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THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 


REGISTER 


RURAL AND DOMESTIC IMPROVEMENT; 


COMPRISING 
TREATISES ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 
ARBORICULTURE, FLORICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, 
AGRICULTURE, RURAL ARCHITECTURE, 

GARDEN STRUCTURES, 
PLANS OF GARDENS AND COUNTRY RESIDENCES, 
SUBURBAN VILLAS, &c. 
ALSO 


LISTS OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 


CONDUCTED BY 


J. C. LOUDON, F.L.S. H.S. &e. 


AUTHOR OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF GARDENING, OF AGRICULTURE, &e. 


VOL. VIII. 


NEW SERIES. 


LONDON: 


PRINTED FOR THE CONDUCTOR; 


AND SOLD BY 
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, 
PATERNOSTER ROW ; 


AND A. AND C. BLACK, EDINBURGH. 


1842. 


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PREFACE. 


THE Contents of the Gardener's Magazine for 1842 are ana- 
lytically arranged in the followmg Table, and the principal 
matters are indexed Alphabetically at the end of the Volume. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


GENERAL SUBJECT. 


‘listorical, Statistical, and Critical. 


so aary View of the Progress of Garden- 
i». and of Rural Improvement generally, 
i» ‘ritain, during the Year 1842, with some 
‘ices relative to the State of both in 
© reign Countries. By the Conductor - 
ce llections of a Gardening Tour in the 
iarth of England and Part of Scotland, 
uw. de from June 22. to Sept. 30. 1841 : — 
‘he Buildings at the Railway Stations ; 
® \sgow, Necropolis. By the Conductor - 
tarscube; Glasgow New Botanic Gar- 
1; Glasgow ; the Climate - a 
Glasgow to Uddingstone; Bothwell 
Jastle - - = = - 
Hamilton Palace ; Cadzow Castle ; Barn- 
‘leugh - - a - 5 
Hamilton to Allanton; Village of Al- 
lanton; Allanton Park; Milton Lockhart ; 
Milton Lockhart to Lanark; Cartland 
Crags; Lee - 2 - - - 
Corehouse ; Corehouse to Peebles ; Big- 
gar; New Posso; Peebles to Melrose; 
Traquair ; Abbotsford - - & 
Melrose to Dalkeith, by Dryburgh Abbey 
and Thirlstane Castle; Dryburgh Abbey ; 
Thirlstane Castle; Oxenford Castle; Pres- 
ton Hall; Newbattle Abbey; Dalkeith 
Palace; Dalkeith and Dalhousie Castle to 
Edinburgh; Dalhousie Castle; Edinburgh 
to Kinross; Blair-Adam; Lochleven Cas- 
tle; Kinross House; Kinross to Kincar- 
dine; Blair Hill; the Botanic Garden at 
Dollar; the Villa of Dr. Walker; Tully- 
allan Castle; Kincardine, by Culross and 
Valleyfield, to Stirling ; Valleyfield ; Valley- 
field Cottage Garden; Culross Abbey; Cas- 
tle Hill, or Dunimarle; Alva ; Stirling to 
Airthrie Castle, Deanston, and Blair- 
Drummond; Airthrie Castle; Deanston ; 
Keir; Blair-Drummond ; Stirling ; Messrs. 
Drummonds’ Agricultural Museum; Ar- 
ticles noted in the Agricultural Museum, 
by Mr. Loudon; the Bowling-Green at 
Stirling; Notices of the King’s Knot at 
Stirling Castle; the King’s Gardens; an 
Arboretum at Stirling - 


Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of 
Cornwall : — 

London to Nettlecombe Court; Bridge- 
water; Nettlecombe Court; Fattening 
Swine with Fern or Brake (Ptéris aqui- 
lina) ; large Trees at Nettlecombe ; Cedar 
of Lebanon ; Oak Trees ; Elm Trees ; Old 
Cleeve Abbey; Dunster Castle; Nettle- 
combe to Exeter, through Tiverton ; Cowley 
Bank; Mamhead. By the Conductor - 

CowleyHouse ; Mamhead ; Oxton House; 
Powderham Castle; from Exeter, by Lus- 
combe, Dawlish, Teignmouth, and Babbi- 


Page 


593 


481 


Page 


combe, to Torquay; Luscombe Castle; 
Babbicombe ; Torquay; Woodbine Cot- 
tage; Torquay to Paington, Totness, and 
Kingsbridge ; Tor Abbey ; Paington ; Berry 
Pomeroy Castle; Sharpham; Sharpham to 
Kingsbridge ; Kingsbridge to Combe Royal, 
and by the Moult, Woodville, Salcombe, 
and Marlborough, to Modbury; Combe 
Royal ; the Moult ; Woodville ; Salcombe ; 
Modbury to Fleet House, Kitley, Saltram, 
and Plymouth ; Fleet House ; Kitley ; Sal- 
tram; Plymouth; Atheneum Cottage ; 
Mr. Pontey’s Nurseries ; Rendle’s Nursery ; 
Plymouth Bone-Manure Manufactory ; 
Tor House; Monadon House; Penny- 
cross Chapel; Mount Edgecumbe; Ply- 
mouth to Saltash, TrematonCastle, Pentillie 
Castle, and Callington ; Trematon Castle ; 
Pentillie Castle; Callington to Whitford 
House, Endsleigh, and Tavistock ; Whit- 
ford House; Endsleigh; Milton Abbey 
Free School; Tavistock; Tavistock to 
Buckland Abbey and Moreton Hampstead ; 
Buckland Abbey ; from Buckland Abbey 
to Moreton Hampstead ; Moreton Hamp- 
stead to Ugbrook and Exeter; Ugbrook ; 
Exeter ; Bicton - - - - 

Notice of some Gardens and Country Seats in 
Sussex, visited in October 1842: — 

London to Wadhurst Castle ; Wadhurst 
Castle ; Wadhurst to Battle Abbey, Beau- 
port, and Rose Hill; Battle Abbey ; Beau- 
port; Rose Hill; Eridge Castle. By the 
Conductor’ - - - - - 

Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Ma- 
nagement. In a Series of Letters to the 
Conductor. By James Barnes, Gardener 
to the Right Honourable Lady Rolle. 

Letter I. Bicton Kitchen-Garden ; Goose- 
necked short-handled Hoes; Kitchen- 
garden Rules; Vegetable and Fruit List ; 
Onion Loft ; Use of Charcoal in the Cul- 
ture of Plants; to make a rough Sort of 
Charcoal for Kitchen-gardening ; Devon- 
shire Farming; Preparing Ground for 
Cabbages, Winter Salading, &c. ; Early and 
late Cauliflower ; Tallies to Kitchen-Garden 
Crops; Improvements; State of the Men 
and Labourers in Bicton Gardens - - 

Letter IT. FPotting-Bench ; _ Painting 
Strings for tying Plants ; Garden Rules ; the 
Palm-house - - - - 

Letter 11. The Heath-house; Potting 
in rough Soil, and Training ; Use of Frag- 
ments of Freestone and Pebbles; List of 
Heaths - - - 2 

Descriptive Notice of BlaireAdam. By Alex 
ander Mackenzie, Gardener there - 

Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and its Gar- 


deners. By Peter Mackenzie - 443. 495. 


A few Hours at Mount Vernon, formerly 
the Country Residence of General Wash- 
ington. By C. W. Elliott ~~ - - 

A Description of the Garden and Collection 


A 2 


610 


617 


249 


1V 


of Plants of Baron Hiigel, at Hietzing, 
near Vienna. By M. Maximilien Peintner, 
Secretary to the meray SORTS 


Society - 50 
Plans and Description of Annat Lodge, 

Perth, the Property of Mrs. Stewart. By 

Archibald Gorrie  - - = 155 


Cottage.Gardening. 
Cottage-Gardening adapted to SIOHENE By = 


Peter Mackenzie - - - 315 
Cemeteries and Burying-Grounds. 
On the Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith. 
By —— Brown, Esq. - 199 
Thoughts on Modern Burying-Grounds - 616 


Douglas’s Monument. 

The Monument in Memory of the Botanist 
Douglas : containing, 1. Report of the Com- 
mittee; 2. Engraving and Description of 
the Monument, with a Copy of the Inscrip- 
tions ; and 3. List of the Subscribers - 289 


Knowledge, Taste, and Management of Gardens. 
On extending a Knowledge of, and Taste for, 


Horticulture. By Peter Mackenzie = 252 

On the difference between cultivating and 
managing a small and a large Garden. By 
yd 9S - - - - - 162 

Science of Vegetable Cuiture. 

The Principles of Gardening physiologically 
considered. By G. Regel, Gardener in the 
Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin : — 

I. On the Propagation of EHENIS = GED> 
tinued. Cuttings a 67 


Means of preserving the Cuttings till they 
take Root - - 157 

Means of accelerating the Formation of Roots 

The practical Method of propagating by Buds. 
Propagation by Cuttings and Layers - 

Sorts of Soil - - 

The Powers of Vegetation. By Charles Wa- 
terton, Esq. 

On the Chemical Statics of Organised Be- 
ings. By M. Dumas. 

Composition of Water ; Composition of 

Carbonic Acid 5 Composition of Ammonia ; 
Composition of the Air - =: 


Carbon ; Hydrogen; Azote ; Ashes = is) 
On Virgin Soil, and on the eae os Soils. 

By J. Wi ehton - - 70 
On Stirring rine Soil. By N. M. dy - 160 
On Maiden or Rerun) Soil. By R. Lym- 

burn - 396 
On the recent Publications on “the Subject of 

Manures. By R. Lymburn 72 
On the ANIIORD NORE in Houses. By R. Lym- 

burn - 366 
On warming and moistening, and on preserv- 

ing Heat and Moisture in Plant Structures. 

By N. M. T. 106 


Further Remarks on the Application of Ter- 
restrial Heat tothe Roots of Plants, and 
some Observations relative to his Stoves for 
various Purposes. By N. Niven, Land- 
scape-Gardener and Garden Architect, &c. 241 

On the Evils of indiscriminately watering 
Plants in Pots ammmediately, after being 
shifted. By N. M. T. 

On the different Uses of Moss i in the Cultiva- 
tion of Plants: —I. With the Stock-Gilli- 
flower; Il. With the Winter Stock-Gilli- 
flower ; III. In raising early Beans; IV. 
Melons ; V. Cauliflowers ; VI. Young Vine 
Shoots, Rose Shoots, and other Sorts of 
Shrubs ; VII. For grafting Apricots and 
Peaches ; VIII. For round-headed [or pa- 
rasol] Acacias. By M. Heicke - - 447 

Carbonisation of Peat. By H. L. L. - 308 


11 


Garden Vermin. 


On destroying Vermin in small Gardens, and 
on relative Matters. By Charles Water- 
ton, Esq. 2 = E = - 202 


CONTENTS. 


Bee Economy. 
On the Instinct of Bees. By J. Wighton - 422 
On the Nature and Habits of the common 
Wasp. By J. Wighton 
The Civetta, or Little Italian Owl. By ‘Charles 
Waterton, Esq. - 301 
Flower-Gardens and Song Birds. By‘ Charles 
Waterton, Esq. 
On the Cuckoo. By J. “Wighton - - 957 
Remarkable Instance of Instinct in the Fly- 
catcher. By John Dunlop 
On the Use of Quassia as a Substitute tor To- 
bacco, in destroying Aphides. By E.O. - 307 


Garden Architecture. 


On the present State of Garden Architecture. 
By Alexander Forsyth = - - 3 

On the Construction of Melon, Pine, and 
Plant Pits, with Details, &c., ‘and general 
Remarks. By J. R. 

To connect a Greenhouse with a Library (in 
Effect), at the same Time that one End is 
built against that End of the Room that 
contains the Fireplace. By J.R. - - 

A Mode of Ventilating Hothouses without 
excluding Light. By T. Torbron - - 

On a Mode of securely fastening Mats or 

other wove Coverings on the Sashes of Pits 
and Frames. By H. C. Ogle - - 

Notice of an Alarm Bell, a Garden Scraper, 
and a large Sycamore. By M. Saul - 


Instruments, Utensils, and Articles. 


On cutting out and naming Labels for French 
Roses. By J. Twigg - 

Notice of a new Dahlia Stake invented by 
Mr. Saul. By M. Saul - 

Description of a convenient Carrier for Seeds, 
and for other Garden LER By 
B. H. A. 

On draining Garden Pots, By Robert Er- 
rington - - 404 

On a Mode of procuring Sand for striking 
Cuttings. By D. - - = 452 


LANDSCAPE-GARDENING. 


The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell 
of Munich :— 

XI. When Lakes can be introduced in 
Gardens they add extremely to their Beauty. 
How to form and stake them out, &c. - 

XII. Of Carriage Roads, Bridle Roads, 
Walks, and Paths coer Defiles and 
under Rocks - 

XIII. On removing Earth in general : 
Formation of Hills; Formation of Valleys 

XIV. On excavating Lakes : On making 
Ponds. XV. General Observations on the 
Arrangement of Woods on a large Scale ob- 
served by Nature: Transitions of natural 
Woods - - - 264 

XVI. On the picturesque Grouping and 
Union of Trees and SLO in Pleasure 
Grounds - - 405 

Design for a Flower- Garden on Gravel. By 
the Conductor - = - - 180 


ARBORICULTURE. 


On Planting so as to combine Utility and Or- 
nament. By W. Billington 
Remarks on ornamental Forestry. By A. S. M. 112 
On Transplanting LEM Trees. By James 
Munro 
Desultory Notes on planting “Timber Trees 
in Scotland. By Scotus - 
On the premature Decay of Plantations. By 
J. Wighton 
On thinning Plantations. By Archibald Gor- 
rie., F.H.S., &c. = 626 
On the relative Value of Larch and Silver 
Fir. By H. Maire Witham = - 269 
Observations on Irish Planting. By T. T. - 172 
Extracts from a Correspondence which took 
place from 1817 to 1835, respecting the Pre- 
servation of Timber by the Water of a 
Copper Mine in Anglesea. Comeninenisd 
by a Correspondent - - 174 


- 457 


CONTENTS. Vv 

Notice of some Ornamental Trees and Shrubs Garden, Edinburgh, arranged in the Order 
recently sent to Britain by Messrs. Booth in which they are valued as fruit-bearing 
of Hamburg. By John Booth - - 110 Plants. By James M‘Nab, Superintendant 

Notices of some new or rare Hardy or Half. of the Caledonian Horticultural eBoy s 
hardy Trees and Shrubs in the Nursery of Garden, Inverleith - - - 505 
Messrs. Rollison of Hoes: By John Notes on the different Kinds of Bane cul- 
Scott - - 12 tivated at Leigh Park, the Seat of Sir G. 

Notes upon Mr. “Scotts Report. By G. Gor- T. Staunton, Bart. By Richard (Canter, 
don, A.L.S. - - - 17 Under Gardener there - 506 

On the Cultivation of the White Guava 
FLORICULTURE. Cesium Pypiterunaget)) evga dard an 
0 - 95 

Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural On the Management of the ‘Vine. By N. 
Notices of the Kinds of Plants newly intro- M. T. - = 4 
duced into British Gardens and Planta- On cultivating the Grape ina Greenhouse. 
tions, or which have originated in them - 177. By S. O. - 4920 

412] On the Causes of the Rust « on Grapes. By 

Notice of Four new Plants discovered in the X. ~ 422 
South Sea Islands by the late Mr. James On Growing Vines in Pots. By W. A. Mec 23} 
Corson, Surgeon. By George Don, Esgq., New Grape from Ohio. By N. ONE TON, 
F.L.S. With a Biographical Notice of Mr. Esq., of Cincinnati - - 218 
Corson, by the Conductor - - 369} On forcing the Melon for early Fruit, By 

Remarks on Flower-Baskets, and the Con- R. B. Wilson - 115 
struction of Basketwork Edgings i in Flower- Culture of the Cucumber. By N. M. T.. - 279 
Gardens. By N. M. T. 271 | On the Cultivation and Management of Pear 

What constitutes a Florist’s “Flower ? By Trees, prior to their being trained against 
W. A. M. - 454 a Wall, including Horizontal and Fan 

On the Culture of native Orchidez. By Training. By a Lover of Horticulture - 118 
A. X. - - - = - 411] A select List of Pears suitable for a Garden 

On_ growing the TUNNEL ETE By R. B. of limited Extent. Eye Lover of Horti- 
Wilson 21 culture - - 220 

On the Cultivation of the Genus Lobélia. How to plant and prune the ‘Apple Tree, so 
By G. Fielder - - 113 as to have good Cree on SUITS MO Soils... 

On fine Cultivation of the Tussilago frgrans. By R. T. - - 95 
By Archibald Gorrie - 182| On an American Ever- bearing Raspberry. 

On the Culture of Aristoldchia trilobata. By By N. Longworth, Esq. - = 218 
W. Jones - 23} On the Culture of the Tomato, or Love- 

On the Culture of the Neapolitan Violet. Apple (Lycopérsicum esculéntum), so as to 
By E. S. - - 212} insure a Crop in cold Situations and dull 

On Sau Siebéldz, and other Plants of low wet Seasons. By C. B. - - Q77 
Growth. By Richard Tongue, Esq. - 629| On Forcing Mushrooms : —How to make the 

Ba How to use the Mushroem Spawn ; 
anagement of the Bed y J. Wighton 314 
EIOIRI CU UNE On the Excellences of the Ash-leaved Kid- 

General Principles applicable to the Manage- ney Potato. By T. Torbron - - 188 
ment of Fruit Trees. By an Amateur - 499 | On protecting EES, and other Cony Crops. 

Some Remarks on training and pruning Fruit By C. P. - 187 
Trees. By a Correspondent - - 183} Preserving Green Peas from Birds. By a 

On Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit- Wighton - - - = - 119 

aan y Ne M. T. aa F ie : - 309 
nm the Construction o ruit orridors for 
the Culture of the more delicate Fruit _ 2M CUS OID, 

Trees. By Alexander Forsyth  - ~ 273) Result of an Experiment with Grass Seeds, 

On a Method of producing Four Pine- Apples intended to show the proper Depth of Co- 
on the same Plant in Four successive vering they should receive when sown. By 
Years. By George Dale, Gardener at Messrs. Drummond, of the Agricultural 
Brancepeth Castle - - 186 Museum, Stirling - - 508 

Notes on the different Kinds of ‘Banana Notes on the Bokhara Clover. By HH I rol 
which have fruited in the Royal Botanic Blake - a $ a 6 SH) 

REVIEWS. 

Transactions of the Horticultural Society of A Treatise on Manures, their Nature, Pre- 
London : — Meteorological Journal, 121. paration, and Application, with a Descrip- 
Upon raising Coniferous Plants from Seed, tion and Use of the most approved British 
121. On the Improvement of the Wild Grasses. By John Donaldson, Land 

’ Carrot, 122. Upon forcing the Peach Tree, Steward 5 - = 34. 291 
12%. Heating by Hot Water, 424. Botany for Ladies - 634 

The Ladies’ Companion to the Flower-Gar- Botany, being part of a Popular Cyclopedia 
den. Second Edition - - 634 of Natural Science, published by the So- 

The Gardener and Practical Florist - - 473| ciety for the Promotion of Popular Instruc- 

Loudon’s Suburban Horticulturist; or an tion - - 371 
Attempt to teach the Science and Practice Royle’s Illustrations of the Botany and other 
of the Culture and Management of the Branches of the Natural History of the 
Kitchen, Fruit, and Foreing-Garden - 631 Himalayan HRORMETTERY and of the Flora of 

Johnston’s Elements of Heouliera Che- Cashmere - - 571 

_ mistry and Geology - - 372 | Gray’s Botanical Text Book. for Colleges, 

Liebig’s Chemistry, in its Application to Schools, and private Students S = 634 
Agriculture and Physiology - 126 | Francis’s Little English Flora a = 635 

uudrey’s ‘Treatise on Agricultural Chemis. Francis’s Analysis of the British Ferns and 

try 33 their Allies - = 635 

Ward on the Growth of Plants in closely Griffith’s Contributions to the Botany of 
glazed Cases - - 376| India - 

Johnston’s What can “be done for English Sowerby’s Illustrated ‘Catalogue of British 
Agriculture ? ~ - - - 636| Plants 2 - - 473 


A 3 


Vi CONTENTS. 


Jaubert and Spach’s Illustrationes Plantarum 
Orientalium - 

Parnell’s Dis SSNS Treatise ‘on the Scottish 
Grasses - 379. 642 

Agardh’s Algz Maris Mediterranei et Adria- 
Gil 5 

Lee’s Botanical ‘Looker- out among the Wild 
Flowers of the Fields, Woods, and Moun- 
tains of England and Wales - - 

Gregory’s Catalogue of Nursery Stock - 

Hooker’s Catalogue of Roses _ - - - 636 


Lane and Son’s Catalogue of Roses - 636 
Rivers’s Selected Catalogue of Roses 636 
Wood and Son’s Descriptive Raraleeue of 
Roses - 63) 
May’s Gatalozue of Select Plants - - 27 


Sir Uvedale Price on the Picturesque ; with 
an Essay on the Origin of Taste, and much 
original Matter, by Sir Thomas Dick Lau. 
der, Bart. = - - 377 
Simm’s Treatise on the principal Mathemati- 
cal Drawing-Instruments employed by the 


Engineer, Architect, and Surveyor - 471 
Pasley’s complete Course of Practical Geo- 

metry and Plan-Drawing - - 510 
The Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal - 129 
‘The Surveyor, Engineer, and Architect - 129 


First Additional Supplement to Loudon’s 


Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa 

Architecture and Furniture - - 636 
Downing’s Cottage Residences - - 570 
Gilly’s Peasantry of the Border - - 3l 
Ricauti’s Sketches for Rustic Work - - 323 
North-Midland Railway Stations - - 322 
Pugin’s True Principles of Pointed or Chris- 

tian Architecture - - - 233 
TVattersall’s Sporting Architecture - - 32 


Lewis’s Illustrations and Descriptions of 
Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire; with an 
Essay on Ecclesiastical DISSTe - - 471 

Moxon’s Grainer’s Guide - 379 


Hughes’s Practice of paakinay and SUES 
Roads 

West’s Remarks on ‘the Management, or 
rather the Mis-management of Woods, 
Plantations, and Hedge-row Timber - 470 

Loudon’s Encyclopedia of ‘Trees and 
Shrubs; being the Arboretum et Frutice- 


tum abridged - - - - - 321 
Loudon’s Hortus HERE SES Londinensis 
abridged - 321 
Selby’s History oF Breen Forest Trees, indi- 
genous and introduced - - 567 
The Amateur Florist, and Guide “to the 
Flower-Garden. By W. P. Ayres - - 379 
Monkhouse and Empson’s Cowthorpe Oak, 
130. 223 
Bliss’s Fruit-Grower’s instructor = - 28 
Kenrick’s New American Orchardist - 30 


Sproule’s Treatise on Agriculture, compre- 
hending the Nature, Properties, and Im- 
provement of Soils ; the Structure, Func- 
tions and Cultivation of Plants; and the 
Husbandry of the domestic Exateie of the 


Farm - - - 378 
Stephens’s Book of the: Farm - 125, 332. 63 
Greg’s Scotch Farming in the Lothians - 569 


Wighton’s History and Management of Bees, 
with a notice of a newly constructed Hive - 322 


Jones’s Lecture on Taste - - 129 
Francis’s Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, and 
Manufactures - ~ 473 


Report from the Poor Law Commissioners, 
on an Inquiry into the Sanitary Condition 
of the Labouring ORO of Great 
Britain - - 472 
The Ninth Annual Report. of the Royal 
Cornwall Polytechnic Society - - 471 
The British Almanack of the Society for the 
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for 1842 - 33 
Companion to the Almanack, or Year-Book 


First Annual Report of the Metropolitan Im. 
provement Society - - je - 509! 


MISCELLANEOUS 


GENERAL NOTICES. 


Scientific. — Theory, 324; Rooting of Leaves, 
134; On the Existence of Sulphur in Plants, 
571; Action of Salts on Living Plants, 510; 
Effect of Light on Cuttings, 325; Effect of 
Mercurial Vapour on Vegetation, 995; Pro- 
gressive Increase of Temperature, N. 34. 

Sotls and Manuses. — Soils, 572 ; Trenching stiff 
Soils, 572; The Effects of Lime on Sol, 15 INS, 
3245 Gas-Lime applied to Horticultural Pur- 
poses, W. H. B., 379; Nitrate of Soda as a 
‘Top-Dressing, 326 ; Bran ag Manure, W. H. B. 
297 ; Kiln-dust as Manure, W. H. B. 380; The 
vital Membrane of a dicotyledonous Stem, 474; 
Species and Varieties, 224; Poittevin’s disin- 
fected Manure, 1323; Oyster- -Shell Manure, 
W. H. B., 227. 

Vermin. — To destroy Moles, 326; Whittaker’s 
Composition for destroying Worms, 188; To 
destroy Worms, 326; To destroy the Turnip 
Ely, 429; Traps for Woodlice, 326; Utility of 
the Rook, 573; Incubation: the Thrush, the 
Redstart, and the Cuckoo, John _Wighton, 
474; Beast poisoned by eating Yew, 511. 

Implements, Instruments, &c. — A ‘simple and 
good Mode of packing the Pistons of Hand- 
Syringes, W. H. B., 381; Godsall’s Label for 
Fruit Trees, W. G., 3A; New Watering-pot, 
134; A Potting-Bench Chopper, 474; Yew 
Branches for protecting Wall Trees, 326; Im- 
proved Draining-Tiles, James Munro, one 

Golices Architecture, Sc. "— Ainslie’s Tile- making 

Machine, J. R., 230; The new French Tiles, 
dy lite GRO s New Slate Cap, as a Substitute for 
Ridge Tiles, &c., 429; Composition Floors for 
Cottages, S. T., 38; Rendering Cottages Fire 


and Water-proof, 5. T., 39; Repairing wet 
Roads, 8. T., 38; Artesian Wells, 36: Com- 


of General Information, for 1842 - - 33 
Backhouse’s Narrative of a Visit to the 

Australian Colonies - - - - 379 
INTELLIGENCE. 


parative Value of Coke and Anthracite as Fuel 
in Hothouses, 225; Fences, 327; Brinsden’s 
Self-acting River-Valve, J. B., 230; The ra- 
diating Power of Hot-water Pipes, 325 ; Charred 
Peat as Fuel, J. R., 230; Neatness in Turf 
Edgings, 326; "Merthyr Coal, 37. 

Arboriculture. ” “Single Trees in Park Scenery, 
130; Packing the “Larix Godsallz7, T. B., 5 
Thinning and pruning young Plantations, 475 ; 
Mr. Cree’s Mode of pruning Timber ‘Trees, 
J. M., 326; Mr. Cree’s Mode of pruning Forest 
Trees, 34; The Canadian and Black Italian 
Poplars, William Masters, 35; Strong Bottom. 
heat for Cacti, 133; Torréya faxifdlia, William 
Masters, 36; Hedges, D., 228. 

Floriculture. — Means of producing Flowers of 
Rhododéndron arboreum soon after Christmas, 
298; Cultivation of the Nelwmbium speciosum, 
133; Delphinium sibiricum pléno and D. Bar- 
low7, A. X., 429. 

Horticulture. 2 Grape-Growing, P. F.M., 573; 
Grapes in Pots, 327; Effects of Age in Trees on 
the Quality of the Fruit, 134; Plums on cal- 
careous Soils, P. I’. M., 573; Pears grafted on 
the Stock of the Mountain Ash (Fogel-Beer, 
Pyrus aucuparia), 228; Treatment of Pear 
Trees, 229; Stock for Filberts and Cosford 
Nuts, 327 ; "Gooseberry Cuttings, 327; Packing 
of Fruit, 229; A simple Method of producing 
early Cauliflowers, 327; A new Description of 
Indian Corn, W. H. B., 229; Ripening Po- 
tatoes, 511; A Substitute for early Potatoes, 36 ; 
Sowing Cabbage Seed for Spring Cabbage, 328: 
Ripe Grapes trom Boston, U.S., 655. 

Miscellaneous. — Want of Moral Courage in 
Architects and Landscape Gardeners, 135; 
Fire at the Tower, 37; Taming and training 
Horses, 573 ; Training Calves and Horses, 328 ; 
Potato ’Salad, 572; Orange Syrup, 573. 


CONTENTS. 


FOREIGN NOTICES. 


FRANCE. 


Agriculture in the Vicinity of L’Orient, FLA. 
M‘K, 39; The Artesian Well of Grenelle, 135 ; 
Bore ofthe Artesian Well at Grenelle, 136. 


RussIA. 


Sudden Death of Trees in Russia, B.J., 233 5 
Riga, Fr. Wagner, fils, 136. 


ITAty. 


Genus Morus, Giuseppe Manetti, 231; Remedy 
for the woolly Aphis, G. Manetti, 41 ; Oil from 
the Seeds of the Negundo, G. Manetti, 40; 
Seeds collected in 1840 by Professor Visiani of 
Pavia, G. Manetti, 39. 


GERMANY. 


Quércus pedunculata fastigiata, 328; Railway of 
the Nordbahn, C. R., 476; The edible Snail of 
Germany, 512. 


CHINA. 
Manure among the Chinese, 574. 


INDIA. 
The Fountain at Barrackpoor, J. Cooper, 41. 


WEsT INDIES. 


Residence of Edward Otto at Cuba — continued, 
136. 234, 285. 


AUSTRALIA. 
Timber Trees of Australia, 237. 


NortH AMERICA. 


Large Mahogany Logs, J. M., 429; Large Ame- 
rican Red Oak, J. M., 188; Maclira aurantiaca 
Apple, J. M., 189; Venerable Cactus, J. M., 
575; Strelitzza regine, J. M., 5/5; Jussieua 
grandiflora, J. M., 188; Agave americana, 
J. M., 575. 


DOMESTIC NOTICES. 


ISNGLAND. 


Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, 189; The Exhi- 
bition at the Horticultural Society’s Garden, 
381; A Botanic Garden in the Isle of Wight, 
189; The Fountains in St. James’s Park, and 
in Kensington Gardens, 381; Kensington Gar- 
dens, 382; Ashmolean Society, 330; Building 
Villas on the Site of the Kitchen-Gardens at 
Kensington, W., 139; Chatsworth Conser- 
vatory, J. R., 331; Singular Instance of Ve- 
getation, 189; Trees and Shrubs deserving to 
be more generally cultivated, 329; Common 
Laurel (Cérasus Laurocérasus), R. T., 239'; 
Hardy Plants in Epsom Nursery, T. C., 41; 
Sycamore in Garstang Churchyard, M. Saul, 
477; Hédera Hélix, W. H. B., 576; Ipomece‘a 
Leariz, W.H.B., 576; Clay Floors, W. T., 
140; Artificial Ice for skating on, 42; The 
Peasantry of France and Northumberland, 42; 
Pine-apples at Branspeth Castle, G. Dale, 41; 
Tomato Figs, G. Charlwood, 331; Candahar 
Fruits, 331; Immense Shaddock, 383; The 
Sweeney Nonpareil Apple, T. N. P., 41; Dart- 
moor Granite as a building Material, 139; The 
Wire. Worm, 140; Thunder Storm at Walton 
Hall, Charles Waterton, 476. 


_ SCOTLAND. 


Caledonian Horticultural Society, 140. 383; The 
Botanic Society of Edinburgh, 383; The High- 
Jand and Agricultural Society of Scotland, 142; 
The Edinburgh Botanic Garden, 383; The 
Gardens at Williamfield, the Residence of Mrs. 
Faitlie, 42; Bréwnia coccinea, &c., W. W. B., 

39. 


Vil 


TRELAND. 


A Farmer’s Gazette and Journal of Practical 
Horticulture, 383; Designs for Cottages and 
Suburban Villas, N., 189. 


RETROSPECTIVE CRITICISM. 


Books on Gardening, &c., R. T., 239; The 
*¢ Suburban Horticulturist ”: Analogy between 
Plants and Animals; Purple Laburnum ; 
Growth; Causing Plants to produce Flowers 
sooner than they would do naturally; Mag- 
nesia; Iron; Hair, Wool, Feathers, Leather, 
Horn, Rags, &c.; Bones; Inorganic or Mineral 
Manures; Hygrometers; Effect on the Feel- 
ings produced by an Atmosphere heated ac- 
cording to Mr. Penn’s Principle; Light through 
a transparent Medium ; Canvass Coverings ; 
Blackened Walls; Inclination of Heating- 
Pipes; Motion of heated Air producing a Sen- 
sation of Coolness; Rogers’s conical Boiler and 
Hot- Water Apparatus ; Experiments made to 
accelerate Germination; Sowing Seeds in 
powdered Charcoal; Sowing Seeds in Snow; 
Selecting the Shoot ; Time of taking off Cut- 
tings; Leaves left upon the Cutting; Stout 
Cuttings difficult to strike ; Cuttings of under- 
ground Stems and Roots; Uses of Grafting ; 
Grafting by detached Scions; Bud-Grafting ; 
Budding ; After-Care of Grafts by Budding ; 
Whether deciduous ‘Trees and Shrubs ought 
to be transplanted in Autumn or Spring; 
Planting with the Dibber; Watering, mulch- 
ing, and staking newly planted Plants; Dis- 
advantages of growing Plants in Pots; Specific 
Principles of Pruning; Close Pruning ; Stopping 
and pinching out; Spurring-in; Cutting down 
of the Stem or Trunk of a ‘free to the Ground, 
&c.; Disbarking ; Ringing; Disbudding ; Dis- 
leafing ; Root-Pruning ; Stirring the Soil ; 
Manuring; Selection of Seedlings, &c.; Pro- 
duction of double Flowers; Duration of Va- 
rieties; Culture of the Soil; Potatoes when 
grown in Gardens seldom found so mealy and 
high-flavoured as when grown in Fields ; Mode 
of Bearing, Pruning, and Training of the Pear; 
Diseases, Insects, Casualties, &c., of the Ap- 
ple, R. Lymburn, 512; The Suburban Hor- 
ticulturist and Suburban Gardener, H. J. 
Denny, 44; Cemeteries of Edinburgh and 
Leith, 288; Mode of preserving Seeds for a 
Number of Years, W. H. Baxter, 144; Virgin 
Soil, J. Wighton, 576; Calendars for Cottage 
Gardens, R. T., 240; Different Modes of 
glazing Hot-houses, &c., James Seymour, 445; 
Mr. Niven’s Stove for various Purposes, W. 
Hutchinson, 190. 332; Pinus paldstris, Philip 
Frost, 46; Fruit Corridors, Robert Erring- 
ton, 478; Standard Pear Trees suitable for 
the Climate of Inverness, D. M., 192; The 
Banana Plantain, G. M.:Elliot, 191; A new 
Description of Indian Corn, G. Charlwood, 
3835; Cuckoo’s Eggs in the Nest of a Hedge- 
Sparrow, Geo. Matcham, 431; On the Use 
of Quassia in destroying the Scale Insect, 
W. H. B., 430; The Squirrel in Gardens and 
Woods, James Munro, 335; On Worming in 
Corn, R. Lymburn, 430; The Subscribers to 
Douglas’s Monument, 384. 431 ; The Difference 
in apparent Magnitude between the Rising and 
Setting Sun, by T. Torbron, 191; by L. Ste- 
phenson, 288. Transplanting large and simall 
Trees, 643; Bicton Gardens, 645. 


QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 


Bridgeman, Kent, Wright, Lappidge, Hames, 
Meikle, Parkyns, the Author of ‘“ Monastic 
Remains,” and the Authors of the “‘ Epistle to 
Lord Lowther” and the “‘ Elements of Modern 
Gardening,” 384; Mode of preserving Seeds 
for a Number of Years, W. H. Baxter, 47 5 
The Weather of 1841, N. M. T., 144; The 
Twining of Plants, D. B., 384; The Dwarf 
Oak of Australia, W. H. B., and James Back- 


AA 


Vill 


house, 47 ; Physospérmum cornubiense Dec. 
(Ligasticum cornubiénse L.), D. B., 528; In- 
creasing the Flavour of Fruit by alternate Heat 
and Cold, C. P., 192; Grafting the Apple on 
the Willow, J. Main, 432; Growing the Pine- 
Apple without Bottom Heat, A Subscriber, 
432, T. Torbron, 528; Seymour’s Mode of 
Training the Peach, James Tinker, 240; Hang- 
ing Bells in Trees, J. F. Drury, 432; The 
Florets of Centauréa moschata sensitive (?), 
A. B., 432; The Wild Orange, 480 ; Chapman’s 
Potatoes, 48; Clubbing of the Roots of the 


LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. ij 


Cabbage Tribe and Turnips, J. O, Westwood, 
480; The Raspberry Grub, J. O. Westwood, 
431; Preventive against Snails on Wall Fruit, 
J. Wighton, 47. 


OBITUARY. 


David Don, 48; Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq., 
144; Archibald Menzies, Esq., F.L.S., &c., 
240; Allan Fowlds, Esq., 336; William Rol- 
lison, 336; David Falconer, Esq., 384, 


LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 


No. DIAGRAMS. 
5. Mode of fastening Coverings on Frames 
illustrated - - - - 110 
6. A Piece of Zine or Lead marked for cut- 


Page 


ting into Labels - - - 114 
12. The Curve for a Walk illustrated - 166 
18—26. Forms for Basket- Work Edgings - 227 


38. Mode of fixing an Alarm Bell - 402 
45—49. Sections of Sash-Bar, Bearers, &c. - 460 
50. Illustrative of a Mode of ventilating Pits- 461 
53, 54. Difference in the Admission of the 
Sun’s Rays to Walls having broad and 
narrow Copings - - - 478, 479 
55. Diagram showing the different Degrees 
of Covering required for different Kinds 


of Grass Seeds - - - - 508 
56. Section of Ground for Trenching - 572 
72. Section of West Plean Coal Field - 600 


INSTRUMENTS, IMPLEMENTS, UTEN- 
SILS, AND MACHINES. 


1. A Label for Fruit Trees - 34 


2,3. Draining Tiles - - 5 37 
4. A triangular formed Spline - 38 
7. Zine Label - - 


13. Tracing Staff and Mode of using 


0 oe 0 te Deu 
= 
G9 69 
cs 


15. Cover for Peas and other Articles 187 
16. A Box used in Burying-Grounds 200 
32. Seed Carrier - 306 


34—37. Machine and Implements for break- 
ing Stones - = - - 355, 356 


39. An improved Garden-Scraper - - 403 
40. Improved Dahlia Stake - - - 454 
51. A Potting-Bench Chopper - - 475 
59. Sucker Extirpator 2 - - 597 
60. Dibber for Mangold Wurzel - - 597 
61. Loudon’s Hammer and Hatchet - 597 
62. American Hatchet - - - 598 
63. Bull Ring - = - - 598 
64. Valve Mole-Trap - 5 - 598 
65. Tin Flask for gathering soft Fruit - 599 
66. Tin Seed-Lifter - - - « 599 
67. Hand Turnip-Sower - - - 599 


No. 


. 


Page 
68. Washing Implement - - - 599 
69. Moss-Scraper - - - - 600 
70. Cast-iron Peas Stake - - - 600 
71. Galvanic Plant Protector = - 600 
73. Gate Latch = - - - 601 
74. Roadmaker’s and Drainer’s Sector - 602 
GARDEN STRUCTURES. 
17. Section of a Pine-Pit - - = 243 
27. Section of Boiler and Pipes for a Cu- 
cumber Pit - = = - 282 
28, 29. Sections of Cucumber Pits - 282, 283 
41—44. Sections and Plan of Cucumber, 
Melon, and Pine Pits - - 358, 359 
PLANS OF HOUSES, GARDENS AND 
GROUNDS. 
8. Grounds of Annat Lodge - - 155 
10. Ground Plan of the principal Floor of 
Annat Lodge - - - 156 
11. Ground Plan of the Stable-Offices of 
Annat Lodge - - - - 156 - 
14. Plan of a Flower-Garden on Gravel SS 
57. Ground Plan for a Country Church- 
yard - - - - ~ 578 
75. Ground Plan and Sections of Ground 
called the King’s Knot at Stirling 
Castle - - - - - 603 
76, 77. Ground Plans of Cottages = - 642 
VIEWS OF BUILDINGS AND GARDEN 
SCENERY. 
9. Isometrical View of Annat Lodge - 156 
31. Monument to the Memory of Dayid 
Douglas - - - - 292 
33. A Fender artistivally united to the Chim- 
ney Jambs - = - - 340 
52. View of Garstang Churchyard - - 477 
58. Isometrical View of a Design for a 
Country Churchyard - - - 380 
30. Porrrair of David Douglas - = 992 


LIST OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS 


FIGURED in THE BOTANICAL PERIODICALS For rut YEAR 1842. 


Ranunculdacee. 
ANEMONE 
rivularis Yy A North of India - 412 
AQUILE‘GIA 
Skinner? Y A, Guatemala - - 412 
HELLE’BORUS 
orientalis ¢ A Greece - - 412 


Capparideae. 
CLEO‘ME 
lutea © N. America - - 177 
Bytineriacee. 
LASIOPE/TALUM 


macrophyllum 3 |_| N. South Wales 178 


LIST OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS FIGURED IN 1842. 


Trop@olacea. 
Tropz‘oLuM 
edule % AJ Chili, - cS - 413 
Oxalidee. 
O’xALIS 4 
lasiopétala % AJ Buenos Ayres - 413 
Leguminose. 
ACACIA 
platyptera S L_] Swan River - 413 
Mimo'sa : 
uruguénsis w  ._} Uruguay - - 413 
Zi'/CHYA 
glabrata _@ u_| Swan River - = 413 
‘ Onagracee. 
Fu’CHSIA 
cordifolia 3 {|_| Mexico - - 178 
radicans % _| Brazil - - 178 
GoDE‘Tr4 i 
albéscens © Columbia River - 413 
Philadelphacee. 
PHILADE/LPHUS 
Mexicana # Mexico - - - 414 
Myrtacee \ Leptospérmee. 
BABINGTO‘NIA 
Camphorédsme #£ _| Vasse River - 414 
Passifloracee. 
LOA\SA 
Pentlandica © or A Peru - - 414 
PASSIFLO’RA : 
Middletonzana _— [-) South America 414 
Crassulacea. 
ZH0°NIUM : 
cruéntum __j Canaries - - 178 
EcHEVE R14 : 
acutifolia ye ~t_J Mexico - - 414 
vosea ye i_| Mexico - - ~- 414 
Cactacec. 
Ecuinoca/crus 
corynddes ww (_) S. America - - 178 
OPU/NTIA ; 
decambens . ([) Mexico - - 178 
Compibsite. 
PoDOTHE CA 
gnaphaliddes © Swan River - - 415 
Stylidee. 
SryLi/ DIUM 
Brunonianum ¥ .A\ Swan River’ - 415 
pildsum y AJ Swan River - = 415 
recirvum -w __| Swan River - 178 
Campanulacee. 
GLOSSOCO’MIA 
ovata yt.) NorthofIndia - - 415 
Gesneriée. 
ACHIME‘NES 
longifldra Y ,AJ Guatemala - 416 
pedunculata \ ,AJ Guatemala 416 
rosea % | Guatemala - 179 
Gr/SNERA 
discolor » ._] Brazil - = - 179 
longifolia yy \AJ Guatemala - 415 
mollis «|_| Caraccas - - - 179 
NipHm‘a 
oblénga Y .AJ Guatemala - - 416 


Evicadcee. 


ARCTOSTA’PHYLOS 

nitida 32 Mexico - - 

pangens » ._}) Mexico - 
CLE-THRA 

quercifolia 3%, _| Mexico - 
AHODODE/NDRON 

Gibsonz 3% __| Khoseea Hills 


Jasminea. 
JASMI.NUM 
caudatum _? [>] Sylhet - 


Gentianez. 


PREPU‘SA 
Hookerzdna yy [A] Brazil - 


Convoluulacee. 
Mirna 
lobata © Mexico = = 
Boraginee. 
CYNOGLO’sSSUM 


anchusdides Y A Cashmere 


Solanee. 


BRUGMA’NSIA 
floribanda -w (7) South America 


Scrophularinee. 


CoLu’MNEA 

Schiededna 2. [2] Mexico’ - 
FRANCI/SCEA 

latifolia y [{] RioJaneiro - 


Labiate. 


STA‘CHYS : 
specidsa Yy A Mexico - 


Verbendacee. 


CLERODE’NDRON : 
spléndens § {(_] Sierra Leone - 


Primulacee. 
LYsIm™a*‘cHIA 
lobeléozdes ¢ A North of India 


= 416 


- 179 


- 417 


- 417 


417 


417 
179 


179 


417 


418 


419 


Orchidaceae. 
AE/RIDES 
quinquevalnerum € [W) Philippines - 180 
ARUNDI'NA 
dénsa € [A] Sincapore ° 
CaTasE*rUM 
abriptum € {Al Brazil = 


Wailészz « (AX) Honduras - 
CaTTLE’Y.4 

granulosa € [AJ Guatemala . 
CIRRHOPE/TALUM 

Meduse € (A) Sincapore - 
Cae‘Lia 


Bauerdna €& QX) W. I. and Mexico 


CyPRIPE‘DIUM 

barbatum Y A! Mount Ophir 
CyRTOCHI'LUM 

filipes € (A) Guatemala - 


EPIDE/NDRUM 
cinnabarinum € [A] Pernambuco 
pheniceum € [A) Cuba - 
Mexico - 


raniferum € (Aj 


418 
418 


418 
419 
419 
419 
180 
419 


419 
419 


x LiST OF PLANTS MENTIONED 


E*RIA 
convallaridides € A) E. HGS 
polyura E Manilla 


HOovuLLE TIA 
Brocklehurstidna € [Al Brazil 
vittata «¢ X) Brazil - 
MAXILLA‘RIA 
cruénta € [A] Guatemala 
Onci’/DIUM 
longifdlium € [A] Mexico - 
sphacelatum f& (ZA) Mexico 
OrocurLus 
fasca € (A) Nepal - a 
TRICHO’SMA 


suavis 


East Indies - 


Scttaminee. 
GASTROCHI'LUS i 
pulchérrima \y [J] East Indies 
Iyidacee. 
HypRorTa ‘NIA 
meléagris %§ A) Mexico oS 


- 180 
- 419 


~ 419 
- 180 


- 419 


- 418 
- 418 


- 418 
- 418 


- 419 


- 420 


Iris 
bicolor §¥ A - 3 = - 420 
RIGIDE’LLA 
immaculata ¢ DX] Guatemala - 180 
Amaryllidex. 
HaABRA’/NTAUS ; 
praténsis ¥ ZX] South Chili - - 420 
Liliaceae. 
ORNITHO’/GALUM , 
divaricdtum % A California - 420 
Melanthicee. 
Kreysi/Gra 
multifldra AJ N. South Wales - 180 


- LIST OF PLANTS 
MENTIONED OR TREATED OF IN THE PRESENT VOLUME. 


*,% The word “ cziz.” occurring after any species or variety indicates that there 
is an article on its culture. 


List of Plants for a Flower-Garden - - 181] List of Plants introduced by Douglas - 296 
Monograph of the Genus Morus - - 232| List of Heaths growing at Bicton Gardens - 620 
A‘bies cephalonica - - 151; Acrocdmia sclerocarpa - 566 |Ba. Caléyi - - - - 157 
Douglaséz  - * - 548 | Acropéra Loddigész - - 153 grandis - - - 68 
Luscombeadna- - 151 | Acréphilon Picris - - 469 integrifolia - - - 157 
Menziész - - - 151 | Acrophyllum vendsum = 530 média - - - - 157 
Morinda  - - - 151 | Adidntum assimile - - 235 | Bélis jaculifolia - - - 151 
orientalis - - - 469 formdsum - = - 235 | Bérberzs umbellata - - 544 
Smithidna - oS - 151 | Aérides quinquevGlnerum - 180 vulgaris - - - 267 
taxifolia S - - 151 | Honium cruentum - - 178 | Berkléya ciliaris - = 68 
Acacia alata es - - 68 | 4’sculus Hippocastanum - 409 grandiflora - 5 - 63 
brevifolia - - - 157 | Agave americana - 540. 575 | Bétula Alba - - - 267 
Cunninghamia - - 152 | Agn6stus sinuata S - 154 A’\nus - > - - 409 
dealbata - - - 540 | Agréstis stolonifera - - 508 laciniata péndula - 152 
decora - = - - 152 | Atldntus glanduldsa = - 19 populifolia laciniata - 329 
glaucéscens~ —- - 157 | A’Inus denticulata - ~ 111! Bignonia Catalpa  - 152. 409 
diptera eridptera - - 413 | A’loe vivipara = - - 136 | Blairza ericoides - - 68 
homomalla - - - 152 | Alonsda incisifolia  - - 324 | Bléchnum occidentale - 235 
Juawara - = - 152 | Alopecurus praténsis = - 508 | Boerhaavéa orientalis - 469 
longifolia = - - - 157 | Alstroeméria Errembatltz- 180 | Bordnza anemonefolia 413. 530 
longissima - - - 157 | Al¥ssum saxatile =) = 630 viminea - - 53 
micracantha 5 - 157 | AmarYllis rutila 5 - 287 | Boussingatltia basselidides 93 
obovata - =  - 152) Anemone rivularis - - 412 | Bouvardéa triphylla - - 539 
péndula ao oly vitifolia - _-  - 412) Bréwnéa coccinea -  - 239 
pentadénia - = - 152 | Aquilégia canadénsis - - 412 | Brugmans/a floribinda - 417 
platyptera  - - - 413 Skinneré ey - - 412} Bryophyllum calycinum - 135 
polymorpha - - - 152 | Aralia j Japonica - - - 14] Burchélléa capénsis - - 151 
pubéscens - - = 152 spindsa- - 132 | Burlingtonza rigida - - 530 
vestita - - - 152 | Araucaria prasiliénsis | - 151 | Cactus speciosissima - - 566 
Acanthus férus - - - 486 excélsa - - 395. 566 truncata - - - 566 
mollis - - = - 486 imbricata - - ~ 534 triangularis - ~ - 575 
A’cer campéstre - - 224 | A’rbutus dndrachne - - 408 | Caiéphora punica~— - - 414 
célchicum - - - 110 discolor = - «+179 | Calddium pinnatifidum ~- 566 
rubrum - - 110 U‘nedo - - 15.408 | Calanthe fuscata “ - 153 
campéstre frictu ribro 111 | Arctostaphylos plungene - 416 | Calceolaria nivea - - 263 
heterocarpum - Ill discolor - - 179 Standishzz - - - 417 
tatiricum “ - 11 nitida - - - - 179 | Callistémon ellipticus - 238 
dasycarpon «= = = - 409 | Aristolochia trilobata - - 23 salignus - - - 534 
eriocarpum - - - 611 | A‘rum esculéntum~ - ~ 234 | Camélléa japénica lb. plén. 152 
hybridum = = - 388 | Arundina dénsa - - 419 altheiflora - - 153 
Lobélzz - = - 110 | Astrape‘a Wallichzz - - 566 amemoniflora - 155 
monspessulanum -- - 439 | Atragene sibirica flbre 4lbo 111 Chandlerz - - 530 
platanodides - - 267. 409 | A&écuba japonica - - 152 Colvill¢ - - - 530 
Psetido-Platanus 41. 224. | Babingtonza Camphorésme 414 Fordz - «+ 530 
933. 267.409. 488 | Baccharis halimifolia - 408 Gussonz - - 153 
ribrum - 5 - 611 | Bambisa arundinacea 43,137.566 imbricata - - 530 
Achiménes longifldva 416. 530 | Banistéria chrysoph¥lla - 566 pectinata = - 530 
pedunculata -  - 416 Mitiday= eee - - 566 yoseo-pléna - __- 153 
gosta - - =~ - 179) Banksia Bateri- - ~- 157 reticulata - 153, 530 


OR TREATED OF IN THE 


Ca. Sasanqua- - - 153 
CampYlopus cerastidides - 469 
Canna stolonifera  - - 234 
Capparis epindsa - - 485 
Carica Papaya - - 43.191 
Carpinus Bétulus - - 409 

Béetulus heterophylla - 111 
CaryOta sobolifera  - - 566 

urens - - 566 


Catalpa syringafdlia 15, 152. 154 


Catasétum abraptum - 418 
bicornutum - - - 153 
lucidum - - - 418 
laridum - - - 153 
tricolor - - - 153 
Wailészz - - - 418 

Cattleya crispa - - - 530 
granuldsa_- - - 418 
Harrisoniana - - 530 
labiata - - - - 530 
Skinneri - - - 530 

Ceandthus azUreus - - 589 

Cédrus Deodara - 151. 534 

pendula - - 151 
intermédia - - - 151 

Centauréa moschata - = 432 

Cephaldtus follicularis - 53) 

Cérasus Laurocérasus - 239 

célchica - 14.18 
Emerélli - 14 
Padus - S - - 18 

Céreus A‘thiops = - 415 
ceruléscens - - 415 
grandifldrus- = 137. 566 
variabilis = - - 511 

Chame‘rops excélsa - = 565 
humilis - - - 151. 566 

Chara vulgaris - - - 511 


Cheirostémon platanoides - 566 


Chimonanthus fragrans - 548 
Chorézema ovata - - 68 
Cineraria Webberzana - 415 
Cirrhopétalum Medtse - 419 


Cissus antarctica - - 17 


Cistus ladaniferus  - = a8 
Clematis californica - 13. 17 
fidrida - - = = 13} 
montana . - 529, 338, 347 
Vitalba - - - 267 
CleOme atirea - S - 177 
lutea. - - - 177 
Clerodéndron spléndens - 417 
Cléthra guercifolia - - 416 
tenuifolia - - - 416 
Clianthus puniceus - 535, 539 
Coe‘lia Bauerdna - - 419 
Coccéloba macrophylla  - 198 
pubéscens - - - 198 
uvifera - - - 138 
Cocos nucifera - - = 235 
Codonopis ovata - - 415 
Coelogyne coronaria - - 418 
Coffea arabica - - - 565 
monospérma - - 4 
Colimnea Schiededna - 417 
Cotylédon umbilicus - - 483 
Combretum grandifldrum - 566 
Comocladia zlicifolia - 286 
Conéstylis Jjancea - = 152 
Convélvulus sépium - - 384 
Corallorrhiza innata - - 411 
Cornus alba - = - 410 
mas S ~ - 329 
Coronilla glatica - 536. 540 
Correa speciosa - - 152 
Cotoneaster acuminate. - 544 
affinis - - - 544 
denticulata - - 14 
frigida - - - 544 
nummularia - 14 
Croton variegatum = - - 566 
Crate‘gus A*ria - = - 267 
crenulata - S = ‘1K 
orientalis - S - 549 
Oxyacantha - - 259 
obtusata - = 329 
Pyracantha - - - 14 


zanacetifdlia Celszana 439 


Cunninghamia excélsa - 
imbricata - - - 
sinensis eet - 

Cupréssus sempervirens - 

Cycas circinalis - = - 
revolita = 

Cycndches Loddigészz - 

Cynogléssum anchusoides - 

Cynosutrus cristatus - - 

Cypripédium barbatum 
purpureum - - 
venustum - 

Cyrtochilum filipes 

Cytisus purpureus 

fldre albo 
incarnatus 
Labarmum - 

Dacrydium SUMS 
elatum - - 1 
excélsum = - 6 
plumdsum - S 

Dactylis glomerata - 

Deeringza indica - 

Datira Stramonium - 


noe 7 oS 


PRESENT VOLUME. 


151 
151 
151 
287 
565 


. 565 


153 
417 
508 
419 
419 
419 
120 
112 
112 
112 
409 
237 
154 
237 
237 
508 
544 
511 


Dammara australis - 151. 154. 


orientalis - - 
Daubentonza Tripetiana 
Delphinium Barlow? 
sibiricum pléno - 
Dendrobium Calceolaria 
ceruléscens - = 
Dicera dentata - - 
Dichogléttis tubuldsa 
Dicrypta Baterd - 
crassifolia - 
Digitalis litea facial 
Dillénza specidsa - 198. 
Diodclea glycindides - - 
Diospyros Lotus - - 
Diplola‘na Dampiéré - 
Doryanthes excélsa - 565. 
Dracz‘na Draco - 152. 
Dracophyllum attenuatum 
Duranta Plumiérz-- 
Echeveéréa acutifolia - 
gibbifltra - - 
racemosa - - 
yosea ~ = - 
Echinocactus corynddes 
Edwards¢a grandifldra 
macrophylla 3 
microphylla - - 
Elichrysum proliferum 
Eleocarpus Corsonidnus 
Epidéndrum cinnabarinum 
crassifolium - 
cochleatum - 
nutans - - 
pheenfceum - 
raniferum - 
E*ria convallaridides 
floribinda - 
polytra - 
Erica ampullacea 
aristata - 
alba 
cerinthézdes 
depréssa - 
empetrifdlia - 
fasciculata - 
ferruginea 
Hartnéllz 
inflata alba 
Irbydna 
margaritacea 
Massoné 
mucosa 
pellucida 
Perséluta 
picta - 
pltingens 
ramentacea 
refléxa Alba 
rubens - 
scabriascula 
tenélla - - 
ténera - - 


Mog 0 p00 D0 fete W A 
nonveotooowoao po 
_ 
co 
Onocnrod ou fot Darn ooo Ooh Po So 


237 
151 
545 
429 
429 
530 
530 
238 
469 


X1 
Er. transparens - - - 530 
tricolor - 2 - 530 
coronata ~ - 530 
vérmix - - - 68 
Eriostémon cuspidatus - 152 
duxifdlius = - 152 
Erythrina Cr ista-galli - 285 
Eugenia australis - - 13 
Huénymus americanus - 408 
latifolius  - - - 195 
Fagus sylvatica- - ~ 409 
cochleata = - 111 
purpurea - - 152 
Festica duritscula = - 508 
praténsis - - - 508 
Ferrarza undulata’ - - 151 
Ficus Benjamima - - 566 
elastica - - - 566 
Franciscea latifolia - - 179 
Fraxinus oxyphylla tatirica 112 
Fuchsia cordifolia - - 178 
eorymbiflora - - 395 
falgens - - - 151 
integrifolia - - «- 413 
pyritdlia - - - 413 
radicans - - 178. 413 
Galéga officinalis - - 511 
Garrya elliptica - - - 486 
Gastrochilus pulchérrima - 419 
Genista thyrsiflora - 111 
Gésnera discolor - 179. 530 
longifolia = - - 415 
maculata - - - 415 
mollis - - - - 179 
zebrina - - - 530 
Gladiolus psittacinus - - 151 
floribindus - - - 151 
GlossocoOmia ovata - - 415 
lucida - - - - 415 
Gloxinia speciosa - - 415 
Godétéa albéscens - - 413 

Gompholobium polymdér- 
phum elatum - = =, EY 
Goddyera répens - - 411 
Greville robusta - 152.154 
Guajdva pyriférmis - - 504 
Guajdvusagréstis = - 504 
domésticus - - 54 
Guevina Avellana = - 16 
Guzmannia tricolor - - 137 
Gymnadénia albida - - 411 
Habranthus praténsis - 420 
Hedera Hé@lix - - 267.576 
tatrica - - 111 

Heimza salicifolia grandi- 
flora - - 171 
Heterdchroa minuartioddes 469 
spergulzfolia - - 469 
Helianthus tuberdsus - 129 
Heliéborus orientalis - 412 
officinalis - - - 412 
Heracléum aspérrimum = 585 

Houlltt¢a Brocklehursté- 
ana - - - - 419 
violacea - - = 53) 
vittata - - - - 180 
Hydrote‘nia meléagris - 420 
Hypéricum adenétrichum - 469 
anagallididides  - - 469 
Jaubértiz  - . - 469 
nanum - - - 469 
origanifolium - - 469 
ptarmicefolium - - 469 
rosmarinifolium - - 13 
rupéstre - - - 469 
Tournefértz - - 469 
Tex Aquifdlium - - 154 
latifolia = - 13.17. 41 
Zaurifolia = - o 13} 
Illicium anisAtum  - - 17 
floridanum - = - 13 
religidsum - oc NB Iz 
Impatiens tricérnis  - - 133 
glanduligera - - 152 

candida - - - 12 

Indigéfera australis - - 152 
nepalénsis - od, 17 
Tpomee‘a Leariz - - - 576 


Xil 


Iris bicolor - - - 
Isémeris arborea - 
californica - ~ 
Jasminum chrysanthum 
cordatum - 
grandiflorum 
himile - 
revolitum - 
Jatropha peltata 
Jaubertéa. Atcherz 
Jussieta grandiflora 
Juglans régia - 
Kennédya glabrata - 
longeracemdsa = - = 
rubictinda - - 
spléndens - - 
Knightia excélsa 
Kreysigza multiflora - 
Latania borbénica’- 
rubra - = - 
Larix Godsallzz - 
Lasiopétalum mae OP Ys 
lum - - 
Latrus bullata - = 
Cinnamomum- - 


macrophylla 
Lebretonza coccinea 
Lepidium sativum 
Leycestéréa formosa - 
Ligusticum cornubiénse 

vulgare - - 

Lilium longifidrum - 

specidsum_ - 
Limnécharis Humbélatii 
Limonia spectabilis - 
Liparis Loeselzz - - 
Liriodéndron Tulipifera 


Lee OO On sO: US ten eof tas) 


Lissanthe sapida - 

Listera cordata - 
Lithospérmum _Corson7a- 
num - = et ce 
Lodsa lateritia - - - 
Pentlandica - - 
Lobélia cardinalis - cult. 
heterophylla major - 
propinqua - - cult. 
splendens - - cult. 
syphilitica - - cult. 


Loganza floribanda - - 
latifolia Sue ints 
Lolium perénne-— - 
italicum - 
Lomatia dlicifolia - 
Lonicera Caprifolium 
Periclymenum - 
Lucilia gratissima - 
Lycium barbarum 
Lychnis coronaria - 
Lycopérsicum esculéntum 
cult. 
Lysimachia lobeliozdes - 
Maclira aurantiaca - - 
Madia sativa 
Magnolza acuminata - cs 
fuscata - 
grandiflora - 154. 
Harwica a 
exoniénsis - 
hybrida - 


obcordata - 
purpurea - 
rotundifolia - 
Soulangedna - 
tripétala - - 
Mahonza fascicularis 
Malope grandifldra  - 
Maxillaria aromatica 
cruénta ° E 
Skinnerg - - 
Warredna - - 
Medicago arborea - 
lupulina - 
Metrosidaros robtistus 
Mimosa uruguénsis - - 
Mimulus cardinalis insig- 
nis - - - 
atro-70seus = - 
pallidus | - = 5 


(nto noone on oo oo 


LIST OF PLANTS MENTIONED 


Mi. roseus Maclainianus - 417 
Mina lobata - - - 417 
Morus alba - - - 231 
nigra - - - | -23 
rubra. - - - - 231 
Misa paradisiaca 42. 191. 
234. 505. 566 
sapiéntum 191. 234. 565, 566 
Cavendishiz - 43. 191. 505, 
506. 564 
chinénsis_ - - - 505 
coccinea = - 506. 566 
dacca - - 505, 506. 565 
discolor - - - 506 
rosacea - - = 506 
supérba - - - 506 
st. helenénsis - 505 
Mutis7a ilicifolia - - 68 
Myrica cerifera - - 408 
Negtndo fraxinifolium 40.110 
Nelimbium ateum - = 134 
specidsum - + cult. 133 
specidsum 7dseum - 413 
Nemophila atomaria - 588. 616 
insignis - - 132 
Nepénthes distillatoria - 153 
Niphe*a oblénga = - - 416 
Octoméria convallaridides - 180 
spicata - - - 180 
O’cymum citrioddrum - 39 
Oncidium altissimum 138. 288. 
530 
Baterz - = - 153 
Cavendishz - - 287. 530 
Cebollata  - - - 418 
longifolium - - - 418 
luridum - - - 287 
pictum - - - 53 
pubes flavéscens - 418 
reflexum - - - 418 
sphacelatum - - 418 
O‘phrys fucifera - - 411 
OpGntia decimbens - - 178 
hoérrida - - 137. 286 
irrorata - - - 178 
monacantha - - 178 
yépens - - - 178 
Oreodaphne bullata - - 418 
Oreodéxa régia - - 234 
Ornith6galum divaricatum 420 
O’rnus europea - - 391 
Otochilus fasca - - 418 
O’xalis lasiopétala- - 413 
Martidna - 413 
Oxylobium ellipticum - 152 
Pxonia Moritan - - 152 
Panddnus humilis - - 152 
odoratissimus - - 565 
Papaver somniferum +» 129 
Papyrus antiquodrum - - 565 
Passifldra edtlis - 43. 192 
fragrans - - - 414 
Zaurifolia — - - - 192 
Middletonzana - - 414 
quadrangularis - - 192 
Paulownéa imperialis 15. 19 
Pavétta caffra - - - 530 
angustifolia - co - 530 
Pelargonium tricolor - = 263 
Peltaria glastzfolia — - - 469 
Penstémon Murraydnus - 196 
Peristéria elata - - - 530 
Peritoma atirea - - 177 
Philadélphus mexicana - 414 
Phiéum praténse majus - 508 
Phlomis fruticdsa = = 53. 
Phiox vérna~s - - 452 
Phormium ténax 151. 535. 541 
Physospérmum cornubiénse 528 
Physalis Alkekéngi  - - 331 
peruviana - - - 33 
Picea cephalonica - - 534 
Nordmannidna - - 111 
Webbiana - - 151 
Pimeléa spectabilis  - - 530 
Pinolia alba - - - 180 
Pinus A‘bies - 267. 408, 409 
altissima - = - 151 


OR TREATED OF. 


Pi. australis - - - 534 
Banksi@na - - 151. 585 
Cémbra = - - 439 
Coulterz - - - 151 
Gerardiadna - - - 151 
halepénsis_ - = a5 
insignis - - - 534 
Laricio - - 439. 614 
Lambertidna - - 151 
maritima - - - 151 
macrocarpa . - - 151 
monticola - - - 151 
palustris = - 46. 534 
Picea - - - - 409 
ponderdsa’ - - - 614 
Strobus = - - 408 
sylvéstris 150, 151. 173. 408 
variabilis  - - - 614 

Piper adGncum - - ~ 288 
umbellatum - - 288 


Pittéspermum Tobzra 535. 


Plantago lanceolata - - 508 
Poa praténsis - - - 508 
nemoralis — - - 508 
Podocarpus asplenifdlius = 23 
ferrugineus - - - 238 
longifolius - - - 151 
latifdlius == - - 151 
nucifer - 151 
Podothéca enaphaliddes - 415 
Polygala attenuata ~ - 152 
Polypodium vulgare - - 537 
P6pulus balsamifera - - 329 
POthos crassinérvius - 138. 235 
Prepusa Hookerzana - - 179 
Prinus doméstica = - 18 
Laurocérasus - - 408 
lusitanica = - - 408 
Mume = - - 14. 18 
Padus - - - - 410 
sempervirens - - 408 
Psidium aromaticum ~ 504 
Cattleyanum - - 566 
montanum = - - 504 
pomiferum - - - 504 
pyriferum = - 235. 504 
Ptélea trifoliata - - - 409 
Ptéris aquilma - - ~~ 487 
Pyrus arbutifolia - - 544 
A‘ria - = - 348. 544 
gre‘ca = - - 544 
aucuparia = - - 298 
jap6nica - - - 571 
sempervirens - - 408 
Sérbus vestita  - ~ 544 
spectabilis - - - 611 
spuria - - - - 544 
Quadria heterophylla - 16. 154 
Quércus confertifolia - - 16 
Cérris - - = 48. 224 
dentata - - - 17 
glabra - - - 17.41 
gramutntia - - 48. 408 
ex - - - 224, 408 
pedunculata - 341. 485 
fastigiata - - 328 
rugosa - - = W719 
Rodbur - - - - 294 
rubra - - - - 224, 
taraxacifolia ~« - 111 


Sessilifldra 341. 389. 485. re 


spicata - - - - 
Suber - - - - 408 
virens - - ~ - 204 
xalapénsis_ - - - 17 
Quisqualis indica - - 566 
Ahamnus dlatérnus - - 408 
buxifdlius = - - 408 
Frangula = - - 409 
lycidides - - - 408 
prunifolius - = - 112 
sempervirens - - 408 
Rhiz6phora Mangle - - 234 
Rhododéndron anthopogon 416 
arbdreum = - ~ 179. 228 
altaclerénse - - - 395 
Gibsonzz = - 179 
maximum - - - 408 


LISTS OF FRUITS AND CULINARY VEGETABLES. 


fh. pénticum - 358. 408 


Smithz aGreum - - 416 
Rtbes Menziksii - - - 14 
specidsum - - - 14 
sanguineum - 240. 588 
Richardéa zthidpica - - 540 
Rigidélla immaculita - 180 
Robinza Pseud-Acacia um- 
braculifera = - - - 451 
Hosa spinosissima =~ - 267 
villosa - - = - 267 
Riscus aculeatus = = 554 
A#ubus odoratus - - - 410 
pauciflorus - - - 18 
micranthus - - - 18 
lasiocarpus - - 14.18 
fruticodsus - - = 267 
ide‘us - - = - 267 
Sdbal Blackburniana - 565 
Saccolabium guttatum - 530 
Sagina procimbens - - 525 
Salix alba - - = - 174 
Russelliana - = - 174 
Sambucus racemosus - - 195 
Sapium berberidifdlium - 154 
heterophyllum - - 16 
Saxifraga umbrosa_ - - 150 
Scilla véerna - - = 535 
Sce’/vola Corsoniéana - - 370 
Scorzonera hispanica - = 931 
Scottza dentata - - - 151 
trapezdides - - - 151 
Séchium edile - - - 288 
Sedum cariénse - - - 469 
Siebéldz - - - 629 
Serratula pulchélla - - 415 
Siléne echinata - - - 469 
Sinapis arvensis - - = 480 


Solanum Balbiszz bipinnatum 147 
Sophora grandiflora - 13.17 
japOnica pubescens - 111 


Apples - cult. 25. 432. 527 
Sweeney Nonpareil - 41 


Apricots, new ones from 
Candahar - - 331 
Banana - 43. 191. 247. 505, 
506. 565 
Cherries - - - 186. 331 
ig - - - - - 391 
White Marseilles - 441 
Filberts c - - - 327 
Guava - - - 190. 248 
White - - - cult. 503 
Granadilla- ~ - - - 190 
Grapes — culé. 23 cult. 214. 247. 
350. 393. cult. 420. 422. 
441. 573 
A new one - - = 218 


LIST OF 


Artichokes - - = 186 
Beans 4.50 
Cabbage 328. 480. 485. 536. 555 
Carrot - - = 326 

The Wild - - - 122 


Cauliflowers 80. cult. 327. 450. 


555, 560 


Sérbus aucuparia - 267. 410 
Spire‘a fritex - - - 414 
fissa- - - - 14 
hypericifolia - 410 
hypericoides - - 414 
lanceolata - - - 18 
Reevésiz = - - - 14 
Stadmannia australis - - 154 
Stachys speciosa - - 179 
Statice arborea - - 196. 565 
Dicksong - - - 530 
monopétala = - - 16 
tatarica - - - 133 
Stephanotus floribindus ~- 530 
Stratidtes aloides - - 511 
Strelitzza reginz - 565. 575 
Stylidium Brunonidnum - 415 
Dicksoné - - - 415 
longifolium - - - 415 
pildsum - - - 415 
recirvum - - - 178 
Syrenopsis stylosa = - 469 
Syringa vulgaris c - 410 
Taxus baccata - - 408, 409 
nucifera - - - 151 
Texieéra glast7folia - - 469 
Thrinax parviflora - - 285 
Thuja filiformis- = - - 418 
occidentalis - - - 408 
orientalis - - - 408 
pendula - 418 
Thunbérg7a alata chlor&n- 
tha = - - 180 
Tigridia Pavonia - - iat 


Torreya ¢axifodlia - 
Tradescantza discolor - 137. 934 


Trevirana coccinea - - 179 
Trichésma suavis = - 418 
Trifolium pratense - - 508 

répens - - - 508 


Tripladénia Cunninghamia 180 


LIST OF FRUITS. 


Grapes, Frontignan - = 521 
Hamburgh - - - 351 
Muscat - - - 351 
New ones from Canda- 

har - - - - 331 
Nice - - - - 351 
Syrian - - - - 521 
West’s St. Peter’s - 327 


For Cottage Gardens - 319 


Melons 28. cult. 115. 190. ae 
List of sorts- 118. 331. 450 
Mulberry - - - 231. 331 
Orange - 2 - 134. 480 
Beach cult. 122. 240. 273. 331. 
540 

Pears - cult. 118, 228. 592. 


XI111 
Tropz*olum aztireum - 544, 
brachyceras - - - 413 
edule - - - - 413 
Moritzidnum - - 261 
tricolorum - = - 413 
Tunica brachypétala - - 469 
Tussilago fragrans - cult. 182 
U\mus campéstris - - 488 
Vdnda teres - - - 530 
Roxburghz - - - 530 
Valeridna alliaricefdlia - 469 
Vanilla sativa - - - 235 
Verbena Melindres - - 417 
sororia - - - - 133 
teucriozdes - = - 133 
Veronica decussata - - 540 
Vialéa macrophylla - - 39 
Vibirnum Awafiki - - 14 
cassinoides ~ - - 408 
cotinifolium - 15. 18 
jap6nicum ~ - 14. 41 
Lantana = - 167. 410 
Muliaha = - - 14 
odoratissimum ~- - 18 
prunifolium - - -~ 544 
pygme‘um - - 15.18 
sinénse - - - 14 
stellulatum - - - 14 
Tinus - - 5 - 408 
Viola altaica - ° - 456 
tricolor - - - 456 
Virgilia lutea - - - 152 
Vitex littoralis - - - 23 
Vitis parvifolia ~- - - 13 
heterophylla - 13.17 
Wahlenbérgia Roylez - 415 
Wistarza sinensis - - 547 
Zamia Corsoniana - - 371 
horrida - - - 566 
pdangens - - - 566 
Zichya glabrata - - - 413 
Pears, Selection of sorts - 192 
Select list of - - 220 
Marie Louise = - 229 


Van Mons Leon le Clerc 441 


CULINARY VEGETABLES. 


Celery, Turnip-rooted - 452 
Cucumbers 247. cult. 279. 334. 

556 
French Beans = - - 393 


Lettuce ~ - 351. 555 
List of, for Cottage Gardens 318 
Mushrooms - cult, 314, 558 


Pines cult. 186. 190. 242. 332. 
432. 528 

Enville - - - 41 
Providence - - - 41 
Queen - - - 555 
Plums = - - 331. 573 
Raspberry - - - 431 
Ever-bearing = - 218 
Shaddock = - - 383 
Kitley - - - 542 
Strawberries - 186. 393. 440 
Myatt’s = - - 441 
Winter Cherry - . - 331 
Peas - - 119. 187 
Potatoes "36. 48. 351. 511. 573 
Ash-leaved Kidney cult. 188 
Savoys - - - - 555 
Tomato - - cult, 277 
Turnips - - ~ = 927. 480 


Water Cress - = 571 


XIV 


LIST OF GARDENS AND COUNTRY SEATS. 


LIST OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS. 


Barley - - “ - 127 
Beans - - - - 401 
Bokhara Clover - - 321 
Clover - - - = 325 


Indian Corn - - 229. 335 
Oats - 97. 825. 401 
Potatoes = = 77.127. 143 
Saintfoin - - - - 325 


!Turnips - - 


Pp - 132. 551 
Wheat 


96. 127. 140. 325. 400. 
551 


LIST OF GARDENS AND COUNTRY SEATS. 


Abbotsford - - - - 440 
Agricultural Museum, Drum- 


mond’s - - - - 596 
Airthrie House = - - 148 
Airthrie Castle - - - 593 
Allanton Park - - - 387 
Alton Towers - Py Wf rss) 
Alva - - - - - 592 
Annat Cottage - 183. 520. 628 
Annat Lodge - - - 155 
Arboretum, Stirling - - 604 
Ashridge - - = - 147 
Aske Hall - = - 97. 143 
Atheneum Cottage - - 543 
Babbicombe - - - 534 
Ballyfin House - - - 189 
Barncleugh - - - 34% 
Barrochan - - - - 96 
Battle Abbey - cS - 611 
Beauport - - - - 613 
Bendham Parsonage - - 321 
Beulah Spa - - - 558 
Berry-Pomeroy CASS - 536 
Bicton - - - 552 
Blair-Adam = - 357. 587 
Blair- Drummond - - 594 
Blair Hall - - = - 588 
Blairquhan - - - 363 
Bohemia Park - - - 113 
Bothwell Castle - - 195. 337 
Botanic Gardens : — 

Berlin - - - 67 
Chelsea - - 336. 383 
Dollar - - - - 588 
Edinburgh - 239. 487. 505 
Glasgow 3 - - 149 
Oxford - 47.144. 576 
Brancepeth Castle - 41. 186 
Brechin Castle - - - 102 
Bridehead House - - 415 
Brighton Pavilion - - 347 
Bromley Hill - - - 147 
Buckland Abbey - - 550 
Cadzow Castle - - - 341 
Cannon Hall - - - 572 
Caprington Castle - - 33 
Castle Ashby - 38. 106. 335 
Castle Cor - - - - 173 
Caversham House - - 481 
Cemeteries - - - 616 
Edinburgh and Leith ie 
88 


Kensal Green - - 53 


Pére la Chaise - 53 

Sight Hill - - - 51 
Chatsworth - 331. 395. 462 
Chippenham Park - - 383 
Combe Royal - - - 539 
Corehouse - - - - 433 
Cossey Hall 72. 121. 147. 212 
Cowley Bank - - - 490 
Cowley House ~- - - 529 
Croome - - - - 615 
Croslee Cottage - - 49. 589 
Croxdale - 6 - - 186 
Culross Abbey - - 340. 591 
Culzean Castle - - - 147 
Dalhousie Castle = - 585 


Dalkeith - - - - 147 
Dalkeith Palace - - 582 
Dalkeith Park - - - 506 
Dankeith - - - - 76 
Deanston - - - - 594 
Dinbur Castle - 443. 495. 606 
Dropmore - - - 47. 474 
Dryburgh Abbey - - 578 
Dunimarle - - - 592 
Dunkeld - - - - 270 
Dunskey - - - -S 
Dunster Castle - - - 489 
Dupplin Castle - - - 269 
Dyrham Park - - - 3 
Eatington Park - - - 335 
Elm House = - - - 185 
Endsleigh - - - 404, 549 
Erskine = - - 97. 143 
Erskine House - - - 148 
Eridge Castle - - - 615 
Farnham Castle - - - 615 
Fleet House = - 541. 547 
Fonthill Abbey - - - 440 
Fordell - - - - 586 
Forton Cottage - - 401. 63 
Gardens : — 

Baron Hiigel’s - - 150 

Bicton - - - 617 

Caledonian. Horticultu- 

ral - - - - 505 
Carlton - - 139 


Cossey Hall 259. 315. 424. 
475. 576. 625 
Edinburgh Experimen- 
ta - - 


- 170 

Frithsden - . 44 
Kensington 41. 139, 203. 381, 
606 

London Horticultural 121. 
225, 331. 381. 388. 414. 416. 


e 543 
The Swiss - - - 391 
Valleyfield Cottage - 590 
Walker’s, Dr. - = 589 

Garscube - - - - 145 
Gosford - - - - 131 
Hafod - - - - 536 
Hamilton Palace - - 337 
Hampton Court - - - 591 
Hardwick ~- - 5 5 if) 
Hawkstone - Sj - 21 
Hurst House - - = 248 
Jardine Hall - - - 584 
Keelynine Castle - - 499 
Keir - - - - - 504 
Kingsbury - - - 37.432 
Kilkerran - - - 95. 148 
Kinross House - - - 587 
Kitley - - - - 542 
Knowle - - - - 440 
Lancing - - - - 391 
Lee - - - = - 389 
Leigh Park - - - 506 
Lochleven Castle - ~ 587 
Luscombe - - - 494, 
Luscombe Castle - - 533 
Mamhead - - - 491. 531 
Methven Castle . - 143 


Melrose Abbey ~ - - 577 
Milton Lockhart - - 588 
Monadon House - 541. 547 
Monzie - - - 270 
‘Mount Edgecumbe - - 547 
Mount Vernon - = = 249 
Nettlecombe Court - - 481 
Newbattle Abbey - - 582 
Newhouse - - - 431 
New Posso - 2 - 438 
Northbrook - - - 441 
Nurseries : — 
Bagshot - - - 417 
Canterbury - - - 36 
Cirencester 5 - 27 
Cripps’s - - - 616 
‘Denyer’s - = = 613 
Epsom - - 17.41 
Fl6ttbeck - - - 112 
Fulham - - - 543 
Hammersmith ~- Its 
Henderson’s - - 414 
Hollamby’s <= - - 616 
Hope - - ” = 2 
Horse Hill - - - 352 
Jenkins’s = - - 42 
Parsons’s’ - - ~ 351 
Pontey’s - - - 543 
Rendle’s’ = - - 546 
Rogers’s = - - 351 
Rose Hill - - - 350 
Sawbridgeworth - - 544 
Tooting - - - 12 
Vinestone - - - 544 
Offington - - - 441 
Old Cleeve ‘Abbey - - 488 
Oulton Park - 193.405, 480 
Oxenford Castle - - 581 
Oxton House’ - - - 532 
Park Villa - - - 353 
Pentillie Castle ~ - 548 
Porkington - - = Al 
Powderham Castle - - 532 
Powis Castle - - = 21 
Preston Hall - - - 582 
Prudhoe Castle - - 536 
Ragley - - - - 33. 
Redleaf = = - - 146 
Ripley Castle - - - 192 
Rosehill = - 110. 576. 615 
Roselle - - - - 78 
Salcombe - - “ - 541 
Saltram = - - - 542 
Sharpham - - - - 537 
Shewalton - - - - 78 
Society :— 
Caledonian  Horticul- 
tural = - - 370. 383 
Edinburgh Botanical 
370. 383 
London Horticultural 
370. 411 
Stirling Castle - - - 603 
St. James’s Park - 381. 606 
Stobbo Castle - - - 439 
Sundorne Castle - - 21 
Sweeney Hall - - =) Ait 
Syon - - - - - 329 


NOTICED. 


LIST OF BOOKS REVIEWED OR XV 
The Moult - ~ = - 540 ; Ugbrook - - - - 551 | Windsor Castle - - = 839 
Thirlstane Castle - - 578 | Vaileytield - = - - 590 | Witton Castle - = - 288 
Thornton Park - - - 31} Walton Hall 204. 257. 303. Woburn - I 5 = 412 
Tor Abbey - - - - 536 366. 476 | Woodbine Cottag - = 535 
Tor House - - - 547 | Wadhurst Castle - - 610 | Woodville - - - - 540 
Traquair - - -  ~- 440 | Whitford House - - 549 | Woollaton Hall - = 501 
Trematon Castle - - 548 | Whitworth - 5 - 186 | Wooton = is = = 493 
Tullyallan Castle - - 589 | Williamfield ~ - 42,506 | Wrotham Park - - - 37 


LIST OF BOOKS REVIEWED OR NOTICED. 


Agardh’s Algz Maris Mediterranei et Adriatici, 
470. 

Anon. Annual Report of the Cornwall Polytech- 
nic Society, 471. 

Anon. Botany; being part of a Popular Cyclo- 
pedia of Natural Science, 371. 

Anon. Mark Lane Express, 83. 

Anon. Philosophical Magazine, 1. 

Anon. The British Almanack, 33. 

Anon. Companion to the Almanack, 33. 

Anon. The Civil Engineer and Architect’s Jour- 
nal for 1841, 129. 

Anon. The First Annual Report of the Metropo- 
litan Improvement Society, 509. 

Anon. The Surveyor, Engineer, and Architect 
for 1841, 129. 

Anon. Transactions of the Horticultural Society 
of London, 121. 424. 

Ayres’s Amateur Florist, 379. 

Backhouse’s Visit to the Australian Colonies, 379. 

Bliss’s Fruit-Grower’s Instructor, 28. 

Chadwick’s Report of the Poor Law Commis- 
sioners, 472. 

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 177. 412. 

Donaldson’s Treatise on Manures, &c., 221. 

Downing’s Cottage Residences, 570. 

Edwards’s Botanical Register, 177. 412. 

Empson’s Cowthorpe Oak, 223. 

Francis’s Analysis of the British Ferns, 635. 

Francis’s Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences, 


473. 

Francis’s Little English Flora, 635. 

Gilly’s Peasantry of the Border, 31. 584. 

Gray’s Botanical Text-Book, 634. 

Gregory’s Catalogue of Plants, 27. 

Greg’s Scotch Farming in the Lothians, 569. 

Hooker’s Catalogue of Roses, 636. 

Hughes on making and repairing Roads, 471. 

Jaubert and Spach’s Illustrationes Plantarum 
Orientalium, 466. 

Johnston on Agriculture, 636. 

Johnston’s Elements of Agricultural Chemistry, 
372. 

Johnston's Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry, 


Jones’s Lecture on Taste, 129. 
Kenrick’s American Orchardist, 30. 


Lane and Sons’ Catalogue of Roses, 636. 

Liebig’s Chemistry, 126. 

Lees’s Botanical Looker-out, 570. 

Lewis’s Illustrations of Kilpeck Church, 471. 

Loudon’s Arboretum Britannicum, 231. 

Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, 32]. 

Loudon’s Hortus Lignosus Londinensis, 321. 

Loudon’s Suburban Gardener, 157. 

Tondo suburban Horticulturist, 512. 631. 
oudon’s Supplement to the Encyclo id 
Architecture, 636. pees 

Loudon’s, Mrs., Botany for Ladies, 634. 

Loudon’s, Mrs., Gardening for Ladies, 231. 

Loudon’s, Mrs., Ladies’ Companion to the Flower- 
Garden, 634. 

ea Mrs., Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening, 


Maund’s Botanist, 177. 412. 
Maund’s Botanic Garden, 177. 412. 
May’s Catalogue of Plants, 27. 
Moxon’s Grainer’s Guide, 379. 
Pacnells Treatise on the Scottish Grasses, 379. 
642. 
Pasley’s complete Course of Practical Ge 
and Plan-Drawing, 510. nae 
Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, 177. 412. 
Price, Sir Uvedale, on the Picturesque, 377. 
Pugin’s Principles of Architecture, 223. 
Ricauti’s Sketches for Rustic- Work, 323. 
Rivers’s Catalogue of Roses, 636. 
Royle’s Illustrations, &c., 571. 
Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening, 98. 165. 204. 264. 
Selby’s History of British Forest Trees, 567. 
Simms’s Treatise on Mathematical Drawing- 
Instruments, 471. 
Sproule’s Treatise on Agriculture, 378. 
Squarcy’s Agricultural Chemistry, 33. 73. 
Stephens’s Book of the Farm, 125. 322. 636. 
Tattersall’s Sporting Architecture, 32. 
Thompson’s Railway Stations, 322. 
Myer on the Growth of Plants in glazed Cases, 
Waterton’s Essays on Natural History, 202. 
West’s Remarks on Woods, Plantations, &c., 470. 
W ieutons History and Management of Bees, 
Wood and Son’s Catalogue of Roses, 115. 636. 


“ 


LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 


An Amateur, 499. A.B.,432. A Lover of Hor.. 
ticulture, 118. 220. A.S.M., 112. 616. A 
Subscriber, 432, A. X., 411. 429. 

Backhouse, James, 48. Barnes, James, 555. 617. 


Baxter, W. H., 47. 144. H. A., 306. 
B.H. W., 380. Billington, W., 19. B. J., 
233. Blake, H. J. C., 320. Booth, John, 110. 


Brown, 199. 


Carter, Richard, 506. C. B., 277. Charlw 
G., 331.335. Conductor, 36, 37. 42. 48, 40. 138 
145. 180. 189. 192, 193. 329. 337. 343. 369. 381. 
383, 384, 385. 390. 433. 441. 474. 481. 529. 577. 
610. 628. 643. _ Cooper, J., 41. Correspondent. 
Via 183. C. P., 187, CPF H., 192. C. R., 
28, 452. Dale, G., 41.186. “D. B., 384. 528. 


” 


XVI 


Denny, H.J., 46. D.M., 192. Don, G., 370. 
Drummond, Messrs., 508. 604. Drury, J. F., 


432. Dunlop, John, 959. 

Eliiott, C. N., 249. Elliott, G. M., 192. F. O., 
307. Errington, Robert, 404. 478. E. S., 
212. 

F. A. M‘K., 39. Fielder, G., 113. Forsyth, 
Alexander, 273. 392. Frost, Philip, 47. 

Gordon, G., 17. Gorrie, Archibald, 155. 182. 


626. 

H. L. L., 308. Hutchinson, W., 191. 332. 

J. B., 230. J. G., 530. J. M., ea 189. 326. 429. 
575. J. R. 230. 331. 394. 457. J. S., 288. J. T., 
162. Jones, W., 23. 

Longworth, N., 218. Lymburn, R., 72. 366. 396. 
430. 512. 

Mackenzie, Alexander, 357. Mackenzie, Peter, 
952. 315. 443. 495. 606. Main, J., 432. Ma- 
netti, Giuseppe, 41. 231. Masters, William, 36. 
Matcham, George, 431. M‘Nab, James, 505. 
Munro, James, 38. 102, 336, 


LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 


N., 34. 189. Niven, N., 241. 
144. 160. 214. 271. 279. 309. 

Ogle, H. C., 109. 

P. F. M., 573. P.N., 48. 

R. L., 336. R. T., 25. 239. 324. 

Saul, M., 401. 453. 477. Scott, John, 12. Scotus, 
462. Seymour, James, 44. O., 420. Ste- 
phenson, L,, 288. S. oT 38. 

B., 34. a8 C., 41. Tinker, James, 240. 

TN. P., 42. Tongue, Richard, 629. Tor- 


N. M. T., 11. 106 


bron, Oe 188. 191. 365, 598. ‘T. ho WR 
Twigg, J., 113. 
W., 139. W. A. M., 454. Waterton, Charles, 
262, 254. 301. 365. 476. Wagner, F., 136. 


W. A. L., 23. Westwood, J. O., 431. 480. 
W.G., 34. W.H.B., 47. 007. 299. 379. 381. 
430. 576. Wighton, J., 47. 70. 119. 211. 257. 
314. 422. 475. 576. 621. Wilson, R. B., 21. 115. 
pea er BLEING 269. W. T., 140. W.W. B., 


X., 422, 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
JANUARY, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. On the Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 
By M. Dumas. 


[Tue following discourse formed the concluding lecture of 
Professor Dumas in the E’cole de Médecine in Paris. It was 
translated and published in the Philosophical Magazine for No- 
vember and December, 1841; and, conceiving it to be the most 
masterly production of the kind which we had ever seen, we 
applied to Mr. Taylor, and the other editors of the PAzloso- 
phical Magazine, for permission to transfer it from the pages of 
that work to those of the Gardener’s Magazine. This permission 
has been very kindly granted, and for it such of our readers as 
are of a philosophical turn will, we are sure, feel as much 
obliged as we are ourselves. We have in the present Number 
only given a portion of the article, and it happens to be that 
which is the least interesting to gardeners; but the remainder, 
which is entirely occupied with vegetable chemistry, will be 
given in our next Number, and, in the meantime, those who 
are too anxious to wait can procure a copy of the Philosophical 
Magazine for December last. ] 


Lire, whose painful mysteries you are called upon to fathom, 
exhibits among its phenomena some which are manifestly con- 
nected with the forces that inanimate nature herself brings into 
action, others which emanate from a more elevated source, less 
within the reach of our boldest stretch of thought. 

It has not been my province to accompany you in looking 
with an inquisitive eye into all that part of your studies under 
which those facts which appertain to the normal or irregular 
exercise of the instincts of life arrange themselves. Still less 
have we ever had to bring under our consideration those noble 
faculties, by means of which the human intellect, mastering all 
that surrounds it, breaking down all obstacles, bending all the 
powers of nature to its wants, has step by step made conquest 


of the earth, of the seas, of the whole globe; a vast domain, 
3d Ser. — 1842. I. B 


2 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


which our recollections, our presentiments, perhaps, so often 
make us consider as too narrow a prison. ‘To others more 
fortunate belongs the care of initiating you in these important 
studies, the privilege of unfolding to you these lofty themes; 
our task, more humble, must be limited to the field of the phy- 
sical phenomena of life; and there are still some which have 
not found a place in our lectures. 

It is specially, indeed, the functions of matter in the pro- 
duction and growth of organised beings, the part which it takes 
in the accomplishment of the phenomena of their daily ex- 
istence, the alterations which it undergoes after their death, that 
we have had to study together, and this study alone has quite 
sufficed us for this year’s occupation. 

I. Plants, animals, man, contain matter. Whence comes it ? 
What does it effect in their tissues and in the fluids which bathe 
them: ? What becomes of it when death breaks the bonds by 
which its different parts were so closely united. 

These are the questions which we touched upon together, 
at first with hesitation, for the problem might be far above the 
powers of modern chemistry; we afterwards considered them 
with somewhat more confidence, as we felt from the silent and 
inward assent of our understandings that the path was sure, and 
that we could descry the goal gradually standing out, clear of 
all that obstructed our vision. If from these labours, which 
you have witnessed, or I should rather say, in which you have 
taken part; if from this scientific effort there have arisen some 
general views, some simple formule, it is my duty to become 
their historian; but allow me the pleasure of adding, that they 
belong to you, that they belong to our school, the intelligence 
of which has been exercised on this new ground. It is the 
ardour with which you have followed me in this career that has 
given me strength to pursue it; it is your interest which has 
sustained me; your curiosity which has awakened mine; your 
confidence which has made me see, and which proves to me at 
this moment that we are still in the path of truth. 

These remarks will remind you of the wonder with which we 
found, that, of the numerous elements of modern chemistry, 
organic nature borrows but a very small number; that from 
these vegetable or animal matters, now multiplied to infinity, 
general physiology borrows not more than from ten to twelve 
species; and that all the phenomena of life, so complicated in 
appearance, belong, essentially, to a general formula so simple, 
that, so to speak, in a few words the whole is stated, the whole 
summed up, the whole foreseen. 

Have we not proved, in fact, by a multitude of results, that 
animals constitute, in a chemical point of view, a real apparatus 
for combustion, by means of which burnt carbon incessantly 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 3 


returns to the atmosphere under the form of carbonic acid; in 
which hydrogen burnt without ceasing, on its part continually 
engenders water; whence, in fine, free azote is incessantly ex- 
haled by respiration, and azote in the state of oxide of ammonium 
by the urine ? 

Thus from the animal kingdom, considered collectively, con- 
stantly escape carbonic acid, water in the state of vapour, azote, 
and oxide of ammonium, simple substances, and few in number, 
the formation of which is strictly connected with the history of 
the air itself Have we not, on the other hand, proved that 
plants, in their normal life, decompose carbonic acid for the 
purpose of fixing its carbon and of disengaging its oxygen; that 
they decompose water to combine with its hydrogen, and to dis- 
engage also its oxygen; that, in fine, they sometimes borrow 
azote directly from the air, and sometimes indirectly from the 
oxide of ammonium, or from nitric acid, thus working in every 
case in a manner the inverse of that which is peculiar to animals ? 
If the animal kingdom constitutes an immense apparatus for com- 
bustion, the vegetable kingdom, in its turn, constitutes an 
immense apparatus for reduction, in which reduced carbonic 
acid yields its carbon, reduced water its hydrogen, and in which 
also reduced oxide of ammonium and nitric acid yield their 
ammonium or their azote. 

If animals, then, continually produce carbonic acid, water, 
azote, oxide of ammonium; plants incessantly consume oxide 
of ammonium, azote, water, carbonic acid. What the one class 
of beings gives to the air, the others take back from it; so that 
to take these facts at the loftiest point of view of terrestrial phy- 
sics, we must say that, as to their truly organic elements, plants 
and animals spring from air, are nothing but condensed air ; 
and that, in order to form a just and true idea of the constitu- 
tion of the atmosphere at the epochs which preceded the birth 
of the first organised beings on the surface of the globe, there 
must be placed to the account of the air, by calculation, that 
carbonic acid and azote whose elements have been appropriated 
by plants and animals. Thus plants and animals come from the 
air, and thus to it they return; they are real dependences of the 
atmosphere. 

Plants, then, incessantly take from the air what is given to 
it by animals; that is to say, carbon, hydrogen, and azote, or 
rather, carbonic acid, water, and ammonia. : 

It now remains to be stated, how in their turn, animals ac- 
quire those elements which they restore to the atmosphere ; and 
we cannot see without admiring the sublime simplicity of all 
these laws of nature, that animals always borrow these elements 
from plants themselves. 


We have, indeed, ascertained, from the most satisfactory re- 
B 2 


4. The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


sults, that animals do not create true organic matters, but that 
they destroy them; that plants, on the contrary, habitually create 
these same matters, and that they destroy but few of them, and 
that in order to effectuate particular and determinate conditions. 

Thus it is in the vegetable kingdom that the great laboratory of 
organic life resides; there it is that the vegetable and animal mat- 
ters are formed, and they are there produced at the cost of the air: 
_ From vegetables, these matters pass ready-formed into the 
herbivorous animals, which destroy a portion of them, and ac- 
cumulate the remainder in their tissues : 

From herbivorous animals, they pass ready-formed into the 
carnivorous animals, who destroy or retain some of them ac- 
cording to their wants : 

Lastly, during the life of these animals, or after their death, 
these organic matters, as they are destroyed, return to the atmo- 
sphere whence they proceeded. 

Thus closes this mysterious circle of organic life at the sur- 
face of the globe. ‘The air contains or engenders oxidised pro- 
ducts, as carbonic acid, water, nitric acid, oxide of ammonium. 
Plants, constituting true reducing apparatus, possess themselves 
of their radicals, carbon, hydrogen, azote, ammonium. With 
these radicals they form all the organic or organisable matters 
which they yield to animals. ‘These, forming, in their turn, true 
apparatus for combustion, reproduce carbonic acid, water, oxide 
of ammonium, and nitric acid, which return to the air to pro- 
duce anew and through endless ages the same phenomena. 

And if we add to this picture, already, from its simplicity and 
its grandeur, so striking, the indisputable function of the solar 
light, which alone has the power of putting in motion this im- 
mense apparatus, this apparatus never yet imitated, consti- 
tuted of the vegetable kingdom, and in which is accomplished 
the reduction of the oxidised products of air, we shall be 
struck with the import of these words of Lavoisier :— 

** Organisation, sensation, spontaneous movement, life, exist 
only at the surface of the earth, and in places exposed to the 
light. It would seem that the fable of the torch of Prometheus 
was the expression of a philosophic truth which had not escaped 
the ancients. Without light, nature was without life, was dead 
and inanimate: by the gift of light, a beneficent God spread 
upon the surface of the earth organisation, feeling, and thought.” 

These words are as true as they are beautiful. If feeling and 
thought, if the nobiest faculties of the soul and of the intellect, 
have need, for their manifestation, of a material covering, to 
plants is assigned the framing of its web with the elements which 
_they borrow from the air, and under the influence of the light 
which the sun, its inexhaustible source, pours in unceasing floods 
upon the surface of the globe. 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 5 


And as if, in these great phenomena, all must be connected 
with causes which appear the most distant from them, we must 
moreover remark how the oxide of ammonium, the nitric acid, 
from which plants borrow a part of their azote, are themselves 
almost always derived from the action of the great electric sparks 
which flash forth in stormy clouds, and which (furrowing the air 
through a vast extent) produce there the nitrate of ammonia 
which analysis detects in it. 

Thus, from the craters of those volcanoes whose convulsions 
so often agitate the crust of the globe, continually escapes car- 
bonic acid, the principal nutriment of plants; from the atmo- 
sphere flashing with lightnings, and from the midst of the 
tempest itself, there descends upon the earth the other and no 
less indispensable nutriment of plants, that whence they derive 
almost all their azote, the nitrate of ammonia, contained in storm- 
showers. Might not this be called, as it were, an idea of that 
chaos of which the Bible speaks, of those times of disorder and 
of tumult of the elements which preceded the appearance of 
organised beings upon the earth ? 

But scarcely are the carbonic acid and the nitrate of ammonia 
produced, than a form more calm, although not of inferior. 
energy, comes to put them in action; it is light. Through 
her influence, the carbonic acid yields its carbon, the water its 
hydrogen, and the nitrate of ammonia its azote. ‘These elements 
unite, organised matters form, and the earth puts on its rich 
carpet of verdure. 

It is, then, by continually absorbing a real force, the light and 
the heat emanating from the sun, that plants perform their func- 
tions, and that they produce this immense quantity of organised 
or organic matter, pasture destined for the consumption of the 
animal kingdom. And if we add, that animals on their part 
produce heat and force in consuming what the vegetable kingdom * 
has produced and has slowly accumulated, does it not seem that 
the ultimate end of all these phenomena, their most general 
formula, reveals itself to our sight ? 

The atmosphere appears to us as containing the primary sub- 
stances of all organisation, volcanoes and storms as the labora- 
tories in which were first produced the carbonic acid and the 
nitrate of ammonia which life required for its manifestation or its 
multiplication. 

In aid of these comes light, and developes the vegetable king- 
dom, immense producer of organic matter: plants absorb the 
chemical force which they derive from the sun to decompose 
carbonic acid, water, and nitrate of ammonia; as if plants real- 


[ * * Te régne animal” in the original; but this is obviously an error, — 


Epir, Phil, Mag.) 
B 3 


6 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


ised a reducing apparatus superior to all those with which we 
are acquainted, for none of these would decompose carbonic 
acid in the cold. 

Next come animals, consumers of matter and producers of 
heat and force, true apparatus for combustion. It is in them, 
undoubtedly, that organised matter puts on its highest expres- 
sion. But it is not without suffering from it that it becomes the 
instrument of sensation and of thought; under this influence 
organised matter undergoes combustion; and in reproducing 
the heat and the electricity, which produce our strength and 
which are the measure of its power, these organised or or- 
ganic matters become annihilated in order to return to the atmo- 
sphere whence they came. ‘Thus the atmosphere constitutes the 
mysterious link which binds the vegetable to the animal kingdom. 

Vegetables, then, absorb heat, and accumulate matter which 
they have the power to organise. 

Animals, through whom this organised matter only passes, 
burn or consume it in order to produce in its aid the heat and 
the different powers which their movements turn to account. 

Suffer me, therefore, if, borrowing from modern sciences an 
image of sufficient magnitude to bear comparison with these 
great phenomena, we should liken the existing vegetation 
(truly a storehouse in which animal life is fed,) to that other 
storehouse of carbon constituted of the ancient deposits of pit- 
coal, and which, burnt by the genius of Papin and Watt, also 
produces carbonic acid, water, heat, motion; one might almost 
say life and intelligence. 

In our view, therefore, the vegetable kingdom will constitute 
an immense depdt of combustible matter destined to be con- 
sumed by the animal kingdom, and in which the latter finds the 
source of the heat and of the locomotive powers of which it 
avails itself. 

Thus we observe a common tie between the two kingdoms, 
the atmosphere ; four elements in plants and in animals, carbon, 
hydrogen, azote, and oxygen; a very small number of forms 
under which vegetables accumulate them, and under which ani- 
mals consume them; some very simple laws, which their con- 
nexion simplifies still more: such would be the picture of the 
most elevated state of organic chemistry which would result from 
our conferences of the present year. 

You, like myself, have felt, that before separating we have 
need of collecting our thoughts, of fixing with precision all the 
facts, of bringing together ane summing up the opinions which 
explain and develope these great principles ; ; lastly, that it was 
useful, as regarded your future studies, to give you in writing, 
and in a oleae form, the expression of hese views, which 
were partly brought into existence under the stimulus of your 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. "7 


presence, and consequently reduced into form with the hesitation 
which so often accompanies the first enunciation of our thoughts. 

II. Since [the causes of] all the phenomena of life are exerted 
upon matters which have for their base carbon, hydrogen, azote, 
oxygen; since these matters pass over from the animal kingdom 
to the vegetable kingdom by intermediary forms, carbonic acid, 
water, and the oxide of ammonium; lastly, since air is the 
source whence the vegetable kingdom is fed, and the reservoir 
in which the animal kingdom is annihilated; we are led to take 
a rapid survey of these different bodies with a special view to 
general physiology. 

Composition of Water. — Water is incessantly formed and de- 
composed in animals and plants; to appreciate what results from 
this, let us first see how it is composed. Some experiments 
founded on the direct combustion of hydrogen, and in which I 
have produced more than two pounds of artificial water,—ex- 
periments which are in truth very difficult and very delicate, but 
in which any errors would be unimportant with regard to the 
circumstances which we are engaged upon,— make it very pro~ 
bable that water is formed, in weight, of 1 part hydrogen, and 
§ parts oxygen, and that these whole and simple numbers express 
the true relation according to which these two elements combine 
to form water. 

As substances always present themselves to the eyes of the 
chemist by molecules, as he always endeavours to connect in his 
thoughts, with the name of each substance, the weight of the 
molecule, the simplicity of this relation is not unimportant. 

In fact, each molecule of water being formed of one molecule 
of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen, we arrive at these 
simple numbers, which cannot be forgotten. 

A molecuie of hydrogen weighs 1; a molecule of oxygen 
weighs 8; and a molecule of water weighs 9. 5 

Composition of Carbonic Acid.— Carbonic acid keeps inces- 
santly forming in animals, and is continually undergoing decom- 
position in plants; its composition, therefore, deserves a special 
notice in its turn. 

Now carbonic acid, like water, is represented by the most 
simple numbers. Experiments founded on the direct combustion 
of the diamond, and on its conversion into carbonic acid, have 
proved to me that this acid is formed of the combination of 
6 parts by weight of carbon and 16 parts by weight of oxygen. 

We are therefore led to represent carbonic acid as being 
formed of one molecule of carbon weighing 6, and two molecules . 
of oxygen weighing 16, which constitute one molecule of car- 
bonic acid weighing 22. 

Composition of Ammonia.— Lastly, ammonia, in its turn, 


seems formed in whole numbers of 3 parts of hydrogen and 14 
B 4 


8 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


of azote, which may be represented by 3 molecules of hydrogen 
weighing 3, and by 1 molecule of azote weighing 14. 

Thus, as if the better to show all her power, nature operates, 
in the business of organisation, upon a very small number only 
of elements combined in the most simple proportions. 

The atomic system of the physiologist revolves on these four 
numbers: 1, 6, 7, 8. 1 is the molecule of hydrogen; 6, that of 
carbon; 7, or twice 7, i.e. 14, that of azote; 8, that of oxygen. 

These numbers should always be associated with these names, 
because for the chemist there can exist no abstract hydrogen, 
nor carbon, nor azote, nor oxygen. They are beings in their 
reality which he has always in view; it is of their molecules that 
he always speaks; and to him the word hydrogen depicts a 
molecule which weighs 1; the word carbon, a molecule which 
_ weighs 6; and the word oxygen, a molecule which weighs 8. 

Composition of the Air.—Does atmospheric air, which per- 
forms so great a part in organic nature, also possess as simple a 
composition as water, carbonic acid, and ammonia? This is the 
question which M. Boussingault and I have recently been 
studying. Now, we have found that, as the greater number of 
chemists have thought, and contrary to the opinion of Dr. Prout 
to whom chemistry owes so many ingenious views, air is a 
mixture, a true mixture. 

In weight, air contains 2,300 of oxygen for 7,700 of azote; in 
volume, 208 of the first for 792 of the second. The air, besides, 
contains from 4 to 6 10,000ths of carbonic acid in volume, 
whether it be taken at Paris or in the country. Ordinarily, it 
contains 4 10,000ths. Moreover, it contains a nearly equal 
quantity of the carburetted hydrogen gas which is called marsh 
gas, and which stagnant waters disengage perpetually. 

We do not speak of aqueous vapour, which is so variable ; 
of oxide of ammonium and of nitric acid, which can only have 
a momentary existence in the air because of their solubility in 
water. 

The air, then, is constituted of a mixture of oxygen, azote, 
carbonic acid, and marsh gas, 

The carbonic acid in it varies, and indeed greatly, since the 
differences in it extend almost from the simple to the double, 
from 4 to 6 10,000ths. May this not be a proof that plants 
take from the air this carbonic acid, and that animals take back 
a part from it ? in a word, may not this be a proof of that equi- 
librium of the elements of the air attributed to the inverse ac- 
tions which animals and plants produce upon it ? 

It has, indeed, been long since remarked, animals borrow 
from the air its oxygen, and give to it carbonic acid; plants, in 
their turn, decompose this carbonic acid, in order to fix its car- 
bon and restore its oxygen to the air. 

As animals breathe continually; as plants breathe under the 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 9 


solar influence only ; as in winter the earth is stript, whilst in 
summer it is covered with verdure, it has been supposed that 
the air must transfer all these influences into its constitution. 

Carbonic acid should augment by night and diminish by day, 
Oxygen, in its turn, should follow an inverse progress. 

Carbonic acid should also follow the course of the seasons, 
and oxygen obey the same law. 

All this is true, without doubt, and quite perceptible as to a 
portion of air limited and confined under a jar ; but, in the mass 
of the atmosphere, all these local variations blend and disappear. 
Accumulated centuries are requisite in order effectually to put in 
action this balance of the two kingdoms, with regard to the 
composition of air; we are then very far from those daily or 
yearly variations, which we had been apt to look upon as being 
as easy to observe as to foresee. With regard to oxygen, cal- 
culation shows that, exaggerating all the data, not less than 
800,000 years would be required for the animals living on the 
surface of the earth to consume it entirely. ! 

Consequently, if we suppose that an analysis of the air had 
been made in 1800, and that during the entire century plants 
had ceased to perform their functions on the surface of the whole 
globe, the animals at the same time all continuing to live, the 
analysts in 1900 would find the oxygen of the air diminished by 
1-8000th of its weight, a quantity which is beyond the reach of 
our most delicate methods of observation, and which, assuredly, 
would have no influence whatever on the life of animals or plants. 

As to this, then, we cannot be deceived; the oxygen of the 
air is consumed by animals, who convert it into water and car- 
bonic acid; it is restored by plants, which decompose these two 
bodies. 

But nature has arranged everything so that the store of air 
should be such with relation to the consumption of animals, that 
the want of the intervention of plants for the purification of the 
air should not be felt until centuries have elapsed. 

The air which surrounds us weighs as much as 581,000 cubic 
kilometres of copper; its oxygen weighs as much as 134,000 of 
these same cubes. Supposing the earth peopled with a thousand 
millions of men, and estimating the animal population at a quan- 
tity equivalent to three thousand millions of men, we should find 
that these quantities united consume in a century only a weight of 
oxygen equal to 15 or 16 cubic kilometres of copper, whilst the 
air contains 134,000 of:it. It would require 10,000 years for all 
these men to produce a perceptible effect upon the eudiometer 
of Volta, even supposing vegetable life annihilated during all this 
time. 

In regard to the permanence of the composition of air, we 
may say with all confidence that the proportion of oxygen 
which it contains is secured for many centuries, even reckoning 


10 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


for nothing the influence of vegetables, and that, nevertheless, 
these restore oxygen to it incessantly in quantity at least equal 
to that it loses, and perhaps more; for vegetables live just as 
much at the expense of the carbonic acid furnished by volcanoes, 
as at the expense of the carbonic acid furnished by animals them- 
selves. It is not then for the purpose of purifying the air that 
these breathe, that vegetables are especially necessary to animals; 
it is, above all, to furnish them, incessantly, with organic matter 
quite ready for assimilation; organic matter, which they may 
burn to their advantage. : 

There is, therefore, a service necessary, without doubt, but 
so remote, that it can scarcely be recognised, which vegetables 
render us, in purifying the air which we consume. ‘There is 
another service so immediate, that if, during a single year, it 
were to fail us, the earth would be depopulated; it is that which 
these same vegetables render us by preparing our nutriment, 
and that of all the animal kingdom. In this, especially, is found 
the chain that binds together the two kingdoms. Annihilate 
plants, and the animals all perish of a dreadful famine ; organic 
nature itself entirely disappears with them in a few seasons. 

We have, however, said that the carbonic acid of the air 
varies from 4 to 6 10,000ths. ‘These variations are very frequent, 
and very easy to observe. Is not this a phenomenon reproach- 
ing the influence of animals who introduce this acid into the air, 
and that of vegetables which deprive it of it? 

No; this phenomenon, you are aware, is a simple meteor- 
ological phenomenon. It is with carbonic acid as with aqueous 
vapour, which forms on the surface of the sea, to become con- 
densed elsewhere, fall again in rain, and be reproduced under 
the form of vapour. This water, which is condensed and falls, 
dissolves, and carries with it carbonic acid; this water, which 
evaporates, yields up this same gas to the air. 

A great meteorological interest would attach to the observation 
of the variations of the hygrometer, and those of the seasons, or 
of the state of the sky with the variations of the carbonic acid 
of the air; but hitherto all tends to show that these rapid 
variations constitute a simple meteorological event, and not, as 
had been thought, a physiological event, which, singly con- 
sidered, would infallibly produce variations infinitely slower 
than those which are, in fact, observed as much in towns as in 
the country itself. 

Thus the air is an immense reservoir, whence plants may for 
a long time derive all the carbonic acid necessary for their 
wants; where animals, during a much longer time still, will 
find all the oxygen that they can consume. It is also from the 
atmosphere that plants derive their azote, whether directly or 
indirectly: it is there that animals finally restore it. 


_ Evils of indiscriminate watering after shifting. 11 


The atmosphere is, therefore, a mixture which unceasingly 
receives and supplies oxygen, azote, or carbonic acid, by means 
of a thousand exchanges of which it is now easy to form a just 
idea, and the details of which a rapid analysis will now enable 
us to appreciate. 


( To be continued. ) 


Art. II. On the Evils of indiscriminalely watering Plants in Pots 
immediately after being shifted. By N.M.T. 


To insert cuttings of plants, particularly those of a soft-wooded 
or succulent nature, into moist materials, before the wounds 
made in preparing them are healed over, is often attended with 
fatal consequences, from the moisture finding its way into the 
pores of the plant, thereby causing putrefaction and decay. 

Now the woody parts of plants, being more consolidated and 
less porous than their roots, are altogether less calculated to 
imbibe an undde portion of moisture, yet we find that even these 
do so to a most injurious extent, and therefore we may reason- 
ably conclude that roots mutilated and placed in the same cir- 
cumstances would have a greater chance, from their peculiar 
organisation, to suffer from such a cause; nor can there remain 
a doubt that they do so. ‘This points out as most injudicious, 
the practice of turning plants out of their pots, reducing their 
balls, as the case may be, thereby lacerating every fibre, and 
placing every rootlet in a worse position than.a cutting, and 
then finishing the operation by giving a good drenching of water, 
which, as we have already seen, must make dire havoc among 
the previously reduced channels by which the plant receives its 
food. 

Such is, in a great measure, the cause of delicate plants suf- 
fering so much from shifting, of the check they receive unless 
the operation be carefully performed, and consequent loss of 
time in recovering from its effects. Still this isan every-day prac- 
tice, that has descended to us hallowed by the custom of ages, 
and sanctioned by the highest authorities. Who ever heard of 
directions fer shilting or potting plants that did not end thus ?— 
*¢ Give the whole a good watering, to settle the mould in the 
pots, and the operation is completed.” 

After shifting or transplanting plants in dry hot weather, 
when an arid atmosphere causes, by excessive evaporation, an un- 
usual drain upon the roots, the necessity of a supply of water 
will soon become apparent; and administering it under such cir- 
cumstances is Jess injurious than under any other, from the activity 
maintained in every part of the plant rendering stagnation an 


12. New or rare Hardy or Half-hardy Trees and Shrubs 


unlikely occurrence. But even then, when practicable, it is 
better to confine them in a close moist atmosphere, which, with 
water over head, and shade, will enable them to exist through 
the medium of the leaves until growing has commenced, and the 
roots are in a condition to receive, without injury, the necessary 
supply. 

It is, however, when there is a deficiency of heat, vegetation 
languid, and a corresponding danger from excess of moisture, 
that such precaution is most required, and the contrary practice 
most hurtful. Among seedlings of tender sorts the mortality 
from such mal-treatment is truly great; and, when the impossi- 
bility of transplanting such without in some shape hurting their 
few and almost unformed spongioles, scarcely more consolidated 
than the fluid in which they are so thoughtlessly immersed, 1s 
considered, their certain destruction is not to be wondered at. 
The advantages these derive from the treatment described led 
me first to examine more closely what I deem a matter of much 
importance. : 

Before quitting the subject for the present, I may here add 
that the injury inflicted by such treatment is not confined to the 
plants alone, the soil also is ofttimes irreparably injured. It 
has been placed between the sides of the pot and the root-bound 
ball containing the plant, where, being in a comparatively loose 
state, it receives the whole of the water that is considered suffi- 
cient to moisten the whole mass; as, where there is so little 
resistance, it is as effectually repelled by the dry ball as by the 
sides of the pot. ‘This reduces what has been added to the con- 
dition of a puddle, and in this state it stands a good chance of 
being baked as hard as a brick: at all events, it has been totally 
unfitted to afford that nourishment to the plant it otherwise 
would have done. Such consequences may be avoided by ap- 
plying moisture gradually: but if some time is allowed to elapse 
there is not so much to fear, even from the usual scaking, as 
the old and new materials must in the interim have become 
equally dry; a state, let it be remembered, indispensable to the 
thorough incorporation of such materials. 

Folkestone, Oct. 20. 1841. 


Art. II.I Notices of some new or rare Hardy or Half-hardy Trees 
and Shrubs in the Nursery of Messrs. Rollison of Tooting. By 
Joun Scott. 


By the kind permission of Messrs. Rollison, I am enabled to 
forward to you specimens of some rare and little known shrubs, 
consisting of hardy and half-hardy species, recently introduced 
to, and propagated in, this nursery. 


in the Nursery of Messrs. Rollison of Tooting. 13 


RAaNUNCULA‘cER. — Clématis californica? A species appa- 
rently related to C. florida. 

WintTERA CEZ.—lllicium religiosum Sieb.? Introduced in 
1841, but from whence is uncertain. Leaves alternate, ovate, 
smooth, entire, thick. Flowers white, large, produced from the 
axils of the leaves, and resembling those of Kugénza australis, 
but much larger. A fine half-hardy evergreen, easily grafted on 
I. floridanum. 

Maenoird ce z.— Magnolia hybrida Hort. <A pretty dwarf 
deciduous species, fit for a wall in a small garden. Obviously 
closely allied to M. purpurea. 

M. grandiflora var. Harwicus Hort. A Continental variety, 
raised between M. grandiflora exoniénsis and M. fuscata. Very 
scarce. Hardy. 

BERBER! DE#.— Berberis. Several species have come up 
from seeds received from Dr. Royle, but of which it is yet 
impossible to give any proper description. 

CapPARIDA CEZ.—Isdmeris californica. (I.arborea Nutt. Tor- 
rey and Gray’s Flora, vol. i. p.124.; Bot. Mag., n. ser. t. 3842.) 
Said to be a handsome plant, fitted for a wall, with slight pro- 
tection. 

Ayperica cem.— Hypéricum rosmarinifolium Lam. Dict. Tor. 
and Gray, vol.i. p.159. A pretty narrow-leaved species, from 
Kentucky, proper for a wall. 

AMPELI DEX. — Vitis parvifolia Royle’s Illust. p.145. A 
very curious species of vine, from elevated situations in the Hima- 
layas, with exceedingly small leaves for the family to which it 
belongs. Calculated for a miniature arboretum. Introduced two 
or three years ago, and likely to prove a useful addition to our 
climbers. 

V. heterophilla Sieb.? A beautiful and very desirable climber, 
from Japan, with variegated leaves. _ Introduced here in 1841. 

Aguiroura cez.— ew latifolia Hort. A fine species, with 
very large oval leaves, introduced from the Continent in 1841. 
I cannot say whether or not it is hardy. ‘There is another 
species, called Z. /aurifolia, in cultivation in the nurseries: I have 
not seen it; but, from description, I am inclined to think it the 
same as the above. 

Lreaumino'sz. — Sophora grandiflora? Introduced in 1841, 
from the Continent. It will prove a good plant for the con- 
servative wall. 

Indigéfera nepalénsis?, A free-growing shrub, and appa- 
rently hardy. 

Kennédya spléndens Bot. Reg. ‘This plant is very hardy, and, 
I believe, will be found to be a fit subject for a conservative wall, 
with slight protection, or perhaps without any. 


14 New or rare Hardy or Half-hardy Trees and Shrubs 


AMYGDA’LINE. — Prunus Mime Sieb.? Japan? I do not 
know any particulars of this species; the plants here are yet too 
small for me to be able to say any thing about it. It appears to 
me to belong to Cérasus, section Padi. 

Cérasus Laurocérasus Lois. var. cdlchica and Emerelli (?). 
These are varieties of the common laurel, received from Belgium 
in 1841. : 3 

SPIREA CERZ.—Spire'a fissa Lindl. (Gard.Mag., 1840, p. 593.) 
and Reevésii Hort, are both good shrubs, especially the first. 

Rosa crx. — Rubus lasiocdrpus Royle Illust. p. 203. A 
free-growing hardy species from the Himalayas, which bears a 
grateful fruit. 

Crate\gus Pyracdntha. A variety with white fruit, in every 
other respect like the species. 

Crate gus sp. A species from the Himalayas, belonging to 
the Pyracdntha section, evergreen, and no doubt hardy. ‘The 
late frosts do not appear to have in the least degree affected it. 

Poma‘cem. — Cotoneaster denticulata? Kunth. H. et B. 
N. Gen. Am., 6. t. 566.; Arb. Brit., abridged edit., fig. 741. A 
very pretty species with roundish obcordate leaves, pubescent 
underneath, and glabrous above. A very distinct species, allied 
to C. nummularia Lindl., and quite hardy. 

GrossuLta cem. — Ribes Menziésii? Nearly allied to R. 
speciosum by its leaves and spines. I have not seen the flowers 
(See Arb. Brit., abridged ed., p. 475. fig. 855.) 

ArRALiIaA‘cER. — Aralia japonica. A fine plant. See Ard. 
Brit. abr. ed. p. 1108. fig. 2093. 

SamBu ‘cE #.—Vibéirnum Awafuki Sieb.? (V. japonicum Hort.) 
As this plant agrees in many respects with the Coffea mono- 
spérma of Hook. et Arn., Iam not certain whether it may not 
be the same, as I have never seen the flowers or the seeds. 
Leaves opposite, shining, ovate, somewhat waved on the mar- 
gin. A beautiful evergreen, which, I have no doubt, will prove 
quite hardy. ‘There is a plant here out of doors, from which I 
took the specimen sent. There is no doubt this will find its 
way into every collection very soon. Easily propagated by cut- 
tings at any season. 

V. sinénse Zeyh. Whether this may not be the Coffea mono- 
spérma, I am unable to determine, but it answers the description 
better, and I incline to think it is. Leaves ovate, acumi- 
nate, subdentate, opposite; margins subreflexed. Although this 
is not such a fine shrub as the last, yet it deserves a prominent 
place in every collection. A hardy evergreen, easily propagated 
by cuttings at any season. 

V. Mullaha Ham. Royle Ilust., p. 236. (Synon. /. stellula- 
tum /Vall.) Leaves rotund, subrugose, bluntly dentate, woolly 
beneath. A shrub from elevated situations in the Himalayas, 


in the Nursery of Messrs. Rollison of Tooting. 15 


where the fruit is eaten. Nearly allied to V. cotinifolia D. Don. 
A very desirable species, and very likely to prove quite hardy. 

V. pygme‘a Royle. Leaves opposite, trilobate, subserrate. 
A very curious dwarf deciduous shrub, from 1 ft. to 1 ft. 6 in. in 
height; native of the Himalayas. A most desirable plant to 
represent the section O’pulus in a miniature arboretum. Quite 
hardy. Sent two or three years ago to the Tooting Nursery, by 
Dr. Royle. 

JASMVNEE. — Jasminum chrysanthum Royle Illust. p. 268. 
A species from the Himalayas, nearly allied to J. humile, and, I 
have no doubt, as hardy as that species. A very free grower, 
and (?) evergreen. Dr. Royle states that it is cultivated in the 
gardens along with J. grandiflorum. 

Erica cex.— A’rbutus. A species received from the Conti- 
nent in 1841. A beautiful plant, with ovate-lanceolate, glaucous, 
finely serrated leaves. Should this species prove hardy, it will 
be the most ornamental of all our arbutuses. Propagated by 
grafting upon 4. U‘nedo. 

A’rbutus. A species from Mexico. I have no doubt but 
this will prove a truly hardy species, perhaps belonging to 
Pernéttya. 

ScCROPHULARIA CER. — Paulownia see Sis Sieb. Arb. Brit., 

abr. ed., p. 671. figs. 1307-8. This magnificent tree has just 
arrived Gant dh nursery. Nothing can be “finer than the appear- 
ance of the young plants, and I am sorry I cannot do justice to 
a description of so splendid an addition to the British arbore- 
tum. Messrs. Rollison have in their possession a leaf equal in 
size to those of Myatt’s Victoria rhubarb, but which is only half 
the size of some other leaves that were upon the tree from 
which this was taken. My informant tells me that he saw some 
plants that had made shoots 14 ft. long in the course of the past 
summer; and he adds that they had leaves upon them 3 ft. in 
diameter. How any one could substitute for this tree the Ca- 
talpa syringefolia I am at a loss to know; but, according to 
some observations in the Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 701., such seems 
to have been the case. ‘To prevent such unfair proceedings 
(which no respectable nurseryman would have recourse to), it 
must be borne in mind, that, although the leaves of Paulownza, 
when the tree is planted out, become of an amazing size, espe- 
cially for the two or three first years (for they afterwards become 
less, as the tree becomes less rapid in its growth), yet, when 
confined in a pot, the plant produces leaves, some of them very 
small, varying from 3in. to 12 in. in diameter. But, even in 
this state, they are easily recognised, the shoots being much more 
hairy on the young wood than those ng the Catdlpa. The leaves of 
Pauldwniza are also deeply serrated, and slightly ciliated; whilst 
those of Catdlpa are not so. Indeed, the differences between 


16 New or rare Hardy or Half-hardy Trees and Shrubs. 


the two plants are so striking, that no one who has ever seen the 
Catélpa need be deceived by it. Any one doubting the size of 
the leaves of Pauléwnza may, by paying a visit to the Messrs. 
Rollison, at Tooting, have their doubts dispelled. They have a 
leaf for public examination. 

Mr. Paxton, in the Gard. Chron., vol.i. p.'718., seems to be 
of opinion that it will not prove hardy in this country, because 
of its rapid growth. But we have instances of other rapid- 
growing trees resisting our winters, such as elder, which in a 
young state makes shoots sometimes 12 ft. long, yet it is not 
much hurt by our winters; and the near ally of Paulownza, the 
Catdlpa, I have often seen produce shoots 6 ft. to 8 ft. long; of 
course these had their tips killed. The same would, or might, 
happen to Paulownza; but the tree as it advanced in growth 
would eventually produce less and less vigorous shoots, which I 
have no doubt would resist our severest colds. 

From a letter received from Mr. Newman, I learn that the 
plants of Paulownza in the Jardin des Plantes have stood unpro- 
tected. One which was planted out whilst I lived in the 
garden stood the winter of 1838-9 without any covering, and I 
am told it has now attained the height of 20 ft., producing leaves 
2 ft.in diameter. ‘Those at the Trianon are much more rapid 
in their growth, having made shoots from 12 ft. to 14 ft. long 
this year; the soil there being much better than it is in the 
Jardin des Plantes. That it will ultimately become, by its 
foliage, a “striking feature” in our landscape scenery, I do not 
for a moment doubt. It is easily propagated by cuttings of the 
roots put into thumb pots, under a hand-light: those put in 
here in the end of October are now commencing to push, and 
by May will make fine plants. 

Proted cE#.— Quaddria heterophilla R. et P. FI. Per. 1. t. 99. 
f. b. (Syn. Guevina Avellana Mol.) Chile. Leaves pinnate. 
Leaflets ovate acute, subcymeeform, sharply toothed, terminal, 
one often trilobate. Altogether a beautiful shrub for a con- 
servative wall with slight protection. A plant here, planted 
against a south wall, has not had the youngest leaves in the 
slightest degree hurt, although the thermometer stood this 
morning (Nov. 17. 1841) as low as 24° Fahr., and it has had 
the sun shining directly against it nearly all day. Easily pro- 
pagated by cuttings put in, under a hand-light, at any season. 

PLUMBAGI NE&.— Statice monopétala. Good for a conserva- 
tive wall with protection. 

EvPHORBIA CE. — Sdpium heterophgllum. A good plant for 
a conservative wall with protection. 

Cupuci’FERE. — Quércus confertifolia H.et B. Arb. Brit., 
abr. ed., p. 904. fig. 1686. A fine hardy species, with long 
rugose entire leaves, wavy at the margins, which turn back. 


Notes upon Mr. Scott’s Report. 17 


Q. xalapénsis Humb. Arb. Brit., abr. ed., p. 898. fig. 1667. 
Another fine species, with ovate-lanceolate leaves. 

Q. glabra Thunb., Arb. Brit., abr. ed., p. 893.; Q. dentata 
Thunb., ibid. p. §93.; Q. 7ugosa Willd., ibid. p. 904. fig. 1691. ; 
a species from Assam; and another from Nepal. ‘These five 
are very fine plants; and all of them, I think, will live out of 
doors here. ‘The first three species have already been proved 
quite hardy, both in England and France. 

Looting Nursery, Nov. 17. 1641. 


ArT.1V. Notes upon Mr. Scott's Report. By G.Gorpon, A.L.S. 


[WE scarcely ever send the communication of one corre- 
spondent to be commented on by another before it is pub- 
lished; but we made an exception in this case, with Mr. Scott’s 
consent, in order that we might get all the information we could 
for the Supplementary List to the abridged edition of our Arbo- 
retum Britannicum, which will be printed and published before 
the appearance of our February Number. ] 


Cre’mMATIs californica. Probably a new species, but a very 
doubtful name, as I cannot find any such name in Douglas’s 
Californian Herbarium, or amongst any of his memorandums ; 
nor is any such name to be found in Steudel’s Nomenclator, or 
in any other modern catalogue that I have access to: there- 
fore, I think it very doubtful; for generally when a plant is 
named after a country, it either is the most common in that 
country or very plentiful there. 

Ilicium religiosum, or Skimi of the Japanese, is most pro- 
bably nothing more than a variety of I. anisatum, with which 
the people in Japan ornament their temples; hence the specific 
name. 

Vitis heterophijila is nearly related to Cissus antarctica, with 
the leaves much more jagged, and variegated with white. The 
plants bear clusters of small blue fruit, which are very orna~ 
mental. It certainly must be a species of Cissus, of slender 
growth, and tender ; probably it may be the Vitis heterophylla of 
Thunberg, a plant from Java. 

lex latifolia is a splendid hardy evergreen from Japan, which 
should be in every collection. [In the Epsom Nursery, it is 
quite hardy, and bears leaves 9 in. long.] 

Sophora grandiflora ?. Is it not Edwardsza grandiflora, an old 
plant ? 

Indigéfera nepalénsis. Probably a garden name applied to 


. one of the numer ous specimens of Indigofera from the north of 


38d Ser.—1842. T. c 


18 Notes upon Mr. Scotts Report. 


India, where they abound. ‘There is frequently one raised from 
these seeds which is much hardier than the others, with rather 
large bright rosy-pink flowers, which stood last winter without any 
protection in an open border; and Dr. Royle says that there are 
many which grow very high up the hills, which should be quite 
hardy in England. 

Primus Mume of Sieboldt is a yellow-fruited plum used by 
the people for pickles, as cucumbers and walnuts are in England, 
and producing, like the common plum (P. doméstica), many hun- 
dreds of varieties ; therefore, it must be a mistake (or the plants 
are not true), to suppose this plum belongs to the bird-cherry 
section (C. Padus), which has long bunches of small berries, 
not at all likely to be used for pickles. ‘This is the dwarf, 
or weeping, plum of the Japanese. 

Cérasus Laurocérasus var. célchica. Hardly worth keeping 
distinct as a variety of the common laurel, though the leaves are 
more pointed. 

Spire‘a Reevesii. According to Dr. Lindley, in Bot. Reg. 
Miscel. 93. 1841, this is the Spiree‘a lanceolata of M. Cam- 
bassedes, a very desirable shrub, with clusters of large white 
flowers. 

Rubus lastocarpus. All the plants which I have seen, or raised 
myself from Indian seeds, under this name, are not different from 
R. pauciflorus (£2. micranthus Arb. Brit.), a plant with beautifully 
varnished mahogany-coloured stems. 

Crate gus sp. is certainly C. crenulata, or the Himalayan Py- 
racantha, with rather longer and narrower leaves than the com- 
mon Pyracantha, but only a variety of that species. It is quite 
hardy. 

Vibtirnum Awafuki I have never seen; but V. japonicum of 
Sprengel is a species of Cornus. 

Vibiirnum sinénse, or more properly V. odoratissimum, has large 
leaves, about the size of those of the common laurel, and very 
like them. It is a very old plant, andtender. ‘There is a varie- 
gated var. of it. ; 

V. Mullaha. I have never been able to find any distinction 
between this and /. cotinifolia, and I have raised plants several 
times, both from seeds received from Drs. Royle and Wallich ; 
and the plant published in the Bot. Reg. bore the name Mullaha 
until published in that work by Dr. Lindley. 

V. pygme‘a I have never seen, or heard of from Dr. Royle; but 
there is a V. pygmee‘a in some collections from the nursery of 
Messrs. Lee of Hammersmith, which is a very dwarf variety of 
Guelder rose, not growing more than | ft. or 18 in. high, and 
corresponding with this description exactly. 

Jasminum chrysanthum of Roxb, is the same as J. revolutum 


of Wallich. 


Planting so as to combine Utility and Ornament. 19 


A’rbutus sp. ? from Mexico, may prove tolerably hardy ; but, if 
the plant comes from Mexico, it certainly cannot be a species of 
Pernéttya, as hitherto no species of Pernéttya has been found 
except in Peru, Chili, the Straits of Magellan, &c. 

Paulownia imperialis. Certainly nothing can be more distinct 
than this and Catdlpa; and it is a very curious idea, that, because 
the plant makes vigorous shoots and has large leaves, it should 
not be hardy. As a set-off against such an assertion, I may men- 
tion that A7ldntus glandulosa, which will make extraordinary 
shoots when young, and has large leaves, is from the same 
country, and yet is as hardy as any plant we possess. : 

Quércus rugosa is a nursery name applied to the true Quércus 
spicata. (See Gard, Mag., vol. xvi. p. 636.) 

All the other plants noticed by Mr. Scott are too well known 
to render necessary any further remarks. 

The public are much indebted to Messrs. Rollison and Mr. 
Scott for this Report, which, I hope, will lead to others of the 
same kind by the curators of botanic gardens and by nurserymen 
throughout the country. — Turnham Green, Dec. 1841. 


Art. V. On Planting so as to combine Utility and Ornament. 
By W. BILirineTon. 


I nave for a long time had in contemplation a method to insure 
a permanent undergrowth of evergreen or deciduous trees and 
shrubs, in belts, clumps, or other plantations, either near the 
mansion or at a distance from it; and to serve also for screens, 
blinds, shelter and cover for game, and to insure at the same 
time the free growth of both profitable and ornamental timber 
trees. I had an opportunity of putting my plan in practice 
about two years ago, at Hardwick, near Ellesmere, Salop, 
the seat of Sir J. R. Kynaston, Bart.; but I am sorry to 
observe that it has been counteracted, in a great measure, there 
and at other places, by the advice or suggestions (I firmly be- 
lieve) of agents, whether attorneys or not, it matters not, who 
know but little about it themselves, but who have generally 
plans and views of their own, and say they can do it as well and 
cheaper with their own common labourers, for they perfectly 
understand it. However, be that as it may, I shall detail, as 
briefly as I can, what I have done at Hardwick, with my senti- 
ments thereon. 

What I have done there was for a blind to hide a timber 
yard very near the mansion and principal entrance. I first 
planted what I designed to be the permanent trees, for blind as 


well as for ornament, in masses, the plants of each species by 
c 2 


20 Planting so as to combine Utility and Ornament. 


themselves; the sorts were oaks, Spanish chestnuts, and elms. 
Then others of the same kinds, but of a less size, were planted 
between them as temporary plants, to-effect an immediate blind, 
by way of filling up the spaces until the principal trees begin to 
extend their branches, when the supernumerary trees are to be 
taken out in two, three, or four years, to plant again as single 
trees, or in groups, hedgerows, or for any other purpose for 
which they may be wanted, as they will be suitably prepared for 
such purposes; otherwise they must be cut down or taken out, 
before they injure the permanent trees. “The other spaces 
should be filled up with beech and hornbeam, which, when 
headed down, generally retain their foliage through the winter 
months, when such thick cover is most wanted. Such plants 
for undergrowth I take care to divest of their leading upright _ 
shoots, at from 4 to 6 or 7 feet high, according to their ap- 
pearance and effect with the side branches of the intended 
permanent trees. Divesting them of their upright aspiring 
shoots prevents them from getting up to injure the permanent 
trees, and increases their lateral or side branches, so as to fill 
up the blind and keep a permanent undergrowth. This work 
should be attended to for a few years, to prevent them acquiring 
fresh leaders, which they are naturally inclined to do. 

At the base of the permanent trees I planted young hollies, 
either common or variegated, for future effect, at from 1 ft. to 
2 ft. from the stem, with the head leaning towards it, to allow 
for the increase of the trunk or stem, as well as to form a surer 
mark than any other I could think of to know the permanent 
trees by. Then, round the outsides of the belt, and occasionally 
in the interior, I planted spruce and silver firs, and Scotch 
pines, each kind by themselves in groups or masses as it were; 
the firs from 4 to 6 or 7 feet in height; taking special care to 
shorten the leading upright shoot, or break out the central 
leading bud of the upright shoot, at the desired height; also to 
shorten or break out the central or leading bud of the side 
branches where necessary, to thicken the blind, and prevent them 
getting out of bounds and destroying or injuring the fences. 
The Scotch pines should be principally at or near the outside, 
as they do not endure under the shade so long as the spruce 
and silver firs. In front of this belt, viz. the side most in view, 
were planted various kinds of evergreen, deciduous, and va- 
riegated dwarfish flowering trees and shrubs; at least to be kept 
dwarf so as not to injure the effect of the permanent forest trees 
in the background; as well as more effectually to insure the 
main object, an effectual permanent blind, not forgetting em- 
bellishment as well. Although I have recommended beech and 
hornbeam for under-cover, I would prefer common _hollies, - 
common laurels, rhododendrons, or other suitable evergreens, 


Culture of the Thunbergia. Q1 


which will endure under the drip and shade of other trees; but 
they are of such slow growth at first, and are, besides, dearer, 
and not so easily procured as the beech and hornbeam. At any 
rate, the evergreens should be planted at the first making of the 
plantations, and, as they get up, the beech and hornbeam could 
be removed, if thought desirable ; but, in each case, attention 
must be, for several years, regularly paid to divesting them of 
their aspiring shoots, and occasionally shortening some of the 
side branches, to prevent too much straggling, and to insure the 
permanent undergrowth. I will just observe that beech and 
hornbeam are best adapted, in distant high exposed situations, 
for permanent undergrowth in narrow belts or clumps; and 
evergreens, nearer home, in more sheltered places. 

By following up this plan for a few years, we can insure a 
permanent close and thick undergrowth of evergreen or de- 
ciduous trees and shrubs, with the most beautiful, picturesque, 
and profitable forest trees, instead of those unsightly naked 
plantations, open at bottom, with nearly valueless timber trees, 
so frequently to be seen; and which plantations, with a very 
little trouble or expense, might be made both profitable and 
ornamental at the same time. But, alas! gentlemen do not see 
this; or, at least, they will not pursue it, too often, I fear, from 
the causes I have previously hinted at. 

I could say much more on this subject, and on that of 
pruning and training hedgerow timber trees, but more par- 
ticularly single evergreen trees, or masses of evergreen trees 
in noblemen’s or gentlemen’s parks, with accompanying under- 
growth for shelter and protection to the trees. Such parks being 
generally very deficient in these respects, and having rather a 
dreary effect in winter, without these accompanying embellish- 
ments, when there are hundreds of acres ornamented with only 
deciduous trees. Such is the case at Hawkstone, the seat of Sir 
Rowland Hill, Bart.; Powis Castle, the Earl of Powis; Hard- 
wick, Sir J. R. Kynaston, Bart.; Sundorne Castle, A. W. 
Corbet, Esq.; Porkington, W. Ormsby Gore, Esq., in this 
neighbourhood: and no doubt this is generally the case; at least, 
it is so in most places that have come under my own observation. 
But it would be too long to enlarge on this subject in one 
article, and therefore I shall reserve it for a future time, should 
you approve of my continuing the subject. [Which we do.] 

Underhill, near Oswestry, Oct. 18. 1841. 


Arr. VI. On growing the Thunbergia. By Rk. B. WILson. 


I am induced to lay before your readers my method of growing 


the Thunbergia, acting under the impression that I have been 
c 3 


22 Culture of the Thunbergia. 


more than usually successful in the growth of that plant. I had 
a plant this season 7 ft. in height, and upwards of 8 ft. in 
circumference, which was one entire mass of bloom from May 
till the end of September. Under the most favourable cireum- 
stances as to care and skilful cultivation, any plant when grown 
in a pot maintains a habit entirely foreign to what it has when 
grown in the open ground, where its roots can range at pleasure, 
with its foliage exposed to the open air and the direct rays of 
the sun. Taking this into due consideration, it is truly surpris- 
ing to see the degree of perfection so many of our stove and 
greenhouse plants have arrived at within the last few years. 
Nor has the Thunbergia been behind its neighbours in point of 
improvement, both in respect to culture and the production of 
varieties, and, when well grown, I consider it to be one of the 
most showy and, beautiful of all our stove plants, with its rich 
deep foliage, and white or orange flowers, which form an excel- 
lent contrast with them. 

I treat my plants in the following manner :—As all the sorts 
ripen their seeds well, I raise my plants from seeds every year. 
They are sown in 48-sized pots, in a rich light soil, plunging 
them to the rimina cucumber frame in the beginning of Fe- 
bruary ; and, as soon as they are about 4 in. high, they are potted 
off singly into 48-sized pots, in the following compost: light 
turfy loam, black heath soil, good rotten hotbed dung, equal 
parts, adding a little leaf mould. As soon as the roots fill the 
pot, the plant is shifted into a 16-sized pot, and is then topped 
to cause it to throw out lateral branches, repotting it till it has 
acquired nine shoots; and, when requisite, it is repotted into a 
4-sized pot, and removed into a stove or vinery at work, where a 
trellis is made for it in the following manner :—Eight small green 
rods are placed round the inside of the pot, 6 ft. long, and one 
in the centre 7 ft. long, a wire hoop being fastened round the top 
of the eight outside rods; and from the top of each of these rods a 
small piece cf twine or -wire is carried to the top of the centre 
rod, thereby forming a dome. A shoot is fastened to each of 
these rods, and frequently stopped, to furnish the trellis com- 
pletely; and, to keep the plant vigorous, all flower buds are 
nipped off as soon as they appear, until the trellis is nearly 
covered; watering frequently with manure water. Of course the 
pot must be thoroughly drained, which is an important feature 
in the cultivation of all plants in pots. 

With this treatment I have grown different varieties of the 
Thunbergia, to the admiration of all who saw them; the Jeaves 
measuring in general 4in. in length and 3 in. in breadth, and 
the flowers 14 in. in diameter. 

Norton, Oct. 14. 1841. 


Culture of Vines in Pots. 23 


Art. VII. On the Culture of Aristolochia trilobata. By W. JONES. 


In last August I planted out, on a south wall, a plant of Aristo- 
léchia trilobata, which now occupies a considerable portion of 
the same, and has flowered beautifully, and continues to pro- 
duce a flower from the axil of every leaf; many of which, with 
their long tail-like appendages, are upwards of 1 ft. in length. 
These appendages, and its dark glossy three-lobed leaves, form 
a pleasing contrast with two of its rambling neighbours, ‘Tro- 
pz olum adincam and T. pentaphyllum, and it seems to vie 
with them in strength and rapid growth. 

Aristolochia trilobata has borne, with equal impunity, cold, 
high wind, frost, and excessive wet, up to this time (Oct. 29.). 
If I am able to protect it during winter, it will be a valuable 
acquisition to a wall of climbers next summer; but, should it 
fail, I will replace it in April with a large plant of the same 
species out of a plant-stove, which will flower until killed by the 
frosts of winter; for every leaf it produces out of doors is ac- 
companied with a flower in embryo. I root plants of it in a 
week by merely pegging down the extremities of the shoots in 
the corner of a tan-bed. The compost I grow it in is equal 
parts of loam, peat, and very old cow-dung, with a little sand. 
I have on the same wall a plant of Boussingatltza baselloides, the 
tubers of which have stood the frosts of last. winter without any 
kind of protection whatever: many of them were almost pro- 
truding through the ground. As Boussingaultza will be strong 
next season, I expect abundance of flowers: it is a great 
rambler. 

Booterstown, Oct. 29. 1841. 


Art. VIII. On growing Vines in Pots. By W.A. L. 


As the subject of growing vines in pots has been very freely dis- 
cussed of late in the Gardener’s Magazine, it may appear super- 
fluous again to recur to the subject: but as the pot system has 
its advantages, especially where a few early grapes are wanted 
to supply the dessert in April and May, I hope I shall be ex- 
cused by you and my brother gardeners, for again directing 
their attention to the subject. ‘This I am desirous of doing, as 
much with a view to elicit remarks and information from those 
who have successfully adopted the pot system, as to relate my 
own mode of practice. 

I propagate my vines from eyes or buds in February, taken 
from a shoot of the previous year’s growth, selecting such sorts 
or varieties as are known to be most approved by my employer, 
and put one cutting or bud in a No. 60 pot. ‘The pots are then 

c 4 


24 Culture of Vines in Pots. 


placed in a hotbed frame, or plunged in tan in the hot-house 
at about 70° of heat; after they are well rooted, they require to 
‘be shifted into No. 48 pots. When the shoots are from 2 ft. to 3 ft. 
in length, I give them their final shifting into No.6 pots. I give 
a good drainage to the pot, and plant them low, so that, when 
finished, the pot may not be above two thirds filled with compost. 
The pots should now be placed where they are to remain, until 
such time as the vines have made their full growth. The best 
situation for them is in the front of a forcing-house for flowers 
(or if a small house could be appropriated for this purpose, so 
much the better); and if not placed too close together, the par- 
tial shade of the foliage during the hot months of summer will 
be rather beneficial than otherwise. 

It is most desirable that the pots should be raised about 15in. 
above the hot-water pipes, if the house is heated by that system ; 
or, if by the common flue, large pans should be placed under the 
pots, and kept full of water where the flue is hottest. The near- 
ness of the roots to the heated medium will wonderfully accele- 
rate their growth ; and, if proper attention is given to airing and 
watering, short joints and strong canes will be the consequence. 
Care should be taken to divest them of all laterals as soon as they 
appear, as this gives a fulness and prominence to the buds, 
which they would not otherwise obtain. 

When the vines have grown of sufficient length, say from 12 ft. 
to 18 ft., the supply of water should be gradually withheld until 
the wood is comparatively ripe: they should then be removed 
from the house, and trained against a south wall, laying the pots 
upon their sides, to keep the roots dry, and covering the 
pots with litter or muck. ‘To prevent worms getting into the 
pots, a layer of dry lime covered with coal-ashes should be 
put under them. 

Having thus grown and ripened the wood of the vines, the 
next thing to be attended to is the preparing and pruning 
them for forcing, which ought to be done about four or five 
weeks before they are put into-the forcing-house. _ Upon exami- 
nation, it will be found that the largest and best buds are towards 
the extremity of the shoot; it is therefore to be cut back to these 
buds. It will be observed, that, in the final shifting, the pots 
were only two thirds filled with compost, the reason for which 
was, that space might be left for coiling the vine round the inside 
of the pot, at the same time divesting it of all the buds except 
8, 10, or 12, at the end which is to be left out of the pot, 
fixing the coil down with pegs, and then filling up the pot with 
compost. It will be apparent that a great advantage is gained 
by coiling the vine round the pot, since by this we preserve the 
elaborated sap, which would otherwise have been lost by cutting 
back the vine to within 3 or 4 feet of the pot. We. have also, by 


= 


Culture of the Apple Tree on poor Soils. 25 
this practice, the certainty of having numerous strong roots, after 
the expansion of the leaf, issuing from that part which is coiled, and 
which will very materially assist to bring the fruit to perfection. 
Indeed, it is an objection with me to the free adoption of Mr. 
Mearn’s coiling system, that so much of the prepared sap should 
be excited to the production of roots, instead of its natural desti- 
nation, the developement of the leaf and embryo bunches of 
fruit.. A few of the vines may be put into the forcing-house in 
December, and another succession in January, at a heat of 70° 
at night. It were well to have a good bottom-heat of tan, 
which should be frequently stirred up, as the moisture arising 
from this source will keep the atmosphere of the house in a due 
state of humidity, which is so beneficial in the forcing of the 
vine, and on this the pots may be placed; or, as before re- 
commended, they may be set above the water-pipes or flue, so as 
to diffuse a general warmth through the mass of compost in the 
pot, and to excite the roots that they may afford an abundant 
supply of sap to the elongating of the young wood and bunches. 
A third set of plants may remain against the wall, to give a late 
supply in the autumn. These pots are to be placed in an upright 
position about the middle of March, and supplied with water. 
When the temperature of the nights in autumn is rather cool, 
and while the foliage is yet good, they are to be removed into 
the house, to bring the fruit to perfection. Before the buds have 
broken, the position of the vines should be frequently changed, 
and their shoots bent in various directions, to prevent the deter- 
mination of the sap to two or three buds only. By attending to 
this, the buds will all break equally, and produce from one to 
three bunches each; but of these one only should be left to come 
to maturity. 

Jan. 20. 1837. 


Art. 1X. How to plant and prune the Apple Tree, so as to have 
good Crops on unpropitious Soils. By R. T. 


As the planting of fruit trees seems now to engross the attention 
of many persons, perhaps you will allow me a corner in your 
useful work to give a little advice to some of your readers on 
the planting of apples. There are but few people, I believe, 
who are not pleased with a good crop of apples; but there are 
a great many who have been deterred from planting, on account 
of the numerous disappointments they have formerly met with, 
and have set it down for certain that the soil of their garden will 
not grow apples, for they are as sure to canker as ever they 
plant them; and.they cannot afford the expense of making the 
soil fit for them. Now, sir, I happen to live in a neighbourhood 


26 Culture of the Apple Tree on poor Soils. 


where there is but little to be found naturally besides clay or 
gravel, and the ground is usually very wet. When I first came 
here, we had plenty of old apple trees, but very few apples. 
We had also some young trees; but, as far as I can recollect, I 
never saw a crop on any of them. Being fond of seeing good 
apple trees, as soon as opportunity occurred I began to turn my. 
attention to the subject. 

It may be proper to observe that all the trees previously 
planted were on crab stocks; and I therefore determined on 
planting none but such as were on paradise stocks, as requiring 
less room, making less wood, less roots, and bearing more fruit. 
I accordingly prepared two borders, 5 ft. wide, by trenching 
them as deep as I had goed soil, and making a drain of broken 
bricks to carry off the water. I then planted one row of trees 
down the centre of each border, about 8 ft. apart. or the first 
few years the borders were dug and cropped; but, since the 
roots have occupied the principal part of the ground, they 
have not been dug, nor cropped, nor manured in any way, as I 
am a great enemy to digging fruit tree borders, which, perhaps, 
you may recollect from a letter of mine which you published 
some years ago on the evils of that practice. 

But to return. The trees were all dwarfs, and were pruned 
so as to look something like an umbrella turned bottom up- 
wards. In pruning, I generally leave as much young wood as 
I can at its full length, seldom shortening the shoots till they 
are about as high as ‘T can reach, by which time they are fur- 
nished with fruit and fruit spurs most of the way up; and as 
soon as they become too thick, I take out the old shoots, and 
bring up young ones. By this means I have now plenty of 
apples, of first-rate kinds; and their appearance, when in flower, 
is beautiful, being that of a wall of flowers on each side. It is 
true that all sorts will not bear equally well; but, having found 
which do best, I take up those which do not bear, and substi- 
tute other sorts. 

Calculating that such trees-will not last so long as those on 
crabs in a gocd soil, I have planted others to succeed them, 
which are doing equally well. The first have been planted 
about fitteen, Tye others about eight years ; and I feel confident 
that, in most cases, apples may be obtained i in this way: that is, 
use those trees which are on paradise stocks; plant nearly on 
the surface; do not manure the ground unless very poor, and, 
even then, fresh soil added is preferable ; ; do not dig the bondaes 
after the trees are established ; let the borders be ‘well drained, 
and use the knife sparingly, except to regulate the bremcness 
and shorten them when they are about as high as a man can 
reach, beyond which never allow them to erow. 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 27 


REVIEWS. 


Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agricullure, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


A CATALOGUE of select Plants, grown and sold by Wilham May, at Hope Nursery, 
Leeming Lane, Bedale, Yorkshire. Pamph. 8vo, pp.16. 1841. 


This catalogue appears to contain most of the useful and new plants at 
present in cultivation, arranged as Stove Plants, Cacteze, Greenhouse Plants, 
Pelargoniums, Calceolarias (upwards of 70 sorts), New Chrysanthemums 
from the South of Spain (50 sorts), Camellias (85 sorts), Ericas, Select and 
showy hardy Herbaceous Plants, New and Superb Stove Pansies (above 100 
sorts), Auriculas, Select Polyanthus, Carnations, Pinks, Roses, and Select 
and Showy Hardy Shrubs and Ornamental Trees. 

All the articles are priced, and as the catalogue is printed on thin paper it 
may be sent any where for twopence. We learn with great pleasure that Mr. 
May has “last year planted out a collection of dwarf deciducus flowering 
shrubs, one of each kind, and all named according to the Ard. Brit. The 
number of species and varieties amounting to about 400, amongst which are 
some rare specimens of tree pony, berberis, mahonia, cytisus, &c. They 
are planted in a piece of ground of near a quarter of an acre, adjoining a main 
walk, and are arranged according to their families, so far as is practicable con- 
sistent with the dwarfest-growing varieties being placed fronting the main 
walk, and rising to the back to form a sort of amphitheatre. They have now 
had two seasons’ growth, and promise to be very interesting and ornamental. 
A sufficient space is left between the plants, so that they may attain some- 
thing of their natural form for at least several years ; and, by a little judicious 
pruning, I think they may be kept so for many years. 

“On the opposite side of this walk 1 intend putting out a similar arrange- 
ment of evergreen dwarf shrubs, and to continue with American or peat earth 
plants; and above, and more in the distance, I intend to plant all the orna- 
mental.trees, climbers, and the pine and fir tribes, forming six distinct sections, 
and so arranged that the whole may be seen from this main walk, which is 
about 200 yards in length. The idea was suggested by your judicious re- 
marks on such arrangements in the Arboretum ; and J have no doubt what I have 
done, and intend to do, will be found of great benefit to purchasers as well as 
to myself.” 


Catalogue of Nursery Stock, cultivated and sold by William Gregory, Nur- 
seryman, Seedsman, and Florist, Cirencester, Gloucestershire. One sheet, to 
go by post. 


This is a very ample catalogue, and particularly rich in ornamental trees 
and shrubs, witness the species or varieties of the following genera, viz. 
Avcer 22, A’rbutus 17, Bérberis 15, Mahonia 6, Cistus 21, Clématis 19, Coto- 
neaster 9, Cratz‘gus 55, Pinus 46, &c. Nothing gives us more pleasure than 
to see collections of this extent propagated for sale in different parts of the 
country. We rejoice also to see additions to our hothouse and greenhouse 
plants, to Orchideae and to Cactez ; but far more are we gratified by the in- 
troduction and general diffusion of hardy flowers, which can be seen in every 
road-side garden, and hardy trees and shrubs, which may adorn the margin of 
a plantation or a hedgerow, and be seen and enjoyed by all. Prices are put 
to all the plants ; a most commendable practice, as many persons hesitate to 
give an order “in the dark.” We are quite aware, at the same time, that a weak 
plant may be dearly bought at a low price, and a good stout well-rooted plant 
cheap at a high price; still we believe that low prices will be ultimately found 
best for all parties. 


28 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, §c. 


The Fruit-Grower’s Instructor ; being a Practical Treatise on the Cultwation and 
Treaiment of Fruit Trees. To which is added, full Instructions for Forcing, 
with a List and Descriptive Account of all the best Fruits cultivated in Great 
Britain ; also Directions for Hothouse Buildings, with the most approved Modes 
of heating by Fire and Hot-Water. By George Bliss. 8vo, pp. 312. London, 
1841. 


A. practical work, which as such may be depended on so far as it goes. 
The omission of several of the new pears, the glout morceau, for example, 
while the green chisel is retained, and other fruits, is a proof to us that the 
author writes only from his own experience. We shall quote what he says 
on tying of grafts in the London nurseries, and also his directions for making 
oiled-paper frames for growing melons. 

“ Tying of Grafts.— Having given the necessary instructions for the grafter, 
tying of grafts is the next consideration. The tying is done by a man who follows 
the grafter ; he must have his bast or matting cut in lengths about one foot and a 
half long, or if the stocks are large, it may be longer ; this, tied in small bundles, 
should be taken one at a time (after dipping it in water to make it tough), and 
tied in the string of the apron, putting one end in the apron to keep it moist: 
the bast should be strong, otherwise should it break, if the grafter be quick, 
he will have to wait for the man who ties: the man being now prepared, he 
should begin to tie about four stocks behind the grafter, and keep about that 
distance, which will give the grafter room. 

“The bast should be placed firm against the botton of the scion, and not let 
slip, which will prevent the scion from being put out of its place. This is very 
necessary to be observed, for if the scion is removed by the tying, it is useless 
for the grafter to be particular about putting the grafts on. He should then tie 
it tight round till it comes to the top of the stock, where it should have a tight 
hitch to fasten off; then cut the end of the bast close off, for if the end is left 
an inch long, which I have often seen, it prevents the clay from being properly 
closed, consequently admitting the air to the graft, which often proves fatal. 

“ The next thing is putting on the clay. commonly called dabbing. This is done 
by a boy who follows the man who ties. Having put his clay into something to 
carry it with him, he must take a small piece of clay sufficient to cover the 
whole of the incision, and to come about half an inch above the top of the 
stock, in order that it may hang well on the shoulder ; this he should roll up 
in his hands nearly in the form of an egg, then make a hollow in one side of it 
with one hand, sufficiently deep, that, when it is put on the stock, it will en- 
close it all around alike. 

“ After the dabber follows another boy, called the closer. He follows with a 
pot of dry ashes, or dust, to rub his hands with to keep them from sticking to 
the clay, and closes up every crack, squeezing it tight round the bottom of the 
clay to keep it from slipping ; then making it perfectly smooth, nearly in the 
form of an egg, it finishes the grafting. 

“ The above is the general way of grafting in large nurseries about London; 
but where small quantities only are wanted to be grafted, the grafter may tie 
his own grafts, and one boy will serve both to dab and close. 

“T have treated as fully as possible on grafting of apples, as it will serve for 
most other fruits, for this practice of grafting is far preferable to saddle or rind 
grafting for fruit trees. 

“ Directions for making Oiled-Paper Frames for growing Melons.—Fine crops 
of melons are produced by growing them under oiled-paper frames ; the plants 
being raised the same as directed for hand-glasses, and the beds prepared in 
the same way: they may either be covered with hand-glasses till June, or, in 
want of hand-glasses, the paper frames placed over them at once. If first pro- 
tected with hand-glasses, when the glasses become filled with the rumners, 
remove the glasses, and place over the beds the oiled-paper frames, there to 
remain during the summer. 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 29 


‘© The frames are formed of thin slips of wood, like pantile laths, or poles, 
similarly constructed to the roof of a house or an archway, ten feet long, by 
three and a half to four or five wide, and two and a half to three feet high, with 
two panels made to open on one side with hinges. 

“ The bottom of the frame is made of slight wood-work, in which the small 
cross rafters are fixed a foot apart, either,in a ridge form or arched ; and across 
these small rafters, pack-thread or strong twine is placed along the frame 
lengthways, putting it round each rafter about a foot apart, and others drawn 
across the bed between the rafters, crossing or intersecting the other lines, 
which will serve to strengthen the rafters, and assist in supporting the paper ; 
then take some strong white demy paper, and paste on the rafters in a regular 
and neat manner, and when dry, brush the paper all over with linseed oil; this 
may be done with a soft painting brush, using the oil on the outside only, and 
that but lightly ; when this has become thoroughly dry, the frames will be fit 
for use. : 

«« Although the oiled paper will be sufficiently water-proof to resist the rain, 
and keep off the cold, it will form an agreeable shade for the plants, during 
the scorching rays of the sun in the height of summer, and through which pro- 
tection the plants thrive exceedingly, and produce good crops of fruit, from the 
end of July till the beginning of October. After the frame has been placed 
over the plants, admit air every fine day by opening the side panels of the 
frame, or if no panels were made to open, raise the frame a few inches at 
bottom, and, as occasion may require, give moderate waterings when the earth: 
is dry, but be very moderate while the fruit is setting and ripening, for the 
reasons assigned for early crops. 

“ T may here remark that in very heavy rains or hail storms, which sometimes 
occur in the height of summer, it will be advantageous to spread mats over 
the frames, not only to preserve them from damage, but also to defend the bed 
as much as possible in very unfavourable weather ; and, by proper attention 
to growing late melons by this practice, not only fine crops are obtained, but 
the fruit (which for the most part will ripen in August and September) will 
also be of very good flavour. When melons are wanted for mangoes, they 
should be gathered while green, about a quarter or half grown, and should be 
taken from the late crops, selecting those which are not likely to ripen.” 

To give an idea of the author’s scientific views, we quote what he says on 
the influence of the stock on the scion : — 

‘“‘ Various are the opinions respecting the influence the stock will have on the 
scion, or graft: many persons (for want of sufficient practice), to this day 
suppose the stock will affect the scion, and consequently the fruit produced 
from the tree grafted on a stock whose fruit is different ; but during my practice 
I never have known, in any instance, the fruit to become altered through the 
stock it was grafted on. In order to illustrate this fact as clearly as possible, I 
will give my general opinion on the subject. 

“« It is necessary sometimes to convey our ideas (particularly in writing, where 
it is subject to every criticism) as plainly as possible ; I shall therefore com- 
mence from the seed of the stock. 

“ In the first place, when the seed first appears (say the crab), its spear grows 
dewnwards (the same by a common bean or pea ), perhaps two inches before 
we see the green seed leaf above ground ; this shows that the fund of vegetable ~ 
matter above ground must be filtered through the root, for without the root 
the tree cannot grow, but the root might exist for some time, although the 
head was cut down ; I am therefore most decidedly of opinion, that the stock 
in some degree partakes of the nature of the scion which is grafted on it ; for 
if we look at the nature and constitution of a tree,"and from practice mark its 
general progress, there cannot be an existing doubt, that the roots, veins, fibres, 
or whatever they may be called, which strike from the scion into the stock, 
must take root and run downwards, and that to the very extremity where the 
sap flows: this I am further convinced of by putting the graft on the centre 
of the stock instead of the side, for you always find them make a considerably 


30 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


better growth, and the trees are more durable ; therefore, if the graft sends its 
roots down to the very extremities of the roots of the stock, if either becomes 
impregnated, it must be the stock and not the scion. 

‘The same by budding; if nature had so ordered it, that the stock should 
have had any influence on grafting, much more must it have had on budding, 
where there is nothing left but the mere rind; yet this small bud has been in 
no instance ever known to degenerate on account of the stock, if budded on a 
stock it was fond of. 

“© What I mean by a bud being fond of a stock, is such stocks as buds and 
grafts are usually worked on: this is one very necessary branch of a nursery- 
man’s profession, when he has a new fruit, to endeavour to find out such stock 
as is best suited to its constitution, &c. 

«« [remember many years back, when quite a boy, a common white jasmine 
which was growing against the house, and being fond, even from my earliest 
years, of trying experiments among trees, I took a bud from a striped jasmine, 
and budded a branch of the green; the bud grew, and what shoots put forth 
below the bud, most of them became blotch-leaved: this is a proof the bud or 
graft must have an effect on the stock.” 


The New American Orchardist ; or, an Account of the most valuable Varieties of 
Fruit, of all Climates, adapted to Cultivation in the United States ; with their 
History, Modes of Culture, Management, Uses, Sc. With an Appendix, on 
Vegetables, Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers, the Agricultural Re- 
sources of America, and on Silk, §&c. By William Kenrick. Third ed. 
Boston, U.S. Small 8vo, pp. 450. 1841. 

A carefully prepared work, which must be of the greatest use in the 
country in which it was produced. The following quotation on the Belgian 
mode of obtaining new varieties, as described by Van Mons, may be inte- 
resting to the English reader who is not in the habit of perusing French 
works on horticulture : — 

«¢ The Belgians give-no preference to the seeds of table fruits, when they 
plant to obtain new ameliorated kinds. When their plants appear, they do 
not, like us, found their hopes upon individuals exempt from thorns, furnished 
with large leaves, and remarkable for the size and beauty of their wood ; on 
the contrary, they prefer the most thorny subjects, provided that the thorns 
are long, and that the plants are furnished with many buds or eyes, placed 
very near together. This last circumstance appears to them, and with reason, 
to be an indication that the tree will speedily produce fruit. As soon as the 
young individuals which offer these favourable appearances afford grafts or 
buds capable of being inoculated upon other stocks, these operations are per- 
formed (the apples on paradise, and the pears on quince stocks) to hasten 
their fructification. The first fruit is generally very bad ; but the Belgians do 
not regard that: whatever it is, they carefully collect the seeds and plant 
them ; from these a second generation is produced, which commonly shows 
the commencement of an amelioration. As soon as the young plants of this 
second generation have scions or buds proper for the purpose, they are trans- 
ferred to other stocks, as were the preceding ; the third and fourth generations 
are treated in the same manner, and until there are finally produced amelio- 
rated fruits worthy of being propagated. M. Van Mons asserts that the 
peach and apricot, treated in this manner, afford excellent fruit in the third 
generation. The apple does not yield superior fruit before the fourth or fifth 
generation. The pear is slower in its amelioration; but M. Van Mons 
informs us that, in the sixth generation, it no longer produces inferior, but 
affords excellent fruits, intermixed with those of a middling quality” 

“Tntelligent writers, those on whom we may rely, have assured us that the 
new and numerous class of fruits which have arisen during the last forty 
years is far more precious and inestimable in point of quality, than all pre- 
viously known. They refer in this more particularly to pears. Trees of 
those already most renowned are here.” 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 31 


The Peasantry of the Border. An Appeal in their Behalf. “ Give them good ; 
Cottages, and help them to educate their Children.” By the Rev. Dr. 
Gilly, Canon of Durham. Pamph. 8vo, 5 plates. 1841.’ 


Dr. Gilly is the incumbent of the parish of Norham, situated in North 
Northumberland, and the present appeal in behalf of the poor under his spi- 
ritual care is greatly to his honour as a man and a Christian. We sincerely 
hope that it will have the desired effect on the proprietors of that part of the 
country, which, as we lately saw, exhibits a combination of wealth in the pro- 
prietors, and of famine and of misery among the farm labourers, not to be met 
with, we believe, in any other country except Britain. The following notice 
of this pamphlet, in the Times newspaper, is evidently written by some person 
who is feelingly alive to the importance of the subject. This is “an appeal 
on behalf of the peasantry of the Border, in regard to the extremely wretched 
condition of the cottages in which, for the most part, this class of men and 
their families are compelled to reside. Dr. Gilly’s pamphlet is illustrated with 
wood-engravings, and a series of statistical tables. His statements respecting 
the habitations of the peasantry relate chiefly to the parish of Norham, which 
consists of 14,268 acres, and extends for about seven miles along the southern 
bank of the Tweed. The population amounts to 2,934, and consists of agti- 
culturists, pitmen, and fishermen. Out of 174 cottages in Norham, which are 
occupied by the peasantry, 83, according to a statistical table given by Dr. 
Gilly, or nearly one half, have changed inmates within the last two years; 145 
within the last seven years, and 156 within the last ten years. Of the above 
83 tenements which have changed inhabitants within the last two years, 54 are 
described to be buildings deficient in all that is necessary to convenience and 
cleanliness ; and yet the greater part are occupied by families who have done 
all they can do to give them a decent and comfortable appearance. ‘ Some 
of them,’ says he, ‘ are mere hovels, absolutely unfit for the peasantry of a 
civilised country, and threatening to tumble down about their ears. In many, 
human beings and cows are littered together under the same roof? Of the 
whole number, 174, there are but 27 which have each two rooms. Dr. Gilly 
describes the general character of the best of the old-fashioned hinds’ cottages 
to be bad at the best, having no byre for their cows, no sties for their pigs, no 
pumps or wells ; nothing, in a word, to promote cleanliness or comfort. 
Their average size is about 24 ft. by 16 ft., and they are dark and unwhole- 
some. The windows do not open, and many of them are not larger than 20 in. 
by 16 in. ; and into this space are crowded eight, ten, and even twelve per- 
sons. ‘ How they lie down to rest, how they sleep, how they can preserve 
common decency, how unutterable horrors are avoided, is beyond all concep- 
tion. The case is aggravated when there is a young woman to be lodged in 
this confined space, who is not a member of the family, but is hired to do the 
field work, for which every hind is bound to provide a female. It shocks 
every feeling of propriety to think that in a room, and within such a space as 
I have been describing, civilised beings should be herding together without a 
decent separation of age and sex.’ MHappily, however, there are many ex- 
ceptions to this description of the hinds’ cottages in North Northumberland 
given by Dr. Gilly. He speaks very favourably of a group of six cottages re- 
cently built by the trustees of Lord Crewe’s Institution, on their property at 
Thornton Park ; of the Marquess of Waterford’s cottages at Ford; and of those 
of Mr. Baker Cresswell, on his property at Cresswell and Berwick ; but of the 
cottages at the village of Etall, in the parish of Ford, the residence of Lord 
Frederick and Lady Augusta Fitzclarence, he speaks in enthusiastic terms. 
‘ To see, says he, ‘ what a village in our northern regions may be, and ought 
to be, go to Etall. There you will find flower-gardens in perfection, with the 
village-green as smooth as a lawn in the best kept pleasure-ground, and the 
rustic benches under the spreading branches of elm and sycamore. One fine 
tree, with a seat around its trunk, is conspicuous, with an inscription which 
shows the considerate kindness of the noble family now residing in the man. 


32 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


sion-house, ‘ Willie Wallace’s tree.’ I believe the old man is still alive in 
whose honour the tree is thus devoted to longevity.’ The greatest evil arising 
out of the bad cottages in which, for the most part, the peasantry of North 
Northumberland (who are an excellent class of persons, intelligent, orderly, 
and thrifty) are obliged to reside is, that they are driven so frequently to shift 
their residences from place to place, which interrupts the education of their 
children, seriously diminishes their own comforts, and impedes their advance- 
ment in the world. However, the subject of improving and embellishing the 
cottages of the peasantry of the Border, and indeed of the whole county of 
Northumberland, has been taken up by a party in whose hands it is not likely 
to suffer; a great number of the owners and occupiers of land, and of the » 
clergy in the county, having quite recently formed themselves into a society 
for the express purpose of promoting this most desirable and benevolent work.” 
(Times, Friday, Nov. 12. 1841.) 

We hope the Agricultural Society of England will take up the subject of 
agricultural architecture, and examime not only farm buildings of every 
description, but the cottages of farm-labourers. Happy would it be for, this 
class of society, both in England and Scotland, if their dwellings were as 
much cared for by the proprietors as those of dogs, pigs, and horses! There 
are ‘doubtless many cases where the labourers’ cottages are cared for ; but, alas, 
they are “ few and far between.” We know that there are thousands of 
labourers’ cottages not a whit better than those of Norham. In these days of 
cooperation and association, it is surprising that a Society for the Improvement 
of Labourers’ Cottages has not been established. We feel certain that it has 
only to be commenced by proper persons to be well supported ; for feelings of 
human sympathy are latent in every human bosom, and only require to be 
excited. Much of the misery which exists on the estates of the wealthy is 
not so much owing to their want of feeling, as to these feelings not being 
called forth by those who frequent their society, and whose representations 
would be listened to with attention. The persons most competent to repre- 
sent the true state of the poor to a wealthy proprietor, are clergymen, land 
agents and stewards, and architects and builders; but how very few of - 
these persons have the necessary courage! Another reason arises from the 
abject dependent state in which the sufferers feel themselves. They are afraid 
to complain. This is even the case with gardeners relative to their cottages, 
which are often miserable enough. While we write this we have received a 
letter from a very superior gardener, in which he informs us that he is about 
to give warning on account of the dampness of the room which he occupies 
in the back sheds, and of which he dare not complain, because his master 
would, in that case, desire him to live with the other servants in the house, 
as he wanted him to do at first, he being a single man. Another case is men- 
tioned in an early volume of the Gardener's Magazine, in which the gardener, 
a married man, does not complain of his house, because his predecessor had 
never complained of it, and because, if he did so, he would be told to leave, 
and probably not receive a character. 


Sporting Architecture. By George Tattersall, Surveyor. London, 1841, 4to, 
pp- 97, with numerous engravings on copper and wood. 


This is an elegant work, and one that will be extremely useful to the breeders 
of horses, and the possessors of hunters and hounds. It is divided into four 
parts, viz. 1. The Stud Farm; 2. The Stall; 3. The Kennel ; and 4. Race 
Stands. A few lines from the Introduction will show that such a book was 
wanted ; and when we consider that the author is the brother of one of the 
most celebrated horse-dealers in Europe, we may give him credit for being a 
master of his subject. 

“ Of all the various departments of the builder’s art, none has so suffered 
from the carelessness or prejudice of ages as that which gives the title to this 
treatise. ‘ 

“ The man who would provide himself with a house describes his wants, 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 2 


points out his purposes, and makes his meaning plain. But it is only by a 
close and intimate acquaintance with the nature and the habits of the animal, 
that the designer of a dwelling for the dumb creation can succeed in rendering 
it such as may be the most conducive to their comfort, which carries with it 
what is even of more consequence, their health. Hitherto, however, this 
care has been considered as unworthy the attention of the professional artist, 
and animals of great value have either been kept in places rendered wholly 
unfit for them, by the carelessness of the architect, or consigned to the tender 
mercies of some country carpenter. 

“To rescue, then, if it be possible, this subject from the errors of igno- 
rance, or the omissions of neglect; to raise it in the estimation of my readers 
to the consideration due to its importance; and to point out the methods 
whereby an outlay, frequently incurred to little purpose, may be expended to 
the best advantage, will be the object of the following pages.” 


A Popular Treatise on Agricultural Chemistry. Intended for the Use of the Prac- 
tical Farmer, By Charles Squarcy, Chemist. 8vo, pp. 124. London, 
184.2. 


A laudable attempt, for which the author deserves credit ; but how far he 
has succeeded, we leave to a correspondent more competent to judge than 
ourselves, and whose opinion will, we trust, appear in next Number. 


The British Almanack of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for 
1842. Small 8vo, pp. 97. London, 1842. 1s, 


Companion to the Almanack, or Year-Book of General Information, for 1842. 
Small 8vo, pp. 244, several woodcuts. London, 1842. 2s. 6d. 


The Companion, among much interesting matter, contains an extract from 
the Act of Parliament authorising the formation of Victoria Park, and 
notices ofa number of very handsome public buildings erected in London and 
throughout the country, several of them illustrated by engravings. Among 
these illustrations is an elevation of Streatham new church, in which a style 
occasionally seen in Venice and other parts of Italy, but never, as far as we 
know, before in England, is successfully introduced by Mr. Wild. The ap- 
proach to this church will be through an avenue of Pinus tatirica, which, 
with the painted glass, by Willemet, of the windows over the altar, are or 
will, we believe, be presented by George Fuller, Esq., of Streatham. There 
is a handsome perspective view of St. Mary’s Church, Southwark, which is in 
the early English style, with high-pitched roof and gable, by Mr. B. Ferrey. 
Trinity Chapel, Poplar, by Mr. W. Hosking, in the Roman style, is illustrated 
by two engravings. There is a perspective view of St. George’s Hall and the 
new Assize Court at Liverpool, comprised in one grand building, by Mr. 
Elmes ; a view of Liverpool Collegiate Institution, also by Mr. Elmes ; and a 
view of the Savings’ Bank, Bath, the design of Mr. George Alexander, which we 
think one of the handsomest things in the volume. “ A committee having been 
appointed, architects were invited to send in designs, the estimate being 
limited to 2500/., and that by Mr. George Alexander (who had previously 
obtained one of the premiums for St. George’s Hall, Liverpool) was selected. 
We understand that, before being finally appointed architect, Mr. Alexander 
agreed with the committee, that, in case the building at all exceeded the stipu- 
lated sum, they were at liberty to discharge him, without his being entitled to 
any remuneration; all the drawings remaining in their hands, to do with them 
as they pleased. Tenders were received from six or seven of the principal 
builders at Bath, all of which were, with one exception, within the estimate, 
and that of Mr. D. Aust was taken at 2350/7.” (p. 231.) 

The mere diffusion of these engravings will not be without its effect in cul- 
tivating a taste for architecture; and this taste, joined to that of natural 
history and rural affairs, affords an endless source of interest and enjoyment to 
the busy as well as the idle, and the poor as well as the rich It is true 

3d Ser.—1842. I. D 


34 General Notices. 


that the poor cannot participate in these tastes, but this will be effected in 
due time, by a comprehensive system of national education, “ at the expense 
of all, and for the benefit of all.” 


Art. II. Literary Notice. 


A TREATISE on Manures, their Nature, Preparation, and Application ; with 
a Notice of the Useful British Grasses, and a Section on the General Ma- 
nagement of a Farm, by J. Donaldson, is in the press, and will appear in 
the course of January. We anticipate much from this work, knowing Mr. 
Donaldson to be one of the most scientific agriculturists of the present day, 
and one who has had much experience, both as a farmer and land-steward, 
in the best cultivated districts of Scotland, and also in Northumberland, 
Leicestershire, Kent, and other parts of England. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 
Art. I. General Notices. 


GopsaLL’s Label for Fruit Trees (fig. 1.) consists of a shank, which is an 
ox’s or a horse’s rib, and a tablet, which is a square piece of 
sheet lead of 4:lb. to the foot, suspended from the shank by 
a piece of copper wire; the lead is covered with a thin coat 
of black varnish paint, and while wet the name is written with 
a steel point. Mr. Godsall has used this tally for a number 
of years, and finds it to be very durable, and the shanks, from 
their white colour, very conspicuous, which is an advantage 
when the tallies are placed among green foliage.— W. G. Here- 
ford, Nov. 12. 1841. 

Packing the Warix Godsalli. — 1 received a plant of this 
splendid weeper packed round the inside of a hoop of a 
washing-tub, perfectly safe, though it had travelled from Here- 
fordshire, which is upwards of 300 miles. I took the hint, and 
sent a plant of the Cratz‘gus which you so much admired to 
our friend the doctor in Dublin.— 7. B. Dec. 1. 1841. Fie. 1. 

Progressive Increase of Temperature.—In spring there is a Gocsall’s Label, 
progressive increase of temperature. May not this have some- 
thing to do with the vegetation of all ultra-tropical seeds, and should we not 
do well to imitate this in raising plants from seeds of difficult germination ? — 
N. August, 1841. 

Mr. Cree’s Mode of pruning Forest Trees. —“ The object of Mr. Cree’s 
mode of pruning is, to throw the whole of the wood produced into one 
straight stem or trunk; and to increase the rapidity of the growth of this 
stem, in a greater degree than has been done by any other method of pruning 
hitherto adopted. To accomplish these objects, Mr. Cree shortens all the 
side branches soon after they are produced, but does not cut a single bough 
off close to the stem till the tree is above 18 ft. in height, and not less 
than 15 in. in circumference at the surface of the ground. A tree thus treated 
forms a narrow cone, like a cypress or a Lombardy poplar, clothed with 
branches from the ground to the summit; those at the ground being from 
2 ft. to 3 ft. in length, and from 4 in. to 1 in. in diameter close to the trunk, 
both the length of the branches and their thickness diminishing, of course, 
as they approach the summit. We repeat, that not one of these branches 
is cut off close to the stem till the tree has attained 18 or 20 feet in height, 
when the lower tier of branches is completely removed ; and one tier is 
afterwards cut off annually, always close to the stem, till a sufficient length 
of clear trunk is produced ; that length, of course, varying according to the 
kind of tree, the soil, and various other circumstances. ‘The branches which 
are shortened always remain slender ; and, when they are cut off close to the 


. 
Reine 


blarche 


\ 


General Notices. 35 


stem, the wound is completely healed over, at the very latest, in the course of 
three years. The stem being surrounded by foliage fully exposed to light and 
air, from its base to its summit, an abundant supply of aerated sap is returned 
from the small branches to the stem; and this is found greatly to increase the 
growth of the stem both in height and thickness, as compared with the stems 
of trees either not pruned at all, or pruned in the ordinary manner. Mr. Cree 
pointed out to us oaks, ash trees, elms, sycamores, poplars, willows, and thorns, 
which had been planted twenty years ago, and praned in his manner; and 
which are now, though in a very exposed situation in poor soil, from 20 ft. to 
25 ft. in height, some of them having had only one tier of branches removed, 
and others two or three. We were most struck with the erect and rapid 
growth made by the oaks, the Scotch elms, and the common thorns, as com- 
pared with other trees of the same kind which had not been pruned ; and the 
heads of which had spread out horizontally. To the pine and fir tribe, Mr. 
Cree does not apply his method, except partially, and under particular cir- 
cumstances, as these trees do not naturally produce side branches of a timber 
size. 

“Mr. Cree says that he has found, experimentally, that broad-leaved trees 
(that is, all trees except the pine and fir tribe), under 18 ft. in height, and 15in. 
in circumference, advance at an average as much both in height and circum- 
ference in six years, if the branches are properly shortened, as they do in fif- 
teen years, if these are not shortened, or if the trees are improperly pruned. 
The more trees are pruned up close to the stem, before they are 18 ft. in 
height, the more, Mr. Cree considers, is their growth retarded ; and not only 
that, but, from the open texture of the wood, the wounds so made, he says, 
admit damp, and cause the tree to rot at the heart. 

“ Mr. Cree’s mode of pruning has been familiar to us in theory, since an 
account of it was published, in 1828, in the third volume of the Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture; but we now acknowledge that this account failed to 
make the impression on us that it ought to have done, and which the inspec- 
tion of the trees under Mr. Cree’s care, and his conversation on the subject 
have now done. We are astonished, indeed, that Mr. Cree’s system has not 
been more generally adopted in all plantations made with a view to profit in 
Scotland, where the results of his practice might have been observed with 
little trouble; and we can only account for it from the little attention paid to 
vegetable physiology by foresters, gardeners, and their employers ; from the 
remote situation in which Mr. Cree lives (Biggar), and from the great simpli- 
city and modesty of the man himself. This, indeed, when contrasted with his 
knowledge of vegetable physiology, practical geometry, land-surveying, engi- 
neering, and other matters connected with rural improvement, surprised us 
almost as much as his trees, till we looked at his books. 

“ Perhaps it may be necessary to state that Mr. Cree’s mode of pruning is 
adapted solely for plantations made with a view to profit. It is wholly unfit 
for ornamental plantations, because it reduces all the different natural forms of 
trees to one form, viz., that of a narrow cone; and it is equally unfit where 
the object is crooked timber, because, by it, all the timber produced is straight 
timber. Neither, as already observed, is Mr. Cree’s mode adapted for the 
pine and fir tribe, in which nature may be said to have adopted a mode of 
growth ee is equivalent to his system of pruning.” (Gard. Gaz. for 1841, 

. 500. 
Lhe Canadian and Black Itahan Poplars.— As you appear to entertain 
considerable doubts as to the specific distinction between the Canadian and 
Black Italian poplars, I will briefly state my conviction that they are specifi- 
cally distinct ; or, at all events, that, if the one is only a variety of the other, 
the variation is so well marked, and broadly defined, that at no age, from 
the yearling plant to the mature tree, can they be mistaken. In the Canadian 
poplar the young shoots are very angular, a sharply winged membrane pass- 
ing from each eye downwards, giving the whole shoot a furrowed aspect. In 
the Black Italian, the shoots are longer, rounder, and with very trifling mem- 
D 2 


36 General Notices. 


branes, and those only near the termination of the shoot. This primal differ- 
ence is shown through all the after stages of the two trees ; for, even in the 
oldest specimens of Canadian poplar, the rugged bark is interlaced in a bold 
and beautiful manner, which in the Black Italian is never, or but faintly, seen. 
The Canadian, as I before stated, grows much more slowly than the Italian, 
forms a bole of less length, and produces magnificent branches, to which those 
of no plant of Italian that I have ever seen are at all comparable. The foot- 
stalk of the leaf also is much flatter, and the leaf itself larger, and its reticu- 
lations very different from those of the Black Italian when subjected to 
maceration, for which all kinds of poplars are eminently calculated. 

To the landscape-gardener the Italian is of far less value than the Cana- 
dian, for the one never forms so pictorial a tree as the other; and when 
autuinn is approaching, and the foliage begins to show indications of having 
performed its functions, while the Black Italian is of a dmgy and melancholy 
hue, the other assumes a fine golden tinge, that, with a setting sun, gloriously 
contrasts with the darker foliage of surrounding Turkey oaks or bristling 
pines. It may be inferred, that, where length of bole and quickness of growth 
are sought, the Italian is the more desirable; and accordingly, both in France 
and in Belgium, where poplars are much grown as timber, we scarcely see 
any other kind than-the Black Italian. In those countries it will yet take 
many years before trees are grown, as in our parks, for their own diversity 
and beauty. The pictorial effect, such as it is, of the Italian poplar they 
contrive wholly to destroy, by carefully pruning all the side shoots as fast as 
they are produced. — William Masters. Canterbury Nursery, Nov. 23. 1841. 

Torreya taxifolia. —You ask if Torréya is alive? You may remember that 
the plant 1 am indebted to you for had received a wound on the stem near the 
root ; from that injury it never recovered, although the plant lingered for four 
months after I had received it. Being entirely new, I tried not only to save 
the specimen, but also to increase it. For this purpose I grafted shoots on 
larch, on pines, and on firs, as well as on the common and Irish yews. Those 
on the pines died first ; the larch followed ; and for a long time I supposed 
those worked on Abies and Picea, particularly the latter, would have suc- 
ceeded; but they, too, perished in their turn. I was now left with grafts upon 
the yews only, but they were no more willing to favour my views than the 
rest ; and had I not put a shoot or two into sand, the plant would, I believe, 
not have been alive in Europe at this time. Their progress must necessarily 
be slow, but I am not without hopes that, ultimately, from that stock we may 
succeed in adding a new and beautiful specimen to our hardy evergreens. —Jd. 

A Substitute for early Potatoes. — Messrs. Chapman, market-gardeners, 
Brentford End, Middlesex, are advertising a potato which, they say, if planted 
in May or June, and taken up in autumn and kept in moist soil, will retain all 
the qualities of new potatoes till the June following. We have tried some of 
them on Nev. 23., and we have buried three parcels to be tasted on March 1., 
April 1., and May 1. Should they prove as good in April and May as they 
did in November, those who are fond of that peculiar delicacy of flavour and 
tenderness of texture which are so much admired in early potatoes by ama- 
teurs, will have obtained the means of gratifying their tastes at much less 
expense than by the usual mode of obtaining early potatoes by forcing. — 
Cond. 

Artesian Wells, —Protessor Sedgwick, at the Plymouth Meeting of the 
British Association, after reviewing the general principle of Artesian wells, 
described two districts in which these operations were attended with very 
different results. “In the eastern part of Essex, the chalk is covered by sandy 
beds of the plastic clay, and these by several hundred feet of impervious 
strata of London clay, all dipping together towards the east. The arenaceous 
beds below the London clay rise higher towards the chalk than the clay does, 
and absorb a considerable part of the water from the high grounds. By 
boring through the clays to this sand, springs of water immediately rise above 
the surface, and are carried off by natural channels. By this supply of 
water, the value of the land has been materially increased, since the country, 


General Notices. 37 


though abounding in peat bogs and stagnant ponds during winter, suffers 
much from the summer drought. The other attempts to form Artesian wells, 
referred'to by Mr. Sedgwick, were made near Lincoln, which, though sur- 
rounded by fens covered with water in the winter, is not sufficiently supplied 
during the summer. But the clays supporting the fens of the Bedford Level 
are below the chalk ; and though there are pervious beds beneath them, which 
rise to the north-west, yet the clays are of such enormous thickness that they 
have never been penetrated ; and even were that accomplished, the high land 
is so distant that intervening fissures, filled up with impervious materials, 
might intercept the supply. Expensive sinkings have been made at Lynn, 
and also at Boston, but, after boring through many hundred feet of clay, they 
have utterly failed; and, in any future operations in this district, the chance of 
success would be very remote.” (din. Phil. Journ., vol. xxxi. p. 426. ) 

The Fire at the Tower of London.— The opinion generally entertained by 
those who are deemed competent to judge in the matter is, that the fire 
originated with the stoves used for heating, and that it is not at all impro- 
bable but calamities of a similar fearful nature may be anticipated. The 
reasons assigned are, that new modes of heating being introduced into 
buildings not at all fitted for them, their destruction is consequently almost 
certain. Flues and chimneys, with their adjacent walls, which stood unscathed 
when wood or coal were used as fuel, and the security of which might be 
guaranteed for many ages, are not suitable for these modern introductions, in 
which large quantities of heated air are elicited as elements of destruction. 
Besides this, the conductive power of the bricks and cement undergoes a 
great change from the constant operation of heat and air, so that heat is re- 
tained and conducted with greater facility. In this, in the opinion of a 
gentleman of science, who informed the reporter he had memorialised the 
Board of Ordnance upon the subject, to a great extent consists the secret of 
many,of those recent conflagrations which have appalled the public and 
destroyed so many of our public buildings. (Times, Nov. 16. 1841.) 

Merthyr Coal is strongly recommended for hothouse furnaces, and for open 
fires where the object is a steady powerful heat without much flame, and 
without the trouble of stirring. This coal makes no smoke, no clinkers, 80 
tons produce as much steam as 100 tons of Newcastle coal, and it requires 
less attendance, as it must not be stirred. The price is the same as that of 
Neweastle coal. It is used by the Rey. Theo. Williams, Hendon; George 
Byng, Esq., Wrotham Park ; Thomas Harris, Esq., Kingsbury ; and Captain 
Trotter, Dyrham Park.—Cond. 

Improved Draining-Tiles. — Agreeably to your request, I send you one of 
my improved draining-tiles (fig. 2.), and also one of the connecting tiles, 
and a tile with a hole in its side (fg. 3.) for joining the connecting tile, de_ 


Fig. 2. Munro’s Draining-Tile Fig. 3. Mumnro’s connecting Tile. 


scribed in a communication of mine to the president of the Northamptonshire 
Agricultural Society, and afterwards published in the Northampton Mercury. 
I likewise send you some pieces of offal wood (short pieces between 9 in. and 
1ft. in length), which I propose being used as drain covers. You will ob- 
serve that they are intended as covers for the mouth of a chad, or groove, or 
gutter, in the bottom of a drain, such as is made in this county, and which I 
shall try to describe. First, a trench of the width of 10in. or 1 ft. is dug out 
to nearly the same depth with a common spade ; then, in the middle of this 
trench the workman commences with a long-bladed spade-like instrument, 
34 in. to 4in. broad; the depth of this second opening, which is called the 
chad, will, of course, be regulated according to the nature of the ground. 
Sometimes it may be 20in. deep, and sometimes less. Then those pieces of 
D 3 


38 General Notices. 


wood are to be laid side by side, across the mouth of the chad, and the earth 
immediately laid over them, until the upper trench is full, and level with the 
surface of the ground around. But since I addressed my letter to Mr. Hyl- 
liard, I have thought of a new material for drain covers, which must ultimately 
be of great importance to farming, where the absence of clay, and the distance 
to the tile-yard, amounts to an absolute prohibition of the use of tiles. This 
material is peat, an article hitherto considered fit for nothing but fuel. By 
the aid of a peat-compressing machine, compact bodies of peat, in the shape of 
blocks of a wedge form, to be inserted into the opening of the chad, will an- 
swer the purpose admirably. I think I have read some where lately, that 
when peat is once thoroughly dry, it becomes impervious to moisture, and, if 
this is true, then peat will answer for any sort of draining. For instance, 
nothing could be better for couple draining than compressed slabs of peat. 
What a saving would it not make on carriage alone, compared with that of 
stones? I have no such thing here as peat to experiment upon, else I should 
have tried whether it would undergo a process of charring in a metallic cylinder. 
My impression is, that something might be done with it in this way. — James 
Munro. Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire, Oct. 9. 1839. 

Composition Floors for Cottages. — I fear I can say but little that will serve 
your purpose; but what I do know you are welcome to. When I came to 
this place some years ago, I found all the malting floors, and also those of 
other rooms detached from the main buildings, formed of a species of plaster 
[? gypsum], which, on enquiry, I found was procured from Retford, Notts, in 
powder, and prepared by mixing with it certain quantities of cinder dirt and 
sand. I cannot say the proportions. All I know is, that, though apparently 
rough and harsh to the eye, it made capital malting-floors, inasmuch as it both 
imbibed and gave out moisture freely, thereby preserving a degree of smooth- 
ness and even softness, essential to the operations of turning, ploughing, &c. 
the pieces [of barley] on the floors. So far so good; but take the same ma- 
terial, and deprive it of any moisture, I fear you would not find it wear well 
at all. It would crumble away, and would not stand the fag of a cottage 
family. But even for the maltings we have discontinued the use of this article ; 
the floors, as they require mending, being repaired with a cheaper, and ap- 
parently a more durable material ; composed of equal parts of lime, sand, and 
cinder dirt. If I think of it, I will enclose a sample ready mixed for working. 
It comes up, as you will find, to a very good smooth face ; but, I doubt, will 
not wear without the occasional use of water; consequently, is not well suited 
for cottage floors. — 8. 1. Norfolk, Dec. 13. 1841. 

Repairing Wet Roads.— For roads it is still less applicable. I recollect, 
some dozen years ago, seeing a part of the road above Highgate Archway, 
which, I dare say you are aware, was very wet and springy, repaired after the 
following fashion. The banks rising on each side pretty high, a deep tile-drain 
was first inserted at the foot, so as to intercept the water in that direction. 
This no doubt it did; but as water might, and probably would, spring up un- 
derneath, and perhaps in the very centre of the road itself, the surveyor de- 
termined to form abottom which should be water-tight, as the only means to 
prevent the wear and tear of a piece of road subject to such heavy and con- 
stant traffic. He set about the work, as nearly as Ican remember, as follows. 
The old materials were removed, even toa considerable depth ; and their 
place was supplied by a complete grouting of Roman cement and pebbles, 
forming a bed or crust thick enough to bear the materials of which the surface 
or upper crust was intended to be composed. The cement was very carefully 
and evenly spread, sloping gradually towards the side drains ; and the better 
to facilitate the passage of rain, or other water, as well as to afford a sort of 
hold for the upper materials, grooves were made in the cement $ 
before it hardened with a triangular-formed spline, thus (see jig. \S \S 
4.) ; which spline being laid in the direction wanted, was pressed : 
down into the cement, by blows of a mallet or hammer. A very Pe 
short time sufficed to render this bed, so prepared, hard enough to admit 


Foreign Notices : — France, Italy. 39 


of the addition of a tolerably thick stratum of broken granite and other stone; 
and the whole being impervious to wet from beneath, and so well prepared 
for surface moisture, I have no doubt, heavy as was the expense in the first 
instance, it would hardly fail to answer.—S. 7’. Norfolk, Dec. 13. 1841. 

_ Rendering Cottages Fire and Water-proof.— You talk of making cottages 
fire-proof. Were you in this neighbourhood just now, it strikes me you 
would be more interested in making them water-proof. What a state many 
of the poor inhabitants are into be sure! The dwellers in and about the fens 
never seem to have thought it worth their while to keep their houses above 
the ground level, some of them are even below it; the natural and inevitable 
consequence of which is, constant damp, and often standing water. A double 
cottage near me is, and has been for a long time, several inches deep on the 
lower floor, nor have they the means of avoiding it, seeing that the cottages 
hereabouts have no fireplaces ou the chamber floors. This is what I particu- 
larly wish to direct your attention to: it is a most important point, and one 
which, here at least, has been grossly neglected. I pray you consider it. — Jd. 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


FRANCE. 


CHATEAU de Talhouet, near L’ Orient, France, Nov. 30. 1841.— I have been 
fortunate in getting a most comfortable and convenient chateau here, beau- 
tifully situated, and with every thing in the shooting and fishing line any man 
can desire. Nothing can exceed the barbarous looks, habits, and drunkenness 
of the people, and even their priests, but they are quite harmless. Their agri- 
culture, their cattle, pigs, sheep, and houses are all indescribably bad, quite 
caricatures of all we have in England; yet the climate and soil are the best, 
perhaps, in all Europe for agricultural purposes. I have taken a good deal of 
land, and shall show them how to grow Skirving’s Swedes, lucerne, carrots, 
Belgium parsneps (Guernsey), rape, flax, MJddia sativa, hemp, clover, and 
perhaps not lose my money in giving lessons. Italian rye-grass does wonder- 
fully well here ; and a kind ofrye from Poland is just introduced, 8 ft. high, and 
the ears from 8 in. to 15 in. long, of which I shall send specimens to England, 
as, when sown here in June, it is cut by the middle of August. Notwith- 
standing the general gross ignorance, a few of the better classes possess a great 
degree of intelligence, and I saw one quite a Lincolnshire farm on a small 
scale, near Rennes. There is a noir animal factory near me, to manufacture 
dead horses into manure, and a potato flour mill, which had an order for 
20002. worth of it from a Mr. Walker of London. I am just getting a capital 
eight-horse-power steam-engine, in aid of my water thrashing-mill, and to bruise 
barley and beans, and with linseed oil to form it into cakes for feeding cattle 
and sheep. To this I have fortunately got in time enough the noir animal 
and potato flour machinery, which shall be added to the cake machinery, so as 
to render it the most complete thing of the kind in Europe. — F. 4. M‘K. 


ITALY. 


Seeds collected in 1840 by Professor Visiani of Pavia.—O'cymum citrio- 
dorum Vis. from Nubia; Veslinga sp. Vis.; Vialia macrophylla Vis.—G. 
Manetti. Monza, Aug. 21. 1841. 

Monza, Dec. 6. 1841.— I find the Suburban Horticulturist so useful, that 
I make it serve as a text-book to the lessons in horticulture, which I 
give to the pupils in the Imperial and Royal Gardens. Being obliged to 
translate it for this purpose, I shall afterwards print it, certain of doing a 
great service to my countrymen, as we have no book that can serve so well 

D 4 


40 Foreign Notices : ah Italy. 


as a guide in performing gardening operations. You shall, therefore, be 
the Mentor to guide my pupils in the art of cultivation. 

Ijshall now give you.a notice which I think will interest you, and perhaps, 
also, the readers of your excellent periodical. 

The Abbé Ambrozio Longoni, residing in Monza, formerly professor of 
philosophy, distinguished for his profound knowledge, not only in the belles 
lettres, but also in mechanics and natural sciences, who wrote a manual 
on the cultivation of the pistacchios di terra (A’rachis hypoge'a), which I 
formerly mentioned (Gardener’s Magazine, vol. xvi. p. 309.), and who spares 
neither means nor trouble to render himself useful to society, has now dis- . 
covered a new oleaginous seed. Under the windows of his house there was 
a garden, in which grew a tree of Negéndo fraxinifolium, of about 6 in. in 
diameter. Looking at this tree loaded with seed, he said to himself: Can- 
not all this quantity of seed, which Providence has bestowed on this tree, be 
brought to some use? With this view, it occurred to him to try whether it 
would produce oil; he set to work, and obtained the following results : — 

From a bag containing eight bushels of keys, one bushel of clean seed was 
obtained; and, therefore, there is one bag of clean seed from eight bags of 
samare. A bag of clean seed weighs about 96 lb. small Milanese of 12 oz. 
From a bag of clean seed, 42 1b. 8 oz. of oleaginous powder were obtained. 
One pound of powder produces not less than 50 denari of oil, without reckon- 
ing the loss that takes place in expressing it; that is, a product of 17°3 per 
cent. Therefore, from a bag of clean seeds there are 7 lb. 5 0z. of oil, and 
about 32lb. of husks or refuse. Supposing the price of this oil to be 
sixpence * for every pound-weight, and about a halfpenny a pound for the 
husks, we shall have for 7lb. 5 0z. of oil, at sixpence, 3s. 8d.; for 32 lb. 
of husks, at a halfpenny, 1s. 4d.; making the produce of a bag of clean 
seed, 5s. 

Deducting the expenses for gathering the seeds, separating them, grinding 
them, taking out the kernels, and for the preparation of the oil, which may be 
supposed to amount to three fifths of the produce, that is, to 3s.; there 
remains of the net produce, 2s. 

From one of these trees, 6 in. in diameter, more than two bags of seeds 
have been gathered : hence, from 1000 trees, taking large and small together, 
we may have an average produce of 2000 bags of keys, and 250 bags of clean 
seed, giving a net product of 210. 

The oil produced is not suitable for cookery, as it retains the taste of the 
bark itself; but it is good for burning, gives a redder light than olive or other 
oil ; and has the advantage above all other oils, of making less smoke. 

For some years past, owing either to the deficiency of the crops of 
oleaginous plants, caused by drought or some other malignant influence, or 
to the great consumption of oil for machinery, oil has been rising in price 
annually; so much so, that superfine olive oil, that is, what is used for 
culinary purposes, which, ten years-ago was sold for 7d. for a pound of 12 oz. 
now costs 9d.; and oil for burning, which cost 3$d., now costs 6d. 

From what has been said, you will see how useful this discovery may prove. 
I do not mean to say that I recommend the planting of the negundo for 
the expression of oil, to the injury of other branches of agriculture; but 
I only mean that in Lombardy, where so many of these trees grow already 
(and, I think, it is the same with you) that they appear more like indigenous 
than exotic plants, instead of allowing the seed (and they are very prolific 
with us) to run to waste as formerly, it might be gathered, and thus a new 
branch opened for industry. Allowing the utility of the negundo, instead of 
making plantations of less useful trees, such as the horsechesnut, in situations 


* [In reducing the Venetian to English money, we have had recourse 
to Murray’s Hand-Book for Travellers on the Continent ; by far the most useful 
work of the kind that has ever been published.] 


Domestic Notices : — England. 41 


suitable for the cultivation of the negundo, could not this tree be planted, 
which, besides being ornamental, is useful also for its timber. 

[The negundo, in Britain, is not a very hardy nor a very long-lived tree ; 
and as the sexes are on ditferent plants, a plantation of seedlings must 
necessarily contain a number of males, which, of course, yield no seeds, and 
yet are necessary to the maturity of the seeds of the females. Hence, we 
would suggest a trial to be made of the seeds of the common sycamore. 
A‘cer Pseudo-Platanus, which produces seeds in immense quantities in every 
part of the country, and in every year.] 

You will have already seen the first part of a monograph of the genus 
Morus, by the excellent Dr. Giuseppe Moretti, professor of botany in the 
university of Pavia, in which there is a notice of your Arboretum et Fru- 
ticetum. If you have not already seen it, write to me immediately, that 
I may send it to you by some means; and [ shall take that opportunity 
of giving you some information about the increased cultivation of silk worms, 
according to experiments made by my brother Louis. — Giuseppe Manetti. 

Remedy for the woolly Aphis. — | have just had a letter from my brother, 
in which he tells me that a shepherd, of the seven communes of the Rhetian 
Alps, has discovered a remedy for the A’phis lanigera, which infests apple 
trees. It is the most simple that can be imagined, and consists in attaching 
to the central branch of the infested tree a ring or girdle of sheep’s dung. 
By the next morning, not an aphis is to be seen on the tree. It appears, 
that the smell of the sheep’s dung is so insupportable to these insects, 
that they retire beyond reach of its odour. — G. Manettt. 


INDIA. 


The Fountain at Barrackpoor, which you recommend for imitation in Ken- 
sington Gardens, was erected by the Marquess of Hastings in 1817. The steam- 
engine was of 18-horse power, and had belonged to an old steam-boat. It 
raised the water more than 100 ft. high, and was greatly admired ; but it 
was destroyed by Lord William Bentinck, on the principle of economy.— 
J. Cooper, Engineer in India for several years. 


Art. III. Domestic Notices. 


ENGLAND. 


Epsom Nursery, Nov. 30.1841.— Ilex latifolia is here perfectly hardy, 
and some of the plants have leaves 9in. long. Quércus glabra, VibGrnum 
japonicum, and various other rare and beautiful shrubs, make a fine ap- 
pearance, and there is a variety of Mahonva fascicularis which is said to be 
quite hardy.— T. C. 

Pine-apples at Branspeth Castle.—I cut a few days ago the two fruits from 
the two suckers on the same plant that you seemed to admire (rough from the 
knife), the one weighing 6 lb. 13 0z., the other 6 lb. 90z. 1 showed them, 
with others, at the Newcastle Horticultural Meeting on Friday last, as a rude 
specimen of pine-growing, and I was awarded the first and second prizes. 
The plant which bore these two fruits this year, bore a fine fruit in September 
last year. I have practised this mode of growing pines from suckers, with 
good success, for many years. I have had Enville, 6 lb. 40z.; Providence, 
larger, and frequently twins. Should I have a vigorous plant, I am not content 
with the production of one fruit, provided I have means to my wishes. If you 
will look into your Magazine for July, 1830, you will find that a pupil of mine 
had produced in four successive years, from the same plant, four fruits, the 
sum total of the weight of which was 20lb. 6 0z.—G. Dale. Branspeth 
Castle Gardens, October 17. 1841. 

The Sweeney Nonpareil Apple, grown on a south wall, at Sweeney Hall, 


‘ 


42 Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 


near Oswestry, the seat of Thomas N. Parker, Esq., has this season attained 
the size of 114 in. in circumference.— 7. NV. P. Sweeney Hall, Oct. 29. 1841. 

Artificial Ice for skaiting on.— This very singular invention is now ex- 
hibiting in a room in Jenkins’s Nursery, New Road, where it is every day 
covered with skaiters, and is found to answer for that purpose as well as 


‘natural ice, which it closely resembles in appearance. This artificial ice is 


totally unaffected by ordinary heat, and may be laid down in a stove or a con- 
servatory, with the same success as in the free air or under an open shed. 
Henceforth, we may anticipate a skaiting-house being an appendage to a 
first-rate mansion, almost as essential as a riding-house. — Cond. 

The Peasantry of France and Northumberland.—“ The great body of the 
peasantry in France have no rents to pay, no landlords but themselves. 
Compare the well-fed, well-clad, and comfortably-housed cultivators of the 
Bocage, with the bondsmen of your boasted agricultural Northumberland, 
herded together in the filthy bothies of the monopolisers of a thousand acres, 
with all their breadth of corn; where you may travel mile after mile and never 
see a cottage, and where the labourers have not even the idea of a home, but 
are stabled like the cattle ; and then estimate the worth of a political and agri- 
cultural system which has no connexion with the welfare of the population.” 
(Morn. Chron., Nov. 8. 1841.) In the pamphlet entitled The Peasantry of 
the Border, by W.S. Gilly, D.D., and reviewed in p. 31., the author observes : 
“‘ Suppose 70/. to be the average cost of a substantial good cottage, will the 
comfort of a faithful dependant and his family be heavily bought at this 
price? Why is the happiness of rural life to be nothing more than a 
romance, a poetical image, when it is in the power of so many land-proprietors 
to realise all that is imagined of smiling gardens, and snug habitations, and 
contented cottagers? The true beauty of a landscape, as Gilpin has said in 
his Forest Scenery, consists not ‘in the mere mixture of colours and forms, 
but in the picture of human happiness presented to our imagination and 
affections in visible and unequivocal signs of comfort.’ 

“ Oh, when will the law of love be felt in its supremacy ? When will it be 
felt that there is no security for property like the affection of those whose 
labour is our wealth ? 

“‘ Oftentimes when I see ornamental lodges, and pretty dairies, like fairy 
bowers, in a cool and sequestered corner of the park—and gardeners’ houses, 
decorated without, and full of accommodation within—and dog-kennels, 
which may be called canine palaces—and stables, like sacred temples, so 
totally free from every pollution that you would suppose it profanation to 
suffer a particle of filth to remain one moment on the pavement — often when 
I see these things do I indulge the ardent hope that the time will come, when 
the peasantry on a property will have as much taste and forethought ex- 
pended on them, and that snug cots and happy-looking inmates will be 
considered the chief ornaments of an estate.” (Zhe Peasantry, §c., p. 30.) 


SCOTLAND. 


The Gardens at Willamfield, the Residence of Mrs. Fairlie.—Being at 
Williamfield, near Symington, a few weeks ago, we observed some very fine 
specimens of tropical plants, bearing fruit abundantly in the stoves, which reflect 
much credit on the proprietress, Mrs. Fairlie. The laudable endeavours of this 
lady to elevate the taste for horticulture, by leading the way in one of its 
highest departments (the cultivation of new tropical fruits) is worthy of the 
most honourable mention. The gardener, Mr. Alexander Malcolm, is not 
without his share of merit also, for plants could not have been brought to such 
a state of perfection without much care and attention on his part. 

The banana, or plantain (Musa paradisiaca), has long been known in this 
country. It grows to the height of 20 ft., and bears its fruit at the extremity 
of the stem. Its inconvenient height has prevented it from being cultivated to 


Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 43 


any extent, although it is frequently to be met with. It is considered one of 
the most useful fruits in the world, and is cultivated in all those countries to 
which it is found adapted. A very desirable variety or species of Musa was 
introduced from the Mauritius into England a few years ago, and was named 
Musa Cavendish#, the specific name being bestowed on it in honour of that 
munificent encourager of horticulture, the Duke of Devonshire. From its 
dwarfish mode of growth, it was expected that it would soon come into general 
cultivation, and the anticipations then formed are being more and more fully 
realised every day. The following are the dimensions and details of the largest 
plant at present bearing fruit at Williamfield:—It grows in a large pot ; the 
circumference of the stem at 1 ft. from the ground is 2 ft. ; from the surface of 
the ground to the commencement of the spike of fruit is 4 ft ; the spike itself 
is 4 ft. long ; but, in place of growing erect, it forms a curve, and the weight of 
the fruit causes the spike to hang down. The height of the plant itself is about 
5 ft.: 2 ft. only of the spike are covered with fruit ; the remainder is occupied 
with abortive produce, and towards the tip with red-coloured imbricated leaves, 
called spathes in botanical language. The large and superb leaves, the nodding 
spike loaded with fruit and tipped with red, give the plant an interesting and 
peculiar appearance. There are nine two-rowed branches of fruit, amounting 
to 136 in all. The weight of these may be about 40 lb.; as the produce of 
another plant which fruited lately was 125, weighing 35 lb. The fruit is tri- 
angular, yellow when ripe, soft, and of a peculiarly luscious flavour, supe- 
rior to that of the old banana. Indeed, the Musa Cavendishz is much more 
calculated for general cultivation. The proprietress has lately erected a house 
for the cultivation of this species, and there are in it at present ten or twelve 
lants. 

i Carica Papaya, or the papaw tree, is a native of India and South Ame- 
rica. Here isa fine plant of this species, about 20 ft. high. It is nine or ten 
years old ; but having reached the glass of the house where it grew, it was cut 
down at 6 ft. from the ground about 1836. It has fruited three times since. 
There are this year sixteen fruit on it, of a melon shape, each weighing 12 Ib., 
or thereabouts. The papaw tree is one of those plants which have male 
flowers growing on one plant, and female flowers upon another. The female 
plant alone was at Williamfield. It often flowered, and promised to fruit; but 
the fruit never swelled, or approached maturity. About 1836 some seeds were 
received from India. These have fortunately produced several male plants, 
one of which came into flower in 1839. Being placed in close proximity to 
the female, so that the flowers might intermingle, the female produced ripe 
fruit that year fer the first time, and has continued to do so ever since. 
There seem to be two species of the papaw at Williamfield: in one the 
flowers are sessile in the axils of the leaves, while in the other they are 
produced in axillary panicles or clusters. 

The fruit of the papaw is eaten with pepper and sugar, and when half- 
grown, if properly pickled, is little inferior to the pickled mango of the East 
Indies. The acrid milky juice of this plant, when rubbed over the flesh of 
newly killed animals, is said to render it very tender in a short time ; and even 
if the meat be hung up on the tree for a certain period, the same effect will be 
produced. 

There are here aiso several fine plants of the coffee tree, raised from seed 
ripened at Williamfield. They are very handsome plants, clothed with 
branches regularly from the root upwards. One plant is 53 ft. high, has 
fruited for the first time this season, and has 168 fruit on it. The lower or 
older branches alone bear fruit. 

There is also a fine plant of Bambusa arundinacea, or bamboo cane of the 
East Indies, which is interesting from the great rapidity of its growth, one of 
its branches having grown 13 ft. in forty days, or 4 in. a day. 

Many more plants might be particularised, such as the passion-flower 
(Passiflora edulis), one plant of which produces 800 fruit each season. There 
is also a fine plant of the Indian-rubber tree, 20 ft. high. The camellias in the 


4A Retrospective Criticism. 


conservatory are justly celebrated. They were brought down from London 
at a vast expense when Mrs. Fairlie took up her residence at Williamfield, and 
have been her companions ever since. They are very large and healthy, and 
produce hundreds of blossoms yearly. (Ayr Observer, Noy. 23. 1841.) 


Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism. 


DIFFERENT Modes of Glazing Hot-houses, §c.— In our Vol. for 1841, p. 606., 
last paragraph, second and third lines, for “ 43 in. by 3 in. deep”, read “ 63 in. by 
3in. deep” and for “4 in. by 24 in. deep”, read “53 in., by 23 in. or 3 in. deep.” 
Add, “ Always glaze with the bent side downwards (as the glaziers term it), 
as by this means the glass lies more even, and comes closer in contact in the 
middle of the pane.” For horticultural purposes generally, I think panes 
6in. by 3in. the most suitable size. — James Seymour, Frithsden Gardens, 
Nov. 25. 1841. 

The Suburban Horticulturist, and Suburban Gardener. — I have received your 
first Numbers of the Suburban Horticulturist, and beg to suggest to you the 
making such additions to your prospectus as shall render the work, when 
completed, as applicable to gardens in Australia as to those of England. 
The climate of that country differs from the climate of England. Your 
work will, therefore, in order to make it useful in that country, require 
to contain some information as to the difference in the mode of management, 
rendered necessary by an average increase of temperature of 12 or 15 degrees. 
Many fruits which in England require forcing there ripen as open stand- 
ards. The orange, peach, nectarine, &c. The same, also, with shrubs and 
flowers, many beautiful kinds of which there flower in the open air which 
require protection in this country. The field culture of the vine, the Jordan 
almond, &c., is also of great importance. Australia, indeed, from its fine 
climate, would appear to be the finest country in the world for an extensive 
and beautifu lgarden. 

The immense benefit you would confer upon that country by taking into 
your plan the formation and management of gardens there, will occur to you 
when you consider that the proprietors of land are in a great measure debarred 
the pleasure of social intercourse, by being distributed at great distances from 
each other. From the pastoral nature of the country, large tracts of land 
are required to pasture their flocks ; this necessarily scatters them at great 
distances from each other. What a source, then, of happiness and enjoyment 
must an extensive garden be to a gentleman and his family, under these cir- 
cumstances ! 

From the nature of his pursuits, the country gentleman there has but two 
busy periods in the year, viz. the lambing and the clipping season. With 
ample time, therefore, to cultivate a garden, and a beautiful climate to bring 
every thing to perfection, he wants only such instruction and information as 
will enable him to form and cultivate it. He has this additional inducement, 
that being in general situated at a distance from towns, or only near to such 
as have been newly built, he has no market to which he can apply for his 
fruits and vegetables, and must therefore either raise his own or go without. 
Your work is capable of being made extremely beneficial in this respect to 
your countrymen in Australia; and the amount of experience, talent, and in- 
dustry which your other works prove you are capable of bringing to bear 
upon it, renders it to the last degree desirable that you should undertake it. 

Should you do so, the first subject that would require to be noticed is, how 
a person in that country is to set about forming, enclosing, and laying out his 
garden, shrubbery, &c. ; for what you have already said on this subject in the 
Suburban Gardener will scarcely bear on his case. Under this head would 
come the choice of asite, aspect, &c., which will be different from what would 
be requisite in England ; for instance, shade might there be desirable, or even 
necessary, for the garden, certainly for most of the walks. 


Retrospective Criticism. 45 


Then, for enclosing. It would perhaps be the most expeditious and the best 
way, for a gentleman situated any distance from Sydney (the only place where 
there is at present a botanical or horticultural garden established), to enclose 
the space fixed on for his garden with a post and rail, and a sheep net, such 
as is used for folding sheep. This would form a cheap and quick protection 
from cattle, &c., within which he could commence sowing his seeds, pips, 
stones, &c., for raising the stocks for his fruit trees, &c.; correct lists of which, 
together with lists of seeds for raising shrubs and flowers applicable to that 
climate, would be requisite for the uninitiated, also their culture and manage- 
ment. He could also be raising his culinary vegetables, as well as the mate- 
rials for permanent hedges, round his lawn and shrubberies, and round the 
kitchen-garden. In two or three years the materials for forming these hedges 
would be ready to plant out, and thus his garden would have an effectual 
boundary, and be ready to receive in their proper places the trees when graft- 
ed ; the stocks of which he has been bringing forward. The cuttings for these 
grafts he would, of course, have to procure from Sydney, when his stocks were 
ready ; and they could be sent te him without danger, packed in dry earth or 
sand. 

After his hedge had stood a year or more, he could remove his first tem- 
porary fence of post and netting ; and by this time he should have felled and 
cut up a sufficient quantity of timber for forming his garden paling, or wall, 
8 or 10 feet high. A brick wall being, of course, out of question in the country 
parts, at least for many years. This paling he ought, of course, to put up 
15 or 20 feet inside of his garden hedge, to leave a place for an outside border, 
compost heaps, sheds, &c.; this paling would all be finished by the time his 
wall trees required nailing to it, they having been headed down close to the 
graft, after planting them out. 

His garden would thus be completed with wall or paling, and outside hedge, 
and he would have raised his trees from pips, stones, &c., not only in thc 
most expeditious, but also in the most certain and economical, manner, 

The foregoing is not given, except to show the kind of information and 
instruction that emigrants would require to teach them how first to form 
their gardens in Australia. The great amount of comfort and happiness 
which you would be the means of dispensing through that vast continent, | 
will, I hope, induce you to take this matter into your consideration. 

A gentleman with a square mile or two of land, with 200 or 300 acres of 
it cleared, though far away from any professional men, architects, gar- 
deners, or builders, might, with the assistance of your two excellent works, so 
superintend his workmen, as to lay out, enclose, plant, and cultivate his 
gardens and grounds, shrubbery, &c., to afford him and his family an abun- 
dance of comforts, and a high degree of happiness, as well as setting an ex- 
ample and pattern to those who might afterwards settle near him ; and, by 
such means, a taste would be formed at the first rising of towns, which would 
remain in them for all time to come, and would soon be taken up by the cot- 
tagers and labourers. 

It will doubtless occur to you that the knowledge of cultivating a garden 
will avail but little to an emigrant, unless he first knows how to set about 
forming it, and also stocking it with the necessary vegetables, fruits, shrubs, 
and flowers; and if you imagine him without any garden previously enclosed, 
any seeds, &c., to put into it when enclosed, and from a week to a fortnight’s 
journey from the only place at which any of these can be procured, you will 
then see the exact situations of ninety-nine out of every hundred emigrants 
in Australia. Now, what you yourself would do under these circumstances, 
in order to form a good garden for fruit, vegetables, and flowers, and in the 
shortest time possible, is precisely the advice that is needed by the Australian 
landowner. 

I have got your very excellent work the Suburban Gardener, or Villa Com- 
panion ; and I feel certain that it will be of immense value to the people of 


46 Retrospective Criticism. 


Australia, infinitely more so than it will be to England. Here, professional 
men, scientific gardeners, &c., can always be consulted ; there, no talent of the 
kind is available, and consequently any man who purchases 200 or 300 acres 
of ground must depend on his own unassisted efforts and natural taste in 
planning, laying out, and planting them. Again, in England, there are few 
parks and estates requiring laying out and planting; but, in Australia, every 
day sees fresh lands enclosed, and which are, doubtless, for want of artists, 
laid out and planted in a most barbarous style. Your Suburban Gardener 
is calculated to do great benefit in that country, in assisting the taste of 
emigrants, 

But to return to the Suburban Horticulturist. Should you deem it advis- 
able to treat in it of what might be done by emigrants in Australia, you will at 
once see the necessity of instructing them in the first formation of their gar- 
dens, and of raising their own trees, shrubs, flowers, &c., as it must be quite 
impossible for them to purchase all the trees, shrubs, &c., that would be re- 
quired, at Sydney, and cart them for ten days, or, perhaps, three weeks, into 
the interior, exposed to the weather and other accidents ; but cuttings for grafts 
could be packed up in any quantity, and forwarded to them without injury. 

There is in many parts of Australia a scarcity of water; should you think 
proper to give in your next edition of the Suburban Gardener some hints how 
tanks, &c., could be constructed, they would, I venture to say, be of great 
importance to that country, more particularly if they were accompanied by 
plans for filtering the surface water, and rendering it fit for culinary purposes, 
on a scale large enough for a farm; and sufficiently simple to be executed 
by a farmer and his labourers, the information would be still more valuable. 
I have seen, in your Manual of Cottage-Gardening, a suggestion to this effect, 
but it is not quite explicit enough to be generally understood; it mentions 
charcoal and sand as the means of effecting the filtration. Every farmer, IL 
believe, has the means of making charcoal, and it is by no means a difficult 
process, yet there are scarcely any that know how to do it. It is so very 
useful an article, particularly in warm climates where it is an object to have 
as small a fire as possible while cooking, that it is to be regretted the manner 
of making it is not more generally known. 

There is one other subject which, in your next edition of the Suburban 
Gardener, would, perhaps, add to it value as regards Australia ; that is, 
whether manure tanks, drains for water, and from water-closets, could not be 
formed of wood lined with Roman cement or pitch; if so, the method of their 
construction. These, and similar questions will occur to you, if you feel 
desirous that the benefits of your book should be extended to that country. 
For many years to come the chief material for the construction of every part 
of farm buildings at a short distance from the chief towns must be wood. 
The carriage of a load of bricks and lime would cost ten times their value, if 
into the interior, where few roads are yet formed. 

As you have frequently alluded to Australia in your works, I make no apology 
for offering these remarks; I feel an interest in that country, and I intend to visit 
it in another year, if possible. I will not take up more of your time, except to 
observe that the instructions which would be requisite in your Suburban Hor- 
ticulturist, to suit it to the wants of emigrants in Australia, could either be 
embodied with the other matter in the progress of the work (that is, in case 
you should deem it worthy your notice) ; or a chapter or two might be added 
at its conclusion ; in which latter case, a few useful hints might also be added 
relative to the construction of dwellings with wood, except the fireplaces 
and chimneys, and the making of drains, tanks, &c., of the same material. 
— H. J. Denny, Lieut. 6th Dragoons. New Bridge Barracks, Ireland, Feb. 15. 
1841. 

Pinus palistris.— You state (p. 386.) that this species thrives admirably in 
the Bois de Boulogne without protection, but that it requires protection at 
Dropmore during severe winters. I assure you, the tree of this species here 
has been exposed every season for a number of years past, and was only 


Queries and Answers. 47 


somewhat injured in the foliage after the winter of 1837-8, and again after 
the winter of 1840-1. At present the tree looks as well as ever.— Philip 
Frost. Dropmore, Dec. 8. 1841. 


ART. V. Queries and Answers. 


Move of preserving Seeds for a Number of Years. — Having been engaged 
by the committee appointed by the British Association to investigate the 
growth and vitality of seeds, with the view of ascertaining their comparative 
longevity, to preserve and distribute seeds of at least one species of as many 
genera as can be obtained in sufficient quantities for the purpose of carrying 
on experiments to that effect in the garden of the Horticultural Society at 
Chiswick, and in the Botanic Gardens of Oxford and Cambridge, 1 feel 
anxious at the onset of taking advantage of the already known most 
effectual mode of preserving them free from the ravages of insects, &c., for a 
number of years, and for that purpose gladly take advantage of your pages as a 
ready means of obtaining information ; and there also beg to record the mode, 
at present in contemplation, of preserving them for the above experiments, 
trusting that it may induce some one or more of your readers, who may have 
had experience in this particular, to offer some observations on the same, 
which might lead to their better preservation. 

It is proposed to preserve the seeds in porous earthen jars of various sizes 

(according to the quantity or bulk of each kind), in the form of common pickle 
jars, with the exception of there being, in addition to the opening in the top 
of a common jar, a smaller opening near to the bottom of the jar, with a rim 
projecting just far enough to admit of its being covered, as well as the top 
opening, with wire gauze, fine enough to exclude insects, and yet, at the same 
time, to admit a free circulation of air amongst the seeds. They are then 
to be stored on shelves in a dry cool room.— W. H. Baxter. Botanic Gar- 
den, Oxford, Nov. 1841. 
_ Preventive against Snails on Wall Frait.—n p. 574. of your volume for 
1841, an amateur gardener complains of having his crops of nectarines injured 
_by snails. If the various pests ascended the walls from the borders, the plan 
which you recommend is a surer remedy than either of the two suggested by 
the writer ; but I consider that was not the case, and that the injury was done 
by the Helix aspera; tobe plain, I mean a kind of snails that carry their box on 
their backs, and lodge in holes in the wall, and behind the stems and foliage of 
the trees. The best remedy is to search for them; their hiding-places may be 
discovered by the slime they leave wherever they go. In the winter, a dozen 
or two may be found packed together behind the stem of a large tree, or in a 
hole in the wall. Thrushes destroy many of this kind of snail, by breaking 
their shells against stones or branches of trees. The snails in question are 
fonder of unripe apricots than nectarines; but there are two other large kinds 
of snails, without shells, which often attack the latter, the common grey, and 
one of an orange colour ; both are easily caught by frequenting the trees at 
night with a lighted candle. —J. Wighton. Cossey Hall Gardens, Nov. 13. 
1841. 

The Dwarf Oak of Australia, — The dwarf oak is a handsome prickly-leaved 
evergreen, making such a tall close hedge as not only to afford good shelter to 
the field, but defy either pig or bullock to break through, while it furnishes a 
good annual crop of pig-food in its acorns, besides a crop of that valuable article 
in dyeing, the gall-nut. The wonder is, that, from the above qualities, it has 
not been introduced into England, where it would soon change the whole 
winter aspect of the country, the hedgerows exhibiting throughout the year 
the bright green freshness of perpetual spring. (Cunningham’s Hints for Austra- 
lian Emigrants.) Can you inform me what plant is alluded to in the above 
extract ?—W. H.B. Botanic Garden, Oxford, Nov, 1841, 


43 : 1 Obituary. 


On sending a copy of the extract to Mr. James Backhouse of York, who 
has recently returned from Australia, he sent us the following explanation : — 
“ The dwarf oak ” referred to in Cunningham’s Hints for Austrahan Emigrants 
is certainly not an Australian plant. His description of the acorn clearly refers 
it to Quércus, a genus limited to the northern hemisphere. Probably he may 
mean Q. gramimntia, of the south of Europe; which, I think, is a low bushy 
species, with large acorns ; and of which Acton, in the Hortus Kewensis, says, 
“foliis . . . spinoso-dentatis.” Cunningham may intend his hint as a recom- 
mendation to emigrants to take out the seeds, on the presumption that they 
will thrive well in Australia, where the introduced Quércus Cérris thrives well. 
— James Backhouse. York, Oct. 23. 1841. 

Chapman’s Potatoes. — In answer to various enquiries respecting the sub- 
stitute for early potatoes advertised for sale by Messrs. Chapman, we refer to 
the paragraph in p. 36. We know nothing more than what is there stated. — 
Cond. 


Art. VI. Obituary. 


DaviD Don, Esq., Professor of Botany in King’s College, and Librarian to 
the Linnzan Society, died Dec. 8., much regretted by his friends, and, indeed, 
by all who knew him. The urbanity of his manners, and his readiness to 
render assistance in the exercise of his duties as librarian, were felt and 
acknowledged by all who had occasion to consult the library under his care. 

Since we sent the foregoing to press, we received the following from Mr. 
Don’s early patron and friend, Dr. Neill, one of the kindest-hearted of men. 

«“ Professor David Don. — We regret to have to announce the death of this 
distinguished naturalist, which took place at the Linnzean Society’s apartments, 
Soho Square, London, on Wednesday the 8th of December. He was the 
second son of the late Mr. George Don, whom some of our readers will 
remember as the Curator of the Royal Botanic Garden, Leith Walk. About 
five and twenty years ago, Mr. David Don went to London, carrying with him 
an introduction to the celebrated Robert Brown. This gentleman soon per- 
ceived and duly appreciated the merits of the young Scotch botanist; and 
through his powerful recommendation he was successively appointed Keeper 
of the Lambertian Herbarium and Librarian to the Linnzan Society. In 
1821 he accompanied an early friend on a visit to Paris, and thus formed ac- 
quaintance with some of the most eminent Continental naturalists, among whom 
were Humboldt. Cuvier, Kunth, and Delessert. Mr. Don’s Prodromus Flore 
Nepalensis, and various excellent papers in the Linnean Transactions, having 
brought him prominently into notice in the botanical world, he was chosen 
Professor of Botany in King’s College, Somerset House ; and he may be said 
to have fallen a martyr to his zeal as a lecturer there, for he resolutely delayed 
till the end of the session an operation recommended by Sir Benjamin Brodie, 
by which his valuable life might have been saved. At the end of the session, 
it was found too late to operate.” 

The above appeared in the Cowrant, the sub-editor having got the parti- 
culars from me. Of course, a full and correct notice will appear soon ; per- 
haps in your own pages. When I saw my lamented friend about the 22d of 
September, I reckoned on his surviving till about the new year, he looked so 
fresh and stout; but I believe he exerted himself while I was with him. His 
fortitude and resignation were admirable. — P. N. Canon Mills, Dec. 14. 
1841. 

Mr. Don’s remains were interred in the Kensal Green Cemetery on De- 
cember 15th, followed to the grave by Dr. Brown, Sir W. J. Hooker, Mr. 
Bentham, Mr. Bowman, his medical attendant, Mr. Anderson of the Chelsea 
Botanic Garden, and Mr. Smith of Kew. 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
FEBRUARY, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
“By the ConpucTor. 


Tar part of our tour which embraces our route from London 
to Crosslee Cottage having been given in the Gardener’s Gazette 
from the 31st of July to the 30th of October, and our intention 
being to make on Crosslee Cottage a separate article, we shall at 
once pass on to Glasgow, where we arrived on the 26th of July. 
Previously, however, we must make one remark on 

The Buildings at the Railway Stations. — We have before 
(Gardener's Magazine for 1839, p. 436.) signified our admi- 
ration of the expression of purpose in the bridges and other 
buildings connected with the railways, and of the freedom from 
prejudice evinced by the engineers in deviating from established 
forms, when it became necessary for the purposes of strength or 
economy. What we now wish to remark is, that we think this 
expression of purpose, as it may be called, should have been 
more obvious on the station houses. For example, instead of 
having the name of the station painted, sometimes on one part 
of the structure, and sometimes on another, we would have it 
sculptured on a conspicuous part of the front, especially designed, 
and peculiarly characterised, for that purpose; and we would 
have the name itself in sunk or in raised letters, coloured, if it 
should be thought necessary, but, at all events, formed either by 
sinking or in relief. 

At most of the railroad stations there are large boards, on 
. which are painted regulations, or other information relative to — 
matters connected with the railroad; and as these regulations 
may be supposed to be occasionally altered, we would still con- 
tinue to have them painted on boards; but we would form panels 
on raised surfaces in which these boards should be fixed, in the 
same way as a picture is a frame. ‘The panels should be made 


sufficiently large to admit of a larger board than might be 
3d Ser.— 1842. II. E 


50 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


wanted at the time the station house was built, in order to pro- 
vide room for the additional regulations that may be supposed 
to become necessary as the traffic on the railway increases ; but 
the board, whether covered with lines or not, should always be 
sufficiently large to fill the whole of the panel. 

We would carry this principle of rendering writing architec- 
tural to turnpike houses and gates, and to the signs and names of 
inns, public-houses, and shops; to names on the gates of manu- 
factories; to those on private doors; to the names of gentlemen’s 
seats, which, we think, ought to be sculptured on sunk or raised 
panels or shields on their entrance lodges or gates; to the names 
of cottages and villages; and, in short, to every architectural 
structure where a name was required, or would be useful. 

Had the art of writing been coeval with that of architecture, 
there is little doubt that writing would have been introduced on 
buildings in an architectural manner, as ornaments of leaves and 
flowers have been; but since this could not be done by ancient 
architects, it is for the modern artist to supply the defect, and 
introduce writing on edifices artistically, and, in doing so, to 
produce something superior to the mode of putting the hierogly- 
phics on the Egyptian tombs or obelisks, or the letters on the 
jambs of the shop-doors in Pompeii, or over the doors and 
windows of shops in modern towns. 

Glasgow we found greatly increased in extent, even since 1831, 
when we last saw it, and improved also in its street architecture, 
which is always a gratifying proof that taste is spreading among 
the mass of society. ‘The number of manufactories is greatly 
increased, and such a forest of engine chimneys has been erected 
in and around the city in consequence of the great increase in the 
iron manufacture within the last seven years, that the atmosphere, 
within a circle of two or three miles in diameter, is constantly 
charged with coal-smoke, in consequence of which trees and 
shrubs of even the commonest kinds are rarely seen in a thriving 
state. This cannot be owing to the earthy part of the smoke 
resting on the leaves, because there is scarcely a day passes with- 
out rain to wash it off. ‘The stems are all uniformly black, be- 
cause on the same surface of bark on these the soot has fallen 
summer and winter for several years; but the leaves, though 
thin, ragged, and sickly, are not so black as those of the trees in 
the London squares. Such, at least, was the impression made 
on us; heightened, no doubt, by the answer always given when 
asking why such and such trees, and particularly the Irish yew, 
the holly, the ivy, &c., were not planted in the different ceme- 
teries now laying out, that these and other evergreens would not 
grow on account of the smoke. ‘There are three or four large 
cemeteries, but being pressed for time, and the weather being 
very unfavourable, we only entered two of them; one was the 


Necropolis at Glasgow. 51 


Sight Hill cemetery, which is being laid out in the pleasure- 
ground style, with handsome entrance gates, lodges, and chapels, 
all in a forward state. ‘The other cemetery which we saw is 
the 

Necropolis. — This is situated adjoining the ancient cathedral 
and its extensive burying-ground, which occupies a gentle 
declivity on one side of a valley, while the Necropolis, which 
may be considered as a continuation of this burying-ground, 
covers a rather steep rocky hill, sprinkled with trees and modern 
tombstones, on the other. ‘The impression made by the first 
view of this hill, studded with trees and tombs and scars of solid 
rock, when looking from the town, with the cathedral in the fore- 
ground, is grand and melancholy; and the effect is heightened 
as we pass along an elevated road towards a bridge which 
crosses the valley at the point where the Necropolis commences, 
and is, as it were, joined to the ancient churchyard, so as 
to unite the tombs of many generations with those of generations 
yet unborn. This circumstance is finely-noticed in the follow- 
ing inscription on the bridge: — 


THIS BRIDGE 
WAS ERECTED BY 
THE MERCHANTS’ HOUSE OF GLASGOW, 

TO AFFORD A PROPER ENTRANCE TO THIS NEW CEMETERY, 
COMBINING CONVENIENT ACCESS TO THE GROUNDS, 
WITH SUITABLE DECORATION TO THE VENERABLE CATHEDRAL 
AND THE SURROUNDING SCENERY ; 

TO UNITE 
THE TOMBS OF MANY GENERATIONS WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE, 
WITH THE RESTING-PLACES DESTINED FOR GENERATIONS YET UNBORN 5 
WHERE THE ASHES OF ALL SHALL REPOSE 
UNTIL 
THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUST ; 

WHEN THAT WHICH IS SOWN A NATURAL BODY 
SHALL BE RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY,— 

WHEN THIS CORRUPTIBLE MUST PUT ON INCORRUPTION, — 
WHEN THIS MORTAL MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY, — 
WHEN DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. 

A.D. MDCCC XxxIiII. 


“ Blessed is the Man who trusteth in God, and whose hope the LORD is.” * 


The road to this bridge is straight, and on a raised mound 
nearly level, so as to be considerably above the lower part of 
the ancient churchyard, and with the hill of the Necropolis 


* This, and the inscription over the gate, were kindly procured for us by 
Dayid Gibson, Esq., the active, intelligent, and enthusiastic secretary of the 
Glasgow Horticultural Society. 

E 2 


52 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


rising boldly in front; so that the spectator, finding himself in a 
commanding position, and looking down on the one cemetery, 
and up towards the other, has his mind filled with the subject 
to the exclusion of every other idea, and feels, in short, the 
effect on his mind to be sublime. 

Before entering the cemetery gates, the first thing which 
struck us as remarkable was the totally different character 
from what they are in every other British cemetery that we have 
ever seen, of the tombs and gravestones, even at a distance: 


there appears to be no mean, trivial, or vulgar forms among 
them; the trees among which they are scattered being what 
may be considered large rather than small, and, at all events, 
having nothing of the character of young trees, the appearance 
recalled to mind some of the descriptions of the cemeteries of 
antiquity. 

The Necropolis is entered by a magnificent archway and 
gates, over which is the following inscription : — 


THE NECROPOLIS, 
OR 
ORNAMENTED PUBLIC CEMETERY, 
WAS CONSTRUCTED BY 
THE MERCHANTS HOUSE OF GLASGOW, 
IN THEIR PROPERTY, 
TO SUPPLY THE ACCOMMODATION REQUIRED 
BY A RAPIDLY INCREASING POPULATION, 
AND, BY EMBELLISHING THE PLACE OF SEPULTURE, 
TO INVEST WITH MORE SOOTHING ASSOCIATIONS 
THAT AFFECTIONATE RECOLLECTION OF THE DEPARTED 
WHICH IS CHERISHED BY THOSE WHO SURVIVE. 
A.D. MDCCC XXXIII. 


“ B’en from the tomb the voice of Nature cries.” 


A carriage road commences at this portal, and gradually 
ascends the hill in a winding direction, so as to exhibit every 
part of the cemetery to a stranger, without obliging him to quit 
his carriage. Having reached the summit, we may either re- 
turn by the same road and gate, or by another road which leads 
to a gate on a different side of the hill. The principle on 
which the line of road is traced out is determined by the 
character of the surface and the end in view, and is therefore 
unexceptionable. The trees are scattered over the ground at 
irregular distances, in the manner of a natural grove, but here 
and there they are more or less grouped, so as to produce 
occasional scenes of darkness and gloom. ‘There are but few 
evergreens, but these, we were informed, would not grow; even 
some old Scotch pines had a scathed appearance. ‘The natural 


Necropolis at Glasgow. 58 


surface shows rock protruding through it in many places, and 
rock appears almost at every turn of the road, so that we never 
for a moment forget that every tombstone has a solid founda- 
tion. In consequence of this, every one of the monuments, 
large and small, as far as we could observe, is perfectly erect ; 
and not like great numbers of those in Pére la Chaise and 
Kensal Green, leaning to one side; and, consequently, when 
composed of several pieces, with the joints opening to admit the 
rain and frost, and insure speedy ruin. ‘The design, also, of 
the monuments is of a very superior kind, there being scarcely 
one in the whole cemetery of those chair-back-like forms so 
common in all churchyards; and which, having no base or 
plinth below to support what is above, appear to have been 
forced into soft ground, instead of being built up from a solid 
foundation. All the monuments in the Glasgow cemetery con- 
vey the dignified idea of being built, and have not the mean 
appearance of being thrust in like stakes, or laid down like 
pavement. Even the lettering is, in many cases, cut in the 
stone, or raised in metallic forms; modes which, as we have 
above observed, ought never to be neglected when an archi- 
tectural character is to be maintained. ‘The family burying- 
places are bounded in general by low architectural parapets, 
and not, as is frequently the case, with high iron railings; 
which seem to us to derogate from the sacredness of the scene, 
by supposing it possible that the cemetery would be visited by 
persons incapable of conducting themselves properly. 

Many of the monuments are magnificent combinations of 
architecture and sculpture; others are simple and grand forms, 
such as pyramids, obelisks, columns, arches, &c.; but perhaps 
the most instructive of these architectural memorials are those 
of the commonest kind, which may be considered analogous to 
common gravestones. ‘These are mostly pedestals of different 
descriptions, varied in their proportions, magnitude, and deco- 
rations, so that no two monuments of this class, or indeed of 
any other, can be found alike. ‘The greater number of the mo- 
numents, both great and small, are so placed with reference to 
the grave as not to give the idea of preventing the mortal re- 
mains from mixing with the earth. This, in our opinion, indi- 
cates the true cosmopolitan spirit of interment. Let there be 
monuments, as durable as rock and architecture can make them, 
to the mind and character of the deceased; but let not the 
mortal remains be prevented from returning to the elements from 
which it originally sprung. Such are our sentiments: but we 
have also another sentiment which we hold at the same time, 
viz., that those who think otherwise should have their wishes 
eratified. Hence, in this cemetery, while we approve of most of 
the coffins being interred in the free soil, yet we also approve of 

E 3 


54 Fiecollections of a Gardening Tour. 


some which are deposited in horizontal excavations made in the 
face of the perpendicular rock. 

We observe in this cemetery, that the German custom of 
planting flowers over the graves is adopted in various instances ; 
the plot over the grave being generally surrounded with kerb- 
stones, which form a proper architectural separation between 
the general surface of grass and the dug ground. In some 
cases, where the family burying-ground is a square of 15 or 
20 feet, these little flower-gardens are planted with roses and 
other shrubs, and if they were kept free from weeds, they might 
prove pleasing ornaments: but it is always painful to see any- 
thing like neglect in a burying-ground, and therefore we think 
another Continental custom should be adopted (Gard. Mag. for 
1841, p. 291.), of putting such gardens under the care of the 
curator of the cemetery; at least so far, as that, when the family 
to whom the tomb and garden belong neglect to keep it in 
order, this should be done by the curator at their expense. 

