreign trees and shrubs.
Persons in business may rely upon this, that there is not one
gentleman in a hundred, who can afford to purchase plants from
a nurseryman, who will take the trouble of rearing them from
seed for himself. Gentlemen who are not rich, or those whose
expenditure in matters of improvement or taste treads closely
on the heels of their incomes, may become their own nursery-
men; but the effect of wealth is, in almost all cases, to induce a
desire for ease, and to purchase the results of labour, rather than
to labour to produce results. Besides, were the practice alluded
to to become general, the seed business would be greatly in-
creased; and, in this case, what difference could it make to
a nurseryman whether he derives a profit from importing and
selling seeds, or raising plants from these seeds? ‘The truth
is, all businesses and all pursuits are continually changing
with the progress of society. This complaint, of gentlemen
Kitchen- Garden containing One Acre. 259
becoming their own propagators, has been repeated for the last
thirty years: but have not nurserymen multiplied tenfold during
that period ; and, if so, what is the reason? As well might we
say that no gentleman ought to lay out his own grounds: but,
if this were the case, where would have been Woburn Farm,
White Knights, Pain’s Hill, and Highclere? The truth is,
that, without such deviations from commonplace routine, there
would neither have been landscape- gardening, in the modern sense
of that expression, nor would the business of a nurseryman
have extended beyond that of a mere grower of fruit and forest
trees. Highclere is an example of what the late Sir Uvedale
Price always held forth to the world; viz., that any gentleman
who wished to make his place what it ought to be, ought to study
the subject of planting and laying out grounds himself. This
is precisely what the last two proprietors of this place have
done; and Highclere, in its present state, is the result.
For the passages in inverted commas in the foregoing article,
we are indebted to a gentleman better acquainted with the loca-
lities of Highclere, than we could be by our transient visit.
Art. II. A Series of Designs for laying out Kitchen-Gardens. By
Mr. T. Rurcer. Design 1., Containing an Acre within the Walls.
In offering a series of what may be considered as work-
ing-plans for the formation of kitchen-gardens, I deem it neces-
sary to enter a little into detail upon the subject. In the first
place, it must be understood that I do not offer these designs as
standards of excellence, not be improved upon or excelled; but
rather that I submit them to draw, from the more experienced,
observations or designs serving to illustrate such principles and
rules as will tend to effect the object in view. In the designs
there will be nothing of a fanciful description introduced (except
when a flower-garden may be given); utility and convenience
only being studied. They are likewise intended to be so com-
posed that one may assist another; either by enabling the de-
signer to add to one from another, or to reduce one to the
size of another, as it may be thought desirable in laying out
the ground.
I am aware that much has been written about the aspect and
situation of kitchen-gardens ; pointing out the advantages and
disadvantages of each, according to the views of various writers
upon the subject. However, without offering an opinion
upon these pcints, and believing that, in most instances, a
southern aspect is approved of, the following series will be
arranged accordingly ; and as to situation, this must be left to
260
Design for laying oul a Kitchen-Garden,
* IT mn <<“
us 1
10 30, Tas See 100
(ER le lo PRET Te
aa, Fruit-garden, and for potherbs. 6 6, Culinary department,
with espaliers.
cc, Forcing department. dd, Department
for compost, mixing dung, &c. e e, Ranges for melons and
; cucumbers.
J, Pine stove. g, Peach house. h, Vinery.
3 4, Pits. k, Back shed. Z 2, Mushroom sheds, or for
, other purposes.
mmm, Water basins, or places for pumps.
DS
ey Tors
the judgment of those
who may think any
of the plans worthy
of being adopted, in
part or wholly, as the
groundwork of their
operations.
With regard to
form, it will be seen
that I favour the ob-
long, with the slip
made circular on the
south, or point of
principal entrance:
this, in my opinion,
falls in better with an
adjoining shrubbery
than a straight fence
would do, should a
shrubbery be pro-
posed.
Espaliers being ob-
jected to by some and
approved of by others,
they must be left to
the will of such as
like to adopt or dis-
card them. How-
ever, I consider them
both useful and orna-
mental, and that, in
both respects, they
more than compen-
sate for the injury
which it is thought
by some they do the
crops.
The height of walls
must also he left to
the judgment of the
designer; only in this
case a beg to observe,
that, if, according to
the scale of these de-
signs, there is not a
sufficient space be-
tween the back wall
Gardener's House for a North-East Angle. 261
of the gardens, and the frames or houses in the rear, for the latter
to receive the full influence of the sun’s rays, even on the shortest
day, more space must be given. It must be noticed, also, that,
although the forcing-houses will be named and particularised in
the references, it is not intended that they should be adopted
any farther than may be approved of, or deemed necessary, with
such alterations as may be found requisite to make them answer
better for their intended purposes. If room cannot be afforded
behind the frame ground for compost, &c., the space in front
of the frames can be appropriated for that purpose; and,
in that case, some other place must be found for working the
dung for the frames. With respect to the slips, they will appear
uniform in the plans; but, as it may not be convenient in every
case to follow this rule, any other convenient form can be sub-
stituted. The pathways that it may be deemed necessary to
place in and through the quarters will be left to discretion.
With these few preliminaries, I submit to you the ground
plan of No. 1. of the series (fg. 35.), which contains barely an
acre within the walls, including the forcing department: this, not
being available for crops, is compensated by the entrance ground.
If side slips are wanted, reference may be made to plan No. 2.,
in which a difference will also be made in laying out the quarters
of the garden. T. Rureer.
Shortgrove, Essex, 1834.
Art. III. Design for a Gardener's House, adapted for the North-
East Angle of a walled Kitchen-Garden. By Mr. RoBerTson.
Havine, in preceding articles, given designs for gardeners’
houses, suitable for being placed on the four side walls of a
kitchen-garden, we now proceed to give designs for the four
angles, which will complete the series. We are happy to find
that these designs have directed the attention of gentlemen to
the manner in which their gardeners are lodged, in different parts
of the country; and that new houses, in some cases, and addi-
tions to old ones, in others, have been the consequences, We
have now before us three beautiful sketches of gardeners’ houses
which have been thus originated, and which we shall probably
give, after the present series is completed.
Another improvement which has taken place, connected with
gardeners’ houses, is the removal of trees, shrubs, climbers, &c.,
which often used to cover them in such a way, as not only to
render ventilation utterly impossible, but even to exclude the
light. Some very handsome and commodious gardeners’ houses
have been, from this cause, rendered very unwholesome.
The present design (fig. 36.), like those which have preceded it,
Vou. X,— No. 51. T
ut RT STITT
a
by
ny
‘i i
ui
ay
a
a Mts.
i, 3
Neg, —
Z
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VY) Yy Z d
ify Ye
= ];
LAM L LRT C—O Yj
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wy: 7 i
REI GUTREE AGERE ERE EEE Qa UAE
WSS SS J
r i ee
a ay eS
SS
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GG. K
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u
SQV ‘
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SSS
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The principal floor contains: — a, Entrance from the angle formed by the garden walls,
f, Office, with desk and book-
c, Parlour. d, Bedroom. e, Bedroom.
1—_ yyy) Wii
N
Mg
MIX
LLL
6, Kitchen.
shelves on two sides.
g, Wicket, to which the men come in by the back door, k, and through which they are admitted,
one at a time, into the office, f, where they are paid.
The cellar floor contains : — , Staircase. n, Kitchen and bakehouse.
0,
2, k, 1, Piaces for ashes, coal), and wood.
Boiler. p, Oven.
q> Flue from the oven, for the purpose of heating a mass of stones, to communicate warmth to the
whole house, in the manner explained at !ength in the article on cottage husbandry and architec-
ture. (VI. 139.) | xr, Two root cellars.
other floor to this house, it being intended for a gardener with a small family.
s, A beer cellar, or lumber place.
There is no
Strictures on disposing Plants in Masses. 263
has not the slightest pretension to ornament; the object of these
designs being merely to show the arrangement of the rooms,
and the connection of the walls with those of the garden, in
such a manner as that any country mason or bricklayer might
build from them.
Art. IV. Strictures on disposing Plants in Masses.
By CatycanTHUs.
THE system of disposing plants in masses, so frequently and
ably advocated in this Magazine, is becoming very general, and
certainly produces a much better effect than the tedious mono-
tony of an indiscriminate mixture. In the practice, however, of
this superior method, it should be remembered that the groups
and masses ought to be considered as parts of a whole, and, as
such, should harmonise and unite with each other, with regard
to form and colour. Without attention to this point, the
several disunited and independent parts will no more form a
gardenesque landscape, than the colours arranged on a painter’s
palette will of themselves form a picture. I have known more
than one small garden spoiled by a disregard of proportion, the
shrubs and flowers being disposed in groups of far too large a
size. In sttch a situation, a single plant, or a group of two or
three, must be considered to bear the same proportion to the
whole, as much larger masses or groups bear in the case of a
park. Although I approve, as I have said above, of the prin-
ciple of placing different species in groups and masses, I think
that there are cases in which this, like all other principles, may
be carried too far. Ina small flower-garden which I very much
admire, I have seen a group, composed of myrtles and China
roses, planted alternately in quincunx order, the larger plants
being in the centre; and, in my opinion, a better effect was pro-
duced than if the two species had been in separate masses: the
rich green colour of the myrtles’ leaves, forming a ground to the
beautiful white of the flower; the light and elegant foliage and
pendent bloom of the rose; the mingled colour, and the asso-
ciations connected with both, made an impression upon me
which I shall not easily forget. In the same garden there is a
group consisting of an acacia, a sumach, and a laburnum. The
light feathery elegance of the acacia, the broader and more
shadowy plumes of the sumach, and the pendulous clusters of
flowers of the laburnum, compose a little picture of the most
highly finished character.
Gardeners might find much instruction from an examination
of cottage gardens, in many of which I have seen a degree of
vood taste that is not always found where there is more reason
T 2
264 Defects in the Management of Fruit Trees.
to expect it.- In such gardens, it often happens that very strik-
ing effects are produced by a judicious disposition of plants of
the most common description; and I think it would be a
very useful study to endeavour to imitate them with plants of
more rare and choice species. I was once much struck by a
particular effect (not, however, of sufficient general interest for
a place in your Magazine) produced by a plant of the common
hop; and it was not until after many trials that I could find a
substitute for it ameng more choice plants : at length, however, I
succeeded to my own satisfaction by means of one of the genus
Clématis; the species I do not with certainty know, as it has
never flowered during the three years that it has been in my
garden.
In small gardens, nothing can be more unpleasing than a
want of neatness and high finish; it reminds me of a flower-
painter of the last century, who used the most dingy and sombre
colours that he could find, saying that he imitated Raphael, and
painted for posterity. In the case of a small garden, it should
be remembered that, whatever may be the beauty of the design,
constant attention, and the frequent removal of plants, are in-
dispensable: three or four years of neglect would leave nothing,
either to posterity or the designer himself, but a tangled and
matted thicket of such plants as might come off conquerors in
the struggle for life incident to want of sufficient space.
Hastings, April, 1834.
Art. V. On Defects in the Management of Fruit Trees.
By Mr. Rosert ERRINGTON.
AttrHoueH so much has been said and written about various
modes of training and managing fruit trees, you may, perhaps,
yet spare room for a few more remarks on the subject. It will
be generally admitted, I think, even by most practical men (by
the by, a class rather slow to admit any thing which implicates
themselves), that the cultivation of fruit trees generally is not
so successful as might be desired, and, from long practice, ex-
pected. My attention is at this time called to the subject by some
remarks of yours, IX. 671., in which you say, “* We shall be much
surprised, if, when the doctrine of disbudding comes to be gene-
rally understood, it does not effect a very considerable change
in the mode of managing every description of fruit tree which
requires to be trained in any particular form, or kept within
any particular bounds less than what are natural to it.” Your
remarks I consider just in a very considerable degree ; and hence
appears the propriety, and, I may fairly say, necessity, of adding
philosophical to practical knowledge in our profession. The com-
Defects in the Management of Fruit Trees. 265
mon expression among us, that “ leaves make roots, and roots
make leaves,” is either not sufficiently understood, or not allowed
to regulate practice. It is difficult to say whether the ill success of
most gardeners, as to producing permanency and productiveness
in fruit trees, arises from the mismanagement of the top or of the
root. In one instance, we see borders, as they are called, made
by an excavation deep enough for the bed of a river, which is
filled with materials containing richness more than sufficient to
grow the bloated tree to the size of an immense standard. Here,
while the soil is new, and possessing some strength, the ill-fated
gardener may ply his nippers all the year round in removing
robbers and superfluities of his own creation ; and in two or three
years may rival the globe for willow twigs. By degrees, the
immediate proportion of manures contained in the soil becomes
entirely decomposed, and, by the villanous spade culture on the
top, the soil comes to as fine tilth as though it were riddled.
Thence, in wet seasons, ensues entire stagnation, and, in very
dry ones, mildew and other baneful diseases. ‘These evils arise
in consequence of the soil’s losing nearly all assistance from the
purifying and invigorating efforts of the atmosphere; for it is
either swamped or baked, and in both cases it is, at it were, her-
metically sealed. In another case, borders are made by trenching
abundance of manures into loose sandy soils on a hot gravelly
bottom; better adapted for barley and turnip culture than for a
class of trees of which sound loams are the “life and soul.”
Here, at first, while the dung lasts, together with moderately
moist seasons, the trees appear to flourish in grand style, and
the proprietor chuckles over them, well pleased that he did not
follow the advice of those who (knowing the unstable character
of such soils) suggested to him the necessity of strengthening
the staple: all this, he now perceives (or thinks he does, at least),
would have been unnecessary expense. ‘The manures in such
soils, once exhausted in producing the mere framework of a
tree, which the soil can never long maintain, nothing more is
needed than a heavy crop of fruit for a season or two, a burning
hot summer, and some spade culture over the surface roots, to
complete the career of this tree, and then the sooner it is set fire
to the better. Certainly top-dressing will do much in such a
case (especially if the spade is unknown to such a border), but
can never give that stability and endurance to the tree, and that
flavour, quality, and weight to the fruit, which are the constant
effects of a good loamy soil. ‘Then, as to top management,
which may be said to comprehend, mode of training, summer
disbudding, summer stopping, thinning the fruit, winter pruning,
&c.: assuming (what, I presume, will be readily granted) that, in
a cool damp climate like that of Britain, light, heat, and a cir-
culation of air are of immense importance, in regard of the
r 3
266 Vines and Vineries.
fructification in fruit trees, do we find anything like proper at-
tention paid to these important principles ? Exceptions there are,
we know; but what is the most general practice? Shoots are
crammed in, as though the quantity and quality of the fruit were
to be determined by the number of these alone; or probably, in
the tender stone-fruit trees, the young wood hanging from the
wall till nearly August, is thereby deprived of all the advantages
arising from the accumulated heat of the wall; and trees of this
description I have noticed, which had received all the attention
possible in their winter pruning, at a time when light and heat
were comparatively of little importance to them, and which were
yet left in the summer to the above ill fate.
It may now be fairly expected, that, after having pointed out
the defects in the present practice, I should have something new
to offer on the subject ; but you must be aware, that to treat it
in all its bearings would occupy more space than you could
spare. I will, however, if agreeable, in a future Number, offer
my ideas on the management of fruit trees, and will give you the
skeleton of a plan I should adopt, were I going to lay out a new
kitchen-garden, and allowed to follow my own plans entirely.
Oulton Park, Cheshire, Jan., 1834. R. ERRINGTON.
WE shall be happy to receive the proposed communication. —
Cond.
Art. VI. Notes on Vines and Vineries. By An ExPERIENCED
GRrAPE-GROWER.
Tue border in front of the vinery should be from 30 to 40 ft.
in width, and should be formed of loamy soil, sharp sand, and
at least a fourth part of well-rotted horse-dung. ‘The vines may
be planted on the outside of the front wall, but the stems should
be taken through it below the level of the surface, so that they
may never appear on the outside. When it is desired to swell
the fruit to a large size, the border should be well watered every
evening in the swelling season, and covered during the day with
litter, to prevent evaporation. ‘The mostdesirable sorts of plants
in a vinery are Money’s muscat eshcolata, Tottenham Park
muscat, white frontignac, red frontignac, Money’s West's
St. Peter’s, Money’s eshcolata superba, black Hamburgh, black
Constantia, black prince, and white Hamburgh. ‘This last grape
is not so well known as it ought to be. It is by some confounded
with the Syrian; but it ripens much earlier, and, when it is
grown in heat, it is an excellent grape. Others mistake it for
the white Portugal; but the latter grape has a much thicker skin,
and its juice is more watery. The white Hamburgh, when it
ripens, is somewhat speckled with red. In order to have very
late crops of grapes, the house should be kept very dry, by
Modes of training Wall Trees. 267
giving air every fine day, and supplying no more fire heat during
winter than is barely sufficient to keep out the frost. If the
house is in the neighbourhood of much coal smoke, the laps
between the panes should be puttied, and the putty should be
such as will not crack; which is effected by putting 1 lb. of
white lead into every 10 lbs. of putty previously to using it, and
using, instead of common linseed oil, which dries and shrinks,
sweet or train oil, which dries slowly, and causes the putty to
take a firmer hold of the glass.
When the rafters of a house are 25 or 30 ft. long, there will
require to be three tiers of sashes; and these, if put in accord-
ing to the usual plan, would require the rafter to be very deep
in its upper part. ‘To prevent this, cut the fillets which support
the sashes, not in the form of parallelograms, as is usually done ;
but in the form of right-angled triangles, of the full breadth of
the fillet at one end, but diminishing to a quarter of an inch at
the other. The wires on which the vines are trained ought to
be 7 in. or 73 in. from the glass.
In planting the vines, first open a hole, then set a pot con-
taining a plant in it; next break the pot with a hammer, but
take care not to break the ball of earth; then take the outside
fibres and roots, that appear on the surface of the ball of earth,
and spread them out, covering the whole with soil, and after-
wards watering and shading.
When fruit is swelling and ripening, care ought to be taken
to admit abundance of air, for nothing is more injurious to grapes
than damp, especially if the berries are close on the bunch. The
damp first seizes the footstalk of the berries; they will then
shrivel, or turn red, and, when tasted, will be found sour. In
damp weather, the best mode of expelling the damp is to have
a good fire in the daytime, and to give abundance of air; by
which means the moisture evaporated is carried off into the
exterior atmosphere. S. A. M.
Hampstead, November, 1833.
Art. VII. Notice of some Modes of training Wall Trees, practised
in the Gardens of Hopetoun House. By Mr. JAmrs Smitu, Gar-
dener there.
From the extent of walls in this
37 place, the various trees are trained .
\ / in different shapes. Of the finer
i i apples and best late pears, some
are trained horizontally, and others
\ in the half fan form; and, as you
seem not to have noticed the last-
Tt 4
Eo 4
268 Culture of the Onion.
mentioned method, I beg leave
to send you the following sketches
and descriptions of it :— Pg. 37.
represents a tree one year from
the graft, newly planted, and
after wards cut down to two buds
oneach shoot. £g. 38. represents
the same tree two years old, and
fan-trained. Lig. 39., thesametree
three years old, cut back and
fan-trained. Fie. 40., the same
tree, six years old, fan-trained; the shoots brought down in a
curvilinear form to the ‘yoicnma. direction ; aad the different
years’ growth
marked 1 25/35
4. GoueGsn the
centre is still
trained in the
fan form, and
the branches are
brought down
yearly; untilthe
tree reaches to
the top of the
wall, where the
\4 yoann ne fan-training ter-
j St Co aan ed minates, and the
tp a branches are
trained forward horizontally. Nothing more is necessary than to
keep the trees in good order, and to encourage the leading shoots.
Hopetoun House Gardens, Feb. 3. 1834. JAMES SMITH.
Art. VIII. On the Culture of the Onion by Sowing and Transplanting.
By Mr. Wn. Taytor, Gardener, Liverpool.
AsoutT the latter end of May, make up a seed bed of light
soil, and raise it 6 in. above the level of the path round iu in
order to keep it very dry. A bed 33 ft. wide, and 18 ft. long,
will require half a pound of seed. By the latter end of August,
the bulbs will be about the size of peas, and will be ready to be
taken up, that they may be kept dry during the winter. About
the middle of the following February, plant them in drills, about
8 in. apart, with the bulbs from 4 to 6 in. apart in the row, and
cover them with a full mch of soil. Some rich manure may be
laid in the bottom ofthe drill, if convenient. In this manner
I have grown a crop of onions, averaging from 14 to 16 oz. each.
Lorton Street, Liverpool, Jan. 13. 1834.
Physiology of Plants. 269
REVIEWS.
Art. I. The Physiology of Plants, or the Phenomena and Laws of Vegetation.
8vo, 298 pages. London, 1833.
Tuis very interesting little volume is, we believe, by Mr. Murray, whose
Manual of Chemistry was noticed in IX. 607. The work is divided into thirteen
chapters, which treat of the distinction between animal and vegetable being,
the composition of the plant, the root, the stem, the blossom, seeds, the phe-
nomena of germination, the ascent and circulation of the sap, the peculiar
secretions of plants, the condensation and retention of moisture by trees,
parasitic vegetation, extremes of temperature in relation to vegetation, aquatic
vegetation, purification of the atmosphere, eccentricities of plants, relations of
light and electricity to plants, age of plants, &c.: and, under these heads, the
work contains a mass of interesting facts and phenomena in relation to vege-
tation, from the germination of the seed to that period when, deprived of the
animating principle, the plant becomes the subject of that puiely chemical
agency which finally accomplishes its total decomposition.
As the excretory organs of plants are now engaging the attention of several
of your correspondents, it may not be out of place to give the author’s ideas
upon the subject: — “ In a variety of experiments made with the hyacinth
raised in a bulb glass, and supplied with distilled water, I constantly found
that the water in which the fibrils were extended became soon impregnated
with carbonic acid gas, when excluded from all external sources of its produc-
tion; and, by the addition of a little lime-water in the first instance, I some-
times had an interesting deposition, on the sides of the glass, of minute rhom-
boidal crystals of transparent carbonate of lime. It seems to me, therefore,
that the functions of the root are twofold, and that it is composed of two
classes of organs, one of which act as absorbents, and the other as excretory
vessels: the former appear to be resident in the spongelets, and the latter in
the cortical pores. It is worthy of remark, as connected with this question,
that coloured fluids, which find an easy ingress through the spongelets, will
not pass through the cortical orifices. The superfluous egesta occasioned by
an unusual richness of the soil cannot be evolved in a sufficient ratio by the
foliage. During the presence of the sunbeams, leaves cast off oxygen, while
the carbon of the carbonic acid gas is appropriated and assimilated: but it is
by no means probable that the entire quantity of carbonic acid gas which rises
in the stem during the day can be constantly decomposed amid the various
changes of light and shade, to make no mention of the liquid matter which
has been evolved.”
In treating of the blossom (chap. v.), the author adverts to it as the found-
ation of the beautiful system of Linnzus, upon which he passes the highest
eulogium, while he asserts that “ what has been lauded as the natural system is
the most unnatural jumble of incongruities that ever was collected together.”
We shall next give a few extracts from an interesting part of the chapter,
where it is demonstrated by experiments “ that, in the sunbeam, each indivi-
dual colour of the chromatic series, as arranged upon the painted disc of the
flower, denotes the evolution of a peculiar grade of temperature, in exact
unison with that evolved in the same tints of the prism. The late Sir W.
Herschel found that a delicate thermometer, placed in the violet ray of the
solar spectrum, indicated an acquired temperature of 2° above the ambient
atmosphere. The green exhibited an increase of 2°25°, and the maximum
of temperature in the red ray amounted to 4°5833 Fahr.” In verification of
these facts, the author refers to experiments by which he discovered, from the
degree of caloric that followed the formation of a peculiar colour, produced
by the chemical union of different substances, “ that each colour of the pris-
matic series displays, at the instant of its evolution, a corresponding and
peculiar temperature. The results yielded, for violet, 1°; blue, 1°5°; yellow,
270 Report of Devon and Cornwall Bot. and Hort. Scc.
2°5°; and red, 7°5°, above the mean temperature of the substances employed
for the formation of the different colours.
“T shall now give the temperature of various flowers, ascertained by a very
delicate and sensitive thermometer, being the result of experiments made by
me during the years 1822 and 1823. Ona stage in the shade, the Richardza
zethicpica was 55° Fahr.; the Hosa odorata, pale blush, 56°; and Amaryllis
Johnsoni 57. When the air was 54°5° Fahr., the Kérria japénica flore pléno
indicated 56°, and the double red anemone 57°5°. These exhibitions prove a
temperature peculiar to each individual colour. From a numerous list of
experiments I shall select a few, in the order of the prismatic series : —
White Flowers. Blue Flowers.
Air, Air.
Sept. 9. 1822, at 62 p.m. 53°59 Daisy - 52:59 | May 21.1823 - ~~ 540° Bluebell - 55:0°
60° Bramble - 59:5 May 30. - -70°5 Blueiris - 715
May 21.1823 - . 585 Pond-weed 575 | May 3l. oy ol Gentianella 77
May 31., noon - - 81 Narcissus 80°5 July 24. = - 635 Bee larkspur 67
Semidouble 4 (sunshine.)
oO. 5
July 24.,5 P.M. =e 00 Reareon hors
“ellow Flowers. Red Flowers.
Air. Air,
Ledéntodon Double red :
May 26. 60° $ Frasacuin 64° sunshine May/21-,noon\812 f pzony }ss0 sunshine:
(Dandelion) Addnis au- hea
63 doen do. 7 } tumnialis tre sun, clouds
Atnoon 70°5 do. 73 do. 73 do. 77 sun, bright
705 Goldenball[?173 do. July 24. 54 Rose - =) 58°5 oar
Yellow- L¥chnis ° 22
82 ; horned bss do. 59 chalced6- > aa
poppy : . nica (scar- ' J eo
A Single yel- let lychnis) J 6 i=
July 24%. 5 p.m. 57°5 § Tees fen do.
“ White flowers do not differ materially in the heat evolved from them
from the ambient air, either in sunshine or shade; and it is probable that
they decompose less atmospheric air than flowers of other colours. The tem-
perature of flowers is always higher than that of the surrounding air during
sunshine, white flowers, perhaps, excepted. It is quite remarkable to notice
the effect produced on them by even a cloud passing over the solar disc. In
such circumstances, while the air was 71°, the flower of the Adonis was only
72°; but on the returning gleam, the temperature rose 4°. The comparison
between the air and flower was always made under similar circumstances.”
From. a detail of experiments made by Theodore Saussure, it appears
evident that the inflorescence is more destructive of oxygen than the leaves.
A beautiful reason is assigned for the sleep of plants, for the shutting of the
corolla at night to preserve the parts of fructification from the cooling effects
of radiation to a nocturnal sky, and for the similarity of colour that exists in
flowers found in similar elevations and latitudes ; but for these we must refer
the reader to the work itself, as well as for a mass of other interesting facts.
Among these we may notice a dissection of the leaf, and an analysis of the
fluid contained in the pitcher of the Nepénthes distillatoria, which throw much
light upon the circulation of the sap; and also an able exposure of some
modern speculations respecting life and motion, which the author calls “ the
most wild and visionary fancies that ever were promulgated.” — Scientie et
Justitie Amator. King’s Road, Chelsea, April 26. 1834.
Art. II. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, Rural Archi-
tecture, §c., lately published, with some Account of those considered the most
interesting. .
HOURTH Annual Report of the Committee of the Royal Devon and Cornwall Bo-
tanical and Horticultural Society. Pamphlet, 8vo, 101 pages. Plymouth,
1834. 2s.
When we mention that this Report is drawn up by our correspondent, Dr.
Hamilton, the honorary secretary to the Society, our readers will readily sup-
Doyles Flower-Garden, &c. 271
pose that it contains some curious and interesting matter. There are remarks
on promoting the comforts of cottagers, on the O’xalis crenata, on collecting
manures, &c., &c. Dr. Hamilton does not think, with us, that the tubers of
the O’xalis crenata are produced by the checking of the underground stolones
from the decline of temperature late im autumn. “ This,’ he says, “ would
be a very philosophic mode of accounting for the formation of these tubers,
were it not that the plant is a native of a region to the south of the line, little
elevated above the ocean, within the tropics, and where the lowest tempera-
ture does not descend farther, according to Humboldt, than 55° 4’ of Fahren-
heit ; and this at a season the reverse Gf that at which the tubers begin, to
appear with us. October, in Peru, corresponds with the vernal month of
April on the north of the line; at which time the circulation of the sap is in
full vigour, and the temperature cf the year increasing, instead of diminishing :
hence, unless we assume that the plant has altered its habits since its intro-
duction into this climate, we must ascribe the late formation of the tubers to
some other cause than the reduction of temperature checking the prolongation
of the stolones, and causing an accumulation of sap in their extremities.” p. 43.
The Flower-Garden, or Monthly Calendar of Practical Directions for the Cul-
ture of Flowers. By Martin Doyle, Author of “ Hints to Small Farmers,”
“ Practical Gardening,” &c. 12mo, 170 pages. Dublin, 1834.
The aim of this work, like that of all those in which Mr. Doyle is engaged,
is excellent; and though we do not think it calculated to be so useful as his
Practical Gardening, still it will serve to spread a taste for flowers. The
objection we have to the work is, that tender articles, florists’ flowers, and
plants that require extraordinary care, are not sufficiently marked out from
those that require only ordinary care. Something, we think, should have
been done to point out the beauty of wild flowers, and to mark out such of
them as are known to be capable of great improvement by cultivation, and
cross fecundation. It is of importance to impress on the mind of every
man who has a garden or a field to cultivate, that nature gives only the rude
materials, the sloe and the crab, and that it is for man to render them sub-
servient to his purpose, to form plums and apples from them, by cultivation ;
and that cross fecundation is, next to abundance and concentration of nourish-
ment, one of the most important points of culture.
The First Report of the Oxford Botanical and Natural History Society, esta-
blished August 30. 1831; with the Rules of the Society, a List of Members,
and a Catalogue of the Books in the Society's Library. Pamphlet, 8vo, 20
pages. Oxford, 1832.
The object of this Society is to promote the study of natural history in
general; and more particularly botany and horticulture. This object it wili
endeavour to accomplish, Ist, by reading origmal communications, or extracts
from useful and interesting works on these subjects ; 2dly, by occasional lec-
tures; 3dly, by the purchase of periodical and other books relating to these
departments of knowledge; and 4thly, by the formation of a library, herba-
rium, &c., for the use of the members.
Donations of books, drawings, prints, specimens, &c., connected with natural
history, from those who may wish to promote the object of the Society, will
always be acceptable.
The rules are twenty-seven, the catalogue includes seventy distinct works,
and the lists of presentations are considerable. Ten different periodicals are
takenin. The terms of subscription are 10s. on entrance, and Is. a month after-
wards. Persons residing at a distance from Oxford do not receive books till
they have been two months in the possession of the Society.
It appears from this pamphlet, that when we stated on the authority of Mr.
Humphreys (109.), that the establishment of a garden library for the use of
the Oxford gardeners was first proposed by him, we were in error. Possibly
we may have misunderstood Mr. Humphreys.
272 General Notices. — Foreign Notices.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Art. I. General Notices.
A COMMUNICATION by means of Steam between India and England. —I hail
with anxious impatience the establishment of this mode of communication,
by means of which, seeds and plants will have a chance of surviving the
transmission, beyond any thing they now possess, even under the most atten-
tive treatment and greatest solicitude for their preservation. From my own
personal experience, as well as from that of hundreds of others, 1 know that
it is the second crossing of the equator which forms the most formidable ob-
stacle in the way of prosperously conveying such objects as plants; but if the
period of the voyage can be shortened to within little more than two months,
safety, whether the line be crossed twice or not, will be almost certain. —
N. Wallich. Botanic Garden, Calcutta, Nov. 22. 1833. [See IX. 83. for
an abstract of Dr. Wallich’s excellent precautions, advice, and practice, on
transporting living plants from India. In the Scotsman of May 3. it is stated
that the steam communication with India, by means of the Red Sea, has com-
menced; the Hugh Lindsay steamer having left Bombay, Feb. 1., and reached
Suez, March 4.; a distance of 3400 miles in about a month. There is a
regular steam packet between Falmouth and Malta, which makes the voyage
in sixteen days, and all that is wanting is another steam packet between Malta
and Alexandria, and this would bring the whole voyage from Bombay to
London within two months.]
The Many-stemmed Mulberry (Morus multicailis) is said to be greatly su-
perior to all the other species and varieties in the number of leaves which it
produces, as well as in the quantity of nutriment which these leaves contain.
Plants may be obtained from M. Guérin, at Honfleur, near Havre, and from
M. Soulange-Bodin, at Fromont, near Paris. (L’ Agronome, vol. i. p. 187.)
The fragrant-flowered Variety of Cyclamen pérsicum. (187, 188.) — I may say
that we have now a small plant of this variety, with about a dozen flowers,
which completely scents a large room. It is possible, however, that Mr. Turner
(188.) is right with regard to his plant, for lhave some idea that the pérsicum
which we had some years since had no scent, and that I purchased the parent
of the present plant on account of its perfume.—F. L. S. May 2. 1834.
If F. L. 8.’s idea, that the flowers of the parent of his present plant were
also fragrant, be accurate, we learn from it that the fragrance of the flower
is, in this variety, hereditary. —J. D.
Art. II. Foreign Notices.
GERMANY.
THE Gardens of General Vandamme at Cassel are celebrated. The general
halted one day at the castle of Prince Piickler-Muskau, in Silesia, and talked
a great deal to him about his house and gardens. “ Among other things, he
stated that the whole garden was surrounded with iron railings of different:
patterns, all of which he had taken out of German churches; and that his
cellar was not badly filled with wine, also out of German convents.” Curi-
ously enough, the prince was afterwards of a party that took Cassel. “I had
then,” says he, “ an opportunity of satisfying my curiosity about Vandamme’s
pleasure-grounds. I found all exactly as he had told me, but suffered no re-
prisals to be made upon him; only I had one old wine cask, on which was
written, in great letters, Aws dem Kloster Molk, brought out of the cellar into.
Bey and divided it among my men.” (For. Quart. Review, May, 1834,
p. 392.
Domestic Notices : — England. 278
AUSTRALIA.
Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land, Oct. 11. 1833. — “ Among the valuable
seeds and plants introduced into the colony by Mr. Sams, recently returned
to us by the Indiana, are two from the Mauritius, indigenous to that island;
namely, the Mowrung and Telfairia, the latter named after Mr. Telfair, the
late eminent botanist and scholar of that place. The Mowrung is a most
beautiful quick-growing plant, bearing a pod of about 5 or 6 in. in length,
filled with black seeds about the size of a small bean or large pea. In its
young state, the leaves and pods, and also the roots, are eatable, it thus proving
a most useful and palatable esculent. Should it thrive in this island, which,
with the care usually bestowed by Mr. Davidson of the government garden, in
inuring plants of similar latitudes to the climate of this place, and the great
success already attending his exertions, it may be expected will be the case,
it will ultimately prove a valuable acquisition to the colony. The Telfairia is
also a diadelphous plant, bearing a seed about the size of a kidneybean,
covered with a reticulated skin, and climbing up any supporter to a towering
height. Both plants have been recently introduced into England.
“ A new species of Eucalyptus was lately discovered by Mr. Backhouse, in
the course of a journey that gentleman made to Mount Wellington. It is a
stately tree, resembling the stringy bark, or E. robasta; and grows in abund-
ance near the highest range of forest vegetation at the foot of the perpendi-
cular basaltic columns, with a seed-vessel resembling in shape a Grecian urn.
All along the same place the beautiful mountain-grass tree with its elegant
white spikes is now in full bloom, covering the whole space around. This
species of Xanthorrhee’a is different from, and still more elegant than, the Risdon
grass tree, so common in sandy places on the Richmond side of the river.
Persons fond of ornamenting their gardens with the beautiful shrubs and
flowers of this island should not be deterred from transplanting them, under
the apprehension that they will not bear removal from the shady situations in
which so many of the most elegant are found; for, when carefully removed
with the sward, so as not much to disturb the roots, and watered for a few
days, they will often thrive to admiration, shooting their roots with facility
through the pulverised and loose soil of the garden,
“ Mr. Sams, we have great pleasure in stating, besides the very valuable
collection of plants which he has brought out under his own care, and those
which he formerly sent while in England, has established, under the sanction
and patronage of the queen, a regular communication with Mr. Aiton of the
royal gardens at Kew, from which he will, from time to time, receive such
as are still wanting in the colony, and will send home, in return, such indige-
nous seeds and plants as, from their beauty or rareness, deserve to be brought
under the notice of the intelligent English botanist.” (Hobart Town Courier,
Oct. 11. 1833.)
Art. III. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.
THE Botanic Garden, Oxford, seems destined to undergo considerable im-
provements. Dr. Daubeny, immediately on being elected professor, had a
plan engraved of the garden as it is, and another plan indicating extensive
additions and alterations. Theadditions are, chiefly, the proposed use of the
space without the walls (mentioned p, 110.), which had hitherto been turned
to little account ; and the alterations are, chiefly, turning the western division
of the garden into a place for displaying the natural arrangement, and erecting
two green-houses. ‘The plans have been kindly sent to us by Mr. Baxter, and
they are accompanied by an Address, dated March 14th, from Dr. Daubeny,
to the President and Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians in London,
by whom he was elected. From this Address we make the following interest-
ing extract : —
“ The Physic Garden comprehends a space of nearly five acres of ground,
274 Domestic Notices : — England.
of which, however, only three are enclosed within walls, the remainder lying
chiefly betwixt the latter and the river Cherwell. Its contiguity to the water
has at all times rendered the situation subject to damp; but the most serious
evil incident upon such a locality, namely, the liability to flooding, seems now
to be removed, owing to the large quantities of new soil which have from time
to time been introduced, and which have raised its general level considerably.
Neverthless, as that which is brought in has not always been of a good quality,
the addition of many fresh loads of soil, of a better description, seems even at
the present time to be required, for the sake of the plants therein cultivated.
“ The whole of the space within the walls has hitherto been applied to the
elucidation of the Linnean system, the eastern division being chiefly occupied
by British, the western by exotic plants, arranged after that method. The
increasing interest, however, felt in the present day for the natural method of
arrangement, seems to render it desirable that this latter half should henceforth
be set apart for its illustration: but, m order to accomplish this, it will be
necessary to gain some additional space, which can only be done by removing
the double yew hedge that traverses the centre of the garden, and which has
long been regarded as objectionable from harbouring vermin.
“‘ The space without the walls has hitherto been turned but to little account ;
but it seems desirable that, in future, a portion of this ground should be de-
voted to plants employed in medicine, agriculture, or the arts : the former
being enjoined to be cultivated in some part of the garden by the original
framers of the statute relating to the Sherardian Professorship; the latter
being particularly insisted on in the will of that munificent benefactor to the
establishment, the late Professor John Sibthorp.
“ The remainder might be made available for the purposes of an Experi-
mental Garden, for ascertaining the effects of soils, or of chemical agents,
upon vegetation, and for other researches of a similar description. ;
“¢ The only means which we possess at present for the cultivation of aquatic
plants being a few narrow cisterns, or tanks, lined with copper, which are
placed at the farther extremity of the garden, a basin of considerable size
seems a desideratum, for which the centre of the space enclosed within the
walls would afford a convenient site.
‘© The houses existing at present for the reception of exotics areas follows :
A stove-house, 30 ft. long, 14 broad, and about 12 in height, very badly con-
structed, having glass only on one side, and much out of repair. Two green-
houses, each 30 ft. long, 10 wide, 14 ft. in height in front, but only 10 at the
back, extremely ill-constructed for most kinds of plants, and likewise in very
bad repair. Lastly, a green-house, in the centre of the western division of
the garden, without any glass on the top, and very indifferently supplied with
light from windows in its southern front. It is 66 ft. long, 133 in height, and
in the centre 22 wide, narrowing at the sides. These houses were erected
about a century ago, at a time when the mode of constructing green-houses
was but ill understood, and when the cultivation of hot-house plants was al-
most unknown. The decayed condition of the frames, timbers, &c., involves
a considerable annual expense ; for it would appear, taking an average of the
last five years, that no less than 60/. per annum is required for keeping these
and the other buildings connected with the establishment even in their present
condition.
“ Up to the period of the erection of the new bridge over the Cherwell,
near Magdalen College, a house had been kept up for the professor of botany,
who is indeed expressly enjoined to reside, if possible, at the garden. In the
year 1795, however, the improvement of the approaches to the bridge occa-
sioned the pulling down of the house, and one of the green-houses was then
converted into the purposes of a library and lecture-room, which is conse-
quently now the only apartment of which the professor can avail himself,
whether for the purposes of private study or of public instruction. This room
is of the same size as the largest of the green-houses already specified, and
serves as the depository both of the library and the herbarium.
Domestic Notices: — England. 275
“ The library consists of about 1900 volumes, comprehending the valuable
and curious collection of botanical books presented by Consul Sherard, con-
sisting of about 600 volumes; that originally belonging to Bobart, one of the
keepers of the garden, and probably others, which may be estimated altogether
at about 280 volumes; the library of Dr. John Sibthorp, amounting to about
750 volumes; and the remainder bequeathed by the late Professor Williams,
or given to the Sherardian library by his executrix. The books appear in
many cases to be suffering severely from damp, owing to their having remained
for many years at the farther extremities of a room heated by only a single
fireplace at its centre. The library also contains a most valuable and exten-
sive series of dried plants obtained from various quarters; amongst the donors
of which I may specify Dr. Morrison, who first held the professorship, and
Consul Sherard, who endowed it, and whose Herbarium alone is said to con-
tain 12,000 specimens: there is also a collection, occupyimg no less than 72
folio volumes, purchased of Mr. Charles du Bois by the first Professor Sib-
thorp; one by Professor Dillenius, intended to il Illustrate his Muscologia ;
another very extensive one, presented by Lord Macartney ; and a small but
nicely arranged series of plants made by Dr. Thomas Shaw, the traveller, in
Barbary, Greece, and Egypt, and referred to in his work. To these I shall
have to add, a large Herbarium aceumulated by the younger Dr. Sibthorp in
Greece and ‘Turkey, one presented by the East India Company, and another
of Australian specimens, which have hitherto been deposited, for want of
proper room, in the Ratcliffe library ; my own collection, illustrative of the
natural system, which, being chiefly made at Geneva, is richest in Swiss plants ;
and another, of British ones, presented by the Rev. R. Walker, author of the
Flora of Oxfordshire. There is also a collectien of minerals, shells, and
corallines, made by that indefatigable naturalist, the author of the Flora
Greca.
© The only other building which need be noticed is the gardener’s house,
the bed-rooms of which are damp and unhealthy, from being placed on the
ground floor contiguous to a stagnant ditch. The rooms are also all of them
extreniely confined, and especially the gardener’s own private study.
“ From the above statement of the present condition of the establishment
of the Oxford Botanic Garden, it will appear that the most pressing want is
that of better houses for stove and green-house plants, the present ones, and
especially the stove-house, being not only teo confined, but also so miserably
constructed, that all hopes of cultivating rare and curious exotics, as is usual
in other public gardens of the same description, must be abandoned, until
better are obtained. I think, too, that a mere reference to the large annual
expense of maintaining them, even in their present imperfect state of repair,
will make it appear that the most advisable, as well as, eventually, the most
economical plan, would be that of pulling down all, except the principal
central green-house, to the ground, and erecting new ones in their place.
* Considering, also, the extent and value of the present collections; the
probability of future additions ; the difficulty of rendermg them so extensively
useful as it is to be wished they should become, whilst crowded within the
present narrow limits; the circumstance that, by the will of the late Professor
Sibthorp, no less than 100/. a year is expressly directed to be applied from
the proceeds of his estate to the purchase of books, so soon as the Fora
Greca shall have been completed; and the injury sustained by these, as well
as by the dried plants, in consequence of the necessary application of the
present library to the purposes of a lecture-room; I feel strongly impressed
with the necessity of erecting, with the first money that can be raised, after
that provision which seems indispensable for the plants has been made, one
additional room at the least for the reception of books, and a small private
study for the professor, both on the first floor, having underneath suitable
offices for a servant, who should take charge of the apartments and their
contents.
“ The particular mode in which these several objects may best be secured
276 Domestic Notices : — England.
will, of course, remain open for farther consideration ; but it may be suggested,
that the new building required might stand in the place of the old green-house
now adjoining the library, having its front towards the High Street, projecting
about 10 ft. beyond the Danby Gateway, from which it would be separated by
a interval of about 10 ft.; whilst on the opposite side of the latter a new
green-house of a better construction might be substituted for the present one,
a uniformity of appearance towards the street being kept up by adding some
rooms at the back with a corresponding frontage. If this were done, I would
suggest appropriating the room so obtained at the back of the green-house as
a depot for the seeds, roots, and dried plants; the ground-floor being parti-
tioned off, in the manner shown in the plan, into several small rooms for the
two former, whilst the upper story constituted one entire gallery for the recep-
tion of the valuable Herbarium. In the event, however, of any arrangement
being made with the street commissioners, by which the ground represented in
the design as in their occupation should be secured for the purposes of the
botanic garden, a better plan would seem to be that of erecting the new apart-
ments at the back of the present library, with a frontage towards the High
Street; by which means the necessary accommodations would be obtained,
without any corresponding building bemg required on the opposite side of the
Danby Gateway for the sake of uniformity. With respect to the large green-
house in the centre of the western division of the garden, I conceive that it
might be made more suitable for the purposes for which it was designed, if the
present roof were removed, and a skylight were placed in its stead; or even
In its present form, though nearly useless for plants, it might be made service-
able as a lecture-room. The two additional houses I would recommend to be
erected are, one for green-house plants on the western side of that last alluded
to, of the dimensions stated in the plan, and a corresponding building on the
eastern side of the library for stove plants, in lieu of the present one, which I
should then recommend to be pulled entirely down. Lastly, the gardener’s
house might be improved by an addition to the size of the little study on the
left, and by erecting another story in which sleeping-rooms might be placed.
“ The liberal donation of 500/. three per cent consols, which the executrix
of the late professor has intimated her intention, in compliance with the wishes
of her late brother, of contributing to the garden fund, will enable me, should
these views meet with the sanction of the garden committee, to accomplish
some part of the objects above pointed out; but, for the fulfilment of the re-
mainder, I must chiefly depend on the contributions of the respective colleges
and of their individual members, together with those of others, who, it is
hoped, may feel disposed to place the botanic garden more nearly on a par
with the other public establishments of this university, and who may desire to
render it better adapted to the demands of modern science, more adequate to
the supply of that information, with respect to the properties and uses of
plants, which by the new medical statute every candidate for a degree in
physic in Oxford is expected to acquire, and more nearly corresponding to the
scale on which in other universities such institutions are at present conducted.”
A Committee has been named, of which Dr. Daubeny is one, and a sub-
scription commenced, to which various sums have been put down, from 1J. to
1007.
The Sheffield Botanic Garden.—The two plans for laying out this garden,
which received prizes, have been sent for our inspection, and we have been
very much gratified by examining that of Mr. Marnock. The second best
plan (by Mr. Taylor, an architect), though neatly drawn, and displaying con-
siderable taste for picturesque beauty, is yet altogether unfit for a garden of
culture. It is no disparagement to Mr. Taylor’s talents as an architect, to
say that he is not also a gardener. The care and attention with which Mr.
Marnock has gone into the subject, and the provision which he has made for
every description of culture, evince « mind deeply imbued with knowledge of
his profession ; and we should not be surprised if this garden should ultimately
be one of the first, in point of completeness of arrangement, in the kingdom.
Domestic Notices : — England. 277
In thanking the Committee for having authorised Mr. Marnock to send us
the plans, we beg to congratulate them on their having met with so able a
curator.—Cond.
A Society for encouraging Cottagers in the Cultivation of their Gardens has
been established at Trimley in Surrey, chiefly, we believe, through-the exertions
of Mr. Lance, the author of the Cottage Farmer.—Iad.
Dropmore, it is said, has been described, and illustrated with beautiful
engravings, im 2 work prepared under the direction of the late Lord Grenville
a short time before his death, and now printing for private distribution. We
hope some friend will procure us the sight of a copy.—Id.
The Pantheon Bazaar, Oxford Street, for the sale of plants, &c., mentioned
p- 160., is now completed. It well merits the attention of the commercial
florists and nurserymen in the neighbourhood of the metropolis ; and we hope
it will at once serve as an outlet for a large portion of their produce, and as a
school for promoting a taste for flowers.—TId.
Several Plans of Conservatories and other plant buildings have lately been
shown to us by Mr. Wm. Crosskill of the Beverley Foundery, constructed
almost entirely of cast iron. Considering the quantity of metal employed in
pilasters, architraves, cornices, &c., we were surprised at their cheapness ; but
we were most gratified by a mode of giving air by the sympathetic and instan-
taneous movement of valves. There is nothing new im the idea of doing this,
but it is seldom that we find it successfully carried into execution on a large
scale. The floor of a conservatory erected by Mr. Crosskill, for R. Bethel,
Esq., M. P., at Rose Park near Beverley, is entirely paved, with the exception
of openings 10 or 12 ft. apart every way, in which standard trees are planted.
Over the circle or square of earth round each tree, there is a cast-iron grating,
in two pieces, so as to fit into each side of the stem, for the purpose of
admitting air and water to the soil. In consequence of this arrangement, every
part of the conservatory may be used as a drawing-room, or promenade, like
the winter gardens of Berlin. (V. 251.) — Id.
The Broad Walk in Kensington Gardens is now (April 30th), after these
genial rains, being harrowed up with Finlayson’s harrow drawn by six horses.
After the gravel has been hand-picked from large stones, and made even with
rakes, it will be rolled by a very heavy horse roller, and will require no more
attention, except once or twice rolling, for a year or two. This may afford
a hint to gardeners, for the management of approach roads, where they are of
great extent.—Id.
Mr, Samuel Currie, gardener at Stanley Hall in the neighbourhood of
Wakefield, has lately left England with a view of establishing himself as a
market- gardener at Washington, in the United States. We have no doubt of
“his ultimate success.— Jd.
The Great Cherry Tree of Withermarsh Green is the name applied to a
cherry tree now growing on Withermarsh Green, in this parish (Stoke Nayland,
Suffolk), and this name I consider it well entitled to hold; as, among a vast
number of its kind, which are to be found in this and the adjoining parishes
(it being quite a cherry district), I have never seen one worthy of being com-
pared with it, either as to size or beauty. It is of the kind which produces
the small red cherry. Several of the lower branches have been, at different
times, lopped, and others have been injured by cattle, or they would long ere
this have nearly reached the ground. The height of the tree, from the ground
to the tip of the upper boughs, is 46 ft.; the girth of the trunk, at twelve feet
from the ground, is 9 ft.; the girth of the three principal arms, near the trunk,
is about 5 ft.; the spread of the branches, from north to south, is 74 ft.; the
spread of the boughs, from west to east, 62 ft.— J.D. Hoy. Stoke Nayland,
Suffolk, Feb. 11. 1834.
There is scarcely a lovelier object than a cherry tree in blossom. The leaves
are yet absent, and every branch a rich wreath of snow-white graceful blossoms.
What a feast to the eye and to the heart it must be, to pass through the cherry
district above spoken of early in May!—J. D.
Vou. X.— No, 51. U
278 Domestic Notices : — England.
Cédrus Deodara Rox. — Dr. Wallich, of the Calcutta Botanical Garden, has
sent us some seeds, for distribution, of this very interesting tree. His letter
is dated Nov. 22. 1833. He speaks of the seeds as, then, received “ about a
fortnight ago from Kumaon,” and expresses his hope that they may reach us
in a vegetative state. He adds:—‘“ Those which I have sowed here have
come up in ten days from the time they were put into the ground. Contrary
to my express orders, they had been taken out of their cones before being for-
warded to me from the hills; but I expect ample supplies of fresh and good
cones, of which I will send you a proportion. There is in the box, also, a phial
of seeds, of
“ The White Nelambium specivswm, a most lovely flower, more lovely to my
eyes, than the pink-coloured one.”
We received the seeds on May 12. 1834. Those of the Cédrus Deodara,
in four sealed phials, were all devoid of life, and some of them nearly rotten.
A white mould was obvious among the seeds towards the necks of the vials,
where it coated, also, the end of the cork, and, partially, the inward face of
the phial. The source of this may have been some fermentation among the
seeds themselves; the dampness of the cork when put in; or some damp-
ness which it had acquired subsequently. The oily matter which surrounds
the embryo in the Coniferz, and is plentiful in the seeds of this species, had
partially come through to the surface of the seed, and appeared in blisters
under the integument. The embryoes (polycotyledonous) were flaccid and
yellow. Just for the chance of any one of the numerous seeds growing, we
have sowed them ourselves: had they been perfect, we should have sent
them, as Dr. Wallich wished, to various cultivators.
Since the above was written, we have received a small quantity of the
deodar seeds from Mr. Auben of the East India House, sent by direction of the
Chairman of the Company. These seeds are in quite the case of those above
named, but drier. Along with them, Mr. Auben forwarded extracts from
letters from Dr. Wallich; one of which we quote :—“ The deodar cedar is, of
all others, the most desirable to introduce into England. It is equal in state-
liness and magnificence to the Lebanon cedar, and far superior to it in the fra-
grance of its wood, which is incredibly durable. The tree will stand the cli-
mate of the North of Europe, beyond all doubt.” Dr. Wallich, besides again
noticing that the seeds had germinated with him in ten days in the open ground,
has added, “and under glass, in my own room, in eight days.”
The seeds of the Nelimbium, twenty-two in number, we have distributed
in pairs to Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Marryatt, Messrs. W. Young and Penny,
Loddiges, Low, Knight, Campbell, Bevan, Baxter, and Allcard; and C. A.
Fischer, Gottingen.
Our friend, Dr. Wallich, remarks that seeds, roots, or growing plants, of °
all rare species, exotic to India, and especially of South American species,
will be always welcome to the botanic garden at Calcutta; and we hope that
some of the friends named above will be able to contribute, at least in some
degree, to the gratification of Dr. Wallich’s wishes.
