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THE 


AND 


FLORISTS’ MAGAZINE. 


JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1839. 
VOLUME VII. 
% 
CONDUCTED BY MR. JOSEPH HARRISON, 
NURSERYMAN, 


DOWNHAM NURSERY, 


NORFOLK. 


LONDON: 


WHITTAKER, & Co.. AVE MARIA LANE, 


R. Greenlaw, Printer, King’s Cross. 


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PREFACE. 


Ir was with feelings of a most grateful character we presented 
the former Volumes of the Floricultural Cabinet to our Sub- 
scribers ; the continued, and increased support we have recel- 
ved during the course of conduc ting the present Volume, we 
are deeply sensible, lays us under additional obligations ; to say 
we feel thankful to our friends for the support afforded us, does 
not adequately express our feelings of gratitude ; we will how- 
ever, by our utmost exertions, endeavour to prove it by doings 
in ournext volume, having made arrangements for its improve- 
ment. 


In the present volume we have acted upon the principle we 
set out with, to admit nothing into our pages but what we 
judged would be really useful to our readers, such will be our 
aimin future. In accomplishing our object wehave been libe- 
rally supported by the communications of our friends, grateful 


to them for the past, we very respectfully solicittheir continued 
aid, 


During the past year we have observed that Flower Garden- 
ing has rapidly progressed, and the amusement of Floriculture 
has become a dominant passion in every part of Britain ; we re- 
joice in it, it is in strict accordance with our very ardent wishes 
as tending to the happiness of man, because Floriculture is not 
only amusing but beneficial ; it brings reason and observation 
into operation ; it is favourable to serious medetation ; it exer- 
cises the fancy in innocent and elegant ozcupation ; and braces 
the system by its beautiful tendency. Kings, Queens, Prin- 
ces, and Nobles, have, and still do, stamp additional dignity 


ii PREFACE. 


upon it by seeking recreation in its pursuit. To the young, 
we are fully pursuaded, it is of lasting importance, it attaches 
them to home, and casts a charm over the place dedicated to 
floricultural pursuits, and gives them tastes and feelings which ~ 
are usually retained through life. That our view of it, is in 

unison with the most intelligent of our own sex, we make our 
boast of, but more especially do we congratulate ourselves, 
when we find they are in accordance with the Ladies of our 
Country. So much is Floriculture held in esteem by the 
female sex, that amongst the many accomplishments which 
adorn them, a love of it is now considered a necessary one. 


Its pursuit is now become so general, that it extends nearly 
to every cottage where it is practicable, and reaches to every 
Palace, and affords its votaries by its productions, what has 
been said to be, the purest of human pleasures. Of its enjoy- 
ment we have largely participated, and we are thus induced to 
attempt to contribute to its promotion, that others may more 
largely share with us of its benefits. To accomplish this, our 
future exertions will be uniformly directed, and we have rea- 
son to anticipate successful results, because by the operation 
of a supreme hand. : 

“ For us kind nature wakes her genial power, : 
Suckles each herb, and spreads out every flower ! 
Annual for us, the Grape, the Rose renew, 

The juice nectarious, and the balmy dew; 


For us, the mine a thousand treasures brings, 
For us, health gushes from a thousand springs.” 


Donnham, Nov. 20th, 1839. 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


JANUARY, ist, 1839. 


PART I, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ARTICLE I. 


REMARKS ON THE JASMINE. 
BY CLERICUS. 


Tuis sweet emblem of amiability is always acceptable wherever 
we meet it. It graces alike the lowly casement of the lone wi- 
dow, and the proud parterre of the rich and gay: the bosom of 
the village lass, and the oriental vase of the saloon. Its modesty 
pleases, and its fragrance charms, in all situations; like those 
with whose happy dispositions and amiable manners seem to 
make them the bond of society, by the grace and facility with 
which they accommodate themselves to all situations and circum- 
stances. The pretty face of the Jasmine flower is only surpassed 
in loveliness, by the fair whose countenance is brightened by 
amiability. ° 
The common Jasmine Officinale, which grows naturally at Ma- 
labar, is registered in the Hortus Kewensis as a native of the 
south of Europe; but I am of opinion that it did not leave the 
East until the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, whose fond- 
ness for flowers would induce them to transport it to the land 
they conquered in 1453. It certainly would not have passed un- 
noticed by Pliny, and other ancient authors, had it either grown 


naturally, or been introduced to that country previous to their 
Vou. VII. No. 71. B 


2 REMARKS ON THE JASMINE. 


time. Dioscorides is the only Greek author that notices it; and 
as he has given no description of the plant or flower, but only 
tells us that the Persians obtained an oil from a white flower, with 
which they perfumed their apartments during their repasts, it is 
probable he only became acquainted with the jasmine during 
his attendance as a physician on Antony and Cleopatra, in Egypt, 
whose unbounded luxury would naturally call this essence from 
the land of odours. 

At what time this plant first perfumed the British atmosphere, 
is uncertain, Mr. Aiton says, in 1548; but we consider it to be 
much longer acquainted with our soil, as it seems to have been 
so common in the time of Gerard as to have been considered a 
native plant by some persons. This excellent author says, 
*‘ Jesemin is fostered in gardens, and is vsed for arbors and to 
eouer banquetting houses in gardens; it groweth not wilde in 
Englande, that I can vnderstande of, though master Lyte be 
of a different opinion: the white jasmine is common in most 
places of Englande’” 

If we may believe a Tuscan tale, we owe our thanks to Cupid for 
the distribution of this pretty shrub. We are told that a Duke 
of Tuscany was the first possessor of it in Europe, and he was so 
jealously fearful lest others should enjoy what he alone wished to 
possess, that strict injuncticns were given to his gardener not to 
give aslip, nor so much asa single flower, to any person. To this 
command the gardener would have been faithful, had not the god 
of love wounded him by the sparkling eyes of a fair but portion- 
less peasant, whose want of a little dowry and his poverty alone, 
kept them from the hymeneal altar. On the birth day of his mis- 
tress the gardener presented her with a nosegay; and to render 
the bouquet more acceptable, he ornamented it with a branch of 
jasmine. The young nymph wishing to preserve the bloom of this 
new flower, put it into fresh earth, and the branch remained green 
all the year, and in the following spring it grew, and was covered 
with flowers; and it flourished and multiplied so much under the 
maiden’s cultivation, that she was able to amass a little fortune 
from the sale of the precious gift which love had made her; when 
with a sprig of jasmine in her breast, she bestowed her hand 
and her wealth on the happy gardener of her heart. And the 
Tuscan girls, to this day, preserve the remembrance of this ad- 
venture, by invariably wearing a nosegay of jasmine on their 
wedding day; and they have a proverb which says, that a young 


ee a a 


REMARKS ON THE JASMINE. 3 


girl, worthy of wearing this nosegay, is rich enough to make the 
fortune of a good husband. 

Let us then cultivate more abundantly what love has scattered 
so happily ; for the supple and pliant branches of the jasmine ac- 
commodate themselves to numerous situations in the shrubbery : 


“‘ Here jasmines spread the silver flower, 
To deck the wall, or weave the bower,” 


They should be woven into the trellised arch or alcove, climb 
the palisades, rest on the branches of the broad-leafed laurel, 
cover the dead wall, and run gaily wild over the shrubs of the 
wildnerness walks; whilst obedient to the scissars of the gar- 
dener, they are formed into bushy shrubs and little trees, for the 
near approach to the dwelling, where in the morning and evening 
their star-topped tubes send forth a shower of odours that em- 
balm, refresh, and purify the surrounding air. 


‘‘ Many a perfume breathed 
From plants that wake when others sleep, 
From timid jasmine buds, that keep 
Their odour to themselves all day, 
But, when the sun-light dies away, 
Let the delicious secret out 
To every breeze that roams about.” 

T. Moore. 


From the tube of this eastern flower, the bee extracts its most 
exquisite honey ; and the painted butterfly is never seen to more 
advantage, than when resting on the delicate petals of the white 
jasmine. 

When the jasmine was first introduced into France, it was sup- 
posed to require all the heat they could give it; it next occupied 
a place in the orangery, and at length exposed to the oper gar- 
den, where it thrives as freely as a native plant, and still holds 
the situation of a favourite with the Parisian belles, and is always 
the most saleable bouquet that is brought to the French market. 

We have often been astonished that our cottagers, who possess 
little gardens, should not cultivate flowers for sale, particularly 
the jasmine, which is so hardy and so easily propagated ; and with 
which they might even form their fences, or suffer it to run over 
their hedges, without taking away any of their potatoe ground, 

In the mar<et they would find one bunch of jasmine flowers 
would bring them as much money, as three cabbages or a bunch 


4 i REMARKS ON THE JASMINE. 


of turnips. Aslong back as the time of Charles the Second, 
Evelyn says, ‘‘ Were it as much employed for nosegays, &c. with 
us, as in Italy and France, they might make money enough of 
the flowers ; one sorry tree in Paris, where they abound, has been 
worth to a poor woman near a pistolea year.” And at the pre- 
sent time a great deal of money is made by the nurserymen in 
that neighbourhood, who trim them up with a head on a single 
stem, and then pot them, and send them to the flower market co- 
vered with blossoms, whereby they soon find customers amongst 
those who are wise enough to prefer familiar beauty to costly rarity, 
and you see it there flourishing equally in the cobler’s window 
and the palace balcony. The Turks cultivate the jasmine for the 
sake of the branches, of which the tubes of their summer tobacco- 
pipes are as invariably made, as those for the winter are formed 
of the cherry-tree. 

As the jasmine does not ripen its seed in our climate, it is in- 
creased by laying down the branches, which take root in one year, 
which may then be cut from the old stock, and planted where 
they are to remain. It is also propagated by cuttings, which should 
. be planted early in the autumn, and the earth covered with sand, 
ashes, or saw dust, to keep the frost from entering the ground. 

In situations where it is necessary to prune this plant, it must 
never be done until the end of March, or when the frost is past. 
It should also be observed, that the flowers are always produced 
at the extremity of the same years’ shoots, which are often cut 
off in the summer, by those that are ignorant of its nature; and 
thus the plant is deprived of the power of Seating us with its 
fragrant flowers. 

The common yellow jasmine, J. fruticans, is a native of the 
south of Europe, yet it did not reach this country so early as 
the white jasmine, as Gerard tells in 1597, that it had not been 
seen in this country ; and Mr. Martin is therefore mistaken in his 
statement, that it was cultivated by Gerard in that year. 

Parkinson tells us, in 1629, that the yellow jasmine, ‘“‘ will well 
abide in our London gardens, and any where else.” 

This shrub is easily increased by suckers or layers, but being 
deficient of odour, it is much less cultivated than formerly. 
Sheep eat the leaves and young branches of this shrub with great 
avidity. 

The Italian yellow jasmine, J. humile, produces larger flowers 
than the common yellow jasmine, and is therefore preferred in 


LIST OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 5 


the shrubbery; where it requires a south aspect and sheltered 
situation. It was at first cultivated with us in 1730, but its native 
soil still remains unknown; it acquired its name from being sent 
out of Italy with orange trees, &c. 

The ancients employed the berries of the jasmine, in their pre- 
tended divinations; and the oil obtained from the flowers was 
used in the baths of females. 


. CLERICUs. 


ARTICLE II. 


A SELECT LIST OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWERING GREEN- 
HOUSE PLANTS, BY W.J.C. 


SPRINGFIELD, NEAR CHE .MSFORD, ESSEX- 


I nave often remarked in most of the Numbers of the ‘ Floricul- 
tural Cabinet’ a vast amount of Queries unanswered, in several 
of which, I took great interest; but my hopes have been disap- 
pointed by their being neglected and passed over without any 
notice taken of them. Now, I think one of the best and surest 
plans to increase the circulation of the ‘Cabinet,’ is, freely and 
punctually to answer every Query put in the preceding Number ; 
by such means, the knowledge of the cultivation will be more 
diffused, and consequently, the love of floriculture will increase 
in an equal ratio with the success of the cultivator. 

To remedy this defect, I shall at intervals inform your nume- 
rous readers of the mode I have adopted with respect to several 
Queries, that is, if you think it worth insertion; mind, I do not 
pretend to a thorough acquintance with floriculture in general, 
only upon a few things I have been singularly successful. 

I am glad you have adopted the plan of noticing the various 
plants in the hothouses and greenhouses round the metropolis, it 
gives your numerous readers an early and useful account of the 
latest and most beautiful productions, which increases amongst 
amateurs, the desire of adding to their collections plants of ap- 
proved beauty; by the continuation of this plan, and adopting 
my suggestions respecting the Queries, you will oblige me, and a 
host of your readers. 

For the information of your readers I enclose a select list of 
greenhouse plants, the beauty of which I can answer for, having 


6 LIST OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 


them in my possession, and exhibited at various shows : against 


_those which require particular treatment I have marked a num- 


ber, upon referring to the bottom of the list it will be ex- 


plained. ; 
W...1..C, 


List of Greenhouse Plants. 
Acacia cordata Bouvardia triphylla 
“« pubescens Brachysema latifolia 
“  armata Burchillia capensis 
Alstrameria tricolor Burtonia conferta(4) 
sy pelegrina Cactus speciosissimus 
+ simsil “«  Jenkinsonia 
= aurea “  Ackermania 
PS psittacina Calothamnus quadrifeda 
Amaryllis Johnsonia(1) Chorizema cordata(5) 
a crocea vitalina(1) <¢ ovata(5) 
a speciosa(1) «: Henchmanii(5) 
ge vittata(1) Cistus creticus 
formosissima(1) ‘¢ speciosa 
Anagalis monelli Clianthus puniceus 
Hh grandiflora Clerodendron speciosissimum 
id Philipsii Crassula coccinea 
Anomatheca cruenta “< faleata 
Anthocercis viscosa(2) A versicolor 
Azalea indica alba(3) Crotolaria elegans 
“¢  Pheenicea(3) Crowea saligna 
“ -Viscosa(3) Cyrilla pulchella 
Baurea rubioides *Cyclamen coum 
Beaufortia decussata a persicum 
Berberis dulcis 4 europeum 
Baronea pinnata sf vernum. 
«  serrulata Cytisus racemosus 
Bossicea linophylla Daphne odora 
ee Tui ‘« ~~ Cneorum 


(1) Must be kept near the glass, and have rest during winter months. 

(2) Will not bear much water. 

(3) Require the tops to be near glass, which will cause them to bloom 
well, water freely, 

(4) Near the side panes of glass in the house, so as it may have plenty of 
light and air. 

(5) In the warmest part of the greenhouse, and must be kept from currents 
of air, also as near the side panes as possible. 


*There is another Cyclamen still more beautiful than the above, called, 
C. repandum, but procured with great difficulty. 


A LIST OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 


Daviesia acicularis(6) 
Deatzia scabra(7) 
Diosma umbellata 

Ce imbricata 
ceratoides 
Durantia Elisii 
Erythina crista galli 


iT4 


¢s laurifolia 
Epacris variabilis(8) 

‘+ impressa(8) 

¢  nivalis(8) 

“  grandiflora(8) 


Eutaxia myrtifolia 
Fuchsia fulgens 
Gardoquia Hookerii 
a multifiora 
Galphimia glauca 
Genista canariense 
Glycine bimaculata 
Gladiolus florabundus 


ae colvillii 
a cardinalis 
hs psittacinus 
Gloxinea cautescens 
es speciosa 
ce alba 


Grevillea buxifolia (eurious ) 
Hibbertia volubillis 
Hovea celsi (9) 

«¢ __ purpurea(9) 


(6) Small pot and plenty of water. 


(7) Almost hardy. 


Hoya carnosa 
Indigofera australis(10) 
Kennedia coccinea prostrata 
Linum flavum 
“  trigynum 

Lautana sellowii 

«¢  mutabilis 
Lechenaultia speciosa(11) 

% formosa(11) 

Loasa lateritia 
Lychnis fulgens 

<¢  coronata 
Bungeana(12) 
Magnolia fuscata 
Mannettia glabra 
Mahernia pinnata 
Metrosideros florabundus(13) 
Nierembergia Philicaulis 

ae intermedia(14) 

Pittosporum Tobira 
Primelea decussata 
Polygala oppositifolia 

Si grandiflora 
speciosa 
Prostranthera violacea 
Puttenea stricta(15) 
Rhexia marinana 
Ruellia formosa(16) 

«ciliata 
Sedum Sieboldii 


“cc 


14 


(8) All the Epacride require plenty of water at all times, in potting them 
very sandy peat must be used, chopped fine and not sifted. 


(9) Plenty of water. 
(10) Plenty of water. 


(11) Ihave been very successful with these flowers, they must be kept as 
close to the glass as possible, not watered over the foliage. and plenty of 
light, not too much water, potted in very sandy peat chopped. 

(12) Must be grown in rich lJeaf-mould with old saw-dust, and potted 
from large 48’s to 32's, to 24's, and lastly, to 12’s; mine was 9 feet high, 


with fifty-seven blossoms on. 


(13) The smaller the pot the more abundantly will it flower. 
(14) Must be kept separately as it is inclined to be infested with the Aphis. 


(15) Small pot, plenty of water. 


(16) Hotest part of the greenhouse, free from draft, and use but little 


water during winter. 


8 ON RAISING SEEDLING HEARTSEASE, 

Selago Gilliesii Swansonia coronillzfolia rosea 
Sollya heterophilla A as alba 
Solanum spinosum Tecoma australis 
Springelia: incarnata(17) *< capensis 

Stenochilus maculatus Templetonia glauca 
Streptocarpus Rexii Tropeolum tricolorum 


Sutherlandia frutescens 


N.B. Should any of your readers require the color of the flow- 
ers, I will send youa list as soon as I have leisure; my next 
communication will be on the Cold Pit, one of the most useful 
structures known, I have one ona principle of my own in which 
I have placed my Camellias, but as it is an experiment, I shall 
not notice it until I see how the plants have weathered the win- 
ter. 


W.I.C. 


ARTICLE III. 


ON RAISING SEEDLING HE\RTSEASE. 
BY A. E., HOXTON. 


I BEG leave to submit to the readers of the Floricultural Cabinet 
the mode by which I have raised seedling Heartsease. In saving 
the seed it is quite necessary that it should be gathered from first 
rate flowers, and that no common or small flowers, should be 
grown in the garden, or if possible near the plants from which 
the seed is to be gathered. The pods containing the seed must 
be taken from the plants, when they have grown to their full size, 
and before they are quite ripe, spread on a large cloth and placed 
it in a sunny aspect, as if you waited till they were quite ripe, 
the seed vessels fly open, and disperse the seed, so that itis quite 
necessary that the cloth on which you spread the seed to ripen 
should cover a good space, otherwise you will lose half your seed. 
It will be quite ripe in August and September. The end of January 
I make a hot bed with stable manure, and place on it a small 
one-light frame ; when the heat has declined, I put a layer there 
inches deep of fresh loam and rotten leaves, (of each an equal 
part) well mixed together, and then sow the seed; when they 


SE — ey | a ee Pee 


(17) Plenty of water—near the glass—peat with sand chopped fine. 


_——_——_ 


<7. 5 


ON THE FOOD OF PLANTS. 9 


ceme up I give them all the air I can in fine weather, keeping the 
same shut in frosty weather, and at night. 

In May, they have got large enough to plant out. This sea- 
son I planted under a row of standard apple and pear trees (hav- 
ing first dug in some decayed vegetable mould) and though under 
the shade of the trees, I have had all the autumn, and to the pre- 
sent time, one mass of bloom, bidding defiance to the season, 
and hardly what may be called an indifferent flower, and among 
them, at least a dozen of those of first rate. 

I grow a great profusion of border flowers, but the first flower 
that strikes the attention of any visitor, and particularly females, 
is the Heartsease; to me, the watching of the first bloom, with 
the expectancy of rearing something new, creates a much greater 
pleasure than viewing a bed of known good flowers. 

If any flower is required to show what can be done by cultiva- 
tion, let it be the Heartsease; take the plant growing in its 
natural wild state on the West of England mountains, and com- 
pare it with the present garden flower. It is my opinion that the 
cultivation of this beautiful plant will be greatly improved, and 


in a few years will far surpass those of the present day. 
A. E. 


ARTICLE IV. 


ON THE FOOD OF PLANTS 
BY TERRA. 


Weare lost in wonder and astonishment when we contemplate the 
means by which plants are supported and the different soils that 
are requisite to bring the different species to perfection, some 
delighting to grow in rich soils, others on barren wastes, some 
in warm countries, others in the higher latitudes, all receiving that 
nourishment which is best suited for the propagation of their spe- 
cies, and in those places that are best adapted to their nature. 
When we consider a plant as an object possessing vegetable life, 
that it is organized, possessing an apparatus, by means of which 
its several functions are exercised ; that light, air, and moisture, 
are essential to its existence, and that no sooner is life extinct, 
than the laws of chemistry, which hitherto were over-ruled by that 
principle, exert their influence ;—it is decomposed, and having 
Vou. VII. No. 71. c 


“* “ay ae 
eS Se 
bis: 


10 ON THE FOOD OF PLANTS. 


passed into its original elements, is fitted for becoming the sup- 
port of other organized beings. 

In these respects plants beara close analogy to animals; like 
them too, they are possessed of that inconceivable power, by 
which means they are enabled to assimulate, or change into their 
substance, a variety of extraneous matter. In common with ani- 
mals, they have the power of increasing their species : and many 
of them possess spontaneous motion, or irritability. Indeed, 
the lowest link in the chain of vegetable beings, approaches so 
elosely to that which holds the same in the animal kingdom, 
that a well defined line of demarkation has in vain been sought 
for. 

It has oceupied the attention of philosophers for a long period 
to discover the real nature of the food of plants, nor to this day 
is the problem satisfactorily solved. It would, however, lead me 
far beyond the limits which I have proposed to myself in this out- 
line to notice the conflicting opinions of those who have investi- 
gated this difficult subject; let it suffice to observe, that the 
most generally received is, that water, together with carbon, (the 
base of charcoal,) either in solution, or combined with an acid 
gas, constitute the principal food of vegetables; and that the 
application of manure, consisting cf decaying vegetable and ani- 
mal matter, to the soil, is the only means within our power, of 
supplying the plant with the latter of these essential principles. 

The earths, which are only finely divided flint, limestone, alu- 
mine, or earth formed from clayslate and analogous rocks, and a 
few others of less common occurrence, do not constitute any por- 
tion of the food of plants, the use of them being merely to afford 
a medium in which the proper food should be administered; and 
their fitness for the purpose, depends both on the proportion in 
which they are combined, and the state of division which they 
have attained. Thus, a soil is composed principally of silex, 
that is, earth of flints, particularly if some portion of it be not in 
a state of minute division, will not be sufficiently compact to re- 
tain for any length of time, a proper degree of moisture. A soil 
consisting of nineteen parts out of twenty of siliceous sand, has 
been found to be perfectly barren, yet so small a portion of finely 
divided matter, as one part in twelve, itis asserted, is sufficient 
to adapt it to cultivation. The qualities whereby this sand may 
be recognised, are, that it docs not effervesce in acids, that it is 


=) 


ON THE FOOD OF PLANTS. il 


harsh when rubbed between the finger and thumb, and it cuts 
glass if rubbed against it. 

Alumnia, so called, as constituting the base of alum, occurs 
generally iu the form of stiff retentive clay; without a certain 
proportion of sand, it will scarcely admit water, and conse- 
quently an unfit medium for vegetables; but it does not occur 
in a state of absolute purity and minute division, and though it 
frequently requires an additional portion of sand, to render it 
aproper stage for vegetabies, but I am not aware of its being 
absolutely barren. The agricultural character given of this clay, 
in Conybeare and Phillips’s invaluable work on the Geology of 
of England and Wales, is, that ‘‘ it chokes the plough, and it rolls 


_ before it, in a broken and muddy state ; after rain, it is not slip- 


pery, but adheres to the shoes; after drought, it presents cracks 
nearly a yard in depth and several inches in breadth. According 
to Townsend, it is sometimes called wood grower’s land, because, 
although it is productive of the finest elm, oak, and ash timbers, 
it requires chalk before it can produce good corn; yet on Ep- 
ping forest, Windsor forest, and much of the New Forest, the oaks 
are finest where clay is mixed with sand.” It does not effervesce 
in acids, and when in a state of minute division, is unctuous and 
impalpable to the touch. It is known by the terms, argilaceous, 
clay, stifi retentive clay, Ke. 

Calcareous earth results from limestone or chalk; in the former 
case, the soil is always mixed with other ingredients, and is na- 
turally suited to agricultural purposes, hence the extraordinary fer- 
tility of many of the Irish counties. In the latter, it is occasion- 
ally very indifferent even in England, but on the contineut, ac- 
cording to Cuvier and Brongniart, ‘sterility is one of its most 
decided characters, and Champagne is mentioned, as being, in 
some cases, absolutely uninhabitable.” It is easily distinguished 
from the last, by its effervescing in acids. Besides these, there 
are six other enumerated by chemists, only one, (magnesia) is 
found in sufficient quantity to modify in any considerable degree 
the general nature of the soil, 

It therefore appears that pure silica, alumina, or lime, are not 
capable of supporting vegetation. It is the opinion of an eminent 
French chemist, that the most fertile soils will be generally 
found to consist, as nearly as possible of four parts of clay, three 
of sand, two of calcareous earth, and one of magnesia, 


TERRA. 


¥ 


12 ON CHINESE GARDENS, 


ARTICLE V. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 
(Continued from Vol. VI. page 369.) 

WuereE the ground is extensive, and many scenes are introduced 
they generally adapt each to one single point of view; but where 
it is confined, and affords no room for variety, they dispose their 
objects so, that being viewed from different points, they pro- 
duce different representations ; and often such as bear no resem- 
blance to each other. They likewise endeavour to place the sepa- 
rate scenes of their compositions in such directions as to unite, 
and be seen all together, from one or more particular points of 
view, whence they may be delighted with an extensive, rich, and 
variegated prospect. 

They take all possible advantage of exterior objects, hiding 
carefully the boundaries of their own grounds ; and endeavouring 
to make an apparent union between them, and the distant woods, 
fields, and rivers ; and where towns, castles, towers, or any other 
considerable objects are in sight, they artfully contrive to have 
them seen from as many points, aud in as many various directions 


_as possible. The same they do with regard to navigable rivers, 


high roads, foot-paths, mills, and all other moving objects, which 
animate and add variety to the landscape. 

Beside the useful European methods of concealing bounda- 
ries by ha-has, and sunk fences, they have others still more effec- 
tual. On flats, where they have naturally no prospects of exterior 
objects, they enclose their plantations with artificial terraces, in 
the form of walks, to which you ascend by insensible slopes ; 
these they border in the inside with thickets of lofty trees and 
underwood; and on the outside, with low shrubberies, over which 
the passenger sees the whole scenery of the adjacent country, in 
appearance forming the continuation of the garden, as its fence is 
carefully concealed amongst the shrubs that cover the outside 
declivity of the terrace. 

And where the garden happens to stand on higher ground than 
the adjacent country, they carry artificial rivers round the out- 
skirts, under the opposite banks of which, the boundaries are con- 
cealed among trees and shrubs. Sometimes too the use of strong 
wire fences, painted green, fastened to the trees and shrubs that 
border the plantations, and carried round in many irregular di- 
rections, which are scarcely seen till you come very near them; 


— 


Ne ee YO 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 13 


and wherever ha-has, or sunk fences are used, they always fill 
the trenches with briars and other thorny plants to strengthen the 
fence, and to conceal the walls, which otherwise would have an 
ugly appearance from without. 

In their large gardens they contrive different scenes for the 
different times of the day ; disposing at the points of view, build- 
ings, which from their use, point out the proper hour for enjoying 
the view in its perfections; and in their small ones, where, as 
has been observed, one arrangement produce many representa- 
tions, they make use of the same artifice. They have beside, 
scenes for every season of the year; some for winter, generally 
exposed to the southern sun, composed of pines, firs, cedars, 
evergreen oaks, philyreas, hollies, yews, junipers, and many other 
evergreens; being enriched with Jaurels of various sorts, laure- 
stinus, arbutus, and such other plants and vegetables as grow or 
flourish in cold weather; and to give variety and gaiety to these 
gloomy productions, they plant amongst them, in regular forms, 
divided by walks, all the rare shrubs, flowers, and trees of the 
torrid zone; which they cover durmg the winter, with frames of 
glass disposed in the forms of temples, or other elegant build- 
ings. 

Those who are aquainted with the natural history of China know 
that it produces almost all the plants and vegetables cultivated in 
Europe with many others, thatare not to be found even in the 
very best hothouses, amongst which are several evergreens, as the 
Tse-song, the leaves resemble both the juniper and cypress, 
mixed in a very beautiful manner ; the Mo-lyen, producing large 
flowers, like lillies, some yellow, some red, and some white, 
which open in December, and flourish during the greater part of 
the winter; the La-mew,a kind of bay, producing fine yellow 
flowers, that appear in winter, with many others, which as they 
cannot here be obtained, it is superfluous to enumerate. 

What they call their conservatories, are warmed by subter- 
raneous fires, and afford a comfortable and agreeable retreat, 
when the weather is too cold to walk in the open air. 

» All sorts of beautiful melodious birds are let loose in them ; and 
they keep there, in large porcelain cisterns, placed on artificial 
rocks, geld and silver fishes ; with various kinds of the Lyen-wha, 
which is a water-lilly, much esteemed in China. In the province of 
Kiang-si, whose lakes are covered with it, in a very beautiful 
manner, and it is cultivated by all the great lords in ponds and 


- 


\S ren ery 


14 ON THE ROSE. 


cisterns, for the decoration of their courts and gardens. The 
flower resembles a tulip, and is either yellow, white, violet, crim- 
son, or streaked with various colours ; its smell is very pleasing, 
and the fruit which produces a kernel, being accounted a great 
restorative and strengthener, is given in China as a medicine, after 
severe fits of illness ; the leaves are large, of a circular form, and 
brilhant green colour; they float upon the surface of the water, 
they have a great many other aquatic plants and flowers. They 
also raise in them strawberries, cherries, figs, bananas, li-chis, 
grapes, apricots, and peaches, which cover the wood-work of 
their glass frames, and serve for ornament as well as use. 

The fruit of the Li-chi resembles the berry of the arbutus, in 
every thing but size ; its being as large as a pigeon’s egg, and full 
of a juicy pulp, that in flavor, far surpasses any other fruit what- 
ever. 

Their scenes of spring likewise abound with evergreens, inter- 
spersed with lilacs of all sorts, laburnums. limes, laraixes, double 
blossomed thorn, almond and peach trees, with sweet brier, early 
roses and honey-suckles. The ground, and verges of the thickets 
and shrubberies, are adorned with wild hyacinths, wall-flowers, 
daffodils, violets, primroses,polianthus, crocus, daisies, snowdrops, 
and various species of the iris; with such other flowers as appear 
in the months of March and April, and as these scenes are also 
seanty in their natural productions, they intersperse among their 
plantations, menageries of all sorts of tame and ferocious animals, 
and birds of prey: aviaries and groves, with proper contrivances 
for breeding domestic fowls; decorated dairies, and buildings for 
the exercise of wrestling, boxing, quail-fighting, and other games 
known in China. They also contrive in the woods large open 
recesses for military sports; as riding, vaulting, fencing, shooting 
with the bow, and running. 

(To be continued.) 


ARTICLE VI. 
REMARKS ON THE ROSE, 
(Continued from Vol, VI. page 283.) 


Tux double yellow rose, sulphurea, was unknown to us in 1597; 
but the single yellow brier was then common, as we find by Ger- 
ard. 


et 


ON THE ROSE. 15 


The single yellow rose, lutea, blossoms freely in most situa- 
tions, excepting in the vicinity of London, or other confined 
spots. 

The double yellow rose, where it blossoms freely, is one of 
the most elegant flowers that any country has produced, and had 
nature bestowed on it the perfume that makes the Provence rose 
so delightful, it would be pronounced the acme of Flora’s skill. 

The outer petals are of the most delicate golden yellow, whilst 
the inner ones are often of a tint approaching to copper colour, and 
so delicately transparent, as even to surpass the carnation poppy 
in texture ; and although the flower is exceedingly double, yet the 
petals hang with a looseness and elegance that cannot be con- 
ceived without beholding it. Wan Os, the elder, has been the 
most happy among painters in giving that transparent and crum- 
pled effect to this rose, which Von Huysum himself could never 
perfectly accomplish. Sydenham Edwards bas left a faithful re- 
presentation of the double yellow rose, which is given im the Bo- 
tanical Register. 

We remember this species of rose much more common than at 
present growing in open situations, and we have generally ob- 
served that it has prospered best in an eastern aspect, where 
buildings or shrubs, have sheltered it from the mid-day sun. It 
loves a light soil, of a gravelly or sandy nature, but cannot endure 
a confined or wet situation. We have seen is in great perfection 
in a garden at Petersfield, in Hampshire; and it prospers and 
flowers very freely insome parts of the South Downs, particu- 
larly at Findon in Sussex. It seems much less affected by the 
cold than by low and damp situations; and we do not recollect 
having met with it in flower except in spots open to the east, 
which is generally considered the most pernicious to plants. 
The foliage of the double yellow rose is small, and of a beautiful 
bluish green, very light on the under side, whilst the stalks be- 


ing of yellow-green, form a delightful graduation to the golden 
flower. 


TILE EVER BLOWING CHINA ROSE. — Semperfiorens. 


When this species of rose was first introduced, in 1780, it was 
considered to be so delicate a plant, that it was kept constantly in 
the stove, and the smallest cuttings were sold for many guineas 


16 ON THE ROSES. 


each. It was soon found to thrive in a common greenhouse, 
where it was found to blossom the whole winter, to the great ad- 
miration and amazement of ali who could obtain sight of this far- 
fetched flower. As it was found to be so easy of propagation, in : 
a few years every country casement had the pride of sheltering 
this Chinese prodigy, until the cottager for want of pence to pur- 
chase flower pots, planted it in the opeu ground; when, as if it 
gloried to breathe the air of this land of liberty, it soon surpassed 
in strength and beauty all the inmates of the ‘‘ gardens, in which 
art supplies the fervour and the force of Indian skies.” 

We have no plant on record, either of utility or beauty, that has 
spread itself so rapidly over the whole country as this rose has 
done in our own age. It now climbs up to look into the attic 
windows of those very houses where we once saw it peep out at 
the lower casement ; and it is not uncommon to see its petals blush 
through a veil of snow, in the month of December ; a thing so un- 
usual formerly, that no longer back than the year 1800, Mrs. Mary 
Robinson wrote the following verses on seeing a rose in flower 
at a cottage door on Egham-hill, on the 25th of October of that 
year. 


““ Why dost thou linger still, sweet flower ? 
Why yet remain, thy leaves to flaunt? 
This is for thee no fostering hour. 
The cold wind blows, 
And many a chilling, ruthless shower, 
Will now assail thee, beauteous rose! 


Although it is acknowledged that few plants contribute more 
agreeably to ornament our shrubberies in the autumnal months 
than this Chinese rose, yet we would not wish it to exclude or 
lessen the cultivation of the older and more beautiful species, but 
which, we fear, it has already done to a considerable degree. As 
the smallest cuttings of this rose will grow, we are not without 
the hope of seeing it creep into our hedge rows, where it would 
soon propagate itself both by suckers and seed; for it ripens its 
fruit in this climate, as perfectly as those of our native briers, and 
the hips of the Chinese rose are particularly ornamental, from their 
inverted pear shape, fine orange colour, and large size. 


(To be continued.) 


a all ee 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. i7 


PART II. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last, ) 


ANIGOZANTHUS FLAVIDA:; var. BICOLOR. Two-coloured yellow-haired 
Anigozanthus Bot. Reg. 64. 


HEMODORACE®. HEXANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. 


1. A handsome variety of A. flayida, which it much resembles in growth 
and shape, but is much superior to that kind, by the striking beauty of its 
colours, scarlet and green, which are so blended together as to produce a 
rich elfect, which is rarely the case when the two beautiful colours in 
question are united in the same flower. We were favored a short time ego 
by a kind friend with a package of seeds collected in New Holland, and 
amongst them, we notice, are several species of this genus, which from the 
description attached, we are led to believe, are entirely new. 


CATILEYA GUTTATA; var, RUSSELLIANA. Lord E, Russell’s spot- 
ted Cattleya. Bot, Mag. 3693. 


ORCHIDACEZ. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA, 


2, This very beautiful variety of C. guttata was originally given by the 
Director of the Botanic Garden at Rio, to Lord Edward Russell, Captainin 
the Royal Navy, who introduced it into the collection of Woburn Abbey, 
where it blossomed for the first time in this country in August last. It is 
highly deserving of a place in every collection of select orchidex. The 
flowers are five inches across, the petals are of a fine greenish brown, spotted 
with purple, and the lip of a beautiful delicate rose colour, Requires the 
same treatment as other species. 


COLLINSIA HETEROPHYLLA. Variable-leaved Collinsia, 
Bot, Mag. 8695. 


SCROPHULARINEX, DJDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. 


3, This species forms an improvement upon G. bicolor, on account of the 
blossoms being much larger, but in other respects, it bears a very great 
resemblance to that species, it was sent last spring by Mr. Buist from Phi- 
ladelphia to the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. Seeds of it will, we doubt not, 
soon be offered (o the public. 


COMPARETTIA COCCINEA. Scarlet Comparettia, Bot, Reg, 68. 


- 


ORCHIDACE®. GYNANDRIA,. MONANDRIA. 


4. A very splendid epiphyte, and was introduced by Messrs. Loddiges' from 
Brazil. Doctor Liadley, however, conjuctures some mistake is made in this, 
as he has received specimens which were collected in Xalapa. The blos- 
soms are about the size of Oncidium flexuosum, but of a brilliant scarlet 

Vou, VII, No. 71. D 


18 NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


colour. and have a very curious appearance from spurs, of about half az 
inch in length, produced from their sepals. Of this genus there are only at 
present three known species, all of them found growing upon trees in Peru ; 
it was named in compliment to professor Comparetti, of Padua, author of a 
Treatise upon Vegetable Physiology, &c, 


DENDROBIUM SULCATUM. Furrowed Dendrobium Bot, Reg. 65. 


ORCHIDACEZ, GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


5. Collected in India by Mr. J. Gibson, and fowarded to Chatsworth, in the 
collection at which place it bloomed in April last. It is a handsome species, 
producing yellow flowers, somewhat resembling D. Griffithianum. The cul- 
ture required is similar to other species of this genus. 


EPIDENDRUM BICORNUTUM. Two-horned Epidendrum. 
Paxton’s Bot. Mag. 


ORCHIDACE2. GYNANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. 


6. A delicate and beautiful Epiphyte, possessing a delightful fragrance, 
and was first received into the Botanic Garden, Liverpoo), several years ago. 
So long ago as 1833, we had a drawing taken from a plant that blossomed in 
the valuable collection at Wentwerth House, where Orchidez is cultivated 
to such a degree of perfection as we rarely seé. The blossoms are about 
two inches across, of a delicate white colour, the base of the lip is yellow, 
spotted with pale rosy purple. Requires similar treatment to other species. 


ASCHYNANTHUS GRANDIFLORUS. Great-flowered Aischynanthus. 
Pax. Mag, Bot. 


CYRTANDRACE®. DIDYNAMIA, ANGIOSPERMIA. 


7. This is another beautiful Epiphyte, introduced from India by Mr. John 
Gibbon, who found it growing abundantly at the base of the Khoseea Hills 
in valleys remarkable for their humidity and shade. The flowers are of a 
brilliant red, produced in great profusion, and large clusters, which alto- 
gether render the plant a very desirable and ornamental object. It is best 
cultivated in reduced moss, with a little heath soil, potsherds, and plenty of 
drainage. When growing, it requires an abundant supply of water. When 
the growth is completed, it should be removed into a cooler situation, and 
kept camparatively dry, which will be inducive to much stronger blossoms 
the succeeding season. 


NEW PLANTS, 


TRICHOCENTRON IRIDIFOLIUM. Orchidez. Received by Messrs. Lod- 
diges’ from Demerara. The plant is of a small habit, having pale yellow 
flowers, with a lip delicately streaked with dark yellow. 

(Bot. Reg. 


ANNESLEA TOMENTOSA. This pretty flowering plant has recently been in 
flower at Mr. Knight’s nursery, King’s Road, Chelsea. The foliage of the 
plant is very similar to Clianthus puniceous, and has a very pretty ap- 
pearance. The flowers are produced numerously, in large clusters at the 
ends of the shoots; and having beautiful pink colored filaments, produces 
an interesting appearance. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. i9 


_ 


PART IIE. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


A Susscrrser would be much obliged by receiving answers to the follow- 
ing questions: 

1. Can any thing be done to prevent the flower buds »f Camellias from 
dropping off? great attention has been paid with regard to air, soil, and 
watering, 

(See excellent articles in former Numbers of the Cabinet on Camellias.) 

2, Can heath cuttings be struck in a greenhonse; ifso, when is the best 
time and manner of raising them ? 

eed article will be giyen next month upon it.) 

What is the best remedy for grass that abounds with moss ? 

(Sprinkle fresh slacked lime liberally over it, and let it be brushed in 
with a besom, and the moss will be destroyed whilst the grass will be en- 
couraged ,—ConDUCcTOR. ) 

Dec, 6th, 1838. H. 


A LisT OF SELF:coLouRED AurtcuLAas.— Will the Editor or some Reader 
of the Cabinet have the kindness to give mea list of the names, and any par- 
ticular properties of some of the best self-coloured Auriculas. 

AUDATE, 


—= 
REMARKS. 


Corsert’s HycRoTHERMANIC APPARATUS.—A printed prospectus of this 
mode of heating has recently been inserted in our Advertising Sheet. It 
differs from all the various modes hitherto made public of heating by hot 
water, in circulating the fluid in open gutters instead of pipes. Hence it can 
only be applied in cases where the gutters can be conducted on a level ; but 
the water may easily be carried over a door,.on a siphon principle, or under 
it, on the principle of water always finding its level. The advantages of 
this mode, Mr. Corbett says, are cheapness, simplicity, and efliciency. Cheap- 
ness, because iron gutters are cheaper than iron pipes; simplicity, because 
water runving in open gutters has less of mystery about it than water con- 
cealed in pipes ; efliciency, because it produces a moisture heat than any 
other mode. It has been stated it would prodace too moist a heat for many 
purposes, particularly in the autumn; but Mr. Corbett says that this is not 
the case, as it has been most fully verified where the plan has been in oper- 
ation, as at Sir William Call, Bart., Whitford House, near Callington 
Cornwall; C. Thurtle, Esq., Stoke House, near Plymouth; and at Mr. Pon- 
tey’s Nursery, Plymouth. There never can be a superabundance of moisture, 
provided the gutters are of a proper shape; but, should it be considered 
advisable at any time to prevent the escape of vapour altogether, this may at 
once be effected by placing along the top of the gutter any flat substance, 
such as slates, tin plate, &c.; the water never being in a builing state, the 
vapour is not forced out, but will condense on any subject with which 
it comes into contact, 


20 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


- For forcing vines, pines, &c., it is admirably adapted; and, with broader 
and shallower gutters to produce more moisture, there is reason to conclude 
that this system will come into general use for the cultivation of cucumbers, 


melons, &c. Tor hot-house plants, and particular Ochidez, gutters as broad © 


or even broader than deep, are proved to be most suitable. For the green- 
house it will be of incalculable service. Every description of artificial heat 
without moisture has been found by sad experience to injure green-house 
plants, when hard weather has compelled its introduction. To many, and 
particular to Cape heaths, it is almost certain death; hecause the air in frosty 
weather, containing, perhaps, not one grain of moisture per cubic foot, and 
raised by fire to 40°, and sometimes even higher, becomes so intensely dry 
and oppressive, and acquires such an affinity for moisture, even at this low 
temperature, that the rapid absorption while the plants are in a dormant 
state causes their juices to be elaborated too quickly for their powers of 
secretion.” 

Not content with recommending his mode as the best of all modes for 
heating houses in which plants are grown, Mr. Corbett makes a long quota- 
tion from Dr. Ure’s article published in the transactions of the Royal Society, 
and, with some variations, in the Architectural Magazine, vol. i. p. 161., on 
the effects of dry air on the officers engaged on duty in the long room of 
the Custom House, London; and he arrives at the following concla- 
sion:— 

“tis evident, then, that ihe great desideralum for heating apartments, 
&c., is, an apparatus capable of circulating, in any direction, and to any 
extent required, any quantity of artificial heat without the malaria of the 
stove and pipes, so as to maintain a genial warmth and wholesome ventila- 
tion throughout the building. Such a system is now placed before the 
public, capable of such modifications as to become every way suited to effect 
these desirable objects; equally adapted to horticultural purposes generally, 
and to public buildings, offices, and domestic apartments ; calculated alike 
to maintain the healthy and vigorous tone of the animal as well as the 
vegetable economy; and on a principle whose operations are more assimi- 
rag Nature’s own atmosphere than any other method hitherto discov- 
ered. 

It is quite right that this mode of heating plant houses should, like every 
other, have a fair trial; but the idea of heating apartments to be occupied by 
human beings, with hot water in open troughs, is too palpably absurd to de- 
Serve a moment's consideration. Others, however, entertain a different 
opinion on this subject to what we do. At a meeting of the Plymouth Hor- 
ticultural Society, held July 19., the Rey. C. T. Collings in the chair, “a 
neat model of Mr. Corbett's Hygrothermanic apparatus, for heating hot- 
houses, &c., was exhibited; an invention which the late president of the 
Plymouth Horticultural Society, Thomas Woolcombe, Esq., says, ‘ will do 
more for the advancement of horticulture, than anything which has been 
produced for the last century.” 

The pecnliar characteristic to this invention (for which the Plymouth 
Society awarded their gold medal) is its completely obviating the disad- 
vantages usually attending the production of artificial heat; viz., a hot 
desiccated atmosphere, which elaborating the juices of plants more rapidly 
than they can be secreted, is always injurious and sometimes destructive. 
To remedy this evil, which has always been a barrier to the success of ex- 
otic horticulture, Mr. Corbett produced his apparatus, the actions of which 
so closely resemble the operations of nature, that an imitation of whatever is 
required may be obtained 

_ The machine consists of two connected vessels, a boiler and an upright 
tube, with a continuation of epen troughs or gutters, Heat is applied to the 
boiler, the water rises and traverses the gutter, giving out moisture in direct 
propertion to its heat. The density of the fluid being increased in its pas- 
sage, it returns again to the bottom of the boiler, and by this means a 


MISOELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 91 


constant circulation is effected. The apparatus is as simple as it is complete 
and economical, and will, without doubt, be very generally adopted in. hor- 
ticultural buildings. Mr. Corbett is foreman at Mr, Pontey’s nursery, 
Plymouth, where the apparatus is in operation, 


Protecting Frower SEgeDs, &c., FROM BIRDS, BY MEANS GF BLAcK 
Tureap or WorsteD.—-It has been very satisfactorily proved, this summer, 
under my own observation, that Mr. Anderson's (of the Botanic Garden, 
. Chelsea) discovery of black thread being a far better protection against the 

depredations of the house-sparrows in gardens than thread of any other 
color, is much more serviceable than it was found to be by Mr. Anderson 
himself. That indefatigable guardian of his plants could not secure the 
flowers of his extensive collection of crocuses from the attack of sparrows by 
any means he could devise, until he employed black lines, stretched over the 
flowers; which proved a complete defence. 

The effect of black lines if attributable to their invisibility till the birds 
are seated under them; but looking up, they are terrified at what they fear 
is a snare suspended over them, and immediately fly away. 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS 
RECENTLY INTRODUCED. 


CYANOTIS AXILLARIS. Messrs. Rollinson’s of Tooting, have recently had 
this new plant in “bloom, it has the appearance of a Tradescantia, pro- 
ducing a profusion of beautiful blue flowers. It is an interesting hot-house 
plant. 


CyTIsus NUSIGINENSIS. This new species is blooming profusely in the 

reen-house of Mr. Young’s, Epsom nursery. The plant is of a slender 

abit, but produces numerous clusters of white flowers, hanging pendant at 
the ends of the shoots; they are delightfully fragrant. It deserves a place 
in every collection, especially so as it blooms at the present season of the 
year. 

Matva maritima. This very neat species has been in bloomin the su- 
perb collection of Mrs. Marryatt’s, Wimbledon. The flowers are white with 
a dark eye, having a very pretty appearance. It is a pretty plant for the 
flower garden, 


BiFRENARIA LONGICORNIs. Orchideze. Imported from Demerara by 
Messrs. Loddiges’. The flowers are orange spotted with brown, and are 
produced in a raceme yery much resembling B, aurantiaca, (Bot. Reg. 


Botsorsyitium curpreum. Mr. Cumming sent this species from Manilla, 
to Messrs. Luddiges’. The flowers have a scent very like Valerian root. 
They are of a copper color, (Bot. Reg. 


CarTaserumM rorirerum. Orchidee. Mr. Schomburgk sent this remark- 
able species from Demerara, to Messrs. Loddiges’. The flowers have much 
the appearance of C, deltoideum, being green, beautifully spotted with deep 
purple. (Bot. Reg. 

Ca:Locyne ovALis. Orchidez. Dr. Wallich sent it from Nepal to Messrs. 
Loddizes’. The flowers are beautifully striated with dark crimson. 

: (Bot. Reg. 

(2rverta occutta. Orchideze. Synonym, Goodyera occulata. Messrs. 
Loddiges’ received it from the Mauritius, The flower stem rises about a 
feot high, producing spikes of white aad green flowers. 


Jonopsis teRES. Messrs. Loddiges’ received it from Demerara. The 
flowers are striped with a delicate lilac. 


22 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Lrrusis penputa. Messrs. Loddiges’ received it from India. The flow- 
ers are green, small, produced on a raceme about a foot long. 


Coetocyne macutata. Orchidea. Received by Messrs, Loddiges’ from 
India. The flowers are white, beautifully blotched and spotied with dark 


colors, producing a very strising appearance. 


(MAXILLARIA MACROPHYLLA. Orchidez. Imported by Messrs. Loddiges’ 
from Columbia. It much resembles M. Deppii. The petals are of a pale 
straw color, sepals green outside, brown inside, labe!lum spotted with crim- 
son. Each fluwer is about three inches across, and has rather a disagree- 
able scent, (Bot. Reg. 


Maxitrarra porrecta. Orchidee. Received by Messrs. Loddiges’ 
from Rio Janeiro. The flowers are of a pale buff, having the petals and 
sepals tipped with dull red. (Bot, Reg. 


’Mormopes parpina. Orchidee. J. Bateman, Esq., Koypersly Hall, 
received this species from Baron Karwinski, who discovered it in Oaxaca. 
The habit is very robust, being three times the size of M. atropurpurea. 
The flowers are of a beautiful primrose, spotted entirely over with reddish 
purple, and are delightfally fragrant. G. Barker, Esq., of Springfield House, 
Birmingham, has had the same species produce self-colored flowers. 


Noryits incurva. Orchidez. Messrs. Loddiges’ received it from Trin- 
idad. The flowers are of a pale straw color, haying fine yellow spots near 
the base of each petal. (Bot. Reg. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Versena Teucrioipes—Specimens of this very distinct species was first 
sent to this country by Dr. Gillies who collected them from the highest of the 
Uspallata mountains in South America, at an elevation of ten thousand feet 
above the level of the sea. Subsequently Mr. Tweedie sent it from Monte 
Video, and Sugar Loaf Mountain, Buenos Ayres, Mr, Tweedie also sent 
seeds of it to the Earl of Arran, in whose garden the plant was first raised, 
and bloomed during the last summer. The plant grows to the height of two 
feet or more, erect, having numerous spreading branches, The principal stem 
terminates with a spike of dense flowers, near a foot long. The flowers are 
at first of a delicate yellowish-white, which afterwards become a pretty rosy 
pink colour. The flowers too have a delightful jasmine like scent, which 
is very powerful in the evening and during night, but like the night scented 
stock, diminishes as the day approaches. The flowers have not the splendour 
in colour of several other kinds of Verbenas, but far exceeds all others in 
size. The plant isof easy culture, propagating freely by cuttings, and de- 
lighting in a compost of loam, and sandy peat, having a portion of well-rotted 
dang. Messrs. Handyside, of Musselburgh Nursery possess the stock, and will 
have plants for sale in April, 1839. 