One great defect in all the cemeteries that we have ever seen, 
and to which the Necropolis does not form an exception, is the 
coarseness of the grass. Where the surface is rough and rocky, 
smooth short grass can only be obtained by frequent and careful 
clipping, or by eating with sheep. The former might be accom- 
plished by infirm persons of both sexes; letting the surface out 
in portions at so much for the season, and teaching the contract- 
ing parties that, by never allowing the leaves of the grass to 
grow more than half an inch or an inch in length, they would so 
weaken the roots as greatly to reduce their labour. If the mode 
of grazing by sheep were adopted, a neat wire fence would re- 
quire to be placed round each of the flower-gardens; but that 
would be rather ornamental than otherwise. In cemeteries on 
tolerably even ground, if newly made graves were always finished 
level with the adjoining surface, as in some of the Edinburgh 
and Leith burial-grounds, and in several English ones (Gard. 
Mag. for 1841, p. 590.), there would be no difficulty in keeping 
the grass short and smooth with the scythe. Next to the grass, 
the walks and roads require attention, and those of the Necro- 
polis have the common fault of deep, irregular, raw edgings, in 
which the idea of the spade-work necessary to produce this 
rawness continually obtrudes itself, and destroys the idea of 
completeness and repose. 

Much of beauty and character might be created in church- 
yards and cemeteries, if curators could be found who had some 
knowledge of gardening, and especially of trees and shrubs. 
We could wish that it were considered essential to have a gar- 
dener as a curator: but this alone would not be sufficient; it 
is necessary that the public should know what a churchyard or 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 55 


a cemetery is capable of being made, in order to stimulate the 
curator to exertion, and to reward him by praise when he has 
done his duty with taste and spirit. 

(To be continued.) 


Art. II. Ox the Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 
By M. Dumas. 


(Continued from p. 11.) 


III. Letra seed be thrown into the earth, and be left to ger- 
minate and develope itself; let the new plant be watched until 
it has borne flowers and seeds in its turn, and we shall see, by 
suitable analyses, that the primitive seed, in producing the new 
being, has fixed carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, azote, and ashes. 

Carbon. — The carbon originates’ essentially in carbonic 
acid, whether it be borrowed from the carbonic acid of the air, 
or proceed from that other portion of carbonic acid which the 
spontaneous decomposition of manures continually gives out in 
contact with the roots. 

But it is from the air especially that plants most frequently 
derive their carbon. How could it be otherwise, when we see 
the enormous quantity of carbon which aged trees, for example, 
have appropriated to themselves, and yet the very limited space 
within which their roots can extend? Certainly, when a hundred 
years ago the acorn germinated, which has produced the oak 
that we now admire, the soil on which it fell did not contain the 
millionth part of the carbon that the oak itself now contains. It 
is the carbonic acid of the air which has supplied the rest, that 
is to say, nearly the whole. 

But what can be clearer and more conclusive than the ex- 
periment of M. Boussingault, in which peas, sown in sand, 
watered with distilled water, and having no aliment but air, have 
found in that air all the carbon necessary for developement, 
flowering, and fructification ? 

All plants fix carbon, all borrow it from carbonic acid ; 
whether this be taken directly from the air by the leaves, 
whether the roots imbibe within the ground the rain water 
impregnated with carbonic acid, or whether the manures, 
whilst decomposing in the soil, supply carbonic acid, which the 
roots also take possession of to transmit it to the leaves. 

All these results may be proved without difficulty. M. 
Boussingault observed that vine leaves which were enclosed 
in a globe took all the carbonic acid from the air directed 
across the vessel, however rapid the current. M. Boucherie 

; E 4 


56 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


also observed enormous quantities of carbonic acid escape from 
the divided trunk of trees in full sap, evidently drawn by the 
roots from the soil. 

But if the roots imbibe this carbonic acid within the earth, if 
this passes into the stalk and thence into the leaves, it ends by 
being exhaled into the atmosphere, without alteration, when no 
new force intervenes. 

Such is the case with plants vegetating in the shade or at 
night. ‘The carbonic acid of the earth filters through their 
tissues, and diffuses itself in the air. We say that plants pro- 
duce carbonic acid during the night; we should say, in such 
a case, that plants transmit the carbonic acid borrowed from the 
soil. 

But let this carbonic acid, proceeding from the soil or taken 
from the atmosphere, come into contact with the leaves or the 
green parts, and let the solar light moreover intervene, then the 
scene all at once changes. 

The carbonic acid disappears; bubbles of free oxygen arise 
on all the parts of the leaf, and the carbon fixes itself in the 
tissues of the plant. 

It is a circumstance well worthy of interest, that these green 
parts of plants, the only ones which up to this time manifest 
this admirable phenomenon of the decomposition of carbonic 
acid, are also endowed with another property not less peculiar, 
or less mysterious. 

In fact, if their image were to be transferred into the ap- 
paratus of M. Daguerre, these green parts are not found to be 
reproduced there; as if all the chemical rays, essential to the 
Daguerrian phenomena, had disappeared in the leaf, absorbed 
and retained by it. 

The chemical rays of light disappear, therefore, entirely in 
the green parts of plants; an extraordinary absorption doubt- 
less, but which explains without difficulty the enormous expense 
of chemical force necessary for the decomposition of a body so 
stable as carbonic acid. 

What, moreover, is the function of this fixed carbon in the 
plant ? for what is it destined? For the greater part, without 
doubt, it combines with water or with its elements, thus giving 
birth to matters of the highest importance for the vegetable. 

If twelve molecules of carbonic acid are decomposed and 
abandon their oxygen, the result will be twelve molecules of 
carbon; which, with ten molecules of water, may constitute 
either the cellular tissue of plants, or their ligneous tissue, or 
the starch and the dextrine which are produced from them. 

Thus, in any plant whatever, nearly the entire mass of the 
structure (charpente), formed as it is of cellular tissue, of lig- 
neous tissue, of starch, or of gummy matters, will be repre- 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 57 


sented by twelve molecules of carbon united toten molecules 
of water. 

The ligneous part which is insoluble in water, the starch, 
which gelatinises (J’amidon, qui fait empois) in boiling water, 
and the dextrine which dissolves so easily in water cold or 
hot, constitute therefore, as M. Payen has so well proved, three 
bodies possessing exactly the same composition, but diversified 
by a different molecular arrangement. 

Thus, with the same elements, in the same proportions, ve- 
getable nature produces the insoluble walls of the cells of 
cellular tissue and of the vessels, or the starch which she ac- 
cumulates as nourishment around buds and embryos, or the 
soluble dextrine which the sap can convey from one place to 
another for the wants of the plant. 

How admirable is this fecundity, which out of the same body 
can make three different ones, and which allows of their being 
changed one into the other, with the slightest expense of force, 
every time occasion requires it ! 

It is also by means of carbon united with water, that the 
saccharine matters so frequently deposited in the organs of 
plants for peculiar purposes, which we shall shortly mention, 
are produced. Twelve molecules of carbon and eleven mo- 
lecules of water form the cane sugar. ‘Twelve molecules of 
carbon and fifteen molecules of water make the sugar of the 
grape. 

These ligneous, amylaceous, gummy, and saccharine matters, 
which carbon, taken in its nascent state, can produce by uniting 
with water, play so large a part in the life of plants, that, when 
they are taken into consideration, it is no longer difficult to 
understand the important part that the decomposition of car- 
bonic acid performs in plants. 

Hydrogen. — In the same manner that plants decompose car- 
bonic acid for the appropriation of its carbon, and in order to 
form together with it all the neutral bodies which compose nearly 
their entire mass; in the same way, and for certain products 
which they form in less abundance, plants decompose water and 
fix its hydrogen. ‘This appears clearly from M. Boussingault’s 
experiments on the vegetation of peas in closed vessels. It is 
still more evident from the production of fat or volatile oils so 
frequent in certain parts of plants, and always so rich in hydrogen. 
This can only come from water, for the plant receives no other 
hydrogenated product than the water itself. 

These hydrogenated bodies, to which the fixation of the 
hydrogen borrowed from the water gives birth, are employed by 
plants for accessory uses. ‘They form, indeed, the volatile cils 
which serve for defence against the ravages of insects; fat oils or 
fats, which surround the seed, and which serve to develope heat 


58 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


by oxidation (en se brilent) at the moment of germination; waxes 
with which leaves and fruits are covered so as to become imper- 
meable to water. 

But all these uses constitute some accidents only in the life of 
plants; thus the hydrogenated products are much less necessary, 
much less common, in the vegetable kingdom, than the neutral 
products formed of carbon and water. 

Azote. — During its life, every plant fixes azote, whether it 
borrows the azote from the atmosphere, or takes it from the ma- 
nure. In either case it is probable that the azote enters the plant, 
and acts its part there only under the form of ammonia or of 
nitric acid. 

M. Boussingault’s experiments have proved that certain plants, 
such as Jerusalem artichokes, borrow a great quantity of azote 
from the air; that others, such as wheat, are, on the contrary, 
obliged to derive all theirs from manure: a valuable distinction 
for agriculture; for it is evident that all cultivation should begin 
by producing vegetables which assimilate azote from air, to rear 
by their aid the cattle which will furnish manure, and employ 
this latter for the cultivation of certain plants which can take 
azote from the manures only. 

One of the most interesting problems of agriculture consists, 
then, in the art of procuring azote at a cheap rate. As for 
carbon, no trouble need be taken about it; nature has provided 
for it; the air and rain water suffice for it: but the azote of the 
air, that which the water dissolves and brings with it, the am- 
moniacal salts which rain water itself contains, are not always 
sufficient. With regard to most plants the cultivation of which 
is important, their roots should also be surrounded with azotated 
manure, a permanent source of ammonia or of nitric acid, which 
the plant appropriates as they are produced. This, as we know, 
is one of the great expenses of agriculture, one of its great ob- 
stacles, for it possesses only the manure which is of its own pro- 
duction. But chemistry is so far advanced in this respect, that 
the problem of the production of a purely chemical azotated 
manure cannot be long in being resolved. 

M.Schattenman, the skilful director of the manufactories of 
Bouxvilliers in Alsace, M. Boussingault, and M. Liebig have 
turned their attention to the functions of ammonia in azotated 
manures. Recent trials show that the nitric acid of the nitrates 
also merit particular attention. 

But for what purpose is this azote, of which plants seem to 
have such an imperious want? M. Payen’s researches partly 
teach us; for they have proved that all the organs of the plant, 
without exception, begin by being formed of an azotated matter 
analogous to fibrine, with which at a later period are associated 
the cellular tissue, the ligneous tissue, and the amylaceous tissue 


F The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 59 
itself. This azotated matter, the real origin of all the parts of 
the plant, is never destroyed; it is always to be found, however 
abundant may be the non-azotated matter which has been inter- 
posed between its particles. 

This azote, fixed by plants, serves, therefore, to produce a 
concrete fibrinous substance, which constitutes the rudiment of 
all the organs of the vegetable. 

It also serves to produce the liquid albumen which the 
coagulable juices of all plants contain; and the caseum, so 
often confounded with albumen, but so easy to recognise in 
many plants. ’ 

Fibrin, albumen, and caseum exist, then, in plants. These 
three products, identical in their composition, as M. Vogel has 
long since proved, offer a singular analogy with the ligneous 
matters, the amidon, and the dextrine. 

Indeed, fibrin is, like ligneous matter, insoluble; albumen, like 
starch, coagulates by heat ; caseum, like dextrine, is soluble. 

These azotated matters, moreover, are neutral, as well as the 
three parallel non-azotated matters; and we shall see that by 
their abundance in the animal kingdom they act the same part 
that these latter exhibited to us in the vegetable kingdom. 

Besides, in like manner as it suffices for the formation of non- 
azotated neutral matters, to unite carbon with water or with its 
elements, so, also, for the formation of these azotated neutral 
matters, it suffices to unite carbon and ammonium with the 
elements of water; forty-eight molecules of carbon, six of am- 
monium, and seventeen of water, constitute, or may constitute, 
fibrin, albumen, and caseum. 

Thus, in both cases, reduced bodies, carbon or ammonium, 
and water, suffice for the formation of the matters which we are 
considering, and their production enters quite naturally into the 
circle of reactions, which vegetable nature seems especially 
adapted to produce. 

The function of azote in plants is therefore worthy of the 
most serious attention, since it is this which serves to form the 
fibrin which is found as the rudiment in all the organs; since it 
is this which serves for the production of the albumen and 
caseum, so largely diffused in so many plants, and which animals 
assimilate or modify according to the exigencies of their own 
nature. 

It is in plants, then, that the true laboratory of organic chemistry 
resides. ‘Thus, carbon, hydrogen, ammonium, and water are 
the principles which plants elaborate: ligneous matter, starch, 
’ gums, and sugars on the one part, fibrin, albumen, caseum, and 
gluten on the other, are, then, the fundamental products of the 
two kingdoms; products formed in plants, and in plants alone, 
and transferred by digestion into animals. 


60 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


Ashes. — An immense quantity of water passes through the 
vegetable during the period of its existence. This water 
evaporates at the surface of the leaves, and necessarily leaves, as 
residue, in the plant the salts which it contained in solution. 
These salts compose the ashes, products evidently borrowed 
from the earth, to which, after their death, vegetables give it 
back again. 

As to the form in which these mineral products deposit them- 
selves in the vegetable tissue, nothing can be more variable. 
We may remark, however, that among the products of this na- 
ture, one of the most frequent and most abundant is that pecti- 
nate of lime discovered by M. Jacquelain in the ligneous tissue 
of most plants. 

IV. If, in the dark, plants act as simple filters which water 
and gases pass through; if, under the influence of solar light, 
they act as reducing apparatus which decompose water, car- 
bonic acid, and oxide of ammonium, there are certain epochs and 
certain organs in which the plant assumes another, and altogether 
opposite, part. 

Thus, if an embryo is to be made to germinate, a bud to be 
unfolded, a flower to be fecundated, the plant which absorbed 
the solar heat, which decomposed carbonic acid and water, all 
at once changes its course. It burns carbon and hydrogen ; 3 it 
produces heat, that is to say, it takes to itself the principal cha- 
racters of animal life. 

But here a remarkable circumstance reveals itself. If barley 
or wheat is made to germinate, much heat, carbonic acid, and 
water are produced. ‘The starch of these grains first changes 
into gum, then into sugar, then it disappears in producing car- 
bonic acid, which the germ is to assimilate. Does a potato 
germinate, here, also, it is starch which changes into dextrine, 
then into sugar, and which at last produces carbonic acid and 
heat. Sugar, therefore, seems the agent by 1 means of which 
plants develope heat as they need it. 

How is it possible not to be struck from this with the coinci- 
dence of the following facts? Fecundation is always accom- 
panied by heat. Flowers as they breathe produce carbonic acid : 
they therefore consume carbon; and if we ask whence this 
carbon comes, we see, in the sugar cane, for example, that the 
sugar accumulated in the stalk has entirely disappeared when 
the flowering and fructification are accomplished. In the beet 
root, the sugar continues increasing in the roots until it flowers ; 
the seed-bearing beet contains no trace of sugar in its root. In 
the parsnep, the turnip, and the carrot, the same phenomena 
take place. 

Thus, at certain epochs, in certain organs, the plant turns into 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 61 


an animal; it becomes, like it, an apparatus of combustion ; it 
burns carbon and hydrogen ; it gives out heat. 

But, at these same periods, it destroys in abundance the 
saccharine matters which it had slowly accumulated and stored 
up. Sugar, or starch turned into sugar, are, then, the primary 
substances by means of which plants develope heat as required 
for the accomplishment of some of their functions. 

And if we remark with what instinct animals, and men too, 
choose for their food just that part of the vegetable in which it 
has accumulated the sugar and starch which serve it to develope 
heat, is it not probable, that, in the animal economy, sugar and 
starch are also destined to act the same part, that is to say, to be 
burned for the purpose of developing the heat which accompanies 
the phenomenon of respiration ? 

To sum up, as long as the vegetable preserves its most ha- 
bitual character, it draws from the sun heat, light, and chemical 
rays; from the air it receives carbon; from water it takes hy- 
drogen, azote from the oxide of ammonium, and different salts 
from the earth. With these mineral or elementary substances, 
it composes the organised substances which accumulate in its 
tissues. 

They are ternary substances, ligneous matter, starch, gums, 
and sugars. 

They are quaternary substances, fibrin, albumen, caseum, and 
gluten. 

So far, then, the vegetable is an unceasing producer ; but if at 
times, if to satisfy certain wants, the vegetable becomes a con- 
sumer, it realises exactly the same phenomena which the animal 
will now set before us. 

V. An animal, in fact, constitutes an apparatus of combustion 
from which carbonic acid is continually disengaged, in which, 
consequently, carbon undergoes combustion. 

You know that we were not stopped by the expression cold- 
blooded animals, which would seem to designate some animals 
destitute of the property of producing heat. Tron which burns 
vividly in oxygen produces a heat which no one would deny; but 
reflection and some science are necessary in order to perceive that 
iron which rusts slowly in the air disengages quite as- much, 
although its temperature does not sensibly vary. No one doubts 
that lighted phosphorus in burning produces a great quantity of 
heat. Unkindled phosphorus also burns in the air, and yet the 
heat which it developes in this state was for a long time disputed. 

So as to animals, those which are called warm-blooded burn 
much carbon in a given time, and preserve a sensible excess of 
heat above the surrounding bodies; those which are termed 
cold-blooded burn much less carbon, and consequently retain so 


62 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


slight an excess of heat, that it becomes difficult or impossible 
to observe it. 

But, nevertheless, reflection shows us that the most constant 
character of animal existence resides in this combustion of car- 
bon, and in the developement of carbonic acid which is the re- 
sult of it; beginning, also, in the production of heat, which every 
combustion of carbon occasions. 

Whether the question be of superior or inferior animals; 
whether this carbonic acid be exhaled from the lungs or from 
the skin, does not signify; it is always the same phenomenon, 
the same function. 

At the same time that animals burn carbon, they also burn 
hydrogen ; this is a point proved by the constant disappearance 
of hydrogen which takes place in their respiration. 

Besides, they continually exhale azote. I insist upon this 
point, and principally in order to banish an illusion which I can- 
not but believe to be one of the most prejudicial to your studies. 
Some observers have admitted that there is an absorption of 
azote in respiration, but which never appears unaccompanied by 
circumstances that render it more than doubtful. ‘The constant 
phenomenon is the exhalation of gas. 

We must therefore conclude with certainty, that we never 
borrow azote from the air ; that the air is never an aliment to us; 
and that we merely take from it the oxygen necessary to form 
carbonic acid with our carbon, and water with our hydrogen. 

The azote exhaled proceeds, then, from the aliments, and it 
originates in them entirely. ‘This, in the general economy of 
nature, may in thousands of centuries be absorbed by plants 

~which, like Jerusalem artichokes, draw their azote directly from 
the air. 

But this is not all the azote which animals exhale. Every 
one gives out by the urine, on an average, as M. Lecanu has 
proved, 230 grains of azote a day, of azote evidently drawn from 
our food, like the carbon and hydrogen which are oxidised within 
us (que nous brilons). 

In what form does this azote escape? In the form of ammo- 
nia. Here, indeed, one of those observations presents itself 
which -never fail to fill us with admiration for the simplicity of 
the means which nature puts in operation. 

If in the general order of things we return to the air the azote 
which certain vegetables may sometimes directly make use of, it 
ought to happen that we should also be bound to return ammo- 
nia, a product so necessary to the existence and developement of 
most vegetables. 

Such is the principal result of the urinary secretion. It is an 
emission of ammonia, which returns to the soil or to the air. 


Lhe Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 63 


But is there any need to remark here, that the urinary organs 
would be changed in their functions and in their vitality by the 
contact of ammonia? the contact of the carbonate of ammonia 
would even effect this; and so nature causes us to excrete urea. 

Urea is carbonate of ammonia, that is to say, carbonic acid 
like that which we expire, and ammonia such as plants require. 
But this carbonate of ammonia has lost of hydrogen and oxygen 
so much as is wanting to constitute two molecules of water. 

Deprived of this water the carbonate of ammonia becomes 
urea; then it is neutral, not acting upon the animal membranes; 
then it may pass through the kidneys, the ureters, and the 
bladder, without inflaming them: but, having reached the air, 
it undergoes a true fermentation, which restores to it these two 
molecules of water, and which makes of this same urea true 
carbonate of ammonia; volatile, capable of exhaling in the air ; 
soluble, so that it may be taken up again by rain; and conse- 
quently destined thus to travel from the earth to the air, and 
from the air to the earth, until, pumped up by the roots of a 
plant and elaborated by it, it is converted anew into an organic 
matter. 

Let us add another feature to this picture. In the urine, 
along with urea, nature has placed some traces of albuminous or 
mucous animal matter, traces which are barely sensible to ana- 
lysis. This, however, when it has reached the air, is there mo- 
dified, and becomes one of those ferments of which we find so 
many in organic nature; it is this which determines the conver- 
sion of urea into carbonate of ammonia. 

These ferments, which have so powerfully attracted our atten- 
tion, and which preside over the most remarkable metamor- 
phoses of organic chemistry, I reserve for the next year, when I 
shall give you a still more particular and full account of them. 

Thus we discharge urea accompanied by this ferment, by this 
artifice, which, acting at a given moment, turns this urea into 
carbonate of ammonia. 

If we restore to the general phenomenon of animal combus- 
tion that carbonic acid of the carbonate of ammonia which of 
right belongs to it, there remains ammonia as the characteristic 
product of urine. : 

Thus, by the lungs and the skin, carbonic acid, water, azote. 

By the urine, ammonia. 

Such are the constant and necessary products which exhale 
from the animal. 

These are precisely those which vegetation demands and 
makes use of, just as the vegetable in its turn gives back to the 
air the oxygen which the animal has consumed. 

Whence come this carbon, this hydrogen burnt by the animal, 


64 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


this azote which it has exhaled _in a free state or converted into 
ammonia? ‘They evidently come from the aliments. 

By studying digestion in this point of view, we have been led 
to consider it in a manner much more simple than is customary, 
and which may be summed up in a few words. 

In fact, as soon as it was proved to us that the animal creates 
no organic matter; that it merely assimilates or expends it by 
burning it (en la br ulant), there was no occasion to seek in di- 
gestion all those mysteries which we were quite sure of not 
finding there. 

Thus, digestion is indeed but a simple function of absorption. 
The soluble matters pass into the blood, for the most part un- 
changed; the insoluble matters reach the chyle, sufficiently di- 
vided to be taken up by the orifices of the chyliferous vessels. 

Besides, the evident object of digestion is to restore to the 
blood a matter proper for supplying our respiration with the ten 
or fifteen grains of coal, or the equivalent of hydrogen, which 
each of us burns every hour; and to restore to it the grain of 
azote which is also hourly exhaled, as well by the lungs or the 
skin as by the urine. 

Thus the amylaceous matters are changed into gum and 
sugar; the saccharine matters are absorbed. 

"The fatty matters are divided, and converted into an emits 
sion, and thus pass into the asses, in order to form depots 
which the blood takes back and burns as it needs. 

The neutral azotated substances, fibrin, albumen, and caseum, 
which are at first dissolved, and then precipitated, pass into the 
chyle greatly divided or dissolved anew. 

The animal thus receives and assimilates almost unaltered the 
azotated neutral substances which it finds ready formed in the 
animals or plants upon which it feeds ; it receives fatty matters, 
which come from the same sources; it receives amylaceous or 
saccharine matters, which are in the same predicament. 

These three great orders of matters, whose origin always 
ascends to the plant, become divided into products capable of 
being assimilated, fibrin, albumen, caseum, fatty bodies which 
serve to renew or recruit the organs with the combustible pro- 
ducts, sugar and fatty bodies which respiration consumes. 

The animal therefore assimilates or destroys organic matters 
ready formed ; it does not create them. 

Digestion introduces into the blood organic matters ready 
formed ; assimilation employs those which are azotated ; respi- 
ration burns the others. 

If animals do not possess any peeuliat power for producing 
organic matters, have they at least that special and singular 
power which has been attributed to them, of producing “heat 
without expenditure of matter ? 


= 


The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 65 


You have seen, while discussing the experiments of MM. 
Dulong and Despretz, you have positively seen the contrary 
result from them. These skilful physicists supposed that an 
animal placed in a cold water calorimeter comes out of it with 
the same temperature that it had on entering it; a thing abso- 
lutely impossible, as is now well known. It is this cooling of 
the animal, of which they took no account, that expresses in 
their tableaux the excess of heat attributed by them and by all 
physiologists to a calorific power peculiar to the animal and in- — 
dependent of respiration. 

It is evident to me that all animal heat arises from  respira- 
tion; that it is measured by the carbon and hydrogen burnt, 
In a word, it is evident to me that the poetical comparison of a 
railrodd locomotive to an animal is founded on a more serious 
basis than has, perhaps, been supposed. In each there are 
combustion, heat, motion; three phenomena connected and pro- 
portional. 

You see that, thus considering it, the animal machine be- 
comes much easier to understand; it is the intermediary 
between the vegetable kingdom and the air; it borrows all its 
aliments from the one, in order to give all its excretions to the 
other. 

Shall I remind you how we viewed respiration, a phenomenon 
more complex than Laplace and Lavoisier had thought, or even 
Lagrange had supposed, but which, precisely as it becomes 
complicated, tends more and more to enter into the general laws 
of inanimate nature ? 

You have seen that the venous blood dissolves oxygen and 
disengages carbonic acid; that it becomes arterial without pro- 
ducing a trace of heat. It is not, then, in becoming arterial, that 
the blood produces heat. 

But under the influence of the oxygen absorbed, the soluble 
matters of the blood change into lactic acid, as MM. Mitscher- 
lich, Boutron-Charlard, and Fremy observed; the lactic acid is 
itself converted into lactate of soda; this latter, by a real com- 
bustion, into carbonate of soda, which a fresh portion of lactic 
acid decomposes in its turn. This slow and continued succession 


_ of phenomena which constitutes a real combustion, but decom- 


posed at several times, in which we see one of the slow combus- 
tions to which M. Chevreul drew attention long ago, this is the 
true phenomenon of respiration. The blood then becomes oxy- 
genised in the lungs; it really breathes in the capillaries of all 
the other organs, there where the combustion of carbon and the 
production of heat principally take place. 

A last reflection. To ascend to the summit of Mont Blanc, a 
man takes two days of twelve hours. During this time he burns 
at an average 300 grammes of carbon, or the equivalent of 

3d Ser.— 1842. IT. F 


66 The Chemical Statics of Organised Beings. 


hydrogen. If a steam-engine had been employed to take him 
there, it would have burnt from 1000 to 1200 to accomplish the 
same work. 

Thus, viewed as a machine, borrowing all its power from the 
coal that it burns, man is an engine three or four times more 
perfect than the most perfect steam-engine. Our engineers have, 
therefore, still much to do; and yet these numbers are quite 
such as to prove that there is a community of principles between 
the living engine and the other; for, if we allow for all the in- 
evitable losses in steam-engines which are so carefully avoided 
in the human machine, the identity of the principle of their 
respective powers appears manifest and clear. 

But we have followed far enough considerations as to which 
your own reflections are already in advance of me, and where 
your recollections leave me nothing more to do. 

To sum up, then, we see that of the primitive atmosphere of 
the earth three great parts have been formed: 

One which constitutes the actual atmospheric air; the second, 
which is represented by vegetables; the third, by animals. 

Between these three masses, continual exchanges take place: 
matter descends from the air into plants, enters by this route 
into animals, and returns to the air according as these make 
use of it. 

Green vegetables constitute the great laboratory of organic 
chemistry. It is they which, with carbon, hydrogen, -azote, 
water, and oxide of ammonium, slowly build up all the most 
complex organic matters. 

They receive from the solar rays, under the form of heat or 
of chemical rays, the powers necessary for this work. 

Animals assimilate or absorb the organic matters formed by 
plants. They change them by little and little; they destroy 
them. In their organs, new organic substances may come into 
existence, but they are always substances more simple, more 
akin to the elementary state, than these which they have received. 
By degrees these decompose the organic matters slowly created 
by plants; they bring them back, little by little, towards the 
state of carbonic acid, water, azote, and ammonia, a state which 
allows them to be returned to the air. 

In burning or destroying these organic matters, animals 
always produce heat, which, radiating from their bodies in 
space, goes to supply the place of that which vegetables had 
absorbed. 

Thus all that air gives to plants, plants give up to animals, 
and animals restore to the air; an eternal circle, in which life 
keeps in motion and manifests itself, but in which matter merely 
changes place. 

The brute matter of air, organised by slow degrees in plants, 


tars 


Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 67 


comes, then, to perform its part without change in animals, and 
serves as an instrument for thought; then, vanquished by this 
effort, and broken as it were, it returns brute matter to the great 
reservoir whence it came. 

Allow me to add, in finishing this picture, which sums up 
opinions, which, to my mind, are but the necessary conse- 
quences and developements of the great path which Lavoisier 
marked out for modern chemistry; allow me, I say, to express 
myself as he did with regard to his fellow-labourers and_ his 
friends. 

If in my lessons, if in this summing up, I have chanced to 
adopt without mentioning them the experiments or the opinions 
of M. Boussingault, it is that the habit of communicating to each 
other our ideas, our observations, our manner of viewing things, 
has established between us a community of opinions, in which 
we ourselves, even afterwards, find it difficult to distinguish what 
belongs to each of us. 

In resting these opinions and their consequences on his name 
and on his authority, in telling you that we work actively, some- 
times together, and sometimes apart, in order to verify and to 
develope all these facts, all these results, by experiment, I do but 
evince my anxious desire to justify the interest which you have 
this year taken in my labours. 

For this I beg to thank you. It has given me courage to 
undertake a long course of researches: if anything useful to the 
progress of humanity should result from them, let all the honour 
of it redound to the intelligent good-will with which you have 
constantly surrounded me, and for which I shall ever be pro- 


foundly grateful. 


Art. III. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 
By G. Recet, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin. 


(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, May 2. 1840, p. 148.) 
(Continued from our preceding Volume, p. 600.) 
I. On THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS — continued. 
Curtines. 


In making cuttings, the cut presents the greatest difficulty ; 
as, to perform it properly, a previous knowledge of the nature 
of the plant should be acquired; after which, to insure suc- 
cess, the sharpest instrument should be used, so that the 
vessels that are cut through may not be crushed or squeezed, 
and thereby cause a cessation of the flow of the sap. In most 
cases the cut is most advantageously performed where the last 


shoot proceeds from the stem, and as much is taken away as a 
F 2 


68 Principles of Gardening 


“bud has produced. The one-year’s lateral shoots, on which 
such places cannot be mistaken, are therefore the best adapted 
for propagation; and, as soon as they are ready, the young 
shoot should be drawn out of the old one with the leaf attached, 
sv as to obtain all the original axillary formation of the bud and 
the combined vessels of the leaf. The torn surface is then cut 
smoothly in the direction of the base of the leaf. This method 
is very successful with plants that are difficult to root, and that 
have leaves surrounded with prickles, such as Mutisza zlicifolia, 
Berkléya grandiflora, Loganza floribanda, latifolia, &c. ; also with 
those the leaves of which proceed from the stalk with very strong 
veins, or where the circumference of the leaf is very strongly 
defined, such as Banksza grandis, Berkleya ciliaris, the different 
species of Daviés¢a, Chorozema ovata, &c.; or those that have 
winged stems, such as Acacia alata; or have stems covered 
with a woolly tissue, such as several gnaphaliums and heli- 
chrysums. Where cuttings of these plants are not made in this 
manner, it will be found that the lower part of the surface of 
the cut will become black, and the cutting will die in a short 
time. This cut is also not only adapted for the above-mentioned 
plants, but is highly to be recommended for most others that 
make similar lateral shoots: but many even grow extremely well 
from the young shoots taken off in this manner, such as the 
different species of E’pacris, when they form lateral shoots after 
flowering, and almost all the easily growing species of Erica, 
on which, however, all the leaves must be left; such are Hrica 
margaritacea, rubens, ramentacea, mucosa, ténera, tenella, sca- 
briascula, Persdluta, pellucida, and all those of a similar growth. 
Those ericas, on the contrary, that are more difficult to grow, 
must be cut from the old wood; such as Hrica pinguis, aristata, 
ferruginea, Hartnéllz, cerinthdzdes, empetrifolia, picta, fasciculata, 
vérnix, &c. In selecting the shoot, great care ought to be 
taken not to choose one which has already formed its blossom- 
bud, as it frequently happens that all the assimilated nourishing 
matter has been expended for its future support, and no root 
formation follows. Many plants that have flower-buds at the 
peints are, therefore, very difficult to propagate by cuttings ; 
such as Blairza ericdides; whereas, with some others, it has very 
little influence, as Hrica tenélla, and several species of PhY¥lica, 
&e. Many plants that have thick evergreen or fleshy leaves 
may be successfully propagated by merely taking off a leaf with 
the axillary bud; such, for example, as the Camellza, Ardisia, 
Rochea, Theophrasta, &c. 

When the point of a twig is taken for a cutting, no ad- 
vantage is obtained by making the cut through the node, 
although this method is frequently practised ; because the roots 
very seldom proceed from the node itself; but rather from its 


physiologically considered. 69 


base, beneath the point of insertion of the petiole of the leaf. 
Twigs that have opposite leaves should be cut in a direction per- 
pendicular to their axis, right through the wood, either imme- 
diately under the base of the petiole, or where its combined 
vessels distinctly reach the stem, of which we shall speak more 
fully in another place. Twigs that have alternate leaves should 
have the knife inserted on the opposite side of the bud, under 
the node, and the cut should be performed in a slanting down- 
ward direction towards the base, or close under the point of 
the insertion of the leaf, so as to convey away its combined 
vessels in as perfect a state as possible, which produces the 
same effect as when a lateral shoot is torn off and then cut clean. 
This practice is found very successful with many cuttings, such 
as those of camellias, banksias, and similar plants. 

This is all that seems necessary to be said of the cut, but the 
choice of the twig admits of many modifications, the principal 
of which we shall briefly mention. Those plants which lose their 
leaves in winter grow the easiest from young. shoots ; among 
which may be mentioned Punica, Zizyphus, and the different 
species of Mimosa. Others form roots out of the full-grown 
shoots as long as they retain their leaves, such as the different 
species of Spire‘a. Many trees and shrubs which have a white 
pithy wood, such as Salix, Syrimga, Philadélphus, Vitis, the 
different species of Spirze'a, and many others, are also easily pro- 
pagated by cuttings when it is performed late in the autumn, or 
early in the spring, in the open ground. As soon as the sap 
begins to flow, the buds begin to shoot out, and they then most 
generally form roots easily and quickly. All plants which have not 
woody stems should be propagated by young shoots; and shrubs, 
when they cannot be propagated by division of the root, succeed 
as well from shoots of the first spring as from those of the second. 
All the young shoots of plants that are only one year old may 
be used successfully before the time of flowering. The one- 
year’s shoot of plants that have a firm woody stem and evergreen 
leaves is the best adapted for cuttings ; but there are exceptions 
even to this, such as the different species of Banksza, in which 
it is better to let the wood be two or three years old. Those 
plants which do not always strike root from cuttings are fre- 
quently propagated with much less trouble by layers. For this 
purpose the plant is grown in a bed, either in a greenhouse, 
hotbed, or quite in the open air, according to its nature. The 
twigs are bent down on this bed, fastened to the ground, and 
partially covered with earth. Many plants which will not strike 
root in this way are very successfully propagated by the ring- 
eut; which is effected by carefully cutting away a ring in the 
bark as far as the wood, and close under a node which is covered 


with earth. In branches operated upon in this manner, the 
ro3 


70 Virgin Soil, 


nourishing sap continually flows upwards in the woody body, 
and the formation sap cannot flow backwards on account of the 
interruption in the bark by the ring-cut; the root formation is 
therefore much more easily effected. Even plants the most difficult 
to strike succeed very well by this operation, particularly when 
plunged in heat. Several other kinds of cuts and twists are 
used with plants of quicker growth, with equal success. Plants 
that are in pots, and sunk in a bed, are not so desirable for 
this manner of propagating; as the more vigorous growth of 
those planted in the free soil tends greatly to the success of 
the operation. Plants the branches of which are too stiff or too 
brittle to be bent down must have half-pots fastened lengthwise 
with wire to the most suitable part of the branch; but this 
method can only succeed when the earth in the suspended pot 
is continually kept moderately moist. 


Art. IV. On Virgin Soil, and on the Origin of Soils. 
By J. WicHToN. 


Some persons might think that what is commonly called virgin 
or maiden soil was primitive earth ; but this is not the case. In 
general it is soil of recent formation from animal or vegetable 
remains, with a small portion of sand, or whatever may happen 
to be the subsoil. That got from rich pasture land is considered 
the best; but how it came by the title of virgin I cannot say, 
except on the supposition that, formerly, it was believed that 
primitive earth was the best. Indeed, the following extract from 
a writer in the Gardener’s Gazette shows that there is still such 
a notion. He says: “All soils are formed from the debris of 
rocks, and will, if left to themselves, deprived of the action of 
the air and roots of plants, have a tendency to consolidate, and 
return to the state of rock again. Another benefit of new soil 
is, that, as the disintegration of the rock proceeds, new alkalies 
are set free from the stone as the decomposition goes on.” The 
writer, I think, falls a little into error: all soils are not from the 
debris of rocks; that which produces vegetables is not; in short, 
the greater part of the crust of the earth, commonly called 
mould, is from vegetable remains; and, although stirring ren- 
ders it fit for vegetation, without stirring there need be little 
fear of its again becoming rock. With regard to alkalies, I 
hardly know what an alkali is, but I guess it to be that which 
constitutes manures; and if it resides in rocks, why not have 
them ground for manure? I have nothing to state in favour 
of getting manure from ground stones, except that I know it 
can be got from limestone; but, on the contrary, formerly, in 


and the Origin of Soils. 71 


this locality, the scrapings from the highways were considered - 
good manure, and gardeners often planted melons in it; but 
now none consider it good for any purpose. Indeed, the farmers 
refuse the scrapings from the roads; the cause is this: the 
labouring classes are in distress, and the dung which happens to 
be on the road is eagerly sought by them for their gardens, 
which renders the scrapings little more than ground stones. 

If I mistake not, the writer alluded to in the foregoing ex- 
tract mentions that when soil becomes what is commonly called 
worn out, nothing but rest will restore it. Whatever the soil 
bas lost, he cannot think it is alkalies; for, in the extract before 
noticed, he says the disintegrating of rocks makes them pro- 
duce alkalies. Various are the opinions why soil becomes in 
the state just mentioned. It being a very important matter, I 
shall make a few observations upon it. How is it that some 
soils, well cultivated, refuse, if I may so call it, to produce a 
series of the same kind of crops, while other sorts do not? 
Wherefore is it that some plants or trees will thrive in soil 
where other trees have grown before, and others will not, espe- 
cially if they happen to be of the same kind of tree? As 
regards the first, the common belief that it is owing to the soil 
is, of course, correct; but the grand question is, what is the 
material that the land loses by feeding a series of the same kind 
of crops? Supposing it to be alkalies, how is it that some kinds 
of soil will not produce a crop of potatoes, except the seed pota- 
toes grew on a different kind of land? This fact is well known 
to gardeners in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. It cannot be 
possible that fresh alkalies were brought by the potatoes. 

With regard to the second thing in question, it is considered 
that each kind, or rather each family, of plants draws a particu- 
lar nourishment from the soil: this seems in a great measure 
correct, and, of course, accounts for the failure of trees, espe- 
cially on land planted over again with the same kinds. Mr. 
Lymburn, who is a very accurate writer, mentions that the 
excretions from the roots of some plants will not let other kinds 
thrive on land where they grew; but it is not clear why a series 
of the same kind of crops cannot be produced from some soils. 
After all it appears to me that the “whys” and the ‘ where- 
fores” are still to be learned. 

But to return to the subject of soil from rocks. I have pre- 
viously stated that the crust of the earth is principally of vege- 
table remains. It may be asked, If soil from decayed rocks is 
not favourable for plants, how came their remains at first upon 
the earth? To answer this, it will be needless for me to go 
back to the Mosaic era. I shall merely mention that when 
islands are raised from the bottom of the sea by volcanic agency, 
or by coral insects, they remain barren for some time, though in 

F 4 


G2 Recent Publications on Manures. 


a good climate; and, when vegetation begins, it is with plants of 
the lowest grade, whose seeds may be carried by the wind : these 
annually decay, and with the dung left by fowls, mixed with par- 
ticles from the rocks, form soil to receive seeds of other plants, 
carried either by the waters, or left in the excrements of fowls. If 
the island which appeared a few years ago in the Mediterranean 
Sea had not sunk down, it might have been an example of the 
former ; and it is said that some of the West India Islands are 
of the latter formation. It would, of course, take ages to form 
a crust of vegetable soil like that on fertile continents. I see 
no reason for geologists making a distinction between vegetable 
soil and that of peat; for the latter contains most of vegetable 
remains, and only requires heat and pressure to become coal. 
Cossey Hall Gardens, Nov. 1841. 


Art. V. On the recent Publications on the Subject of Manures. 
By R. Lympurn. 


Tue subject of manures seems now to have fairly engrossed the 
attention of the public, and assumed the important station which 
it so fairly merits. What is the food of plants, in what form it 
is most easily absorbed, and how assimilated in the plant, are 
questions of vital importance in a country where a dense popu- 
lation presses so severely on the means of support. Conform- 
ably with your statement in the December Number of the 
Magazine, of its being a register of all new improvements and 
advances made in the science and practice of horticulture, I 
propose, in the following essay, to notice the works that have 
been published, as far as they have come to my knowledge, and 
the experiments that have been recorded, or that I have my- 
self seen, since I last endeavoured to elucidate this subject ; 
and endeavour to deduce therefrom what additional remarks 
appear to me called forth by these statements, to guide myself 
and other practical men in our operations. ‘l’o simplify the 
subject, so as that the greatest benefits may be obtained at the 
least possible expense, is the ultimate object that ought to be 
kept in view; and however far we may be from that object at 
present, it appears to be, at least, approximating. Most author 
incline to give prominence to their own preconceived ideas, and 
may stretch certain truths to thei utmost extent, perhaps often 
farther than the unprejudiced judgement would approve of; but 
the confliction of epinion only helps to elicit the truth to the 
considerate mind, and much valuable information is often got 
from the keenest controversy, even though there may be errors 
on both sides. 


Recent Publications on Manures. "3 


The small popular treatise lately published by Mr. Squarey, 
on Agricultural Chemistry, will be useful to farmers and gar- 
deners, as a digest of the publications of Liebig, Daubeny, and 
Johnson on the same subject; and the new matter brought 
forward on guano and other subjects is very interesting. He 
dwells much on the value of nitrogen. ‘ Animals,” he says, 
“fed on grass produce fat, as they get a greater proportion of 
carbon than nitrogen ; those fed on seeds and grains, which con- 
tain more nitrogen or azote, produce more muscular flesh, as 
muscle, being highly azotised, requires much nitrogen for its 
formation.” He quotes from Professor Daubeny, to show that 
wheat grown with human urine had as high as 35 per cent of 
gluten, while that from cow-dung had only 12 per cent; the 
carbon predominating in the wheat in proportion to the defi- 
ciency of gluten. He enters at great length into the subject of 
urine, showing the vast loss that is incurred annually by the 
waste of this precious substance, especially human urine. As 
the nitrogen found in the urine is the surplus of what is 
needed to be fixed in the system of the animal, with that pro- 
duced from the waste of the system, carnivorous animals, which 
feed on more highly azotised substances, must always have more 
nitrogen in the urine than herbivorous animals. He proposes 
to fix the volatile carbonate of ammonia in urine and gas tar by 
sulphuric acid, or vitriol, which may be got, he says, at from 2d. 
to 3d. per lb.; and every pound of vitriol will form 2 lb. of 
sulphate of ammonia. He says, the urine should be poured on 
sawdust, tanner’s bark, or dried peat, after lying in the tank or 
other reservoir till the smell of ammonia denotes that putre- 
faction has begun; and the compost should be afterwards mixed 
with sulphuric acid till effervescence ceases. In this way, he 
thinks, is the urate of commerce formed; or, if poured on stable 
manure and wood ashes, nitrate of potash (saltpetre), he says, 
would then be formed. 

The great value of nitrogen, as pointed out by Professor 
Liebig and others, I have before noticed. Professor Dumas 
says, *‘ chemistry is so far advanced in this respect, that the 
problem of the production of a purely chemical azotated manure 
cannot be long in being resolved. As for carbon,” he says, “the 
rain water and air suffice for it.” He notices, however, that 
‘recent trials show that the nitric acid of the nitrates also merits 
particular attention.” It has lately been carried so far, that it 
has been reckoned the only valuable substance in manures, and 
tables have been furnished by Boussingault and Payen (see 
Gard. Chron., Oct. 2.), showing the relative proportions the dif- 
ferent kinds of manure bear to cow-dung in value ; in which the 
quantity of ammonia (not nitrogen) they contain is taken as the 
sole basis. ‘There must, however, be some limit to this: nitrogen 


74 Recent Publications on Manures. 


is, no doubt, needed as a constituent in plants, perhaps more 
than has been yet made plain by analysis; from its surrounding 
the organs in the state of ammonia, in the fluids that bathe 
them, as Liebig says, it appears also to act as a stimulant to 
vitality, and must be a princzpal though not the only requisite. 

In omnivorous animals, to whom a much greater proportion 
of nitrogen is required, if confined solely or in great part to 
animal food, it is found to produce a too excitable state of the 
system, and not to be conducive to health. In plants, also, it has 
been found to increase the stem and foliage, without a corre- 
sponding increase of deposit in the roots, when light and heat 
and the other requisites of the food are wanting. We shall see, as 
we proceed in the essay, that carbon is derived from many 
other substances soluble in water, in the opinion of other emi- 
nent chemists ; and there are, besides, the salts, and other sub- 
stances essential to plants, in manures. Nitrogen may be one of 
the greatest sources of value in a manure, without being the only 
source. If we confine the benefits of food to any one of its con- 
stituents, however valuable, we shall arrive at a false conclusion ; 
as all are needed, and will have to be considered in our estimate 
of the value of manure, as well as ammonia. 

Of the substances recommended to make a compost for pour- 
ing the urine on, I should think peat the best, and would 
prefer moist peat to dried peat, as being more easily decom- 
posed. Sawdust, if of fir wood, which it generally is, contains a 
good deal of resin, which, being an anti-putrescent substance, 
prevents decomposition from proceeding properly: when got 
from woods destitute of resin, I should consider it one of the 
best, as it is then found in practice to rot easily; that of beech 
wood is the best of any. Tanner’s bark, from its possessing 
tannin, also resists putrefaction. It is customary for people 
about towns, where these substances abound, to use them as 
bedding for swine and other animals, and even to mix with the 
manure, to increase the quantity. Any manure I have pur- 
chased, when it happened to be mixed with these substances, I 
have found so inferior in quality, and the sawdust and bark so 
fresh and undecomposed after lying a long time in the dung- 
heap, which they had deteriorated and dried by absorption, that 
I would rather have paid the price for the diminished quantity 
of dung by itself, and thrown those substances away. Urine, 
however, contains more nitrogen than other manure; and as 
this substance is so necessary in carrying on fermentation, being 
the basis of the fermenting principle, the sawdust and bark may 
do better than J anticipate. I cannot speak from experience 
as to the mixing of urine with these substances, but would 
prefer peat, which has been found to rot so readily with hot 
dung ; moist peat will rot more readily than dried. One of the 


Recent Publications on Manures. 75 


readiest and best of substances, I should think, is the rot heap 
of weeds and refuse from the garden. It should be kept, as well 
as other manures, from heavy washing rains, and the full force 
of the sun; which may be done at a trifling expense by stobs 
and boards above, leaving it open to the access of air below ; and 
turning over with the spade when the heat of decomposition 
begins to get excessive (about 100°). When heavy rains cannot 
be thrown off, the bottom of the heap should rest on a hard 
surface, to prevent absorption by the soil, and a descent should 
be made to some reservoir, to collect the liquid manure that 
flows off. If this were properly attended to, there would be less 
need for sulphuric acid to fix the ammonia. The soil itself, if 
in a moderate condition between wet and dry, is capable of 
absorbing and retaining all the carbonate or ulmate of am- 
monia needed, as we shall see when treating of Dr. Madden’s 
experiments. Carbonate or ulmate (humate) of ammonia, which- 
ever of these substances may be formed, is certainly a much 
better food for plants than sulphate of ammonia: it yields both 
carbon and ammonia, while much sulphuric acid from the other 
should be rather prejudicial than otherwise. If the rains are 
so heavy, and the soil so wet, as to wash out and carry off the 
ulmate or carbonate of ammonia, it will do the same with the 
sulphate of ammonia. If the water holding the carbonate or 
ulmate in solution remains in the soil, it will give it off to the 
roots of the plant if near, or be absorbed again by the particles 
of the soil if it is not near, the roots; evaporation is not likely to 
take place to the extent anticipated. 

On the subject of nztrates, Mr. Squarey says, “ they are 
found in calcareous strata in the East Indies, South America, 
France, and Spain, in the valleys of rivers and lagoons, and in 
the soil. In Spain,” he says, “the soil in some places is very full 
of nitrates, which may be washed out, but are found mixed with 
common salt. They effloresce from limestone, and may be found 
on the walls of buildings exposed to the vapour of ammonia, 
and where Roman'cement is put on. In France the nitrate of 
potash is formed from animal and vegetable remains, mixed 
with calcareous matter, as old plaster, chalk, lime, &c., laid up 
and fermented in beds protected from the weather, and putrid 
water or urine poured on them. ‘The lixiviation produced from 

_this consists mostly of nitrate of lime, but wood ashes are added 
to convert it into nitrate of potash, or saltpetre. From every 
100 lb. of materials, 12 1b. of saltpetre,” he says, ‘“‘are generally 
got.” He quotes Dr. Daubeny for the experiments in which wheat 
grown with the nitrate of soda gave 234 per cent of gluten, 
while that without nitrate had only 19 per cent, to show that 
the nitrate of soda had been active in producing from its nitrogen 
more gluten. From the same experiments, it was shown that 


76 Recent Publications on Manures. 


34 lb. of flour, made from the wheat grown with nitrates, pro- 
duced 4 1b. 14 0z. of bread; while the same quantity of the 
other produced only 41b. 4.0z. ‘The application of these salts, 
he thinks, acts as a stzmulant to the plant; as in some cases, 
where the nitrate of soda was applied last spring, and where it 
had produced a most marked and decided effect, it was found 
that, after the grass was cut and the produce harvested, the after 
erowth was a long time before it came away: apparently the 
plant had suffered from over-excitement, as the grass not manured 
with the nitrate was afterwards, for a considerable time, the 
more luxuriant. Professor Daubeny has stated his opinion, also, 
that nitrate acts as a stimulant to the plant, causing more other 
food to be assimilated. His views on the origin, &c., of ammo- 
nia, I noticed in a former essay. Professor Johnston says, 
the nitrogen in any crop is small in amount, but perhaps not the 
less essential. The nitrogen, he says, must all have been origi- 
nally from the air, from which it has been furnished to coal 
and other matters containing vegetable or animal remains. The 
nitrogen of the air being partially soluble in water, he thinks 
part of the nitrogen of plants may be got from this source. He 
calculates all the water falling on the soil in a year may contain 
28 |b. of nitrogen, and probably one third of this is absorbed. 
Ammonia and nitric acid are both, he thinks, sources of nitrogen 
to plants: no doubt, he says, more nitric acid enters than is 
fixed, but it is the same with ammonia. Nitrates, he says, have 
the same effect applied to the soil as ammonia, in increasing the 
gluten of wheat; the effect is the same in kind, though less in 
degree. Great part of the effect of ammonia, he thinks, consists 
in its aptitude to decompose, yielding at one place of the plant 
hydrogen, and at another nitrogen, from the circulating fluid, 
as required, and again forming ammonia where the consti- 
tuents are not needed: in the same way as water is decom- 
posed, and yields now hydrogen, and now oxygen, as required. 
On the question, whether leaves absorb nitrogen, the professor 
notices Boussingault’s experiments, in which the nitrogen of the 
air was not diminished, but rather increased, by the action of 
the leaves; but absorption and transpiration might both be in 
action. The increase must have been from the latter, but it 
might be more than shown. The ammonia in tobacco leaves, he 
thinks, may be formed from nitrogen. 

Of the experiments on manures at Dankeith, the seat 
of Cclonel Kelso, near Symington, when I called there in 
July, the gardener, Mr. Hay, showed us several which were 
making with different kinds. Rape dust he used in the pro- 
portions which had been used the year before by Mr. Fle- 
ming of Barrochan, near Paisley, viz., 11 lb. to the drill of 48 
yards long, exclusive of manure, or about 1 lb. to the 4 lineal 


Recent Publications on Manures. FLT 


yards of the drill of potatoes; nearly 1 ton to the acre. The 
price at Glasgow, 26/. for 3 tons, about 8s. 8d. per cwt., or 
rather above 8/. per acre; not so much as would have been paid 
for farm-yard manure. The rape dust yielded more than double 
the produce of the ordinary manure, as 15 to 7; and the crop 
of wheat after was very fine. At Dankeith the experiments I 
saw were on a small scale, in the garden. Some rows of 
potatoes manured with the above proportion of rape dust had 
decidedly the largest and most vigorous-looking foliage. Other 
rows, manured with half the usual quantity of manure and half 
rape dust, and some others with nitrate of soda in the usual 
proportion without manure, were all better to appearance than 
that with the farm-yard manure, which was good dung, he said, 
though rather new. How the result turned out at digging time 
I have not yet heard, as the gardener left at Martinmas; but 
the rape dust he thought undoubtedly would carry through, 
both from the great produce it had given at Barrochan last 
year, and from the fact that those planted with the rape dust 
were latest in coming through, more slow in growth at first, and 
appeared to be still gaining vigour progressively. He found the 
potato sets apt to decay when planted with the cut surface next 
the rape dust, and found it necessary to have a stratum of earth 
between it and the sets. The rape dust he found also to benefit 
red beet greatly: it also benefited turnips. To peas it did no 
good ; and cauliflowers and carrots it killed nearly entirely. It 
seemed to encourage vermin, as he found insects in great abun- 
dance about the roots of the cauliflowers, among the rape dust. 
It appeared to hurt the cauliflowers even when mixed among the 
soil. In the experiments on grass, the parts dressed with rape 
dust and nitrate of soda in June made a great advance for about 
a fortnight: after the first cut of the grass, the effects of the 
nitrate of soda could hardly be perceived on the second growth, 
and that of the rape dust only partially. Some nitrate of soda, 
which he sprinkled on the foliage of plants, killed some and 
hurt others: he approves of it most diluted with water. Many 
complaints have this year been made of the nitrate’s hurting fo- 
liage: being presented to the foliage in a concentrated state, 
without being so well diluted as that which goes to the roots 
will be with the water of the soil, may be a cause; as all food 
in excess is found hurtful. As the upper side of the leaf does 
not absorb so readily as the under side, nor as the spongioles of 
the root, the nitrate will also lie longer in contact with the mem- 
brane of the cuticle, and may act deleteriously. These salts are 
not likely to be decomposed before reaching the roots. If the 
nitrates were decomposed in the soil with the salts of iron, it 
would render them of no use; and as ammonia has a more 
feeble affinity for acids than the other alkalies, it is not likely 


X 


78 Recent Publications on Manures. 


much of it will be altered in this way, or, if in excess, it would 
be hurtful as well as the others. 

At Shewalton, near Irvine, the seat of the Lord Justice Clerk, 
now Lord President, Mr. Menzies, the gardener, showed us a 
part of the lawn which had been dressed with nitrate of soda 
after the first cut. It had grown more luxuriantly than that not 
dressed, and promised to yield a very superior second cut in the 
autumn. At Belisle, near Ayr, the seat of Mrs. Colonel Hamil- 
ton, the gardener, Mr. Hunter, showed us a large quarter of 
onions, which had been found, for some years before, almost a 
complete failure from vermin, the ground having been long 
wrought. He had dressed it with the nitrate of soda for two 
years past; it had been free from insects ever since; the crop 
of the former year had been very good, and that of this year 
had a fine deep green healthy appearance. 

At Roselle, near Ayr, the seat of Archibald Hamilton, Esq., 
of Carcluie, where so many agricultural experiments are carried 
on, the land steward, Mr. Walls, was from home when I 
called. Mr. Locke, the gardener, showed me, on the farm, some 
rows of potatoes dressed with nitrate of soda, oil cake, and rape 
dust, which were all of a fine deep green colour in the foliage, 
and more vigorous and healthy to appearance than the others 
without this dressing. Some rows dressed with sulphate of soda, 
in addition to the manure, were no better, and rather inferior 
in appearance to the other rows that had no dressing. In the 
experiments at the garden, and in the outside slips, the rows of 
potatoes that had got an additional dressing of oil cake, nitrate 
of soda, and rape dust, besides the manure, were scarcely so 
high in the stem as those with the same manure without the 
dressing; but the foliage much darker in the green, and the 
plants more healthy and vigorous to appearance. In some rows 
dressed with the sulphate of soda besides manure, those at the 
rate of 1 cwt. per acre were similar to those with ordinary 
manure and no dressing; but those dressed at the rate of 4 cwt. 
per acre were inferior to any, perhaps from some unperceived 
difference in the quality of the ground or manure. The late 
cabbage planted in a rich border soil without manure, and 
dressed in alternate rows with nitrates of soda and potash at the 
usual rate per acre, showed a decided improvement where the 
nitrates were applied. In a row where they were purposely 
applied in excess for experiment, the plants were killed alto- 
gether. ‘There was a still more decided improvement on some 
savoys dressed with nitrates. In Mr. Locke’s essay, lately 
published in the Ayr Advertiser, he states that sulphate of soda 
applied to cauliflowers, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, and turnips, 
made not the slightest improvement. That in cauliflowers, the 
soil of the border prepared with manure in the usual way, the 


Recent Publications on Manures. 79 


rows in which a little nitrate of soda was dibbled into the hole 
when the cauliflowers were planted had flowers one third larger 
than those that got no nitrate; and another portion, in which a 
little oil cake was dibbled into the holes at planting, had flowers 
one third larger than those above the nitrates. Cabbages, 
he says, were benefited by the nitrates ; but the greatest 
improvement was made on leeks. On beans the nitrates 
had no effect. On turnips the shaws were improved, but 
not the roots; perhaps from the want of sufficient light 
in the cloudy dull weather last autumn, to produce the 
proper effect in the elaboration of the leaves. On rows of 
potatoes, in a very poor border, 3 rows, with the usual quan- 
tity of oil cake, and no manure, produced 38 lb.; 3 rows ditto, 
nitrate of soda alone, 44lb.; 3 rows ditto, rape dust ditto, 
55lb.; while 3 rows, with the usual quantity of farm-yard 
manure, gave 57 lb.; thus showing in this experiment the pre- 
ponderating effect of the latter. None of the dressings of ni- 
trate, he says, had so powerful an effect this year as the last. 
At Dankeith, the experiments seemed to be rather in favour of 
the nitrates and rape dust: the soil there might be richer than 
that at Roselle, and might yield more food to the plants stimu- 
lated by the action of these manures, or there might be a dif- 
ference in the quality or quantity of the manures. Of sea-kale, 
which he was forcing, Mr. Locke dressed every alternate stool 
plant with nitrate; almost every dressed plant failed, and even 
those that succeeded were much spoiled. Some rows sown with 
peas, and dressed with nitrates rather abundantly ; the peas were 
destroyed as if they had been boiled, though they grew well sown 
some time after in the same ground. Some plants sprinkled 
with nitrate on the leaves were destroyed, as before observed, 
at Dankeith. To geraniums, in pots, he applied the ashes of 
burnt wood with great effect. Mr. Hunter also found the ashes 
beneficial to pot plants, and particularly to beds of pansies. 
Mr. Locke applied gypsum to turf, but found it produced no 
effect, and attributed it to the dryness of the ground. If this 
has been the cause, it may take effect next season; but so many 
failures have taken place with that article, that it is doubtful if 
it always acts in the way described by Professor Liebig. It has 
been said by some to benefit by the sulphate of lime itself be- 
coming a constituent of the plant. Soot, he says, was found 
of no benefit as a top-dressing, and he ascribes the want of effect 
to the light dry land. If it were, however, washed into the soil 
by rain, of which there was no deficiency last year, it is strange 
it produced no effect. Soot, from the ammonia, charcoal, and 
saline substances it contains, but especially the reputed abundance 
of the first, has been found beneficial in all soils. Last year I saw 
an application of it, in which the effects on onion beds, where it 


80 Recent Publications on Manures. 


was sifted on, was so great, that it could be told at many yards 
distance where the soot ended, by the strength of the onions 
being so much greater. Mr. Adam, in the Quarterly Journal of 
Agriculture last year, in trials with many different kinds of ma- 
nures, all the new kinds, found the soot much the cheapest, and 
the crops of grain very superior. Like the nitrates, however, 
and other concentrated manures, it will not do if in excess; and 
when the plants are growing, the time of rain should always be 
chosen to spread it among the plants: when washed into the 
soil, divided and diluted, it produces most benefit, but is apt 
to kill the leaves if the weather is dry; I have seen onions 
killed with it in dry weather. Cow urine is another powerful 
manure: if applied to cauliflowers in wet weather, it produces 
great effect; if applied in dry weather, it generally kills the plant. 
Some unaccountable results are often produced also by the best 
of manures, and show the necessity of repeated experiments. 
Sir Humphry Davy found that nitrate of ammonia, applied in 
solution to grass, produced no effect, while nitrate of soda on 
the same piece close at hand did: he expresses astonishment at 
the result himself, but it does not appear that he repeated it. 
Others who have tried the nitrate of ammonia say that it has 
produced great effects: it is not yet an article of commerce as a 
manure, but, from the great quantity of nitrogen contained, 
should be very beneficial. Professor Dumas says it is always 
the product of electric storms. In trials for experiments, if 
there are any of the pieces of the soil experimented on abounding 
in oxides of iron, they may, from their great affinity for acids, 
when in the state of protoxide, decompose the salts ; and from 
their tendency to assume again the state of peroxides, which do 
not retain the acid, the nitric acid may be given off again to the 
air and lost. If the proper proportions of food and light are 
wanting, experiments may give a different result from what 
they would have done if these were ail present. Heavy washing 
rains may carry off top-dressings; and the above and many 
other unobserved circumstances may derange the effects of ex- 
periments; and we may see here the necessity of frequently 
repeated trials, and on a large scale, before we can decide on 
the comparative benefit of manures. From what has been stated 
on the nitrates, ammonia, &c., we may infer, that, though nitrogen 
is needed as a constituent, yet it is also much needed as a stimu- 
lant, as it is to be found in the latex o1 circulating fluid of the 
plant, in the state of ammonia, wherever life is most active ; sti- 
mulating the action of the organs, and assisting in the decompo- 
sition of the food needed to supply every constituent where 
wanted, and giving the deep green healthy colour of luxuriant 

vegetation. If this is accompanied by light and heat, and a 
proper proportion of the other constituents of the food of plants, 


Recent Publications on Manures. | 


great results may be expected; if not accompanied by these, 
-we may have much appearance, with little reality. [tis generally 
found that there is little difference in the present effects of nitrate 
of soda and potash on the crop. As potash is, however, the base 
which the vegetable acids generally prefer, it should be more 
beneficial as a constituent of the plant: as a solvent of unde- 
composed matter in the soil, the soda, when excreted, should be 
more active and powerful. Nitrate of lime being most easily 
produced artificially (there is generally a good deal among the 
other nitrates), and being one of the most soluble of salts 
(its attraction for moisture being so great as to cause it to be 
used in the drying of gases), should also be of great benefit. 
It possesses the same quantity of nitric acid as the others; and 
the other salts of lime being very insoluble (the carbonate of 
lime requiring carbonic acid in the water to dissolve it), this salt 
may be one of the natural sources of lime to the plant. M. Jac- 
quelaine, Professor Dumas says, has- lately found pectinate of 
lime in the ligneous tissue of most plants; and perhaps more of 
that substance is needed for plants than is generally imagined. 
On guano, or bird’s dung, a manure long ago introduced 
into chemical works, but only lately become an article of com- 
merce in this country, Mr. Squarey has amassed a good deal of 
information, and for which recourse should be had to the book 
itself ‘* The date of the discovery of guano,” hesays, “is un- 
known, though it has been used as a manure in Peru from 
great antiquity. The immense quantities in which it exists, its 
weight, red colour, and the sand which covers it, have caused 
it to be thought of mineral origin. That most recently depo- 
sited, however, is white, and most in demand, but gets red by 
exposure to the air, and the sand blown from the hills around ; 
the ammoniacal odour also which it gives off, and the uric, phos- 
phoric, and other acids found in it, determine it to be of animal 
origin. It has also been observed that, when the birds have been 
scared away from any place on the coast, the supply has dimi- 
nished in that place. In the dry climate of Peru, the excrement 
of the birds is not washed away, as in our damp atmosphere. 
In some places it is represented as existing to the extent of a 
quarter of a league in length, and 300 yards indepth. The red 
and dark grey guano,” he says, “is sold at 2s. 3d. per cwt., and 
the white at 3s. 6d. per cwt., in the port of Mollendo; in war it has 
sometimes been as high as 12s. The guano,” he says, “is strongly 
recommended for wheat, barley, oats, turnips, and clover.” 
The quantity per acre he recommends is 1 to 2 cwt., mixed 
with charcoal powder; price in London, Nov. 1841, 26s. per 
ewt. ‘Uhe excellence of this manure, he says, “depends in great 
measure on the phosphate of lime it ‘contains, which he esti- 
mates at 304 per cent, the lithic acid and ammonia at 30, and 
3d Ser. — 1842. II. G 


82 Recent Publications on Manures. 


the other organic matter at 36} per cent. Bones are also prin- 
cipally valuable on account of the phosphate of lime they con- 
tain ; and the apatite, or native phosphate of lime, from Spain is 
about to be introduced asa substitute. How phosphate of lime 
is rendered soluble, is not yet known; perhaps the salts and gases 
in the water, or the electricity evolved in the chemical changes going 
on in the soil, may assist. Phosphate of magnesia, not being 
discovered native yet, is probably got by carbonate of magnesia 
being absorbed, decomposed, and united to phosphoric acid in 
the plant.” It is possible that part of both these phosphates 
may be got in that way: the phosphoric acid of the soil, which, 
Liebig says, is found as a constituent of all soils, may be absorbed 
either in that state or as phosphate of ammonia, and united to 
magnesia there, or to the carbonate of lime held in solution in 
the sap by carbonic acid. ‘The phosphate of lime, however, in 
urine, Professor Thomson says, is held in solution by an excess 
of phosphoric acid. Bones also contain the phosphate in the 
state of a superphosphate, or an excess of acid there also. To 
procure phosphate of lime, it is necessary to add pure ammonia, 
both to the urine and the calcined bones, to take up the excess 
of acid, before the phosphate of limecan be precipitated. The 
acetic acid of the urine also, he thinks, keeps the phosphate in 
solution. From the excess of acid, therefore, in the superphos- 
phate of lime in the bones themselves, assisted by the phos- 
phoric acid of the soil, or by acetic acid, the phosphate of 
lime is most likely to be dissolved and rendered fit for absorption. 
Professor Johnston thinks the carbonic acid of the soil may 
dissolve sufficient of the phosphates, as he found one gallon of 
water saturated with carbonic acid to take up 30 grs. of phos- 
phate; it will also furnish silica, he says, as it absorbs the alkali 
of the insoluble silicates of the soil, and liberates the silex in 
a soluble state. Apatite of lime, Thomson classes as a sub- 
phosphate, and it will therefore be more difficult of solution, 
from its inferior quantity of phosphoric acid, about one third 
part less than that of the phosphate itself. For grain crops 
the phosphates will be much wanted, and some have said 
they are greatly wanted for turnips also. The analysis, how- 
ever, of the turnip, by Dr. Madden, gave only a small quan- 
tity of hydrosulphate of lime. Many repeated analyses of 
plants, grown in different circumstances, may be needed, before 
we can decide on what constituents manures ought to furnish: 
what, however, is not needed, or rejected as excrement by one 
crop, may be beneficial to the next in the rotation. In bones, 
the gelatine, from the great quantity of ammonia it furnishes, is 
very valuable; and the ammonia, and lithic or uric acid, together 
with the saline substances, about 70 per cent in the guano, 
must be an important part of its value. Mr. M‘Donald, in the 


Recent Publications on Manures. 83 


Mark Lane Express, says, 4 bushels of guano (52 lb. per bushel) 
to the acre, mixed with 1 bushel of charcoal powder and drilled, 
produced 6 quarters, 2 bushels, 13 pecks per acre of wheat; 
when 15 bushels of bone dust yielded only 44 quarters. Mr. 
Cuthbert Johnson says that, in St. Helena, 35 bushels of guano 
are said to produce more potatoes than 35 loads of horse dung. 
Three cart-loads of guano, he says, are equal to 70 loads of 
good rotten dung, and its effects are greater on grass than on po- 
tatoes. From all accounts, guano appears to be a powerful 
concentrated manure; and the ammonia in it does not seem 
to be so volatile as dreaded by some chemical writers. 

Blubber of fish and oil, Mr. Squarey says, “ yield 70 per 
cent of carbon, on which their benefit depends ; and he proposes 
to mix these substances with coal ashes and apatite, to absorb 
them and give them off to the roots as wanted.” Coal ashes he 
thinks valuable, from their yielding sulphate of lime and char- 
coal: the principal benefits however arise, he thinks, from the 
absorbing powers of charcoal for ammonia, which is washed 
out by rain for the roots of plants, and a new quantity again 
absorbed. The effect is much diminished, he says, ‘‘ by reducing 
the coal ashes to powder, as they do not absorb so well.” As 
I stated before, however, practice has led me to adopt a dif- 
ferent opinion: I have often seen the bad effects of mixing 
coal ashes from domestic fires, especially when not well sifted, 
and the pieces large; they absorb the juices of the dung, reducing 
it toa dry straw, and I never could see the ashes produce any 
corresponding effect in consequence of it. The fact of the 
matter, I believe, is, that when the pieces are large, the ordinary 
moisture of the soil will not penetrate them so as to extract 
what is absorbed. When the pieces are small, and when the 
ashes are reduced as small as possible by sifting and burning 
well, they are found much more beneficial ; and all persons whom 
I have ever conversed with, who are in the habit of purchasing 
such manures to a great extent, universally prefer the small 
powder of well burned, well sifted ashes, to the coarse un- 
sifted kind. ‘The small pieces absorb and give off, the same as 
the particles of soil do; and, falling into powder, their saline 
substances and charcoal are in a more soluble and available state. 
Of what great benefit are absorbents to the soil, when every 
particle of the soil itself is capable of absorbing, and, by its 
disintegrating readily, yielding up its absorbed substances easily. 
The object is not to absorb and lay up manures, it is to make 
them as speedily available as possible. Of the great tenacity 
with which some of these absorbents retain the ammonia they 
absorb, we have a familiar instance in iron. When a large pot 
of cast iron has been exposed for a long time to the action of 


the air, it absorbs ammonia to such a degree, that, though cold 
G 2 


84: Recent Publications on Manures. 


water has little effect on it, when boiled on the fire for some 
hours it will come off as thick as tar, and smelling like a dung- 
hill; yet, though repeatedly boiled at intervals for weeks on the 
fire, and even scoured with diluted vitriol, it will come off for 
many weeks smelling as at first. If the power of absorption is 
so great, how long would the ordinary temperature of the soil 
be in effecting the extraction of the ammonia! I should not 
at all approve of mixing blubber and oil with coarse ashes ; if it 
be wished to absorb them, the soil is quite sufficient. The best 
way to render these substances soluble, is to mix them with al- 
kalies, and make them into a soluble soap, by mixing with 
clippings of hedges and young branches (which possess most 
potash) burned to ashes, and mixed with the oil. If lixiviated 
and digested with one fourth part of quicklime, and the lie 
poured off, the ashes will make the oil into a soluble soap and 
render it available at once. The benefit of soap-suds and the 
refuse from scoured yarn, are well known. ‘“ When am- 
monia is decomposed in the plant,” he says, “ and the nitrogen 
fixed as a constituent, all the hydrogen set free, unless what 
goes to form the oils, resins, and other hydrogenated pro- 
ducts in the plant, will be evaporated ; where the hydrogen and 
oxygen exist in the proportions of water, as in sugar and 
starch, they are exclusively formed from water.” It is likely 
these substances are mostly formed from water, but it will be 
difficult to say exclusively ; though in the proportion of water, 
the hydrogen and oxygen in these substances are not in the 
state of water; and if free hydrogen from ammonia is circulat- 
ing in the elaborated sap or latex, it should be as eligible for 
assimilation as that set free from the decomposition of water. 
It will be the hydrogen in excess, from whatever substance it 
came, that will be evaporated. When substances yielding the 
same constituents are absorbed and decomposed in the plant, it 
will be difficult to say what becomes of them, what are fixed, 
and what evaporated or excreted. Besides the oxygen furnished 
by water, oxygen gas is also absorbed in solution in water, and 
from the air; and what is not needed of these for the peculiar 
acids of plants, may be assimilated as gum, starch, &c., while 
the oxygen of the water may be set free and evaporated; though 
undoubtedly it will most often take place that the oxygen of the 
water is made use of. 

As might have been expected, from his taking Professor 
Liebig as a basis, Mr. Squarey adheres to the doctrine, that though 
plants in a young state absorb carbonic acid from the soil, yet 
afterwards they wholly depend on the air for their carbon: though 
he allows that all water contains carbonic acid in sclution, and 
adinits, as above, that the principal benefit of oils is in the carbon 
they contain, he also rejects, as Liebig did, the idea of humus 
forming any part of the food of plants. We shall see good 


e as ; 
Recent Publications on Manures. 85 


reason for believing, when we come to what Dr. Madden says on 
_ the subject, that humus does ultimately form great part of the 
food of plants. ‘ Trees,” Dr. Madden says, ‘ derive most of 
their fluid nourishment from the soil, though some kinds can, no 
doubt, get what they need by the leaves, if this source is stopped.” 
The roots, he thinks, cannot absorb gases as such, but only in 
solution in water. ‘The quantity of organic substances buried 
in the seil undoubtedly increases production,” he says, “as crops 
are always heaviest near towns. It displays the wisdom of Pro- 
vidence, that consumption itself should increase the article con- 
sumed. All who write on the function of nutrition are in fault”, 
he thinks, ‘as they speak only of the elements of the food, and 
not of the form the elements are presented in. The physician,” 
he says, “knows that all meat consists of the same ultimate 
elements, but he reckons one kind of food more conducive to 
health than another. Different kinds of soil,” he says, ‘‘ aceord- 
ing to their nature, will modify food differently ; as one kind of 
soil fits wheat best, another turnips.” Different results will also 
be found from different soils, according to the dampness or 
warmth of the climate, and according as these vary in different 
seasons. Crops of certain kinds will flourish on dry sandy soils 
in a wet season; while, in a dry season, they would succeed 
better on a retentive clay. Even different degrees of pulveris- 
ation suit different seasons best, and agriculture may come ulti- 
mately to depend much on meteorology, were it once made more 
certain in itsconclusions. Every practical man knows, when he 
sets about the sowing ofa great breadth of ground in small seeds, 
of how much benefit it would be to know whether dry or wet 
weather is to succeed. If the weather is to be dry, he should 
rake fine, and cover deep ; if wet, the deep covering will be too 
weighty, and the finely raked soil will skin on the top, and, in 
some instances, cause the loss of the whole crop. ‘The palate of 
animals gives the relish for the different kinds of food; the 
nervous system of animals gives them, in this respect, an advan- 
tage over plants, and, requiring more constituents, they require 
greater variety in food. We cannot say yet that the spongioles 
of plants come near to the sensitive perceptions of animals, but 
they may approach nearer than we imagine, and it is not always 
the most highly relished food that is beneficial. It is also a fa- 
vourite doctrine of those who contend that the air is the sole 
source of nourishment to plants, that organised substances cannot 
be absorbed and assimilated, till decomposed into their gaseous 
elements. I noticed before, in my former essay, that it is 
found that starch, sugar, and gum are laid up as the food of 
germs and buds in plants in the autumn, and again taken up 
and decomposed in the plant itself in spring, and become part of 


the circulating fluid, latex, or blood of the plant, to give off their 
G 3 aie 


86 Recent Publications on Manures. 


constituents to the different organs as required by the necessities 
of each. The same substances, when in solution, must therefore 
be the food of plants. The gum and sugar have been reckoned 
organisable, not organised, products ; starch, however, is ad- 
mitted to be more highly organised ; and lignin, the most highly 
organised of the abundant products of plants, can be reduced to 
the others by simple chemical processes: there is abundant 
proof to establish that the vital chemistry of the plant itself far 
exceeds what can yet be imitated. Sir Humphry Davy exhi- 
bited starch, jelly, and other highly organised products to plants, 
and found they formed food. In an essay of Professor Gazzin 
of Italy, an eminent chemist, and formerly a pupil of Sir Hum- 
phry Davy (as translated by Mr. Crawfurd of Auchindrames, 
and read to the Ayrshire Agricultural Association, and after- 
wards published in the Ayr Advertiser), it is stated, ‘that if we 
dilute a quantity of nearly rotten farm-yard manure in water, 
and pass it through a coarse sieve, a great deal of straw and 
undecomposed organic matter is retained; if we pass the 
liquid again through a closer sieve, straiter in the meshes, we 
will find still smaller pieces of undecomposed, brown-coloured, 
organic substances; still smaller pieces will be got from a still 
straiter sieve; and so on, till we come to pieces,” he says, ‘ that 
are undoubtedly soluble in water, and form the food of plants. 
Great waste of manure,” he thinks, “is thus made by decompo- 
sition, and he would have the straw cut and bruised, and depo- 
sited in the ground, to decompose there.” We see from the 
above-quoted opinions of the learned professor, good ground for 
believing that soluble organic substances are, indeed, part of the 
food of plants. It may be matter of doubt whether the straw 
would not be broken down and become soluble more easily in 
the dung-heap: small quantities in the soil do not ferment so 
readily, and care being used to preserve as much as possible of 
the products of fermentation, most practical men seem to be in 
favour of rotting the dung. On this subject I entered at great 
length in my former essay, which supersedes the necessity of 
bringing it again forward. As corroborative of the great benefits 
of manure exhibited in a soluble, or nearly soluble, state, I 
may notice the great effects of brewers’ grains spread on a field 
in Glamorganshire, which produced four times the quantity 
usually got from the same soil. Professor Johnston, on the 
same subject, says, ‘“‘ when we see red-coloured substances 
absorbed by the hyacinth roots, from the water in which they 
are growing, and colouring the white flower, till again dis- 
pelled by the elaboration of the petal, which returns to its 
white colour as before; we cannot divest ourselves of the 
belief, that all organic substances soluble in water are ab- 
sorbed by the roots, and elaborated in the leaf.’ On the ques- 
tion whether all the carbon of plants is got from the air, he 


Recent Publications on Manures. 87 


says, ‘the first original plants must have got all their carbon from 
the air, unless what existed in the water of the soil: on the 
bare rock, however, vegetation is stunted, and we cannot deny 
that organic matter deposited in the soil increases the produce, 
and, if crops are carried off the soil without manuring, it becomes 
exhausted. Partly it is undoubtedly got from the air, as some 
plants live suspended in the air, and vegetable matter accumulates 
in peat bogs, and marshy soils also produce crops without manure. 
Water is able to absorb 95 times its own bulk of ammonia (some 
have rated its absorbing powers higher; the temperature of the 
water increases its powers). Ammonia is also absorbed by porous 
substances and soils: it has a considerable affinity for acids, but 
less than the other alkalies; lime sets it free in great quantities. 
The carbonic acid excreted by the roots, will assist to extract 
the ammonia from the pores of the soil, and the porous sub- 
stances in the soil.” He thinks Liebig’s theory of the action of 
gypsum on the sulphate of lime insufficient, ‘‘as it does not 
account for all the nitrogen in the excess of crop.” ‘The inform- 
ation to be got from the professor’s lectures on these subjects is 
highly interesting: when great chemical knowledge is united to 
caution in inducing inferences, it is not so apt to lead us astray as 
when a brilliant imagination carries us to the very verge, if not 
beyond, the bounds of truth. The chapter on the transformation 
of the organic substances of plants, so far as chemistry has yet 
been able to produce them, is of great value. Dr. Madden, on 
the action of the sulphate of lime, says, ‘‘ when more than 2 per 
cent of ammonia is given off to the soil, when more than 345 
part of the bulk of the soil is given off at any place by the manure 
in the soil, if sulphate of lime is present, which it generally is, 
especially in peaty soils, sulphate of ammonia will be formed. If 
this is again dissolved in water and brought in contact with 
carbonate of lime, carbonate of ammonia and sulphate of lime 
will be produced.” In some former essays in the Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture, apparently from the pen of the same 
intelligent chemist, great doubts were entertained of the sulphate 
of lime always acting in the way pointed out by Professor 
Liebig. ‘There is much to learn yet on many of these subjects, 
and practical men should balance well the statements brought 
forward by chemists, before committing themselves to great 
expense in trials. It is safest to conduct experiments on a small 
scale, till they are well established. 

~ On the subject of humus, “‘ Dr. Madden, in the Prize Essay on 
Draining, published, in the Azghland Society's Transactions 
(Quarterly Journal of Agriculture for December, 1841), considers 
the soluble matter of soil an organised extract, which he deno- 
minates humus, but prefers the name of ulmic acid for its product 
to humic acid, He defines ulmic acid as consisting of 1 atom of 

G4 


88° Recent Publications on Manuvres. 


oxygen and 1 of hydrogen, united to 2 atoms of carbonic acid. 
Ulmie acid is always in humus; it is in it, he says, as sugar is in 
ithe turnip or beet, but is not it. The strength of ulmic acid is 
so slight, that he found it took 360 grains of it to neutralise 48 
of potash. Sawdust, peat, gum, sugar, starch, and most vegetable 
or animal substances, will produce ulmic acid, when heated with 
caustic potash; and therefore it has been said by some that ulmic 
acid is produced by the action of the potash, and is never found 
alone or pure; it is, say they, a product, not an educt. It is 


not, however, always, he says, the product of the potash, but is. 


found ready formed in the soil also; as a cold solution of potash, 
not strong or digested much with the soil, or even ammonia, will 
produce it. The more substances are divided in the soil, and 
exposed to the action of oxygen, the more soluble do they be- 
come. One of the very valuable effects of the soil is to divide 
and separate the organic matter, and expose it to action. In the 
soluble matter, or humus of the soil, there always is ulmic acid: 
all that is brown-coloured, and soluble in potash, is not ulmic 
acid, but it is in it. From 108 grains of lignin, or fibre, can be 
formed, he says, 22 of carbonic acid, 9 of water, and 77 of ulmic 
acid. Gum, sugar, and starch, can also form ulmic acid ; and it is 
always to be found, he says, in the dung heap, with carbonic 
acid, carburetted hydrogen, and sulphuretted hydrogen. Sugar, 
when fermented by itself, produces alcohol abounding in hy- 
drogen and acetic acid, or vinegar; but when fermented with 
other substances, he says, other results take place. The products 
of the mass, therefore, are not always the same as the individuals 
composing that mass. In these compounds of masses of sub- 
stances, when ulmic acid is produced, there is also, at the same 
time, he says, preduced a substance-like extract, denominated 
apotheme, which, by absorption of oxygen, uniting to and ab- 
stracting its hydrogen, becomes insoluble. It is probably, he 
says, a modification of ulmic acid, or some compound of it; it 
contains much carbon, and is soluble in alkalies. On the question, 
What becomes of the gases evolved in the soil during dry weather? 
he found that, by passing ammoniacal gas over 198°6 grains of 
soil in a glass, it retained 3 per cent of the gas. After ex- 
posing it to the air till no smell was found, denoting that escape 
had ceased, the soil still retained in absorption 3 per cent, or 
zig part of its weight in ammonia; which, calculating the 
depth of the land at 6in., the ordinary depth of ploughing, 
would give 4 tons, or 8,960 1b., per imperial acre; capable of 
dissolving no less than 161,280 lb. of humus. If taken to the 
depth of 8 in. to 10 in., the ordinary depth of digging, it would 
be much more. The whole ammonia given off, he says, by 25 
to 30 tons of farm-yard manure (the ordinary quantity for an 
acre), about 2,016 lb., is little more thang per cent of the soil, and 
not ; part of what the soi! is capable of absorbing. When he 


Recent Publications on Manures. 89 


added water to the soil, after free exposure to the air for three hours, 
a brown-coloured matter came off with the water in considerable 
quantity. This fact he considers of great importance, as giving a 
clue to the way m which humus may be rendered soluble in soil, 
and explaining the origin of the dark brown fluid from all dung- 
hills, &c., which yields ammonia abundantly when treated with 
caustic potash. ‘The reason why a brown-coloured solution is 
not obtained by agitating soil with water is, that allowing all the 
ammonia to be evolved from 30 tons of farm-yard manure to be 
saturated with humus, still it would at no period form more than 
7e00 Part; a quantity too small to colour solutions made in 
the usual manner with cold water, without allowing time for the 
air to act. It was pure ammonia he used above; and as ammonia 
is generally found in the state of carbonate of ammonia, he tried 
soil agitated with carbonate of ammonia, and found that it also 
possessed the power of dissolving humus in the soil, though not 
nearly to the same extent as the pure alkali. If the 2°016 lb. 
of ammonia from the 30 tons of manure were pure, it would 
dissolve, he calculates, 36°288 lb. of humus, which, though only 
in the state of ulmic acid, would contain 20°6841b. of carbon ; 
and allowing the ammonia of the manure to be all carbonate, 
and rating its powers of solution only at one third of the pure 
alkali, would givecarbon for five years’ crops, independently ofthe 
consideration, that if part of the humus dissolved were apotheme 
much more carbon would be yielded. In his farther researches 
on the action of water, he found that pieces of animal substances, 
as sheep skins, when moistened only with water, and exposed to 
the action of the air, decomposed much-more quickly than when 
totally under water. In the same way, when carbonate of am- 
monia was added in solution of water to humus, it produced 
little effect, only yellowing the water; and, though allowed to lie 
a time, it did not get very dark; but when he mixed it moist 
only, and after a few days’ action added water, it came off of an 
intense brown black, showing the immense difference between 
wet and moist action. Suspecting, also, that the reason why 
carbonate of lime, and not humate or ulmate of lime, is found in 
the stalactites of caverns (as pointed out by the opponents of the 
humus doctrine, to indicate that that acid did not exist in the soil), 
was, that it was decomposed in the soil in passing through, the 
soil exerting partly a chemical action on the humus; he poured 
ulmate of ammonia in solution on a dry soil in a flower-pot till 
it began to flow out at the bottom, when he found that what 
came through had lost colour to such an extent, that he reckoned 
it did not contain one half of its original quantity of organic 
matter. In this manner, he thinks, is the food preserved in soil: 
when ammonia is extricated, it acts on the organised matter of 
the soil, producing carbonate and ulmate of ammonia. When 
rain occurs it renders these substances soluble, and they would 


90 Recent Publications on Manures. 


be carried off by the water, but that the soil decomposes them, 
and retains the humus, which is insoluble, till acted on again by 
ammonia, and rendered soluble. If the roots are near, when in 
this state, it is absorbed ; if not, it is decomposed again. ‘These 
calculations, he says, place in a favourable light the great che- 
mical value of ammonia in soil, and likewise the importance of 
humus in the process of vegetable nutrition. 

‘On the opinion that carbonic acid is the only source of 
carbon to the plant, he experimented, by passing a stream of 
carbonic acid, dried by traversing a tube filled with fragments 
of chloride of calcium, over 2072 grains of soil, and found no 
increase cf weight, with a balance indicating as low as 54 of a 
grain. The soil could not, therefore,” he says, ‘“‘ have absorbed 
aig per cent of carbonic acid; and the free carbonic acid in the 
soil must, therefore, exist chiefly in the form of solution in 
water; though it cannot be said soil does notabsorb that gas at 
all, as small imperceptible quantities may exist. The saline 
manures, 13 cwt. per acre, exhibited with great effect, amounting 
to less than ;5255 part, or less than ;45 per cent, of the soil, at 
6 in. deep.” He preferred using the pure gases in his analysis ; 
as to have dried the impure from the dung-heap, by caustic 
potash, would have absorbed the carbonic acid; or to have 
employed the chloride of calcium, would have lost the ammo- 
niacal vapours by absorption; and to have used them moist 
would have altered the result. He next notices the opinion, 
that humus, if absorbed, will be returned as humus, without 
being assimilated; the same as found in sugar and gum by 
Meyen and others. ‘To test this opinion, he took a plant of 
common groundsel (Senécio vulgaris), washed the roots clean, 
and divided them into two bundles. He introduced the one 
bunch of washed roots into a glass of water containing a small 
quantity of ulmate of ammonia in solution; the other half he 
inserted into another glass vessel containing pure water. As 
the plant grew, he filled up with pure water. At the end of 
seven days, when the solution of ulmate of ammonia had become 
much lighter, evidently by absorption, he took the one contain- 
ing pure water, which should have now contained humus, if 
again excreted; but, on evaporation, he found it to contain only 
a highly crystalline substance, of a light brown colour, more 
resembling gum than humus. Macaire also found, he says, that 
beans excreted a substance resembling gum: and, as he has 
proved that ulmate of ammonia must always exist in fertile soil, 
and as he has found plants cannot refuse anything offered to 
them in solution, having himself poisoned plants by making 
them grow in solutions of lead; therefore, beans must have ab- 
sorbed ulmate of ammonia, and assimilated, not excreted, it. 
If we can prove, he continues, with one or two plants, that 


Recent Publications on Manures. 91 


ulmic acid absorbed by the roots can be assimilated, we may 
conclude it will be the same with all. 

In the appendix he resumes the subject of ulmic acid, and 
says it is an important fact, resulting from the constitution of 
organic matter, that all the most abundant proximate principles 
of the vegetable and animal kingdoms cannot undergo decay 
without producing ulmic acid. During the formation of car- 
bonic acid by the decomposition of any substance, as many 
atoms of hydrogen, he says, are evolved in the form of water as 
there are atoms of oxygen required to produce the carbonic 
acid; and this change cannot take place in any organic com- 
pound without the production of ulmic acid. In sugar, for 
instance, he says, composed of 12 atoms each of carbon, hy- 
drogen, and oxygen, or C. 12, H. 12, O. 12, when 4 atoms 
of carbonic acid are formed, the result will be (4 C., O. 2) + 
(8 H., O.)+(C. 8, H. 4, O. 4); or 4 atoms of carbonic acid, 
8 of water, and 4 of ulmic acid. In the same way with starch 
and lignin: for every atom of carbon, 2 of hydrogen and 
oxygen being evolved, the proportion will ultimately arrive at 
2 of carbon for every 1 of hydrogen and oxygen, which is the - 
proportien of ulmic acid. In the same way with animal albu- 
men, composed of C. 15, H. 14, O. 6, N. 23; it is resolved, 
by the decomposition of 2 atoms of water, into (C., O. 2)+(2 
N., H. 3)+(2C., H. 2)+(C. 12, H. 6, O. 6); or 1 atom 
of carbonic acid, 2 of ammonia, 2 of carburetted hydrogen, and 
6 of ulmic acid. Ulmic acid is, on this account, he says, con- 
stantly produced by the slow combustion or decomposition of 
all organic matter; and ulmate of ammonia, he concludes, is 
the true food of plants, as obtained froin the soil: it contains, 
he says, 7 part ef nitrogen, and in no plant does the nitrogen 
amount to so great a proportion to the carbon; and it appears 
probable, he thinks, that no more carbon is obtained from the 
soil than is obtained in this way; the rest of the carbon is got 
from the air. Fallow plants thus, he says, regenerate the soil ; 
as they require little nitrogen, and draw their carbon mostly 
from the air. 

I have extracted thus largely from the above-noticed va- 
luable essay on the subject of humus; as the question is much 
controverted at present, and it was impossible to do justice to 
the author’s views in a more concentrated form. The action of 
ammonia, and carbonate of ammonia, on the humus in the soil, 
seems incontrovertibly established, and is very valuable and 
interesting. The chemical action of the soil on the ulmate of 
ammonia was not suspected ; and if future experiments prove the 
truth of this conjecture, it will be found greatly to modify pre- 
viously entertained opinions. In the experiment of pouring the 
ulmate of ammonia on the soil in the flower-pot, might not the 


92 Recent Publications on Manures. 


particles of soil act on the liquid, by absorbing the ulmate of 
ammonia from its solution in water, retaining it, and letting the 
water pass, without being decomposed into humus and am- 
monia? If the oxygen passed through the soil had been moist, 
not dry, would more not have been absorbed? Liebig says 
there is an atmosphere of carbonic acid formed in the soil 
around all the decaying portions of humus. ‘There is much 
to convince us of the value of humus, and of its derivative, 
ulmate of ammonia; but it is surely carrying the matter too far, 
to assume it as the sole source of carbon and ammonia from the 
soil. Chemists seem too apt to deal in exclusives. Nature is 
seldom confined to one particular method of producing results ; 
and nutritious substances will undoubtedly be exhibited in 
many different forms to the absorbent vessels of plants: Dr. 
Madden himself seems to be of that opinion. Carbonate of 
ammonia is the state in which it is principally found in urine, 
and the most valuable of manures: it is as soluble as the other 
in water, and as likely to be absorbed. ‘There are, also, as ob- 
served before, the carbonic acid carried down by rain into the 
soil from the atmosphere, and that absorbed by the water of the 
soil from the carbonic acid produced by the decomposition of 
humus by oxygen, stated by Liebig to be in constant action; 
also, the carbon produced from the soluble organic substances 
absorbed by the roots, and from the carbonic or ulmic acid 
absorbed in union with potash and other alkaline substances. 
From the much slighter affinity of ammonia for acids than the 
other alkalies, from the large quantity above stated held in 
solution by potash, 360 gr. to 48 gr., and from the soda being a 
more powerful solvent still than potash, it is likely that much of 
the ulmic acid may go to plants in this form. Professor Thom- 
son describes ulmin as it is found in the elm, being always here 
dissolved in carbonate of potash. The nitrogen, also, cannot 
always be from ulmate of ammonia; it is undoubtedly furnished 
from the nitric acid of the nitrates, as they are found to increase 
the gluten in wheat, in the same way as ammonia does; the 
small quantity of that of the atmosphere soluble in water will 
likely also give a part; and the carbonate of ammonia from the 
rain of the atmosphere, and of manures, may be absorbed as 
such: the possibility only, not the necessity, of its being con- 
verted into ulmate of ammonia, has been proved. Professor 
Dumas says, all the ammonia got from thunder-storms is in the 
form of nitrate of ammonia. It is, perhaps, not easy to say 
whether one twelfth part of the plant only is required of nitrogen. 
Professor Dumas says, M. Payen’s researches teach us, that all 
the organs of the plant, without exception, begin by being 
formed of an azotated matter, analogous to fibrin; with which, 
at a later period, the cellular, ligneous, and amylaceous tissues 
are associated. This concrete fibrinous substance, he says, 


Recent Publications on Manures. 93 


constitutes the rudiments of the organs of plants. Liebig says, 
nitrogen is found in every part of the vegetable structure; if it 
is not found in the solids themselves, it is found in the fluids 
that surround them. As to the data given as proof that ulmic 
acid is always the result of decomposing substances, so many 
different substances are thrown together in the manured heap, 
and from the many different ways in which decomposition may 
take place, according to the state of heat and moisture, and 
their position with regard to each other, and the admission 
or deprivation of atmospheric air, that it will not be easy to say 
what may be the exact result. This is pointed out by Dr. 
Madden himself, in the decomposition of sugar forming the 
vinous fermentation by itself, and producing a very different 
result when mixed with other substances. The hydrogen and 
oxygen in sugar, starch, and lignin, though in the proportions 
of water, are not in the state of water; and it does not follow in 
the definition of the decomposition of sugar stated above, 
that, though 8 atoms of oxygen are absorbed to form 4 of car- 
bonic acid, the sugar must yield 8 of hydrogen at the same 
time that it yields carbon. The 8 atoms of oxygen may have 
been got from the atmosphere: it appears, indeed, from the 
analysis, that either this or the 8 to form water must have 
been got from the air, or there is some error in the printing, as 
there is not oxygen sufficient for all in the sugar itself. If the 
oxygen to form carbonic acid is got from the air, it cannot 
affect the hydrogen of the sugar; nor, though got from the 
sugar, does it follow that hydrogen should be evolved, as the 
hydrogen and oxygen in the sugar are not in the state of water. 
It is probable, however, that decomposition often does produce 
ulmic acid; the brown-coloured liquid from all manures is very 
valuable, and probably contains both carbonate and ulmate of 
ammonia, besides humus and apotheme; and the further re- 
searches of this enterprising chemist will undoubtedly elucidate 
the subject still more. The water of peat moss contains ulmic 
acid, Professor Thomson says: it is probably, however, as Dr. 
Madden says, partly humus and apotheme, as well as ulmic 
acid, that is in the water; and the solution of tannin it contains is 
also brown-coloured. If this were poured on the ashes of burnt 
wood, the smaller the branches and the younger the twigs the 
better, ulmate of potash, a valuable manure, would be formed by 
the action of the potash of the wood. This may be partly the 
cause of the great effects of burnt ashes, applied to soils abound- 
ing in refuse of vegetables, and in compost among woods. 
Ulmate of potash is perhaps more the cause of growth than 
is at present imagined. The ashes of burnt wood often pro- 
duce immense effect on the stem and foliage of potatoes and 
turnips, without a corresponding effect in the root: perhaps the 
great absorbing powers of charcoal for the ammonia of the 


94 Recent Publications on Manures. 


atmosphere may be in action also. If urine is poured on peat, 
both ulmate and carbonate cf ammonia would be formed, and 
the peat fermented and rendered soluble. Dr. Madden does 
not say whether ulmate of ammonia is as volatile as the car- 
bonate of ammonia, it probably is as much, from the feebleness_ 
of the acid noticed: if kept moderately cool, however, by turn- 
ing the heap with the spade, when it approaches 100° (fer- 
mentation will go on 20° lower), and if kept from washing rains — 
as before observed, a very valuable manure would be produced. 
In the Gardener’s Chronicle \ately, as copied from the Bath Chro- 
nicle, immense effects are stated to have been produced on four 
successive crops of wheat, from very poor land, by manuring 
with some prepared manure, of which carbonate of ammonia 
is the basis, at a cost of 20s. per pound. ‘The editor, following 
the directions of Liebig, says it would be better converted into 
a sulphate of ammonia. ‘The great waste, however, of carbonate 
of ammonia, if kept cool and mixed in composts till buried 
in the ground, has not been proved; in the guano, it appears to 
be long retained, and there is perhaps less waste than is imagined. 
Carbonate or ulmate of ammonia, producing both carbon and 
ammonia, must be ‘much more eligible as the food of plants, 
than sulphuric acid (vitriol) and ammonia. 

From the valuable remarks of Dr. Madden on the necessity 
of air and moisture, not wetness; the effect of water on heat by 
its evaporation and radiation, and on electricity by its conducting 
powers; but, above all, its effects on the chemical decompo- 
sition going on in the soil, the stomach of the plant; we see 
the benefits of keeping it in proper condition by draining, &e. 
‘‘ Tf the soil is too large-grained and sandy it does not combine 
properly with the organic matter; a proper proportion of clay, 
chiefly a hydrate of alumina, he says, in the form of an impal- 
pable powder, is wanting; but too much of this prevents the 
the action of the air. The condition of the soil affects vegetation 
much.” If too open by too much sand, evaporation and heat 
are both at times destructive and excessive. If too much small 
impalpable powder is in the soil, it gets close and adhesive, and 
solidifies too quickly, becoming cold and inactive. It is this 
clay, however, which absorbs and retains moisture and organic 
substances or their elements, and is indispensable. ‘The benefits 
of cultivation are, by separating the soil into small pieces, to re- 
tain fixed air and heat, allowing the heat of the sun to penetrate 
freely, and retaining it by the nonconducting power of confined 
air. If left in large coarse pieces, the water evaporates and is 
carried down rapidly, the gaseous substances escape more, and 
heat is not confined; if in small pieces, the organic substances 
are more intimately mixed, moisture retained, and heat, to in- 
crease the chemical action. If broken up in damp weather, the 


Recent Publications on Manures. 95 


pieces are apt to be washed again together with the first heavy 
rain that occurs, and consolidation takes place. If done in dry 
weather, the pieces get hardened, the water passes them freely 
without consolidating ; and if the pieces are small and dried, the 
soil in our damp climate is in the best possible state for a crop. 
Even where the atmosphere is generally more dry, if dug wet, 
the piec®& get hard and impenetrable with the drought, and 
digging dry and breaking small will be best even there. The 
only danger in breaking very small is, that very heavy rains may 
consolidate more rapidly, and for strong seeds or plants it is 
generally left more rough, but for small seeds, pulverisation to a 
very small consistence is indispensable; and if done when the 
soil is dry, and gets a dry day or two afterwards, it generally 
keeps open through the summer. In old wrought land, espe- 
cially if a sandy alluvial loam, the soil, being long worked, loses 
its tenacity, and the small pieces fall to powder too easily; the 
grains of soil do not attract one another so strongly as in newly 
turned up soil, virgin or maiden loam as it is called, in which 
the disintegration from the original state of stone has not pro- 
ceeded so far as in worn out soil; the small pieces adhere more 
tenaciously in the grains of their substance to one another, and 
the mechanical texture is superior. For over-wrought land there 
is no remedy but trenching up the subsoil if it is good, or laying 
down to grass if not, till the soil, by consolidation and pressure, 
begins to assume the original state of stone from which it was 
formed, and the grains adhere more perfectly to one another. 
The pulverisation of the soil has much effect on the crop, and 
its benefits are immense in all but the most sandy soils. I have 
seen immense difference in the crops of potatoes, from the soil 
being well broken and the contrary: even breaking soil well with 
the rake, when in a sort of moist state between the wet and dry, 
thus reducing the rough clods to small pieces, I have seen 
produce great effect. ‘The advantage of digging between the 
rows of potatoes planted with the plough, at an expense of 40s. 
per acre, has been lately stated in one of our periodicals, as 
producing an advantage of 15/. per acre. By the spade the 
ground is dug more deep and much better broke, and in popu- 
lous districts, where labour is cheap, digging will be found nearly 
as cheap as ploughing; perhaps cheaper, if the depth and pul- 
verisation be considered. Impressed with these ideas, the High- 
land Society has lately awarded premiums on a large scale, in 
the Highlands, for the encouragement of digging; and Sir Charles 
Ferguson of Kilkerran near Maybole, another great patron of 
agriculture in our county, has done the same at the village of 
Dailly, in the neighbourhood of his estate. Small pieces let out 
to cottagers have been found to produce immense returns; and 
the produce of ground might be very considerably increased, if 


96 Recent Publications on Manures. 


cheap digging were in many situations substituted for ploughing. 
Deep subsoil- ploughing is very expen isive, as some who have 


had experience in that way allow: it has been rated much lower ~ 


than digging, but I believe it is from want of calculation. 
Lately, in ‘the Lop Advertiser, a field was thought to have been very 
peoraeecey done, which, after the enclosure was well drained, 
had been subsoiled 9in. deep, and the crowns of the ri idges 
levelled with the spade, at an expense of 3/. 3s. per acre, or 
nearly 43d. per fall; which, I believe, could have been dug 
10 in. deep for that sum, and the ground levelled in the 
digging. 


SincE the above was sent off I have seen the fourteenth number, for 
January, of Professor Johnston’s Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry, in which 
there isan Appendix of Experiments for 1841, which may be had separately, at 
the price of 3d., by any who have not an opportunity of getting the Lectures 
themselves, which are increasing in interest as they progress, and ought to be 
in the hands of all interested in the cultivation of the soil. The principal 
part of the experiments are those of Mr. Fleming of Barrochan, the gentleman 
alluded to in a former part of this essay; who, from his chemical knowledge, 
and the great variety of soils on his estate, joined to his spirited method of 
conducting the experiments, is likely to be the means of eliciting much in- 
formation on these subjects. Some of the results are entirely different from 
former ones, as also from others in the same appendix, and point out the 
necessity of reiterated experiments in different situations and on a larger 
scale, before the action of these saline manures can be properly understood. In 
portioning off small pieces of land for experiment, it ought to be kept in view, 
that there is generally much difference in the quality of the ground even in 
the same park. I have seen in a quarter of potatoes the heads of the drills 
not to produce half the crop with the same quantity of manure, and the same 
also occurs often in the middle or bottom of the row. High ridges of stony 
ochry-coloured gravel will occur at one place, while another portion will be of 
a heavy stiff clay; and, again, another of a deep fine loam, which, to the depth 
of 2 ft., may be all put through a sieve: all these different qualities exist in 
the soil at present managed by myself in the nursery, and greater variety 
than this is often to be met with. I have seen pieces of a park where the 
potatoes, though better manured than the rest of the field, did not yield the 
same bulk of produce as the seed, while, within a few yards the crop was 
good. Such varieties exist more or less in all soils; and different soils are 
also more suitable for some seasons than others, and the same with manures. 
On all these accounts we should draw our inferences with caution, and not 
blind ourselves by becoming prejudiced to any opinions, till long and firmly 
established. 

At Roselle, neither common salt (muriate of soda, or chloride of sodium) nor 
sulphate of soda was found to do any good, while at Barrochan the common 
salt applied to a crop of wheat, at the rate of 160 |b. per acre (the same as 
the nitrate), produced a much greater increase than the nitrate of soda; 
about one third part more on the crop, and three times more of increase, as 
compared with the undressed portion of the field. It produced, however, 
less than one twentieth part more of produce, as compared with the nitrate of 
soda and rape-dust mixed, and only one seventh part more of increase. The 
common salt and lime mixed, at the rate of 28 lb. of salt and 80 bushels of 
lime to the acre, produced only about one twelfth part more of produce as 
compared with the undressed portion. These experiments were made on por- 
tions of one eighth of an acre, or twenty falls; how far they might have 


oo 


Recent Publications on Manures. 97 


differed had the portions been larger, future experiments alone will determine. 
From Mr. Fleming’s correct habits of observation, we may infer the quality of 
the soil would be as nearly equal as possible ; but it is difficult to get all 
these matters properly adjusted. Portions of the manure given the year 
before to the potatoes may not have been so far decomposed as others; and 
pieces of open free stony soil may have wasted more of what was given. 
Causes may have been in operation years before that may have accumulated 
organic matter more in some portions of the soil than others ; and while we 
see much to induce the likelihood of benefit from salt in some situations, we 
must limit our expectations till warranted by further trials on a larger scale. 
At Aske Hall, as we shall see hereafter, salt, at the rate of 6 bushels an 
acre, produced no corresponding effect. From the proximity of Roselle to 
the sea, there is likely to be more salt naturally in the soil. 

At Barrochan, the sulphate of soda produced 12 per cent increase on 
the drill of potatoes, while the nitrate of soda produced 20 per cent ; the 
mixture of the two, however, at the rate of two thirds of the sulphate to one 
third of the nitrate, produced the uncommon increase of 61 per cent. The 
foliage of the potatoes had here the same deep green healthy appearance of 
vigour as the nitrates produce, which those dressed with sulphates never have. 
On some potatoes in the garden an immense effect was produced by the same 
mixture. In a field of oats, some portions dressed with nitrates and sulphates 
by themselves produced no effect, while the mixture produced such an im- 
mense effect on the growth as might be seen from a great distance. The 
sulphate may be purchased for half the price of the other, carriage included, 
in some places for less ; and will be a great saving of expense, besides the 
benefit, especially if further trials confirm the above, and if the more speedy 
action be not found to exhaust the benefits of the mixture sooner. ‘The sul- 
phate of soda was found to increase the produce of beans and peas a great deal 
in the garden, causing the stems of the former to tiller out to five or six stems 
from the same root, and increasing the well-filled pods in all. To leguminous 
crops the professor thinks the sulphate will be the more valuable. On winter 
rye the principal benefits were from the nitrates. To peat soil, Mr. Fleming 
found that, ina crop of oats, bones, especially when dissolved in sulphuric 
acid, were very valuable, as furnishing the phosphates required for the grain ; 
it being generally found that oats on peat soils often grow more to stem than 
seed. 

At Erskine (Lord Blantyre’s), Mr. Wilson found that, on grass dressed 
with these manures in portions of one twentieth of an acre, he had decidedly 
the greater benefit from the nitrates, and found that all of the applications 
had much more effect on light land than on clay; perhaps from the cold 
inactive nature of the latter, the benefits, however, should last longer if this is 
the cause. The common salt, vitriol, and gypsum here preduced little benefit : 
the sulphate of soda was next to the nitrates, but much inferior. Mr. Wilson 
here found the benefit of the nitrates to continue longer than in former expe 
riments by others. 

At Aske Hall (Earl of Zetland’s), on a thin light soil, on a clay subsoil, 
and in a high bleak climate, Mr. Thompson found most benefit ; to the green 
crop of hay about 25 per cent, to the dried hay about 23 per cent. The sul- 
phuric acid and sulphate of soda had less produce than the undressed piece. 
The common salt at the rate of 6 bushels an acre, and the soot at the rate 
of 20 bushels an acre, produced about 9 to 6 per cent of benefit in the 
ereen crop, and 27 to 25 per cent of increase in the dried hay. The nitrates 
have always most effect at first on the green and. succulent growth of 
the stem and foliage, and in clear light sunny weather to carry on the 
action of the leaves; we may find this greater in other seasons, as compared. 
with the last, which throughout was dull and cloudy, and would have a 
powerful influence in lessening the chemical action on the substances in the 
leaf, thus decreasing the produce. 

3d Ser. — 1842, II. H 


98 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


The modes of action of these saline manures are not well understood yet. 
If we suppose them to act as food, and limit the meaning of this term to its 
general acceptation of nutritious substances, the carbonates and nitrates, and 
the salts of animonia, will be principally valuable. If we extend the meaning 
of the term food, so as to include everything absorbed as constituents of 
the plant, the salts of potash and lime, and the phosphates and silicates, 
will be the next most valuable; the sulphates and muriates, and the 
salts of soda, are found only in small quantities in cultivated plants. If 
we allow part of the action to be as condiments, in the way in which 
common salt is beneficial to animals, and that they act in assisting the che- 
mical compositions and decompositions going on in the sap of the plant, 
which has not yet been taken into view, we must trust to observation 
and experiment for a knowledge of their effects in this way ; what is not ab- 
sorbed asa constituent will be excreted, and though great effects may be pro- 
duced from small quantities, the limits of application will be sooner attained. 
If, again, we take another view of the subject, and consider these substances 
to act chemically in the soil, the stomach of the plant, dissolving the msoluble 
organic substances abounding more or less in all soils; the sulphates and mu- 
riates, or the acids themselves of these substances, and the salts of soda, 
potash, and ammonia, especially the first, will have the most powerful effect. 
The benefits, however, of all these as solvents would cease, as lime does with 
the applications if long-continued ; and in poor soils, as in the border at 
Roselle, common farm-yard manure would be predominant. As food, except 
for the nutritious substances, the quantities needed, especially of some sorts, 
are so small, that a limit in the benefit of their application may be soon ar- 
rived at, and in some places sooner than in others. To such as grain crops 
from peat soils, the phosphates and silicates would be most needed ; and the 
phosphates from bones, and the chaff of grains, which in some places is sold 
cheap, would be very beneficial ; the silicates would be got from the straw of 
former crops on other soils. The small quantities of sulphuric acid, soda, 
and common salt, needed as constituents, would likely be found naturally, in 
sufficient quantity, in the soil and the ordinary manures applied. Analyses of 
different plants, in different soils, and repeated, are much wanted to enable 
decisions to be arrived at. On such subjects we are likely to obtain much 
valuable information from Professor Johnston, as the Lectures proceed; from 
his great chemical knowledge, joined to the accumulation of experiments 
conducted under his direction, and from the great ardour he displays in the 
cause, which ought to be fostered and encouraged by every means, as the 
benefit is a national one in which all are interested. Of guano, the pro- 
fessor gives two analyses of his own, which reduce the quantities of ammonia 
very much from all formerly published analysations ; one of them only about 
8 per cent, instead of 30 and upwards as before. He gives also a table and 
prices of a method of making artificial guano, at a much cheaper rate than 
the imported. 


Art. VI. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell of Munich, 
Translated from the German for the “‘ Gardener’s Magazine. 


(Continued from our preceding Volume, p. 605.) 


XI. When Lakes can be introduced in Gardens they add extremely to their 
Beauty. How to form and stake them out, &c. 


*1. Tue character of a lake is very different from that of a 
stream, because the former extends both in length and breadth, 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 99 


and is provided with deep bays or inlets. The lake again, is 
very similar to the pond: both are peaceful and still pieces of 
water, and the difference of character consists in this:—a. The 
lake requires a great extent, not so the pond:—J4. The lake 
requires at least on one side an open space and a free horizon; 
the pond more repose: it should be overhung by shrubs, and 
its banks veiled in a dull shade:—c. The banks of the lake 
should be scattered here and there with high detached trees, 
with thick woods and low bushes, and should even be enlivened 
by buildings. The pond requires a thick plantation, no view 
from it, and no buildings; its character is loneliness and a quiet 
imaginative repose, and its true ornament is simplicity. : 

2. It often happens that in forming lakes in a garden, the 
necessary extent cannot be given them even with the very best 
intention, and recourse is therefore had to deception, which can 
be put in practice in the following manner : — 

In open places where the eye is lost in the distance, the banks 
should be quite low and almost on a level with the water, so 
that the eye passing over both surfaces, may not perceive a 
distinct margin and line of separation, by which means the 
limited size of the lake seems magnified and deceives the eye of 
the spectator. No trees, shrubs, or buildings should find a 
place there, because their size being well known might be the 
means of discovering what is unknown by a comparison. An 
oak 100 ft. high on the banks of a lake, would make it appear 
very small; but optics and perspective, with which the land- 
scape-gardener should be well acquainted, show all the causes 
and effects of these well-known appearances and delusions, a 
few examples of which I here subjoin: — 

a. If the decorations of a theatre for children were made in 
proportion to their size, as a theatre is for grown up persons, 
the children would then appear like men and women; and if a 
grown up man were to make his appearance among the deco- 
rations diminished in proportion to the size of the children, he 
would appear like a giant. 

b. A colossal high tower when placed near a small one, will 
appear still more colossal, and the small one will appear still 
smaller than it really is. 

c. Two men of the same size, the one standing by the side of 
a stately palace, and the other by the side of the cottage of a 
peasant, would appear of different magnitudes; the first would 
appear small, and the second large. 

d. Figures either painted or in plastic materials which de- 
corate the interior or exterior facades of buildings, if represented 
of a colossal size, make the architectural proportions appear on 


a much smaller scale than they really are. The sun when 
H 2 


100 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


rising and setting appears larger, because it can be compared 
with the smaller terrestrial objects. 

e. Every object which approaches the nearest to the spectator’s 
point of sight increases in size, distinctness, and high colouring, 
while those which are farther from him diminish in form and 
colour. 

Jj. Trees of the same height also appear in different pro- 
portions according as they are near or distant from the point of 
sight, &c. 

Similar deceptions are innumerable, and when such circum- 
stances present themselves, the landscape-gardener should take 
advantage of them judiciously; but above all things he must 
avoid having : — 

a. A small temple about 50 ft. high, with the pillars not more 
than 2 ft. in diameter (but which is in the best proportion with 
the limited-sized garden in which it stands), surrounded by 
trees of 70 or 80 ft. in height, thus far surmounting the temple 
itself in height. Such a temple would then appear still smaller 
than it really is, which would be quite inexcusable. 

6. A moderately sized elevated spot of not more than 8 or 
10 ft. in height, should not be planted with trees that will grow 
seven or eight times higher, as such an elevation would by that 
means be scarcely perceptible, whereas if it were covered with 
low flowering shrubs, or even if it were quite bare, so that its 
limited height could not be compared with anything on its 
surface, it would appear much higher and have a more striking 
character. 

c. Ha-has, which should have no perceptible boundary or 
limit, ought to be assiduously adopted where the garden scenery 
is wanting in extent. By this means the beauty of the external 
landscape is united with the limited garden, and the delusion is 
effected in the confined space. When the extent admits, the 
paths should not pass too near the ha-has, as the deception 
would then be discovered. The landscape-gardener should 
carefully avoid planting very small gardens with very high trees 
of the first class, as the gardens would thereby appear diminished 
in size. 

Trees of a lower growth, which belong to the third and fourth 
classes, and shrubs of the sixth and seventh classes, are more in 
unison with so limited a space, and they also afford shade. 

The landscape-gardener should also avoid deception in 
buildings, by making them appear at a distance what they are 
not, but which on closer inspection are found to be impositions. 
A temple consisting only of a facade, a representation of a 
bridge over which you cannot pass, are imperfections and 
falsities, the employment of which I cannot recommend, for in 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 101 


forming a garden the lovely virtue truth should always be the 
guide for the landscape-gardener. 

Low banks, besides making the surface of a piece of water 
appear larger than it really is, have also the advantage of not 
concealing the water from our view; and, if the appearance of 
low banks is not romantic, it is at least more agreeable than 
those that are high, steep, and irregular; they are also less 
expensive, because low banks seldom give way, or are not so 
liable to do so. When rowing in a boat they do not intercept 
the view like those that are high, &c.; besides it would not be 
natural to have a piece of water equally surrounded with high 
banks. It is necessary, therefore, that the ground should be 
gently elevated here and there, at about 6 or 12 ft. from the 
water, so that there be no danger from the banks giving way. 
There should also be masses of rocks here and there along the 
banks, as they not only dignify, but give more character, power, 
and romantic effect. 

If hills are formed on the banks of a lake or piece of water, 
they should be made to appear as natural as possible, so that 
they may not awaken the idea that they are merely there from 
the soil being thrown up from the lake when it was formed ; 
this would weaken the deception of both objects. Of all things 
do not let the size of the lake deceive you when it is empty, as 
every piece of water appears smaller when full than when it is 
empty, and vice versa; and the reason of this is, that the concave 
line of the bed of the water is really larger than the horizontal 
line described by the surface of the water. 

The landscape-gardener must therefore be on his guard, and 
not allow himself to be deceived with the apparent magnitude 
of an empty lake or pond. A section will convince him, that, 
as the concave line of the bed of the water is longer than the 
horizontal line of the water’s surface, his lakes and ponds 
will appear smaller when filled with water than they would when 
empty. 

3. Lakes admit also of inlets, and these may be allowed to 
stretch as far into the land as the locality permits. 

These inlets should have such a formation that their termi- 
nations may not be perceived, so as to give the idea of concealed 
magnitude and extent of the water’s surface, and thus to deceive 
the imagination. ‘These inlets also produce another very inte- 
resting effect if formed as has been already mentioned, so that 
the ends of them be not seen; and this is, that the belief may 
thereby be created, that the points of these inlets are perhaps 
united and thus form islands. When such deceptions are 
effected, the paths should not pass too near them. 


4, Lakes and ponds should be drawn on the ground and 
H 3 


102 Transplanting of large Trees. 


staked out, as much as possible indicating all their essential 
outlines; and, besides the stakes which are used, there should 
also be pegs put in to designate the height of the water, without 
which such a work need not be begun, and the quickest way to 
ascertain the level for these pegs is by means of the water-level. 

5. The places made for the entrance and outlet of the water 
must be regulated according to the depth of the lake or piece of 
water, so that no unnecessary or expensive labour in the ground- 
work may be undertaken; and the bed of the lake should rather 
incline towards the place for the outlet of the water, so that it 
can be laid dry either for catching the fish or for clearing away 
the mud. It is also desirable to let the lake have several places 
for the outlet of the water, because, by this means and the 
operation of various currents of wind, the water is preserved 
much cleaner. ; 

6. Rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds in gardens, should never 
be more than 3 ft. or at most 4 ft. deep, so that every danger of 
drowning may be prevented ; and, above all, there should be 
nothing in a garden that is dangerous to those who walk there. 


( To be continued.) 


Ant. VII. On Transplanting large Trees. By James Munro. 


WueEn my method of preparing large trees for transplanting 
was published in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture for March 
1833, it will be in your recollection, that, on republishing the 
essence of that paper in the Gardener’s Magazine, you concluded 
your remarks by expressing a hope that some one of your readers, 
who might have the opportunity, would give this mode of pre- 
paring a more extensive trial, and report to you thereon. 

On reading your request, I felt anxious to repeat my experi- 
ment on a larger scale, and on different kinds of hard-wooded trees. 
I was also persuaded that my mode of preparing was susceptible 
of improvement, whereby the expense of performing the work 
might be materially diminished. Therefore, in the spring of 
1833, I solicited, and readily obtained, permission of Lord Pan- 
mure to practise on some trees in the ornamental plantations 
about Brechin Castle, -being, at that time, in the immediate 
neighbourhood ; and having had at all times access and oppor- 
tunity to observe the progress of my improvements. On the 
25th of April, 1833, I selected for my purpose two oaks, one elm, 
one sycamore, and one beech, for the dimensions of which, with 
other particulars, I refer to the following table :— 


Pe a ae 


Transplanting of large Trees. — 108 


Diameter of Extteme | Girth at |Girth at 5ft. 

the Balls of the the from he 
left. Tree. Ground, Ground. 
Ft. In. Ft. Ft. In. Ft. In. 

No. 1. Beech, prepared with the 
trench covered close over 5 1 344 2 10 110 

2. Qak, ditto, with trench 
left exposed - - by 83 40 2 8 1 10 
3. Oak, ditto, ditto -| 5 6 37 2 6 111 
4. Plane, ditto, ditto -| 4 9 29 B®) 8 1 10 
5. Elm, Scotch, ditto, ditto -| 5 2 364 | 3 O 1 10 


On performing my experiment, for the first time, in 1824, I 
had the trench roofed over with old rails, and any other flat pieces 
of wood that I could get, and I then covered the whole with thick 
turf. In this state the tree stood for one year, and was then 
planted out. Subsequent consideration, however, convinced me 
that trees left with balls of the size mentioned in the above table, 
could not require the trench to be covered over in the manner 
described. Upon this conviction I acted in this experiment, 
except in the case of the beech, even although I had determined 
that the subjects of this novel essay should remain under the 
preparing process during the summers of 1833 and 1834. I 
made frequent visits to the scene of my operations, for the pur- 
pose of marking minutely every circumstance connected with 
this experiment. 

The result of my observations was as follows :—JIn the spring 
of both seasons the foliage upon these trees was expanded as 
early as that of the other trees of the same kinds in the planta- 
tion. ‘The leaves upon the beech, the sycamore, and the elm, 
were certainly much smaller than the leaves upon the same sorts 
around them were: upon the two oaks the preparing seemed te 
take very little effect, they made more young spray in both the 
seasons than any of the other three did. But the most defective 
of all, in appearance, was the beech. Whether I had encroached 
too far upon the roots of this tree when forming the ball, or 
whether the accumulation of stagnant air within the trench in 
consequence of its being closely covered up had produced any 
bad effects, I cannot at present decide; still, I am strongly of 
opinion that the latter was the case. Whatever was the cause, 
the tree looked the most unhealthy and stunted during the whole 
period of preparation. 

On the 3rd of April, 1835, I had pits opened at the distance 
of 530 yards* from where the trees grew, and, as each was 


* Sir Henry Steuart allows haif a mile as the medium distance to which 
large trees are likely to be moved. 


H 4 


104 Transplanting of large Trees. 


brought forward and placed in its respective pit, the earth was 

well broken and firmly beaten down all round the ball. It may 

be worthy of notice, that I have my pits made wider at the bottom 

than at the mouth, and that the mouth of the pit is not much 

larger than the diameter of the ball to be inserted. Large trees | 
put into pits made after this fashion require no props. It is 

possible, that in strong clay land during a gale of wind, accom- 

panied with much rain, a tree now and then may be driven a 

little to one side, but this seldom happens if the work has been 

properly executed. 

In the winter and spring of 1837, I had upwards of 80 large 
oak trees prepared, and I find that, although I had hotter and 
drier summers to deal with, still the size of the balls given in 
the preceding table is quite capable of affording the necessary 
protection to the roots within for a number of years; at the 
same time I consider it would be an advantage if the diameter 
of the balls were increased by from 4 to 6 inches, and such a 
ball I consider large enough for any tree about to be removed 
by the preparing process. In short, if the extending roots are 
to be severed at a greater distance than 3 ft. from the plant 
all round, transplanting may as well commence at once. 

Of the above quantity which I had prepared in 1837, in the 
course of the two following seasons I removed about 60 toa 
distance of from two to three miles, and although not one of 
them may be said to have died, still my success has been but 
indifferent. Many have, in a great measure, lost their tops, but 
are beginning to throw out young spray all along some of the 
principal branches and the stem. My failure, however, will be 
easily accounted for by practical men, when I mention what I 
believe to be the chief causes. J'irst, the greater portion of my 
trees were planted after they had undergone preparation for one 
year only, and I think for trees upwards of 50 years of age, few, 
conversant with the subject, will dispute the necessity of such 
subjects being at least three years under the process. Secondly, 
having no other resource, I was compelled to take my trees from 
a sheltered place to an open field where the soil, if any thing, 
was more sterile than that in which they had been grown, while 
its surface is the most exposed and bleak of any spot in the 
county of Forfar. Thirdly, I used no compost or manure in 
planting: and last, though not least, I omitted, in planting, to 
place my trees in the same position with regard to aspect as that 
in which they were grown; at least, the chances are that this 
was the case. 

The planting of large trees in a reversed position, I believe to 
be more detrimental than many would at first suppose. All 
practical men are aware of the fact, that, when felling timber 
trees, the pith, or heart, is seldom found exactly in the centre, 


Transplanting of large Trees. 105 


as most people imagine, but is found deviating from the central 
position, and approximating to that side of the stem facing the 
south, or, at least, to that side from which the tree has received 
the greatest amount of warmth and shelter; while, on the con- 
trary, the greater part of the woody fibre has been deposited 
between the pith, or heart, and that point from which the greatest 
degree of cold proceeds. Doubtless this enlargement of the 
fibre towards the coldest aspect is a provision of nature’s to 
guard against the severity of climate, and therefore requires to 
be attended to if we would transplant successfully. 

But to return to preparation. I have still from 20 to 30 
that have not been moved, and which have stood since the winter 
of 1837 with the trenches round the balls open; these I intend 
to plant out in the course of 1842, some in April, and some in 
June, when in full leaf. At present, I consider them in the proper 
condition for removing. They seemingly have received all the 
benefits that preparing is calculated to bestow. Every season 
since they underwent the operation they have put forth leaves at 
the usual period ; but it was only last summer that they seemed 
to have recovered, and began to throw out young twigs all over 
the surface of the bark, and thereby exhibited signs of active 
vitality. 

As it may interest some of your readers, I may as well notice 
that the expense of removing the five trees at Brechin Castle 
amounted to 17s. 11d. in all, or about 3s. 7d. per tree. To this 
I may add, that the soil was light loam and easily worked ; the 
road was also good. ‘Those which I transplanted in 1838 and 
1839 were carried a distance of from two to three miles, and 
cost about 12s. a tree; this sum, great as I consider it, would 
have been still greater if I had not occupied two machines, both 
of which we loaded in the evening, the horses started in the 
morning with one of the trees, and as soon as they returned with 
the empty carriage it was loaded, while the other carriage was 
on its way, so that no time was lost. 

I shall now, in conclusion, for the use of such as may ever 
remove large trees, state a few observations connected with the 
subject, which they may keep in view. Equality of soil should, 
if possible, be studied. Ifa tree is moved from a dry soil to one 
that is rather moist, success is almost certain; but it is seldom 
that a tree taken from a damp soil will succeed on one that is 
dry. I have had experience of this again and again. Three 
years ago I removed a large horsechestnut from dry rocky 
ground into a strong, cold, clay soil, four miles off. Last sum- 
mer it flowered, and appears never to have felt any effects from 
its change. I carried back upon the carriage an oak containing 
14 ft. cubic of timber, and planted it in the field from which the 
chestnut was taken; but even with copious watering I could not 


106 Warmth and Moisture in Plant Structures. 


save it. All the head died during the first summer after plant- 
ing, and now life lingers only on one side of the stem. 
Similarity of soil and aspect will be found to be the safest 
guide in the successful removal of grown up trees; but I would 
say, above all, never attempt to move from a damp to a dry 
ground, as the chances are fifty to one against success. 
Castle Ashby, December, 1841. 


Art. VIII. On warming and moistening, and on preserving Heat 
and Moisture in Plant Structures. By N. M. T. 


Turis severe time of the year, when the climate of hothouses is 
purely artificial, and much force required to counteract the 
rigour of the natural one, affords the best opportunity to as- 
certain which of the many devices applied to effect this is really 
best adapted to the purpose. If a certain degree of heat or any 
single quality constituted a congenial atmosphere, the question 
would be of easy solution, and the many claimants of superiority 
easier brought to the test of proof; but the numerous requisites, 
and their necessarily accurate proportions, render it a most dif- 
ficult task. Whatever besides may be required, heat to a 
certain degree is indispensable ; and it is astonishing to think of 
the progress that was made, particularly in the culture of fruit, 
when this was held to be almost all that was necessary. Next 
to heat, moisture holds the most important place; nevertheless, 
until lately it was in a great measure overlooked, and, when 
taken up, has, in all probability, been carried too far; at least 
much has been scientifically urged as of the greatest importance 
that is of little moment in practice, and to which I cannot en- 
tirely subscribe. I allude more particularly to the ruinous drain 
said to exist upon the moisture of the house, caused by the dis- 
crepancy between the external and internal atmospheres. 

I object to the extent to which this has been carried, simply 
because I do not think that it is an evil of the magnitude repre- 
sented ; since, if it were, vegetation would more materially suffer, 
and preventives properly applied would prove beneficial, which 
is not the case. ‘The now nearly obsolete brick flue, by ab- 
sorbing considerable moisture from the air of the house, and 
carrying it out with the smoke and waste air, is said materially 
to aggravate the evil. ‘This to me is not evident. I am not 
going to advocate flues, being convinced that there are sub- 
stitutes vastly superior; still this is no reason that they should 
suffer any unfounded imputations. ‘The charge I consider 
nearly unfounded, for the following reasons. A piece of cast-iron 


Warmth and Moisture in Plant Structures. 107 


pipe, heated to the same degree as an equal surface of bricks, 
will extract the moisture from any substance (a wet cloth, for 
example) as readily, which must be admitted; and the two 
bodies will act upon the moisture contained in air in the same 
manner. But it is said that the moisture extracted by the heated 
pipe is driven into the body of the house, while the brick surface 
absorbs, and carries it out of the house. I think not, as the 
moisture extracted in the process of drying the piece of cloth 
instanced is turned into palpable vapour, and also palpably 
driven back into the house; or, rather, being rarefied, it flies 
upwards until it comes in contact with the radiating and cooling 
surface of the glass roof, where it is condensed, and falls into 
the house, or is carried into the gutter outside, as the case may 
be; but in either case it is driven back by the heated or ex- 
tracting surface, with which, unless confined, it cannot possibly 
be brought in contact. ‘Therefore, unless the invisible part of 
such moisture is governed by laws different from those which 
govern the grosser, or visible, part, which is improbable, perhaps 
impossible, the above theory falls to the ground; that is, 
while the flues are hotter than the air, or substances that sur- 
round them, as, if I conclude aright, moisture is repelled (and 
cannot be absorbed) by any thing hotter than itself. When 
flues, after being heated and all the moisture they contain driven 
off, become cold, then, it is true, they will greedily absorb mois- 
ture until they are equally saturated with the air, or substances 
that surround them; but, when heat is again applied, the inside 
of the flue is first acted upon, and consequently the greatest 
part of even this moisture is driven back, as may be observed, 
by the steam created upon the application of heat to a flue in 
this condition. ‘Thus, as regards moisture, I do not see much 
to prefer in pipes, to flues heated to the same degree: but the 
greater objection to which flues must ever be liable, is their 
aptness to become heated to a destructive extent, while pipes can 
never be so heated. 

Having thus stated why I think the quantity of moisture 
absorbed of no moment, I will state why I consider that the 
aridity said to prevail in plant-houses has also been overrated, 
and mention, in support of this, some simple facts that are every 
day occurring before the eyes of the observant. Suppose a 
day of strong sunshine (during hard weather) when air has 
been freely admitted; then draw up your sashes, and fasten the 
ends of the cords, or sash-lines, that hold them up, to holdfasts 
in the wall; then go at midnight, or any other time after strong 
fires and radiations have (as is held forth) reduced the in- 
ternal air to a very cinder of its former self. Under such cir- 
cumstances, aggravate them as you may, examine your sashes, 


108 Warmth and Moisture in Plant Structures. 


and mark the result; they, from additional moisture, will have 
become so contracted, that any sash not pulled quite home at 
the time of shutting up will be found drawn up possibly an 
inch, and the lines of those drawn close in the first instance 
will be so tightened that it is difficult to untie them, tightened 
in fact, almost to snapping. Yet, recollect that these infallible 
hygrometers, previously to being fastened, were steeped, if I 
may so express it, in air containing moisture in its natural pro- 
portions; and it appears incredible to me that they should gain 
this after-excess in an atmosphere destitute of it, nor can I well 
conceive how living vegetables can be starved for want of that 
_which inert vegetable matters, confined in the same place, re- 
ceive in such superabundance. 

Then, in conclusion, I contend that, were the evil not over- 
rated, the application of perfect preventives would be pro- 
ductive of beneficial results; but this is not the case. I do not 
speak this unadvisedly, it is a conclusion that has been forced 
upon me by experience, in defiance of previous prepossessions 
to the contrary; after a constant trial of five years’ duration, and 
after paying all the attention I am capable of to the subject 
during that time, I do not consider them beneficial. My pre- 
decessor considered them highly injurious; I do not go so far 
as this, but admit that, without great caution in using them, 
they would no doubt prove so. ‘The preventives of radiation 
mentioned consist of well made wooden shutters, fitted as 
closely as most parlour doors, perfectly water-tight, and all but 
air-tight, and being, when applied, about 2 in. from the glass. 
The space between soon becomes filled with heated air, render- 
ing them most economical, and capable of affording a most 
comfortable security during seasons of extreme severity ; and in 
these respects they have my warmest approbation. But I have 
only been considering them as auxiliaries to the creation of 
congenial atmospheres for plants, and finding that they very 
materially lessen the supposed cause of an ungenial one, without 
producing a corresponding improvement, I have concluded that 
the cause is undeserving of the importance that has been 
attached to it. Without extreme caution in the application of 
such preventives, the worst effects will soon become apparent. 
Although I am not prepared to say why, I find that, upon the 
shutters being put on, the internal temperature is raised about 
five degrees or thereabouts in ordinary circumstances, in cases 
of cold rain or high winds more, therefore the injury they cause 
may probably proceed from this; the plants are enclosed in total 
darkness, with an almost instantaneous and most unnatural in- 
crease of temperature, in some measure maintained through the 
night, and the same amount of depression when the shutters are 


Fastening Mats or other Sash- Coverings. 109 


removed, and light admitted in the morning. In houses heated 
by combustion this can in some measure be guarded against, 
but in those heated by fermenting substances the evil becomes 
ageravated ; and to structures heated by such materials I cannot 
see the utility of this application, as economy here cannot be the 
motive; materials capable of maintaining a sufficient temperature 
during a sunless winter’s day will in all cases be sufficient 
during night, when a fall of temperature is so beneficial; yet 
these structures are covered more than all others, the evils not 
becoming so apparent, possibly because the plants there con- 
tained are generally but of annual growth. The debilitating 
effect of covering houses heated by fire is particularly per- 
ceptible in vineries, probably from the position that the plants 
occupy in the house. ‘Thus, were economy not a material ob- 
ject, heating power at command, and the good of the plants the 
only consideration, I certainly should add no covering to the glass 
roof. The scientific may well smile at the homely argu ents 
here used, but they are level to the capacity of many interested, 
who (like the writer) could not discuss them in a more phi- 
losophical manner. 
Folkstone, January 14. 1842. 


Art. IX. On a Mode of securely fastening Mats or other wove 
Coverings on the Sashes of Pits and Frames. By H.C. OGte. 


Tuer following is the description of a method of securely 
fastening mats or other coverings on pits and frames: it is su- 
perior to any other mode I am acquainted with, and, I believe, 
requires but to be known, to be generally adopted. It effectually 
answers the purpose it is intended for, is not expensive, is easy 
of application, and entirely obviates the necessity of driving some 
scores of nails every night, or of having a quantity of boaids 
lying in all directions in the melon ground, for the purpose of 
placing on the covering of the frames, to prevent its being 
blown away. The breakage of glass by this latter method is 
usually a large item in the glazier’s account, which the plan I 
am about to describe will be a saving of. This is of great 
importance, independently altogether of its other merit. There 
are at this place about fifty lights fitted with wires, and: I know 
of no objection to them whatever. 

Three pieces of iron, of the form of fig. 5. a, are screwed on 
to the end of the frame, one piece at the top, another at the 
bottom, and the other in the middle, so that the top of the iron 
is about 2 in. above the light; on the opposite end, three pieces, 
of the form of c, are screwed on at the same distances as a; b is 


110 Ornamental Trees and Shrubs from Hamburg. 


a side view of a, and d is a side view of c. A wire, three eighths 
of an inch in diameter, and rather longer than the frame it is 


Fig. 5. Details of Wire Fastenings for keeping Mats on Frames ; one sixth of the full size. > 


intended for, must be made with a loop at one end (f), to place 
over the iron d; the other end must be fitted with a thumb- 
screw (¢), to screw up the wire when it is placed in the notch g, 
which should be counter-sunk in the centre. Small hooks should 
be driven in the frames, either front or back, to lay the wires in 
when not in use. ‘The irons for the middle wire may be put on 
so that it may be screwed at the opposite end to the other two. 

It may be proper to add that the mode of fastening on mats 
is the invention of Mr. Smith, my predecessor, and the present 
steward. — Rosehill, Sussex, Jan. 1842. 


Arr. X. Notice of some Ornamental Trees and Shrubs recently sent 
to Britain by Messrs. Booth of Hamburg. By Joun Booru. 


[Having written to Messrs. Booth for some account of the Acer célchicum, 
for the Supplement to the Abridgement of our Arboretum Britannicum, they 
kindly sent us what follows.] 


A‘cER célchicum, named thus by Hartwiss, is indigenous to the 
Abchasian country, which lies between lat. 42° 30’ and 44° 45’N., 
and between long. 37° 3’ and 40° 36’E. The bark, particularly 
of the young shoots, has a greenish colour, resembling in this 
respect that of the Negéndo fraxinifolia, while the leaf resembles 
that of the A’cer Lobelzz. Hartwiss and Steven are decided in 
considering it a distinct species. Along with this species I im- 
ported a variety of it, which I have named 

A*cer célchicum var. rubrum Booth. In point of appearance, 
this is the more desirable tree of the two. From the beginning 
of the season till late in autumn, the leaves are of a bright 
pinkish purple colour, and the bark is brownish. The first 
plants that were sent to Kurope I received from Professor Hart- 
wiss. Both the species and the variety have here proved hardy. 
Plants in our arboretum, exposed and unprotected during the 
winter of 1840-41, sustained no injury whatever. 


Ornamental Trees and Shrubs from Hamburg. ; 111 


In order to fill up the sheet, I shall mention a few other de- 
sirable trees and shrubs, some of which may not yet be known 
to you. 

Acer campéstre frictu rubro. This variety has red-coloured 
keys. 

Avcer campéstre heterocarpum. A variety from Austria, with 
variously formed and twisted keys. 

A’cer campéstre tatricum. Of more rapid growth than the 
species with larger leaves. 

Picea Nordmanniana Steven. Gard. Mag., 1839, p. 226.; 
and Arb. Brit. Abridged, p. 1042. fig. 1950. A handsome, and 
certainly distinct, species of silver fir from the south-western 
Caucasus. ‘The leaves are about an inch long, and obtuse, thickly 
crowded, and of a dark green above; beneath they have two 
silvery glaucous stripes. 

The plants in my collection are imported, and about five years 
old. ‘The branches have a tendency to droop or to become 
pendulous, which gives the plants a graceful appearance. From 
its native country and habitat, I expect it will prove hardy. 

A‘Inus denticulata Fischer. A new species from Russia, sent 
by Dr. Fischer. I have received no description with it, and can 
therefore only state that it is a tree of vigorous rapid growth, 
and hardy, with very large and somewhat indented leaves. 

Fdeus sylvatica var. cochleata Booth. <A very distinct new 
variety, with spoon-shaped leaves ; curious and ornamental. 

Quércus rubra taraxacifolia Booth. Raised from seeds im- 
ported from North America. ‘The habit of the original plant 
is slender and graceful ; it is five years old and 7 ft. high. The 
dandelion-shaped leaves give it a highly interesting appearance. 
It is one of the most distinct varieties I know. 

Sophora japdnica pubéscens Hort. ‘The upper surface of the 
leaf is smooth and shining; beneath it is hairy. 

Genista thyrsiflora Booth. Raised from seed from the South 

of Kurope; a very ornamental hardy shrub, growing about 4 ft. 
high, with large clusters of yellow flowers, quite expressive of 
the specific name. 
_ Carpinus Bétulus heterophijlla Booth. A curious variety or 
sub-species. Some branches of the tree are covered with leaves 
quite similar to the common hornbeam, whilst others on the same 
tree have small indented leaves. 

Atragene sibirica flore albo Booth. A. sibirica Arb. Brit, 
Abridged, p. 17. fig. 27. Raised from seeds of Atragene si- 
birica. Pure white flowers, very ornamental. 

Hédera Helix var. tatrica. A distinct variety, with very small 
dark green leaves, and of less vigorous growth than the spe- 
cies. 


112 Remarks on ornamental Forestry. 


Rhdmnus prunifolius Booth. A shrub from North America, 
with small curled leaves, and of stinted growth. Quite hardy. 

Cytisus purpitreus incarnatus Booth. This is a beautiful new 
variety, with large pale flesh-coloured, or blush flowers, between 
C. purpureus and C. p. flore albo. Raised here from seed. It 
is very distinct, and a desirable ornamental shrub. 

Frdxinus oxyphilla tatrica. This variety has much smaller 
and more graceful leaves than the species. It is quite hardy. 

Filottbeck Nurseries, Jan. 4. 1842. 


ArT. XI. Remarks on ornamental Forestry. By A.S.M. 


ORNAMENTAL trees require not the assistance of the pruner. 
Their branches should be secure from the unhallowed inter- 
ference of his chisel and his knife. But, though trees intended 
for ornament should be thus left to grow as they please as 
regards pruning, they can never form a pleasing feature in the 
landscape unless much attention is paid to the manner of 
grouping them when at first planted. When a piece of ground 
is planted with an exclusive view to profit, the trees are gene- 
rally placed at equal distances over the surface of the ground, 
each one, of course, in the soil it loves best; whereas, in plant- 
ing for effect, not only have trees to be placed in the soil most ~ 
favourable to their growth, but the different forms of their 
heads, their connexion with each other and with the surrounding 
scenery, must all be considered before a line is staked out or a 
spade put into the ground. Are you planting in the bottom of 
a narrow valley by the sides of a running brook, then plant 
your collection of salixes there, and next them your poplars, 
that it may be known from a distance that water is there. Take 
care, however, not to fill all the bottom of the valley with tall- 
growing trees, else you will make it appear that there is no 
valley there at all. Leave open spaces here and there, that the 
surface of the ground may be seen, and the windings of the 
brook traced from the neighbouring rising grounds. As you 
ascend the sides of the valley, let the ash and the elm give place 
to the oak; and so on till you reach the summit of the rocks, 
where the pine tribes love to strike their roots and wave to the 
winter’s blast. If there is a green knoll at the place, it must be 
left bare, and surrounded by the beech and the oak, the moon- 
Jight screen of the fairy inhabitants of all such green mounds, 
and mushrooms should be introduced to serve them for tables to 
sit around on their feast nights. 
Perthshire, Dec. 1841. 


Cutting out and naming Labels for French Roses. 113 


Art. XII. On the Cultivation of the Genus Lobelia. 
By G. FIELDER. 


Havine been very successful in the cultivation of this peculiarly 
interesting family of plants, and thinking my method of growing 
them may be of service to some of the readers of the Gardener’s 
Magazine, 1 forward it you for insertion in that useful and 
interesting publication, if you consider it worthy a place there. 

About the last week in February, or the first in March, I 
take off as many suckers from the old stools as I require for 
bedding out in the summer, and pot them ina mixture of loam, 
peat, and sand, in 60-sized pots; I then place them in a heat of 
65°. When the pots are filled with roots, I pot them in 48-sized, 
and replace them in the same temperature. Ina little time they 
require to be shifted into 32-sized pots, and should then be placed 
in a greenhouse for a week or ten days; and afterwards in a cold 
frame to harden off, where they are to remain till they are 
turned out in beds in the flower-garden, which are prepared in 
the following manner. In the beginning of May, the soil is to 
be taken out to the depth of 1 ft., “and the bottom loosened up; 
the bed is then filled to within 2 in. of the top with one half loam, 
rather stiff than light, and one half good rotten dung from a 
cucumber or melon bed; it is afterwards filled up with some of the 
soil that was taken out, and as soon as settled, the plants are 
turned out at about 1 ft. apart, the highest in the centre. 

The species I have thus cultivated are cardinalis, spléndens, 
propinqua, and syphilitica. Plants thus grown begin to flower 

early in July, and continue to do so through the autumn, in a ~ 

manner that well repays the extra trouble “of this mode of cul- 
tivation; as a proof of which, I exhibited a specimen of pro- 
pinqua, last September, at the Battle and Hastings Horticultural 
Show, for which I was awarded the first prize for hardy plants : 
it measured 6 in. in circumference at the base of the stem, and 
the height of the centre spike was 5 ft.; it attracted the universal 
admiration of the company present. 

Bohemia Park Gardens, January, 1842. 


- Art. XIII. On cutting out and naming Labels for French Roses. 
By I. Twice. 

I sEND an economical mode of cutting and naming labels for rose 

trees for the Gardeners’ Magazine, if you deem it worthy of a 


place there. 
3d Ser.—1842. II. I 


114 Cutting out and naming Labels for French Roses. 


Fig. 6., of one half the regular size, shows how to cut the 
awa out with little waste. 


———— 


F 


Fig. 6. A Piece of Zinc or Sheet Lead marked for cutting into Labels. 


Fig. 7. is a label of the full size, which is 3 in. long by 1 in. 
broad, with a neck 1 in. in length, which gives room for the 
number and abbreviation, and also the wire “6 fasten it to the 
tree. ‘The labels may be cut to any size required, by letting the 
neck occupy only one third the length of the label; but the size 
shown at fig. 7. will be found sufficient for rose trees. ‘The labels 
may be cut out of sheet lead, and the names indented with steel 
types, or out of zinc plate, and painted. 


Fig. 7. Zinc Label. 


Tin labels painted of an invisible green, with white letters, 
and varnished over with copal varnish, would be more elegant. 

Zinc labels would be more durable than tin ones; but I have 
mentioned the former on account of their being so easily cut 
with a pair of shears. 

As the greater part of the names of roses are French, it would 


Forcing the Melon for early Eruct. 15 


be better to write them with a hair pencil than to indent them 
with type, because, in the former case, the accents and cedilla 
may be added to them with ease; for, if they be left out, it would 
puzzle a person, not a French scholar, to pronounce them pro- 
perly. A memorandum book will be required, in which the 
names must be arranged according to their classes, and each 
class numbered separately, that is, each class must commence witb 
No. 1.; which number and abbreviation will be found convenient 
in case of budding. As some of the names are to be found in 
several of the classes, it is necessary to have an abbreviation of 


7] 


the class and number of the rose on the label, as shown in fg. 7. 


The following is a list of the abbreviations : — 


A.  - Alba. Mic. - Microphylla. 

Au. B. Austrian Briar. Min. - Miniature. 

B.  - Bourbon. Ms. - Moss. 

C. - China. Mk. - Musk. 

D.  - Damask. N. - Noisette. 

D. Per. Damask Perpetual. Per. - Perpetual. 

G. - Gallica. Pr. - Provence. 

H.C. Hybrid China. S._- Sulphurea. 

H. Per. Hybrid Perpetual. Sc. - Scotch. 

H. Pr. Hybrid Provence. S. B. - Sweet Briar. 

H. S. B. Hybrid Sweet Briar. T. - Tea-scented China. 
Mac. - Macartney. 

The following are climbers : — 

Cl. A. Climbing Ayrshire. Cl. E. Climbing Evergreen. 
Cl. Bk. _— Banksian. Cl. M. — Multiflora. 
Cl. Br. — Boursault. Cl. H. — Hybrid. 


In writing the names, the letters should be placed at 
equal distances, except between words, which should be a 
little further apart. Short names will go in one line; but the 
name should occupy nearly the whole length of the label, and 
not with the letters crammed in a heap in the middle of the 
line, which gives them an unsightly appearance. 

To the writer of the names, Wood and Son’s Deseriptive 
Catalogue of Roses would be found very useful, the names being 
accented according to the French language. 

Osberton, December 16. 1841. 


Art. XIV. On forcing the Melon for early Fruit. 
By R. B. Wiuson. 


As it is drawing towards the time when it is necessary to com- 
mence forcing the melon for early fruit, I beg leave to lay before 
your readers a few remarks on that head. ‘The method that I 
have adopted with success varies, in some respects, from what is 
12 


116 Forcing the Melon for early Fruit. 


generally recommended, although I cannot boast of producing 
an artificial climate by means of a Az/logie under my plants, as 


described by Mr. Forsyth, but rather 


“ Of arts disclosed in ancient days I sing, 
And venture to unlock the sacred spring.” 


I only plant a single seed in a 48-sized pot, filled half full of 
rich light soil, by which means the plant can be earthed up with- 
out repotting, and consequently sustains no check by that pro- 
cess. I also only plant a single plant to each light for a common- 
sized frame; those I use are 9 ft. by 6 ft. In the second place, I 
do not use any dung in my soil, for three reasons: viz. it causes 
the plants to grow too rampant and vigorous to bear well; it 
impairs the flavour of the fruit they do bear; and the plants are 
more susceptible of disease when they are so robust; not to 
mention large foliage, which ought to be avoided in the early 
part of the season. To some this may appear rather paradoxical, 
and especially to vegetable physiologists, who will say that one 
well-developed leaf is worth two small ones. I perfectly coincide 
in that opinion ; nevertheless, a sufficient quantity of light is an 
indispensable requisite in the early part of the year. I am well 
aware that a proper quantity of foliage, in a healthy state, is as 
indispensably necessary to enable the plant to nourish a good 
crop of fruit; but, without a perfect command of light, we must 
be content with a medium size of foliage. How frequently do 
we hear gardeners complaining that their plants have run all 
over the bed without setting their fruit! and, after properly ex- 
amining into the case, as often do we find the cause arising from 
the plants being too luxuriant; and yet they inform us that the 
seed was old, and the soil well trodden down. But when that 
soil is examined, it is found to be either too rich, or that the 
roots have got down into the dung. 

The soil I use is the top sward or turf of a pasture that has 
lain in grass for a considerable number of years, where sheep or 
other cattle have been kept; it is a strong hazelly loam. This 
is chopped small, and frequently turned throughout the winter 
before using. Previously to putting any soil into the bed, I| turf 
the surface of the bed all over, and likewise up the sides of the 
frame, which prevents the roots from extending into the dung ; 
and the turf up the sides of the frame guards the roots from 
being burnt by the linings after the frame is raised up, which 
must be done when the plants are earthed up for the last time, 
to keep the glass a sufficient distance from the foliage. The 
depth of soil that I use is 2 ft., whatever structure the plants are 
grown in. 

I keep my young plants as stiff as possible ; and, when planted 
out into the hills, I train one shoot to the front and another to 


Forcing the Melon for early Fruit. ng: 


the back of the frame, never stopping them till they reach to 
within 1 ft. of the sides, back and front, when that operation 
is performed: this causes them to produce a lateral shoot at 
every joint, which must be pegged down in a horizontal direction. 
These laterals will generally show fruit at the first or second 
joint, which must be carefully impregnated, and the laterals must 
be stopped back to one leaf before the fruit a few days afterwards. 
By leaving them unstopped for a few days after impregnation, the 
fruit is not so apt to get yellow, and to damp off. If it happens 
that three or four female flowers expand before the general 
expansion, they must be nipped off; otherwise they will rob 
the later ones of their due share of nourishment, and con- 
sequently prevent their coming to perfection. When the fruit is 
all set, I prune off entirely such of the laterals as have no fruit on 
them; in consequence of which, no more vine is left to exhaust 
the plants than what is absolutely wanted. The state of the beds 
will require to be properly attended to from the time of the plants 
being planted out till they mature their fruit, that they may sus- 
tain no injury; for, if they once receive a check, disease is certain 
to follow. 

A brisk growing heat must be kept up, according to the state 
of the weather ; and air must be freely admitted every day, more 
or less, as the weather will permit ; and if any error be committed 
it had better be on the side of air than otherwise, as the want of 
it tends greatly to weaken the plants, and melon plants do not 
fruit well unless they are grown stubby. ‘To guard against cut- 
ting winds, which are prevalent in the early part of the season, 
it will be advisable to fasten a slip of bast matting along the back 
of the frame to fold over the opening while air is admitted; this 
will soften the air as it passes into the frame. Water, at the 
roots of the plants, must be given very sparingly: indeed, when 
they have the depth of soil that I have recommended, it will not 
be necessary to give them any more of that element than a slight 
sprinkling over the foliage occasionally in fine weather, and a 
little manure water at the roots when their fruit is swelling off, 
which aids them greatly whilst they are in that stage of their 
growth. An extreme portion, however, must be guarded against ; 
as there is nothing in the culture of the melon that is so pernicious 
as an excess of water at the roots; not even excepting the Persian 
varieties, which, I find, are apt to have their thin and tender skin 
burst by this means. 

I cover the surface of the soil in the bed with fine pit or river 
sand, in place of the general practice of laying down slates or 
pantiles, which form a secure harbour for woodlice. ‘The sand 
answers the same purpose as slates, and also effectually excludes 


woodlice from the frame. Many cures have been prescribed for 
I 3 


118 Cultivation and Management of Pear Trees. 


these pests in melon, pine, and other pits, where they harbour in 
the walls, &c.; there is none better than introducing a few toads 
into melon pits. In pine pits, they can easily be destroyed by 
pouring water on the bark and walls while turning, and dashing 
the walls with hot lime-water. 

_ For all my crops of melons, except the first of each sort, I 
prefer plants raised from cuttings, of which I plant three in each 
light ; but this method is fully described in a former volume by 
Mr. Alexander Forsyth. 

The sorts that I grow are the Black Siam, and Cuthill’s 
scarlet flesh, as early varieties; the Egyptian green flesh, Don- 
kins’s improved, the Ispahan, and Germek Persian, for flavour. 

Norton, January 1. 1842. 


Art.XV. On the Cultivation and Management of Pear Trees, prior 
to their being trained against a Wall, including Horizontal and Fan 
Training. By A Lover or Horricutrure. 


First, for a horizontal-trained tree, which has been one year 
grafted, containing three shoots of equal strength, the centre 
shoot should be trained from the graft perpendicularly, and the 
two side-shoots should also be trained from their earliest ap- 
pearance; which, if attended to, is so much easier done than by 
the usual mode of allowing the three shoots to grow up the first 
year from the graft in their own rude crooked way, which 
position pears are naturally inclined to pursue. For a fan- 
trained -tree of the first year’s growth, I select two shoots of 
equal strength, not allowing more to grow the first season. 
Plants of the above description I have removed, in the month of 
November, from the spot on which they were grafted, to a very 
different quarter of land, with the best success. ‘The ground in 
which they are to be replanted should be trenched as deep as 
practicable, and, if necessary, the subsoil should be moved; but, , 
in general, I think it best to leave it undisturbed. These trees 
I plant at a distance of 3 ft. apart, and in the course of two 
years they make fine trees, quite large enough to plant against a 
wall, where I make a preparation of good loamy maiden earth, 
from 21 ft. to 3 ft. deep, and from 10 ft. to 12 ft. wide, for 
the reception of the trees. If the soil is of a strong clayey sub- 
stance, it should be thoroughly drained, that it may lie healthy. 
If gravelly or sandy, I would recommend it to be taken out 
1 ft. or more, soil to be substituted, and the 2 ft. to 3 ft. 
on the top, as before mentioned, of good loamy earth. When 
these trees are in their places against a wall, they are at a dis- 
tance of from 12 ft. to 15 ft. apart. 


Preserving Green Peas from Birds. 119 


The centre shoot of horizontal trees should be cut back from 
three to five eyes. ‘The fan trees should be cut back according to 
their strength, until the wall is filled up with shoots from 9 in. 
to 15in. apart. A pear wall, if well managed, may be filled in 
about seven or nine years; and, by attending to them in the fol- 
lowing manner, the trees may in that time be in a good bearing 
state. 

The second year after planting I take up the trees in the 
month of November, and do not allow a root to be injured. All 
cross or over-strong roots should be cut away; the border 
should be well worked up, and a few barrows of good maiden 
loam should be added to each tree: then be careful, in planting 
the trees, to spread all their roots out as regularly as you would 
train their branches, and the nearer the surface the better. If 
the tree the next year be too strong, pursue the same course; 
and you will find, by adopting this mode of treatment, in the 
before-mentioned number of years, you may have a wall covered 
with good fruitful trees: whereas, nine times out of ten, you 
see nothing but wood of the most unfruitful description. 

I have, in the course of the last twenty years, grown about 
250 sorts; and, by constantly removing the trees, I have had a 
good crop of fine pears on trees not more than four years old. 
By this method you may remove a tree of twenty years of age. 
I have made it my constant practice, to make a solution of soft 
soap and sulphur, mixed with soot and cow-dung, and to have 
the trees painted with it in the beginning of February, when I 
always recommend pears to be pruned and nailed. 

Exeter, January 2. 1842. 


Art. XVI. Preserving Green Peas from Birds. 
+ By J. WicuTon. 


GarpDENERs are well aware that birds often injure their crops of 
peas by puncturing, or rather ripping up, the pods, for the sake 
of their contents. ‘The house sparrow and the large titmouse 
are very mischievous in this respect, and it is difficult to prevent 
them from doing so either by trapping or shooting; for the 
former bird is very shy of a trap, and, at the period alluded to, 
the latter is so adroit amongst rows of peas that he can scarcely 
be got sight of. 

As these birds seldom attack peas until the autumn, I am led 
to think they are compelled to do so for want of more favourite 
food. In this opinion I am confirmed by repeated observations. 


Last season I had a row of wheat standing near to my peas, and. 
I 4 


120 Preserving Green Peas from Birds. 


I found that the former was invariably attacked in preference to 

the latter, so that I conclude that if the simple means alluded 

to were adopted, our crops of green peas might be preserved 

uninjured. Many, no doubt, will object to this plan, on the 

score that it is absurd to feed such destructive enemies to our 

crops; but when it is known that, with the exception of the 
bulfinch, the most of birds frequenting our gardens are more. 
useful than otherwise, the objection will be overcome. The 

good they do as scavengers, and in destroying insects, far out- 

weighs the thefts they commit; and surely their presence adds - 
much to the living beauty of a garden. 

I may mention that bee-keepers have a grudge against the 
large titmouse, on the ground that he eats their bees. I can- 
not clear him from this charge, still I think it is exaggerated. 
Mr. Mudie says, “ the birds hawk for insects upon the wing ; 
they catch bees in that way, and also hover about and pick them 
up when they are busy in the nectaries of flowers.” Jn vain 
have I tried to ascertain if that be fact. I question if the bird 
attacks bees at all, except in winter, when the weather is severe. 
He may at that season be seen hovering about apiaries, picking 
up the dead bees; and when hard pressed, he has the slyness 
to rap at the entrance of the hives, and snap up the inmates as 
they appear. 

But, to return to my subject, the plan mentioned will not 
keep off the thievish jays from peas. Shooting or trapping must 
be resorted to. When caught, it is useless to hang them up, 
with the view of frightening away their neighbours, for they: 
will perch close beside the dead: neither is the cruel plan of 
leaving a bird screeching all day in a trap of any use; indeed, it 
only brings more to see what is amiss. The jay, though a shy 
bird, is not frightened, like the rook, by this barbarous plan. All 
kinds of birds soon get used to scarecrows. I differ from those 
that put faith in coloured yarn being a sure one. 

I have forbade the bulfinch a place in the garden, because he 
destroys the buds of trees and bushes, and does nothing I am 
aware of to compensate for such a loss. ‘This is not the case 
with the house sparrow; it is astonishing the quantity of cater- 
pillars he destroys. In the breeding season, it is said, that a 
pair of these birds will destroy 3,400 in a week. If I am not 
mistaken, some assert that the bulfinch only attacks buds for 
the insects they contain, but the havoc he commits is certainly 
too great to allow of this idea. Still I am of opinion that he 
only attacks buds when seeds, his favourite food, are scarce. 
Some blame the sparrow and the large titmouse for picking out 
the bud of gooseberries, but this I never could discover. Dur- 
ing last February, the buds of my gooseberry bushes were 


Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 121 


destroyed by birds, and though the individuals just mentioned 
were blamed for it, I accidentally discovered a pair of bulfinches 
very busy in committing the mischief. 

Cossey Gardens, Jan. 4. 1842. 


REVIEWS. 


‘ART. 1. Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London. Second 
Series. Vol. II. Part V. 4to. London, 1840. 


(Continued from the “ Gardener's Magazine”’ for 1840, p. 513.) 


38. METEOROLOGICAL Journal. 


39. Upon raising Coniferous Plants from Seed. By Mr. George Gordon, 
Under Gardener in the Hardy Department of the Society’s Garden. Read 
Dec. 3. 1839. 


This is a most valuable and satisfactory article, and will be of great use at 
the present time, when so many seeds of pines and firs are being sent home 
from Mexico and the Himalayas. Seedlings of the Abiétine, more especially 
of the genus Pinus proper, are extremely subject to damping off just above 
the ground, when they have newly come up, and for a few days afterwards, 
more particularly in wet weather. To avoid this evil, Mr. Gordon “tried the 
effect of sowing the seeds in various mixtures of peat, sand, and loam, mixed 
in various proportions from nearly all sand to nearly all peat or loam, as well 
as sand, loam, and peat separately, and also leaf mould, a soil strongly recom- 
mended by some, but in all respects as bad as peat itself. Different depths, 
too, were tried, from laying the seeds on the surface of the earth, to covering 
them three fourths of an inch deep. The pots or pans in which the seeds 
were sown were placed in various temperatures, from the open air to the hot- 
bed; some of them were even placed over the hot flue; some were covered 
with a bell-glass; others were left exposed. The result of my experience is, 
that the system hereafter detailed is the only certain and sure one for Conifer 
of all kinds.” 

There are some species, however, which Mr. Gordon finds succeed tole- 
rably well if sown in the open air, provided the seeds are fresh. “ These are 
more especially species of Picea, Abies, Larix, and Cedrus, as well as of 
Juniperus, Cupressus, and Thuja ; but they must be sown as early as possible 
in the spring or summer, for, if sown in the autumn or winter, they also are 
subject to damp off, particularly if any artificial heat is used; a thing abso- 
solutely necessary if the seeds are sown in winter, or have been long gathered, 
or damaged by being overheated on the journey.” 

If the following rules are attended to, many coniferous seeds now rejected 
as worthless will be found to succeed : — 

*“], Always to sow the seeds directly they are received, whether in mid- 
winter or midsummer, or any other time of the year. 

«2. Always to sow the seeds in pure loam ; not to use the least particle of 
peat, and as little sand as possible. All the seeds experimentally sown in 
peat, or any mixture in which it was used, damped off, especially when there 
was more peat than loam used in the mixture. The only chance of saving 
young plants raised in such a compost is to keep them as dry as possible, and 
to pot them off the first or second day after they are fairly up ; for, if left 
twenty-four hours longer, it is very probable they will nearly all have damped 
off, particularly if a little water is given, or it happens to be damp or wet 
weather at the time. — 


122 Transactions of the London Horticultural Soczety. 


“3. Always to sow the seeds in dry loam; to give very little water until 
the seeds are fairly up, and then only sparingly. 

“4. To cause the seeds to vegetate as quickly as possible after sowing, 
more particularly if the seeds are old or damaged, taking great care, how- 
ever, that, before they are fairly above ground, they are removed to a much 
cooler place, where there is plenty of light and air, and they can be secured 
from frost. 

“5, Not to let the young seedlings remain very long in the seed-pots before 
they are potted off, and to give plenty of air to them after they are potted, 
with as little artificial heat as possible. 

«6, Always to plant them out in the open ground after the second year. 
If pines are kept any length of time in pots, especially if not regularly shifted 
twice a year, their roots become pot-bound ; and as they are a race of plants 
which make few roots, and those always near the surface of the ground, they 
are almost sure, if confined many years in pots, to be blown over or to one 
side; and, when this has once happened, they hardly ever become firm, or 
make handsome trees.” 


40. On the Improvement of the Wild Carrot. By M. Vilmorin, F.M.H.S. 
Read March 3. 1840. 


This paper contains the history of an experiment noticed in our Volume 
for 1840, p. 296., by which M. Vilmorin, in the course of four generations, 
raised between 1833 and 1839, succeeded in obtaiming carrots from the wild 
carrot nearly as good as those in cultivation. M. Vilmorin began by sowing 
seeds of the wild carrot in rich soil, and transplanting the roots, and saving 
seeds from them ; and he repeated the operation four times, always choosing 
the plants which had the largest and most succulent roots. The experiment 
is interesting, as showing how readily some plants may be civilised ; and it 
is impossible to say to what extent this may be carried in the vegetable 
kingdom. 


41. Upon forcing the Peach Tree. By Mr. Robert Errington, Gardener to 
Sir Philip De Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., F.H.S., Oulton Park, 
Cheshire. Read Jan. 21. 1840. 


The house has metallic sash-bars, is 30 ft. long, 12 ft. wide, and 3 ft. high in 
front, with a trellis under the roof, and 14in. from it ; except at the base 
of the trellis, which is 3 ft. from the front sashes, in order to allow of a walk 
to give air. The roof is at an angle of 50°, and is consequently rather steep 
than flat. The front sashes rest on a low wall, built on arches, and the tree, 
a noblesse peach, is planted inside; consequently, it has roots both within the 
house and without. The house, built by Mr. Jones of Birmingham, is heated 
by him with hot water. The lap of the glass is curvilinear and closed, except 
a small hole in the centre of the curve for the escape of condensed steam. 
The border was excavated to the depth of 4:2 in., and the width of 21 ft. The 
subsoil is a clean red sand, presenting an inclined surface of nearly 1 in. 
to 1 ft. 

“ After laying a complete system of drainage, the whole surface was covered 
1 ft. in depth with old bricks and stones ; on this was laid 3in. of lime rub- 
bish, out of which all small particles had been carefully sifted. The lime 
rubbish being formed to an even surface, was covered entirely over with thin 
turfs of heath soil, cut about 1 ft. square, and placed horizontally, barely 
touching each other; and, finally, a sprinkling of small gravel stones was 
swept into all the crevices: the whole was now covered to the depth of 24 in. 
with a compost as follows : 

“Good maiden loam, fresh from an old pasture, half-way between strong 
and light, of a yellow colour, 12; leaves from the park, in a fresh state, 3 ; 
horse-dung, 2; sharp sand, 1; bone waste, 2. These ingredients were, of 
course, thoroughly blended together. 


Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 123 


“ The largest, cleanest, and best-formed tree on the open walls was selected ; 
and the roots, having been cut the year previous to check luxuriance, were, of 
course, in good condition for removal. The greatest care was taken during 
the process of removal, as to preserving the roots free from wounds, &c., but 
no soil was left adhering to them ; they were, however, kept continually wet 
until the tree was fixed in its proper situation. The tree was so large that it 
required ten men to carry it to the hole ; and, after having all the wood care- 
fully strapped together in groups, it was lifted through the roof of the house, 
and thence lowered into its situation. The time of removal was the end of 
January. The pruning-knife had been most severely applied to the young 
wood previously to removal, more especially as regards thinning; but the old 
wood was not interfered with, as I have a strong objection to cutting large or 
old wood from peach trees, unless in cases of strong necessity. 

“The tree, once placed in its situation, every fibre was of course as care- 
fully trained as the shoots, taking care to carry a large portion of the superior 
roots through the front arches into the outside border. In the first week 
of February the tree was dressed all over with a mixture of soft soap, sul- 
phur, and tobacco-water, rubbed carefully into every crevice; and, when 
perfectly dry, the wounds caused by pruning were coated over with thick 
paint.” 

About the middle of February forcing commenced, with 50° of heat by 
day, and 36° by night. Morning and evening, all the season, the house was 
profusely steamed, except at the flowering time, and during the ripening of 
the fruit. After the blossoms were set, the temperature was increased slowly, 
and for some weeks was about 60° as the highest by day, and 38° generally as 
the lowest by night. Sometimes it was as low as 34° at night, when the fruit 
were as large as peas, without any mischief being done. ‘ The tree ripened 
about eight dozen of very good peaches in the same summer in which it was 
planted ; and during that, with the succeeding seven years, it has produced at 
least 2400 large and fine fruit. The largest peach Mr. Errington gathered 
from this tree weighed 124 0z.; but he gathered hundreds of from 90z. to 
11 oz. in weight. The tree, in December, 1839, when Mr. Errington wrote 
his paper, was exposed to the weather, and was full of excellent wood, cover- 
ing completely the trellis, a surface of 480 ft.” 

The following account of the general management of the peach tree, as 
practised at Oulton Park, is so excellent that we give it entire, nm Mr, Erring- 
ton’s own words : — 

“T will begin with the root; and this leads me to remark that the peach, 
in my opinion, as well as most other tender fruit trees, is planted in borders 
far too deep, as well as too rich. It is, of course, imperative on the planter 
to take the utmost care that no stagnation of any kind be permitted to take 
place, not only as regards drainage, but in choosing soil of a proper texture. 
A loam, about half-way between stiff and sandy, I find the best; and, in my 
opinion, the less manure is mixed with it the better, providing the loam 
be what is termed ‘maiden soil,’ from old rest land. If any manure be con- 
sidered necessary, it should be chiefly bone manure, on account of its decom- 
posing very slowly, and, of course, gradually enriching the soil. It is by the 
wasteful and indiscreet use of dung that the peach is forced to produce 
‘robbers,’ or over-luxuriant wood; and if these robbers are not stopped with 
the finger and thumb, when only a few eyes in length, the necessary conse- 
quence is, that the true bearing wood is both robbed of its due share of sap, 
by the exclusion of light, and prevented from attaining a due degree of ripe- 
ness. If peach trees show any signs of weakness after bearing a few years in 
soil of the description I have recommended, the remedy is quite simple; it is 
only having recourse to top-dressing, laying it on heavily in the winter, and 
removing a portion in the spring: heavy top-dressing is, in my opinion, ex- 
tremely pernicious in the growing season. If this is not sufficient to renovate 
the tree, it is easy to add a prepared compost in a trench at the extremity of 
the roots. If any unnecessary luxuriance takes place in any of the fruit 


124 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 


trees under my care, I cut the points of the roots without hesitation, taking 
care to reduce them in proportion to the degree of superfluous luxuriance. 
This root-cutting system I have pursued for seven years at least, and find it 
every thing that can be desired. 

“With regard to winter pruning, I am not aware that there is anything 
peculiar in my practice, unless it be that I thm my young wood to a very great 
extent. This may alarm some persons, who may be afraid of not getting suffi- 
cient fruit; but this plan, with a continual thinning and disbudding in summer, 
so as to lose no sunshine on the leaves of the shoots intended for the next 
year’s crop, renders the buds so plump and well ripened that there need be no 
fear in that respect. 

“After the winter pruning, I immediately stop every wound made by the 
knife, and every place whence proceeds gummy exudations, with a coat of 
thick white paint: this painting, if I may so term it, is repeated, and perhaps 
a third time, on all the larger wounds. This I have found of eminent use; 
for I believe it is a tolerably well known fact, that the entrance of air and 
moisture into such wounds is, in many cases, the cause of premature decay. 
The wounds being dressed in this manner, I immediately stove the house with 
sulphur, blended with sawdust, and burnt in shallow pans, and afterwards 
dress the tree over two or three times with soft soap, sulphur, and tobacco- 
water, brushing it carefully into every bud and crevice with a painting brush. 
This mixture is not made so strong as recommended by some of our gardening 
authors, as I depend much on the careful brushing and flooding every part of 
the tree. 

“ At the commencement of forcing, the same routine is pursued as before 
described: and I may here remark on the evil effects of high temperature 
at night ; for, as I before observed, I have had my thermometer as low as 34° 
at night, when the fruit was as large as peas, without any injury whatever. 
Now this has been through sheer necessity; for, in my anxiety to get fruit 
early, I should have kept it probably to nearly 50°, could I have obtained 
that heat ; but I am convinced that it would have been worse for the tree ; 
for one of the necessary consequences that ensues in a case of the kind is the 
elongation of the internode, as botanists term it, which lengthening, if it be 
not the cause, is well known as a sign of barrenness. From the period that 
the fruit are beginning to swell off, until they commence ripening, my trees 
have most copious syringings and steamings ; excepting that, in the months 
of February or March, in cold dull weather, I am a little more niggardly of 
water, taking care especially, that, if I syringe in the afternoon, it be done 
early, so as to have the leaves dry by the evening ; as a temperature of 34° to 
40° by night and a wet leaf would by no means agree. The house is, of course, 
fumigated twice or thrice, or, in fact, on the very first appearance of green fly. 
As for red spider, I seldom, by this management, see one. 

“The young wood, through all the growing period, receives the utmost 
attention. Every robber is stopped with the finger and thumb as soon as 
about four eyes or buds long ; every superfluous shoot that is not wanted for 
the next year’s bearing is taken away ; and all the inferior shoots, which are 
much below the proper strength, are trained with the growing points as nearly 
perpendicular as possible, in order to decoy the sap into them. 

“As soon as I perceive the least change towards ripening in the fruit, I 
stop the points of all the young wood, with the exception of a few of the 
weaker shoots at the lower part of the tree; and these I keep growing until 
the end of the season, in order to get, as I before observed, as much sap in 
them as possible. In the course of their ripening, abundance of air is given, 
both night and day, and every leaf which shades the fruit is entirely removed. 
I need scarcely add, that they cannot ripen too siowly: the slower they 
ripen, if not absolutely starved, the better. Syringing is, of course, withheld 
altogether, as well as the steaming; but, as soon as the last fruit is gathered, 
the tree is completely battered with water, morning and evening, and the 
house shut up early in the afternoon, with a thermometer of 90° to 95° of 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 125 - 


sun-heat when it can be obtained; and this course is persisted in until the 
leaves turn colour, when the heat by sunshine is allowed to range even higher 
still: I have had it as high as 100° at from three to four o’clock in the after- 
noon. By these means the wood is most completely ripened, and, in pruning, 
cuts more like oak than peach wood. During all the ripening process, the 
border inside the house is allowed to become very dry indeed; in fact, water 
is entirely withheld from the moment the least appearance of change in a 
single peach is perceived towards ripening. 

*“* An opinion once prevailed very generally, that peaches would not answer 
long under glass, unless the lights were removed during the rest season ; this 
is, however, quite erroneous, as the lights have never been taken off the tree in 
question since it was planted. Before 1 conclude, I must just observe, that, 
without cleanliness in the leaf and wood, no soil or mode of training whatever 
ean answer long for the peach.” 


(To be continued.) 


Art. II. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


THE Book of the Farm. By Henry Stephens, Editor of the “ Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture.” 8vo. Part I. To be completed in 12 Parts. 
Numerous copper-plate engravings, and above 200 woodcuts. Edinburgh, 
1842. 


This work, its author informs us, is intended as a guide to those who wish 
to become practical farmers. It will be divided into three portions: the first 
showing the pupil the difficulties which he has to encounter in acquiring a 
competent knowledge of farming as a profession; the second, details of various 
kinds of British farming, pointing out that which the author reckons the best 
under given circumstances ; and the third accompanies the young farmer into 
the world, and acquaints him how to look about for a proper farm. 

From this skeleton of the plan our readers will see that the work promises 
to be one of an original description. The only book of the kind that we 
recollect is one that was commenced, about forty-five years ago, by Mr. 
Skirving of Strathruddy, but which was never completed. The reader will 
not expect, in the Book of the Farm, discussions on the new specific manures, 
or recommendations of practices not already tried and proved; nevertheless, 
“the applications of chemistry and vegetable physiology,” in explanation of 
the various phenomena developed in the operations of husbandry, will be 
given by Dr. Henry R. Madden. é 

The number before us consists of fourteen articles, with the following 
titles ; — 

1. Of the Difficulties which the young Farmer has to encounter at the 
Outset of learning practical Husbandry. 2. Of the Means of overcoming 
those Difficulties. 3. Of the Kind of Information to be found in existent 
Works on Agriculture. 4. Of the Construction of the Book of the Farm. 
5. Of the existing Methods of learning practical Husbandry. 6. Of the 
Establishment of Scientific Institutions of practical Agriculture. 7. Of the 
Evils attendant on Landowners neglecting to learn practical Agriculture. 
8. Of Experimental Farms as Places for Instruction in Farming. 9. A few 
Words to young Farmers who intend emigrating as agricultural Settlers to 
the Colonies. 10. Of the Kind of Education best suited to young Farmers. 
11. Of the different Kinds of Farming. 12. Of choosing the Kind of Farm- 
ing. 13. Of selecting a Tutor-Farmer for teaching Farming. 14. Of the 
Pupilage. = 


126 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


From the author’s knowledge and experience, the work may be safely and 
strongly recommended as likely to answer the end in view; notwithstanding 
its quaint title, the fanciful unfarmer-like titlepage, and the quotations from 
Shakspeare at the head of each article; all which, we certainly think, are not 
in good taste. 


Liebig’s Chemistry, in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology. 2d edition, 
with very numerous additions. 


“ The author has enriched the present edition with many valuable additions ; 
allusion may be particularly made to the practical illustration of his principles 
furnished in the supplementary Chapter on Soils. The analyses of soils con- 
tained in that chapter will serve to point out the culpable negligence exhibited 
in the examination of English soils. Even in the analyses of professional 
chemists, published in detail, and with every affectation of accuracy, the esti- 
mation of the most important ingredients is neglected. How rarely do we 
find phosphoric acid among the products of their analyses ? potash and soda 
would appear to be absent from all soils in the British territories! Yet these 
are invariable constituents of fertile soils, and are conditions indispensable to 
their fertility.” 

The following are extracts from the supplementary Chapter on Soils :— 

« The fertility of a soil is much influenced by its physical properties, such 
as its porosity, colour, attraction for moisture, or state of disintegration. But 
independently of these conditions, the fertility depends upon the chemical 
constituents of which the soil is composed. 

“ We have already shown, at considerable length, that those alkalies, earths, 
and phosphates which constitute the ashes of plants are perfectly indispen- 
sable for their development ; and that plants cannot flourish upon soils from 
which these compounds are absent. The necessity of alkalies for the vital 
processes of plants will be obvious, when we consider that almost all the dif- 
ferent families of plants are distinguished by containing certain acids, differing 
very much in composition ; and further, that these acids do not exist in the 
juice in an isolated state, but generally in combination with certain alkaline or . 
earthy bases. The juice of the vine contains tartaric acid, that of the sorrel 
oxalic acid. It is quite obvious that a peculiar action must be in operation in 
the organisation of the vine and sorrel, by means of which the generation of 
tartaric and oxalic acid is effected ; and also that the same action must exist 
in all plants of the same genus. A similar cause forces corn plants to extract 
silicic acid from the soil. The number of acids found in different plants is 
very numerous, but the most common are those which we have already men- 
tioned ; to which may be added acetic, malic, citric, aconitic, maleic, kinovic 
acids, &c. 

“« When we observe that the proper acids of each family of plants are never 
absent from it, we must admit that the plants belonging to that family could 
not attain perfection, if the generation of their peculiar acids were prevented. 
Hence, if the production of tartaric acid in the vine were rendered impossible, 
it could not produce grapes, or, in other words, would not fructify. Now the 
generation of organic acids is prevented in the vine, and, indeed, in all plants 
which yield nourishment to men and animals, when alkalies are absent from 
the soil in which they grow. The organic acids in plants are very rarely found 
in a free state ; in general, they are in combination with potash, seda, lime, or 
magnesia. Thus, silicic acid is found as silicate of potash ; acetic acid as ace- 
tate of potash or soda; oxalic acid as oxalate of potash, soda, or lime; tartaric 
acid as bitartrate of potash, &c. The potash, soda, lime, and magnesia in 
these plants are, therefore, as indispensable for their existence, as the carbon 
from which their organic acids are produced. 

“« In order not to form an erroneous conclusion regarding the processes of 
vegetable nutrition, it must be admitted that plants require certain salts for 
the sustenance of their vital functions, the acids of which salts exist either in 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, §¢. 127 


the soil (such as silicic or phosphoric acids) or are generated from nutriment 
derived from the atmosphere. Hence, if these salts are not contained in the 
soil, or if the bases necessary for their production be absent, they cannot be 
formed; or, in other words, plants cannot grow in such a soil. The juice, 
fruit, and leaves of a plant cannot attain maturity, if the constituents necessary 
for their formation are wanting, and salts must be viewed as such. These 
salts do not, however, occur simultaneously in all plants. Thus, in saline 
plants, soda is the only alkali found ; in corn plants, lime and potash form 
constituents. Several contain both soda and potash, some both potash and 
lime, whilst others contain potash and magnesia. The acids vary in a similar 
manner. Thus one plant may contain phosphate of lime; a second, phosphate 
of magnesia ; a third, an alkali combined with silicic acid ; and a fourth, an alkali 
in combination with a vegetable acid. The respective quantities of the salts 
required by plants are very unequal. The aptitude of a soil to produce one, 
but not another, kind of plant, is due to the presence of a base which the 
former requires, and the absence of that indispensable for the development of 
the latter. Upon the correct knowledge of the bases and salts requisite for 
the sustenance of each plant, and of the composition of the soil upon which 
it grows, depends the whole system of a rational theory of agriculture; and 
that knowledge alone can explain the process of fallow, or furnish us with the 
most advantageous methods of affording plants their proper nourishment. 

“ Give—so says the rational theory —to one plant such substances as are 
necessary for its development ; but spare those which are not requisite, for the 
production of other plants that require them. 

“It is the same with regard to these bases as it is with the water which is 
necessary for the roots of various plants. Thus, whilst one plant flourishes 
luxuriantly in an arid soil, a second requires much moisture, a third finds ne- 
cessary this moisture at the commencement of its development, and a fourth 
(such as potatoes) after the appearance of the blossom. It would be very 
erroneous to present the same quantity of water to all plants indiscriminately. 
Yet this obvious principle is lost sight of in the manuring of plants. An em- 
pirical system of agriculture has administered the same kind of manures to all 
plants ; or, when a selection has been made, it was not based upon a know- 
ledge of their peculiar characters or composition. 

“ The most important growth in England is that of wheat ; then of barley, 
oats, beans, and turnips. Potatoes are only cultivated to a great extent in 
certain localities ; rye, beet-root, and rape-seed, not very generally. Lucern 
is only known in a few districts, whilst red clover is found universally. Now, 
the selection of inorganic manures for these plants may be fixed upon by an 
examination of the composition of their ashes. Thus, wheat must be cultivated 
in a soil rich in silicate of potash. If this soil is formed from feldspar, mica, 
basalt, clinkstone, or indeed of any materials which disintegrate with facility, 
crops of wheat and barley may be grown upon it for many centuries in succes- 
sion. But, in order to support an uninterrupted succession, the annual disin- 
tegration must be sufficiently great to render soluble a quantity of silicate of 
potash sufficient for the supply of a full crop of wheat or barley. If this is 
not the case, the soil must either be allowed to lie fallow from time to time, 
or plants may be cultivated upon it which contain little silicate of potash, or 
the roots of which are enabled to penetrate deeper into the soil than corn 
plants in search of this salt. During this interval of repose, the materials of 
the soil dismtegrate, and potash in a soluble state is liberated on the layers 
exposed to the action of the atmosphere. When this has taken place, rich 
crops of wheat may be again expected. 

“ The alkaline phosphates, as well as the phosphates of magnesia and lime, are 
necessary for the production of all corn plants. Now, bones contain the latter, 
but none of the former, salts. These must, therefore, be furnished by means 
of night-soil, or of urine, a manure which is particularly rich in them. Wood 
ashes have been found very useful for wheat in calcareous soils; for these 
ashes contain both phosphate of lime and silicate of potash. In like manner 


128 Catalogue of-Works on Gardening, §c. 


stable manure and night-soil render clayey soils fertile, by furnishing the mag- 
nesia in which they are deficient. The ashes of all kinds of herbs and decayed 
straw are capable of replacing wood ashes. 

** A compost manure, which is adapted to furnish all the inorganic matters 
to wheat, oats, and barley, may be made, by mixing equal parts of bone dust 
and a solution of silicate of potash (known as soluble glass in commerce), 
allowing this mixture to dry in the air, and then adding 10 or 12 parts of 
gypsum, with 16 parts of common salt. Such a compost would render unne- 
cessary the animal manures, which act by their inorganic ingredients. Accord- 
ing to Berthier, 100 parts of the ashes of wheat straw contain — 


Of matter soluble in water - - 9:0 
Of matter insoluble in water > - 81:0 
Now 100 parts of the soluble matter contain— 
Carbonic acid - - a trace 
Sulphuric acid - - - 20 
Muriatic acid = = - 13:0 
Silica = : = - 35:0 
Potash and Sod - = - 50:0 
100:0 
100 parts of the insoluble matter contain — 
Carbonic acid - = - i) 
Phosphoric acid - - ae be. 
Silica = < = - 75:0 
Lime = = = - 58 
Oxide of Iron and Charcoal - - 10:0 
Potash = - - - 80 
100:0 


“‘ The silicate of potash employed in the preparation of the compost de- 
scribed above must not deliquesce on exposure to the air, but must give a 
gelatinous consistence to the water in which it is dissolved, and dry to a white 
powder by exposure. It is only attractive of moisture when an excess of 
potash is present, which is apt to exert an injurious influence upon the tender 
roots of plants. In those cases where silicate of potash cannot be procured, 
a sufficiency of wood ashes will supply its place. 

* All culinary vegetables, but particularly the Cruciferze, such as mustard 
(Sinapis alba and nigra), contain sulphur in notable quantity. The same is the 
case with turnips, the different varieties of rape, cabbage, celery, and red 
clover. These plants thrive best in soils containing sulphates ; hence, if these 
salts do not form natural constituents of the soil, they must be introduced as 
_ manure. Sulphate of ammonia is the best salt for this purpose. It is most 
easily procured by the addition of gypsum or sulphate of iron (green vitriol) to 
putrefied urine. 

“« Horn, wool, and hoofs of cattle, contain sulphur as a constituent, so that 
they will be found a valuable manure when administered with soluble phos- 
phates (with urine, for example). 

‘“‘ Phosphate of magnesia and ammonia form the principal inorganic con- 
stituent of the potato; salts of potash also exist in it, but in very limited 
quantity. Now the soil is rendered unfitted for its cultivation, even though 
the herb be returned to it after the removal of the crop, unless some means 
are adopted to replace the phosphate of magnesia removed in the bulbous 
roots. This is best effected by mixtures of night-soil with bran, magnesian 
limestone, or the ashes of certain kinds of coal. I applied to a field of potatoes 
manure consisting of night-soil and sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts), and 
obtained a remarkably large crop. The manure was prepared by adding a 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 129 


quantity of sulphate of magnesia to a mixture of urine and feeces, and mixing 
the whole with the ashes of coal or vegetable mould, till it acquired the con- 
sistence of a thick paste, which was thus dried by exposure to the sun. 

“ There are certain plants which contain either no potash, or mere traces of 
it. Such are the poppy (Papaver somniferum), which generates in its organism 
a vegetable alkaloid, Indian corn (Zea Mays), and Helianthus tuberosus. For 
plants such as these the potash in the soil is of no use, and farmers are well 
aware that they can be cultivated without rotation on the same soil, particu- 
larly when the herbs and straw, or their ashes, are returned to the soil after 
the reaping of the crop. 

“ One cause of the favourable action of the nitrates of soda and potash must 
doubtless be, that through their agency the alkalies which are deficient in a 
soil are furnished to it. Thus it has been found that in soils deficient in pot- 
ash, the nitrates of soda or potash have been very advantageous ; whilst 
those, on the other hand, which contain a sufficiency of alkalies, have experi- 
enced no beneficial effects through their means. In the application of manures 
to soils we should be guided by the general composition of the ashes of plants, 
whilst the manure applied to a particular plant ought to be selected with re- 
ference to the substances which it demands for its nourishment. In general, a 
manure should contain a large quantity of alkaline salts, a considerable pro- 
portion of phosphate of magnesia, and a smaller proportion of phosphate of 
lime ; azotised manure and ammoniacal salts cannot be too frequently em- 
ployed.” 

After giving the chemical composition, in great detail, of thirty-eight different 
soils, chiefly in Germany, the analysis of several English soils, by Davy, is 
given, and after each are remarks, pointing out its imperfection. 

“ Davy,” says the author, “ has made several analyses of various fertile soils, 
and since his time numerous other analyses have been published ; but they are 
all so superficial, and in most cases so inaccurate, that we possess no means of 
ascertaining the composition or nature of English arable land.” (p. 240.) 

Next follow analyses of soils in Sweden, Java, the West Indies, and North 
America. On an analysis, by Berzelius, of a soil in Sweden which produced 
the most abundant crops, and had never been manured, it is observed of the 
operator — 

“ This great chemist has strangely omitted to detect in the soil potash, soda, 
chlorine, sulphuric acid, and manganese. As this soil is eminent for its fer- 
tility, there cannot be the slightest doubt that all these ingredients must have 
existed in it in notable quantity.” (p. 241.) 

These quotations will show the immense importance of the additions which 
are made to this edition, which cannot fail to add to its already deserved 


celebrity. 
The Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal for 1841. 4to. 
The Surveyor, Engineer, and Architect, for 1841, 4to. 


We have recommended both these works in preceding volumes ; not, indeed, 
to be purchased by the gardener, who has already too many calls on him for 
books relating directly to his profession, but to the country gentleman and the 
amateur of architecture and mechanical invention. The gardener also, where 
he can have an opportunity of reading these works, will find a variety of 
matters that can be brought to bear on his art ; such as modes of heating and 
ventilating, glazing, painting, measuring, draining, road-making, &c, 


Taste: a Lecture. By the Rev. R. Jones, D.D., M.R.S.L., &c. Pamph. 
8vo, pp. 44. London. 


The author treats, in a discursive and agreeable manner, of mental taste; 
without losing sight of that moral taste, the truest purifier and preserver of all 
other taste; a taste which regulates the heart, the principles, and the life. 

3d Ser. —1842. II. K 


130 General Notices. 


Arr. III. Lzterary Notices. 


THE Cowthorpe Oak.—An engraving and description of this celebrated tree 
will shortly be published; the engraving by W. Monkhouse, and the descrip- 
tion by C. Empson, author of Sketches of Scenery on the Andes, and several 
other works. 

Contributions to the Botany of India, by William Griffith, is preparing for 
publication by subscription. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. I. General Notices. 


SINGLE Trees in Park Scenery.— The great use of single trees in breaking 
the formality of unsightly lines ; in varying an uninteresting surface ; in con- 
necting together scattered objects ; in forming pleasing groups, or handsome, 
curious, or singular individual objects, of themselves ; and as substitutes for 
clumps, is well known. By the liberal use of single trees, not only nume- 
rous plantations of small plants, surrounded by hedges or other fences, the 
true meaning or final effect of which cannot be readily foreseen by a spectator, 
are avoided ; but a foundation is laid fer forming a better idea of the future 
appearance of the scene, than by any other mode of planting whatever. 

Supposing each single tree to be nothing more than a straight stem or pole, 
it is only necessary for the “ prophetic eye” to imagine each of these stems 
crowned with a head of branches, say three or four times the height, and two 
or three times the width, of the length of the stem, and the effect of the 
scenery will be conceived with such a degree of accuracy, that an artist 
might represent it in a drawing. The stems being all of the same height, will 
diminish to the eye according to their distance from it, and by imagining the 
height and width of each tree to diminish in proportion, all the masses of 
woodiness that will eventually be formed, all the objects that will be concealed, 
all the open spaces and glades that will be displayed, and all the foreground 
groups that will be produced, will be present in the mind’s eye of the artist, 
and to the proprietor who has a taste for landscape, as effectively as words 
on paper convey ideas to a person who can read. 

There are only two objections that we have ever heard made to the substi- 
tution of single or scattered trees for enclosed masses of young plantations, 
viz., that the trees will not grow for want of shelter, and that the expense is 
too great to be incurred. 

With respect to the first objection, we consider it in a great measure nu- 
gatory; so much so, that we have never yet, in the course of upwards of 
thirty-years’ experience, met with a situation or a soil in which single trees 
would not grow and thrive. Opinions of a contrary nature have arisen, as 
we think, from improper kinds of trees having been planted; from improper 
modes of planting them ; and from an idea that a great deal is gained in point 
of growth by drawing up in clumps trees intended to stand singly, and after- 
wards thinning out those which have served to protect them. We are con- 
vinced from experience that in no soil or situation whatever is anything 
gained by growing trees in clumps which are intended ultimately to stand 
single ; at least as such clumps are commonly managed, viz., left for many 
years without thinning, or thinned too late and too sparingly. The conse- 
quence is, that when all the superfluous trees are taken away, those left as 
single objects, from being exposed to a much greater degree of cold and of 
evaporation than they have been accustomed to, become stunted even in 


General Notices. 131 


the best situations and soils, and remain in that state for many years. The 
reason, we repeat, is, that by the removal of the sheltering trees, they have 
been, in effect, removed from a warm climate to one a great deal colder, 
against which their thin bark is altogether insufficient to protect them. 

The improper kinds of trees for planting singly, to which we refer as the 
second reason why so much has been said about shelter, are such as will not 
thrive in the given situation and soil; the improper mode of planting, alluded 
to as the third reason, is the neglect of stirring the soil and enriching it with 
manure or surface soil ; and the fourth reason is, the planting of single trees 
with all their branches on. There is no situation in Britain, except a few 
on the sea-coast, in which the common sycamore will not grow up singly 
into a very handsome tree, and the same may be said of the Norway maple 
and the white poplar. For smaller trees, we have the white-beam tree, the 
mountain ash, and the elder. The last also thrives exposed to the sea 
breeze ; and, with the sea buckthorn, may be observed in great vigour on the 
east coast of Scotland, in the grounds of Gosford. Say that we have only 
two large trees and three small ones fit for planting as single objects, without 
shelter, in the most exposed situations in the island ; are not these sufficient 
to vary a park, and break the lines of masses ? 

Planting trees with all their branches on may succeed very well in certain 
circumstances; but to inure a tree to a situation where it is to stand singly, 
it should either be planted when not above 1 or 2 feet in height; or sup- 
posing it to be 15 or 20 feet high, it should be taken up without any pre- 
vious preparation of the roots, headed down to 10 or 12 feet, and all the 
side branches cut close off: and in addition to this, if it should have been 
taken from the interior of a plantation, or the outside of one in a sheltered 
situation, the stem should be wound round with a straw rope, or branches 
and spray should be tied round it from the root to the top. A tree so 
treated, having its fibrous roots to form, will produce only a few short 
branches the first season, and these will ripen and accommodate themselves 
to the climate. The second year these branches will increase in length, and 
the third year they may be thinned out, leaving a leader and three or four 
side shoots to form the head. 

In more favourable situations, where twenty or thirty different sorts of 
trees might be planted singly, we would follow much the same plan. We 
have seen its success in France, Germany, and Belgium; even in England, 
with common English elms and limes, and with several kinds of trees at 
Smallbury Green twenty years ago, when, the common being divided, an 
allotment was made to Sir Joseph Banks. The trees, then naked stumps, 
are now handsome objects. But, in fact, the practice is as old as Evelyn. 
All we wish is to revive it, and we hope soon to give a practical exhibition of 
the plan on a park of nearly 5000 acres in the West of Scotland, and another 
of 500 acres in Kent. We have now given our answer to the first objection 
to single trees, 

With respect to the second objection, the expense, we allow that it is very 
great when large trees are transplanted with their branches on; but when the 
practice we have just recommended is adopted, it must necessarily be com- 
paratively moderate. A principal part of the expense will be incurred in 
fencing, and this will depend on whether the trees are to be protected against 
cattle and horses, or against sheep only. In the latter case, the stems may be 
protected to the height of 3ft., with branches tied closely round them with 
tarred twine or wire; and in the former case, we would merely clothe them 
3 or 4feet higher. There are a great many ways of protecting single trees, 
but we know of none so easy of execution, so cheap at first, and so easily 
repaired afterwards, as that which we have described. Of course it is not 
applicable to the pine and fir tribe when young, and to young trees which 
have not a stem of at least 1 in. in thickness at 10 ft. from the ground; these 
must be protected by more expensive fences, placed at such a distance from 
the tree as that cattle, when reaching over them, may not touch the branches. 

K 2 


132 General Notices. 


The greater the number of single trees in a given space, the less will be the 
injury done to each by animals pasturing among them. 

Trees suitable for our mode of planting singly may be obtained from almost 
every plantation of twenty or thirty years’ standing, and from many nurseries. 
The price of the tree in the latter case will vary with the kind; but, in the 
former, we have ascertained that in Kent the trees may be taken up from 
plantations not exceeding two miles distant, pruned, brought to the spot, 
planted, and fenced, at 2s. 6d. per tree. This includes trenching a circle 
of ground in which to plant the tree, 6ft. in diameter, and raising the soil 
within the circle 1 ft. high in the centre where the tree is to stand, by soil 
from the adjoining surface. 

When the saving of ground for pasturage made by this mode of planting, 
as compared with planting in masses, is taken into consideration, we think it 
will be found not less desirable, in a pecuniary point of view, than it is in 
point of effect. 

Forming clumps or masses, for the sake of ultimately producing trees, may 
have been very well adapted for the state of the country about the middle of 
the last century, when few or no trees large enough for transplanting singly 
could be procured from the nurseries, or from young plantations ; but in the 
present day, when they can be obtained in abundance from both sources, we 
consider the practice as altogether unsuitable, and, in short, quite behind our 
present state of knowledge and resources. By planting single trees, the 
ultimate effect, as we have already observed, is foreseen at once ; it 1s realised 
more and more every year as the trees advance in growth; and, instead of the 
enjoyment of a place being deferred for a lifetimé, it is, by the proprietor who 
has an eye for landscape, entered on immediately. 

To guard against misconstruction, it may be necessary to state that, when 
we use the words single tree, we never intend to mean a tree standing by. 
itself, and unconnected with every other object, but a tree which, though 
standing singly, yet is never so far distant from another tree, or from trees, 
as not to belong to the same group or mass. It is also to be observed, that 
we do not propose to head down or cut in trees of the pine and fir tribes. 
(Gard. Gaz., October 23. 1841.) 

Poittevin’s disinfected Manure has been applied for the growth of turnips, 
at the rate of 64 bushels per acre. There has been abundance of rain to di- 
lute it, yet between the rows so manured, and others contiguous which had no 
manure, the difference in growth, as may be now seen, is not such as is likely 
to balance the expense; nor does it seem probable that a beneficial result will 
be obtained. It seems to answer best in the form of manure water ; but in 
this way it is not equal to that obtained from farm-yard manure. Poittevin’s 
manure has been tried with pelargoniums and calceolarias in pots, and also 
in the open ground with various other plants ; its effects in all cases have not 
proved it of more striking utility than common night-soil or any other good 
manure. In the open ground, where it was tried upon 9 square yards, the 9 
adjoining yards were planted with the same kinds, and scarcely any difference 
of growth could be detected. For annuals the manure was mixed with the 
soil in which they were potted in the following proportions, 3,, ,, 3, 3, and 
it was used without mixture. The kinds selected were, Nemophila insignis, 
Impatiens glandulifera and other sorts of balsams, and sweet peas. The 
plants of Nemophila and sweet peas all became sickly for the first ten days, 
but began to recover in proportion to the weakness of the mixture, those re- 
covering first which were in soil with the smallest portion of manure ; some 
of those planted in manure alone, after becoming very sickly, upon being several 
times watered, recovered, and finally became more vigorous than any of the 
others, and of a much darker green The pots were found to be free from 
worms for a long time. Impatiens glandulifera and others were potted in the 
proportions 4,, 4, 4, and in manure alone. The plants (there were two of 
each) potted in 2, became perceptibly languid; those in § very sickly, and 
were evidently much affected by the over-dose, but they began to recover in 


General Notices. 133 


about ten days, and finally grew vigorously. Those in disinfected manure 
alone, after lmgering for about two months, eventually died, or rather rotted 
off above the pot. The following perennials were also tried as above stated, 
viz., Verbéna sororia, Verbéna feucrivides, hybrid petunia, and Statice tata- 
rica. The manure had, as nearly as possible, the same effects as on the 
annuals, with this difference, that its action was much slower, and not so 
likely to kill the plants. With respect to shrubs, hardly any effect on their 
growth was observed, except when they were planted in manure alone, when 
in most cases they were killed, particularly species of the Pinus ; probably 
trees and hard-wooded shrubs require one or even two years before the effects 
of the manure are conspicuous. Nemdphila insignis, Impatiens glandulifera, 
and sweet peas were also potted in the same soil as before, but they were top- 
dressed with half an inch of disinfected manure. They were also potted with 
half an inch of manure at the bottom of the pots; in all cases the growth was in 
favour of those with the manure on the surface. The perennials, Verbéna soro- 
ria, Verbéna feucriozdes, and hybrid petunia, with half an inch of disinfected ma- 
nure at the top of the pot, grew remarkably well, without any symptoms of in- 
jury ; with half an inch of the manure at the bottom of the pot, they also grew 
very well, but it was evident that those top-dressed were more vigorous and ro- 
bust than either those with the manure at the bottom, or those in the soil without 
any disinfected manure. The following were tried with the manure in a liquid 
state, viz., Impatiens tricérnis, glandulifera, and candida, all very strong-growing 
plants, and well adapted for trying the strength of the substance. Various 
other plants have also been watered with the liquid, and in all cases with 
much benefit, more particularly those kinds which naturally grow with great 
vigour. After various trials, it was found that only 1 part in 60, or about one 
pint of disinfected manure to eight gallons of water, should be employed, and 
then the plants should only be watered with it once a week, or, if very slow- 
growing sorts, once in two weeks. The manure is very powerful; and taking 
the small portion required and the price (about 1s. 8d. per bushel) into 
consideration, it has merit, and deserves trying in the open ground on a 
much larger scale. The principal objection to its general introduction is, that 
it may be used too strong, and so destroy vegetation for the first season, or 
make plants sickly. If used in a dry state, it seems, in any quantity, almost 
sudden death to some plants, acting in the same way as dry salt; it therefore 
should only be used in a liquid state. It may be mixed with the water, and 
used in ten minutes afterwards, just as well as if it had been mixed ten hours ; 
it then seems to lose the deleterious effects so destructive to vegetation. (Pro- 
ceedings of Hort. Soc. for 1840, p. 188.) 

Strong Bottom-heat for Cacti, and plenty of light, have been found very bene- 
ficial in the growth of these plants, but the experiments are discontinued for 
the present season, as frame moisture without bright light would prove inju- 
rious to them. (Jdid., p. 187.) 

Cultivation of the Nelambium speciosum.— This season our plants have been 
treated as follows : — They were kept dry during the winter in a cool part of the 
plant stove at about 50° Fah. In February the roots were divided, and potted 
separately in turfy loam; the pots were set in pans of water, the temperature of 
the house being 65° to 80°. As they began to grow they were set in the water, 
just deep enough to allow their leaves to float. In April they were removed to a 
small stove devoted to the cultivation of Orchidaceze and other select stove 
plants, where the temperature varied from 65° to 90°, temperature of the water 
in the cisterns being about 75°. In May the strongest specimen was planted out 
in a water-tight box, 34 ft. long, 14 ft. wide, and 16 in. deep, filled with loamy 
soil, having a little gravel on the top to give it solidity, and allowing room for 
about 2in. of water over the surface of the soil. The box was plunged into the 
bark bed, which raised the temperature of the soil and water in the box to 80°. 
This bottom-heat was maintained during the summer, the temperature of the 
house varying from 65° to 95°. 

The plant continued to grow rapidly, sending up leaves 3ft. out of the 

K 3 


134 General Notices. 


water, the largest of them being 16 in. in diameter ; and on the return of fine 
clear weather in August the first flower-bud appeared. The plant proved to 
be the red variety; its flowers, when fully expanded, increased 102 in. in dia- 
meter, and remained several days in perfection. It is much larger and more 
beautiful than the flower of Nel/éimbium luteum, the only other variety I have 
seen in flower. Another season I intend trying the effects of a higher tem- 
perature at the roots. The plant which flowered now occupies a space of 
more than 12 ft. in circumference. (J. Scott, in Proceedings of Hort. Soc. for 
1840, p. 192.) 

Effect of Age in Trees on the Quality of the Frut.— The following extract 
from Dr. Bullar’s account of the Azores relates to an interesting subject, 
which has not, I believe, hitherto received much consideration. Dr. Bullar 
does not state whether grafts from the old trees continue to produce the 
same fruit as the parent, or whether the produce is the same as that from 
young trees. I think Sir W. Temple has some observations on this poit.—K. 
** Accompanied Senhor B—— to several of his orange-gardens in the town. 
Many of the trees in one garden were a hundred years old, still bearing plen- 
tifully a highly-prized thin-skinned orange, full of juice, and free from pips. 
The thinness of the rind of a St. Michael’s orange, and its freedom from 
pips, depend on the age of the tree. The young trees, when in full vigour, 
bear fruit with a thick pulpy rind, and abundance of seeds ; but as the vigour 
of the plant declines, the peel becomes thinner, and the seeds gradually dimi- 
nish in number, till they disappear altogether. Thus, the oranges that we 
esteem the most are the produce of barren trees, and those which we consider 
the least palatable come from plants in full vigour.” (Gard. Chron. for 1841, 

. 381. 

i oe Watering-pot.—In one of the early numbers of the Gardener’s 
Chronicle there is an article by Mr. Paxton, in which he gives directions for 
watering plants, and points out the necessity of watering according to the pe- 
culiar habits of each. I had a watering-can made twelve months ago, which 
enables me to do this very effectually, and, at the same time, prevents a great 
waste of water, as no part of it is distributed except upon the soil in the pot. 
My watering-can is made of copper, 7in. diameter by 7 in. high (holding 
seven imperial pints) ; in the side, and close to the bottom inside, there is a 
conical brass valve seating (the opening of the valve is 2 in. in diameter), 
brazed to the side of the can. A small copper pipe, 2 in. bore, is secured to 
this by a nut ; at the end of the pipe there is a small rose, 3 in. in diameter, 
perforated with holes very similar to a gas-burner. If nicely perforated, the 
water will spread without uniting in a stream. The valve is opened and 
shut by means of a rod, 3, in. thick, passing across the can diagonally, and 
through a collar brazed into the side just above the handle. The rod is 
lifted by a trigger fixed upon the handle, through which there is a slit groove 
to receive a steel spring, one end of which is fixed to the side of the can, the 
other end, pressing upon the under side of the trigger, keeps the valve shut. 
In using the watering-can, place the left hand under the bottom of it, close to 
the pipe, the right hand, of course, upon the handle ; press down the trigger 
with the fore-finger, which will open the valve, and when the finger is removed 
the spring will shut it. The length of the pipe and rose in my can is 14 in., 
but it may be made any length ; and, as the rose is small, it may be intro- 
duced amongst all pots of cuttings with great facility. I find the can very 
handy in watering plants in pots, as any particular plant may be watered, and 
just in that proportion best suited to its habits. The can 1s filled through a 
hole in the top. If any person in this neighbourhood should desire to have 
a watering-can of this description, they may procure it of Messrs. Shipham 
and Co., brass-founders, Trinity Lane, Hull, who have the drawings by which 
it was made. (H. L., Hull, in Gard. Chron. for 1841, p. 398.) 

Rooting of Leaves. —1 have never found this circumstance more remark- 
ably displayed than in the case of the Echevéria racemosa (I believe, the true 
Mexican “ Forget me not”). The very flower-stalks, when laid past for 


Foreign Notices : — France. 135 


months, like Aaron’s rod, have “ blossomed” with young plants. My 
worthy friend, James Cockburn, Esq., of Elm House, Guernsey, showed me 
curious examples of the same kind in flower-stalks of the Echevéria gibbi- 
flora. Infant plants studded the flower-stalk long after being detached from 
the parent stem. Leaves and fragments of leaves will strike. The Bryo- 
phyllum calycinum is remarkable for the crenatures of the leaf being fretted 
with young plants even while yet attached to the parent plant, and still more 
so in a state of decay. Various plants, I am aware, exhibit a similar vivi- 
parous phenomenon ; but I must now content myself with alluding to the 
facility of striking almost fragments of the Lychnis coronaria, a favourite of 
mine. Not only will individual joints strike, but, if each joint be split into 
two vertically, two distinct plants may be obtained. The echeveria 1s, how- 
ever, the most tenacious of life. (J. Murray, in Gard. Chron. for June 19. 
1841, p. 397.) 

Want of Moral Courage in Architects and Landscape-Gardeners.— The 
greater number of these persons being sprung from the people, necessarily 
have more or less the character of parvenus, when introduced into the society 
of the higher classes. Observing in this class the contempt and disdain with 
which they look on the mass of the people, they naturally avoid every thing 
which may remind either themselves or the society into which they have been 
introduced of their low origin. Hence, to advocate the cause of the class 
from which they sprang in any way ; to be thought to care about their com- 
forts, or to suggest improvements in their dwellings, would remind the 
employer of their origin, and be thought derogatory to their newly-acquired 
station. An architect or a landscape-gardener, therefore, who has sprung 
from the people, is rarely found with the moral courage necessary to propose 
to the rich who employ them ameliorations of any kind for the poor. In the 
course of thirty years’ observation, we have found this to hold good both in 
Scotland and England, and in the former country more particularly. How 
many improved plans of kitchen-gardens, and new ranges of hot-houses, have 
there not been carried into execution in Scotland since the commencement 
of the present century, and yet how few improved gardener’s houses have 
been built within the same period! Mr. Repton, having been born a gentle- 
man, was under no such dread as that to which we have alluded, and we 
accordingly find him continually advocating the improvement of cottages. 
We also know other honourable exceptions among architects, and among 
their employers; many whose names might be enumerated, were we not 
fearful of making omissions, and incurring the charge of partiality. — 
Cond. 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


FRANCE. 


THE Artesian Well of Grenelle.— We have all heard, with the greatest 
interest, of the complete success which M. Mulot has obtained at Grenelle. 
After seven years of continued exertion, and after having surmounted difficulties 
of whose amount it would not have been prudent to speak during the course of 
the operation, M. Mulot, at length, on the 26th of February, 1841, at half- 
past two o’clock, iad the satisfaction of seeing burst forth, from a depth of 
ee metres, the water which he was in search of in the greensand under the 
gault. 

The jet of water springs up with an abundance which surpasses every hope 
that had been formed; for it yields no less than 4,000,000 of litres,in the 
twenty-four hours. The temperature was not determined by M. Arago and 
myself till the following day, the 27th; and the state of the basin into which 
the water flowed not admiting of an accurate direct determination of the 
temperature of the jet, a bucket was placed in the basin, which was imme- 

K 4 


136 - Foreign. Notices: — Russia, West Indies. 


diately filled with the greensand brought up in abundance by the water. After 
allowing the thermometer to remain thirty minutes in this basin, it indicated 
27° 6’ cent. (81° 68° Fahr.). 

We all know that it was owing to the influence of M. Arago that the 
vote of the Municipal Council of Paris was obtained for the continuation of 
the boring operations from the depth of 500 metres to that of 600. It was 
doubted at that time if the water would rise to the surface; and one of the 
reasons which decided the vote was, the ascent of water in the wells bored at 
Elbeeuf, by which water was obtained from the subterranean sheet of water 
which was sought for at Paris. M. Arago was sure that the water could rise 
to a height of from 27 to 30 metres above the surface, which itself is 8 metres 
above the level of the sea. Now, the surface at Grenelle being 31 metres 
above the level of the sea, the comparison between these two points gave him 
reason to hope that the column of water would rise to the surface at Paris, 
(M. Walferdin, in Edin. Phil. Journ., July, 1841, vol. xxxi. p. 140.) 

Bore of the Artesian Well at Grenelle. — The bore passes through strata of 
various kinds, such as, alluvial matter, sands and gravels, clays and lignites, 
chalk, hard chalk, and chloritic chalk. At the lower part of the bore, the 
following strata have been found, viz., green and grey clay; a bed of fine 
sand, containing water, gravel, and rolled stones; and a calcareous and argil- 
laceous bed. The total length of the bore is 17945 English feet ; and the 
total cost 12,0007. The quantity of water thrown up is estimated at nearly 
880,000 imperial gallons. It appears, from the analysis of M. Pelouse, member 
of the Institute, that the water is purer than that of the Seine. The temper- 
ature of the water is 82°4° Fahr. (Sir John Robison, in Edin. Phil, Jour., 
July, 1841, p. 141.) 


RUSSIA. 


Riga, Dec, 20. 1841.— I must now say a few words about a flower-show 
which we have had this year. It was the first attempt of the sort, and, con- 
sequently, could not be compared to the brilliant collections that are displayed 
so often under your own eyes. Besides, this was not only the first show in 
Riga, but in Russia in general. The receipts were to be applied to a benevo- 
lent purpose, and, consequently, I, who had the arrangement intrusted to me, 
tried rather to make the whole as imposing as possible, instead, as in true 
flower-shows, of displaying every specimen separately for the inspection of 
connoisseurs. However, I managed in this arrangement to satisfy amateurs, 
by placing tables for cut dahlias in flower, in the cultivation of which the 
amateurs of our city excel. For this reason, the show was fixed for the end 
of August, as being the most appropriate. In a public garden here there is a 
Gothic room, which is used in general by the water-drinkers (it is a hydropathic 
establishment) ; and here I had stages erected for plants in pots, and for cut 
flowers. The colonnade at the entrance was ornamented with a row of orange 
trees in flower, laurels, and pomegranates ; and two enormous plants of Agave 
and A’loe vivipara closed the entrance on the side where the visiters were not 
to enter, The entrance to the room was arched over by two majestic cy- 
presses, and hung with silk and bronze in a very elegant manner. In the 
middle of the room a hemispherical stage was placed against the wall, on 
which was the bust of the emperor, adorned with the finest palm trees and 
plants of the torrid zone, such as zamias, pandanuses, draczenas, marantas, 
&c. This centre-piece had an excellent effect, from the singular and com- 
pletely foreign nature of the foliage. — Fr. Wagner, jils. 


WEST INDIES. 


Residence of Edward Otto at Cuba, (Continued from our preceding Volume, 
p- 651.) —The immediate suburbs of Havanna no longer presented anything 
interesting to our eager enquiries; and therefore on Saturday the 12th of 


Foreign Notices : — West Indies. Lay 


January, eight days after our arrival in Havanna, I set out for Matanzas, 
where some of my fellow-travellers had gone some days before. Matanzas is 
a seaport-town on a bay of the same name on the northern coast of the island, 
about fourteen miles from Havanna. I went in a steam-boat, and reached it in 
about nine hours. The sea was rough and the wind contrary, so that the greater 
number of-the passengers were sick; but here, as during the whole voyage, I 
was exempt from it, and it was the more extraordinary as even sailors who 
had become grey in the service were attacked by sickness during this short 
excursion, and suffered extremely. The particular object of our first expe- 
dition, however, was not Matanzas, as the fortunate acquaintance of Don 
Carlos Booth Tinto brought us to the plantation of Cafetal el Fundador, 
where we embarked in a small boat on the river Camina. The banks of this 
winding stream are ornamented with trees and shrubs of every kind ; and on 
the sides of rocks which would otherwise be naked are seen agaves and 
yuccas, and the trees are covered with orchidaceous and other parasitical 
plants ; and tillandsias, Guzmannia tricolor, Epidéndrum elongatum, Di- 
crypta Bader? et crassifolia, and Epidéndrum cochleatum, are seen in immense 
numbers both on the trees and on the ground. There is a spacious avenue of 
bamboos (Bambusa arundinacea), from the place of landing to the dwelling- 
house. Each tree is from 13 ft. to 15 ft. in diameter, and more than 40 ft. in 
height, and each shoot is 6in. in diameter, and bends gently towards the 
ground. The Orchidacee in the immediate vicinity here (perhaps on account 
of the season of the year) were nearly all as yellow and unsightly as we see 
them sometimes, even when cultivated with the greatest care, in our green- 
houses: I intend to pay the utmost attention to their growth and habits, so 
as to obtain as much information on the subject as possible for their cul- 
tivation at home. We saw no Cacti here, except Opuntia horrida in hedges 
and growing wild, and Céreus grandiflorus ; and all the trunks of the trees 
were covered with Bromelidcee, Pothos, and other Aroidez. 

The plantations of Misa have not a very inviting appearance, because the 
high winds here from time to time tear their leaves to pieces: those of the 
cocos and oreodoxas are much prettier, and, when not too large, form a 
beautiful forest. _The kitchen-garden presented something quite new to us, 
as it had its beds bordered by Tradescantia discolor. The oranges were 
within our reach, and had an excellent flavour, and we found that a very 
frequent enjoyment of them did us no injury, as they are said to do in other 
regions of the New World. I did not observe any pine-apples. The plant- 
ations here are surrounded by high and steep mountains, covered with trees, 
and our next intention“was to penetrate them. We found this extremely dif- 
ficult ; and the forest is quite impassable unless you form a path for yourself, 
and this is so tedious that you cannot advance more than sixty steps in an 
hour. 

How gladly should we have overcome these difficulties if they had been 
attended with a more fortunate result! but perhaps that was more than we 
could expect, as great part of the vegetable kingdom lay in their winter’s 
sleep, and the number of genera of the parasitical Orchideze which are found 
in the neighbourhood of Cafetal el Fundador was not very considerable. My 
attention was particularly attracted to oncidiums, epidendrons, maxillarias, 
and genera allied to Cyrtopédium. I found the greater number of oncidiums 
on the ground in the thickest forests, lying and growing on stones. The last 
storm had probably thrown them down from the trees, as I saw here and 
there pieces of the bark adhering to the roots, and many plants of the same 
kind were seen on the trunks and in the axils of the branches. Besides the 
Orchidez, innumerable bromelias grow on the trees, and hang down in long 
festoons, united with the rhipsalises and cereuses growing near them. Slender 
trees grow on the stoniest banks of the Camina, particularly Jatropha pel- 
tata, the trunk of which is covered with Orchidee and climbing plants, and 
actually form a kind of bower over the river itself, thus affording a pro- 
tection from the burning rays of the sun. I saw both species of Dicrypta (D, 


> 


138 Foreign Notices : — West Indies. 


Baieriand crassifolia) on one trunk. The cyrtopodiums, dendrobiums, and other 
species, were quite as unsightly as we see them in our houses, as the shoots 
that have flowered cast their leaves and stand bare till they are quite withered 
up; and I found this to be the case with the epidendrons and maxillarias. I 
think it is of the greatest importance to observe the different kinds of situ- 
ations in which the Orchidez, &c., are found. Sometimes they grow in the 
thickest forests, through which the sun’s rays can hardly penetrate, and par- 
ticularly on the ground; sometimes, also, on an open plain and on the banks 
of rivers, where they are exposed the whole day long to the burning sun. 
The temperature there varies from 12° R. (59° Fahr.) the heat of the day, to 
13°, 9°, and 6° R. (61°25°, 52°25°, and 45°5° Fahr.), before sun-rising ; and, be- 
sides the rainy season, they only have moisture during the night from very heavy 
dews, and consequently must obtain their principal nourishment from the air. 

In applying these facts to the cultivation of Orchideze in our country, it 
will be observed that, if the houses are heated, the heat should be diminished 
during the night, and the plants should be but little watered ; and not in the 
evening, but in the morning, and by clear daylight. 1 observed that the speci- 
mens we collected had their tender roots attacked by insects in a similar way 
as ours are gnawed by woodlice. Unfortunately, I could only find specimens 
in flower of Epidéndron cochleatum, and another doubtful species ; and an 
oncidium, very much resembling QO. altissimum in habit, only showed its 
flower-stalk. I must wait for the flowers and seed of many beautiful plants, 
apparently unknown to me, before I can decide what they are. 

Our excursion from Cafetal towards the sea-coast rewarded us much more 
richly in a zoological than a botanical point of view. The vegetable kingdom 
is but sparingly scattered in this neighbourhood, but large spaces are covered 
with Coccéloba uvifera, and extend even as far as the sea-shore. Under these 
trees, which are from 2 ft. to 15 ft. in height, grows the amaryllis in great 
numbers; also the jatropha and plumieria, in the greatest luxuriance. The 
ferns look exceedingly beautiful on the trees; and I saw a few glycines, with 
very large leaves and red blossoms, which would be new in our gardens. 
Large specimens of Pothos crassinérvius, on rocks and old trunks of trees, 
look extremely majestic ; and there were also other species, of Pothos climb- 
ing up the trees. The hospitable reception we met with from our landlord 
afforded us every possible convenience for preserving or sending off our col- 
lection. Besides our apartments, he gave us possession of a large one which 
had windows facing the east and west, through which we got a sight of 
the lofty palms, under which large coffee plantations extend, protected by 
them. 

The large coffee barns are at present empty, because, being about the end 
of January, the coffee harvest has not yet begun; but my particular attention 
was directed to the preparation of sugar, and the almost incredible consump- 
tion of the fruit of the pisang and the banana, which are prepared as food in 
very different ways. Ihave not yet seen plantations of tobacco and cotton. 
I could not get supplied with this latter necessary article for packing glass, 
&c., either in Havanna or Matanzas ; and when a handful of it was obtained 
in a shop which sold Nuremburg toys, they asked the.sum of two reals ! 

The great stupidity of the negroes proved a serious obstacle to us, in col- 
lecting and sending off what was worth our trouble. They generally broke 
or injured whatever they set down; and yet I was obliged to get their help, 
as one individual could not always perform the office: and even when we had 
our collection apparently secured in the laboratory, the next day we found 
that the best part of it was either eaten up by the rats, or attacked by small 
ants, which found their way through the smallest crevices, against which I 
could take no other revenge than by capturing, and sending them, dead or 
living, to Berlin for examination. Rather than be annoyed with these little 
creatures, I should have preferred the all-dreaded mosquitoes, with which I 
have not yet made acquaintance. Bats are not uncommon kere, and even 
sometimes became our bedfellows ; because the style of building is adapted ta 


i 


Domestic Notices: — England. 139 


the climate, having air-holes instead of windows, and the rooms are open 
above, with no other covering than the roof. Still we found our social circle 
in the evenings after sunset extremely agreeable ; and we amused ourselves in 
a somewhat broken Spanish, and a general smoking of cigars, in which even 
the ladies, without any exception, took a part. (Garten Zeitung.) 


Art. III. Domestic Notices. 


ENGLAND. 


BuiLpine Villas on the Site of the Kitchen-Gardens at Kensington. (From a 
Correspondent.)— As it appears that the plan of lotting off the ground 
lately occupied by the kitchen-gardens at Kensington for villa sites is to be 
carried out, I lose no time in making some observations which I had 
prepared when the plan was first brought forward, and which were reserved 
until it should be more matured, as I had some hopes it might be with- 
drawn by the proposers, whom I suppose to be the same that originated the 
notable scheme of selling off the plants and breaking up the establishment at 
Kew, from which the public were only saved by the active vigilance of some 
members of both houses of parliament. It is certainly singular that-almost 
the only legislative measure to be carried on in this short session should be 
this ; and that the new government, who are to repudiate the plans of their 
predecessors, should have at once adopted this, to us, most objectionable one. 
We cannot forget that it is to the same party we owe the demolition of the 
magnificent trees in Carlton Gardens, and the forming of the embankment at 
an enormous expense; the wretched architecture which occupies the finest 
site in London; and, but for the resolute interference of William IV., the 
exclusion (which was the real object) of the public from access to the Park 
from Waterloo Place. These plans, in which both parties are concerned, 
only show the necessity of the utmost vigilance on the part of those who have 
it in their power to check the proceedings of administrations, and who, I 
hope, will come forward on this occasion, and arrest the course of this 
measure. 

Ido not at all blame the government for carrying out the plan of making 
a large and proper kitchen establishment at Windsor, and suppressing all the 
minor and detached branches; quite the contrary. I very much approve 
of it ; and only wish that instead of a number of the most paltry palaces in 
Kurope, we had two or three good ones, and the rest done away. All I 
object to is the mode of providing for it. The space no longer wanted for the 
use of the palace should be given to the public, which, under reservations and 
proper restrictions, has a right and claim to access to these gardens and parks. 
In the vast increase now taking place in every direction of the metropolis, every 
inch of ground which can be reserved from the dealers in ground rents and 
brick and mortar should be so; and the parks are at present by no means too 
large, but the contrary. The site in question has other claims to be reserved 
for some better purpose than the paltry one it is destined to. From its dis- 
_ tance from the mass of buildings and manufactories, the smoke of which is so 
destructive to vegetation almost everywhere else, it may be judiciously applied 
to purposes which cannot be effected in parts nearer to them; and there are 
many purposes both of use and ornament to which it may be converted. 

The paltry and miserable sum of 1000/. per annum, to obtain which, it 
appears, is the object of the plan, is sufficiently characteristic of us; and as 
no other public ground is brought forward to support it, I hope that 
the whole metropolis, which is interested in it, will stir and meet in the 
parishes to protest against it, and call the attention of the members, without 
distinction of party, for it is no party question, to protest and raise their voices 
against it before it be too late. — W. September 20. 

Dartmoor Granite as a building Material——Dr. Buckland, at the Plymouth 
meeting, exhibited a series of specimens from Lord Morley’s granite quarries, 


140 Domestic Notices : —- Scotland. 


in Prince Town, Dartmoor. To the depth of 50 or 60 feet the granite is 
more or less decomposed, and it is surface granite which has been employed in 
almost all cases, because it was obtained cheapest ; and the result has been, 
that in all buildings which have stood for any number of years, such as Dart- 
moor Prison, each block of granite has become a spongy mass, absorbing 
moisture continually, rusting the iron bars employed in combination with it, 
and rendering the cells so “damp that they can only be used by covering the 
walls within and without with Roman cement or tiles. This defect is insepa- 
rable from all the granite which is not quarried from a depth beyond the 
influence of decomposition. At the bottom of the Morley works, a mass of 
granite is exposed to a great extent, which is entirely free from this influence : it 
is from this the granite is obtained now being used for Lord Nelson’s 
monument in Trafalgar Square. (Edin. Phil. Tiere. vol. xxxi., Oct. 1841, 
p. 4:29.) 

Clay Floors. — With respect to the clay floors in the neighbourhood of 
Houghton, 1 do not know precisely their composition ; but we have, near 
Norwich, many clay floors in barns, malt-houses, hay-lofts, &e. ; ; they are 
merely a mixture of clay and marl (in what proportion, I know "not), well 
compounded, and trodden by horses, and sometimes mixed with chopped straw ; 
and, for malt-house floors, bullock’s blood is added. There are certain men 
here who do these works well, and keep the proportions a secret; and [ 
apprehend a deal depends on the quality of the clay and marl, so that direc- 
tions would not apply to every locality. I built some time ago a workhouse 
for 300 paupers entirely of clay walls, and it is now as good : as any building 
needs to be. —W. T. Norwich, Dec. 22. 1841. 

The Wire-Worm. — The ravages of this worm, one of the greatest enemies 
of agriculture, have, during the present season, been so great, that we avail 
ourselves with avidity of the result of any practical experiments which may 
have been made for the extirpation of the insect. The subjoined is extracted 
from the Report of the South Wilts and Warminster Farmers’ Club, recently 
published : — 

“Tn October, 1836, finding that the wire-worm was fast destroying the 
wheat plant, and, it being drilled, I had it trodden by men, one man treading 
two ranks at a time firmly into the ground; the expense was 2s. 4d. per acre, 
and it was quite effectual in stopping the ravages of the wire-worm. A week 
or two after, the wheat in an adjoining field began to show the ravages of the 
wire-worm, and I pursued the same plan with similar success. In February, 
1839, the wheat in a piece of down land, which had been sown late in Octo- 
ber, was becoming thinner very fast ; the ground being in a hollow state after 
the frost, the young backward plant appeared to be losing its hold and dying 
away. I then'sent a number of women to tread it, and ‘T never saw a piece 
of wheat improve faster than it did after the treading ; I had not only a good 
crop of corn, but also more straw, than from any other piece of land in my 
occupation. In the spring of 1840, finding the wheat in the down land losing 
plant again, in consequence of the cold weather, I tried the same plan, and 
there was a speedy change for the better in the appearance of the wheat after- 
wards. The plant continued to flourish ; and, at present, I have a good crop 
of wheat on land on which I never saw a good crop before. The remarks I 
have made apply to hill land, although I have no doubt that the spring tread- 
ing would be found highly beneficial on all soils, when, in consequence of 
frost or long-continued dry weather, the land is in a light pulverised state.” 
(From the Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, Dec. 4. 1841.) 


SCOTLAND. 


Caledonian Horticultural Society—We are happy to learn that this Society 
is about to erect an exhibition hall in its gardens at Inverleith. The following 
are extracts from the proposals put in circulation :— 


Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 141 


* The erection of a building for the exhibition of plants sent for competition 
has been long a desideratum. Plants so sent have hitherto been placed in 
the shed at the back of the hothouses, to be inspected and judged by the Com- 
mittee of Prizes; and they have, from the exposed situation of the place, not 
unfrequently sustained considerable injury; while, from the want of a suffi- 
ciency of light, their qualities cannot be properly ascertained. 

« A hall or large room would be extremely useful during the quarterly 
meetings of March and December, when no regular exhibition can take place 
out of doors. At these meetings, the judges are unavoidably confined in 
small apartments while considering the merits of the competition articles ; and 
it has been found utterly impossible to point out to the members assembled 
in the Council Room, as should be done, the prize articles, while the report 
of the Prize Committee is submitted. 

“It may also be stated, that very great anxiety prevails amongst the assem- 
bled practical gardeners forthwith to learn who are the successful competitors : 
and it not unfrequently happens that erroneous impressions arise from mis- 
takes regarding the awards of the judges; and these are never properly 
cleared up, until the official notice from the secretary is received, or the 
report be published in the newspapers. This would be avoided, if a hall could 
be erected where gardeners and others interested would be present while 
the report of the Committee of Prizes is read to the Society. All would thus 
obtain accurate information as to the competition and as to the successful 
candidates, to be communicated among themselves, and to their employers. 
In consequence of the present want of means of obtaining satisfactory in- 
formation, much of that interest which such competition meetings are calcu- 
lated to produce in stimulating gardeners to renewed exertions is lost. 

“The probability of the Society being enabled hereafter to offer increased 
prizes makes the proposition for a hall still more urgent. The enlarged 
prizes to be offered by the Society for the ensuing year will undoubtedly 
create greater anxiety amongst competitors to know the result of the Prize 
Committee’s deliberations before they leave the garden ; a result which cer- 
tainly ought to be promulgated as speedily as practicable. 

“ At present the largest public apartment in the garden is the Council-Room, 
which is only 14 ft. by 16 ft. Although well adapted for council and com- 
mittee meetings, it is much too confined for general meetings. Indeed, it is 
well known that many members absent themselves, in consequence of the 
limited accommodation ; and practical gardeners are wholly excluded. 

“ Now that horticulture in all its branches is making such rapid strides all 
over the country, it would certainly be desirable that this, the leading horti- 
cultural society in Scotland, should extend its usefulness, and keep pace with 
the demands of the times. 

“The Highland and Agricultural Society has commenced a new era, by 
holding monthly meetings for the reading of papers, and discussing points con- 
nected with agriculture ; why should not this Society follow the example, 
when there is a mass of useful materials easily attainable? For some time 
past, it has been strongly urged by many members of the Society, that a hor- 
ticultural periodical should be set on foot. Such a publication would certainly 
be desirable ; but unless some method were adopted for having it supplied 
with useful matter, it would be almost useless to commence it. One of the 
chief sources for such a supply would be afforded by monthly meetings, at 
which papers could be read, new plants, fruits, and vegetables exhibited, and 
notices regarding their method of culture brought before the members; easy 
admission being afforded to all practical gardeners by means of visiters’ 
tickets. Horticultural implements and designs of various descriptions might 
also be brought forward. At such meetings, members (ladies and gentlemen) 
should have free admission for themselves and for one friend. This would be 
one of the greatest advantages held out by the Society, and would be the 
means of inducing many to become members. If such an object were accom- 


142 Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 


plished, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society would unquestionably 
attain a status superior to what it now holds, and be the means of conferring 
inestimable benefit on the country. At such meetings, useful and instructive 
lessons might occasionally be given to members ; for instance, the various 
methods of grafting, inarching, budding, &c., might be explained and illus- 
trated by practical operations, Besides, gardeners and amateurs could there 
meet familiarly together, and discuss different matters of interest, which might 
afterwards be committed to writing, and read to the Society; and thus a 
friendly intercourse between the members and practical gardeners would be 
promoted, a measure which Dr. Duncan, the father and founder of the Society, 
had in view at its commencement. 

“ The proposed building could also be advantageously used as an exhibition 
room for select plants in flower from the hothouses in the garden, and for 
others sent by gardeners and amateurs from the neighbourhood, at various 
seasons of the year; for a museum for plants, model-tools, &c., connected 
with horticulture ; for exhibiting in glass cases, collections of named fruits, 
preservations of tropical fruits, casts of fruits, &c.; and also for a botanical 
and horticultural library, where the periodical and other works belonging to 
the Society might be arranged for the use of the members and others. 

“ Tt is scarcely necessary to add, that such a hall would be of great general 
advantage as a place of resort for members and their friends at all times, 
and would afford convenient shelter on promenade days, in case of bad 
weather coming on.”—WDec. 9. 1841. 

The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, as noticed in the pre- 
ceding article, have lately begun to hold monthly meetings for reading papers 
and for verbal discussion, a practice which cannot fail to be attended with 
the best results. 

The first paper read, and which was by Mr. Oliver, Lochend, was on the 
importance to agriculture of discovering new fertilising substances. He com- 
menced by stating his conviction that, by the discovery of new fertilising sub- 
stances, in connexion with thorough draining, a great and fresh impulse 
might be given to agriculture ; and, after adverting to the importance of pro- 
viding an increase of food for the rapidly increasing population of this 
country, he stated that the great desideratum for effecting this object was the 
means of keeping up and increasing the fertility of the soil under a continued 
system of culture, by restoring to it more food for plants than had been 
carried off by their production ; and by a reference to the past history and 
progress of the art, showed that the latter had been nearly in proportion to 
our means of supplying the food of plants. In illustration of this view, he 
contrasted the weight of materials afforded for manure, under the old system 
of successive white crops, with those obtained after the mtroduction of 
turnips and other green crops, which he distinguished by the name of manure- 
making crops ; showing, on the authority of writers on rural affairs of the 
period, that a farm of 100 acres, under the former, yielded only about 45 tons 
of straw, while under the system which followed the introduction of green 
crops, it yields upwards of 600 tons of straw, hay, and turnip, to be applied 
to that purpose: thus demonstrating, that to this circumstance, more than all 
others, the progress made in agriculture, which enables us to supply food for 
our present population of nearly 20,000,000, with little more reliance on foreign 
countries than at the former period, when it was under 9,000,000, is mainly to 
be ascribed to the increased means of furnishing the food of plants to the soil. 

He next pointed out the system of management which followed the intro- 
duction of manure-making crops on lands of the first, second, and third 
degrees of fertility, and explained by what changes on these systems, with the 
aid of new and additional fertilising substances, the quantity of grain produced 
might be greatly increased, as well as a large addition made to the means of fat- 
tening live stock. It appeared, for instance, that farms situated near large towns, 
from which an abundance of manure could be procured, should adopt the four- 
course shift, which allows one half of the land to be under grain crops ; 


Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 143 


whereas those at greater distances, and especially of inferior soil, must follow a 
five, a six, or a seven course, which only allows two fifths, two sixths, and 
two sevenths, respectively, to be under corn crops, thereby limiting the 
amount of food derived from farinaceous substances, while it does not increase 
but diminish the means of fattening live stock, as compared with what would 
be afforded under the change contemplated by Mr. Oliver. This was explained 
and illustrated by details which we cannot enter into. 

Mr. Oliver next adverted to the probability of succeeding in the discovery 
of fertilising substances, by referring to the recent progress made in chemistry 
and vegetable physiology since the publication of Sir Humphry Davy’s 
Lectures ; to the interest taken in the subject recently by such distinguished 
scientific individuals as DeCandolle, Macaire, Liebig, Professor Johnston, and 
others ; to the interest also beginning to be felt by practical agriculturists in 
the subject ; and, above all, to the successful results obtained by those who 
had instituted and conducted experiments with new specific substances 
adapted to specific crops. The results of several were stated; but our limits 
prevent us entering into it further than to give the import of one or two very 
shortly. In adverting to the experiments on ammoniacal water and other 
substances by Mr. Bishop, overseer at Methven Castle, and read at the last 
meeting, it appeared that an application of ammoniacal water, which cost 
about 1/7, 15s., gave an increase of 274 stones of hay per Scotch acre, leaving 
a profit (if taken at 6d. per stone) of upwards of 5/. In consequence of 
suggestions circulated last spring by Professor Johnston of Durham, to whose 
intelligence and zeal Mr. Oliver adverted in strong terms, experiments were 
instituted partly in England and partly in Scotland. 

Near Aske Hall, in Yorkshire, on the property of the Earl of Zetland, six 
bushels of common salt, which cost 13s., gave 1 ton of additional hay per 
imperial acre; 20 bushels of soot, which also cost 13s., gave 18 cwt., or 
90 stones; 112lb. nitrate of soda, which cost 22s., gave 12 cwt., or 60 stones. 

At Erskine, the property of Lord Blantyre, near Glasgow, 120 lb. of nitrate 
of soda gave one ton of additional hay per imperial acre ; and the same 
weight of saltpetre gave 163 cwt.; but on heavy soils the effect was about 
one half only. 

Results equally favourable were obtained by Mr. Fleming of Barrochan, on 
grass and almost every other description of farm produce ; but we have not 
space to follow Mr. Oliver in all the details which he gave of these expe- 
riments, which is the less necessary as the directors were recommended, on 
the motion of Mr. Finnie, Swanston, to publish the paper in their Trans- 
actions. We shall, therefore, only, in taking leave of this highly interesting 
paper, give the result of a single experiment with a mixture of the sulphate 
and nitrate of soda, on potatoes: — 


s. d. 

Sulphate of soda, 75lb., dry, at 10s. per cwt., Ga 
or 150]b. in crystals at 5s. - - 

Nitrate of soda, 75lb. at 22s. ~ - 14 9 

21 6 


The return for this 2ls. 6d. was upwards of eight tons of potatoes. The 
results of these experiments are, no doubt, too limited for the introduction of 
general principles ; but we agree with Mr. Oliver, that they hold out sufficient 
encouragement for further enquiry on the subject of specific manures. 

Sir John Robison described a new form of roofing-tile, of French invention, 
which appears to combine several advantages over those used in this country ; 
being lighter than Scotch tiles, in the proportion of 681b. per square yard to 
1101b. per yard, which is the usual weight. The joints of the French tiles 
fit into one another in such a way as to render them easily made absolutely. 
weather-tight, and so as to afford no lodgement for water to be blown inwards 
by the wind, or to be affected by frost. The general aspect of roofs formed 


144 Retrospective Criticism, Queries, Obituary. 


of them was described as being agreeable. Specimens of the tiles and the 
model of a cottage roofed with them were exhibited, and have been lodged in 
the museum. As in some parts of the country the appearance and cost of 
tiles affect both the economy and beauty of our cottages, this new contrivance 
appears to be deserving of attention both by tile-makers and builders. 

[Of these tiles which are as beautiful as they are economical, engravings will 
be found in the Supplement to our Encyclopedia of Cottage Architecture, 
and we hope soon to be able to name some places in England where they are 
manufactured. ] 

Sir John Robison described a box-bedstead suited to cottages, proposed 
by Dr. Charles Wilson, Kelso ; the peculiarities of which consist in having 
openings which can be made at pleasure in the top, back, and one end, 
whereby not only a perfect ventilation can be effected through it in case of 
sickness, but easy access afforded for the medical man to his patient. By a 
contrivance for advancing the rod from the front of the bed, a screened space 
is obtained, which answers the purpose of a dressing-room. If the box form 
of bed is to be retained in cottages at all, the arrangement of the curtain is 
worthy of general adoption. (Scotsman, Jan. 12. 1842.) [This, also, will be 
figured in the Supplement referred to.] 


Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism. 


ErraTum.—In the Vol. for 1841, p. 603., line 14. from the top, for “ Blue Clay 
from a tilled field,” read ‘“‘ Blue clay from a tile-field.” 

_ Mode of preserving Seeds for a Number of Years. (p. 47.) —Since I sent the 
paragraph (p.47.), respecting the preservation of seeds for experiments on 
their vitality, there has been a meeting of the Committee in London to con- 
sider the same (on Friday last, Dec. 10th), when it was resolved that the 
seeds should be kept in jars made of coarse pottery, and with one aperture ; 
not Ina mass, as indicated in that paragraph, but in papers, each paper to 
contain only a sufficient quantity of seed, mixed with a proportion of dried 
sand, for one experiment: they are then to be placed_one species in a jar, and 


covered to the depth of 1 in. with dried sand; the mouths of the jars bemg 


covered with strong paper dipped in corrosive sublimate. Other modes are 
to be tried, but this is to be the most general one. — W. H. Baxter. Botanic 
Gardens, Oxford, Dec. 6. 1841. 


ArT. V. Queries and Answers. 


THE Weather of 1841. — Now that we have left 1841 behind us, will your 
correspondent N. condescend to inform me, from his own observation, what 
has been the average temperature of every day during the past year ? — 
N. M.T, Folkstone, Jan. 1842. 


ArT. VI. Obituary. 


Dimp, Jan. 10., Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq., F.R.S., G.S., &c., for many 
years Vice-President of the Linnean Society ; and universally respected by 
botanists, for the kindness and liberality with which he allowed the use of his 
valuable library and extensive herbarium. Mr. Lambert is also advantage- 
ously known to the botanical world by his splendid work on the Genus 
Pinus, which doubtless laid the foundation of the present very general taste 
for planting pinetums. 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
MARCH, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ArT. I. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
By the ConpucTor. 