Two Specimens of Brompton Stock, the one red and the other white, have
been sent to us from the garden of Mr. Cullen, of the Brown Bear, Green-
hithe, of extraordinary luxuriance and beauty. The principal spike of flowers
on the red stock is a foot in length, and it is surrounded by twelve others,
varying in length from 9 in. to 6 in. The number of flowers fully expanded
on the central spike is twenty, not one of which is faded; and there are nearly
as many on each of the twelve side spikes. Most of the flowers are upwards
of an inch and a half across. The central spike of the white stock is 14 in. in
length, and there are thirty flowers on it fully expanded, and many of them above
2 in. across: nine of the lower flowers have thrown out secondary flowers or
spikes from their centres; and it is evident that all the flowers on this spike
have a similar tendency. There are only two side spikes to this white stock,
each with about 15 flowers fully expanded. The leaves are upwards of 9 in. in
length; those of the red stock are not quite so long. The stem of the white stock,
Calls at Nurseries and Suburban Gardens. 279
in the thickest part, is three fourths ofan inch in diameter; that of the red rather
more than half an inch. The total height of the red stock from the ground
is about 24 ft., and that of the white 2 ft. Had we received these flowers in
time, we should have sent them to the Horticultural Society’s exhibition.
When at Greenhithe, May 6., we were shown some very fine Brompton stocks
in the garden of Mr. Wilson the surgeon there; and a purple Brompton stock
in the garden of Foster, Esq., covered with bloom, which Mr. Foster
assured us had remained in that state, summer and winter, for upwards of
two years. It formed quite a large shrub.—Cond.
Art. IV. Calls at Nurseries and Suburban Gardens.
VAUXHALL Nursery, Messrs. Chandler and Son. — April 26. In the show
house, we found a very splendid display, more especially of hybrid rhododen-
drons, Ghent azaleas, Azalea indica Smithz, Cape heaths, and acacias and
other plants from New Holland. The plants in the other houses were, as
usual, beautifully grown, and in excellent order. A few camellias and Mag-
nolia Soulangeana were still in bloom on a wall with a western exposure ;
and the pelargonium-house was in an advanced state, some of the varieties
having already expanded their flowers. There was a rich collection of tree
ponies in the open air, showing great abundance of bloom; which, however,
from its advanced state, and the cold east winds so long prevalent, will, we
fear, not expand freely. The appearance of Magnolia Soulangedza here, and
at Brown’s Nursery at Slough, induces us strongly to recommend that variety
as coming into flower later than conspicua, purpurea, or gracilis, as being
more agreeably scented than any of these, and as being much hardier. Messrs.
Chandler have a number of plants, the evergreen American varieties of that
beautiful genus Bérberis; ultimately these varieties will find their way into
every collection. From one species they have raised young plants, from seed
ripened in their own nursery.
Mr. Groom’s Tulip Show commenced April 26., but, owing to the severity
of the weather, the flowers were not so far expanded as it was expected that
they would be. On the whole, however, they promise well. Mr. Groom’s
pelargoniums are remarkably well grown this season; and he has also a stock
of Fuchsia longiflora; which was lately advertised by the original grower, as
having a flower 6 in. long! Mr. Groom has also a large stock of M/imulus
Smith. Both here, and at Mr. Chandler’s, it is found a great advantage to
this plant to set it in a pan of water.
The Surrey Zoological Gardens are continually undergoing improvement in
a gardening and architectural pomt of view, altogether independently of the
valuable zoological additions which they are always receiving. Among
the latter was a young rhinoceros. These gardens now include 15 acres,
besides some exterior paddocks, which are available for the uses of the animals.
We are happy to find that almost all the trees and shrubs in the arboretum
here are named on tallies 3 or 4 ft. high, so that they do not require the
spectator to stoop, nor are they liable to be hidden by the leaves or branches.
Mr. Watts, who is now the head gardener here, has a just idea of what ought
to be done, and is filling the gravel walks to the brim, and softening the out-
lines of the dug masses. In the grand dome is a most ingenious portable
apparatus for heating by hot water, invented by Mr. Morgan, which we intend
to give an account of in an early Number.
Colvill’s Nursery. — April 28. A splendid show of forced flowers and
shrubs, and various articles in flower in the hot-houses and green-houses.
Some standard tree roses, varieties of the #. indica, in pots, were covered
with bloom, and were very brilliant as well as fragrant. These roses require
very little forcing, compared with the common Provence rose; and, when this
is generally known, and the new fragrant varieties are spread over the country,
rosebuds at Christmas will be common in every village.
U 2
280 Calls at Nurseries
The Chelsea Botanic Garden looks, as usual at this season, remarkably well.
We found our excellent friend the curator as busy as ever, and as happy as a
man can be who enjoys good health, a clear conscience, and a competent m-
come, and who is fully occupied in a pursuit altogether to his taste. He
pointed out to us a row of the different varieties of Scilla non scripta, which
were planted by the late Mr. Haworth the day before he died ; a Windsor
pear, grafted on a quince stock in a cankered state, and beside it a St. Ger-
main pear on the same kind of stock, very healthy ; which would seem obviously
suggesting, as Mr. Anderson mentioned, the idea, that, to dwarf the Windsor
pear, it must be grafted on some other pear, which had been previously grafted
on a quince stock and had thriven. Mr. Anderson has turned out against his
walls a number of New Holland shrubs, which, in the dry sandy soil of the
Chelsea Garden, may probably live through the winter. We saw several new
alpines, and some new hardy trees and shrubs from Nepal and Peru.
Exotic Nursery, King’s Road. — Mr. Knight is erecting some new plant
houses and pits, some ef which are being heated by Mr. Weeks, on a new and
ingenious plan. Three pits or small houses.will be heated from one boiler
at one end; either all three at once, or two, or one at a time, as may be con-
sidered desirable.
A considerable importation of plants from China has been sent to Mr.
Knight, by J. Reeves, Esq., F.H.S., &c., of Clapham, which is expected to
contain several new species. — Cond.
On May day we had a pleasant stroll through Mr. Knight’s houses, in com-
pany with the most able foreman, our very intelligent friend, Mr. Alexander
Scott. The more mentionable of the plants which we therein saw belong to
the orders Orchidez, Hriceze, Rhedoracez, Legumindse, and Proteaceae.
Mr. Knight’s collection of tropical Orchideze is becoming eminent; for, in
addition to his original stock of these plants, and to his having added to it, by
purchase, the stock of W. Cattley, Esq., he has farther added to it, by pur-
chase, so lately as February last, the collection of the deceased Mrs. Arnold
Harrison. The relatives of this amiable lady had found her favourite plants
but a painful and ever-present remembrancer of their bereavement, and so
resolved to remove them from their sight; and Mr. Knight has become the
fortunate possessor of them. Mr. Richard Harrison has, however, still a fine
collection of Orchideze. Mr. Scott has given us the following outline of the
contents of the collection lately Mrs. A. Harrison’s : — “ It is rich in the tribe
Vandee, which is eminently occidental. There are species of the genera On-
cidium, Stanhépea, Zygopétalum, Gongora, Corysanthes, Catasétum, Maxil-
laria, Bifrenaria, Acropora, Peristéria, &c. In the tribe Epidéndrez it is
also rich in species of the genera Brassavola, Cattléya, Epidéndrum, Bletia,
&c.; and in the tribe Malaxidez, in species of the genera Pleurothallis, Stélis,
Liparis, Coe‘lia, Pholidota, Ceelogyne, Bolbophyilum, E‘ria, Dendrobium, &c.
Among the small flowering kinds, there are species of Saurogléssum, Neottia,
&c. The collection lately Mrs. A. Harrison’s includes about 160 named or
known species; and there are, besides, several which have not yet flowered in
this country.” The plants of this part, and of the whole of Mr. Knight’s Or-
chidez, are looking in satisfactory health and growth, although Mr. Knight
believes that the stove at present assigned to them is not every way congenial
to their welfare, and is, in this belief, now having built a new one, which he
conceives will be more so. This enterprise cannot fail to earn its own reward,
nor, we trust, to produce the excellent effect of promoting greatly the insti-
tution of collections of Orchideee among Mr. Knight’s customers and visiters.
Only very few of the species are now flowering: Maxillaria aromatica, with
ie rich yolk-of-egg yellow cinnamon-scented flowers, is the most pleasing of
these.
In Ericez § Rhodoracez, the following plants are noted in our memoranda.
The two well-known often-mentioned trees of Rhododéndron arboreum
are bearing heads of their lovely flowers, although fewer of these than they
have, in some seasons, produced. Upon one tree the flowers are somewhat
and Suburban Gardens. 281
smaller, and are grouped into denser heads than are those upon the other.
The corollas of the two trees are not of the same colour, although both are of
the variety called the scarlet-flowered tree rhododendron. Mr. Scott showed
us, also, one or two plants of the pink-flowered tree rhododendron, and of the
white-flowered tree rhododendron. Of the scarlet and pink flowered varieties,
plants: are here on sale; but those of the pink-flowered are yet high-priced.
The last of the flowers (beautiful, indeed, they are!) of the 2. campanulatum
were now falling. They had been in perfection in the second week in
April; and as many as thirteen had been counted in a head. This exquisitely
ornamental plant (see IX. 485.) is asserted to be nearly hardy in Britain: it
is from Nepal. Mr. Knight has a store of seedling plants of it. A few hy-
brids: of the R. péntico-arboreum kind were placed in the ranks of the plants
in the conservatory ; and, though “ hybrids,” as some would reproachfully
term them, were ornamental in their heads of pretty blossoms. In a frame
were plants of those interesting dwarf species, R.Chamecistus, lappénicum, and
chrysanthum. The plants of 2. Chamecistus were flowering rather freely :
their pale delicate corollas, large for the plant, are very pleasing. In this
frame were also a plant of the white-corollaed Menziésia poliifolia, from Ire-
land ;, plants, in flower, of the M. czrulea, from Scotland; and of the Cha-
mezlédon (Azalea) procambens, also from Scotland, and in flower. Of aza-
leas in the houses, the most superb was a plant of the A. /edifolia (indica
alba). It was more than a yard high, its branches spread almost 4 ft., and the
large white corollas well-nigh touched each other over the whole of the upper
part of the plant. The flowers give out, too, a pleasant delicate odour. Of
A. siénsis we saw some last flowers. There is a peculiar beauty in the
colour of the corolla of ‘this species. Of A. indica, purple-flowered, double,
two plants bore flowers. The rarer Chinese kinds of Azalea, introduced by
Mr. M‘Gilligan (1X. 474.), are, we learned, doing very well; and that plants
of them, for sale, at moderate prices, are expected to be ready in autumn.
In Leguminosz the most beautiful of the plants in flower (except the Wis-
taria Consequana within the conservatory, and one in the open air) was Ken-
nédya dilatata: it is a lovely green-house twiner. The other plants we noted
are, Acacia pentadenia Lind/. and cordata, Oxylobium rettisum, Gastrolobium
retusum, Pultenze‘@ villésa, and Adésmia viscosa: of the last, a plant 10 ft.
high, has stood out through the winter, unhurt, trained to a western-aspected
wall. Of the Leguminése raised by Mr. Knight, from seeds collected by Mr.
Baxter, the following are the names of some: — Gompholobium venuldsum,
capitatum, Knightidnwm, ténue; Burtonia conférta, Dillwynia? glycinefolia,
Chorézema ovatum, Scéttia le‘vis, and some others.
In Protedcee the foremost objects are two blooming plants of Telopea
speciosissima, each more than 6 ft. high, topped by striking (as Telopea signi-
fies) heads of flowers. The stock of plants cf banksias and dryandras raised
from Mr. Baxter’s seeds has been much reduced by sale; those left are looking
well, and amongst them we were shown plants, two or more, of the rare
Hemiclidia Baxteri. Banksia Goddw, raised here, is dead, and is, therefore
probably lost to Britain.
Of other plants noticeable (without mention of the orders to which they
belong) are the following :—Pergularia odoratissima, whose fragrance perfumed
the stove in which it, with the Orchidee, grows; Sdéllya heterophylla in the
open air, wholly unseathed by the past semblance of a winter, abounding in
deep green leaves, and showing buds of countless blossoms which will adorn
it through the summer. Cephalotus follicularis ; Dione‘a Muscipula, plenty
of; and Asplénium Nidus; Aponogeéton distachyon, Begonia heracleifolia, Pit-
cairnia albiflos, and Lantana Séllozin the stoves: and, in other compartments,
these: — Anthocércis littorea, Boronia serrulata, Sarracénia flava, Ribes spe-
cidsum, Gerardia quercifolia, Sparaxis grandiflora, Alstroeméria oeulata, Hya-
cinthus amethystinus, Fankia Sieboldtiana, Phléx vérna, Primula pusilla,
Zappania nodiflora yar. rosea, and Trillium grandiflorum.—J. D.
Dennis and Co.s Nurseries, Chelsea, May 8,—The grounds in the King’s
u 3
282 Calls at Nurseries
Road present an improved appearance. Numerous beds have been formed,
and several of them furnished with a somewhat extensive stock of hardy
bulbous plants. No kinds of plants are capable of contributing more to the
interest and beauty of the hardy flower-garden, and yet we know not that any one
professedly cultivates a collection of them for sale; we are glad that Mr. Dennis
seems to purpose to do this henceforth. A considerable aggregate of species
and varieties of thefollowing genera are already obvious in the beds:— Narcissus,
Leucdjum, Scilla, Muscari, Fritillaria, Erythronium, Tudipa, Amaryllis, and
Lilium. 10 0 6 {0 0 8i| 1ams¥: dried, per doz. bunches 0 1 03;0 0 O
pumips, uit yao - 10 0 4]0 O 6)| Stalks and Fruits for Tarts,
arrots, p : Pickling, &c.
Old = Z - |0 0 3/0 © 41) Rhubarb Stalk bundl 008/010
Soma e 4) e STAN GO Oso 2 ; 2 Sara
ee : - 5 co - 10 0 6;0 0 9 Edible Fungi and Fuct.
ed Beet, perdozen - - |Q0 EF 0;0 1 6! Morels, dry, per pound - |018 0/0 00
Scorzonera, per bundle Slo nn GIO OO sEneii
Salsaty, ae Poa : 2 Gea ghana. @ Truffles, English, per pound 012 010 0 0
Horseradish, perbundle - |9 2 6/0 5 0 Fruits.
Radishes : .
Red, per dozen hands (24 to JD GEE so CLS
BO leach) i i oe elo os “ Golaen Hons Lee r 0/0 16
deem . aking, per bushel - - 0
White Turnip, perbunch | 0 0 1] 0 0 American, perdozen - 1/0 2 0 f f 5
i ‘ French Crabs - - 1}0 8 0 0
The Spinach Tribe. Gooseberry Pippins - - |0 7 0 o "3 ®
Spinach ee sieve - }0 0 9]0 1 Oj Peaches, per dozen - - 1/1 0 0/110 0
j9) per half sieve . 0 0 6j0 O O}| Nectarines, perdozen - - 100;110 0
Sorrel, per half sieve - 00 9 1 0}| Almonds, per peck - - 0701080
: jf Cherries, per pound - - |015 0/1 0
" The Onion Tribe. Gooseberries, per half sieve 04 0;)0 7 D
nions : Strawberries, torced, per oz. 004/010
Old, per bushel - - |0 7 0|010 O|| Pine-apples, per pound - |010 0/018 0
A eboules, green, per bunch | 0 ; 2 ¢ e 3 Grapes, Hot house, per pound) 0 2 6/012 0
arlic, per poun - - 10 8 C elons, eac - - - {010 0/100
pena: Poe Cucumbers, fame, perbrace |0 10/0 20
G A per dozen - - {0410/0 8
Salads, &e. Oranges } perhundrea - {0 5 0/018 D
Asparagus, per hundred - |0 3 6/0 6 ( perdozen - - {0 10/0 2 0
Secoedgiee, =~ 2 «10 2 010 3 olf LEMONS Q per hundred =. 10 6 0/012 0
Small oO = Oo - |0 1 8{0 1 6)|Sweet Almonds, per pound 02 0/0 2 6
Lettuce, per score: 4 Brazil Nuts, perpeck - - |0 3 6/0 4 O
Cos E . - |0 1 040 2 Oj\Spanish Nuts, per peck - 04 0;0 00
0 4 0}0 6 O}| Barcelona Nuts, per peck - [0 50/0 0 O
Cabbage - co
é
298 London Horticultural Society and Garden.
Observations. — The prevalence of warm weather, with genial showers, in the
early part of this month, has caused a considerable improvement in the supply
of the market, with most of the articles usually furnished at this season. Of
cabbages we have had considerable quantities of the early variety cultivated
in the neighbourhood of London. ‘This is completely an improved sort in
the hands of the London gardeners exclusively. Owing to the mildness of
the winter, forced peas did not answer so well as usual, being so rapidly suc-
ceeded by those from the natural ground, although many of the early crops
were entirely destroyed by frost. We have now a fair supply of early peas,
at very moderate prices. Asparagus has been abundant, and very reasonable :
it is now in most excellent condition, having the advantage of strong sunshine
to bring it to maturity. Cos lettuces are now being supplied, in good quan-
tities, of excellent quality. Potatoes have become comparatively scarce, and
realise much better prices; but the supply of other vegetables in abundance
will prevent them reaching a higher rate. We have had, as usual, a good
supply of early kidneys from the west of England by steam, which proves at
once the advantage to the public of such conveyance. Our stock of apples
is nearly exhausted, but the supply of rhubarb, now very large, makes up the
deficiency in it. Gooseberries come to hand more freely; the crop of goose-
berries is very light, but the breadth under culture is so considerable, that no
inconvenience will be felt by the public, either in quantity or price. Forced
strawberries have been plentiful ; the prospect for crop in the open ground is
very good. Grapes of excellent size and quality, particularly the black Ham-
burgh, are plentiful. Some few peaches are also to be seen. Cherries plen-
tiful and good. Pine-apples, of size and quality, are in demand; and have as
yet realised a good price. Oranges are plentiful, but not so fine as usual,
prices very moderate, but those of the best quality are in demand.— G. C.
May 20. 1834.
Art. IX. London Horticultural Society and Garden.
AprRiL 15. 1834. — Books presented. From the list of these we quote two:
Cinquantiéme Exposition Publique de la Société Royale d’ Agriculture et de
Botanique a Gand, presented by the Ghent Society; Part ii. of vol. xviii. of
the Asiatic Researches, presented by the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Exiubited. Six lemons from the open air, in the garden of J. Strong, Esq.,
South Town, Dartmouth. Azalea /edifolia, a seedling fuchsia, Genista cana-
riénsis, Erica aristata major, Amaryllis retinérvia, E’pacris paluddsa, and
Mesembryanthemum micans, and other plants; from Lady Antrobus: gar-
dener, Mr. J. Green. T'acsonia pinnatistipula, Passiflora racemosa and alata,
Hibiscus Rosa-sinénsis, Wistaria Consequana, Sparrmannia africana, Fécoma
australis, and Edwardsia grandiflora; from Mrs. Marryatt, who, on May 6.,
exhibited some of the same species, with Trillium grandiflorum, &c. Three
very fine cucumbers, from H. Butler, Esq.
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Gésnera latifolia and bulbdsa, Cho-
r6zema Henchmann), Aristolochia trilobata, Dracz‘na stricta, Keranthemum
sp.; Bérberis Aquifolium, repens, glumacea, and fasciculiris; Wistaria Con-
sequana; Ribes speciosum, atreum serétinum, and the dark variety of sanguf-
neum ; Magnolia Soulangedna, Euchilus obcordatus, and other plants.
Distributed. Numerous packets of seeds of the following vegetables ; —
Early yellow Spanish radish, Purple Spanish radish, True watercress, Turnip-
rootstocked celery, Solid-stalked cardoon, and Brussels sprout.
May \.—Tne Anniversary Meeting took place, when a report on the affairs
of the Society was read, and officers for the ensuing year elected. It appears
from the report, that there has been a surplus of income over expenditure,
for the year ending March 31. 1834, of 1574/. 18s. 7d. Out of this sum the
Society have paid off two bonds amounting to 920/., leaving the gross amount
of the debt at 17,602/. 11s. 9d.; which, there can be no doubt, they will soon
be able to discharge.
London Horticultural Society and Garden. 299
May 6.—Read. A Report on the State of the Thermometer at Night, since
April 1., as observed in the Society’s garden, by Mr. R. Thompson.
Exhibited. Shaddocks, from R. B. De Beauvoir, Esq. . RDoxXX 00]
Sy Hl
i
Lif,
Z
WL
il
Uf
Z
Nie
1
1
=
Tn
Ft.
Phe principal floor contains: —a, Entrance lebby; b, kitchen ; c, parlour ; and d, office and library,
here are cellars below, three bedrooms (e) above, and the usual offices outside.
DD 2
376 Modes of constructing Forcine-Heuses
t ri o (=) 3
ArT. X. Considerations on the various Modes of constructing Forcing-
Houses, relatively to the Degree of Heat to be obtained in them
Srom the Sun’s Rays. By Mr. Gzorcre M‘Leisu.
Ir is not my intention, while the mania for hot water is in
such an unsettled state, to enter largely on the manner of sup-
plying heat to the interior of hot-houses, either by flues or by
pipes conveying steam or hot water; I shall confine myself at
present to the transmission of heat from the solar rays through
the medium of glass.
To begin with the pine-stove: gentlemen gardeners (that is,
those who superintend their own gardens), and gardeners, and
amateurs, have, no doubt, seen a variety of pine-stoves with the
angle of their roofs varying from the flat roof of the pine-stoves
at Kensington to the comparatively steep one of the celebrated
Baldwin ; and very possibly have, one time or other, found very
good pines in most of them. ‘They have, too, very probably,
generally taken it for granted, that those in which they have seen
the best pines must of course be the very best models which
they could copy in houses to be built for their own cultivation
of the pine, without once enquiring into the cause, or combin-
"79 ation of causes, why the
pines .in the houses which
; they may have selected as
models have excelled in
either size or beauty. I
herewith send you the end
sections of two pine-stoves.
PS A eS SLA Fig.'72. is the pine-stove of
Ft.10 0 10 20 25Ft a gentleman with whom a
particular friend of mine lives in the capacity of gardener; and
it exemplifies the flat roof of the Kensington fruiting-house.
"3 ,. Hig.'73. is one constructed after the man-
ner of Baldwin’s fruit-house or stove,
I shall endeavour, as briefly as pos-
sible, to point out the advantages of the
latter over the former. In both figures,
| a represents the sun’s rays on Decem-
ber! 21.5 in latitude 51°: ~ Info. 725
the angle of incidence becomes 58°, which, by Bouguer’s table
[see Encyc. of Gard., § 2457. new edit.], transmits more than
888 rays out of 1000, the remainder being reflected. This house
stands at an angle of 36° from south to east, consequently the
sun shines directly on the roof at ten o’clock, the sun’s alti-
tude being then about 8° above the horizon, thus increasing the
angle of incidence to 65°; which, according to the above-men-
tioned. table, loses an additional 45 rays by refraction: for it is
relatively to maintaining a high Temperature. 377
questionable whether the effect of the increased altitude of the
sun at twelve o’clock may not be almost lost on account of the
obliquity of the angle. ‘The original purpose of this house was
to grow pines and kidneybeans through the depth of winter,
and strawberries from March till a supply could be obtained
from the open ground. In jig. '73., the angle of incidence, on
December 21., is 41°, which, according to the above table,
admits nearly 966 rays; leaving a sensible balance of transmitted
rays in favour of fig. 73.
Let us next consider these two houses with regard to their
different capacities for retaining and radiating internal heat.
Fig. 72. has a metallic roof, and is, therefore, a greater con-
ductor of heat and cold than jg. 73., which is of wood.
Fig, 72. has a flat surface, and is, in consequence, much more
susceptible of cooling, during the absence of the solar rays, than
Jig: 73.5 which is comparatively steep. Of this consequence any
person may convince himself, by placing an object of a cubical
form in the open air during a frosty night, with one of its six
sides in a horizontal position: the upper horizontal side will be
covered with hoar-frost, while the four sides vertically exposed
will be comparatively, if not absolutely, exempt from it. The
cause is obvious: hot air takes an upward direction, and cold
air the contrary, unless when acted on by some powerful
horizontal force, .as, for instance, wind. On this principle,
therefore, the steeper the surface, the less favourable it becomes
to radiation; and the more horizontal, the more favourable.
Fig. 72. is wide, and is therefore less easily heated; and, from
its construction, it cannot admit of being covered during severe
weather. Fig. 73. is narrower, and therefore is more easily
heated, and can readily be covered during severe weather ;
which gives it an additional advantage over jig. 72. “ Oh!”
but some may say, “ only apply a little more fuel, and that ob-
viates all your objections.” But I say, without hesitation, this
can never supply the deficiency ; for the heat that is given out
by a smoke-flue, or hot water or steam pipe, as these are com-
monly constructed, is not only deprived of its hydrogen, which
is so favourable to vegetation, but it is also, in the case of a
smoke-flue, so loaded with sulphureous effluvia, that nothing
subjected to its influence can thrive; and many tender plants
will actually dwindle away. Each of these houses may be very
good in its place: Baldwin’s both to grow and fruit pines; and
the other to fill with plants ready to fruit about the middle of Fe-
bruary or the beginning of March, to let them remain in until the
fruit are all cut, and then to let the house be unemployed till the
sun again commences his course towards the northern hemi-
sphere. ‘lo attempt, however, to grow kidneybeans in such
DD 3
878 On the Cultivation of
houses, with the idea of reaping a full crop (only see the method
of giving air, 6), would be like the fruitless labours of Sisyphus,
who was condemned to roll up hill a large stone, which cease~
lessly frustrated his efforts by rolling back again.
In short, the great objects in the formation of forcing structures
are, providing the capability of preserving an abundance of heat,
whether derived from the sun externally, or from the ignition of
fuel through the kinds of internal apparatus already mentioned ;
the means of facilitating its escape at the highest part of the
house; and plenty of transparent surface, with the power, how-
ever, of rendering it partially or absolutely opaque at pleasure.
If these conveniences are provided for the gardener, it is his
own fault if his plants do not succeed; and :f they do not, as
it must be through his ignorance or injudicious treatment of
them, on him should rest the blame.
I have offered these observations from an honest desire of
palliating an evil which I am unable to remove; namely, that
springing from the misunderstanding which too frequently arises
between gentlemen and their gardeners, from the former requir-
ing and demanding of the latter those results which (from the
means afforded) it is morally impossible for them to produce.
Ville parmi les Collines, April, 1834.
Arr. XI. Brief Observations on preparing the Ground for Planting,
on Pruning, and on the Cultivation of Trees for Timber. By
Mr. Georce Burton.
Ir has been contended by some, that a well-prepared soil and
good culture occasion a too hasty growth, and, consequently,
the deterioration, of timber ; and, by others, that the fibre of the
wood is strengthened by a vigorous growth, and that the best
culture will, with a suitable soil, give the best timber. Now,
neither of these opinions is entirely correct; for, when the
ultimate bulk of a tree is compared with that produced in the
first twenty years of its growth, it is of little consequence, per-
haps, to the converter [the manufacturer of the rude tree into
forms fit for the use of the carpenter, &c.], if it is sound, whether
it grew quickly or slowly, nor will that be enquired after ; and the
best culture does not affect the growth of the plant, perhaps, beyond
that period, as the cultivated ground is then filled with roots, and
the plant must thenceforth depend on the substratum for its
support. I speak here particularly of the oak. But there are
two points which make it desirable that a plantation should grow
rapidly in its infant state: the first is, the satisfaction which the
proprietor derives from seeing it thrive, as also from drawing a
quicker return of profit by the earlier cutting down of the
Trees for Timber. 379
nurses ; the second is of still greater importance, as a plant grow-
ing freely for the first twenty years is sure to give a greater length
of stem than one that is stunted ; as we find that those subjects,
both in the animal and vegetable creation, generally arrive at
the greatest perfection, which are well supplied with nourishment
in their early state. Although timber may be harder and closer
in the grain by a slow growth, and well suited for many pur-
poses in common life; yet it is only on soils and situations that
are favourable to free growth, that we can obtain trees of suffi-
ciently large dimensions to be suitable for the various purposes
of civil and naval architecture.
In every case, then, for the rearing of the best sorts of deci-
duous forest trees, a preparation of the soil, by trenching, is to
be preferred where practicable; and the liberal use of the hoe,
and even shallow digging in the winter, for three or four years
after planting, will much benefit the plants: at the end of which
period, if the plantation has gone on well, these may be discon-
tinued, as the trees will then nearly meet. It is to be understood
that the plants are to be put in about 4 ft. apart, and not less
than 3 ft., according to soil and situation.
Pruning will next become necessary: but here, as in the case
of preparation of the soil, men are divided in their opinions,
some recommending one mode, and some another; but all con-
curring in this, that the object aimed at is, to obtain tall, clean,
and sound timber ; and, certainly, no object is of greater import-
ance to the interests of this kingdom.
The barbarous practice of cutting to within 1 ft., or less, of the
bole, leaving stumps or snags, is now nearly exploded in theory ;
yet it is grievous to see that it is still too commonly practised in
most parts of the kingdom, to the no small injury of the timber :
so difficult is it to get out of established habits, even when these
are known to be pernicious. The present observations may, then,
be limited to an enquiry as to the comparative merits of the close
pruning and the foreshortening methods; or whether both may
not be blended together in practice, according to circumstances,
in order to obtain tall stems as free from knots and other defects
as the case will admit of, in conjunction with the health of the
plant and the object of prolonging its growth to the longest
possible period.
It may be observed here, that no branch, from the size of the
finger upwards, can be severed from the trunk without a pro-
portionate injury being sustained; decay to where the branch first
had its origin being the certain consequence of removal: con-
sequently, the larger the branch is at the time of pruning,
the greater will be the injury sustained by the timber. This
may be verified by inspection of the growing subject, even when
the wound has been healed over for a few years, by boring into
DD 4
380 On the Cultivation of
the part with a small auger or large gimlet; or by the converter,
when the saw is applied. But, if the branch or shoot be taken off
in its infant state, and when not more than an inch in diameter,
the injury will be less in proportion; and, in fact, a small speck
only (which is but of trifling consequence) will appear in the
timber.
Ifa purpose cannot be obtained without some sacrifice, it is wise
and prudent to adopt that plan which will cause the least: there-
fore, at the age of three or four years after planting, let a few of
the largest branches be cut off close, and also any that may have
become competitors of the leading shoot ; being careful, however,
not to remove too many in one season, but to leave a sufficiency
to keep the plant in vigour, and to carry it forward with strength
of stem in proportion to its height ; for, unless a sufficiency of
branches be left, this necessary end will not be obtained. This
process ought to be performed annually; or, at most, every two
years, when the shoots to be removed will seldom exceed an inch
in diameter. The best time for this operation is in the spring,
before the flow of the sap commences. It will not unfrequently
happen that a strong shoot will present itself, which it may not
be prudent immediately to displace, as it would leave the plant
too naked in that part. In such case, have recourse to fore-
shortening, taking off a third or a half down to a leader. ‘This
will check its luxuriance; and it may so remain for a year or
two, when, the plant having formed more branches upward, it
may then be cut off close. ‘Thus proceed by degrees, as the
tree gains height, until it reaches a point where, from soil and
situation, it ceases to advance: pruning is then no longer neces-
sary; the head will form, and the tree will go on enlarging in
girth so long as health and vigour continue.
In the foreshortening method of pruning, nature is partly left
to do her own work ; as the supporters of this system take it for
granted that, when a branch is retrenched, it will gradually
decline in vigour, and at last die and fall off, without any assist-
ance of ours: but we are not yet told at what period we may
expect this to take place. Until this is done, we proceed upon
uncertain data; and, so long as the branch so foreshortened
continues, so long must the defect of the presence of a knot
remain; and, even at last, when decay takes place, some years
may elapse before the remains fall off close to the stem; and
even then the part has to be healed over, and a portion of
decayed wood will still be left within the bole. The exclusion of
light and air, by close planting, will do much to facilitate the end
proposed by this plan; but, to maintain the plant in a proper
state, it must have space sufficient, so as not to be forced up too
hastily.
There are, however, many cases where foreshortening may be
Trees for Timber. 381
practised with great advantage, as in hedgerow timber, where it
is desirable to keep the head within moderate bounds; also in
woods, where the undergrowth is in request as cover for game;
and in places where copsewood is of more than ordinary value ;
as, by due attention to this mode of pruning, the head of the
tree may be kept conical, instead of flat, and an equal extent of
surface be presented to the atmosphere for the benefit of the
plant. The foreshortening method should also be practised
in all cases where it is wished to curtail or retrench rambling
branches.
These leading points kept in view, they will embrace most
cases connected with the rearing of timber, so as to render it tall
in the stem, and as sound and free from other defects as circum-
stances of soil and situation will admit ; so that, by close pruning
generally, and foreshortening occasionally, they may be so com-
bined as to produce the most favourable results.
It may here be remarked, that the defect called wind-shakes,
which is often imputed to soil, more frequently proceeds from
trees being drawn up too weak when young, and afterwards
suddenly exposed by the removal of all the underwood at once;
which, from its being often permitted to stand uncut too long,
increases the evil. ‘The same defect is also produced, at a more
advanced age, when part of a wood is cut down, by the sudden
exposure of those which are left, to the effects of every blast.
Another evil attends sudden exposure, from the cold acting on the
sap-vessels and the sap, and preventing its propulsion or ascent,
and, consequently, depriving part of the plant of the degree of
nourishment which it had been accustomed to receive. Hence
we see frequently dead-topped old trees, and stunted young
ones, as also the evil of a profusion of small lateral branches
breaking out from the trunk; which latter occurrence often
arises, also, from injudicious and excessive pruning, which, as
well as sudden exposure, ought to be guarded against, keeping
in mind that prevention is better than cure. But, above all, as
the principal cause of decay and rottenness in the stem is from
injudicious lopping off of large branches, let that be avoided,
except in cases where foreshortening or terminal pruning, for
certain purposes, may be resorted to.
At the expiration of four years from the time of planting, if
the plantation have prospered, and the plants be beginning to
meet, it will be necessary to commence thinning: but this is
shamefully neglected in too many places, often to the total ruin
of the whole plantation. It is here taken for granted that the
plants were put out not wider than 4 ft. nor less than 3 ft.
asunder; that the nurses consist principally of larch, spruce fir,
birch, and the Scotch pine, where the soil is light and the situ-
ation exposed; and in certain places, where soil and situation
(oy
f=)
382 On the Cultivation of
are suitable, and underwood is wanted as a cover for game, or
for other valuable purposes, that the hazel has been freely
planted: in general about three nurses to one principal will be
a due proportion, probably the birch and larch may have taken
the lead, and it may be proper to begin the thinning with them.
No specific rule, however, can be given for this operation, as it
will depend on the relative growth of the plants. The principals
should always be kept clear, so that the branches of the nurses
do not overhang or interfere with them. As it will frequently
happen that the removal of a nurse plant might expose the
principal too much, in such case let such branches of the former
as encroach upon the latter be foreshortened, or cut in, for the
present, so as to give sufficient light and air, to the end that the
plant may not be drawn or forced up unduly, and may possess
a proper strength of stem to resist the winds and maintain itself
in vigour. It will not fail to strike the reader, that plants may
be left closer in exposed situations than in sheltered ones; sud-
den exposure, at all times hurtful, should be sedulously guarded
against: hence an annual, or, at most, a biennial thinning, ought
not to be neglected, so that the plants may enjoy as nearly as
possible a uniform temperature, by which they will be kept in a
constantly growing state. This process being regularly carried
on for fifteen or twenty years, the whole of the fir tribe will be
removed, except on spots where, from the occasional failure of
other plants, it may have been proper to retain them, or on the
outsides of the plantation, where they may be left for shelter or
for ornament.
Thus, with due attention to close pruning in the early stage,
and judiciously combining with it the terminal or foreshortening
system (seldom removing more than what one year’s growth will
make good), and foreshortening where necessary, keeping the
heads of the principal plants clear, and taking care also that they
do not suffer from the side branches of others, good timber, free
from the common defects occasioned by injudicious management,
may be expected, and will, in all cases where the plant has been
suited to the soil, be the result.
In the coniferous trees, or fir tribe, various opinions have also
been given on the required management in regard to pruning.
The great defect in the timber of this class of trees is the knot,
which can only be obviated by pruning. But this requires to be
done with much discretion. Even when planted thick by nature’s
hand, it is many years before the under branches decay and fall
off: and in some of the species, after the branch has ceased to live,
it will remain for many years as a peg, before it drops clean off
so that the wound may be healed over. [See in p. 293.] If
planted at 4 ft. apart, and on suitable soil, in five or six years they
will require the pruning-knife ; and, as in the case of deciduous
Trees for Timber. 383
forest trees, care must be taken not to over-prune (which would
injure the growth ofthe plant), never leaving less than three tiers
of branches untouched, and in exposed sites four tiers may be
left. If they are gone over every two years, it will not be
necessary to take off more than two tiers of branches at a time;
the best season for this operation is in the spring, some weeks
before the sap is in motion: let it be done close and smooth, and
continued until a sufficient length of stem is obtained. In thin-
ning these plants, particularly in exposed situations, there is
some danger, and it ought to be proceeded in with caution.
These trees having thick tops, long stems, and being shallow-
rooted, the wind acts upon them with great force; and when an
opening is made, either by plants dying, or by being injudiciously
thinned out, much damage is likely to ensue. ‘To keep the tops
free from intermingling, yet not so much so as to introduce a
current of air, is the safest practice. By thus proceeding, each
plant, as in the case of deciduous trees, will have the means of
fully imbibing by its leaves, and perspiring away the crude part
of the sap, to make room for a succession. Having guarded
against the wind by moderate thinning, it becomes expedient also
to attend to the outsides of the plantation, to prevent its inroads
there, by leaving the outside plants unpruned ; which will not
only give warmth and security, but will present a better appear-
ance, by concealing the naked stems within.
The leaves of trees seem destined by nature to perform two
essential functions: first, strongly to inhale, during hot and dry
weather, moisture from the atmosphere during the night, in order
to repair the waste occasioned by the perspiration of the preced-
ing day; and, secondly, to receive the juices propelled to them
from the root, and, as secreting organs, to prepare and elaborate
the sap so received, to fit it for the support and enlargement of
all the woody parts of the plant. Hence every branch, according
to its size, after appropriating to its own use what is necessary,
sends down the residue to the stem and roots for their enlarge-
ment, as well as for the multiplication of the roots; which may
be proved from the roots of every tree being in the ratio of its
branches. ‘Thus every part of the plant acts and reacts: the
branches are augmented by the roots, and the roots by the
branches.
Pontey and some others consider that the principal use of
the leaves is to attract the sap upwards; and that tapering stems
are occasioned by branches obstructing the ascent of the sap,
and also applying it to their own use; thus preventing the en-
largement of the stem upwards: so that, according to their ideas,
if the lower branches are removed, a greater portion of sap will
go to the enlargement of the stem above. The author of these
observations believes the reverse to be the fact, and that the
384 Remarkable Ash Tree.
branch, according to its size and vigour, administers to, and in-
creases, the size of the bole, below its insertion; and hence, from
the uppermost to the lowest branch, the tree will be tapered,
not because the sap is obstructed in its ascent, but because the
bole is better fed below by the prepared sap from the branch or
branches, which is constantly descending and contributing to its
enlargement, like tributary streams pouring into a river: thus, -
by removing the lower branches, the stem becomes less taper,
because a part of the supply of prepared sap is taken away,
and a proportionate enlargement of the lower part of the bole is
prevented.
Art. XII. Notice ofa remarkable Ash Tree at Kincairney, in Perth-
shire. By Mr. A. Gorrie, F.H.S. C.S. &c.
Tue ash is planted more for utility than ornament. Summer
often commences before this tree leaves off its bare wintry ap-
pearance: it is among the last to unfold its foliage, and the
first to drop its summer mantle. Like all other trees in the
forest, the ash varies slightly in the direction of its branches and
general outline; but, for the most part, its straight stem, smooth
bark, and formal top cause it to be neglected by the landscape-
gardener or painter: even the weeping ash, to men of refined
taste, may appear rather indicating sameness. ‘The Kincairney
ash forms an exception to the general tame character of its
brethren. It seems to have been actuated alternately by the
genius of mirth and sadness: at one time its branches droop; at
another, they assume an elevated direction. ‘This seeming inde-
cision of character has given the tree a most fantastic shape; and
the bending feature is maintained throughout the tree, even in
its largest boughs. ‘That it will, when multiplied by engrafting,
preserve this characteristic feature, I have no doubt, as even its
young shoots seem inclined to bend, without being particularly
nice as to which direction they may take. I have directed the
attention of Messrs. Dickson and Turnbull, nurserymen, Perth,
to this tree; and I trust that it may, through them, soon be in-
troduced among the picturesque trees of the lawn. It grows on
the estate of Mungo Murray, Esq., of Kincairney, in the parish
of Caputh, near Dunkeld, Perthshire. The tree seems to be
very old; and, fortunately for its entire preservation, a super-
stitious opinion prevails among the lower orders, that any injury
inflicted on it would be followed by some sad calamity to the
unhallowed hand that might touch its sacred boughs. When
the march of intellect shall have cleared away the mists of super-
stition, taste will become the protector of all such venerable
objects as the Kincairney ash.
Annat Gardens, May 7. 1833.
Notes on the Genus Ash. 385
THE species and varieties of ash merit a much more extended adoption, in
planting for ornament and the interest of variety, than they seem to have
hitherto received. The pinnate leaves of all the kinds, except the Fraxinus
heterophylla, which is interesting in its simple leaves, are very pleasing; and
those of a kind which, in some nurseries, is called F/. chinénsis (though no
kind of ash has been introduced from China) are elegant: and those who love
to see variegated foliage must admire that of the silver-striped ash. The
crumpled dark green leaves of the F. atrovirens render this species striking.
On the charms of the foliage of the common ash, and for numerous interesting
considerations connected with a particular tree of this species, see Mag. Nat.
Hist., vi. 327. The great variety which obtains in the foliage of the various
kinds of ash may be perceived by observing the distinctive epithets by which
botanists have designated them: — heterophylla (syn. simplicifolia), polemo-
niifolia, parvifolia, /entiscifolia, sambucifolia, longifolia, ¢amaricifolia, juglandi-
folia, ovata (the oval-leafleted ), lancea (the lance-leafleted), pannésa (the cloth-
leafleted), and the (O’rnus) rotundifolia. In their bark, too, while devoid of
leaves in winter, some of the kinds are very interesting. The gold-barked
ash is well known to be strikingly so; and there is the rough-barked ash, and
the streaked-barked ash (O’rnus striata); the coloured-branched, brown-
branched, black-twigged, grey-branched, and the green-branched, and others
besides, which are interesting in this point of view. A gold-barked variety with
drooping branches is now known, and is now in Jenkins’s nursery, see p. 330.
The shoots of young plants of the common ash have, during their growth in
summer, if vigorous, a pleasing purple hue. Conspicuous beauty in blossoms
the species of Fraxinus have not; but the species of O’rnus are not devoid of
beauty in their panicles of white blossoms. The flowers of O’rnus europze‘a
are produced in the beginning of June, are odorous, and their odour is not
disagreeable: it seems to be produced from the pollen.
On the Common Ash (Fré«inus excélsior) 1 have, I find, these notes, perhaps
worth expressing : — This tree prefers a tenacious loamy soil ; and some indi-
viduals, which I know, thrive in meadows through which watercourses pass,
and whose soil is, consequently, moist. The branches of old ash trees are not
rarely pendulous; much less so than those of the droopmg ash, but yet
obviously so. In a row of ash trees, apparently all of the same age, and
nearly of the same size, some trees, in some years, are seen to bear a pro-
fusion of seeds, while others, near them, have but a meagre crop. It is easier
to state this fact than to account for it. The common ash is liable to a dis-
ease in its inflorescence, either upon particular trees or in particular seasons :
the whole inflorescence becomes, without flowering at all, a conglomerate
and, in some degree, a solid mass. Many species of trees shoot twice a year :
in the spring and soon after midsummer. So far as I have observed, the ash
does not, or does but inefficiently, produce a second shoot: perhaps I am
wrong in this. A correspondent at Dundee, “ noticed,” on Nov. 11. 1833,
“in one of the dens at Will’s Braes, an ash tree protruding fresh green foliage
from the new shoots of the present year.” In Lejeune and Curtois’s Com-
pendium Flore Belgice we have read that the ash is frequently cultivated in
the province of Liége for the sake of its leaves (“ vaccis grata”), grateful to
cows. Ash poles last longer, and are preferred to poles of other kinds of
wood, for hop-poles. The wood of the ash is, by the skill of the cooper,
made to conduce much to the domestic comforts of man. The Ptinide, a
family of species of minute beetles, whose larve perforate, traverse, and con-
sume wood, like the wood of ash as well as, I think better than, the wood of
any other species of British tree.
The Drooping Ash Tree seems capable, by the aid of art, of almost rivalling
the famous Banyan tree of India (Ficus indica). In the garden in front of the
Vernon Arms, in Pleasant Row, opposite York Place and Clarence Place,
New Road, London, is a tree of the drooping ash, whose branches are trained on
horizontal trellises, at the height of about 7 ft. from the ground, over twenty-
386 Culture of the Cucumber at Stoke Piace,
eight seats and fourteen tables, covering a space twelve yards long by seven
yards wide; thus forming in itself alone, when in leaf, one large and um-
brageous arbour. It is needless to add that this tree belongs to the inn. Of
the seats and tables mentioned, fourteen seats and seven tables, each about
two yards long, occupy one side of the arbour, and as many the other; and
there is a walk up the middle for the convenience of access to the twe
sides. The stem of the tree is in the centre of the arbour, and carefully pre-
served from injury by a box-like frame, the boards of which are perforated
towards the bottom to admit air. The extremities of the branches already
extend beyond the roof of the arbour, and are trained to the side trellises. The
tree is a beautiful specimen, and in full health and vigour.
Has the remarkably large Drooping Ash which the Duke of Devonshire, a
few years ago, transplanted from the nursery of Messrs. Wilson, near Derby,
into the grounds at Chatsworth, thriven since the transplantation ? The tree,
according to the newspapers, was fifty years old when removed, and, with
itself and the earth about its roots, weighed nearly eight tons. “ Some of the
roots extended 28 ft., and the branches measured 37 ft, from the centre.”
Forty labourers and several horses were occupied in removing it from the
ground, and loading it upon the machine used for transporting it. —In p. 180.,
but particularly in p. 408., it appears that seeds of the drooping ash sown
have not been known to produce plants with drooping branches, but always
with erect ones. —J. D. June, 1834.
Art. XIII. On the Culture of the Cucumber at Stoke Place, with a
Ground Plan and Elevation of the Pits in Use there. By Mr.
PATRICK.
I sEnp you herewith a ground plan and elevation of my
cucumber pits; and I think the plan on which they are con-
structed one of the neatest and most simple that I have met
with. I have no doubt but those who choose to adopt this
method will find it the easiest to work, and the most successful
of any plans which have heretofore been tried ; and it combines
economy with neatness, as the heat can be kept up with one
third less dung than is usually employed. Whoever tries this
plan will, no doubt, succeed, as there is no danger whatever of
either burning the roots or steaming the plants.
I am aware that many gardeners will think my pits too small;
but I can assure them that there is ample room for the plants to
grow, and to continue in perfect health with a plentiful crop all
the summer season; and, provided they are properly managed,
six lights of these pits will be sufficient for the supply of any
moderate family, from the beginning of January to the middle of
summer. Pits of this size have a decided advantage over larger
ones for early work, as you can keep up in them at all times a
quicker and more lively heat, and with much less expense, than
if they were larger; because, the larger the lights or pits are,
the stronger the linings will require to be. You will see, by the
plan (fig. 74.), that a range constructed as I propose has an
epen space, between each three lights, of 12 in. wide, so that
with a Ground Plan and Elevation of the Pits. 387
three, six, or more lights, as re-
quired, may be worked in succes-
sion. ‘The dung in these openings,
when once put in, is not to be turned
like the linings; since, as the pits
are pigeon-holed, and without flues
at the ends, the roots will work
through, and receive a deal of
nourishment from the dung in the
openings when it is decayed. These
openings are likewise exceedingly
serviceable in cold or damp weather,
as they afford the opportunity of
topping up all round with fresh
dung. The plan (jig. 74.) shows
the beginning of my cucumber and
early melon range, which has nine-
teen lights. It begins with two
lights, and ends with the same, but
the intervening length is divided into
pits of three lights each, with open-
ings between, as before stated. a is
- the outside wall of the pit, which is
of 4-inch brickwork, pigeon-holed
all round, as shown in the elevation; 0 is a brick-on-edge wall,
worked up solid, except one row of pigeon-holes at the bottom,
left for drainage. This inner wall must be brought up one course
higher than the pigeon-holes in the 4-inch work, or outer wall;
and, by covering the cavity between this and the outer wall
with a double layer of plain thin 6-inch tiles, it forms a flue
back and front. The plain tiles require to be double, be-
cause the centre of each tile which finishes the flue must be
firmly bedded over the joints of those first laid. This must
be particularly attended to, as the flue must be made steam-
tight. The advantage of this flue must be obvious to the most
superficial observer, as, by it, the violent bottom heat from the
linings, which is the bane of all forcing, is moderated ; and, as
much of the heat is transmitted through the tiles, it diffuses a mild
and genial warmth, which is circulated among the plants, with-
out there being any danger of too much heat among the roots.
It will here be necessary for me to observe that the centre of
my pits is filled up entirely with mould as high as the flues,
except about six inches of fresh turf chopped to pieces with the
‘spade, to be put into the bottom for drainage. This I con-
sider by far the best material that can be used for this pur-
pose, and the plants will show the benefit they derive from it as
soon as their roots begin to touch it. c is the cavity for the
388 Culture of the Cucumber during Winter.
linings; and d, a 9-inch wall which surrounds the whole. I should
have given you my method of treating the cucumber, from the
sowing of the seed to the cutting of the fruit, or all through the
season; but the subject of late has been very largely treated
upon, and most gardeners think their own way best. It may
be sufficient for me to say, that I grow them on the trellis sys-
tem, or Gould’s plan.
Stoke Place, January 27. 1834.
Art. XIV. Onthe Culture of the Cucumber during the gloomy Months
of Winter. By Mr. James Youne, Gardener to J. Pulteney, Esq.,
Northerwood, New Forest, Hants.
AccorDING to promise, I now lay before the readers of your
Magazine my method of obtaining a plentiful crop of large well
flavoured cucumbers, during the dark and gloomy months of
our winters. I grow my plants in a flued pit, heated by linings
of hot dung. The brickwork is exactly on Mr. Macphail’s plan ;
only, instead of having the pits filled with tan, leaves, brick rub-
bish, or stones, I have flues carried under each light, low
enough to admit of three strong rafters of oak being built into
the flues, the length of the pit: these are covered with oak
planks, 1 ft. wide, with half an inch left open between each
plank, to drain off the water from the plants. ‘The flues are car-
ried up brick on edge close, so that no steam from the dung is
admitted into the pit. The rafters over the flues are 2 in. above
them, so that the heat rises freely into the pit; the floor to sup-
port the mould in which the plants are to be grown is 9 in.
lower than the side flues; so that there is a hot-air chamber under
the plants, which gives them a strong heat, with no risk of burn-
ing the roots; while the side flues keep the atmosphere in the
frame corresponding with the heat that the roots receive from
the hot-air chamber underneath. When the plants extend to
the sides of the frame, I cover the flues with mould, so that the
plants may have at least 15 in. of soil for their rocts to grow in.
I sow the seed on a slight hot-bed in April, and the plants are
ready in May to be planted in a bed of rich earth. I then sup-
ply them well with water during the summer; and, by the 15th
of September, I take as many cuttings of the plants as I think I
shall want, and put them into 48-sized pots, one cutting in each
pot. I then plunge the pots in a hot-bed, and shade them when
the sun is strong. They will root freely in a few days. By the
end of the month, I shift them into 32-sized pots; and, by the
20th of October, plant them where they are to produce their
fruit during the winter. Two plants under each light, I find, do
better than more, and, if the cuttings have been well managed,
fruit will be set on them before turning them out of their pots.
Culture of Cereus speciosissimus. 389
I have cut good fruit from plants treated in this manner, after
they had been turned out of their pots.only ten days. I planted
three hghts the 15th of last October; I cut by the 28th of the
same month, and I have cut from three to six excellent ones
every week since. My plants are now in good health, with
plenty of fruit set, and good ones fit to cut; and, by being well
attended to, they will produce fruit abundantly all the summer.
I water very little after the second week of November, until the
days begin to lengthen; and, as the plants advance in growth, I
put a little mould on the strongest joints, which makes them pro-
duce fresh roots: this makes the plants grow strong, and also
swells the fruit much larger than they would be, if left to them-
selves. My plants need very little cutting or stopping; for, bein
cuttings taken from plants that have been in full bearing all the
preceding seasons, they are not so apt to ramble as seedling
plants. My liberal employer has lately built two very fine
vineries. ‘The mode of forming an elevated border for the vines,
and a method that Ihave adopted of pruning and training them,
may form the subject of another letter.
Northerwood, Feb. 15.1834.
WE shall be happy to receive an account of the method of
forming the border for the vines, and of training and pruning
them. — Cond..
Art. XV. Short Communication.
CEREUS speciostssimus. —In the month ef August I take off
as many cuttings as I intend to strike, and suspend them by a
string in the warmest part of the green-house, leaving them
there for about three months. I then pot them in a compost, con-
sisting of equal quantities of leaf mould and peat mould, mixed
with one sixth part of thoroughly rotten dung. The pots I use
are 48s or 60s, according to the size of the cuttings ; not more than
one being put in each pot. After watering, I set the plants on a
shelf in a warm part of the green-house, where they will bloom
in the following spring. After the bloom is over, very little
water is given for three months, in order to bring the plants into
a state of repose. They are then shifted into larger pots, if ne-
cessary; but, at all events, some of the old mould is removed,
and some rich compost, such as that above described, is added.