It will doubtless flourish freely in the open ground during summer, but to 
enjoy its fragrance, should be grown near toa sitting room, or be kept ina 
conservatory or greenhouse. The very large size of the flowers and spike 
produced, suggest the propriety of impregnating them with some of the 
richer coloured kinds, in order to produce some splendid varieties from it, 
Few plauts are of more easy culture than new kinds of Verbenas, or more 
interesting for the flower garden, whether grown asa single plant, or in 
masses, in the border, or on rock work. It is stated, thatin the native coun- 
try of the Verbena melindris, nearly every cottage is ornamented with it, and 
we think that, with the other recently introduced species and varieties, 
ought to have a place in every flower toy in the kingdom, 


Es 


———- 


a a ae 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 23 


Marya Cregsana.— This very pretty species we saw most profusely in 
bloom during the last sammer in the Epsom nursery. Mr. Young hada 
plant of it growing in the open border about five feet high, numerously bran- 
ched and cloathed with its pretty brizht flowers, producing a very showy ap- 
pearance. It ought to be grown in every greenhouse, and in every flower 
garden during summer. 

It is of easy culture, delights in a rich loamy soil, and striking freely by 
cuttings. ‘he plant we saw had been in bloom several successive months. 
Mr. Young had another plant growing near to that we have figured, which 
had been sent for Malva Creeana, but the flowers are of a much paler co- 
lour, and are not produced in such profusion. 

SALVIA PATENS.—Seeds of this fine species were sent to this country from 
Mexico by Mr. Tweedie. Mr. Lowe, of the Clapton Nursery has been suc- 
cessful in raising a plant, which we saw in bloom inthe open border during 
the last summer. The piant was near two feet high, and appeared to have 
had a spike of flowers at least one foot long. The spike appeared to have 
more than five or six flowers expanded at once, but even before expanding 
they produced a fine effect. 

The spike of Howers being too large to introduce into any plate complete, 
induced us to select an expanded blossom of the largest size, so that our 
readers would be able tojudge of the splendour of the species in its natural 
size. It has not the objection attached to it of a mass of foliage and few 
flowers, but the reverse of that is the case. It produces a fine display when 
grown ina mass together, contrasted with the scarlet or crimson-flow- 
ered species. It ought to be grown in every garden, greenhouse, or conser- 
vatory. The plant appeared to be of robust habit, and no doubt will be as 
easily propagated as S. africanus, splendens, &c. We are informed that 
plants will soon be offered for sale by Mr. Lowe. 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR JANUARY. 

For work to be done in the flower-garden, &c. this month, we refer to our 
fast number, where necessary directions will be found, to which we haye 
little to add in this place. Beds of bulbs if not before covered should now 
be done, and to which attention was called last month, should immediately 
be minutely looked over, and encouraged in every possible way, first by 
guarding those that require it from severe weather, and in the second place 
by taking means to destroy all kinds of insects, &c. likely to attack them. 
Mice are not unfrequently great pests among bulvs and various kinds of 
roots; especially in winter, when provisions grow scarce, they resort in 
great numbers to seeds newly sown, or bulbs newly planted. There are 
many means to decoy them, most of which if persevered in will succeed. 
Dahlias and other roots stored in sand or other material for preservation 
through the winter, are exposed to injuries arising from damp, &c., it is 
therefore necessary that they be looked over now and then, and timely 
means adopted to check its increase, and damp from the room expelled. 
Young plants of Clintonia pulchella, &c. will stand quite safe in the green- 
house near the glass, if the situation be light and airy. The soil best for 
this handsome though delicate plant should comprise two parts of leaf 
mould, to which may be added a little well decomposed manure, and one 
part good sandy loam; the soil in mixing should be broken down very fine, 
and the plants put into sixty sized pots, until they have made some ad- 
vance, when larger will be necessary. Roses in the forcing-house should 
be constantly attended to; indeed all shrubs, whether Jasmines, Persian- 
Lilac, Azaleas, &c., or whatever species of plant intended to flower early by 
means of artificial heat, should be attended to, liberally watered, and, when 
necessary lumigated with tobacco, for they are very often seriously annoyed 
by green-fly, &c., which infest the young shoots to an alarming extent, but 
perhaps more particularly roses and pinks. Continue to introduce bulbs, 
&c, and a succession of flowers will be secured for the greenhouse, Attend 


24 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


to Amaryllises, and all kinds of stove-roots that are started and starting, 
pot and water them, if necessary place them in an increased heat, and be 
sure to let them have plenty of light. All valuable shrubs and plants which 
may be deemed hardy, but the hardiness of which has not been sufficiently 
tested, should be afforded some kind of protection, that the fearful ravages 
committed by the frost in the preceding winter may not be reacted during 
the present season. There are various modes of affording shelter to plants, 
all of which are useful, but most of them are especially applicable to dif- 
ferent kinds. Thus, litter for herbaceous plants, old bark for bulbs, and 
mats or straw hurdles for shrubs and trees, are respectively found most suit- 
able for those peculiar sorts. 

In making use of any kind of protection for plants in the open ground, 
the first and principal point is to attend to the preservation of the roots; for 
if this is duly affected, most plants will recover and sprout again, even 
though the stems and branches should be entirely destroyed. This prac- 
tice is very frequently neglected by cultivators, who appear to think only of 
preserving the stems and branches, which is certainly suflicient where this 
end can be fully accomplished, but where the protection afforded to those 
parts proves ineflicient, in nine cases ont of ten the roots perish with them. 
Hence the importance of sheltering the roots likewise. 

Whiatever material is used for this purpose, the necessity of its being of « 
dry nature, and also, if possible, capable of repelling wet, should always be 
keptin view. Moisture, where it exists in any quantity, is sure to attract 
the greatest degree of frost, and therefore when the roots of plants are sur- 
rounded and saturated with a superabundance of it, they will be much more: 
exposed to injury on that account. That covering, then, which is found to 
be most impervious to rain, will undoubtedly prove most beneficial. By 
thus protecting the roots, we by no means wish to supersede the use of other __ : 
covering for the more exposed parts of plants, but merely to see these two 
desirable objects distinctly yet conjointly eflectuated ; and every practicable | 
method should by all means be adopted for preserving the upper portions j 
of shrubs. 

Allin door plants should now be kept as near the glass as is consistent 
with their safety ; for, even in this, there is a degree of propriety to be ob- 
served, which, if exceeded, would greatly endanger the subjects of it. It 
should not be forgotten, that frost enters chiefly through a glazed roof, and 
the plants should be placed at just such a distance from it as will secure 
them from that destructive principle ; though it is better 1o keep them at a 
trifling distance, and protect them by covering the house with mats in very 
Severe weather. 

Cold pits and frames will now be found among the most useful of plant 
structures. Auriculas, Carnations, and Polyanthuses, with all tender plants 
that have been removed from the flower garden, or are in preparation for 
that department for the ensuing season, are by this time secured ‘in these 
or similar erections. They should be carefully tended for the purpose 
of admitting air in favourable weather, and duly protected with mats, hay, 
or dry litter, during frosts. 

The beds and borders of the flower garden and pleasure grounds ey still 
be dug roughly over, if this operation have not previously been completed. 
Shrubs of all kinds may be pruned if necessary, and especially climbing 
plants which must also be nailed to the wall, or fastened against the trellis 
to which they grow, Make, and plant, cuttings of any species of RIBES, or 
other similar plants, those shoots which are slipped off succeed best, and a 
light loamy soil is most suitable, All the buds except these at the base and 
the two uppermost ones, should be extracted, as they would only weaken 
the plant if left, and in inserting them in the ground, care should be taken 
to place the earth close around them. Remove any trees or shrubs which 
require shifting, or that may be desired in any other part of the garden. 
Always take them up with as much earth as possible about the roots, and 
be careful to preserye the fibrous roots entire. 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


FEBRUARY, list, 1839. 


PART I, 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ARTICLE If. 


BRIEF HINTS ON THE CULTURE OF THE RANUNCULUS ASIATI- 
CUS, WITH A LIST OF SORTS DEEMED WORTHY THE ATIEN- 
TION OF AMATEURS, 


BY CROWFOOT. 


Every grower of this attractive little flower, should be, in order 
to be successful, particular in the choice of his soil. To describe 
asoil minutely and sufficiently, so that any reader may distin- 
guish it to be the right soil, is no ordinary task. It has been 
advised, and not unwisely to select a soil in which the Ranunculus 
ficaria and other British varieties grow luxuriantly. It should be 
aloam, rather heavy and tenacious, fine in the texture, soft to the 
touch, and of a reddish colour. 

Procure sometime in the summer months a sufficient quantity 
to fill your beds a foot deep, and lay in ridges with the turf; to 
which add about one-third of old horse and cow manure, and 
turn it till all is decomposed, Make your beds in autumn, s0 as 
to allow them several months to settle, before planting season, 
and at that time only stir the surface two inches deep. Let the 
top two inches of your compost be free from dung, so that none 
comes in contact with the tubers. 

Plant between the 20th of February and the 5th of March, ac- 

Vou. VII. E 


26 ON THE CULTURE OF THE RANUNCULUS- 


cording as the forwardness of the season indicates. Plant one 
meh and a half deep, and four or five inches asunder. After the 
plants are up, keep out the drought, by pressing the earth firm 
and close to the roots, and add a little rich fresh soil, In very 
dry weather, water, but not over the foliage of the plants; a little 
manure water will not harm thern, but it requires caution in the 
application of it. Get as good a bloom as you can, but do not 
suffer more than. two flower buds to remain on one root, for by 
leaving all, there may be weakness and a deficiency the season 
following. <A change of soil is very beneficial. 

The Ranunculus root, while vegetating, has several enemies ; 
the wire worm and the cheese-log, are among the most invete- 
rate and mischievous. These insects should be diligently looked 
after and destroyed in any way, and by any means the florist 
can command. Half a gallon of small potatoes, each one cut in two, : 
and a stick two or three inches in length thrust into each piece, | 
and buried between the rows about the same depth as the roots | 
are planted, will form a hundred cheap snares, by which thou- | 
sands of these depredators may be attracted. These should be 
looked over twice a week, and the insects destroyed ; the sticks, 
part of which are above ground, being a guide to the places where 
the traps are buried. Occasionally a fresh surface should be cut 
to the potatoe. This will be found one efficient means of re- 
ducing these foes to the Florist. 


List of 140 fine varieties in Classes. 


Class I. While ground with| ClassIl. White grounds, with 
rose, purple, or crimson edg- red, rose, or purple motile. 
re. Angouleme 

Burns, Waterstone’s | Beauty, Milward’s 

Bernard, Tyso’s Cowper, Waterstone’s 

Charlotte, Bartlett's Dona Maria, Groom’s 

Cossack | Endon x 

Esther, Waterstone's Gulnare 

Flavimorus Helena, Tyso’s 

Lady Peel, Groom’s Lady Jane Grey, Lightbody's 

Louisette Lacinda, Tyso’s 

Regina, Tyso’s Orsippus, Tyso’s 

Tendress Queen, Thompson’s 


Stella 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE RANUNCULUS. Q27 


Class Il]. White ground with 
red, rose, or purple spots. 


Addison, Waterstone’s 
Benjamin 

Cremona 

Constantia, Tyso’s 

Faustina 

Gainsborough 

Innocent, Tyso’s 

Lupus 

Lord Cochrane, Waterstone’s 
Premium, Tyso’s 
Shakspeare, Waterstone’s 
Sir A. Cochrane, Lightbody’s 


Class1V. Yellow ground with 
red, or Coffee coloured edg- 
ing. 


Andromaché 
Bulwark, Lightbody’s 
Duke of Wellington, Groom’s 
Galatzin 

Grande Monarque 
Horatio 

Herbert, Tyso’s 
Julius 

Lorenzo, Tyso’s 
Nestor 

Regalia, Tyso’s 
Warren, Waterstone’s 


Class V. Yellow ground with 
red or coffee coloured mottle. 


Admiral des Fleurs 
Agamenon 

Bengal 
Competitor, Tyse’s 
Duke of Clarence 
Earl of Coventry 
Quintilla, Tyso’s 


Class VI. Yellow ground with 
red or coffee coloured spots. 


Abrisseau 
Epius, Waterstone’s 


Fabius 
Flaminius, Tyso’s 
Poictiers, Lightbody’s 


| Pertinax Tyso’s 


Saladin, Tyso’s 


Class VII. White grounds with 
red, or pink stripes. 


Beauté des dames 

Bonté Heldin 

Circe 

Carmus 

Flagellié a quatre Coulewrs 
L’ Aube du Jour 

Le Téméraire 

Oillette parfait 
Rhododendron. 


Class VIII. ed grounds with 
yellow stripes 


Beauté Bekemoth 
Favourite Mignonne 
General Hoche 
Melange des Beautes 
Monument Chinois 


SELFS. 


Class TX. Dark’and dark red. 


Achilles 

Auriga, Tyso’s 
Coronax 
Charbonnier 
Dolphin 
Emancipation, Tyso’s 
Hercules, Groom’s 
Llewellyn 

Naxara 

(Hil Noir 

Passe Nigritia 
Philocles 

Surpass Tout 


Class X. Purple. 


Admiral Keppel 
Condorset 

Fete Nocturne 
Herostratus 
Lesbos 

Mon Songe 
Sorbonne 


Class XI. 


Apollo 

Batseba 

Belle Cramoisi 
Cramoisi Van Ass 
Henrietta 
Kennetus 
Melpomene 
Overwinnaar 
Silvester, Tyso’s 
Semiramis 


Class XII. Hed. 


Alcides 
Bourgogne 
Cassandra 
Jupiter 
Moliere 
Sarpedon 
Tasso 


Class XIII. ose. 


Dicmede 
Holloway, Waterstone’s 
Isabella, Tyso’s 


Crimson. 


hae ees 


ON THE CULTURE Of THE RANUNCULUS. 


Lavinia, Tyso’s 
Rosetta, new 
Rose de Provence 
Rose Velona 

St. Jerome 


Class XIV. 


Beroth 

Don Pedro, Groom’s 
Eliza 

Flavus, Tyso’s 
Fiesco 

Prefect, Tyso’s 

Roi des Ranoncules 


Yellow 


“Class XV. Orange. 


Brabangon 
Capucin superbe 
Cedo nulli 

Prince Ferdinand 


Class XVI. Olive. 


Admiral Howe 

Bon Financier 
Curlcs 

Jaune eu Pompadore 
Olive, rare 


Class XVII. White. 


Argus 

Blanche 
Clarissa, Tyso’s 
Hercules 
Kermes 

White Swan 


The above list has been prepared with a view to embrace 
some of the best flowers in seventeen of the classes, which will 
enable Amateurs to make a selection from all, or from those 


classes of which their assortments may be deficient. 


The 


undersigned, though one of their race, may, perhaps be per- 


mitted to speak well of 140 of his fraternity. 


He can recom- 


mend them as deserving a place in every collection of our much 


7 


ON STRIKING PLANTS. 29 


admired tribe. Though many of our recently produced species 
are priced at from five to fifteen shillings each, yet about a 
hundred of us, of longer standing in the world, may be obtained 
of large cultivators for five pounds. 

There are a few sorts belonging to other classes, which if ac- 
ceptable to your readers may be brought into notice with a few 
remarks at a future opportunity, by your humble servant, 

CrowroorT. 


ARTICLE II. 


ON STRIKING PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS, &c. 
BY EDINENSIS 


I wave felt at various times inclined to communicate to you, 
for insertion in your useful, because practical publication, the 
results of experiments, some with which have been attended with 
doubtful, and others of decided success ; but has hitherto been 
deterred, by a reluctance to put you to the expence of postage, 
for which probably the value of my observations might not com- 
pensate. Having purchased all, except’ Vol. IV. of the Cabinet, 
(which I have again and again ordered, but without success); I 
have looked over all your editorial notices on the fiy-leaf and 
elsewhere, but could never, amidst all your requests for com- 
munications, find so much as asingle hint, how correspondents 
should act on the very important, I shouid rather say, the deli- 
cate point, the post paying of their letters. I find, however, 
that most of your correspondents prefer-being anonymous, or to 
flourish under the name of some fashionable or favourite plant, 
or flower, and of course, under such guise or disguise (not know- 
ing who your correspondents may be) you are not bound to retain 
their lucubrations, nor consequently be subjected to postage from 
them, unlesss you please. Relieved therefore by this view of the 
matter, I feelless annoyed at the thought of a shilling and three- 
halfpence, which, in the first instance, must be paid for these re- 
marks.* 


I have ever read with the utmost avidity all that relates to. 


* Any communication sent by letter signed anonymous or otherwise if of an 
useful character,we shall be glad to receive,’ oxpucror, 


30 ON STRIKING PLANTS. 


the propagation and culture of plants. As to the first, much has 
been written of attempts to strike cuttings in water, but from my 
own experience in such attempts, I am satisfied that that method 
will not supersede the use of sand and the bell-glass. The plan of 
Mr. John Street, gardener at Biel, East Lothian, given at page 
234 Vol. III. of the Cabinet, of striking cuttings in moss, is far 
more deserving of attention; I have tried it various ways, and 
think I have in some respects, improved upon his method (the 
results of which I may communicate hereafter) and always 
with success. At present I incline to the belief that there are 
few or no plants capable of propagation by cuttings, that may not 
be struck in this way more certainly and more successfully, than 
by any other means, as now practised by water, sand or soil. Let 
any of your practical readers try the experiment with pure moss, 
(hypnum) in the ensuing spring, and I feel confident they will 
come to be of the same opinion; but the mode I have to com- 
municate is still more novel. 

Having purchased a plant of Phlox cordata grandiflora, so high- 
ly spoken of inthe Gardener’s Gazette, another publication to 
which I subscribe, I watched its progress towards flowering with 
much interest, but with Yallah Rookh, I may exclaim, 


“IT never loved a tree or flower, but ’twas the first to fade away.” 


My Phlox, did not certainly fade in the sense of the poet. Its 
destruction was the work of a day, or rather of amoment It was 
on the 6th of September last, the day ofthe memorable storm, 
among whose dreadful devastations, the wreck of the Forfarshire 
stands recorded as not the least apalling. I hurried home at an 
earlier hour than usual from the Gude-town, as much to save my 
own head from the winged missiles of slates and chimney pots that 
were every where descending, as to save the heads of my Dahlias 
in my garden in the suburbs, when amidst their wreck, I had the 
additional mortification of beholding the only two stalks upon my 
Phlox snapt through and through, not a shred of bark left 
undissevered whereby to splice them up again. Well thought 
I, here 1 must wait another twelve months to see the Phlox cor- 
data grandiflora, shew the splendid blossoms so be-praised by the 
Gardener’s Gazette. But may the root not perish? was the 
question! CanIdo nothing with these broken stems? was the 


Anh ING ee ee 


Ch FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 31 


next! I took one of them, the most flexible of the two, though 
both of them had made a great deal of wood (so to speak) and 
twisting it round and round inside a 40-sized pot, a process not 
accomplished without two or three fractures, till I had left only 
about six inches of the stem (the top having been cut off,) and 
that portion having filled the pot with the usual modicum of 
drainage and light soil, I brought above the surface, pegging it 
at the curvature to the soil; at the present moment I have not a 
more thriving plant in my greenhouse, shoots of two or three 
inches having already pushed from the upright portion of the 
stem. 

Ihad some high priced Dahlias which I was afraid I might 
loose root and branch by the storm and the bad weather, of 
which I anticipated it (ominously as the season has shewn) to 
be the harbinger. Of these, some ten days or a fortnight later, I 
took off shoots, which I twisted, not without many fractures, and 
rooted in the same way, but some of them were so far gone, that 
I had no ground to hope of success, yet to my surprise, some 
of these have succeeded and sent up newshoots through the soil, 
and though the elevated tops have partially faded, the shoots 
through the soil lock as fresh and vigorous as ever, although it is 
in the depth of December. 

Ihave thrown these remarks together in great haste, and if 
you approve of them, you may hear again from 

EDINENSIs. 


ARTICLE III. 
ON THE CULTURE OF FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 


BY FLORA. 


Berne anold subscriber to your useful publication, and wishing 
to see it prosper, I have sent you this for insertion if you think 
fit, and should it be accepted, I may continue at times to forward 
you others of the same nature, and particularly on Florists’ Flow- 
ers, which is, or ought to be, the leading article in your Maga- 
zine. 

My garden is in a low damp situation, rather shaded by trees, 
and to keep up any tolerable show of bloom in the season is not 
accomplished without some attention and skill, and as the detail 


32 ON FLORISTS FLOWERS. 


of my practice may assist others in like situations, it may, per- 
haps, be in some degree useful to a portion of your readers. 

I shall begin with the culture of the Auricula, as it is justly ac- 
knowledged the queen of spring flowers by all who have seen an 
Auricula stage in full bloom, and as the management of the 
plants in a proper way, is necessary to produce the desired effect, 
1 shall endeavour to give youmy practice, and hope it will induce 
others to try the culture of this beautiful flower, as I am per- 
suaded many are deterred by the difficulty of keeping their plants 
for any length of time in asound healthy state, and of course feel 
disappointment in the blooming season. There are three things 
that are necessary to be attended to, namely, soil, shelter, and si- 
tuation. 

A good deal has been said about soils proper for the cultiva- 
tion of the Auricula, and almost every grower has his peculiar 
one which of course he recommends as the best. Ihave also 
a compost which is most simple, and answers the purpose as well 
perhaps as the most elaborate composition. In some waste place 
I throw together the weeds, tops of vegetable leaves, &c. and 
cover these with turf or garden soil, and a little sand or road 
scrapings, with occasionally a barrowful of horse dung, making 
the compound as near as may be one half vegetable matter, one- 
fourth loam, and one-fourth sand, this I form into a ridge, and turn 
it frequently till reduced to a fine soil, and by adding to one end 
and taking from the other, Iam supplied constantly as wanted. 
In the general potting season, July or August, I take a portion 
into a barrow, for the purpose of examining it minutely to clear 
. it from stones, worms, or any other injurious substance, working 
it well over with the spade, then let it remain till nearly dry be- 
fore potting with it. 


The next requisite after soil, is shelter, thisis variously ap- 


plied, some keep their Auriculas in a cucumber frame during 
winter, but this is too damp and close, and the sashes lying too 
flat, the water is apt to drop through, and spoil the plants; Ido 
not see why Auriculas should not have a house as well as Gera- 
niums, and such a house upona small scale I have, and it an- 
swers the purpose remarkably well, I will endeavour to describe 
it in as clear and brief a manner as possible; it is made of three- 
fourth inch deal boards on eachend closely jointed, the height 
behind is five feet, and in front one foot, and this is made to have 
a good slope, the breadth four feet and a half, front to back the 


AP ROGET ras* 


ON FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 33 


bottom. The front is covered with two sashes, each six feet by 
three feet, making the whole breadth of the front, about six feet 
three inches; as the sashes do not slide, but move on hinges fas- 
tened to a piece of wood, which goes up the middle, and each 
sash will thus lift up on one side, and fold backward over the’ 
other, and thus, by folding them up in succession each alternate 
fair day, you may-expose the plants to sun and air as required. 

The back part is as I said before five feet high, and six feet 
three inches in breadth, it is closed in by two doors hung by loops 
and crooks, which are taken off during summer, and this gives 
the plants plenty of air:, it has six shelves thatmove nearer or 
farther from the glass, their ends rest on laths nailed within the 
sides, you may have two or three shelves on each pair of laths if 
you choose, the lowest is about three inches from the ground, and 
about eight inches from shelf to shelf, the whole cost about three 
pounds ; this house or frame, if you choose to call it so, will hold 
a hundred plants on the shelves, and by laying the inside ground 
floor within the square of bricks on which it stands with ashes, 
you may have a place for Polyanthuses or common Auriculas dur- 
ing winter. A shelter of some sort isnecessary in wet weather, 
for though the Auricula is a hardy plant, and will bear any degree 
of cold, except when budding for flower, but wet is at all times an 
enemy, if it gets into the heart and remains too long. 

The third is situation, which is as importantas soil or shelter, 
this must be dry in winter, airy, and elevated above the damp 
which usually in October and November, causes some plants to 
go off in what is termed the neck rot, and thisis entirely the effect 
of wet and injudicious management. 

On wet ground the plants must be elevated above the sutiace, 
and have all the sun you can expose them to, and during spring, . 
until the bloom requires shading. In my next I shall give my rou- 
tine ofmanagement for twelve months, and afterwards, some re- 
marks on the sorts of Auriculas, &c. 


FLORA. 


Vor. VII. No. 71 rE 


34 ON THE LILY OF THE VALLEY. 


ARTICLE IV. 


CN FORCING THE LILY OF THE VALLEY AS PRACTISED IN 
GERMANY AND THE LOW COUNTRIES, 


BY G. G. 


Tuls sweet little flower, which seems to be so little noticed in 
Britain, is quite a favourite flower in this country, so much so that 
the natives do not think their garden complete, without a quan- 
tity of it growing in shady borders, and in winter when forced, is 
highly valued. As some of the readers of the Cabinet may have 
an opportunity offorcing this sweet flower, I forward you the fol- 
lowing particulars as practised here, should you consider it worth 
insertion. 

To have flowers at Christmas, the latter end of November is the 
time to take up the roots. Those selected must not be less than 
two years old, and in appearance, are something similar to small 
heads of asparagus, when about two or three inches high, and are 
furnished with fibrous roots; each of these tubers are wrapped 
round with a little moss, and placed in pots or mignionette boxes, 
close together. The boxes or pots are previously filled with old 
bark or light earth, a thin portion is laid over the crowns, and then 
a layer of moss which keeps the roots moist, assists in drawing 
up the flower stems. Theboxes or pots are then placed on a fire 
flue, or any other warm situation. Over these are turned boxes 
or pots of the same dimensions, upside down, to keep the plants 
quite dark; in three or four weeks, according to the warmth of 
the situation, they are abundantly furnished with their lovely bell- 
shaped flowers, six or eight inches high. Those coming into 
flower first, are taken out of this situation, being easily removed 
by having moss round the roots, and placed in small wicker baskets, 
or ornamental vase, with Hyacinths, Van Thol tulips, &e. which 
are forced, something similar, for this purpose. When this sort 
of winter flower basket, pyramid, orange, or vase, is properly exe- 
cuted, the colours of the flowers regularly mixed, and the spaces 
betwixt the plants filled up with ornamental moss, it certainly has 
a very neat and pleasing appearance. 

The market gardeners are busily employed during the months 
of November and December, in preparing such decorations for 
the side board or drawing room table, as there are only a few 


ON THE ROSE. 33 


dwellings but have a specimen of this sort, to welcome the happy 
morn of Christmas. 

. The tubers of this plant, when purchased for forcing, cost from 
three to four shillings per hundred. Where a succession is re- 
quired, the roots are kept in a shady place, or in the border in 
the garden, covered a foot or eighteen inches with fresh stable 
litter, so as to be easily come at in frosty weather, as occasion 
may require. When finished flowering, they are planted in the 
garden at the latter end of March, and form a plantation for for- 


cing purposes in two or three years. 
G.G. 


ARTICLE V. 


REMARKS ON THE ROSE. 
(Continued from page 13:) 


Tue deep-red China rose was first introduced by Gilbert Slater, 
Esq. of Knotsgreen, near Laytonstone, in the year 1789 ; but this 
is still confined to the greenhouse, being of a much more delicate 
nature than the common China rose. The flowers are semti-double 
and large in proportion to the plant, of a fine dark carmine co- 
lour, and of delightful fragrance. 

The China rose, which has been named Lady Bank’s rose, we 
hope to see soon hardy enough to leave the green house, where 
it has occupied a place since the year 1807. This is a double- 
white rose, of very diminutive size, but producing such abun- 
dance of blossoms, as to render the branches extremely elegant. 
We are are informed that it was discovered growing out of an old 
wall in China. 

In pleasure-grounds it is scarcely possible to plant too many 
rose-trees, and they have the best effect when three or four plants 
of the same kind come together. The Scotch or burnet-leaved 
rose, from its dwarf growth, forms a good foreground to other 
roses ; and the neat little Rose de Meaux should advance towards 
the walks, whilst the more towering kinds may mix with shrubs of 
the middle class. 

Where the lawn is interspersed with little clumps, fenced with 
basket-work, each clump or basket should be confined to one 


36 ON THE ROSE. 


species of rose, or kinds that are quite opposite in colour; and as 
it is particularly desirable to keep these clumps successively in 
blossom during the season, those clumps that blossom the earliest 
and the latest should be divided by others that flower in the in- 
termediate space. 

Rosaries are formed into various devices; but the most com- 
mon method is by planting the tallest standard rose-trees in the 
centre of a clump, around which the different species and varie- 
ties are placed according to their height of growth, the edge 
finishing by the dwarf kinds. 

Rock work is sometimes covered with creeping roses, and 
surrounded with other varieties. 

For covering arbors or trellis-work, the bracted rose, Rosa 
bracteata, commonly called Sir George Staunton’s rose, which 
was brought from China in the year 1795, is the mest proper, 
for it grows toa great height, and thick of branches thatare co- 
vered with shining leaves of a very fine green. ‘The ftowers are 
single and perfectly white, of a strong and agreeable perfume; 
it blossoms in August and September. 

_ The modes of retarding the flowering of the Provence and moss 

roses, until the autumn are various; and as it is desirable to con- 
tinue those beauties of the garden longer than they are naturally 
disposed to last, we will mention the best means of obtaining 
the enjoyment. The most simple method is by cutting off all the 
tops of the shoots that have been produced the same spring, 
which should be done just before they begin to show their buds ; 
this will cause them to make fresh shoots, that will produce flow- 
ers late inthe autumn. It may also be done by transplanting 
the bushes in the spring, just as they have formed their buds, 
which should be cut off, but the roots must not be out of the earth 
long enough to become dry, and they generally require watering 
when transplanted late, to obtain roses in October and Noyem- 
ber. 

On the continent, where much more pains are bestowed onthe 
retarding of flowers than in this country, the rose-trees are dug 
up just as they begin to shew a leaf bud, and the roots are in- 
stantly placed in a kind of mortar, formed of brick earth, which 
serves as apreservative plaster, whilst it debars the fibres of the 
roots from obtaining the necessary nutriment that would cause the 
usual growth of the plant. From this state of rest, the plants 
are removed into the clumps or flower borders in May or June, 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 37 


according to the time they are wished to be in blossom. When 
the season is dry, they will require frequent watering to ensure 
fine flowers, These plants should be kept in a cellar or a shed, 
where there is but little light. 

The common Provence and moss-roses are the most esteem- 
ed for forcing, on account of their perfume, 


** This soft family, fo cares unknown. 
Were born for pleasure and delight alone. 
Gay without toil, and lovely without art, 
‘They spring to cheer the sense, and glad the heart.” 
Mrs. BarzauLp. 


This sweet emblem of love, like the human body, breeds 
a canker in its bosom, that often destroys its heart. 


“She never told her love, 
But let concealment, like a werm ithe bud, 
Prey on her damask cheek.” SHAKESPEARE. 


‘* Death's subtle seed within, 
(Sly, treacherous miner !) working in the dark, 
* * * * 
The worm to riot on that rose so red, 
Unfaded, ere it fell; one moments prey! 


Youne. 
(To be continued.) 


ARTICLE VI. 
ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


(Continued from page 14) 
THEIR summer scenes compose the richest and most studied 
parts of their gardens. They abound with lakes, rivers. and 
water-works of every contrivance; and with vessels of every 
construction, calculated for the uses of sailing, rowing, fishing, 
fowling, and fighting. The woods consistof beech, oak, Indian 
chesnut, elm, ash, plane, u-ton-shu (a beautiful specimen of the 
sycamore, peculiar to China) common sycamore, maple, abele, 
and several other. species of the poplar; with many other trees, 
peculiar to China. The thickets are composed of every fair de- 
ciduous plant that grows in that climate, and every flower or 
shrub that flourishes during the summer months ; ‘all uniting to 


38 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


form the finest verdure, the most brilliant, harmonious colour- 
ing imaginable. The buildings are spacious, splendid and nu- 
merous, every scene being marked by one or more; some of 
them contrived for banquets, balls, learned disputations, rope- 
dancing, and feats of activity; others again for bathing, swim- 
ming, reading, sleeping, or meditation. 

In the centre of these summer plantations, there is a large tract 
of ground set aside for more secret and voluptuous pleasures, 
which is laid out ina great number of close walks, colonades and 
passages, turned with many intricate windings, so as to confuse 
and lead the passenger astray; being sometimes divided with 
thickets, of underwood, intermixed with straggling large trees ; 
and other times by higher plantations, or by clumps of the tse-tan, 
(a very large species of the rose tree, the wood of which is un- 
commonly beautiful, and used by the Chinese workmen for tables, 
cabinets, &c.) common rose-trees, and other lofty shrubs. The 
whole is a wilderness of sweets, adorned with all kinds of gaudy 
productions. Gold and silver pheasants, pea-fowls, patridges, 
bantam and golden hens, quails, and game of every kind, swarm 
in the woods; doves, nightingales, and a thousand melodious 
birds, perch upon the branches, deer, antelopes, musk goats, 
spotted buffaloes, shen-si sheep, (a sort of sheep with very long 
tails, which trail upon the ground), and Tartarean horses frisk 
upon the plains. Every walk leads to some delightful object; 
to groves of orange and myrtle, to rivulets, whose banks are clad 
with roses, woodbine and jessamine; to murmuring fountains, 
with statues of sleeping nymphs, and water gods; to cabinets of 
verdure, with beds of aromatic herbs and flowers; to grottos cut 
in rocks, adorned with incrustations of coral shells, ores, gems, 
and chrystalizations, refreshed with rills of sweet scented water, 
and cooled by fragrant, artificial breezes. 

Amongst the thickets which divide the walks, are many se- 
cret recesses; in each of which there is an elegant pavilion, con- 
sisting of one state apartment, with out houses, and proper con- 
veniences for eunuchs ard women servants. These are inha- 
bited, during the summer, by their fairest and most accom- 
plished concubines; each of them, witb her attendants, occu- 
pying a separate pavilion. 

The principal apartments of these buildings, consists of one or 
more large saloons, two cabinet or dressing rooms, a library, a 
couple of bed chambers and waiting rooms, a bath, and several 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 39 


private closets, all of which are magnificently furnished with en- 
tertaining books, numerous paintings, musical instruments, imple- 
ments for gaming, writing, drawing, painting and embroidering ; 
with beds, couches and chairs, of various constructions, for the 
uses of sitting and lying in different postures. 

The saloons generally open to little enclosed courts set round 
with beautiful flower pots, of different forms made of porcelain, 
marble, or copper, filled with the rarest flowers of the season ; 
at the end of the court there is generally an aviary; an artificial 
rock with a fountain and bason for gold fish, or blue fishes of 
Hay Nang, (a little beautiful blue fish, caught near the island of 
Hay Nang of which the Chinese ladies are very fond), a cascade, 
an arbor of bamboo or vine, interwoven with flowering shrubs, 
or some other elegant contrivance of the same nature. 

Besides these separate habitations, in which the ladies are pri- 
vately visited by their patron, as often as he is disposed to see 
them, and be particular, there are, in other larger recesses of 
the thickets, more spacious and splendid buildings, where the 
women all meet at certain hours of the day, either to eat at the 
public tables, to drink their tea, to converse, bathe, swim, work, 
romp, or to play at the mora, and other games known in China, 
or else to divert the patron with music, singing, lascivious pos- 
ture-dancing, acting plays or pantomimes, at all which they gene- 
rally are very expert. 

Some of these structures are entirely open, the roofs being 
supported on columns of rose wood, or cedar, with bases of Co- 
rean jasper, and chrystal of Chang-chew-fu; or upon wooden 
pillars, made in imitation of bamboo, and plantain trees, sur- 
rounded with garlands of fruit and flowers, artfully carved, being 
painted and varnished in proper colours. Others are enclosed, 
and consist sometimes of many different sized rooms of various 
forms ; as triangles, squares, hexagons, octagons, circles, ovals 
and irregular whimsical shapes, all of them elegantly finished 
with incrustations of marble, inlaid precious woods, ivory, silver, 
gold, and mother of pearl, with profusion of ancient porcelain, 
mirrors, carving, gilding, painting, and laquering of all colours. 

The doors of entrance for these apartments, are circular and 
polygonal, as well as rectangular; and the windows by which 
they are lighted, are made in the shapes of fans, birds, animals, 
fishes, insects, leaves and flowers ; being filled with painted glass, 


40 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


or different coloured gauze, to tinge the light, and give a glow 
to the objects in the apartment. 

All these buildings are furnished at a very great expence, not 
only with the necessary moveables, but with pictures, sculptures, 
embroideries, trinkets, and pieces of clock work of great value, 
being some of them very large, composed of many ingenious 
movements, enriched with ornaments of gold, intermixed with 
pearls diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other gems. 

Besides the different structures already mentioned, they have 
some built in large trees, and disposed amongst the branches like 
nests of birds, being finished on the inside with many beautiful 
ornaments, and pictures, composed of feathers, some they haye 
likewise made in the form of Persian tents, others built of roots 
and pollards, put together with great taste : and others, which are 
called Miau Ting, or Halls of the Moon, being of prodigious size 
and composed each of one single vaulted room, made in the 
shape of a hemisphere, the concave of which is artfully painted 
in imitation of a nocturnal sky, and pierced with an infinite num- 
ber of little windows, made to represent the moon and stars, be- 
ing filled of tinged glass, that admits the light in the quantities 
necessary to spread over the whole interior fabric the pleasing 
gloom of a fine summer’s night. 

The pavements of these rooms are sometimes laid out in par- 
terres of flowers ; amongst which are placed many rural seats 
made of fine formed branches, varnished red to represent coral ; 
but oftenest their bottom is full of clear running water, which 
falls in rills from the sides of a rock im the centre ; many little 
islands float upon its surface, and move around as the current 
directs, some of them covered with tables for the banquet, others 
with seats, and other furniture, for various uses. 

To these Halls of the Moon the Chinese princes retire with 
their favourite women, whenever the heat and intense light of 
the summer’s day becomes disagreeable to them ; and here they 
feast, and give a loose to every sort of voluptuous pleasure. 

No nation ever equalled the Chinese in the splendour and 
number of their garden structures. We are told, by father At- 
tiret, that in one of the imperial gardens, near Pekin, called — 
Yven Ming Yven, there are besides the palace, which is of itself 
a city, four hundred pavilions, all so different in their architec- 
ture, that each seems the production of a different country. 


(To be continued, 


“sa OR RARE PLANTS. 41 


PART Ii. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


BRASSAVOLA MARTINIANA. Dr. Von Martin’s Brassavola. (Bot, Reg. 


ORCHIDACE®. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA. 


1. This species was originally discovered by Dr. Von Martins on the banks 
of the Rio Negro in Brazil, and where it was found to delight in a rough 
and stony soil, not too retentive of moisture. Messrs, Loddiges’s cultivated 
the plant most vigorously in a soil, consisting of rough peat, well mixed with 
broken bricks or stones, and the pots must be well trained at the bottom, 
Each flower is about two inches and a half across. Petals yellowish green‘ 
iabellum white, having the base yellow. 


LEONOTIS NEPETAFOLIA. Cat Mint-leaved. (Bot. mag. 3700 


LABIATZ, DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. Synonym, PHLOMIS NEPETEFOLIA. 


2. Intreduced from various parts of Africa. The flowers are in dense 
axillary, distrait clusters. Each'cluster is upwards of two inches in dia- 
meter, The flowers are of a bright red colour, clothed densely with red 
velyetty hsirs. The plant, when in bloom, makes an interesting and showy 
object. Leonatis, from Leon alicn, and Os Opis an ear, from a fancied 
resemblance of the flowers tothe ears of that animal. 


LEYCESTERIA FORMOSA. Beautiful. (Bot. Reg. No. 2 1839 


CAPRIFOLIACEX. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


3.This plant is a native of the Himlaya mountains, and is a charming shrub, 
and grows very profusely on some of the highest mountains, at an elevation 
of 8000 feet above the plains, surrounding the valley of Nepal, where it 
blooms from April to October. Seeds of it were sent from India by Dr. 
Royle to the London Horticultural Society, itis found to be a hardy ever- 
green, having stood the severity of the winters 1337 and 1838, In its na- 
tive sitnation it grows says Dr. Wallich, so that its stem rises to twelve 
feet high, and upwards of aninch in diameter. The leaves are large and 
of a dull green. The flowers are produced in drooping spikes. The brac- 
teas are showy, being of a reddish-purple colour. The corolla is white, and 
about three quarters of an inch long. 

The plant is found to grow the most freely in an open sunny situation. 
Although it is not so handsome as was anticipated from the account sent of 
it from India, yet it will he found very ornamental when the plant has ac- 


quired a large size. Plants may now be obtained at a few per each at 
ra public nurserymen. Leycestria, sonamed in compliment to Wil- 


hi 
presidency ; a very distinguished Horticulturist, 


cester, chief judge of the principal native court under the Bengal 


Vout. VIT, No. G 


AT ; MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


PART Hil. 
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. ? 


On rirst Rate Prorerrties or Carceotariss.—As I intend to raise new 
varieties of the Calceolaria, I would be much obliged to any of your Corre- 
spondents to state in the Cabinet, the points which are principally attended 
to by the judges on deciding on the merits of the Calceolarias produced at 
the different shows in the South, and how much they reckon, on the form, 
the colours, and the size of the flowers, respectively. ; Scorus. 


On true CurysantHemum.—I have in my conservatory a white Chrysan- 
themum, quilled, and very double; upon one branch there is a flower differ- 
ent from the rest, having two or three rows of the outside petals quite pink, 
I have also another plant of large pink clusters, having upon its branches 
flowers nearly perfectly white. I was at first inclined to think that this 
might be owing to the age of the flowers ; but I find that other flowers of the 
same age do not assume the same colour. IfI were to cut off these bran- 
ches and strike them in a hot bed, { should be glad to learn whether it 
is probable they would give out flowers of the same sort, or return to that 
of the native stem ? 

(We have found in some instances that a distinction has been retained, 
and in others where they have returned to the original, It is worth 
trying !—ConpDucrTor. 

In Mr. Freestone’s method of saving the seed of this flower in last year’s 
Vol. p. 220, he says, ‘* Take the pollen from any of the same double flowers 
and apply it to the stigma of the two outside rows of Petals.” Does he mean 
to the outside rows of a semi-double flower, or to any double flower? 

(To any.—ConpDucTor:) TILLINGTONIENSIS 


ANSWER. 

On RAISING DAHLIAS WITH VARIEGATED FLowers.—Answer to C, Nevill’s 
Query on the Dahlia, in the Cabinet of January 1837. I tried the experi- 
ment here mentioned, applying the roots to the King of the Whites, and of 
Lady Fitzharris, the first a pure white, and the other a bright scarlet flower, 
they were applied together before being planted, and planted in the usual. 
way. There was only asingle flower which came to perfection, and which 
was very large, but had the colour of ‘Lady Fitzharris alone. I attributed 
the size of the flower to the additional nourishment obtained from the roots, 
but as Lady Fitzharris is naturally a large flower, I now incline todoubt this, 
I did not get any seed from the flower, as the frost came on early that sea. 
son. As my object was the obtaining Dahlias with variegated flowers, I am 
now satisfied it would be more quickly ohtained by impregnating the stigma 
of one with the pollen of others. I have aot repeated the experiment. When 
the roots of the two Dalilias were taken up at the end of the season, the 
root of the King of the Whites was perfectly wasted, that of Lady Fitzhar- 
ris quite fresh. Scorus, 


REMARKS. 

On Rosa HisernicA —In your last number, you make a quotatio ma 
Mr. Gore’s Rose Fancier’s Manual, which contains one translated la 
French author whom you characterize as having published the best account 
of Roses, who after depreciating Mr. Templeton’s discovery of the Rosa Hi- 
bernica, there states, that it is the same with Rosa canina and R, Spinosise 


—— 
one 


= 


* 


Tee eS eee 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 43 


sima, or if the seeds are sown in stiff land, it will produce the former, if in 
light laud, the latter. I have no specimen of Rosa Hibernica at present by 
me, and therefore cannct compare it with R. canina, but as Sir James E 
Smith, the first botanist of his day, considers it a distinct species, I cannot 
permit the article to be uncontradicted; I know the R. spinosissima as 
well as the R. canina, and have seen wild” specimens of every sort, but 
never in any degree approaching to each other; indeed, I doubt, if two more 
distinct species could be selected, and Iam sure that the seeds of the one 
will not produce any plant likely to be mistaken for the other, as I have more 
confidence in’ Sir James E. Smith than Mons. Boitard, you may rest as- 
sured that as the roses Hibernica, Spinosissima and Canina, are distinct spe- 
cies and not varieties, the seeds of the one, can never by any chance produce 
plants of either of the other two. 
Fifeshire, December 1838. Scotus, 


THE GARDENS 
OF THE 


ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON, 


Inner Circle Regent's Park. 


PATRONESS. 


HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY. 


VICE PATRONESSES AND MEMBERS, 


Mer Royal Highness the Duch- | Lady Antrobus 


ess of Kent. Lady Kerrison 
Her Grace the Duchess of} Lady James Edward Smith 
Richmond Mrs. Colonel Rushbrook 


The Right IJlonourable the | Mrs. Lawrence 
Countess of Albermarle Miss A. Burdett Coutts 
The Right Honourable the | Mrs. Trotter 


Countess of Cavan Mrs. Wainwright 
The Right Honourable Lady |. Miss Sale 
Wenlock 


Gc. T&c,’ sees 


PRESIDENT. 


HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF RICHMOND, K.G. 


—— 


Vice PRESIDENTS. 


The Duke of Norfolk, K.G., F.LS. 

F.R.S. Lieut. Gen. Sir E. Kerfison, 
The Earl of Shrewsbury, F'.S.A, Bart., M.P. 
Tha Earl of Albemarle Uenry Thomas Hope, Esq., 
Sir Jacob Astley, Bart. M.P 


Sir George Staunton, Bart., Thomas Wyse, Esq. M.P. 
Bika DC. ie, 1. ae, 


44 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Vice Patrons AND ProposEeD FELLOWS. 


The Marquis of Huntley, K.T, | Lord Berners 
The Marquis of Northampton, | Lord Warren Vernon 
RES, Lord Shuffield 
The Marquis of Bristol, F.R.S. | Lord Calthorpe, M.A. 
The Marquis of Douro, M.P. Lord Northwick 
The Earl of Rosebery, F.R.S. | Lord Teignmouth, M.P., D.C.L, 


The Earl of Dartmouth, D.C.L. F.R.S. 
F.R.S. Lord Henniker, M.P. 
The Earl of Cavan Lord Brougham & Vaux, 
The Viscount Beresford, G.C.B., F.R.8. 
Lord Alfred Hervey Lord Abinger 


The Lord Bishop of London Lord Langdale 
The Lord Bishop of Durham Right Hon. C. P. Thompson, 
The Lord Bishop of Lichfield M.P. 
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, 
Pres. Lin. Soc. 
&e. &c. &e. 


We have very great pleasure in noticing the operations of this newly 
formed Society, of their intentions to form a Botanic Garden in the cen- 
tre circle of Regent’s Park; and to see the object is already patronized 
and supported by such a numerous list of the Nobility and Gentry, who 
are, uniformly, promoters of science, arts, &c. 

The situation selected, is, in our opinion, the best that could be obtained 
to answer all its purposes. 

During the last two years we have very frequently visited the ground, 
and particularly examined the situation, soil, trees, plants, &c., in order 
to ascertain its suitability for horticultural and floricultural purposes ; and 
so satisfied were we of its merits, that more than a year back we entered 
into correspondence with Mr. Jenkins as to terms of taking it, with a view 
to attempt at what is now commenced by this Society. 

We have read objections made by the conductors of some gardening pe-~ 
riodicals, relative to the situation selected being unfavorable, and that the 
soil was very unsuitable to the growth of planis. It is stated, ‘‘that the 
situation is such, as to be annoyed so with smoke, that no delicate plant 
will thrive in the open air;” we have seen very numerous facts in the 
ground to disprove such a statement, even with trees and plants that had 
had ordinary attention as to planting, and subsequent treatment. And the 
object of the Society, having received the assistance of government to further 
their intentions, it is not presuming too much to say that any existing ad- 
ministration of the affairs of this country will be so far desirous to encour- 
age science, &c, as to prevent the erection of anything annoying, nearer 
than the dwellings there are at present. : 

Respecting the soil it is said to be a strong clay upon a retentive bot- 
tom; admitting such to be a fact, even to an extent, which, up to the present 
has been injurious, the position of the ground, with that surrounding it, 
is sueh, as to afford every desirable facility to remedy it. It appears to us 
that a desire exists in some parties to produce an unfavorable impression 
on the mind of the public, which no facts can justify. The free growth 
of forest trees, shrubs, and other plants are sufficient evidence on thegub- 
ject. And whatever plants may be hereafter introduced on the ground 
that require accommodation with a peculiar soil, or mode of treatment tending 
to promote their vigours, (and such attention is obliged to be paid to some 
plants in every horticultural and floricultural establishment, whether public 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 45 


dr private) they will unquestionably be received; and in this as well as 
the other objects the Society have in view, we have every reason to con- 
clude, the garden and its appendages will be so managed, and be so sucess- 
ful, pleasing and instructive, as to meet with the approval, as it no doubt 
will, with the desired support of the British Public, and we do most 
heartily wish it every success.—(ConpucrTor.) 


Notwithstanding the manifest importance of a proper acquaintance with the 
productions of the vegetable kingdom, there is not, to this day, in the me- 
tropolis of the commercial world, a public establishment devoted to their 
general study: and while foreign countries possess such institutions, and 
there are forty in our own empire, we are the last to avail ourselves of their 
advantages. The benefits to be derived from a properly directed botanic 
garden are so apparent that it argues an inconceivable deficiency in our 
local administration that-they should be so long neglected. The only way 
in which the study of botany has received attention has been for medical 
purposes ; and it is to be regretted that that knowledge should be consid- 
ered as restricted to one profession, which is capable of still further deye- 
lopement. The chemical properties of plants are not confined to their 
medical uses, but exercise importapt functions in manufactures; and indeed 
when it is considered how little advanced is our acquaintance with their 
analysis, they should acquire a greater importance in our eyes, from their 
susceptibility of extended application in a more advanced state of science. 
The use of dye plants is but one of many chemical preparations; and the 
manufacture of suger is a series of chemical processes. ‘Ihe employment of 
vegetable productions in textile fabrics makes them an object of commer- 
cial importance, and renders them deserving of scientific investigation ; and 
the manufacturing properties of plants are so various as at once to open a 
wide field for observation and inculcate the necessity of it. : 

But if the study of the raw material have met with so little attention at 
our hands, there is another application of it to manufactures which has 
necessarily suffered still more in the general neglect. This is the applica- 
tion of the study of the external form of plants to the improvement of our 
arts and manufactures; and we need not be surprised if the effect of such 
neglect has been to leave them in a state of barbarism, as compared with 
the rest of Europe, unworthy of our positions in the commercial world. 
Few points could be selected more strongly to show the intimate connexion 
which exists between all departments of the arts and sciences, and the ill 
effects which proceed from the non cultivation of any of the series. In 
this case a complicated neglect is involved; and we find an eqnal want of 
attention to botany, the fine arts, and our true commercial interests. The 
consequence is, not only are we deprived of foreign markets, but we are un- 
able to preserve our own from the inroads of strangers, and are subjected 
to the stigma of barbarism in the eyes of those to whose taste we are made 
captive by our own ignorance. The extent of this economical injury is two- 
fold; first as we are subjected toa positive loss by the importations of silks, 
cottons, velyets, papers, and jewellery from France; clocks from Switzer- 
land; bronzes from Italy; and Berlin ware from Prussia; but we contin- 
gently lose by our exclusion from foreign markets, whieh other advantages 
would enable us to supply. The United States would undoubtedly prove a 
large customer for articles of taste, were we able to supply them with such 
productions, for which the congeniality of associations between the two na- 
tions would obtain a preference over any foreign rivals. 