(Continued from p.55. ) 


GarscuBeE, Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart. — Imagine a. broad’ 
extensive basin of park scenery, bounded on two sides by, irre- 
gular banks finely wooded, and the two ends lost by the banks 
apparently closing on a noble river with a rocky bottom and 
sides. Such is the idea that we formed of Garscube, when first 
we emerged from the fine old wood which covers an approach 
conducted down one of the steep banks. The effect is strik- 
ing, from the surface of the ground, and the manner in which 
it is entered from the public road. In most places the entrance 
is at right angles to the road, and the approach road within 
proceeds on a level surface, and for some distance, at least, in a 
line deviating very little from a perpendicular to the public road ; 
but here the entrance is oblique to the public road, and turns 
close to the right, the surface rapidly descending through an 
umbrageous and scattered wood, with beautiful glades of turf, 
which at once gives rise to a train of ideas as to the cause of so 
remarkable a deviation from the normal arrangement in such 
matters. After turning to the right, and while the imagination 
is still at work, we are whirled down for a considerable distance, 
till, at the base of the slope, we emerge into a beautifully undu- 
lated park, containing a splendid river, close to which we see 
the house, in the domestic Gothic style of Mr. Burns. Having 
crossed a handsome and well placed bridge, we arrive at the 
porch, and soon enter the house by one step ; but it struck us at 
the time that three steps would have given more dignity to the 
views from the apartments within, as well as the idea of a greater 
degree of security from damp to the stranger entering from with- 
out. The apartments seemed well arranged ; and the conservatory 
3d Ser.— 1842, IIT. L 


146 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


had a noble effect, from the splendid irregularity of the masses 
of leaves and flowers which over-arched the paths, and clothed 
the back wall with a surface of vegetation, from which many 
branches protruded. It will require some management to pre- 
serve this character of luxuriance, and prevent the plants from 
choking one another and getting naked below. Cutting down 
will not always do, unless the plants happen to be of nearly the 
same degree of hardiness and vigour of growth, and grow and 
thrive in the same kind of soil. The cutting down and the cut- 
ting in systems, are generally the most economical, and may, at 
all events, be pursued for a few years; but ultimately the entire 
mass of soil, and all the plants, will require to be renewed. We ° 
could refer to many conservatories in England, where, from al- 
lowing every plant to assume its native vigour, and occupy what- 
ever bulk it can in the house, the whole surface of the glass 
comes at last to be covered with, perhaps, a passiflora, and one 
or two acacias: and this takes place so gradually, that the pro- 
prietors of such conservatories are often not aware of the result ; 
just as in some pleasure-grounds a few strong shrubs are allowed 
to take the lead, and choke all the rest. We have generally found 
that the best kept conservatories are those where the master or 
mistress is without the cares of a family. A good beginning is 
made at first when the party is perhaps newly married, but with 
the increase of children there is a necessity for greater economy, 
and the conservatory is one of the first gardening scenes con- 
nected with the house that is neglected, or on which no expense 
for new plants and soil is bestowed. This is far from being the 
case at Garscube; but we make this and similar remarks as being 
the only means of giving any value to this notice, since, being at 
the time in bad health, and having taken no memorandums, we 
cannot pretend to give accurate descriptions. Neither will it be 
supposed, we hope, that we intend to recommend a rigid and 
formal system of pruning and training in conservatories, like 
what we should wish to see in a peach-house or a vinery. Our 
beau-ideal of what ought to be is this. Every plant planted in the 
bed of soil taking its natural shape, and only gently cut in when 
it began to interfere with the others, or to occupy a greater ho- 
rizontal space at the top than it does at its base, because this 
would deprive the sides of the plant of sufficient vertical light. 
The climbers trained up the rafters; and the evergreens such as 
camellias, and other winter-flowering plants such as acacias, trained 
against the back wall. he former we would allow to hang down 
in festoons, and the latter we would at first train in till they 
covered the wall, and afterwards allow the laterals produced by 
the secondary branches to protrude themselves in a natural 
manner, as they do in the conservatory at Redleaf, and at 
various other places. ‘This picture refers to conservatories 


Garscube House. 147 


where all the plants are grown in the free soil. Where only 
the climbers are grown in the free soil, and all the other plants 
in pots or boxes, as at Ashridge and Bromley Hill, we would 
endeavour, unless it could not be done without offering great 
violence to the plant, to give each individual plant a regular 
form. 

The terrace garden, between the house and the river, is the 
only part of design connected with Garscube House that ap- 
peared to us open to objections. The space is too small, and 
what makes it appear ridiculous is, that a broad gravel walk 
carried from the steps of the upper terrace terminates abruptly 
at the river in a triangular point; that is to say, the walk is 
some feet longer on one of its sides than on the other. It 
has no artificial termination, and a stranger is puzzled to know 
what it can possibly mean. ‘The truth is, that when a house is 
set down on the margin of a river, it ought either to be placed 
close to it, as Culzean Castle is placed close to the sea, or placed 
at such a distance from it as to afford room for a system of 
terraces which shall not give an idea of incompleteness ; 
technically speaking, the main walk here is imperfectly de- 
veloped. In the case of Garscube, the outer wall of a terrace 
might have been founded on the rock which forms the bed of 
the river, and this would have given a degree of grandeur, 
originality, and dignity to the situation of the house, which would 
have corresponded admirably with the house itself from its 
architecture, and the romantic character of the sloping declivities 
which form the boundaries of the park. 

From the house we proceeded to the farm-yard and the 
kitchen-garden. ‘The former exhibits a very ample and com- 
plete arrangement, Sir Archibald being a great agriculturist, and 
having, by the frequent-drain system and subsoil-ploughing, 
greatly increased the value of lands not before worth more 
than a shilling or two per acre. The substantial manner in 
which the stable and farm-offices are built, and the order and 
regularity which appeared to reign through them, gave us the 
highest satisfaction. 

The kitchen-garden is large, and surrounded by substantial 
brick walls; but, like almost all the Scotch gardens, even the 
magnificent one lately formed for the Duke of Buccleugh at 
Dalkeith, there is a want of architectural design, which, in a 
grand place like Garscube, where every thing else is archi- 
tectural, is to us a great defect. ‘The doors and gateways are 
mere holes in the walls, without architraves or architectural 
piers to give consequence to them; and where so much archi- 
tectural design is very properly shown on the offices, we know 
no reason why a proportionate care should not be exhibited in 


the details of the walls and buildings of the kitchen-garden. 
1) 4 


148 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


The garden is cultivated in the Scotch manner, with flowers 
in the borders to the walks, and crops on the wall borders ; 
two things ruinous to all expectations of abundant crops of 
fruit. Whenever we have represented this practice as no longer 
followed in the best gardens in England, and in many in Scot- 
land, the question has been put to us, How shall we get our 
early crops of peas, potatoes, cauliflowers, &c.? The usual 
answer which we make to this question is that supplied by Mr. 
Errington, one of the most scientific and experienced practical 
gardeners in England, viz. that there is not an early crop of 
vegetables which could not be obtained within one week of 
those on a wall border, by making in the compartments artificial 
slopes to the south, and by careful protection. (See our volume for 
1836, p.129.) We believe, however, that the mode of cropping at 
Garscube and many other places is followed, because, being that 
of the country generally, if another mode were to be adopted, 
and a failure to be the result, the gardener would probably lose 
his situation. ‘The masters and mistresses, therefore, must be 
enlightened on this subject, before much can be expected from 
their gardeners. We should like much to stimulate masters to 
enquiries of this kind. 

We could wish that some dozen or two of Scotch gardeners, 
who manage gardens that have been made and planted within 
seven or ten years, would send us the statistics of their wall- 
fruit, and the surface of walling which is or ought to be covered 
with trees. We care little for the produce of one wall or of one 
tree. What we want is, the number of square feet of walling 
with a south aspect, and the kinds of trees that have been planted 
against it; the number of square feet covered by these trees, 
and the number of fruit which has been produced by them for the 
last three or four years. ‘The same of all the other aspects. 
What a difference would be found between the produce of such 
gardens as Erskine House, Kilkeran, Airthrie House, and a 
dozen others that we could name, and walled gardens in general ! 
not so much from ignorance or want of industry on the part of 
the gardener, but merely from a want of courage to depart from 
the customary system. In the days of London and Wise, and 
from that time to the middle of the last century, it was customary 
for gentlemen who had first-rate kitchen-gardens, to have them 
visited and reported on once a year, by the royal gardener of 
the time, or by some other eminent practical horticulturist. We 
have often thought, and more than once expressed our opinion 
in this Magazine, that the revival of such a practice might do 
good. At all events, it would justify gardeners in deviating from 
the usual routine. At the same time, we would by no means 
have gardeners so far interfered with as to render them mere 
machines, and lessen too much their responsibility. 


Glasgow New Botanic Garden. 149 


We departed by another and most delightful approach through 
an irregular grove of oaks, elms, pines, firs, cedars, Portugal 
laurels, and hollies. This approach, as far as we can recollect, 
was on a comparatively level surface, constituting the top of a 
bank, which formed one of the boundaries of what doubtless 
was at one time a broad lake, with a river running through it, 
but which is now low irregular ground with eminences which at 
one time had been islands. The place was moderately well kept, 
particularly the kitchen-garden, and though it rained the whole 
time that we were viewing it, we left it very much delighted. 

Glasgow New Botanic Garden.—We returned by the New 
Botanic Garden, and walked round it with Mr. Murray. When 
finished, it will combine a pleasure-ground with a scientific 
garden. The situation of the hothouses, and of the curator’s 
house, is commanding; and between the terraces on which the 
hothouses stand and the main entrance, on a lower level, there 
will be at the bottom a large basin and fountain, and, next, a 
series of horizontal terraces, with steps, forming part of a broad 
walk up the middle, somewhat in the manner of the terraces and 
central straight walk at Sans Souci, but with this difference, 
that instead of training fruit trees on the low terrace walls, they 
will be devoted to half-hardy things. Perhaps we are mistaken 
in thinking that this is the plan. At all events, the work of 
forming the garden seemed going on with spirit. 

Glasgow.—Through the kindness of the Secretary of the Hor- 
ticultural Society, we drove to the different public buildings and 
squares, and though we have nothing to say in the way of de- 
tail, we cannot help expressing our admiration of the many 
handsome street elevations, executed from the designs of Mr. 
Hamilton and his sons; and more particularly the new Banking 
House and the new Club House. We cannot leave Glasgow 
without mentioning the Eagle Inn, and its most obliging land- 
lord, Mr. Fraser; for his accommodations and attention we 
found to be far beyond what are usually met with at such places. 
We were forcibly struck with the difference, when, about a 
month afterwards, we were obliged to pass through Glasgow, and 
stop at the Black Bull. 

The Climate.-—We have complained much of the rain, which 

-we can truly say fell more or less every day during the month 
that we were at Crosslee Cottage, and the two or three days that 
we remained in Glasgow ; but it appears from the following com- 
munication, received from a gentleman on whom we can depend, 
that the climate is by no means so moist as is commonly thought. 

*‘ You say that the ‘trees, &c., are rarely seen in a thriving 
state, which you attribute to some other cause than the lodge- 
ment ‘ of the earthy part of the smoke on the leaves,’ because, 

: L3 


150 Baron Hiigel’s Garden and Collection of Plants. 


&c., and here you cannot resist the old answer to the question, 
Does it always rain? ‘ No, it sometimes snaws (snows).’ Now, in 
1841, we had 143 fair days, 66 cloudy, 41 stormy, 76 rainy, 41 
showery, and 12snowy. But, in as far as the fuliyinous particles are 
concerned in not injuring the trees, you are quite correct, even 
without their being washed off, thus evidencing in some degree 
their innocuous quality; because upon the south’side of the river 
even the Pinus sylvéstris thrives amidst a perfect Pandemonium 
of smoke, arising from the coal and iron-works in that neigh- 
bourhood: but there exist no chemical factories on the south, 
unlike in that respect the north bank of the Clyde, where these 
exist in great number; the acidulous emanations from which, 
even at the distance you mention, wither up the leaves in the 
course of a few hours; thus, during summer, the leaves of the 
common lilac, in front of my house, fell off and were renewed 
two or three times, or, in other words, as often as the wind 
blew from that quarter; eventually the twigs became dried up, 
then the branches, and finally the trunk itself. 

“¢ Whilst on this subject, | may mention a fact which I cannot 
sufficiently explain upon physiological principles, and I shall be 
glad to be gratified in your continuation in March next, viz. that 
those plants and trees whose habitat is either alpine or maritime, 
such as the thrift, Arméria, the saxifrages, particularly the 
S. umbrosa (London pride), the birch, &c., flourish most lux- 
uriantly even in the midst of those chemical emanations.—S. 
Jan. 27. 1842.” 

Probably the leaves of alpine plants may have fewer stomata 
than those of plants which grow on plains, and hence may be 
less affected by changes of air than those which have numerous 
stomata. ‘They may thus thrive in an atmosphere impregnated 
with salt, and also in one impregnated with soot. This, how- 
ever, is mere conjecture. 


( To be continued. ) 


Arr. II. A Description of the Garden and Collection of Plants of 
Baron Hiugel, at Hietzing, near Vienna. By M. Maximiitan 
PEINTNER, Secretary to the Imperial Horticultural Society. 


(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, August 21st, 1841.) 


Tue zeal which the celebrated traveller and botanist, Baron Karl von Hiigel 

has shown for several years past in increasing his collection of plants, is truly” 
astonishing. He spared no expense in obtaining whatever was new, both 
near and at a distance, to enrich his garden, and obtain a complete collection. 
His efforts are now crowned with success, as he possesses at present one of 


Baron Hiigel’s Garden and Collection of Plants. 151] 


the largest collections of plants on the Continent ; one which, in number 
and value, may vie with the collections of any country. 

While the plants in the garden continued to increase, greenhouses also 
sprang up from the designs of the baron, most tastefully arranged and ex- 
tremely well adapted for the purpose. It is indeed a most delightful treat for 
the lovers of plants and flowers to behold this beautiful collection. When 
nature is sunk in the sleep of winter in the open air, here the camellia, azalea, 
acacia, most of the Papilionacez, and many other families of plants, appear in 
their richest garb. This garden is not only interesting when the severe cold 
limits our visit to the greenhouse; it is even much more so to the botanist 
and amateur during spring and the summer months. Imposing groups of 
beautiful plants, splendid collections of different families in bewildering variety 
of colour, and all so tastefully arranged that it gives a good idea of the 
knowledge and taste of the proprietor. 

For a full account of this rich collection I must refer to the systematic 
catalogue published in 1840, and shail here confine my remarks to plants at 
present in flower, and particularly remarkable for their beauty, rarity, or size. 

The view, immediately on entering the garden, is one very rarely seen, and 
displays knowledge, taste, and propriety, often looked for elsewhere in vain. 
{ particularly allude to the beautiful terrace in front of the living-rooms, 
where the pillars, surrounded by climbing plants, seem composed of masses of 
flowers; where in the beds of flowers between the pedestals, revel, in all the 
richness of colouring, Lilium longiflorum, Gladiolus psittacinus and flori- 
bindus, Tigridia Pavoénia Juss. (Ferrara L.), Ferraria undulata, and nu- 
merous petunias ; and where the wire plant-boxes are overgrown with different 
species of Lathyrus, with a gigantic specimen of Fichsia falgens and Lebre- 
tonia coccinea in the centre, by the sides of which are rare specimens of 
Sc6ttia trapezdides and dentata, and new species of Acacia and Gnidia. The 
terrace floor is tessellated, and on it are judiciously distributed stages covered 
with beautiful flowering plants. Single plants, remarkable for their variety 
or beauty, stand alone on the terrace before the pillars ; and among these 
some Protedcee may be particularly mentioned, and a Burchéllia capénsis, 
10 ft. high, and covered with innumerable flowers. Along the terrace stand 
large plants, such as aloes and Phérmium ténax, in beautiful vases, different spe- 
cies of Phee‘nix, large cordylines, Chamze‘rops humilis (var. excélsa), and boxes 
of painted china, consisting of square pieces put together, and filled with 
petunias and verbenas, thus even increasing the richness of the flowers in 
a manner peculiarly beautiful. From the splendid and most tastefully fitted up 
apartments of the proprietor, which recall the time when he lived among the 
princes of India, a view is obtained of great part of the garden, and the eye 
gets a glimpse of the romantic village of Upper St. Beit near St. Beiter’s Berg, 
with the beautiful scenery in the distance. The real Chinese furniture on the 
terrace, the flags hung out above it, consisting of a white middle and red 
border, and the circular lamps brought by the baron from China, hanging 
between the pillars, give the whole the appearance of an Oriental dwelling. 

On the terrace before the sitting-room of the proprietor stands a colossal 
group of plants, consisting chiefly of the families Protedcee, Mimose, Myr- 
taceee, and several others. Near this group is situated a grove-like collection 
of Coniferz. The connoisseur will here find beautiful specimens of Araucaria 
brasiliénsis, 18 ft. high, Cunninghamia excélsa and imbricata; Pinus altissima 
Hort., Banksiana Lamb., Gerardidna Wall., halepénsis Ait. (maritima Lamé.), 
Lambertidna Dougl., Coalteri D. Don (macrocarpa Lindl.), monticola Dougl. ; 
A’bies cephalénica Loud. (A. Luscombeana Hort., taxifolia Hort.), Menziész 
Dougl., Smithidna Wall. (Morinda Hort.) ; Picea Webbiana Wall. ( Pinus spec- 
tabilis Lamb.) ; Cédrus Deodara Roxb., and Deod@ra var. péndula, intermédia, 
Podocarpus longifolius Hort., latifolius Wall., nucifer Loud. (Taxus nucifera 
L.); a remarkable specimen of Cunninghamia sinénsis Rich. (Belis jaculi- 
folia Salisb.), also the rare Dammara australis and orientalis Lamb, (A’gathis 

L 4& 


152 Baron Hiigel’s Garden and Collection of Plants. 


Salisb.), Dacrydium elatum Wall. (Juniperus Roxb.), and many others of the 
most beautiful kinds of Coniferze ; while different species of Callitris and Ca- 
suarina stand in the centre of the group on a small stage of ornamental iron- 
work, down the sides of which small varieties of plants are seen gracefully 
bending. The charm of the whole picture is enhanced by the splendour of 
Catilpa syringefolia Sims (Bignonia Catdlpa L.) in full flower, and by the 
delightful perfume of the blossoms of the shady lime tree, which lends its 
peculiar charm to the atmosphere. 

A complete collection of Indian varieties of rhododendrons is situated on 
the further side of this group, and the whole is remarkable for beauty and 
luxuriance. ‘More to the right are seen the most beautiful erythrinas, near 
which are groups of Azalea pontica and Paonia Moztan Sw. (many species) 
in splendid flower. 

The more the beholder advances, the more he fancies himself transported to 
Japan, as a forest of camellias in which gigantic specimens stand that once 
ornamented the gardens of Saxony, and the largest of which is 22 ft. high, 
affords abundant shade. The many hundred lofty stems of camellias, mixed 
with those of a lower growth, astonish the connoisseur, and especially when 
he is informed that this collection consists of more than 1000 varieties. 

- On the lawn on the right stand beautiful exotic trees and shrubs, which 
have attained a tolerable height ; and of these I need only mention Diospy= 
ros Lotus, Virgflia litea; Magnolia acuminata, tripétala, Soulangeana; Aralia 
spinosa, Bétula laciniata var. péndula, Fagus sylvatica var. purpurea, Aticuba 
japonica, and several species of Mahonia. A group of Clerodéndrum flor. rub. 
simpl., in the parterre, is worthy also of particular consideration. 

You now enter the houses, and come first to the division filled with Cacti. 
The collection is rich, and part of it was purchased some years ago at 
Dresden by the baron, where it was under the care of the court gardener, 
M. Terseheck, and was universally admired. The next compartment contains 
hothouse plants remarkable for their outward habit, their size, and beauty, such 
as Panddnus humilis, Dracee‘na Draco, Latrus Cinnamomum, and some species 
of Tillandsia, &c. The other division of this house is separated into two beds, 
in which the specimens are planted ; these are mostly of the families of Mimosa 
and Papilionacee. I must not omit to mention the beautiful specimens of 
Acacia Cunninghamia Hook., Juawdra, decora, homomalla, polymérpha, 
obovata, pentadénia, pubéscens, and vestita, which are in the middle part of 
the house, and form an avenue of overhanging trees; also, Gompholobium 
polymérphum elatum, ‘Oxylobium ellipticum, Indigofera australis, Corrze\a 
speciosa, Polygala attenuata, Eriostémon cuspidatus and éuxifolius, Lis- 
santhe sapida, Conostylis jincea, &c., which stand m a bed like a thick 
forest ; among which are seen Kenneédya rubicinda and longeracemosa, beau- 
tifully winding round the supports of the house. The second bed is prin-~ 
cipally filled with the rarest camellias, in the most luxuriant condition. There 
are also other plants among them, particularly many Protedcee ; and a plant of 
Grevillea robasta is 18 ft. high, which, unfortunately, must be taken out, as it 
has already reached the height of the house. All lovers of plants must wish 
that this somewhat dangerous operation may be carefully performed. In the 
front part of the first bed inthis division, close by the lights, are two Pro- 
tedcee planted in the ground, and in front of the other bed there are small 
plants in the open ground. The whole house is divided by a passage up the 
middle, the supports of which are decorated with twining plants, and the two 
side passages have wire arches over them, covered with kennedyas and climb- 
ing plants. 

From this house you enter a small, but, as may be expected, tastefully deco- 
rated saloon. The floor, like the former, is of mosaic; the painting on the 
ceiling and walls in the Indian style, and the looking-glasses, drapery, and 
furniture are of the very newest taste. 

Adjoining to this saloon is a conservatory, in which are camellias of 
all the varieties planted in the soil. Behind them are Caméllia japonica fl. 


Baron Hiigel’s Garden and Collection of Plants. 153 


albo pléno, anemoniflora, althziflora, roseo-pléna, Sasénqua, Gussoni, &c., 
grown as espaliers, which have already covered the whole wall. A narrow 
path separates this from beds filled with high camellias and Indian azaleas. 
Among the camellias, the one most worthy of notice is C. reticulata, 14 ft. 
high, with a head 5ft. in circumference. Near the front lights, separated by 
the principal passage, are small beds, likewise filled with camellias planted in 
the soil; and by the sides of the pillars, which extend to the back part of the 
house, are the most beautiful acacias. 

You then pass under arches formed of wire, on which kennedyas and other 
climbing plants grow, also Didclea glycindides, which had already unfolded its 
splendid deep red flowers, mixed with camellias and acacias fastened to the 
wire ; and on descending a few steps you enter a small house in which the 
baron has wisely placed the whole collection of plants in small specimens, so 
that not one may escape notice, and so be perhaps entirely lost, a frequent 
occurrence in large assemblages. This collection resembles a living index. 

You next enter another house, constructed exactly like the preceding, in 
which small plants are most tastefully grouped among tufa; and as you 
passed through an ornamental arch, and descended a few steps to this house, 
in like manner you now ascend a few steps to the camellia-house already 
described, to which adjoins a long row of houses intended to contain at 
another season of the year those plants at present grouped in the open air. 

On the left is the orchideous house, in which is a collection of 83 genera 
and nearly 200 species, most of them grown on the trunks of trees, or planted 
in little baskets, from which they hang down. As this was only used as an 
orchideous house last year, it cannot be expected to be very rich in flowers. 
Some very fine forms and colours begin to unfold. Among these may be men- 
tioned: Catasétum luridum, bicornitum, tricolor; Epidéndrum crassifolium, 
Oncidium Bateri Cycnoches Loddigési, Calanthe fuscata, Acropéra Lod- 
digész, and many other species; some dendrobiums, maxillarias, oncidiums, 
&c. Nepénthes distillatoria also unfolds its blossoms. This house is heated 
by steam. 

You next find yourself in a large conservatory with upright lights, in winter 
chiefly filled with camellias; the next has slanting lights, and leads to a large 
saloon, through which you pass to the living-rooms, and, on again reaching 
the open air, you pass by the terrace already described. 

But another most delightful scene is still reserved, and that is a mosaic 
picture of flowers, a so-called Roccoco-garden* ; and we have to thank 
the Baron von Hiigel for setting the first example of a style, since gene- 
rally imitated, both here and in the vicinity. A garden laid out in this 
manner requires much skill and ability on the part of the gardener, as well in 
the arrangement as in the choice of the flowers; and he must also be careful 


* Roccoco.—We have hitherto been in the habit of considering this term 
as synonymous with what may be called the shellwork arabesque; but on 
asking a critical friend for the true meaning of the term, he sent us what 
follows : — 

** Roccoco is one of those words which, although they are in vogue both in 
conversation and writing, are not to be met with in dictionaries, any more 
than are the thousand and one terms employed either in millinery or in cookery. 
All, therefore, that I can say of it is, that it is one which seems to have been 
lately invented by the French, and was first applied to the antiquated frivolous 
taste of the period of Louis XV. It is now used as a general term of reproach 
to what is old-fashioned and tasteless in literature and art, and appears to 
correspond in some degree with our English ‘ crinkum-crankum.’ Instead of 
being aw courant du jour, dictionary-makers are always half a century behind 
the rest of the world, and seldom explain the very words one is most at loss 
to understand. — W. H, L.” 


154 Baron Hiigel’s Garden and Collection of Plants. 


that, throughout the whole summer, there be no lack of flowering plants. It 
is but justice to the baron’s head gardener (M. Abel), to say that he not only 
has fully accomplished this task, but has also been successful in all the requi- 
sites of this garden. The connoisseur, however, does not see the usual orna- 
mental plants in this sea of flowers, but a great many rarities; and, in short, 
here, as in every part of the grounds, the zesthetic taste of the baron is para- 
mount. Beautiful is this garden within a garden, and hence it has be- 
come the model garden of Austria. Here the most beautiful landscape opens 
on the view; the gently swelling hills appear in the most romantic forms, and 
on one of these is seen the pretty little garden-dwelling of Dr. von Malfatti. 
At a short distance behind you stands one of the tasteful edifices of the 
proprietor, which are one story high, viz. a summer-house. The painting of 
the saloon is in the Indian style, from a design by the baron, the ceiling con- 
sisting of various-coloured ornaments, and the walls of paintings on a red 
ground. Small brackets are fixed on it here and there, on which statues are 
placed. The chairs and sofas are covered with silk, which the baron brought 
from India and China, and the whole is arranged and kept up in the Oriental 
style. On the right is a smaller saloon, and on leaving this you enter the open 
air, where the eye is delighted with the beautiful flowering climbers, and the 
tastefully arranged flower-beds which surround the building. Some of the 
climbers grow on yellow and red rods, which support a projection of the 
summer-house, and thus form a kind of covered terrace. Farther on is a 
beautiful Catdlpa syringefolia; and on leaving the building, which is girded, as 
it were, with a band of flowers, the eye glides over a carpet of turf to a green 
hillock, where the prospect becomes more extensive. On the left, towards the 
west, are the villages of Upper and Lower St. Beit; and on the right, and 
somewhat more to the north-west, on the side of a gently swelling hill, are the 
villages of Baumgarten and Hiitteldorf. 

We now leave this part of the garden to enter the propagating department. 
This house is 125 ft. long, with slanting lights facing the east and west. It 
is heated by hot water under the direction of M. Daniel Hooibrenk, Baron 
Hiigel’s garden director, and is most admirably suited for the purpose. We 
have to thank M. Hooibrenk for having introduced this method of heating 
in Austria. He erected the first apparatus in 1837, and it has not only been 
imitated here, but in Hungary, and also in other countries. The utility 
of this method of heating in propagating plants may be easily seen when com- 
pared with the old manner, still to be met with here and there, of heating by 
means of tan and horse-dung, which is always dirty, and very uncertain. 

What M. Hooibrenk has effected by this means in propagation may be 
witnessed in the propagating garden here, where the present extensive collec- 
tion was obtained by the above method; and of these plants I need only 
mention the propagation of the Coniferee from cuttings, and other plants that 
are difficult to strike, such as Agnostus sinuata, Dracophyllum attenuatum, 
Magnolia grandiflora, Ilex Aquifolium, Quadria heterophylla, Stadmanma 
australis, Dacrydium elatum, Sapium Jerberidifolium, Lomatia ilicifolia, 
Démmara australis, Nepénthes distillatoria, Grevillea robista, Arancaria, 
&c. ; and the innumerable specimens of these show that success is not ac- 
cidental. There are whole beds of Pontic rhododendrons, ericas, camellias, 
Indian and Pontic azaleas, peonies, &c., all of which have been propagated 
by the above method. The construction of the houses already mentioned, 
fourteen in number, is likewise adapted for the propagation of plants, and does 
great credit to the skill and knowledge of M. Hooibrenk. The apparatus for 
heating those houses for propagation, and for the growth of young and tender 
plants, is usually flues. The baron, after a complete examination of all kinds 
of heating, has been fully convinced that a system of smoke flues at a moderate 
depth in the soil is the best method of heating; but these must have all the 
joints or seams stopped up by means of a very effective cement, consisting of 
a proportionate mixture of finely-sifted or beaten clay, ashes, and stone in a 
powdered state, mixed with salt water ; and the covering should be plates of 


Plans and Description of Annat Lodge. 155 


cast iron, a few ‘lines in thickness, When the cold is very severe, a basin of 
water should be placed over the place where the fire is, and thus a medium of 
moisture produced in the air, without which the great dryness would be very 
injurious. : ; 

In conclusion, allow me to add, that, by the kindness of the proprietor, every 
respectable person is admitted to visit the garden, which no doubt contributes 
greatly to increase the love for one of the noblest pleasures. 


Art. III. Plans and Description of Annat Lodge, Perth, the Pro- 
perty of Mrs. Stewart. By ARCHIBALD GoRRIE. 


I rorwarp you the plans of a villa near Perth, the grounds of 
which I laid out in the year 1814. Annat Lodge stands on the 
highest part of the lands attached to it, on the east bank of the 
Tay ; it overlooks the houses in Bridgend, the bridge, the Tay, 
and the city of Perth. Part of the lodge was built, and con- 
sequently the site fixed, before it was purchased by the late 
Lieutenant-General Robert Stewart. 

In the plan of the estate (fg. 8.), which consists of about three 
acres, a a are the boundary fences; 5, house; c, porter’s lodge; 


o S 


AGES 3 “ss 


j " se 


Fig. 8. Map of the Grounds of Annat Lodge. 


d, offices ; e, washing-green ; 7, a second porter’s lodge ; g, public 
service road; h, orchard; 27 2, flower-ground and shrubbery ; 
J» kitchen-garden ; Z, walks. 

Fig. 9. is an isometrical view of the house, showing the 
garden front, &c. 

Fig. 10. represents the ground plan of the villa, in which a is 
the porch; 4, vestibule ; c, butler’s room; d, housekeeper’s room ; 
e, kitchen ;_f, servants’ hall; g, kitchen closet; 4, scullery ; z, back 
entrance to kitchen, &c.; 4, principal stairs; 7, china closet ; m, 
dining-room ; 2, library; 0, bedroom; p, bedroom closet; q; 


S 
mo 
S 
Q 
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S 
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‘S 
Ss 
aS) 
3 
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q 
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Ss 
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156 


Fig. 9. Isometrical View of Annat Lodge. 


oom over cellars; ¢, 


s, fruit-r 
On the roof of the wing which conta 


° 
b) 


water-closet 


Ts 


° 
3 


butler’s pantry 


well. 


vants’ hall 


he ser 


Ins t 


Floor of Annat Lodge. 


Fig. 10. Ground Plan of the principal 


° 
2 


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Eb) 
aes 
Nn 
eee! 
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fas} 


Ground Plan of the Stable Offices of Annat Lodge. 


Fig. 11. 


i 


Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 157 


b, byre; c, stable; d, stairs to loft; e, larder over main cellar ; 
J; coal-house ; g, shed; 4, wash-house ; 2, potato-house ; J, Coal- 
house; &, hen-house; /, piggery. 

The villas in the neighbourhood of Perth display‘all sorts of 
styles, and many of them no style at all. Had your Suburban 
Gardener appeared twenty years sooner, and been read by the 
proprietors of these finely situated villas, a decided improve- 
ment must have been evident, both in the houses and in the 
grounds adjoining them. Since the publication of that work I 
have been continually pressing the subject of improvement on 
the attention of the owners. 

Annat Cottage, Dec. 9. 1837. 


Art. IV. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 
By G. Recev, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin. 
(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, May 2. 1840.) 

(Continued from our preceding Volume, p. 70.) 


I. On tHe Propacation or Prants — continued. 
1, MEANS OF PRESERVING THE CUTTINGS TILL THEY TAKE ROOT. 


As the crude sap in the cutting is not raised by endosmose 
but by the process of evaporation, care must be taken that 
the surface of the cut does not become dry before being put in 
the earth, and air get into the lower end of the vessels; for, as 
soon as this takes place, only very strong shoots are capable .of 
drawing up moisture, as has been proved by the experiments of 
various philosophers. The cuttings should therefore be stuck 
in wet sand, if they cannot immediately be put where they are 
intended to remain, although it were better to avoid this. If, 
however, they are such as ought to lie a day or two, in order to 
insure success, as some banksias, acacias, &c., it ought to be 
in a damp place; and the precaution must be taken, if possible, 
to cut them again before planting. If cuttings of Drydndra, 
some banksias (B. integrifolia, B. Baterz, B. média, B. Caléyz, 
&c.), and most of the long-leaved acacias (A. longissima, 4. pén- 
dula, A. brevifolia, 4. glaucéscens, A. longifolia, A. micracantha, 
&c.), be stuck in the earth immediately after being taken from 
the parent plant, the inner bark will become black in from four- 
teen days to four weeks, and the cutting will perish. 

This phenomenon appears to be in close connexion with 
the form of the leaves of these plants, as those of the acacias 
have very small stomata, while those of the dryandras have 
none at all. In their stead, on the under side of the Jeaves 


158 Principles of Gardening 


of the latter plants are small dimples, lined with short hairs, 
which the diosmas already mentioned also possess. Now, as. 
the crude nourishing matter is drawn up through the open 
wood in its existing state, and received by the cutting, while the 
spongioles of the roots only imbibe it in a very thin solution, it 
appears that the above-named plants, on account of the peculiar 
formation of their leaves, cannot elaborate in any great quantity 
this gross nourishing matter; and hence arise stagnation of the 
juices, and the before-mentioned appearances. ‘The good effect 
of leaving these cuttings lying, and thus interrupting the growing 
process, “and preventing the superabundant rise of the crude 
nourishing matter, will be apparent; and this is the more pro- 
bable, as it is usual, for the same reason, to put a piece of mould 
round the cut. 

Cuttings of succulent, or fleshy, plants must also lie for a time 
before planting, and on no account in a moist atmosphere, that 
the surface of the cut may be sufficiently dried. They retain 
so many watery particles in their cellular tissue, that, when this 
is neglected, the face of the cut soon rots. ‘The species of 
the families Melocactus, Echinocactus, Mammillaria, Opdntia, 
Céreus, &c., have an extremely thick bark, and a firm epi- 
dermis with very few stomata; on which account the process of 
evaporation is so slow, that they remain alive for a long time 
without receiving external nourishment. The dried cuttings of 
these plants, therefore, are generally planted in dry earth, and set 
in a bed or house filled with warm air, and are not watered 
till they have formed roots from the nourishing matter accumu- 
Jated in themselves. ‘The roots can scarcely ever penetrate the 
thick bark, and are produced between the wood and the bark. 
In some of the Opantia and Céreus species, however, they come 
out of the bark at the side. The other succulent and fleshy 
plants which form side roots, such as the J’loe, Haworthia, 
Sempervivum, Mesembryanthemum, Crassula, Plumiérza, and its 
congeners, as well as all the Cacti, may be watered as soon as 
they are planted. Lastly, plants with milky juice also require 
similar treatment, as they are equally liable to damp off. 

As soon as a part of one of these plants is cut off, the milky 
juice exudes in great quantities, covers the whole suntide of the 
cut, and hardens like caoutchouc, by which the vessels are all 
stopped up, and the ascension of the moisture prevented. In this 
garden, cuttings of Ficus, and the dry roots of Huphorbza, are 
stuck in water, ; where they remain twenty-four hours before they 
are put in the earth. ‘The same end is also attained when they 
are put in dry sand immediately after being cut, and afterwards 
the sand and the milky juice cleared away. Only the succulent 
and very milky euphorbias must lie for some time. 

Although it is proved by the above, that the cutting receives 


physiologically considered. 159 


as much moisture through the face of the cut as it loses in ordi- 
nary circumstances by evaporation, yet no sooner is it placed in 
very dry air or in a draught, or exposed to the sun’s rays, than a 
disproportion takes place between them. When this is the case, 
more watery particles are lost through evaporation than are 
raised in the body of the wood, which is very easily perceived 
in fleshy-leaved plants. On this account, hotbeds and houses 
prepared on purpose for propagating should be used, in which 
the outer air can be excluded, a moist temperature maintained, 
and in very warm sunshine a dense shade can be given. Bell- 
glasses should be placed over the more difficult-rooting cuttings, 
to protect them from all external influences which might destroy 
them before they made roots. ‘The most proper form of bell- 
glass is that which gradually tapers from the base to the top; 
as from glasses of this shape the moisture, which adheres to the 
inside in the form of drops, runs gradually off without the drop- 
ping so injurious to cuttings. This disadvantage is found in 
all other forms more or less, such as those that are round at the 
top, or cylindrical with the top bluntly truncated, and also in 
beer-glasses which are often applied to this purpose. The most 
unsuitable glasses, which are, however, much used, are those 
small at the base, and swelling out like a globe. 

The enclosed air under the glasses will soon lose its oxygen, 
through the respiring process of the plants within, and also be 
vitiated by other exhalations ; and, if it is not changed, it gene- 
rates mould, and the cuttings lose their fresh appearance. For 
this reason, the glasses, if possible, should be daily ventilated 
and wiped; or what is still better, as it will entirely renew the 
air, dipped in a vessel of cold water, and well shaken, so that 
too many drops of water may not remain on the glass, although 
they are not so injurious to the cuttings. In an extensive esta- 
blishment, this operation requires too much time, and therefore 
round holes, of about from 4 in. to 2 in. in diameter, should be 
made at the top of the glasses; and these will prove very ser- 
viceable, if the pans stand on a warm platform in the houses 
or beds prepared for the purpose. In small gardens, where the 
cuttings are placed with other plants in the houses on the bed or 
shelf under the windows, glasses without holes would be pre- 
ferable. When the ground is warmed to about 10° R. (54°5° Fah.) 
it is better, with some few exceptions, such as the Zatrus species, 
to place the glasses inside of the pans, so that the temperature 
within may not rise too high. When the warmth is not so 
great, they may also, without injury, be placed on the outside of 
the edge of the pot. 

The cuttings themselves should not be stuck too close toge- 
ther, and all the leaves should be left on, which are essential for 
elaborating the absorbed and deposited nourishment ; removing 


160 Stirring the Soul. 


the lower leaves has a particularly bad effect on the rooting. 
There is an exception, however, in those which have small close- 
set leaves, such as the genera Erica, Brunia, &c.; which, when 
entirely surrounded with earth, soon begin to rot, and infect the 
branch, and therefore the leaves should be removed from the 
portion put into the earth. All decayed parts should be taken 
carefully off; and woolly-haired cuttings should not be sprinkled, 
for, as the moisture adheres to them for a long time, they are 
very liable to rot. 

With these, and in general all plants liable to decay, the bell 
is either placed within the edge of the pot, and the water 
poured between the two rims, by which sufficient moisture is 
communicated to the pot; or a small unglazed pot, without a 
hole at the bottom, filled with sand or mould, is plunged to the 
rim_ in the middle of a larger pot; the cuttings are then stuck 
round the outer edge of this large pot, and the water is only 
poured in the smaller pot, when as much moisture penetrates 
through the sides of the pot as the cuttings require. 


( To be continued.) 


Art. V. On stirring the Soil. By N.M. T. 


THERE are few operations of culture more beneficial than occa- 
sionally stirring the soil to a greater depth than usual, and thereby 
bringing into action a portion of fresh, or, as it is termed, maiden 
soil. This being an every-day operation, may be supposed to be 
so perfectly understood, as to render any remarks upon the sub- 
ject unnecessary. I question, nevertheless, whether many of 
our preconceived notions respecting it are not erroneous. It 
must be admitted that trenching, or turning up a portion of fresh 
soil, is highly beneficial to many crops upon most soils: this 
being the case, it may be deemed of secondary importance to 
enquire how, or by what means, that benefit is conferred? Still, 
in order to avoid the misapplication of this practice, it is truly 
desirable the principles be understood, and that (as far as is prac- 
ticable) things should be called by their proper names, which is 
far from being the case with regard to the matter before us. 
Trenching is said to benefit the succeeding crop, by affording 
the plants fresh soil to grow in, than which nothing can be more 
incorrect ; as, in nine cases out of ten, the fresh soil so turned 
up is incapable of growing plants at all; and plants that are 
capable of penetrating so uncongenial a mass, in doing so 
avoid all possible contact, and only show an increase of vigour 
when their roots reach and spread in the exhausted and worn 
out soil which the operation of trenching has placed beneath, in 


Stirring the Sort. 161 


what appears to be so advantageous a position; and that soil 
previously exhausted should be so renovated by mere change of 
position is not the least inexplicable part of the business. That 
all the improvement, however (unless manure has been at the 
same time applied), which takes place proceeds from such a 
cause, will readily be admitted by those who are aware of the utter 
worthlessness of most subsoils, and who have remarked their 
inveterate sterility after the surface has been removed, instances 
of which, upon a large scale, must be familiar to many interested 
in the subject; and those who have not such examples may 
readily satisfy themselves by forming alternate beds of this and 
top soil, in all other respects equal, when the worthlessness of 
their favourite will become apparent, often characterised by 
sterility so stubborn, that an immense expenditure in labour, and 
in enriching and opening materials, is necessary to render it fit 
for the purposes of the cultivator. Fertility conferred by trench- 
ing is not of long duration, and the necessity for repeating the 
Operation becomes apparent: this would, no doubt, sooner be 
the case, but for the entire change that has in the mean time 
been effected in the originally worthless matter brought to the 
surface, where continued cultivation, the action of the elements, 
and the introduction of organic substances in the form of manures, 
have turned it into matter capable of supporting vegetable life. 
Perfect pulverisation of the soil is admitted to be essential to 
good culture; yet, in the face of what passes as undisputed fact, 
we see vast benefit conferred by placing upon the surface mat- 
ter that for a time defies all attempts at this; hence, in a great 
measure, its undeniable barrenness, its unfitness to support vege- 
tation, and possibly the cause, in the first instance, of the benefit 
conferred by placing it upon well pulverised soil, from its retain- 
ing, by its comparatively impervious nature, a greater uniformity, 
both as regards temperature and moisture, in the strata in which 
we have seen that the roots delight to luxuriate. Although too 
compact to be congenial to the tender rootlets, or too destitute 
of available matter to afford them a supply of food, it never- 
theless contributes something to their support, by affording them 
a secure hold of the ground ; a matter of the utmost import, too 
often neglected, and which the advocates of extreme porosity 
seem to have entirely overlooked, That pulverisation might 
ofteri be advantageously carried much farther, I admit; but the 
extreme ought to be guarded against as decidedly injurious to 
many crops, as the advantage derived from treading, rolling, or 
any thing that tends to consolidate the soil, demonstrates. ‘The 
impolicy of such a practice is also strikingly manifested upon a 
small scale, when sifted materials are used in the culture of plants 
in pots, where it becomes so palpably injurious, that it is dis- 
3d Ser.— 1842. IIT. M 


162 Cultivation of a small and a large Garden. 


continued by every judicious cultivator: the perfect uniformity of 
the materials (setting aside the loss of the most valuable parts) 
renders them certain of coalescing, and becomes the surest means 
of defeating the end in view. Soil for the first time raised to 
the surface being so unfit for most purposes, turning it up to 
the depth of 2 or 3 feet at once must be most injudicious ; 
especially as the same end would be easier gained by only turn- 
ing upa portion that might be ameliorated annually. Such por- 
tion should suit the crop intended to follow, which would cause 
it to vary considerably, and should never be of greater depth 
than the roots can easily penetrate, as it is impossible the 
plants should do well until this is accomplished. Much of 
this precaution would be unnecessary, were the operation pro- 
perly performed upon materials in a fit condition. The vast 
importance of this altogether neglected point has often been ably 
enforced by the editor of this Magazine, and the necessity for 
having the materials in a state allowing of thorough incor- 
poration clearly pointed out. Nevertheless, an operation upon 
which everything depends is invariably left to be performed dur- 
ing the most unfitting weather, the worst of which is generally 
considered good enough to dig or to trench in. 
Folkstone, Jan. 21. 1842. 


Art. VI. On the Difference between cultivating and managing a 
small and a large Garden. - By I. T. 


Tue difference holds equally good between the general manage- 
ment and cultivation of a mansion and its surrounding park and 
gardens, and the management of a cottage and its ground plot, 
or a suburban house and its garden and field. The proprietor 
of a mansion, park, and the other appendages which constitute a 
country residence on a large scale, employs persons as managers, 
whose business or profession it is to undertake such charges ; 
he has his land steward, his farm bailiff, his head gardener, his 
forester, and his gamekeeper. The proprietor of a small resi- 
dence must unite the knowledge and the duties of all these per- 
sons in himself, at least to the extent required for his grounds. 
In the case of the large proprietor, if the head of any depart- 
ment is found to be neglectful, or to be incompetent to his duty, 
he can be replaced by another at the shortest notice, and the in- 
convenience is but of momentary duration ; but in the case of a 
small proprietor who manages every thing himself, he must re- 
consider the subject in the practical application of which he has 
failed, and either make himself more completely master of it, or 
apply his knowledge with more care than he did before. The 


Cultivation of a small and a large Garden. 163 


large proprietor, in short, has only to give an order; the small 
one must give his time and his attention. 

But it is in the laying out and cultivation of a garden that the 
greatest difference between the large proprietor and the small 
one exists. From the ample space possessed by the former, 
there is room for every description of beauty, and the culture of 
every desirable crop or plant; but from the limited space of the 
latter he can only produce a limited quantity of beauty, and cul- 
tivate a comparatively small number of crops and plants. If 
one crop in the large garden fails, its place is readily supplied 
by the quantity produced of other crops of a similar description; 
because, from the abundance of room, more is sown or planted 
of every thing than enough. In the small garden, on the other 
hand, there is only a very limited space for each particular crop, 
of which crop enough is sown or planted, and no more; and, 
consequently, the failure of that crop would not only occasion a 
want of the particular article, but a want of the requisite quan- 
tity of vegetables, fruits, or flowers, as the case might be, for the 
family. ‘To give a familiar illustration of this, 1 may observe 
that in a large kitchen-garden there are grown several sorts of 
cabbages for winter use, while in a small garden probably only 
one sort of cabbage is grown. — If, in the large garden, any one 
of the sorts fails, the table can be supplied from the others which 
have succeeded ; but in the small garden, if the sort of cabbage 
sown has failed, there will be a positive deficiency of that kind 
of vegetable during the winter. In the article of strawberries, 
perhaps, the proprietor of a small garden has only space for one 
kind, and, if that one kind fail, he will be without that descrip- 
tion of fruit. In the large garden, on the other hand, several 
kinds are planted, and, if one fail, another, in all probability, 
will succeed. Some sorts of strawberries, such as Keen’s seed- 
ling, seldom fail in producing a crop; others, as the old pine, 
frequently fail in this result; hence, if the proprietor of the small 
garden has chosen the latter variety, he will frequently fail of 
success; whereas in the large garden both sorts would probably 
be planted, and even the entire failure of any one sort might 
take place without being noticed by the proprietor, or missed in 
the dessert. It would be easy to go through all the details of 
cropping and managing culinary vegetables, fruits, and flowers, 
to show that in every department of the small garden more 
knowledge of the crops and plants to be cultivated, and espe- 
cially more care and attention in cultivating them, are required 
than in the large one; provided the object be, as it ought to be, 
to get a maximum of beneficial results. I am certain that 
every gardener who has fulfilled the duties of a small place will 


bear me out in this conclusion. 
M 2 


164 Cultivation of a small and a large Garden. 


It may be here asked, if I mean to affirm that it requires a 
more skilful and learned gardener to manage the garden of a 
cottage than it does to manage that of a mansion? ‘To which 
I answer, undoubtedly it does, if all the kinds of products are 
required out of the small garden that are required from the large 
one: if, for example, forcing in all its departments is to be car- 
ried on in both; if there are to be miniature crops in the cot- 
tage garden of all those crops which are grown in the mansion 
garden on a large scale; and if there are to be an arboretum 
and a flower-garden laid out according to the natural system: 
if these, and corresponding results obtained on a large scale 
from the mansion garden, are to be also obtained, in proportion 
to its extent, from the cottage garden, then I state, without the 
slightest hesitation, that a more skilful, experienced, and atten- 
tive gardener is required for the latter than for the former. 
More skill is necessary, because more is required with less 
means; more experience is requisite, because it is only by ex- 
perience, joined to skill and knowledge, that success can be ren- 
dered certain in all cases; and more attention is required to 
watch the progress of favourable or unfavourable circumstances, 
because, on a small scale, these circumstances are more imme-= 
diate and fatal in their operations, and their results, if unfavour- 
able, are more severely felt. But, fortunately, the objects and 
products of a cottage or suburban garden never include all these 
objects at the same time; though there are none of them that 
may not be produced in even the smallest garden, according to 
the taste or means of the proprietor; and a gardener or a pro- 
prietor may succeed perfectly well in one or two of even the 
mest difficult points of gardening on a small scale, who could 
not attend to all the departments of the art. As a proof of this, 
I may refer to the gardens of mechanics in the neighbourhood 
of large towns, who far surpass professed gardeners in the cul- 
ture of florists’ flowers, and certain fruits; and to the gardens 
of small tradesmen and shopkeepers in the neighbourhood of 
London, from which some of the earliest and best grapes, 
melons, &c., are sent to market. 

It thus appears that to manage a small garden to the greatest 
advantage is not quite so easy a matter as it may at first sight be 
imagined to be by those who judge by mere size; but by limit- 
ing the number of objects, by acquiring a thorough knowledge 
of the nature of these objects, and by constant attention and 
assiduous care, any person whatever may succeed; and the re- 
ward of comfort and enjoyment received will be in proportion to 
the labour, skill, and care bestowed. 

London, Jan. 1842, 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 165 


Art. VII. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell of Munich. 
Translated from the German for the “‘ Gardener’s Magazine.” 


(Continued from p. 102.) 
XII. Of Carriage Roads, Bridle Roads, Walks, and Paths through Defiles and 


under Rocks. 


1. In laying out grounds, the roads and paths cannot be accu- 
rately staked out in situations where the disposition and form of 
the round require to be altered, namely, where hills or valleys 
are to be formed, till these are completed ; ; as by the raising or 
lowering of the ground the lines previously marked out must 
be made to assume different turns, because they no longer follow 
the line of beauty, and therefore must be altered. 

2. Nature makes no roads, they are the work of man and 
animals. Roads formed by man would almost always be in 
straight lines, if difficulties of many sorts did not intervene, or 
if the object of the traveller’s destination were not out of 
sight. From these causes, curved lines and circuitous roads 
have arisen. In a garden, therefore, when the path is made to 
wind, merely because modern gardening rejects all straight 
paths, and when the difficulties, or rather the reasons, which 
gave occasion for these windings cannot be brought forward, 
it is faulty; and those paths which are unnecessarily circuitous 
are usually neglected for a straighter and consequently nearer 
line. As common roads may be reckoned among the artificial 
labours of human industry, it is therefore allowable, particu- 
larly in gardens, to make the paths of an equal breadth and de- 
cided outline, and to make them appear in alternate turns and 
windings, to correspond with the line of beauty. 

3. The windings in carriage roads must not, however, occur 
so frequently as in walks; this will be avoided, when in the 
former, to prevent accidents to horsemen and travellers, most 
of the obstacles are removed, which the too frequent short turns 
only increase, by causing the traveller to be aware tao late of 
another coming in an opposite direction; carriage roads in 
grounds snail therefore be 15, 20, or 24 feet wide; and walks 
only 8, 10, or 12 feet, and ne paths from 3 ft. to 4 ft. Wavy 
lines succeeding each other too rapidly are fatiguing, and neither 
beautiful nor agreeable, and can only be allowable in very nar- 
row paths of from 3 ft. to 5 ft. 

A gentle curve line which proceeds uninterruptedly for a dis- 
tance of from 1000 ft. to2000 or 3000 feet and more, assuming the 
form of a majestic bow, and then changes its direction, and im- 
perceptibly assumes an opposite bend, possesses much greater 
beauty and effect, and is also much more rational than when 
turns are too frequent. If, therefore, for example, over the line 

M 3 


166 Sckell’s Landscape- Gardening. 


7 aici ; 
; Fig. 12. M. Sckell’s Curve for a Walk. 

fy 300 ft. long, a noble and graceful curve be drawn, which 
does not recede from view till after a length of 800 ft., it ought 
not to be further distant from the middle of the straight line (2 
at g than 4 or at most 5 feet, and it will then describe a curve 
by the points f, 7, 2, which will undoubtedly be pleasing. 

In marking out roads the artist must greatly depend upon his 
feeling, in the choice of a line which shall at once be inviting 
and productive of pleasure, as leading to those spots where beau- 
tiful natural scenes are presented to view. ‘These road lines may 
be accurately marked out from the plan, or by means of arrange- 
ments in nature; but a line of this sort always betrays a com- 


pulsory course, it wants that free and bold sweep, or, in other — 


words, it wants nature. 

It also frequently happens, that a line which appears particu- 
larly beautiful on paper is not pleasing in nature. ‘The paper 
is a flat surface, this is seldom the case in nature; consequently, 
the lines must appear different, as we have previously observed. 
Therefore lines rising from valleys, and ascending over hills, are 
much more difficult to trace out than those on a level sur- 
face. In the first case, their appearance is as varied as the 
forms of the hills and dales over which they are to wind. To 
overcome this difficulty, I know of no other rule than that these 
lines should be carefully tested, and by repeated corrections and 
improvements be brought nearer to nature as well as to beauty. 

Tracing out walks should therefore, Ist, not be considered 
so trifling, because much more is required from the lines which 
define them than that they should merely describe curves. They 
should have anoble, majestic, and graceful curve. 2d, At every 
new turn, directly opposed to the preceding one, the reason and 
necessity which occasioned it must be shown. 3d, The objects 
to which the road leads should account for its existence. 

As the walks in gardens, considered as works of art, and 
which cannot be confounded with the chance-directed paths over 
meadows, and through woods and fields, should have a sharp 
outline, the edges may be defined by very small furrows, half 
an inch deep, in which a mixture of hay and clover seeds may 
be sown, and by this means the lines be preserved distinct, clear, 
and beautiful. To prevent these lines, which can only be formed 
with much labour, from being obliterated by the frequent cut- 
ting and renewing of the edges, and by degrees assuming an 
ungraceful direction, it is requisite that, at the distance of every 
20 or 30 feet, blocks of oak, the colour of the earth, should be 
driven in; by which means the original lines are not. only pre- 
served, but can always be refound and easily determined. 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 167 


4. There are also in nature paths which penetrate through 
overhanging precipitous rocks, and are called hohlwege, or hol- 
low ways; and sometimes through rude arches, which are formed 
by nature, and sometimes even by art, through the interior of 
the rocks, where the traveller is led, as if by a miracle, by torch- 
light, to the opposite side. These scenes are but rarely required 
to be produced by the imitative art of gardening. But there are 
other kinds of hollow ways in nature which can be easily imi- 
tated, and created in gardens; these paths are cut in the earth, 
instead of in the rock. The steep banks are covered by many 
sorts of shining-leaved and other shrubs, particularly honey- 
suckle, the clematis, the bramble, the raspberry, the hop, the 
sloe, and different species of whitethorn; with the wild rose, 
the maple, the berberry, the buckthorn, the wayfaring tree, 
(Vibarnum Lantana) ; with the dogwood, the cornel cherry, the 
hazel, the spindle tree, the privet, and many others, besides a 
great number of field and meadow flowers. 

From this entangled mass rise here and there almond, plum, 
and cherry trees ; sometimes also the Pseudo-Platanus (gemeine 
ahorn), the service tree, and others of the sort, grow out of the 
declivities, which are never perpendicular, but rise steep and 
boldly from the path. 

These sunk walks are particularly beautiful; they possess in 
general a confidential, contemplative character, which also ap- 
proaches solitude, by excluding and concealing from the eye all 
natural scenes except those which lie within their immediate 
boundary. Sunk walks leading to eminences generally surprise 
the spectator when they terminate with an extensive prospect, 
which was previously concealed from view. These charming 
walks are never quitted without feeling a lively wish of soon re- 
turning to enjoy their delightful, unpretending, romantic beauties. 
Sunk paths, when constructed in gardens, are much more rich 
in plants than when they are natural, as they unite the climbing 
and other exotic shrubs and trees, without any particular regard 
being had to grouping, or keeping; as not this character, but 
rather one of a disordered, wild, entangled, and confused plant- 
ation, is peculiar to them. In planting the slopes, therefore, 
much more attention should be paid to the health and growth 
of the plants, and care taken that they do not shade each other 
too much, so as to cause their death. 

This luxuriant mass of plants and trees must partially cease 
at certain places, and give place to trees, which must interlace 
high above the path on which the spectator walks, as if in the 
deep shade of an arbour, and where rays of light, tinging with 
gold the distant overhanging shrubs, will point out to him the 


end of his solitary wandering. ‘The slopes of this path must be 
i ’ 2 mM 4 


168 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


formed at an angle of at least 45°, to prevent their falling in. 
But there are other sunk paths, of an entirely opposite char acter, 
which are much more adapted to gardens than those I have just 
mentioned. ‘These paths are formed and planted in the follow- 
ing manner. Two approximating declivities, only separated by 
the path, lying opposite to each other, swelling in a graceful 
natural form, and which can be ascended without any exertion, 
covered with a lively green sward, are clothed with large pictu- 
resque trees, planted in transparent groups in the manner of a 
grove. Between these lovely slopes, for which one often leaves the 
path to wander among the majestic trees, or to repose under their 
shade, winds a path in the hollow, traced out in gently flowing 
curves, which, from its lighter colour, betrays its course as it 
winds, now near, now at a distance, among the trees, and com- 
pletes the beautiful and picturesque scene. 

A sunk path of this description has a decidedly picturesque 
character, and has a charming effect in garden scenery, while its 
dreamy romantic character is as inviting as it is capable of yield- 
ing enjoyment. 

“To these sort of hollow ways another may be added, which, 
in point of form, deserves the preference. These paths are 
concealed by an impenetrable close wood of tall majestic trees, 
of which the outer groups, exposed to the light, present beauti- 
ful forms to the imitation of the artist. Paths of this sort are 
characterised by a kind of solemnity, which is only softened by 
beautiful valleys proceeding from them, which, becoming narrower 
as they recede, finally escape the eye. There are also hollow 
ways where wild mountain torrents rush foaming over masses 
of rocks, and form a number of waterfalls. Hollow ways of 
this description, when they are deeply cut, and their slopes 
clothed and shaded with noble trees, under whose branches the 
grand masses of rock, with the precipitous torrent rushing over 
and between them, are clearly perceptible, justly deserve the 
preference. As a general remark with regard to walks, I must 
mention the following: viz., that too many walks are prejudicial 
to pleasure-grounds, as they break up plantations too fre- 
quently, make them appear meagre, and also require much 
expense in keeping. 

Walks may be so constructed as to make gardens appear 
much larger than they actually are, by never allowing the boun- 
dary, which is often very limited, to be seen, but which must be 
concealed by thick plantations, and its vicinity never guessed at, 
Especially, they must not approach too near to those openings, 
where the outer landscape, by means of ha-has, appears as if it 
belonged to the garden. A garden may also appear much 
larger to the spectator when the paths take contrary turns, and 
by “circuitous routes describe a longer line. But this sort of 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 169 


deception does not always succeed ; the deceit is but too soon 
discovered, even if these sudden windings, which must, besides, 
be often repeated, do not present obstacles. 

Among such repeated turns, and to dissipate the suspicion 
that they might awaken, the spectator must be surprised, now 
by a beautiful inscription, a murmuring fountain, which will 
recal Vaucluse and the complaints to Laura; and now by an 
urn, a bust, &c.; and thus his mind be occupied with more 
elevated subjects than the course of the walks. 

A neighbouring path should never be perceived from any 
walk, because this would destroy the illusion of size. The 
plantations, therefore, which separate these near walks, must be 
close and impervious. At the narrowest spots these plantations 
should be at least from 15 to 20 or 30 feet wide. In large 
extensive grounds, however, where no deception to increase the 
apparent size is necessary, sometimes, from one walk, others may 
be seen through transparent plantations ; and, from the moment- 
ary appearance and disappearance of the passers by, animated 
and lively pictures may be produced. 

A walk winding in a gentle slanting curve up a steep bare 
hill, on the other side of which a beautiful landscape, half-con- 
cealed, is by degrees revealed to view, has a particularly pictu- 
resque and beautiful effect. ‘To display this sort of beauty, 
however, the walk should only have a single long shallow curve, 
which would also render the ascent easier. For the same reason, 
those walks which are to be carried over very steep hills can 
only be properly executed when they are cut first from the 
right to the left, and then from the left to the right (zigzag), 
and thus their extent increased. In cases, however, where the 
zigzag line cannot be sufficiently extended, or cannot be applied, 
in order to facilitate the ascent, steps, either of stone or of oak, 
must supply its place. ‘These steps should not be more than 
5 in. high, and not more nor less than 2 ft. apart, to be ascended 
conveniently. 

When two walks are to be united, it should never take place 
at a right or obtuse angle, but rather at an acute angle, by 
which the lines of both walks will be united in a much more 
beautiful manner. 

5, The marking out of all these lines and forms, if they are 
to approach their original pattern, nature, is, as we have already 
said, a matter as important as it is difficult. It is easily under- 
stood, therefore, that he who undertakes to lay out a garden in 
the natural style ought to be a good draughtsman in geometri- 
cal plans as well as in landscapes. But there is a great difference 
between expressing these forms in miniature on paper, and 
marking them out in their natural size in nature. If the cleverest 
landscape-painter were to draw such large lines, which often 


170 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


proceed in connected circles, and in lines several miles in extent, 
with a tracing-stick which must be 4 or 5 pounds’ weight, he 
would find great difficulties, and his first attempt would not 
likely be successful. 

In order to facilitate this operation, I will here explain my 
method of drawing in nature, which I have followed since I first 
began to practise, and which I have communicated to many 
young artists. The plan on which the improvements are de- 
signed, which are now to be staked out, shows the natural 
objects, under what form they are to appear, and where they 
are situated. According to this plan, the principal points in 
nature will be determined; but, as has been already observed, 
without straining to observe them too minutely, in case nature 
should thereby be distorted, or fine trees fall under the axe, 
which, without injuring the landscape, might have been pre- 
served, if the line of the water or walk, or any other line, had 
been altered a little. There may also be obstacles of another 
kind contrary to nature, which could not be foreseen in making 
the plan. 

But these difficulties will not be insurmountable to one 
who is familiar with nature, and her numerous forms and means 
of remedy ; because he will make such alterations as will not 
affect the beauty of his grounds, but, if it be possible, improve 
them by those very means. Hence, it is clearly enough seen, 
that, in executing the plan, it cannot be exactly followed up, 
because it only gives the principal forms and situations. It can 
only show the scenes the grounds 
are to present; and point out where 
the hills, the valleys, the lakes, the 
ponds, the waterfalls, the bridges, 
the temples, &c., are to find their 
places. 

6. The instrument with which 
large and small outlines in nature 
are drawn on a large scale is a 
round stick, or tracing-staff (fig. 
13.), from 5 ft. to 6 ft. long, and 
13 in. in diameter, pointed with 
iron at the bottom, to draw the 
lines in the earth. The artist holds 
this stick with the right hand above, 
and the left below, or vice versa, 
and in such a manner as that the _ 
iron point is turned towards the 
ground backwards. With an erect = : 
carriage, and his glance directed Fig. 13. Tracing-Staff 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. Va 


forwards towards the existing localities, the main points being 
previously determined by the plan, and which his line (if no 
obstacles intervene) is to arrive at, he pursues, with a steady 
pace, the beautiful undulating line which his practised imagina- 
tion presents to his mind, and, as it were, displays before him. 

With his tracing-stick turned backwards, and grasped with 
a firm hand, the point pressing on the earth, the artist im- 
prints the line of beauty on the ground mechanically without 
any further care or requiring to look behind him; immediately 
after him follow two labourers, who set in posts, but do not beat 
them firmly in at first. When he has reached the end of his 
line, he turns back, examines its course, improves it, and then 
has the posts firmly driven in, or the line cut out with a sharp 
hoe, when the line is to remain and requires no change, as in 
the outlines of the woods and clumps. (p. 56.) 

By this method, which requires great practice, and a compre- 
hensive glance, united with the art of justly representing forms 
and images, I am convinced that nature and the character of the 
locality will be most successfully imitated; at least, forty years’ 
experience has proved this to me, so that I can vouch for its 
success. ; 

7. Let this method be compared with the usual one, where, 

with the tracing-stick under the arm, the face directed towards 
the ground, the operator draws the line, and, on looking up 
again, becomes aware of its stiff faulty swerving from the right 
line, requiring repeated and numerous alterations. This is not 
the case in the method above described: the artist remains in 
an upright position; he overlooks as he draws the points deter- 
mined beforehand which his line is to touch, and advances to- 
wards them in a manner as agreeable as it is natural. He has 
the whole locality which his grounds are to embrace, and the 
forms which he has already sketched, and which are to be in 
unison and harmony with the rest, constantly before his eyes; 
and his perception of the beauty and truth of nature directs his 
steps, and consequently his tracing-stick, which follows faith- 
fully the motions of its master. 

8. The chief artistical value of a good picture lies more in 
the correctness of the drawing than in the colouring; therefore, 
the faults of colouring are more pardonable than those of draw- 
ing. Thus, also, correct drawings of beautiful picturesque forms 
and outlines are required in gardens, because they also greatly 
contribute in giving the grounds their chief merit. For this 
reason, the manner above described of drawing on a large scale 
is to be preferred to the usual method, because it is capable of 
defining more distinctly than the other does. The practised artist 
is able, also, to draw as quickly as he goes. 


172 Observations on Trish Planting. 


His taste for the beautiful forms of nature, his imagination 
supported by the rules and principles of art, guide him quickly 
and with a certain hand, and show him where his woods are to 
project in expressive masses, and where they are again to retreat 
in shade; where hills are to arise, and valleys be sunk; what 
lines the brook flowing through flowery meads is_to describe ; 
and where the soft wavy lines, or the bolder, sharp, obtuse- 
angled, and slightly curved outlines, are to describe and deter- 
mine forms, Xc. 

It must be observed, that the artist, while drawing the un- 
dulating line, should not look backwards, because he is in danger 
of losing his imaginary line, and of pursuing another which cannot 
harmonise with the first nor be successfully continued with it.* 


Art. VIII. Observations on Irish Planting. By T.T. 


EXxTeEnsIvE planting in Ireland can scarcely be dated more than 
sixty or seventy years back. 

The Elm is certainly an introduced tree, no plants in truly 
wild situations having been found. The English elm is far 
more hardy and vigorous in growth than the wych, bearing its 
leaves fully three weeks longer in autumn. The elm bears 
transplanting at a more advanced age than any other tree. It 
grows as vigorously standing exposed, as in the shelter or society 
of other trees. The dust and smoke of towns do them little 
injury. At Crookstown, in the county of Tyrone, is a magni- 
ficent avenue of elms, planted in 1774; yet the soil, in many 
parts, was mere turf bog, covered by a road. Silkworms will 
feed on the leaves when very young. Its vivaciousness is great ; 
pieces turned up accidentally by the plough have grown into 
trees. There are elms at Dunkerron upwards of 100 years 
planted, in full vigour, and about 3 ft. in diameter at 8 ft. from 
the ground. ‘The date of its introduction is unknown; but, as it 
has a distinct name in the Irish language, it must be very distant. 

The Horsechestnut bears the utmost rigour of cold of our 
winters. 

The Lime Tree’s leaves are not subject to be devoured by 
insects, as those of the elm; its increase is rapid; its branches 


* Walks should be somewhat curved to carry off the moisture, but without 
their being so much so as to be inconvenient to the pedestrian or dangerous 
for carriages. A road 10 ft. wide may be raised in the middle 3 or at most 4 
inches, and one of 15 ft. from 5in. to 6 in. They must not form any ridge in 
the middle, but must describe a uniform flat segment of a circle, in which the 
fall is equally divided, and thereby rendered convenient to all. 


_ Observations on Irish Planting. - 173 


are tough, and seldom injured by storms; it does not injure the 
grasses beneath by its shade or drip. Near Killarney is a row 
40 ft. in height, and averaging 3 ft. in diameter. 

The Holly delights in a moist atmosphere ; and is much injured 
by the smoke of towns. At Killarney, trees 30 ft. in height are not 
uncommon; one at Innisfallen, at 2} ft. from the ground, was 
39in. in diameter. Hollies survive the wood in which they 
were reared. Holly timber stands better than brass for steps [?] 
in machinery. A variety with yellow berries occurs at Blarney, 
near Cork. 

The Ash raised in rich soils fails remarkably in poorer. It 
grows well in almost any soil or elevation in Ireland; yet of ash 
plantations in the same soil, rich or poor, several fail alongside 
of those that have succeeded. We must suppose some subterra- 
neous enemy or disease attacks them ; this conjecture is perhaps 
supported by the general sweetness of the sap in the genus to 
which it belongs. At Leix, in the Queen’s County, in 1792, 
the celebrated ash, at 1 ft. from the ground, measured 404 ft. in 
circumference; its branches extend 70 ft. The ash injures other 
plants remarkably by its drip; and yet in moist soils it seems to 
drain the ground and give it firmness. Its young shoots are 
greatly injured by late frosts. It finds the readiest market, 
and at the earliest age, of any tree in the country, in Ireland. 

The Oak bears transplanting badly after three years old. The 

remains of oak woods, kept down for years by the browsing of 
cattle, have been observed by Mr. Critchley of the county of 
Wicklow to grow up into fine trees by fencing alone. One oak, 
in Lord O’Neil’s Park, near Lough Neagh, was sold for up- 
wards of 2001. Mr. Critchley’s oak woods doubled their value 
between the fifteenth and twentieth year. An oak at Castle Cor, 
in the county of Cork, is 25 ft. in circumference at 6 ft. from 
the ground, and has growing on it a stem of ivy 7 ft. in circum- 
ference. 
_ The Pines adapt themselves to a variety of climates, and one 
or other species may be found to thrive in all sorts of soils, from 
the driest quartzose sand to turf bogs. Their growth is rapid, and 
duration protracted. They multiply with great facility by seed, 
but the principal stem once cut down never recovers, Growing 
closer, they yield more timber on the same space of ground than 
round-leaved trees. 

A species of pine was once indigenous to Ireland; the stems 
are still found in our turf bogs. Itis not the P. sylvéstris; the 
roots bear a much greater proportion in size to the stem. In the 
county of Kerry, I found the horizontal section of one, where the 
roots commenced, to be 7 ft. in diameter; while the stem, at 2 ft. 
in height, was scarcely 4 ft. ‘The stems of the bog deal, besides, 
are often remarkably twisted. ; 


174 Correspondence on the Preservation of Timber. 


The Scotch Pine prefers a poor sandy soil. The seeds acci- 
dentally falling on turf bog have grown into large trees. Its 
timber is of more value in the remote parts of Ireland than that 
of alder. It does not grow as thick in the same space of time 
as the pinaster, but its timber is harder. ~ 


The Larch is more injured by the sea breeze than any other : 


timber tree in Ireland; it thrives ill near towns, or on road 
sides. It should be planted unmixed with any other trees; for, 
as it outgrows them, its leading shoots are apt to be bent by 
winds. It easily takes a new leader, if accidentally or otherwise 
topped. 

The Silver Fir is admirably adapted to Ireland, yet its 
cultivation is much neglected. It thrives in wet cold soils as 
well as in the rich and dry, at all elevations, and with every 
exposure; living tv 400 years and more, while the . 

Balm of Gilead Pine, so like it when young, scarcely attains 
40 years before decrepitude. It preserves its deep green colour, 
while the spruce fir turns brownish towards the end of winter. 
At Ballylickey, near Bantry, it has outtopped a variety of the 
usual timber trees among which it was planted sixty years ago. 

The Salix alba, Salix Russelliana, and Carolina Poplar, are all 
well adapted to wet poor turfy soils. ‘They have reached 30 ft. in 
height, at nine years from the time they were put down as cut- 
tings, at Dunkerron. 

I can give no information as to the dates of introduction of 
different exotic trees and shrubs into Ireland, nor should I know 
where to look for any information on that head not already in 
your Arboretum. 


Art. 1X. Extracts from a Correspondence which took place from 
1817 to 1835, respecting the Preservation of Timber by the Water 
of a Copper Mine in Anglesea. Communicated by a Corre- 
SPONDENT. 


Extract of a Letter from Joseph Jones to Mr, Sanderson, respecting - the 
Water of Parys Mountain being a- Preservative of Timber, dated Amlwch, 
20th October, 1817. 


“ Tue piece of timber which I present to you is of oak, and was part of the 
bucket of a mill-wheel, turned by a stream of mineral water. The one side is 
left rough, as it was taken out, with the ochry sediment of the water adhering 
to it; the other side planed, in order to show how it colours wood. The 
whitish spot on the planed side is a deal pin, which was put in to bind the 
bucket ; and it serves to prove that the water preserves deal, or other soft 
wood, as well as oak. 

“ The wheel from which the piece was taken had been worked for eighteen 
years ; and it is five years since it was taken out. Mill water-wheels are 
generally considered to be more subject to decay than any other species of 
woodwork, in consequence of being exposed, without paint, to all the vicissi- 


Correspondence on the Preservation of Timber. 175 


tudes of the seasons; and being alternately wet and dry, every twenty-four 
hours. 

“ The fact of the mineral water being a preservative of timber has been long 
known to many persons in this neighbourhood, though I never knew of any 
advantage being taken of it, farther than what chance threw in the way. My 
attention was more particularly attracted to it by the following circumstance :— 
A brig, called the Amlwch, more than thirty years old, to which I am ship- 
husband, required considerable repairs about three years ago ; amongst other 
things, she wanted a keel and some floorings. Her ceilings were in consequence 
stripped, and, to my great astonishment, the floorings and the timbers in her 
bottom, wherever mineral water had reached, were found as perfect as the first 
day they were put in. This vessel had always been a regular trader out of 
Amlwch port to Liverpool, and loaded with copper ore ; and formerly, when 
the ore was kept in uncovered bins, it often contained a considerable quantity 
of wet, which, when shipped, passed through the ceilings, and being worked 
backwards and forwards by the motion of the vessel at sea, it effectually washed 
the timber below. In some instances pieces were found which had been par- 
tially acted upon by the mineral water ; the part washed being perfectly sound, 
and that beyond its reach quite decayed. 

“ Since then we have opened three other vessels, that had been employed in 
the same trade for above twenty-five years; and the result has been, in every 
instance, the same. This led me to take every opportunity of examining the 
effects of the mineral water upon wood in general, and I have found its effects 
the same upon every species of timber: it makes it harder, more elastic, and 
so durable, that it might be said, with propriety, that it renders it imperish- 
able ; and, what is very extraordinary, it makes the outer part, or sap-wood, 
which otherwise so soon decays, as lasting as the inner part, or heart-wood : 
for instance, the land-ties in Amlwch port, which are pieces of oak timber, 
roughly squared, to support the quay, have been fixed there for nearly sixty 
years, and yet they do not exhibit the least symptom of decay. 

“ The specific gravity of mineral water bemg less than that of sea water, it 
floats upon the surface of the docks, and acts as effectually upon the land-ties, 
through the gradual rise and fall of the tides, as if they had been immersed in 
mineral water alone. I could mention innumerable other instances, if it were 
necessary, to illustrate the preservative quality which the mineral water pos- 
sesses, but I fear I have already trespassed too much on your time, 

“ T understand that government is now making different experiments for dis- 
covering some preservative from the dry rot, which has, of late years in par- 
ticular, been so destructive to ships of the navy ; and that sanguine hopes are 
entertained that the application of sea water to timber will answer that pur- 
pose. Perhaps the marine acid which sea water contains may have a similar 
effect, in the same proportion it bears to the quantity of vitriolic acid with which 
our mineral waters are so strongly impregnated, Jos. JonEs.” 


The above letter, with the pieces of timber to which it alludes, were taken 
by Mr. Sanderson to the Admiralty Office, and delivered to Mr. Croker ; 
when it was understood that enquiry would be made into the fact of the state- 
ment. For more than two years there was nothing heard about it, when a 
pamphlet, “by a Lieutenant in the Navy,” On the Preservation of Timber from 
Dry Ret, made its appearance, recommending the mineral waters of Parys 
Mountains for the purpose, in words so much like the letter which had been 
delivered at the Admiralty, that it naturally led to a suspicion that the author 
had, by some means, seen or heard of it, which induced Mr. Sanderson to 
write a letter to the Admiralty, to which he received the following answer 
from Mr. Barrow :— 


“ Sir,—Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your 
letter of the 20th instant, on the subject of a work lately published by “an 
Officer of the Royal Navy,” On the Preservation of Ship Timber, which you 
have understood to contain some information drawn from a communication 


176 Correspondence on the Preservation of Timber. 


made about two years ago to this department, by Mr. Jos. Jones of Amlwch, 
I have their Lordships’ commands to acquaint you that they have no know- 
ledge of the publication you allude to. 1 am, Sir, your humble servant, 

Joun Barrow.” 


Mr. Sanderson then wrote to Mr. Barrow as follows : — 


“Plas Newydd, Sept. 28. 1820. 

“ Sir—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22d instant, 
in which you are pleased to acquaint me, in reply to mine of the 20th, that 
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have no knowledge of the publi- 
cation alluded to. I did not for one moment suppose that their Lordships 
would give their sanction to a publication of matter drawn from private 
correspondence of Mr. Croker ; indeed, my allusion to that publication was 
merely incidental. It was the chief object of my letter to ascertain whether 
Mr. Jones’s statement of facts relative to the preservation of timber had 
received the consideration of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, or 
of the Commissioners of the Navy ; and I hope I may now, without impro- 
priety, enquire whether any and what report has been made upon it? Ishould 
also feel much obliged if you would have the goodness to procure for me the 
return of Mr. Jones’s letter, as I did not keep a copy. I have the honour to 
be, Sir, your most obedient Servant, JOHN SANDERSON, 

“To John Barrow, Esq.” 


To which the following final reply was given by Mr. Barrow : — 


“ Admiralty Office, 30th Sept., 1820. 

“ Sir,— Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty your 
letter of the 28th instant, enquiring whether any report was made on Mr. 
Jones’s letter of the 20th of October, 1817, respecting a plan for the preserva- 
tion of timber, and requesting that Mr. Jones’s letter may be returned to you, 
I have it in command to acquaint you that the letter in question cannot be 
returned to you; and that, from a report made by the Navy Board on the 
subject, their Lordships did not mean to give Mr, Jones any further trouble 
on the matter. Iam, Sir, your very humble Servant, Joun Barrow. 

“To Mr. John Sanderson, Plas Newydd, Anglesea.” 


* The following observations and experiments were made by me in January, 
1818, on the chemical properties of the mineral water of Parys Mountain, 
by which timber is preserved : — This water is known to contain copper and 
iron, held in solution by sulphuric acid. ‘ Wood, when distilled in a retort, 
yields an acid liquor of a peculiar taste and smell and distinguished by the 
name of pyroligneous, and formerly considered as a distinct acid, but it is now 
ascertained that it is merely the acetic acid, combined with an empyreumatic 
oil.” — Thompson. 

“‘ T obtained from a manufacturer in Liverpool some pyroligneous acid in its 
simplest state, for the purpose of making experiments. On adding an equal 
quantity of sulphuric acid to the pyroligneous, it was speedily decomposed, 
and a black substance was precipitated, which, when dried, appeared to be 
carbon. A small quantity of sulphuric acid being applied, changed the colour 
to a dark, and nearly black. The Parys Mountain water being added to an 
equal portion of pyroligneous acid, changed its colour precisely the same as 
in the last experiment, when sulphuric acid was used alone. 

“Ts the sulphuric acid contained in the water, under any circumstances, suffi- 
ciently strong to carbonise the sap within the pores of the wood? I am 
persuaded it does conyert some part of the sap of timber into charcoal; and 
when it is properly saturated, every pore becomes lined with the substance, 
which, when once formed, is afterwards insoluble in water ; thus making use 
of the otherwise destructive sap to char the wood ; charring the surface of 
wood having always been considered a preservative of timber from dry rot. 

“ Caernarvon, Sept. 9, 1835. JosEPH JONES.” 


Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices. 177 


Mr. Jones’s Proportions of the Oxides Price of the Ingredients for 
Zaina C 7s Gd perewe (i. e. sulphate 
: opperas, 7s. 6d. it. (1. e. 
15 lb. sulphate of iron. shiton). 
12 lb. sulphate of copper. Sulphate of copper, 45s. per cwt. 
24 lb. sulphate of zinc. Sulphate of zinc, 45s. per cwt. 
1 qrt. sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid, 3d. per Ib. 


The sulphates to be well pounded, and dissolved in hot water ; and then 
the sulphuric acid to be mixed in the solution, and well stirred up with 
a scrubbing-broom. The above, added to thirty-six gallons of water, is ready 
for the tank. 

Time of Saturation. —1-inch board, 3 days ; 3-inch plank, or scantling, 7 
days ; 5-inch to 6 and 7-inch scantling, all 12 to 14 days ; large timber, 12 in. 
to 14m. square, will require 21 days. 


Art. X. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of 
the Kinds of Plants newly introduced into British Gardens and 
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with 
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already 
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as a perpetual Supplement 
to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘“‘ Hortus Britannicus,” the 
““ Hortus Lignosus,” and the *‘ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan- 
nicum. 


Curtis’s Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing 
seven plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William 
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c., Director of the Royal Botanic Gar- 
den, Kew. 


Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each 
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by 
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College, 
London. 


Maund’s Botanic Garden, or Magazine of Hardy Flower Plants cul- 
tivated in Great Britain; in monthly numbers, each containing 
four coloured figures in one page ; large paper, 1s. 6d.; small, 1s. 
Edited by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S. 

The Botanist ; in monthly numbers, each containing four plates, with 
two pages of letterpress; 8vo; large paper, 2s. 6d.; small paper, 
ls. 6d. Conducted by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by the 
Rev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in the 
University of Cambridge. 

Paaton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants ; 
in monthly numbers; large 8vo ; 2s. 6d. each. 


The Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening; in monthly numbers; 8vo, 
with coloured plates; 1s.6d. each. Edited by Mrs. Loudon. 


CAPPARI' DEA. 


1904. CLEOME 
lutea Hook. yellow Oo or 1 jl.au N. America 1840. s.l Bot. reg. 1841, 67. 
Synonymes: C. atirea Tor. et Gray ; Peritoma atrea Nutt. 


A pretty hardy annual from Fort Vancouver, on the north-west coast of 
North America. It “ requires rather a strong soil and a dry situation. The 
plants are subject to damping off, and will not seed in a confined situation.” 
(Bot. Reg., Dec.) 

3d Ser, — 1842. III. N 


178 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices, 


Bytineriacez. 
680. LASIOPlH’TALUM [mag. 3908. 
macrophyllum Grah. large-leaved 3% {_] or 5 my P.G N. South Wales 1835. C. s.p Bot, 


A very handsome erect shrub, with large leaves which are woolly beneath 
The flowers are very pretty, and very abundant. (Bot. Mag., Nov.) 


Rutdcee. 
3549. DIPLOLAM'‘NA 29842 Dampieéri Bot. Reg. 1841, 64. 


Onagracee. 
1188. FU’/CHSIA 

radicans Miers rooting | or 20 s.o S_ Brazil 1837. C co _ Bot. reg. 1841, 66. 

‘ A long trailing perennial shrub, the stems of which, much branched, attain 
a length of 20 ft. and upwards.” A very handsome species from the Organ 
Mountains, where it “ clings in long festoons”’ to the branches of the trees, 
and “ exhibits abundance of its brilliant flowers.” Though its native place is 
within the tropics, yet being at an elevation of 3000 ft., the nights in winter 
are frequently as low as from 35° to 40° Fahr. “It strikes easily from 
cuttings.” (Bot. Reg., Dec.) 


cordifolia Benth. heart-leaved St] or 5 au.s S.G Mexico 1840. Bot. reg. 1841, 70. 

This species “is remarkable for the rich green which terminates the scarlet 
flowers, which, if it takes something from their brilliancy, adds much to the 
novelty of their appearance. It has, moreover, a fine broad foliage, and when 
out of flower is handsomer than the generality of its race.” (Bot Reg., Dec.) 


Salicarie, or Lythracee. 
1453. HET MT/4 12200 salicifolia var. grandifldra. 


Crassuldcee. 


ZEO\NIUM Webb. (One of the synonymes adduced by Dioscorides to Sempervivum arboreum.) 
cruéntum Webb bloody “” \._| or 2 my Y Canaries 1834. C s.p1 Bot. reg. 1841, 61. 


Mr. Webb has remodeled the old genera Sedum and Sempervivum, and 
separated from them three genera, which he has called 4/onium, Aichryson, 
and Greendvia. This species was found on the stones and bare rocks near the 
base of the pine region of the Isle of Palma. ‘“ It requires the same treat- 
ment as Mesembryanthemum, and similar plants.” (Bot. Reg., Nov.) 


Cactacee. 
3359. ECHINOCA/CTUS 
corynodes H. Bevol, club-shaped « [—] or 40 Y.C S. America 1837. C s.p.1 Bot. mag. 3906. 
A very curious plant with a cluster of yellow flowers at the top, with crim- 
son centres. (Bot. Mag., Nov.) 


1474. OPU’NTIA 12609 monacantha Bot. Mag. 3911. 


A species was figured under this name in the Bot. Reg. t. 1726. with solitary 
spines; but it is stated in the Bot. Mag. that the Opuntia monacantha of 
Willdenow is quite a different plant, with a little tuft of bristles at the base of 
each spine. The flower of the plant figured in the Bot. Mag. is orange, and 
that in the Bot. Reg. yellow. 


dectiimbens Salm decumbent (7) or 2 jn Pa.Y Mexico 1838. C s.p.1 Bot. mag. 3914. 
Synonymes : O. répens Karw.; O. irrorata Mart. 


A handsome species, with large pale yellow flowers. (Bot. Mag., Dec.) 


Stylidiée. 
2581. STYLY DIUM 
recirvum Grahk. recurved -x% _| or 3 my Pk Swan River 1840. C s.p Bot. mag. 3913. 
A very pretty little greenhouse shrub, with slender suffruticose stems, much 
branched in tufts, and sending down long wiry roots. The flowers are pink, 
and very abundant. (Boi. Mag., Dec.) 


a 


supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 179 


Gesneriée. 


1698. GE/SNERA 
discolor Lzzdi. two-coloured ww {_} or 2 my.jn S Brazil 1839. C. s.l1 Bot reg. 1841, 63, 


The leaves of this plant are “ very large and hard, with the lobes of their 
cordate base overlapping each other ; they are somewhat shining and smooth 
on the upper side, and hairy beneath; the flowers are almost 2 in. long, cylin- 
drical, scarlet, with a flat limb, and dispersed in a large leafless panicle, with 
branches of a deep purple colour, and perfectly destitute of hairmess. Both 
they and the flowers were shining, as though they had been varnished.” (Bot. 
Reg., Nov.) 

mollis Paxt. soft «\_] ._] or 4 au Caraccas 1839. C r.s Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. viii. p. 243, 

A very showy plant, remarkable for its “ strong, erect, tall, succulent stems, 
and large soft leaves ;” which, as well as the stems, are clothed with a soft 
down, “ which at once yields to the touch of the fingers, and feels smooth and 
agreeable. (Part. Mag. of Bot., Dec.) 


ACHIME‘NES P. Browne. (From a augm. and cheimaino, to suffer from cold; tenderness of the plant.) 
7osea Lindl. rosy “| or 1 su Pk Guatemala 1840. D co _ Bot. reg, 1841, 65, 


The plant generally called Trevirana coccinea haying been originally called 
Achiménes by Dr. Patrick Browne, in his History of Jamaica, that name has 
been restored to it by De Candolle in his Prodromus; and this species being 
of the same genus, it is called Achimenes rosea. It is a very pretty plant, pro- 
ducing abundance of its bright rose-coloured blossoms all the summer. ‘“ The 
stems die off after flowering, and the roots must then be kept perfectly dry 
throughout the winter and spring, till it begins to grow.” (Bot. Reg., Dec.) 


Ericadcee. 


1346. ARCTOSTA’PHYLOS 
nitida Hook. shining S¢ or 4 my W Mexico 1836. C  s.p.l Bot. mag. 3904. 


Synonymes : A. discolor Dec.; A’rbutus discolor Hook. 
A very beautiful shrub, a native of the colder part of Mexico. The leaves 
are long; and dark green and shining on the upper surface, but pale and 
glaucous below. (Bot. Mag., Nov.) 


1339, RHODODE’NDRON [of bot. vol. viii. p. 217. 
Gibsonz Paxt. Mr. Gibson’s 32 | or 5 my.jn W _ Khoseea Hills 1837. s.l.p Paxt. mag. 


A very handsome species of Rhododéndron, which has the habit and foliage 
of an azalea ; though the flowers are decidedly those of a rhododendron. It 
is about as hardy as &. arboreum, but a much smaller plant, having only the 
character of an undershrub, even in Nepal. (Paxt, Mag. of Bot., Nov.) 


Gentianee. 


PREPU'SA Mart. (From prepousa, showy; flowers.) 
Hookeréa@na Gord. Hooker’s y» (A) or 1 mr.ap W.C Brazil 1841. D wm.s Bot. mag. 3909, 


A very showy plant from the dark crimson calyx to its white flowers. It is 
a native of Brazil, where it is found on the Organ Mountains. (Bot. Mag., 
Nov.) 


Scrophularinee. 


3387. FRANCYVSCEA 
latifolia broad-leaved [J or 4 au.s P RioJaneiro 1840. C s.l.p Bot. mag. 3907. 


A very splendid plant, with large purple flowers, which, though hitherto 
kept in the stove, will doubtless flower in a greenhouse. The leaves are 
broad, and very handsome. (Bot. MMag., Nov.) 


1783. MV’ MULUS 30298 cardinalis var. insfgnis, atro-7dseus, and pallidus, Ladies’ Mag. of Gard. t. 11. 


Three very beautiful varieties, or hybrids, which have been raised in the 
Experimental Garden in Edinburgh by Mr, James M‘Nab. (Ladies’ Mag. of 
Gard., Nov.) 


Labiate. 
1669. STA‘CHYS 
speciosa Maund showy Y A or 4 jl.au S Mexico 1839, D co _ Bot. gard. 809, 


A very handsome species which appears to be quite hardy, as in the months 
N 2 


180 Design for a Flower-Garden on Gravel. 


of July and August, after standing out during the winter, it had “attained the 
height of 4 ft., and flowered luxuriantly.” (Bot. Gard., Nov.) 


Acanthdcee. 
1734. THUNBE’RGIA 15538 alata var. chlorantha Bot. 238. 


The flowers are small, and greenish on the back. (Botanist, Oct.) 


Orchidacee. 
538. CYRTOCHL LUM [1841, 49. 
filipes Lindi. thread-stalked or 1 jn Y.B Guatemala 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 


This plant bears some resemblance to an oncidium. (Bot. Reg., Nov.) 


2559. E‘RIA (Bot. reg. 1841, 62. 
¢ convallaridides Lind. Lily of the Valley-like € ZX] pr 3} au W E. Indies 1839. D p.1.w 
Synonymes : Pindlia 4lba Haw. ; Octoméria spicata D. Don ; O. convallaridides Wall. 


This species “ has small whitish flowers collected in close heads, in the 
axils of broad striated leaves; they have no smell, and the species proves 
much less pretty than was expected.” (Bot. Reg., Nov.) 

[on his mission to Brazil, respecting the culture of tea.) 

HOULLE‘TIA Ad. Brong. (In honour of M. Houiiet, a gardener who accompanied M. Guillemin 
vittata Lindl. striped €& ZX) cu 1 su B.Y Brazil 1841. D p.r-w Bot. reg. 1841, 69. 
Rather a curious plant, with yellow and brown flowers; belonging to the 

section Vandee (Bot. Reg., Dec.) 

2565, AE’RIDES [Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. viii. p. 241. 
quinquevilnerum Zindi. five-wounded € [) jn 2 Pk. G Philippines 1838. D p.r.w 
A very splendid plant, from the long spikes or racemes of flowers, which it 

produces in great abundance, and which have a delightful fragrance. (Past. 

Mag. of Bot., Dec.) 

Iridacee. 

RIGIDE/LLA (68. 
immaculata Lindl. immaculate ¢ (X) pr 1 au S Guatemala 1840. D_s.1 Bot. reg. 1841, 
“Tt differs from the original species in having much smaller flowers, not 

spotted, and narrower leaves.” It is also a much smaller plant. (Bot. Reg., 

Dec.) 


Amaryllidacez. 
979. ALSTRGEME‘RIA 29419 Errembaitltzi Bot. 237. 


Melanthacee. 
KREYSI’GI/A. (Probably in honour of some botanist of the name of Kveysig.) 


multiflora Retch. many-flowered yy AJ p1 1 su Ro N. South Wales 1823. D co Bot. mag. 3905. 
Synonyme : Tripladenia Cunninghamza D. Don. 


A pretty little plant with pinkish flowers. (Bot. Mag. Dec.) 


Art, XI. Design for a Flower-Garden on Gravel. By the 
ConpDUCTOR. 


In our Volume for 1836, p. 526., will be found a design for a 
flower-garden on turf. That garden having been five years 
executed, the parties began to get tired of it, on account of the 
expense of mowing among the beds. We were therefore a 
second time applied to, to furnish a design suitable for being 
contained within the same low wire fence, the beds to be edged 
with box, and the walks to be of gravel. 

Fig. 13. is a ground plan, in which all the beds are numbered. 
In the centre will be observed a basin and fountain, and the 
whole is surrounded by a dotted line, indicating a wire fence, 
18 in. high, and gently curving outwards at the top. ‘This fence 
is not put down on the line of junction between the grass and — 


the gravel, but 2 in. within the gravel, in order that there may 


Design jor a Flower-Garden on Gravel. 181 


be no difficulty or loss of time incurred in cutting the grass 
quite short to its junction with the gravel, which is often the case 
when hare-proof wire fences are set down on turf. 

The following list indicates the plants, some of them, it will be 
seen annuals, and others perennials, with which the garden may 
be stocked the first year; and the kinds and their disposition 
may be varied every year afterwards. 


1. Limnanthes Douglas o yellow en 
and white. be x 
. Lupinus nanus © blue. va x“ 
. Platystémon californicus © cream- ye Ny 
colour. / 


and red. 


. Frogmore Scarlet Pelargoniums ey \o/, uy 
it scarlet. ‘ “6 oe 


. Gnothéra speciosa A white. “ A es vA 
. Alonsoa linearis O scarlet and ‘ a 
yellow. 
8. Eutoca viscosa © dark blue. 
9. Leptosiphon androsaceus 0 
French white. 
10. Verbéna Melindris I bright scar- 


2 

3 \ 

4, Mimulus Harrisonz A _ yellow yy \ Sop . 
a : 70 re 

5 

6 

7 


let. 
11. Clarkia pulchélla alba O white. 
12. pulchélla Q pale purple. ‘ 


13. Génothéra Drumméndz © yellow. 

14, Géum coccineum A scarlet. 

15. Petunia supérba _! dark purple. 

16. Pentstémon gentianozdes A mo- 
rone-colour. 

17. Verbéna teucriozdes \_1 white and 


pink. 
18. Tweediedna supérba _I dark 
crimson. 4 
19. radicans i_] lilac. 
20. Arranidna \_| purple. 
Ql. Lambertz _J rose. 
22. Tweediedna _ crimson. 
23. incisa _) pink. 
24, Melindiis supérba J dark 
; scarlet. 
25. Bartonia aurea © golden yellow. 


26. Collinsta bicolor © purple and 
white. 

27. Phlox multiflora 4 white. 

28. Catananche bicolor © blue and 
white. 

29. Nolana atriplicifolia o blue and 
white. 

30. Petunia nyctaginiflora © white. 

31. Clintonia pulchélla © blue, yel- 

low, and white. 

32. Rhodanthe Manglész o rose-co- 
lour and white. Fig. 14. Garden on Gravel. 


N 3 


182 Culture of the Tussilago fragrans. 


33. Neméphila atomiria © white 47. Erysimum Perowskianum © 


with black dots. dark orange. 
34. insignis © brilliant ultrama- 48. Eutoca Menziész © pale blue. 
rine blue. 49. Anagallis latifolia @ dark blue. 
35. aurita © dark purplish blue. 50. grandiflora @ dark scarlet. 
36. Petdnia erubéscens LJ or © blu- 51. Calceolaria intggrifolia A yellow. 
ish. 52. Petunia bicolor_ pink and white 
37. Lobélia ramosa © dark blue. striped. 
38. gracilis G pale blue. 53. Phiéx vérna A white. 
39. lutea A yellow. 54, Pentstémon glanduldsus A pale 
40. Calceolarias of sorts A various pink. 


shades of red, yellow and white. 55. Catananche certilea © blue. 
41. Gilia tricolor © white, purple, 56. Gailldérdia bicolor oO yellow and 


and black. dark red. 

42. Crucianélla stylosa A lilac. 57. Senécio élegans © purple. 

43. Eschscholtzia crocea Q orange. 58. Nierembérgia filicatlis A pale 

44. Gilia capitata O blue. lilac. 

45. Antirrhinum variegatum A dark 59. Collinsia bicolor O purple and 
red and white. white. 

46. Zinnia élegans coccinea © dark 60. Stenactis speciosa A purple and 
scarlet. yellow. 


Bayswater, March, 1841. 


Art. XII. On the Culture of the Tussilago fragrans. By ARcuHI- 
BALD GoRRIE. 
Tuts delightfully fragrant plant has now been an inhabitant of 
Britain for something more than thirty years; and yet, so far as I 
know, its culture has not nearly met with that attention which its 
fragrance merits, flowering too, as it does, at a season when the 
greenhouse is not overstocked with sweet-smelling plants in 
flower. It is rather surprising, that nurserymen and commercial 
florists have not long since directed more attention to its culture ; 
as from its scent, its adaptation to flower in situations where the 
temperature does not fall below the freezing point, its singular 
though not beautiful appearance, and from the heliotropean per- 
fume which it diffuses through any apartment where only one 
plant may be in flower, it must, when known well, become a 
favourite with amateurs, and its culture a profitable speculation 
for florists in large towns; but it is a rapidly-spreading plant, 
and with ordinary culture flowers sparingly, which partly ac- 
counts for the small share it has hitherto received of the florist’s 
attention. I know of no plant that is a greater favourite with 
ladies, either growing in pots or as a cut flower: and, to insure 
a regular or ample supply of flowering plants, it is only requisite 
to prepare a steep bank facing the south, and sloping to an angle 
of about 45 degrees; about the middle of June, fill it with plants 
6 in. apart; and cover the surface of the bank with at least 
6 in. of ordinary garden mould. No further attention is neces- 
sary till the end of October, when it will be observed that almost 
every flower has formed a bold swelling flower-bud, from which 


Training and Pruning of Fruit Trees. 183 


a sufficient supply, either for the greenhouse or the market, may 
be potted off. By keeping part in a cold-frame, a succession 
may be retarded, and thus a supply obtained till the end of March, 

when the season will furnish an ample stock of other flowering 
plants to take its place. The plantation made in June will continue 
to furnish plenty of flowering plants the second year after plant- 
ing, but should be afterwards renewed, as the flowering plants 
become weaker and far fewer in number after the soil is exhausted 
by bearing a succession of the same sort of crop. A few leaves 
thrown over the bank will protect many of the flowers in ordi- 
nary winters, and retard their flowering till the beginning of 
spring. 

Annat Cottage, Jan. 12. 1842. 


Art. XIII. Some Remarks on training and pruning Fruit Trees. By 
a CORRESPONDENT. 


It is well to understand the various methods of training in use 
in British and Continental gardens ; and, knowing them, any 
mode or modification may be adopted which circumstances may 
require, provided the general principles are kept in view. Orna- 
mental shrubs are easily managed, because they have not a ten- 
dency to rear themselves by forming a strong stem; but with 
regard to fruit trees the case is pineanice! paaeees it is well 
known, if left to nature, form one strong stem, supporting a top 
which reaches the height of 20, 30, or 40 feet, or more. In order 
to attain this, the sap rushes, whilst the tree is young and 
vigorous, towards the leading shoot; and, if lateral branches 
are occasionally produced, the flow of sap is not strongly directed 
towards them, compared with that towards the more upright 
part. At length, however, a ramification does take place, in 
comparison with which the leading shoot becomes less and less 
predominant, till it becomes ultimately lost amongst its com- 
peers. A tolerably equal distribution of sap then results, and a 
conical or spherical top is formed, bearing fruit, not generally 
in the concavity, where it would be greatly excluded from light, 
but at the external surface, where the fruit itself, and the leaves 
immediately connected with the buds producing it, can be fully 
exposed to light, air, and dews. It was remarked, that lateral 
branches were occasionally produced on the stem, in the progress 
of its ascent. When the top is formed, these are placed at great 
disadvantage, owing to their being overshaded, and they are 
then apt to decay, ‘the tree assuming the character of a large 
elevated top, supported on a strong “naked stem. This is the 
natural disposition of trees, and to this it is necessary to attend 


in order that it may be counteracted where the natural form of 
Nw 4 


184 Training and Pruning of Fruit Trees. 


the tree cannot be admitted. It should be borne in mind, that 
the disposition to form an elevated naked stem is still strongly 
evinced in dwarf trees; although subdivided, yet each branch 
possesses its share of the original disposition, and its lower and 
horizontal shoots are apt to become weak in comparison with the 
upper and those that are vertical. 

A standard tree, from its being least restrained from attaining 
its natural habit, requires least management in regard to training, 
as has been already explained. When trained in any dwarf 
form, attention is in the first place required towards counter- 
acting the disposition to form one large elevated stem, by 
stopping the leading shoot. In this anc, other processes in 
pruning and training , it is necessary to be aware of the nature 
of the ‘buds on Alierent parts of the shoot, and the effect of 
cutting near or at a distance from the base. When a shoot is 
shortened, the remaining buds are stimulated, and those imme- 
diately below the section seldom fail to produce shoots, even 
although they would have otherwise remained dormant. The 
lowest buds on the base of a shoot do not generally become 
developed unless the shoot is cut or broken above them. They 
remain endowed with all their innate vital power, although 
comparatively in a state of repose: but, should the shoot on the 
base of which these buds are situated be destroyed or amputated, 
very soon they are called into vigorous action, producing sup- 
plementary shoots much stronger than could be obtained from 
any other buds more remote from the base. Were these buds 
as prone to developement as others, a mass of shoots and foliage 
would be produced in the central parts, where the foliage could 
not have a due share of light, an arrangement that would prove 
bad. They must be looked upon as in reserve for furnishing 
wood-shoots, whenever the pruner chooses to stimulate their 
developement by amputating the portion of shoot above them. 

From this view of the properties belonging to the lowest si- 
tuated buds, it is evident they are the mE: unlikely to become 
fruit-buds. These are formed towards the extremities. In 
some cases they are terminal; but generally about two thirds 
from the base is the situation where fruit-buds are first formed, 
and in some kinds of fruit-trees are developed into blossom the 
following season, and in others the basis of a spur is established. 
This spur sometimes continues slowly to elongate for years 
before it produces fruit. As the strongest shoots are obtained 
from buds near the bases of shoots, and as all horizontally 
trained branches grow weak compared with those that have a 
more vertical position, it follows, that all horizontal branches, 
and those approaching that direction, should be obtained, as far 
as circumstances will permit, from buds situated near the base. 


Training and Pruning of Fruit Trees. 185 


Hence, in horizontal training, say 1 ft. apart between the tiers 
of branches, it is not well to encourage two tiers in the same 
season; for, in that case, the tier that proceeds from buds 2 ft. 
from the base of the current year’s shoot has a much less sub- 
stantial origin than those that are produced from buds only 1 ft. 
from the base. ‘The formation of two tiers should, therefore, 
never be attempted whilst the lower part of the wall is being 
furnished, for the lower horizontals have a tendency to become 
ultimately weak, and on this account it is requisite that their 
origin should be well established. Towards the top of the tree, 
where the sap flows with greater force, two tiers are less ob- 
jectionable. According to the principles of Seymour’s training, 
the originating of the side branches from buds near the base of 
the vertical central shoot is well provided for, and this ought to 
be kept in view in every mode of training adopted. In order to 
furnish well the lower part of a tree, it is necessary to procure 
strong branches, and these can be best obtained from the lower 
part of a strong central shoot; and, in order that this shoot. 
may have sufficient strength, it must have a vertical position. If 
no central shoot is retained, one of three evils must result; 
the central part must remain open as the tree increases, with 
half fans on each side; or a shoot to produce others to fill the 
centre must be encouraged from one side, thus upsetting the 
balance of the tree; or, to avoid this, two or more vertical or 
nearly vertical shoots must be allowed, the divarications from 
which cannot be kept clear of each other, whilst likewise a great 
proportion of shoots must inevitably be placed nearly or quite 
perpendicular, relatively with which the horizontal branches 
below are situated at an infinite disadvantage as regards the 
distribution of sap. 

Trees commenced to be trained in nurseries have often the 
objectionable form imposed upon them of an open centre, being 
deprived of an upright shoot and set off like a V; and similarly 
objectionable are the Montreuil and other modes on the same 
principle. With skilful management these modes do succeed in 
France; but, in the rich soil and humid climate of Britain, the 
flow of sap cannot be equalised by any mode that admits of a 
competition between vertical and horizontal branches. One 
upright is necessary for furnishing side branches; but, being 
annually cut back for this purpose, it does not gain any in- 
creasing ascendancy, and forms but a slight exception to the 
whole flow of sap being directed to the growth of the side 
branches; and, in consequence of this, these branches will become 
so well established that they will be capable of receiving a due 
share of sap to enable them to continue healthy instead of dying 
off, as is their tendency when the vigour of the tree is wasted in 


186 Four Pines on the same Plant in Four Years. 


exuberant wood induced by permitting shoots, either inten- 
tionally or through neglect, to follow their natural disposition to 
grow up into stems whenever they can avail themselves of a 
favourable, that is an upright, position for appropriating an 
abundant supply of sap. 


Art. XIV. On a Method of producing Four Pine-apples on the 
same Plant in Four successive Years. By GEorGE DALE, Gardener 
at Brancepeth Castle. 

[In consequence of an extract from a letter of Mr. Dale’s, printed in p. 41., 
we have been written to on the subject for farther details. We sent the letter 
to Mr. Dale, and below is an extract from his answer.] 

I sHovuLp have answered yours before this, but I had to send 

to Newcastle for a copy of the Horticultural Reports for 1830. 

The part I referred to in my last I enclose for your inspection. 
« At the meeting at Durham, in July, 1830, some very fine and large arti- 

chokes were exhibited by Mr. Frushard, from the garden of the Durham prison. — 

The pine-apple (Black Antigua) exhibited at this meeting for competition, 

and for which the Society’s gold medal was awarded, was from the garden of 

R. E. D. Shaftoe, Esq., of Whitworth, the fourth fruit produced from the same 

plant in four successive years ; the weight of the fruits being as follows, viz.: 

In May, 1827, 5 lb.; September, 1828, 51b. 7 0z.; August, 1829, 4 lb. 15 oz. ; 

July, 1830, 51b. This pine was grown by Mr. John Robson, a pupil of the 

justly celebrated pine-grower, Mr. George Dale, gardener to William Russel, 

Esq., of Brancepeth Castle. 

“ At a district meeting of the Society, held at the Queen’s Head Inn, Durham, 
in July, 1830, the following prize medals were awarded :— 

“ For the best-flavoured pine-apple (Black Antigua), the gold medal to 
Mr. John Robson, gardener to R. E. D. Shaftee, Esg., Whitworth. 

“ For the best dish of strawberries, the silver medal to Mr. John Avery, 
gardener to W. T. Salvin, Esq., Croxdale. 

“ For the best dish of cherries (the Elton), the silver medal to Mr. George 
Dale, gardener to William Russel, Esq., Brancepeth Castle.” 

I shall endeavour to inform you of the manner I would treat 
those plants Mr. Loynes names. Supposing the first fruit cut, 
and the suckers and the old plant going on in a vigorous grow- 
ing state, I would reduce the suckers to one or two, according 
to the appearance of the plant’s health. Should the roots of the 
plant have become much matted, pull off a few of the bottom 
leaves, to allow the plant to make fresh roots into a top-dressing 
of rich compost, allowing the plant a moderate moist bark heat 
and moist atmosphere, and keeping it as near the glass as possible. 
Give the plants, if free rooters, a fair portion of water; and, 
should the soil get much exhausted, give liquid manure occa- 
sionally, allowing the plant and sucker or suckers to grow on 
until the sucker or suckers are strong enough to produce a good 
fruit. Then, the plant being tied up, turn it carefully out of the 
pot with a sharp-ended prong: take from the bottom and sides 


Protecting Peas and other early Crops. 187 


of the ball as much of the old soil as can be done without 
injuring any fresh roots; trim off any black roots; then place 
the plant with a part of the ball as low in the pot as you can, 
placing a small portion of compost at the bottom, and leaving a 
little room at top, so as to have a command of top-dressing 
afterwards. By this means the plant will receive a partial check, 
and in making fresh growth will generally show fruit. 

The following year’s success much depends upon the health 
and treatment of the mother plant. Should the suckers have 
broke from the plant near the pot, I endeavour to give strength 
by putting a circular case round the rim of the pot, so as I can 
add compost for the roots of the suckers (previously pulling off 
a few bottom leaves) to strike into. The plants being potted deep, 
care must be observed respecting the bark’s temperature in 
plunging, so as not to risk a scald, as much depends on a proper 
attention to the tan bed. 

Brancepeth Castle Gardens, Durham, Jan. 30. 1842. 


Art. XV. On protecting Peas, and other early Crops. By C. P. 


I senr you a description several years ago of the means used in 
my garden for protecting early crops of peas, potatoes, and 
other vegetables, but which has never been taken notice of. 
Situated as we are on the mountain limestone debris, I direct 
the sods always to be taken from the millstone grit, which 
change of soil insures a Jarger produce. On the removal of 
the peas into the open air (observe, they are taken up and trans- 
ported on boards), they are carefully covered over for a time 
nightly, according to the state of the weather, by the protectors, 
of which I here describe and send youa ae 
sketch. (jig. 15.) The cover consists of —/\ Wy} 
five long and six short pieces of wood {3 yy 
2 P > LA p/p 


two long and two short form each side ; ae ee ipiraenaeoe 
a top piece is left longer, to form handles early Crops. 

at each end, and the sides are attached to the top with hinges, 
and kept apart by two stretchers. I form them of larch poles, 
and cover with sugar mats, fastening the mats on with larch 
laths, as more pliable and cheaper. ‘The stretchers are made 
removable, to allow of their being shut up when out of use; 
otherwise they would take up much room. ‘Two men will put 
off and on an immense quantity in a few minutes; and if during 
the growth of the peas, &c., they prove too low, they can be 
raised by four bricks or stones. 

F. H., Feb. 1. 1842. 


188 General Notices, 


Art. XVI. On the Exceliences of the Ash-leaved Kidney Potato. 
By T. Torsron. 

Tuis most excellent potato may be planted, as soon as the frost 
leaves the ground, on south borders, and other warm sites: 
if the frost returns, cover the ground with fern or litter. Plant 
the main crop in March, in an open site ; but if it be desirable to 
prolong the season for the supply of that sort, it may be planted. 
at intervals up to July, whereby it may be had in its best state 
nearly all the year. — Bayswater, Jan. 27. 1842. 


[Mr. Torbron is an excellent gardener, and we wish we could see him 
established in a good place.] 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. I. General Notices. 


WHITTAKER’s Composition for destroying Worms.— Mr. Fortune reported from 
the Hothouse department that Whittaker’s composition, a substance adver- 
tised for the destruction of the insects called scale and green fly, had been 
tried ; but that the results had not been satisfactory.. It appears to destroy 
the plants without affecting the insects which infest them. He did not find 
that it injures the roots of plants, when used in the proportion which is neces- 
sary for the destruction of worms, and therefore it may be employed for that 
purpose in the same way as lime-water, or any acid. (Proceedings of the Hort. 
Soc. for 1841, p. 199.) 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


NORTH AMERICA. 


JUSSIEU’A grandifiora.—I am now enabled to give you the facts of the salutary 
influence of this plant on the health of the inhabitants, when permitted to 
grow in the waters of Louisiana, which facts 1 promised in my communication 
in your Magazine of February, 1841. Dr. Cartwright informs me, under date 
of September 24., that ‘‘ Bayou Terre Bonne, in the parish of Terre Bonne, 
having been declared a navigable bayou, or natural canal (stream it is not, for 
it has no current, and is not fed by springs or rivulets), and its surface being 
thickly set with the plant, which gave it the appearance of a meadow covered 
with a tall flowering weed, and obstructed the navigation very much, it 
was cleared of it. The banks of the bayou are now, and have been 
thickly inhabited for seventy years, with the constant enjoyment of health, 
until the destruction of the jussieua three years since, when bilious diseases 
made their appearance, while those on the banks of the two Bayous Caillon 
(Grand and Petit), Bayous Black and Blue, and some others, on whose waters 
the plant still remains, continue exempt from them. The waters in those 
bayous are stagnant, but pure and sweet. The plant feeds on the aqueous 
impurities. It has no attachment to the soil, but floats on the surface of the 
water, and only become stationary when it becomes too thick and crowded to 
float. Put into any stagnant pool of water, it soon purifies it. I have not met 
with it above the 30th degree of latitude in this country, but I saw it growing in 
one of the aquariums in the botanic garden of Oxford: when I asked the 
botanist who accompanied me in the garden why the water was so much 
clearer and sweeter than in the other aquariums, he assured me he could not 
tell, and added, that all the aquariums were supplied with water from the same 
source.” — J. M, Philadelphia, Oct. 15. 1841. 

Large American Red Oak.—A correspondent in the Natchitoches (Louisiana) 


Domestic Notices : — England. 189 


Herald says it can be seen on the plantation of Wm. Smith, Esq., eighteen 
miles from Natchitoches, on the road leading to Opelousas. This majestic oak 
stands in the midst of a rich and heavy bottom, on the Bayou St. Barb. At 2 ft. 
from the ground, it measures 44 ft. in circumference ; and at 6 ft., 32 ft. The 
trunk appears sound and healthy, and its height to the branches is from 50 ft. 
to 60 ft.—J. M. Philadelphia, Oct. 15. 1841. 

Maclira aurantiaca Apple.— In my notice of this production (Gard. Mag., 
vol. vii. p. 508.), 1 stated, on good authority, that of the representative in con- 
gress from Arkansaw, that it was not eaten there, but I have since been told that 
in Texas it is eaten, at least by the Indians ; their taste, however, is not very 
refined. I will enquire further on this point. In the page quoted above the 
beauty of the wood is mentioned, and this I can testify to from what I have 
lately seen in Philadelphia. The original trees brought by Lewis and Clarke 
were planted in the garden of the late Mr. M‘Mahon, near Philadelphia; and 
either from one of them, or one of their successors, alimb was cut off and 
sawed into veneers by the present occupant, from which a small table was 
made. The wood is of a bright lemon colour, and has a fine grain. I can send 
you a specimen to Liverpool, in the form ofa tea-caddy, if you will point 
out the person to whom I can consign it. A vessel direct to London isa 
rare occurrence in this city. To this day, the navigation has not been ob- 
structed by ice. I send this letter by Liverpool, because I learn that the 
postage is reduced to a mere trifle in England.— Idem. 


Art. III. Domestic Notices. 


ENGLAND. 


ROYAL Botanic Garden, Kew.—We are happy to learn that our friend Mr. 
Smith, for many years foreman of the Kew Botanic Garden, in consequence 
of a memorial submitted by him in October last to the Commissioners of 
Woods and Forests, praying to be allowed to assume the title of Curator, 
has been authorised to do so. His salary is 1307. a year, with house, coal, 
&c., commencing from the 31st of December last.—Cond. 

A Botanic Garden in the Isle of Wight has been projected for several years, 
and ample plans and prospectuses are now in circulation, and may be had of 
Mr. Brooks, Old Bond Street, London.—Cond. 

Singular Instance of Vegetation.— On the 20th of September, 1813, a grave 
was opened in Tockholes churchyard, from which a coffin was taken up which 
had been buried twenty-two years. The coffin was opened, and in it were dis- 
covered some sprigs of box, which appeared quite fresh. One of these was 
planted in a garden belonging to Peter Catteral, Tockholes, and it now forms 
a tree about 3 yards in circumference, after yielding successive supplies of sprigs 
for the decoration of other corpses. (Newsp.) 


IRELAND. 


Designs for Cottages and Suburban Villas. —1 can send you a complete set 
of the plans, sections, &c., of Ballyfin House, the seat of Sir Charles Coote, 
Bart., designed by Sir Richard Morrison, who, in point of taste, has been 
accounted the first architect in this country. There is a very beautiful villa 
near this, some time since erected, viz. Clontarf Castle, the seat of Mr. Vernon, 
with a very good gateway, in the same style as that of the Norman baron’s 
castle. Iam not sure who was the architect, but I think Morrison’s son since 
dead was. The builders, however, were Gilbert Cockburn and Sons, 165. 
Great Brunswick Street, Dublin. There is also a very odd, but avery costly 
and rather imposing, villa further towards Howth, St. Ann’s, the seat of Ben- 
jamin Lee Guinness, Esq., who is very fond of architecture, &c., and would, 
I think, readily accede to an application for plans on your part. There are 
some good new things at the south side of Dublin, on Lords Longford and 
De Vesci’s estates, designed by a young man just getting into practice as an 
architect, G. Mulvany, Esq., jun.—N. Near Dublin, Feb. 17%. 1842. 


190 Retrospective Criticism. 


Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism. 


Mr. Niven’s Stove for various Purposes. —1 am sorry that Mr. Niven has 
declined answering “ Catius” concerning his “ Stove for various Purposes.” 
Mr. Niven declines on the plea of “ Catius” not having given his real name 
and address. Now, what’s ina name? I should have thought that Mr. Niven 
would have been glad of the opportunity of defending his stove and its arrange- 
ments. For my part, I think that Mr. Niven was rather premature in giving 
us the glowing description that he has done of his stove. Had he waited a 
little longer, we would have had something at least a little more practicable. 

Mr. Niven says that the house had only been a few months at work when 
his account of it was written. Now, Sir, is it at all likely, that the experience 
of a few months only was sufficient to enable him to judge of the working of a 
house filled with the plants Mr. Niven describes? We shall see! 

Well, then, to begin with the musas, They occupy recesses in the back 
wall, the depth of which are, I suppose, 16 in. or so; this will give a little 
room; be it so. A full-grown plant of Musa Cavendishz will cover a space 
with its leaves, the diameter of which will be 9 ft.; therefore the row of 
musas along the back of Mr. Niven’s stove will shade the two back rows of 
pines in the pit. The musas were young when Mr. Niven wrote about them, 
but what are they now? The plant has beautiful foliage, certainly; but it takes 
up too much room to be grown in a pine-house. 

The granadilla comes next, and is a very desirable plant, certainly, provided 
you have room for it. Mr. Niven will find this rather scarce if his musas 
have grown well. 

The guava is next in order, and, to grow both guavas and musas well, a 
difference of from 20° to 30° of Fah. is necessary 

The next in Mr. Niven’s assemblage is the pine-apple, in growing which 
Mr. Niven thinks he has found a panacea for all the ills attending the “ old 
burning system.” What makes it a burning system? It is not so when pro- 
perly managed. Indeed, with all Mr. Niven’s additional expense of chamber- 
ing, piping, &c., he has to use 2 ft. of half-decayed leaves, and they are 
not got for nothing; when they are rotted down, they must be taken out and 
replaced again with more half-decayed leaves. Now, with the “ old burning 
system” 3 ft. of tan are enough, and 18 in. of fresh tan are sufficient to be put 
in at one time, turning it into the bottom, and bringing up the half-decayed 
to the surface to plunge in; by so doing, I am never troubled with any of the 
burning effects of tan, Mr. Niven here treats us to something new, or, rather, 
he gives us an old friend with a new face. Mr. Niven’s pine plants were chiefly 
queens, and “ were, of necessity, started at only two years of age ; which plants, 
notwithstanding their youth” — here we may stop. Who was Mr. Niven writ- 
ing for when he penned the above about the queen pine? If it was for the 
gardeners of the present day, he has certainly drawn largely on their gullibility. 
I should like much to know what Mr. Niven considers a fair age for queen 
plants to be started at, if 24 months be a youthful age. From 6 months to 12 
and 16, is ample time to grow the queen plant ; and I would take a well grown 
15 months old plant against Mr. Niven’s 24 months, and beat it too. We 
hear nothing of the weight of the fruit grown in Mr. Niven’s stove. 

The curvilinear metal roof is considered essentially important by Mr. Niven 
towards the proper maturation and flowering of the pine-apple in Ireland. 
Now if it had not been proved over and over again, that pmes, both large and 
highly flavoured, have been grown in common houses and pits built of wood, 
there might be some reason for this ; in the present case there is none whatever. 
It seems that Mr. Niven has advised the growing of black Jamaicas instead of 
queens in future. I suppose the queens were not very large, owing to their 
youth, 

Then come the cucumber and melon; and here Mr. Niven comes out, and 
no mistake. “ In the course of six weeks after the seeds were sown, cucum- 


Retrospective Criticism. 191 


bers were cut, cultivated in this way, from 18 in. to 2ft. in length; and a 
constant supply, &c.”’ If Mr. Niven is behind the pine-growers of the day, he 
has, at least, precedence of the cucumber-growers. What a pity that some of 
the recent writers on the cucumber had not been able to give a case or two 
like Mr. Niven’s, it would have made their works sell, surely! Mr. Niven does 
not say at what time of the year the seeds were sown. Will he have the 
goodness to state at what time he could cut by sowing on the Ist of November, 
December, January, and February, respectively? We shall then see the value 
of the plan. Then, “ A summer crop of melons may also be obtained with 
equal ease in the same way.” Did Mr. Niven ever try it? I trow not; or 
he would not have said it was easy of accomplishment. In speaking of the 
musas, | have shown that their leaves will over-reach the space allotted to 
them in Mr. Niven’s plan, so that, in fact, there is no room to grow cucumbers 
or melons. 

With regard to Mr. Niven’s pipe-heated vine border, I may just state that I 
agree in all that “ Catius” has said on the subject : a dry arid air under a vine 
border is ridiculous. 

The forcing of strawberries then follows. If Mr. Niven has a pit to set the 
fruit in before he brings them into the stove he may succeed, if not, he will fail. 

For forcing shrubs, the front and back kerbs of the pine-pit are set apart. A 
few may be set on the front kerb ; there is no room on the back. — W. Hutchin- 
son. February 9. 1842. 

The Difference in apparent Magnitude between the Rising and Setting Sun. — 
In p. 100. it is said that, “The sun when rising and setting appears larger, 
because it can be compared with the smaller terrestrial objects.” I conceive 
that it appears larger when setting, from the diminished light that it emits, 
compared to what it does when it is more vertical ; just as the embers of any 
consuming substance appear larger and deeper coloured after the flame that 
was emitted from it has become extinct, &c. May not the sun, when at its 
height, be compared with the aerial objects, as birds, clouds, &c., of small dimen- 
sions, as well as when it is setting ? — 7’. Torbron. Feb. 12. 1842. 

The Banana or Plantain. (p. 42.)— Amongst the various communications 
tending to promote that grand object which we all have at heart, none seem 
better calculated for effecting it than the publishing of accounts of visits to 
gardens, when such accounts are given in a correct form; since by means of 
such communications proprietors of similar situations and their gardeners 
are often reminded of what fruits, flowers, or vegetables they might have, 
but do not possess. In p. 42. is such a communication taken from the Ayr 
Observer, the greater part of which is good, but it contains a few blemishes 
which, I think, you, in your editorial capacity, might with propriety have cor- 
rected ; and first, as to the banana or plantain (Musa paradisiaca). The 
plantain only is meant; as the banana is the Musa sapiéntum, which grows to 
the height of 40 ft., and has the merit of producing a much finer-flavoured, 
although not more useful, fruit. Both the M. paradisiaca and the M. sapién- 
tum, as well as the M. Cavendishw, as described a little further on, form a 
beautiful curve with their flower spikes; and their spikes hang down, not by 
the weight of the fruit, but by their own natural propensity, as will appear 
evident to every one, when it is known that the spikes tend quite as much to 
a downward direction before the fruit is formed, or the first flower has opened, 
as after the fruit is mature. What are called two-rowed branches of fruit are 
in the West Indies called hands, from their finger-like appearance. 

The Carica Papaya is one of those plants that I feel much interest in. In 
the present communication the writer, I think, must be wrong in supposing 
that there are two species at Williamsfield, as we have raised both kinds from 
the fruit of the female plant, that is, the one which bears at the axil of the 
leaf upon short axillary peduncles ; and also irom the fruit of the male plant, 
that 1s, the plant which at the axil of the leaf produces a panicle of male flowers 
on a footstalk of from 4 in. to 7 and 8 inches long, with occasionally a female 


192 Queries and Answers. 


flower at the extremity. Ido not leave to chance the impregnating of such 
flowers, but carefully impregnate both kind of females. Should Mrs. Fairlie 
have no other Passiflora but edulis, I would recommend the P. /aurifolia 
(water lime), and the P. quadrangularis (granadilla), both of which we grow 
for their fruit. They, however, will require a little more attention when in 
flower, as they do not set their fruit well unless artificially fecundated. As 
we have to perform the operation with many plants in the season, I generally 
devote from 11 to 12 o’clock; not that that time is better than every other, 
but finding that, when a certain portion of time is set apart for doing any 
business, the chances of its being well performed are greater than when the 
order to do so is only given. — G. M. Elliot. Ripley Castle, Ripley, Yorkshire, 
Jan, 25. 1842. 

Standard Pear Trees suitable for the Climate of Inverness.— Although I may 
not build immediately, yet I must not delay planting and getting rid of a lot 
of bad apple trees grown in any shape that nature ordered, which I intend 
replacing by pears. You would oblige me much by giving me a list say fif- 
teen, of the best standard pears which you’know, from the earliest to the latest 
keeping sorts, which you think ought to answer in the latitude of Inverness, 
where we regularly grow and ripen excellent peaches and nectarines on the 
wall, even in unfavourable seasons. In this country good pears are all but 
unknown, while apples are run upon till they have become a perfect drug, and 
few gardens have two pear trees for every twenty apple trees. I have got 
Citron des Carmes, wall; Crawford or Lammas, and Camack, standards ; 
Beurré d’Aremberg, Beurré Diel, Beurré Rance, Beurré de Paques, Na- 
poleon, Marie Louise, Hazel, Hacon’s Incomparable, and Jargonelle, wall: 
but I want fifteen to twenty others for the garden as standards, and having no 
dictionary to direct me, but your Encyclopedia, edition of 1828, which is now 
a little aged perhaps in the pear department, I am induced to trespass on 
your kindness, the first leisure hour you can spare, for a list of such standard 
pears as you would advise my planting. Of course, quantity of produce, as 
well as quality of fruit, will be considered. —D. M. Jan. 25. 1842. 

The sorts recommended are: Williams’s Bon Chrétien, Dunmore, Aston 
Town, Fondante d’Automne, Seckle, Louise Bonne (of Jersey), Beurré 
Bosc, Althorp Crassane, Van Mons Léon Je Clerc, Thompson’s Winter 
Crassane (Knight’s), Glout Morceau, Passe-Colmar, Nelis d’Hiver, Knight’s 
Monarch, Ne Plus Meuris. If more than fifteen plants are wanted, we re- 
commend the remainder to be of the Glout Morceau.— Cond. 


Art. V. Queries and Answers. 


INCREASING the Flavour of Fruit by alternate Heat and Cold.— Are you aware 
that the flavour of fruits can be much improved by exposing them to con- 
siderable heat, and suddenly cooling them; of course I do not mean such a 
heat as could injure their texture. The effect is most remarkable in wines : 
for experiment, bring a bottle of Madeira from the cellar in the morning and 
expose it to the sun or warm atmosphere, carrying it back again into the 
cellar for a sufficient length of time to cool before drinking ; the wine will be 
so improved in flavour as hardly to be recognised for the same.—C. P. F. H. 
April 16. 1840. : ‘ 

We have long been aware of this mode of improving the flavour of Madeira, 
and we know of some instances in which there is a bin in the pine stove and 
another in the outer ice-house for the purpose, the key of each being kept by 
the butler: but we do not see what this has to do with improving the 
flavour of fruits, such as the peach or the pine-apple. — Cond. 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
APRIL, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
By the ConpucrTor. 


(Continued from p. 150. ) 


From Glasgow to Uddingstone the road is broad, firm, and 
smooth, accompanied by an excellent footpath; the fences are in 
good repair, the hedges well trained, the stone walls substantial, 
and frequently of ashlar-work. The crops of wheat, potatoes, 
and oats, and clover and rye-grass, are most luxuriant, without 
the appearance of a single weed, except in the margins of the 
fences, where they are not unfrequent, and at present coming 
into flower. ‘This is a crying sin throughout Scotland. With 
the finest crops in the interior of the field that could possibly 
be wished, the vilest weeds, such as docks and thistles, are 
found flowering and running to seed in the hedgerow margins. 
We cannot make an exception in favour of any part of the 
country between Stirling and Kinross on the north, and Berwick- 
upon-Lweed on the south. It seems difficult to reconcile this 
slovenly conduct with reference to the margins and the road 
sides, with the care and culture exhibited in the interior of the 
fields; but we suppose it arises from this, that the benefit from 


_ keeping the crops clean is direct, while that from cutting down 


the weeds in the margins, being the prevention of their dis- 
semination, is comparatively remote. We were particularly 
struck with the luxuriance of the weeds by the road sides in the 
neighbourhood of Paisley, and between that town and Glasgow ; 
but we were soon able to account for it from the personal habits 
of the mass of the population, which are the very reverse of 
delicacy or cleanliness. There ought certainly to be some 
general law, as there is in some parts of Belgium and Germany, 
that all weeds whatever ought to be cut down before they come 


into flower, and that when this is not done by the occupant of 
3d Ser. — 1842, IV. Co) 


194 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


the land on which they grow, it ought to be effected by a district 
officer, whose business it should be to attend to this and other 
public nuisances, at the occupier’s expense. In some parts of 
the Continent parochial rewards are given for the unexpanded 
flower-buds of weeds, for the cocoons of insects, and for the 
young of different sorts of vermin; but we are not yet arrived 
at this degree of agricultural nicety. 

We cannot help remarking that in the midst of fields covered 
with the most luxuriant crops, the rows of cottages by the road 
side had the most miserable appearance. No variety in their form, 
magnitude, or materials; no difference in the size of their windows, 
or in their chimney tops; no porch ; no front garden ; no creepers 
or climbers on the walls; no flowers to be seen anywhere ; and few 
or no windows, except those on the ground floor, to give the idea 
of a bed-room floor. The same line of dull stone side wall, and of 
slate, stone, or thatched roof; the walls with small windows, the 
broken panes of glass in which are often stuffed with rags ; occur 
at intervals all along the road, forming a notable contrast with 
the wealth displayed in the villas, the farm-houses, the fields, 
and even the fences and roads. The agricultural labourers’ cot- 
tages, in short, seem the only part of the general scenery in 
Scotland that has undergone little or no improvement. We 


know scarcely any difference in their appearance now from what. 


it was forty years ago, when we first passed through this part of 
the country. ‘The farm-houses and fences, on the other hand, 
have been almost everywhere entirely rebuilt since that time. 
We saw only one attempt at an ornamental cottage between 
Glasgow and Uddingstone, and that was at a turnpike-gate. 
Every attempt at improvement deserves to be encouraged, and 
the only fault that we shall find in the present case is, that the 
side walls of this cottage were much too low. ‘There is an idea 
prevalent among architects, more especially in Scotland, that the 
dwellings of the poor must exhibit an appearance of poverty 
and humility, however much they may be ornamented ; and 
hence the low side walls and the narrow dimensions of gate 
lodges and other ornamental cottages built on gentlemen’s estates, 
which, however, are ornamented exteriorly to an extent most 
ridiculous, when compared with the low ceilings and_ scanty 
accommodation within; as if a poor man did not require as large 
a volume of air to breathe in as a rich one. ‘This is, no doubt, 
in part owing to the want of thought in architects, but it is, we 
are persuaded, in part also to the sycophant properties inherent 
in our countrymen, and to their want of moral courage (see 
p-135.). In an agricultural country like Scotland, where a 
great many feudal prejudices still exist, a man who has risen by 
his professional merits so as to be admitted to the tables of the 
aristocracy, is ashamed to urge anything that would remind his 


Bothwell Castle. 195 


employers of his own low origin, and thus bring into view the 
immense gulf, like that between Dives and Lazarus, that exists be- 
tween them. Ina country where commerce prevails over agricul- 
ture this is not the case; and hence we find that it is not in the 
Lothians, Berwickshire, or in Northumberland, where the cot- 
tage of the labourer has been improved, but jin Lancashire and 
other parts of England, and in those spots in Scotland, such as 
New Lanark, Deanston, Catrine, &c., where manufactories have 
been established. Nothing can exhibit a more lamentable picture 
of society than Berwickshire and Northumberland, where the 
proprietors and the farmers live in houses that may be called 
palaces, and enjoy all the comforts and many of the luxuries of 
life, while the farm labourers are worse lodged than the horses, 
cows, and pigs. ‘This is no exaggerated view. We refer to 
Dr. Gilly’s pamphlet (p. 31.), and to the excellent work of Mr. 
Donaldson, reviewed in a future page. 

Uddingstone is associated in our minds with Mr. Wilkie, a 
celebrated manufacturer of agricultural implements, whose com- 
munications will be found in some of our earlier volumes. He .~ 
and his family, we were informed, have passed away; but we 
were introduced to a lady of the same name, Mrs. Wilkie of 
Knowtop, who possesses a very handsome villa and grounds, 
and is remarkably fond of her garden. ‘The kitchen and flower 
gardens were admirably cultivated, and displayed a profusion of 
appropriate productions. The Californian annuals were in the 
greatest abundance and beauty; and the roses, and pelargoniums, 
fuchsias, petunias, calceolarias, and many other articles of the 
kind, were in great beauty. In the shrubbery we noticed fine 
specimens of the snake-barked maple, Sambucus racemosa, and 
Luénymus latifolius. The thorn hedges were remarkably nicely 
cut and kept, and the whole place was in high order and 
keeping. 

Bothwell Castle is known as one of the best kept large places 
in Scotland; and, what adds to the merit of the noble propri- 
etor, he has no particular taste for gardening, and has the place 
equally well kept when he is absent as when he is resident. 
The ruins of the ancient castle and the modern house are both 
situated on the summit of a very high and steep bank, varied by 
old wood, which slopes precipitously to the Clyde; and the 
walks down to and along the river are numerous, and, as may be 
supposed, singularly grand and picturesque. We went over the 
whole of them in 1804 and 1806, but we could not, on this 
visit, undergo that fatigue. We were gratified to find, as far as 
we did go over them, that the style of keeping was exactly what 
we recommend: edgings not much higher than the gravel, 
and the grass clipped, but never cut. Where the edgings had 


got high, we found them being undermined by the spade, so as 
0 2 


196 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


to reduce them to the proper height. Some dry ground among 
old shrubs was also being turfed over, a practice which we have 
had frequent occasion to recommend as a great saving of labour 
in keeping, and as much more consistent with the : age of the 
shrubs, to which digging is labour in vain, and consequently a 
dead loss. 

In the flower-garden there is a greenhouse, containing an 
excellent collection of admirably grown heaths; Mr. Turnbull, 
the very intelligent gardener, being, in the calenre of that genus, 
second only to Mr. M‘Nab of Edinburgh. Mr. Turnbull is 
said to grow his heaths chiefly in peat, mixed with a little loam 
and leaf mould; so, at least, we were told some days afterwards. 

In and abcut the kitchen-garden there are some borders of 
flowers of the choicest kinds, and in the very highest degree of 
culture and keeping. Those that require tying were supported 
by props, in a manner sufficient without being conspicuous, and 
all the plants were in distinct tufts, round in the plan and 
conical in the elevation; the alpines often on cones of pebbles, 
about 5in. at the base and 3 in. high. Many florist’s flowers, 
such as calceolarias, lobelias, gladiolus, &c., were particularly 
rich and beautiful; and there were a great many choice herba- 
ceous plants and alpines, besides a general collection of herba- 
ceous plants in a different part of the garden. Penstemon 
Murrayanus was 10 ft. high. In the stove were some fine 
specimens, particularly of “Nepénthes,. Mr. ‘Turnbull is very 
successful in propagating Statice arborea, we suppose in Mr. 
Cunningham’s manner, by cutting the stems above the joints, to 
stimulate them to throw out shoots, to be taken off as cuttings 
(see Sub. Hort. p.270.). There was but a poor crop of fruit on 
the walls and espaliers, which we attributed to the borders in 
both cases being cropped, and to the want of protection for the 
blossoms in spring. Gentlemen in Scotland have no idea of 
the care and expense taken and incurred in England to pro- 
tect the blossoms of wall fruit trees. If they have laid out a 
kitchen-garden and built the walls, they think it quite enough, 
just as a planter of forest trees thinks the work is finished when 
he has filled the ground with so many thousand plants per acre. 
By not cropping the borders, by thatching peach borders occa- 
sionally in rainy autumns to prevent the rain from penetrating 
them, thereby checking the growth and ripening the wood, and 
by careful covering with canvass during the blossoming season, 
crops of wall fruit might be rendered nearly as certain and as 
abundant as crops of gooseberries. But very few country gen- 
tlemen in Scotland would go to the necessary expense. 

There is an excellent gardener’s cottage, in the Gothic style, 
recently built here, with cast-iron hooded chimney-pots, to pre- 
vent the smoke from being blown down the chimney; the situ- 


Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 197 


ation being surrounded by high trees. We were informed that 
the plan was successful. We left Bothwell Castle deeply im- 
pressed with the grandeur of the scenery and the noble river, 
and full of respect and esteem for the moral worth and profes- 
sional skill of Mr. Turnbull. 


{ To be continued. ) 


Art. II. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 
By G. ReceEx, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin. 


(Translated from the Garten Zeitung.) 
(Continued from p. 160.) 


I. On tHe PropacaTion or Prants — continued. 


2. MEANS OF ACCELERATING THE FORMATION OF ROOTS. 


Ir has been shown above that the formation of roots is inti- 
mately connected with the assimilation of the nourishing matter ; 
to hasten the rooting, therefore, we must apply some means of 
forwarding the process of assimilation. 

This consists, as is the case with seeds, in a moderately warm 
state of the ground: the time must also be chosen in which 
the same process is going forward in the parent plant. Of 
some plants particularly difficult to root, such as Scétt7a, Draco- 
phyllum, Cosmeélia, some species of Erica, &c., it is necessary 
to take as strong compact-growing cuttings as possible; and, as 
soon as circumstances permit, the plants intended for propagating 
should be planted out in an open bed in the house. Those plants 
which can be propagated successfully late in the summer, such as 
heaths, may be planted out quite in the open air in summer; from 
which this advantage is to be expected, that, by their naturally 
much stronger growth, much more nourishing matter will have 
been deposited by the end of the season. 

For cuttings of all the difficult-rooting greenhouse plants, the 
best heat for the ground is from 10°to 12° R.; for those of 
hothouse plants from 12° to 16°, which should be as regular as 
possible. ‘This, which is often neglected, is of great moment 
to insure the success of the cuttings; for, if they are kept at a 
cooler temperature, the greater part of them form a callosity, 
but, for want of the necessary heat to assimilate the deposited 
nourishing matter, no roots are formed. The callosity con- 
tinues in many species to grow (such as Quércus, Hakea, and 
Protea), and often becomes of so considerable a size, that it not 
only covers the face of the cut with a thick layer, but also pene- 


trates between the wood and the bark. When this is the case, 
03 


198 Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 


and the callus is not cut away, no roots are made, and the 
cutting often remains several years without dying. 

In the use of beds heated by manure great circumspection is 
necessary; for the cuttings should neither be exposed to the 
exhalations arising from it, nor immediately stuck in warm 
sand or charcoal ashes (tan and sawdust, on account of the 
insects lodging in them, are not so desirable). About eight 
days should, therefore, elapse before any thing is put in the bed; 
and by turning over the sand, &c., the noxious vapour will be 
diminished: the pots are then to be placed at first only on the 
bed, and not plunged till the heat is diminished. As soon as 
the bed has cooled, another must be made; for, when this is 
neglected, not only those which have formed a callus make no 
roots, but many that had formed roots, by the excitement of the 
heat, become sickly. Plants that root easily thrive best in a 
bed moderately warmed with leaves, on which, instead of the 
sand and charcoal ashes, earth is placed, and the cuttings set in 
it. Treated in this manner they display much greater activity 
than when stuck in pots, so that, in the course of a few weeks, 
shading and excluding the air are less necessary. ‘To reap the 
same advantage with plants that are more difficult to root, boxes 
14 ft. wide, and from 8 in. to 1 ft. high, are used. ‘These must 
have holes at the bottom to drain off the water, the bottom 
covered with sherds, and only so far filled with earth as to leave 
room for the boxes to be covered with glass without the 
cuttings being pressed down by it. When the bed becomes 
cool, they can easily be removed into a fresh one; and in this 
way many of the most difficult-rooting tropical plants, such as 
Dillénia specidsa, Coccdloba pubéscens, C. macrophylla, the 
species of Ixdra and Banisteérza, &c., grow well. Propagating 
houses, with beds made on purpose for heating, are always the 
most serviceable. When one of these beds is made, the trouble 
of always forming new ones is obviated ; the cuttings, which can 
have an equal warmth of soil constantly maintained, are not ex- 
posed to the noxious vapours of the dung; and the greatest use 
of such a bed is, that the cultivator is not bound to any one parti- 
cular season, as any time of the year will serve for propagating. In 
constructing a house for this purpose, which should only becovered 
with glass at the top, particular care should be taken that the heat 
should be equally directed over every part of the bed, and increased 
or diminished by means of valves; and the sand and charcoal 
ashes always kept damp, so as to preserve a sufficient moisture in 
the house from the vapour arising from it. For heating, the 
most suitable methed is by water, as that sort of warmth is more 
suitable and beneficial to the plants. Heating by pipes, with 
particular precautions for the equal distribution of the heat, 
which we leave to the judgment of our readers, is also suitable ; 


Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith. 199 


but in this case the depth of the sand and charcoal ashes over 
the bed must be much greater than in heating by water, that the 
dry heat may not penetrate to the cuttings. ‘The beds must be 
as near as possible to the lights; and some shelves may be placed 
at the back wall of the house, for the cuttings planted out. 


( To be continued. ) 


Art. III. On the Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith. 
By Brown, Esq. 


EpinpurGH and Leith, with a population of one hundred and 
seventy thousand souls, contain ten cemeteries or burying-places, 
of which number Leith counts one fifth. These are in constant 
requisition, except one, which is not yet opened; and all of them 
exhibit visible tokens of the march of improvement having ex- 
tended itself even to the sepulchres of the dead. This is evinced 
in the neatness of the cut grass, the trim state of the walks, the 
orderly and scientific arrangement of the shrubs and evergreens, 
and, above all, in the studied and uniform good taste of the 
superintendants in preventing any scattered bones of the deceased 
from being seen about the grave when an interment takes place ; 
so that delicacy of feeling is unwounded, and even in sorrow and 
sadness for departed worth a pleasurable sensation is irresistible. 

The West Church, or St. Cuthbert’s parish, Burying-Ground, 
has lately assumed a more dressed and agreeable appearance. 
An increasingly beautiful row of trees on each side of the prin- 
cipal walks, and the newly taken in grounds weil laid out, be- 
speak the determination of the overseer not to lag behind. 

The Grey Friars, also, has even outstripped the West Church. 
A new recorder’s office, a splendid and massive iron gate in 
room of the old wooden one, the walks much widened and the 
larger of them causewayed, the sprightly trees and shrubs, and 
the clean and orderly appearance of the workmen, mark a vast 
change for the better. ‘These things prove that the overseer, 
Mr. H. P. Thomson, vies with his fellows; and we may add 
that, by his exertion and industry, he has rendered this recep- 
tacle of the tombs of many generations worthy not only of a 
passing glance from the stranger, but a place of resort to note 
the past history of the nation; for perhaps in no one point of 
Scotland are concentrated so many remains of the noble dead who 
stood forth in defence of their country’s rights as in this burying- 
ground. An erect tablet stands at the north-east corner, which 
the overseer has handsomely encircled with a flower-plot, to sig- 
nify the spot where the bodies of eighteen thousand lie who 
suffered death, in the reign of the two Charleses, for adhering to 


the Presbyterian faith and liberty of conscience. To this 
o 4 


200 Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith. 


memorial, and to many others equally interesting, there is now a 
mournful pleasure in paying a solemn contemplative visit. 

Neither of these two burying-grounds already referred to, 
however, come up to the New Calton Burying-Ground. Here 
the superior order and system in all the arrangements evince the 
able and judicious management of Mr. Hay. ‘The situation is 
most excellent, being on a gentle declivity on the south-east side 
of the Calton Hill, and the raised terraces at the west end of it 
give a most imposing appearance to the whole. ‘The soil is 
chiefly marl, and, from its declivity, it is freed from that abun- 
dance of moisture so frequent in level places. ‘To all these 
natural advantages, scientific skill and good taste have contri- 
buted much to heighten the beauty of the place. ‘The walks are 
neatly formed of gravel, tastefully edged with grass, kept smooth 
and firm by rolling, and frequently mown to keep it short. A 
circular-built watch-house, commanding a full view of the 
whole cemetery, which at night is lighted with gas, and the many 
ornamental tombstones, with the nicely planted roots and flowers 
showing the affectionate regards of surviving friends, fill the 
visitor with a pleasing and tender melancholy. 


a 


Fig. 16. Lamb’s Recetving-Box. 

But one of the many novel and wise arrangements to spare 
time, save trouble, and to preserve the cleanliness of the grounds, 
in this and in most of the burying-grounds mentioned, is, in the 
use of a large wooden box (jig. 16.), 7 ft. long, 4 ft. broad, and 


Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith. 201 
32 in. deep, in which is deposited the mould or earth when 
cast out of the grave. The sides of this box are removable at 
pleasure ; and the box, before receiving the earth from the grave, 
is raised up in a sloping position to the margin and alongside 
the grave, so that when the coffin or chest is lowered the grave- 
diggers have little else to do than loosen and take out the one 
side of the box, when the earth immediately runs out; and the 
whole of the earth being returned, then, with broom in hand, 
the workmen proceed to fit on the turf, and after the space of a 
few minutes not a particle of earth is to be seen, but everything 
left almost as neat as if the ground had not been disturbed. 

The fees are most moderate. A man may be buried, all 
expenses included, for 8s.6d., and a child for 5s. At the same 
time there are different degrees of style in performing funerals, 
varying in expense from 4s. (the expense of burying a still- 
born child) to 5/. 17s. Gd. (the expense of a hearse, with five 
mourning-coaches, and all the customary paraphernalia). 

It may be remarked that there is also the Old Calton Burying- 
Ground, as weil as the new; and that both are under one system 
of management. ‘The Calton Incorporation, which is a society 
united for the attamment of one of the most laudable objects 
that can engage civilised man, to provide for the widow and 
the orphan. ‘The old burying-ground was much cut up by the 
opening of the new London road in March, 1819, and the site 
of the new cemetery was planned to supply the deficiency, 
which it has admirably done : and, besides, it has given a stimulus 
to church-yard improvement; for, although this Incorporation 
under their manager was not the first to use the box above 
described, yet they were the first in Edinburgh who used it; 
and Mr. Hay, the present manager, has the honour of having 
introduced it from Leith. 

This receiving-box, as it may be called, is the invention of 
Mr. Lamb, wright and undertaker, in Leith. Mr. Lamb, about 
fifteen years ago, made two boxes smaller than that described, 
which were used in South Leith Burying-Ground, under the 
late Mr. Dick, with the happiest results. One of these small 
boxes was placed at each side of the grave; but this was found 
inconvenient, by keeping the mourners at too great a distance. 
The double boxes, therefore, soon gave way to the larger single 
box, above described, and the small ones are never used unless 
in confined places of the burying-ground, or when a greater 
depth is required than ordinary. Mr. Lamb has since made 
pattern boxes for Glasgow, East Linton, and some other places ; 
and, without claiming any monopoly for the invention, he 
most honourably charges the current price of making similar 
boxes of the size for any other purpose. Mr. Hay took the 
hint from Mr. Lamb’s boxes, and has acted upon it for many 


202 Destroying Vermin in small Gardens. 


years past ; and, now that the utility of the invention is so demon- 
strable, other overseers are gradually following in the rear. 
Yet there are many country church-yards where such a thing 
is altogether unknown; and my object in sending you this ac- 
count is, to make the boxes known to gardeners, who, if they 
approve of them, will, I have no doubt, recommend them to the 
attention of the clergyman of the church which they attend. 


Edinburgh, Oct. 29. 1841. 


Art. IV. On destroying Vermin in smail Gardens, and on relative 
Matters. By CuarLtes WarTeERTON, Esa. @ 


[The following letter was written in 1839, with no intention 
of its appearing in print, in answer to some questions of ours 
respecting the use of weasels, hedgehogs, birds, cats, &c., in 
gardens. ‘The questions were suggested by some papers in 
Mr. Waterton’s Essays on Natural History then just published, 
in which the value of weasels and other animals in destroying 
insects and vermin were pointed out by the author. Almost 
immediately after Mr. Waterton’s letter was written, that 
gentleman went abroad, and we had not an opportunity of asking 
his permission to publish it till his return last autumn.. We 
hope our readers will be as much pleased with it as we are. ] 


You say, “ you will send to a gardener in the country for a 
weasel.” You must send for two, male and female. A bachelor 
weasel, or a spinster weasel, would not tarry four and twenty 
hours in your garden. Either of them would go a sweethearting, 
and would not return. 

You remark that your “hedgehogs soon disappeared.” 
No doubt: unless confined by a wall, they would wander far 
away, and try to get back to their old haunts. You request 
me “to suggest some place of shelter for them, to which they 
might have recourse when attacked by the cats?” I cannot 
believe that hedgehogs are ever attacked by cats. A garden, 
well fenced by a wall high enough to keep dogs out, is a capital 
place for hedgehogs. But there ought always to be two, man 
and wife. 

Your ‘‘frogs and toads disappeared in a very short time, 
notwithstanding a small cistern of water which was open to 
them.” ‘They would have preferred a pond or ditch. No doubt 
they left you in search of more agreeable situations. 

“ Were it not for the cats we should have plenty of birds.” 
Granted. Cats amongst birds are like the devil amongst us; 
they go up and down seeking whom they may devour. You 


Destroying Vermin in small Gardens. 203 


must absolutely chase them away for good and all, otherwise 
there will be no peace for your birds. A small quantity of 
arsenic, about as much as the point of your penknife will con- 
tain, rubbed into a bit of meat either cooked or raw, will do 
their business effectually. 

“‘T have often thought of suggesting to the Board of Woods 
and Forests the idea of feeding the birds, or rather of putting 
down the different kinds of food proper for the different kinds of 
of singing-birds, in Kensington Gardens.” This would not be 
necessary. All our soft-billed summer birds of passage, and 
those soft-billed birds that remain with us the year throughout, 
live on insects; and insects abound during the period when these 
birds are in song. But if you could prevail upon the board to 
prevent idle boys from chasing them, and gunners from killing 
them, and bird-merchants from catching them, all would be right; 
and almost every bush and tree would have its chorister. 

“‘ If you could give any hints as to the next best quadruped 
to the weasel for keeping in gardens, or, in fact, any thing 
relative to keeping down insects, it would be of very great use.” 
— I know of no other quadruped. The barn owl isa great con- 
sumer of slugs; and the lapwing will clear a garden of worms. 
Our singing-birds are the best for destroying soft-winged insects. 
The windhover hawk is excellent for killing beetles, and also for 
consuming slugs and snails: cats dare not attack him, wherefore 
he is very fit for a garden, and is very easy to be obtained, I 
could send you a dozen any season. 

Were I now a writer in the Magazine of Natural History, 1 
would not agree with a Master Charles Coward in his paper on 
‘¢ The carnivorous Propensities of the Squirrel.” (See the Maga- 
zine for 1839, p. 311.) And so this keen observer has found 
out at last, that squirrels in confinement are occasionally carni- 
vorous animals. Indeed! And so are my hens in confine- 
ment: they will kill and swallow a mouse in the twinkling of an 
eye, and a tame parrot will perform the same feat. All our 
eranivorous birds in confinement will eat raw and cooked meat. 
My black cat ‘“‘ Tom,” which is fed and pampered by my sisters, 
will often turn up his nose at a piece of good roasted mutton, and 
immediately after will eat greedily of dry bread. What would you 
think of me were I to write for you a paper in which I would state 
that the cat is occasionally an animal that is very fond of bread ? 
You cannot judge of the real habits of an animal when it is in 
captivity. ‘The want of exercise, the change of economy, the 
change of food, and the change of habit altogether, tend wo- 
fully to change the very nature of the stomach, and cause it to 
accommodate itself to aliment which it would never touch in a wild 
state. We see people out of health eating chalk; and we see 
others again, who spend their lives in sedentary employments, 


204 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


loathing food which is very palatable to him who passes the 
day inthe open air. Thus, the ploughman will bolt fat bacon by 
the cubic inch, whilst the tender young milliner will turn sick at 
the very taste of it. I myself cannot bear melted butter; but I 
can and do often thrive, by preference, on a hard crust of bread. 
Still this would not be the case with one of your London alder- 
men, who would turn up his nose at the gifts of Ceres, unless those 
of Nimrod and Bacchus appeared on the same festive board. 

The squirrel, in the state of liberty, lives on nuts and seeds, 
and on the tender bark of the lime tree, &c.; but rest assured 
that it never touches flesh, or kills birds, or sucks eggs. ‘The 
shepherds of Wiltshire, who have backed Master Charles in his 
important discovery, deserve a birch rod. These rural sinners, 
both young and old, would swear that the moon was made of 
Jones’s lucifers, if you would give them a quart of ale apiece. 
All my labourers believe that the heron thrusts its legs through 
the nest during incubation; and they will all tell you that the 
cuckoo becomes scabbed at the close of summer. ‘* As scabbed 
as a cuckoo.” This, by the way, comes from the mottled ap- 
pearance which the plumage of the bird puts on at that time of 
the year. It is caused by the growth of the adult feathers amongst 
the chicken feathers. I pity the poor squirrels from my heart. 
Our country squires will now consign them over to the tender 
mercy of their gamekeepers, and we shall hear of squirrels shot 
by the dozen. The squirrel is a most harmless animal, except 
in a nut orchard, from which he ought be expelled without loss 
of time, as the damage which he does there is incalculable; but 
I would trust him for ever in a butcher’s shop, provided he were 
allowed to go and take his breakfast and dinner in the neighbour- 
ing woods. I can see the squirrel here just now, living entirely 
on the seeds of the cones of the spruce firs; I can see him in 
the very trees which contain nests of ringdoves, thrushes, 
chaffinches, and blackbirds. Still the owners of these nests 
betray no fears on his approach; and _ he himself shows no in- 
clination for raw eggs, young or old birds, whereon to make a 
meal. 

Walton Hall, June 3. 1839. 


Art. V. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Schell of Munich 
Translated from the German for the ‘‘ Gardener’s Magazine.” 


(Continued from p. 172.) 
XIII. On removing Earth in general. 


1, Removine earth, particularly the excavating of valleys, lakes, 
and ponds, rivers, brooks, &c., ought to precede all other ope- 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 205 


rations; because, with the earth, gravel, or sand thus obtained, 
unsightly hollows may be filled up, hills raised, or roads made 
and conducted over them. Removing earth is one of the most 
important and expensive operations in laying out grounds, as 
every fault committed in doing so can only be remedied at great 
expense, and the neglect of every advantage, of which there are 
many that might be taken, but which, from want of experience, 
cannot be seized, greatly increases the expenditure; for example, 
Ist, when the earth is carried to a place where it is not to re- 
main; 2d, when hills that have been raised, or rivers excavated, 
must be again changed ; $d, when carting, which is very expen- 
sive, is so arranged that the coming and going is interrupted ; 
or, 4th, when the loading and unloading take place too slowly; 
5th, when for two horses less than 20 cubic feet of earth is loaded, 
and at the same time circuitous routes taken; 6th, when any 
material is brought from a distance, that can be procured in the 
neighbourhood; 7th, when the workmen are so arranged that 
they hinder each other, or cause unnecessary labour; 8th, when 
in trenching, for want of overlooking, the soil is not dug to the 
proper depth, which very often happens in work undertaken by 
the piece, and from which great injury accrues to the planta- 
tions, &c. 


On the Formation of Hills. 


2. Hills may be reckoned among those bold forms of nature 
which break its uniformity, and communicate variety, effect, and 
distinction to its pictures. A well-formed hill is of great beauty, 
and particularly when it is bordering on a wood, or when the 
wood serves as a distant background to it. Hills belong also 
to the most imposing features of nature; we ascend them with so 
much pleasure to enjoy delightful views from their summits. 
Buildings erected on these eminences have a greater effect, and 
command a more extensive view and enjoyment of distant nature. 
Hills are of as much advantage as foregrounds, as they are for 
forming bold and agreeable backgrounds. 

But the choice of the spots where hills are to be placed depends 
upon the nature of the country, in which also nature must be con- 
sulted, and her laws followed. It is not sufficient that these hills 
produce the desired effect in the landscapes to which they belong, 
nature must also justify their being placed where they are raised, 
and recognise them as her own work. 

3. A hill raised in an extensive plain, and in a district where 
nature has formed no obvious eminence, would not have a chance 
of being taken for one of her works. 

An appropriate passage from the first canto of the Abbé de 
Lille’s poem, Les Jardins, will add weight to this remark : — 


206 Sckell’s Landscape- Gardening. 


“‘ Evitez ces excés. Vos soins infructueux 
Vainement combatteroient un terrain montueux ; 
Et dans un sol égal, un humble monticule 
Veut étre pittoresque, et n’est que ridicule.” 


** Avoid such extremes. Your fruitless care will vainly at- 
tempt a mountain on a level surface, and an humble mound in- 
tended to be picturesque is only ridiculous.” 

_ When, however, a hill is to be raised on a plain for the sake 
of interrupting the uniformity, it should not be formed in the 
middle, but placed on one side; and it must be made to harmo- 
nise in height and extent with the plain, and be surrounded with 
other smaller hills at various distances, and of different heights 
and forms: by this means the fault just mentioned will be 
avoided. As we often observe in nature the highest mountains 
gradually diminishing in height and finally ending in low hills, 
before the mountainous character is thrown aside, and a transi- 
tion takes place into an apparently level plain, thus the landscape- 
gardener, when he has created a hilly country, must not let it 
subside suddenly into a level plain, without showing here and 
there distant small eminences, which appear as if torn | apart from 
their neighbours, and yet seem to belong to them. 

4. Hills cannot be formed with the usual garden instruments, 
viz. shovels, spades, and hoes. * ‘The cleverest artist would en- 
deavour in vain to communicate to his hills the varied multiplicity 
of forms which nature impresses on hers, so as to be mistaken 
for real ones. 

What useless labour would be expended in forming the decli- 
vity of a hill with tools, so that it should carry on its surface 
every slight concavity and gentle prominence which are multiplied 
to infinity, and which strip a mass of earth of this description of 
its heaviness and uniformity, communicating at the same time the 
lightness and multiplicity of forms cbsereaale 3 in nature. It also 
happens, that, if a hill can be thus formed artificially to resemble 
nature with garden tools, this labour cannot be effected by the 
artist alone; he must necessarily employ common labourers in 
the work, who have usually not the least idea of the beauties of 
nature or of her forms. ‘The gently undulating line is quite foreign 
to this sort of people; and if, notwithstanding this, they are 
employed to form hills with their tools, then only such forms will 
be produced as neither belong to nature nor art, as may easily 
be expected, and of which many English gardens give very ob- 
vious examples. 

5. But for this construction there is a peculiar process, by 
which the landscape-gardener can produce hills in his grounds 


* Some hills which were formed with tools, and were not successful, put 
ne in the way of pursuing this better method. 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 207 


which shall imitate nature so closely as to be mistaken for the 
reality, and it is effected in the following manner : — 

There are hills in nature which stand isolated, without being 
united to any other, and which yet produce a very picturesque 
effect. Others again are united by nature to smaller hills, and, 
finally, there are hills forming long connected ridges, but which, 
considered individually with respect to their height and form, 
appear very different, because nature, as is well known, never 
repeats the same forms. On these various hills nature exhibits 
smaller hills, and on these small hills still smaller ones, with 
their intermediate valleys and hollows in countless variety. 

As the chain of nature descends from large objects to those 
which are scarcely perceptible, in like manner are the various 
forms of hills presented to our view. 

6. In staking out it has already been observed, that with hills no 
outline can be drawn with stakes, nor ought it te be so; because, 
in nature, the outline is never clearly defined, but passes over 
imperceptibly into other forms, and we cannot, therefore, perceive 
where the beginning oer end of the hill is. Hence only the 
highest points of the hills should be indicated with posts, and no 
further outline be shown by stakes. As soon as the artist has 
determined on and arranged the essential forms, the height, and 
situation of his hills, by means of a landscape and elevations 
drawn on paper, and small models, and committed these to me- 
mory, then the earth may be raised round the poles. ‘The 
workmen who are employed in raising these hills should receive 
no other directions but these, viz. to assist in unloading, and to 
separate the heaps laid down in such a manner as to prevent the 
returning carts from being upset, or hindered from approaching 
the spot. They should never undertake, therefore, to fill up or 
level the hollows between these heaps, nor to level the chance 
prominences which may appear. Workmen who have this pro- 
pensity ought not to be employed in making these hills. With 
these irregularities, which appear at the same time as the hills, 
and soon vanish with the continued accumulation of earth, again 
to appear, the labourers should give themselves no concern; it is 
precisely these chance inequalities which cause artificial hills to 
be considered as natural ones. In forming these hills, or in 
raising and lowering certain places, no orders should be given 
them at a distance from the spot; therefore the mere common 
labourer, who knows nothing of the art of levelling and measur- 
ing, is usually the best to be employed in such operations. 

7. The artist, who thus undertakes the formation of hills, 
should never be long absent from his work, as he can depend on 
no one but on his own creation, which should always be present 
to his mind’s eye. At first, however, he must only make his hill 
a great mass of earth of a rough shapeless form; and then he 


208 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


must judge from those points of view from which it will be seen 
to most advantage, whether this mass requires more height or 
more extent, in what particular places he must add more earth 
to develope its form more distinctly, and with more character, 
truth, and nature, &c. When all this is done, then those places 
which are either to be small elevations or concavities must be 
marked out with small sticks, by which the hill will acquire 
more variety of outline, ease, and lightness of form, and con- 
sequently more nature and grace. These small elevations, by 
the repeated accumulation of earth, will be formed into masses 
in the same manner as for hills. Hollows in places which appear 
to be too heavy and flat, are produced by removing at random, 
and without any regard to form, a part of the earth with spades 
and shovels, and then smoothing the surface of the hollow thus 
formed with a harrow or rake. All other smaller elevations, with 
their various indentions and hollows, which nature unceasingly 
and ever variously displays, will, by this method of raising hills, 
come of themselves as if by chance, and consequently quite 
naturally ; neither the artist nor the workman has any other par- 
ticipation in their existence, but that they have not prevented 
nor impeded these appearances from being produced. 

8. The last operation on those hills produced by the creative 
art of gardening consists in turning over the surface, either with 
a shallow ploughing when they are of great extent, or on a 
smaller scale with the spade, and then scattering about the earth 
by means of harrows or rakes in different directions. By this 
last operation the rough surface will be smoothed ; all stiff forms, 
as well as the too apparent and sharp transitions, will thereby 
acquire more roundness and delicacy, they will become blended 
with each other in a natural and harmonious manner; and a 
beautiful object, a gently swelling hill resembling nature, which 
must in gardens take precedence of rude, angular, steep crea- 
tions, notwithstanding their picturesque effect, is finally presented 
to the eye.* : 


On the Formation of Valleys. 


9. Valleys may also be considered as among the most charm- 
ing attributes of modern gardens. How inviting is the beautiful 
description of the Vale of ‘Tempe in Thessaly, which was watered 
by the river Peneus, and planted with ever verdant trees, with 
which Apollo, as conqueror, was crowned ! 


* When a temple or a monument is to be erected on a hill that is to be 
raised artificially, the foundation walls must first be raised as high as the hill 
itself is to be raised. The hill must rest against these walls, and the temple 
itself must assume its visible form at the surface of the earth; otherwise the 
hill must be again taken down to secure a solid foundation. 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 209 


How charming the gentle declivities appear when they slope 
downwards to a winding stream; how refreshing is the sight of 
the flowery turf which clothes the sides of the valley ; how agree- 
ably the silvery brook glides in innumerable windings in the 
hollow, and how gratefully every violet that adorns its banks 
bends to its invigorating power ! 

These lovely valleys are usually formed by excavations, which 
take place in the following manner : — 

In marking out valleys, it is advisable to drive in posts for the 
various excavations of earth, so that the labourers may not dig 
out the earth at random, nor go too deep. 

Digging out the earth is usually performed across the valley, 
by which means a continual section of the new concave line and 
also of the old one is presented to the artist during the opera- 
tion, by which he ascertains, as the excavation proceeds, whether 
he is going too deep or too shallow, and whether his valley is 
assuming a beautiful as well as a natural form. With the earth 
gained from the middle of the valley the sides are raised, and 
deep excavation rendered unnecessary. A valley dug two feet 
deep in this manner, acquires a depth of about four feet in the 
middle. 

In these excavations, the chance elevations and concavities, as 
in the case of forming hills, should not be levelled, because na- 
ture treats valleys as she does hills, and displays them under a 
variety of forms. Hence a valley excavated in a regular circular 
concave line would resemble no real natural valley ; therefore the 
stakes which mark out the depth should be 40, 60, or 100 ft. 
apart, that the excavation of the intermediate spaces may be per- 
formed mostly by chance. 

10. In forming valleys, there are also cases where they are not 
hollowed out; for example, when it is feared that the ground 
would be marshy, or that a harmonious whole would not be de- 
veloped. In these cases, and spots of this description, the sides 
of the valley must be formed by carting and raising the earth, 
and the concave line thus preserved without excavations. 

At the termination of the sides of this valley where it ends, 
the earth piled up in this way would be a deformity, and at the 
same time betray its artificial origin; but the bounding line of 
the valley may be changed outwards into a natural ridge or 
green, which will flow imperceptibly into the line of the grounds, 
or into any other beautiful natural form, or be concealed by 
planting; as nature usually displays herself on the upper sides of 
the banks, and surrounds them with a thicket or wood, from 
which the valley bursts forth and descends. 

In the numerous grounds which I have had to superintend, I 
have much more frequently made use of this method of proceed- 


ing, and, I might almost say, with greater success than the former. 
3d Ser.— 1842. IV. P 


210 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


But either method depends more or less on the particular cha- 
racter of the situation and soil. 

11. When an apparently or really flat surface occurs in grounds, 
this insipid lifeless form may be made to approach nearer to the 
picturesque by raising gentle eminences without either making 
actual valleys or hills, which will communicate life and grace to 
these dull flats. By these improvements and additions they will 
even acquire a degree of beauty, and be considered as an orna- 
ment to the grounds. Elevations of this description, when they 
are only raised 1, 2, or 3 feet, are often sufficient to break a mo- 
notonous flat, and to communicate to it that variety which confers 
so much grace and pleasure. 

12. Besides these new forms created by art, the old ones 
must either be made use of, transformed or improved when ne- 
cessary, and then applied as features, or be entirely removed : 
for example, sloping banks that have once been beautiful, but 
which have been transformed into unsightly, steep, and even 
dangerous precipices, by land-slips, inundations, &e., and which, 
besides, cannot be introduced into any picturesque whole. To 
these appearances of violent destruction, art, as has already been 
said, must restore their former beautiful original features; she 
must rearrange those scattered dissevered forms esthetically, 
harmoniously, and picturesquely and with them enrich and 
beautify her new creation. 

There are cases in which a fine prospect, or a waterfall, is 
concealed by a ridge or bank. This ridge must therefore be 
lowered, or entirely removed, if its value as a picturesque object 
is inferior to that which it conceals from view. In the same 
manner hills formed by nature, when they are too low and with- 
out effect, may be raised, and stronger features communicated to 
them. 

13. Marshes should never appear in pleasure-grounds: a 
brook, made by art to meander through them, will carry off the 
water, and at the same time supply earth to fill up the deep 
places, and make the marsh disappear. The want of earth has 
frequently occasioned me to make lakes, ponds, or valleys; I 
laid them out, however, where I thought the situation required 
them, and when they formed a picturesque feature, and made 
use of the earth for plantations, in raising hills, or in making wet 
sterile spots fruitful. 

By either method, the beauty of the landscape was not only 
increased, but also the growth and healthy appearance of the 
plants, and the air very much improved. 


(To be continued.) 


Premature Decay of Plantations. 911 


Art. VI. On the premature Decay of Plantations. By J. Wiauton. 


A FRIEND of mine lately called my attention to what was once 
a thriving plantation, and asked my opinion why so many of the 
trees came to premature decay. He observed that the soil was 
good, and that it could not be the cause. While discussing the 
matter a by-stander remarked that the trees had done no good 
since they were thinned out; that operation not having been 
done ata proper time. This remark convinced me more of my 
belief, that the decay of this plantation, like that of others which 
I have observed, arose from the trees not having been properly 
thinned out when they were young, and that the thinning had 
been injudiciously done after they advanced in growth. This 
matter seems to be overlooked by most planters, and, it being of 
great importance, I shall notice the evil effects of it. 

In proceeding I will not enter into the various causes why 
young plantations are not properly thinned out, but merely 
observe that old ones are often kept thick to harbour game, 
and small belts are kept thick to afford shelter and exclude the 
view. It isin the latter, when in exposed stuations, that prema- 
ture decay of the trees takes place; and this is caused by their 
being crowded together while young, by which means they are 
drawn up weak, and lose their under branches for want of 
sufficient light and air. The soil being good, the trees at first 
make rapid growth, especially the spruce fir, by which they get 
rotten at heart, and begin to die off. In a small plantation in 
front of Captain Nevill Custance’s house, at Stone Hill, near 
Norwich, there are firs in this state. 

A general thinning commences sooner or later, by which the 
trees are exposed on all sides; they, being weak both in root 
and trunk, cannot withstand the blast; they are blown about in 
all manner of ways; the trees, of course, are injured, and many 
of them die, which would not have been the case if they had 
been gradually thinned out when young, observing always to 
have the hardiest kinds thickest on the outside to shelter their 
neighbours. 

When these rules are attended to the trees get firm hold of 
the ground, strength is added with their growth, and they 
retain their under branches. It is from the want of light and 
air that trees lose their under branches. The following facts 
prove this. ‘Trees on the outside of plantations hold their 
branches to the ground on the light side, and are quite bare on 
the darker side: this holds good even with the fir tribe, which 
are most liable to lose their branches. I may observe that 
plantations are sometimes left thick, with a view to draw up the 


trees with long straight stems. This I consider a good plan, 
pe 


212 Culture of the Neapolitan Violet. 


when the trees are afterwards gradually thinned, that is, not 
suddenly exposed ; indeed, it is the only way [except Mr. Cree’s] 
to get fine timber free from knots, for the lower branches decay 
while the trees are young, and the parts where they grew are 

soon healed over, which is seldom the case with trees pruned 
in age. Although this is the best way to get trees with fine 
stems, still it is in some degree objectionable to treat ornamental 
plantations in this manner; for the grand object with them is to 
endeavour, if possible, to preserve the under branches on the 
trees. However, by the want of light and air, as already men- 
tioned, this misfortune often happens to the trees, and many vain 
attempts are made to replenish their beauty. I have been sur- 
prised to see how foolish some of these ways are: for instance, 
it is not unusual to see larch, and other kinds of trees which 
cannot endure the shade, planted under old beeches and oaks, 
where the sun’s rays cannot penetrate ; I have also seen branches 
cut and bent to the ground, and stunted trees cut down with 
a view to their springing up afresh. All this seems to be done 
without ever considering that the surrounding trees had lost 
their branches, and that the herbage below had died off, for want 
of air. From what I have just stated, the folly of endeavouring 
by such means to get up wnder-cover, as it is called, must be 
obvious. 

I do not pretend to say that old plantations cannot be reple- 
nished below; but, before this can be done with any success, 
light must be admitted by cutting down some of the trees, and 
then planting such trees and shrubs as will grow in the shade. 
The hazel, laurel, privet, &c., are good for this purpose; and it 
ought to be borne in mind, that no kind of tree or shrub should 
be planted which will not bear to be repeatedly cut down. 

Cossey Hall Gardens, Feb. 9. 1842. 


ArT. VII. On the Culture of the Neapolitan Violet. By E. S. 


I HAVE just been potting some Neapolitan violets; and, as I have 
often seen it done without success, those of your readers who are 
fond of them may not think it loss of time to peruse these re- 
marks. 

Neapolitan violets are frequently potted in the autumn, and 
plunged in a frame exposed to the sun, to preserve them throuch 
the winter. Formerly I did so, and sometimes have had good 
pots of flowers, but more frequently bad ones. I therefore 


determined to pursue a different course, and by doing so I haye 
never beendisappointed. 


Culture of the Neapolitan Violet. 213 


Any time in the month of May mark out a piece of ground 
1 ft. wider on all sides than any frame or frames which are 
likely to be unoccupied in the autumn and winter months. Dig 
a trench round the piece one spit deep and one wide, merely to 
keep the place dry on which the frame will have to stand. Let 
the earth be thrown on the piece, and be neatly pointed down. 
Plant with young plants, about eight inches apart each way, and 
water them as soon as planted. If the weather is hot at the time 
of planting, shading for a few days while the sun is on them will 
be of service. A little water as occasion may require, and keep- 
ing free from weeds, are all that will be necessary till October ; 
at which time the frame or frames may be placed over. Let it 
be particularly observed that the situation should be as open as 
possible, provided the sun will not shine into the frames during 
the winter months. Ido not like them stuck behind a north 
wall, as such a place is usually damp ; but in most places such a 
situation as I have described may be found. If not, and the 
sun must shine upon them, let the lights be shaded when the sun 
breaks out; otherwise the plants will be excited, and will suffer 
more from cold and damp afterwards than if they had never 
been protected. Whenever there is no fear of rain, and it is not 
frosty, let the lights be kept off; and if they are obliged to be on, 
let them be tilted behind at all favourable opportunities, night 
or day, as a dry atmosphere is of the highest importance. It 
will be found that violets treated in this way will not lose their 
foliage from damp, like those which have been potted ; and, being 
exposed to the air, the foliage will not be drawn up soas to hide 
the flowers. If, when the frames are put on, the soil is lightly 
stirred, and decayed leaves and rubbish picked out, it rarely 
occurs that it will be necessary to repeat it all the winter. Ido 
not recollect that mine have been picked over since the frame 
was put on; and I think that you will agree that this winter has 
been damp enough to prove it. 

By observing the above rules, abundance of flowers will be 
produced, and the plants may be potted a few at a time, choosing 
those for early potting whose flowers are most forward, and taking 
them into the greenhouse or elsewhere to open. If the plants 
are strong, one plant in a 48-sized pot will do, or two may be placed 
in a 32, as most convenient. I have sometimes planted a few 
about the borders of a conservatory ; and, if they are allowed to 
open their flowers before they are taken from the frame, they 
look pretty and scent the house. 


Middlesex, Feb. 16. 1842. 


214 Managemeitt of the Vine. 


Art. VIII. On the Management of the Vine. By N. M. T. 


-Tuere is no plant under cultivation more docile, more patient 
under maltreatment, or more certain of doing well under any 
system, than the vine: let the system adopted be persisted in 
until the plants become inured to it, and success is certain. 
Yet all of the prevalent systems have supporters firmly per- 
suaded that their favourite is vastly superior to all others, which 
furnishes all that is wanted to prove that system signifies 
nothing; if it did, some of them must in reality be superior 
to its competitors, and that superiority becoming apparent 
would lead to its universal adoption; but, from the thing con- 
tended about having no hand in the matter, the very reverse of 
this is the case. All of the systems retain their adherents, all of 
them are capable of perfect success, being only different means 
employed to obtain the same end; and, if we occasionally find 
instances that would lead us to decide in favour of any peculiar 
mode, any excellence in them exhibited may generally be traced 
to the youth or vigour of the plants, the effects of a congenial 
climate, and judicious management. Still, we hear so much 
stress laid upon cutting to one eye, to three, four, or ten eyes 
(as the advocate may incline), that we are almost led to believe 
that the result entirely depends upon this, which in reality does 
not signify one farthing. I mention this as my conviction, after 
having seen and practised most of the popular methods ; and, 
if plants have become inured to any of them, a change, unless 
imperative, or imperceptibly carried into effect, ought not to 
be thought of. 

It may be inferred, that, considering a congenial climate every 
thing, and any peculiar mode of pruning of so little consequence, 
I would continue to conduct vines upon the same plan in 
which I might chance to find them. ‘This is true to a certain 
extent; but, deeming the superiority of one system over another 
so trifling, 1 have in a great measure abandoned them all, and 
taken as a guide what is palpably important; and, instead of 
cutting at a given eye, I cut where there is a requisite number 
of good ones; allowing their position upon the shoot to weigh as 
nothing, as the inferior eyes, used to produce fruit in the close- 
spur system, can be rubbed off, and the wood in the house as 
easily regulated in this case as any other. It may be supposed 
that this rule in cutting would in some cases require to be 
infringed to procure available wood in proper places, but where 
vines are in a healthy state this can never prove a difficulty. 
Thus, cutting at or before prominent well ripened buds capable 
of producing shoots of proportionate excellence is, I think, the 
only thing that ought to be definite in winter pruning; yet 
winter pruning has often been elaborately defined, while the 


Management of the Vine. 215 


stopping, or pruning of the growing shoot, probably of ten- 
fold importance, is left comparatively a matter of hap-hazard ; 
stopping at a joint before the fruit, or leaving a foot or two of a 
shoot to fill a gap, as it may happen. Now, the important func- 
tions performed by the leaves considered, this, of all others, 
would appear a matter deserving our attention, not only as 
it regards vines, but all other plants, especially those that 
bear some affinity in their mode of fruiting, as melons and 
cucumbers. Such plants are generally stopped near the fruit, 
ostensibly that the plant may not expand its energies in the 
production of useless leaves; a practice tenable only on the 
supposition (which it clearly implies) that plants derive the whole 
of their support from the soil; that the juices forming this 
support are collected by the roots, and by them forced up into 
the plants, performing all their functions in their ascent; in 
fact, that, independently of leaves, roots are capable of forming 
plants and maturing fruit: but, as the reverse of all this is the 
case, since it is evident that plants increase in substance more 
readily without roots than without leaves; that a very con- 
siderable portion of their constituent parts are supplied by air 
and water through the leaves, and that watery juices supplied 
by the roots are unavailable until assimilated and converted 
into “true sap” by the leaves, benefiting as regards adding 
to the substance of plants in their descent only; surely we 
are entitled to pause before ruthlessly destroying so many in- 
dispensable auxiliaries. The impossibility of any fruit ripening 
without being preceded by a leaf to supply elaborated returning 
sap shows the inefficiency of all those between the root and the 
fruit (however numerous) to accomplish this. ‘The lesson thus 
enforced has taught us to respect one leaf at least, knowing 
that upon its preservation, all hopes of success depend. We 
have also proof from the very scanty portion of foliage often 
left, that little is required to perform the task, that is, a single 
leaf, properly situated, will do enough to prevent absolute. 
abortion: but the question is, would not an ample portion 
of what is so indispensable perform that task more effectually ? 
This is hardly to be questioned: a leaf is requisite to mature 
even a single bud; and it appears highly improbable, that so 
small a breadth of foliage can properly perfect the crude matter 
contained in a bunch of grapes of 4]b. or 6lb. weight; which 
renders an insufficient surface of foliage exposed to the action 
of light one of the most probable of all the endless con- 
jectures as to the cause of the shriveling of grapes; grapes 
shriveled for lack of sufficient foliage, and peaches suffering 
from the same cause, differ in nothing. 

Grapes grown in the open air being less affected by this 
disease also tends to confirm the supposition. In this case, space 

p4 


216 Management of the Vine. 


is less an object than with those under glass, consequently, 
more space is generally allowed them to produce leaves, while, 
from the influence of light acting upon them directly, much 
less foliage is required to produce the same effects; and the 
greater breadth of foliage plants generally develope in the 
deteriorated light under glass is probably an effort to counter- 
balance, in some measure, its inferior quality. 

We may often considerably deviate from the method adopted 
by unassisted nature in the culture of plants; still, studying the 
nature of a plant in that condition is likely to afford hints 
tending to insure success; and here the natural method of 
bearing of the vine would point out a mode the very reverse 
of close-stopping, as the fruit is invariably produced within 
a few eyes of the preceding year’s wood, while an indefinite 
quantity of foliage is afterwards produced to mature it, and 
contribute by its caterings to the growth of the plant. It has 
again and again been shown, that the removal of leaves as pro- 
duced is the most certain of all methods to reduce in vigour, 
and ultimately to destroy, the plant so treated. It is very evident 
that without frequent stopping, and regulating of the summer 
shoots in a vinery, the whole would soon become a tangled 
mass of confusion, which would, by creating darkness, produce 
the very evils intended to be cured; but, without leaving enough 
to do this, as much as can be judiciously retained ought by 
every means to be fostered, as the best (or in early forcing the 
only) way of sustaining, rather than the means of expending, 
the energies of the plant. But, even supposing plants to be fed 
solely from the root, it requires far greater exertion to produce 
the fresh leaders necessary by continual stopping, than to go on 
to any reasonable extent in the addition to that already started: 
to prove this, decapitate a plant barely able to exist, and its 
destruction is almost certain to follow, being previously in a 
condition to prolong existence by means of a few leaves, but 
unable, these destroyed, to produce more. 

Plants under glass depend more upon their leaves, and less 
upon their roots, than those in the open air, from the possibility 
of maintaining around them a continually feeding, instead of an 
occasionally exhausting, atmosphere; this alone most assuredly 
supplies the bulk of their food, if it does not, why so strenuously 
endeavour to keep up an atmosphere in which food abounds? 
otherwise, this would be of minor importance. ‘There is pro- 
bably no plant less dependent upon its roots than the vine. 
I recollect seeing somewhere a statement of repeated trials, 
tending to show that the fruit was nearly matured before the 
roots became excited; and, in early forcing, I am apt to think, 
this is always the case, else the covering of the border with 
hot dung or materials to keep it warm and dry would be an 


* 


Management of the Vine. 219 


improvement; but I affirm that I have seen no case where 
covering produced any good. If the roots are perfectly dor- 
‘mant it cannot, if they are active it may do much evil, by 
excluding light, rain, and all atmospheric action from the soil 
containing the imprisoned roots. ‘The methods of applying 
heat to the roots, by means of combustion or otherwise, are 
only so many mischievous absurdities. To create a correspond- 
ing action between the branches and the roots may be the aim 
of such appliances, and such an intercourse would seem natural 
and desirable, but what would be gained were it established ? 
Are grapes produced of better quality, or less subject to disease, 
at a season when this may be supposed to take place naturally ? 
They are not ; therefore, such things form an addition of wasteful 
machinery, answering no desirable end. Portable coverings to 
resist extreme frost or cold rains, to be removed when not 
wanted, could not do harm; but, as a permanent covering, glass 
only could effect such an end, were it desirable. 

Observing a vinery placed at the bottom of a declivity of 
considerable extent (a most objectionable site, I admit), down 
which all heavy rains rush until stopped by the wall against 
which the vinery is placed, and where the water is often lodged 
several inches in depth, led me to conclude that little inter- 
course could take place in so unnatural a position, else the 
vines in the house must have suffered from its chilling effects, 
Which is not apparent; and an experiment upon a large vine, 
which it was determined to do away with, leaves little doubt 
upon the subject. ‘The whole of its roots were cut off a few feet 
from the stem, which was allowed to remain in its position ; yet 
the plant so mutilated is in no respect different from the others in 
the house, which are now in bloom. The temperature has in 
cases of sunshine reached 100°, without any disposition in 
the plant to blow. ‘This I think a strong instance of the pos- 
sibility of feeding a plant by what are so often thought- 
lessly removed, to save it the trouble of maintaining them. The 
leaves situate between the roots and the fruit are not necessary 
towards the mere maintaining of it, and these may, in cases of 
melons or plants of annual growth, be removed with less injury ; 
but on the vine these are so situate that their removal is a most 
direct robbery, and highly detrimental to the welfare of the buds, 
upon which too many depend for succeeding crops. Frequently 
grapes produced at the bottom of a house are much inferior 
to those near the top of the rafters; caused in some measure 
by the disposition of the sap to reach the tup, but also greatly 
ageravated by all the leaves within reach being pulled off to give 
light, or to send with the fruit. A bunch of grapes, and a basket 
full of leaves to garnish with, is no unusual order; in the execu- 
tion of which the first leaves that come to hand are plucked off; 


218 New Grape fiom Ohio. 


instead of this being suffered, they ought to be grown on pur- 
pose out of doors. 
Folkstone, March 10, 1842. 


Art. IX. New Grape from Ohio. By N. Lonewortu, Esq., of 


Cincinnati. 


James Howarrn, being about to visit England to purchase 
plants, takes with him some roots of my Ohio grape, and re- 
quests me to give a description of it. 

This grape "I discovered a few years since, and have parted 
with none till the past season. It is now for the first time 
for sale in New York, at 5 dollars per plant. It is not known 
in the eastern states, or for sale except at Thorburn’s, who has 
100 plants only. 

The grape and bunch resemble the Black Prince, but the 
bunch is larger. It has none of the hard pulp common to the 
American grapes, and is equal as a table fruit to the Miller’s 
Burgundy, with bunches four times the size. They grow with 
me as large bunches as the Black Hamburg. Tam trying it 
for wine, but cannot yet speak with certainty of its qualities, but 
fear it will not be as good for wine as for the table. It is a free 
grower, not subject to mildew or rot, perfectly hardy, and 
would stand the winters of Canada. For a period of thirty 
years I have been collecting native grapes from all parts of 
America; I have tasted near a hundred kinds; this is superior 
to them all. With us, and indeed in all parts of the United 
States, except our dense cities, foreign grapes do not succeed 
and are not worth cultivation. I have forty acres in grapes, and 
cultivate American grapes only, with one exception, and that 
was sent me asa native. But it is clearly a Burgundy grape of 
the Pineau family. It is a delicate grower, but stands our 
winters tolerably, and is a fine wine grape. It is what Prince 
sells for a native, and calls the Missouri. 

Cincinnati, U.S., Sept. 30. 1841. 


Art. X. On an American Ever-bearing Raspberry. By N. Lone- 
worTH, Esq., with a Memorandum by Bishop Purcett. 


WueEN driven into the interior of the state by the cholera, in 
September and October of 1832, I found a raspberry in full 
bearing, a native of our state, and the only ever-bearing rasp- 
berry I have ever met with. I introduced it the same winter 
into my garden, and it is now cultivated by me in preference to 


American Ever-bearing Raspberry. 219 


all others, and my table is supplied from the beginning of June 
till frost. . 

By means of heat, under glass, it might be made to bear well 
through the winter. The first of June it produces a most 
abundant crop, about ten days earlier than any other variety. 
The wood producing that crop dies through the early part of 
the summer, and the second shoots begin to ripen fruit before 
the crop on the old wood is over, and continue to bear till frost, 
and then produce the June crop of the following season. The 
fruit is black, of good size, and is preferred by a majority of 
persons at my table to the Antwerp. The vine is a native of the 
northern part of our state, where the summers are not as dry 
and warm as at our city, and they have a substratum of clay. In 
my garden the substratum is gravel, and our summers are dry and 
hot. From these causes it does not bear as well with me through 
the heat of the summer as it does in its native region, and will 
do in a cooler and moister climate. I sent some to my sister, 
9 miles from New York, where the substratum is clay, and the 
climate cooler and less subject todrought. With her it produces 
double the fruit in the heat of summer that it does with me. 
From these causes I have believed it would bear most abun- 
dantly in most parts of Great Britain. It does not increase by 
offsets as other raspberries do, but in September and October the 
shoots descend to the ground, and each one as it strikes the earth 
throws out six or seven small shoots, that immediately take root 
and throw up shoots. I say it is a native, because I have never 
seen or heard of it except the few plants in a particular location 
_where I found it in 1832. It has not yet been offered for sale, 
except a few plants by Mr. Howarth, who now contemplates 
taking his entire stock to England. It is unknown out of this 
vicinity, and there is but one person who has more than a few ~ 
plants, as there have been none for sale. Our seasons have been 
dry of late years, and, anxious to supply my own garden, I could 
spare none, except a plant to a particular friend. All beyond 
what are wanted in my garden, my gardener furnished to Mr. 
Howarth. The vine is very hardy, is not killed by frost, is of 
rapid and vigorous growth, and requires no particular cultivation, 
except that, from its vigorous growth, it should have a higher 
trellis than the Antwerp. I have given Mr. Howarth a few 
bottles of wine made at my own vineyards, the pure juice of an 
American grape, for distribution among the English horticultu- 
rists; it is two years old only. 

Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 30. 1841. 


Memorandum.—From long and intimate acquaintance with N. Longworth, 
Esq., one of the wealthiest, most intelligent, and enterprising citizens of Cin- 
cinnati, and at the request of Mr. Howarth, I feel happy in expressing my 
perfect assent to what has been stated above, on which the most perfect reliance 


220 Select Pears suitable to a small Garden. 


can be placed. Mr. Longworth has no interest but the public good and the 
advancement of horticulture to promote, by his bringing before the people of 
England this luxurious, hardy, and indigenous variety of the raspberry. As 
far as my judgement goes, I have never tasted a finer species of that fruit, nor 
do I think we need to envy the vineyards of other climes, while our own, 
under the judicious and patriotic care of Mr. Longworth, produces such wine 
as that to be exhibited by my friend Mr. Howarth in the metropolis of 
England. 2 
(Signed) J. B.Purce.t, Bishop of Cincinnati. 


[Plants of this raspberry are in a London nursery, but none of them will be 
sold till the worth of the variety is ascertained.] 


Art. XI. A select List of Pears suitable for a Garden of limited 
Extent. By a Lover oF HorTICcULTURE. 


DESSERT PEARS. 
Season. 

October - = 

November = 


> 
an 
Ss 
iv) 
° 
+ 


Autumn Bergamot 
Swan’s Egg - 


Chaumontel - - - November to March - S.W. 
Saint Germain - - - November to January - W. 
Crassane - - - November - - S.W. 
Colmar - - ~ - November to January - W. 
Winter Bergamot - - November - - S. W. 
Gansell’s Bergamot - - November - - W. 
Green Chisel - - - September - - 
Green Sugar - - - July - “4 e 
Citron des Carmes - - July - - - 
Williams’s Bon Chrétien - September - - 


Knight’s Monarch December and January 


= 


Passe-Colmar- - December and January 


LDPNEANDNANENDSARALNLNADNGSN ENED 


Doyenné Blanc - - - October - - - 
Beurré Van Mons - - November - = 
Marie Louise - - - November = - &S. 
Beurré Spence - - - September - - 
Glout Morceau - - - November to January - S.W. 
Urbaniste - - - October - - - W. 
Beurré de Capiaumont - - October - - - 
Beurré d’ Aremberg - - December and January - W.S. 
Easter Beurré - - - January to March - S.W. 
Bishop’s Thumb - - - October - - - 
Beurré de Ranz - - - March to May - - 
Doyenné Gris” - - - October and November - S. W. 
Beurré Diel - - - October and November - S. W..: 
Forelle - - - - November to January - W.S. 
Ne plus Meuris - - - November to March - 
Hacon’s Incomparable’ - - November - 2 
Flemish Beauty - - - September and October - 
Jargonelle - - - July and August - - S.W. 
KITCHEN PEARS. 
Franc- Réal d’Hiver - - December to March - 8. 
Cadillac - - - - December to March - 8. 
Uvedale’s Saint Germain - January to April - - W. 
Bellissime d’ Hiver - - November to April - S. 
Spanish Bon Chrétien - - November and December - S. W 
Chaptal - - - - December to March - S. 


Donaldson’s Treatise on Manures. 221 


The sorts which I have enumerated above I have tried, and 
found to be of first-rate excellence ; and I consider them most 
suitable for a garden of limited dimensions. They may be 
either dwarfs or standards, and on walls or espaliers; and, with 
judicious management, they may be made to produce an abun- 
dance of fruit. 

Exeter, March 12. 1842. 


REVIEWS. 


Arr. I. A Treatise on Manures, their Nature, Preparation, and 
Application, with a Description and Use of the most approved 
British Grasses ; to which its added a Miscellaneous Article on 
Farming, with an Estimate and Description of an Example Farm 
of three hundred Acres, illustrated with Cuts of Farm-buildings. 
By John Donaldson, Land-Steward ; Editor of the Fifth Edition 
of ** Bayldon on Rents and Tillages,” and Author of a Number of 
Agricultural Essays. 8vo, pp. 416. London, 1842. 


WE expressed our high expectations of this work in January last (p. 34.), 
and its appearance, so far from disappointing us, has exceeded our expecta- 
tions. It is not, we think, too much to say, that to the practical man it will 
be found by far the best treatise on manures that has yet appeared. The 
chapter on grasses shows a thorough acquaintance with the subject, both bo- 
tanically and agriculturally ; and it contains much that interests the gardener 
as well as the farmer. 

“The general and very fatal mistake committed in sowing permanent 
pastures arises from the land not being sufficiently prepared by fallowing 
and manuring, from the usual dread of expense and labour. No success can 
be expected from small and tender seeds sown on a rough uncultivated 
surface, unreduced by culture, and abounding in weeds; the land must be 
enriched by manuring, reduced by working to a fine tilth, and thoroughly 
cleaned from any weeds that may interrupt the growth of the tender plants, 
This purpose may be effected by summer fallowing the land, or by fallowing 
by green crops, by which methods the land will be ready in August, or in 
April after the green crop has been removed. The soil must be completely 
wrought and cleaned, and every stone and weed removed, and the land 
enriched by manuring and also by a previous improving rotation. Experience, 
or opinion at least, seems to prefer to sow the seeds without a corn crop. 

“Experience has long ago confirmed the important fact, that permanent 
pastures are unprofitable, and that all lands where the plough can work are 
more useful under a system of alternate cultivation. If any exceptions occur 
in the case of the most valuable pastures, it must be remembered, that the 
rich herbage on such lands has been formed by nature, and can hardly be 
improved by art, or reformed by human skill. The inferior or smaller grasses 
constitute the short sweet herbage on the dry and elevated downs of South 
Britain, which have likewise been formed by nature, and which, if broken up, 
it might be impossible to clothe with verdure during the lapse of many ages. 
Inferior lands, both wet and dry, will not bear a good sound herbage, and any 
attempts to produce it permanently by cultivation will prove abortive. The 
grasses useful for culture are confined to those plants which will yield in one 
year a produce that proves the most valuable in quantity and quality, these 
latter properties being very considerably modified by other circumstances that 
are inseparable from vegetable growth. Great bulk of produce can rarely be 


222 Donaldson's Treatise on Manures. 


obtained without a corresponding degree of coarseness; and it requires an 
almost impossible or unattainable degree of quality in a smaller quantity of 
preduce to equal in value a greater bulk, when the latter is attended with a 
fair portion of the nutritious property, and when the difference in quantity is 
very considerable.” 

The two chapters on farming are, perhaps, the most valuable part of the 
work. In the first chapter a general history of British agriculture is given 
from the peace of 1815 to the present time, in which every point connected 
with the subject appears to be touched on. We must find room for the last 
paragraph. 

“ Much of the prosperity of any country depends on the distribution of 
wealth, and the state of easy competence in which the different classes of the 
population are placed: the unequal distribution and misapplication of capital 
has constituted a great evil in all ages and countries in the world, and nations 
progress in civilisation and improvements in proportion as these barriers are 
broken down and removed. The upright character and correct moral conduct 
cannot exist in a state of abject poverty; the evil parts of human nature are 
called into action in the struggle to obtain, by any methods, that which should 
be got by industry and application. The moral strength of an united or an 
individual state of existence bears a high ratio to the physical, and the value 
of integrity and upright feeling in every class of society is inestimable. Edu- 
cation and early impressions exert a powerful influence ; but it happens that 
writers on such subjects wholly neglect to lay the foundation, from too great 
anxiety and haste to rear the superstructure. The means of procuring and 
receiving education must first be afforded; the physical wants must be 
supplied before the moral ; the cravings of nature admit no excuse. The 
beautiful principles of demonstration, and the abstract truths of morality and 
social wisdom, cannot be taught to a starved being; he will not listen to us ; 
he must be clothed and fed, and then taught; and hence the necessity of pro- 
viding the means and of putting them in the power of all classes, and by 
affording employment and remuneration, finally produce that elevation of 
character which constitutes the true strength of society. It is natural to 
suppose that the power or means which has raised one or more classes above 
crime and immorality will raise others. A highly improved physical condition 
may be attained without a corresponding moral developement; but no great 
mental excellence ever will be produced without a generally improved physical 
state arising from an abundance of the comforts and necessaries of life. But 
the moral world and the relations of society have hitherto presented only a 
painful spectacle of the perpetual warfare of jarring elements contending for 
the mastery, arising from a resistance and an opposition to the laws of nature 
and of reason, which have marred the face of the fair creation, and have 
spread misery and desolation over the globe. When we contrast that de- 
plorable view of human iniquity, plunder, fraud, and violence with the simple, 
uniform and harmonious plan on which the natural world is conducted — with 
the beautiful order which is unfolded in the unceasing operations of pro- 
duction and reproduction, and with the amazing grandeur of the stupendous 
works which are produced in the profound tranquillity and undisturbed re- 
gularity of nature’s workshop, so gradual in operation as almost to elude the 
perception of our senses, there naturally arises in our minds the simple, the 
pleasing, and at the same time the very sublime idea, that the great Cause, 
and ultimate end of all things, will conduct the moral world through a number 
and variety of different states of existence to a similar termination of beauty 
and of order, the full completion of which may be reserved for ages that are 
removed beyond the reach of our limited comprehensions, and verging into or 
forming a part of an inscrutable eternity.” : 

To give an idea of the important matters treated of in the second chapter 
on farming, we shall quote its contents. 

“ Cultivation of soils. Northern system oppressive. Capital, stock, and 
implements required.on an improving farm of 300 acres. Description and 


~~ 


a 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 293 


use of the rotations of cropping. On clays. On loams, sands, and gravels. 
On lands pared and burned. Observations on them, and on preparing the 
various soils, and altering crooked ridges. Draining. Arable and grass 
lands. Soiling. Permanent pastures not required. Farm buildings. De- 
scription of two plans of farmeries. Dwelling-house. Cottages. Improve- 
ments much wanted in them. Soiling of different kinds of stock. Small 
sheds in pasture fields. Gloucestershire example farm. Such farms neces- 
sary. Director required. Qualifications requisite. Practical skill essential. 
Failures from unprofessional and ignorant practitioners. General acquire- 
ments requisite. Expensive seminaries not generally useful. Increasing 
knowledge will dispel the jealousy and acrimony so adverse to improvements. 
Ireland. Causes of the backward agricultural state. Remedies.” 

In conclusion, we most strongly recommend this work as one of the best 
which has appeared in the course of the present century on the subjectsof 
which it treats. 


Art. II. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
which are considered the most interesting. 


THE Cowthorpe Oak, from a Painting by the late George William Fothergill, 
from accurate Sketches made on the Spot, expressly for this Work. Drawn 
on Stone by William Monkhouse. With a descriptive Account, by Charles 
Empson, Author of ‘ Narratives of South America,” “ Antiquarian Mis- 
cellany,” “ Scenery of the Andes,” &c., containing such Historical Me- 
morials, Local Particulars, Botanical Characters, Dimensions, and various 
Information as could be obtained on the Spot relative to this most 
famous Oak, “the Glory of England and the Pride of Yorkshire.” 4to, 
pp. 18, 1 lithograph. London, 1842. 


There is a great deal of curions matter brought together in these pages, but 
we are sorry that we cannot commend the lithograph, which is totally de- 
ficient in the characteristic touch of the oak. Let the reader compare it with 
any of Mr. Strutt’s engravings of oaks, or with any of the oaks in Lewis’s 
Portraits of British Forest Trees, reviewed in our Volume for 1838. 


The true Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture ; set forth in two Lec- 
tures, delivered at St. Mary’s, Oscott. By A. Welby Pugin, Architect, and 
Professor of Antiquities in that College. 

Mr. Pugin is known among his professional brethren as a great enthusiast 
in Gothic architecture, in which it is universally allowed he has a thorough 
knowledge, and an excellent taste. The work before us is not his first pro- 
duction, for he is the author of Contrasts, in which the modern degeneracy of 
architectural science and taste, and the great superiority of the Gothic style 
over the Grecian, are enforced by architectural caricatures. The object of 
the present work is the same, but the author has set about it in a more 
moderate, and consequently more effective, manner. In short, his taste as an 
author has been improved, though it is yet far from being good. Notwith- 
standing this, we do not know any work on Gothic architecture that is so 
likely to improve the taste of the general observer, because the arguments are 
all such as every one can understand, and they are well illustrated by numerous 
and beautiful engravings. The following points are what the author en- 
deavours to enforce and illustrate. : 

1. That all the ornaments of pure pointed edifices were merely introduced 
as decorations to the essential constructions of those buildings. 

2. That the construction of pointed architecture was varied to accord with 
the properties of the various materials employed, as shown by ancient ex- 
amples of stone, timber, and metal construction. 


294 General Notices. 


3. That no features were introduced in the ancient pointed edifices which 
were not essential either for convenience or propriety. 

4, That pointed architecture is most consistent, as it decorates the useful 
portions of buildings, instead of concealing or disguising them. 

5. That the true principles of architectural proportion are only found in 
pointed edifices. 

6. That the defects of modern architecture are principally owing to the 
departure from ancient consistent principles. 

The great error into which Mr. Pugin has fallen, in our opinion, is in con- 
demning every thing and every body that does not exactly square with his 
views. Mr. Pugin is anewly converted and consequently a zealous Catholic; 
but what Catholic of sound sense, in the present day, would publish such a 
passage as the following :— “ Mechanics’ institutes are a mere device of the 
day to poison the minds of the operatives with infidel and radical doctrines; 
the church is the true mechanics’ institute, the oldest and the best. She was 
the great and never failing school in which all the great artists of the days of 
faith were formed. Under her guidance they directed the most wonderful 
efforts of their skill to the glory of God, and let our fervent prayer ever be, 
that the church may again, as in days of old, cultivate the talents of her 
children to the advancement of religion and the welfare of their own souls, — 
for without such results talents are vain, and the greatest efforts of art sink 
to the level of an abomination.” (p. 33.) 

The following passage may be considered by some as objectionable ; but 
here it will be observed that the author is speaking of principles, and, taking 
the passage in this sense, we entirely agree with him. 

“‘ We can never successfully deviate one tittle from the spirit and principles 
of pointed architecture. We must rest content to follow, not to lead: we may 
indeed widen the road which our Catholic forefathers formed, but we can 
never depart from their track without a certainty of failure being the result 
of our presumption.” (p. 9.) 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. I. General Notices. 


SPECIES and Varieties. — When the willows, and several other genera of trees, 
are cultivated and studied for many years in an arboretum, the number of spe- 
cies willbe greatly diminished, and, doubtless, many new varieties originated. In- 
deed, there is nothing in any of the species of Salix that would lead us to doubt 
the possibility of there being only one original species; assuming as the charac- 
teristic of a species some mark always present, and indestructible by cultivation, 
soil, or climate. There are some genera, some of the species of which are so 
decidedly distinct, that it is impossible to conceive that they can ever be 
mere varieties; and equally impossible to suppose them distinct genera. For 
example, no one ever supposes that A’cer Psetdo-Platanus and A. campéstre 
are not specifically distinct, and yet no one would ever think of raising them 
into separate genera. In like manner, Quércus Robur, Cérris, J lex, rubra, 
virens, &c., are all decidedly distinct species ; and yet, by the commonest 
observer, they would all be pronounced oaks. This, however, is not the case 
with the genus Salix, nor with U’lmus, A’Inus, and some others. It is easy 
to conceive any one kind of elm changed by culture, locality, or climate 
into any other kind, and equally easy in the case of the different kinds of 
Anus. 

Hitherto botanists have been chiefly enabled to study ligneous plants from 
specimens obtained from their native habitats; but with the progress of 
civilisation, and the consequent establishment of botanic gardens and arbo- 
retums in all parts of the country, they will be enabled to study species in a living 
state, and under a degree of uniformity in external circumstances which had 


General Notices. 295 


never previously been done. It will then appear, as we think, that the greater 
number of plants, both ligneous and herbaceous, hitherto considered as 
species, will not even continue to exist as varieties. On the other hand, as 
varieties which have been created by difference of locality disappear, others 
will be originated through culture and cross-fecundation. It must never be 
forgotten, that varieties of plants originated through culture afford by far the 
most valuable products for mankind, and therefore, in point of utility, are of 
much greater interest than either natural varieties, that is, such as are pro- 
duced by difference of locality and climate, or even species. (Extracted 
by T. W.) 

Effect of Mercurial Vapour on Vegetation. — A paper was read by Mr. 
Fortune, the superintendant of the hothouse department in the Society’s 
Garden (Feb. 16. 1841), upon the effect of mercurial vapour on vegetation. 
The author stated that in consequence of reports that wood prepared with 
corrosive sublimate, under Kyan’s patent, was injurious to vegetation, a 
series of experiments had been tried in the garden for the purpose of ascer- 
taining how far these opinions were well founded. In one experiment a small 
portable greenhouse was prepared with Kyanised wood, and, thus pickled, 
was introduced into the atmosphere of plants under hand-glasses, but without 
injurious effects in such cases. But when Kyanised wood, or shavings mois- 
tened with corrosive sublimate, or crude mercury, or salts of that metal, 
were introduced into vessels containing plants exposed to the dampness and 
high temperature of a hothouse, in every such case the plants became sickly, 
recovered when removed from the influence of the mercurial vapour, and 
sickened again when again exposed to it. (Proceedings of the Hort. Soc. for 
1841, p. 203.) 

Comparative Value of Coke and Anthracite as Fuel in Hothouses. — Mr. For- 
tune presented, from the hothouse department, the following “ Results of some 
comparative Experiments with Coke and Anthracite, consumed in the conical 
hot-water Boilers, invented by J. Rogers, Esq.” The experiments are now 
ended which have been in progress throughout the winter, to test the efficiency 
of the improved conical boiler, and to ascertain whether coke or anthracite is 
the cheapest and best fuel to burn init. So far as the boiler is concerned, 
the results have been perfectly satisfactory. When the apparatus connected 
with it is strongly constructed and well built in, as it has been in this case, it 
is easily managed, and as economical as any boiler with which I am acquainted. 
I think, however, its chief recommendation is, the kind of fuel which it will 
burn (coke or common cinders) ; and the certainty with which it may be left, with- 
out any attention for ten or twelve hours, to keep a stove to 60° in the midst of 
winter with the external atmosphere so low as 6°, or even zero of Fahren- 
heit. This is owing to the manner in which the fuel falls down into the fire, 
to the great quantity of air which is continually rushing in through the bars, 
and to the complete power of regulating the supply of this, when the appa- 
ratus is as it ought to be. The fuel was tried in the following manner. 
In the months of October and December we burnt coke, in November and 
January anthracite, and in February coke and anthracite every alternate night, 
The results, together with the mean temperatnre of the different months are 
now laid before the committee. The stove was kept between 60° and 65°. 


‘ Mean Temperature of the @ 
Months. 
Nature of Quantity of Fuel 
Fuel. consumed. 
Max. Min. Sun. 
October -| Coke  - | 43 bushels - | 56°32 36°96 74°39 
November - | Anthracite! 1 ton 5cwt. - | 49:96 36°46 54°66 
December - | Coke - | 923 bushels -| 37°55 26°45 38°03 
January  - | Anthracite| 1 ton 16cwt.33lb.| 39:90 28°61 41-11 


3d Ser.—1842, IV. Q 


9296 General Notices. 


Quantity of 
February. Coke. Anthracite. Ashes left Temperature. 
from each. 
stone. stone. lb, Max. Min. 

1 gL - = : = 31 23° 

2 13 - - 31 18 

3 9 - - - - 28 14 

4 14 - - 30 22 

5 9h < - : = 30 26 

6 14: - - 28 24: 

7 103 rane Senne 27 24. 

8 14 - - 29 26 

9 61 “ : J < 30 27 
10 94 Z : 32 27 
I] 6 - - - - 41 37 
12 7 2 - 51 38 
13 52 = - 2 £ 5] 44. 
14 a - - 52 41 
15 4.4 is a 49 42 
16 7 - - 51 39 
17 5k - E 4 = 46 36 
18 7 174 53 38 
19 4 - - 4a 50 35 
20 7 17 56 40 
21 3) - - 6 56 29 
22 7 19 42 38 
23 5 - - 4. 44 32 
24: 7 21 40 36 
25 5 - - 6 42 35 
26 7 - - 48 35 
27 5 - - - - 45 32 
28 7 - - 47 32 

891 1274 = 
283 bush.| 15 cwt. 73 st. 


In judging of the difference in quantity of the two kinds of fuel, the tem- 
perature is not the only thing to be considered. When the weather is calm 
less fire is required than when it is windy, the temperature of the external air 
in both cases being the same ; and even the mean sun heat given above will 
not enable a person to forma correct idea unless he knows at the same time 
how long the sun has shone. The sun may shine for one hour in a day in 
which the registering thermometer may indicate 70°, or it may shine the whole 
day and the thermometer only rise to 70°, yet every one knows that much less 
fire heat would be required in the latter case than in the first. Taking these 
things into consideration, we cannot compare December with January, and get 
a correct result. Weare more likely to come nearer the truth if we compare 
October with November, and the alternate days of February with each other. 
By referring to the quantity burned, and taking coke at an average price of 
20s. a chaldron, and anthracite at 32s. per ton, we will find that the expense of 
heating the orchidaceous house in October last with coke was about 1/. 3s. 10d., 
and the expense of heating it in November with anthracite was 2/.; or if we 
take the alternate days of February, 14 against 14, we find the expense of heat- 
ing with 28 bushels of coke 15s. 6d., and 16 cwt. of anthracite 1/. 5s. ‘7d. If 
we take the two months in which coke was burned against the two in which 
anthracite was burned, which will not be fair, owing to the nature of the 
weather, the following are the results :— Coke, 3 chaldrons 27 bushels, 3/. 15s. 
anthracite, 3 tons 1 cwt. 2st., 4/. 18s. 


General Notices. 227 


These results speak for themselves so far as economy is concerned, and, 
therefore, the only thing to be considered beyond this is, which is most pre- 
ferable with regard to management. A measure of anthracite will last much 
longer than one of coke, but the quantity of heat given out by each will be 
nearly the same. In the month of December last, when the weather was very 
cold, it was not possible to keep the orchidaceous house to 60° with one 
boiler filled with the best anthracite, but this could be done when coke, broken 
into small pieces, was used instead. When both boilers were filled with an- 
thracite this temperature could easily be maintained, and they would last 
twice as long as one filled with coke. So that it comes to this, equal bulk 
produces an equal quantity of heat; or, at least, a chaldron of coke will give 
out as much as a ton of anthracite, the one being 20s., the other 32s. But as 
anthracite does not burn so fiercely as coke, it lasts longer, and gives a very 
steady heat. This property may make it desirable for greenhouses where the 
expense is not considered ; but in a stove with a well regulated conical boiler, 
for every thing depends upon this, coke is not only the cheaper of the two, 
but is much the easier to manage, requires less stoking, and burns clearer, as 
may be seen by referring to the quantity of ashes left by each. A mixture of 
the two kinds, in equal proportions, answers very well, with, of course, inter- 
mediate results. 

The orchidaceous house, in which these experiments were carried on, was 
last year heated by a flue, when we ascertained the following to be the quan- 
tity of fuel consumed in the month of February, viz. :— 


February. | mon | aeSews’ Jausing Night [ine Blouse 
bush.* 
19 65° 64° 61° Qu 
20 65 65 64: 24 
21 65 65 65 2 
22 65 65 64 2 
23 66 65 65 2 
24 66 67 65 2 
25 66 67 63 13 


The aggregate amount of fuel consumed on the above seven days and nights 
was Scwt. 2stone 4lb. This, however, cannot be considered as the maximum 
quantity, for although the thermometer out of doors was so low as 24° at 
night, yet the days were generally clear, and the house was much heated by 
the sun. In mild weather, about 1 bushel of coals was sufficient to keep the 
house at 65° for 24 hours. (Proceedings of the Hort. Soc. for 1841, p. 208.) 

Oyster-Shell Manure.— Pounded oyster-shells have been advantageously 
employed as a manure on light lands, drilled in with turnip seed at the rate 
of 40 bushels an acre; and this quantity has, in Norfolk, been found equal 
to 8 tons of farm-yard dung an acre. They have also been beneficially 
used for wheat ; 4 cwt. of oyster-shells and the same quantity of rape-dust 
have proved of equal efficacy. (Camb. Chron, and Journ., Feb. 29. 1842.) 
—W. H. B. 

Bran as Manure. — A correspondent invites the attention of farmers to 
bran as manure: he says that having discovered an increase in the growth of 
grass from the accidental application of bran, he was induced to try an ex- 
periment with it, and he found one third of a ton of bran, which cost 37s., 
caused an increase in a crop of hay of half a ton, worth at the time 3/.; thus 


* The weight of the bushel used is 64 lb. 
Q 2 


228 General Notices. 


showing a profit of 1/. 13s. per acre from the use of bran. He has since 
drilled bran at the rate of 1 ton per acre for turnips, and he has the satisfac- 
tion of finding the crops quite as good as where farm-yard manure was 
used. (Camb. Chron. and Journ., Feb. 26. 1842.) —W. H. B. 

Hedges.— All deciduous hedges may be pruned and repaired during De- 
cember, January, and February. They ought always to be moulded into such 
a form, that the base should be several inches wider than the top, otherwise 
they are certain to become naked below. A hedge 6 ft. high may be | ft. 
wide at the base, and 6 in. at the top. Hedges should never be clipped, but 
always cut with the hedge-bill, unless we except hedges of privet, furze, 
and the like; but, even in these cases, the cutting shears should be used, and not 
common shears, which bruise off the shoots, instead of cutting them. — D. 
December, 1841. 

Means of producing Flowers of Rhododéndron arboreum soon after Christmas. 
— “ The circumstance which I am about to relate,” says Sir Charles Lemon, 
Bart., V. P., “is of trifling importance ; but may, nevertheless, interest 
those who, like me, cultivate the Rhododendron arboreum, and have seldom 
an opportunity of seeing its beautiful blossoms. I have for some years been 
in the habit of pruning the several varieties or sub-species of this plant, as 
trees; and I find that they bear the knife well, and readily assume the cha- 
racter which I wish to give them. Last November, while engaged in this 
operation, it occurred to me that I might make some use of the branches 
which I had cut off; either by ripening the seed-vessels left from the flowers 
of last year, or by forcing into early blossom the buds already formed. With 
a view of accomplishing the first object, I placed some of the branches bear- 
ing seed-vessels in the dry stove; but they soon withered and came to nothing. 
Others were placed in the mud of a tank in the damp stove, in which were 
growing Limnocharis Humboldtii and other aquatics. This was done about 
the end of November. The leaves, however, drooped, and the cuttings re- 
mained unchanged for above a month; when, to my surprise, I found that 
the capsules were becoming turgid and full of sap, and that a strong shoot 
was coming from each cutting; which shoot, when I left the country, had 
attained nearly the length of 5in. Whether or not roots had been formed I 
have not ascertained, for I was unwilling to disturb the cuttings so soon 
after their apparent vegetation ; but it is difficult to suppose that such strong 
shoots should be pushed forward and sustained by nourishment derived only 
from absorption by the bark and wood. A cutting bearing a flower-bud was 
at the same time placed in the above-mentioned tank. In about a month, it 
began to swell; and at the end of a fortnight afterwards, it expanded most 
beautifully. Thus I had an opportunity of seeing the blossoms of my own 
Rhododendron arboreum, at a season of the year when I am usually at home, 
and when flowers for decoration are much in request. As the plants of Kho- 
dodendron arboreum are greatly improved by such pruning, I intend to repeat 
the experiment on a larger scale next season ; and shall be happy if what I 
now write will enable others to partake of the pleasure of seeing the June 
flowers of Rhododendron arboreum in abundance soon after Christmas.” 
(Proceedings of the Hort. Soc. for 1841, p. 203.) 

Pears, grafted on the Stock of the Mountain Ash (Fogel-Beer, Pyrus Aucu- 
paria), by Herr Weimar, Forsthaus, Ems. The practice derived from Herr 
Roth, Ober-forster, now resident in Altenkirchen, not far from Limburg, 
Duchy of Nassau. He lived formerly at Ober Ems, Amt Idstein, Nassau; in 
his garden there he had, in 1812, trees of full growth thus worked. The 
crops were there abundant and sure; in a climate and site, on the high plateau 
of the Taunus Mountain, where neither pear nor apple would previously fruit. 
The soil poor and shallow, upon rock. The effect is to retard the blossom 
and give vigour to the constitution. Flesh and flavour said not to be affected. 
Budding and grafting alike successful on old stocks or on young, by the usual 
process ; care must, however, be taken to remove none of the young shoots 
which the stock may make during the first season after working. In the 


General Notices. 229 


succeeding spring, before vegetation commences, all such redundant growth to 
be cut out closely, and the graft alone permitted to push in freedom. Its 
growth will be luxuriant. (R. A. Hornby, in Proceedings of Hort. Soc. for 1840, 
p. 183. 

With reference to the above communication, the following observation was 
-made by the vice-secretary :— . 

We have long ago tried some experiments upon the mountain ash as a stock 
for pear trees, it having been one amongst the various kinds of stocks on which 
the pear was grafted in the garden of the Society. The trees grew very well, 
but scarcely so vigorously as those on the pear stock, or even on the quince. 
The fruit was produced at an earlier age, of good size, and there was no per- 
ceptible difference in the flavour, when compared with those produced under 
similar circumstances, but on pear stocks. We did not observe the blossoms 
retarded. The trees, however, did not seem as if they would be long-lived, 
owing to the unequal swelling of the respective species. The pear increased 
in diameter more rapidly than the mountain ash. But as the latter species is 
more hardy than the quince, and will thrive in almost any soil, it might be 
used advantageously in some situations. (Tdid.) 

Treatment of Pear Trees. —I beg to offer to the Horticultural Society a few 
Marie Louise pears, which I have been enabled to keep to this late period by 
a system of treatment, a short account of which I here annex. I selected a 
tree trained downwards, in the balloon style, and in the winter, as is my usual 
custom, I cut round the roots, about 3 ft. from the stem, extending each year 
the length of cutting (in consequence of having only 9 in. of natural earth 
above a rank gravelly clay). About June I covered the ground round the 
tree with rotten manure, and occasionally watered it through the manure until 
the month of October. In August I cut off the whole of the upright strong 
shoots of this year’s growth, by which plan it appears to me that I throw the 
whole strength of the tree into the fruit. At the same time, being much an- 
noyed by the birds, I netted the tree, with some very fine fruit on it. About 
the first of October I matted up the south and west sides of the tree, leaving 
it open to the north-east. The tree was then in full foliage, and continued so 
nearly three weeks later than the other trees of the same kind. The fruit con- 
tinued on it until the 20th of November, when, from the continued hurricanes 
which prevailed, I was compelled to gather them, as they were more than half 
destroyed by being whipped by the branches, in defiance of my training, net- 
ting, and matting. Had it not been for this tempestuous weather, I have no 
doubt some specimens would have been on the tree until this present time. 
Some of the pears were as fine as any I have ever seen grown on walls, and 
the smaller ones, I have no doubt, will enable me to have Marie Louise pears 
on my table on Christmas day. To some it may appear strange, that on a clay 
soil I should water my trees, but having, in the making of my garden (the re- 
fuse corner of a brick-field when I took it), placed brick drains within 20 ft. 
of each other, directly across the garden, I have no stagnant water, but am 
perfectly dry, and in the summer months I invariably cover with manure the 
roots of all trees which have a full crop, and water through it, for which 
trouble I am abundantly repaid, both in the size and quality of my fruit. (HZ. 
Crace, in Proceedings of Hort. Soc. for 1840, p. 195.) 

Packing of Fruit.— Mr. Thompson reported from the fruit department that 
the packing of fruit in baskets lined with kiln-dried straw had been found to 
answer well with such varieties as had kept up to the present period. The 
straw so dried that it will scarcely bend without breaking does not com- 
municate that musty flavour which is perceived when hay or straw retaining 
their natural juices is employed. (Proceedings of Hort. Soc. for 1840, p. 197.) 

A new Description of Indian Corn.— We have received from a friend settled 
in the state of New York a communication relative to a description of Indian 
corn recently cultivated to some extent in the United States of America. 
.The new variety is termed the Chinese Tree Corn, and, it would appear, 
yields a very extraordinary return. A piece of land, something less than an acre 

Q3 


230 General Notices. 


is described to have yielded 120 bushels of ears, giving more than 20 quarts of 
corn per bushel when shelled. This is at the rate of 75 bushels of shelled corn 
per acre! The growth of the plant, we are told, is exceedingly luxuriant. 
Whilst upon this subject, we would impress upon some of our experimenting 
friends the desirableness of trying what they can do upon our former sug- 
gestion of growing a closely planted crop of Indian corn stalks for soiling. 
We have written to our American correspondent for some seeds of the 
Chinese Tree Corn, and will hand it over with great pleasure to the most 
successful experimentalist in raising green corn. (New Farmer's Journal.)— 
W. H. B. 

Brinsden’s Self-acting River-Valve, a recent invention, promises to be bene- 
ficial in a great variety of cases, more especially in Scotland. It “is intended 
to prevent the injury that the owners of property adjacent to weirs annually 
sustain from the overflow of rivers, by which their lands are materially dete- 
riorated, and movable property liable to be destroyed. The self-acting 
river-valve is so constructed, that a portion of the weir is removed at such 
times as the excess of water above it requires removal, and it again closes 
when the head-water has abated to the level at which it is required, viz. the top 
of the weir. The extent of the aperture made is regulated by the size of the 
river, varying from 20 ft. to 50 ft., and its depth by the water below it at winter 
level. It is not for new weirs alone, that may be in course of erection, the 
river-valve is intended; its principal use is in adding to the old weirs a means 
of carrying off the excess of water above that required by the mill adjoming it. 
Its great value lies in being self-acting, as the river itself, when above the 
height it should be, opens the valve, and the absence of water above that 
level enables the river again to close it. Another advantage it possesses is 
the simplicity of its action, the only wear that it sustains being upon a wrought- 
iron column, thereby requiring in a number of years but little attention or 
reparation ; and a third claim it has to public favour is the comparatively 
trifling cost of it, when the yearly enhanced value of the property it protects 
is taken into consideration.” —J.B. Ballinasloe, County Galway, January, 
1842. 

The new French Tile (p. 143).—Iam glad to learn that you are putting 
the square tiles in the way of being made known. Our machine tile-makers 
here say they see no difficulty in making and keeping them quite true ; and it 
seems obvious, that if the French, with imperfect machines, have succeeded in 
executing them, that our powerfu machines, which are fitted to werk the clay 
in a stiffer state, should achieve the task with more certainty, and be able to 
make a denser and smoother-surfaced article. I shall be extremely glad to 
hear of your Worcester friend’s success, and, if possible, to get a specimen of 
his produce.— J. R. Edin., Jan. 17, 1842. 

Ainslie’s Tile-making Machine. —1 send you a copy of Ainslie’s specification, 
which does not work so well as, I am told, the machine itself does: it is 
adopted by various parties in substitution for former ones, and tiles produced 
by it gained the premium at the Berwick show. —Jd. 

Charred Peat as Fuel. — Have you any acquaintance with Mr. C. Williams 
of the Dublin Steam Packet Company, Liverpool? He mentioned a circum- 
stance to me some time since which may have extensive influence in some 
localities, viz. that in the course of his trials to manufacture peat char for the 
canal steamers, he found, contrary to his expectation, that the soft spongy 
turf was a far better material than the dense deep-seated peat. Might not 
towers like lime-kilns be erected in peat mosses, and a profitable manufac- 
tory of char be carried on? A body of incandescent material being once 
established, raw peat {being thrown on the top would, in the first place, have 
its moisture dissipated, and would then becomie char, and in its turn serve to 
prepare successive supplies. ‘“‘ Winning ” peat in the usual way is a pre- 
carious operation, and the carting it requires means which may be wanted 
for other purposes; and the char would be less exposed to loss in wet seasons, 
and would be easier transported. — Id. 


Foreign Notices : — Italy. 231 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


ITALY. 


MownzA, February 8. 1842.—I have read Gardening for Ladies, which 
Mrs. Loudon has been so kind as to send me, from beginning to end. 
I find it written with a full knowledge of the subjects treated of, so that it is 
a book of great interest and information, and one which should be in the 
pocket of every gardener. The chapters, for example, Manuring the Soil, 
Manure, Transplanting, The Management of Fruit Trees, and the Pleasure- 
Ground, gave me great pleasure. The single chapter Pleasure-Ground ‘s 
well deserving of attention, as by studying that even the blockhead might 
become a creator of pleasure-grounds. I must, however, intimate to the 
accomplished authoress, that in the article “ Mulberry” a few mis- 
takes have crept in; which, in a new edition, I beg of her to remedy. 
She says that the leaves of the black mulberry (J/orus nigra) are positively 
injurious to the silkworm. The leaves of the black mulberry are not ab- 
solutely injurious to silkworms, since, before the introduction of the white 
mulberry (Morus alba), they were fed exclusively with the leaves of the black 
(see Crescenzio) ; but the worms, especially in the early stages of their 
growth, do not eat them very eagerly on account of their rough surface. In 
various countries, such as Spain*, for example, and the Levant, where the 
white mulberry is not common, silkworms are reared entirely on the leaves 
of the black mulberry. The principal reason of the white mulberry being 
preferred is, that the silkworms reared on the leaves of the black mulberry 
produce a coarser silk. I have no doubt, also, that the leaves of the red 
mulberry (Morus rubra) are not injurious to the silkworm ; and I am con- 
firmed in this opinion from what is said by J. M. in Gard. Mag., vol. xv. 
p- 573. Perhaps, however, they are not eaten with as much relish by the 
silkworms as even the leaves of the black mulberry, on account of their being 
still more rugged. I believe my brother Louis, backed by what is said by the 
above-named J. M. in your excellent periodical, intends making this year 
comparative experiments. It cannot be denied that the silkworm does eat 
the leaves of the lettuce; and by experiments made by eminent agriculturists 
it results that they either die before making a cocoon, or if they do make one 
it is in a State of disease, and consequently the produce is worthless. It 
is easily explained when we consider that the lettuce does not contain the 
mucilage necessary for the formation of silk, a mucilage peculiar to the mul- 
berry, which is the food destined by nature for the insect. The silkworm has 
been reared entirely on the leaves of the scorzonera (Scorzonéra hispanica), 
but the results were not satisfactory. In all other respects, the person who 
should translate this excellent manual into Italian would do an important 
‘service to horticulturists as well as to his countrymen in general. If I 
had time, I should be delighted to render myself useful to my brethren ; but 
my numerous avocations do not leave me a moment’s respite! 

The following is what Professor Dr. Giuseppe Moretti says in his Prodro- 
mus di una Monografia delle Specie del Genere Morus.+ “Inthe Arboretum et 
Fruticetum by Loudon, a work of eminent merit, there are eighteen species of 


* The black mulberry is also called Spanish mulberry (Gelso di Spagna). 

+ I haye already called the attention of the professor to the circumstance 
that Mrs. Loudon, in her Gardening for Ladies, says that there are only three 
species of mulberry cultivated in Europe, i. e. Morus nigra, J, alba, and M, 
rubra; and told him that in my opinion he had only read your excellent Ar- 
boretum et Fruticetum superficially before writing his Prodromus, as you also 
only give three species and not eighteen, as he asserts. I imagine he has 
thought that you have given as species (Morus (a.) constantinopolitana and 
IM, (a) tatarica, not observing that a. only means alba, and consequently 
M, alba var, constantinopolitana, &c. 

Q 4 


232 Foreign Notices : — Italy. 


mulberry given, besides a numerous series of varieties; but in reading this 
work we soon discover that the English horticulturist, although a learned 
botanist, does not, however, know exactly either the history of the introduc- 
tion of the species and varieties given by him, or the distinctive characters of 
each. For example, he calls Dandolo’s mulberry, that is Gelso Dandolo, the 
Morus macrophylla or MZ. Morettidna of Jacquin, while this variety was not 
known till several years after the death of Count Dandolo. He, with 
Loddiges, makes two varieties of the M. macrophylla and MM. Morettiana, 
while they are only one and the same plant. He constitutes as a variety of 
the M. ribra of Linnzus the JZ. canadénsis by him attributed to Lamarck. 
(Encyclopédie Méthodique); and then under this he places the J. canadénsis 
of Poiret and JV. rubra of Willdenow, not being aware that the article Mirier 
of that encyclopedia was not written by Lamarck but by Poiret; and, that 
therefore, his two Canadian mulberries, which he makes distinct, are, in fact, 
only one and the same species.” _[See note in preceding page.] 
The following is his division of the species and varieties: — 


“ First Section. 


“‘ Mulberries cultivated by me frequently by seeds, by grafts, by cuttings, 
and by layers. 


Species I. — Morus nigra. Linn. 
1. M. laciniata Mill. not Poir. 
2. M. scabra Mor.(Moretti), Bibl. Agr. 1st ed. not Willd. 

Species II]. — Morus alba Linn. 

1. M. macrophylla Mor. iM. Morettidna Jacq. Ger.; MM. 
chinénsis Bertol., Lodd., Loud. 

M., latifolia Poir. MM. multicailis Perott., I. tata- 
rica Desf. not Lin., M. crenellata Bonaf. not Mor., 
M. indica Hort. Patav., M. alba bullata Mor. 

3. M. italica Poir. 

4, M. japénica Nois. MM. alba crenellata Mor. not Bo- 

nafons. 

. M. constantinopolitana Poir. 

. WM. nervosa Del. 

. WM. pumila Nois. 

. M. alba heteroph%lla Mor. ined. 

. MW. alba flexuosa Mor. ined. M. tortudsa Audibert. 

«« All the other mulberries cultivated for rearing silkworms are not varieties, 
but only variations produced by climate, soil, and cultivation, viz., those vul- 
garly called succulent-leaved, double, Spanish, Piacentina (also called dwarf 
or Tuscan mulberry), rosea, Veronese, morellona, Romana, colombassa, 
furcata, ovalifolia, dura, seraissaini, &c. 


wo 


© WD -3 GS & 


Species III. — Morus rubra Linn. 

1. M. canadénsis Poi. 

2. M. scabra Willd. 

3. MM. pennsylvanica Nois., Lodd. 

4. MM. missouriénsis Audibert. 

“« M. caroliniana, and those plants which the brothers Audibert of Tarascon 

thought to be so many hybrids produced from the mulberry of the Philippine 
Tsles (Jorus alba bullata Nod.) and this species, or with M. rubra, are 
only variations obtained from seed. 


* Second Section. 


“ Mulberries which are not cultivated in Europe, but were received from 
foreign parts as dried specimens, and examined by me in the herbariums of 
De Candolle at Geneva ; of Webb, Delessert, and of the Museum of Plants, 
at Paris; of Lindley, of Bentham, of the Linnean Society, and of the 
British Museum, in London. 


Foreign Notices : — Russia. 233 


Species [V.— Morus atropurpurea Roxd. Flor. Ind., vol. 3. p.595.; n. 2. of 
our Monograph, plate I. 
1. Morus rubra Lour. Flor. Cochin., 1, 2. p. 555. sp. 2. 
(not of Linnzus, and without synonymes), edition of 
Willdenow, pl. 2. p. 679. ; 
Species V.— Morus viridis Ham. ined., Comp. angl. des Indes, n. 465. 
(Wallich) ; our Monograph, pl. II., Morus aloisia Herbar. 
as Delessert. 
Species VI. — Morus levigata Wallich, ined. Herbar., De Candolle Comp. 
angl. des Indes. Our Monograph, pl. IIL. 
Species VII. — Morus cuspidata Wallich, ined. Herb., De Candolle, Comp. 
angl. des Indes., n. 4646. Our Monograph, pl. IV. 
Species VIII.— Morus mexicana Bentham, Plant. Hartw., p. 71. n. 514. 
Our Monograph, pl. V. 
Species IX. — Morus pendulina Endlicher, Prod. Flor. Norfolk., p. 40. n. 84. 
Our Monograph, pl. VI. 
Species X,— Morus mauritiana Jacq. Icon. rar., vol. 3. pl.617. 
1. Morus ampalis Poir. 


“ Third Section. 


““Mulberries mentioned by various botanists; but of which there are no 
specimens in any of the herbariums I have examined. 


Species XI. — Morus celtidifolia Thunb. et Kunth, Synops. Pl. Aig., pl. 1. 
p- 370. vol. 1. 
: 1. Morus mexicana Benth. ? 
Species XII. — Morus corylifolia Humb. et Kunth, Synops, Pl. Mg., pl. 1. 
p- 370. vol. 2. 
Species XIII. — Morus insularis Sprengel, Syst. Veget., vol. i. p. 492. n. 12. 
Species XIV. — Morus tomentosa Rafinesque, Flor. Ludovisiana, p. 113. 
n. 379. 
_ Species XV. — Morus serrata Roxb. Flor. Ind., vol. 3. p. 599. n. 7. 


“Finally, the other species of mulberries given as new, but not described, 
are the following: 1. Morus bifaria Wall.; 2. Morus calcar-galli Cuming ; 
3. Morus javanica Blum.; 4. Morus scandens Wall.; 5. Morus Taitaba 
‘Arab. V. Steudel Nomencl. Botan. 2 ed. vol. ii. p. 161.” 


I think that the A‘cer Psetdo-Platanus may also produce oil. This 
year Professor Longoni will make comparative experiments on all the species 
of A’cer. I shall communicate the results to you at the proper time. Further 
observations on the oil of the Negéndo have proved that it has no acidity, as 
a drop placed upon a plate of brass gave no signs of containing any, while a 
drop of olive oil corroded it immediately after the first day, and on the third 
day it was quite green. It is more desiccative than linseed oil, and will there- 
fore be excellent for painting ; it does not begin to freeze till —9° of Reaumur 
[11° Fahr.], an advantage in lighting exteriorly ; its specific gravity is 0° 922 ; 
and finally, when tried with the diagometer, it is an easy conductor of 
electricity.— Giuseppe Manetti. 


RUSSIA. 


Sudden Death of Trees in Russia.—It is a very common thing in our climate 
for trees to flourish for a series of years, and then, in one cold winter (say 
severe), to be destroyed. This was ascribed to the action of the frost upon 
the stem, the branches, and the root. But, last winter, I lost two cherry 
‘trees, and found under the roots of one of them hollows, as if some animal 
had burrowed under it, and discovered the fibrous roots, as I thought, eaten, or 
torn away. Yet I have no small animals in my garden. The other cherry 
tree died also, except one branch on the side where the gardener was forced 
‘to work, and of course, tread the ground, close to the tree, both being sur- 
rounded with bulbous roots. Well acquainted with the irresistible power of 
frost, which swells the earth, and raises up posts to the surface, small build- 


234 Foreign Notices : — West Indies. 


ings, and even heavy boulders which nature has planted in the soil, I came to 
the conclusion, that the frost raised the trees, and left hollows about the 
roots, tearing away the fibres used for the supply of nourishment. Next 
_spring I shall stir the earth with a pointed stick round every tree, and bind it 
about the roots with moderate treading. A horsechestnut tree, the pride of 
my garden, and planted with my own hand in the year 1814, showed symp- 
toms of illness. Taught by the cherry trees, I immediately loosened the 
ground, and trod the earth about it. Upon this, it sent out fresh shoots, 
which are, I trust, sufficiently ripened to stand the winter. 

While I am describing the mischief brought on by frost, I must, on the 
other hand, enumerate the many blessings it showers upon us, by being 
instrumental in supplying our markets with every thing, say every luxury. 
I went up to Petersburg a fortnight ago and brought down a supply of 
- poultry and fish, and stowed them away in my cold pantry, like so many logs 
of wood. The prices per pair: capons per pair, 4s. 1d.; ditto, smaller, 2s. 9d. ; 
turkeys, 10s. ld.; ducks, 3s. 8d. Game: gelinot, something like the perdrix 
rouge, ls. 8d.; such as have the breast the least grazed by a shot, but ex- 
cellent for fricassees and ragouts, 7d.; cock of the wood, capercailzy, 2s. 9d. ; 
grouse, Is. 10d. ; and these purchases were made in the best and dearest 
market in Petersburg. Fish per lb.: Archangel cod, 43d.; Archangel hali- 
but, 54d.; pike, perch, 73d. ; white bait, 23d.; salmon, 53d.; Wolga sterlet, 
73d. You may hence conclude that we live here luxuriously during the 
winter ; and the beauty is, that these things are taken out when wanted as 
you would lift a spelding, and only demand time enough to be thawed 
before being cooked. A fish soup I had at my table, the stock, I think, ruff, 
with perch fillets, enough for three people, cost 8d., adding the value of the 
pepper and salt. I found it most excellent, but the poor mm England would 
reject it as part of their dinner. The quotations of prices I have made are 
not formed from market lists, but from purchases I made for my own table. 
—B.J. Near Strelna, January, 29. 1842. 


WEST INDIES. 


Residence of Edward Otto at Cuba. (Continued from p. 139.) — From 
Cafetal el Fundador we now made more distant excursions, both by land 
and water, to Cardonnas, which, within the last three years, has become 
a city, and is situated on the sea coast near Lagunilles and Cafetal St. Juan. 
The latter place pleased us very much, although our stay there bore more the 
resemblance of a military bivouac. A magnificent avenue of coco palms 
leads through the coffee plantation to an adjoining forest, in which are seen 
Ficus, Rhizéphora Mangle, Anona, Sida, Mimosa, and a strong kind of 
Bémbax. All the trees were entwined by passifloras and convolvuluses, 
but unfortunately but few of them were in flower. In a marsh adjoining the 
forest, I found, to my great astonishment, a considerable space covered with 
Canna, probably C. stolonifera ; and between their bluish-green leaves a pro- 
fusion of flower-stalks, which, with justice, gave the expectation of the most 
beautiful blossoms. I seldom,saw Orchidez on the trees here, and almost 
always the same oncidiums, and Epidéndrum cochleatum with thick stems 
extending 5 or 6 feet up the trees. The coffee plantation consisted only of 
shrubs, as they are never allowed to grow up to trees; perhaps because they 
are more productive in this state, and the coffee more easily gathered. The 
enclosure was low, consisting only of anonas, Tradescantia discolor, and 
Arum esculéntum. Musa sapiéntum paradisiaca and Oreodéxa régia grow 
between the coffee shrubs ; the latter, however, frequently loses its fronds, 
which are taken off, partly because when the wind is high they are blown down 
and injure the coffee shrubs, and partly because they are in request as a 
covering for the roofs of the houses. In another plantation I saw an avenue 
of the same sort which led to the dwelling-house, and the trees entirely con- 
sisted of stems without fronds, which gave more the appearance of rows of 

pillars than of an avenue of palms. The part near the house consisted almost 


Foreign Notices : — West Indies. 235 


entirely of Cocos nucifera and oreodoxas. The former has a stem from 10 ft. 
to 15 ft. in height, about 6 in. in diameter, and a beautiful, large, but always 
yellowish-looking, head. The oreodoxas, on the contrary, with disproportion- 
ately strong stems, attain the height of 40 ft., and have, according to the 
thickness of their trunks, a small, but beautiful green, head. In the neigh- 
bourhood of the Camina river, where the soil is black and of a clayey nature, 
I saw oreodoxas which, at a moderate computation, were 70 ft. in height. 
‘They are generally upright, and the cocos almost always in an angle with the 
level of the soil. The Musa sapiéntum and paradisiaca, planted between 
the rows of coffee, have not a very agreeable appearance. The leaves hang 
down from the trees in a half-withered state, and those that are fresh are 
tattered and torn by the wind, as if it had been done with some particular 
intention. If the fruit has been taken from the stem, ripe or unripe, it is cut 
down, and left to lie there till destroyed by the weather. When the palms 
are suffered to grow in their natural state, they certainly look extremely well, 
because they are as seldom attacked by insects as the coffee ; but the yellow 
spots on the leaves, which so much disfigure our palms at home, are also seen 
here. On the sea shore, and particularly in the bays, are an amazing number 
of Rhizéphora Mangle and Psidium pyriferum (guajava), from which an 
excellent jelly is made; also the Magnolia, but whether obcordata or rotundi- 
folia, I am not certain. Several banks in the sea near Matanzas are entirely 
covered with mangle, and I saw it very near the time of flowering. I also 
found a small zamia, but could only secure a few of its leaves, as the plant 
had its roots interwoven among stones, and I could not uproot one with all my 
unwearied efforts. Ferns, such as Adiantum formosum, A. assimile, Bléchnum 
occidentale, several polypodiums, Aspidium, and Pteris, cover the rocks and 
stems of trees in the thickest forests. Pothos is seen twisting itself to the tops of 
the highest trees, and only Pothos crassinérvius takes up its abode generally on 
the stems of old felled trees. Vanilla (sativa?) extends itself from one tree 
to another, hangs down and winds about the underwood, and then ascends 
other trees. I did not find it in flower in January and February, as stated by 
Morrens, and must console myself with the assertion of Swarz, that it flowers 
in July, and have patience till then. Although our excursion gave us so much 
pleasure, and although in various places we only found the same genera and 
species, yet in this thinly peopled and uncultivated country it is natural to 
suppose that we met with difficulties, and sometimes even with sad misfortunes. 
During an excursion on the 12th of February, from Fundador to the interior, 
we ascended a high plateau on which we only found two species of fan palms. 
One had small round leaves, silver white underneath, a short stalk, and 
covered with a fine cottuny texture ; the stem from 1 ft. to 20 ft. in height, with 
a small head. The other resembled a Cérypha, had large yellowish leaves, 
the stalks longer, the highest with a stem 6 ft. high, and already done flower- 
ing. The stem of the former was 20 ft. in height, and 3 ft. in diameter. We 
determined on carrying off specimens of these palms, and also to make draw- 
ings of them, and with great difficulty we made our way back over the plateau, 
but without having attained the object in view ; as we were no sooner roused 
from our bivouac than we had but one desire, that of returning to Fundador. 
The rain fell in such torrents, that a duration of forty days would not have 
been necessary to give rise to the wish for Noah’s ark. There are no inns 
on the roads, and in many places no roads at all, and the nearest plantation 
we knew was farther off than Fundador. The water soon reached the horse’s 
middle, and, from the colour of the clay, looked almost asred as blood, and 
became like a raging mountain stream, rushing against us. After twenty- 
seven hours’ ride, we at last arrived at Fundador, but without the specimens 
and drawings of the palms ; and even the greater part of the collection we had 
made on the excursion to the plateau was destroyed, and our cloaks and other 
parts of our dress could only be used again on a similar undertaking, which, 
notwithstanding our enthusiastic love of plants, we had not the courage to 
wish to repeat. 