In this manner I raised a plant in the garden of Robert Searle,
Esq., at Lympstone, in Devonshire, between 1827 and 1833,
which is now 6 ft. high, and 5 ft. in circumference. It grows in
around tub about 18in. in diameter, and 20 in. deep. — Wm.
Dunsford. Horticultural Society's Garden, Chiswick, April, 1834.
Vout, X.— No. 53. EE
390 Lindley’s Ladies’ Botany.
REVIEWS.
Art. 1. Ladies’ Botany; or,a Familiar Introduction to the Study of the Na-
tural System of Botany. By John Lindley, Ph.D. F.R.S. &c. &c. &c.5
Professor of Botany in the University of London. S8vo, 302 pages, 25
plates. London, 1834. 16s. plain, 1/. Is. coloured.
We look upon this work as one which will do more towards rendering the
study of botany popular, than any other which has appeared since botany be-
came a science. Dr. Lindley has here done what, in 1825, we proposed for
him to do in the Natural Arrangement Division of our Encyclopedia of Plants.
It would, however, have occupied too much room in that work.
The difference between this popular introduction to botany and all the other
popular introductions which have preceded it is, that Dr. Lindley’s object is to
make the reader acquainted with the nature of plants, while all the others at-
tempt little more than endeavouring to teach the pupil how to find out their
names. “ All seem curious,” Dr. Lindley observes, “to know something of the
natural system, and many, no doubt, take infinite pains to understand it; but
it is to be feared that a large portion of those who make the attempt are far
from meeting with the success their industry deserves. On all hands they
are told of its difficulties; books, instead of removing those difficulties, only
perplex the readers by multitudes of unknown words, and by allusions which,
however clear they may be to the experienced botanist, are anything rather
than illustrative in the eyes of a beginner, who is often fairly lost ina laby-
rinth of resemblances, differences, and exceptions. The cause of this lies not
in the science itself, so much as in the books that are written concerning it.
Since the appearance of my Introduction to the Natural System of Botany, in
1830, several works of great merit have been published on the same subject
both in this country and abroad; so that the student is abundantly supplied
with guides; and, if his object be to understand it, as an important branch of
natural science, they are sufficiently well.adapted to his purpose; but, for those
who would become acquainted with botany as an amusement and a relaxation,
these works are far too difficult. Treating the subject, as they do, in great
detail, and without consideration for the unlearned reader, the language, the
arguments, and the illustrations employed in them, must be unintelligible to
those who have no previous acquaintance with botany. The characters of
the natural groups or-orders, into which the vegetable kingdom is divided, are
not, as a whole, susceptible of such an analysis as a young student is capable
of following ; and I can quite understand how the whole system may appear
to be an unintelligible mass of confusion. It has therefore occurred to me,
that if, without sacrificing science, the subject could be divested of the many
real, and of the still greater number of imaginary, difficulties that frighten
students ; and if they could be taught to recognise the natural tribes of plants,
not by mere technical characters, but by those simple marks of which the
practised botanist exclusively makes use, a work in which such objects are
attained might be found of some utility.” (p. 5.)
The Ladies’ Botany consists of twenty-five letters, each letter being illus-
trated by a copperplate engraving of the size of the page. The subject of
each letter is one, two, or more of the natural orders. The engravings are
all of plants common either in the fields or in the ordinary gardens of Bri-
tain; and there is scarcely one of them that may not be easily procured by
any person residing in the country.
We consider it quite needless to recommend this work: it must find its
way into the library of every lady; and it ought to be in the coat pocket of
every young gardener. In its present form, however, it is too expensive for
the last class of readers; for whom we would strongly recommend an edition
with the engravings done on wood. Such an edition might very well be sold
Hooker's Journal of Botany. 391
at seven or eight shillings. As the work will soon be translated into French
and German, as well as republished in America, casts of the wood engravings
might be sold to the publishers in those countries, for as much as would
returm to. the London publishers the prime cost; one third of that cost being,
we believe, the usual rate at which such casts are sold. The copperplates
might then be reserved for the coloured edition, which is quite cheap enough
at a guinea, considering the very superior: style in which the colouring is done.
Arr. HI. Hooker's Journal of Botany, &c. Part II. for July, p. 193. to
p- 288. Six plates. 7s. 6d.
We have noticed parts i. and ii. of this.work in p. 232., and expressed our satis-
faction at its appearance. To the scientific botanist it must be highly accept-
able; and, as we have already observed, it is not without popular interest.
Mr. Hogge’s paper on the classical plants of Sicily is concluded. In it we find
that Céltis australis, the European nettle tree, is considered, by Mr. Hogg, as
the true lotus tree of the Lotophagi. The tree is described by Theophrastus
as of about the height and figure of a pear-tree;. with fruit of about the size of
a bean, placed like the berries of the myrtle, changing colour, and ripening as
a bunch of grapes; sweet, pleasant, and wholesome ; and the food of the
Lotophagi. Wee was. made of the berries; and the wood, which was of a
dark colour, and hard, was used, among other purposes, for making flutes.
The wood is still used in Sicily for making flutes and other musical instru-
ments ; in France, hayforks are made of the branches ;- and, in Spain and
Greece, the berries are still eaten. The seeds of Pinus Pinea are called
Pinocchi in Italy and Sicily, and are used in desserts, puddings, and cakes,
like almonds. A cone of this pine, fastened on the top of a staff adorned
with wreaths or flowers, made the thyrsus of the Bacchanalians; which was a
symbol of authority carried by the priest of Bacchus, and is frequently to be
seen in ancient sculptures and pictures. Mr. Hoge supposes. the stone pine
must originally have: been introduced from Greece into. Italy and Sicily, as he
has never observed it in a natural wood, but only about villas and farm-houses.
The young heads of Asparagus acutifolius and albus are cut from wild plants,
and brought to table, in Sicily; they are thin, bitter, and often stringy, and
form a poor substitute for the cultivated asparagus. Muscari comosum is
common in the fields. According to Sibthorp, the bulbs of this hyacinth are
still eaten in Greece. The berries of Smilax aspera, when ripe, are of a
beautiful red colour, and are very ornamental: the plant grows as a creeper
in the hedges, on trees, &c.; more especially the variety auriculata. The
date palm is not uncommon in Sicily; and this tree, with the American
aloe and the Indian fig, gives to the Sicilian landscapes:a singularly beautiful
and almost Oriental appearance. The dwarf fan palm (Chamee'rops humilis)
covers the wild uncultivated land and. hills of Sicily, as the furze does those
of England. “ A kind of light but strong hat is made by neatly plaiting
the leaves together; and the plant is used for brooms, seats for chairs,
thatch for cottages, and many other purposes.” (p. 214.) The stems of the
Artndo Donax, the cultivated or pipe reed, are used for “ many domestic
purposes in Italy and Sicily; for fences in gardens and vineyards, for props to
bind vines to, and for making shepherds’ pipes, distaffs, fishing-rods, walking-
sticks, &c.” Wheat, for which Sicily has been celebrated from the very
earliest period, is taken to certain places, named caricatorj, and warehoused in
pits, to be ready for exportation. Oats are preserved in a similar manner in
the south of Russia. “ The sugar cane, having been introduced from Africa,
was some years ago much cultivated in the neighbourhood of Syracuse
but of late it has been abandoned, on account of the trade with Brazil.”
From the Ripidium Ravénnz, the Ravenna sugar cane, the shepherds’ pipes
are also sometimes made. The common rice is cultivated extensively near
Lentini; and the air there is rendered very unwholesome by the putrefaction
EE 2
392 Royle’s Botany, Sic. of the Himalayan Mountains.
of the water and vegetation, occasioned by the intense heat of a burning sun.
The Indian corn, or maize, is roasted when half ripe, and eaten by the common
people; the flour is the real Italian polenta. The Papyrus antiquorum has
been long naturalised in Sicily. It was considered by Dioscorides as one of
the most useful of all plants. ‘“ The different purposes to which it was applied
by the ancients, im addition to the making of paper, are these: im medicine,
for the cure of fistulae and ulcers; for food to the natives, who chewed it
either raw, boiled, or roasted, for the sake of its sweet juice; and for torches
and candles; boats, sails, mats, garments, coverlets, and ropes were formed
of it; and the roots were used as fuel, and for making cups and wther uten-
sils.” (p. 219.) Mr. Hogg has treated on “ vessels made of the papyrus,” in
our Mag. Nat. Hist., in a paper which excited intense interest at the time of
its publication : it is beautifully illustrated by engravings. (See Mag. Nat.
Hist., vol. ii. p. 324. to p. 332., and figs. 88. to 92.) “ The head of the flower-
stem of papyrus, resembling a thyrsus of many grassy filaments, was used to
crown the statues of the gods, and to adorn the temples in Egypt. The
Egyptian priests likewise wore shoes made of it ; and the plant is of frequent
‘eccurrence in the ancient hieroglyphics. The papyrus has long been natu-
ralised in Sicily; and flourishes in abundance on the banks of the small river
which rises in the clear and limpid fountain of Cyane, now called La Pisma, -
and joins the Anapus a little before it flows into the great port to the south-
-west of Syracuse. ‘To this spot the papyrus, in all probability, was originally
introduced, either from Egypt or Carthage. It is not seen growing spenta-
neously in any other river in Sicily. One of the largest heads, gathered in
La Pisma on May 31. 1826, measured 19%in. in length; and the number of
its umbellulz was 397. It grows to the height of 22 ft. or 25 ft. Paper
is sometimes prepared from it, merely as a curiosity, and sold at Syracuse.”
(p. 221.) This very interesting paper concludes with an enumeration ef the
plants found by Mr. Hogg, arranged according to the natural system, and
amounting to 160 species.
There are a number of other-articles in this part of the Journal of Botany,
but they chiefly consist of scientific matter.
Art. III. Royle’s Iuustrations of the Botany and other Branches of the Naturae
History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere, &c. Part
IIL, containing p. xii. to xx. of the Introduction, and p. 73. to 104. of the
Illustrations of the Natural Orders; with one plate of fossil plants, one of
animals, and eight of living plants; the latter and the animals beautifully
coloured. London, folio. 20s.
We have noticed part ii. of this work in p. 149., and part 1.m IX. 691., and
‘we have now to state that, as it advances, its execution continues to be of
first-rate excellence. The intreductory matter of the present part relates
‘chiefly to the height of the Himalayan Mountains, of which there are twenty-
eight peaks higher than the peak of Chimborazo, which exceeds 20,000 ft. ;
while one of the peaks of the Himalayas is 25,000 ft. high. The illustrations
of the botany of the Himalayan Mountains commences with the conclusion of
the order Capparideze. It appears that as the flower buds of the Capparis
spinosa are employed in Europe as a seasoning, so the fruit of C. aphylla is
in India formed into a pickle. The flower-buds and seeds of the caper of
Mount Sinai (C. sinaica) are alse pickled. _Under Polygalez it is stated that
P. crotalaridides is employed as a cure against the bites of snakes; as is P.
Sénega in South America. Under Linez, we are mformed that the common
flax is cultivated everywhere in India, but only on account of its seed, the
mucilage of which is used in medicine, and the oil in the arts. The stalks of
the plant, which in other countries are most valued, are in India thrown away;
and other plants, such as Hibiscus cannabinus, and Crotalaria cannabina are
eultivated almost in the same field, for the very products that the flax would
General Notices. : 393
yield. (p.82.)' Under Malvacez, anumber of different species are mentioned
as affording fibres which are used in India as substitutes for hemp ;, and the
flowers of Malva Alcéa, and. Hibiscus Rosa sinénsis, having an astringent pro-
perty, are employed both in India and in China for blackening the eyebrows,
and also the shoes. The mucilage afforded by all the Malvacee, the Bom-
bacez, Byttneridcee, and the Tiliaceze (which Mr. Royle agrees with Mr. Brown
in thinking ought to be united into. one order), being entirely innoxious, might
be seasoned, and used as food. The cotton plants, species of Gossypium,
belong to the Malvacez, which, relatively to warm climates, must be considered
as a very, important order. A proportionate space is in consequence given to
describe the culture of the cotton plant in different parts of India. Under
Byttneridcee we are informed, on the authority of Dr. Lindley, that the gum
tragacanth of Sierra Leone is produced by a species of Sterculia. Several plants
in this. order, as might be expected, afford fibres which make a good substitute
for hemp. All the families in the order Tliacez, such as Cérchorus, Trium-
fétta, and Gréwia, afford mucilage, and a tenacious fibre that may be used either
for making flax, or mats, like the European. garden mats, which are formed
from the Vilize. It is remarked that the inner bark of the Gréwza oppositifolia
is used in the Himalaya for the same purpose that the bark. of the T'ilia europea.
is in Russia and Sweden. The leaves of the different species of Gréwia are
given as fodder to cattle, and are dried and stacked. up for-winter use, as those,
of the lime tree and the birch are in Sweden. It is exceedingly interesting
thus to observe the same general character of climate accompanied by the same
natural orders of vegetables; and that these vegetables are applied to the
same general. purposes by the inhabitants. In conclusion, we have only to
observe, that. the author has shown a superior degree of taste and judgment,
in generalising his subject by comparing the productions of the Himalaya with
those of other countries. The book is remarkably well got up (to use a
publisher’s term), and it ought certainly to find its way into. the library of
every botanist.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Art. 1. General Notices.
ForMATION of Ground Ice.—In p. 118. we have noticed a theory on. the sub-
ject of ground ice, by M. Arago, as given in Jameson's Journal; and we have now
to notice another, by the Rev. Mr. Eisdale, as given in the same work, for July,
1834. We are induced to do so, because we think Mr. Eisdale’s theory ac-
counts more satisfactorily for the phenomena than that of M. Arago. Ground
ice, it appears, is never formed but in streams, and after a severe hoar-frost.
“ The hoar-frost, which is congealed moisture, precipitated from: the atmo-,
sphere, and falling into the river when the water is cooled down to the freez-
ing point, cannot be dissolved. It retains in the water the very shape in
which it descends from the air. When these small crystals fall on a deep
unfrozen pool, the water being above the freezing point, the particles melt,
and are incorporated with the water; but, in a shallow and agitated stream,
almost the whole water is brought, in succession, into contact with the intense,
frost, and may thus be cooled down to the freezing point to the very bottom
of the stream, before even a pellicle of ice is formed on the stagnant pool.
All the particles of hoar-frost, then, or frozen vapour, which fall on such a
stream, will remain unmelted ; and, being tossed in all directions by the agita-
tions of the current, will be brought into contact with the rocks, or other
substances projecting from the bottom, to which they will readily adhere, and
form a nucleus for that strange accumulation called ground ice, which is found
nowhere but in streams.” (Jameson’s Jour., vol. xvii. p. 172.) Sinee the
EE 3
394 Domestic Notices : — England.
above was transcribed, we have seen Mr. Greenshields of Englefield Park
Gardens, who is well acquainted with the Vale of Kennet. He states that
there is an immense deal of hoar-frost there, over all that part-of the vale
where the soil is a moist clay, and very little where it is a dry sand. The
irregular outline of the moist clay district on each side of the vale is as dis-
tinctly marked by the hoar-frost as if it were confined with a wall. Mr.
Greenshields thinks Mr. Eisdale’s theory very likely to be a true one.
The Faculties of Mind necessary to form a Botanist. — Dr. Daubeny very cor-
rectly considers him “a botanist whose mind is imbued with the great principles
by means of which plants can be collected into natural groups, and who
strives to discover the general relation in which these groups stand toward
each other; in short, who labours to construct a method, where the very
place which a plant occupies in it shall, in a manner, announce its most pro-
minent characters, the qualities it may possess, and its affinities with others.
We hold the pertinacious attachment to the artificial system to be the cause
of the low degree of estimation in which botanical science is, therefore, de-
servedly held in this country. If we are right in this opinion, it is certainly
greatly to be regretted that that which was formerly dignified with the name
of botany should yet linger in our schools, or that any should be found to
teach it, since there has arisen in its stead a science which is beautiful, philo-
sophical, and capable of the most varied and useful applications; capable of
being applied to medicine, horticulture, entomology, chemistry, and, above
all, to climatology, and, consequently, to geology. The method of Jussieu
does, for the vegetable kingdom, that which the method of MacLeay does for
the animal, viz., by putting usin possession of a single fact, or a few facts, it
confers upon us the power of inferring many more, relating not.only to the
structure of the plants, but to the juices circulating in the vessels, and the
products elaborated therefrom. If something more than the.xame-of a plant
be to be comprehended in betanical arrangements, Jet us imitate the example
of Linnzeus, who, conscious of the inadequacy of his artificial system to serve
the cause of genuine botany, wisely abandoned it, and devoted himself to
devising a natural method, and called upon all botanists to assist in‘accom-
plishing-so desirable an object. Let us no longer cling to this system, which
has been expelled from almost every other country of Europe, but rather let
us cast it, ike an idle weed, away, which cannot be suffered longer to deform
the fair garden of philosophic truth.” (London and Edinburgh Phil. Jour.,
vol. v. p. 76.)
Influence of Colour on‘Heat, the Deposition of Dew, and of Odours.—Dr. Stark,
in a paper in Jameson's Journal, vol. xvii. p. 65., has shown, by experiment,
that one principle operates in the production of all the above results. A
black colour, whether in-solids or fluids, absorbs heat most rapidly, and parts
with it most rapidly ; dew is also deposited more rapidly on this colour than
on any other, and with proportionate rapidity evaporated from it. Odours,
whether agreeable, offensive, or of infectious diseases, are, in like manner,
absorbed with greater rapidity, and in greater quantity, in a given time, by
black colours; and discharged by these colours with proportionate quickness.
The other colours are next effective to black in the order of blue, brown,
green, red, yellow, and lastly white; which last absorbs and gives out heat,
dew, and odour more slowly than any other colour. These facts will afford
valuable hints to gardeners for the colours of walls, of walks, of rockwork,
of soils, of coverings for protection, and even of their dresses.
ArT. II. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.
A GARDEN School, in which boys will be taught gardening, agriculture, and
rural economy generally; and girls, sewing, cookery, and domestic economy
in all its details, is about to be established at Fordhook by Lady Noel Byron.
Domestic Notices : — England. 395
Her Ladyship has engaged, as head master of the establishment, Mr. Craig,
who had formerly the care of the agricultural school established by the late
Mr. Vandeleur in the south of Ireland, and who is now on his way to Switzer-
land, to inspect the establishment of M. Fellenberg at Hofwyl.
A Design for the Sheffield Botanic Garden, by Wm. Billinton, Esq., architect
and civil engineer, has been sent us by that gentleman, with a request that we
should give our opinion of it in this Magazine. — It is neatly drawn, and the
ground plan of the building is very architectural. There is also a terrace
walk, which would have a very good effect: but when we have said this, we
have included nearly all that we can commend. The roads and walks are
curvilineal, without, in many cases, a sufficiently obvious reason; the arbo-
retum is confined to two compact clumps, not more than large enough for
two or three orders; there is a small space for the natural system of herba-
ceous plants, equally disproportionate ; a large space for the Linnzean arrange-
ment, and a plot of beds radiating from the centre like the spokes of a wheel.
The latter may please some eyes on paper, but in execution it would be into-
lerable, both in point of beauty and use. To render such a mode of radiating
beds at all tolerable, the general figure ought to be circular. Here it is a
parallelogram, with a triangle added to each end. If any one will try to
radiate beds from the centre of such a figure, he will find what a very awkward
impracticable result he will produce. We shall not say more; indeed, we are
sorry to have been obliged to say so much, considering the very candid and
liberal manner in which Mr. Billinton requests us to give our opinion on his
plan publicly. It is, however, as we have before observed, p. 276., no. dis-
paragement to an architect not to be also a gardener. Mr. Billinton, we
have no doubt, could do honour to our Architectural Magazine, and we invite
him to become a contributor to that work. — Cond.
By the Use of hot Water at Wallington, the seat of Sir John Trevelyan, in
Northumberland, 90 loads of coals, out of 220, were saved the first year. The
value of these coals, including carriage, is about 6s.a ton. Instead of nine
fires to four houses, there are now only two fires. The level system of circu-
lating the water is adopted, and the work was executed by Mr. Cookson, iron-
founder, of Newcastle. — 7. July 8. 1834.
An Elevation and Section of a Peach-House, erected in 1830 for Lord Yar-
borough, at Brocklesby in Lincolnshire, have been sent us by the builder, Mr.
Crosskill of Beverley, mentioned p. 277., accompanied with a description by
the gardener at Brocklesby, Mr. Hedges. The house is 106 ft. long, and 11 ft.
wide, in three equal divisions. The rafters are cast iron, and the sashes are
of wood. In the front wall, and in the upper part of the back wall, there
are cast-iron ventilators fixed in the manner of the shutters described and
figured in II. 201. These ventilators are moved sympathetically by iron rods
and pinions, and they have been in use three years without having gone out
of order. The three divisions are heated by hot water from one fire, the
upper pipe is flat, 18 in. broad, and 3 in. deep; and the returning pipe is circu-
lar, and about 4 in. in diameter. The whole is very satisfactery to Mr.
Hedges, who, in his letter, bestows great praise on Mr. Crosskill, for the
superior manner in which the work is executed. The cost, exclusive of the
bricks, lime, and sand, was 1006/. — Cond.
The Irish Furze (Ulex europe\a var. stricta), as a Forage Plant. — It has
recently been found in Caernarvonshire, and other parts of North Wales, that this
variety of the common furze may be more profitably cultivated in the field than
the species. The reason is, the branches, when cut for use, do not require
braising before being given to horses or cattle. As this variety very rarely
produces flowers or seeds, it is propagated by cuttings, which, however, strike
in a bed of sandy soil as readily as willows. The cuttings should be taken off
in the autumn, of the present year’s wood, and they need not be above 3in. long.
They will be fit to transplant in the March or April following, and in the
succeeding autumn they may be cut over with the scythe for the first time.
We consider this a very interesting fact, and one which shows that it is from
HE 4
396 Domestic Notices :—Scotland.
varieties, and hybrids, and even from monstrosities, which this is, that we are
to procure the most valuable plants-of culture. This has been well pointed
out in Bishop’s Causal Botany. — Cond.
A Collection of Hearteases, exceeding one hundred in number, was exhibited
at the Metropolitan Flewer Show at Salt Hill, June 19., and brought to Bays-
water, for us to look at, on the following day. They had all been raised from
seeds, by Mr. John Joseph Allnatt, junior, of Wallingford (mentioned p. 5.),
within three years. A pan of flowers, selected from his seedling plants of
1833 and 1834, won the King William medal at the above show, although ex-
hibited against selected varieties from various sources. In Mr. Allnatt’s pan,
not a flower of one.old variety was shown. We took down the names of the
following, of the varieties raised by Mr. Allnatt in 1833:— Allnatt’s Achilles,
Orpheus, Ajax, Plato, Arcadia, Hecuba, maculdsa, spléndens, zebrina, re-
gina, and tigrina. Maculdsa has a large corolla, with a yellow ground, and
three or four pretty violet spots towards the centre of the upper petals. The
striped kinds,.as zebrina, &c., were very pleasing. After this show, Mr. All-
matt offered publicly to show a hundred varieties of this flower, against the
same number, by any other grower, for 10/. The varieties shown us were of
very great beauty, and remarkably distinct, considering the great general re-
semblance of one heartsease to another. Amongst the flowers of seedlings,
which have blossomed this year (1834) for the first time, a few showed a
strong tendency towards a tint of crimson, which is the rarest of colours in
the flowers of the heartsease; these Mr. Allnatt much esteems, and is san-
guine enough to hope that, in the known-susceptibility of sportiveness in the
heartsease, kinds with corollas more and more tinted with crimson may be
produced. All Mr. Allnatt’s varieties may be purchased from Mr. Hogg, at
Paddington ; who is appointed his sole agent in London. It is a remarkable
fact, that, frem-a capsule of seeds gathered from the finest cultivated varieties
of heartsease, plants perfectly wild, both in their foliage and their flowers, will
frequently be produced. In Jike manner, in cultivated fields and gardens, we
occasionally find a fine variety of heartsease, which seems te have sprung at
once from.seeds of the wild variety. We believe this to be more or less the
case with all cultivated annuals, or plants of short duration; but the transition
is by ne means:so easy with regard to fruit trees, for the seeds of a golden
pippia, or a Hawthornden, though they may produce some varieties unlike
the plant, will never produce a genuine crab.—Jd,
Orchideous Plants from.the Caraccas.— Sir Robert Ker Porter has promised
me a supply of rarities from Caraccas, for the arrival of which I am looking
out with considerable anxiety. These, he informs me, will .comsist of mare-
posas (orchideous plants,); the flor de Mayo, or lirio de los valles (the lily
of the valley); most probably an AmaryYllis, Crinum, or Pancratium; and
one or two more lirios (lilies), one.of which he describes.as being of a most
beautiful crimson. ‘To these, from a former letter, I am led to expect, will be
added some roots of the appio, the root of which is a valuable esculent.
— W. Hamilton.
A Box of Orchideous Plants and Bulbs, including above fifty species, has
been shipped from Demerara, for Messrs. Low and Co., of the Clapton Nur-
sery, by Mr. John Henchman, the botanical collector for that establishment.
We anticipate some valuable additions from a region hitherto but little ex-
plored by collectors. — Cond.
SCOTLAND.
Comparative Trial of Walls of different Kinds.— The Caledonian Horticultural
Society has published a Garden Report, dated June 1., from which it ap-
pears some trials have been made of the difference of temperature between
a_ loping wall inclined to the horizon at an angle of about 50°, a wall coloured
black, and a perpendicular wall; and, between perpendicular walls of free-
stone, whinstone (basalt), and brick. It appears that the sloping, the black,
and the freestone walls, all indicate the same temperature at 6 o'clock in the
Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 397
morning; but that the average temperature of the brick wall, at that early
hour, is, during April, a degree colder. This brick wall, however, being
more porous, and retaining a greater quantity of heat, has shown, during May,
a considerably higher temperature than any of the others, owing to the in-
creased influence of the sun. At 1 o’clock p.m. the average temperature of
the sloping wall is 7° higher than that of the brick wall. The next warmest
at that hour is the dark-coloured or whinstone wall, which is only 3° lower
than that of the sloping wall. At the same hour, the freestone is 5° colder
than the sloping wall, or 2° inferior to the whinstone. At 6 o’clock P.M.,
the sloping wall is 2° warmer than the freestone and the brick walls, and 5°
warmer than the whinstone wall, which last, at that time, is the coldest of
all the walls. The results will be more satisfactorily ascertained when the
fruit of a cherry tree, a vine, or a peach, trained on the sloping wall, have
been compared with that of one of the same kind placed against the perpen-
dicular freestone wall. When hoar-frost forms, the sloping wall becomes the
coldest during the night, by 2° or 3°, or perhaps more. To render it effec-
tive, therefore, it will be indispensable to have a covering of thin canvass
drawn over it during the night.
A Strawberry Wall,on Mr.Byers’s plan (V.438.), has been formed, and placed
in the direction of north and south, on a surface declining to the horizon,
at an angle of about 250°. For this reason the water furrow along the crest
or ridge of the wall has stops at various places, to allow the water to be
equally absorbed. The advantages anticipated are, increased surface for the
plants, and an earlier crop of clean fruit, easily gathered.
Of Grapes, between twenty and thirty sorts have been proved, and their
description, by Mr. Barnet, will be useful in the preparation of a new edition
of the Horticultural Society’s Fruit Catalogue. The following sorts appear
to us the newest, or the most worthy of notice : —
Fruit white, oblong; leaves obtusely lobed.—Savagnien Blanc. Clusters
small, compact; berries transparent, light green, of a rich musky sweet fla-
your; leaves dense, downy beneath. This variety was presented to the So-
ciety by John Robison, Esg., who kindly procured a collection of the finest
table-grapes from Bordeaux. The fruit, being produced in the peach-house,
has probably not been properly ripened, for want of sufficient heat.
_ Loudon’s Seedling. A large showy variety; clusters large, and much
branched, the branchlets being divided; berries large, oblong, of a greenish-
yellow colour; seeds small; flesh firm, juicy, sweet, and high-flavoured ;
leaves large, slightly lobed, slightly serrated ; a great bearer ; readily produces
a second crop, especially when grown in a pine-stove. Raised from seed in,
the garden of H. Menteith, Esq., of Carstairs, by the gardener, Mr. Robert
Loudon. [Should our namesake see this, we will thank him for a cutting.]
Malvoisie. This is a small grape, and seems to set sparingly; the clusters
and berries small, oblong, and pointed at the ends; of a bright light green,
transparent; flavour rich and Meee seeds large, but, from being grown
in the peach-house, evidently not in perfection; the leaves are small, round,
slightly lobed, with large coarse serratures, of cucullated form. This is one
of a collection received from Bordeaux by John Robison, Esq., as noticed
above.
Black or Red, fruit oblong.—West’s Saint Peter. Clusters large, long, and
not much branched; berries middle-sized, oblong, approaching to round, of
a deep bluish-black, with a glaucous bloom; footstalks short; flesh firm, juicy,
with peculiar rich light flavour; seeds middle-sized ; skin thin; a great bearer,
and ripens late; the fruit hangs on the plant a considerable time without
shriveling; and the plant retains its leaves, which are of a deep green colour,
slightly lobed, sharply and doubly serrated; footstalks and leaves slender ;
the leaves are stained with red towards decay. The best late grape that has
come under my observation.
* Frankenthal- Clusters large and branched; berries large, round, or ap-
proaching to oblong, of a shining black colour; glaucous; seeds small; flavour
398 Domestic Notices : — Scotland.
rich; a good bearer, and ripens late. This is only a subvariety of Black
Hamburgh; the chief difference being, that it is more oblong, and more
irregular in shape.
Black ‘Tripol. Clusters long and much branched ; branchlets branching ;
ripens late; berries small, globular, or approaching to oblong, with short
footstalks ; of a brownish-red colour, tender and juicy, sweet and high-fla-
voured; leaves large; footstalks short, reclined; lobes moderately deep,
coarsely and unequally serrated; seeds small, adhering to the footstalk ; skin
thin and shriveling, having the appearance of the currants of the shops; a
good grape, but rather delicate. The variety was received among a collection
from the Duke of Portland’s, at Welbeck, and is probably the same as that
mentioned in Mr. Lindley’s Guide to the Orchard, p. 192. no.v.
Blue Tokay. An abundant bearer, and ripens early; the clusters very
small, and scarcely branched; berries small, globular, of a brownish-blue
colour; flavour sweet and rich; seeds large; skin tough; leaves small, lobed,
finely serrated, of thick texture, downy below; the juice is very rich. This
is the Blue Tokay of Lindley, p. 198. no. xx., certainly not the Malvoisie, as
received from Bordeaux, there quoted as a synonyme from Bradley ; but I
have not at present an opportunity of referring to that author.
De la Belgique. This variety with us is rather a shy bearer, and ripens
late; clusters long and much branched; branchlets branchy ; berries of mo-
derate size, almost globular, or more long, of a rich bluish-black, and fine
glaucous hue, closely set; the peduncles short, forming a close bunch ; juicy,
flavour tolerable; seeds large; skin tough; leaves large, slightly lobed, ser-—
rated ; upper surface slightly hoary, tomentose below ; footstalks long, slightly
stained with reddish-brown; rather coarse, but probably pretty hardy. Pre-
sented to the Society by M. Bosc, Director of the Jardin des Plantes; not
mentioned in any of the books that have been examined; bears a slight
resemblance to the Esperione, but the bunches are double the size of those of
that variety.
Red Muscadel. Clusters long and scarcely branched; berries middle-
sized, oblong, of a brownish-red colour; flesh of firm texture; seeds large ;
flavour sweet and pretty good; leaves large, deeply lobed, coarsely serrated,
light shining green; ripens late, and keeps long on the plant.
Blue Raisin. Clusters very large and showy, much branched, the foot-
stalks short; the berries large, eblong, of green mixed with brownish-red,
seeds large, adhering to the footstalk, fleshy and firm; ripens very late.
Among other grapes in the vinery, it seems not to ripen, which is the only
situation in which I have had an opportunity of seeing it.
Chasselas Rouge. This sort only fruited very sparingly. The berries are
middle-sized, of a brownish-red colour, transparent ; flesh firm, sweet, and
high-flavoured ; seeds small; leaves supported on long red-coloured footstalks ;
and the leaves conspicuously coloured with red ribs, not much cut, slightly
serrated. As far as my observations go, this seems an excellent grape, with
a good light flavour. Received from Bordeaux through the kindness of
John Robison, Esq. Sec. R.S.E.— P. N.
A new and curious Variety of Poa nemoralis.— I have lately found a grass
the most curious I have seen or heard of. It is a variety of the Poa nemo-
ralis, with the culm or stalk about as white as this paper. The foliage is
green, with a small white streak up the back rib. The enveloping spathe and
grass are also of a beautiful deep green, as are the flowers or parts of fructi-
fication, though the peduncles are white. If it retains its white colour after
drying, of which I entertain some doubts, it would far surpass any bleached
straw for plait.— A. Gorrie. Annat Gardens, June 26. 1834.
This must prove an interesting variety, if it should not revert to the usual
green condition of the species, to cultivate in a shaded border in a garden.
I ence met with a strikingly pale-panicled variety of Dactylis glomerata.
Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 399
Art. III. Floricultural and Botanical Notices of new Plants, and of
old Plants of Interest, supplementary to the latest Editions of the
‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” and of the *‘ Hortus Britannicus.”
Curtis's Botanical Magazine ; each monthly Number containing eight plates;
3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Hooker, King’s Professor of
Botany in the University of Glasgow.
Edwards’s Botanical Register ; each monthly Number containing eight plates;
4s. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Lindley, F.R.S., Professor of Botany
in the London University.
Sweet's British Flower-Garden ; each monthly Number containing four plates ;
3s. coloured, 2s. 3d. plain. Edited by David Don, Esq., Librarian to the
Linnzan Society.
PoLypPEeTALous DicoryLEDONOUS PLANTS.
Ill. Ranunculacee.
1637. RANU’NCULUS 14562 millefoliatus. [Sw. fl. gar. 2, s. 248
2 grandifldrus D. Don large-flowered *% yor Zap. Y Mt. St. Angelo, Naples 1833. D It.
“ R. garganicus Tenore,” D. Don, in Sw. FI. Gar., Gard. Mag. IX. 241., X. 341.
Leaves tripinnately divided, with linear lanceolate segments. Stems several
upon a plant, each usually single-flowered ; corolla and stamens of a golden
yellow colour; corolla varying in size, sometimes 13 in. across. Figured from
the collection of Mrs. Marryat; whose daughter, Mrs. Palliser, received it,
from Professor Tenore, under the name of #. garganicus. (See X. 341.)
Garganus is the ancient name of the Mount St. Angelo of the present day.
(The Brit. Flow.-Gard., July.)
XIII. Anonicee § Schizdndree Blume.
SPHEROSTESMA Blume. (Sphaira, a globe, stéma, a stamen ; the filaments of the stamens,
which are in number many, are all coadunate into a fleshy solid mass, the anthers only being at
liberty, and nestling in a number of little excavations of the mass.) 22. 12. Sp. 1.—
[Bot. reg. 1688
propinquum Blume near akin (0? Kadstra) $ ({) or 10? jl Y¥ Nipal 1828? Cpl
The male sex only of the species is yet alive in Britain.
A shrub with a twining glabrous habit, and aromatic leaves; which last are
ovate acuminate, toothed, petioled, and alternate. The male flowers are of
about the breadth of a shilling, and solitary, on not long footstalks, in the axils
of the leaves: each consists of three green sepals, and three yellow petals, and,
in the centre of these, the yellow anther-bearing mass. Dr. Wallich found this
species in Nipal, on Mount Sheopore, and on hills about Sankoo. Dr. Lindley
has deemed it, in Britain, “ a hot-house climber ;”’ and has added : — “ It is
easily propagated by cuttings ; and, in the fertile state [the female sex of it],
must be a handsome plant, with its long pendulous spikes of scarlet berries.
Unfortunately, the plant which flowered in the garden of the Horticultural
Society last July, and from which our drawing was taken, was a male; so
that we are not likely to see these berries until a fresh importation of plants
shall have taken place.’ We are, nevertheless, very glad to be able to learn
thus much of the male only. (Bot. Reg., July.)
XLVII. Onagrarie § Fuchsite. I send you some showy flowers of a
hybrid fuchsia between Fuchsia gracilis and F. coccinea, which I have raised
in this garden [that of J. H. Tremayne, Esq., Heligan, Cornwall]. It is planted
in the open ground; and was not, last winter (this being very mild), cut down
by the frost. The plant is 5 ft. high, and 15 ft. in circumference, and is loaded
with flowers: these are much larger, and of a better colour, than those of the
F, virgata, and render the plant a very showy one: it has been admired by all
who have seen it.— John Roberts. Heligan, Cornwall, June 26.
The flowers of the hybrid are large and showy. From the tip of the germen
to the tip of the stigma is a length of 24in.; the segments of the coloured
calyx are 1 in. long.
LXXVII. Leguminise.
LUPINUS densiflbrus, of which we have quoted an account inp. 173,, is figured in Bot, Reg, 1689.
400: Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
- © Seeds of it have been hitherto produced by it in such small quantities,
that it still remains extremely rare.”
2837. ACA*CIA. 4
+24679 elongata Steb. long-branched 2% \_J or 6 ap.jn Y N.S.W. 1823. C slip Bot, mag. 3337
$24716 umbrdsa Cun. shade-inhabiting %\_| fra25sp Pa.Y N.S.W. 1823. Cs.p Bot. mag. 3338
' Both these are figured from specimens supplied from the Kew collection ;
and the descriptions of them include notes on them by Mr. Allan Cunning-
ham. A. elongata is of a slender and graceful habit, and has drooping angular
branches, narrow linear phyllodia (leaves) 3in. or more in length, and nume-
rous globose heads, about the size of a pea, of rather deep yellow scentless
flowers produced two or three together, upon peduncles rather more than
half an inch long, from the axils of the phyllodia (leaves). A. umbrosa
delights in dry shaded woods in New South Wales. The phyllodia are 4 in.
or 5 in. long, oblong-lanceolate, marked with two or three strong nerves. The
flowers are produced in Britain in the spring, are powerfully fragrant, pale
yellow, clustered into many globose heads, which are disposed, from seven to
nine, upon axillary racemes. (Bot. Mag., July.)
‘ CXIa. Cérnee Dec. Of Benthamia fragifera, Mr. John Roberts, gardener
to J. H. Tremayne, Esq., Heligan, Cornwall, has sent us some specimens i
flower. His letter is dated June 26. The specimens quite confirm the idea
of the desirableness of this shrub, already given, with other particulars respect-
ing it, in [X. 367., X. 60.69. The specimens (two) appear to be the tips of
two branches: one of these bears eight branchlets, and seven of them are, and
the eighth has been, terminated each by a head of flowers, green, small, sub-
tended by four large cream-yellow involucral leaves; the other specimen has
three branchlets, each tipped with a head of flowers attended by the involucral
leaves. Only some few of the individual flowers in the heads were bearing
petals. The plant, Mr. Roberts informs us, is 17 ft. high, spreads proportion-
ably, and has its stem, at the bottom, 12 ft. in circumference ; and presents the
appearance of a small tree. With regard to the climate of Heligan, Mr. Ro-
berts has known the snow to lie on the ground for three weeks; and has
seen the thermometer as low as it has been in London.
CXXIV. Tropeilee.
CHYMOCA/’RPUS D. Don. (Chymos, juicy, kanpos, fruit ; the fruit is a black juicy berry.)
8.1. Sp. 1—2.— [Sw. fl. gar. 2. s. 245
+9316 pentaphyllus D. Don _ five-leafleted-ifd. 8 AJor 4 au.o R.G.P Buenos Ayres 1830. C s.p.l
Tropz*olum pentaphyllum. Lam. Mr. D. Don deems this plant the type of a new genus, which he
has named as above. He has given his reasons at length in Linn. Trans., xvii. p. 14. and 145.
From the Flower-Garden, we may just quote as follows : — “‘ The most remarkable peculiarity is
in the nature of its fruit, which is a black juicy berry, not unlike, both in appearance and
flavour, the Zante grape. Besides the reduced number of its petals [there are but two], a cha-
racter the importance of which I am not disposed to insist much upon, the genus likewise differs
in the persistent nature and valvate estivation of its calyx, that of Tropz‘olum being imbricate
and deciduous. I am inclined to think that T. dipétalum Flor. Peruv. will prove a second
species of Chymocarpus ; and it is possible that Tropz‘olum may include the types of other
genera, when the nature of the fruit in the different species becomes better known. Chy-
mocarpus pentaphyllus is stated to have been introduced in 1824; but this information is
erroneous, the plant having been first raised by Mr. Neill, in 1830, from seeds collected at Buenos
Ayres by Mr. Tweedie.”
’ Chymocaérpus pentaphyllus D. Don, planted early in summer, in an open
border, in a mixture of sandy peat and loam, has been found to thrive much
more vigorously than when retained in the green-house, to produce a pro-
fusion of blossoms, and ripen its fruit freely. Cuttings, planted in pure sand,
and placed in a hot-bed, root readily. (Zhe Brit. Flow.-Garden, July.)
- CXXX. Violdcee.
701. VI.OLA 5708 pedata. ;
2 flabellata D. Don fanzlfd. Y A orio Li.P Georgia 1831. Dp Sw.fl.gat.2.s,247
Dr. Graham and Mr. D. Don concur in deeming this plant but a variety of VY. pedata L., and the
V. digitata Ph. as identical with this variety. Mr. D. Don thinks that the V. flabellifolia of
Lodd. Bot. Cab. 777. is also identical with it. P
' The leaves are divided in a fan-like manner. The corolla is large, and very
handsome: lowest petal pale lilac on the inside; the two uppermost, and the
upper half of the two side ones, dark velvet purple; behind, all the petals are
of a pale lilac. “ The plant is extremely beautiful, and highly deserving of
cultivation in the open border. It was introduced by Mr. Drummond, from
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 401
“Georgia, into the Botanic Garden, Glasgow; whence it was sent to the Bo-
tanic Garden, Edinburgh, in 1832, and there it first produced a succession of
flowers in the green-house, in the beginning of Oct. 1833.” (Dr. Graham, in
Brit. Flow.-Garden, July.)
APETALOUS DicoTryLEDONOUS PLANTS.
LXXXIIa. Garryacezee Lindley. An order characterised in the Botanical
Register for July, 1834: t. 1686.; and there stated to be allied to the Cupuli-
ferze; to connect them with the Conifer; and also, by means of some
similarities to the Chloranthee, with the Gnetdcee.
GA/RRYA Lindl. (Named, by Mr. Douglas, in compliment to Nicholas Garry, Esq., secretary
of the Hudson’s Bay Company ; to whose kindness and assistance he was much indebted during
his travels in North-west America. — Lindley.) 21.4. Sp. 1.—
elliptica Lindl. _elliptic-leafed %##cu60 G N. California 1828. L1 Bot. reg. 1686 ;
The specimen figured is from a plant of the male sex, which flowered in the Horticultural Society’s
garden in Oct. 1833. It is not stated that a female plant is alive in Britain.
Very similar in appearance to a Vibtrnum. Its branches, when young, are
pubescent and purplish; when older, smooth and greyish. Its leaves are
opposite, devoid of stipules, shortly petiolate, oblong ; about, according to the
figure, 2in. long and 1 in. broad; waved, acute, leathery, evergreen; dark
green and smooth above; beneath hoary with simple twisted interwoven
hairs. The flowers are disposed in pendulous tail-shaped catkins, of about
from 4 in. to 5in. in length. It was introduced, in 1828, from Northern Ca-
lifornia, where Mr. Douglas discovered it. In relation to British gardens, it
‘may be deemed a hardy evergreen shrub : it prefers a loamy soil, and may be
readily increased by layers. Dr. Lindley has remarked, that ‘‘ it is probable
that it is the greatest botanical curiosity in all Mr. Douglas’s collections: for
it appears to represent a natural order, on the one hand, altogether distinct
from any previously known; and, on the other, connecting certain well-known
natural orders in an unexpected and satisfactory manner.” Dr. Lindley has,
in Bot. Reg. t. 1686., elucidated the characteristics of the plant, and his views
of its affinities. (Bot. Reg., July.)
Monopetatous DicortyLeponous Puants.
CLXX. Ericacee D. Don.
Mr. D. Don has, in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for July, pro-
duced “ An Attempt at a New Arrangement of the Ericacee.” This will be
news of interest to botanical cultivators; all of whom have perceived that
there has been much of heterogeneousness in the great collection of species
hitherto referred to the genus Erica. Mr. D. Don says that “the examination
of this interesting family [the Hricaceze, which include the andromedas, &c.]
was undertaken with the view of assisting my brother in the laborious under-
taking in which he is now engaged [the elaboration of the work, A General
System of Gardening and Botany, by G. Don, F.L.S.]; and, as a complete ac-
‘count of the species will appear in a forthcoming volume [vol. iii.} of that
work, I have omitted most of them in the following pages,” &e.
“ As happens in other very natural families, the characters of the generic
‘groups in the Hricacez are not so strongly marked as in those that are less
so; but we are not, on that account, to give up the idea of dividing them.....
Whatever opinion may be formed of their title [that of the groups into which
Mr. D. Don has divided the Fricacez], to rank as separate genera, the
‘arrangement of the species will, I trust, be found more natural than any
hitherto proposed.”
The names of the proposed groups, the etymology of their names, and the
species typical of the groups, are the following : —
Erica (£. cinérea L.), Gypsocallis (etymon not given. ZH. vagans L.), Pachysa (pachys, thick; .
substance of the corolla. #. ardens And7.), Ceramia (keramion, a little pitcher. #. urceolaris
Soland.), Désmia (desmé, a little bundle; flowers crowded. . conferta And7.), Lurylepis
(eurys, broad, depts, a scale; calycine scales dilated. EZ. Halicacaba L.), Eurystégia (ewrys, broad,
stegé, a cover; calyx large. Z. glatica Andr.), Lophandra (dophos, crest, ané7 andros, a man or
stamen ; cells of the anthers crested. #. pyramidalis Andr.), Lamprotis (Lamprotés, splendour ;
. calyx glistening. J. calycina L.), Callista (kallistos, most beautiful. ZH, Walker¢ Andr.), Eury.
402 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
Yoma (eurys, broad, 2oma, a margin; limb of the corolla dilated. E. Aitonz Willd.), Chona
(choné, a funnel; figure of the corolla. ZH. sanguinea), Syringddea (syrigz syriggos, a reed or
pire s corolla longly tubular. Z. vestita), Dasyanthes (dasys, hairy, anthos, flower; corolla
airy. E. Sparrmanni L.), E’ctasis (ektasis, extension; stamens prominent. . Plukenétz L.),
Eriodésmia (erion, wool, desmé, a little bundle; the flowers resemble. Z£. capitata L.), Octopéra
(oktd, eight, péra, asack ; capsule eight-celled. H. Bergiana L.), Erémia (erémos, solitary ; seeds
one in each cell. EZ. tétta Thunb.), Salaxis Salisbury (neither etymon nor type is given), Calldna
Salisbury (E. vulgaris Z.), Ble réa L., Andromeda L., Cassiope (Casséope, the mother of Andrc=
meda. Andrémeda tetragina L.), Cassandra (Cassandra, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba.
A. calyculata L.), Zendbia (Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, distinguished for her virtue and
learning. A. specidsa Mz.), Lydnza Nutt. (A. paniculata L.), Leucothée (a poetic name. A.
axillaris Solander), Pieris (one of the muses. A formdsa Waill.), Phyllédoce (one of Cyrene’s
attendant nymphs. A. certlea Z.), Bryanthus Gmelin (Menziésia bryantha Swz., and empetri-
férmis Ph.), Dabce‘cia (Andrémeda Dabce‘cii L., Menziésia poliifdlia J.), Menziésée ferruginea
and globularis constitute, it is remarked, a genus altogether dissimilar, and to be referred to the
Rhoddree. We had the pleasure to remark to this effect in Dec. 1831: see VII, 718.
Ericee § Rhodoracee.
1339. RHODODE’NDRON +11012 arbdreum S77. [Ex. bot. 6., Bot. reg. 890
1 sanguineum Lind?. blood-coloured-corollaed @ tL Jspl20apmy S Nepal 1817. Ls.p
[Bot. reg. 1240
2 rdseum Swe. rosy-corollaed @ J spl 20ap.my Ro Nepal 1817. Ls.p
(Bot. reg. 1684
3 niveum Swt. snowy-white-corollaed @ -_J spl 20 fap W Nepal 1817?_.Ls.p
R. arboreum album Wall.
Dr. Lindley has thus spoken, in the Bot. Reg. for July, of the snowy-white-
corollaed variety: —‘“ Never did we behold any flower more perfectly lovely
than this. Its leaves of the richest and deepest green, mellowed by the warm
tone of their under surface; its large clusters of bell-shaped flowers, hanging
loosely, yet compactly, by their slender stalks; and the half-transparent snowy
corollas, without a stain or a spot, save what nature had given them to render
their whiteness the more pure and brilliant, formed together an effect which
few objects could rival, and none surpass. Neither the rich crimson of the
[corollas of the] common tree rhododendron, nor the deep rose colour of
[those of] its pale variety, can, for a moment, be compared with that admir-
able delicacy [of those of the snowy-corollaed variety], which no art can
imitate, and no pen describe.’ We suppose that all three varieties of the R.
arbéreum may be purchased of Messrs, Loddiges, Hackney; and of Mr,
Knight, Chelsea.
521. AZA*LEA. [Paxton’s mag. of bot. July, 1834, fig.
4341a Danielséana Paxton Mrs. Capt. Daniels’s #\_J spl 3? ... Carmine China 1830. Lsp
A species or a variety with splendid flowers, and considerable distinctness
of habit and foliage, as these are depicted. “ Stems pliant, and bending down-
ward; producing numerous branches at the termination of each year’s growth,
disposed in rayed order.” The leaves are in the mode of those of A. indica,
but much smaller; and in this their greater smallness, and the spreading
direction of the branches, cause the kind to remind us much of the kinds of
Chinese azalea with variegated corollas, obtained by purchase from Mr.
M‘Gilligan, by Mr. Knight. (See [X. 474., X. 281.) From Mr. Paxton’s
Magazine we quote, that “ Captain Daniels, of the East India Company’s ser-
vice, brought home several cases of rare plants for Mr. Tate of Sloane Street,
in 1830, among which were the double red and variegated Chinese azaleas.
We believe the present plant to be a genuine species, as we can trace no con-
nection between it and any other known species or variety already introduced.
At the suggestion of Mr. Tate, we have named this truly splendid azalea in
compliment to Mrs. Capt. Daniels, as an honour due to that lady for the
introduction of so fine a plant, and for the kind and liberal spirit with which
the whole of the boxes were communicated.’ Mr. Tate will soon have plants
for sale. (Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, July.)
MonocoryLEDONOUS PLANTS.
CCXL. Orchidee.
9529. GEODO*‘RUM.
2265la fucatum Lindl. painted-Jabellumed x (A) or 1 jl Ro.Var Ceylon 1832. D Lp. Rot.reg.1687
** It resembles G. dilatatum ; but has rather smaller flowers, and a very different labellum.”’
A single plant of this species, sent to the London Horticultural Society by
Mr. Watson, produced flowers, in July, 1833, in the Society’s garden. “ It
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 403
thrives in a hot damp stove, but requires to be rested after its leaves have
withered. These are 1 ft. long, twice the length of the scape, which is curved
in its upper part, and so renders the flowers pendulous : these are disposed in
a compact short spike. (Bot. Reg., July.)
2554, EPIDE’NDRUM. [Bot. mag. 3332
bieornitum Hook. two-horned-labellumed € (A) fra 14 ap W.spot Trinidad 1831? D p.r.w
A charming species. The stem of the plant figured is nearly 1 ft. high, and
bore about four leaves at its extremity; the peduncle was produced from the
base of the uppermost of these, was 9in. long, and bore a raceme of from
three to four large and highly fragrant flowers: their odour is compared to
that of the flowers of J‘ris pérsica. Sepals and petals very much spreading,
1 in. long; and thus the expanded perianth is 2 in. across, pure white, broadly
ovate, rather acute. Labellum standing forward, spreading, three-lobed, white,
with a few purple small spots ; and it bears on its disk two conical divaricating
horns. The Messrs. Shepherd, of the Liverpool Botanic Garden, have intro-
duced this species into the stoves of Europe, and provisionally deemed it a
new species of Cattléya: “and it has many points in common with that genus.”
The figure is derived from a plant which produced its flowers under the care
of “ that zealous and excellent cultivator,” Mr. Joseph Cooper of Wentworth
Gardens. (Bot. Mag., July.)
CCXLVII. Asphodelee.
1053. ORNITHO’G ALUM.
bifldrum D. Don twin-flowered ¥ Aj el 13} ap W Peru 1832? Ops Sw.fl.gar.2.s.246
Scilla biflbra #. & P., Pers., Schult.
Leaves broadly linear. Scape about 13 ft. high. Flowers, upon slender
rather long peduncles, in threes, pairs, or solitary, at short intervals, along the
upper half of the scape. Perianth white, of less breadth than a sixpence.
“Its habit is extremely graceful; and its flowers are delicate and pretty.”
Figured from the collection of Mrs. Marryat, Wimbledon, Surrey. Mr. D.
Don says, “ It should be planted in a mixture of peat and sand ; and we have
no doubt of its proving nearly, if not quite, hardy.” (The Brit. Flow.-Gard.,
July.)
3283. TRITELEI A Hook. ' (Treis, three, teleios, complete; in allusion to the perfectly ternary
arrangement of its parts. — Lindley.) 6.1. Sp. 5.—
The above is Dr. Lindley’s etymon of Dr. Hooker’s word; and it quite supersedes those guessed
at in Hort. Brit. genus 3283., Gard. Mag. X. 350. 178.