The adaptation of botanical subjects is the principal source of patterns 
for textile and imitative goods, and a facility for studying such objects is 
consequently the desideratum for the improvement of our manufactures, 
This has been recognised by every public body by which it has been in- 
vestigated; and the evidence before the Select Committee of the House of 
Commons, on the State of Arts and Manufactures, affords abundant testimony 
of the necessity of this study. 


, pe Ae ee ie in ee 


46 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Sir C. Cockerell, the architect of the bank, says—“ As regards porcelain 
foreigners are superior to the English in flower painting and ornamental 
scroll work.” 

Mr. George Rennie, the sculptor, attributes the excellenee of the French 
arlists to their superior facilities for studying design, and particularly re- 
commands instruction in botanical drawing. 

Mr. Crabb, aneminent designer says—‘ The French papers are superior 
in design, both in the original idea and the detail of the drawing ; for in 
England we have no school to obtain such instruction, ‘he foliage is beau- 
tiful and the flower borders are exceedingly well executed, while in the 
English patterns the leaves are not those of the flower, an inaccuracy which 
we never find in the French. This facility of adapting the forms and colours 
most gratifying to the eye, must be the result of early and continued ac- 
quaintance with flowers and plants. A botanical garden would be of the 
highest value, for there is scarcely anything where, in some form, hotany is 
not introduced, and more extensively we are acquainted with it the better ; 
we get more beautiful lines, more original effects, and finer forms than we 
do by any other means; we find no coloring equal to that of nature.” 

Mr. Donoldson, the architect, says—‘‘ that the manufacturing artists re- 
quire instruction, in botany, as connected with construction, in order to give 
a workman an insight into the nature and properties ofjvegetable substances, 
and a more accurate knowledge of their forms when he wishes to delineate 
or model them; all of which may be very much derived from the study of 
their growth and formation. 1 should also recommend, that such a general 
idea of chemistry, as connected with construction, should be given, as would 
enable a workman very usefully to apply that knowledge in respect to dry 
rot, and other similar circumstances, snch as the various properties of colors, 
both mineral and vegetable, and their greater or less durability.” 


(TO BE CONTINUED.) 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


Noryrra puncrata. Orchidew. The flowers of this species are whiter 
than those of any other, and are produced on a short fluxuose raceme. 
(Bot. Reg. 


Noryiis Barxerr. Orchidez. Received by G. Barker, Esq., from 
Mexico. ‘The flowers are very like N. incurva, but are of a darker yellow, 
and rather smaller. (Bot. Reg. 


Noryzia Micaantua. Orchidew. Messrs. Loddiges’ received it from 
Demarara. The flowers are very small, of a pale green, with a yellowish 


lip, 


Noryrra Tenuts. Orchidew. Received from Demerara by Messrs. Lod- 
diges’. The flowers are of a pale straw color, - (Bot. Reg. 


PLEUROTHALIS MUSCOIDEA Orchidew. This is in the collection of Messrs. 
Loddiges’, and is the smallest plant of any of the Orchidez sent to this 
country. The flower is of a dull purple, having an orange margin to the 
petals and sepals, the lip is stained with purple and orange. 


THuNseRGIaA Hawrowntana.—This new and pretty flowering species 
produces a profusion of its purple blossoms which have a pretty appear- 
ance, more particularly when grown in contrast with the ‘lV. alata, and T, 
leucantha. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 47 


ry FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY. 
' Gresnuouse.—This department should have good attendance during this 
month, similar in its operations to those directed in January, which see.— 
Oranges, Lemons, and Myrtles, &c., will require water frequently, they usu- 
ally absorb much. The herbaceous kind of plants will require occasional 
waterings, but less frequent and in less quantities than the woody kinds. 
Succulents, as Aloes, Sedums, &c., should be watered very sparingly, and 
only when the soil is very dry. Air should be admitted at all times when the 
weather is favorable, or the plants cannot be kept in a healthy state. If 
any of the Orange, Lemon, or Myrtle trees, &c., have naked or irregular 
heads, towards the end of the month, if fine mild weather occur, begin to 
reclaim them to some uniformity, by shortening the branches and head 
shoots, by this attention they will break out new shoots upon the old wood 
and form a regular head ; be repotted in rich compost in April, reducing the 
old ball of earth carefully and replacing with new soil. After shifting it 
would be of great use to the plants, if the convenience of a glass case could 
be had, in which to make a dung bed, that the pots might be plunged in, 
this would cause the plants to shoot vigourously, both at the roots and tops. 
Repot Amaryllis, &c. Tender and small kinds of plants should frequently 
be examined, as to have surface of soil loosened, decayed leaves taken 
away, or if a portion of a branch be decaying, cut it off immediately, or the 
injury may extend to the entire plant and destroy it. 

ANNUALS.—Towards the end of the month, sow most of the tender kinds 
which require the aid of a hot bed in raising. or in pots in heat. 

ANOMATHECA cRUENTA, the bulbs of, should now be repotted into small 
pots, to prepare them for turning out into beds, so as to bloom early, 

Auricuas should now be top dressed, taking off old soil an inch deep, 
and replacing it with new. 

Burss, as Hyacinrus, &c., grown in water glasses, require to be placed 
in an airy and light situation when coming into bloom, (See Art. Vol. vi, on 
the subject). The water will require to be changed every three or four days, 
The flower stem may be supported by splitting a stick at the bottom into 
four portions, so as it will fit tight round the edge of the glass at the top. 

Catceorarias, seeds of should be sown during the month, and be placed 
in a hot bed frame, also cuttings or slips be struck as they take root freely 
now. 

3 Carnations, layers should be transplanted into large pots towards the end 
» ofthe month, or planted in the open border. : 

Curtines oF Satvias, Fucusias, Hetrorropes, GERANIUMS, &c., desired 
for planting out in borders or beds during spring and summer, should now 
be struck in moist heat, in order to get the plants tolerably strong by May, 
the season of planting out. 

Danrias.—Seed should be sown either in pots or upona hot bed. Pots 
or boxes with seed placed in a warm room, near light and admitting plenty 
of air to the plants when up will, succeed well. Dahlia roots should now 
be potted or partly plunged into a little old tan in the stove, or a frame 
to forward them for planting out in May. As shoots push, take them off 
when four or five inches long, and strike them in moist heat. 

Hereaceous Perrentats, Brenniats, &c.,.—May be divided about the 
end of the month, and planted out where required, 

Hyprancess.—Cuttings of the end of the last years'wood, that possess 
plump buds at their ends, should now be struck in moist heat; plant one 
cutting in a smal! pot (60's). When struck root, and the pot is full of roots, 
repot them into larger; such plants make singularly fine objects during 
summer, 

Mienionerre, to bloom early in boxes, or pots, or to turn out in the open 
borders, should now be sown. 

ee oC ONES AND Anemoniges should be planted by the end of the 
month. 

Rose Trees, Linacs, Pinks, Hyacintus, PeLyantHusges, Narcissus, &e, 
should regularly be brought in for forcing, 


48 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Tender ANNuALS.—Some of the kinds, as Cockscombs, Amaranthuses, 
&c., for adorning the greenhouse in summer, should be sown by the end of 
the month; also any tender Annuals desired to bloom early in the open 
border. : 

Ten Weex Srocks, RussIAN AND Prusstan Stocks, &c., to bloom early 
should now be sown in pots, placed in a hot bed frame, or be sown upon 4 
slight hot bed. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 

Lituim LANCIFOLIUM RosEUM. This very beautiful flowering lily was 
sent by Dr. Siebold, from Japan, and we had the pleasure of seeing it in 
bloom, and partaking of its fine fragrance during the last summer, at Messrs. 
Low & Co’s. Nursery, Clapton, and at Messrs. Loddiges’s of Hackney. The 
flowers of this kind are larger than any of the others introduced by 
Dr. Siebold, and produces a fine effect. The color is not so striking as the 
flowers of L, speciosum, but in other respects are more magnificent. 

The plant we saw in bloom at the Hackney Nursery was growing in a 
raised bed in the conservatory, and an open sunny situation had been se- 
lected, which latter advantage is considered essential to the plant flowering 
successfully. The flower stem had reached four feet high, and had produced 
eight of its beautiful blossoms. 

We saw some plants grown in pots, but the flowers were much smaller 
than what we saw at the Hackney Nursery. Tne finest plants were growing 
in arich loamy soil, having a good drainage; when the shoots begin to push 
the plant requires a free supply of water, which is continued till it has done 
blooming, and afterwards gradually declined, so as to be kept dry during 
its dormant state. 

We have not seen any plant growing in the open border, but this may 
arise from their scarcity, as well as present estimated value, but we think it 
very probable, that if grown in pots in spring, and pushed in a cool frame or 
greenhouse till the end of May, and then turned out into the open border in 
a favorable situation, they would bloom superbly ; for we observed that the 
colour of the flower was greatly heightened in proportion to the openness of 
the situation. 

These beautiful lilies ought to be grown in every greenhouse or conserva- 
tory. The price now asked is rather high, but their propagation going on 
so extensively, will soon allow them to be obtained at a lower rate. The 
mode of propagation we saw very successfully adapted at the Epsom and 
other Nurseries, was the following. A bulb was taken when in its dor- 
mant state, but just when about to vegetate, and the outward scales 
carefully taken off. The scales are then planted in small pots, one in each, 
in a light loamy soil, and placed in a frame where there is a gentle heat. 
These soon form at the base of each a small bulb, and when of the size of 
a garden pea, they are carefully taken off and replanted in small pots, and 
by encouragement soon increase to blooming bulbs. The bulb from which 
the scales are taken is planted for blooming as the others are. When the 
scales and infant bulbs are in the pots, care is requisite that they are not 
rotted by an excess of moisture. In some instances, when the scales are not 
disturbed at an early stage in order to take off a single bulb, three or four 
bulbs are produced from a single scale. 

Attention to propagation will so far increase these delightful plants, that 
a hope every cultivator of flowers, having the opportunity will possess 
them. 

RusSELIA JuNCEA. This charming plant is one of the prettiest ornaments 
which can be grown in the greenhouse, and certainly ought to be in every 
one. Itis of easy culture, delighting in a soil of equal parts of rich loam 
and sandy peat, having a free drainage. The plant is very readily propaga- 
ted by slips or cuttings inserted in sand, or sandy peat, and placed in a hot 
aan ‘ae or other situation where a moist and warm temperature can be 
obtained, 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


MARCH, list, 1839. 


PART I, 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ARTICLE I. 


REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF THE RANUNCULUS. 


BY MR. THOMAS IBBETT, MOUNT PLEASANT, WOOLWICH. 
Tn reviewing the Cabinet for May last, I was much pleased with 
the Article on the culture of Tulips, written by Mr. J. Slater, 
which does him much credit, and displays sound judgment, I 
therefore beg to make afew observations, confirmatory of his 
statement, and may also prove serviceable to such growers as 
may think proper to put it into practice, 

And in so doing it is but fair to state that I received the infor- 
mation from Captain Jones of the royal navy, a gentleman that has 
spared neither pains nor expence in the culture ofthe Tulip; he 
says ‘‘that having visited every grower of eminence within twenty 
miles of London to see their blooms, he could find none to equal 
the late Mr. Velga’s of Hammersmith, a gentleman that was well 
known for many miles round his neighbourhood,” and the method 
he pursued for the cultivation of the Tulip was as follows : 

Having made choice of a good meadow, he took off the surface 
about six inches deep with the grass sod, which he filled up in 
the form of a haycock, keeping a sufficient quantity for one year 
under another, about three months before planting ; he began to 


make up his bed, first taking out from the old bed about two spits 
Vou. VII. No, 73. H 


50 ON STRIKING GAILLARDIA PICTA, 


ofearth. He then witha spade trimmed off all the top surface 
of the pile of earth before mentioned until he had as much as 
would lay over his bed an inch and a half deep, letting it lay 
eight or nine days exposed to the sun and air, he would then lay 
on another layer of the same depth as before, and so on until the 
bed was completed, &c- I have been informed by many persons 
as well as Capatain J. that Mr. Velga’s Tulips surpassed all they 
had ever seen for the beauty of the foliage and the delicacy of 
the blooms. 

I donot pretend to be a first rate grower of Tulips, but 1 have 
no doubt the practice is an excellent one; my attention being 
chiefly confined to Dahlias, Carnations, Piccotees, and Pinks, the 
latter of which I flatter myself, few can excel me in, either for a 
collection or blooming, 

Should you think the above remarks worthy a place in the Cabi- 
net, I feel pleasure in forwarding them, and shall feel gratified if 
they assist any one in the culture of the Tulip. 

T. Ispert, 


ARTICLE II. 


ON STRIKING GAILLARDIA PICTA FROM CUTTINGS, AND FUR- 
THER MANAGEMENT Of, , 


By Mr. George Geldert, Gardener to Edmand Steer, Esq. Hamm, near 
Bamburg, Germany. 
Nor having noticed any thing in the Cabinet on the raising Gaillardia 
picta from cuttings induces me to send you an account of my mode 
of management with it during the last two seasons, and if it be 
judged of sufficient interest for insertion in the very useful pages of 
the Cabinet, I shall be glad of its early insertion, as it may furnish 
some particulars for practice during the approaching season. 

In the spring of 1837 I procured some seed of this very neat 
and showy flowering plant, but the seed not proving very good, I 
only succeeded in raising a few plants. After the plants had es- 
tablished themselves in the flower border, and pushed side-shoots 
about three inches long, I cut them off close under a joint, and 
inserted six or eight in a small pot. Having a hot bed frame at 
work, with a little bottom heat, for striking cuttings of pelargo- 
niums in, I plunged the pot of Gaillardia cuttings therein, and in 
about three weeks, found every one well rooted. 


ON A NEWLY IMPORTED SALVIA. ot 

Having potted them singly into small pots ina rich soil, I 
placed them mm a shady situation, upon a bed of coal ashes, and. 
where they were sheltered from the wind, in this place they soon 
established themselves. 

At the beginning of September, I had a few of the best repot- 
ted in rich earth and placed in the greenhouse, which soon came 
into bloom, and continued to flower for a long time. The remain- 
ing plants were plunged in a cold frame where they were protect- 
ed from the severity of the winter, and early in the following 
spring I cut off the the tops and side shoots, and struck them 
along with Petunias Heliotropes, &c. About the middle of May 
of this year, I turned them out into the open ground in order to 
have an entire bed in the flower garden; they soon began flower- 
ing, and continued a mass of bloom till autumn, making a very 
beautiful appearance. 

From these plants I continued to propagate during summer, 
and now have near four hundred plants to furnish the greenhouse 
with for the approaching months, and to have a supply to turn 
out into the open borders and beds the next spring. 

I prefer plants from cuttings to those raised from seed, because 
they begin to bloom very soon after planting out, whereas those 
from seed generally grow bushy and too much foliage, and seldom 
begin to bloom before late in summer, generally as far back as 
August, 

G. GELDERT. 


ARTICLE III. 


REMARKS UPON A NEWLY-IMPORTED HALF-HARDY SPECIES OF 
SALVIA, CALLED SALVIA PATENS. 


BY G. BENTHAM, ESQ. 


Tue richness and variety of colouring observable in the nume- 
yous species of Salvia, which adorn the mountains of South Ame- 
rica, and Mexico, have long been knewn to Botanists, but it has 
happened that few of them have hitherto found their way into our 
gardens. The S. splendens fulgens, Grahamii, and Mexicani oc- 
cupy, it is true, the place in our collections they so eminently de- 
serve, and some few others of considerable beauty, such as S. leu- 
cantha, leonuroides, angustifolia, &c. are occasionally to be met 


52 ON A NEWLY IMPORTED SALVIA, 


with in botanical gardens. It will, therefore, excite sone 
surprise, that this plant, growing plentifully in the same dis- 
tricts from whence we have received the S. fulgens, should 
never till now have been transmitted to this country ; and it will 
be readily believed that there are yet many which would amply 
reward the exertions of future collectors. We know, for instance, 
of aSalvia longiflora among the Peruvian mountains, with a co- 
rolla above five inches long; a S. speciosa in the same country, 
with long dense spikes ofa rich purple; a white-flowered S, leu- 
cocephala, said far to exceed the beauty of S. leucantha; and in 
the Mexican mining districts, the S. Regia Sessei, and pubescens, 
with their inflated scarlet calyxes, S. phoenicea, covered with a 
profusion of fiowers of the same colour, are stated to be fully 
equal to the S. fulgens in their general appearance ; and even in 
South Brazil it is probable that S. persicifolia, or some other allied 
to it, may fairly enter into competition with 8. splendens. 
Others are known to have orange or yellow flowers, of different 
shades. Indeed, out of nearly two hundred species of American 
Salvias, there seems reason to believe that three-fourths of them 
may be worthy of cultivation. 

We may hope, however, that in the S. patens, we have now 
secured one of the most desirable of the group, more especially as 
there seems reason to believe that it is not more tender than 8. 
fulgens, It is from the same mining districts of Guanaxuato, 
Real del Monte, Tlalpuxahua, &c. It was there first discovered 
by Nee, a Spanish botanist, who gave it the name of 8. grandi- 
fiora, but that name having been pre-occupied, Cavanilles pub- 
lished it from Nee’s dried specimens and coloured figure, under 
the name of S. patens. Humboldt and Bonpland again brought 
dried specimens to Europe; and Kunth not aware of Cavanilles 
figure, called it in his Nova Genera, S. spectabilis, for which he 
afterwards in his Synopsis, substituted Cavanilles name, since 
adopted by botanists. 

The Salvia patens is a perennial, growing to the height of two, 
three, or four feet, erect and hairy. The leaves are large, ovate, 
or deltoid, broadly hastate, or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, 
or the upper ones rounded, green and hairy on both sides. The 
flowers are disposed in long terminal racemes, usually branching 
into three at the base; along this raceme they are placed in op- 
posite pairs, each one at the axilla, of a small linear-lanceolate 
floral leaf. The ftower stalks are short, the calyx halfto three- 


ON PROPAGATING TREES. 53 


quarters of an inch long, hairy, green, and deeply divided into 
two lips—the upper one entire, the lower deeply two-cleft. The 
corolla, of arich blue, between two and three inches long, is re- 
markable for its broad gaping mouth, the upper lip being long, 
falcate, and erect, enclosing the stamens and pistil; the lower lip 
hanging with two lateral oblong reflexed lobes, and the middle 
one very broad and emarginate. 

The S. patens will probably thrive best under the same treat- 
ment as that which succeeds with S. fulgens, and like that plant 
it will be found to vary much in the size, the brilliancy, and the 
number of flowers, according to the temperature and light in 
which it is grown. Particular care should be taken not to weak- 
en the plant, or suffer it to become etiolated, in order that the 
raceme may not lengthen too much, and increase the distance be- 
tween the flowers. 

We owe this splendid addition to our gardens to the exertions 
of John Parkinson, Esq. her Majesty’s consul at Mexico, who 
transmitted seeds to this country early last year; and it was 
raised and first flowered in August last by Mr. W. B. Page, Nur- 
seryman Southampton. It has also been raised by Messrs. Low, 
Clapton, and Mr. Pontney, nurseryman at Plymouth. 

G. Benruam. 


ARTICLE IV. 


ON PROPAGATING TREES BY CUTTINGS IN SUMMER. 


BY T. A. KNIGHT, ESQ. F.R Ss. 


WHEN acutting of any deciduous tree is planted in autumn, 
winter, or spring, it contains within it a portion of the true, as it 
has been called, or vital sap of the tree of which it once formed 
apart. This fluid relatively to plants, is very closely analogous 
to the arterial blood in animals: and I shall therefore, to dis- 
tinguish it from the watery fluid, which rises abundantly through 
the alburnum, call it the arterial sap of the tree. Cuttings of 
some species of trees very freely emit roots and leaves, whilst 
others usually produce a few leaves only and then die; and others 
scarcely exhibit any signs of life; but no cutting ever possesses 
the power of regenerating, and adding to itself vitally, a single 
particle of matter, till it has acquired mature and eflicient foliage. 
A part of the arterial sap, previously in the cutting, assumes an 


54 ON PROPAGATING TREES. 


organic solid form; and the cutting, in consequence, necessarily 
becomes, to some extent, exhausted. 

Summer cuttings possess the advantage of having mature and 
efficient foliage, but such foliage is easily injured or destroyed, — 
and if it be not carefully and skilfully managed, it dies. These 
cuttings, such as I have usually seen employed, have some mature 
and efficient foliage, and other foliage which is young and grow- 
ing, and, consequently, two distinct processes are going on at the 
same time within them, which operate in opposition to each other. 
By the mature leaves, carbon, under the influence of light, is 
taken up from the surrounding atmosphere, and arterial sap is 
generated. The young and immature leaves, on the contrary, 
vitiate the air in which they grow by throwing off Carbon; and 
they expend, in adding to their own bulk that which ought to be 
expended in the creation of shoots. This circumstance respect- 
ing the different operations of immature and mature leaves, upon 
the surrounding air, presented itself to the early labourers in 
pnenmatic chemistry. Dr. Priestley noticed the discharge of 
Oxygen’gas, or dephligisticated air (as it was then called). from 
mature leaves. Scheele, making, as he supposed, a similar ex- 
periment upon the young leaves of germinating beans, found these 
to vitiate air in which they grew. These results were then sup- 
posed to be widely at variance with each other, but subsequent 
experience has proved both philosophers to have been equally 
correct. 

I possess many seedling young trees of the Ulmus campestris, 
or Suberosa, or Glabra, for the widely varying characters of my 
seedling trees, satisfy me, that these three supposed species are 
varieties only of a single species. One of these seedling plants 
presented a form of growth which induced me to wish to propa- 
gate from it. It shows a strong disposition to aspire to a very 
great height with a single straight stem, and with only very small 
Jateral branches, and to be therefore, calculated to afford sound 
timber of great length and bulk, which is peculiarly valuable, 
and difficult to be obtained, for the keels of large ships ; and the 
original tree is growing with very great rapidity ina poor soil 
and cold climate. 

The stem of this tree, near the ground, presented, in July, 
many very slender shoots, about three inches long. These were 
then pulled off and reduced to about an inch in length, with a 
single mature leaf upon the upper end of each, and the cuttings 


5 


qy 


“ON PROPAGATING TREES. 


were then planted or deeply in the soil. The cuttings were then 
covered with bell glasses in pots, and put upon the flue of a hot- 
house, and subjected to a temperature of about 80 degrees. 
Water was very abundantly given, but the under surfaces of the 
leaves were not wetted. These were in the slightest degree faded 
though they were fully exposed to the sun; and roots were emit- 
ted in about fifteen days. I subjected a few cuttings taken from 
the bearing branches of a mulberry tree, to the same mode of 
management, and with the same result ; and think it extremly pro- 
bable, that the different varieties of Camellia, and trees of almost 
every species, exclusive of the Fir tribe, might be propagated 
with perfect success and facility by the same means. 

Evergreen trees, of some species, possess the power of ripen- 
ing their fruit during winter. The common Ivy and the Loquat 
are well-known examples of this; and this circumstance, combin- 
ed with many others, led me tc infer that the leaves of such trees 
possess in a second year the same, or at least, nearly the 
same power as they possessed in the first. I therefore planted 
about amonth ago, some cuttings of the old double blossomed 
white and Warrantah Camellia, having reduced the wood to 
little more than half an inch in length, and cut it off obliquely, so 
as to present a long surface of it; and I reduced it further by par- 
ing it very thin and near to its lower extremities. The leaves 
continue to look perfectly fresh, andthe buds in more than one 
instance have produced shoots of more than an inch in length, 
and apparently possessing perfect health and much vigour. Water 
has been very abundantly given; because I conceived that the 
flow of the arterial sap from the leaf would be so great, compara- 
tively with the quantity of the bark and alburnum of the cuttings, 
as to preclude the possibility of the rotting of these. 

The cuttings above described, present in the organization, 
a considerable resemblance to scedline trees of different periods 
ofthe growth of the latter. The bud very closely resembles the 
plumule, and the leaf, the cotyledon, extended into a seed leaf; 
and the organ which has been, and is called a radicle, is cer- 
tainly a caudex, and not a root, Itis capable of being made to 
extend in some cases, to more than two hundred times its first 
length, between two articulations, a power which is not posses- 
sed in any degree by the roots of trees. Whether the caudex 
of the cuttings of Camellias above-mentioned, have-emitted, or 


56 A DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF CAMELLIAS. 


will, or will not, emit roots, Iam not yet prepared to decide, 


but I entertain very confident hopes of success. 
T. A. Knigur. 


ARTICLE V. 
A DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF CAMELLIAS. 


spy CAMELLI®. 
( Continued from Vol. VI. ) 
Pictorium coccinea, double bright red, large beautiful flower. 
Formosa, double light red, large and fine. 
Maria Dorothea, double white pink, spots or stripes. 
Amiable, double rose, white centre, beautiful form, extra fine. 
Delesii, double dark rose, large and good. 
Fimbriata rubra, double fringed, dark red, good form. 
Philidelphica, double deep rose, large and extra fine. 
Pulcherrima striata, double rose, large white spot or stripe. 
Jacksonii, double dark rose, blush centre, beautiful form, extra 
fine. 
Pelegrina, double white, dark blood red spot or stripe, fine. 
Anemonefiora sinensis, double striped warratah, from China. 
Spectabilis Maculata, double white with red spots, or striped. 
Fasciculata speciosa, double flesh colour, with white stripe, fine 
Superbissima grandissima, double dark red, extra large and fine. 
Belle Rosalie, semi double dark red. 
Celestina, double light rose, cupped petals, extra, fine form. 
Lineata, double buff or blush, small red spots. 
Variegata proecox, double light red, white stripes. 
Reticulata nove species, semi double light red, flowers from eight 
to ten inches across. 
Francofurtensis, double rose, changing to a pale pink, flowers 
nearly as large as Reticulata, 
Amanda, double, fine red, large and good, 
Cloweana, double red, white spots or stripes. 
Louise Philippe, double red, sweet scented, good. 
Cardinal, single red, fine thick petals, large flower. 
Frederic le Grand, double red, extra large, fine fiower. 


CaMELLIe. 
Jan. Ist, 1839, (Tobe continued.) 


ON SEEDLING GERANIUMS. 57 


ARTICLE VI. 
A LIST OF THE MOST SPLENDID SEEDLING GER\NIUMS. 


BY R. LONDON. 

1, Prima Donna, Foster’s, beautiful flower, with fine black spot 
edged with orange, white centre, fine form and free 
bloomer. 

2. Joan of Arc, Garth’s, like Perfection, very dark upper petals, 
excellent habit, free bloomer. 

3. Jewess, Foster’s, fine rosy pink flower, with upper petals en- 
tirely covered with black, extra fine. 

4. Una, a beautiful pure white flower. 

5. Queen Victoria, Eyre’s, bright purple, sweetly blended with 
crimson, and shaded like Cactus speciosissima,} fine dark 
spot, extra large, fine flower. 

6. Efulgens, Jarvis’s, upper petals dark carmine with dark spot, 
under petals crimson, the eye white blended with a pur- 
ple hue, good form and habit. 

_ 7. Gauntlet, Gains’s, very large rich orange scarlet, fine fiery 
red spot,’exquisite form, free bloomer. 

8. Calypso, Gains’s, beautiful large rose, fine dark spot, good 
form and habit. 

9. Phosphorus, Gains’s, very bright crimson purple, large fine 
spot, excellent form and habit. 

10. Lord Byron, Gains’s, beuatiful crimson, fine spot. 

11. Momus, Gains’s, dark crimson finely marked, very distinct 
flower, good form and habit. 

12, Unique, Gains’s, beautiful pink flower, fine large spot, fine 
form and habit. 

13, Morning Star, Gains’s, brilliant orange scarlet, very large fine 
flower. 

14, Midford Castle, Gains’s, pale rose flower with fine spot, good 
form. 

15. Duke of Wellington, Gains’s, deep rose, fine spot, a large 
and very showy flower, good form. 

16. Lady Dillon, Gains’s, very large showy blush flower, fine dark 
spot, good form. 

17, Zearah, Gains’s, colour of Perfection, very much pencilled, 

fine form, a superb flower. 


58 ON CULTIVATING CHLIDANTHUS FRAGRANS. 


18. Queen Victoria, Hodge’s, beautiful rose, fine spot, free bleom- 
er and excellent form. 

19, Purpurea perfecta, Hodge’s, rich purple, exquisite form, fine 
dark spot, clear and distinct, free bloomer. 

20. Lady Elizabeth Bulteel, Rendle’s, beautiful delicate pink, 
fine form, good spot, beautiful tinge of white about the 
centre, free bloomer. 

21. Bride of Abydos, Rendle’s, light pmk, good spot, excellent 
form, and a fine trusser above the foliage. 

22. Queen Victoria, Rendle’s, very light rose, large splashed 
Alicea spot, good form and habit. 

23. Hussey Vivyan, Rendle’s, fine light crimson, excellent spot, 
free and most showy bloomer. 

24, Sir Roberet Newman, Rendle’s, delicate pink, fine large spot 
very free bloomer, good habit. 

25. British Queen, Barratt’s, white ground, clear deep purple, 
feathered spot, form of Dennis’s Perfection. 

26, Queen Hebe, Barratt’s, light rose ground, mulberry spot, fine 
large compact flower. 


ARTICLE VII. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHLIDANTHUS FRAGRANS. 


BY THE REV. F. BELFIELD, F. H.S. 
Havine been very successful in flowering Chlidanthus fragrans 
this spring and that too under three different modes of treat- 
ment it has occurred to me that youmight like to be made acquain- 
ted with it. 

In December last my friend Mr. Nugent gave me for the purpose 
of trying experiments, nine middle sized roots, which for the two 
preceding years had been growing in the open ground protected 
only by a frame in winter. On receiving them, they were put 
into dry earth and placed in the hottest part of the stove and kept 
perfectly dry, till the latter end ofthe month of March, when three 
roots were potted, watered, and kept in the hothouse; of these, two 
very shortly shewed their blossom buds, but only one came to 
perfection and did not seed. 

Inthe end of April the six remaining roots were planted in 
front of the pine pit, and in the following month three of them 
flowered in the greatest perfection, but did not shew any dis- 


ON THE ROSE. 59 


position to form a seed pod. In the same border I have an- 
other bulb, which has been growing there two years, quite un- 
protected in winter. This in the month of June surprised me by 
notonly throwing up anoble flowering stem, far exceeding any 
of the others, but also by perfecting its seed pod, and that with- 
out any artificial impregnation. As this may be a novelty, I have 
much pleasure in sending it to you; possibly its produce may be 
even hardier than the parent bulb 

The border in which these plants have grown is particularly caleu- 
lated for the culture of tender bulbs. Brunsvigia Josephinee fiow- 
ered there last autumn, witha stem nearly as large as my wrist, 
and a head of thirty six flowers, seeding abundantly; Ismene cal- 
athina, Vallota purpurea and many others flower annually. He- 
manthus toxicarius flourishes there, but has not blossomed. 

F. Bexriep. 


ARTICLE VIII. 


REMARKS ON THE ROSE. 
(Continued from page 37.) 


Tue principal enemy of the rose is a species of fly, called the rose 
saw-fly, which pierces the tender flower-bud, and thrusts an egg 
into the puncture, which soon becomes a caterpillar, that nou- 
rishes itself by eating away the heart of the young flower and 
fruit, down to where it joins the stalk. It then loses its supply of 
nourishment, droops on one side and dies, whilst the insect spius 
itself a descending rope, by which it reaches the ground, and 
entombs its body in a silken shell, whilst its transformation takes 
place first into a chrysalis, and then a fly, which renews this work 
of devastation, 

There are several flies of this genus, that are equally injurious 
to the rose tree. These fties are furnished with a very remark- 
able instrument, in the shape of a saw, by which they make small 
holes in the bark of the young branches, where they deposit their 
numerous eggs, which on the succeeding summer are hatched by 
the warmth of the sun, and nourished by the ascending sap, until 
they assume the appearance of small green flies, in which state 
they issue from the bark in such numbers, as to cover the tender 


60 ON THE ROSE. 


shoots and leaves, on which they rest, to suck the nutrment of 
the plant. 

These flies may be known by a yellow body and a black head, 
with four wings edged with black. Another species of rose-fly 
has a head and breast of violet colour, with a body of yellow, and 
legs and wings of pale violet. It may be seen in a summei’s morn- 
ing, working on the branches of the rose tree, and from its slug- 
gish nature will suffer itself to be taken between the fingers. The 
branches where it has deposited its eggs are so vitiated by it, that 
they are easily discovered, as they generally swell toa greater 
size thanthe parts above or below, and they often become black 
on the under side: when examined witha glass, the eggs may be 
discovered. These branches should be carefully cut off; and 
when the plants are covered with these insects, it is desirable to 
to brush them off with a bunch of feathers or young elder bran- 
ches, as they fix themselves too fast to be washed off by water. 

Insects may be destroyed by placing a chafing dish with lighted 
charcoal under the bushes, and then throwing a little brimstone 
on the coals; but this must be done in small quantities, and care- 
fully, lest the sulphur injure the plants. 

The lady bird, so named, from the points or specks on its shell 
wings, haunts rose bushes to feed on the small insects commonly 
called blights. The brier and Scotch roses are frequently attacked 
by the Cynips rose, which, by puncturing the bark, occasions the 
production of those singular and beautiful flossy tufts, which are 
so frequently seenon wild roses. These rose galls contain seve- 
ral little cavities, in each of which is a smallmaggot. This sub- . 
stance was formerly used in medicine, under the name of Bede- 
guar. 

The rose is too important a flower to have been overlooked 
by Asculapius, who in old times used every part of this plant, 
from the root to the yellow anthers within the blossom, for some 
particular purpose in medicine, as may be seen in all the ancient 
medical authors. The kinds of roses principally used in modern 
practice, are the red and the damask. The latter is considered a 
safe and gentle purgative for children, when administered in in- 
fusion or by way of syrup. 

The red roses are astringent, and particularly so when taken 
before they are fully blown; conserves are made of both these 
kinds of roses. 

Ladies may make their own milk of roses, by simply adding 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 61 


one ounce of the oil of almonds toa pint of rose water, after 
which, ten drops of the oil of tartar is to be added. 

We shall conclude our history of the rose with the lines of the 
Ayrshire Ploughman. 


** Never may’st thou, lovely flower 
Chilly shrink in sleety show’r! 
Never Boreas’ hoary path, 

Never Eurus’s pois’nous breath, 
Never baleful stellar lights, 

Taint thee with untimely blights ! 
Never, never, reptile thief, 

Riot on thy virgin leaf! 

Nor even Sol, too fiercely view 

Thy bosom blushing still with dew! 


May’st thou long, sweet crimson gem, 
Richly deck thy native stem; 
Till some ev’ning, sober, calm, 
Dropping dews, and breathing balm, 
While all around the woodland rings, 
And ev'ry bird thy requiem sings ; 
‘thou, amid the dirgeful sound, 
Shed thy dying honours round, 
And resign to parent earth 
The loveliest form she e’er gave birth,” 


ARTICLE IX. 
ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


(Continued from page 40) 


He mentions one of them, that cost upwards of two hundred 
thousand pounds, exclusive of the furniture ; another, consisting 
of ahundred rooms: and says, that most of them are sufficiently 
capacious to lodge the greatest European lord, and his whole 
retinue. There is likewise, in the same garden, a fortified town 
with its port, streets, public squares, temples, shops, and tribunals 
of justice, in short, with every thing that is at Pekin, only upon a 
smaller scale. 

In this town the emperors of China, who are too mueh the 


62 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


slaves of their greatness to appear in public, and their women 
who are excluded from it by custom, are frequently diverted with 
the bustle of the capital; which is there represented several times 
in the year, by the eunuchs of the palace ; some of them per- 
sonating merchants, others artificers, officers, soldiers, shopkeep- 
ers, porters, andeven thieves and pickpockets. On the appoint- 
ed day each puts on the habit of his profession ; the ships arrive 
at the port, the shops are opened, the goods are offered for sale ; 
tea-houses, taverns, and inns, are ready for the reception of com- 
pany ; fruits and all kinds of refreshments are cried about the 
streets ; the shopkeepers teize the passengers to purchase their 
merchandize, and every liberty is permitted ; there isno distinc- 
tion between persons, even the emperor is confounded in the 
crowd ; quarrels happen— battles ensue—the watch seizes upon 
the combatants, they are conveyed before the judge, he examines 
the dispute and condemns the culprit, who is sometimes very 
severely bastinadoed, to divert his imperial majesty, and the ladies 
of his train. Neither are sharpers forgot in these festivals, the 
noble profession is allotted toa good number of the most dex- 
terous eunuchs, who, like the Spartan youths of old, are punished 
or applauded, according to the merit of their exploits. 

The plantations of their autumnal scenes consist of many sorts 
of oak, beech, and other deciduous trees that are retentive of the 
leaf, and afford in their decline a rich variegated colouring ; with 
which they blend some picturesque forms that art or nature can 
suggest. Ruildings, sculptures, aud paintings are added to give 
splendor and variety to these compositions ; and the rarest pro- 
ductions of the animal creation are collected to enliven them ; no- 
thing is forgot that can either exhilirate the mind, gratify the 
senses, or give a spur to the imagination. 

Their scenes of terror are composed of gloomy woods, deep 
vallies inaccessible to the sun, impending barren rocks, dark ca- 
verns, and impetuous cataracts rushing down the mountains from 
all parts. ‘The trees are ill formed, forced out of their natural 
directions, and seemingly torn to pieces by the violence of temp- 
ests; some are thrown down, and intercept the course of the tor- 
rents; others look as if blasted and shattered by the powers of 
lightening: the buildings are in ruins; or half consumed by fire, 
or swept away by the fury of the waters ; nothing remaining entire 
but a few miserable huts dispersed in the mountains; which serve 
at once to indicate the existence and wretchedness of the inhabi- 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 63 


tants. Bats, owls, vultures, and every bird of prey flutter in the 
groves ; wolves, tigers and jackalls howl in the forests; half-fa- 
mished animals wander upon the plains; gibbets, crosses, wheels, 
and the whole apparatus of torture, are seen from the roads; and 
in the most dismal recesses of the woods, where the ways are 
rugged and overgrown with poisonous weeds, and where every 
object bears the marks of depopulation, are temples dedicated 
tothe king of vengeance, deep caverns in the rocks, and de- 
scents to gloomy subterraneous, habitations, overgrown with 
brushwood and brambles; near which are inscribed, on pillars 
of stone, pathetic descriptions of tragical events, and many hor- 
rid acts of cruelty, perpetrated there by outlaws and robbers of 
former times; and to add both to the horror and sublimity of these 
scenes, they sometimes conceal in cavities, on the summits of 
the highest mountains, founderies, limekilns. and glass-works, 
which send forth large volumes of flame, and continued clouds 
of thick smoke, that give to these mountains the appearance of 
volcanoes. 

Their surprizing or supernatural scenes are of the romantic 
kind, and abound in the marvellous, being calculated to excite 
in the mind of the spectator, quick successions of opposite and 
violent sensations. Sometimes the passenger is hurried by steep 
descending paths to subterraneous vaults, divided into stately 
apartments, where lamps which yield a faint and glimmering light 
discover the paie images of ancient kings and heroes, reclining 
on beds of state; their heads are crowned with garlands of stars, 
and in their eee are tablets of moral sentences ; flutes, and soft 
harmonious organs, impelled by subterraneous waters, interrupt 
at stated intervals, the silence of the place, and fill the air with 
solemn sacred melody. 

Sometimes the traveller, after having wandered in the dusk of 
the forest, finds himself on the edge of precipices in the glare of 
day-light, with cataracts falling from the mountains around, and 
torrents raging in the depths beneath him; or at the foot of im- 
pending rocks, in gloomy vallies overhung with woods; or on the 
banks of dull moving rivers, whose shores are covered with sepul- 
ehral monuments, under the shade of willow, laurel, and other 
plants sacred to Manchew, the genius of sorrow. 

His way now lies through dark passages cut in the rocks, on the 
sides of which are recesses, filled with colossal figures of cates 
infernal furies, and other horrid forms, which hold in their mon- 


64 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


strous talons, mysterious, cabalistical sentences, inscribed on 
tables of brass, with preparations that yield a constant flame, 
serving at once to astonish and guide the passenger ; from time to 
time he is surprized with repeated shocks of electral impulse, 
with showers of artificial rain, or sudden violent gusts of wind, 
and instantaneous explosions of fire: the earth trembles under 
him by the power ofconfined air, and his ear is continually struck 
with many different sounds, produced by the same means, some 
resembling the cries! of men in torment, ; some the roaring of 
bulls and the cries of ferocious animals, with the yell of hounds, 
and the voices of hunters; others are like the mixed croaking of 
ravenous birds, and others imitate thunder, the raging of the sea, 
the explosion of cannon, the sound of trumpets, and all the noise 
of war. 

His road then lies through lofty woods, where serpents and 
lizards of many beautiful sorts crawl upon the ground, and where 
innumerable apes, cats and parrots, clamber upon the trees, to 
intimidate him as he passes ; or through flowery thickets, where 
he is delighted with the singing of birds, the harmony of ftutes 
and soft instrumental music; sometimes in this romantic excur- 
sion, the passenger finds himself in spacious recesses, surrounded 
with arbors of jessamine, vine and roses, or in splendid pavilions, 
richly painted and illuminated by the sun; here beauteous Tar- 
tarean damsels, in loose transparent robes, that flutter in the 
scented air, present him rich wines, or invigorating infusions 
of Ginseng, and amber, in goblets of agate; mangostans, ananas, 
and fruits of Quangsi, in baskets, of golden filagree; they crown 
him with garlands of flowers, and invite him to taste the sweets of 
retirement, on Persian carpets, and beds of camusathskin down. 

These enchanted scenes always abound with water-works so 
contrived as to produce many surprising effects ; and many splen- 
did pieces of scenery ; amongst which their Kia-king, or water 
palaces, are the most extraordinary ; they consist of many colo- 
nades, arcades, galleries, and open cabinets, formed of smooth 
sheets and jets of fair water, artfully rising or falling over grounds 
of different coloured glass, or over innumerahle lamps, which 
varying the tints of the liquid, give to the structures the appear- 
ance and lustre of diamond, sapphire, emerald, ruby, amethist 


and topaz. 
(To be continued.) 


or] 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 6. 


PART Ii. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


3. ERICA TRICOLOR, v. SUPERBA. Superb Three coloured Heath. 
(Pax. Mag. 
ERICACEZ. OCTANDRIA4, MONOGYNIA. 


A good edition to this most charming and interesting genera; it was raised 
from seed supposed to have been saved from E Tricolor, by Messrs. Rol- 
iinson’s of Tooting ; it bears a striking similitude to E Tricolor, v. Major, but 
differs by the tube of the flower being longer and larger, and presents a 
considerably more showy appearance, 


2. MAXILLARIA TENUIFOLIA.  S lender leaved Maxillaria. 
(Bot Reg. 8. 
@RCHIDACEZ, GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA, 


Introduced from Mexico by Mr. Hartweg, a collector of the London Hor- 
ticultural Society, who found it growing upon trees in the neighbourhood of 
Vera Cruz. Itis very probable, as it has not been produced in collections 
from the interior of the country, that it is entirely local. 

It isa very pretty species with yellow, green, and scarlet spotted blos- 
soms; it is of easy culture, and as Dr. Lindley observes, “succeeds in a 
warm damp stove in a pot, with a block of wood thrust into the soil, and 
the long branching Rhizama tied to it; it grows almost equally well when 
tied to a wooden block, and suspended from the rafters of the stove ; it bears 
without injury a quantity of water at its roots, and must also be freely syringed 
over head. It is easily multiplied as it throws out numerous pseudo-bulbs 
and roots, which if taken carefully off will soon become vigorous growing 
plants.” 


3. SOPHRONITIS GRANDIFLORA. Large flowered Sophronitis. 
(Bot. Mag. 3709. 
ORCHIDACE®. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA. 


Discovered growing at a considerable elevation on the Organ mountains, 
by Mr. Gardener, who sent it home in 1837. It is a handsome variety pro- 
ducing large flowers of an uniform red colour, inclining to orange, with 
darker red streaks. We have no doubt but it would succeed well with 
similar treatment to that afforded Cattlevas, &c. 


'4, STATICE ARBOREA. Tree Statice. 
PLUMBAGINACE®. PENTANDRIA, PENTAGYNTA. 


Introduced by P. B. Webb, Esqr., it is one of the most local and rare of 
all known plants. It is only on a few rocks called the Islets of Burgado, 
which seem as if broken off from the coast of Teneriffe by some violent con- 
vulsions of nature, carrying with them on their summits a little earth, that 
this rare plant is fonnd, surrounded on every side by the ocean, and only a 
few yards removed from its surface. 

It is highly ornamental, producing large clusters of flowers of a light blue 
colour, it is best adapted for planting out in the bed of the conservatory, and 
grows well in a mixture of heat and loam; it flowers from April to June. 
Plants may be obtained at most of the principal Nurseries, 


Vo, VII., No. 73. F 


66 NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


5. PHILIBERTIA GRANDIFLORA. Large flowered Philibertia. 
(Pax. Mag. 
ASCLEPIADACE®. PENTANDRIA, DIGYNIA. 


A very pretty and interesting climbing shrub, of which we possess a 
drawing made during autumn, and it is our intention shortly to figure it in 
the ‘ Cabinet,’ when we shall make further observations upon it. 


6. STANHOPEA TIGRINA. Tiger flowered Stanhopea. 
(Bot. Reg. No. 1, 1839. 


ORCHIDACEZ. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA. 


This truly beautiful species of Stanhopea was originally received from the 
neighbourhood of Xalapa, by Messrs. Low & Co., of the Clapton Nursery ; 
and it is now we believe cultivated in several collections. This most singu- 
lar novelty whichis displayed in the formation of flowers by the various 
tribes of plants, none possess that remarkableness in so striking a degree 
as the tribe under consideration; and our present species not only possess 
eminent singularity, but it is beautiful in its colour, and so strikingly blotch- 
ed and. spotted, together with its delightful fragrance as at once to become 
a subject of peculiar attention. We doubt not but it will soon be in the 
hands of many growers, as Stanhopeas are generally Juxuriant in growth. 
The treatment required for this plant is similar to the other species, that is, 
sandy peat, with plenty of drainage, and small pieccs of decayed wood, ob- 
serving to raise the plant considerably above the level of the rim of the pot, 
otherwise the flowers would in ail probability be confined within the pot 
as the flower stalks shoot downwards. Care must also be taken to allow the 
plant a proper season of rest when done growing, which will be a means of 
considerable acceleration to its vigour, during the forthcoming season, 


Erratum. To the kindness of a correspondent we are indebted for the 
correction to our notice of Hovea Manglesii, and Elichrysum macranthum, 
December No. Vol. V[. We understand that these flowering plants had 
been introduced into this country by Robert Mangles, Sunning Hill, Berks, 
but our correspondent informs us, that the merit of introducing them, as well 
asa considerable number of the most showy of recent introduced plants, 
belong to Captain Mangles, R. N. ‘hat gentleman has been assiduously 
engaged for the last eight years, in introducing seeds from that most inter- 
esting portion of the globe, the Swan river colony. To accomplish so de- 
sirable an object, Captain Mangles went expressly on purpose, to see the 
Flora of that country, and resided there for some time. 

To contribute to the pleasures of those interested in beautiful flowering 
plants, in this country, Captain Mangles has expended a very considerable 
sum of money; and equally so in procuring and sending out presents of 
plants, books, Maps, &c. from this country, to Botanists resident at the 
Swan River colony, Ceylon, South Australia, Valparaiso, and other places, 
with a view to stimulate them to collect and send seeds, &c. to this country. 

Immediately on receiving packets of seeds, with a liberality which entitles 
Captain Mangles to the thanks of every botanist in this country, they are 
distributed gratuitously to the principal nurserymen, and other plant esta- 
blishments belonging to the Nobility and Gentry. We wish those persons 
having connexions in the distant portions of the globe would imitate the very 
laudable zeal of Captain Mangles, introducing seeds or plants, and which 
in many instances might be procured at but asmall expence, we should soon 
have plants in our collections of many splendid flowers, of which we have 
only had descriptions, or a specimen sent us.—Conductor. 


ANEiMopsis CaLtFornica. We saw this plant at the Epsom Nursery, 
producing its pretty blue flowers of a Ranunculus form, ‘The plant is a 
dwarf grower, but flowers freely. 


OO 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 67 


PART III. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


A List AND Prices oF THE Best Kinps oF PoLyanrHuses.—Will the 
Editor, or some reader of the ‘‘ Floricultural Cabinet,” be kind enough to 
give me a list of the names of the best prize Polyarthuses, also where they 
are most likely to be obtained, and at what probable price. 

An AMATEUR, AND ConsTAanr READER OF THE CABINET. 

London, Jan , 7th, 1839. 


On Waterinae Prants, &c. wits Water From MetAr or Cast Tron 
Pires.—Having a greenhouse as well as two houses for the cultivation of 
Grapes, Pines, &c., and which are heated with hot water; I should feel 
obliged if you, or any of your numerous correspondents would answer the 
following question. (Perhaps Mr. Thompson who has wrote a few such 
valuable pages in the “ Cabinet,” and wiso, 1 believe has published a Treatise 
on the Hot Water system, would do me the favour; or any one who under- 
stands a little of chemistry. 

The supply of water for the use of these houses is obliged to be drawn 
from the hot water pipes, and | have more than once attempted to hold an 
argument with my employer on the bad effects which will be produced from 
such practice, and have urged the necessity of a proper cistern to supply the 
plants, Grape Vines, &c., but yet have not been successtul, as he believes 
water from the pipes to be full as beneficial to vegetation as any other. My 
opinion is, that water after being boiled, must have lost the greater portion 
of its nutritive properties, in addition to rusting all bunches of Grapes that 
may be syringed by such water; however when the question is answesed, I 
shall feel more satisfied, and then let the matter rest. 

Hamburg, Nov., 27th, 1838. 


On Vieusseuxta Pavonica.—Our old and respected correspondent “ Bur- 
riensis,’’ whose letter we published in our Number for April, complains that 
no answer has been given to his enquires respecting the above bulb, and he 
will feel much obliged by being informed where it can be procured; it is 
evidently different from the V. Glaucopis, of which he has many bulbs, which 
flower every year. 


Arron’s Epitome of the ‘ Hortus Kewensis,’ is by mistake called Reivensis 
in the above letter of Burriensis. 


Loupon’s ‘ Hortus Britanicus,’ page 20, Vieusseuxia. 
No. 1358, V. Pavonica, Mora Pavonia, Iris Pavonia, Peacock. Intro- 
duced in 1790 ; coloured in Bot. Mag., table 1247. 
No. 1361. V.Glaucopis, Iris Pavonia, Grey eyed. Introduced in 1776; 
coloured in Bot. Mag., table 168. 


Sweer’s ‘ Hortus Britanicus,’ page 498, Vieusseuxia. 
No. 2. V. Pavonia, Peacock, Morea Pavonia, Iris Payonia, Introduced in 
1790; coloured in Bot. Mag., table 1247. 
No. 5. V. Glaucopis, White flowered. Introduced in 1776; coloured in 
Bot. Mag , table 168. 


The colours of the first are stated to be orange, snd aie Unto Con 


The colours of the second are stated to be white and ; 
Tis’s Bot. Mag. 


blue 


68 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


Arron’s Epitome of ‘ Hortus Kewensis,’ edition of 1814, page 16, Morea. 
Pavonia, Peacock. Bot. Mag., table 1247; introduced in 1790. 