236 Foreign Notices : — West Indies. 


It was necessary, however, to continue our journey to other parts of the 
island, because latterly we had found nothing new, and in the more distant 
parts of the northern coast of Cuba we could not expect a rich booty. Most 
willingly would I have gone by the steam-boat, which leaves Havanna every 
month for St. Jago de Cuba on the south-east side, where no one has yet 
searched for botanical treasures, but the necessary means were wanting ; 
and it was the same with Dr. Bellard, who visited the island to examine the 
mineral springs and baths, and who had with him a dozen of negroes, by the 
permission of Governor Tacan, to conduct him wherever he pleased. I medi- 
tated a journey in company with a German of the name of Herrmann, a native 
of Berlin, who intended to use the warm baths for his health at St. Jago (pro- 
bably St. Jago de Vega), four days’ journey from Havanna, but this also was 
not accomplished, and I now determined to visit the southern coast of the 
island, viz. Trinidad de Cuba. On the 2d of March I set out from the suburbs 
of Havanna, called Garcini, by the railroad to Guines and St. Felipe, which 
we reached in the course of two hours, at 10 o’clock in the morning. The train 
consisted of fifteen carriages and twenty-four passengers, besides fifty newly 
purchased slaves not yet emancipated. We did not go at a more rapid rate 
than the trains do between Berlin and Potsdam, and we did not proceed over 
sandy flat surfaces, and under the shade of the sombre-formed pine tribe, but 
through sugar and coffee plantations and under the palm andthe musa. St. Fe- 
lipe consists of only six houses, and our journey from here was obliged to be 
continued on horseback. Forty persons were going the same way; I only 
required one horse for my luggage, but the others required from three to five, 
which were chosen at high prices out of hundreds, the swiftest of them, 
however, could hardly have gained the prize in a race course. Three ladies, 
as many priests in their pontificals, French, English, and Americans, jour- 
neyed agreeably with me to Batabano, where we arrived, half-roasted and 
covered with dust, in the course of three hours. We had our passports 
examined here, and then set out on our journey towards the coast, where the 
steam-boat lay that was to convey us to Trinidad. The slaves, who came 
from St. Felipe on foot, did not arrive till 11 o’clock at night, and the ship 
sailed at half-past two in the morning. I had obtained one of the sixteen 
beds, and on the following morning found we were at sea. After sailing for 
twenty-four hours between sandbanks and the so-called cajas overgrown 
with mangle, we arrived in the small but very safe harbour of Cienfuego, a 
small town with white wooden houses and unpaved streets, and here the ship 
remained eighteen hours. We set sail again about midnight. There were 
no longer any banks, and the sea was deep and rough, so that some of us 
were sea-sick ; and when on the 5th of March I appeared on deck at an 
early hour in the morning, I saw the beautiful chain of hills along the coast, 
and afterwards the city of Trinidad appeared in view, and at 8 o’clock we 
entered the harbour, having been conveyed from the northern to the southern 
coast of Cuba in the course of three days and three nights. Trinidad may 
be said to be as large as Potsdam, only more solitary, and human beings are 
almost only seen in it after the sun is down. It is situated at the foot of beautiful 
and tolerably high mountains, which, however, like the environs of the town 
itself, have a scorched and melancholy appearance, and I found the tempe- 
rature, compared with that of Havanna, considerably higher, being 5° or 6° R. 
warmer. Some of the streets are in a slanting direction towards the sea, and 
but badly causewayed, and those that intersect them are not causewayed at all, 
and terminate with the most miserable negro huts covered with palm leaves. 
Negroes and mulattoes seem to be the only inhabitants, and they were 
astonished to see me in the streets with a fishing apparatus and collections, 
and looked upon me as an unknown inhabitant of some menagerie. I put up 
at the first hotel in the place, where, besides my bed, I had the greatest dif- 
ficulty in procuring a table and a chair. But what are these inconveniences 
compared with the expected booty on this southern coast? (Garten 
Zeitung.) . 


Foreign Notices : — Australia. 237 


AUSTRALIA. 


The Timber Trees of Australia.—The forests of New Zealand present an 
abundance of materials, literally inexhaustible, for the purposes of the builder, 
the shipwright, and the cabinet-maker. Upwards of sixty kinds of more or 
less valuable timber have been sent to England as specimens ; and, doubtless, 
in the impenetrable recesses of these forests there are many trees whose exist- 
ence is unknown to the botanist. In illustration of this remark, I will men- 
tion, that a missionary showed me a piece of wood under the hands of an 
experienced cabinet-maker, which had been floated down the Kaweranga river, 
and which we all pronounced to be undistinguishable from mahogany. It was 
the first specimen of the wood that Mr. Pruce had seen, after a residence of 
many years in the district. A brief notice of the principal and most plentiful 
species will be interesting. 

Kaori (erroneously pronounced Couwrie by Europeans) is the Dammara 
australis of botanists. It is a gregarious tree, generally inhabiting the sides and 
declivities of clayey ranges, and attains the enormous altitude of from 50 ft. to 
90 ft. without a branch, and a circumference of from 15 ft. to 30 ft. near the 
base. The bark being of a silver-grey colour, the stem resembles an enormous 
antique column. Round its base there accumulate large masses of the gum 
resin which it exudes: it isa very clear and transparent substance, which 
burns freely with a black smoke, and tastes very resinous. It has been em- 
ployed at the Bay of Islands as a varnish, and a good many tons of it have 
been carried to America, where it has been sold for 18/. a ton ; being used, it 
is said, as a substitute for gum copal, or, more probably, in the adulteration of 
that substance. 

The kaori tree, being very light in proportion to its strength and its noble 
dimensions, is used by the Admiralty for the masts of men of war, and one or 
two cargoes, worth from 100/. to 200/. each tree, are annually sent home to 
her majesty’s dockyards. Its timber is as easily cut and wrought, and is there- 
fore as well adapted for ship-building, as the white pine of Canada or the 
larch, and it is more buoyant than the British oak and the Indian teak wood. 
Nearly all the coasting craft of New Zealand is built of this wood ; the largest 
vessel constructed of it, as yet, is the Sir George Murray, which was built at 
Ho-Rianga. The kaori is limited to the country north of Tauranga. 

The kaikatea (Dacrydium excélsum) inhabits low wet soils, and is found 
extending in belts along the margins of rivers, as the Thames, the Hutt, the 
Piako, &c. Its great height and straightness would render this a valuable 
tree, but for the softness of its wood, which speedily decays when exposed to 
alternations of wet and dry weather. The timber of the kaikatea, being sub- 
ject to decay when exposed to alternate wet and dry weather, is only suited 
for inside work, and will doubtless be cheaper than the other kinds of timber, 
being found on the banks of rivers, and therefore very accessible. The kai- 
katea becomes less spongy in texture towards the south, and at Stewart’s 
Island it is said to be nearly as durable as kaori. 

Totora (Taxus), a tree which inhabits rising grounds, and attains frequently 
a height of from 50 ft. to 60 ft., without branches. The wood is reddish, splits 
well, and is very hard. Its general appearance is that of a yew. 

Rimu (Dacriydium cupréssinum), an elegant tree, with a very graceful bright 
foliage, which has been compared to that of the weeping willow, or to a cluster 
of ostrich feathers. Its wood is hard, dark, rather brittle, and emits a resinous 
odour. The diameter of its trunk, when full grown, seldom exceeds 4 ft. 

Kawaka (Dacriydium plumosum) has a very fine hard grain, is well adapted 
for cabinet-work, and said to resemble the tulip wood of Moreton Bay. 

Puridi (Vitex littoralis), called, from the hardness and durability of its 
timber, the New Zealand oak, furnishes strong and durable timbers for ships, 
and ground-plates for houses. It is dark, close-grained, and takes a good po- 
lish, but is unfit to be sawn into boards, owing to its being much perforated 


238. Foreign Notices : — Australia. 


by alarge grub. Its stem is from 12 ft. to 20 ft. in circumference, and it grows 
to a height of 30 ft. without branching. ; 

Rewa-rewa (Knightia excélsa), a slender tree, growing to the height of 50 
or 60 feet, furnishes a brown wood, beautifully mottled with red. It is durable, 
and splits easily, and is therefore well adapted for fencing. 

Mairi (Podocdérpus), attains a height of from 40 ft. to 60 ft., but its circum- 
ference never exceeds 12 ft. It furnishes a red, smooth-grained, and durable 
wood, of great weight. 

Tanekaha (Podocarpus asplenifolius) grows to the height of about 45 ft., 
with a girth of only 2 ft. It furnishes excellent masts for small craft, posts 
and floors for verandahs, and planks for decks of vessels. Its wood is rather 
darker and more durable than that of kaori, and smells strongly of turpentine. 

Miro (Podocarpus ferrugineus), of the same size as the preceding, furnishes a 
berry, the principal food of the wood-pigeon, which becomes very fat at this 
season. Its value as a timber is considerable, being the most durable of all the 

ines. 
P Toneai, also a Podocarpus, a tree similar in its dimensions to the preceding. 
It is said never to grow in the same forest with kaori. 

Aki, a short crooked tree, varying in the diameter of its stem from 6 in. to 
1ft. Its wood is finely marked and close-grained, takes a most beautiful 
polish, and is therefore adapted for the finest fancy cabinet-work. It is called 
the lignum vite of New Zealand. 

Pohutukana (Callistémon ellipticus), a tree of great size, but of irregular form, 
with a dark and umbrageous foliage, resembling the ‘lex. Between December 
and January it assumes a splendid appearance, being covered with flowers of 
the richest purple. It always grows by the sea-shore, on rocky precipices 
almost destitute of soil, and gives much beauty to the sequestered bays and 
inlets of New Zealand. The wood, when polished, would form a good substi- 
tute for rosewood. 

Hinau (Dicera dentata) grows to a large size, and inhabits rich alluvial 
lands. Its bark furnishes a fine light-brown dye, which withstands washing. 
It is first pounded, and then thrown into water, which holds its colouring 
matter in solution. 

Rata (Metrosidéros robistus), a tree which attains a great size, with habits 
very peculiar, and as yet little understood. Its trunk and branches send down 
shoots to the ground, which sometimes become so massive as to support the 
old stem, having apparently exhausted its vitality. In fact, the rata is an enor- 
mous epiphyte, growing ¢o, not from, the ground, which will explain the saying 
of the natives—that this tree is never young. Its timber is robust and 
durable, and its branches are well adapted for ship timbers. There is a remark- 
able circumstance, to which my attention was directed by Mr. Waterton, a 
brother of the celebrated naturalist of that name. At the base of the rata, 
and no where else, as the natives declare, is found a vegetable grub, or, to 
describe its appearance in two words, a wooden caterpillar. From its head 
there issues a long process, terminating in a point, closely resembling the 
fibrous root of a plant. As I had not an opportunity of inspecting the interior 
of this seemingly anomalous piece of Nature’s handiwork, I shall not attempt 
to theorise on the subject, or to pronounce whether it is or is not a chrysalis. 

Many of the smaller trees in the forests of New Zealand belong to the lau- 
raceous order. Of these the most notable is the Z'arairi (Larus macrophilla), 
which produces a berry resembling the damson in size and appearance, and is 
eaten by birds, but is noxious to man. The timber is valueless; but, as a highly 
ornamental tree, the tarairi deserves notice. The towai (also a lauraceous 
plant) produces berries of the shape of a small sloe, which are also noxious, 
but are sometimes eaten by the natives, who boil them previously to use. Of 
the New Zealand ferns fifty or sixty species have been collected, the most re- 
markable of which is the tree fern, which arrives at perfection only in damp 
and shaded situations, to which the beautiful divergent form of its branches gives 
a tropical appearance. There is another variety of the tree fern (called by the 


Domestic Notices. Retrospective Criticism. 239 


natives the Mother of the Ferns), the stem of which is eatable towards its 
root. In the plume-like disposition of its branches it bears a resemblance to 
the Cycas tribe of plants, which constitutes, like the palms and ferns, a prin- 
cipal feature of antediluvian or fossil vegetation. (New Zealand, South Austraha, 
and New South Wales; a Record of recent Travels in those Colonies, p. 332.) 


Art. III. Domestic Notices. 
ENGLAND. 


A common Laurel (Cérasus Laurocérasus), of the following dimensions, is 
now growing at Totteridge in Middlesex: height 25 ft.; circumference of the 
space occupied by the branches, 81 ft. There are six principal branches, 
which recline upon the ground, and their circumference respectively is as 
follows: — No. 1. 42in.; No. 2. 33 in.; Nos. 3 and 4., 27 in.; and Nos.5 and 6., 
20 in.— R. T. 


SCOTLAND 


Edinburgh, March 4, 1842. — Bréwnia coccinea has just flowered in the 
Botanic Garden, and Mr. J. M‘Nab has made a beautiful drawing of it. His 
exertions for procuring funds for getting up an exhibition hall have been 
very successful. I went from Edinburgh to Ayr the other day by railroad in 
five hours, and returned here in the evening! When shall we be able to 
reach London in one day and return the next? In about five years, as near 
as I can calculate, if the projected railroad from Edinburgh to Newcastle is 
begun next year, as I trust it will. A rule is about to be made at the Horticul- 
tural Society’s Garden here, “ That regular entries shall be made of all dona- 
tions of seeds, plants, &c., made to the Society, and a monthly report furnished 
by the superintendant, specifying the employment which may have been made 
of them, and an account of the results of any trials made of them in the expe- 
rimental garden.” ‘This will probably be attended with useful consequences. — 
W.W. B. 


Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism. 


Books on Gardening, §c.—“ Don’t you think there is a great deal too 
much fiddle-faddie in books on gardening? So far as my experience goes, 
there is no need ot following their empirical directions in growing plants. 
What necessity, for instance, is there for a person who has got a garden that 
will grow kitchen produce well, to follow Mr. ’s advice about the cul- 
tivation of lobelias ; see the article “ Lobelia,” in a recent work, where this 
passage occurs: — “In the beginning of May the soil is to be taken out to 
the depth of 1 ft., and the bottom loosened up ; the bed is then filled to 
within 2 in. of the top with one half loam, rather stiff than light, and 
one half good rotten dung from a cucumber or melon bed ; it is afterwards 
filled up with some of the soil that was taken out, and, as soon as settled, the 
plants,” &c. Now, to a novice in gardening, such directions must be deter- 
rifying, if I may coin the word, and puzzling at the same time. The labour 
of taking out the soil would deter him, probably, from growing lobelias, or, 
if not deterred, he would be puzzled to know what the writer meant by loam, 
whether a stiffish subsoil or a stiffish soil ; and whether no sort of rotten 
dung but that from a cucumber or melon bed would suffice. Thus he might 
be put to great inconvenience by blindly following such directions to the 
letter, which would not befall him if the reasons for observing those directions 
were made manifest. But it would be difficult to assign reasons in this, as in 
most cases, where deer droppings, bullock’s blood, coal ashes, road scrapings, 


240 Queries and Answers. Obituary. 


and such like articles are recommended. Such mixtures as the latter re- 


mind me of the heterogeneous mass of nauseous stuff which enters into the 
composition of specifics, which have, frequently, nothing but their dirtiness 
and want of simplicity to recommend them; and whenever I see such _pre- 
scriptions without explanations of their use, Iam led to suspect quackery. 
8,9, Whirae By Woes 

In Calendars for Cottage Gardens \ could point out various errors and 
absurdities. The truth is, gentlemen’s gardeners are not, from their ex- 
pensive modes of raising produce, so well fitted to become instructors of 
cottagers as market-gardeners, who have a rent and living to make from their 
skill and labour. — R. T. 


Art. V. Queries and Answers. 


SrYMoUR’s Mode of training the Peach. —I duly received yours of the 23d 
ult., and, in reply, beg to say that, in my opinion, Seymour’s system of tree 
training, if properly understood, is by far the best I have seen practised. It 
is generally much admired in this part of the country, and deservedly so, but 
there are men who pretend not to like it; but they are, I am convinced, 
those who do not thoroughly understand its merits. It is a method of train- 
ing that will produce the finest and most beautiful tree in the shortest time, 
It likewise produces the finest fruit, and for this reason, that, if well attended 
to, there is nothing left on the tree in the shape of wood or fruit that is not 
wanted, consequently, the whole sap and strength of the tree are thrown into 
the principal shoots and fruit. I have trained on this system eighteen or twenty 
years, and with the most gratifying results. Ihave six trees on one wall, 
that three years ago, I think I may say without fear of contradiction, were 
never surpassed for their age in size and beauty; but then, unfortunately 
thinking I had too many principal or main shoots, 1 cut away one from each 
side of my trees, and owing to the severity of the winter before last, as I 
fancy, it caused most of the shoots of the trees that those were cut from to 
fail, so that I lost two branches instead of one. However they are fine trees 
still, and this experiment will teach me not to cut old shoots out of peach 
trees if it is possible to avoid it. It is a practice I would advise all other 
gardeners not to follow. — Jas. Tinker. Byram Gardens, March 5. 1842. 


Art. VI. Obituary. 


Diep, February the 16th, at his residence, Ladbrook Terrace, Kensington 
Gravel Pits, Archibald Menzies, Esq., F.L.S., &c. Mr. Menzies was an ardent 
lover of plants, and the discoverer of many Californian species, dried spe- 
cimens of which he brought home between thirty and forty years before seeds 
were introduced by Mr. Douglas. Among these plants may be mentioned 
Ribes sanguineum. Mr. Menzies sailed round the world with Vancouver as 
surgeon, and is supposed to be one of the last, and perhaps the very last, sur- 
vivors of those who made that voyage. Some of our readers will recollect 
Mr. Menzies’s brother, who was curator of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden at 
the end of the last century. The gentleman who has just died had the same 
amiable manners and obliging disposition : he had attained upwards of eighty- 
eight years of age, and died after a very short illness, experiencing at this or 
any period of his life scarcely any bodily pain. 


ee ee 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
| MAY, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. Further Remarks on the Application of Terrestrial Heat to 
the Roots of Plants, and some Observations relative to his Stoves for 
various Purposes. By N. Niven, lLandscape-Gardener and 
Garden Architect, &c. 


Bor for the many duties connected with numerous professional 
engagements, I had intended, some time since, to have recurred 
to the consideration of the subject which forms the primary 
object of this communication, namely, the application of ter- 
restrial temperature to the roots of plants. This unavoidable 
delay, however, notwithstanding the importance I attach to the 
subject, I am rather glad of, inasmuch as I can more at length 
report progress as to results in the application of the system 
advocated. 

There is, doubtless, at the present day, much to interest every 
lover of the country’s best interests, from the rapid advances 
that are making, through the medium of chemical science, bear- 
ing practically upon the composition of soils and subsoils, as 
well as on the constituents of manures and their application; 
and, although Iam not one of those who would run wildly . 
away after every nostrum that may be patented in the shape of 
manure, still I would hail with satisfaction and pleasure every 
step that was taken in the profitable application of those substances 
more immediately within our reach, that may in any way tend 
to the amelioration of the soil and the nutriment of the plant, 
But many will, I am sure, agree with me, that, besides the 
suitability and application of manure, we have, properly and 
profitably to effect our purpose, another most important principle 
to carry along with us in their application; it is this, the improve- 
ment of the temperature of the soil agriculturally by means 
of proper drainage, and horticulturally by drainage along with 
other artificial means equally within our reach: these to 


be applied in either case as may be found requisite for the 
3d Ser. — 1842, V. R 


242 Application of Terrestrial Heat 


more perfect developement of the particular crops or plants 
under cultivation. 

Every cultivator knows what bad consequences result from 
over-saturation, be the surface soil, or bed of the plant, ever so 
good. The appellation of “ cold,” being applied to wet reten- 
tive subsoils, well and fitly describes the lowering of tempera- 
ture that arises from such a cause. ‘Therefore, it becomes highly 
important that, along with the application of manures, the prac- 
titioner should fully understand this, and so endeavour suitably 
to adapt the soil for the growth of the plant, by proper drainage 
and a consequent raising of its temperature. ‘This, in the course 
of my experience, I have found very much to stimulate vegetable 
growth, especially when means were taken, by surface mul- 
chings, to counteract excessive evaporation in dry hot summers, 
Nor is it difficult, I think, to obtain the requisite data to guide 
us in this respect (sufficiently, at least, for all practical pur- 
poses); for we have only chiefly, I conceive, to ascertain the cir- 
cumstances of climate and the nature of the localities, as to soil, 
subsoil, and exposure, where the plants we wish to cultivate grow 
in greatest perfection, in their respective countries and habitats : 
and seeing that, so far as has been gone in such investigation, 
we have always, more or less, a mean terrestrial temperature of 
from 1° to 2° above the mean of the atmosphere, both with 
regard to these and other latitudes, as so ably set forth in Pro- 
fesscr Lindley’s admirable Theory of Horticulture, 1 think, 
with such facts before us, and the experience we are obtaining, 
that there is quite sufficient to guide the persevering practi- 
tioner in the application of this important principle. 

In a paper written by me in 1841, and subsequently pub- 
lished in this Magazine, I ventured to throw out certain hints 
relative to the matter in question. I then submitted a distinet 
plan and statement of the method I proposed of supplying 
terrestrial heat to vine borders; and I also went so far as to 
express the strong interest I felt as to its important bearing on 
the practice of horticulture generally, but especially in the cul- 
tivation of exotic plants and fruit. 

Having, since the paper alluded to was written, had various 
opportunities of testing the correctness of my anticipations rela- 
tive to the subject before us, I proceed at once from the premises 
to the results already obtained. 

In the spring of the year above noted, in a range of pits I had 
erected for the growth of the pine-apple plant, I had arrange- 
ments made, by the formation of a suitable bed of soil over a 
moist hot-air chamber, as the section shown in fg. 17. will more 
fully explain. In fg. 17.aa are hot-air tubes, or open pilasters, 
that can be opened or shut at pleasure ; 4 is the bed of compost, 
&c., as hereinafter described; c.c are hot-water pipes; d is the 


fo the tools of Plants. 243 


hot-air chamber ; e, the steps and platform ; 5 the line of water ; 
and g the ground. ‘This was for the purpose of ascertaining 


i 


<Q ae 
\ w wy Si = Wee 
INAS 5 FILL LEAFS \\ 
\\\ 2 MA; 
\ <I BS \ 

\ g 


F\\ = =A | 


ie 


Fig. 17. Nzven’s Pine-Pit. 


what the effect would be from the application of a powerful heat 
from below on a bed of soil immediately above, and, conse- 
quently, on the crowns and suckers placed free under such cir- 
cumstances. It may be well here to premise that the whole 
extent of the bottom of the pipe-chamber beneath said bed 
or border is capable of being made an evaporating surface at 
pleasure, by the introduction of water; an arrangement, in my 
opinion, that must in all cases accompany the introduction of 
artificial heat to the roots of plants; but which, it wiil at once 
appear, is as simple as the method of introducing the heat itself. 
The manner of constructing the artificial bed of soil thus to be 
heated was exactly a miniature of what I have described in the 
case of the formation of my vine borders, namely, a substratum 
of broken brick-bats, about 6 or 8 inches in thickness; then 
a thin sod, turned grass side down, neatly laid all over; 
whilst over this were laid about 3 in. of half-rotten leaves, rat! 
then a light, rich, sandy compost of suitable soil, about 6 in. 
in depth; the whole being firmly pressed down previously to 
the insertion of the plants. After these simple preliminaries 
the crowns and suckers were inserted firmly in the bed of soil, 
with a small portion of sea-sand around the stem of each. ‘They 
were placed in lines along the bed, the plants alternating with 
each other, and at such distances as to allow of free and full 
growth throughout the season. Thus, at once, without any delay 
in waiting fos the rising or falling of the heat, the whole was 


finished off complete. The only care afterwards, throughout the 
R 2 


244 Application of Terrestrial Heat 


season, being moderate attention to shading in the outset, air, 
-and watering; the latter application being, at proper intervals, 
freely and liberally supplied. Throughout the summer months 
a single fire at night was generally sufficient to keep up the requi- 
site charge of temperature in the chamber below. The mean 
temperature of the bed of soil above was about 90° of Fahren- 
heit. Never, in the whole course of my observation or expe- 
rience, have I witnessed a more interesting progress than the 
growth of the plants alluded to. In less than six months from 
the time of planting they had attained a strength and luxuriance 
equal to the best two-year-olds I have ever seen grown 1 
pots, their leaves in many instances being upwards of 4 I. In 
breadth.* 

In consequence of not having it in our power to get up a 
second range of pits according to the original plan (both being to 
be heated by one small boiler), in sufficient time last autumn to 
receive the above-described plants after being potted, as was 
intended, in September or October, the said plants were left in 
their summer position throughout the winter ; and, having been 
lately carefully lifted and potted, are now placed in their fruit- 
ing-quarters, namely, my ‘stove for various purposes.” 

I saw the pine-growing at Versailles. When I visited France 
in 1838, I was struck with the excellence of the principles of 
cultivation practised there, as well as its extent. I was favoured, 
through the polite attention and kindness of M. Massy, di- 
rector-general of the royal gardens, with a minute inspec- 
tion of its details, which_I thus most gratefully acknowledge. 
There is, undoubtedly, excellent pine-growing in England, and 
in Scotland too; but nething to exceed what I there witnessed. 
It is, then, the application of the same principles of culture that 
IT am pursuing in connexion with hot water (at Versailles it is 
chiefly with dung heat). I am endeavouring to reduce the 
system to the easiest and simplest practice, which I shall shortly 
go over. 

For the growth of the plants, I provide the above-described 
pits, which may be in two or more ranges or divisions, ac- 
cording to the quantity of fruit required. In February or 
March, the crowns and suckers are arranged as described. 
They remain in growth under a high temperature in a close 
moist atmosphere, without check. or interruption (if ordi- 
nary attention is paid to shading, air, watering, &c.), until the 


* The late lamented Mr. West, who was one of the most intelligent and 
discerning horticulturists in Ireland, one who had seen much, and could well 
appreciate pine growing; with all the frankness and candour for which he 
was so remarkable, admitted to me that he had never before witnessed such 
a result, and had actually authorised me thoroughly to remodel his pitting 
arrangements, when he was suddenly called away from the midst of life and 
usefulness. In him gardening has lost a zealous and ardent patron. 


io the Roots of Plants. — 245 


month of September or beginning of October, when they are 
to be lifted, disrooted, and potted in rather under-sized pots. 
They are then to be plunged in leaves over the hot-air 
chamber, in the pit prepared for them, and kept there till 
February or so, when larger pots are provided, into which they 
are shifted, and then transferred to the fruiting-stove. 

Now, with respect to the culture of the pine-apple, notwith= 
standing the many able instructions we have from British as well 
as foreign horticulturists thereon, I would, with due deference, 
make a few remarks. I think that a strong enough line of dis 
tinction has not been drawn between the structure best adapted 
for the growth, and the structure best adapted for the fruiting, 
of the plant; 1 mean «as regards circumstances of heat and 
moisture, light, air, and exposure, &c. During the season of 
growth, close compact low pits, well supplied with heat and 
moisture, and a moderate quantity of light and air, are, I con- 
ceive, indispensable for the vigorous growth of the plant; whilst, 
for the purpose of fruiting it, a very powerful transition is, I 
think, required, namely, a house so constructed as to be capable 
of the utmost command of heat, light, and air; a house some 
part of whose roof should, some time every day of the year, be 
at right angles with the sun: for I maintain that it is impossible 
to obtain that high degree of flavour of which the pine is sus- 
ceptible, unless we so expose it; and when fruited in low flat 
pits, as is so frequently done, I equally maintain that superior 
excellence of flavour cannot be obtained; and why? simply 
because the ripening principle, so essentially depending upon 
heat, light, and air, cannot, under such circumstances, if I may 
so speak, be accumulated ; certainly, by no means to the same 
amount as they are under a suitably disposed, well ventilated, 
curvilinear roof. It is possibly true, that perhaps larger fruit 
may be grown in such pits than under the circumstances I 
describe, but that is yet to be proved; and although this should 
turn out to be the case, what, I would ask, is an overgrown 
fruit ? Not much better than a turnip, compared with one of 
moderate size that has excellence of flavour. Who is it that 
would not much rather prefer the latter ? Such, very briefly, are 
the principles upon which I recommend the culture of the pine- 
apple; and, so far as I have gone at present, I feel thoroughly. 
satisfied of their correctness, simplicity, and economy. Nor 
have I arrived at these conclusions without some experience, 
much observation, consideration, and care; for, as a professional 
man, I hope I sufficiently feel my responsibility to the public at 
large, not to mislead by any statements that from time to time I 
may advance on such matters; my object in all cases being, 
however short I may come, faithfully and fearlessly to discharge 
my duty. 

R 3 


246 Application of Terrestrial Heat 


With regard to the application of terrestrial heat to vine and 
other borders (for why may not the London market-gardener 
take up the subject and apply the principle, particularly in the 
forcing of his early vegetables), some time must elapse before I. 
can make any particular statement as to results, having only 
so recently applied the principle. In the meantime, however, 1. 
have sufficient evidence to justify my expectations that it will 
be found not less salutary as applied to the vine, than it is found in 
its application to the growth of the pine. With respect to the ob- 
jection that has been urged from what is called “ baking the soil,” 
this, it will appear, can never occur; for, in the case of the annual 
renewal of my pine border or bed, not the smallest appearance 
of this kind was indicated, nor should I ever expect it where 
moisture is supplied with the heat. In my vine border, this is 
obtained by a simple arrangement in the bottom of the front, or 
pipe, chamber. Nor can the roots ever be injured, for the pipes 
(if my sagacious friends who object would consider) are not in 
contact with the soil. Nor shall I be at all sorry or alarmed 
hereafter at finding some of the roots even in the chamber, 
where, I have not the least doubt, a moderate portion of their 
requisite elements, heat and moisture, may ina short time draw 
them. As to the expense, what is it? For a border of 50 ft. 
about 20/7. or so are sufficient for the pipes. If what is called 
shanking of the branches, and shriveling of the berries (which 
I consider arises chiefly from lowness of temperature induced by 
wetness of the soil), be thus remedied, then it is nothing; nor 
do I consider it too much to anticipate that such will be the 
result. Not by any means do I mean that the principle of appli- 
cation introduced by me may not be variously modified, and even. 
improved upon; all I contend for is, that whether it be in close 
pipes with an evaporating surface, or by circulation in open 
tile gutters, it will be found safe, salutary, and correct. So 
much in the mean time on the above subject. 

I now turn for a few moments to notice some remarks respect- 
ing the arrangement of my “stove for various purposes,” which, 
but for what I feel I owe the public, for whom I act and write, I 
should have passed by in silence. ‘These remarks, it will be re- 
membered, appeared in this Magazine in the course of the past 
year, first under the suspicious mask of an anonymous name, and 
next, from what appears a source not far removed from the 
above, namely, from a Mr. Hutchinson, but of where he does not 
tell. Now every man, I admit, has a perfect right, in this respect, 
to write as he likes, if he chooses it; but it is a sort of cow- 
ardly shooting-behind-the-hedge system that I confess I dis- 
like, and never shall countenance, neither, I trust, practise. 
If I am to be cut down, let it be in the fair, broad, stirring 
battle field, where I can see and measure my antagonist; and 


fo the Roots of Plants. 247 


if I am vanquished, let it be manfully, honourably,- and 
fairly. But for the ambuscade I allude to, sooner than this 
(had he afforded me the satisfaction I requested, namely, the 
honour of his acquaintance) I would have measured swords with 
him on common ground. But be it so, he seems to have tried 
me upon another tack; and now I shall slacken sail a bit, and 
give this heroic privateer a fair chance of ‘coming to” if he 
will. Perchance, he may be tempted for the glory of his country 
(wherever it may be) manfully to hoist his colours. My flag is 
unfurled, and floats in the breeze. The decks are cleared, and 
all is made tight for action. Sea-room, he may rest assured, I 
have plenty; and I shall cruise about near the bright broad 
bay of Dublin until the month of September next, when, at the 
Royal Horticultural Society’s exhibition (of which due notice as 
to the day will be given), I shall (as both so much desire to meet 
my stove and its productions in competition) place against them 
my excellent old commodore, either for the best collection of 
fruits, or for the best pine, the best grapes, the best melons, the 
best bananas, the best guavas, or any thing else they choose. 
So let there be no drifting out of the way, no nonsense; a fair 
field is all I ask, and no favour. I conclude on the subject of 
my'stove by the following facts, and it may be as well to do so 
in the easy manner of question and answer. Well then, Mr. 
Catius and Mr. Hutchinson, by whom, and from where was it, 
in the spring of 1841, that, at the Royal Horticultural Society’s 
exhibition, the prize was obtained for the finest early cucumbers’ 
By whom, and from where was it, in September last, that at 
the Royal Horticultural Society’s exhibition, the prize was ob- 
tained for the best pine-apple? By whom, and where, was 
it, that, at the same interesting competition, the collections 
of fruits were grown that drew forth the following well-merited 
encomium (vide Saunders’s Newsletter of September 18. 1841) ? 
Under the head of the Hamilton prize for the best collection of 
fruits I find the following, viz.: “ First prize to Mr. Cormick, 
gardener to the Earl of Charlemont; and a second prize was 
recommended by the judge to a very superior collection, sent 
in by Mr. Brandon, gardener to the chief secretary, which, 
not being in strict conformity with the conditions of the compe- 
tition (on account of the size of his basket), they felt themselves 
compelled to disqualify, a decision which, from the intrinsic ex- 
cellence of the specimens it contained, they made with regret.” 
Again, by whom, and where was it, that the articles were grown, 
concerning which, at the Royal Horticultural Society’s late winter 
exhibition, the following notice was published (vide Saunders’s 
Newsletter for January 1. 1842)? “ There were but few com- 
petitors in the vegetable classes. These included a brace of cu- 
cumbers, 234 in. in length from the garden of the chief secretary, 
R 4 


248 Application of Terrestrial Heat to the Roots of Plants. 


Lord Eliot, for which the Society’s prize was awarded.” With 
the exception of a few of the above-noticed collection of fruits, 
the whole was produced by Mr. Brandon, my excellent and 
much valued old foreman, in my * stove for various purposes.” | 

But, besides these substantial evidences of the adaptation of 
my house for the purposes described by me in my paper of last 
year, the following is also the fact: of the guavas, upwards 
of thirty dishes were obtained from one tree in course of the 
season; and the dwarf bananas are now coming into flower, oc- 
cupying only the surface allotted to them, namely, the niches in 
the back wall, their leaves forming a delightful shade over the 
head of the visiter. ‘The last time I had the pleasure of calling 


at my old residence, which was the 5th of March, I found, from 


cucumber seed sown in said house on the 5th of February, 
plants with fruit just coming into flower, exactly one month from 
the time of sowing. As to the silly objections urged by the last 
writer alluded to, as to the gross impropriety of growing the 
Chinese plantain and the guava together in the same house, 
he might as well have urged it against the growth of those 
plants together in their native regions. All I aim at, in my 
stove arrangement, is, (with the exception of the strawberry and 
other hardy plants for forcing, for which I give the best of ac- 
commodation,) the useful occupation of every superficial foot of 
surface under the scope of my semi-curvilinear roof; and that 
simply by fruits chiefly the productions of tropical climates: and 
why, let me ask, should not the same fruits be produced in the 
same house that are produced in the same climate? As to the 
vine, if proper wintering can be given to it, every one who 
knows any thing about gardening knows with how much ad- 
vantage it may be grown for the production of summer or even 
autumn fruit in such a stove. In short, the partial shade of the 
vine is important, if properly distributed under such a roof, 
Any one turning to the description I have given will see how 


the wintering of the vine is provided for; and, also, how even a. 


succession of grapes in the same house may be obtained. As 
regards sectional divisions at all in houses used for stove pur- 
poses, I much question their advantage. There can be none, 
certainly, as to the effect. In no case have I seen this exempli- 
fied with better effect, and to greater purpose, than at Mrs, 
Sherburne’s beautiful place (Hurst House) near Liverpool, 
where the centre of an extensive range is a citrus-house, and 
the extended wings succession pineries, vineries, and plant- 
houses. In all such cases, as well as in that of my stoves, 
unless order, adaptation, and suitability are the principles that 
are followed in fixing the position of each fruit or plant intro- 
duced, disappointment and failure must be the result, When, 
I say, these essential requisites are properly carried out, every 


Visit to Mount Vernon. Q49 


thing will appear in its proper place; all will be regularity, lux- 
uriance, and neatness. Nothing, truly, is more to be deprecated 
than the masses of confusion which one sometimes meets with 
in the garden of the mere tyro. ‘Time is indeed a sad tell-tale, 
as well as being a “test of the truth.” If I do not much mis- 
take, the time is not distant when very material changes will 
take place, not only in the practice of horticulture and botanical 
cultivation, as it regards the application and means of producing 
terrestrial temperature, but also as it regards its effect on agricul- 
ture, as connected with the improvement both of soil and climate 
through the medium of drainage. In the mean time, I may be 
allowed to add, that I hope to live to see some more of these 
results than have been thus so crudely set forth. 
April, 1842. 


Art. II, A few Hours at Mount Vernon, formerly the Country 
_ Residence of General Washington. By C.W. Evutort. 


Ir is proverbial, that what a man can have for the asking he 
undervalues; and visiters know more about the curiosities of 
our cities than the residents themselves. I have spent nearly a 
year in the neighbourhood of Mount Vernon without having been 
there; but, when on a visit of but three days, I made it a point 
to go over the place where Washington spent the happiest part 
of his life, and where his ashes now rest. 

A bright October sun consoled me for the disquiets of a 
jaded hack and a hard saddle; though, under such circum- 
stances, I could not forget myself and the present, and go back 
to the time when on this same road La Fayette and Washington 
waved from their carriage windows their last farewell; to the 
days when the master spirits of the age, with a host of others, 
carried to Washington in his retirement the tribute of their 
esteem and love. 

The gate opens between two small stuccoed cottages, which 
-are simple, and good only in comparison with the common 
negro houses of the country; the old woman took my “bit” 
(6d. sterl.) with a curtsy that might have done honour to a 
duchess, and I rode in upon the soil that bore the foot-prints of 
Washington. ‘The carriage-way winds among the native mon- 
archs of the forest, and is in extent nearly half a mile to the 
house; it is much neglected, and washed by rains so as to be 
almost impassable, but takes its way naturally and gracefully, 
giving one an idea of taste and of domain which could not be 
the result of a strait and meagre way. 

There was no living thing in sight, and in the deep shadow, 
or the open sunlight, the leaves seemed to whisper the name of 
Washington, ‘The silence was so profound, that at the twirling 


250 Visit to Mount Vernon. 


of a leaf or rustling of the wind, I involuntarily turned to see 
the grey shade of him who had loved to walk here, when in the 
fulness of his strength, as the statesman, the soldier, and the 
man. ‘The road approaches upon the rear of the house, and, 
passing along a range of offices, leads between them and the 
house to the door, which is on one of three sides of a hollow 
square. ‘Though the effect of a full view of the house (upon 
the approach) is lost, yet it is somewhat compensated by 
the expectation which the house, veiled and sheltered by a 
varied foliage, rising above the range of outbuildings, excites, 
and which expectation, in this case, is not disappointed. ‘The 
carriage-way turns in a circle, forming a kind of court, which 
stretches away into a shrubbery; on each side are the offices, 
beyond which are continued walled gardens for fruits, flowers, 
and vegetables. These walls are hid from the house by shrubs, 
and a variety of foreign, with the choicest of our own, forest 
trees; and I saw among them, for the first time in perfection, 
the rich and beautiful holly, its deep shining mass of green 
sprinkled with its coral berries. 

I knocked at the door, wishing much to get a sight of the 
interior, but got no answer; at last a voice from one of the 
offices told me that the family (of Mr.John Washington) were 
all absent, and that no one was admitted unless he brought 
letters, or was a friend of the family. I could not press my re- 
quest upon either of these grounds; but as she mentioned that 
visiters from abroad sometimes left their cards for the family and 
were admitted, I at once added that I was a great stranger, 
and was very anxious to take advantage of this visit, as it was 
doubtful if I ever should be there again, and, moreover, that I 
would pay her for her trouble. ‘ Is you very great stranger?” 
I felt bound to say that I was. I felt sure now that I should 


succeed, and took one of her little ‘ pledges” to show me the — 
tomb, while she should see the woman who had the keys. This 


(the tomb) is as inelegant a structure as red bricks and mortar 
can well make it, and excited in me only a feeling of regret and 
a spirit of criticism; instead of such more noble thoughts as 
should, like the vine, cluster around the “ tomb of Washington.” 
The old vault seemed to me infinitely more appropriate, and 
certainly more picturesque: a group of cedars covers the arch, 
and wave their arms in deep shadows over his resting-place ; 
fit guardians for his remains. 
Of our fathers it is said : -—— 


ee eee TEC HESOUS 
Are all their monument, and yet they tell 
A nobler tale than sculptured urn, or the 
Eternal pyramids.” 


In such a place, improvement and ornament should harmonise, 


eee 


Visit to Mount Vernon. 251 


and not contrast, should soothe rather than excite; almost all 
will assent to this, and yet these things are almost invariably 
garish and offensive. 

I dismissed my attendant and walked over the lawn; it slopes 
gently towards the river for a short distance, when it falls away 
suddenly and is covered with a dense wood, which belts in what 
may properly be called “the lawn.” ‘The house is high above 
the river, and looks over an extensive prospect to the east, and 
also commands a distant and beautiful view down the river. The 
exterior is very well shown in most of the common repre- 
sentations of it that I have seen, and (except that the wood is in 
imitation of stone) is altogether a fine mansion, and in good 
keeping with the place. Thekeys, with the woman, were waiting 
for me on the piazza; she showed me into the library of General 
Washington, which is still used as such by his descendants. I 
looked to see the books that he used, the chair that he sat in, 
the table, the drawings, the pictures that were his, but they were 
not there; and I learned, with regret, that these many little 
evidences of his character and taste had been dispersed among 
his relations and friends. ‘The key of the Bastile, which was 
given to him by La Fayette, hangs in the hall (an offering at the 
shrine of freedom), and is almost the only little thing that was 
shown to me as his. I wished, and expected to find, as much as 
might be, every thing preserved in the same state as when he 
lived, but all seems and is changed. The great room, on the 
north of the house, which was used as a dining-room on state 
occasions, and is, for this country, a large well-proportioned 
apartment, is ornamented by a mantelpiece of coloured marbles, 
which was presented to Washington by the officers (or some of 
them) of the British army; it has three very pretty bas-reliefs, 
representing rural and agricultural scenes; but I could get no 
particulars beyond this. 

The house contained little to interest, and I soon turned my 
steps to the gardens; these, as I mentioned, are both walled. 
The flower-garden is laid out in right angles, and is bordered 
with box, which has now grown large; every thing was un- 
trimmed, and showed a want of care. ‘The greenhouse contains 
some fine orange and lemon trees, some pomegranates and bays, 
and a few aloes and other plants; but they are all crowded, and 
want the hand of a master and an amateur. 

A number of suggestions have been made relative to the pur- 
chase of this estate (or a part of it, including the house) for some 
national purpose: it is a place that interests all Americans, 
and it is desirable that some feeling of love and veneration for 
that which is good or beautiful in itself or by association should 
be preserved and (with us) encouraged. We do not look back, 
but ever forward, and we either fail to see, or else neglect, the 


252 Extending a Knowledge of; 


lessons that history teaches. I am not aware that any attempt 
has been made to purchase the property, or to ascertain from 
the family how it could be purchased. ‘There is, at present, a 
good deal of attention to agricultural interests, which has resulted 
in the formation of a national society; if the situation of the 
estate, soil, and other circumstances, are such that an agricultural 
school could grow up there, it would seem to me worthy of 
consideration; for we find that the love of the country, its 
pursuits and amusements, held a prominent place in Washing- 
ton’s dispositions and tastes. He was educated where the oc- 
cupation of a planter was not only the most respectable, but (if 
I may say so) the most aristocratic, manner of life; this tended 
to give it a character and desirableness which it does not pos- 
sess among a more mercantile community, and which, under 
ordinary circumstances, would have resulted in its rapid progress 
as a science and art. Washington, in a letter to Sir J. Sinclair, 
1796, says, one advantage that Pennsylvania possesses over 
Virginia and Maryland is, ‘that there are laws there for the 
gradual abolition of slavery, which neither of the two states last 
mentioned have at present, but which nothing is more certain 
than that they must have, and at a period not remote.” Political 
and military pursuits are perhaps as engrossing as any others, 
but Washington, amid his toils and anxieties, found time to | 
direct his various agricultural, horticultural, and ornamental 
projects. We find him, after he left the army, resuming his eld 
habits with ease and pleasure, leaving them for the presidential 
chair with reluctance and regret, and again returning to them 
with increased delight, to spend his last days in the pursuits and 
amusements of his early life. It becomes an interesting specu- 
lation, as to the influence that this love of nature, and this facility 
for finding occupation and pleasure, may have had upon his 
whole life, and in directing him to the true uses and ends of 
power, rather than to its consequence and excitement to himself. 
Cincinnati, Ohio, 1841. 


Art. III. On extending a Knowledge of, and Taste for, Horticulture. 
By Peter MACKENZIE. 


More than 150 times have I read that part of the titlepage of 
the Gardener's Magazine which has the appearance of rays of 
glory, and reads, ‘* Register of Rural and Domestic Improve- 
ment.” Much intended for the benefit of the rural population 
has been registered in the volumes of your Magazine; but I am 
afraid that a large portion of the good meant for them resembles 
the light of the distant suns which astronomers tell of, but which 
has never yet reached our planet. Among all the horticultural 


and Taste for, Horticulture. 253 


periodicals that exist, there are none that I know whose pages are 
entirely devoted to the use of the cultivators of cottage gardens. 
Many a useful article slumbers in the by-gone volumes of the Gar- 
dener’s Magazine, that might be awakened into life and vigour, 
and scattered by thousands, in the shape of monthly horticultural 
tracts, among the cottagers of our country. Many objects have 
been furthered by means of tract circulation, and why not gar- 
dening? If public taste be rapidly advancing in favour of 
painting, sculpture, architecture, and gardening also, surely any 
laudable means that has for its object the advancement of 
knowledge and comfort among the labouring classes of the com- 
munity ought to have the support and goodwill of every benevo- 
lent individual. A littie encouragement from landed proprietors 
and horticultural societies would do much to promote the cir- 
culation of tracts, which might even be given gratis for a time, until 
a taste for reading them were formed in the minds of the indivi- 
duals for whose benefit they were intended. With an extensive 
circulation, a four-paged tract may be produced for a halfpenny, 
or perhaps less. If the love of gardening has a tendency 
to improve and humanise the whole man, surely the small 
cost at which that love may be fostered should never be looked 
upon as money thrown away. It would be employed for one of 
the best of purposes, if, by means of these monthly messengers, 
the cottager should be enabled to grow better vegetables, and 
increase the quantity and quality of his fruit, and to decorate 
his garden with finer and rarer flowers ; and be led to examine 
the works of his Creator with a philosophic eye, to institute a 
higher-toned morality, and become a better member of society. 

Although Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal and the Penny Ma- 
gazine have been in existence many years, yet they have never 
reached the dwellings of thousands of our rural population. It 
is melancholy to think that there exist such a multitude 


“Who loathe to taste of intellectual food, 
Yet surfeit on old tales of Robin Hood.” 


Instead of transmitting traditional stories, and revelling in 
the superstitious annals of hobgoblinism, the horticultural tracts 
might be made the vehicles for conveying intellectual aliment 
suited to the rustic capacity. In whatever circumstances human 
beings may be placed, there is generally one station left which 
may be occupied by all, namely, that of physical enquiry; and 
perhaps there has never been any age, since the world began, 
that could match the present for investigation into the laws 
of nature. 

The reasoning faculty is no longer forced to tread the beaten 
path of custom, and many are the human minds that show signs of 
awakened energy in the various departments of nature. The 


254 Flower-Gardens and Song Birds. 


s 

astronomer is still making discoveries in the unlimited field of 
space, the geologist is getting more familiar with the wonders of 
his department, the chemist is still finding out new combinations 
which will yet benefit the world; but with all this activity, there 
are still masses of human minds that remain in darkness, which, 
if enlightened, might give hopes of future Fergusons and Frank- 
lins, and Arkwrights and Watts. By combining the rays of know- 
ledge into a focus, we may expect in due time the bursting 
forth of light and heat, that will extend their beneficial influence 
to the remotest tribes of our globe. Among chemical bodies,. 
there are two great classes called acids and alkalies ; the one may 
be intensely sour and corrosive,’'the other hot, bitter, and caustic, 
and yet they may be made to neutralise each other, so that even 
paper stained with litmus and turmeric will not be affected by 
them: in like manner, the humanising effect of gardening upon 
the minds of a nation may have a tendency to curb the over- 
growth of those passions that often disturb the peace of society ; 
those who engage in that delightful pursuit may be led to look 
upon the green earth and the blue and the boundless heavens 
in a new and unexpected aspect, and admire the wisdom and 
goodness of our Creator 


“Tn rocks and trees, in every blade and flower.” 


West Plean, April 5. 1842. 


Art. 1V. Flower-Gardens and Song Birds. By CHARLES 
WATERTON, Esq. 
“ Tnutilesque falce ramos amputans, 
Feliciores inserit.” Horace. 
With pruning-knife, the useless branch he cuts, 
And in its place a graft prolific puts. 
How I prize the gardener! He is Nature’s primest jeweller ; 
and he has the power of placing within our reach all that is 
nutritive, and luscious, and lovely, in the enchanting domains 
of Flora and Pomona. Without his assistance, Nature would 
soon run out into uncurbed luxuriance; the flowery lawn would 
disappear, and ere long the hemlock and the bramble, with a 
train of noxious attendants, would lord it all around. ‘To the 
industry, then, of the gardener we are indebted for scenes 
of rural beauty quite unparalleled ; and to his science we owe 
the possession of every wholesome fruit and root. In times 
too, now long gone by, ere the ruthless Reformation ‘smote this 
land, the gardener’s nomenclature was truly Christian; for 
scarcely a flower, or shrub, or root was known, the name of 
which did not tend to put us in mind of future happiness in the 
realms of eternal bliss. Hence, the gardener is my friend; 
and wherever I have an opportunity of surveying lands which 


Flower-Gardens and Song Birds. 258 


bear marks of his interesting labours, I wish him well from my 
heart, and I hope that he may not fail to receive a remunerating 
return for his many useful services to us. 

Were I asked my opinion of a highly cultivated English 
flower-garden, I should say that it is the loveliest sight in 
rural nature; and, moreover, that if it afforded me an oppor- 
tunity of listening to the song of birds, I should pronounce it 
little short of absolute perfection. But, in general, the charm- 
ing melody of birds is of rare occurrence in the modern flower~ 
garden; and I fear that any observations which I may make on 
this head will not have sufficient weight with them to attract 
attention to it on the part of the horticulturist. Nevertheless, 
I will venture for once to offer a remark or two to Mr. 
Loudon’s readers on a subject which always interests me; and, 
if what I shall say does not meet with their approbation, may I 
hope that they will give me credit for good intentions. I wish 
not to appear dictatorial. A few brief observations, penned 
down without the least wish on my part to be considered in the 
light of an innovator, will, I trust, not be wholly lost. 

To me, whom kind Providence has destined to spend the 
best part of my time in the open air, the song of birds is 
soothing beyond expression; and, whilst I am admiring the 
beauty of the rising flowers around me, I know no greater 
addition to my gratification than that of listening to it. How 
enchanting is it to inspect the early snowdrops, those ‘ fair 
maids of February,” whilst the stormcock is pouring forth his 
newly acquired notes from the top of a neighbouring elm! and 
how delightful it is to hear cock-robin’s carol on the thorn that 
affords a shelter to the humble primrose! The lily of the 
valley, too, sweet, lovely, lowly daughter of May, how I gaze in 
ecstacy on its virgin whiteness, whilst the stranger cuckoo’s 
note sounds through the dell, and insures me the return of 
warmer weather! The chaffinch, too, and the whitethroat, and 
the thrush, and the blackbird, with pretty jenny-wren, and the 
hedge-sparrow, all add charms inexpressible, by their sweet 
voices, to the rising flowers of the dale. And this brings me to 
another bird not seen now in this country, but interesting to us 
on account of the place which it occupies in Holy Writ. Its 
history is but little known to the world at large, and its iden- 
tity is exposed to be called in question, on account of the name 
which it erroneously bears. The bird to which I allude is the 
Passer solitarius; in English, the solitary sparrow; and in 
Italian, passera solitaria. Would Mr. Loudon’s readers lend a 
patient ear for a short time, they shall have both the history 
and the true name of this bird placed in a proper light. 

The royal psalmist, whilst bending down in_penitential 
prayer before his offended Maker, exclaims, “ Vigilavi, et factus 


256 Flower-Gardens and Song Birds. 


sum sicut passer solitarius in tecto.” ‘I have watched, and. 


am become as a sparrow all alone upon the house-top.” I have 
often wondered what bird this could be; knowing, by daily 
experience, that it could not actually be the house-sparrow ; 
for the house-sparrow is not solitary in its habits. I despaired 
of being able to trace its character satisfactorily, and I should 
probably have long remained in ignorance of it, had I not 
visited the southern parts of Europe. 

My arrival in Rome let me at once into the secret. The 
bird to which the repentant king of Israel compared himself in 
the seven penitential psalms is a real thrush in size, in shape, in 
habits, and in song; with this difference from the rest of the 
tribe, that it is remarkable throughout all the East for sitting 
solitary on the habitations of man. 

The first time I ever saw this lonely plaintive songster was 
in going to hear mass in the magnificent church of the Jesuits 
at Rome. ‘The dawn was just appearing, and the bird passed 
over my head, in its transit from the roof of the Palace 
Odescalchi to the belfry of the,Church of the Twelve Apostles, 
singing as it flew. I thought it had been the Italian blackbird, 
with notes somewhat different from those of our own; for its 
song was partly that of the blackbird, and partly that of the 
stormcock, but not so loud as the last, nor so varied as the 
first. I found out my mistake in due time; and, on seeing that 
the bird was the true solitary thrush, I paid particular attention 
to its habits. 

It is indeed a solitary bird, for it never associates with any 
other, and only with its own mate in breeding time; and even 
then it is often seen quite alone upon the house-top, where 
it warbles in sweet and plaintive strains, and continues its song 
as it moves in easy flight from roof to roof. The traveller who 
is fond of ornithology may often see this bird on the remains 
of the Temple of Peace, and occasionally in the Villa Borghese, 
but much more frequently on the stupendous ruins of the Baths 
of Caracalla, where it breeds in holes of the walls, and always 
on the Colosseum, where it likewise makes its nest; and, in 
fine, at one time or other of the day, on the tops of most of the 
churches, monasteries, and convents, within and without the 
walls of the eternal city. 

It lays five eggs of a very pale blue. They much resemble 
those of our starling. The bird itself is blue, with black wings 
and tail; the blue of the body becoming lighter when placed in 
different attitudes. 

Whilst I lodged in the Palazzo di Gregorio, this solitary 
songster had its nest in the roof of the celebrated Propaganda, 
across the street ‘“‘ dei due Macelli,” and only a few yards from 
my window. I longed to get at it; but knowing that the Romans 


The Cuckoo. 257 


would not understand my scaling the walls of the Propaganda, 
in order to propagate the history of the solitary thrush, and 
seeing, at the same time, that the hole at which the bird entered 
was very difficult of access, I deemed it most prudent to keep 
clear of the Propaganda, and to try to procure the nest from 
some other quarter. 

The many promises which Roman sportsmen had given me of 
a nest and eggs of the solitary thrush having entirely failed, and 
I myself not being able to go in quest of them, on account of an 
attack of dysentery, which bore heavy on me, I despaired of 
obtaining the object of my wishes, and I should have left Italy 
without either nest or eggs, had not the Rev. Mr. Cowie, vice- 
president of the Scotch College in Rome, exerted himself, as he 
had already often done, in the cause of natural history. This 
learned and worthy gentleman sent expressly for a nest to the 
vineyard of his college. It was found in the roof of the house, 
and had four eggs in it. The lad who took it had succeeded in 
capturing the female bird. Having examined the poor captive 
as minutely as though I had been a custom-house officer, I 
turned it loose into the world again, and as it flew away I hoped 
it would have better luck for the time to come. I sent the nest 
and eggs to England by a different route from that which [ 
myself pursued. Had I taken them with me, they would have 
gone to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, for, in the night 
of the 16th of June, 1841, my sisters-in-law, Miss Edmonstone 
and Miss Helen Edmonstone, my little boy, my servants, and 
myself, were wrecked off the Island of Elba. We had only 
fifteen minutes to save our lives before the vessel foundered, and 
we lost every thing except the clothes on our backs. __ 

The solitary thrush is seen in all the countries of the East, up 
to Syria and Egypt, and probably much farther on. This bird 
is solitary to the fullest extent of the word. Being an assiduous 
frequenter of the habitations of man, I cannot have a doubt but 
that it was the same bird which King David saw on the house- 
top before him, and to which he listened as it poured forth its 
sweet and plaintive song. Moved by its melody, and comparing 
its lonely habits with his own, he exclaimed, in the fulness of an 
afflicted heart, “‘ Vigilavi, et factus sum sicut passer solitarius in 
tecto.” ‘*I have watched, and am become as a thrush, all alone 
upon the house-top.” 

Walton Hall, April 10. 1842. 


Art. V. On the Cuckoo: By J. WiGuton. 


TuovugH the cuckoo’s note is familiar to every one, there are 


some things connected with its habits which are known but im- 
3d Ser. — 1842. V. 8 


258 The Cuckoo. 


perfectly, and still open to discussion. It is the common opi- 
nion of naturalists, that the cuckoo deposits an egg in the nest 
of some small bird, and that the egg is hatched, and the young 
bird reared, by its foster-parent. There are some, however, 
who doubt this generally received opinion. Among these may 
be instanced Mr. Mudie, a very accurate observer of nature, 
who has advanced some things quite at variance with the com- 
mon theory. He says: “ We have never met with the egg of 
a cuckoo along with that of any other bird, have, never scared 
a little bird from the act of incubation in a cuckoo’s nest, and 
never have detected one little bird in the act of feeding a cuc- 
koo, either in the nest or out of it.” 

Though I can no more boast of any of these discoveries than 
Mr. Mudie, I still see no reason to doubt the received opinions, 
since so many profess to have scared small birds from the act of 
incubation on cuckoo’s eggs along with theirown. I have some 
recollection of having, when a boy, once seen a little bird feed- 
ing a cuckoo, which my companions called gowk and a tztling. 
Why the bird is called gowk in Scotland does not appear to 
be connected with the meaning of that word, which is fool, but 
from the Scottish mode of imitating the first syllable of the bird’s 
cry, gowkoo. In most languages, it has a name expressive of 
its peculiar cry. 

Again, Mr. Mudie says: “ There is another circumstance, 
which gives at least a colour of probability to the fact, that the 
cuckoo does net use the nests until they have answered the ori- 
ginal purpose of the builders, and that is, that the hatching 
time of the titling, whether that titling be the common pipit, as 
is most common in the north and east of the island, or the hedge- 
sparrow ((Accéntor modularis), which is said to be the foster- 


bird of the cuckoo in the south of England, is earlier than that 


of the cuckoo.” If cuckoos were reared in hedge-sparrows’ 
nests, and their nests never found after the usual time of build- 
ing, by the first ones being destroyed, there would be much 
plausibility in Mr. Mudie’s opinion, for in general their brood 
is hatched before the cuckoo arives inthis country. But I never 
knew an instance of cuckoo’s eggs being found in hedge-sparrows’ 
nests; it is in the nests of wagtails, whinchats, and titlarks that 
we may expect to find an egg, and sometimes, though very rarely, 
two, a little larger than the rest. It does not appear to have 
been ascertained by what rule the cuckoo proceeds to palm her 
eges upon small birds; that is, whether she lays one egg in 
each of several nests, or whether the two eggs sometimes found 
are deposited by the same bird. 

I am aware that other naturalists, and, I believe, Mr. Selby, 
mention the hedge-sparrow as the foster-bird of the cuckoo. But 
it is worthy of attention, that the nests of all the birds referred 


Instinct in the Flycatcher. 259 


fo are too small for incubation by a cuckoo. It is not till after 
the brood are advanced in growth that the nests are pressed 
out beyond their original shape, and the rightful brood smothered 
and cast out. Much has been said of the manner in which this 
is effected, but it appears to be merely done from that instinct 
to keep their nests clean which is common to all nestling birds, 
and their brood are obliged to give way to the law of the strongest. 
Some suppose that the cuckoo cannot build a nest; others, that 
its formation. or habits are not suitable for incubation. The 
Bishop of Norwich says on this subject: ‘ Is it because, alone 
of all the feathered race, it is without those affections in every 
other species?” Here is a small mistake, for Mr. James Wilson 
mentions the cow-bunting of America, that leaves the care of 
its egos to other birds. 

Connected with this subject, Mr. Mudie observes: ‘ The 
cuckoos have, in common with many other birds that feed and 
nidify in trees, a habit of jerking a twig of a neighbouring tree, 
while of that which they hover on or enter not a leaf stirs.” 
What can this mean? Does the bird get hold of a branch of 
another tree that may happen to reach in among those of the 
tree on which it enters ? If so, it is curious indeed. 

The time is come for the cuckoo’s arrival among us; and I 
shall be glad if these remarks lead others to make further en- 
quiry into its habits. 

Cossey Gardens, April 27. 1842. 


Art. VI. Remarkable Instance of Instinct in the Flycatcher. By 
JoHN Duy Lop. 


In the month of August, 1841, the following remarkable in- 
stance of the natural instinct, or reason, possessed by birds, 
came under my observation. I had for some days observed a 
pair of flycatchers feeding their young, which were generally 
perched upon the dead bough of a Cratze‘gus Oxyacantha. 
Their attachment to this branch induced me to examine it, 
when, to my astonishment, I found upwards of a dozen of 
Bombus terréstris thrust upon the spines as securely as if done 
by the hand of man. ‘Some were living, others were dead and 
partly devoured, which solved the mystery. I carefully removed 
the bees, on purpose to watch the process of the birds in 
placing them there, and I soon had the satisfaction of seeing them 
catch them upon the wing, carry them direct to the branch, 
and thrust them upon the spines in the manner described. 
What was still more singular is, that the spines were forced 
through the most vital part, as you will see by the specimens I 
have sent you. The shyness of the birds put it out of my power 
s 2 


260 Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 


to detect the young ones feeding upon them; but all those 
which they had partly devoured showed that they were aware 
of the danger of the sting, for they only eat cut the pulpy part 
of the abdomen. Is it not reason or something very like it, that 
the parents should place the bees upen the spines of a tree to 
deprive them of life, no doubt aware of the danger their young 
might sustain if they fed them upon the living insects, as is their 
usual habit; and also should choose a dead branch to suit their 
purpose, on account of the hardness of the spines. I send you 
these observations as an example how a fact involving an interest- 
ing speculation as to the mental faculties of these birds might be 
within the reach of every one who would only pause to observe. 
Leigham Place, March 20. 1842. 


Art. VII. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 
By G. Recet, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin. 


(Translated from the Garten Zeitung.) 
(Continued from p.199.) y 


I. On toe PropaGgation or PLants — continued. q 


3. THE PRACTICAL METHOD OF PROPAGATING BY BUDS. Written in con- 

junction with my colleague A. Brauer. is 
Tue last section treated of the various parts that proceed 
from the bud, and thereby showed that most of these are of 
unlimited formation, and that the normal bud can only be 
brought to complete developement by art. The present section 
shall therefore treat principally of the general principles to be 
followed in propagating by the normal bud, and of its pecu- 
liarities, and will conclude witha short notice of the bulb and 
tubercle formations. For this purpose I engaged the assistance 
of A. Brauer, as he not only has the experience of propagating 
in this garden, but superintended that department two years in 
the establishment of M. Haage, jun., and by his means we have 
collected much valuable information, which we now offer to the 
public. 

Propagation by buds is of as great importance in gardening 
as that by seed; and although it is often attended with greater 
difficulties than the latter, yet it may be asserted, that almost 
all the plants that have been discovered can be abundantly pro- 
pagated by the one way or the other. Propagation by buds is 
of the greatest importance to our greenhouse plants, as many 
of them either do not produce seed at all, or they are only ca- 
pable of doing so when the plants are old, and before they have 
attained that period they frequently perish. Also, as the species 
is generally only propagated by seed, and the bud continues 


Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 261 


the individual with all its imperfections, metamorphoses, and pe- 
culiarities, it follows that by this means only can we procure 
so great a variety of our favourite ornamental plants. ‘There 
are besides many annuals which rarely bear seed, and can by 
propagation of the bud be preserved to our gardens: such, 
reared inthe autumn, can be stripped of their young shoots in 
winter ; and, by continuing this practice, the most valuable can 
be in no danger of being annihilated. The beautiful Tropz'o- 
lum Moritzzanum may be reckoned among those that have been 
preserved in this manner. 

The most usual method of propagating in this manner is by 
a shoot on which are several buds, which is called propagation 
by division; and other methods are by single buds detached 
from the stem in various ways, or even by leaves on which ad- 
ventitious buds have been formed. ‘The parts to be propagated 
are divided into two; viz. those which, when put in the earth, 
produce roots, and those which are left somewhat out of the soil, 
and which produce shoots by the developement of buds. 


Propagation by Cuttings and Layers. 


Success in this manner of propagating depends upon many 
circumstances, all of which must be attended to if you expect 
favourable results to follow. Attention must be paid, in the first 
place, to the soil to see that it contains a proportionate mixture, 
the state of the air, and the necessary degree of heat and moist- 
ure in both these elements, the time of year in which the cut- 
tings are made, the cut itself; and the nature of the cuttings. 
We will make it our study to unfold as clearly as possible the 
general established principles, and will illustrate them as much 
as possible by examples, and by reference to physiological rules ; 
at the same time we must confess, that, however great our exer- 
tions may be to render the whole as clear as we can, a practice 
of several years’ duration is necessary for a successful application 
of these principles. It is well known to those who have had 
much practice in propagating, that, with cuttings which are 
difficult to strike, the smallest deviation from the i hehea 
principles is sufficient to produce an unsuccessful result of the 
operation, while, on the contrary, an opposite practice had al- 
ways been attended with success. A sufficient acquaintance with 
all the variations of the locality, and also a careful trial of all 
the necessary directions proposed, are the chief requisites for a 
successful result in propagation. 

Cuttings evince a very striking difference with respect to their 
power of making roots. Some of them, for instance, put out 
roots with the utmost ease, under all circumstances; others, again, 
under certain conditions; while others produce them with diffi- 
culty, under very limited conditions. In general it may be 


a) 


5 3 


262 Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 


observed, that most plants which have a rapid and luxuriant 
vegetation, and whose wood contains: much pith, and is therefore 
not firm, are easily propagated by cuttings; such, for example, 
as a great number of our hothouse plants, shrubs, and annuals 
at certain periods, and many of our soft-leaved greenhouse 
plants, such as pelargoniums, salvias, petunias, nierembergias, 
fuchsias, and the different species of calceolarias and verbenas; 
among which but few have evergreen leaves, such as our com- 
mon myrtle. Cuttings, on the contrary, of trees and shrubs 
that have hard wood, and generally with evergreen leaves, and 
a slow and tardy growth, strike with more difficulty; such as 
Banksza, Dryandra, Acacia, Ardisia, Casuarina, Latrus, Camel- 
lia, Pinus, Scottza, and the different species of Quércus, with many 
others. This is, however, by no means a rule without excep- 
tion, as in many genera one species grows easily, and another 
with difficulty ; and there are also many with soft wood which 
easily rot on the surface of the cut, or drop their leaves, &c. 

As soon as the cutting is separated from the parent plant and 
put into the earth, it begins to receive the crude nourishing sap 
through the cut (Schnittwunde). As the vessels have been in- 
jured in making the cut, the nourishing sap no longer ascends 
by endosmosis in the woody body, but the buds and leaves on 
the cutting act by the evaporating process (Verdunstungs Pro- 
gress) somewhat like a pump (as M. Meyen so emphatically ex- 
presses it), and thus draw the sap upwards to the buds and 
leaves, where it becomes formation sap, and, returning in the 
inner bark, comes out at the cut, where it becomes hardened, 
and forms a parenchymatised cellular tissue, which by degrees 
frequently covers the whole surface of the cut, and produces the 
callus formation. 

The callus continues to grow larger and thicker till the buds 
on the cutting begin to unfold themselves; and when it has 
attained a considerable size it supplies the place of roots, as it 
imbibes the crude nourishing sap and conveys it to the woody 


body. ‘The developement of the bud produces a transformation | 


in the deposited nourishing sap in the cutting, which is partly 
used in effecting the developement of the young shoot, and partly 
in aiding the increased vital action, and is again returned by 
means of the inner bark. The young callosity is thus formed 
on the cutting, and also the formation of the root in close con- 
nexion with it, which always has its rise in the former and 
proceeds from it. 

The root, therefore, generally comes out at the base of the 
lowest node on the side of the bud, and when the cut is properly 
made it comes out immediately above it; or it comes out in a 
similar manner from all the nodes which are under the soil, as 
may be seen in the closely leaved plants, such as E’pacris, 


Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 263 


Erica, Brunza, and those plants which easily make roots. In the 
latter the roots even sometimes proceed from the internode. 

To these may be added herbaceous plants, or those that have 
a soft wood and are of rapid growth, which easily and quickly 
produce the root formation; and, as these have a much more 
intense vital action than hard-wooded trees and shrubs, they 
imbibe the nourishing sap much more quickly and form the callus 
more easily; and, as they are almost continually growing from the 
beginning of spring till late in the autumn, they are, therefore, 
fit at almost every season of the year to form a young woody 
layer, and more capable of producing the roets which proceed 
from it; consequently, they are not so long exposed to accidents 
as those which are slow in forming their roots, and before that 
period frequently perish. 

The most suitable time for making cuttings is therefore after 
a period of rest, when new shoots begin to show themselves, 
and when the plant is in possession of its greatest activity. This 
time is in March and April for plants that require a cold tem- 
perature; for those that require greater heat the cuttings must 
be made somewhat earlier, as practical experience has fully 
proved. ‘The second shoot makes its appearance in the months 
of June and July, but is not in a fit state for propagation, 
because the strength of the plant has been already exhausted 
by the first shoot. 

With regard to the time of year, these fundamental prin- 
ciples can be only but very vaguely fixed, as the time must 
more particularly be chosen when the new shoot begins, and this 
varies very much according to the different zones from which 
the plants come. ‘Those that easily produce roots, which we 
have taken less into consideration, may be made into cuttings 
almost all the year through. Many of these, such as the spe- 
cies of Calceolaria, Pelargonium, Fachsza, and Salvia, were, for 
instance, in this garden, made into cuttings in the latter end of 
August and the beginning of September, and put in a mode- 
rately warm hotbed, where they made roots before the frost 
set in, so that a part of the old plant would be cut away. 

The first two genera, with a few exceptions, such as Calceo- 
laria nivea, Pelargonium tricolor, &c., should have their cuttings 
placed in quite a cold bed, giving it air from the beginning, at 
least during the night. Although they will make roots more 
slowly, they will be more certain; and, on account of their 
steady and firm growth, they will be more enabled to pass the 
winter in a house that is perfectly cold, or, like the calceolarias, 
in a pit protected from the frost. 

In propagating those plants that are difficult to make root, 
we must be very careful that the cuttings are kept in sucha 
condition that they may be fresh and healthy at the time the root 

s 4 


264 Sckell’s Landscape- Gardening. 


formation takes place; also that the vital activity is hastened, 
so that they may be capable of a quicker absorption of the 
nourishing matter, as by this means the root formation will go on 
more quickly; and, finally, the most suitable soil should be 
chosen, and the cut made with the greatest care, as all these 
particulars greatly contribute to the success of the cutting. 


(Lo be continued.) 


Art. VIII. The Landscape-Gardening of F.L. von Sckell of Munich. 
Translated from the German for the ‘‘ Gardener’s Magazine.” 


(Continued from p. 210.) 
XIV. On excavating Lakes. 


1. Turse liquid mirrors, which appear so extremely beautiful 
in the landscape, cannot be otherwise than acceptable in 
pleasure-grounds. Besides their intrinsic value in the landscape, 
they communicate life and animation to nature. ‘The sun, the 
moon, the lowering sky covered with dark clouds, the trees and 
shrubs overhanging their banks, with the company walking on 
their shores, are depicted every day in a new form in their 
waves; they impart novelty to the picture, and are of infinite 
value as objects of imitation by art. 

In fine summer days pleasure-boats, full of gay company, float 
on their smooth surface, delightful harmony resounds from the 
islands, where the sylvan choristers unite their voices; and the 
moon is reflected in this picture of repose with solemn splen- 
dour. 

In the season when nature is stripped of her charms, when she 
appears in an entirely different, naked, and forlorn condition, 
and is but little visited, lakes, which are then covered with a 
smooth surface of ice, invite us to gymnastic exercises. Active 
young people glide happy and cheerful on skates and sledges 
over the crystal surface, and recall mirth and life where both 
had for a time been suspended. 

2. When lakes of this sort are to be made in gardens, hollow 
rather than elevated spots should be selected, and also not too 
near the dwelling-house, on account of the damp ; neither should 
they be dug too deep, as has been already mentioned, that they 
may not present the slightest danger, nor occasion fear, which, 
in pleasure-grounds where children are permitted to stroll, and 
where in summer exercise is taken in boats, and in winter on 
skates on the ice, should be carefully avoided. 

The bed of the lake should, therefore, be hollowed out of a 
concave form, that is, it must slope gradually from the sides, 
becoming deeper towards the middle, and never sinking ab- 
ruptly, so that; if any one should fall in, he might easily wade 
out again. Excavating a lake is generally performed by piece- 


: 


Sckell’s Landsca ipe- Gardening. 265 


work. It is a good plan to dig through the middle of the lake 
first, that is, to form an empty space of about 30 ft. wide, so that 
the carts may have plenty of room; and to distinctly. mark 
out the concave line the bed is to assume. ‘This sort of excava- 
tion has much resemblance to the excavation of valleys; only, 
in this case, it is not necessary to give any other than the usual 
concave form to the bed, which is under water, with the proper 
depth, declining towards the outlet. 

When unsightly bogs or hollows have been filled up with the 
earth, and lawns or plantations improved, the remainder may be 
made use of in raising hills in suitable situations. 

3. Besides the usual sluices composed of boards, which are 
raised and lowered by means of rollers, there is a much more 
simple construction, composed of movable rectangular pieces of 
wood, laid one upon another in grooves in pillars, by means of 
which the water is retained or let off. ‘This very old invention, 
on account of its particular simplicity and usefulness, and because 
it is not visible in pleasure-grounds, and consequently cannot 
prove a disagreeable object, I will explain to the modern artist, 
who may chance not to be acquainted with it. 

In the spot where a sluice is to be constructed, a paved bed 
must be made for the water, so that it may neither undermine 
the sides nor the posts of the sluice, nor become very deep, nor 
cause any other damage. At the same time, the two posts of the 
sluice, either made of stone or of oak, must be set up from ten 
to twenty feet apart, according to the required space or opening. 
On the inner sides of these posts grooves must be cut, which 
may be about 6 in. wide and 5 in. deep ; and in these the sluice- 
boards (stauholzer) are to be laid. 

These two pillars or posts must be united by a horizontal 
beam, on which the first sluice-board may be firmly laid. 
When the grooves in the pillars are six inches wide, the boards 
may be 5 in. thick, to allow room for them to play, and from 6 in. 
to 7in. deep. ‘They may also be made as thick as they are deep; 
this only depends on their length, because at the same time care 
must be taken that they are not too heavy, that they may be 
easily laid in, and easily taken out again. 

If, for example, the space between the pillars is 10 ft. (the 
depth of the groove included), the boards should only be 9ft. 10in. 
Jong, to allow them sufficient room to play in the groove, and 
that they may not be in danger of sticking when being taken out 
or putin. Each of these boards, the number of which is deter- 
mined by the height of the water, must be provided at each end 
with a round plug (either of wood or of iron), projecting hori- 
zontally 6 in. on each side, so that it may be taken hold of with 
the hand or any instrument; and by means of these plugs the 
board may be taken out and put in again. By means of these 
boards, which are laid quite simply close over each other in 


266 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


the grooves of the pillars, so that scarcely any water can run 
through, if they fit exactly, a lake or pond may be dammed up 
to any required height, and again let out. For example, as 
many pieces of wood of the same size are laid in as will reach to 
the top of the lake or pond; and when it happens that the last 
board is either too high or too low, a particular board may be 
made for this contingency, and laid on at the top. 

Experience has sufficiently proved the utility of these con- 
structions, which are in general use in the neighbourhood of 
Munich; so that I can recommend them with all confidence, 
as they are not so expensive as the common sluices, and, as I 
have said, cause no unsightly appearance in pleasure-grounds. 
When they are used, no building, roller, chain, or lever is seen 
above the water, nor any clumsy sluice-board in chains in the 
air. <A sluice of this sort may be so contrived as not to be seen 
at all, for it is sufficient if the pillars in which the boards are laid 
project at most only from 4 in. to6 in. over the water at its greatest 
height, which can scarcely be observed. In letting off the water, 
the boards which are taken out may be concealed in the bushes. 

In the Royal English Garden at Munich, a waterfall 89 ft. 
broad was made at my suggestion, and the sort of sluices de- 
scribed above made use of at five different outlets, because the 
upper and lower brooks at that spot required to be laid dry 
once or twice in the year. The rocks forming these waterfalls 
were thrown about in natural masses before these outlets and 
before the pillars, and the latter entirely concealed by them. 
Not the least part of this artificial sluice is perceptible ; and the 
tops of the posts, which rise about 9 in. above the surface of 
the water, are so contrived that they resemble the rocks. ‘The 
five outlets from the left to the right have the following breadth : 
viz. 9 ft., 11 ft., 14 ft., 21 ft., and 29 ft.; the two posts at the broad 
outlet are 4 ft. square, and the others 3ft. 3in. At the influx 
into the lake the landscape-gardener should endeavour, when it 
is possible, to make a striking waterfall. 


On making Ponds. 


4. In making ponds we proceed nearly in the same way as for 
lakes. ‘The banks should also gradually slope under the surface 
of the water, and the bed should slope towards the outlet, so 
that it may be laid dry when required, iike that of lakes. But 
as the banks of the ponds should be raised 3, 4, or 5 feet, for 
the sake of the effect of overhanging shrubs, this should be per- 
formed here and there with masses of rock, which would prevent 
the danger of the earth falling in. 

The spaces between the rocks may be left, as in lakes, in 
gentle slopes, which will create agreeable contrasts, and may 
sometimes only be covered with turf, without any trees or 
shrubs. 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 267 


As it often happens that these sheets of stagnant water are 
rendered foul by water plants and other objects, it is necessary, 
besides the frequent drawing off of the water, to keep a number 
of swans, because the water plants serve them for food, which 
their long necks enable them to bring up from the bottom and 
thus to extirpate entirely. 


XV. General Observations on the Arrangement of Woods on a large Scale 
observed by Nature. 


1. Nature has adorned our earth with so many examples of 
various woods, in so many different situations, and under so 
many forms, that we can never be at a loss with those fine ex- 
amples and pictures before us. 

Sometimes she clothes the sides of the mountains with dense 
forests which the eye cannot penetrate, and where eternal twi- 
light reigns ; sometimes she only crowns their highest peaks with 
bold masses of lofty trees, which, veiled in clouds, defy the storm; 
sometimes her woods assume the character of sacred groves ; 
sometimes they appear in distinct masses or in single trees, 
which serve as a foreground to the landscape; and she often 
accompanies streams and brooks with lightly scattered groups 
of slender alders and willows, and conceals and overshadows their 
banks with umbrageous and dark forests. She overhangs steep 
rocks with ivy (Hédera Helix), the virgin’s bower (Clématis 
Vitalba), the honeysuckle (Lonicera Periclymenum and Capri- 
folium), the bramble and the raspberry (Zubus fruticdsus and 
idze‘us), with the wild rose (osa spinosissima and villosa), with 
the berberry (Bérberis vulgaris), and with many other shrubs: 
or she produces from the unattainable clefts and fissures of the 
rocks, at fearful heights and over abrupt precipices, the fir 
(Pinus Abies), the maple (A'cer platanoides and Psetdo-Pla- 
tanus), the birch (Bétula alba), the mountain ash (S6rbus 
aucuparia), the hawthorn (Cratz‘gus A'ria), &c., shooting 
boldly up into the air and clothed in a luxuriant green. But 
Nature does not plant, she only scatters seeds or causes roots to 
be developed; thus she covers districts, miles in length, with 
oaks, beech, maple, birch, or fir woods, and only prevents a par- 
ticular sort of tree from spreading further when the situation or 
soil adapted to it begins to fail, and becomes more favourable 
for another sort of tree. ‘Thus arise those large masses of wood 
in nature, which have an expression as bold as it is harmonious, 
because they are mostly composed of one sort of tree. 

2. Nevertheless, we see in those ancient natural forests which 
I here allude to, and to which man has not yet applied his 
art, that when they consist chiefly of oaks or any other sort 
of tree, other kinds also frequently occupy considerable spaces 
in their interior, producing the most agreeable contrasts and 


268 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


interesting effects, and these trees have sprung into existence in 
the manner just mentioned. 

3. As nature thus provides for every different sort of tree 
by giving to each its proper situation and soil, it consequently 
follows that when these requisites entirely fail the oak forest 
must end, and that at this spot those great transitions of the 
forests from one sort of tree to another must take place in 
which nature displays so much variety and attraction. 


Transitions of natural Woods. 


4. Nature does not withdraw all at once from the oak or 
beech tree the soil suited to its growth, therefore it does not 
cease suddenly to extend itself. _ Before, and at the spot where 
the transition to another tree takes place, we see large distinct 
masses of the wood about to end separated from the main body 
by small spaces; these masses become smaller and smaller, and 
finally appear in groups and then in single trees, sometimes on 
waste pieces of ground and far apart from their fellows, and 
thus end by degrees. 

5. In the same imperceptible manner that the great forest 
ceases, the new one begins by filling up the small spaces left by 
the old wood with single trees of the new species ; and, as these 
spaces become enlarged, the sort of tree continues to spread till 
it finally becomes the prevailing wood. 

6. Thus Nature proceeds, her transitions from one wood to 
another are imperceptible, without showing a line of demarca- 
tion, and without our being able to say, Here they separate. 
Their transition is a delicate network harmoniously united, in 
which form is added to form in picturesque order, melting into 
each other, and at the same time displaying their delightful 
variety of colour. 

7. This picturesque keeping, these beautiful forms and out- 
lines of all sorts which nature displays, can be best judged of 
from an elevated situation. ‘Thence are seen the different 
forests trenching on each other without confusion, and the 
oak, beech, birch, and fir forests distinctly developed in grand 
magnificent masses; and how one sort of tree imperceptibly 
gives place to another, both being so harmoniously united, and 
interwoven with each other, that not the slightest trace of a 
particular definite line of separation can be discovered, because 
no line of the sort exists in the ancient forests of nature. It is 
only in those woods produced by the industry of man, and 
which are often made in geometrical forms, that we see harsh 
boundary lines, which also not unfrequently proceed in a straight 
direction. 

(To be continued.) 


Value of the Larch and Silver Fir. 269 


Art. IX. On the relative Value of the Larch and Silver Fir. 
By H. H. Maire WITHAM. 


(From the Scotsman.) 


Havine been interested by some recent experiments made by 
my friend Mr. Salvin of Croxdale, in the county of Durham, 
upon the respective strength or toughness of the larch (Larix) 
and silver fir (Picea), I thought it proper to visit those lo- 
calities where 1 might see these trees in the greatest perfection: 
Ist.!to enable me to compare their respective growths in a 
given number of years; and, 2dly, to ascertain whether any 
experiment had already been made by those who had been 
mainly instrumental in the introduction of these valuable coni- 
ferous trees. In the plantations of Dupplin, Dunkeld, Monzie, 
and other localities highly worthy the attention of all planters, 
I have invariably found that the silver fir greatly exceeded in 
growth the larch, which will be satisfactorily proved by the fol- 
lowing measurements, taken with great accuracy. After a good 
deal of enquiry, I could not find that any pains had hitherto 
been taken by the proprietors of these plantations to find out 
the relative strength of these species of wood. It may not be 
amiss, therefore, to call the attention of the owners of plant- 
ations to the advantages the silver fir holds out, which are so 
considerable as to render them an object of importance in a 
national point of view. I therefore take the liberty to com- 
municate a few facts and remarks upon the subject to the 
public through your journal. Iam not without hope that they 
may induce other proprietors to make enquiries and experiments, 
the issue of which may probably be to remove the deep-rooted 
prejudice now prevalent against the silver fir. 


Trees of the Pine Tribe measured at Dupplin Castle, the seat 
of the Earl of Kinnoull, near Perth. 


4 ft. from ground. 4 ft. from ground. 
ft. in. ft. in. 
Weymouth pine - - 710 Scotch fir - = =) 
Larch - - of} 2 Weymouth pine - Si Site 
Larch - - - 8 38 Weymouth pine - = Sarg 
Larch = = - 8 4 Spruce fir = 5 27) Bune 
Spruce fir - - =} ul Spruce fir - = =n lOc 
Larch - - - 8 9 Scotch fir = o = ii) 2 
Silver firs, as follows :— ; 
2 ft. from ground. 4. ft. from ground. 2 ft. from ground. 4 ft. from ground. 

ft. in. d ft. in. fee lie ft. in. 

17 2 - 14 7 15 10 = 13 3 

14° 5 - 12 0 15 8 - 13 4 

14 6 - 12 3 15 6 - 13 11 

13° 9 - 12 1 14 3 - 12 0 

15 9 - 1B 


These trees were all planted at the same time, and are supposed to be 
about 105 years old. 


7 /\0) Value of the Larch and Silver Fir. 


Trees measured at Dunkeld, the seat of His Grace the Duke 
of Atholl. 


The two celebrated larches planted 1737, or 102 years old: — 
2 ft. from 4 ft. from 2 ft. from 4 ft. from 


ground. ground. | ground. ground 
ft. >in: ft. in. ft. in. ft. in 
Ist Larch SG & 13 ©) 2d Larch - 14 2 12795 


Other larches in great numbers, 2 ft. from ground, 8 ft. 11 in. on an 
average. 


2 ft. from 4 ft. from 2 ft. from 4 ft. from 
ground. ground ground, ground 
ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft tHe 
Scotch fir - ll 4 10 10 Scotch fir - 10 1 9 3 


Trees measured at Monzie, the residence of A. Campbell, Esq. 


2 ft. from ground. 4 ft. from ground. 

: ft. in. ft. in. 

Silver fir - - 10 6 - 9 4 
2 ft. from 4 ft. from 2 ft. from 4 ft. from 

ground. ground ground ground 

ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. 
Larch - - 10 6 - 8 6 Larch - Ps 8 osm iil .@ 
Larch - - 10 7 - 81l1 Larch  - -10 8 - 14 7 


This tree spreads 14 yards from the stem each way, and all of the above 
are nearly 100 feet high. The measurement of the last larch at 2 ft. from 
the ground, owing to its projecting roots, is greatly increased in circum- 
ference. 

The above measurements leave no doubt that the growth of 
the silver fir is more rapid than that of any coniferous tree 
hitherto introduced into this country. 

The trees above measured (with the exception of the two 
celebrated Dunkeld larches) are supposed to be about 105 years 
old. 

Ishall now proceed to give you the result of three experiments 
tried by my friend Mr. Salvin, to prove the superior strength or 
toughness of the silver fir in comparison with the larch. 

The first experiment was made in November 1838, and the 
silver fir sustained a weight of 17 stone more than the larch 
before it broke. 

In the second experiment the silver fir and larch were 15 ft. 
2 in. long each, and each 25 years old. Both trees were seven 
months under cover, and were, as near as possible, of the same 
dimensions; the silver fir sustained 37 stone, and the larch 
25 stone: difference in favour of the silver fir, 12 stone. 

In the third experiment, the larch and silver fir were both 
cut and tried in a green state, 12 ft. long, 25 years old, and of 
the same dimensions. The silver fir sustained 64 stone 5 |b., and 
the larch 45 stone 5 |b.: difference in favour of the silver fir, 
19 stone. 

These experiments were made in the presence of five re- 
spectable and experienced woodmen. 

Lartington, July 5. 1839. 


Flower-Baskets, and Basketwork Edgings. Ba 


Art. X. Remarks on Flower-Baskets, and the Construction of 
Basketwork Edgings in Flower-Gardens. By N. M. T. 


As the votaries of Flora are now about to fill their baskets with 
her choicest productions, perhaps the following remarks may 
afford, to some, a hint upon the subject. About the propriety 
of introducing baskets, or edgings of basketwork, into the land- 
scape, “doctors disagree”; but it is enough for the present 
purpose to say that, when judiciously managed, I think them 
desirable; not altogether on account of the variety they create, 
or their ornamental character, but also for their real or fancied 
usefulness: it is this that causes them so generally to harmonise 
with our notions of propriety; the objects they protect being so 
utterly helpless that they demand a seeming protection, even on 
the placid bosom of an English lawn. Much taste is no doubt re- 
quisite to produce a good effect, as it is necessary that they should 
be suited to place and circumstances, to avoid outraging the real 
or assumed character the scene may possess; and, even all this 
guarded against, it is also necessary to “suit the basket to the 
flowers, and the flowers to the basket,” and this with the baskets 
generally in use is no easy task. They, so far as regards dimen- 
sions, are definite ; the objects they surround subject to endless 
mutation: so that, at one time, instead of a basket of flowers, 
we have only flowers in a basket, and, at a more advanced stage, 
an overgrown disproportioned mass. ‘Therefore, after all that 
has been urged against them, unattached materials are best 
suited to most purposes, as they may be contracted or expanded 
at pleasure ; may be continued to form one basket, or divided 
into half a dozen. When properly placed, they are equally 
good-looking with those of the ordinary construction and more 
durable ; and, perhaps, their greatest recommendation is the 
small space they occupy when not in use. 

Being so far preferable, the next concern is to know how 
fitting materials may be procured at least expense. It is true 
that there are cast-iron edgings, of different patterns, in use for 
such purposes, but they are easily displaced (an objection that 
does not apply to those about to be recommended), and look 
bad when in that condition, and, besides, are so clumsy, that 
they have more the air of a prison-house than of an elegant sup- 
port. It is scarcely possible to conceive anything more unpleas- 
ing than a gracile flower peeping through a grating strong 
enough for a fence against cattle; the fairest flowers of creation 
through the bars of a nunnery perhaps excepted. A stake, to 
appear appropriate, ought neither to be so slender as to seem 
bending beneath its burden, nor so clumsy as to make the object 
it supports more dependent than it really is: upon this prin- 
ciple I would construct edgings of basketwork ; and common | 


22 Flower-Baskets, and Basketwork Edgings. 


wire furnishes materials in abundance for all purpeses, and may 
be worked into any figure or device the taste or whim of the 
applier may direct. Subjoined are forms (jigs. 18, 19, 20.), which 


Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. 


may be used as in the accompanying sketches (figs. 21. to 26.), 
or, upon the same principle, varied ad infinitum. I have no 
claim whatever to anything like invention in the matter; I have 


vou 


seen them frequently used, and have used them with advantage, 
and do not doubt that, were they generally known, they would 
be more common. When they are taken up for the season, 


Fig. 24. 


they ought to be well cleaned and painted before they are put 
by. They are too often left to corrode until a few days before 
they are wanted in spring: this ought not to be, as their dura~ 


Fig. 25. Fig. 26. 


bility greatly depends on using proper precaution. Each of 
these pieces, 1 ft. in breadth, and made of good strong wire, 
costs about 2d. j 
I may fill the remaining corner of my paper by observing 
that single-stemmed specimens of choice trees or shrubs, planted 
where they are surrounded by grass, often (after all reasonable 
care has been taken) suffer severe injury, by the bark at the 
collar being cut through by the scythe while cutting the grass. 
There must either be a risk of this taking place, or a portion of 
the surrounding grass left to be removed by safer means, at a 
great sacrifice of time. ‘To guard against these evils, something 
more than seeming protection is necessary ; and a piece of sheet 


Construction of Fruit Corridors. 273 


lead, an inch or two in breadth (or more, should the largeness 
of the specimen, or other circumstances, require it), folded round 
the stem, or two pieces, the one overlapping the other, will most 
effectually afford this; while it is unobjectionable, or, in fact, 
imperceptible, as regards appearance, doing no injury whatever 
to the tree, which is able to unroll the lead as its growth may 
demand more space. With such protectors, the grass may be 
cut close to the stems without the possibility of injuring the 
plant, or even the edge of the scythe, should it come in contact 
with the lead. When the trees are surrounded by, or rather 
stand in a circle of, dug earth, such protection is not required ; 
and this digging or forking of the ground round young and 
newly planted trees greatly accelerates their growth, an object 
for which appearances ought to be for a time disregarded ; but 
the dug patch ought to be done away with when the growth of 
the tree is established. Such patches may be allowable in highly 
wrought or avowedly artificial scenery; but, in my opinion, they 
are inadmissible in that which professes to be natural, 
Folkstone, April 2. 1842, 


Art. XI. On the Construction of Fruit Corridors for the Culture 
of the more delicate Fruit Trees. By ALEXANDER FORSYTH. 


TueEre is perhaps no branch in the whole round of gardening so 
universally admired, or so seldom attained, as a complete fruit- 
garden. A peach tree in blossom or in fruit is not surpassed 
by any plant whatever in beauty, not to speak of its value as sup- 
plying fruit for the dessert; and nothing rivets ‘the attention of 
the natives of the northern counties more, when they come to 
London, than seeing the peach do so well on the bare south wall, 
without glass or flues. Nothing, in my opinion, looks more 
truly inviting, or shows good management better, than a fine old 
kitchen-garden with a complete set of fruit trees on the walls, 
healthy and heavily laden with their fruits; and as very few 
families have a full supply, and as by far the greater number 
could use ten times as much as they can grow, I regret to see so 
little attention turned to this truly desirable department. Now, 
in planting trees, or, indeed, any other plants that we wish to 
perfect their fruits, it is necessary to give them every encourage- 
ment we can; if, therefore, they are natives of milder regions 
than our own, it becomes necessary to make up by art the 
natural deficiencies of our more northern climate. The manner 
in which this deficiency is to be made up, and the ways and 
means necessary thereto, form the object of the present paper. 

Now, it will be readily granted that the main supply of light 
3d Ser. — 1842. V. T 


274 Construction of Fruit Corridors. 


and heat comes from the south, or at any rate from that half of 
the compass southward of east and west; the little that comes 
from the other half I am content to lose, in order the more effec- 
tually to secure the services of the main supply: therefore, in 
place of the present plain south wall, I would beg leave to 
introduce a sort of shelter, such as is used at the railway sta- 
tions, and which I may term the fruit corridor, being a row of 
high pillars in front of a low south wall, with a substantial lean- 
to-roof, and the inside nicely lath and plastered; along the 
centre of the border thus roofed stand the trees or plants, and 
the trellis on which they are trained. It will easily be seen, 
therefore, that the fruit border is thus roofed from the effects of 
frost and chilling rains, and thereby converted, if not into a 
hotbed, at least into a warm bed, warmer than the other beds in 
the garden that are left to the mercy of the elements; this, 
then, is one point of immense importance already gained over 
common walls. 

Our sharpest cutting winds generally come from the northern 
half of the compass, that is to say, from the north-east and north- 
west; and from these points also we have the torrents of cold 
rain, and the great body of the snow and hail, so injurious to 
the early blossoms. Now, when the north side is roofed, all 
these fall harmlessly beyond the tender blossoms, foliage, and 
fruit of the trees on the trellis, and the delicate spongioles in the 
the earth ; and these organs, be it remembered, are the most 
vital and vulnerable parts of the tree, therefore, the slightest 
protection to them is no mean point gained; especially when 
the results of recent experiments with the fig and other trees are 
considered, which have perfectly convinced me that the excess 
of cold rain in our climate does more injury to our fruit trees 
than has ever been accredited to it, and is second only to our late 
spring frosts in robbing our orchards. By withholding water 
from a fig plant in a pot, a person may, as it were, command it to 
fruit: for, after the plant has made about five leaves or joints of 
young wood, let the water be gradually withheld from it till 
the sap by exposure to the sun gets properly elaborated (which 
will be in four or five weeks, with plenty of sun and heat, and 
only just as much water as will keep the leaves from falling off or 
turning yellow), and it will not fail to show fruit in the axil of every 
leaf; which fruits, of course, afterwards require the plant to be 
watered, and the ordinary treatment, to mature them. On the 
other hand, let any one give a fig plant always plenty of water, 
that is, let him keep the soil about his fig roots as moist as gar- 
den soil generally is in the open air in winter, and I warrant he 
will look in vain for anything but leaves on that fig tree. I 
mention the fig tree for the sake of the groessness of its habit, 
as any one may more readily convince themselves of the accuracy 


Construction of Fruit Corridors. 275 


of my statement by that than by more delicate fruit trees. 
Nevertheless, the argument holds equally good with fruit trees of 
all kinds. To this, as the root of the evil, may be referred the 
barrenness that ringing cures in the spol tree, and the gross- 
ness that root-pruning cures in all trees, by causing the sap 
to be more highly elaborated when the communication is inter- 
cepted, than it is in other trees and branches whose vessels are 
saturated with moisture of the worst kind, which they have been 
compelled, as it were, to suck up; rain, perhaps, at a temperature 
of 33°. Whilst the leaves hang on the tree, they are constantly 
at work on it; there is no such thing in the laboratory of Nature 
as a drone: for if a leaf could be idle it must die, every leaf 
having a debtor and creditor account to make up for every mo- 
ment of its existence; it draws from the air and earth, and elabo- 
rates and returns the same in different shapes substantial and 
aeriform. As it is therefore necessary to supply this set of organs 
with proper food, it must be very evident that frosty rain cannot 
be the suitable sauce to be taken with it; and here lies the 
greatest blame in allowing it to fall in drenching torrents on the 
fruit border as long as it happens to continue, instead of allow- 
ing the border a moderate quantity just when it wanted it, and 
that, too, at a mild temperature : and though I may be told that 
the border is well drained, and that the surplus. water soon runs 
off and never can stagnate, I maintain that the safest course 
would be, noft to let it run on. 

In order to secure the expanded blossoms and newly set 
fruits from the deceitful frosts of April and even May, the 
keeping of the trees at night perfectly dry must be greatly in 
their favour. This is attained by the roof only: and, as the wind 
is generally from the north in frosty weather, the ft uit corridor 
will have one half less fresty wind at all times than the common 
wall; and the grower who wishes to shut it out altogether may 
use rick cloths on rollers (see Gard. Chron. for a plan of pre- 
paring it waterproof) by night and during storms, and roll 
them up at other times under the coping of the corridor, secur- 
ing them there by loops of cord. I had used to roll up bunting 
in this manner under the coping of the peach walls at Alderley, 
Cheshire, and found it answer admirably and at little expense; 
yet it yielded little or no protection from rain to the leaves and 
blossoms, and none whatever to the roots in the border. 

The peach-growers in the northern counties have to struggle 
sorely and against the stream; for the whole system of the tree 
is soft and watery from want of sun and dryness to elaborate and 
harden the proper juices, and thus bring it into a state fa- 
vourable to the reproduction of its kind. We may prune and 
train after all the various fashions, and anoint with embrocations 


of all kinds, and we may waste fuel in flued walls to ripen the 
a 2 


276 Construction of Fruit Corridors. 


wood, and all in vain; for the trees must have their native warm 
earth and mild air better imitated than it is now, before they 
produce fruits as their ancestors did in the better country. As 
bottom heat is so very favourable to exotics of all kinds when 
properly applied, surely it needs little logic to show that bottom 
cold must, on the contrary, be highly injurious; and the first 
grand stride in making our climate milder is, to endeavour, if 
possible, to get the elements under our control, by shutting 
out the foul weather and concentrating the fair. When it is 
taken into consideration that a fruit corridor with pillars of 
oak or even iron, and a roof of tile or slate, may be erected for 
the cost of a common south wall, and, in many instances for 
less; that it will yield a delightful promenade when the trees are 
in blossom or in fruit; and that it will afford superior facility for 
keeping fruits late, by having blinds in front for netting them 
from birds, and, if necessary, by latticework shutters for pro- 
tecting them from thieves; I flatter myself that this system will 
be found to benefit the fruit-grower greatly. 

Let no one imagine that this is some airy flight of fancy which 
never has been, and never may be, realised, for I must be al- 
lowed to state that there have been corridors here for half-hardy 
shrubs these twenty years; and it is because their uses and 
capabilities for culture are not sufficiently known by either gen- 
tlemen or gardeners that I have troubled your readers with this 
paper on the subject. I must confess that I had no idea how much 
the south sunshine alone, and the shelter from the north storms, 
would accomplish in the way of flowers, before I experienced it 
here. 

I have known many a crop of melons lost by their running 
to leaf and not to flower-bud, from their roots being left at 
large to wander where they pleased, and from getting too much 
water; whilst plants from the same sowing, but confined and 
stunted in the nursing-pot, showed flower freely. The pine- 
apple is kept in a high temperature, and the soil is allowed _ 
to get very dry, to induce the plants to show fruit; and 
what does this amount to, but that they elaborate more 
highly the sap in their half-succulent stems till it becomes 
rich enough to secrete the rudiments of a bud for the repro- 
duction of its kind? From the humble vine of the melon up 
to the wall tree, the same principle holds good, and though the 
failure is often laid to other causes, I think, in a great many 
instances, I can show the source of the evil. Our heavy rains 
at such low temperatures as to be little better than snow water, 
and our want of sunshine, produce in trees and other plants 
what are very properly termed “ watery shoots,” that is, long- 
jointed soft green wood, which seems'to me to bear the same 
relation to the true wood of the tree as the milky fluid in green 
barley bears to the hard grain; and, as we cannot create sun- 


Culture of the Tomato, or Love- Apple. 277 


shine to elaborate such an amount of water into proper rich 
sap, we must endeavour to control the element that we have 
power over, and curtail in the first instance the water, so that it 
may bear a right proportion to our limited supply of sunshine. 

Earth being also under our control, the roots must not be 
allowed to run wild all over it, and be fed with any scraps or 
slops that may come in their way, but be confined to a definite 
space, and kept in every respect under control as to quality of soil, 
drainage, and roofing; for, among other advantages that some 
vine borders possess (those of Sir Simon H. Clarke, for example), 
the roof of reed covers over the leaves and dung is, perhaps, 
not the least essential, especially to the early ones. But to 
return to the wall trees: in order to make these tractable, I 
am convinced that a space of fruit border 12 ft. by 6 ft., and 
18 in. deep, is more than sufficient for a full-grown peach tree; 
which small space may be readily roofed as above described : 
and when the fruit border is placed on brick arches and con- 
fined by walls of the same, beveled to form a bed for the earth 
of the form of the frustum of a pyramid inverted, the seasons 
will have extremely little to do with the crop, as all the elements 
will be under control as much as in a stove, and it will be the 
fault of the conductors, and not of the climate of any county in 
England, and even a great part of Scotland, if wall fruit be 
scarce any longer. 

Alton Towers, Easter Monday, 1842. 


Art. XII. On the Culture of the Tomato, or Love- Apple (Lyco- 
persicum esculéntum), so as to insure a Crop in cold Situations and 


dull wet Seasons. By C. B. 


Or this plant, which is a native of South America, and was 
introduced into this country in the year 1596, there are three 
or four varieties, namely, the erythrocarpum, or red-fruited ; 
the chrysocarpum, or yellow-fruited ; and the leucocérpum, or 
white-fruited ; with a globe variety, &c. Of these, the red- 
fruited is held in the highest estimation, on account of its su- 
perior size and beauty. It is cultivated extensively about Naples 
and Rome, for the use of its fruit in sauces, stewing, and soups, 
and is one of the most common articles used in Italian cookery ; 
it is likewise very much used in France, as well as in our own 
country, making an excellent sauce for fish, meat, &c. It is 
cultivated to a considerable extent near London, there being 
scarcely a gentleman’s garden, either large or small, in which 
the love-apple may not be found growing and bearing fruit in 
abundance ; although very often the fruit will not ‘come to ma- 


turity in cold situations and bad seasons, owing, in a great mea=— 
Tr 3 


278 Culture of the Tomato, or Love-Apple. 


sure (as I suppose), to the seeds not being sown soon enough 
to allow the plants to acquire sufficient strength in the spring for 
turning out. ‘The way that I cultivate mine is this. In the first 
week of December I sow a little new seed in a 32-sized pot, in 
light sandy soil, and place the pot upon a hot-water pipe where 
there is a nice gentle heat kept. When the plants get well up 
I move them to a shelf near the glass in a pine-stove, whence 
the air comes nearly upon them (being a hanging shelf that is 
placed at the back part of the house, nearly close to the roof). 
When they have made partly two rough leaves, I prick them 
out into pans about 2 in. apart each way, placing them upon the 
pipes till struck, and then remove them to the shelf again till 
they become strong enough for potting one plant in a large 60- 
sized pot; and I afterwards shift them, so that their roots may 
not become matted in the pots, giving plenty of water in the 
spring. A little sheep-dung water sometimes greatly assists 
them. As the spring advances, they must be gradually hardened, 
previously to their being planted out. When the weather is 
warm enough, I plant them out against a south wall, if possible, 
particularly in a cold situation. 

I am aware that they are successfully grown near London, 
and in warm sandy soils, trained against palings and espaliers, 
and even will have fine fruit if allowed to run upon the ground 
like the vegetable marrow ; but my pian is for a cold situation, or 
a bad season. I do not like growing the lovea-pple between fruit 
trees, as they rob the ground of much of its nutriment, besides 
being inconvenient for my mode of ripening the fruit. 

Happening to have a south wall about 4 ft. high, running 
along my melon ground, I had a trench taken out about 3 ft. 
wide and 2} ft. deep, and afterwards filled it up with good rich soil. 
When all is ready for planting, I take the soil out to receive the 
plants at a distance of from 4 ft. to 5 ft. apart, and put them in 
so as to allow a large hand-glass being put over each for a time. 
By growing the plants as large as possible before planting out, 
they have the advantage of the summer for ripening their fruit. 
When the glasses are removed, I nail them to the wall, using 
large shreds, to allow plenty of room for the stem to swell. In 
training they may either be nailed with an upright stem with- 
out stopping, and the side shoots horizontally, about 15 in. 
apart; or they may be trained fan-shape in the first instance, 
and afterwards perpendicularly at 1} ft. distance, taking care to 
pinch out all laterals that may not be wanted, close to the stem, 
and not before a joint as frequently done (which causes great 
confusion, by making the laterals grow stronger, and shade the 
fruit with the thick foliage produced by cutting), and retaining no 
shoot but the three principals. In hot weather they should be 
duly supplied with water, giving them a little dung-water occa- 


Culture of the Cucumber. 279 


sionally ; and about the middle of September they should have 
all the late fruit blossom and laterals (if any) taken quite away, 
and the leaders stopped, and sometimes by ending a leaf that may 
shade the fruit will be of use. The shoots should be examined 
to see that they are secure, as the fruit now will begin to be 
heavy. When this is all finished, I get a number of spare 
frame lights, and place them before the plants, securing the 
lights to the wall by string, so that the wind cannot act upon 
them. If I have not lights enough, and the nights should be a 
little cold, I place sticks ina sloping direction against the walls, 
and cover the plants with mats every evening, uncovering them 
as soon as convenient in the morning. By this treatment I have 
had the fruit both very fine and early, and I scarcely need add 
nn during the autumn, there will be several gatherings of ripe 
ruit. 

You will be surprised to hear that there are gardeners, even 
in these days of cheap knowledge, who will not profit by the 
Jabours of others, either by reading or observing, but must go 
on in their own often obsolete way, yet such is the fact ; for if 
any thing new and rather out of the common way be shown 
them in the shape of drawings, articles on culture, &c., they 
will flatly tell you they are deceptions, and that they want no 
** new-fangled systems.” Many gardeners that have seen my 
love-apple plants this year will say: ‘‘ Biess me! you are pre- 
cious soon with the tomatoes. Why, they will be a great deal 
too soon,” &c. I say: *“* How so? What time do you sow your 
seed?” “Oh! not before March or April.” “ What sort of 
a crop had you last year?” Lask. ‘ Oh! I got none, they 
did not ripen; they were too Jate.” So, you see, they show 
their own blindness. ‘* Well! will you have a few plants ?” 
“* Oh! yes, I will take a few; I begin to see you are right.” 
Now, it is evident, by my neighbours’ own account, that my me- 
thod is worth a trial; because last year they had no fruit them - 
selves, and I had a good crop, and a few to spare to give away. 
I am sorry that some are so very sceptical, and think too much 
of their own ways; to such I would say, “ Give things a fair 
trial, and prove before you condemn.” 

April, 1842. 


Arr. XIII. Culture of the Cucumber. By N. M.T. 


Atmost every person claiming to be a gardener has his cucum- 

ber bed in some form or other, where he grows what he is 

generally pleased to call his own sort, after his own fashion ; 

most frequently in the old-fashioned dung-frame, which still 

holds, and is likely to hold, its place, notwithstanding the deluge 
T 4: 


280 Culture of the Cucumber. 


of substitutes and systems that annually profess to surpass this 
and all else. These systems, whatever may be their respective 
merits, are worse than useless to the generality of cultivators, 
as they usually require apparatus to carry them into effect too 
expensive for people of limited means; and, whether they are 
better adapted for such as have the requisites at command, it is 
not for me to determine. Directions for these modes are so 
superabundant, that even a chapter upon the subject would be a 
work of supererogation, and in me of presumption: therefore, 
my remarks are designed solely for the use of non-professionals, 
for such as are single-handed, or even for those who have other 
avocations, that render the attention requisite to produce cu- 
cumbers in March or April almost an impossibility. Such 
persons are often unjustly branded with neglect, and deprived 
of the rewards of much anxiety and attention, by circumstances 
for which they are not to blame, and over which they have no 
control. 

Numbers of men are engaged as gardener and groom; that 
is, they are expected to perform properly the duties of groom, 
and after that to make the most of the garden that their time 
and abilities may admit. Such persons, having manure at 
command, are generally expected to grow cucumbers. It was 
the answer given by a very intelligent person of this class, to the 
question why he had given them up, that led me to pen these 
remarks; and, as no one understands the difficulties of any 
station so thoroughly as he who has experienced them, I prefer 
giving the answer in his own words: ‘I gave up growing 
them,” said he, “from finding success a mere matter of chance ; 
and that my trouble was often in vain by the loss of my plants, 
even when upon the eve of cutting, and the loss occasioned by 
treatment beyond my power to remedy. I am often called 
away for a whole day at an early part of the morning; in such 
cases it is impossible to say what the day may turn out, and I 
must either leave my plants in darkness during my absence, or 
uncover them and give air at a time that is unseasonable. 
Should the day prove fine, there may not be much the matter; 
if otherwise, my plants are in little better condition than if they 
were growing in the open air. In a gloomy morning, if I leave 
them shut up, and sunshine follow, they are sure to get scorched ; 
and, in either case, loss and disappointment are sure to succeed.” 
Now, it is as a remedy for this that J detail the practice which I 
have followed during the past and present season; and I see no 
reason why I should ever abandon it, as success is more certain 
by it than by that generally followed, while the necessity of 
constant attendance is altogether dispensed with. 

From the time that the bed is in good condition, and the 
seed sown, until the season is so far advanced as to render the 


2 


Culture of the Cucumber. 281 


production of cucumbers a matter of no difficulty, the sashes of 
the frames are never (save to perform some necessary operation) 
raised to admit air; nor, during the most intense sunshine, is 
shading of any sort ever applied. The frame is also closely 
glazed, and in perfect repair: this I consider essential to suc- 
cess; open laps, or any sort of dilapidation, by allowing ingress 
of air and escape of moisture, would render this plan as liable 
to casualties as any other. The frames are also set so far south- 
east as to meet the rays of the sun directly in front, between 
nine and ten o’clock; this is, for the practice followed, much 
better than due south, as the plants are dried of any moisture 
that may rest upon them before the sun is too powerful. ‘This 
position also makes the most of the sunshine that may occur at 
an early part of the day, when its influence would be little felt 
without such an arrangement; while the effects of the meridian 
rays, so often injuriously powerful, are, by the oblique direction 
so given, much qualified. Due south is probably the worst 
position in which to place a glass case for any horticultural 
purpose. 

When speaking of the early sun drying the moisture frome 
the plants in a frame placed south-east, I would be understood 
that the globules of moisture that may be concentrated upon 
them or the glass covering are dispersed, set in motion, and 
taken up by the surrounding air, which, let it be remembered, 
contains moisture in proportion to the degree to which it is 
heated ; and, in the close system, upon this alone the safety of 
the plant depends; as, by the time the temperature reaches 
100° or 130° (a frequent occurrence), the leaves may be said to 
float in liquid, to retain which around them the close entire 
frame mentioned is necessary. If the moisture, in any con- 
siderable quantity, escape, that upon the frame and surface of 
the mould soon gets exhausted, and a ruinous drain commences 
upon the foliage of the plants; drooping or flagging being the 
immediate consequence, from the whole nourishment required 
being drawn from the roots, instead of being in greater part 
supplied by the atmosphere through the leaves. Nor is the 
injury thus inflicted repaired when the frames are shut up, and 
the leaves have assumed their ordinary position, although it may 
appear to be so; for the arid, exhausting, and foodless atmo- 
sphere so destructive to vegetable, so genial to animal, life, inva- 
riably creates myriads of those pests that prey upon debility 
and disease, which are unquestionably the effect, instead of, as 
is usually assumed, the cause; and it is no small recommenda- 
tion to the close system, that it maintains an atmosphere destruc- 
tive to animal life, one, in fact, which is usually recommended 
to be kept up for a short time as an effectual means of extermi- 
nation, 


282 Culture of the Cucumber. 


It is but justice to add, that the frames so treated are placed 
over two 4-inch hot-water pipes (see the section of the boiler 
and pipes in fg. 27.); and these pipes are sunk 2 ft. beneath 


Fig. 27. Section of Botler and Pipes. 
% 


the ground level, and are used to connect a vinery with the 
boiler that supplies the water to heat it. A cavity is formed for 
this purpose over the 
pipes; upon the top 
of this the dung, to 
the usual extent, is 
placed, and the air 
circulated from the 
front to the back by 
pipes placed for that 
purpose, after Penn’s 
excellent | manner. 
(See the section of 
they pit in fie) 28.) 
It is possible that the 
advocates of conti- 
nual airing may con- 
tend that the whole Fig. 28. Section of Cucumber-Pit. 

success of the plan depends upon this arrangement; but others 
have succeeded without it. So far as the circulation of the 
air is concerned, it may as effectually be accomplished by 
simply using a wooden box of the breadth of the bed, to be laid 
upon the ground, with a hole cut a few inches from each end, of a 
proper diameter to admit the ends of an iron, or, what is much 
better, an earthen, pipe, of the requisite length, so that, when 
finished, the whole may appear as shown in fg. 29. ‘This is an 
improvement and a saving of materials in any bed heated by 
fermenting substances; as heat engendered in any part of the 


Culture of the Cucumber. 283 


mass readily finds its 
way to where it can be- oe 
nefit the plants, without j 
being compelled to force ( 
through the soil con- 

taining the roots, at the 

risk of burning them. 
As the pipes are pro- 
posed to be placed with- 
in a few inches of the Fig. 29. Section of Cucumber-Pit, with Air-box. 
extremities, the heat from the linings is sooner felt, and greatly 
economised, and any impurities that it might contain rendered 
innoxious by being, as it were, filtered through the pipes. The 
whole of this applies with equal force to the culture of melons ; 
but these are more commonly under the care of the profes- 
sional gardener. 

It must be evident that, by never giving air, a great saving of 
attendance and materials is effected; as the heat sufficient with 
a close frame would be inadequate were it opened. As any 
rank steam or impure air must be fatal when closely confined, 
it is preferable, as a precaution against this, to have the mate- 
rials forming the bed thoroughly sweetened, and rather old, 
depending for heat upon the linings: I have seen no instance of 
damping with this method, and damp was the only enemy that I 
apprehended when it was undertaken. Freedom from damp 
at an early part of the season may in some measure be attri- 
buted to the pipes, which must tend to qualify damper mate- 
rials; and an atmosphere heated by combustion and fermenta- 
tion is, iN my Opinion, requisite to grow cucumbers, melons, or 
any other class of plants, with certainty and economy. Heat 
produced by fire may be regulated to meet the vicissitudes of 
the seasons without any waste; but the climate so formed no 
attention can render equal to that produced by the decom- 
position of substances that give out gases teeming with the 
constituents of plants; and the facility with which they imbibe 
gases that so surround them, either to their destruction or 
benefit, renders this deserving of more attention than is gene- 
rally bestowed upon it. Still, heat supplied by these alone is 
not easily economised, as the uncertainty of the weather in so 
variable a climate as that of Britain makes it necessary to expend 
a great deal in waste; as it is evident that a great redundancy 
must exist in mild or sunny weather, if the same is competent 
to maintain a sufficient temperature in sudden cases of severity, 
which often occur without an hour’s notice. A bed, previously 
only warm enough, is sure to chill, perhaps destroy, the plants, 
during the day cr two that must elapse before any fresh appli- 
ances can take effect; and when they do take effect, the circum- 


284 Culture of the Cucumber. 


stances that so imperatively called for them are, in all probability, 
reversed, and any extra excitement useless. ‘The management 
of these beds, therefore, independently of the risk of losing the 
plants, becomes a matter of difficulty, incompatible with economy, 
and renders a moderate dung heat, and the means of adding in 
cases of exigency by something producing immediate effect, 

most desirable; and the cost of materials requisite to form a 
single lining would purchase fuel enough to procure a crop of 
cucumbers “during a whole season. But then the cost of an 
apparatus to effect this stands out as a bugbear, and to have a 
good one would no doubt cost a trifle ; still, it is no such deadly 
affair, as I may prove by an expedient that I was forced to acon 
in January, 1838. 

It will be in the recollection of many, that 1837, up to its 
close, was unusually mild, the external thermometer at Christmas 
being about 50°, followed by an unexampled severity that sunk 
the temperature to zero in a few days. With an external 
temperature of 50°, my bed was in the best possible condition ; 
but the sudden change produced a sad reverse, requiring an 
immediate remedy. In my search to find something to accom- 
plish this, I fell in with an old circular sheet-iron stove, such 
as was formerly used in workshops, &c., having a piece of cast iron 
placed upon the grating to hold the fuel. As the case was 
desperate, I had this piece of cast iron taken out, and a tin 
boiler of the same form substituted; to this, as usual, a flue and 
return-pipe were attached, and a small cistern, as feeder, placed 
upon the top, as represented in the accompanying section. 
(fig. 27.) The pipes, that a smali surface might be exposed 
to the open air, were only 1 in. in diameter, until they entered 
the frame, when they were joined to others 3in. in diameter. 
The whole of this was constructed and at work within a few 
hours of the time that it was projected, at a cost of 15s., the 
stove excluded; and, although made of such materials, to meet 
the exigencies of the moment, it lasted the rest of that, and the 
whole of the following season, performing its work admirably, 
and that at a cost for fuel not worth mentioning; indeed, there 
is more thrown upon the rubbish heap during a season, in any 
household, than would amply suffice for such a purpose. Coals, 
from their tendency to cake, burn hollow, and so go out, are not 
manageable. Cinders, with a mixture of coal-dust, chips of 
wood, and old tan to make up with, do best; and, as the water 
in the boiler is in no place more than from half to three quarters 
of an inch in thickness, incredibly little fire is required to niake 
the water boil, which may be accomplished in a few minutes, and 
the fire then damped and left for twelve hours. So little fire 
being required, it is hardly possible to keep the water from 
boiling, and a frequent supply to keep the pipes full is requisite; 


4 
F 
A 
: 


Foreign Notices: — West Indies. 285 


but this is the only inconvenience arising from the waste caused 
by boiling, and no accident can happen, as it will be seen that 
the water is in an open vessel. It would not be advisable for 
any person, save for a trial, to have an apparatus of such mate- 
rials, as the same made of copper would last a lifetime. 

In mentioning tin, I have merely related the facts as they 
occurred; and conclude by remarking that cucumbers so grown 
bear longer than such as have their roots more excited by the 
strong bottom-heat which is necessary; the roots also find their 
way to the extremities, where they are burned and injured by 
the continual addition of hot linings. 

I need only mention a mistake that occurs (p. 217. line 32.) 
in the printing of my paper upon the vine, to insure its correc- 
tion. ‘ The temperature has occasionally, during sunshine, 
reached 100°, without any disposition in the plant to blow”; 
which ought to have been, “ without any disposition to flag, or 
droop.” ‘To speak of growing vines, deemed and treated as 
*“‘oross feeders,” without roots, must appear sufficiently ridicu- 
lous; but the facts are as stated. Another month has elapsed 
without any perceptible difference between that and the other 
plants in the house; and the fact,-or rather the enquiry, that so 
forcibly presses itself upon the attention is simply this: If the 
others are benefited at this stage of their growth by their roots, 
would not this feel the want of them ? 

Folkstone, April 9. 1842. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. I. Foreign Notices. 


WEST INDIES. 


Extracts from the Correspondence of Edward Otto, during his Voyage to Cuba, 
and his Abode there, (Continued from p. 236.) — My hopes of acquiring a richer 
booty on the southern coast of the island were but sparingly realised. The Eu- 
ropean winter is felt here, not indeed by cold (as we have more than 20° Reaum. 
during the day), but by the death-like sleep of vegetation occasioned by the 
long continued drought, which even kills or paralyses the lower order of 
animals, which only can exist among green leaves and blossoms. The botanist 
and zoologist console themselves in anticipating the month of May, the 
favourite month of the year in the Island of Cuba, as well as in Germany. 
The road from the harbour to Trinidad de Cuba is bordered by hedges of 
bromelias enclosing fields and plantations; and among the bromelias are seen 
many plants of Erythrina Crista galli, and a small fan-palm, which, for the 
present, I must call Thrinax parviflora, as I have unfortunately not a good 
Species Plantarum with me, and I can find none that comes nearer it in 
Swartz’s Flora Occidentalis. 1 have seen this palm on both sides of the road, 
and even on the road itself, in immense numbers ; they are from 6 in. to 5 ft. 
in height, and it was extraordinary that not a single one bore fruit. The 
natives could give me no information respecting them, or whether large tracts 


286 Foreign Notices : — West Indies. 


of them, which had the appearance of having been burnt, had been destroyed — 
by the heat of the sun or by fire. The circle of their ideas seems to be con- 
fined to coffee and sugar. 

The hills near the city are rocky, and almost entirely covered with Opintia 
hérrida. My efforts in search of Cacti were not rewarded, and, indeed, I 
found, to my great sorrow, that this part of the island was more meagre in 
new and rare plants than the northern portion already explored. Tuberous 
and bulbous plants were nowhere to be found. My zeal was redoubled, but 
in vain ; and the burning heat of the sun was considered so injurious to health, 
that I was obliged to shut myself up in my abode from 11 o’clock in the 
morning till 4 in the afternoon, and my excursions, therefore, from Trinidad, 
could only extend to the environs of the city. 

The only thing I found new here was dearly bought. The Guwad is a tree 
from 4 ft. to 8 ft. inheight ; with beautiful dark green leaves, having a brownish 
tinge round the margin. The blossoms are small, of a bluish brown, and hang 
like loose bunches of grapes at the points of the shoots, or even on the stem 
itself, as it has seldom branches. This tree is frequently found near small - 
rivers, particularly in barren and stony places, and in the savannas. Some, § ft. 
in height, may be seen in the immediate vicinity of Trinidad, and no one ventures 
to cut them down, as their bad properties are so well known. In the savanna 
near the city, I saw, on the 12th of March, a specimen of this tree 4 ft. in 
height in full flower. Quite delighted with the sight, I cut off the top, and also 
some shoots from another specimen, and laid them all with the other plants 
which my negro carried. A dark brownish green sap flowed from the wounds 
of the shoots and stained my hands. On returning home I arranged the col- 
lected blossoms, and found I could not remove the stains on my hands by 
means of soap and a brush, and when I made the natives understand my griev- 
ance, they told me I might be glad I had come off with my life, because, 
although some were only injured by touching the sap, others, again, by merely 
coming in contact with the tree, or by passing near it, have experienced fatal 
effects. About noon on the day I touched the sap I experienced a painful 
burning on my face and arms, and particularly about my eyes, and it became 
greater towards evening. My sleep was tolerably placid, but what was my 
horror on awakening to see my face most dreadfully swollen, my eyes project- 
ing far out of their sockets, and I could only see a faint glimmer of light with 
the left! A tormenting itching and burning came all over my body, and I 
found it was quite time to send for medical aid. Bleeding, washing with 
water from a decoction of the blossoms of the JAlva, a bath, and 12 leeches 
on my eyes, were the expedients the doctor resorted to; the swelling abated 
towards evening, and the following day I was able to see. The swelling was 
quite gone in the course of five days, and it was followed by a breaking out of 
a red colour all over the body, resembling that in the scarlet fever. I then 
had a bath in which there was put a proportion of brandy, and, as there are 
no wells in the town, the water was obliged to be fetched from a brook, about a 
mile off. When the redness and burning disappeared I might have been taken 
for a native, as I could hardly be distinguished from a mulatto. Experience 
is, indeed, of much value, but this one was outweighed by extreme pain, several 
days of idleness, and great loss of money. The medical man who attended me 
charged eight dollars for eight visits ; bleeding, half a dollar; medicine, five ; 
and the twelve leeches, seven dollars four reals (about eleven Prussian rix- 
dollars.) The blossoms and twigs of the Guao, which I sent among the other 
dried plants without a botanical name, are certainly of some value, and I re- 
commend great prudence in examination.* I was told that this plant is used 
officinally in the cholera and yellow fever, but in this respect I did not wish to 
renew my acquaintance with it. 

My stay in Trinidad was in every respect unpleasant, and as I could not 


* I ascertained, afterwards, that this tree is the Comocladia ‘licifolia of 
Swartz. 


Foreign Notices: — West Indies. 287 


expect to be benefited by a longer visit, I set out by the steam-boat to Bata- 
bano, thence to St. Felipe on horseback, and to Havanna by the railroad. 
The steam-boat was the most miserable I was ever in. The food wretched, 
and hardly fit to be eaten on account of the rancid olive oil; and sleep at 
night, our only enjoyment, was disturbed by mice and rats, and insects 
an inch and a half long, of the beetle kind, which had a disagreeable smell, 
and bit us dreadfully. On the 23d of March, about three o’clock in the 
afternoon, we arrived in Havanna, but were obliged to wait till six for our 
luggage, as the Spaniards did not choose to exert themselves for the pas- 
sengers, expecting to derive more profit from the next train. 

My next excursion from Havanna was to Chimborazo, on the 26th of 
March, not, indeed, the lofty mountain of that name in the New World, 
but a plantation belonging to M. Vignier, the partner of our consul 
M. Sthamer. It is situated in a beautiful country, and from the adjoining 
hills you can see the sea beyond the southern coast of the island. The 
avenues in the plantation, and those leading to the dwelling-house, consist of 
oreodoxas, between which are oleanders in flower, Cupréssus sempervirens, 
Cycas revoluta, Amaryllis rutila in flower, and a very peculiar full-grown 
cereus ; an assemblage, which, to us at least, is extremely rare. The plant- 
ation, I was told, consisted of about 80,000 coffee trees; on an average each 
tree bears about 2lb. of coffee, and some of them produce 6lb. Oranges 
and bananas are cultivated for the family, and tobacco and pine-apples prin- 
cipally as articles of sale. I did not find anything new in the neighbourhood, 
but I saw with delight an oncidium in flower, which is neither O. altissimum 
nor O. luridum, and I think I have seen it figured in some orchidaceous 
work, and, if Tam not mistaken, it was called Cavendishwz. After a stay of 
six days, I returned on horseback to Milena, and from there to Havanna by 
the railroad ; the latter is about nine French leagues from Chimborazo. 

A letter of recommendation to M. Souchay and his lady, a native of 
Libeck, brought me to the plantation of Cafetal Angerona, district of Cata- 
bajus, in the interior of the island. We arrived here on the 2d of April, 
after a very tiresome and tedious journey, on account of our ignorance of the 
roads that lead to the plantation, through Artemisa, a small district about a 
league from the end of our journey, where we were obliged to sleep the pre- 
vious night. Angerona is the largest plantation in Cuba. It is three quarters 
of a league long, and is divided by an avenue of palms, from the centre of 
which an avenue with four rows of palms leads to the dwelling-house. This 
avenue measures 1,960 ft., and each row of palms consists of exactly 100 of 
the most beautiful of these plants, 30 ft. high, planted fifteen years ago by 
the uncle of the present proprietor. The dwelling, which has been lately 
erected, is situated on a small elevation, and resembles a palace. Not far distant 
are the abodes of the 400 negroes which belong to the plantation, houses for 
the manager, the overseer, the magazine, the smithy, the wheelwright’s pre- 
mises, two prisons, stables, and many other buildings; all of which form a 
considerable village, and, being protected by a fortification, make a considerable 
impression upon a stranger. It is also provided with an hospital and a 
laboratory, under the management of a German, Dr. Imm. I found vegetation 
here in a state of winter sleep, on account of the extraordinary drought ; the 
ground had cracks in it a foot wide, the meadows were as yellow as our ripe 
corn fields, and most of the trees were stripped of their leaves. 

On the 19th of April I went with the family of M. Souchay to Tabureta, 
their country seat, among the Cusco hills. It is about six miles from Ange- 
rona, and is situated on the river St, Juan, ina valley between two high hills. 
The country is beautiful ; and, after four days’ incessant rain, Nature seemed 
to recover herself, and several trees and shrubs began to show their blossom- 
buds, I find more plants for the herbarium ; and I hope soon to be able to 
send some home alive, as, until now, bulbs and tubers were concealed in the 
ground. Amaryllis rutila, bulbs of which I have already sent home, is seen 
all over this neighbourhood most splendidly in flower. Ihave eaten the 


288 ; | Retrospective Criticism. 


fruit, when cooked, of Séchium edule here, and thought it very good; it 
resembles our pumpkin, but is not quite so soft. Pisang is baked in the 
ashes, when in an unripe state, and is eaten with fresh butter; when ripe, it is 


cut in slices, and baked with butter. It is also used, when unripe, in broth, — 


with meat; but I prefer it when ripe and sprinkled with sugar and eaten with 
a sweet sauce. Should I find any pisang on my return home, I should like 
to give a proof of my knowledge of cookery. 

T have several times found a dark and light variety of Oncidium altissimum 
in flower here, and I have seen the flower-stalk 8 ft. long, hanging down to 
the ground from the tree on which the plant grew. The eye is delighted with 
the aspect of the forests on the mountains, from 600 ft. to 800 ft. above the 
level of the sea,and which become gradually increased in height as they recede, 
A hill of a moderate height in the neighbourhood is entirely covered with 
pepper, the same species which Moritz and La Guayra sent to the garden, 
and which Ihave always considered to be the well known P. adincum. P. 
umbellatum Jacg. is also very abundant here. There is a palm here 
which very much resembles Oreodoxa régia, but seems to be different, from 
its seed being much larger. We shall probably be here some time, perhaps 
even to the middle of June, and I earnestly hope it may be the case, as there 
is less of the fever peculiar to the climate here; and about this time of the 
year it begins to rage in Havanna and on the adjacent sea-coast. (Garten- 
Zeitung, 1839, p. 218.) 


Art. Il. Retrospective Criticism. 


APPARENT Increase in Magnitude of the Sun when rising and setting. — The 
reason given by Mr. Torbron, in page 191., for the greater apparent magnitude 
of the rising and setting sun over that luminary when vertical, is equally un- 
satisfactory with the one given in page 100. When at school I recollect my 
teacher explaining the phenomenon thus. The denser the air through which 
an object is viewed, the greater is the apparent magnitude of that object ; and, 
as all are aware, the nearer the earth’s surface the denser is the air, the higher, 
the more rarefied: therefore, when that glorious orb, the sun, is rising or 
setting, it is viewed through the greatest extent of dense air, consequently, it 
is magnified ; and, as it advances towards a vertical position, its apparent mag- 
nitude lessens in proportion to the increasing rarefaction of the air througi 
which it is viewed. Again, when it passes its vertical position, its apparent 
magnitude increases in proportion as the density of the air through which it is 
viewed increases. 

By the same rule, when distant objects appear larger (such as hills, trees, 
&c.) than usual, the increased density of the atmosphere is the cause, and 
certainly rain will shortly follow the phenomenon; and when they appear 
smaller than usual, fine weather may as certainly be expected. — L. Stephen- 
son, Gardener to D. Maclean, Esq., M.P. Witton Castle, Bishop Auckland, 
April 13. 1842. 

The Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith. (p. 199.) — Your valuable corre- 
spondent, Mr. Brown, has done justice to this interesting subject ; but I could 
wish he had said something more on the Grey Friars’ churchyard. There is 
no churchyard in Scotland that possesses half the interest of this hallowed 
area. It is surrounded by a belt, if I may so speak, of architectural tombs, 
that for singularity in some instances, gorgeous magnificence in others, and 
imposing magnitude in general, are not to be paralleled in the United King- 
dom ; and yet many of these tombs, especially those set against the backs of 
the houses which form Candlemaker Row, are in a state of dilapidation dis- 
graceful to the city. Some of the finest of them are being rent asunder by 
the growth of young trees, which are springing up in the crevices of the stones. 
—J.S. Edinburgh, April, 1842. 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
JUNE, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, 


Art. I. The Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas: con- 
taining, 1. Report of the Committee; 2. Engraving and Descrip- 
tion of the Monument, with a Copy of the Inscriptions ; and 3. List 
of the Subscribers. 


I, REPORT OF THE DOUGLAS MONUMENT COMMITTEE. 
Read on the 29th of April, 1842, before the General Committee. 


Tue labours of the Committee, which commenced on the 23d 
of Noy. 1835, being about to close, it may be proper to take a 
very brief view of its proceedings, with the result to which they 
have led. 

In the outset, high expectations were entertained of the 
liberality of the public in conferring marked respect on departed 
genius, which had contributed so much to the advancement of 
botanical science, and to the flora of Europe, and which had 
perished in the undertaking ; and, under these expectations, a 
plan or scheme was proposed for perpetuating the memory of 
Douglas, and for conferring a benefit on his relatives. To 
carry out this view, Subscription Papers were forwarded to the 
most influential botanists in Britain and Ireland, but the returns 
were much more limited in their lists of contribution, than was 
expected. 

On the 6th of May, 1836, the Committee issued circulars 
calling in all Lists of Contributors’ Names by the first of July 
following, when, at the earnest request of J. C. Loudon, Esq., of 
Bayswater, London, the period was lengthened, and through 
the exertions and influence of that gentleman from 80/. to 90. 
were added to the funds. In August, 1836, a proposal was 
made by some subscribers in England, to confine the subscrip- 
tions chiefly to the benefit of the two sisters of the late Mr. 
Douglas, who were consulted on the subject; and at a meet- 
ing of Committee, held on the 19th of August, to take the pro- 
posal into consideration, their minute bears, that ‘ they do not 
consider themselves authorised to sanction any separate contri- 

3d Ser.—1842. VI. U 


290 Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


bution, which, they have reason to believe, would not be agreeable 
to the Douglas family.” 

The extended range which Mr. Loudon gave the Subscrip- 
tion Lists, and the general notice called to the subject through 
France and Germany as well as Britain, induced the existing 
Committee to avail themselves of a previous regulation in adding 
to their numbers for forwarding the undertaking, and sharing 
the responsibility; and, at a meeting of the Committee on the 
24th of February, 1837, several practical gardeners’ names were 
added to the Committee. It was also thought advisable to so- 
licit the countenance and cooperation of some of the higher 
classes; and the zeal and efficiency by which Colonel M. Bel- 
shes of Invermay had promoted the interests of the Perthshire 
Royal Horticultural Society pointed him out as one likely to 
forward the interests of the undertaking, and the result has 
amply justified the anticipation. Sir P. M. Thriepland, Bart., 
too, a warm friend of the Perthshire Royal Horticultural So- 
ciety, with Lord Stormont, then member for the county, were 
also nominated as members of Committee, and, on being written 
to, they cordially agreed to become members. 

After this every means was used to promote the subscription 
throughout Perthshire, and some influential agricultural bodies 
were memorialised on the subject, it will be seen with how little 
effect, when it is stated that the sums which reached the trea- 
surer’s hands amounted only to 161/. 12s. on the 12th of July, 
1839, on the whole. 

After some unsuccessful applications for ground on which to 
build the monument, it was resolved at a meeting of Committee 
held on the 22d November, ‘‘ that the monument should be 
erected in the churchyard at Scone.” 

On the 10th of June, 1840, a Sub-Committee was appointed, 
Colonel M. Belshes of Invermay, convener, to negotiate with the 
heritors of Scone as to the site, and to take charge of the work 


as it proceeded. Great praise is due to the heritors for the liberal. 


spirit in which they met the wishes of the Sub-Committee. 

On the 29th of July, 1841, the Sub-Committee, having previ- 
ously settled with the heritors as to the site, and with the Messrs. 
Cochrane as to the erection of the monument according to the 
design furnished by them, and approved of by members attending 
at a general meeting of subscribers, met at Scone churchyard 
‘¢ for the purpose of depositing, near the foundation, memoranda 
that may tell the men of far distant ages of the passing events 
of the present day.” Colonel M. Belshes, whose chaste taste, 
untiring zeal, and sound judgment, have rendered the labours 
of the other members of Committee comparatively easy, depo- 
sited, in a cavity made in a stone for the purpose, a paper con- 
taining a portrait and biographical notice of the late Mr. David 
Douglas, furnished by J. C. Loudon, Esq., Bayswater, a copy 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 291 


of the Gardener’s Gazette of the 24th of July, the Perth Constitu- 
tional of the 28th of July, with other papers and memoranda ; 
and, at the request of the colonel, Mr. Gorrie deposited in the 
same cavity the gold and silver coins of the present reign ; an ac- 
count of which, for the satisfaction of subscribers, appeared in the 
Gardener’s Gazette, and Gardener’s Magazine for 1841, p. 477. 

After several visits the monument was completed to the satis- 
faction of the Committee, and favourably reported on by a 
document bearing date 14th of October, 1841, by Mr. Mac- 
kenzie, Perth town’s architect. Mr. Cochrane was thereupon 
ordered payment of his account. ‘The sum in the treasurer’s 
hand, with interest thereon, was ascertained, and in terms of 
the original advertisement the Sub-Committee ordered a litho- 
graphic drawing of the monument, with copies of the inscrip- 
tion (one thousand of each), to be made out for distribution ; 
500 copies of which they ordered to be transmitted free to Mr. 
Loudon, for subscribers through him. They also ordered circu- 
lars to be sent to those who had forwarded Subscription Lists to 
the treasurer in Scotland, informing them that the drawing and 
inscription were ready at Perth for distribution. [See Advertise- 
ment on the cover of the Gardener’s Magazine for the present 
month, and inthe Gardener’s Gazette and Gardener’s Chronicle for 
May 28. 1842.] 

Of the merits of the design of the monument, of its execu- 
tion, or of the drawing and inscription, it is not for the Com- 
mittee to say any thing; they trust, however, that they are such 
as may meet the approbation generally of the subscribers. 

It was originally intended to publish a list of subscribers’ 
names ; but from the imperfect manner in which that list has 
been in some instances furnished, and also from the very limited 
state of the funds, that, as well as the original design of the 
monument, the Committee were obliged to dispense with. 

The Committee have lodged in the Perth Bank 10/. at com- 
pound interest, as a fund for keeping the monument, with its 
surrounding iron rail and pavement, in proper repair in all 
time coming, under the management of the sheriff of Perth- 
shire, the minister of the parish of Scone, and the proprietor 
of Murray’s Hall for the time being, as a perpetual Committee 
for that purpose. ‘The deposit receipt being in the mean time 
lodged in the hands of Robert Whigham, Esq., sheriff of the 
county of Perth. 

The Committee have ordered a copy of the lithograph and 
inscription to be sent free to each of the brothers and sisters of 
the late David Douglas, of which they beg their kind acceptance. 

By desire of the Committee, 
J. Murray BELSHEs, 
Chairman. 
u 2 


292 Monument in Memory of the Botanist Dougtas. 


Fig. 30. Portrait of David Douglas. 


[In the Gardener's Magazine for 1836, p. 602., there is a bio- 
graphical notice of Mr. Douglas, in English, French, and Ger- 
man, with a portrait, which is considered, by those who knew 
Douglas, to be the best likeness of him which has yet been 
published. We here repeat this portrait (jig. 30.), for the 
sake of those subscribers who do not possess this Magazine for 
1836. There is also attached to the biographical notice refer- 
red to, a list of the plants introduced by Douglas, and then in 
the country in a living state, amounting to 198 species: but as 
several species have since been raised from seeds taken from 
Douglas’s collections of specimens, which were not known of 
at that time, he may be considered as having added in all above 
200 species to the European flora. (See Hort. Trans., 2d series, 
vol. ii. p. 373.) ‘The name of Douglas is associated with all the 
rare and beautiful plants lately (1836] introduced from North- 
west America; and which, by means of the Horticultural Society 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 293 


of London, have been extensively distributed, not only in Britain, 
but over Europe, and those parts of North America where they 
are not indigeneus. To him we are indebted, not only for many 
valuable timber trees, some beautiful ribeses, and other orna- 
mental shrubs, but for the elegant clarkia, the different species 
of pentstemons, lupines, cenotheras, and a host of other orna- 
mental ligneous and herbaceous plants, which now adorn our 
gardens; and which have formed, and still form, the great 
attraction of the several botanical publications wherein they have 
been figured and described. In short, if we only imagine the 
British gardens deprived of the plants introduced by Douglas, 
we shall find them but very little farther advanced, in point of 
ornamental productions, than they were a century ago. One 
great advantage of the introductions of Douglas, independently 
of their beauty, is, that they are, with but one or two excep- 
tions, not only able to stand without protection, but very hardy ; 
and, consequently, from ripening seeds in abundance, they are 
calculated for ornamenting the garden of the cottager equally 
with that of the prince, in Britain, and the central districts of 
Europe.” ] 


il. ENGRAVING AND DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT, 
WITH A COPY OF THE INSCRIPTIONS. 


The lithograph (to a copy of which each subscriber of 1s. 
is entitled) is about 10 in. high, by 74in. broad, within the 
boundary lines, and is very superiorly executed in the line 
manner. The monument, of course, occupies the centre of the 
picture, and is exactly of the same height and breadth as fig. 31., 
which gives as accurate an idea of it as the lithograph. 

The erection is in all 23 ft. high, placed on a rising ground to 
the north-east of the church, and nearly in the centre of the 
open ground between the east boundary wall and east end of 
the church, which, though built within the present century, is a 
plain Gothic building, without any of that superfluous gewgawry 
which disfigures many of our newly built places of worship. The 
simplicity of the style of building of the church, and the hum- 
ble and monotonous appearance of the surrounding gravestones, 
lend a peculiar attraction to the monument, the summit of which, 
from the elevated nature of the ground on which it stands, 
tises about 3 ft. above the level of the roof of the church, 
and forms a striking object from the public road leading from 
Perth to Coupar Angus, which passes through the village of 
New Scone, and about 200 yards to the south of the church- 
yard, which is situated at the west end of that beautiful village. 

The monument is built of the famous Kingoodie stone, a 
species of bluish grey sandstone, taking a fine polish, and which 
has been long known to be of great durability. The whole of 

v3 


294 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


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Fig. 31. Monument to the Memory of David Douglas. 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 295 


the monument is composed of this beautiful stone, except the 
marble slabs containing the inscriptions, which are as follows: 


(PRONT PLATE. ) 


ERECTED 
BY THE LOVERS OF BOTANY IN EUROPE, 
IN MEMORY OF 


DAVID DOUGLAS, 


A NATIVE OF THIS PARISH ; 


WHO, FROM AN ARDENT LOVE OF SCIENCE, AND A DESIRE TO PROMOTE 
THE IMPROVEMENT OF BOTANY, 
VISITED THE UNEXPLORED REGIONS ON 
tHE BANKS oF rut COLUMBIA, ann SOUTHWARD vo CALIFORNIA; 
WHENCE 
HE TRANSMITTED A GREAT VARIETY OF THE SEEDS OF 
VALUABLE TREES AND FLOWERING PLANTS 
ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE OF GREAT BRITAIN : 


AND 
WHO, AFTER DEVOTING TEN YEARS OF THE PRIME OF HIS LIFE 
IN ADDING TO 
THE ARBORETUM AND FLORA OF EUROPE, 
SUFFERED 
AN ACCIDENTAL AND LAMENTED DEATH IN ONE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS, 
ON THE 12TH JULY, 1834, 
IN THE 35TH YEAR OF HIS AGE. 


ENDOWED 
WITH AN ACUTE AND VIGOROUS MIND, 
WHICH HE IMPROVED BY DILIGENT STUDY, 
THIS EMINENT BOTANIST 

UNIFORMLY EXEMPLIFIED IN HIS CONDUCT 

THOSE CHRISTIAN VIRTUES 
WHICH INVESTED HIS CHARACTER 
WITH A HIGHER AND MORE IMPERISHABLE DISTINCTION 
THAN HE JUSTLY ACQUIRED 
BY HIS WELL-EARNED REPUTATION FOR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. 


A DUTIFUL SON, 
A KIND AND AFFECTIONATE BROTHER, 
A SINCERE FRIEND; 


HE SECURED BY 
THE RECTITUDE OF HiS MORAL AND RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES 
NOT LESS THAN BY 
THE BENEVOLENCE OF HIS DISPOSITION, 
THE ESTEEM AND REGARD 
OF ALL WHO KNEW HIS WORTH. 


Sa Pe a EDS 


u 4 


296 Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


(REAR PLATE, ) 


THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW OF THE NUMEROUS 


TREES, SHRUBS, AND ORNAMENTAL PLANTS 
INTRODUCED 


BY DOUGLAS. 


TRERES. 
ACER CIRCINATUM. CRATHGUS DOUGLASII. PINUS AMABILIS. 
MACROPHYLLUM. . PINUS LAMBERTIANA. MENZIESII. 
AMELANCHIER FLORIDA. PONDEROSA. DOUGLASII. 
ARBUTUS PROCERA. NOBILIS. 
SHRUBS. 
BERBERIS AQUIFOLIUM. RIBES SANGUINEUM. 
GLUMACEA. SPECIOSUM. 
GARRYA ELLIPTICA. RUBUS SPECTABILIS. 


GAULTHERIA SHALLON. i 


ANNUALS, BIENNIALS, AND PERENNIALS. 


CLARKIA PULCHELLA, GILIA TRICOLOR. 
CLINTONIA ELEGANS. NEMOPHILA INSIGNIS. 
COLLINSIA GRANDIFLORA. IPOMOPSIS ELEGANS. 


LUPINUS POLYPHYLLUS. 
ESCHSCHOLTZIA CALIFORNICA. 
DOUGLASIA NIVALIS. 
ETC. ETC. 


Ill. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 


1. Subscriptions sent direct to Perth to the Treasurer of the Committee, Archibald 
Turnbull, Esq. 


ES & Gb Ea Ws 
John Ross, jun., Perth - 05 0 Mrs. Davidson, Collace - = o®@ Tt & 
Sergt. James Clark, 12th Royal Taneers 050 J. Smith, Hopetoun House - - 050 
Ww. Moyes, Seggieden - - 05 0 J. Smith, ditto - 6 es - 026 
Thomas Bishop, Methven Castle - 050 
J. Edward, Dunsinnane - - - 020 Collected by Mr. Hannan, Drumlanrig Castle. 
William Beattie, Scone - - - 050 
James Young, Cairneymill - - 050 Edward Sang, Drumlanrig Castle - 010 
James M‘Beath, Dunira - - 050 William Hastings, ditto - - - 010 
John Dick, Ballindean - = o 0) 5 Oo G. M‘Ewan, ditto = = - 010 
John Maxton, Stormontfield - - 010 0 G. Erskine, “ditto - S o = (0 ded 
Archibald Turnbull of Bellwood - 100 James Thorburn, ditto - - = 0 10 
D. M‘Lagan, Potterhill - - - 0 26 J. Hiddleston, ditto - 5 = 0 £0 
Daniel Clark, Pitcullenbank - - 050 Alexander Lee, ditto - - oor al (i) 
C. Sharpe, Pitfour = - - 050 William M‘Intyre, ditto - - -,.0 10 
J. Robertson, Kinfauns - = - 0 5 0 John Melrose, ditto 5 = SM i 
Arch. Gorrie, Rait = - - 050 Malcolm Carmichael, ditto - - 0 6 
J. Lawrie, Inchmartin - - - 0 5 0 James Singland, ditto - - =) O>aianO 
Mr. Mareton, Scone - - - 0 5 0 David Nicoll, ditto - - - 0 1°70 
Mr. Will, Errol - - 026 James Hannan, ditto - - 050 
Alexander Bisset, Methven Castle - 050 Mr. Fergusson, Carron Hill House = (O8256 
Alexander M‘Duff of Bonhard - os O10 0 Mr. Gibson, Enoch Mill - - - 010 
Alexander Pirie, Freeland - - 050 Mr. Baxter, Thornhill - 5 - 0 sie 
Right Hon. Sir G. Murray, G.C.B. - 1 1 0 #£Mr. Hunter, Thorton Mill - - 010 
John Chrystal, Scone - c ao ® 2 6 Mr. Shaw, Drumlanrig Castle - - 010 
J. Paton, Kingswells = - - - 0 1 6 Peter M‘Dougall, Thornhill = - - 010 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


Collected by Mr. McNab, Botanic Garden, 
Edinbur gh. s , 
S. 


His Grace the Duke of Devonshire - 5 
Joseph Paxton, Chatsworth - - 

Professor Graham, Edinburgh - 1 
William M‘Nab, Edinburgh Bot. Gard. 0 
Charles Lawson, Edinburgh - - 1 
Eagle and Henderson, ditto - - 2 
Jonathan Hedley, Lancashire - - 0 
George Geggie, ditto - - - 0 


eccoococe 


Collected by Fould and Lymburn, Kilmarnock. 
Fould and Lymburn - 5 
William Tillery, Fullerton House 
John Morton, Kilmarnock - 
George Hay, Dunbeath House 
James Young, Holm House 
Hugh Loudon, Symington 
Robert Flight, Alsop - 

H. C. Hart, Kilmarnock 

A. Malcolm, Williamfield 

J. Thomson, Kilmarnock 
Gavin M‘Ghie, Bellfield - 

A. Rose, Eglinton Castle 

R. Fergusson, Elmbank - 
William Melville, Dunlop House 


80 op 8 ps bes 
ooocoocoocec‘“;oooeo 
Ree ee ee eee eee 
oocooocoocoooooeo 


O00 O00 oO 0 00 0 abo v 


Collected by William Webster, St. Mary’s Isle. 


‘William Webster, St. Mary’s isle 
J. Crosbie, ditto - - 
David Landsborough, ditto - 
William Rellochan, ditto 
James M‘Connichie, ditto - 
John Smith, ditto - a 


ootrot @ 
cooooeso 
pak ee et et Or 
oococo 


Collected by George Anderson, Millearne. 


J. G. Home Drummond of Millearne 
G. Anderson, ditto O 
William Anderson, ditto 

Henry Allan, ditto - 
D. E. Robertson, ditto = 
J. M‘Farlane, ditto Oo 


coooco 


Collected by Messrs. Ballantyne and Son, Dalkeith. 


Ballantyne and Son - - 
George Elliot, Dalkeith - - 
James M‘Donald, Dalkeith Park 
George Stirling, Melville Castle - 
William Richardson, ditto - 
William Stirling, ditto - 
James Kiddie, ditto - 
James Clark, ditto - 
Robert Greenfield, Dalkeith 
Thomas Dirling, ditto - 
William Marshall, ditto - 
Walter Symington, ditto 

R. Greig, ditto - ~ 
James Wallace, ditto - 
Francis Binnie, Bowhill - 
John Matthieson, ditto - 
Thomas Noble, Lasswade 
James Innes, ditto - 


Robert Hill, ditto = 
Mrs. Shepherd, ditto - 
Miss Steele, ditto - - 


Robert Shaw, Dalkeith Park 
Robert Watson, Moredun 
James Frazer, Glenesk - 
Alexander Fowlis, Potting 
James Robertson, ’Kirkhill 
Peter Carapbell, Dalhousie Castle 
J. Boston, Drumhouse - - 


Mr. M‘Gregor, Lasswade - 
Alexander Cockburn. Dalkeith - 
Benjamin Taill, ditto - - 


Walter Simpson, ditto - 
James M‘Gill Rae, Newcastle Abbey 
Thomas Robson, Dalkeith Park 


ScooocooocscoosoSoSssooeSoSSoSoSoCSoSSSOSSSSeSSsS 
RI DD OT E HSH DOO Sd ODO EPH See OOS See ee See ooo 
SARTOAASGSOSOAASSOSSSCOSCOSOSCSSCSCSOSCSSSSESSSoSo 


John Robson ditto. 
James Cairncross, ditto 
James M‘Lean, ditto 
William Ogilvie, ditto 
James Smith, ditto 


297 

ES & Gh 
@ i @ 
010 
Ovi @ 
010 
MQ 2 @ 


Collected by Mr. Dallachy, Haddo House. 


John Dallachy, Haddo House 


Alexander Gallow, ditto - 
Archibald Gorrie, ditto - 
A. Gordon, ditto - 
William Laurie, ditto 
Charles Hutton, ditto 
A. Munden, ditto 
Peter Forbes, ditto 
John Smith, ditto 


Collected by Austen and M‘Auslan, Glasgow. 


Austin’and M‘Auslan - 
Moses Brown, Glasgow - 
James Brown, ditto - 
William Mill, Kenmure - 
William Scott, Sandyfaulds 


James M‘Intyre, Buchanan 


Richard Watson, Hillend 


William Stuart, Gilmore Hill 
Robert Denholm, Woodhall 
James M‘Donald, Dalbeath 
William Lambie, Aitkenhead 


A. Wilson, Castlemilk ~- 


roo Rp oO oO 


George Jeffrey, Nursery Cottage 


A. M‘Millan, Whitehill - 
Duncan Wright, Greenlaw 
William Cowans, Cadder 


James Hardie, Castle Temple 


P. Donaldson, Finnart - 


William Rankine, North Park 


A. M‘Millan, Possil House 
John Cramb, Golfhill  - 


Thomas Ormiston, Germiston 


Donald Lindsay, Rosedoe 
J. Carr, Dowanhill 5 
Robert Thomson, Glasgow 
R. Thomson, jun., ditto - 


J. Cruickshank, Killermont 
Thomas Carswell, Drumpelier 
A. Glover, Newton Stewart 
Thomas Smith, Pinfillan, Thornhill 


John M‘Leod, Eccles, Thornhill 


John Davidson, Maxweltown 


Glasgow Botanic Garden List. 


Sir W. J. Hooker - 
Stewart Murray, Glasgow 
Daniel Fergusson, ditto 
D. M‘Gregor, ditto 
Archibald Fowler, ditto 
Robert Davidson, ditto 
Adam Robertson, ditto 
Alexander Caie, ditto 
James Dalgleish, ditto 
David Orr, ditto - 

J. Niven, ditto  - 
Andrew Turnbull, ditto - - 
James M£Donald, ditto - 
Peter Lumsdain, ‘Ireland 
William Lumsdain, ditto 
H. Colquhoun” - 

J. Scoules, M.D., Dublin. 
J. J. Mackay, ditto - 
David Moore - 
James Gunning, Dublin - - 
J. Gunning, ditto 
J. Bain, ditto - 
William M‘Indoe 
Thomas Matthieson 
George Reid 
Christopher Reilley 
Thomas Ahern  - 
John Byrne - 


cooscoocoo 


oe 


ecococecoeoocoscococecoooocooeooec“eso 


ocoocoocoocooococoescoooossescsseceorF 


= 


Ree eS eet OO 


BOD A G77 ED ED OO HB a et Fs ed 8 9 0 00 OO 00 OO £9 89 FO O79 89 1H 0H Or 


a 
WUSSCONANT HERE HERE SRE BOR 


Pet fet es G7 7 OT LO LO 


Sococoangn 


SS COAARGCSOOBDAAAMAIAIAARNAAIRINOAAMAAOO’ 


SSoscocoanancoaanncoqooooooooooonone 


298 Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


: Ls. di 
Daniel Nelson’ - - - ) 
anielNeon “= > 938 LawreneeNiven ome = BBB 
ERGEHV Aiken ; z a reat - sae aw, Rothiemurchus - - 050 
FARES 5 : z epteto a n Caie, Campden Hill = - 05 0 
Henry Boyle S : : Sag HouO " aries Stewart, Househill - - 026 
SOHREaR eur ; wane rchibald Wiegetnoneey Atop CEES ES 
Peter Scott, Drumcondra - - 050 parece Day p 
Hugh se : 3 : RA Charles Frazer, Ireland - - - 010 0 
J. Scott - = - - - 020 
Thomas Woods - - - - 010 : 
N. Niven = i z s 0 10 6 Collected by Sir P. Murray Thriepiand, Bart. 
POTGE Cainpbell 5 5 ae 2 3 Stuart M. Thriepland, Esq. = - a 
RamssvAtbercy - e z cg he William Peddie, Perth - - - 050 
Gececicamus - z E eoenito Lawrence Craig of Glendoick - - 010 0 
Philip Melmal - i 5 He QelT NO Sir P. M, Thriepland ~ - - - 110 
EPS TRe Go lastar i = 5 SOMO Robert Sutherland, Pitcairnfield - 100 
Ww _Simson iz fi s FiQ uO William Toss, Collace - = - 050 
” M‘Cullogh 5 : 3 St omas Drummond, Perth - - 026 
iawvones c z ri 2 J. Dodds, Scone Palace - - 
ReNayoune ‘ < : a Y ‘ Earl of Mansfield, Scone Palace | = 3 } D 
3, Kirwan, ae = = Seeck pore ae Castle - - 100 
omas Mahon - - - 026 HAO tt IBS ij |) 
G. Roddin, Santr House - - 
He pcelih, Phoenix: Park - - - 0 
omas Bridgeford, Ball’s Brid = Coll 
ihn co uo ; ri ge ; 0 5 0 ‘ lected by Mr. M‘Culloch. 
ohn Grant, Braghead - : = ames hot given i 
Alexander iAMTiSGn - - - 3 8 D hone f a Bie 
Edward Carrol, Raherry - - 0 26 
Sent without names, upwards of - 400 Collected by Mr. Gorrie. 
Miss Catherine M. Th 5: 
Collected by William Pearson, Cally. Be Clark, Perth ie ete 0 3 0 
ohn Brough, Kinross - - A 
water Pearson, Cally, Gatehouse of James Ballingall, Perth - 2 : 0 10 0 
ee’ ES 5 zi uist, E es 
Francis Kinghorn, ditto - = = D i D Thomas Williams, Beltast 2 = 010 0 
pemice Stake ditto = 3 - 010 Ge ne PEON Perth | a A 0 5 0 
ndrew Kyle, ditto ~ fi i ol. Murray Belsh ; x 
was Ror On, ditto = - 0 i 0 pady Gray. Bae trae J i 0 ; 
ames Henry, ditt - - - ames G z 
weve Lithgow, dito - a = ° A 4 ae e; Graham of Garvock i E 5 3 
ohn Maxwell, ditto e % Lo) i 0) r. Stewart, County of Meath a 
A. Cowan, ditto - - - - } ke 
Ne Halford, ditto - - - D 0 3 
ames Hanney, Cai - - F li 
Witton ney {oaunmans : : 0 2 0 Collected by Drummond and Sons, Stirling. 
dam M‘Marran, Kirbuchtree - - 0 1 6 Drummond and So 
6 v c " Z 3 > 
eae arider Me Marra; ditto is Ser iany you) Eetet M‘Kenzie, Plean - 5 s i : 
‘ - 0 ames D 
James Ewart, Newton Stewart - - 0 ? 0 James Cari poell Arden Foor i 0 i 0 
Pee ca aEReN ate 2 5 =) i 0) James Thomson, Ochtertyre - = 01 g 
, ditto - - = i 
Robert Spark, ditto = > = Olen D. LEGuis ange z peo 
‘ é 020 Montgomery, Buchannan - - 
Thomas M‘ Adam, ditto - - - 0 20 J. M‘Lellan, Kei oeaie 
John Mitchell, ditto - a Chao ECan co 2 ote 
Ewing Glover, ditto — - - 5 (0) i 0) James Smith, Powis = a z 01 a 
James Stewart of Cairnsmore - - 010 0 : 
William Maxwell of Cardo - 2110) (5100 : 
avid Credie, Gatehouse - - li 
Reick ane ee ; 5 z P Collected by William Laird, Dundee. 
George Dodds, Galloway House - 050 Wy Tuan au Dundee - - 026 
iiam Laird, ditto - - - 050 
David Easson, Camperdow - - 
Collected by Mr. Connelly, Lancaster. James J amiesons aoaecen - - 0 3 e 
Mrs. Colonel Ponnington, Lancaster - 010 0 G. Barry tasers ie - 2 5 
wae iy Di Reath, ditto - - - 0 5 0 James Laird Maan f z 0 i 0 
iss Robinson, ditto 7 5 - 050 ‘Thomas Taylor, Browhead a 3 
T:. Connelly 2 ci = =O MOO Charlee Clark ; - a - E 5 2 
. Brown - - - - = 10) 206 
A Friend - = o - By 
Collected by J. Adair, Dumfries. a Elorist 2 - 2 - - 0 i 0 
From Seventeen not named - - 310 0 W. M. a > 2 : : 3 i 0 
Johann Gutz - - - i 010 
MK Te x E z E 
Sent direct to the Treasurer. a Huiend - - - - S 0 i 0 
0 terson - - 
Mr. Cockburn, Caenwood - - ‘3 Tai z =) ells 
E Maxton, Middlesex - - - i 3 ° mace i : i pee 
ames Carnegie, Blairgowrie - - a 
William Drummond, Balthayock - 0 3 6 oe mee 
Robert Fish, London —- - 050 issi i i 
John Campbell, Reltiehe x =o 8 oO Omissions, if any, wile corrected in a future 
umber. 


om 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


299 


2. Subscriptions sent to London to J.C. Loudon, Esq., and by him transmitted 
to the Treasurer at Perth. 


M. Patterson, Heligan, St. GSTS 
Cornwall 

R. Glendining, Bicton ‘Gardens, near 
Exeter - 

James Duncan, Basing Park, Hampshire 

J. Denson, sen. - 

James Cuthill, gardener at Dyrham 
Park - 

John Warter, under-gardener at Dyr- 
ham Park - 

Daun Ingram, journeyman at Dyrham 
Park - - 

Benjamin Kingshot, journeyman at 


Dyrham Park - S S s 
John Coltart, Rotham Park, flower- 

gardener - - o 
Thomas M‘Dougal, Ber EEO encl) 

Rotham Park - - 


Capt. John Minors, Exeter - 
William Turner, Bury St. Edmunds 8 
Botanic Garden - - 
Mr. Main, Chelsea - - = 
N. J. Baron, Esq., Drewton - 
T. Rutger, Park IOS, Teddington, 
Middlesex - 
James Carton, Syon Gardens 
James Taylor, ditto, foreman 
Thomas Mote, ditto - 
Alexander Forsyth, ditto 
William Loader, ditto - 
Lawrence Seher, ditto - 
James Stone, ditto - 
Thomas Chapman, ditto 
James Richardson, ditto 
William Wesley, ditto 
John Custon, ditto 
John Wallace, ditto 
Charles Simmons, ditto 
James Taylor, ditto 
James Templeton, ditto 
John Kirk, ditto - 
Richard Pearce, ditto 
Robert Kemp, ditto o 
Mr. Carter, Budleigh, Salterton 
Mrs. Durant, Bicton oO S 
Lady Rolle 
T. Hunter, Esq., Budleigh Salterton, 
Devonshire, by Mr. Glendining - 
Mr. Cornish, ERSID, near Exeter, by 
ditto - - - 
Andrew Stewart, “Chatsworth 
Charles Edmonds, ditto - 
Peter Marnock, ditto - 
Edward Kemp, ditto - 
William Wilson, ditto - 


. 


000 0D Dg 0 
Phere Wet Fook hed Jey eeu Foe ee )etad Ione oC ait eet Joe eed amet ost } 


Chee 4 Jan d Re ST ee et Sg bea at Foe yt bes eae al tt 


bya 


Peter Bark - 

Eugene Melinon, from ‘the Paris Bot. 
Gard. - - - - . 

Octavius Barton, apprentice  - - 

James Baily, ditto c 


J B. Whiting, Kiplin, near Catterick 
William Wilkins, THLE BREET Isle of 
Wight - - - 
Andrew Toward, hhead-gardener : at Bag- 
shot Park 5 - 
John Standish, journeyman, ditto - 
William Smith; ditto, ditto - - 
Frederick Cherryman, ditto, ditto - 
Henry Godfrey, ditto, ditto = - 
George Mechie, apprentice, ditto - 
T. Lamb, gardener, Hurstbourne Park, 
Hants - - - - - 
Mrs. Plimsole, Bicton - - - 
Mr. Hamley, ditto - - 
Mr. Park, Paris Street, Exeter - C 
Mr. Crages, gardener to Sir T. D. 
Ackland, Killerton - 
John Ford, gardener to —— “White- 
bread, Esq., Fonthill, Bedfordshire - 
John M‘Donald, gardener to Lord 
Cartwright, Hawns, Bedfordshire - 


£ 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
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% 


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Thomas Parkins, Cannon Hall - 

Mr. Webster, gardener, Sandy Place, 
near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire - 

John Fox, under-gardener, Normanton 
Park, Rutland - - - 

W. A. "Rowland, metallic-wire manu- 
facturer, Chester - 

Collected at the Horticultural “Dinner 
at Truro by William Tweedy, Esq., 
and Lieut. George Pooley, R.N. - 

At the Horticultural Dinner, Falmouth, 
by ditto - - - - - 

W. B. Booth = = 

J. Mitchinson, gardener at Pendarves - 

J. Grills, under-gardener at ditto - 

A Lady 'at Carnborne  - 

F, Welsh, under-gardener at ditto, in 
a letter from J. Mitchinson - - 

C. Cobbold, Esq., Pres. of Ips. H.S. - 

J. Hind, treasurer, ditto - . 

T. Savage, Ackenham - 

C. M‘Pherson Roy, gardener to the 
Rev. Mr. Edgar - 

W. Woollard, Sec. I. H. ‘s - - 

R. Paterson, seedsman and gardener - 

H. Laundy, Journ. Gard. - 

In a Letter from R. ARE seeds. 
man, Ipswich - 


James Clark, gardener, Whiteh aven 
Castle - - - 
James Bell, Lowth er Street, White- 
haven - - 


John Thompson, Relswick House - 
William Sawers, Pres. of the WIGS 
haven H.S. - - 
William Rundleson, Croft Hill _ , 
R. F. King, surgeon - - 
James Dare, draper, Workington - 
Robertson ropiowene, ironmonger, 
ditto - - 
W. Grisdale, Flora Villa - - 
Joseph Walker, High SEGH St. 
James’s - 
William Miller, ditto, ditto < - 
Jos. Miller, ditto, ditto - 
Rev. Henry Lowther, Dislington Rec- 
tory 
John Pennyfeather, gardener, ‘White. 
haven Castle. (In the Tannen Zamily) 


for 70 years) - 
George Buckham, Flora Villa - - 
John Walker, yeoman, Rollington - 
James Steel, mason, Whitehaven - 
John Gibson, tea-dealer, Roper 
Street - 


R. Armistead, Rolicitor! (In a letter 
from James Clark, Gardener, White. 
haven Castle) - 

List, &c., received by C. Pullar, gardener 
to J. Goldsmid, Esq., Champion 
Hill, Surrey, (sent to Longman’s) - 

C. Pullar, gardener, ORO Hill, 
Camberwell, Surrey - > 

James Jones, journeyman, ditto. - 

T. Smith, gardener to J. TAG LENEEO 
Esq., Camberwell - 

George Fleming, gardener to ik Rank- 
ing, Esq., Dulwich — - - - 

J. Scott, journeyman, ditto - “ 

T. Mossman, ditto, ditto 

J. Sadler, gardener to J. Fisher, Esq, 
Denmark Hill House - - 

D. Milns, journeyman, ditto - 

J. Coutts, gardener to N. F. Hebbert, 
Esg., Dulwich Hill House’ - 

WwW. Mutton, gardener to S. Phillips, 
Hea Champion Lodge, Denmark 

1 - - - = 

The Duke of Bedford - 

G. Gordon, foreman of the Hort. Soc. 
Arboretum - - - - 


5 Go Oh 
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0 5 


0 


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300 


Collected by J. Pope and Sons, Nurserymen, near 


Birmingham. 


J. Pope and Sons 


Secretaries to the Bir- 
daGreeh,.- § mingham Botanic ana 
F, >€ Warwickshire FL. S. 


D. Cameron, Cur. eee Bota- 
nical Garden - a 

T. Williams, gardener, Holford - 

J. Mowbray, Lower SEE Wee 
hampton 

T. Aston, Moxley, Bilston - 

Mr. Prinsep, gardener, Hilton Park 

J. Allen, ditto, Wolverhampton 

Mr. Jackson, ditto, ditto - 

Mr. Wright, ‘ditto, ditto - 

W. Ratcliffe, ditto, ditto = 

T. Smith, florist, WOMEN 

Mr. Massey, ditto - - 

Mr. Gardner, ear uay Ellows, near 
ditto - - - 

Mr. Walford, Wimborne 

Mr. Pullen, gardener, Park Grove, Bir- 
mingham 

Mr. Dudley, Wolverhampton 

Mr. Fairchild, gardener, ditto 

Mr. Horton, gardener, ditto 

P. Law, innkeeper, ditto 

Mr. Diggery, constable, ditto 

Mr. Henney, ditto - 

Collected at the Tamworth Floricul- 
tural Exhibition, Aug. 3. - 

Mr. Beddard, gardener, Enville | - 

W. Mussell, gardener, Moseley, near 
Birmingham - - 

C. Ebdral, gardener, Birmingham 

Mr. Britten, ditto - - 

E. Hill, ditto = 

J. Moone, nurseryman, Perry Barr. 

T. Beech, ditto, Birmingham - 

J. Webster, gardener, Moseley Hall 

E._ Ricketts, Berdener, SORELY) 
House - 

Mr. Carpenter, gardener, Moor Green - 

S. Wyatt, Handsworth Nursery > 


Collected by Mr. D. Cameron. 


W. Adderley, journeyman, Birming- 
ham Botanical Garden - 
T. Bird, ditto, ditto 
R. Thomas, ditto, ditto 
T. Jones, ditto, ditto 
R. Phipps, ditto, ditto 
J. Goodall, ditto, ditto 
R. Leigh, ditto, ditto - 
TN pen EL Or agency 
baston - G 
G. Anderson, gardener, Sandwell - 


peoreg 
Ce et et ee | 


Edg- 


Collected by John Cree, Nursery and 
Addlestone, Surrey. 


Various - - 
J. M‘Farlan, foreman, ditto - 
J. Bisset, gardener, Burwood - 
A. Gray, gardener, Botleys - 
J. Brunton, gardener, Ottershaw 
George Murray, gardener, Silvermere 


Collected in the London Hort. Soc. Gard. 


& Ss. d. 
010 6 


1 


eos cocoosSo coco cocoeoooo coo ocSooeoSeoceso coco 


ooo ocococooo 


ra 
—S eterno COS 


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He Or td te et et 


met = tt 0 OT 


Collected by James Atkins, Nurseryman, 


Northampton. 


Earl of Euston, Salcey Forest - 

J. Funnel, gardener, Overstom Park 
Ww. Logan, gardener, Althorp Park 
J. Challis, gardener, Barton Seagrave 
J. Atkins, nurseryman, Northampton 


ecocooo 


Aaa 


0 


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eonm cococscoo 


Seedsman, 


ADSAADS 


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ooooo 


Monument in Memory of the Botanist Douglas. 


Collected by Mess1s. Dickson, Chester. 


F. Dickson, nurseryman, Chester - 
H. Turnbull, foreman, ditto ~- - 
J. Princes, gardener atditto - - 
G. Walker, shopman, ditto - - 
W. Hugh, journeyman, ditto - - 
P. Hurd, gardener, Back Hall, ditto - 
NG Meredith, journeyman, at Meund’s 
J. Pass, gardener to R. Baxter, Esq., 

Chester - - 
J. Dickson, seedsman, ditto ~ - 


Through various Persons. 


J. Taylor, gardener to the eae Hon. 
Earl of Wilton 

W. Miller, gardener to the Earl of 
Shrewsbury - - 

J. Veitch, jun., Killerton Nursery - 

W. Moor, jun., Leicester 

W. W. Wake, LEGS at Woburn 
Abbey - 

C. Sutherland, journeyman, ditto 

C. Kennedy, gardener, ditto - - 

A. Killerman, ditto - - - 

R. Pitkethley, ditto 

Collected by J. D. Hextall, pookseller, 
Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Leicestershire - 

WW Orvckshenkse Barden Loe Orton 

all - 


George eenelleNe journeyman, ditto, 
ditto - 
J. Bowman, gardener, Melbourne 


Hall - - 
J. Vernon, gardener, Calke Abbey - 
J. Hextall, Ben SSEUe, ASAE ES 

Zouche - - 
J. Hood, nurseryman, ditto - 


H.C. Daves, Brocen feud druggist, 

ditto - - - 
Mr. Mammatt, ditto - - - 
W. Daves, solicitor, ditto - - 
Mr. J. Usherwocd, ditto - - 


Mr. Peddocke, solicitor, ditto - 

Collected by J. Mearns, 
Welbeck, Nottingham - 

James Loudon, Gurney Cottage | - 

Mr. W. M‘ Muttrie, SIMBOSHOUE A - 

J. Jackson, ditto - - 

John Watt, ditto - 

J. Lamb, gardener, Markeaton, Derby 

Joseph Allen, under-gardener, ditto - 

Collected by John Wilson, Gane at 
Worksop Manor - - 

By Messrs. Longman, from W. Barron, 
gardener, Elvaston Castle - 

W. Baxter, under-gardener, ditto 

D. Smith, Bot. Gard., Hull - 

A. Smith, nurseryman, Gainsborough 

Mr. Hedges, gardener, Brocklesby 

Mr. Burrell, Beverly - 

Mr. Usher, ‘gardener, South Dalton 

Mr. Usher, gardener, Appleby - 

Mr. Reid, gardener, Rise Park - 

Mr. Usher, gardener, Beverly - 


gardenet, 


Mr. Spearing, BORUE Sunderland- 

wick - - - = 
Mr. Croskill, Beverly - - - 
Mr. Press, nurseryman, ditto - - 
Mr. Patrick, gardener, Kirkilla - 


Mr. Linnan, gardener, Bishop Burton 

Mr. Ramsay, gardener, West Ella - 
Mr. Parker, Florist, York - - 
J. Wild, fruiterer, Ipswich - 


T. Latter, gardener at Priory 
Gardens, ditto - - - - 
W. Hoodard, under-gardener at 
ditto - - - - - 
Miss Watson ° - - - 
Miss Hodson C - - - 
W. Archer o = Es 
A. B. - * o = es 
T. H. and G. Gibson - - - 


Mr. Smith, in a Letter from Worcester 


oo SoseceoooR 


e 


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ivy) 


ococoocogo co ScsceoSocoSooSo coceceooosa 


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The Civetta, or Little Italian Owl. 301 


£ 5s. d. £5. d 
T. Birchmore’ - - - - 0 2 0 Count F. Harrach - - 20fn. 
A. Begbie, Beaumont Lodge - - 0 5 0 J.B. Rupprech o - ff 
M. Macqueen, ditto 5 - - 010 Kier - 2 2 = lh 
T. Ansell, ditto - - - - 010 #£4¥F Wauk = - - — 2fn. 
J. Gaul, gardener, Eton - - - 010 J. Krammer - = -  Ifn. 
J. Reid - S - - 0 5.0 £C.Riegler - - - Of. 
J. Arkle - = = - - 026 H. W. Scholt - - - 2. 
G. Patrick = = = - 026 P. Welle - - -  2f. 
From Messrs. Law and Co. = - 410 6 J. Boos - - - 2f. 
Received by Mr. William Godsall, nur- J. Haker - - - 2. 
seryman, Hereford — - - - 211 6 J. Schréder - - - 2. 
Mr. Burn, Tottenham Park - - 050 F. Schenerman - - lf. 
Mr. Perry, Sandford Priory - - 0 5 0  Peinter - - - If. 
Mr. Lindsay, Highclere - = o@ § @ = rat 
Mr. Thomas, gardener to Sir J. Holly- . (Bs 0 7 3 © 
comb .- - - e - 0 5 0 
We Sie eexdeuee Compton Garden 0 5 0 By M. J. Rinz, nurseryman, Frankfort. 
. Holland, under-gardener  - - 010 
J. Mitchell, gardener, Trimmington Collected there - - - -15 0 0 
House, Barnstable - - - 050 
ue Coss under-gardener, ditto - 026 By P. D, Falberg, Copenhagen. 
- Mallet, gardener, Rickington, ditto - 0 2 6 2 a 5 
J. Mark, gardener, AGiinetod Court - 0 5 0 a at ie ann) Exot o Bor by, o e 5 ° 
In a letter from R. Glendinning - 126 Teadey ceorers Garon z 0 BO 
Beene ayier TSE 08 6 ai) ener Ass. of the Bank - ag 3 
Moerch, botanical gardener - - 0 2 e 
< Petersen, court gardener - - 0 
FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTIONS. Ohlsen, eeedeman a f 5 2 0 
‘ intze, ditto 2 - - - 0 
Collected by M. C. Rauch of Vienna. Dannekert, ditto - a sf 292 @ 0 
Freiherr Sigmund von Prorey, K.K. wee secgemian % E 2 a 2 Q 
Kammerer, Corr. Mem. of the Lond. Giimmensteineditton oe 4 59 2 @ 
Hort. Soc. 5fcm. co - - 010 0 eniissatonrdenes z a - 040 
Johan Georg Heller, gardener to Baron Koch Fite. ‘3 a és +0 2 0 
Carl von Hiigel, 2f. - - - 04 0 Ohlsen. ditto a A = Sw i @& 
Christian Cester, gardener to Prince Eltzholtz. ditto - a = - 020 
Dietrichstein, 2f. = : ~ 0 4 0 M. Schiderdt, Copenhagen  - 50 8 © 
John K. Rosenthal, nurseryman, 3f. - 0 6 6 i Bt 
Joseph Held, nurseryman, 5f. - - 010 0 France 
Friedrick Jos, Miillbek, K.K. Militair aig 
Comissair, Bim 6 - = - 010 0 Mr. Thos. Blackie, (native of Scotland) 
Me levle, If. nes - - - 0 3 8 8. Rue des Vignes, Paris, 7f. - 0 510 
ner, If. ~ - - SS 
Joseph Stiegler, gardener to Count 101 7 4 
Mailathsike, Hungary = - 090 79 18 6 
Baron Jacquin, 5f. - - - 010 0 =e 
Charles Rauch, 5f. > = - 010 0 Total £181 5 10 


The names of a number of subscribers which ought to have appeared along with the others in the 
above list are not given; either because they have never been sent to us, or because we have lost or 
mislaid them. Should they, or any corrections to the names of persons or places given, be sent in 
the course of a month, we will print them in a supplementary list. 


Art. II. The Civetta, or Little Italian Owl.* By CHARLES 
WATERTON, Esq. 


Tuts diminutive rover of the night is much prized by the 
gardeners of Italy for its uncommon ability in destroying insects, 
snails, slugs, reptiles, and mice. There is scarcely an out-house 
in the gardens and vineyards of that country which is not te- 
nanted by the civetta. It is often brought up tame from the 
nest; and in the month of September is sold for a dollar to 
sportsmen, who take it with them in their excursions through 
the country, to look for larks and other small birds. Perched 
on the top of a pole, it attracts their notice and draws them 


within the fatal range of gunshot by its most singular gestures ; 


* See a correct description of this bird in the Ornitologia Toscana, vol. 1. 
p- 76., by Professor Paolo Savi. 


302 The Civetta, or Little Italian Owl. 


for, standing bolt upright, it curtsies incessantly, with its head 
somewhat inclined forwards, whilst it keeps its eyes fixed on 
the approaching object. ‘This odd movement is peculiar to the 
civetta alone. By it, the birds of the neighbourhood are de- 
coyed to their destruction. Hence its value to the ranging 
sportsman. Often and anon, as the inhabitants of Rome pass 
through the bird-market at the Pantheon, they stop, and look, 
and laugh at this pretty little captive owl, whilst it is performing 
its ridiculous gesticulations. 

Its flesh is relished by the natives of Italy. You may see the 
civetta, plucked and ready trussed for the spit, on the same stall 
at which hawks, crows, jackdaws, jays, magpies, hedgehogs, 
frogs, snails, and buzzards are offered for sale to the passing 
conoscenti, who frequent the bird-market in quest of carnal 
delicacies. The inhabitants of this country are apparently 
blessed with stomachs as keen and strong as that of my old 
black friend Daddy Quasshi, who could fatten on the grubs of 
hornets, and on stinking fish. Indeed, it would appear from 
what I have seen, that scarcely any thing which has had life in 
it comes amiss to the Italians in the way of food, except the 
Hanoverian rat, for I could often see this voracious and needy 
intruder lying dead in the streets, and trodden under foot. 

Thinking that the civetta would be peculiarly useful to the 
British horticulturist, not, by the way, in his kitchen, but in his 
kitchen-garden, I determined to import a dozen of these birds 
into our own country. And still, said I to myself, the world 
will say it was a strange whim in me, to have brought owls all 
the way from Italy to England; seeing that owls, ay and 
hawks too, are by no means scarce in our palaces, and in par- 
liament, and on the magisterial benches. Be this as it may, 
I agreed with a bird-vender in the market at the Pantheon for 
a dozen young civettas; and, having provided a commodious 
cage for the journey, we left the Eternal City on the 20th of 
July, 1842, for the land that gave me birth. 

At Genoa, the custom-house officers appeared inclined to 
make me pay duty for my owls. ‘‘ Gentlemen,” said I, “these 
birds are not for traffic; neither are they foreigners: they are 
from your own dear country, Ja bellissima Italia, and I have 
already strong reason to believe that they are common in Genoa, 
so that they can well be spared.” The custom-house officers 
smiled as I said this, and then they graciously allowed me and 
my owls to proceed to the hotel, without abstracting a single 
farthing from my pocket. 

We passed through the sunny regions of Piedmont with 
delight, and over the snowy summit of Mount St. Gothard 
without any loss, and thence we proceeded northward, through 
Lucerne to Basle. Here, Monsieur Passavant, the banker, 


The Civetta, or Little Italian Owl. 303 


a wormwood-looking money-monger, seemed determined that 
myself and my owls, and the rest of my family, should advance 
no farther. Having lost my letter of credit in the late ship- 
wreck, and there not having been time, after my return to Rome 
and my short stay there, to receive another from London, I was 
furnished, by the bank of Prince Torlonia, with a very warm 
and complimentary letter of introduction to Passavant of Basle, 
in case I might fall short of money on my way home; and 
Prince Canino (Charles Bonaparte), whom I accidentally met 
in Genoa, gave me another of the same tenour. But all would 
not do. I only wanted 12/., which, with what I had by me, 
would have enabled me to reach Cologne, where I could have 
got any supply of money from the good landlord of the hotel 
du Rhin. Passavant, to whom I had presented the two letters, 
and to whom I had given a full account of the unfortunate 
shipwreck, could not possibly comprehend how I could have 
the temerity to travel without a regular letter of credit. I 
offered him my draught on Denison of London. He refused to 
take it. Would he accept my watch worth forty guineas, in 
pledge, till my bill should be honoured? No. He looked at 
me, and then at the letters, and then at me again; and said 
there was something equivocal in the one from Prince Torlonia’s 
bank. He would not advance me a single sous. On making 
my retiring bow, I told him that, as I was in the habit of writing 
occasionally on natural history, I would make honourable mention 
of his great liberality in my next publication, and that, in the 
meantime, I would send ‘Torlonia a full account of our in- 
terview. * 

I should have stuck fast for meney in Basle, had not Lord 
Brougham’s brother (William Brougham, Esq.) luckily arrived 
in the town that very day. He immediately advanced me an 
ample supply. 

All went well after this, until we reached Aix-la-Chapelle. 
Here, an act of rashness on my part caused a serious diminu- 
tion in the family. A long journey, and wet weather, had 
tended to soil the plumage of the little owls; and I deemed 
it necessary, that they, as well as their master, should have the 
benefit of a warm bath. Five of them died of cold the same 
night. A sixth got its thigh broke, I don’t know how; and a 
seventh breathed its last, without any previous symptoms of in- 
disposition, about a fortnight after we had arrived at Walton 
Hall. 

The remaining five have surmounted all casualties, having 
been well taken care of for eight months. On the 10th of May, 


* Prince Torlonia, on receiving my letter, made Passavant smart severely 
for his conduct. 


304 Principles of Gardening 


in the year of our Lord 1842, there being abundance of snails, 
slugs, and beetles on the ground, I released them from their 
long confinement. 

Just opposite to the flower-garden, there is a dense plantation 
of spruce fir trees. Under these, at intervals, by way of greater 
security, I placed the separated parts of two dozen newly killed 
rabbits, as a temporary supply of food; and at 7 o’clock in the 
evening, the weather being serene and warm, I opened the door 
of the cage. The five owls stepped out to try their fortunes in 
this wicked world. As they retired into the adjacent thicket, I 
bade them be of good heart; and although the whole world was 
now open to them, ‘ where to choose their place of residence,” 
I said, if they would stop in my park, I would be glad of their 
company; and would always be a friend and benefactor to them. 

Walton Hall, May 11. 1842. 


Art. Il. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 
By G. Recet, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin. 


(Translated from the Garten Zeitung.) 
(Continued from p. 264. ) 


I. On tHE PropagaTiIon or PLants — continued. 


C. Sorts of Soil. 


CuTTINGs grow in general in the mixture of soil which is best 
suited to the mother plant; but a lighter sort of soil suits them 
much better, and in a light heath mould they root quicker and 
better than in a heavier soil, or one mixed with leaf mould or 
rotten dung and animal manure. The reason of this is partly 
owing to their drawing from the heath soil a less condensed 
nutritive sap, impregnated with scarcely any thing but extract of 
decayed vegetable matter, which, being more suitable to the plants 
that absorb it through the healthy spongioles of their roots, ac- 
cords better with the natural wants of the cutting, and not only 
prevents it from becoming sickly, but in general increases its 
vital energy. It is also well known, that in light soils the roots 
become more luxuriant, and form more spongioles, the less 
nourishment they find in their immediate neighbourhood ; such, 
for example, as those roots which are developed in a moist atmo- 
sphere, in light dry earth, sand, &c. Strewing sand on the sur- 
face of pots prepared for cuttings is done chiefly to prevent the 
growth of moss, it also adheres better to the cuttings than earth 
does. Many cuttings root better in coarse or gravelly sand than 
in earth, and the cuttings, more particularly those thickly beset 
with leaves are stuck in so that the lower end of the cutting 
is barely covered with soil. In filling the pots care must be 


» 


physiologically considered. 305 


taken to form a sufficient drainage at the bottom, and that the 
earth is not too clesely pressed down. It should also be borne 
in mind that shallow pots are preferable to deep ones. 

In the first number of the Garten Zeitung for 1840, charcoal 
ashes were recommended as the best medium for striking cut- 
tings. We do not wish to deny the beneficial influence of this 
substance on the vegetation of many plants ; and we think that 
the charcoal ashes “impregnated with humus, or as M. Lucas 
says, ashes dissolved by the air, in many cases operate favour- 
ably on the developement of cuttings, and that charcoal will act 
an important part in propagation, particularly when experiments 
have been more generally made. The theory grounded upon 
these experiments by Dr. H. Buchner, sen., on which he proposes 
to found a system of curing sickly plants, we can, however, in 
many particulars, by no means support. It is not our intention 
to refute this treatise in detail, we leave that to chemists: for we 
can only admit that charcoal has an indirect influence on the 
vegetation of plants; for the dissolution of charcoal itself, and 
the formation of nourishment for plants, verge on impossibility, 
as it is well known that charcoal is not dissolvable in water, 
spirits of wine, oils, or alkalies, nor does it undergo a change in 
the usual temperature of the air and water. ‘The opposite results 
of chemical annalyses may be explained by supposing that the 
charcoal ashes, which had been previously used, had imbibed much 
extraneous matter from the water poured upon them, and from 
the atmospheric air. The absorption of the atmospheric air, 
as Oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, carbonic acid, hydrogen, &c., is 
certainly one of the properties of charcoal, but the dissolution 
of these gases only takes place at + 80° Reaum., so that it does 
not appear that they can be transmitted to the plant by the char- 
coal. We are the more strengthened in this opinion, when we 
observe in other cases how charcoal mixed with earth for hydran- 
geas produces the very contrary effect, and changes the red co- 
lour of these flowers into blue, by withdrawing the acid. 

When used for cuttings according to M. Lucas’s directions, it 
operates first conservatively, as by its antiseptic powers it pre- 
vents decay, and consequently may be employed with great ad- 
vantage with Cacti, and other plants subject to damp off. Besides, 
the water given to the cuttings in charcoal ashes is as chemically 
pure as possible, as the charcoal partly withdraws the particles 
of humus from them; or it contains but very few of these par- 
ticles, when the ashes have been sufficiently saturated with re- 
solvable gases. The cutting is hereby forced to make use of the 
reserved nourishment laid up in its interior, and the process of 
assimilation in many cases takes place sooner, and consequently 
the formation of roots also. The greater luxuriance and stronger 
growth of the roots which M. Lucas observed may be connected 

3d Ser.— 1842. VI. x 


306 Convenient Carrier for Garden Purposes. 


with the property already mentioned of plants, viz. that of 
forming their roots more perfectly in light mould, which contains 
little nourishment. As soon, however, as the nourishment in 
the plant is consumed, if it is not taken out of the charcoal 
ashes and planted in the earth, it becomes sickly, as M. Lucas 
himself declares, which is the surest proof that charcoal yields 
no direct nourishment to plants. ‘The comparative experiments 
made in this garden entirely accord with this; the cuttings of 
quick-growing plants forming roots sooner and more numerously 
in earth than in charcoal, whereas the latter may be preferable 
for those of slower growth and ofa harder woody texture. Leaves, 
also, of different sorts of plants, developed roots trom their secreted 
nutritive sap, for the same reason, much more easily in charcoal. 
We have as yet observed no influence on the formation of a shoot, 
when the leaves are not taken off with the axillary bud. The 
results of the experiments are all carefully noted down, and, when 
they have been sufficiently carried on, they will be put together 
and lai before the reader. 


( To be continued.) 


Art. IV. Description of a convenient Carrier for Seeds and for 
other Garden Purposes. By B.H. A. 


Not having observed in your numerous works any mention of 
a very convenient utensil, which is in general use in some parts 
of the country only, I have forwarded you two of different sizes; 
which, if they meet your approval, you can figure and describe 
inthe Magazine. Fig. 32. is a view of one of these baskets. They 


Fig. 32. Seed-Carrier. 


are made like a shallow cross-handled basket, and are very 
light: the small ones are made of willow, and are exceedingly 
useful for carrying seeds at the time of sowing; they have two 
brackets, for the convenience of standing upon the ground. The 
Jarger ones, which are sometimes made to contain a bushel, are 


Quassia as a Substitute for Tobacco. 307 


made of ash, and have no brackets: these are useful for a variety 
of purposes, such as picking up litter in the flower-garden, or 
carrying soil; and, in fact, for every purpose for which the 
common basket is generally used. 

London, April, 1842. 


Art. V. On the Use of Quassia as a Substitute for Tobacco, in 

destroying Aphides. By E. O. 
Tue season of the year having arrived when the green fly is 
often very troublesome to the lovers of plants, and the usual 
remedy for their destruction very unpleasant (especially for 
ladies), perhaps some of your fair readers will be glad to learn 
that they may effectually destroy them without offensive smell 
or dirty appearance. 

I have long wished to discover something of the sort, but 
have never been fortunate enough to meet with it till this 
season, and having given it what I consider a fair trial, I venture 
to send it forth to the public that others may benefit by it; and if, 
in using it, they should in any way improve it, I hope they will 
make it known through the same channel as I have. The 
remedy is this: take loz. of quassia chips to every quart of 
water you require, and boil it for a few minutes; when cold 
enough, dip the plants in it, or syringe them with it. They may 
want, in some instances, a second dipping, but those who wish 
to see clean plants will not mind that. 

I purposely reserved some foul plants to try it on, and I 
have completely cleaned them; and, as far as my experience 
has gone, it appears to leave a taste on the leaves which the fly 
does not like, as they seldom attack the same plant after being 
properly cleaned. Your readers will please to bear in mind, 
that I am not recommending this where all the plants in a 
house are attacked; but it frequently happens that, for want of 
timely cleaning a few plants in pots, a whole conservatory soon 
becomes infested with the insects. Perhaps you will allow me 
to trespass so far on your valuable pages as to relate the manner 
in which I have used it. Some one else may adopt a better 
plan. I have a house about 60ft. long; in it I force a variety of 
plants, a considerable portion of which consists of moss and 
other roses. You are aware that few plants are more liable to 
the attacks of aphis than roses. Chiefly, but not wholly, I 
directed the application of the quassia to them, and the way I 
proceeded was as follows : — Having procured a vessel to hold a 
gallon, I had the plants brought, and dipped them one at a time 
deep enough to reach the parts infected, taking care not to shake 
them unnecessarily, but to return them to their places steadily, 

x 2 


308 Carbonisation of Peat. 


that the liquor might remain on them. Others, too large to dip, 
were laid sideways over the vessel and syringed, taking care to 
waste as little of the liquor as possible. A great many plants 
may thus be done in a little time, and for a trifling expense, not 
more than one shilling per gallon. Perhaps some people would 
make it stronger than I have done. 

I have not done all I intend with it yet; but the best thing I 
can at present suggest is, to have an upright vessel ee of 
zinc, about 9 in. in diameter, and as high as persons may be dis- 
posed to fill; and if kept covered it may stand in a forcing-house 
always ready, and will not waste much. In addition to this, I 
recommend a zinc tray for it to stand in, about $ft. square, to 
catch the mixture when large plants are syringed with it, laying 
the plant on its side in the tray. I do not wish to lead any one 
to suppose that this will entirely render smoking with tobacco 
unnecessary, because where plants grow in the borders it could 
not be applied, and in many instances tobacco is not objection- 
able: but Iam quite sure that, where it is used, tobacco will not be 
wanted so often; and, for lack of something of the kind, ‘a few 
plants are fr equently spoiled, because smoking i is either thought 
disagreeable or expensive. While I am on the subject, I would 
just “hint to those who are apt to murmur that the gardener 
uses too much tobacco, that they never ought to expect good 
plants; for, as the gardener does not like to be thought extra- 
vagant, he for bears. using the remedy till the plant is past reco- 
very: but rather let employers press on their gardener the 
necessity of frequently using it. 

Hertfordshire, May, 1842. 


Art. VI. Carbonisation of Peat. By H. L. L. 


At the foot of the height upon which stands the ‘Tour de Gourge, 
in the Pays de Vaud, and adjoining the road from Cuilly to 
Mondon, are the peat delfs of M. Weobel, who resides there. 
Wien he first bought the marsh, it was full of water; this he 
drained off, and hen set himself to work to learn all he could 
about the art of peat-cutting, sending for information even to 
Scotland and Ireland. He showed me a Highland instrument 
with the name of Mackintosh upon it; nevertheless, he objects 
to our perpendicular way of cutting peat, and, as it is deposited 
horizontally, so he cuts it, asserting that it holds together better 
when cut in accordance with the grain. He has found, besides 
other trees, an oak 6 ft. in diameter in this moss, and a vase of 
some sort, but no bones or horns. The most interesting point is 
his manufacture of charcoal from peat. This art he learned from 
a French gentleman at Sunsale, M. Brevant. A sort of kiln is 


q 


i 


Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit Trees. 309 


constructed like a small cone-shaped limekiln, with perforations 
all round, to be opened or closed as the process may require, 
and he assures me that carbonised peat, when well done, is 
equal to the best wood charcoal. He sells his peat at 12 francs 
(Swiss) the char-load, equal to 90 square ft. ‘There are about 
9 logs of peat to the square foot. I brought away some speci- 
mens of his charcoal; but, as it was the production of his early 
essays, he was unwilling to have it considered a proper sample 
of the art, but merely the result of a first experiment. He is 
now building a proper kiln, and in a month will have peat char- 
coal for sale. ‘The details of this mode of carbonising peat are 
to be met with, I believe, in the Annales de la Chimie, but I 
have unfortunately lost the reference to the exact number. After 
viewing M. Weobel’s enterprising operations, I called to mind 
the endeavours of a friend of mine in Argyleshire to float away 
into the sea, as mere waste matter, a moss of a thousand acres, 
containing peat of a superior quality to a depth of 16 ft. Were 
it possible to convert it into charcoal, so as to become portable 
and vendible, what a reservoir of fuel is in store for future ages ! 

IT have given away my best specimens of M. Weobel’s char- 
coal; the last, and I fear the worst, accompanies this note. Such 
as it is I will beg your acceptance of it, as offering an example 
of the experiment. — Surrey, April, 1842. 


Art. VII. On Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit Trees. By N.M.T. 


Root-PruniNnG of, and canker in, fruit trees have lately en- 
grossed a good deal of attention in contemporary publications, 
and it is because I think the former the most likely cure for the 
latter, that I mention them in the same sentence; and that men- 
tion is not made with the intention of reviewing any thing that 
has been said upon these subjects, but simply to state a few 
remarks that the reading of what has been urged, and my own 
observations, have suggested. A tree properly sown or planted, 
and left to its own resources, is as truly a natural object as can 
be imagined, and in such a state sets in earnest about finding 
the means of supporting itself, and prolonging, if possible, a 
healthy existence; and it generally succeeds in so desirable an 
object, in proportion as these efforts are unassisted, uncontrolled, 
and untampered with. 

When all is left to nature and her proceedings unmolested by 
the intermeddling hand of artifice, when every fibre remains 
undisturbed, every leaf allowed to develope itself, and add by 
its caterings to the general stock, we may conclude that the 
justest proportion is naturally maintained between these organs ; 
and in proportion as this equilibrium is deranged, so the ten- 

x 3 


310 Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit Trees. 


dency to. disease would increase: and such is the fact; to be 
convinced of which, we need only look at the abortions that con- 
fessedly degrade many of the finest portions cf the walls of our 
gardens. ‘Trees so situated bear not the remotest claim to be 
what the others are, natural objects ; they are the merest crea- 
tures of art, every natural impulse fettered, their roots and 
branches rendered beyond measure discrepant. 

One great use of roots to the object naturally situated is 
to enable it to retain a perpendicular position in the soil, as may 
be witnessed by the extraordinary efforts to do so, when circum- 
stances of unusual peril demand it; which is also exemplified by 
trees in exposed situations, where the roots preponderate over 
the branches. Even single trees are isolated examples of the 
same precaution, by sending a greater quantity of retainers to 
windward. But the tree suspended by shreds against a wall 
has no call for roots for such a purpose, nor can they be 
exercised in such a manner: the hurricane that strains the roots 
of the exposed standard almost to snapping, that even uproots 
the gnarled denizen of the forest, affects not them; they are 
compelled root and branch to remain inert, instead of bending 
before every blast: the leaves, it is true, may flutter in the breeze; 
but even the slightest sprout must not attempt such a gambol, 
without the certainty of being called to order by knocking its 
head against its cast-iron keepers. 

To a tree trained to a wall or espalier, then, roots are less 
essential than to an exposed one, as their services are confined 
to supplying food; therefore fewer would appear to be requisite, 
and a tendency to over-root to exist. It will be seen, by referring 
to exposed trees and sheltered ones, that in the general economy, 
where nothing is unprovided for, this has in some measure been 
provided for by the preponderance of roots in the former 
over the latter case; and on walls, where they may be still farther 
discarded, it is probable that nature makes strenuous efforts to 
maintain an equilibrium. But, I would ask, what has been done 
by those who profess to assist her, to counteract this tendency ? 
Have they not done every thing possible to aggravate it? Have 
they not placed the roots in a depth, breadth, and length of 
materials capable of supporting the proudest monarch of the 
wood for coming centuries? allowed the roots to run riot, and 
reduced the top to a thing of shreds and patches, from which 
greater part of the leaves are ruthlessly, unthinkingly, and often 
needlessly removed; but, be this as it may, the portion left is 
insufficient to maintain either roots or branches in a healthy state. 
It may be urged that old wall trees are often destitute of avail- 
able roots, instead of being overpowered by them; granted : 
still the want of roots is only the effect, previous excess the 
probable cause; they were allowed to preponderate until they 


Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit Trees. 31}. 


rendered the juices of the plant crude and indigestible, and 
ultimately, as a matter of course, are included in the wreck they 
have made. 

Should any of these surmises prove correct, how injudicious 
the remedy generally applied! The already gorged roots are 
sure to be deemed in fault, the already teeming border plied 
with fresh stimulants to complete with less delay the work of 
destruction. I think the utter absurdity of so much border 
work, its nature, and above all its extent, ought to be apparent 
to every person conversant with the growth of plants in pots. 
Examine the quantity of spongioles generally found with a mo- 
derately sized even healthy wall tree, and say whether a bushel 
of good mould in a pot would not for twelve months amply 
supply them with food. I maintain that it would. Then why this 
apparatus? why this cost? why this waste of uncropped border 
of 2, 3, or it may be 6 feet deep, with a surface, in all pro- 
bability, of 16 ft. by 24 ft.? A greater absurdity cannot possibly 
exist, as the bloated results amply demonstrate. 

Roots and branches are indispensable to the well-being of 
plants, but, in my opinion, the great error is, to consider roots 
most so: Every person who has rooted a cutting and paid at- 
tention to the process, who has planted a tree and observed what 
takes place, must be convinced of the contrary. ‘The cutting 
may be rooted, the roots removed, and again rooted, almost at 
pleasure: strip it of leaves, and it ceases to exist. The newly 
planted tree is in nine cases out of ten as destitute of spongioles, 
consequently of available roots, and as much a cutting as if it 
were cut over half-way up its stem; with this (the only) difference, 
that those underground stems are less consolidated and more 
ready to make fibres than such as have been dried and hardened 
by exposure to light and air: but even these produce no roots 
unless the leaves are allowed to develope themselves, set the vital 
current in motion, and return sap to form roots; hence the often 
irreparable injury frequently inflicted upon newly planted trees, 
by what is aptly termed ‘heading back.” Having adverted to 
uncropped borders, I may here mention my conviction that 
borders are better cropped than otherwise. Such an opinion I 
am aware is directly opposed to the best authorities, and, amongst 
others, to yours, Mr. Editor; and I have nothing to place against 
such overpowering evidence, save the fact, that I have never, 
after repeated and lengthened trials, had a healthy tree diseased 
through cropping the border, nor a diseased one rendered 
healthy by allowing it to remain dormant. 

Should there be anything correct in the view I have taken, the 
only evil that can arise from cropping the border must proceed 
from a cause the very antipodes of that generally assumed to 


be correct; the supposed injury must be inflicted while digging 
x 4 


312 Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit Trees. 


or stirring the border preparatory to cropping. These opera- 
tions necessarily disturb and lacerate the rootlets, thereby acting 
as a most injudicious pruning, whereby the already too numerous 
spongioles are incalculably increased, and drawn into a position, 
and amongst materials, certain of aggravating this tendency to 
excess. ‘The only benefit, then, conferred by non-cropping pro- 
ceeds from the mass containing the roots being less available, 
the supply of food consequently limited; the benefit, if any, pro- 
ceeding from starvation, an end that may be gained by far prefer-~ 
able means: but, until we know a little more of the matter, crop, 
in mercy to the fettered trees, crop the borders, in order that a 
few, at least, of the crudities that abound in the otherwise stag- 
nant mass may happily escape without being filtered through them. 

If a plant, in order to remain healthy, requires a nice propor- 
tion between its roots and branches, this will be best maintained 
when left to nature, when it may be supposed that they progress 
in exact ratio; but when so placed that a greater part of the 
leaves and branches are of necessity removed, the equilibrium is 
evidently destroyed, and disease ensues; to prevent which the 
very obvious remedy is to maintain, or rather restore, artificially 
what has been destroyed by art, to reduce the roots as system- 
atically as the branches, in fact, to set in earnest about ‘ root- 
pruning.” ‘This said root-pruning has (as already stated) made 
considerable stir lately, and made an effort to assume a position 
adequate to its deserts, while the only anxiety gardeners may be 
expected to feel in its progress seems confined to ascertaining 
the exact time of its birth; as they have spared no pains to 
assure the world that it is as old as the hills, and that gardeners 
knew all about the matter a century ago. Now, with all due 
deference, I think this had better rested in the background, 
upon the principle that ignorance is less culpable than to know 
and not practise. But no matter when or by whom introduced, 
it never till now assumed a properly defined form, and if occa- 
sionally practised, it was without any specific aim; a sort of 
random mutilation, applied hap-hazard. To correct this, and 
give it an importance that cannot now be lost sight of, is at least 
due to those that have recently brought it so prominently for- 
ward. ‘The cause of canker in trees is involved in an obscurity 
that has hitherto defied all means of penetration; and the sur- 
mise of its proceeding from over-rooting, by the roots being left 
untouched and encouraged, while the top is so mercilessly muti- 
lated, may not even be one of the remotest causes producing so 
disastrous an effect. But, whatever the cause, it is surely some- 
thing, until that may be ascertained, to provide a remedy ; and 
that root-pruning is such is more than mere surmise, as it is 
demonstrated by the history of almost every tree that has been 
moved or had its roots interfered with, with a view to render it 


Root-Pruning and Canker in Fruit Trees. 313 


healthy. The effects of such removals or root operations, if 
properly performed, may generally be narrated thus :— After the 
-removal, all or greater part of the disease disappears ; the tree for 
a year or two progresses in health and luxuriance, and it is only 
after all gets established, and a prospect of golden harvests at 
hand, that disease again exhibits itself, to dispel our dreams 
and canker all. Now, the mere lifting and again planting a tree 
in the same materials and position cannot possibly benefit but 
by the reduction that necessarily takes place in the roots; a sup- 
position confirmed by the certain reappearance of the evil as 
soon as those roots are replaced and gain an ascendant, by which 
the requisite equilibrium is destroyed. 

Removing, or subjecting a tree to any severe operation (un- 
less the subject has been accustomed to such treatment), gene- 
rally causes the loss of a season or two, while the good done by 
such a sacrifice is of short duration; therefore, such a mode of 
restoring health is not to be thought of, as all the effects may be 
obtained by annually shortening roots and branches as the case 
may demand, by following a system that may induce permanent 
fruitfulness, without so seriously dealing with the subject at one 
time as to produce the loss of a crop, too meagre a habit, or the 
endangering of its life. How so desirable an end is to be gained, 
what is the best mode to pursue, how far we may and ought to 
go, and when to perform most advantageously the operation, 
can only be ascertained by,time and patient investigation. There 
can be no doubt that many ways, and endless modifications of 
shortening the supply of matter at the roots, either by devising 
means to prevent their undue increase, or by removing any su- 
perabundance, must lead to the same end. 

There being so much room for investigation, the investigator 
so certain of being repaid for his trouble, with the certainty that 
in many cases he cannot make bad worse, it cannot be doubted 
that the thing will be set about in earnest, and the results com- 
municated for the common benefit. To succeed, it only requires 
that we bring to the work minds willing to be disabused, freed, if 
possible, of all prepossessions and prejudices, most especially 
that so prevalent of setting greater store upon the preservation 
of roots than leaves. ‘To be convinced of the absurdity of this 
before starting, let all recollect the symptoms of improvement 
manifested by trees recently removed, or with a scarcity of roots ; 
and recollect also the practice of the Dutch (sufficient of itself to 
carry conviction) : they take their trees full sized from the open 
walls into their hothouses, force them instantly, and by foster- 
ing and guarding the leaves they obtain abundant and excellent 
crops; and, this accomplished, the trees are again placed upon 
the walls to stand until, in course of rotation, they are subjected 
to the same treatment. With such a state of things, canker, even 


314 Forcing Mushrooms. 


in their humid climate, cannot exist. Trees subjected to root- 
pruning from infancy are most likely to prove eminently success- 
ful; and it is not to be supposed that such as are old, and infirm 
in habit, can be rendered all that could be wished without much 
precaution. But I have already so far exceeded all reasonable 
bounds, that the remainder (should it prove sufficiently interest- 
ing), must be reserved till next Number. 

Folkstone, May 14. 1842. 


Art. VIII. On forcing Mushrooms. By J. WicuTon. 


In the gardens of the wealthy there are houses heated by 
flues for the growth of mushrooms: but this can be accom- 
plished in any dry shed or cellar, where the temperature does 
not fall below 45°, nor rise above 70°, of Fahrenheit. Various 
kinds of materials are recommended for making mushroom beds ; 
but the best is fresh manure from horses that are highly fed, 
mixed with light soil in a small quantity. 

How to make the Bed. —'Yake a quantity of the manure and 
spread it so as to lie about 4 in. deep; beat it firmly down with 
a mallet. After a few days repeat the same, and again at 
intervals, till the bed becomes about 14 in. deep. To ascertain 
the degree of heat, put two or three sharp-pointed sticks into 
the bed, and when, upon being drawn out, they feel about milk 
warm, it is time to put in the mushroom spawn; but the heat 
must be rather on the decline than otherwise. 

How to use the Mushroom Spawn.— Break the spawn into 
pieces about the size of a hen’s ego; place them all about the 
bed about 1 ft. apart, and 2 in. below the surface; beat the 
whole down hard. Be careful not to let the heat increase above 
the degree mentioned above, otherwise the spawn will be de- 
stroyed, and the bed must be stocked again with fresh spawn. 
Indeed, for security’s sake, it is always best to repeat this, 
when the heat is on the decline. After al] danger of increased 
heat is past, cover the bed with light soil about 2 in. deep, 
then beat it down hard. Mushrooms always do best in a firm 
hard soil ; however hard, they will find their way through it; they 
have even been known to raise the pavement of a cellar floor. 

Management of the Bed. — Examine the sticks which were 
originally placed in the bed; if they are lukewarm, all is right. 
A few days afterwards, cover the bed with hay or straw; but if 
it increase the heat, remove it for a time. If the place is warm 
and dark, this covering may be dispensed with. In five or six 
weeks, the mushrooms ought to appear. A gentle watering 
now and then will hasten their growth ; but too much will cause 
the spawn to rot, and then, of course, the bed will be unpro- 
ductive, whereas it ought to produce for five or six weeks. The 


Cottage-Gardening adapted to Scotland. 315 


covering keeps the soil moist, especially when much exposed to 
the air. ‘These observations may appear at variance with the 
fact, that mushrooms spring up in the fields in showery weather ; 
but there is a difference between spawn in a bed of manure 
which retains water, and spawn in the open soil. 

It is doubtful in what mushroom spawn originates. I do 
not mean such as we employ for mushroom beds, for this 
appears to be merely the roots of mushrooms, resembling fine 
white threads with small knots. It is the common notion that 
this spawn proceeds from animal deposits; but mushrooms, 
like more perfect plants, do in reality produce seed. This is 
said to be ascertained by placing a sheet of white paper under a 
of the mushroohroom ; the seed will fall upon it from the gills 
ull-grown musm like fine dust. This seed is carried about by 
the wind, and eaten by animals with their food. Some may be 
unwilling to believe this, because the manure from horses fed 
on grass where mushrooms abound does not produce mush- 
rooms equal to that from horses fed on hay and corn. To this I 
reply, that the greater fermentation in the stomachs of horses 
eating green food is more likely to destroy the mushroom seed. 
The same may be said of beds made of their manure, which 
often destroy the spawn. What is here advanced is no way 
contradicted by the fact of mushrooms springing from decayed 
vegetables, for the seed may easily have been mixed with them, 
and the growth accelerated by the slight fermentation which pro- 
duced the decay of the vegetables. Some imagine that animal 
manure will produce mushrooms independently of any admixture 
of their seed; but this is as unreasonable as to believe that soil 
will produce weeds without seed, or that putrid animal matter 
will engender maggots without eggs having been previously 
therein deposited. — Cossey Gardens, May 12. 1842. 

P.S. To the experienced mushroom-grower I have here 
mentioned nothing new, but to the inexperienced something 
which may perhaps be of use to him. 


ArT. IX. Cottage-Gardening adapted to Scotland. By PETER 
MACKENZIE. 


[The following article was written at our request for the Supplement to the 
Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, &c., in which we origi- 
nally intended to give a chapter on Cottage-Gardening ; but, on more mature con- 
sideration, we thought it would be unsuitable for that work. The publication 
of Mr. Mackenzie’s excellent paper will enable gentlemen’s gardeners to give 
instructions to the cottagers on the estates of their employers, with less trouble 
than they would have had without such a comprehensive remembrancer.] 


Iv is full time that the rural population of this country were made aware of 
the many enjoyments they might possess if they would only bestir themselves 


316 Cottage-Gardening 


a little ; eventhis evil world would lose much of its sorrow if man would but 
shake off his indolence, and pluck the berries from among the thorns, when, 
instead of living discontented among weeds and wildings, he might, in a great 
measure, have “ Paradise restored.” When a man has a comfortable house, 
and a garden to cultivate, and takes delight in both, we generally find that 
man showing himself a progressive being, with a mind capable of higher 
attainments, and ready to make himself useful in the sphere of life in which 
Providence has placed him. There are some minds that will raise themselves, in 
spite of every opposition, from a state of poverty to a more comfortable station 
in society ; and these, though few, serve to show what can be done by un- 
wearied perseverance. In general, the majority of mankind require to be 
helped, or, not only do they require the course to be pointed out for them, 
but also apilot to guide them; and it is well for those of the present and future 
generations that these helps are not wanting. The comfort that has already 
been bestowed upon thousands through the instrumentality of the Encyclo- 
pedia of Cottage Architecture, in the shape of commodious dwellings, is but a 
foretaste of what our country may expect, when once the full influence of the 
Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the Royal Agricultural So- 
ciety of England, and other societies of a kindred nature, is made to bear upon 
the welfare of the rural population. Then may we expect a race of rational 
and intelligent beings, instead of many who reckon themselves men, yet are 
little better than creatures of instinct. The time may yet come when the 
labourer will be giving his children lessons in architecture from the various 
parts of his cottage ; making them acquainted with the arch and its proper- 
ties ; pointing out the various members of the base, the shaft, the architrave, 
the frieze, and the cornice, of the different orders of architecture; making 
known to them what is Grecian, what Roman, what Norman or Gothic; and 
be able to read the history of his country in the progress of its buildings. 

But the cottager must have more than his comfortable house to occupy 
his attention; in order to supply his wants and increase his pleasure, he 
would feel unhappy without his garden, which will yield him comfort all the 
days of his life, and afford him in its cultivation a salutary preparation for a 
higher state of enjoyment beyond the grave. How much ground ought a 
cottager to have for a garden? this is a question to which varying circum- 
stances would suggest varying answers. When cottages are joined together, 
the gardens are commonly at the back or front of their dwellings, and the 
breadth of the garden corresponds with the length of the house. Sometimes 
the garden extends a considerable length, but in general it is by far too little. 
I would plead for alarge garden. Let it be 1000 square yards at least, and 
from that to an acre. This may be thought extravagant by some, but I think 
sufficient reason can be shown why the cottager should have plenty of garden 
eround. When I seea cottage with a small garden attached to it, when there 
was nothing to prevent the possessor from having a large one, I imagine that 
he is only a few steps removed from barbarism ; it shows the possessor 
ignorant of what would increase his own and his family’s comfort, ignorant of 
what would multiply their animal and mental enjoyment. I look upon it as a 
blot in the landscape, and a mark of stationary ignorance. What a difference 
in appearance do we often meet with, when the cottage has a large garden 
belonging to it. Instead of a few unprotected common vegetables, we behold 
a well enclosed garden abounding in vegetables, fruits, and flowers, producing 
more than the family can consume, and, besides, abundant feed for the pig. A 
few pounds sterling, the produce of the surplus stock, often find their way into 
the pocket of the possessor of such a garden. I have seldom known its owner 
come to want, or require aid from the parish. 

Before I say any thing about the laying out of the garden, I would wish to 
say a little about draining. It is somewhat surprising that so little is said 
about that most important operation ; the bulk of the writers on gardening 
pass it over with a carelessness which it does not merit. Nicol, in his Porcing, 
Fruit, and Kitchen Gardener (sect. 2., “ On the Soil for Orchards”), admits 


adapted to Scotland. Oty 


the necessity of draining, and yet he says the discussion of a systematic mode 
of draining would be foreign to the subject; but he refers the reader to Mr. 
Elkington’s method: and a writer on cottage-gardening, at the close of 1841, 
when giving directions how to lay out and plant such gardens as would suit 
the labouring man, never says one word on the subject ; yet many a cottager 
and gardener suffers a yearly loss from the want of it. It is a melancholy thing 
to see a poor man spending his strength, and his time and manure, upon a 
piece of ground that seldom repays his labour ; when a few drains, properly 
executed, would render his work more easy, and double the production of his 
ground. I can speak from experience and observation, when I say that many 
gentlemen’s gardens in Scotland are but partially drained, and I could point 
out many evils which, in my opinion, have their origin in no other cause. 

When the piece of ground intended for the garden is fixed upon, let any 
hollows be filled up, and the surface brought to the required slope. If the 
soil or subsoil be of a stiff nature, let it be properly drained. Very little extra 
expense will do it, and in a year or two it will be repaid ; when the possessor 
of the garden will have satisfaction for life. There are some light soils, placed 
upon a gravelly subsoil, which will require no draining; but such situations 
are not very numerous in Scotland, in comparison with stiff soils and tilly 
bottoms. It does not often occur that a bit of ground is what, in common 
language, is called a dead level ; the eye will soon discover in what direction 
the water willrun. When that is ascertained, let a main drain be thrown out 
a few feet from the fence at the lowest part of the ground; a number of 
parallel drains should then be brought into it according to the nature of the 
soil; if very stiff, they should not be more than 10 or 12 feet apart ; where the 
soil is peaty, 15 or 20 feet apart will do ; but there is scarcely any fear of over- 
doing the thing. The drains should be 2 ft. deep, if possible, and as narrow as 
they can be made; this will save materials in filling them. They are generally 
filled to within 18 in. of the top, and found to answer very well. Turf will 
probably be got near at hand to cover the stones of the drains, and prevent 
the earth from getting between them. 

In trenching, care should be taken not to bury the soil too deep ; if the 
subsoil be of a retentive nature, none of it should come to the surface at 
first, but it shouid be well loosened in the trench. This will help it greatly, 
and prepare it for coming to the surface at some future period. 

How the garden ought to be laid out will depend much upon the shape of 
the ground. It is no uncommon thing for road-side cottages to be built in the 
corner of a field, forming an acute angle; at other times we find them on 
gentle eminences, with the ground sloping to the margin of a small stream. 
Many a plan could be given for cottage gardens ; but, if we are to bear in 
mind that “ground should first be considered with an eye to its peculiar 
character,” then, we think, the square or the parallelogram, where they can 
be obtained, will do very well, and answer the purpose for which it is in- 
tended. I will confine myself chiefly to the kitchen-garden, believing that 
you will recommend the site of the cottage to be far enough from the road 
side to allow room for the planting of trees and shrubs for shelter and orna- 
ment. In a garden somewhat less than an acre, I would have on the south 
side of the north wall, a short distance from the trees, a number of bee- 
hives; in some seasons they yield a considerable profit to those who under- 
stand the management of them. In front of the bee-hives I would place 
a flower-border, which might be made very ornamental, and also useful. 
Abundance of early-flowering plants could be planted in it, of which the 
bees would profit. They might also be arranged in such a manner that 
the outlines of some system of botany might be imparted to the cottager 
and his family ; for it is but right that they should be made acquainted 
with that delightful science. It is not from inability to understand it, but 
from a deficient system of education, that so much knowledge is kept back 
from the working classes of the community. In front of the flower-border 
I would have a piece of turfed ground, the grass intended to be kept 


318 Cottage-Gardening 


short. This may be made useful in various ways ; it will be very convenient 
for bleaching the household linen, and can be used also as a place of recrea- 
tion. Perhaps you will find fault with it as a bleaching-green ; but, in the 
present state of society, and with all the vigilance of the rural police, the 
cottager’s wife has often to carry back less linen at night than what she laid 
out in the morning. To prevent such an occurrence from taking place as 
much as possible, I have recommended the green in the garden. For the 
edgings of the walks of small gardens, strawberry plants are commonly re- 
commended. This plan I cannot agree with altogether. Edgings ought to 
undergo a rotation of cropping, like other parts of the garden. When they 
are all planted with strawberry plants, there will be an abundant supply for a 
time; but, if no other plantation is made, there will soon be but a scanty 
gathering. Now, if part of the edging consisted of chamomile or hyssop, the 
sale of which, in a dried state, to the apothecary, or other dealers in herbs, 
would also yield a profit, the cottager would, by shifting the crops every 
other year, be enabled to keep up a constant supply of fruit-bearing plants, 
and to introduce new kinds as they appear in the market. The bottoms of 
the walks can be filled with the small stones turned up in trenching. Fine 
gravel is thought by many to be the best for the top ; but, where that cannot 
be had, engine ashes form a very good substitute: those twice burnt are the 
best. 

If the garden be walled, it is not likely that the walls will be the height 
recommended for a gentleman’s garden, and, probably, many of them will be 
built without mortar; but, even against such walls, much good fruit may be 
grown, by training the trees upon wooden trellises: espaliers may also be 


trained along the sides of the walks facing the south. Raspberries, goose- - 


berries, and currants may be planted in breaks, or in lines parallel with the 
walks, 24 ft. from the edging, and 5 or 6 feet distant from each other. I find 
that they will bear good crops either way. In the vegetable department, the 
kale, cabbage, onions, leeks, and potatoes, are reckoned the mainstay of the 
cottager ; but, where horticultural societies exist, the introduction of finer 
vegetables is taking place, such as peas, cauliflowers, kidneybeans, turnips, 
carrots, lettuce, parsley, &c. 

I do not know whether it belongs to the gardener or the architect to fix 
where the site of the dunghill ought to be, but I should recommend two 
places, one for the solid manure, and the other for the liquid ; and it would 
be an essential point gained in cottage economy, if the cottager could be made 
to understand the full value of liquid manure. Many a cottage garden suffers 
from its possessor not knowing the benefit that would result from the appli- 
cation of such manure. It is a common practice, with a great number of the 
rural population of Scotland, to have their crop of late potatoes planted on 
the ground of some neighbouring farmer, and it is their endeavour to have as 
much dung as possible to cart away at the planting season, in consequence of 
which the garden is often in part neglected; but, by preserving the drainings 
from the house, the pigsty, and the cow-house, in a pit properly prepared for 
the purpose, as much manure might be had as would supply the demand of 
the garden. It is a difficult matter to make them believe in this doctrine, and 
more difficult still to get them to practise it; but the period will soon come 
when they will wonder at their unbelief, and endeavour to redeem the time 
they had lost in the days of their ignorance. 

I shall not frighten the cottager with a long list of fruit trees, small fruit, 
and vegetables, that might be planted by him, but select a few of those that 
have been long known to deserve a place in every garden. There is one 
apple tree that would do well in a cottager’s garden, or any other where fruit 
is grown; that is, the Stirling Castle apple. It was raised from seed by a 
gentleman belonging to Stirling. Its properties are: very early bearing ; 
vigorous healthy growth of plant ; fruitfulness, seldom missing a crop; fruit 
large and finely shaped, fit either for dessert or baking; it produces fruit the 


adapted to Scotland. oS) 


third year after grafting, and a single apple weighs sometimes 14 or 15 ounces. 
Perhaps the following list will do to begin with : — 

‘Apples. Doonside, Brandy apple, Hawthornden, Yorkshire greening, Rib- 
ston pippin, Downton pippin, Stirling Castle, French crab, Hubbard’s pear- 
main, Paradise pippin, Gogar pippin, and Keswick codlin. 

Pears. Green chisel, Jargonelle, Green pear of Yair, Autumn bergamot, 
Galston, Muirfowl egg, Swiss bergamot, and Elton. 

Plums. Green gage, Red magnum bonum, Washington, Caledonia, White 
magnum bonum, Wine sour. 

Cherries. May duke, Morello. 

Currants. Red and white: Common red, Champagne white, Knight’s 
sweet red. Black: Common, Black Naples. 

Gooseberries. Many varieties of red, white, yellow, and green. 

Raspberries. Red and yellow Antwerp. 

Strawberries. Grove End scarlet, Keen’s seedling, Roseberry, and Elton. 

Vegetables. Peas: Early Charlton, Dwarf marrowfat, Blue Prussian, 
Early fawn. Beans: Early mazagan, Longpod, Broad Windsor. Cabbages: 
Early May, Early York, Drumhead, Sugarloaf, Savoy, Early green, Yellow, 
and the Winter; Brussels sprouts; Kale, German greens, Purple or brown 
kale. Cauliflowers. Broccoli: Grange’s early, Sulphur-coloured. Kidney- 
beans: Scarlet runners, White Canterbury. Potatoes: many varieties, early 
and late. Carrots: Early horn, and Altringham. Turnips: Early white 
Dutch, Stone, Dutch yellow, and Aberdeen yellow. Parsneps, Red beet, 
varieties of Radishes, Onions. 

The cottager ought to sow plenty of onions. What he does not require 
for his family will meet with a ready market. He should also plant as much 
as he can spare of his ground in early potatoes; they generally sell well, and 
the crop is soon off the ground, which enables him to prepare it for winter 
cropping, leeks and chard, white beet and spinach. The cottager may not 
be without his salads ; if he chooses, he may have his varieties of lettuce, en- 
dive, parsley, cress, &c. He should not be without his plot of rhubarb ; it 
is useful in the family, and in the spring a considerable quantity may be sold 
to innkeepers, confectioners, and others. He should also have his border for 
herbs, such as spearmint, peppermint, pennyroyal, balm, tansy, rue, hyssop, 
rosemary, sage, and thyme. I think the list of bulbs and fibrous-rooted per- 
ennials given in the Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion might do also 
for some cottage gardens. 

The Cottager’s Calendar, like others of a similar nature, must be somewhat 
general ; for I find places within three or four miles of one another vary con- 
siderably, when the altitude varies ; and, as Scotland is a country of hills 
and valleys, the intelligent and observant cottager will soon learn the proper 
time of sowing and planting. 

January. Trench and manure ground for early crops. Fruit trees may 
still be planted and pruned. 

February. Sow peas and beans; also a small quantity of early horn car- 
rot and Dutch turnip. Onions, in light soils, may be sown. Plant strawber- 
ries about the end of the month ; gooseberries, currants, and raspberries may 
also be planted. 

March. Sow the main crops of onions, leeks, peas, cabbages, carrots, 
parsneps, beans, Brussels sprouts, German greens, lettuce, spinach, and pars- 
ley. Plant early potatoes in warm situations, and full crops of cabbages. The 
cottager may now try his hand on grafting. 

_ April. Sow peas and beans, turnips. Plant full crops of early and late 
potatoes. Hoe and thin carrots, turnips, onions, spinach. Earth up cab- 
bages, potatoes, peas, and beans. 

May. Sow kidneybeans, cabbages, and German greens, for late crops. 
Sow also a small quantity of cauliflower seed, also white and yellow turnip. 
Hoe and earth up the various crops that require it. 


$20 Notes on the Bokhara Clover. 


June. Plant cauliflowers, savoys, German greens, leeks. Train and nail 
wall and espalier trees. 

July. Sow yellow turnips for a winter crop ; plant cauliflower and cole- 
worts. Towards the end of the month attention must be paid to keeping 
down weeds. 

August. Sow winter onions, cabbages, savoys, and German greens, about 
the middle of the month. For planting out in spring, coleworts may still be 
planted. 

September. Lift onions and lay them on the border to dry. Strawberries 
may be planted for a crop next season. 

October. Plant early cabbages for use in the spring. 

November. Plant trees and bushes where they are required. Turn up 
vacant ground to the frost. Make compost for the garden where it can be 
done. 

December. Continue trenching and digging where it can be done. Plant 
in mild weather, if it was omitted Jast month. 

More might have been said had time and the nature of the article permitted 
it, but I cannot conclude without adding a word or two respecting the keeping 
of cottage gardens. In’ general they are but indifferently kept. Weeds are 
often allowed to shed their seeds, which prove a lasting scourge to the garden, 
and a great loss to the cottager. Timely hoeing, and weeding and cleansing, 
would prevent a great number of excuses being made, when visitors come ; 
and it adds greatly to the pleasure of a garden, to be enabled to look at it 
when it is neat and clean. There is as much difference between the two, as 
there is between a trollop and a tidy country lass. But where much compe- 
tition is among cottagers for neat gardens, I am convinced, from the oppor- 
tunities I have had in visiting these gardens, that it may be carried to an 
injurious extent. One thing [have observed for several years: those who 
had prizes awarded for neat gardens seldom received a prize for the best ve- 
getables. I can account for it in no other way than that there was too much 
raking and too little hoeing. When the rake is much used, a crust is ready 
to form upon the surface of the ground; but when hoeing is practised, the 
roots receive the benefit of atmospheric influence, which the modern disco- 
veries in chemistry assert to be of great importance to vegetation. 

West Plean, January 6. 1842. 


Art. X. Notes on the Bokhara Clover. By H.1. C. Brake. 


Havine derived many little improvements in gardening through 
the channel of your Magazine, I have taken the liberty of inform- 
ing your readers of the manner in which the Bokhara clover 
grew with me last year. Mr. Gorrie of Annat Cottage was so 
kind as to send me some seeds last year, and I planted a few in 
my garden, and a few ina pot: those ina pot I forwarded a 
little by placing it in a small greenhouse, and, when of a suffi- 
cient size, turned out one in my garden, throwing away the 
remainder. It grew luxuriantly during the summer, and attained 
the height of 6 ft., branching out all around it full 3 ft. each 
way. ‘The scent of it is very sweet after a shower. I tried 
it with a pony of mine, who would not touch it; also a donkey; 
but I have seen cart-horses eat it. I think April is the best 
time to sow it; and it should be cut when about 2 ft. high, other- 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 321 


wise it gets too stalky and sticky. I transplanted the other 
plants out of the garden into my field in the autumn at 2 ft. dis- 
tance, and they give every promise of being prodigiously fine 
plants this year. Their crowns are crowded with young shoots ; 
but it is a singular thing that the fine plant which was not 
transplanted has not as yet put forth any shoots. It lays hold of 
the ground like an elm tree, the roots being very large, and 
branching out in the same way as the green shoots or branches. 
In short, it takes such hold that even in the first year a strong 
man will find it a difficult thing to pull it up. 
Bendham Parsonage, Chichester, March 15. 1842. 


REVIEWS. 


Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


THE Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs ; being the Arboretum et Fruticetum 
Britannicum abridged: containing the hardy Trees and Shrubs of Britain, 
Native and Foreign, scientifically and popularly described ; with their Pro- 
pagation, Culture, and Uses in the Arts; and with Engravings of nearly all the 
Species. Abridged from the large Edition in 8 Volumes, and adapted for the 
Use of Nurserymen, Gardeners, and Foresters. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S. 
H.S., &c. London, Longman and Co., 1842. 


The first, or large, edition ofthe Arboretum Britannicum, in eight volumes, 
being unfortunately at too high a price for the majority of those to whom it 
would be most useful, this abridgement has been undertaken. It will be 
found to contain all that is essential for distinguishing the species and 
varieties, for their cultivation, their propagation, and, in general, their appli- 
cation to useful purposes, either in a living state in plantations, or, when felled 
or cut down, in different arts. With the exception of about half a dozen 
species, figures are given of the whole; all to the same scale of 2in. toa 
foot. The total number of wood-engravings is 2106, of which nearly 300 were 
not included in the large edition ; so that thus far the abridgement is superior 
to the large work. It is also superior in three other respects: it contains 
an analysis of trees and shrubs with reference to their uses ; another analysis 
according to the leaves, for the purpose of enabling any person to discover 
the name of a tree or shrub by the leaves alone ; and a complete alphabetical 
index of all the species and varieties, with their synonymes. In short, we 
flatter ourselves that this abridgement will be found a truly useful book for 
nurserymen, gardeners, and foresters, and also for amateurs. Those who wish 
to study the history of trees and shrubs more at large, and their portraits, 
will have recourse to the original edition. : 


Hortus Lignosus Londinensis abridged: or, a Catalogue of the hardy Trees and 
Shrubs, Indigenous and Foreign, cultivated in the Gardens and Grounds in the 
Neighbourhood of London: with all ther Synonymes, scientific and popular, 
mcluding their French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and other foreign 
Names. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S., &c. London, Longman and Co., 1842, 


We can most strongly recommend this three-and-sixpenny catalogue to 
3d Ser. — 1842. VI. Y 


322 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


gardeners and nurserymen having collections of trees and shrubs, who pos-_ 
sess neither the abridgement of the Arboretum, nor the large edition. 


The Book of the Farm. By Henry Stephens, Esq., Editor of the “ Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture.” Parts Il.to V. 8vo, plates, and numerous 
woodcuts. 1842. 


We noticed Part 1. of this work in p. 125., and the parts before us more than 
justify the anticipations we there expressed. The Book of the Farm is, in 
short, an excellent, and, in many respects, an original work. We cannot give 
our readers a better idea of it than by continuing our list of the articles which 
the parts before us contain: —15. Of dealing with the Details of Farming, 
p-97. WinTER. 16. Of the Steading, or Farmstead ; there are various details 
of construction and fittings-up in this article, clearly and beautifully illustrated 
by woodcuts. 17. Of the Farm-house. 18. Ofthe Persons who labour the 
Farm. 19. Ofthe Weather in Winter. 20. Of Climate. 21. Of observing and 
recording Facts. 22. Of Soils and Subsoils. 23. Of Enclosures and Shelter. 
24. Of the Planting of Thorn Hedges. 25. Of the Plough. 26. Of the va- 
rious Modes of Ploughing ridges. p. 464. 


The History and Management of Bees, with a Notice of a newly constructed 
Hive. By John Wighton, Gardener to Lord Stafford. 12mo, pp. 103. 
London and Norwich, 1842. 


Mr. Wighton has had great experience and great success in the management 
of bees ; and this little work is the result. The newly constructed hive is on 
the Polish principle, which we can recommend from our own experience, as 
giving far less trouble than any other, both in general management and in 
taking the honey. We have given an account of the common Polish hive in 
the Encyclopedia of Gardening. Mr. Wighton’s improvement on it consists 
chiefly in dividing it into two compartments, and introducing two panes of 
glass for the purpose of observing the proceedings of the bees. The great 
advantage of the Polish hive over those in common use is, that honey may be 
taken from it, when there is any to spare, without disturbing the bees, since it 
is done in the finest part of a sunny day, when most of the bees are out. 
We would strongly recommend a trial of these hives, and more especially as 
they may be made by any carpenter out of the trunk of a tree. Mr. Wighton’s 
consists of the root end of a spruce fir, 9 ft. long, and 3 ft. 9in. in circum- 
ference, from which the centre wood has been hollowed out. In many parts 
of Scotland, where the disease called pumping prevails among larch trees, ex- 
cellent Polish hives may be had, almost ready made. Again, we strongly 
recommend the hive and Mr. Wighton’s book to all who keep bees, and more 
especially to gentlemen’s gardeners. 


Railway Stations: being the executed Designs of Francis Thompson, Architect, 
made by express Commission for the Directors of the North-Midland Railway, 
under the Direction of Robert Stephenson, E'sq., C.E. Folio, 9 plates. 
London, 1841. 


The public is much indebted to the North-Midland Railway Company for the 
surpassingly beautiful examples of station-houses which they have erected on 
their lines of railroad. We know of nothing equal to them on the lines of 
any other company. There is not one of them that would not form a highly 
ornamental dwelling in a park. They are, for the most part, executed in 
stone in the most substantial manner ; and the book, containing beautiful 
engravings of them on a large scale, may well be strongly recommended to 
landed proprietors, as affording valuable hints for the erection of ornamental 
cottages on their estates. We can answer for the competency of Mr. 
Thompson to design such cottages, having been fortunately able to induce him 
to contribute no fewer than six designs to the Supplement to our Encyclopedia 
of Cottage Architecture. : 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 323 


Sketches for Rustic-Work : including Bridges, Park and Garden Buildings, Seats, 
and Furniture. Eighteen Plates. The Scenic Views in the tinted Style of 
Zincography ; with Descriptions and Estimates of the Buildings. By 
T. I. Ricauti, Architect, Author of a Work entitled “ Rustic Architecture.” 
4to. London, 1842. 


This is an elegant work, and one that will be found exceedingly useful to 
country gentlemen who are their own architects. 

The first three plates are of rustic bridges, formed of young trees with the 
bark on. Elegant or picturesque forms for such bridges are much wanted in 
parks and pleasure-grounds in hilly districts, where the walks through the 
scenery must necessarily often cross brooks. We were, when in Scotland last 
summer, much struck with the poverty of design of the rustic bridges, as well 
as the rustic fences and gates, in the scenery of some very handsome resi- 
dences ; though in no part of the island is there such an abundance of young 
wood adapted for such structures. 

Plates Iv., v., and vi. contain the plans, elevations, and perspective view of 
a small building to answer the purpose of a gate-lodge, with a place for tools 
to the left of the lodge-keeper’s room, and a seed-room in addition to the 
keeper’s bed-room on the floor above. This building is in the style of the old 
half-timbered houses, now becoming comparatively rare in England. The 
design is exquisitely beautiful of its kind, and the estimated expense is 
only 1104. 

Plates vii. and vitt. are the plan, elevation, and perspective sketch of a 
winter-house for plants; very handsome, and suitable for preserving ever- 
greens, such as oranges and camellias, in a dormant state. 

Plates 1x., x., and x1., a gardener’s cottage with fruit-room, designed in 
strict accordance with the principles advocated by Dr. Lindley; expense 
about 1607. Very elegant, and suitably arranged for the end proposed. 

Plate x11., plan and elevation of an octagonal pigeon-house. A very 
handsome rustic structure; as is plate x111., a garden gate and fence. 

Plates x1v., XV., XVI., and xvil., chairs, seats, benches, tables, flower-stands, 
&c., all in rustic-work with the bark on. Cleverly designed, and very pic- 
turesque. 

Plate xvutl., a idea for a rustic cottage. Very picturesque. 

All the chimney tops in Mr. Ricauti’s designs for cottages rise boldly up 
much higher than the apex of the roof, and are remarkably handsome. 

The following notice may be useful to some of our readers, as we trust it 
will also to Mr. Ricauti :— 

“Mr. Ricauti having observed, in many instances, that gentlemen are often 
deterred from employing a ‘ professed architect,’ because they do not know 
into what expenses it might lead them, he here inserts his terms for making 
designs of buildings and for superintending their erection. If, however, the 
estimate of a building should exceed 1000/., no charge is made for the 
drawings, but the architect receives a commission of 5 per cent on the 
cost ; and his travelling expenses, in all such cases, are charged to the em- 
ployer. In preparing a set of drawings, the style of architecture in which 
they are designed will not, in the least degree, heighten the following charges, 
which are founded upon the relative proportions and quantity of work 
required in making out the drawings, &c., for various designs. 


8, de 
For making plans, elevations, sections, and perspective sketch of a 
small building, such as a gate-lodge, green-house, labourer’s 
cottage, &c., the estimate not exceeding 100/. - - 3 3 0 
For making the working-drawings of ditto - - = 22 0) 
For a building, the estimate not exceeding 150/. - - 4 4 0 
For making the working-drawings of ditto - - - 3 3 0 


And so on, in proportion, adding one guinea to the ex- 
penses of the drawings for every 50/. added to the estimate. 
y 2 


324 General Notices. 


For a visit of superintendence, or to examine and report upon the £ s. d. 
site for a building, requiring but one day’s time, travelling, and all 


expenses - 2g = we - - 4 4 0 
For a visit to any place, requiring two days’ time, and travelling 
expenses - = re = a ao § 3 W 


And so on, in proportion, adding 4 guineas for every additional 
day, which includes the charges for travelling and all expenses. 
Mr. Ricauti’s address, whether he be in town or country, can always be 
obtained of his publisher, Mr. James Carpenter, Old Bond Street.” 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


ArT. 1. General Notices. 


THEORY can never be of the slightest use, unless based upon experimental 
enquiry and authenticated facts. Nor can extensive practice be deemed of 
real advantage, if it has been suffered to degenerate into empty empiricism, 
and the gardener simply adopts a routine he has before found satisfactory, 
without ever examining the principles on which its success depends. In the 
latter instance, certain circumstances, unseen by all but those who search for 
them, may impart a temporary excellence to the plants cultivated ; whereas, 
should these be accidentally wanting, failure would be experienced. With 
the assistance of theoretical acquirements, this might probably have been 
artificially obviated. It will herein be seen that experience, unsupported by 
aught besides, is liable to mislead, and to prove ineffective in its application. 
At this point theory steps in, and gives certainty to every process that is not 
rendered nugatory by remarkable and unexpected adverse agents. (Gard. 
Chron., 1841.) 

Effect of Light on Cuttings. — Take Alonsoa incisifolia, and make cuttings 
from it, and insert them in three pots of equal dimensions ; then place them 
in a close pit or frame, in the following order: the first at 2 ft. from the 
glass, the second at 2 ft. 3in., and the third at 2ft. 6in. The result of this 
will be just what might have been naturally expected, namely, the first in the 
order placed will be rooted, and the cuttings very little grown; while the 
second will be more elongated in the tops, and only callused at the roots, and 
the third grown to the height of the other two, but neither rooted nor cal- 
lused. (John Caie, in Gard. Chron. for 1841, p. 782.) 