98010a laxa Benth, lax-umbelled ¥ ,Ajor 12jnjl Dp.B California 1832? O p.l Bot. reg. 1685
Five species of Triteleia have been described by Dr. Lindley, in Bot. Reg. t. 1293. and t. 1685. Of
T. grandiflora, it is remarked : — ‘‘ North-west America [a native of}. Formerly cultivated in
the garden of the Horticultural Society, but now lost.”” ‘T. peduncularis Lina?., another of the
species, has not, it is stated, been yet introduced; and we suppose that the two remaining species
are also in this last case.
T. laxa seems, consequently, to be the only species alive in Britain. To
the information quoted on this plant in p. 178., we may now cite, in addition,
the following : —“ No plant can be more easy to cultivate; it will grow in
common garden soil; but prefers such a mixture of peat, loam, and sand as is
found in a border of American plants. It appears to be perfectly hardy; and,
if allowed to remain undisturbed, will propagate itself by offsets as well as by
seeds.” A plant of it, in the Horticultural Society’s garden, has borne twenty
flowers in an umbel, (Bot. Reg., July.)
CCLI. Lilidcee.
1027. YUCCA.
8517 superba Haw. superb-znjlor. # or 9 au W.St.P. +. « Sk rl Bot. reg. 1690
Y. gloridsa Bot. Rep. 473.; but it differs from Y. gloridsa L. ‘in the shape of its corolla, and in
its arborescent stem.’’— Haworth. ‘Its leaves are more acutely pointed than those of Y. glo-
ridsa.” — Herbert.
The specimen figured is from a plant which Mr. Herbert bought, twenty
years ago, of Mr. Malcolm, nurseryman, Kensington. Mr. Herbert has spoken
of it as follows :—“ It is unquestionably the most magnificent plant in the
flower-garden. The flower-stem rises 8 ft. or 9 ft. high; and the profusion of
blossom is so great, that, as the lateral shoots are rather suberect than diverg-
ing, a pin cannot be passed between the flowers in the centre of the column.
The deep crimson of the stalks and stem, and the purple stripe on the outer
4.04 < ° Floricultural and Botanical Notices.
petals [? sepals] of the flower, remind one of the colour of [the perianth of]
Crinum améabile, and contrast beautifully with the glossy white flowers. It is
a very hardy species, and flowers frequently. In a very dry season, the colour
is not so deep; warm, or temperate, and showery weather brings it to the
highest perfection of beauty.” (Bot. Reg., July.)
In p. 349, line 4. for ** Lanaria ” read “ Linaria.”
The Dividivi, or Cesalpinia Coriaria, as a Tanning Plant.— A letter from
Jamaica, by one of the last packets, furnishes me with important information,
which enables me to fix with the greatest accuracy the age at which seedling
plants of the Casalpinéa Coriaria come into bearing. Dr, Bancroft’s words
are as follows : —
“ Having recently obtained some particulars concerning the dividivi, I can
state that it flowered in August last, for the second time, in about the fifth year of
its having been planted : the first time was about twelve months before. There
were no pods then produced, but an abundance of them last year, so that the
branches were bent down with them. The flowers were yellow.” The letter,
from which this extract is taken, is dated the 17th of April, 1834. Hence the
first time of flowering must have been somewhere about August, 1832, and the
second in August, 1833. Now, upon referring to my memoranda, I find that
the first supply of seed I sent went by the Emulous packet, which sailed in
June, 1829, and reached Jamaica in the course of the following month ; so that
the seed could hardly have been sown much earlier than August, 1829. Hence,
in 1832, the plants were only three years old, and in 1833 only four, not five,
as Dr. Bancroft, from forgetfulness, states ; though, even taking his estimate, it
is more favourable than that of any other staple product of the West Indies,
except sugar, which yields its crop in nine months: coffee, it is well known,
does not come into bearing in less than seven, nor cacao, in general, under
ten years. I shall subjoin a table illustrative of the comparative value of the
dividivi, as measured by that of other astringent substances, calculated from
the able experiments of Mr. Rootsey of Bristol, and confirmed by the results
of experiments made both here and at Sandwich.
Results of the infusion of 60 grs. in 5 oz. of water. Number of grains of leather 4843u salizes
: = obtained by Mr. Rootsey from |S~ 525 °3
es 2 half an ounce of the infusion, Sass tee
= 3 | Number ofgrainsof| Proportion per cent of matter | or 6 grs. of the powdered sub- |S _ 87 , 83 8
Se matter which was which was stance, and a solution of isin- Enea gog g
g g glass. Consisting of [5.5 © ao aos i
72 | Soluble. \Insoluble.| Solubleiny | Insoluble in | Grains of | Grains of | Grains of age 5 g a ons
ra} water. water. Leather. | Tannin. | Gelatine. Fa S Ane ESeSs
epee ebirst 46 14 76°6667 23°3333 75 345 4:05 57:
Dividivi | Second | 45°5 145 | 75°8333 24-1667 575 2:°645 5°105 24.836
Mean 45°75 14°25 76°2500 23°7500 6625 | 3:0475 | 3°5775 517168
First 35 25 58°3333 41°6667 4 “84. P 666
Nut Galls| Second | 36 24 60 40 5:25 bats 9 835 os
Mean 35°5 24:5 59166645 40°833355 4:625 | 22975 | 24975 35'45835
First 25 35 41°6667 58°3333 07125 =| 0°0575 A 9583:
Sumach | Second| 23 3 38°3333 61°6667 melted eine Mies:
Mean 24 36 40 60
f First 22 fe 38 36°6667 633333 melted
Kino Second} 26°5 33°5 41°1667 55°8333 ditto
Mean 2425 35°75 40 4167 595833
First 40 20 666667 33°3333 1]
Catechu | Second} 40°5 19°5 67°53 305 mito
Mean 40°25 19°75 67:08335 32°91665
First 19 41 31°6667 68°3333
Oak Bark| Second | 17 43 283333 61666 ' R : F
Trae a ao 5G 3333 "O 7 1°75 0°805 0°945 13°4167
Cassia Fistula.—It may be well to notice, for the information of your
readers, that the timber of that most lovely flowering tree the Cathartocarpus
(Cassia) Fistula, is as valuable as its pods, so long known in medicine for their
pulp, being beautiful for turnery, and affording an excellent dye. I enclose
Retrospective Criticism. 405
a piece of silk dyed with it. [It was a delicate pink.] The dyers here per-
_suaded me that the colour could only be extracted by a spirituous menstruum ;
but Mr. Watts informs me it can be extracted equally well by boiling in
water. The tree grows in many of our West Indian islands, especially in
Dominica; and this new property will add enormously to its agricultural and
mercantile value, when once sufficiently known. This wood, on friction or
by heat, exhales a delightful aromatic odour; and hence might answer for
fans, and other uses, to which the costly sandal wood of the East is applied.
— W. Hamilton. Oxford Place, Plymouth, May 20. 1834.
Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism.
THE Horticultural Society at Hackney. (p. 324.) —Observing that G. Geddes
wishes it to be thought that he is a member of the Stamford Hill Horticul-
tural Reading Society, and that he complains of the treatment of the Horti-
cultural Society established here, I beg to observe that no such person belongs
to the Society, and that the communication was made without their sanction.
—W. Adamson, jun., Hon. Sec. to the Stamford Hilt Horticultural Reading
Society. Stoke Newington, July 8. 1834.
Planting Oaks a Year or two before the Trees intended to nurse them,
(p. 295.) — I observe that Mr. Bree intends to plant oak trees two or three
years previous to putting in firs as nurses; and, having entertained the same
opinions regarding the treatment of oak plantations for these last ten years, I
need hardly say that I cordially agree with what Mr. Bree has expressed on
the subject, and I sincerely rejoice that the experiment is about to be made;
and that, too, by one so well qualified to give it a fair trial. Had circum-
stances permitted, and opportunity been afforded, this experiment should have
been attempted years ago; entertaining, as I do, not the slightest shadow of
a doubt as to the successful issue thereof. Jam not only convinced that
young oak trees will maintain their vital principle uninjured without the help of
nurses, but that the aid of every agent necessary to constitute durable timber
will be more hberally communicated in the absence of nurses than with them.
It is quite a mistaken notion to imagine, as some seem to do, that the art
of rearing oak timber consists in stimulating the germinating powers beyond
the natural impulse; and thus, by artificial means, forcing on the tree to a
precocious maturity. Such a course is certainly not the best calculated to
promote longevity, or impart solidity to vegetable bodies. The man who
plants oak, plants not for his own benefit, but for that of future generations ;
and, if this is (as it ought to be) his real intention, he cannot act more con-
sistently than to retard the growth of his plants, rather than to encourage it
by undue means. I cannot, by any exercise of my mind, conceive why such
an opinion should have rooted itself so firmly in the minds of many eminent
planters, as, that young oaks will not live in “ the Land of the Oak,” without
sheltering them, almost to suffocation, with larch, Scotch pine, and spruce fir.
That the progress of an oak plantation will be slower without shelter, I
readily grant; but this I am foolish enough to think an advantage of con-
siderable magnitude, when durability of timber is the object in view. Let
me not be understood as deprecating the use of shelter altogether: it is not
the use, but the abuse, of shelter that I denounce. It may be said, that be-
tween no shelter at all, and the abuse of it, where and how is the medium to
be found? Truth generally exists between two extremes ; one extreme is, that
of no shelter at all; and those of your readers who feel interested in the ques-
tion, and who have access to Cruickshanks’s Practical Planter, will find the
other, if they turn to p. 221. of that work; where we are informed that the
plants (Scotch pine and larch) are to be put in at the distance of 4 ft. from
each other; that no oaks, or rather acorns, are to be planted until the Scotch
fir and larch shall have risen to the height of about 4 ft. from the ground ;
when they will be in a condition to afford complete shelter to every thing
Vou. X.— No. 53. FF
406 Retrospective Criticism.
lower than themselves. To attain this size, they will require from four to
seven years, according to the quality of the soil.’ By the way of encourag-
ing this practice, he adds, in p. 224., that “ young oaks, thus sheltered from
the outset, will make more progress in five years, than unsheltered ones will
do in ten years.” I think this somewhat doubtful: but, be that as it may, I
deny that the quality of the wood in the one case can be any thing like equal
to that in the other; for, as oak grown in milder climates is admitted to be
possessed of less durability than oak grown in the mountains of Scotland and
Wales, the same results must ensue, if by extreme sheltering we shall assimilate
the temperature of those last-mentioned parts to that of the former.
It is useless to talk of the deleterious effects of spring and autumnal frosts
upon young oak plants: this last spring the frost was severer towards the
middle and latter end of May, than we have experienced these some years
past; the two years’ seedling larches suffered a little in consequence, but not
a single oak was injured, although I observed the half-expanded foliage of
several young oak quarters white with the hoar-frost. Now these, I presume,
were preserved by their not being brought unduly into leaf; but, being only
acted upon by the natural impulse, they thus acquired a sufficient degree of
hardiness as they advanced : but, farther, the buds on the shoots of a full-
grown oak tree are just as tender when about bursting forth in spring, as is
the seedling when rising through the ground; yet how seldom, if ever, do we
see the head of a large tree affected by frost! Can we attribute this to any
thing else than to the absence of an undue excitement on the vegetative
powers, such as is produced by too close shelter. To me it appears no difficult
task to find the medium between the two extremes mentioned, and this me- -
dium, I conceive, Mr. Bree has struck exactly, by planting oak a few years ~
before the nurses. A firm and perfect nucleus is thus prepared, whereon to
deposit the future concentric layers of sapwood; and these in their turn will
be converted into sound timber the more readily and certainly, from nature
having been allowed to communicate in her own way that state of soundness
to the heart wood, which is so necessary for regulating the fluid system, and
for ultimately completing the vegetable structure.
When a plantation of young oaks has stood two or three years without
nurses or shelter, and is found to be alive, we may consider them as having
fairly established themselves in the ground. A moderate admixture of firs
ought then to be introduced, in such quantity as would draw up the oak along
with them, without producing an unnatural elongation of trunk; but, before
Mr. Bree’s system of treatment can be aeted upon with safety, Iam of opinion
that the plants will require to be raised on principles somewhat different from
those commonly acted upon at present.
Had your pages permitted, 1 should have added a few hints on the treat-
ment of plants, intended to be put out without nurses; the age and size,
method and time of pit-making, &c., but this I shall reserve for a future com-
munication. — James Munro. Brechin Nursery, June 16. 1834.
The Influence of the Stock on the Scion. — You doubted the fact of the
shaddock becoming sweet, when engrafted on a sweet orange ; or rather hinted
at the improbability of a union between two trees so opposite in their genera ;
and declared the impossibility of the orange becoming red, when engrafted on
the pomegranate of Malta. Facts of the union of trees quite as dissimilar as
the above are on record, and, I presume, the authorities on which they are
related will not be impugned. I met with them four years since. “ A large
green plum, grafted on the stem of the long black fig, succeeded at Rome.”
(Letter of John Ford to Mr, Ellis. Linnean Correspondence, vol. ili. p. 64.)
“ The Chionanthus virginica was successfully grafted upon the common
ash, a tree of the same natural order with itself, but not of the same genus.”
(Sir J. EL. Smith. Linnean Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 454.).— J. M. Phil-
adelphia, May 11. 1834.
Our correspondent alludes to the following paragraph, which appeared on
the wrapper of our 45th Number: —“ An American correspondent would be
glad to be informed in what work (for he thinks he has seen it somewhere) it
Retrospective Criticism. 407
is stated, that ‘a shaddock engrafted on a sweet orange stock will become
sweet ; and that the orange, grafted on the pomegranate at Malta, gives fruit
that is red inside.’ Of course, the last is impossible, and the first improbable ;
but the object is merely to ascertain where the statement is made.”
It will be seen that our correspondent is mistaken, in thinking that we
‘* hinted at the improbability of a union” between the shaddock and the sweet
orange ; or that we considered them as two trees “ opposite in their genera.”
We only hinted at the improbability of the one becoming sweet when grafted
on the other; and we did doubt this, and still do so; because there are very
few instances indeed where grafting has this effect. The only analogous cases
that we can, at this moment, recollect, are those of the influence of thorn and
quince stocks in rendering the fruit of some sorts of pears, when grafted on
them, gritty. Perhaps this is merely the result of the stunting or dwarfing,
which is produced by such unions. There is, too, in our VIII. 743., a state-
ment of the effect of other stocks upon pears. As to the plum grafted on the
fig, and succeeding, we have no hesitation in saying that the thing is impossible,
notwithstanding the authority adduced. The probability is, that Mr. Ford was
imposed on by some of the quacks’ grafts (greffes des charlatans, Thouin), for-
merly very common on the Continent. The shoot of a plum was probably
drawn through the hollowed stem of a fig, in the same manner as the jasmine,
the rose, &c., are drawn through the stem of the orange. (See Hncyc. of
Gard., new edit., § 200.) There is nothing remarkable in Chionanthus suc-
ceeding on Fraxinus, or on any of the Oleaceze; but we do not see in what
manner that fact applies to our statement, the pomegranate not belonging to
the same natural order as the orange. — Cond.
|. Aponogeton distachyon hardy. — Observing that you state that, amongst
the stove plants which you saw at Mr. Knight’s nursery, in the King’s Road,
there was Aponogeton distachyon, I beg leave to say this plant is perfectly
hardy. Ihave it growing in a pond in the open air: it blooms very freely
most part of the year, and ripens its seeds, which vegetate within 48 hours
after they are sown. My strongest plants are those which are self-sown at
the bottom of the pond, which is 4ft. deep. I planted, only three years ago,
two small bulbs, and now I am frequently obliged to destroy considerable
quantities of it. I find it grows abundantly in the ponds of the botanical
gardens both of Edinburgh and Glasgow. I consider it one of the most
desirable aquatics I cultivate, it being seldom out of bloom, except about
midsummer, and a few weeks afterwards. The last winter being mild, it
flowered almost every day.— Wm. Kent. Bath, July 11. 1834.
We thank Mr. Kent for this information, and much wish he would oblige
our readers with more of the fruit of his great experience in the culture of
aquatic plants. His rich and interesting collection of them in his garden at
Clapton is well remembered by many who had the pleasure of seeing it from
time to time. We were in part aware of the comparative hardihood of the
Aponogéton, but not that it is quite hardy. — J. D.
Taking up the Roots of the Scarlet Runners in Autumn, and replanting them
in Spring. (p. 315.) — I have practised this mode of culture for some years.
When the frost destroys the leaves and shoots, I take up the roots, keep them
in sand through the winter, and replant them in May. They grow stronger,
and begin to flower much earlier than beans planted in the common way, and
never stop bearing till the frost destroys them. I have not set the plants
more than one year, but a friend of mine has a plant six or seven years old,
which looks as well now as it did the first year; and he has also a row now
in pod, which were not either taken up or covered last winter. — N.S. N.
Nottingham, July 4. 1834.
I took some Shps from my old Cauliflowers, and set them with my autumn
plants; and, as they have this spring produced very fine heads, I intend to
continue the practice. — Jd.
We should be glad to hear frequently from this correspondent, who has
doubtless excellent ideas and practices to communicate. — Cond.
EF 2
408 Queries and Answers.
=
Art. V. Queries and Answers.
DESTROYING the Red Spider (A’carus telarius). (p. 289.) —If J.B. W. will
use the following compound, he will find it completely eradicate those un-
welcome visiters the red spiders, without in the slightest degree dis-
figuring or injuring any part of vegetation to which he may think proper to
apply it. To each of four gallons of clean rain water, heated to about 100°
Fahrenheit, add a small tea-cupful of soft soap, stirrmg and mixing both well
together. Then apply it with a syringe, in the same manner, same proportion,
and about the same time as water is generally supplied; that is, well drench,
between five and six o’clock in the afternoon, every part that is in the least
infested, or likely to be so, and repeat the operation three successive after-
noons; the fourth, instead of the nostrum, use clean water. Then again
the nostrum for three successive afternoons, using on the fourth clean water,
and so on; recollecting never to syringe with clean water on any of the days
that the nostrum has been used; nor with the nostrum on any of the days
allotted for clean water. I have imvariably found that nine syringings with
the mixture totally destroyed every appearance of the insects, and have never
found them make their appearance during the season after its application. It
will be perceived, by a minute inspection, after the first two or three syringings,
that the foliage has assumed what botanists would call a “ slightly glaucous ”
appearance. It is this glancous appearance which baffles every effort of
the insect; as every leaf and branch is thinly coated over with soft soap,
yet so thinly that in vegetation there is no perceptible difference. The object
of syringing with clean water every third day is to remove the glaucous ap-
pearance, and allow vegetation twenty-four hours’ respite ; which enables the
plant to sustain, without the slightest perceptible difference, the next three
dressings with the nostrum. Were the glaucous appearance not removed at
the specified time, but the nostrum continued for four, five, or six times, the
foliage would get so over-coated, that a very perceptible difference would
directly show itself; and the leaves would assume a brown unhealthy appear-
ance: the washing every third day (using a plentiful supply of clean water)
quite prevents this. — Abdalonymus. July 7. 1834.
Destruction of the Red Spider ; m answer to J. B. W., p. 289.—Make a table-
spoonful of sulphur into a paste, and afterwards put it into a large pot full of
water. The sulphur should be in such proportion to the water as to make
the latter yellow. Syringe the leaves with this mixture two or three times in
the course of a fortnight, adding a little more sulphur each time. The spider
will soon bid you farewell. — P. Davis. Upton, near Stratford, Essex, June
24. 1834.
Vitality of the Silver Fir.— Has any one of your correspondents observed
the stump and roots of this tree alive for a number of years after the tree was
felled? M. Dutrochet says that the stump and roots of the silver fir (A*bies
Picea) continue to live, and even to grow, duringa great many years. He ob-
served, in the forests of the Jura, that all the stumps of the silver fir, the
branches of which had been many years felled, were still vigorous as well as
the roots; while the stumps and roots of the Norway spruce, in the same
forest, were all dead, including even those which had been recently felled.
Stumps of silver firs which had been felled forty-five years were still full of
life. —J. W. L.
The Weeping Ash (1X. 596., and X. 180.) is purely a seminal variety. This
I have long since proved. About ten years since, twenty thousand seedlings,
from a fine old weeping tree in the nursery, were planted in the same quarter
with twenty or thirty thousand common ash seedlings. I was much interested
in the experiment; but, on carefully watching their growth, the only peculiarity
IT remarked was their beg rather more vigorous in habit, and, if possible,
more straight in their stems: not one showed the least inclination to copy its
humhle progenitor. — 7. Rivers, jun. Sawbridgeworth, May 23. 1834.
Covent Garden Market. 4.09
ArT. VI. Covent Garden Market.
4 From To From To
LUO GRICE Lies £35 4/£ 5.4. £5. dl/£5.a
Cabbage, per dozen: Savory, per dozen bunches- |0 3 0/0 0 0
hite Ci 3 - |0 0 9|0 1 381|| Basil, perdozenbunches - |0 4 0/0 0 0
Red S - - |0 2 6]|90 3 O|| Rosemary, per dozen bunches| 0 6 0/0 0 O
Plants or Coleworts - |0 2 0/0 2 6|| Lavender, per dozen bunches|0 3 6/0 4 0
Cauliflowers, per dozen - |0 2 0/0 6 O/|| Tansy, perdozen bunches - |0 1 6/0 0 O
Legumes. Stalks and Fruits for Tarts, es
Peas’ « spersieve - |0 2 6/0 5 0 Pickling, §c.
a per sack = f i 6 8 e 0 || Rhubarb Stalks, per bundle 6 e Q f 6 is
s per sieve 0 3 || Angelica Stalks, per pound
Beans, Windsor ee sack 0 3 6 {£0 5 0]! Vegetable Marrow, per dozen] 0 0 9/0 1 3
Mubcrs and Rooks. Capsicums, per hundred - | 0 2 0/0 3 0
per ton 500/17 00 Edible Fungi and Fuci.
Potatoes - ) per cwt. 0 5 0}0 7 O/|| Mushrooms, per pottle - |0 10/0 6
per bushel 0 2 6{|0 3 6/| Morels, dry,perpound -1|1 00/0 00
Turnips, White, per bunch 0 0 2/0.0 4|| Truffles, English, per pound | 0 14 0 | 0 0
Carrots, per bunch : :
Young sere - 100 8/01 0 Fruits.
Horn - o - = |0 0 6/]0 O 8]} Apples, Dessert, per bushel:
Red Beet, per dozen - |0 20/0 0 0 White Juneating - + |0 5 0/0 60
Horseradish, per bundle - |0 2 6/0 5 0 Red Juneating - - |/0 50/060
Radishes, per bunch : : St. Julien - - - {0 8 0;010 0
Red - - - |0 0 1/0 0 0 Baking - ° - |0 3 6/0 5 0
White Turnip - - |0 0 13|/0 O Oj} Peaches, per dozen - - |015 0/1 5 0
y é Nectarines, per dozen - |015 0/)110 0
The Spinach Tribe. Apricots, perdozen - - |0 2 6/0 6 O
Spinach § Per Sieve 020 0 0|| Almonds, perpeck - - |0 7 0/0 0 0
pina: per half sieve - |0 1 6/0 O Oj] Plums, Dessert, per punnet 02 0;0 2 6
Sorrel, per halfsieve - - {0 1 0 0 0 Green gages - = - |0 26;)0 3 0
i : Cherries, per pound - |0 0 2/0 06
The Onion Tribe. Bigarreaus - a - 10 10/016
Onions, green, perbunch - |0 0 2/0 0 4|| Currants, per sieve:
Leeks, per dozen bunches = | 0 4 0/0 0 0 Black > = - |0 50/0 66
Garlic, per pound =. 00 6/0 0 8 White = S - |0 50/060
Shallots, per pound - = |0 0 8/0 010 Red, for wine - - 10 7 010 8 Oo
A v For tarts 3 - |0 7 C!0 8 0
sparaginous Plants, Dessert, per half sieve 0461060
Salads, &c. Raspberries, Red, per gallon
Artichokes, per dozen - 10 3 0/0 4 0 (2 pottles) 6 o - 1/0 09/016
Lettuce, per score: 4 ; Pine-apples, per pound - |0 40/0 70
_ Cos . - - |0 0 6|90 1 6 || Hot-house Grapes, per pound)0 3 0/0 5 0O
Cabbage Sy eg= - |0 0 6]0 1 OJ] Melons,each - - -§1/0 2 6/0 5 0
Celery, per bundle (12to15) | 0 1 0{|0 1 6{/ Cucumbers, frame, per brac * ; 91010
er dozen - 9
Pot and Sweet Herbs. Oranges Ae Kundnea 210 GO e AA S
Fennel, per dozen bunches 03 0;0 0 0 Lemons $ Pet dozen - - |0 0 9/0 26
Thyme, per dozen bunches 03 0/0 0 0 per hundred - |0 6 0/018 0
Sage, per dozen bunches - |0 2 0}]0 O O/|| Sweet Almonds, per pound 0 2 0)0 26
Mint, per dozen bunches - |0 2 6/0 O O/]|/| Brazil Nuts, perbushel - |016 0/0 0 0
Peppermint, per doz. bunches} 0 1 6/0 0 O/]| Spanish Nuts, per peck - |0 40})000
Marjoram, per dozen bunches} 0 3 0/{0 0 O0|] Barcelona Nuts, per peck - |0 5 0/0 0 0
Observations. — From the continuance of fine and warm weather during the
last month (with an occasional shower) until Saturday last, our market has
been regularly supplied with fruit in abundance, and in most excellent con-
dition. The prices of most articles have been good, cherries excepted, which
have been very reasonable. Currants are now coming to hand in fine condition
for wine or preserves; gooseberries also are in excellent state for the same
purposes; we have a few jargonelle and other pears, but the crop is very
short ; of plums and green gages some few from the walls, the general crop
is altogether a failure; the report of wall fruit is generally bad, except grapes,
which will be plentiful. The recent rains have improved the prospect of
autumn and winter crops, so that I have no doubt we shall have an abundant
supply of turnips, coleworts, sayoys, and other articles. At present we have
plenty of summer cabbage, French and scarlet beans, with some turnips and
fine carrots from Bedfordshire. The supply of early potatoes has been as yet:
very deficient in quantity, with little prospect of any material improvement
from the immediate neighbourhood of London, whence we are at present
supplied, but the later crops will be materially improved by the recent abundant
rains. — G.C. July 22. 1834,
410 London Horticultural Society and Garden.
Art. VII. London Horticultural Society and Garden.
JunE 17. 1834. — Evhibited. Roses, pelargoniums, and heartseases, from
Mrs. Lawrence. Pinks and carnations, from Mr. Hogg, Paddington. Pinks
and sweetwilliams, from Mr. Kirke, Brompton. Yellow roses (double), from
Mrs. Meyer. Cypripédium spectabile, pubéscens, and parviflorum, and Lilium
spectabile, from Messrs. Chandler.
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Gilia tricolor, Fuchsia Thompsoniana,
Lilium japénicum, Lupinus albifrons, &c.; Cycnoches Loddigész, hybrid
gladioluses; Pentstemon spléndens, specidsus, &c.; Pzednia albiflora Humer,
Caprifolium flexudsum, Psoralea glandulosa, Silene compacta, and flowers of
other plants; Tilgner’s red-heart cherry; Buck’s seedling pine-apple No. 2.
July 1.— Exhibited. Drawings of heartseases, by Mrs. Withers. Stan-
hopea oculata, from J. Bateman, Esq. Helichrysum sp., from W. Wells, Esq.
Specimen of a garden-pot, from T. C. Palmer, Esq. Acanthus spindsus, from
Mr. J. Kirke. A stand of carnations, heartseases, and roses, from Mr. Hogg.
Rohdea japénica, from J. Reeves, Esq. A stand of flowers of georginas, from
Mr, Glenny. :
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Manéttia cordata, Sdllya hetero-
phylla; Verbena, four kinds; Quisqualis fndica, Calceolaria viscosissima,
Galéga biloba, JZalope grandiflora, roses, pentstemons, Spirze‘a arizefolia, and
flowers of other plants. Cherries: The Elton, Downton, Black eagle, Bigar-
reau couleur de chair (flesh colour), Red heart, Belle de Choisy, Hybrid
(between Waterloo and Mayduke). Strawberries, the Elton seedling.
July 15.— Read. Remarks upon the Causes of the Diseases and Deformi-
ties of the Leaves of the Peach Tree; by T. A. Knight, Esq.
Presented. No. xxxiv. of the Pomona Italiana; from the Marquess of
Bristol.
Exhibited. Rosa microphylla, from E. Johnstone, Esq. Magnolia grandi-
flora, and White juneating apples, from Mr. J. Kirke. Vines in pots, from
Mr. Mearns.
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Flowering specimens of Calceolaria vis-
cosissima, Gesnéria ritila, Quisqualis indica, Manéttia cordata, Justicia carnea;
Alstroeméria hirtélla, afrea; Caprifolium japénicum, Anomatheéca cruénta,
Clarkea elégans, Stenactis speciosa, Gilia tricolor, Antirrhinum majus flore
pléno; Lupinus albifrons, ornatus ; Petwnia phoenicea and var., Madia elégans,
Escallonia rubra, and a white-flowered kind; Spire‘a arizfolia, Reséda odo-
rata var. crassifolia, Catananche czerilea var. bicolor, Coreépsis lanceolata,
Cladanthus arabicus; Malope malacdides, grandiflora; G’nothéra speciosa,
macrocarpa, aniséloba, Pentstémon pulchéllus, hybridus, ruber; Macleaya
cordata, Coronilla varia, Potentilla Hoopwoodiana, Verbéna chameedrifolia,
Psoralea glandulosa, roses, georginas, hollyhocks. Cherry: Bigarreau Napo-
leon. Gooseberries : Woodward’s whitesmith, Pitmaston’s green gage, Taylor’s
bright Venus, Red Turkey, White Champagne, Red Champagne.
The Exhibition at the Chiswick Garden, held July 5., was still more nume-
rously attended than the previous ones, there being present 3076 persons,
notwithstanding the attraction of the queen going down the river to embark
for Germany, attended by a numerous body of courtiers, which must have
drawn “some souls another way.” The stage of exhibition was seen to
greater advantage than on any former occasion, in consequence of a passage
round it being railed off, with openings at each end and in the centre of each
side for ingress and egress. This arrangement admits of some improvement,
which will no doubt be made; and, when it is perfectly satisfactory, we shall
give a ground plan of it, for the benefit of other societies who have similar
exhibitions.
The next thing which we should like to see attempted by the directors of
those shows would be a classification of the articles exhibited. We would
place all the fruit on a part of the stage by itself; all the florists’ flowers by
themselves, all the roses by themselves, and so on. This would not interfere
London Horticultural Society and Garden. 411
with miscellaneous collections of plants in pots, which might be still kept in
groups, as they are at present. We should also like to see culinary vegetables
of every description exhibited, and, of course, they ought to be shown ina
separate tent. Indeed, we are persuaded that these exhibitions will soon be-
come so popular, that the present tent, large as it is, will not be able to con-
tain the articles sent, and it may then be devoted exclusively to miscellaneous
assemblages of plants in pots, while separate tents will be required for florists’
flowers, fruit, and culinary vegetables. There is plenty of room for such
tents, and they might be made of a circular form, and wholly supported by
an iron column in the centre, somewhat in the manner of fig.630. in the new
edition of our Encyclopedia of Gardening, but with a curtain all round.
We should also wish to see a rigid attention paid to classification in the
collection of cut flowers, such as roses, heartseases, carnations, &c. By
neglecting to place varieties of the same flowers together, according to their
affinities, the florists really do themselves an injustice. For example, in the
way hearteases are at present exhibited, the varieties are all indiscriminately
mixed together ; so that, in casting the eye over them, it is impossible to say
how far they are distinct from each other. Now, were each variety placed
adjoining to that which it most resembled in the greatest number of particu-
lars, the eye would begin at one end of the collection, and trace a beautiful
series of harmonious variation to the other end of it. There is not one well-
constituted mind in a thousand, to which this mode of exhibition would not be
incomparably more agreeable than the present chaotic one. We believe that
one of the objects of the exhibitor at present is sometimes to puzzle the spec-
tator, and to prevent him from knowing how many distinct sorts are exhibited.
If this be desirable in a commercial point of view, it is most detestable in
point of taste; for, in small things, as in great ones, “ order is heaven’s first
law.” Why is it “ heaven’s first law?” Because, wherever a number of par-
ticulars are presented to the mind, they cannot be comprehended by it, unless
they are connected by some obvious principle, so as to form a whole. Won-
derful as the powers of the human mind are, it can only attend properly to
one thing at one time. From this principle within us arises the necessity of
order and classification in all things around us, from which we expect to
derive either instruction or delight. (See the subject of unity of sensation
treated more in detail in our Architectural Magazine, vol. i. p. 219.)
The articles which appeared to us the most remarkable in the exhibition
were Rhodochiton volubilis, which had flowered in the stove of Mrs. Law-
rence; Campanula garganica, mentioned p. 349., from the garden of Mrs.
Marryat ; dotted-flowered balsams, from Mrs. Lawrence; balsams very prolific
in flowers relatively to the number of their leaves and the strength of their
stems, from the garden of Gunnersbury House, by Mr. Mills; very fine car-
nations and picotees, from Mr. Hogg; and remarkably large grapes and red
currants, from Mr. Wilmot of Isleworth. There were, also, anew seedling
white grape, without stones ; vines in pots with several bunches of grapes on
each, the plants being raised from cuttings put in in the spring of last year; and
a pot with several bunches, produced by the coiling system (described p. 138.),
by Mr. Mearns. Perhaps, after all, the most interesting and most valuable
articles exhibited were the very large red currants, raised by Mr. Wilmot.
The gold Banksian medal was awarded: 1. To Mr. John Wilmot of Isle-
worth, F.H.S., for grapes; 2. To Mrs. Lawrence, F.H.S., for a miscellaneous
collection of plants; 3. To Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, for China and
noisette roses ; and, 4. For garden roses, to Mr. Stephen Hooker of Brenchley
(near Lamberhurst), F.H.S.
The large silver medal was awarded: 1. For a miscellaneous collection
of plants, from Mr. John Green, gardener to Sir Edmund Antrobus, Bart.
F.H.S.; 2. For miscellaneous fruits, from Mr. Geo. Mills, F.H.S., gardener
to Alexander Copland, Esq. F.H.S.; 3. For pelargoniums, from Messrs. Col-
ley and Hill of Hammersmith; 4. For georginas, from Mr. Hopwood of
Twickenham; 5. For georginas, from Mr. Redding, gardener to Mrs. Mar-
412 Obituary.
rvat, F.H.S.; 6. For an Enville pine, from Mr. John Wilmot of Isleworth,
F.H.S.; 7. For queen pines, from Mr.Wm. Greenshields, F.H.S., gardener to
R. B. De Beauvoir, Esq. F.H.S.; 8. For melons, from Mr. John Wilmot of
Isleworth, F.H.S.; 9. For peaches and nectarines, from Mr. John Mearns,
F.H.S., gardener to the Duke of Portland; 10. For carnations, from Mr.
Hogg of Paddington; 11. For heaths, from Messrs. Rollison of Tooting ;
12. For English picotees, from Mr. Hogg of Paddington; 13. For grapes,
from Mr. Turner, gardener to George Byng, Esq. F.H.S.; 14. For China
roses, from Mr. Stephen Hooker, F.H.S.; 15. For miscellaneous roses, from
Wm. Harrison, Esq. F.H.S.; 16. For balsams, from Mr. John Green, gar-
dener to Sir E. Antrobus, Bart. F,H.S.; For Helichrysum sp., from Robert
Mangles, Esq. F.H.S.
The silver Banksian medal: 1. For heartseases, from Mr. Wilmer of Sun-
bury; 2. For peaches and nectarines, from Mr. Bradley, gardener to the Earl
of Arran, F.H.8.; 3. For cucumbers, from Mr. Seward Snow, gardener to
John H. Palmer, Esq. F.H.S.; 4. For currants, from Mr. John Wilmot of
Isleworth, F.H.S.; 5. For black Hamburgh grapes, from Mr. R. Clews of
Acton, F.H.S.; 6. For grapes, from Mr. Andrews, gardener to R. Patterson,
Esq., of Blackheath; 7. For bigarreau cherries, from Mr. Jarvis of Turnham
Green; 8. For melons, from Mr. Davis, gardener to —-— Strange, Esq.,
Upton, Essex ; 9. For perpetual roses, from Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth ;
10. For roses, from Mr. Wilmer of Sunbury; 11. For picotees, from Mr.
Wilmer of Sunbury; 12. For pelargoniums, from Mr. Gaines, Surrey Lane,
Battersea; 13. For balsams, cockscombs, and georginas, from My. W. Cock
of Chiswick; 14. For a miscellaneous collection of plants, from Mr. Redding,
gardener to Mrs. Marryat, F.H.S.
Art, VIII. Odituary.
Diep, at Armagh, June 30., aged 42, Mr. James Elles, gardener to His
Grace the Lord Primate. Mr. Elles was a native of Yorkshire. At an early
age he was sent to a grammar school, at which he read the usual course of
Latin and Greek, which, in after-life, assisted in placing him at the head of his
profession. He discovered an early attachment to the profession of gardening,
and, being a man of studious habits, he not only became a good practical gar-
dener, but also an excellent botanist, and a successful cultivator of flowers.
He contributed, under different signatures, many valuable papers to the Gar-
dener’s Magazine, and obtained the prize offered by the conductor of that
periodical, from a great number of competitors, for the best essay on “ Cottage
Economy.” He had acquired not only a theoretical, but also a practical,
knowledge of many branches of natural history, and was, we believe, the first
gardener in this country who used hot water to keep up the proper tempera-
ture of hot-houses. He lived as head gardener ten years with the Marquess of
Bath, and upwards of four years at Armagh. In him society has lost a
valuable member, and His Grace has lost a servant of sterling honesty and
integrity, one whom it will be a most difficult matter to replace. He bore a
lingering illness with Christian resignation, and died in the full hope of enjoy-
ing a happy eternity through the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He has left a disconsolate wife and four children to lament his loss. (Newry
Commercial Telegraph, July 8. 1834.)
We can add our testimony to the great moral worth and high professional
eminence of Mr. Elles, the loss of whom we deeply deplore. We sincerely
hope that the archbishop whom he has served will act the part of a Christian,
and be a benefactor and protector to his widow and children. — Cond.
THE
GARDENER’'S MAGAZINE,
SEPTEMBER, 1834.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art.I. Notes on Gardens and Country Seats, visited, from July 27
to September 16., during a Tour through Part of Middlesex, Berk-
shire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Hamp-
shire, Sussex, and Kent. By the ConpucTor.
(Continued from p. 259.)
Torrrennam Parr, Marquess of Aylesbury.— Aug. 16. This
is an immense place, of which we had heard much; and while,
‘In its immensity and in the general management of the estate,
it exceeded our expectations, in its architecture and gardening,
which we had heard most praised, it fell short of them. The
estate consists of 60,000 acres in a ring fence, one half of which,
we suppose, may consist of the ancient forest of Savernake, said to
be the largest in Britain in the possession of a private individual,
with the house in the centre. - Fifteen years ago, the stewardship
of this estate fell into the hands of Mr. Iveson, who has effected
the most extraordinary improvements and ameliorations, seconded
by the marquess, who is one of the best of landlords and masters.
When Mr. Iveson came into charge of the property, none of
the cottages on the estate had gardens attached to them, and the
labourers were in the most wretched condition of any in this
part of England. They are still bad enough, in more than one
sense of the word; their wages being made up out of the poor’s
rate (a system which the magistrates of the county, we were
informed, have not the courage to break through): but, in con-
sequence of every cottage, without exception, having had a
quarter of an acre of land attached to it, the dwelling itself
- having been put in repair, and, when necessary, enlarged so as
to consist of four rooms with lean-tos, &c., they are in a state
of great comparative comfort and happiness. Mr. Burns, the
well-known, and, we may say, celebrated gardener, at Totten-
ham Park, propagates 300 apple trees yearly, to distribute
among them; and supplies them with cuttings and seeds of
Vou, X.— No, 54, GG
A14: Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
whatever he thinks will be either useful or ornamental in their
gardens. For all repairs, and for such additions as they may
choose to make, Mr. Iveson and his under stewards allow them
rough materials to any extent for nothing. The walls of these
cottages are of brick, or of cob, built in the manner described
in our Encyc. of Cott. Arch., § 838. to § 842., and their covering
is almost invariably thatch. The cottage and land, with all
these advantages, are let at 2/. a year, and every cottager comes
to the mansion to pay his rent twice a year, when he has what
is, for him, a sumptuous dinner, and abundance of ale, or, as it
is called in Wiltshire, strong beer. In consequence of this treat-
ment, they have become quite a different people. ‘There are now
three schools for twenty girls each, where before there were
none; but in this respect improvement has not been carried
half far enough. We heard of no boys’ schools, and we were
informed that very few labourers on the estate could read. ‘The
cottagers, some years ago, used to live chiefly on bread and
water; but now every married man keeps a pig; all grow pota-
toes and other vegetables in their own gardens; and many brew
their own beer. Several of them have expressed to Mr. Stanley,
the marquess’s wharfinger, their astonishment how they could live
at all, either in their former houses, or on their former diet.
All the farm lands on this estate are held at will, at very low
rents, and without any restrictions as to cropping; but they have,
with scarcely any exceptions, been in the same families for
generations. ‘The land is good, and, for the county, well culti-
vated; and the farmers, with scarcely a single exception, are
rich. The farm houses were formerly situated in the villages ;
but they have been removed and rebuilt by Mr. Iveson, in
situations central to the lands, and on improved plans. ‘The
hedges and roads have also been altered and improved through-
out the whole estate; and the hedges are managed in the North-
umberland manner, so admirably, that the boundaries of the
estate may be discovered by them. We recognised the change
at once in coming along the Bath road from Hungerford. In
the home farm, admirably managed by Mr. Unthank from the
county of Durham, the Berwickshire system of growing turnips
on raised drills is exhibited, and it has been already followed by
some of the tenants. Mr. Unthank has also got a Finlayson’s
harrow, an implement calculated to save an immense deal of
labour in this as well as in most other parts of the coantry.
The farmyard here is good; as is also that for poultry. ‘The
pigeon-house, built in a circular form, and entirely of brick, with
the cells in the walls, formed by courses on edge, alternating
with others flat, proper openings being left, and projecting bricks
for the birds to perch on being introduced, is a model of beauty.
Mr. Unthank’s house, the carpenter’s house, and the poultry-
Tottenham Park. 415
man’s house, form a line of detached villas, which, if near
London, would be considered as fit for respectable merchants or
private gentlemen. Mr. Iveson’s house is a villa on a larger
scale, with a very handsome lawn, tastefully varied and deco-
rated by Mr. Iveson himself. It is on the margin of the park;
and, by concealing the separating fence, it might be made to
appropriate, as its own, a considerable breadth of the park
scenery. — So much for the extent of this estate, and its general
management: we shall now turn to the park, and the house and
gardens.
The park may be described as an interminable oak forest, on
a surface which, taken as a whole, may be considered flat, but
which, in particular places, exhibits undulations. This forest is
crossed at right angles by two avenues, one above eleven miles
long, which intersect each other in the centre, at which point of
intersection is placed the house. A stranger can form no idea
either of the extent of the park or of the length of the avenues ;
so that to him the characteristic of the place is interminableness.
Besides these principal avenues, there are innumerable subordinate
ones, many planted with beech trees, and others cut out of the
forest and bordered by the native oaks and birches. There is one
master avenue, or rather grass drive, which makes a circuit of
the entire forest, and which is 25 miles long. From one front of
the house one of the straight main avenues is distinguished passing
over a swell, at the distance of seven miles. By way of distin-
guishing the 25-mile avenue, we have suggested to Mr. Burns
the idea of planting an arboretum along it, of such trees and
large-growing shrubs as are perfectly hardy; and adjusting the
distance so that they shall extend over the whole 25 miles.
This idea, properly developed, would produce something unique,
and worthy of such a place as Tottenham Park. Mr. Burns
took us extensive drives in all directions; but, for want of distant
prospects, and water, we cannot say that we met with any
striking views. Indeed, we felt a degree of sameness, perhaps
increased by the impression, still vivid in our minds, of High
Clere. In the bottom of one quiet valley is Savernake Lodge,
a small villa, intended for the eldest son of the family when he
marries, with grounds about it very neatly laid out, and well
kept. Here the children of the present marquess were nursed up
by Mrs. Morgan, the present housekeeper, and each child had
its garden. ‘These gardens still exist, and appear like little islands
in a sea of turf. ‘They are surrounded by hedges, and are still
kept up with great care and taste, under the direction of Mrs.
Morgan.
The mansion strikes a stranger as being placed in a low
situation, as the grounds rise slightly from it on every side. It
was originally, we believe, designed or built by Lord Burlington,
GG 2
AIG Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
in the Palladian style of course, with a centre, and two wings
joined by segmental corridors; a most unsuitable style, according
to modern ideas, for a baronial residence in the centre of an
ancient forest. ‘This house has for some years past been under-
going renovations, and receiving additions in the same general
style; but we regret to say that we never in the whole course of our
observation met with any thing more unsatisfactory, either exte-
riorly or within. ‘The chief fault lies in the works having been
begun apparently without any general plan. In whichever way
the exterior elevation is viewed, it is without grandeur; and
within there are some parts, such as the hall, plainly finished
even to meanness, and lighted by sloping sashes, exactly like
those of a hot-house; and some small rooms finished in the
most gorgeous style, with the most elaborate inlaid floors of
different-coloured woods, and carved doors and wainscoting,
and highly enriched cornices and ceilings. ‘There is no large
room yet finished; the walls of the library are built, but those
of the dining-room are not commenced, and, in our opinion, they
never should be, for it is beyond the power of man to make a
good whole of this house. ‘The principal bedrooms not only
have low ceilings, but, to aggravate this evil, the widows do not
reach to above two thirds of their height, so that they never can
be properly ventilated. ‘The small size of the windows, also,
makes the rooms appear gloomy and dark, and this, contrasted
with their gorgeous French furniture, gave us more the idea of
ptincely tombs (such as we have seen in the vaults of Peters-
burg and Konigsberg, covered with rich furs and velvet, and
with a profusion of gilding), than of cheerful sleeping-rooms.
There is nothing that takes away from the idea of habitableness
and enjoyment so much as overlaying things with ornament.
Coming ont of these rooms, one is really quite astonished at the
meagre finishing of the hall and principal staircase. There is
a wing containing a Doric conservatory, the columns hollow,
and their flutings filled in with glass; the triglyphs and other
parts of the frieze are also filled in with glass: conceits most
unhappily at variance with Doric simplicity and elegance. Ad-
joining this, but not joined to it, and evidently an after-thought,
is an architectural orangery with an opaque roof, higher than
the other, and sufficiently discordant with it to harmonise with
the rest of the place. It is not yet finished, and, were it not for
the sake of Mr. Burns’s fine orange trees, we should be tempted
to wish it never may. ‘There is a terrace connecting these ap-
pendages with the main body of the house, from which a flight
of steps descends to the flower-garden.
We refer our readers, for the plan of this garden, to VII.
138.; in which they will find the forms of the beds, and the
plan and position of the terrace and orangery just mentioned.
Tottenham Park. 417
When we saw the forms of these beds on paper, we were at a
loss to conceive the reasons which induced the artist to adopt
‘them, as they had evidently no relation to the lines of the walks.
We said nothing, however; thinking that there might be some
inequalities in the ground, or some existing trees, or rocks,
which might justify their adoption. The grounds, however, are
quite flat, and without a single tree; and, therefore, we do not
hesitate to pronounce the whole to be laid out in bad taste.
Our readers will understand the reasons on which this opinion
is founded, if they will turn to VII. 401., and VIII. 86, &c.
There is an American border adjoining the flower-garden, and
marked g in the plan (fig. 16. VII.). ‘This border is parallel to,
and partly under, a double row of very large beech trees; and,
as it rises from the walk to the height of between 2 ft. and $ ft.
above the level of the surface towards the trunks of the trees, it
has a very bad effect. We will not say that this is a matter of
taste, in which two persons may differ, and neither be in the
wrong. No; itis a matter of truth and nature. It never can
be true to nature to see large old trees with their trunks appa-
rently earthed up; and it is equally as injurious to their growth
as it is unpleasant to the eye. There is something, too, exceed-
ingly circumscribed in the idea of making a shrubbery border
under the shade of high trees; more especially a peat border,
which ought always to be more or less moist. By management
of this sort, the grandeur and dignity of the large trees are
injured, and the border is prevented from attaining the end
in view. There is nothing more contrary to nature, yet less
consistent with the characteristics of art, than the sight of a tree,
with the base of its trunk either really or apparently clogged
up with earth. ‘The grandeur and dignity of a tree depend
mainly on its rising up boldly, with the base and part of the
trunk exposed, from a naked surface: rising out of a mound of
earth, or out of a clump of bushes, with the trunk concealed, it
can only be considered as an immense bush. -
There are other parts of the adjoining grounds laid out in
flower-beds, with a magnolia wall, and a walk by a sunk fence
with a rhododendron border; but these details are not so con-
nected as to form an impressive whole. In short, there is an
utter want of unity of design in the garden scenery as well as in
the house. ‘There is, however, one thing, which it would be the
greatest injustice to Mr. Burns not to bring forward in a pro-
minent manner, viz., the excellence of the culture, and the good
order in which everything is kept. The place abounds in hybrid
rhododendrons and azaleas; and the flower-beds are filled with
choice plants, most beautifully in bloom. We have noted down
numerous fine specimens, but fear we should fatigue our readers
by giving their names and dimensions, and, what is of far more
; Ce
418 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats.
consequence, the very few years that they have been planted.
We must, however, notice an azalea, forming a bush 15 yards
in circumference; and a kalmia, nearly as large, and 6 ft. high.
Magnolia grandiflora and M. conspicua make shoots here from
18 in. to 3 ft. long every year. The magnolia wall will probably
soon be the finest thing of the kind in England, not even except-
ing that at White Knights. There is a fine Cunninghamvza here,
between 14 ft. and 15 ft. high; perfectly hardy, and very hand-
some. There is a large Magnolia glatca, raised from seed
ripened at Wasing House, Berkshire; an oak-leaved Hydrangea,
remarkably large; several camellias, both as standards and
trained against a wall, growing freely and flowering beautifully ;
an Eriobotrya and Photinia, high, bushy, and vigorous; with’
a remarkably large and handsome variety of tree lupine, which
we should wish to see in the nurseries; in which opinion we are
sure we shall be seconded by so generous and liberal-minded a
man as Mr. Burns. In short, in the culture of the garden, and
in the execution of the carpentry and masonry of the house,
there is scarcely any thing but what is deserving of the highest
commendation. ‘The inlaid floors are by Mr. White, whose
plan is described and figured in our Encyc. of Cottage Arch.,
§ 2010.; and the masonry and carving in stone are by a local
mason of great talents, whose name we regret we have not taken
down.
The kitchen-garden contains many points of excellence.
Here is one of the best peach-walls which is to be seen any
where, at this time finely covered with fruit and wood ; so much
so, indeed, that hardly a brick of the wall is to be seen. We
have heard several gardeners declare this to be the best peach-
wall in England. Behind part of this wall, Mr. Burns keeps
his stock of tree leaves for his pine-pits; and, by the ferment-
ation and heat, they bring forward the trees so as to ripen their
fruit three weeks earlier than those on the common wall. The
pines are remarkably well grown; and Mr. Burns has cut one
as heavy as 13lbs. ‘he Tottenham Park Muscat grape is well
known and highly esteemed; the original plant fills a whole
house, and bears well every year. Cherries are here grown in
peat, and found to thrive well in that soil; in the common soil
of the garden they were found to gum. ‘The substratum every-
where at Tottenham Park is chalk; and, when it is desired to
drain any place, or get rid of superfluous water, all that is
necessary is to dig a pit into the chalk. We must not omit to
mention that Mr. Burns has a garden library for his young men.
The house-porter here, Joseph Shindle, is a remarkable in-
stance of the force of native genius. In spite of his morning
duties of wheeling in coals and wood, and wheeling out ashes
and dirt, he has contrived to make a number of curious sundials
Tour through Belgium and Part of France. 419
and barometers; and to paint several pictures of fruits and
flowers, and make frames for them. He is an excellent cabinet-
maker and joiner, and a theoretical as well as practical astrono-
mer. He has contrived, out of his savings, to collect a tolerable
library, including Hutton’s Mathematical Dictionary in quarto.
There is one fine circumstance connected with Tottenham
Park, which deserves to be mentioned for the credit of its liberal
and benevolent Jord. It is open at all times to the inhabitants
of the surrounding towns; who drive, ride, or make gipsy-
parties in it at pleasure.
(To be continued.)
Art. II. Notes made during a Professional Journey through Bel-
gium and Part of France, for the House of Messrs. Low and
Company, Nurserymen, Clapton, in March and April, 1834. By
Mr. WiLLiam GARviE, Foreman in the Clapton Nursery.
(Continued from p. 362.)
ANTWERP. — The nursery gardens here are neither numerous
nor of much importance. It is difficult to say who has the best.
M. Moeris excels, decidedly, in camellias, which he cultivates
successfully and in great quantities. He has appropriated a
large house to plants of the most esteemed varieties, which are
planted into the free soil; and he has, besides, a great many
seedlings, from which he expects great things. One of these
appeared to me to promise well; but the blossom was not suf-
ficiently expanded for me to speak of it decidedly. Of other
plants he has but few, and those are not well cultivated.
M. van Geert has commenced a promising nursery at a short
distance from the town; and, from the situation of the place,
and the apparent spirit of its occupier, I have little doubt that
it will succeed well. ‘The general stagnation of trade in this
quarter, at the time of M. van Geert’s commencing, gave him a
severe trial; but, since peace has been restored, he finds things
going on more favourably.
_ There are also many market-gardens; but, like those of
Ghent, little or no taste is displayed either in the laying out or
the keeping of them.
There is a botanic garden at Antwerp; but it is very small.
It contains several small plant-houses, principally for tropical
plants, which are generally in very bad condition. There are,
however, some good specimens of those species of plants which
have been long introduced to the collections of Europe; but not
any of the newly introduced ones. The green-house plants were
still worse than those in the stove, if worse could be; as there
GG 4&
4:20 Notes made during a Professional Tour
was not a single plant worth anything. I was much dis-
appointed with the place altogether, especially from its gay
appearance outside; it having a fine stone parapet about 3 ft.
high, surmounted with rails 10 ft. high, I should think, and gilt
at the top. Something of this kind would better become a
palace than a botanic garden.