1 can find nething in Arron answering to V. Glaucopis, under any name, 
either in the body of the book, the addenda, or index synonym. 


‘Hortus Cantabrigiensis, tenth edition, by Linpiey. 1823, page 21, 
Morea. 
No. 11. M. Pavonia, Peacock. Bot. Mag. 1247; introduced in 1790. 
I cannot find anything answering to V. Glaucopis. 


Sweet's ‘ Hortus Suberbanus Londinensis’” 1818, page 11, Morza. 

No. 4. M. Pavonia, Peacock. Introduced in 1790 ; Bot. Mag. 1247. 

Nothing answering to V. Giaucopis ; but, from the ‘ Hortus Britanicus,’ of 
Swreer & Loupon. it is clear that they are different bulbs, introduced at 
different periods, diiferently coloured in the Bot. Mag., table 1247, and table 
168; and yet | cannot for love or money procure the V. Pavonica, nor have 
any information respecting it. The London Seedsmen or Nurserymen know 
no distinction, and still in their catalogues retaining the old name and not 
Vieusseuvia 1 cannot find the word Iris Pavonia in any catalogue, but that 
in Cusninc’s ‘ Exotic Gardener,’ page 21}, the third line from the bottom of 
the second column. (Printed 1814.) 

I have no other catalogue to which I can refer, but it is very singular that 
it is (the Glaucopis) not mentioned in Arron, Donn. & Sweet's ‘ Horticul- 
tural Suburbanus.’ 


REMARKS. 


On Conveyrnc Grarrs or Trees. Professor Jussone has ascertained 
that the best mode of conveying grafts of trees, cuttings of vines, &c., is to 
place them in a tin case or cylinder filled with boney ; the honey hermetic- 
ally excludes the air, and cuttings so preserved, will vegetate many months 
after they have been packed. (See Conyersations on Nature and Art, by a 
Lady, Vol. i. p. 60.] 


On tHE Scorcu anv Larcu Firs. The late Duke of Atholl ascertained 
that whilst the Scotch Fir only thrives at an elevation below nine hundred 
feet in the north of Scotland, the Larch ascends to one thousand six hun- 
dred feet, and may ascend still higher. At Leach Hills in Lanarkshire 
Scotch Firs will not grow, and all other trees are stunted, excepting Larches, 
which thrive luxuriantly where protected. The heaths in Scotland when they 
are not cultivated, may be adorned with wood ; and almost all the hills in 
England may have Larches growing on their summits. Instead of importing 
timber from other countries, we may then have more than we require; 
and thus obtain new resources from being the exporting nation. 
[Compressed from an Article in the ‘Saturday Magazine,’ Dec. 15th, 1838, 

quuted from the ‘Magazine of Popular Science.’] 


On RanuncuLuses. We would take the opportunity here of drawing 
attention to Tyso and Son’s advertisement, of Ranunculuses. It is not, of 
course, the case that all situations are favourable for the successful cultiva- 
tion of this splendid flower; those, however, who possess arich dry and 
rather sandy soil, and are in any way concerned in the production of showy 
flowers, will not be disappointed in the return usually made by a we!l grown 
beds of Ranunculuses, when in full bloom. 

Mr. Tyso has also favoured us with his sheet catalogue, containing 
descriptive lists of Ranunculuses, named sorts, and seedling Tulips, Gera- 
niums, Carnations, Picotees, Pinks, Dahlias and Panzies. This is the best 
arranged, the most comprehensive, and explicit sheet catalogue we have 


seen. It contains a table of abbreviations, by which the colours are minutely 
and clearly described. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 69 


THE GARDENS 
OF THE 


ROYAL BOTANIC SOCILTY OF LONDON, 
INNER CIRCLE, REGENT'S PARK. 
(Continued from page 46.) 


Mr. D, R. Hay, of Edinburgh, an able writer on the subject, gives testi- 
mony to the following effect —‘‘ The vegetable kingdom presents the best 
examples for study, and a taste for ornamental design is not only to be 
acquired from the rare productions of the botanic garden, but both grace 
and elegance of form are to be found in the common dock, the thistle, the 
fern, or even in astalk of barley. When students come to examine the 
ornamental remains of Athens and Rome, they will find themselves familiar 
with the source from which such designs were derived, for the ancients un- 
doubtedly owed their excellence in ornamental art to the study of nature. 
Dr. Ure attributes the excellence of the French to the pursuit of art through 
the medium of nature.” 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently expressed himself in the House 
of Commons to the following effect:—‘‘He thought it a disgrace to this 
country, possessing as it did so many colonies, and such vast means of 
collecting botanical specimens from all parts of the earth, that it should be 
without an extensive botanical garden, for the benefit of medical students 
and other scientific persons.” 

While the importance of botanical study is such in the lower walks of 
art, it is not of less necessity in its higher and more unequivocal branches. 
The delineation of the flower has in all countries afforded many fine paint- 
ings, a branch in which ladies have been particularly successful, and in 
which it was the pride of Rubens to excel equally as in the other depart- 
ments of art. In all that relates to decoration, however, its application is of 
primary importance. Foliage is the basis of the arabesques of Pompei, 
and those of Giulmio Romano; and while an increasing inclination is exhi- 
bited for these styles among the patrons of art, the only true source of 
their power should not be neglected. The details of architecture have, 
even in the severest nations, derived their origin from this source, and the 
palm leaf of the Temple, and the lotus of Egypt, were not less favourite 
with their respective admirers than the variegated foliaged ornamants of the 
Greeks. These latter, in the acanthus and the honeysuckle, found a 
harmony and beauty which they made productive of the greatest effect, 
while the Gothic architects, in the profusion of their architectural enrich- 
ments, displayed even greater variety and research. 

Although we who are the most important commercial nation of the world, 
have been thus negligent in our metropolis, foreign nations, to whom 
botany is of far less pecuniary interest, have not been unmindful of en- 
couraging its study. Whether for medical purposes, or for those purely 
scientific, or on a more extended scale, there is scarcely a town in Europe 
without its botanic garden, and the extent of these establishments, and the 
efficiency of some of them, is enough to cast shame on the negligence we 
have hitherto displayed. The garden at Padua appears to have been the 
first established in Europe, and was founded in the early part of the six- 
teenth century, and shortly after others were formed at Pisa, Florence, and 
Bologna. ~ Since that period the progress has heen such, that there is hardly 
a city in Italy without its botanic garden, although considerable difliculty 
is felt there on account of the necessity of supplying water by irrigation. 
The Dutch early cultivated this department, and from the garden of Am- 
sterdam supplied the coffee plant from which all those in the French colonies 
have been propagated. In France, the first establishment of this kind was 
formed at Montpelier in 1597; but, by far the best known, and the most 
important in Europe, is that of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, founded in 


70 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


1610. This institution merits particular notice, especially as it is a central 
one, and has long enjoyed the benefit of a regular administration. Its 
objects are twofold: first, to collect useful and remarkable plants from every 
part of the world, and to distribute them as far as practicable, to every 
part of France, and to other countries; and secondly, to form a school of 
botany and vegetable culture. Plants are brought to the garden from all 
countries by a universal correspondence ; by particular naturalists, sent out 
at the expense of the nation; and by the general protection of the govern- 
ment, which allows entrance, free of duty, and general carriage, free of 
expense, to all plants brought for the use of the garden, by whatever kind 
of vessel. Plants received in Paris are propagated without loss of time, 
and distributed to all the botanic gardens in France, and to such of the 
colonies where they may be useful; and, lastly, they are sent to foreign 
correspondents in return for similar favours. The provincial botanic gar- 
dens, of which there is one at least in every department, distribute them 
again among the eminent proprietors and cultivators in their neighbourhood. 
Instruction is given by lectures, to which the public are admitted, and by 
practical demonstrations. In Germany, botanic gardens are attached to 
every university, and in Austria the science has met with the greatest en- 
couragement trom the enlightened munificence of the sovereigns, who have 
neglected no opportunity of sending exploratory expeditions to collect plants. 
The garden at Berlin is esteemed the first in Germany. Those at Munich 
displays equal taste with the other foundations of the king of Bavaria. In 
Saxony and Wirtemberg are admired gardens; and this latter country pos- 
sesses a private society of subscribers, of £1 each, for sending out travellers 
to collect plants in every part of Europe. In Switzerland there is a botanic 
garden in every canton. In Sweden, the establishment at Upsal is celebrated 
as having been under the direction of Linnzus. In Russia, the botanic 
garden of St Petersburgh, containing sixty acres, is one of the largest in 
Europe, and is maintained with a munifinence worthy of the scientific 
patronage of that empire. A considerable part of it is devoted to the cul- 
tivation of medicinal plants for the hospitals; and it is a central establish- 
ment for the use of the empire. In Spain, among others, is that of Madrid, 
containing forty-two acres, which, like the great garden of St. Petersburgh, 
cultivates medicinal plants. There are numerous other gardens in different 
parts of the world, as will be seen by reference to the statistical table an- 
nexed, 


(TO BE CONTINUED.) 


ee ee 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


Cnorozema Duxsont. Named in compliment to the respectable nursery- 
men Messrs. Dickinson’s of Edinburgh. It is stated by those gentlemen to 
be the finest species yet introduced, we saw it in several of the London nur- 
series, but not in bloom. The plant is of a bushy habit, foliage small and 
fringed; it is a very pretty plant when not in bloom, but as all the other 
species are handsome, we doubt not but this will be found deserving a place 
in every greenhouse. 


Puysotosium Exarum. A beautiful flowering greenhouse plant, very 
much resembling Kennedia coccinea; it has been received from South Aus- 
tralia, and will prove an interesting addition to that lovely tribe of of plants 
to which it is so closely allied. We saw it at the Tuoting Nursery. 


Oxyxogium Capirarum. A very fine species recently introduced, pro- 
ducing fine heads of yellow and crimson flowers, rendering it a very 
desirable plant for the greenhouse, It is grown at the Tooting Nursery. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 71 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR MARCH. 


ee eae now be planted as early in the month as can be 
one. 


AMARYLLIs’s—and other liliaceous bulbous plants which have been kept 
dormant may now be re-potted, and put into an increased temperature. 


Awnvats, Harpy,—if the soil be moderately dry, some of the most hardy 
kinds to bloom early in the summer, may be sown in warm parts of the 
country, or situations well protected, early in the month, but in cold places 
not until the end of the month ; for if the seeds of many sorts have began to 
vegetate, and frost operate upon them, they are often destroyed. The best 
method of sowing the small seeds in patches is, to have a quantity of finely 
sifted soil; spread a portion where desired, after scattering the seeds, 
sprinkle a little more soil over them, and then prees it closely upon the seeds 
which will assist them in vegetating properly. 


ANNUALS, TENDER—Such as have been sown and may be up, should have 
all possible air given to prevent their being drawn up weakly. In watering 
those in pots they must not be watered over the tops, or many of the sorts 
will be rotted by it. The best method is to flood over the surface of each 
pot, always using water that is new milk warm. Those annuals sown in 
frames must be watered (when requisite) with a very fine syringe, or pan 
rose to sprinkle with; but the best plan is to take advantage of gentle 
rains. For any seeds yet requiring to be sown use fine soil pressed to 
the seeds, and when convenient, place the pots (if used) in moist heat till 


the plants are up. 


Auricutas—those requiring top dressing should be done immediately, 
by taking off about two inches deep of the top soil, replacing it with some 
very rich, more than one half of it should be rotten cow dung two years old, 
and the rest loam and sand. Immediately after this dressing, let the soil 
be well settled by a free watering. By the end of the month the unexpanded 
blossoms will be nearly full grown; no water must be allowed to fall upon 
them, or the blossoms would be liable to suffer injury by it. All possible 
air may be admitted to the plants during the day, only screen from cutting 
frosty winds, 


CarwaTions—at the end of the month, the last year’s layers kept in pots 
or beds during winter, should be planted off into large pots 12 inches wide 
at the top, 6 at the bottom, and 10 deep. In each pot three plants may be 
placed triangularly, not planting deeper than to fix them securely. The fol- 
lowing compost is most suitable. Two barrows full of fresh yellow loam, 
three of well rotted horse-dung, and half a barrow full of river sand, well 
mixed ; plant in it without sifting, but breaking very well with the spade, 
place the plants in a sheltered situation ont of doors. 


Creerers—and twining greenhouse or hardy plants, should be pruned 
and regulated before they begin to grow. 


Catceotarta Seep—should be sown early in the month, having the finest 
sifted soil for the surface. 


Cameitas—those kinds done blooming should be immediately potted, 
for if allowed to push the least before this is done, the operation frequently 
kills the tender shoots. In potting, &c, never cut the matted roots, but 
shake the soil off, and replace with what new soil may be required If the 
balls are not matted with roots, just loosen the outer fibres with the hand, 
which will induce them sooner to push into the soil. A very free drainage 
is required, or the plants will never flourish. The following is very good 
compost for growing them in:—One barrow full of rich loam, half a ditto of 


72 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


peat, half a ditto of very rotten dung, or rotten vegetable mould, and oné 
third ditto of Calais, or other fine sand. Never use sifted soil, but well 
broken. As soon as the plants are potted, place them in a temperature of 
about 68 degrees of heat by day, and 60 by night. This will cause them to 
push more vigourously, and more certain to induce flower buds, 


Dantias—if not already put into excitement, should be done as early as 
possible. Seeds should also be sown, placing them in a hot bed frame till 


up. 
Gesnerta, GroxintA—and Trorcorwum bulbs, that have been kept dry 
during winter, should now be potted, and be gently brought forward, 


Hyprances—cuttings may now be taken off, cutting off the tops of any 
shoots that have very plump leading bulbs, about one inch below the bud of 
each cutting. These inserted, each into a small pot, and placed in moist 
heat. will soon strike root, and will, with future proper treatment, bloom one 
fine head each, strikingly beautiful. 


PELARGONIUMS—cuttings now put in, struck in a hot bed frame, and 
potted off as soon as they have taken root, will bloom during autumn, 


PoLyantHuses—should now be top dressed, as directed for Auriculas, 
only the soil need not be sorich. Seed may now be sown; the best method 
is to raise it in heat, harden gradually, and transplant when large enough. 


Ranuncutuses—should now be planted, taking care no fresh applied 
dung is in the soil, nor should the ground to plant in be lightened up more 
than two inches deep. The soil of the bed should be hal! a yard deep at 
the least. The best roots for flowering are such as have the crowns high and 
firm, with regular placed claws. 


Rose Trees —not yet pruned, if allowed to remain untouched till the new 
shoots of the present coming season be about an inch long, and be then short- 
ened by cutting back all the old wood to below where the new shoots had 
pushed, the dormant buds will then be excited, and roses will be produced 
some weeks later than if pruned at a much earlier season, Plants in pots 
now put into heat, will come into bloom in May. 


Tuseroses—should be planted, one root in a small pot, using very rich 
sandy soil; the pots should be placed in moist heat till the plants are up 
a few inches, then they may be planted into larger pots, and taken into a 
stove, and finally into a greenhouse. 


TuLips—at this season such as happened to be affected by canker will 
appear sickly, the roots should be examined, and the derikted, part be cut 
clean out. If left exposed to sun and air, the parts will soon dry and heal. 
Avoid frosty air getting to the wound by exposure. 

2s 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


CurLopia ScuTELLAROIDES. A greenhouse plant, which, when in fall 
bloom is very interesting and showy; the plant is a most profuse bloomer, 
and continues to flower for a considerable time. We saw it at the Epsom 
Nursery during the last summer. 


Oncip1um Forrest, Mr. Forbes’s, This very splendid stove orchideous 
plant bloomed at Woburn Gardens during the past summer, and a friend of 
ours states, that when he saw it, it was the most striking of the tribe he ever 
saw. It was discovered on the Organ Mountains, in i887. We are glad 
that it has been named in compliment to the very talented and excellent 
gardener at Woburn Abbey, (Mr. Forbes,) under whose skilful management, 
the gardens and grounds have attained a high degree of perfection, 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


APRIL, 1st, 1839. 


PART |, 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ARTICLE I. 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA, 


BY A CONSTANT READER, 


Tur Dahlia is allowed to be one of the most splendid plants that 
we know of, and is justly prized by every denomination of per- 
sons, whether theyrank in the higher classes of society, or to 
those of more humble pretensions, whether as it regards the bril- 
lianey and variety of colour in the flowers, the duration of time it 
remains in bloom, and its fine appearance, it certainly stands in 
each particular unrivalled, and merits a situation in every gar- 
den, and it is an additional recommendation, that it is both easily 
cultivated and propagated. 

The best mode of treatment practised with the Dahlia has been 
requested through the medium of publications ; and although Iam 
not so conceited as to think the method I practice is the best, 
yet having been so successful as to flower the plants'to the satis~ 
faction of hundreds of persons who have seen them, I venture 
to give a brief and plain detail of my practice ; in doing which, 
I shall state the mode I have adopted in raising a number of hand- 
some seedlings, as well as the subsequent culture. 

New varieties are raised from seed, and witha view to raise the 
best kinds, artificial impregnation is required, With a small 

Vou, VII, No, 74, K 


74 ON THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA. 


pointed camel’s hair pencil, I take the farina from one flower to 
another. If I have a handsome compact flower that I wish to 
improve in colour or size, [have recourse for farina from one of 
the colour or form I desire ; as itis very nearly to be calculated 
what a mixture of any two sorts will produce. The flower 1 in- 
tend to impregnate upon, I cover with a fine gauze bag, a day 
or two before the florets expand. When the first and second tier 
of florets are fully opened, I then impregnate them, and retain the 
gauze-bag over them for a weck longer, and I then mark the flower 
which I have operatedupon. In collecting the seed in autumn, 
I only gather the two tiers; the seeds from the outside tiers are 
always the finest, and ripen the best. The use of the bag is to 
prevent impregnation from bees. When any flower is semi- 
double, I uniformly take them away ; so that I neither take farina 
from them, or save them for seed. 

The seed is sown about the first of February, and placed in a 
hot-bed frame; when sufficiently strong for transplanting, the 
plants are removed into small pots, one in each pot, and kept in 
a green house or cool frame. At the end of May, they are turned 
out entire, into a deep and rich soil. They then flower freely 
by the end of July, and being forwarded as stated, the roots be- 
come perfected by the autumn, so as to keep plump through 
the winter. 

The method I pursue with old roots, is to place them upon a 
moderate hot-bed, or ina mushroom-house, that has a little heat. 
I just cover the roots withsome fine sifted rotten tanners bark, in 
this way they speedily push roots. I usually do this in the first 
week in February, which I consider quite early enough, as my 
plants get to two or three feet high, by the period of planting in 
the open border. I have known some persons push the roots 
as early as the beginning of January, but in consequence of those 
being deprived of sufficient air, which is dangerous at this season 
to be given, they were generally drawn up weakly, and seldom 
bloom well. 

When the roots have pushed shoots about four or six inches, 
I take them’ out of the bark; such roots as can be divided, now 
most readily do so. Ifany of the roots push more shoots than 
one, and I wish to increase the sort, I cut off each shoot close to the 
old root: these I insert in pots, filled with fine light sandy soil, 
placing them round the sides of the pots, and putting them into a 
hot-bed frame, or if it is more convenient, I set them off upon a 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA, 75 


hot-bed covered with four inches of suitable soil; in either case 
they will strike root in six or eight days. In cutting off the shoots 
close to the old roots, I find they strike much more freely than if 
cut crossways under a joint, in the upper part of the shoot, al- 
though there is a possibility of their striking under that mode of 
treatment. 

When the cuttings have pushed roots, I pot each into a sepa- 
rate pot, and the soil I use for potting my Dahlias in, is a light 
rich one. When the Dahlias are potted, whether old roots or 
cuttings, I place them ina peach-house or vinery,'till they push to 
eight or ten inches long, then I have them removed to a very 
airy situation in the garden, and where I can have them protected 
if the weather should become unfavourable. 

As soonasI consider the danger from frost is over, which is 
seldom before the end of May, I turn the plants out entire, plant- 
ing them in sheltered sunny situations. 

The soil of my borders is a strong loam, eighteen inches deep. 
I manure the border well every spring before planting, and at 
the same time add about an equal part of good fresh soil. In this 
they flower profusely, particularly the plants raised from cut- 
tings. 

The plan of training the plants to a fence, appears to me to be 
the best mode of securing them, for when tied up to stakes, the 
wind frequently twists them, and destroys their tops, but the 
other mode secures them against all winds, and exhibits the 
flowers to the greatest advantage; three or four stakes placed 
angularly round the plant, and the plant tied to them, also an- 
swers the purpose. 

When the blooming season is near its close, I lay about four 
inches thick of rotten bark, or leaf soil, over the roots, and for 
two feet round the stem of each plant; this is done to prevent 
the crown ofthe plant being damaged by sharp and sudden frosts. 
I have seen many Dahlias that were exposed, have the crowns so 
injured by sudden frost, as not to push at all the following spring, 
although the remainder of the root was sound. 

When I take up my roots, it is on a dry windy day, if possible, 
shaking off the soil carefully, so as not to twist the roots. I have 
them removed to an airy situation in a shed, or in the mushroom- 
house; there placed singly over the floor or shelves, till the soil 
remaining on the roots is dry, When that is the case, I lay them 
on shelves, secure from damp or frost, and cover them with dry 


76 ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS, 


sifted tan, manure from a mushroom bed, or some material 
of this kind; if this mode is adopted, they will keep perfectly 
sound and fresh. Great care must be taken, that whatever is 
used for covering the plants must be completely dry, 


A Constant REAprErR. 


ARTICLE II. 
ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS, 


BY A BOTANIST. 

THE subject of the present essay concerns a new method of fur- 
thering the germination of seeds, in which I have made some ex- 
periments, which, I think, may be beneficial if better known; and 
for the proper understanding of which it will be necessary to pre- 
face the subject by a short explanation of the theory of the re- 
production of plants. In flowerless plants, the class Cryptoga- 
mia of botanists) reproduction takes place by means of homo- 
§enous masses of cellular substances, called sporules or spores ; 
in ferns, on the back of the leaf; in mosses, in small capsules or 
urns ; and in lichens and fungi, from tubes buried in the sub- 
stance of the plants. Unlike the germ of flowering plants, they 
contain no cotyledon, radicle, or plumule ; and instead of grow- 
ing uniformly from two constant points of their surface, they are 
mere masses of cellular substance, and send forth their roots 
from whatever place happens to have been covered, and the stem 
from that portion exposed to light. In the more simple forms of 
fungi and lichens, the subject is involved in such mystery, that 
many have thence contended for equivocal generation, or a com- 
mon matter of vegetation, which issues into various forms, ac- 
cording to accidental circumstances. It is, however, more con. 
sonant to observation, and to the method and wisdom displayed 
by the Creator in those parts of his works, more tangible to our 
senses (especially when we take into consideration the millions 
of millions of sporules contained in a single fungus, as the com- 
mon puff ball, or the many hundreds in the common blue fungus 
of the cheese,) to suppose that they are reproduced by myriads of 
microscopic pores floating in the atmosphere, dispersed by cur- 
rents of air, and only called into existence when the accidental 
circumstances of moisture, putrefaction, &c., necessary to their 
developement are present. 


ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 77 


In flowering plants reproduction takes place by means of the 
germ or embyro contained in seeds, and in the tubers and bulbs 
of the root. In the seed, the germ developes into radicle or root, 
and plumule and stem, between which is an axis connecting the 
two, and communicating with the cotyledons or seed lobes, which 
contain the food destined to nourish the young plant till able to 
extract nourishment from the ground for itself. A deposition of 
this food is likewise laid up in the cells of the bulb or tuber, and 
to it the general name of albumen, from its fancied resemblance 
in functions to the white of an egg, has been given. It is ge- 
nerally enclosed in a hard or bony case, for protection from in- 
jury, (but which it is not necessary to the growth of the germ,) and 
consists of mucilage or gum, sugar, and fecula or starch, which 
are all convertible substances, consisting of different proportions 
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which by chemical analysis, 
have been found to stand as under, viz. 


Carbon. Oxygen. Hydrogen. 


Gum to consist of 42:23 50:84 6:93 
Sugar - : 42:27 50:63 6:90 
Starch + 43:55 49:68 6:77 


By the continued deposition ‘of carbon, very ripe seeds and tu- 
bers contain more starch or dour than unripe seeds: and from 
the difficulty of reducing starch again into mucilage, which must 
take place in the vegetating process, before it can be rendered a 
soluble food for the young embyro, ripe seeds will be found to 
keep longest, and to survive accidents of bad treatment better 
than unripe seeds; which, however, from having their food ina 
state more easily rendered soluble, are found both in seeds and 
tubers to spring more quickly, and if sufficiently far advanced, 
with more vigour than ripe seeds or tubers. In the process of 
germination, when carried on in the usual manner, if a seed is 
picked up, the cotyledons will be found filled with a soft mucila- 
ginous substance, generally of a milky colour and sweetish taste. 
This is the food of the young embryo reduced into asoluble 
state, and is conveyed through the vessels of the cotyledon to 
the axis, and thence to the radicle andstem. On the quantity of 
this food furnished depends the vigour with which the young 
plant will shoot; and hence the best means of reducing the albu- 
men of the seed or tuber intoa soluble food in the speediest 
manner, and in the greatest quantity, is the greatest desideratum 


78 ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 


to arrive at in prosecuting our enquiries after the best method of 
furthering the process of germination. The starch and sugar 
must be reduced to mucilage; and from an inspection of the 
table, it will be found necessary that carbon must be abstracted, 
and oxygen and hydrogen added ; and, accordingly, it is found 
that in germination, carbonic acid gas is given off, the air is de- 
prived of part of its oxygen, and water yielding hydrogen and 
oxygen, is absorbed. Air, heat and moisture are all necessary, 
and likewise the exclusion of light, ‘The air yields the oxygen 
necessary in abstracting the carbon in the state of carbonic acid, 
from starch, and converting it into sugar and mucilage, which may 
be familiarly illustrated in the sweetness of malting grain and 
germinating potatoes. A heat of 160 degrees is required to re- 
duce starch to solubility ; and it is not generally known how such 
heat is generally acquired. The disengagement of the oxygen 
sets caloric free, and hence seeds moistened and thrown into a 
heap to germinate, are found to generate a great heat. Alkalies 
are also found useful in furthering the process, and are generated 
whilst it is goingon. Perhaps, also, the starch is more soluble in 
its state of combination than when extracted ; and, to all percep- 
tible causes, we must add that vital energy so every where ne- 
cessary, and so little known. 

In soils which have been properly prepared, by being broken 
into very small particles, confined air is generated, which so in- 
creases the heat as to be perceptible even to the touch; and 
hence the benefits of well-pulverized ground, and of covering 
with pieces of glass, and flower-saucers, &c. to increase the heat 
and retain the moisture, and thus further greatly the vegetation 
of the seeds; and hence the different quantities of heat and mois- 
ture requisite for seeds, according as they are dry and farinaceous, 
or oily and mucilaginous. Very dry farinaceous seeds, as the 
acacia, and others of that tribe, are benefitted by immersion in 
boiling water; and hence the reason why either heat or moisture 
of itself is not sufficient, and even hurtful if carried to excess, 
either in the germination of seeds, or the bud or embyro of the 
tuber of the potato, as late illustrated in the three last consecutive 
springs, in which, from the drought and heat acting on the sub- 
stance of the newly cut tuber, without the advantage of moisture, 
the albumen has not been reduced into a soluble food, or in such 
small quantities as not to be sufficient to produce the develope- 
ment of the bud or shoot. 


ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 79 


I now come to that part of the subject where, from the expla- 
nation already given, I hope it will be in my power to explain the 
reasons why I was induced to try the experiments I set out with 
taking notice of, and which I hope will be found, on proper trial, 
to be very beneficial. It is to seeds damaged by being too long 
kept in a dry state, or hurt by too much fire heat, or heat of the 
sun, that my attention has been principally directed, It has been 
often recommended to apply substances readily yielding oxygen; 
and I have myself tried oxalic acid frequently, but without any 
perceptible effect ; and_from experiments lately instituted, it ap- 
pears that more than the quantity of oxygen, or about one-third 
contained in common air, is not beneficial, though this proportion 
is absolutely necessary. 

Experiments lately made by Mr. Charles Maltuen, and narrated 
in Brewster’s Journal of Science, he found that the negative or 
alkaline pole of a battery caused seeds to vegetate in much less 
time than the positive, and he was thence induced to experiment 
on seeds in glasses filled with acetic, nitric, and sulphuric acids, 
and also in water rendered alkaline by potash and ammonia. In 
the alkaline the seeds vegetated in thirty hours, and were well 
developed in forty; while in the nitric and sulphuric, they took 
sevendays; and even after a month, they had not begun to grow 
in the acetic acid. The great benefit of the alkalies in hastening 
the germinating process being thus so apparent, I was induced to 
experiment on lime ; a very easily procured alkali, and which I 
reckoned to be more efficient than any other, from the well- 
known affinity of quick, or newly slacked lime for carbonic acid, 
Lime, as taken from the quarry, consists of carbonate of lime, or 
lime united to carbonic acid: and, in the act of burning, the 
carbonic acid is driven off; and hence the great affinity of 
newly slacked lime for carbonic acid. I depended therefore, on 
this affinity to extract the carbon from the starch assisted by mois- 
ture, in aid of the heat disengaged in this process, and also in 
the above wel! attested effects of alkaline substances in hastening 
the process of vegetation; and in the spring of 1835 having 
a quantity of old spruce fir seed, I was determined to try the 
experiment. 

It is well known by nurserymen, that the seed of the spruce fir 
will scarcely vegetate the third year, although kept in the 

-cones; but, in the present instance, the seed had been out of the 
cones during all that time; and the year before, or second year 
of the seed, had been so weak, that although well damped, and 


80 ON THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 


sown a great deal thicker than usual, in a favourable state of the 
weather, and in ground in good condition, still it came through 
very thin, yellow in the colour, so weak, as scarcely to be able to 
free its cotyledons from the ground, and not producing one-third 
ofacrop. Thus, under ordinary cicumstances, after keeping the 
same seed a year longer, we had little reason to think it worth 
sowing. I, however, caused the seed to be well damped a few days 
before sowing, and then added slacked lime,the inftuence of which 
was not long in being manifest, The year before when the 
two-years-old seed had been damped, it swelled none, but ac- 
quired a mouldy smell; on the contrary, this third year, after 
the quick lime had been added, it swelled off plump and full, and 
had all the sweet smell of fresh germinating seed. It was sown 
very thick, but the plants started fresh and vigorous through the 
covering of soil, of a dark green colour, and in such quantity as 
to produce acrop much thicker than usual; and the plants grew 
and throve as well as in the first year of the seed. I tried the same 
experiment this year; but from the unprecedented long-con- 
tinued dry weather, it had not a fair trial: although however, 
four years old, the crop is-still about the same thickness as some 
fresh Scotch pine seed sown on the same day beside it, and the 
plants equally strong. I tried it on some magnolia seed, the 
seedlings of which have this year grown with more than their ac- 
customed vigour. As the whole of the plants may be seen, for 
very little trouble, in our nursery grounds (at Kilmamnoc), and 
as the good effects, I think, have been made apparent, I hope it 
will not be considered trespassing too far on your time to give a 
detail of the method I would like pursued. Let it be understood 
that the nature of the experiment applies only to seeds in which 
the albumen has become hard and dry, from long keeping, kiln- 
drying, exposure to a hot sun in crossing the equator, &c. and not 
to such as have been wasted, and the albumen destroyed or da- 
maged by moisture, heating ina green state, &c. or when it is 
wanted to hasten the ordinary process of vegetation in seeds that 
are tardy Let the seed to be experimented on be spread ona 
floor, or in a box or saucer, according to quantity, and thoroughly 
damped (more or less according to the nature of the seed, as to 
its naturally dry or oily condition); let the whole be well mixed 
together so as every seed may receive its proportion of moisture 
from one-eighth to one-tenth of the bulk; and mix the seed: 
again well, so that each may receive its proportion of lime; lay it 
up in a heap, and, when it begins to get dry, have it turned and 


ON FLOWERING THE ALOE, 81 


raixed, and again damped; and continue this process for alonger 
er shorter time, according to the known habits of the seed as 
to speediness in vegetation, observing not to let it lielong ina 
dry state, in which the lime is rather prejudicial; and I feel con- 
fident, if these instructions are attended to, the result will be be- 
neficial. Before quitting the subject, 1 would like to call attention 
to the immense use of alkalies in the vegetable economy. We 
have seen their use in furthering the germination of seeds; and 
lately has been narrated in our newspapers the good effects of 
quicklime sprinkled over the newly cut tubers of the potato: but 
it is in preparing the food of the plant, or in rendering manure 
into a soluble food for the plant, that their greatest benefits are 
to be found. The different constituents of plants (starch, sugar, 
mucilage, and lignine er fibrine,) are all composed of various pro- 
portions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The water absorbed 
by the root yields hydrogen and oxygen; and carbon being the 
only substance thus wanted, it has been tried to afford it, by ex- 
hibiting to the spongioles of the root carbonic acid gas in its pure 
state : but its quantity has always been undiminished, until mixed 
up with alkalies in a saponaceous matter, in somewhat of the pro- 
portions found to exist in manures of the kinds most beneficial to 
plants.—Kilmarnock Journal. 


ARTICLE IIT. 


ON FLOWERING THE ALOE VARIEGATA, 
BY A CULTIVATOR. 


Havine been very successful in the flowering of the above spe- 
cies, I send you my mode of treatment, which, 
deem it worthy of a place in your Cabinet. 
After the severe frosts are over in the middle of May, the plants 
should be turned out in the open air, where they are not too 
much exposed to the wind, but so as to receive 
sible, taking care to use the watering 


the summer months, in order to check the growth of the plants 
Once in every week let them be turned round to the sun in ASS 


to keep the plants in an erect and proper form, and by the first 


week ie mikey they may be removed into the greenhouse, hav 
ing washe lear 5 i avibe YRERe 
g was nee a pen them from een and filth, giving them 


perhaps, you may 


all the sun pos- 
pot very sparingly during 


&2 ON CAPE HEATHS. 


plenty of air but little or no water until they are re-potted the 
latter end of March. In removing the plants at this season 
do not disturb the roots, but carefully remove all the outside 
earth, place them in pots of a size larger, adding a mixture of 
the following compost, &c. 

One-third leaf mould, one-third of good rich loam, and one-third 
decayed pigeons dung, adding a small quantity of sharp sandy bog 
earth, let the whole be incorporated together previous to potting. 
Cover the bottom of each pot one inch and a half thick with coarse 
gravel, half the size of a common nut; place the plant in and 
fill up with the above compost, shaking the pots gently, in order 
to settle the whole together; place the plants again in the green- 
house, where they will be exposed to the full benefit of the sun 
for a fortnight longer, not giving them any water at the root until 
they are removed into a stronger heat, when they should be plung- 
ed up to the rims ina gentle bark bed, or hot-bed of dung, 
about 80 degrees of heat, occasionally watering the plants gen- 
tly over their leaves with a little warm water. No water will 
be required at the roots until the plants are beginning to flower, 
when a little may be given. As the flower begins to advance, 
the pots may be raised up a little out of the bed, and finally re- 
moved to the end of the greenhouse, where the plants will re- 
main in flower for a length of time. 

After the plants have flowered and the blossoms decayed, they 
are to be placed in any part of the greenhouse at the back, until 
wanted again, just giving them as much water as will keep them 
alive. I have visited a great many different places where I have 
seen plants of every description grown well, but the plant I now 
send you my mode of treatment of, I never have found to be 
brought to that perfection which I have grown it myself. 

A CULTIVATOR. 


ARTICLE IV. 
ECONOMICAL METHOD OF MANAGING CAPE HEATHS 
BY CLERICUS. 


BEING an admirer and cultivator of Cape Heaths, and having 
tried various experiments towards their perfect cultivation in this 
country, I take the liberty of sending youthe mode which I 
adopt, which if you think worthy of insertion in the Cabinet, it 


ON CAPE HEATHS. 83 


may possibly be amusing to some of your readers. From having 
tried various modes of treatment, I find that which is most con- 
ducive to the health of the plants is to keep them during the 
whole year in cold frames or cold pits, the frames plunged up to 
the brim, and the bottom on which the sand is placed being tho- 
roughly dry; the lights in summer should be kept off during dull 
and cloudy weather, both night and day; but during clear sun- 
shine, the plarits should only be uncovered from four in the after- 
noon till nine the nextmorning; taking care that always in the 
middle of the day, to have the sashes on, and to give plenty of 
air. When winter approaches, the sashes must be drawn off, in 
mild dry weather daily, and covered with mats or some other co- 
vering during frosty nights, and in very severe weather. When 
there is no sunshine, they will also require to be kept on, and some 
dry litter or other loose material to be put around the frame. The 
advantages derived from plunging them in the sand are, that the 
frost never reaches any farther down than the surface of the 
soil, and that the plants will require little or no water from No- 
vember till the middle of February, and that even during sum- 
mer, they will not want water near so often as if they had stood 
upon the stage in the greenhouse, or out of doors along with the 
greenhouse plants. I have found from various experiments that 
in a great measure the want of success in growing heaths, for the 
most part arises from insufficient circulation of air, or from not 
keeping the soil in the potsin a medium state of moisture; the 
roots being apt to perish if kept for a short time too moist; and 
if allowed to get dry, the young fibrous roots will share the same 
fate, more particularly if the pots are exposed to the rays of the 
sun. 
CLERICUS. 


ARTICLE V. 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM INDICUM. 
BY MR. FREESTONE, WATLINGTON HALL, DOWNHAM. 


Ir you think the following remarks on the cultivation of the Chry- 
santhemum worthy of a place in your Floricultural Cabinet, they 
are at yourservice. Inthe middle of April take the best rooted 
suckers that can be obtained, and plant them two feet apart in a 


84 ON THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM INDICUM. 


good rich light soil, as they advance in growth they will require 
a stake to tie them to, to prevent them from being broken down 
by the wind. Ifany suckers appear, let them be removed, as the 
Chrysanthemum shows itself to the greatest advantage when 
grown with asingle stem, and that stem filled with flowering 
shoots from the bottom upwards, 

In the second or third week in June, nip off the tops of the 
plants, which will cause them to throw out lateral shoots. Ina 
month or five weeks after the plants have been stopped, take 
them up with as much soil adhering to their roots as possible, put 
them into pots of about eight inches over, using soil composed of 
sandy loam and well rotted manure, or Jeaf mould in equal quan- 
tities. Place them in the shade, and at such distance one from 
another, so that they may not be drawn up weak, and let the plants 
be well supplied with water. In a month from the time of their 
first potting, they will require shifting into pots of from ten to 
twelve inches over. 

As the plants will now be getting large, they will require a good 
supply of water, frequently twice a day, and in hot weather, to 
be syringed two or three times a week. Should any mildew ap- 
pear, dust a little sulphur over them, which will soon cause it to 
disappear. In a month from this shifting, some of the larger 
growing sorts will require to be shifted into pots of from 14 to 16 
inches over. At this time the plants are removed from the north 
to a south aspect, where, if the weather is hot and dry, they 
are frequently syringed two or three timesa day. Towards the 
end of September, I remove them into a vinery, and if the wea- 
ther is cold, and the flower buds not so forward as could be 
wished, I apply fire during the night sufficient to keep the house 
from 55 to €0 degrees, giving air at all favourable opportunities, 
and closing the house early in the afternoon, sprinkling the plants 
and house all over with water, which causes the plants to grow 
luxuriantly. I place them as far apart as circumstances will ad- 
mit, taking care not to crowd them, and they never fail to reward 
with a good show of large flowers from November to January. 

As soon as the flower-buds are forward enough to distinguish 
the best, the inferior buds are removed, leaving from one to three 
on each shoot. 

As the plants come into bloom, they are removed into the con. 
servatory. It is generally supposed that the Chrysanthemum 


ON CHINESE GARDENS 85 


will not bear forcing; I find them bear all the heat, combined 
with moisture, that you like to give them, and that too without 
drawing them, provided the flower buds are visible before you 
begin to force them. In fact it is impossible to get some of 
the late sorts to expand their bloom in such a season as the last, 
without using a high temperature. R. Freestone. 


ARTICLE VI. 
ON CHINESE GARDENS, 


(Continued from page 61.) 

Air is likewise employed with great success, on different occa- 
sions; so as to form artificial and complicated echoes 3 some 
repeating the motion of the feet, some the rustling of garments, 
and others the human voice, in many different tones; all which 
are calculated to embarrass, to surprise, or to terrify the passen- 
ger in his progress. 

All sorts of optical deceptions are also made use of: such as 
paintings on prepared surfaces, contrived to vary the representa- 
tions as often as the spectator changes place : exhibiting at one 
view groupes of men, in another combats of animals, ina third, 
rocks, cascades, trees and mountains; in a fourth, temples and 
colonades ; with a variety of other pleasing subjects. They like- 
wise contrive pavements and incrustations for the walls of their 
apartments, of Mosaic work, composed of many pieces of marble, 
thrown together without order or design, which, when seen from 
certain points of view, unite in forming lively and exact represen- 
tations of men, animals, buildings or landscapes; and they fre- 
quently have pieces of architecture, even whole prospects in per- 
spective, which are formed by introducing temples, bridges, ves- 
sels and other fixed objects, lessened as they are more removed 
from the points of view, by giving greyish tints to the distant parts 
of the composition; and by planting there trees of a fainter co- 
lour, and smaller growth, than those that stand on the foreground, 
thus rendering considerable in appearance, what in reality is but 
trifling. 

The Chinese artists employ in these enchanted scenes the ven- 
dezhang, (a native of Siam, it bears flowers of an agreeable smell, 
which, when they open, are of divers colours, as red, yellow, 
white and black; the fruit, when it comes to maturity, has the 


86 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


exact resemblance ofa wild duck) the ever living poplar the 
pau-lu, (a tree very common in Bengal, and some parts of China, 
to which the large Indian bats have a particular attachment, in 
so much, that during day-light, they almost cover its branches 
hanging upon them in clusters, like fruit,) with all kinds of sen- 
tive and other extraordinary trees, plants and flowers. They 
keep in them a surprising variety of monstrous birds, reptiles, and 
animals, which they import from distant countries, or obtain by 
crossing the breeds. ‘These are tamed by art, and guarded by 
enormous dogs of ‘Tibet, monstrous dwarfs, and African giants 
in the habits of eastern magicians. 

They likewise have amongst the plantations, in which are col- 
lected all the extraordinary productions of the animal, vegetable, 
and minreal kingdoms; as well as paintings, sculptures, medals, 
antiquities, and ingenious inventions of the mechanic arts; which 
are a fresh source of entertainment, when the weather is bad, or 
when the heat is too intense to admit of being in the open air. 

The communications to the different scenes and other parts of 
the Chinese Gardens, are by walks, roads, bridleways, navigable 
rivers, lakes and canals; in all which, their artists introduce as 
much variety as possible, not only in the forms and dimensions, 
but also in their decoration; avoiding, nevertheless, all the ab- 
surdities, with which our antient European style of Gardening 
abounds. 

“ T am not ignorant,” said one of their artists, “that your Eu- 
ropean planters, thinking nature scanty in her arrangements, or 
being perhaps disgusted with the familiarity and commonness of 
natural objects, introduce artificial forms into their plantations, 
and cut their trees in the shape of pyramids, flower pots, fishes, 
and birds. Ihave heard of colonades, and whole palaces formed 
by plants, cut as precisely, as if they had been of stone; and-of 
huntsmen, horses, dogs, boars and tigers, in full speed, made of 
yew and holly. But this is purchasing variety at the expence of 
reason; such extravagancies ought never to be tolerated, except- 
ing inenchanted scenes, and there but very seldom, for they must 
be as destitute of beauty, as they are of propriety, and if the 
planter be a traveller, and a man of observation, he can want no 
such helps to variety, as he willrecollect a thousand beautiful 
effects along the common roads of the countries through which he 
has passed, that may be introduced with much better success.” 

The roads, walks, and avenues, are either directed in a single 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 87 


straight line, twisted ina crooked one, or carried zig-zag by se- 
veral straight lines, altering their course at certain points. They 
observe, that there are few objects more strikingly great than a 
spacious road planted on each side with lofty trees, and stretching 
in a direct line beyond the reach of the eye, and that there are 
few things more variously entertaining, than a winding one, which 
opening gradually to the sight, discovers at every step a new ar- 
rangement ; and although in itself, it has not the power of raising 
violent emotions, yet, by bringing the passenger suddenly or un- 
expectedly to great and uncommon things, it occasions strong 
impressions of surprize and astonishment, which are more forcibly 
felt, as being more opposite to the tranquil pleasure enjoyed in 
the confined parts of the road; and, in small compositions, they 
find crooked directions, exceedingly useful to the planter, who, 
by winding his walks, may give an idea of great extent, notwith- 
standing the narorwness of his limits. 

They say, that roads which are composed of repeated straight 
lines, altering their directions at certain points, have all the ad- 
vantages both of crocked and straight ones, with other proper- 
ties, peculiar to themselves. The variety and new arrangement 
of objects, say they, which present themselves at every change of 
direction, occupy the mind agreeably: their abrupt appearance oc- 
casions surprise ; which, when the extent is vast, and the repeti- 
tions frequent, swells into astonishment and admiration: the incer- 
titude of the mind where these repetitions will end, and its anxi- 
ety as the spectator approaches towards the periods, are likewise 
very strong impressions; preventing that state of languor into 
which the mind naturally sinks, by dwelling long on the same 
objects. 

The straight directions, particularly the zig-zag, are on account 
of these effects, well adapted to avenues or high roads, which 
lead to towns, palaces, bridges, or triumphal arches, to castles 
or prisons for the reception of criminals, to mausoleums; and 
all other works of which the intent is to inspire horror, vencra- 
tion or astonishment. Tohumbler objects, the waving line isa 
more proper approach, the smallness of their parts rendering them 
unfit for a distant inspection; and as they are trifling in them- 
selves, they please most when their appearance is unexpected ; 
and from the very point, whence all their little beauties are seen 
in the highest lustre. 

Tn disposing the walks of their gardens, the Chinese Artists 


88 ON CHINESE GARDENS: 


are very attentive to lead them successively to all the principal 
buildings, fine prospects, and other interesting parts of the com- 
position; that the passenger may be conducted insensibly, as it 
were by accident, and without turning back, or seeming to go out 
of the way, to every object deserving notice. 

Both their straight and winding walks are in some places kept 
at a considerable distance from each other, and separated by 
close planted thickets, to hide all exterior objects, as well as to 
keep the passenger in suspence with regard to the extent, as to 
excite those gloomy sensations which naturally steal upon the 
mind, in wandering through the. intricacies of a solitary forest, 
In other places the walks approach each other, and the thick- 
ets growing gradually less deep, and more thinly planted, the ear 
is struck with the voices of those who are in the adjacent walks, 
and the eye amused witha confused sight of their persons, between 
the stems and foliage of the trees; insensibly again the planta- 
tions spread and darken, the objects disappear, and the voices 
die in confused murmurs; when unexpectedly the walks are 
turned into the same open spaces, and the different companies 
are agreeably surprised to meet, where they may view each other 
and satisfy their curiosity without impediment. 

The Chinese gardeners very seldom finish any of their walks 
en cul de sac, carefully avoiding all unpleasant disappointments; 
but if at any time the nature of the situation obliges them to it, 
they always terminate at some interesting object, which lessens 
the disappointment, and takes off the idea off a childish conceit. 

Neither do they ever carry a walk round the extremities of a 
piece of ground, and leave the middle entirely open, as it is too 
often done amongst us; for though it might render the first 
glance striking and noble, they think the pleasure would be of 
short duration; and that the spectator would be but moderately 
entertained, by walking several miles, with the same objects 
continually obtruding upon his sight. If the ground they have to 
work upon be small, and they choose to exhibit a grand scene, 
either from the principal habitation, or any other capital point, 
they do indeed leave a great part of the space open; but still 
care is taken to have a good depth of thicket, which frequently 


breaks considerably in upon the open space, and hides many parts 
of it from the spectator’s eye. 


(To be continued.) 


MISCKLLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 89 


PART II. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


On a Grrennovse, &c.—I have so frequently derived advantage from the 
queries and remarks in the ‘Floricultural Cabinet,’ that I am induced to 
think that an answer to the following questions may be useful to many of 
your readers, 

I am in want of a greenhouse ; the situation I intend for it is on a south 
border, 18 feet wide, haying 2 good wall, and a gravel walk in front, the 
length must vary with the expence of the building. It seems to me a great 
advantage for the plants, and it also adds to the beauty of the house to have 


> one light behind, the ridge of the 

a roof being at B, in the annexed 

5 Aare ey sketch, the stage should be of the 
eas ~ same form as the house, if there is 
= rly m astageat all. A frequent plannow 


is to have a raised pit in the mid- 

dle of the house, but I think it can- 

not show nearly so many plants as 

a stage. There should be a waik 

___all round, and it is a question 

Whether there should be two or three Steps to the back part, as the piants 

might thus be brought nearer to the glass. As to heating, have any of your 

correspondents tried Dr. Arnott’s stove, and with what success? Dr. Arnott 

seems to think that it is well adapted for Horticultural buildings, it has the 

advantage of producing a steady heat at a very trifling expence, but my fear 

is, that it would create too dry an atmosphere for the plants. The hot-water 

system seems to haye superseded the old flue, and I should like to know 

what it would cost, and low the pipes might be best arranged for such a house 
as that which I am describing? 

My primary object is flowers, not conservatory plants so much as gera- 
niums. My gardener assures me that I may have some vines trained to the 
rafters, and pruned on the spurr method, without much injury to the flowers, 
I haye seen them so trained at Welbeck, with two bunches of grapes at 
each joint, they look very tempting, but what do your correspondents say to 
the effect upon flowers? If there are vines, what sort should they be? and 
should there not be the means of taking them out of the house in winter ? 
and what plan of construction do you recommend for this purpose? As to 
the roof, |] have made up my mind on two points, first that it should be of 
wood, as every one who has metal complains of its cracking the glass so 
much ; secondly, that the wood should all be steeped according to Kyan’s 
patent, of which, from experience I have avery high opinion, and which [ 
think can be no where of more use than in horticultural buildings, from the 
great exposure to the weather. 

As to glass there seems a great difference in price, according to the size 
of the pane, I have glazed a large pit with panes five inches by three, it looks 
exceedingly neat, and is strong, besides, this size avoids duty, but I do not 
know whether it would look well for a house of considerable size. 

1 shall be glad if in this letter I have afforded any information, and shall 
be much obliged to you or any of your correspondents, if (taking these re- 


Vou. VII., No. 74. M 


90 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


marks along with you,) you will tell me how to lay out £100 to the best 
advantage, describing the construction of the building, size of the rafters, 
mode of heating, an estimate, &c., &c. 

P. 8S. According to my plan there would be two sashes in the roof, one in 
front, and one behind which would be a fixture, Should there not be venti- 
lators in the back wall at D? 

A Country SuBSCRIBER. 


On Ink SUITED FoR WRITING WITH UPON Merattic Lasets.—I am anxi- 
ous to learn through the medium of the ‘ Cabinet,’ from which I derive much 
useful information, how the Metallic Labels advertised about a year ago in 
the ‘Cabinet’ are written upon, and if they require any particular kind of 
ink? | have used acommon kind of ink, and find the wAting easily oblite- 
rated with water. 

Feb. 27th, 1839. Y.iM. 
(A prepared ink is to be obtained very cheap with the labels, and may be 

applied by means of a pen, or a small camel’s hair coloring brush.—Conp.) 


On Broomine Brunsvicias, &c.—Having a few healthy bulbs of Bruns- 
vigia Josephinia, and B. falcata, &c., and not being able to bloom them to 
my satisfaction, | should feel obliged if some reader of the ‘Cabinet’ who is 
successful in flowering the tribe of plants, would give me in an early Num- 
ber the particulars of the mode of treatment pursued. An attention to this 
request will also benefit some of my friends, who have equally failed with 
Brunsvigias, 

Hamburgh, November 27th, 1838. G.G. 