The radiating Power of Hot-water Pipes. — Amongst all that has been said 
yet on the heating of houses, we have seen no notice taken of the radiating 
power of the substances employed as pipes. When the radiating power of 
lampblack is 100, polished iron is estimated at 15; and though rough cast- 
iron, and oxidated on the surface, will be much more, still it would add 
greatly to the effect to have them coated with lampblack. One of the greatest 
benefits to be derived from Mr. Corbett’s open gutter system will be the 
radiating power of water, which is equal to lampblack. The new improve- 
ment lately suggested in steam-boilers, to connect the fire and water by 
pins of iron passing from the fire through the bottom of the boiler into{the 
water, thus conducting the heat at once to the water, should be useful, 
especially when speedy effect is wanted. (&. Lymburn, in Gard. Chron. for 
1842, p. 22.) 

On the Effects of Lime on Soil.—[The following is a copy of a letter which 
was sent to the Farmer's Journal newspaper in 1822, but never published. 
Tt will be found to contain the germs of some of the new doctrines on this 
subject]. Amongst the various treatises on lime which I have perused I 
have not seen one that explains its nature sufficiently to account, in my 
opinion, for the grand effects produced by that mineral when applied to a soil 


General Notices. 325 


containing but little or no calcareous matter. To suppose, agreeably to the 
theory of Sir Humphry Davy, that carbonate of lime operates only by 
giving a proper texture to the soil, and furnishing plants with an ingredient 
necessary to their structure, is, to say the least, attr ibuting a seemingly small 
power to such disproportionate means, if it be considered that, to allappearance, 
every purpose of a substance so inert, according to this theory, might be answered 
equally well by a particular combination of the other earths: and if Hornby’s 
dissertation be looked to for a solution of the wonder-working power of this. 
mineral, the answer there given, that it supplies by its decomposition in the 
plant, as vegetable food, the carbonic acid which it retained, is not only un- 
satisfactory, but at variance with the assertion of Sir H. Davy, that the lime 
found in plants is usually in its carbonated state. The mechanical action of 
lime insisted upon by the first-named gentleman seems insufficient to robe the 
coarse brown turf with a coat of the richest green, and the chemical operation 
of the other gentleman accounts but ill for the uncultivated grasses and plants 
giving place to a sweet herbage wherever lime has been applied. 

My purpose of addressing you, however, is not to find fault with former 
theories on the subject of lime (that were an easy task), butto offer, with 
all humility, a new one to your consideration. It is well known to chemists, 
and also to many other persons, that carbonate of lime has the power of 
creating nitrate of lime by its combination with the nitrogen of the atmo- 
sphere, and also with that escaping from decomposing animal and vegetable 
matter. That this saline substance enters into, ,and is of use in, the 
constitution of plants, there is every reason to believe, and, that it under 
goes decomposition there, I can have but little doubt, notwithstanding the 
author of Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry, holds an opinion unfavourable 
to the decomposition of alkaline substances. M. Th. de Saussure’s Re- 
searches on Vegetation furnish something like a proof of a change taking 
place in saline matter, after its absorption by plants. That philosopher states 
that 100 parts of ashes from wheat, in flower, yielded him 43°25 of soluble 
salts, whilst the same quantity of ashes from wheat, the seeds being ripe, 
produced only 11 parts; and he gives also another analysis of the same 

vegetable in like states, and also a month before flowering, the result of which 
answers almost precisely to the former one, in the point upon which my 
opinion of a change is grounded, saving that in the ashes of the wheat cut a 
month before flowering there were found 60 parts of salts; a circumstance 
still more in favour of that opinion. Thus it appears that wheat in a green 
state possesses more salts than when dry, and we may conclude that most 
other vegetables agree with it in that particular ; indeed, the analysis of some 
other plants by M. Th. de Saussure gave results that would strengthen the 
propriety of such a conclusion. Such being the case, what other inference can 
be drawn, but that decomposition generally takes place in saline matter after 
its entrance into plants? Supposing me, then, to have established what I aimed 
at proving, the next question to be considered will be, how nitrate of lime can 
be serviceable to growing vegetables. My answer is, that most probably 
nitrate of lime offers to the plant a substance better than all others, by its 
ready solution, for lime being absorbed into its system; and it may not be 
impossible that its decomposition should furnish nitrogen for the production 
of gluten and albumen, since those substances are found more especially in 
plants delighting in a calcareous soil, such as wheat, clover, saintfoin, &c. If 
this argument in support of the utility of nitrate of lime in vegetation be one 
founded on true principles, by a parity of reasoning consider able light may be 
thrown on the doctrine of paring and burning, as the ashes arising from that 
operation might yield salts answering at least to that substance in having 
nitrogen in their composition, and might thereby furnish an essential element 
for the production of albumen in the particular plants possessing that matter. 
Agriculturists are well aware that a peaty soil, except it be pared and burned, 
will not produce good crops of grain, but that,when the ashes yielded by burning 
are employed, an average produce of oats, if not of other grain, may be expected : 

¥ 3 


326 General Notices. 


and they also know that carrots may be grown in such a soil without the pre- 
paration of burning, which may be probably owing to those roots having little 
if any albumen in their composition, and consequently requiring nitrogen in 
the same proportion ; whilst oats, though possessing a much smaller portion 
of that vegetable matter than wheat or rye, may stand in need of a much 
larger quantity of nitrogen than a peaty soil could yield without part of its 
vegetable remains were submitted to the action of fire, and compelled to give 
up at once what, in the ordinary course of nature, it would have dealt out 
sparingly in a number of years. 

It has often struck me as surprising, that some soils should bear repeated 
cropping with the aid of but little manure, whilst others seem exhausted with 
a succession of a few crops. May not the former, besides being extremely 
tenacious of vegetable food, have such an attraction for the carbonic acid in 
the neighbouring atmosphere, as to have a favourable influence on the vegee 
tation of plants growing upon them ?— R. T. 

Neatness in Turf Edgings. — Having to renew some turf edgings this spring, 
I sunk pieces of thin tile between the gravel and turf about an inch high, and 
the edging has been particularly neat all the summer. The tile (slate would 
do as well) prevents the grass from growing or spreading over the gravel, 
so that it does not require cutting every year; but, when the grass has grown 
over the side, merely clipping with the shears. Care must be taken not to 
raise the tiles above the turf, so as to catch the scythe in mowing it. Nothing 
looks so bad in a walk as a high raw edge, as though a plough had cut it ; the 
lower the edge, the neater it looks. (Wm. Tillery, in Gard. Chron. for 1842, 

5 To) 
To destroy Moles.— Drive them from their holes by placing slices of leek, 
garlic, or onion, in a green state, within their holes: their antipathy to these 
vegetables is so great, that they will immediately leave them, and expose 
themselves to be taken. In the month of May and beginning of June, if one 
sees a mole-hill larger than usual, it is pretty certain there is a nest of young 
within 1 ft. or 18 in. from it. (Camb. Chron. and Journ., March 26. 1842.) 

Woodlice may be caught in hollow cabbage-stalks, and also by laying down 
thin slices of carrot. (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 733.) 

To destroy Worms. — Dissolve a quarter of an ounce of corrosive sublimate 
in 3 gals. of water. This does not destroy grass, but effectually brings up the 
worms to the surface. (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 798.) 

Yew Branches are greatly to be preferred to most others for protecting wall 
trees ; for the foliage, when withered, adheres firmly to the wood, and the 
branches become almost as light and airy as dried fern. (Gard. Chron., 1841, 

. 845. 
: ee of Soda has been tried by Mr. Rivers as a top-dressing for the pine 
and fir tribe, and found greatly to increase their vigour and the deep green 
of the foliage. The quantity of nitrate was one pound to the square rod, 
applied in the beginning of June. (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 749.) 

Mr. Cree’s Mode of pruning Timber Trees.— You ask my opinion of Mr. 
Cree’s system of pruning trees. At present, it may be enough to say that I 
shall adopt it in every instance where the trees are planted with a view to profit 
only ; and perhaps in some other instances too. I wish you would give us 
one or two cuts of trees in different stages of this process, in the Magazine. I 
am certain that timber might be brought to sale much sooner than it generally 
is, by other modes of treatment in conjunction with the Cree or Billington 
system of pruning. I allude particularly to scarification and (pray do not 
think me mad) decapitating. You can have no conception, unless you saw it, 
how rapidly some sorts of trees increase in girth when the head is taken off at 
30 or 36 feet from the ground. Few have had an opportunity of observing 
this. I have, and can produce some striking examples here. We all know 
the beneficial effects of scarification on stunted fruit trees, and why not apply it 
to forest trees also? ButI would not be understood to confine myself to merely 
making an incision with a knife in the bark ; [ would strip out half an inch 


General Notices. 327 


in breadth of bark from the bottom to the top of the trunk. I shall have 
some interesting observations on this subject to make in the course of a few 
months, when I have more leisure. — J. MZ. Feb. 6. 1842. 

Fences. — In the notices on planting and training quick hedges, your corre- 
spondents repeatedly direct the shoots to be cut back every year, with a view 
to thickening the hedge. My experience has shown that such a practice 
will effectually mar the object that it is wished to advance. It is right to 
cut the thorn within an inch of the root at planting, for the purpose of making 
it throw out a number of shoots at that point ; and if the plant is pruned after- 
wards at 2 or 3 feet from the ground, the same result follows, i. e. a number 
of shoots spring from just below the cut: but these shoots soon steal the 
sap, and nothing but a bare stem will, in a few years, remain below that point ; 
thus making the hedge hollow at the bottom. My rule is this, and experience 
has proved it to be a good one: never top a hedge till it has attained the 
required height ; when it has been planted three years, the sides should be 
trimmed up with the shears or hook, to encourage the laterals to multiply 
shoots, taking care not to injure the leading shoots. This will make a single 
row of thorns, originally planted at 4 in. apart, so thick that a bird will not 
build in it. When the hedge has reached its full height, trim it level at the 
top, and keep the sides cut, so as to allow no part to overhang another. The 
practice of “laying” hedges, formerly so much in vogue, is now giving way to 
an improved plan, viz.: after five or six years, cut out single plants at 
intervals where the bottom may be thinnest, at 6, 9, or 12 inches trom the 
ground. The hedge will thus be kept full at bottom ; whereas, after twenty 
years, a “laid” hedge is good for little. (Gard. Chron., 1842, p. 142.) 

Grapes in Pots.—The only utility of growing grapes in pots, where there 
are plenty of hot-houses, is to have a few to ripen in March and April. West’s 
St. Peter’s, if properly managed, will hang in good condition till the end of 
February, or, in some seasons, till March; and, where there is an early 
vinery, good grapes may be ripened in the beginning of May, where the border 
is protected from frost and snow, so that a regular succession can be had all 
the year round. I have put a dozen pots in on the 10th of October, and cut 
on the 2d of March ; another dozen in the beginning of November, and cut 
in April. Where grapes can be grown on the rafters, and proper attention 
paid to the borders, it is so much time thrown away to attempt growing them 
in pots. To the amateur and gardener with, perhaps, only a hothouse or 
two, the case is different, for they are worthy of all his care and attention, as 
I know of no plant to be compared with a vine well managed in a pot. (W 
Tillery, in Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 830. 

Gooseberry Cuttings, which have a little wet moss tied on the bottom of the 
cutting, are said to develope roots more abundantly than when this is not the 
case. (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 781.) 

Filberts and Cosford Nuts, grafted on stocks of the Spanish nut, grow fast, 
never throw up any side suckers, come immediately into bearing, and are very 
prolific. (Gard. Chron. 1841, p. 781.) 

A simple Method of producing early Cauliflowers. — Every one knows that 
hand-glasses are useful for this purpose when they can be had; but as all are 
not so wealthy as you in the South are, and therefore cannot afford so many 
hana-glasses, it may be of some use to notice a method by which, without 
these aids, I have produced cauliflowers fit for table somewhat earlier than 
others which were sown at the usual time and protected in that way. The 
seed was sown in the month of January under a hand-glass; and, as 
soon as the plants were of sufficient size, they were pricked out into a piece 
of ground, with which a large proportion of sand had been incorporated, for 
the purpose of inducing them to root well. When fit for final transplanting, 
they were carefully lifted with good balls, which is easily done when the 
ground is not too wet, in consequence of the numerous rootlets which they 
form in the sand, and they were planted in the usual way. By this treatment 

y 4 


Qa 


528 Foreign Notices : — Germany. 


they were fit for use some time before those which were sown in August; I 
cannot exactly say how long, but they were generally getting over before the 
latter came in. It is true they came into flower prematurely, and the heads 
were consequently small ; but they were quite fit for use, and of that size which 
is prized in many families, and preferred to larger. These are not the results 
of one year, but of a number of years in which the same effects were invariably 
produced. (W. Falla, Lisswood House, Northumberland, in Gard. Chron. for 
1842, p. 54.) 

Sowing Cabbage Seed for Spring Cabbage. — Poynter, who published the 
Cottage Gardener, in 1833, and who was a market-gardener at North End, 
Fulham, says: “ It has been an old practice among the market-gardeners at 
Fulham, perhaps for many generations, and it is continued to this time, 
to sow their cabbage on or as near the 25th of July as possible. It is 
not superstition, it is not whim, it is the result of experience tradition- 
ally delivered in this parish from a successive body of careful and observant 
growers.” He further adds, “ on cold lands I would sow in the middle of 
July.’ Ibeg to add, that for many years I have sown as near that day as 
circumstances would admit, and produced as early cabbages as come to the 
London market. (R.G., Old Brompton, in Gard. Chron. for 1842, p. 54.) 

Training Calves and Horses. — In Ellis’s Horse Training, reviewed in the 
Atheneum for April 2. 1842, it is shown that breathing into the nostrils of 
calves, horses, and various wild animals, renders them quite tame. The expe- 
riment has been tried in England with success ; and Mr. Ellis is of opinion, 
that this is the secret of the celebrated Irish horse-charmers, who pretend 
to whisper to the animal and play with his head, and thus, probably, breathe 
into his nostrils.. The experiments made by Mr. Ellis are founded on the 
following passage in Mr. Catlin’s work, On the Manners and Customs of the 
North-American Indians : — “ 1 have often, in concurrence with a well-known 
custom of the country, held my hand over the eyes of the calf and breathed 
a few strong breaths into its nostrils ; after which I have, with my hunting 
companions, rode several miles into our encampment, with the little prisoner 
busily following the heels of my horse the whole way, as closely and affection- 
ately as its instinct would attach it to the company of its dam. This is one 
of the most extraordinary things that I have met with in the habits of this 
wild country; and although I had often heard of it, and felt unable exactly to 
believe it, lam now willing to bear testimony to the fact, from the numerous 
instances which I have witnessed since I came into the country. During the 
time that I resided at this post, in the spring of the year, on my way up the 
river, I assisted (in numerous hunts of the buffalo with the Fur Company’s 
men) in bringing in, in the above manner, several of these little prisoners, 
which sometimes follow for five or six miles close to our horses’ heels, and 
even into the Fur Company’s fort, and into the stable where our horses were 
led. In this way, before I left for the head-waters of the Missouri, I think we 
had collected about a dozen. In the same way the wild horses are tamed. 
When the Indian has got him well secured with the lasso, and a pair of hobbles 
on his feet, he gradually advances, until he is able to place his hand on the 
animal’s nose and over his eyes, and, at length, to breathe in its nostrils, when 
it soon becomes docile and conquered ; so that he has little more to do than to 
remove the hobble from its feet, and lead or ride it into camp.” 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 
GERMANY. 


QueERcuUS pedunculata fastigidta.— A remarkably fine specimen of this tree 
exists at Herreshausen, a small village of the Grand Duchy of Hesse Darm- 
stadt, about twenty-five English miles from Frankfort, and two from Baben- 


Domestic Notices : — England. 329 


hausen. The total height of this tree is 90 Hessian feet, one third of which 
is a clean, bare, straight stem of 12 Hessian feet in circumference at 3 ft. above 
the ground. A Hessian foot is 112 in. 

This oak is generally propagated by grafting, the acorns not being sure to 
produce plants of the same strict habit ; some, however, turn out the same as 
the parent tree. The finest I have seen are on the lawn at Wilhelmshohe, 
near Cassel, and in Mr. Wild’s garden in Cassel; they sometimes assume a 
round bushy form, but will probably end by shooting upwards. (Gard. 
Chron. for 1842, p. 36.) 


Art. III. Domestic Notices. 


ENGLAND. 


TREES and Shrubs deserving to be more generally cultivated. —Cérnus mas is 
a small tree which will grow as large as a small apple tree. It has the male 
and female flowers on different plants. The female flowers are inconspi- 
cuous; but the male blossoms are of a rich yellow. They appear about the 
middle of January, in such profusion as to cover the entire tree ; and they 
remain in that state for upwards of a month. Sometimes the tree comes 
into blossom in the autumn, and remains covered with flowers through the 
winter. There are very few plants of this species of Cornus in the neigh- 
bourhood of London, and most of those that are there, as for example at 
Syon, are crowded and deformed We would recommend this kind of Cérnus 
to be planted singly on lawns, where it will be found to form a handsome 
symmetrical head, with a clear stem of 5 or 6 feet. It flowers when of very 
small size ; and, as itis not exhausted by bearing fruit, it produces an abundant 
crop of flowers every year. No lawn or shrubbery, however small, should 
be without a plant of Cornus mas. 

Cratz‘gus Oxyacantha obtusata, a very distinct variety of the common 
thorn, a native of France, comes into bloom fully a fortnight before the spe- 
cies, and bears a profusion of pure white blossoms, smaller and more compact 
in form than those of the common kind. A double form of this variety 
would be a most desirable acquisition. As the tree does not grow nearly so 
large as the common hawthorn, it is well adapted for lawns and shrubberies of 
limited extent. 

Bétula populifolia laciniata is one of the most graceful of small trees, and 
in every garden or pleasure-ground, where trees can be cultivated, it deserves 
a place. Populus balsamifera is the first tree, after the common elder, that 
comes into leafin the neighbourhood of London; and, its foliage being of a rich 
yellow, it makes a fine appearance among evergreens, or trees which have not 
-yet come into leaf. In the direction of the wind, its fragrance, like that of 
the wallflower and of the mignonnette, may be scented at half a mile’s 
distance. 

Clématis montana, a native of the Himalayas, appears to be the most 
rapid-growing of all the Clematidee. A plant which we received from 
Messrs. Whitley and Osborn in 1839, and planted at the foot of a wall co- 
vered with the giant ivy, with no particular care and no training whatever, 
has reached the top of the wall and extended among the ivy, 20 ft. on one 
side, and 30 ft. on the other. At this moment (May 18th) it is covered with 
its beautiful white blossoms, which appear in thousands over the ivy, like a 
mantle of rich white lace over a robe of green velvet. It is the admiration 
of every body. If the growth of this plant in a perpendicular direction is as 
great as it is in a horizontal one, and we see no reason to doubt this, it will 
be a delightful plant for placing at the root of unsightly tall trees, along with 
the Virginian creeper, or five-leaved ivy, and the giant ivy. We have recom- 
mended some friends at Brighton to try if it will endure the sea-breeze. — 
Cond. 


330 Domestic Notices : — England. 


Ashmolean Society. Oxford, Feb. 26.— The president, the Rev. Dr. Cra- 
mer, in the chair. The secretary, Mr. Bigge, read a paper “ On the Balance 
of Preservation and Destruction in the Animal Kingdom.” He commenced 
with a brief review of the proportionate amount of animal life in the various 
geological zones of the earth, showing how the balance of numbers is con- 
stantly maintained by ever-varying means. He then gave instances of partial 
derangements in the relative numbers of animals caused by man, and the 
readjustment of the balance by the operations of nature; and pointed out 
the frequent occasions where a spirit of indiscriminate destruction has led 
to the extermination of animals whose beneficial uses were not justly appre- 
ciated. Thus Mr. Yarrell, in his History of British Birds, mentions the re- 
markable fact, that in some large farms in Devonshire, when the rooks had 
been destroyed from their supposed hostility to the young crops, the cater- 
pillars, and other insects that feed on vegetable substances, increased to such 
an extent, and ruined the crops so utterly for three successive years, that the 
farmers were obliged to import rooks in order to restore their farms. He 
then alluded to the circumstance, that insects which are hurtful in their larva 
state are frequently beneficial in some stage or other of their transformation, and 
that the good in general overbalances the mischief caused by them. An extraor- 
dinary increase in the number of any variety of animal is generally accompanied 
with a corresponding increase of the animal whose province it is to check its 
numbers ; thus, in 1814 and 1815, the swarms of field mice in the Forest of 
Dean, which threatened at one time to destroy all the young trees, were fol- 
lowed by swarms of hawks, owls, weasels, and magpies ; and ultimately the mice 
turned and destroyed each other. Sometimes, however, the means of read- 
justing the balance are not within reach. Thus in the Island of Mauritius, the 
introduction of rats from the ships of the early Dutch settlers almost led to the 
abandonment of the colony, as, from the distance of the island from the main 
land, no influx of the natural enemies of the rat could take place. In 1826 
the governor of the island offered a reward for rats’ tails, and about 800,000 
tails have been annually brought in ; fire, as well as other means of destroying 
them, have also been adopted, but no artificial checks appear to be so effica- 
cious as those provided by nature. There is no instance of the extermination 
of a single species of animal except the dodo. Mr. Bigge concluded the 
paper with pointing out, that, amidst the great variations in the relative 
numbers of animals, the general result is, the preservation of each species in 
sufficient force, that wherever the balance is disturbed, adequate means are 
provided by nature to readjust it ; and that it is our duty, as well as our 
interest, to study carefully the habits of animals supposed to be noxious, lest, 
in our indiscriminate zeal to suppress them, we should abuse our power over 
the inferior races, and inadvertently disturb the general harmony of the animal 
system. (Atheneum, April 9, 1842.) 

March 7. Professor Daubeny exhibited a specimen of Mr. Daniel’s new 
Patent Manure, which is stated by the inventor to consist of carbonate of 
ammonia, sawdust, and bituminous matter. As the materials from which this 
new kind of fertiliser is drawn appear to consist of morganic matter ex- 
clusively, Dr. Daubeny pointed out its discovery as an instance, amongst 
many others, of the means which nature has placed within our reach for 
increasing the amount of vegetable produce proportionately to the increase of 
mankind, and so maintaining the necessary ratio between subsistence and an 
increasing population. In a purely pastoral or agricultural community, it 
might be unnecessary to have recourse to any other fertilisimg substances than 
those which the manure of animals affords ; but, in a highly advanced con- 
dition of society, in consequence of the large amount of produce consumed 
by the inhabitants of the great towns, it becomes necessary to seek for new 
materials to supply the loss which the soil of the country sustains. Thus, 
bone-dust is procured from South America in such quantities, that it is com- 
puted, on the calculation that each head of cattle supplies bony matter equal to 
84: lb. in weight, that not less than 1,200,000 oxen are slaughtered annually in 


me 
‘ 


Domestic Notices: — England. 331 


that country for the supply of bone manure to England alone. Guano, or 
the dung of sea-birds, is also an extensive article of importation for the same 
purpose ; but, as both these sources will fail in proportion as the several 
countries become more peopled, it is fortunate that we may find substitutes 
for them in inorganic substances. Such is the nitrate of soda, so much used 
of late ; such is the new manure invented by Mr. Daniel; and it may be con- 
fidently predicted, that, by the discovery of such agents, agriculture will be 
enabled to keep pace with the increase of population, if the latter be not sti- 
mulated with unwise regulations ; and that as animal life increases in a direct 
ratio to the amount of subsistence, so the nutritious effects of animal manure, 
by giving greater energy and vigour to the organs of plants, will cause them 
to draw more abundantly from the atmosphere, and thereby force a propor- 
tionately larger quantity of them into existence. Dr. Buckland thought that 
an important principle respecting stimulating manures had been brought 
forward, viz., that a plant, under their action, draws more freely from the 
atmosphere. In addition to the increase of human manure with population, 
the quantity of carbon given out by animals, and left to be absorbed by 
plants, is proportionately increased. He further adverted to the discrimi- 
nation necessary to be exercised, in restoring artificially land that has been 
exhausted ; and instanced a case furnished by Professor Johnston of Durham, 
of certain pastures in Cheshire, which had been exhausted of their phosphate 
of lime by its being absorbed into the cheese made with the milk of the cattle 
fed there, and which were restored by a top-dressing of bone manure. 
(Atheneum, April 9. 1842.) 

Chatsworth. — The entrance to the great conservatory that I showed you 
a sketch of while here is completed. The basin in which the conservatory 
stands is nicely laid out with walks and ornamental flower-plots. They have 
laid down green turf, and changed what looked like a dirty road a month or 
two back into a beautiful flower-garden. A yew hedge is planted all round 
the upper terrace, and round the conservatory, and I am now designing what I 
call watch-towers for the four extreme angles. The plants grow very rapidly 
in the large house. I was there to-day, and was astonished at the difference 
since I was there last. — J. R. March 15. 1842. 

Candahar Fruits. — The East India Company presented to the Horticultural 
Society, in November last, the following collection of seeds of fruit trees from 
this province, which may be regarded as one of the mothers of orchards : — 
Grapes: Lall, large, round, green ; Eytah, long green ; Early luscious black ; 
Houssainee, long green ; Jundah, round green; Early white, good flavour and 
sweet, “Loll;’? Umbherree; Culmuck and Sybee, red. Apricots: Char 
Mugzah; Suffard Chéh ; Kussee ; Soorooz Chéh; Pus Rus; Sukkur Para ; 
and Pus Rus Surdchee. Plums: Purple and Aloochah. Peaches and nec- 
tarines of the richest quality. Cherries. Mulberries: a large black sort, 
called “ Sheeh Lool.” Melons: Surdah, a musk melon; and several kinds 
of water melons. (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 767.) 

Tomato Figs. —I some time since received from Steuart, from New York, 
some preserved tomato figs. He suggested that by sending you some, they 
might be brought into notice as an article of culture ; but I fear the general 
humidity of our climate, and the great want of bright sunshine, would prevent 
them being matured so early in the season as to secure their being rightly 
preserved. However, I send you some, that you may taste them, and be 
convinced that they are really worth notice. —G. Charlwood. Covent Garden, 
April 15. 1842. 

The preserved fruit sent is not a tomato, but the winter cherry, Physalis 
Alkekéngi; or possibly the Peruvian winter cherry, P. peruviana. The taste 
is sweet and pleasant, and, on the whole, it makes a very agreeable sweet- 
meat. — Cond. 


332 Retrospective Criticism. 


Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism. 


Mr. NIVEN’s Stove for various Purposes (p. 190. and 241., and our Volume 
for 1841, p. 234. 334. 429. 478.).—I see by your Magazine for this month 
that Mr. Niven has noticed, in some degree at least, the remarks made in 
some of the preceding Numbers of this work on his “ stove for various pur- 
poses.”’ Before proceeding farther, I may just state that Mr. Niven is quite 
mistaken, if he supposes that my letter and the letters of Catius proceed 
from any other source than that of being far removed from each other. Also, 
that it was a mere act of inadvertence in me not appending my place of resi- 
dence to my name in my last letter; therefore, Mr. Niven might have spared 
himself the trouble of showing off his maritime bravery. In future, I appre- 
hend, we must hold our tongue, and walk about in dread of this redoubtable 
“Charley Napier.” Why, one would be almost led to imagine, from his 
recent exhibition, that Lord Elliot has been using his influence to get him the 
command of the channel fleet. 

Now, Mr. Niven, you are pleased to tell us that, “ but for what you owe 
the public, for whom you act and write, you would have passed by in silence 
any remarks made on your ‘stove for various purposes.” Now, Sir, allow 
me to tell you, that those of the public for whom you act I hope pay you 
well, and some of those of the public for whom you write you expect will 
employ you to act in turn; therefore, I do not see any very great act of con- 
descension in your noticing the above remarks made on your stove, when you 
consider that part of the public may be very much interested therein. 

In the remarks you vouchsafe to make in your last letter, you take very good 
care to keep silent on the points where I requested you to speak out. If I 
have gained nothing by the controversy so far as it has gone, I think I have 
made you repudiate the two-year-old youthful system of queen pine growing. 
True, you don’t do it in words, but you do it virtually by your non-allusion 
to the subject. But, I beg pardon, you have been enlightened on this subject 
since the appearance of your first letter. You can now grow pine plants in 
six months, equal to any two-year-old plants you ever saw. Well, this is 
something like keeping up with the spirit of the times. But, why not find 
this out before? In your first letter you told us that you used ‘“‘ Rogers’s pit”’ 
for growing succession plants, and of which you highly approved. It was 
there, also, wherein you grew your youthful “two-year-olds.” Iapprehend I 
was not far from the mark, in my last letter, when I said you had been a little 
premature in your first glowing description. You go on, Sir, in your last 
letter, to cry down low pits for fruiting the pine-apple, and to recommend your 
semi-curvilinear-roofed house for that purpose. This carries a great deal of 
the “ puff professional” along with it; but let that pass, I maintain that lofty 
houses are quite unfitted for fruiting the pine plant well ; and that lofty or 
low houses have nothing to do whatever in giving the pine flavour ; if they 
have, it must be in favour of low pits, where the plants are kept near the 
glass. Withholding water judiciously for some time previous to ripening, is 
the only way to insure high flavour. Now, Sir, as I hate “iron houses,” I 
take every means and opportunity of running them down. In fact, the only 
advantage they possess may be likened to a gewgaw that leoks better made 
up of any fragile substance, than one composed of more massy materials. 
You admit the original expense of iron houses over wooden ones, altogether 
keeping out of view the after expense of working them. The same quantity 
of coals, you must know, that would keep a wooden house going would very 
far from suffice for an iron house of the same dimensions ; therefore, if gen- 
tlemen will build iron houses, they must be prepared to keep them up. 

Again, Sir, you tell us that “ probably larger fruit may be grown in low 
pits than under the circumstances you describe, but that has yet to be 
proved.” I have never heard of any thing extraordinary having been pro- 
duced in iron houses yet. I shall now give you a few cases where pines have 


' Retrospective Criticism. 333. 


been grown on the old “burning system,” which I am almost certain will not 
be equalled by your chambering system for years to come. In this neigh- 
bourhood there is a nurseryman who grows pines well. His houses were 
built by himself and men, so that you may suppose they are not over fine, 
neither are they. Well, Sir, I recollect seeing a Providence plant in fous 
in one of the above houses, that ripened in September, 1838. In October of 
that year the crown of the above fruit was planted. During its progress, I 
had an opportunity of seeing it several times, and was struck by its beautiful 
growth. The above plant produced a fruit in 1840, and was shown at an 
exhibition on the 2Ist of September ; and what did it weigh, Mr. Niven? 
exactly 9£lb. Now, Sir, I will give your commodore, as you facetiously 
term him, the benefit of your chambering apparatus, ay, and he may also 
have the advice and assistance of the admiral of the “ curvilinear fleet” into 
the bargain, and let him try and raise a production like the above if he can. 
Another case: I suppose, Sir, you are aware that Mr. M‘Murtrie of Shug- 
borough, who has long been famed as a pine-grower, is a decided advocate for 
wooden houses ; and so he may, fer his success with them has been great. 
Mr. M‘Murtrie has grown the Otaheite pine to 121 1b. This is something like 
proof in favour of wooden houses, Mr. Niven, is it not? I will give one more 
case, and have done on this part of the subject. At Ragley, the seat of the 
Marques, of Hertford, Mr. Brown, formerly the assistant, now the worthy 
successor, of the celebrated Baldwin, grows pines with great credit to himself. 
The houses at Ragley are all built of wood, got up in the most homely style. 
Now hear some of the results of the “burning system,” as practised there. 
In April and May of 1839 Mr. Brown had a house of Providence pines ripe, 
not one of which was under 5 lb., many of them were 7 |b., several of them 
8 lb.: you must bear in mind that the plants producing the above fruit were 
started at a season of the year the very reverse of favourable for the pro- 
duction of large fruit ; yet mark the results. 

Oh, but say you, “ What is an overgrown fruit ? Not better than a turnip.” 
Indeed ! Well, [, in my turn, only ask you, Sir, what is the value ofa small puny 
pine? Is it worthy the name of pine at all? being void of juice, or any 
thing else to recommend it. It is often stated by those who seemingly know 
little of the matter, that the Providence pine is not worth growing, owing to 
its indifferent flavour. If there is any truth in this, it will only hold good 
when the Providence pine is badly grown ; for it is an undoubted fact that the 
Providence pine increases in flavour in the ratio of the size, proper care 
being taken to withhold water for some time before ripening. This I will leave 
to the judgement of any connoisseur in pines. Yes, Mr. Niven, I will leave it to 
the judgement of yourself, being perfectly satisfied of what Ihave advanced on 
this head carrying on the face of it the “test of truth.” 

It seems, Sir, that you “ feel thoroughly satisfied of the correctness, sim- 
plicity, and economy of your system,” that is, of growing small pines; “ and after 
much experience, observation, consideration, and care,” &c. Now, Sir, I 
never doubted your ability in growing small pines, nor, I believe, has any one 
else ; on the contrary, I would be astonished, if you take into consideration 
the system recommended in your first letter, if you could grow any thing 
else. 

As regards the economy of the succession pit you describe in your last 
letter, I apprehend it is rather ‘questionable. ‘“ Throughout the summer 
months a single fire at night was generally sufficient to keep up the requisite’ 
charge of temperature in the chamber below.” What, fire every night all the 
summer out! do you call this economical ? why, you are retrograding alr eady. 
In the chamber under your pine pit, in your “ stove for various purposes,” 
we are told that once a week in summer was enough for the pipes to be 
heated, and with your new succession pit you must have a fire every night 
all the summer out ; and then, forsooth, this is economy! Respecting, the 
originality of your chambering system, do you mean, Sir, to claim it as 
your own? Did you never see it in operation in Ireland previously to 


334 Retrospective Criticism. 


your applying it to your “stove for various purposes?” I apprehend 
it was In use in Ireland for several years before we heard any thing of 
your applying it, which I will prove by addressing myself to Mr. Lou- 
don. Well, Mr. Editor, I suppose you have not yet forgotten your 
old friend, now no more, Mr. Ellis, late of the Palace Gardens, Armagh. 
In the account of his death given in the newspapers of the day, it was stated 
that Mr. Ellis was the first to apply hot water to the heating of hothouses in 
Ireland. Mr. Ellis had a chamber underneath the pine bed, in one of his 
houses heated by hot-water pipes. In the year of his lamented death, Mr. 
Ellis left a pit of queen pines the like of which had not, in all probability, 
been seen in Ireland before, nor, I am pretty sure, have their equals been seen 
since. They were in general 4 lb. apiece, some of them 43 lb. The above ac- 
count is due to the memory of a most gentlemanly man, who was possessed 
also of undoubted talents as a gardener. The above, Mr. Niven, cuts the 
originality of the “ chambering system” from under your feet. “ Ah! now,” 
you may say, “had that ‘heroic privateer’ not sent his shot into this, my vul- 
nerable side, I might have had the credit of being the first to apply the cham- 
bering system by hot water.” Yes, Sir, but you must be aware that those who, 
like you, “write for the public,’ must be prepared to abide by any ulterior 
results. 

One word more, and I have done on the pine, in the “easy way of question 
and answer.” Well, Mr. Niven, whom did you ever hear running down large 
pines, who could get them ? And whom did you ever hear praising small pines, 
who could get large ones? Answer me this if you can: for my part I never 
heard one. You then go on to tell us about the prize having been gained at 
the Royal Horticultural exhibition in September last, for the best pine, from 
out of your stove. Well, what do you mean to prove by this? Why, ac- 
cording to your own showing, the puniest one would get the prize, at east 
the largest would not gain it, if you were a judge ; you would reject the 
largest by saying they were not better than “turnips,” and give it to one of 
those of small calibre, because they come nearer your standard. Will you, 
once for all, Sir, give us the weight of any pines that you may cite i future 
for examples, and we can then judge of their merits ourselves. 

You keep very silent, Sir, about what can be done in the cucumber way 
in your stove, by sowing in November, December, and January : you have good 
reasons for this. Although, I admit, your account of those sown in February 
is very satisfactory, but they will not reach two feet in six weeks from sowing, 
will they? I see that 234in. is the length that cucumbers haye been 
grown in your stove; now, I cut a brace of cucumbers the other day off one 
plant, 24 in. long, with the flowers at the point of them. The above were 
grown in a pine-house that had no “chambering apparatus ;” so do not flourish 
too much about your 23} in. If your musas do not cover more space 
than what you say, they are not very strong, that is all; neither have they 
been very expeditious in fruiting, considering the account you gave us of their 
“rapid growth,” fifteen months ago. You must look sharp, or you wo’n’t 
have them ripe by September next. 

You are pleased, Sir, to call my objections “ silly,” against growing plants, 
natives of the same country, together. Who said any thing about the “gross 
impropriety” of doing so? You, Sir, contend that plants from the same coun- 
try can be grown equally well under the same roof; that this holds good in all, 
or nearly all cases, Ideny. Do you think, Mr. Niven, that there is no difference 
of climate in the same country within the tropics? Contrast a mountain with 
a valley, and apply it. Do you suppose that Geraniacee from the Cape, and 
Ericacez from the same country, will grow equally well under the same treat- 
ment ? Would not the latter stand a degree of cold that would totally destroy 
the former ? Therefore, my good Sir, my objections are not “so silly” as at 
first sight may appear. 

You will see that I am rather distantly situated, to be able to compete with 


Retrospective Criticism. 335 


your “stove” productions at the September show in Dublin ; therefore, I 
respectfully decline that honour. However, Ido not like the idea of your 
cruising about in the “bright broad bay” of Dublin till September next. 
I would merely suggest, for your consideration, that, in the interim, as your 
decks are clear, you might as well put your helm up, and take a cruise away to 
Batavia (that is the capital of the Dutch dominions in Java, you know), 
where they grow pines large, and sell them cheap, You can take one of your 
puny ones along with you, and contrast the flavour of it with a large one of 
Java. This is to decide whether my opinion on the flavour of large pines 
is correct or not. Now, if you go, I beg you will do it fairly; and, as I 
allow you to be the judge, if you have a doubt on your mind, you must give 
me the benefit of it. In the mean time, the commodore can look after the fleet 
at home.— W. Hutchinson, Gardener to E. J. Shirley, Esq., M.P., Eatington 
Park, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. May 9. 1842. 

The Squirrel in Gardens and Woods. —I have just seen (p. 202.) an interest- 
ing letter by Charles Waterton, Esq. Mr. Waterton appears to be an enthu- 
Siastic naturalist, and would fain hide, as far as possible, the misdeeds of his 
favourites, particularly the squirrel. Now, much as I admire this nimble little 
quadruped, and anxious as I am to afford it protection, still I would not have 
it concealed from your readers that the nut orchard is not the only place where 
the presence of the squirrel is to be dreaded. In plantations of larch or spruce 
fir, he is the most destructive little wretch alive. Three or four years since, 
in a fir belt that had been planted eight years previously, I observed that 
many of the leading shoots of both larch and spruce, but particularly of the 
larch, were cropped over when in their most succulent state. At first I 
suspected the poor jackdaws, or some such playful customer, for the deed ; 
but, on riding along one morning, I discovered the real rogues, the squirrels, 
busy_at work. On making the discovery, they were, as Mr. Waterton says, 
“ consigned over to the tender mercy of the gamekeeper ;’ but Mr. Waterton 
will rejoice to learn that the order only went to thin off, but not to extirpate 
them. This was done, and since then the firs are gradually recovering their 
leaders. Nor is it small trees chiefly which they attack, by eating off the 
current year’s shoot: I can show spruce of considerable dimensions, which, 
from repeated attacks, are become quite tufted at their tops, so that the con- 
tending leaders resemble a cluster of small turrets. My predecessor imagined 
that these trees were cut down annually by the severity of the weather ; and, 
although the situation is the most eligible for the purpose to be met with, he 
had actually resolved to discontinue planting spruce. 

The squirrel is a most provident little fellow. He generally lays up a store 
of nuts where he can reach them, to serve him through the winter, or until 
the return of the nut season. I have dropped once or twice upon his little 
granary, and can testify to the excellence of the sample which he can produce ; 
not an empty shell amongst the lot. No, he is too good a judge for that. But 
whether this latter circumstance is to be accounted for by the total absence of 
commercial restriction, and consequently the natural result of free trade, is a 
question which I shall not decide upon at present; but, in the meantime, I 
cannot help thinking, and I wish the squirrels would think so too, that trees, 
like trade, would flourish all the better if let alone to take their own course. 

When defrauded of his little winter store, either by the ruthless hand of 
man or by pilfering companions, the squirrel will avail himself of the best 
substitute which he can find. That he has constituted fir tree tops an article 
of daily consumption, I have had ample proof; nor would I begrudge him a 
few leaders, either of spruce or larch, if he would only keep within bounds ; 
but to go over a whole coppice, in these pinching times, cannot be tolerated, 
nor afforded, by “our country squires.” —James Munro. Castile Ashby, April 
9. 1842. 

A new Description of Indian Corn.—I observe (p. 229.) some remarks on a 
new variety of maize recently introduced into America from China. I now 


336 Obituary. 


beg to send a sample of this corn, but at the same time wish you to under- 
stand that it is by no means new, or recently introduced. I have had it, under 
the name of pearl corn, for more than ten years. Ihave also cultivated it with 
the other varieties. Its growth is materially different ; inasmuch, as it throws 


up many stems or offshoots; and is, I think, admirably adapted for culture in - 


a warm dry climate, as an article of forage for cattle, and would, I have no 
doubt, yield, in its proper state of culture under the preceding circumstances 


of climate, an abundant crop of grain, as it is extremely prolific; and although - 


the grains are very small, yet they are very numerous on the cob: nor ‘does 
there appear to be so much waste, compared with the bulk, as in the larger 
species. Ihave no doubt that it is a distinct species of the Zéa, and ought to 
be so stated in the catalogues. I will cultivate some this season, and send 
specimens to the learned in these matters for determination. Some years 
since M. Lagasca, the Spanish botanist, cultivated a large collection of cerealia 
at Chelsea Botanic Garden, including many varieties of the Zéa, but, as he had 
not this variety or species amongst them, at that time Ihad not an opportunity 
comparing them. I have only, in addition, to observe that I have never suc- 
ceeded in getting it to produce seed in this climate, but have to import it every 
year from the southern states of North America.— G. Charlwood. Covent 
Garden, April 15. 1842. 


Art. V. Obituary. : 


Drep, at his residence, Flower Bank, on Sunday, 8th May last, aged 75 years, 
Allan Fowlds, E'sq., nurseryman, Kilmarnock, one of the primitive race of 
nurserymen in Scotland, and (with the exception, perhaps, of the venerable 
Mr. Smith of Monkwood Grove, near Ayr) the oldest then alive. The 
nursery was established by his brother Alexander and himself nearly sixty 
years ago, contemporary with that of the Messrs. Dickson at Edinburgh, 
and the Messrs. Austin at Glasgow, and was ‘carried on under the firm of A. 
& A. Fowlds till a few years after his brother’s death, in 1810. A separation 
took place between his brother’s heirs and himself in 1817; subsequently he 
carried on the nursery and seed business under the firm of Fowlds and Lym- 
burn, and latterly under that of Allan Fowlds and Son. The deceased was 
professionally educated at Mile End, Brentford, and Kew, which laid the 
foundation of an intimate knowledge of hisprofession. He was accustomed to 
boast of being the first that brought the rhododendron from London to Ayr- 
shire. He was also the first to introduce the purple beech, the original of which 
is now a magnificent tree at Caprington Castle, the seat of J. Smith Cunning- 
ham, Esq.; and the hydrangea, the original of which is still im the possession 
of Mrs. Cochrane of Ladyland. From the suavity of his manners, with his 
amiable and social disposition, he was universally esteemed among a large 
circle of acquaintances, most of whom are now gone before him. For the 
last ten years of his life he was mostly confined to the house, unless when 
able to take an airing in the nursery grounds. Though the want of his usual 
exercise must have drawn severely on the strength of his constitution, yet his 
cheerful and happy disposition sustained him through his many infirmities, 
till at last he died, almost without a struggle, and like one falling asleep. — R. L. 

Died, on Wednesday, the 27th inst., after a long and distressing illness, 
borne with Christian fortitude and resignation, Mr. William Rollison, nursery- 
man, of Upper Tooting, Surrey, in the 77th year of his age, deeply lamented 
by his family and friends, (Z%mes.) 


aye 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
JULY, 1842. 


~ ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
By the ConpucTor. 


(Continued from p. 197.) 


' JULY 28, 29. — The road from Bothwell Castle to the village 
of Hamilton presents some grand masses of wood on hilly 
ground, and crosses the Clyde “and its steep rocky banks, also 
crowned with wood. The plantations belonging to the park of 
Hamilton Palace border the road on each se eon the bridge 
till we arrive at the village. This village, which in 1804, nen 
we first saw it, was a dirty miserable place, with scarcely a good 
house except the inn, is now entirely changed. It contains a 
number of substantial houses, some in streets, but the greater 
number detached. The old inn is turned into the office of the 
Duke of Hamilton’s land-steward, and there is a most substantial 
new inn built, in which we obtained most excellent fresh salmon 
and old whiskey, and the very best treatment; but very indif- 
_ ferent potatoes and other vegetables, from there being no market- 
gardener at Hamilton, and no early potatoes grown in the Jand- 
lord’s garden, and from every vegetable, except potatoes, being 
obtained from Glasgow. We do not recollect a single objection 
to this inn, except that the upper sashes of all the rooms, 
whether bed-rooms or sitting-rooms, were fixed, and, conse- 
quently, the rooms could never be properly ventilated. We 
afterwards found this to be the case with the windows of even 
the best houses in Princes Street, Edinburgh, which we were 
not so much surprised at, as they have been built half a century ; 
but we did not expect to find it in a first-rate inn, built by the 
Duke of Hamilton within a few years. The fault is of course 
the architect’s or the carpenter’s, for it cannot be supposed for a 
moment that an individual so exalted in station, so liberal in 
sentiment, and of such excellent taste, more especially in archi- 


tecture, as the present Duke of Hamilton, would build other- 
3d Ser. — 1842. VII. Z 


“338 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


wise than on the very best principles. With respect to the 
greater part of the houses composing the village or town, as it 
may now be called, they are, we suppose, built on feus, which are 
generally leases of 999 years; and the builders, as almost every- 
where else in Scotland, seem to have carefully avoided showing 
the least appearance of improved design or of ornament. But 
what forms the greatest objection to the detached houses of 
Hamilton is, that they have no front gardens, or, at least, we 
recollect very few, and they display no flowers or flowering 
shrubs. The plainest cottage that may be built can be rendered 
a delightful portion of scenery, if it be surrounded by a few 
square yards of ground, planted and cultivated with a little care 
and taste. Even if no creepers are trained against the walls of 
a cottage, two or three low trees, and especially pyramidal ones, 
such as the balsam poplar, the pyramidal common thorn, the 
Irish yew, Swedish juniper, Cembran pine, pyramidal oak, 
various kinds of pears, cherries, plums, and apples, and several 
varieties of the white-beam tree, with a number of others, all 
hardy enough to ripen their wood in this part of Scotland, 
would break the meagre sharp lines of the slated eaves that have 
no gutters (roans, as they are called here), and throw a shadow 
on the broad expanse of roof. It might, as it appears to us, be 
worth while for the Duke of Hamilton, and other extensive pro- 
prietors, each to maintain a small nursery of fruit-bearing and 
ornamental trees and shrubs suitable for planting cottage gardens, 
and give or sell them, not only to the cottagers on their own 
estates at a low price, but to all other cottagers in the surround- 
ing country who choose to become purchasers. In this way, 
and by the occasional advice and assistance of an intelligent 
gardener, a taste for cottage gardens would soon spread over the 
country. We do not recollect much of the church or the 
market-house in Hamilton, but we have in our mind’s eye a 
dissenting chapel, and its burying-ground, both of considerable 
size, and the chapel as deficient in every thing like design or 
taste as such a mass of building could well be. Even the 
workmanship appeared bad; there being apparently neither a 
truly perpendicular line in the walls or openings, nor a cor- 
rectly horizontal line in the roof. Ivy, the Ayrshire rose, 
Clématis montana, and a few scattered trees, would totally change 
the character of this scenery. 

Hamiiton Palace is a noble pile of Roman architecture, stand- 
ing in a park of 1700 acres. Through His Grace’s kindness we 
were permitted to see the interior of the palace, which is ad- 
mirably arranged, and superiorly finished and furnished. Among 
the ancient and curious furniture, are several cabinets, beds, 
chairs, tapestry, and other things, which belonged to Mary 
Queen of Scots; and many articles, also, which were once those 


Hamilton Palace. 339 


of Marie Antcinette. Besides these, we saw such a profusion of 
articles, in china, glass, marble, silver, and gold, and of furniture 
ornamented with precious stones, as we should suppose is no- 
where else to be found, either in Scotland or England, not even 
excepting Windsor Castle. ‘The pictures are numerous, but we 
had only time to glance at them, and to notice “ Daniel in the 
Lion’s Den.” The proportions of all the modern rooms are satis- 
factory, the chimney-pieces superb, and the carving of the ma- 
hogany doors and other fittings most elaborate. One of the most 
striking and imposing rooms, which is called the Tribune, is a lofty 
saloon, lighted from the ceiling, with rich projecting galleries, 
and forming a centre of communication to a suite of state-rooms. 
The hall and grand staircase were being finished with black 
marble, of which we saw numerous columns, but we had only an 
imperfect glance at them from the scaffolding. The exterior of 
the building is grand and imposing, from its magnitude, and the 
unity of architectural design which pervades every part of all the 
elevations ; and the same character of grandeur being preserved 
within, and heightened by richness of finishing and furniture, 
becomes magnificence. The only fault that we could find with 
the interior of the house is one which may be made to every 
house that we have been in, not even excepting the royal pa- 
laces; that is, that there is no artistical connexion between the 
fenders and the grates, or between the fenders and the chimney 
jambs to which they belong. It would occupy too much room 
to enter into details, which, indeed, we have done in the Suburban 
Gardener, p. 125., but fig. 33. from that work shows a fender 
artistically united to the chimney jambs, and will be sufficient to 
give a general idea of what is meant by artistical connexion. 
Nothing has been done to the grounds around the house, or 
at least nothing at all worthy of such a building. There are 
various systems on which the grounds of such a palace might be 
laid out. Supposing the ancient system were to be adopted, 
then the first step would be to form the main public roads lead- 
ing to and from the palace into straight avenues for as many 
miles as they pass through the property, the palace forming the 
central object. Next we would turn the Clyde in such a manner 
as that the avenues should cross it on suitable bridges at right 
angles, immediately before arriving at the gates. ‘The public 
roads would at a distance, to strangers driving along them, ap- 
pear to terminate in magnificent gates leading to the palace ; but 
the roads would, on arriving there, be turned so as to pass outside 
the park. Applying these principles to Hamilton Palace and 
Park, it would involve the alteration of a portion of the road 
from Glasgow, and a portion also of that from Lanark, accord- 
ing to the distance which the estate may extend in the direction 
of these places. It would also require a change being made in 
Z 2 


34.0 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


i 
i 
| — 


i a 
! | | a vn ia mi gs 


eo Wier 
Cy) | Nis 


& 


Ae = ze 


Fig. 33. <A Fender ariistically united to the Chimney Jambs- 


the course of the Clyde near the two places where the two gates 
to the park would be formed. The expense would, no doubt, be 
great; but we are not considering the expense, but only what 
would be suitable for the grounds of such palace, if they had 
been laid out in the days of Louis XIV. The approach from 
the gates thiough the park to the palace we would, of course, 
have a straight avenue 200 or 300 feet wide, with a triple row of 
trees on each side, at 100 ft. distance in the row, so as to allow 
them to take the magnificent forms which may be seen in the 
remains of the old lime tree avenue at Culross Abbey. The 
house we would surround on three sides with an extensive archi- 
tectural flower-garden, including a large architectural con- 
servatory, in the form of a Grecian temple, attached to the 
mansion by an arcade or colonnade; and from this garden an 
archway should lead over the carriage road (which would become 
necessary to connect the avenue from Glasgow with the avenue 
from Lanark) to pleasure-ground scenery and the kitchen- 
garden, to be situated between the palace and the village. Per- 
haps, the arrangement of the public road and the turning of the 
river, might require the palace to be seen obliquely, instead of 
at right angles, as is usual in such cases: but to this we should 
not object; for we consider the proposed change in the public 
road essential to any grand arrangement in either the ancient or 
the modern style. A palace ought to command not merely the 


Cadzow Castle. 341 


park on which it stands, but the whole of the surrounding coun- 
try, which should appear to belong to it; and this is enly to be 
effected by showing a command over the public roads. 

The management of the estate of the Duke of Hamilton ap- 
pears to be admirably conducted by Mr. Brown, who has super- 
intendents for the different departments, whom he sent with us; 
and with them we inspected the home farm, the improving farms, 
and the park; and the resident upholsterer, who has the charge 
of the furniture, conducted us over the house. Unfortunately 
we neither saw the forester nor the gardener, both being from 
home. The garden scenery at Hamilton bears no sort of re- 
lation to the palace, and is evidently a mere temporary affair. 
The farming is admirable; and we were shown extensive tracts 
raised in value from a few shillings per acre to as many pounds, 
by the frequent-drain system, subsoil-ploughing, liming, and 
manuring, chiefly with bones. The soil in this part of the 
country, and through great part of the West of Scotland, 
is admirably adapted for the frequent-drain system, being 
retentive, and chiefly injured by the retention of the water that 
falls on it, rather than from subterranean springs. The young 
plantations we saw enough of to justify us in saying that they 
are too thick, and not pruned on Mr. Cree’s system. The 
hedges are kept with the greatest care in the Berwickshire 
manner, which, though good in respect to pruning, is objection- 
able in the management of the soil by the process called tabling, 
which consists in taking it away from the extremities of the 
roots, where it supplies the fibrils with nourishment, and heap- 
ing it up about the extremities of the plants, where it can do 
little or no good. ‘To convince a Berwickshire man, however, 
that he is wrong either in farming or hedging, would require 
little less than a miracle. 

Cadzow Castle, the ancient baronial residence of the family of 
Hamilton, is situated on the top of a steep bank of the river 
Evan, which joins the Clyde near one of the entrances to 
Hamilton Palace. The old castle is approached through the 
remains of a forest of oaks, having from their age mostly the 
character of old decaying pollards. A few of them are very 
large, and one was pointed out to us with a trunk abont 34 ft. 
in circumference at 6 ft. from the ground, and having the 
branches covering a space above 100 ft. in diameter. ‘There 
are some very large ashes, sycamores, and broad-leaved elms, 
all evidently indigenous in this part of the country. The 
greater part of the oaks were of Quércus pedunculata, which 
renders it probable that many of them were planted, as Q. sessili- 
flora is the prevailing species on the banks of the Clyde and the 
Evan. In this park there is a herd of wild Scottish cattle, in 

Z3 


342 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


which the prevailing colour is white. They are said to be 
much less ferocious than the wild cattle of Chillingham. 

We went to the old ornamental building called Chatelherault, 
and found it occupied by a solitary gardener, who, nevertheless, 
contrives to entertain himself in the evenings with the garden- 
ing newspapers, Chambers’s Journal, and other periodicals. 
The soil of the gardens here is a light sand, and completely 
worn out for want of manure. 

Barncleugh, the property of Lord Belhaven, forms a portion of 
the steep banks of the Evan before mentioned, amounting to 36 
acres, with a small house with crow-step gables, and the banks of 
the river laid out in terraces, which, from their architectural re= 
mains, must at some former time have been extremely beautiful 
and interesting, in their striking contrast with the wildest de- 
scription of woody scenery. ‘The terraces and every part of the 
garden are now ina ruinous state ; even the figures cut in yew and 
box not being clipt, and consequently fast losing their artificial 
shapes. ‘This is easily accounted for, neither the gardener nor 
the person who occupies the house setting much value on this 
style of gardening. A portion of level surface on which they 
could grow kitchen crops would evidently please them much 
better. The bank appears to have been formed into three 
parallel terraces varying in width, retained by very high walls, 
most of which have been covered with fruit trees; and in some 
parts there are niches with seats, in others buttresses; and in 
one there is a recess with the remains of a bath, in front of 
which, in an area which, if we are not mistaken, the gardener 
told us was once covered with a glass roof, are still the lead pipes 
and other wreck of a basin and fountain. The beau-ideal of the 
ruins of this part of the garden, restored, forms the frontispiece 
to Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s edition of Price on the Pic- 
turesque. In that work is given an account of the origin of 
the garden, which, as it is very curious, we shall quote at 
length. 

This garden, Sir Thomas informs us, * was constructed by 
that Lord Belhaven who lived about the middle of the 17th cen- 
tury, of whom — 

“Tt is formerlie observit, that the Inglisches haiffing routtit this natioun at 
the fight at Dunbar, upone the 3d September 1650, they possest this kingdome, 
and did foirfalt the maist part of these that wer ingadged in that unlauchful 
ingadgement in the Scottis ingoing to England; among quhome the Dukes of 
Hamiltoun, and all that formerlie were forfalt, the creditouris persewit the 
cautioneris for the Duke’s dett and could get no relieffe. Among these cau- 
tioneris the Lord Belhevin being one, and being band for that hous in greater 
sumes of money than he was able to pay, he resolves to leave this natioun, 
that he mycht eschew comprysinges of his landis and imprissonement of his 
persone. This resolutioun he followes in this manner. He takis his jurney 


to England, and quhen he past by Silloway (Solway) Sandis, he causit his 
servand cum bak to his wyff with his cloak and hatt, and causit it to be yented 


ei: 


\ 


Notes on Gardens at Brighton. 343 


that in ryding by these sandis, both he and his horse quhuairon he raid were 
sunkin in these quick sandis and drowned, nane being privy to this, bot his 
lady and his man servand. This report passed in all pairtes as guid cunzie, 
that he was deid and perisched, for the space of six yearis and moir; and to 
mak this the moir probable and lykelie, his lady and chyldrene went in dule 
and murning the first two yeiris of his absens, so that during these six yeiris 
it was certifyed to the haill cuntrey that he was deid and perisched ; all this 
wes done of set purpos to eschew the danger of the cautionary quhairin he 
lay for that Hous of Hamiltoun. Eftir his ingoing to England, he strypit 
himselff of his apperell, clothed himselff in ane base servill sute, denyit his 
name, and became servand to ane gairdner, and laborit in gardenes and yairdis 
during the haill space of his absence; na person being privy to this cours bot 
his Lady, (as for his servand he went to other service, not knowing that his 
old Lord haid becum a gairdner,) till efter six yeiris absens ; efter quhilk tyme 
and space the Dutches of Hamiltoun haiffing takin ordour with the dettis, 
and compereit and aggreyit with the creditouris, than he returned to Scotland 
in Januar last 1659, efter sex yeiris service in England with a gairdner, to the 
admiratioun of many, for during that haill space it was evir thocht he wes 
deid, no persone being accessorie to his secrecy bot his awin Lady to hir great 
commendatioune. By this meanis his landis and estait wer saiff, and his cau- 
tionarie for the Hous of Hamiltoun wes transactit for, as is afoirsaid, and his 
estait both personall and reall fred and outquytt.’ 

“TI believe that it was owing to my friend Mr. Kirkpatrick Sharp having on 
one occasion directed Sir Walter Scott’s attention to this most singular story, 
that the first idea occurred to the great author of the Bride of Lammermoor, 
that he should terminate the existence of the Master of Ravenswood by a 
death similar to that which was thus feigned by Lord Belhaven, and which 
Sir Walter has made so sublimely affecting as the final fate of his hero. But 
the object which I have most particularly in view, in my present introduction 
of this piece of history is, that I may be enabled to mention, that it was the 
knowledge which Lord Belhaven thus acquired, during his six years’ hard 
horticultural labour in England, that enabled him to lay out and construct 
this beautiful old terrace garden of Barncleugh.” 


However creditable this history may be to the Lord Belhaven 
of the 17th century as a gardener, it does not say much for him 
asaman. It is singular that a Scotch gentleman very fond of 
gardening, and who possessed one of the finest old places in the 
neighbourhood of Edinburgh, should have, a few years ago, en- 
deavoured to defraud his creditors in a somewhat similar manner 
to Lord Belhaven, by inducing it to be believed that he was 
drowned in England, and in which he in part succeeded. He 
had not, however, like Lord Belhaven, taken the precaution of 
making his lady privy to his intentions, and, in consequence, 
after a certain time had elapsed, she was about to marry, which 
soon brought the supposed dead man to life. 


(To be continued.) 


Art. II. Notes on Gardens at Brighton, and in its Neighbourhood. 
By the ConpDucTor. 


Tue views from the Brighton Railroad exhibit an undulating 


country, with a general sameness of character, and uninterrupted 
ZA 


544 Notes on Gardens at Brighton, 


by a single plane or level surface. The greater part of the 
country is occupied by wood or pasture, and there are scarcely 
any gentlemen’s seats seen from the road, with the exception of 
Gatton, and portions of the grounds of villas between London 
and Croydon. ‘There are many deep cuttings; and these being 
mostly through hard chalk, admit of the sides being very steep, 
in some places so much so as to approach the perpendicular. 
These deep cuttings, in our opinion, are the most disagreeable, 
or, rather, perhaps, insipid, parts of railroads, excluding all distant 
view, and presenting in every part of the country the same mo- 
notonous foreground of a steep tame bank. We would there- 
fore plant the whole or the greater part of them with trees and 
shrubs, so that in future these parts of the railroads would be 
woods or groves, in time overarching the road, and giving it the 
appearance of passing through a ravine in a mountain forest, or 
through a dark avenue. ‘The kind of trees and shrubs we 
would vary according to the soil, the exposure, direction of the 
road, and other circumstances, so as never to interfere with 
utility. In a road running east and west, we would intermix a 
good many low growths on the south side, so as to admit the sun 
here and there to the road; but where the direction was south 
and north, as in the Brighton road, attention to this point would 
be unnecessary, as the sun would shine on every part of the road 
that was not overshadowed by trees, at mid-day on every day in 
which he appeared. On the naked banks of chalk we would 
sow the seeds of the pine and fir tribe, previously forming a 
little pit of good soil for every patch of seeds; or, in order that 
the roots might spread along the surface, we would form inter- 
secting gutters of only a few inches in width and depth, and fill 
them with good soil, in which the roots might extend them- 
selves, till the foliage that would drop annually had formed 
a vegetable soil over the whole surface of the chalk. We are 
not aware of any harm that would result to the railroads from 
all the banks of the steep cuttings being planted, while in time 
there might be thinnings or timber trees to cut down, which 
would more than pay all the expense incurred. We question, 
indeed, whether there would not be a present gain in planting 
these banks, because, when once planted, they would no longer 
require to be mown two or three times a year as at present. 
The plantation would require very little attention, besides a 
slight annual pruning on Cree’s principle, for the trees, leaving 
the shrubs untouched for a number of years till pruning became 
requisite; and the thinnings, even the first time the operation 
required to be performed, would at least pay the expense of the 
operation. The sides of the embankments which are not seen 
from the road, but over which the eyes of the passengers look 
to the distant country, ought not to be planted with trees, be- 


and in its Neighbourhood. 345 


cause that would shut out the landscape; but they might be 
planted with oak or ash to be cut as under-growth, with willows 
to be cut for hoops or basketwork, or with furze to be cut as 
fodder or as fuel for ovens or brick-kilns; and with here and 
there, say every 300 or 400 feet, a standard tree, to forma sort of 
running foreground to the distant parts of the picture. As these 
banks generally contain immense masses of good soil, whatever 
was planted on them would grow vigorously, and perhaps soon 
afford sufficient profit to pay the expense of planting and ma- 
naging the banks of the steep cuttings, as well as the slopes of 
the embankments. However, putting profit out of the question, 
we think that, at all events, the deep cuttings ought to be planted 
for the sake of ornament. . 

The bridges which cross the railroad exhibit in some places 
forms not to be met with on the Birmingham line, such as the 
continuation of the main arch through the side arches, so as to 
serve as abutments, and the lightening of the piers by open work. 
This is beautifully exemplified in the grand viaduct over the 
Ouse, the piers of which are in one part a hundred feet in height. 
The sides of this splendid structure are, of course, not seen 
from the railroad, though this object might be accomplished by 
means of reflecting glasses, if it were thought desirable. The 
length of this viaduct is 1437 ft., or rather more than a quarter 
ofa mile. It is justly considered a master-piece of engineering, 
and affords one of the finest examples of elegant simplicity com- 
bined with strength, that is any where to be met with. There 
are many skew bridges on this line, and one or two formed of 
single ribs 3 ft. apart, bridged over, apparently for the purpose 
of showing how skew bridges may be dispensed with. The 
station-houses are plain and neat, but without pretension to 
ornament. On a Brighton line we think more beauty and variety 
might have been displayed in them, but a due regard to economy 
no doubt prevented this. 

The regulations at both extremities of the line, for safety and 
saving trouble to passengers, are far superior to those on the 
Birmingham line, or in any other with which we are acquainted. 

The last thing which we shall notice, as connected with the 
railroad, is a young plantation of trees on the right hand just 
before arriving at Brighton. It affords a capital example of 
overpruning ; the trees, which are from 10 ft. to 20 ft. in height, 
and both of needle-leaved and broad-leaved kinds, being de- 
prived of their branches for two thirds of their height. 

The Street Gardens of Brighton, as we noticed in our volume 
for 1838, p.498., are in general very neatly kept, more espe- 
cially those on the London Road, on both sides of St. Peter’s 
Church. These gardens are now (May 15th to June 3d) rich 
in Brompton stocks and wallflowers, both of which thrive at 


346 Notes on Gardens at Brighton, 


Brighton, and along the coast to Worthing and Tarring, with a 
degree of vigour which we have only seen equalled in the chalk 
pits at Greenhithe on the south bank of the Thames. The 
columbine in all its varieties is also in great abundance and 
vigour, the double red lychnis, and in some places the double 
yellow marigold; while masses of red and white valerian are just 
beginning to expand their blossoms. The prevailing colour in 
almost every garden is red, but this is finely contrasted by the 
rich yellows and orange of the marigolds, and relieved by the 
different shades of purple, red, and white of the columbines, by 
the purple and variegated stocks, and by stocks of a pure white; 
the whole garden being harmonised by the green of the foliage, 
or of a small plot of grass, and this again supported by the stone 
colour of the walls and the gravel of the walks. 

‘In the Brighton gardens fronting the sea, the plants men- 
tioned and various others thrive nearly as well as in the back 
streets, provided there is a dwarf wall to protect them from the 
direct influence of the sea breeze and spray. ‘These gardens, 
however, are very inferiorly kept to those on the London Road ; 
partly because they belong to wealthy families who only reside 
at Brighton a part of the winter, and hence their gardens during 
spring and summer are neglected, and partly because they belong 
to lodging-houses, the keepers of which do not in general trouble 
themselves with flowers. ‘The last winter was more than usually 
severe on the tamarisk, which forms the principal shrub in all 
the gardens and squares exposed to the sea, and hence these 
shrubs are for the most part cut in and just beginning to shoot. 
There are very few plants of the sea buckthorn about Brighton, 
but there are a few; and where the tamarisk has been cut to 
pieces the buckthorn has not been in the slightest degree in- 
jured. At Gosford, in East Lothian, the sea buckthorn has 
proved the hardiest of all marine trees or shrubs. The evergreen 
oak has not been injured at a very short distance from the sea 
in the back streets; and the Dutch, Scotch, and Chichester elms 
appear to thrive just as well as the common sycamore. In short, 
wherever there is a little shelter from the direct influence of the 
sea breeze, every kind of tree and shrub appears to thrive quite 
well; though, from the soil being poor, thin, and on chalk, and the 
great want of rain in the growing season, their growth is very 
slow, and they never can attain a large size, as may be proved 
from the trees on similar soils in the interior of the country. 
The Leycestéria formosa is a shrub which might be advan- 
tageously introduced into the sea-side gardens, not only, as our 
correspondent N. M. T. has shown (G. M. for 1841, p. 9.), be- 
cause it stands the sea breeze, but because it makes the greatest 
show late in autumn, when Brighton is fullest of company. The 
Lycium barbarum, the common ivy and the five-leaved ivy, and 


and in its Neighbourhood. 347 


climbing roses, thrive remarkably well when trained against the 
houses in the back streets, as would most other ligneous creepers, 
among which we would particularly recommend Clématis mon- 
tana (p. 329.) and other species, Wistarza sinénsis, and the 
common white jasmine. 

Next to the street gardens in the London Road, are those in 
the Western Road, in which the wallflowers, stocks, colum- 
bines, marigolds, and red valerians now make a splendid ap- 
pearance; and, against the houses, China roses of different kinds, 
but especially the commonest variety, which flowers earlier than 
any other, are profusely covered with bloom. The finest part of 
this street is the recess in which the house of Mr. Wild the 
architect stands, and which is mentioned in our volume for 1829, 
p- 120. The architecture is better here than in most of the old 
parts of Brighton, and the trees and shrubs have attained a com- 
paratively large size. ‘The house then occupied by Sir James 
Scott, to which the large conservatory called the Oriental 
Garden was then, and is still, attached, is now occupied as a 
ladies’ school. All the gardens here are kept with very great 
care and neatness. 

The Grounds in Front of the Pavilion are so shut in by in- 
creasing the height of the wall, and boarding the inside of the 
iron railing, that they no longer, as formerly, prove an orna- 
ment to the town. We cannot help thinking that if this matter 
were represented in a proper light to Her Majesty, she would 
order the wall to be lowered, and an open iron railing placed 
on it, leaving the border of trees and shrubs within as it is, so 
as to produce a barrier which may be partially seen through, 
similar to the palisades and borders of shubbery which sur- 
round the squares, and to that which existed some years ago, as 
shown in Mr. Repton’s Designs for the Pavilion, &c., fig. 147., 
given in our edition of Mr. Repton’s works, p. 403. Allowing 
the eye of persons in the street to penetrate here and there into 
these grounds would certainly be a great additional beauty to 
this part of Brighton, and we should think could be no annoy- 
ance to a queen who is not averse from showing herself in public, 
even if she were walking within. Much has been said re- 
specting the architecture of the Pavilion. For our part, we 
admire it throughout, for its novelty in this country and its 
consistency, for the unity of style which pervades every part, 
and for the substantialness of the execution of the work. We 
speak only from general impressions, without specific examina- 
tion or entering into details. _ We hope every part of the edifice 
and its appendages will be kept up in good repair as long as it 
will stand. We regret to see some chimney-tops repaired with 
common red chimney-pots, instead of the ornamental forms with 
which they were formerly terminated ; but we hope the repairs 


348 Notes on Gardens at Brighton, 


to which we ailude are only temporary. We know not whether 
the town of Brighton is rich or poor; if it be rich, we would 
‘suggest the idea of clearing away all the houses round the 
Pavilion, and presenting the cleared ground to the queen, so as 
to enable Her Majesty to surround her residence with lawns and 
trees, and an open iron railing; and, to make this gift complete, 
we would at the same time clear away some houses, so as to 
admit a view of the sea from the principal rooms. Whether 
the expense of these improvements would be compensated to 
the town, by inducing the court to pay more frequent visits to 
Brighton, is a point that can only be matter of conjecture. 

The Squares, or open spaces between the grounds of the 
Pavilion and the Rose Hill Nursery, are varied only with one 
or two clumps, unconnected among themselves or with any 
thing around. There is not a walk in any of them in which 
there is the slightest shade, which, in our opinion, is a very great 
defect in all public gardens ; but it might be remedied by plant- 
ing trees along one system of walks for summer use, and form- 
ing open walks for use after rain and during winter. 

St. Peter’s Church, a very handsome edifice by Mr. Barry, 
has a considerable area round it, but it has not been used as a 
place of interment ; because, from its low situation, it is supposed 
that it might deteriorate the water which supplies the wells of the 
town. This piece of ground is surrounded by a marginal 
plantation, which has a very good effect; and the interior, as it 
is not to be used as a cemetery, might be diversified with flower- 
ing shrubs and low trees, and with small circular beds of flowers 
of different sizes grouped together, each bed planted with only 
one kind of flower. Both trees and flowers we would have 
named for the benefit of the young; for we should not treat it 
as a cemetery, but rather as a botanical pleasure-ground. 

St. Nicholas Church has lately had two or three acres of ground 
added to it, which is laid out as a cemetery. ‘This ground is 
on the steep side of a hill, with a terrace along the upper boun- 
dary, formed by a series of cells or catacombs, each of about the 
size of a common coach-house, and with large boarded doors, 
which rather remind us of the stable-yard than of the cemetery. 
The doors are too large; for though we speak of “ the gates of 
death,” the entrance to the tomb is generally made narrow, 
widest at bottom, and the door that closes it of stone or metal. 
In our opinion it would be a great improvement to remove these 
coach-house doors, and substitute others much narrower, and 
formed of one slab of slate, or of Caithness flagstone. ‘The trees 
planted in this cemetery are horsechestnuts, limes, and other 
unsuitable kinds, instead of Pyrus Aria, sea buckthorn, the 
common elder, sycamore, the common and Irish yew, the ever- 
green oak, the Swedish juniper, &c. The flower-beds neither 


and in its Neighbourhood. 349 


group with one another nor with any thing else. The soil, except 
a few inches on the surface, is naturally of pure chalk. The 
entrance to this cemetery is Roman, while the church to which it 
belongs and adjoins, and the catacombs it contains, are Gothic. 
Hanover Chapel has a burying-ground which is quite unique. 
A straight avenue of elm trees leads from the entrance-gate to 
the door of the chapel; and on each side of the gravel walk, 
which runs down the centre of the avenue, is a narrow margin of 
smooth highly kept grass. Next, there is on each side a neat 
low wire fence, beyond which is the burying-ground, the greater 
part of which is dug and planted with herbaceous plants, inter- 
spersed with low trees and flowering shrubs, and divided by 
walks, in some places straight and in others winding. The whole 
is interspersed with graves and grave-stones, and as the gates in 
the wire fence are all kept locked, no person is allowed to walk 
among the graves who is not admitted by the gardener. Every 
recent grave is covered with a mound of green turf, kept smooth 
by clipping or mowing, and all the rest of the ground is kept 
dug and planted; so that no flowers can be said to be grown on 
the recent graves, but only beside them. The recent graves 
are those in which interments have taken place within two or 
three years ; and are always known by being covered with green 
turf, which is kept fresh by watering, and short and thick by fre- 
quent mowing. Nothing that we ever saw in a cemetery or church- 
yard comes up to the high keeping displayed in this one. The 
walks and their edges were perfect; the grass every where like 
velvet ; the dug ground as fresh and garden-like as if it had been 
recently dug and raked ; the flowers neatly staked and tied up, 
where tying was required ; and not a single decayed flower or leaf 
could we observe any where. The boundary walls were covered 
with ivy and other climbers, and we observed trained on them 
one or two fig trees and some other plants of the tree kind; but 
as, in consequence of the wire fence, we could not get into the 
interior walks, we speak only of what we saw from the avenue. 
The Royal Tea Garden in the outskirts of the town is on a 
level surface, and might be made a scene of considerable 
attraction. It has been ten or twelve years planted, and the 
trees are 30 ft. high and upwards, and thriving as well as could 
be desired. There is a handsome broad straight walk down the 
centre of the garden, completely and densely shaded by elms; a 
great variety of side walks and side scenes, such as open 
circular areas of gravel, of flower-beds, of arbours and other 
rustic structures, of basins of water, &c. There is a sunk oval 
area of turf, 100 ft. by 200 ft., surrounded by an open lawn, which 
may serve as a verdant amphitheatre, or for a large company to 
see a play acted on a temporary platform, to hear music, or see 
fireworks, for a dance, a fancy fair, a masquerade, or other 


350 Notes on Gardens at Brighton, 


amusements. There is a labyrinth at the farther extremity of 
the garden, and a large building for refreshments at the main 
entrance. It does not, however, seem in a thriving state, for 
most of the wooden structures are tumbling to pieces, and the 
flower-beds were neglected, and, instead of a gardener among 
them, we found a cow. 

Rose Hill Nursery, Messrs. J. and G. Evans. We noticed 
this garden on a former occasion (G. M. for 1838, p. 501.) as 
being cultivated with great spirit, and receiving the additions of 
various plant structures. In our present rapid glance we ob- 
served admirable crops of grapes, a splendid show of geraniums 
and other greenhouse plants, and the whole garden in the very 
highest order and keeping. Neither of the Messrs. Evans were 
brought up to gardening, which is, doubtless, the reason why 
they are so fond of the pursuit, and why they keep everything 
in such excellent order. ‘Though we have little room for details, 
yet we must not forget to record the dimensions and crop of one 
vinery. Length, 45 ft.; breadth, 10 ft.; height at back, 10 ft. ; 
at front, 3 ft. Heated by one fire, over which there is a boiler, 
the water from which circulates in pipes at the back of the house, 
while the smoke passes along a flue in front. ‘The vines have 
been six years planted, are spurred in, and on each shoot only 
one bunch is left to be matured; these bunches commonly 
averaging 1lb. weight each. ‘They are calculated to ripen in the 
first week of July. ‘The weight of grapes cut annually from this 
house is from 3 cwt. to 35 cwt.! ‘This produce is very seldom 
equalled, and we are not aware that it has been often surpassed. 
The border is a strong chalky loam, 2 ft. deep, on a chalky bot- 
tom, perfectly dry ; the soil is well enriched with stable manure 
and night-soil, and mulched on the surface, but not cropped. 

Norman’s Market-Garden, at the eastern extremity of Brigh- 
ton, in Park Street, is remarkable for its vineries, which form a 
range 400 ft. long, 15 ft. wide, and 12 ft. high at back. There 
is no front glass, but a parapet of 2 ft. with openings with wooden 
shutters for admitting air, and there are corresponding openings 
and shutters at the top of the back wall. Both are opened by 
jointed wooden levers, in a very simple manner. These houses 
were put up about twenty years ago; and they are heated by 
flues, which Mr. Norman, after nineteen years’ experience, con- 
siders cheaper than the hot-water system. ‘The vines are spurred 
in, and one bunch only left on each lateral branch. The 
bunches are not large, but they are numerous, and equally dis- 
tributed over the whole vine; and the laterals being twice as 
numerous as in the house of Messrs. Evans just mentioned, the 
total weight of grapes produced from a square foot of glass is 
probably not materially different. Mr. Norman begins to force 
his earliest house on Feb. 1st, and his crop generally ripens in 


and in its Neighbourhood. 351 


sixteen weeks. He had just (May 25th) begun to cut in his earliest 
houses. The vines are so far apart that abundance of light is 
admitted between each main stem, and to this circumstance, the 
dryness of the fire heat, and also the dryness of the soil and 
subsoil, Mr. Norman attributes the high flavour of the grapes, 
which, he says, are the highest in flavour which are brought to 
Covent Garden Market. ‘The borders are broad, occasionally 
very slightly cropped, or sometimes mulched, and in very dry 
weather, while the fruit is growing, watered along the outer ex- 
tremity, where most of the fibrous roots are supposed to be. The 
kinds grown here, and also in the Rose Hill Nursery, are almost 
entirely the Hamburgh, with a few of the white Nice for the 
size of the bunch, and one or two muscats for flavour; but, as 
the muscats now seldom bring a higher price than the Ham- 
burghs, they are not much grown. 

Rogers's Flower-Garden, and Parsons’s Flower-Garden, both 
on the Western Road, have had considerable accessions of glass 
since we noticed them in our volume for 1829, and we found 
an increased variety of pelargoniums and new showy greenhouse 
plants. Both parties have several acres of ground about a mile 
out of town. 

The Market-Gardens which supply the ordinary vegetables 
to the Brighton market are mostly at the distance; of a mile or 
two in the interior; but the superior vegetables are brought from 
the neighbourhood of Shoreham, and from different places along 
the coast as far as Arundel. We saw excellent asparagus, 
broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuces, rhubarb, &c. Lettuces 
of the brown Cos kind were particularly abundant, and chiefly 
as this variety stands the winter near the sea as well as the 
common cabbage. We found two excellent kinds of potato in 
the market, brought from Storrington, not far from Arundel. 
The one was called the Yorkshire kidney, and the other was a 
roundish potato, neither of them hollow-eyed, or showing the . 
least symptom of vegetation on June 3d, the day we left 
Brighton. We learn from the grower, Mr. Linfield, that these 
potatoes, which are grown in a sandy peaty soil, are kept in 
pies; that is, buried in pits in dry sandy soil that does not 
retain water. The flesh of the round potato is yellow, rather 
waxy than mealy, very solid in consistence, and of an excellent 
flavour. They may be had of Mr. Linfield, Storrington, or, in 
Brighton, of Wilkins, a fruiterer in Kast Street. 

There seems a very general taste for keeping pots of flowers 
in the windows in Brighton, more particularly pelargoniums, 
and a number of these, with heaths and other plants, are ex- 
posed in the market. Among them we noticed some fine double 
bloody and double yellow wallflowers; a double wallflower, very 
fragrant, which appeared to be a hybrid between a wallflower and 


352 Notes on Gardens at Brighton, 


a Virginian stock, and which, though called French, was, we were 
informed, first introduced to Brighton by the late Mr. Cobbett 
of Horse Hill Nursery, near Woking. There is also here a 
single wallflower called the Harlequin, which bears yellow, 
dark brown, and nearly white flowers, all expanded at the 
same time. 

The Park is a piece of ground of from 40 to 50 acres in 
extent, and forming a basin open at one point to the south-east 
and to the sea, and every where else surrounded by rising 
ground, which shelters the interior of the basin from the north, 
west, south-west, and north-east. ‘The area is arranged in such 
a manner as to be eventually surrounded by a belt of villas, 
containing from 1 rood to 2 acres each, and all looking on the 
basin, which is planted as a park, and contains upwards of 20 
acres. This park, which will be equally enjoyed by all the sur- 
rounding villas, is, in the words of the prospectus for letting 
the ground, “not to be built upon, but to be left free, and for 
ever appropriated, as at present, for lawn and plantations.” ‘The 
trees in the park are of ten years’ growth, and average from 15 ft. 
to 20 ft. in height ; and, considering the scil and the situation, 
they are in thriving state. The situation is naturally sheltered ; 
and, when it is farther protected by being surrounded by a belt 
of villas and their gardens, the trees will admit of being thinned 
out, when the roots of those which remain, having greater 
range, and their tops more room, they will grow much faster. 
Indeed they are at present much too thick, even for an exposed 
situation. We suspect the ground was not properly prepared at 
first planting; for, had it been deeply trenched and manured, 
the trees need not have been planted nearly so thick, and they 
would have grown much faster. There is alsoa want of single 
trees and small groups to break the larger masses, and these 
ought to be added without delay from the thinnings, each tree 
. being headed in, in the Belgian manner (p.131.). There is a 
plan of this park, and a view exhibiting the general appear- 
ance which will be produced by the surrounding line of villas, 
very beautifully lithographed by Hulmandel. There are three 
entrance-gates, erected from designs by Mr. Barry, all excel- 
lent, but more particularly that called St. George’s Gate, which 
calls to mind the portals to the villas in the neighbourhood of 
Florence. There is a steam-engine in an elegant tower in the 
highest parts of the grounds, for the purpose of raising water 
from a deep well, so as to supply all the houses that may be 
built, even to their upper stories. 

Some borders of shrubs and flowers have lately been planted 
along the outer drive of the park by Mr. Attree, the proprietor, 
which we notice because they have been very tastefully planted 
in groups, so as to form masses of the same forms and colours, 


and in its Neighbourhood. 353 


and blending into one another at their boundaries. The masses 
of lavender, rosemary, rue, red valerian, wallflower, rocket, 
columbine, and other plants which thrive well on chalk, look 
remarkably well; and among the shrubs Coronilla E’merus was 
conspicuous, being then in full bloom. 

Park Villa, Thomas Attree, Esq., is situated in the upper 
part of the surrounding belt, and occupies about 24 acres. ‘The 
house, which is in the Italian style, was designed by Mr. Barry, 
and built under his superintendence. Mr. Barry also designed 
the architectural garden, terrace walls, and open garden buildings, 
which form conspicuous ornaments to this villa, whether seen at 
a distance or from the windows of the house, as a foreground to 
the park and the sea. ‘The interior of the house is admirably 
arranged, and the principal apartments are finished in a style of 
great simplicity and beauty. ‘There is a loggia in the centre of 
the principal front, with which the smaller “drawingroom com- 
municates ; and the larger drawingroom looks into a small con- 
servatory or plant cabinet, from which a flight of steps descends 
to the garden. In consequence of the steepness of the ground, 
the ascent to the entrance front is only by a few steps, but the 
garden front, which looks on the architectural flower-garden, is 
so much lower than the other as to exhibit the windows of the 
basement story. It is this steepness of the surface which has 
given rise to so much architectural beauty and variety in this 
villa and its accompaniments. 

The architectural gardens are on three levels. The first, de- 
scended to by a flight of steps from the conservatory, has the beds 
edged with stone, and a handsome basin and fountain in the centre; 
some pedestals and vases, a handsome open temple or pavilion 
at one angle, and a massive stone seat at the other. ‘The garden, 
on two pide, is bounded by a high retaining wall, which has a 
formidable appearance from below, and is * henminaed above 
the level of the garden by a rich parapet surmounted by vases ; 
and this parapet is also continued on one side of the house so far 
as to connect this central garden with one above it, in which 
there is a bowling-green, and one below, in which the flower- 
beds are on turf, and in which there are a number of low 
ornamental trees and shrubs, besides numerous creepers and 
roses on the terrace walls. ‘The contrast between the open 
aérial effect of the upper elevated garden, which has no other 
boundary than the low parapet on two sides, and overlooks 
the park with the sea in the distance, and the lower garden, 
which is surrounded by high architectural walls, and in which 
the eye is confined to the garden itself and the architectural orna- 
ments which terminate the walls, is excellent ; while the bowling- 
green garden forms a third character, quite distinct from the 


other two. Besides these three gardens, there are a large arti- 
3d Ser.—1842. VII. AA 


354 Notes on Gardens at Brighton. 


ficial mount thrown up to shelter the house from the south- 
west, which is covered with shrubs interspersed with walks; a 
shrubbery combining a fruit border, which leads to another mount 
with shrubs and walks; and a third walk with glades of lawn 
and groups of shrubs and ornamental trees, which leads to the 
kitchen-garden and reserve greenhouse and hotbeds. ‘The beds 
and shrubberies were remarkably well stocked with flowers, 
among which the China rose, heartsease, wallflower, and Bromp- 
ton stock were conspicuous; and under an awning there was a 
bed of tulips, containing many choice flowers. In short, we 
were charmed with the beauty and variety of this place, which 
we visited more than once, and should have wished to have 
brought away ground plans and sketches for publication, which 
we hope to do at some other time. 

One point practised here by the gardener, who was not brought 
up to the profession, though not new, is too much neglected. 
He always keeps a strong reserve of well-grown bushy wall- 
flowers in loamy soil or in pots, and whenever any bed becomes 
naked in the autumn, he fills it with wallflowers, which, being 
evergreens, have a lively appearance through the winter; and if 
the bed is not wanted for other flowers, they make a fine show 
in April and May, till the beds can be filled with geraniums, 
verbenas, &c. Many gardeners profess to adopt this plan, but 
for want of time, or some other cause, neglect it. It ought to be 
adopted as a rule, that no flower-bed in front of a house should 
at any time be left naked. It is scarcely necessary to add, that 
the kinds of evergreens for covering beds in this way should not be 
confined to the wallflower and the stock, but should be extended 
to other evergreen herbaceous plants and low shrubs, such as 
pinks, sweetwilliams, saxifrages, creeping thyme, common thyme, 
rue, sage, rosemary, periwinkle, tutsan, heaths, box, rhodo- 
dendron, and all similar plants that may be grown in No. 32 
pots, or that, when planted in the common soil of the garden, 
may be taken up with abundance of fibrous roots, so as not to 
cause them to flag or check their growth. In some cases the plants 
may be grown in thin beds of rich loamy soil, bottomed with 
flagstone ; in which case all the roots might be taken up by in- 
serting the spade between the soil and the flagstone, and taking 
the plants up in masses, like turves, to be laid down where they 
are wanted. ‘To grow the plants in pots, however, is perhaps 
the best mode for all those that have ramose roots, such as the 
wallflower, stock, &c., using the proper means to prevent the 
roots from growing far through the bottom of the pot, by giving 
the pot a twist round occasionally. For saxifrages, pinks, &c., 
the turf-transplanting mode is perhaps preferable. Where the 
trouble of keeping a reserve of plants cannot be taken, a reserve 
of turf ought to be maintained for the same purpose. 


and in tts Neighbourhood. 355 


The Architecture of Brighton is in general of a very inferior 
description, not so much from want of expense, as of taste. The 
greater part of the town bears evident marks of having been got 
up in a hurry ; and the elevations are apparently for the most part 
the work of carpenters or bricklayers. No where are so many 
pilasters and columns degraded, or so little attention paid to doors 
or chimney tops. One characteristic of most of the houses, 
except those which come under the class of third-rate, is a 
semicircular or segmental bow projected from the front next 
the street, from the foundation to the summit of the elevation in 
which the windows are placed. The object is to present an ob- 
lique surface to the wind, which, being very violent, is in danger 
of blowing in the glass. These projections also serve as but- 
tresses to the front; and, were they carried up occasionally one 
story higher than the rest of the house, they would break the tame 
uniformity and vulgarity of the sky outline. ‘The walls are very 
thin, and frequently framed in wood, filled in with a single brick 
in thickness, and covered externally with what is called brick 
weather tiling (Enc. of Cott. Arch., p. 228, 229.), which so ex- 
actly resembles brickwork, that no stranger could ever detect 
the difference. Ornamental weather tiling (Zbéd.) is quite a 
different style of covering walls, and easily detected. There are 
symptoms of improvement in the shops; and the terminus of 
the railway, St. Peter’s Church, and Mr. Attree’s villa, are ex- 
amples of good taste, which it is hoped will not be without their 
effect. The houses at the eastern and western extremities of 
Brighton are, in many cases, much superior to those in the in-= 
terior and middle part of the town; and the upper and lower 
Marine terraces at Kemptown, and the esplanades at the west 
end of the town, are grand and characteristic features. The 
town is also remarkably clean, and the roads in its neighbour- 
hood, being Macadamised with broken flints from the sea beach, 
are kept in excellent order; though we cannot help noticing 
that men were breaking stones by the old mode; that is, by 
kneeling on a wisp of straw, and breaking the stones as they 
lie in the heap. The loco- 
motive machine described 
in our volume for 1829, 
and which we shall here 
repeat, is an improvement 
so obvious that it requires 
only to be known to be 
introduced. We first saw 
this machine (fig. 34.) in 
Nottinghamshire in 1825. 
The diameter of the stones 
_to be broken is reduced 


on the quarry » Or on the Fig. 34. Stonebreaker’s Table. 
AA 2 


356 Notes on Gardens at Brighton. 


ground, by heavy hammers, so as not to exceed in diameter 5 or 
6 inches. They are then placed on a table of a triangular shape 
(jig. 34.), boarded on three sides like a dressing table, but open 
at the narrow end, which is placed next and in ‘front of the ope- 
rator, who sits on a stool (b), or stands, as he may choose, and 
has a block between him and the point of the table 
(a), the top of which block is about 6 in. lower than 
the top of the table. By means of an iron ring fixed 
into a handle of wood (fg. 35.), he draws from the 
table as many of the stones as the ring will enclose on 
the block, and then breaks them while still enclosed 
in the ring, which is held by his left hand. When 
this is done, then, with another motion of the left yg 
hand, he draws them in the ring off the block till Measiring Ring 
they form a HEAD at one side, or he at once drops them into the 
‘ene handbarrow measure. (jig. 36.) To pre- 
vent any fragments from getting to his 
face, he puts on a wire guard or veil 
(fg. 37.), which may be tied by a riband 
round his head, or suspended from his 
hat. In the same handbarrow, which serves as 
a cubic yard measure, stones are conveyed to 
any distances. ‘The price paid is so much a 
yard. In some places the breaking apparatus 
consists of three separate parts, the table, the 
block, and the stool; in others, the whole is 
eombined in one machine, furnished with a 
wheel (fig. 34. c), which serves as one foot 
when the machine is stationary, and handles 
(d), by means of which it may be moved from Fis. 37. Wire Guard. 
place to place as easily as a common wheelbarrow. In some 
places there is a light triangular frame with thatched hurdles, 
one for each side, and one for the top, which can be used for 
protecting the operator from rain, snow, or cold winds. 

We consider these contrivances for raising the character of 
stone-breaking as a fine example of what may be done for man, 
even in the humblest, most unintellectual, and most monotonous 
of occupations. An article in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 
Society, vol. ii. p. 353., published in December last, shows how 
the labour of keeping roads in repair may be rendered greatly 
more interesting to the operator, by letting the work at so much 
per mile, furnishing the operator with certain appropriate articles 
of clothing, and forming a scale of merit, by which the portions 
of road under each man is to be tried, and gratuities awarded 
to them accordingly once or twice a year. How different must 
be the feelings of men so employed from the feelings of those 
who have no more interest in the road they are repairing than 
the horse has in the cart which he drags over it! 


Fig. 36. Horahoran enn 


Descriptive Notice of Blair-Adam. 357. 


Some other gardens in the neighbourhood of Brighton, and 
some at Shoreham, Lancing, Worthing, Tarring, &c., we must 
defer noticing till next Number. 


Art. III. Descriptive Notice of Blair-Adam. By ALEXANDER 
Mackenzie, Gardener there. 

Where nought but heaths, and ferns, and thistles grew, 

Cedars and pines arise, and flowers of every hue. A.M. 
Brarr-ApaM, remarkable for its extensive plantations, is beau- 
tifully situated on the east end of Cleish Hills*, in the county 
of Kinross, twenty-one miles north from Edinburgh, and twenty 
south from Perth. In the neighbourhood are many castellated 
ruins +, once the strongholds of the feudal lords who inhabited 
them, at whose proud look their vassal slaves obeyed and did 
them reverence. In the county are two lochs, early mentioned in 
Scottish history. The first is Loch Ore, about one mile to the 
east of Blair-Adam, containing upwards of 200 acres, with an 
ancient picturesque castle in the midst of trees on an island in 
its centre. About fifty years ago it was all drained, and is now 
converted into arable and pasturage ground. It is now the 
property of Sir Walter Scott. Near this place, in a.p. 83, 
Agricola, having divided his troops into three bedies, one of 
them consisting of the 9th legion, was so suddenly attacked by 
the natives that the Romans suffered much loss, and were only 
rescued by a forced march of Agricola to their support. 

The other is Loch Leven, four miles to the north, about ten 
miles in circumference, of considerable beauty, and abounding in 
historical interest. It is of an irregular oval figure, and pos- 
sesses several islets, as well as being surrounded with scenery 
of a pleasing or imposing kind. It is justly deemed one of the 
many places in Scotland worthy of a visit from tourists. The 
chief islands in Loch Leven are two in number, viz. one situated 
near the shore opposite Kinross, on which are the picturesque 
ruins of a castle, once dignified by the compulsory residence of 
the hapless Mary Queen of Scots. The other is called St. Serf’s 
Isle, on which are the ruins of a priory dedicated to St. Serf. In 
Loch Leven are all the different species of hill, or burn, or river 
trout to be met with in Scotland. The grounds command 
beautiful and extensive views, bounded on the north by the 
Grampians, upwards of 3,500 ft. in height, and on the south by 


* There are four lakes among the hills, the largest above a mile and a half 
in circumference. On Drumglow, the highest of these hills, are the remains 
of a Roman encampment. 

+ There are nearly a dozen ancient castles, most of them in ruins, within 
a few miles, including the romantic scenery of the Rumbling Bridge and 
the Caldron Linn: 

AA 3 


358 Descriptive Notice of Blair-Adam. 


the Pentland Hills, which rise to the height of 1,700 ft. To the 
east are seen part of the Frith of Forth, with the Bass and North 
Berwick Law in the distance. During the last century improve- 
ments have been carried on to a great extent by the late Lord 
Chief Commissioner, his father and grandfather, and also by 
the present proprietor, Admiral Sir Charles Adam, at present 
commander in chief of the West Indian and North American 
stations. 

Little more than a century ago, before the improvements 
were begun, there was only one tree, which ever since has gone 
by the name of the tree. It is still standing, but not so large as 
many of the numerous progeny which have sprung up around it. 
There are now nearly 1000 acres of thriving plantations, and 
about sixty miles of roads, rides, and walks, and all in good repair. 
On the summit and sides of the hills and undulating ground 
which abound here is seen the lofty silver fir * towering majes- 
tically over the surrounding trees of the forest, producing a 
pleasing effect by relieving that sameness which generally pre- 
vails in woodland scenery. ‘The silver fir rises to the height of 
90 ft., and attains 13 ft. in circumference. 

The house has rather a singular appearance. Additions have 
been made to it from time to time, and it now forms a square 
with a court in the centre. ‘There is also a large court in front 
of the house. It affords much accommodation; there is an ex- 
cellent library and many fine paintings. To the north-east, about 
a quarter of a mile distant, lies the garden, nearly six acres in 
extent. The principal entrance is from the south by a large 
gate, whence a fine view of the garden is obtained. On the lawn 
are two fine specimens of the silver fir, upwards of 70 ft. in 
height, and feathered to the bottom, which have a grand effect, 
and are greatly admired by all visiters. Near them are two 
fine specimens of hemlock spruce, 32 ft. in height, with finely 
formed round heads. ‘To the right of the gate is a group of 
large silver firs. ‘There are a great many shrubs in the garden 
shrubbery, chiefly evergreens of great size, which give this part 
of the garden the character of a winter garden, a desideratum 
which has often been attempted, but seldom well accomplished. 


* The following dimensions were taken for Mr. Loudon when he called at 
Blair Adam in August last (1841). The largest silver fir measures, at 1 ft. 
from the ground, 14 ft. in circumference ; and, at 4 ft. from the ground, 10 ft. 
9in. There are a great many silver firs which, at 4 ft. from the ground, 
measure 9 ft., 10 ft., 103 ft., and 114 ft. in circumference, and 90 ft. in. height. 
A large beech, and a Scotch elm, at 4 ft. from the ground, measure each 10 ft. 
in circumference. An evergreen oak, at the same height, measures 7 ft. 4 in., 
and is 40 ft. high. A hemlock spruce, at 1 ft. from the ground, measures 7 ft. 
8 in., above which it divides into two limbs, each of which is 5 ft. in circum- 
ference ; and the height of the tree is 32 ft. 6in. In front of the house is a 
Rhododéndron pénticum, 60 ft. in circumference, and 12 ft. high. 


Descriptive Notice of Blair- Adam. 359 


The garden is divided into two parts by a burn, or small rill, 
running from west to east. From the north wall to the burn, 
the ground has a gentle declivity. This part of the garden is 
devoted to fruit, flowers, and vegetables; while the south part, 
which has some slight undulations and natural inequalities, is all 
kept in short grass, and is covered with silver firs, forest, and 
ornamental trees, placed at irregular distances from each other. 
The south wall is hid by the large and ornamental shrubbery 
above mentioned. The north wall is about 20 ft. in height, and 
426 ft. in length. It is constructed with flues, which are kept in 
constant use. At regular distances under the coping are placed 
brackets, which render it highly ornamental. ‘The gardener’s 
house is in the centre of the north wall. In the south front is a 
large Venetian window, which is kept uncovered and open to 
view ; the other part is entirely covered with jessamine and China 
roses entwined. The walk which runs parallel with the north 
wall is 12 ft. in width. At the east end of this walk there is a 
door of handsome Doric architecture, entering on a small space 
intended for a temple. 

On the west end there is likewise a door of Doric architecture, 
chaste in style, which opens upon a small shrubbery; beyond 
which is verdant pasture ground, well clothed with trees of 
considerable size. On each side, and on the top of these doors, 
are placed handsome vases of stone; and also on the south side 
of the walk are placed Maltese vases on stone pedestals, opposite 
to each of the brackets on the high wall. ‘The two side walls 
are 12 ft. in height, and 240 ft. in length, with parallel walks 7 ft. 
in width. In the centre of the garden, from the gardener’s house 
southward, is a grass walk 16 ft. in width, and joining the lawn 
on the south side of the garden. On each side are flower-borders 
10 ft. wide. The borders on each side of all the walks in the 
garden are adapted for flowers. ‘The borders next the wall are 
laid out in beds, and the south border is filled with greenhouse 
plants, stocks, &c. The length of the flower-borders is 1054 
yards, more than half a mile; and the ground so occupied in all 
makes a flower-garden of nearly one acre. As the vegetables 
are all hid by the espaliers covered with fruit trees, the enjoy- 
ment of the flowers thus united with the kitchen-garden is not 
broken in upon by the sight of the vegetables. There is an ar- 
rangement of herbaceous plants collected and systematically 
arranged by the late gardener, Mr. Henderson. 

The author of Waverley; in the Abbot, has immortalised a 
spot on the grounds of Blair-Adam, “ A romantic dell well 
known by the name of Kiery Craigs.” When speaking of car- 
riers stopping at certain houses on the road, a long established 
custom, he says: ‘* Attractions of a kind very different from 
those which arrested the progress of John Auchtermuchty and 

AA 4 


360 Descriptive Notice of Blatr-Adam. 


his wains still continue to hover round the romantic spot; and 
none has ever visited its vicinity without a desire to remain long, 
and to return soon.” 

Blair-Adam may be taken as a specimen of what cultivation, 
combined with refined taste, can do to beautify, enrich, and adorn, 
even a wild unsheltered moor. 


Blair-Adam, June 1. 1842. 


[Sir Walter Scott, as member of the “ Blair-Adam Club,” 
spent a few days here about midsummer every year from 1816 
to 1831 inclusive. ‘The club generally met on a Friday, and 
the members returned to Edinburgh early on ‘Tuesday to attend 
the courts. The mornings were spent (Sunday excepted) in 
visiting the scenes of high historical interest in the neighbour- 
hood; and to these visits we owe the splendour of many of Scott’s 
romantic descriptions, particularly of Loch Leven, Macduff’s 
Cross, &c., as well as the weightier obligation of the Abbot in 
the dog-days of 1819. At the suggestion of Sir Walter, the 
Lord Chief Commissioner arranged materials for ‘* The History 
of Blair-Adam, from 1733 to 1834,” in which he gives a most 
instructive as well as entertaining history of the agricultural and 
arboricultural progress of the domain in the course of a hun- 
dred years. This liber rarissimus is unfortunately not open to 
public inspection.— Life of Scott. ] 

The book above referred to is thus noticed in Sir Thomas 
Dick Lauder’s edition of Price on the Picturesque. ‘The note is 
long, but we quote it entire, because it is extremely interesting, 
and also instructive. It will serve also as a specimen of the notes 
which Sir Thomas Dick Lauder has added to Sir Uvedale Price’s 


work. 


“Before proceeding to plant the grounds of a place ornamentally, it is ne- 
cessary carefully to study its character, to become thoroughly acquainted with 
the various inequalities of its surface, to consider also the different soils which 
present themselves, and, after well digesting all these particulars, let the 
mmprover then bestow some thought upon the question how Nature would 
have done the work, had she been pleased to have executed it. Here I am 
presupposing the existence of two things; first, that the place has some 
variety of surface; and secondly, that the improver has studied the wooding 
of nature, which is still abundantly to be met with in all the wilder parts of 
our own country, especially in Wales or in the Highlands of Scotland, as, for 
example, in the valleys running down in all directions from the Grampians, 
where the beauty of the natural woods is so very remarkable. If the place 
is so utterly devoid of variety of surface as to be absolutely a dead flat, and if 
it has no timber on it already, the existing arrangement of which might suggest 
to the improver some design for ultimately producing intricacy and interest, I 
should be disposed to advise the proprietor to fix his residence elsewhere. 
But if he is reduced to the necessity of settling there, by having no other 
choice, I should say that the best advice that can well be given him is, to plant 
and spare not; so that, although he may be able to do nothing very effectual 


Descriptive Notice of Blair-Adam. 361 


in producing beauty, he may at least have the gratification of seeing his trees 
grow, with the hope of leaving behind him something which his son or his 
grandson may work into a place. He should always bear in mind that trees 
are more easily removed than reared, and that there is more hope of a place 
where the house stands in the middle of a forest, than there can be where it 
appears staring in the midst of a bare plain, without a single tree within view. 
But in planting —whether in the smaller groves or larger woods, the different 
kinds of timber trees should not be mixed, so as to produce one general wni- 
formity of variety, if | may so express myself; but, for the most part, though 
perhaps not always, the individuals of each kind should be grouped together 
in considerable masses, irregular both in form and size. The trees, moreover, 
should be planted at such distances from each other as may enable them, when 
grown up, to stand without risk of much interference with each other, being 
well intermixed with hollies, thorns, yews, hazels, mountain-ash, elders, bird- 
cherries, junipers, and all the different kinds of trees and bushes of smaller 
growth. These should especially prevail about the edges of the grove or 
wood, and they should likewise be planted as much as possible in patches of 
the same plants. In short, the plantations of nature should be imitated as 
nearly as may be. The woods at a distance from the site of the house should 
be of larger dimensions, and they should partake more of the character of 
groves as they draw nearer to it; and as they get smaller in size, the variation 
of the trees of which they are composed may become more frequent, and the 
groves and woods should be so arranged as that they may play upon one 
another as you move among them,—those nearer to the eye shifting upon 
those that are more distant, so as to give the idea of continuity, whilst, at the 
same time, the eye may have full permission to find its way in among them in 
different parts. And as I should rather prefer an over-doing than an under- 
doing of wood at first, so I should wish the proprietor to be early alive to the 
necessity of making frequent inroads upon the outline of his groves and 
woods, by carrying glades into them in certain places and loosening their 
edges in others, so as by degrees to give air, that 1s, relative distance, as well 
as nature, to the whole scene. But the attempt to convert so utterly flat and 
unfavourable a subject as that which we have now supposed to exist is rarely 
to be made. 

“ Then, if the improver has never enjoyed the opportunity of studying the 
manner in which nature plants, he will labour under great disadvantages, and 
must even make up the deficiency by availing himself as largely as he can of 
the study of the works of the best landscape-painters, modern as well as 
ancient. 

“ But, granting that the place which is to be improved is blessed with some 
degree of variety of ground, though it should even be altogether without any 
other requisite, plantation alone may in time give wonderful charms to it. 
For then the sides of the steeps may be covered with woods, the trees of 
which may be brought feathering loosely down from the denser parts, and 
scattered in irregular confusion upon the sloping lawns. Dingles and dells 
may be made mysteriously intricate and interesting, by filling them with dark 
woods and tangled thickets in one place, and leaving natural openings of 
fairy-like turf in others, on which the richest mellowed lights may fall. Groves 
and dense coverts may clothe the knolls, and straggle towards one another 
with a species of broken continuity, so as to leave no mass in a staring and 
isolated condition, and the whole may thus be made to resemble a portion of 
one of nature’s own wild woodland scenes. 

“‘ The question will naturally arise, how many years must elapse before such 
a change could be effected on a perfectly treeless place ?. The answer to this 
question will naturally depend upon the nature of the soil and the degree of 
liberality of expenditure which the proprietor may be disposed to lay out upon 
its plantation. But, even under circumstances the least favourable, it may 
be answered by any one who has had the good fortune to read a most inter- 
esting volume called the Blair-Adam Book, written and printed, though not 


362 Descriptive Notice of Blair-Adam. 


published, by my venerable and highly respected friend, the late Right Honour- 
able William Adam, Lord Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court in Scotland. 
The origin of this work is thus graphically recorded in its own pages :—‘ It 
was on a fine Sunday, lying on the grassy summit of Bennarty, above its 
craggy brow, that Sir Walter Scott said, looking first at the flat expanse of 
Kinross-shire (on the south side of the Ochils), and then at the space which 
Blair-Adam fills between the hill of Drumglow (the highest of the Cleish 
Hills), and the valley of Lochore, “ What an extraordinary thing it is, that 
here to the north so little appears to have been done, where there are so many 
proprietors to work upon it, and to the south, here is a district of country 
entirely made by the efforts of one family in three generations, and one of 
them amongst us in the full enjoyment of what has been done by his two 
predecessors and himself; Blair-Adam, as I have always heard, had a wild, 
uncomely, and unhospitable appearance before its improvements were begun. 
It would be most curious to record in writing its original state, and trace its 
gradual progress to its present condition.” The idea thus suggested by 
Sir Walter Scott so pleased the Chief Commissioner, that he resolved to carry 
it into effect, and thus was the Blair-Adam Book produced. 

“ Before the year 1733, the property of Blair- Adam, lying in an extremely 
dull and unpromising country, which might be said to be entirely destitute of 
wood, had but one solitary ash tree upon it. The author of the book divides 
the history of the progress of its improvement from this truly hopeless state 
into three distinct eras, viz:—that from 1733, when his grandfather William 
- Adam began his operations, to 1748, when he died —the second era, that from 
1748, when his father John Adam, succeeded, to 1792, when he died —and 
the third, from 1792, when the late Lord Chief Commissioner succeeded, to 
the date of writing the book in 1834. To explain more perfectly the extent 
of beneficial change produced on the property during these different eras, the 
work is illustrated with four plans. 

“ The first of these plans shows the state of the property before 1733, with 
that single tree upon it, in which it had then so much reason to rejoice. 

“The second exhibits the state of the property, as left by the grandfather, 
in 1748, 

“ The third represents it, as left by the father, in 1792. 

“ And the fourth gives the whole improvements on the estate as executed 
up to 1834, and consequently it furnishes a valuable example of what may be 
accomplished in the course of a century. There being now about 900 acres 
of wood, great part of which is well-grown timber, yielding, without any sa- 
crifice of beauty, a very considerable revenue. 

“ Mr. William Adam, the grandfather, adopted that formal style of planting 
which prevailed in his time, so that the second plan, which shows the state of 
the property at his death, is covered with straight hedgerows, bisecting each 
other at right angles ; long avenues regularly lined off, each mathematically to 
correspond with the other ; and in certain places circles, some of solid plant- 
ation surrounded by lawn, and others of open lawn surrounded by a circle 
of trees. A reference to the third plan, that of 1792, shows that John Adam, 
the father, had not only very much increased the plantations, but that he had 
succeeded in destroying the formality of the place as left by his father, as well 
as in giving to it a considerable degree of intricacy and interest. But the 
fourth plan, that of 1834, proves that the Lord Chief Commissioner added 
both to the extent of the timber on the estate and to the beauty of the place, 
in a still greater degree. 

“Tn thus so particularly noticing Blair-Adam, I by no means desire to bring 
it forward as a perfect specimen of landscape-gardening. Its late venerable 
and highly gifted owner himself considered it in no other light than as a ¢erre 
ornée, where agriculture and the necessary evils of its accompanying fences, 
were objects of too great importance to be sacrificed, and which consequently 
fettered the hands of taste, though even these were executed with unusual 
care and judgment. My reason for selecting Blair-Adam is rather to show 


Descriptive Notice of Blair- Adam. 363 


how much may be made of a place of the most unfavourable promise, by 
planting perseveringly, and with some attention to the nature and form of the 
ground. Where it has been possible, without sacrificing utility, to introduce 
touches of beauty, such favourable opportunities have not been neglected, but 
have been rendered successfully available. I need not particularise instances, 
but I may mention the Glen, and the Burn, and the Kiery Craigs, all of them 
objects of little interest until rendered interesting by the beautiful manner in 
which they have been wooded, as well as the fruit-garden, which, though 
walled on three sides, has been converted into a most interesting spot, by the 
manner in which it has been enclosed on the south side, and in a great 
measure surrounded by a wilderness, in which is to be found intermixed a pro- 
fusion of evergreen trees and shrubs of remarkable growth. Were it a matter 
of prudence to make a large sacrifice of income to absolute taste, often in 
itself unprofitable, I should say that Blair-Adam is now in that very state in 
which a judicious landscape-gardener, with full powers and means allowed 
him, might produce the happiest effects in the shortest period of years, and 
with the least comparative labour, so as to introduce the appearance of perfect 
nature into every part of it. 

*‘ Tt is somewhat remarkable that it should have fallen to the lot of the 
same individuals of the same family, I mean William and John Adam, the 
grandfather and father of the Chief Commissioner, to create and alter another 
place in the same way as they did Blair-Adam. This was the small property 
of North-Merchiston, near Edinburgh. It consisted of a square field of 
about thirty acres, which was surrounded by a wall and planted by the grand- 
father with a circle in the centre, which had four regular avenues breaking off 
from it in four different directions. One of these avenues terminated in a 
straight row of trees running at right angles to it and flanking a broad walk 
ending with a lime tree on each side. The vista to this walk to the east was 
the castle of Edinburgh, and the tower of St. Giles’s Church, and the house 
was placed at the western end of it. John Adam broke up his father’s formal 
lines here, as ke did at Blair-Adam, and, from what I recollect of the place 
when I visited it as a boy, the effects of his operations were very pleasing. 
From the intimacy that subsisted between Mr. Adam and Shenstone, whom 
he visited at the Leasowes, it seems to be doubtful whether the poet’s form- 
ation of that celebrated place was not materially assisted, if not suggested, by 
the hints which he received from his Scottish friend. The place of North 
Merchiston afterwards passed into other hands, and it has since been much 
demolished by having its timber greatly diminished, and the Edinburgh and 
Glasgow Canal carried directly through it, so as to subdivide it. But injured 
as it has been, there yet remains enough of beautiful features about it, to en- 
courage a proprietor of taste to give it such restoration as might yet convert 
it into a very delightful villa ; and the rich{distant views which it commands 
add much to the temptation to commence such an undertaking. 

“ In considering the effects of the growth of plantation during a century as 
exhibited at Blair-Adam, it must be remembered that a much shorter period 
of active and judicious planting may produce changes the most satisfactory, 
so as richly to reward the proprietor who may have so employed his time and 
money, both by the pleasure and the profit he may reap during many years of 
his own life. This, of course, will be more easily accomplished if ancient 
trees or older woods have chanced to exist already, especially if they do so 
amidst a variety of surface, and a favourable combination of natural features. 
I could mention many places where the proprietors who made the plantations 
on them still live in green vigour, to enjoy the daily improving effects of their 
earlier operations. But the seat of a friend, which I have had occasion lately 
to visit, is at this moment particularly in my mind, as a most pregnant ex- 
ample of this. . I mean Blairquhan in Ayrshire, the residence of Sir David 
Hunter Blair, Bart. There the situation is peculiarly favourable from the 
variety of form of the surrounding grounds and the shapes of the retiring 
hills ; from the noble ancient trees that exist in the vicinity of the house, as 


364 Descriptive Notice of Blair-Adam. 


well as from the stream of the Girvan and its romantic glen, up which you 
approach the wider valley, where the mansion stands on its elevated side. 
But the great extent of judiciously planted and well-grown woods, which Sir 
David has created within the short period of thirty years, has already had the 
effect of giving a noble magnitude to the demesne. It may now be said to 
be in that stage of advancement when the happiest results may be anticipated ; 
and these will certainly be produced by the gradual destruction of the hard 
lines inevitably occasioned by fences, the loosening of the edges of woods and 
groves, the introduction of glades in certain parts of them, and perhaps by the 
enrichment of portions of the more open lawns by partial plantations. 

_ “T may likewise notice Dunskey, near Portpatrick, a place belonging to 
Colonel Hunter Blair, brother to Sir David, which affords, if possible, a still 
more remarkable example of what may be done by plantation, even in appa- 
rently the most unfavourable circumstances. About 800 acres of thriving 
wood having been got up there within a very short period of time, on ground 
generally much elevated and exposed to the whole blast from the Irish 
Channel. In the Island of Islay, also, Mr. Campbell of Islay, though a young 
man, has in his own time raised about 1300 acres of wood, and he has now 
the satisfaction of being able to drive for miles under the shade of thriving 
trees of his own rearing. 

“To conclude the few remarks which I have ventured to subjoin to those 
of Price upon planting, I shall only add that the effects sought to be produced 
by the mixture of the different varieties of trees and shrubs must be much 
guided by the comparative greatness or smallness of the place on which the 
improver is operating, minute attention to the introduction of particular kinds 
being more admissible in a smaller place or in the smaller or more observed 
parts of a larger place, than in other positions. On this particular point 
Mr. Wheatley speaks most sensibly—as indeed he does on planting in ge- 
neral :—‘ All these inferior varieties,’ says he, ‘are below our notice in the 
consideration of great effects ; they are of consequence only where the plant- 
ation is near to the sight ; where it skirts a home scene or borders the side of 
a walk; and in a shrubbery which in its nature is little both in style and in 
extent they should be anxiously sought for. The noblest wood is not indeed 
disfigured by them; and when a wood, having served as a great object to one 
spot, becomes in another the edge of a walk, little circumstances varying with 
ceaseless change along the outline will then be attended to ; but wherever 
these minute varieties are fitting, the grossest taste will feel the propriety, and 
the most cursory observation will suggest the distinctions: a detail of all 
would be endless, nor can they be reduced into classes. To range the shrubs 
and small trees so that they may mutually set off the beauties and conceal 
the blemishes of each other ; to aim at no effects which depend on a nicety 
for their success, and which the soil, the exposure, or the season of the day 
may destroy; to attend more to the groups than the individuals,—and to 
consider the whole as a plantation not as a collection of plants, are the best 
general rules that can be given concerning them.’ 

“ One remark more, and I have done with this part of the subject. Nothing 
can be more unwise than to trust to delicate foreign trees or shrubs for the 
production of important effects, which may thus be all ruined by the de- 
structive cold of some severe winter. Such tender strangers may be well 
enough introduced experimentally ; but they should have places assigned to 
them where their failure may produce no serious blank, if they should un- 
fortunately perish. 

“ | shall offer but a single word on the subject of lawns. Levelling, smooth 
shaving, and rolling, are operations only admissible close to the house; and 
even there it is better that it should be associated with terraces, bowling- 
ereens, flower-knots, and such minor pieces of formality as are in keeping 
with that of the architecture. Everywhere else the lawns should be in rich 
and natural-looking pasture, especially where they begin to sweep away under 
trees, or to lose themselves in the woodlands. In such places, some of the 


Powers of Vegetation. 365 


more graceful wild plants, such as those of the fern tribe, the great tussilago, 
and others, may occasionally be permitted to show themselves, and even tufts 
of whins may not be altogether out of place. And as it is well known that 
the best way to produce good pasture, is to put a great variety of animals 
upon it ; so by having groups of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and even asses, 
constantly grazing together, you will not only thereby insure the richness of 
the surface, but you will also add to the interest of your scenery by the variety 
of the living objects which will thus be seen giving animation to it.” 


[In an open glade in the shrubbery, surrounded by ever- 
greens, a handsome pedestal contains the following inscription, 
which was copied for us by Mr. Mackenzie last year. ] 


WILLIAM ADAM 
(BoRN 1688, DIED 1748) BEGAN, IN 1733, 
WITH A SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE, AND WITH FORECAST GREATLY IN ADVANCE 
OF THAT AGE, TO IMPROVE AND PLANT THIS DOMAIN, 
THEN A WILD UNSHELTERED MOOR. 


JOHN ADAM, 
THE SON OF WILLIAM, (BORN 1721, DIED 1792) 
WITH DISTINGUISHED TASTE, 
EXTENDED THE IMPROVEMENTS AND ENLARGED THE WOODS. 
IN 1751 HE BEGAN, AND IN 176] HE COMPLETED, THE GARDEN, 
WHICH HAS BEEN PRESERVED WITHOUT CHANGE OF DESIGN OR ALTERATION 
OF EFFECTS, 
EXCEPT WHAT GROWTH HAS PRODUCED. 


A CENTURY AFTER THE IMPROVEMENTS WERE BEGUN, 


WILLIAM (THE SON OF JOHN), AGED 82. 
COMPOSED THIS INSCRIPTION AND PLACED IT HERE, A.D. 1833. 


Art. IV. The Powers of Vegetation. By CuArLes WATERTON, Esq. 


In those good days of old, when there were no corn-factors in 
England to counteract that part of our Redeemer’s prayer, 
«‘ Give us this day our daily bread,” by hoarding up vast stores 
of grain, until mouldiness and vermin have rendered it unfit 
for the use of man, there stood at Walton Hall a water-mill, 
for the interest of the proprietor and the good of the country 
round. ‘Time, the great annihilator of all human inventions, 
saving taxation and the national debt, laid this fabric low in 
ruins some sixty years ago; and nothing now remains to show 
the place where it once stood except a massive millstone, which 
measures full 17 ft. in circumference. The ground where the 
mill stood having been converted into meadow, this stone la 

there unnoticed and unknown (save by the passing hay-maker) 


from the period of the mill’s dissolution to the autumn of the year 


366 Atmosphere in Houses. 


1813, when one of our nut-eating wild animals, probably by way 
of a winter store, deposited a few nuts under its protecting cover. 
In the course of the following summer, a single nut having 
escaped the teeth of the destroyer, sent up its verdant shoot 
through the hole in the centre of the procumbent millstone. 

One day I pointed out this rising tree to a gentleman who 
was standing by; and I said, “ If this young plant escape de- 
struction, some time or other it will support the millstone, and 
raise it from the ground.” He seemed to doubt this. 


In order, however, that the plant might have a fair chance of 


success, I directed that it should be defended from accident and 
harm by means of a wooden paling. Year after year it in- 
creased in size and beauty ; and when its expansion had entirely 
filled the hole in the centre of the millstone, it began gradually 
to raise up the millstone itself from the seat of its long repose. 
This huge mass of stone is now 8 in. above the ground, and 
is entirely supported by the stem of the nut tree, which has 
risen to the height of 25 ft., and bears excellent fruit. 

Strangers often inspect this original curiosity. When I meet 
a visiter whose mild physiognomy informs me that his soul is 
proof against the stormy winds of politics, which now-a-days set 
half the world in a ferment, I venture a small attempt at plea- 
santry, and say, that I never pass this tree and millstone without 
thinking of poor old Mr. Bull, with a weight of eight hundred 
millions of pounds round his galled neck ;— fruitful source of 
speculation to a Machiavel, but of sorrow to a Washington. 

Walton Hall, June \. 1842. 


ART. V. On the Atmosphere in Houses. By R. LymBurn. 


THE necessity of keeping up the atmosphere in houses to a pro- 
per degree of moisture, and of varying the degree of moisture 
according as growth, or ripening, or fruiting is wanted in the 
same plant, or according to the different necessities of different 
plants for that aliment, has been frequently and ably pointed out 
in the Magazine. On this account it has become a great desi- 
deratum, to be able to ascertain how far the air in houses is 
below the point of saturation. The method pointed out by Pro- 
fessor Thomson, in his 77eatzse on Heat, is so simple and easily 
understood, and so accurate (the professor says, on repeated 
trials he has found the results more correct than from Daniel’s 
hygrometer, or Jones’s thermometer converted into a hygrome- 
ter), that Ihave thought it might interest such of your readers 
as have not the benefit of reference to that work to have it de- 
tailed; the more so as I do not recollect to have ever seen it 


Atmosphere in Houses. 367 


alluded to in the pages of your Magazine, which is a record of 
so many valuable inventions. 

It proceeds on the fact, ascertained long ago, that if a piece 
of glass one degree colder than the atmosphere be surrounded 
with air saturated with moisture, dew will be deposited upon it. 
All that is necessary is to provide a plain tumbler, the ¢hznner 
in the glass the better, and a jug of water a few degrees colder 
than the air of the house; cold spring water should be best. 
Pour the water into the tumbler, the glass will immediately be 
cooled down below the air of the house; and dew will be depo- 
sited on the sides of the tumbler, till the heat of the water rises 
up to the point to which the air of the house is saturated. To 
ascertain this point, continue to pour the water from the tumbler 
into the jug, wiping the tumbler carefully on the outside with a 
dry towel, and again pouring the cold water back into the tumbler, 
watching carefully the moment that dew ceases to be deposited 
on the outside of the tumbler; and a thermometer, plunged into 
the water precisely at that period, will denote the point to 
which the air of the house is saturated. Unless where great 
accuracy is required, it may perhaps be sufficient to wipe the 
outside of the tumbler, and continue to do so so longas moisture 
is deposited. To pour the water in and out from the jug and 
tumbler is more troublesome, but more correct. ‘The thinner 
the tumbler, and the more alkaline the glass, the more quickly 
will dew be deposited, and the more perfect the result. The 
thermometer in the house will tell the temperature of the air; and 
the difference between it and the temperature of the water, at 
the moment dew ceases to be deposited on the glass tumbler, 
will point out how many degrees the moisture in the air is below 
the point of saturation. 

The quantity of vapour which can exist in the air at either of 
the above-mentioned degrees, or any other between the freezing 
and boiling point, may be known by consulting the table annex- 
ed ; which shows the elasticity of vapour, as ascertained by the 
experiments of Mr. Dalton, and which, though slightly differed 
from by others, will be sufficiently accurate for all ordinary pur- 
poses. Water, and many other liquids, have a tendency to 
assume the form of vapour at all temperatures ; but the quantity 
is regulated by the degree of heat which keeps the particles of 
vapour asunder, and gives them elasticity. The quantity of 
vapour which can exist in the atmosphere is therefore regulated 
by the elasticity of that vapour. The mean height of the baro- 
meter at the sea shore in this country is 30 in. nearly, or 29°82, 
As shown by the annexed table, at 32° (the freezing point), the 
vapour of water is capable only of supporting a column of mer- 
cury 0°2in. in height ; consequently, this being only the 5th part 
of an inch, the air at the freezing point is only capable of con- 


368 Atmosphere in Houses. 


taining the 5th part of 30, or the 150th part of its volume in 
the state of vapour, of water. At 212° the vapour of water is 
capable of supporting 30in. of mercury, consequently at that 
temperature the whole volume might be water; at 1793° the 
table would denote about 15 in. of elasticity, or a capability of 
containing one half; at a little above 162°, a 3d part, or 10 in.; 
at 80°, Lin. of elasticity, or a capability of containing a 30th part 
of its volume in water, in the state of vapour. ‘The amount of 
capability for any degree of heat may be thus ascertained, by 
making the elasticity in the annexed table the numerator of a 
fraction, of which 30 is the constant denominator. 


, Elasticity of Vapour in Inches of Mercury, from 32° to 212°, according to 
Mr, Dalton. 


Tem-|Elast. of|Tem-|Elast. of|Tem-|Elast. of/Tem- Elast. of, Tem-|Elast. of |Tem-|Elast. of| 
perat.| Vapour. |perat.| Vapour. |perat.| Vapour.|perat.| Vapour. perat./ Vapour. |perat.| Vapour. 


32°} 0:200| 62°} 0°560) 92°) 1:44 |122°! 3:50 |152°) 7°81 |182°/ 15-86 
33 | 0°207| 63 | 0°578) 93 | 1°48 |123 | 3°59 |153 | 8:01 |183 | 16:23 
34 | 0-214) 64 | 0:597| 94 | 1°53 |124 | 3°69 |154 | 8:20 {184 | 16°61 
35 | 0-221) 65 | 0°616; 95 | 1:58 |125 | 3°79 |155 | 8:40 |185 | 17-00 
36 | 0:229) 66 | 0°635| 96 | 1°63 |126 | 3°89 |156 | 8-60 |186 | 17°40 
37 | 0-237) 67 | 0°655| 97 | 1°68 {127 | 4:00 |157 | 8°81 |187 |17°80 
38 | 0:245| 68 | 0°676) 98 | 1°74 |128 | 4°11 {158 | 9:02 |188 | 18-20 
39 | 0:254| 69 | 0:698} 99 | 1°80 |129 | 4°22 |159 | 9:24 |189 | 18-60 
40 | 0:263) 70 | 0°721/100 | 1°86 |130 | 4°34 |160 | 9°46 |190 | 19-00 
41 | 0:273) 71 | 0:745/101 1:92 |181 | 4:47 |161 9°68 |191 | 19:42 
42 | 0-283) 72 | 0:770102 | 1:98 |132 | 4°60 |162 | 9:91 |192 | 19°86 
43 | 0-294) 73 | 0O:796)103 | 2:04 |133 | 4°73 |163 |10°15 |193 | 20°32 
44 | 0°305| 74 | 0°825)104 | 2:11 |154 | 4:86 |164 |10°41 |194 | 20-77 
45 | 0°316| 75 | 0°851|105 | 2°18 |135 | 5:00 /165 | 10°68 |195 | 21-22 
46 | 0°328| 76 | O°880)106 | 2:25 |136 | 5:14 |166 |10:96 |196 | 21-68 
47 | 0°339| 77 | O:-910)107 | 2°32 |137 | 5°29 |167 |11:25 |197 | 22°13 
48 | 0351} 78 | 0:940)108 | 2°39 |138 | 5:44 |168 | 11°54 |198 | 22°69 
49 | 0°363} 79 | 0:971|109 | 2:46 |139 | 5:59 |169 |11°83 |199 | 23:16 
50 | 0°375| 80 | 1:00 |110 | 2°53 |140 | 5°74 |170 |12°13 |200 | 23-64 
51 | 0°388| 81 1:04 111 | 2-60 |141 | 5°90 |171 | 12°43 |201 | 24-12 
52 | 0-401) 82 | 1°07 |112 |} 2°68 {142 | 6°05 |172 | 12°73 |202 | 24-61 
53 | 0-415) 83 | 1°10 {113 | 2°76 |143 | 6°21 |173 |13:02 |203 | 25-10 
54 | 0:°429) 84 | 1°14 |114 | 2°84 |144 | 6°37 |174 |13°32 |204 | 25-61 
55 | 0°443) 85 | 1°17 |115 | .2:92 |145 | 6°53 |175 | 13°62 |205 | 26:13 
56 | 0°458) 86 | 1:21 |116 | 3:00 |146 | 6:70 |176 |13:92 |206 | 26:66 
57 | 0:474| 87 | 1:24 |117 | 3:08 |147 | 6°87 |177 | 14:22 |207 | 27-20 
58 | 0:490) 88 | 1:28 |118 | 3°16 |148 | 7:05 |178 | 14°52 |208 | 27°74 
59 | 0-507) 89 | 1°32 |119 | 3°25 |149 | 7-23 |179 | 14:83 |209 | 28:29 
60 | 0°524) 90} 1:36 |120 | 3°33 |150 | 7-42 |180 |15°15 |210 | 28°84 
61 | 0°542) 91 1°40 {121 | 3°42 |151 | 7°61 |181 |15°50 |211 | 29°41 
212 | 30:00 


The other requisites to be known as to how far the dew point 
of the house should be maintained below that point of complete 
saturation, and the quantity of surface of water required to be 
exposed to maintain the proper degree of moisture, varies so 
much with different plants and states of plants and capacities of 
houses, and has already been so ably explained in the Maga- 
zine by Mr. Rogers and others, that nothing need be added on 
that head. — June 3. 1842. 


Notice of Four new Plants. 369 


Art. VI. Notice of Four new Plants, discovered in the South Sea 
Islands by the late Mr. James Corson, Surgeon. By GEORGE 
Don, Esq., F.L.S. With a Biographical Notice of Mr. Corson, by 
the ConpucTor. 


Mr. James Corson was the son of one of those highly respectable 
Scotch gardeners, who, on very moderate salaries, contrive to give 
their children such an education as to fit them for qualifying 
themselves, by subsequent self-instruction, for any station they 
may be afterwards destined to occupy. He was born at Dal- 
scairth in Dumfriesshire, where his father was gardener to a 
family of the name of Douglas, and he was educated at the parish 
school. Before he was twenty years of age, he was competent 
to become usher in the school of Mr. Stockdale of Whitehaven, 
where he remained till, in consequence of our advertising for an 
amanuensis, he was engaged by us in that capacity in 1836, and 
he continued with us till the beginning of 1838. Having always 
had an ardent desire to acquire a knowledge of surgery, he 
attended the class of G. D. Dermott, Esq., of Charlotte Street, 
Bloomsbury, in the evenings, and very soon became a great fa- 
vourite with his instructor. His medical reading kept pace with 
his practice in the dissecting-room; and so rapid was his progress 

that in 1838 he was considered competent to fill the office of 
surgeon to a South Sea whaler. He was accordingly engaged 
by Captain Beuson, the master of the Kitty, and sailed with him 
from the Thames in the autumn of 1838. 

Nothing particular occurred in the voyage, except that one 
man had his leg so mangled by the bite of a shark, that amputa- 
tion became necessary ; and the operation was performed by Mr. 
Corson in so satisfactory a manner, that the patient recovered com- 
pletely in the course of nine weeks. On their way home, Mr, 
Corson was unfortunately attacked by intermittent fever, which 
carried him off in fourteen days, on the 16th of June, 1841, in the 
27th year of his age. His remains were interred in the Island 
of Timor, in the Dutch burying-ground, where a stone was 
erected to his memory by his captain, to whom, and to the whole 
ship’s crew, he had greatly endeared himself by his meek, affec- 
tionate, and amiable disposition. 

The following extract is from a notice of the death of Mr. 
Corson, which appeared in the Cumberland Pacquet of February 
8th, 1842:—“ We regret that we are unable, within our present 
limits, fully to commemorate the excellence of this highly gifted 
and meritorious young man. He was born at Dalscairth, in 
humble circumstances, and by his own unaided efforts had gained 
the position he last occupied, as surgeon of the above-named 


vessel. His mind was of a very superior order, and his perse- 
3d Ser.— 1842. VII. BB 


370 Notice of Four new Plants. 


verance in the pursuit of knowledge most animated and untiring. 
He was well versed in the ancient classics, an expert mathema- 
tician, and acquainted with several of the languages of modern 
Europe; and had, besides, made considerable progress in various 
departments of natural science, by his ardent devotion to which 
he was, undoubtedly, in a great measure, led to engage in the 
perilous occupation in which he met his fate.” 

We can add our testimony to that of the author of the above 
paragraph. Mr. Corson was indefatigable in industry, and most 
assiduous in all his duties; and from his amiable disposition he 
acquired the esteem and regard of all our family, who may be 
truly said to have felt as much at hearing of his loss as if he had 
been a relation. 

Previously to Mr. Corson’s sailing with Captain Benson, 
through the kindness of the late Professor Don, Dr. Brown, and 
others, he had received instructions for collecting and drying plants, 


to) 


and collecting and preserving shells, seeds, &c., and of each of 


these he accumulated a considerable number. Among the shells 
were some very fine specimens ; and among the plants Mr. George 
Don has discovered four new species, of which the characters are 
given below, and the specimens from which they were taken are 
deposited in the herbarium of the Linnzean Society. ‘The shells 


were distributed among his friends, and, as one of these, we have 


retained duplicates of between forty and fifty species for Mrs. 
Loudon’s cabinet. ‘The seeds we have divided between the Hor- 
ticultural Society of London and the Caledonian Horticultural 
Society; and the specimens we have sent to Mr. M‘Nab, jun., 
to be presented by him to the Edinburgh Botanical Society. 


PLANTS DISCOVERED BY Mr. James Corson, AND NAMED BY GEORGE 
Don, Esa., F.L.S. 


1. Eleocérpus Corsonianus (G. Don, MS.). Ferrugineo-pubescens, foliis ob- 
longo-obovatis integerrimis obtusé acuminatis basi subcordatis supra gla- 
briusculis, racemis axillaribus lateralibusque multifloris, segmentis calycinis 
lanceolatis, filamentis brevibus pubescentibus, antheris uniaristatis, ovario 
piloso. 4 Hab. Batagoda. Corson, 1839. 

[Eleocarpus Corsonianus (G. Don, MS.). Corson’s Elzocarpus. 
Clothed with rust-coloured pubescence ; leaves oblong-obovate, quite 
entire, bluntly acuminated, somewhat cordate at the base, almost gla- 
brous on the upper surface; racemes axillary and lateral, many-flowered ; 
calycine segments lanceolate; filaments short, pubescent; anthers 
furnished each with a single awn ; ovarium pilose. ~ Batagoda. Cor- 
son, 1839.] 


2. Sce’vola Corsoniana (G. Don, MS.). Herbacea, foliis oppositis oblongis 
integerrimis acuminatis glabriusculis, cymis axillaribus dichotomis bracte- 
atis, calycibus corollisve pubescentibus. 2/ Hab. Insula Geby. Corson 
Jan. 1840. Fructus capsularis, bilocularis. Petiolus pubescens. Flores 
albi. Affinis S. oppositifolio Roxb. 

[Sc@’vola Corsoniana (G. Don, MS.). Corson’s Sczevola. Her- 
baceous ; leaves opposite, oblong, quite entire, acuminated, nearly 
glabrous ; cymes axillary, dichotomous, bracteate; calyxes and corollas 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. B71 


pubescent. A Native of the Island of Geby. Corson, Jan. 1840. Fruit 
capsular, two-celled. Petioles pubescent. Flowers white. Allied to 8. 
oppositifolia of Roxb.] 


3. Lithospérmum Corsonianum (G. Don. MS.). Erectum hispido-strigosum 
apice ramosum, foliis linearibus, spicis binis terminalibus bracteatis, seg- 
mentis calycinis acuminatis, tubo corolle calyce equali. @ Hab. Bata- 
goda. Corson, 1839. Herba annua, basi simplex, 4—5 uncialis. Flores 
parvi, lutei. 

[Lithospérmum Corsonianum (G.Don, MS.). Corson’s Lithosper- 
mum. Erect, hispid from strigz, branched at top; leaves linear ; spikes 
twin, terminal, bracteate ; calycine segments acuminated ; tube of corolla 
equal in length to the calyx. O Native of Batagoda. Corson, 1839, 
Herb annual, simple at the base, 4 or 5 inches high. Flowers small, 
yellow.] 


4, Zamia Corsoniana (G. Don, MS.). Squamis strobili cuneatis apice supra 
incurvo-uncinatis. hk Hab. ? Cetera ignota. 
[Zamia Corsoniana(G. Don, MS.). Corson’s Zamia. Scales of stro- 
bile cuneated, each with an incurved hook at top, on the upper face. 
# Native country, as well as all other particulars, unknown.] 
Bayswater, June, 1842. 


SHELLS COLLECTED BY Mr. Corson. 
The following names include most of the genera: —- 

Tritonia variegita, Harpa ventricdsa, Dolium olearium, Nassa 3 sp., Ricf- 
nula 3 sp., Térebra maculata and babylénica, Pterdéceras laciniatus, Aphor- 
rais pes-pelicani, Strémbus many sp., Conus millepunctatus and other 
species, Columbélla several sp., Cerithium sp. Piréna terebralis, Voluta se- 
veral sp., Parpura, Baccinum sp., Mitra sp., Cypree'a several species (par- 
ticularly the money cowry), Oliva sp., Ancillaria sp., Turritélla sp., Tarbo 
several species (from a very large size to a very small one), Delphinula 
(dolphin shell), Tréchus several species, Haliotis sp., Patula several spe- 
cies (particularly a beautiful specimen of the tortoiseshell limpet), Chiton 
squamosus, Billa sp., Nadtilus Pompilius, Solen or razor-shell, Venus 
shells, Hippopus, Tridacna (formerly included in the genus Chama), A’rca, 
Avicula, Pinna, Lima, Malleus vulgaris (the hammer oyster), Ranélla 
neglécta, Murex several species, Monodénta or Odonitis labeo, Fissurella 
oriens, Nerita, Fisus Colus, Fasciolaria trapézium, Scarabus imbrium, Péta- 
mis muricata, and many others. 


REVIEWS. 


Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


Borany, being Part of a Popular Cyclopedia of Natural Science, published by 
the Society for the Promotion of Popular Instruction. 8vo,pp. 301. to 536. 
London, 1842. 


Of the previous part of the volume, which treats of vegetable physiology, 
we gave a summary of the contents in our Volume for 1841, p. 327, The 
following advertisement, prefixed to the part now before us, will give the 
reader an idea of what he is to expect. 

“ The object of the following treatise is to communicate a popular, but at 
the same time a scientific, view of the chief tribes of flowering plants, ar- 
ranged according to the Natural System. The author is not aware that any 
similar attempt has been heretofore made, to embody this arrangementin a 

BB 2 


372 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


work of a strictly elementary character, except in the useful but expensive 
“Ladies’ Botany’ of Dr. Lindley, which he would strongly recommend to 
such of his readers as can gain access to it. Being persuaded, however, that 
through the aid of this system alone can any definitive idea be gained, of the 
vast extent and varied aspect of the vegetable kingdom, he has not hesitated 
to employ it here. In his selection of orders, he has regarded those as haying 
the best claim to notice, which contain plants of greatest importance to man, 
or which present some remarkable peculiarities of structure or habit ; a few, 
however, which possess neither of these distinctions, have been introduced, 
as containing well-known British plants, or on account of their great abundance 
in particular spots of the globe. The Cryptogamia have not been treated of 
in this part, since a popular view of their character was included in the 
former one, and further details would not have possessed sufficient interest.” 

Both the letterpress, and the cuts are chiefly taken from Dr. Lindley’s 
Lades’ Botany and School Botany. 


Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology. By James F. W. Johnston, 
M.A., F.R.S., Honorary Member of the English Agricultural Society ; 
and Author of “ Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology.” 
12mo, pp. 237. Edinburgh and London, 1842. 


Of all the different works which have lately been published on the chemistry 
of agriculture, that now before us appears to be the most likely to be of real 
service to the practical man. It is clear and comprehensive, without being 
needlessly profuse ; and what gives the practical farmer a direct interest in 
every statement is, that its application to culture or produce is pointed out 
in such a manner as to be clearly understood. In a word, Professor John- 
ston is at once a scientific and a popular writer. This little work is to be 
considered as a familiar outline of the subjects of agricultural chemistry 
and geology, which are treated of more at large in the professor’s Lectures, 
now publishing in numbers ; and we have no doubt it will induce many per- 
sons to procure and study the Lectures ; who, without the fascination, if we 
may so term it, of the Hlements, would never have ventured upon the task 
of studying the larger work. 

The author commences by pointing out the distinction between the 
vegetable or organic parts of plants, and the earthy or inorganic. The latter 
are discovered by the ash left after burning. The quantity of ash left by a 
ton of wheat straw is sometimes as much as 360 lb. ; while a ton of the grain 
of wheat leaves only about 40 lb. ; and a ton of oak wood only 4 or 5\b. 
The organic parts of plants, therefore, when in a perfectly dry state, con- 
stitute from 85 to 99 per cent of their whole weight. It is chiefly culmife- 
rous plants (hay and straw) that contain so much as 10 per cent of inorganic 
matter. The organic part of plants consists of carbon, a solid substance, and 
of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, peculiar kinds of air. One half the weight 
of most plants, when dried, consists of carbon, about one third of oxygen, 
5 per cent of hydrogen, and from 2 to 3 per cent of nitrogen. These 
elements are chemically combined ; a result produced in art by the appli- 
cation of heat, and in nature by vital action. By either of these means two 
or more substances may be united together, so as to form a third possessing 
properties different from both. Carbon, and the other substances which 
constitute the food of plants, enter by the minute pores of the roots, and the 
pores in the green part of the leaves and of the young twigs. Carbon is 
absorbed from both the soil and the air in the form of carbonic acid, and 
from the soil in the form of the humic and ulmic acids. The hydrogen and 
the oxygen are absorbed in the form of water, which is a chemical compound 
of these gases, and the nitrogen is absorbed in the form of ammonia or 
nitric acid. As a specimen of the manner in which Professor Johnston 
treats his subject, we shall quote what he says of ammonia and nitric acid ; 
two substances of immense importance in vegetation, and peculiarly interest- 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 373 


ing at the present time, when so much has been recently said respecting them 
by Liebig, Dr. Daubeny, and others. 

« Ammonia. — If the sal-ammoniac of the shops be mixed with quicklime, a 
powerful odour is immediately perceived, and an invisible gas is given off, 
which strongly affects the eyes. This gas is ammonia. Water dissolves or 
absorbs it in very large quantity, and this solution forms the common harts- 
horn of the shops. The white solid smelling-salts of the shops are a com- 
pound of ammonia with carbonic acid, —a solid formed by the union of two 
gases. 

“‘ The gaseous ammonia consists of nitrogen and hydrogen only, in the 
proportion of 14 of the former to 3 of the latter, or 17 lb. of ammonia contain 
3 lb. of hydrogen. 

“ The chief natural source of this compound is, in the decay of animal sub- 
stances. During the putrefaction of dead animal bodies ammonia is in- 
variably given off. From the animal substances of the farm-yard it is evolved, 
and from all solid and liquid manures of animal origin. It is also formed in 
lesser quantity during the decay of vegetable substances in the soil; and in 
volcanic countries, it escapes from many of the hot lavas, and from the 
crevices in the heated rocks. 

“Tt is preduced artificially by the distillation of animai substances (hoofs, 
horns, &c.), or of coal. Thousands of tons of the ammonia present in the 
ammoniacal liquors of the gas-works, which might be beneficially applied as a 
manure, are annually carried down by the rivers, and lost in the sea. 

“The ammonia which is given off during the putrefaction of animal sub- 
stances rises partially into the air, and floats in the atmosphere, till it is either 
decomposed by natural causes, or is washed down by the rains. In our 
climate, cultivated plants derive a considerable portion of their nitrogen from 
ammonia. It is supposed to be one of the most valuable fertilising sub- 
stances contained in farm-yard manure; and as it is present in greater 
proportion by far in the liquid than in the solid contents of the farm-yard, 
there can be no doubt that much real wealth is lost, and the means of raising 
increased crops thrown away, in the quantities of liquid manure which are 
almost every where permitted to run to waste. 

“Nitric Acid is a powerfully corrosive liquid, known in the shops by the 
familiar name of aquafortis. It is prepared by pouring oil of vitriol (sulphuric 
acid) upon saltpetre, and distilling the mixture. The aquafortis of the shops 
is a mixture of the pure acid with water. 

“ Pure nitric acid consists of nitrogen and oxygen only ; the union of these 
two gases, so harmless in the air, producing the burning and corrosive com- 
pound which this is known to be. 

“ Tt never reaches the roots of plants in this free and corrosive state. It 
exists in many soils, and is naturally formed in compost heaps, and in most 
situations where vegetable matter is undergoing decay in contact with the air ; 
but it is always in a state of chemical combination in these cases. With 
potash, it forms nitrate of potash (saltpetre), with soda, nitrate of soda, and 
with lime, nitrate of lime; and it is generally in one or other of these states of 
combination that it reaches the roots of plants. 

“Nitric acid is also naturally formed, and in some countries probably 
in large quantities, by the passage of electricity through the atmosphere. The 
air, as has been already stated, contains much oxygen and nitrogen mixed 
together ; but when an electric spark is passed through a quantity of air, 
a certain quantity of the two wnite together chemically, so that every spark 
that passes forms a small portion of nitric acid. A flash of lightning is only 
a large electric spark ; and hence every flash that crosses the air produces 
along its path a quantity of this acid. Where thunder-storms are frequent, 
much nitric acid must be produced in this way in the air. It is washed down 
by the rains, in which it has frequently been detected, and thus reaches the 
soil, where it produces one or other of the nitrates above mentioned. 

“It has been long observed that those parts of India are the most fertile 

BB 3 


374 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


_in which saltpetre exists in the soil in the greatest abundance. Nitrate of 
soda, also, in this country, has been found wonderfully to promote vegetation 
in many localities; and it is a matter of frequent remark, that vegetation 
seems to be refreshed and invigorated by the fall of a thunder-shower. There 
is, therefore, no reason to doubt that nitric acid is really beneficial to the 
general vegetation of the globe. And since vegetation is most luxuriant in 
those parts of the globe where thunder or lightning is most abundant, 
it would appear as if the natural production of this compound body in the air, 
to be afterwards brought to the earth by the rains, were a wise and beneficent 
contrivance by which the health and vigour of universal vegetation is intended 
to be promoted. 

“Tt is from this nitric acid, thus universally produced and existing, that 
plants appear to derive a large, probably, taking vegetation in general, the 
largest portion of their nitrogen. In all climates they also derive a portion 
of this element from ammonia; but less from this source in tropical than in 
temperate climates. (For fuller information on this point, see the Author’s 
Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, Part 1.)” 

Plants derive a portion of their nourishment from the atmosphere; which 
consists of a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen gases, with a minute quantity of 
carbonic acid, and a variable proportion of watery vapour. The carbonic 
acid affords an important part of their food to plants ; and the watery vapour 
aids in keeping their surfaces in a moist and pliant state. The various 
substances which constitute the food of plants are decomposed in the interior 
of their vessels, and recompounded so as to form new substances. The 
leaves of plants are spread out in the air for the same purpose for which the 
fibres are extended through the soil; and while the roots suck in chiefly 
liquid food, the leaves inhale almost solely gaseous matters. “ In the sun- 
shine, the leaves are continually absorbing carbonic acid from the air and giving 
off oxygen gas. When night comes, this process ceases, and they begin to absorb 
oxygen and to give off carbonic acid. It has been ascertained, that in our 
climate on an average, not less than from one third to three fourths of the 
entire quantity of carbon contained in the crops we reap from land of average 
fertility is really obtained from the air. 

“ We see, then, why, in arctic climates, where the sun once risen never sets 
again during the entire summer, vegetation should almost rush up from the 
frozen soil, the green leaf is ever gaining from the air and never losing, ever 
taking in and never giving off, carbonic acid, since no darkness ever interrupts 
or suspends its labours.” 

In the growth of plants from seed, the starch is changed into sugar ; and 
when the shoot first becomes tipped with green, the starch is again changed 
into the woody fibre. The seed also contains gluten; and, neither the gluten 
nor the starch being soluble in water, it is so arranged that when the seed 
first shoots, there is produced at the base of the germ, from a portion of the 
gluten, a small quantity of a substance called diastase, which has the power 
of rendering the starch soluble in the sap. 

“ This change of the sugar of the sap into woody fibre is observable more 
or less in all plants. When they are shooting fastest the sugar is most 
abundant ; not, however, in those parts which are growing, but in those which 
convey the sap to the growing parts. Thus, the sugar of the ascending sap of 
the maple and the alder disappears in the leaf and in the extremities of the 
twig; thus the sugar-cane sweetens only a certain distance above the ground, 
up to where the new growth is proceeding; and thus, also, the young beet and 
turnip abound most in sugar, while in all these plants the sweet principle 
diminishes as the year’s growth draws nearer to a close. 

“In the ripening of the ear also, the sweet taste, at first so perceptible, 
gradually diminishes and finally disappears; the sugar of the sap is here 
changed into the starch of the grain, which, as above described, is afterwards 
destined, when the grain begins to sprout, to be reconverted into sugar for 
the nourishment of the rising germ. 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 375 


“Tn the ripening of fruits a different series of changes presents itself. 
The fruit is first tasteless, then becomes sour, and at last sweet. In this 
case the acid of the unripe is changed into the sugar of the ripened fruit. 

“ The substance of plants, —their solid parts that 1s —consist chiefly of 
woody jibre, the name given to the fibrous substance, of which wood evidently 
consists. Itis interesting to enquire how this substance can be formed from 
the compounds, carbonic acid and water, of which the food of plants in great 
measure consists. Nor is it difficult to find an answer. 

“ It will be recollected that the leaf drinks in carbonic acid from the air, 
and delivers back its oxygen, retaining only its carbon. It is also known 
that water abounds in the sap. Hence carbon and water are thus abundantly 
present in the pores or vessels of the green leaf. Now, woody fibre consists 
only of carbon and water chemically combined together; 100 lb. of dry 
woody fibre consisting of 50 lb. of carbon and 50 lb. of water. It is easy, 
therefore, to see how, when the carbon and water meet in the leaf, woody 
fibre may be produced by their mutual combination. 

“ Tf, again, we enquire how this important principle of plants may be formed 
from the other substances, which enter by their roots, from the ulmic acid, 
for example, the answer is equally ready. This acid also consists of carbon 
and water only, 50 1b. of carbon with 373 lb. of water forming ulmic acid; so 
that when it is introduced into the sap of the plant, all the materials are 
present from which the woody fibre may be produced. 

“Nor is it more difficult to see how starch may be converted into sugar, 
and this again into woody fibre; or how, again, sugar may be converted into 
starch in the ear of corn, or woody fibre into sugar during the ripening of the 
winter pear after its removal from the tree. Any one of these substances may 
be represented by carbon and water only, Thus :— 

50 lb. of carbon with 50 of water, make 100 of woody fibre. 


50 |b. - - 374 - - 874 of ulmic acid. 

50 Ib. b ; 724 K _ 4923 ie" Cone of starch, 
: 2 2 or of gum. 

50 Ib. - - 56 - - 106 of vinegar. 


In the interior of the plant, therefore, it is obvious that, whichever of these 
substances be present in the sap, the elements are at hand out of which any 
of the others may be produced. In what way they really are produced, the 
one from the other, and by what circumstances these transformations are 
favoured, it would lead into too great detail to attempt here to explain. (For 
fuller and more precise explanations on these imteresting topics, see the 
Author’s Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, Part I.) 

“We cannot help admiring to what varied purposes in nature the same 
elements are applied, and from how few and simple materials substances the 
most varied in their properties are, in the living vegetable, daily produced.” 

The ash of plants consists of a mixture of several earthy substances, some- 
times as many as the eleven following : — Potash, soda, lime, magnesia, silica, 
alumina, oxide of iron, oxide of manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, and chlorine. 
The quantity and quality of the ash of plants is, as might be expected, very 
different. In the grain of wheat and oats, all the eleven substances are found, 
except the oxide of manganese; but in the straw of wheat the oxide of 
iron also is wanting; and in oat straw there is no soda, alumina, oxide of 
iron, of manganese, nor chlorine. The kind of organic matter varies with the 
part of the plant, and one inorganic ingredient may be abundant in the seed, 
and scarcely to be found in the leaves and stems. Thus, the grain of wheat 
contains 203 per cent of soda, while the straw contains only 2 per cent. 
Hence the leaves and stalks of a plant, without its seeds, will not constitute 
a sufficient manure for that plant, because it does not supply all the inorganic 
ingredients that have been carried off by it. 

But we have said enough to give an idea of this very excellent work, which 
we most strongly recommend to the young cultivator who is desirous of 
acquiring one of the most important parts of the science of his art. 

BB 4 


376 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


On the Growth of Plants in closely glazed Cases. By N. B. Ward, F.L.S. 
8vo, pp. 95. London, 1842. 


The simple yet comprehensive principle on which plants are grown in 
closed cases does not, Mr. Ward observes, appear to be clearly understood, 
and the object of the present work is to remove erroneous notions respecting 
it. This self-imposed task is most beautifully and philosophically executed 
under the following heads: —1. On the Natural Conditions of Plants. 1. 
On the Causes which interfere with the Natural Conditions of Plants in large 
Towns, &c. 11. On the Imitation of the Natural Conditions of Plants in 
closely glazed Cases. 1v. On the Conveyance of Plants and Seeds on Ship- 
board. v. On the Application of the closed Plan in improving the Condition 
of the Poor. vi. On the probable future Application of the preceding 
Facts. 

Natural Conditions of Plants.—Plants are influenced by the atmosphere, 
heat, light, moisture, varieties of soil, and periods of rest. The effect of an 
impure, as compared with a pure atmosphere, is exemplified in the plants 
which grow in large towns, or within the reach of manufactures evolving 
noxious gases, as compared with those which grow in the open country. 
Plants grow in different degrees of heat, from 32° to 170° or 180°, in which 
last temperature certain Cacti alone are found to live. The intensity of light 
to which plants are subjected varies from almost total darkness to a light 
double that of our brightest summer’s day. The state of atmospheric moisture 
varies as much as those of atmospheric heat and light. All plants require 
rest, and obtain it in some countries by the rigour of winter, and in others by 
the scorching and arid heat of summer. 

Plants in large Towns suffer from deficiency of light, dryness of the atmo- 
sphere, fuliginous matter with which the air of large towns is always more or 
less loaded, and the evolution of noxious gases from manufactories. 

Of all these atmospheric causes tending to depress vegetation in large 
towns, Mr. Ward is of opinion that the fuligmmous matter is the most influ- 
ential. Sulphurous acid gas generated in the combustion of coal, when added 
to common air in the proportion of 5345 or =>45> Part, has sensibly affected 
the leaves of growing plants in 10 or 12 hours, and killed them in 48 hours 
or less; and hydrochtoric or muriatic acid gas, in the proportion of 3, of a 
cubic inch to 20,000 volumes of air, produced an injurious effect in a few 
hours, and entirely destroyed the plant in two days. Such were the results 
of experiments made by Drs. Turner and Christison, and quoted in an article 
on Mr. Ward’s plant-cases, by the late Daniel Ellis, Esq., in our Volume for 
1839, p. 488. Mr. Ward has no doubt of the correctness of the experiments 
quoted ; but he contends “that it yet remains to be proved that there exists 
generally, in the atmosphere of London or other large cities, such a propor- 
tion of these noxious gases as sensibly to affect vegetation.” (p.17.) In 
proof of this, Mr. Ward refers to the hundreds of geraniums and other plants, 
seen in the windows of shops and small houses in numerous parts of London, 
“ crowing very well, and without any crisping or curling of their leaves, care 
being taken in these instances to keep the plants perfectly clean, and free 
from soot.”” Now, Mr. Ward’s cases “can, and do, exclude the fuliginous 
portion of the atmosphere,” and hence the thriving of the plants grown in 
them. These cases, however, cannot exclude gases mixed with the atmo- 
sphere; from which it may be concluded that the proportion in which delete- 
rious gases exist in it is not such as to be injurious to vegetation, nothing 
like so much so as the “acidulous emanations” which issue from the nume- 
rous chimneys of the chemical factories in a certain part of Glasgow, and 
which our correspondent in that city informs us “ wither up the leaves in the 
course of a few hours” (p. 150.), while the fuliginous particles, according to 
the same correspondent, are not concerned in injuring vegetation. 

Mr. Ward next shows, by quotations from Turner’s Hlements of Chemistry, 
and from other works, that the constant tendency of the gases and vapours 


« 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 377 


of the atmosphere is rapidly to permeate each other’s bulks, and become 
equally diffused ; and on this principle, and from his experience with the 
plant-cases, he concludes that the noxious gases, inall ordinary cases, have 
little or no influence in deteriorating the atmosphere either for plants or 
animals. 

Imitation of the natural Conditions of Plants in closely glazed Cases. —A fern 
and a grass, which came up accidentally in a wide-mouthed glass bottle with 
a lid, first gave Mr. Ward the idea of growing plants in closely glazed cases. 
He had often tried ineffectually to grow ferns on rockwork in the yard at the 
back of his house, and he could not but be struck with one coming up and 
growing so well in a bottle. He asked himself seriously what were the 
conditions necessary for its growth. “To this the answer was, Istly, an 
atmosphere free from soot (this I well knew from previous experience) ; 
2dly, light; 3dly, heat; 4thly, moisture ; and lastly, change of air. It was 
quite evident that the plants could obtain light and heat as well in the bottle 
as out of it; and that the lid which retained the moisture likewise excluded 
the soot. The only remaining condition to be fulfilled was the change of 
air ; and how was this to be effected ?”” (p. 26.) The answer is, by the law 
of the diffusion of gaseous bodies, alluded to in the preceding paragraph ; 
the crevices in the glass case admitting of the exit and entrance of air, but not 
of the entrance of fuliginous matter. This is the whole secret of the growth 
of plants in glass cases. 

The consideration of the remaining chapters we must defer till a future 
Number ; inthe meantime we can assure our readers that these dry facts 
which we have quoted, though they are calculated to give a complete idea of 
the theory of the art of growing plants in glass cases, yet by no means 
exemplify the beautiful manner, accompanied by apt illustrations, in which it 
has been developed by Mr. Ward. 


Sir Uvedale Price on the Picturesque: with an Essay on the Origin of Taste, 
and much original Matter, by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart ; and Sixty 
Illustrations, designed and drawn on the Wood by Montagu Stanley, 
R. S.A. 8vo, pp. 586. Edinburgh and London, 1842. 


The value of the essays on the picturesque by Sir Uvedale Price is known 
to every one in this country, who has the least pretension to taste in land- 
scape or in landscape architecture, and therefore nothing requires to be said 
on that part of the volume before us. We reverence the memory of Sir 
Uvedale Price, whom we had the pleasure of knowing personally, both as an 
author and as a man; for the liberality of his sentiments, and his benevolence, 
were of a character as elevated and decided as his taste. Of the notes of Sir 
Thomas Dick Lauder, we have given specimens at length in p. 342. and 
p- 360. The only part of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s editorial labours that we 
disapprove of is the introductory essay “ On the Origin of Taste,” in which 
every thing is referred to the principle of the association of ideas. We 
readily admit that the greater number of the emotions of taste, and all the 
more exalted emotions, are heightened by this principle; but we think that 
there are many of the pleasures of taste that are altogether independent of 
association, and, at all events, that many emotions do not originate in it. 

There are certain combinations of colours and sounds which, according to 
the constitution of our nature, are disagreeable, and others which are agree- 
able. Now, either this point is conceded to us or it is not. If it be not 
denied, then the association of ideas cannot be said to be the origin of taste 
in music and painting. Mankind in general are less susceptible of ‘eeling what 
is agreeable and what is disagreeable in combinations of lines and forms: but 
many individuals are sensible of the difference between forms and lines of dif- 
ferent kinds naturally; and others, such as painters and architects of taste, 
by cultivation. Now, if this point also be conceded to us, it can no longer 
be said that the association of ideas is the origin of taste in matters relating 


378 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


to form; and form may be considered as including lines and light and shade. 
Hence, our conclusion is, that the origin of taste in music, in painting, in 
landscape, and in architecture, is founded in nature, and only heightened, not 
originated, by association. We shall not enter farther into the subject, 
because those who will not agree to what we have stated are not likely to 
be convinced by any arguments founded on these statements. 

The volume, we think, would have been much better without this essay ; 
but, notwithstanding, the publisher deserves credit for having produced an 
edition of a first-rate standard work at a moderate price. The vignettes are 
numerous and highly ornamental. 


A Treatise on Agriculture, comprehending the Nature, Properties, and Improve- 
ment of Soils; the Structure, Functions, and Cultivation of Plants ; and the 
Husbandry of the domestic Animals of the Farm. By John Sproule. Second 
edition, with corrections and additions, illustrated with numerous en- 
gravings on wood. 8yo, pp.695. Dublin, Edinburgh, and London, 1842. 


We noticed the first edition of this work in our Volume for 1840, p. 34., 
and the demand for a new edition, in so short a period, may be considered as 
a proof of its suitableness for the purpose for which it was written. As a 
specimen of the work, we give the following concluding paragraphs from the 
chapter on the structure and functions of plants. Most of our readers will 
know where they are taken from, though the author has on this, and on other 
occasions of the same kind, not thought fit to refer either to the Hncyclo- 
paedia of Gardening (see p. 463.), or the Encyclopedia of Agriculture (see 

. 280.). 

ie The preservation of vegetables for future use is effected by destroying or 
rendering dormant the principle of life, and by warding off, as far as prac- 
ticable, the process of chemical decomposition. When vegetables or fruits 
are gathered for preservation, the air of the atmosphere is continually 
depriving them of carbon, and forming carbonic acid gas. The water they 
contain, by its softening qualities, weakens the affinity of their elements; and 
heat produces the same effect, by dilating their parts, and promoting the de- 
composing effect of both air and water. Hence, drying in the sun, or in 
ovens, is one of the most obvious modes of preserving vegetables for food, or 
for other economic purposes; but not for reproduction, if the desiccation be 
carried so far as to destroy the principle of life in seeds, roots, or sections of 
the shoots of ligneous plants. 

“ The whole art of culture is but a varied developement of the above funda- 
mental principles, all founded in nature, and, for the most part, rationally and 
scientifically explained on chemical and physiological principles. Hence the 
great necessity of the study of botany to the cultivator, not in the limited 
sense in which the term is often understood, as including mere nomenclature 
and classification, but in that more extended signification by which the 
student is also made practically acquainted with the structure and functions 
of the vegetable economy ; by which he is enabled to modify his system of 
culture in such a manner as most effectually to accomplish the end in view. 
As this knowledge has increased, the produce of the land has increased in a 
corresponding degree, and will further increase as physiological knowledge 
extends. Cultivated produce has hitherto outrun population, and, to all 
appearance, will always do so. From the increasing enterprise and scientific 
knowledge of the cultivators of the soil, not only the merits of many of the 
varieties of roots, grain, and grasses, now in existence, and as yet very little 
known, will be further elicited ; but new varieties, and even genera, possessed 
of more useful properties than any of those now cultivated, will continue to 
be discovered.” 

The following observations are judicious, and, as the author acknowledges 
having had recourse to Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Architecture, we acquit him 
of any intention to pass them off as his own. 


General Notices. 379 


“ As general rules in the erection of farm-houses, it may be observed, that 
it is always desirable that they should be placed upon a platform or terrace, 
with a view of keeping the ground floor of the several apartments dry, and 
consequently rendering them warmer and healthier ; that the chimneys should 
be placed in the interior walls rather than in the exterior ones, this arrange- 
ment being better calculated to retain the greatest portion of the heat coming 
from the fires within the house ; and by the additional heat contained within 
the central mass of masonry, to make the flues draw better ; and that the 
ground plan should approach as near as possible to a square, as being that 
form which is calculated to afford the greatest accommodation with a given 
amount of expenditure.” 


The Grainer’s Guide. By Charles Moxon. Large folio. Edinburgh, 1842. 


This work is illustrated by a number of specimens of imitations of wood 
and marble, all done by the author himself, and, we may add, exquisitely 
beautiful. The work will be found of the greatest use to journeymen 
painters who wish to excel in the art of graining, and to architects and ama- 
teurs who wish to know what can be effected by this style of art. The 
author, we are happy to find, has opened an establishment in the metropolis 
(Bury Street, St. James’s) ; and, when we add that he has been for a number 
_of years the principal assistant of Mr. Hay of Edinburgh, his success may 
fairly be anticipated. We have seen some of Mr. Moxon’s imitations of 
different kinds of marble, which are exquisitely beautiful, and show what may 
be done on the walls of halls, corridors, and staircases; ‘i 


Art. II. Literary Notices. 


TuE Amateur Florist, and Guide to the Flower-Garden. By W. P. Ayres, 
author of a “ Treatise on the Cultivation of the Cucumber,” will soon appear, 
price 2s. 6d. 

A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies, by James Backhouse, 
with 3 maps, 14 etchings, and 700 octavo pages of letterpress, is expected to 
be ready in the ensuing autumn. Price, to subscribers, 14s. 

A Descriptive Treatise on the Scottish Grasses, illustrated by 130 figures, by 
R. Parnell, M.D., F.R.S.E., is now in the press. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. 1. General Notices. 


Gus-LIME applied to Horticultural Purposes.—\t appears to me that this 
article, which, I believe, may be procured on application to the clerk of the 
works at any gasometer, for a mere trifle beyond the expense of carting, is not 
valued as it ought to be, and in but few instances have I seen it made use 
of; but, from these instances, I feel so thoroughly convinced of the many 
advantages to be derived from the use of it, that | am anxious to mention 
a few of the purposes to which it is particularly applicable. 

As manure, when about three years kept and turned, I learn that it is very 
excellent, being, independently of its fertilising qualities, an excellent cleanser of 
the soil from destructive vermin of all kinds. In this particular I cannot fully 
expatiate upon its merits, but trust that, before long, some one of your cor- 
respondents, who may have a practical knowledge of its application and effects, 
will kindly commit the same to your pages. 


380 General Notices. 


In the formation of gravel paths it surpasses every thing that I have ever 
seen used, for protecting gravel against the unsightly casts of worms, as well as 
greatly preserving it from foul weeds, as couch, &c. ; even, besides these excel- 
lent qualities, it forms an exceedingly clean surface for laying gravel upon, 
more particularly desirable in cases of scarcity of gravel, for over it a coat of 
gravel of 2 in. in thickness will make a good path, and, in usual cases, retain 
its colour for three years, when a slight coating of new gravel, carefully incor- 
porated, will restore its appearance. For this purpose it should be spread 
equally over a good layer of stone rubble, broken smaller, rather than larger, 
than those used for mending roads on M‘Adam’s principle, to the thickness of 
2 in., which will be found to settle down to about 1 in. Thus used, I have 
found, on taking up paths four or five years after their formation, that its qua- 
lity was but little, if at all, diminished. 

One other instance of its utility I will mention, perhaps of scarcely less 
importance than either of the preceding ; which is, in the formation of basins 
for fountains, &c.; embellishments universally admired, but in too many 
instances altogether omitted in gardens, in a great measnre from the heavy 
expense attending the formation of them according to the best and usual 
mode. This article, however, at least in the vicinity of towns lighted with gas, 
and in a neighbourhood where good clay can be procured at a reasonable rate, 
opens, if properly applied, a means by which these luxuries may be enjoyed. 
It must not be thought that, in speaking of gas-lime thus favourably, I attempt 
to impress the idea that basins made according to the mode I am about to 
mention are entirely equal to those of masonry; but I merely wish to assert, 
and that from experience, that basins of almost any extent, and of great dura- 
bility, may be made to vie with those of masonry in elegance, simply thus: — 
Where the basin is required, excavate the soil in accordance with the depth and 
outline of your desired basin, allowing an equal space every way to receive 
a thickness of at least 6 in., when settled, of gas-lime, bottom and sides, and 
15 in., not less, in thickness of well-puddled clay, which may be lined, according 
to the circumstances of the place, with a single layer of brick or stone, merely 
to prevent any accidental perforation of the clay, and finished with a coping of 
turf neatly laid, or masonry. You thus, by the use of gas-lime between the 
natural soil and the clay, exclude worms, and, almost without exception, the 
roots of trees, &c., from the clay for an almost indefinite period. 

I have, according to this manner, directed the construction of one or two 
basins, under very disadvantageous circumstances with respect to soil and situ- 
ation, with the most perfect success, and, as compared with other modes, at 
an almost nominal expense. 

I also find that gold-fish thrive as well in basins so formed, as in those 
where gas-lime is not used.— W.H.B. Oxford, June, 1842. © 

Kiln-dust as Manure. — Never having found any mention made of kiln-dust 
as manure, and having seen in one or two establishments plants, more par- 
ticularly dahlias and pelargoniums, grown very excellently in soil manured 
with this article, which is simply the incipient shoot and roots which have 
been protruded by the malting or germination of the grain afterwards broken 
off by the drying and turning (see Encyc. of Cott. Arch., p.402.), I here 
beg to notice that it is, as far as I can understand, well worthy the attention 
of cultivators ; and, although I have not a sufficient knowledge of its merits, 
expense, &c., to speak in detail, in all probability many of your expe- 
rienced correspondents may, and will kindly communicate the same through 
the medium of your magazine.—B. H.W. June, 1842. 

[The powerful effects of malt-dust as a manure are noticed in our Encyc. of 
Ag., p. 335. 2d ed.] 

“A simple and good Mode of packing the Pistons of Hand-Syringes. — 1 am 
doubtless not the only gardener who has many times, when using a hand- 
syringe, especially when much force has been required, had a sharp dash 
of water on the face, or chest, or other part of the body, from its upper orifice 
while refilling the cylinder, owing to the packing admitting a portion of the 


Domestic Notices: — England. 881 


water to pass the sucker while ejecting its contents. This was so frequently 
my case, and that also after having the syrmge more than once newly packed, 
that I felt resolved on adopting, if possible, some means of preventing it. The 
first means applied after depriving the sucker of the whole of its packing, 
was simply by replacing it with a strip of sponge, cut to fill the space allowed 
for the packing,, where it was secured by a single tie of thin copper wire. 
This, upon trial, I found to answer its purpose so well that I have applied no 
other remedy, and, from its cheapness and simplicity, I think it worth record- 
ing. Ihave now used a syringe so packed daily for about five months, free 
from the unpleasantness above mentioned. — W. H. B. Oxford, June 3. 1842. 


ArT. 11. Domestic Notices. 
ENGLAND. 


THE Exhibition at the Horticultural Society’s Garden, on May 14th, was 
attended by upwards of 5,500 persons, including the queen, and 13,582 
persons were present on June 11th; by far the greatest number that has 
attended these exhibitions at one time. We enter into no details, because 
these are given in the gardening newspapers, to which we refer once for all 
for whatever relates to the meetings of societies, either metropolitan or pro- 
vincial. In general, we intend in future to omit the publication of all matters 
of a temporary nature, or that derive their chief interest from being imme- 
diately made known, and confine ourselves to matters of solid and permanent 
interest, the publication of which a week sooner or later is of no consequence. 
Of whatever is new and ofa permanent nature, in the gardening newspapers, or 
in any other gardening publication, we shall transfer the essence to the pages 
of the Gardener’s Magazine, sooner or later. 

The Fountains mn St. James's Park, and in’ Kensington Gardens. — In the 
Gardener’s Chronicle of June 18., a writer who signs himself Ortolano has, 
with true artistical feeling, assigned the reason why a fountain now being 
erected in St. James’s Park is objectionable; and we notice the subject, 
because his reasons apply with equal force to a fountain which has been 
recently set up in the river (as it is called) in Kensington Gardens. The 
water and scenery in that part of Kensington Gardens where this fountain is 
placed is in a style of what may be termed commonplace nature; but the 
fountain, which is placed in the middle of the river, consists of a series of cir- 
cular cast-iron basins, arranged on a vertical axis one above another, exactly 
like an old-fashioned dumb waiter. The cast-iron axis rises abruptly from the 
water ; and the whole, which may be 10 or 12 feet high, is painted white. 
Any thing less in accordance with the surrounding scenery it is difficult to 
imagine. We have often, when passing this fountain, asked ourselves whether 
it be possible that Lord Lincoln, and the other Commissioners of Woods and 
Forests, can approve of it: and, if they do not approve of it, how it happens 
that such a hideous object, or indeed any object intended to be ornamental, 
could be put up without their knowledge and approbation. If this fountain 
had risen out of a base of rockwork it would have been less hideous, but still 
liable to the objection of being altogether incongruous to the scene in which 
it is placed. A single bold jet from a mass of rock in such a scene we hold 
to be admissible, but by no means either a jet or a drooping fountain from 
sculpture or regular architecture. The most appropriate fountain which could 
be introduced in this part of the water in Kensington Gardens is what we 
suggested in our Volume for 184] (p.331.), viz., huge masses of rock in 
the form of a source, placed where the mock bridge now stands, from which 
the water might trickle down in streamlets. We say this kind of fountain 
would have been the most appropriate; because, being at the upper end or 
commencement of the river, or rather lake, it would have indicated how it 
was supplied, while no violence would have been done to the character of the 


382 Domestic Notices : — England. 


scenery. Instead of exhibiting a source of this kind, and disguising the termi- 
nation of the lake by one or two islands, an attempt is made to keep up the 
character of a river by building three arches as a termination, the common- 
place resource, in cases of this kind, in the infancy of the natural style of laying 
out grounds, but long since rejected by every modern artist of cultivated taste. 
Altogether, the termination of this piece of water is so bad in itself, and so 
ridiculous when contrasted with the real bridge within sight of it, that we 
think it will be instructive to exhibit its absurdity by sketches, which we 
intend sooner or later todo. The fountain at present only plays occasion- 
ally’; but, if a rocky source were substituted, the supply of water might easily 
be so regulated as to flow throughout the whole of that portion of every day 
during which the gardens are open to the public. — Cond. 

Kensington Gardens. — “ As it appears that the public have not closed with 
the project of disposing of the site of the kitchen-garden at Kensington so 
readily as was expected, I beg to offer the following remarks on this most 
objectionable plan, in the hope that, before it be too late, the present govern- 
ment may be disposed to reconsider the subject. 

“ There are two points on which the planners of this scheme deserve some 
credit ; and, as they are the only points deserving of commendation, candour 
requires their being noticed: the one is, the making of a kitchen-garden at 
Windsor worthy of the place; the other, the projecting of a road to connect 
Bayswater and Kensington, which will be a considerable public benefit. All 
the other bearings of the subject I hold to be worse than bad — to be dis- 
creditable to those who drew the plan, and even more so to those who adopted 
instead of repudiating it, as they ought to have done. 

“To the north and west of Kensington Palace is the ground in question, a 
strip to the north forming a paddock used by the inmates of the palace, and a 
longer strip running quite from the Kensington Gate to the Bayswater Road, 
forming, in the whole, between 30 and 40 acres. The plan is to let the whole 
front along the Bayswater Road, including, I believe, part of the paddock, for 
building sites, and running a wide road down the centre of the old gardens, to 
divide the ground on each side into blocks of about an acre each, to be let to 
individuals for 99 years; that is, this invaluable piece of ground is to be 
jobbed out in the ordinary manner practised by individuals who have a few 
acres adjoining a watering place, to make the most they can of their land. Is 
this consistent with the dignity of the crown of England? Is the raising the 
beggarly sum, necessary to make the garden at Windsor, to be attained by the 
alienating for ever (for, disguise it as they may, this is the real truth) of such 
a piece of ground? Let any one see the manner in which the promenade in 
Kensington Gardens is attended, and see the plans and extension of buildings 
on every side, and say whether government is not called on, as a sacred duty, 
to do any thing rather than, in the manner here intended, to sacrifice even an 
acre which can be devoted to the public health and amusement ? There is a 
cardinal point which should be carefully attended to in the management of the 
parks. No individual should be on any pretence allowed to establish an 
interest in them. We have just seen a nuisance removed from Piccadilly, and 
the private residences in the Regent’s Park are perhaps the only blots in that 
beautiful enclosure, whilst the conditions entered into with the possessors are 
a serious bar to improvement, and the pecuniary return is wholly unworthy 
notice. 

“ Having now expressed my opinion on the plan, I beg to suggest a better 
mode of laying out the ground. The road might be carried quite along the 
west side, leaving all the open space possible. A necessary space of private 
eround, but fenced with open pallisade, should surround the palace and leave 
it isolated ; the remainder should be laid out in choice and ornamental shrub- 
bery and flower-garden in a plain way, and preperly secured from injury by 
the public. The paddock I would leave as it is, if an equivalent cannot be 
found elsewhere ; only, instead of the brick walls, open palisades should be 
substituted, and a communication made from the n. w. corner of the Ken- 


Domestic Notices : — Scotland, Ireland. 383 


sington Gardens to the s.w. one. If this plan be adopted, the public will 
have a delightful addition to the garden, and the inmates of the palace have 
the satisfaction of seeing that the ground is devoted to public use and enjoy- 
ment, instead of their being annoyed by the smoke and inconvenience of pri- 
vate dwellings which are to close it in upon the north and west. With respect 
to the raising the money, has parliament ever refused a grant for Windsor ? 
We think not; though some grants might have excited observation from their 
enormous amount in proportion to their objects: the stables and kennels, for 
instance. If it be deemed necessary or expedient to alienate any portion of 
the crown land for the purpose, it should be done at a distance, and not so 
near the heart of London, A farm in Hampshire or Staffordshire is of no 
moment, if the full value be obtained for it; whereas, if a site like this be lost, 
it can never be regained. 

“There is one more suggestion which may be made: a row of villa houses, 
contiguous, with a mere open space of a few feet, might be built on the extreme 
boundary facing the palace, and opening to the road, but without garden or 
ground. There is no question that this plan might answer, and would not be 
very objectionable. A depth of 50 ft. would realise some money ; though I 
should prefer having the whole site clear, especially if there are hopes of pur- 
chasing ground to the west, which I have heard are entertained. 

“ T must now conclude, earnestly calling on members of parliament, more 
especially those connected with the metropolis, to stir themselves, and prevent 
the government thus carrying out the provisions of a legacy left them by their 
predecessors.” (W. in Gard. Chron. for 1842, p. 380.) 

Immense Shaddock —On Thursday, the 12th inst., a very fine shaddock was 
gathered by Edward Spicey, in the hall garden at Chippenham Park, weighing 
2 lb., and measuring 18 in. in circumference. (Camb. Chron. and Journ., May 
28th, 1842. 


SCOTLAND. 


The Botanical Society of Edinburgh is in a prosperous state, and accounts 
of their proceedings appear from time to time in the gardening newspapers, 
which is the reason that we no longer enter into details, conceiving that these 
papers are perused by every one at all interested in practical botany and 
gardening. 

Of the Caledonian Horticultural Society we may make the same remark, and 
which is applicable also to all the Scotch provincial societies. 

The Edinburgh Botanic Garden has had bequeathed to it the interesting and 
valuable herbarium of the late Dr. Archibald Menzies (see p. 240.), which 
was chiefly formed in the course of his voyages round the world with Van- 
couver, and other circumnavigators. — Cond. 


IRELAND. 


A Farmer's Gazette and Journal of Practical Horticulture, we are. happy to 
observe, is commenced in Dublin, the department of rural affairs edited by 
Edmund Murphy, A. B., landscape-gardener. A more competent editor could 
hardly be found either in Ireland or England, and if the paper be properly 
supported, we feel confident it will do much good. The paper is published 
weekly at 4d., which very low price the proprietors bind themse:ves either 
to reduce, or to give more for money, by enlarging the size of the paper, as 
soon as the circulation shall have increased so as to cover the actual expense 
of publication. The Farmer's Gazette of June 4th, now before us, contains a 
number of appropriate extracts from agricultural and horticultural publica- 
tions, and an account of a visit to an experimental ground for trying the 
effects of Dr. Sir James Murray’s oxygenated fertilisers, by Mr. Murphy. 
“The experiments,’ Mr. Murphy says, “ have been conducted in total ab- 
sence of every thing like science and accuracy.” — Cond. 


384 Queries and Answers. — Obituary. 


Arr. IMI. Retrospective Criticism. 


Tur Subscribers to Donglas’s Monument. (p. 296. to 301.) —In p. 299., for 
“ Mr. Park, Paris Street, Exeter,” read “ Mr. Clark, Paris Street, Exeter.” 
In p. 301., for ‘‘ Messrs. Law and Co.,” read “ Messrs. Low and Co.” In 
p. 298., for “ Cairnmore,” read “ Cairnsmore,” and for “ Wm. Ross, Cardo- 
ness,” read © Wm. Sinclair, Cardoness ;” for “ Adam M‘Marran, Kirbuchtree,” 
read “ Adam M‘Morrine, Kirouchtree ;’ for “ Alexander M‘Marran,’ read 
« Alexander M‘Morrine;” for “ Ewing Glover,’ read “ Eben. Glover;” and 
for “Wm. Maxwell of Cardon,” read “ Wm. Maxwell, younger, of Cardo- 
ness.” In p. 300., for “ Mr. Smith, in a letter from Worcester, 6/ 6s.,” read 
“ Mr. Smith, in a letter from Worcester, 6/. 0s. 6d.” Add to the list, “ M. 
Saul, Esq., Lancaster, 5s.,” and “ R. Tongue, Esq., Forton Cottage, near Lan- 
caster, 5s.’ How the last two names came to be omitted in the List of Sub- 
scribers we do not know. ‘The care of the list was committed to a clerk, 
and he is not now in the country to give any explanation. — Cond. 


Art. 1V. Queries and Answers. 


THE Twining of Plants. — Might I trouble you, or some of your intelligent 
correspondents, to favour me with a scintilla of information respecting the 
laws that regulate, or influence, the twining of plants. It has been assumed 
that solar attraction was the agency directing that mode of growth, and that 
such as were natives of the northern hemisphere had a tendency from east to 
west ; and if we confine our attention to the hop, the honeysuckle, the black 
bryony, &c., such an assumption might remain valid: but if we take, for 
example, the Convédlvulus sépium, a plant well known to be indigenous, the 
above doctrine no longer holds good, as that plant invariably twines from 
west to east, in the same manner as the scarlet runner, and many others. — 
D. B. June, 1842. 

Bridgeman, Kent, Wright, Lappidge, Eames, Meikle, Parkyns, the Author of 
“ Monastic Remains,” and the Authors of the “ Epistle to Lord Lowther” and of 
the “ Elements of Modern Gardening.””—We shall be greatly obliged to any of 
our readers who can give us any information respecting these landscape- 
gardeners, or their descendants. — Cond. 


Art. V. Obituary. 


Diep, in the end of May last, at an advanced age, David Falconer, Esq., of 
Carlowrie, near Edinburgh. This gentleman, who enjoyed a moderate fortune, 
was a most zealous and successful cultivator of botany and horticulture. He 
had for many years in his garden at Carlowrie an excellent collection of her- 
baceous plants, which was extremely rich in some of the genera, particularly 
Tris, of which he had doubtless the best collection in Britain. Various en- 
quiries by Mr. Falconer after rare species of different genera will be found in 
our earlier Volumes, particularly Vols. 1V. V. and VL, and we hope some 
correspondent will favour us with further details respecting an individual 
so much esteemed both as a man and a botanist. — Cond. 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
AU GUST, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
By the ConpucTor. 


(Continued from p. 343.) 


JULY 29.— Hamilton to Allanton. Weaving the valley of the 
Clyde, we pass over a tract of land, which, forty years ago, was 
little better than a moor, but which is now varied by hedge- 
rows and plantations, and traversed by good roads. ‘The 
plantations every where want thinning, and the fields draining; 
but the latter improvement is making rapid progress, and will 
doubtless end in rendering this part of the country as productive 
as any tract in the West of Scotland. ‘The walls of the labourers’ 
cottages are generally of stone; and those which are built by 
feuars, such as carpenters, smiths, weavers, tailors, and others, 
have the stones squared, and frequently with as smooth a sur- 
face as those in the walls of Hamilton Palace; yet, with all this 
care of outward appearance in the building, these cottages have 
scarcely ever a front garden, or any flowers or flowering shrubs 
between them and the road. ‘They have, however, generally 
_ placed over the entrance door, a stone, with the initials of the 
husband and wife, and the year in which the cottage was built 
by them, which it is always satisfactory to see, because we 
sympathise with the feeling of property and independence which 
we give the possessor credit for enjoying; and with the wish to 
participate in these feelings which we conclude to be felt by his 
neighbours, who, we may suppose, are saving money for a 
similar purpose. As to the front gardens, they will be formed 
in due time. If the gentlemen throughout the country were to 
direct their gardeners to advise with the cottagers with respect 
to their gardens, to furnish them with a few plants and seeds to 
begin with, and to look at them two or three times a year, for a 


year or two, the taste would spread rapidly. ‘This effect would 
3d Ser. — 1842. VIII. cc 


386 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


be greatly aided by the establishment of Parochial Horticultural 
Societies. 

The Village of Allanton contains some cottages of an orna- 
mental character, for which the public are indebted to the late 
Sir Henry Steuart. ‘They are all characterised by a peculiar 
kind of broad label over the windows and doors, resembling the 
boards which are used as labels over the openings of the mud- 
wall cottages of Huntingdonshire. Doubtless, much of the 
stonework of architecture, and particularly that of Grecian 
origin, has woodwork for its type; but we cannot quite re- 
concile ourselves to the fac-simile imitation of a plain deal board 
in a building the walls of which are built of squared stone. 
On the same principle, we should object to flag-stones cut to 
the width of deals, and laid down in imitation of a boarded 
floor; or to a stone barge-board, put up to protect the ends of 
wooden purlins. In other respects, these cottages are orna- 
mental externally, and commodious within; and they have all 
sleeping-rooms up stairs, which is by no means common in this 
part of Scotland. Some of them were built by Sir Henry 
Steuart, but the greater number by feuars; Sir Henry having 
feued the land on terms favourable to the builder, and made an 
allowance in money for the ornamental parts of the cottage, as 
well as supplied designs and working-plans, and shrubs and 
flowers for the front gardens. So good an example, we trust, 
will be followed by other proprietors. Much of the beauty of 
every cultivated country depends on the beauty of its cottages 
and their gardens; because, in every civilised country, these 
must necessarily constitute the great majority of human dwell- 
ings. What can have a more miserable appearance than a 
wretched cottage out of repair, and without a garden? No one 
blames the cottager for this state of things; but the idea of 
a thoughtless or inhuman landlord, or of an unfeeling mer- 
cenary agent, immediately occurs. What, on the contrary, 
gives a greater idea of comfort, and of an enlightened bene- 
volent landlord, than to see every cottage on his estate rearing 
its high steep roof and bold architectural chimney tops, in- 
dicating ample room and warmth within; the whole in good 
repair, and surrounded by fruit trees, in a well-stocked and 
neatly kept garden? Every one, in travelling through a country, 
must have observed how much of its beauty depends on the 
state of its cottages and their gardens. We would, therefore, 
entreat the possessors of landed property to consider how much 
of the beauty of the country depends upon them; and we would 
farther beg of them to ask themselves, whether it is not one of 
the duties entailed on them by the possession of landed pro~- 
perty, to render it not only beneficial to their families and to all 
who live on it, but ornamental to the country. | 


Allanton Park. 387 


Allanton Park has been done justice to by Mr. Nesfield, in 
our Volume for 1838. The gardener pointed out to us the 
different transplanted trees of which Mr. Nesfield has given the 
dimensions; and we found them, as might have been expected 
from the account which Sir Henry has published of the pre- 
paration of the soil, in vigorous growth. ‘There can be no 
doubt of the success of the mode of transplanting adopted by 
sir Henry Steuart; but it is a great mistake to suppose that it 
is the best that can be adopted in every case. Notwithstanding 
the small cost which attended this mode of transplanting at 
Allanton, every where else it will be found far too expensive for 
general purposes. It is also very tedious; for a large tree 
requires four or five years to prepare. In the great majority of 
cases, the best mode of transplanting large trees is to take them 
up with as many roots as possible, even though these should 
extend 10 ft. or 12 ft. on every side, reduce the head in pro- 
portion to the roots, envelope the trunk and main branches in 
hay-bands, plant in a mass of thoroughly prepared soil, and 
supply water liberally during the first summer. In all situations 
which are tolerably sheltered, this mode will be found to succeed ; 
and it is evident, that it must be far less tedious and expensive 
than the mode adopted at Allanton. In the case of exposed 
situations, there is no better mode, in our opinion, than de- 
priving the stem of all its branches, in the Continental manner 
described in detail in p. 130. The decapitated tree, in this 
case, will grow very slowly at first, but its growths, like those 
of a seedling plant placed in the same situation, will accom- 
modate themselves to the exposure, and produce a vigorous 
tree there, in a shorter time than it could be produced by any 
other means; whereas a tree with a branchy head would, in the 
first year, be blown to one side, and, the shelter of that side 
occasioning every year the largest shoots to be produced there, 
the tree would continue one-sided for many years, if not always. 
We are quite aware of all that has been said against deca- 
pitating trees, and even cutting over the stems of thorn plants 
before planting a quick hedge; but we have seen and read 
enough to satisfy us that the modes we have recommended are 
the best for general purposes. In gardening, as in other arts, 
science will explain the cause of success or failure, and it will 
sometimes suggest new and improved practices: but no reason- 
ing on scientific principles can set at nought practices which 
have been attended with success for ages; and one of these, in 
our opinion, is the Continental mode of transplanting large 
trees. On extraordinary occasions, it may be desirable to pre- 
pare a tree for three or four years before it is removed; and, in 
that case, no details can be more complete than those given in 
the Planter’s Guide. 


GCG # 


388 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


The taste displayed in the grounds at Allanton is in general 
good. One or two defects have been pointed out by Mr. Nes- 
field which might be remedied. It is pleasing to see evidence 
of the enthusiastic delight which Sir Henry must have had in 
improving his place, in an extensive plantation made at his ex- 
pense on a hill belonging to an adjoining proprietor. Had this 
hill remained as it was, a naked moor, it occupies so large a 
space in the views from the grounds and house at Allanton, that 
it would have been a sad blemish in a landscape the chief merit 
of which is being wooded and rich in the midst of a compara- 
tively naked and meagre country. ‘The manner in which the 
single trees are scattered along the two approach roads, both of 
considerable length, so as to form foregrounds to the distant 
scenery, without destroying breadth of effect, deserves to be 
studied by the gardener; and not less so the manner in which 
the trees are grouped in the interior of the park. 

The young plantations here are so thick, that, if not thinned 
in a very short time, such of them as have been planted as 
screens will defeat the object, by admitting the light and a view 
of the public road between their naked stems. The Turkey oak 
and the Norway maple thrive remarkably well in these planta- 
tions, and, what we were rather surprised at, we found a number 
of trees of Acer h¥bridum ; not, however, so luxuriant as they 
are in the Horticultural Society’s garden, the tree being indige- 
nous on the mountains of Naples. In the kitchen-garden grapes 
are ripened annually, about the middle of April; the price of 
coal here being only 4s. per ton. ‘Tile-draining is going ex- 
tensively forward in the park and farm lands, and is found to 
pay well, even when it costs 10/. or 12/. per acre. On the 
whole, we were much gratified with Allanton and with the kind 
and hospitable reception given our party by Lady Seaton Steuart, 
who well merits the compliment paid to her by Mr. Nesfield. 

Milton Lockhart, the seat of — Lockhart, EKsq., M.P., brother 
to the celebrated editor of the Quarterly Review, is a very old place, 
celebrated in Old Mortality as the residence of Claverhouse. A 
new house, by Burns, in his peculiar combination of the old Scotch, 
or Belgian, style and the Tudor Gothic, is just finished. It 
stands on a prominent point of a peninsula formed by a remark- 
able turn of the Clyde ; which, after washing the base of the bank 
on which the house stands, darts away from it across the valley, 
and, after a course of, we should suppose, above a mile, returns to 
another bank near the house, enclosing, as it were in a loop, a 
beautiful piece of meadow scenery, fringed with trees on the 
banks of the river. We confess, however, that our recollections of 
these features are insufficient to do them justice. The approach 
to the house is over the Clyde, on a lofty bridge of a single arch 
built by Mr. Lockhart; and the steep banks between the river 


Milton Lockhart, Lee. 389 


and the house have been begun to be laid out in terrace gardens, 
which, when completed, promise to have an admirable effect. 
At present, nothing is finished but the house ; and all the ground 
work is at a stand-still, and likely to be so for some time, on 
account of electioneering expenses. We went over every part 
of the house, from the cellars to the garrets, and found in it 
everything which a villa, or rather a mansion, ought to contain, 
though on a small scale. When Milton Lockhart is finished, it 
will be a residence of great beauty and variety, from the con- 
trast of the architectural gardens at the house, with the romantic 
windings and picturesque banks of the river, and the wooded 
hilly scenery which extends on every side. The greatest draw- 
back to its beauty at present is the curved line of the approach, 
which ought to be conducted in one straight line from the bridge 
to the entrance court of the house. Such a straight horizontal 
line is wanted to balance the innumerable curved and broken 
lines which form the natural characteristic of the locality. In 
_ the flower-garden we found a collection of sweet-williams which 
surpassed in beauty every thing of the kind that we had before 
seen. ‘The gardener had been collecting them for several years. 

Milton Lockhart to Lanark. 'The ride from Hamilton to 
Lanark, along the banks of the Clyde, has long been celebrated 
for its beauty, and it forms a very good study for the landscape- 
gardener who has walks to form along the banks of a natural 
river. Here he may see the effect of such bends in the walk as 
command long reaches of the river, and others which merely 
look across it; of seeing the water from an open glade, and from 
a dark thicket; of seeing it near at hand, and at a distance; of 
the walk being parallel to the river’s course, of going away from 
it, and approaching it; and, in particular, he will learn the fine 
effect of some of these changes, when accompanied by the sound 
of a waterfall, now rising and now dying away on the ear. The 
inn at Lanark is a larger house than that at Hamilton, but in 
point of comfort it is far inferior. 

July 30.— Cartland Crags, a remarkable chasm with rocky 
sides, overhung with trees, and rich in wild plants, and also the 
Stonebyre Falls of the Clyde, afforded us much enjoyment, but 
we cannot stop to describe them. ‘The natural oaks on the banks 
of the Clyde we found to be every where Quércus sessiliflora. 

Lee, Sir Norman Lockhart, is a place of great antiquity, and 
remarkable for some fine old trees. Amongst these are three 
larches (mentioned in the Arboretum Britannicum) of the same 
age as those at Dunkeld, the largest of which is 12 ft. in cireum- 
ference at 4 ft. from the ground, and 100ft. high; silver firs 
and spruce firs of the same age, and of nearly similar dimensions ; 
a row of magnificent old limes, which, however, from standing 


too close together, have taken the character of a gigantic hedge ; 
cc 3 


390 Notes on Gardens at Brighton, 


an oak of extreme age (Q. sessiliflora), 46 ft. round at the first 
branch, and a foot or two larger at the surface of the ground; a 
very fine beech, 3 ft. in diameter at 4 ft. from the ground; very 
large sycamores and ash trees; and very curious old yew and 
holly hedges. Altogether this is a most interesting place; but 
it has little or no artistical merit. The surface is undulated in 
the most inviting manner for planting, but there are, unfortu- 
nately, but few trees in proportion to the extent of surface, and 
these are by no means disposed so as to produce the best effect. 
The exterior of the house is imposing, from a massive central 
tower; and it stands on a terraced platform, covered with loose 
pebbles, very disagreeable to walk on, or rather wade through, 
or to drive over, but very suitable for a wet climate, as the sur- 
face soon becomes dry after rain, and indeed may be walked on 
immediately after the heaviest shower. One thousand single 
trees judiciously distributed over this place, without any other 
expense whatever, would render it one of the finest on the banks 
of the Clyde. 


( To be continued.) 


Art. Il. Notes on Gardens at Brighton, Shoreham, Worthing, and 
Lancing. By the Conductor. 


‘‘ OnE advantage to a poor man, arising from cultivating a taste 
for architecture and landscape scenery is, that it prevents him, 
in many cases, from envying the residences of the rich; not but 
that the poor man would be glad of the most tasteless place that 
could fall in his way as a property, but that the bad taste often 
displayed in places directs his thoughts in a different channel, 
and gives him a feeling of elegant superiority that wealth with- 
out taste cannot bestow. Next to the satisfaction of possessing 
any object is that of possessing a knowledge of its faults and 
beauties, or what we fancy are such.”—H. ‘These are the 
remarks of a friend of ours, which he applies to houses and 
furniture in town (and, having little to do, he visits most houses 
in the fashionable parts of London that are to be let, or where 
the furniture is to be sold), as well as to houses and grounds in 
the country; and we offer them as an excuse for not noticing 
one or two of the villas on the rising grounds to the north of 
Brighton. 

The remains of the Antheum, the cause of the falling of which 
is given in our Volume for 1833, still exist; there being no 
demand at present for ground to build on in that part of 
Brighton. Had it succeeded, the effect exteriorly would have 
been good; for a dome is a form uniting grandeur and beauty 
in an eminent degree. ‘The interior effect, however, would, we 


and in its Neighbourhood. 391 


think, not have answered public expectation; because there 
could not have been any sufficiently lengthened perspective to 
give the idea of interior grandeur. A parallelogram would not 
have been so attractive externally, but would have been far 
more interesting within, and executed at much less expense: 
witness the conservatory which connects the house with the 
armoury at Alton Towers. 

The Swiss Gardens at Shoreham have been extended and im- 
proved, and they exhibit a very respectable assemblage of roses 
and showy flowers. We wish there had been a few more shrubs 
of different kinds, with labels exhibiting their names. Were 
only one shrub or tree of a kind, or even two, introduced in 
these gardens, they might contain a very tolerable arboretum ; 
nor would this interfere with any of the uses or applications of 
any part of the garden. For example, there are, we should 
think, twenty or thirty plants of common willow on the banks 
of the water ; and twice as many creepers on the walls, compris- 
ing only two or three species: but both willows and creepers 
might be of as many different species or varieties as there are 
plants. However, it isa most gratifying circumstance to observe 
the improvement that has taken place in these gardens since we 
last saw them in 1838; and their proprietor deserves the highest 
credit for forming them and keeping them up, as his object has 
evidently been more the accommodation of the public than his 
own emolument. 

Worthing.—There are a number of very neat villas here, with 
the grounds more highly kept than is to be seen in most 
places; not excepting the vicinity of the metropolis. One of 
the handsomest is Tudor Cottage, which appears to have been 
formed within these two or three years. In the gardens of the 
town, close on shore, we found the red and white valerian form- 
ing conspicuous ornaments. 

Tarring. — In the fig orchard, thirty-seven large trees were 
destroyed, or severely injured, by the winter of 1837-8; but a 
number of young trees have been since planted, and these and 
the remaining old ones are covered with a more than usually 
heavy crop of fruit. We found the Brompton stocks here 
remarkably strong; and a spot in the garden was pointed out 
to us, in which whatever kind of stock, whether red, purple, or 
white, is planted, becomes variegated. 

Lancing, the seat of James Lloyd, Esq., is a beautifully 
situated small place, with the gardens and pleasure-ground kept 
in excellent order by the gardener, Mr. Kidd. There is a fine 
specimen of O’rnus europee‘a; and a large plant of the rose 
acacia, the branches of which are separately supported by stakes 
in the star manner, recommended in the Arboretum Britannicum 
(vol. ii. p. 628.), so that the tree forms a large hemispherical 

cc 4 


392 Present State of Garden Architecture. 


mass, which, when covered with bloom, as it is every summer, must 
be a truly magnificent object. The grounds at Lancing would 
be wonder fully improved by thinning out two clumps, and substi- 
tuting a wire fence for a clipped hedge which surrounds a paddock 
embraced by the pleasure-ground. The effect of removing the 
hedge would be to allow the eye to penetrate among the trees 
and shrubs, which, in consequence of glades of turf among them, 
would exhibit an indefinite picturesque boundary, adding at 
once beauty, variety, and apparent extent. 


(To be continued.) 


Art. III. On the present State of Garden Architecture. 
By ALEXANDER ForsyTH. 


I sec leave, through the medium of your widely circulated 
Magazine, to point out to garden builders some of the absurdities 
practised therein, and regret, for the credit of British gardening, 
that “ we gardeners” are such a long and weary way behind in 
our architecture. Hothouses, all over the country, have been 
erected, and are now being built, of a splendour and magnitude 
hitherto unknown in the land; and it is not to retard this praise- 
worthy work that I now address you, but only to caution, as a 
friend, those who are thus engaged “to stop and think” a little 
** before they further go,” lest they be compelled to confess with 
sorrow and to their cost, when the work is completed for them, 
“that the builder lost his pains.” I have long ago, in this 
Magazine, pointed out the uselessness of having a strong brick 
wall to support a lean-to-roofed hothouse and a lean-to-roofed 
shed, instead of coupling the rafters at the apex, as in cottage 
a1 and thus making them both stand in their “ strength 
alone ;” and, if farther argument were deemed necessary on this 
head, I would invite any one to look at the extent of the apart- 
ments roofed without inner walls at the Derby railway station. 
Now the space lost at the apex of the roof of a hothouse is the 
very best in the whole house, the cream of the artificial climate, 
for in that particular spot the air is hot, moist, and in motion in 
a greater degree than in any other place in the whole house; 
aif instead of using this fine climate, by having the trellis run- 
ning parallel with every inch of the roof, the strong brick wall 
steps in, and, forming an acute angle, requires the trellis to be 
shortened in order that the sun may shine upon the barren lime- 
washed wall. ‘There are, I must allow, some beautiful exceptions 
to this sweeping criticism, where the back wall is covered with 
peach trees, and a quadrant-shaped trellis occupies the front 
floor, for in this instance the surface of trellis exceeds the sur- 


Present State of Garden Architecture. 393 


face of glass greatly: but, in ordinary instances, how commonly 
you see a shelf of strawberry pots right up in the corner, close 
to the glass ; and the reason generally assigned for their occupy- 
ing this awkward locality is, that the light, and especially the 
free air when the lights are opened, may induce them to set 
their fruits, which long experience has proved they will not do 
lower down. No wonder. ‘There are no such quarters lower 
down; for the arid heat and drenching steam, as they issue 
“entire” from their source, no matter whether that be pipes 
or flues, are sufficient to injure the extremely delicate texture of 
the anther and stigma, without which fully and freely developed 
fruit cannot possibly come. And when fruit does set in the upper- 
shelf atmosphere, it is not the outer air that effects it (certainly 
not the exposing delicate blossoms, accustomed to the shade and 
shelter of the glass for twenty hours out of the twenty-four, to 
the full sun and the winter wind for a few hours in a fine day): 
ne; but the moist and dry warm air, being better mixed as it 
ascends higher, forms a climate of a very different character from 
that which is found below; and it is in this sweet soft air of 
artificial spring, that blossoms, unruffled by the breeze, expand 
their rosy petals and impregnate fruits. ‘The sun heat, too, re- 
ceived through the glass in the lower part of the house, adds 
wonderfully to the temperature of the top corner, and acts the 
more intensely, on account of the accelerated motion it acquires 
as it ascends, in the same way that the contrary element, frost, 
is felt so severely when accompanied by a brisk air; and though 
I may be told that strawberry plants and French-bean plants 
answer admirably on these top corner shelves, and cost little or 
nothing, since the house must be heated and otherwise treated 
the same, whether the shelf were there or not, yet this is by no 
means a sufficient compensation for the loss of so much vine 
trellis. 

Now, in cases where such houses are already erected, I 
should, as a matter of course, occupy every inch of space under 
the glass, and, therefore, must have a top shelf, like my neigh- 
bours, and occupy it with plants for fruit or vegetables, if ne- 
cessary: but I should feel sorry to see a vine trellis shortened a 
yard to gain a row of strawberry pots in the house, and there- 
fore I would advise any one who has the means and the good 
will to build a garden and hot-houses, to have, if possible, small 
houses entirely devoted to the production of one species of fruit, 
as vineries for grapes, and strawberry houses for that desirable 
fruit; and I can assure them that such, if properly managed, 
will pay the cost of exclusive culture handsomely. I speak from 
experience, for I have tried both a good deal, and I have seen 
both tried very extensively. 

Alton Towers, May 20. 1842. 


394 Mode of connecting the Greenhouse and Library. 


Art.IV. To connect a Greenhouse with a Library (in Effect), at 
the same Time that one End is built against that End of the Room 
that contains the Fireplace. By J.R. 


WE have applied windows over fireplaces here in many in- 
stances, and have found them very convenient ; and the flues also 
had a good draught: but we have recently employed a window 
over a fireplace in a very’peculiar way, and one that I am certain 
you would be delighted with. 

The room in which the alteration is made is Mr. Paxton’s 
office, with two windows in front (the longest way of the room); 
these had to be of ground glass, as the walk to the front door 
had to pass them. ‘The object of the alteration was to obtain a 
general view from the window, without the room being over- 
looked, and also to have a view of the entrance gate; but neither 
of these could be acomplished without an opening in that end of 
the room which contained the fireplace, and against which the end 
of the greenhouse was built. A window over the fireplace was 
therefore settled on; but a difficulty presented itself, which was, 
that upon certain occasions the room must not appear to have a 
window in the end, as the greenhouse could not be overlooked ; 
however, with the assistance of a frame built in the wall, lines, 
pulleys, &c., we got over this, constructing the affair so that by 
pulling a seeming bell-rope, we could either have a window, 
mirror, or neither, over the fireplace at pleasure. The first in- 
tention was to have both a mirror and window seen at once, 
the former over the latter; and when the mirror was drawn 
down over the window at any time, the space it left was to contain 
a landscape exactly similar to the actual view from the window 
when the mirror was up. ‘This would have been a most interesting 
piece of deception; but it was abandoned, because when the mirror 
was drawn up it was too high to be of any use, and by having 
both, it kept the window low: so we contented ourselves with a 
larger window and mirror, and to use them alternately. The 
shelf of the chimneypiece forms the window bottom, and on this 
stands a handsome frame round the opening, which serves as an 
architrave to the window and a frame to the mirror. Both 
window and mirror are hung in the manner of common sashes, 
and they are drawn up into a framework built in the wall by 
seeming bell-pulls hanging in the recesses on either side of 
the breastwork, and connected with ropes and pulleys. The 
mirror and window are each in one sheet of large plate glass, 
and are drawn down by little bits of brass inserted flush in the 


under part of the frames with an opening for the finger. When- 


the mirror comes down it shows a frame all round; but the 
lower frame of the window sinks into the sill, so that the glass 
is level with the marble chimney shelf, thereby offering no in- 


Ventilating Hothouses without excluding Light. 395 


terruption to the view. ‘The top of the opening is splayed, as 

well as the sides, and these are all filled in with mirrors. The 

floor of the room is 2 ft. above the floor of the greenhouse and 

general surface. There is a sliding shutter outside, coloured 

and trellised the same as the greenhouse walls, to prevent any | 
appearance of a window when desired, and even the joints of 

this is hid by a trellis framework round the window, with a seat 

in the lower part to perfect the delusion. 

I shall try to describe this end of the room in its present 
state. By the arrangement of the plants in the greenhouse, any 
one sitting at the library table in the room has a perfect view of 
the gate and the park beyond. A stranger, on entering, pays 
no attention to the handsome oak bockcases which occupy 
the recesses on each side of the breastwork; he has no eye to 
scan the neat but very low shell-marble chimneypiece, or the 
handsome Sylvester’s stove within it; he is at once bewildered 
and perplexed with the vista of plants before him, and doubts 
his having entered the proper place, for these are trebled in ad- 
mirable intricacy by the splayed mirrors round the window. 
Here he sees the splendid Ahododéndron altaclerénse forming 
a background to the more delicate Lilium specidsum; there 
the tall and stately Fachs¢a corymbiflora, with its drooping 
flowers, taking under its protection the more humble pelargo- 
niums. Besides these are the Araucaria excélsa, myrtles, acacias, 
and a variety of interesting fuchsias, &c., vying with each other 
in richness of tint and gracefulness of form; with innumerable 
others of bewitching beauty, that appear like enchantment, and 
remind the visitor of his boyish dreams over the Arabian 
Nights, which are now realised. This is the effect which, in an 
instant, as if by magic, can be destroyed, leaving a room with 
two dull windows and a mirror over the fireplace. 

Chatsworth, July 2\. 1842. 


Art.V. A Mode of Ventilating Hothouses without excluding Light. 
By T. Torsron. 


As an effectual means of ventilation, and the direct admission 
of perpendicular light in glazed edifices, I beg leave to suggest 
that, in sliding roofs, about 2 or 23 feet, at the upper end of 
the roof, should be made to tilt on hinges back to the parapet, 
or to run over the back wall by a continuation of the rafters. 
By either of these modes the lights would not lie one over the 
other, so as to intercept double the quantity of light usually ex- 
cluded by glass. 

The other sashes being made of convenient lengths, say 5 ft., 
for sliding freely either up or down, the trees and plants might 


396 On Maiden, or Virgin, Soil. 


then receive, in their turns, the full influence of the sun, which is 
most essential for the perfecting of peaches, and also for the 
cultivation of other plants of various kinds; and it is better thus 
to have the means of exposure at pleasure of the trees and 
_plants, than to take all the lights off at once. 

In curvilinear roofs (not having seen one properly ventilated) 
I beg leave further to suggest, that, besides admitting air under 
the roofs and from the doors, there should, for effectual ven- 
tilation, be, at about every 10 ft., two astragals, say at 4 ft. apart, of 
sufficient strength to admit of ventilators to revolve on pivots or 
rings, so as to open either inside or outside, or both, as may 
be thought eligible; the width of the ventilators to be regulated 
as most convenient; perhaps 2 ft., divided so as to fold, would 
be the best. — Bayswater, March, 1842. 

[Since this was in type, we have observed a similar article, by Mr. Torbron, 
in the Gardener’s Gazette of July 23. Had Mr. Torbron, when he left the 


article with us, stated that he had sent a copy to another Journal, we should 
of course not have published it ; but it is now (July 25.) too late.] 


Art. VI. On Maiden, or Virgin, Soil. By R. LymBurn. 
In the Number of the Magazine for February, Mr. Wighton 


had an article on the above subject, in which he takes notice of 
an article of mine that appeared last year on the same subject 
in the Gazette, under the signature R., from which he ap- 
peared to differ, and to which I have only now had time to reply. 
The difference is more in the application of the term than any 
thing else. Mr. Wighton has confined the term to the surface 
of land that has long lain uncultivated, and he seems to consider 
the principal benefits to arise from a crust of organic matter de- 
posited during the time the land has lain in an uncultivated state. 
I have always, however, understood the term to apply to unculti- 
vated, or untouched, soil, as the name would seem to infer, 
whether from land long uncultivated at the surface or trenched 
up from below that which has been too long in cultivation; the 
old effete soil being deposited in the bottom, and a fresh surface 
of virgin, or untouched, soil brought to the top. It is true, as 
Mr. Wighton says, that the organic matter deposited by the lapse 
of time in uncultivated soils is very beneficial; it is sometimes 
also in excess, and hurtful. Were the sole benefit, however, de- 
rived from the organic matter deposited during the period of rest, 
it would be easy to remedy this defect in the too much cultivated 
soil, by the addition of manures. ‘The addition of manure, how- 
ever, is found in practice not to remedy the defect; in fact, some 
of these old worn-out soils are rather in the other state, and 
have got into a black half-peaty condition, from the quantity of 


On Maiden, or Virgin, Soil. 397 


undecomposed organic substances accumulated in them. This 
was eminently the case with the piece of nursery ground under 
our care for a considerable period, some years ago, as noticed in 
the article in the Gazette. ‘There were four acres in that piece, 
of as fine alluvial soil as could be wished for; containing a due 
proportion of sand to entitle it to the name of light free soil, and 
yet not so much as to be hurtful; perhaps about 50 or 60 per 
cent of sand, besides that united chemically with the alumina 
and forming with it clay. It had been about forty years in culti- 
vation as nursery ground before coming under my care; and in 
the most sandy parts of the grounds had become so effete or in- 
active, or what a Scotsman would term fuzzionless, so spent and 
worn out, that no manure we put on it could renovate its lost 
powers. ‘The more clayey portions had not suffered so much, 
but were very much deteriorated also. Even another field of 
nursery ground on the other side of the river, though entitled to 
the name of clayey, and not quite so long under cultivation, had 
acquired a good deal of the same effete worn-out condition. The 
more sandy portions especially, when broke and reduced into 
small pieces, had, to a certain extent, the same fault as the other 
piece of ground. It is necessary in ground under nursery 
crops, especially where many seedlings are raised, to keep 
the surface in a very minute state of pulverisation; and, in the 
oldest and most worn-out piece of nursery ground, the divided 
particles of soil, in place of keeping in that state during the great- 
est part of the summer (as good soil generally does unless the 
rains are more than usually heavy and long continued), dissolved 
into powder, and assumed the state of a loose incoherent mass, 
in which neither capillary attraction nor atmospheric action had 
its proper effect; and ended in becoming, like peat soil, a nidus 
or receptacle for mosses, the surface getting covered with a 
coating of these plants, which thrive only where a_ vigorous 
growth of other plants cannot be obtained. To remedy this, we 
were in the habit every year of trenching a considerable portion 
in the winter. We trenched two spadings and two shovelings 
deep, burying about 1 ft. deep the black worn-out soil, and 
bringing to the surface a brown hazel-coloured sandy loam, 
which was sharp and active. The particles, though minutely 
pulverised, preserved nearly that condition during the greater 
part of the summer, especially if broken up and worked in dry 
weather; the soil kept in a spongy state as broken, but the mi- 
nute particles preserved their coherence, and retained the mois- 
ture, heat, atmospheric air, and various substances deposited ; 
food was retained, and chemical action promoted, and the plants 
of consequence grew more vigorously. 

In all deep alluvial soils, this renewal by trenching will be 
found of immense benefit to all surface-rooted plants, where the 


398 On Maiden, or Virgin, Soil. 


ground has to be minutely pulverised. In very deep soils re- 
quired to be very long under cultivation, and where the expense 
is not so much a matter of calculation, owing to the high rent 
of the land, it might be beneficial to trench to the depth of 
three spadings and shovelings, alternately with the two. Where 
the subsoil is a red ferruginous clay, or a cold blue clay, the 
work should be done more cautiously; a little new soil only 
should be brought up at a time, and a plentiful sprinkling of 
quicklime, especially to the first sort, bestowed. Even where 
the subsoil is a red ferruginous gravel, it will be of benefit to 
turn up a portion of the iron to the action of the air: the more 
soluble protoxide of iron will be converted into peroxide, and 
become less soluble and not so dangerous; and if much sulphate 
of iron exists, which is soluble, and very hurtful in excess, the 
quicklime will be beneficial in decomposing it. ‘Too little at- 
tention has been paid in theory to the mechanical condition of 
the soil. In the same field there are often very different qualities 
of soil, which suit one condition of the weather better than 
another ; and the reverse takes place in other seasons. Dif- 
ferent kinds of manure and crops are also suitable to different 
qualities of soil. One condition of the soil and weather may 
require the surface to be left as open as possible, while rolling 
and consolidation may be more suitable for another. Experi- 
ments in measured quantities afford a powerful and apparently 
accurate means of obtaining information; but, if the above state- 
ments are not attended to, very wrong conclusions may be ar- 
rived at. 

The theoretical cause of the good effects following a renewal 
of the surface, by bringing up virgin soil, has been talked of as 
involved in mystery, and some unknown property in maiden 
soil has been sought for as the cause of its benefits; but, if we 
take into consideration the immense effect produced by a proper 
mechanical state of the soil, the stomach of the plant, where un- 
digested substances are fitted for absorption, we can have little 
difficulty in assuming that as the principal cause. ‘The reason 
why maiden soil keeps more compact in the particles when di- 
vided is, the tendency which rocks have to disintegrate, and, 
when again submitted to superincumbent pressure, to begin again 
to resume the state of stone. ‘That the first cause is in action, 
we may have every day experience, by seeing the effects of mois- 
ture and heat long continued on rocks, aided by the action of 
the carbonic acid, oxygen, &c., of the atmosphere. We may see 
the solid rocks cut through to an immense depth by the action of 
water ; and we may also see them crumbling to pieces, not less 
effectually though more slowly, under the ordinary operation of 
heat, air, and moisture. ‘That this action continues after the 
pieces of rock have been brought together in a mass, and mixed 


On Maiden, or Virgin, Soil. 399 


with organic matter in the form of soil, and that the further 
disintegration of the rock proceeds every time the soil is dug and 
pulverised, and exposed to the action of the air, we may” also 
infer from observation, when we find the soil by long cultivation 
dissolving into a powdery incoherent mass.* We thus see the 
cause why long continued cultivation injures the mechanical 
texture of the soil, by destroying the molecular attraction of its 
particles. When a finely raked surface has been exposed to the 
weather a few weeks, by the missing of a crop, the old surface 
will not raise a new crop so vigorous, to sow it as it stands, even 
though cuffed an inch deep, as if pointed and raked anew, and 
a fresh surface brought up: a proof of the action of the air 
during that period. 

The cause why resting of the soil, or trenching down the 
surface, has a tendency to restore its texture is, that pressure 
and consolidation have a tendency to unite the particles of earth 
again into stone. Professor Playfair long ago demonstrated 
the truth of this, when contending for the Huttonian theory 
of geology, which ascribed consolidation and immense pressure 
as the cause of the formation of rocks, by actually forming 
a piece of stone in that way. We see also in the deep con- 
solidated clays which have been long deposited, as of the Lon- 
don basin, &c., that in some places, where exposed, they have 
been found to have become consolidated into stone before the 
exposure, by the pressure of the superincumbent strata. ‘This 
tendency to unite again into the form of stone, in the disinte- 
grated particles of the rock which form the soil, causes them to 
unite more firmly together when pressed and_ consolidated, 
being freed from the action of the air, and pressed together 
when at rest; the tendency to unite, though far short of that 
which would form stone, has yet the effect of causing the par- 
ticles to adhere uniformly together, and not to dissolve so easily 
into a mass of loose incoherent powder, as before observed. 

When we consider the necessity of keeping the soil in a 
proper mechanical condition, we need not wonder at the good 
effects produced by mending this condition. ‘The coarse grains 
of sand are necessary in a certain proportion to keep the par- 
ticles of alumina from adhering too closely ; and, when the soil 
is of a rather adhesive clayey nature, immense effects have 


* That it yields alkalies by disintegration, and concerning the nature of alka- 
lies, of both of which Mr. Wighton pleads ignorance, any of the recent manuals 
of geology and chemistry, which may be had at very little expense, will furnish 
information. A tithe of the labour bestowed by him on the subject of bees, 
to such good purpose, would give him a fund of information on these subjects ; 
which, in men filling such important stations, from their opportunities of 
observation in their every-day practice, enabling them to discover how pre- 
sent received theories are inconsistent with practical results, would be of 
immense benefit. 


400 On Maiden, or Virgin, Soil. 


been produced from rotten pieces of turf or decayed straw mixed 
with the soil, or from having chanced to get what is called a 
good tid in the working, having been pulverised dry, and, con- 
sequently, keeping more open in the pores. This is one of the 
principal benefits, also, of farm manure, and is one reason why 
we may always expect this sort of manure to be more lasting in 
its effects than any of the very concentrated manures. ‘The 
undecayed portions of the stable manure not only yield food 
as they decay, but, being intimately mixed with the soil, leave 
it full of pores by the void which their decay occasions ; and 
by this means admit and retain heat, so necessary in promoting 
the chemical action of the various ingredients in the soil, and 
reducing them to soluble substances fit for absorption by the * 
roots. By being full of pores, the rain is admitted ; and by the 
pores being small, the water is retained by capillary attraction, 
excessive evaporation prevented, and the soil kept in a proper 
state as to moisture, a certain quantity of which only is needed 
to assist the decomposition and absorption of the food ; too much 
or too little, an excess on either side, being both injurious. The 
carbonic acid, ammonia, nitric acid, and other substances con- 
tained in the air and brought down by every shower of rain, are 
also thus admitted into the soil, and also the oxygen and nitrogen 
of the air itself. 

It has been denied that this last substance, namely, the 
nitrogen of the air, is at all useful to plants, and that the whole 
of the nitrogen of plants is derived by the roots, not the leaves, 
from ammonia alone, or, at farthest, ammonia and nitric acid. 
This theory of the French and German chemists, however, has 
not yet been confirmed by practice. It has been stated that 
ammonia is the sole substance of any value in manure, and tables 
have been furnished by which the relative value of manures is set 
down according to the quantity of ammonia they contain. It will 
follow, of course, that crops will exhaust ground according to the 
quantity of ammonia they extract from it. Ammonia is so 
mixed up with the other ingredients in manure, that it will take 
some time before we can decidedly talk as to the truth of the 
first proposition. Manures containing much ammonia do, in- 
deed, seem most valuable, but whether altogether from the 
ammonia they contain, or the way it is mixed up with the other 
ingredients, is not so easily decided. ‘To the last proposition, 
namely, that crops exhaust according to the quantity of am- 
monia they extract from the soil, or according to the quantity of 
nitrogen they contain, there seem also many corroborations. 
Wheat, and other crops containing much nitrogen, are very 
scourging exhausting crops ; and a period of rest and dressings 
of manure are needed before any other crop will succeed well. 
If we follow out the theory, however, and apply it to another very 


Alarm Beil, Garden Scraper, and large Sycamore. 401 


common crop in the country, namely, beans, we find that though 
this crop extracts from the soil about double the quantity of nitro- 
gen, yet it by no means exhausts the soil so much; it is even b 
most farmers reckoned a fertiliser, and oat crops do better after 
beans than most other crops. * If ammonia be the sole source of 
nitrogen to plants, and if this be wholly got- from the soil, as 
theorists say, how does it happen that this plant, which takes 
away so much nitrogen, is rather an improver than exhauster of 
the soil? It would appear that the nitrogen of the air is made 
available in some way not explained yet by theory. Apart from 
theory, however, the benefits derived from keeping the soil open 
and pervious are palpable to experience; we have seen it often 
double the rate of growth. It is possible to go to excess even 
here: too spongy peaty soils, containing too much organic matter, 
get acid and sour when wet; or, if drained, are so spongy that they 
will not retain the proper degree of moisture, and in dry seasons 
less porousness is required. In deep, alluvial, fertile, loamy 
soils, however, and in our moist climate, the more open and 
porous the soil can be kept the better; and this state is best 
maintained when fields long under cultivation are renovated 
Oe by bringing up a portion of the maiden or virgin 
subsoil. 


Art. VII. Notice of an Alarm Bell, a Garden Scraper, and a large 
Sycamore. By M. Saut. 


I suppose you will have observed in the Gardener’s Chronicle of 
June 11th, p. 390., the burglary at Mr. ‘Tongue’s house, For- 
ton Cottage +; perhaps the enclosed sketch may be of interest 


* Another part of the theory is, that food is beneficial to animals chiefly 
according to the quantity of nitrogen it contains. This seems to be cor- 
roborated by beans, which are excellent food for cattle ; they thrive well both 
on the beans and straw, and cows give a far richer milk. We find, however, on 
the other hand, that some foods containing little nitrogen are very nourishing, 
as potatoes in this country, and maize in America, on which cattle are said to 
get strong, and firm in the flesh. 

+ The following is the paragraph alluded to. ‘‘ We have received from a 
correspondent, an account of a burglary committed on Saturday by a party of 
four men, at Forton Cottage, the seat of Mr. Tongue, situated about six miles 
from Lancaster. The robbers, who were disguised, effected their entrance by 
battering down the door with the trunk of a large tree; and, after seriously 
ill-treating Mr. Tongue and his servants, carried off all the money and other 
valuables they could find. They remained a considerable time in the house, 
_ having threatened Mr. Tongue that, if he made any alarm, they would take his 
life ; and, after regaling themselves with wine and the contents of the larder, 
they left the house about daybreak. An alarm was immediately afterwards 
_ raised in the neighbourhood, and information sent to the police of this city, 
but no trace of the thieves has yet been obtained.” (Gard. Chron., June 11th, 
p. 390.) 

3d Ser. — 1842. VIII. “DD 


402 Alarm Bell, Garden Scraper, and large Sycamore. 


for the Gardener’s Magazine, as several burglaries have of late 
been committed in this county, and in different other counties, 
causing great alarm to the inhabitants where they have been 
perpetrated, and the adoption of various plans for the protection 
of property and life. 

The following plan I am inclined to think might be adopted 
at a very trifling expense, and would give an alarm to the 
neighbourhood. A slight inspection of the sketch (_/g.38.), which 


Fig. 38. Section of a House fitted with an Alarm Beil, 


is a section of a house, will make it easily understood. 6 repre- 
sents a bell fixed upon the top of the roof. A wire is to be fastened 
on the lower part of the tongue of the bell, and to pass over a 
small wheel to the ring 1. To this ring a number of wires may 
be fixed, which pass under the small wheels 2 2, and are car- 
ried on over the wheels 3 3, down into any of the rooms of the 
house, as at 5 5, &c.; so that if any person should hear any one 
breaking into the house, he has only to seize hold of the wire, 
and pull it in the same way as a room bell, which will set the 
tongue of the bell in motion by means of the spring 4, which is 
fixed under the roof-tree. It is well known that a bell worked 
in this way will send the sound to a considerable distance ; and 
there can be no doubt that if Mr. Tongue had had it at the 


Alarm Beil, Garden Scraper, and large Sycamore. 403. 


time, the robbery would have been prevented; because, at the 
moment the thieves were commencing their entrance, a friend of 
Mr. Tongue’s was passing but a very short distance from the 
house, and, if he had been aware of the robbers, he would have 
been able to muster a considerable strength in a few minutes 
and take some of them. 

T have seen Mr. Tongue this morning, and have had some 
conversation with him respecting the plan of my bell. He 
thinks of putting one up in one of the chimneys, as I have 
marked at 5, with the wire passing down the flue into his bed- 
room, as he does not make use of fire in it; and I think it might 
answer. 

He has not yet been able to make out the thieves who robbed 
his house; they got 13/. 10s. in cash, his watch-chain, seals, and 
key; it so happened that the watch was gone to be cleaned. His 
loss, I suppose, will amount to above 30/. including the damage 
done. It was a great wonder he was not murdered, as he re- 
sisted them as long as he had strength; but what chance has one 
man against four villains, all armed with desperate weapons ? 

I have also enclosed a drawing of an improved garden scraper. 
(fig. 39.) Our ideas are more easily accomplished by the light ex- 


Fig. 39. An improved Garden Scraper. 


pense we have to encounter in putting our expectations to the 
test by the means of cast iron. This scraper acts both as a brush 
and a scraper, which is a great advantage in wet weather. It is 
cast all in one piece, and is hollow to receive three brooms. They 
are made either of birch, ling, or whalebone, just the size that 
will press tight into the ends of the cast-iron tubes, as shown by 
the figure. 

As soon as the shoes are scraped on the scrapers (a), the foot is 

DD 2 


4.04: Draining Garden Pots. 


moved backwards and forwards on the brush, which will soon 
perfectly clean the shoe. 

In this village churchyard there is a rather extraordinary 
plane tree [sycamore, Acer Psetdo-Platanus], of a large size 
and completely hollow, and the jackdaws build their nests both 
in the main hole and in the large branches. ‘They have their 
entrance into the tree through small apertures, which, I suppose, 
at some time have been branches broken off and decayed. ‘The 
lads are not able to get at these nests; indeed very few persons 
are aware that this tree is hollow in the inside, as it is now in 
full leaf and of a handsome shape. I have no doubt if there 
were an opening into this tree, where the jackdaws have their 
nests, that I and three more men might sit in it; if you should 
think a rough drawing and description of it would be of interest 
for your Magazine, I would send it to you. 

Having said so much, I must leave it to your judgment, as it is 
now many years since I wrote to you, having given up all business, 
and retired into the country to spend the remainder of my days 
where my forefathers did, in the neighbourhood of Garstang. 

Garstang, June 14. 1842. 


Art. VIII. On draining Garden Pots. By Ropert ERRINGTON.” 


I Bec to offer a few practical observations on a mode of 
draining garden pots; and as the remarks I shall make are the 
result of extensive practice, coupled with very close observation, 
they may be relied on, as far as they go, and may, I hope, prove 
of service to (at least) amateurs; who now, I fancy, form by no 
means an insignificant portion of the gardening community. 

When I was a lad, all composts were subjected to a severe 
scrutiny by the riddle or sieve; all organic matters were scrupu- 
lously rejected, and the fine-looking residue tossed into the 
pot on a single ill-placed crock : the consequence was, that, after 
the first watering, the drainage became progressively more and 
more imperfect, until, finally, the mass of soil became, in many 
cases, a nest of worms. 

These facts are now, I am aware, generally known; and the 
single crock of former days has given way to a series of crocks, 
placed with a nice hand and covered yet again, it may be, with 
a layer of pounded crocks. This is just as it should be: 
however, pounding of crocks for the thickening multitudes of 
plants in modern days is no joke; and as many of these plants 
are of a somewhat ephemeral character, in point of duration, 
some compromise is necessary to economise labour, without af- 
fecting, to any material degree, principles of high cultivation. 

In your excellent publication, the Suburban Horticulturist, 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 405 


a work, in my humble opinion, well indeed adapted to the end 
in view, and all that the age could, by any possibility, expect, 
you have described old tan as being prejudicial to vegetation. 
Now this is an error: that you should fall into slight errors oc- 
casionally, in such a work, is certainly no marvel. 

I have used old tan as pot drainage for plants for some years, 
and find that few plants dislike it. Let me, however, speak 
guardedly: I have not used it (neither shall I at present) for any 
kind of plant which is to remain in a pot for years. We have, 
nevertheless, a multitude of things which are ‘ here to-day and 
gone to-morrow,” as far as the pot is concerned, and amongst 
such I scarcely know an exception. 

My general mixture, as drainage for such things, is old tan, 
riddled quite clean, rough bone, and a little powdered sphagnum, 
which I always keep by me ina dry state. ‘These materials, 
placed over a crock or crocks in the bottom of the pot, I have 
seldom known to fail; but in the great majority of cases they 
are highly beneficial, not only as drainage, but as food for the 
plant. It does not follow from this that a plant will do well 
in such materials; altogether, the mechanical texture of soils is 
the main point, and it so happens that texture and quality are 
almost one and the same thing. 

Bone manure is a thing far better understood practically in the 
country here than about the metropolis, if I may judge by what 
the London press says about it. I have noticed much of its 
effects for the last twelve years, both in my own hands, and 
for miles around; and I consider it a wonderful manure, and 
one which will, in all probability, outlive guano. However, 
the artificial manures, which, as Dr. Lindley justly observes, 
*‘ they run to the antipodes after,” have had the effect of lower- 
ing the bone market, which had previously risen far too high 
for pockets of narrow calibre. 

The Gardens, Oulton Park, June 29.1842. 


Art. IX. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell of Munich. 
Translated from the German for the ‘‘ Gardener’s Magazine.” 


(Continued from p. 268.) 


XVI. On the picturesque Grouping and Union of Trees and Shrubs. 


1. Iv is thus (see preceding chapter) that Nature displays the 
process by which she passes over from one sort of wood to ano- 
ther, in her primeval forests, without suffering a distinct line of 
separation to be visible. 

But this process of nature can only be imitated by art in 


grounds where the woods are on a large scale and united to- 
DD 3 


406 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


gether. It is only then that art is capable of uniting woods 
like nature, and of adapting detached groups and single trees of 
one wood, as it trenches upon another, to efface or conceal 
their boundary line. In small plantations, however, where the 
uniting groups are only from 50 ft. to 100 ft. in diameter, this 
cannot well take place without giving rise to confusion in the 
main forms, by these detached small groups, which would be in- 
jurious to the picturesque. 

In these cases this union and transition can only be made to 
approach nature and the picturesque, by the irregular advancing 
or retreating outline of the groups, and their bold and deep in- 
dentations into each other. 

2, But, in this cooperation of nature in conjunction with art, 
many other considerations must be had in view in planting 
grounds in the natural style, which are no less important to the 
landscape-gardener ; these are: 

(1.) The creation of beautiful forms, which would be admired 
by the landscape-painter. 

(2.) The formation of many varied harmonising picturesque 
transitions among the different sorts of trees and shrubs. 

(3.) The application and effect of the different shades of colour 
of the leaves, and of the stems and branches of the trees and shrubs. 

(4.) Guarding against planting slow-growing trees behind or 
between those of a rapid growth, or low trees among tall ones, 
where they perish, leaving unsightly gaps and interruptions in 
the beautiful undulating line, which, even in plantations, should 
every where be apparent. 

3. Nature expresses herself only by chance in a picturesque 
form; art, on the contrary, has expressly this end in view. 
The great intent of nature is, in general, merely to consign her 
plants to those places where they will be nourished and propa- 
gated, without regard to whether the trees and shrubs which are 
brought into contact have a picturesque effect or not; hence, it is 
not every scene in nature that can serve as a model for landscape- 
painting, or is worthy of imitation. Art, on the contrary, endea- 
vours to attain both. If this is accomplished, as it is frequently 
very possible to do, she enriches her plantations, at the same 
time, with numerous exotic trees and shrubs; then, with the 
trifling advantage over nature before mentioned, she steps for- 
ward and names her creation a garden. 

Beautiful forms are produced, however, in the first place, 
when many trees or shrubs of the same family are arranged in 
large masses, and for the following reasons. ‘Trees of the same 
family have a greater similarity to each other than trees of dif- 
ferent families: their growth, their forms, the form of their 
branches and leaves, and their colour are almost the same ; 
consequently, they will present themselves to the eye in more 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 407 


harmonious unison and more picturesque keeping, than in the 
opposite case. 

4. This harmonious union which trees and shrubs ok one 
family present should not, therefore, be either too arbitrarily 
or too often interrupted by other sorts of trees, because these 
beautiful, harmonious, and picturesque forms would, in a great 
measure, be destroyed. 

For example: if, for a group of from 30 ft. to 60 ft. in diameter, 
from twenty to thirty different sorts of trees were selected, and 
these planted as they chanced to come to hand without regard to 
their growth or form, what landscape-painter would or could 
paint such a gallimaufry ! 

Planting was performed in this way in ancient sy fometrical 
gardens. ‘Whatever chance presented, whether a tree ora shrub, 
or of whatever species, was thrust into the hole; hence these 
plantations had neither picturesque keeping, nor picturesque 
value. This constant change destroyed all pretension to beauti- 
ful outlines ; because they were continually disturbed and inter- 
rupted by other species of trees, frequently of an entirely 
opposite and contradictery character. From this it appears 
necessary, that, when it is possible, large masses of trees and 
shrubs should be planted with one sort, to the number of from 
4.00 to 600 or 1,000 plants and more, according to the size of 
the ground*; because these, having an equal growth, form amal- 
gamating and harmonious outlines, and also imitate nature, which 
usually displays itself in large bold masses. 

5. What effect can be produced by a single maple, when 
situated solitary and alone, apart from its congeners, among trees 
of another species? | A single tree so situated is as if lost in this 
heterogeneous multitude, and will often be pitied by the specta- 
tor, because it is so crowded up, and can so imperfectly display 
its beautiful form. This is but too well known a fact, which has 
often induced me, when trees so situated were worth preserving, 
and because they produced no effect and were scarcely seen, to 
have them taken up and planted in another spot where they 
might be more admired, or saved from an early death. 

6. All sorts of trees are as different in their forms, as their 
value in picturesque effect is different. The broad obtuse crowns 
of the majestic oak, those of the beech and hornbeam, of the 
sweet and horse chestnuts, those of elms, limes, the common 
black and silver poplar, with the ash, the platanus, the common 
and black walnut, the tall willows, &c., have picturesque, distinct, 
and expressive forms. ‘Their noble heads form picturesque 
groups, which now stand out in the full blaze of light, or, covered 


* In small pleasure-grounds, of from eight to twelve acres in size, the 
groups may consist of from 100 to 200 or 300 trees or shrubs. 
Dp 4 


408 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


with shade, retreat into solemn obscurity, producing those agree- 
able effects of form and appearance by chiaroscuro, which are 
as instructive to imitative art, as they are worthy of its imitation. 

7, These trees are, therefore, much preferable in form to the 
trembling poplar, the birch, the Italian poplar, the acacia, the 
negundo, the gleditschia, the celtis, the service tree, and the 
different sorts of pines and firs, when large groups or woods are 
to be formed with bold outlines, because these last-named trees 
are only capable of producing them in a much less degree. 

8. For this reason, preference is to be given to trees with 
heavy foliage rather than to the fir tribe; and therefore more 
attention should be paid in grounds to the former than to the 
latter, for the following reasons. 

(1.) The landscape-painter, when it is left to him, chooses the 
leafy foliage, rather than the needle-leaved, for his picture, as 
this has not so picturesque an effect as the former. ‘The Pinus 
Abies L., in particular, forms a perfectly upright stem, with a 
pointed head, and almost horizontal side branches, which only 
assume a picturesque character when they have attained a great 
age, by the branches depending. ‘The common fir (Pinus syl- 
véstris LZ.) has the best effect for a picture of all the firs, because 
it is divided into masses, and forms an obtuse crown; it is only 
to be regretted that it is of a dirty grey colour; we, therefore, 
see many more landscapes painted with leafy foliage than with 
needle-leaved foliage, because the former expresses more draw- 
ing and roundness, more body and variety in form and colour, 
than the latter. 

(2.) The fir tribe have, besides their uniform shape, a melan- 
choly appearance, and should, therefore, not be too frequently 
seen in grounds, and then chiefly where cheerful scenes alter- 
nate with melancholy and solemn ones. ‘The pine tribe, 
among which the Pinus Strobus is distinguished for its beauty 
and slender form, its light and airy branches, and its tender light 
green foliage, must therefore 

(3.) Finda place in grounds, because they are evergreen ; and 
in winter, when deciduous trees have laid aside their green cos- 
tume, they supply their place, and prolong for our enjoyment the 
most beautiful colour in nature. * 


* Besides these evergreens of the fir tribe, to which Taxus baccata, and the 
different sorts of juniper may be added, there are also a great number of ever- 
green trees with leafy foliage, among which are particularly distinguished the 
Andrémeda, A’rbutus Unedo and A. Andrachne, Baccharis halimifolia, the 
Daphne, Euénymus americanus, the different species of J'lex, the Kalnva, 
Magnolia grandiflora, Myrica cerifera, Prinus Laurocérasus, P. lusitanica, and 
P. sempervirens, Pyrus sempervirens, Quércus J lex, Q. Stiber, and Q. gra- 
mintia, Rhamnus Alatérnus, &. sempervirens, #. /ycioides, and #. buxifolia, 
Rhododéndron maximum and R. pénticum, Zhuja occidentalis and 7’. orien- 
talis, VibGrnum cassinoides, and V. Tinus. The rest will be found in the lists 
of trees and shrubs [at the end of the work], marked with a star. 


Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 409 


(4.) When the fir tribe, arranged in thin groups of from 3, 75 
11, to 13 trees*, and planted along the sides of a road, having i in 
‘lee back-ground, at the distance a from 30, 40, to 50 feet frarh 
the road, a chek deciduous wood, from waihich the firs, so dif- 
ferent in form, will stand out, they are displayed to great advan- 
tage, because, by their standing alone, without being mixed with 
or united to the deciduous wood, they form a contrast as pic- 
turesque as it is agreeable. It is therefore much better, parti- 
cularly as regards harmony, keeping, and form, that the fir 
tribe should always have a distinct plies appropriated to them, 
and never be mixed with deciduous trees. 

9. This agreeable harmony among the forms in plantations 
will be oreatly increased if proper ‘attention be paid to cor- 
responding outlines and effect of form. When those sorts of 
trees which have a spreading growth, and large branches and 
crown, and which have some micecmblenee in found are brought 
together, such as the oak, the elm, the hornbeam, and beech, 
Ke. ; when others, again, which grow slight and conical, such 
as the Italian and balsam poplar, the bireh, the fir (tannen), 
the larch, and the willow, the bird-cherry, &c., are seen in 
picturesque masses ; when the waving transparent crowns, the 
acacias, the gleditschias, the seve. and celtis, the willows, 
the aspen, the birch, the larch, the poplar, &c., are found 
together; when, on the other hand, attention is paid at the same 
time to the similarity and form of the leaves; when the broad- 
leaved Platanus is united with the maple (Acer platanoides, 
A. Pseudo-Platanus, and A. dasycarpon), and these again with the 
tulip tree (Liriodéndron Tulipifera), &c.; when the Spanish and 
horse chestnuts grow with the oak, the common maple and the 
white fir (Pinus Picea) with the yew (74xus baccata) ; when the 
oval and round-leaved sorts, the hornbeam and beech (C4rpinus 
Bétulus and Fagus sylvatica), the elms (UImus), the alder 
- (Bétula Anus), the cher ry, the buckthorn (hamnus Frangula), 
&c., are in close proximity; and when trees and shrubs with 
pinnated leaves are together, such as the ash (Fraxinus), the wal- 
nut (Juglans), the acacia, the negundo, the sumach (hits), the 
eleditschia, the service (Sérbus), and the laburnum (C¥tisus 
Labtrnum), the Ptélea trifoliata, &c.; one would soon be con- 
vinced of the advantage of this method of grouping trees and 
shrubs, and find it far preferable to uniting the acacia with the 
horsechestnut (4/sculus Hippocastanum), the birch with the 

oak, the horsechestnut with the: aspen, the yew (Zxus_ baccata) 
wh the catalpa (Bignonza Catdlpa), the maple with the willow, 
or the acacia with the fir (Pinus Abies). 


* In planting single trees and groups, an uneyen number should be taken, 
because that forms better and more natural groups. 


4.10 Schell’s Landscape-Gardening. 


These combinations can only produce contrasts, but no har- 
monious union; yet they are very interesting in grounds, and I 
have often applied them on that account. I have planted acacias 
in front of a wall of Pinus Abies, where they stood out to the 
greatest advantage from this dark back-ground, and formed a 
striking contrast “from the difference of their form; for the same 
reason, ; I have sometimes placed the narrow and white leaved 
willow, with the large and dark leaved maple, &c. 