As I had been but little satisfied with my morning’s employ-
ment, I next directed my course to the chateau of M. Parthon
de Von, in hopes of being better gratified; and I was not dis-
appointed. ‘The chateau lies about three miles out of the town,
to the right of the Brussels road; and it is surrounded by a
large ditch filled with water (a thing very common in this
country), over which you pass by means of a drawbridge. ‘There
are three good plant-houses, and an orangery: one of the houses
is for stove plants, of which there is a good collection; and they
are well cultivated. A plan of shading the stove plants is
adopted here, which I had never seen before: a sort of paint is
prepared, with which the glass is painted very lightly all over ;
and I was informed that this thin coating gives an excellent
shade in summer, and does not in the least injure the plants
during winter. Whether this practice is beneficial or not, I
shall not pretend to say; but I can safely assert that the plants
here look as well as any plants can well look at this season of the
year. The collection of Orchideze here is rather rich, and the
plants are well cultivated, although many of these are small;
owing, no doubt, to the liberal manner in which M. Parthon de
Von exchanges with his neighbours. He has a person now
in the Brazils expressly for procuring Orchideze; from whom he
expects to receive considerable additions to his already interest-
ing collection. The green-house is small; but it contains some
esteemed and rare plants. ‘The collection of hardy herbaceous
plants is very extensive; although it made, at the present
season, but little show. ‘The grounds of this residence suffered
much from the ravages of the French army, while encamped in
this quarter, during the siege of Antwerp. M. Parthon de
Von informed me that upwards of 1500 large trees had been
cut down in the neighbourhood, by the army, for firewood. The
roots of some of them have not yet been removed.
Madame Smeldt has a beautiful place near Antwerp, which
contains several good houses for tropical plants, among which
ave some fine specimens of palms, though not any of uncommon
species. The pine-apple is here cultivated to a considerable
extent, and not without success, although the fruit is, in point of
size, far inferior to that produced in England.
The road from Antwerp to Brussels leads through a beauti-
ful agricultural country, abounding everywhere with fine large
woods. ‘The soil seems excellent, approaching, in many places,
through Belgium and Part of Krance. 421
to a strong yellow loam, and capable of bearing any sort of
crop. Along this road, I observed a greater number of gentle-
men’s seats than along any of the other Continental roads which
I have yet travelled. At about six miles from Antwerp I
observed, in passing, a very neat garden, with several small
houses built in the English fashion: these, I afterwards learned,
belong to a Mr. Fenner, an Englishman. The country, as you
approach Mechlin, becomes more undulated; and, upon the top
of a gentle eminence, two miles before you reach the town, the
prospect before you is magnificent, and extends over the sur-
rounding country, which you can see for several miles beyond
Brussels. As you descend towards the town, you enter a noble
avenue of fine elm trees, with the beautiful steeple of the cathe-
dral, as it were in perspective, at the end. It is the finest ap-
proach to a town I have ever seen, except some of the approaches
to Rouen in Normandy. Mechlin seems a place of consider-
able importance, and has a convenient communication with
other places, by means of a fine canal which runs past it on one
side, and a large river which is within about about a mile or
so on the other. After leaving the town, you cross the canal,
and the road beyond it lies close to its banks, nearly all the way
to Brussels. ‘The country here begins to be a good deal un-
dulated ; and many villas are placed along the roadside. Near
Brussels, on a gentle eminence to the right, stands the palace of
Lacken, at present occupied by the King of the Belgians.
The entrance to the town itself is not good on this side, as the
road lies low, and the houses are rather meanly built.
Brussels is large, and contains some good streets, especially in
the neighbourhood of the park, in which stands the palace.
There are some magnificent buildings contiguous to the park;
and the fine iron railings and gates, being gilt at their tips,
have a gay appearance. Along the principal boulevards there
are some good houses, and their pleasant situation always insures
their being filled with persons of rank, a great many of whom
are English. ‘The situation of the residences, from the Boule-
vard de Waterlco round as far as the Porte de Lacken, is by
far the pleasantest I have ever witnessed: it lies very high, is
open in front, and commands an extensive view of the neigh-
bouring country.
The nursery gardens in and about Brussels are not numerous ;
and of these, none contain anything that is either new or
rare. ‘The market-gardens are more numerous, and supply the
market with excellent vegetables, especially Brussels sprouts,
which certainly are here exceedingly fine.
At a few miles from the town, there is a nursery belonging to
a M. van Volexem, where there is one of the finest collections
of ornamental trees and shrubs I have ever seen. ‘The pro-
422 Notes made during a Professional Tour
prietor is very rich, and does not spare either trouble or expense
to procure every thing that is choice and new in plants of this
kind. He does not cultivate any house plants. The new
botanic garden of Brussels has a very prepossessing external
appearance. It stands on a gentle eminence at the top of the
Boulevard de Lacken, from which it is seen to great advantage.
Within it, there are, in the large stove, some fine specimens of
palms; but many of them suffered severely in the late revo-
lution; and some were entirely destroyed by the Dutch, who
were in possession of the gardens and houses during the greater
part of the contest. I was informed that a plant, supposed to
be the finest in Europe, of the Strelitzza augista was cut to
pieces by the soldiers from mischief. Among the New Hoi-
land plants, there are none of the newly introduced species:
they are all of kinds long known in Europe; and, although
the specimens of some of them are large, they are not at all in
a good condition: they are, indeed, tall, and naked a great way
up the stems, which gives them an unsightly appearance. ‘There
is an extensive collection of succulent plants, and these appear
to advantage. ‘The pine-apple is also cultivated to some extent,
but not skilfully. Kidneybeans and strawberries are forced;
which seems quite out of character in a botanic garden: but as
these are sold, and other plants from the collection, it is pos-
sible the former produce as much profit as anything else. ‘The
grounds are extensive; and, in front of the houses, they are
curiously laid out, though in a style which appeared to me
much out of character, and I cannot say well executed. I was
informed that the conductors of the garden have received a
grant from government of a yearly sum for the improvement of
the garden, and for the purchasing of new plants; and it is to
be hoped that this aid, by being judiciously applied, will be
made to supersede, at least in some degree, the selling of plants,
especially the selling of them at such low prices as at present, to
the great injury of nurserymen, who have a living to make
by the profits of their business, while the botanic garden has
support from other quarters.
There are several interesting private gardens in and about
Brussels. ‘That of M. Reynders, beyond the Porte de Louvain,
is the most so. His collection is not extensive, but very select ;
as it is restricted to those species only which recommend them-
selves by the beauty of their flowers. I observed here the finest
plant of Kennédya dilatata that I have ever seen: it covered
the whole end of one of the houses, and was bearing, I may say,
thousands of flowers. Many of the plants, as hoveas, oxylo-
biums, pimeleas, epacrises, pultenzeas, platylobiums, some of the
choicer camellias, and many others of equal merit, were growing
planted out, and showed to much advantage. A fine plant of
through Belgium and Part of France. 4.2.3
Plagioldbium chorozemezefolium was $ ft. high, in full flower,
and was truly magnificent.
The next garden that I shall mention is that of M. Vander-
maelen, the proprietor of a lithographic establishment, a gentle-
man very fond of plants, who has erected two beautiful cast-
iron houses, one for stove plants, and the other for green-house
plants. Among the latter are some of esteemed and rare
species. The stove plants looked rather sickly, perhaps from
being too much exposed while the house was being erected.
M. Vandermaelen has two collectors in Brazil seeking Or-
chideze. He has already received from them some species of
these plants; but I had not an opportunity of seeing them; as
it was night before I saw the gentleman himself, nal the gar-
dener was not allowed to show them. I found M. Vander-
maelen in the evening busily engaged in his garden, with several
other persons, catching moths and other insects, of which he has
a very extensive collection. Behind his houses is his museum,
which is well stocked with all sorts of stuffed birds; serpents of
every description, preserved in spirits; shells without number ;
and, in fact, every curiosity he can possibly obtain. I was very
“aah gratified with this museum; and, if I had had more time,
I should have visited it again, on purpose to take notes of the
most interesting objects which it contains.
I next directed my course to the palace of Lacken, situated
about three or four miles out of Brussels. The palace is occu-
pied, at present, by the King of the Belgians, who is very fond
of plants, especially of those of an odoriferous kind. His
Majesty has had Mr. M‘Intosh from Claremont [see p. 328.]
to superintend the building of some new houses, namely, a stove,
a green-house, and a long range of pits. ‘The whole of these
are finished in a very superior manner, and reflect great credit
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food and Shelter for Game. 431
especially in gardens of any considerable size. In this plan a
cross wall is added, both for the sake of shelter, and to afford a
proportionate length of wall for fruit trees.
Shorigrove, Essex, 1834.
Art. IV. On the Trees and Shrubs which are most suitable for Plant-
ing, to afford Food and Shelter for Game, and more especially for
the Pheasant. By Mr. James Munro.
Tue filling up of old plantations with various sorts of evergreens
and of deciduous flowering shrubs, is now becoming generally
practised throughout the country; and the chief object for
which this is intended is to produce a shelter for game, and more
especially for the pheasant. The planting of these undergrowths
is, however, like many other things, often performed without
regard to consequences or economy; while the chief aim ought,
in this case, to be a conjunction of the useful with the beautiful.
Certainly, there can be nothing better adapted for the purposes
of sheltering game than the common laurel, Portugal laurel,
rhododendron, holly, arbor vite, &c., while these produce, at
the same time, an agreeable effect upon the forest scenery ;
which, without the aid of evergreens and other undergrowths,
is extremely menotonous. Still, however, while we endeavour
to produce both these effects, we should also have an eye to
something useful and economical. What avails it how well
soever game be provided with close and impenetrable coverts,
when the common means of sustenance are wanting within their
leafy domicile? The birds are compelled by hunger to leave
behind “‘ the umbrageous glade,” and seek their food in the
fields of the farmers; who, in some districts of the country where
pheasants are very plentiful, are compelled to seek redress for
the damages thus sustained. Such a course, on the part of a
tenant, though it is quite fair and reasonable, is a very disagree-
able alternative, and must prove destructive of that friendly in-
tercourse which ought to subsist between tenant and landlord.
To the true sportsman, too, such a state of things is altogether
incompatible with good taste; the frequent migrations of the
pheasant from forest to field in quest of food, so far domesti-
cates the bird, that even those who can feel a pleasure in de-
priving it of life are bereft of half their enjoyment; for, so far
as what is termed sport is considered, they might as well take
their station behind the barn-yard wall, and shoot at the poultry
quietly feeding at the barn door. |
On these grounds, I confidently expect the cooperation of
both the sportsman and the economist, in my endeavour to
accomplish a means of providing pheasants with food, in woods
HH 2
432 Food and Shelter for Game.
and in pleasure-grounds, in such abundance as shall in a great
measure prevent them from attacking and destroying field crops,
remove the cause of complaint of tenants against them, and,
by restoring the birds to their native shyness, render them more
worthy of the true sportsman’s notice. I am nearly convinced
that these desirable ends might be accomplished by the introduc-
tion of a number of our cultivated fruits into the forests where
the latter chance to be thin, and well aired; and particularly
around the margins, where there can be little doubt of their
thriving. These fruits might consist of all the common varieties
of currant, gooseberry, raspberry, service *, &c., with all the early
and hardy sorts of apple and pear that are known to suit the
climate of any particular locality. Pears, in particular, I have
seen the pheasant devour with great avidity. I am aware that
two objections will be offered to this proposal: first, the expense
of fruit trees, and of small fruit bushes. These, so long as the
demand remains limited, will, of course, keep up their present
prices ; but, were the demand for such articles increasing, nur-
serymen would likewise increase their respective stocks of them,
and, with the certainty of double the usual sales, would be well
able to sell, in large quantities, at greatly reduced prices. The
other objection is, the encouragement which would thus be given
to juvenile depredators; but the cause of this objection would
disappear as the fruits became common by every road side: the
fruit-growers on Clydesdale and elsewhere can testify to the
truth of this. ‘The evergreen privet is another shrub, the im-
portance of which, as a covert for game, seems not to be fully
known. ‘This plant, like the laurel, retains its Jeaves all the
winter, and is so elastic in its fibre, that it soon loses its upright
habit, and, bending down to the earth, throws out roots of its
own accord, and so forms one of the most comfortable coverts
imaginable. The privet possesses another desirable property.
About two years ago, I was employed in packing up a few
thousand plants of privet, about 2 ft. high, which had all
flowered the previous summer, and produced berries in large
quantities: while handling the plants, a few barn-yard fowls,
which I then kept, came and picked off the berries, which they
seemed to prefer to the oats which were strewed around them.
Now, it is not improbable that pheasants might be just as fond
of this fruit as these fowls were. I will only farther add, that,
if food of this description were provided in sufficient quantity,
it being partly the pheasant’s natural food, the flesh of the bird
might also be improved in flavour.
Brechin, March 25. 1834.
* Symphoria racemésa, with its large white berries, which are freely pro-
duced, might also be eligible: indeed, I think, I have been told of some one’s
planting it in coyerts for pheasants, that they might partake of its berries for
food.
Culture of the Potato. 433
Mr. Waterton has contributed an excellent communication on the habits
of the pheasant to the Magazine of Natural Mstory, vi. 308—314. We quote
Mr. Waterton’s remarks on providing this bird with food:—“ Food and a
quiet retreat are the two best offers that man can make to the feathered race,
to induce them to take up their abode on his domain; and they are absolutely
necessary to the successful propagation of the pheasant. This bird has a
capacious stomach, and requires much nutriment; while its timidity soon
causes it to abandon those places which are disturbed. It is fond of acorns,
beech mast, the berries of the hawthorn, the seeds of the wild rose, and the
tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke. As long as these, and the corn dropped
in the harvest, can be procured, the pheasant will do very well. In the spring,
it finds abundance of nourishment in the sprouting leaves of young clover ;
but, from the commencement of the new year till the vernal period, their wild
food affords a very scanty supply; and the bird will be exposed to all the
evils of the vagrant act, unless you can contrive to keep it at home by an
artificial supply of food. Boiled potatoes (which the pheasant prefers much
to those in the raw state) and beans are, perhaps, the two most nourishing
things that can be offered in the depth of winter. Beans, in the end, are
cheaper than all the smaller kinds of grain; because the little birds, which
usually swarm at the place where the pheasants are fed, cannot swallow them ;
and if you conceal the beans under yew or holly bushes, or under the lower
branches of the spruce fir tree, they will be out of the way of the rooks and
ringdoves. About two roods of the thousand-headed cabbage are a most
valuable acquisition to the pheasant preserve. You sow a few ounces of seed
in April, and transplant the young plants, two feet asunder, in the month of
June. By the time that the harvest is allin, these cabbages will afford a most
excellent aliment to the pheasants, and are particularly serviceable when the
ground is deeply covered with snow.” — J.
Art. V. On the Cultivation of Potatoes, the Cause of the Curl, and
the Manner of keeping and preparing the Sets. By W. M.
On reading the observations on planting potatoes, by J. Hart
of Dublin (LX. 589.), it struck me that, if every one would com-
municate the results of his own practice as a potato-grower,
it would elicit facts from which correct data might be obtained
that would enable horticulturists to determine generally what
are the real causes of failure in the cultivation of that valuable
vegetable.
Much has been said on the curl in potatees, and many reasons
have been assigned as to the cause of it; but most of them are
unsatisfactory, being often directly opposed to every day’s experi-
ence. Perhaps my ideas on the subject may be as vague as
those of my predecessors; but, be that as it may, I have the
satisfaction of knowing that, by attention to the rules here laid
down, I have never failed of success.
I shall begin with the most prevailing idea, that the curl is
occasioned by the over-matured state of the tubers from which
the plants were taken. ‘This is a point on which I differ from
some who rank high as vegetable physiologists; but, always
judging for myself according as circumstances have occurred, I
HH 3
434 Culture of the Potato.
am induced to believe that much more importance is attached
to that cause than it really deserves. ‘That it is possible for
potatoes to be over-matured, I admit; but it will only occur
in those seasons that are exceptions to our summers, generally
considered.
During the last twenty years I have been extensively con-
nected with the culture of potatoes on various soils, and by
many different methods, both for early and late crops; and,
though I have never suffered from an attack of the curl, I have
in many instances seen the crops of those around me suffering
to a great extent during that period. I will describe my prac-
tice in as few words as possible. For early crops I always plant
tubers produced from an early crop the preceding season, in
preference to those of a later growth. I consider tubers well
matured preferable for planting, because in them the embryo
of the future plant is more perfect than in those not yet arrived
at a state of maturity; and, consequently, the functions of the
plant are brought more readily into action by the three great
agents of vegetation, light, heat, and moisture, than in those of
later growth. The well keeping of potatoes intended for plant-
ing is a very material point as respects the curl in the future
crop. I hesitate not to say that the curl is often caused by the
injudicious manner in which potatoes are frequently stored
through the autumn and winter months. We often see them
thrown into large heaps, and suffered to remain till young shoots
appear through the top of the heap. They are then perchance
turned over, to rub off the young shoots, and again consigned to
chance till another crop of shoots appear. Indeed, I have known
instances where three successive crops have appeared before the
time for planting had arrived. Under these and similar circum-
stances, we have no reason to expect a healthy growth and good
crop; it is quite impossible that plants, with their vegetative
powers thus nearly exhausted, can fully develope their respective
parts; and hence those monstrosities, contortions, and contracted
appearances of the stem and foliage, which end in disappoint-
ment to the grower. It is not to be inferred that I consider
this as the sole cause of the curl in potato crops; on the con-
trary, I believe that there are others; but these appear to me of
a secondary nature, and I may at some future time address you
respecting them, should you deem the hints here thrown out
worth attention.
My method of keeping potatoes for planting is this :—I lay
by well-matured tubers of my earliest crops, in a dark dry shed,
frequently turning them over, to prevent them from sprouting ;
which by proper attention may be effectually done. They will
retain their vegetative powers unimpaired. When the season
for planting arrives, I cut my sets in the following manner:
Culture of the Potato near Aberdeen. 435
first, I cut off the blind eye, as it is generally called, at the base
of the potato, and throw it into the waste basket; I then proceed
to divide the remaining part, according to the size of the tuber,
and the number of eyes it contains, always taking care to have
one good full eye at least to each set; and, when the sets are cut,
I lay them in a moderately thick heap for a few days, that they
may dry before planting, taking especial care, in early crops
particularly, not to plant when the ground is very wet from heavy
rains or snow.
I have frequently taken tubers from fully matured crops, and
exposed them to the influence of the sun for several weeks; and
in the following season planted them at the same time, and on
the same piece of ground, with tubers of a late crop; the results
have fully confirmed my opinion, that planting early-produced
tubers, for early crops, is the best method to adopt.
Respecting the idea that late-produced tubers will not produce
a curled progeny, I submit the following case, to show that they
are as likely to produce curl in the succeeding crop as the most
matured tubers. In the year 1826, through the prevalence of
rain, the late crops were generally not of a marketable quality ;
consequently the greater part were reserved by the growers for
planting. ‘The following spring and summer, the curl prevailed
to a great extent, and hundreds of acres were ploughed up, the
crop not being worth the expense of taking. JI examined many
hundreds of plants on different soils and under different modes
of treatment, and seldom found more than three or four per
cent of healthy plants. On carefully examining the soil, I
found nothing to induce a belief that it was caused by any local
circumstance; indeed, so general was the disease, that the
most sceptical growers declared they could not ascribe it to any
other cause than the unripe state of the sets; a conclusion
strengthened by the fact, that those who planted well-ripened
tubers had crops free from curl and as productive as usual.
East Ham, Oct. 28. 1833.
Art. VI. An Account of a Mode of cultivating Potatoes in the
Neighbourhood of Aberdeen; preceded by some Remarks on the
Potato Culture of the Neighbourhood of Dublin. By Mr. JAMES
Wricut, Gardener at Westfield, near Aberdeen.
In turning over your Magazine, I observe (IX. 589.) “a
note on the planting of potatoes,” by James Hart, Dublin. I
was rather surprised to see such a communication [see X. 78.]
from a country so celebrated for the cultivation of the potato as
Ireland is generally reported to be. Ido not approve of the
Trishman’s mode, as a whole, and of Mr. Hart’s amendment
HH 4
436 Culture of the Potato
still less. I shall neither occupy my own time nor your widely
circulating pages by reviewing it in detail, but shall briefly notice
a few of its most prominent points. Your correspondent states
“‘ that potatoes, when they are cut, should not be spread out to
dry, but laid up in a close heap for about a fortnight before
planting,” and by such means he obtained three quarters of a
crop! What description of floor the seed from ‘ Campbelton”
had been spread upon, I cannot conceive. In the last week of
December, 1833, I cut a few sets, and laid them flat down
with their cut sides undermost, on purpose to try the expe-
riment, upon floors of the following materials; namely, wood,
Caithness pavement, brick, and black earth. I also, by means
of a string from the roof of a summer-house, suspended a
few, like Mahomet’s coffin, and I could discover no difference,
except that those upon the wood, and those suspended, were
drier than the others. In 1827, I cut my sets rather early,
and laid about five Aberdeenshire bolls, or 13 ton, into a heap
for three weeks ; when taken out, a great part of the sets com-
posing the interior of the heap were like soap, and others were
like empty shells. About one tenth of them never appeared
above ground, and nearly a fifth of those which came were cut
up by the curl.
The selection of the sets I consider the most important part
of potato-growing. I rent annually, from a gentleman about
three miles from my own place, from one to two acres for grow-
ing winter potatoes: there I raise all my seed for the ensuing
year ; and the potatoes that I use for this purpose are as different
from those grown in my own grounds as if they were imported
from the foot of the Himalaya Mountains. There may not
be such variety of soil in the vicinity of Dublin. When the
stems begin to fade, but long before the potatoes are ripe, I go
over the drills and pick out all the runaway stems, which show
themselves by standing upright and growing vigorously. At
the same time I dig up all the potatoes which I design for seed,
and lay them in pits of perhaps two bolls each, and leave them
uncovered for several weeks. I begin to dung and dig the
ground by the Ist of March; I take the seed potatoes from the pits
about the middle of the month, and cut them into good strong
sets, and spread them out to dry upon the floor of a summer-
house, for two or three days; and then plant them at convenience.
The common way of planting about Aberdeen, for generations
back, has been with a small dibble, about 1+ in. in diameter;
the planter carrying the sets in a bag before him. A good hand
will plant half an acre per day in this manner; but, from the
small size of the dibble, some of the sets go plump to the
bottom, others half down, while others stop in entering. To
remedy this defect, I have invented a dibble (fg. 76.) of the fol-
an the Neighbourhood of Aberdeen. 437
lowing dimensions :— Handle 14 in. long, stalk
from a to 6 27 in., from 6 to c 73 in.; circum-
ference of the stalk 43 in., at d 8 in., and at
e 6in.: from & to ¢ is covered with iron one
eighth of an inch thick, with a point of solid steel
1% in. deep. I lay down two lines 18 in. apart
on one side of the ground to be planted, and,
a_ilb taking the dibble in both hands, with a foot
on each side of the line, I make the holes at
, the rate of eighty a minute; a boy follows
close behind with a small basket, dropping
in the sets, and drawing one foot over the holes, so as to cover
them neatly in. Then, by lifting both lines at each end alter-
nately, there is always one of them tight. ‘This method of plant-
ing is superior to every other that I know of, where ease, despatch,
and accuracy cf execution are desirable. The size of the hole
has this advantage, that the largest cutting goes to the bottom
(6 in.), and the smallest goes no farther ; consequently, they come
up all together, strong and healthy, and as equal, as to distance,
as if they had been pointed off with a pair of compasses. A man
and a boy putting in the sets will plant three quarters of an acre
a day with the greatest ease. The system of keeping the
“cuttings of the one end separate from those of the other,
drilling, and covering in with the hoe,” may be all very well for
a gentleman’s gardener, who has time, men, and money at com-
mand; but, to a market-gardener paying a high rent, the smallest
saving of either is of paramount importance. ‘The above simple
process (simple in every respect, and which may be adopted by
the poorest person in the “ Emerald Isle,” without requiring
either extra time or expense) I have practised, with uniform
success, for six years; and the produce has generally been
32 bolls per acre of early, and 40 of late potatoes; or 11 and
14 tons, or thereabouts, in soil light and dry. With the ‘Scotch
pink eye,” and “ Scotch apple,” Iam not at all acquainted. The
“* Manlie,” a round potato, and the red-nosed kidney, are both
early, and, I think, superior to any of the metropolitan varieties
that I have seen (and I have had numbers of them), where they
are grown to eat as well as to sell. ‘The red-nosed and blue
kidneys, and blue American round, are superior to any other late
sorts. ‘This method of culture may be perfectly understood, and
generally practised in England, but I have neither seen, nor
heard of, its existence there.
Westfield, January 16. 1834.
76
a
Mr. Wricut has since, in a communication dated March 20., favoured us
with tubers of the Manlie and red-nosed kidney potatoes, of which he has
spoken above. On the kind called the Manlie, he has added, that “ an old
438 Culture of the Kidney-bean.
gardener is living here just now, who recollects perfectly this kind being
landed, in a small basket, from a Dutch vessel, fifty-five years ago. I will not
pretend to say that they are better now than they were then, but mine are
superior to what they were eight years ago, when I commenced business.
This goes far to corroborate my former statement, that varieties of potato
may be not only kept from degenerating, but that they may even attain greater
perfection (due attention being paid to the seed), without importing fresh
seed potatoes from a distance.”
Art. VII. A Method of expediting the Fruiting of Kidneybeans in
the open Air; and « Mode of obtaining a Second Crop from those
forced in the Stove. By Mr. James Curnit1, Gardener to S. SuL-
LIVAN, Esq., at Broom House, Fulham.
I wave tried an experiment with the early dun kidneybean,
which I have found answers beyond my expectations, and which,
I trust, may be of some use to your readers. I sowed a large
pan of these beans about the middle of March, and put it into
a house the temperature of which was about 60°. After the
first leaves had expanded, I removed the plants into a cold pit,
where they remained till the 15th of April following. ‘They were
then (still in the pan) exposed to a south aspect, and covered,
for a few nights, with matting; and, finally, about the Ist of
May, I planted them out into an open border, having a western
aspect. The stems were then about 8 in. long, and, to prevent
them from damping off, I did not plant them above an inch
deeper than they stood in the pan, but moulded them up by
degrees. When transplanted, the leaves were quite brown,
but the centre bud was green; the old roots were quite dead,
and new ones about an inch or so long. I planted them in the
centre of the border; and, upon the same day, transplanted
into the same border other beans of the same sort, but sowed
at the usual time. ‘The result has been, that I had beans from
the former upon the 12th of June: the latter will be ready, as
near as I can judge, about the 28th of that month; making
about a fortnight’s difference in the time of ripening: and this ~
difference would have been greater, had I had a south border
at the time to have planted them on. I may add, that I looked at
the other gardens in the neighbourhood, and saw no kidneybeans,
in the open air, ready before my second crop. ‘This mode of
treating the kidneybean was not adopted from accident, but I
was driven to try the experiments which led to it by sheer
necessity. Every gardener knows that, when the forcing of the
kidneybean is prolonged to a late season in houses, the plants
become infested with a well-known insect; and, if they are
planted out in a pit or frame, they are attacked by the red
spider, which will soon spread all over the melon ground : and
Proportion borne by Roots to Branches. 439
the gardener, for the sake of a few beans, draws upon himself
an annoyance that he can hardly get rid of for the whole
summer.
I tried another experiment with some plants of the same sort
of beans, that were growing in a pit in a hot-house, and had
been transplanted into a little mould on the tan in cross rows,
about 5 ft. from the glass, after they had done bearing a most
excellent crop. I cut these plants down to 1 in. above the seed
leaf, and watered them well. In about a fortnight they were in
full flower, and bore as good a crop as I have had from beans
that had been transplanted into pots, and that had taken three
times as long in coming in bearing.
Broom House, Fulham, June 20. 1834.
Art. VIII. Short Communication.
TuHE Proportion borne by the Roots of a Tree to its Branches.—
Virgil’s account of the Adsculus,
“ Que, quantum vertice ad auras
7Ethereas, tantum radice in Tartara tendit ;”
| “Which, as it high
Uprears its head to heaven, so deep in root
Shoots downwards to the centre;” Trapp’s Trans.
is generally regarded, I suppose, as a mere poetical hyperbole,
descriptive of a tree whose roots extend to a very great depth ;
and, as applied to a full-grown or large tree, it can be con-
sidered as no other. ‘There are cases, however, of young seed-
ling trees, in which the poet’s description, so far from exceeding,
does not, bya great deal, even come up to the truth. A few
weeks since, I got up a self-sown seedling oak, of this year’s
growth, out of a wheat stubble: the plant above ground, which
was thriving and vigorous, was 4 in. high; while the root below
(that is, the portion of it which I succeeded in getting up) mea-
sured 2 ft.103in. Here, then, was a tree which far out-rooted
Virgil’s Aésculus; for its root below was more than eight times
the length of its stem above; and, had the root been obtained
entire, it would probably have considerably exceeded the above
dimensions. I have known instances of oaks, of five or six or
more years’ growth, whose roots have many times surpassed the
length of their stem and branches. Occasionally, indeed, these
trees appear to me to exhaust their efforts, for several years to-
gether, entirely on the growth downwards (“ tantus amor
terree!” so much do they love the earth), as if to make the
better provision for the future more rapid increase of the plant
above, which, for the time, will be almost at a stand-still— W™%
T. Bree. Allesley Rectory, Nov. 6. 1833.
44.0 Transactions of the Agricultural
REVIEWS. -
Arr. 1, Yransactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India.
8vo. Vol. I. 1829, Serampore. Vol. II. Part I., 1832, Calcutta.
Ture is a well-written prospectus by Mr. W. Carey the missionary, who
first suggested the idea of an Agricultural Society of India, and who is now
secretary to it. In this the advantages of cooperation, and of joint-stock
information and experience, are ably pointed out. The good done by the agri-
cultural societies in England is reterred to; and the most beneficial results,
as respects the peasantry, tle landowners, and the Europeans, who engage in
agriculture in India, are anticipated from the institution proposed. To give
some idea of the present state of agriculture in India, it is stated that, in many
parts of the country, the same crop is invariably raised on the same ground
year after year; hay is never cut till the grass has died or withered where it grew;
scientific rotation of crops is a subject to which Indian cultivators are stran-
gers; and the manure produced by animals is generally consumed for fuel. No
attempt to improve live stock appears to have been ever made in India; though
there is every reason to believe that all the animals used in the husbandry of
Europe are capable of as high a degree of improvement in India as they are
in more temperate regions. The quantity of waste lands in India is said to be
so large as almost to exceed belief. Extensive tracts on the banks of numerous
rivers are annually overflowed, so that they produce little except long and
coarse grass, seldom turned to any useful account. During the rainy season
these tracts are the haunts of wild buffaloes, which in the night come up from
them and devour the crops of rice on the high lands. In the cold season, wild
hogs, tigers, and other noxious animals, unite with the buffaloes in occupying
these extensive tracts of alluvial soil; which, though now so pernicious, might,
by embanking and draining, become the richest lands in the country, and
contribute greatly to the improvement of the climate. Similar observations
might be made respecting immense tracts now wholly covered with wood, and
producing nothing whatever to civilised man; but, on the contrary, proving a
nuisance to the surrounding districts, by affording a shelter to noxious animals.
The oppression of landowners and petty officers on the cultivator is so great,
that in some parts of the country no farmer can reasonably promise himself
security for a single night. ‘‘ Thus,” concludes Mr. Carey, “ one of the finest
countries in the world, comprising almost every variety of climate and situation,
diversified by hills and valleys, intersected in every part by streams (most of
which are navigable six months in the year, and seme of them through the whole
vear afford every facility for carrying manure to the land and every part of
the produce to market), is, as far as respects its agricultural interests, in a
state the most abject and degraded.” (p.x.) This isa most forbidding picture ;
but it is incident to all countries in a particular stage of their progress in
civilisation. Time was when the low districts of England were ravaged by
the wolves and bears from the mountain forests, and when the crops on the
alluvial vales of her rivers were annually swept away, or at least greatly
injured, by floods. As to oppression by superiors, and thieving from others,
there will always be abundance of such evils, till mankind are brought to
something like equalisation in point of knowledge, and consequently power ;
till, in short, the mass of society becomes fit for self-government.
Gardening, we are next informed, is in almost as low a state as agriculture.
«Except in the gardens of certain Europeans, who at a great expense procure
a few articles for the table, there is nothing to be met with besides a few wild
herbs, or garden productions of the most inferior kind. All that is seen of
orchards amounts to no more than clumps of mango trees crowded together
without judgment ; and in which the quality of the fruit is but little consulted.
The improvement of fruits is almost neglected, and every thing which can
and Horticultural Society of India. 441
contribute to the furnishing of our tables with wholesome and agreeable
vegetables and fine fruits is yet to be commenced; not to mention that orna-
mental gardening is scarcely known. We depend upon Europe for seeds, of
which, when we have obtained them at a great price, scarcely one in five
hundred vegetates, and, even after it has sprung up, seldom comes to perfec-
tion, through the ignorance or negligence of the native gardeners. It is,
notwithstanding, well known that one part or other of India would suit every
production, and bring every kind of seed to maturity ; so that, by a free com-
munication, those parts of the country in which the seeds of particular plants
do not come to perfection, might be easily supplied with them from others,
and useful plants and fruits might be gradually acclimated, so as to be plentiful
in every part of India. The introduction of the potato, and more recently
of the strawberry, are sufficient to show that the attempts of insulated indi-
viduals have not been in vain. How much more then might be accomplished
by the joint efforts of a number of persons arduously engaged in the same
pursuit!”? (p. xi.)
This deplorable state of things Mr. Carey proposed attempting to improve,
by the establishment of a Society which should give premiums, and publish
reports ; raising the funds necessary for that purpose by subscription. The
Society was formed in 1820, and, after having held several meetings, a number
of premiums were given, for the first time, at a meeting held in Jan. 1827; and
the work before us includes the reports that have hitherto been made to the
Society ; or, rather, the papers which have been contributed to its Transactions.
To give an idea of the articles exhibited at these meetings for competi-
tion, we may mention that, at the first meeting (in January, 1827) at which
prizes were distributed, the articles produced were chiefly of European
garden produce; such as peas, cabbages, turnips, cauliflowers, beet, mangoes,
guavas, kohl rabi, red cabbage, and potatoes. The silver medal was awarded
to Yusuf Malee, of Moochee-khola, for the best potatoes raised from Cape
sets. The cabbages weighed from 20 to 24 |b., and were 10 in. in diameter.
The cauliflowers weighed from 6 to 8 lb., and were about 8 in. in diameter ;
the kohl rabi 3 lb., and 54 in. in diameter; the turnips 2 lb., and 6 in. in
diameter; and the potatoes were 34 in. long. (App. p. xxxvii.)
We shall now look over the different papers which compose the Transactions,
and shall select what we think will be most interesting or useful to our readers.
In the introductory discourse, by the president, W. Leycester, Esq., we think
the good produced by the British Board of Agriculture is greatly overrated.
Instead of going to the root of the evils of British agriculture, and directing
its attention to the removal of tithes, of injurious restrictions in leases, and
similar political obstacles, and striking at the general ignorance of farmers, the
British Board of Agriculture limited its exertions to publishing books, most
of them at so high a price that they never fell into the hands of those for
whom they were intended.. We question much whether the Agricultural
Society of India durst venture to propose to diffuse knowledge among the
native agriculturists by educating their children. If they dare do this, they
may rest assured, from the negative results of the agricultural societies of
Britain, that it is the only effectual mode of really improving agriculture or
gardening. A certain degree of knowledge is necessary to enable cultivators
to make the improvements pointed out to them their own: this degree was
not possessed by the great majority of the farmers of England, when the
Board of Agriculture was im activity, and it is much less likely to be so in
India. The consequence, in England, has been, that, in many districts, agricul-
ture is scarcely, if at all, advanced beyond its state in the year 1790, before
the Board of Agriculture was established. The same tenures from year to
year; or, if a longer tenure, the same leases, prescribing the same courses
of crops which were practised centuries before; the same ploughs, carts,
and waggons, and the same heavy horses, may still be seen by the tourist. In
agriculture, therefore, as in all matters which concern the improvement of the
practices of great masses of society, to do good effectually, it is necessary to
442 Transactions of the Agricultural
begin with a general system of education for youth. Let this be done in
every district throughout India; connecting, with every school that is esta-
blished, a garden and a circulating library; and teaching, in addition to the
language of that district, the English language, weights, measures, and moneys :
if this were done, the system of culture, both in fields and gardens, would in
one generation be placed in a state to receive every improvement of which it
is susceptible. But how can we suppose that this 1s to be attempted in India,
when we know very well that the object of the rulers is not to improve the
people, but to turn them to their own account? We must leave the matter,
therefore, to Providence, and expect nothing more from this Society than from
others similarly established and circumstanced.
Art. Iv. contains answers by Mr. Stirling to a number of queries circulated
by Mr. Carey, in one of which allusion is made to the celebrated school
at Hofwyl, in Switzerland, “ as a proper model for any schools which may
be hereafter instituted in this country (India), in the establishing of which the
Society may possess sufficient influence.” “I cannot conceive,’ says Mr.
Stirling, speaking of the establishment of such schools in India, “ any measure
which would tend so much to the production of universal improvement.”
(p. 43.) We are happy to find such sentiments entertained even by a single
individual.
In Art. v., preserving seeds in phials of bran, or charcoal, packed in cotton,
is recommended ; a specimen being presented, in October, 1821, of turnip seeds
capable of vegetating, which had been sent from Scotland in March, 1820.
Art. vi. describes a mode of flute-grafting practised in India, apparently
from time immemorial. It differs from the flute-graftmg of Europe in not
taking off the ring of bark from the stock, which is to be replaced by the ring
from the scion, but in peeling it down in shreds; and, when the scion ring is
put on, bringing the different shreds of bark up again over the newly introduced
ring, and uniting them at top over the cross section of the stock, under a
piece of clay. It is evidently a less perfect mode than the European, since
the bark so brought up can never unite either with the scion or with the
stock. (p.47.)
In Art. xvi. it is shown that good hemp may be prepared from the different
species of Musa and Yucca.
Art. xrx., “ On the fruit trees of Cashmere and the neighbouring countries,”
is of considerable interest. The fleshy and pulpy fruits are apples, pears,
quinces, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, and mulberries. The shell and stone
fruits are pomegranates, walnuts, and almonds. There are many varieties of
grape vines, both of exotic and of indigenous origin; and, while the country
was under Hindoo rule, much wine was made, and some brandy distilled. No
mulberry of Europe, or of Lower India, equals the sweet varieties of Cash-
mere. They are eaten ripe, or made into wine, vinegar, or spirit. An immense
quantity of oil and oil cake is made from the walnut, and the wood of the
tree is said to equal that of Britain for gunstocks. It is calculated that
Cashmere would supply as much walnut oil as would furnish gas enough to
light all Britain. A situation between Cashmere and British India is pointed
out as eligible for a nursery, in which the native fruits of both countries, and
newly introduced fruits from Europe, might be propagated and improved.
“ This is the Shahlomer, or garden of Pingower, made by Fiddee Khan,
the son of Uleemurdem Khan, both formerly governors of the province of
Cashmere. A wall of well-constructed masonry, in good repair, completely
encloses an area of very considerable extent. This area is divided into five
terraces, separated by breastworks of stone masonry, and descending to the
south. Through the middle of this garden, led by a canal lined with stone,
descends a considerable stream of clear, well-tasted, and cold water, which,
by means of trenches, of simple structure and arrangement, at right angles with
the main trunk, can be so diffused as speedily to flood the whole surface
of the terraces. This area at present contains only one large lemon tree, some
Lombardy poplars, a few rose trees; five or six parterres of poppies, and
and Florticultural Socrety of India. 443
larkspurs, and about half a dozen brood mares. It has upon it two small but
neat houses, with apartments for servants, near the gate, and the whole is in
good repair.” (p. 85.)
In this article, the floating gardens of Cashmere (Encyc. of Gard. new
edit. ) 1391.) are described; and it appears that the cucumbers and melons
grown in them are neither very large nor very well flavoured. At a distance,
the smaller of these gardens appear like haycocks; one melon or cucumber
plant growing on the summit, and spreading down the sides; the larger are
like narrow ridges of dung made up for growing mushrooms, with rows of
cucumbers or melons along the top. The floating gardens are frequently
collected together in a sort of fold, and surrounded by a floating fence, having
a boat-way, which is opened only at particular times. Floating gardens of
great extent are sometimes stolen during the night, and being towed a consi-
derable distance, and anchored along with others of a similar character, it is
difficult for the owner to recognise his property. To prevent these robberies,
folds of floating gardens are generally watched during the night.
Art. XXII. contains the method of treating grape vines at Bombay; in which
the chief thing worthy of remark is the mode of giving them a kind of
artificial winter. This is done by laying bare the roots after the rainy season,
so as to check vegetation. They are laid bare about the 7th or 10th of
October, and are allowed to remain exposed for 15 or 16 days. The vines
are then pruned, and in about a week afterwards, it is observed that the buds
are beginning to break; the roots are then re-covered with the soil mixed
with manure, and water is given to them every morning and evening till the
fruit attains its full growth. They are afterwards watered every third or fourth
day, till the grapes are completely ripe. It thus appears that the length of the
winter given to the vine in Bombay is about 26 days, which may perhaps
afford a useful hint to the British forcing gardener. It does not appear that
the produce of the vines in Bombay is very great, but the gardeners have
no difficulty, by means of wintering different plants in succession, in having
ripe grapes every day in the year.
Art. XxIv. is a translation from a native gardening work full of receipts for
rendering plants fruitful, flowers fragrant, and for changing their colours, &c.
There is scarcely one of these receipts that is not perfectly absurd; for
example: “To cure all diseases of vegetables, make a smoke in the field, with
cows’jand cats’ benes, and cats’ dung” (p. 141.); though the results pro-
posed may sometimes be accounted for by the check given to the returning
sap.
iA v. Vol. II. is on the mango and peach trees. “ No fruit in India is
held in such estimation by the whole mass of its population, from Delhi
to Cape Comorin, as the mango.” The peach, though a fine fruit, is com-
paratively little valued. The mango is allowed to be extremely wholesome
and nutritious. There are a great many varieties of mangoes to be found in
the orchards of India; but, like the peaches in the American orchards, they
have been generally raised from seeds sown on the spot, and the majority of
them are of very inferior quality.
In Art. vit. it is stated, that, in order to have good and early crops of cauli-
flowers, cabbages, peas, turnips, &c., it is absolutely necessary to sow only
seed which has been raised in the country. For late crops, that which has
been raised at the Cape of Gocd Hope, or Van Diemen’s Land, is found best.
European seeds should be chiefly used for producing plants as stock from
which to raise seed in India. There are some papers on the culture of
indigo and sugar, and one on the cultivation of the teak, which we have not
space to enter on. The growth of the teak is said to be rapid, and the wood
at all ages is found excellent. In these and other respects it is said to have
greatly the advantage of the British oak. A teak board, however, is some-
ee consumed in a single night by the species of insect popularly called the
white ant.
44:4 DL? Aorticulteur Belge,
Art. Il. L’Horticulteur Belge, Journal des Jardiniers et Amateurs. Tn
monthly numbers. 8yo. Vol. I. Nos. V. VI. and VII. Brussels, 1833.
Tus monthly Gardener’s Magazine was commenced in March 1833, and
discontinued with the seventh number ; a circumstance which we regret, be-
cause its editor seems to have been a scientific and intelligent man. The first
article in No. v., we have already given the essence of in p. 305. to p.313. The
other articles, in this and the succeeding numbers, are of comparatively little
interest to British gardeners, though good in themselves. The first is on the
field and garden culture suitable for Algiers. The next on travelling plants,
such as the common O’rchis, a plant of which, according to Bosc, would, at
the end of a century, be found between 9 and 10 ft. distant from the point
where it was planted at the commencement ; and this he accounts for by stat-
ing that, when the old bulb dies every year, a new one is formed at its side,
and always on the same side. The author of this paper, M. Ch. Morren,
made several experiments with the O’rchis latifolia Anet. in 1827, 1828, and
1829, from which he concludes that this O’rchis does not travel to a distance,
as M. Bosc supposed, but only oscillates, or moves from one side to the other,
of a common centre. The O’rchis bifdlia does something more; it turns in
oscillating, or, as it were, waltzes round a centre; but in such a manner that
the plant, after it has stood three years, always springs up on the precise spot
which contains the remains of its grandfather; and this M. Morren con-
siders as a provision of nature for supplying it with nourishment. He thinks
it is because gardeners cut over or leave to dry the old stems of orchises,
instead of letting them rot on the spot where they grew, that their culture in
gardens is so difficult. M.J.B.van Maelsaccke of Ghent has paid much
attention to the culture of native Orchidee. M. Morren has seen, in his
garden, O’rchis latifolia 2 ft. high, with spikes 6 or 7 in. in length, containing
hundreds of flowers. The success of this gentleman he considers as afford-
ing a proof that salep might be produced in Belgium as well as in Turkey.
The Célchicum autumnale, which has generally been considered as having a
descending bulb, is found at the same time to turn, or spin round a centre.
(Le Colchique ne marche pas, il n’oscille méme pas ; mais il tourne, il pirouette.)
“ These examples show what erroneous ideas the authors of horticultural
works have hitherto generally entertained on vegetable progression. That
which was extraordinary in their assertions respecting the movements of plants,
whether laterally or perpendicularly, has disappeared, to give place to a theory
perhaps still more strange, because it developes a regular and symmetric
series of phenomena. Thus, in astronomy, mankind formerly believed in
planetary movements, wandering and without end; but La Place has dispelled
these visions, and has proved that these were but oscillations, or revolving or
equally balanced movements, which thus regulate the universe. In botany, ~
the same ideas prevailed, and it was fancied that plants would travel without
limits, and yet nature only displayed oscillations, circular revolutions, and,
in one word, regular movements. Symmetry is stamped on the forehead of
every organised being, as it is on that of the universe; it is the character of
creation.” (p. 161.)
The next article is on the longevity of the onion, in which the story of an
onion being found in the hand of a mummy, by Mr. Houlton of London,
which grew vigorously after having been in the mummy’s hand upwards of
two thousand years, is introduced, and apparently believed.
A historical notice of the Botanic Garden at Brussels follows.
This garden belongs to a company of shareholders. It contains upwards of
12 acres, with a considerable variety of soil, but with a surface exposed to the
burning sun in the daytime, and the winds from the north-west in the even-
ing. The system of hedges, recommended by Linneus, it is thought, might
give shade and shelter to /’école, or what we should call the general arrange-
ment ; which is Linnzan, and in front of the hot-houses, as may be seen in
our plan of the garden. (VIII.401.) There is no Jussieuean arrangement ; no
Journal des Jardiniers et Amateurs. 445
collection of medical plants, or of plants used in agriculture or in the arts ;
no model school of horticultural operations, such as grafting, &c., as in the
Paris garden; and no library or botanical museum. ‘The range of hot-houses
is 400 ft. long. The other particulars of this garden will be found in our
eighth volume, as above referred to.
An article by Poiteau, taken from the Annales d’ Horticulture de Paris,
examines the question as to whether white or black walls are preferable for
fruit trees. Black walls are preferred where the exposure is directly south,
as moderating the heat during sunshine, and increasing it in the sun’s absence.
Smooth white walls, facing the south, reflect so much heat during sunshine,
that they are apt to scorch the branches of peach trees ; but, for east and west
walls, a white polished surface produces no injury.
Passing over several articles, we come to a mode of destroying moles,
which is by placing in their runs earthworms which have been sprinkled with
the powder of nux vomica two days before, and left in a pot or m a heap till
they become swelled, so as no longer to be able to bury themselves in the soil.
The moles eat them, and of course are poisoned. A slight variation of this
mode has been already noticed. (p. 234.)
To give apples an agreeable perfume, Bosc long ago directed them to be
mixed with a few dried elder flowers, and it is now found that a similar effect
is produced by a few truffles. Elder flowers, cloves, and a little garlic are
said greatly to improve vinegar. Thatching gooseberry bushes, in the manner
done with beehives, during winter, is said to be one of the best modes for pre-
serving the ripe fruit on them for a long time. Tomatoes, when ripe, may be
preserved a year in a strong solution of salt in water, without boiling, or any
culinary preparation whatever. When taken out of the brine for use, they
must be steeped some hours in fresh water. The common privet is highly
praised as a hedge plant; its leaves contain a great quantity of tannin, and it
1s said to be cultivated in Silesia for the tanners. The leaves are gathered
from the hedges when they are clipped in the month of June; they are dried
in the sun, or in stoves, and afterwards reduced to powder; in which state
they are sold to the manufacturer. The leaves, when green, are eaten by
cows and sheep, but not by horses. The shoots of the privet are useful for
tying articles, and hence the origin of its Latin name ligustrum. In Bel-
-gium, the shoots are used for basket-making, like those of the osier, and as
props for vines ; the wood generally makes a superior description of charcoal,
which is used in manufacturing gunpowder, and the old wood is valued by
turners for the closeness of its grain, and because it is not liable to be attacked
by insects. The berries afford winter nourishment to thrushes and other
birds; they supply a green fluid, used in colouring maps, &c., and a dark sub-
stance, used in colouring wine; but the most valuable product obtained from
them is a greenish, mild, agreeably flavoured oil, which may be used both for
culinary purposes and lamps, or for making soap. For making oil, the berries
are put into a cask for twelve or fifteen hours; they are then taken out and
ground, and afterwards pressed, and the oil skimmed off. The marc, or mass
of husks and seeds, is then ground a second time, heated and moistened, and
again pressed, when a supply of oil of an inferior description is obtained,
which is used for coarser purposes.
The flowers of the lime tree infused in cold water are antispasmodic; and
in hot water they make an agreeable kind of tea. The leaves and young
shoots are mucilaginous, and may be employed in poultices and fomentations.
The tree will clip into any form of hedge, avenue, or bower ; it grows rapidly
in all calcareous and flinty soils, especially if they are slightly humid. The timber
is better adapted than any other for the purposes of the carver; it will take
any form whatever ; it admits of the greatest sharpness in the minute details,
and it is cut with the greatest ease. It is also used for sounding-boards
for pianos and other musical instruments. But the peculiar use of the lime
is the formation of mats from its inner bark. In June, when the leaves begin
to develope themselves, and the tree is full of sap, branches or stems, of from
Voi. X.— No. 54. 11
446 Journal des Jardiniers et Amateurs.
eight to twenty years’ growth, are cut and trimmed, and the bark is separated
from them, from one end to the other. This is easily done by simply drawing
the edge of a knife along the whole length of the tree or branch, so as to cut
the bark to the soft wood. It then rises on each side of the wound, and
almost separates of itself. If mats are to be made immediately, the bark is next
beaten with mallets on a block of wood, and children are employed to separate
the inner bark, which comes off in strands or ribands, while the outer bark
detaches itself in scales. If mats are not to be made for some time, the bark
is dried in a barn or shed, and either kept there, or stacked, till it is wanted.-*
It is then steeped twenty-four hours in water, beaten as before, and put into a
heap, where it remains till it undergoes a slight fermentation. When this
takes place, the inner bark separates in ribands and shreds as before. With
the shreds, cords of different kinds are twisted in the usual manner; and mats
are formed with the ribands in the same way as rush mats. The ribands
which are to be used in forming mats for gardens undergo a sort of bleaching,
for the purpose of depriving them of part of their mucilage, which would
otherwise render them too liable to in-
crease and diminish in bulk by atmo-
spheric changes. The great advantage
of lime-tree or bast mats over all others,
in gardens, is, that they do not so
easily rot from being exposed to moist-
ure.
A Fruit-Gatherer ( fig.77.) is described,
which (it being somewhat different
from those given in our Encyclopedia
of Gardening) we shall here make
known to our readers. It consists of
two branches (a, 6). The branch a is
the support of the instrument; it is
furnished in its upper part with a cutting
blade of steel (c), which is fixed there by
three screws. Its lower part (d) is in
the form of a socket, in order to receive
a long wooden handle. The second
branch (0) is fixed on that marked a, by
means of a turning joint or hinge at e,
which traverses a screw on which the
branch 6 works. There isa steel spring
(f) fixed on the branch a, by the screw
g; the object of which is, to cause the
branch 6 to shut on a. There is a
copper stopper (/) to keep the branch
open, when the instrument is about
to be used ; it is fixed on the branch a,
by a screw marked 2, on which it works.
There is a small steel sprig (/) which
presses the stopper against the lower
end of the branch 6. In order to gather
a fruit, its footstalk is introduced be-
tween the branches (a, 4), by present-
ing them open to it, as represented in
the figure; the cord (2), which is fixed
into the stopper (/), is then drawn down-
wards, so as to liberate 6, which closes
on a, while the blade (c) cuts the stalk
of the. fruit, the latter being retained
between the two branches, or nippers
(4, 5),
Lows Elements of Practical Agriculture. 44.7
Art. III. Elements of Practical Agriculture; comprehending the Cultivation of
Plants, the Husbandry of the Domestic Animals, and the Economy of the
Farm. By David Low, Esq. F.R.S.E., Professor of Agriculture in the
University of Edinburgh. S8vo, pp. 695. Edinburgh, 1834. 21s.