Maya Futiertana.—Having been informed that Malva Fulleriana is 
a greenhouse plant, you would oblige me by informing me whether it is as 
you state, a hardy shrub, or a greenhouse plant, and the soil and best method 
of cultivating it. 
N.B. It is in Vol iv. page 264. 
February 4th, 1839. Aw Rigs 


ANSWER. 


‘ On Destroying Ants.—Not having been lately so constant a reader of 
your very useful publication as I could wish, I have not observed whether 
any satisfactory answer has been given to a query concerning the destruction 
of ants, by Q. in your number for Juve last. 

If your correspondent has not yet found any remedy, I should recommend 
him to try what I have seen used with perfect success in the south of Europe, 
which is garlic chopped small, and laid across the ants usual track. They 
dislike this so much that it will completely drive them away, and the effect 
will last long after the smell has ceased to be at all perceptible. This though 
it will not destroy them, (which I imagine might be done by pouring boiling 
water into their nests, ) will prevent the annoyance which Q. complains of in 
his conservatory. 


Jan. 23rd, 1839. L. C. 


REMARKS. 


To Destroy Ants.—Having read complaints against ants, I am induced to 
send you the following:—Some time ago, a drawer, in which | kept some 
sugar, wes so much infested with ants, that we were obliged to remove the 
sugar from it. It happened from some cause or other, a small piece of cam- 
phor was laid in the drawer, and on opening it afew days afterwards, we 
were agreeably surprised to find the bottom literally covered with dead ants. 
This induced us to try the experiment, and from that time we have kept the 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 91 


sugar free from their depredations without any difficulty, by allowing a small 
piece of camphor to be in one corner of the drawer. Where trees upon 
walls, or plants are infested, [ shonld recommend small pieces of camphor 
to be thrown on the ground round their stems and in some cases to dissolve a 
little in alcohol, and sprinkle it over the leaves in a diluted state, with a com- 
mon syringe. 

Chelsea. James Hirst. 


Farry Rines—Fairy Rings are considered by J. M. F. Dovaston, Esq., to 
originate in electricity. ‘“ When a column of electric fluid affects the earth, 
either ascending or descending, it scorches the ground all round its edges, 
where there is plenty of oxygen in contact with it ; and leaves the centre un- 
scathed, where the oxygen is either expelled or destroyed ; so fertilizes the 
extremity. The consequence is that the first year’s grass is destroyed, an 
the ring appears bare and brown; but the second year, the grass re springs 
with highly increased vigour and verdure, toyether with the funyi, whose 
seeds are so brought into vegetation, that without this exciting cause might 
have slept inert for centuries,”’—Mag. Nat. Hist. 


— 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


Correa Rosea. This pretty flowering hybrid kind, has been raised by 
Mr. Milner. It has a good deal the appearance of Correa speciosa, having 
a fine green and smooth foliage, void of the rusty brown of the latter-named 
species. The flowers are of a beautiful delicate rose colour, and have a 
pretty effect. 

The few plants that have been raised have been purchased at five guineas 
each. Being rather slow in propagation, it will be some lenyth of time 
before plants can be purchased cheap. It deserves a place in every green- 
house, where, blooming as it does, profusely, would produce an interesting 
contrast with the C. Milnerii, cordata, speciosa, pulchella, &c. The plant 
blooming nearly all the year, gives it an additional recommendation, 


STERENLIA AcERIFOLIA. A pretty flowering greenhouse plant, producing 
flowers of a dark crimson colour. It is inthe collection of Messrs, Rol- 
linson’s. 


Tromea. Unnamed species, having leaves of a Cordata form, and pro- 
duces fine clusters of flowers which are larger than I. rubro-ccerulea, and 
of equally splendid colours, it is in the collection at the Epsom Nursery, 
and merits a place in every hothouse. We also saw another interesting un- 
named species, which produces flowers of a light rose colour. 


Epacris Coperanpir. Mr. Kynoch, gardener to William Copeland, Esq., 
Layton, Essex, has been successtul in saving seed from Epacris impressa, 
and of raising the fine hybrid kind we now notice. The flowers are very 
similar in size to E, impressa, but are of a brilliant scarlet colour, producing 
a very fine effect. The plant is of a very free habit in growth, and blooms 
most profusely; it merits a place in every conservatory or greenhouse. 
Plants of it will soon be offered to the public. Itis propagating now at the 
Clapton nursery. 


Lacunea Patrersonit. A very fine flowered greenhouse plant from New 
Holland, producing flowers much resembling a fine Hibiscus. It merits a 
placsinevery greenhouse. We saw the plant at Messrs, Rollinson’s, Tooting. 


PaLemontum Putcnettum. A very pretty hardy herbaceous plant, well 
deserving a place in the flower border. The plant blooms very freely. The 


flower stems rise about six inches high, producing beautiful pink blossoms, 
haying an interesting appearance, 


92 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


Versena PutcHerrima. Mr. Low of the Clapton Nursery, has received 
this kind during the last summer; we saw it in bloom there. The flowers 
are of a lilac purple, with a white centre; it is one of the erect growing 


kinds. ; 


AzaLea GLeDSTANANA, This variety may be said to be twin to A. Late- 
rita, only, producing its very different, but most beautiful white flowers ; it 
is grown at the Tooting Nursery, and to be had at one guinea per plant. 


Loetta Atpipa. A very interesting addition to our stove orchidea, and sent 
from Oaxaca to Mr, Bateman of Kynpersly. The plant has the graceful 
appearance of L. Autumnalis, but the flowers are very dissimilar, both in 
form and colour; in the present species each flower is about two inches 
across, white, with a bright yellow streak down the middle of the lip, and a 
few crimson spots at the base; they are also fragrant. It is an additional 
recommendation that it is of easy culture, and a very free bloomer. 


THE GARDENS 
OF THE 


ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON, 
INNER CIRCLE, REGENT’S PARK. 
(Continued from page 70.) 


In our colonies the foundation of botanical gardens has been an object of 
government solicitude; nor has private enterprise been neglectful in pro- 
moting them in our own country. The two universities, Oxford and Cam- 
bridge, have botanical gardens; so also have Birmingham, Liverpool, 
Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, Hull, Bury St. Edmunds, and Colchester; and 
they have been recently established at Cheltenham and Newcastle-vpon- 
Tyne. In Scotland there are gardens at Edinburgh and Glasgow. In 
Ireland, at Dublin, is one belonging to Trinity College, and the splendid 
establishment at Glasnevin, of the Dublin Society; there are others at Cork 
and Belfast. 

Having referred to the progress on the continent, and in our provinces, 
we shall in examining what has been done in the neighbourhood of the me- 
tropolis, find that there is sufficient encouragement to induce us to supply 
the deficiency. At Chelsea is a small garden of three acres, founded in the 
47th century, and given in 1721, by Sir Hans Sloane, to the Apothecaries’ 
Company, and deyoted by them to the study of medicine, and of which they 
now contemplate the abandonment, if they can obtain a more suitable 
locality. Those at Kew have obtained considerable reputation, but are 
at too great a distance to be available to the great mass of the metropolitan 
population, while their system of management is far from being adequate to 
the requisites of a national institution. ‘ 

That the public mind is prepared to support a botanic garden is evident 
by the progress of botany in every department. The number of scientific 
societies and floricultural exhibitions are proofs in themselves of the ten- 
dency of popular taste, while a great devolopement is daily given to the 
culture of this science in the Zoological and public gardens, and cemeteries. 
As cultivators of the picturesque beautics of plants we stand in the highest 
position; and the English style in the decoration of gardens is that which is 
most prevalent on the continent, and most approved, while we stand in an 
eminent position with regard to the scientific study of botany by our authors 
and expeditions of discovery. 

. With such acknowledged advantages to be derived from the establish- 
ment of a botanic garden, and with such a tendency of public taste, it would 


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MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 93 


@ppear surprising that such an object should have hitherto been neglected. 
This deficiency is now, however, to be supplied, and in such a manner as, 
it is to be hoped, will satisfy every votary of science. Although previous 
abortive attempts had been made to effect this object, the merit of it rests 
with several members of the Linnzan Society, whose saccess confers equal 
honour on the society by which it was promoted and on their enlightened 
exertions. On the suggestion of this undertaking, it was immediately sup- 
ported by many noblemen and gentlemen of every shade of politics, pro- 
moters of science, arts, and manufactures, and they concurred in the 
propriety of requesting the assistance of goyernment. The Inner Circle of 
the Regent’s Park being about to be vacated, they signed a memorial to her 
Majesty’s Commissioners of Woods and Forests, requesting them to appro- 
priate this site for such a laudable object. It confers the highest honour 
on this Administration, and on the members of her Majesty’s government, 
and is a high proof of their desire to encourage science, that they instantly 
acquiesced in the propriety of devoting the ground for these purposes to a 
public society, instead of making it the object of individual speculation. On 
this concession, a farther application was made for the patronage of Her 
Majesty and the Duchess of Kent ; and, it is needless to say, that it was 
given with a generosity worthy of the illustrious personages and of the 
great public object concerned, 

The names of the supporters of this society, are a strong guarantee of 
its proper management, and we are happy to say that their expressed in- 
tentions are a good augury of the success of the institution. Its scientific 
objects are intended to be carried on in a manner commensurate with the 
dignity of the country, while it devotes an express attention to the encour- 
agement of cultivation, arts, and manufactures. Public utility is the best 
guarantee of its success, and its promoters may feel assured, that keeping 
this object in view will always ensure its support. Even if a taste for such 
an institution did not exist, it is always the effect of well directed efforts to 
create it; and how far these may be successful, we see in the impulse which 
is given to mechanical science by the Royal Gallery of Science and the 
Polytechnic Institution, which are absolutely creations of the last ten years, 
within which period botanical studies have acquired a still greater impulse. 

The society will be constituted similarly to other scientific societies, and 
will be under the management of a president and council, composed of fel- 
lows and members. It will doubtless, be incorporated by Royal Charter, and 
its importance can hardly fail to obtain for it great infiuence ; while the man- 
ner in which it is regarded by the Linnzan Horticultural Medico, and other 
Botanical Societies, does honor to their enlightened liberality, and to the 
cause of science. 

The site chosen is the inner circle of Regent's Park, lately occupied as 
Jenkins’ nursery ground; its extent exceeds eighteen acres. That its po- 
sition is eligible is best proved by referring to the neighbouring grounds of 
the Zoological Society, while its size is fully competent for the purpose in- 
tended. Many eminent gardens contain only three acres, while few exceed 
twenty, and where they do they are employed either in the cultivation of 
medicinal plants for the hospitals, or in the growth of fruit for the market. 
Its appropriation will be no encroachment on public enjoyments, while if 
properly directed, it cannot fail to confer great advautage on the whole 
empire. 

The artistical details of the plan, asshewn in the accompanying drawing, 
are formed upon an observance of the most enlightened principles, and it has 
been the endeavour, in this department and in others, to make science and 
art equally conducive to the improvement of popular taste. This portion of 
the subject is deserving of particular attention, as it is by what is presented 
to the public eye that they will be induced to judge of the merits of the re- 
mainder. However interesting a mere planted surface might prove to the 
man of science, something more is requisite to the mere discursive yisitant, 


94 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


and particularly to by far the greater proportion of its supporters, those who 
seek recreation rather than instruction. In fact, due attention to objects of 
taste is imperative in an institution that must derive its chief support from 
the ladies, who are certainly some of the most munificent patrons of this in- 
stitution. 

We are but too apt to depreciate the moral effect of the pleasures of sight, 
although, it must be averred, most unphilosophically; for if it be allowed 
generally that that organ produces the most powerful impressions on the 
mind by its representations, so the intuence exerted by it is susceptible of 
modifications according to the nature of the objects presented to it. If the 
parks and gardens be the lungs of the metropolis, their functions are but 
inadequately employed if they supply only pure air, without affording a means 
of exercise, for the sick man will die in the healthful shades of Montpelier 
or Madeira as easily asin the densest miasma; but the true means of se- 
curing the health of our population is by promoting the moral as well as the 
physical'influence of exercise. The more interesting the garden be made, the 
more will its moral capabilities be augmented, and the effect of a well ar- 
ranged establishment cannot fail to be of importance in restoring the tone 
of mind to the worn out senator, larguid beauty, or overworked citizen; 
for the mind requires its sustenance as well as the body, and there are as 
few maladies to be cured by abstinence from mental food, as there are for 
corporeal. Such an effect cannot fail to be accompanied with an appre- 
ciation of the scientific advantages, and the attractions of such an institu- 
tion might be made productive of the happiest results, in creating in the 
infant mind a taste for scientific pursuits. 


(TO BE CONTINUED.) 


ON RETARDING THE BLOOMING OF PLants.—Among the many improvements 
made inthe cultivation of flowers, the methods invented for retarding their 
flowering is one. It has been the opinion of many naturalists that the annual 
developement of flowers yields more real satisfaction than if all were ever- 
flowering; that their disappearance for a season enhances the value of their 
return. It is long since the method of procuring a late bloom of ranunculus, 
anemones, and roses has been practised. This was by late planting the tu- 
bers of the two former, and double pruning the flowering shoots of the latter. 
Double pruning is performed in antumn and again in April. With regard 
to rose trees yielding flowers naturally at different seasons of the year, if the 
pruning is attended to, a garden may never be destitute of roses, 

But there are other shrubs beside the rose-trees of which the flowering sea- 
son may he protracted, both the Laurustinus and Althea frutex may be so 
managed as to produce their flowers at unusual seasons, The first, instead of 
flowering in the very early spring, may be, by removal, made to flower in 
autumn ; the latter, by the same means may have their flowering postponed 
till that season. 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR APRIL. 


Prant Stove.—Still support the requisite degree of heat by fires at night, 
as the plants will now begin to show their blossoms, which should be en- 
couraged as much as possible at this season. Fresh air, when the weather is 
favorable, is very necessary, and should always be admitted when required ; 
this will greatly assist their flowering, and cause the new shoots to be strong 
and healthy. This month is the most proper time to pot such plants as may 
require it, taking great care to use such compost as is congenial to them, and 
use plenty of drainage. Any that do not require shifting into larger pots 
may have the surface soil renewed with fresh compost, which will greatly 
invigorate them, and also add to their neatness. The same directions re- 
specting watering and cleanliness may be observed, as given last month. 
Still propagate all kinds of exotics by means of seeds, layers, cuttings, or 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 95 


suckers, according to the nature of the different kinds; insert them in pots 
and plunge them in hot: beds, which will promote their vegetation and rooting 
quickly and certainly. 


Greennouse.—These plants will now require large admissions of air at 
all times when the weather is mild, for as most of them will now be shooting 
freely, they must not be kept too close. The plants must now be looked over 
to see when water is wanted, and let all the plants be properly supplied there- 
with, as this is now a very necessary article, particularly when they are in the 
house; be careful of the succulent kinds. Let no decayed leaves or shoots 
be allowed to remain, but let such be taken off as soon as perceived ; and 
all shoots that are of a weak straggling growth must be pruned more or less 
as appears necessary; let no weed, moss, or litter, be seen on the tops of the 
pots and tubs, and if any foulness be contracted on the plants, let it be in- 
stantly removed. In arch shrubby exotics of any particular kinds; sow 
seed in pots, placing them in a hot-bed; sow seeds of orange, lemon, &c. 
for stocks; also propagate by cuttings, layers or otherwise, and if placed in 
a bark bed in the pine stove or hot bed, they will be greatly facilitated in 
their rooting. 


Hersaceous Prrennrats, should now be divided and replanted; also 
biennials, as Sweet-williams, &c., should be planted for blooming this sea- 
son. 


Currtines,—If old plants of Salvias, Fuchsias, Petunias, Scarlet Gerani- 
ums, Verbenas, Heliotropes, &c., &c. were saved through winter, and young 
plants be required for turning ont into open beds in the flower garden, &c., 
young shoots should now be taken off close to their origin upon the old wood 
and struck in moist heat. 


Annuats,—Hardy kinds should be sown in the borders, &c. (See Vol I. 
p. 43 of the Cabinet, were particular directions are given.) Tender kinds 
should have plenty of air admitted to them, whether sown in pots or upon a 
slight hot-bed. (See Vol. I. page 42, of the Cabinet.) In order to have the 
plants of some particular kinds stiff and healthy, they should be planted off 
into small pots, boxes, or the open border, or slight hot-bed, &c., so as to be 
fine plants for final planting in May. Many kinds of tender annuals intended 
to ornament the greenhouse or stove through summer, will require potting 
off, or if done before this month, probably repotted into larger pots. 

Auricutas—will bloom this month; they will require protection from 
wet and mid-day sun. The plants will require a free snpply of water; if 
manure water be occasionally given, it will improve the size of the flowers; 
care should be taken not to apply it over the plant. When the trusses of 
flowers are formed, if there are more flowers upon each than can conveniently 
expand, the small and centre ones should be cut out, so as to leave about six. 

CAMPANULA PyRAMIDALIS,—Ofisets or cuttings should now be taken off 
and be treated as directed in Vol. I. p. 48. 


Carnartions,—If not planted off last month, should now be done. (See 
Vol. I. p. 23.) 


Dancias.—Seedling plants should be potted off, one plant into a small 
or sixty-sized pot. Shoots and cuttings of old roots should be taken off 
where it is desired to increase the kind, and strike them in moist heat. 

Curina Rose.—Plants of the tender kinds, as yellow, sweet scented, &c., 
should now be placed in heat, in order to cause a production of shoots for 
striking, so as to increase the kinds when desired. (See Vol. I. p. 48.) 

Cuina Ross (hardy kinds),—It is now the proper time to bud the varieties 
of China Roses, do it as soon as the bark will freely rise. 

Triveranta Coccinea.—Roots of this plant should now be potted. (See 
Vol. I. p. 177 ond 223; articles on the culture, &c., are there given.) 


PeLarconiums.—Cuttings now struck will produce plants to bloom at the 
end of summer. (See Vol, I. p. 88.) 


96 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


Pansies —Plants will now be pushing shoots that will be emitting roots, 
Where it is wished to increase the kinds, it is a very suitable time for doing 
it, by taking off shoots and planting them in a good rich soil, shading them 
for a few days at first. 

PotyantHuses.—(See Vol. I. p. 23 and 132.) 


Tierip1A PAvonra.—The bulbs should now be planted in the open bed; 
choose a warm and sheltered situation, 


Ericas, (Heaths.)—Cuttings of many of the greenhouse kinds should now 
be put off. (See Vol. I. p. 48.) 
MienionettTE—To bloom from June should now be sown. 


Rose Trees.—When it is desired to have Roses late in the season, let 
them be pruned this month. (See article in Vol. I. p's. 23 and 206.) 


SeL_r sown AnnuALS—which have stood the winter should he thinned, and 
where desirable some may be successfully transplanted. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE, 


Ety’s Dr. Horner Picotree.—This very superior flower we gave in the 
number for March, and by an oversight of our Printer the remarks upon 
it were omitted till too late for that number, we however now state that 
this unrivalled and noble flower was raised by Mr. Ely, the celebrated car- 
nation grower, of Rothwell Haigh, near Leeds. Jt was sent out by him last 
year, in a limited number, at 7s. 6d. per pair, (its present price,) and has 
been the wonder and admiration of all who have seen it. Its peculiar excel- 
lence consists in its extraordinary size, its bold broad well rounded petal of 
remarkably strong fleshy substance, which causes the flower to remain an 
unwanted time in bloom; the ground colour is a pure brilliant white, free 
from specks or stains; the edging is of the richest purple, clear, distinct, 
and free from all tendency to striping; the flower is high and well crowned, 
and filled in the centre with its fine imbricating petals, It is altogether 
infinitely superior to every other picottee in cultivation, and must be in all 
yaluable collections. : 

This ower is named in honor of Dr. Horner, an esteemed and talented 
physician, at Hull, who has greatly favored the promotion of horticultural 
pursuits. (We understand Mr. Ely has now an abundant stock of it.) 


Hovea Mancrestt.—Captain Mangles's Hovea; all the species of Hovea 
are very handsome greenhouse shrubs, and the accessions which we have re- 
ceived to them through the hands of Captain Mangles, are highly valuable. 
The present species is not so striking as some other kinds, yet, it is very 
pretty and interesting. It thrives well with the treatment usually given to 
the rest of the species, that is, to pot them in sandy peat, as free from fibres 
as possible, taking care to put plenty of drainage, and always avoiding over 
shifting ; water must at all times be given with careful judgment, especially 
during winter, 

Puivisertia Granpircora, large flowered Philibertia—A very pretty 
plant for ornamenting the trellis or rafters of a greenhouse, growing rapidly 
and blooming very freely. It requires to be grown in a soil composed of 
fresh loam and leaf mould, with efficient drainage. We have propagated it 
from cuttings planted in sand, and placed in a hot-bed, we have a stock of 
plants for sale. 

Puarsitis Diverstrorta, three lobed large Convolvulus.—A very orna- 
mental and showy half hardy annual, and was introduced from Mexico by 
G. Dickson, Esq. It is a very beautiful flowering plant most suitable for 
training up stakes, fancy wire frames, fencing, verandas, &c., it grows freely 
and blooms profusely. The flower has somewhat the appearance of the 
Convolvulus major, but is rather less; the plaits on the corrolla are very 
strikingly distinct. It deserves a place in every flower garden, or for orna- 
menting a greenhouse or conservatory during summer. 


eH, Ps 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


MAY, Ist, 1839. 


PART I, 


ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ARTICLE I, 


OBSERVATIONS MADE ON THE EFFECTS OF SITUATION AND EX- 
PO3URE ON DIFFERENT KINDS OF PLANTS, DURING THE SE- 
VERE WINTERS OF 1837-8. 


BY CLERICUS, 


Asby far the greater number of plants cultivatedin this country 
are exotics, we find they are variously affected by the changeabilé 
weather of ‘our climate, as well as by the attending circumsi Ss 
of. the situations they are destined to occupy. Our knowledge; 
acquired by experience, of the constitution of foreign plants, has 
supplied us with rules for our guidance in the distribution of them. 
If we happén'to be acquainted with the native habitat of a plant; 
we can judge pretty accurately what place it is most likely to 
thrive in with us. Tropical plants, for instance, we place in the 
stove, or conservatory ; Australian, South African, Chinese, and 
South European, in the greenhouse; and those from the north- 
ern parts of Asia, Europe, and America, any where in the open 
air where we may have occasion for them, or which we may 
think best adapted for them. This is a very natural way of pro- 
ceeding; but we are not always right in its application; some 
tropical plants are killed by placing and keeping them in the 
stove; because it is notso much the latitude whence they have ~ 
been brought, as it is the eleWation of their habitat aboye the 
Vou, VII, No, 74, oN 
— 


ua - Ty 
a a iat 4 a “ i 
98 ON THE EXPOSURE OF PLANTS. 


level of the sea which determines their hardiness. Many plants 
are debilitated by confinement in the greenhouse, and very many 
extra-tropical plants are lost from being placed in what is con- 
sidered the warmest or most sheltered situation. 

These errors are occasioned either by a want of experience 
respecting the constitution of the plant, or from inattention to 
the extreme change of temperature to which it is exposed in its 
new place, or from ignorance that situation and exposure change 
the constitution of plants to such a degree that, while one is per- 
fectly hardy if nursed on a northern aspect, another of the same 
kind shall be so tender and vulnerable on a southern exposure, 
that it dies, or is cut down to the ground, under the slightest 
frost. 

Want of experience concerning the constitution of a newly im- 
ported plant may be said to be an excusable want of judgement ; 
because we have no means of knowing without experience, there 
being no general rule to guide. If, indeed, we are told that it 
is an annual from a warm country, we may safely conclude that 
it will succeed in this climate durmg summer, as many tropical 
annuals do. Or, if it be a perennial herb from the same country, 
we may find it answer with usif it be only protected from frost. 
But if tropical shrubs or trees are brought to us, we cannot, from 
any external mark, judge whether they are liable to be killed by 
frost ornot. If they shed their leaves in winter, it is only a sign 
ee are winter-resting plants, not that they are hardy ; because 
tis: e several tropical plants which are deciduous, as for in- 
stance, the silk cotton tree (Bombax ceiba); and many evergreens 
are as hardy as those that shed their leaves. 

We often fail in preserving tender plants from inattention to lo- 
cal circumstances. We are liable to mistake shelter for warmth. 
Frost and the north and east winds are most dreaded in this coun- 
try. Asouthern exposure, whether for the abode of animals, 
or a station for vegetables, is always considered the most eli- 
gible, merely, perhaps, because it is the most agreeable to our 
own perceptions. But in respect of vegetables we often err in 
this matter, both in choosing sheltered situations and southern 
exposures, 

Cold (orrather cold air) is always most intense in humid situations. 
because there is the most copious evaporation. Such situations, 
in this country, are either on the tops of clayey hills, or in the 
lowest valleys, where there is either a lake, river, or brook, 


° 


ON THE EXPOSURE OF PLANTS. 99 


These low grounds are nearer the main springs, and often abound 
with them, whence exhalations are ever rising, though imper- 
ceptible ; ofcourse such a valley must always be more chilly, and 
more subject to keen frost than any drier or more elevated si- 
tuations. Such glens, provided they are open to the south, are 
chosen as the most suitable for tender exotics, merely because 
they are more sheltered from the northern blast. In the summer 
indeed, such a locality is most favourable to the quick and strong 
growth of every plant. The air, being generally calm and moist, 

conduces to vigorous expansion ; and the very coolness of a sum- 
mer’s day or night, as felt in such places, is most propitious to 
luxuriant vegetation. These circumstances, however, instead of 
being beneficial to tender exotics, have a directly cfuthans ef- 
fect ; the summer excitement only renders them less able to bear 
the frosts, which fall upon them with redoubled intensity in winter. 
And instead of the slow and sturdy growth which would have hap- 
pened to a plant on a dry and breezy hill, or on a northern as- 
pect, we have an enfeebled nursling, unfit to bear the rigours of 
our climate from sheer mismanagement, 

Many proofs of the truth of these statements may be adduced, 
but we presume they are unnecessary, as the facts must have been: 
repeatedly observed by our readers in general. The fact, how- 
ever, is most important, not altogether for the sake of naturalising 
exotic plants, but for fixing the sites for gardens and orchards, 
which, if misplaced at first, give cause ever after for regret. 

Not only dq the exhalations from a moist valley generate cold. 
but the cold air which descends upon the hills after sunset is said 

o “ slide down” and settle in the lowest place, So firmly is 
this believed, and acted on by a well-known horticultural phi- 
losopher, John Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston, near Worcester, 
that in all cases where a garden is made on ground slopingto the 
south, that gentleman invariably advises the lowest boundary to 
be a hedge; or if a wall, it be raised on grated arches high 
enough to allow the eseape of the cold fleece of air accumulated 
within the garden, Onthe same principle, whateyer may be 
the aspect, the upper boundary wall should be high and close, 
to intercept the descending current and divert it round the 
ends. 

From these circumstances, then, it is fair to conclude that low 
situations should never be chosen for garden sites, or as the best 
places for tender exotics, 


100 ON THE EXPOSURE OF PLANTS. 


“There is another circumstance not yet adverted to which ope- 
rates injuriously on tender plants in sunny and sheltered valleys, 
There, they are sooner affected by the returning warmth and so- 
lar beams of spring, and hurried into a premature growth long 
before frosts are over, or the summer temperature confirmed. 
They are awake-and putting forth their tender leaves and shoots 
before the exposed residents of the hill are in the least acted on. 
The firsthave their sap liquefied and in motion; that of the se- 
cond is clammy and at rest ; the first suffer heeiase they have to 
sustain four degrees of frost perhaps, when least prepared for it, 
while the second have only to bear two degrees, and are other- 
wise fortified against it. 

- The native plants of the frosty regions of Siberia suffer greatly 
from late frosts when introduced into British gardens, not from 
the severity of our seasons compared with that of their own, but 
entirely from the changeableness of the former. In Siberia the 
winter sets in at once, and the surface of the ground is soon co- 
vered with snow; every vegetable becomes instantly torpid, and. 
in this state remains in perfect safety till the return of spring, or 
rather summer, as there is scarcely any spring season in that 
northern clime,—no intermission of mildnessto excite, and frosts 
to destroy the tender plants, as is so often experienced in this 
country. 

The changeableness of our spring weather is, in fact, the great-' 
est bar toour possessing very many plants, which, to have at alk 
must be guarded in some kind of building erected for the pur- 
pose. Our want of success in attempting to naturalise some exo- 
tics shrubs and trees, however, may have happened not so much 
from the constitutional delicacy ofthe plants themselves, as to the 
injudicious manner, perhaps in which the trial has been made. 
Exposed situations on the north side of a hill, and on poor and 
dry, rather than on rich and moist soil, is certainly the most eli- 
gible station for making a trial of the constitution of a foreign 
plant. Here it would not be excited into too early growth by 
the early sun of the day or of the season, nor would the aspect 
induce precocious growth. Its growth would be slower but 
its shoots would be firmer in texture and consequently better 
able to resist the destructive effects of frozen sap. a 

I cannot conclude these observations without first alluding to 
the ideas entertained about the acclimatation of exotic plants. 

Thenotion is founded on the supposition that, as animals have a 


ON THE EXPOSURE OF PLANTs, 101° 


tendency to accomodate themselves to foreign climates, or to the 
changes of temperature of their own native place, so plants may 
in like manner be susceptible of physical changes which would 
enable them to bear great diversity of climatal temperature ; but, 
from all experience on this point it appears, from many tropical 
annuals long cultivated in Britain, that they have not perceptibly 
advanced in hardihood since the first day of their introduction. 
Such are the runner kidney-bean (which, by the bye, is a peren- 
nial); the potato and cucumber among culinary vegetables; the 
China aster and balsam among flowers, and the melon among 
fruits. All these have been perpetuated by seeds that have been 
produced, ever since their first introduction into this country, but 
without gaining any additional protective habit against frost. We 
may, therefore, conclude that plants generally have been formed: 
for the climates to which they are indigenous, and have not that 
mutability of structure or of sap which would render them invul- 
nerable to frost ina colder country, or to the incessant excite- 
ment of a warmer one without deterioration. 

That many plants are now seen in the open air which were for- 
merly in the greenhouse, or even in the stove is well known ; but 
this has not happened in consequence of any change in the con- 
stitution of those plants, but merely from being misplaced on 
their first introduction for want of experience: —Aucuba J aponica, 
one of our hardiest shrubs, was once under my care in the warm- 
est end of aconservatory ! 

' The effect of frost on tender vegetable bodies is mitigated by 
thawing it off with water before the sun shines upon them. This 
seems to contradict what has been before stated, as to dryness 
being a safeguard to plants. But the cases are different ; perfect 
dryness isa security against frost, but when plants are loaded 
with frozen dew, and this allowed to be dissolved by the sun, a 
much more intense degree of cold is generated during the so. 
lution of the icy particles by the sun, than if they were suddenly 
dissolved by water. It is this increased degree of cold which 
ruptures the delicate vessels of the plants, and of course destroys 
them. 

Sometimes we see the stem of a tender shrub, as a heath, for 
instance, rent into many pieces, whilst the youngest shoots re- 
main unhurt. This is owing to the rigidity of the first, and the 
elastic texture of the second; the latter yields to the distending 
effects of the concealed sap, and afterwards returns to a healthy 


102. ON THE CULTURE OF CACTUS. 


state; but the unyielding character of the old wood only renders 
it more destructable, ‘The foliage of the grasses indigenous te 
cold countries is only withered by frost, but seldom destroyed; 
owing to the tenacity and elasticity of its structure. 

CLERICUS. 


ARTICLE II. 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE STOVE SPECIES OF CACTUS. .- 
BY MR. RICHARD BEALY, BLACKBURN. 


Aut the stove species of Cactz may be treated as follows witht 
great success. 

Pot them in loam peat; or sandy loam, mixed with a small por? 
tion of lime rubbish, say about a fourth part. 

Always let the pots in which they are planted be as small as 
the plants will allow; large pots are injurious, because the roots 
are prevented from reaching the sides for a long time, and the 
body of the soil is liable to retain too much moisture every time 
the plant is watered. 

Always give a good drainage, by laying in each pot a good 
portion of broken potsherds, as the least stagnation is always in- 
jurious, sometimes fatal; therefore, never allow water to stand 
in the pans or feeders, in which the pots are sometimes placed. 

Water very seldom, not more than twice a week; wheri they are 
flowering, and not so often at other times; give very little ata 
time, not more than will just moisten the soil all over, particu- 
larly if the weather is not fine and sunny: 

About the middle of June; turn them out of doors into a situa- 
tion where they will not be exposed to wind, but perfectly open 
to the rays of the mid-day sun. Place them ona board or floor 
of any kind, to prevent the worms from effecting an entrance 
through the bottom of the pots. This system of exposing them 
in summer, gives them a check which seldom fails to produce a 
good bloom: 

Whilst out of doors they must not be allowed to receive the 
heavy dashing rains, or they will suffer,’ perhaps die in conse- 
quence ; either a boarded roof, or other shelter must be provid 
ed for them on such oecasions. Also, if the pots stand on a floor 
bf slates or flag stones, they should be plunged in a little moss;. 


ON THE CULTURE OF EPACRIS. 103 


as the sun, by heating the pots, sometimes burn the roots of the 
plants. 

In September, take the plants into the greenhouse, and place 
them in a situation where they will receive plenty of light and air 
in winter. 

Early in the spring, remove them inte the stove in succession 
as they are wanted to flower. 

Most of the species will flower very fine without being placed 
out of doors at all ; but by placing them out as above, the flowers 
will be much finer and more abundant than when grown regular- 
ly in the house; they may be increased by cuttings, seeds, and 
grafting. 

Take off the cuttings at the length requited, and lay them ona 
shelf in the greenhouse, &c. to dry up the wound made by the 
knife. Let them remain on the shelf till they begin to have a 
shrivelled appearance, say a week or a fortnight, then pot them 
in small pots in the same compost as recommended for old plants, 
set them ona shelf as near the glass as convenient, and be parti- 
cularly cautious not to over-water them. 

Sow the seed in a wet state, immediately after being gathered 
from the plant, and rubbed out of the husk. For this purpose, 
fill a pot with a mixture of equal parts of peat, earth and sand, 
cover it lightly, and plunge the pots into a hotbed, if the seed be 
good, it will make its appearance a month afterwards. 

The operation of grafting is very simple, merely requiring an 
incision to be made, and fitting in it a fresh cutting of another 
kind, rubbing a little clay over the wound to keep out the air. 


ARTICLE III. 


ON THE CULTURE OF EPACRIS'S, 


BY A FOREMAN OF A LONDON NURSERY. 


Aut the species of Epacris are natives in the neighbourhood of 
New South Wales, and are very handsome shrubby greenhouse 
plants. Their culture is very simple and easy; the E. micro- 
phylla, and exserta, require to be potted in equal parts of light 
sandy loam and peat, but all the rest thrive best in sandy peat 
alone. They nearly all come in flower about the end of March 
‘er the beginning of April, and continue blooming until June or 


104 ON THE CULTURE OF EPACRIS. © 


July, although the present subject flowers most of the winter, 
as well as spring andsummer. In June they must be turned out 
of doors with the other greenhouse plants, but previous to which, 
it will be necessary to pot them, in most cases shifting them into 
larger pots ; this is indispensable, as their roots are so fine a tex~- 
ture, that ifthe pots be placed out of doors, and consequently 
exposed to the alternations of heat and cold more than when in 
the house, the roots against the sides of the pots will receive 
material injury, the plants will become brown, and in most cases 
die; this we have seen in very many instances. 

_ The best way of propagating them is by cuttings, which should 
be put in early in the spring; they will strike if put in at other 
times of the year, but not so freely. Take off the extreme ends 
about one inch or an inch and an half long, and plant them in pots 
of sand, cover them with bell glasses, and give them similar 
treatment to Erica cuttings. When they have struck root, pot 
them into small pots in a frame where there is a little heat; and 
when they have again begun to grow, remove them into a warm 
part of the greenhouse, and then treat them in the same way 
as the old plants. The whole of the order Epacridez, consist- 
ing of eighteen genera, all being natives of the same country, re- 
quire the same general mode of culture, which may be stated as 
follows:— 

With the exception of Epacris microphylla and exserta, Sty- 
phelia longifolia, the whole genera of Lysinema, Poncletia, and 
Leucopogon, let every species be potted in sandy peat soil. 

The above exceptions must always have an addition of sandy. 
loam mixed with the peat in which they are potted, but in every 
other respect itmust be treated like other species. 

Good drainage in every case must be attended to, for any de- 
ficiency here will seriously injure if not totally destroy the plants. 

Never sift the soil in which the plants are potted, but chop and 
break it well, although in some cases this is scarcely necessary, 
when the turfy parts are well rotted. 

Never allow the soil to become hard and dry particularly 
amongst those species potted in sandy peat alone ; because, from 
the delicacy of the fibres cf the roots, this cannot ke the case 
without the plants being materially damaged, if not destroyed. 

Always pot the plants immediately before they are turned out 
of doors in summer; for if this be not done, the action of the sun 


ON GREEN Moss. 105 


afd air upon the sides of the pot, if the roots are matted, will 
dry the roots, and the plants will become sickly and die. 

In potting, never cut off the matted roots with a knife, but 
merely pull them with the fingers without damaging the ball more 
than is necessary. 

Always let the plants stand in an airy part of the greenhouse, 
and never crowd them among other plants, or they will not pros- 
per. 

In propagating, select half-ripened wood for cutting, plant them 
in sand, cover them with a bell-glass, and place them in a shady 
part of the greenhouse, or ina frame. In both situations they 
must be shaded from the sun, until they have struck root, 


ARTICLE IV. 


ON THE GREEN MOSS ON ROSE TREES, AND OTHER SHRUBBY 
PLANTS. 


BY A PRACTICAL GARDENER; 


Many readers of the Cabinet must have observed in their walks 
through a shrubbery, the unsightly appearance of the stems and 
trunks of rose bushes and larger shrubs, being entirely destitute 
of bark. Is it a natural disease incident to old trees? Iam in- 
clined to thing that this is not the case, for I have seen compara- 
tively young trees, covered as much as the old ones. It will be 
observed that trees on rocks, on walls, on soil, and in fact, on 
every thing that is exposed to the action of the atmosphere ina 
fixed state, a green covering, which, when minutely examined, 
appear like a green powder, and if allowed to remain, would form 
into patches of moss. This seems to be the most minute of the 
vegetable creation, and I believe the very foundation of it, and 
but for the industry of man, this would be the clothing that Na- 
ture would assume in this moist climate. The particles of this 
green powder must be exceedingly minute, as it remains invisible 
until great masses are collected together. Now it is obvious where 
this adheres to atree, it must close up its pores, and thereby 
prevent the vessels from being acted upon by the external air, 
I likewise think it receives nourishment by exhausting the sap 
in the bark, which will first begin to crack, and afterwards die 
and fall off. I am the more induced to form this opinion, by 


106 ON THE IXIA AND GLADIOLT, 


having seen an experiment tried to destroy it: this was dorie by 
using the common solution of soft soap and sulphur-vivum mixed 
with boiling lime-water, till it became of the consistence of paint. 
This, when cold, was applied with a paint brush to part off the 
cbidies of a young tree that were covered with this green mould 
yet the bark was free from ¢tacks. The bark of the part thus 
dressed became in a short time clear, and entirely free, whilst 
the remainder of the tree was still clothed with fits green garb. 
I would recommend all gardeners, who have trees or shrubs in 
this condition, to give them a dressing once or twice in the win- 
ter season, and I doubt not that it will answer their highest ex- 
pectations A sprinkling of quick lime in a powdered state over 
the affected parts, after a shower of rain or strong dew, I have 
found to be equally useful wherever it touched. 


ARTICLE V. 


ON THE CULTURE OF IXIA AND GLADIOLT. 
BY MR. RUTGER, 


¥xExine dissatisfied with what I had seen of the flowering of 
these bulbs, in the nurseries round London, as well as with those 
under my own care, I resolved to try the effect ofa different 
soil from that generally recommended, and not cramming so mahy 
of them together ina pot as is usually done, The soil used 
was one-half rich loam, with one-fourth rotten dung, and one- 
fourth leaf-mould, both well decomposed and mixed up together 
with the loam. The pots were well drained, and a layer of the 
siftings of the dung and leaf-mould was put over the drainings. 
Of the smaller sorts of bulbs, I put only two or three in a forty- 
eight sized pot; of the larger only one ina potof the same size ; 
and of the largest only one in a thirty-two sized pot. During their 
growth ; and particularly when near flowering, the bulbs were 
liberally supplied with water. Under this mode of treatment, 
my desires were fully realized, and my bulbs produced fine flowers, 
far superior to any others that I have ever seen grownin pots. 


J. RurGEr. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 107 


ARTICLE VI. 
ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


(Continued from page 88.) 


Warsz projections produce variety, by altering the apparent 
figure of the open space from every point of view; and by con- 
stantly hiding parts of it, they create a mystery, which excites the 
traveller’s curiosity; they likewise occasion, in many places, a 
great depth in the thicket, which affords opportunities of making 
recesses for buildings, seats, and other objects, as well as for 
bold windings of the principal walks, and for several smaller 
paths to branch off from the principal ones ; all which take off the 
idea of a boundary, and furnish amusement to the passenger in 
his course; and as it is not easy to pursue all the turns of the 
different lateral paths, there is still something left to desire; and a 
field for the imagination to work upon. 

In their crooked walks, they carefully avoid all sudden or unna- 
tural windings, particularly the regular serpentine curves, of which 
our English gardeners are so fond ; observing, that these eter- 
nal, uniform, undulating lines, are, of all things, the most unnatu- 
ral, the most affected; and most tiresome to pursue. Having na- 
ture in view, they seldom turn their walks, without some appa- 
rent excuse ; either to avoid impediments, naturally existing, or 
raised by art, to improve the scenery. A mountain, a precipice, 
a deep valley, a marsh, a piece of rugged ground, a building, or 
some old venerable plant, afford a striking reason for turning aside, 
andifa river, the sea, a wide extended lake, or a terrace com- 
manding rich prospects, present themselves, they held it judi- 
cious to follow them inall their windings; so to protract the 
enjoyments which these noble objects procure: but on a plain, 
either open, or formed into groves and thickets, where no impe- 
diments oblige, nor no curiosity invites to follow a winding path, 
they think it very absurd; saying that the road must either have 
been made by art, or be worn by the constant passage of travellers: 
in either of which cases, it cannot be supposed that men would go 
by a crooked line, where they could arrive by a straight one. 
In general, they are very sparing of their twists, which are al- 
ways easy, and so managed, that never more than one curve is 
perceptible at the same time. 

They likewise take care to avoid an exact parallelism in these 


108 ON CHINESE GARDENS, 


walks, both with regard to the trees which border them, and the 
ground of which they are composed. The usual width given to 
the walk, is from eight to twenty, or even thirty feet, according 
to the extent of the plantation ; but the trees, on each side, are, 
in many places, more distant ; large spaces being left open, which 
are covered with grass and wild flowers, or with fern, broom,. 
briars, and underwood. 

The ground of the walk is either of turf or gravel; neither of 
them finishing exactly at its edges, but running some way into the 
thickets, groves or shrubberies, on each side, in order to imitate 
nature more closely ; and to take off that disagreeable formality 
and stiffness, which a contrary practice occasionsin our Euro- 
pean plantations. 

In their straight roads or walks, when the extent is vast, the 
Chinese artists observe an exact order and symmetry ; saying that 
in stupendous ‘works, the appearance of art is by no means dis- 
gusting, that it conveys to posterity instances of the grandeur of 
their ancestors; and gives birth to many sublime and pleasing 
refiections. The imperial roads are astonishing works of this nature, 
they are composed of triple avenues, adorned with four rows of 
enormous trees; generally Indian chesnuts, spruce firs, mountain 
cedars, and others of the largest growth, planted at proper dis- 
tances ; and extending in straight lines, and almost on a level, two 
three,even four hundred miles. The centre avenues are from 
one hundred and fifty, to two hundred feet wide; and the lateral 
ones, are generally from forty to fifty feet; the spreading branches 
of the trees forming over thema natural umbrella, under which 
the travellers pass, at all times of the day, unmolested by the sun. 

In some places these roads are carried by lofty vaulted pas- 
sages, through the rocks and mountains ; in others, upon cause- 
ways and bridges, over lakes, torrents, and arms of the sea ; and 
in others, they are supported, between the precipices, upon chains 
of iron, or upon pillars, and many tire of arcades, over vil- 
lages, pagodas, and cities: in short, no difficulty has been attend- 
ed to in their construction; but every obstacle has been con- 
quered with amazing industry, and at an almost incredible ex- 
pence. 


(To be continued.) 


oe 


REVIEW. 109 


REVIEW. 


The Boquet, or Ladies’ Flower Garden, being a Description of 
those plants which will ftower in the Room, and the Treatment 
most suitable for them.—By a Florist, Simpkin & Co. 12mo. 
pp- 102. 

In the preface the author states his object in the following 
remarks : 


“ Tt has been often a matter of great surprise to me that amongst 
all the various books that have been written upon Botany, and the 
cultivation of plants, none should ever have been written upon 
the treatment plants require when placed in a London sitting- 
room. I have, therefore, taken upon myself a task:of this kind, in 
hopes that, when it has been perused, it will be te means of pre- 
serving many plants, and also of keeping that healthy and beau- 
tiful appearance upon them, which can only be done by proper 
treatment. 

** It was my intention at first to have placed all those plants 
that require the same treatment together, and so to have made 
one description answer for each head or section; but this I found 
would be impracticable, as almost every two or three plants 
would require to be placed under a different head, and would 
consequently cause great confusion in the arrangement of them. 

*““ T have, therefore, made a selection of the most approved 
flowers, for the various months of the year, and so given a de- 
scription of each plant individually.” 


It appears that the author has in the title given, limited a La- 
dy’s Flower Garden, to a dwelling room, this is certainly too con- 
tracted. The fine collection of plants in the conservatory and 
greenhouse, as also their well kept flower gardens, and beds in 
the open air, give sufficient evidence, 

The remarks on the plants included in the work, will be found 
somewhat useful, but will admit of considerable additions to ren- 
der it what is desirable. In another edition we hope this will 
be attended to, ‘The following is a specimen of the work : 


“Fersruary. Jose. This may justly be classed as the most 
beautiful dower that nature has given us, having that which is 
rarely met with in other plants, beauty and a fine perfume com- 
bined together. There are several varieties of this lovely flower, 
which can be procured at this early season, and which are forced 
in hothouses with very great heat, so that when taken into the 
room, they require very great attention. In purchasing forced 
roses, one of the principal objects to have in view is the healthi- 
ness of the plant, which may be easily told by the leaf being 


110 REVIEW. 


very smooth and expanded, and of a fine green. The beauty of 
the rose, depends a great deal upon the form of its flower when 
open, which in forced roses is often very bad; therefore it should 
be particularly noticed if the bud is of an oval form, and not to 
care for a great profusion of flowers, as they are sure not all of 
them to open their bloom, whereas, when they are but few, they 
generally all expand, making large and handsome flowers ; but 
when the bud is short and flat, and being indented on the side, it 
will be perceived that one half of the bud opens before the other, 
and consequently spoils the beauty of the flower. The above 
brief description will be found equally applicable to all roses, 
whether forced or not. 

“* Having given a few remarks upon the choosing of the rose, I 
think I may now safely venture to describe the treatment that is 
most suited to it after itis removed from the hothouse and brought 
into the room; therefore the first point is, to find the situation 
which it is likely to thrive best in, which ought to be where there 
is plenty of light, and at the same time not much affected by the 
fire; consequently, that part of the room which is farthest from 
the fire, and nearest the light or window, is best suited to it: if 
there is a saucer placed beneath the plant, as is frequently the 
case for convenience, water should at no time be allowed to re- 
main in it, as nothing is more detrimental to this plant than stale 
water; although there are several varieties of plants which are 
very much benefitted by standing in water; hence it is that the 
want of sufficient knowledge of those which ought and ought not 
to be treated in this manner, has occasioned so many failures 
among plants when taken into the room; but as | treat of the va- 
rious plavts, I shall describe those that are benefitted by this 
mode of treatment. 

“The rose should be slightly watered once a day at this season 
of the year, and that upon the surface of the mould, not putting 
any in the saucer, and so long as it remains wet, then the plant 
will require no water; but when it becomes dry, then a fresh sup- 
ply may with safety be given. The forced rose is one of those 
plants very much subjected to a small green fly, which fixes it- 
self beneath the leaf and upon the bud, and it isa great object 
even with nurserymen to destroy them, which is partially done 
by means of tobacco smoke; but I think where there are only 
a few plants, the best and most certain way of keeping them from 
the plants, is to wash the leaves and bud with a feather or soft 
hair brush, dipped in a solution of soft soap and tobacco water, as 
the soft soap being of an adhesive nature, it remains upon the 
plants for some time, keeping with it the properties of the to- 
bacco ; this being carefully applied once, it is rarely the insects 
return again during thetime it is flowering: this method will be 
equally applicable to all plants which are subject to this species 
of insect. ' 

“The following are the names of a few roses, which may be 
had at this early time of the year: Provin’s Rose, Moss ditto, 


REVIEW. lll 


Spong’s ditto, Rose de Meaux, and Fairy Rose. The Rose de 
Meaux and Spong’s Rose, are the two best for flowering in the 
room; but the two former species are much the finest, the flow- 
ers being nearly three times the size of the latter. The Fairy 
Rose, as it is called by the gardeners, is quite a different rose 
from that which has generally borne that name. It being a very 
double flower, and much larger than the variety of Fairy Rose, 
the treatment of this beautiful little plant is not near so trouble- 
some as other roses, nor is it so liable to insects. It should re- 
ceive a very little water each day, and when the roses fall off the 
flower-stalk, is cut off by which means much more strength is gi- 
ven to the succeeding bloom. About this time the common Blush 
China or monthly Rose, commences to flower, and, with proper 
care, continues blooming for ‘many months; it is also liable to 
insects, but may be easily cured of them by the means already 
described. Its other treatment is much the same as the Fairy 
Rose, cutting off the dead flower and giving it more water as the 
season advances; when about the month of April, it may be 
placed outside of the window during the day, and very often the 
night also. : 

“* Rhodora Cadanensis,—This is one of those plants which flower 
before it makes any appearance of leaf, for which it generally 
makes up in abundance and showiness of its bloom, being of a 
rosy lilac colour, and flowering in small bunches on the extremity 
of the branches. It is very beautiful in bouquets, for which pur- 
pose itis very much cultivated by gardeners. It will either stand 
ina cold room, or one where there is a fire, and should be very 
slightly watered each day. 

“The Pink is nearly one of the worst plants for forcing early, as 
it is so often that nearly the whole of the buds turn blind, and 
never open, especially when taken into the room; consequently 
it requires an accurate knowledge of the habit of this plant to be 
able to choose those which are likely to bloom. The method 
which I have always found the most certain, and which I recom- 
mend to my readers, is by slightly pressing the bud between the 
fingers. When they feel full and hard, they may safely be de- 
pended upon, for when the petals of the bloom are fully formed, 
they are sure to open well. But should the buds close between 
the fingers and appear to be empty, then there is no chance what- 
ever of its flowering, not even in the hothouse of the nursery- 
man himself; and again, they ought not to be chosen very back- 
ward, even if they should feel full and hard, for when very back- 
ward, they require twice the care and attention, and at the same 
time do not flower any the finer for it, consequently I should re- 
commend choosing those which have the most buds about to open, 
as they last as long as the most backward. In its treatment care 
should be given to the watering of it, as a surplus of water will 
destroy the forthcoming bloom sooner than anything else, so 
that if there is a saucer beneath the plant, water should not be 
allowed to remain in it longer than two or three hours after it has 


112 REVIEW, 


been watered, which ought to have been done every day, if the 
plant is in good health, and placed near the light, where it will not 
be exposed to a cold draught of air, which is very injurious to it. 
There are few flowers that deserve to be more cultivated, either 
at this or any other time of the year, on account of its very fine 
scent, that is surpassed by hardly any other flower. Those most 
held in esteem for forcing early —Shailer’s Early White, Moss’s 
Blush, and the Anne Boleyn Pink. The latter is quit different 
from the other pinks, both in its growth and flower, generally 
attaining the height of two and three feet, and having a very large 
flower, which is very sweet: it is much later in its flowering 
than the two former, and thrives better than any other when taken 
into the room. 