I do not intend to say, however, that only trees with broad 
truncated crowns, or those with conical pointed ones, should be 
placed together ; or that the species with large jeaves, or small 
Jeaves, or pinnated leaves, should always be grouped together. 
A plantation of this sort, from its uniformity, would be very tire- 
some to the spectator; because, when he saw an ash, he would 
immediately know that its companions would be the acacia, the 
negundo, or other pinnated-leaved trees: but there is no doubt 
that this method of grouping is the easiest and surest to obtain 
harmony of form. From this method of uniting corresponding 
trees and shrubs proceed all the other combinations and devia- 
tions, which may be multiplied a thousand-fold, and always 
different, of which, at the end of this fragment, several examples 
will be given. 

As plantations in grounds should not only resemble nature, 
but should be as varied as she is, they should be made to imitate 
her in her freaks, in many places, by putting trees and shrubs 
together, without considering whether they will harmonise or 
not; because in grounds, as in painting, contrasts are required, 
einen nature fr equently effects, yet not always intentionally, for 
it is not every combination that forms a picturesque contrast, 
such as is required by art. 

Nature also chiefly scatters her shrubs at random, which art, 
as we have already said, should imitate, but not too frequently. 
The Vibarnum Lantana may therefore sometimes be united 
with the rose, the ubus odoratus with the Ligtstrum vulgare, 
the Cornus 4lba with Spiraea hypericifolia, Cytisus Labarnum 
with Syringa vulgaris, Sorbus aucuparia with Prunus Padus, 
&c.; which, when placed in masses, only form contrasts, but no 
harmonious images. ‘These contrasts increase the multiplicity 
of forms, and communicate to the whole a higher picturesque 
value, because they frequently interrupt the continual struggle 
of art to express itself in a beautiful and harmonious form, 
whereby repetition, and consequently uniformity, cannot always 
be avoided. 


( Zo be continued. ) 


Culture of native Orchidee. 411 


Art. X. On the Culture of native Orchidee. By A. X. 


In Vol. II. of the Gardener’s Magazine, p. 285., I gave a short 
outline of the treatment which had suited some of the native 
Orchideze, which I had then under cultivation. With the expe- 
rience obtained in occasionally cultivating this interesting and 
singular tribe of plants since that time, I have still found it the 
best that has come under my observation. Since the former 
communication, I have had under cultivation, Goddyera ré- 
pens, Listera cordata, Liparis Loesél/z, O’phrys fucifera, and 
Gymnadénia albida. 

The three first-named species were potted in very sandy peat, 
using plenty of drainage in the bottoms of the pots. ‘They were 
placed during summer in a cool shaded situation, and during 
winter were placed in acold-frame. ‘The Goddyera has several 
times flowered, and also allowed of increase, and the other two 
flowered several seasons. ‘The O‘phrys fucifera and Gymna- 
dénia albida were potted in peat, loam, and sand ; and were placed 
in the same situations as the others, both in summer and winter. 
The O'phrys flowered for two seasons; but I never succeeded in 
flowering the Gymnadénia, as it was a very small bulb when 
received, but was preserved for three years. I have also at- 
tempted to cultivate the rare Corallorrhiza innata, but without 
success. 

In commencing the cultivation of the native Orchidez, it is 
essential to their after progress, that, in collecting them from their 
native habitats, the bulbs should be got up carefully, and with 
as much of the fibres terminating the bulbs as possible. This, 
in most cases, must be done when they are in flower, as they 
are not easily recognised at other times; and, fortunately, they 
succeed very well when collected during the flowering season. 
The whole of the soil must be carefully removed from their bulbs 
before planting, whether they are to be potted or placed in the 
open ground. I have always observed that those bulbs which 
had been planted with a ball of earth have soon died off, appa- 
rently from the ball becoming either too compact, or else sour, 
from being of different ingredients from the earth in which they 
were planted. 

Were the Horticultural Society to offer one of their higher 
medals for collections of native Orchideze that had been under 
cultivation for not less than two years, say, to be competed for 
in 1844, it is very likely that some of the excellent growers of » 
plants around London would commence cultivating them with 
spirit. 


B.G., Birmingham, July, 1842. 


} 41g Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices, 


Art. XI. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of 
the Kinds of Plants newly introduced into British Gardens and 
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with 
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already 
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as a perpetual Supplement 
to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ** Hortus Britannicus,” the 
“ Hortus Lignosus,”’ and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan- 
nicum. 


Curtis’s Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing 
seven plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William 
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c., Director of the Royal Botanic Gar- 
den, Kew. 


Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each 
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by 
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College, 
London. 


Maund’s Botanic Garden, or Magazine of Hardy Flower Plants cul- 
tivated in Great Britain; in monthly numbers, each containing 
four coloured figures in one page ; large paper, 1s. 6d.; small, Is. 
Edited by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S. 


The Botanist ; in monthly numbers, each containing four plates, with 
two pages of letterpress; 8vo; large paper, 2s. 6d.; small paper, 
1s. 6d. Conducted by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by the 
Rev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in the 
University of Cambridge. 


Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants ; 
in monthly numbers; large 8vo ; 2s. 6d. each. 


RANUNCULA‘CEE 


1605. AQUILE‘GIA. [3919. 
Skinner? Hook. Mr. Skinner’s Y A or 3 ap.my S.G Guatemala 1841. D co Bot. mag. 


This is, perhaps, the most splendid species of columbine ever introduced, as 
the flowers are of a rich scarlet and green. It is most nearly allied to A. 
canadénsis, but is very superior in size and beauty. It appears “to be 
perfectly hardy, having survived the severe winter of 1840-1, in the open 
ground at Woburn, and flowered in great beauty during the summer and 
autumn of 1841.” (Bot. Mag., Jan.) 


1629, ANEMO‘NE [8. 
rivularis Buch. river Y A pr 14 jn.au W NorthofIndia 1840. S.D co Bot. reg. 1842, 


“A hardy perennial, growing about 18in. high, and requiring the same 
treatment as Anemone vitifolia, like which it suffers in winter more from 
moisture than from cold.” It may be raised from seeds; but, as they do not 
flower till the second year, it is more easily propagated by dividing the root. 
(Bot. Reg., Feb.) 


1641. HELLE’BORUS 
orientalis Dec. Eastern yf A or 1 f.mr Psh Greece 1841. D. s.p Bot. reg. 1842, 34. 


Synonyme : H. officinalis #2. Grec. t. 583, 

This is a species of hellebore with purplish flowers, which is supposed to be 
the celebrated poison of the ancients. It is doubtless “hardy, although at 
present, on account of its great rarity, it has been kept in the greenhouse.” It 
“requires rather a damp shady situation, with peaty soil to grow in.” (Bot. 
Reg., June.) 


supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. ae. 


Nympheacee. 
1613. NELU’ MBIU™M 14321 specidsum var. roseum Bot. Mag. t. 3917. 


; Tropaolaceeé. 
1148. TROPA‘OLUM 

edule Pazt. eatable % AJ or 6 mr OG Chili 1841. s.p.l Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. ix. p. 127 

“ Tubers of a new tropzolum were received last year by several cultivators 
from Chili, and imagined the blue-flowered species till they blossomed in the 
present spring,” when the plant proved to be T. edule. The leaves of this 
species, which are divided into numerous narrow glaucous segments, distinguish 
it from all the other species. ‘‘ The flowers (that is, the exterior of the calyx) 
have a deep greenish hue while in bud, and, when opened, the petals are of a 
very showy and bright orange colour. It is, when properly grown, a handsome 
plant ; and will form a fine intermediate species between T. tricolorum and bra- 
chyceras, coming into flower at nearly the same period. If the tubers be not 
duly covered with soil, or the pot in which they are grown be too small, or an 
insufficiency of water be supplied, the plant is very apt to die off in dry 
weather before having opened half its flowers.” (Paat. Mag. of Bot., July.) 


Oualidee. 
1414. O/XALIS *[3935. 
lasiopétala Zuc. hairy-petaled & LA) pr 2 jl Pk Buenos Ayres 1841. S s.p Bot. mag. 


This pretty species of O’xalis was discovered by Mr. Tweedie in the neigh-~ 
bourhood of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video. The leaves are glabrous, and 
the flowers are of a bright pink, verging on rose colour, being produced in great 
abundance in a greenhouse, (Bot. Mag., March.) 


28249 Marticna Zuc., Bot. Mag. 3938. 


Rutdcee. 
1152. BORO‘NIA 9326 anemonefolia Paat. Mag. of Bot. vol._ix. p. 123. 
Leguminose 
2837. ACACIA 5 


3933. 
plat¥ptera Lindl. broad-winged #% ,_] or 3 mr.ap Y Swan River 1840. C s.l.p Hotenie 
“This beautiful acacia compensates for the absence of leaves in the quantity 

and rich colour of its heads of flowers.” It is a greenhouse plant, and a 
peculiarly free flowerer. (Bot. Mag., March.) 
94766. DI’ PTERA var. 6 eridptera Graham downy-winged Bot. Mag. 3939. 


3678. ZI’ CHY A 


glabrata Lindl. smooth 1) or 6 su S Swan River 1854. C Isp Bot. mag. 3956. 
Synonyme : Kennédya glabrata Bot. Reg. 1838. 


This species was accidentally omitted some years since in the extracts from 
the botanical periodicals inserted in the Gard. Mag., and it is one of those now 
included in the new genus Zichya. It is a greenhouse climber, producing its 
scarlet blossoms in great abundance. (Bot. Mag., July.) 


MIMO'SA _ ay [1842, 33, 
uruguénsis Hook. § Arn. Uruguay “ 1 _] or 2 jn.jl Pk Uruguay 1841. C lp Bot. reg. 
<‘A pretty greenhouse shrub, very nearly hardy.” The flowers are pink, 

and in ball-like heads, like those of the sensitive plant. “‘ It grows well in a 

mixture of light loam and leaf mould, and may be readily propagated by cut- 

tings in the usual manner.” (Bot. Reg., June.) 


Onagracee. 
1188. Fiichsia radicans (see p. 178.) 
Synonymes : F. integrifolia Cambess.; F. pyrifolia Presi. Bot. Mag. 3948. 


GODE‘TIA 
albéscens Lindi. whitish © pr 13 jn Pksh Columbia River 1841. S co Bot. reg. 1842, 9, 
This is a new Californian annual, of a stiff erect habit of growth, and 
densely covered with leaves and pinkish flowers. It is quite hardy, and 
requires no other care than sowing the seeds in some place where it is not 
exposed to the wind; because its roots are scarcely able to keep the heavy 
stem erect, if the latter is much blown about. (Bot. Reg., Feb.), 


‘bt Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices, 


Philadelphacee. 

PHILADE/LPHUS i ; : 
mexicana Schlect. Mexican %# or 2 jn W Mexico 1840. C co Bot. reg. 1842, 38*. 
This plant was described by Professor Schlectendahl, in the Linnea, as being 

the Acuilotl, or climbing aquatic of Hernandez. “ This old author speaks of 
it as an inhabitant of wet and marshy places, creeping along the ground or 
scrambling up neighbouring trees ; and he compares the plant, when in flower, 
to a musk rose.” In the Hort. Soc. it is found to be the smallest of the 
species, “ not growing more than 2 ft. high. It is subevergreen, and rather 
tender.” It flowers in June, and is propagated by “cuttings of the half-ripened 
shoots.” (Bot. Reg., July.) 


Myrtacee § Leptospérmee. 


BABINGTO'N/A Lindl. (Charles Babington, Esq., of St. John’s College, Cambridge, a skilful bot.) 


[reg. 1842, 10. 
Camphorésme Lindi. Camphorwort a Jf pr. 7 su Pksh Vasse River 1841. C. s.p Bot. 


An elegant shrub, growing near the Vasse River in Western Australia, in 
swampy land, and resembling Spiree‘a frutex or hypericéides. It “grows well: 
in rich brown peat and leaf mould, and flowers freely during summer from the 
ends of its pendent branches.” It may be propagated by cuttings of the 
young wood “ from spring to autumn.” (Bot. Reg., Feb.) 


Passifloracee. 
1923. PASSIFLO‘RA [Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. ix. p. 51. 

Middletonéana Paxt. Mz. Middleton’s .§ (1) pr 6 su G Pk South America 1837. C co 

Synonyme: P. fragrans Hort. 

This passion-flower differs from most other species of the genus, in its 
flowers having a delightful fragrance. It is of a luxuriant habit of growth, 
with robust stems, handsome shining dark green leaves, and greenish flowers 
dotted with pink. The ray is remarkably large and showy. It requires a 
temperature between that of the greenhouse and the stove, and rather a close 
atmosphere, with plenty of pot room for its roots. It strikes easily by cuttings. 
(Pact. Mag. of Bot., April.) 


2193. LOASA [bot. vol. ix. p. 7. 
Pentlandica Paxt. My. Pentland’s © or A or 6 au S- Peru 1840. S s.l Paxt. mag. 
This species probably belongs to Caidphora rather than Lodsa, as it seems 

nearly allied to C. punicea, former called Loasa lateritia. The difference, 
however, is in the seed-pod, which is not either figured or described; but 
which in Caidphora is twisted, and in Loasa straight. The present species has 
large showy scarlet flowers, though it has a coarse habit of growth. It was at 
first kept in a greenhouse ; but, on being planted out, it is found quite hardy 
in the open air. Some plants in Mr. Henderson’s nursery being planted out 
into the open border, in June, 1841, and “left to nature, trailed along the 
eround, matted together, and composed a beautiful bed.” (Part. Mag. of DBot., 
Feb.) 


Crassuldcee. 
2356. ECHEVE‘RIA 


rdsea Lindl. rosy 4.) or 1 ap P.Y Mexico 1840. D  s.p_ Bot. reg. 1842, 22. 

This species is distinguished from E. gibbiflora by its short compact inflo- 
rescence, and yellow flowers with rose-coloured bracts. It is a greenhouse 
plant, and “ does best when grown in a very light house,” as then the leaves, 
flowers, and bracts acquire brilliancy in their colours. “ It strikes readily 
either from leaves or from cuttings, and should be grown in a light and well- 
drained soil.” ( Bot. Reg., April.) 


acutifolia Lindi. acute-leaved Y \_] or 1 ap S.Y Mexico 1841. D s.1 Bot. reg. 1842, 29. 


This species is very handsome from its bright scarlet flowers and rich yellow 
bracts. The leaves, which end in a sharp point, are also of a brilliant green, 


supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 415 


richly tinged with scarlet. The culture is the same as that of the E. rosea. 
(Bot. Reg., May.) 


1472. CESREUS 28297 A‘thiops Haw. © 
Synonyme ; C. cerulescens Pfeiff, Bot. Mag. 3922. 


Composite. 
3630. PODOTHE‘CA [3920. 
gnaphaliddes Grak. Cudweed-like © p 12 jl.au Y Swan River 1841. S co Bot. mag. 
An annual with small heads of golden yellow flowers, but the stems are 
long and weak, and the leaves small. It appears quite hardy; and, though it 
has not ripened any seeds, it has been propagated by cuttings. It is a native 
of the Swan River. (Bot. Mag., Jan.) 


239. SERRA’TULA 20244 pulchélla. Synonyme Bot. reg. 1842, 18. 
2340. CINERA‘RIA Webberzana. 


This beautiful hybrid has flowers of “a deep rich brilliant blue,” and leaves 
the upper side of which is a bright green, while beneath they are of a rich 
purple. It was raised by Mr. Smithers, gardener to Robert Williams, Esq., of 
Bridehead House, near Dorchester. (Pazrt. Mag. of Bot., July.) 


} Lobeliaceze. 
609. LOBE‘LIA 30203 heterophflla var. major Paat. Mag. of Bot. vol. viii. p. 101. 
ae 
- Stylidee. 
258. STYLI’DIUM (1842, 15. 


Brunoniinum Benth. Dr. Brown’s ¥ ,AJ or 1 my Ro Swan River 1841. S s.p Bott reg. 


One of the prettiest stylidiums yet introduced, “remarkable for the fine 
bloom which overspreads all its parts, and for the whorls of leaves which sur- 
round its flower-stems.” (Bot. Reg., March.) 


pildsum Lab, hairy ¥ iA) pr 1 su) W Swan River_ 1841. S_ s.p.l Bot.reg. 1842, 41. 
Synonyme : S. longifolium Rich. ; 8. Dicksonz Hort. 

This species has larger flowers than any other stylidium yet introduced. It 
is a native of the country near the Swan River; and, in this country, it 
requires a greenhouse, with a soil of sandy peat, mixed with a very little loam. 
“Tt should be kept in small pots, and treated as a sub-aquatic during the 
growing season in summer, but must be kept rather dry during winter, and in 
a cool part of the greenhouse, where there is plenty of light and air. It is 
easily increased from seeds.”’ (Bot. Reg., July.) 


Campanulacee. 


GLOSSOCO/MIA D. Don. PoucHBELL. (Glossokomos, a money-bag ; resemblance of flowers.) 
ovata Lindl. ovate-leaved Yt | p 1; jl W_Northof India 1839. Bot. reg. 1842, 3. 
Synonymes : Codondpis ovata Benth. ; Wahlenbérgza Roylez A. Dec. 


A “hardy perennial, with spindle-shaped roots ; rather pretty, much slen- 
derer than G. lucida, but not inclined to twine like that species, and seldom 
growing more than 13 ft. high. It flourishes well in any good garden soil, and 
flowers in July.” It is propagated by seeds. (Bot. Reg., Jan.) 


Gesneriéz. 
1702. GLOXI/NZA 15343 specidsa var. macrophylla variegata Hook., Bot. Mag. 3934. 
The flowers are very large, and the veins of the leaves of a pale whitish 
green. (Bot. Mag., April.) 
1698. GE’SNERA [1842, 40. 
longifolia Lznd7. long-leaved Y ‘AJ pr 2 jn.jl R Guatemala 1841. C s.p.1 Bot. reg. 


This species is remarkable for the very peculiar colour of the flowers, which 
are of a brick red, and curiously inflated in the middle. Its culture should be 
the same as that of Gloxinia maculata. (Bot. Reg., July.) 


416 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices, 


NIPH#‘A Lindl. Snow-wort. (Niphos, snow ; in allusion to its spotless flowers.) 

oblénga Lindl. oblong ‘Sy 1AJ or 3 sd W Guatemala 1841. C rl Bot. reg. 1842, 8. 

A beautiful little plant, resembling in habit some of the stemless gesneras, 
and remarkable as being one of the few instances known of a pure white flower 
in this order. It requires a heat between that of the greenhouse and the 
stove, and “it flowers in autumn and winter, after which the stems die off, 
and the plant remains in a dormant state till the following season.” Of course, 
while the plant is in this state of rest, it should be kept warm and dry till the 
young stems make their appearance, when it should be repotted, and abun- 
dantly supplied with water. “It forms a great number of curious imbricated 
scaly buds, both on the surface and under ground, by which means it may 
easily be multiplied. It also strikes readily by cuttings. Any rich light soil 
will do for its cultivation.” (Bot. Reg., Jan.) 


ACHIME'NES (see p. 179.) [1842, 19. 
longifldra Dec. long-flowered YY .AJ or 1 au.d WV Guatemala 1841. C rl Bot. reg. 
A very beautiful plant, with large violet-coloured flowers. It requires a 

warm greenhouse, it which it will flower from August to December, its culture 
being exactly the same as that of the preceding species. From its great beauty, 
and the length of time it continues in flower, “this Achiménes longiflora is an 
invaluable gift by the [Horticultural] Society to every one who has a warm 
greenhouse.” (Bot. Reg., April.) 

[1842, 31. 
pedunculata Benth. long-stalked Yy [AJ or 1 s S.Y Guatemala ggi8t0. C ri Bot. reg. 
This plant is more like a gesnera than an achimenes, though it has “ the 

thin soft foliage” of the latter genus, as well as the “cup-shaped disk and 

distinct anthers” which form its generic distinction. The culture is the same 

as that of the preceding species. (Bot. Reg., June.) 


Ericacee. 
1339. RHODODE/NDRON 11023 anthopdgon Bot. Mag. 3947. 
Smith? aGreum Pazrt. Mag. of Bot. vol. ix. p. 80. 


This splendid hybrid was raised by Mr. Smith of Norbiton, Surrey, froma 
seedling of his own fertilised by the yellow Chinese azalea. (Part. Mag. of 
Bot., May.) 


1346. ARCTOST A’ PHYLOS [mag. 3927. 
pangens Humb. Bonp.et Kunth pointed {J} pr 1 f {W ‘Mexico 1839. C s.l.p Bot. 


The leaves of this species are small and more acute than in general, and it 
has no hairs on the leaves or stems. The flowers have no particular beauty. 
The species is a native of Mexico, which has hitherto been kept in a green- 
house, but which will probably prove hardy. (Bot. Mag., Feb.) 

1317. CLEETHRA 

quercifolia LindZ. Oak-leaved # .j) or 10 su W Mexico 1840. L s.p Bot. reg. 1842, 23. 

«A handsome evergreen greenhouse shrub, with deliciously fragrant flowers, 
inhabiting the neighbourhood of Jalapa in Mexico.” This species was sup- 
posed by Professor Schlectendahl to be the C. tenuifolia of Swartz, but Dr. 
Lindley considers it to be quite different. (Bot. Reg., April.) 


Jasminee. 

43. JASMI'NUM 

caudatum Wall. long-tailed _[] or 10 su W Sylhet 1838. C r.m_ Bot. reg. 1842, 26. 

A handsome climbing species, with large clusters of snow-white flowers, 
which, however, are not fragrant. The leaves are of a deep green, and they 
are drawn out into long slender points, whence the name. “ It requires the 
temperature of a cool stove,” and a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, and rotten 
dung, or any rich free soil. It is propagated by cuttings struck in sand, with 
bottom heat. (Bot. Reg., May.) 


supplementary to the Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 417 


Convolwulacee. 

MINA La Llave et Lexarza. (in honour of Don Francisco Xavier Mina, a Mexican minister.) 
lobata La Liave et Lex. lobed © or 6 su R.Y Mexico 1841. S co Bot. reg. 1842, 24. 
This curious plant, when out of flower, exactly resembles an Tpomee‘a or 

Convoélvulus; though the flowers, taken separately, have not the slightest 
resemblance to those of another genus of the order. They are racemose, 
“erect, and arranged almost in’the scorpioid manner of a borage ;” while, taken 
separately, the flowers resemble those of some kinds of heath, except in their 
colour, which is at first rich crimson or scarlet, changing to orange, and 
afterwards to pale yellow, as the flowers expand. The whole plant is ex- 
tremely beautiful; and it is said to be cultivated by the Mexicans for the 
purposes of decoration. (Bot. Reg., April.) 


Boraginee. 


435. CYNOGLO’SSUM [Bot. reg. 1842, 14. 
anchusoides Lindl. Anchusa-like Y A cu i my P.B Cashmereor Thibet 1840. S co 


In general appearance this plant resembles an Anchusa, but its fruit is 
that of a Cynoglossum. It is “a hardy perennial, growing well in rich garden 
soil, and flowering freely in July and August. It is easily increased from seeds 
sown in the ordinary way, but the plants will not flower before the second 
season. (Bot. Reg., March.) 


2 Soldnee. 
591. SOLA‘NUM 4847 Balbisz var. bipinnata Bot. Mag. 3954. 


482. BRUGMA/’NSIA {mag. of bot. vol. ix. p. 3. 
floribGnda Hort. many-flowered « {[) or 1 jn.jl O South America. 1838. C l.s.p Paxt. 


This very showy species “is a small evergreen shrub, seemingly ranging from 
1 ft. to 2 ft. high, branching freely, having very handsome foliage, and bearing 
a profusion of deep orange-coloured blossoms,” which are produced on a long 
raceme, and continue opening in succession for several weeks. It is a stove 
plant, and should be grown in a compost of rich loam and heath mould. _ It is 
increased by cuttings, which must be struck in sand, with bottom heat; but 
which, like the plant itself, are of very slow growth. (Part. Mag. of Bot., 
Feb.) 


Scrophularinee. 
1783. MI’MULUS 30296 roseus var. Maclainzinus Bot. Mag. 3924. 

This variety or hybrid was raised by Mr. Maclain, florist, Harold’s Cross, 
near Dublin, and it differs from the other splendid hybrids and varieties raised 
from MM. roseus in having a ring of very dark crimson round the throat. (Bod, 
Mag., Feb.) 


1789. DIGITA*LIS 15932 lutea var. fucata Bot. Mag. 3925. 


1797. COLU’MNEA (vol. ix. p.31. 
Schiededna Paxt. Schiede’s 2. ([7j m or 4 su O Mexico 1840. C s.p Paxt. mag. of bot, 
This plant, “in its natural habitat, is said to grow on old trees,” and its 

stems are pendent or trailing. It should be grown, like some of the Orchidacee, 
in a basket or pot hung from the roof; or, if in a pot, it should have “plenty 
of room for its roots, a moderately nourishing soil, and a barrel-shaped trellis 
to sustain its branches.” (Paat. Mag. of Bot., March.) | 


65. CALCEOLA‘RIA Standishz Paxt. Mag. of Bot. vol. ix. p. 75. 
This is a very handsome hybrid calceolaria, raised by Mr. John Standish, 
nurseryman, of Bagshot, Surrey. (Pazt. Mag. of Bot., May.) 


Verbendcee. 


1752. CLERODE’NDRON ; : [7 ; Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. ix. 
spléndens G. Don splendid g§ [-) or 10 jn S Sierra Leone 1839. C s.p Bot. reg. 1842, 


The flowers of this splendid stove climber are of as brilliant a scarlet as 
those of Verbéna Melindres, and they are produced in great abundance, The 


3d Ser. —1842. VIII. EE 


418 Floricultural, Horticultural, and Arboricultural Notices, 


leaves are of a deep rich green. It requires great heat and moisture while in 
a growing state, and a season of rest after flowermg. The root should be 
shaded from the sun, or the plant will be above 3 ft. high. (Bot. Reg., Feb.; 
and Paxt. Mag. of Bot., June.) 
Primulacee. 
LYSIMA‘CHIA [Bot. reg. 1842, 6. 
437 lobeliojdes Lindl. Lobelia-like ¢ A pr 1 jl.au.s W North of India 1840. D co 
A pretty little perennial suitable for rockwork, which will grow freely m any 
good garden soil, and which is increased by seeds or division of the root. 
(Bot. Reg., Jan.) 


Laurinee. 
1226. LAU/RUS 28958 bullata Burch. 
Synonyme : OREODA/PHNE Nees Von Esenbeck (Mountain Laurel) bullata Bot. Mag. 3931. 


Conifer. 
2693. THU‘JA filiférmis Zodd., Bot. Reg. 1842, 20. (See Hort. Brit. p. 677.) 


Dr. Lindley is decidedly of opinion that this plant is distinct from the 7. 
péndula of Lambert. (Bot. Reg., April.) 


Orchidacee. 
TRICHO’SMA Lind. Harr Orcuis. (Thriz, hair, and kosmos, ornament.) 


suavis Lindl. sweet €(X) pr 1 su W.Y East Indies 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1842, 21. 
Synonyme : Coelégyne coronaria B. R. M. 1841, 178. 


This plant Dr. Lindley at first supposed to be a Coelogyne, and as such he 
published it in the Miscellany of the Bot. Reg. for 1841; but he now finds it 
to be a distinct genus. It was found growing upon trees in the Chirra district 
of the Khoseea hills, and requires the usual treatment of East India epiphytes. 
(Bot. Reg., April.) 

2540. ONC’ DIUM 


22681 ptibes var. flavéscens Bot. Mag. 3926. 
sphacelatum Lindl. scorched & [AX] or 2 Y Br Mexico 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1842, 30. 


One of the numerous species of Oncidium nearly allied to O. refléxum. 
(Bot. Reg., May.) 


longifolium Lindi. long-leaved & [XJ or 3 Y.B Mexico 1841. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1842, 4. 


“Under the name of Oncidium Cebollata many very different species exist 
in our gardens, among which the finest is that now figured, which, although it 
has the foliage of that species, is really very different, forming dense panicles, 
3 ft. long, of very large and showy yellow and brown flowers. Its leaves are 
often 3 ft. long, and hang down or spread upon the ground, instead of standing 
stiff and erect.” (Bot. Reg., Jan.) t 


9553. CATTLE‘ YA [1842, 1. 
granuldsa Lindl. granular-lipped € WX) or 1 W.G Guatemala 1841 D p.r.w Bot. reg. 
This singular species has olive-green sepals and petals, spotted with brown ; 

but the lip is white, stained in the middle with orange spotted with crimson. 
“The high temperature and excessive moisture which suit so well the Indian 
dendrobiums are most injurious to this cattleya. A night temperature of 55° 
in winter and 60° in summer is quite high enough for it; and, by planting it in 
well drained turfy peat, and keeping it rather dry when not growing, it will be 
found one of the easiest to manage. (Bot. Reg., Jan.) 


OTOCHI' LUS Lindl. (Ous, Otos, an ear, and cheilos, a lip; little ear-like appendages at base of lip.) 
fasca Lindl. brownish €« FA) cu W.B Nepal 1840. D op.r.w Bot. mag. 3921. 


“A very singular but by no means showy epiphyte, an inhabitant of the 
trunks of trees in Nepal.” (Bot. Mag., Jan.) 


9530. CATASESTUM. 
abraptum Hook. blunt-lipped €& (ZX) cu 1 G.Y Brazil 1841. D p.r.w Bot. mag. 3929. 


Nearly allied to C. lucidum. (Bot. Mag., March.) 


Wailészz Hook. Mr. Wailes’s € [AX] cu 1 G@ Honduras 1840. D p.r.w Bot. mag. 3937. 
- This is a very curious species, from the anther case, which, instead of being 


supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit.. and Arb. Brit. 419 


carried out into a very long point or beak, is singularly short and flattened. 
(Bot. Mag., April.) 

3524. CIRRHOPE/TALUM [12. 

Meduse Lind. Medusa’shead ¢ [AX] cu 1 Ysh Sincapore 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1842, 


A very singular plant, which requires a stove and moist heat. (Bot. Reg., 
Feb.) 


2537. MAXILLA‘RIA : 
cruénta Lindl. bloody @ (XJ or 1 Y.C Guatemala 1841, D p.xr.w Bot. reg. 1842, 13. 


Synonyme: M. Skinner Hort. 
A very showy species, very nearly allied to M. aromatica, and which is 
often called M. Skinneré in gardens, though it is not the plant so called by 
Mr, Bateman. (Bot. Reg., March.) 


2580. CYPRIPE‘DIUM 
barbatum bearded yy 1A] or 1 su Va Mount Ophir 1840, D s.1 Bot. reg, 1842, 17. 


A very curious and beautiful species ; “the purple hairy shining warts which 
border the upper edge of its petals distinguish it immediately from C. vendstum 
and C. purpureum, which are most like it.”” (Bot. Reg., March.) 

2554. EPIDE’/NDRUM [Bot. reg. 1842, 25. 

cinnabarinum Lindl. cinnabar-coloured € [J or 1 my C Pernambuco 1841. D p.r.w 

A splendid species, which requires the usual treatment of the genus. (Bot. 
Reg., May.) 

{vol. ix. p. 97° 
pheeniceum Lindl. purple € [AJ or 2 su P.Ro Cuba 1840. D _ p.r.w Paxt. mag. of bot 

A very beautiful plant, with large racemes of purple and rose-coloured 


flowers. (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., June.) 


(1842, 42. 
raniferum Lindi, frog-bearing (MJ cu i ... G.B Mexico 1841. D p-r.w Bot. reg. 


This species resembles E. nutans, but is handsomer, “in consequence of the 
rich purplish-brown spots with which the sepals and petals are profusely 
decorated.” (Bot. Reg., July.) 


2559, EXRIA : 
polytra Lind]. many-tailed € (J 4 0 W Manilla 1840. D prw Bot. reg. 1842, 32. 


A very graceful species, “producing from the sides of long leafy stems a 
profusion of delicate tails of flowers, each nearly 6in. long.” The flowers 
resemble those of E. floribunda. (Bot. Reg., June.) 


Cae‘Lia : {reg. 1842, 36. 
Bauerdna Lindl. Mr. Bauer’s € [A] pr 3 f W West Indiesand Mexico ... D p.r.w Bot. 


The flowers of this plant, though “white and inconspicuous,” are remark- 
able for their fragrance. It requires a cool stove, where “ it grows fast, and is 
easily multiplied.” (Bot. Reg., June.) 


ARUNDI'NA : 
dénsa Lindl. dense-flowered fe (AX) or 1 Sincapore 1842. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1842, 38. 


A very fine genus of orchideous plants, which, in structure, are “near 
Phaius, from which they differ in the want of a spur to the lip, and in the 
column not being at all extended at the base into a foot.” (Bot. Reg., July.) 


HOULLESTI4 (seep. 180.) [Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. ix. p. 49. 
Brocklehurstid@na Brong. Mr. Brocklehurst’s € (A) or 2 su B.Y Brazil 1841. D p.r.w 
A very showy species, approaching very near to Maxillaria Warredna, and 

requiring similar treatment. (Pawt. Mag. of Bot., April.) 


Scitaminee. 


GASTROCHI‘LUS Wail. (Gastér, abdomen, and cheilos, a lip ; larger lip of corolla inflated.) 
pulchérrima Wall. prettiest yy ({-] or 1 au C.B Kast Indies 1841. D co Bot. mag. 3930. 


A showy stove plant, with very handsome and graceful blossoms. (Bot. 
Mag., March.) 


420 Cultivation of the Grape in a Greenhouse. 


Tridee. 
142. IRIS 
bicolor Hort. two-coloured; § A or 1 my Y.P .. .. O co Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. ix. 
A very beautiful plant, the flowers of which, however, last only a day. 
(Paxt. Mag. of Gard., March.) 


HYDROTE‘NIA Lindl. WaATER-BAND. (Huddy, water, and ¢aznia, a band; mark on petals.) 
meléagris Lindl. spotted Y Al or 1 my Va Mexico 1838. O s.p Bot. reg 1842, 39. 
A very curious plant, which looks like “the flower of a Fritillaria on the 

stem of a Tigridia.” (Bot. Reg., July.) 


Amaryliideze. 
975. HABRA’NTHUS [and Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. ix. 
praténsis Herb. meadow % AJ or 1 my S.Y South Chili 1840. O 1 Bot. reg. 1842, 35; 
A very handsome stove species of Habranthus, with rich scarlet flowers. 
(Bot. Reg., June; Paxt. Mag. of Bot., July.) 
Lihacee. 
1053. ORNITHO’GALUM [28. 
divaricatum Lindl. spreading %¥ A pr 2 jl.au W California 1841. © co Bot. reg. 1842, 
A very elegant species, with long drooping panicles of white flowers. (Bot. 
Reg., May.) 


ART. XII. On cultivating the Grape in a Greenhouse. By 8. O. 


I was highly pleased with the article on the vine by N. M. T., 
in the April Number, of the Gardener’s Magazine: the first 
paragraph, in particular, contains truths which cannot be dis- 
puted. I think, if gardeners would give the details of their 
practice in forcing, and the results, whether satisfactory or not, 
instead of writing long articles on what they please to call the 

- best methods, and what ought to be done to produce good 
crops of fruit, their communications would be of much greater 
value. As I have met with extraordinary success in cultivating 
the grape, in a greenhouse which is devoted to plants, during the 
winter, for nearly twenty years, the details of my practice may 
not be unacceptable to some of your readers. 

This being my first communication to any of the gardening 
periodicals, after having followed my profession upwards of two 
score years, will, I hope, screen me from the imputation of 
writing for other purposes than for the information of a large 
class of gardeners. 

Twenty years ago I arrived at my present situation; I found 
the vines in a very weak state, and with only a few grapes near 
the top of the house. The soil in which they were growing was 
black and ofa very friable texture. ‘The border next the house 
was 5 ft. wide, then came a gravel walk 6 ft. wide, and on the 
other side was the lawn. By the weakness of the vines, I 
fancied they wanted renovating at the root. On examination the 
following spring, I found some of the roots dead, but others had 
passed through the walk; I therefore opened a trench on the 
grass, the length of the house, 2 ft. deep and 10 ft. wide, 
which I filled up with equal parts of fresh loam and old mortar 


Cultivation of the Grape in a Greenhouse. 421 


rubbish ; I then pruned the vines to one half of their length, 
and during the summer I preserved every shoot I could get near 
the bottom, sloping them according to their strength. In the 
autumn I made fires to assist the ripening of the wood. ‘The 
following season I had a fair crop of very fine fruit, and excel- 
lent young wood from the lower to the upper part of the house. 

I shall now give the details of my general mode of manage- 
ment. My mode of pruning differs, in some degree, from that of 
modern practitioners. In old wood, I frequently leave spurs 
with five or six buds, and sometimes more. I do not cut to any 
prescribed distance from the main stem, but to a good plump 
bud; when they break, the weak and superflucus ones are 
rubbed off. I, however, carefully preserve any young shoots, 
if well placed at the lower part of the vines, whether weak 
or not; this I do to furnish me with good shoots the follow- 
ing season, which I lay in at full length, and am thus enabled 
to take out a few of the old branches every year, so that I never 
have any more than four or five years old. At the time 
the vines begin to break, I make a gentle fire in the flue, 
and commence syringing: I continue to do so several times 
every fine day until the vines are in bloom; I then discontinue 
it, but keep the floor of the house constantly wet. When the 
fruit is set, I give the vines one good washing to cleanse thenr 
from the dead blossoms; after this, I never wet them over 
head, but keep the atmosphere of the house very moist, by 
throwing down large quantities of water every clear warm day, 
until the berries begin to change colour, when I discontinue it. 
I also syringe the plants over head every afternoon during 
warm weather, and close about three o’clock. At the time the 
vines are in bloom, I give very little air and more fire heat. 
At no period of the swelling of the fruit do I give air at the 
lower part of the house, but the upper part I open early, to let 
out the stagnant air, which I believe to be very essential. I 
stop the shoots at two joints above the fruit, and never allow 
more than two bunches to remain on each shoot, rarely more 
than one. I commence thinning as soon as the fruit is set: 
in doing this the greatest care is necessary. I am very careful 
not to handle the bunches, or rub them with my head ; I first 
cut the berries from the centre of the bunch, and afterwards so 
many from the outside as to form a handsome one; I do this 
at two or three several times, as I find excessive thinning at 
once does mischief. The grapes I cultivate are the Black Ham-. 
burgh, Black Frontignan, and White Sweetwater; and [ will 
venture to affirm few cultivators have met with the invariable 
success I have, both for quantity and quality of the fruit. 
Many gentlemen and gardeners of experience have declared 
they never before saw the like. 

EE 3 


4.22 Causes of the Rust on Grapes. 


Before I close this communication, I should mention that the 
plants beneath the vines are liable to be very much drawn in 
the spring; therefore, if it is convenient, they should be re- 
moved to a cold-pit, there to remain until the weather will 
permit their being placed in their summer quarters. 

Middlesex, June, 1842. 


Arr. XIII. On the Causes of the Rust on Grapes. By X. 


Havine this season witnessed the rust on grapes more than I 
ever did before, perhaps a few remarks thereon may not be 
without their use. Much has been said on the subject, but I 
cannot convince myself that either the accidental touching of the 
berries with the hair, or with perspiring hands in thinning, has 
so much to do with it as is generally supposed. 

A neighbour of mine having two graperies has nearly the 
whole of a good crop of fruit more or less affected with rust, the 
cause of which, in my opinion, is his over-partiality to moisture ; 
the atmosphere being constantly saturated. It is generally un- 
derstood that a moist heat, at certain stages of the growth of the 
vine, and at particular times of the day, is highly beneficial. My 
own practice is, on no account to use the syringe after the 
bloom has begun to expand, and ever after that has taken place 
to take care that the temperature is not much raised by sun heat 
in the morning previously to giving air, as in my opinion the rust 
in a great measure Owes its origin to the action of the sun upon 
the moisture which has been condensed on the fruit. 

Another reason, I think, may also be assigned. Most gar- 
deners are aware that, in thinning the berries (and more parti- 
cularly if they are large), the fluid contained in the stalk of the 
berries causes a chemical action on the scissors, the result of 
which is a black moisture on their points; and if this moisture 
is not frequently rubbed off, it accumulates all over the blades ; 
and I make no doubt that scissors in this state touching any of 
the berries will cause them to rust. In examining the bunch so 
affected, it is frequently found that berries which the hair could 
not come in contact with are as badly rusted as those which are 
more exposed. I, of course, do not approve of touching them 
with the hands or hair, but I cannot but believe that rust is the 
result of one or both of the above-mentioned causes. 

Hertfordshire, June 7. 1842. 


Art. XIV. On the Instinct of Bees. By J. W1GHToN. 


Tue instinct of bees, like that of some other insects, is great, 
but in some cases this seems to be exaggerated. Huber, for 


Instinct of Bees. 423 


instance, speaking of the way they defend the entrances to 
their hive, says: ‘’The works which the bees had established 
were of various formations; some resembled the bastions of 
our citadel’s gateway, marked by walls in front, opening on 
the face of those of the second row, while they did not cor- 
respond with the apertures of the first row; in a third, a series 
of intersecting arcades permitted free egress to the bees, which 
prevented the entrance of their enemies.” He further observes, 
that “ a period arrives when these galleries are no longer of use 
to the bees. At the time that their harvest is abundant, their 
hive excessively populous, they demolish the gateways which 
had been erected in the hour of danger.” 

Although this comes from one who is sometimes styled the 
prince of bee-keepers, and may seem very plausible, I have 
little hesitation in saying it is founded on false premises. I con- 
sider that the barricading referred to is not erected by the bees 
with any view of defence; in truth, they do not erect it at all, but 
it is merely raised by a bit of their combs, or some of the 
materials used in their formation, dropping close to their door- 
way: the passages cut through by the bees makes it to differ in 
appearance from that which happens to fall on other parts of the 
floor. 

Bees certainly possess great instinct and courage in defending 
the entrance to their hive, but I never knew an instance of their 
trying to reduce it ; on the contrary, for example, when their en- 
trance has been reduced with a view of keeping out intruders, espe- 
cially wasps, the inmates often endeavour to enlarge it; in doing 
so they use great force, more than one might be led to think they 
possessed. It may be worthy of remark, that, though much has 
been said on the industry of the honey-bee, its industry falls 
short when compared with that of the wasp. ‘The latter, from 
the time it begins its nest alone, toils from morning till late in 
the evening. As the progeny come forth, they do the same also; 
nay, during the latter part of summer they work night and day, 
and the egress and ingress to and from their nest at times surpass 
those of a colony of bees whose numbers are infinitely greater. In 
cold weather the more tender habits of bees may account for this, 
but not for their lack of industry, and loitering at the entrance 
of their hive, at times when wasps are searching for food to rear 
their brood in every hole and corner. ‘The idleness referred to 
arises, in a great degree, from the way in which bees increase 
fresh colonies; that is, it frequently happens, especially before 
the first swarm leaves the parent stock, that a great part of the 
bees cease working, though the weather be warm, as previously 
noticed, as if unwilling to add store to a home they are about to 
quit. The great industry of a fresh colony of bees bears out this 
assertion. It may be asked, what causes the irregular idleness 
EE 4 


424 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 


in bees, I mean their clustering at their doorways, which some- 
times lasts only a day or two, and at other times a week or two. 
This does not arise from any unwillingness in the bees to quit, 
for they seem anxious to be gone to commence work elsewhere, 
nor altogether from the state of the weather, but more from the 
unwillingness of their queen, who will not lead off the swarm until 
the drones are come forth, and her successor or successors are in 
a forward state. The way that the latter are hatched accounts for 
the more irregular clustering or idleness previous to after-swarms. 

I may remark that I hardly know enough of entomology to 
distinguish one species of wasp from another, still I think that the 
name of Véspa vulgaris would be better applied to the one which 
builds in the ground, common all over the country, than to the 
rare one, in some parts, which builds its nest on a bough of a 
tree. I hope what I have said on the wasp’s industry (it 
matters not what kind they be, even though hornets) will not 
lead any one to think, for a moment, I wish to encourage them. 
I know too well the mischief they do. It is a pity that the 
wealthy do not give more encouragement towards the destruc- 
tion of their nests; or, what is better, set a small trifle, as some 
do, on the heads of wasps during the month of May; these 
being queens, each of course begins anest. If this were more 
practised, much fruit might be saved, and gardeners have less 
vexation. 

Cossey Hall Gardens, June 28. 1842. 


REVIEWS. 


Art. I. Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London. Second 
Series. Vol. II. Part V. 4to. London, 1840. 


(Continued from p- 125.) 


42. On Heating by Hot Water. By John Rogers, Junior, Esq., F.R.8., H.S. 
(Read April 21. 1840.) 


The great attention which Mr. Rogers has paid to this subject is well 
known to all our readers, and the present article may be considered as a sum- 
mary of his experience. After noticing the various expedients which have 
been adopted for heating plant structures during the last twenty years, he 
concludes that — 

“ On the whole, there appears no doubt that the circulation of hot water in 
iron pipes is the best means hitherto devised for this purpose. Its peculiar 
advantages are the uniformity and durability of the heat so communicated, 
and its perfect and equable distribution to all parts of the building. It is 
moreover capable of effecting a considerable economy of fuel; but on this 
head its advantages are not so great as is commonly supposed, and depend 
much upon the construction of the apparatus. Where this is well con- 
structed and well managed, the saving of fuel may amount to 25 per cent 
over well-constructed and well-managed flues ; but, in a large proportion of 
the apparatus now in use, it will be found that the consumption of fuel greatly 
exceeds that of common furnaces. 


Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 425 


“ This remark applies not merely to the earlier apparatus, where the power 
was inadequate to the work required, but even to the best-constructed 
modern ones; and the waste of fuel arises from a misunderstanding of the 
nature of a hot-water apparatus, and from an attempt to make it do that 
which, if it be properly constructed, it is impossible that it should do. 

“Tt is a great desideratum with gardeners, as far at least as my experience 
goes, to get up heat in a short time; and their ordinary test of the excellence 
of a hot-water apparatus is, how speedily they can get the water to boil. 
Where an apparatus is properly constructed, this can seldom be effected 
without a most extravagant waste of fuel. The water in a hot-water ap- 
paratus, constructed on the most perfect principles, will take as many hours 
to heat to the boiling point, as the pipes which contain it are inches in dia- 
meter, and it will also cool in the same ratio. Four-inch pipes will accord- 
ingly take four hours to reach the temperature of 200°; and they can be 
heated to the boiling point in one hour, only by the consumption of four 
times as much fuel as would suffice if properly applied, or in fact, allowing 
for the waste of heat by the chimney, which increases under such circum- 
stances very rapidly, five or six times as much fuel as is really necessary will 
be consumed by a gardener zealous of the honour of his apparatus. It is of 
course possible, by having a furnace and boiler excessively large in comparison 
with the pipes, to construct an apparatus with four-inch pipes which shall 
boil in an hour ; but the necessary consequence will be that such a furnace 
would burn during every hour of the night four times as much fuel as can 
possibly be effective in heating the building to which it is applied. 

“If a house is to be heated rapidly, the pipes should be of the smallest 
diameter which is consistent with a free circulation ; but it must be borne in 
mind that such pipes will also cool with equal rapidity; and, if the heat is to 
be maintained through the night, the furnace must be so constructed as to 
contain a large quantity of fuel, but only to allow of a very slow consumption, 
much after the manner of Dr. Arnott’s stove. Now such a furnace, though 
theoretically very easy, and practically not very difficult of construction, re- 
quires an almost scientific nicety of management not to be expected from 
common gardeners. There are, moreover, several objections to small pipes, 
one of the most material of which is this, that the motion of water within 
them being retarded by friction in a much greater degree than in large pipes, 
they can never be brought to so high a mean temperature. So that, under 
similar circumstances of pressure, &c., 200 ft. of one-inch pipe could never be 
made to produce the same effect as 50 ft. of four-inch, though their surfaces 
would be nearly equal ; besides which, the original expense of the one-inch 
pipe would be nearly three times that of the four-inch. 

“A little consideration will enable us to determine whether such rapid 
communication of heat be really essential to the efficiency of a heating ap- 
paratus. In hothouses, where permanent heat is required, it is evidently un- 
necessary. The only place where it may be desirable is in buildings where 
occasional heat only is employed. Now if any one will take the trouble to 
note hourly the variations of the thermometer by night, in weather in which 
frost is so severe as to be dangerous, they will find that, instead of a sudden 
jump of 10° or 20°, the thermometer begins to fall slowly an hour before 
sunset, somewhat more rapidly afterwards, and continues falling steadily till 
about ll p.m. After that time it falls still more slowly till 3 or 4 a.m., by 
which time it will have almost reached its minimum. Its variation will be 
something like 3° or 4° per hour for the first four hours, after that about 1° 
per hour for the next two or three, and then from 4 to 2 of a degree till it 
has reached its minimum. Now it is evident that to meet this variation, 
supposing the temperature of the house to range exactly with outer air, an 
apparatus which occupies three or four hours in reaching its maximum would 
be much more accurately adapted to the emergency than one which could be 
heated in an hour. But we may observe that, except in iron-roofed houses, 
the temperature within the house does not keep pace with that of outer 
air, but falls much more slowly, owing to the specific heat contained in the 


426 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 


- 


objects within the building, which is gradually transmitted by the roof, so that, 
in fact, the necessity for rapid heating, even in greenhouses, is really less than 
at first sight appears. 

“The real desideratum is a furnace so constructed that it shall contain 
fuel enough to supply the pipes with as much heat as they can radiate during 
the night, and which may be depended upon for burning steadily and perfectly 
whatever fuel is put intoit. Not with that accurate precision requisite where 
the temperature of the house depends upon the exact amount of combustion 
per hour, but sufficiently slowly to allow the water to absorb the greatest 
possible portion of the heat generated. With such an apparatus, the fire 
being once effectually lighted, the gardener need be under no apprehension 
that the heat during the night will prove insufficient, though it may be several 
hours before the pipes attain their maximum temperature. 

“ T have dwelt somewhat at large on this point, because it is one on which 
much mistake exists, and under this misapprehension the best apparatus may 
be condemned as defective, and a very imperfect one preferred and adopted in 
its stead; that which is commonly adopted as a criterion of excellence 
being really a proof of defective construction. 

“There can be on the whole no doubt that three-inch or four-inch pipes 
are exceedingly preferable to smaller ones, where economy of fuel and uniform 
adjustment of the temperature for several hours are the primary objects. 
Where ornament or great economy of space is important, and economy of 
fuel is not much considered, smaller pipes may be employed : but, where rapid 
heating is considered essential, I believe it will be found best to have recourse 
to the old expedient of brick flues ; and their attendant inconveniences must 
be considered as the price paid for this advantage, real or imaginary. The 
most perfect construction of these has been so fully canvassed in the earlier 
volumes of the Horticultural Transactions, that it is unnecessary here to 
enlarge upon it. 

“The next point to be noticed is the absolute amount of heat produced 
by any hot-water apparatus, which depends upon the proportion between the 
surface of pipe and surface of external glass in the buildmg. The laws both 
of cooling by the glass and of radiation from the pipes have been so ably and 
accurately treated by Mr. Charles Hood in his most valuable treatise on hot- 
water apparatus, that there is now nothing to desire on this head. An 
apparatus may be adjusted with the most minute accuracy to the work re- 
quired of it. Formerly the most preposterous blunders were committed on 
this point. Almost all the earlier apparatus are incompetent to the work 
required of them, the quantity of pipe being utterly insufficient to produce 
the heat desired, while, the boiler being large and of very defective con- 
struction, a vast quantity of fuel was burnt to waste: the gardener finding 
his heat deficient naturally stokes up his fire and throws on fuel in the hope 
of increasing it; but the only result of his labour is the more rapid de- 
struction of the boiler itself. Until the publication of Mr. Hood’s work 
above-mentioned, the principle of circulation in hot-water apparatus was 
very little understood, most erroneous notions prevailed on the subject ; and, 
where the principles were unknown and opportunities of experiment com- 
paratively few, it was not to be wondered that practice was very defective. 
It must, however, be observed, that, if the earlier apparatus were mostly 
deficient in the quantity of pipe employed, many of those more recently 
erected err in the opposite extreme. The error arises not from any defect in 
the data or in the calculations, but from assuming, as the minimum of ex- 
ternal air, a temperature which very rarely occurs in this country, and which 
lasts for so very short a time that no building has time to cool down to 
a corresponding temperature. The gardener is generally consulted as to the 
heat he requires, and if he states, as he probably may do, that he wishes to 
keep his greenhouse at 50° and his stove at 65° when outer air is 5° 
or 0°, the apparatus is constructed accordingly, and will of course be found 
excessive in power; a power of 30° for greenhouses and of 45° for hothouses 
will, I believe, be found ample under any circumstances in England ; the only 


- ae 


Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 427 


possible exception is in the case of forcing-houses for very early grapes ; and it 
is very doubtful whether, even here, any good would be attained by greater 
power. I am aware that it is urged that it 1s always easy to work an 
apparatus below its power, and that such an arrangement is economical 
of fuel ; and within certain limits this is undoubtedly true: but, if the quantity 
of pipe materially exceeds what is necessary, the only means of keeping the 
house at a moderate temperature is by leaving the furnace door open, and a 
very great waste, instead of any economy of fuel, necessarily results. The 
simplest remedy for this defect is to encase some portion of the pipes either 
with sand or sawdust, which prevents the heat from escaping into the house, 
by diminishing the radiating surface. 

“The next point which requires notice is the expediency of heating several 
houses from the same boiler. Now to this arrangement there is not the 
slightest objection, provided the same number or extent of houses is always 
to be heated at the same time; that is to say, several hothouses, all which 
require permanent heat, but different temperatures, may be advantageously 
heated from one boiler. In like manner, a range of greenhouses always 
requiring heat at the same time, to exclude part, may be worked from one 
boiler, though different degrees of heat are required in them; and even if one 
of these sometimes requires, as it probably would, a slight degree of heat 
when the others need none, this may be arranged without difficulty or 
inconvenience: but serious inconvenience will arise from any attempt to heat 
two buildings, in one of which occasional and in the other permanent heat is 
required ; and this inconvenience will be great in proportion to the size of the 
buildings, especially, if, as is generally the case, the hothouse is small and 
the greenhouses or pits more extensive. The same inconvenience will also 
be felt if two vineries, one to be forced at a later period than the other, 
are heated from one boiler. The reason is briefly this, that the capacity of the 
furnace for fuel, the area of its bars or its consuming power, and the boiler 
surface or absorbing power, are all calculated with reference to a certain 
quantity of pipe, by urging the fire to its utmost power, which is consistent 
with a proper duration of its heat, the pipes to which it is ordinarily attached 
are heated to their maximum, and the maximum heat is produced as required 
in the building. If at this time an additional extent of duty is laid on to 
the boiler, by opening the sluices which connect it with the pipes of a green- 
house or pits, the temperature of the ordinary service pipes is reduced, and 
the hothouse receives a diminished quantity of heat just when it requires 
most. On the other hand, if the common boiler be constructed of a size and 
power adequate to the double service, it will, when applied to the hothouse 
only, constantly overheat it, and this effect can be prevented only by throwing 
open the furnace door and allowing the fuel to burn to waste; for, be it 
observed, it is the area of the furnace bars which regulates the consumption 
of fuel. It is true that by means of dampers and skilful management some 
remedy may be found for these evils, but nevertheless they will exist to a 
greater or less extent, and the arrangement above-mentioned should never 
willingly be adopted. 

“ The different temperature of stoves, to be heated from the same boiler, 
may be regulated with the most philosophical accuracy, by allotting to each 
house quantities of pipe bearing a different proportion to their respective 
surfaces of glass; the difference thus established will be maintained for 
all temperatures, unless accidental cirucmstances of exposure to wind, or 
imperfect glazing, should cause a variation, and the general heat of all may be 
regulated by attention to one fire. 

“ Closely connected with the subject of heating is the providing an adequate 
degree of moisture in the atmosphere heated; indeed it is upon this, above 
every thing else, that the perfection or imperfection of an artificial climate 
depends; and it is by no means one of the least advantages of hot water 
pipes, that they do not, like brick flues, dry the atmosphere by absorbing its 
moisture. But this negative advantage falls far short of what is necessary. 
The air of all buildings artificially heated is dried by condensation upon the 


4.28 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 


glass, and by the continued escape, through open laps or crevices, of saturated 
or moist air, whose place is supplied by cold and dry air. To imitate nature, 
it is therefore necessary to provide a constant supply of moisture, equal to 
the waste by these two causes. The means adopted to supply moisture to the 
atmosphere is by sprinkling the floor and the plants, and by troughs upon 
the heating pipes. Sprinkling the floor is a very imperfect and inefficient 
expedient, the greater part of the moisture so bestowed sinks into the earth, 
and very little indeed finds its way to the atmosphere of the house ; for the air 
in contact with the floor of a house is generally nearly sattrated, having lost 
its capacity for moisture by losing its heat, and it is only when it has reached ~ 
the pipes, and been again heated, that it becomes capable of taking up 
moisture, and in this thirsty state it generally has to seek its moisture among 
the plants. 

“The most effectual mode of producing a moist atmosphere is by consider- 
able surfaces of water above the level of the pipes, which surfaces ought 
always to exceed by a few degrees the mean temperature of the house. 
The troughs commonly employed are objectionable only in as far as they are 
much too small, and becoming quickly empty afford a very temporary supply. 
To be really efficient, such troughs ought to be at least 1 ft. m width by 5 
or 6 inches in depth, and they_should extend the whole length of the house, 
affording something like 1 square foot of water surface for every 15 square 
feet of glass in the roof. In orchidaceous houses, and those destined to 
the cultivation of tropical plants, a still greater surface of water is desirable, 
and for this purpose slate cisterns, fixed immediately over the heating-pipes, 
as broad as the front shelves, and from lft. to 15in. deep, may be ad- 
vantageously employed. Their temperature will always exceed that of the 
house by a few degrees, and the great surface affords an abundant though 
gradual supply of moisture: they act also as partial reservoirs of heat, and 
afford the only efficient means of cultivating the beautiful but much neglected 
tribe of stove aquatics. The culture of these plants has become almost 
extinct, solely, I believe, on account of an almost universal failure in 
managing them, and this failure has entirely resulted from the improper 
construction and position of the cisterns in which they are grown. In the 
few houses where cisterns are introduced, they are generally provided more 
for ornament than use; the position in which they are placed, and the 
materials of which they are constructed, forbid their being warmed, and in 
fact the temperature of the water contained in them is always some degrees 
below that of the house. Under these circumstances, no tender aquatics will 
flourish : but if the cisterns be placed above the pipes, as here recommended, 
and formed of slate, their temperature will always by a few degrees exceed 
the mean temperature of the house, and, if their situation be light enough, 
stove aquatics will flourish in them in great perfection. 

“It may be observed that this arrangement meets the necessity of the case 
with exceeding accuracy, for condensation is greatest, and consequently the 
atmosphere is most rapidly dried, when external air is coldest, and a great 
artificial heat is maintained ; and at this very time the increased heat of the 
pipes increases the evaporation from the cisterns. But, to insure this result, 
the cisterns employed must be above the level of the heating pipes, and, 
if possible, directly over them. 

“ The foregoing suggestions are intended to convey a few brief and practical 
hints to those who possess or may be about to erect hot-water apparatus. 
For more minute details, the work of Mr. C. Hood, above referred to, may 
be most advantageously consulted. Ample information will there be found 
on a subject which is far more extensive, and which involves much more of 
scientific research and calculation, than is generally supposed; and, to those 
who may take the trouble to consult it, it will be no longer a matter of 
surprise that the earlier essays in heating by hot water were frequently 
unsuccessful.” 


(To be continued.) 


Foreign Notices : — North America. 429 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. 1. General Notices. 


DELPHI'NIUM sibiricum pléno and D. Barlowii.— Although all the delphiniums 
are showy and worthy of cultivation, still the D. sibiricum pléno and D. Bar- 
low# are truly splendid. The propagation of these two plants does not seem 
to be so well understood as it ought to be, otherwise they would be seen 
oftener and more abundantly in gardens, where their beauty often causes the 
expression to be used, “ I wish I had more of them.” ‘The proper time for 
dividing these two sorts is in April, when the young shoots have appeared, 
and are about two or three inches long above ground. They may then be 
taken up, and every shoot carefully separated with a knife, leaving, if possible, 
some portion of the reots attached. These must be carefully planted in good 
rich soil, and each will flower much finer the same season, than the old plant 
would have done if left undisturbed. To divide them in autumn or spring, 
before they commence growing, is nearly certain to weaken the plants much, 
and even sometimes destroys them altogether.—A. X. Birmingham, July, 1842. 

New Slate Cap, as a Substitute for Ridge Tiles, §c.—We have received the 
** Particulars and price of North’s patent slate-capped ridge and hip, sold and 
shipped at Port Penrhyn, Bangor, North Wales. The patent ridge is [said to 
be] an improvement on slate saddle ridge ; it is bolder in appearance, and does 
not require cement or putty; it is preferable to lead, being secure against 
high wind ; avoids the damage occasioned by hoisting and dressing lead upon 
a slated roof, and needs no wood roll. Price complete, Is. 6d. per foot run- 
ning, including screws, plates, and holes drilled. Packed in parcels of four 
3 ft. lengths, weight 112 lbs., for 12 ft. running of ridge, including the fasten- 
ings and package.” — July, 1842. [Slate is now sawn by machinery, and 
made into such a variety of articles, that we are surprised it is not used more 
than it is, in gardening, as a substitute for gravel and flagstone in walks and 
paths, and for wood, cast iron, and lead, in cisterns.] 

To destroy the Turnp Fly.— A correspondent of the Mark Lane Express 
says: “I have great pleasure in communicating to my brother-farmers, through 
the medium of your valuable paper, that I have discovered that gas-lime, sown 
upon turnips before their coming up, is a sure preventive against the ravages 
of the fly. When gas-lime cannot be obtained, gas tar, reduced with common 
lime, may be successfully applied between the drills, carefully avoiding the 
plants. A mixture of twenty pounds of sulphur with a ton of lime (which 
will not injure the plant) may be sown upon two acres, which will also 
produce a beneficial effect.”” (Camb. Chron. and Journ., June 11. 1842.) 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


NORTH AMERICA. 


LARGE Mahogany Logs. —'Two logs of Mansanilla mahogany were sold in 
New York, in February last, for 1265 dollars, at the rate of 165 dollars per 
foot. The two logs were only one quarter of the tree from which they were 
cut: another quarter was sold for 1200 dollars. The whole tree, according 
to these rates, was worth, in the New York market, very near 5000 dollars. 
—J. M. Philadelphia, June 12. 1842. 

[About the year 1819, the following appeared in an English paper :—“ The 
largest and finest log of mahogany ever imported into this country was sold 
by auction at the docks in Liverpool. It was purchased by James Hodgson 
for 375/., and afterwards sold by him for 525/.; and, if it opened well, was 


430 Retrospective Criticism. 


supposed to be worth about 1000/. If sawn into veneers, it was computed 
that the cost of labour in the process would be 750/. The weight at the 
king’s beam was 6 tons 13 cwt.] 


Art. III. Retrospective Criticism. 


ON the Use of Quassia in destroying the Scale Insect.— At the time the 
June Number of the Gardener’s Magazine came to hand, I had by me a 
paragraph, headed as above, intended for your inspection; but as your corre- 
spondent E. O., at p. 307. of the current volume, has brought before the public 
an easy and effectual means of destroying aphides, in the form of an application 
of quassia chips in decoction, and also made there very similar observations to 
my own, I will not here say more than that, in addition to his experiments 
in this particular, I can, from my own made last autumn, assert that it is 
effectual in destroying also another race of plant pests, viz.the scale insect 
(Aspidiotus sp.), probably the whole of the genus ; but my experiments have 
been directed more particularly against that species which infests succulents, 
especially the genera Mesembryanthemum, A’picra, Haworthia, &c. 

My mode of application differs from that of your correspondent, the 
decoction being brushed carefully and entirely over the plants infected, 
instead of being applied with a syringe. Many of the scale insects will, at 
the time it is applied, fall from the plant, simply from being dislodged by the 
brush (which should be soft rather than otherwise, to avoid, as far as possible, 
bruising the plant), but the greater portion of them will remain on the plant 
for some time; they will, however, on examination a few days after the appli- 
cation, be found to be lifeless ; these will, in the end, dry up, and scale off: 

With your correspondent I believe also that quassia renders the plant, at 
least for a time, obnoxious rather than agreeable to these invaders. 

I had, until the middle of May last, thought that my first washing, which 
was given last autumn had entirely eradicated the scale, and so, I believe, it 
did effectually destroy the then existing generation : but I find now that a 
new race, all of about equal size, and in all probability of equal age, appear 
upon my plants thus previously cleansed, which shows that a single washing 
is not sufficient te entirely subdue the scale for a year, unless applied in June 
or July imstead of the autumn ; in which case, I should say, one washing yearly 
would be sufficient, and in all probability would, in a few years, entirely 
extirpate them. 

However anxious we may feel to impart any knowledge we may gain from 
practice, or from intimacy with the effects of certain articles in destroying or 
even retarding the increase of any enemies to plants, still I think it but our 
duty to caution the young gardener against trusting too much to prescribed 
remedies, and recommend him to practise diligently the old cure of picking off 
vermin (some kinds of which, I cannot but say, are better formed for the 
practice than others, as the mealy bug (Céccus Adonidum Linn.), and some 
of the larger species of scale insect) from the plants with his fingers, or any 
other means that his ingenuity may suggest, as being better suited for the 
purpose ; taking care, at the same time, not to crush the insects on the leaves, 
&c., of the plants, as they almost without exception, injure and disfigure 
the plant ; and he may rest assured that he will keep them in subjection. I 
would nevertheless wish him, should his mind be so disposed, to enjoy the 
assistance of any such remedies as he may think fit ; and also let him proceed, 
without restriction, with enquiries and experiments that he may consider 
likely to turn out in any way beneficial to his profession, and doubtless, in 
many instances, good will come from it.— W. H. B. ‘Oxford, June 3. 1842. 

On Worming in Corn. —In the February Number of the Magazine, you have 
copied from the Cambridge Chronicle an account of a field of corn which was 


Queries and Answers. 431 


very much destroyed by maggots, aggravated by the ground being heaved by 
frost ; and that the vermin were effectually destroyed by rolling. It is likely, 
however, had the field been properly examined, that most of the damage 
should have been ascribed to the heaving by frost. In dry springs like the 
present we hear most of worming; the complaint has been general in this 
quarter, this season, of a bad braird of oats, and it has been generally 
ascribed to worming, without any examination. The larva of the jenny nettles 
is the most plentiful in this quarter under the name of cut-worm; and any 
plants it cuts are above ground, not below. When ground is worked wet or 
in the time of frost, it is thrown together in large lumps; though smoothed 
afterwards on the surface, large apertures are left below, which, unless there 
is much rain to wash down the particles of soil and feed the roots, must cause 
them to fail if drought sets in ; and the plant will wither and die for want of 
moisture, though the roots may not have been injured at all by vermin. If 
the ground is too spongy and open from heaving by frost, or from its me- 
chanical condition naturally, dry weather will have the effect of injuring there 
also, and we need not wonder at the good effect of rolling. That vermin of 
the sort abound more or less in many fields, and do a great deal of damage, I 
have no doubt, but I think no great proportion of what they usually get 
credit for ; and I doubt much if a roller will have much effect on maggots 
buried 1 in. to 3 in. below the surface, as they always are during the day, and 
come to the surface only at night. They form part and portion of the mass 
of the soil, and may be squeezed a little further down in the soft yielding 
earth, without much harm being done to them. Though some near the surface 
may suffer, I question if rolling will ever extirpate them and clear a field. It 
has been said that the grub or cut-worm never comes above ground, but if 
searched for with a candle, at night, they will then be found at the surface. It 
has been said they cut the root, not tops; but I have always found the 
plants cut exactly at the surface of the ground. — R. Lymburn. June 3. 1842. 

Cuckoo’s Eggs in the Nest of a Hedge-Sparrow.— In reference to p.257. and 
in corroboration of the general opinion that the cuckoo lays its egg in the 
nest of the hedge-sparrow, and also that the eggs or young of the last-men- 
tioned bird are probably ejected, I beg to inform you that some years ago a 
nest in the garden of Newhouse, near Downton, Wilts, on which a hedge- 
sparrow was sitting, attracted attention from the circumstance of its contain- 
ing one very large egg only. The young was hatched, and was seen daily fed 
by the sparrow, until it became so large as to spread over the nest. As the 
young bird was then ascertained to be a cuckoo, it was taken by the young 
ladies of the family, from the supposition that it would ultimately kill its 
foster-parent. The cuckoo was kept in a cage for some months, when in the 
following autumn it escaped. — Geo. Matcham. Newhouse, near Downton, 
July, 1842. 

The Subscribers to Douglas’s Monument. (p. 296. to 301., and p. 384.) —In 
p- 300., and also in p. 384., for “ Mr. Smith in a letter from Worcester, 
61. Os. 6d.,” read “Mr. Smith in a letter from Cirencester, by Mr. Ker of Fair- 
ford Park, 6/. 0s. 6d.” No subscriptions whatever, we believe, were sent by 
Mr. Smith of Worcester. — Cond. 


ArtT.1V. Queries and Answers. 


THE Raspberry Grub.—Mr. Gibson’s query is thus answered by Mr. West- 
wood, from whom a paper on the subject, illustrated by engravings, will appear 
in our next Number :—The grubs which are found in the white central part 
of the fruit of the raspberry are those of Byturus tomentosus, a small oval 
beetle (2 in. long), entirely clothed with deep ochreous, or slaty yellowish, 
short pubescence, and haying clayate antennz. It may probably be the Silpha 


432 Queries and Answers. 


testacea of Linnzus. The perfect insects appear in the spring, when the 
whitethorn is in flower, which they frequent in great quantities. They after- 
wards go to the raspberry when it is in flower, and the female deposits her 
eggs in the embryo fruit. When the grub is full grown (at the time when 
the fruit is just beginning to decay), it falls to the ground, into which it burrows, 
and becomes a pupa resting till the next spring. — J. O. Westwood. Hammer- 
smith, June 27. 1842. 

The Florets of Centaurea moschata sensitive (?).—I have remarked here, on 
repeated trials, that the florets of the disk in Centauréa moschata, or common 
sweet sultan, are completely sensitive, continuing to move spontaneously long 
after the finger has been removed. Can you inform me if this be a distin- 
guishing character of the species in general, or merely the effect of a tropical 
climate? — A. B. Patna, East Indies, March 31. 1842. 

« Hanging Bells in Trees. — The following answer to a correspondent is from 
a manufacturer of bells well acquainted with the subject: — “In answer to 
J. D., respecting hanging bells in trees, to be moved by wind, I think it would 
have a very pretty effect ; for even those that are hung round the necks of 
sheep, which are not tuned, are in general very much liked. Were they 
properly tuned they would have a much more harmonious sound. I am much 
surprised that bells are not used on the grounds of the nobility and gentry, 
and I have no doubt they would be used, if they knew the effects they would 
produce, and where they were to be procured. They could be fitted up to 
play by machinery any tunes required; or to ring changes: the works could 
be moved by a small stream of water, or by weights. If musical bells were 
placed on the top of a building in a turret, they would have to be moved by 
weights ; if they were to be moved by water, an erection could be made on 
purpose. I believe that most persons that would like to have such bells think 
they would be very expensive, as they think they must have large bells to 
produce a deep tone ; but that is not the case, as the same depth of tone can 
be produced from much smaller bells, but of course not so loud. —J. F. 
Drury, Musical Bell Manufacturer, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell. July, 1842.” 

Growing the Pine-Apple without Bottom Heat.—In the Gardener’s Magazine 
for 1840, p. 240., it is stated that in the gardens at Kingsbury there are some 
fine pine-apple plants which never had any bottom heat, and that nothing 
could exceed their vigour and healthy appearance. Having commenced the 
cultivation of a few plants of this fine fruit, on a principle in some respects 
similar to that of the late Mr. Knight, I feel much interested in anything 
relating to the method which appears to have been so successfully followed 
by that gentleman. If this should meet the eye of Mr. Beaton, perhaps he 
will be good enough to communicate his mode of culture. — A Subscriber. 
Winton, May 25. 1842. 

Grafting the Apple on the Willow. —1 see that you have got a very intelli- 
gent correspondent, N. M. T., residing in the neighbourhood of Folkstone. 
Ihave had some conversation with a most respectable inhabitant of that 
place, concerning the deterioration of the common apples grown in the Folk- 
stone orchards, which, he said, was noticed and lamented by all the apple- 
eaters in that quarter, and attributed to the cupidity of the nurserymen in that 
corner of the county, who, to get their young trees fit for sale as soon as 
possible, graft the apple upon the rapid-growing willow! I of course doubted 
whether such a feat was practicable; but, after consulting with his neigh- 
bours, he reassures me that such is a fact. Perhaps your correspondent 
ahove alluded to can set us right on this curious matter.— J. Main. Elm 
Terrace, Fulham Road, Chelsea. (Our correspondent, N. M. T., will probably 
be able to inform us of the origin of such an absurd report, which cannot 
have arisen at Folkstone without some local cause, which it is at all events 
desirable to know.] 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
SEPTEMBER, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Ant. I. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
By the ConbucTor. 


(Continued from p. 390.) 


JuLy 30. to August 1.— Corehouse; Lord Corehouse. This 
is decidedly the grandest place on the banks of the Clyde, 
embracing, as it does, a very extensive reach of the river, in- 
cluding the celebrated Falls of the Clyde, and the Bonnington 
Falls. ‘The beauty of Corehouse is also increased by the extent 
and magnificence of the plantations on the Bonnington side 
of the river, which, to a stranger, seem as much a part of the 
Corehouse estate as if they belonged to it; indeed, these two 
estates seem formed to lend a mutual effect to each other. 

The Corehouse estate extends considerably into the interior, 
on its own side of the river; and, as the surface is beautifully 
varied, it affords fine situations for planting, and also a number 
of little rills and waterfalls, which, in some places, leap from 
rock to rock, down steep declivities several hundred feet in 
height above the level of the Clyde, into which they fall. The 
rills, the wooded banks of the river, in some places consist- 
ing of steep rocks and in others of smooth turf, and the grand 
waterfall of Corra Lin, constitute the principal natural features 
of the place; and we shall hereafter see that they have been 
greatly improved by art. 

The entrance lodge to Corehouse is close to the Bridge of 
Lanark; and the approach road is upwards of a mile in length, 
along the banks of the river, but so much above it as only at 
intervals to show the water. ‘The line of road, which, in respect 
to its surface, is always nearly level, in regard to its direction is 
beautifully varied by natural and artificial woody scenery, by 

3d Ser. — 1842. IX. FF 


434 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


views extending into the interior to where the distant hills 
belonging to the estate are crowned with thriving plantations, 
and by views across the river to the village of New Lanark. 
Here are the extensive cotton-mills where the celebrated Robert 
Owen first tried his philanthropic experiments. We scarcely 
know any thing finer, in the way of appropriated scenery, than 
the effect of the plantations about New Lanark, and thence 
to Bonnington, as seen from the approach to Corehouse, and 
the grounds about the house; and the appearance of the grounds 
and woods of Corehouse is doubtless equally effective, as seen 
from the opposite side of the river. 

The house is in the old English domestic manner of Mr. 
Blore; simple, grand, and with an elevated terrace on three sides. 
The interior contains apartments, large, lofty, and well-arranged, 
opening into a spacious hall. ‘There is none of that confused 
appearance sometimes found in modern Gothic houses, which 
are often crowded with turrets, bell-towers, and chimney-tops, 
without ; and traversed by narrow passages, and over-done 
with Gothic cornices and other Gothic ornaments, within. Mr. 
Blore has the happy art of giving a certain elegance of pro- 
portion to the different parts of his buildings, in consequence of 
which there are plain spaces, giving by contrast its full effect 
to every moulding and ornament. ‘Take, for example, a stack 
of chimneys. When the mouldings at the base, and on the 
top or capital, are brought too close together by the shortness 
of the intermediate shaft, the effect is crowded, lumpish, and, in 
every point of view, the reverse of elegant: but lengthen the 
shaft to a certain extent, determinable by the feeling dictated 
by an artistic eye, and elegance is at once produced; for 
elegance is the effect of proportions more slender than what are 
usual, executed in a material which conveys the idea of as 
much strength as is contained in a much larger mass, or, at all 
events, of amply sufficient strength. 

The rocky banks of the Clyde, and the dells, dingles, and 
rocky steep-sided chasms containing the tributary rills which we 
have mentioned, being all more or less clothed with natural wood, 
and, consequently, all eminently picturesque and varied, what 
can the proprietor of such a place as Corehouse have to do, in 
the way of forming or improving ornamental scenery, seeing 
that nature has done so much? Is he to content himself with 
building a house, laying out roads and walks, forming a kitchen- 
garden and a flower-garden, and cultivating a farm? ‘There 
are, probably, some persons who would be satisfied with doing 
these things, but there are not many. The most beautiful scenes 
in nature do not give full satisfaction to the mind, unless we can, 
in some way or other, associate them with self. If we can do 
nothing else, we can point out their defects or beauties to a 


Corehouse.. — 4.35 


companion; we can describe them in a letter to a friend, or in a 
book; we can depict them by sketches; or, if they are our own 
property, we can alter or improve them. Now, the grand 
source of instruction to the landscape-gardener or the amateur 
of improved scenery, which is to be derived from the study 
of Corehouse, is the manner in which the natural woods, rocks, 
and rills have been improved by artificial planting, thinning, 
contracting, expanding, smoothing, concealing, and displaying. 
Great skill has doubtless been shown in the disposition of 
plantations on hills and slopes in the interior of the estate that 
were before naked, and also in admitting or shutting out the 
views on the opposite side of the river; but these are com- 
paratively every-day operations, both in a tame and in a pic- 
turesque country. We shall shortly enumerate the leading 
features which would improve such scenery, and which have 
been added to it at Corehouse. 

Walks, seats, bridges, and other rustic buildings ; which facili- 
tate the means of inspection and enjoyment. 

Opening up beautiful views, and excluding offensive or un- 
interesting objects; which heighten enjoyment. 

Thinning out unhealthy or unsightly undergrowths and ill- 
shaped trees, and forming glades of smooth turf; which will 
produce spots contrasting well with places where the under- 
growth is vigorous and dense. 

Removing the undergrowths altogether, and leaving only the 
timber trees, smoothing the surface below so as to admit of its 
being mown; which will change a wood to a grove. 

Where the natural wood is entirely coppice, allowing some 
of the plants here and there to assume the character of trees, 
taking care not to cut these down when the coppice is being 
felled ; which will change the coppice into a wood. 

Rocks, where they occur, may be improved by removing soil 
or bushes so as to display them more fully or to greater advan- 
tage; or, if every part of the rock be already shown in such a 
manner as to give the idea that only a portion of rock exists, then 
a part may be concealed by ground or bushes so as to give the 
idea of continuation. ‘The great art in this case is to indicate 
stratification, for, unless this be done, rock-work, whether natural 
or artificial, may be mistaken for a part of an old wall, or, more 
probably, for a heap of land stones. 

Waterfalls, and rills expanded into pools, may be shown 
more fully, or increased or diminished, on the same general 
principle as rocks; but it is absolutely necessary that whoever 
attempts this kind of improvement should have the eye of an 
artist. Indeed, this remark will apply with almost equal force in 


the case of improving rocks. One of the finest features in the 
FF 2 


4:36 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


grounds at Corehouse is Corra burn, situated in an improved 
glen with a succession of waterfalls; the steep banks richly 
clothed with rhododendrons and other evergreens alternating 
with smooth lawn, and the whole overhung with lofty spread- 
ing oaks and Scotch elms. 

All these improvements, and others of a similar kind, may be 
effected without the addition of new plants; but the greatest 
addition to natural woody scenery consists in introducing, 
among the native plants, such exotic kinds of trees and shrubs, 
and especially evergreens, as are suitable to the soil and locality. 
Hence the immense improvement that has been made in natural 
woods by the introduction of rhododendrons, common and 
Portugal laurels, mahonias, box, holly, junipers, and similar 
evergreens, as substitutes, in part or wholly, for the native un- 
dergrowths, which are chiefly deciduous. It is not an easy 
matter to introduce plants of deciduous trees and shrubs, of any 
kind, into natural woods or plantations already advanced so far 
as to be 20 or 30 feet in height, because young deciduous plants 
require much more light than young evergreens: but deciduous 
trees may frequently be budded standard high on trees already 
growing there; for example, in every part of the country there 
are common thorns, sycamores, oaks, elms, and ashes, and on 
these some scores of kinds might be budded or grafted. At all 
events, this might be done with upwards of sixty distinct sorts 
of thorn, plants of which can be purchased from the nurserymen, 
or cuttings obtained from the Horticultural Society ; and nothing 
can be more ornamental on the outskirts of a plantation, whether 
when they are in blossom, in May, June, and July, or in fruit, 
red, black, green, or yellow, from July to Christmas. 

All the natural woods at Corehouse abound in wild herba- 
ceous plants; and in early spring the primrose, and afterwards the 
wild hyacinth, the stellaria, and the foxglove, form fine masses 
of colour: but the effect of the numerous wild plants here has 
been increased, to a degree which the botanist alone can value, 
by planting and sowing among them many kinds of perennials 
and annuals, including the hardier bulbs. 

The artificial plantations, formed where no trees grew before, 
have made extraordinary progress, in consequence of the soil 
being naturally good and being deeply trenched; but, like most 
others in this part of the country, they have not been sufficiently 
thinned out and pruned. 

We cannot pretend to describe any part of Corehouse in 
detail, though, from the kind hospitality of the proprietor, we had 
an opportunity of looking over the grounds for two days; but 
the extent of the walks and the variety of the scenery are so 
great, that to do so would require either a longer period, or the 


Biggar. 437 


assistance of notes and sketches to refresh the memory. We left 
Corehouse; and the kind and most intelligent family of Lord 
Corehouse, with deep regret, and can only console ourselves by 
hoping that, at some future time, we may have an opportunity of 
visiting both again. 

We were sorry to observe, by a Railroad Report then just 
issued from parliament, that a line of road is projected to pass 
through the estate of Corehouse, between the house and the stable 
offices. Fortunately there is little chance of this line being carried 
into execution, otherwise it would completely destroy Corehouse 
as a country residence. 

Corehouse to Peebles. Mr. Cree, the nurseryman at Lanark, 
described to us some immense silver firs, planted by Lord Hynd- 
ford, which had lately been cut down on a neighbouring estate, 
and were the largest, he thinks, in Scotland ;.and he recommended 
us to visit Carstairs, where, having seen it in 1804, we were aware 
that there were many fine old trees. Time, however, would 
not permit, and besides it was Sunday; so we passed on to 
Biggar, noticing some curious branchy-headed larches in the 
hedge-rows near Hyndford Bridge, and that the pasture fields 
were covered with weeds, chiefly ragwort, ripening their seeds. 
Worse farming we did not see in any part of Scotland, though 
here and there we found preparations for thorough draining. 

Biggar. Mr. Cree’s mode of pruning trees we have already 
done justice to in p. 34.; and, as it is now being very generally 
discussed in the gardening newspapers, and apparently as ge- 
nerally approved of, we hope it will soon be adopted in all 
plantations the object of which is to have as much of the timber 
produce as possible in a straight trunk. We call this mode of 
pruning Mr. Cree’s, without enquiring whether something like 
it may not have been practised by Mr. Billington or others, 
because Mr. Cree first reduced it to a regular system. It must 
not be forgotten, that where ornament is the object, or, in other 
words, where trees are to be encouraged to assume their naturak 
shapes, neither Mr. Cree’s mode of pruning, nor any other of a 
similar nature, should be adopted with young trees. We do not 
mean by this that ornamental trees are never to be touched with 
the knife or the saw: on the contrary, all dead branches we 
would cut off close to the bole; when a tree offered a partial 
exclusion of a desirable view, we would cut off part of its 
branches; when it showed all branch and no stem, appearing 
like a gigantic shrub, we would confer dignity on its expression 
by showing part of the trunk; and, above all, when it stood near 
a building, we would, if necessary, remove branches in such a 
manner as to improve its effect as part of the group to which it 


belonged, to prevent it from obscuring too much of the house as 
Fr 3 


Sante 7 


438 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


seen from without, and too much of the exterior scenery as seen 
from within. The question, in these and similar cases, that we 
should ask ourselves is: Supposing the tree, and the land- 
scape or group of which it forms a part, were sketches on paper, 
instead of realities, how should we improve them ? 

We cannot leave Biggar without expressing our regret that 
Mr. Cree is not more generally employed. If some of the 
principal proprietors throughout the country would employ 
Mr. Cree to inspect their young plantations two or three times 
a year, the cost to them would be. a mere trifle, for Mr. Cree 
only charges half a guinea a day; while the benefit to the pro- 
prietor, directly by the improvement of his plantations, and 
indirectly by the knowledge gained by his forester, would be 
great in proportion to the extent of his plantations. 

New Passo; Sir John Nasmyth, Bart. If we imagine a 
valley in the direction of east and west, with a narrow lake along 
the bottom, and the hills on each side gradually rising from the 
level of the water to the height of 600 or 800 feet, we shall 
form a general idea of the kind of scenery of which the house 
of New Posso forms a part. The house is placed about a third 
of the way up the slope which forms the south side of the valley, 
and of course looks to the north. There is scarcely another 
house to be seen but itself. ‘The profound impression of me- 
lancholy produced by the scenery is not easily conceived by 
those who have not felt it: but it arises from the want of human 
habitations, or any thing like a village, for some miles before you 
arrive at the entrance gate; from the public road being evidently 
one not much frequented ; and from the hill facing the north, in 
consequence of which the house and grounds are in direct shade, 
or in reflected light, great part of the day. Great part of the 
slope being naked, or only covered by young plantations, the 
eye readily measures it from the base to the summit; and at the 
top of the hill there are an ancient parish church and burying- 
ground, long since disused for any other purpose than as the 
family mausoleum. Down the hill-side runs a small clear 
stream, with occasional waterfalls and lateral expansions into 
pools, which forms a fine guide to a beautiful walk, winding 
and climbing along its banks till it terminates at the mausoleum. 
There are extensive old woods both to the right and left of the 
house, and many fine old ashes, beeches, oaks, sycamores, 
Scotch firs, larches, and acacias, some of which, through the 
kindness of Sir John Nasmyth and Mr. Lawson, have been 
figured and described in the Arboretum Britannicum. Along 
the brook and in a number of other places, masses of rhodo- 
dendrons, with other evergreens and foreign shrubs, have been 
planted ; and are already beginning to give a rich effect, and 
to counteract that naked, wild, and solitary appearance which is 


New Posso. 439 


the natural expression of the place. Among the young trees in 
these masses we observed some thriving plants of Pinus Laricio, 
P. Cémbra, and Irish yew; but, on the whole, there is a great 
want of different species both of trees and shrubs. We found, 
however, a plant of Crate gus fanacetifolia Celséana, the only 
one which we saw in Scotland. ‘These grounds are admirably 
adapted for planting an arboretum, including a pinetum; for the 
soil is dry and sandy, and the declivity is such as to prevent all 
risk from stagnant air, whether cold or moist. Large masses of 
plantation, to connect the woods on the right side of the house 
with those on the left, and to prevent the eye from measuring 
the ground from the base of the hill to the summit; as complete 
an arboretum as the climate will admit of; and a waterfall of 
50 or 60 feet in height, to be seen from the windows of the 
house, and to drive away melancholy by its noise, appear to us 
the grand improvements which the place wants. __ 

The house has undergone a thorough renovation, and also 
the mausoleum; and these, the walks, and the plantations, show 
a desire to do every thing substantially and in good taste. In 
short, though we had not the pleasure of finding Sir John 
Nasmyth at home, every thing that we saw convinced us that 
his reputation for good taste as a professional landseape-gar- 
dener is well merited. 

A very interesting description of New Posso, as it existed in 
1715, will be found: in our Arboretum, vol. i. p. 93. Whoever 
recollects it will probably: wish to know whether we saw the 
greenhouse, which was at that time the glory of Tweeddale, and 
over which was inscribed, in conspicuous characters, alluding to 
the flowers within, “Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed 
like one of these.” We did see it, andi found within, hung up 
on the back wall, the old flower-stem of the first agave that 
flowered in Scotland, in what year we do not recollect. The 
greenhouse is placed, as was the custom formerly, in the kitchen- 
garden; and near it are a fine specimen of 4‘cer monspessu- 
lanum, and a venerable old robinia. 

The architectural alterations and improvements at New Posso 
have been designed by Myr. Burns, and executed, under his 
direction, in a neat and most substantial manner. ‘The terraced 
gardens are at present without flowers, as the family has not 
resided there for two or three years; but, when they are pro- 
perly planted, the place will appear much more cheerful and 
habitable. 

We passed Stobbo Castle, and arrived at Peebles late in the 
evening, but with sufficient light to obliterate the impressions 
which the town and the scenery around had made on us in 1804. 
It was then a poor place, surrounded by a naked hilly country ; 


but these hills are now covered with thriving plantations. 
FF 4 


44.0 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


August 2.—Peebles to Melrose. The country is beautifully 
varied by hills, some of which are wooded, and others cultivated, 
and exhibiting fields of turnips, and barley ¢ or wheat, to the very 
summits. 

Traquair, We went through that curious old place, Tra- 
quair, where the kitchen-gar diem walls are 18 ft. high, and were 
coped with turf now bearing a rich crop of grass and weeds, 
the seeds of which were nearly ready for being distributed over 
the garden by the winds. In this garden were excellent crops, 
par ticular ly of strawberries, but we did not find the gardener at 
home. In the herb ground we found elecampane, lovage, hore- 
hound, and a number of other herbs formerly cultivated in all 
gardens, but now generally neglected. ‘Traquair House has 
nothing modern about it, not even a full-sized sash window, and 
the main entrance has no gravelled road up to it; as, till lately, 
was the case at Knowle in: Kent, and, by imitation of old places, 
at Fonthill Abbey. There is a grand terrace on the other front, 
and the main body of the house is flanked by square pavilions. 
Altogether it is a great curiosity as a gentleman’s residence; and 
it was not without difficulty that we obtained liberty to drive up 
to it, the Earl of Traquair being from home. 

Abbotsford ; Sir Walter Scott, Bart. So much has been said of 
this celebrated place, that we shall pass it over with scarcely any 
remarks. Sir Walter Scott’s taste was antiquarian rather than 
artistic, and he has produced such a building and gardens as 
might have been expected from his peculiar partialities, and his 
facilities for obtaining fragments of antiquity. ‘The house is a 
curious piece of patchwork, but such as must have afforded 
great satisfaction to its gifted proprietor in forming it. We 
could not get access to the gardens, which, we were told, were 
planted with potatoes, nor to any part of the place that could 
be considered as ornamental scenery. 

The roads in this part of the country are excellent, and the 
scenery a fine combination of the beautiful. picturesque, and 
agricultural cultivation. Some of the hills are conical, and 
ploughed over the very summits; others are crowned with wood, 
which, in some cases, stretches down their sides, in masses and 
hedge-row strips, till it reaches the margin of a river, or the 
verge of a meadow. ‘There is every appearance of prosperity 
and comfort; but the bands of women seen hoeing turnips re- 
minded us that all was not as it ought to be, aril as we trust 
it will be in another generation ; fod we cannot think that, in a 
‘state of high civilisation, women will continue to be employed 
in field work. ‘We arrived at Melrose in time to see the ruins 
of the abbey with good daylight, and we remained among them 
till it was quite dark. 


( To be continued. ) 


Notes on Gardens near Lancing. 441 


_ Art. IL. Notes on Gardens near Lancing, concluded. By the 
ConDUCTOR. 


(Continued from p. 392.) 


THE Garden of Mr. Sharp, the blacksmith, at Lancing, con- 
tains a good collection of fruit-trees, especially apples and pears. 
Mr. Sharp is enthusiastically attached to the culture of fruits; 
as a proof of which, we found he had got Myatt’s new straw- 
berries, and the Van Mons Leon le Clere pear. He has 
seventy fig trees; and among these one bearing a small green 
fig of exquisite flavour, but the tree is not a good bearer. The 
white Marseilles he has had as large as an orange. ‘The garden 
_is on chalk, sloping to the south-east; and so early, that some 
strawberries were now (May 25th) ready to gather. On an old 
cottage, near Mr. Sharp’s house, is a vine which was brought 
seventy years ago from Bordeaux; it has large berries and 
bunches, not good to eat, but making excellent wine, even 
when the berries are not ripe. It might be worth enquiring 
after by those who are planting vineyards. Mr. Sharp’s garden 
is surrounded by high brick walls, covered with admirably 
trained trees, and every part of the interior was in the highest 
order and keeping. It is his own property; and as he is 
blessed with health and a taste for its cultivation, and has a 
wife and family with a comfortable house, we regard him as 
having within his reach all the elements of happiness, which we 
hope he will long live to enjoy. 

We glanced at several other places in this neighbourhood, 
and were recommended by Mr. Kidd to visit Offington, Lewis 
Daubuz, Eisq., where there is a good collection of Orchidex ; 
Northbrook, David Lyon, Esq., a finely wooded extensive place ; 
and some others which we hope to see on some future occasion, 
for at present we had barely time to visit the Miller’s Tomb 
on Heydown Hill. 

The Miller's Tomb is placed on the east side of Heydown 
Hill, a high chalk hill covered with beautiful smooth turf, from 
about half-way up to the very summit. The tomb stands near 
a hedge and a group of trees, about two thirds up the hill 
side. The summit of the hill is conical, and from it there is a 
complete panoramic view of the surrounding country, bounded 
on the south by the sea. The miller’s windmill stood on this 
summit, and around it are still visible the remains of an en- 
trenchment which once enclosed a Roman encampment. The 
miller lived in a cottage at a short distance from his tomb, 
and this cottage has lately been rebuilt, and is now occu- 
pied by his aged sister-in-law and her daughter, Miss Oliver, to 
whom we are indebted for the following particulars. John 
Oliver, the miller, was remarkably fond of the spot where the 


442 Notes on Gardens near Lancing. 


tomb is placed, and with the permission of his landlord, with 
whom he was on the most friendly terms, he built a summer- 
house there, and afterwards the tomb, an oblong square, 12 ft. 
by 6 ft. and 4 ft. high, brick on the sides, stone at the two ends, 
covered with a stone slab, and surrounded by an iron railing. 
In the summer-house the miller used to delight to sit and muse 
on the distant prospect, with his tomb in the foreground; and 
even after he became blind with age, which was several years 
before his death, he was led there every day by a little girl who 
read to him, and acted as his nurse. The tomb was built nearly 
thirty years before the miller died; and he, as some other men 
have done, had his coffin made about the same time; he had it 
placed on castors, and it was nightly wheeled under his bed, 
and brought out again in the morning. Being in very good 
circumstances, he left 20/. a year to keep the tomb and the 
summer-house in repair; but having left the funds which were 
to produce this sum in the hands of his grand-daughter, 
though this lady is said to have 300/. a year of her own, yet 
not one farthing of the 20/. has been expended on the summer- 
house or the tomb. In consequence of this neglect for up- 
wards of forty-nine years, the summer-house is so completely 
destroyed, that not even a single brick remains; while the tomb, 
as will hereafter appear, is in such a state of dilapidation, that 
the whole of the inscription on it cannot be read. We pur- 
posely avoid giving the name of this lady, in the hopes that 
she will yet do her duty. 

When the miller died, the clergyman of the parish could not, 
consistently with his profession, read the burial-service over the 
body; but he was kind enough not to interfere in the matter, 
and the service was read in a distinct and audible voice, as 
Miss Oliver informed us, by the little girl who had led the 
miller about, in the presence of between 2000 and 3000 people 
who had assembled on the hill round the tomb. The little 
girl, whose name was , has been dead some years. 

The following is a copy of the inscriptions on the tomb: — 


On the Top. 
FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE BODY OF 
JOHN OLIVER, 
WHEN DECEASED BY THE WILL OF GOD. 


GRANTED BY WILLIAM WESTBROOK RICHARDSON, ESQ., 1766. 


For as in Adam al! die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. — 
Cor., xiii. 22. 

The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ ; 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. — 
John, i. 1%. 


Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 443 


On one Side. 


Why should my fancy any one offend, 
What’s good or ill on it does not depend? 
’ Tis at my own expense, except the land, 
A generous grant, on which my tomb doth stand. 
This is the only spot that I have chose, 
Wherein to take my lasting long repose ; 
Here in the death my body lieth down, 
You'll say ’tis not in consecrated ground. 
* I grant the same: but where’er shall we find 
The spot that e’er can purify the mind, 
Or to the body any lustre give? 
This more depends on what a life we live : 
For when the trumpet shall begin to sound, 
’ T will not avail us where the body’s found. 
Blessed are they, and all that may, 
Full in the Lord and Saviour die: 
Their bodies wait redemption’s day, 
And sleep in peace where’er they lie. 


On one End. 


The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; but to keep his command- 
ments is holiness to the Lord. 


[Figures of Deatu and Time.) 


Death, why so fast ? pray stop your hand, 
And let my glass run out its sand : 
As neither death nor time will stay, 
Let us improve the present day. 
Why start you at that skeleton ? 
> Tis your own picture that you shun - 
Alive, it did resemble thee, 
And thou, when dead, like it shall be. 
Though Death‘will have its will with fate, 
Yet still old Time prolongs the date, 

Till all the measure I shal! fill of breath 

That is allotted me by fate. 
And when that’s done, then Time and Death 
- . « {Last line illegible.] . . . 


On the other Side. 
IN MEMORY OF 


JOHN OLIVER, Miter, 
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE THE 22D APRIL, 1793, AGED 84 YEARS. 


On the other Hind are some texts from the Burial Service. 


Art. Ill. Dinbur Castle, tts Gardens and its Gardeners. By PETER 
< MACKENZIE. 


WHEN you were in Scotland last year, I believe your limited 
stay prevented you from visiting places in that country where, 
perhaps, you would have found something to commend, and 


444 Dinbur Castle, cts Gardens and Gardeners. 


much to condemn. I am sorry you did not find it convenient to 
call at Dinbur Castle, not on account of its combination of 
ancient and modern architecture. ‘There you would have seen 
some of the remains of feudal times, such as the spot where the 
“* wooden bastile” stood, or where the Juggs hung on the 
gallows tree, the iron- -sinikied gate, the portcullis, anid the re- 
mains of the old drawbridge, or 
“ The battled towers, the donjon keep, 

The loophole grates where captives weep, 

The flanking walls that round it sweep.” 
Or, perhaps, you would have been better pleased with the more 
elegant display of Grecian architecture. There is many a Doric 
Colamn with its guttee, metope, triglyph, mutule, corona, &c. 
Also the work of the sculptor is displayed on the arms of the 
family; the supporters upholding the escutcheon with stone 
chains dangling by their sides, and the crest and the scroll, are 
done in a very tasteful manner: but, leaving the castle, we may 
proceed to the gardens. 

The kitchen-garden is nearly a century old, an irregular piece 
of ground, enclosed by an unfinished wall, part of it without 
coping, and the teeth of time making inroads upon the bricks 
and mortar. There are old fruit trees in it that bear good crops, 
and broad grass walks considerably raised above the borders. 
Little attention had been observed in levelling the surface; there 
are small hills and valleys in it; and here and there large blocks 
of whinstone rocks rear their heads above the ground, so that 
the gardeners may have lessons in geology along with their 
botanical studies, when they are cultivating fruits and vegetables. 
In the flower-garden there are remains of the time when Adam 
and Eve were cut in yew, Cain’s cradle in box, and the Tower 
of Babel in variegated holly ; in another part, the modern system 
of flower-gardening is practised; in this manner combining 
the past and the present. ‘The undulating nature of the surface 
prevents the eye from resting on the whole at once, and from 
the crests of the waves some beautiful views are obtained. On the 
bosom of a wooded hill is seen the white foam of the cataract, 
and at intervals would be heard its sound dying upon the ear ; 
the waters rushing with headlong fury into the sequestered 
valley, and there forming the ‘ music-making stream ;” burst- 
ing trom the glen, it winds in graceful turns among the rich 
pasture, and becomes the os gyreanonaet river ; moving slowly 
along, it joins the briny waters of the Forth. Turning in 
another direction are beheld the perpendicular columns of ba- 
saltic rocks, the debris covered with blackthorn, hazel, and 
mountain ash, and their summit crowned with dark free and 
in the distance are the peaked mountains, at one time covered 
with clouds and tempests, and at another time pavilioned in 


Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 445 


glory. In the study of God’s works there is no end to their 
variety, although they were sought after by minds enlightened 
as the sun when he spreadeth his light upon a thousand hills. 
But we are lingering by the way, and must hasten from viewing 
the meadows and the woods, and the low valleys, and the musical 
warblers singing by silver fountains, and the pleasing combina- 
tions of classic architecture, and go to a place where we intend 
remaining for a little time, although it is seldom visited by those 
who delight in admiring the wonders of nature and art; the place 
I mean is the gardener’s bothy. 

The bothy is commonly a little lonely shed placed on the 
north side of the north wall of the kitchen-garden; that small 
apartment has often to be kitchen, breakfast-room, dining-room, 
parlour, bed-room, dressing-room, and study, for men that de- 
serve better accommodation. If a little of the money that is 
spent upon dog-kennels were employed in erecting decent habi- 
tations for journeymen gardeners, gentlemen would receive a 
higher rate of interest for money laid out in such a way, than 
they do from much of their wealth that is sent out in other 
directions. tea 

But some young men will not be hindered from pursuing after 
knowledge, though difficulties should attend it. In the bothy at 
Dinbur Castle gardens, some time ago, there were four young 
lads, whose exertions to obtain useful knowledge may be worth 
recording, and perhaps their example may be worthy of imitation 
by others placed in similar circumstances. 

Sandy MacAlpine, the foreman of the gardens, was at one time 
intended to be something else than a gardener, and was kept 
longer at school than boys are generally kept; but, like many a 
novice, he forgot to strengthen his muscles when he was endea- 
vouring to inform his mind. Close application in the study of 
Latin and Greek, and one season at college, gave him every 
appearance of a blanched student. He found his health under- 
mining rapidly; he was advised to try something else; he chose 
the occupation of a gardener, and his health recovered; but, in- 
stead of leaving it when he got better, he continued to love his 
employment. 

Colin Forbes was another inmate of the bothy at the time we 
refer to. He was a stout active young man; the spade appeared as 
light in his hands as if it had been a child’s toy, and he could 
use it to good purpose: he did not, however, forget the educa- 
tion he received in his early days; he was fond of mathematical 
studies, and liked well to talk about square roots and cube roots, 
equations, involution of quantities, circles, angles, pyramids, 
cylinders, cones, polygons, &c. 

Walter Glenesk, another of the four, when alone, occupied 
his time differently from any. of the rest : he was in love with ihe 


446 ‘Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 


study of natural history. He made himself pretty well acquainted 
with the botanical systems of Linnzeus and Jussieu: but he did 
not stop there; he acquired a knowledge of Cuvier’s system of 
geology, Jameson’s system of mineralogy, and an outline of 
zoology. Leach’s Arrangement of Insects came in his way, and 
from it he gained some knowledge of entomology: the Elements 
of Conchology, by Brown, made him acquainted with the Linnzean 
arrangement of shells, also the description of the genera, and 
the explanation of terms used in the science of conchology. 
Often would he wander along the sea-beach collecting razor- 
shells, cockles, muscles, oysters, &c. : 

The last of the four was Bauldy Black: he differed from all 
the rest; he did not pretend to be a book-learned man, but, for 
strength of body, he would match with any of his comrades; he 
was a good-natured lad, and took things very easy. He lost his 
father when he was young, and he had nothing but hard work 
before, and few opportunities for improving his mind. However, 
he had formed a love for the fiddle, and with it he used to chase 
away dull care, but his music was not at all times acceptable to 
those who lived with him. 

When they were at work together, it would be difficult 
to tell which was the best workman: when mowing, for in- 
stance, they would keep time as regularly as if they had been 
rowing a four-oared boat, and seldom had much to eut in 
the “hacking”; but when they were relieved from their labour, 
and every one at liberty to choose for himself, then the bent of 
their minds would be discovered. One would, perhaps, be 
reading Virgil or Homer, another would be working some pro- 
position in Simson’s Euclid, and another endeavouring to make 
out the name of an unknown plant. When in the midst of 
their studies, Bauldy would take down his fiddle, and give them 
some lively Scotch airs to cheer on their philosophic spirits ; 
but the Georgics were soon shut, Euclid laid aside, while 
Lindley, Loudon, or Smith, was locked up in a trunk, and all 
wished the crambophagus and his fiddle out of their hearing. 
Sometimes they got what they wished for, for Bauldy did not 
always confine himself and his music to the bothy. Often 
would he go courting the lasses, and with the young women 
he was a great favourite: he never appeared so happy as when 
he got a few young men and women collected in a small apart- 
ment; then would he dance, sing, and play, for hours in a 
winter’s night. 

One night when Bauldy was absent, Sandy MacAlpine said 
that something might be done that would better them all, and 
might be the means of turning Bauldy from his thoughtlessness, 
and make him more attentive in seeking after professional 
knowledge. He believed that they were not acting right to- 


Different Uses of Moss in the Cultivation of Plants. 447 


wards one another, each one confining his knowledge to him- 
self, like misers hoarding their treasures, neither benefiting 
themselves nor others so much as they might do: he believed 
that if they were to exchange knowledge with one another all 
would be gainers; and quoted the words of Lord Brougham, 
when he said, “ It may easily be demonstrated that there is an 
advantage in learning, both for the usefulness and the pleasure 
of it; there is something positively agreeable to all men, to all 
at least whose nature is not most grovelling and base, in gaining 
knowledge for its own sake.” ‘The other two heard Sandy’s 
proposal with delight, but did not know how to proceed in 
order to accomplish their object; they agreed to inform their 
master of their design, and ask his advice and assistance. 

Sandy was appointed to make known what they intended to 
do; he did so the first opportunity he had; their master was 
glad to hear of their good intentions to each other, and pro- 
mised to further them with all the assistance in his power. He 
was a man well advanced in life; he had studied men and 
manners in a way somewhat different from that recommended 
by Lord Chesterfield; he was well acquainted with the various 
branches of his profession, and could turn his acquired know- 
ledge to good account in practice. He promised to meet with 
his young men on an early evening, and make arrangements for 
their future advances in knowledge; and also to read, by way of 
introduction, a short essay on certain points which are neces- 
sary for young gardeners to know and practise. I will say, 
what has already been said by an eminent author, that ‘I will 
never undervalue the pursuits of science and literature, or the 
diffusion of general knowledge. Far from me be such a purpose ! 
Most unfeignedly do I rejoice in the advancement of such know- 
ledge, and in the success of all the means for its universal com- 
munication by which our age, and especially our country, are 
distinguished. I have no sympathy with the apprehensions of 
those who are tremblingly jealous of the spread of information, 
There is ground for congratulation, not for despondency, in the 
prevailing thirst for knowledge, and in the zealous desire on the 
part of those who are in possession of it to gratify that thirst. 
By all means let it be quenched to the uttermost.” 

West Plean, July 27. 1842. 


Art. 1V. On the different Uses of Moss in the Cultivation of Plants. 
By M. HEIcke. 


(Translated from the Garten Zeitung.) 


Tuar plants planted in damp moss, instead of earth, live and 
grow is a fact not new, and moreover one that is easily explained ; 


448 Different Uses of Moss 


for the moisture of this material is sufficient for the early nou- 
rishment of the plant, until it obtains stronger nourishment from 
being transplanted, and its porosity admits the influence of the 
atmosphere to penetrate to the lowest roots. 

From these data, care being taken that the ball of moss in 
which a plant has rooted firmly adheres together, in such a 
manner as that it may be taken out and transplanted like the 
ball out of a flower-pot, without disturbing the vegetation, I 
made use of moss in the following instances with success. 


I. With the Stock-Gillyflower. 


I made two beds; a regular flower-bed, in which the young 
stocks were planted as usual, and a nursery. ‘This occupied a 
retired spot only exposed to the morning sun, to save the trouble 
of shading the young plants after transplantation. The ground 
was prepared in the usual manner by digging and raking. 

Holes were then made with rather a thick dibble at the dis- 
tance of from 4 in. to 6in., and widened as much as possible at top, 
by repeatedly turning round the dibble. ‘Then in each hole a good 
handful of damp moss, as it came fresh from the wood or the 
-meadow, was firmly pressed in. After all the holes were so 
prepared, the hole for the plant was made in the middle of the 
ball of moss. ‘The young stocks were then planted in these 
holes: the plant was held in the middle of the hole, which was 
about 2 in. wide, and fine light mould, prepared for the purpose, 
thrown round the roots till the plant stood firm ; then they were 
watered in the usual manner. ‘They required no shading, 
owing to the situation chosen for them; and grew well, rivalling 
those in the flower-bed. 

As soon as the double and single flowers showed themselves 
in both beds, the single ones were weeded out of the flower-bed, 
and the double ones from the nursery, with their balls, put in 
their place. If, in any of the transplanted plants, a root had 
escaped from the ball of moss, protection from the sun was of 
service for some days; but if that were not the case they required 
none. ‘Those which were transplanted grew as well as those 
that were not transplanted, and yielded the rare advantage of a 
bloom with double flowers only, which in point of beauty could 
not be surpassed. . 

It scarcely requires to be mentioned, that, in the course of the 
summer; the roots of the plants transplanted with the balls of 
moss penetrated into the surrounding ground. 

Watering with diluted cow-dung which had been left to 
stagnate for several weeks, and was applied to the plants in dull 
weather, was latterly found beneficial. 


in the Cultivation of Plants. 449 


My rather slow gardener planted one forenoon, including 
the preparation of the ground with the moss, 480 plants in 
the nursery, observing the order of planting above-mentioned. 
So much for any objection as to the tediousness of the ope- 
ration. 


II. With the Winter Stock-Gilliflower. 


The object I had in view was to raise plants that would show 
flower earlier than in the usual way, so that they might be 
earlier potted off. arly planting, and consequently the proper 
growth attained by the winter stock, are the chief considerations 
for their keeping well through the winter. I proceeded in the 
following manner : 

As the weather hechtiie milder, so that I was not afraid of the 
frost penetrating a cold-frame, I prepared one with an under- 
stratum of about 1 ft. of leaves and weeds, as actual bottom heat 
is injurious to the young stocks. ‘The fine mould laid over it 
was, as before observed, ‘dibbled for the plants, and balls of moss 
put in the holes. In order to economise space, they were made 
so close together as almost to touch each other, and were but 
the size of the fist, as they were only for transplanting the young 
plants. When holes had been made in the moss balls, they 
were filled with earth suitable for the stocks, and two stock seeds 
were put into each hole. As soon as the plants had grown a 
little, the weaker one was pulled up. Whether there was not 
a greater probability of this being double than the stronger one, 
I cannot venture to say. 

When they had attained the proper size for transplanting, 
they were, as usual, planted out in the open air, but with the 
moss balls. 

The following were the results of this method of cultiva- 

tion: — 
_ 1. I completely attained the object I had in view, viz. that 
the flower showed itself early; indeed too completely, for my 
winter stocks bloomed, for the most part, at the same time as my 
summer stocks, which was not intended, but which could easily 
be avoided by sowing later. Unfortunately, 1 cannot state the 
day cn which I sowed the seed. 

This early appearance of the flower is readily explained. 
1st, Because the plant was not disturbed when it was first trans- 
planted ; therefore the blossom-buds would show themselves as 
much earlier, as the duration of the sickly period after trans- 
planting in the usual manner would have lasted, and retarded 
the progress of vegetation. 2d, In the loose mass a number of 
hair roots, instead ‘of the usual turnip [fusiform] roots, had been 

3d Ser. — 1842. IX. GG : 


450 _ Different Uses of Moss’ 


formed, which, as is well known, tend to produce flower, while 
the turnip roots produce wood. 

2. These delicate roots could be easier got into the pots 
than the stronger ones, which are difficult to be got in, and yet 
cannot be dispensed with. They also greatly accelerated the 
growth. 

3. The loose moss round the stem entirely prevented the 
rotting of the stem, which so often occurs. 

I shall, therefore, make use of this method in future. 


Ill. In raising early Beans. 


In the same manner (as II.) I planted a frame, 33 ft. square, 
with early beans, in moss, which were afterwards planted out, in 
mild weather, in the open ground, and filled two beds, each 
about 24 ft. long and 34 ft. broad. The foundation of moss 
seemed to suit them particularly, for they grew and bore more 
luxuriantly than all that were planted in the ground. 

To bring them to fruit very early, I have planted now, 
January, beans in moss, in a box in a moderately warm house ; 
and I shall transplant the young plants afterwards, when it 1s 
somewhat milder, into a cold-bed, protected by glass and cover- 
ings, as a warm-bed, which I should prefer an them, is not 
at my command. 


1V. Melons 


raised in the same manner, and afterwards planted out in the 
open ground, grew very luxuriantly, and put out shoots in a 
few weeks, hen the cold wet summer of last year nnforentey 
killed them. 


V. Cauliflowers 


raised in this way, produced very fine heads; but the year 
was, on the whole, very favourable, and the holes they were 
planted in were filled with dung. The facility of transplantation 
enabled me to plant the young plants, with the moss balls, for 
some weeks in the shade; and, by being placed in this situation, 
to preserve them from ‘ing dlaetetions. a the earth-flea-beetle 
(Haltica Fad.), which dislikes the shade, till the leaves had 
become hard, and, consequently, unfit for their food. 
I suppose that, as the young plants, by being transplanted in 
this way, do not become sickly, they are less exposed to the 
ravages of insects, which, as is well known, attack sickly plants 
in preference. Even in more unfavourable seasons, the undis- 
turbed vegetation, and the exuberant formation of hair roots, al- 
ready noticed, might produce a greater tendency to fructification. 


in the Cultivation of Plants. 451 


VI. Young Vine Shoots, Rose Shoots, and other Sorts of Shrubs, 


about the middle of June, were cut, in the same way as car- 
nations for layering, to the next node, and the part so cut laid 
in the earth, in a ball of moss, near the mother plant. In the 
course of a few weeks they had rooted, and the same summer 
were fit to be transplanted, with the ball of moss, to their 
destination. 


VII. For grafting Apricots and Peaches. 


In the spring, young trees, with their roots packed in large 
bundles of moss, were laid in the ground, in the shade, till vege- 
tation began. ‘They were then put in close to the parent plant, 
and a twig inarched upon each of them. They soon grew 
together, could be separated, and the same summer were 
planted out as standards. 


VIII. For round-headed [or Parasol] Acacias. [R. Pseud- 
Acacia umbraculifera Dec.  Encyc. of Trees and Shrubs, 
p- 234. ] 


These are very difficult to raise in open ground, because the 
branches are either too dry, or the sap already in motion while 
the wild stock is still dormant. I surrounded the roots of a 
common acacia, of from one to two years old, with moss balls, 
and brought them into vegetation early in the year, in a cold 
greenhouse. They were then grafted with freshly cut, and there- 
fore perfectly healthy, twigs of Robinza Psetd- Acacia umbracu- 
lifera Dec., and succeeded well. They were hardened by 
degrees, and afterwards, on the part between the root and the 
graft, towards the top of the stem of the common acacia, they 
were inarched in the crown, and were kept in the moist balls of 
moss surrounding their roots till they grew, when watering was 
discontinued, and the wild stock died off by degrees. 

Although tedious, this method appears, at the same time, 
desirable, when it happens that on any particular spot a common 
acacia, already grown, is to be transformed into a round-headed 
one, for it is certain the price of round-headed acacias is 
also at all times so considerable as to render thetrouble worth 
while. 

Should it be found, as I suppose, that cuttings of R. Pseud- 
Acacia umbraculifera Dec. can be struck (about midsummer I 
did not succeed; it might do better in spring, in beds from 
which the air is excluded), these might be used for inarching, 
thus saving previous grafting; the cuttings could be planted, 


early in the year, in moss balls filled with sand. 
GG 2 


4.52 Procuring Sand for striking Cuttings. 


All the above experiments were made during the past year. 
They are sufficient at present to justify the experiment, to direct 
attention to it, and to induce a greater application of moss to 
useful purposes. In this respect I have in view the following 
experiments : — 

1. Raising turnip-rooted celery in moss balls. In my soil it 
throws out, instead of a single large turnip, a small one with 
many strong roots, but useless for cooking. I hope, from the 
porosity of the moss, to preduce many hair roots, and also a 
large turnip. Ne 

2. A flower-bed filled with flowering plants from spring till 
late in the autumn. How unsightly, for instance, when, in the 
conspicuous beds on a lawn, the hyacinths, tulips, anemones, 
Phlox vérna, and other early flowers, must stand till summer 
before they can be transplanted without being spoiled! If they 
were growing in moss balls, they might be removed, without 
injury, immediately after flowering, to make room for other. 
flowering plants. , ; 

g. A more enlarged application to the culture of other early 
vegetables, such as peas, gourds, the cabbage tribe, and 
others. 

Acken, near Magdeburg, January 29, 1842. 


Art. V. On a Mode of procuring Sand for striking Cuttings. 
By D. 


Havine derived much information from the perusal of the 
Gardenen’s Magazine, and as one good turn deserves another, I 
have endeavoured to snatch a few minutes to communicate a 
few remarks for the good of others, if good it may be to them. 
I have at various times read with pleasure the methods of pro- 
pagation which are there recorded, and most of them I have 
tried; but, as my own plan is more simple than most of them, 
and equally successful, perhaps you will give it insertion. 

I have usually found that where cuttings could be kept re- 
gularly moist, and at a temperature consistent with the nature of 
the cuttings, together with a proper material to strike in, success. 
was nearly certain. Most people agree that sand is the best 
material; but sand varies very much in different places, and I 
have been so situated as to find it difficult to obtain at all. But 
as necessity is the mother of invention, so it was with me, and 
now, if I can obtain sand at all, I soon make it what I want. If 
I cannot dig it or buy it, I can generally sweep it up after 
a heavy shower. In the first place. I sift it through a sieve 


New Dahlia Stake. 4:53 


about as coarse as a common cinder sieve: what this sieve stops 
in sifting is thrown away, as it consists of stones of unequal size. 
It is next passed through a finer sieve in a tub of water: all that 
stops this time, being free from dirt, in consequence of the wash- 
ing, is used for drainings for large pots. It is then passed 
through a still finer sieve in water, and all that stops in this 
sieve is used to drain smaller pots. After this it is well washed 
through a very fine sieve, and all that is stopped by this sieve 
serves to drain the smallest-sized pots; and, by putting a 
piece of tile or broken pot over the hole, and just covering it 
with the draining-stones according to the size of the pot used, 
it forms the best drainage [am acquainted with. The sand is 
then used to strike in, by placing a piece of tile or pot over the 
hole, and then filling the pot with the sand, which, being cleansed 
from dirt, will never retain more moisture than is necessary for 
the cuttings, and, when wanted to pot off, the cuttings are much 
more easily shaken from such sand, than from that which has 
not been washed. 

If it is intended to keep the cuttings in the same pot after 
they are struck, then the pot must be drained in the usual way 
with the tile and stones, and partly filled with suitable soil; but, 
if they are to be potted off when rooted, nothing but the sand is 
necessary, and, though they may be often watered, no more 
water will stay long in the sand than will be required. I ought 
to have said that when I use only sand I make it very firm. 

I enclose a small quantity of the sand prepared from the 
garden walks. 

[The sand received is quite free from soil, and consists of 
yellow particles, a number of them quite bright and shining, 
like particles of quartz. ] 

August 13. 1842. 


Art. VI. Notice of a new Dahlia Stake invented by Mr. Saul. 
By M. Saut. 


Tue engraving (jig. 40.) shows a stake formed of cast iron and 
wire, which will serve as a protector both to the plant and 
flowers of the dahlia. ‘The lower parts of the protector (a, 5 4, 
and ¢ ¢c,) are all cast together. At cc there are three pieces of 
wire shown, which are put into the moulding-box before the 
metal is poured in, so that, when it is poured into the mould, the 
ends of the wire are so placed that the metal closes round them 
and makes them secure, as shown atcc. The pieces of wire 


dd are put in after this part is cast, by drilling holes through 
GG 3 


454 What constitutes a Florist’s Flower ? 


the casting. The advantage of these 
wires is, that they will bend any way 
to suit the line of the branches and 
flowers. 3B moves like the tube of a 
telescope out of a, and may be set to 
any height by means of a thumb- 
screw shown at e. This tube is 
made of half-inch gas-piping, for the 
purpose of receiving the top (c), also 
of cast iron; and the wires shown in 
it are secured into it in the same 
manner as into the ends (cc). There 
is a piece of strong wire in the under 
side, for fitting into the end of the 
pipe, as shown at g by the dotted 
lines, so that the top is easily taken 
off and put on. To this top a num- 
ber of flowers may be tied, and pre- 
vented from rubbing against each 
other. The moving branch (p) upon 
the tube B is secured by a screw, 
as shown at f; by this means the 
branches of the stake will turn round 
up to the side of the branches of the 
plant, which will be just the reverse 
to the branches c c. Any number 
of these moving branches may be put 
upon the tube B, as may be required 
by the height of the plant. The 
wires in this branch are secured into 
it in the same manner as in the other 
branch. ‘The end of this protector, 
at a, is put into the ground to a suffi- 
cient depth to make it secure. 

A protector might be made with a 
wooden upright axis, with cast-iron 


Fig. 40. Improved Dahlia 
Stake. 


branches to put on it, which would move, and might be secured 
by screws in the same manner as in the iron stake. 
Fort Green Cottage, Garstang, July 31. 1842. 


Art. VII What constitutes a Florist’s Flower ? By W. A. M. 


Fiorist’s Flowers differ from wild flowers and border flowers 
in being so entirely changed by culture as no longer to resemble 
their original type. All plants are not capable of being so 


What constztutes a Florist’s Flower ? 455 


changed, though usually every individual of the same species 
varies slightly from its brethren. Among trees, for instance, 
some will have an erect manner of growth, while others, of pre- 
cisely the same kind, will assume a drooping habit; and amon 
herbaceous plants the colours of the flowers will often materially 
differ, and some even show a disposition to become double. The 
more variable a plant is in a state of nature, the more readily 
will it become changed by the different modes of cultivation 
practised on it, though many plants scarcely differ under any 
circumstances ; and, as a general rule, fewer annuals become 
changed than perennials, and fewer ligneous plants than her- 
baceous. The early floriculturists considered as florist’s flowers 
changed herbaceous plants only; but florists of the present day 
admit not only suffruticose plants, as pelargoniums and some 
calceolarias, but also shrubs, as roses and camellias. 

Flowers, to constitute florist’s flowers, must become subservient 
to certain laws, the chief of which is form. The outline of every 
florist’s flower should be circular, or as nearly so as possible, as 
may be readily perceived by drawing the outline of the most 
esteemed tulips, carnations, pansies, &c. A change of the form 
of the flower, however, is not generally the first departure from 
nature in a plant, but is rather the result of culture or accident: 
a departure from the usual colour of the flower, or normal habit 
of the plant, is, however, by no means unusual; and the former 
constitutes, in conjunction with form, the chief merits of florist’s 
flowers. Let us examine, for example, the flower of the wild 
carnation. In a state of nature, we shall commonly find it vary- 
ing from flesh colour, rarely white, to dark crimson; and the 
outline, instead of being circular, ten-angled: but, by cultivation, 
the flower becomes much increased in size; the stamens are 
metamorphosed into petals, rendering it what is called double; 
by which means, and by the enlargement of the original or 
guard petals, the angles are filled up, and the outline rendered 
circular; the ground colour also changes to pure white, striped 
with crimson, scarlet, pink, or purple, in which case it is called 
a carnation; or with a white or yellow ground, dotted and edged 
with red, purple, or scarlet, it is termed a picotee. The flower, 
however, is not the only part that undergoes a change; the 
whole plant has also departed from the original type; it has 
become much more vigorous, with leaves broader and 
blunter than in the species. ‘The great distinction, however, 
between native species and accidental varieties is, the inca- 
pability of the latter of perpetuating themselves; for, should 
they produce seed, the greater portion of the plants raised 
therefrom will be in a transition stage to the original stock: 
the true way, therefore, to increase or perpetuate varieties is 
only to raise seedlings from the most decidedly marked vari-_ 

GG 4 


456 What constitutes a Florists Flower ? 


ations, and to remove them from the immediate neighbourhood 
of the original species, to which they always have a tendency more 
or less to retreat. The carnation is a familiar example of this, 
for the pure white ground colour of many yarieties gradually 
becomes flushed with pink, and ultimately changes to dark 
crimson, which, in most cases, defies all the art of the florist to 
change again to white. Vegetable physiologists are undecided 
as to the causes of these variations, but the most generally re- 
ceived opinion among florists is, that, in the case of the carnation, 
the running back to the original colour of the species is occa- 
sioned by the application of too powerful stimulants in the culti- 
vation. 

The changes and varieties in the colours of flowers are in- 
numerable, and constitute, as we have before said, one of the 
chief charms of florist’s flowers. No cause is assigned, but 
there appear to exist certain fixed laws by which colour is 
affected ; as the carnation, which in its pristine state is crimson, 
becomes, by cultivation, white, slate-coloured, and dull yellow, 
but never blue, and seldom bright yellow; and the dahlia in- 
cludes varieties of almost every shade of colour, except blue. 

Besides changes in form and colour, florist’s flowers undergo 
transmutations of various organs; for instance, in order to render 
carnations and pinks double a multiplication of petals takes 
place, and the stamens are expanded and become petaloid; the 
rose is rendered double by a multiplication of petals; and the 
anemone by a regular series of transformations of all the organs, 
from the sepals to the pistil. 

Florist’s flowers, of late years, have been very much improved 
by cross-impregnation, not only between varieties of the same 
species, but also between two distinct kinds. Had not Viola 
tricolor been crossed with V. altaica and others, our gardens 
would never have been decorated with large round heartseases 
of every imaginable hue and combination of colours. Cross- 
impregnation, in addition to altering the properties of the 
flower, occasions a considerable change in the habits of plants; 
thus the large fine flowers that are produced on tall diffusive- 
growing plants may, by careful hybridisation, be produced on 
dwarf thickset plants; and bright-coloured flowers without a 
dark spot to relieve them, may have the spot given them b 
carefully crossing them with some allied spotted kinds. Now 
that the theory of hybridisation is so well understood, a vast 
-untrodden plain lies open to the florist, which, in the course of a 
few years, will doubtless be productive of many unexpected 
novelties ; new races will be springing up every day, and the 
already numerous varieties of plants increased ten-fold. As 
proof of this, we have only to look at the numbers of new roses 
and calceolarias that are brought into notice every season, A 


Construction of Melon, Pine, and Plant Pits. 457 


few years since we should have looked in vain for those large 
and fine varieties of calceolarias exhibited every year by Mr. 
Green at the horticultural exhibitions; and, had any florist 
predicted such changes, he would have been considered by his 
brethren as nothing more nor less than a madman. 

Varieties are often produced, however, without reference to 
the circumstances above-mentioned, though they constitute the 
principles on which florist’s flowers are produced. ‘The other 
causes which often produce variations from the normal type of 
species are, climate, exposure, heat, cold, and winds; but the 
effects resulting from these circumstances are rarely of long 
duration when the individual is removed from the influence of 
one of them; and, consequently, they cannot be considered when 
treating of florist’s flowers, and the reasons for their changes. 

Canterbury, July, 1842. 


Art. VIII. On the Construction of Melon, Pine, and Plant Pits, 
with Details, &c., and general Remarks. By J. R. 


As you yourself first impressed me with the wholesome lesson 
of never considering myself incompetent to the investigation of 
any likely subject, you must not now be surprised at finding me 
treating of one so much out of my line. But the fact, that, in 
many gentlemen’s gardens, while the show and fruiting-houses 
are complete and perfect in every respect, the pits are sadly 
neglected, has often struck me, and forcibly reminded me of the 
condition of the lower classes ; for I look upon those fine houses 
as being equally dependent upon the humble pits for their 
grandeur, as the aristocracy are for their trappings of state 
upon the industrious and laborious part of the community. 
Then, let the proud and mighty conservatory, with its borrowed 
plumes, listen to the simple story of the construction of the pit. 
Let the gay and gaudy greenhouse suffer its more humble sup- 
porter to enjoy a passing glance from the public eye: and, while 
the extensive peach-house (with its majestic eccupant, stretching 
his sinewy limbs over an immense space) must not despise its 
_ lowly neighbour, the luxuriant vinery, with its luscious grapes, 
and glowing in all the pride of use and beauty, should reverence 
its foster-mother, the pit. In fact, to neglect the pit is sheer in- 
gratitude; and as bad as a breach of the fifth commandment. 

I shall at once discard the tottering shattered frames of rotten 
wood, and come direct to the substantial pit of bricks and mortar. 
Ihave no pretensions as tothe management of pits, only as to build- 
ing them. Where ground is liable ta be flooded, as is frequently 
the case here, the pits must only be sunk 12 or 15 inches below 
the general surface, and a drain made along the centre, of brick 


458. Construction of Melon, Pine, and Plant Pits. 


on edge, with bricks flat crosswise covering it; but in ordinary 
high and dry situations they should always be sunk 2 or 8 feet 
below the general surface, and a cavity also cut that depth for 
the linings, which will better retain the heat and be more conve- 
nient for working. 

Fig. 41. is a section of a cucumber and melon pit, sunk 2 ft. 


Fig. 41. Section of a Cucumber and Melon Pit. 


6 in. below the surface. Of course where such pits are built, 
the length will depend on the demand for the produce. ‘The 
front and back walls are built in the pigeon-hole manner, of the 
height shown, and a vacuity is left between them and the brick- 
on-edge divisions. I have shown a trellis in this section resting 
on the bricks covering the vacuities, on which the fruit is to 
rest, to keep it from lying on the soil in the general way. In 
. the section, a is filled in with rough wood, on which is placed 

a layer of dung to prevent the soil (6) from falling through; or it 
might be filled in with rough rubble stone, built in the Cyclo- 
pean fashion, with air vacuities, as being more durable. c is the 
trellis; d, the vacuity; e, the linings, and f{ the ground level. 
A stone shelf may be placed over the vacuity at the back part, 
for holding strawberries in fruit, or similar productions requiring 
plenty of air, as shown. ‘The lights are at an angle of 12° to 
the horizon. In addition to melons and cucumbers, a pit such 
as this, with the trellis removed and the earth filled up higher, 
would be very suitable for the growth of early potatoes, sea-kale, 
asparagus, &c. I am told, by first-rate practical gardeners, that 
this sort of pit is of the best possible construction for the purpose 
intended. 

Fig. 42. is a pine-pit, in which are shown the rough wood or 
rubble, soil, pigeon-holes, linings, level of ground, &c. This 
pit is suitable either for growing pines in their first stages or 
fruiting state. In the back part of this pit, I should also have a 
shelf of wood, supported by small iron brackets, for holding pots 
containing vines or other plants, as shown. ‘The upright lines 
within the walls represent piers under each alternate rafter, 
formed by transverse bricks, to strengthen the walls, as they are 
built of only 43 brick. This pit being necessarily larger, and 


Construction of Melon, Pine, and Plant Pits. 459 


ww are shown at /, and those of 
\ ha _the front wall support the 


‘ij 7 Pipes, as expressed in the sec- 
tion. The lights on this pit 


) are at an angle of 23° to the 


ia 
li 
f i 


) | 
\ 


7 
Pos 


/ q 


Fig. 43. Plan of Part of a Pine-Pit, showing Fig. 44. Section of a Plant- Pit. 
Rogers’s Boiler and Pipes. 


horizon, which is considered to be the most suitable angle for 
the purpose. 
Fig. 44. is a plant-pit, sunk 18 in. into the ground, and filled 


460 Construction of Melon, Pine, and Plant Pits. 


in with suitable material. It may either be heated by hot-air 
flues or hot water, and the pipes supported on 43-inch piers, as in 
the pine-pit. The roof is at an angle of 18° to the horizon. I 
am thus particular in stating that the degrees are taken from 
the level, because gardeners, in general, reckon from the upright, 
which is decidedly wrong; because it makes this paradox, that, 
the lower the pitch, the greater the number of degrees, and vice 
versa; or, the greater the pitch in reality, the less the number 
of degrees in name. This last pit, with the interior altered, 
would be very suitable for vines, &c., in their first and second 
stage, and likewise for early strawberries, &c. I would not 
wholly abandon from the forcing department wooden frames ; for 
one or two, suitable to the lights of other pits, might be useful 
to meet contingencies, and for forcing early common things, 
such as mushrooms, lettuce, radishes, &c.: but good substantial 
brick pits are the best for plants of importance, and the cheapest 
in the long run. J%g. 45. is one of the lights of the plant-pit ; 
Jig. 46., a section of the bearer and lights; fig. 47., upper view 
of bearer, dove-tailed into the plating ; fig. 48., a section of the 


feof Ie hc 


ira) | 


Fig. 46. Section of the pe Ts art) 
Bearer and Lights. Fig. 48. Section of the End 
Plate of the Plant-Pit. 


Z | Fig. 49. Section of the 
er fVAn ANS Sash-Bar. 


Pigs 45. One of the Vig. 47. Upper View of Sash-Bearer, 


. Lights of the Plant- 5 5 / 
Pit, fig. 44. dovetailed into the Wall-Plate. 


end plate, &c.; and fg. 49. a section of the bar. ‘These four 
latter figures are quarter the full size, and are given here that 
gardeners may have their pits built without any further drawings. 
When the lights are longer than fg. 45., they should have an 
iron strengthening rod across the bars; and they should measure 
exactly 3 ft. 54 in. wide (for then each space will admit of 6-inch 
glass), 14 in. thick, and the styles 2 in. wide at top and sides, and 
3in. at the bottom. ‘The plates should be made of chestnut, 
the bearers of Memel timber, and the lights of red deal. 

An idea has just occurred to me, with regard to. airing pits, 
which I here offer as a hint to be improved on. We frequently 
see flower-pots, pieces of wood, &c., put under frames to hold 


Construction of Melon, Pine, and Plant Pits. 461° 


them up, but these are, at best, very clumsy affairs; and since I 
find the practice of raising the frames at the sides, instead of 
lengthwise, to be gaining ground, one cannot reach to the 
middle, when the pits are wide, to insert the props. Now, I 
thought of an iron rod to raise all the frames at once, and to the 
saine angle; in the manner of a filleted window-blind or the 
luffer-boarding of a stable window. For this purpose I would 
have a hook (, fig. 50.) fixed to the middle of both sides of each 


<— <A ===> 
° NN . x 
a \ NN ONG NE ‘ N 
A —— A. ——. ———— SX = x 
re SR 2 ee ws ale l GC OF eo @ 
SS g lef 


Fig. 50. A Mode of simultaneously raising the Sashes of a Pit for Ventilation. 


frame, and holes in the flat part of the iron rod m, to catch on’ 
these ; the ends of the rod having a series of holes to graduate 
the height; and, when drawn along, to be fixed with a staple to 
an upright stanchion (7) placed at each end of the pit. When 
the lights were to be raised the reverse way, it would be only’ 
hooking on the rod to the opposite sides of the frames. By this 
simple contrivance the frames may all be raised at once, and to 
a pitch that the glass may receive the rays of the morning and 
evening sun perpendicularly, while it catches that of the midday 
sun at an angle of incidence. It would, however, require more 
than the strength of one man to draw the rod; and I throw out 
the hint that it may be improved upon, and in order that some 
young gardener may contrive a simple method of working it, 
There are other sorts of pits that may be found necessary, 
but these here given embody the elements of the whole, and 
they may be varied in width or height, by intelligent gardeners, 
so as to suit for any sort of succession pits. I have the sanction 
of the best practical gardeners, in saying that common hotbeds, 
with air chambers or vaults underneath, and with air tubes from 
them to adjacent mushroom beds, &c., are quite useless; and 
the same parties, after the experience of years, look upon those 
figured in the foregoing paper as being both as simple and as 
perfect as they can be made, according to the present best 
known methods of raising and forcing, &c. 
- Having now endeavoured to show the means by which the 
amelioration of the humble pit may be effected, I shall suffer 
the conservatory and greenhouse to resume their claims upon 
public attention, and to go on rejoicing in all the splendour of 
their gay and beautiful furniture; trusting that they will always 
bear in mind (which ail grateful show houses, as well as persons, 


462. Notes on planting Timber Trees in Scotland. 


should do) the humble beings by which they were raised to, 
and are now sustained in, their present grandeur. 
Chatsworth, July 20. 1842. 


Art. 1X. Desultory Notes on planting Timber Trees in Scotland. 
By Scotus. 


As planting in Scotland has, during the last twenty years, been 
carried on pretty extensively, it may not be uninteresting to 
some of your numerous readers south of the Tweed, to peruse a 
few desultory notes on the subject, which I am able to make from 
practice and observation. I need not say that, during the above 
period, the principal tree employed has been larch, and that it 
has been planted in masses, clumps, and belts, or, as we deno- 
minate the latter here, stripes. ‘The Scottish lairds have not 
been slow to follow the instruction of their forefathers, ‘* Be aye 
stickin’ in a tree, Jock; it will be growin’ when ye’re sleepin’: ” 
but they have done no more than stick in the tree; at least nine 
tenths of them have, after said operation, never ‘‘ fashed” them- 
selves about the matter; and the consequencesare truly distressing, 
as I shall more particularly advert to in the sequel. The be- 
nefits derived from the numerous plantations that are now seen 
every where in the Highlands of the Lowlands (if I may use 
such an expression) are very considerable; and on this subject: 
your readers will find some interesting observations in the 
Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, by Mr. Jackson of Pennicuick. 
As above stated, our plantations are in masses, clumps, or 
belts. The first of these is almost the only form in which we 
can pretend to any thing approaching to the picturesque; for 
here the fence of the plantation may be entirely or nearly kept 
out of sight, while in the two latter modes this is almost im- 
possible. Ifa plantation is made for beauty and profit, as regards 
wood, the mass is certainly the most desirable; but the clump 
and the belt are by no means destitute either of beauty or use- 
fulness: indeed, as regards the latter quality, I will venture to say 
that in many districts the country has been benefited 50 or 100 
per cent, by the numerous belts stretching their protecting arms 
around what are now lowly green pastures, but before the 
encircling stripe was formed were barren heathy uplands. 
Clumps and stripes of plantation, too, come within the limits of 
many a one who cannot give land for a mass ; and, if a little per- 
suasion would induce proprietors to carry this most useful 
improvement a little further, one object of this epistle will be 
gained. ‘There is an error which a great many proprietors fall 
into, in forming belts of plantation, namely, that of making them 
too narrow. This is a short-sighted policy, and arises often from 


Notes on planting Timber Trees in Scotland. 463 


their listening too much to their tenants, who usually grudge 
every morsel of land taken off the farm for this purpose. It is 
the custom here, in agricultural leases, to reserve to the landlord 
power to take from the farm what land he may wish for planting, 
upon his allowing to the tenant a deduction from his rent 
for it, as the same shall be fixed by arbitration. No sooner 
does the landlord declare his intention of planting, say a clump, 
than the tenant declares it to be ‘the very soul of the farm,” 
while to other people it looks like a very ordinary bit of land 
or if a belt along the foot of the hill, around the ring fence of the 
farm, is proposed, the answer is, “It’s an unco gude bit for the 
sheep :” and, if the landlord boldly goes on to take the bit of 
land, the arbiters lay on the tawse smartly in fixing the deduction 
of rent in consequence, so that the landlord gets disgusted, and 
the planting is abandoned. Instead of this course, let the 
landlord, before the end of a lease, consider the matter well, and 
stake off his land for his plantation, and he will find that what is 
taken off makes a wonderfully small diminution, if any, in the 
sum offered for the farm. So much for the time when a plant- 
ation ought to be made. 

Our severest blasts of wind here are from the south-west and 
west, as may be seen from our trees bending to the east. Our 
belts therefore, as far as practicable, run from north to south, and 
from north-west to south-east, though this is of course varied by 
situation and convenience. ‘They ought never to be less than 
sixty yards wide; and, if twenty or forty more yards can be added 
to their width, the shelter will not only be greater, and the wood 
better, but they will look much handsomer; and, if they are 
wide enough to allow a roadway along the centre of the belt, 
it will be found a great advantage, both in giving access to the 
wood for carting, when it is of a size fit for useful purposes, and 
also when it is young, in affording facilities of inspecting the 
wood with a view to thinning, which, alas! is so much neglected. 
Most proprietors know the advantage of a march fence; they 
would, in many cases, find it greatly to their benefit and not much 
more expensive to have a march stripe, for which each coter- 
minous proprietor should give forty or fifty yards, having a read 
in the centre along the actual line of march, or it might be more 
convenient if the stripe were for so much of its length on one 
man’s land and so much on the other. By this latter mode, 
each would be able to thin his own wood to his liking; and this 
is of greater consequence in a stripe than in almost any other 
form of plantation, and in stripes is almost always neglected. 
There is a passage in your Suburban Gardener, p. 470., as to 
thinning, which ought to be hung up over the mantel-pieces of 
our Scottish lairds. Ido not think I could name ten plantations 
in the South of Scotland where the trees are sufficiently thinned ; 


464. Notes on planting Timber Trees in Scotland. 


and the reason you always get for its not being done is, “*Oh 
the trees are of no use as wood, and they make excellent shelter.” 
Now, in the first place, what is the use of planting thick ? It may 
be said the trees shelter one another; this is a mistake as 
regards young trees, for by the time a tree is big enough to 
afford shelter, his neighbour is as large, and can give as much 
shelter as he can: then the expense of thinning, when the trees 
are worthless, is considerable, and it requires a bold hand to 
cut down a fine thriving tree. I would say therefore, if you 
have not courage to thin (though I am rather an advocate for 
thick planting), plant sparingly. In belts it is peculiarly ne- 
cessary to thin. A belt is planted for shelter; and for twenty 
years perhaps, though that is the utmost limit, a belt, planted 
as thickly as it is generally planted, will form a good shelter, but 
after that period the shelter becomes less and less. ‘The trees 
come to be without a single branch on the stem for ten feet 
upwards at least; they are unhealthy, their roots being choked ; 
the wind makes fearful havoc among them; and, at the end of 
the second twenty years, there will be but a few stragglers left to 
tell the melancholy fate of their departed brethren: and, observe, 
these stragglers are on the outside of the belt, and possibly on 
the most exposed side; but where they have had a little more 
justice in point of room, and got accustomed to the blast. But, 
if a belt is thinned so that the lateral branches barely touch one 
another, the tree becomes feathered nearly to the ground, and a 
dense mass of foliage or branches remains to arrest the progress 
of the wind, and the desired shelter is gained. ‘The trees, 
though not so tall, are healthy and in a more natural state; their 
roots have room; and they stand their ground amid the winter 
storms, which with us are neither few nor far between. 

A great objection to planting being carried on more ex- 
tensively than it has hitherto been is the great expense of 
enclosing. In pastoral countries “a dry stane dike” is almost 
necessary. Your English readers, or some of them, may require 
to be told that this is a wall built of stones without mortar. It 
is generally about 43 or 5 feet high, and costs from 6s. to 13s. 
per rood of 183 ft. This, as above stated, is the most expensive 
part of the plantation, but one of the most important; if good 
durable stone is to be had in the immediate neighbourhood, in 
spite of the heavy outlay, it is the cheapest, the most durable, 
and satisfactory fence, in the long run. But a great many plant- 
ations have been made with no other fence than a ditch and turf 
wall, or as we call them “ feal dikes,” with a single railing of 
paling along the top. This is a cheap fence and is put up, ~ 
paling included, for about Is. 6d. per rood. The cost will 
scarcely be a year’s interest of the outlay on a stone dike; but 
it requires constant attention, as cattle are apt to rub it down, 


Notes on planting Timber Trecs in Scotland. — 465 


and sundry other misfortunes to happen to it. However, with 
a very moderate degree of care, it will answer, and in many 
situations has answered, all the purposes of the stone dike, and, 
so far as appearances go, it is much prettier to look at. I 
do not approve of sowing whins on these dikes; for, unless they 
are regularly switched, they spread into the adjoining fields, and 
become a great nuisance, and are often destroyed by frost. 

Drainage.— Draining is requisite in a plantation, which also 
is much neglected: by draining, I mean particularly surface 
drains; these can be made at a very small cost; about a penny 
a rood for the ordinary sheep drains, which they resemble, 20 in. 
wide at top, 14 in. at bottom, and about 12 in. deep. The be- 
nefit of these drains is immense, in drying the ground, and it is 
worthy of attention to observe that along the line of drain, upon 
the stuff thrown out, the trees beat their neighbours; and you 
can often follow out the line of drain, by looking along the tops 
of the young trees, which, in the above situation, are so much 
more vigorous than their neighbours, that they sometimes re- 
semble a hedge on a bare part of the plantation. 

If a stone dike is made, there ought to be, in about every 
hundred yards, a set of steps, forming a stile, for crossing into 
the plantation. This will be found a great saving to the wall, 
if sportsmen and their dogs are in the habit occasionally of fol- 
lowing game into it, for both man and dog will prefer the easiest 
point for getting over the fence, and they will not pull down a 
stone or two, every time they pass, to the danger of their legs, 
and the detriment of the fence. Young plantations are a great 
shelter for hares, and, if it is wished to give them access, let 
pens or conduits, 12 in. by 9in., be made also, every 100 or 200 
yards, inthe dike. Neither these, nor the stiles, will add a six- 
pence to the original contract price of the dike. Let these pens 
or conduits, however, be shut up in autumn, whenever the corn 
is cut; as, when the hares lie in the plantation, and feed out of it, 
they are easily snared on the runs leading to the pens. The 
pens for the hares should be opened about the beginning of 
March, and the keeper should look sharp to them. Any gate 
to the plantation should be boarded, so as to prevent hares 
passing in or out; for, if this is not done, it is the poacher’s 
harvest field with his net. During the months of October to 
March, inclusive, the hares will take the dike at any part, when 
they wish access, but the young ones are not able to do it. 
The pens are useful also for young partridges and pheasants pass- 
ing to and from the cover. 

Edinburgh, July 1842. 


3d Ser.—1842. IX. HOU 


466 Jaubert and Spach’s 


REVIEWS. 


Art. 1. Illustrationes Plantarum Orientalium ; ou Chotx de Plantes 
nouvelles, ou peu connues, del Asie Occidentale. Par M. le Comte 
Jaubert, Membre de la Chambre des Députés, et M. Ed. Spach, 
Aide-Naturaliste au Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. 
Ouvrage accompagné d’une Carte géographique nouvelle, en 4 
Jfeuilles, par M.le Colonel Lapie, contenant les principaux Itinéraires 
des Voyageurs Botantstes, depuis le 16e Siecle jusqu’ a nos Jours. 
A Selection of new or rare Plants from Western Asia, &c. <A la 
Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Rue Hautefeuille, No. 10. 
bis. Livraisons I. et II. Paris, 1842. 


In order to give an idea of what the reader may expect from this work, 
we give a translation of the preface. 


J will explain the circumstances which gave rise to this work, and the plan of 
its execution. Imbued, from my earliest youth, with a lively taste for the study 
of plants, I explored the South of France,the Alps, the Pyrenees, Australia, and 
Italy, successively and several times over ; at first in company with the unfortu- 
nate Jacquemont, whose premature death is deplored by science, and afterwards 
alone, without interfering with the contribution I made to the Flora of the 
Centre of France, published by my friend, M. Boreau, director of the botanic 
garden at Angers.* Since 1819, scarcely a year has elapsed that I have not 
made a botanical excursion. The flora of the Mediterranean had particularly 
occupied my attention, and my researches there had given me an imtense 
desire to pursue my studies towards the East. In the spring of 1839, I re- 
solved, at last, to put this idea into execution. I had the good fortune to join 
M. Charles Texier, whose splendid archzeological labours in Asia Minor have 
been so justly appreciated, and who was then setting out on his fourth ex- 
pedition. It was impossible to find a more certain guide, or a more agreeable 
companion, for the journey, in every respect. We saw, in company with each 
other, that portion of Asia Minor which comprehends Smyrna and Ephesus, the 
valley of the Meander, Geyra and Mount Cadmus in ancient Caria, ancient 
Phrygia, the chain of the Olympus of Bithynia, Broussa, Nicea, Nicomedia, 
and Constantinople. 

“ My health, which was affected by the climate, prevented me exploring 
further; but, although I could only accomplish a part of the task I had im- 
posed on myself, nevertheless, devoted as I was exclusively to botanising, and 
furnished with all the ostensible means of making a rich collection, I have 
brought back a great number of interesting plants, among which there are 
some new ones. I was proceeding to publish these plants, when 1 was un- 
expectedly called to the ministry of public works. This infidelity to botany 
was not to be of long duration. As soon as I regained my liberty, my first 
thought was to resume my intention of publishing. To proceed with any 
advantage to science it was necessary to examine the collections brought from 
the same countries by preceding travellers, in the rich herbariums of the 
museum, of my honourable colleague M. B. Delessert, and of several other 
distinguished men of science. As my labour advanced, the horizon extended 
before me ; and as the desire of studying the flora of the Mediterranean had 
led me into Asia Minor, I was, in the same manner, induced, by the intimate 
relation that exists between the vegetation I had just explored and that of the 
whole of Western Asia, to make myself master of the general features which 


* 2 vols. in 8vyo. Roret, Paris, 1840. The types of the species described 
in the Flora of the Centre of France have been deposited by M. Saul, our 
fellow-labourer, and myself, at Bourges, in the museum of the department. 


Mlustrationes Plantarum Orientalium. 467 


characterise this vast region. I found myself surrounded with an immense 
quantity of materials, either imperfectly known, or entirely inedited. Col- 
lections which appeared exhausted furnished me, every instant, with objects 
worthy of being brought to light. Who would believe, for example, that, 
among the works of Tournefort on the East, there is still matter to be gleaned 
after Desfontaines and so many others ? Of this, however, I have been con- 
vinced in examining the herbarium of this great naturalist, his manuscripts, 
and the original drawings of his intelligent artist, Aubriet, which were com- 
municated to me by the kindness of M. A. de Jussieu. 

““ Among recent collections there are none more complete than those of 
Aucher-Eloy, who died at Ispahan in 1838, a true martyr to science, after 
ten years of travels almost entirely devoted to the region of which I have 
been speaking. The principal part, containing more especially the unique 
specimens, is deposited in the museum, and has been arranged by M. A. 
Brongniart : the rest is distributed in different herbariums in Paris and abroad. 
In Paris, M. Delessert, M. Webb, author of the Natural History of the Canary 
Islands, M. Maille, and myself possess a considerable part of it. The im- 
portance of the discoveries of this intrepid traveller may be judged of by 
reading the volumes of Prodromus Systematis universalis Regni vegetabilis of 
DeCandolle, which appeared in 1836. The widow of Aucher-Eloy, whom I 
had the honour of visiting at Constantinople, intrusted me with her husband’s 
MSS., among which are his Journal of 1835, and that of 1837 and 1838, both 
remarkable for the variety of observations they contain, even out of the pale 
of botany: they may bear a comparison, if not in a literary point of view, at 
least for the interest which is attached to those perilous travels, with the 
_ letters of Jacquemont written from India. I propose, with the authority of 

Mme. Eloy, to make it the subject of a separate publication, after having ar- 
ranged the manuscript ; accompanying it with notes to elucidate the bo- 
tanical notices interspersed throughout, and giving figures of the plants 
themselves. 

“Thus, instead of limiting myself to the plants of the East which I gathered 
myself, I have been led to make known, by descriptions and engravings, 
certainly not a// the unnoticed or little known species of Western Asia (this 
would be a gigantic enterprise in point of labour and expense), but at least 
an extensive selection of those species, reserving the power of giving more or 
less extension to my plan according to circumstances. It is a sort of elastic 
frame which I am going to open for one of the finest divisions of botanical 
geography, and as a resort which I propose for the researches of the learned 
who have already, or may yet have occasion to be engaged there. I have been 
informed that M. Boissier of Geneva, author of the Botanical Journey into 
the South of Spain, has begun, almost at the same time as myself, to investi- 
gate the plants of Aucher-Eloy, but no one has as yet thought of giving 
engravings of them. The public cannot be otherwise than benefited by these 
simultaneous efforts. 

“The nature of my selection excludes, for the present at least, all idea of 
a systematic order by families and genera. It will not be prudent, or even 
possible, till after a long acquaintance with the plants of this region, and of 
all the works bearing on it, to think of offermg to the public a methodic 
enumeration, a sort of flora of Western Asia: we must only aim at this 
object. If I cannot attain it, I shall at least have contributed to prepare for 
others the accomplishment of a work which is much wanted in a scientific 
point of view. 

“ Once engaged in this career, I soon found that my single powers were not 
sufficient for a work of such extent. I was therefore obliged to secure the 
assistance of a man of science who was already of some authority ; and I 
was fortunate enough to obtain that of M. Spach, assistant naturalist at the 
museum, well known by works evincing sound criticism, and by his co-opera- 
tion with M. de Mirbel in the most delicate researches of vegetable physiology. 

HH 2 


468 . Jaubert and eG s 


We have, eheretor e, undertaken this work in concert, to which I shall devote 
all my leisure. 

“The region we are about to examine comprehends all Asia Minor, 
Armenia, Geor gia, to the summits of the chain of the Caucasus; a part of 
Persia, to the great Salt Deserts, and to the frontier of Belouchistan ; lastly, 
Moscat and Zemen, which are to be the subject of a separate publication begun 
by M. Decaisne. 

“Tn all ages, the irresistible attraction of Europe towards the East, to 
which history y and politics bear testimony, has also had its effect on botanical 
travellers. The following enumeration will give an idea of what they have 
done, and of the resources they have prepared for us. The French have been 
the most active, and this has been an additional motive for confirming me in 
my under taking. I was of opinion that, by attaching myself to a branch of 
the human sciences in which the French have excelled, I was contributing, 
within the limits of my means, to the honour of my country. 

“The first of this series is a Frenchman, Pierre Belon, a native of Mons, 
about the year 1546. 

“From 1573 to 1575, Rauwolf of Augsburg explored Palestine, Syria, and 
Mesopotamia : his narrative is written in 1583. The systematic catalogue of 
his plants was not published till 1755, by Gronovius, at Leyden. 

“In 1615, Bachelier brought to France the horsechestnut, on his return 
from the Levant. 

“ Our immortal Tournefort, one of the great reformers of botany, and the 
accomplished model of travellers, travelled over Georgia, Armenia, and the 
North of Asia Minor, in 1700, by order of Louis XIV. 

“ Sherard, English consul at Smyrna in 1702, lived there for a considerable 
time, and made several excursions in the neighbouring provinces. 

“In 1728, Buxbaum published the result of his travels in Armenia, and 
several other countries of the Levant. 

“In 1738, the work of Shaw, the botanist and antiquary, appeared. 

« Guilandin is nearly about the same period. 

“In 1749, Hasselquist, the disciple of Linneus, explored the neighbourhood 
of Smyrna, ‘Palestine, and Syria. 

“Towards 1761, Forskal, the companion of Niebuhr in Arabia, touched at 
Constantinople and Smyrna. 

“ Sestini, in 1779, described part of the ancient Bithynia, and the peninsula 
of Cyzicus; in 1781-82, and 1787, he visited almost all Turkey, and advanced 
as far as Bassora. 

“In 1784, Michaux, who at a later period brought into France the materials 
for the Flora of Nor th Ameri ica, proceeded to Aleppo, under the auspices of 
Lemonnier, and explored several provinces of Turkey and Persia, including 
Ghilan. 

** Sibthorp, in 1786-87, and 1794, herborised Mount Olympus twice, pro- 
ceeded along the coast of Asia Minor, and stopped at the islands, particularly 
at Cyprus. 

“ Labillardiére, in 1787, made a tour in Syria. 

“In 1792, Olivier and Bruguiére were sent into Turkey and Persia, on a 
scientific mission, by the Executive Provisionary Council, in which Monge and 
Rollaud presided: they remained six years. 

More recently, when the love of the natural sciences has become greatly 
extended, Dumont d’Urville, Bélanger, Botta, Bové, Dubois, Ravergie, Coque- 
bert de Montbret *, and par ticularly Aucher-Eloy, all Fr enchmen ; ; Webb, 
Riippel, Schimper, Fleischer, Kotschy, and Ehrenberg, have explored our 


* M. Webb, who is in possession of the plants of Coquebert de Montbret, 
has had the kindness to place them at my disposal. 


Tllustrationes Plantarum Orientalium.. 4.69: 


region in every direction, and accumulated in their herbariums the plants of 
the East. The expedition of Col. Chesney on the Euphrates and Tigris, 
opening new routes to English enterprise, has also not been without its 
advantage to botany. 

“For the Caucasian district alone, the Germans and the Russians, following 
in the train of military expeditions, have, for the last twenty years, rendered 
incalculable services to botany. I will only name, at present, Bieberstein, 
Szovits, C. A. Meyer, and Hohenacker. A notice of their labours, as well as 
of those which belong to the last age, may be seen in the essay of M. Trautvet- 
ter, entitled Grundriss einer Geschichte der Botanik mm Bezug auf Russland 
(Sketch of a History of Botany with regard to Russia), extracted from the 
Memoirs of the Academy of St. Petersburg. 

“ Tn establishing, as it were, the foundation of a flora of Western Asia, it 
was indispensable to add to our I/lustrationes a geographical chart of this 
region, tracing out the principal itineraries of botanical travellers. I have 
noted them down myself, with the greatest care, from all the documents which 
I have been able to procure: that of Michaux is extracted from the inedited 
collection of manuscripts of botanists which forms part of the gallery of 
M. B. Delessert. These travels have supplied me with valuable information, 
not only as to the localities mentioned in the herbals, and the habitat of 
plants, but also on the deficiencies in geography itself. The grand works of 
M. Texier on Asia Minor, Armenia, and Persia, and the beautiful general map 
of Persia on which Col. Lapie has been engaged for a length of time, will 
throw great light on these countries; but they have both agreed, till their 
important labours are published, to lend their aid in the construction of a 
particular map to answer our purpose, © All the itineraries of M. Texier are 
also marked ; so that it will serve as an index map to his Aélas. We have 
thought it advisable to add the itineraries of Corancez, and of my colleague, 
M. Léon de la Borde, both Frenchmen, but not botanists, no less on account 
of the individual merit of the works, than of their connexion with the travels 
of M. Texier, 

_ ‘We have been careful to mark on the chart all the authentic indications 
which we have been able to procure of the heights of places above the level 
of the sea. Many of these indications are from the barometrical observations 
of M. Texier, revised by Col. Delcros, who has been of the utmost assistance 
te us in this part of our labour. We are confident that our chart will be of 
ereat assistance to botanists, whether in facilitating the classification of the 
localities in herbals, or in calling their attention to points still unexplored ; 
we even hope that it will be adopted by all travellers, whatever may be the 
object of their researches. ; 

“ Cre. JAUBERT, Member of the Chamber of Deputies. 

“ Paris, Feb. 1. 1842.” . 


Liy. 1. contains descriptions and figures of Texicra glastifolia Jaub. et Spach 
(Peltaria glastifolia Dec.), Boerhaavia orientalis J. et S., Syrendpsis stylosa 
J. et S.; all cruciferous plants. Silene echinata O#th., Tunica brachypétala 
J. et S., Dichogléttis tubulosa J. ef S.; all silenaceous plants. Sedum 
cariénse J. ef S.; Crassulaceze. Jaubértia Atcheri Gwillem.; Rubiacee. Va- 
leridna alliarizefolia Vahl ; Valerianee. Acréphilon Picris J, ef S.; Synan- 
théreee. 

Liv. 1. contains Hetoréchroa minuartiotdes J. et S.; H. sperguleefolia J. et 
S.; Silénez. Abies orientalis Poir. (a repetition of Mr. Lambert’s figure, 
with some slight variations, as the authors acknowledge in a note). Campy- 
lopus cerastidides Spach, Hypéricum origanifolium Welld., H. Tournefortiz 
J. et S., H. Jaubértzi Spach, H. ptarmiceefolium Spach, H. adendétrichum 
Spach, H. rupéstre J, ef S., H. nanum Poir., H. anagallididides J. et S.; 
all rubiaceous plants. 

HH 3 


470 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


Art. II. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


ALG Maris Mediterranei et Adriatici, Observationes in Diagnosin Specierum et 
Dispositionem Generum. Auctore Jacobo G. Agardh. The Algze of the 
Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, &c. 8vo, pp. 157. Paris, 1842. 


Eighty-three genera and two hundred and ninety three species are described, 
with their synonymes, habitats, and every other desirable particular. They 
are arranged under the following six tribes: —Ceramice, Cryptonémez, 
Chondriéze, Rhodomelez, Spherococcérdez, and Delesseriée. 


Remarks on the Management, or rather the Mis-Management, of Woods, Planta- 
tions, and Hedge-row Timber. By J. West, Land-Agent, &c. &c., North 
Collingham, Néwark, Notts. 8vo, pp.128. Newark and London, 1842. 


In looking over this work for an extract to quote, we were glad to find the 
following : — 

“ My own experience, as well as that of many others whom I have con- 
sulted, convinces me that the notion, which so extensively prevails, as to the 
injurious effects of pruning, is decidedly incorrect. It may have had its origin 
in the evidence of injury to timber, which has been furnished by injudicious 
pruning ; and thus what would have else been universally seen to be necessary 
has come to be almost universally condemned : but this is a common error, 
and has been too often shown to render it ne¢essary for me to expose it here. 
Some very valuable observations on pruning have been published by Mr. Main, 
in’ his excellent little work, entitled « The Forest Planter and Pruner’s As- 
sistant.’ At p.53. the following paragraph occurs : —‘ But the only part of 
a woodman’s duty which does not appear to be well defined, or at least not 
generally agreed upon by practical men, is relative to the necessity of carefully 
pruning and managing the trees during the first fifteen or twenty years of their 
growth.’ ~ 

“ T quote the last member of the above with entire approbation; that is, so 
far as the necessity for pruning is recognised in it; and I further think that 
the reasons which are given by Mr. Main for pruning, and the manner in which 
he has illustrated his principle — the clear and satisfactory way in which he 
has treated the whole subject — entitle him to the confidence, and to the 
thanks, of all who are interested in the growth of trees.” (p.89.) 

‘Mr. Main’s is an able and lucid examination of the question of pruning, 
and, to my thinking, most fully and satisfactorily settles it. He shows that 
when pruning is properly done, and when it is commenced early enough, and 
so managed as to secure the desired result in fifteen or twenty years, it may 
not only be done with safety, and without material injury to the timber, but 
that no other plan or practice will answer so well. This he clearly proves 
upon scientific data, familiarly illustrated by numerous plates, and confirmed 
by practical statements.” (p. 92.) 

“‘ Every considerable estate ought to have a person upon it, whose attention 
shall evelusively be devoted to the supervision of the woods, plantations, and 
hedge-rows, &c. He should be a well-educated and an intelligent man; and 
should be so well paid for his services, as to feel that his employer has a moral 
claim upon him, for the entire devotion of his mind, as well as his physical 
powers, to the efficient discharge of his duties.” (p. 118.) 

There is a good deal of useful matter in this book, but it would be greatly 
improved by infusing into it the system of Mr, Billington and Mr. Cree, as 
well as that of Mr. Main. The great advantage of Cree’s system is, that it is 
reduced to a rule as plain as the simplest rule in arithmetic. We recommend 
Mr. West to consult what is written on Mr. Cree’s system in the current 
volume of this magazine, and in that for 1841. The systems of Mr. Billington 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 471 


and of Mr. Main are essentially the same as that of Mr. Cree; but both these 
authors have stopped short of giving the rule of practice, which Mr. Cree has 
done, and in such a manner as to reduce scientific pruning to the highest 
degree of simplicity. 


Illustrations and Descriptions of Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire ; with an Essay 
on Ecclesiastical Design. By G. R. Lewis, Esq., Author of various Works. 
Folio, pp. 40, and 28 plates. London, 1842. 


We noticed Parts 1. and rr. of this work in our preceding volume, 
p. 627.: it is now completed, and forms a very handsome folio, illustrated by 
beautiful engravings. The last of these, which is a folding plate, gives a 
splendid view of Kilpeck, from Dipper’s Moor. 

The church of Kilpeck stands at the distance of about eight miles from 
Hereford, on the road to Abergavenny. It appears to have been founded in 
1104, and given to the Abbey of Gloucester by the lord of Kilpeck Castle. 
After passing through many hands it was sold to John Symonds, Esq., a few 
years ago. Being in a very retired part of the country it has been but little 
visited by strangers; and hence the great value of the present work, depicting 
it in all its details, to antiquarians and architects. Even the gardener may 
derive some hints from it for the formation of flower-borders and antique 
flower-knots, as we hope to show by and by, but not till we have completed 
the Suburban Horticulturist. 


The Practice of making and repairing Roads; of constructing Footpaths, 
Fences, and Drains: also, a Method of comparing Roads, with reference to 
the Power of Draught required; with Practical Observations, intended to 
simplify the Mode of estimating Earth-work in Cuttings and Embankments. 
By Thomas Hughes, Esq., Civil Engineer. 8vo, pp. 108. London, 1838. 


This is a judicious practical work, the contents of which will be understood 
by the following headings to the chapters : — 

Observations on the Necessity for a general Improvement of the common 
Roads. — On the Method of improving an existing Road. The Figure or 
Profile which should be given to the Bed and Surface. Forming the Foot- 
path and Fences. — On the Improvement of Roads by means of pitching the 
Bottom with Stones placed on Edge, as adopted by Mr. Telford on the 
London and Holyhead Road. — On the Improvement of the Highgate Arch- 
way Road, by means of a Concrete Foundation, composed of Gravel and 
Cement.— On the Use of Concrete composed of Gravel and Lime, as a 
Foundation for Roads in places where pitching Stones cannot be procured. — 
On the Drainage of Roads.— On the Means of comparing different Roads, 
and of estimating the Effect of Inclinations, and the other Causes producing 
Resistance to Motion. — On the Method of estimating the Prices of Earth- 
work, and other Kinds of Labour necessary in the Improvement and Repair 
of Roads. 


A Treatise on the principal Mathematical Drawing-Instruments employed by the 
Engineer, Architect, and Surveyor. By F.W. Simms, Civil Engineer and 
Surveyor, &c. &c. Large 12mo, pp. 92, with numerous woodcuts. 
London, 1837. 2s. 6d. 


A useful little work for young gardeners who are teaching themselves to 
draw plans. 


The Ninth Annual Report of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Soeiety. 8vo, 
pp. 166, with several plates. Falmouth and London, 1841. 

Among the various meteorological registers given in the present volume is 
one for 1841, from observations made at Pencarrow, by our correspondent 
Mr. Corbett, gardener there. The following are the headings of his table, and 
the observations which follow it ; both may be useful to gardeners keeping 
registers : — 

HH 4 


4,72 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


Sa Sear ih os 
8 TEMPERATURE. aS) non) Ores 
st = o S 23680 
=) v's Saves 
& war) =~ se <2 3 He) 
2 > oS pom |] Sadt’s 
on ons D ° on 8 3] 3) 
a § & 9 8 £ | ABA | Cue 8 8 
S 5 5 =) = so 2 S 
1841. os Ze 3 5 a ons ge) St > fey fa 
Slab cel fosie esa | ae 
Set acs | a is oad 
a r=) = = a PS oc. 
“AQ a5 3S 
—————————EE 
Grains. Inches. 


“The instruments are placed ona small table, near the centre of the garden, 
fully exposed to the weather, without being sheltered or shaded by trees or 
buildings. This table is about 8 ft. above the surface of the ground, and 
quite level; the rain-gauge, hygrometer, and evaporating basin, stand upon 
it; and the ‘two register thermometers are suspended from the edge, on the 
north side of the table, fully exposed to the airs; but, being a little ‘below the 
edge of the table, the rays of the sun are broken by it. 

© The hottest day for the year was the 29th of April, when the thermometer 
reached 80°, and the 25th of May was nearly the same; the coldest night 
was on the 7th of January, viz. 12°. 

“The observations were made at seven o’clock every morning, when the 
thermometers are adjusted, and the rain measured and booked for the day 
before; that is to say, all the rain that falls between seven o’clock on Monday 
morning and seven o’clock on Tuesday morning is booked for Monday ; 
and the lowest point to which the minimum thermometer reached (as booked 
on the seventh of January) probably actually happened early on the morning 
of the eighth.” 


Report to Her Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, 
from the Poor Law Commissioners, on an Inquiry into the Sanitary Condition 
of the Labouring Population of Great Br itain, with Appendices. Presented 
to both Houses of Parliament, by Command of Her Majesty, July, 1841. 
8vo, pp. 457, with forty plates, London, 1842. 


This Report contains an immense mass of important information on the 
state of the labouring population in almost every part of Great Britain, con- 
densed and arranged, with great judgement, by the secretary of the Commission, 
E. Chadwick, Esq. Every country gentleman, every clergyman, and especially 
every magistrate, ought to possess a copy of this work ; 3 some idea of the con- 
tents of which may be formed from the following headings : — 

I. General Condition of the Residences of the labouring Classes, where 
Disease is found to be the most prevalent.—II. Public Arrangements, external 
to the Residences, by which the sanitary Condition of the labouring Population 
is affected. Drainage. Town Drainage of Streets and Houses. Instances of 
the Effects on the public Health of the ‘Neglect of Town Drainage. Comparative 
Mortality in two similar Towns, one drained, the other undr ained. Street and 
Road cleansing. Road Pavements. House cleansing, as connected with Street 
cleansing and Sewerage. Supplies of Water. Sanitary Effect of Land Drainage. 
— ILI. Circumstances chiefly in the internal Economy and bad Ventilation “of 
Places of Work ; Workmen’s Lodging-houses, Dwellings, and the domestic 
Habits affecting the Health of the labouring Classes. Bad Ventilation and 
overcrowding private Houses. The Want of separate Apartments and over- 
crowding of private Dwellings. Domestic Mismanagement a predisposing 
Cause of Disease.—IV. Comparative Chances of Life in different Classes of the 
Community.—V. Pecuniary Burdens created by the Neglect of sanitary Mea- 
sures. — VI. Evidence of the Effects of preventive Measures in raising the 
Standard of Health and the Chances of Life. Costs to Tenants and Owners of 
the public Measures for Drainage, Cleansing, and the Supplies of Water, as com- 


Literary Notices. 473 


pared with the Cost of Sickness. Employers’ Influence on the Health of Work- 
people, by Means of improved Habitations. The Employers’ Influence on the 
Health of Work-people. Effects of public Walks and Gardens on the Health and 
Morals of the lower Classes of the Population. —VII. Recognised Principles 
of Legislation and State of the existing Law for the Protection of the public 
Health. General State of the Law for the Protection of the public Health. State 
of the special Authorities for reclaiming the Execution of the Laws for the Pro- 
tection of the public Health. State of the Local executive Authorities for th 
Erection and Maintenance of Drains and other Works for the Protection of 
the public Health. Boards of Health, or public Officers for the Prevention of 
Disease. — VIII. Common Lodging-houses the Means of propagating Disease 
and Vice. — 1X. Recapitulation of Conclusions. 

In the appendix is an article by the Reverend Thomas Whateley, of Cookham, 
Berks, on small Farm Allotments, which that gentleman entirely disapproves 
of, as tending to produce desultory habits in the labourer. We wish that, in 
this article, the distinction had been pointed out between cottage or small farm 
allotments, and cottage gardens, which, when not larger than 1 or 4 of an 
acre, as we recommend, can never interfere with the occupier’s duty as a la- 
bourer or mechanic. Many persons denominate cottage allotments those small 
portions of ground in ploughed fieids, not above —1, or =}, of an acre, which are 
sometimes let to cottagers to grow potatoes and vegetables. No one will 
deny that these add much to the comfort of the cottager, though, as we have 
shown in the Supplement to the Encyclopedia of Cottage Architecture, they are 
far inferior, in this respect, to a garden round the cottage. Still we should be 
sorry to see these allotments withheld when nothing better can be obtained, 
and it is this fear that has induced us to point out the difference between the 
cottage allotments of Mr. Whateley, and those usually denominated such. 


The Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures, illustrated with Eleven 
Hundred Engravings. By G. Francis, F.L.S., Author of “ The Analysis 
of British Ferns,” “ The Little English Flora,” “ The Grammar of Botany,” 
&e. S8vo. London, 1842. ‘ 


This is a remarkably cheap book, having come out in 14d. numbers, and the 
entire volume costing only 12s. The nature of the work will be fully under- 
stood by the following extract from the preface : — 

“ The attention of the author of this Dictionary of Arts and Sciences has 
been directed to three objects. — The first, to explain briefly, but plainly, all 
the terms used in architecture, civil engineering, practical mechanics, manu- 
facturing processes, the mathematics, the fine arts, and the experimental 
sciences. The second, to give the origin, properties, and application of all 
chemical substances ; and the third, to record and describe all the apparatus 
and machines employed in natural philosophy; and also those numerous in- 
ventions and contrivances of a mechanical nature, which our periodicals and 
galleries of art abound with, but which are known comparatively to a very few 
persons, though often of the most essential value to the community ; illus- 
trating each article with woodcuts, wherever such could in any way whatever 
lead to the better understanding of the subject.” 


Art. III. Literary Notices. 


SOWERBY’s Illustrated Catalogue of British Plants, arranged according to the 
natural orders, with references to Lindley, Smith, Hooker, &c., will be com- 
menced Noy. Ist, and be continued in monthly numbers. 

The Gardener and Practical Florist will appear on Sept. 3d, and be con- 
tinued weekly. 


4,74 General Notices. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 
Art. I. General Notices. 


TuHE vital Membrane of a dicotyledonous Stem. — What is here and elsewhere 
advanced by us, in opposition to what we have respectfully called the Knightian 
creed, but which, with equal justice, we might have called the DeCandollean, 
or Poiteauian, &c., cannot be well understood by our readers, unless we make 
the following declaration. 

We believe that the vital or living membrane of a dicotyledonous stem is 
a distinct organ, from whence all other growth proceeds: it is the origin of 
every annual layer of wood, and of every layer of liber. It has three very 
visible states of existence during the growing season; first, as a thin gum or 
mucilage; next, of a thicker consistence in summer, when it receives the 
name of cambium; and, ultimately, becomes perfect wood and liber in the 
autumn. Its structure of cells, tubes, and fibres appears to be complete from 
the first, though it is not till near the end of the growing season that the 
various parts of the organisation become visible. A few of the most recently 
deposited layers of alburnum and liber, together with the vital membrane 
itself, are the principal channels for the upward flow of the sap, out of which 
are attracted the elementary gases necessary for the enlargement of the walls 
of the cells and tubes, and for engrossing the ligneous fibres. The rapidity 
of the flow of sap is always in proportion to the perspiratory powers of the 
leaves and rising shoots; for, unless there is an escape, and consequent vacuum 
formed above, no supply can follow from below. 

That the vital membrane, in whatever stage of its annual growth it may be, 
covers the whole exterior of the last year’s alburnum, is perfectly evident, 
and it may always be detected if looked for by frequent incisions. During its 
growth it exhibits its entirety as a united slough or organised body, by pro- 
truding from its station round the lips of a wound to heal it. If a band be 
tied tightly round a stem or branch, the living membrane will endeavour to 
escape from under the compression, by swelling into ridges on each side. It 
sometimes appears oozing out at the base of cuttings, before its fibrous parts 
are resolved into roots. It begins swelling at the base of a lofty tree as 
soon as it does at the top; and, in short, shows itself in so many different 
ways, as leaves no doubt of its identity as a distinct member of the stem, 
separate, and not at all to be identified with the sap, whether in its crude er 
elaborated state. 

The above is but a very loose representation of our ideas on this very 
curious subject. It is intimately connected with the business of pruning 
trees, or we would not have mentioned it at all. In order that what we have 
said may give no offence, we wish to have it understood as hypothetical only, 
and as such recommend it to the notice of our young readers. Our old 
friends, whether practical or scientific, do not like to be persuaded out of 
their senses, nor to have the trouble, by abandoning their early-adopted code 
of opinions, long and fondly cherished, to embrace another which has too 
much novelty and obscurity about it. (., in Gard. Gaz., Aug. 20. p. 542.) 

A Potting-Bench Chopper. (fig. 51.) — One of the greatest improvements of 
the present day in pot culture 1s the use of turfy, rooty, and comparatively 
rough soil, instead of the finely-sifted mould which was formerly considered a 
desideratum in potting and shifting greenhouse and hothouse plants. Among 
other interesting objects which we saw at Dropmore, about a fortnight ago, 
was the stout chopper, jig. 52. The length of the blade is about 9in., and 
the diameter of the head of the hammer, attached to its back, is swelled out 
from the back of the blade to about 11in. The blade is used for chopping up 
turf or rooty peat, and the hammer for breaking any small stones that may be 
in it ; for breaking pieces of free-stone or bone to be added to the soil; and 
for breaking fragments of pots, or other materials, to be used in drainage. It 


General Notices. A475 


Fig. 51. A Potiing-Bench Chopper. 


may seem a very simple implement, but we can assure our readers that Mr. 
Frost, whom we suppose to be its inventor, finds it one of great utility.—Cond. 

Incubation: the Thrush, the Redstart, and the Cuckoo. — Some assert that 
the reason why a cuckoo’s egg is so small, compared with the size of the bird, 
is, that it may be the easier palmed on other birds; but, supposing this were 
not the case, still I think it may be accomplished, and I offer the following as 
a proof: — During this season, I put a thrush’s egg into a redstart’s nest, 
containing three or four eggs, similar in colour, yet much smaller in size, com- 
pared with the thrush’s. Some time afterwards I visited the nest, and found 
it contained four young ones: sure enough one of them was a thrush ; and if 
I had not given more roon, by spreading out the nest (it being in a cavity of 
the wall allowed this), the young thrush would soon have smothered them, 
in a similar way as the young cuckoo does toward the rightful brood of the 
nest. When the thrush became full fledged, I placed it in a cage, with the 
view of trying the foster-parents’ attachment towards it, close to the others in 
the nest. Both fed the young thrush, as well as the others in the nest in the 
cavity in the wall. What was very singular, the cock bird used to feed the 
young thrush with more attachment than the others. On the least approach 
of danger or alarm, the bird would call out, “tweet, tweet, tweet.’ This he 
often uttered, though having a large caterpillar in his beak, the food he fed 
the young thrush with. This is different from what he would have been 
fed on, if brought up by his right parents; worms would have formed his prin- 
cipal diet: yet, the thrush was healthy, and the silly birds were pleased 
with their stately chick, in a similar way as the titling is pleased with the 
cuckoo. 

On the subject of incubation, I will not enter into the disputed points, but 
merely confine myself to a few observations with respect to the mysterious 
habits of the cuckoo. Amongst the opinions hazarded why the cuckoo does 
not rear her brood, are we to suppose that she is deficient in the natural 
qualities of incubation? Increased heat, and friction on the eggs, caused by 
the influence of the breast of the bird, appear to be phenomena in the 
economy of birds similar to that of the production of milk in the Mammalia. 
Fowls will sometimes sit without eggs, nay, upon the bare ground. Some 
will, however, doubt this; but, as Mr. Mudie justly observes: “This is no 
argument against the universality of the affection. Nor can we draw any 
more inference from those cases in which we cannot prevail upon a bird to sit, 
than we can from those in the Mammalia, where a female sometimes cannot 
suckle.” - From the retired habits of the cuckoo, and the time of its depar- 
ture from this country being but imperfectly known, there is still room for a 
good deal of observation about this singular and interesting bird. — John 
Wighton. Cossey Gardens, Aug. 8. 1842. 

Thinnmg and pruning young Plantations. — It is perfectly lamentable to see 
so many plantations completely ruined, for want of this necessary operation at 
an early stage of their growth. It was in by-past times totally neglected ; 
and we are sorry to see it in nowise altered at the present day in very many 
instances, It is a prevailing error to plant very thickly of one common 
mixture; the consequence of which is, that the quick and useless sorts soon 
overtop the more valuable, and that what ought to be the permanent trees, 
Neglect of thinning, following mismanagement in planting, soon carries them 
beyond recovery ; and they become drawn up like whip-sticks, useless either 
for shelter, for a screen, or profit. As an illustration of this ruimous neglect, 


4.76 Foreign Notices : — Germany. 


we are at the present time partly surrounded by plantations that have 
been planted about thirty years with one common mixture of trees, in which 
the birch predominates: they are not more than from 4 ft. to 10 ft. apart, 
and are from 40 ft. to 50ft. high; few of them carry a trunk more than 
Gin. in diameter, at 3 ft. from the ground, and many of them are of much 
less size. Had they been properly thinned in time, they would now have 
served the purpose for which they were intended, viz., shelter and ornament. 
(H., in Gard, Gaz., February 19. 1842.) 


Art. II. Foreign Nolices. 
GERMANY. 


ViENNA, August 3. 1842.— The Railway Company (of the Nordbahn) 
intends to plant fruit and other useful trees along the railway, on those places 
where they will not interfere with the main object: for this purpose, several 
large pieces of ground are preparing for nurseries in different parts along the 
road, which will be stocked from the principal nursery at Florensdorf, near 
Vienna, where they have already planted 60,000 stocks for fruit-trees, part 
of which are to be budded this summer, and the rest grafted next spring. 
Seeds of different fruits and other useful trees, oaks, acers, &c., are also sown 
to obtain a sufficient supply for the branch nurseries; and, as the Company 
purposes to plant only few, but the most approved sorts, suited to the 
different soils and situations along the road-sides, and round the station- 
houses, it is expected that they will do a great deal of good that way. . 
—C. R, 


———— =-= 


Art. III. Domestic Notices. 


ENGLAND. 


Tue Thunder Storm at Walton Hall, August 10. 1842.— During the terrible 
storm of thunder and lightning on Wednesday last, the poplar tree which 
you will see in the picture adjoined to the Hssays, was struck and sadly 
rent. I had passed the day at Leeds with our celebrated Doctor Hobson. 
Having had an early dinner, I felt a great inclination to get home, and 
repeatedly requested that the carriage might be brought to the door. To 
this the doctor obstinately objected, but, finding me unceasing in my entreaties, 
he at last consented, and off we drove. You must know that every body, 
rich and poor, has permission to fish here, from the first of April till the first 
of October. Having reached home, I saw that the thunder storm was just 
going to burst over us; the rain having begun to fall. Seven of the fisher- 
men had collected under the poplar tree ; and on seeing them there, I ran out 
of the house, and warned them of their danger, and desired them to repair, 
without loss of time, to the saddle-room, where they would get shelter from 
the impending storm ; forbidding them, at the same time, to stay for a moment 
under any of the large trees on their way thither, as the consequences might 
be fatal to them. Scarcely had they reached the saddle-room when the 
lightning struck the poplar tree, and sent fragments of it in all directions. 
You may well suppose that we were not long in thanking God Almighty, on 
bended knee, for the escape from death of those who had intended to 
remain under the shelter of the poplar tree, until the storm should have 
passed over.— Charles Waterton. Walton Hall, August 14. 

In a subsequent letter Mr. Waterton informs us that the poplar tree itself is 
of some interest. ‘‘ My father,” he adds, “ brought it, a plantling, in his pocket 
from a gentleman’s house near Doncaster, and planted it where it now stands, 


Domestic Notices : — England. analy 


in the year in which he came of age. It has grown surprisingly, and is, 
perhaps, the largest Lombardy poplar in this neighbourhood. Amongst those 
who had taken shelter under its foliage was a fine handsome recruiting 
sergeant. He has been to fish again to-day; and he told me only an hour 
or so ago, that he had determined to wait under the tree until the storm 
should have passed away ; adding, at the same time, how grateful he was to 
Almighty God for his preservation. He said, he had only just got into the 
saddle-room when the thunder storm burst over us.—C. W. August 17. 1842.” 

~The Sycamore in Garstang Churchyard.— Having accepted Mr. Saul’s kind 
offer (p. 404.) to send us a sketch of the sycamore in Garstang churchyard, 


ee ee 


ae — 


Fig. 52. A remarkable Sycamore in Garstang Churchyard. 


we have had fig. 52. prepared from it. We understand there are some little 
errors in regard to the tombstones, but it is correct as far as it respects the 
tree and the jackdaws sitting on it. Respecting these jackdaws, Mr. Saul 
has the following observations. ‘‘ A short time ago,” says Mr. Saul, “ I was at- 
tending the funeral of a departed friend, whose grave was near this sycamore 
tree. Having taken my station between the tree and the clergyman, my at- 
tention was very forcibly arrested by two jackdaws whose bodies were about - 
half-protruded from tiie body of the tree. They appeared accustomed to 
such occasions, and seemed to me as if they too were joining in the present 
solemnity, as their heads and eyes were directed to the reverend gentleman 
while he was reading the burial service in a most impressive and solemn 
manner. After the conclusion of the service, according to the custom of the 
place, the bell commenced raising its melodious sound, to remind those present 
of the royal psalmist, when he cried out: ‘ Let me know the end and the 
number of my days, that I may be certified how long I have to live.’ It 
appeared to me, when the bell commenced, that the birds began to move their 
heads, as if they were beating time to the bell, and joining with the people in 
the above portion of the psalm. As soon as the bell ceased, and the people 
began to depart, the birds withdrew into the tree. I went the next day to 


478 Retrospective Criticism. 


examine the tree, and found it quite hollow, from the ground upwards, through 
the trunk, and into the main branches.— MM. Saul. Fort Green Cottage, 
Garstang, July, 1842.” 


Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism. 


Fruit Corridors. — In looking over the Gardener’s Magazine for May, I 
find a paper (p. 273.) by Mr. Forsyth, very interesting on account of its novelty, 
but which, I fear, may tend to mislead. I agree with Mr. Forsyth entirely m 
the subject of his exordium, viz. that an extremely fruitful garden is a source 
of the highest gratification ; but about the means of obtaining such I must, in 
some degree, differ from him. It is a subject that I too have felt highly in- 
terested in for some years, and I never read a paper on the subject of accli- 
matising exotics, but I immediately think what might be done in the case of 
our tender fruit trees. I am afraid that what I now write will, of necessity, 
assume a controversial character. I must, however, disclaim all idea of con- 
troversy, as I have neither time nor inclination for a career of the kind. 
What is published is in the hands of a public which, sooner or later, in all 
matters, arrives at the truth. 

Mr. Forsyth is, I perceive, all for “corridors,” which, in plain English, as 
applied to fruit trees, | suppose mean a much wider coping than is usually given 
on supporters, and which, instead of being flat, rises a little in front. The 
principle, at first sight, appears good, and I can only wish that Mr. Forsyth 
had given a slight sketch of what he intends. However, in the absence of such 
sketch, I will put a case as near 
his ideas as can be well gathered. 
We gardeners do not travel by 
railway every day, but as far as I 
remember of the “ corridor” of 
the railway at Derby, it is a build- 
ing of some 8 or 10 feet wide, 
with a roof at an angle just suf- 
ficient to carry off the rain, as is 
“usual in such cases ; in fact, some- 
thing like the annexed section, 
Jig. 53., which Mr. Forsyth will 
perhaps call a “ hybrid.” 

Now, a, is the back wall ; 4, the 
front pillars; c, the floor line; 
d, the roof; and e, the supposed 
position of the sun for 2 or 3 
hours every day, for, we will say, Fig. 53. Supposed Section of Mr. Forsyth’s 
six weeks, viz. from June |. to Fruit Corridor. 
about July 12. 

I do not exactly know what Mr. Forsyth’s arrangement of trees may be, but 
he speaks of a trellis. How is this to be placed, so that the sun’s rays may strike 
every part? I can only say, the kind of corridor here described is just the 
sort of place to which good country-folk fly out of intense sunshine and the 
“ mid-day glare ;” and I humbly suggest that it is this very heat and glare which 
tender peaches, &c., like ; for, as the frogs in the fable, “ what is play to them 
is death to us.” However, this is neither more nor less than a modification 
of the conservative wall so often proposed, and an excellent proposition too ; 
only, in my opinion, Mr. Forsyth has pushed the idea much too far, or written 
too loosely about it. 

Let me suggest the following plan, founded on the same principles, but not 
carried so far ; in fact, a wider coping than usual carried upwards, with the 
addition of a “conservative curtain” of some kind. Train the trees in the 
old way on the back wall, and leave all the rest to the result of shallow 


Retrospective Criticism. 4°79 


borders of sound maiden loam and good gardening; more particularly in early 
laying in the young wood. ; 

I beg to submit whether, in the annexed sketch ( jig. 54.), my trees would not 

have all or most of the advantages of Mr. Forsyth’s huge corridor, without 
the disadvantages. 
_ In this sketch a represents the 
supposed position of the sun for 
2 or 3 hours each day, for 5 or 6 
wecks in the height of summer ; 
6, the conservative curtain; c, 
back wall; d, coping 2 ft. 6in.; 
and e, ground line. Let it be 
observed, that, although the sup- 
posed position of the sun is not 
quite accurate, it is quite suf- 
ficient to illustrate the matter. 

At any rate, this plan of mine 
would be none of your cool 
arbours to “crack the mirthful 
joke in;” a pretty good argument 
in favour of the plan, I presume. 
However, perhaps this plan ( jig. 
54.) is what Mr. Forsyth intended ; 
if so, he was unfortunate in re- 
ferring to a “ railway corridor.” 

Mr. Forsyth sympathises with 
the northern peach-growers, and 
very justly too. I can, however, eee et te a 
assure him, that I have a wall at ihe lo ft 
this time which could not be sur- = 
passed, I conceive, in the neigh- 
bourhood of London. My trees 
are all absolutely clean, in the finest foliage, as stout-jointed and firm in the wood 
as in any peach-house. I have had neither curled leaf nor mildew,—no, not a 
single case all the season ; and, moreover (which is the consummation so much 
desired), a fine crop of healthy fruit, which I will show against any one on a cold 
wall; for [have no flues. My only grand recipe consists of : Ist, some maiden 
loam ; 2d, planting immediately on bricks or stones ; 3d, early nailing of the 
summer shoots, and a most liberal thinning of the same ; and, 4th, a total free- 
dom from all insect or mildew. Another tree I have, viz. a royal George, ina 
peach-house, from which I have obtained a Knightian medal for seven years 
successively. I do not intend this for boasting, although I am certainly proud 
of the matter ; but a reference to facts is a safe course in writing for the public. 

I hope the above digression may be pardoned, for reasons which will, I trust, 
appear on the very face of the matter; and I will now return to Mr. Forsyth’s 
statements. 

He says that “a fruit corridor, with pillars of oak or even of iron, and 
a roof of tile or slate, may be erected for the cost of a common south wall, or 
less.” This is, indeed, “ hard to be understood ;” so are many of his sayings. 
I had really fancied that he required a south wall, to boot, for his “ corridor” 
plan. However, perhaps I may be mistaken; and, if so, I hope Mr. Forsyth 
will set me right. Mr. Forsyth’s proof of the corridor being just the thing, by 
a reference to certain half-hardy shrubs, is, I conceive, not a certain one. It 
does not of necessity follow that a nook which will preserve the laurustinus, 
the sweet bay, or a fuchsia, is just the place to plant a peach tree in. 

A great deal has been said of late about “terrestrial heat for fruit-tree 
borders,” more especially that for the vine; and I see Mr. Niven (p. 242.) 
quotes Dr. Lindley’s Theory of Horticulture as to the average bottom heat, at 
certain periods of the year, being in advance of the heat of the atmosphere ; 


Fig. 54. Mr. Errington’s Coping for a Porch. 


480 Queries and Answers. 


this I believe is a fact, and a most important one too. However, although the 
principle be correct, it is most certain that first-rate grapes, peaches, &c., are 
grown in the northern counties of England without artificial bottom heat ; 
fruit, in fact, not a whit behind that of the metropolitan growers. If such be 
the case, then how few of the gardening public will be at this enormous ex- 
pence merely to illustrate a given principle. 

Surely “poor old Mr. Bull,” as Mr. Waterton jocosely says, is not in the 
humour for such things in these income-tax days, seeing he is “ well stricken 
in years, and bound down in so heavy a sum to keep the peace.”— Robert Er- 
rington. Oulton Park, August, 1842. 

Errata. — In p. 404. line 6., for “hole” read “bole.” In p. 405. line 20., 
for “ materials; altogether,” read “ materials, altogether ;”. 


ArT. V. Queries and Answers. 


THE Clubbing of the Roots of the Cabbage Tribe and Turnips.—I am much 
obliged to you for sending me the cauliflower (which came quite safe), as it 
will give me an opportunity of investigating the clubbing of the roots of 
cabbages, which seems not to be understood. 

Messrs. Kirby and Spence, who (or one of whom) took some pains with 
these and allied vegetable excrescences, speaking of the turnip, observe 
that the small knob, or tubercle, on its roots is inhabited by a grub, simi- 
lar to those of two small weevils which are found in similar knobs on the 
roots of Sinapis arvénsis ; adding, “ whether the disease to which turnips are 
subject in some parts of the kingdom, from the form of the excrescences into 
which the bulb shoots, called jingers and toes, be occasioned by insects, is not 
certainly known,” with a reference to Mr. Spence’s Observations on the 
Disease in Turnips, called Fingers and Toes (Hull, 1812, 8yo). 

In a later page of their Introduction they observe, that from the grubs in 
the knob-like galls in turnips, called in some places the anbury, they have 
succeeded in rearing a small weevil. 

Some years ago, I had an opportunity of examining a bed of young cab- 
bage-plants, almost every one of which had its stem, just below the surface of 
the ground, swollen into several globular galls, each of which contained 
a weevil-erub; but the plant you have sent me has its roots dilated into 
large, hard, oblong swellings and knobs; on opening many of which (the 
surface of which was entire and sound) there was no appearance of any 
insect within ; but, in those which had the outside scarred, I found the grubs 
of some dipterous insect, belonging to the family J/uscidee, which I shall 
endeavour to breed, and send you the name of. I do not, however, consider 
these grubs to have any thing whatever to do with the production of the 
jingers and toes, but only to have been deposited there by the parent insect, 
as a fitting nidus already prepared for them. I have no doubt that the grubs 
are those of Anthomyia brassicee Bouché, described in p. 159. of your 
sister’s translation of Kollar, although his account of their habits is very 
meagre. — J. O. Westwood. Grove Cottage, Grove Road, Hammersmith. 

The Wild Orange.— As we returned towards the boat, we stopped to 
examine an irregular scrambling hedge of the wild orange; another of the 
exquisite shrubs of this paradise of evergreens. The form and foliage of this 
plant are beautiful, and the leaf, being bruised, extremely fragrant; but, as its 
perfume indicates, it is a rank poison, containing a great portion of prussic 
acid. It grows from cuttings rapidly and freely, and might be formed into 
the most perfect hedge, being well adapted, by its close bushy growth, for 
that purpose. (Mrs. Butler, in Bentleys Miscellany, vol. xii. p. 120.) 
[Will any of our American correspondents inform us what plant is here 
meant ? —Cond.] 


LTE ES 


ceases 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
OCTOBER, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. I. Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats in Somerset- 
shire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. By the ConpuctTor. 


Auc. 29. — London to Nettlecombe Court, the Seat of Sir John 
Trevelyan, Bart. ‘The greater part of the country, as seen 
from the rail-road, is rich and varied; and from Paddington to 
Maidenhead it is in many places delightful. 

At Hanwell, where the rail-road is on a high embankment, 
we look down upon a parsonage surrounded by grass fields, 
and with gardens and shrubberies, all the walks and other 
details of which were so distinct, with their lights and shadows, 
that we could not help comparing them to a map. ‘There is a 
degree of satisfaction in tracing the resemblance of nature to art, 
as well as there is in tracing that of art to nature. The country 
roads seen here and in other places crossing under the embank- 
ments of the rail-road seem, in a great measure, to have lost 
their use and importance; and they remind us that the progress 
of all improvement involves the deterioration or ruin of some- 
thing of the same kind that had gone before. ‘Thus, the lower 
class of vegetables prepare the way for the higher; and soils are 
formed by the disruption and mixture of strata, and their dis- 
integration by the weather. 

At the Slough station, a large inn in the Italian style has 
been recently built, and surrounded by some acres of pleasure- 
ground badly laid out. ‘The house, however, is admirably 
finished and fitted up within; and there is a regulation respect- 
ing the servants which it is to be wished were adopted every 
where, and which, there is no doubt, will eventually become 
general: this is, that nothing is to be paid to the servants by 
travellers; the whole expense being included in the bill. 

Near Reading, Caversham House, celebrated by the immortal 
author of Obs. on Mod. Gard., has a inagnificent appearance ; 
having been greatly enlarged by the present proprietor, Mr. 
Crashaw. The scenery beyond Reading includes occasional 


glimpses of the Thames, and is remarkably umbrageous and 
3d Ser.—1842. X. II 


482 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


rich, exhibiting some fine trees, and, among others, an Oriental 
plane, the only tree of this species which we have noticed between 
London and Plymouth; though that more tender and much 
less beautiful tree, the Occidental plane, is frequent wherever 
we have been. 

On both sides of the Swindon station, the country is flat and 
apparently uninteresting ; but the station itself is the handsomest 
we have yet seen. At this station, which is considered half-way 
between London and Taunton, there are four large refreshment 
rooms, two on each side of the road, of noble proportions, and 
finished in the most exquisite style; with the walls paneled, 
Sylvester’s fireplaces, and beautifully painted ceilings. Such 
rooms cannot fail greatly to improve the taste of every one who 
enters them; and, in this respect alone, the proprietors of the 
rail-road are entitled to the best thanks of the country. All the 
station-houses are more or less elegant and original in design. 
Some are remarkable for far-projecting veranda roofs, unsup- 
ported either by columns or brackets ; nor is there any essential 
reason why they should have such supports, since horizontal 
beams built into the walls, or merely the flooring joists extend~ 
ing through the whole structure, are sufficient to support the 
roof. ‘They also afford more room for passengers below, and 
they cost less. The rail-road buildings on this, and indeed on 
every line, afford fine examples of beauty arising from no other 
consideration than that of fitness for the end in view. 

We arrived at Bridgewater at 2 o’clock, and found a Mine- 
head coach waiting for passengers, by which we proceeded to 
Williton, where we arrived at 5 o’clock. The road is hilly, 
but we passed through some curious old villages, and observed 
several villas, one or two of which still retain clipped yew 
hedges, and other vestiges of the geometric style. ‘The road, 
nevertheless, is conducted without either skill or taste, though 
it might be led on one uniform slope down the declivities and 
across the combes (valleys), so as to render it easy either for as- 
cent or descent. We arrived at Nettlecombe Court at 6 o’clock. 

Aug. 29. to Sept. 5. — Nettlecombe Court. The road to this 
place from Williton is up the bottom of a winding combe, or 
valley, consisting of water meadows, woods, white cottages and 
their gardens, and some quarries, a fine brook, and hedge-row 
trees. Here is a water-mill, supplied with water by means of 
a course the sides and bottom of which are of stone laid in 
the Aberthaw lime, which has the property of setting under 
water, and being in that and other respects equal to Roman 
cement. ‘The rock which produces this lime extends across 
from Wales, and proves of immense value both to builders 
and farmers. We passed the remains of a fine old alder; 
the shattered remains of a large old walnut tree, on the bark 


an Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 483 


of which Cotylédon umbilicus was growing luxuriantly, while 
the living branches were loaded with fruit; a very large crab- 
tree; a cottage, the walls of which were covered with the broad 
and narrow-leaved myrtle, both 12 ft. high, and overspread 
with bloom; large hydrangeas, which become blue naturally in 
most places that we have seen them in both Somersetshire and 
Devonshire; and near Nettlecombe church some immense elms. 
We had not an opportunity of looking at the grounds of Nettle- 
combe Court till the following morning, when we were astonished 
and delighted with the view from the windows of the house, look- 
ing up the steep sides of the rounded hills that rose on every 
side, and which were mostly crowned with old oak woods. The 
immense difference between this kind of scenery, and any thing 
that is to be met with within a 100 miles of London, produced 
the effect alluded to ; and we found it to be a sort of key-note to 
the impressions made by the scenery of Somersetshire and De- 
vonshire generally. Rounded hills covered with grass to the 
top, with winding valleys having sloping sides; the valleys more 
or less wide, and the sides of the hills differing in degrees of 
steepness; occasionally with water in the bottom in the form of 
a small stream or brook, and rarely of a river or an inlet of the 
sea, characterise the greater part of the scenery of Somerset- 
shire, and at least of the South of Devonshire. There is no hill, 
or range of hills, south of Dartmoor decidedly larger than the 
others, so as to constitute a feature. There is not even a sharply 
pointed hill, or one with concave sides; and certainly nothing 
that can be compared to hills similarly covered with grass in the 
South of Scotland; no hills like those of Teviotdale; and no 
valleys like those of the Tay and the Tweed. Almost all the 
outlines of the hills in the Devonshire district are convex, but 
the greater part of those in the Scottish and North of Eng- 
land scenery are concave. The cause of this difference in the 
outlines is, we apprehend, to be found in the kind of rocks; the 
upper ones in Scotland being chiefly basaltic, and protruded 
through the stratified rocks, which is not the case in the greater 
part of Devonshire. In England, however, the rich wooded 
valleys have no parallel in Scotland; and Somersetshire and 
Devonshire only require to have some features of the agricul~ 
ture of Scotland and Northern England joined to their excellent 
grass-land husbandry, to exemplify the highest degree of cul- 
tivation of which such a country is susceptible. 

Before we proceed farther, we must notice one or two charac- 
teristics of Somersetshire and Devonshire. The first is, that the 
soil is almost every where red, deep, and fertile ; the second, that, 
the surface being generally under grass, there is a predominance 
of green in the landscape; and the third, which, we suppose, is 


the consequence of the other two, is, that the cottages, villas, and 
1% 2 


484 ‘Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


dwellings, of every description, are white-washed. The desire 
for this white appearance we suppose to be a physical result of 
the prevalence of green and red; white, though it cannot be 
called a complementary colour to these, as green is to red, being 
yet a relief to the eye, on similar principles. 

The high banks on which the hedges are planted form the 
next characteristic of these counties, rendering it difficult to see 
the adjoining fields or country from the road, and being really a 
very great nuisance to a stranger. We have also to complain of 
the narrowness and depth of the lanes, or parish roads, and the 
general want of guide-posts. Another characteristic is the form 
of the churches, which have very high square towers, each with 
a small round tower attached, containing a staircase ; the square 
towers sometimes, though rarely, terminating in spires, as at the 
little dirty Scotch-looking village called Marlborough, and the 
ancient town of Modbury, both between Salcombe and Plymouth. 
These towers, among so many round and horizontal lines, form 
grand and striking contrasts to the general outline of the coun- 
try; and indeed are every where the most striking artificial 
features in the landscape. — 

Nettlecombe Court is a seat of great extent; and, though 
we took an extensive drive every day while we remained there, 
we did not see all the farms. The drives are exceedingly va- 
ried and beautiful, and exhibit fine combinations of pasture and 
woodland, comfortable cottages, and most substantial farm- 
houses and farmeries. The skill of the farmer is chiefly dis- 
played in the management of cattle and sheep, and of water 
meadows. ‘The farmers know nothing of the culture of turnips 
on raised drills, or indeed of drill culture generally; and, with 
as fine a subsoil as can possibly be desired, they only plough 
four inches deep. They understand, however, the use of lime, 
which they mix with the soil of the headlands and hedge wastes 
previously to spreading it over the general surface; and this 
mixture prevents the lime from separating and sinking into the 
soil, which it has a constant tendency to do, from the difference 
in its specific gravity. The same effect will be produced by 
scattering the lime, in a state of fine powder, on a naked or 
turnip fallow, the soil being also in a state of powder, as is done 
in Northumberland and Scotland, in the beginning of summer. 
Here the lime is laid on, and ploughed in, during autumn; and 
hence the very judicious practice of previously mixing it with 
dry soil. ‘The water meadows on the Nettlecombe estate amount 
to upwards of 500 acres, which have been chiefly formed under 
the direction of the present baronet, by bis very intelligent 
steward, Mr. Babbage. ‘To Mr. Babbage we are indebted for 
the model of a very ingenious window fastener of his invention, 
which we shall hereafter figure and describe; as well as for the 


zn Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 485 


dimensions of a number of large trees, and some interesting in- 
formation on planting and agriculture generally. It is here found 
that, when the larch is planted along with the Scotch fir in mixed 
masses, the timber of the former becomes invariably rotten at the 
heart, even when the trees are only 20 or 30 years old; while 
on the same soil, planted in masses by itself, the larch produces 
perfectly sound timber. This is confirmatory of the experience 
of Mr. Gorrie in Scotland, and it seems also in favour of the 
excrementitious theory. 

The oak woods, or rather groves, on this estate, contain a 
greater number of large well-grown trees than we ever saw to- 
gether before. Many of them are 100 ft. high, with clean 
trunks of nearly uniform thickness for half or two thirds of their 
height, the diameter of these trees varying from 8 ft. to 6 ft., at 
4 ft. from the ground. They are all, without a single exception, 
Quércus sessiliflora ; there scarcely being a single plant of 
Quércus pedunculata in the park, or for a mile round it, either 
young or old. A great many single trees, so arranged as at a 
distance to combine into groups and masses, have been planted 
under the immediate inspection of Sir John Trevelyan, who has 
an excellent taste in landscape; as the disposition of the trees 
alluded to, and the drives cut through woods on the sides of 
steep hills, and the terrace roads, as they may be called, through 
open fields on hill sides, abundantly prove. 

There is an admirable kitchen-garden here, with the walls 
covered with the very best kinds of peaches, nectarines, and 
pears, all in fine order, while the fig ripens as a standard. We 
observed a very excellent kind of cabbage, which we were in- 
formed, by the gardener, Mr. Elworthy, was raised between 
the Paington and Cornish cabbages, and which is called the 
Nettlecombe cabbage. We brought away some seeds, thinking 
it might be a desirable cabbage for a cottager, and we shall 
leave them with Mr. Charlwood and Mr. Carter, Holborn, for 
distribution in small quantities to whoever may apply for them. 
We have also given the same parties a portion of the true 
Paington cabbage seed procured at Paington, and a portion of 
the true Cornish procured at Plymouth, for the same purpose: 
The Cornish cabbages which we have seen in the gardens in 
Devonshire are very different from those which we have seen 
called by this name in other parts of England, and very superior. 

The pleasure-grounds, and the flower-garden at the house, are 
in excellent order. In the pleasure-ground there is an old 
stone quarry, the bottom of which has been levelled, and the 
side planted with half-hardy plants, including several plants of 
Capparis spinosa; which will, doubtless, at some future time, 
supply the family with capers, as the lemon trees on the garden 
walls in this part of the country do with lemons. ‘The gardener’ 


2 


IIo 


486. Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


house is most commodious and comfortable in every respect ; 
and it is placed so as to overlook the garden, and to form a 
handsome object in the landscape. In the pleasure-ground and 
flower-garden we found a number of the newest species of 
flowers, and many good shrubs. Garrya elliptica is thriving 
beautifully, as are the mahonias and choice berberries. Here 
are some masses of rock, well combined round basins of water, 
or distributed on the lawn, along with plants of Acanthus mdl- 
lis, férus, &c. In consequence of the hilly character of the 
country, water can be commanded in every situation: and 
hence there are cisterns, picturesque basins, and ponds, in 
the kitchen-garden and ornamental scenery; and small water- 
wheels in different places for throwing water up to ponds on the 
tops of the hills, to form drinking-places for the cattle, or to ir- 
rigate the hill sides. In short, the management of water here 
seems to be fully understood. 

We shall recur to Nettlecombe in a future Number, when we 
shall have engravings prepared; and we shall conclude our 
present notice with the following recollections, and the dimen- 
sions of trees furnished to us by Mr. Babbage. 

The park is divided by fences of strained wire, which are in- 
conspicuous at a distance, and found cheaper than any other 
fence whatever; they also enable the proprietor to graze the 
park as conveniently as if it were in fields divided by hedges. 

The great novelty and charm of Nettlecombe are, that, the 
house being situated in a bottom, the scenery on every side is 
looked up to, instead of being looked over; the effect of which, 
united with the immense masses of wood, is romantic in a very 
high degree. Some of the valleys are so deep, that the sun 
does not shine into them, for between two and three months 
every winter. 

In consequence of the bold undulations and deep valleys, the 
shadows produced by the varying position of the sun are con- 
tinually changing; increasing in ene place and diminishing in 
another, so as to form a perpetual variety, greatly heightened 
by the groups formed by the deer. 

The church and churchyard at Nettlecombe are close to the 
house. ‘The former is kept in excellent repair ; as are the family 
monuments, some of which existed as far back as the time of 
the crusades. The churchyard is a model of neatness. ‘There 
is a paved space, about 18 in. broad, and nearly on a level, all 
round the walls of the church; and beyond it there is a small 
cutter which carries off all the rain water to one point; thus 
forming a proper architectural base to the building. The ground 
is surrounded and intersected by gravel walks, and the graves 
are so arranged that there are grass paths between them, by 
walking on which every grave may be examined without step- 
ping over any. By this means a higher character of sanctity ts 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 487 


given to this place of final repose; and it would be well if it 
could be imitated in churchyards everywhere. The late Sir 
John Trevelyan ordered, by his will, that he should be buried 
beneath a large yew tree in the churchyard, and not in the 
church ; in which feeling we participate, considering the idea of 
burying in vaults as unfitted for the present enlightened age. 

Having a great respect for the antiquity of families, a long 
descent of ancestry being one of the few things which no human 
exertions, no wealth, and not even chance can procure, we were 
much gratified by a sight of the Trevelyan family papers, from 
the time of Edward I.; almost all of which were in exceilent 
preservation. Among the oldest of these were many permissions 
from the church to eat meat during Lent; and one pardon from 
Henry VIII. to a Trevelyan for killing a man in chance-medley. 
Tradition, however, traces back the family much higher than the 
written records; as it is said that the head of a swimming horse, 
in the family arms, relates to a Trevelyan who was on one of the 
Scilly Islands when it sank in 850, and that he saved himself by 
swimming on shore on horseback.. 

Fattening Swine with Fern, or Brake (Pteris aquilina). Among 
the many curious and useful things which Mr. Babbage related 
to us was the following, which we give in his own Sores. 

‘* Walking over the estate one day in the spring, I saw a man 
and his family busily employed gathering the young shoots of 
fern. On enquiry I found it was to feed their pig. Having 
expressed a doubt as to its nutritious quality, the man said it 
was equal to potatoes, and that he would undertake to feed a pig 
with it alone, and at the end of a month produce the pig in as 
good condition as another pig that had been fed with potatoes. 
The way to prepare the fern is to boil (or rather simmer) it for 
two hours in an iron pot: when cold, it forms a strong jelly.” 

Large Trees at Nettlecombe. 'The following dimensions were 
kindly taken for us by Mr. Babbage. 

“The park-wood, and the grove of forty acres, contain 1,060 
oak trees, varying in Jength to the fork from 30 ft. to 70 ft., 
besides which there are many fine elms, Spanish chestnuts, and 
beech trees of great length and girt. Many trees contain from 
80 to 150 cubic feet of timber, and a few trees more than 200 
cubic feet above the fork. 

“A Cedar of Lebanon growing at Nettlecombe Court, and 
about forty years from the seed, was planted in its present situa- 
tion thirty-five or thirty-six years ago. It now (Sept. 4. 1842), 
at 3 ft. from the ground, measures 9 ft. 8 in. in circumference ; 
and at 10 ft. from the ground it is 9 ft. lin. in circumference. 
The extreme height of. the tree is 40 ft. ‘The branches extend 
round from the trunk 30ft. ‘The trunk (exclusive of branches) 


contains 110 cubic feet of timber. 
11 4 


488 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


“Oax Trees —all Quércus sessiliflora. 


Length to] Girt at Middle | Girt at the eee 
the fork. | 4 ft. high. girt. fork. Foose 

ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. 

16 2 iss -@) 13395 220 
de 2 30 135 20 260 

1a, 0 IG 9 6 

14 0 ll 6 2 

14 4 ll O yO) 

13. 9 ll 0O 9 O 

13. 3 10 7 10 4 126 

13 8 10 O 8 

13 0 10 O 9 O 

1-8) Wt = @ 9 6 

12 8 10 6 10 O 

12 0O 10 2 8 0 

12 0O 8 6 @ © 

Mh. © LOE Orne 

11 10 QO 8 9 O 

i © YY 2 8 9 

10 4 8. 2 6 6 

lk 4: Y 8 10 

“ Erm Trees —all U’imus campéstris. 
39 16 6 13. «6 12 O 360 sg? 
32 “ho ®) 1m 4) 12 0 200 - about 80 years 


56 1 BE} 91 0 growth. 


Old Cleeve Abbey is a ruin in a romantic valley, now turned 
into a farm-house and outbuildings. ‘There are the remains of 
some handsome doors and windows, and a roof with the rafters 
forming segments of semicircles meeting at the summit, and 
without any cross ties whatever. Among numerous aged thorns 
and fruit trees, there are a sycamore and a walnut, apparently of 
great age, of which Mr. Babbage has furnished us with the fol- 
lowing dimensions. 

‘“‘ Sycamore Acer Pseudo-Platanus), 17 ft. in circumference, at 
2 ft. from the ground; the length of trunk, 7 ft., from which 
spring a series of branches from 4 ft. 6 in. to 7 ft. in circum- 
ference; one branch extends in nearly a horizontal direction 
51 ft.in length. This tree contains 440 cubic feet. 

* Walnut (Juglans régia) 14 ft. in circumference, at 4 ft. from 
the ground; length of trunk, 9 ft., from which spring three 
branches, measuring respectively 9 ft. 4in., 9 ft. and 8 ft. in 
circumference. ‘The branches extend all round about 45 ft. 
from the trunk, forming a circle of 270 ft. 

“« Another walnut is 11 ft. in circumference at 4 ft. high; and a 
third is 9 ft, 3 in. in circumference at 4 ft. high.” 


zn Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 489 


Dunster Castle ; — Luttrell, Esq. This is a fine old castle, 
situated high up the side of a conical hill on the sea coast; with 
a park, consisting of a valley opening to the sea, with the sides 
finely clothed with wood. ‘The meadows are mown or pas- 
tured, and appear as smooth as a lawn; while those parts of the 
hill sides not covered with wood exhibit ferns, hollies, and 
thorns, unmixed with foreign trees, and in such a state as we 
may suppose they were in when the castle was built, in the time 
of Henry VIII. or Elizabeth. There is no want of scenery of 
this kind in the parks of England, but it is not often that it 
belongs to a really old castle, with all its grandeur and simpli- 
city. Many modern castles have, in our opinion, so much 
architectural display exteriorly, that we never for a moment sup- 
pose them to be old. ‘The ancient entrance to Dunster Castle 
is through the straight street of Dunster town, the gateway to the 
Castle forming its termination. The actual entrance, at present, 
is by a winding road, which gradually ascends the hill to the Castle 
_ court. The Castle itself has, in the interior, undergone several 
alterations, some in good and others in bad taste. ‘There are an 
excellent carved balustrade to the principal staircase represent- 
ing a hunt, and a very beautiful ceiling; but the windows, which 
have been ornamented within subsequently, are in Batty Langley 
Gothic. The Castle is surrounded by terraces ; and against the 
walls are some fine exotics, among which are a large lemon 
tree protected by glass during winter, a large pomegranate, 
large myrtles, passion flowers, wistarias, coronillas, and an im- 
mense hydrangea with both blue and pink flowers as a finale. 
Higher up than the Castle court, on the summit of the hill, is 
an oval bowling green, approached by a winding path, which 
commands a panoramic view of the surrounding country, includ- 
ing the bold promontory of Minehead, the sea, and the moun- 
tains of South Wales. ‘The whole place was in excellent order, 
and appropriate keeping. 

Sept. 5.— Netilecombe to Exeter, through Tiverton. The 
road as far as Bampton was extremely hilly, consisting of narrow 
lanes, with their fences so high that the eye was either carried 
over the adjoining fields to such hilly ground as was near at 
hand, or, where hills were wanting, there was nothing seen but 

the steep high banks of the farms which bordered the deep 
and ditch-like road. At Bampton, the cottages have their 
chimney-tops finished with slates, sometimes two forming a 
triangle, and sometimes one large slate supported by four props, 
and kept from being blown away by a stone, as in the lake 
scenery. The walls are either of stone or of cob, the latter 
being formed much in the same way as the pisé walls in France. 
The roofs on the detached cottages are generally of thatch. 
The cob walls are frequently used for gardens, the trees being 


490 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


trained on trellises placed against them; but there is the dis- 
advantage attending them, that, when the trees are washed with 
a syringe or engine, the leaves or fruit are apt to get dirtied by 
the soil loosened and brought down from the wall by the water. 
These walls, as well as the houses of cob, are frequently white- 
washed, and sometimes rough-cast; which resists for a time the 
action of the weather, but not sufficiently in garden walls to 
justify their use where fine fruit is an object. The various 
ways in which the round hills are crossed by the hedges which 
divide the fields afford useful hints to the landscape-gardener, 
in cases where such hills are in cultivation, and are, at the same 
time, to be treated with a view to their effect in landscape. It is 
least desirable to have the lines of the fences cutting the hills hori- 
zontally ; and most so to have the lines in the same direction as 
the slope, and tending more or less to the summit or highest part 
of the hill. Much depends on the distribution of the trees in the 
hedge-rows ; two or three hedges, with hedge-row trees, meeting 
on or near the summit of a hill, add wonderfully to its effect ; 
while a single hedge, with trees, crossing the hill horizon- 
tally, half-way between its base and summit, or at a certain dis- 
tance below the summit, will destroy the character of the hill 
altogether. Where the soil on the summit of such hills can be 
moved, a conical or pointed termination may frequently be 
given at a moderate expense, by hollowing out a little soil from 
the sides, and heaping it up on the summit. Of course, hills 
so improved must be kept under grass, for the plough would 
soon reduce them to a tame, monotonous, convex outline. 

From Tiverton to Exeter the road follows the course of the Exe, 
which passes through a finely wooded valley ; and, were it not for 
the high road-side fences, it would be exquisitely beautiful. It is 
impossible, however, to enjoy this or any other scenery properly 
from the public roads, on account of the height of the fences. 

The church at Tiverton contains some curious carving, pat- 
ticularly in a chapel erected long after the church; on the 
exterior of which was represented an extensive sea-scene with 
ships, proving, as all such scenes do, that the artist did not 
know the proper province of sculpture, which is to represent 
single objects, or foreground groups, and never subjects re- 
quiring the effect of distance. In the churchyard, we observed 
an American, a Cornish, and a Dutch elm, with both the new 
and old Lucombe oaks, and the ‘Turkey oak. 

Sept. 6.— Cowley Bank ; Mrs. Wells. ‘The grounds consist 
of a portion of table land, and a steep and varied bank bordered 
by the rivers Exe and Culm, which here form a junction. The 
bank has been covered with wood, which in some places is 
partially removed to make room for lawn, and in others thinned 
to admit of evergreen under-growths; and there is a con- 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 491 


siderable extent of walks laid along the bank, so as to display 
it and the distant scenery to advantage. ‘The views across the 
river Exe from the house are pleasing, and disclose meadows 
bounded by banks more gradually sloping than those on the 
Cowley side, varied by woods, cottages, and some villas. From 
the walks in the lower part of the grounds two stone bridges are 
seen, which, amid so much vegetation, have an excellent effect. 

This place has been judiciously laid out and planted by 
Mr. Pince, who has exhibited a new feature in the conser- 
vatory, viz. that of covering the central bed of soil, in which 
the camellias, oranges, &c., are planted, with flag-stones sup- 
ported on cross-walls or props, so as to leave a stratum of air 
between the flag-stones and the soil. The trees, the stems of 
which pass through holes in the stones, thrive as well as if the 
surface of the soil had been exposed to the light and air in the 
usual manner. ‘This conservatory has the front sashes down to 
the floor, and sliding past one another; and the roof is formed 
of stout sash-bars, without conspicuous rafters, but with one or 
two large sashes for letting down to admit air. It is separated 
from the dining-room by a lobby, also glazed in the roof and 
in front, so that none of the air of the conservatory can ever 
enter the house. The gardener here, Mr. Griffin, has dis- 
tinguished himself by gaining prizes at exhibitions, both in 
Devonshire and in the metropolis. He grows heaths ad- 
mirably, mixing with the rough sandy peat abundance of frag- 
ments of stone throughout the whole mass, half the surface 
consisting of these stones protruding through the soil. This 
is carrying the practice of introducing fragments of stone in pot 
culture a step further than Mr. M’ Nab has done. 

There is a flower-garden with the beds on gravel edged with 
box ; the forms without acute angles, so as to admit of covering 
them with plants. There is a small pinetum, in which there are 
some specimens of the rarer kinds; and a good collection of 
showy peat-earth shrubs. The edges of the walks are kept low, 
so that the flowing lines of the lawn are never interrupted ; and 
the whole place was in excellent order. 

Sept. 8.—Mamhead ; Sir Robert Newman, Bart. This is an 
extensive place, with the house situated on the projecting 
swell of an clevated ridge crowned with wood. ‘The views 
from the house, over a rich valley, are extensive and magnificent, 
commanding Exeter, the river, and the hilly country beyond. 
The approach is of considerable length, and appears judiciously 
conducted; but, as we were in a close carriage, we were not able 
to form a decided judgement on this point. ‘This we can say, 
that, immediately within the entrance, we passed through a grove 
of Scotch firs of twenty or thirty years’ growth, with the stems 
naked, or showing only dead branches to a great height, of no 


492 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


great value to any estate, either in an ornamental or useful point 
of view. We would cut down almost the whole of these trees, 
and allow the self-sown hollies, every where springing up, to 
form, with a few scattered trees of such kinds as may be already 
grown up, an evergreen wood. ‘The house is most judiciously 
placed. In style, it is exteriorly in a sort of modernised Tudor- 
Gothic, while the stable offices form a separate group in an 
early castellated manner, with battlements and a portcullis ap- 
pearing over the main gateway. ‘The idea of this difference 
of style between the offices and the mansion, the former being 
intended to represent the ancient castle metamorphosed into 
stables, and the actual dwelling-house being supposed to be a 
comparatively modern building, is good on paper as a theory, 
but is here carried rather too far; a portcullis, in good repair, 
being shown over the modern stable gates. ‘The great dif- 
ference in style is aggravated by the colour of the stone; which 
in the offices is nearly of a brick red, coarsely hewn, and in the 
mansion is of a light Bath-like stone, quite smooth. Inde- 
pendently altogether of antiquarian and architectural associations, 
the red colour of the offices, in artists’ language, kills that of 
the mansion. Had both been of the same colour, the objections 
we have suggested would not have been nearly so strong. We 
could almost wish that the house had been of red stone, for we 
think it would have gone far to prevent an idea which arose in 
our minds at first sight, that the house was too ornamental and 
villa-like for the grandeur of the situation. Fortunately, there 
are no large trees close to it, otherwise it would appear too low. 
A house, unless it is in the cottage style or villa style, should 
always be higher than the average height of the trees in the 
country in which it is situated. ‘This, we think, is a self-evident 
principle; since, as the house is the chief object in the land- 
scape, it should be more conspicuous than the trees, which are 
only accessories. It is true that a house may be rendered more 
conspicuous than the trees, simply by placing it where there are 
no trees before it, and where those at the back and sides are at 
some distance from it; in short, by placing it in such a situation 
and circumstances as those of the house at Mamhead. Still we 
are of opinion that the house at Mamhead, to be in harmony 
with the grandeur of the place, ought to have been higher, and 
in a simpler style; for elevation and simplicity are the most 
effective elements of the sublime. As an example of a modern 
house in a naturally grand situation, and intended to be expres- 
sive of grandeur and dignity, reduced to the character of a villa 
by the height of the surrounding trees, we refer to Lowther 
Castle. ‘This building has nothing of the castle character but 
round towers and battlements; and these and the masses should 
have been one third part higher, so as to be seen at a distance 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 493 


over the tops of the trees. As an example of one in which 
grandeur is produced by the height and simplicity of the general 
mass, and which also centains some of the finest apartments in 
England, we quote Wooton, by Inigo Jones, near Ashbourne, 
noticed in our Volume for 1841. 

The windows of a house intended to be expressive of grandeur 
ought not to be numerous or too near together; they ought to 
be large, with wide intervals between, to suggest the idea of spa- 
cious apartments within; and there ought to be broad spaces in 
the lower parts of towers and at angles, without any windows or 
with only very small ones, to suggest the idea of great strength 
and abundance of room. This kind of treatment is also exem- 
plified at Wooton. 

With respect to the interior of the house at Mamhead it is 
admirable, and we can only speak of the arrangement and the 
execution of the work in terms of the highest praise. There is, 
however, one point here which we cannot pass over without 
notice, because we think that it is calculated to propagate a false 
taste. In the panels of the ceiling, and in other parts of the 
finishing of several of the rooms, there are sculptured represent- 
ations of plants, correct imitations of nature, but without any 
architectural or artistical connexion with the framework of the 
panels; in fact, they appear as if they had been gathered and 
thrown down at random. ‘These plants are beautifully executed, 
and they are botanically so accurate, that it is easy to tell their 
names, and in one or two instances they are introduced in the 
spandrils of arches, and in the windows, so as to fill their spaces 
up artistically. Wherever this is not the case, we have no 
hesitation in saying that their introduction is decidedly in bad 
taste. very whole should consist of parts, every one of which 
should be so connected with those adjoining it, and with the 
rest, as not to admit of being separated without destroying the 
effect of the whole; but the flowers we speak of have no con- 
nexion whatever with any of the ornaments or parts around 
them. Supposing a person to have seen these ceilings before 
the flowers were introduced, he could never have felt the neces- 
sity of their introduction to complete the design; and, supposing 
them now to be removed, no one would feel that the design had 
been injured. ‘The flowers are, indeed, beautiful in themselves, 
and would have retained that beauty any where; but this is quite 
a different question from that of their forming or not forming 
component parts of a composition. As an example of flowers 
and fruits artistically introduced, we may refer to the chimney- 
pieces and windows of the dining-room and drawingroom at 
Mamhead. These, more especially those in the chimney-pieces, 
are perfect in their kind, because their forms are artistically 
wrought in with the architecture; and though they are coloured 


494 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats. 


so as to resemble nature, and even to be mistaken for it, which 
is in a low style of art, yet it is clear the artist knew what he 
was doing, and that he intended to represent the state of sculp- 
ture at ihe particular period to which he had adapted the building, 
a period when even representations of the human countenance in 
marble were coloured to resemble nature. 

The conservatory at Mamhead is much too small for the 
situation; but, considering the house as a villa, it is, perhaps, 
not altogether out of proportion. Part of the roof is opaque, 
which we were surprised at; because that part is completely 
concealed by the parapet, aaa the light would have been of 
essential importance to the plants. 

There are upper and lower terraces; but the latter is not, in 
our opinion, sufficiently separated from the park by architectural 
parapets and other forms to justify the introduction of flowers on 
it. The fortification-like character is also, we think, too con- 
spicuous in some parts, and the lines of slope and surface of 
glacis are, in others, disproportionately large for the height of 
the house. ‘There is a flower-garden in a sunk panel, very judi- 
ciously designed and laid out; but it is planted with shrubs and 
other articles growing to the height of 3 or 4 feet, which prevent 
the shapes of the beds from being seen in a birds-eye view, so 
as to forma whole. Instead of this, the beds should have been 
planted with articles which do not rise above the height of 6 
or 8 inches; or with roses having their shoots pegged down on 
green moss, so as not much to exceed that height. As an ap- 
pendage to such a house, this garden ought to have been in 
much higher keeping: but perfect high keeping, in Devonshire, 
we have only seen at Luscombe and at Endsleigh. ‘The terrace 
walks at Mamhead are not yet united with the pleasure-ground, 
which, indeed, remains to be formed; and a finer situation for 
forming a pleasure-ground walk very rarely occurs. We took 
the dimensions of two or three immense Lucombe oaks and cork 
trees, which we need not here repeat, because they are much the 
same as those given of the same trees in our Arboretum, as 
measured in 1837. ‘The dimensions now taken were, for want 
of time, not made with sufficient accuracy to be useful in showing 
the increase of the trees since that period. The kitchen-garden 
is at a distance from the house, very unfavourably situated in a 
hollow; but, notwithstanding this, we have seldom seen walls 
more beautifully covered with fruit trees, especially with peaches 


and nectarines; the borders are not cropped. 


(To be continued.) 


Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 495 


ArT. Il. Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and its Gardeners. By Petrr 
MACKENZIE. 


(Continued from p. 44:7.) 


Suortiy after the conversation the gardener of Dinbur had 
with Sandy MacAlpine, the foreman of the garden, a night was 
fixed on when he would meet the young men in the bothy, 
and, according to appointment, endeavour to impart some use- 
ful instruction. When the night arrived, the men did not sit 
long over their evening meal, but got themselves washed and 
made tidy, the bothy floor swept, the ashes taken out, and the 
forms and stools arranged as neatly as possible, and waited the 
arrival of their master. When he came he was received with a 
hearty welcome, and after some general conversation he pro- 
ceeded to the business of the evening. 

He began by giving a short outline of the time when he was 
an apprentice and journeyman gardener. 

*¢ When I first went to work in the garden, my stock of know- ~ 
ledge was very scanty. I could read and write, and had some 
knowledge of arithmetic: but I soon found out that I had much 
to learn; and, to dispel the ignorance by which I was surrounded, 
J found it necessary to use the means Providence had put within 
my reach for extending my information. There are many who can 
sit down contented, wrapped in garments of ignorance, and think 
themselves worthy of imitation by others, never once imagin- 
ing that their influence upon society is like that of the stagnant 
pool, spreading disease and death: while the ardent enquirer 
after knowledge may be compared to the flowing stream, whose 
waters fertilise the country, and on whose banks the hand of in- 
dustry is busy; in its progress to the ocean, it diffuses benefits 
on the right hand and on the left, and, like a light maiden, sings 
merrily as it flows. ‘There are boundaries in the pursuit of 
knowledge which finite minds will never surmount; but who 
can mark out these barriers? for what may seem insurmount- 
able to some is easily scaled by others. He who brought the 
universe into existence, who created the worid, and filled it 
with the various tribes of organised beings which exist in it, and 
gave them laws for their well-being, that Almighty Being who 
planted the mind of man within him, is alone able to know the - 
extent of the growth of that mind which is called upon to study 
the works of its Creator in such a variety of aspects. If we look 
upon this earth as a temple reared up for the worship of our 
Maker, and gardeners as ministers in the sanctum sanctorum, then 
how unbecoming must it be for those who hold such a high 
situation to remain ignorant of the mysteries which belong to 
their office! There is little time for sloth or indolence in the 


496 Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 


life of a gardener; and, from the first day of his entering that 
profession, he should endeavour to imitate the daring of the 
eagle: 
«¢ Proudly careering his course of joy, 

Firm in his own mountain vigour relying, 

Breasting the dark storm, the red bolt defying, 

His wing on the wind, and his eye on the sun, 

He swerves not a hair, but bears onward right on. 

Boys, may the eagle’s ‘flight ever be thine, 

Onward and upward, and true to the line!’ 


‘¢ Although gardeners may not have the opportunities for 
acquiring knowledge which others have who live in towns or 
their immediate neighbourhood, and may not have money to 
purchase books, or be able to attend lectures in colleges or 
mechanics’ institutions, yet these wants cannot be held as valid 
reasons why they should remain in ignorance. By paying a few 
shillings in the year, they may secure as many books from a 
circulating library as they will be able to read; and, by means 
of reading and study, gardeners may, in a great measure, keep 
pace with those who have greater advantages for acquiring in- 
formation: for it is a well-known fact, that those who attend 
lectures in public, and do not follow them up with private study, 
never make great advances in learning. Well do I remem- 
ber the time when I used to go in the winter season to the library, 
and receive volume after volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica, 
covered up in my blue apron to preserve it from the rain and 
snow. At another time, when I worked in one of the London 
nurseries, | was well warned by my employer to beware of the 
company with which I associated: for, he said, ‘association soon 
begets assimilation; and the time of life at which you have 
arrived is in general the time at which the character is formed, 
either for good or evil.’ I was bound bya sense of duty to thank 
him for his kindness in warning me against danger, although at 
the time when I received his counsel I did not perceive the full 
force of his statements ; but I have often seen it verified in after life. 

‘* As I was a stranger in the place, I resolved to live as quietly 
as possible: I was fortunate enough to meet with a kind landlord 
and landlady. One morning, when I was at the baker’s for a 
loaf, I passed a bookseller’s shop where books were given out to 
read. On my return | went into it, and told ihe owner of the 
shop what I wanted. He was very obliging, and told me that I 
might have any book that was within his Shon: He showed me 
his catalogue ; I fixed on one, and received it. He asked my 
name and place of abode; I also offered him money as a deposit, 
which is done in some places where persons are not known. ‘No,’ 
said he, ‘I will take no money from you. You are from Scot- 
land; I was once in that country, and was civilly treated; and 


. Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 497 


never in my life was I taken in by a Scotchman.’ I told him 
that every one could not say as much; but I hoped that I should 
not be the first that would cause him to alter the opinion he had 
formed of the natives of the North. And away I went a proud 
man, with a quariern loaf under the one. arm, and a quarto 
volume under the other; getting a slice of both for breakfast, 
and believing the stories that are told about the frauds of London 
to be without foundation. 

“ At another time, when working in a nobleman’s garden, I 
had to travel several miles across a wild common before I came 
to the market town. ‘There was only one circulating library in 
the place, and there appeared to be little demand for reading ; 
for I was allowed to take as many books with me as I could 
carry, and one burthen after another had the dust brushed off 
them, which had not been disturbed before for many a day. 
When I worked in the Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, I fre- 
quently attended Carfrae’s sale-room at night, and often purchased 
some useful book; and, with one book after another, they soon 
became the heaviest part of my luggage. I was sadly dis- 
appointed some years ago, when on a visit to Edinburgh; I 
went to my old book-shop, expecting to get something new ; 
but, instead of tables full of books ready for sale, I observed 
large barrels, marked ‘ Glenlivet,’ ‘Islay,’ &c. I turned away 
with a sad heart, when I thought on the change that had taken 
place. 

“« My young men, you may perhaps be thinking that if you 
were to follow such a course as that recommended to you, too 
much of your time would be occupied with it; but, after having 
often taken a retrospective view of my past life, my advice to 
you would still be, read on. When I think of the fate of many 
of my companions who started with me in life, who, with greater 
abilities and brighter prospects, had every appearance of becom- 
ing useful members of society, but, by following frivolous pur- 
suits and vitiated company, soon became an easy prey to evil 
designing men; when I remember how often books have been 
the means of keeping me from the tap-room, the ball-room, and 
other haunts of dissipation, I cannot but love them; and when [ 
think on the pleasure I have had in their company, and the in- 
structive knowledge they have imparted to my mind, I must 
always look upon them as real friends. Besides, the man who 
deserves the name of a gardener requires to read much, in order 
to qualify him to discharge aright the duties of his situation. 
There is much knowledge required, from the planting of a cab- 
bage, to the pruning, and planting, and manuring of a lordly 
domain. With such a field before him, he will find ample scope 
for his mathematical knowledge, and also for what he has learned 
about the laws of equilibrium, of motion, and its communication, 

3d Ser.—1842. X. KK 


498 Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 


He will also find it useful at times to be able to explain the laws 
by which the elementary particles act on each other, and also the 
combinations or decompositions resulting from the affinity of their 
ultimate elements, the nature of rocks, and the formation of soils. 
The best botanical systems, vegetable physiology, and many other 
branches of natural history, will be found extremely useful to the 
intelligent gardener. Young men may also derive much plea- 
sure and advantage by studying the art of drawing; its founda- 
tion is laid in geometry and perspective, and the study of both 
is necessary towards the attainment of the art. Many may ima- 
gine that such a variety of subjects may be unnecessary for the 
gardener to know; but it could be easily shown how important 
they all are, and others besides those already mentioned, in the 
way of his profession. ‘There appears to be a mutual dependence 
of one branch of knowledge upon another; and the various 
branches of science are blended with each other in such an 
intimate manner that many discoveries in one department of 
knowledge would probably never have been made, unless they 
had applied to ascertained facts and properties resulting from 
others. ‘The astronomer, in order to find out the true position 
of some of the heavenly bodies, has many corrections to make, 
such as the correction of refraction, of the parallax, of nutation, 
and aberration; and, to be able to make the correction of re- 
fraction, he must go to the sciences of optics and pneumatics, 
and often the knowledge of one fact leads to the discovery of 
another. The true length of a degree of the meridian established 
Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of universal gravitation. 

‘* The working out of the arrangements that may be entered 
into this night will, I have no doubt, be the means of increasing 
your acquaintance with much that will prove advantageous to 
you all in future days. The giving away of knowledge is per- 
haps different from the giving away of any thing else: he who 
parts with it to others may do them much good, and become 
none the poorer himself; on the contrary, he understands his 
subject better, and is prepared to make new voyages in unknown 
regions. ‘The plan I would advise you to follow is a very simple 
one, but I believe will prove a useful one. Let one take a sub- 
ject of which he has already some knowledge and write a short 
essay; make it as plain as possible, in order that those who are 
ignorant of it may be enabled to understand; and, when it can 
be done, make experiments, and show diagrams or models, that 
the thing may be clearly understood as you go along. After the 
essay is read, let a general conversation take place on what has 
been delivered, and questions may be put and answers given 
when it can be done. Many are afraid to make enquiries after 
things, for fear of their ignorance being known; never let sucha 
false delicacy influence your pursuit after such as are useful, 


ie 


General Principles for the Management of Fruit Trees. 499. 


and when you impart information do it honestly. There are many 
who pride themselves on giving wrong names to things, such 
as plants; this is a very silly amusement, and ought to be 
guarded against: a little knowledge of systematic botany will 
defend you from such imposition and discover the knavery. I 
will not detain you longer at present, but will leave you to make 
such arrangements among yourselves as may be thought neces- 
sary; I will assist you in your undertaking, if I am able to do it; 
and my advice and the use of my books will be at your service.” 
Before the gardener left the bothy, the young men ex- 
pressed themselves highly pleased with what they had heard 
and thanked him for the offers he had made, but were afraid 
their essay- writing would bea failure. ‘* Make the attempt,” said 
he. ‘A child is said to walk when he can make two or three 
steps; and, although your first should not fill a page, try and do 
something, and there is no fear that the next will be longer.” 
After their master was gone, Colin Forbes said that he 
thought that if masters were to take as much interest in the 
welfare of their men as theirs did, a race of better-informed gar- 
deners would spring up in a few years. ‘‘And I believe,” said 
Walter Glenesk, “the master will lose naething by it: there are 
few minds but feel grateful for a kindness done them, and will 
be ready, when an opportunity occurs, to do what they can to 
repay it.”—‘** Ay, ay,” said Bauldy Black; “but when will sic 
men as Donald Blamart, gardener o’ Keelynine Castle, gae awa ? 
Mony a puir chield has he harled to death, to mak up the time 
that he spent in the Chainge-house. If he had been a man like our 
present master, I wad hae been a better scholar; but, instead 0’ 
takin’ a book in my hand in the winter nights, we were forced to 
mak tallies and tawtie creels by the lowe of a cruisie.”—‘* Well, 
well, Bauldy, say no more about Donald,” said Sandy Mac Alpine; 
‘we will try and inform you about things that he knows nothing 
about. I once attended a course of lectures on chemistry ; and, 
with the assistance of the notes I took, which I have still in my 
possession, and Griffin’s Chemical Recreations, and Practical 
Chemistry, I will show you some things that will perhaps surprise 
you; and, by the aid of a few simple experiments, you will be 
able to understand some of the important operations of nature.” 
West Plean, near Stirling, Sept. 1842. 


Art. III. General Principles applicable to the Management of 
Fruit Trees. By AN AMATEUR. 


STANDARD fruit trees occasion less trouble in managing, and are 
more certain in bearing, than either wall trees or espaliers ; 


though there are some trees, as the peach, which are too tender 
KK 2 


500 “General Principles applicable 


for being grown as standards; and others, as the vine, which are 
unsuitable. In standard trees, the top will generally be ad- 
justed to the root naturally; and hence, in such trees, very little 
pruning will become requisite beyond that of thinning out cross- 
ing or crowded branches: but, in wall and espalier trees, as the 
top is disproportionately small to the roots, pruning, or dis- 
budding, &c., as a substitute, becomes necessary during the 
whole period of their existence. The nearest approach which 
a wall tree can be made to have to a standard is, when, in the 
case of north and south walls, one half of the branches are 
trained on the east side of the wall, and the other half on the 
west side; or when one tree is made to cover both sides of a 
double espalier. Pruning may be rendered almost unnecessary 
by disbudding, disleafing, and stopping; but this will not always 
be the best course to pursue. When the root of a wall tree is 
to be strengthened, more shoots should be left than are required 
for being laid in at the winter pruning; and when the root is to 
be weakened, all or a part of the shoots produced may be left, 
but they must be disleafed or stopped as fast as they advance in 
growth, or the stem may be ringed, or the young shoots twisted 
or broken down, or the roots pruned. 

Keeping roots near the surface, and encouraging the pro- 
duction of surface roots, will have a tendency to moderate the 
production of wood; and deep planting and stirring the surface 
to a foot or more in depth will throw the roots down to a moister 
stratum, and encourage the production of wood, but of an in- 
ferior quality for the future production of fruit. Dry sandy 
soil, not rich, will produce moderate growth and precocity, both 
in the fruit and the ripening of the wood, and rich deep soil the 
contrary ; hence dry soil, comparatively poor, ought to be pre- 
ferred for cold late situations, in which it is always desirable to 
ripen early both the fruit and the wood. By depriving a tree 
or a plant of its first crop of buds, a second crop will be pro- 
duced the same season, but some weeks later; and, on this prin- 
ciple, late crops of leaves may be produced on all plants, and 
of fruits on all such trees and plants as have the power of 
forming blossom-buds, and expanding them in the course of one 
season ; as, for example, the raspberry, strawberry, grape, and 
all annual and biennial fruit-bearing plants whatever. As all 
plants require a certain period of rest, by bringing on this 
period sooner in autumn, by disleafing, and depriving the roots 
of moisture by thatching the ground over them, they will be 
predisposed to vegetate sooner in spring. Hence the advan- 
tage of pruning all trees, the young wood of which is not liable 
to be injured by frost, immediately after the fall of the leaf. All 
wood that is not thoroughly ripened should be protected during 
winter by branches, fern, hay netting, or some other means; 


to the Management of Fruit Trees. 501 


but, as this is only applicable to wall trees, the soil for all others 
should be so adjusted to the climate as to insure their wood ripen- 
ing in the open garden or orchard. As the most exhausting part 
of every fruit is the seed, and as the number of seeds in every 
fruit is limited by nature, it follows that a few fruit grown to a 
large size will be less injurious to a plant than the same weight 
of fruit produced in fruits of small size. As in plants in a state 
of seed-bearing the chief energies of the plant are directed to 
the nourishment of the seed, so in those fruit-bearing plants in 
which the fruit is gathered green, such as cucumbers, gourds, 
capsicums, peas, beans, kidneybeans, &c., none of the fruit 
should be allowed to mature any seed so long as any of it is 
gathered in an unripe state. Hence the immense importance of 
thinning out the blossom-buds of trees before they expand, and 
thinning out the fruit before the embryo of the seed begins to 
assume that stage which in berries and pomes is called setting, 
and in nuts and stone-fruit stoning. When a fruit is once set 
or stoned, if the embryo of the seed be destroyed by the depo- 
sition in it of the eggs of an insect, or by the puncture of a needle, 
the fruit, if it does not fall off, will ripen earlier, but will be in 
most cases of inferior flavour. ‘The same result will take place 
to a limited extent even with leaves, when they are punctured. 