Tue word agriculture is here taken in its strictest sense; and the work is,
in consequence, confined to the subject of farming. It treats of, I. Soils;
‘II. Manures; III. Implements of the Farm; IV. Simple Operations of
Tillage; V. Preparation of Land for Crops; VI. Succession of Crops ;
~ VII. Cultivation of Plants; VIII. Weeds of Agriculture; IX. Management
of Grass Land; X. The Rearing and Feeding of Animals; and XI. The gene-
ral Economy of the Farm. In the preface, the author informs us that the
agriculture of a country is affected, in its general character, by climate, the fer-
tility of the soil, and the food and habits of the people; and, consequently,
that, to treat of agriculture as a practical art, the treatise must have reference
to some given condition of climate and country. The following quotation
will convey an accurate idea of the author’s opinion of the best mode of treat-
ing his subject : —
“ Aoriculture, like every art, is founded on principles ; anda natural method
of studying it would seem to begin with principles, and from these to deduce
the rules of practice. The nature of the subject, however, or rather the state
of our knowledge, admits of this course being followed only to a limited
extent; for the art founded on experience is often better understood than the
principles ; and while the science is in some degree incomplete, the art has, in
many things, been rendered very perfect by experience alone. Hence, it is
well to lay the foundation of the study of agriculture on a knowledge of
practice. In this case, the agriculturist, should he desire to extend the range
of his observations to the relations of the science with the practical art, will
do so with a more useful result and less hazard of error. In the following
work, which is designed in an especial manner for those who are to engage in
the study of agriculture for the first time, I propose to observe the plan of
instruction to which I have referred. One condition of climate and country is
assumed ; and there is explained, in so far as the limits of an elementary work
will allow, a system of agriculture, which is conceived to be good, which is
founded on experience, and which is capable of being reduced to practice. It
does not, therefore, consist with the design of this work, to detail a number of
practices, or examine a number of opinions ; many of which may be good, and
yet not in accordance with the system to be explained. Farther, the attention
of the reader is mainly directed to the essential parts of practice; and, while the
connection of agriculture with other branches of knowledge is carefully pointed
out, this is, in most cases, done rather to show the relation between them than
to pursue the subject in detail. The application of science to agriculture affords
the materials of interesting and useful study. Chemistry ascertains the nature
and constitution of soils, the mode of action of manures, and the substances
fitted for the nutrition of plants; botany and vegetable physiology treat of
the structure, the properties, and the uses of plants; animal physiology and
medical science relate to the form of animals, their properties, and diseases ;
and mechanics are applied to the construction of machines and rural works.
But there are branches of agriculture which may be separately studied: they
are not essential, as experience shows, to the knowledge of agriculture as an
economical art, and need be but partially treated of in an elementary work.
Notwithstanding, however, this limitation in the design of the present treatise,
it will appear that it is sufficiently extended for those who enter for the first
time on the study of agriculture; and that even a rudimental knowledge of
so many subjects as it embraces cannot be acquired without the labour of
patient study.” (p. ix.)
The reader will be prepared, by these remarks, to meet with a description
of the most approved practices employed in the agriculture of the best dis-
tricts in Scotland, unmixed with hypothetical speculations: and this is pre-
112
4.48 Works on Gardening, Agriculture, §c.
cisely what the book is. The descriptions are perfectly clear and distinct ;
and they are illustrated by upwards of 200 engravings on wood, chiefly of
implements. No notice is taken of the new theory of the rotation of crops,
or of the doctrine of humin, though so much has been written respecting both
in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, of which, Professor Low informs us, in
a note, he was for some time editor. Perhaps, indeed, we ought not to be
surprised at this, after seeing the wild speculations to which these new theories
have given rise. We cannot help thinking, however, that Decandolle’s theory
ought to have been stated; because many observing cultivators might have
been induced, by such a statement, to direct their attention more specifically
to the subject of rotations. Other swing ploughs, we think, should have been
noticed as well as Small’s; and we expected something on the subject of
wheel ploughs, though, as far as we can observe, there is not a word respecting
them in the book. Several pages are very properly given on the improve-
ment of the breeds of animals; and, we think, there ought also to have been
a section on the improvement of the breeds of plants. We admit, however,
that this and similar other matters, which we could point out as in our opi-
nion desirable in a work intended for students, formed no part of the author’s
plan; and therefore, perhaps, all that we ought to say is, that, in these
respects, the book is not precisely what we think it ought to have been, as
coming from a teacher of agriculture. Taken as a practical director of Scotch
farming, we consider it unexceptionable.
Art. IV. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, Rural Archi-
tecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those considered the most
interesting.
; Briain.
PamMPLIN, William, jun., Lavender Hill Nursery, Wandsworth Road, near
London: A Catalogue of old Books on Botany and Gardening, offered for
Sale at the moderate prices affixed. Part second. 8vo. 1834,
The number of books enumerated in this catalogue is 276; a few of them
are scarce, and some others are illustrated by portraits. The author collects
and dries specimens of plants for sale; and has sent us some for our inspec-
tion, very beautifully dried, and carefully displayed and attached. He also
undertakes “ to supply portraits for illustrating botanical and horticultural
biography, &c., and botanical figures, either engravings or original drawings.”
We recommend him to amateurs.
Murray, Hugh, F.R.S.E., &c., assisted by Wallace, Jameson, Hooker, and
Swainson: An Encyclopedia of Geography; comprising a complete de-
scription of the earth, physical, statistical, civil, and political, &c. Ilus-
trated by 82 maps, and upwards of 1000 engravings on wood, representing
the most remarkable objects of nature and art, in every region of the globe.
8vo, pp. 1567. London. 3/.
When it is considered how much the nature of the cultivation of every country
depends on a knowledge of its geography; that is, of its climate, elevation above
the sea, proximity to or distance from the sea, irregular or even character of the
surface, soil, and indigenous vegetation, our gardening readers will not be sur-
prised that we should recommend to them a work in which all these matters, and
every other which the subject embraces, have been treated in a manner far supe-
rior to that in which they could have been done, at any former period, in this or
in any other country. It is quite enough for the gardener to know that the
botany of every country is given by Dr. Hooker; and what relates to its soil
and surface, geology, &c., by Professor Jameson. Among the woodcuts,
most of the remarkable plants of every country will be found beautifully
figured, as are also the remarkable animals; so that, even as a work of
natural history, it possesses extraordinary claims to attention. Altogether,
Literary Notices. 449
we consider it as one of the most useful books, and also, as one of the
cheapest, which has appeared in our time. Next to foreign travel, there are
few things which tend more to liberalise the mind, than the study of geo-
graphy, when combined with such historical and domestic notices as are given
in this work.
FRANCE.
Tessier, M.: Annales de I Agriculture Francaise ; contenant des Observations
et des Mémoires sur toutes les parties de l Agriculture et des Sciences
accessoires. In monthly numbers. Nos. 81. and 82., vol. xili.; third
series. 8vo. Paris, 1834.
This work, of which we possess some of the earlier volumes, still continues
to be a record of the transactions of the Central Agricultural Society of
France. The most interesting article in No. 81. is on the culture of the co-
chineal insect, and that in No. 82. on the culture of cotton; both articles
being doubtless prepared with a view to the agriculture of Algiers. We ob-
serve that this Society has done us the honour to insert our name in the list
of associates; and also that Oscar Le Clerc’s translation of our Encyc. of
Agr. is nearly completed, in 4 vols. 8vo, with 2000 woodcuts.
De Moléon, J. G. V., of the Polytechnic School, Civil Engineer, Chevalier of
the Legion d’Honneur, &c.: Recueil de la Société Polytechnique, ren-
fermant, 1°, Le Recueil Industriel, Manufacturier, Commercial, de la Sa-
lubrité publique, et des Beaux Arts; 2°, L’Agronome Manufacturier ;
3°, Les Annales de la Société Polytechnique; 4°, Les Annales des Statis-
tiques et les Actes de Administration propres a encourager les diverses
Branches de ? Economie publique, &c. Paris. 2d series, commencing
January, 1834.
BELGIUM.
Lejeune, A. L. S.. M.D., &c.; ef Courtois, R., M.D., Horti Botanici Acade-
mize Leodiensis Directioni adjunctus ; conjunctis studiis ediderunt : Com-
pendium Floree Belgicee. Tomus 1. 1828; tom. ii. 1831. 8vo. Liege.
These volumes include brief technical descriptions, in the Latin language,
of those of the wild plants of Belgium which are referable to the first fifteen
classes of the system of Linnzus, herein followed. A third volume, designed
to contain descriptions of the remainder of the Belgic phanerogamic plants, is
under preparation. The two volumes before us are very carefully elaborated ;
and must much avail the botanical students in Belgium. They are also
capable of interesting the students of the native plants of neighbouring coun-
tries, as teaching the species peculiar to each country respectively. We ob-
serve that not a few species are described, which inhabit Belgium, that do
not oceur in Britain.
Art. V. Literary Notices.
A TREATISE on Fruit Trees: by an old Pomologist, a contemporary of
Miller, Aiton sen., Forsyth, Hill, Abercrombie, &c., and whose experience
has been gained in the gardens of royalty, and in those of the nobility and
gentry, in different parts of the kingdom. The author has also been, for
many years, a nurseryman; in which business the propagation and culture of
fruit trees have been his principal employment; and he has particularly de-
voted his attention to ascertaining the names and merits of each variety of
fruit, with the best modes of culture.
Report of the Doncaster Agricultural Society, on the Turnip Fly, founded
on the returns received from upwards of a hundred gentlemen, cultivating
turnips on every variety of soil in the county.
_ The Agricultural Magazine is about to be published at Dundee, in monthly
numbers, at 6d. each.
113
450 General. Notices.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
ART. 1. General Notices.
THE fecal Excretions of Plants. — The committee of botany of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science have requested Professor Daubeny
of Oxford, “ to institute an extended enquiry into the exact nature of the
secretions by the roots of the principal cultivated plants and weeds of agricul-
ture; and that the attention of botanists and chemists be invited to the degree
in which such secretions are poisonous to the plants that yield them, or te
others; and to the most ready method of decomposing these secretions by
manures, or other means.” Dr. Lindley has also proposed the same thing as
a desideratum.
The Cause of Malaria, in the pestilential districts of Italy, has generally
been supposed to be the decomposition of vegetable matter on a moist surface.
This, however, is to confound the malaria with the marsh fever. The former
is now thought to proceed from a very different cause, and to be analogous to
what in England is called the hay fever. It is found that, while the corn or
hay crop is in a growing state in the pestilential districts, they are as healthy
as any part of Italy; but that, the moment the crop is cut down, or withers
on the ground, the malaria commences, and continues through the autumn
and winter, till vegetation becomes vigorous in the following spring. The
neighbourhood of Rome, where malaria is so prevalent, “ is very hilly, dry,
and entirely without vegetation. For days together, one sees nothing but
desolate dried up corn fields, without trees, bushes, or wood of any description.
In early times, Rome was surrounded by extensive sacred woods, which were
not suffered to be destroyed. At that period malaria was unknown, though
intermitting fevers were well known in the Pontine Marshes. The avarice of
the popes, however, converted these sacred woods into gold, and so desolated
the region that not a tree or wood is to be met with around Rome. With
the commencement of this system of extirpation the malaria appeared, and
has at length reached such a height, that, yearly, many are carried gradually
off by it; and, in the summer months, strangers and respectable inhabitants
quit Rome. When we take into consideration all the phenomena of marshy
districts, the conclusion does not lie far distant, that the atmosphere is in
different degrees rendered unfit for human organisation, not by the passage of
the water to the air, but by the decomposition and solution of vegetable sub-
stances; and that thus those various intermitting fevers, and even the plague
itself, are produced. In the case of real malaria, in opposition to marsh fevers,
the circumstances are different. So long as the earth is covered with living
vegetables, as, for example, with corn, the air of the most suspected district
is pure and healthy, and no one fears being attacked by the disease; but, when
the prodigious crops, which in those volcanic loose-soiled districts are speedily
brought to maturity, are removed, does the surface of the earth become dead
at the warmest and most energetic period of its functions ? or does not rather
a portion of those substances, which were consumed by the leaves and roots of
plants, now go to the atmosphere, and render it unfavourable for the breathing
of man, until all is again restored to an equilibrium in higher or more distant
regions ? That carbonaceous matter is beneficial to the vegetable kingdom, is
as well known as that it is prejudicial to the breathing process in animals. No
educated person in Germany doubts the organic function of the earth, to
which also the cholera itself has been ascribed; and when a more general
regard to nature advances to the south, the sacred woods will again gradually
surround Rome, large vine branches entwine themselves round the elms, the
hills be thus again covered, and the malaria reduced within limits. The fact
is not without interest, that all real malaria districts are of volcanic formation,
and that they are often to be found at the boundary of volcanic and non-
Domestic Notices : — England. 451
volcanic rocks.” (Jameson’s Journ., vol. xvii. p. 167.) In several districts in
England, the country people are liable to attacks of fever immediately after
the removal of the hay crop, some individuals much more so than others.
This may be considered as a species of malaria of a comparatively mild
description.
A Mode of packing Fruit Trees for Exportation is given m VI. 311. I
received last month a package of fruit trees from Boston, North America, from
Mr. W. Kenrick; whose New American Orchardist is reviewed in IX. 354.
I send a description of Mr. Kenrick’s mode of packing, which I think an
approvable one, for publication. He lays the roots in wet moss, and this is
secured by means of bast mats, not only about the roots, but clear from the
stems. A strong stake is placed in the centre of the bundle of trees, and
these are well packed in straw, and bast mats, not put into abox. It appears
to me that this mode is preferable to packing the trees in a box; for, when the
roots are packed in wet moss, and the branches are laid bare in the box, a
considerable degree of damp arises from the moss, and stagnates upon the
branches, to the destruction of some of the trees, as when the trees are
unpacked and exposed to the air, the branches of some of them turn black
and purple in several places, and the trees soon die. On the contrary, when
the trees are not packed in a box, the dampness from the wet moss is allowed
to escape, and the branches are not injured by the stagnation of it upon them.
The trees I have received from Mr. Kenrick were not at all affected in their
branches, but were perfectly free from all disease, and the branches of the
pear trees had sent out young shoots among the straw. The following are
‘the names of the kinds of fruit trees which I have received from Mr. Kenrick :
all of them are described in his New American Orchardist.
Apples: American summer pearmain, Benone, St. Lawrence, Maiden blush,
Summer queen, Summer rose, William’s apple, Aunt’s apple, Kenrick’s red
autumn, Killam Hill, Newark king, Hubbundston’s Nons, Marquise, Peck’s
pleasant, Penock red winter, Priestley, Royal pearmain.
Pears: Julienne, Dix, Gore’s, Heathcot Lodge, Wilkinson, Lewis, Thomson,
Cushon.— WM. Saul. Sulyard Street, Lancaster, June 7. 1834.
Messrs. Audibert’s Mode of packing Plants to be sent to great Distances. —'The
boxes in which the plants are to be placed are first led with double oiled
paper, to prevent the access of air and the escape of moisture. Moss, after
being slightly watered, is then stuffed in about the plants, and the lid is put
on in such a manner as to be air-tight. Messrs. Audibert are of opinion that
plants in a dormant state, such as vines, may be sent in this state to any
distance in temperate climates; and even to the tropics, provided a mixture
of soil or sand were put in along with the plants, for the shoots to run in,
that would be produced by the tropical temperature. (Busby’s Vineyards of
Spain and France ; an interesting work, which we shall review in our next No.)
By this mode of packing, or that suggested by our correspondent, Mr. Ward,
p. 207., it appears to us that there will henceforth be no insurmountable
difficulty in sending out to, or bringing home from, Australia, India, or China,
any description of plant whatever, whether in a growing or dormant state.
Glass cases may be rendered perfectly air-tight, and yet admit of the contrac-
tion and expansion of the air, by having a small reservoir of water for the
expanded air to act upon. — Cond.
Art. Il. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.
THE Devon and Exeter Floricultural Society has introduced a new subject
of competition into the flower shows, by offering a prize for the best specimen
of fiower-painting done by a lady. — J. W. L. f
The Grounds at High Clere have been he great beauty, notwithstanding the
II
452 Domestic Notices : — England.
calamities of the spring. The very mild weather in January, February, and
March, brought forward the whole mass of the Rhododéndron 4lta-clerénse
hybrids; when, just as they were covered with turgid umbels ready to expand,
came the frost in April, and destroyed hundreds ef the buds. It was quite a
floricultural calamity. Even the more tardy umbels were injured, many of
the florets in each being spoiled. Then we had a great fright; for in many of
the specimens the bark split and came off, disclosing the naked stem: these,
the gardener swathed in haybands, expecting them to die to the ground, but
they have quite recovered; the bark is regenerated, and the plants are growing
surprisingly. Next year the show will be immense, and such a concatenation
of premature warmth and frost can hardly happen a second time soon. The
azaleas were very superb, and some of the latest are even now in flower,
perfuming the air with their fragrance. — R. High Clere Park. June 27. 1834.
Syon House Gardens. — Mr. Thompson, late of the Grange, who succeeded
Mr. Forrest in the management of these gardens, has in his turn been suc-
ceeded by Mr. Carton, late of High Clere. Wehear that the same system of
rigid exclusion, even of gardeners, is still to be maintained.
The numerous fine Vlices at Mamhead, near Exeter, appear, from some letters
found a short time ago in taking down the old house there, to have been
planted in 1718; in which year, as I was informed, the safe arrival of them
from Smyrna or Aleppo is mentioned. — W. C. Trevelyan. Atheneum, Pall
Mall, July 9, 1834.
The new Evergreen Lucombe’s Oak, mentioned by Mr. Rutger (p. 185.), is
known here, and in some other nurseries, as the Narrow-leaved Lucombe, or
Fulham, oak. It is a beautiful variety, retaining its dark-green foliage, in mild
winters, till April or May. — 7. Rivers, jun. Sawbridgeworth, May 23. 1834.
Of the Red-corollaed Nelimbium speciosum, of A.bies spectabilis Lam. (Pinus
Webbiana Wall.), and of the Cedrus Deodara, we have received seeds from Dr.
Wallich, since we noticed, in p. 278., the receipt of other seeds from him. In
this instance, some of the seeds of the Cédrus Deodara were sent in a portion
of a cone, and some in a vial: neither these nor those look very promising,
but those in the cone leok most so. Scarcely a seed is without one or more
blisters of oil beneath the integument, as in those described in p. 278. All
the seeds of A‘bies spectabilis seem dead, and are so dry that their embryo is a
mere shriveled thread. The seeds of the Nelimbium are noted for very
long retention of life, and we have imparted Dr. Wallich’s plentiful supply of
these to various heads of botanic gardens, and to nurserymen, and added to
them portions of the seeds of the A‘bies and Cédrus, that those who are hopeful
of their growing may have an opportunity to do their best with them. Upon
the cover of our Number LII., we have, through inadvertence, announced the
seeds of the Nelumbium, as additional ones of the white-corollaed variety, but
we found them, on opening the package, to be seeds of the red. The date
upon the labels to the seeds is October, 1833: we received the seeds on June
27. 1834. — J. D.
A Species of Tacsonia has been in flower nearly the whole of the winter on
a west wall in the open garden at Englefield House, near Reading. Mr.
Greenshields has promised us an account of it, and in the meantime plants
may be obtained at Mr. M‘Arthur’s nursery, Connaught Square, Edgeware
Road.
A Selection of Heartseases, painted by Mrs. Withers, has lately been exhibited
at the Horticultural Society’s rooms, and also shown to us at Bayswater,
The varieties are beautiful, and they are most exquisitely painted. An emi-
nent artist happened to call while they were before us, who declared that he
had never seen any work of the kind so beautifully executed. There can be no
question of the high talents and great industry of Mrs. Withers. The artist
we alluded to has the same objection as ourselves to the mode of mixing
the different varieties together, adopted by Mrs. Withers, in common with the
growers of florists’ flowers, instead of arranging them according to their affini-
ties. Mrs. Withers states that the flowers were placed in the order she drew
Domestic Notices :— England. 453
them, by her employer; but this lady, and all other artists, should endeavour
to correct the taste of their employers, in matters connected with their profes-
sion. We wish our able correspondent, Calycanthus (who we have no doubt
is an artist), would take up this subject, and would enlarge on it from time to
time. — Cond.
Cultivated Kinds of Rose budded in Hedgerows upon wild Kinds there growing.
—I, last summer, budded the wild roses growing in my hedgerows with buds of
some cultivated kinds; the flowers from these are now coming into blossom ;
their hues and odours must increase the interest of the hedgerows. A men-
tion of this matter may induce others to increase the interest of their hedge-
rows in like manner. — M/. Saul. June 7. 1834.
A Plant of Heracléum giganttéum, grown in Lavender Hill Nursery in 1832,
measured as follows: —Extent of the two lower leaves from point to point,
12 ft.; height of the plant, 10 ft. 3in.; circumference of the stem at 2 ft. from
the ground, 1 ft.; diameter of the main umbel, 2 ft.; diameter of a partial
umbel of ditto, 3in. These dimensions were taken by — William Hurst.
Wandsworth Road, July 10. 1832.
A Verbascum in the garden of Mr. Wilson of Greenhithe (see p.283.),
and nursed by Miss Wilson, had attained, July 27., a height of upwards of
12 ft., and was still growing.
The Number of Plants observed in Blossom last Winter at Holnicote, in Somer-
setshire, the seat of Sir Thomas Acland, were on Dee. 23. 1833, 236; and
on Feb. 3. 1834, 181, as appears from the lists of them sent by him to the
Devon and Exeter Horticultural Society. —W. C. Trevelyan. Atheneum,
Pall Mall, July 9. 1834:
Bignonia ophthalmica.— Having received a supply of seed of the Bignonia
ophthalmica, or eye vine, known to the Hispano-American inhabitants of
Carthagena by the name of Bejuco de Ojo, which is so justly celebrated for
its efficacy in the cure of ophthalmia and other inflammatory affections of
the eyes, I send some to you for distribution among those who are most
likely to succeed in making it vegetate. This will, perhaps, be facilitated by
previous maceration either in plain soft water kept at a moderate temperature
for about forty-eight hours, or in water acidulated with either chlorine, or a
saturated solution of oxalic acid, in the proportion of sixteen drops to the
pint, or one drop to the ounce by measure, of water. In this proportion, I
have found the oxalic acid, as recommended by M. Otto of Berlin, effectual
in rousing the dormant powers of vegetation, and quickening the develope-
ment of the infant plant. But when oxalic acid has been used, I think it will
be advisable, in general, to wash the seed, before planting, in water either pure,
or containing a smal! quantity of lime, potass, or some other substance
capable of forming a neutral salt with any adhering acid, so as to prevent any
injurious action it might exert upon the embryo springing into life. It will also
be necessary to guard against the depredations of slugs and other vermin,
which devour the young and tender plants of the eye vine with avidity. —
Wm. Hamilton. Plymouth, May 20. 183+.
[We have sent the whole of the seeds to Messrs. Low and Co. of the
Clapton Nursery. — Cond.]
O'xalis crenata. — Should you have received any account cf the late exhi-
bition at Falmouth, on the 28th of last month, you will have learned that one
of the greatest difficulties attending the cultivation of the O’xalis crenata has
been surmounted; Mr. Pringle, the intelligent and enterprising gardener of
L. C. Daubuz, Esq., of Truro, having upon that occasion produced a dish of
the tubers of this plant, the growth of the present year, which were much ad-
mired both for their size and beauty. Mr. Pringle will, I trust, communicate
the process by which he has succeeded in obtaining this desirable result,
through the medium of your valuable Magazine, to the public for general in-
formation. You will also have learned from that report (inserted in the
West Briton of the 30th of May) that Sir Charles Lemon, with that zeal for
science, and that desire to promote the interests of society, for which he has
454 Domestic Notices : — England.
ever been so honourably distinguished, has this year attempted the field cul-
ture of these tubers upon a large scale: the result of so important an experi-
ment will not, I trust, be kept from the public, even should its success fall
short of our most reasonable expectations. — Wm. Hamilton. 15. Oxford
Place, Plymouth, June 13. 1834.
The Victoria Wheat. — It may be interesting to many of our readers to learn
that, in several instances, both in this neighbourhood and that of Bristol, the
Victoria wheat, received from Sir Robert Ker Porter, has been in ear for
some weeks, and promises to be ripe before the wheats in ordinary cultivation
show their blossom. - | 0 0 9/0 1 O}| Pears, Dessert, per half sieve:
White Turnip, per bunch 001 13 Williams’s © ie - 1015 0/018 @
Knevett’s Seedling - {010 0/015 0
The Spinach Tribe. Heachessspet dozen - - |0 20/0 40
rf er sieve slo nl 610 oo ectarines, perdozen - |0 2 6/0 3 6
Spinach ee half sieve - |0 1 0|0 0 O|| Plums, Dessert jee Zsieve|}0 5 0/0 7 0
Sorrel, per halfsieve - - |0 10/0 0 0 per punnet} 0 1 0)0 1 3
Green Gage ee half sieve e A ° i ° 0
The Onion Tribe. per punnet 6
Onions, per bushel - = 10 3 610 0 0 Coe’s Golden Drop - |0 20/000
Ls 9 Imperatrice - - |0 20/0 2 6
For pickling, per half sieve} 0 2 6/0 5 O Bakin half si 03 610'5 0
When green (Ciboules), per Ue Der na Sieve s ;
Mulberries, p. gall. (2 pottles)| 0 0 810 0 0
bunch = e - |9 0 3/0 ©O O}| Currants, per half sieve :
Leeks, per dozen bunches ~ |0 2 6/0 3 0 Blackie E ae 0301050
Garlic, per pound -~-= 10 06/00 8 White ii i: 110261036
Shallots, perpound - - |0 0 6/0 010]} Rea forwine - - 103 0/03 6
oj For tarts - - |0 3 6/0 4 0
Asp Saas me ; Dessert, per half sieve 050;0 70
Artichokes, per dozen - 10 2 0);0 4 0 aris Hed, Eee gallon 0091010
Lettuce, per score: Walnuts, Foreign, green, per
1 Ca Su ente Lee eae 8 meade (se (a I) 8 OlOW ©
abba; 2 = = Filberts, English, per 100lbs.| 3 0 0/315 O
Celery, per bundle (12to15) |0 10/0 1 6 Pine.apples, per aoand - 1036107 0
- Ss
Pat ant Suet Herbs. | Seas ren perenne cheat
Tarragon, per dozen bunches} 0 6 0/.0 0 0 per pound - - |0 0 410 0 6
Fennel, per dozen bunches 0 3 0/0 O O}| Figs, per dozen 3 - 10 26/10 5 0
“Thyme, per dozen bunches 0 3 0) 0 O O}} Melons, each Bo Fo OBO OS wo
Sage, per dozen bunches - | 0 2 0|0 0 0j4| Cucumbers, (per hundred- | 0 0 610 0 9
Mint, per dozen bunches - 02 0/0 2 6) Pickling ? per thousand 03 0/0 4 0
Peppermint, per doz. bunches} 0 1 6/0 0 01 gyanoes § Per dozen - |0 10/0 3 0
Marjoram, per dozen bunches| 0 3 0/0 0 0 e) per hundred - |0 8 0/018 0
Savory, per dozen bunches - | 0 2 6/0 O O Lemons § Pet dozen - - |0 10)0 20
Basil, perdozenbunches - |0 2 6|0 0 O per hundred - |0 6 C/014 0
Rosemary, per dozen bunches} 0 4 0| 0 O O}| Brazil Nuts, perbushel - |016 0/0 0 O
Lavender, per dozen bunches} 0 3 0] 0 O 0O]|| Spanish Nuts, per peck - |}0 40/0 0 0
Tansy, per dozen bunches - | 0 1 6/0 O Oj] Barcelona Nuts, per peck - |0 5 0{0 0 0
The favourable state of the weather in the early part of this month, for the
growth of vegetables, has been the means of keeping up a supply of most of
the articles usually furnished at this season; so that prices have been alto-
gether very moderate, with the assurance of continuing so, and the certainty
of a good supply throughout the autumn and early winter months. Of fruit
we have had but little except apples, which are generally an abundant crop.
Plums, damsons, and pears are scarce. We have had a supply of green gages
from France, which have realised good prices, and remunerated the importers,
although the expense of transport from Brighton to London is very heavy.
Some fine red currants from Holland have been occasionally seen in the
market, although our own crop has been generally good. Melons, from Hol-
land, have also been plentiful at very low prices. Filberts are deficient in crop,
but have been sent to market in a very green state plentifully, so that our
supply to come will be short. Walnuts, from Ostend, have been introduced
in large quantities in an unripe state; so that the market is, at present, quite
overloaded with them: our own crop is comparatively small. Of wall fruit
468 London Hort. Soc. and Garden. — Obituary.
we have had an excellent supply, being forced precociously into the market
by the continued prevalence of a very high temperature. Prices have been,
consequently, low; but are now gradually improving. Grapes have been in
abundance, and the crops upon the walls are extraordinary. Onions for
winter use are coming to hand plentifully; the crop generally good. Of
potatoes we have had a moderate supply: the crop having been generally im-
proved by the late rains, the later planted varieties will be better in qua-
lity and quantity than was anticipated during the early part of the season.
Turnips are in good supply, with promise of abundance; the quality much
improved by the wet weather in the early part of the month, and the later
crop made certain. Of late peas we have had a fair proportion; and a small
supply may be expected for a month or six weeks to come. French beans
have been, and continue to be, excellent, and in large quantities; the con-
tinuance of which, unless interrupted by early frost, may be confidently ex-
pected.— G. C. August 25. 183.4
Art. VI. London Horticultural Society and Garden.
Aveust 5. 1834.— Read. A note upon the Chasselas musqué grape, by
Mr. Robert Thompson.
Exhibited. Flowers (double) of a variegated pomegranate, from Lady Farn-
borough. Melons, five, from Mr. James Duncan, gardener to W. Whitbread,
Esq. Grapes, two sorts, from Mr. J. Wilmot, F.H.S. Flowers of the Ex-
mouth magnolia from the open ground, fruit of the Devonshire Quarrenden
apple, and of the Maddock apple, from Mr. J. Kirke. Cucumbers, 21 in.
long, from Mr. Cuthill, gardener to L. Sulivan, Esq. Brunsvigia Josephine,
from Mr. Fielder, gardener to W. Linwood, Esq. Flowers of Stuartia vir-
ginica, Catalpa syringefolia, Nolana paradéxa, Eschschdltzia californica
double-flowered, Sparaxis sp., double-flowered pomegranate, China roses,
georginas, and a seedling Dianthus, from Mrs. Marryat. Flowers of georginas
from Messrs. Chandler, and from Mr. Glenny.
Also, from the Garden of the Society. Fruit: Late duke cherry, from a
standard; Early bough apple, an American variety, a very good early apple
either for the kitchen or the table. Grapes: Harrison’s hardy purple, one of
the Burgundy tribe, or, if a seedling, allied to them; it proves not large
enough for deserving glass, although it is a good grape for a wall; Large
white sweetwater, Green chee. Flowers: Chironia trinérvis, Fachsia sp.
from Port Famine: this species is remarkable for the dark colour of its
foliage ; its flowers are numerous, dark-coloured, and rather small; Lobélia
Tupa, Lupinus ornatus, Erythrina Crista-galli, from the open air; Catasétum
tridentatum var., Verbéna vendsa and Aublétia, Pentstémon Richardsonz,
Phlox cordifolia, Zinnia élegans coccinea, Hibiscus africanus, Helichrysum
bracteatum album, Pefznia phoenicea, Potentilla Hopwoodidna, Chrysanthe-
mum carinatum, Lupinus mutabilis and mutabilis var. Cruckshankidnus,
Wistaria Consequana, Sdllya (Billardiéra) heterophylla, Nicotidza glatca,
Ceanothus azureus, Caprifolium japonicum, roses, georginas, Magnolia grandi-
flora var., var. exoniénsis, and var. rubigindsa.
Art. VII. Obituary.
Diep, at St. Mary’s Isle, Kirkcudbright, on June 24., Mr. James Nisbet,
gardener, aged 61 years. Shrewd, rational, and intelligent, he possessed, in
no ordinary degree, all the social and all the domestic virtues. He was a
skilful gardener and an excellent botanist, and had long enjoyed the honour
of being a corresponding member of the Caledonian Horticultural Society.
(Dumfries Courier.)
THE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
OCTOBER, 1834.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art. I. Notes on Gardens and Country Seats, visited, from July 27.
to September 16., during a Tour through Part of Middlesex, Berk-
shire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Hamp-
shire, Sussex, and Kent. By the Conpucror.
(Continued from p. 419.)
Torrenuau Park Wharf. — Aug. 17. This wharf is kept by
Mr. Stanley, who also rents a farm, and has a general charge, as
substeward, over a considerable tract of country on Lord Ayles-
bury’s estate. Under his care is the principal part of the
cottages which have been improved by Mr. Iveson (see p. 413.).
We rode to several of them with Mr. Stanley, who gave us
numerous interesting details of their past, as compared with their
present, state. The people are still slaves to the poor laws’ system ;
but wretched indeed must have been their condition before they
were commiserated by Mr. Iveson. In short, they were then
ignorant and savage enemies of the farmers, and of every other
class of men. Mr. Stanley, with the approbation of the late mar-.
chioness, introduced the four girls’ schools before mentioned ;
but twice that number of schools, both for infants and for
the youth of both sexes, are wanted. Nothing great, however,
can be done, in the way of educating the poor, till a national
system of instruction is established. Mr. Stanley is from the
Duke of Sutherland’s estates at Trentham, and has enlarged
and liberal ideas upon the subject of territorial improvement.
On his wharf we saw a large heap of Bath ashes; viz., the street
sweepings of that city, after they have been laid in a heap, and
suffered to ferment, and afterwards sifted or screened, in the
manner of the poudrette at Paris. ‘They are sold to the farmers
at 44d. a bushel. ‘The Newbury ashes, which are made from
turf dug out of the Vale of Kennet, sell from 8d. to 4d. a bushel,
according as they are more or less earthy. With the facility of
procuring these ashes, and the permission to cut as much fern
as they choose from the Park at Tottenham for litter, it is- not
Vou, X.— No. 55. LL
4.70 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats : —
to be wondered at that the farmers on this estate should raise
large crops, notwithstanding their inferior system of culture. A
curious practice with meadow lands was pointed out to us by
Mr. Stanley. Where the soil of such grass lands is stiff, the
farmers strew stubble, or dry litter, such as old thatch, and the
sweepings of stack yards, slightly over it; these straws the worms
draw into their holes, and in this way are supposed to fertilise
the ground, and render it lighter. Mr. Stanley is convinced that
this practice has a good effect; but as to how it operates he is not
quite so clear. In going to see the old barn, in which Henry VIII.
is said to have been married to Jane Seymour (the mother
of Edward VI., who established so many schools), we observed
the process of building mud walls going on. It is here practised
by common day labourers; and Mr. Stanley assured us that,
when built on good flint or brick foundations, and well thatched,
with the eaves projecting so far as completely to throw off the
rain, these walls will last for an unknown length of time. ‘They
are very common in Wiltshire, and make excellent farmyard
as well as garden walls, and the warmest of all cottages. In our
Encyc. of Architecture, § 838. to 843., will be found a detailed
description of the mode of building cob walls in Devonshire,
where houses two or three stories high are built in this way.
This account was sent us by a clergyman, who states, as a proof
of their great durability, that he was himself born in a cob
parsonage, built in the time of Elizabeth. The Devonshire
mode, and that practised in Wiltshire, appear to be exactly the
same. ‘The Cambridgeshire mode is different, and is also given
in the work referred to, § 159. The French mode (pzsé), which
is more elaborate, will be found in our Architectural Magazine,
vol. i., as applicable to one of the most economical designs for a
group of four roadside cottages (by Mr. Wilds, surveyor, Hert-
ford), which we have anywhere seen. We would not, however,
be understood as recommending cob, mud, or pisé walls, either
for cottages, or anything else, where brick or stone can be pro-
cured; but we should certainly prefer them to loghouses, as
being safer from fire, warmer in winter, and cooler in summer.
Tidworth, Thomas Ashton Smith, Esq.— Aug. 18. This
gentleman is celebrated in the annals of sporting, and we visited
his place chiefly with the view of seeing the plans of his stables
and dog-kennels. We were, however, agreeably surprised to
find an excellent house, and kitchen-garden, and a very intelli-
gent young gardener, Mr. Saunders, the brother of our Bristol
correspondent of that name. (IX. 425.) The steward of the
estate here is Mr. Northeast, an enlightened and well-informed
man, who has followed the same system of improving the cot-
tages under his care, as Mr. Iveson has in those of the Tottenham
Park estate.
Tidworth. 471
The house at Tidworth is situated in a bottom, with little
pretensions to architectural style; but it is substantially built, and
contains a good suite of apartments, large, lofty, and well lighted,
and plainly, but comfortably, finished and furnished. The
bedrooms are numerous, and, with the dressing-rooms, are also
lofty and properly lighted and ventilated; and they are finished
in a style perfectly consistent with that of the principal rooms.
The furniture harmonises with the finishing; but, though both
are plain, it must not be thought that the effect produced is
meagre ; for the doors of the public rooms are of mahogany, and
the windows of plate glass. We examined the kitchen, fitted
up by Ward of London; the contrivance for supplying all the
bedrooms with hot water from the back of the kitchen fire, by
Stothert of Bath; the bath room ; the arrangements for watering
the flower-garden and extinguishing fires, by Bramah; and the
_ game, meat, and vegetable larders, fitted up with slate; all of
which we found excellent. On the whole, this house is the most
complete and comfortable which we have met with since we left
London; it is spacious, and yet habitable; and everywhere sub-
stantially good, without the slightest appearance of glitter or
gaudiness. One peculiarity in it, and in all the other buildings
at Tidworth, is the use of Welsh slate, wherever it can be
brought in. All the bedroom, and many of the sitting-room
chimneypieces and hearths are formed of it; it is used for paving
the passages and courtyards; for forming cisterns, troughs,
mangers, and orange-tree boxes; for kitchen tables and side-
boards; for a large mortar for culinary purposes; for tables and
shelves in the dairy and larder; and for a variety of similar uses.
There is a handsome architectural conservatory, designed by
Mr. Page of Southampton, joined to the house; but on the
lawn, which is too much limited by the boundary fence, there
are a number of flower-beds put down at random, without any
obvious leading principle. The grounds on one side of the bot-
tom in which the house stands rise steeply, and are planted in
the style of a park terminating in massive woods; on the other
side they rise, and are laid out as pleasure-ground, so contrived
as to conceal the kitchen-garden, stables, and dog-kennels.
There is a fine vista from the window of the study up this last
steep slope; terminating in a small temple, with an intervening
fountain, which constitutes the finest scene in the pleasure-
ground. On the top of the hill is a well of great depth, from
which the water is raised by means of a steam-engine of four-
horse power, to a reservoir, from which the whole place is sup-
plied. One pipe surrounds the house; and has, at different
distances, branches to which leathern hose can be attached, by
which water can be conveyed to the distance of 150 ft., either
for the purpose of extinguishing fire in the house, or watering
LL 2
472 Notes on Gardens and Country Seats.
the beds on the lawn. Mr. Saunders applied it to the latter
purpose in our presence; and we must say, that, independently
of its use, it is even entertaining as an exhibition.
The kitchen-garden has been neglected ; but it is now under
a system of renovation by Mr. Saunders; who, judging from his
acquirements and ideas, we have no doubt, will make it what it
ought to be. ‘There are several pineries, vineries, peach-houses,
pits, and other conveniences; and a good gardener’s house,
though rather low and damp. Mr. Saunders has discovered an
excellent loamy soil for pines in the sheep pastures ; and also, in
one of the fox-covers, a bed of yellow gravel, like that at Ken-
sington, both of immense value in a part of the country where
formerly neither had been found. The park is varied by single
trees and small groups, transplanted, under the direction of Mr.
Page of Southampton, by Mr. Wallace, a former gardener.
Some of these trees are of great age and size; and one walnut,
which has a trunk 18 in. in diameter, is supposed to be above a
century old. ‘They were not prepared in Sir Henry Steuart’s
manner, but were taken up with as great a length of ramose
roots as could be done: they are all doing well. The plantations
on the rising grounds were also made by Mr. Page; and their
effect promises to be excellent. In one of these plantations, a
tower, with a turret, has been built for the purpose of watching
the progress of the late system of incendiarism, which has greatly
intimidated most of the nobility and gentry of this part of the
country. To the same cause (viz., the dread of the spread of
incendiarism) is to be assigned the establishment of the steam-
engine, the well, the reservoir, and the system of delivery-pipes
. round the house.
The dog-kennels are on the top of a hill, adjoining the well
and steam-engine, and consist of three circular lodging-rooms ;
with a feeding-house at one end, and the huntsman’s house at the
other. All the buildings are thatched; and the lodging-rooms have
ventilators in the summits of their conical roofs, and a circular
bedstead in the centre of each room, and occupying the greater
portion of it, for the dogs. ‘These bedsteads, when we saw them,
were covered with rye straw; the beds fold up in the centre like
a lady’s reticule, to admit of their being cleaned beneath. The
cribs for retaining the straw are covered with tin, to prevent the
dogs from gnawing them; and the whole bedstead is painted of
a stone colour. ‘The floors of these lodging-rooms are paved
with brick, as are the square courtyards in the centre of which
they stand. These yards are washed with water from a cock in
one corner of each, even as often (as the huntsman, Mr. Burton,
informed us) as twenty times in one day. Near the cock there
is a slate cistern, from which the dogs drink. In one house were
old hounds; and, in the other two, young ones, the males and
State of Gardening in Part of France. 473
females of the latter being kept separate. The feeding-house is
separated from the lodging-houses by a house for showing
hounds; and it has a trough, in which the food (a mixture Gh
coarse porridge and minced horseflesh made into soup) is given
to the hounds. The feeding-house, which is under the same
roof as the show-house, has a small yard. The boiling-house
is at a short distance, and contains a cistern of water, a large
boiler, and places for mincing the horseflesh and making the
porridge. On the whole, we could not help noticing the coin-
cidence, in many points, between this plan for a dog-kennel and
that given in our Encyc. of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architec-
ture, §1945. ‘The situations of both are on an eminence; in
both the boundary fence is an open railing, through which the
dogs, agreeably to Somerville’s directions, can look over an
extensive prospect; in both are contrivances for frequently
washing the courtyards with water; and in both is a show-
house. Our design (fig. 78.) we certainly consider handsomer
5 ii
18 oe
qtr
Arye
VHJINN
: Plants in Town Gardens. 491
that no stirring or manuring will do it
AISSSNMy much good; and, therefore, if fine flowers
BRS ey
are expected to grow in such gardens, the
soil must be renewed annually, or at least
every two years: but, even if the soil
were renewed frequently, this would not
supply the want of a free circulation of
air. To attain this object, either the
boundary walls of the front garden must
be removed, and open iron railings sub-
stituted for them, or the beds or borders
containing the flowers must be elevated
as high as the walls. Sometimes the
former mode might be adopted, but the
latter will generally be found impracti-
cable; and therefore, as a substitute for
it, we would propose elevating the finer
flowers in vases fixed on pedestals. The
soil contained in these vases, however
large they may be (fg. 82. is 8 ft. in
diameter), could be renewed every year
for a few shillings, and a fresh stock of plants supplied for a few
shillings more. ‘The vase would cost, perhaps, 3/. or 5/.; and
this is actually less t
han what the renewal of the soil of the whole
garden would cost every year, or at least
every other year. If, however, this first
cost be thought too great, smaller, and, of
course, cheaper, vases might be employed,
such as jigs. 83, 84, 85, 86, and 87. One
large vase, or one large and two small vases,
would be quite enough for an ordinary street
garden: for example, such as those along
both sides of the New Road. ‘The area of
the garden might be of turf, of gravel, or
paved, with a narrow dug border along each
of the side walls and in front, planted with
bulbs and the commoner evergreen herb-
aceous plants (such as pinks, saxifrages,
&c.), with a few trees and shrubs of showy
flowering kinds. If these front gardens were
either wholly in turf, excepting always the
walk from the gate to the door of the house,
or wholly paved, with a very narrow marginal dug border, and
the vase or vases forming a point or a line in the centre of the
turf or pavement, they would look incomparably better than they
‘do at present. They are now generally laid out entirely in dug
‘beds, either on turf or with box edgings, and small narrow
MM 4
4.92 Vases as Receptacles
gravel paths; in which beds, for the reasons
iM2 before given, fine plants never thrive, and
which are exceedingly difficult to keep orderly
and neat, though they never look well unless
they are so. By the plan of having vases
instead of beds, these gardens may be kept
neat all the year round at a very trifling ex-
pense. In the summer the vases might be
filled with showy flowers, and in winter either
left empty or planted with evergreen shrubs
and spring bulbs. ‘Thus far as to what may
be called the economical reasons for employ-
ing vases as receptacles for flowers in town
gardens.
The next reason is, that these vases are beautiful objects,
either with or without flowers. We are pleased to see flowers
in them, because, in addition to the natural beauty of the flowers,
there is the important one of their being
presented to us in a new and striking
situation. The value even of common
flowers thus becomes enhanced; and
what would hardly be noticed in a bed, or
in a border, has a new interest, and a
degree of dignity lent to it, by its bemg
placed in a handsome vase elevated on a
pedestal. The vase is beautiful as a work
of art, whether it is filled with plants or
not; but when it serves as a receptacle
for fine flowers, in a situation where such
flowers are not seen in beds or borders,
its importance is increased by the addi-
tional beauty which it confers on them,
in presenting them in a distinguished
situation. ‘There is a certain degree of distinction conferred
upon a plant by placing it even in a common flower-pot; but
where, instead of the common form and fragile material of the
flower-pot, the elegant shape and durable massive appearance of
the sculptured vase of stone (natural or artificial) is employed,
the superior value of the latter must be felt by every one. A
farther reason why the common flower-pot is deficient in dignity
arises from its being portable, and generally placed on the
ground; while the fixed and elevated vase, from its elevation,
magnitude, weight, and solid foundations, has all the dignity
and permanence of an architectural structure.
From the influence of fixed and elevated vessels, or other
permanent structures, for containing plants, in giving conse-
quence to them, has arisen, not only the employment of stone
Jor Plants in Town Gardens. 493
vases, but even of that description of rustic baskets and vases,
for containing flowers, now frequently placed on Jawns in exten-
sive pleasure-grounds; and which are, as our correspondent
Selim has so clearly shown (p. 485.), particularly suitable for
cottage gardens. But the satisfaction which rustic vases give in
such situations is far inferior to that produced by fixed stone
vases in town gardens: because, in the latter situation, flowers
of any kind are comparatively rare and cherished; whereas, in
extensive pleasure-grounds in the country, where there are beds
of pelargoniums and other flowers without end, it seems almost
needless profusion to elevate them in vases. Hence it is, that
when stone or pottery vases are introduced into gardens in the
country, they are very seldom filled with plants of any kind.
They are introduced there as beautiful works of art, to give
pleasure, by their contrast, to the beautiful works of nature with
which they are surrounded.
Another reason why vases of flowers should be introduced
into the little walled gardens of streets is, that they harmonise
admirably with the masonry and architectural forms by which
they are surrounded. For this reason, also, stone vases should
be sparingly introduced in pleasure-grounds in the country,
except as appendages, or ornaments to architecture; such as on
the parapets of terraces near the house, on the stone borders,
balustrades, &c., of architectural flower-gardens, &c. ‘They
should never be set down on the naked ground, for the reasons
which we have before given (p. 326.); and, above all, they
should always have a fixed and permanent character. Even a
common flower-pot, when fixed on a pedestal, assumes a cha-
racter of dignity, which it never can have in a situation from
which the spectator imagines it can be easily removed. Nay,
more: a vase, or a common flower-pot, though it be not fixed
by mortar or cement so as to become a part of the masonry on
which it is placed, yet, if it is only set on a wall, or in any other
position from which it cannot be removed without destroying
the regularity or symmetry of the composition or whole to which
it belongs, acquires a fixed and permanent character. This
character is given when a flower-pot or vase is set on a wall, so
as to form a termination to piers, pedestals, pilasters, or pillars
of any kind: but place it on the coping of the wall, in the inter-
val between such piers, &c., and its character becomes at once
temporary and unmeaning: because there is no obvious reason
for placing a vase there at all; for limiting the number to one;
or for not moving it, either to the right or left, or even for not
taking it away altogether.
If it be asked, why use vases in the country at all, unless plants
are tobe put inthem? ‘The answer is, they are employed as
appropriate ornaments, as beautiful forms, and as articles of rarity
494 - Vases in Garden Scenery.
and of value. But it may be farther asked, can an object be beau-
tiful, or confer ornament on another object, when it is in itself of
no use? Certainly it can. The noblest ornaments are those which
Aare without use, in the common sense of the word; though, in
the sense of art and refinement, everything is of use which adds
fo the strength of the emotion of that kind of beauty which it is
desired to produce. What would be the splendour of the draw-
ing-room, or the effect of the picture-gallery, without gilding ?
or an assemblage of highly dressed beauties, without those use-
less articles, diamonds and other precious stones? Nature has
planted in the mind of man, from the rudest savage to the most
refined philosopher, a capacity for deriving pleasure from beauty.
It is necessary that this want should be supplied; and it will be
found gratified, to a certain extent, in every stage in the progress
of civilisation: partly by objects which are useful in the ordinary
sense of the word, as dress, &c.; and partly by such as have no
other use than the power of conferring ornament. In the rudest
state of society, we have the tattooing and nose-rings of the
savage; next the earrings, scarcely less barbarous, of a more
civilised period: and, though these must pass away with the
introduction of a taste more truly refined, the necklaces and
bracelets, which are common to all ages and countries, will pro-
bably continue to be so, as long as women dress highly, and
large parties are given by artificial light.
Another reason for the introduction of vases, and other archi-
tectural ornaments of a similar kind, both into town and country
gardens, is, their tendency to create and cultivate a taste for
natural ‘beauty in the spectator; since, however paradoxical it
may seem, it is, nevertheless, true that we can only be instructed
in the beauties of nature through the medium of art. No person
can either enjoy, understand, describe, or remember a landscape
properly, who has not been instructed in drawing landscapes ;
any more than he could enjoy, understand, or analyse any par-
ticular style of writing, without having been taught grammar
and composition. ‘Teaching a person to draw trees, for example,
is teaching him to find beauties in trees which he had never
seen in them before. Setting before a person beautiful vases, is
to familiarise him with beautiful forms, which he cannot help
contrasting with ordinary shapes; and, according to his natural
capacity, or the suitableness of his organisation for discernment
in forms, he will find in the vases a unity of tendency in the lines
which constitute their outlines, a symmetry in their general
forms, and a richness, an intricacy, and a character of art in
their sculptured details, which will induce him to search for these
qualities in other objects of art, and to observe every tendency
towards them in the works of nature. To such an observer, the
productions of architecture and sculpture would assume a new
On raising Plantations near the Sea. 495
interest; and he would gradually, and almost imperceptibly,
acquire a knowledge of, and taste for, the beauty of forms and
lines in objects generally. He would thus learn to distinguish
symmetry, regularity, unity, variety, and other abstract quali-
ties in works of art, which he would probably have never dis-
covered in the forms of nature without such assistance; though
they exist there, and are merely imitated by art in a way which
renders them more obvious to untutored man, who sees only
that mind in other things which he understands and feels in
himself.
The last reason which we shall offer for the introduction of
vases into architectural and garden scenery is, the gratification
which such objects afford to the man of intelligence and taste.
There are, perhaps, few objects, next to the human figure, which
afford as many interesting historical associations as the vase. It
may truly be said to be the first and the last production of the
plastic art. The first utensil formed by man in the dawn of
civilisation, in every country, is a vessel or vase for holding
water; and that on which the highest resources of art are
bestowed, in ages of the greatest refinement, is a vessel or vase
for holding wine. In the first case, it is hollowed out of a
gourd, or rudely shaped of clay and dried in the sun; and, in
the latter case, it is manufactured of costly metals or precious
stones; or, if of common materials, such as stone, earthenware,
or glass, it is rendered valuable by the taste and skill bestowed
on its form or its ornaments. ‘The history of every country may
be traced by its vases, no less than by its coins; and the history
of all countries is set before us in the vases of all countries. It
would be foreign to the object of this Magazine to say more on
the subject: a little reflection will bring materials for thinking
on it to the mind of every reader; and the young gardener will,
we trust, after he has read and considered this paper, look at
an ornamental vase, or eyen.a common flower-pot, with a new
interest.
Art. VIII. On raising Plantations near the Sea.
By Mr. 'T. Rutcer.
Tuer remarks and illustrations, by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, upon
the effects of wind on trees growing on the coast near Poole in
Dorsetshire (IX. 54’7.), and the annotations of J. D. upon that
communication, and also upon mine upon nearly the same sub-
ject which precedes it, prompt me to enter more at large upon
the subject of raising plantations near the sea. Mr. Clarke’s
profiles represent nearly all the types of the forms of the single
trees that have ever come under my notice on the coast, that
4.96 On raising Plantations near the Sea.
were exposed to the south-west and north-west winds. The same
effects are also to be seen in plantations that have been raised
without being nursed either by the pinaster, or by some other
sort of tree that will bear the winds on the coast without injury ;
and the sectional sketch (fig. 88.) will pretty nearly give an idea
of the appearance of a wood of full-grown trees thus planted and
exposed. ‘The inference naturally arising from these effects is,
that the trees nearest the outside, not having had any protection,
have become stunted, through not being able to withstand the -
winds which are almost incessantly blowing from off the coast.
Now, to remedy this evil the pinaster or cluster pine is well
adapted, many proofs of which have come under my notice, in
the counties of Devon and Cornwall.