“ Azalea indica alba.—The beautiful species of this tribe seem 
formed to relieve the dullness of the winter months both, by their 
various colours and by the beautiful scent of the flowers. The 
species I am now describing generally blooms with two or three 
flowers together, of a clear white, with long stamens which pro- 
ject out of the flower; it is particularly desirous for the town, as 
it is one of those plants which retains its bloom for a long time, 
and likewise flourishes very well in the room; the flower of this 
species of Azalea is extremely liable to be bruised from its deli- 
cateness, and should therefore be kept from any draught of air; 
it should be watered once a day, and never be permitted to get 
quite dry, for when the flowers once droop from this cause, it is 
rarely that they rise again Azalea indica phenicea:—This dif- 
fers from the other variety, as having a much greener and better 
leaf, and the flower of a very dark lilac or purple; generally it 
‘does not flower very freely until it gets to a large size ; its treat- 
ment is the same as the other. Azalea indica Smithii :—This 
species is very showy, and flowers very abundantly, as well upon 
small plants as large, having a bright red flower ; it flowers much 
later in the season than the former varieties, as it is not generally 
much forced. 

“‘Camellia.—This beautiful tribe of plants has been more trouble 
to make bloom, in town, than perhaps almost any other; 1 shall, 
therefore, be more particular in describing the treatment, and point 
out many objections, that have hitherto been to the culture of this 
desirable plant. From its repeated failures, it is often thought that 
it isa plant that will not ftower in town : but this is quite erroneous, 
as with proper attention, it may be flowered as well as most other 
plants ; and being of a fine leaf, ndependent of flower, it is parti- 
cularly worthy of a little more trouble than ordinary plants. Now 
the great cause of complaint against it, is, that when it is covered 
with bud, and every expectation raised of seeing some beautiful 
flowers spring from them, they gradually commence falling offas 
the season of its blooming approaches, so that there is scarcely a 
single bud left upon the plant at that time when they ought to be 
expanding themselves into flower. 
‘ (To he Continued) 


e) oe 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 113 


THE GARDENS 
OF THE 
ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON, 
: INNER CIRCLE, REGENT'S PARK. 
(Continued from page 94,) 


The arrangement of this portion of the objects of the society has been 
confided to an architect possessing considerable taste and judgment in laying 
out ornamental grounds ; and it is needless to say that he has complied with 
the utmost expectations of the enlightened promoters of the society. The 
geographical and physical distribution of plants is to be preserved as much as 
possible, and a necessary accessary is the application of national architecture 
in the buildings devoted to the production of individual countries. Other 
artistical decorations, as statues and vases, will also be employed as far as 
possible; and it is saying much in praise of the objects of the society, that 
only in this department, without going into any unnecessary expence, they 
may powerfully contribute to the cultivation of public-taste. While the 
several ornamental edifices will present a synopsis of the various styles of 
architecture, a proper selection of statues and vases, would afford all the 
benefit of a gallery or museum. This would give the public an opportunity 
of becoming acquainted with the best production of the several schools, and 
the elucidation of this object should be by no means omitted in the catalogue 
of the gardens. The selections might include casts of the several styles of 
Egyptian art, and of the finest ancient and modern specimens of the several 
Greek, Italian, French, and English schools. Whether these are classed in 
the general catalogue, or formed into a separate volume, the descriptions 
should contain suflicient information of the works and their artists, and the 
base of every figure should have inscribed the name of the artist, and date 
and style of the work. 

The plants are to be arranged according to the two great systems of clas- 
sification, the artificial and the natural; and will likewise be disposed in 
such a manner as may be useful to every class of botanist. The artificial 
system, is that of Linnzus, founded on the visible organs of plants, while it 
presents great facilities of reference, is too loose for any strict classification, 
and resembles the old method of animal arrangement, which ia its difinition 
of quadrupeds included in the same class of animals, reptiles, and excluded 
cetacee. The natural system formed, by Jessieu, is founded upon the con- 
stitutional differences of plants, and establishes as clear a distinction between 
the several classes, as in animal tribes the distinction between warm and 
cold blooded. The adoption of this latter system is of almost universal 

reference in all continental gardens founded upon improved principles, and 
is well calculated, by its introduction here, to impress the student with the 
importance of studying the organic constitution of plants. 

The circle is proposed to be distributed into compartments, for the recep- 
tion of the several plants indigenous to Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Aus- 
tralia, and the Polar Regions, These again are propused to be subdivided 
into gardens, in illustration of the style of ornamental gardens of the several 
countries of the great divisions, 

At the entrance of the grounds from the grand drive leading from the 
Colosseum a building will be erected, Fe | to the general business of the 
Society, and containing a library, museum, and rooms for study. The library 
will consist of botanical works and periodicals, and to it will be annexed a 
reading room for the use of fellows and members. The museum will contain 
dried specimens, drawings, and engravings of recent plants, and specimens 
of fossils, and it would augment the value of these latter if they were accom- 
panied by such recent plants as are identical to them, or have the nearest 
Felation, It will farther contain illustrations of the application of vegetable 

Vou, VII, No, 75, 0 


1l4 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


productions to manufactures, as, for instance, specimens of cotton from tie 
raw material up to its formation into cloth. The rooms for instruction will 
afford facilities for students to draw plants from the living objects, and it will 
include a convenient lecture hall, in which courses will be given similar to 
those which are so popular at the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and the Royal 
Dublin Society’s gardens at Glasnevin. From this edifice a raised viaduct 
promenade, over-looking a considerable portion of the gardens, will lead to 
a domed conservatory in the centre of the gardens. This conservatory will 
be on a very large scale, so as to emulate some of the foreign houses, and to 
give every facility for the growth of the more magnificent tropical plants. 
Descending from the conservatory to the right of the grand promenade, we 
come to a garden Jaid out in the Dutch style, with a fountain in centre, and 
canals. Beyond this will be a rosary, consisting of a circular lawn, sur- 
rounded by arch trellis work and borders, for the growth of every variety of 
this queen of flowers. From this we enter the Italian garden, laid out with 
statues, fountains, and raised terraces, at one end of which will be a conser- 
vatory and at the other a casino. Having passed under the promenade, we 
reach the medico-botanical garden, adjoining the central conservatory, and 
surrounded by hot-houses, stoves, &c. We are now at the head of the lake, 
which will extend for about a quarter of a mile, interspersed with islands 
and winding amid varied scenery. Here will be cultivated aquatic plants, 
and there will also be provided a salt-water basin for marine alge, At the 
head of the lake will be an artificial rock for the cultivation of rock-plants, 
and which will contain a large reservoir to supply the several fountains and 
hydraulic works. The borders of the lake, will, if possible, be so arranged 
as to display representations of natural geological sections, which may be 
made equally prodactive of interest and delight. 

Between the lake and central conservatory will be an extensive lawn, 
upon which ornamental shrubs and parterres of flowers will be displayed in 
the modern English style. In its special department will be a garden de- 
voted, like that at Glasgow, to the cultivation of plants used in manufactures; 
and the dyer may here sce the material of his tints, or the weaver the cotton 
from which his cloth is spun. In proper situations wiil be the American or 
bog-earth grounds; a ground shaded by trees and containing stumps and 
roots of trees, tunnels and caves for the growth of mosses, ferns, fungi, and 
other cellulares. Around the whole ground is to be a walk with wide bor- 
ders for the arrangement of plants in scientific order. By the sides of the 
walks raised receptacles may be placed, so as to bring some of the more 
delicate bog earth plants nearer the eye. 

An experimental garden may be rendered an important and interesting 
object, whether devoted to agriculture or manufactures. Professor Daubeny 
has devoted a portion of the limited space of the garden at Oxford to a series 
of experiments on the powers of agricultural plants, by which he endeavours 
to ascertain how long a plant will continue in constant cultivation before it 
exhausts the soil, and when one plant has exhausted the soil, what other will 
grow inits place. The rotation of crops, the subject of this examination, is 
one of the most important principles of modern agriculture, and one which 
greatly demands enlightened study. 

By these several departments every facility will be given for the study of 
botany to whatever class of student may be desirous of availing himself of 
it; and one of the most important objects, the application of botanical pro- 
ductions to arts and manufactures, is particularly provided for. As far as 
means will permit, exertions will be made to promote the cultivation of such 
plants as may be most useful for these purposes, and to extend them in our 
own country and our colonies; and even if the society should do nothing 
locally, they have it in their power to further these objects, by giving prizes, 
‘a8 is done by the Society of Arts. To give every inducement for its local 
study, public botanical exhibitions will be opened periodically, in which an 
important feature will be introduced, by giving prizes for any new applica- 
tion of plants to manufactures, and for the best delineation of them, or 


_ 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 115 


combination in a pattern. It is gratifying to perceive that it is the intention 
of the society to act like the institutions at Paris and St. Petersburgh, as a 
central establishment, to form a union with provincial societies, and to afford 
every assistance to them and to individuals in the propagation of new 
lants. 

r The most effective way to render the gardens of advantage to the public 
is to devote great attention to everything that can promote its utility, and 
the simpler and more effective all its arrangements are made the more it will 
effect this end. A very important object is the placing the names of the 
plants near them in a conspicuous position, and such description should con- 
tain their scientific and common names, their country, and what are their 
economical uses. The catalogue should be as extensive and cheap as pos- 
sible, and contain, in addition to the history of the plant and its particular 
uses, a chemical analysis of its several constituents; to this work should be 
prefixed a short explanation of botanical terms and the rudiments of the 
systems. Another necessary feature should be always, as far as possible, to 
accompany the description and the catalogue by analysis of the several soils 
in which the plants are placed, as this would call public attention to a de- 
partment of science which is highly important, and in which, notwithstanding 
the efforts of Kirwan and Davy, we are still greatly deficient. 

Having thus exhibited the general features of this plan, it is hardly neces- 
sary to augur its success, as that cannot fail to attend an object of such great 
interest and utility. We have sufficient evidence in the taste for floriculture, 
and the increasing cultivation of zoologica] and botanical science, that the 
public mind is sufficiently prepared for such an institution, and is perfectly 
capable of appreciating and supporting it; and if we wanted an instance of 
popular discrimination on this subject, we have a most admirable instance in 
the case at Dublin. The gardens of the Royal Dublin Society having been 
much neglected, gradually declined in public estimation; but in 1834, no 
sooner was an improved system adopted, than the lectures were crowded, 
and the number of visitors increased, in four years, from 7,000 to 20,000. 
That no improvement is lost on the public mind, we see again in the effect 
produced by the new regulations in the national collections in Loudon, where 
every change for the better has produced a corresponding increase in the 
number of yisitants. 

In conclusion, the managers have but to follow in the course they have 
commenced, and the success of their institution will reflect equal lustre on 
themselves and advantage on their country, and redeem the honour of the 
giant metropolis from the dificiency of such an important embellishment. 
Its promoters may rest assured that it is only by enlightened management 
that these objects are to be obtained, while through it the enjoyments of their 
fellow countrymen may be promoted, and the greatest advantages conferred 
on the arts, sciences, commerce, and manufactures of their native land. 


New Plants. 


Sracuys coccinea. This plant is a native of Mexico, and bloomed at 
the Clapton Nursery with the Salvia Patens, &c. The plant grows about 
half a yard high, having numerous branches, flowering freely. The flowers 
are of a dull red ; but though not brilliant, when grown in masses produce 
a pretty effect, {t blooms in the open border from June to October. 


Cuorozema Execans. This new and beautiful species has recently bloom- 
ed in the greenhouse in the London Horticultural Societies Garden. The 
flowers are of a brilliant yellow and crimson, produced in large spikes, It 
is a very desirable plant for the greenhouse, 


ee 


116 | NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


PART IU. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS, 


(Noticed since our last.) 


DENDROBIUM CRUMENATUM, (Bot. Reg. 22. 
ORCHIDEZ. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


1. Discovered in various parts of the Indian Archepelago, and was sent 
from Ceylon by Mr. Nightingale, to his Grace the Duke of Northumber- 
land, in whose Collection at Syon it has bloomed. The flowers are pro- 
duced numerously on a terminal raceme. Each blossom is about an inch 
across, white stained with yellow. It is stated, that it varies with white 
and pink flowers. 


DENDROBIUM AUREUM var. PALLIDUM. Golden flowered. 
(Bot. Reg. 20. 
ORCHIDE®, GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 
2, This plant is a native of Ceylon, and has bloomed in the collection 


of Messrs. Loddiges’s. Each flower is aboat two inches across, yellow and 
white, powerfully fragrant. 


New and Rare Plants noticed in the London, and neighbouring 
; Nurseries. 

Hovea Puncens,—This new species was introduced into this country by 
Baron Hugel of Vienna, and has recently bloomed in the greenhouse at the 
Tooting Nursery. The leaves are very narrow and long, giving the plant 
a very pretty appearance. The flowers are of a purplish blue colour, and 
produce a pleasing effect. It is a desirable plant for the greenhouse. 


CxZLOYNE BARBATA.—This new and interesting orchideous plant, sent 
from the East Indies to Messrs. Loddiges’s, and has recently bloomed in 
their collection. The flowers are produced on racemes, The sepals and 
petals are white. The labellum is white streaked, and stained with bright 
yellow, and at the base is tinged with pink. 


PIMELEA INCANA.—is now in bloom at the Clapton Nursery. It is well 
known that the Pimeleas in collections produce their flowers in corymbous 
heads at the summit of the branches, and the plants usually become naked 
a they advance in size, but the present species, though ten feet high, is 
covered with branches, leaves and flowers, down to its very base. 

The flowers are white, produced on terminal pendant clusters, and pro- 
duce a most charming effect. 


GARDOQUIA RETONICOIDES.— We saw this new species in bloom at the 
Clapton Nursery, at the same time as the Salvia patens. It is a herbace- 
ous plant, blooming profusely in the open border in summer. It contras 
with Salvias, &c. it produces a pretty effect when in ‘masses. It is a native 
of Mexico. The flowers are about the size of the pretty, and now well- 
known species, G, multiflora, of a bright rosy purple colour, 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 117 


PART IIL. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


On Dr. Arnott's Stove.—H. W. requests Mr. Harrison to inform him 
in the next number of the Floricultural Cabinet, whether Dr. Arnott’s Stove 
will heat a greenhouse properly, and which is the best house in London 
for buying one? 

We have not had an opportunity of seeing Dr. Arnott’s Stove in opera- 
tion to a plant house, but having been supplied by correspondents with the 
following remarks upon the subject, we give them for the information of 
our correspondent : 

Having recently built anew greenhouse, and feeling unwilling to incur 
the expense of fixing a hot-water apparatus, yet anxious to spare the great 
expenditure of fuel, occasioned by brick flues, my attention was turned to 
Arnott’s stove as a medium. Accordingly, in last December, 1 procured 
from Cottam and Hallen, one of their 18-inch stoves, which is now, and has 
been since then, ,in constant operation. My new house is 60 feet long, by 
12 feet wide, with a span roof; the stove is placed at one end, within a few 
feet of the door. To explain why | had it placed at the end, rather than in 
the centre, let me here say that, feeling rather sceptical as to its efficacy in 
engendering sufficient heat, 1 had built at the other extremity of the house 
a common brick flue, 20 feet in length in case of exigency. 1 will now give 
the result af my observations. 

During the frost of the 8th and 9th instant, with the assistance of one 
hour’s heating of the flue in the evening with brushwood, the thermometer 
was kept up to 50 degrees, and, of course, the frost completely excluded. 
Still wishing to ascertain with greater exactitude the capabilities of Arnott’s 
stove. I have had, during a very sharp wind frost, nearly 30 feet of the 
house next the stove partitioned ‘off by mats, so as to give me a small green- 
house, 30 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 10 feet high. In this house, then, 
has the stove given all day, with a moderate fire, and the consumption of 
not quite a peck of coke, from 50 to 60 degrees of heat. To take off the 
arid and rather harsh nature of this heat, I have had a zinc pan of water 
2 inches deep, and 18 inches square, placed on the stove; the evaporation 
of which gives all the softness and moisture that can be wished for. 

It must be borne in mind, that in this trial 9 feet of the glass roof out 
of 15 feet have been covered with double mats, as is usual in severe frosts 
with all greenhouses. At this moment,8p.m., the thermometer in the 
open air, 1s at 28 degrees. Jn the house of the before mentioned dimen- 
sions, heated by Arnott’s 18-inch stove, it is at 60 degrees 

I hope I have now said enough to convince plant-growers, that for small 

reephouses, or even for moderate sized ones, this stove will effectually 
CC out frost, which, of course, with greenhouses, is all that is required. 
For plant amateurs, particularly for those who do not keep a regularfgarden- 
er, is invaluable; for the little attendance required can be given by a maid- 
servant, No overheating can take'place, and no danger to buildings is incur- 
red; and if the simple prevention is taken, of sprinkling the inside of the 
stove, when it is cold, with water, to lay the dust, preparatory to cleaning 
it, not the least particle of dust escapes. This is a great advantage, as 
all other stoves give so much dust, as totally to unfit Hers for plant-houses. 
To nurserymen and dealers in greenhouse plants, thisstove is indeed a hoon, 
for what numbers of lovers of greenhouse plants have been deterred from 


118 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. - 


undertaking their cultivation, owing to the ny and nightly care required 
during frost, to keep brick flues regularly heated; and sometimes, owing to 
the great expense of fuel, and the calculation that the frost would not be 
severe, a fire has not been lighted some nights at the end of winter, and 
then all the previous care has been destroyed by the admission of frost to 
the plants. Now, with Arnott’s stoves, any pit or large frame may be made 
frost-proof; and, as the consumption of fuel is so trifling, a fire may be 
lighted every night, and the expense not felt. Some caution is certainly re- 
quired in purchasing these stoves. I bought two of an inferior construc- 
tion, and found them both useless. Fortunately, Messrs. Cottam and Hallen 
had supplied a neighbour with one of the regular construction to heat his ser- 
vant’s hall, aroom of large dimensions. This acted so admirably, that I 
immediately procured one from them; the effects of which I thought it my 
duty to give you, to register in your legitimate pages, 

SAWBRIDGEWORTH. T. Rivers, 

As there is at present an anxious desire amongst the public to know what 
Dr. Arnott’s stoves are capable of performing, as regards heat, and as I 
have six inuse, and have paid great attention to the working of them, you 
may be glad to hear the results. But I now allude more particularly to ob- 
taining 2 bottom heat from them for early forcing. I have just erected a 
pit 20 by 7, and formed an air chamber under the whole length ; on the 
top I have placed netting works, supported by wood rafters, (iron would be 
better, but this was by way of experiment); on that I have laid turf with 
the grass downwards, and on that again I have placed dry mould. At one 
end is the Arnott stove, the smoke of which is conveyed through the 
whole length of the air chamber by a small brick flue, four inches in diame- 
ter, and comes out at the other extremity of the pit. The result is, thatI 
have as beautiful a bottom heat throughout as can possibly be required. 
How the plants—melonsI intend it for this spring, and pines afterwards— 
will grow in it, remains to be proved; but I have no doubt whatever about 
them in my own mind. I have also three tubes at equal distances, commu- 
nicating with the air chamber beneath which | can open and close at plea- 
sure to let out the hot air when I have too much. They will be further 
useful for pouring in water, to prevent the heat from drying up the mould 
Which it might be apt to do, unless some means of that sort were resorted 
to. I give you this early notice of itin the hope of inducing others to make 
a similar experiment, as the season is but just commencing, and, by the 
end of it, we may have some practical men giving us their opinions upon 
it. The advantages that are derived from it are numerous; all fermenting 
materials, which are always expensive for large pits, will be saved; the 
trouble and all the filth and dirt of renewing linings will be done away 
with, The expence of the fire cannot exceed twopence in the twenty-four 
hours, and a stove to answer every purpose may be got for £2. The six I 
have in use consume just one hundred weight of culm ine day and night, 
which costs here tenpence halfpenny per hundred weight. One is placed 
in a pine pit, another in a hothouse applied to a boiler, and the others are 
in different rooms in the house. The average expence of the whole toge- 
ther is not twopence per day and night each. 

You will see by this account, that a great deal may be done with them at 
a very small cost, and that many of the anoyances attending forcing, may 
be entirely overcome by the use of them. Garp. GazETTE. 


ANSWER. 


On Ink SutteD ror Writinc on Metattiic Lasers.—In answer to your 
correspondent Y. M’s inquiry in last month’s Cabinet, ‘‘On Ink suited for 
writing with upon Metallic Labels;” I beg to inform him that from experi- 
ence I find in order to be perfectly secure, and to preserve the complete 
indentification of my plants, that it is absolutely necessary to use the pre- 


P 
+ 
4 
, 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 119 


pared Ink which has been advertised with the prepared Labels. I have used 
unprepared Zinc Labels with, and without the prepared Ink, but I have 
found myself frequently disappointed by the complete obliteration of the 
names, which has proved very inconvenient to me, particularly in the naming 
of my Dahlias. Since my adoption (which has been for some years) of the 
use of the prepared Jnk with the prepared Labels I have not met with a dis- 
appointment, A Constant READER. 


REMARKS. 


Tue Horricutrurat Society's Garpen.—We recently called at the 
before mentioned garden, and were not less surprised than delighted, when 
shown the foundation part of which was then completed, being the com- 
mencement of an erection which will give credit to that wealthy and Hon- 
onrable Society. In the February number of the ‘Botanical Register,’ Dr. 
Lindley thus speaks of it, “‘ all who are interested in the cultivation of exotic 
plants, will be glad to learn the Horticultural Society of London, are about 
to erect a most extensive conservatory in their garden at Chiswick. The 
range will be nearly 500 feet long, running east and west, with a front both 
to the north and south. The roof will be constructed entirely of iron, glazed 
with patent sheet glass, and will have the form of a yothic arch. The west 
wing rather more than 180 feet long, and 27 feet high, has been contracted 
for by Messrs. D. & E. Bailey, of Holborn, and will probably be completed 
by the middle of May. The whole range when execnted, will be one of the 
most extensive in the world.” The Doctor proceeds to observe, ‘‘It is now to 
be expected that greenhouse and stove plants, especially the former, will be- 
come a great object of attention with the Society; the effect of which will 
doubtless be, to improve the ornamental character of tender plants, in the 
same degree as that of hardy collections.” 


On THE PranTain.—At the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
Tuesday evening, Professor Johnson is reported to have made the assertion 
that the Plantain, (as in the remarkable instance of corn,) “has never been 
met with in a wild state, but only within the precincts of cultivation,” and 
immediately afterwards, we are carried away from its native land to the ex, 
tremities of the habitable earth, in search of the uses to which it is applied. 
The wild Plantain, called by some Musa sylvatica, found over the whole 
range of Ghauts, extending nearly from Surat to Cape Comorin, and in the 
vicinity of Bombay, is one of the most common of jungle plants; whether 
this is the true and original Musa paradisiuxa or not, remains to be proved, 
I believe it so to be; the difference between the wild and cultivated variety, 
(if such it may be termed,) being, that the former springs up in June, the 
commencement of the rains, and dies down at the end of the year, even in 
spite of irrigation, which is not the case with the latter; and that in the 
former the whole contents of the fruit consists of seeds nearly as large as a 
sweet-pea, but of which in the latter scarcely a trace is discernable. 

March, 28th, 1839. Cives Munn. 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR MAY. 


Pranr Stove.—Very little fire-heat will now be required, only applying it 
in cold weather. The plants will progressively require an increase of air and 
water. If any want an increase of pot-rvom, it should be attended to as early 
as possible ; otherwise, if not watered frequently, the foliage or flowers will 
be liable to suffer, turn brown, or fall off the plant. Keep the plants free 
from decayed leaves, moss, &c. Frequently stir the surface of the soil. 
When any casual irregularities in form occur, prune or tie the shoots as 
required. It is a good time for propagating by cuttings, suckers, seeds, &c., 
placing them in moist heat. 


120 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


TENDER OR STOVE ANNUALS.—When it is desired to have some plants to 
bloom late in autumn, as Balsams, Cockscombs, Browallis, &c., seeds should 
now be sown, and the plants potted off into small sized pots, as soon as they 
are large enough, using a rich soil. 

Greennouse.—During the early part of May, a few frosty nights general- 
ly occur ; in consequence of which, it is advisable not to take out the general 
stock of plants before the middle of the month, or even in cold situations, 
before the 25th. Whilst the plants, however, remain in the greenhouse, let 
them have all the air that can be given, during the day, and at nights if no 
appearance of frost. Particular attention will now be required to afford an 
ample supply of water to free growing kinds of plants. Frequently syriage 
them over the tops at evening, just before sun-set. If any of the plants be 
attacked with green fly, or any other similar insects, apply a sprinkling of 
tobacco water, diluted with water, by adding to one quart of the liquid five 
of water ; in applying which to the plants, syringe them at the under as well 
as upper surface of the leaves: a repetition will rarely be required. This 
mode of destroying the insects is far preferable to fumigation, no injury 
being sustained by it, even if applied in a pure state. The liquid can be 
obtained of tobacconists at 10d. or 1s. per gallon. Tnarching Orange or 
Lemon trees may still be performed. It is a good time for increasing planta 
by cuttings striking in moist heat. Greenhouse annuals—as Salpiglossies, 
Globe Amaranthuses, Balsams, &c.—should be encouraged by alittle warmth 
and shifted into larger pots, early in the month; so that the plants may 
make a show, to succeed the removal of the general collection of greenhouse 
plants. Cuttings or suckers of Chrysanthemums should now be taken off, if 
not done before. Triverania coccinea, plants should be potted singly into a 
light rich soil and be forwarded in the stove, and repotted as they advance 
in growth, not too much at a time, but as root room appears necessary. Lo- 
belias for the greenhouse should be similarly treated, as to potting, &c. 

Flower GaRDEN.—Continue to protect beds of Hyacinths, Tulips, &c. 
Carnations in pots should be encouraged by manure water, &c., in order to 
grow them vigorously : care in striking them will be required. By the mid- 
dle of the month, half hardy annuals—as China Asters, Marigolds, &c¢.— 
may be planted out in the open borders. Some of the best kinds may be 
potted, as done to the more tender sorts. Many kinds of greenhouse plants 
—as Petunias, Salpiglossies, Salvias, Fuchsias, Heliotropes, &c.—should now 
be planted out in the open border. Dablias that have been forwarded in 
pots, frames, &c., may be planted out towards the end of the month. Seed- 
lings may be pricked out, in a warm situation, having a deep, fresh, rich 
soil. When Stocks, Mignionette, China Asters, &c. are wished to bloom late 


‘in the year, seeds may now be sown, either under a frame or on a warm — 


‘border, Slips of Do ble Wallflowers should now be put in under a hand- 
glass,. Seeds of biennials—as Sweet Williams, Scabions, ns = 
should now be sown. Tuberoses, for late flowering, shor 
either in pots or warm borders. Ofisets of Campanula py ami 
be planted in rich soil, and placed in the greenhouse. Rey 

continued till they cease to grow, by this meens the plants w 

feet high, and be very branching. 3 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Ecuirese, King or Heartsease, AND Beauty oF EpMonTon, are among 
the splendid Seedling Panzies raised by Mr. Page, of Edmonton Nursery, 
and advertized for sale in previous numbers of the Cabinet. or 

Lorp Durnam, AND GeneRAL WoxrFe, are very five Seedling Panzies 
raised by Mr. James Burly, Florist, Simpsfield, near Godstone, Surry, (see 
advertising sheet for the present number.) We have drawings of some other 
very fine Seedling kinds sent us by the aboye gentlemen, which will appear 
in some future number. 


‘Campions, &c.— 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


JUNE Ist, 1839. 


RR ma 


PART I, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


~ 


ARTICLE I. 


ON THE PRESENT TASTE AND STYLE OF ORNAMENTAL 
GARDENING. 
BY MR. JOHN FOREST, GARDEN ARCHITECT, &c., ROSS. 

As gardening was one of the first, so is it one the most delightful 
occupations of man; it contributes to his necessities, as well as 
to his comfort and pleasure. The cultivation of salutary herbs, 
and grain, and fruit for diet, were necessary to his existence; and 
that of flowers for their scent and beauty, and of trees for shade 
and shelter, was equally necessary accompaniments. Hence the 
calling became divided into distinct branches, namely, kitchen, 
fruit, flower, and ornamental gardening. The two first, though 
of most real utility, are considered subordinate to the two last, 
more especially the last of all, which has been dignified by the 
title of, “‘ landscape gardening.” The term has been borrowed 
from that given to any prospect of a country, but particularly 
from those works of art depicting wild or ornamental scenery, 
called landscape paintings, representing any space or region of a 
country, with its various objects. 

The first ornamental gardens of which we have any good ac- 
count were regular enclosures, with everything they contained 
arranged most symmetrically, justifying the often-quoted sarcastic 
couplet of our poet Pope:— 


“ Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother, 
And one-half the lawn but just reflects the other.” 


This rectilinear and rectangular style of gardening was, how- 
ever, quite natural to man in the earlier ages of the world; he saw 
Vox. VII. No. 76. P 


122 ON ORNAMENTAL GARDENING. 


nature in all her wildest forms around him, and, as lord of the 
creation, he felt a kind of instinctive desire to bring her under 
his controul; he wished a contrast and a disposition of bis trees, 
and boundaries that would mark or secure his possessions, and, at 
the same time, exhibit his skill as well as his sovereignty. Art 
was then his idol, not Nature ; and everything he did was to show 
how much the latter was under his dominion. . 

This artificial style of gardening continued to prevail in every 
civilised country, from the earliest times till after the beginning 
of the eighteenth century. Before this epoch, Le Nétre, a 
French garden architect and ornamental gardener, was exten- 
sively employed in almost every nation in Europe; and some 
portions of his designs are still to be seen in France, and many 
imitations of them everywhere, as well in this country as on the 
Continent. ! 

While Le Notre and his contemporaries were driving every 
trace of nature from their garden scenes, the painter was at the 
same time enthusiastically engaged in studying her in her wildest 
forms, and copying every incident in real scenery which would 
improve his studies or enrich his pictures. 

Before the period to which we are alluding, many eminent 
painters had immortalized their fame by the beautiful landscapes 
which they had painted. Among the celebrated paintings, it is 
remarkable that very few trim garden scenes were represented, 
especially as the artists, both gardeners and painters, were prob- 
ably admirers of each other. This, however, is only an instance 
of how much the human mind is liable to be enchained by custom 
or reigning fashion. The idea had not yet been entertained, per- 
haps, that the principles of ornamental gardening and landscape 
painting are the same; for, in practice at that time, the artists 
took directly contrary routes: the painter studied nature only, 
while the gardener busied himself in cutting and slashing vegeta- 
tion into all the most fantastic regular figures his ingenuity could 
invent. Geometry, with its lines and rules, was his text book ; 
without this he could not trace a line, or prune a tree, or trim a 
hedge. On the other hand, nature, in all her varied forms, and 
habits, and hues, were seized and imitated by the painter, tracing 
her on the mountain steep, or in the secluded dell, by the spark- 
ling river side, or on the banks of the placid lake. 

Thus, at one time, were painters and gardeners employed, 
both eccupied in arranging the same objects; the one forming 


eS a | 


. i 


ON ORNAMENTAL GARDENING. 123 


real, the other pictorial scenery, but with very different views : 
the first was enamoured of “neglect and accident ;” the other se- 
riously annoyed if a single leaf projected from the smooth surface 
the shears had made. 

The love of gardening and of fine pictures, however, keep pace 
with each other, and were often united in the same cultivated 
mind; indeed, we seldom meet a virtuosa who is not equally en- 
amoured of all the fine arts. Both gardeners and painters were 
employed in the embellishment of regal, noble, ecclesiastical, and 
manorial residences. While the exterior was graced and adorned 
by the former, the interior was decorated and enriched by the 
latter. The painter’s landscape at last ‘bore away the bell;’’ the 
admirable scenes presented on canvass were extolled by every 
unsophisticated eye, and merely because they were more true to 
nature ; aud when compared with the most laboured garden dis- 
positions, the latter sunk in public estimation, and was soon fol- 
lo wed by the ery—Why ts not every gardener a painter ? 

This impression was so strong after the new light broke in upon 
the minds of the cognoscenti, that Kent, a painter by profession, 
was actually induced to become a landscape gardener. His new 
task was not a pleasant one; he aimed at producing immediate 
effect, as he used to do in his studio; but this was impracticable, 
as he found he must wait many years before he could possibly see 
the full effects of his dispositions of trees, shrubs, &c. 

The first attempt by Kent was certainly a failure, because, in 
straining to do on the naked lawn what is so easily done on can- 
vas, he made himself ridiculous, by planting dead trees, and 
several other freaks, which, however objectionable as the effects 
of time or accident in real scenery, become quite ludicrous if 
imitated by art and labour. 

But as many places at that period were capable of great im- 
provement by merely clearing away redundant growths, the 
painter’s ideas were in such cases highly valuable, and their as- 
sistance was duly acknowledged; and consequently improvement 
by abstraction, or simple clearing away, became the rage. Hence 
a reformation (by far too radical however) took place. Every 
connoisseur wondered how the contracted ideas of the gardener 
could have been so long tolerated ; a kind of remorse was felt 
that the visual enjoyment of real pictures should have been so 
long withheld ; a sweeping sentence of condemnation was instant- 
ly pronounced by the arbiters of fine taste, and open war was 


124 ON ORNAMENTAL GARDENING, 


declared against every right line and right angle, and against 
every perpendicular form of Dutch or Italian gardening. 

Soon were the venerable avenues uprooted—the airy terrace 
and the verdant slope levelled with the general surface of the 
ground; every nicely-clipped hedge or arcade, pyramid or globe, 
were quickly banished from the lawn and gardens; right lines, 
whether of roads, or walks, or fences, were diverted into regularly 
flowing sweeps; the mansion which had been for years partially 
shaded and veiled by trees, was set out and exposed on a smooth 
and closely shaven lawn; hedge-row trees were exchanged for 
insulated clumps dotted over hill and dale; and straight and visi- 
ble fences, gave way to crooked and invisible Ha ha’s! 

Thus the regularity of the old style was excluded, to admit the 
irregularity of the new; a change too recklessly made, and which 
has proved, in many instances, only a change from one kind of 
sameness to another fully as tedious and uninteresting. 

Nor was the new style an imitation of what it was presumed to 
be founded on, namely, the painter’s ideas of the most beautiful 
or most picturesque combinations of land, wood, and water. The 
opinion of the first reformers appeared to be, that, to depart as 
much as possible from the old style, by introducing irregularity, 
was all that was wanted to give the new scenery a truly and nat- 
ural character. 

The new style received the title of ‘‘ English gardening ;” and 
certainly there were some very perfect things of the kind exe- 
cuted in different parts of the kingdom, not, however, by clearing 
all the old features away, buf by a judicious reservation of part 
of them, and not by an implicit adoption of every suggestion of 
the reformers, but by a tasteful rejection of many of their dog- 
mas, 

It is perfectly true, that, though the guiding principles of com- 
position of both the painter and the landscape gardener are the 
same, there must necessarily be a great difference in the execution ; 
the one endeavours to gratify the present, the other future gene- 
rations. The painter can brighten his lights, deepen his shadows, 
give play to his outlines, and mellow his tints at pleasure, so as to 
preserve a well ballanced display of light and shade; all his 
objects whether on the foreground, in the middle distance, or in 
the off-scape, he can dispose as seems to him best. The height, 
and distance, and form of the mountains; the character and extent 
of water; the very forms of the clouds, and tints of the sky, are 


ON ORNAMENTAL GARDENING. 125 


all as his fancy or taste suggests. And neither is the painter con- 
fined to the real character of the trees, and shrubs, and herbs 
which he introduces into his picture ; a burdock, or other mon- 
strous weed on his foreground, answers his purpose as well as the 
finest plant in cultivation. Such worthless plants in a painting 
give no offence to the beholder in any way; and, moreover, the 
rudest, wildest scene may be preferred for the canvas, but which 
is seldom or never required to be, nor indeed ever should be 
formed by the gardener, because the most trifling mark of art 
about such a work robs it of every charm which it would other- 
wise possess. 

The landscape gardener arranges all the ornamental planting 
of the park, and particularly near the house. Here comfort, con- 
venience, cleanliness, and every other sign of high keeping and 
art must prevail; here all the taste and skill of the gardener 
should be displayed; here his ideas are peculiarly applicable ; 
and when these foreground dispositions are fixed, he has to design 
and connect the scenery of the park therewith, and that of the 
surrounding country with both. 

In the execution of all this, the most refined taste, united with 
a large share of practical, botanical, and arboricultural knowledge 
is absolutely necessary; and in this it is said the professional ideas 
of the painter would be available. Let us suppose, then, that a 
Claude Lorraine were engaged with the gardener in laying out an 
English garden ; the trim neatness, smoothness, and regular edges 
of the walks and borders of the latter, would offend the eye of the 
former, who would rather see roughness, intricacy, and indis- 
tinctness prevail. This, however, would not be suffered near the 
abode of refinement and affluence ; but the painter would advise 
the gardener to conceal his hard lines; to break the uniformity of 
the clumps; to give variety to the masses of planting, by asso- 
ciations of trees and shrubs of different tints and character ; to 
place on the foreground the strongest growing herbs, the coarsest 
featured shrubs, and the quickest growing trees to flank the vistas 
which he would wish to have extended across the park, or which 
would let in distant objects of interest in the country beyond. 
The painter would also advise but few single trees to be planted, 
without having a few shrub like growths near their base; and 
also that all clumps and groups should be of one kind of tree, 
irregular in outline, and intermixed with under-growths, to creep 
out on the turf around them. 


126 ON ORNAMENTAL GARDENING: 


If water entered into the composition, the painter wotld ad- 
vise it to be disposed in its natural place—the lowest ground; 
and whether a lake or river, he would have it as unlike a canal as 
possible. The natural abruptness of the banks he would preserve, 
as well as all their sinuosities and overhanging trees and bushes, 
Nor would he be anxious to expose too much of the water in one 
place, unless it would appear as a reach, either advancing towards 
or receding from the eye, for the sake of the reflections from the 
ripple on its surface. If a lake, he would choose to have it of a 
very irregular shape, and as much diversified by trees and islands 
as its size would allow, carefully masking its extremities, if such 
were too visible. 

If buildings of any description, either for use or ornament, 
were in the landscape, the painter would advise them to be partly 
concealed, and only allowing the most ornamental or character- 
istic angle to jut out from among trees. If the park was of a 
finely undulating surface, consisted of smoothly rounded knolls, 
with winding dips between, the painter would adapt the forms of 
his groups and thickets, and the characters of the trees to cor- 
respond. On the other hand, if the environs presented strong 
natural features, as cliffs and rugged declivities, deep ravines 
forming the beds of mountain streams, &c., he would add such 
accompaniments of vegetation, alpine and aquatic trees, &c., as 
would harmonise with the general aspect of the’ place, so as to 
produce (whatever may be the character of the district) a well 
connected and harmonious whole. 

Now if all this would be advised by a painter, or an amateur 
having a ‘‘painter’s eye,” it differs not a jot from what would be 
done by every landscape gardener who knows his business, or 
who deserves the name. Hiding the hard lines in the dressed 
ground, and employing more under-growths among the trees in 
the park, are the only aditional amendments in the common prac- 
tice, which the painter could recommend in laying out a park in 
the English style. He would also object to any great extent of 
lawn being seen from any principal station, because nothing is so 
horrifying to a painter as great blotches of any one colour on the 
canvas, witheut chequering of. shadows, of flocks or herds, or of 
other objects admitting variety of tints; and therefore a park 
laid out by a painter would be rather a series of diverging glades, 
than a park dignified by the grandeur of its vast masses of wood, 
and its expansive extent of verdant turf. 


ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 127 


That many of our parks, laid out in the style last alluded to, 
are lifeless and uninteresting, must be acknowledged. In passing 
through them, though they may have an air of grandeur suitable 
enough for a regal or ducal palace; yet no part of such scenery 
would be admired by the painter, because wholy unfit for the 
canvas. Hence it may be inferred that an English landscape 
gardener’s park may be very suitable for a residence, and yet by 
no means equal to the beau ideal of a connoisseur, who may be 
blessed or plagued by possessing a painter’s eye. Still it is very 
possible to bring the extremes nearer together; to diversify and 
enrich the naked tameness of the ‘‘ capability’ style; and to soften 
the asperities, and qualify the exuberance of imagination ob- 
servable in some of the most celebrated paintings. J. F. 


ARTICLE II. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF ERICAS, 
BY THE FOREMAN OF A LONDON NURSERY. 
Havine had considerable experience on the culture of this 
beautiful and interesting tribe of plants, I submit the following 
practical observations to the notice of your readers. 

Like all mountain plants, they will not long flourish in a damp 
or impure atmosphere, nor in one, however dry, if excluded from 
a free circulation of air, and full exposure to solar light. It fol- 
lows, therefore, that in the selection of a proper habitation for 
them, one fully exposed to the sun, and in a perfectly dry situa- 
tion, and constructed so that the plants may stand near the glass, 
capable at the same time of ventilation to the fullest extent, with 
the front and roof sashes rendered moveable when required, will 
be the most proper habitation for them. 

A span-roofed house upon an economical scale, is well calcu- 
lated for the cultivation of Ericas and their near associates. The 
whole of the side and roof sashes should be moveable, the height 
over the passage about seven feet, and the width eighteen, allow- 
ing three feet for each passage, three feet for the breadth of each 
of the front platforms, and five feet for the centre one, on which 
the largest plants are intended to stand. The top part of the 
roof should be covered with boarding of one foot from each side 
of the ridge. This is to support an awning of canvas, mounted 
on rollers, to exclude the cold during intense frost, and enable 


125 ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS, 


the cultivator to dispense with fire heat, which I find is very ini- 
mical to the plants of this order. 

From November till March the latter covering is occasionally 
required, and the former for shading occasionly, from June till 
September, after which periods both may be removed. The 
foliage of the heath tribe would sustain without injury the great- 
est degree of sun heat we ever have in this country; but it is the 
roots that require protection by partial shading, for when the sun 
acts fully on the pots they become heated to a great degree, and 
as the roots of all healthy heaths and similar plants are in close 
contact with the pots, they are rapidly dried up, or heated beyond 
the degree that they are capable of bearing; for as in their nat- 
ural habitations they grow amongst thick herbage, and are 
partially shaded about their roots, they consequently are kept 
much cooler than if they were growing without any covering 
whatever. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule ; 
but by far the greater number are so circumstanced. ‘ 

No doubt heaths have been successfully cultivated in houses of 
the most ordinary description, but the success attending their 
growth has depended principally upon free ventilation, modera- 
tion in watering, an almost total absence of fire heat, a full 
exposure to the sun, and closeness to the glass. 

Ericez, like most similar shrubs, are readily increased by seeds 
and cuttings, and rarely by any other means. Seeds are often 
imported from the Cape of Good Hope, and are also frequently 
ripened in this country; from both of these, hybrid varieties are 
very likely to be obtained, for I believe that many heaths culti- 
vated in this country, and considered as species, are no other 
than hybrids originated from seeds procured by one or other of 
those means. When we consider the operations that are con- 
stantly going on in nature, in regard to this subject, both in a 
wild and in a cultivated state, we are only astonished that more 
numerous varieties have not been recognised. 

The best time for sowing seeds of this order is early in spring, 
say February and March; and for this important reason, plants 
originated from seeds sown in spring, will attain such a size and 
strength before autumn, as to enable them to outlive the winter 
following, which is a trying time for young plants. In preparing 
pots for this purpose, they should not be too large, 32’s is the 
best. We need hardly remind the most inexperienced in culti- 
vation, that they should be well drained, by being filled at least 


ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS, 129 


two-thirds with broken pots, small stones or cinders. The soil 
used should be of the sort called very sandy peat. The seeds 
should be sown on the surface, (which must be made smooth and 
level,) and scarcely covered at all. When sown, watering should 
be regularly attended to, and applied with the finest rose pot. 
They should be placed in a cool, shaded frame, under glass, or 
plunged ina rather damp border, where the sun seldom shines, 
and covered with a hand glass. In such a situation water should 
be seldom applied, because the seeds being so minute, they are 
liable to be washed off in the process, and therefore, the less 
frequently they are watered the better. As the young plants 
appear, air should be progressively admitted to them, and every 
precaution now taken to guard against damp, an excess of which, 
as well as an excess of drouth, would be equally fatal to them in 
this state, When the plants have attained the height of one inch 
or so, they may be transplanted into small thumb,pots, placing 
three, four, or five in each, as near to the edge of the pot as pos- 
sible. From some cause, not easily explained, we find that 
young plants and cuttings root faster when placed in close contact 
with the sides of the pots in which they are planted, than when 
they are placed more towards the centre. After this first potting, 
they should be kept for eight or ten days in a close, cool frame, 
or pit, shading them from the sun in the middle of the day, and 
gradually exposing them to the air, until they are found to be so 
established as to stand the full heat of the sun. The greatest 
attention must be paid to a regular system of watering, for if 
they be allowed to become too dry, they will die off in a few 
hours time, ard if kept too wet, they will damp off in an equally 
short period, 

Almost all will strike root by cuttings; some sorts, however, 
requiring a longer period to do so than others. The most eligible 
wood for this purpose is the young wood of the present year’s 
growth, when it becomes partially hardened, so as not to be 
liable to damp off. It would be impossible to convey an idea to 
the uninitiated, of the proper state that the wood should‘be in for 
this purpose, but the cultivator who knows anything of the matter, 
will readily understand me when I say, the wood should be fully 
matured, but before it had attained its dark colour, and to be, 
when slightly pressed between the finger and thumb, somewhat 
firm, but neither yielding to the touch nor yet quite hard. In 
regard to the length of the cuttings, much depends on the habit 

Vou. VII. No. 76. Q 


130 ¥ - ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 


of the different species. Some of the robust growing sorts may 
be from an inch to an inch and a half in lengh, while others of 
the more shy growing kinds can only be obtained about half that 
length. The cuttings selected, should be chosen from the health- 
iest plants, and taken off close to where they issue from the old 
wood. In preparing the cuttings, the leaves should be cut clean 
from the shoot, either with a sharp knife or fine pair of scissors, 
‘the end should be cut transversely across in a neat manner, so as 
not to leave the wound ragged or bruised. The leaves should 
upon no account, be shortened, neither should any more of them 
be taken off than ape so far as the cutting is to be inserted into 
- the sand. 

With respect to the proper season for putting in cuttings of 
this order of plants, and indeed of most other slow growing 
kinds, the spring is the best, for the same reason given above for 
sowing seedg, 

It sometimes happens, however, that cuttings cannot be ob- 
tained in a proper state at that season: when such is the case, 
recourse must be had to inducing the old plants to make wood fit 
for the purpose. This is to be effected by placing them in a little 
heat early in spring, they will then make plenty of young wood, 
which is the best for cuttings. In extensive genera, like that of 
Erica, it would be impossible to state any particular period of the 
year for commencing the operation of propagation by cuttings, 
because some one or other of them are in a fit state for the pur- 
pose on almost every day in the year; therefore, the time’ for 
putting in cuttings should be regulated rather by the state of the 
the plant than by the time of the year. 

In extensive nursery collections, where great quantities of 
plants are wanted, one pot may be filled with cuttings of the 
same species, when such can be got in sufficient quantities; but 
in private collections this is not necessary, for a few plants of a 
sort, in general, are all that is required. When this is the case, 
the kinds selected to be put in the same pot, should be nearly of 
the same habit as can be judged of at the time. 

Unless this is attended to, one sort will be found to strike root 
in a much shorter time than others of the same pot, which makes 
it more inconvenient when potting them out. This, however, must 
always happen to a certain extent, for a little difference in the 
age or firmness of the cutting, even when the work is performed 
by the most experienced hand, will often make a difference: in 


ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 131 


the time required to strike root. When the pot is thus filled 
with cuttings, it should be well watered with a fine rose watering . 
pot, and placed ina close shady part of the stove, admitting as 
little air as possible near to where the cutting pots are placed, 
taking care to water them freely every day. Indeed when put in 
this way, there is no risk of overwatering them ; for having them 
well drained, the water is allowed to pass freely through, and so 
far from injuring the cuttings, they are benefitted by it. 

However excellent the above mode of striking heaths may be, 
it cannot, under all circumstances, be applied in practice, be- 
cause there are many cultivators who have not the convenience 
of a stove to place them in. A substitute for the stove may be 
found in a well regulated cucumber or melon bed, in which many 
strike heaths and other hard-wooded plants very successfully. 
The reason for applying heat to the cuttings is to excite them to 
the greatest possible degree, during which they will, if they are 
in a fit state, strike root very soon, or damp off at once. 

The more usual method of striking cuttings of the generality of 
heaths, is to plunge the pots into coal ashes, rotten tan, or similar 
matter, in a rather damp, shaded border, covering each pot with 
a bell glass, and the whole with a close frame and lights. By 
this method the cuttings are longer in rooting, but as it is within 
the reach of every one possessed of a garden, however small, 
and, therefore, as it is attended with less’ risk from inatten- 
tion, &c. we recommend it to their attention. It is necessary in 
preparing the pots for the cuttings, to select them about equal 
sizes, say that of thirty-two’s, and to fill them to within an inch 
and a half from the top with broken pots, cinders, coarse gra- 
vel, or small stones, over which a thin Jayer of moss, (hypnum,) 
should be placed to prevent the finer particles of mould from be- 
ing washed down amongst the drainage. The pot should then be 
filled to the brim with fine, pure white sand, as free as possible 
of earthy or irony matter, but as this is seldom to be procured 
sufficiently free of those matters ; it may be well to wash it by put- 
ting small quantities at atime into a bag, and dragging it fre- 
quently through a cistern, or stream of water. When put into 
the pot it should be well watered, and pressed firmly down, the 
surface made smooth and level, and the cuttings put in as soon 
after as possible. 

In the propagation of heaths it has been almost universally 
maintained that bell glasses should be used under all circumstan- 


132 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


ces, that is, whether they be placed in heat, in a shady border, 
cool frame, or pit. When glasses are used, the greatest care 
must be taken that they be kept regularly wiped at least once a 
day to prevent damp from destroying the cuttings. Cuttings 
placed in a cool shaded border, frame or pit, should certainly be 
covered with bell or hand glasses, and these should remain on 
until they are rooted, and taken off only for the purpose of being 
wiped, and any damp or mouldiness removed from the surface of 
the sand in which they are placed. Regularity in watering, and 
also in shading, is absolutely necessary to insure success. When 
the young cuttings begin to grow, air must be gradually admitted 
to them, so that by the time they are rooted and fit for transplant- 
ing they may be able to withstand the sun’s heat, and free expo- 
sure to the air. 


(To be continued.) 


ARTICLE III. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 
(Continued from page 108.) 
TuHErz are, in different parts of China, many works of the kinds 
just mentioned ; but amongst the most considerable, are counted 
the Passage of King-tong, the Bridges of Fu-cheu, those of Swen- 
chew and Lo-yang, with the Cientao, in the province of Xensi. 

The first of these is a communication between two precipices, 
composed of twenty enormous chains of iron, each two hundred 
feet in length, which are covered with planks and earth, to. form 
the road. 

The second is a cluster of bridges between Fu-cheu and ‘Nanti, 
uniting various islands, that divide the river into different streams 
the principal of these consists of one hundred arches, of ‘a suf- 
ficient size for the passage of ships under full sail; itis built of 
large blocks of hewn stone, and enclosed with a magnificent 
marble balustrade, the pedestals of which support two hundred 
Colossal lions, artfully cut in the same material. 