Any check given to the head of a tree, such as disleafing, the 
attacks of insects, disease, overbearing, &c., has a tendency to 
cause the plant to throw up suckers, if it is natural to the root 
or stock to do so. As the leaves produced at the base of a 
young shoot are small, and generally soon drop off, so the buds 
in the axils of such leaves are never blossom-buds till they have 
become invigorated by at least another year’s growth; and 
hence, when young wood is shortened, if blossom is the imme- 
diate object, it ought not to be cut farther back than to the first 
large bud. This is particularly applicable in the case of vines, 
roses, &c. In shortening such wood on spur-bearing trees, such 
as the apple and pear, only one or two of the imperfect buds are 
left at the base of the shoot, and these the following year gene- 
rally become blossom-buds, if the tree is neither too weak nor 
too luxuriant.. In general, winter-pruning a young tree retards 
the period of its fruit-bearing, but greatly increases the vigour 
of the tree; hence delicate trees, such as the peach, require 
more pruning than very hardy trees, such as the apple and 
plum. | 

«Summer pruning,” a friend observes, “ effects various objects : 
it exposes the fruit, where it exists, and also the embryo fruit- 
buds, and leaves connected with them, to the beneficial influence 
of light, air, and dews. ‘This is effected by removing those 
portions of shoots which, as they advance, would more and more 


shade the lower parts, and prevent them in a great measure 
KK 3 


© 


502 General Principles for the Management of Fruit Trees. 


from deriving advantage from the above important agencies as_ 


regards vegetation; these may be termed mechanical effects. 
Physiologically considered, the progress of the sap is limited by 
summer-pruning, and is directed towards the leaves and buds 
on the lower parts of shoots, which are in consequence invigo- 
rated, more especially as their free exposure to light, &Xc., 
enables them better to elaborate this increased supply. But 
although the foliage so left to act is increased in size and ef- 
ficiency, yet the agency of this portion in producing roots is, 
notwithstanding, less powerful than the whole mass would be, if 
the shoots were allowed to grow wild throughout the summer ; 
for in proportion to the mass of healthy foliage, so is the in- 
crease of roots. Hence excessive vigour Is moderated by sum- 
mer-pruning, and this in a greater or less degree according to 
the time and manner of performing the operation. The longer 
the operation is deferred, and the less the portion cut off from 
the shoots, the greater will be the strength which the roots will 
derive; and the earlier and shorter the shoots are cut, the less 
will be the quantity of foliage, and proportionally so the quantity 
of roots. ‘Therefore, if a tree is too vigorous, summer-pruning 
should commence by disbudding such shoots, as they appear, as 
are not at all wanted to be retained for wood or spurs; and, as 
soon as the shoots intended to produce fruit spurs or buds at 
their base have become furnished with five buds, the extremity 
may be pinched off. As many as five buds are mentioned, be- 
cause fewer do not complete one turn of the spiral, which may 
be traced by following the arrangement of the buds on a shoot 
of such fruit trees as are usually trained on walls. In the 
course of a fortnight, the uppermost buds on the portion left 
will have commenced to push; and they must be allowed to go 
on for a longer or shorter time without stopping, according to 
the greater or less danger of the buds at the base being also 
developed into shoots, instead of remaining in the character of 
fruit buds till next spring. If the roots, and of course the tree 
generally, require to be invigorated, the shoots will not be so 
numerous, and may be allowed to extend till after midsummer ; 
and then only shortened for a little at first, in order that as 
much foliage as is consistent with the principles above explained 
may be left to act. It is a very prevalent but no less erroneous 
notion, that, in the case of an over-vigorous tree, as much wood 
should be retained, and as many shoots allowed to grow, as 
possible, in order that its vigour may be moderated by the ex- 
penditure. ‘Those who hold this opinion may rest assured that 
the more a young tree grows, the more it is capable of growing ; 
for growth is not a mere evolution of parts already formed, 
evolved by a determinate amount of expansive power. If ten 
buds give rise to a hundred others, these last have the power 


Bi 


On the Cultivation of the White Guava, 503 


of originating, in the same ratio, one thousand, and so on, as 
long as force of sap towards new formations is undiminished,” 

All shoots under half an inch in diameter, cut from the 
side of a stem before midsummer, will generally heal over the 
same season. ‘Terminal wounds made by shortening will not 
heal over till a shoot has been produced, the base of which will 
cover the wound. 

The fruit-bearing shoots of all trees, in a natural state, are 
chiefly such as are lateral, while the wood of the tree is chiefly 
increased by the vertical shoots; hence some modification of 
lateral training will, in almost every case, be found preferable to 
training vertically. Lateral roots are also those which con- 
tribute most to fruit-bearing wood; and tap or deep-growing 
roots to upright and barren wood. All restraint imposed on 
trees, whether by training, root-pruning, or ringing the branches, 
if not followed up by art, will speedily end in disfiguring the 
tree and rendering it unfruitful, till it has assumed its natural | 
form and habit of growth; and, if the tree should be of a species 
so tender as not to ripen fruit in its natural form as a standard, 
it will, by assuming that form, have become useless as a fruit 
tree. In the case of all trees in a state of culture, and more 
especially such as grow in soil the surface of which is heated 
more than that of the general surface of the locality, as is the 
case of a border exposed to the reverberation of the sun’s rays 
in front of a south wall, artificial supplies of water are necessary 
at particular seasons; and water, therefore, must be considered as 
much an element of culture as manure. All the diseases of fruit 
trees cannot be effectually prevented or cured by judicious cul- 
ture, but most of them may; and all insects which live on the 
surface of trees may be destroyed or subdued by abundant 
washings with clear water by the syringe or engine. All fruit- 
bearing plants (and indeed all others) grown in pots ought to 
be potted in soil which has not been sifted, and which, if not 
sufficiently coarse to keep it so open as to receive water freely, 
should be mixed with fragments of wood, bones, and stone, for 
that purpose, for supplying manure, and for retaining moisture. 


Art.1V. On the Cultivation of the White Guava (Pstdium py- 
riferum L.). By Epwarp OrrTo. 


(From the Garten Zeitung.) 


Tue well known tree Psidium pyriferum is but rarely met with 
in our gardens, although it may be cultivated without much 


difficulty, if it is allowed sufficient space. 
KK 4 


504 On the Cultivation of the White Guava. 


The White Guava (P. pyriferum Z.) is a West Indian tree 
which attains the height of 10 or 12 feet. The fruit is about 
the size of a hen’s egg, with a yellowish and whitish outer 
covering, containing a reddish mealy pulp, in which are found 
the seeds. They are small, and are eaten along with the pulp, 
which is sweet, and of an aromatic and agreeable taste. The 
natives of the West India Islands eat the guava raw, or pre- 
served with sugar; or prepare from it the well known guava 
jelly, which is exported in large quantities from Havanna. 

The guava grows easily in a mixture of loam and peat earth, 
but requires plenty of room, particularly if you wish to have 
fruit. ‘The temperature of a greenhouse is sufficient for it, but 
it should not always have the same degree of heat ; because, like 
most tropical plants, as soon as it ceases to grow it requires a 
lower temperature, and a diminution of water. ‘This period, 
with us, should be in winter; not on account of sparing fuel at 
this time of the year, but because the summer months are. better 
calculated for the developement of tropical vegetation, as there 
is then a pretty equal proportion of light and heat, so necessary 
for the prosperity of the plants. 

The guava, when growing, requires a great deal of water, 
and it should be gradually increased as soon as the shoots begin 
to expand themselves. A plentiful supply of manure, particu- 
larly when the plants are young, is of the greatest use, as it 
brings them quicker to a proper degree of strength. 

I found several species of Psidium generally growing together, 
both on the Island of Cuba, and also in Venezuela. I found 
them in most cases, when not planted by the hand of man, 
growing in a rich, nourishing, and moist soil, in the immediate 
neighbourhood of a river or piece of water. Several species 
there are distinguished from each other principally by the fruit : 
such as the Yellow Guava (P. pyriferum Z., Guajava pyrifor- 
mis Gerin., Guajdvus domésticus Rumph.), and the Red Guava 
(P. pomiferum L,., Guajyavus agréstis Rumph.). Both species 
have the same properties. The fruit of the former is yellow, and 
pear-shaped ; that of the latter reddish, and of a round form. 

The leaves are sometimes laid on wounds, and on eruptions of 
the skin. The wood is much sought after by the cabinet-maker, 
and is also used as an article of fuel. ‘The Guajava de Cochino, 
or Macho, probably P. montanum Swze., a native of the Antilles, 
differs from P. aromaticum Audlet, a native of Guiana, the fruit 
of which is not eaten, as it is generally soft and tasteless. In 
the Bay of Matanzas, in the Island of Cuba, I saw the latter 
in great numbers not far from the sea, also in the neighbourhood 
of the Caraccas and other places, growing either in a wild state, 
or planted by the hand of man. 

Berlin, Dec. 1841. 


Bananas fruited in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. 505 


Art. V. Notes on the different Kinds of Banana which have fruited 
in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, arranged in the Order 
in which they are valued as fruit-bearing Plants. By James 
M‘Nas, Superintendant of the Caledonian Horticultural Society’s 
Garden, Inverleith. 


1. Musa sapiéntum var. st. helenénsis (the St. Helena Banana) 
grows to the height of 14ft. The average weight ofeach bunch of 
fruit varies from 60]b. to 80]b., being double the weight of any 
of the other varieties that have yet fruited. This variety was in- 
troduced into the Edinburgh Garden from St. Helena in 1832; 
but, though cultivated in St. Helena, it cannot be indigenous 
there. It is not only the most prolific variety that has fruited 
here, but it is also high-flavoured ; and, where head-room can be 
afforded for bananas, it of all others is the most worthy of culti- 
vation. The fruit of this variety is brought to a much larger 
size, by frequent tubbing and rich soil, than that of any of the 
other cultivated sorts can be made to attain. Strong-grown 
plants have produced all their leaves 14 ft. long and 3 ft. broad. 

2. Misa s. var. dacca (the Dacca Banana) is the next in 
point of value. Its average height of stem is 7ft., producing 
clusters from 10lb. to 20 1b. weight. The fruit is smaller and 
drier than that of the St. Helena Banana, but perhaps higher 
flavoured. 

3. Misa s. var. Cavendishii (the Duke of Devonshire’s Ba- 
nana), syn. M. s. chinénsis, is valuable on account of its fruiting 
at a small size. Few of the fruit, however, become so plump as 
that of the other varieties; besides, it has a great tendency to 
smother one half of each cluster in the folds of the leaves, unless 
very great heat be given just at the time it is developing its 
flower spike. This extra heat often tends to the injury of other 
plants growing along with it; and therefore a small house should 
be allotted for the purpose of growing this variety. 

Other musas have fruited in the Botanic Garden, such as 
Musa paradisiaca LZ. and the common Musa sapiéntum Z. ; 
but the clusters of fruit of both species are small compared 
with those of the St. Helena Banana. The flavour is also inferior 
to it, as well as to the M. s. dacca and M. s. Cavendishzz. 

‘Two other sorts are now in fruit, viz. the French Banana from 
Jamaica, and the Strawberry Apple-flavoured Banana from the 
Mauritius ; but nothing can be said of the merits of these va- 
rieties at present. 

Since the above was written, Mr. M‘Nab informs us that the 
Strawberry Apple-flavoured Banana ripened its fruit about the 
20th of July; and ‘that, in point of flavour, it is considered one 
of the best that has yet fruited. When quite ripe, it possesses a 
most agreeable acid or sharpness, which will cause it to be a fa- 


506 Different Kinds of Banana 


vourite with banana cultivators. The comparative smallness of 
the clusters, compared with those of the fruiting varieties, how- 
ever, is a drawback.” 

Several other fruiting varieties recently introduced from the ~ 
West Indies are expected to fruit early next year. 

Musas. discolor, M.s. rosacea, M. s. coccinea, and M. s. 
supérba, have also flowered ; but they produced no fruit worthy 
of notice. 

When bananas are attended to carefully, they may be made 
to produce their fruit within a twelvemonth from the time the 
suckers are taken off the parent plants. 

The following are the only places in Scotland where the 
banana has been cultivated for its fruit: — Dalkeith Park; Wil- 
liamfield, the seat of Mrs. Fairlie; the Horticultural Gardens 
here; and the Royal Botanic Garden. At Dalkeith and Wil- 
liamfield the only kind fruited was M. s. Cavendishzz. 

Caledonian Hort. Soc. Garden, 

Inverleith, July 7. 1842. 


Art. VI. Notes on the different Kinds of Banana cultivated at 
Leigh Park, the Seat of Sir G. T. Staunton, Bart. By Ricuarp 
Carter, Under Gardener there. 


ALTHOUGH we have eight varieties of Musa sapiéntum Z. here, 
yet we have only fruited three of them, the Banana (M. sapi- 
éntum), M.s. Cavendishzz, and M. s. dacca: the last two varieties 
we have fruited in abundance. 

At present we have the Plantain (M. paradisiaca Z.) with a 
stem measuring nearly 4 ft. in circumference at the base, with 
leaves from 12 ft. to 14 ft. long. We have also another large- 
growing variety, which produces a very large cluster of excellent 
fruit, but we have no name for it. 

The three other varieties are not fruiting sorts, M. s. coccinea, 
M. s. discolor, and M.s. rosacea, and they are kept as flowering 
plants. 

M. s. Cavendishzz can be fruited in a pine-stove about 8 or 10 
feet high at the back, but the Dacca variety, if well grown, would 
require a house 20 ft. in height. 

M. s. dacca is a robust and very handsome-growing variety 
of the banana; and, when allowed plenty of room in a congenial 
climate, it will grow 20 ft. high, with a stem measuring 3 ft. in 
circumference at the base, leaves 10 ft. long and nearly 3 ft. 
in breadth, and producing a cluster of fruit above 50 Ib. 
weight. The fruit, when in perfection, is of excellent quality, 
very much Jarger, and more pointed, than the fruit of M. s. 
Cavendishzz. 


cultivated at Leigh Park. 507 


Like the other varieties of banana, it is easily propagated by 
suckers, which should be removed when about 2 ft. long, potted, 
and plunged into bottom heat until they are established; they 
may then be kept in*small compass, until wanted to plant out for 
fruiting. 

Tubs, or a pit with brick partitions, about 34 ft. square, will 
be suitable for fruiting plants. Use plenty of drainage, and fill 
the tubs with the following compost: about equal portions of 
light turfy loam, and well-rotted dung from the hotbeds, and 
add a small quantity of sand. This, or any similar light, rich, - 
porous soil, will suit bananas well. Let the mixture be roughly 
chopped, and pressed gently into the tub; plant rather high, and 
allow for the soil settling a little. Occasional watering with 
liquid manure will add to the vigour of the plants. 

Syringe the house every afternoon in fine weather, except 
when the fruit is ripening. While the plants are growing ra- 
-_pidly keep the roots rather moist, but as soon as the fruit has 
acquired its full size withhold water entirely ; and when any of the 
fruits begin to change colour cut the cluster, and hang it up ina 
dry airy room to ripen gradually. 

The summer temperature of our stove is 65° min. and 85° or 
more with sun heat; winter temperature, 65° min. 75° max. The 
bananas that ripen in winter are but little inferior to the sum-~ 
mer fruit: but those plants that show fruit in December or 
January have generally very short flower stems; and, although 
the fruits are equally numerous, the cluster is generally less 
handsomely developed than those that are produced in spring or 
summer. 

Our plants of M. Cavendishzz vary in produce from bunches 
of fruit weighing 30 lb. to bunches weighing 45 lb.; those of the 
Dacca variety from 40 1b. to 55lb. Twenty plants of M.s. 
Cavendishzz may be fruited in a pit 30 ft. by 15 ft.; an equal 
weight of pine-apples might be grown in the same space; but 
much additional room would be required to forward successive 
pine plants, whereas young plants of Musa might be kept in 
little compass without injury. Healthy young plants put into 
fruiting-tubs in April or May will show fruit in the autumn, 
and ripen their fruits in the following May or June. 

Tt will take from four and a half to seven months from the 
time the banana is in flower until it is fit for the table, according 
to the season of the year, temperature, &c. The plants make 
but little progress during the dark winter months. 

The banana does not produce seeds, but produces excellent 
fruit at all seasons, although they often flower very imperfectly. 

A banana-house for fruiting M.s. Cavendishzz, if 40 ft. long 
by 20 ft. wide, with a span roof resting on brick walls about § ft. 
high, would give room for a path along the sides and ends of the 


508, Result of an Experiment with Grass Seeds. 
house, with space in the centre for pits or tubs to accommodate 
20 fruiting plants, and plenty of room at the sides of the paths for 
young plants, A small bark bed might be made at one end, to 
establish the suckers. 

The whole of the roof might be fixed, and the upright sashes 
at each end made to slide or drop as ventilators. The glazing 
should be done with sheet glass, in long panes, in Mr. Paxton’s 
manner. Such a house would be nearly air-tight, and I have 
experienced that a stove constructed in this manner is heated at 
a comparatively trifling cost. Erecting a house of this kind 
would cost but little, and it would be capable of yielding a sup- 
ply of excellent fruit throughout the year. Heating by hot-water 
pipes is preferable to flues; although these, if properly con- 
structed, would answer very well. 

Leigh Park Gardens, July 19. 1842. 


Art. VII. Result of an Experiment with Grass Seeds, intended to 
show the proper Depth of Covering they should receive when sown. 
By Messrs. DrumMMownpD, of the Agricultural Museum, Stirling. 


Tue seeds were sown on the 13th of May, 1842, in our nursery 
grounds, on an open border of light soil, the covering regulated 
by a frame (fig. 55.) 4 ft. wide, the back (a, c) standing 3 in. in 


\ 


KW a 


SN 


Yi: 


NX 


MM; 


N \ \\ 
AN AWA \ 
5 G4 LOT Wey tS A: 


Fig. 55. Diagram showing the different Degrees of Covering required for different Kinds of 
Grass Seeds. 


wy 


al ZY 
t. YI) 


. Lolium perénne L., Perennial 


rye grass. 


. Phiéum praténsemajus L.,Greater 


meadow catstail, or Timothy. 


9, Festtca 


10. 


duridscula Z., Hard 
fescue. 

Poa praténsis L., Smooth-stalked 
meadow grass. 


3. Festuca praténsis L., Meadow 11. Dactylis glomerata L., Rough 
fescue. cocksfoot. 

4, Trifolium praténse L., Red clo- 12. Cynosurus cristatus L., Crested 
ver. dogstail. 

5. Trifol. repens L., White clover. 13. Poa nemoralis L., Wood meadow 

6. Medicago luptlina L., Yellow grass. 
clover. 14. Agréstis stolonifera Z. var., Fiorin 

7. Plantago lanceolata L., Ribgrass. grass. ‘aps 

8. Alopecirus praténsis L.,Meadow 15. Lolium perénne ZL. yar. italicum, 


foxtail. 


Italian rye grass. 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 509 


depth, and the front (6, d) even with the surface, as shown in 
the figure. ‘The shading by lines shows where the seeds have 
brairded; and the proportionate thickness of the plants, in the 
different depths, is shown by the darkness or lightness of the 
shade produced by the width or nearness of the lines. 

The Lolium perénne Z., or common rye grass, alone, has 
risen the whole breadth of the frame; but, after it has passed 
the middle, the thickness of the plant decreases more than one 
half. ‘The Poze and Agréstes, which have very small seeds, 
will not bear more than a quarter of an inch of cover; and from 
a quarter to half an inch appears the proper depth for the other 
sorts. Hence, instead of using the common harrow for cover- 
ing grass seeds, the surface should merely be ruffled by a bush, 
or some implement in imitation of one, and well rolled. 

Stirling, July 16. 1842. 


REVIEWS. 


Art.I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, §c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


THE First Annual Report of the Metropolitan Improvement Society. Pamph. 
8vo, pp. 7. London, 1842. 


We have frequently in this Magazine, and in the Architectural Magazine, 
suggested the necessity of a metropolitan council, committee, or board, to 
suggest and superintend public improvements, which have hitherto, with the 
exception of some parts of the city property and the crown lands, been sub- 
jected to the caprice of individuals, or at least been devised with a view to 
partial rather than general interests. We are therefore glad to see the es- 
tablishment of a Metropolitan Improvement Society, the success of which has 
been even greater than we anticipated. 

According to the report before us a deputation from the committee of the 
Society have had an interview with the prime minister, who “stated that his 
own opinions coincided with the views of the deputation; that he certainly 
considered it desirable that in the place of a committee of the House of Com- 
mons an efficient board should be appointed to institute proper enquiries, and 
take a broad and comprehensive view of the whole subject. He further said 
that, regarding the object as a most important one, he did not think the con- 
sideration of a mere trifling expense should stand in the way, and he should 
probably not hesitate to propose such a grant as would be sufficient to render 
the enquiry effectual. 

‘Some objections were naturally raised to any interference with plans of 
improvement that had already received the legislative sanction ; considerable 
progress having been made in negotiating for and purchasing property on the 
different lines. The committee, however, feel extremely anxious on this 
point. Plans which would have been far more satisfactory to the public have 
been sacrificed to a spirit of mistaken economy, while those which are now 
being carried into execution are most faulty and inadequate. Viewing the 
paramount importance of the subject, and that the opportunity, once lost, can 
never be recalled, the committee are still using strenuous exertions to call the 


510 General Notices. 


attention of government to a revision of these plans; and do not despair of 
causing them to be modified, and materially improved. 

“ Valuable suggestions on various subjects connected with metropolitan 
improvements have also been received, and entered in a book kept for that 
purpose. 

“The important object—that of inducing government to prepare a com- 
prehensive plan of improvement, embracing the general interests of the 
metropolis, and founded upon an accurate survey —the committee trust has 
been secured; but to this alone the committee would not confine their 
exertions, but would extend them to every point tending to the health, 
comfort, and well-being of this vast city. 

“ They desire especially to effect an improvement of the over-crowded and 
ill-drained neighbourhoods of the poor; to provide a better description of 
dwellings for the lower classes, and to adopt every other available means of 
checking the fearful mortality now raging in the poorer districts. 

“ They are anxious to impress the public mind with the fearful consequences 
arising from the burial of the dead im crowded places, and to encourage, as 
much as possible, cemeteries formed at a distance from the metropolis. 

“The naming and numbering of streets should also engage the early at- 
tention of the committee. Every one is not perhaps aware of the great public 
inconvenience resulting from the total abandonment of this branch of the 
duties of municipal administration to individual caprice; in illustration of 
this, however, it may be mentioned that in some streets there are several 
houses with the same number ; and that in the commercial part of the me- 
tropolis alone, there are no fewer than twenty-eight King Streets, twenty 
Queen Streets, twenty-six Charles Streets, twenty-five Church Streets, 
twenty George Streets, and twenty-three John Streets, with numerous other 
examples of a corresponding character. 

“To render their exertions effective, however, and to institute proper en- 
quiries on all these points, the influence and funds of the Society must be 
increased. The committee trust they may depend on the individual exer- 
tions of the members of the Society to obtain a further accession to their 
numbers; and they feel persuaded that the objects they have in view require 
only to be well known to obtain ample support from the public.” 

The subscription is only 10s. a year, and 3/. 3s. constitutes a member for life. 
H. Austin, Esq., is the honorary secretary, and the office is No. 20. Bedford 
Street, Covent Garden. 


A complete Course of Practical Geometry and Plan-Drawing ; treated on a 
Principle of peculiar Perspicuity : adapted either for Classes or for Self-instruc- 
tion. By C. W. Pasley, C.B., Colonel Royal Engineers, F.R.S., &c. &c. 
Second edition, much enlarged. S8vo, pp. 608, with numerous woodcuts. 
London, 1838. 


If the price of this work (24s.) did not put it out of the reach of journey- 
men gardeners, it is one which we can very strongly recommend to them. It 
ought to find a place in garden libraries where the books are purchased by 
the proprietor, and form a part of the garden furniture. A number of the 
problems will be made use of in our Encyclopedia of Landscape-Gardening 
and Garden Architecture, if we should ever be able to complete that work. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Ant. I. General Notices. 


AcTION of Salts on living Plants. — From various experiments which M. 
Vogel, sen., has made on the action of salts on living plants, he has arrived 
at the following conclusions : — 


Foreign Notices : —Germany. 511 


Ist, That plants with their roots, when immersed into a solution of sulphate 
of copper, totally absorb the salt, convert it into proto-sulphate, and die 
quickly. 

2d, That acetate of copper produces the same effects, the salt absorbed 
becoming proto-acetate of copper. 

3d, That plants absorb sulphate of magnesia, nitrate of potash, and iodide 
of potassium, and die more or less quickly. 

4th, That the sulphates of zinc and manganese are absorbed by plants, with- 
out suffering decomposition, and the plants die. 

5th, That plants absorb nitrate of cobalt and nickel, without being able to 
absorb the whole of them from solution ; but they die : and the same effect is 
produced by emetic tartar. 

6th, That the oxalate and tartrate of oxide of chromium and potash are 
’ slowly absorbed by plants, and the bichromate of potash much more quickly. 
The Datura Stramonium and Galéga officinalis absorb the salt of chromium 
with the greatest rapidity ; they become of a yellow colour, and die. 

7th, That plants absorb nitrate of silver ; but they decompose it, and the 
oxide of silver is reduced to the metallic state. : 

8th, That plants absorb also, and totally, the proto-nitrate of mercury 
from solution, but the salt is decomposed. 

9th, That corrosive sublimate is absorbed by plants; some of them de- 
compose it into calomel, and others absorb it without decomposition. 

10th, That plants slowly absorb acetate of lead ; and it is decomposed by 
some plants, and not by others. 

11th, That plants which contain much carbonate of lime, such as the 
Chara vulgaris and the Stratiotes aloides, do not absorb a salt of copper from 
solution: the same also occurs with the Cereus variabilis. (Phil. Mag., July, 
1842.) 

Ripening Potatoes. — Potatoes, at this season, are often found to be watery 
and deficient in flavour, although boiled with the greatest care. It will be 
found that, by placing them for a week before using near a fire or stove, they 
will have gained their proper consistence and flavour. (Cambridge Chron. and 
Journ., March 26. 1842.) 

Beast poisoned by eating Yew. — A correspondent says : — Mr. Lygo and 
Mr. Dexter of Thurcaston had two beasts killed a few days ago by eating of 
the yew tree, and several more were made dangerously ill. It would be well 
if all having yew growing upon their estates would fence it out, so that no 
stock of any kind could get to eat it. (Camb. Chron. and Journ., April 2. 1842.) 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


GERMANY. 


THE edible Snail of Germany is the vineyard snail, Hélix pomatia L. It is 
about 1 in. in diameter, of a roundish form, and consists of five whorls, with 
several circular brown bands. This snail is found in great numbers almost 
every where, particularly in meadows, and by the sides of hedges, where they 
make their appearance after rain, but do not do much injury. In the South of 
Germany, and in all the southern countries, they are collected and put in 
large trenches or holes in the ground, and fed with salad or cabbage till the 
winter sets in, or till they shut themselves up with their operculum. They are 
brought in this state to market, and whole shiploads are.conveyed down the 
Danube to Vienna from Swabia. They are considered very delicate eating, 
whether boiled or fried. They are killed by putting them in warm water, then 
pricked out of the shell, and the intestines cut off and thrown away; the re- 
mainder, either stewed or fried, is most generally replaced in the shell after 
being washed out, and served up on any kind of vegetable, usually sauer kraut. 
The operculum consists of a chalky salt slime, which is emitted in a moist 


512 ; Retrospective Criticism. 


state from the margin of the mantle, and afterwards becomes dry. If the 
cold is very severe, they retreat deeper in the shell, and return very frequently. 
to the operculum, adding one cover after another till the whole is sufficient to 
keep out the cold. These additional covers are much thinner than the outer 
one which was first made. They pass the winter under the earth, or in the 
dust and rubbish of hollow trees. Their eggs are about the size of green peas, 
and are deposited in a hole in the ground, and amount generally to two or 
three dozen. In the South of Europe, viz., in Italy, France, and England, and 
even in Asia, the rough vineyard snail (H. aspera) is so abundant, that it is 
not only eaten, but soup is made from it for diseases of the chest. It is rather 
more than an inch in diameter, is rough, and has brown and gray spotted 
bands with a white opening. (Al/gemeine Naturgeschichte fiir alle Stinde, by 
Professor Oken, vol. ii. p. 421.) 


Art. INI. Retrospective Criticism. 


THE Suburban Horticulturist. —[The followmg notes, by Mr. Lymburn, will 
be perused with interest and advantage by all our readers. To render them 
clearly understood, we have prefixed the passages in the Suburban Horticul- 
turist to which they apply.] 

“9. The next point of analogy between plants and animals which it may be 
useful to notice is that between the lungs and the leaves. An animal can no 
more live without its lungs than without its stomach. The stomach, as we. 
have seen, is necessary for turning the food into chyle, and the lungs for 
turning that chyle into blood. Now, a plant can no more live and grow 
without leaves, than an animal can without lungs. The use of the lungs is 
to expose the chyle to the action of the air, which they decompose, so that 
its oxygen may unite witn the chyle, and thus change it into blood. The 
leaves of plants, which act to them as lungs, not only decompose air, but 
light, in the process of elaborating the sap; and hence plants can no more 
live without light than without air or food, as light is necessary to turn their 
food into sap, or, in other words, to bring it into the proper state for afford- 
ing them nourishment. Hence, in the culture of plants, the great importance 
of solar light. An important difference, however, between the circulation of 
the sap in vegetables and that of the blood in animals is, that the former have 
no heart.” 

In comparing plants with animals, the leaves can only be compared to 
lungs; and, similarly to lungs, it is true, they aerate the sap, and imbibe 
oxygen, as the lungs do to the blood: but, when we carry the comparison 
further, we find that not only do the leaves imbibe oxygen, but they also, by 
imbibing the chemical power of the light, decompose carbonic acid, absorbing 
the carbon, and setting the oxygen free. This is a power which has never 
been ascribed to lungs ; and, as the chemical power absorbed probably acts in 
other ways on the sap presented (see 124.), though it is difficult to discriminate 
between organic secretion of particular organs and the chemical power of 
light, it has been by many eminent physiologists called digestion. _Compara- 
tive physiology is valuable as assisting us to understand more readily what 
we are ignorant of, by comparing it with what we are already acquainted with. 
It is necessary to know the functions which the different organs perform before 
we can estimate their value, or know the necessity of supplymg them with 
proper food; and the more we can simplify the subject, by classifymg one 
organ in one organised being with one destined to a similar purpose in another, 
we the more readily arrive at a general knowledge of the whole. There are 
many difficulties, however, in comparative physiology; and the proper class 
of organs to which leaves may belong seems one of the principal stumbling- 
blocks. 


Retrospective Criticism. 513 


“15. It would appear, from the case of the purple laburnum, that a true 
mule or hybrid cannot always be propagated with certainty, even by portions 
of the plant, or by what is called extension ; since it never can be certain 
whether the portion taken off for propagation will produce the mule or one 
of the parents. As it is uncertain what are, and what are not, very distinct 
species, many of the plants originated by cross-breeding, and considered mules, 
may in reality not be so; and may, consequently, prove permanent and im- 
proved varieties. Some mules, also, such as that between the sweetwilliam 
and the common pink, are much less liable to degenerate than others. As 
some of the most beautiful and useful plants in cultivation are cross-bred 
varieties or mules, particularly among geraniums, heaths, roses, eloxinias, &e., 
the subject well deserves the attention of the amateur, who will find it a 
source of useful amusement and recreation.” 

Is not the purple laburnum from a bud that sprang at the edges of the 
insertion between bud and stock ? It was said to be this, and not from seed. 
If so, it is not a seedling hybrid or mule. 

[The true origin of the purple laburnum, in our opinion, is given by M. 
Camuset, in our Volume for 1841, p. 398., viz. that it is a hybrid between a 
laburnum and Cytisus purptreus.] 

“103. Growth. ..... . In general, the roots of plants are not furnished 
with buds, and hence roots cannot be used in propagation in the same manner 
as branches ; nevertheless, there are numerous exceptions ; and some extensive 
orders of plants, such as the Rosacee, Campanulaceze, Cruciferee, and some - 
of the Amentacez, have roots abounding in adventitious buds; and if these 
roots are cut into portions, and planted in the soil with the part of the root 
which was next the stem uppermost, and their points exposed to the air, or 
very slightly covered, they will produce plants. This, however, is never the 
case with the roots of annuals or biennials; and hence, in Cruciferz, while 
the common sea-kale produces buds in abundance from the cuttings of the 
roots, the same thing never takes place in the common cabbage. The nature 
of plants in this respect is very different ; for while the fasciculated tubercles 
of the dahlia, if deprived of the plate which produces the buds, have no power 
of originating fresh buds, yet the tubers of the common peony, so treated, 
produce them freely.” 

It may be questioned whether the roots of Rosacee, &c., abound in adven- 
titious buds. It is more likely these buds are called into existence by an 
effort of the vitality of the plant. In such as the Rhus, Papaver, &c., which 
abound in a thick viscid sap, the very smallest pieces, in which it is scarcely 
possible buds could be formed, are found to produce them, if they have only 
fibres to collect nourishment. The buds are generally formed at the edges of 
the cut, where the leaf is extravasated, showing they are formed from the 
extravasated sap, and did not previously exist in the state of buds. The edge 
of the cut is sometimes so crowded with buds, that they cannot be sup- 
posed to have had preexistence in such large quantities. The buds noticed 
at 121. may be more properly called axillary than adventitious. 

128. The art of causing plants to produce flowers sooner than they would 
do naturally is one of great importance to the cultivator. The principle on 
which it is founded seems to be that of causing a greater accumulation of 
nutritive matter in the particular part of the plant intended to produce 
flowers than is natural to that part; or, in the case of annual plants, to con- 
centrate the nutritive matter of the entire plant, by growing it in a drier 
soil than that which is natural to it. Hence, by ringing any particular branch 
of a tree, blossom-buds will be formed on the part of the branch above the 
ring, while shoots more watery than usual will be formed below it. Hence, 
also, by grafting a shoot from a seedling tree on the extremities of the 
branches of a full-grown tree of the same species, blossoms will be produced 
some years sooner than would have been the case had the branch remained 
on its parent plant. In this way new kinds of fruit, raised from seed, may be 
proved much sooner than if the seedling plants were left a sufficient number 

3d Ser.— 1842. X. LL 


514 Retrospective Criticism. 


of years to produce blossoms. Sometimes blossoms are produced, which, from 
defect, or want of vigour, prove abortive ; and when this is the case, by re- 
moving from the plant all the blossom-buds before they expand, for one or 
more years in succession, more vigorous blossoms will be produced, and the 
production of fruit insured. This is the reason why on fruit trees a defective 
crop is generally succeeded by an abundant one, and the contrary; and why 
double-blossomed trees or herbs, which yield no fruit, produce abundance of 
blossoms every year.” 

It has been’ customary to call the cause of fruiting an accumulation of 
nutritive matter. Were this the case, we would add to the fruitfulness 
of a tree by augmenting the quantity of its food or nutritive matter. The 
reverse of this, however, more often takes place, as in ringing and taking 
away roots, impoverishing the soil, &c., all which diminish the quantity of 
nutritive matter, and yet generally add to fruitfulness. It is not that impove- 
rishing is itself the cause : were we able to increase the light and heat as we 
can increase food, there would be less cause for impoverishing. The supply 
of food, however, is most at our command; the others, especially the light 
(the most needful), we have but little power over, and must, therefore, curtail 
the food to suit our limited means. A certain highly elaborated state of the 
food is necessary before fruit-buds can be formed: experience teaches us this, 
as we see that fruit-buds are always most plentifully formed in seasons 
when the accumulation of the chemical power of the light from an unclouded 
sky has added most to the power of the leaves. Chemistry has not yet been 
able to unravel the changes required to bring the sap into a proper condition 
for producing fruit-buds; but that it is the quality, more than the quantity, 
experience abundantly points out. 

“157. Magnesia, for all practical purposes, may be considered as lime; it 
is not very common in soils, and, though it is said to be inimical to vegetation 
under some circumstances, yet this appears very doubtful.” 

Magnesia, in its caustic state, is much longer in returning to the mild state, 
by regaining its carbonic acid from the air, than lime, especially if lime is 
present, as it generally is with magnesia. In this caustic state, it may be 
dangerous in excess; but, being more sparingly soluble than caustic lime, 
excess is not so apt to occur. 

“158. The iron of soils is mostly found in a state of rust, or oxide. There 
is scarcely any soil without it; but it is never very abundant in soils naturally 
fertile. In a dry state the oxide of iron is insoluble in water, and not injurious 
to vegetation ; but, when in consequence of saline substances in the soil, or 
applied to it, a salt of iron is produced, the iron becomes soluble in water, 
is taken up by the roots of plants, and is very injurious to them. Iron in this 
state is termed hydrate, and its evil effects are to be counteracted by caustic 
lime, with which it forms an insoluble compound.” 

The sulphate of iron, being the most soluble of any of the salts of iron, is 
most hurtful. Turning up the soil, and exposure to the air, change the 
sulphate into an insoluble peroxide ; and quicklime decomposes the sulphate, 
so will also mild lime or chalk, but not so powerfully, the sulphuric acid of 
the iron replacing the carbonic of the lime. 

“188. Hair, wool, feathers, leather, horn, rags, &c., decompose much more 
slowly than excrementitious or vegetable manures; but they are exceedingly 
rich in gelatine and albumen, and are therefore very desirable where the 
object is duration of effect, as well as luxuriance. Dead animals of every 
kind, including fish, make excellent manure; and when there is any danger 
anticipated from the effluvia which arises during decomposition, it is readily 
prevented by covering or mixing the putrid mass with quicklime. In this 
way, nightsoil and the refuse of the slaughter-houses in Paris, Lyons, and 
other Continental towns, are not only disinfected, but dried under the name 
of poudrette, and compressed in cakes, so as to form an article of commerce. 
Sugar-bakers’ scum, which is obtained from sugar refineries, consists of the 
blood of cattle and lime; it can be sent, in a dried and compressed state, 


Retrospective Criticism. 515 


to any distance, and forms a manure next in richness to bones. In gardens 
it may be used as a top dressing to culinary vegetables, and as an ingredient 
in the composition of vine borders. Animalised carbon consists of nightsoil 
of great age; it is sent to different parts of Europe from Copenhagen, where 
it has accumulated during ages in immense pits and heaps, which some years 
ago were purchased from the city by an Englishman. It is an exceedingly 
rich manure.” 

There is a good deal of loss in mixing quicklime with substances putrefying 
rapidly. The lime seizes on the carbonic acid of the substances, forming an 
insoluble carbonate of lime; and the extraction of the carbonic acid hastens 
decomposition. Ammonia, being expelled in greater quantity, is always the 
result of the application of quicklime, as may be detected by the smell. It 
may be useful, in a commercial way, to sustain a great loss for the purpose of 
making the article negotiable; but, where convenience will admit, rapidly 
putrefying substances are most economically prepared by mixing with earth 
or compost, and keeping cool by turning. Where they have to be carried far, 
sulphuric acid (vitriol), where cheap, will disinfect most economically ; or, if 
cheaper, sulphate of lime (gypsum); or sulphate of iron (copperas), if very 
cheap. Quicklime is most useful with substances that decay slowly ; its 
avidity for carbonic acid causes it to be extracted from the slowly decom- 
posing substances it is mixgd with, as couch grass, roots, weeds, &c., and 
hastens their decomposition. (See 195.) 

“189. Bones, though a manure of animal origin, depend for their effects a 
good deal on their mineral constituents. Next to nightsoil, bones are perhaps 
the most valuable of all manures. Chemically, they consist of gelatine, albu- 
men, animal oils, and fat, in all about 38 per cent ; and of earthy matters, 
such as phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, fluate of lime, sulphate of lime, 
carbonate of soda, and a small quantity of common salt. In consequence of 
the animal matters which they contain, crushed bones, when laid in heaps, 
very soon begin to ferment, and when buried in the soil previously to bemg 
fermented in heaps, the putrescent fermentation goes on with great rapidity. 
In gardens they should seldom be used without being broken small, and 
fermented in heaps for several months. Bones are valuable as a specific 
manure, because they contain phosphate of lime, which is an ingredient 
common to a great many cultivated plants, both of the field and of the garden. 
Bone manure, if used on the same soil for a number of years, is found to lose 
its effect ; the reason of which is inferred from one cause of their excellence, 
viz. that the animal matter which they contain acts as a ferment or stimulus 
to the organic matter already in the soil, by which means this organic matter 
becomes sooner exhausted than otherwise would be the case. The remedy 
for this evil obviously is, to discontinue the use of the bones, and to supply 
putrescent manure, such as stable-dung.”’ 

When there are not sufficient of the phosphates in the soil for bones, their 
application will have a more powerful effect at first, than after long continu- 
ance has caused the soil to abound in these. 

“193. Inorganic or mineral manures are, chiefly, lime in a state of chalk or 
carbonate, gypsum or sulphate, marl in which carbonate of lime is mixed with 
clay, saltpetre, kelp or mineral alkali, and common salt. The organic manures, 
as we have seen, act by supplying plants with the elements of which they are 
constituted, viz., carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and azote or nitrogen; but the 
mineral manures contain none of these elements, and hence, according to 
most agricultural chemists, they must act beneficially on some other principle. 
This principle may be stated to be the rendering more soluble of the organic 
matters already in the soil in most instances, and in some cases rendering 
soluble matters insoluble, so as to diminish excessive fertility, and prepare a 
reserve of the fertilising principle for future use. Quicklime, for example, 
effects the first of these objects, and slaked lime the second. According to 
some writers, inorganic manures also act specifically ; alkaline matters being 
found in all, and some sorts in many plants.” 

LL 2 


. 


516 Retrospective Criticism. 


Inorganic substances, though not found in great quantity in vegetables 
(from I to 10 per cent only), are yet essential. Though great part of their 
action is as solvents, to introduce other substances, yet the plant will not 
thrive without them. It is found, for instance, in peaty soils, that there is a 
great deficiency of silicates and phosphates ; and that wheat and oats thrive 
much better on these soils, when bones, containing phosphates, and when 
wood-ashes, decomposed straw, &c., containing silica, are added. The structure 
of the plant cannot be built up without all the requisites ; and, though not 
needed in such quantities as the organic substances, and more generally found 
mixed in the soil, they (the inorganic) are yet essential, as the straw will not 
stand without its proportion of flint or silica; and the lime, phosphorus, 
soda, and potash found in all parts of the plant are indispensable. (See 208.) 
Soda is a constituent to a small extent in beans, clover, &c., and even in 
wheat. 

«214. All mineral manures ought to be employed in a dry and powdery 
state, and, if possible, when the soil is equally dry and powdery; and all 
moist manures when the soil is somewhat drier than the manure. Other 
circumstances being the same, spring is better than autumn for applying 
manures, because the winter might wash them away, &c.; but, universally, 
the proper time is immediately before sowing or planting the crop. Calm 
weather is better than windy weather, and bulky manure ought no sooner to 
be laid on than buried in the soil. Exhausting land of the manure which it 
contains by over-croppings is like depriving a commercial man of his capital.” 

A great many mineral manures may be most cheaply sown with the hand, 
dry, in the state of powder; but are more safely distributed well diluted in 
water ; and, being more divided, will do more good, but may be more ex- 
pensive. 

“215. In consequence of the great value of manures in increasing the 
amount of the produce of land, many ingenious persons have contrived mix~ 
tures, which, in small bulk, they allege will produce extraordinary effects ; 
and this idea seems to have been long since indulged by some writers. Lord 
Kaimes, nearly a century ago, thought the time might come when the quan- 
tity of manure requisite for an acre might be carried in a man’s coat-pocket ; 
a recent author speaks of ‘a quart of spirit sufficient to manure an acre ;’ 
and even Liebig says that ‘a time will come when fields will be manured 
with a solution of glass (silicate of potash), with the ashes of burned straw, 
and with salts of phosphoric acid prepared in chemical manufactories, exactly 
as at present medicines are given for fever and goitre.’ (Organic Chemistry, 
p- 188.) To those who believe in the homceopathic hypothesis of medicine 
such speculations will not appear unreasonable; and there may be some 
truth in them, on the supposition that these small doses of spirit, or of 
silicate of potash, act as stimulants to the organic matter already in the 
soil; but to ordinary apprehensions it seems difficult to conceive how bulk 
and weight of produce can be raised without the application of a certain 
degree of bulk of manure. All deference, however, ought to be paid to the 
‘opinions of philosophers who, like Liebig, have profoundly studied the 
subject.” 

Wherever manures can be applied in the bulk, they will always be more 
beneficial than extracts, which are useful only as a saving of expense. Farm- 
yard manure, as it decomposes in the soil, improves its mechanical texture, a 
matter of great importance. To such as peat soils, silicate of potash and 
-phosphates are valuable; but where earth can be added cheaply, it may give 
these also (especially if it has been well manured before, as both of these are 
found in manure), and the spongy peat solidified, and permanently improved 
in its texture. Farm-yard manure supplies most of the inorganic substances 
needed, improves the texture, especially of clayey soils, and is most perma- 
nently beneficial; but where this cannot be got sufficiently cheap, or where 
peculiar deficiencies or excesses occur in the soil, recourse may be had, with 
a great degree of profit, to inorganic manures in small compass. 


Retrospective Criticism. 517 


“243. To measure the quantity of elastic vapour in the atmosphere, Hy- 
grometers have been invented, and the degree of moisture is indicated in 
these instruments by what is called the dew-point. The best hygrometer is 
that of Daniell; but, as some nicety is required in its use, a substitute has 
been found in two common thermometers,” &c. 

A thin tumbler, as described in Gard. Mag. for July, 1842, p.367., is the 
hygrometer most easily managed and understood. 

268. A sensible effect on the human feelings produced by the atmosphere 
of hothouses heated according to Mr. Penn’s principle is, that a high tem-. 
perature, say of 80° or 90°, can be breathed in as agreeably, and for as long a 
period, as one of 60° or 70° not in motion. This result is partly attributed to 
the motion given to the air; since, in the hottest days of summer, the heat, 
which would be oppressive in still air, is rendered not only bearable but 
even agreeable, if the air is put in motion by a breeze. In like manner the 
absence of heat is much more severely felt when the air is in motion than 
when it is at rest. Captain Parry and his companions, when in the Polar 
regions, could endure a degree of cold when the air was still, that, when it 
was put into motion, they found to be quite intolerable. It is certain, how- 
ever, that a part of the agreeable effect produced by the motion of the air in 
Mr. Penn’s hothouses is owing to the moisture which it contains; for the 
human feelings in a hothouse heated to 80°, in which no attempt has been 
made to saturate the air with moisture, are much less agreeable than in ene 
at the same temperature in which the paths are kept moist with water. 
Every one must be aware of this who has felt the heat of a stove heated by 
brick flues, as compared with one heated by hot water; for though no water 
may escape from the pipes to moisten the air, yet no moisture is absorbed by 
them from the air of the house. In a house heated by flues, on the contrary, 
the clay of the bricks in the flue covers, and the lime by which the sides of 
the flues are plastered, having, as we have seen (155 and 156.), a great che- 
mical attraction for water, abstract it from the air of the house, and give it 
that peculiar dryness which is so unpleasant to the skin, and so oppressive 
to the lungs.” 

The motion of air or wind is caused by colder air replacing warmer; this 
may cause the cooling effect of breezes in summer. Why the effects of still 
cold air are not so great as those of air in motion is, because, when in motion, the 
cold air is constantly replacing that partially heated by the human body. 
Why motion of heated air should, when uniformly heated, give relief is not 
so plain. Why moisture gives relief is connected with electricity. In dry air 
the electricity of the body accumulates, because dry air is a bad conductor. 
Moist air, being a good conductor, draws off the excess of electricity, which, 
when present, was causing a pricking uneasy sensation; and, when removed, 
the body gets more elastic and exhilarated. Motion is undoubtedly of benefit 
to leaves and stems of plants. 

“281. When light falls on a transparent medium, a portion of the rays is 
transmitted through it, and a portion is reflected from its surface. The latter 
portion follows the same laws as the light which is reflected from opaque 
surfaces ; and the portion which passes through it is refracted, that is, it 
leaves the transparent medium at a different angle from that at which it fell 
upon it; and by this change the light is also weakened, so as at a very short 
distance from the surface of the transmitting medium, as of glass, for example, 
to be dispersed and transfused in the atmosphere, in which state in hothouses 
it has no longer the same power on the vital energies of plants. We are not 
aware that the cause of the inefficiency of light, after it has passed through — 
glass and reached a certain distance, has been fully explained ; but the fact is 
well known to gardeners, who, in hothouses, invariably place the plants they 
wish to thrive best at the shortest distance from the glass. As the quantity 
of light which passes through glass at the roof of hothouses is, all other 
circumstances being the same, greatest when the plane of the roof is at right 
angles to the plane of the sun’s rays; hence, the slope of the roof is, or ought 

LL 3 


518 Retrospective Criticism. 


to be, adjusted to the direction of the sun’s rays at that season of the year 
when its light is most wanted. As, in houses for early forcing, the greatest 
deficiency of solar light is in the winter season, when the sun 1s low, so the 
roofs of such houses are made steep, in order that the sun’s rays may be 
received at a larger angle. Summer forcing-houses, on the other hand, have 
less steep roofs, so as to receive most benefit from the sun in April, May, and 
June, when forced fruits are ripening. A greenhouse, in which no fruit is 
ripened, but in which abundance of light is required all the year, has com- 
monly perpendicular glass to receive a maximum of light during winter ; and 
a sloping roof of glass at an angle of 45°, which is found favourable for the 
admission of light at every season, as well as for throwing off rain, &c.” 

Plants suffer most at a distance from light, when the light is only from the 
top, or one-sided. This has been called the attraction of light, but is no 
explanation. In the one-sided light, it may be the greater solidifying of the 
side next the light which draws. In the top light of frames, the want of 
direct light at the sides may cause partly the greater elongation of the top ; 
but plants elongate below glass, even though surrounded by light. The want 
of motion is a great cause of this: plants uniformly elongate more in a 
sheltered than an exposed field. If there is any such thing as attraction 
between light and plants, as roots follow their food (which is partly hygro- 
scopical in the latter case), it will be, like the attraction of gravitation, more 
easily perceived in its effects than capable of explanation. Refraction will 
disperse the light; it is difficult to understand how it should weaken what 
does pass through. The chemical power of light, however, is so much con- 
nected with electricity, that it may be weakened in a way we cannot account 
for. The chemical power of light is greatest in the least luminous part of 
the rays; and yet, as the quantity of light is equal, that of the equator must 
have most power. There is a connexion between heat, light, and electricity, 
not yet explained; the optical qualities of light have been much more at- 
tended to than the chemical. The red rays have more momentum than the 
blue ; thus causing the red of the rising and setting sun, and the azure blue 
of the sky. Perhaps more of the blue, or chemical portion of the sun’s rays, 
may thus be lost in refraction. 

“463. Canvass coverings for glazed structures or detached plants require, 
for the most part, to be in framed panels, as well to keep them tight as to 
throw off the rain, and to prevent them from being blown and beat about by 
the wind. To render the canvass more durable, it may be oiled, tanned, or 
soaked in Kyan’s or in Burnett’s anti-dry-rot composition. When applied to 
cover the glass sashes of frames or pits, it should be in panels in wooden 
frames of the size of the sashes; and this is also a convenient and safe mode 
of forming temporary structures for protecting standard plants or trees: but 
by suitable arrangements, to be hereafter described, canvass or netting for 
protecting walls may be hooked on and fastened without wooden frames. 
This is done in a very efficient manner in the garden of the Horticultural 
Society of London, to protect a péach-wall. The stone coping of this wall 
projects over it about an inch and a half, with a groove or throating under- 
neath. Coping-boards 9in. broad, fitted to joi at their ends by means 
of plates of iron, are supported on iron brackets built into the wall. The 
upper edge of the board is slightly beveled, so as to fit as closely as possible 
to the under side of the coping of the wall, in order effectually to obstruct 
the radiation of heat and the ascent of warm air. From this coping, woollen 
netting of various kinds, common netting such as fishermen use, bunting, and 
thin canvass, have been let down, and tried experimentally, in the course 
of the last fifteen years; and we are informed by Mr. Thompson, that, after 
repeated trials, the thin canvass was found the preferable article for utility, 
appearance, and duration. This description of fabric costs about 4d. per 
yard, procured from Dundee, &c.” 

I should think any protection from frost would be much more effectual, 
if drawn up or removed during a mild day ; the plant would be hardier also, 


Retrospective Criticism. 519 


and healthier, and the extremes between heat and cold not so great. In 
Scotland, woollen nets are most used; from the coldness of the climate, 
they are most beneficial ; and those who keep them constantly standing find 
they do harm; the foliage is not so healthy, and insects collect. There 
is seldom so much heat there as to require shading for the blossom. Dry 
cold east winds do most harm. 

“474, Colouring the surface of walls black, with a view to the absorption 
of heat, has been tried by a number of persons, and by some it has been con- 
sidered beneficial ; but, as the radiation during night and in cloudy weather 
is necessarily in- proportion to the absorption during sunshine, the one 
operation neutralises the other. If, indeed, we could insure a powerful ab- 
sorption from a bright sun during the day, and retain the radiation by a 
canvass or other screen during the night, a considerable increase of tem- 
perature might probably be the result ; but the number of cloudy days in our 
climate, in proportion to those of bright sunshine, is not favourable to such an 
experiment.” 

White walls will heat the air around the leaves most through the day from 
reflection, as these are seldom close to the wall ; and the extreme of cold will 
not be so great at night, which is most dangerous. Biack-coloured walls, 
though they absorb heat during the day, will not retain it to give off at 
night, as it will be conducted through the wall, in great part, during the day, 
and any little retained be speedily radiated off in the early part of the night. 

“500. Whatever mode of heating or kind of pipes may be adopted, the 
pipes should always have a gradual ascent from the place where they enter 
the house, or are intended first to give out heat, towards the farther ex- 
tremity ; otherwise, the circulation will be less rapid, and consequently the 
heat less equally distributed.” 

Practically this is not found to be the case. The reason is, that the force of 
the gravity of the cold water in the returning pipes is increased by the height 
gained, the escape of air at the highest point, &c. (See Hood’s Treatise, p. 18.) 

“501. To explain the manner in which the motion of heated air in hot- 
houses produces a sensation of coolness, without being altered in its tem- 
perature, we make the following quotation from Lardner’s Cyclopedia : 
‘ The air which surrounds us is generally at a lower temperature than that of 
the body. If the air be calm and still, the particles which are in immediate 
contact with the skin acquire the temperature of the skin itself, and, having 
a sort of molecular attraction, they adhere to the skin in the same manner as 
particles of air are found to adhere to the surface of glass in philosophical 
experiments. Thus sticking to the skin, they form a sort of warm covering 
for it, and speedily acquire its temperature.’ Agitation of the air, however, 
‘ continually expels the particles thus in contact with the skin, and brings new 
particles into that situation. Each particle of air, as it strikes the skin, takes 
heat from it by contact, and, being driven off, carries that heat with it, thus 
producing a constant sensation of refreshing coolness.’ ” 

The temperature of the blood is 94° to 98°, and the heated air is not likely 
to be much below the temperature of the skin ; to that extent, however, it will 
undoubtedly increase the effect ; and, in motion, will give motion to the leaves 
and stems of plants, and will not stagnate and corrupt. 

“504. Rogers’s conical boiler and hot-water apparatus." Why should a 
2-inch pipe ascend, and 4-inch pipe descend? the friction will be in much 
greater proportion in the 2-inch pipe, and the molecular ascent from heat have 
more to contend with. 

“564. Various experiments have been made to accelerate germination, with 
different degrees of success. These all proceed on the principle that ger- 
mination cannot take place until the carbon of the seed is changed into 
-carbonic acid; and this can only be done by extraordinary supplies of 
oxygen,” &c. : Laat j 

Substances yielding oxygen should be of most use in germination to oily 
seeds, which have a deficiency of oxygen in themselves. 

LL 4 


520 Retrospective Criticism. 


“570. Sowing seeds in powdered charcoal has been tried in the Botanic 
Garden at Munich with extraordinary success. Seeds of cucumbers and 
melons sown in it germinated one day sooner than others sown in soil, and 
plunged in the same hotbed; becoming strong plants, while the others re- 
mained comparatively stationary. Ferns sown on the surface of fine sifted 
charcoal germinate quickly and vigorously; and it seems not improbable, that 
this material may be found as useful in exciting seeds difficult to germinate, 
as it is in rooting cuttings difficult to strike. 

“571, Sowing seeds in snow. ‘This practice originated at Munich five or 
six years ago,.and an account of it was given by M. Lucas in the Garten 
Zeitung for 1841, and translated in the Gardener’s Magazine for the same 

eater; 
: According to Liebig, ammonia hastens and strengthens germination; and, 
according to the same authority, charcoal and snow absorb ammonia from the 
atmosphere ; this may be great part of the benefit. 

“575. Selecting the shoot. The wood of the present or of the past year is 
almost invariably chosen for cuttings. In the case of plants which are not 
difficult to strike, a portion of the young shoot is cut off at any convenient 
distance from the branch from which it proceeded, and of such a length as 
may be considered most convenient for forming a plant. Thus in the case of 
willows, gooseberries, currants, &c., from 9in. to 18in. are considered a 
suitable length; and the points of the shoots of these and other kinds of 
easily-rooting plants are cut off, as not being sufficiently ripened to have 
strong buds, or as containing too many small buds. In plants somewhat 
difficult to strike, lateral shoots are chosen, and these are often drawn or 
‘slipped’ out of the wood, so as to carry with them the axillary formation 
of the bud and the vessels of the leaf,” &c. 

The plexus of vessels at the heel of the shoot, or insertion of the branch in 
the stem, causes a peculiar activity of life there ; and both buds and roots are 
much more easily formed and in greater quantity there than in any other 
place of the shoot. The insertion of the branch resembles, in this respect, the 
collar of the stem. (577.) If the heel of the gooseberry or currant cutting is 
taken out completely by breaking off, not cutting, it is better than taking off a 
piece of the old wood. 

“578. The time of taking off cuttings depends much on the nature of the 
plant to be propagated,” &c. 

Cuttings of growing succulent wood have vitality most active, and strike 
root most quickly ; but, from the unripened state of the wood, are most apt to 
die, and require to be kept more close and moist. There is danger in both 
extremes, and both must be guarded against in such as are difficult to strike. 

“580. The number of leaves which are left upon the cutting.’ When the 
season is hot and warm, and little time to attend to keeping moist, succulent 
cuttings, such as pinks, are most certain to strike, by paring close below the 
uppermost joint, and cutting off above close to the joint, leaving none of the 
leaves uncut, except those beginning to develope. Such a cutting is a mere 
joint in a vital active, not ripened, state, and will stand a great deal of heat ; 
if covered with a hand-glass in sunny weather, or in a hotbed frame in cold 
weather, they seldom or never fail. Excitement of heat, not preservation, is 
all that is wanted. 

“581. The lower ends of stout cuttings of plants somewhat difficult to 
strike, such as the orange, are sometimes cut directly across, so as to rest on 
the bottom of the pot, and sometimes they are, in addition, split up for an inch 
or two, and the wound kept open with a wedge. This has been found by 
long experience greatly to facilitate the rooting of such cuttings, probably by 
increasing the surface by which absorption of moisture takes place, and at the 
same time insuring only a moderate supply of moisture ; and perhaps, creating 
a greater demand for the action of the leaves to cicatrise the wound with 
granulous matter.” 

When cuttings are tardy to strike, and have callosities formed, heat has a 


Retrospective Criticism. 521 


powerful effect in causing them to root. Those that have stood months, 
without appearance of rooting, will strike in a few days in a strong heat. 

“601. Cuttings of the underground stems and roots. A great many plants, 
both ligneous and herbaceous, may be propagated by cuttings of the under- 
ground stems, as in the liquorice; and of the roots, as in the common thorn, 
and most of the Rosacee.” 

The best mark for such as strike most readily by pieces of the root is 
an abundance of thick viscid juice, as in the genera Rhus, Papaver, Ai/intus, 
Gymnécladus, &c., which strike more freely than Cydonia, roses, &c., which 
have less. 

“645. The uses of grafting. 3. To increase the vigour or the hardiness of 
delicate species or varieties, by grafting them on robust stocks, such as the 
Mexican oaks on the common oak, the China roses on the common dog-rose, 
the double yellow rose on the China or musk rose, the Frontignan grape on 
the Syrian, &c. 

“5. To increase the fruitfulness and precocity of trees. The effects pro- 
duced upon the growth and produce of a tree by grafting, Knight observes, 
‘are similar to those which occur when the descent of the sap is impeded 
by a ligature, or by the destruction of a circle of bark. The disposition in 
young trees to produce and nourish blossom-buds and fruit is increased by 
this apparent obstruction of the descending sap ; and the fruit of such young 
trees ripens, I think, somewhat earlier than upon other young trees of the 
same age which grow upon stocks of their own species; but the growth and 
vigour of the tree, and its power to nourish a succession of heavy crops, are 
diminished, apparently by the stagnation, in the branches and stock, of a 
portion of that sap which in a tree growing upon its own stem, or upon 

a stock of its own species, would descend to nourish and promote the 
extension of the roots.’ ” 

These modifications are, by stunting or lessening vigour of growth, to haye 
the wood better ripened, and the juices more highly organised or elaborated. 

“650. Grafting by detached scions.” It is of great consequence that the 
graft and stock should be pressed closely together, in order that the first 
emission of cambium from the stock should come in contact immediately with 
the inner bark and albumen of the graft. When grafts are taken off; and 
tied on in a growing state, the wood of the graft clings and dries ; having no 
roots to feed it, it shrinks from the stock, leaving an empty space, and before 
it is filled up, unless the stock is very vigorous, the graft dies. This might 
be obviated by grafting before the sap rises, but grafts will not succeed till 
the flow of sap has begun to rise briskly ; late grafting always succeeds best ; 
and, hence, the grafts when taken off before growth commences, and kept moist 
till the stock begins to grow, always succeed best, as they experience no 
checks. Much of the success of grafting, however, depends on the state of the 
weather; if the heat prevails so as to keep the sap flowing, every healthy 
graft, well fitted, will succeed; if not, they may perish before the sap rises, 

“669. Bud-grafting.” A species of grafting I think you have not noticed 
may be denominated bud-grafting, and is the best for most evergreens, as 
daphnes, &c. When the stock has begun to grow vigorously cut the head 
off, and, making an incision in the bark a few inches down, open it on both 
sides, the same as for budding ; prepare the graft without a tongue, and insert 
the lower part as you would do a bud, leaving the herbaceous growing top 
green above. Soft succulent evergreens in which the bark opens freely will do 

_ better in this way than any other. 

“674. Budding. In the year 1824: we placed several buds on the branches 
of a fig-tree, and, from some accidental cause, though the shield adhered in 
every case, yet most of the visible buds were destroyed, and only one of the 
latent buds was developed. ‘Twelve years afterwards, when the fig-tree re- 
ceived a severe check, in the winter of 1837-8, the developement of a second 
latent bud from one of the shields took place.” 

Were the buds developed latent or generated ? This will be difficult to decide: 


522 Retrospective Criticism. 


Those of M. Neuman (611.) were evidently generated on the edges of a cut ; 
as in sea-kale, and plants such as sumachs propagated by pieces of the root, 
the extravasated juice is formed into buds at the lips of the cut. On the 
stems of geraniums, the extravasated juice is entirely converted into bun- 
dles of buds. It appears, therefore, buds may be generated in the piece 
of bark or shield left, though the axillary bud dies. It appears farther, that, 
as in the case of the purple laburnum, it is possible, even, that a union of the 
two cambiums of stock and bud may take place at the edges, and again sport, 
by separating at times, and again uniting. Shoots from the purple laburnum, 
in leaf, flower, and habit exactly the same as the C¥tisus purpureus, are 
sometimes got protruding from the stem of the purple laburnum, while others 
again are the same as the original yellow-flowered laburnum. 

“696. The after-care of grafts by budding.” Much of the success of bud- 
ding depends on the stock and bud growing vigorously, to supply the juices 
or cambium causing the union to take place; and allowing the bark to sepa- 
rate easily from the wood, so as_to prevent laceration and bruising of the 
vessels in separating them. Ifthe bark does not fly up freely from the stock, 
when the handle of the knife is inserted, it is not likely the bud will succeed ; 
and the same if the shield of the bud does not part freely from its wood; if either 
of them has commenced ripening, or if the sap has not begun to run or flow, the 
labour will bein vain. In order to insure the cut being smooth, and no lacera- 
tion of the bark of the shield taking place, the best of all methods (especially 
for such barks as the cherry and plum, which will not bear handling, and are 
very apt to spoil) is to mark the size of the shield intended, all round the 
bud, with the point of the knife, cutting into the wood, and then introducing 
the thumb at the side of the bud and raising it off with a gentle squeeze. If 
the shoot is growing vigorously, it will spring out, without any difficulty, so 
clean and smooth on the edges as greatly to facilitate the success of the opera- 
tion. By the common method, if the bark is much handled, the shield of the 
bud is apt to be spoiled at the edges before insertion. 

“703. Whether deciduous trees and shrubs ought to be transplanted in autumn 
or spring.’ In transplanting deciduous trees before the leaves are fallen, it is 
found in practice that the shoots are not ripened, and die back often toa 
considerable distance, in the same manner as if the leaves had been destroyed 
by early frost. The young fibres, also, will protrude spongioles more quickly in 
the spring from the fibre that has been well ripened, than from that lifted 
before ripened. It can only be when the distance of removal is very short, 
and the plants very small, and lifted with the earth adhering to the roots, that 
the transplanting of deciduous plants in autumn, before ripe, can be attended 
with any advantage. In the nurseries, we have great experience in lifting and 
shoughing immense quantities of deciduous plants, and experience must say 
on this head, that any process of growth which may be going on in the interior 
of the plant during winter has very little if any outward appearance. Unless 
the winter is more than ordinarily mild, the spongioles are never seen to pro- 
trude, nor the buds to swell, till the spring begins to advance. Such as goose- 
berries, cherries, thorns, birch, larch, &c., may begin in February or March; beech, 
oaks, apples, &c., are later, and seldom begin to show much before April or 
May. Even the mezereon, which often flowers in February, is seldom found to 
protrude new roots before that period. Of course the period will vary as to 
localities ; some soils and situations are more than a month earlier than others, 
within very short distances. Autumn planting is preferable where the soil is 
dry, as it washes the soil closer to the root ; where the soil is clayey, and the 
weather soft at planting time, it gets into a state of puddle and rots the roots 
in winter ; and, unless the weather is dry at planting time in autumn, such 
soils had better be deferred till spring. Quarters of young trees planted in 
autumn will stand all winter without appearance of failure; and yet, when 
the spring drought sets in, will fail nearly as much as spring-planted ones, 
showing that very little has been done by the plant towards establishing itself 
in the ground during winter. 


Retrospective Criticism. 523 


«724. Planting with the dibber we have already (392.) mentioned as suitable 
for seedlings and very small plants. The soil ought to have been previously 
dug, or stirred by some other means, so that the fibres of the young plant may 
strike readily into it. In performing the operation, a hole is made with the 
dibber with one hand, then the root of the plant is inserted to the proper depth, 
and held there by the leaves or stem, with the other hand, while, by a second 
movenient, the dibber is inserted by the side of the hole in such a manner as 
to press in one of its sides to the root of the plant, taking care that the pres- 
sure on the roots shall be greatest at its lowest extremity, and that it should 
be such as to hold the plant so fast that, when slightly pulled by one of its 
leaves, it does not come up.” 

{In order to make sure that the lowest extremity, or root, of the plant should 
be most pressed, as you very judiciously request, (technically, it is called in the 
nurseries fastened,) it is necessary that the point of the dibber should be so 
introduced into the ground, as that it will be nearer the plant at the root than 
at the surface, the line of its direction inclining at a slight angle towards the 
plant. When the line of direction of the dibber points from the plant, they 
are fastened only at the surface, and the roots are not at all fixed in the soil. 
This is a very material matter to attend to, where much dibbing is practised. 
It is easier for the operators to push the dibber from the plant, and they re- 
quire to be watched. The plants dibbed in the wrong way may be easily 
detected by giving them a slight pull, when they will be found to draw up 
easily, while those properly fastened at the roots retain their hold. If dry 
weather succeed the operation, almost all of those fastened at the surface only 
will die. Trees planted with the dibber are best for planting out again, as the 
roots are found spread out equally on both sides, while those trench-planted 
with the spade are found to have the roots all on one side, from the manner 
they are laid in, and the ground being beat back with the spade in the act of 
cutting the trench; they are generally also bent in the root, when the trench 
is sloped to make the plants lie, which facilitates the work but hurts the plant. 

“735. Watering, mulching, and staking newly planted plants.” In watering 
box edgings, &c., newly planted in dry weather, it is of great moment when the 
earth is trod firmly to the roots, and before levelling on the remainder of the 
earth, to saturate the soil completely, all round the roots, with water, with an 
unsparing hand, and then finish by spreading the dry soil above. When water 
is poured on the surface of the soil in dry weather, the deluge of water runs 
the surface of the soil into a paste, which again hardens by the sun into a 
cake, obstructing thus the free entrance of the atmosphere into the soil, 
without which no plant will thrive. When straw or moss, or any of the other 
articles you mention, is spread on the surface it obviates this fault. Where this 
cannot be done, it is better to open holes in the soil, or pare up a portion of 
the surface, saturating the soil below, and then adding the dry soil when the 
moisture begins to subside. One such watering will be better than ten surface 
waterings, which often do more harm than good. Where none of these plans 
can be adopted, the direct beams of the sun should be kept from the surface, 
by a covering open at the ends for shade. 

“ 740. The disadvantages of growing plants in pots are: the constant at- 
tendance requisite to preserve the soil in a uniform state of moisture and 
temperature, and to remove the plant from one pot to another when additional 
space for the roots becomes requisite, or when the soil contained in the pot 
becomes impoverished.” 

Such bare-rooted plants as white-broom, double-flowering whins, some 
pines and oaks, &c., which are very difficult to transplant and remove, are 
found to succeed better by being nursed in pots; but the roots have ac- 
quired such a tendency of matting together, and twining round one another, 
that it is a long time after planting before they shoot away freely again into 
the soil; and till this is done the growth will not be vigorous. The fibres 
may be parted again, but the roots have got a tendency to matting they do 
not recover for some time ; and parting the ball destroys in some measure 


524 Retrospective Criticism. 


the capability of being easily transplanted. It should only be resorted to with 
scarce and valuable plants or shrubs, not trees. 

“752, The specific principles on which pruning is founded, and its general 
effects,’ §c. One of the specific principles of pruning is also the stimulus 
given to vitality. When the leading branch of a small tree, which, perhaps, has 
not been growing well, but has got the roots fully established, is cut back to 
one bud, not only is the rush of sap which should have supplied the whole 
buds diverted into the one, and the shoot made thus more vigorous, but the 
vitality of the tree has acquired an impetus that it did not formerly possess. 
From a lazy slow-growing plant it has been converted into one of a quick, 
healthy, vigorous growth, a stimulus is given to the roots also to increase, and 
the tree is entirely renovated. The benefit is lasting, not temporary, and will 
continue, if circumstances are favourable, and no check of bad soil or bad 
weather ensues to counteract its vigour. It is thus that the forester cuts back 
his oak plants in the forest, after being a few years planted, and trains a single 
shoot from the bottom, knowing well that the vigour of this one shoot will be 
lasting ; that the impetus given to the growth of the trees will continue ; and 
that, in a few years, the cut over tree will be many times larger than those 
allowed to stand uncut. It is thus that nurserymen increase the vigour of 
their young plants by pruning; and that gardeners, when pruning for wood, 
cut farther back than when pruning for fruit. 

“© 758. Close pruning. 768. Stopping and pinching out.” If the tops of 
the shoots of forest trees are pinched off in time, and proper attention paid to 
the plantation from its commencement, the contending large arms being con- 
verted into small side shoots, there will be little need for pruning at all, and 
skill will be of more consequence than labour. It is shortening-in, or fore- 
shortening, done in a much better and much easier way. 

“761. Spurring-in.” The laying-in of small shoots, in place of cutting back 
to naked branches and spurs, should be more encouraged. More distance than 
usual should be left between the leading branches, and plenty of young wood 
nailed on after the manner of peach trees. It diminishes the quantity of breast- 
wood, which is an evident practical anomaly, and serves no good purpose, to 
be annually renewed and annually cut out. The growth should be much better 
spent in producing young wood and fruit, which will not require so much slash- 
ing of wood. 

“767. The cutting down of the stem or trunk of a tree to the ground,” &c. 
The thin layer of alburnum is the consequence of stinting rather than the 
cause. A tree may be renovated though not cut back to the collar, and part 
of the old stem with its thin laburnum left. The vigour of the new growth 
will give a thicker coating of alburnum; though old hardened bark will not 
swell up so quickly as the new bark on a young shoot. 

“769. Disbarking.’ 1 have seen very fruitful trees covered every year 
with blossoms so thickly that the greater part had to be brushed off, and the 
trees very vigorous, where the outer bark had been renewed a few years before. 
The situations, however, were sheltered; the practice has not been much 
adopted yet, and it is doubtful if it weuld suit exposed situations; but for 
sheltered places it appears to be very effectua! in renovating the vigour of old 
trees. It should be more often tried than it is. 

“770. Ringing.” It has been generally said that ringing of trees contributes 
to fruitfulness by accumulating sap; but it is not explained how this is done. 
The wood being of more specific gravity above the ring is no proof of this, be- 
cause it is denser from not having swelled out so much in bulk rather than from 
accumulation of sap. The ring prevents the ascent as well as descent of the 
sap; and it more probably acts by furnishing a smaller quantity of sap, which 
is more easily brought into a highly elaborated or organised condition than 
the ordinary larger quantity would have been. 

“771. Disbudding.” Extent should be given to the wall tree to exhaust 
itself by growth, and so bring on maturity. If the border is not too rich, this 
should be better than tearing off a great mass of breast-wood. More young 


Retrospective Criticism. 525 


shoots should be laid in, and they should be left longer at pruning-time, in 
the strongest-growing sorts. In weak-growing sorts apt to fruit they should 
be encouraged with manure, or we may have dry mealy, im place of large suc- 
culent, fruit. 

“772. Disleajing.” It is not clear how disleafing will assist a tree to throw 
off superabundant sap. Disleafing should rather prevent elaboration of the 
sap, and keep the tree fuller of crude juices. It will, however, by lessening 
evaporation, stop the rapidity of ascent, and cause less food to be absorbed by 
the roots, not more to be thrown off by the tree. In luxuriant trees, it may be 
apt to occasion disease from too much crude sap. The safest plan, I should 
think, to overcome superabundant growth, would be to give little food, by 
making the border poor and dry, giving plenty of room to extend, and leaving 
the young wood long. If all these will not do, the next best would be to 
curtail the roots. 

“776. Root-pruning.” Root-pruning, by curtailing a few of the largest roots, 
lessens the quantity of spongioles for a few years, and so curtails the quantity 
of absorbed and ascending sap. This, being more easily elaborated and brought 
into the highly organised condition required for fruitfulness, causes the pro- 
duction of blossoms and fruit. It is the tendency, however, of cutting roots 
to increase roots ; and in a few years the greater number of small roots and 

the increased quantity of spongioles should, especially if heavy dressings of 
rotted manure are added, as recommended by some, and which should make 
up for the want of extension of the roots in quest of food, aggravate, in place 
of remedying, the luxuriance of growth. Pruning back all the roots of a 
fruit tree may bring the plant to something of the nature of a paradise stock, 
which abounds in roots, yet these being matted close round the stem, and 
not extending in quest of food, die off, and stint the growth from the spon- 
gioles not falling in with nutriment. Ifthe root-pruning is renewed at short 
periods, it may render this state more permanent; but if great doses of 
manure are given, it will lessen the effect ; and if the trees are neglected to be 
cut back periodically, they will ultimately get much more luxuriant than under 
the ordinary process of management. To keep the borders poor, but healthy, 
sweet, and well pulverised, and dry by draining and elevating the plants on 
hillocks where necessary, is best. A moderate degree of extension will suffice 
for the plants coming to a fruitful condition, and there will be less need to 
resort to the trouble of root-pruning. 

“832. Stirring the soil.” Much of the benefit of stirring ground depends 
on its being stirred in proper weather. Dry weather, when the soil is between 
the wet and dry, and this weather likely to continue a day or two, is the best 
time; and the mechanical texture of the soil should be such as to allow it to 
break pretty freely into small pieces, and retain that form when dried, so as 
not to fall down too easily into a powdery mass. 

“833. Manuring.” Liquid manures and top-dressings should be applied in 
showery weather. It is a loss to have them on the surface, but they do most 
good, especially the volatile kinds, to growing crops; when they are applied 
before the crop is put in, they should be pointed in with the spade or rake, 
or harrowed into the soil in the fields. 

“863. Selection of seedlings,’ §c. When it is wished to see the fruit of 
young seedlings, without waiting till the plant comes to maturity, it may be 
effected by inserting a bud into the extremity of one of the branches of a 
wall-tree of the same species, in full bearing, and clearing away most of the 
other blossoms around to give it a fair trial. 

“868. The production of double flowers.’ The common single daisy, 
when brought from the fields, and planted in a rich soil in the garden, becomes 
double. I have seen even the diminutive Sagina procimbens become double 
by cultivation. The improvement on single dahlias from cultivation in rich 

soil is of recent date. When any of these is neglected, as when the double-daisy 
edging is allowed to stand long and exhaust the soil, it gets single ; and the 
want of cultivation causing double dahlias and other flowers to assume the 


526 Retrospective Criticism. 


single state may be seen every season. An old root of a dahlia allowed to 
stand on the same piece of ground, without manuring, and to accumulate a 
number of stems, seldom produces full flowers. Mr. Munro’s is an instance 
in point ; but it is not two kinds of sap, but a more highly organised state, 
and a crude unelaborated state, of the same sap. When the quantity of sap is 
great, as in young and vigorous plants, flowers are seldom at all produced, 
till the process of growing, by extending the system of leaves and branches, 
has produced the proper balance. The plant, which formerly had more sap 
than its chemical and vital powers could elaborate into the highly organised 
state required for producing fruit, haying now acquired more strength, be- 
comes fruitful ; and, exhausted by its fruit-bearing, generally continues fertile, 
unless deluged again with too much food, in the shape of manure. Such 
plants as fruit-trees in which the fruiting state, or state of maturity, is 
brought about with difficulty, at a lengthened period of years, are seldom found 
to produce double flowers. In those plants, however, in which the flowering 
state is produced annually, double flowers are more frequent. The different 
parts of the flower also differ as to the state of organisation in the food re- 
quired to feed them. Calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils, are only more 
highly organised states of leaves, or what would have been leaves ; and each, in 
the order they are mentioned, continues to be more highly organised than the 
preceding. In the ordinary mature state of the plant, with a sufficiency of 
properly organised food, the germs of these parts of the flower will be pro- 
duced in the normal manner ; but if an over-supply of food, or of water to 
carry the food to the absorbent vessels of the root, should ensue, the con- 
dition of the food may be altered; froma highly organised condition it may 
be lowered nearer to the comparatively crude state required for leaves. In this 
state it is obvious that the germs which would have started in the form of pistils 
and stamens may be lowered, for want of proper food, to the inferior condition 
of petais, or even of leaves. When the branch is highly gorged with unela- 
borated sap, the pistil may even again assume the state of a terminal bud, and 
lead away a young shoot from the centre of the flower, as is often seen to be 
the case in roses and other flowers. The above appears to be the theory of 
double flowers most consonant to experience, it matters not whose it may 
be ; and it agrees with all observation, that luxuriant supply of food is the cause 
of this monstrosity. It is also apparent, that, the farther we reduce the supply 
of food, it will be the more easy again to gorge the plant which has been starved, 
and produce monstrosity. If the seed has an extra vigour of itself, it may 
produce so large an absorbent system of roots as may enable it, in a rich state 
of the soil, to gorge the flower and produce monstrosity, from an ordinary 
state of the plant. It will be found, however, more easy in practice to gorge 
a stinted plant than to luxuriate the ordinary state of one ; and hence the most 
successful cultivators of double stocks are those who grow them first in a 
starved condition, and then luxuriate them in avery rich soil; or stint the plant 
by keeping the seed for some years, provided it is only strong enough to grow. 
I have seen seed, kept till it was thought to be too old for growing, pro- 
duce almost every plant with double flowers ; while the very same seed, a few 
years before, had rarely a double flower among the lot. This will be 
found a more easy method than to produce the same effect by extra-vigorous 
seeds, and is that most adopted in practice. 

“869. Duration of varieties.” In beds of ranunculus flowers, it is easy 
to pick out the varieties recently raised from seed, from the older varieties, 
by the greater vigour of the plant. The older varieties of the dahlia, whether 
from neglect or decay, are not so vigorous as they were at coming out. It is 
the case with newly raised seedling carnations, and flowers in general. The 
Lancashire gooseberries are never found to maintain the weights they had 
originally, when a few years from seed and the plant at maturity. Seedling 
potatoes have the leaves much more pulpy and vigorous than the old varieties. 
It is evident that circumstances will affect these, and that sometimes, from 
better soil, shelter, manure, &c., the case may be changed, and the older 


Retrospective Criticism. 527 


varieties may sometimes be most vigorous; but in general it will be found 
the rule holds good, that the newest-raised seedlings possess most vigour. 

“911. Culture of the soil.” Whatever mode of stirring the surface be 
adopted, every facility should be given to the admission of atmospheric air, 
heat, and moisture, and the bottom made as dry as possible by draining. The 
great quantities of manure given to border crops of vegetables furnish perhaps 
the most fruitful source of sponginess in the wood. 

“914. The potato when grown in a garden is seldom found so mealy and 
high-flavoured as when grown in a field, §c.” The land in gardens is generally 
too rich for potatoes to be well ripened and dry ; more tubers are produced 
of a large size, than the leaves and light are able to ripen and fill with starch. 

“1168. Zhe mode of bearing, pruning, and training of the pear.” If the 
system of training noticed in this section, or something like it, were more 
generally practised, there would be less need to complain of breast-wood. 
On standard trees there is no occasion to go through forms of pruning to 
produce spurs; and, if the side branches were more encouraged in wall- 
trees, we should have shorter shoots and natural spurs, and the tree would 
be kept full of young wood to the centre, from the abundance of young 
shoots to renew any that were getting naked. There should be greater 
distance between the leading shoots, and abundance of side shoots laid in to 
fill the wall ; though they might not all be got mathematically arranged, the 
system of leaves and roots would be better balanced, the continual excite- 
ment to produce which causes the great abundance of breast-wood. If the 
greater part of them were nailed in, the tendency to produce fresh breast- 
wood next year would be checked, and the tree become fruitful on the small 
branches ; better fruit would be produced; and the tree being full of young 
wood, any part of it could be renovated at pleasure. 

“1153. Diseases, insects, casualties, §c., of the apple.’ Canker in fruit 
trees, like the cancer in the human body, appears to be owing to a diseased 
state of the sap or blood, producing morbid concretions, of an inferior degree 
of organisation to the tissue by which they are surrounded, which they live 
on, and destroy, like parasites, till vitality is arrested. Plants being a con- 
geries of separate distinct beings, which have each an independent existence 
of themselves, may be more easily renovated by amputation and removal of 
the exciting causes; but in these, also, the sap 1s affected, as it breaks out in 
ulcerous morbid sores often, when to all appearance removed. Willdenow 
characterises it as produced by an acrid corroding gum, caused by the acid 
fermentation of excess of sap from low-lying damp gardens. Others have 
thought it to be of a fungoid nature, propagating itself as above stated, and 
living on the healthy tissue, which it disorders and destroys. It is evidently 
ageravated, if not produced, by a bad climate, and removed by a good one ; 
as trees that are very apt to canker in the open ground are generally free of 
it on good walls. It is also produced by a too rich damp state of the soil, as 
it is often removed by remedying this, and laying the ground dry and sweet 
about the roots. It is also constitutional ; as some sorts are liable to be 
hurt, while others, in the same circumstances, appear not susceptible. Climate, 
and food, and constitution will, therefore, all require to be attended to in 
guarding against this pernicious evil. Amputation, and cutting away all the 
diseased portion, should be resorted to on its first appearance; a neglected 
wound may even bring on this morbid condition of the tissue. Vitality 
requires to be kept continually in action, especially during the active period 
of growth; if a stagnation is brought about by cold weather, it may form a 
favourable state for the developement and growth of the parasitical morbid 
cancerous state of the tissue. If food is in excess, or any particular portion of 
the food, it may thus become deleterious, (most minerals found in the soil are 
needed in smaller or larger quantities, it is only excess that renders them 
deleterious,) and the vitality of the tree may not be able to correct it, till, 
by accumulation, it forms a diseased cancerous state of the tissue: the 
more weak and languid the constitution, the more apt it will be to succumb, 


528 Queries and Answers. 


and the more necessary will be the stimulus of heat to enable it to overcome, 
The exudation of gum in stone fruit is unattended, to the same extent, with 
the cancerous morbid state of parts exhibited by the apple and pear; but the 
disease appears to exist also in the sap, and to be ramified through the 
branches, in the same way as canker, as may be often seen on cutting in to 
arrive at its source. The small unripened shoots appear most liable, as being 
most tender. The bark and alburnum appear first to be infected in these young 
shoots, especially in the peach ; the young wood of which, being delicate from 
want of ripening, appears unable to stand the severity of spring, gets dis- 
coloured in blotches, and gum begins to exude. It would appear here that 
the disease arises from imperfectly ripened tissue getting injured by severity 
of the weather, and affording a nidus for it. In other cases, however, the gum 
begins to exude from parts to all appearance sound and perfect, as if caused 
by a plethoric diseased state of the sap. It is probable that, as in the cancer 
in the human body, which may be brought on from a wound neglected or a 
diseased state of the blood or constitution, so likewise,.in plants, the same 
disease may be brought about by different causes ; as in the analogous fungoid 
disease of mildew on the leaves, which, it appears, may be brought on by ex- 
cess of moisture or excess of drought, producing a diseased state of the sto- 
mata of the leaf, and a nidus for the fungus. — Sepé. 21. 1842. 


ArT. IV. Queries and Answers. 


GrowIne the Pine-Apple without Bottom Heat. (p.422.)—In answer to your 
correspondent “ A Subscriber, Winton,” relative to growing the pine-apple 
without tan or other fermenting material, I beg leave to state that I lived 
gardener to the late Mr. Knight, when he first commenced that mode of 
growing pines; but that, from a temporary illness, my doctor advised a change 
of air, which prevented me then from carrying it out. The soil we chose 
was from a river-side pasture. The house was well flued, but had no pits 
for plunging or receiving the plants, ‘so that the pots stood isolated. I 
found, as in the management of all heated houses for cultivation, that a 
steady governance of the fires was essential; and at the approach of a 
hot sunny day they were allowed to subside, and rekindled again in time to 
keep up a proper heat as the sun’s influence subsided in the evening, &c. 
A due regard to ventilation, to counteract the influence of the sun on the 
glass, is also essential ; and I prefer houses so constructed as to afford ven- 
tilation from all parts of the roof, as it prevents plants of all kinds from being 
what is'commonly called drawn. The pits now used with hot-water pipes, a 
portion of which runs in gutters under the pits, afford a ready means of heat- 
ing; and, if rightly applied, of bringing the fruit to perfection. If I can render 
your correspondent any further service, I shall be happy to hear from him.— 
FE’. Torbron. 3. Charles Place, Kensington Square, Kensington. 

Physospérmum cornubiénse Dec. (Ligisticum cornubiénse L.) — This rare 
and very local plant has never been found in any other part of Britain than 
about Bodmin, though it is said to be not unfrequent in the South of Europe 
and in Greece. Dr. Withering says that cattle are so fond of the plant, that 
they eat it down to the ground whenever they can get at it; so that it 
is usually found only in places where it is so protected by thorns and _ briars 
as to be inaccessible to them. (Baxter's British Flowering Plants, 4:75.) 
Would this not be a desirable plant to sow along with clover and grasses in 
artificial pastures? —D. B. Brighton, August 3. 1842. 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 
NOVEMBER, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ArT. I. Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats in Somerset- 
shire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. By the ConpucTor. 


(Continued from p. 494.) 


‘Szpr. 6.— Cowley House; Mrs. Wells. We find by a letter 
from the gardener, Mr. Griffin, that in our previous account of 
this place, we made some mistakes and omissions, occasioned by 
the memorandum-book in which we had made our notes being 
unfortunately lost on our return to Exeter. The principal 
mistake we made was calling the rivers which join in Mrs. 
Wells’s grounds the Exe and the Culm, whereas it should have 
been the Exe and the Creedy. ‘The conservatory has four 
sashes in the roof which open, instead of one or two, as we had 
stated; and the gardener has only won prizes at Exeter and 
Plymouth, and has never exhibited in London. We should 
also have noticed that Mrs. Wells, who is a zealous patroness of 
gardening, purchases all the rarest and most valuable house 
plants that can be obtained, so that the collection of hothouse 
and greenhouse plants at Cowley is one of the finest in the 
county. Of this we had additional proof, when we attended 
one of the Exeter Horticultural shows, on our return to that city, 
Sept. 23d (reported in Gard. Chron. October 15. 1842), and 
saw how much of the display there, which was splendid for the 
season, depended on the plants from Cowley House. We have 
mentioned house plants as being those in which Cowley House 
is particularly rich; but there are also in the shrubberies a great 
many of the choicest trees and shrubs, some of them fine spe- 
cimens, the names and dimensions of which we took down at 
the time, as we did of many of the house plants. Having lost 
all these memorandums, we have written to the gardener, Mr, 
Griffin, for an enumeration of such articles as he pointed out to 
us, anu of which he thought we took notes, and this enumeration 
we now give. 

3d Ser.—1842. XI. M M 


530 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


“‘ The collection of orchidaceous plants is very extensive, 
containing many superb specimens, particularly Cattleya crispa, 
C. Harrisonzdna, Oncidium altissimum, O. pictum, Dendrobium 
Calceolaria, D. ceruléscens, and Peristéria elata (the dove 
plant); among the more rare sorts are, Vdnda téres, V. Rox- 
birghz7, Saccolabium guttatum, Huntléya violacea, Oncidium 
Cavendishzdnum, Cattleya labiata, C. Skinner7, and Burlingtonza 
rigida, &c. Amongst the stove plants are good specimens of 
Pavétta caffra, P. angustifolia, Stephanotus floribindus, Gés- 
nera zebrina and discolor, Achiménes longiflora, Limonia 
spectabilis, and a very fine plant of the beautiful little Cepha- 
lotus follicularis, or New Holland pitcher plant. There are 
good specimens of several choice and rare greenhouse plants, 
such as Statice Dickson7, Boronza anemonefolia, B. viminea, 
Pimeléa spectabilis, Acroph¥llum venosum, and a very large 
plant of Llichrysum proliferum. The heaths are remarkably 
fine, as will be seen from the following dimensions: ZLrica re- 
fléxa alba, 6 ft. high and 8 ft. in circumference ; Z. ampullacea, 
4 ft. high and § ft. in circumference; Z. transparens, 5 ft. high 
and 9 ft. in circumference; good specimens of £.depressa, E. 
Masson?, LZ. Irbyana, L. aristata alba, Z. inflata alba, Z. tricolor, 
and #. tricolor coronata. In the conservatory are some very fine 
camellias, one plant of the double white having 2000 flower 
buds on it; fine plants of C.}. Chandlerz, C. j. pectinata, C. j. 
imbricata, C.j. Férdzz, C.j. Colvillz, C. reticulata, &c. The 
orange and lemon trees are very good plants and laden with 
fruit. The collections of geraniums, dahlias, carnations, &c., 
include nearly all the newest sorts in cultivation. ‘The pines 
are remarkably strong and clean. At the exhibition in Exeter, 
on Sept. 23., four queens were shown from Cowley, the 
smallest of which weighed 3lb. 40z.; they were grown in a 
house heated by Corbett’s open trough system, which answers 
admirably.” — J. G. 

With respect to culture, we were gratified by the healthy 
vigorous appearance of the camellias and orange trees in the 
conservatory, with their stems coming up through the Portland 
stone pavement; with the manner in which the heaths and New 
Holland plants were grown in rough, turfy, unsifted soil mixed 
with broken stones and pebbles, in Mr. Barnes’s manner, here- 
after described, with a somewhat similar manner of growing the 
Orchideze; and in particular with the very neat and effective 
manner in which the heaths and New Holland plants, and 
indeed all house plants of a shrubby kind, were tied by slender 
threads or copper wires into handsome shapes, conical, globular, 
domical, umbrella-like, or in some other modification or segment 
of a sphere or hemisphere. 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 531 


With respect to the place generally, it was certainly, as we 
have stated, in excellent order; but, notwithstanding this, the 
open garden department was by no means in such high keeping 
as the plant houses. ‘There was not, for example, the same 
proportion of care bestowed on the beds of the flower-garden, to 
keep all the ground covered, and yet all the plants within 
proper bounds; to remove all the decayed flowers, and all the 
seeds and fruits that are not naturally ornamental; to tie strag- 
gling plants into shape; to prune and thin the branches of indi- 
vidual plants so as to insure an even distribution of blossom 
buds; to thin out groups, beds, and strips, so as not to allow 
common shrubs or other plants to injure the more rare ones; 
and not to allow any plant standing in dug soil, and conse- 
quently coming under the character of gardenesque, to touch 
another plant, at the same time keeping it just about to touch. 
We have said that the edges of the walks are kept low, and so 
they are generally; but we pointed out on the spot some defi- 
ciencies in this respect. ‘The order and keeping of the kitchen- 
garden were defective in several points. We would have blanks 
filled up in kitchen crops, as well as in flower beds, and the 
edgings to the walks kept as perfect in the one department as in 
the other. We have mentioned these things to show that, if, in 
our former notice of Cowley House, we omitted to point out 
some of its beauties, we were also equally culpable as to its 
faults; these, indeed, are exceedingly few, and such is our 
opinion of the gardener, Mr. Griffin, that we know they need 
only be pointed out to him to be corrected. 

Sept. '7.— Mamhead ; Sir Robert Newman, Bart. We omitted 
in our former notice to mention the name of the gardener, 
Mr. Willis, an excellent cultivator, as the state of his fruit trees 
testifies, and one of the earliest correspondents of the Gardener’s 
Magazine. We ought also to have noticed a number of fine 
standard magnolias on a terrace-bank in front of the hothouses 
in the kitchen-garden. ‘The trees are upwards of 20 ft. high, 
and with heads from 20 ft. to 30 ft. in diameter. Like all the 
other old standard magnolias which we have seen in Devon- 
shire, they would be greatly improved by having all the weak 
straggling branches thinned out. ‘The same power of roots 
remaining, there would be great additional strength thrown into 
the remaining branches by this thinning; and hence a greater 
number of flowers, and more vigorous young shoots, would be 
produced. We have already mentioned the portcullis being 
in good repair, as contributing to destroy the illusion of an old 
castle applied to modern purposes; but, if we had taken time to 
develope the idea properly, we ought to have objected to the 


new and fresh appearance of the walls and towers, and, indeed, of 
MM 2 3 


532 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


the whole of this imitation of an old castle; and said that it would 
have been more effective in realising the proposed effect, if built 
in imitation of a castle in ruins. We may add that it might 
be partially ruined now, or, which would be the best improve- 
ment, covered with ivy. We intended to visit this place a 
second time on our return from Plymouth, in order to correct 
or confirm our first impressions, as, from the unfavourable state 
of the weather, we did not see the place so thoroughly as we 
wished, but time would not permit. 

In p. 494. we have stated that we had only seen “ perfect 
high keeping in Devonshire at Luscombe and Endsleigh :” but we 
had not then seen Bicton, which is as highly kept as any place 
we ever saw in any country; andthat not only in one department, 
but throughout the whole. 

Oxton House; J. B. Swete, Esq. The grounds are laid out 
with great taste by the proprietor, who is an excellent artist in 
landscape architecture and figures. The style of art in the 
grounds is picturesque throughout; the scattered trees are 
judiciously disposed and well grouped; and we were particularly 
gratified by the appearance of a piece of water, in imitation of a 
wild neglected lake, which we could hardly have known to be a 
work of art, had we not, when walking round it, with difficulty 
discovered the head or dam. 

Powderham Castle; the Earl of Devon. The fine magnolia 
trees and other exotics here are sadly neglected; the branches 
are unpruned, the stems covered with lichens and moss, and the 
piants choked up in many places with the commonest trees and 
shrubs. The house is being altered by Mr. Fowler, a guarantee 
to our minds that the general effect will be simple and grand. 
Some walled-up banks along the approach appeared to us 
much too common-place for the vicinity of a castle. Had there 
been rocks to penetrate, as at Warwick Castle, the case would 
have been different; but here the walling mode seems to — 
have been adopted as a matter of choice, or for the sake of 
economy. We would have brought down the ground with a 
gentle slope, and had 3 or 4 feet of perfectly level surface on 
each side of the road, which, as it is at present, has a cramped 
appearance. ‘To make this subject clear, however, would re- 
quire more room and time than we can at present spare. 

Sept. 8. — From Exeter, by Luscombe, Dawlish, Teignmouth, 
and Babbicombe, to Torquay. We set out in an open carriage 
with elevated seats, so as to see over the high fences, which 
every where border the roads and lanes. The day, like almost 
every other while we were in Devonshire, was fine; and the 
country and the sea rich, varied, and altogether delightful ; 
all the corn carried; the turnip fields covered by luxuriant 
leaves; the rank pastures well stocked with red oxen and sheep ; 


zn Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 533 


and the apple trees, which accompany every house and cottage, 
laden with fruit. We passed through Kenton, and other vil, 
lages or groups of cottages, and saw some churches with hich 
square towers, venerable and grand; and many cottages with 
cob walls, and thatched roofs. Rather too many of these and 
of larger dwellings had the walls whitewashed ; which, though 
good in a moral point of view, as conveying the idea of care 
and cleanliness, is yet bad with reference to picturesque effect ; 
because white spots do not harmonise with the surrounding 
colours, but remain for ever the same glaring objects, except 
during twilight and night. “ In any scene where harmony pre- 
vails,” says Sir Uvedale Price, ‘the least discordancy in colour 
disturbs the eye; but, if we suppose a single object of a glaring 
white to be introduced, the whole attention, in spite of all our 
efforts to the contrary, will be drawn to that one point; if many 
such objects be scattered about, the eye will be distracted 
among them. Again, to consider it in another view, when 
the sun breaks out in gleams, there is something that delights 
and surprises in seeing an object, before only visible, lighted up 
in splendour, and then gradually sinking into shade; but a 
whitened object is already lighted up; it remains so when every 
thing else has retired into obscurity; it still forces itself into 
notice, still impudently stares you in the face. An object of a 
sober tint, unexpectedly gilded by the sun, is like a serious 
countenance suddenly lighted up by a smile; a whitened object 
like the eternal grin of a 1 fool.” 

The views of the sea, and of the scenery all along the coast, 
are varied and beautiful; though the houses at Teignmouth and 
other watering places convey more the idea of the temporary 
residences of visitors and invalids, than of permanent abodes. 
One of the handsomest newly built villas which we saw was one 
in the Elizabethan style by Mr. Hayward of Exeter: the 
situation is elevated, and the terraced gardens in front very 
appropriate; the entrance is from behind, as it always ought to 
be in such cases. 

Luscombe Castle ; Charles Hoare, Esq. Well known for its 
beauty and the high order in which every thing, even to the 
farm offices, is kept. The grounds are said to have been 
originally laid out by the late Mr. John Veitch, father of the 
present nurseryman of that name. ‘The castle is placed on the 
side of an ascending valley, and the two sides of this narrow 
valley are beautifully varied by trees, which thicken into woods 
as they approach the summits of the two ridges, so that the house 
may be said to stand on the side of a valley surrounded by hang- 
ing woods. ‘There are a number of large magnolias and other 


choice trees and shrubs, including the two largest plants in Eng- 
MM 3 


534 Nolices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


land of Picea cephalonica, of which the history has been given 
by Sir Charles Napier in our Arboretum Britannicum, and in a 
former volume of this Magazine. ‘The finest place to be met 
with has some fault; and that of Luscombe is, that there is not 
room enough about the house. It does not stand on a suffi- 
ciently large platform; nor did there appear to us an obvious 
and all-powerful reason why it should be set down precisely 
where it is, rather than any where else. When this all-sufficient 
reason is not furnished by nature, art should supply the de- 
ficiency ; and, therefore, Luscombe Castle ought to have been 
supported by terraces. Such was our general impression on 
the spot; but all first impressions ought to be corrected by 
a second inspection, and by reflection, so as to support them by 
reasoning. Among the trees of which we took notes were: 
in the kitchen-garden, an olive 12 ft. high and 8 ft. wide, after 
being twelve years planted ; another, 13 ft. high and 10 ft. wide; 
both these plants have ripened fruit; Callistemon salignus, 
12 ft. high and 6 ft. wide; lemons, citrons, and limes, 12 ft. 
high. In the pleasure-ground, Magnolia grandiflora, 36 ft. high ; 
M. fuscata, 12 ft. high; and Eriobdtrya, 12 ft. high. ‘Two trees 
of Edwardsza were from 20 ft. to 30 ft. high, but are now cut 
down; there are also many plants of Magnolza grandiflora, 30 ft. 
high; Picea cephalonica, two plants, each 12 ft. high; Cedrus 
Deodara, 12 ft. high; Pinus insignis, 8 ft. high; P. australis 
syn. palustris, 15 ft. high; many hydrangeas 6 ft. high and from 
10 ft. to 20 ft. in diameter, all with red and blue flowers at the 
same time, which we observed to be generally the case through- 
out Devonshire; Araucaria imbricata, large fuchsias and myrtles, 
camellias, coronillas, cedar of Goa, Judas trees, catalpas, chi- 
monanthus, and many other fine things. In the kitchen-garden, 
a splendid row of the belladonna lily, now in full flower through- 
out Devonshire. 

Babbicombe ; the Lord Bishop of Exeter. A very hand- 
some Italian villa is just completed in the upper part of a small 
valley between two hills, with terraced gardens and _ suitable 
appendages, all in the same style; the architect, Mr. Gribble of 
Torquay. We have seldom seen any thing so complete; there 
is one walk which descends through the grounds to a secluded 
bay on the rocky shore, and another which ascends to a hill or 
piece of high open table Jand or downs covered with short 
turf, where the fresh breeze may be enjoyed, and from which 
extensive views are obtained. Before the entrance front of the 
house there is a mass of rock, which might be exposed in such 
a manner as to form a feature appropriate to the situation; but 
it has been earthed up and turfed over. Some broad margins of 
turf are wanted along the terrace-walls and parapets, to har- 
monise them with the exterior scenery; but these and other 


an Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 535 


suggestions may easily be carried into effect, if they should be 
approved of. We found Scilla vérna in flower as well as in 
seed on the downs, owing to the great heat of the summer 
and the recent rains; a circumstance which, we were afterwards 
informed by Mr. Gullet, the gardener at Woodbine Cottage, 
was not unusual. 

Torquay. A delightful little sea-port and bathing-place, with 
cottages, villas, and lodging-houses, from the sea-shore to the 
summits of the rocky wooded hills with which the bay is sur- 
rounded. Some of these are in good taste, and almost all of 
them exhibit marks of care and design, both in the house and 
grounds, which, being evidence of progress, is sure to lead to 
good taste in the end. The grounds in several instances have 
been laid out and planted under the direction of Mr. Gullet, 
already mentioned. Mrs. Herder’s inn is an excellent house, 
with a piano in every sitting-room, but rather a scarcity of 
readable books. When speaking to her on this subject, we 
found ‘she belonged to a German family, and we therefore re- 
commended to her to add Herder’s Philosophy of Man to her 
library, which she politely promised to do. We believe we 
also recommended Chambers’s Journal, the Penny and Saturday 
Magazines, and the Atheneum. 

Woodbine Cottage; Miss Johnes. A description of this place 
has already appeared in our Volume for 1836, p.26., so that 
little is left for us to say, except that we found it still more ro- 
mantic than the description led us to expect. The whole is 
kept in excellent order by Mr. Gullet, who is unquestionably, 
not only an excellent gardener, but a man of genius as a sculptor 
and mechanic. To be convinced of this, it is only necessary to 
see the numercus figures which he has cut out in wood with his 
knife during the winter evenings, some of which are portraits of 
well known characters at Torquay; and the manner in which 
he has brought water from a distant hill, across a valley, and 
over an intervening hill, by a siphon. In the quarry covered 
by glass, mentioned in Vol. XII. p. 27., we found esperione 
grapes ripe, and of very superior flavour to the Hamburg. Not 
only the heat, but the soil, must have some effect in improving 
the flavour; for, had we not seen the leaves, and the form and 
close berries of the bunch, we should never have recognised the 
variety by the taste. A great many Cape, Australian, and 
Mexican plants flourish in the open air here, without any pro- 
tection, in winter. The agaves are very large and fine; and 
Phormium ténax seems a favourite here and in many other 
places. The Pittésporum Tolira stands the winter better than 
the common laurel. Pelargoniums have stood out five years 
without any protection. Clianthus puniceus has attained a 
large size; Phidmis fruticdsa has acquired the character of a 

MM 4 


536 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


little tree, and Coronilla glauca and Medicago arborea have 
become large bushes. In short, there is no greenhouse plant 
that might not be trusted out here summer and winter. The 
woods in some places rise from a covering of tutsan, and in 
others from one of ivy; which is also introduced into dry 
stone walls near the bottom, and soon changes these walls 
into evergreen hedges. The common ash, Mr. Gullet finds, 
will transplant better than any other tree when of large size, and 
it also stands the sea breeze remarkably well. Miss Johnes, 
the proprietress of ‘Torquay, is sister to the late Colonel Johnes 
of Hafod in Cardiganshire, a splendid place, where we had the 
pleasure of passing a few days professionally, so long ago as 
1805. Miss Johnes is upwards of ninety years of age, and in 
perfect health. 

Sept. 8.— Torquay to Paington, Totness, and Kingsbridge. Tor 
Abbey is principally remarkable for some fine ruins, stone coffins, 
large elms, and an avenue of lime trees. ‘There is a Catholic 
chapel, which always commands our respect, as being charac- 
teristic of an old family and an old place. The effect of the 
ruins is in a great measure destroyed by the sycamores, elders, 
and other trees with which they are overgrown. Ivy is almost 
the only plant that can luxuriate among ruins without injuring 
their dignity. Trees may be allowed to spring out of the actual 
walls, because in that situation they never grow large, or, if they 
do, that circumstance enhances the idea oF the age of the ruin; 
but luxuriant trees growing out of the ground, which completely 
cover the ruins by their branches, prevent them from being 
seen as a whole, and consequently from making their charac 
teristic impression. ‘There is here a fine old Saxon doorway, 
and near it a sweet bay, 30 ft. high. In the kitchen-garden, 
Cistus ladaniferus is upwards of 10 ft. high. The gardener, 
Mr. Pullinger, from Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland, is an in- 
telligent industrious man, who reads, and who deserves a more 
extensive charge. 

Paington. Celebrated for its cabbages, which are a coarse 
sort, coming nearer to the Strasburg or Scotch cabbage than 
any other variety, and, like it, attaining a large size on well 
manured loam. It cannot be recommended for the garden, 
unless perhaps in those of cottagers who may require it as food 
for cows or swine. Spoke with two of the growers, and brought 
away some seed (see p. 485.). A very old yew in the church 
yard, with a hollow trunk filled in with brickwork. 

Berry Pomeroy Castle ; the Duke of Somerset. This is the 
ruins of what has been a lofty and widely extending castle; but it 
is now shorn of much of its dignity, by the duke’s tenantry 
having, till within the last twenty years, taken away almest all 
the master stones of the building, such as the lintels and jambs 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 537 


to the doors, windows, and fireplaces. To prevent the walls of 
the castle from literally tumbling down, the place of these lintels 
was supplied some years ago by oak beams, and that of the 
jambs by common rubble stonework. ‘This gives the whole 
ruin a mean appearance, and destroys the idea of great age; 
for no building with wooden lintels can last for centuries. 
Another circumstance which greatly detracts from its dignity 
is its being overwhelmed with trees. Such, however, is_ the 
height of the walls, and of the well defined portions which 
occur here and there, for example the gatehouse, that, were it 
not for the want of the master stones, it would not be difficult 
to render this a grand and impressive ruin; and to restore in it 
one or two rooms, so as to form a habitation for a person to 
take care of the whole. ‘The views from the castle must, from 
its elevation, be very extensive ; but it is so shrouded in trees, 
that we can only see over the precipitous terrace wails to a deep 
valley, the sides and bottom of which are covered with ancient 
wood. Immediately within the gatehouse there is an elder tree, 
the branches of which are covered to their very extremity with 
Polypodium vulgare, giving if a very singular appearance, which 
we suppose would be not unlike that of the dank woods of 
Demerara and other places, where the trees are covered with 
Orchidaceze. In one of the kitchens there is a common maple, 
which has sprung up out of the floor, and is nearly 50 ft. high ; 
and in another kitchen there is a large fireplace, with an oven 
on one side, and a niche for the turnspit to sit in on the other. 
Such a tree as this maple might remain, provided the floor were 
cleared out so far as to show distinctly that it was a floor; but 
almost all the other trees we would remove, together with as 
much of the soil and rubbish as would allow us to recognise 
what the castle had been, the height of the walls in some places, 
the dimensions of the rooms and their uses in others, and if 
possible the situation of the staircases; for the stone steps have 
been generally removed. Irom these hints may be derived a 
knowledge of the principle on which ruins in actual scenery are to 
be treated, viz. that of showing, by what exists, what has been. To 
show the height of walls, clear away the rubbish, in some places, 
to their very base; to show lateral extent, uncover or indicate such 
fragments of foundations as may have belonged to the building 
when in a perfect state; to show the sizes of the rooms, clear 
out their floors; and, to show the whole group of ruins at a dis- 
tance, remove such of the surrounding trees as may be necessary 
for that purpose. 

Sharpham ; Durant, Esq. The road from Totness to 
Sharpham is a crooked narrow lane between high banks, in 
which two carriages can with difficulty pass. If widened and 
carried along an improved line, which might be almost cn a 


538 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


perfect level, it would be one of the loveliest drives in the world, 
from the abundance of wood and the great beauty of the valley 
of the Dart, the water of which expands so as to resemble a 
winding lake. ‘The narrow lane alluded to is two or three miles 
in length; and the approach road, after leaving the lodge, ex- 
tends upwards of a mile. We passed many fine old trees, and 
among others the most magnificent Cornish elm that we ever 
beheld. By a rude measurement, we found the trunk to be 15 ft. 
in diameter ; the diameter of the space covered by the branches to 
be 136 ft.; and the height 80ft. ‘The house is very well placed 
on a projecting platform, which forms, as it were, the corner 
‘between the valley of the Dart and another valley, which may be 
called that of Sharpham. Here the “ sufficient reason ” for choos- 
ing the situation is obvious at a glance. ‘There is much natural 
beauty at this place, and many fine woods and trees; but it is 
in a state of sad neglect, nothing having been done to it for 
several years. It appears, indeed, never to have been com- 
pleted; for the walls of the kitchen-garden have not been built, 
and there are the rafters of a vinery, under which vines are trained, 
but for which, we were informed, the sashes were never made. 
The feeling of melancholy which such a place as this produces 
is so mixed up with misery, that it affords no pleasure; whereas, 
an old neglected place, where there is no evidence of the neglect 
being the result of want of means, fills the mind with a feeling 
of veneration and respect, as wellassadness. A young or new place 
in a state of neglect or disorder affords an example of melan- 
choly and misery; while an old full-grown place, uninhabited, 
in which nothing seems to be doing but keeping the place in 
tolerable order, is an example of melancholy and grandeur. ‘To 
remove the idea of hopeless melancholy from an old place, there 
ought to be signs of life and improvement, if it were nothing 
more than the planting here and there of young trees where the 
old ones have been cut down. An old place, with nothing but 
old trees, leaves the mind without hope. ‘There is nothing to look 
forward to but their decay ; but an old place, with both old and 
young trees, more especially if it has been long in possession of 
the same family, and that family have children, is, we think, 
better calculated to give a feeling of perpetual existence to the 
proprietor for the time being, than any other state of things that 
we can conceive, unless it be that of a hereditary sovereion. One 
of the finest things at Sharpham is a broad walk from the house, 
along the side of a steep valley, to the head of that valley, where 
it crosses over by the gardener’s cottage to a similar walk on the 
opposite side; the walk all the while winding much in direction, 
but being always nearly on a level. We were informed that it 
is continued through the woods towards the sea, exhibiting many 
fine views of the Dart and its opposite banks. 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 539 


Notwithstanding the wretched state in which this place was, 
we noticed in a flower-garden near the house very large plants 
of Clianthus puniceus < and fuchsias; Bouvardza triph#lla, aft. high, 
and forming a large bush; rosemary, 6 ft. and § ft. high, foci 
ing most beautiful bushes; large magnolias of different Rind = 
and a bed of broad-leaved myrtles pegged down, so as to cover 
the entire bed with their white flowers. Among the trees and 
shrubs, along the walk before mentioned, were, a straight erect 
arbor-vitee, upwards of 30 ft. high, with a clear trunk | ft. in 
diameter; immense rhododendrons, azaleas, and laurustinus ; and 
a black spruce, 50 ft. high, feathered to the ground, its lowest 
branches rooted in the soil, and their points for ming a circle of 
young trees ranged round their parent. 

Sharpham to Kingsbridge. We went by very bad parish roads, 
crossed by innumerable other roads, or rather narrow lanes, 
equally bad, without a single guide-post any where; and with so 
few houses, or people at work to enquire of, that it was with the 
greatest difficulty we found our way to Kingsbridge. 

Sept. 9.—Kingsbridge to Combe Royal, and by the Moult, Wood- 
ville, Salcombe, and Maribor ough, to Modbury. In the garden of 
the inn at Kingsbridge is a large lemon tree, protected by glass 
during winter, but without fire-heat, which supplies lemons 
enough for the use of the inn. ‘The horse-keeper is the gar- 
dener, and, being fond of that business, has the garden in ex- 
cellent arden. A few books are to be found in the inn, but 
nothing to what there ought to be; no county histories or local 
topography. 

Combe Royal; John Luscombe, Esq. This place has been 
long celebrated for its orange and lemon trees, of which an 
account has appeared in our Volume for 1834, p. 36. We found 
the trees im the highest order, and covered with abundance of 
beautiful fruit. There are also excellent collections of all the 
hardy fruits, and a great many of the more rare and valuable 
trees and shrubs. All the Citrus tribe are here propagated by 
cuttings of the young wood, taken off in spring, and cut across 
at a joint where the wood is beginning to ripen. ‘These are 
planted in sand, with little or no loam, in a pot prepared as 
follows: the pot is nearly half-filled with drainage, over which 
is placed a piece of flat stone fitted to the sides, so as barely to 
let the water through to the drainage; on this a little sand is 
put, and the cuttings are then planted i in such a manner that 
the lower end of each cutting is in close contact with the surface 
of the smooth stone. ‘The pot is then filled up with sand, and 
placed in gentle heat in a frame, or covered with a hand-glass. 
With the usual treatment as to water, shading, &c., they root 
and are fit to transplant in about six weeks. ‘The use af bringing 
the lower end of the cutting in close contact with the smooth 


540 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


stone, the gardener thinks, or has been told, is to exclude the 
air from the pith. Planted in sand well drained, without a flat 
stone, they do not root nearly so soon, and some of them not at all. 
We should be inclined to think that the chief use of the stone was 
to prevent the sand from being washed through the drainage, so 
as to leave the lower end of the cutting loose; since nothing con- 
tributes more to the striking of a cutting, or of a newly trans- 
planted seedling plant, than pressing the soil firmly to its lower 
extremity. Perhaps this very pressure may operate by excluding 
the air, and causing those exudations to granulate and form 
spongioles, which would otherwise be dissipated in or absorbed 
by the loose soil; and, if so, the gardener (whose name we neg- 
lected to take down) is right. 

The Moult ; Jackson, Esq. The house and grounds oc- 
cupy a narrow sloping strip of land at the base of a steep descent, 
on a rocky shore, 20 or 30 feet above high-water mark. The 
climate is considered to be the mildest in England, Salcombe Bay 
being the most southerly bay in the island. ‘The ground is varied 
by terraces, and enriched by numerous plants grown elsewhere 
in greenhouses. On the rocks the samphire luxuriates, and in 
the sandy places the sea-beet. From the steep rising ground 
behind, a protruding rocky point on one side, the sea in front, 
and the continual noise of the breakers against the rocks, there 
is a peculiar mixture of solitariness and wildness about this 
place, which we have not found any where else, and with which 
we were much delighted. It was in good order, with abundance 
of oranges, lemons, and peaches on the wall trees. Among the 
plants we noted Alo¥sza 8 ft., Eucalyptus 15 ft., and Acacia deal- 
bata 20 ft. high ; Medicago arborea, 6 ft. high; Verdnica decus- 
sata, 3 ft. high; a flower stem of Agave americana, 27 ft. long, the 
remains of a plant which had flowered after being thirty years 
in the open ground without protection. ‘The leaves of some 
agaves which had not yet flowered were 6 and 7 ft. long. 
Richardza ethidpica is here quite hardy, and ripens seeds. 

Woodville; Mrs. Walker. Similarly situated to the Moult, 
except that. the strip of pleasure-ground is broader, and 
fronts an arm of the sea, looking across to rising grounds and 
to Salcombe Castle, a ruined fort. There are several walls 
10 ft. high covered with orange and lemon trees, which require 
very little protection, and this is given by reed mats or boards, 
without the aid of artificial heat. Here, as at the Moult, and as 
at an adjoining place belonging to Mrs. Prideaux, it is chiefly 
the older greenhouse plants that have been planted out, with 
the exception of the new fuchsias. The agave flowers freely 
every thirty years, and Medicago arborea, Coronilla glatica, Kd- 
wardsza macrophflla and microph¥lla, Pittosporum Tobira, the 
myrtle, the olive, and similar plants, have attained a large size. 


an Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 541 


There are a great many plants of the New Zealand flax at 
Woodville, which would appear to have been planted with a 
view to use. ‘The keeping was good, but, we should say, not 
founded on principle; because in some places, where accident 
had washed away the gravel from the edges of the walks, it was 
not supplied, and the edges consequently were left high and raw. 
The wall-trees, both here and at the Moult, were admirably 
managed. Neither here nor at the Moult had the gardeners 
ever heard of our name or of any of our works, or of any of the 
gardening newspapers. We took memorandums of an agave 
twenty-two years old, with leaves 7 ft. long; a metrosideros, 10 ft. 
high; myrtles, 10 ft. high; Phormium ténax, 6 ft. high, which, 
after being twelve years planted, has flowered; olives as stand- 
ards, and one in the stable-yard upwards of 20 ft. high; a 
splendid bush of rosemary, 7 ft- high; one of the oranges with 
a stem 18 in. round at a foot from the ground, and another 
12 in. The walls here, at the Moult,’at Mrs. Prideaux’s, and 
Lord Kinsale’s adjoining, are chiefly of stone. 

Salcombe ; Mrs. Prideaux. There is an agave here coming 
into flower with four stems. Every one of the leaves has been 
injured at the points, and most of them along the edges; but, 
whether this was done by accident or by design to throw the 
plant into flower, we could not ascertain, the gardener not being 
at home. 

Sept. 10.—Modbury to Fleet House, Kitley, Saltram, and Ply- 
mouth. Modbury is an ancient town of considerable size, without 
either a good inn or a bookseller’s shop. We were informed that 
there was a subscription library for the better class; but we did 
not see the slightest evidence of intelligence or intellectual en- 
joyment among the mass. 

Fleet House; J. Bulteel, Esq. The house is of considerable 
antiquity and well placed, and it is undergoing great improvement 
under the immediate direction of the proprietor, who is his own 
architect, and is, perhaps, one of the cleverest amateur artists in 
England. He is not only a painter, but a modeller and sculptor. 
The doorways and fireplaces of the house had been originally 
of granite, with torus mouldings in a style peculiar, as it ap- 
peared to us, to those parts of Devonshire where granite was 
used as the master stone-work of buildings. These granite door- 
tases and chimney-pieces had in this house, as in Monadon House 
which we saw in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, been covered 
over with plaster, we suppose to give the house a more modern 
air; but Mr. Bulteel has removed all this, and is restoring these 
leading features to their original grandeur and simplicity. The 
ultimate effect will be unique. There are some large rooms 
admirably managed both in their finishing and furniture, and a 
long picture gallery, with a number of curious and yaluable 


542 — Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


statues and pictures. Little or nothing has yet been done to the 
grounds; but they possess remarkably fine features, which will, 
doubtless, be taken advantage of. We learned here from 
Mr. Bulteel that the best apple for cider is called the white- 
sour; and also that the custom mentioned in our Arboretum still 
exists, of addressing the apple trees at a particular season, but 
with some additions as follows, the additions being in italic: — 


“‘ Here’s to thee, old apple tree, 
Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow ; 
And whence thou mayst bear apples enow. 
Hats full! caps full! 
Bushel— bushel—sacks full ! 
And my pockets full too! 
If thee does not bear either apple or corn, 
We'll down with thy top, and up with a horn.” 


[Here the farmer shoots at the tree. 


Mr. Bulteel informed us that this practice is still continued 
by some persons; and that a few years ago a farmer, who was 
in the habit of going through the ridiculous ceremony, was cited 
before the ecclesiastical court for witchcraft; and that, before he 
could disentangle himself from the net in which he had inad- 
vertently been caught, it required a considerable outlay both of 
time and money. 

Kitley ; i. P. Bastard, Esq.; at present in the occupaticn of 
Lord Seaton. This is an extensive and well-wooded place, with 
a fine expanse of water. The house has recently been improved 
in the old English style by George Repton, Esq. ; and the flower- 
garden, Lord Seaton informed us, is from a design volunteered 
by Chantrey, while he was on a visit to the late Mr. Bastard. 
The drive round the park is remarkably fine, both from its 
trees and from its views. Beautiful views of the salt-water lake 
and estuary are obtained in some places, and of the open sea 
in others. In one part of the drive, where it passes through 
old quarries, the ground, the road, and the larches have been 
so arranged as to remind us of Switzerland ; and, in other low 
damip places, the continuity of spruce firs of different ages recalls 
to mind the forests of this tree between Memel and Konigsburg. 
We went to the kitchen-garden to see the Kitley shaddock; but 
Mr. Saunders was not at home, and we could only guess at which 
was the plant which yielded the fruit sent to us in 1826, the 
first year of the Gardener's Magazine. In the drive we noticed 
a common laurel with a straight erect stem, 50 ft. high, and the 
stem 18 in. in diameter. 

Saltram; Earl of Morley. The park is very extensive and 
judiciously planted, and in the kitchen-garden are some good 
orange trees against the walls; and myrtles, magnolias, acacias, 
&c., as standards. The park was planted and the roads laid 


zn Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 543 


out, we were informed, by the late Mr. David Smith, who was 
the late Lord Morley’s gardener for thirty-five years, and was 
considered one of the best gardeners of his time. He died-a 
few months ago; and we should be glad if his widow, or some of 
his friends, would enable us to pay a better tribute to his me- 
mory. 

Sept. 11.to13.—Plymouth. ‘Through the unwearied attention 
and kindness of Mr. Pontey, we were enabled while here to see 
a great deal in a short time; but we shall only notice nurseries 
and gentlemen’s seats. 

Atheneum Cottage ; Mrs. Foulstone. This place, which does 
not occupy much above an acre, was created by the late John 
Foulstone, Esq., architect, who has displayed in it very great 
skill and taste in landscape-gardening, no less than in his own 
art. ‘The ground is a narrow strip by the road-side, extending 
from the bottom to the top of a hill. Across the bottom runs 
the stream of water which supplies Plymouth. The house is 
placed half-way up the hill; the kitchen-garden occupies the 
upper part of the strip, and the pleasure-ground the lower; the 
view from the drawingroom terminating in a cascade formed by 
the stream. The skill of the artist is chiefly displayed in ma- 
naging the side scenes, so as to vary the boundary of the narrow 
glade of turf which leads the eye down the slope to the cascade. 
This is done with so much taste and judgement, that, if we can, 
we shall on some future occasion illustrate it by a ground plan. 
Unfortunately, Mrs. Foulstone was not at home. 

Mr. Pontey’s Nurseries. The larger nursery which is two 
miles from Plymouth, at Vinstone, is of considerable extent. It 
contains an arboretum arranged according to the Natural System, 
in examining which, and in correcting the names, we spent half 
a day. We were agreeably surprised to find so extensive a 
collection of trees and shrubs, and we strongly recommended 
Mr. Pontey to increase it by procuring additional species from 
the Fulham Nursery, where the plants are all correctly named, 
or by getting cuttings from the Horticultural Society’s garden. 
We also recommended him, as we would every other nurseryman 
and private gentleman who is an F.H.S., or has a friend who is 
one, whenever there is the slightest doubt about the name of a 
tree or shrub, to send a specimen of it ina letter to Mr. Gordon, 
the superintendent of the tree and shrub department in the 
’ Horticultural Scciety’s garden. ‘The first step towards the 
knowledge of things is to know their names, and nothing would 
contribute more to spread a taste for trees and shrubs among 
country gentlemen, than to have correct names put to the more 
choice kinds which they already possess. ‘The mere naming of 
any plant creates an interest in it in the spectator, which leads 
him to enquire about it, to notice the plant when he meets with it 


544 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


elsewhere, or even when he sees something like it in other 
gardens. Thus, step by step, a person who would never have 
noticed a tree if he had not seen it named, becomes an amateur 
of trees and shrubs, than which no objects, scarcely even archi- 
tectural ones, form more beautiful or permanent ornaments to a 
country residence, and to the general aspect of the land. Next 
to agriculture, therefore, a taste for planting and landscape- 
gardening is the most to be desired in a country gentleman ; for, - 
while he is improving and ornamenting his own estate, he is at 
the same time beautifying and enriching his country. All 
nurserymen who plant arboretums are aiding in infusing a taste 
in country gentlemen for trees and shrubs, and hence they well 
merit the general thanks of the public. 

Every nurseryman, when he sends out trees and shrubs which 
are not quite common, ought to send out along with them properly 
prepared names to be nailed to wooden pegs or stakes. ‘This 
may either be done by having the names stamped with type on 
plates of lead as practised by Messrs. Whitley and Osborn, and 
for which they charge only 12s. per hundred, as mentioned in 
our Volume for 1841, p. 584.; or by writing the names with 
prepared ink, as practised by Mr. Rivers of the Sawbridgeworth 
Nursery. ‘These labels, Mr. Rivers informs us, will last at least 
10 years; but we shall have more to say on this subject in 
our next Number. 

At the Vinstone Nursery resides Mr. Pontey, senior, a most 
intelligent and intellectual gentleman, young in mind and ac- 
tivity, though above eighty years of age. He pointed out many 
things to us, and told us many anecdotes. His chief amusement 
is reading history. He noticed to us the intense bitter of the 
leaves of Vibarnum prunifolium, and gave us the history of 
several varieties of trees which will be spoken of hereafter. 

In Mr. Pontey’s Plymouth Nursery, there is a straight walk 
from the entrance, the longest of the kind we recollect to have 
seen; Mr. Pontey says it is upwards of a quarter of a mile. 
On each side there is a border with specimens of the more 
showy or rare trees and shrubs. Among these we noticed good 
specimens of a variety with very large leaves raised from seed of 
Pyrus Sorbus vestita; P. Avia fr. hiteo with large yellow fruit; 
fine specimens of the different varieties of P. arbutifolia, P. 
spuria, and P. Aria gree‘ca; Cotoneaster acuminata, frigida, and 
affinis ; Bérberis umbellata a new species, and Deeringza indica, 
with many others. Against the gable end of a house, the Isa-_ 
bella grape was covered with bunches of its fine black fruit 
nearly ripe. Among many plants in the houses, we observed a 
good stock of a new tropwolum, supposed to be T. azireum; 
of two new sorts of yuccas, one with narrow leaves from 5 ft. to 
6 ft. long, and the other with broader leaves, said to grow from 


zn Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 545 


6 ft. to 8 ft. long. There are a great many other greenhouse 
and hothouse plants, including Daubentonza Tripetidna, heaths, 
pelargoniums (of which Mr. Pontey has four new sorts, for 
which he asks from a guinea and a half to three guineas each), 
Cacti, bulbs, and Orchidese, Mr. Pontey having lately re- 
ceived large collections of these from South America and the 
Cape. In a word, we found nothing wanting that is to be 
expected ina complete nursery. ‘The erounds | are exceedingly 
well laid out, and remind us of the Edinburgh nurseries, as do 
those of Messrs. Lucombe and Pince, and Wiessis. Veitch, of 
Exeter; and, like them,. they are kept in excellent order. The 
houses are all heated by Corbet’s open gutters, which. Mr. Pon~ 
tey, as well as Mr. Pince, and all other nurserymen and gar- 
deners that we have seen who have tried it, agree in most 
strongly recommending. 

In Mr. Pontey’s town nursery there is a pear orchard, con- 
sisting of an extensive collection of trees grafted on quince 
stocks, and trained pyramidally. Mr. Pontey informs us that 
he found only about a dozen kinds of pears that would grow 
well on quinces when grafted direct on that stock, but that he 
accomplished his object by first grafting a sort that took freely, 
and then grafting the plant so produced with any other sort that 
would not grow on the quince. In this way, by great labour 
during a number of years, he has got most of the following kinds 
to grow vigorously and bear abundantly: — 


List of Pears on Quince Stocks grown in the pyramidal Form, 43 ft. apart, and 
now (1842) 7 ft. high, in Mr. Pontey’s Plymouth Nursery, 


Ambrosia 
Ananas d@’E’té 
d’ Hiver 
Belle de Jersey 
Belmont 
Bequéne musqué 
Bergamot, Autumn 
York 
Summer 
Wormsley 
Hollande 
Royal 
Gansell’s 
Boyle Farm Wilding 
Buchanan’s new or Spring Beurré 
Bergamotte Cadette 
Beurré de Ranz 
Easter 
Brown 
d’ Amalis 
de Capiaumont 
Diel 
D’ Argenson 
3d Ser. — 1842. XI. 


Du Roi 
D’ Aremberg 
Romain 
Spence 
Bezi d’Heéri 
de la Motte 
Vaet 
Bishop’s Thumb 
Bon Chrétien Musqué d’ Automne 
Winter 
d’ Espagne 
Fondant 
Summer 
Caillot Rosat 
Crassane, Winter 
Knight’s 
Althorp 
Cadillac 
Colmar d’ Auch 
Passe 
Citron des Carmes panaché 
Chaumontel 
New London 


NN 


546 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


Comte de Lamy Henri Quatre 

Calebasse Jargonelle 

Crown Joséphine 

Doyenné Gris Knivett’s Seedling 
Blane Louise Bonne 

Duchesse d’Angouléme of Jersey 

Duc de Berri Marie Louise 

Double de Guerre Monarch 

Dunmore Napoléon 

Délices d’ Hiver Nelis d’ Hiver 

Eastnor Castle Ne plus Meuris 

Elton Orange d’Hiver 

E’pine d’E'té Rouse Lench 

Excellent d’Espagne Royale d’Hiver 

Fiegue de Naples Rousselet de Rheims 

Flemish Beauty Saint Germain 

Forelle Sucré Vert 

Franc-Réal d’Hiver Swan’s Egg, Old 
@VE'té New 

Grande Brétagne dorée Thompson’s 

Glout Morceau Urbaniste 

Green Pear of Yair Vallée Franche 

Gracioli Van Mons Leon le Clerc 

Hacon’s Incomparable Whitfield 

Hessel Williams’s Melting. 


To the above will be added, next year, the undermentioned 
sorts, now growing in the other quarters of the nursery on pear 
stocks, with a great variety of others not mentioned here: — 


Bergamot, Searle’s Ormskirk Bergamot 
Downton Poirre Niel 

Beaudelet Gendeseim 

Bergamot, March Poire Anglaise 
Echasserie Chaptal 

Ramilies Bon Chrétien de Vernoi. 


Rendle’s Nursery. This also contains a very long straight 
walk with many fine specimens ranged on each side, together 
with rockwork, basins of water, aquatics, and a number of houses 
filled with greenhouse plants, Cacti, heaths, Orchidaceze, bulbs, 
new tropzolums, rare pelargoniums, and various other articles ; 
the whole in excellent order. 

Plymouth Bone-Manure Manufactory ; Messrs. Pontey, Rowe, 
and Co. ‘The machinery, which is impelled by water, is very 
powerful, and the quantity of bone-dust produced in an hour 
is so great, that we cannot venture to put it down. The greater 
part of the bones are imported, and among them are human 
bones. Before the bones are put in the machine, they are each 
separately examined by women; for, the price being high, the 
foreigners find it worth their while to adulterate them, by insert- 
ing nails and other pieces of old iron in the hollows and cre- 
vices, and when bones having these scraps of iron in them 
get into the mill, the injury they do to the cylinders is very 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 54:7 


great indeed. ‘There is a heap of old iron weighing several 
tons, the whole of which has been extracted from the bones by 
the women. When in Bavaria in 1828, we saw immense quan- 
tities of human bones in the charnel houses, the sculls having 
the names which they bore when alive written on their fronts, 
and being arranged on shelves, and the other bones lying in 
heaps on the floor. We do not suppose these sculls have been 
removed; but it is most probable that the other bones are now 
manuring the turnip fields of England. 

Tor House ; Captain Foot.. The house commands an exten. 
sive prospect, is judiciously entered from the back,. and is finely 
adapted for terrace gardens in front. 

Monadon House ; The Rev. John Paulby. An extensive and 
grand place, with the wood admirably disposed, and with the 
power of forming a fine lake in the middle distance. ‘The house 
is entered in front; but, by terraces and other arrangements, a 
portico might be added at one side, so as not to show a stranger 
every beauty before he leaves his carriage, as at present. ‘The 
doorways and chimney-pieces are mostly of granite, like those of 
Flect House. The walls are in some places 8 ft. thick, and up 
one chimney there is a concealed chamber 6 ft. square, in which 
a great many old papers and parchments were discovered some 
years ago, but not till they were so far charred as to be ille- 
gible. We noted here a fine old tulip tree with a trunk 15 ft. 
in circumference, and a silver fir of astonishing height, with a 
trunk about 6 ft. in diameter. 

Pennycross Chapel burying-ground affords a remarkably fine 
view, as does the village green at S¢. Bude, about three miles from 
Plymouth; but, above all, Bickham Hill, the property of Lord 
Graves. To all these places we were kindly driven by. Mr. Pontey. 

Sept. 13. — Mount Edgecumbe ; the Karl of Mount Edge- 
-cumbe. We first walked through the separate gardens and all 
the scenes through which we could not drive; and next, in con- 
sequence of permission kindly obtained for us by Mr. Pontey, 
we drove through every part of the park, so that we had the 
great satisfaction of seeing Mount Edgecumbe deliberately and 
thoroughly. High as were our expectations from the published 
descriptions and the long celebrity of the place, we were not dis- 
appointed. We never before looked down on the sea, on ship- 
ping, and ona large town, all at our feet, from such a stupendous 
height. The effect on the mind is sublime in the highest degree, 
but yet blended with the beautiful. ‘There was something to us 
guite unearthly in the feeling it created. The separate gar- 
dens, as may readily be supposed, are overgrown, and the mag- 
nolias and other fine trees greatly injured, by the elms and other 
common trees and shrubs. One garden, in imitation of an 


ancient Roman burying-ground, which contains a great many 
NN 2 


548 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats. 


altars and urns, is so covered with evergreens, that itis not 
even mentioned in the guide-book. The only garden worth 
notice is what is called the Italian garden, though there is 
nothing Italian in it but the orange trees and a few white painted 
leaden statues; the former disfigured by the ugly unarchitectural 
tubs, and the latter, with the exception of a few on the parapets of 
a flight of steps, unartistically placed. We were sorry to see some 
alterations going on at the house, the object of which, as it 
appeared to us, was to change the entrance from the back, where 
it is at present, to the front, where it will display the finest views 
from the place before entering the house. Among the plants we 
noted down were, orange trees in tubs with stems 13 ft. high and 
12 in. in diameter at the surface of the tub, the heads also being 
12 ft. in diameter; various magnolias, from 30 to 36 ft. high; 
numerous cork trees, 50 ft. high; many immense ilexes, some 
100 ft. high; remarkable red cedars, one with a trunk 5 ft. in 
diameter; pittosporum, 6 ft. high and 6 ft. in diameter; hy- 
drangeas, 12 ft. high; Chinese privets, 14 ft. high; eriobotrya, 
12 ft. high; catalpa, with a trunk 2 ft. in diameter; several 
Portugal laurels above 30 ft. high, with clean erect trunks 8 ft. 
high and 2 ft. in diameter, splendid trees; arbutus, 40 feet high; 
Abies Douglaszi, 20 ft. high ; Chimonanthus fragrans, 12 ft. high 
and 16 ft. in diameter. ‘There is said to be a large Bermudan 
cedar here, but that we do not recollect to have seen. 

Sept. 14. — Plymouth to Saltash, Trematon Castle, Pentillie 
Castle, and Callington. We found the Globe Inn at Plymouth an 
excellent house, centrally situated for the nurseries and the post- 
office, with a piano in the sitting-room, and some books, but not 
enough. Every inn ought to have the history and description 
of the town in which it is situated, if there is one; and, next, 
county descriptions and histories, with a copy of Shakespeare. — 
If every traveller were to say.as much at inns about books as 
we generally do, every inn would soon have a library. All who 
think this desirable should do as we do. It can be no great 
hardship for the smallest inn or public-house to take in Cham- 
bers’s Journal, or the Penny Magazine. 

Trematon Castle; B. Tucker, Esq. ‘This might be a fine 
place, for there are some well defined portions of the castle still 
remaining; but it is ruined by indiscriminate planting. 

Pentillie Castle ; J.T. Coryton, Esq. A splendid place by 
nature, and next in our opinion to Mount Edgecumbe. ‘The 
house is particularly well situated, and entered in a proper 
manner, so as just to give an idea that a view of something grand 
and striking may be obtained from the drawingroom windows, 
but not to show it till there. There are some extensive walks 
well laid out under the direction of the late Mrs. Coryton, who, 
the gardener informed us, was a lady of great taste and skill in 


an Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 549 


landscape-gardening. ‘The walks here are covered with debris 
from the lead and copper mines, and those which have been laid 
with this material twenty years ago never bear a weed, not even 
moss; but, on those which have been covered more recently, weeds 
grow the second year, because the miners are now more careful 
in separating the ore. At the lodge we observed a fine tree 
of Cratze‘gus orientalis covered with fruit, and in the flower- 
garden a female Menispérmum enriched with its. round black 
berries. At the house are some fine magnolias and large 
myrtles. ‘The head kitchen-gardener has been here fifty years, 
and is eighty years old. We walked to a mausoleum placed on 
what is called Mount Ararat, in which one of the proprietors of 
this place is said to be interred in full dress; but for this story 
we must refer to the History of Cornwall. 

Sept. 15.— Callington to Whitford House, Endsleigh, and: Ta- 
vistock. The Golden. Lion Ina. at Callington is a good and 
cheap house, and it can supply several books ; ; there is, besides, 
a bookseller’s shop in the town. 

Whitford House ; Sir William Call, Bart. The grounds are 
beautifully varied and well-wooded, but the house-is placed. on. a 
spot of no mark or likelihood, and the approach to it shows the 
whole of the kept ground before arriving at the front door. It 
is capable of immense improvement at a moderate expense.. 

Lindsleigh ; the Duke of Bedford. At the entrance there is 
the largest, most ornamental, and best kept lodge-garden we 
have yet seen in Devonshire, and which may be described. as 
characteristic of all the lodges to the Duke of Bedford’s resi- 
dences. Proceeding along the approach, we pass another 
splendid cottage-garden, the low wooden  fénce beautifully 
covered with different-coloured. nasturtiums varied by dahlias. 
This cottage is occupied by Mr. Forester, who. has. the general 
charge of the demesne. 

A little beyond this cottage we obtain the first glance at the 
Tamar, here a clear and rapid river, passing through richly 
wooded banks and fertile meadows. “ ‘The cottage on the banks 
of the Tamar” is not now thatched, as represented i in Repton’s 
works, and as. it was when he laid out the grounds, but slated ; 
and, though it still maintains the character of a cottage, it is, 
‘without doubt, a very commodious dwelling. Mr. Repton’s 
description of the situation and his. improvements, as printed 1 in 
our edition of his works, p. 586—597., is calculated to give such 
a clear idea of the place, that, as we have at present little time, 
we gladly refer to it. We admire Endsleigh exceedingly, for its 
natural beauties, and for the very high keeping displayed in all 
that we saw. Over a fountain in the stable yard is the following 
inscription : —‘ Endsleigh cottage was built, and a Tooenee 
created in this sequestered valley, by John Duke of Bedford; the 


NN 3 


550 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


spot having been previously chosen, from the natural picturesque 
beauties which surround it, by Georgiana Duchess of Bedford. 
The first stone of the building was laid by her four elder sons, 
Wriothesley, Edward, Charles Fox, and Francis John, Sept. 
eel SLO: 

Milton Abbey Free School was founded by the Duchess-Dow- 
ager of Bedford mentioned above; and the gardens, we were 
informed by a gardener at work in them, were laid out from the 
duchess’s own designs. Some cottages, also, were built by Her 
Grace near this school, with suitable gardens round each; and 
so anxious was Her Grace to have these gardens properly cul- 
tivated and kept in good order, that she had openings, like 
windows, made at regular distances in the boundary hedges next 
the road, in order that she might see through them from her 
carriage, as she passed along the road, whether the gardens 
were properly kept. Every where we found the duchess highly 
spoken of by the people. 

Tavistock. There is an excellent inn here, the only one we 
ever recollect to have seen without a sign of any kind, or even a 
name. ‘There are some bookseller’s shops in the town, an 
excellent subscription library, and, what we particularly admired, 
some new schools and teachers’ houses by Mr. Blore, whose 
style is always simple and grand, and his chimneys high, bold, 
and free; that is, with their pedestals raised so high as. to be 
freely separated from the roof and side walls. (See Supp. Cott. 
Arch., p. 1296. art. iv.) 

Sept. 16.— Tavistock to Buckland Abbey and Moreton Hamp- 
stead. 

Buckland Abbey ; Siv Trayton Drake. This is an old place 
situated in.a bottom, chiefly remarkable for having been the 
residence of the circumnavigator Drake, and for containing 
various articles which he carried round the world with him, 
including his drum, -writing-desk, chest of drawers, &c. ‘There is 
a curious Elizabethan ceiling in the hall; and there are double 
windows, and a very ingenious contrivance to prevent the doors 
from slamming; viz. a cork put half-way into a tin tube, the 
latter being fixed to the style of the door in such a manner that 
the door strikes first on the cork, and consequently its force is 
broken by the compression of that elastic material. A piece of 
Indian rubber might be let into the style in such a manner as to 

have the same effect ; and there is an excellent contrivance for the 
same purpose by Sir Jchn Robison, described in our Architectural 
Magazine, and in the Supplement to the Encyclopedia of Cottage 
Architecture. The farm-yard is close to the house, and the 
barn is doubtless that which belonged to the monks. We 
guessed it at 200 ft. long, 30 ft. wide, and 60 ft. to the ridge of 
the roof. The roof is supported by curyed beams or rafters, 


in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 551 


which meet in the centre like an arch, and support purlins. 
Against each arch thus formed there is an exterior buttress; 
and thus, no cross ties being required, no interruption is given 
to the storing up of corn in the sheaf. In this barn are two 
threshing-machines; they are wretched pieces of machinery, and 
cannot, we should think, thresh clean. The farm-yard lies on a 
slope, in consequence of which, the whole of the drainings of 
the dunghill run to waste. A more wretched specimen of 
farm-yard management we never saw on so large a scale. 

From Buckland Abbey to Moreton Hampstead, the road lie 
across Dartmoor, which we were very glad to have an oppor- 
tunity of closely inspecting. The soil is every where excellent, 
and in but few places is in want of draining; and we con- 
sequently conjecture that it forms a covering to an immense 
accumulation of granite boulders. There is not an acre of 
surface that we saw which does not admit of as high a degree 
of cultivation as any part of Peeblesshire or Selkirkshire. 'The 
only drawback to Dartmoor is the expense that wouid be in- 
curred in removing the stones that now protrude through the 
surface, or exist a few inches beneath it. As shelter is the 
great object that is wanted, many of these stones might be 
collected into ridges, and trees planted among them; or they 
might be formed into walls. We repeat that the soil is uni- 
formly excellent, and would grow turnips and wheat as well as 
any soil in the Scotch counties mentioned. From the frequency of 
streams of water, the necessary farm buildings, if the farms were 
of large size, might be so placed as to have water-wheels for 
their threshing-machines; and there might be a great many 
acres of water meadow. ‘The prison buildings at Dartmoor 
afford a specimen of the mean and the melancholy combined. 
Moreton Hampstead is a small place, with a very indifferent 
inn. 

Sept. 17. — Moreton Hampstead to Usbrook and Exeter. The 
road to Ugbrook is through a beautiful country chiefly along 
the sides of well-wooded valleys, with rich meadows, and apple 
orchards laden with fruit. 

Ugbrook ; Lord Clifford. The park here contains the greatest 
quantity of fine old wood that we have seen in Devonshire. 
The trees are not crowded, and many of them, therefore, have 
attained an immense size, and taken their natural shapes. They 
are also remarkably well displayed with reference to the inequa- 
lities of the surface. Sketches of many of these trees have been 
taken by Mr. Nesfield. We only measured one or two, a Dutch 
elm 20 ft. round at 4 ft. from the ground; and an oak with a 
trunk 27 ft. round, 60 ft. high, and with the branches covering 
a space 120 ft. in diameter. What gratified us much was to see 


a number of young single trees introduced throughout the park 
NN 4& ; 


552 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 


in very suitable places. No tree is put down except on the 
precise spot chosen by Lord Clifford, who, from the remarks he 
made to us, and the operations going forward, we should con- 
clude to be possessed of good taste in landscape-gardening. The 
house is a square mass, pierced with equidistant windows all of 
the same size, without any other merit; it is too meagre to be 
called elegant, and not lofty enough to be considered grand. A 
house, however, is within the power of man, but the grounds and 
the woods of Ugbrook can only be produced by a fortunate con- 
eurrence of natural circumstances many years in operation. 

September 18. — Exeter. Viewing the cathedral and other 
objects in the town. 

September 19. and 20. — Bicton ; Lady Rolle. ‘This is an ex- 
tensive place, celebrated for its improvements, for the collection 
of rare plants of every kind, for its arboretum on a large scale 
recently planted, and for its very high keeping. ‘Too much can 
hardly be said in honour of the late Lord Rolle, through whose 
munificence the improvements were made, or of the present Lady 
Rolle, by whose taste and energetic mind His Lordship was 
stimulated to do so much; and by whom, since His Lordship’s 
death, the improvements have been continued, and the place kept 
up with a degree of care very rarely to-be met with in similar 
cases. 

The surface of the grounds at Bicton would be described as 
greatly varied in any other English county than Devonshire, 
but even in that picturesque county they contain many striking 
beauties. The park is situated within 23 miles of the sea, of 
which from various points it affords fine views; and in the 
interior the landscape is bounded by ranges of hills, some of 
which are covered with wood, others with cultivated fields, 
and some are in a wild state. The soil is chiefly sand and 
sandy loam. ‘The house, which is well placed on a knoll, is 
extensive and .commodious, containing a suite of magnificent 
apartments on the principal floor, and very extensive offices, 
but without any pretensions to architecture. The grounds have 
been judiciously laid out by Mr. Gilpin, and a piece of water 
formed by Mr. Glendinning pnder his direction has an ex- 
cellent effect. ‘There are two approaches, the one from Exeter, 
and the other from Sidmouth; the latter passes through an 
avenue of araucarias, planted in 1842. ‘There are an outer 
and inner park, and also outer and inner lodges, but none of 
these lodges has much merit. 

In a gardening point of view the most interesting feature 
about Bicton is the arboretum, which extends from the house, 
along the boundary of the inner park, till it reaches the flower- 
garden, at the distance of 112 chains, or nearly a mile and a half. 
The average width is about 3 chains, which will give from 33 to 


an Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall. 553 


34 acres, as the whole extent of the ground covered by the trees 
and shrubs. The planting was commenced in the spring of the 
year 1839, and continued in the spring of 1840. It would have 
been better had the extent of ground been greater: but, as it is, it 
was admirably arranged and planted by Mr. Glendinning, while 
at Bicton; who has, both there, and in various articles which he 
has written in the Gardener’s Magazine, proved himself to be pos- 
sessed of an excellent taste in landscape-gardening, as well as an 
enthusiastic love of trees and shrubs. ‘The plants in the arbo- 
retum are judiciously disposed according to the space allotted to 
them, but greater room to the trees would have been an advan- 
tage, if it could have been obtained. It was a great step, 
however, to have formed so new a feature as an arboretum at. 
ail; and the merit of having accomplished so desirable an 
object is, we believe, entirely due to Lady Rolle. We ex- 
amined a great many of the plants individually, and found many 
of them with wrong names, the inevitable consequence of the 
present state of nomenclature in almost all the nurseries; some 
species were dead, and, with regard to completeness, a number 
wanting. ‘The care of this arboretum is at present committed to 
Messrs. Veitch and Son, who are taking measures to have all the 
plants correctly named, and all the blanks and deficiencies sup- 
plied. When this shall have been done, the collection, open as 
it is to the inspection of the horticultural world, will be of ines- 
timable value to the surrounding country. We cannot leave it 
without noticing the very careful manner in which the plants 
have been planted on raised hills of prepared soil, and carefully 
staked and mulched, where staking and mulching were necessary. 
The boundary of the arboretum on the side next the outer park is a 
sunk fence, and on the inner side either a strained wire fence 
or iron hurdles. ‘The arrangement is according to the Natural 
System, beginning near the house with the Clematidese, and 
ending at the entrance to the walled flower-garden with the 
Junipérinee. A green drive leads through the whole. Nothing 
can be more perfect than the style in which every part of this 
arboretum is kept; Messrs. Veitch and Son having six men con- 
stantly employed mowing the grass, and mulching the dug 
circles round the plants with it, as practised in the Derby Arbo- 
retum (see our Volume for 1839, p. 539.); destroying weeds 
as soon as they appear; and removing dead leaves, suckers from 
grafted plants, insects, decayed blossoms, &c. One great beauty 
of the Bicton arboretum is, that every tree and shrub which it 
contains may be seen, and the name on its label read, by a per- 
son while sitting in a carriage, and driving through it along the 
green walk. 

There is a drive through a pine wood to a prospect tower, 
(the latter the best piece of architecture at Bicton,) which deserves 


554 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats. 


notice for its extent and the quantity of evergreens, such as rhodo- 
dendrons, mahonias, and ffscus aculeatus, which have been 
planted as undergrowths. A great many rare pines, firs, cypresses, 
and junipers have also been introduced along this drive, so that, by 
adding more, it will in a short time be interesting as a pinetum, 
The tower is in the Gothic style, so high as to command a 
panoramic view of the surr ounding country and the sea. It con- 
tains several rooms; in one of which, appropriately fitted up, 
a rich collection of china is tastefully displayed. This tower is 
understood to have been built by Lady Rolle, entirely unknown 
to Lord Rolle, and undiscovered by him, as an agreeable sur- 
prise for his birth-day, October 16. 1839, when he completed 
his 88th year; and, the following birth-day, Lady Rolle surprised 
Lord Rolle with the china room. 

Connected with the arboretum, so as to form a part of the 
tour of the place, is a menagerie containing a rich collection of 
birds, monkeys, kangaroos, and various other foreign animals. 
Thus, with the arboretum, the drive to the tower, and the flower- 
garden, as means of recreation in the open air; the menagerie 
and the collection of china, for amusement under cover; and the 
library and pictures in the house, there is at Bicton every source 
of enjoyment that can be desired. Nothing is wanting but a col- 
lection of shells and minerals, for the sake of those who are fond 
of these departments of science, and this is about to be formed ; 
a great quantity of shells, and some minerals, having been pro- 
cured for the purpose, though they are not yet arranged. 

The kitchen-garden was judiciously formed and planted by Mr. 
Glendinning. It is supplied with water by several basins lined 
with stone distributed throughout the garden, and fed by a 
stream which runs from one to another, thus keeping the water 
always fresh and clear. ‘The wall trees have been all planted 
above the surface, and they seem to bear abundant crops. The 
flower-garden contains several acres, and is at a short distance 
from the house. It is a parallelogram, having the hothouses, 
&c., which are very extensive, on the north side, with a noble 
temple in the centre. It is suitably laid out and planted, and kept 
in the very highest order. The architectural and sculptural orna- 
ments are vases, stone baskets, statues, busts, and a candelabrum 
fountain with a jet from the upper part, which rises to a con- 
siderable height, and has a splendid effect from every part of the 
garden, but more especially from an upper terrace walk, and 
when brought in a line with an obelisk in the park which forms 
the termination to a vista. There is water enough, we under- 
stand, to form a cascade over stone steps in the ancient style, 
which would be a magnificent substitute for the green terrace 
slopes which form the commencement of the vista. 

The whole of the gardens at Bicton are under the direction 


Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 555 


of Mr. James Barnes, and we must say that we do not think we 
ever before saw culture, order, and neatness carried to such a 
high degree of perfection, in so many departments, and on so 
large a scale, and all by the care and superintendence of one 
man. From the commonest kitchen crop in the open garden, 
and the mushrooms in the sheds, up to the pine-apples, the 
heaths, and the Orchidaceze, every thing seemed to be alike 
healthy and vigorous. We could not help noticing the evenness 
of the crops oe cabbages, cauliflowers, savoys, &c. in the kitchen- 
garden ; and the extr raordinary vigour and beauty of the pines, 
heaths, hothouse plants, chrysanthemums, &c., in the houses; 
and nothing could exceed the neatness of the lawn, the walks, 
and the flower-beds. 

Queen pines are grown at Bicton to the weight of 5 lb., 
and their flavour, as we can bear witness, is excellent; all 
the plants in pots or boxes, from the smallest heath up to 
the largest orange tree or camellia, are grown in rough 
turfy stuff mixed with broken stones or pebbles, sometimes 
with the addition of powdered bones, and generally with a 
mixture of charcoal. ‘The introduction of this last ingredient 
in general culture is a new and important feature, apparently 
of great importance, for which the horticultural world is 
indebted to Mr. Barnes. We have prevailed on him to furnish 
us with an account of his practice, both in the open garden and 
the hothouse department, and to supply some lists and dimen- 
sions of plants; and this he has kindly done in a series of letters, 
which we give in a separate article, in the order in which they 
have been received. 


(To be concluded in our next.) 


Art. II. Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. In a 
Series of Letters to the Conductor. By James Barnes, Gardener 
to the Right Honourable Lady Rolle. 


Lerrer I. Bicton Kitchen-Garden. Goose-necked short-handled Hoes. Kitchen- 
Garden Rules. Vegetable and Fruit List. Onion Loft. Use of Charcoal in the 
Culture of Plants. To make a rough Sort of Charcoal for Kitchen-Gardening. 
Devonshire Farming. Preparing Ground for Cabbages, Winter Salading, Sc. 
Early and late Caulh iflower. Talhes to Kitchen-Gar den Crops. Inprovements. 
State of the Men and Labourers in Bicton Gardens. 


Tue first interview I had with you, Sir, was at Bicton kitchen- 
garden, with two small Goose-necked short-handled Hoes one in 
each hand, having just been hoeing out my seedling lettuce; for 
I never have any weeding done except in the oravel walks, but 
hoe every thing before weeds can be scen. This is a greater 
assistance to the plants than any dung or manure that can be 


556 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


put on. By continually hoeing and stirring the earth, nature 
supplies the wants of the plants better than we can do by adding 
any thing to assist: my rough system of potting, when we 
come to speak of it, will explain this. Fix me in the room I 
am now in, for one month, with my cloth shoes and hat on, with 
a comfortable place to lie down on, and plenty of the best food 
and drink, do you not think I should be blighted, cankered, or 
mildewed, or in some way stagnated? I fancy I should be 
better off turned out for the same time without any of the above 
luxuries. I have six different sizes of those hoes, from one inch 
to six inches; and I use two at a time, one in each hand. 

You next caught a sight of my Kitchen-Garden Rules, and 
asked my reason for adopting them, which I think you under- 
stood. I enclose a copy of those rules [printed at the end of 
this letter], likewise a copy of my Vegetable and Fruit List for 
the week ending Sept. 25. [see the opposite page]. Your time 
being so short, we did not come to any explanation why I adopted 
this weekly list. ‘The following are the principal reasons :— Ist, 
That my employer’s housekeeper, butler, and cook should 
know what is in season, and fit for table every day in the week 
or year. 2d, ‘That they should know what they have had, and 
what they ought to have. 3d, Because I do not like to be 
imposed on: for you know that gardening is a very anxious, 
bustling, persevering business, and that we gardeners have 
blights of all kinds to contend with, without having hand-blights, 
and idle and neglectful blights. I speak feelingly on this subject ; 
for the facts which I am about to relate I have seen with my 
own eyes. I have taken or sent in a dessert to the housekeeper’s 
room, and, having occasion to go in afterwards (I speak of a 
place where I lived in the house), I have seen one third or half 
of this dessert gone, by first one person, then another, taking 
article after article. But that is not the worst; for what fruit is 
left, in such a case, I have seen pinched or squeezed and bruised 
to that degree that it was not fit to send to a nobleman’s or 
gentleman’s table, or, indeed, any other. For example, grapes 
with the shoulders picked off; peaches and nectarines squeezed ; 
cherries, gooseberries, &c., the best and finest all picked out 
and eaten up; cucumbers, &c., in the pantry, put aside be- 
cause they had not time to slice them up and get them ready 
for table; the same cucumbers sent in next day after lying 
about, having become withered up and spoiled; and hence I 
have been blamed for sending in so tough a salad. J have seen 
the very best of vegetables, of all kinds, and at all seasons, come 
from the scullery in the hog-tub; never having been touched 
after leaving the garden basket, except being bundled into the 
hog-tub; at the same time I have been complained of because 
there was such a short supply of fruit, salads, and vegetables. 


Vegetable, Fruit, and Flower List, for the Week ending Saturday Sept. 25. 184.2. 


Sept. 
Mushrooms - dish 
French Beans o 


Warwick Peas = 
Early Frame Peas 
Long Pod Beans 
Windsor Beans 
Cauliflowers - = 
Artichokes 
| Cape Broccoli 
Cabbage 
Greens or Coleworts 
Turnips 
Carrots 
Potatoes 
Vegetable Marrow - 
Spinach 
Silver Beet - 


Cucumbers for Stew- 
ing - dish 
Peas : 
Lettuce 
Endive 
Red Cabbage 
White Celery 
Tomatocs 


Horseradish - 
Onions - 
Shallots 
Leeks - 
Garlic - x 
Parsley, Curled, bun. 
Sweet Marjoram 
Sweet Basil - 
Fennel - 
Tarragon 
Green Mint 
Chervil 
Sorrel - 
Winter Savory 
Chives - 
Pennyroyal - 


Salad for Servants. 
dish 


Cucumbers 
Lettuce 
Radishes 


Picklings. 
Gherkin- Cucumbers 
Onions, silver-skin- 


ned - - peck 
Red Cabbage doz. 
Capsicums - . 
Chillies - - 


Green Tomatoes doz. 
Ripe Tomatoes for 
Sauce doz. 


LG) 
1 
1 


Cut Flowers, basket} 1 


20 


1 


ee 


21 


1 
1 


200 


22 


200 


a) 


24/95 Sept. 
Dahlias - doz. 
1/1] Magnolia Flowers - 
Plants for baskets in= 
_front hall - - 
1 E 
1 Salad sent in for Table. 
Cucumbers - dish 
1) 1] Lettuce - - 
1 | 1] Radishes a = 
Celery - = = 
1|1] Endive = = 
1)1] Red Beet - ~ 
1| 1 Mustard and Cress 
1 American Cress - 
For Preserving. 
Orange Flowers qt. 
Magnolia Flow. doz. 
5 Figs - - doz, 
Grapes - basket 
1 Guava Fruit- doz. 
Damsons - qt. 
1 
Apples forJelly, bush. 
1 Kitchen Fruit. 
1/1] Apples - - peck 
1 Waste Peaches = 
Plums - - qt. 
Cherries - lb. 
1 | 14 Currants 2 5 
1 Raspberries ~- : 
1 Pearsforstewing dz. 
Apples for roasting 
1/1 Table Fruit. 
1 Pine-apples 
Brown Sugar-loaf 
Queen = = 
Otaheite - = 
Cycas revolita = - 
Musa Cavendishi - 
Guava Fruit - = 
1} Black Hamburg 
1)1 Grapes - Ib. 
1 Sweetwater, Dutch 
Muscat of Alexandria 
Peaches, Malta - 
Figs - - dish 
Cherries - - 
Keen’s seedl. Straw- 
berries - - 
Red Currants - 
White ditto - - 
Apples - - 
Pears - - = 
Walnuts - - 
Melons - = 
Impératrice Plums 
Ice - - = 


We) 
4 
2 


bo 


See ee 


20 


ee 


21 


= 
dH 


— ee 


Se 


23) 


bo 


bo 


See Se eee 


24 


es oe 


to 
on 


Se oe 


558 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


I have been told that a good lot of mushrooms was wanted for 
pickling, catsup, &c., and must be had. J have had them pro- 
cured, and many times have risen up early before daylight to get 
them myself, lest the gathering them should interfere with my 
day’s arrangements, and because I would get them before other 
people were about collecting them; I have been wet-footed, and 
otherwise wet up to my knees, in this business. I have had 
occasion to go to the house about 11 o’clock’ in the forenoon, 
and have seen stablemen, footmen, and women-servants having 
a feast of the very mushrooms I took the trouble to get while 
they were in bed, the good ones stewed, broiled, &c., with only 
a few odds and ends, stalks and parings, left in the very basket 
I sent or took them to the kitchen in. ‘They have bought 
mushrooms afterwards for pickling, &c., because it had been 
said that I could not get them. Now is not that enough to cause 
one to establish rules of some kind? I feel a great pleasure in 
producing every thing plentifully, and changing as often as 
possible; but it is always grievous to me to see waste, more par- 
ticularly when it is caused by neglect and idleness. 

You noticed the Onion Loft over the fruit-room and tool-shed. 
Some of the finest of the onions I have were manured with 
charcoal dust sown in the drills at the rate of two pints to 
100 ft. of drill. 

You asked me how I came to think of using Charcoal. 
In the year 1829 or 1830, while living at Norwood, in Sur- 
rey, at the Beulah Spa, I was rummaging about the woods 
for loamy mould, and in different spots there had been 
large quantities of wood charred. I could not help noticing 
how wonderfully strong the various weeds grew at a. little 
distance round about those spots, where a thin sprinkling of 
charred dust had got amongst them. I got a basketful and 
tried it amongst my cucumber soil. I found it improved them 
in strength and colour, so that I began to try it with other soft- 
growing plants; and thus I have continued trying it, when 
I could succeed in getting it, with hundreds, I might say 
thousands, of plants under pot culture. This I shall treat of as 
I arrive at the different houses. The use of it began in my 
framing-ground at Norwood, and you are the first person I 
have communicated it to publicly. I did give my brother pri- 
vately, some time ago, a little information respecting the use of 
charcoal, and he has tried it with many plants, and is beginning 
to use it with every thing. 

I find the following a good plan to make a rough sort of 
Charcoal for Kitchen-gardening, to be kept dry, and sown when 
the seed is put into the drills, at the rate of three or four pints 
to a drill 100 ft. in length. Collect all the rubbish together 
such as will not rot, trimmings of bushes or any rubbish wood, 


Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 559 


cabbage and broccoli stalks, old pine-apple stems, and, in short, 
vegetable rubbish of any kind. Put it together, first placing 
some straw to set it on fire, and still shaking in a little straw, 
as you continue increasing the heap, on the side at the bottom 
of the heap you intend setting fire to, so that the fire can run 
into the middle of the heap after setting fire to it; taking care 
as you form your heap to beat it tightly and firmly together. 
When the heap is formed, cover it over with short close moist 
rubbish of any sort from the rubbish heap, such as short grass, 
weeds, and earth; so as to keep the fire from flaring through 
at any place round your heap for any length of time. As soon 
as the fire breaks through in a blaze or flare, throw on more 
short rubbish, so that you keep it from blazing, and keep in it 
as much smoke as you can. It is necessary to thrust a stake or 
broom-handle into the heap in different places to entice the fire 
regularly all over it; but as soon as the fire blazes through these 
holes stop them up, and make others where you think it not 
burning. When it is finished, collect the whole of the charred 
rubbish, ashes, &c., together, and put it into old cement casks, 
old packing-boxes, sacks, or anything you choose. Put these 
casks or boxes into a dry place, and use it when wanted, 
taking care to pick out or sift out any pieces of charred wood, 
which there will be if you char large wood. These can be 
broken up with a hammer for potting and other uses if wanted, 
which I shall treat of when I reach the different houses of 
plants. 

I will here make a digression on Devonshire Farming. I 
cannot help mentioning the vast quantity of the very best of 
manure that the farmers in this neighbourhood lose every day. 
For example, we will suppose that this day there are some 
of them busy fetching lime for wheat, taking for this purpose a 
team, man, and boy, a whole day to get home a waggon-load of 
lime. Now, there have been heavy showers falling on their 
dung yards all the time that they were fetching the lime, and 
the very essence of their stock of dung has been running away 
into the river or out into the street, or into some place where it 
is never made use of; and thus they are perhaps losing four 
times the value of the very load of lime they have been fetching 
home. ‘This puts me in mind of brewing, and then throwing 
the liquor away, and keeping the grains to make use of as 
a luxury. I am sorry to say, but truth it is, that the most 
slovenly way of farming I ever saw is that of Devonshire. I 
have noticed one thing particularly, which is, that they keep the 
docks growing until the seed is ripe, and then cut them off, 
and carry them to the hedge-side, or throw them into the 
middle of the road, for the horses’ feet to thrash out the seed, 
and mix it up amongst the very mud they scrape up to take 


560 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


back into their fields again; as if they were afraid of losing 
the sort of docks and thistles they so carefully cultivate. Do 
you not think there ought to be some heavy fine for this method 
of doing business? [See p. 193., and Gard. Gaz. 1841, p. 532.] 
I fancy, if it were not for the beautiful soil and favourable 
climate we are blessed with here, it would be short commons 
with many farmers about this neighbourhood. 

I think you made a memorandum of my Method of preparing 
the Ground for Cabbages, by casting up sloping banks at every 
12 ft. to shelter the plants, and also to afford suitable slopes on 
which to prick out late endive, lettuce plants, cauliflower, cab- 
bage plants, &c. 

I think you understood my Plan of sowing Cauliflower seed 
for spring growing, not sooner than from the 18th to the 25th 
of September, when I sow both early and late inside of a frame. 
As soon as they make one rough leaf I prick them out into thumb 
pots, and shift them afterwards into larger. I keep them grow- 
ing on freely all winter, at the bottom of a peach-house, vinery, or 
cold airy situation of any kind, until February. Having had the 
hand-glasses put away all winter, and in spring got the ground 
well prepared and in good order to receive them, they are turned 
out, four under each glass, when they enjoy themselves, and 
are ready in April when vegetables are scarce. 

The reason why I mention early and Jate cauliflower is, that I — 
observed last year a question asked and answered in the Gar-— 
dener’s Chronicle respecting early and late cauliflower; and it was 
answered in this way, viz. that there was no difference between 
the early and late cauliflower except sowing the seed, which made 
me fancy they knew nothing about it. I know, and have known 
for years, that there are two distinct sorts both in foliage and_ 
- flower; and that there is a month or five weeks in their coming 
into flower, though sown and planted on the same day, and 
having the same treatment all through: and I can give you an 
instance of my being very much disappointed. In the spring of 
1832, when, by some mistake, I had got my late cauliflower 
planted under my hand-glasses, and my early planted out in 
the quarters, those I had planted in the quarters came in 
twenty-six days sooner than my hand-glass plants. ‘This mis- 
take happened notwithstanding what you saw yourself, viz. that 
I put a tally to every thing I plant and sow in my kitchen- 
garden, with the name and day of the month. I do this more 
for the sake of giving information to my men than for myself. 
By having tallies placed on the above plan, when the crop turns 
out any thing extra fine, the men feel more interested to look at 
the tally to know when it was sown or planted, what preparation 
made, what manure applied, &c. 

Now, Sir, gardening will always be done in a slovenly un- 


Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 561 


workmanlike manner, until the men take an interest in it. It is 
true, there have been some improvements made during these last 
few years; but the movement is slow, and by no means at a rail- 
road pace, as it ought to be. The principal feeling that some 
men have who hold situations is to hold on, not thinking of 
making the least improvement; and if any improvements should 
be proposed to them by their employers, or any one else, 
it is like throwing dirty water in their faces; the answer is, 
that they have more to do now than they can do. Now, to 
establish my Rules at Bicton was something like my going into 
the garden on a hot day, and after kicking ¢ against the bee-hives 
to stand in front of them, and let the bees exercise themselves 
freely on myself. By routing out some of the most factious, and 
getting good young men, I have been able, by degrees, to bring 
things as they are; that is, by no means to perfection, but with 
ample room left for improvement on every thing under my 
charge, as well as for improving myself. 

In respect to men, | would just observe that you may give way 
to them in sloth, neclect, and all that is injurious, until you get 
every thing into a bad state in doors and out, and can get no 
more done with twenty men than you could with five with. 
proper management: and the five men would be just as well 
satisfied with you as the twenty would, and to all outward ap- 
pearance the five men would not work harder, nor exert them- 
selves more, than the twenty; the five taking an interest in their 
labour, the twenty in making away with the day in any way, so 
that one should not have it thrown in his teeth that he had done 
more to any job than the others, or that one should begin his 
job before the others. I am always pleased to do a favour for 
any young man or labourer that lies in my power. I like to see 
them merry and comfortable: but I hate a drunkard worse than 
I do a thief, for this reason, that a drunkard you cannot put the 
least confidence in at any time; he may be clever in some things, 
but the evil day comes, he gets drunk, which overturns all the 
cleverness he has been performing for years; the thief you 
watch for, detect, and punish. 

When I first entered Bicton gardens I found the labourers’ 
working-hours were from six in the morning to five in the 
afternoon; that is, one hour allowed every day to go home 
to manage their own gardens, &c., half an hour for breakfast, 
and one hour for dinner: but I was surprised to find, on the 
first morning, not a man on the grounds till about seven, some 
later, &c. When they did arrive, it was with the knees of their 
smallclothes not buttoned or tied, their shoes not laced, &c.; 
not a tool in its place, but thrown down where a job was finished, 
and all confusion and disorder in every corner; coals lying 
about in every place through which they had been wheeled; 

3d Ser, — 1842. XI. 00 


562 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


flower-pots thrown together, dirty and clean, broken or not 
broken. ‘The first thing they thought of was liquor to drink; 
and they never were satisfied except they were tossing, and 
guzzling, and smoking. What would you think of six or seven 
men mowing a nobleman’s flower-garden with each a short pipe 
in his mouth, blowing a cloud as if doing it for a wager ? Iam 
sorry to say I have seen all the above in practice in Bicton 
gardens. Do you not think I was a little surprised at such things ? 
I was not long before I told my foreman of each department, 
that I must have a little better order in every place. They with 
one voice said it was impossible, for there were not half hands 
enough to do the work. I pointed out the way I should pro- 
ceed, which caused a great stagnation and blight with both fore- 
men and men. I was the whole talk of the neighbourhood 
round: it was said that my long ugly legs would not be walking 
Bicton gardens long. I got one young man from London, 
They swore him to their rules and ways, and he turned out the 
worst of them all. I was obliged to brush him off in great 
haste. Do you not think I was justifiable in persever ing “with 
my own Rules and Regulations? ‘The difference in the industry, 
cleanliness, happiness, and contentment amongst my men is 
truly astonishing. They are always in time of a morning g, as 
clean as I can expect labourers, merry, whistling, singing, 
going to work as if they were taking an interest in doing g good, 
and always knowing where to put ‘their hand on any tool that 
is wanted, which you observed when here. It is one of the 
greatest dleaanes to me that can possibly be imagined, to see 
such a change; but I still live in hopes of seeing find im-= 
provement here in every way. 


RULES AND REGULATIONS OF BICTON KITCHEN-GARDEN. 


*,* The following Rules to be strictly attended to, and the Fines to be paid 
each pay-day. The amount so paid to be divided equally amongst the 
men at the end of the year, or put to some useful purpose, as shall be 


agreed on. 

Rule d. 
1. Coming to work on a Monday morning with a dirty shirt - - 3 
2. Coming to work any morning without shoes being either laced or tied 3 
3. Any person employed in these gardens found Bauenne frag with 

unwashed hands - - 4. 
4. Walking from any border, bed, or Gquetter oF the earden on to the 
walk without first scraping their shoes or boots on the scraper 
kept for the purpose - - - = agi 
5. Neglecting to clean away dirt from the scrapers placed at the above- 
mentioned places or any quarter of the garden ~ 3 
6. Neglecting to raise up a scraper, too low for ABE oper use, hee Anise 
ing a job near the same - - - 3 
Me Treading on the box-edgings, or wheeling over chem without fe: 
placing over them the bridge kept for the purpose - - 3 


Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 563 


8. Taking a wheelbarrow badly fadeny or with a dirty wheel, on any 


gravel walk - - - 8 
9. Neglecting to grease a pheclerom nee) sina requisite - - 3 
10. Neglecting to do any job after having been once told of it - - 3 
the second time - 6 

11. Neglecting to put in its proper place any tool, ladder, watering: pot, 
or any thing belonging to the garden - 3 

12. Putting away any of the above-mentioned articles dirty, fs enaln 
article - - - 3 

13. Leaving any box-edging nonaed with earth or rubbish when Sinishing 
a job near the same - - 3 

14. Leaving any job, in any part of the garden, i in an “ammount 
manner = - - - 3 

15. Going to a job near or adjoining a gravel walk, without itne a broom 
with other tools - - - - - - 3 

16. Placing an iron rake against a wall or fence, or laying the same 
on a walk teeth uppermost - - - - 3 

17. Neglecting to shut any door or gate saul required, or to fasten the 
same - - - - - 3 
18. Carelessly breaking any tool, glass, or iowennce - - 8 

19. Leaving heaps of weeds, leaves, or any other kind of rubbish, about 
the garden when finishing ajob + - - - - 3 
20. Smoking a pipe of tobacco in working hours - - - 4 

21. Swearing or making use of bad language, for every separate ie 
- expression - - - - - 3 


22. Any man found eeeerted in working-hours to forfeit his day’s 
wages, and be otherwise dealt with as thereafter shall be considered 
just. 

23. Any dispute arising as to who had infringed any of the above 
Rules to be settled by arbitration. 

24. Damaging or in any way defacing the above Rules - - 12 


Bicton Gardens, Sept. 27. 1842. 


Letrer II. Potting-Bench. Painting Strings for tying Plants. Garden Rules 
for the Flower-Garden Department. The Palm-house. 


As you wished me to make a few remarks on different plants 
that you saw here, my treatment of them, their dimensions, &c., 
I shall commence in my humble way at the potting-bench, that 
being the first place you entered in the flower-garden depart- 
ment of these noble gardens, and it being the manufactory of 
all the hothouse business; that is to say, sowing, propagating, 
and potting in all its stages, from the seedling to the mature 
plant. 

The Potting-Bench is formed of Portland stone slabs, sup- 
ported by the same standing edgewise, by which means it 
forms bins or partitions, to keep the different sorts of mould or 
soil underneath, without getting intermixed with each other. 
You particularly noticed in what a very rough manner I potted 
every thing. My reason for so doing is, that I consider we 


ought to assist nature. If we only take one glance to the right 
002 


564 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


or left wherever we go, is it not plainly to be seen that we often 
act in direct opposition to that parent of all things? Look into 
any rill, under any tree, into the inside of a wood, or on the top 
of a hill, do we not notice the decay of autumn, aiagl he progress 

of spring, which ought to serve for our guide? On the bench you 
noticed sods of heath mould, and of different kinds of loam, 
leaf mould, &c. On the side bench were pots filled with four dif- 
ferent sizes of pebbles, from the size of a grain of wheat to the 
size of the palm of the hand; four different sizes of broken free- 
stone ; four different sizes of charcoal (considering the pot of 
charcoal dust one of them); four different sorts of sand; two 
sorts of bone, one of half-inch size, the other of dust; four dif- 
ferent sizes of broken pots for draining, potsherds of sizes for 
putting over the hole of any sized pot; a basket of moss, one of 
soot, and another of rotten cowdung; a hammer, choppers for cut- 
ting sods of mould, &c., pincers, potting-sticks, sieves of different 
sizes; wire of sizes for making trellises of all kinds for training 
plants ; flower-stakes of all sizes made by the men in wet weather, ; 
and painted green ; green string of all sizes for tying and train- 
ing plants, also painted by the men. 

Painting Strings for tying Plants—You particularly wished 
me to mention in what manner I painted the strings; the following 
is my method, which I have never before seen employed. I take a 
ball of string, stretch it inside ofa shed, from one nail to the other, 
until the whole of the ball is unwound. I get some tolerably 
thick green paint, put on an old leather glove, or take a piece 
of leather in my hand, on which glove or piece of leather I put 
some of the paint with a bit of lath. I take as much of the 
string on my hand as is convenient to rub the paint into, and 
soon colour the whole ball. 

Garden Rules—You next noticed the Garden Rules in the 
lobby. As they are somewhat different from the rules for the 
kitchen-garden, I beg to enclose a copy of them according to 
your wish. [These Rules are given in p. 567., at the end of this 
letter. | 

The Palm-house, which you next went into, appeared to 
interest you much; and, as you requested, I shall proceed to give 
you some particulars respecting my treatment of the plants in it, 
their height, dimensions, &c. It will be rather startling to some 
persons when I state the facts Iam about to do. In the first 
place, I wish it to be understood that every plant inside that 
house is growing in loam, charcoal, stones, and sand, with oc- 
casionally a little manured water. The house is 58 ft. long, 
34 ft. wide, and 33 ft. high. The first plant you noticed op- 
posite the door at which you entered was Musa Cavendishzz, 
with above 400 perfect fruit on it; 42 fruit on the uppermost 


Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 565 


hand, 38 on the next, the foliage of the plant perfect and green. 
I asked you and Mrs. Loudon to taste the fruit, knowing that it 
was generally disliked, and spoken badly of. You wished me 
to remind you of an observation I made, which is, that the fruit 
of the Musa should not, on any account, be touched with a knife, 
either in gathering it, or in eating it: if cut with a knife the flavour 
is spoilt. The fruit should be left on the plant to ripen, should 
not be gathered before it is perfectly ripe, and then not kept 
long before being eaten. [The flavour of the fruit was decidedly 
superior to that of any bananas we had before tasted ; doubtless 
in part owing to its being fresh gathered. ] 

Cycas revoliuta, a noble plant, with a head of 700 fruit on it. 
Stem 3 ft. 2in. high; the girt, 18 in. above the top of the tub, 
3 ft. 44 in.; circumference of the head of fruit 4 ft. Sin. In 
March, 1841, the stem measured only 1 ft. 11 in.; but, after re- 
moving the top surface, I applied a quantity of charcoal, mixed 
with some loam, as a top dressing, which caused it to piake the 
above-mentioned extraordinary erowth, the most wonderful I 
ever had the pleasure of seeing. 

Dorydnthes excélsa, flower-stem 16 ft. high. 

Sabal Blackburniana, a noble plant. 

Strelitzia regine with seven spikes of flowers. 

Papyrus antiquor um, 14 ft. high with ten stems. 

Dillénia speciosa, 6 ft. high. 

Musa sapiéntum, a young plant 4 ft. high, planted out last 
March into a quantity of loam and charcoal, the trunk of which 
this day measures 14 ft. 6 in. high, with leaves reaching to the 
very top of the house (33 ft. high) ; the base of the stem measures. 
3 ft. 3 in. in circumference. ‘The above may perhaps be doubted, 
but it is true. 

Musa Dacca. Four suckers were planted on the same day as 
the above Musa sapiéntum, and in the same kind of preparation, 
and their progress is quite as astonishing; they being, when 
planted, respectively from 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. high. M. Dacca is a 
more dwarf-growing species than M. sapiéntum, nevertheless the 
stems of the four plants are from 9 ft. to 11 ft. high, leaves 9 ft. 
in length, circumference of stems from 2 ft. 4 in. to 2 ft. 8 in. 

Chame\ops excélsa Lodd. Cat., a noble plant. 

Pandanus odoratissimus, very fine. 

Furcree‘a longe'va, two fine plants of it, the circumference of 
their stems 22 in., and 4 ft. high. 

Latania rzbra, fine. 

Cofféa arabica, two plants 10 ft. 6 in. bigh. 

Statice arborea, very fine. 

Cycas circinalis, a fine plant. 

Luculia gratissima, 7 ft. high. 

003 


566 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


Latania borbénica, very large. 

Acrocomia sclerocarpa. 

Astrape’a Wallichii, 14 ft. high, the circumference of the 
head 38 ft. This plant is wonderfully improved, since a dressing 
of charcoal dust has been applied with loam as a top dressing. 

Musa sapiéntum and M. paradisiaca, planted about two years, 
have reached the top of the house (33 ft.) with their noble leaves, 
their stems being about 18 ft. high. 

Araucaria excélsa, 26 ft. high; the circumference of the stem, 
at a foot distant from the earth, 2 ft. 2in.; the diameter of the 
spread of the branches 22 ft. 

Ficus elastica, 25 ft. high. 

Caryota urens, a fine plant. 

Dracena Draco, 9 ft. high. 

Ramia hérrida and Zadmia pingens, fine plants. 

Combretum grandiflorum, 10 ft. high, covering a large space of 
wire trellis with its noble shoots and fine foliage. 

Quisqualis indica, 22 ft. high, also covering a large space of 
wire trellis, and in flower nearly the whole of the year. 

Banisteria chrysophglla, B.nitida, Caladium pinnatifidum ; all 
very large. 

Bambusa arundinacea. 

Ficus Benjamina, two plants, 10 ft. high. 

Caryota sobolifera, Musa s. coccinea, Chamerops humilis, Chei- 
rostémon. platanodides, Durdnta Plumieri ; all five noble plants. 

Cereus grandiflorus, covering a large space, 20 ft. high. 

Cactus speciosissima, with C. truncata worked on it from the 
ground to the height of 20 ft., which looks very grand when in 
flower. 

Psidium Cattleyanum, Cattley’s Guava, 16 ft. high, covered 
with fruit. ‘There have been gathered this season from that 
one plant, and from a small plant against the wall, 29 doz. of 
fruit, and I should think there are 20 doz. more onthem. They 
have made a wonderful progress since shifting them early last 
spring, when I added a considerable quantity of charcoal dust 
amongst the loam. No one would believe it, that two years ago 
the large tree was a tall thin plant, in a No. 4. pot. 

Croton variegatum, 7 ft. high. 

Large Shaddocks, against the back wall. 

Several different species of Passiflora, and other noble plants 
too numerous to dwell on at this moment. 

In my next letter I will give you a rough idea of the other 
houses you walked through, the dimensions of them, and my 
treatment of the Heath and New Holland houses, which, I hope, 
you will find interesting. I have no doubt I shall astonish you 
with some facts from these two beautiful houses. 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, §c. 567 


RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE PLANT DEPARTMENT 
IN BICTON GARDENS. 


*.* The following Rules to be strictly attended to, and the Fines to be 
regularly paid each pay-day. The amount collected to be equally 
divided at the end of the year, or put to some useful purpose, as here- 
after shall be agreed on. 


Rule d. 
1. Coming to work on a Monday morning with a dirty shirt - - 3 
2. Coming to work any morning without shoes being laced or tied - 3 
3. Any person employed in these departments found gathering fruit 

with unwashed hands - - - - - 4 
4, Going into any hothouse, gr samlnanae, &c., or walking on any gravel 
walk, with dirty shoes - - - - - - 3 
5. Taking a wheelbarrow with a dirty wheel on the walks, or in any 
other way making dirt and not immediately cleaning the same up - 3 
6. Leaving any door or gate open in any department of the garden - 3 
7. Leaving any door or gate unlocked, after epening the ae and 
not returning the key to its proper place - 3 
8. Leaving any stoke-hole dirty, not keeping the Bai clean at fans 
under the erate, not sifting the cinders once a week - - &$ 
9. Leaving any fire at night not in proper trim or order - - 3 

10. Leaving any thing dangerous i in or about the stoke-holes or furnaces 12 

11. Leaving a job unfinished, in an unworkmanlike manner - - 3 

2: Making any waste of coals, dropping them about, or not keeping 

them swept clean up together - - - - - 3 

13. Leaving open the cover of any boiler or cistern - - - 6 

14. Smoking a pipe of tobacco in the hours of work — - - - 4 

15. Neglecting to grease a wheelbarrow when requisite - 3 

16. Leaving any tool, wheelbarrow, steps, ladder, water-pot, &c., out a 

its proper place, or putting it away dirty - - - - 3 

17. Leaving rubbish in any hothouse or greenhouse, or in any way 

making dirt and not immediately cleaning the same up _—- - 3 
18. Leaving heaps of grass, weeds, leaves, or any rubbish whatever, 
about pleasure-grounds, borders, walks, &c., for each heap - 3 
19. Carelessly breaking any plant, pan, glass, tool, &c. - - 3 
20. Breaking any flower-pot with plants in ts and not immediately 
potting the same plants properly - - - 6 
21. Neglecting to do a job after having been once told oft it - - 3 
the second time - 6 

22. Neglecting to attend to water fountains, &c. - - 3 

23. Any man found at his work intoxicated shall forfeit his day’ Ss wages, 

and be otherwise dealt with as thereafter shall be considered just. 

24. Swearing or making use of bad language, for every separate evil 

expression - ~ - - = - - 3 

25. Damaging or in any way mutilating or defacing the above Rules - 12 


Bicton Gardens, Sept. 26. 1842. 


REVIEWS. 

Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 

A History of British Forest Trees, indigenous and introduced. By Prideaux 


John Selby, F.L.S., M.W.S., &c. 8yo, , PP: 540. Ulustrated with a wood- 
00 


568 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, 8c. 


cut of each species, and numerous vignettes. Parts II. to XI., forming one 
vol. 8vo. London, 1842. 


We noticed the first part of this work in our Volume for 1841, p. 624., and 
the remaining parts, making in all eleven, are now before us. On the work, as 
a whole, we can bestow unqualified commendation, both in respect to the letter- 
press and the engravings. To give the reader an idea of its contents we make 
the following quotation from the preface :— 

“ Most ‘of these treatises [on trees] are restricted in their design, and are 
confined to certain departments of dendrology, and operations connected with 
the general culture and management of forest trees, and do not enter upon 
the particular history, or any detailed account, of individual species. Of this 
description are the works of Pontey, Menteith, Nichol, Sang, Billington, and 
various others, in all of which the operations of planting, thinning, pruning, 
and nursery culture, constitute the permanent features, leaving the history of 
the species to which the above-mentioned operations are meant to refer but 
slightly touched upon, or forming a very secondary portion of their contents. 

“ The classic ‘ Sylva’ of Evelyn, and the valuable ‘ Arboretum et Fruti- 
cetum Britannicum’ of Loudon, are, however, works to which the present 
volume approaches nearer in the general outline of its plan; but as the 
former was written upwards of a century and a half ago, and at a time when 
several trees, now naturalised and extensively cultivated in Britain, were but 
little known or recently introduced ; and as the latter embraces a much wider 
field of investigation, besides being voluminous in size and costly in price, and 
consequently in a great measure confined to the libraries of the opulent, it did 
not appear to the author that he was trenching upon ground, either so fully 
occupied or exhausted previously, as to render another work (connected as it 
is with a subject of such importance as the growth and management of British 
timber, ) altogether unnecessary and uncalled for. 

“In speaking of the various important gperations connected with the 
management of timber, the author may remark that he does so with the 
experience of nearly forty years, during which period he has not only been a 
planter to some extent, but has also devoted much time and attention to the 
culture of his trees; his observations, therefore, may be considered the result 
of practical and oft-renewed investigation, conducted, so far as he was able, 
in accordance with the principles of vegetable physiology. It will not, there- 
fore, much surprise his readers, that he should differ from Pontey and his 
followers, in regard to the pruning of forest trees, seeing that the denuding 
system of that writer is directly opposed to such principles, and that, so far 
from contributing to promote a more rapid increase or a greater deposition of 
the woody fibre, it tends, on the contrary, to check materially the growth and 
vigour of the tree to which it is applied. Even the system of shortening in, or 
curtailment of the lateral branches, a mode of pruning now very generally 
adopted, though far preferable to the other, and when judiciously used fre- 
quently of decided advantage, may easily be carried to excess, as the author 
has seen in repeated instances. In short, it is seldom that trees planted in 
mass, or within a short distance of each other, require aid or assistance from 
the pruning knife, or are even benefited by the abscission of their lateral 
branches—the difficulty, on the contrary, is to induce trees so situated to 
retain these necessary and efficient members in requisite numbers, and for a 
sufficient length of time to insure a healthy and vigorous growth and a rapid 
deposition of the woody fibre. One of the most efficient modes of producing 
such an effect is, the timely application of another important operation, viz. 
that of thinning, the advantage of which, when properly administered, the 
author has endeavoured to impress upon his readers in various parts of his 
work. 

“ With respect to the planting of forest trees, he would briefly remark that 
he is not an advocate for the trenching of the ground previously to that opera- 
tion, being convinced, from personal observation and experience, that no 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 569 


adequate or remunerating advantage, either by a more rapid growth of the 
tree or an improvement in the quality of the timber, is obtained, sufficient to 
compensate for the great additional expense incurred, without taking into 
account the difficulty in adopting it in many districts well adapted to the 
rearing of wood, or where plantations are made upon that extensive scale 
now so prevalent throughout the kingdom. In regard to the statistics of the 
various trees described, the author has been obliged, from the restricted 
extent of his volume, to confine his remarks within narrow limits ; this he 
cannot but regret, as he is aware the omission must prove a disappointment to 
many of his readers ; it is, however, satisfactory to be able to refer them to 
so able a work as the ‘ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum,’ in which the 
statistical information respecting its various contents are generally full and 
satisfactory ; Lauder’s edition of ‘Gilpin’s Forest Scenery’ also contains 
much interesting information of this kind, respecting the various trees noticed 
and enumerated in the pages of that delightful work.” 


Scotch Farming in the Lothians. A Letter addressed to the Editor of the 
_ “ Manchester Guardian.” By Robert Hyde Greg. Pamph. 8vo, pp. 33. 
London, 1842. 


Every landed proprietor who wishes to make the most of his land, and to 
raise the character, and increase the comforts, of the tenantry and the la- 
bourers on his estate, ought to peruse this shilling pamphlet. We are aware 
that much of it will not be believed by proprietors, managers, and farmers, 
who have not been in Northumberland or Scotland, and we also know that 
there are a number of English proprietors who prefer having their lands held 
at willby their tenants. To these this pamphlet will be of no use, for the first 
step to improvement is the granting of leases of reasonable length. Necessity 
is the mother of improvement, as well as of invention, and we are much mis- 
taken if the political changes which are taking place do not advance agriculture 
at arailroad pace. The following quotation will give an idea of the contents 
of the pamphlet : — 

“Considering the fate of the Corn Laws to be sealed, and all unequa! 
protection to the landed interest about to be withdrawn, | was anxious, 
both as a landlord and a farmer, to prepare for the state of things which such 
a change might introduce; more particularly as a farmer, to prepare myself, 
by increased skill and economy in the management of my farm, for the 
keener competition and lower prices which the free introduction of foreign 
agricultural produce must establish. 

“ I may, perhaps, just mention that my farm is in the county of Hertford, 
and consists of 500 acres. It is conducted on the best system current 
twenty or twenty-five years ago, very superior to any thing in these parts, 
and iy bailiff was brought up in the Lothians; but aware that we might have 
been stationary, whilst elsewhere, as in Scotland, a rapid progress had been 
going on, I determined to ascertain the actual state of farming where it had 
made the greatest advance, and, with this view, desired him to meet me at 
Edinburgh on the first of July last. Owing to the kindness of a friend, who 
understood farming well himself, and who had an extensive personal ac- 
quaintance with the farmers, I was enabled to visit a number of farms of 
various descriptions, and to communicate with the farmers themselves in 
freedom and confidence. 

“Tt would be uninteresting to the general reader, were I even competent 
to do it, which I am not, to enter minutely into details: those capable of 
understanding them should visit the country; and, whether they do so ona 
tour of profit or amusement, they will be amply repaid. 

“ The general conviction which remains upon my mind is this, that, with a. 
system equal to that of the Lothians established throughout England, land- 
lords might receive double rents, farmers be rich and prosperous, and the 
country be rendered, for two generations, Independent of foreign supplies, 


570 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 


notwithstanding an abolition of all protective duties. I am confident the 
agricultural produce of England, Wales, and the West of Scotland, might be 
doubled; and that of Lancashire and Cheshire be tripled, and this without 
any material addition to the agricultural population.” 


Cottage Residences ; or, a Series of Designs for Rural Cottages and Cottage- 
Villas, and their Gardens and Gone adapted to North America. ‘By 
A. I. Downing, Author of a “ Treatise on Landscape-Gardening.” 8vo, 
pp- 187, illustrated by numerous Engravings. New York and London, 
1842. 


The author of this work seems to have taken for his model our Suburban 
(Architect, and Landscape) Gardener. Like it, the Cottage Residences contains 
a series of designs for residences of moderate extent, with plans for laying out 
the gardens, lists of trees and shrubs for planting them, general directions for 
their culture and management, and remarks on the principles of culture and 
of design and taste on which the whole is founded. Throughout, the author 
gives evidence of his having studied architecture as an art founded on 
principles (p. 10.), and he has produced a number of very handsome de- 
signs, not faultless, any more than ours are, but calculated to convey 
ideas of what cottage residences are susceptible of. We rather wonder that 
the geometric style of laying out grounds is not in higher esteem in the 
United States, because we should suppose that, where there is so much natural 
woody scenery, it would be desirable frequently to introduce the geometric 
style as forming the greatest contrast to it. Perhaps the reason may be, that 
this style is better adapted for extensive places, than for such as consist of only 
a few acres; or, perhaps, the idea of following the taste now prevalent in 
Europe may be, like other fashions, all powerful. Be these things as they 
may, we consider Mr. Downing’s book highly creditable to him, as a man of 
taste and an author; and it cannot fail to be of great service in adding to the 
comforts, and improving the taste, of the citizens of the United States. A 
Jarge edition of Mr. Downing’s Treatise on Landscape-Gardening, noticed 
in our Volume for 1841, p. 421., has, we are informed, been already sold ; 
which affords a most gratifying proof of the progress of refinement in a coun- 
try where refinement seems to be the chief moral want. 


The Botanical Looker-out among the wild Flowers of the Fields, Woods, and 
Mountains of England and Wales ; forming a familar Monthly Guide for the 
collecting Botanist. Interspersed with pictorial Glances, botanising Incidents, 
and Notices of many remarkable Localities of the rarer and most inter esting 
English and Welsh Plants. By Edwin Lees, F.L.S., &c. Post 8yo, 
pp. 376. London and Cheltenham, 1842. 


The object of the author is to “be in some degree useful, in attracting the 
many to the pleasures afforded by the examination of plants im their wild 
localities ;” and for this purpose his work is divided into months. There 
cannot be a doubt as to the good that such a book is calculated to effect, by 
calling forth and nourishing one of the most rational and perpetually interest- 

ing tastes, and there seems no better plan of effecting this than that which he 
has adopted. The author seems precisely the sort of person that ought to 
write such a book, being a man of leisure, who pursues botany as a recr eation, 
and not as a professor or a botanical author. Of course, the interest which 
he can throw into it depends, not only on botanical knowledge, and particularly 
that of our indigenous flora, but on his knowledge of country matters 
generally, and of poetry and history. From a cursory glance at the volume, 
the author does not seem deficient in any of these requisites. Every large 
town, or at least every county, ought to have such a work written on it, and 
we would not confine ourselves to ‘indigenous plants, but include also foreign 
species, either in cultivation or planted in parks and pleasure-grounds, as rare 


General Notices. 571 


or ornamental. Some idea of the work will be obtained from the following 
headings to the chapters on January, February, and March. 

January. — Introduction — Flowers in their relations to the Human Race 
— First aspect of the Year — Evergreens— Ivy and Holly contrasted — 
Natural History of the Mistletoe — Its Stations on various Trees — Trees 
upset by the Gales — Localities of remarkable Yew Trees — Yew-in-the-Oak 
— Groundsel, Dead Nettle, &c. — Stocking Gorse — Aspect of Nature. 

Fresruary.— Various Tints of Buds and Twigs in the Sunbeams — Brilliant 
Effects of a Frozen Shower — Dandelion, Veronica, Daisy — Mosses in 
perfection of Beauty — Hellebore, Periwinkle — Sudden Snow Storm — The 
awakening of Spring in the Country and the City — Appearance of Gelatinous 
Fungi — Miseries of a Thaw — Snowdrops. 

Marcu. — A March Morning on Malvern Hills — Crocuses, Mezereon, 
Apricot, Pyrus japonica, &c. — Flowers of the Woods and Fields— Flowering 
of the Hazel, Yew, and Elm —Vernal Indications —Various Species of Violets 
— Golden Saxifrage, Tuberous Moschatel, White and Yellow Awlworts — 
Daffodils and Sallows — Windflower. 


Art. II. Literary Notice. 


ILLUSTRATIONS of the Botany and other Branches of the Natural History of the 
Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere. By J. F. Royle, M.D., 
F.R.S., &c., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, King’s College, 
is about to be reissued in 22 monthly Parts. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. I. General Notices. 


Ow the Existence of Sulphur in Plants. —M. Vogel, sen., remarks that it has 
been proved by the late M. Planche and other chemists that many plants 
contain sulphur. Water-cresses (Lepidium sativum ZL.) are among those 
which especially contain much sulphur. 

As soils distant from volcanoes do not contain perceptible traces of sulphur, 
it appears to M. Vogel not impossible, that plants which are much disposed 
to assimilate sulphur may have the property of deriving it from the decom- 
position of the sulphuric acid of sulphates, M. Vogel, however, found that 
seeds placed in a soil perfectly free from sulphur and sulphates yielded plants 
which contained a notable quantity of sulphur. The soil employed for this 
experiment consisted of coarsely powdered white glass; it was first strongly 
heated, but not fused, in a crucible, and, being afterwards washed with boiling 
water, not the slightest trace of any sulphate could be detected. Seeds of 
water-cresses kept in a moist state were placed in this, and when the plants 
were several inches in height, they were removed with their roots. After 
having washed the plants, the white fibrous roots were cut off, and these 
as well as the plants were dried ; and, on heating them in a retort, it was found 
that both of them yielded considerably more sulphur than the seeds con- 
tained. The expressed juice of the young plants cultivated in the powdered 
glass also contained soluble sulphates. ‘The seeds of water-cresses sown in 
coarsely powdered quartz, flint-glass, and very fine silica obtained from si- 
licated hydrofluoric acid, yielded similar results with respect to sulphur and 
sulphates, though the plants did not flourish so well in the last as in the two 
former substances. 


572 General Notices. 


To obtain approximative results as to the quantity of sulphur in the water- 
cress seeds and the plants which they yielded, the following experiments were 
made. The seed (100 grains ? ) was heated to redness in }a retort, and the 
gases disengaged were received into a solution of potash; acetate of lead was 
added to the alkaline liquor as long as precipitation occurred. The precipi- 
tate was of a brownish colour, and consisted of hydrate, carbonate, and sul- 
phuret of lead ; the two former were dissolved by dilute nitric acid, and the 
sulphuret of lead remained, which, after washing and drying, weighed 0°95 er. 
which indicated 0°129 gr. of sulphur. According to this experiment, 100 gr. 
of the seed contained 07129 gr. of sulphur. 

The young plants obtained from the growth of 100 grains of the seed were 
similarly treated. Their weight was 2040 gr.; they yielded, by the above- 
described process, 15°1 gr. of sulphuret of lead, equivalent to 2°03 gr. of sul- 
‘phur : consequently the dried plants contained more than fifteen times as 
much sulphur as the 100 gr. of seed which produced them. 

- According to this, 100 lb. of the dried plants would yield nearly 2 of 
an ounce of sulphur, although grown where none could be obtained by the 
roots. 

As the growth of the young plants of water-cresses took place in a soil 
devoid of sulphur and sulphates, and in a room which contained no sulphur- 
ous vapours, the origin of the sulphur, M. Vogel remarks, is to him a_ perfect 
enigma, and at present he confesses that he is unable to give a satisfactory 
explanation of it. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Mar. 18. 1842, as quoted 
in Phil, Mag. for July.) 

Soils. — In affording warmth to plants, the earth is of considerable utility, 
and the power of accumulating and retaining it varies as much in soils, as the 
proportions of their constituents. Sir Humphry Davy found that a rich 
black mould, containing one fourth of vegetable matter, had its temperature 
increased in an hour from 65° to 88° by exposure to the sunshine, while a 
chalk soil was heated only to 69° degrees under similar circumstances; but 
the first, when removed into the shade, cooled in half an hour 15°, whereas 
the latter lost only 4°. This explains why the crops on light-coloured 
tenacious soils are in general so much more backward in spring, but are 
retained longer in verdure during autumn, than those on black light soils; 
the latter attain a genial warmth more readily, but part with it with equal 
speed. The following experiment, which has often been successfully repeated 
upon light as well as tenacious soils, demonstrates how greatly the colour of 
a soil influences the accumulation of heat. Coal-ashes were sprinkled over 
half the surface of beds sown with peas, beans, &c., and on these the plants 
invariably appeared above ground two or three days earlier, obviously on 
account of the increased warmth ; it being a well-known fact that dark bodies 
absorb caloric more readily, and in larger proportions, than those of lighter 
hue. (Cambridge Chron. and Journ., May 28. 1842.) 

Trenching stiff Soils. — By the old method of ridging or trenching, we do 
not obtain such a thorough pulverisation of the soil as may be desirable. 
During my twelve years’ service at Cannon Hall, where I had to contend 
with a stubborn and clayey soil, I found the method which the annexed 
diagram may serve to explain answer my wishes better than any other that [ 
could hit upon. Let a, 6, c,d represent a section of the ground to be 
trenched 2ft. deep. In 
the first place, the ground 
is measured out in longi- 
tudinal beds, 4.ft. wide ; 
this done, the top spit of 
the bed e is laid on the 
bed gs and the second Fig. 56. Section of Ground for trenching. 
spit of the bed e is laid 
onh. The first or top spit of the bed f is then laid on the bed z, and the 


General Notices. 573 


second spit from the bed f is laid on 2. So that the top-soil and sub-soil are 
kept on separate and alternate beds, and may be mixed, reversed, or returned 
as taken out, at the will of the operator. By this method, the advantages are, 
a much greater exposure of surface to the action of the weather; the oppor- 
tunity of incorporating with the soil any desirable or obtainable manures, and 
at any desired depth ; a thorough blending of the soil to the depth of two or 
three feet ; and it also facilitates the operation of draining where necessary, 
It is needless to add, that, when the first thrown-out beds are sufficiently pul- 
verised, they are levelled down, and the others thrown out in the same manner. 
(T. Parkins in Gard. Chron. for 1842, p. 6.) 

Utility of the Rook. — Although, at certain periods of the year, rooks do con- 
siderable mischief, yet they make ample compensation in the end by destroying 
the grubs of the cockchafer, and other under-ground feeding insects, which, 
if left to themselves, would utterly destroy the crops which the rooks only 
partially injure. Mr. Yarrell, in his History of British Birds, says: — “ On 
some very large farms in Devonshire, the proprietors determined, a few 
summers ago, to try the result of offering a great reward for the heads of 
rooks: but the issue proved destructive to the farmers, for nearly the whole 
of the crops failed for three successive years ; and they have since been forced 
to import rooks and other birds to re-stock their farms with. A similar ex- 
periment was made a few years ago in a northern county, particularly in 
reference to rooks, but with no better success: the farmers were obliged to 
reinstate the rooks to save their crops.” (Camb. Chron. and Journ., June 
11. 1842.) 

Plums on calcareous Soil.— Have you ever heard that plum trees thrive best 
in the limestone districts? In confirmation of this, my garden never fails of 
an abundant crop of apricots, which, you know, are grafted on plum stocks. 
From seven trees I shall pick this year from 150 to 200 dozen. — P. F. M. 
July 22. 1842. 

Grape-growing. —I have tried with great success the filthy feeding system 
for grapes ; dead dogs, rats, calves, and horses have been buried about 10 or 
12 feet from seven vines, which now, the third year, are going to give me an 
abundant crop of grapes ; not less than 250 fine bunches. — Idem. 

Orange Syrup. — This syrup is so easily made, and can be used so con- 
stantly to advantage, that no housekeeper should be without it. Select ripe 
and thin-skinned fruit ; squeeze the juice through a sieve ; to every pint add a 
pound and a half of powdered sugar ; boil it slowly, and skim as long as any 
scum rises ; you may then take it off, let it grow cold, and bottle it off. Be 
sure to secure the corks well. Two table-spoonfuls of this syrup, mixed in 
melted butter, make an admirable sauce for plum or batter pudding ; it im- 
parts a fine flavour to custards ; and a tea-spoonful introduced into a glass of 
punch adds much to its deliciousness. (Camb. Chron. and Journ., April 2. 
1842.) 

Potato Salad. — In your cottage gardening, when you are giving directions 
for the cooking and use of sundry vegetables, perhaps you might add a mode 
of making a potato salad much used in some parts of the Continent, and which 
would not only be useful to the cottager, but is thought by many to be de- 
licious eating, particularly with salmon, or fish in general, or indeed any thing 
else. The mixture of vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, and hard egg is the same as 
for common salad, and according to taste; the potatoes are sliced when cald, 
with beet-root also sliced. The cottager may merely use the vinegar, salt, 
and Seis and add sliced onions. (Camb. Chron. and Journ., April 2. 
1842. 

Taming and training Horses.—In confirmation of a paragraph on this sub- 
ject, inserted in p.328., we quote the following : — “ The taming of horses,” 
says the Newbourn Advocate (a North Carolina newspaper), “ by breathing in 
their nostrils, seems to be gaining friends. Mr. David Clayton, of Tyrrel 
county, having seen an article in our paper stating that horses had been 
rendered gentle by breathing into their nostrils, determined to try it on a 


574 Foreign Notices : — China. 


young mule belonging to him, who would suffer no person to handle him. 
Mr. Clayton fastened him in a stable, and, after considerable trouble, suc- 
ceeded in breathing several times in his nostrils. Before he left the stable 
the mule became gentle, and would stand still and suffer himself to be rubbed, 
and would nose and smell around him. He followed Mr. Clayton out of the 
stable, around the yard, and wanted to go into the house. We advise our 
friends who have colts to break to try the experiment; if it does no good, it 
can certainly do no harm.” (Stamford Mercury, as quoted in Morn. Chron. 
October 8. 1842.) 


Art. II. Foreign Notices. 


CHINA. 


MANURE among the Chinese. — In arranging the various classes of the 
people, the Chinese place the literati in the foremost rank, as learning is with 
them the stepping-stone to honour; but, immediately after the learned, the 
husbandman takes the precedence of all others, because, being engaged in 
raising the necessaries of life, he is abundantly more important than the 
mechanic, who merely changes the form of matter, and the merchant, who 
originates nothing, but only barters and exchanges commodities for the sake 
of gain. This honour put upon agricultural employments is evidently the 
result of design ; and shows that the country, being overstocked with in- 
habitants, needs cultivating to its utmost extent, in order to provide the 
people with sustenance. The industry and skill of the Chinese, striving to 
produce as many of the necessaries of life as possible, would also argue 
a dense population, ever struggling against threatening want, and compelled 
to exert themselves for their daily bread. In tropical climates, where the 
ground is fertile and the population scanty, the natives find that by a few 
months’ labour they can produce sufficient food for a whole year’s con- 
sumption ; and are, therefore, indisposed to exert themselves further: but 
in China the inhabitants are incessantly employed; and every individual 
is obliged to be busy in contributing his quota to the commonweal. Every 
one in the least acquainted with the manners of the Chinese knows that 
they are untiring in their exertions to maintain themselves and families. 
In the business of agriculture they are more particularly active ; raising two 
crops from the ground every year, extending their cultivation, and bringing 
the most unpromising spots into use, in order that nothing may be lost. 
Their skill in effecting these objects is not, considering their few advantages, 
contemptible. They thoroughly understand the importance of varying the 
crops; they know perfectly well the seasons and soils adapted for certain 
productions; and they are fully sensible of the importance of manuring the 
ground, in order to maintain its fertility. A stranger is struck with this on 
first setting his foot on the shores of China. Most individuals met in the 
paths of the fields are provided with a basket and rake ; and every evening the 
cottager brings home a certain quantity to add to the dung-heap, which is a 
most important appendage to every dwelling. Having but few sheep and 
cattle, they are obliged to make the most of the stercoraceous stock of man 
and swine. ‘This is carefully collected, and actually sold at so much per 
pound; while whole strings of scavengers may be seen cheerily posting into 
the country every successive morning with their envied acquisitions; little 
heeding the olfactory nerves of the less interested passengers. Every other 
substance likely to answer the end is anxiously collected, and carefully 
disposed, so as to provide for future exigencies ; such as decayed animal and 
vegetable matter, the sweeping of streets, the mud of canals, burnt bones, 
lime; and, what is not a little singular, the short stumpy hair, shaven from 
millions of heads every ten days, is industriously gathered, and sold for 


Foreign Notices: — North America. 575 


manure throughout the empire. (Madras Almanac for 1841, in Camb, Chron. 
ané Journ. May 14, 1842.) | 


NORTH AMERICA. 


Strelitzia regine. — There are several specimens of this beautiful plant in 
this city. About two years since, Mr. Dreer, florist and seedsman, had one 
in flower, and, as he was uninformed about its history, I gave it to him, and 
having inserted it in a daily city paper, a purchaser was speedily found at ten 
dollars. The British botanists and cultivators of plants know its locality and 
discoverer, but may probably not know all I am about to write concerning the 
latter, and therefore I send you the article alluded to. “The late dis- 
tinguished friend and liberal patron of science, Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., 
in early life was an ardent cultivator of botany and natural history, and, 
although under an actual matrimonial engagement, applied for and obtained 
the place of naturalist to the first expedition under Captain Cook, and at the 
Cape of Good Hope met with the plant in question. Finding it to be a new 
genus, he, with great tact, determined to name it after the queen of England, 
2 princess of the house of Mecklenburg Strelitz, and coined for it the classical 
name of Strelitzia, adding regine. A greater compliment could not have 
been paid her. But you will ask, what became of Mr. Banks’s betrothed? I 
heard several years since from M. Correa de Serra, that the suspension of 
Mr. B’s proceedings was not relished by the lady or her friends, and excited 
some severe remarks; which, however, were soon quieted by the powerful | 
charm of a draft in her favour on his banker for 10,000/.; not that he 
loved her less, but that he loved “ science more.” M. Correa’s standing 
as a botanist is well known. It was he, as you know, who ascertained that 
the Doryanthes excélsa was a new genus, and gave it an appropriate name, 
He resided eleven years in England, as secretary of the Portuguese legation ; 
and afterwards in this city, first as a private man, and subsequently as 
minister from the court of Brazil. — J. M. Philadelphia, August, 1842. 

Agave americana, — Mr. B. Duke, the successor of B. M‘Mahon, is now 
exhibiting at the Masonic Hall an agave in flower. It is stated by him to be 
one of the original plants grown by Mr. Hamilton, at the Woodlands, in 
Blockley township, Philadelphia county ; and which, after his death, came 
into the possession of Mr. M‘Mahon’s family, and thence to the present 
owner. The plant first exhibited its flower-stem on the 17th of May, and 
from that time to the 8th of July, it increased daily from 2in. to 9in., 
when it had attained the height of 20 ft. 11 in. It then commenced 
throwing out lateral branches and forming its buds, and continued to do so 
the greater portion of the month; on the 29th it expanded its first flower, 
at which time the spread of the lateral branches, from tip to tip, was nearly 
5ft. The whole number of these is twenty-two. The probable number of 
flowers which will be displayed on the plant cannot be less than from 1300 to 
2000. The summit clusters expanded two days since, and now the plant 
presents a magnificent spectacle. It is supposed to be ninety-five years 
old. A sixth American specimen is said to be about to flower in the green- 
house of Mr. Van Rensellaer, of Albany, New York. The editor of the 
Saturday Courier, of Philadelphia, says that a few years since he saw_one in 
flower in the greenhouse of Mr. Peter C. Brook of Boston: this makes 
seven specimens in the United States. — Idem. August 11. 1842. 

[For an account of the flowering of three plants of the Agave americana 
in America, see Gardener's Magazine, vol. vil. p. 454.) 

Venerable Cactus. — In the beautiful greenhouse of Joshua Longstreth, 
Turner’s Lane, about two miles from the northern limit of Philadelphia, is a 
specimen of Cactus triangularis, venerable in years, as it is lofty in stature. 
It has been in possession of the present owner thirty years; it was held by 
the former one forty years, and he supposed it about ten years old when it 
came into his possession. It is 17 ft. high. — Idem. 


576 Domestic Notices. — Retrospective Criticism. 


Art. Ill. Domestic Notices. 


ENGLAND. 


Ipoma\a Leéarii, turned out in June into an open border, and trained against 
the east end of the stove-house in the Oxford Botanie Garden, has thriven 
exceedingly, and has produced its beautiful blossoms in tolerable abundance. 
—W.H.B. [So it has at Rose Hill, under the management of Mr. Ogle, 
where we saw several square yards of terrace wall covered with its blooms on 
October 15.]|—Cond. ; 

Hédera Helix. — At Godston, near Oxford, amongst many fine specimens 
of ivy which thrive on the ruins of the nunnery, are two which more particu- 
larly attracted my observation. One has a trunk which measures, at about 1 ft. 
from the ground, full 3ft. in circumference; and then divides into two branches, 
each being about half the size of the main stem: the other is flattened by its 
close contaet with the wall, from which it projects about 10 in., and is, in its 
widest diameter, 1 ft. 4in. 'The branches extend a considerable distance over 
the old walls, and have not the least appearance of decay. — W. H. B. 


Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism. 


VirGin Soil. (p.70.)— A paper of mine on virgin soil (p. 70.) was written 
in consequence of a letter which appeared in the Gardener's Gazette, 
signed R. By your Magazine for August, I find that Mr Lymburn was 
R. and that he differs a little from me in opinion. However, as he truly 
says, “ the difference is more in the application of the term than in any thing 
else.” Perhaps I ought to have been more careful how I expressed myself: 
for instance, when I mention that I hardly knew what an alkali was, although 
it is pretty well understood what constitutes an alkali, he or any one 
else might see I expressed myself in a joking way ; when alkalies are derived 
from rocks, better have them ground. Mr. L. considers that a tithe of the 
labour I bestow on the study of bees would be better applied to the study 
of geology and chemistry: this may be true; but if he considers the study of 
bees a small one he is mistaken, for illustrious men of all ages have thought 
it worthy of attention. Among the ancients were Aristotle and Virgil; among 
the modern naturalists we have Swammerdam, Reaumur, Huber, Bonnet, 
Hunter, and others. But to return to the subject of virgin soil; whether that 
term ought to be applied to surface soil, I mean that from rich pasture land, 
or subsoil as Mr. L. will have it; to the latter, I will not dispute, but observe 
that subsoil would be of little use for the same purpose that gardeners put 
the former to. Mr. L. observes that a little of the latter is useful, mixed with 
“soil so spent and worn out that no manure we put on it will renovate its 
lost powers.” But the grand question is, what are those lost powers? 
“Mr. L. has given a very good account of the manner in which soils are affected 
by manures and by different kinds of crops ; still there are some things yet to 
be learned on this subject. In my former paper I mentioned that Mr. L. 
considered that the excretions from the roots of plants may have something 
to do with it; but we have yet to learn if there be such a thing after all as 
excretions. May it not have been a fungus that led to such a notion? — 
J. Wighton. Cossey Hall Gardens, August 26, 1842 


THE 


GARDENER’S MAGAZINE, 


DECEMBER, 1842. 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


Art. 1. Recollections of a Gardening Tour in the North of England 
and Part of Scotland, made from June 22. to September 30. 1841. 
By the ConpuctTor. 


(Continued from p. 440. ) 


Aue. 3. — Melrose to Dalkeith, by Dryburgh Abbey and Thirl- 
stane Castle. ‘The ruins of Melrose Abbey are, perhaps, the 
best preserved ruins of the kind in Scotland, though they admit 
of the improvement of showing the whole of the original floor, 
by removing from it the heaps of rubbish with which it is now 
disfigured. ‘The accompanying burying-ground is extensive and 
not over-crowded with graves, and it might be surrounded and 
intersected with some straight gravel walks; and along these 
might be planted a few Irish yews, and other evergreens, chiefly 
of cypress-like shapes, which would afford agreeable walks for 
the inhabitants, and display the abbey to advantage to strangers. 
There are not many grave-stones that would be found in the 
way of the walks; but, where these did interpose, the symmetry 
of the walk could always be preserved by expanding it volun- 
tarily as much on one side of the grave-stone as it was expanded 
from necessity on the other; surrounding the grave-stone with a 
circle or an oval of grass, or grouping it with a tree or shrub, 
where necessary or advantageous. If the levelling down of the 
grave mounds were an objection, soil could be procured so as to 
raise the walk above their level, which would give it a terraced 
character, rather desirable than otherwise, by affording the spec- 
tator a more commanding view on each side. It is much to be 
regretied, that a regular system of laying out the burying-grounds 
of country churches is not adopted; and also a prearranged 
system, such as we have described in our Suburban Gardener, 
followed in making the interments, The walks of burying- 
grounds might have borders, and along each of these might be 
planted a row of low trees, alternately evergreen and cypress- 
like, and deciduous and round, or spreading-headed; and these 
borders might be let out in perpetuity, in portions, for erecting 
tombs; while the interior of the compartments might be ex- 
3d Ser.—1842. XII. PP 


578 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


clusively devoted to graves having no tombs, or to persons who, 
or whose friends, preferred a tablet put up on the walls of the 
church, as a writer in the Quarterly Review for September, 1842, 
judiciously recommends. gs. 57. and 58., borrowed from our 
Suburban Gardener, will show what is meant without further 
explanation. We are advocates for the American mode, of 
allowing every man to bury on his own property, with or with- 
out a tombstone, or other mark of remembrance, as he might 
choose, but simply under such restrictions and regulations as 
public health and decency might require. We are persuaded 
that it will ultimately come to this, and that public grave-yards 
will only be resorted to by those who have no garden or field 
that they can call their own. Few will deny that the public 
health would incur less risk of being injured by such a change, 
and in many cases, we believe, the feeling of respect for the 
memory of parents and relations, and the good consequences of 
that feeling, would be kept more alive than is now the case 
under the churchyard system. ‘The clergy alone would be the 
sufferers, and it would be but justice that the existing race should 
have a compensation. 

Dryburgh Abbey; the Earl of Buchan. Great pains were 
taken with this place by a former earl, who planted an extensive 
orchard, many cedars of Lebanon, and other ornamental trees, 
and erected some ornamental buildings. We regret to say that 
the whole place appeared to us in a state of neglect, and no part 
more so than the grounds about the ruins. ‘The sheep were 
injuring the fruit trees and the cedars, by rubbing against their 
stems, and the cattle breaking down the fences. The ruins are 
extensive, but they are too much encumbered with trees and 
shrubs, and, what is worse, with dug ground and flowers. Dug 
ground about an old building, when carried to any extent, 
always gives the idea of yesterday, and checks the feeling of 
veneration which would otherwise predominate. The floors of 
the interior of these ruins are heaped up with rubbish, and 
overgrown with rank plants, and there is a damp vault set 
round with busts of stucco, such as are sold in the streets, which 
are shown by the guide, who evidently thinks them of far more 
importance, and more deserving of attention, than the ruins them- 
selves. The poor woman who shows these busts and gives them 
names knows no better; but what are we to think of the pro- 
prietor of the place, who permits such things? By nature, Dry- 
burgh Abbey has immense advantages, and these ruins are 
objects of intense interest, which might be turned to good 
account in rendering the place worthy of respect and admi- 
ration, instead of creating, as it now does, feelings of an oppo- 
site nature. 

Thirlstane Castle; the Karl of Lauder. After passing a 


Thirlstane Castle. 579 


UCT TTT 

Hi CUTITTTTTTETT 
CUTTS CTTTNT) = (OTCTTTTTTOTTTTTTT 
WIMIENTUTTMETEN) (TITTIIIUTUTTTT 


se (UUCTTITIIIITETTTTNITT) (I LUTTTTTITI 
CCOOTTOOTTTTTTATOTUUTAT) (UOCCTTTTLTTTTTTTTETT 


HEATH 


Fig. 57. Ground Plan for a Country Churchyard. 


| 


= 
Ne 
= ‘ 
S 
z 
: 
~] 
Bt 
oP 
20 
ra} 


cee eer ati 


ee ee eee 


Oxenford Castle. 581 


number of gentlemen’s seats possessing many natural beauties, 
but exhibiting very little good architecture or landscape-garden- 
ing, the absence of the latter easily ascertained by the isolated 
clumps and the want of scattered trees in the parks and lawns, 
we come to Lauder, close to which is Thirlstane Castle. The 
building is of great antiquity, and, besides one or two very an- 
cient rooms, it contains a number which were richly finished in 
the Louis XIV. style, prevalent in the time of Charles II. 
These rooms are chiefly remarkable for their gorgeous ceilings, 
exhibiting wreaths of fruit, foliage, and flowers, in very high 
relief ; arabesques of extr aordinary combinations ; and, in some 
of the rooms, domes raised in the centres of the ceilings, and 
painted in imitation of the sky, with gilt stars. The beauties of 
arabesque decoration are not generally understood. Many 
object to them because they are not natural, but it is their fanciful 
character which constitutes their beauty. Reason gives up the 
reins to the fancy, and we delight to be led about by that power 
into regions where every thing is not only new but strange. 
Nonsense in the midst of sense is often a relief to a mind kept 
on the rack, and arabesques are the nonsense of high art. Thirl- 
stane Castle is undergoing extensive alterations and additions 
under the direction of Mes Burns, and, when finished, will pro- 
bably be one of the finest things of ine kind in Searle! A 
new kitchen-garden, and an sensing range of hothouses, have 
been formed fanden the direction of Mr. Cc. H. Smith, and they 
do him very great credit. 

The leamallierd of the inn at Lander has travelled a good deal 
in America, and is very intelligent. It is always refreshing to 
meet with a man who has seen the world, but more especially 
when this is unexpected. The mind delights in being trans- 
ported from the present time and the surrounding circumstances 
to other times and countries. Contrast of ideas is as effective in 
producing enjoyment, as contrast of form or of light and shade 
is in producing picturesque effect. 

In descending from the Lammermuir hills, we look down on 
the rich plain of the Lothians as on a map. Pass on the left 
some overpruned plantations of larches, and on the right a tem- 
perance hotel. An excellent inn at Dalkeith. 

Aug. 4, — Oxenford Castle; the Karl of Stair. The castle is 
in a commanding situation, but has the common fault of being 
entered on the side that has the best views, and showing a 
stranger not only these, but the whole of the lawn, before! he 
alights at the mainentrance. ‘The kitchen-garden is undergoing 
a thorough reform by Mr. Gardiner, a agin in his one A 
great many hollies are planted in the young woods, and the 
plants are protected from hares and rabbits by circular fences, 
14 ft. high, and 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter, formed entirely of the 

PP 3s 


582, Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


branches of young larch trees; their ends being stuck in the 
ground so as to form a circle round the plant, and their points 
woven into one another, as in the finishing ofa common wicker- 
work hamper. ‘There are a new church, new parsonage, hand- 
some new factor’s house, lodges, cottages, farm offices, all seen 
more or less from the public road, and all most substantially 
built of stone, and in good taste, at the earl’s expense. The 
Edinburgh approach to the castle is excellent, but the other is 
less fortunate, showing only one side of the house, instead of 
coming up to it diagonally, so as to show two sides. Additional 
to the main door, there is a side or subordinate one, called the 
luggage door; a characteristic of Scotch mansions, arising, no 
doubt, from the hospitable habits of the country. 

Preston Hall ; —— Dick, Bart. The park is crowded wit 
magnificent trees, of a number of which we were promised the 
dimensions. There are a large and very superiorly designed 
kitchen- garden, and an excellent gardener’s house of three stories, 
large enough for a farmer; but, as we generally enquire into 
details, we found this house, like many, we may say most, other 
gardeners’ houses in Scotland, without a convenience essential 
both to delicacy and cleanliness. ‘The number of large and 
commodious gardeners’ houses in Scotland which are altogether 
defective in this particular would not be credited in England. 
Forty different kinds of fig are cultivated in the garden here, 
and, by the aid of glass and artificial heat, figs are sent to table 
from the middle of May till winter. 

Newbattie Abbey ; the Marquess of Lothian. The abbey is 
finely situated in a bottom, surrounded on every side by high 
banks covered with wood. It stands close to the Esk, with a 
considerable portion of level ground on one side, varied by old 
trees; the whole expressive, in a high degree, of the peaceful 
combined with the grand. ‘There are many fine trees, both on 
the level ground and the declivities, the most remarkable of 
which are, an immense beech, a sycamore, and a Scotch elm, 
the dimensions of which are given in our Arboretum. In the 
kitchen-garden, which, with the gardener’s house and some 
flower-garden scenery, is most picturesquely situated, we found 
a raspberry plantation which had not been renewed for forty 
years, and which still continued to bear abundant crops. 

Dalkeith Palace ; the Duke of Buccleugh. As we had not 
time to see this place properly, we shall say little about it. 
There is an excellent kitchen-garden, newly formed; but the 
walls, in our opinion, are altogether deficient in architectural 
dignity. We would have had rich Elizabethan gateways and 
doorways, an architectural coping, and various other details, 
which, without interfering in any way with culture, would have 
lent dignity and character to what, speaking always with refe- 


Dalkeith Castle. 583 


rence to architectural design, is mean and commonplace. We 
were the more surprised at this, because, from Mr. M‘<Intosh’s 
remarks on the “entrance to the kitchen or culinary garden,” 
in his New and Improved Practical Gardener, p.27., we were led 
to expect something very different. ‘The chimneys are not, as 
usual, carried up in the back wall, but very judiciously behind 
in the outer or lower wall of the back sheds, in order to prevent 
the soot, which the coal here produces in immense quantities, 
from dropping on the glass. As far as we recollect, there was 
not a pond in the centre of the garden, which is always desirable, 
in order that the water in summer may be warmed by the sun, 
to the same temperature as the soil. ‘The great importance of 
this has been admirably pointed out in our Volume for 1840, 
and will be recurred to in a future page of this article. The 
crops, both in the open garden and in the forcing-houses, were 
excellent, and the order and keeping unexceptionable. The 
design of the flower-garden to the south of the kitchen-garden 
will, no doubt, be reconsidered. 

Aug. 5.—Dalkeith and Dalhousie Castle to Edinburgh. Walked 
to some magnificent viaducts for facilitating the transit of coals 
to Edinburgh by railroad, which have been erected by the Duke 
of Buccleugh ; and we cannot help expressing the great satisfac- 
tion that we felt at seeing the various public works at Dalkeith 
and Granton erected by this nobleman. They will not only 
greatly benefit his own property, but prove beneficial to the 
public. Would that His Grace were imbued with similar ideas 
to ours on the subject of increasing the comforts of the labourers 
on his extensive estates, by improving their dwellings, adding 
gardens to them, providing schools for educating their children, 
and taking care, as in Germany, that they were all educated, 
and bearing in mind the wants of the aged and infirm! Would 
that His Grace had the same ideas as the Rev. Dr. Gilly, and 
the late Rev. William Gilpin, on the subject of improving the 
condition of the cottager ! 

‘‘ Suppose,” says Dr. Gilly, ‘‘’70/. to be the average cost of a 
substantially good cottage, will the comfort of a faithful dependant 
and his family be heavily bought at this price? [The average of 
what Lord Roseberry’s cottages have cost.] Why is the hap- 
piness of rural life to be nothing more than a romance, a poetical 
image, when it is in the power of so many land-proprietors to 
realise all that is imagined of smiling gardens, and snug habita- 
tions, and contented cottagers? The true beauty of a landscape, 
as Gilpin has said in his Forest Scenery, consists, not ‘in the 
mere mixture of colours and forms, but in the picture of human 
happiness presented to our imagination and affections in visible 
and unequivocal signs of comfort.’ ; 

“‘Oh, when will the law of love be felt in its supremacy ? 

ped ; 


584 Recollections of a ee Tour. 


When will it be felt that there is no security for property like the 
affection of those whose labour is our wealth? 

‘¢ Oftentimes when I see ornamental lodges, and pretty dunes 
like fairy bowers, in a cool and sequestered corner of the park; 
and gardener’s houses, decorated without and full of accommo- 
dation within; and dog-kennels, which may be called canine 
palaces; and stables, like sacred temples, so totally free from 
every pollution, that you would suppose it pr ofanation to suffer a 
particle of filth to remain one moment on the pavement; often 
when I see these things do I indulge the ardent hope, that the 
time will come, when the peasantry on a property will have as 
much taste and forethought expended on them, and that snug 
cots and happy-looking i inmates will be considered the chief orna- 
ments of an estate.” (The Peasantry of the Border, §c., p.37.) 

To show that the cottages on some part of the Duke of Buc- 
cleugh’s estates require his interference, or did so in 1831, we 
refer the reader to a passage in our eighth Volume; ae as ‘this 
volume is now out of print, we shall quote it in a note.* 


* “We are persuaded that many absentee landlords are ignorant of the sort 
of cottages which already exist, and still continue to be erected, on their estates. 
It is difficult for us to persuade ourselves that the wives, who are perhaps 
mothers, of these men of wealth are aware of the large families that are born 
and live together in one square room, open to the roof, with no division but 
that formed by wooden bedsteads, and with no floor but the earth. We can- 
not believe, for example, that the Duchess of Buccleugh, whom we know to 
be highly cultivated, and who has the reputation of being kind-hearted and 
charitable, ever entered any one of the fourteen cottages lately erected on one 
of her husband’s estates, not far from his magnificent palace of Drumlanrig, 
in Dumfriesshire. On crossing the country from Jardine Hall to Closeburn, 
Aug. 9, 1831, we passed the farm of Cumroo. The farm-house and farmery 
are ample and most substantial-looking buildings. | The dwelling-house is 
more than usually large, with two rooms in its width ; a part of its exterior 
wall is covered with large well-trained fruit trees; and there is an excellent 
kitchen-garden, well stocked, and apparently in good order, in which a pro- 
fessed gardener (judging from his blue apron) was at work ; so that the whole, 
had it not been for the farmyard behind, might very easily have been taken 
for a mansion residence. Passing this house, and advancing about a furlong, 
we came to a row of fourteen cottages occupied by yearly servants of the 
farmer and occupant of the large house, who, we were told, came from the best 
cultivated district in Scotland, East Lothian. Observing that to every door 
in the row of cottages there was but one window, we entered one of them, 
and found a woman sitting at a table, writing a letter (which seemed in a very 
good hand for a person in her rank of life), while she rocked the cradle with 
her foot. The room, which comprised the whole cottage, was about 14 ft. 
square, without a ceiling, and open to the roof; the floor was of earth, and 
the walls were left rough, just as the stones were put together in building, but 
whitewashed ; there was a fire-place, but only one fixed window of four smal! 
panes. In this room there were two box beds, placed end to end, and behind 
them a space of about 2 ft. in width for fuel and lumber. The furniture and 
utensils, though scanty, were clean and neat ; more especially when contrasted 
with the floor, which, underneath the beds, was of earth, quite loose ; though, 
near the fire, were laid some flat stones, which the woman said her husband 
had picked up and put down himself. The cottage window, as already ob- 


Dathousie Castle. 585. 


Dathousie Castle; the Earl of Dalhousie. The castle has 
much of appropriate character, and, indeed, is one of the best 
habitable really old castles which we have seen in Scotland. 
Here the gateway, formerly shut with a portcullis, comes in as a 
feature with admirable effect. As the gardens and grounds 
are described and illustrated by engravings in our first Volume, 
we shall say little about them. The finest part of the place is 
the walk along the banks of the river to the kitchen-garden, and 
the walk back again on the other side through a wood. The 
late earl was much attached to this place, and greatly improved 
it, and his lady, it is well known, was an excellent botanist, 
Many American trees and shrubs were sent over by the earl 
whilst he was governor of Canada, only some of which are in a 
thriving state, owing to the poverty and humidity of the soil, 
and the proximity of more robust-growing trees. The best we 
saw was Pinus Banksidna, 14 ft. high. A hedge of evergreen 
hollies, the main stems of which have been cut at 3 ft., in order 
to throw vigour into the lateral branches, and cause them to 
spread out, forms the separation of the river walk from the 
kitchen-garden, and is decidedly the finest thing of the kind we 
have ever seen. ‘The great variety of ground outline formed by 
the extension of the branches over the lawn, and of the outline 
against the sky from the different heights to which their extre- 
mities have turned up, the different kinds of variegation, and the 
different degrees of vigour, are sources of endless variety; while, 
all the plants being of the same species, the principle of unity is 
not interfered with. A most picturesque and beautiful screen is 
thus produced in a very limited space. No part of this hedge 
is above 7 ft. high, and many parts of it not more than 3 ft., and 
it varies from 6 ft, to 18 ft. in width. ‘The line of these varie- 
gated hollies is indicated in the plan in our first Volume, p. 252. 
The silver firs on this estate were all killed a few years ago, when 
they were between 30 and 40 ft. high, by the mealy bug. A plant 
of Heracléum aspérrimum was 11 ft. high, with the radical leaves 
covering a space 12 ft. in diameter. 

The road from Dalkeith to Edinburgh is broad, kept in ex- 
cellent repair, and passes through a country so much altered from 
what it was in 1806, when we last saw it, that we should never 
have recognised it to be the same territory. Every farmyard 
has now a high, and often handsome, chimney for its steam- 


served, was fixed, and incapable of opening to give air, There was no back 
door, and no opening either in the roof or walls for ventilation, except the 
entrance door and the chimney. There was no appendage, or garden ground 
of any sort, behind these cottages; but, across the road, in front of them was 
a narrow strip of ground, divided so as to allow one fall (36 yds. square) to 
each cottage. In these gardens there was no structure of any kind.” 


586. Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


engine, which reminds us much more of Birmingham than of 
any part of Scotland, except Glascow. The low round towers, 
often with the walls ragged at top, so as to give the idea of the 
remains of high towers, built over the orifices of the old coal 
pits, are also to us anew feature ; to which we must add, that the 
direction of the road has been changed, in some places so much 
-so that we could not recognise Libberton Kirk (where we went 
to school in 1796), and that plantations newly made when we 
left the country are now grown up, furnishing by their thinnings 
useful timber. We were much gratified with the prevalence of 
the balsam poplar in the plantations at St. Catherine’s near 
Fdinburgh, because that is the first tree that comes into leaf in 
the spring in every part of the northern hemisphere, and nothing 
can be more beautiful than the delicate gamboge yellow of its 
foliage when it first expands. This tree does not attain so large 
a size as the other poplars, nor does it produce much timber; 
but it is, as we think, by far the most ornamental species of the 
genus. The largest trees we saw were at Valleyfield, where 
they are as high as those which we have figured in the Arboretum 
from Syon; but, having been drawn up by other trees, they are 
much less handsome in their shapes. We stopped at present 
only one night in Edinburgh, and, after dining at an advertising 
hotel in Princes Street, and being imposed on both by the 
master and servants, we took an incognito stroll in the old town, 
and visited some of the closes and wynds that were formerly 
familiar to us. Nothing struck us more forcibly than the ap- 
pearance of the Norloch, covered with trees that were not even 
planted when we left Edinburgh. 

Aug. 6.— Edinburgh to Kinross. At North Queen’s Ferry we 
went to see a beautifully situated small place which once be- 
longed to Captain Maconnochie, author of Australiana, now in 
Australia, and where his amiable and accomplished lady dis- 
played her taste and skill in the flower-garden. ‘The outer gate 
was open, and we passed through the whole place, including the 
lawn, shrubbery, and kitchen-garden, without seeing a human, 
being. This, however, is not so rare an occurrence as one 
unaccustomed to see a great many places might imagine. We 
were much gratified with the situation of the house, entered from 
behind, the views from the windows in front, and from the walks 
in the beautifully varied grounds. ‘Lhe whole place, however, 
was in a state of comparative neglect. ‘There is a curious piece 
of architecture in the little town of Inverkeithing, which we 
should have been glad to have had a sketch of. Pass Fordell, 
Sir Philip Durham’s; the gate between two obelisks, each of one 
stone; and the road within raked in the manner almost peculiar 
to the Continent and to Scotland, and which has probably ori-. 
ginated in the want of binding gravel. 


Blair-Adam, Lochleven Castle, Kinross House. 587. 


Blair-Adam, Admiral Sir Charles Adam, has been already 
beautifully and faithfully described by Mr. A. Mackenzie (p. 357.). 
It is a place extremely interesting, both from its natural beauties 
and the great improvements which have been made on it by 
three generations of the same family. The approach to the 
house is partly through a dense wood of silver firs, with trunks 
clear to the height of from 50 ft. to 70 ft., and the trees stand so 
close together that the number of cubic feet per acre must be 
enormous. There isa fine Italian feeling evinced in the kitchen- 
garden by its massive stone walls, with bracketed cornices, piers, 
and vases, and with the gardener’s house forming the central 
portion of the north wall. On the south side the garden is 
open to a lawn and shrubbery, with a winding brook, the whole 
managed in a manner which produces the very best effect. In 
the interior of the garden there are some pedestals and vases 
artistically placed along the walks, that is, placed in recesses of 
gravel, as we have recommended on various occasions; and we 
were gratified to learn from Mr. Mackenzie that he had adopted 
this mode from principle. The garden was well cropped, and 
was particularly rich in small herbs, perfumery, and medicinal 
plants, and there was also a very excellent collection of her- 
baceous plants, including ferns, arranged according to the Lin- 
nean System, and named. ‘This collection was made by the late 
gardener, Mr. Henderson, for some years foreman of the Edin- 
burgh Botanic Garden, in conformity with the practice of the 
last century, when the culture of flowers was carried on in the 
same enclosure as that of fruits and culinary vegetables, except 
in the very largest gardens. 

Lochleven Castle is a ruin on an island in the loch, chiefly 
interesting as having been the prison of Queen Mary. We 
examined the walls of the room in which she is said to have 
been confined, and found scme curious details characteristic of 
the rude contrivances of the age, even where royalty was con- 
cerned. ‘The water of the lake has been lowered several feet by 
draining, so that the wall containing the window from which’ 
Queen Mary is said to have dropped into the boat is. now 
several yards from the water’s edge. The island on which the 
castle stands is deprived of much of its interest by having been 
trenched and planted with trees, for the purpose, as our guide 
informed us, of protecting game for the proprietor, at present a 
minor. When these trees are grown up, the remains of the 
castle will be completely obscured by them; but the proprietor, 
when he comes of age, will, we trust, have sufficient taste to 
restore the island to the state it was in a few years ago. 

Kinross House ; Graham, Esq. ‘The mansion stands on 
the mainland, on a promontory jutting into the lake. . It was 
built by Sir William Bruce, a celebrated architect in the latter 


588 . Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


end of the 17th century (1685), for his own residence; but he 
did not live to see it completed. A more symmetrically arranged 
house and gardens there could not well be. ‘The approach to 
the house is a straight avenue on one uniform slope, very nearly 
a level, produced by cutting through hills and filling up hollows, 
in a manner most instructive to the landscape-gardener. The 
whole place has been unoccupied for nearly half a century; but 
the walls being substantial, it might be restored at a moderate 
expense, and be one of the finest things of the kind in Scotland. 
An excellent hint for the walls of kitchen- gardens might be 
taken from those of Kinross House, and the terraced platforms, 
though in ruins, are not less instructive. Even the walls of the 
sunk fences here are finished with massive stone copings, with 
mouldings, weatherings, and throatings, so substantial as to 
appear as sound as when they were first put up. In the woods 
there are some fine old sycamores, pines, beeches, and elms. 
There isa good inn at Kinross, and the trout caught in the lake 
are excellent. 

Aug. 7.— Kinross to Kincardine. After spending some time 
in examining the scenery of the Rumbling Bridge, well known 
for its romantic rocks and waterfalls, we enter 

Blair Hill; Haig, Ksq., a residence finely situated, 
and capable of immense improvement. Nothing can be finer 
than the situation of the north wall of the kitchen-garden, which, 
if it had been artistically built, with a broad border and terrace 
walk in front, would have been quite unique. This idea, indeed, 
is adopted, but not artistically carried out; and, though there are 
a wall and walk already existing 1300 ft. in extent, they are as 
different in style and execution from what they ought to be, as 
a mud hut is from a stone-built cottage. zbes sanguineum 
with very large, slightly acid, agreeable fruit, Nemophila ato- 
maria with double flowers, and an excellent variety of early 
potato, were pointed out to us by the gardener, Mr. Bar, who 
had every thing in excellent order. The farmyard is very 
complete; and there is a threshing-machine driven by an over- 
shot water-wheel 25 ft. in diameter; the water is brought across 
a hollow way by an inverted siphon. 

The Botanic Garden at Dollar belongs to the Dollar Insti- 
tution, which was founded by a native of the place, Mr. M‘Nab, 
who came to London without being able either to read or write, 
made a large fortune, and, having no child, left his property for 
the education, free of expense, of the natives of Dollar, and, 
under certain restrictions, of the children of the adjoining parishes. 
There is a large well arranged building for the classes, lectures, 
and library, and good houses and gardens for masters of the 
different departments of knowledge; but, strange to say, the 
managers have been quarrelling among themselves for several 
years past, so that the good that would have been done by the 


Tullyallan Castle. 589 


Institution has been greatly diminished. ‘The Botanic Garden 
contains also a horticultural collection, so that the inhabitants of 
this part of the country have an opportunity of seeing the best 
kinds of culinary vegetables and fruits, as well as a named col- 
lection of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Mr. Westwood, 
the curator of the garden, a most intelligent man, informed us 
that, to secure the means of supporting it properly, he was 
obliged to turn great part of it into a nursery. In consequeice 
of the facilities afforded by the Institution of procuring a good 
education at a moderate expense, many houses have been erected 
in the neighbourhood by persons of moderate fortunes, attracted 
by its educational advantages, and landed property has in con- 
sequence been greatly increased in value. 