To raise a deep plantation of forest trees on the coast in the
above counties, in fully exposed situations, I would recommend
that the whole of the ground intended for the plantation be
ploughed (as, indeed, it should be for every plantation, in whatever
situation) to the depth of at least 9 in.; that the whole be planted
with pinasters at about 5 ft. apart; and that these be allowed to
have not less than three years’ growth before the forest trees are
introduced, so that they may be capable of affording the latter
immediate protection. ‘This I have observed to be of the utmost
importance; as, if the forest trees are planted at the same time
with the pinasters, many of the former will become stunted, and
will remain so until the pinasters afford them the necessary pro-
tection ; sustaining, by this means, an injury, from which they will
never properly recover, and to hide the effects of which a partial
replanting must be made. If ploughing the ground be dispensed
with, on account of the expense, or for any other reason, let
holes be made of 15 in. diameter at the above distances, two or
three months before the pinasters are to be planted; the earth
from these holes should be laid up in hillocks to be pulverised,
and the turf be laid on one side. On proceeding to plant, let
the turf, if any, be chopped small, and put into the bottom of the
holes; as this, during its decomposition, will considerably assist
the growth of the young plants. If the ground is naturally in-
On raising Plantations near the Sea. 497
clined to grass or other herbage, great care must be taken to
clear the young pinasters, and not to suffer them to be over-
shaded, particularly in a wet season; as instances have occurred
where, for want of attention to this, nearly half the crop has
been lost by the plants damping off near the bottom. With re-
gard to the age of the plants to be inserted, those of two years’
growth, and having been once transplanted from the seed-bed,
are generally adopted; perhaps, not on account of their being
cheaper than those which have been twice transplanted, but by
reason of there being in the nurseries a greater number of them
for sale: plants, however, of three years’ growth, which have
been twice transplanted, are by far preferable, and will amply
repay the planter for their extra-price. In raising a plantation
of forest trees on the coast, thus nursed by pinasters, the latter
must always be considered of secondary importance; therefore,
as soon as they have come in contact with each other, means
must be taken to prevent the forest trees from becoming encum-
bered by the pinasters, either by lopping the latter, or by taking
them entirely away by degrees, as it may appear necessary ; at the
same time taking care to leave a good breastwork of them on
the outside, opposite to the coast.
With regard to the selection of forest trees, I have known
failures to happen through the partiality of the planter to one
particular species, for which there was no congeniality in the soil
to be planted. I should, therefore, strongly recommend that
a variety of species be introduced; and that, in the course of
thinning, place be given to those which take the lead, or at least
to such as promise fair to make fine trees of the most valuable
kinds of timber.
The season made choice of for planting the pinaster is usually
the months of March and April. ‘The success of the plants de-
pends greatly upon the weather in the two following months; if
it be hot and dry, many failures are likely to take place: it is,
therefore, a question with me if autumn planting would not be
preferable, and experience in some measure confirms me in the
opinion that it would; but, as the trial was only made in one
instance, I do not feel myself at liberty to decide upon it. I can
only say that, in the instance alluded to, very few failures occurred,
which may be accounted for upon the principle that all ever-
greens derive great advantage from their foliage being kept moist
for some time after being planted ; which is more likely to happen
in the autumn than the spring, particularly on the sea coast, where
the air is mostly humid during the autumn and winter. ‘The frost,
also, is less intense near the coast, and, consequently, less likely
to injure the trees, than it is in places far removed from the sea.
The pinaster is rather a ticklish plant to deal with on removing
it to the plantation. The sooner it can be planted, after it is
498 On raising Plantations near the Sea ~
taken from the nursery, the better ; and its roots, even during the
interval, should be prevented from being exposed to the air;
great care ought also to be taken, when the plants are drawn
from the nursery bed, to preserve all their fibres entire: this
part of the business ought to be strictly attended to, as much of
the desired success depends upon it. Whatever failures take
place ought to be made good, the following planting season, with
plants which have been twice transplanted, with which, under
any circumstances, fewer failures occur, than with those which
have been only once transplanted. ‘Transplanting from the seed-
bed to the plantation is by no means to be recommended ; but, if
done, I should advise that two or three plants be clumped toge-
ther, as there is a danger of many failures in this mode of pro-
cedure: however, if it should be adopted, it will be necessary, in
a year or two, to take away all the plants but one in each clump,
leaving that which is most promising.
For all plantations near the coast, designed principally for
ornament, I most decidedly recommend a line of the Quércus
Ilex, or evergreen oak, to be planted on the outside (IX. 543.),
at the same time with the pinasters. Ilexes are in the nurseries
usually sown in pots, or they are transplanted into pots when
a year old, and are in the course of two or three years fit to
remove to the plantation with safety; if drawn from the nursery
bed in the common way, even planted under the most favourable
circumstances, success is very uncertain. Should planting in
autumn be adopted for the pinasters, I should in that case
recommend that the ilexes be turned out of their pots in the
following spring. On transplanting ilexes into pots from the
seed-bed, it may be well to mention that they will derive great
advantage from being placed in a cold frame for a few weeks,
and kept close, and shaded when necessary. The coarse lands
in some parts of the west of England, and particularly in Corn-
wall, have sometimes a stratum of spar, consisting of small
stones, lying on the surface, but more generally a few inches be-
low it, the thickness of which varies from 2 in. to 3 in. or 4 in.
Should this be the case where planting is intended, ploughing
or breaking up the ground will prove of essential service to the
future progress of the plantation.
The above hints are grounded upon the observations and ex-
perience of more than twenty years on the coasts of Devon and
Cornwall; and may, I think, be fully recommended to the con-
sideration of those who are desirous to raise plantations on the
coast in that part of the kingdom. Perhaps some of your readers
may be able to send you a few hints as to the suitableness of the
pinaster, for the above purpose, upon other parts of the coast.
Shorigrove, Essex, November, 1833.
Short Communications. - ~ 499
By observing the date of the above communication, it will be
seen that Mr. Rutger had recommended the planting of the
nurses three years before that of the trees they were intended
to protect, prior to the publication of Mr. Bree’s article (p. 295.),
and that of Mr. James Munro (p. 405.), on the same subject.
On the method of establishing trees in situations near the sea,
we may refer to the above communications, and to IX. 543.
547. 549. and 715. — Cond.
Art. IX. Short Communications.
EXPERIMENTS with Potatoes have been carried on, with great
care, in the Horticultural Society’s garden, for some years past,
and the results given in two papers by Dr. Lindley, the last of
which is just published in part vi. of the Hort. Trans., vol. 1.
second series. From this paper it appears that the opinion
entertained by Mr. Knight, and a number of other persons, of
the superior production of whole tubers over sets, is unfounded.
The same result, it is stated, has also been arrived at by Sir
George Mackenzie, from experiments made by him in Ross-
shire. Other instances will be found in our First Additonal
Supplement to our Encyclopedia of Agriculture, just published.
In planting a Vinery, Mr. Dowding, the celebrated grape-
grower at Oakhill, near Barnet, [whose practice will be found
registered in an excellent article by Mr. Forsyth, in our next]
lays the ball of the plant on its side about 5 ft. from the front of
the house, and covers the shoot with not more than 2 in. of soil
from the root up to the front wall, where it is introduced into the
house. A vinery was planted in this manner in June, 1833, and
immediately after planting, three large hand-glasses were placed
over each stem, in crder, by concentrating and retaining heat and
moisture, to cause the stems to root more freely. ‘They grew
admirably the first year, and they are now making such strong
wood, and showing such strong eyes, that a very superior crop
is anticipated by the third June after planting. — Adolescentulus.
Barnet, May 15.1834. -
If manure be considered as the food of plants, lime and salts
of different kinds may perhaps be considered correctives or con-
diments. There seems no other mode of accounting for the
productive effect of lime, on soils where dung will do no good,
than by supposing that it acts by dissolving or neutralising
poisonous matters in the soil. ‘These poisonous matters may, in
some cases, be those exudations from the roots of plants, which
of late years have given rise to the new theory of the rotation of
crops. — A. S.
500 Hayward’s Inquiry into the Causes, §c.
REVIEWS.
Ant.I. An Inquiry into the Causes of the Fruitfulness and Barren-
ness of Plants and Trees; with Practical Instructions for the
Management of Gardens and Farms, and a System of training
Fruit Trees, §c., founded on Scientific Principles. Arranged as a
Dialogue. By Joseph Hayward, Esq., Author of the “ Science
of Horticulture,” &c. 12mo, 292 pages, cuts. London, 1834.
Mr. Haywarp is advantageously known to our readers by
his scientific communications in this Magazine, and by his work
entitled The Science of Horticulture. 'The present little volume,
he informs us in his preface, is to ‘* convey, in a compact and
simple form, the substance of the more important parts of his
former works on horticulture and agriculture, together with the
results of much subsequent observation and experiment.” ‘The
work is conducted in the form of a dialogue, in which are dis-
cussed, in succession, the chemistry of vegetation, and the nature
of scils and manures, or, as the author prefers to term them, the
food of plants; the production of varieties; and vegetable struc-
ture, and vegetable diseases. This part of the work, which
extends to 169 pages, constitutes the science of cultivation; and
the remaining part is occupied with ‘ A System of Practice
founded on the Science.” We have our doubts as to some
points of the practice, particularly as to the mode of training
the peach; and we cannot assent to the assertion (p. 37.) that
‘worms do not in any manner injure living plants.” Every
one who has had the care of plants in pots must be of a different
opinion. However, with a very few exceptions of this kind,
which the practical man can easily guard against, we consider
the work a valuable accession to horticultural literature ; and, as
it is cheap (2s. 6d.), we would very strongly recommend it to
every young gardener: for in nothing do we more heartily con-
cur with Mr. Hayward than in this, — “that the most valuable
part of the knowledge which a thoroughly sound and accom-
plished horticulturist or agriculturist should possess, will be
found, on enquiry, to be of such a nature that it not only may,
but must, be obtained by reading.” (p. 4.)
Art. II. Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London.
Second Series. Vol. I. Part III. 4to. London, 1833.
(Continued from p. 230.)
30. Norzs on the Sowing and Cultivation of the Sheeraz Tobacco.
By Dr. Riach, of the Hon. East India Company’s Medical Service.
The plants are grown till they are between two and three feet
high, at which time the leaves will be from 8 in. to 15 in. long. At
Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 501
this period all the flower buds are pinched off. The leaves in-
crease in size and thickness, until August or September, when
each plant is cut off close to the root; and, instead of being laid
down, or carried off to be dried elsewhere, it is stuck firmly into
the ground close to the root from which it has been separated.
In consequence of the heavy dews, the leaves change gradually
from, green to yellow; and they are then, while they are yet wet
with dew, taken to a shed with wickerwork, or other partially
open side-walls, and laid in a heap for four or five days. The
stalks, and centre rib of each leaf, are then removed and thrown
away. ‘The leaves are again heaped together for three or four
days more; after which, they are in a fit state for packing and
being sent to the manufacturer.
31. Upon the Cultivation of Tobacco for Garden Purposes. By
Mr. John Wilson, Under-Gardener at the Society’s Garden at
Chiswick.
Every gardener ought to grow his own tobacco; and, as this
article is, In our opinion, the most valuable one on the subject
which has anywhere appeared, we shall give it almost entire.
“Tobacco is an article which is indispensable to horticultural purposes.
It is used to fumigate hot-houses; large infusions of it are put into most
washes that are prepared for extirpating insects; and, by drying, and grinding
it into the form of snuff, it is found very efficacious in destroying the green fly
on peach and rose trees out of doors.
“ In most gardens, the leaves are stripped off the plants in a green state,
and thrown together in a heap to ferment; while, little or no attention being
paid to the degree of temperature which such fermentation should reach, the
usual consequence is burning or rotting the leaves. Tobacco so treated
has neither the taste, the smell, nor the efficacy of tobacco, and, when burnt
in hot-houses, is by no means effective in killing insects, without a great pro-
portion of regularly cured and manufactured tobacco being burnt along with
it. Hot-houses also smell very disagreeably for eight or ten days after being
fumigated with it.
“ Mr. Brodigan’s mode of curing, as detailed by him in his work on the
growing and curing of tobacco in Ireland, has been tried in the garden, and it
was found that the leaves began to suffer from heat at many degrees below
the maximum temperature mentioned by Mr. Brodigan, which is 126°. This
is an extreme, which, it is to be presumed, will readily account for the great
waste of tobacco during the curing process in Ireland. Taking off four or
five of the bottom leaves of each plant, suffermg them to lie on the ground
for some time, gathering and carrying them home to a barn, fermenting them
two or three times, spreading out as often to cool, and finally hanging them
on lines of packthread to dry ; all which has to be repeated when a few more
of the lower leaves are considered ripe, must also be attended with very great
labour and expense.
“ The principle of fermenting tobacco in a green state is sanctioned by a
long course of practice; but, from every observation of its effects which has
been made here, it seems to be productive of the worst of consequences ; for
it is dependent upon conditions so difficult to govern, that, notwithstanding
the greatest care, it never fails to be injurious to the tender leaves.
“ The sort which is grown here for the purpose of fumigation, &c., is a very
Vou, X.— No. 55. NN
502 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society.
large-leaved variety of Virginian tobacco, which was obtained from the Sand-
wich Islands: it is the best which has yet been received at the garden.
“ Tn the last season it was managed in the following manner : — The seeds
were sown about the middle of March, covered very lightly with fine loam,
and placed upon a moderate hotbed. When the plants were come up, and
had acquired sufficient strength, they were pricked into shallow pans, about
two inches apart; they were then gradually inured to the open air on good
days, and finally planted out in the middle of May, at 3 ft. apart, in rich ground.
They were shaded with flower-pots, and occasionally watered, till they had
taken root and begun to grow. No more attention was bestowed, except
keeping the ground clean, until their lateral shoots began to show themselves,
which were constantly kept pinched off as they appeared: these, if suffered toe
remain, would have had the effect of very much reducing the supply of sap
from the useful leaves of the plants. They were topped at sixteen or eighteen
leaves, according to their strength. The tobacco was ripe in the beginning of
September, as was indicated by the leaves becoming mottled with yellow
spots, those at the bottom more so than at the top of the plant; they were
also more glossy and shining than before. '
“ The mushroom-house, being at this time disengaged, was thought an
eligible place for the curing process. The plants were taken up quite dry,
with a few of their roots ; but no particular attention was paid to saying many
of the latter, as the object was only to avoid breaking the bottom leaves
(which might have been the case by cutting the stems). The plants were
carried immediately to the house, and hung on nails in the walls, and on ropes
in the middle of it. When all had been brought into the house, it was shut
up quite close, the fire lighted, and the temperature kept to 70°, until the
leaves got completely yellow, which they did in four or five days. The heat
was then raised to 75°; and, in about a week, the leaves, with the exception
of the midribs, were cured, and of a fine brown colour. The heat was then
increased to between 80° and 90°, and, in five days, the midribs were so
completely killed that the thick ends of them would have broken immediately
on attempting to bend them. The leaves were now very much curled, and
dry as fire could make them; and, if subjected to any pressure, would have
crumbled to snuff. Fire was discontinued, and the floor of the house well
watered. This was repeated as it evaporated; and, in twenty-four hours,
the leaves were as soft and pliable as could be desired: they could now be
handled without breaking or wasting them. When stripped off the stalks,
they were stretched out singly, and laid above one another, smoothing them
gently with the hands. When all were laid out neatly, they were well
pressed, to give them form, and keep them smooth; they were then tied in
hands of about half a dozen leaves in each, and packed into a tub, being well
pressed as they were put in. In this way they remained a fortnight, when
they began to mould slightly at the midribs, in consequence of the weather
being moist and warm. They were then rehung in the house, and very gra-
dually dried by fire heat ; were afterwards brought to a moist state, in the
manner above described, and finally were repacked in the tub, where they now
remain, well pressed, and in a good keeping state. The tobacco continues to
improve in smell and appearance with its age.
“ There can be no doubt that this tobacco is as good (unless in respect of
age) as much of that which is imported from America. It has yielded in the
proportion of 2420 lbs. to an acre, being half a pound to every plant, each
occupying three square feet.
* The important points in the above mode of curing are, to carry the plants
to the house whenever they are taken up; for, if the sun be bright, the leaves
would sunburn in a short time. The leaves require to be yellow before the
heat is increased, otherwise the tobacco would cure too light-coloured; and
the midribs must be completely killed before the leaves are taken off the
stalks ; for, if not once made very dry, they would never keep.
Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 503
** The power which the leaves possess of absorbing moisture, in a damp
atmosphere, is immense, and very curious: a person unacquainted with it
would not believe, on seeing a leaf in its driest state, that it could ever be
brought back so as to be again pliable.
“ The number of leaves that each plant ought to be allowed to produce
should be determined by the quality of the ground, the earliness or lateness of
the season, &c.: when these combine to the advantage of the plants, they are
able to perfect proportionally more leaves. By a timely and careful atten-
tion to such circumstances, and by pinching off the lateral shoots, the climate
of England, or that of Ireland, is in every respect sufficient to the full per-
fection of tobacco. Four months are not fully required to bring it to
maturity.
“ In the case of large plantations being made, shading would be attended
with considerable expense: it is not, however, of absolute necessity; for,
when tobacco plants are pricked out some time previous to planting, they
make good roots, which are of greater benefit to them, after they are planted,
than shading is. The latter, however, is practised in England and Ireland,
and is certainly useful; but it is by no means an essentially necessary part of
the management of tobacco. The leaves flag under a hot sun; but, if the
ground is moist, quickly recover. When the danger of late frosts is over, it
would seem best to commence planting; if, however, from apprehensions of
any description, the tobacco is not got out till the latter end of May (and it
need never be so late), even at that time there could be no danger of its
ripening. Planting, in Ireland, is [was] continued considerably later than this.
“ The mode of curing thus described, or one very similar to it, would seem
to remedy the defects complained of in Ireland; namely, the great waste of
the article by repeated fermentations. To this mode no such objection can
be found; and, if adopted in Ireland, it would be incomparably less labour
and expense, than the present mode of management in that country.
“ The Irish planter would, however, require a firmg-house in addition to
the barn or shed spoken of by Mr. Brodigan. It could be of any dimensions.
A short wide firing-house would be best adapted for the purpose, with a flue
running along the centre. A very small house would cure an amazing quan-
tity of plants 3 ; for, when they are taken up, their leaves begin to fall almost
immediately, and lie upon the stalks; and, when they get to the brown colour,
do not occupy much more room than the stalk ‘itself, The plants could
first be hung in the open shed, where rain and sun ought to be kept off; in
this shed the leaves would come to the yellow state before mentioned, when
they might be removed to the firing-house.” (p. 213.)
32. Upon grafting the Walnut Tree. By T. A. Knight, Esq., F.R.S.
Pres. H.S. &c.
Young or last year’s wood is employed both as the scion and
as the stock; and both scion and stock are allowed to unfold their
buds, and grow for a week or ten days, before the operation of
erafting is performed. Previously to doing this, the young
snoas rel foliage are rubbed off. Out of twenty-eight instances,
twenty-two grew well, many producing shoots of nearly a yard
long, and of very great strength. ‘“* The scions were attached
to the young (annual) woed of stocks, which were between 5 ft.
and 8 ft. high; and in all cases they were placed to stand astride
the stocks, one division of the scion being in some instances in-
troduced between the bark and the wood; and both divisions
being, in others, fitted to the wood or bark in the ordinary way.
Both modes of operating were equally successful. In each of
NN 2
504 Report of the Agricultural Exhibition
these methods of grafting it is advantageous to pare away almos:
all the wood of both the divisions of the scions; and, therefore
the wide dimensions of the medulla in the young shoots of the
walnut tree do not present any inconvenience to the grafter.”
(p. 216.)
33. A Report upon the best Varieties of the Gooseberry cultivated in
the Garden of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick. By Mr.
Robert Thompson, Under-Gardener in the Fruit Department.
In this paper, gooseberries are divided into “ two races (small
and Lancashire); each of which may be separated into four divi-
sions (red, yellows green, and white) ; and these, each into three
subdivisions (hispid, downy, or smooth), which are capable of
being farther divided into two sections (round or oblong), making
in all forty-eight groups.” ‘The number of sorts enumerated
are seventy. “In our Encyc. of Gard., new edit., p. 930., Mr.
Thompson has classed the gooseberries in the same manner ; but,
as our object was selection, he has enumerated only fifty-six
sorts; quite enough, in our opinion, for any garden whatever.
34. A Note upon the Black Corinth Grape. By Mr. Robert Thomp-
son, Under-Gardener in the Fruit Department of the Society’s
Garden at Chiswick.
This is the grape which produces the corinths, or currants, of
the shops, and it is merely figured and described here, because
there is great uncertainty in procuring it correctly from the
nurseries. It will be found in its proper place in our Encyc. of
Gard., new edit.
Ses ae
Art. III. Report of the Exhibition of Agriculturai Productions, new
Implements, 5c., at the Premises of Dickson and Turnbull, Nursery
and Seedsmen, Perth ; open from November, 1833, to April, 1834:
to which are appended Original Essays on the Utility of Agricul-
tural Museums, the Cultivation of Natural Grasses, and the Rot in
Larch. Small 8vo, 66 pages. Perth, 1834. 1s.
THE eminent success which attended the Stirling Agricultural
Exhibition, by Messrs. Drummond, whose Report we reviewed
in IX. 447., has led to a similar exhibition in Perth, a county
which has long been distinguished both for horticultural and
agricultural eminence. It is gratifying to find, from the preface,
that the liberal and enlightened views of Messrs. Dickson and
Turnbull have been amply seconded by the farmers and horti-
culturists throughout the county, and even in adjoining counties.
“¢’That the farmers and others of Perthshire would easily perceive
the benefits likely to result from such an institution, we never
at Dickson and Turnbull’s, Perth. 505
doubted; and, had any thing been wanting to persuade us of
this, we should have been fully convinced of it by the manner in
which both farmers and horticulturists have come forward with
samples of their various productions. Indeed, when we think
of the circumstance of this having been the first season of the
institution here, and also of the very brief period that elapsed
betwixt our giving publicity to our intention and the time of
the exhibition opening, it is astonishing to remark the number
of specimens of the various sorts of grain, fruits, and other pro-
ductions that have been sent us: and, as nothing can give us
more real gratification than to be able, by any, exertions of ours,
to forward the interests of the agriculturist, the more especially
when we perceive those exertions to be in the way of benefiting
all classes of the community, we must be allowed the pleasure
of auguring favourably for the success of this institution from
the support it has met with at its commencement.” We give
this quotation in the hope that it may lead to similar exhibitions
in other districts; and nowhere are these more wanted than
in England. Among the exhibitors, we find our valued corre-
spondent Mr. Gorrie; and also Mr. Bishop of Methven Castle,
and Mr. Young of Pitfour, stand preeminent.
Among the articles exhibited were, wheats in straw, twenty-
nine specimens, including nearly half as many varieties; some
from Tuscany, Tangier, Nepal, South America, &c. Wheat
in sample, fitteen specimens, including Talavera wheat, and the
blood-red ; with the Mungoswells variety, which appears to be
held in much esteem. Of barley in straw, there were twenty-
five specimens; including one from Morocco, which yielded
20 sacks per acre, on a short and stiff straw, not liable to lodge.
.. Of barley in sample, there were seventeen specimens; including
one from Tangier, and another from China. Oats in straw,
thirty-three specimens; including the Hopetoun oat, which, on
one farm, had grown to the height of 6 ft. 2 in. over the whole
field; also the naked oat, said to have been well known in the
country two hundred years ago. Oats in sample, fifteen sorts ;
among which, as also among the oats in straw, the Hopetoun
and potato oat held conspicuous places. ‘The brown Riga,
introduced by Mr. Gorrie, also promises well. Beans of two
sorts. Peas of two sorts; including the Napoleon pea from
Mr. Gorrie, a species of Vicia used on the Continent as green
peas; and the black-podded pea from Van Diemen’s Land,
also from Mr. Gorrie, and likely to prove an excellent field pea.
Tares, two sorts. Turnips, sixty-five specimens; with the weight
of each, and other particulars. ‘The produce of Dale’s hybrid
we observe stated at 45 tons per acre. Carrots, sixteen sorts
from gardens, and two from fields: the heaviest of these was an
Altrincham weighing 3} lbs. Potatoes, twenty-six sorts; in-
NN 3
506 Report of the Agricultural Exhibition
cluding an early white variety from Aberdeen, which produced,
on a small spot, at the rate of 222 bolls of 560 lbs. each per
Scotch acre. We may also mention a permanent white
variety, obtained by cutting out and planting the variegated
part taken from the red potato, performed by a female horticul-
turist, from Mr. H. Bishop, New Scone.” In thanking the
female horticulturist for the result of her ingenious experiment,
Messrs. Dickson and Turnbull gallantly observe : — “ If ladies
would only take the lead, the young farmers would soon follow
them in studying the science of vegetable physiology.” We
entirely concur in this opinion; and only wish that, in addition
to vegetable physiology, ladies would study the natural system
of botanical classification; direct their attention to trees and
shrubs, so as to introduce a greater variety in our shrubberies
and plantations ; and not forget altogether landscape-gardening
and domestic architecture and furniture.
Of mangold wurtzel three specimens were exhibited, the
heaviest weighing 9 lbs. 9 oz. It seems to be a general opinion
that Perthshire is the most northerly point in Britain where the
field culture of mangold wurtzel can be carried on with profit.
Red beet, four specimens; and silver beet, one specimen.
Among the miscellaneous articles were cardoons, celery, suc-
cory, onions, a great variety of the cabbage tribe, a new variety
of saintfoin (Melildtus officinalis), sown by Mr. Gorrie on the
9th of April, and pulled on the Ist of October. ‘‘ When sown in
September, and allowed to ripen its seeds, it grows 5 ft. or 6 ft.
high; but, if cut before flowering, it will yield a second crop ;
and, sown on stubble, will form an excellent substitute for clover
when that plant is found to have failed.” Trifolium incarnatum
is used for this purpose in England; but Mr. Gorrie is of opi-
nion that the Melilotus officinalis, or true Irish shamrock, as it
is by some considered, is a preferable plant for Scotland. Gaul-
théerza Shdallon, it is found, may be successfully cultivated in
heathy woods and on waste moorlands, so as to afford a welcome
repast to both grouse and pheasants. This has been done by
Mr. Bisset of Methven Castle gardens, and also by a gentleman
of our acquaintance (Mr. Carpenter), on Tweedside. Most of
our readers know that the G. Skallon, introduced by Mr. Douglas
from the north-west coast of North America, is a beautiful dwarf
evergreen shrub, bearing edible berries. O’xalis tetraphylla,
from Mr. Gorrie, raised in the open air during summer, but
kept under glass during winter. In Prussia, this plant is used
as an edging ; and its leaves as sorrel, mixed with those of New
Zealand spinach to improve its flavour. ‘The flavour of the
bulbs resembles that of potatoes. Fine samples of potato flour
were exhibited ; and it appears that the proportion of flour is to
the weight of raw potato as 1 to 10 on an average.
at Dickson and Turnbull's, Perth. 507
Among the fruits exhibited were some hundreds of varieties
of pears and apples, including many of the new sorts introduced
from France and the Netherlands; also a small branch, about
7in. long, containing about 100 cherries, which grew in the
New Row Green, Perth, twenty-two years ago, preserved i ina
glass [in spirits, we presume].
Above thirty specimens of grasses were exhibited by Mr.
Bishop of Methven Castle. Z/lymus sibiricus produces a weighty
crop; and, being eaten by animals with avidity, it deserves the
attention a avriculturists. Poa nemoralis forms a dense sward
under the shade of trees; and, as we have before observed, is
valuable in pleasure-grounds. A grass of uncommon formation,
from New Orleans, whose properties are not known; and one of
Mr. Drummond’s newly discovered grasses, from the north-west
coast of North America, were exhibited. Messrs. Dickson and
Turnbull truly observe, that the advantages offered by the
introduction of different sorts of pasture grasses into culture is
becoming every season more obvious. ‘They trust soon to see
farmers aware of the importance of the subject; and, when that
is the case, they anticipate pastures of a much more luxuriant
verdure than are at present to be found in Perthshire. Among
the communications is an excellent essay on this subject, by Mr.
Bishop of Methven Castle.
The samples of grass seeds were numerous; and, among
them, one of Teelnas rye grass, from Mr. Lawson, eeedennans
Edinburgh. ‘There were also specimens of articles from Messrs.
Drummond of Stirling; both cases affording a gratifying proof
of the good feeling which subsists in Scotland ainong persons
following the same pursuits; not only in the usual routine of
business, but in the extraordinary exertions displayed in the
establishment of these exhibitions. Among the specimens of
grasses exhibited were two of an Italian rye grass ; which, with
Mr. Gorrie, has produced two crops in a year. A variety of
samples of agricultural seeds were exhibited by Nash and Co.
of Londen; and an extensive collection of grass seeds and
specimens, and also numerous species of pines and firs in pots,
from Messrs. Dickson and Turnbull’s own nursery. Mr. Gorrie
produced fine specimens of larch wood in which the rot had
commenced. (See our next.) ‘The trees, for the greater part,
had been grown on land previously occupied by the Scotch
pine. Mr. Young , gardener at Pitfour, also exhibited specimens
Okplanehsy, £6 Spceimens of larch, showing the commencement
and progress of decay: they were planted in 1825, on ground
previously occupied, for upwards of sixty years, with the Scotch
pine; the soil thin clay, considerably impregnated with iron, on
a subsoil of clay in vertical strata, forming an easy subsidence
for moisture, on an elevation of about 20 ft. above the level of the
NN4& ©
508 Report of the Perth Agricultural Exhibition.
sea. They were planted as nurses for oak, at the rate of about
3000 per acre; upwards of 6000 have this year been cut, out
of which not more than 50 sound trees could be picked. Larch
growing on the same soil, about sixty years old, had one in six
or eight which showed slight symptoms of decay; but the tim-
ber, in general, was of excellent quality.” (p.41.) The atten-
tion of landed proprietors and foresters is directed, by Messrs.
Dickson and Turnbull, to the probability of the rot in larch
being produced to an alarming extent on land previously occu-
pied by Scotch pine; a result which seems proved by the spe-
cimens exhibited by Mr. Gorrie and Mr. Young. (See, also,
VII. 374., and IX. 551.)
Models of various kinds were exhibited : three ploughs, made
by ploughmen ; one of a moss-house, by a boy of sixteen years
of age, presented by Messrs. Drummond and Sons of Stirling;
a model of a hollow brick wall; portraits of prize cattle; a
machine or swoop (see Encyc. of Agr., §2729.) for conveying
hay from the small coil [haycock] to the rick hay turner (or, as
it would be called in England, the large haycock, the mode of
making hay in the two countries being quite different : see Lincyc.
of Agr., § 5791.) ; machine for compressing peat, which will be
found in our First Additional Supplement to the Encyclopedia of
Agriculture; verge-cutters, horse-hoes, cheese-pressers ; models
of drains; wedge-drain spades; cheeses; and, lastly, books.
The essays, the titles of which are given at the head of this
article, are unexceptionable, both in matter and style.
‘We have been thus particular in giving the contents of this
tract, in order to show how easy it would be for seedsmen to
get up similar exhibitions in every county town. The object is
less to get new and strange articles, than to assemble together
such things as are already in the county or district, in order to
facilitate comparison, and equalise the knowledge of the exist-
ence of such things. ‘This alone would lead to the examination
of the exhibitions of adjacent counties, and to the introduction
of articles from them; and thus improvements of every kind
would be surely and rapidly propagated throughout the country.
We would direct the attention of agriculturists everywhere, and
more especially in England, to the great number of varieties of
wheat, barley, and oats exhibited at the agricultural museums of
Perth, Stirling, and Edinburgh, and to the superior excellence
of some of them. We would recommend trials to be made in
England of the Nepal wheat, the red-awned oat, the blood-red
wheat, the Mungoswells wheat, the Morocco barley, the Tangier
barley, and the chevalier barley. Nepal wheat sown in the Earl
of Mansfield’s kitchen-garden at Kenwood, on July 11., was in
full bloom on Sept. 12., when we called there. Lord Mansfield
seen recommends Lupinus polyph¥llus as spring food for
sheep.
Rivers’s Catalogue of Roses. 509
Art. IV. A new Descriptive Catalogue of Roses. By T. Rivers and
Son, Nurserymen, Sawbridgeworth, Herts. In one imperial folio
sheet, for sending as a single letter by post.
WE have before strongly recommended this catalogue (IX.
458.); and the present new edition of it is considerably en-
larged and improved. The fellowing extracts will show the
arrangement, as well as record some valuable remarks on the
culture of the different divisions : —
Moss Roses, 17 sorts. “ Most of the varieties prefer a cool soil, though
Mossy de Meaux i is, perhaps, an exception, as it seems to flourish better im
light dry soils. The White moss, unless budded on the dog rose (Rosa
canina) will not, in general, grow well; its sickly appearance in some situ-
ations may be often traced to its being worked on some improper stock. If
on its own roots, in rich soils, it will often change to pale blush. All are well
adapted for standards ; but, to have them in perfection in warm dry situations,
in March put round each stem, on the surface of the soil, the fourth of a
barrowful of manure; on this place flints or moss, to take off its unsightly
appearance, and make a little ornamental mound. This treatment will keep
the soil cool, and make them bloom in a most superior manner, even in situ-
ations previously thought to be most ungenial to their culture. The manure
should be spread on the surface in November, and lightly forked in.”
Perpetual Roses, 29 sorts. “ These, with the exception of Perpetual Scotch,
Stanwell perpetual, and Pompone four seasons, are all varieties of Rosa
damascéna, or the Damask rose. They are, perhaps, the most desirable of all
the pleasing families of #osa. Like their prototype, they are higlily fragrant,
and, if possible, more so in September, October, and November, tian in June.
As every shoot in most of the varieties produces bloom, the soil cannot be too
rich; for, with these, luxuriant growth will be sure to give abundance of
flowers. A good practice would be to cut off all the bloom-buds in June, and
shorten the shoots to about half their length; then water them with manured
water in July and August; this will make them shoot and bloom most lux-
uriantly all the autumn.”
Hybrid Roses, 66 sorts. “ The varieties of this distinct family are prin-
cipally between the China rose (osa indica) and Rosa gallica. They are all
very beautiful and distinct, and have that pleasing, glossy, sub-evergreen
foliage, peculiar to the China rose; but make a great deviation from that
family, in not being perpetual bloomers. In this division are some of the
most beautiful roses known ; and among them George the Fourth, raised from
seed by T. Rivers, jun., may rank among the best. These are aiso all very
robust, and will grow and bloom well in the most unfavourable rose soils.
Their peculiar habit and vivid colours render them particularly well adapted
for standards.”
Select Roses, 70 sorts. “In this division are many varieties of ?06sa gallica,
and also many hybrids between f. gallica and #&. centifolia, &c. &c. The
varieties selected are all fine and distinct, and will be found well worth cul-
tivation.”
Varieties of Rosa dlba, 9 sorts.
Provence Roses, 16 sorts. ‘“ The Provence rose is the Rosa centifolia of
botanists, the Cabbage rose of the English gardens, and the Rose a cent feuilles
of the French. All its varieties are extremely fragrant, and some very beau-
tiful. The Provence rose of the French catalogues is our Rosa gallica.”
Noisette Roses, 44 sorts. “ This division, with the Perpetual roses, will
ultimately be the ornament of every British garden: the astonishing mul-
tiplicity and constant succession of flowers (till the chills of November prevent
the opening of the buds) make them highly interesting. They are all very
510 fiivers’s Catalogue of Roses.
hardy, and, as standards, seem to show their varied characters with better
effect than as dwarfs. Those kinds are indicated which, from the length and
flexibility of their shoots, are adapted for rose pillars.”
Climbing Roses, 42 sorts. “ A decided and rational objection has been
made to tall standard roses; but, with the aid of this graceful division, they
can be formed into objects of high artificial beauty. We will suppose a tall
tree rose, with a fine head of Crimson perpetual, or George the Fourth roses,
in full bloom, its stem covered with the pure white blossoms of Rosa semper-
virens pléno, or some of its beautiful varieties, such as Princess Louise, Fé-
licité perpétuelle, &c. &c.: to the lover of roses, this hint will convey the
beau idéal of all that is beautiful in their culture.”
Tea-scented Roses, 37 sorts. ‘“ The greater part of these are new to the
English cultivator: all have that peculiar fragrance which the French have
taught us to call tea-scented. Unless on very warm and favourable soils,
these, as dwarfs, require careful cultivation, and must have a raised border
against a south, south-east, or west wall. This border should be a compost
of rotten manure or leaves, light loam, and sand, equal parts, and raised about
18 in. above the surface. When grown as low standards, they are surpass-
ingly beautiful: but they should be taken up in November, and their roots
laid in mould, in a shed, as our sharp winters would injure them, so as to
prevent their blooming in perfection, if left exposed.”
China Roses, 49 sorts. “ From six to eight months in the year, the roses
in this division form bright ornaments to our gardens. Many of the robust
varieties make beautiful standards. They are all perfectly hardy. The sorts
first in the list are quite new and very beautiful.”
L’Isle de Bourbon Roses, 11 sorts. “ This is a most beautiful family,
scarcely known in this country. They seem to form a distinct division of
China roses; like them, they are perpetual; but they have a luxuriance and
gracefulness quite their own: the perfect -and elegant form of their flowers,
the extremely delicate tints in some, and vivid rose colour, so peculiar to
these varieties, in others, will soon establish them in the favour of the rose
amateur. As standards, they grow most luxuriantly, are quite hardy, and
bloom in greater perfection late in autumn than any other Perpetual rose.”
Musk Roses, sorts. “ These are interesting from their powerful fragrance
and autumnal flowering. The Old white is one of the oldest inhabitants of
the English gardens.”
Scotch Roses, 22 sorts. “ These are all emanations from the Rosa spino-
sissima, or Wild rose of Scotland; and the above selection gives a represent-
ative of each shade of colour. Out of a collection of 200 nominal varieties
from Scotland and elsewhere, twenty-two are all that can be recommended as
tolerably distinct. These form so gay an assemblage among May flowers,
that a clump or border ought to be devoted to them in every flower-garden.
The shape of the flower in these is peculiar and similar, being nearly globular.”
Miscellaneous Roses, 72 sorts, which are not described.
General Remarks on the Culture of Roses.— Referring to the directions for rose
culture given in their Catalogue for last year, and quoted in LX. 458., Messrs.
Rivers observe, that they “ still think that, in unfavourable soils, roses require
being removed, and their roots trimmed, every third or fourth year. In cold
clayey soils, the best compost for them is rotten dung and pit sand; in warm
dry soils, cool loam and rotten dung. Annual pruning, which is quite essen-
tial, should always be done in October or in March; but October pruning
will be found greatly advantageous, as the rose will then prepare itself during
the remainder of the autumn for vigorous growth in spring. The families of
roses are now so well defined, that each ought to have its department: a
clump of hybrids for their gorgeous colours in June and July; of perpetuals,
for their fragrance in the cool autumnal months; of Noisettes, for their
elegance and abundance of flowers; and of Scotch roses, for their precocity
and humble growth. In short, all the thirteen families above enumerated
i
Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 511
require separate culture to have them in perfection; but this, of course, will
only apply to rather extensive flower-gardens. Climbing roses for pillars
should be planted in a very rich soil, as they will then put forth strong central
branches, of 8 ft. or 10 ft. in length ; these, when fastened to the stakes, will
furnish a plentiful supply of lateral blooming shoots for many seasons. The
application of climbing roses to cover a sloping bank, their flexible branches
being pegged to the ground, is, perhaps, a new idea. Thus treated, they will
form a beautiful carpet of foliage and flowers; the dark crimson and white
varieties blending with peculiar elegance. The majority of roses bloom much
finer when budded on the dog rose than under any other mode of culture.
The great objection is, ther throwing up suckers so as quickly to impoverish
the budded part of the plant. To remove these as soon as they appear, the
gardener must be continually on the alert.”
We have no hesitation in stating it as our opinion, that this
is by far the most useful catalogue of roses which has yet been
published either in France or England. ‘The collection, though
select, is sufficiently ample for every purpose; and the descrip-
tions are such, that any person who reads them, with a view to
becoming a purchaser, is in no danger of buying the same rose
under different names; which can hardly be avoided when
choosing from mere lists of names without descriptions. ‘The
prices of the described sorts vary from 1s. 6d. to 7s. 6d., not
above a dozen being at the latter price. ‘The miscellaneous
roses are sold at 2/. 10s. per hundred; and a general mixture
of sorts is 1/. 5s. per hundred.
Art. V. Floricultural and Botanical Notices of new Plants, and of
old Plants of Interest, supplementary to the latest Editions of the
“ Encyclopedia of Plants,” and of the “ Hortus Britannicus.”
Curtis's Botanical Magazine; each monthly number containing
eight Plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Hooker,
King’s Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow.
Edwards's Botanical Register; each monthly number containing
eight plates; 4s. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Dr. Lindley, F.R.S.,
Professor of Botany in the London University.
PotypetTaLous DicotyLEpDOoNOUS PLANTS.
A Twining Leguminous Plant ‘which inhabits St. Kitt’s. —We
have received, for distribution, from the botanic garden at Bury
St. Edmunds, a portion of legumes and seeds of a plant of this
kind, which had been presented to that establishment by J. E.
A. Sadler, Esq. M.D., of St. Kitts. Dr. Sadler conceives that
the plant is an undescribed one; and, from his description of it,
we present as follows: —It has trifoliate leaves, and a
flowers on long footstalks. ‘The corolla is of a pink colou
a greenish spot at the base of the vexillum. The calyx h
little bracteas at its base, is 4-cleft, persistent, and has a
512 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
at the angle of each sinus. Vexillum obovate, reflexed. Wings
unguiculate, each with a tooth. Stamens diadelphous. Stigma
simple. Legume hairy, each seed embedded in its own separate
membrane. We hope that some of those to whom we have
imparted the seeds will, if plants be produced from them, ascer-
tain the species, and inform us what it is.
2072. INDIGO’/FERA.
18685a violicea Rox. purple-coroliaed # J] or 5 P.Ro E. Indies? 1819. Cs. Bot. mag. 3348
This, in the open air in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden,
where it has stood several years, proves a very handsome shrub.
It flowered there, for the first time, in July, 1834: it was received
there, in 1820, from Mr. Thomas Hogg of Clapton. ‘The leaves,
pinnated, are 2} in. long. ‘The clusters of flowers are axillary,
longer than the leaves. The flowers are from twelve to twenty
in a cluster. Corolla large and handsome: the standard of a
reddish purple passing into lilac; the wings of a deep rose
colour. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
Acacia lineata Cun., No. 24673. in Hort. Brit., is figured, from Kew, in Bot. Mag. t. 3346.
Lupinus nanus Benth. (see X. 173.), a lovely annual species, is figured in Bot. Reg. t. 1705.
MoNnopreTaLous DicoryLEDONOUS PLANTS.
CLXIV. Campanulacee.
607. CAMPA’NULA 4978 macrantha, large-flowered . a
2 polyantha Hook. many-flowered -y A or 5 jnjl B Russia 1830. D co Bot. mag, 5347
C. macrantha itself is a most estimable ornament of the hardy
flower-garden ; and the present variety, C. macrantha var. poly-
Antha, is described, and, by the figure, seems, to be one still
more so. ‘It is a taller plant; the flowers are larger, of a bluer
colour, and much more numerous upon the stem.” ‘The figure
is from a plant in the Glasgow Botanic Garden. (Bot. Mag.,
Sept.)
CLXX. Ervicee.
521. AZAXLEA 4341 indica
var. lateritia Lindl. brick-red-corollaed # (_)or2my Bri China 1833. Cp Bot. reg. 1700
A beautiful variety, introduced from China by Mr. M‘Killigan
(see IX. 474.), along with the lovely variegated-corollaed kind ;
and, with it, was purchased by Mr. Knight. The plant is
remarkably bushy, and abundant in leaves. ‘These are smaller
than in A. indica itself; of a deep green, with a rusty tinge from
numerovs brown hairs disposed about the midrib and margin:
their surface, too, is covered with hairs. The flowers are of a
bright clear brick colour, a little tinged with rose. (Bot. Reg.,
Sept.)
CLXXXVI. Compdsite § Helichrysce.
RHODA’NTHE Lindl. (Rhodon, a rose, anthos, a flower ; inner scales of the involucre rose-
. coloured.) 19. 1. Sp. 1.— [18322 S It Bot. reg. 1702
sii Lindl. Capt. Mangles’s © _] or 13? my.jn Ro.Y Swan River Col. New Holland
. charming green-house annual, introduced, from the Swan
colony, by Capt. Mangles, R.N. ‘This is the species of
supplementary to Encyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 513
plant to which a prize was awarded by the Horticultural Society,
as noticed in p. 412. Its habit seems peculiar: the stem bears
broad leaves, which are quite smooth and rather glaucous; and
is divided, upwards, into slender branches, each tipped with a
rosy-rayed head of flowers. Its season of perfection is May
and June, at which time there is nothing in the gardens that
equals it in beauty; for it possesses the brilliancy of the Cape
Helichrysa, without their stiffness and formality. It requires to
be treated as a tender annual; yet too much heat seems to be
particularly offensive to it. (Bot. Reg., Sept.)
CXC. Cinchonaceze.
638, GARDENIA 5285 florida
fldre simplici Hook. single-flowered 2% [_]}fra5jn W_ E. Indies 1831? C 1p Bot. mag. 3349
Probably a species distinct from G. flérida. See Bot. Mag., t. 3349.
This delightfully fragrant shrub flowered, in June, 1834, in
the noble gardens of Wentworth House, near Rotherham, York-
shire; where it was received from the East Indies, and is treated
as a stove plant. It is a shrub with numerous stout woody
branches ; leaves oval or obovate; flowers large, very fragrant ;
corolla pure white, soon turning yellow. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
648, MORI'NDA. [Bot. mag. 3351
jasmindides Cun. Jasminelike $ UL} cu6? ap Pabuff Port Jackson 1823? C lp
In affinity near to M. parvifdlia Dec. Cun.
A twining half-shrubby species; rare in shaded brushes of the
colony of Port Jackson, where it was detected by Mr. Allan
Cunningham, bearing its orange-coloured berries, in March,
1821; by whom it was introduced to the Kew collection, whence
the specimen figured had been derived. In habit, it resembles
a Jasminum. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
CC. Polemoniacee.
499. GI’/LI14. : ; ;
tricolor Benth. three-coloured-covollaed © or1jl.s Li.P.O California 1833. S co Bot. reg. 1704
Its foliage much resembles that of G. capitata ; but its flowers
are very much longer, and are disposed, not into globose heads,
but into large and rather dense panicles at the extremity of the
peduncles; which are shorter than those in G. capitata, and
very numerous. ‘The deep orange of the centre of the corolla,
and the light purple or white of the margin, and a circle of deep
purple which separates these, display each other to great advan-
tage. G. tricolor “is quite hardy, and will grow in any kind
of soil. ‘The time of flowering is from July to September ; but
it may be retarded or advanced by a little management. Nothing
can well be prettier than this is, when thickly filling a bed afew
feet in length and breadth.” (Bot. Reg., Sept.)
MonocoTyLEDONOUS PLANTS.
CCXXXVIIL. Amaryllideze. {ap
979, ALSTRGEME.RTIA. A el
atirea Grah. golden-perianthed % A\ or 12 jn Go.spot Chiloe 1831. DJ.p Bot. mae 3350
In habit near A, pulchélla, but smaller. (Grakam.) It appears to be the A. atirea Hort. “s
514 Floricultural and Botanical Notices,
Mag. IX. 490. The A. aurantiaca D. Don, Gard. Mag. TX. 622.; and the A. versicolor R. & P.,
Gard. Mag. X.71. If all these be but one, A. versicolor #. & P. is the earliest name, and, cons
sequently, that to be preferred.
Derived from Mr. Low of the Clapton Nursery; to whom it
was imported, from Chiloe, by Mr. Anderson. In habit it
approaches A. pulchélla; but probably will always be a much
smaller plant. Stems 13 ft. high. Perianth orange-coloured :
segments spreading ; the lower and the three outer of a nearly
uniform colour, occasionally with one or two deep orange-
coloured streaks; the two others more yellow below the apex,
and having many such streaks down to their yellow nectariferous
bases. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)
CCXL. Orchidee. Dr. Lindley and Mr. Allan Cunningham
(whom he quotes) have given, in the Botanical Register tor
Sept., t. 1699., some suggestions incentive to the more success-
ful cultivation of such exotic species of Orchideze, whether epi-
phytal or otherwise, as require the stove and green-house in
Britain. The spirit of the remarks is, that various species, even
in some instances species of the same genus, differ so much in
their constitution and native habits, that they will not thrive
equally under one common treatment; and that, consequently,
a knowledge of the constitution and native habits of any species,
and the causing of the artificial conditions to be as identical as
possible with the native ones, are necessary to the successful
cultivation of it.
We quote the given instances of anomalies: — Dendrobium
speciosum languishes in situations where the stanhopeas are in
their greatest splendour; and the Chinese bletias almost perish
by the side of Eulophia and Zygopétalum. ‘This arises from
the great difference in their respective constitutions, which are
each adapted to distinct conditions of life....In the genus
Oncidium itself, where almost all the species are of tropical
habits, O. nubigenum is only found on the cool mountains of
Peru, at the height of 14,000 ft.; it will, therefore, require a
treatment altogether distinct from that of the mass of the genus.
Dendrobium moniliforme and catenatum, again, occur only in
Japan, as far north as 37° or 38°, or the parallel of Lisbon, and
are periodically subject to a very low temperature. In New
South Wales there are two or three species, which grow on
trees or rocks, whose natural constitution should suggest to
English cultivators of them a mode of treatment different from
that uniformly adopted for epiphytes generally in our stoves ;
namely, that in which high temperature and considerable humi-
dity are employed. Dendrobium e’mulum Br., Cymbidium
caniculatum Br., Dendrobium undulatum Br., are three instances.
The first is uniformiy found upon the rugged trunk of Eucalyp-
tus resinifera, or iron-bark tree, in the open very dry forest
grounds of the older colony at Port Jackson. ‘The second has
oH
te
supplementary to Lineyc. of Plants and Hort. Brit. 515
been observed beyond the tropic, both at Moreton Bay and
still farther southward at Hunter’s River, growing upon the
principal limbs of several of the Eucalypti in the dry open
shadeless forest. The third has been found upon barren hills,
naturally clear of timber; upon the banks of the Brisbane River
at Moreton Bay, where the plant forms tufts on bare rocks
exposed to the full heat of the sun, which, during nine months
of the year, is very considerable upon that part of the coast.
Two additional instances given are, Ginnza australis and Karina
mucronata. G. australis grows upon the branches of shrubs in
Emu Bay, in Van Diemen’s Land, in about 41° s. lat. and 146°
E. long. E. mucronata occurs as far to the northward as 35° s.
lat., in humid forests, at the Bay of Islands, in New Zealand ;
and exists, also, in abundance, in the very (permanently) damp
woods which clothe the shores of Dusky Bay, lat. 45° 45’ s., on
the western side of the larger or middle island of New Zealand.
Considering the low rate of temperature which prevails in the
southern hemisphere, as compared with the northern in corre-
sponding latitudes, the station of E. mucronata is not naturally
different from the damper parts of the south-west coast of
Ireland.
In relation to the subject of these remarks, we remember no-
ticing, inp. 280., that Mr. Knight was, in May last, having a new
house built for the culture of Orchideze. ‘This is now com-
pleted ; and supplies, we have been told, in four distinct com-
partments, a heated atmosphere and a cold one, a light one and
a shaded one.
2481. O/RCHIS.
224840 folidsa Sol. _ leafy-spiked SY Alor 1 my P CanaryI. 1829? Dp.s.moss Bot. reg. 1701
A fine species of O’rchis, native of woods and copses in
Madeira; very much like the European O. latifolia, from which
it differs in being larger in all its parts, &c. The specimen
figured was supplied by Messrs. Young and Penny, nursery-
men, Milford, near Godalming, Surrey ; in whose collection, so
rich in Canary plants, the species has been some time culti-
vated; and with whom it succeeds extremely well, either in
well-drained pots, or a turf pit, in a soil composed of the turfy
portions of heath mould, with a mixture of moss and sand.
(Bot. Reg., Sept.)
9540. ONCI’DIUM. 3 Bot. reg. 1699
22693a ampliatum Léndl. broad-lipped €(Al)or2mr Y Central America 1832? D p.r.w
In its pseudo-bulb and leaf like O. papilio; but very distinct
in its flowers, and the disposition of them, ‘These are rather
small, very numerous, and disposed in clusters along the branches
of an upright panicle: the sepals are yellow, with the labellum
white at the back. The figure is derived from a plant possessed
by R. Harrison, Esq. (Bot. Reg., Sept.)
516 General Notices. — Foreign Notices.
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Art. 1. General Notices.
Action of Tannin, and some other Substances, on the Roots of Plants. By
M. Payen.—It has been repeatedly stated that trees soon die when the roots
come into contact with the remains of the roots of oak trees cut down near
them. This was supposed to be owing to the action of the tannin in the oak
roots. M. 2ayen, after making a number of experiments on the subject, ar-
rived at the following conclusions :—1st, Tannin, even in small quantity, acts
deleteriously on the roots of certain plants: 2dly, Acids in small proportions
are hurtfu! to germination: 3dly, Alkalies in small quantity are favourable to
the progress of vegetation: 4thly, The neutralisation of the acidity developed
during germination hastens its progress, and favours the ulterior developement
of the plant. These experiments account for one of the useful effects of
lime, or vegetable ashes, and of calcareous marl; and also for the unfavourable
influence of alkalies used in too great quantity, or unequally distributed. —
(Journal de Chimie Médicale, April, 1834, as quoted in the Lond. and Edin.
Phil. Mag. for August, 1834.)
Art. II. Foreign Notices.
INDIA.
A PLANT-HOUSE for excluding Heat and growing British Plants—Mt. G. Porter,
lately returaed from Penang, informs us that the Marchioness of Hastings,
when resident in Calcutta as the wife of the Governor, had an immense con-
servatory built, for the purpose of growing British plants and trees; the in-
tention being to shut out the heat. Mr. Porter mentioned to the marchioness,
that, instead of shutting out the heat, it would rather increase it; and, in con-
sequence of experiencing this to be the case, the house, after costing an enor-
mous sum, was applied to contain a few common articles that heat could not
injure. After similar instances of extravagance and folly, it is not greatly to
be wondered at that the East India Company have in a great measure ceased
to patronise botanic gardens.
A Botanic Garden in the Island of Penang was commenced in 1822 by Mr.
George Porter, under the patronage of the then governor, Phillips. It was
managed by Mr: Porter till 1828, when it was destroyed. Mr. Porter, when
attached to the Calcutta Botanic Garden, prepared many specimens of plants
for the herbarium of that establishment ; and subsequently, as Dr. Wallich
informs us, in a letter dated March 24. 1834, sent home vast collections both
of growing and preserved plants from that rich island.