The third is a bridge at Swen-chew-fu, built over an arm of the 
sea, that sometimes is very boisterous: it is above three quarters 
ofa mile long, thirty-five feet wide, and consists of one hundred 
and thirty piers, of an astonishing height, upon which are laid 
vast blocks, of a greyish granite, that form the road. 


ee 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 133 


-» But the largest and most surprising work of the sort, that yet 
has been heard of, is the bridge of Lo-yang, in the province of 
Fokien: it is composed of three hundred piers of black marble, 
joined to each other by vast blocks of the same material, forming 
the road, which is enclosed with a marble balustrade, whose 
pedestals are adorned with lions, and other works of sculpture. 
The whole length of the bridge is sixteen thousand two hundred 
feet, or upwards of three miles ; its width is forty-two feet; and 
the blocks of which it is composed, are each fifty four feet long, 
and six feet diameter. . 

The Cientao, or Way of Pillars, is a communication between 
many precipices, built to shorten a road to Pe-king. It is near 
four miles long, of a considerable width, and supported over the 
vallies upon arches and stone piers of a terrifying height, 

In the mountains, on each side of these imperial roads, are 
erected a great number of buildings, surrounded with cypress 
groves, and adorned with works of sculpture, which afford con- 
stant entertainment to the passengers : these are the monuments 
of their wise men, their saints, and their warriors, erected at the 
expence of the state, and furnished with nervous incriptions, in 
the Chinese language, giving an account of the lives and actions 
of those they commemorate: some of these buildings are dis- 
tributed into many spacious courts and stately apartments being 
little inferior to palaces, either in magnificence or extent: they 
are furnished with all kinds of movables and utensils, much 
larger than the common size; and a great number of Colossal 
figures are every where seen, representing officers, soldiers, 
eunuchs, saddle-horses, camels, lions and dogs, all placed in 
melancholy attitudes, with countenances expressive of the deepest 
sorrow- 

Instead of roads, the center avenues are sometimes formed into 
navigable canals, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet 
wide, being sufficiently deep to admit gallies and other small 
vessels ; with horse-ways on each side of the canals, for the con- 
venience of towing them, either against the wind or the stream. 
On these the emperor, and Chinese mandarines, are frequently 
conveyed, in large magnificent sampans or barges, divided into 
many splendid rooms: being sometimes attended by a consider- 
able train of smaller vessels, of different constructions, adorned 
with dragons, streamers, lanterns of painted silk, and various 


134 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


other ornaments ; the whole composing a very brilliant and en- 
tertaining show. 

All the imperial forests, besides the high roads which pass 
through them, having many spacious avenues cut in the woods, 
spreading from different centers, like rays of stars, and terminating 
at idol temples, towers, castles, and all the interesting objects of 
the circumjacent country. The centers from which these avenues 
part, are of acircular or octagonal figure, with eight avenues ; or 
of asemicircular form, with only three branching from them. 
Their area is generally very considerable; and its middle is 
adorned with a triumphal arch, a pagoda, a magnificent fountain, 
or some other considerable monument. 

Where the extent is vast, each single avenue has besides, in 
its course, one or more open spaces, from which a number of 
smaller avenues again branch out, and terminate at many build- 
ings, erected in the woods, for various purposes ; all which, with- 
out any confusion, add to the variety and,intricacy of these com- 
positions ; giving them an appearance of immensity not to be 
conceived, but by such as have seen them; and wherever a deep 
valley, a large river, or an arm of the sea, interrupt and break off 
the course of the avenues, the plantations are nevertheless con- 
tinued on the opposite shore, in order to make them appear 
more considerable- . 

In straight roads, of smaller dimensions, the Chinese very 
artfully imitate the irregular workings of nature ; for although 
the general direction be a straight line, yet they easily avoid all 
appearance of stiffness or formality, by planting some of the trees 
out of the common line, by inclining some of them out of an 
upright ; or by employing different species of plants, and placing 
them at irregular distances, with their stems sometimes bare, 
and at other times covered with honey-suckles and sweet-bryar, 
or surrounded with underwood. They likewise cut and dispose 
the branches of the trees in variuos manners; some being suf- 
fered to spread, to cover and shade the walks ; whilst others are 
shortened, to admit the sun. The ground is composed of rises 
and falls; and the banks on each side of the walk are, in some 
places, of a considerable height, forming hollow ways; which 
they often cover at the top with bushes and trunks of fallen trees. 


(TO BE CONTINUED.) 


REVIEW. 135 
REVIEW. . 


The Boquet, or Ladies’ Flower Garden, being a Description of 
those plants which will ffower in the Room, and the Treatment 
most suitable for them.—By a Florist, Simpkin & Co. 12mo. 
pp. 102. 

(Continued from page 112.) 


‘“‘T shall therefore describe its whole treatment, beginning 
with the time that the bud has formed itself, which is generally 
in October, or November at the latest. Hitherto they have been 
kept comparatively cold, but as the winter approaches the win- 
dows are closed, and large fires constantly burning during the 
day, when at night the fire is allowed to go out, and consequently 
the room again becomes cold; this continual change of tempera- 
ture, from cold to warmth, is one of the principal reasons of the 
buds falling off, for before the month of December the rooms were 

uite cool to what they are at this season of the year; it will 
therefore be perceived that it is highly necessary that the tempe- 
rature be kept as nearly equal as possible; but I do not recom-., 
mend keeping them in warmth at any time, although the 
temperature may be equal, it being quite an erroneous idea that 
they require heat to bring them into flower; and I have found 
that the most beneficial mode of treating them is by keeping the 
plants in a cold room, where there is hardly any fire kept, for it 
is a plant that in mild seasons will stand out of doors during the 
whole winter without receiving any injury; when in a cold room 
they will require very little water, once a week will be sufficient, 
unless the plant is evidently getting dry, which is not likely to be 
the case during the month of January and beginning of Febru- 
ary; very great attention should be paid to its watering, as it is 
at this season that the buds commence to swell very fast, and the 
least overplus will cause them to drop off; therefore the quantity 
of water given must rest entirely to the judgment of the person 
who gives it, only having always in view that the plants must 
never be allowed to get quite dry, and at the same time not very 
wet. About the latter end of January, and again the first fort- 
night in February, it would be very conducive to the health of 
the plant to have the leaves carefully washed of all dust, which 
at this time they are sure to be covered with; after they have 
done flowering, they may be kept in a room where there is a fire, 
as at this particular stage of the plant heat is very useful, as it 
assists the growth of the plants, and the young shoots have time 
to ripen their wood before they set for bloom, which will be 
about October; they should then be put into a cold room, and 
receive the treatment already described, and which will be found 
to succeed if properly attended to. cx fi 

Epacris.—Of this very beautiful and showy tribe of plants 
there are very many fine varieties, which continue flowering du- 


136 REVIEW: 


ring the whole of the spring months ; in its appearance, both in 
ftower and leaf, it resembles very much the krica, and like those 
beautiful plants, blooms in great profusion, The species which 
flowers the earliest is K. campanulata rubra, a very pale rose- 
coloured flower, which is generally in flower by the latter end of 
January, and when in full bloom is very beautiful; as, from the 
extreme delicateness of its colour, it will bear no comparison 
with any other tribe of plants. E. impressa: the flower of this 
kind is much longer and narrower than the former, and is of a 
deep rose or red; it does not flower until nearly a month later 
than the other, and. for show is one of the gayest in the whole 
tribe, as, when it is in its perfection, the plant is so covered with 
flowers that it is only at the extremity of the shoots that the leaf 
is discernable. There are also two very fine white ones which 
flower about this time, E. nivalis and E. campanulata alba: the 
latter is certainly the handsomest of the two, having a much 
larger flower and being of a clearer white ; although E. nivalis 
flowers the most abundantly, and therefore makes the most showy 
appearance. There is also a pretty variety, which is called E.. 
grandiflora: this species continues flowering the greatest length 
of time of all the species, but never has so great a profusion of 
flowers in bloom at one time as the others; the flower is about an 
inch and a half in length, being of a bright crimson towards the 
stalk, and at the mouth a pure white, so that the individual flow- 
ers are by far the most striking to the eye. There are scarcely 
any of this tribe of plants which have any smell, but that which 
they want in sweetness they will repay in beauty. In their treat~ 
ment they should be watered once a day, and kept rather wét in 
preference to being very dry ; and will flourish equally well ma 
cold as in a warm reom, and ought to be kept near the light. 

Corchorus Japonica.—This plant is perhaps better suited to 
large collections than small, but as there is not so very great a 
variety of flowers during the early part of this month, it is not 
so very objectionable, especially as it is a pretty growing plant, 
and having a bright green leaf, with double yellow flowers, which 
blossom up the whole of the stem amongst the leaves. It is very 
convenient in its treatment, as it flourishes in a cold room, or in 
a heated one; if there is any difference, it grows with greater 
vigour in the warm room than in the cold, and will bear a good 
supply of water. It would rather he adviseable to have a saucer 
placed beneath the plant, with a little water in it. 

Daphne Mezereum.—This plant is perfectly hardy, and there- 
fore need not be placed in a room, but will do very well outside 
the window. When in flower it is very gay, having a dark lilac 
flower, which blooms up to the branches, and is, when in full 
flower, very sweet. It never has any leaves while im blossom, 
but makes up for this loss by the great abundance of bloom which 
it produces. When placed in the open air, it will not require 
water more than once a fortnight, and ifthe weather is very frosty 
not even that. There are several other plants that bloom at the 


\ 


REVIEW. 137 


same time as this, which make a very pretty mixture,and are very 
gay. The Snow-drop is one of the first ; this pretty little flower 
is too well known to need any description from me. ‘There is 
also the Winter Aconite, a bright yellow flower in the form ofa 
buttercup, and which does not exceed two inches in height, and 
is very gay andshowy. There are likewise all the varieties of the 
Crocus. Nor must I forget to mention the Hepatica, which is the 
prettiest of all the small flowers which bloom at this time, amongst 
them are several varieties ; blue, pink and white, with a double 
and single variety of each colour: when in full kloom they are 
very showy especially when combined with the Crocus and other 
flowers of the season. They are quite hardy, and flower as well 
in town as the country ; they will scarcely require any water during 
the time they are in bloom. 

Verbena, or as it is now called Aloysia citriodora, but which is 
more generally known by the name of the Lemon plant, may be 
procured at this early season ; but the leaves are extremely de- 
licate, and must be kept close, as four or five minutes’ exposure 
to the air would destroy the whole of them, having been forced 
into leaf so much before its natural time, for the sake of the beau- 
tiful scent which is emitted from it when touched. It is certainly 
a delightful little plant, and ought not to be absent from any room. 
It will require very little water each day, as, from the weakness 
of its leaves, it is not able to bear much, and should be placed in 
the warmest part of the room, where it will thrive very well, until 
about April, when it may occasionally be placed outside the 
window to receive the fresh air, but must not remain outside du- 
ring the night until the middle of June. Indeed I should recom- 
mend keeping it in the room all night during the whole of the 
summer, as it preserves the scent much better as well as keeps a 
fine green to the leaf. The leaves of this plant, when picked off 
and carefully dried, will retain their beautiful odour for several 
years after, if put in thin paper or a smali silk bag, to keep the 
air from them. 

Lechenaultia formosa.—This beautiful little plant, in its appear- 
ance, is very similar to the Erica, and like those plants require to 
be grown in bog or peatearth. It is also remarkable for the great 
length of time it continues flowering, commencing early in Feb- 
ruary, and can scarcely be said to have finished its bloom the 
November following. In its growth it never attains a very great 
size, and is particularly adapted for small fancy vases, as it does 
not require a large pot, indeed it flourishes much better when 
grown in small-sized pots, and has a bright blood-coloured dower, 
but when confined in ina room it is almost sure to change to a 
bright orange, but by being exposed to the air it very soon regains 
its former colour ; it is not so difficult to keep as the Erica, but like 
them should never be allowed to get quite dry, but always be 
kept moist, at the same time not to be saturated with water. It 
is very hardy, and will bear to be exposed to the air during the 

Vou. VII. No. 76, R 


138 REVIEW. 


day time when the weather is not very frosty, and after the month 
of May can be kept out of doors both day and night. 

Kennedya monophylla.—This is a very pretty little climbing 
plant, and for the room is very desirable, attaining about one foot 
and a half in height, and has a pretty bright purple flower, which 
blooms in bunches of about two inches in length; and even when 


the flower is off, the leaf still makes it a desirable plant. There - 


is another species, K. lilicina, which has a pale lilac-coloured 
flower, and has the same kind of habit and growth as the other. 
These two varieties, when planted together in the same pot or 
vase, are very pretty, as, from their climbing habit, they twine 
one with the other, intermixing their flowers all over the plants ; 
they should receive avery little water every day until about May, 
when they may be watered more plentifully ; great care must be 
taken that it does not receive too much water, as the leaves will 
otherwise turn yellow, which immediately spoils the beauty of the 
plant. ; 


The Little English Flora, or a Botanical and popular account 
of all our Field flowers, with Engravings on Steel of every 
description. By G. W. Francis, Author of the Analysis of 
British Ferns. 


, 

Three years ago we were informed by Mr. Francis of his intention to pub- 
lish a work on British plants, and the small pocket volume, of 174 pages, 
now before us, is the result. In the preface we are told that, the object of 
the Author in preparing this little volume, “is, first to vite the young to 
an exaniination of the flowers of the field,” by pointing out the beauties they 
are every where to meet with, that thus additional charms may be added to 
their rambles over the meads and commons; secondly to induce a love for 
the science itself, by shewing that it is easy of acquirement, and that it 
yields instruction and delight, not merely in our after progress, but even from 
our first commencement of its study ;”—and, he adds, ‘‘ these important pur- 
poses | have endeavoured to accomplish, by giving a plain and popular des- 
cription of all our common wild plants.accompanying these with accurate 
steel engravings of every species: thus striving to win rather than demand 
the attention, and to present these little favourites in the alluring garb with 
which nature has herself invested them, rather than the mysterious and re- 
pulsive habit in which they are too often described, and to smooth as much 
as possible the study of Botany. 

Mr. Francis is well and advantageously known to the public, as the author 
of an Analysis of British Ferns, a work which every cryptogamic botanist 
ought to possess, The ‘ Little English Flora” is cast from a similar model, 
bat, in point of real usefulness, it will bear no comparison with the work be- 
fore alluded to. The engravings are too small to afford much assistance in 
indentifying the species. This will be readily understood, when it is known 
that there are twenty engravings on each page, the size of which is only six 
inches by three. By this arrangement, the volume is small, and, we have no 
doubt, cheap. On this ground it can be recommended; the ‘ Little English 
Flora’ will be found of great assistance, more especially on account of the 
popular and pleasing style in which it is got up, 


NEW AND RARE PLANTs, 139 


} PART Hl. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


i, MATTHIOLA ODORATISSIMA. Sweetest Evening Stock. 
(Bot. Reg. 25. 


CRUCIFERA. TETRADYNAMIA SELEGUOSA. SYNONYM. CHEIRANTHUS 
ODORATISSIMUS. 


Introduced to this country some years back, but is rarely to be met with. 
We lately saw it in fiae bloom, which has a pretty appearance, the flowers are 
of a pale purple with yellow centre, they are most delightfully fragrant to- 
wards evening, much more so than the well known Cheiranthus tristis. The 
present species is a half hardy biennial, and does well either in the green- 

ouse or open border during summer. It seeds freely and is readily culti- 
vated. 


3. LGZLIA AUTUMNALIS. The Autumnal Leelia. (Bot, Reg. 27. 
ORCHIDACEZ. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


A native of Mexico, and now found in many collections of Orchidez in 
this country, and it certainly merits a place in every one. The plant is of 
easy culture ; it requires to be tied to a piece of wood, and as soon as fresh 
roots begin to push it is freely syringed, even two or three times a day till 
the growing season is over, when it is removed to a cooler temperature, and 
kept dry through the winter, after which, it is taken to a higher temperature 
and treated as above. The flowers are of a beautiful mixture of bright rose, 
crimson, and purple, with the labellam towards its base, white, spotted and 
streaked with dark brownish crimson ; each flower is near four inches across, 
produced numerously, and very fragrant. 


3. TRICHINIUM ALOPECUROIDEM. Foxtail Trichinium. 
(Bot. Reg. 28, 


AMARANTHACEZ. MONODELPHIA PENTANDRIA. 


This singular looking plant was introduced into this country by Captain 
Mangles, KR. N., from the Swan River Colony, It has bloomed in the collec- 
tion of that gentleman’s brother, R. Mangles, Esq.. Sunning Hill, Berkshire ; 
it is a half hardy annual flowering abundantly in the open border during 
summer; flowers are produced in spikes, green, tinged with rosy pink of a 
glossy appearance like the cockscomb; the flowers seem to protrude them- 
selves out of a dense mass of fine hairs, like those of the feather grass, 
though not very showy, the flowers are very interesting, Dr. Lindley has 
Stated that two other species are known to exist at Swan River, specimens 
having been given to the Doctor by Captain Mangles. 

1, Tr. Manglesii. Flowers, pink at the tips, silvery at the base. 

2. Tr. Stirlinghii; silvery, just tinged with pink. 


4. SALVIA CONFERTIFLORA, Close flowered Sage. (Bot. Reg, 29. 


LABIATEH. DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


Discovered by Mr. Macrz, near Rio Janeiro, Brazil, It is like others of 
this family, thriving well either in the greenhouse, conservatory, or open 


140 NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


border ; the flowers are produced in spikes of six or eight inches long, they 
are of a deep orange colour, having a purplish red calyx, the contrast of 
which is very pretty, each blossom is about balf an inch long; the plant 


blooms very freely, and the blossoms being of a bright colour produce a - 


pretty effect. 1t has bloomed in the collection of J. D, Llewellyn, Esq. 
5, RUELLIA CILIATIFLORA. Fringe flowered Ruellia. (Bot. Mag. 


ACANTHACEZ. DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA, 


This is rather an ornamental stove plant, with oblong serrated foliage, and 
flowers produced upon a short pannicle, which are of a purple colour, having 
five cordate petals, and a spreading disk. It was sent home by Mr. Tweedie, 
and is supposed to be a native of the interior of Mexico. 


6. PIMELEA HENDERSONI. Mr. Henderson's Pimelea. (Bot. Reg. 
THYMELEZ DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


Is a very pretty plant, intermediate between P. decussata and P. rosex. 
It is a native of King George’s Sound, and was raised from seeds received 
from theuce by Messrs. Eagle and Henderson. This is said to be one of the 
most ornamental of the genus; and judging from the plate, we are fully in- 
clined to fall in with this opinion. The colour of the flowers is a light rose. 
The branches are very thickly set with leaves. 


7. BRASSAVOLA CUSPIDATA. Spear-lipped Brassavola. (Bot. Reg. 
ORCHIDEZ. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


This is a native of Trinidad, imported from thence by John Moss, Esq., of 
Otterspool, Liverpool. We are here told, that owing to the skill of this gen- 
tleman’s cardener, and the extensive connexions which Mr. Moss, possesses 
abroad, his collection at Otterspool bids fair to rival some of the many col- 
lections of orchidaceous plants, of which the country may well be proud. 
Five species of this genus have already been described by Professor Lindley, 
of which the one now under consideration is the sixth, and nearly related to 
B. cucullata. 

To those unacquainted with the genus as well as the species referred to, 
it may be well to say that the B. cuspidata has long ridged rush-like foliage, 
bearing a few scattered white flowers. : 


8. DENDROBIUM FORMOSUM. Beautiful Dendrobium. (Pax. Mag. 
ORCHIDES. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


Amongst the genera of orchidaceous Epiphytes none contains a greater 
number of really beautiful species than Dendrobium, of which we think it 
quite just to the genus to say, the species now before us is decidedly the 
most ornamental. The foliage is scanty, being only a pair or so on the sum- 
mit of a rather tall fleshy stem. The flowers are very large, and nearly 
white. We are told that this handsome plant was discovered in a district 
called Pondooah, at the base of the Khoseea Hills, by Mr. J. Gibson, collect- 
or to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and under whose care it produced 
its handsome flowers at Chatsworth. during the spring of 1838. Some excel- 
lent directions are here given on the cultivation of this genus, the most 
important of which are those which refer to a season of rest or the suspension 
of moisture, but not of heat. In their native localities they bloom in the dry 
season. This period should commence about the beginning of our winter, 
and continue for one or two months. During this time the foliage will 
wither, and not unfrequently drop off, but, at the end of this period, mois- 
ture should again be freely supplied, when the flowers and foliage wiil be 
most }exuriant. 


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MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 141 


PART IIL. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


On Drv Ror, &c.—I should feel much obliged to you, or any of your 
correspondents, for their opinion on ‘Mr. Kyanse’s Supplement, for the pre- 
servation of timber from Dry Rot.’ And whether there would be any danger 
in introducing some trellising into a greenhouse, and likewise the new roof- 
ing of a large grape-house. The vines are to be trained under the rafters: 
both rafters and trellising have been laying in the tank some time, and are 
now ready for ase: I understand it is a deadly poison! Should not the wood 
be well drained and painted before it is put upon the house? Wonld not 
the air in the house be impregnated, so as to be injurious when closely shut 
up? An early answer to the above by some reader acquainted with the sub- 
ject, will much oblige 

April 17th, 1839. A Constant READER. 


A List or Panseys.—Will you, or some reader of your Magazine, be so 
kind as to give me a list of the best prize Panseys, also the probable price, 
and where they may be obtained. 

April 8th, 1839. R. R. Davis. 


—_—“— 


ANSWER, 


A List or Panseys.—Having recently visited many of the first rate col- 
lections in the country, and around London, to furnish ourselves with a stock 
of the best, the following are the kinds we selected as the most superb. viz., 
Venosa, Cream superba, Mrs. Adams, Climax, Formosa, Solomon, Mrs. 
Prazd, Lord Glammis's Enterprize, Enchantress, Thompson's Victoria, King, 
Gem, Hecuba, Jem Crow, King’s Cupid, Corrine, Morton’s Julia, Esther, 
Mulberry, Gold Sovereign, Unique, Minerva superba, Duke of Marlborough, 
Shakespear, Milton, Mountjoy’s Victoria, Thompson's Vesta, Beauty of Som- 
erset, Incomparable superba, Thompson's Naxara, T. Vivid, Regina, Fanny, 
Senecio, Emperor, Duke of Wellington, Mogul, Coronation, Fair Helen, 
Chimpanzee, Duke of Northumberland, [ver Hero, Ne plus Ultra.— 

Conpuctor. 


REMARKS, 


On Raising Native Hyacinrus.—The plants which have flowered in 
glasses or pots produce better offsets than those raised in beds ; these to- 
gether with the mother and now reduced bulb, plant at the usual season. 
The old balb affords considerable nourishment to the young plants, which 
rise with great strength the following spring, When the leaves assume a 
yellow hue the plants are to be takea up, and replanted the same day in 
prepared beds; the stronger by themselves, The strongest planta will show 
blossoms the following spring, some of them having from twelve to twent 
bells, or pips; these should be reduced to three or four, which should be 
left on the extremity to draw up the sap. Were the whole suffered to re- 
main, the plant would be much exhausted in flowering ; and if wholy taken 


142 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


off, it receives a great check. The bulbs are again to be taken up in October, 
and replanted as before, not permitting them to remain any time out of the 
ground. Moisture seems essential to the perfection of the Hyacinth; and it 
is those which remain in the ground, and of course subject to its influence, 
that are not at any time affected with the ring disease, by which many of 
which are placed in the stove are lost every season. 

The compost best suited for them is, one barrowful of loam from rocky 
places, one ditto well rotted cow-dung. This should, if possible, be three 
years old; one third of a barrowful of mould, produced from rotted tree- 
leaves, and about a fifth of a barrow from an old cucumber-bed. With this 
the bed is to be made two and a half feet deep, and the surface covered 
with turf mould, to preserve the bulbs from frost. 


a 


New Plants. 


TropmoLum TricoLonuM.—We have recently seen several fine specimens 
of this most lovely climber, which is certainly unequalled for beauty and 
neatness, At the exhibition of the London Horticultural Society, held on 
the 18th, inst., there were several plants in most profuse bloom, and trained 
variously, which produced a fine effect; one was trained to cover a circular 
wire frame about four feet in diameter, covering it with bloom in every part ; 
a second, a wire frame about four feet high in the form of an urn, and in 
addition to the frame being covered down to the pot, the framing was so 
constracted as to inclose the pot, and the flowers concealed it from view; a 
third, was trained over a frame constructed globular, about three feet in 
diameter, and its surface entirely covered with bloom; a fourth, trained up 
to a centre, having a turban headed from three feet acress, and in addition 
to the head being covered, the shoots hung pendant in beautiful bloom. 

In these and other similar modes the plants were trained, and bemg in a 
high degree of cultivation, blooming profusely, were justly admired. When 
the bulb once becomes strong, the plant is found to be of easy culture; the 
shoots being spread around tlie plant upon some finely sifted soil, just 
covering them over, and gently pressing them down, they will then speedily 
take root. This is a very ready method of increasing it, and will doubtless, 
on becoming generally known, allow the introduction of several plants into 
every greenhouse and conservatory. The soil in which the Tropceolum ap- 
pears to thrive best, is a sandy loam being well drained, care should always 
be taken, as have been observed by writers in former numbers of the Cabinet, 
not to place the tuber more than one-half its depth in the soil; we find too 
that the plant can be easily cultivated in a light sitting room. The kind we 
saw in 1836 flourishing in the valuable collection of C. Rawson, Esq., Hope 
House, Halifax, under the very successful management of our friend Mr. 
Menzies, is the most handsome of the tribe, we gave a figure of it at the 
time, (August), and seeing a plant of it in bloom, at the above mentioned 
exhibition, in contrast with the true T. tricolorum, we were struck with its 
decided superiority, the flowers being much larger and of finer colours. The 
kind was named at Mr. Rawson’s, T. elegans, and is justly entitled to such 
appellation. We have seen it named in one collection, T. tricolorum major. 


Tropeo.tum Bracuyceros is better cultivated this year than we have seen 
it before, trained, and otherwise treated as T. tricolorum, it produces a pretty 
contrast with it. Its yellow, delicately dark marked flowers being neat and 
pretty. 

TRoPGOLUM TUBEROSUM is now progressing fast, plants are fine for turn- 
ing out; they will no doubt amply repay by their beauty at the end of 
summer and autumn. The plant is very easy of propagation by cuttings, 
and one plant will produce near a peck of tubers. It is found to throw the 
plant early into bloom, cut a small trench with a spade around the plants, 
about two feet from its base, and fill up the trench with sand, this checks its 


 — — 


- 


V/s , 
Pelargonium 


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SMU 


Se aS 


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y, ae, 
Yladioluad ramosius 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 143 


luxuriance and causes it to bloom immediately. The beauty, and ease of 
culture of T. pentaphyllum is too well known to require any commendation.— 
ConDucror. 


Hovea puncens.—This beautiful plant is of a dwarf habit, with narrow 
leaves, resembling the Rosemary. The flowers are of the most intense blue. 
It is a native of the Swan River, and was raised by Robert Mangles, Esq. 
This is a very desirable plant to those who have a small greenhouse. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Garrtu’s Joanor Arc. Pelargonium. This most superb kind we saw in 
bioom in the fine collection of Mr. Catleugh, and it is certamly the best 
flower among the vast variety of fine kinds we have seen during a visit to 
every collection of note ; no drawing can do justice to ils beauties and ex- 
cellence. The following kinds are among the best we have seen, and merits 
a place in every collection. 


Cuorizema varia. This new and very fine species was recently exhibi- 
ted at the London Horticultural Societies’ Room in Regent Street, and at the 
exhibition on the 18th, inst., at the Societies’ garden. Mr. Hally of Black- 
heath, exhibited a plant finely in bloom at the former place; and Mr. Veitch, 
of Exeter, at the latter; Mr. Veitch’s plant was about seven feet high, 
furnished from the bottom to the top with numerous speading branches, and 
central shoots, each terminating with a spike of flowers. The piant is of 
very rapid growth, easy of cultivation, and a most profuse bloomer. The 
flowers are produced closely on the spikes, and thus make a show, and in this 
particular, very much exceed some other kinds of Chorizemas, whose flowers 
being so remote from each other, give but little effect. This very superior 
kind which deserves a place in every greenhouse and conservatory ; in the 
latter, it appears as if it would become a magnificent tree, and if duly en- 
couraged when grown in a pot, an object of considerable attention, Dr. 
Lindley noticed at the meeting, that it was one of the most valuable acqui- 
sitions of this class of plants, which had been introduced for some time. 


r 
GLapIoLus RaMosus. This very beautiful species we saw in bloom in the 
fine collection of Mr. Groom, of Walworth; when we saw it in bloom last 
summer, it was offered at three guineas per plant, but may now be obtained 
for fifteen shillings. It is of vigorous habit, and blooms most profusely in 
the open border, when grown among others of its beautiful family its contrast 
is very striking. 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR JUNE. 


ANNUALS. —See pages 43, and 72, Vol. 1—Those annual plants that have 
not yet been transplanted out, should now be done, in cloudy and showery 
weather, keeping as much earth to their roots as possible, now supporting 
those with sticks that require it—thin out where too thick. Tender annuals 
may now be turned out into the fower borders ; they should be refreshed at 
least once a day with water, and if the sun be very powerful they will re- 

uire to be shaded, till they have taken fresh root: those that remain to 
pi in pots, must be frequently supplied with water, repotting, &c., as 
they require it. Finish transplanting perennial and biennial plants, sown 
in spring. 

Roses. —Cutting of Garden kinds may be put off by the middle of the 
month; insert them firmly in the soil, and cover with a hand-glass—a shady 


144° MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


border is the best situation for them. Cuttings of most kinds of Greenhouse 
plants should now be put off. 


CARNATIONS AND Pinks.—Laying the former, and piping the latier, will be 
required by the end of the month. Seedlings should be planted out singly 
into pots or open borders. Those Carnations in pots require particular at- 
tention in keeping them well supplied with water, and to support the flower 
stems by tying them to neat green sticks with bass; pipings of the young 
shoots may still be put in; those cut at the second or third joint make the 
handsomest plants; they should be kept shaded from the hot sun, otherwise 
they will soon get scorched and dried up, they should be finished layering 
by the middle of the month. Pinks may still be propagated by pipings as 
in June. Auricula plants in pots will require a little water frequentiy in 
hot weather, taking care not to pour it on the heart of the plant—all dead 
leaves should be removed—if any of the plants are attacked with the green 
fly, they should be smoked with tobacco, 


Ranuncuxus anp Anemone Roots.—Should any bulbous rooted plants, 
as Ranunculuses, Tulips, Anemones, &c., now be past flowering, and their 
leaves decayed, they should be taken up, well dried, cleaned, and the offsets 
separated, and put in a cool airy place, till the planting season again com- 
mences.—See articles in Vols. I. and II., of the Cabinet. 

Cametiias—which have ceased blooming, will now require to be excited 
by being taken to a higher degree of heat, and frequently syringed, this will 
induce vigorous shvots, and an abundance of flower buds. 

CHRYSANTHEMUMS.—See pages 73, 74, and 8}, of Vol. I. Plants in small 
pots should be repotted into larger. 


Dau tas.—See pages 3, 22, 66, and 95, of Vol. I.; and articles in Vol. 2, ° 


and Vol. 3, page 100. 
Tuxies.—See page 24, Vol. I. 


GREENHOUSE AND STOVE ANNUALS.—Such as have been grown hitherto in 
small pots, should be repotted into larger for the summer’s growth. 

AuricuLas—may be repotted and placed in a shady, but airy, situation. 
Transplant seedlings, also of Polyanthuses. 

Pansies.—New beds may be made by taking off rooted offsets or by 
piping, shading them for a few days after removal. Such will bloom pro- 
fusely at the end of summer, 

Cametias—lIf the new shoots have nearly done growing, place the plants 
in a warm greenhouse, or in a stove of 70 degrees, in order to assist the 
plants in producing flower buds. 

HerBaceous PLants—in flower beds should regularly be tied up as theY 
advance in growth, not allowing them to grow too tar before this attention is 
given, or many kinds will become unsightly. 

BausamMs.—See culture of, in Vol. I. 

TriveERANIANS. See Vol. L. 

Seeps of hardy Biennials, as Sweet Williams, Scabious, &c., may be sown 
for plants to bloom next year. 

Tue Dovusre Scartet Lycunis, &c., &c.—The double scarlet Lychnis, 
and such like plants, should be propagated by cuttings. Dahlia cuttings 
will easily take root if placed in brisk heat. Continue to cut box edgings, 
and hedges, where it was not done last month. Where it is desired to save 
seed of Ten Week, Russian, or German Stocks, only allow those single ones 
to remain, the flowers of which have five or six petals; if such be reserved 
they will generally produce double flowering plants. Towards the end of 
the month, Roses may be budded: the first week in August is, however, con+ 
sidered better. 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


JULY Ist, 1839. 


een “_ 


PART I, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, 


nent 


ARTICLE I. 


ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HOT HOUSE PLANTS 
BY A PRACTICAL GARDENER. 


Tue house intended for the growth of stove or tropical plants, 
should be constructed so as to give a proper command of artificial 
heat in the wintzr season, when a high temperature is requisite 
for the preservation of the plants. These, being natives of warm 
climates, require a strong degree of heat, to induce them to grow 
and flourish in the confined apartments that are allotted for their 
cultivation. . 

The thermometer ought to be regulated, mornings and even- 
ings, in this department, from 60 to 70 degrees : otherwise, the 
the cold cutting winds that generally pass between the laps of the 
panes of glass, will prove very injurious to the tender shoots and 
foliage of many of these exotics. When the atmosphere of the 
stove increases to 70 degrees by the influence of sun heat, a little 
air should be admitted in the middle of the day, but taken away 
again early in the afternoon, so as the house may be shut up warm 
from the effects of the sun, which is more advisable than having 
recourse to strong fires for the purpose; and as the use of the 
bark bed is now becoming very generally exploded, for the culti- 
vation of tropical plants, a higher degree of temperature is neces- 
sary for the health and preservation of these ; but, as many of the 
tender exotics-will succeed better by having a slight degree of 
bottom heat at their roots, this may be successfully supplied to 
them, by filling the bed, or pit, with fresh tree leaves, or tan, 

Vou. VII. No. 77. 8 


146 ON HOTHOUSE PLANTS. 


every autumn, and covering the surface over with sand or coal 
ashes, for the pots to stand upon; when these should be arranged 
according to their different sizes, without plunging, as the heat 
arising from the fermenting substances will increase the temper- 
ature of the house, and produce a mild congenial heat to the 
roots of the plants, which will greatly facilitate the growth of the 
more tender species. The pots remaining unplunged on the bark 
bed, will not be so subject to have their roots injured with worms, 
which is always the case when plunged in the bed, and which 
are very pernicious to the young roots. During the winter months, 
when there is but little sun to dry up the moisture, great care 
must be taken not to give any of the plants too much water; it 
is preferable to give them little, and frequently, as they may ap- 
pear to require it, than to deluge the pots with too much mois- 
ture, in their quiescent state. When the flues or hot water pipes 
are pretty warm, the pouring of water upon them will produce a 
fine steam, very beneficial to the plants, and also obnoxious to 
the insects, whose depredations should always be kept in subjec- 
tion. When the Aphis, or green fly infests the young shoots, 
recourse must be had to fumigation with leaf tobacco, or be 
plunged over head in a solution of tobacco water. The advan- 
tage of a mild or rather calm evening, should be taken, and the 
houses well filled with the fumigating bellows, which will instant- 
ly destroy these noxious depredators. The plants will require 
to be well syringed the following morning, in order to displace 
any of the Ay that may cling to the foliage; and if they do not 
appear all to be destroyed, a repetition of fumigation should be 
resorted to the ensuing evening, which will effectually clear the 
plants of these insects. When the weather is at all favourable, 
the syringe should be frequently applied in the evening, and the 
house shut up warm; this moist heat will, in general, keep the 
red spider under, especially in the early part of the season; but 
if this intruder begins to get a head, a little sulphur sprinkled 
over the hot pipes, or flues, will keep them in abeyance. The 
white mealy bug and scale are more difficult agents to ged rid of, 
and require to be brushed off as soon as they begin to appear, 
otherwise they will become very troublesome. Frequent fumi- 
gations of tobacco will, also considerably check their pro- 
gress. : 

The soil that appears most appropriate for the growth of the 
greater portion of stove plants, is sandy loam, consisting of the 


_ 


ON HOTHOUSE PLANTS. 147 


sward from a pasture, which should be thrown into heap, to de- 
compose and pulverise fora short time previous to using; to 
which a portion of peat soil, mixed with it, will be a suitable com- 
post for the growth of most tropical plants. When there is a 
scarcity of peat, a mixture of decomposed tree-leaves may be ap- 
plied in its stead, with great advantage. Should the soil not be 
of a naturally sandy quality, a little sand should be intermix- 
ed, so as to render it light, and free for the roots to run in. 

The plants should all be examined in March, or April; and 
such as appear to be in want of fresh pots, should be shifted into 
others, a size larger; but the operation of shifting, and size of 
the pots should be regulated according to the state of the plants. 
The more luxuriantly inclined species will require a larger sup- 
ply of nourishment than those of less delicate habit, and may, 
therefore, be admitted into larger sized pots without injury, whilst 
the more delicate growing sorts must not be over-potted ; rather 
repeat this operation, as the roots appear to fill the pots, than put 
them into too large sized pots at once. The pots that are used 
for this purpose must be well drained with small pieces of pot- 
sherds, or any other material that will permit a free passage for 
the superfluous moisture. There should be placed next to the 
drainage a little of the rough fibrous substance that is collected 
from the soil, which will admit of a ready penetration of the 
water through it, and prevent the mould in the pots becoming too 
much saturated with wet; as nothing is more injurious to the 
tender roots than to have the soil soured about them when in a 
dormant state. During the course of the season, they will re- 
quire to be frequently examined; and such as appear to have 
out-grown their pots, to ke removed into larger ones; as, also, 
any that are in an unhealthy state should be shook out of the pot, 
and the roots examined; and such as appear in a decayed state, 
eut away, and the plant fresh potted; but observing in these 
instances, to use rather small pots than large ones. In Autumn 
the whole stock should be carefully looked over ; and those that 
appear too much confined, for want of pot room, may be re-potted 
into larger sized ones; care, however, should be taken not to 
disturb or injure the roots at this advanced season. During 
the Summer months, and growing season, they should be well 
supplied with water, and frequently syringed over their foliage, 
and the borders and footpaths, &c kept in a moist state, particular- 
ly in hot weather, which will be very conducive to the health and 


148 ON HOTHOUSE PLANTS. 


vigour of the plant. The atmosphere of the house will require to 
be duly attended to, and the thermometer regulated mornings 
and evenings, at 65 degrees, which may be allowed to vary from 
90 to 100 degrees, by the influence of sun heat. 

Most sorts of tropical plants are increased, either by cuttings, 
seeds, or dividing at the root, whence offsets of the Orchideee and 
Cryptogamia genus are procured ; and when those throw out such 
suckers, or side offsets, we have a plant supplied with roots imme- 
diately, which may be, at once, potted, and treated accordingly. 
I may, however, observe, that these suckers, or offsets, should be 
allowed to form good roots before they are taken from the mother 
plant, which will the better secure their future success. The 
hard woody kinds may be propagated by cuttings, which will root 
freely in most instances, when planted in a sharp sand, and placed 
in a shaded situation of the stove, or in any other apartment where 
they can be shaded from the effects of the mid-day sun; as a 
small pit or frame is generally appropriated for this purpose, which 
can readily be shaded by throwing a mat over the lights while the 
cuttings are striking root: some of the species will require a slight 
degree of bottom heat, to induce them to throw out young roots. 
The most suitable season for the propagating of tropical plants, is 
from January to July; but many of the kinds may be put into the 
cutting pots at any period of the year, providing that the young 
shoots are in a proper state, as some species require the wood 
to be ripened and firm before they are put in; whilst others may 
be increased when the shoots have grown only sufficiently long for 
the cutting. In striping the foliage from the shoot, care must be 
taken not to injure the bark, and not to clear away more of the 
leaves than are necessary for the insertion of the lower end of the 
cutting in the soil or sand in the pot, where they are all inserted ; 
a gentle watering should be given, to settle the soil about them 
and the pots then covered with hand-glasses until the cuttings 
begin to grow, and throw out young roots, when a little air may 
be given, to prevent their being drawn up in a weak state. The 
sand, or mould, in which they are planted, must not be saturated 
too much with water, otherwise it will rot the cuttings. 

When the plants have struck root, they should be immediately 
potted off in small sized pots, and placed in a slight hot-bed for a 
few days, and kept shaded. from the effects of the mid-day sun 
until they have got a little established, when they may be re- 
moved with safety to the stove. 


ON THE AURICULA, 149 


ARTICLE II. 
ON FLORIST FLOWERS—THE AURICULA. 
BY FLORA, 


In my last paper, having promised you the routine of my month- 
ly culture of the Auricula, I therefore, to redeem my pledge, 
send this, with a sketch of my Auricula-house or frame, the dot- 
ted lines shewing where ghe laths on which the sliding shelves 
lay. 


I shall begin my Auricula-year with August, that being the 
month in which the general potting takes place for spring bloom. 

Early in the month, or the last week in July, prepare the soil 
as before stated, prepare also some thin sod or sward, and having 
taken care that it is half dry, take an empty pot, and cover the hole 
in the bottom with a piece of shell or potsherd, lay apiece of 
this half dry sod upon it, and then your prepared soil, till the pot 
is about half full, take the old plant and shake the soil from it, 
taking off all rooted offsets which must be put cither singly into 
small pots or four plants into a larger pot, pull off all the dead 
or yellow leaves, and examine the root to see if any part be decay- 
ed, if so, remove all the decayed or brown roots, for the plant 
will never thrive when the root is diseased. If you cut or break 
it, let itbe till the wound is healed, or pot in dry soil, and do not 
water for a day or two; spread the roots of the plant all around 
the soil, and fill up to the top level with the edge, do not press 
it down with your fingers, but give it a slight knock or two on 
the bench, which will settle it about half an inch and leave room 
for holding water. Look to the neck of the plant all round, that 
it is a proper depth in the soil, then water gently about the edge 


150 ON THE AURICULA, 


and place the plants in a shaded situation. If the weather is 
dry and hot, they will require alittle water every evening round 
the pot edge; a shower of rain at this season will not hurt 
them, only do not let them have too much, for it not only 
washes away the nutricious part of the soil, but also does the 
plant harm by giving it an inclination to rot, by the wet lodging 
too long about theneck. If itis very suny, shade the frame with 
mats during the day, and having the back doors taken quite away 
at this season, prop the edges of the front sashes up, so that 
air may be circulated freely through the whole both day and 
night. 

September.—No more is required this month than examining 
the plants frequently to see that they are free from the green fly, 
caterpillars, &c. and in a sound healthy state, if the green fly 
should infest them, this is easily cured by closing the frame and 
fumigating with tobacco smoke, water frequently round the 
edge of the pot, and the plant will grow freely and strong. 

If a plant looks yellow or sickly, be sure that all is not right 
with it, lose no time in taking it out of the pot and wash it clean, 
if any brown or decayed place appears, take it quite out with 
your finger nail, or a piece of wood, but do not cut it witha 
knife, let it lay out of the soil till dry, and then repot it in dry 
soil, use a plaster of bees wax or tallow over the wound to keep 
the damp from it, but if possible, keep the wound quite out of 
the soil ; keep it dry fora week or more, till it begins to recover, 
water with great caution till it show signs of growing, then set it 
in its place. 

October.—Less water must now be given as the plants cease 
from growing, and must be regularly prepared for the winter, 
that is, they must be furnished with less sap, and of course they 
will become less succulent and less susceptible of frost or damp, 
they must have all the air possible by the sashes still remaining 
proped, and the door off during fine weather. 

November.—This is often a fatal month for the Auricula, the 
damp stagnated state of the air, together with cold, and want of a 
proper elevation of the plants above the wet surface of the ground, 
are felt most severely, but if they have been regularly prepared, 
last month by being kept dryer than before, they will bear it 
very well; very little water is now required, keep them entirely 
from rain, but give as much air as possible, examine the plants 
frequently as to their soundness, &ec. 


ON THE MIMULUS IN POTs. 151 


December.—No water must now be given except the. plants 
turn soft for want of it, and then very little will suffice; pick off 
such yellow or dry leaves as can be removed without making a 
wound, but do not force them off, which would probably make 
a wound, and the neck be injured, and prove fatal; at this season 
of the year keep your frame closer, as frost and snow, may now 
be expected. 

January.—This month must begin as December ends, by keep- 
ing all close in frosty or coarse weather, but give air every fine 
or fair day, give very little water, if any, keep all as clean and 
dry as you can about the plants, 

February.—The heart of the plants will now begin to look of a 
fresher green, and the leaves to give evidence of a renewal of 
life, they must have a little water to assist nature in her process 
of forming the embryo flowers, about the second or third week, 
according to the season, take off all the surface soil from the pot 
without disturbing the fibres, and put some fine rich soil on them; 
now is a good time for removing any rooted offsets, give water 
once a week, but do not be too eager in setting them to grow too 
soon, for if a severe fit of weather should come, your succulent 
plants might be in danger, give all the sun and air you can and 
cover with mats at night. 


ARTICLE III. 


ON THE TREATMENT OF MIMULUS’ IN POTS, 
BY W. M. P. 
Azout the beginning of March I take off cuttings from my 
various selected varieties, which I plant singly into 60's, using a 
compost of two-thirds loam and the other third leaf and sand, 
merely to keep the soil a little open, I them plunge them into a 
bottom heat, and when they are rooted I take them out and place 
them on the front shelves in the greenhouse; when the roots fill 
the pots they will require to be shifted into 48’s, using the above 
compost with an addition of rotten cow-dung. When I finally 
shift them, which is generally about the latter end of June, I put 
them into as shallow pots as I can procure, from sixteen to eigh- 
teen inches in diameter, as the roots always ifcline to run on the 
surface, which ought to be pegged down and tied up neatly to 
stakes as they grow. I allow them abundance of water as they 


152 REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 


come into flower, (I have seen pans filled with water put under 
them, but it is very injurious,-as it sours the soil,) for if neeneeted. 
the flowers will be small. 

When they are done flowering, I give them less water, until I 
withhold it altogether, I then cut them down to the surface, and 
put them aside in any back part of the greenhouse until they 
begin to push in the spring, when I take them out and place them 
on the front shelves in the greenhouse, giving them a good 
watering, when, in the course of a few days they will begin to 
shew their young shoots. 

If you think the above remarks are worthy a place in your use- 
ful Publication, they are at your disposal. 

W. M. P. 

Uffington Gardens, May 1839. 


ARTICLE IV. 


REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 
BY AN HORTICULTURIST. 


Tuts tree, which is the symbol of eternal sorrow in all the civi- 
lized countries of Europe, is also the funeral tree of the east, from 
the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea; and it is likewise dedicated 
to the dead from Mazenderan to Constantinople, as well as to the 
utmost bounds of China’s fruitful shores. 

Claudian tells us, in his admirable poem of the Rape of Pro- 
serpine, that when Ceres decided to travel over the earth in 
search of her daughter, she hastened to Etna, to prepare the 
torch which was to light her on the road during the night ; and 
that having rooted up two gigantic cypresses, the goddess threw 
them into the crater of that mount, which being inflamed by the 
sulphur, augmented the fires of Etna; and from thence the an- 
cients, we presume, dedicated this tree to Pluto and Proserpine., 
The Romans placed a branch of the cypress tree before their 
dwellings when any one died, which remained as long as the 
corpse was in the house ; and which it then accompanied to the 
funeral pile, or the tomb. 

Lucan, who wrote about the middle of the first century, 


inferms us that the cypress was then only used at the funerals of 
persons of distinction. 


REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 153 


' The Turks of the present day attend most religiously to the 
planting of the cypress tree at the tomb of their departed friends 
and relatives; and they are always careful to select the upright 
variety, as the spreading cypress would, in such situations, be the 
cause of much sorrow to them, from their belief that when the 
tree grows with a spiral point towards heaven, it indicates that 
the soul of their friend is ascended into the regions of bliss, The 
Armenians are not allowed to plant a cypress tree, at the graves 
of their deceased friends, but they are permitted to plant any bran- 
ching tree, as the apple, oak, or elm, &c. ; which, from it’s crooked 
branches, indicates, as the Mahommedans affirm, the impossibility 
of the ascension of Christian souls. When will reason ascend her 
universal throne! 

Lady M. W. Montague mentions a cypress tree in a garden at 
Kujuk Checkmedji, that was converted to rather a singular use, 
“The house and garden now belong,” says her Lady-ship, *‘ to a 
hogia, or schoolmaster, who teaches boys here. Iasked him to 
show me his own apartment, and was surprised to see him point to 
atall cypress tree in his garden, onthe top of which was a place 
for a bed for himself, and a little lower one for his wife and two 
children, who slept there every night. I was so much diverted 
with the fancy,” says Lady Mary, “ that I resolved to examine his 
nest nearer ; but going up fifty steps, I found Ihad still fifty to go 
up, and then I must climb from branch to branch with some ha- 
zard of my neck. I thought it therefore the best way to come 
down again.” 

Cato wrote more on the cultivation of the cypress than on that 
of any other tree ; and he calls it a Tarentine tree ; but Pliny says, 
that was from its being first planted in that neighbourhood, and 
that the isle of Candia isits natural country ; where, he says, when 
' the ground is ploughed up, the young plants are sure to appear, 
and that in many parts of that island, the cypress trees spring up 
without culture ; particularly on Mount Ida, on which they grow 
to the very point, although it is continually covered with snow. 
Hanway says, some of the mountains near Reshd, in Persia, are 
covered with cypress trees. Thus, like the cedar, its birth-place 
is a cold bleak mountain; and like that majestic tree, it lives 
almost to eternity, and its timber seems nearly imperishable. Sir 
W. Ousley tells us, in his travels, that “ the beautiful and venera- 
ble cypress of F’assa has been the boast and ornament: of that city 
. for above a thousand years.” Pliny speaks of a cypress that was 
Vou, VII. No. 77. T 


154 REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 


planted when the foundation of Rome was laid, and which fell, 

he says, through careless neglect, on the last year of Nero’s reign. 

The same author tells us, the famous statue of Vejovis, Jupiter, 

in the eapitol, was made of cypress wood; and that when he wrote 

it was perfectly sound, although it had been dedicated and conse- 
crated to the temple since the second year of the foundation of 
Rome. Theophrastus, who calls this tree Kupariton, tells us, 
that the doors of the celebrated temple of Ephesus were formed 
of thisdurable wood; and the doors of St. Peter’s church, at Rome, 
were framed of cypress timber, which lasted from Constantine, to 
Pope Eugenius IV.’s time, which was eleven hundred years, and 
were then sound and entire, when the pope took them down to 
change them for bronze gates. The Egyptians kept their mum- 
mies in chests of cypress wood ; and'Thucydides, a Greek historian 
who wrote about 400 years before the birth of Christ, tells that 
the Athenians used to bury their heroes in coffins formed of this 
timber; and Aristocles, the celebrated Athenian philosopher, (who 
was called Plato, from the largeness of his shoulders), and who 
flourished about the same time with Thucydides, would have the 
laws and-sacred rites inscribed on tablets of cypress wood in pre- 
ference to brass. 