The Villa of Dr. Walker, in the neighbourhood of Dollar, we 
found one of the best laid out and highest kept places in Scot- 
Jand ; ranking in these respects with Crosslee Cottage. The art 
of growing low alpine plants on cones and hemispheres of pebbles 
is here carried to the highest degree of perfection; and it is dif- 
ficult to imagine how much beauty and effect is thus produced 
by the saxifrages, sedums, thymes, the minor campanulas, and 
such like plants. Each cone or hemisphere is kept quite distinct, 
and they are displayed to most advantage when standing ona 
lawn or on a flooring of pebbles. They look well, however, on 
common borders. Ceanothus azureus stands the winter here 
without protection; and, though the place only contains two or 
three acres of pleasure-ground, yet, by not planting more than 
one or two plants of any one species or variety, the collection of 
trees and shrubs is so considerable, that it includes all the species 
procurable in the Edinburgh nurseries, and many procured from 
London. 

Tullyallan Castle, Count Flahault, is an extensive and 
splendid place, remarkable for a terraced garden on a large 
scale, with parapets, statues, vases, &c., in the Italian style. 
This garden was laid out, as we were informed, from the designs 
of Baroness Keith. Adjoining it there is some very interesting 
scenery arranged in the natural manner, and richly stocked with 
rhododendrons, and other American trees and ‘shrubs. Our 
time would only admit of our taking a hurried view of the place, 
but it has left the impression in our minds of being among the 
finest we saw during our tour. The house is a castellated build- 
ing, but the towers ; and chimney tops want elevation and relief; 
instead of being bold and free, they are too tame and lumpish. 

The inn at Kincardine is a very indifferent one; we pointed 
out various defects to the landlord and landlady which might 
very easily be remedied, and they promised that this should be 
done. 

Aug. 8.— Kincardine, by Culross and Valleyfield, to’ Stirling, 
We shall not attempt to describe the bold and varied scenery 


590 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


of the north bank of the Forth, rising high above the water, 
and presenting many warm slopes and sheltered prominences 
for houses and gardens; the ancient town of Culross, or the 
various curious old places about it: suffice it to say, that the 
greater part of the scenery that we passed through or saw, be- 
tween Dollar and Stirling, was of surpassing beauty. The 
agriculture was every where excellent, and some very handsome 
new farm buildings in the Elizabethan style, with noble columnar 
chimneys to the steam-engines, were being eretced between Kin- 
cardine and Culross. ‘The only drawback we recollect was in 
the long rows of comfortless-looking cottages, without gardens 
either before or behind, occupied by colliers. "The windows were 
in general of cast iron, and in most places fixed, so that there 
could be no efficient ventilation within. 

Valley field, Lady Preston, is, we believe, the only seat in 
Scotland where Mr. Repton was employed. He did not visit 
the country himself, but sent, as we have heard the late Mr. 
Nasmyth say, who was also employed there, his two sons. The 
kitchen-garden is on a sloping bank, and exhibited at one time 
a fine display of terraces, fruit trees, and ornamental borders ; 
but the whole is now comparatively neglected, and some of the 
terrace walls have actually fallen down. In the plantations are 
some black Italian poplars, planted in 1803, which have attained 
the height of 100 ft., with trunks 3 ft. in diameter; and there are 
very large balsam poplars, some of them 60 ft. high. The white 
poplar has also attained an incredible size; the soil being deep, 
rich, and moist, and the situation sheltered. 

Valley field Cottage Garden, of which an account will be found 
in our Volume for 1840, p.402., is chiefly remarkable as having 
been the scene of the experiments of Mr. George Drummond, 
made with a view of bringing French pears into an early state of 
bearing. ‘These experiments were originally published in the 
forticultural Transactions, but they are given at length in the 
volume of the Gardener’s Magazine just referred to. They 
deserve the attentive study of the scientific gardener, particularly 
those which relate to the influence of water on the temperature 
of soil. The result is, that all water to be applied to tte roots 
of plants ought to be exposed to the temperature of the atmo- 
sphere in which they grow, for a sufficient length of time to attain 
the same temperature. Hence the rule that every kitchen-garden 
ought to have a large shallow basin in a central situation, where 
the water being expanded in a thin stratum can be easily 
heated by the rays of the sun. .As the warmest layer will 
always be on the surface, the water ought not to be drawn up 
by means of a pump, which will raise it from the bottom and 
colder part, but the watering-pot should be dipped into it. IF 
the water, instead of being conducted to the basin by pipes or 
drains under ground, can be led to it in open gutters, or de- 


Culross Abbey. £91 


livered by a jet, so as to diffuse it through the air before it falls 
into the basin, it will acquire the temperature of the air more 
rapidly than by any other mode; and hence jets d’eaux, which 
are commonly considered as nothing more than ornaments, 
are in reality, in gardens at least, most useful agents of cul- 
ture. These remarks as to the temperature of water apply 
to flower-gardens, and to every description of plant structure, 
with this difference, that in these, where there are flues or 
hot-water pipes, the requisite temperature can be given in a 
shorter time. 

There is a large tank here for the preservation of sea fish, 
viz., flounders, soles, turbot, skate, sperlings, smelts, haddocks, 
whitings, salmon, herrings, &c., all found in the Forth. It is 
bordered with a bank, cased on both sides with stone, and 
finished with a parapet on the outer side, in which parapet there 
are stone boxes for receiving plants. A sluice admits the sea at 
high water, and, being shut when the tide begins to ebb, retains 
it. This tank was originally constructed by the late Lord Dun- 
donald for producing salt by the natural evaporation of the sea 
water, but the scheme did not succeed. The garden is not ex- 
tensive, and the cottage is small; but both must have been very 
ornamental and very interesting, when under the care of Mr. 
Drummond. 

Culross Abbey was the ancient seat of the Dundonald family, 
and the building, though in ruins, was held in much veneration 
by the country round, till it was almost entirely pulled down by 
the late Sir Robert Preston, who, however, made the amende by 
building the present abbey in an ancient style. The place is 
chiefly remarkable for a lime tree avenue, and a terrace walk 
bordered by a high wall of pear trees, and terminated by alcove 
seats. The lime trees are of great age; they stand 60 ft. apart 
in the row, and the avenue, or space between the rows, is 120 ft. 
The trees in each row are within a few feet of touching one 
another; but, as they do not touch, every individual tree shows 
its particular shape, all somewhat different, and yet in a general 
view all alike, so that this avenue is among the best open ave- 
nues which we have ever seen. All avenues in which the road is 
open to the sky ought, in our opinion, to have the rows of trees 
completely detached, even if there should be a few yards of day- 
light admitted between them. On the other hand, when the 
trees are allowed to touch and grow into one another, they ought 
also to grow over the road, and form a continuous arch, like the 
elm avenue at Christ Church, Oxford, or the lime tree avenues 
at Ampthill, and Woollaton Hall. An avenue, when the trees 
_ grow into one another without arching over the road, is lowered 
to the rank of a road between two lofty hedges. It is true, these 
hedges may be of flowering trees, like the avenue of horsechest- 
nuts at Hampton Court; but how much more grand and beauti- 


592 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


ful would that avenue have been, had the trees been gradually 
thinned out or cut in, so as to leave only one third part of what 
there are at present. Some persons may allege that thinning 
out the trees would disfigure the avenue fora time; but, by fix- 
ing on the trees that are finally to remain when the avenue is 
planted, the others could be cut in as they advanced in growth, 
in such a manner as to maintain the avenue character throughout 
its whole progress to maturity. 

The terrace to which we have referred crowns a bank some 
hundreds of feet high above the Forth. There are a number of 
lower terraces, slopes, and platforms, of great antiquity, some with 
stone steps, balustrades, and vases, and among them some very 
old fruit trees ; two large sweet chestnuts (5 ft. in diameter at 4 ft. 
from the ground) which ripen fruit every year, and from which 
large trees have been raised; five or six cedars, from 50 ft. to 
70 ft. high, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter ; two Eastern arbor-vitees, 
25 ft. high ; and many old yews. The parish church is close to 
the abbey, and might have been connected with it architecturally, 
so as to produce a good effect. 

Castle Hill, or Dunimarle, Mrs. Erskine, is a residence on 
the summit of the same high bank as that on which Culross 
Abbey stands. It is chiefly remarkable, in a garden point of view, 
for a new garden wall flued and built with towers and battlements; 
the lower parts of the towers serving as stokeholes for the furnaces, 
and the upper parts as chimneys to the flues. The appropriation 
is satisfactory. In front of this wall, and on the verge of a steep 
declivity to the sea-shore (?), 300 ft. below, there is a broad bor- 
der, and, next, a terrace walk between two rows of Irish yews. 
Near the house is a greenhouse, the front of which is formed by 
a wall made sufficiently high to conceal the gardener when at 
work among the plants. ‘This feeling on the part of the pro- 
prietor is not so singular as may at first be imagined: no one 
likes to come into a room while the housemaids are at work. In 
the grounds, a portion of the remains of M‘Duff’s castle is shown, 
and near it is a tower 60 ft. high, which commands a view of the 
Forth and the adjacent country, from Stirling Castle to North 
Berwick Law. ‘The steep bank is covered with fruit trees, among 
which are some pears known to have been planted a.p. 1600, 
and of which the particulars have been given in our Volume 
for 1841, p. 464. 

There are a chapel and burying-ground near Culross with 
many curious tombs, which we regret we had not time to see; 
and there are ancient architectural combinations in the town 
itself, well worth the attention of the architect as hints for com- 
position. The road to Alva passes Clackmannan Tower and the 
walls of the Earl of Mar’s park, and exhibits some fine views 

-and rich culture. 
Alva ; James Johnston, Esq. A long and rather steep road 


Airthrie Castle. 593 


brings us to this demesne, which skirts the base of the Gram- 
pians, and rises high up their sides, and is remarkable for its 
extensive woods, and the rich prospect of the vale of the Forth, 
from the house and from the drives and walks in the grounds. 
There is a large well arranged and very productive kitchen- 
garden, and throughout the woods there are numerous large 
Portugal and common laurels, yews, hollies, and deciduous 
cypress. Among the trees there are many wild cherries, the 
leaves of which in the autumn become as red as blood; and this 
is also frequently the case with the birch on this estate. At our 
request Mr. Duncanson, the gardener here, gave us the follow- 
ing dimensions: various larches, fifty years planted, girting 
from 13 ft. to 14 ft., with clean straight trunks; Scotch pines, 
with trunks 3 ft. in diameter, and 75 ft. in length to the first 
branch; cedars of Lebanon 4 ft. in diameter, with 22 ft. of a 
clear trunk, and wide-spreading conical heads; silver firs 
3 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and 100 ft. high, feathered with branches 
to the ground; oaks 5 ft. and 6 ft. in diameter, with erect trunks 
and majestic spreading heads; sweet chestnuts 5 ft. and 6 ft. in 
diameter, with clear trunks of 30 ft. and widely spreading heads ; 
a walnut 13 ft. in circumference, with 15 ft. of a clear trunk, 
and a wide-spreading open head, containing some very large 
boughs, a splendid tree, and considered by Mr. Monteath, the 
author of the Forester’s Guide, to be the largest in the country; 
humerous specimens of hemlock spruce 30 ft. high; and a 
number of pinasters, and some stone pines. 

August 8.—Stirling to Airthrie Castle, Deanston, and Blair- 
Drummond. ‘The weather was unfavourable, but, notwithstand- 
ing, we were delighted with the day’s excursion, which displayed 
to us a great variety of scenery, wood, water, rocks, hills, moun- 
tains, cottages, mansions, and manufactories. 

Airthrie Castle, Lord Abercrombie, is a noble place, from 
its woods backed by the Grampians, the beautiful varied park, 
with a large artificial lake, the house judiciously placed, and the 
kitchen-garden perfect, as regards culture and neatness, and the 
abundance and fine quality of the fruit. We regret we are 
unable to give the dimensions of some of the fine old trees, 
particularly the beeches, ashes, oaks, and sycamores, skirting 
the base of the hill which forms the north boundary of the park. 
What we were most struck with was the excellence of every 
thing pertaining to the kitchen-garden, even to the gardener’s 
house, which was not only well situated with reference to the 
kitchen-garden, and placed in an airy healthy situation, but had 
a proper water-closet within the house, a circumstance of rare 
occurrence in Scotland, even in the houses of the wealthy 
farmers. In most kitchen-gardens that we visited in Scotland 
this year, we found very little fruit on the walls, but here, there 

3d Ser.—1842. XIT. QQ 


594 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


was a good crop, and the grapes which we saw in the graperies 
obtained afterwards the first prize at the Caledonian horticul- 
tural show in September. ‘The floors of the vineries are covered 
with large pebbles, we suppose, to reflect heat and retain mois- 
ture, and the plants are frequently watered with liquid manure; 
but on this subject the gardener, Mr. Cathie, has promised us an 
article. The only deficiency which we saw about the place was, 
a want of gravel in the walks of the pleasure-grounds, in conse- 
quence of which their edges were too deep and raw. Adjoining 
the kitchen-garden are the remains of the old church of Loggie, 
which, with its bell turret, forms a very picturesque and venerable 
object from various parts of the grounds. Much might be said 
on this ruin, the burying-ground which surrounds it, and Ellen 
Smith, the last of her race, who lives in a cottage near it; but 
to do the subject justice would require more time and room 
than we can at present spare, and we therefore refer to Cham- 
bers’s Journal for 1841, and to the Ladies’ Magazine of Gar- 
dening, vol. i. p. 323. 

Deanston; Smith, Esq. This gentleman not being in 
the country was to us a great disappointment. We saw through 
the works, which are executed in the most substantial manner, 
and liberally couducted with a view te the good of all con- 
cerned. Even the workmen are spared the degradation of 
paying the rent of their cottages weekly, which is the case in 
other parts of Scotland, and in various parts of England. 
There is a room containing 300 looms; it is 45 yards broad, 
68 yards long, lighted by 24 skylights. The looms and all the 
other works are driven by an overshot water-wheel 36 ft. in 
diameter, and equal to a power of 360 horses. ‘The flat roof of 
the rcom is covered with grass, and either was, or is intended 
to be, grazed by sheep. 

Keir; Stirling, Esq. An extensive place, well wooded, 
and commanding fine views. We were prevented from seeing 
it so effectually as we could have wished from the continued 
rain. ‘The evergreens were remarkably luxuriant; and, indeed, 
the whole place appears rather overgrown by them. Mr. Niven, 
the gardener, occupies a very good house. 

Blair-Drummond ; Drummond, Esq. This place has 
long been celebrated, as having been laid out by Lord Kames, 
and also for His Lordship’s improvements in the Flanders Moss. 
We thought it a most delightful place when we first saw it, in 
1800, and so we do still; but it is rather overgrown with wood, 
and cannot be a healthy place to live at. There is, or appeared 
to us to be, a far greater extent of pleasure-ground and garden 
scenery kept up than can be done justice to. ‘There are a great 
many fine trees, and especially oaks, beeches, and Scotch pines, 
the dimensions of which, with their ages, the soil in which they 
grow, and other particulars, are given by the very intelligent — 


Blair- Drummond. — 595 


gardener, Mr. James Drummond, in our Volume for 1841, 
p- 505. Great attention has been paid to preserve these trees 
from injury, and to allow them to take their natural shapes. 
Hence no animal has ever been allowed to graze in the park, 
except sheep; and hence all the trees may be said to be 
feathered to the ground with branches. ‘There are some very 
remarkable spruce firs, Nos. 33. to 37. in the table in p. 507., 
the branches of which rest on the ground, and cover a space 
between 40 ft. and 50 ft. in diameter. Many of the lower 
branches have struck root at their extremities, and are sending 
up a circle of regular trees round their parent; a circumstance 
not uncommon with the black spruce, and only seen in the 
common spruce when it is in rich moist soil and of considerable 
age. One spruce fir at Blair-Drummond has six young trees 
round it, four of which are about as high as the parent in the 
centre. Some of the larches are above 100 ft. high, and there 
is a white poplar 106 ft. high. One larch, which was cut down, 
contained above 100 cubic feet of sound timber; another, which 
girted 9ft. 2in., had thirty-six circles of solid red wood; it 
grew on a red clay loam, on red sandstone. The highest 
larches now standing are between 103 ft. and 105 ft. From 
previous measurements, the larches at Blair-Drummond do not 
seem to have gained above 4 or 5 inches in circumference in the 
ten years preceding 1836, while some of the beeches and oaks 
have added above 1 ft. to their circumference in the same period. 
By comparing the measurement of the trees made in 1836, as 
given in our preceding Volume, pp. 506. and 507., with the 
measurement of the same trees made in August, 1841, as given 
in p. 508., the progress they have made since 1836 may be 
ascertained with accuracy. 

In the park there is an artificial lake 1000 yards in length, 
and varying from 20 to 30 and 40 yards in breadth. At one 
end it contains a beautifully wooded island, on which there are a 
heronry and numerous jackdaws. On the water are swans, 
wild ducks, and other aquatic fowls. 

The walks in the grove behind the house command fine views 
of the western extremity of the Ochil Hills, Abbey Craig, Stir- 
ling Castle, Craigforth, ‘Touch, and Campsie Hills, the village 
of Cambusbarn, and several gentlemen’s seats. From the two 
approaches, to the north and west are views of Ben-Lomond 
and some of the Grampian Mountains, such as Ben-Ledie, Ben- 
Virlich, with several others, and the fine old ruins of Doune 
Castle. The Fianders Moss being now all brought under cul- 
tivation, the Persian wheel which raised the water for floating 
away the moss has been suffered to fall into decay, and is no 
longer, as it used to be, one of the sights eagerly visited by 
strangers. 

eaQ 2 


596 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


The labour of keeping the pleasure-ground here, as in all 
old places, might be considerably diminished by leaving off the 
digging, hoeing, and raking of the borders, and giving up the 
idea of growing herbaceous plants, roses, and such like articles 
in them. There is a kind of keeping appropriate to every place, 
according to its age. A newly formed place may have the shrub- 
beries dug for a few years, till the permanent shrubs are firmly 
established ; when herbaceous plants, roses, and such temporary 
shrubs as some of the short-lived species of Genista, Cytisus, 
Ribes, Ribus, &c., should be removed, and the ground sown 
down with grass, turfed up to the points of the recumbent 
branches, or allowed to become covered with moss, according to 
soil, situation, and other circumstances. After a place attains a 
certain age, such as Blair-Drummond, all the deciduous shrubs 
that are under the shade of trees should be removed, for assuredly 
there is no deciduous shrub that will thrive under trees, and 
only broad-leaved (as opposed to needle-leaved) evergreens re- 
tained, as they alone thrive in the shade. When evergreens 
among old trees are allowed abundance of room, they form 
splendid objects; the colour of the foliage becomes much darker 
than when the plants are fully exposed to the light; and it also 
shines more. In winter, nothing can be more delightful than to 
walk in such a wood, where, owing to the radiation being checked 
by the trees, the temperature is much milder than in an open 
shrubbery. There might be many fine walks of this kind at 
Blair- Drummond, if these hints were followed out. 

Aug. 10. — Stirling. We devoted this day to seeing the 
Castle, Messrs. Drummond’s Agricultural Museum, the King’s 
Knot, supposed to be the gardens of James II., the Bowling 
Green, and some other places. There are many curious archi- 
tectural remains in the castle, which, owing to some misunder- 
standing between the governor and the keeper, we had great 
difficulty in seeing. There never appears to have been any 
good taste in the architecture; for the proportions of the mem- 
bers are clumsy, and the sculpture and statuary incorrect and 
unpoetical imitations. The view of the Forth from the castle is 
reckoned one of the finest things of the kind in the world ; but at 
the time we saw it it was low water, and we could not detect the 
windings of the river. 

Messrs. Drummond’s Agricultural Museum is the first con- 
cern of the kind that was established in Scotland, and it is im- 
possible too highly to estimate the good which it has done, not 
only in the immediate neighbourhood, but throughout Scotland; 
we might even say throughout the world, for Messrs. Drum- 
mond not only send agricultural implements to England and 
Ireland, but to the East and West Indies, and to North and 
South America. To England and Ireland they not only send 


Messrs. Drummond’s Agricultural Museum. 597 


implements, but horses of an improved breed, and expert plough- 
men to manage them. 

The building which contains the museum is new, large, and 
appropriately arranged, both for exhibiting the articles and car- 
rying on the nursery and seed business, as well as the sale of 
implements. We cannot pretend to describe the building, or 
enumerate the articles. Specimens appear to have been sent 
from all quarters, both at home and abroad, including dried 
plants, seeds, soil, manures, minerals, and geological collections. 
Among the latter is a section of the strata passed through in 
sinking a shaft to a coal mine; the whole being executed to a 
scale, and every stratum filled in with specimens of actual mine- 
rals. ‘This is effected by means of a shallow box, 6 or 8 feet in 
length, and 6 in. in breadth, and about 2 in. deep. The minerals 
are filled in, each stratum being separated by a thin slip of 
board, and, when completed, the box is set on end. The speci- 
mens of different varieties of wheat, oats, and barley are nume- 
rous and extremely interesting, as are boxes of different soils. 
We were much surprised at the number of implements, and we 
marked a few in Messrs. Drummond’s printed catalogue, of which 
they have kindly sent us the following sketches and details. 


“ Articles noted by Mr. Loudon in the Agricultural Museum of Messrs. Drum- 
mond at Stirling. 

Gooseberry Sucker Extirpator. (fig. 59.) A handle of the length 
and shape of a spade handle is 
inserted into the hose, and the im- 
plement is found exceedingly use- 
fal in wrenching off suckers from Fig. 59. Sucker Extirpator. 

ooseberries or other shrubs. 

Dibble for Mangold Wurzel. (fig. 60.) First used at Deanston. 
Mr. Smith caused them to be 
made with the shoulder, to ROMA HrcA 
prevent his people from put- ‘~~ > 
ting the seed too deep. ‘The 
person using it walks in the Fig. 60. Débber for Mangold Wurxel. 
middle peimixt two drills with one in each hand; Be One fol- 
lows putting in the : 
seed. 

Loudon’s Ham- 
mer and Hatchet 
(fig. 61.), used for 
pruning, and also 
for driving or draw- 
ing nails, in the | 
case of wall trees. Fig. 61. Loudon’s Hammer and Hatchet. 

Qaas3 


598 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


A Magpie Trap, for screwing on the top of a pole. 

Rabbit Traps, made by Greig at Crail. Great numbers of 
these are sold by us; the maker has established his character for 
excellence of workmanship; they are made of various sizes for 
all sorts of vermin. 

American Hatchet. (fig. 62.) This hatchet was sent to us from 
Canada as the one used in felling timber. The workmen do 


Fig. 62. American Hatchet.’ 
great execution with it. The blade is thicker near the edge than 
ours, and more like a wedge, so that it clears itself at every 
stroke, and never sticks in the wood. The shape of the handle is 
a very great improvement. 

Bull Ring. (fig. 63.) This is 
made to press the cartilage of 
the nose, and effectually com- 
mands the most refractory ani- 
mal. The screw (a) is tightened 
more or less as required, and 
a small halter (6) is used for 
leading the animal. Fleshers Fig. 63. Bull-ring. 
[butchers] should be compelled to use these rings in taking bulls 
to the slaughter in towns. 

Rain Gauge : made of zinc, and very cheap and simple; 
and adapted to be sunk to the rim, or nearly so, in any open 
space in a garden. 

Zinc Labels. Some are plain with tubular stems; others with 
sunk panels and tubular stems. Price 1s. 6d. per dozen; con- 
sidered very cheap, and durable as well as neat. 

Vases for Plants. ‘These are of an elegant shape, manufac- 
tured by Mr. Bald, at the Brick and Tile Works, Alloa. 

Valve Mole Trap. (jig. 64.) The mole, entering at a 6, is 
prevented from , il 
HE vUEMING se Che ees ale 
valve (c) being 
made of such 
a length, and 
placed in such 
a position, as to Fig. 64. Vie Mole Trap. 
admit of its opening inwards only, and, from the narrowing of 
the hole, the animal cannot turn itself. c, the valve on a larger 


Messrs. Drummond’s Agricultural Museum. 599 


scale; e d, a pin on which it moves: this pin is fixed into the 
tube at f g. 

Seed-lifter. (fig. 66.) Made of tin for seed-lofts or granaries ; 
very useful and light; a sort of spade handle is attached. 


Balt 4 
coe ; "| 
Z 


A 


_ Fig. 65. Tin Flask for gathering soft Fruit. \ 


Tin Flash. (fig. 65.) Attached by See ee ae 
straps to the person, and convenient and safe for gathering soft 
fruit, as cherries, &c. 

Square Pans for growing Seeds or striking Cuttings. 

Hand Turnip-Sower. (fig. 67.) 
Tt may be used either for sowing 
continuously along the drill, or, 
by a single shake, depositing a 
few seeds on the dibbled portions 
of manure. 


Fis. 67. Hand Turnip-sower. 


Implement used in washing Clothes. 
(fig.68.) This is a simple board 
fluted or grooved, and it is found  Fig.6s. Washing Implement. 

-more efficient, as well as safer for the 
clothes, than hand-rubbing. The soap is held in the sunk panel 
a. The lower or opposite end rests on the tub. Said to be 
much used in North America. 
Instrument for scraping off Moss, §c., from Fruit or Forest 
Trees. (fig. 69.) ais a flat piece of iron, the concave side (d) 
QQ 4 


600 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


Fig. 69. Moss-Scraper. 


being applied to the stems or trunks; c ¢ are the wooden 
handles; d is used for cutting off small spray; and e for scrap-— 
ing the clefts and small branches. 

Stirrup Iron, with Lantern and Lamp attached. 

Peat Flower-pot, made of compressed Peat. From Mr. Murray, 
gardener at Taymouth Castle, who finds the plants thrive remark- 
ably well in these. 

Telescope Branch for a Garden Syringe. Used for reaching 
to the higher shelving in greenhouses. 

Peas Stob [Stake] of Cast Iron. (fig. 70.) Used for placing 
at intervals along the __, ONE. 
rows, the peas being aI 
supported by running tL, 
tarred twine, or small ‘| 
rods, from one stake 
to another. 

Paling Hammer Iron. 

Galvanic Plant-Pro- 
BOO (Gis a) lin 
the shape of a flower- 
pot without a bottom, Big (Vor, Galeqite iia rac 
and made of zinc, with : 

a border of copper 
placed at b b. Fig. 70. Cast-tron Fig. 72. Section of the 

Section of Plean Coal Peas Stake. Coal Field at West Plean. 
Field. ( fig. 72.) Constructed with specimens of the strata ac- 
cording to a scale, as before noticed (p. 597.). This model is 
much admired. It is the invention and execution of Mr. Peter 
Mackenzie, gardener at West Plean, near Stirling. 

Models of the different Kinds of Drains. - 

Specimen of Sherriff’s White-seeded Tare. ‘This variety grows 
luxuriantly, and promises well. A plant from Rochester Seed 
Store, United States, under the name of grass pea, yields abun- 
dance of foliage. 

A Stalk, 12 ft. in length, of the Melilotus leucantha, or Bok- 
hara Clover ; also various cut Specimens, from Seed sown in May 
last, 1842. The stem of this plant acquires a degree of hard- 
ness at even an early stage of its growth, which may prove an 
objection to its further cultivation. 

Model of a self-acting Canal Lock, by Mr. Smith of Deans- 
ton. 


M 


Messrs. Drummond’s Agricultural Museum. 601 


Web Harrow. Used for covering grass seeds. This imple- 
ment is newly invented by Mr. Smith; it produces the effect of 
the bush harrow in a perfect manner. 

Gate Latch. (fig. 73.) a 6 is a bolt for screwing into the 
gate post, and c d e a bolt for screwing into the gate. In 
shutting, the cylindrical iron or bolt e strikes against the part f 
of the latch f g h, which, being jointed at z, is moved through 


coun 


ae, 
oN 


Fig. 73. Gate Latch. 


an opening in the plate into the position of the dotted lines &, J, 
until, on the bolt passing, it resumes its place by its own weight ; 
and, the part ” of the latch mn o opposing further progress, 
the bolt remains fixed; and vice versé in shutting from the other 
side. In opening, the proper latch can easily be raised by the 
hand or a whip-handle, &c. ‘This kind of latch is found very 
convenient for common field gates, and does not soon get out of 
order. 

Casts from the Sculptures and other Ornaments on the Walls 
of Stirling Castle. 

Models of Cottages and Moss-Houses. 

Suspension Beams used in the construction of the staircase, 
&e. 

Roadmaker’s and Drainer’s Sector and Plumb Rule. ( fig. '74.) 
This instrument consists simply of a piece of board, 12 in. 
thick, the upper end pierced for the sight in the direction of the 
dotted line a 6; the hole fitted for the eye at a, the cross wire 
being at 4. A saw draught is passed from c to d, from which 
the plummet (e) is suspended. f g, an arc of a circle described 
about the centre d, and divided into ten degrees, commencing 
from the perpendicular indicated by the plumb line, each degree 
having subdivisions of ten minutes; 4, a hole cut through the 
board to allow free motion to the plummet; 2, /, two legs, 
which are stretched out in setting the instrument, the narrowed 


602 Recollections of a Gardening Tour. 


end or foot of the board being stuck into - 
the ground. The inclination, whether as- -;—-7. ee eee ; 
cent or descent, of the surface surveyed is 

marked along the line of each degree, and 

the whole, with the subdivisions, is given in 

a table pasted on the board, and sold along 

with it. The mode of using this instrument 

is as follows. Set the instrument as upright 
and steady as possible, by striking its foot 
fast in the ground, with its head longitu- 
dinally in the direction in which you intend 
taking the inclination. Let a person mark | 
the height of the instrument upon a staff, 
and take his station within reach of the eye, 
where you wish to know the difference of 
level; and exhibit the mark on the staff to 
the person at the instrument. The head 
of the instrument must then be inclined to 
the mark, by the eye looking along or 
through its sight ; and when the wire crosses 
the mark, observe upon what line the plum- 
met has settled, and you will find the in- 
clination marked in degrees and minutes, 
which are given in feet, from 10 minutes, 
which is a rise of 1 in 343°8, to 10 de- 
grees, which is a rise of | in 5°5, the scale 
being in 10-minute divisions. This instru- 
ment is a combination of all the instru- 
ments used for plumbing, levelling, and 
giving inclinations ; is simple in its construc- 
tion, easily adjusted, and can be used by 
any person; entirely superseding the use  Fig.74. Roadmater’s 
of costly instruments and long calculations. Cr OE 
Invented by Mr. Archer, Road-Contractor, Auchterarder.” 


The Bowling Green at Stirling adjoins a curious old garden, 
with numerous evergreens cut into curious shapes, the most 
complete of which is an arm-chair in box. The green for play- 
ing on is an oval 35 yards by 29, and the house for keeping the 
balls is 7 ft. square, surrounded by divisions for two balls each, 
marked 1 to 54. Round the grass plot there is first a sunk path 
18 in. wide, to receive the balls when they go beyond the grass ; 
next a rising slope of grass 2 ft. in height, forming an angle of 
45°, and, lastly, a border of shrubbery 5 ft. wide. 

The. most remarkable garden antiquity about Stirling, or 
indeed in Scotland, is a piece of ground which, at some former 
period, has been laid out in terraces and slopes, and probably 
surrounded by a canal. ‘The surface is naturally quite flat, the 


Stirling Castle. 603 


soil a sandy loam, moist rather than dry, so that the artificial 
disposition of it must have been effected at a trifling expense. 
The extent of the whole has probably been 3 or 4 acres. A 
plan and section of the most interesting part of this garden have 
been kindly taken for us by Messrs. Drummond (fg. 75.), who 
also furnished the following extracts : — 

Notices of the King’s Knot at Stirling Castle.— In the gardens 
is a mound of earth in form of a table, called the Knot, with 
benches of earth around, where, according to tradition, the 
court sometimes had fétes champétres. Vestiges of the walks and 
parterres, with a few stumps of trees, are still visible. 

‘* Barbour, in his account of the battle of Bannockburn, makes 
mention of a round table, which was then at the foot of the 
castle. He says that, when Edward of England was told by 
Mowbray, the governor, that he could not expect safety by being 
admitted into the castle, ‘he took the way beneath the castle by 
the round table.’ It is of great antiquity, and was possibly in 
that place long before the gardens were formed. Here probably 
they exercised the pastime called The Knights of the Round 
Table, of which several of the Scottish monarchs, particularly 
James IV., are said to have been fond. Mr. Gough remarks 
that a similar table had, not long before he wrote, existed at 
Windsor. (dition of Cambden, 1789.) Among the gardens are 
vestiges of a canal, on which the royal family and court aired in 
barges.” (Nimmo’s History of Stirlingshire.) 

“© The King’s Gardens. —'Vheir present condition is that of a 
marshy piece of pasture ground completely desolated, so far as 
shrubs and flowers are concerned. ‘The utmost exertion of the 
memory of the present generation can only recollect an old 
cherry tree which stood at the corner of one of the parterres, 
and which was burnt down by the wadding of a shot which 
some thoughtless sportsman fired into its decayed trunk, as he 
happened to pass it on his way home from the fields. An octa- 
gonal mount in the centre of the supposed garden is called ‘ The 
King’s Knote,’ and is said by tradition to have been the scene of 
some forgotten play or recreation, which the king used to enjoy 
on that spot with his court. In an earlier age this strange object 
seems to have been called ‘‘The Round Table,’ and, in all pro- 
bability, it was the scene of the out-of-doors game of that name, 
founded upon the history of King Arthur, and of which the 
courtly personages of former times are known to have been fond. 
Barbour, in his heroic poem of The Bruce which he wrote at 
the conclusion of the fourteenth century, thus alludes to it:— 

‘ And besouth the Castill went they thone, 
Rycht by the Round Table away ; 


And syne the Park enwiround thai, 
And towart Lythkow held in by.’ 


604 fiecollections of a Gardening Tour. 


‘¢ Lyndsay, in his Complaynt of the Passings, written in 1530, 
thus also alludes to it : — 
‘ Adieu fair Snawdoun with thy towris hie, 
Thy Chapill Royal, Park, and Tabill round ; 
May, June, and July would I dwell in thee, 
Were I ane man to hear the birdis sound 
Whilk doth against thy royal rocke resound.’ 


‘*'To give further countenance to this supposition, we have the 
ascertained fact that James IV., with whom Stirling was a 
favourite and frequent residence, was excessively fond of the 
game of the Round Table, which probably appealed in a pecu- 
liar manner to his courtly and chivalric imagination. 

‘‘ It is a circumstance not to be omitted, that a piece of ground 
to the west, not so distinctly marked as this, but within the limits 
of the gardens, is called the Queen’s Knote.” (Picture of Stirling 
1830; the descriptive part by Robert Chambers.) 

‘‘ Besides the above, there are no other traditionary notices 
that can be obtained. ‘There can be little doubt but that a round 
table did exist here prior to the formation of the gardens, or the 
reign of the Jameses ; whether it may have been altered or re- 
novated by any of these monarchs it is now impossible to 
determine. 

‘* The circle called the Queen’s Knote has been by some con- 
sidered a miniature of the other; but, on a minute examination, 
it indicates nothing at present but a plain surface with a few old 
mole hills, of which it has a proportion along with the other 
parts of the field, and of which various figures might easily be 
constructed by a fertile fancy.” — William Drummond and Sons. 
Stirling, Oct. 1842. 

The plan and sections (fig. 75.) require very little explanation. 
There is a cross section, a B; a diagonal section, E F, and a 
longitudinal section, c p; all to the same scale. ‘The road to 
Stirling is shown at /, and the old canal at g. The surface is 
in grass, and grazed by sheep and cattle. As this and great 
part of the adjoining lands are the property of the crown, we 
hope the “ Knote” will be carefully preserved as a piece of 
antiquity. 

An Arboretum at Stirling. — We were agreeably surprised by 
Messrs. Drummond informing us that the Commission of Woods 
and Forests had it in contemplation to devote a portion of the 
crown lands surrounding the town to a public garden, and to 
plant in it a collection of trees and shrubs. ‘The idea is excellent, 
and worthy of the present enlightened times. ‘The Messrs. 
M‘Nab of Edinburgh have examined the ground and reported 
on the subject, and we hope as little time as ; possible will be lost 
in carrying the scheme into execution. The trees and shrubs, 
we trust, will not be crowded, drawn up, and impoverished by 


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606 Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 


nurses (planted too near at first, and neglected to be thinned 
afterwards), as is too generally the case in Scotland; and we 
trust all the specimens will be named, as is now being done by 
the Woods and Forests, at our suggestion, in St. James’s Park 
and Kensington Gardens. 


(To be continued.) 


Art. II. Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and its Gardeners. By PETER 
MACKENZIE. 


(Continued from p. 499.) 


Sanpy MacA.rineE now began to make preparations for his che- 
mical experiments. He had procured an old gun-barrel from a 
blacksmith, about a yard of tin pipe, such as is used by those 
who provide gas furnishings: he had provided himself also with 
a box that would hold two or three gallons of water, to serve as 
a pneumatic trough; a few ounces of the black oxide of manga- 
nese: and he had likewise coilected the largest bell-glasses from 
the hothouse, to be used as receivers. Sandy had learned some 
time before that a dancing was to take place in the neighbour- 
hood of the garden, and that Bauldy had got an invitation to it; 
and he and the other two thought that if they could prevent him 
from attending it they would be doing him a good service ; so it 
was resolved, if possible, to have their meeting that night in the 
bothy. A day or two before the time came, they told Bauldy 
what they intended to do. He appeared much disappointed 
at their arrangements, and said little. When the day came, 
there were signs which made them believe that Bauldy would 
not be one of their company at night. ‘The arrival of his linen 
shirt, white trowsers, and stockings, from the washing, showed 
plainly that he had something else in view than stopping at 
home that night; however, the others were determined to go on 
with what they had proposed. 

When the hour came which terminated the labours of the 
day, Bauldy made all haste to get home, and, scarcely taking 
time to eat any thing, began washing and dressing himself. 
After he was done, he found that he had still some time before 
his party would meet, so he thought he might as well remain in 
the bothy as anywhere else. ‘The others were not idle during 
this space; they were busy assisting Sandy in arranging his che- 
mical apparatus, Bauldy in the mean time looking on, a silent 
spectator. He knew what fiddling, and dancing, and singing 
were, but he could not comprehend what Sandy MacAlpine was 
about to do with an old gun-barrel, water in a box, and bell- 
glasses. His wonder increased when he saw him put some 


Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 607 


black stuff into the barrel, then thrust the end of it into the 
fire, and put a cork with a hole in it into the mouth of the 
barrel, and into the hole in the cork a tin pipe, the other end of 
the pipe being placed under water in the box. During these 
operations he was forced to rise and draw nearer the fire, and 
watched, with intense interest, the whole of the proceedings. 

When the barrel began to get heated, a bubbling commenced 
in the water. When Bauldy saw it he exclaimed, ‘“ Fair fa’ ye, 
Sandy lad, ye are making cauld water boil!” ‘ Have patience 
a little,” replied Sandy, ‘and you will see something more to 
wonder at.” 

When he thought that the common air was expelled from the 
tubes, he filled one of the glasses with water, and placed it 
upon a small shelf which he had fixed in the box under water. 
There was a hole in the shelf, and in this hole he put the end of 
the tin tube, and the gas rose through it. He placed the glass 
full of water over it, and the gas ascended rapidly into the 
receiver, and soon displaced the water; as soon as it was filled 
he removed it, and, turning it upside down, put a piece of 
window-glass over the mouth of it. In this manner he filled all 
his glasses. Some may be wondering how he managed to get 
the bell-glasses to remain steady after they were filled with gas, 
with their mouths upwards, but it was very simply done; he 
filled a number of flower-pots with sand, and inserted the 
handle of the glass into the sand, with the shoulder resting 
upon the rim of the flower-pot. 

When Sandy had got all his glasses filled, he told the other 
lads that he would now begin and make an explanation of what 
he had been doing, and also that he had still some very interest- 
ing experiments to make, and hoped that Bauldy would give 
up all thoughts of going to the dancing for one night, for he 
thought that he would receive more profitable instruction by 
remaining where he was. ‘ They may wallop laverock height 
for me,” replied Bauldy; “ I am determined to see the end 0” 
this wark ; for I hae paid gude siller for sights and seen less.” 
The men were glad they had succeeded in turning his attention 
to the object they had in view. 

Sandy then commenced his discourse, by telling them that he 
intended only to state a few things about a substance of which it 
was of great importance to know something, namely, oxygen. 
He told them how this simple substance was discovered by 
Dr. Priestley in 1774; that it had received several names since 
it was found out, such as vital air, empyreal air, &c., and that 
the French school had given it its present name. He told them 
that it was one of the most important agents in nature, and that 
few operations occurred in which it had not a place. The air of the 
atmosphere contains one fifth of its bulk of it, and water 75 parts 


608 Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 


in every 100. It was a supporter of both life and fire ; animals 
could not live in air deprived of it, and flame is soon extinguished 
when there is no oxygen to support it: also, all combustible 
bodies burn in oxygen with increased brilliancy ; this may be 
easily shown. So, taking a piece of charcoal attached to wire, 
and making it redhot in the fire, he lifted the cover from one of 
the glasses and put the burning charcoal into it; the charcoal 
burned with great splendour, throwing out beautiful sparks in 
all directions. He also showed them how iron would burn in 
oxygen gas. He took a piece of fine iron wire, coiled it up 
in a spiral form, fastened a little cotton to one end of it, and 
dipped it in melted sulphur; the other end of the wire he 
fixed to a bit of wood, in such a manner as to allow the spiral to 
hang straight down. He lighted the sulphur, and introduced the 
wire into the vessel containing the gas, suspending it by the wood, 
which he placed on its mouth; when the iron began imme- 
diately to burn with a most brilliant light, throwing out meteor- 
like coruscations of lighted sparks. He also showed them, in a 
small way, the beautiful experiment of burning a little bit of 
phosphorus in oxygen, producing a light so excessively dazzling 
that it was almost impossible to look at it. He also showed 
them how a candle just put out, and retaining part of the wick 
redhot, should relight again, with a small explosion, by being 
put in oxygen gas. He had stated already that a fifth part 
of the bulk of the air of the atmosphere is oxygen, and he 
should endeavour to demonstrate, in a rough way, that it 
is so. He had borrowed the dairy-maid’s lactometer, a glass 
tube about 12 in. long and half an inch in diameter, di- 
vided into 100 equal parts, and closed at one end. Taking 
a bit of phosphorus, and placing it upon a small hollow cup 
of copper, on the shelf of the pneumatic trough, a little raised 
above the surface of the water, he inflamed the phosphorus, and 
then placed the open end of the graduated tube, filled with atmo- 
spheric air, over it. When the combustion ceases, the water will 
rise in the tube, and occupy the place of the oxygen gas con- 
sumed, and the division to which it has reached will show the 
number of parts of oxygen in the 100 of atmospheric air. ‘This may 
not be the most accurate method of measuring the proportion of 
oxygen gas in the atmosphere, for the heat of the phosphorus 
will cause the air in the tube to expand, and part of it may 
escape; but it affords a pretty correct idea of it. He also 
showed them the method of transferring a gas from one vessel 
to another, and how to mix them in particular proportions ; how 
to catch them, confine them, and experiment with them ; how to 
divide and measure them, with as much ease as a merchant could 
measure a yard of cloth, or Nelly Walker measure the milk for 
their breakfast. 


Dinbur Castle, its Gardens and Gardeners. 609 


After Sandy had finished the few remarks he had intended 
to. make, he told them, if any of them had a question to ask 
respecting the subject they had been hearing, he would en- 
deavour to answer it. 

Walter Glenesk said that he had learned more about 
oxygen during the short time they had been together than 
ever he did before in his life; but, if he recollected right, he 
had read somewhere about plants giving it out, and if he could 
give him any information about it he would take it kindly. 
“Yes,” said Sandy, “they give it out and take it in too. We 
are informed, by chemists and vegetable physiologists, that the 
dark substance that remains after manure is rotten, and which 
gives the black colouring to the earth, is called humus; the 
oxygen of the atmosphere combining with humus, food is pre- 
pared for plants, carbonic acid is formed, water absorbs it, it is 
again decomposed by the plant, the carbon is fixed, and oxygen 
given off.” 

“Then it must be of great service,” said Colin Forbes, 
*‘ to vegetables, to keep the earth in such a state that the 
oxygen of the atmosphere may have free access to their 
roots.” —‘* Yes,” replied Sandy, “ it is of great importance to 
keep them in such a state that they may freely come in con- 
tact with the air that surrounds them; and frequent hoeing, 
properly done, is of greater use to vegetables than many persons 
are aware of: by stirring the earth often, oxygen combines 
with the carbon of the soil, and food is provided for vegetation, 
It may not be the only way in which plants are nourished, which 
we may have an opportunity of showing some other time.” 

*¢ Donald Blamart,” said Bauldy, ‘ used to say that the only 
use of hoeing was to kill weeds, and I have often wondered, 
since I came here, why I was set to hoe crops and no a weed 
amang them; but I think I understand the reason noo. But 
I would like to ken whar a’ that gas came frae that filled sae 
mony bell-glasses.”— “ Oxygen,” said Sandy, ‘‘ has a powerful 
attraction for a great number of simple substances, and the act 
of combining with it is called oxidation, and the compounds 
formed in this manner are divided into acids and oxides. For 
instance, when 1 part of carbon and 2 parts of oxygen combine, 
carbonic acid is formed; again, when oxygen and hydrogen 
combine in certain proportions, water is formed ; and, in 
chemical language, water is called protoxide of hydrogen. The 
affinity of iron for oxygen is also very great. When iron is 
heated to redness in the open air, it absorbs oxygen rapidly, 
and is turned into black scales, called the black oxide of iron, 
better known in some places by the name of “ smiddy aise.” 
There is also a metal called manganese, which combines readily 
with oxygen; this combination is commonly called the black 

3d Ser. — 1842. XII. BR 


610 Notice of some Gardens and Country Seats 


oxide of manganese, and is much employed as a scourer of 
oxygen (that was the substance which I put into the gun-barrel) ; 
and on exposure to red heat it gives out oxygen: so you will 
readily perceive that it may be found in a gaseous state, also i ina 
liquid state, as well as in a solid form.” 

The young men said that the lessons they had received would 
not soon be forgotten, and hoped he would not be long in giving 
them more instructions in chemistry. Sandy replied that he 
would do so, for there were still many things worth knowing, 
and of importance for gardeners to know, connected with gaseous 
chemistry ; such as hydrogen, carbonic acid gas, nitrogen, &c., 
and the important parts they performed in the economy of 


nature. 
West Plean, Oct. 13. 1842. 


Art. III. Notice of some Gardens and Country Seats in Sussex, 
visited in October, 1842. By the ConpuctTor. 


OcT. 14.— London to Wadhurst Castle. The scenery, as observed 
from the railroad to Tunbridge, is pleasing, from the fresh green 
of the pastures, and the rich yellows of the oak woods on each 
side; but, as there are but few deep cuttings or high embank- 
ments, nothing occurs that makes a very strong impression on a 
railroad traveller. We leave the railroad at Tunbridge, and 
proceed on the common road by Tunbridge Wells, passing a 
number of new villas, in various styles and degrees of taste, and 
some ornamental cottages with neat gardens. Beyond the Wells 
the cottages are more numerous, and many of them are highly 
ornamental. In short, we do not recollect a road, at the same 
distance from London, where so much has been done in orna- 
mental cottage building. ‘The impulse has, probably, been given 
by the Earl of Abergavenny, who has erected many lodges for 
the different entrances to Eridge Park, besides others seen from 
the road for his numerous tenants and dependants. Pass several 
of Read’s improved hop-oasts ; and also Highlands, an extensive 
establishment for insane persons, remarkable for the beauty of 
its grounds, 60 acres in extent, and the elegance of the build- 
ings. Here, we were informed, Mr. Read was gardener for 
many years, and invented his very excellent syringes, which, with 
his subsequent improvements, far surpass all others. 

Wadhurst Castle, Benjamin Harding, Ksq., occupies a con- 
spicuous situation, commanding extensive views over a richl 
wooded country, the central feature being a long winding valley. 
The castle is a modern erection with four octagon towers ; but 
it is being enlarged and remodeled under the direction of E. B. 
Lamb, Esq., and will, when completed, exhibit a specimen of 
good interior arrangement, correct taste, and excellent work- 


af 


in Sussex, visited in October, 1842. 611 


manship.» The park is already well furnished with native oak 
woods, and will be improved by the addition of pines, firs, 
cedars, and other evergreens, especially near the castle. There 
are an excellent kitchen-garden, and some delightful shady and 
terrace walks ; besides a flower-garden, which will be connected 
with an architectural conservatory entered from the drawing- 
room. We anticipate at Wadhurst Castle, at no distant period, 
such a collection of ornamental trees and shrubs as will form a 
select arboretum; and there are few places where, from the 
shape of the grounds and the facilities for walks and drives, an ar- 
boretum could be set off to so much advantage. ‘The church of 
Wadhurst has a spire covered with shingles, which is seen from 
some parts of the grounds; and within the church are some 
monuments of cast iron; Sussex, to the middle of the last 
century, having been the chief seat of the iron manufacture in 
England. A small nursery has recently been commenced here 
by Mr. Macdonald, formerly gardener to the Marquess Camden 
at the Wilderness in Kent. 

Oct. 15. —Jvadhurst to Batile Abbey, Beaufort, and Rose Hill. 
The day was fine, the roads smooth and firm, though hilly, and 
the foliage of the woods delightfully varied with autumnal tints. 
In some of the artificial plantations we observed here and there 
an American oak, the leaves of which were of an intense red, 
scarlet, yellow, orange, and sometimes purple. In the planta- 
tions to which we allude, there were also some American acers 
and the Norway maple, exhibiting dark reds and rich yellows. 
The degree to which these trees enhanced the interest of the 
plantations alluded to can only be conceived by those who are 
as fond of trees as we are, and who know a good many foreign 
kinds. At what a small expense interest of this kind might be 
created by planting foreign oaks, acers, &c., wherever planta- 
tions are to be made, and by grafting or budding wherever they 
already exist. It is true it requires rather an expert operator to 
eraft the oak with success ; but every gardener can graft or bud 
Grecian or American thorns on the common thorns of the 
hedges, American acers and scarlet horsechestnuts on the common 
sorts, Pyrus spectabilis on crabs or thorns, the flowering ash on 
the common ash, with scores of other foreign trees or shrubs on 
native ones. If nothing more were done than grafting a few 
common sycamores or maples with A'cer rubrum or eriocarpum, 
the result would be an ample compensation for the trouble. 

Battle Abbey; Lady Webster. The word Battle is impressive 
of itself, and the feeling is well supported by the abbey, which 
exhibits grandeur in all its dimensions, length, breadth, and 
height, enhanced’ by antiquity, by the high ground on which it 
stands, and by the grand entrance, forming the termination to 
the main street of the town. There are few gate-houses which 

R2 


612 Notice of some Gardens and Country Seats 


exhibit such a mass of building extending on each side of the 
gate, high, and flanked by towers. It must have been a lodging 
place for travellers, as well as a gate-house. The impression 
made by the gate-house is well supported by the first view of 
the main body of the abbey, as seen immediately after passin 

through the gates. ‘There is a large mass of habitable build- 
ing to the left, connected with a still larger mass, of which the 
walls are preserved; but the windows are without glass, and 
the interior neglected: this leads the eye, along a line of low 
ruined foundation-walls, to two lofty towers on the right, and 
completes the impression made by the embattled walls, that 
the building was occupied for military as well as for religious 
purposes, for defence as well as for devotion. ‘There are a 
few lofty elms and other trees in a part of what has been the 
grand courtyard of the abbey edifice, and some trees also in the 
extensive park which the buildings overlook: but though there 
are as many trees as we could wish about the precincts of the 
abbey, yet there are rather too few in the park; and, what cor- 
responds ill with the ruins, there are none in the park of any 
age; none, at least, that we could see, that carried the imagi- 
nation back to the time when the abbey was in all its glory. We 
went over the whole of the ruins, and were kindly permitted to 
see the hall, staircase, and drawingroom of the inhabited part, 
though it was not the regular day for showing the pale: The 
hall is lofty, venerable, “and in appropriate “keeping ; and the 
drawingroom has a row of columns down the middle, “supporting 
Gothic arches forming a groined ceiling resembling that of a low 
crypt under a church. We went over all those parts of the 
ruins which are seen by strangers, and were gratified to find 
the walls of the refectory displayed in such a manner as to show 
what the apartment had been; though the effect was necessarily 
much injured by the floor having been recently covered with flat 
tiles laid in cement, to prevent the rain from penetrating the 
arches to the ancient kitchen below. Underneath a bowling- 
green are a number of gloomy damp vaults, which we passed 
through, one after another, and were told that they were prisons: 
one of them has lately been repaired, and we hope the whole 
will be preserved as a historical monument, till the time arrives 
when offenders, instead of being sent to such places, to the tread- 
mill, to solitary confinement, the penitentiary, the hulks, or being 
transported, will be sent to training establishments, where they 
will be reformed by kind treatment, administered by men and 
women trained on purpose. We are quite aware that this will be 
thought a visionary idea: but it will not be the only one of our 
visionary ideas that have been at first sneered at, and yet after- 
wards realised, even in our time; for example, teaching music to 
the masses. We request that it may be borne in mind that the 


Sees tna. "0. 


in Sussex, viseted in October, 1842. 613 


most vicious and abandoned convicts, even in Norfolk Island, 
the wtzma Thule of crime and misery, have been reformed, in the 
manner to which we allude, by Capt. M‘Konochie. ‘There is 
also in Munich an establishment (the Ruhensfeste), founded by 
Count Rumford, for effecting the same object. The time will 
come when the state will not ‘only have normal schools for train- 
ing schoolmasters for the youth of the national schools, but col- 
leges for training humanisers for the inmates of prisons ; men 
who shall adopt as a profession what Capt. M‘Konochie has 
adopted from philanthropy. If mankind had taken a tithe of the 
trouble to reclaim and humanise offenders against law and 
justice that they have taken to tame wild animals for amusement, 
how different, at the present time, would have been the statistics 
of crime in all countries! but it would appear that good is only 
to be attained as the result of a long experience of evil. 

To return to Battle Abbey ; there is a platform among the 
ruins, laid out symmetrically as a flower-garden, and very well 
planted and managed. On one side it is bounded by a covered 
yew walk, such as may sometimes be found in old French gar- 
dens ; but a great part of the ground among the ruins is in a 
state of neglect. Much might be done by excavation, and show- 
ing parts ina more efficient manner, by adopting in part the style 
of ornament employed by the Bishop of Winchester in the ruins 
of Farnham Castle (Vol. XI. p. 503.), and by judiciously en- 
riching the walls with other creepers as well as ivy. Trees 
scattered so as at a distance to form masses, and a piece of water, 
for which there are great facilities, would complete the beauty of 
the park. The gardener was not at home, but we found every 
thing under his care in very respectable order. There is a 
seed-shop in Battle, and a nursery adjoining the town, both be- 
longing to Mr. Denyer, a very intelligent man, and a good 
gardener. 

Beauport ; Sir Charles Lamb, Bart. The grounds are ex- 
tensive, delightfully and boldly undulated, and commanding fine 
views of the sea in some places, and of the interior of the country 
in others. ‘They have been naturally covered by woody scenery, 
interspersed with glades of different forms and degrees of extent, 
smooth in some places, and rough with furze or fern in others. 
The park is many acres in extent, and throughout the whole a 
character of exotic planting and picturesque beauty has been 
given by the introduction of foreign trees and shrubs, and even 
of strong-growing herbaceous plants. Aristolochias, Virginian 
creepers, periplocas, menispermums, climbing roses, lyciums, 
wistarias, and other climbers, may be seen scrambling up the stems 
and branches of native trees; and among thenative trees and bushes 
are grouped great numbers of American oaks, acers, thorns, and, 


in short, foreign trees of every description. This character of 
RR 3 


614 Notice of some Gardens and Country Seats 


foreign scenery is greatly heightened by the introduction here and 
there of single specimens of exotic trees of remarkable forms, stand- 
ing out from conspicuous prominences of masses and thickets, and 
in the recesses and glades formed by them; while in other places 
native trees and plants are alone seen, An araucar ia, a deodar 
cedar, a liquidambar, a purple beech, or a weeping tree of 
some sort, now and then engages the eye, and we forget for the 
moment that we are among eating scenery ina transition state, 
till, as we advance, we see masses of fern, or groups of the birch 
or the common oak. In the masses there are a great many 
pines, firs, cedars, junipers, taxodiums, and, in short, every tree 
or shrub purchasable in British nurseries. ‘There are some fine 
thriving araucarias, some of them 5 or 6 feet high; a deodar 
cedar, 10 ft. high; Pinus variabilis, 15 ft. high; P. ponderosa, 
15 ft. high ; some remarkably luxuriant plants of Pinus Laricio ; 
and rhoedodendrons and azaleas without number. We have 
seldom seen a place improved so much after our own heart, as 
far as planting is concerned. ‘The only fault that we could find 
with it was, the too hedge-like appearance of the laurels in one 
part of the approach, where they had obtruded on it so much as 
to require to be cut in a formal manner, inconsistent with the 
picturesque character which prevails everywhere else. How- 
ever, two hours’ work of a man with a hedge-bill would remove 
this deformity. 

The house is Roman, large, but totally without merit as a 
piece of architecture. ‘The kitchen-garden and farm offices are 
at some distance from the house, on the other side of a public 
road, and the walk to them is through a plantation of trees in 
masses, in which one kind always prevails in one place, but in 
which each mass is so blended with the mass adjoining as never 
to appear formal. We should prefer arriving at this garden by 
a tunnel under the road, and we would so contrive the walk, after 
it passed through the mame. that no part of the garden should 
be seen till we were half-way down the slope on which it stands. 
We should then enter the garden at a point where we would 
look up to the terraced walls, instead of looking down upon 
them; and, after passing through the garden in a horizontal 
direction, we should enter another walk on the opposite side 
(having a branch to the farm buildings), and return to the plea- 
sure-ground scenery by a second tunnel, or even by the same 
one. ‘The present mode of descending to the kitchen-garden, by 
the walk that passes the gardener’s house, is bad, on account of 
the steep descent by a straight walk with steps. The garden 
itself is excellent, and does Mr. Main, who fixed on the situation 
eight or ten years ago, great credit. The outsides of the walls 
are sheltered from lateral winds by projecting constructions of 

wattled work, which are found very effective. ‘There is a com- 


in Sussex, visited in October, 1842. 615 


modious and very handsome gardener’s house, in a situation that 
overlooks both the garden and the farm. It must be recollected, 
in this and in all similar cases, that our suggestions are made 
after first, and we may say momentary, impressions, without time 
to test them by reflection and reasoning. 

Rose Hill; A. KE. Fuller, Esq., M.P. The grounds are of 
great extent, varied by hill and dale; and there are some effec- 
tive masses of wood, with, however, too many unconnected 
clumps, and a great want of scattered trees throughout. ‘The 
house has no pretensions, but there is a large and excellent 
kitchen-garden, and much glass, the whole kept in the highest 
order by Mr. Ogle, who has formed near it some beautiful 
ornamental scenery. On a knoll in the park there is a hand- 
some temple, like that at Croome; and exterior to it, on the 
summit of a hill, there is a large observatory, conspicuous for 
many miles round, very substantial and commodious within, and 
containing some very superior astronomical instruments. ‘The 
woods and plantations in this property appeared to us in a state 
of sad neglect, much too thick; and the trunks, particularly of 
the pines and firs, studded over with the stumps of decayed 
branches. ‘There are some extensive and delightful shady and 
open walks, but we saw the place in far too great a hurry to 
be able to say much about it. 

October 16. — Eridge Castle; Karl of Abergavenny. This is 
an immense place, being, as the Guide to Tunbridge Wells in- 
forms us, seven miles from north to south, and five miles from 
east to west. ‘The house stands on a widely extending knoll in 
a park containing above 3000 acres, and it is surrounded by a 
demesne of 10,000 acres. ‘The drives through the plantations 
measure fifty-four miles, and there is a lake of twenty acres. The 
plantations have been entirely made by the present earl; they 
have thriven in a most extraordinary degree, and they are kept 
in far better order than is generally the case. We have already 
noticed the numerous handsome lodges and cottages on the 
estate. The house is in the castle style, remarkable for the 
profusion of ornament with which it is covered, both externally 
and within. We were in all the principal rooms, and found the 
ceilings every where covered with carved work, generally oak, 
or an imitation of it. A peculiarity in all of the rcoms is, that 
there are no curtains; the backs of the shutters, when they are 
closed, showing the same finish and ornaments as the walls of the 
room. ‘The ornaments which are placed on the exterior of the 
house are chiefly portions of the quarterings of the Abergavenny 
arms, one of which is a portcullis, and another a St. Andrew’s 
cross, and both these are used not only on the house, but in 
the grounds, on a large scale, as wicket-gates. ‘The walls of the 


castle exteriorly are painted of a French grey, and the orna- 
RR 4 


616 Thoughts on modern Burying Grounds. 


ments fixed on them are of a pure white, and in part gilt. They 
appear put on at random; and, notwithstanding their abundance 
on the plain part of the walls, yet the windows are without 
facings or labels of any kind. At the base of the walls there is 
a raised border of dug soil, with an embattled stone edging, 
planted chiefly with geraniums, which, though pretty in itself, 
is too much in the cottage style for a castle; and, besides, 
this border cannot fail to produce damp in the rooms within. 
In short, we should say that this castle exhibited the very re- 
verse of good taste; but, as all these ornaments were made by 
the workmen of the country on the spot, much good was done 
by the employment given, and by the creation of a number of 
superior workmen. Every part of the buildings, fences, and 
roads, seemed in complete repair, and in high order and keep- 
‘ing, which, for such an extensive place, is saying a great deal. 

In passing on to Tunbridge Wells, we observed the nursery- 
grounds of Mr. C. Hollamby, at Strawberry Hill, well cropped, 
showy, and in good order. At the Wells we examined those 
of Mr. Cripps, where we saw a variety of Neméphila atomaria 
with black flowers, a new cleome from Texas, Mr. Cripps’s white 
fuchsia, and several other new things. 


“Art. IV. Thoughts on modern Burying-Grounds By A. S.M. 


THE associations connected with a place of burial are of a 
solemn and impressive nature, and therefore nothing that is 
light or gaudy should ever appear within its bounds. It is the 
fashion nowadays to turn cemeteries into flower-gardens; but 
surely a flower-garden and a burying-ground are places set apart 
for very different purposes, and therefore they ought to be kept 
separate from each other, and each in its own place. Let us 
take a walk through the new burying-ground of D , and we 
shall there behold a specimen of the modern fashion of laying 
out places of sepulture. As we pass along the outside of the 
iron railing before we arrive at the entrance gate, the graves 
are hid from our view by a strange medley, by way of an out- 
side border, where trees, shrubs, and flowers are planted in one 
confused mixture; the herbaceous plants being all tied in a 
bunch, as close as they will tie, so that the innermost stems are 
well protected from the effects both of light and air. The in- 
scriptions on the stone pillars of the gate are excellent and well- 
selected; but, anon, we are in the midst of a gay and beautiful 
scene which might easily be mistaken for a flower-garden in 
reality, were the gravestones in the middle of the compartments 
only kept out of sight. The walks are fringed with flowers, 
and amongst them stand rows of trees arranged botanically, with 


Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. Gia 


the name, natural order, and other particulars attached to each. 
This would be all well, if burying-grounds were intended to be 
places for the study of botany or of floriculture merely, or as 
places of amusement or recreation; but surely this ought not to 
be the case. As a contrast to the above, how much lovelier is 
the simple country churchyard, with its church and spire, and 
neat gravestones, and its broad gravel walk leading up to the 
church-door, with a row of lime trees on each side, and here and 
there upon the graves a modest flower peering out, planted by 
the hands of the relatives of the departed! ‘The surrounding 
wall is low, and no iron railing is seen on its top to prevent the 
solitary wanderer from climbing over and sauntering awhile 
among the remnants of the dead. On the north side, the yew 
and the cedar and the spruce fir shelter the place from the blasts 
of winter, and here and there without the wall stands a gigantic 
elm, whose branches must be taught, however, not to overhang 
the graves, so as to keep the ground in a state of moisture. 
Every gravestone is inscribed with a lesson to the spectator. 
One tells him that he too must die; and on another he is re- 
minded that death is only the door to everlasting life. 

How simple, and yet how grand, are the memorials of the 
places where our ancestors of old lie entombed! A huge stone, 
up in yon wild glen, was all that was left to mark the grave of 
Ossian, that prince of Highland bards, that grey-haired de- 
scendant of the mist. It is known to this day as Clach-Oisean, 
or Ossian’s stone. And on yon muir, to the westward of Loudon’s 
Howe, stands a cairn which is computed to contain one hundred 
and forty cart-loads of stones, all thrown together, one by one, 
in passing, by those who wished to show their respect for the 
memory of their departed clansman. And on many a hill-side 
in Scotland, looking out among tufts of heather, and grey with 
moss, are to be seen the memorials of those who, in later times, 
sealed with their blood their testimony in the cause of truth and 
righteousness. Such are the burying-places among which I love 
to wander ! 

Perthshire, Sept. 20, 1842. 


Art. V. Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. In a 
Series of Letters to the Conductor. By JAMES BARNES, Gardener 
to the Right Honourable Lady Rolle. 

(Continued from p. 567.) 

Lerrer II. Zhe Heath-house. Potting in rough Soil and Training. Use of 
Fragments of Freestone and Pebbles. List of Heaths. 
AccorDING to your particular wish, I shall now give you a 
description of the Heath-house here, which is span-roofed, 47 ft. 


618 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


long, 16 ft. wide, 14 ft. high ; with a Portland stone table in the 
centre, the whole length of the house, 2 ft. 10 in. high ; likewise 
a Portland stone shelf all round the house, 2 ft. wide. You noted 
down my method of potting heaths, I believe; likewise my plan of 
training the plants by tying them into shape with green threads, 
which appeared to interest you much. [We hope Mr. Barnes will 
be good enough to describe his method in some future letter.] You 
told me you had not seen it practised anywhere else in Devonshire 
to the same extent and perfection; only partly adopted by a 
neighbour or two of mine, that had been to see me. You said 
that you never could have believed, if you had not seen it, that 
the roots of heaths could be coaxed up amongst stones and rough 
sods of earth. Now you have seen the roots of the heaths 
here under my care actually all coaxed up in one mass of white 
fibres, from 4 in. to 10 in. above the rim of the pot, and the 
branches, in like manner, coaxed below the rim of the pot. I need 
not trouble any one further with my own observations, except to 
say that we have only to go to any common, where the native 
heath grows for an example. They do not have soil sifted for 
them; they do not have all the stones picked out of the 
earth to make them grow: no; they g grow amongst the stones 
and vegetation continually springing up round them; and decay 
with the season, with their roots about them to nourish them. 
Again, go to the common, take a spot where the heath grows, 
dig the ground up, pick all the stones out of the earth, sift the 
soil, replant the heath plants, water them, nurse them, attend to 
een &c. Do you think that would be assisting nature? Far 
from it. You would soon find that you had been acting in com- 
plete opposition to it in everything that you had been doing, in- 
stead of assisting ; and I fear we may soon see that we fees all 
so acted, in almost every thing we have hitherto practised. 

On second thoughts, that you may have it from my own pen, I 
will take the present opportunity of making a few Remarks on 
Potting, not only heaths, but every thing, and leave you to make 
any observations you think in favour of, or against, my system. 

My second letter explained to you how my potting-bench is 
furnished ; and my practice is not to mix up any soil beforehand, 
except for such plants as balsams, chrysanthemums, pelargo- 
niums, and plants of that description: but for orchideous stove 
plants, New Holland plants, heaths, &c., I handle and pot 
them, according to their constitution, with loam, heath mould, 
pebbles, broken stones, whole ones, charcoal and charcoal dust 
(which is the life and soul of almost all plants, as you will see 
as I go on), soot, lime, sand, bone-dust, &c. Now, for ex- 
ample, do you not think it would appear ridiculous of me, 
if I were going to fresh pot my New Holland plants, if I were 
to say to one or more of my men, Get so much heath mould, so 


The Heath-house. 619 


much sand, so much loam, and mix all well together, for we 
will pot the New Holland plants to-day; or to the boy, Get the 
pots all ready crocked ? Do you think these plants would require 
all potting at the same time, and in the same soil? I think I 
hear you say, No. Some of these plants make their growth at 
avery different season from what others do; some are natives of 
high hills, others are natives of swamps and valleys; some grow 
amongst flints, stones, chalk, limestone, sandy places, loam, and 
rotten vegetable earth: therefore, do you not think I should be 
wrong in attempting to pot them ali at one time, all in one mix- 
ture, because they all came from New Holland? Now this 
is precisely my system all through, even with pine plants (which 
I shall come to by and by), which is, to take the opportunity of 
potting each plant at any season when it wants it, and not to 
return home and pot a house full of plants, because I saw my 
neighbour do his yesterday. 

Every man that is fond of the profession he follows will 
have a season of his own, and not do as I once saw a man do. 
He came to see me at a time when I was watering my bed of 
early cucumbers with cold water: he went home, watered his 
own the same way, but not considering whether his bed was in 
the same state as my own, he killed the whole of his plants, 
and the next day he came to abuse me for setting him a bad 
example, and was kind enough to tell me at once that I was the 
means of his killing his cucumbers. I reminded him that 
he had asked me if I often watered them in that way, and that 
I told him as often as they required it; that he saw where I 
fetched the water from, and that I had not advised him to water 
his in the way that I did. He said he suspected I had set a 
trap to catch him in. I told him to go home and begin to 
work himself in 85° of heat for three hours, come out in his 
shirt sleeves when a sharp east wind was blowing, and the tem- 
perature out of doors about 35°, to drink heartily at the 
pump; and then see if he should be able to eat a hearty sup- 
per afterwards. He thought not. Then why blame me for 
having killed your cucumbers? ‘That man is now living, and 
had not forgotten the circumstance the last time I saw him, 

The first time the thought occurred to me of using rough 
soil was when I was about eleven years old. I went with my 
father one morning, at five o’clock, to where there were some 
heaps of mould of different sorts, to assist him to chop it down, 
and fill the sieves. I remember as well the very spot, and what 
passed, as if it had happened this day; for I got very hungry 
towards eight o’clock, and fancied breakfast-time would never 
come. I asked my father if the mould would not do to grow 
cucumbers in if we were to chop it down, and knock it to pieces 
with the back of the spade, and pick out the stones. He asked 


620 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 


me how I could think of such a thing; and told me to make 
haste and fill the sieve, or the job would not be finished by break- 
fast-time: and it was more than half-past eight before it was, 
and my basin of bread and milk was nearly cold when I got 
home. However, in time, I kept thinking I would try if plants 
would not grow in mould without sifting. I begged a cucumber 
plant of my father, made a bed of any rubbish I could get, put 
a quantity of earth, rough as it was, for them to grow in, and 
succeeded in getting a famous crop, and sold enough to buy 
myself a new hat. However, no more notice was taken of it. 
We continued to sift mould for every thing except melons, both 
at home and wherever I worked as journeyman: but I always 
kept thinking, if ever I should be a master myself, I would see 
if things would not grow without the earth being sifted; and I 
have since many times been ridiculed for using it in such a 
rough state, but I passed it off by saying I had not time to 
sift it. 

Dimensions, Height, &c., of a few of the Ericas growing at this Time in the 

Heath-house at Bicton Gardens. 


Height. Circumf. (Height. Circumf. 
Name. i Name. : 

Ft. In. | Ft. In. Ft. In. | Ft. In. 

Masson, with 132 pellucida - -|1 6/5 6 
heads of flowers -| 2 6/8 7 sulphtrea - -| 1 6/3 10 
Halicacaba - -|1 6/6 6 incarnata - -|2 4/6 0 
gemmifera = - a 2 OO NO Parmentieridna -| 1.0/4 2 
mirabilis - a} il 2 @ © eximia - - Sl One 2 
spléndens - = 180) (S576 pre’gnans coccinea-| 1 0/5 O 
depréssa - a @. 2 ge 2 reflexa alba - -|2 07] 5 10 
Sprengela  - fell Fs) | oy rubra - -|1 6/4 8 
echiiflora - a le) Bs dilécta - - Lao @ 
ventricosa superba -| 1 0 | 4 6 grandindsa = - -|2 616 6 
juliana - - ~-|0 6|4 38 vestita rosea = -|1 6|3 4 
ferruginea = -|1 4/4 3 purpurea - at Soo 
retérta major - 210° 6) sO ventricosa pre’gnans| 1 0 | 4 6 
pinea - - =| 1 0 3 2 carnea- LEO} GO 
ampullacea vittata -| 1 0| 2 6 flaccida - - a Oe & 
cruénta - - -|2 0/6 10 Eweridna longiflora- | 1 10 | 8 0 
viridiflora - -|2 06 0 acuminata = - -| 2 0} 7 10 
metuleflora, with campanulata - -| 1 0| 410 
above 2000 heads | scariosa - - -| 1 3) 4 10 
of flowers - =| 3 OO. 2 gnaphalodes - -| 1 2)|5 10 
pilosa - - = Su OM ada A: tubiflora - -| 2 0} 6 10 
refalgens - =O Oa a taeae imbricata - -|1 4/5 O 
vestita alba - -|2 6|7 0 eracilis - - eG) 2 
costata - - oi) 8 OF Or © translucens - = (22) Os 
cerinthdides major -| 3 0/4 3 Persolutarubra  -| 2 6/6 2 
magna = 213 O1S 3s Patersoniana - ~|2 0|4 6 
tricolor - - -|2 0|8 0 perspicua - ae ae 8 
major - SA OW sO elata. - - a 2° @ | GO 
dumosa_ - = ele) arses filamentosa_ - -|1 4/8 O 
tenuifolia ofl 818 8 asstirgens - ofl By iil 
Irbyana - - Si GG 6 Walkerana  - oil GG é 
linneeotdes supérba -| 1 0' 5 2 perspicua nana =| de On 45268 


Nature and Habits of the common Wasp. 621 


Height. Circumf. ; Height. Circumf. 
Name. 4 Name. 

Ft. In. | Ft. In. Ft. In. | Ft. In 
exudans = -|1 0|\4 6 mundula - -|0 8/8 0 
regérminans - -|1 6/5 8 recurvata - -|1 0)3 0 
Linnea = =| i 6) 8 © petiolata = -|/0 6);3 0 
dénsa_ - - ai 1 @ i dh 6 Aitonidna - -|010|3 9 
tréssula - - -|1 0/4 6 infundibuliférmis -| 1 0/3 9 
flexuosa - -|/1 2/4 8 Westfalingia [ Ross]| 1 0)| 3 0 
nitida ~ - -|/010/3 6 Lambertidna - -|010|3 4 
propéndens - -|010|,4 4 élegans - - -|1 0/3 0 
margaritacea - -|0 8/3 0 empetrifolia lanata - | 0 6/3 9 
baccans - - -|010/2 6 mammosa - of ft O18 6 
princeps - -|/0 1|3 4 coronata - -|010)3 O 
decora - - -|010/4 8 intermedia - -|/2 0/3 9 
odora résea_ = -|0 8/4 6 suaveolens = -|1 0;4 0 
fastigiata lutéscens -| 0 4/3 3 péndula - - =) Li On| Ses 
ampullacea- -| 1 O| 4 6 retérta - - SO) So 


With good plants of Z. depréssa ribra, Bowiedna, lanata, sexfaria, Russelliana, 
Banksia, and many other species and varieties. 

I beg to observe that the circumference of many of these 
valuable kinds of Erica may be doubted by some, particularly 
when the height of the plants is considered. Who would ever 
think of Zrica Massonz7, only 2 ft. 6 in. in height, feathering 
round the very rim of the pot with young shoots, with 136 
heads of flowers on it, being 8 ft. 7in. in circumference? I 
know many will say it cannot be in England. Zrica metulzeflora, 
3 ft. Gin. high only, but 10 ft. 2 in. in circumference, with young 
wood all above and below the edge of the tub; it is in bloom, 
with more than 2000 heads of flowers on it, at this very time. 
No one would believe that these and many others, two years ago, 
were as tall as I am, scraggy, and naked-stemmed; but so it 
was; and, if I should be spared another month, they will be 
still more dwarfish. 7 | 

Bicton Gardens, Oct. 29. 1842. 


Art. VI. On the Nature and Habits of the common Wasp. 
By J. WIGHTON. 


A.rHouGH the wasp is ferocious and cruel towards its fellow 
insects, still it is very lively ; indeed, more so than the honey-bee. 
Some give wasps the credit of being ‘more polished in their 
intercourse with each other,” that is, they do not attack and 
plunder others’ dwellings like the hive-bees; but this praise is 
hardly due to them, for, unlike honey-bees, wasps store up 
nothing in their nests worth plundering. However, except their 
voraciousness, they are peaceable, and will seldom attack one 
without provocation : but it is useless for me to say any thing in 
favour of wasps; nobody likes them ; few persons think such pests 


622 Nature and Habits of the common Wasp. 


worthy farther notice than destroying them. I know of no one, 
except Réaumur, who has kept wasps in glass hives to ascertain 
their habits. I have done the same thing, and found their habits 
are, in some respects, similar to those of the honey-~bee, but in 
others widely different, as the following will show. 

During this season, I suspended in the top of a bell-glass a 
wasp’s comb containing brood, eggs, and six working wasps, 
but no queen. The headless colony had their liberty, fed the 
erubs, but added nothing to the nest, neither made any attempts 
to create a queen, as it is said bees do when put to such a test. 
To ascertain the latter was the grand object I had in view. The 
wasps became weak, and I destroyed them. ‘This agrees with 
what a writer says: —“ If; by any accident, before the other 
female wasps are hatched, the queen mother perishes, the neuters 
cease their labours, lose their instinct, and die.” 

I furnished the bell-glass with another comb similar to the 
other, with the mouths of the cells upwards, being the reverse of 
the usual way, which is downwards; likewise six workers and a 
queen wasp. I confined them three days, and gave them food ; 
they fed the grubs with great care, but took little interest about 
their nest until they had their liberty. I put another queen into 
the nest, which was soon cast out dead. I repeated this with 
another queen, and instantly the rightful queen destroyed her. 
This agrees with the habits of queens in a beehive. 

As the bell-glass was tight and in darkness, one might have 
thought that the inmates would have dispensed with the paper 
covering to their cells; but no, the comb was soon covered over, 
except the entrance below, which shows their instinct cannot 
be altered. In this respect, it surpasses that of the hive-bees. 
Though the latter block up all little crannies in the hive, they 
never make the least attempt to protect their combs from the 
weather, even in cases where it is wanted, for instance, when they 
construct their cells in the open air. I examined the nest, and 
found the position of the cells was altered, from their mouths 
being upwards to downwards. ‘This constant rule of structure 
by wasps is easily accounted for ; like the honey-bees they begin 
their nest at the top of the cavity; do not range their combs 
vertically as they do, but horizontally; and form many distinct 
parallelograms, some say sixteen, but eight or twelve comes 
nearer the mark. The cells are hexagonal, and formed of the 
same kind of water-proof paper that covers them, not divided by 
double partition walls, as Dr. Barclay says. Probably he was 
led into error by examining cells that had contained brood, 
where a film, or rather a part of the cocoon, is left by the insect. 
The cells of the wasp that builds on a branch show this the 
most; indeed, so much so, that they appear round. Wasps’ 
combs are merely for rearing the brood; they are not arranged 


Nature and Habits of ihe common Wasp. 623 


in two opposite layers of cells, like the bees’, but in one only, 
consequently the top of the combs is composed of the bases of 
the cells, and forms nearly a level floor, on which the insects can 
pass and repass. Spaces about half an inch high are left between 
each comb, supported by many little pillars formed of the same 
kind of materials as the combs, except more glue in their 
composition, perhaps saliva from the insects. There is a space 
also between the combs and the outside shell; in short, except 
a few of the upper ones, they are not attached to it at all; con- 
sequently have no support from it, but from the pillars fixed at 
the top of the cavity. The lower end of the first formed, or 
principal, one forms the basis of the first cells; in truth it is the 
beginning of the nest. ‘The same may be said of each succeed- 
ing division of combs. The nest, at first, is about the size of 
half a pigeon’s egg, containing about three cells, enlarged during 
the season by coatings on the outside, the inner ones being 
wrought up with them, or, more properly, into cells; a few, 
however, are always left, as a sure defence against the weather. 
A nest before me measures 23 feet round, having nine divisions 
of combs, varying in size according to the shape of the cone, or 
nest; the entrance is in the side, as it usually is in the ground 
wasp’s nest; but not so with the one that builds on a branch, 
there it is always below. 

Sometimes there are two entrances to a wasp’s nest, from one 
of which it is said the inmates uniformly issue, and enter the 
nest through the other. I have no experience of this, indeed I 
doubt it. I ought to mention, if the cavity admits of excavation, 
there is space between it and the nest. By these ingenious con- 
trivances the insects have free access, both within and without, 
to their “paper metropolis.” ‘There are exceptions from their 
general rules of structure, especially when the space chosen 
will not admit of excavation by the wasps, who are expert miners. 
They seldom quit the nest without a load in their mandibles. 
It is astonishing what excavations they sometimes make, enough 
to hold a common beehive. 

Some assert, I think Réaumur does, that wasps, like bees, 
have three different-sized cells; this, however, is wrong. The 
queens and drones are reared in the same comb and in the same- 
sized cells; the only difference is in the cocoon of the queens 
being raised a little higher than that of the drones, caused by the 
erubs being longer. Both come forth about the latter part of 
August, and are numerous, especially the latter, which, like the 
workers, vary in size, have an additional segment in their abdo- 
men, have no sting, and are easily known by their long dark 
feelers. Unlike the drones in a beehive, they search for food ; 
having no proboscis they cannot suck from cup or tube flowers ; 
may be seen on the snow-berry and fennel blossoms, but rarely 
ina rotten plum. I never discovered the young queens abroad 


624 Nature and Habits of the common Wasp. 


at this period, perhaps they are fed by the workers, as they feed 
one another in the nest. A writer says that the drones take an 
active part in the colony, and for this reason they are not de- 
stroyed by the workers like the drone bees. ‘This is not at all 
clear, for the grand business of the colony is drawing to a close 
when they appear. As the nest contains no store, the charge of 
eating and not adding to it cannot be laid to them. In truth, 
what use would it be for the workers to slaughter the drones, 
when they themselves are about to quit the nest, leaving both 
them and the females to their fate? After they have met to 
secure a future increase the drones perish, and, luckily, many of 
the queens also. What of the latter survive the winter in a 
torpid state amongst dry moss, &c., appear in spring to commence 
fresh colonies. 

At first each is an insulated being, and begins the nest as 
already stated. As soon as the cells are partly finished, an 
egg is deposited in each, sometimes, but very rarely, two, not 
at the bottom, as in bees’ cells, but on one side a little above it, 
to give room for the excrements from the insects, which are of a 
dark substance, and the only store, if I may say so, found in a 
wasps’ nest. In about four days the eggs are hatched, and the 
brood are fed by the queen. While in the grub state they are 
very voracious; after they spin the cocoon they cease to eat. In 
about two or three weeks they cut through their cocoons and 
come forth perfect wasps. After this the queen does not go 
abroad ; her sole occupation seems depositing the eggs; indeed 
she gets too heavy to fly. A writer tells us that the brood are 
‘educated by the queen before they can assist her in her great 
design.” Though really curious to hear of the education of in- 
sects, I reply to it, 1 have seen wasps without a queen emerge 
from their cells, and instantly feed the starving brood. Who 
taught the queen to raise so interesting a structure after lying 
four months torpid? Saying more is useless. The queen is 
soon surrounded by numerous workers plundering every where; 
some say three thousand, but this is stretching. Though in the 
first-formed cells there may be reared three successive broods 
during the season, there cannot be above one in the last-formed 
combs, which are the drones and queens. ‘There appears no 
foundation for Perrot’s belief that the eggs to produce the former 
are laid by smaller queens. Where can they meet with males 
to make them fruitful? Indeed the fact that both appear at one 
time is enough to upset it. I question if the young queens 
deposit eges until the following season; but, if an accident 
happen to the old one, the case may be altered. I am led to 
think so by having once taken the old queen from a nest of 
hornets. In two weeks after there were fresh eggs in several 
cells; the nest contained several hundred young queens. ‘That 
young queen bees deposit eggs is no criterion, for their colony 


Nature and Habits of the common Wasp. 625 


exists throughout the year. ‘There seems a mystery about the 
impregnation of the queen wasps, like that of the queen bees ; but 
the former must meet with the males before they disperse from 
the nest. I have doubts about what operates on the insects to 
cause their destruction; it cannot be altogether owing to the 
cold, as generally supposed, for sometimes wasps’ nests are 
find tenantless before the cold sets in; for instance, this season 
I cut one from a branch on the 25th of August ; at that time it 
was hot indeed. By the by, the nest belonged to a rare kind of 
wasp in this part of the country, though common in the north, 
The texture of the nest is firmer and darker than that of the 
common wasp, and very like the nest of a larger wasp, though less 
common than the ground one, which builds in the gr oond: also, 
whose nest is for mcd of ligneous fibres from wood not so rotten 
as that which the common wasp uses, whose nest is very brittle, 
at least the covering. In some situations the more varied 
materials that wasps scrape with their mandibles will, of course, 
alter the colour and texture of their nests. Still, different kinds 
of wasps have their favourite materials. This I know by having 
different kinds at work close together. ‘Their nests varied in 
colour like those just hinted at. In the darker one there ap- 
peared as if cow-dung were in the composition. But with regard 
to the wasp that niilecionts branch, if the reader knows its habits 
perhaps he will notice it. Mudie seems to have mistaken this 
wasp for the common one, says but little about it, and observes 
that “idle boys plug up the entrance to the nests with clay, 
and then set them adrift down a caseade.” May not the habits 
of this wasp be more fitted for a northern climate? If so, that 
may account for the insects leaving the nest so soon. Though 
the other kind of wasps do not leave them until about the first 
or middle of October, yet they get careless about their nests 
after the drones and queens come forth, which shows they have 
fulfilled the grand object of their being, that is, reared others to 
increase their species in the manner before stated. In a former 
paper I noticed the necessity of encouragement being given to 
prevent such increase. It is useless for me to mention the vari- 
ous ways to accomplish this, for they are well known to those 
concerned about wasps. I think some, with me, will doubt 
Sir Joseph Banks’s statement, though it seems to have the sanction 
of Mr. Knight: “‘ If you can once seize and destroy the sentinels 
at a wasps’ peo the remainder will not attack you.” Mr. Knight, 
however, truly observes: ‘ If one escapes from within, it comes 
with a very different temper.” 

I conclude with observing that the old saying, ‘* A plum year 
will be a wasp one,” has been fulfilled this last summer, for 
wasps have been numerous indeed. 

Cossey Gardens, Oct. 5. 1842. 
3d Ser. — 1842. XII. SS 


626 Thinning Plantations. 


Arr. VII. On thinning Plantations. By ARcHIBALD GorRIE, 
F.H.S., &c. ; 


Tue frequency wherewith ill-managed plantations of forest 
trees meet the eye in every direction, all over the country, may 
render any attempt to point out the neglect a little hazardous, 
and in many instances unsuccessful. It very often happens that 
all the sympathies of the proprietor are in favour of allowing all 
trees, in anything like a thriving condition, to remain. Few 
proprietors have had leisure or inclination to study the subject 
so closely as to enable them clearly to foresee the consequence 
either of judicious thinning, or its neglect. In some, a wish to 
make something of the thinnings prevents the operation being 
entered upon till such mischief has occurred as even time, with 
skilful management, cannot altogether remedy. Hence the 
almost branchless skeletons of forest trees that in close order 
disfigure the demesnes around many a country seat, where such 
management is scarcely excusable. In forests, where very large 
masses have been planted in one or two seasons, the supply of 
thinnings may exceed the demand in a contiguous market, and 
the forester’s account of expense for thinning and pruning may, 
in such cases, exceed the proceeds of the sale. From the same 
causes, we often see on the lawn groups of trees planted with 
the full intention on the part of the planter, in the outset, that 
the nurses should be timely removed, to allow those trees in- 
tended ultimately to adorn the grounds to assume their na- 
tural forms: but these very nurses are, in nine cases out of ten, 
allowed to become robbers, excluding the light and the air from 
those trees which they were at first only intended to shelter 
while young, and sucking up the food from the soil that should 
go to foster the reserves; so that nurses and nursed soon indi- 
cate, by their tall, slender, and leafless shanks, that they have 
outlived the means of nourishment, and entirely defeated the 
purposes of the planter. It were easy to point out many places 
where the lawn is disfigured by stiff outlines of plantations, 
enclosing masses of miserable trees struggling for light and air 
till scarcely a leaf remains on the summit of the sapless pole to 
elaborate the sap, whereof the numerous matted roots of too 
many contending neighbours prevent anything like a full 
supply. There are a few exceptions, but they are still too few 
to furnish sufficient stimulating examples to proper manage- 
ment. One would think that in such a city as Edinburgh, the 
metropolis of Caledonia, the seat of learning, the “ Modern 
Athens,” any small patches of trees would afford a specimen of 
the very ne plus ultra of skilful management in bringing forward 
the trees to form beau idéal specimens, whether for ornament or 
utility. But no; just look along Prince’s Street, and you will 


Thinning Plantations. 627 


see one of the finest streets in the world horribly disfigured by 
a heterogeneous mass of trees crowding upon each other in 
endless confusion. Oak, elm, ash, poplars, birch, maple, beech, 
lime, and laburnum appear in a sort of medley too monotonous 
to show anything like variety. 

In the olden time, indeed, such was the common mode of 
forming plantations, implying a tacit confession on the part of 
the planter that he did not clearly understand what kinds of 
trees were most suitable for the soil and situation, leaving the 
trees to determine that point, as being the best judges in the 
matter; and, while the science of arboriculture was in its 
infancy, the practice had at least the air of prudence supplying 
the place of skill. In the neighbourhood of smoky towns, such 
as ‘“* Auld Reekie,” another element connected with the health 
of plants had to be considered; and here the range for obser- 
vation and experience was, from the very nature of the locality, 
much limited, which may account for the closely planted mix- 
tures of trees in the squares and open spaces in Queen’s Street 
and the Nor’ Loch; but now that the trees have, for the most 
part, proved by their healthy appearance and vigorous growth 
that they stand in a congenial soil and climate, unscathed by 
smoke or sooty particles, it is high time that something decisive 
should immediately be set about, to render those plantations, 
which at present form an eyesore to every practised eye, an 
ornament to the town, and an example of ornament and utility 
to the country. The necessary operations would afford useful 
employment to a few of those labourers who are at present in 
want of work; and, what must recommend it to the authorities 
concerned, the proceeds would likely more than pay the labour 
in the mean time. This would place the plantations in question 
in such 2 position as to insure, what must have been originally 
intended, proper specimens of trees in their natural form; and 
also, where that was an object, properly trained specimens of 
trees for producing timber. 

If it be asked how all this is to be effected, I would say, in 
the first place, let a properly qualified person (and surely there 
are many such among Scotsmen, who would give their services, 
either gratis or on very easy terms, for so laudable an object) 
select and mark all trees that should ultimately stand for re- 
serves. In doing this he would mark, at proper distances, such 
trees as would appear to him best suited for standing, whether 
to form objects of ornament or utility, timber trees or trees of 
natural form, in such places as might be fixed on by those in 
authority. In making his selections he would be able, from 
the present crowded and mixed state of the trees, to throw the 
whole into distinct masses of every genus by itself; the masses 


blending harmoniously into each other. The individual trees 
ss 2 


628 Thinning Plantations. 


so marked should not be deprived totally of shelter at once; 
only a few trees should be taken down next to them, to give 
room for allowing them to acquire proper form of head and 
range of root for supplying nourishment, taking out nurses from 
time to time, as those selected filled the space around them. 
This would give the ground a clothed appearance during the 
period that the trees were acquiring maturity. 

In the lower parts of the ground, groups might be trained to 
become lofty timber trees where such might be desired; but on 
the banks, and near the street, trees should be left at proper 
distances to assume their natural forms, and each group or mass 
should consist of one genus, with the lowest-growing and most 
ornamental species next the street; and ample space should be 
left ultimately, when all intervening trees were taken away, to 
show each individual tree to advantage, surrounded by grass 
touched by its descending branches. 

The thinnings absolutely necessary to be removed in the 
meantime might, in such a town as Edinburgh, sell for billet 
wood, and would more than cover the expense of labour; or, 
perhaps, some of the plants might be sold for the purpose of 
giving immediate effect to villa grounds and lawns in the 
vicinity of the town. Should any portion be destined to be 
trained as timber trees, they would require a little judicious 
pruning, as well as instant relief from their encroaching neigh- 
bours. Those intended for what may be called lawn trees 
would require no pruning, except where it was rendered ne- 
cessary by the presence of decaying branches. Should these 
operations be instantly gone about, Edinburgh may, at a future 
‘period, be as famous for its lofty specimens of forest trees as is 
Syon House at the present day; but a few years’ neglect, and 
those fine trees, which now have the appearance of an unshorn 
hedge, are irrecoverably lost, either for ornament or usefulness, 
‘and their tall timber and branchless stems will set the powers 
of nature and of art, to reduce them to goodly forms, at 
defiance. | 

Annat Cottage, Braes of Gowrie, Oct. 28. 1842, 


[ We sincerely hope that the very judicious remarks contained 
in Mr. Gorrie’s article will not be lost on the Lord Provost and 
town council of Edinburgh. It was, no doubt, a great step; 
thirty years ago, to get trees planted in the Nor’ Loch at all; and 
‘the effect on us, when we first saw these plantations, in August, 
1841, was like enchantment, as compared with the state of the 
ground when we left Scotland. But it was not then customary 
to pay much attention to the kinds of trees planted; or to their 
disposition in groups, or in such a manner as to have always 
one kind preyailing in one place. Neither were the value of 


Sedum Siebéldi. 629. 


evergreens, either as trees or undergrowths, more especially the 
latter, so well understood then as at present. Were these 
plantations to be made again, a very different feeling would be 
evinced, and the space now covered with the commonest trees, 
almost all deciduous, and without evergreen shrubs, would pro- 
bably be made to contain such a collection as would constitute a 
tolerably complete arboretum. We do not suppose there is a 
finer situation any where for peat-earth trees and shrubs than 
the bottom of the Nor’ Loch; and, hence, rhododendrons, azaleas, 
kalmias, and all the numerous and beautiful species of American 
trees and shrubs, which delight in a moist, peaty, rich soil, 
might produce there a splendid effect. The sloping bank of the 
Castle Hill is equally well adapted for a pinetum, and it is quite 
Jarge enough to afford space for one plant, or even two, of all 
the hardy Conifere, and half a dozen of such species as the 
Araucaria imbricata, the deodar cedar, and the cedar of Leba- 
non. The bank on the Prince’s Street side might be devoted to 
the common kinds of trees, and the shrubs (exclusive of the peat- 
earth kinds to be planted in the bottom) might be distributed 
along the walks. One plant of each species might be named, as 
in the London parks (see p. 643.); and in the open places here 
and there, near the walks, but so as never to interfere with 
breadth of effect, there might be small circular beds, from 2 ft. 
to 6 ft. in diameter, for masses of flowers, one kind only being 
sown or planted in a bed, in order to produce masses of colour. 
It is not yet too late to carry out these suggestions in con- 
nexion with the thinning recommended by Mr. Gorrie; but it 
would be necessary to give up the idea of pasturage, and of 
letting part of the ground as a nursery, and to keep the grass 
short by mowing. If this mowing, however, were followed up 
closely on the growth of the grass, it would, in a few years, 
weaken the roots so much as to diminish the frequency of 
its recurrence. 

If these suggestions of ours are considered extravagant, the 
same objections cannot be made to those of Mr. Gorrie, which, 
we again say, will, we trust, meet with due attention in the 
proper quarter. | — Cond. 


Art. VIII. On Sédum Siebdldi, and other Plants of low Growth, 
By RicHarp ToncuE, Esq. 


«‘ SzpuM Siebdéld7, a plant which, although hardy, does not 
grow to perfection in the open air, but succeeds best when 
treated as a greenhouse plant.”’ (Gard. Chron., p. 671. 1842.) 


Lest the above should deter any one from placing Sédum 
ss 3 


630 Sédum. Siebdldi. 


Siebéldz in the open border, I wish to state that it is now, 
October 20th, in as great perfection, in my garden, as could be 
desired, furnishing it with a little plot of rosy bloom, when all 
hardy and low-growing perennials, besides itself, are out of 
flower. 

Plants of humble growth, and those which creep or trail 
upon the ground, are never seen to much advantage when 
merely dotting or starring rockwork, a use for which it is cus- 
tomary to recommend them. It is when spreading over mini- 
ature hils, or creeping down the steeps of tiny ravines, after 
nature’s own fashion, that they surprise the eye with a blaze of 
beauty surpassing, if possible, that which is cast upon moun- 
tains by a glorious sunset. It is then, too, that they, though out 
of flower, can give us superior delight, if the artist can make 
good use of the various shades of green and grey which they 
afford him. A little knoll of grass-green saxifrage, and a mon- 
ticule of variegated stonecrop (the latter appearing as if gilded 
with the rays of the setting sun, and the former resembling a 
rich pasture in May), are of themselves beautiful objects in the 
month of March; but when forming with others a scene, they 
become doubly interesting, even at that bleak time of the year, 
for there are then, for relief, the darker greens of speedwells, 
the grey, almost the white, foliage of mouse-ear chickweed, the 
grey-green of Alyssum saxatile, the snow-white flowers of the 
alpine reck-cress, the pink bloom of rica carnea, and, to 
darken nooks and dells, our native heaths and periwinkle. 

We frequently witness how much elegance and beauty can 
be produced out of the commonest materials, when arranged by 
the dexterous hand of a woman of taste; and the most neglected 
moor plants of our own country need but the same mind to 
direct their arrangement, in order to become surpassingly beau- 
tiful. The truth of this will be evident to any one who, alive to 
- the beauties of nature, has seen mountain or moorland bright- 
ened in one spot by the numerous flowers of procumbent bed- 
straw, and glowing in another with wild thyme or with Hrica 
cinérea; but more strikingly true will the observation appear to 
him who in his rambles may have been fortunate enough to find 
large spaces 


“ gleaming with purple and gold ;” 


notwithstanding that imperial conjunction of colours be made by 
nothing more than valueless heaths and dwarf whins. 


Forton Cottage, near Lancaster, 
Oct. 2. 1842. 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 631 


REVIEWS. 


ART. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those 
considered the more interesting. 


THE Suburban Horticulturist ; or, an Attempt to teach the Science and Practice 
of the Culture and Management of the Kitchen, Fruit, and Forcing Garden, te 
those who have had no previous Knowledge or Practice in these Departments 
of Gardening. By J.C. Loudon, F.L.S., H.S., &c. Illustrated with En- 
gravings on Wood. 1 vol. 8vo, pp. 732, and 383 woodcuts. London, 


1842. 


We have taken a great deal of pains with this volume, and we hope we 
have produced a work which will be more useful to the amateur and the 
young gardener than any other of the kind. We shall only, at present, give 
an extract from the Contents. 

« Names of the Fruits and Culinary Vegetables cultivated in British Gar- 
dens, in different Languages, &c. List of Engravings. Introduetion. 

Part I, Facts relative to Plants, the Soil, Manures, the Atmosphere, &c., 
on which Horticulture is founded. 

Chap. 1. Plants considered with reference to their Culture in Gardens. 
Sect. 1. The Analogy between Plants and Animals considered with refe- 
rence to Horticulture. Sect. 2. Classification of Plants, with a view to 
Horticulture. Sect. 3. Nomenclature of Plants with a view to Horticulture. 
Sect. 4. Structure of Plants with a view to Horticulture. Sect. 5. Func- 
tions of Plants with reference to Horticulture. Sect. 6. The Geographical 
Distribution of Plants, and their Stations and Habitations, with reference ta 
their Culture in Gardens. 

Chap. IT. Soils considered with reference to Horticulture. Sect. 1. Origin 
and Kinds of Soils. Sect.2. The Improvement of Soils with a view to 
Horticulture. 

Chap. 111. Manures considered with reference to Horticulture. Sect. 1. 
Organic Manures. Sect.2. Inorganic Manures. Sect. 3. Mixed Manures. 

Chap. IV. The Atmosphere considered with reference to Horticulture, 
Sect. 1. Heat considered with reference to Horticulture. Sect. 2. Atmo- 
spheric Moisture considered with reference to Horticulture. Sect. 3. The 
Agitation of the Atmosphere considered with reference to Horticulture. 
Sect. 4. Light considered with reference to Horticulture. 

Chap. V. Worms, Snails, Slugs, Reptiles, Birds, &c., considered with refe- 
rence to Horticulture. Sect. 1. The Earth-worm considered with reference ta 
Horticulture. Sect. 2. Snails and Slugs considered with reference to Horti- 
culture. Sect. 3. Insects considered with reference to Horticulture. Subsect. 1. 
Of the Nature of Insects, and their Classification. Subsect. 2. Transformation 
of Insects. Subsect. 3. Food of Insects. Subsect. 4. Distribution and Habits 
of Insects. Subsect. 5. Uses of Insects. Subsect. 6. Means contrived by 
Nature to limit the Multiplication of Insects. Subsect. 7. Means devised by 
Art for arresting the Progress of Insects in Gardens, or of destroying them 
there. Sect. 4. Amphibious Animals considered with reference to Horticul- 
ture. Sect. 5. Birds considered with reference to Horticulture. Sect. 6. 
The smaller Quadrupeds considered with reference to Horticulture. 

Chap. VI. Diseases and Accidents of Plants considered with reference to 
Horticulture. 

Parr II. Implements, Structures, and Operations of Horticulture. 

Chap. I. Implements of Horticulture. Sect. 1. General Observations on 
the Construction and Uses of the Implements usedin Horticulture. Sect. 2. 
Tools used in Horticulture. Sect. 3. Instruments used in Horticulture, 

ss 4 


632 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


Sect. 4. Utensils used in Horticulture. Sect. 5. Machines used in Horti- 
culture. Miscellaneous Articles used in Horticulture. 

' Chap. II. Structures and Edifices of Horticulture. Sect. 1. Portable, Tem- 

porary, and Movable Structures. Sect. 2. Fixed Structures used in Horti- 

culture. Subsect. 1. Walls, Espalier Rails, and Trelliswork. Subsect. 2. 

Fixed Structures for growing Plants with Glass Roofs. Subsect. 3. Edifices 

used in Horticulture. 

Chap. III. Operations of Horticulture. Sect. 1. Horticultural Labours. 
Subsect. 1. Horticultural Labours on the Soil. Subsect. 2. Garden Labours 
with Plants. Sect. 2. Operations of Culture. Subsect.1. Propagation, 
§ 1. On Propagation by Seed. § 2. On Propagation by Cuttings. § 3. Pro- 
pagation by Leaves. § 4. Propagation by Layers. § 5. Propagation by 
Suckers, Slips, Offsets, Runners, and Simple Division. § 6. Propagation by 
grafting, inarching, aud budding. § 7. Grafting by detached Scions. § 8. 
Grafting by approach or inarching. {§ 9. Budding or grafting by detached 
Buds. Subsect. 2. Rearing. § 1. Transplanting and Planting. § 2. Potting 
and Repotting or Shifting. § 3. Pruning, § 4. Thinning. § 5. Training. 
§ 6. Weeding. § 7. Watering. § 8. Stirring the Soil and Manuring. § 9. 
Blanching. § 10. Protection from atmospherical Injuries. § 11. Accele- 
rating Vegetation. § 12. Retarding Vegetation. § 13. Resting Vegetation. 
§ 14. Operations of gathering, preserving, keeping, and packing. § 15. Se- 
lecting and improving Plants in Culture. § 16. Operations of Order and 
Keeping. 

Chap. IV. Operations of Horticultural Design and Taste. 

Chap. V. Operations of general Management. 

Part III. The Culture of the Kitchen, Fruit, and Forcing Garden. 

Chap. I. Laying out and planting the Kitchen and Fruit Garden. Sect. 1, 
Laying out the Kitchen-Garden. Sect.2. The Distribution of Fruit Trees 
in a Kitchen-Garden. Subsect. 1. Wall-fruit Trees. Subsect. 2. Fruit 
Trees for Espaliers and Dwarfs. Subsect. 3. Fruit Shrubs. Subsect. 4. 
Selection of Fruit Trees adapted for an Orchard. 

Chap. If. Cropping and general Management of a Kitchen-Garden Sect. 1, 
Cropping. Sect. 2. Rotation of Crops. Sect. 3. Planting, sowing, cul- 
tivating, and managing. 

Chap. JII. The Forcing Department. Sect. 1. Culture of the Pine-apple, 
and Management of the Pinery. Subsect. 1. Natural Data on which the 
Culture of the Pine-apple is founded. Subsect. 2. Culture of the Pine-apple 
in British Gardens. ‘Sect.2. Culture of the Grape Vine under Glass and on 
Walls. Subsect. 1. Natural Data on which the Culture of the Grape Vine 
is founded. Subsect. 2. Propagation, pruning, and trainingthe Vine. Sub- 
sect. 3. Culture of the Grape Vine under Glass. Subsect. 4. Growing the 
Grape on open Walls, and on Cottages. Subsect. 5. Insects, Diseases, &c., 
of the Grape Vine. Sect. 3. Culture of the Peach and Nectarine under Glass. 
Subsect. 1. Natural Data on which the Culture of the Peach is founded. 
Subsect. 2. Culture of the Peach under Glass in British Gardens. Subsect. 3. 
The Details of a routine Course of forcing the Peach for two Years. Sect. 4. 
Culture of the Cherry under Glass. Subsect. 1. Natural Data for the Culture 
of the Cherry. Subsect. 2. The Practice of Cherry-forcing in British Gardens. 
Sect. 5. Culture of the Fig under Glass. Subsect.1 . Natural Data on which 
the Culture of the Fig is founded. Subsect. 2. The forcing of the Fig as 
practised in British Gardens. Sect. 6. On forcing the Plum, Apricot, Goose- 
berry, and other Fruit Shrubs. Sect. 7. Culture of the Melon. Subsect. 1. 
Natural and experimental Data on which the Culture of the Melon is founded, 
Subsect. 2. Culture of the Melonas practised in British Gardens. Sect. 8. 
Culture of the Cucumber. Subsect. 1. Data on which the Culture of the 
Cucumber is founded. Subsect. 2. Culture of the Cucumber in a Dung Bed. 
Subsect. 3. Culture of the Cucumber in Pits heated by Dung Linings, Flues, or 
hot Water. Subsect. 4. Culture and Treatment of the Cucumber for Prize 
Exhibitions. Subsect. 5. Cultivation of the Cucumber in the open Air, 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 633 


Sect. 9. Culture of the Banana. Sect. 10. Forcing the Strawberry. 
Sect. 11. Forcing the Asparagus, Sea-Kale, Rhubarb, Chicory, and other 
fleshy Roots. Sect. 12. Forcing the common Potato, the sweet Potato, and 
other Tubers. Sect. 13. Forcing Kidneybeans and Peas. Sect. 14. Forcing 
Salads, Potherbs, Sweet Herbs, and other culinary Plants. Sect.15. Forcing 
the Mushroom. Subsect. 1. Data on which the Culture and Forcing of the 
Mushroom is founded. Subsect. 2. Forcing the Mushroom in British 
Gardens. 

Chap. IV. Catalogue of Fruits. Sect. 1. Hardy or Orchard Fruits. 
Subsect. 1. The Apple. Subsect. 2. The Pear. Subsect. 3. The Quince. 
Subsect. 4. The Medlar. Subsect.5. The True Service. Subsect. 6. The 
~ Cherry. Subsect. 7. The Plum. Subsect.8. The Gooseberry. Subsect. 9. 
The Red and White Currant. Subsect. 10. The Black Currant. Subsect. 11. 
The Raspberry. Subsect. 12. The Strawberry. Subsect. 13. The Cran- 
berry. Subsect.14. The Mulberry. Subsect.15. The Walnut. Subsect. 16, 
The Sweet Chestnut. Subsect. 17. The Filbert. Subsect. 18. The Ber- 
berry, Elderberry, Cornelian Cherry, Buffalo-berry, and Winter Cherry, 
Sect. 2. Half-hardy or Wall Fruits. Subsect.1. The Grape. Subsect. 2. 
The Peach and Nectarine. Subsect. 3. The Almond. Subsect. 4. The 
Apricot. Subsect. 5. The Fig. Subsect. 6. The Pomegranate. Subsect. 7. 
The Peruvian Cherry. Sect. 3. Tropical or Sub-tropical Fruits. Subsect. 1. 
The Pine-apple. Subsect. 2. The Banana. Subsect.3. The Melon. Sub- 
sect. 4. The Cucumber. Subsect. 5. The Pumpkin and Gourd. Subsect. 6. 
The Tomato, the Egg-plant, and the Capsicum. _ Subsect. 7. The Orange 
Family. Subsect. 8. The Guana, Lo-quat, Granadilla, and other Fruits little 
known in British Gardens. Subsect. 9. Remarks applicable to Fruit Trees 
and Fruit-bearing Plants generally. 

Chap. V. Catalogue of Culinary Vegetables. Sect. 1. Brassicaceous Es- 
culents, or the Cabbage Tribe. Sect. 2. Leguminaceous Esculents. Sub- 
sect. 1. The Pea. Subsect. 2. The Bean. Subsect. 3. The Kidneybean. 
Sect. 3. Radicaceous Esculents. Subsect. 1. The Potato. Subsect. 2. The 
Jerusalem Artichoke. Subsect. 3. The Turnip. Subsect. 4. The Carrot. 
Subsect. 5. The Parsnep. Subsect.6. The Red Beet. Subsect.7. The 
Skirret, Scorzonera, Salsify, and Ginothéra, Subsect. 8. The Hamburgh 
Parsley. Subsect. 9. The Radish. Subsect. 10. O’xalis Déppei, O. crenata, 
and Tropz'olum tuberosum. Sect. 4. Spimaceous Esculents. Subsect. 1. The 
common Spinach, Subsect. 2. Orach or French Spinach. Subsect. 3. New 
Zealand Spinach. Subsect.4. Perennial Spinach. Subsect. 5. The Spinach Beet, 
and the Chard Beet. Subsect. 6. Patience Spinach. Subsect. 7. The Sorrel. 
Sect. 5. Alliaceous Esculents. Subsect. 1. The Onion. Subsect.2. The 
Leek. Subsect.3. The Shallot. Subsect. 4. The Garlic. Subsect. 5. The 
Chive. Subsect.6. The Rocambole. Sect. 6. Asparagaceous Esculents. 
Subsect. 1, The Asparagus. . Subsect 2. The Sea-Kale. Subsect. 3. The 
- Artichoke. Subsect. 4. The Cardoon. Subsect. 5. The Rampion. Sub- 
sect. 6. Substitutes for Asparagaceous Esculents. Sect. 7. Acetariaceous 
Esculents. Subsect. 1. The Lettuce. Subsect. 2. The Endive. Subsect. 3. 
The Succory. Subsect. 4. The Celery. Subsect. 5. The Lamb’s Lettuce, 
Burnet, the Garden Cress, Winter Cress, American Cress, and Water Cress, 
Subsect. 6. Small Salads. Subsect. 7. Substitutes for Acetariaceous Escu- 
lents. Sect.8. Adornaceous Esculents. Subsect.1. The Parsley. Sub- 
sect. 2. The Chervil, the Coriander, the Anise, Dill, Fennel, Tarragon, and 
Purslane. Subsect. 3. The Indian Cress, Borage, and Marigold. Subsect. 4. 
The Horseradish and Substitutes. Sect, 9. Condimentaceous Esculents, 
Subsect. 1. The Rhubarb. Subsect. 2. The Angelica, Elecampane, Sam- 
phire, Caper, &c. Sect. 10. Aromaceous Esculents. Sect. 11. Fungaceous 
Esculents. Sect. 12. Odoraceous Herbs. Sect. 13. Medicaceous Herbs, 
‘Sect. 14. Toxicaceous Herbs. 

Supplementary Notes. A Monthly Calendar of Operations. General 
Index.” 


634 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


The Ladies’ Companion to the Flower-Garden: being an Alphabetical Arrangement 
of all the ornamental Plants usually grown in Gardens and Shrubberies ; with 
full Directions for their Culture. By Mrs.Loudon. Second edition, with 
considerable additions and corrections. 12mo, pp. 350. London, 1842. 


It may be sufficient to state of this work that it has already come to a 
second edition, and that this edition is brought down to the present time. 
This the author has been enabled to do in consequence of the work not being 
stereotyped ; a practice which has led, in various instances that we could name, 
to the deception of the public, the injury of authors, and the retardation of 
science. We could name a work in which successive impressions of the ste- 
reotype plates have been designated on the title page so many editions, and in 
which even the date of the preface, as well as that of the titlepage, has 
been altered without consulting the author. We know of no remedy for this, 
unless it be a law to compel those who stereotype books to have that stated, 
and the year in which it is done, on the titlepage. 


The Botanical Text-Book for Colleges, Schools, and private Students : comprising 
Part I, An Introduction to structural and physiological Botany. Part II. The 
Principles of systematic Botany ; with an Account of the chief natural Families 
of the Vegetable Kingdom, and Notices of the principal officinal or otherwise 
useful Plants. Illustrated with numerous Engravings on Wood. By Asa 
Gray, M.D., &c. 8vo, pp. 413. New York and Boston, 1842. 


We have received this book just in time to take a rapid glance at its pages, 
and to say that it appears to us a very excellent work. Part I. treats of 
structural and physiological botany, and Part II. of systematic botany, There 
are numerous woodcuts, which are very well executed; and the paper, type, 
and printing, are equal to those of any London publication. 


Botany for Ladies; or, a Popular Introduction to the Natural System of Plants, 
according to the Classification of DeCandolle. By Mrs. Loudon, Author of 
“ Instructions in Gardening for Ladies,” “ Year Book of Natural History,” 
* Companion to the Flower-Garden,” &c. 12mo, pp. 493. London, 1842. 


The author, after stating that, when a child, she found the Linnean system 
so repulsive, that, though she frequently tried, she never could learn botany, 
goes on to say, that, after she married, she determined to try whether she could 
succeed any betterby the natural system. At first she was in despair, on ac- 
count of the hard names of Vasculares, Cellulares, Monocotyledons, Dicoty- 
ledons, that seemed to stand on the very threshold of the science, as if to 
forbid the entrance of any but the initiated. 

«« Some time afterwards, as I was walking through the gardens of the Hor- 
ticultural Society at Chiswick, my attention was attracted by a mass of the 
beautiful crimson flowers of Malope grandiflora. I had never seen the plant 
before, and I eagerly asked the name. ‘ It is some Malvaceous plant,’ 
answered Mr. Loudon, carelessly; and immediately afterwards he left me to 
look at some trees which he was about to have drawn for his Arboretum 
Britannicum. ‘Some Malvaceous plant,’ thought I, as I continued looking 
at the splendid bed before me; and then I remembered how much the form 
of these beautiful flowers resembled that of the flowers of the crimson Mallow, 
the botanical name of which I recollected was Malva. ‘ I wish I could find 
out some other Malvaceous plant, I thought to myself; and when we soon 
afterwards walked through the hothouses, I continued to ask if the Chinese 
Hibiscus, which I saw in flower there, did not belong to Malvacez. I was 
answered in the affirmative; and I was so pleased with my newly-acquired 
knowledge, that I was not satisfied till I had discovered every Malvaceous 
plant that was in flower in the garden. I next learned to know the Crucife- 
rous and Umbelliferous plants ; and thus I acquired a general knowledge of 
three extensive orders with very little trouble to myself. My attention was 
more fairly aroused, and by learning one order after another, I soon attained a 
sufficient knowledge of botany to answer all the purposes for which I wished 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 635 


to learn it, without recurring to the hard words which had so much alarmed 
me at the outset. One great obstacle to my advancement was the difficult 
Thad in understanding botanical works. With the exception of Dr. Lindley’s 
Ladies’ Botany, they were all sealed books to me; and even that did not tell 
half I wanted to know, though it contained a great deal I could not under- 
stand. It is so difficult for men whose knowledge has grown with their growth, 
and strengthened with their strength, to imagine the state of profound ignorance 
in which a beginner is, that even the elementary books are like the old Eton 
grammar when it was written in Latin—they require a master to explain 
them. It is the want that I have felt that has induced me to write the fol- 
lowing pages; in which I have endeavoured to meet the wants of those who 
may be now in the same difficulties that I was in myself. 

“ The course I pursued is also that which I shall point out to my readers. 
I shali first endeavour to explain to them, as clearly as I can, the botanical 
characteristics of the orders which contain plants. commonly grown in British 
gardens ; and at the end of my work I shall lay before them a slight outline 
of all the orders scientifically arranged, which they may study or not as 
they like. Most ladies will, however, probably be satisfied with knowing the 
orders containing popular plants ; and these, I am confident, they will never 
repent having studied. Indeed, I do not think that I could form a kinder wish 
for them, than to hope that they may find as much pleasure in the pursuit as 
I have derived from it myself. Whenever I go into any country I have for- 
merly visited, I feel as though I were endowed with a new sense. Even the 
very banks by the sides of the roads, which I before thought dull and unin- 
teresting, now appear fraught with beauty. A new charm seems thrown over 
the face of nature, and a degree of interest is given to even the commonest 
weeds. I have often heard that knowledge is power, and I am quite sure that 
it contributes greatly to enjoyment. A man knowing nothing of natural history, 
and of course not caring for any thing relating to it, may travel from one ex- 
tremity of a country to the other, without finding any thing to interest, or even 
amuse him ; but the man of science, and particularly the botanist, cannot walk 
a dozen yards along a beaten turnpike-road without finding something to excite 
his attention. A wild plant in a hedge, a tuft of moss on a wall, and even 
the lichens which discolour the stones, all present objects of interest, and of 
admiration for that Almighty Power whose care has provided the flower to 
shelter the infant germ, and has laid up a stock of nourishment in the seed to 
supply the first wants of the tender plant. It has been often said that the 
study of nature has a tendency to elevate and ameliorate the mind ; and 
there is perhaps no branch of natural history which more fully illustrates the 
truth of this remark than botany.” 
_ With this quotation we leave the work in the hands of the reader, simply 
observing that we think it by far the best introduction to the natural system 
of botany, for grown up persons, amateurs, whether male or female, that has 
yet appeared. 


The Little English Flora, or a Botanical and Popular Account of all our common 
Field Flowers, with numerous Woodcuts and Engravings on Steel of every 
Species. By G. W. Francis, F.L.S. Second edition, greatly improved and 
augmented. 12mo, pp. 213. London, 1842. 


We noticed the first edition of this work in our Volume for 1839, p. 87., and 
are glad to find that it has come to a second edition. It is certainly a re- 
markable example of concentration and exceedingly cheap, and, we can most 
strongly recommend it to every young lady living in the country. 


An Analysis of the British Ferns and their Allies. By G. W. Francis, F.L.S. 
Second edition. 8vo, pp. 88. London, 1842. 


We have spoken in favour of this work in a former volume, and at 
present have little more to say, than that the ferns are now becoming a very 
fashionable study, and their collection in gardens is so frequent, that we ob- 


636. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


serve Mr. Pamplin, and some others of the London nurserymen, advertising 
ferns for sale. The study of ferns recommends itself in a particular manner 
to persons living in moist districts, not only because ferns thrive best in a 
moist climate, but because in such climates a great variety of ferns will gene- 
rally be found indigenous; for example, Devonshire and Ayrshire. The same 
thing may be observed of mosses and lichens. 


Rivers’s Selected Catalogue of Roses, for the Autumn of 1842 and the Spring 

of 1843. 

Lane and Sons’ Catalogue of Roses for 1842-3. 
Wood and Sons’ Descriptive Catalogue of Roses, for the Autumn of 1842 and 

Spring of 1843. 

Hooker’s Catalogue of Roses for 1842-3. 

These are all delightful harbingers of spring, and they come in suitably to 
fill up the pause that would otherwise occur between leaving off and begin- 
ning again. We hail them, therefore, with pleasure, and strongly recommend 
them to intending purchasers. 


The Book of the Farm. By Henry Stephens, Editor of the Quarterly Journal 
of Agriculture.’ Part VIII. 8vo, pp.96. Edinburgh and London. 


The present number is the commencement of the second volume, and is il- 


lustrated with a profusion of very well executed wood cuts. In other respects. 


the work maintains its high character. 


What can be done for English Agriculture 2 A Letter to the Most Noble the 
Marquess of Northampton, F.G.S., F.A.S., Sc. §c., President of the Royal 
Society, By J. F. W. Johnston, M,A,, F.R.SS.L.& E., &c. Pamph, 
8vo, pp. 39. Edinburgh, London, Durham, Dublin, and all Booksellers. 
ericells. 

We ought to have noticed this pamphlet before. It is a fit companion to 


Greg’s Scotch Farming, noticed in our last Number, p. 569. ; and, like it, is in: 


favour of leases of 19 or 21 years, corn rents, and payment chiefly in kind to 
agricultural labourers. Without the first, neither capital nor skill will ever be 
applied to agriculture to any extent, and consequently no improvement worth 


mentioning can take place ; without a corn rent no man is safe in taking a. 


farm on lease while the present corn law exists ; and, without labourers paid 
in kind, there can be no certainty of having workmen sufficiently fed to do the: 
work required of them, in years when the necessaries of life are dear. We do 
not know any change that would be so much for the benefit of the English 


agricultural labourer, as paying him in flour, potatoes, and a certain quantity 


of butcher’s meat, butter, and milk ; with something also in money to procure 


clothes, groceries, &c. We feel confident that the advantage to the farmer: 


would be equally great. : 


First Additional Supplement to the Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa 
Architecture and Furniture ; bringing down Improvements in these Arts to: 
1842. Illustrated by nearly 300 Engravings of Designs by thirty different 
Contributors. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S., &c. 8vo, pp. 161. London, 
1842, 

The best mode of giving the reader an idea of what this work contains 
will be to copy its Contents. 

~ ©Cuap, I. Cottages for Country Labourers and Mechanics, and for 

Gardeners, Foresters, Bailiffs, and other upper out-of-door Servants in the 


Country, including Gate-Lodges and Gates. Sect. I. Designs for Model’ 


Cottages. Subs. 1. Agriculturist’s Model Cottage, No.1. Subs. 2. Agri- 
culturist’s Model Cottage, No.2. Subs. 3. Mechanic’s Model Cottage. 
Subs. 4. Placing the Model Cottages in Rows. Subs. 5. Forming Combi- 
nations of Dwellings of the humblest Class. Sect. If. A Selection of Plans 
of Cottages which have been erected in different Parts of the Country. 


ei ye Tal a ond 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 637 


Sect. III. Miscellaneous Designs for Cottages (chiefly ornamental). 1. A 
Cottage, with ornamental Elevations, in the Style of the ancient half-timbered 
Houses of England. 2. A Gate-Lodge, combining a Stable in the Swiss 
Style. 3. A Gate-Lodge and Gates. 4. A Gate-Lodge at Ravensworth 
Castle. 5. A Cottage in the Style of the Wingfield Station House, on the 
North Midland Railway. 6. A Cottage in the Style of the Eckington Rail- 
way Station. 7. A Cottage in the Modern Italian Style. 8. A Cottage in 
the Style of the Belper Railway Station. 9. A Cottage in the Style of the 
Ambergate Railway Station. 10. The Edensor Gate-Lodges and Gates at 
Chatsworth. 11 to 14. Four Ornamental Cottages, with the same Accom- 
modation as in the Model Cottage, No. 1. 15. A Cottage in the Style of 
Heriot’s Hospital, Edinburgh. 16. The Dairy Lodge, erected at Chequers 
Court, Buckinghamshire, for Sir Robert Frankland Russell, Bart. 17 to 26. 
The Cottages in Cassiobury Park. 27. A Gate-Lodge or Cottage. 28. A 
Turnpike Lodge. 29. A Cyclopean Cottage. 30. The Penshurst Gate- 
Lodge at Redleaf, the Seat of William Wells, Esq. 31. The Home Lodge 
at Chequers Court. 32. The Keeper’s Lodge at Bluberhouses. 33. A 
Cottage in the Gothic Style for an upper Servant. 34. Double Cottages for 
two upper Servants. 35. A Cottage in the Old English Style. Sect. IV. 
Construction and Materials of Cottages. Sect. V. Cottage Fittings-up and 
Furniture. Sect. VI. Villages. 

“ Cuap. II. Cottage Villas and Villas. 1. A Villa in the Swiss Style. 2. 
A Villa adapted for a Situation in the Neighbourhood of Ayr. 3. A small 
Villa in the Modern Style. 4. A small Villa for a Gentleman much attached 
to Gardening. 5. Annat Cottage, near Errol, Perthshire. 6. A Cottage in 
the Old English Style. 7. A small Roman Villa. 8. A Roman Villa, de- 
signed for a particular Situation. 9 to 12. Small Villas in the Gothic Style. 
13. Sir John Robison’s House, Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh. 14. A 
Land-Steward’s House in the Neighbourhood of Inverness. 15. A Villa in 
the Italian Style. 16. A small Gothic Villa, suited to the Suburbs of a large 
Town. 17. An Anglo-Grecian Villa. 

“Cuap. III. Farm Buildings. 

“ Cuap. LV. Schools, Inns, Workhouses, and Almshouses. 1. A School 
in the Italian Style. 2. Description and Specification, with Details, of Dun- 
church Sunday School. 3. A Union Workhouse. 4. The Almshouses at 
Oving. 5. A Public-House. 6. The Hand and Spear Hotel, at Weybridge, 
Surrey. 

“Cuap. V. Details of Construction applicable to Cottages, Farm Build- 
ings, Villas, &c. Sect. I. Foundations and Walls. Sect. II. Roofs and 
Floors. Sect. III. Windows and Doors. Sect. IV. Chimney-Tops and 
Smoky Chimneys. Sect. V. Ventilation. Sect. VI. Tanks and Cottage 
Priyies. Sect. VII. Construction and Arrangement of a Bath Room. Sect. 
VIII. Gates and Fences. Sect. IX. Miscellaneous Details. Sect. X. Ma- 
terials. 

“Cuap. VI. Fittings-up, Finishing, and Furnishing. Sect. I. Modes of 
Heating. Sect. II. Interior Fittings-up and Finishing. Sect. III. Kitchen 
Fittings-up and Furniture. Sect. 1V. Bed-room Furniture. Sect. V. Fur- 
niture for Living-Rooms. 

““Cuap. VII. Hints to Proprietors desirous of improving the Labourers’ 
Cottages on their Estates.” 

To those who are not likely to procure the work, we give the following as 
the most important part of it as far as respects labourers’ cottages; though 
the greater part will apply to houses of every description. 

“2242. The essential Requsites for a comfortable labourer’s cottage may 
be thus summed up : — 

“]. The cottage should be placed alongside a public road, as being more 
cheerful than a solitary situation; and in order that the cottager may enjoy 
the applause of the public when he has his garden in good order and keeping. 
_ “2. The cottage should be so placed that the sun may shine on every side’ 


638 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


of it every day throughout the year, when he is visible. For this reason, the 
front of the cottage can only be parallel to the public road in the case of roads 
in the direction of north-east, south-west, north-west, and south-east ; in all 
other cases the front must be placed obliquely to the road, which, as we have 
previously shown, is greatly preferable to having the front parallel to the road. 
_ “3. Every cottage ought to have the floor elevated, that it may be dry; 
the walls double, or hollow, or battened, or not less than 18 in. thick, that 
they may retain heat ; with a course of slate or flagstone, or tiles bedded in 
cement, 6 in. above the surface, to prevent the rising of damp; the roof thick, 
or double, for the sake of warmth ; and projecting 18 in. or 2 ft. at the eaves, 
in order to keep the walls dry, and to check the radiation of heat from their 
exterior surface. 

“4, In general, every cottage ought to be two stories high, so that the 
sleeping-rooms may not be on the ground floor, and the ground floor ought 
not to be less than from 6 in. to 1 ft. above the outer surface. 

“5. The minimum of accommodation ought to be a kitchen or living-room, 
a back-kitchen or wash-house, and a pantry, on the ground floor, with three 
bed-rooms over ; or two rooms and a wash-house on the ground floor, and 
two bed-rooms over. 

“6. Every cottage, including its garden, yard, &c., ought to occupy not 
less than one sixth of an acre; and the garden ought to surround the cottage, 
or at all events to extend both before and behind. In general, there ought to 
be a front garden and a back yard; the latter being entered from the back- 
kitchen, and containing a privy, liquid-manure tank, place for dust and ashes, 
and place for fuel. 

“7, If practicable, every cottage ought to stand singly and surrounded by 
its garden ; or, at all events, not more than two cottages ought to be joined 
together. Among other important arguments in favour of this arrangement, it 
may be mentioned, that it is the only one by which the sun can shine every 
day on every side of the cottage. When cottages are joined together in a row, 
unless that row is in a diagonal direction, with reference to a south and north 
line, the sun will shine chiefly on one side. By having cottages singly or in 
pairs, they may always be placed along any road, in such a manner that the 
sun may shine on every side of them; provided the point be given up of 
having the front parallel to the road ; a point which, in our opinion, ought 
not for a moment to be put in competition with the advantages of an equal 
diffusion of sunshine. 

“8, Every cottage ought to have an entrance porch for containing the la- 
bourer’s tools, and into which, if possible, the stairs ought to open, in order 
that the bed-rooms may be communicated with without passing through the 
front or back kitchen. This, in the case of sickness, is very desirable; and 
also in the case of deaths, as the remains may be carried down stairs while 
the family are in the front room. 

“9. The door to the front kitchen or best room should open from the 
porch and not from the back-kitchen, which, as it contains the cooking 
utensils and washing-apparatus, can never be fit for being passed through by 
a stranger, or even the master of the family, where proper regard is had by 
the mistress to cleanliness and delicacy. : 

“10. When there is not a supply of clear water from a spring adjoining the 
cottage. or from some other efficient source, then there ought to bea well 
or tank partly under the floor of the back-kitchen supplied from the roof, with 
a pump in the back-kitchen for drawing it up for use, as hereafter described 
in detail. The advantages of having the tank or well under the back-kitchen 
are, that it will be secure from frost, and that the labour of carrying water 
will be avoided. oa 

“11, The privy should always be separated from the dwelling, unless it is 
a proper water-closet, with a soil pipe communicating with a distant lquid- 
manure tank or cesspool. When detached, the privy should be over or 
adjoining a liquid-manure tank, in which a straight tube from the bottom of 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 639 


the basin ought to terminate; by which means the soil basin may always be 
kept clean by pouring down the common slops of the house. No surface 
being left from which smell can arise, except that of the area of the pipe, the 
double flap, to be hereafter described, will prevent the escape of the evapora- 
tion from this small surface, and also insure a dry and clean seat. 

«12. The situation of the liquid-manure tank should be as far as possible 
from that of the filtered water tank or clear water well. It should be covered 
by an air-tight cover of flag-stone, and have a narrow well adjoining, into 
which the liquid should filter through a grating, so as to be pumped up or 
taken away without grosser impurities, and in this state applied to the soil 
about growing crops. 

“13. In general, proprietors ought not to intrust the erection of labourers’ 
cottages on their estates to the farmers, as it is chiefly owing to this practice 
that so many wretched hovels exist in the best cultivated districts of Scot- 
land and in Northumberland. 

“14, No landed proprietor, as we think, ought to charge more for the land 
on which cottages are built than he would receive for it from a farmer, if let 
as part of a farm; and no more rent ought to be charged for the cost of 
building the cottage and enclosing the garden than the same sum would yield 
if invested in land, or, at all events, not more than can be obtained by govern- 
ment securities. 

“15. Most of these conditions are laid down on the supposition that the 
intended builder of the cottage is actuated more by feelings of human 
sympathy than by a desire to make money ; and hence they are addressed to 
the wealthy, and especially to the proprietors of land and extensive manu- 
factories or mines. 

“2557. Designing Cottages. In page 1140 we have summed up the es- 
sential requisites for a labourer’s cottage, with a view to convenience, comfort, 
and other directly useful properties. The following Rules are to be con- 
sidered as additional to those given in the page referred to, and as having for 
their object to superadd to comfort and convenience the beauties of Archi- 
tectural Design and Taste. mir 

“1. Every exterior wall should show a plinth at its base, and a frieze or 
wall-plate immediately under the roof. In the case of earthen walls, the 
plinth should be of brick or stone, and the wall-plate of wood. The stones 
of the plinth should be larger than those used in the plain parts of the wall 
which are above it; and the upper finishing of the plinth may be the outer 
edge of a course of slates, flag-stone, tiles, or bricks, laid in cement, extending 
through the entire thickness of the wall, in order to prevent the rising of 
damp; the appearance of the edge of this course as a moulding or string 
course crowning the plinth will, therefore, be highly expressive of utility: or 
the entire plinth may be built in cement, which will be equally effective in 
preventing the rising of damp, as well as expressive of that important use. 

“2. The pitch of the roof, whatever may be the material with which it is 
covered, should be such as to prevent snow from lying on it; and for this 
purpose the cross section should in many cases be an equilateral triangle. 
Cottages which form gate-lodges in the Grecian or Italian styles form ex- 
ceptions to this rule ; but such lodges never express the same ideas of com- 
fort as high-roofed cottages, with high and bold chimneys, Such lodges, 
indeed, are commonly called ‘boxes;’ and in fact many of them are so de- 
ficient in height, and in every other dimension, that they give rise to ideas the 
very opposite of those of freedom and comfort. 

“3. When the wall of a house is built of rubble-work, small stones, or 
bricks, the sharp right angles formed at the sides of the doors and windows, 
and at the corners of the building are liable to be injured by accident or the 
weather ; so that first the mortar of the joints, and afterwards the stones or 
bricks, drop out. To guard against this evil, or the idea of it, larger stones 
are used in building jambs and corners, or the jambs are splayed or rounded 
off ; while the lintels and sills of the doors and windows are formed of single 


640 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, §c. 


stones. Hence all doors and windows in such walls should be surrounded by 
casings of some sort; or have the jambs, sills, or lintels, splayed. Hence, 
also, the propriety of quoin-stones at the angles of corners, of coping-stones 
to the gables, of cut and dressed stones to the chimney-tops, and of larger 
stones to the plinths than those generally used in the plain parts of the wall 
above them. In the case of earthen walls, the jambs, sills, and lintels may 
be of timber, or formed of brick carried up from the plinth. : 

“4. Every stack of chimneys should consist of four parts: a plinth, which 
should be distinctly seen above the roof; one or more base mouldings, or 
splayed weatherings resting on the plinth; a shaft rising from the base mould- 
ings, of analogous proportions to the doors and windows; and a capital or 
cornice moulding and cap or blocking, as a termination to the shaft. The 
materials of the chimney-tops ought in general to be superior in quality to 
those of the walls ; for example, if the walls are of rubble stone, the chimneys 
should be of stone squared and dressed. When the walls are of earth the 
entire stack of chimneys will, of course, be built of brick or stone. 

«5, When the flues of the chimneys are carried up in the outer wall, there 
ought always to be a projection outwards in that wall, beneath the chimneys, 
carried up from the ground, so as to give the necessary space for the flues, 
the strength of a buttress to the wall, with a sufficient breadth for supporting 
the chimney-tops, and the architectural expression of all these purposes. 

“6, Eaves-gutters, and ridge and hip coverings, with similar details essen- 
tial as ‘finishings,’ as well as for habitableness and comfort, should never be 
omitted. The eaves-gutters should be properly supported by brackets, these 
being of stone or brick, except in the case of earthen walls, where they ought 
to be of wood. 

“7, Over the front door or porch of every cottage, there ought to be a 
worked stone, on which should be cut the name of the cottage, the initials of 
the first occupant, a number, a sign, or some distinctive mark of the cottage, 
by which it may be registered in the Book of the Estate. . 

«8. In rendering cottages ornamental, the most important parts and 
members of structure are those on which most decoration should be be- 
stowed; such as the porch, entrance door, window of the principal room, 
upper parts of the gables, chimney-tops, &c.: and, in ornamenting each 
particular part, the most important details of that part should receive the 
highest degree of decoration ; for example, the hinges and latch or lock of a 
door should be made richer than the muntings and styles, and the muntings 
and styles richer than the panels ; and, hence, a door in which no ornament 
is bestowed on the latch or the binges ought not to have the muntings, styles, 
or panels, studded over with ornamental nail heads as is often done. 

“9, Nothing should be introduced in any design, however ornamental it 
may appear to be, that is at variance with propriety, comfort, or sound work- 
manship. The mind revolts at the idea of tacking the walls of houses wi‘h 
ornaments that have no connexion with construction or use. 

“2558, For the Labourers’ Cottages on Estates managed by Agents, we 
would recommend a tour of inspection by a competent person, and a Report 
drawn up on their present state, and on the means of their improvement. 
The Report should include the character of the surface soil and subsoil on 
which each particular cottage stands; the state of surface and underground 
drainage; the aspect of the different sides of the cottage, and its shelter or 
exposure; the sources of water and of fuel ; the state of the back-yard, &c., 
if any; the state of the garden; and the connexion of the cottage with the 
nearest public road. The cottage itself ought next to be examined as to plan 
and accommodation, height of the side walls, thickness of the walls, roof and 
gutters, floor, windows, stair, fireplace, bed-rooms, exterior appearance, Xc. 
The Report should then point out the additions and alterations necessary to 
render the cottage what it ought to be, illustrating these by plans, sections, 
and sketches, and giving lists of fruit-trees and shrubs, where these are wanting 
for the garden. Would that we could hear of some of the first landed pro- 


| 


Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 641 


prietors in the country haying such Reports made on the labourers’ cottages, 
and the school-houses, on their estates! The practice would soon after be- 
come general, and the good that would ultimately result to the cottager and 
his children, and the accession of beauty, and appearance of comfort, to rural 
scenery, would be immense. 

“ To be a possessor of landed property, we consider the greatest. worldly 
privilege which any man can enjoy. No other kind of property is calculated 
to afford to the possessor so much rational enjoyment, whether in the occu- 
pation required for its cultivation and improvement, or in the recreation which 
it procures in its embellishment. In many, if not in most cases, landed pro- 
perty enables its owner to contribute, in a more immediate and direct manner 
than many other kinds of property, to the happiness of his fellow-creatures, by 
improving the dwellings of those who reside on it; and it enables him to 
procure the applause of the public, by combining improvement with embel- 
lishment in such a manner as to render his estate an ornament to the country 
in which it is situated. There are few or no landed estates which do not 
include a number of habitations, more or less scattered over the land, occupied 
by the humblest and most helpless class of society, common country labourers. 
These dwellings, as we have seen (§ 2233.), are in many places miserable 
within, and in few are they respectable without. Now our earnest desire is, 
to direct the attention of landed proprietors to this subject. On some estates 
the cottages may be already sufficiently comfortable; but in much the greater 
number we know that this is far from being the case : and what is lamentable, 
but nevertheless proved to be true beyond all doubt, is, that on those estates 
in which agriculture is arrived at the highest degree of perfection, for example, 
in the North of England and the South of Scotland (see Dr. Gilly and Mr. 
Donaldson in § 2233.), the cottages of the farmers’ labourers are far worse 
than they are any where else. We would entreat landed proprietors to ex- 
amine the cottages of their labourers themselves, or institute enquiry into 
their condition by competent persons. We would suggest that increasing the 
comforts of the labourer’s home is the most effectual means that can be taken, 
not only for rendering him a better member of society, but a better labourer ; 
and there is, also, no doubt that he will be more likely to bring up his family 
in moral and industrious habits. (See the description of an improved cottage 
and its occupants in p. 1136.) It used to be alleged by some that increasing 
the comforts of cottagers only increased their numbers, and ultimately added 
to the mass of misery among this class ; but this opinion has more recently 
been found to be erroneous, for thinking parents, who possess a strong sense 
of comfort and future enjoyment, will not risk the diminution of the sources 
of happiness by burthening themselves with large families. As a proof of 
the effective working of this principle, we refer to those parts of Germany 
where the labouring population are highly educated ; as, for example, Austria, 
Bavaria, Wurtemburg, and Prussia. 

“The power of improving the health and adding to the comforts of a 
number of individuals, who in a great degree look up to and are dependent 
on us, must surely be a source of happiness to every rightly constituted mind. 
The increased attachment of the benefited party that will thus be produced 
ought equally to be a source of gratification ; independently altogether of the 
increased value to the property, by more durable habitations, stronger and 
steadier workmen, and by families less likely to become paupers, vagrants, or 
pilferers. 

“ The improvement of labourers’ cottages recommends itself to the landed 
proprietor in another point of view, viz. the ornament which such cottages 
will confer on his estate. What can have a more miserable appearance than 
a wretched cottage out of repair, and without a garden? No one blames the 
cottager for this state of things; but the idea of a thoughtless or inhuman 
landlord, or of an unfeeling mercenary agent, immediately occurs. What, on 
the contrary, gives a greater idea of comfort, and of an enlightened benevolent 
landlord, than to see every cottage on his estate rearing its high steep roof 

3d Ser.—1842. XII. TT 


642 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 


and bold architectural chimney tops, indicating ample room and warmth 
within ; the whole in good repair, and surrounded by fruit-trees, in a well 
stocked and neatly kept garden? Every one, in travelling through a country, 
must have observed how much of its beauty depends on the state of its cot- 
tages and their gardens. We would, therefore, entreat the possessors of 
landed property to consider how much of the beauty of the country depends 
upon them ; and we would farther beg of them to ask themselves, whether it 
is not one of the duties entailed on them by the possession of landed pro- 
perty, to render it not only beneficial to their families and to all who live on 
it, but ornamental to the country.” 

In the Gardener’s Chronicle for 1842, p. 436., an error, or rather an omis- 
sion, was pointed out in one of our model plans, viz. that the entrance to the 
living-room was made through the back kitchen. This is unquestionably an 

error, but it is very easily (7mm 

corrected, not only on pa- {C2 y 
per, but even in a house, 
should one be built with 
N such an omission. This 
N will appear evident by jig. 
N76. and fig. 77. In the 
_ former, a is the entrance, 
.LQWEEN 32 the back-kitchen, and c 
i: the front kitchen, In the 
latter, the same apart- 
ments are shown with a 
partition at e, the door f 
opening into the back 
kitchen, and the door g 
opening into the front 
kitchen. 


WWM 


SS 


SO 


EJ] 
LS 
wot 


UL 


WEL eet 


LUIS 


W 


The Grasses of Scotland. By Richard Parnell, M.D., F.R.S.E., &c.  Ilus- 
trated by figures drawn and engraved by the Author. 8vo, pp. 152. 
Edinburgh and London, 1842. 


The grasses of Scotland include 133 species and varieties, all of which are 
here described and figured. In every instance these figures have been drawn 
and engraved by the author. 

“Much attention has been bestowed on the definitions both of genera and 
species. In some instances new genera have been framed, and a few new 
species have been added, while the specific characters are determined through- 
out with the greatest possible care, 

“Under the head of habitat the several countries in which each species is 
known to be produced are expressly stated. The range of the altitude of the 
places of growth is specified as accurately as possible. The time when the 
seed is matured (which it is often useful to know), as well as the time of 
flowering, is everywhere indicated; and notices are introduced of the agri- 
cultural and other properties of such species as are of any value.” 

It is almost unnecessary to say that, to the student in this department of 
botany, the Grasses of Scotland will be found invaluable, from the faithful- 
ness of the figures and the copiousness and accuracy of the descriptions. 
Dr. Parnell’s original intention was, to “ embrace in this work all the grasses 
of the United Kingdom,” and he was only deterred from the “ want of recent 
specimens of the grasses peculiar to England and Ireland.” We trust, how- 
ever, that at no distant period he will be able to accomplish his original 
intention ; and we hope that this notice may be the means of procuring 
him some cooperators. 


Retrospective Criticism. 643 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Art. I. General Notice. 


RIPE Grapes have been sent from Boston, U. S., to Chatsworth, packed in 
cotton wadding, and arrived in a sufficiently good state to admit of testing 
their flavour. (Gard. Chron., 1841, p. 732.) It would thus appear, that, by 
means of steam and railroads, many of the fruits of one hemisphere might be 
distributed over the other ; and thus, not only the comforts, but the luxuries, 
of life will in time be in a great measure equalised all over the world.—Cond. 


Art. II. Retrospective Criticism. 


TRANSPLANTING large and small Trees. —I perceive that your Suburban Hor- 
ticulturist has reached its 14th number; and, though you promised to conclude 
the work with the 12th number, it cannot be a disappointment to your 
readers, as every new number bears evidence of practical utility. My prac- 
tice in transplanting large and small trees, however, leads me to differ from 
you, in both cardinal and minor points, either for immediate or ‘for future 
effect. That your mode of transplanting, by “ heading in,” will succeed to the 
satisfaction of a proprietor who has not seen any other mode practised, and 
that good flourishing trees may be obtained, I have not the least doubt : but, 
that trees of the same age may be taken up and transplanted, and succeed 
better in giving immediate effect, and certainly as well, if not better, for the 
future, without the least mutilation of their branches, I am certain ; putting 
out of the question the chances of having unsound timber in the former case, 
while in the latter there is no more risk to run in this respect than there is in 
timber produced from seed on the ground where it was sown. Though I 
practise the “ heading-in” mode with young trees from the nursery, after being 
planted out one or two years, I feel certain that it is as unsound as it is un- 
natural. A seed is put into the earth in a nursery, take an acorn for instance, 
surrounded by others in such a manner that when its cotyledons expand, the 
pressure of its neighbours is such that it has difficulty in protruding its cor- 
culum. When it has succeeded in this task, and appears above the surface of 
the ground, its foliage is almost smothered by the crowded state of the plants. 
It stands here one or two years, as the case may be, and then it is trans- 
planted into a nursery line. Here it remains till it has undergone another 
_ degree of smother. After this it is more than probable that it gegs transported 
to a clayey soil (where the proper drainers have never shed their balmy influ- 
ence), and there planted in a hole 12 in. by 12 in., which had probably been 
made three months previously, by way of preparing the soil for the reception 
of the young plant, and which hole had held water the whole of that time, as 
would an India-rubber slipper. This is a very curious cradle to rear the 
wooden walls of old England in, but so it has been, for I have witnessed such 
a state of thirgs frequently. Is it surprising, then, that if this plant, so impro- 
perly reared to this stage, does not die the first year after planting, that it 
remains almost stationary for two or three years ? Certainly not. Not to men- 
tion the sudden change which the root of the plant has undergone, the top 
becomes paralysed by the extremes of temperature ; and constricted bark is the 
consequence, which no effort of its broken down energies can remedy : but, 
by the time above specified, the soil having got condensed about its roots, it 
sends out lateral shoots from the collar; hence the notion of “ heading in” 
suggested itself. ‘That “ heading in” is here necessary must be apparent to 
every person of the least pretensions to arboricultural knowledge; but, that 
it would not be necessary after a more natural treatment of the infant plant, I 
have not the smallest doubt. Iam not supposing, for a moment, that the 
above opinion is new ; on the contrary, hundreds of practical persons are well 
aware of the fact, and I only mention it here, by way of showing that these 
TT 2 


644 Retrospective Criticism. 


evils in part remain the same as they ever did in my day, and that it requires 
every person who is well acquainted with them to give them a kick in passing 
till they are brought down. 

During the last twelve years we have planted here some hundreds of singie 
trees and bushes on the turf, and in groups and thickets, with underwood, or 
rather blackthorn and bramble, gorse, broom, &c. The trees consisted of 
oak, lime, elm, walnut, ash, sycamore, Spanish chestnut, horsechestnut, and 
beech, and the single bushes were hawthorn; but by far the greater portion 
were oaks and Spanish chestnuts. They were of various sizes ; the largest 
were about 30 ft. high, of 5 or 6 tons’ weight ; the middle size varied from 
15 ft. to 20 ft. ; and the smallest size varied from 10 ft. to 15 ft. The two last- 
sized trees were taken out of the young plantations, and thousands of the 
smallest size have been taken and planted on ¢renched ground, to form new plant- 
ations. These, I suppose, are about the same kind of stuff which you advise 
to be transplanted by “heading in.” They were all taken up and planted, 
without any previous preparation of either roots or branches, save that neces- 
sary preparation, in all such cases, of having the plantations thinned every 
two years, or thereabouts; as, where the quality of the soil varies as it does 
here, no definite period can be given for the performance of such operations 
as that of thinning, wherefore the operator must be the discriminator. ‘These, 
our smallest stuff; were taken up with as many roots as possible, and with as 
much earth, in the shape of a ball, as could not be conveniently got out of the 
roots. The bottoms of these balls were flattened, and two of them were 
placed on a small machine, or truck as it is here called, the trees standing 
upright; these were taken about a mile and a half, to their place of destina- 
tion, by a horse and two men. The tops of the trees were tied together, and 
a cord from these to the handle of the truck, to prevent the trees from falling 
backwards, and another cord from the same point to a man behind, who pre- 


vented them from falling forwards, or right or left, as the unevenness of the ~ 
road might change their centre of gravity. The men who guided the handle ~ 


of the truck guided the horse also, by lines. The middle-sized trees were 
transported, one at a time, on the same machine. 

This is a very expeditious mode of peopling a barren landscape with trees, 
both for immediate and future effect. The huge old oaks, and other large 
trees, were transplanted by Sir H. Steuart’s three-wheeled machine, in favour 
of which too much cannot be said ; as, where a gentleman determines to have 
the large-sized trees transplanted, they can be transported by that machine 
with the greatest ease, providing always that there is plenty of “ sea-room,” 
as my men term it, that is, plenty of room between the gateways, &c. &c. 


The young trees which we planted on trenched ground were taken up with- 


out balls, and were transported on a waggon with low wheels, 40 or 50 at a 


time, All has been executed on the non-mutilating system, save in those. 
trees which we planted on the turf, where both young and old were pruned - 


up to the browsing line, and they have succeeded to the satisfaction of my 
employer and every other gentleman who has seen them. It has been 


rumoured in the arboricultural world that we fastened the large trees in the 


ground by rails crossing the roots at right angles, the ends of the rails 
being nailed to stakes, and the whole being under the surface of the ground. 
This, however, has not been the case, as we never tied a tree, either 
large or small, with any tie, nail, stake, or rail, whatsoever ; and, as Sir 
Henry Steuart justly observed, the largest trees resist the wind much better 
than the small ones; for, while many of the small trees got blown aside, the 
large ones never moved an inch from the centre of gravity which we left 


them at. Their security in this respect, nevertheless, depends on the exe- — 


cution of the work ; it is hard work, and if it is slipped over, the trees will slip ~ 


down. Wherefore, having practised thus much on the non-mutilating system 


of planting with success, and notwithstanding the practice of gardening teach- 
ing me, that, if ever [transplanted my grandfather, I ought to mutilate both his — 


head and his heels, I no longer subscribe to the ancient practice of transplant- 


Progress of Gardening, Sc. 1 1842. 645 


ing by “heading in;” for, though the phytologists have written much of late 
years to maintain their favourite “ balancing of the head to the capacity of the 
mutilated root,” they must give way in the end to that doctrine which is more 
simple and more rational. Sir H. Steuart observes that “the great and 
leading doctrine with the planters of England respecting the removal of trees 
seems to be, that old trees and young possess similar properties, therefore, they 
should be removed on similar principles ;” and he infers that if it were proved 
that mutilation of the roots and tops of young trees were necessary, it would 
thence follow that old trees should likewise be mutilated. I am convinced 
that both young and old trees should be removed on similar principles, but 
that no mutilation should be applied to the tops of either, and as little muti- 
lation to their roots as possible. 

The newly planted trees were protected from cattle by the tabular tree 
guard (or the dendrophylactic, see Gard. Mag. vol. vi. p. 48., communicated 
by John Hislop, from Ashtead Park); and, of the various tree guards which 
have come under my notice, it “ bears the bell amang them a’.” 

As it is very natural to suppose that every gentleman will insist on having 
the stems of his newly planted trees protected from the mouths cf cattle, it is 
no less the planter’s duty, for his own credit’s sake, to insist that the roots of 
the same should be protected from their feet, which double purpose the tabular 
tree guard serves. —John Pearson. Kinlet, Oct. 24, 1842. 

Bicton Gardens. (p. 555.) — I have just received the last Number of the 
Gardener’s Magazine, and have hastily run over Mr. Barnes’s account of his 
proceedings at Bicton, with which I am much pleased. It would be well if 
many of his brotherhood were to adopt his or similar rules. I have for some 
time contemplated such a system, which is wanted in most large gardens. 
All the Barneses are thorough gardeners. A younger brother lived near this 
place several years, and he was an excellent manager. 1 hope you will induce 
the Devon one to be a frequent correspondent; something is to be learned 
from such men as he. With regard to charcoal, I have myself tried it in 
a small way, without perceiving the beneficial results mentioned by Mr. 
Barnes ; my experiments, however, were only trifling, and imperfectly con- 
ducted. I shall try it again on a larger scale. —7. B. Nov. 3. 1842. 


ANNUAL SUMMARY. 


A Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, and of Rural Im- 
provement generally, in Britain, during the Year 1842; with some 
Notices relative to the State of both in Foreign Countries. By the 
Conpuctor. 


THE increments of knowledge that can be added to any science 
in the course of a year must necessarily be very few, even 
in times when that science is undergoing more than usual dis- 
cussion and experiment. Our annual summaries, therefore, are 
to be regarded in the light of a short recapitulation of, or refe- 
rences to, the chief subjects which have engaged the attention 
of the horticultural world during the past year. If we were 
to confine ourselves to what is really new, we should probably 
have nothing to say ; for there are few inventions or discoveries 
which, at the time they have been brought forward so as to at- 
tract general notice, have not been known to some individuals 


long before. Thus, steam navigation had been tried nearly 
TT 3 


646 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


half a century before we had steam-boats; heating by hot water 
was invented in Paris nearly as long before it was adopted in 
England, and the “ frequent-drain” system, which is now effect- 
ing a revolution in the agriculture of the country, has been 
practised in Essex since the days of Mortimer. The chemistry 
of cultivation is the topic at present uppermost in the mind of 
the scientific cultivator; and, though it appears to present many 
new and important views, yet it may be questioned whether 
most of them were not known in the days of Chaptal and Sir 
Humphry Davy. Supposing this to be the case, however, it 
derogates nothing from the merit of individuals, but only shows 
their feeble powers, as compared with the influence of extensive 
associations, when these are brought to bear on any particular 
subject. 

Science of Vegetable Culture.—The career of scientific en- 
quiry, both in the horticultural and agricultural world, is at 
present rapid; and, if the researches of scientific men are con- 
tinued and tested by experience, many new views will be struck 
out, anda great practical advance obtained. In the meantime it is 
of immense consequence that so much of the elements of science 
should be acquired by practical men, as may enable them to 
thoroughly sift the opinions brought forward, and judge for 
themselves as to their practical value. The past year has been 
distinguished by a great variety of efforts to elucidate the subject 
of manures; and the many tables published, opinions given, 
and experiments recorded, in the two leading Agricultural Jour- 
nals, in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, in this Magazine (see Con- 
tents, p.i.), and in the works of Johnston and others, have 
added immensely to the bulk of information from which rules 
for practice must ultimately be deduced. That much disap- 
pointment and many unaccountable results have been produced 
should not damp our endeavours. The difference of soils has 
a great effect in producing these; they vary so much in their 
physical properties, both naturally and artificially, that experi- 
ments will require to be often and carefully repeated on different 
soils, in different seasons, and on a large scale, before they can 
enable us to form rules for our guidance in practice; but, prin- 
ciples being once firmly established, rules will be deduced from 
them, from which practical advantages will arise, far greater 
than can at present be foreseen. ‘The articles on manures and 
soils, of most direct value for cultivators, that have been pub- 
lished in the course of the year, are, in our opinion, those of 
Mr. Lymburn, p. 72. and p. 396 ; but a general summary for the 
year, on the subject of soils and manures, by this gentleman, we 
are unavoidably compelled to postpone till our next publication. 
There is perhaps no person in this country so competent to treat 
usefully on soils, manures, and vegetable physiology, as Mr. 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 647 


Lymburn, who is at once an excellent chemist and physiologist, 
and a cultivator of great experience, and of extensive observa- 
tion, both in gardens and farms. 

The doctrines of Liebig have been criticised by Dr. Schleiden 
and some writers, and defended by Drs. Gregory and Daubeny 
and others; for these discussions we refer to the Gardener’s 
Chronicle for 1842, p. 403. 435. 469. and 493. Liebig’s lead- 
ing principle, that the carbon of plants is chiefly derived from 
the atmosphere, appears to us to remain a truth; and one more 
remarkable has seldom been promulgated. Its great practical 
use is, that it suggests the immense importance of admitting 
air to the roots of plants, either by using rough, stony, turfy 
soul, as is now being done in the case “of plants grown in 
pots, or in limited masses of soil; and, under ordinary circum- 
stances of culture, of stirring fie ant" to facilitate the descent 
of air to the roots; or, in the case of fruit trees, of inviting 
the roots to the surface, by the shade and moisture produced 
by mulching. 

As a general result of all that has been written or experi- 
mented on during the past year, we may state that the great 
value of animal manures is confirmed, and that the higher the 
animal is in the scale of organisation, and the better he is fed, 
the more valuable will be the manure. The preeminent value 
of night soil, and all the liquid matters produced in dwelling- 
houses, cattle sheds, and farm-yards, containing ammonia or 
any of the ammoniacal salts, though long known and duly ap- 
preciated on the Continent, has been brought prominently for- 
ward to the notice of British cultivators, both by reasonings and 
experiments. <‘‘ The powerful effects of urine as a manure,” 
Liebig observes, “ are well known in Flanders, but they are 
considered invaluable by the Chinese, who are the oldest agri- 
cultural people we know. Indeed, so much value is attached to 
the influence of human excrements by these people, that the 
laws of the state forbid that any of them should be thrown 
away, and reservoirs are placed adjoining every house, in which 
they are collected with the greatest care.” (Chemistry and its 
Application to Agriculture, §c., 2d ed. p. 183.) The great value 
of wood ashes, and of the ashes of burnt vegetables generally, 
and especially those produced by a smothered combustion, has 
been long known, but comparatively forgotten, till the recent 
stimulus given by Liebig kas brought them again conspicuously 
into notice. We may add that their value has been confirmed 
by Mr. Barnes (p. 558.), by what, to him, was as completely 
a discovery, as if wood ashes or charcoal ashes had never been 
used before. 

Experimental Culture.—In horticultural practice perhaps the 
most important feature that has lately been introduced is, the 

rT 4 


648 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


use of rough turfy soil, mixed with fragments of freestone and 
pebbles, in pot culture. The great advantages of this mixture 
are, a more perfect drainage, a more ready reception of water, 
a more free transmission of it through the whole mass, and, in 
consequence of the absorption of this element by the stones and 
pebbles, a supply of it from them to the roots, even when the soil 
is quite dry. Plants growing in soil thus composed can hardly 
ever suffer from being over-watered, or from the temporary 
neglect of watering; and, if this practice could be adopted in the 
open garden on a large scale, it would be found as beneficial for 
culinary crops and fruit trees in beds and borders, as it is for 
ornamental plants, pine-apples, or orange trees, in pots. For 
orange trees in tubs and boxes this mode of using strong rough 
soil will be found of immense advantage; and it will be no less 
so in beds and borders in conservatories, which, when composed 
of sifted soil, very often get compact and sodden. That excel- 
lent cultivator, Mr. Barnes, in addition to small stones uses 
charcoal, sometimes in small pieces, and sometimes in powdery 
refuse (see p. 558.). In looking into various works to ascertain 
how far charcoal had been before used in cultivation, we find in 
the Nouveau Cours complet d Agriculture, ed. 1819, vol. iv. p. 71., 
that the places in the forests where heaps of charcoal had been 
burnt, and where a great quantity of charcoal dust is usually 
found, are sterile for a greater or less number of years. In 
sandy soils these spots will often bear crops the second year, 
while on clayey soils they have been known not to bear a crop 
for eight or ten years. ‘These sterile places, however, when 
they are restored to fertility, bear immense crops; and the char- 
coul-makers, being aware of this circumstance, sow or plant on 
them tobacco, woad, and other plants which exhaust the soil. 
An English gentleman, who has been a good deal in the interior 
of France, informs us that it is customary about Lyons for the 
peasants to petition the proprietors of forests for permission to 
sow mustard seed (well known to be a very exhausting crop) in 
the places where charcoal has been burnt. The cause of the 
sterility of the charcoal spots is, doubtless, the excess of potash, 
which, in the case of sandy soil, is sooner washed in by the rains. - 
The writer referred to, in endeavouring to account for the power- 
ful effects of charcoal as a manure, first notices that the pro- 
perty of charcoal to absorb and retain moisture powerfully, and 
give it out again slowly and during a long time, was well 
known, and that this rendered it a valuable addition to light 
soils apt to suffer from great drought. A very good memoir on 
the use of charcoal, he informs us, has been written by M. Ta- 
tin, the essence of which is said to be embodied in his Principes 
raisonnés et pratiques de la Culture. ‘Though charcoal is con- 
sidered almost indestructible, yet it is found lable to decompo- 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. — 649 


sition in a very slow degree, especially when on or near the 
surface of the ground. Fourcroy found that charcoal decom- 
posed water, as having a greater affinity for oxygen than for 
hydrogen; and Sir Humphry Davy proved that charcoal was 
soluble in potash and soda. From these facts it is concluded 
that charcoal not only furnishes moisture, but, by slow decom- 
position, carbonic acid gas. Thouin, in his Cours de Culture, 
1827, vol.1. p.292., says that charcoal broken in pieces is 
favourable for chalky soils by absorbing moisture, and for absorb~ 
ing heat from being black. Heconfirms the fact before stated, that 
the places on which charcoal has been burnt are extremely 
fertile. Powdered charcoal is a more powerful manure, he 
says, than when it is in larger pieces; acting, however, in the 
same manner by absorbing moisture from the air, and bringing 
it within reach of the roots of plants. By the experiments of 
‘Messrs. Allen and Pepys, charcoal was found to imbibe from 
the atmosphere in one day about one eighth of its weight of water. 
When recently prepared, charcoal has the remarkable property 
of absorbing different gases and condensing them in its pores, 
without any alteration of their properties or its own. (See 
Ure’s Dict. of Chem., and of Arts, Manufactures, §c.) Char- 
coal ashes, Marshall, in 1800, states, are considered a good 
manure in the Midland districts; but these ashes arise prin- 
cipally from the sods used in covering the heaps, and contain 
but a very small proportion of pieces of charcoal. Arthur 
Young, it appears (Annals of Agriculture, published in 1784 
and 1785, vols. i. and i. p. 139—169., and 254—272.) made 
a great many experiments with powdered charcoal as a manure, 
but arrived at no definitive result, except that it was inferior to 
charcoal ashes, and still more so to wood ashes. Charcoal 
powder, we have seen by the experiments of Lucas (see our 
Volume for 1841), has been used successfully for striking 
cuttings; and Liebig, referring to these experiments, says, 
“common wood charcoal, by virtue merely of its ordinary 
well-known properties, can completely replace vegetable mould 
or humus. The experiments of Lucas,” he adds, “spare me 
all further remarks upon its efficacy. Plants thrive in pow- 
dered charcoal, and may be brought to blossom and _ bear 
fruit if exposed to the influence of the rain and the atmo- 
sphere; the charcoal may be previously heated to redness. 
Charcoal is the most ‘ indifferent’ and most unchangeable 
substance known; it may be kept for centuries without change, 
and is therefore not subject to decomposition. The only sub- 
stances which it can yield to plants are some salts which it 
contains, amongst which is silicate of potash. It is known, 
however, to possess the power of condensing gases within its 
pores, and particularly carbonic acid; and it is by virtue of 


650 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


this power that the roots of plants are supplied in charcoal, 
exactly as in humus, with an atmosphere of carbonic acid and 
air, which is renewed as quickly as it is abstracted.” (Chemistry, 
&c., 2d edit. p. 62.) Charcoal therefore, according to this doc- 
trine, must act as a perpetual manure. 

Some experiments have been made with moss as a substitute 
for soil (p. 447.) in the rearing and culture of plants; but no | 
new results have been obtained, unless it be that the means of 
transplanting are in some cases facilitated. The evils of indis- 
criminately watering plants in pots immediately after being 
shifted have been ably pointed out in p. 11.; and the advantages 
of stirring the soil, and turning up new soil, in p. 160. and 

. 396. 
j Agents of Culture. —New manures and new implements are 
almost every year being brought into notice. The latter we 
shall advert to in a separate paragraph. Among the new manures 
the most remarkable is Guano, or the excrements of sea-fowl, 
brought from Peru, where it has been used as a manure since 
the twelfth century. By analysis, it consists chiefly of urate 
of ammonia and other ammoniacal salts, and it requires to be 
used in very small quantities, otherwise it will destroy vegeta- 
tion. An artificial guano is prepared in London, which is 
considered by many not inferior to that from Brazil. There 
are some other comparatively new artificial manures. Guano 
is recommended to be mixed, at the rate of-4 bushels, about 
50 lb. each, and which cost at present about 13s. per bushel, 
with 1 bushel of powdered charcoal, which will fix the manure 
by retaining the ammonia in its interstices, and then drilled 
with green or grain crops, or spread on the ground and har- 
rowed in with seed. (Donaldson on Manures, p. 74. See also 
more at length Sguarcy and Lymburn, in p. 81.) With Daniel’s 
manure we are not at present sufficiently acquainted. While so 
much manure of the most valuable description is lost or neg- 
lected in almost every dwelling-house, in many farm-yards, 
and at many railway stations; and while as much as would ma-~ 
nure two or three counties is produced in the metropolis, only 
to pollute the water of the Thames; it seems an unjustifiable 
extravagance to pay a high price for ingredients of doubtful 
merit. Be these ingredients what they may, they cannot, 
except in the cases of bone-manure and guano, prove equal to 
what we have alluded to as being comparatively neglected or lost. 

Brick-dust has been used successfully, as a substitute for sand, 
in striking cuttings; and the advantage is that, this material 
being an absorber and retainer of moisture, less frequent water- 
ing is required. (See &. Drummond in Gard. Chron., 1842, 
p- 742.) 


and of Rural Improvement gencrally, during 1842. 651 


Implements, Instruments, §c.— A number of implements, and 
some instruments and utensils, new, curious, or useful, will be 
found figured in p. 474., and from 597. to 601.; and a machine 
for levelling, and other purposes, in road-making, in p. 602. A 
new dahlia stake is given in p. 453., and a very convenient car- 
rying utensil in p. 306. Another utensil also deserves notice, 
because, though it does not belong to gardening as an art of 
culture, it may be referred to it as an art of design. We 
allude to the box for receiving the soil excavated from graves, 
and returning it with expedition without leaving fragments to 
disfigure the surface. An article for protecting peas, and one 
or two others, noticed under the head of Implements in our 
Table of Contents, may also be worth referring to. 

Operations of Culture and Management. — A mode of working 
with two hoes, one in each hand, long in use by the market- 
gardeners in the neighbourhood of London, is noticed in this 
Magazine for the first time, by Mr. Barnes. (p. 555.) This 
mode of hoeing serves as a substitute for weeding, and is greatly 
preferable as stirring the soil. Itis used in thinning all seedling 
crops, whether broad-cast or in drills. Mr. Barnes has seven 
different sizes, the largest having a blade 32 inches in width, and 
the smallest one of 3 of an inch. He also uses one of the 
smallest width, but with the blade pointed, for stirring the 
surface soil of plants in pots. The whole will be figured and 
described in our next. Volume. The only objection that we know 
of that can be urged against these hoes is, that they require the 
operator to stoop; for which reason many would prefer the 
erane-necked or sickle-hoe figured in our Volume for last year 
p- 258. The value of pure sand for striking cuttings is well 
known, but sometimes it is difficult to be had. The operation for 
separating this sand from the sweepings of walks is described 
by a very intelligent correspondent in p.452. A mode of se- 
curely fastening the mats or other nightly coverings on the 
sashes of pits or frames is described by Mr. Ogle in p. 109., to 
the excellence of which we can bear witness, having seen it in 
use in the gardens under Mr. Ogle’s care in Sussex. 

Garden Vermin.— Our present Volume is enriched by a va- 
riety of papers on this subject, and more especially with some 
interesting ones on destroying vermin in small gardens (p. 292.), 
on song birds in flower-gardens (p. 254.), on the Italian owl, and 
on relative subjects, by our highly esteemed correspondent and 
great public favourite, Charles Waterton, Esq. 

Garden Architecture. — We have observed, in some few cases, 
advantage taken of British sheet glass, which, our readers are 
aware, may be used in panes from 3 ft. to 5 ft. or even 6 ft. in 
length, at very little more expense than the best crown glass. 


652 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


(See our Volume for 1839, p. 614.; and Supplement to E’ncyclo- 
pedia of Cottage Architecture, p. 1280.) A greater improvement 
has not been introduced into hothouse building since these 
structures were invented, as the splendid house at Chatsworth, 
where it was first used by Mr. Paxton, affords ample proof. 
We here repeat our recommendation of this glass, because we 
are rather surprised that it has not become more generally em- 
ployed. In this country, where it is so desirable to have covered 
walks for exercise in wet weather, verandas might be glazed 
with it, and the arrangement might be such as to combine a 
conservative wall and border. Even verandas open to the south, 
and covered. with Cubitt’s patent roofing, consisting of boards 
without rafters; or with young larch or fir trees sawn up the 
middle, and used without rafters, on Mr. Cubitt’s principle (see 
Supplement to Cottage Architecture, p. 1260.); or with zinc, asphalt, 
thatch, or reeds; are very great luxuries, and might be introduced 
with excellent effect in many places both large and small. A 
covered way to the kitchen-garden, the stables, or the farm, is 
often very desirable. 

An economical description of greenhouse or conservatory has 
always been a desideratum, and we think we can refer to two 
which well merit imitation. The first is that of Mr. Barratt, 
in the Wakefield Nursery, noticed in our preceding Volume, 
p-570., which is 85 ft. long by 10 ft. 6 in. wide, and cost only 
170/.; and the second is one in the Exeter Nursery, which is a 
model of economical arrangement and appropriate beauty. It 
is 200 ft. long, 26 ft. wide, 16 ft. high at the centre, and 10 ft. 
high at the sides, with a span roof formed of sash-bar without 
rafters, except in two or three places where the roof opens 
for ventilation. The side walls and ends are of stone. There 
is a path round the house, within 2 ft. of the walls, which is of 
gravel; and the edgings to this walk are the small hot-water 
pipes by which the house is heated. The position of the house 
is north and south. .The whole of the interior is planted with ca- 
mellias, which are in a state of unsurpassed luxuriance, covered 
with blossom buds to the ground. The outsides of the walls are 
used for training fruit trees; but, if such a house were erected 
in a private garden, they might be covered with ornamental 
climbers ; or the roof might be projected so far over the walls as 
to form a surrounding conservative wall, or as much farther as 
would constitute a veranda. Such a structure as this, connected 
with a dwelling-house by a covered way, would be a source of 
very great interest during winter and spring. What the total 
expense may have been we do not know, but, considering that 
there are about 6000 feet of roof, and 17 rods of walling, it can- 
not much have exceeded 400/., a comparatively small sum for 
such an immense structure, and one capable of affording so much 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 653 


enjoyment. If it were not considered desirable to cover the 
exterior walls with plants, they might be rendered architectural 
by pilasters, buttresses, or other means, so as to combine with 
the architecture of the mansion; or, under particular circum- 
stances, we see no reason why the walls of such a house should 
not be erected with rough timber like log houses or with rock- 
work, and covered exteriorly with creepers or ivy. An excellent 
article on the construction of pits will be found in p. 457.; and 
another by the same author, on connecting a greenhouse with a 
library, in p. 396. 

Landscape-Gardening. —The advantage of employing circles 
of different diameters, disposed in groups, as beds for flowers or 
for low shrubs, is beginning to be understood; and will at no 
distant time, we trust, banish from our lawns and flower-gardens 
those beds of incongruous shapes, put down at random in such 
a manner that they never can combine so as to form a whole, 
either among themselves or with surrounding objects. It is 
not that fanciful shapes cannot be so disposed as to form one 
connected figure, but that it is difficult for any one to do this 
who is not an artist ; difficult for a gardener to cover such beds 
properly with flowers; and difficult to retain the shapes, unless 
they are edged with lines of concealed stone or brick. In general 
it may be observed that all flower-beds that are to be scattered 
over a lawn, and seen froma walk on the same level, should be of 
simple shapes, such as circles or ovals, the effect being produced 
by what may be called horizontal perspective ; and all scattered 
beds which are to be seen from a walk considerably above their 
level, or to be seen on the side of a slope considerably above the 
level of the walk, should be of composite forms, calculated to fit 
into one another, so as to group and combine vertically as well as 
horizontally. It must not be forgotten, however, that these are 
only general rules, which in their application require to be va- 
ried according to circumstances; and further, that cases are 
continually occurring which form exceptions. Neither must 
these remarks be considered as applying to borders, or continu- 
ous beds along the margins of walks, which admit, to a certain 
extent, of the flowing lines and convolutions of the Elizabethan 
style and the arabesque. 

Almost the only papers on Landscape-Gardening in the present 
Volume are translations from the principal professional landscape- 
gardener that Germany has produced, the Chevalier Sckell of 
Munich; but in the notices of our tours there are numerous 
remarks on the subject, which, we trust, will be found useful for 
the young gardener, 

Arboriculture, more especially in the ornamental department, 
is making some progress, as appears by the greatly increased 
number of species and varieties of trees and shrubs now culti- 


654 ~ Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


vated in the provincial nurseries; and we think that we may 
also add that the planters of pleasure-grounds are now intro- 
ducing a much greater number of species than they did even a 
few years ago. ‘There are also throughout the country, in se- 
veral places, such considerable collections of trees and shrubs 
planting, as to entitle them to be called arboretums; while 
several pinetums have been planted in consequence of the greatly 
increased taste for the pine and fir tribe. 

_ In order to make known what new trees and shrubs are to be 
found in the grounds of the principal British nurserymen, we 
have invited all of them to send us names of what they consider 
worthy of notice. We have received answers from upwards of 
thirty nurserymen and curators of Botanic Gardens, and from 
these we shall make up a report for our succeeding Number. 

In the Gardeners’ Chronicle, and also in this Magazine, there 
has lately been a good deal of discussion on the subject of prun- 
ing trees, with a view to the production of the greatest quantity 
of timber in a clean straight trunk, but nothing has yet appeared 
superior to Mr. Cree’s system. This system, as our readers are 
well aware (see our Vol. for 1841, p. 435.), consists of plain rules 
founded on the soundest principles, and, in short, may be called 
the ne plus ultra of scientific practice. 

The pruning of ornamental trees consists in general of re- 
moving dead or decaying branches; but it might often be ap- 
plied in such a way as to add to the natural character of the tree, 
or to give it an interesting artificial character. For example, a 
large tree which has taken a heavy lumpish form may be improved 
in shape by thinning out a number of the smaller branches, so as 
to show more of the trunk and main limbs, or by shortening 
large branches so as to cut into the outline; and a tree which is 
already taking a good shape may have the characteristics of 
that shape aggravated by thinning out a number of branches, so 
as to throw all the strength of the tree into branches already 
large. Remarkable artificial characters may be given to trees 
by various modes. In the case of the pine and fir tribe, by 
removing entirely every alternate tier of branches, or by leaving 
any one tier out of three during the whole length of the stem, 
the branches which form the remaining tiers will acquire an 
extraordinary size, and produce a noble candelabrum-like appear- 
ance. In the spruce and silver fir the effect of this mode of 
pruning is very remarkable. Heading down the pine and fir 
tribe, by strengthening the horizontal branches, induces them to 
extend so far as to rest on the ground, and then to curve up- 
wards towards the extremities, so as to form singular objects. 
In this way a coppice of spruce fir is sometimes formed for the 
protection of game. Cutting over large, healthy, broad-leaved 
trees, such as the oak, elm, beech, &c., at the height of 10 or 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 655 


12 feet, or even at the surface of the ground, and afterwards 
thinning out the branches which have sprung up, will give rise 
to forms which, though not so grand as those of trees with bold 
erect trunks, will, at least, afford variety by being singular or 
picturesque. 

The bad effect on the timber of the larch, when grown along 
with the Scotch pine, has been confirmed at Nettlecombe Court 
(see p. 485.). On the subject of pruning trees, and the pre- 
vious preparation of the soil, some opinions will be found 
expressed by Mr. Selby, in p. 568., which are at variance with 
ours, and, we believe, with those generally adopted both by 
theorists and practical men ; but, being the opinions of a planter 
of scientific knowledge and great experience, they deserve every 
attention. They have been opposed by Mr. Main, in our 
opinion one of the best authorities on the subject, in the 
Gardeners’ Gazette, who says: ‘“‘ We were not a little surprised 
at finding Mr. Selby declare that he is not an advocate ‘ for 
the trenching of the ground previously to planting, being con- 
vinced, from personal observation and experience, that no 
adequate or remunerating advantage, either by the more rapid 
growth of the tree, or the improvement in the quality of the 
timber, is obtained, sufficient to compensate for the great 
additional expense incurred.’ Now, this is so completely in 
the teeth of all past and present experience, that it should not 
be allowed to pass without some sort of qualification; for, if 
the author found it so in his own case, which is just probable, 
it cannot be admitted as a general rule. If Mr. Selby’s soil 
was of a generous open quality, neither rocky gravel nor 
tenacious clay, his pitted trees might succeed passably well. 
Such style of planting we have executed ourselves, and seen 
executed by others, on deep rich loams; but in no case so well 
as if the ground had been trenched to the depth of fifteen 
inches. There are certain make-shift proceedings of sticking 
in trees any how, on inaccessible places, or on mountains of 
great extent, where neither plough nor spade is available; but 
who can assert that such mode is preferable to planting on 
previously prepared ground? If corn, culinary vegetables, &c., 
are benefited by deep or subsoil ploughing, how much more are 
trees, which root deeply, benefited by having the soil broken 
and ameliorated for their reception?” (Gard. Gaz., Nov. 12. 
1842. p. 734.) 

Planters who are desirous of introducing the Pinus Laricio 
var. austriaca on a large scale will now find abundance of 
plants in the nurseries; as they will also of Quércus alba, the 
white American oak, which Cobbett so strongly recommended, 
but which is so difficult to introduce by means of acorns, as they 
germinate as soon as they drop from the tree, and often before. 


656 — Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


This plant has, however, through the patriotic efforts of a 
private gentleman, been, in the autumn of 1841, introduced to 
the extent of 30,000 plants, 20,000 of which will be disposed of 
to nurserymen. We hope they will be tried in the south of 
the island, more especially in the warmer districts. At present, 
with the exception of the tree in Messrs. Loddiges’s arboretum, 
we do not recollect one plant in England; the tree at Twicken- 
ham, recorded in our Arb. Brit., p. 1868., on the authority of a 
correspondent, as Q. alba, being, as we ascertained after the 
Arboretum was published, Quércus Prinus, the white chestnut 
oak; and that at Muswell Hill having been cut down when the 
place was sold three years ago. The Woods and Forests a few 
years ago formed an experimental plantation in the neighbour- 
hood of Southampton, in which there are a great many Ame- 
rican oaks and other trees, and placed it under the care of Mr. 
Page. We hope to receive some account of it by Mr. Page, in 
addition to the notice already given in our Volume for 1839, 
p- 624.; or perhaps to inspect it ourselves in the course of next 
summer. Plants of the durmast oak, a strong-growing variety 
of Q. pedunculata, which, it is said, has produced the best naval 
timber sent into the dockyard, have been raised in abundance 
in Mr. Rogers’s nursery at Southampton. Nearly all those 
majestic oaks which grow in North Stoneham Park, in Hamp- 
shire,” says Dr. Lindley, “ are the durmast; and some of the 
finest oak timber that now goes into Her Majesty’s dockyard is 

from thence. There can be no doubt that oaks raised from the 

acorns of these noble trees are infinitely to be preferred to such 

as are obtained in the nurseries from acorns gathered at random 

from trees of all sorts of constitutions, none of which, perhaps, 

are really above the average in point of stature. As a Shetland 

pony is not likely to be the parent of a dray-horse, so a pygmy 

oak cannot be expected to produce anything better than a 

pygmy race of seedlings.” (Gard. Chron. 1842, p. 724.) It 

would be well if the principle implied in this sentence were 

acted on in the case of propagating by seed every tree, shrub, 

and plant whatever. Gardeners are too apt to limit this prin- 

ciple, viz. that like begets like, to annual and biennial plants; 

whereas a more extended experience proves it holds good 

equally in the case of trees and shrubs. 

Floriculture. — Since the publication of Chevreul’s work, en- 
titled De la Lot du Contraste simultané des Couleurs, et des 
Applications, noticed in a former Volume (1840, p. 563.), more 
attention is being paid to the massing of colours in flower beds. 
OF the Aoricultural part of this work we shall give a translation 

ony Volume for the ensuing year, having already given a 
pcruon of it in the Gardeners’ Gazette, p. 501. and 662., when 
that periodical was under our care; but in the meantime we 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 657 


may observe that the two guiding principles laid down by 
M. Chevreul are, contrast and symmetry; the first regulates 
the colours that are to adjoin each other, and the second those 
which are to occupy opposite and correspondent parts of the 
same figure. A better sclection of the kinds of flowers suit- 
able for flower beds is also beginning to be made from the 
immense number of names that appear in catalogues. To be 
able to select suitable kinds can only be the result of consider- 
able experience ; because there are many plants that have suit- 
able colours, which flower at the proper period; and have, as 
far as can be judged from a catalogue, all the qualities required, 
which yet, on trial, will be found to run to leaves rather than 
flowers, to assume a straggling habit, to grow too high, or in 
some way or other to defeat the end in view. The object is to 
select plants which, to all the other desirable properties, shall 
add that of exhibiting their flowers more conspicuously than 
their leaves. Plants which produce their flowers in close ra- 
cemes or corymbs are particularly suitable for this purpose, such 
as the verbenas and pelargoniums: and, next, those which pro- 
duce their flowers from the axils of the leaves, growing and 
flowering a3 they grow; aud which have their flowers large or 
numerous, in proportion to their leaves, and produced at the 
same time, such as the Anagiallis, Lobélia, &e. On this sub- 
ject we have an excellent article by Mr. Ayres, which will soon 
appear; and Mr. Ayres has promised a separate publication on 
the subject (see p. 379.), which, we feel confident, will be of the 
greatest utility to the planters of flower-gardens. An article 
on Florist’s Flowers, p. 454., and one on Flower-Baskets, 
p: 271., well deserve perusal. As a proof of the growing taste 
for ferns, we observe that one nurseryman, Mr. Pamplin, is 
advertising collections of them for sale. Mr. Cameron of the 
Birmingham Botanic Garden, and Mr. Shepherd of Liver- 
pool, have long been celebrated for the culture of this tribe ; 
and they must be gratified to sce their taste becoming popular. 
Much of this is, doubtless, owing to the publications on ferns 
by Mr. Newman and Mr. Francis. The new plants figured in 
the course of the. year are enumerated in the Contents, p. vil. 

Horticulture. — Under this head, in the Contents, will be 
found an article applicable to the general management of fruit 
trees (p. 499.), which embodies some useful principles. The 
- papers on the culture of the banana (a fruit as well deserving of 
attention, in our opinion, as the pine-apple or the melon, except 
that it does not bear carriage, p. 564.) reduce the treatment of 
that plant to the simplest principles. The use of charcoal in 
the cultivation of- culinary crops in the open garden, as well as 
in that of pine-apples and bananas in pots, as practised by Mr. 
Barnes at Bicton, has been already noticed (p. 558.), and will 
' 3d Ser.—1842. XIT. UU 


658 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


be recurred to again by the same experienced gardener, in the 
course of a series of letters which he is now kindly preparing 
for us, by the permission of his employer, Lady Rolle. Our 
report on the new culinary productions of the past year will 
appear in January. 

Agriculture.— Necessity, which is at the foundation of most 
kinds of improvements, promises a great reformation in this art. 
We refer to the number of Journals, and other publications on 
the subject, which haye appeared in the course of the year, not- 
withstanding the general stagnation of commercial literature. 
The circumstance of Mr. Smith of Deanston intending to settle 
in the neighbourhood of London, as an agricultural engineer, is 
a favourable omen; for, doubtless, he would not have taken such 
a step, had he not calculated on being consulted by many of the 
extensive landed proprietors of England. “The tariff,” a cor- 
respondent observes, “‘ seems to have had the effect of half-para- 
lysing the wits of some of the farmers, and of doubly stimulating 
those of others. It must lead to good, and I am much mistaken 
if the farmers of the next generation will not be a very dif- 
ferent class of men from those of the present. They must 
know something of the imside of a book, as well as of the 
outside of an ox.” Whatever improvement takes place in 
the condition of farmers will, we trust, be extended to their 
labourers. Our opinion as to the amelioration of both is given 
briefly in p. 636. We were much gratified, while in the 
South of England, to hear of one gentleman in Cornwall, 
Sir William Molesworth, inviting his tenants to meet to- 
gether, and joing them, and getting his gardener, Mr. Cor- 
bett, to deliver lectures to them in his presence, on vegetable 
culture, which lectures are reported in the local newspapers, 
and do great credit to Mr. Corbett; and of another proprietor 
in the North of Devon, Lord Clinton, establishing the Torring- 
ton Farmers’ Club, at the monthly meetings of which His Lord- 
ship presides, and is at the expense of printing such papers 
read at them as are thought worthy of that distinction, in a 
pamphlet which appears occasionally. Among these papers are 
some by His Lordship’s very scientific gardener, Mr. Cato, who 
is not only an excellent horticulturist, but has a perfect know- 
ledge of farming as practised in the best districts in Scotland. 

Domestie Economy and Bee Culture.— We are rather sur- 
prised that Fuller’s ice-preservers, noticed in our Volume for 
1839, p. 655., and found to be a great saving of labour and of 
ice by all that we have ever heard of having tried them, has not 
come into more general use. Mr. Wighton’s articles on bees in 
this and preceding Volumes, and his very interesting treatise 
on their management (sce p. 322.), will, we hope, induce a 
number of gardeners to try his improved Polish hive. 


oe 
Pe 


e 
See dey 
: ot : 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 659 
ip g Ys iS 


Rural Architecture is undergoing improvements, slowly in 
most places, but comparatively rapid in others (see p. 610.). 
By the improvement of cottages we do not mean merely orna- 
mental chimney tops or labels over the windows, but a greater 
attention to drainage, raised floors, large windows, higher ceil- 
ings, and the other requisites to better health and comfort. We 
do not desire to have cottages in general otherwise than simple in 
their architecture: but we would have them ample in regard to 
room; always substantial in regard to execution; with high steep 
roofs to throw off rain and snow, and to prevent the wind from 
getting underneath the slates or tiles so as to blow them off; 
and high chimney shafts, so as to carry away the smoke. To 
every cottage we would add, and if possible surrounding it, a 
garden, of at least an eighth part of an acre. We repeat our 
opinions about cottages at the risk of being tiresome, in the 
hope that gardeners will enter into our views, and do what they 
ean with their employers in favour of country labourers; for we 
believe, with a humane and enlightened writer, “ that by far 
the greater number of our nobility and landed gentry would 
willingly stoop to the assistance of the wretched labourers, if 
they knew the dreadful privations under which the latter are 
suffering; and, if knowing the extent of that suffering, they 
could see the means. by which it could be permanently re- 
lieved.” (Letter XIII. of One who has whistled at the Plough, 
in Morn. Chron. Nov. 16. 1842.) 

The Weather and Crops. — The weather of 1841 was remark- 
able for its great humidity ; and in continuation, the same cha- 
racter generally prevailed till March, 1842. But in April a 
decided change to the opposite took place, and a warmer summer 
followed, with less interrupted and much brighter sunshine than 
had been experienced for several previous years. In general 
the crops were excellent, the shoots of woody plants well 
ripened, and the bulbs and roots of herbaceous plants well 
stocked with nutriment for the succeeding year.* 

History and Statistics. — A considerable number of country 


* “Tn November, 18+1, the mean temperature was about the average ; the 
amount of rain was nearly 34in., being an inch in excess. On the 16th 
there was an unusually severe frost for the period of the season, the ther- 
mometer being 17° below freezing. With the exception of a few days about 
the middle of December, rain more or less fell on every day throughout the 
month, the amount being 14in. above the average. The usual temperature 
was maintained. Slugs were never remembered to be so numerous or so 
destructive, not only to various kinds of garden crops, but also to those of 
the agriculturist. 

“In January, 1842, the weather during the first week was dry, but cold. 
The mean temperature averaged about the freezing point, or 35° below the 
average for the month. The thermometer indicated a continued low grade 


Wu 2 


i Keres 


' t 
‘cok 
aie 


660 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


seats are noticed in this Volume, as will appear by reference to 
our Table of Contents. Nothing contributes to improve the taste, 
as well as the knowledge, of a gardener so much as visiting dif- 
ferent gardens; but, to derive this improvement, he must have 
been previously well instructed in his profession, be naturally 
fond of it, have a quick eye and an enquiring mind, and be 
eager to improve himself to the utmost. Every man acquires 
a@ great part of his knowledge from experience, but a still 


of temperature, but no remarkably severe frosts were experienced. February 

was damp, and often foggy; but the amount of rain was somewhat less than 

usuai, and the temperature was fully an average. In March the amount of 
rain was about half an inch above the average for the month; but in intervals 

he drying power of the air was considerable. The temperature was about 

2° above the average ; the weather being, on the whole, favourable for vege- 
tation. April was remarkably dry; it may be said there was only one wet 
day, the 13th ; and slight showers fell on five others ; the whole amounting to 
little more than the tenth of an inch. The heat of the sun’s rays was greatly 
counteracted by north and north-east winds, which were by far the most 

prevalent. The horsechestnut was in leaf as early as the 5th. Sharp frosts 
occurred on the nights of the 4th, 5th, and 26th. In May the weather was/ 
very favourable for vegetation, with the exception of a frost on the night of 
the 2d, which affected the blossoms of apples to some injurious extent. 

Pears, plums, and cherries were, for the most part, previously out of blossom, 
and their young fruit was not much aifected. June was a very hot month, 
the thermometer in the shade being frequently above 80°, and even as high 

as 90° on the 12th and 13th. No rain fell till the 18th ; and, although there 
was a moderate quantity afterwards, it soon disappeared owing to the great 
heat and dryness of the ground and of the air. The mean temperature 
of July was lower than usual, being only, equal to the average of that of June; 

and it may be observed that, on the contrary, the heat of June in the present 
season was so much higher than usual as to be equal to the average of July. 
The amount of rain was nearly an inch deficient of the usual quantity. 
August was excessively hot, exceeding in this respect any corresponding 
month in the present century ; the thermometer in the shade was frequently 
above 80°, and sometimes as high as 93° in the shade. A large quantity of 
rain fell on the 10th, and towards the end of the month the supply was 
plentiful. September was rather a wet month, and of average temperature. 

In situations where the soil was too dry in the preceding months, many 

kinds of apples and pears were checked in their growth, but now increased con- 
siderably in size when they ought to have been ripening off, and the flavour was 

in consequence not so good in such cases as might have been expected, or as 

it would have doubtless proved had the rain been more abundant in summer, 
and dry sunny weather more prevalent in the present month. The mean 

temperature of October was 6° below the average ; and even in the beginning 
of the month there were several frosty nights, which had the effect of check- 
ing, in a great measure, the ripening of grapes on walls. This production, 

always precarious in the open air in this climate, was not so far matured as 

is often the case in less remarkably hot summers, and was far short of the 

perfection it acquired in 1826. On the 20th and 21st as much as 10° and 

12° of frost were successively experienced; and the beauty of the dahlias and 

other similarly tender flowers was spoiled for the season. The weather was, 

however, generally dry, and favourable for garden operations, and such con- 

tinues to be the case up to the middle of November.” — N. Nov. 15. 


and of Rural Improvement-generally, during 1842. 661 


greater from observation if he is in active life, or from-reading 
if he is a recluse. 

The Horticultural Societies appear to be in general as well 
attended as ever. At the first meeting in the Horticultural 
Society’s Garden, on May 14th, there were 5382 visitors, ex- 
clusive of exhibitors; at the second meeting, on June 11th, the 
number of visitors was 13,407; and on J uly 9th it was 34495; 
in all 22,234. The corresponding number for 1841 was 21,769, 
and for 1840, 19,137. It would be very desirable to have 
the statistics of the Provincial Societies in respect to attendance; 
this being one of the best tests of the prosperity of such so- 
cieties, and of the state of horticulture throughout the country. 
The public are certainly much indebted to those proprietors 
who encourage their gardeners to exhibit at horticultural ex- 
hibitions, because these exhibitions have contributed more 

_than perhaps any other cause to the present highly advanced 
state of garden culture. We sometimes hear of gentle- 
men who object to allowing their gardeners to exhibit, al- 
leging, that they are apt to bestow so much of their time on the 
plants to be exhibited as to neglect what is under their charge 
generally. There is some truth in this; but a patriotic master 
will make allowance for it. In many cases, the fault, we think, 
is the master’s, who ought to complain whenever he sees any 

thing out of order, or finds a deficiency of produce. When a 

gentleman shows indifference towards the state of his gardens, 
his gardener is strongly tempted to become indifferent also. A 
really good gardener will endeavour to grow every article in 
such a manner as that it will bear public exhibition, but he 
must be kept up to this point by judicious reprehension and 
judicious approbation. We must farther take into considera- 
tion, that it is more than can be expected of a gardener, or of 
a member of any other profession, to excel in every thing ; and, 
therefore, on the supposition that it is a necessary conse- 
quence of a gardener’s excelling in one thing that he must be 
behind in every thing else, it is for the proprietor to coasider 
whether he will not derive more satisfaction from finding ,his 
garden and his gardener celebrated for some one or two kinds 
of production, than from having his garden and his gardener 
unnoticed. 

Public Improvement.—The establishment of the Metropolitan 
Improvement Society, whose first Report we have noticed in 
p- 509., the discussions on the drainage bill in the Houses of 
Parliament, and the publication of the Sanitary Report of the 
Poor-Law Commissioners (see p. 472.), have directed general 
attention to the widening of streets, and the drainage of low 
moist situations. There is, besides, a very obvious improve- 
ment in the public taste in architecture, which may be con- 

uu 3 


ye 


a ae at ; 


662 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


sidered as dating from the time of Mr, Nash’s architectural 
alterations on the exterior of the Opera House, which etm- 
meneed about 1818, and the formation of Regent Street imine- 
diately after, from which the stimulus thus given has been 
continued by " the attempts to dignify architectually the public- 
houses of the metropolis, by the improvements of the shops 
which shortly after took place, and, lastly, by the noble ex- 
amples of architectural and engineering works exhibited along 
the different railways. The improv ements in the metropolitan 
parks, which were begun after the peace of 1815, enlarged the 
taste of the Londoneré for rural walks and landscape. The 
establishments of Professorships of Architecture in the two 
London Colleges cannot fail to be attended with the happiest 
effects ; even He nothing more were to be gained than educating 
the eyes of amateurs. ‘T ‘he formation of public parks and ¢ oardens, 
by the government and by patriotic individuals, will contribute 
to the same desirable end, and, in addition, will draw closer the 
bands which unite the different classes of society. Even the 
manner in which [Her Majesty travelled and was reecived in 
Scotland deserves notice, as indicating a juster estimate of what 
constitutes the dignity of royalty. The queen was treated 


by her Scottish subjects like a rational being, instead of being 


worshipped like a goddess. Tlow great the “improvement since 


the days of Queen Elizabeth, who, when she visited the Earl of 
Leicester, at Kenilworth Gantle: | in July, 1575, was presented 
with gifts by persons representing the heathen gods, Sylvanus, 
eee Bacchus, Neptune, Mars, and Apollo ! ! She was 
amused with masks and other buffoonery, and with the barba- 
rous sports of boxing and bear-baiting, and complimented by 
stopping the castle clock, that time might appear to stand still 
during Her Majesty’s visit. The greatest honour, as we think, — 
paid to the British queen of the 19th century was at Tay- 
mouth, where Her Majesty was asked to plant a tree in comme- 
moration of her visit. 

Public Gardens.—The Royal Gardens at Kew, since they 
have been put under the direction of Sir W. J. Hooker, have 
been very greatly improved; and, as they may now be con- 
sidered to belong to the department of the Woods and Forests, a 
Report to that body of what has been done will doubtless soon 
be published. A new kitchen-garden is being formed at 
Windsor, which, we suppose, will also be reported on. The 
botanic garden in the Regent’s Park is in an advanced state, 
and already forms a delightful and instructive promenade. The . 
most interesting circumstance which has taken place in the 
public ¢ gardens about the metropolis, in the course of the present 
year, is, the naming of the trees and shrubs in Kensington 
Gardens and St. James’s Park. The labels are of cast and 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 663 


wrought iron. The name is painted in black letters on a white 
ground, on a cast-iron plate 14 in. by 7 in., nearly half an inch 
thick, with the corners rounded off, and the edges turned up. 
The plate is riveted to a wrought-iron shank 2 ft. in length; 
the upper part, for the length of 8 in., is round, and about 1 in. 
in diameter; and the lower part is about 14in. broad, and half 
an inch thick, When the label is stuck in the ground, the lower 
edge of the plate will be between 8 in. and 10 in. above the 
surface. There is a strap to the upper part of the shank, 
forming an angle with it of 15°, and to this strap the cast-iron 
plate with the name, &c., is riveted. The cost of the labels 
aut the foundery is 172. 10s. per hundred, and of painting and let- 
tering 8/. 15s. per hundred. They are made by Gladwin, of 
61. Watling Street, London. <A disk 1 ft. in diameter, and two 
paving tiles for it to rest on, would have cost 50s. or 60s. per 
hundred more, but it would have kept the centre of gravity of the 
tally within its base, and, by greatly extending that base, would 
have kept the tally of the same height, as well as in the same 
position in which it was put down, for many years. With 
their present construction they are liable both to sink and fall 
back; and, though these changes will be slow, and perhaps 
searcely perceptible for two or three years, yet they are as 
certain of taking place as the laws of gravity are of remaining 
unchanged. The labels are easily read at the distanee of 50 ft. 
The scientific name and authority, English name, natural order, 
native country, and year of introduction, are placed on each 
plate thus : 
LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA LIN. 
THE TULIP TREE. 
A MAGNOLIACEOUS TREE. 


NATIVE OF NORTH AMERICA. 
INTRODUCED IN 1663. } 


We need not enlarge on the entertainment and instruction 
that this enlightened and liberal act, on the part of the Commis- 
sioners of Woods and Forests, will afford to the public frequent- 
ing these gardens, or even to those who, living remote from the 
metropolis, can only visit them occasionally. Sufhice it to say, 
that they will create a new sense in thousands of persons, and 
enable them to derive a degree of enjoyment from trees and 
shrubs which they had no idea of before. It will enable the 
citizen or extensive proprietor, intending to plant, to make 
choice of those trees and shrubs which he thinks most orna- 
mental, or most likely to answer his purpose; and thus, by im- 
proving the appearance of individual estates, it will contribute 
to increase the beauty and variety of the woody scenery of the 
country. It will enable those who already possess collections of 


trees and shrubs, by comparing them with these named speci- 
uU 4 


GOL Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


mens, to ascertain thecorrect names of those in their possession ; 
and it will be particularly useful in this latter respect to nursery- 
men, whose collections at present, with one or two exceptions, 
are singularly deficient in respect of nomenclature. 

These named trees and shrubs will also be of great use to 
nurserymen in a commercial point of view, by creating a taste 
for planting a far greater number of species and varieties in 
pleasure-grounds than what is dene at present. 

In short, at a mere trifle of expense, the Woods and 4orests 
have done what will gratify everybody that visits Kensington 
Gardens and St. James’s Park ; and ultimately, and at no *dis- 
tant period, by the taste it will create in persons having gardens 
or cetntry residences, contribute 1 rapidly to the improy ement of 
nursery commeree, ae to the general ornament of the country. 

Though the collection of trees and shrubs alre ady planted i in 
these cardens is not so complete as it might be, yet it will, 
we have no doubt, be increased by the addition of all the spe- 
cies and varieties that can be procured in the nurseries, either 
at home or abroad, so as in the end (perhaps of the present 
year) to render it a complete Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan- 
nicum. 

‘It is no small gratification to us to reflect that we first sug- 
gested the idea of naming these plants, though no notice wa 
taken of the suggestion till Lord Lincoln was placed at me 
head of this department of the government. It is also a source 
of satisfaction, and, we trust, one which will be considered laud- 
able, that the names adopted are those of the Arboretum et Fruti- 
cetum Britannicum. The names have been selected and applicd 
by Mr. George Don, F.L.8., than whom a more fit person 
Eonld not have‘been employed for this purpose. 

Let us hope that similar arboretums will be planted by the 
Woods and Forests on the crown lands at Edinburgh, Stirling, 
St. Andrew’s, and perhaps at other towns where there is go- 
vernment property under the management of the Woods and 
Forests. 

In the Spectator newspaper of Noy. 12., p. 1089., if is sug- 
gested that the label should also state the chief use or value of 
the article labeled ‘[such, we suppose, as a timber tree, an ever- 
green, an ornamental shrub, &c. |. The Atheneum, noticing this 
improvement in Kensington Gardens, has the interesting pas- 
sage which we quote below.* 


* “ Those who stroll around Kensington Gardens, the pleasantest of sub- 
urban walks, and St. James’s Park, the latter perhaps the best work that Nash 
the architect accomplished, cannot fail to have been struck by the new source 
of interest which has been given to both these spots by the naming of the 
shrubs. To all the recent plantations very legible explanatory tickets have 
been attached. This little piece of benevolent attention will generate more 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 665 


The Derby Arboretum continues to flourish, as appears by 
the Annual Report, published in the Derby Reporter of No- 
vember 10, 1842. The total income for the support of this 
Arboretum, received from annual subseriptions and money taken 
at the gates, during the past year, was 398/3 a sum which 
exceeded the expenditure, even though some extraordinary 
charges were incurred. We are happy to see, by the same 
Journal, that another scene of recreation has been provided for 
the people of Derby by the town. It is a piece of meadow 
land, on which are being formed two walks, each 18 ft. wide, 
and together extending 3600 ft., and planted on both sides with 
standard trees. In order to do honour to My. Strutt, the 
founder of the Derby Arboretum, that gentleman was re- 
quested to plant one tree, to be called the Derby Oak, and Mr. 
Strutt accordingly planted it on the 10th of November, 1842. 
“It was an oak sapling, measuring 14 ft, 9in. high, and 9 in, 
in circumference. The tree is planted at the point of junetion 
of the two walks. A mound 30 {t. in diameter, and raised 2 ft. 


practical botanists among the numerous young persons who throng the gravel 
walks, than all the dry floras put together, and create a perception of the 
interest which may be taken in plants and shrubs among those who hitherto 
have passed them unheeded. Instead of grumbling at the loss of the old trees 
in Kensington Gardens, for which these plants have been substituted, and 
avoiding the walks, these parts of the Gardens will hexceforth become the 
most frequented. What a pleasant task, and especially for those who take 
‘duty walks, the dullest of walks, to wander along the paths, making at 
each walk one class of shrubs the subject of observation, taking first the _ 
elms, then the thorns, and so on. These tickets give all the information 
which can be desired ; the scientific name, the English name, the class to 
which the plant belongs, its natural habitation, and when it was first introduced 
into this country. They might serve as models to other places which more 
especially demand proper tickets. Let us hope they may chit the National 
Gallery into the adoption of a competent and systematic mode of ticketing 
the pictures. Surely the executive officers might concoct tickets which should 
give all the requisite information, and save those the expense of a catalogue 
who are unable to afford to purchase one. The National Gallery is supported 
for the instruction of the public, and it is the duty of its officers to render it 
as efficient as possible in this object. In all humility let us ask why a ticket, 
giving information like the following, should not be appended to each frame :— 


Ie 
RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS, 
SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO. 
BORN 1485: piep 1547. 
VENETIAN SCHIOOL, 


But our present notice is rather to speak of the good deeds of the Board of 
Works, than the neglect at the National Gallery. We cannot say much in 
praise of the new fountain in Kensington Gardens [see our Remarks, p. 38], 
but it was an excellent thought to grain the alcoves like dark oak, which has 
effectually stopped all the loose scribbling which formerly defiled them.” (Athe- 
naum, 1842, p. 992.) 


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. Di eae ae 
ras , orale 
: f SE ON Oa . \ Mgehieay' S| 
Su} Dy 


666 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 


in the centre, similar to those introduced by Mr. Loudon in the 
arboretum, had been prepared with about two thirds of fine 
marl, and one third of the rich alluvial meadow soil. The town 
council and several hundreds of the inhabitants were present 
to witness the ceremony, and to testify their undiminished 
respect for their benevolent townsman.” An address delivered 
on the occasion by Mr. Strutt, and various other particulars, will 
be found in the Derby Reporter for November 17. 

Of the notices which have been sent us of the state of the 
different botanic gardens, that of Belfast seems in the most 
thriving state; the number of visitors for the past year ex- 
ceeding 70,000. An arrangement of herbaceous plants ac- 
cording to the Natural System was completed last spring, of 
which we expect soon to give a plan and description. The 
Caledonian Horticultural Society has completed its hall of ex- 
hibition, and the range of hothouses in the Glasgow Botanic 
Garden is also made complete. The majority, however, of pro- 
vincial, botanical, horticultural, and zoological societies are, we 
regret to say, suffering from want of funds; which, we fear, will 
always be the case while these are private speculations, We 
would make them the properties of the towns, and support 
them by rates on the inhabitants generally, as other public 
municipal institutions are supported. 

Cemeteries, we are glad to find, are increasing throughout the 
country; and, though many of these are not laid out in the 
manner which we think they ought to be, yet, as they multiply, 
they will excite the attention and criticism of thinking persons, 
which will in the end lead to the adoption of a better taste. 

Commercial Gardens.— During our tour last summer we had 
an opportunity of inspecting the nurseries at Bristol, Taunton, 
Exeter, and Plymouth, most of which exceeded our expectation 
in point of extent and cultivation, and five of them had con- 
siderable collections of specimen trees and shrubs planted along 
the main walk or walks; and since our return we have been 
equally surprised and gratified at the number of new things in 
the Sawbridgeworth Nursery, and the extensive collections 
indicated in the nursery catalogues of Mr. Gregory of Ciren- 
eester, Mr. May of Leeming Lane, and various others. Market- 
gardens, we observed, were beginning to be formed adjoining 
the railways in different parts of the country, which will insure 
a supply of vegetables to the metropolis at less prices than they 
have been sold for during the past year. 

Window and Drawingroom Gardening we only introduce for 
the sake of recommending attention to Mr. Ward’s cases (see 
p- 376.), and to the large crystal bell-glasses that are now being 
manufactured for covering collections of miniature plants in 
drawingrooms. 


ge ai 


and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1842. 667 


On the Progress of Gardening in Foreign Countries we havé 
this year little to record. We are gr atified to find that though 
our hints repeatedly given in this Magazine, for planting trees 
along th» railroads, have not been adopted here, yet at Vienna 
our idea has been entertained (see p. 476.) In the British 
dominions in India great progress appears to be making in 
the introduction of Europe: wm fruits and culinary vegctables, 
and this is also the case in Southern Australia. (See Gard. 
Chron. Index.) 

Garden Literature.— Few publications on gardening subjects 
have appeared in the course of the year. We have completed 
the Suburban Horticulturist. Gardening for Ladies and The 
Companion to the Ladies’ Flower-Garden (of both which works, 
and Botany for Ladies, we are more proud than of any of our 
own) have come, the former to a fourth, and the latter to a 
second, edition. The two Gardening Newspapers continue to 
prosper; the Chronicle goes on with its accustomed vigour, and 
has deservedly attained a very extensive sale. The Gardeners’ 
Gazette is now edited by our much esteemed friend Mr. Main 
(who, if any good and venerable gardening author deserves a 
pension from government, is the man), and we are happy to 
learn that it also has increased in sale. There is surely abun- 
dance of room for both papers. A. rigidly analytical Table of 
Contents, im addition to the Alphabetical Index now given, 
would be a great improvement to both works, A Gardening 
and Aericultural Newspaper has been commenced in Dublin, 
under the editorship of our friend Mr. Murphy, who conducts 
it with the greatest ability (see p. 383.). 

Obituary. “To the names of those enumerated in our Table of 
Contents is to be added that of the venerable Mr. John Rogers, 
who died Nov. 9. at his residence, Southampton, in the ninety- 
first year of his age. ‘Throughout the course of a long 
life, he enjoyed uninterrupted health, and he retamed unim- 
paired all his faculties to the last. He was one of the oldest 
and most experienced of gardeners and nurserymen, having 
commenced his career in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, 
in the year 1768, under the patronage of the late John Aiton, 
Esq. He had the advantage of a personal acquaintance with 
the celebrated Philip Miller, and was probably the last indi- 
vidual living who had enjoyed the friendship of that eminent 
character. Mr. Rogers was the author of many treatises on 
ewadening; and towards the decline of his life he published the 
result of his experience in two separate works, the Fruit and 
Vegetable Cultivators, which contain much practical and uscful 
information. He was the father of Mr. William Rogers of the 
Southampton Nursery, and assisted in the forming and con- 
ducting of that extensive establishment. 


GENERAL INDEX, 


Ne = 

Acarou’s Alga Maris Mediterranei et Adriatici, 
470. 

Agave americana, 575. : 

Age in trees, effect of, on the quality of the fruit, 
154. 

Agricultural chemistry, Johnston's lecture on, 
06; experiments at Barrochan, 96; at Roselle, 
96; at Erskine, 97; at Aske Hall, 97. 

Agriculture, importance of discovering new fer- 
tilising substances, 142. 

Agriculture, Sproule’s treatise on, 378. 

Alge Maris Mediterranei et Adriatici, 470. 

American ever-bearing raspberry, on an, 218. 

Ammonia, composition of, 7. 

Annat Lodge, Perth, plans and description of, 155. 

Aphis, woolly, remedy for, 41. 

Apple, grafting the, on the willow, 452; the 
Sweeney Nonpareil, 41. 

Apple tree, how to plant and prune, soas to have 
good crops on unpropitious soils, 25, 

Aristolichia tritobata, on the culture of, 23. 

Artesian well of Grenelle, 135; bore of, 130. 

Artesian wells, 36. : 

Ash-leaved kidney potato, excellence of, 188. 

Ashmolean Society, 530. 

Atmosphere in plant houses, 466. 

Australia, the timber trees of, 237, 

Avyres’s Amateur Florist, and Guide tothe Flower- 
‘Garden, 379. 

Azote, decomposition of, by plants, 58. 


B. 


Backhouse’s Narrative of a Visit to the Australian 
Colonies, 379. = 

Banana, different kinds of, in the Royal Botanic 
Garden, Edinburgh, notes on, 505; at Leigh 
Park, the seat of Sir G. T. Staunton, Bart., 
506 ; at Williamsfield, 42. 191, 

Basket-work edgings in flower-gardens, construc- 
tion of, 271. 

Bedstead for cottages, 144. Bas it 

Bees, history and management of, 322; instinct 
of, 422. 

Bell, alarm, for a cottage, notice of, 401. 

Bells, musical, the idea of hanging them on trees, 
432. 

Bicton Gardens, their culture and management, 
555;— Letter I, Bieton kitchen-garden, 555; 
goose-necked short handled hoes, 555: kitchen- 
garden rules, 562; vegetable and fruit list, 
557; onion loft, 558; use of charcoal in the 
culture of plants, 558; to make a rough sort of 
charcoal for kitchen-gardening, 558 ; Devon- 
shire farming, 559; preparing ground for cab- 
bages, winter salading, &c., 560; early and late 
cauliflower, 560; tallies to kitchen-garden 
erops, 560 ; improvements, 561 ; state of the men 
and labourers in Bicton Gardens, 561; — 
Tetter 11. The potting-bench, 563; painting 
strings for tying plants, 564; garden rules for 
the flower-garden department, 567; the palm- 
house, 564. — Letter III. The heath-house, 617; 
potting rough soil and training, 618; use of 
fragments of freestone and pebbles, 618 ; list of 
heaths, 620. 

Billington on Planting, &c., 19. 

Lirds, to prevent from attacking peas, 119. 

Blair Adam, description of, 357. 


Bliss’s Fruit-Grower's Instructor, 28, 

Bokhara clover, notes on, 320. 

Bones, their value as manure, 82. 

Book of the Farm, by Stephens, 125. 322. 636. 

Booth of Hamburg, notice of trees and shrubs 
introduced by, 110, 

Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, 383. 

Botanical, Floricultyiral, and Arboricultural No- 
tices, 412. 

Botanical Looker-out among the Wild Flowers 
of the Fields, Woods, and Mountains of Eng- 
land and Wales, 570. 

Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 383. 

Botanical ‘Text-Book for Colleges, Schools, and 
private Students, 634, 

Botany, being part of a popular Cyclopedia of 
Natural Science, 371. 

Botany for Ladies, 654. 

Branspeth Castle, pine-apples at, 41. 

British Almanack, and Companion to, 33. 

British Ferns aud their Allies, Francis's Analysis 
of, 2d ed., 635. 

Bréwnia coccinea, &e., 239. 

Burying-grounds, modern, thoughts on, 616. 


C. 


Cabbage, spring, sowing cabbage seed for, 328. 

Cabbage tribe and turnips, clubbing of the roots 
of, 480, 

Cacti, strong bottom-heat for, 133. 

Cactus, venerable, 575. 

Caledonian Horticultural Society’s new hall, 140. 


Calves and horses, training of, by breathing in 
their nostrils, 328. 573. 

Candahar fruits, 331. 

Cap, new slate, as a substitute for ridge tiles, 
429, 

Carbon, decomposition of, by plants, 55, 

Carbonic acid, composition of, 7, 

Carica Papaya, 43. 

Carrier for seeds and other garden purposes, 306. 

Carrot, wild, improvement of, 122. 

Cauliflowers, simple method of producing early, 
ag 

Cemeteries of Edinburgh and Leith, 199, 288. 

Cemeteries, generally, 666. 

Centauréa moschata, sensitive? 432, 

Chapman's early spring potatoes, 48, 

Chatsworth, 331. 

Chemical Statics of Organised Beings, 1. 55. 

Chinese, manure among the, 574. 

Chopper, for the potting-bench, 474, 

Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal, for 1841, 
129. 

Clay floors, to form, 140. ‘ 

Coke and anthracite as fuel in hothouses, eom- 
parative value of, 225. 

Conifereus plants, on raising from seed, 121, 

Corn, on the disease called worming in, 430. 

Cornwall Polytechnic Society, ninth annual Re- 
port of, 471. 

Corson, the late Mr. James, biographieal notice 
of, 568; new plants Uiscovered by him, 370; 
shells collected by, 371. 

Cottages and suburban villas, designs for, 189. 

Cottages, composition floors for, 38; rendering 
them fire and water-proof, 39. 

Cottage-gardens, calendars for, criticised, 240. 

Cottage-gardening adapted to Scotland, 315, 


GENERAL INDEX. 669 


Cottage Residences ; or a Series of Designs for | Francis’s Analysis of British Verns and their 
rural Cottages and Cottage-Villas, and their | — Allies, 2d edit., 635, 
Gardens and Grounds, adapted to North Ame- | Francis's Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, and 
rica, 570, Manufactures, 473. 

Coverings to pits or frames, a mode of securing, | Francis's Little English Plova, 635. 


109, Vruit-corridors, construction of, 273 ; peach- 
Cowthorpe oak, notice of an engraving of, 130. growers’ in the northern counties, 275. 
Cree’s mode of pruning tunber trees, 526, Fruit corridors, criticism on, 478, 
Cuba, botany and Boe Sah of, 136. Fruit, packing of, 229, 
Cuckoo, on the, 257. Fruit of trees as affected by age, 134. 
Cuckoo's eggs in the nest of a hedge-sparrow, | Fruit trees, general principles applicable to the 


‘ management of, 499, 

Cucumber, culture of the, 279. Fruit trees, Godsall’s label for, 34, 

Cuttings, effect of light on, 324; preparation of, | Fruit trees, root-pruning and canker in, 309, 
67; sand for striking, mode of procuring from | Fuel, charred peat as, 2J0, 
the sweepings of gravel walks, 452. 


G, 
D. Garden and collection of plants of Baron Hiigel, 
at Hietzing, near Vienna, deseription of, 150, 
Dahlia stake, Saul’s, 453. Garden architecture, present state of, 392, 
Dartmoor granite as a building material, 139, Garden, large and small, difference between cui- 
Delphinium Barldwii, 429. tivating and managing, 162. 
Delphinium sibiricum pléno, 429. Gardener and Practical Florist, 473, 
Destroying worms, Whittaker’s composition for, | Garden pots, draining, 404. 
188. Gardening, books on, &c., 259. 
Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, and Manufac- | Gardening, cottage, adapted to Scotland, 315. 
tures, 473. Gardening, principles of, physiologically con- 
Dinbur Castle, its gardens and its gardeners, 443, sidered, 67; propagation of plants, continued, 
495. 606. 67; by cuttings, 67; preserving the cuttings 
Don, David, Esq., death of, 48. till they take root, 157 ; accelerating the form- 
Donaldson's Treatise on Manures and British ation of roots, 197; practical metnea of propa- 
Grasses, 34. gation by buds, 260; by cuttings and layers, 
Douglas, the botanist, monument in memory of, 261; sorts of soil, 304, 
289; report on, 289; portrait, 292; description | Gardens at Brighton, notes on, and its neighbour- 
of the monument, 293; engraving, 294; in- hood, by the Conductor, 343; views from the 
scriptions, 295, 296 ; list of subscribers, 296. Brighton Railroad, 345; bridges which cross 
Douglas’s monument, subscribers to, S84. 431. the railroad, 345; the street gardens of Brigh- 
Downing’s Cottage Residences adapted to North ton, 3454 the grounds in front of the Pavilion, 
America, 570. 347; the squares, 548 ; St. Peter’s church, 348 ; 
Draining-tiles, improved, 57. St. Nicholas Church, 348; Hanover Chapel, 
Dumas on Chemical Statics, 1, 55. 349; the Royal tea-garden, 349; Rose Hill 


Nursery, 350; Norman’s market-garden, 350 ; 
Rogers’s flower-garden, and Parsons's flower- 
garden, 351; the park, 352; Park villa, 353 ; 


E. the architecture of Brighton, 555; the remains 
of the Antheum, 390; the Swiss Gardens at 
Edgings of basketwork in flower-gardens, con- | Shoreham, 391; Worthing, 391; ‘Tarring, 591 ; 
struction of, 271. Lancing, 391; the garden of Mr. Sharp, 441; 
Edinburgh Botanic Garden, 583. the Miller's ‘tomb, 441. : 
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, | Gardens and Country Seats in Somersetshire, 
372. Devonshire, and Part of Cornwall, Notices of 
Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Archi- some, 451; London to Neitlecombe, 481 ; Man- 
tecture, and Furniture, Virst additional Supple- well, 481; Slough station, 481; Caversham 
ment to, 636. House, 481; Swindon station, 482; Bridge- 
English Agriculture, what can be done for it ? by water, 482; Nettlecombe Court, 482; fattening 
Professor Johnson, 636. swine with fern or brake, 487 ; large trees at 
Epsom Nursery, hardy plants in, 41. Nettlecombe, 487; Old Cleeve Abbey, 488 ; 
Errata, 450. . Dunster Castle, 489; Nettlecombe to Exeter, 
through Tiverton, 459 ; Cowley House, 490. 
590; Mamhead, 491. 531; Gxton House, As2 ; 
r, Powderham Cxsstle, 532; Exeter, by Luscombe, 
Dawlish, Teignmouth, and Babbicombe, to 
Falconer, David, Esq., notice of his death, 384. Torquay, 532; Luscombe Castle, 533; Babbi- 
Farmer’s Gazette and Journal of Practical Hor- combe, 534; ‘Torquay, 535 ; W oodbine Cottage, 
ticulture, 383. 535 ; Torquay, to Paington, Totness, and Kings- 
Farming in France, 39. bridge, 536; Tor Abbey, 536 5 Paington, 530 ; 
Fastening mats, or other wove coverings, on the Berry Pomeroy Castle, 536; Sharpham, 537 ; 
sashes of pits and frames, 109. Sharpham to Kingsbridge, 539; Kingsbridge to 
Fences, 327. Combe Royal, and by the Moult, Woodville, 
Fielden on the genus Lobélia, 113. Saleombe, and Marlborough, to Modbury, 559 ; 
Filberts and Cosford nuts, 327. i Combe Royal, 539; the Moult, 540 ;- Woodville, 
Flavour of fruit by alternate heat and cold, in- 540 ; Salcombe, 541; Modbury to Fleet Mouse, 
creasing the, 192. Kitley, Saltrara, and Plymouth, 541; Vleet 
Floors for cattages, composition for, 33, Tlouse, 541; Kitley, 542; Saltram, 542; Ply- 
Floors of clay, to form, 140. mouth, 543; Athenzum. Cottage, 543 ; Mr. 
Flower-baskets, remarks on, 271. Pontey’s Nurseries, 543; Rendle’s Nursery, 
Flower, florist’s, what constitutes a? 454. 546 3 _Plymouth Bone-manure Manufactory, 
Flower-garden on gravel, designs for a, 180. 546 ; Tor House, 547 ; Monadon House, 517 ; 
Flower-gardens and song birds, 254. Pennycross Chapel, 547 ; Mount Edgecumbe, 
Fly-catcher, remarkable instinct in the, 259, 547; Plymouth to Saltash, ‘Trematon Castle, 
Fercing the melon for early fruit, 115. Pentillie Castle, and Callington, 548 ; Prema- 
Forestry, ornamental, remarks on, 112. ton Castle, 545 ; Pentillie Castle, 584 5 Calling- 
Forest Trees, British, History of, 567. ton to Whitford House, Endsleigh, and Tavis- 
Fountain at Barrackpoor, 41. tock, 549; Whitford House, 549; Endsleigh, 
Fowlds, Allan, Esq., his death, 536. 549; Milton Abbey Free School, 55+; Tavis- 


France and Northumberland, the peasantry of, tock, 550; Tavistock to Buckland Abbey and 
42, ; p : Moreton Hampstead, 550; Buckland Abbey, 


670 


550; Buckland Abbey to Moreton Hampstead, 
551; Moreton Hampstead to Ugbrook and 
Exeter, 551; Ugbrook, 551; Exeter, 552; Bic- 
ton, 552. 

Gardens and Country Seats in Sussex, notice of 
some, 610; London to Wadhurst Castle, 610 ; 
Wadhurst Castle, 610; Wadhurst to Battle 
Abbey, Beauport, and Rose Hill, 611; Battle 
Abbey, 611; Beauport, 613; Rose Hill, 615; 
bridge Castle, 615. 

Garstang churchyard, sycamore in, 477, 

Gas-Lime applied to horticultural purposes, 379. 

Germination, process of, 55. 

Gilly’s Peasantry of the Borde:, 31. 

Glazing hot-houses, &c., different modes of, 44. 

Gooseberry-cuttings, to facilitate their striking 
root, 327. 

Grainer’s Guide, 379. 

Granite as a building material, 140. 

Grape, cultivating the, in a greenhouse, 420. 

Grape-growing, 573. 

Grape, new, from Ohio, 218. 

Grapes in pots, 327. 

Grapes, rust on, causes of, 422. 

Grasses of Scotland, by Dr. Parnell, 379. 642. 

Gray’s Botanical Text Book for Colleges, Schools, 
and private Students, 634. 

Greg's Scotch Farming in the Lothians, 569. 

Gregory's Catalogue of Nursery Stock, 27. : 

Greenhouse, to connect, with a library, 394. 

Griffith’s Botany of India, 130. 

Guano, its value as manure, 81. 

Guava, white, cultivation of, 503. 


H. 


Heat and moisture in plant structures, to pre- 
serve, 106. 

Heat, terrestrial, further observations on, 241. 

Hédera Helix, 576. 

Hedges, 228. 

Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, 
monthly meetings of, 142. 

History and Management of Bees, noticed, 322. 

History of British Forest ‘Trees, 567. : 

Hooker's Catalogue of Roses for 1849-3, 636. 

Horses, taming and training, 328. 573. 

Hothouses, ventilating of, 395. 

Horticulture, on extending a knowledge of, and 
taste for, 252. 

Horticultural Society’s garden, exhibition at, 381. 
661. 

Horticultural Society's Transactions, 42+. 

Hortus Lignosus abridged, noticed, 321. 

Hot-water pipes, radiating power of, 324. 

Hughes's Practice of making and repairing Roads, 
471. 

Hydrogen, decomposition of, by plants, 57. 


1. 


Ice, artificial, for skating on, 42. 

Ijustrations aud Descriptions of Kilpeck Church, 
47). 

Iilustrationes Plantarum Orientalium, 466. 

Incubation, 475; the thrush, the redstart, and the 
cuckoo, 475. 

Indian corn, a new kind of, 229. 335. 

Tpomee‘a Lefréi, 576. 

Irish planting, observations on, 172. 

Isie of Wight, a botanic garden in the, 189. 


‘ ip 


Yaubert and Spach’s Illustrationes Plantarum Ori- 
entalium, 466. 

Johnston's Elements of Agricultural Chemistry 
and Geology, 372. 

-Johnston’s English Agriculture, what can be done 
_for it? 636, 

Jones’s Lecture on Taste, 129. 

sea grandifidra, 188. 


K. 
Kenrick’s American Orchardist, 30. 


Kensington Gardens, building villas on, 139; 
f..ntain in, 381; proposed to be built on, 582. 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Kew, Royal Botanic Garden, 189, 
Kitehen-gardens at Kensington, building 


villas 
on the site of the, 189. 


L. 


Labels for French roses, on cutting out and 
naming, by J. Twigg, 113. 

Labouring Population of Great Britain, Report on 
the Sanitary Condition of, 472. 

Ladies’ Companion to the 
2Qd edition, 634. 

Lambert, Aylmer Bourke, Esq., death of, 144. 
Landscape-gardeners, information wanted re- 
specting, 384; want of moral courage of, 135. 
Ponmienpe-nercening of F. LL. von Sckell of 

Munich, 98; to form and stake out lakes, 98 ; 
carriage-roads, bridle-roads, walks, and paths 
through defiles and under rocks, 165 ; removing 
earth in general, 204; formation of hills, 205 ; 
formation of valleys, 2U8; excavating lakes, 
264; making ponds, 266 ; arrangement of woods 
in natural scenery, 267; transitions of natural 
woods, 268 ; picturesque grouping and union of 

trees and shrubs, 405. 

Lane and Sons’ Catalogue of Roses for 1842-3, 636. 

Larch and silver fir, relative value of, 269. 

Large trees, transplanting of, 102, 

Larix Godsalli’, packing the, 34. 

Laurel, common (Cérasus Laurocérasus), 239, 

Leaves, rooting of, 134. 

Lees's Botanical Looker-out among the wild 
Flowers of the Fields, Woods, and Mountains of 
England and Wales, 570. 

Lewis’s Illustrations and Descriptions of Kilpeck 
Church, 471. 

Library, to connect, with a greenhouse, 594. 

Liebig's Chemistry, 2a edit., noticed, 126. 

Little English Flora, 635. 

Lobélia, on the cultivation of, by G. Fielder, 113 

Logs, large mahogany, 429. 

L'Orient, agriculture in the vicinity of, 39, 

Loudon's, Mrs., Botany for Ladies, 634. 

Loudon's Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, and 
Villa Architecture, Firtt additional Supplement 
to, 636. 

Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, no- 
ticed, 321. 

Lug ORT: Hortus Lignosus abridged, noticed, 
S21. 

Loudon’s, Mrs., Ladies’ Companion 
Flower-Garden, 2d ed, 654, 

Loudon’s Suburban Horticulturist, 631. 

Lymburn on Maunures, 72. 


Flower-Garden, 


to the 


M, 


Machine, Ainslie’s tile-making, 239, 

Macldra aurantiaca, 159. 

Management, or rather Mis-management, of 
Woods, Plantations, and Hedge-row Timber, 
470. 

Manure, bran as, 227 ; kiln-dust as, 380. ; oyster- 
shell, 227; Poittevin’s disinfected, 132 

Manures, Essay on, by Mr. Locke, 78; experi- 
ments on, at Dankeith, 76; at Shewalton and 
Roselle, 78; on the recent publications on, by 
Mr. Lymburn, 72. 

Matter, in plants, animals, and man, whence 
comes it ? 2. 

May’s Catalogue of Select Plants in the Hope 

ursery, 27. 

Melon, on forcing, for early fruits, 116. 

Menzies, Archibald, Esq., F.L.S., &c., his death, 
240. 

Merthyr coal, 37. 

Metropolitan Improvement Society, first Annual 
Report of the, 509. 

Moles, to destroy, 326. 

Moral courage, in architects, and landscape-gar- 
deners, want of, 135. 

Mobdrus, genus, 231. 

Moss, different uses of, in the cultivation of 
plants, 447; with the stock-gilliflower, 448; 
with the winter stock-gilliflower, 449; in raising 
early beans, 450; melons, 450; cauliflowers, 


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GENERAL 


450 ; young vine shoots, rose shoots, and other 
sorts of shrubs, 451; for grafting apricots and 
peaches, 451; for round-headed (or parasol) 
acacias, 451, 

Mount Vernon, a few hours at, 249. 

Moxon’s Grainer’s Guide, 379. 

Munro, James, on transplanting large trees, 102. 

Mushrooms, forcing of, 314; how to make the 
bed, 3l4; how to use the mushroom spawn, 
Sl4y management of the bed, O14. 

Musical bells, idea of hanging them in trees, 452. 


N. 


Neapolitan violet, on the culture of the, 212. 

Negundo, extracting oil from the seeds of, 4. 

Neliimbium specidsum, cultivation of the, 133, 

Nitrate of tonne 326. 

Nitrates, value of, es manures, 75. 

Nitrogen, great value of, 73. 

Niven’s stove for vacious purposes, 190. 352. 

Notices, Botanical, Floricultural, and Arbori- 
cultural, 412. 


oO. 


Oak, large American red, 188; of Australia, 47. 

Ogle, on securely fastening mats on pits and 
frames, 109, 

Orange, wild, 480. 

Orchf{dem, culture of native, 411. 

Ornamental forestry, remarks on, 112. 

Ornamental trees and shrubs recently sent to 
Britain by Messrs. Booth of Hamburg, 110. 

Otto, Edward, residence of, at Cuba, 156, 234. 285. 

Owl, the civetta, or little Italian, 301. 


Pe 


Parnell’s Grasses of Scotland, 379. 642. 

Pasley’s complete Course of Practical Geometry 
and Plan- Drawing, 510, 

Peach tree, to force, 122. 

Pears, a select list of, suitable for a garden of 
limited extent, 220. 

Pears grafted on the stock of the mountain ash, 
228. 

Pear trees, cultivation and management of, 118 ; 
treatment of, 229. 

Pear trees, standard, suitable for the climate of 
Inverness, 192. 

Peas, to preserve from birds, 119. 

Peasantry of France and Northumberland com- 
pared, 42. 

Peat, carbonisation of, 308. 

Physospérmum cornubiense Dec., 528. 

Pine-growing at Versailles, 244. 

Fine Ape growing the, without bottom-heat, 
432. 528. 

Pine-apples at Brancepeth Castle, 41. 

Pine-apples, producing four on the same plant in 
four successive years, 186. 

Pinus paldstris, 46. 

Pit erected for the growth of the pine-apple, de- 
scribed, 242. 

Pits and frames, coverings for, a superior mode of 
securing, 109. 

Pits, melon, pine, and plant, construction of, 457. 

Plantations, premature decay of, 211; thinning 
of, 626; in Queen’s Street and the Nor’ Loch, 
Edinburgh, 627 ; young, thinning and pruning, 
475. 

Planting, Irish, observations on, 172. 

Planting so as to combine utility and ornament, 
on, 19. 

Plant-houses, atmosphere in, 366. 

Plants, growth of, in closely glazed cases, 376; 
living, action of salts on, 510; existence of 
sulphur in, 571 ; twining, 384. 

Plants, new, discovered in the South Sea Islands 
by the late Mr. James Corson, 369. 

Plants newly introduced into British gardens and 
plantations, or which have been originated in 

' them, 177. 

Plums on calcareous soil, 573. 


INDEX. 671 


Poplars, the Canadian and Black Italian, 35. 
Potato, ash-leaved kidney, 185 ; Chapman's early 
spring, 48. 


Potatoes, a substitute for early, 363 ripening, 511. 


Practical Geometry and Plan-Drawing, complete 
Course of, 510. 

Practice of making and repairing Roads, 471. 

Price on the Picturesque, Sir Thomas Dick Lau- 
der’s edition, noticed, 377, 

Protecting peas, and other early crops, 187. 

Pruning forest trees, Mr. Cree’s mode of, 34, 
826. 


Q. 


Quassia, use of, as a substitute for tobacco in 
destroying aphides, &c., 507. 430. 
Quercus: pedunculdta fastigidta, 328, 


R. 


Railway stations, noticed, 322. 

Raspberry grub, 431. 

Hthododéndron arbireum, means of producing 
flowers of, soon after Christinas, 228. 

Ricauti’s Sketches for Rustic-work, noticed, 323, 

Riga, a flower-show, at 136. 

ising and setting sun, difference in the apparent 
magnitude of, 191, 

Rivers’s selected Catalogue of Roses for 1842-3 
636. 

River-valve, Brinsden’s self-acting, 230. 

Roads, repairing wet, 58. 

Nollison, Mr, William, his death, 356, 

Roses, catalogues of, 636 ; labels for, 113. ° 

Rooting tiles, new, 145. 

Rook, utility of the, 575. 

Royle’s Illustrations of the Totany and other 
Branches of the Natural History of the Hima- 
layan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cash- 
mere, re-issue of, 571. 


8. 


Salad, potato, to prepare, 573. 

Sanitary Report of the Poor-Law Commissioners, 
472. 661. 

Scotch farming in the Lothians, 569. 

Scraper for gardens, 403. 

Sedum Siebdldz, culture of, 629. 

Seeds collected in 184() by Professor Visiani of 
Pavia, 39, é 

Seeds, grass, result of an experiment with, 508. 

oon inode of preserving for a number of years, 
47. 144. 

Selby’s history of British forest trecs, 567. 

Shaddock, immense, 383. 

Shells, list of, discovered by the late Mr. Corson, 
371. 

Simms's Treatise on the principal Mathematica 
and Drawing Instruments, 471. 

Single trees in park scenery, 130, 

Sketches for Rustic Work, noticed, 323. 

Snail, edible, of Germany, 511. 

Snails on wall fruit, preventive against, 47. 

Soil, effects of lime on, 324; maiden, or virgin , 
396, 576. 

Soils, 572; trenching stiff, 572. 

Suey Illustrated Catalogue of British Plants, 
473. 

Species and varieties, 224. 

Spring cabbages, time for sowing the seed of, 328 

Sproule’s Treatise on Agriculture, 378. 

Squarcy’s Agricultural Chemistry, 33. 

Squirrel in gardens and woods, 355. 

Stem, dicotyledonous, the vital membrane of, 474. 

Stephens's Book of the Farm, 125. 322. 636. 

Stirring the soil, 160. 

St. Janne Park, remarks on the fountain in, 
381. 

Stove, Niven’s, for various purposes, 332. 

Strelitzéa regina, 575. 

Suburban Horticulturist, and Suburban Gar- 
dener, Ret. Crit. on, 44, 

Suburban Horticulturist, contents of, 631; notes 
on, by Mr. Lymburn, 512. 


672 


Summary of the progress of gardening, &c., du- 
ring the year, 645; science of vegetable cul- 
ture, $45; experimental culture, 647; agents 
of culture, 650; implements, instruments, &c., 
651 ; operations of culture and management, 
651 ; garden vermin, 65] ; garden architecture, 
651; landscape-gardening, 653 ; arboriculture, 
653 ; floriculture, 656; horticulture, 637 ; agri- 
culture, 653; domestic economy and bee cul- 


ture, 658; rural architecture,s659; weather | 
and crops, 659; horticultural societies, 661; | 
public improvement, 661; public gardens, 662; © 


cemeteries, 656; commercial gardens, 656 ; 
window ard drawingroom gardening, 660; 
progress of gardening in foreign countries, 
657 ; garden literature, 667 ; obituary, 667. 
Surveyor, Engineer, and Architect for 1841, 129. 
Sycamore, large, 404. 
Syringes, hand, a simple and good mode of pack- 
ing the pistons of, 380. 
Syrup, orange, 573. 


Ble 


Tattersall’s Sporting Architecture, 32. 

Temperature, progressive increase of, 34. 

Theory, 324. 

Thompson’s Railway Stations, noticed, 522. 

Thunbergia, on growing the, 2]. 

Tiles, the new French, 230. 

Timber, preservation of, by the water of a copper- 
mine in Anglesea, 174. 

Tomato figs, 331. 

Tomato, or love-apple, culture of, 277. 

‘Vorréya buxifolia, 36. 


Tour, a gardening, recollections of, in the North | 


of England, and part of Scotland. By the 


Conductor. Buildings at the railway stations, 
49; Glasgow cemetery, 5; Necropolis of 


Glasgow, 51; Garscube, 145; Glasgow new 
Botanic Garden, 149; Glasgow, i49; the cli- 
mate, 149; Glasgow to Uddingstone, 193; Ud- 
dingstone, 195; Bothwell Castle, 195; Both- 
well Castle to Hamilton, 337; Hamilton Palace, 
338; Cadzow Castle, 341; Barncleugh, 342; 
Hamilton to Allanton, 585; the village of 
Allanton, 386; Allanton Park, 387; Milton 
Lockhart, 388; Milton Lockhart to Lanark, 
389; Cartland Crags, 389; Lee, 389; Core- 
house, 455 ; Corehouse to Peebles, 437; Biggar, 
437; New Posso, 438 ; Peebles to Melrose, 440; 
Traquair,44); Abbotsford, 440; Melrose to Dal- 
keith, by Drybu-gh Abbey andThirlstane Castle, 
577; Dryburgh Abbey, 578 ; Thirlstane Castle, 
578; Oxenford Castle. 581; Preston Hall, 582 ; 
Newbattle Abbey, 582; Dalkeith Palace, 532; 


Dalkeith and Dalhousie Castle to Edinburgh, | 


583 ; Dalhousie Castle, 585 ; Edinburgh to Kin- 
ross, 585; Fordell, 586; Diair- Adam, 587 ; Loch- 
leven Castle, 587; Kinross House, 587; Kin- 


ross to Kincardine, 588; Blair Hill, 588; the | 
Botanic Garden at Dollar, 588; the villa of | 


Dr. Walker, 584; Tullyallan Castle, 589; Kin- 


cardine, by Culross and Valleyfield, to Stirling, | 


589; Valleyfield, 590; Valleyfield ‘Cottage 
Garden, 590; Culross Abbey, 591; Castle Hill, 
or Dunimarle, 592; Alva, 592; Stirling to Air- 
thrie Castle, Deanston, and Blair. Drummond, 
593; Airthrie Castle, 593; 
Keir, 594; Blair- Drummond, 594; Stirling, 


5%6; Messrs. Drummond’s Agricultural Mu- | 
seum, 596; Articles noted in it by Mr. Loudon, | 


5u7—602 ; the Bowiing-green at Stirling, 602; 
notices of the King’s Knot at Stirling Castie ; 


GU3; the King’s Gardens, 603 ; an Arboretum 


at Stirling, 64. 

Tower of Leidon, the fire at the, 37. 

Training and prokfhy fruit-trees, some remarks 
on, 14s. 

Training of calves and horses, 528.7573. 


~e 


END: OF TIFE EIG 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Training the peach, Seymour’s mode of, 24. 

Transactions of the Horticultural Society of 
London, 2d series, vol. ii. part v. reviewed, 121; 
upon raising Coniferous plants from seed, 121 ; 
on the improvement of the wild carrot, 122: 
upon forcing the peach tree, 122; heating by 
hot-water, 424. 

Transplanting large trees, 102 ; and small, 643. 
reatise on the principal Mathematical and 
Drawing Instruments, 471. 

Trees and shrubs deserving to be more generally 
cultivated, 329. 

Trees and Shrubs, Encyclopxdia of, noticed, 321. 

| Trees and shrubs in the Tooting Nursery, 2; 
Mr. Gordon’s Report on, 17. , : 

Trees, hanging musical bells in, 432. 

‘Trees in Russia, sudden death of, 233. 

Trees, single, in park scenery, 130. 

Trees, desultory notes on, 442; drainage, 465. 

Turf edgings, neatness in, 325. 

Turnip fly, to destroy, 429. 

Turnips and the cabbage tribe, clubbing of the 
roots of, 480. 

Tussilago fragrans, on the culture of the, 182, 

Twigg, on labels for French roses, 114. 


We 


Vegetation, effect of mercurial vapcur on, 295; 
powers of, 565 ; singular instance of, 189. 
Vermin in small gardens, on destroying, and on 
_Telative matters, 202. 
\ icons 476; Railway Company of the Nordbahn, 
10. 
Vines in pots, on growing, 23. 
Vine, on the management of the, 214. 
Virgin soil, on, and on the origin of soils, 70. 


Ws.” 


Walton Hall, the seat of Charles Waterton, Esq., 
the thunder storm at, 476. - 

| Ward, on the growth of plants in closely glazed 

cases, 376. 

Warming and moistening in plant structures, 106. 

Wasp, cominon, nature and habits of, 621. 

Water, composition of, 7. 

Watering plants immediately after being sbiftcd, 
evils of, 11. 

| Watering-pot, new, 134. 

Weather of 1841, the, 144. 

West's Remarks on the Management, or rather 
the Mis-management, of Woods, Plantations, 
and Hedge-row Timber, 470. 

Wighton’s History and Management of Bees, 

; noticed, 322. 

Wighton on the origin of sails, 70. 

Williamfield, the residence of Mrs. Fairlie, 42; 
treading the soil rendered loose by wire-worn, 
140. 

| Wood and Sons’ descriptive Catalogue of Icses 

| _ for 1842-3, 635. 

| Woodlice, 326. 

| Woods, Plantations, and Hedge-row Timber, Ma- 

| nagement or Mis-management of, 470. 

' Worms, to destroy, 326. 


Deanston, 594; | 


Wi 
' Yew branches, their peculiar properties for pro- 


tecting wall trees, 32t.. 
Yew, poisonous effects of, 51. 


{ Z. 


, Zine labels, mode of forming and writing on, 114. 


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