ArT. III. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.
THE Metropolitan Society of Florists and Amateurs had their grand show of
georginas, roses, flowers, flowering plants, &c., at the Surrey Zoologica! Gar-
dens, on August 13. and 14. The assemblage of company was most nume-
rous, not less than 10,000 or 12,000 persons, it is stated in the newspaper
reports, having entered the gardens in the course of the first day. The show
of flowers was more than usually magnificent. Silver cups, and volumes on
the science of horticulture, were the prizes awarded to the successful candi-
dates by wnom the best flowers had been reared. The names of the nursery-
men to whom the cups were adjudged were : — Messrs. Chandler, Widnall,
Harding, and Wilmore, whose georginas were preeminent in magnificence and
Domestic Notices : — England. 517
splendour of colour. Mr. Brown was also the winner of a silver cup; and,
among the amateurs, Messrs. Shepherd, Crowder, Lee, Alexander, and Salter
obtained prizes. The prizes for the best pelargoniums were given to Mr. Hill
and Mr. Gains; and Mr. Hopwood, Mr. Rivers, and Mr. Redding were parti-
cularly successful in obtaining the prizes for collections of cut flowers, and hot-
house and green-house plants. There were many other florists and amateurs
to whom prizes were distributed, but the above were the principal winners ;
and, indeed, so nearly equal were the merits of many of the competitors, that
the judges had considerable difficulty in making their award. The animals in
the gardens were in the highest condition; and were, of course, second only
to the flowers in attracting the curiosity of the company. The rhinoceros was
surrounded with a crowd of visiters of all ages; and the monkeys, parrots,
elephants, &c., also came in for their share of attention. The very greatest
praise is due to Mr. Cross, the principal proprietor of this establishment ; who
not only gave the use of his grounds, for two days, gratis, but, as we were
informed, was also at the sole expense of the numerous tents and the band
of music; and, besides, subscribed 50/. to the Society. i
Seeds received from Dr. Wallich of the Calcutta Botanic Garden.— Two
cones of the Cédrus Deodara, from Kamoon. These abound m seeds, every
one of which seems dead: small blisters, filled with oil, appear under the
coats of most of them; and the embryo, on opening the seed, is found of a
light brown colour, and dead. One of the cones we have retained entire as a
specimen. A follicle of Sterculia alata Roxb., containing seeds in their natural
position. ‘This is very interesting even if viewed only as a carpological
specimen. The follicle is orbicularly pear-shaped, about 4 in. long and about
as much across ; somewhat compressed, with walls half an inch thick; the
seeds within are large, and rayedly disposed. Dr. Wallich remarks, that “ it
is very many years since this fruit ripened in this garden: it occurred during
my charge, and only one individual was produced. Last year, one tree bore
fifty or sixty follicles, all of which ripened. The tree is a very stately one.”
Five vials, occupied by seeds, and bearing labels thus inscribed: — 1. Limo-
nia, Kamoon, Feb. 1834; 2. An Umbellifera, a Labiata, two Synanthérez
[Compésite], and a Bixus from the foot of the Himalaya in Kamoon, Feb.
1834; 3. Rosa, Baxus, Hullyato (a Synanthérea), and a Fumariacea from the
foot of the Himalaya, Jan. 1834; 4. A Spirz‘a, Hippdphae conférta, and
Deodar from the foot of the Himalaya in Kamoon, Feb. 1834; 5. Saussurea
gossypiphora Dan [? Donn], Carduus obvallatus Wal/., Hippophae conférta
Wall., Rosa sp., from the foot of the Himalaya, Jan. 1834. There are, besides,
seeds in papers of the following species of plants: — Artemisza lactiflora
Wall.; Bauhinia anguina, brachycarpa; Beaumoéntia grandiflora; Convolvulus
sp. from Burma, sp. from Neelgherry, lacteus Wal/.; Clerodéndrum nutans,
Délichos specidsus, Elodéa pulchélla, Helicteres pilchra Wall., Hibiscus
violaceus. Numerous globular capsules, of a soft texture externally, within
woody, and containing several small seeds, all of these of some one species of
plant, have been introduced into the box as packing, seemingly, as there is not
any mention of them. We shall distribute the seeds among the most enthu-
siastic of the nurserymen and botanic gardeners.
Tropical Fruit Trees imported for Lord Powis. — Mr. George Porter, ori-
ginally of the Calcutta Botanic Garden, and, for the last thirteen years, a
resident in the Island of Penang, has brought home, from Dr. Wallich, six
mango trees of as many sorts, two Japan guavas, and two nutmeg trees, all in
a healthy state, for the nobleman above mentioned ; a zealous horticultural
amateur, who has the merit of having been the first to fruit the mango in
England.
Cones, from near the Gulf of Bothnia, of the Pine of Sweden. — Extract from
a letter sent to J. B. Scott, Esq., Bungay, Suffolk, by J. Musgrave, Esq., of
the County of Waterford; along with a bag of cones of the real Swedish pine,
presented by the former of the two gentlemen to the Suffolk Botanic Garden,
Bury St. Edmunds : —“ These cones are from the Pinus sylvéstris, the ori-
Vou, X.— No. 55. 00
518 Domestic Notices : —England.
ginal Scotch pine; and were sent to me from Sundsyal, on the Gulf of Both-
nia, where I saw some of the best forests in Sweden. The town 1s celebrated
for the excellence of the red deals exported from it; and they are from this
Pinus sylvéstris. The Pinus A‘bies [now A’bies excélsa], or spruce fir, pro-
duces the white deals, which are of an inferior quality. The tar is produced
from the roots of both species, but principally from those of the Pinus syl-
véstris. The seeds are to be sown in or about March, in a light sandy soil ;
and must be carefully protected from the birds by nets, until the seeds, which
come up on the top of the plants, have dropped off; otherwise the birds, in
picking the seeds, pull up the young trees. The seeds are to be covered with
sand or light earth, merely thick enough to prevent them from being blown
away by the wind. The cones, when placed in the sun, or exposed to a heat
not greater than that of a place exposed to the sun in summer, will open ;
and, by shaking them in a cloth, the seeds will drop out. Every seed has a
small wing attached to it, which, by rubbing them between the hands, will
come off. This is a beautiful provision of nature, made for dispersing the
seeds; and, as the best cones grow near the summits of the highest trees, the
seeds are thus carried to great distances.” —H. Turner. Botanic Garden, Bury
St. Edmunds, Aug. 1834. [We feel obliged to Mr. Hodson, the superintendent
of this garden, and to Mr. Turner, the curator, for sending us these cones for
distribution. ]
A Cockscomb was sent to us,on Aug. 6., by Mr. John Pattison, gardener to
Jos. Trueman, Esq., Grosvenor House, Walthamstow, Essex, which mea-
sured in height, from the pot to the surface of the flower, 2 ft. 4in.; one of
the leaves measured 1 ft. in length, and 5in. across the broadest part ; and the
flower 1 ft. 11 m. in length, and 15in. in breadth. Altogether, this was an
erect, symmetrical, and very handsome plant. We placed it under a glazed
veranda on a western aspect; and it is now (Sept. 1.) in as great beauty as
the day it arrived. Mr. Pattison has promised to send us a paper on his mode
of cultivation.
The Galande Peach. — As I have not observed, in horticultural works, the
Galande peach taken notice of in the way its great merits deserve (whether
as to size, flavour, or appearance), I have sent a few specimens, taken indis-
criminately from the tree, that you may (if you agree with me as to its qua-
lities) specify it as one of our very best varieties of this excellent fruit:
a point well worth knowing to those about to plant a peach wall. It is not
mentioned in the summary of peaches in the Pomological Magazine (vil.
114.), unless they suppose it synonymous with the Bellegarde; from which,
I think, it slightly differs. I remember this struck me two months ago, on
observing some fine specimens of the latter in the peach-house here. — John
Thomas Brooks. Flitwick House, Aug. 21. 1834.
The peaches received were most excellent, and more than justify the praise
of our correspondent. They measured, on an average, about 10 in. round one
way, and 83 in. the other. We sent one of them to Mr. Thompson, at the
Horticultural Society’s Garden, who returned us the following note: —
‘« The peach is the Bellegarde, to which the Galande is a synonyme. It is
one of the very best sorts of peaches, and ripens in the middle season. It is
also not apt to mildew ; which is a great recommendation. —Robt. Thompson.
Horticultural Society’s Garden, Aug. 25. 1834.”
Size of a White Eagle Gooseberry grown by Mr. Soltas, near Lancaster.
Length 33 in., including the stalk and the remains of the blossom; length of
the berry 2iin._ Breadth across 12in. Weight 19 dwts. ll grs. — JZ. Saul.
Sulyard Street, Lancaster, July 31. 1834.
A Cucumber, 21 in. long, was exhibited by Mr. Marshall, in Ipswich market,
on May 31.; being grown by him, upon the plan recommended by Mr. Allen,
in the short space of eight days, without under-heat or lining. (The Bury
and Norwich Post and East Anglian, June 4. 1834.
A Cabbage, weighing 38 lbs. without the stalk, was cut, in the first week in
August, from the garden of the Rev. C. Mules of Muddiford, near Barnstaple,
Devon. (Devon Advertiser, Aug. 22.)
Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 519
Unseasonable Inflorescence, §c.— Owing to the early spring, the warm
summer, and the late abundant rains, many trees and plants are now in blos-
som for the second time ; and trees in our own garden at Bayswater, such as
Salisburia, Diospyrus, Sophora, &c., have made midsummer shoots, which do
not generally do so. We have the Spire‘a bélla a second time in flower.
The Caprifolium sinénse is also covered with profuse blossoms a second time ;
or rather, it has never been completely out of blossom since May. The same
may be said of the Wistarta Consequana, in the garden of the Horticultural
Society. The following instances are from the newspapers: — There is, in
the nursery-garden of Mr. Jeffery, St. Giles’s, Oxford, ‘a standard pear tree
most beautifully in blossom. A gentleman, residing at Cooppersale, Essex,
has in his garden a Hawthornden with fruit ready to gather, and, at the same
time, a profusion of beautiful blossoms. In the garden of Mr. Slater, Newark,
there is an apple tree full of beautiful bloom ; it is also loaded with fine large
apples, bloom and ripe fruit on one branch. There is also, in the same gar-
den, a plum tree in second bioom. There is now in Silver Street, Bedford,
an apple tree bearing a second crop of fruit, which promises well; the first
gathering was a good one. A gentleman on the borders of Herts has a
cucumber tree [the Hercules club gourd, Cucirbita Lagenaria var. claviformis
Lin., Lagenaria vulgaris var. clavata Ser. (see Vol. II. fig. 29.)] growing in his
garden, the fruit from the vine hanging down, some of which measured 26 in.
in length. In the garden of Mr. Martin, at Buckingham, is an apple tree in
quite as full and beautiful blossom as trees usually are in the spring, although
it has several fine apples on it. Many of the new blooms are set. (Weekly
Dispatch, Aug. 25. 1834.) On Aug. 22., in the garden of Mr. John Bennett
of Helston, a second crop of strawberries is ripe, from plants which bore
abundantly at their proper season. This second crop is as large and as well
flavoured as the first.
New Varieties of Grain. — The Chevalier barley, mentioned p. 508., appears
to have been cultivated near Liskeard, and to have produced extraordinary
crops of a very superior quality. The Egyptian wheat (7riticum compésitum ),
known in Mark Lane as Robinson’s Fancy, of which a fine specimen was
lately sent to us, has produced larger crops than usual this season.
SCOTLAND.
The Caledonian Horticultural Society intended so to have arranged their
annual dinner, as that the competition fruit might have been partaken of by
the members of the British Association, who are to meet in Edinburgh on
Sept. 7. On mature consideration, however, they found that they could not
deviate from the day fixed in their prize list, which had been widely circulated
six months before. This day is the 4th of September, and if any of the
learned strangers should happen to be in Edinburgh by that time, there is
every reason to believe that they will be invited to be present at the Society’s
dinner. (Edinburgh Advertiser, Aug. 22.) é
Dalkeith, Aug. 20.— All the gardeners in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh
are exerting themselves to make a fine display by the time the British Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science arrive in Edinburgh, as it is expected
that they will visit most of the gardens in the neighbourhood. The park [that
of Dalkeith] never looked better, but I am sorry that I cannot say quite so
much for some parts of the gardens. A garden is no sooner full grown and
in high order than it begins to decay, and get into confusion. The gardener
does not always see this, because the changes come upon him so gradually,
that he is not aware of their extent; and he is less aware of this than ever,
when his place happens to be a celebrated one. I was in Edinburgh last
week, and I never saw the botanic garden looking better. Many shrubs have
flowered there this season, better than they ever did before, doubtless owing
to the warmth of last summer, which ripened the wood, and that of the pre-
sent season, which has heen so favourable for expanding the flowers. Inever
saw the Althzea frutex look so well as it does in the nurseries this summer.
00 2
520 Retrospective Criticism.
You recollect the immense silver firs at Woodhouselee. It is seven years
since I was there, but my son informs me that they are still in vigour. It is
now a good many years since I sent you my first communication [see I. 29.},
soon after which I went to a place in the north, from which I have just
returned. — James Simson.
IRELAND.
Dublin, Aug. 12.— All foreboding of failure in the potato crop m this
country is now at an end. I never remember such sultry weather as we have
at present, and I have never before observed the air in such an extreme state
of dryness as it was in Dublin this day. You have heard, I suppose, that our
college has invited the British Association for the Advancement of Science to
hold their next meeting in Dublin. I hope they may accept it. We are on
the advance in those matters here. You have heard of the appoimtment of
Mr. Nevin as curator to the Dublin Society’s Botanic Garden. He isa clever
fellow, and is doing wonders there. The garden wears a new face already,
and he has only been there about three months. — R.
Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism.
CorkECTIONS.—In p.326., for “ Portsmouth rail-road” read “ Southampton
rail-road;”’ and in p.329., for “ 16 ft. in diameter” read “ 16 ft. in cireum-
ference.” In pages 296. and 352., for “ Clawance,” read “ Clowance.’ In
fig. 70. p. 374., trees are put in the wall borders inside, which is a mistake
of the engraver’s.
Depressed State of the Nursery Business, (VIIi. 129. 134.) — On looking
over some of the back volumes of your Gardener’s Magazine, I happened to
cast my eye upon your remarks, relative to the depressed state of the nursery
business; and, as this trade still remains in nearly the same condition, it will,
perhaps, not be inopportune, if I now make a few observations on the causes
which I think have produced this result. I by no means intend to impugn
the justice of your conclusions, neither do I question but that the causes
which you have assigned have, more or less, affected this business; but you
have omitted to advert to one or two circumstances, which, in my opinion,
have had a greater influence on this trade, than any of the reasons stated by
you. 2
Some time previous to the institution of the London Horticultural Society,
a long and expensive war, with other circumstances, had caused a very great
expenditure; trade and commerce had increased in a wonderful degree; in
consequence of which rapid fortunes were made, and a taste for the luxuries
and the elegancies of life extended in a surprising manner. In this state of
things, it was not to be supposed that the pleasure to be derived from the study
of botany, and the cultivation of plants, should be overlooked, and hence
arose a great demand for plants, and an anxious desire, on the part of a vast
number of individuals, to procure new ones from abroad. This in time pro-
duced the London Horticultural Society, which, I believe, was originally insti-
tuted principally for the purpose of procuring new plants from foreign coun-
tries, and was commenced in a very humble way. I apprehend it was always
in the contemplation of the Society to induce individuals, by bestowing some
mark of distinction on them, to exert themselves in producing the finest speci-
mens of fruits, &c., or in raising new varieties. If the Society had confined
their views to these objects, they would have done all that was necessary for
fostermg and extending the love of horticulture; but they were not con-
tented with this: they considered it necessary to extend their operations, by
taking a large place at Chiswick; and, for the purpose of defraying their in-
creased expenses, converted a society, formed originally for the advancement
of horticulture, into a trading company, for the sale of horticultural pro-
ductions ; for this it manifestly has been for some years. To this cause is
Fetrospective Criticism. 521
mainly owing the present distressed state of the nursery business. The sub-
scribers to this Society consider themselves entitled to procure plants, &c.,
from their garden, consequently they discontinue, generally speaking, to apply
to the nurserymen; and, although I am aware that it must be impossible for
the garden to supply plants to its members in any very extensive degree, still,
as the opimion has gone abroad that they can be procured from this source,
many wait patiently for their turn, rather than purchase from the trade: this
notion also extends to the friends of the members, so that it is quite impossible
to calculate the injury which is inflicted upon the industrious nurseryman. It
would be in vain to expect the Society now to discontinue the practice of
distributing plants, &c., to the members; their debts and difficulties render
such a measure hopeless, because I am convinced it would cause a very great
diminution in their annual receipts; but, whenever such a measure is practi-
cable, its effect will be striking. In such a case, I would strongly recommend
them to reduce the subscription to a much more moderate sum, and to confine
their objects to the collecting’ of as many varieties of plants, fruits, &c., as
possible ; and the encouraging of the cultivation and improvement of all horti-
cultural productions, by bestowing some mark of distinction or reward when-
ever merited. This last end cannot be better attained than by having periodical
exhibitions similar to those of last year.
It has been very generally believed that the Horticultural Society has been
the means of extending the taste for plants, and that it has also greatly pro-
moted the rapid improvements which have taken place, in the last few years,
in our fruits and vegetables. This Iam not wholly prepared to deny, although
I firmly believe that, had the Society never existed, the taste for plants would
have extended, and the improvement in our fruits, &c., have taken place to a
very great extent, and that without inflicting injury upon any particular class.
Another cause of the badness of the nursery trade is, the practice, which
very generally prevails, of noblemen and gentlemen selling their fruits, &c. ;
and also allowing their gardeners to propagate and sell plants, for the pur-
pose, no doubt, of contributing towards the expense of their garden establish-
ments. ‘That noblemen should degrade themselves by sanctioning such a
practice, is really extraordinary. Conceive a noble duke, or a royal one, if
you please, sending his forced fruit and vegetables to Covent Garden Market.
The aristocracy expect the people to respect them, and to consider them as
something superior to the rest of the community; but, if they lower them-
selves by becoming traders, how is it possible for them to command respect ?
That the noble trader ever derives any benefit, in a pecuniary point of view,
from such a system, I much question; but certain it is, that no money which
they can gain will ever compensate them for the disgrace and contempt which
it entails upon them from those whom they consider their inferiors. But,
notwithstanding the little benefit which is conferred upon the aristocratic
trader by the sale of his fruit, &c., it does most assuredly inflict great injury
upon the nurserymen and market-gardeners, who depend upon the sale of
their articles for their sustenance. To the above causes, together with those
which you have pointed out, I am disposed to attribute the depressed state of
the trade. It is frequently much easier to ascertain the source of an evil than
to point out a remedy for it. In the present instance, I do confess, I see no
immediate prospect of relief to the trade in question. Men will do what they
please with their own; and, so long as human nature continues to be influ-
enced by mere selfishness, I fear it is not to be expected that they will forego
what they consider an advantage, purely for the sake of benefiting any trade
whatever. The only thing, therefore, likely to produce a reaction is, the
extension of the taste for plants and gardening. Floriculture is making rapid
progress ; and, instead of being confined almost exclusively to the humble in
life, as was the case some few years back, the taste for florists’ flowers has
extended to many in the higher ranks. Let us hope, therefore, that, in a
little time, the love of plants will become fashionable; and that a collection,
at the seat of every nobleman, will form an indispensable appendage to the
522
Covent Garden Market.
place. If the nobility would but turn their minds to the innocent, and, at the
same time, rational, amusement of superintending the cultivation of their
gardens, and enter into the spirit of the thing with the same enthusiasm as
they do into many other less wise, and sometimes less justifiable, pursuits,
how soon would they feel the benefit of the change! You have exerted your-
self more, perhaps, than any other individual in promoting the interests of
horticulture, and also for those employed in it: that your endeavours may be
ultimately crowned with success, and that you may yet see a vast increase to
the number of amateur gardeners, is the sincere wish of — LE.
ART. V. Covent Garden Market.
The Cabbage Tribe.
Cabbage, White, per dozen -
Red -
Plants or Coleworts, per doz.
Broccoli, Green, per bunch -
Cape o = -
Legumes.
per half sieve °
Peas per sieve - -
Kidneybeans, per half sieve
Tubers and Roots.
per ton -
Potatoes - 5) percwt. -
Cper bushel
Jerusalem Artichokes, per half;
sieve - - -
Turnips, White, per bunch
Carrots, per bunch -
Horn - o
Red Beet, per dozen
Scorzonera, per bundle
Salsify, per bunch -
Horseradish, per bundle
Radishes :
Red, per dozen hands (24 to
30 each), per bunch — -
White Turnip, per bunch
The Spinach Tribe.
. per sieve Bil ns
Spinach per half sieve -
New Zealand, per half sieve
Sorrel, per half sieve - -
The Onion Tribe.
Onions, Old, per bushel «+
For pickling, per half sieve
When green (Ciboules), per
bunch = Boog
*- Spanish, per dozen
Leeks, per dozen bunches
Garlic, per pound -
Shallots, per pound °
Asparaginous Plants,
Salads, &c.
Lettuce, per score:
Cos - = 4
Cabbage -
Endive, per score “ =
Celery, new, per bundle (12
to 15) = 3
Small Salads, per punnet-
Pot and Sweet Herbs.
Parsley, per half sieve -
Tarragon, per dozen bunches
Fennel, per dozen bunches -
Thyme, per dozen bunches
Sage, per doze bunches’ -
Mint, per dozen bunches) -
Peppermint, per dozen bunches
Marjoram, per dozen bunches
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Savory, per dozen bunches -
|Basil, per dozen bunches = -
Rosemary, per dozen bunches
Tansy, perdozen bunches -
Stalks and Fruits for Tarts,
Pickling, §c.
Vegetable Marrow, per dozen
Gourds, per dozen - -
Tomatoes, per half sieve -
Capsicums, per hundred:
Green - oO G
Ripe, Large - S
Chilies = S s
Edible Fungi and Fuci.
Mushrooms, per pottle -
Morels, per pound - -
Truffles, English, per pound
Foreign - - -
Fruits.
Apples, Dessert, per bushel :
Ribston Pippins -
Downtons - -
Russets - - -
Gough Pippins B88
Baking, per bushel -- -
Pears, Dessert, per half sieve
Bergamot - Ces
Swan’s Eggs =
Chaumontels .
Baking, per half sieve
Peaches, per dozen -
Almonds, per peck -
Damsons, per sieve - -
||Mulberries, per gallon (tw
pottles) “ Sues
Blackberries, per half sieve
Berberries, per half sieve -
Elderberries, per bushel -
Walnuts - c A
Filberts, English, per 100 Ibs.
Hazel Nuts, per peck 5
Pine-apples, per pound -
Grapes, per pound :
Hot-house - -
From the open wall -
For Wine, per 112 pounds
Melons, each - 5
Cucumbers, § per hundred -
Pickling ? per thousand
per dozen} So
Oranges ee hundred
perdozen “= -
Temons Ee hundred -
Dates, per pound - -
Sweet Almonds, per pound
Brazil Nuts, per bushel S
Spanish Nuts, per peck -
New - - -
Barcelona Nuts, per peck -
Kgegs of Sikworms, per paper
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London Horticultural Society and Garden. 523
Observations.—The supplies to the market are continued in abundance.
The demand being limited, the prices are correspondingly very moderate. The
weather having been particularly favourable to the growth of vegetable pro-
ductions during the last month, we may confidently anticipate a full supply
through the months of October, November, and up to Christmas. Should the
weather still prove favourable, there can be little doubt of plenty being fur-
nished throughout the whole of the winter. The prevalence of wet during the
month of August has contributed materially to improve the crop of potatoes,
which are now supplied from the home districts in tolerable abundance. Some
few cargoes have already arrived from Jersey, which have not yet been dis-
posed of, although offered at the very low price of 50s. the ton. The crops
of green vegetables, such as turnips, colewort, cabbages, parsneps, and carrot,
are now coming to hand in the utmost profusion, at a ruinous loss to the
growers. Onions are in great plenty ; the recent dry weather being favourable
to ripen them, they are now fit for housing for winter use. French beans are
still supplied in great plenty, and will be no doubt for some time, should early
frosts not intervene. Broccolies of the early varieties are already coming in, so
that the market offers at this season more than its usual abundance. Of wal-
nuts we continue to receive large supplies from Holland and the Netherlands,
our own crop being very short: they are in demand at remunerating prices.
Although we have a most excellent crop of grapes, supplies from Holland of
the black Hamburgh variety are imported: with some peas, &c., from Jersey.
Our crop of apples is most abundant. The market continues to be furnished
most plentifully, the prices of the common varieties hardly paying the expense
of transport from the more distant counties, from which we are usually fur-
nished at this season. Filberts, in consequence of the crop being nearly ex-
hausted, have risen considerably in price, and are still in demand. Considerable
quantities of melons from Holland have been received; prices very moderate :
a few late peaches and some pears are also to be observed, but the crop of
the latter is so small that but few can be expected.—G.C. Sept. 20. 1834.
Art. VI. London Horticultural Society and Garden.
SEPT. 2.—Evhibited. A seedling Fuchsia, originated between F. globdsa
and F. virgata, from Mr. H. Silverlock. 'Téton de Venus peaches and nec-
tarines from Pitcairn, Esq., Twickenham Common. Chrodlepus Iélithus,
from the Right Hon. Sir Augustus Foster, Bart. Apples of the kinds, Manx
codlin, Keswick codlin, scarlet pearmain, and yellow Ingestrie, from Mr. J.
Kirke. Flowers of twenty-eight varieties of georginas from Messrs. Chandler.
A double sunflower from Mr. Jacob Hall, gardener to Lord Wharncliffe,
Broom House, Fulham.
Also, from the Society's Garden, flowering specimens of Fachsia sp. from
Port Famine, Thryallis brachystachys, Gesnérza rutila, Silene laciniata, Heli-
chrysum bracteatum album, Solanum laciniatum ; Escallonia rubra, montevi-
dénsis; Chirdnia trinérvis, China asters, China roses, georginas, seedling
georginas; late admirable peaches. Jupinus albifrons, ornatus; Salvia in-
volucrata, Hibiscus africanus, /Madia élegans, &c. Pears: Hessel, this is a
very abundant bearer; green pear of Yair, of the few Scotch pears that
deserve cultivation this is one; grise bonne. Apples: old English codlin,
Dutch codlin; Gravenstein, the fruit of this kind have not grown so fine as
usual, probably owing to the dry weather; crimson queening, spice, Kerry
ippin.
3 U The Show at the Horticultural Society’s Gardens, on Sept. 13., was as well
attended as could be expected, considering that the fashionable world at this
season are always out of town. The display of georginas was most splendid ;
but it was greatly injured in effect by the want of classification of the kinds.
Only two attempts were made at classification; and though confessedly done
in great haste, yet the result to us was very satisfactory. One of these at-
tempts was made by Mr. Veitch of Exeter, but the name of the party who
524 London Horticultural Society and Garden.
a
made the other we could not learn. Had reading gardeners been the principal
exhibitors of these georginas, we are persuaded that what we have before said
on the subject of classification would not have been lost on them ; but prac-
tical men, we shall be told, are not to be taught their business by books, or
bookmakers. So much the worse for them. Among the plants exhibited,
was a very fine specimen of Anigozanthos rufa, from the Swan River, from
seed sent to Robert Mangles, Esq., by Sir James Stirling, sown in August,
1833. It is a half-hardy hemodoraceous plant, with leaves like an iris,
about 2ft. high; a free grower and flowerer, and likely to ripen abundance of
seeds. Its tubular corollas are of a dark crimson colour, running at the base
into a deep velvet-like bluish green, which gives the whole a parrot-like
aspect, and harmonisies well with the trees and paroquets of Australia. A
beautiful silver-leaved Quércus Z‘lex was exhibited by Mr. Veitch. A dried
specimen of a new hardy climber, Physianthus undulatus, which flowers from
August to winter, was shown us, and, when plants can be obtained in the
nurseries, it will probably be found as great an acquisition as Lophospérmum, or
Calampelis. Among the fine specimens of old plants were Oncidium papilio
(of which we recently received a drawing and dried specimen from Dr.
Hamilton at Plymouth), a very handsome Brugmansia suavéolens, numerous
fuschias, &c. Among the fruits were very fine melons, pine-apples and grapes.
Among the articles shown incidentally was an improved orange tub of slate,
which we shall hereafter figure and describe. The following prizes were
awarded :—
The gold Banksian medal: 1. To Mr. C. Dowding, gardener to Lady Clarke,
for miscellaneous fruit ; 2. To Mr. Redding, gardener to Mrs. Marryat, F.H.S.,
for miscellaneous plants; 3. To Mr. C. Brown, F.H.S., for a collection of
100 georginas; 4. To Mr. Glenny, F.HLS., for a collection of 100 georginas.
The large silver medal: 1. To Mr. Atlee, gardener to T. Farmer, Esq.,
F.HL.S., for grapes; 2. To Mr. R. Buck of Blackheath, F.H.S., for Muscat
grapes; 3. To Mr. Fletcher, gardener to George Smith, Esq., for a queen
pine; 4. To Mr. William Bridden, gardener to Mrs. Myddelton Biddulph, for
a New Providence pine; 5. To Mr. J. Loudon, gardener to Samuel Gurney,
Esq., F.H.S., for green-fleshed melons; 6. To Mr. William Lindsay, gardener
to the Duke of Devonshire, F.H.S., for Gansel’s bergamot pears; 7. To
Mr. Jarvis, of Turnham Green, for beurrée Diel pears; 8. To Mr. Joseph
Kirke, F.H.S., for a collection of apples; 9. To Mr. Upright of Morden, for
miscellaneous plants; 10. To Mr. George Mills, F.H.S., for miscellaneous
plants; 11. To Messrs. Rollison of Tooting, for Epidéndron cuspidatum ; 12.
To Mr. Stephen Hooker, F.H.S., for China and perpetual roses; 13. To
Messrs. Rollison, for miscellaneous roses; 14. To Mr. Widnall of Cambridge,
for a collection of 100 georginas; 15. To Mr. Gaines of Surrey Lane, Bat-
tersea, for a collection of 100 georginas; 16. To Mr. C. Brown of Slough,
F.H.S., for a collection of 25 georginas; 17. To Mr. Widnall of Cambridge,
for a collection of 25 georginas.
The silver Banksian medal: 1. To Mr. Clews, F.H.S., for black Hamburgh
grapes; 2. To Mr. Spong, gardener to Robert Gordon, Esq. M.P. F.H.S.,
for melons; 3. To Mr. Jarvis of Turnham Green, for apples; 4. To Mr.
Boone, gardener to S. Warner, Esq. F.H.S., for citrons; 5. To Mr. Cuthill,
gardener to Lawrence Sullivan, Esq. F.H.S., for cucumbers; 6. To George
Robins, Esq. F.H.S., for Yucca aloifolia; 7. To Mr. Spence, gardener to R.
Durant, Esq. F.H.S., for Brugmansia arborea ; 8. To Mr. Mountjoy of Ealing,
for heartsease; 9. To Mr. C. Brown of Slough, F.H.S., for miscellaneous
heartsease ; 10. To Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, for China asters; 11. To
Mr. Brewer of Cambridge, for seedling georginas; 12. To Mr. Henderson,
gardener to Captain Foster, F.H.S., for seedling georginas; 13. To Mr.
Wilner of Sunbury, for 25 varieties of georgina; 14. To Mr. Molier of
Fifield, Berks, for 25 varieties of georgma; 15. To Mr. Catleugh of Hans
Street, Sloane Street, for a collection of 100 georgina pots.
i
ea
THE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
| NOVEMBER, 1834.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art. I. Observations made during a Horticultural Tour through the
Eastern Part of the County of Fife. By Mr. Witi1am SMITH,
Gardener to John Small, Esq., the Priory, St. Andrew’s, Fifeshire.
Havine recently made a horticultural journey round the eastern
extremity of the county of Fife (or the East Nook, as it is com-
monly called), in company with a neighbouring gardener, we
agreed that a detailed account of what came under our observ-
ation would not be unacceptable to you for insertion in your
Magazine, and especially to your readers in this quarter, who
are acquainted with the places at which we called. Through
the great kindness of our employers, we were each supplied
with a horse; and we may remark, that such liberal conduct on
the part of masters cannot fail to gain the willing obedience,
diligence, and gratitude of their servants in return. Leaving
St. Andrew’s in the morning, we proceeded along the coast on
the Crail road: the country on each side is almost regularly
studded with compact modern farm-steadings; the fields are
well enclosed, either with stone walls or with thorn hedges.
The farmers in this country generally prefer the former, as not
harbouring birds, &c.; but stone walls, when combined with a
great want of detached trees, and also of plantations, give to any
country, however well cultivated, a bare and barren appearance.
On approaching the residence of Mr. Glass of Smiddy Green,
the country begins to assume a better appearance, both in stripes
and masses of plantation. ‘The mansion-house of Smiddy Green
is beautifully situated on the top of a steep bank, covered with
shrubs and trees; but, from the road, it has the appearance of
being buried among them; and a judicious thinning is required
to give the traveller, at least, a glimmering view of it. A little
farther on commence the grounds of Lerd Pitmilly, formerly
a judge of the Court of Session. Walls, hedges, hedgerow
trees, and plantations are here to be seen in great variety; and
in the park are some very large beeches and other kinds of trees,
Vou. X.— No. 56. PP
526 Horticultural Tour through
as well as some small clumps, &c. Mr. Ingram, the gardener,
showed us round the kitchen-garden; the surface of which is
quite level, and is in the form of an oblong square. The
hot-houses are placed rather beyond the centre (their proper
place), and there is no central walk in front of them, which a
large garden like this should by no means be without; and
more particularly a garden of this form. ‘The soil here i is of a
loamy nature, and well suited to apples, pears, &c. The trees
are beautifully trained, chiefly in the horizontal form, and bear
fine crops. Mr. Ingram disapproves of dwarf standards along
the walk borders, and is substituting straight espaliers in their
stead. On entering the hoethonses, we were rather surprised
at Mr. Ingram’s system of management, particularly as regarded
thinning the bunches, which, we must say, is carried to an ex-
tent we never before witnessed. ‘The Royal white sweetwater
was certainly very large; but the Muscat, Hamburgh, Fron-
tignac, &c., were not remarkable in size of berry, with the
same treatment. In the peach house, the trees were in remark-
ably good order and good health, with a fine crop of fruit.
This house is merely covered with glass in the summer, which
is removed in winter, and is, in ear nothing more than a pro-
tected wall, without fire heat: it contains room enough, how-
ever, for the management of the trees; and, although not a very
pleasant object to the eye, answers all the purposes of a large
peach house. On the east end of the vinery is a small neat
green-house, lately built, which contains some good plants and
tender annuals. On the outside of the garden is a range of
cold melon pits, surrounded with a rockwork almost covered
with the coarser kinds of creeping and rock plants. Mr. In-
gram is very successful in raising seeds of the Primula prze‘ni-
tens, which he attributes to his method of distributing the
pollen and effecting the proper impregnation of the flowers,
which is merely to blow occasionally on the flowers of the
plants while they remain expanded.
Proceeding forward, we next arrived at the neat little village
of Kingsbarns, which strongly reminded us of the appearance
of an English village: the church with its spire and willow
trees, the neat little schoolhouse, the alehouse, and the farm-
yards, all grouped pleasingly together; and the general neat and
clean exterior of the houses, with the road leading through the
centre, increased the illusion: in short, nothing was wanting,
but the mansion of the lord of the manor, to perfect the resem-
blance of a true English village.
We next entered the grounds of Sir David Erskine, Bart., of
Cambo. Having found Mr. Falconer, the gardener, at hfs
house, which is at least a mile from the garden, we proceeded
on in that direction. ‘The fields here are well enclosed, and
the Eastern Part of Fife. 52%
sheltered with narrow slips of plantation; and in each is a neat-
shed, for the protection of the cattle in stormy weather. The
grounds have a gentle declivity towards the sea; and in the
park there are several undulations, and a few detached trees and
groups, &c., with the carriage drive winding gracefully among
them ; though, in our opinion, it appr oaches too str aight in front
of the house. From our view of the house, it appear red to form
the two sides of a square, with a semicircle in the centre. It has
a fine lofty appearance, with the larger trees at a reasonable dis-
tance from it. Entering the garden by the north entrance, we
at once perceived it to be a natural garden, that is, the surface
of the ground in its natural form, with a small brook running
through the centre, over which are several neat cast-iron bridges.
In the hot-houses were fair crops of grapes; but in the black
grapes there was a great deficiency of colouring, notwithstanding
Mr. Falconer’s giving strong fire and sun Theat: This is a
general complaint this season; and we, in the hot-houses under
our Own management, are not exempt from it. In another part
of the garden is the peach house, without fire, with trees trained
on the front sashes, with openings between, to admit light for
those on the back wall. In this house were good crops of
peaches and nectarines. Mr. Falconer has raised seven kinds
of nectarines from seed, and has them all budded and bearing
on one tree. We gave him a lecture for not bringing them into
notice through the medium of the Horticultural Society of Edin-
burgh. Here are two fine ranges of melon pits, with covered-in
linings, and surrounded by a rockwork. Mr. Falconer is very
snasescen. in the culture of early melons; but, as far as we
could learn, his practice does not differ froni that of others. The
flower-garden is small, but neat, and contains some fine speci-
mens of rare plants. ‘The kitchen-garden produces all sorts of
fruits and vegetables; but, for a country garden, our opinion is,
that its best features are lost by such a monotony of shrubs.
We very much object to shrubs, yea, even standard fruit trees,
within the walls of a garden at all.
On leaving the beautiful grounds of Cambo, the country
again begins to look bare, and especially towards the extreme
point of land called the East Nook. We now pass the town of
Crail, which we did not enter, but turned eastward along the
north bank of the Forth. The country now assumes a fine ap-
pearance in the low grounds; but the hills in the distance are
like Agronome’s fine-dressed lady, wanting the head-dress; that
is, not in unison with the country below.
Passing Kilrenny, we next come to Anstruther, an ancient-
looking town, famous for being the scene of the famed ballad of
Maggy Lauder. Passing through a most ruinous street, all in
a confusion of repairing, we observed, on a new house, a most
ip ie
528 Horticultural Tour through
singular group of rams, goats, cows, and elephants, in various
standing postures : —
« Some seem’d to muse,
Some seem’d to dare, with feature stern.”
These are all formed with shells in alto-relievo. The front of
the house is also beautifully ornamented with large sea shells
stuck close together, and has a fine effect. Various other figures
are on the west side; and several curiously entwined crowns of
rams’ horns complete the whole. A little farther up the street
is to be seen the following scene, painted from Burns’s famous
poem of Tam o’ Shanter : —
“ As bees bizz out wi’ angry fyke,
When plundering herds assail their byke ;
As open pussie’s mortal foes,
When pop she starts before their nose ;
As eager runs the market crowd,
When ‘ Catch the thief!’ resounds aloud ;
So Maggie runs ; the witches follow,
W? mony an eldritch screech and hollo.”
The next town is Pittenweem. The road passes on the north
side, and we did not enter the town. In a straight line north of
this is situated the estate of Grangemioor, the seat of the Hon.
W. Keith Douglas. ‘This place is at present undergoing ex-
tensive alterations and improvements. A new approach road,
the porter’s lodge, the gardener’s house, and kitchen-garden,
with part of the hot-houses and orchard, present a fine spectacle
to the traveller coming from Pittenweem. On finding Mr.
Weir, the gardener, who was very busily employed, he first
showed us through the flower-garden, a very neat little spot,
containing no commonplace plants, but planted wholly with
those most lately acclimatised, georginas, &c. Attached to this
is a small green-house, in which we observed some of the latest
introduced tender plants. A few yards onward are the pinery
and melon-ground. The pines were young, healthy, and plunged
in bark; and the pits contained moderate crops of melons, &c.
The colour of these pits was green, which we disliked, it being
too much in unisen with the surrounding scenery. We next
entered the kitchen-garden, and at one glance could perceive
that it was to our taste. Here were no ‘“ mixtie maxtie queer
hotch potch,” but straight walks, straight espaliers, few flowers,
no shrubs, and not a single standard tree. The crops of fruit
were excellent, and the keeping of the finest polish; in short, we
may say that it was a perfect model for a country garden. In
town gardens there are some allowances to be made, for shrubs,
flowers, and vegetables being mixed up together; but in the
country, where ground is no object, we see none whatever.
Behind this garden are the hot-houses, two in number, in which
the Eastern Part of Fife. 529°
were good crops of grapes, especially of the Black Hamburgh.
Here we observed, as well as at other places, that incurable dis-
ease called the damping or shriveling of the footstalks of the
berries and bunches, notwithstanding what has lately been
written in this Magazine. Mr. J. D. P. says that the cause is
cold damp air, and the cure plenty of fire heat. We are also
strong advocates for plenty of heat, air, and water: ovr opinion,
however, is, that the evil is not contained in the atmosphere of
the house at all; but is a defect of the roots of the vine, and a
want of proper nourishment; for every gardener knows that the
disease first shows itself when the greatest demand is made upon
the roots by the crop; and if it be a heavy one, the greater is
the disease. In our opinion, the best way to cure the disease,
or, at least, to lessen the evil, is to keep the vine border well
mulched until the fruit is fully swelled, and then lightly to fork
up the surface of the border. We would also thin well the
bunches ; give plenty of heat, air, and water; and not allow the
vine to bear too large a crop. Leaving the hot-houses, we en-
tered another small flower-garden, in which are some clipped
yews of various figures, and some fancy seats. ‘The mansion-
house is situated on an eminence a considerable distance from
the gardens ; and the views from it are most delightful. A fine
smooth spacious lawn lies in front, with a finely undulating sur-
face of park, adorned with clumps of trees. The beautiful Forth,
with its islands and rocks, North Berwick Law, and the Lothians
in the distance, terminate the scene. When the planting and
building about this place are finished, it will be one of the best
in this quarter of the country.
About a mile to the west of Grangemoor is Balcaskie, the
seat of Sir Ralph Anstruther, Bart.; a fine old place, with the
gardens in the ancient terraced style. ‘The house has under-
gone extensive repairs and alterations in its former style of
architecture. ‘The lawn in front is in the form of a: parallelo-
gram, divided in three parts by broad holly hedges, neatly
squared up. In the eastern division is a well laid out modern
flower-garden; a great number of small figures forming one large
one, with a dial in the centre. This garden was well stocked
with the most rare hardy plants, creepers, &c. In the middle
and western divisions are some most magnificent laurustinuses,
the largest we have seen in Scotland; and these, with the fine
breadth of lawn between them, we should have greatly preferred
to any cutting or carving whatever on the grass of beds for
flowers. On the west wall were some ornamental vases with
flowers and ornamental plants. The next terrace is a kitchen-
garden ; and the lowest of all, a kitchen-garden and orchard.
Here were some fig trees bearing good crops. These two last-
mentioned gardens are sadly dilapidated by the hand of time;
PP 3
530 Horticultural Tour through
but they are to be renewed and improved next year. On each
side of the carriage drive to the house are some of the plant-
ations formed by Mr. Gilpin, the outlines of which are most
laboriously twisted and turned about. The same interesting
views are to be had here as at Grangemoor. ‘The gardener
here was from home, and consequently our stay was short.
Leaving Balcaskie, the admirer of
“ Nature’s hills and woods,
Her sweeping vales, and foaming floods,”
has a most interesting scene before him: the castellated tower of
Balcarres, appearing like a ruin among the trees; the lofty spire
of Kilconquhar church; the neat little village of Collinsburgh ;
the mansion house of Pitcorthie, glimmering through the trees ;
the stately Law [hill] of Largo, clothed with verdure to the top;
and, beyond all, the spacious Forth, with numerous gentlemen’s
seats upon its banks, &c., are truly noble materials for the painter.
Having reached Balcarres, the seat of Lieutenant-Colonel James
Lindsay, we found Mr. Brewster, the gardener, immersed in the
variety of business in which a large garden like this often neces-
sarily involves its conductor. We entered the garden from the
gardener’s house, which is a very commodious one of two stories.
In the hot-houses (three in number) the crops of grapes were
good, with some very superior bunches of Black Hamburgh.
These houses were formerly on the hanging trellis system in-
vented by Mr. Reid, formerly gardener “here; but it is now
removed, and a tr ellig of wires parallel with the glass substituted
in its stead. We next passed through a newly laid out kitchen-
garden, in excellent order. In the corner of this is a small
green-house containing some large specimens of Epiphyllum
speciosum, Céreus speciosissimus, and many other succulent
plants. From this we entered a large fruit-garden with no spade
culture except on the wall-tree borders ; and Mr. Brewster does
not condemn the practice. ‘The wall trees are beautifully trained
in the fan manner; and the centre of the garden is wholly
planted with standard fruit trees and gooseberry bushes. ‘The
broad centre grass walk is planted on each side with georginas
and an immense variety of heartsease. With such an assemblage
of colours before us, these lines of the poet stole slowly through
our minds:
“ Who can paint
Like Nature? Can Imagination boast,
Amid its gay creation, hues like hers ?
Or can it mix them with that matchless skill,
And lose them in each other, as appears
Tn every bud that blows?”
In the peach house were good crops of peaches and_ nectarines,
trained on a hanging and table trellis, and on the back wall, in
the Eastern Part of Fife. 531
good order. The flower-garden is newly laid out, and is a piece
of splendid workmanship, independently of the plants with which
itis adorned. ‘The upper half is in grass, with neatly cut figures,
with some large Irish yews judiciously disposed over the surface.
The figures in the other half are formed with box, and the spaces
are gravelled. The proprietors, and more especially the lady,
are most zealous promoters of horticulture and fioriculture; con-
sequently every plant that is mew or rare soon finds its way
hither. There are interspersed over the garden low seats of
China ware, chiefly blue, but of various shades and forms, which
add greatly to the beauty of the scene. On the north is situ-
ated a new substantially built green-house, containing many pre-
cious gems, with a small piece of rockwork planted with the finer
sorts of rock plants. Mr. Brewster next showed us an extensive
range of pine and melon pits; but the culture of the pine is now
discontinued. ‘The melons were good, and the cucumbers most
astonishing ; one, in particular, measured almost 2 ft. 6 in., and
was perfectly straight. Our opinion of this place is, that there
are too many fruit trees in the interior of the garden; but we
believe these were planted as an experiment in shallow planting
by Mr. Reid: and the hot-houses, &c., are faulty in being scat-
tered up and down the gardens. Besides the inconvenience
that must attend their working, what a noble appearance these
extensive houses would have had, if they had been placed in
one line! Great credit is due to Mr. Brewster for the orderly
manner in which this place is kept; and it needs not to be told
in this quarter that he is most enthusiastically devoted to his
profession.
The last place we shall notice is Strathtyrum, the beautiful
seat of Mrs. Cheape: it is situated on an extensive piece of
elevated ground commanding a fine view of the city and bay of
St. Andrew’s. The gates and lodge front the Cupar road, and
have a very neat appearance; but the approach road from the
gate towards the house is very objectionable. ‘The trees are
planted close to the verge of the road, and meet at the top; so
that, when looking from the gate, we can compare it to nothing
else but a tunnel; and this must be obvious to any one who has
a notion of planting. Had the trees been planted 30 ft. from each —
side of the road, how different would have been the effect, com-
pared with the present! On the south side of the mansion-house
is a fine flower-garden, in which is an elegant conservatory, con-
taining a fine collection of camellias and other plants in the free
soil, with a large stage in the centre for green-house plants, of
which there are a great many. In the flower-beds are many
new and rare plants, and an extensive collection of georginas in
masses. ‘The flower-beds are rather formal, and would require
oD es
532 Moss House in the Flower-Garden
some alteration to bring them down to the present state of the
gardenesque. The kitchen-garden is situated to the east of this
elevated ground, where it falls abruptly, or, we may say, almost
perpendicularly. It is surrounded by thriving woods, and, from
its low situation, escapes every blast that blows. ‘There are two
fine grape houses and an extensive peach house, all which have
borne excellent crops this season; and a fine melon pit, with
other frames. The cultivation of grapes and melons is the hobby
of Mr. M‘Henley (the gardener), and he is eminently success-
ful. Some large melons have been grown by him in this and
the last year; but, above all, in 1832, he produced a fruit of the
Royal George melon weighing 27 lbs. avoirdupois, which is the
largest that has been grown in Scotland. We saw no difference
in his culture of the melon from that of other gardeners, only
that he waters liberally all over the plants at all times. ‘This
garden has been very much improved under the management of
Mr. M‘Henley, and more especially the box edgings, which are
now very neat.
The Priory, Aug. 23. 1834.
Art. II. A Description of the Moss House in the Flower-Garden at
Bagshot Park. Designed and executed by Mr. Andrew Toward,
Gardener to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester.
Communicated by Mr. Towarp.
I HEREWITH send you a description of the moss house in the
flower-garden of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Glouces-
ter, at Bagshot Park. The form is an irregular heptagon
(fig. 89.), with a Gothic portico in front, supported on rustic
pillars. The ceiling of the portico is inlaid with moss of various
colours, representing a star and diamonds, as shown in jg. 93.,
with a cornice of pinaster cones. ‘The floor under the portico
is a copy of the ceiling in different-coloured elliptical-shaped
stones of a small size. On each side of the doorway are panels
formed in the rustic style with different-coloured woods. The
entrance into the house is Gothic; opposite to which are two
Gothic windows with stained glass of various colours; under
these are four square panels with a large diamond in the centre
of each, all formed with moss. Along the sides, between the
doorway and the windows, are seats (jig. 89. a) made of stamed
cherry tree: above these is a skirting of rustic wood 18 in. deep
(see J in fig. 92.), the surbase of which projects about three
eighths of an inch beyond the moss, to prevent the back from
brushing against it. ach side above the skirting is divided
into four square panels (see jig. 92.), and these into a succes-
at Bagshot Park. 533
: oe
—
fr .
\
A LZ
iy
|
(| )
“\ : - ff
\. L/
AZ
ee ee ee
©
a te i ee
a a a ee oe oe et oe
ia}
v
us
-
ee a — ee
©.
©
Ground plan of the moss house and portico: a@ a, the seats.
sion of squares (£). On the right and left of the Gothic entrance
is an oblong panel, with between twenty and thirty of the most
common species of moss arranged in horizontal stripes. In the
spangles over the doorway are upwards of sixty species of moss
and lichens, such as are too diminutive in growth to be incor-
porated into the body of the work. The whole of the above
have been collected in and about this neighbourhood. Over
the seats and windows are three horizontal pieces on a level with
the ceiling of the portico, with various devices. (fig. 93. c, D, and
gE.) These pieces serve as a kind of plancier to the inner roof,
which is acommon span, with a gable end over the entrance, on
which is represented the elevation of the building. The opposite
534 Moss House in the Flower-Garden
Co WA Ms SI 2 2
12 0 4 2 3 4 Sep.
Cfo nen 1 1 1 (La
Section of the moss house from front to back, showing the interior and exterior roofs.
end is hipped in, and has the figure of the English crown. The
whole of this design is executed in party-coloured moss. The
9]
Section of the moss
house from right
to left, showing
the seats and the
inner and the
outer roof, with
gutters, &c.
Piz Nal 22 Oe ae
ceiling of the span part of the roof is inlaid with light-coloured
mosses in the form of diamonds. .
All the styles, rails, and munni ns of the panels are formed
with Cendmyce rangiferina (or reindeer lichen), which grows
in great abundance on Bagshot Heath. The ridge of the outer
at Bagshot Park. 535
roof is about 4 ft. in length, with six hips and projecting eaves ;
the plancier is of rough bark; and the fascia of pinaster cones,
within which is a gutter to carry the water to the back part of
the building.
I have to remark, that, had the whole structure been one foot
higher, it would have appeared to much greater advantage: the
walls are barely 7 ft.. and they ought to have been nearly 8 ft.
in height.
fig. 94. is an elevation of the moss house, showing the
situation of the window, the seats, the outer cornice of pine
cones, floor of the portico, &c., mentioned above.
fig. 89. shows the ground plan of the moss house and por-
tico; aa are the seats.
Fig. 90. is a section of the moss house from front to back,
showing the interior and exterior roofs.
Fig. 91. is a section of the moss house from right to left,
showing the seats, and the inner and the outer roof, with gut-
ters, &c.
Fig. 92. is a sketch of one of the sides. In this figure,
k shows the disposition of the rods before the moss is introduced
between them; o
is Cenomyce ran-
giferina; p, H¥p-
num Schréberz;
g is Dicranum
glaicum; r, Bry-
um hérnum; s,
Sphagnum acuti-
folium, pink var.;
t, S. obtusifolium;
and uw, Bryum
cuspidatum. 7 is
the rustic skirt-
ing above the
seat ; m, the seat ;
and 7, the rustic-
work under the
seat.
Fig. 93. is a
plan of the ceiling
to the portico,
and of the hori-
zontal part of the
ceiling of the in-
terior. In this
figure, c D and E
are the horizontal panels in the ceiling of the interior, over the
92
£2
tre i aan dtr i Jo ied LU SOR
536 Moss House in the Flower-Garden
seats. ‘The patterns in these panels are formed by round rods,
as above described, between which are introduced the following
kinds of moss: — a, Bryum hérnum; 6, Cenémyce rangiferina;
c, Sphagnum acutifolium, pink var.; d, Sphagnum obtusifolium ;
e, Dicranum glaticum ; f, Bryum cuspidatum ; ¢, Hypnum squar-
rosum; /, Dicranum scoparium. ‘The same letters refer to the
ceiling of the portico.
The following is the method in which the work is performed.
The first thing necessary, before commencing operations, is to
have an even close-boarded surface to work upon; and upon
this ground draw whatever figures, forms, or devices you intend
to represent. The next thing is to get round rods, about half
an inch or five eighths of an inch in diameter, nearly of equal
size, and well seasoned. ‘These rods are to be nailed on agree-
ably to the drawing, about an inch from centre to centre, this
at Bagshot Park. 537
: ot
PRUE CAREGTRR
——