The Babylonian history affirms, that the lasting bridge, which 
Semiramis caused to be built over the Euphrates, about 1960 
before the Christian era, was entirely formed of this timber; and 
some learned writers, who do not hesitate to go 389 years farther 
back, endeavour to prove, that the gopher mentioned in Scripture 
as the wood of which the ark was built, was no other than cypress, 
and which is not confuted by other learned authors ; such as Isa, 
Vossius, and David Kinchi, who will have gopher to signify only 
resinous timber. Epiphanius, abishop of Salamis, who died A. D. 
403, telis us, some relics of the ark, Jasted even to his days:and 
which was judged to have been of cypress. It is known, that at 
Crete this timber was employed in building the largest ships ; and 
Virgil tells us, “‘ that cypress provides for keels of ships that scour 
the watery plains.” Aristobulus affirms, that the Assyrians made 
shipping of this timber; and so plentiful was this tree about those 
parts of Assyria, where the ark is conjectured to have been built, 
that those vast armadas which Alexander the Great caused to be 
equipped and sent out from Babylon, consisted only of cypress. 


(To be Continued.) 


. 
‘4 
: 
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f 
' 


ty 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 155 


ARTICLE V. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 
(Continued from page 134.) 


FREQUENTLY too, the course of the walk is interrupted by a large 
oak, or elm, or tulipifera, placed in the middle; or by a screen of 
trees running quite across ; which, when the part on one side of 
the screen is opened and illuminated by the sun, and the part on 
the other side close and shaded, produces a pleasing contrast. 

I have often seen, in China, berceaus and arbors, not of lattice- 
work, as in France, but of bamboo, hazel, and elm; whose bran- 
ches being interwoven at the top, formed an arch not at all dis- 
pleasing to the eye, and exceedingly useful,-during the heats of 
summer: and to render these cool retreats more agreeable, jess- 
amine scarlet beans, sweet-scented peas, granadillas ofseveral sorts 
nasturtiums, the convolvus major, and many otherkinds of clim- 
bers, were planted round the outside; forcing their way through, 
euriched the sides and arches of the walks in a very beautiful 
manner, I have likewise seen, in Chinese plantations, walks bord- 
ered with the cut yew and elm hedges, so common in most coun- 
tries of Europe, which the Chinese Artists sometimes admit of, for 
variety’s sake ; but they never have the stiff appearance of our 
European ones: the shears are used sparingly ; towards the top 
the branches are suffered to spread unmolested ; and evenin the 
cut parts of them are seen large masses of other plants forcing 
their way through; such as the sycamore, the fig, the vine, and 
others, whose foliage and verdure are most opposite to those of 
the hedge. 

The dimensions both of their straight roads and walks, vary 
according to the purposes they are designed for; and, in some 
degree too, according to their length. Roads or avenues to 
considerable objects, are, as has been observed, generally com- 
posed of three parallel walks: that in the middle being from thirty 
to one hundred and fifty, or even two hundred feet wide ; those 
on the sides, from fifteen to forty. In their Gardens the prin- 
cipal straight walks are never narrower than twenty feet; and 
seldom broader than forty-five or fifty: and the smallest are at 
least twelve feet wide. ‘Thirty to thirty-six feet is called a suffi- 
cient width for a length of two hundred yards ; forty to fifty for 
one of four hundred; sixty for one of six hundred ; and seventy 


156 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


foralength of eight hundred yards: and when the extent is more 
than this last dimension, they do not tie themselves up to any 
proportion, but encrease their width as much as they conveniently 
can; never, however, exceeding one hundred and fifty, to two 
hundred feet; which they think the utmost width that can be given 
without rendering the avenue disproportionate to the trees that 
border it 

In the construction of roads and walks, the Chinese Gardeners 
are very expert, and very circumspect; they never situate them 
at the foot of mountains or rising grounds, without contriving 
drains to receive the waters descending from the heights, which 
are afterwards discharged by arched gulleys under the roads, into 
the plains below; forming, in the rainy season, a great number of 
cascades, that increase the beauty of the scenery. The roads 
which are designed for carriages, they make as level as possible ; 
giving them a solid bottom, and shaping them so as to throw off 
the rain-waters expeditiously : they use, as much as possible, the 
nearest materials, to save expence ; and are very judicious in em- 
ploying different soils to form mixtures, which never become 
either hard or slippery ; never loose in dry weather, nor deep in 
wet ; not easily ground into powder; nor ever forming a rough 
flinty surface, difficult and painful for horses to move upon. 

Their walks are either of grass, of gravel, or chippings of stone 
covered with asmall quantity of coarseriver-sand. The first sort, 
which are seldom used but in private Gardens, they being too lia- 
ble to be spoiled in public walks, are made of the finest and 
cleanest turf that can be found on downs and commons ; and they 
are kept in order, by frequent mowing, and rolling with large iron 
rollers. The second sort are made of binding gravel, laid about 
six inches deep, upon the natural ground: if it be dry, or if 
swampy, upon brick rubbish, flint stones, or any other hard mate- 
rials, easiest to be had: and these are also kept firm, and in great 
beauty, by being frequently rolled. ‘Those of stone are composed 
of gallets, laid about a foot thick, rammed to a firm consistence, 
and a regular surface ; upon which is put a sufficient quantity of 
river-sand, to fill up all the interstices, this done, the whole is 
moistened, and well rammed again. 

Both in their roads and walks, they are very careful to contrive 
sink-stones, with proper drains and cess-pools for carrying off 
the waters, after violent rains ; and to those thatare upon descents, 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 157 


they never give more fall at the most than half an inch to every 
foot, to prevent them being damaged by the current of the rain- 
waters, 

As China, even in the northern provinces, is exceedingly hot 
during summer, much water is employed in their Gardens. In 
the small ones, where the situation admits, they frequently lay the 
greatest part of the ground under water, leaving only some islands 
and rocks; and in their large compositions, every valley has its 
brook or rivulet, winding round the feet of the hills, and discharging 
themselves into larger rivers and lakes. Their artists assert, 
that no Garden, particularly if it be extensive, can be perfect, 
without that element, distributed in many shapes : saying, that it 
is refreshing and grateful to the sense, in the seasons when rural 
scenes are most frequented ; that it is a principal source of variety 
from the diversity of forms and changes of whichit is susceptible ; 
and from the different manners in which it may be combined with 
other objects ; that its impressions are numerous, and uncommonly 
forcible ; and that, by various modifications, it enables the artist 
to strengthen the character of every composition ; to encrease the 
tranquillity of the quiet scene ; to give gloom to the melancholy, 
gaiety tothe pleasing, sublimity to the great, and horror to the 
terrible. 

They observe, that the different aquatic sports of rowing, sailing 
swimming, fishing, hunting and combating, are an inexhaustible, 
fund of amusement ; that the birds and fishes, inhabitants of the 
water, are highly entertaining, especially to naturalists ; and that 
the boats or vessels which appear upon its bosom, sometimes 
furiously impelled by tempests, at others gently gliding over’the 
smooth surface, form, by their combinations, a thousand momen- 
tary varied pictures that animate and embellish every prospect. 
They compare a clear lake, in a calm sunny day, to a rich piece of 
painting, upon which the circumambient objects are represented 
in the highest perfection: and say, it is like an aperture in the 
world, through which you see another world, another sun, and 
other skies. ; 

They also remark, that the beauty of vegetable nature depends, 
ina great degree, upon an abundant supply of water ; which, at 
the same time that it produces variety andcontrast in the scenery, 
enriches the verdire of the lawns, and gives health and vigor to 
the plantations. 


158 REVIEW. 


’ Their lakes are made as large as the ground will admit ; some 
several miles in circumference : and they are so shaped, that from 
no single point of view all their terminations can be seen ; so that 
the spectator is always kept in ignorance of their extent. They 
intersperse in them many islands ; which serve to give intricacy 
tothe form, to conceal the bounds, and to enrich the scenery. 


(To be Continued.) 


REVIEW. 


The Amateur Florist’s Assistant in the selection and cultivation 
of Popular Annuals; to which is added a descriptive cata- 
logue of the more interesting tender Perennials used in 
decorating the Parterre, and a copious list of European 
Ornamental Alpine Plants.—By Grorce W1itLmorT, 12mo., 


p.p- 76. 


This is an exceedingly neat little work, and to persons desirous 
of information on the ornamental flowering annuals, it will be 
found interesting and useful. The author deserves the thanks 
and encouragement of the Florist for his efforts ; this will en- 
courage him to give a little more practical information on the 
culture of some of the kinds treated upon in the present publica- 
tion. 


In the Preface the author observes that ‘‘the professional 
gardener and practical floriculturist are alike cautioned against 
expecting much more information from the following pages than, 
it is presumed, they already possess. The intentions of the 
author are more humble ; but he, fondly trusts, his exertions will 
not prove the less useful, his principal aim being to convey, in a 
comprehensive and cheap form, such a portion of that knowledge 
those already possess, as will enable the villa proprietor, cottager, 
and small garden occupier, to cultivate for their own recreation 
the Popular Annuals—a tribe of flowers, surpassed by no others 
in the vegetable kingdom, for fragrance, diversity of form, or 
beauty and variety of coloring—properties which are enhanced 
by the facility with which they may be grown, and the speedy 
return they yield to the careful cultivator; for while they may be 
procured for a trifling amount, they at the same time require less 
attention than their more permanent congenitors ; and instead of 
waiting seasons, the owner is rewarded for the little requisite at- 


: 
| 


REVIEW. 150 


tention bestowed on them in a few weeks, a period not only short, 
but rendered still more so by the pleasure experienced in daily 
beholding and contemplating their rapid progress, from the time 
their embryo leaves first appear, to that stage of existence when 
the profusion and loveliness of their bloom is sufficient to arrest 
the attention, and call forth the admiration of the most careless 
observer of nature’s beauties. 

From those resident in and near large towns, the Annual Flow- 
ers have a double claim to attention; for, while they in summer 
serve to cover the small street-door parterre, and garnish the 
window-box and flower-pot with the most choice embellishments 
of the flower-garden, in winter the management necessary for 
perennials, is dispensed with, which in such localities, is peculiarly 
unpleasant, and the gloomy association of ideas is avoided, con-. 
sequent on daily beholding, in the herbaceous tuft of sickly leaves 
or withered flower-stalks, and the foliage-strip branches of the 
decidious, or the smoke-blackened leaves of the evergreen shrub, 
the decay of what once charmed the eye of the beholder. 

In addition to the Annual flowers, strictly so called, ‘‘ which 
bloom and die in one short summer’s space,” there is another 
class of plants which annually compensate, by the beauty and de- 
licacy of their bloom, the care necessarily bestowed on them by 
those who have in their gardens a small hot-bed frame or green- 
house, in propagating them in autumn, preserving them through 
winter, and re-transplanting them in May —again to embellish the 
flower-beds with borrowed brilliancy of warmer climes and 
clearer skies. ‘To assist in the selection of these, the author has 
added a descriptive catalogue of the more interesting Tender 
Perennials used in decorating the parterre; and in conclusion, 
he has appended a copious list of the Ornamental European Alpine 
Plants, the smaller of which may be grown in pots, and protected 
during winter under glass, in what is usually termed a cold frame; 
while the taller and more vigorous may be grown in the open 
flower-border or verge of the shrubbery. 

Culture of Annuals. \n the course of the work the author 
has endeavoured to give directions for the culture of such as 
require any particular mode of treatment; in addition to which 
he considers the following general observations necessary for the 
guidance of the less experienced amateur. 

The most natural period of sowing Annuals is in the latter end 

_ of autumn, when they, as well as most other plants, burst from 
their capsules, and distribute the sceds in various ways; there- 
fore, those that are natives of this country, or similar climates, 
may in part be sown at that period, for forming an early bloom in 
the ‘following summer, to be succeeded by the part reserved for 
spring sowing, which is the period most usually devoted to that 
purpose from the end of February to the beginning of May 
flower-seeds may be sown, whenever the weather is favourable, 
and the ground in a proper state for that purpose ; reserving the 
more tender sorts till about the middle of April. 


160 : REVIEW. 


The depth of soil used as covering for the seeds, should, in all 
cases, be apportioned to their size, for instance, Lupins, Sweet 
Peas, and similar large seeds, should be buried two or three 
inches under the surface ; while Prince’s Feather, Mimulus, Pop- 
py, Tobacco, &c., of which the seeds are very small, should not 
be covered by more than a small layer of earth. It should 
further be kept in view, that seeds generally, and in particular 
those of a small size, vegetate more freely in a light than in a 
heavy and tenaceous soil; therefore, in cases when the former 
does not naturally exist, cultivators will find their additional toil 
amply repaid by procuring and only using light soil for covering 
the flower seeds. 

The manners of sowing vary according to the taste of the 
operator: the practice formerly adopted, and still often followed 
by gardeners and others, is to form with the fingers, in the pre- 
vious prepared ground, a circle from one-half to three feet in 
diameter, and of the proper depth, in which the seeds were 
deposited, and the earth again returned ; the whole being gene- 
rally finished by clapping the surface gently with the back of a 
spade, or pressing the earth lightly with the foot, to assist in 
keeping out the drought; of course the same practice of forming 
the reservoir for the seeds may be adopted whether the figure is 
intended to be a circle, a square, or any other form. 

Some fanciful growers form the letters of their name, outlines 
of animals, &c. in their flower beds, generally choosing for such 
purpose plants as possess dwarf or compact habit of growth. 

The young Annuals, as well as other plants, when coming above 
ground, are liable to be destroyed by slugs and various insects, 
as well as injured, particularly the less hardy sorts, by the night 
frosts ; to prevent which, various methods are recommended and 
practised. In small gardens a very excellent plan is to sow the 
seeds in circles, not more than six inches in diameter, and in- 
verting a flower-pot; when the young plants appear above ground, 
the flower-pot should be gently raised on one side by means of a 
small wedge or stone, which should always be removed in the 
evening, the operator taking care to lift it to see that no enemies 
are enclosed. ‘he flower-pot answers the double purpose of 
protecting the young plants, and of retaining the moisture about 
them until they acquire sufficient strength to resist all such 
injuries. Lime water, applied at any time, proves destructive to 
slugs, but if sprinkled on the leaves during dry weather or hot 
sun, it will injure them; therefore, that expedient should only be 
resorted to in the evenings or during damp weather, when they 
have left their retreats. A sprinkling of quick-lime in the same 
manner is productive of the same effect, but always produces a 
disagreeable and unsightly appearance.” 


(To be continued.) 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 161 


PART: FE: 


NEW OR RABE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


HOYA CORIACEA. Thick-leaved Hoya. (Bot Reg. 


ASCLEPIADACE®. PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. 


1. A scarce plant, reqniring the temperature of the stove, and to be grown 
on the tranks of trees. Those of our readers unacquainted with the genus 
will, perhaps, understand us better by saying, that this is a sort of honey 
plant, familiar to most persons, with its waxey white flowers, and often grown 
in windows. The Hoya coriacea appears to bea thicker foliaged plant, 
stronger in its stem, and perhaps less inclined to become a twiner or creep- 
er than the common honey plant. 

This new Hoya flowered for the first time in this country in the stoves ot 
Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney. It ia a native of Manilla, and was sent 
home by Mr. Cunningham. Its flowering season is August. 


ARISTOLOCHIA HYPERBOREA, Northern Birthwort. (Pax. Mag. 


ARISTOLOCHIACEZ. GYNANDRIA HEXANDRIA. 


2. This is a curious and beautiful plant, supposed to be a native of the 
northern district of India. In this country it requires the temperature of 
the stove. ‘It has been cultivated for some time in the collection of Mr. 
Knight, of the King’s Road, Chelsea, where it flowered during the past year. 
It is a twiner, running to a considerable length, the foliage, heart-shaped, 
and the flowers somewhat resemble the singular form of the pitcher plant, 
but having a long and curiously formed lip, are of a yellow and brown co- 
lour. We haye known several species of this genus requiring the tem- 
perature, of the stove, but have always found them exceedingly difficult to 
bloom. 


GALACTODENDEBON. UTILE. Palo de Vaca ; or Cow Tree of the Carac- 
cas. (Bot. Mag. 
URTICER. 


3. M. de Humboldt was the first to bring the Cow Tree of Caraccas, into 
notice. ‘* We returned,” he says, in his valuable Work, ‘* from Porto Ca- 
bello to the valley of Aragua, stopping at the plantation of Barbula, through 
which the new road to Valencia is to pass. For many weeks, we had heard 
a great deal of a tree, whose juice is a nourishing milk. The tree itself is 
called the Cow Tree, and we were assured that the negroes on the farm, 
who are inthe habit of drinking large quantities of this yegetable milk, con- 
sider it as highly nutritive ; an assertion which startled us the more, as al- 
most all lactescent vegetable fluids are acrid, bitter, or more or less poison- 
ous. Experience, however, proved to us during our residence at Barbula, 
that the virtues of the Cow Tree, or Palo de Vaca, have not been exugge- 
rated. This fine tree bears the general aspect of the Star-Apple Tree; its 
oblong painted, coriaceous, and alternate leaves are about ten inches long, 
and marked with lateral nerves, that are parallel, and project beneath. 
The flower we had no opportunity of seeing; the fruit is somewhat fleshy, 
and contains one or two kernels, Incisions, made in the trunk of the tree, 

Vor, VII. No, 77, U 


162 NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


are followed by a profuse flow of gluey and thickish milk, destitute of acri- 
dity, and exhaling a very agreeable balsamic odour. It was offered to us in 
calabashes, and though we drank large quanties of it, both at night and be- 
fore going to bed and again early in the morniug, we experienced no un- 
comfortable effects. The viscidity of this milk alone renders it rather un- 
pleasant to those who are unaccustomed to it. 

“ The negroes and free people, who work in the plantations, use it, by 
soaking bread in it made from maize, maniac, aropa, and‘cassava; and the 
superintendant of the farm assured us, that the slaves become visibly fatter 
during the season when the Palo de Vaca yields most milk. When exposed 
to the air, this flaid displays on its surface, probably by the absorption of 
the atmospheric oxygen, membranes of a highly animal nature, yellowish 
and thready like those of cheese; which, when separated from the more 
watery liquid, are nearly as elastic as those of caoutchouc, but in process 
of time exhibit the same tendency to putrefaction as gelatine. The people 
give the name of cheese to the curd which thus separates when brought 
into contact with the air, and say that a space of five or six days suffices to 
turn it sour, as I found to be the case in some small quantities that I brought 
to New Valencia. The milk itself kept in a corked bottle, had deposited a 
small portion of coagulum, and far from becoming fetid, continued to ex- 
hale a balsamic scent. When mingled with cold water, the fleshy fluid co- 
agulated with difficulty ; but contact with nitric acid produced the separa- 
tion of the viscous membranes. 

“* Town that among the great number of curious phenomena which offer- 
ed themselves to my notice during my travels, there was hardly one which 
struck my imagination so strongly as the sight of the Cow Tree. Every 
thing which relates to milk—all which regards the Cerealia, inspires us 
with interest, which relates not solely to the physical knowledge of things 
but seems to be allied to another order of ideas and feelings. We can 
hardly suppose that the human race could exist extensively without some 
farnaceous substances, any more than the protracted weakness of the hu- 
man, nursling can be supported without the nutritive fluid of its mother’s 
breast; and to this conviction is attributable the religious kind of reverence 
with which the amylaceous matter of the Cerealia has been regarded hy 
people both in ancient and modern times, as also the feelings with which we 
gazed upon the stately tree that I have now described. Neither the noble 
shadowy forests, nor the majestic current of rivers, nor the mountains hoary 
with sempiterernal snows.—none of these wonders of tropical regions, so 
rivetted my gaze as did this tree, growing on the sides of rocks, its thick 
roots scarcely penetrating the stony soil and unmoistened during many 
months of the year by a drop of dew or rain. But dry and dead as the 
branches appear, if you pierce the trunk, a sweet and nutritive milk flows 
forth, which is in greatest profusion at day-break. At this time, the blacks 
and other natives of the neighbourhood hasten from all quarters, furnished 
with Jarge jugs tocatch the milk, which thickens and turns yellow on the 
surface. Some drink it on the spot, others carry it home to their children ; 
and you might fancy you saw the family of a cow-herd gathering around him 
and receiving from him the produce of his ‘ kine,” 

Incited by this interesting narrative, by the chemical. 

Sir Robert Ker Porter's drawing was acompanied by well dried specimens 
of the foliage, and by the following interesting particulars in a letter, dated 
Caraccas, Juue8, 1837. Thad the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt 
of your letter of August (1836) on the 16th of the following November ; but 
from great occupation inmy official business, I had not a single day to spare 
that might enable me to satisfy yourself, and two or three other lovers of 
botany, relative to the Milk Tree. I have, however, made an excursion into 
the mountains, some fifty miles distant from this city.( about three leagues 
from the coast,( not farfrom the town of Coriacco, and after extreme pedes- 
trian labour up the steep forest-covered face of the mountain, reached the 
spot where the Palo de Vaca grows, I assure you that the sight of this 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 163 


extraordinary tree fully repaid me for the fatigue and severe wetting I expe- 
rienced. The close of last month was the period of my visit ; but unfortu- 
nately, it did not prove that either of its flowering or fruit ; however, I 
have sent you a bottle of the milk! some specimens of the leaves ( as well 
preserved as circumstances would permit ;) a piece of the bark, anda sketch 
copied from that which I took atthetime. 1 should think the elevation above 
the level of the sea where this tree grows, cannot be less than four thousand 
feet, and the temperature at eight o’ clock under its spreading branches was 
70 degrees Fahr, The forest was so densely thick and untravelled, that the 
people who accompanied us were obliged, at almost every step, to cut away 
for us through it with their sword-like knives, while the excessive steepness 
and slippery state of the mountain rendered our advance both tedious and 
dangerous. However, after a couple of toiling days, we reached the group 
of sought-for trees, surrounded in all directions by others no less wonderful 
to look upon than themselves. ‘The natives lost no time in making a deep 
incision into the bark of one, down to the very wood, from which burst forth 
the Milk, white and limpid as that of the cow, sweet to the palate and 
accompanied by an aromatic smell, but leaving a strong clammyness on the 
lips, and upon the tongue, aslight bitter. In a quarter of an hour, we filled 
two bottles with the produce of a couple of trees ; for as our visit happened 
to be made during the wane of the moon instead of its increase the lacteal 
fluid did not flow so freely as it is. said to do when drawn during the latter- - 
named stage. 

“© The trunk of the Palo de Vaca from which the drawing was made, 
measured somewhat more than twenty feet in circumference at about five leet 
from the reot. This colossal stem ran up to a height of sixty feet, perfect- 
ly uninterrupted by either leaf or branch ; when its vast arms and minor 
branches, most luxuriantly clothed with foliage, spread off every side, fully 
twenty-five or thirty feet from the trunk, and rising to an additional eleva- 
tion of forty feet, so that this stupendous tree was quite a hundred feet high 
in all. 1 saw others still larger: but the state of the weather drove us from 
our position. The leaves, when in a fresh state, are of a deep dark and 
polished green, nearly resembling those of the Laurel tribe, trom ten to 
sixteen inches long, and two or three inches wide, The specimens sent, 
will enable you to form a botanica! description of the foliage, as the portion 
of bark will do of that part of the tree; the wood, forming the body of the 
trunk, is white, very close-grained and hard, resembiing the box-wood of 
Europe. The soil which these trees inhabit is dark and rich, and must be 
damp or very wet all the year round. 

“ | have been promised by one of the Indians who accompanied we that 
he would keep a look out for the fruit of the tree and send me some, when I 
shall have the satisfaction of forwarding a few specimens to you. But, with 
regard to the flower, or the flowering season of the?tree, I have made enquir- 
ies over and over again, from persons who reside in the vicinity of other 
trees of the kind, in different parts of Venezuela; but they tell me that no 
one ever saw or heard of the Cow Tree flowering 

The imaginary statement of the tree not flowering may be accounted for by 
the nature of the blossoms, being in all likelihood small and inconspicuous, 
as in so many of the Urticeze, to which Nat. Order it is probably correctly 
referred: though whether it be a true Brosimum as Mr. Don is inclined to 
suppose, or a new Genus, as Humboldt has suggested, must yet remain a 
doubt. The leaves are large and handsome, and of a rich and somewhat 
velvety green hue. The fruit had the outer coat so much broken, that | 
will not venture to describe what is as faithfully represented as the nature 
of the specimens would allow. The bark of the larger branches is sin- 
gularly yellow, as shown in our figure. 


164 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


PART III. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


On Funat.—In lately reading one of your Numbers, I find avery praise- 
worthy and instructive Essay, communicated"by “ A Botanist,” but there is 
one part of it with which I cannot coincide, namely, that which treats of the 
Jower order of Fungi and Lichens being reproduced by sporules only, The 
subject, as he says, is involved in nes but 1 think he is explaining this 
mysterious affair too highly, 1, like himself, formerly believed there was no 
spontaneous production, but that vegetation from the highest order, down 
to the lowest, was reproduced from seeds or sporules only. About twelve 
months ago having occasion to look over some apples which had been pre- 
served all winter, I found one amongst them that was decayed on one side, 
but perfectly whole, that is, the rind was not broken or punctured in any 
way. 1] accidentally broke it in two parts, and to my surprise, found grow- 
ing in the centre, upon the core, a very pretty blue Fungus; this threw im- 
mediately a check upon my former belief, l instantly closed it to examine if 
there was any aperture whereby the sporules might have entered, but nothing 
of the kind could,I see; I further examined it to find any spawn which 
might have penetrated through its substance, but this was also wanting ; 
I was perfect in my examination, for in breaking it J did not crush it, but 
broke it clearly into two parts. Now for the question, how came the Fungus 
there? It must certainly be from spontaneous production, or the sporules 
must have entered with the farina by the stigma through the style and into 
the germen when the fruit was in embryo, which, I think, is not at all a 
plausible way of explaining the mystery. CryPptTas, 


On priced Lists or FLowers.—You would very much oblige a great 
admirer of your excellent periodical if you would insert an Essay on the art 
of propagating plants of all sorts by cuttings. It would embrace the theory 
of the operation, the modes whether under glass, in pots, or otherwise of 
effecting it, as well as the best season of the year at which it may be exe- 
cuted on different genera, species, and varieties of plants. We have many 
essays onthe art of grafting, but 1 know of none in which the art of making 
cuttings is fully treated. 

A list of the best varieties of Florists’ Flowers, including Pinks, Wall- 
flowers, Stocks, Campanulas, Tulips, Anemones, Ranunculas, &c. Sc. of 
good quality, but not so new as to be very expensive, would, if accompa- 
nied by alist of prices, be a very nice present tor the spring. 

I always look to the advertisements in your book with great curiosity, 
but am sorry to see them so much confined to Dahlias, surely a priced list 
of the other beauties of the garden, though, perhaps, rather old fashioned, ° 
would be acceptable. ALS: 


REMARKS. 


LONDON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY S EXHIBITION. 
The first exhibition of this Society, for this season, took place at their 
Gardens at Chiswick, May the 18th. |The day was beautiful, and the atten- 
dance was as numerous and fashionable asit usually is at the corresponding 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 165 


- season of the year. Perhaps the number of persons present was about 3, 000. 


Amongst other individuals of distinction we observed his Royal Highness the 
Grand Duke of Russia and suite, Prince Meskexikey, the Duke of Cambridge, 
the Earl of Bradford, the Earl of Lovelace, Earl Talbot, Lord Sondes, Lord 
Morpeth, the Countess de Salis, the Countess of Lichtield, &c. &c. ‘Ihe show 
of flowers was very good ‘considering the earliness of the season. The fol- 
lowing was the distribution of the prizes:— 
PELARGONIUMS, 
Gold Banksian.—Mr. Gaines, Battersea. 
Gold Bankeian.—Mr, Cock, Chiswick. 
Large Silver.— Mr. Hunt, gardener to Miss Trail. 
Silver Knightian.—Mr. Pratt, gardener, to Mr. Harrison. 
Large Silver.—Messrs. Colley and Hill. 
HERBACEOUS CALCECOLARIAS 
Large Silver.—A. Foster, Esq., Clewer. 
Silver Knightian.—Mr, Catleugh, Sloane-street. 
Silver Banksian.—Mr. Green, gardener to Sir E. Antrobus. 
SHRUBBY CALCEOLARIAS. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Green, gardener to Sir E. Antrobusa 
LARGE COLLECTION OF STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 
Gold Knightian.—Mr, Green. 
Gold Banksian.—Mrs. Lawson. 
Gold Banksian.—Mr, Redding. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Jackson, nurseryman, Kingston. 
SMALL COLLECTION OF STOVE AND) GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 
Gold Banksian.—Mr. Bannon, gardener to Sir J. Lloyd. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Pratt, gardener to W. Harrison, Esq. 
Silver Knightian —Mr. Upright, gardener to C. G. Ridge, Esq. 
Silver Knightian.—Mr. Dawson, gardener to W. Leaf, Esq. 
CAPE HEATHS. 
Gold Banksian.—Mr. Barnes, gardener to G. W. Norman, Esq. 
Large Silver.—Mr, Lawrence. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Pratt. 
Gold Ranksian.—Mr. Pamplin, nurseryman, Hornsey-road. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Jackson, Kingston. 
Silver Knightian.—Messrs. Rollinson, Tooting. 
Silver Knightian.—Messrs. Fairbairns, Clapham. 
CUCUMBERS. 
Silver Banksian.—Mr. Barnes, gardener to Sir H. Jenner. 
GRAPES. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Davis, gardener to Sir Simon Clarke. 
Silver Banksian.—Mr. Chapman, Vauxhall. 
PINE APPLES. 
Silver Knightian.—Mr. Davis, gardener to Sir S. Clarke. 
GREENHOUSE AZALEAS. 
Gold Banksian,—Mr. W. Smith, Norbiton. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Falconer, gardener to A. Palmer, Esq. 
MELON SHAPED CACTI. 
Silver Knightian.—Mr, Pratt, gardener to A. Harris, Esq. 
TALL CACTI. 
Large Silver.—Mr. Green. 
Silver Knightian.—Mr. Falconer. 
ROSES. 
Large Silver.—Messrs, Lane and Co., Berkhampstead. 
COLLECTIONS OF ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS. 
Gold Knightian—Mr. Mylan, gardener to S. Rucker. 
Large Silver.—Messrs. Rollinson and Co., Tooting. 
SINGLE ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS. 
Large Silver.—Mr, J. Bruce, 
Large Silver.—Messrs, Pince and Co., Ocidium Pictum, 


, 


166 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Large Silver.—Messrs. Pince and Co., Cephalotus follicularis. 
Large Silver.—Messrs. Pince and Co., Erica Elegans. 

Large Silver.—Messrs. Vetch, Chorizema Varium. 

Silver Knightian.—Messrs. Rollinson, Oncidium divaricatum. 
Silver Banksian.— Ditto Ditto, Cattley forbesii. 

Silver Knightian.—Mr.Dunsford, Doryanthas excelsa. 

Silver Banksian.—Mr. Pratt, Rhododendron species, 

Silver Knightian.— Mr. Lane, Azalea Indica Variegata. 

Silver Knightian.—Mr. Douglas, Zetopia Specissima, 1 
Silver Banksian 1.—Mr. G. Mills, Clematis Sieboldi. 

Silver Banksian,z.—Mr. G. Mills, Auzurea grandiflora. 
Silver Banksian 3.—Mr. G. Mills, Fuchsia fulgens. 

Silver Bahksian.—Mr. Redding, Tropceolum tricolorum. 

Silver Knightian.—Mr. Lane, seedling Amaryllis. 

Silver Knightian.—Mr. Mills, Hydrangeas. 

Silver Banksian.—Mr. Henderson, Cineraris. 

Silver Knightian.—Mrs. Lawrence, Thunbergia Newtoneyana. 
Silver Knightian.—Messrs. Vetch, Azalea Indica Plena Rubra. 
Silver Banksian.—Mr. Lane, Laleritia. 

Silver Banksian,—Mr. Halley, Poenia Arborea Victoria. 

Silver Banksian.—Messrs. Pince and Co., Rhododendron Victoria. 

The show of greenhouse and other rare plants were very numerous and 
especially fine; there were many specimens exhibiting very considerable 
skill in their culture, and reflected great credit on the parties who super- 
intended their management. The plants very far exceeded all that we ever 
saw at any exhibition in the country, and were well worth the coming a few 
hundred miles to see. z 

We had not time to take down the names of every specimen, as the pres- 
sure of spectators was generally so great, as to preclade our standing long 
enough to enable us to do it, but among the many novelties and beauties, 
we noted down the following :— 

Pelargoniums—The entire lot exhibited were of superior growth, each 
person exhibited twelve plants, and duly to appreciate the excellence of 
the specimens can only be done by seeing them. The winning specimens 
were fine in the extreme. They were plants strack in the autumn 1837, and 
now formed bushes about two foot and a half high, and three in diameter 
over the heads clothed in most vigorous foliage quite down to the edge of 
the pot on every side, so that not a stem could be seen, and these well- 
grown plants were profusely clothed with flowers of extraordinary size and 
beauty. The method of management we will give ina subsequent num- 
ber. 

The first twelve we noticed was that of Mr. Gaines of Battersea, who 
had the gold medal awarded for them, and to which he was justly entitled. 
They consisted of the following kinds. Criterion, Gaines’s King, Gaines’s 
Conqueror, Magnet, Pictum, Gauntlett, Lady Dillon, Dennis's Perfection, 
Lord Byron, Lady Denbigh, and Duchess of Roxburgh. 

Those of Messrs. Colley and Hill, were the following ;—])iadem, Louis — 
Phillippe, Climax, Duchess of Sutherland, Pictum, Hericartianum, Maid of — 
Athens, Fosteri Rosea, Gem, Beauty of Ware, Dennis's Perfection, Lady — 
Mary. 


: 
. 
; 
: 


There were fine specimens of the following new or rare plants, viz. 


Indian Azaleas.—Smith’s Triumphans, fine rose, upper part crimson and 
spotted, fine formed flower. i! 
Ditto. Smith’s Grandiflora nove, rosy purple, a very large flower. 
Ditto. Smith’s Bella, fine pink. a 
Ditto. sari Cocciaea superba, scarlet, upper part tinged with purple, fine — 
ower. 
Ditto. Smith's Seedling, very fine purple and pink, 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 167 


_ Ditto. Speciosissima, rosy-crimson, slightly spotted, plant eight feet high, 

in profuse bloom. 

Ditto. Speciosa, pink. 

_ Ditto. Rubra plena, a double flower of a fine light-red colour, from Mr. 

Veitch, Exeter. 

Ditto. Purpurea splendens, a fine bright purple flower, from A. Palmer, 
Esq., a very striking variety. 

Ditto. Monstrosum, (Smith’s) lilac tinged with purple, a very large flower. 

Azalea rubra. A plant in profuse bloom, twelve feet high. 

Ditto variegata. Centre of flower flesh colour, with an edge of white, by 
J.H. Palmer, Esq. 

Ditto sinensis. A plant six feet high, clothed with its deep golden yellow 
flowers, by Mr. A. Stewart, Salthill. é 

Rhododendron hyacinthiflora. Purple flower nearly double, 

Ditto. Multi-maculata, (Smith’s) white, upper petals, slightly tinged with 
blush, and spotted with dark brown. 

Thunbergia Hawtoneyana. Blue, having a white centre, with the throat 
streaked with yellow. 

Lobelia ramosa. Four feet high, with numerous branches in profuse bloom, 
deep blue flowers, yellow spot at centre, about one inch across. 

oo emen rosemarinifolia. With narrow leaves and fine rose-coloured 

owers. 

Chorizema spartoides. With narrow leaves, but not yet bloomed. 

Pimelea incana. The foliage has a silvery appearance, being densely clothed 
with hair. The flowers are terminal heads, white, 


PeLarconiums.— Descriptions of the most superior kinds of Pelargoniums 
now in cultivation, as recently seen in the metropolitan nurseries : 
Phosphorus, rosy purple, round and large petals. 
Louis d’elyte, fine large rose, large dark spot on upper petal. 
Louis Quartoize, white, with very large dark crimson purple spot, very 
superior. 
King, (Gaines’s) very beautiful rosy crimson, lighter towards the centre, 
the form of the flower is very perfect and large. 
Lady Dillon, upper petals rose, lower lilac, large flower. 
' Bellissima, white, with large dark crimson spot, no streaks upon the 
ower. 
Duchess of Roxborough, very fine rose, with large dark spot, a large 
and superior flower. 
Fosterii Rosea, with large dark spot, a large flower of very fine form. 
Fanuus, lower petals a rosy pink, upper ones crimson with dark spot, 
a fine flower. 
Sir John Sebright, lilac, with very large dark crimson velvet spot, a fine 
flower. 
Chefe d’ceuvre, white with large reddish spot. 
Bleda, fine rosy crimson, with large crimson spot, large flower. 
Perfection, (Garth’s,) lower petals, flesh colour, upper ones rose with dark 
spot, a fine formed large flower. 
Touchstone, fine scarlet, about the size and form of the well known 
Daveyanum. 
Rose Eclatante, lower petals rosy purple, upper ones, rosy crimson, with 
a large dark spot. 
Mrs. Norcliffe, white, with large dark crimson spot. ; 
Gauntlett, lower petals light crimson, upper ones fine scarlet crimson, 
alarge flower. 
| Criterion, white, with large dark spot, fine flower. 
| Lord Byron. rosy purple, with large dark spot, very fine formed flower. 
| Pictam, white, large spot, and upper petals streaked. 
| Aletia, white, tinged with blush, rosy crimson spot. 
| Colossus, lower petals rose, upper ones crimson with dark spot, good 
formed flower. i 


168 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Climax, lower petals rose, upper ones bright rose with dark spot. 

Conqueror, rosy purple with large dark spot, large and fine flower. 

Maid of Athens, lower petals pink, upper ones fine rose with large dark 
spot. 


(To be continued.) 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Hovea FUNGENS.—This very beautiful flowering species we saw in bloom 
at Messrs. Rollisson’s of Tooting, and they have informed us it had been 
received by them ¢rom Baron Hagel of Vienna. It is a native of South Aus- 
tralia, and is a most charming addition to our greenhouse plants. All the 
species delight in a very free drainage, light and airy situation, and to be 
grown in acompost of loam and sandy peat. The present species appears 
to be of amore bushy habit than any other of its family, but blooming so 
profusely, renders it very showy. 


ConvoLvuLus PENTANTHUS.—This is a peculiarly neat and pretty flow- 
ering climber, we saw it in profuse bloom at Mr. Groom’s, in his plant stove, 
and at the [Hammersmith Nursery, in the plant stove. It appears, however, 
that it would do well in a greenhouse or conservatory during summer, but 
of course would bloom a little later than in the stove. The plant grows 
very rapid and blooms for several months very profusely. We procured a 
number of plants a few weeks back, and found it flourish with the green- 
house, treatment so far. 


Ampuicome aRGuUTA.—We procured several of this very handsome flowering 

lant some time back, and consider it one of the best additions in new 
plants that have recently been introduced, Seeds of it were sent by Dr. 
Royle to the London Hort. Society, they had been collected on the Himal- 
ayah mountains. The plant has been distributed extensively by the Society. 
The plant is of a very pretty habit in its growth and foliage, and blooms 
very freely. It has been usually grown, since its introduction, in the green- 
house, but,it is considered to be hardy, growing near a yard high, and 
blooming freely in the open ground during summer. The plant is an her- 
baceous perennial, and deserves a place in every greenhouse or flower border. 


Cuorizema RuSCIFOLIA.—This very pretty flowering species has recently 
been introduced into this country by Mr. Groom, of Walworth. We saw 
it in bloom this spring; it is a very pretty species, and well deserves a 
place in every collection. In habit and flower it approaches nearest to 
Chorizema Dickinsonii; it is of a dwarfish habit, and blooms at the extrem- 
ity of every strong shoot. 


RuopopennRon OsBorNit.—This very fine flowering Rhododendron has 
been raised in the nursery of Messrs. Osborn & Co,, Fulham, near London. 
We saw its splendid bloom in May, and consider it yety far to exeed all 


others of its clase in this country. It deserves to be in every collection, but — 
we suppose it will not be sent out before the next season, Whenready for — 


sale, it will be announced. 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR JUNE, 


Take up the remaining tuberous root, such as Anemone and Ranunculus 
finishing by the end of the first week; fill up their places and any vacancies 
that have occured, with annuals from the reserve ground. Propagate her- 
baceous and other plants that have gone out of flower, by means of cuttings 
and slips; also roses and American shrubs, by laying, budding, or cuttings. 


j 


THE 
FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


AUGUST Ist, 1839. 


PART I, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, 


—— ~~ 


ARTICLE I. 


ON THE PLEASURE AND PROFIT ARISING FROM ee 
PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 


EY MR. W. WOODMANSEY, HARPHAM, NEAR BRIDLINGTON, YORKSHIRE. 

It was a saying of the celebrated Sterne, ‘‘that most people 
have their hobby- horses ;” the literal meaning of which I take to 
be, that most people have their favorite pursuits, or amusements ; 
and so long as these pursuits or amusements, are compatible 
with our duty to God as Christians, and militate not against the 
welfare of our fellow. men; so far are they innocent, rational, and 
profitable. Among all the various amusements which this fasci- 
nating world holds out, I think none is more innocent, more 
rational, or more profitable, than the cultivation of flowers: those 
beautifw) gems with which our divine Creator has. studded our 
meadows, and kindly furnished to beautify our gardens; whose 
brilliant colors vie with the rainbow, and infinitely surpass the 
most costly tints, and whose balmy fragrance scents the surround- 
ing atmosphere with perfumes more agreeable than the spices of 
Arabia! Who can behold their exquisite symmetry ?_ Who can 
admire their diversified yet splendid colors? Or, who can feast 
his senses on the aromatic sweets which emanate from their 
beautiful blooms, without feeling a sort of sacred pleasure stealing 
imperceptibly into his very soul, and leading its finest feelings 
willing captives to their inimitable charms? 

It is said, and very truly too, that the study of Astronomy, that 
sublime science, which.teaches the various revolutions of those 

Vou, VII. No, 78. W 


170 ON THE PLEASURE OF FLOWERS, &c, 


spheres which nightly bespangle the nocturnal heavens, is ad- 
mirably calculated to lead the mind from Nature up to Nature’s 
God. And if the contemplation of those luminaries, placed as 
they are at such immeasureable distances; and which can act 
only upon the ocular nerves, has this tendency ; how much more 
ought the beauties of Flora, producing as they do, a threefold 
evidence on the senses? Yes— 


The blushing tint, the crimson streak, 
The powers of heavenly wisdom speak ; 
And all their balmy fragrance join, 

To show their Author is divine. 


In fact, there is not a blade of grass, or a wild flower that 
decks our lawns; but which is replete with instruction, and shows 
forth the handy-work of the great and glorious Creator of the 
Universe. 


“Not a tree, 
A plant, a leaf, a blossom, but contains 
A folio volume. We may read, and read, 
And read again, and still find something new— 
Something to please, and something to instruct 
E’en in the noisome weed,”’—Houropis. 


Solomon, the wisest man, was a great admirer of the beauties 
of the floral kingdom. And our blessed Redeemer expressly 
commands us to ‘‘ Consider the lilies of the field ;’’ and if, with 
an example like that of Solomon before us; and after receiving 
a command from our Saviour himself, we can still remain insen- 
sible to their charms—still refuse to contemplate their inimitable 
beauties, we must lack much of that spirit of refinement which 
purifies the grossness of depraved human nature, and makes man 


fit for the society of Heaven. 
é 
“The men 
Whom nature’s works can charm, with God himself 
Hold converse: grow familiar day by day, 
With his conceptions ; act upon his plan; 
And form to his, the relish of their souls.’—AKENSIDE. 


Among all the productions of the vegetable kingdom, there is 
not a single individual, but which has its uses ; even those very 
tribes which daily remind us of man’s awful fall, and the curse 


: 


| 


REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 171 


pronounced upor the earth for his sake; have in them properties 
of peculiar usefulness, and prove beneficial to the wants of man. 
—God hath made nothing in vain!—some are for use, others for 
ornament, and not a few, perhaps all, are possessed of medicinal 
properties. Properties! without which, life itself would be a 
burden; and which, if utterly deprived of, it would be utterly 
impossible for man to exist. 

Since then, there is such innocent amusement, such rational 
pleasure, and such mental improvement in the cultivation of 
plants, and flowers: and since it is so well calculated to enhance 
our spiritual interests; and render us more fitting for the society 
of beings of a higher order than ourselves, and especially for the 
society of our divine Maker. Let me, for one, disdain more ig- 
noble and trifling pursuits. Let me fly from the deluded votaries 
of mere sensual gratifications, and in 


“ The calm retreat! 
(Far from the noisy haunts of sordid men,) 
Where Flora trains her lovely offspring up, 
To captivate and charm! there let me muse! 
Surrounded by her rich and dazzling train, 
Till lost in ecstasy, my soul takes wing ; 
And soars from nature up to nature’s God ! 
There may I lie, wrapped in the flowery vest 
Of silent rapture, till my soul breaks forth, 
And in the language of the immortal bard, 
Who sung the fatal fall—transported cries, 
‘These are thy glorious works, Parent of good! 
To us invisible, or dimly seen 
In there thy lowest works ; yet these declare 
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine !’ ” 


July, 1839. 


ARTICLE II. 


REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS, 
(Continued from page 154.) 
Tue ancients, who had great faith in balsamic scents, supposed 
therefore that the cypress improved the air by its transpiration ; 
and on which account, the eastern physicians sent all those who 
had pulmonic disorders to the Isle of Candia, where these trees 


172 REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 


abound ; and we are assured, that the aromatic smell of this ever- 
green was found to be a special for the lungs. 

It is clearly ascertained, that trees correct a putrid bad air. “It 
should, therefore, be our study to find out those that do it most 
powerfully ; and Having ourselves so often been revived and re- 
freshed by the natural perfumes of the garden and fields, we deem 
it worthy the labours of medical students, to learn how far aro- 
matic and balsamic scents may be good for those who are troubled 
with weak lungs. 

By whom the cypress tree was first introduced to England, and 
at what exact period, we are not able tolearn ; but it is probable, 
that we are indebted for this celebrated tree to some pious abbess 
or holy fathers of Sion Monastery, near Brentford, which is now~ 
become Northumberland’s ducal palace ; as Dr. Turner tells us, 
in his Herbal of 1568, “ it groweth right plenteously in the gardine 
of Sion.” Gerard notices, in 1597, ‘“ that it groweth likewise in 
diuers places of Englande, where it hath beene planted, as at Sion, 
a place near London, sometime a house of nunnes ; it groweth 
also at Greenwich, and at other places; and likewise at Hamp- 


steed, in the garden of Master Waide, one of the clarkes of hir 


maiesties privy-counsell.” 

Evelyn says, in 1664, ‘‘ the cypress tree was, but within a few 
years past, reputed so tender and nice a plant, that it was culti- 
vated withthe greatest care, and to be found only amongst the 
curious ;” whereas we see it now in every garden, rising to as 
goodly a bulk and stature as most which you shall find even in 
Italy itself. Forsuch I remember to have once seen in his late 
Majesty’s gardens at Theobalds, before that princely seat was 
demolished. The author of the Sylva strongly recommends the 
planting of this tree in England ; and of its hardiness he says, ‘* the 
March and April winds (in years 1663 and 1665), accompanied 
with cruel frosts and cold blasts, for the space of more than 
two months, night and day, did not, amongst near a thousand 
cypresses growing in my garden, kill above three or four, which, 
for being very late cut to the quick, (that is, the latter end of 
October), were raw of their wounds, took cold, and gangreened.” 
From this and other recommendations of Evelyn, we presume it 
became fashionable to cultivate the cypress, forin1706, when Lou- 
don and Wise published “The Retired Gardener,” they say, 
“cypress was formerly more in fashion than ’tis now ; for we see 
in some places whole alleys of it; but these trees being apt to take 


s 


| 


REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 173 


but one sort of figure, which is that ofa pyramid, and the yew tree 
and pieca being more proper for the variety of forms of which they 

“are susceptable, to adorn gardens, cypress has lately been neg- 
lected, and the other two trees been more planted.” Thus it is 
evident that the cypress was driven out of the garden by the shears, 
whose business it was to disfigure nature, by transforming ever- 
greens into urns, sugar loaves, extinguishers, and a thousand other 
whimsical devices, as suited the taste of the owner, or the ability 
of their gardeners, who have not been improperly called evergreen 
tailors. But the cypress may now safely return to its station in 
our plantations, since the shears have left the grove, and are now 
as busily employed in disfiguring the human shape, as they were 
formerly in mutilating vegetable beauties. 

There is no part of ornamental planting more difficult than the 
distribution of evergreen trees, which are either the most perma- 
nent beauties of the grove, or the most gloomy features, accord- 
ingly as they are dispersed. A plantation composed entirely of 
trees that are not deciduous, has an aspect so sombre, that the 
name of nevergreen may be more properly applied to them than 
that of evergreen ; yet they cheer our winter scenes most beau- 
tifully when happily blended with those deciduous trees, whose 

. colour and character assimilate best with them. But we are not 
admirers of that regularity and uniformity so often offensive to the 
eye in large plantations, where there is no deviation from the fir 
and the larch, unless where death has made a gap, when you are 
treated with a larch and fir through hill and dale to the end of the 
plantation. < 

The cypress seems admirably adapted to ornament those lawns 
which surround villas or lodges built in the Grecian style, and 
perhaps we have no tree that accords so well with stone or stuc- 
coed edifices as the cypress ; and even the temples of marble lose 
half their effect ifsurrounded by other buildings instead of being 
relieved by the foliage of trees.. At the present time, the burial 
hill of Pere-la-chaise, near Paris, forms a most interesting picture, 
asthe numerous and various formed monuments rise above the 
young arbores vite and cypresses, like a city of marble emerging 
from a forest, and from which, a friend observes, we may form a 
faint picture of the beautiful appearance of Constantinople from 
the Bosphorus; the hills on which that city stands being inter- 
mixed with white buildings and green foliage, which forms a 
spectacle not equalled in any other part of Europe. 


174 REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 


We have two varieties of the common cypress, sempervirens 
the upright and the spreading, which the ancients distinguished as 
male and female trees; but the botanist will know by the class in 
which these trees are placed, that they are androgynous plants, 
viz, having male and female flowers on the same root. It appears 
that the ancients did not consider the seed of a tree to be a fruit, 
unless it was eatable ; for Phocion, who was so celebrated in 
Athens for his private and public virtues, remarked to a young 
man who spoke with more vanity than good sense, ‘‘ Young man, 
thy discourse resembles the cypress; itis large and lofty, and bears 
no fruit.”? ‘What would this Athenian, whose virtues were as 
incorruptible as the cypress itself, say to some of our modern 
speeches and publications ? 

When we plant the cypress in the shrubbery, it should be cor- 
rectly ascertained if it is the spiral or the spreading variety; for 
the former requires but a small space, and should be placed 
behind those flowering shrubs whose extending branches require 
such an addition: whilst the spreading cypress may wave its mourn- 
ful branches over the daisy-pied lawn, or form a foreground to the 
pointed poplar. But it requires considerable ingenuity to place the 
cypress happily in our plantations ; for in most situations its dark 
and slender head adds a gloom rather than cheerfulness to the 
scene, particularly in autumnal evenings ; when either the sun 
leaves its last streak, or the rising moon sends a silvery stream 
of light down the dark foliage, which gives additional sombre to 
the shade, and a spectre-like appearance to the imagination of the 
gloomy mind. 

The spreading cypress is by far the largest growing tree, and 
is the most common timber in some parts of the Levant. This, 
if planted upon a warm, sandy, gravelly soil, will prosper won- 
derfully ; and though the plants of this sort are not so finely 
shaped as those of the first, yet they greatly recompense for that 
defect by their vigorous growth and strength, in resisting all 
weathers, This tree is very proper to intermix with evergreens 
ofa second size next to pines and firs, to form clumps, in which 
class it will keep pace with the trees of the same line, and be very 
handsome. Besides, the wood of this tree is very valuable, when 
grown to a size fit for planks, which I am convinced it will do in 
as short a space as oaks ; therefore, why should not this be cul- 
tivated for that purpose, since there are many places in England 
where the soil is of a sandy or gravelly nature, and seldom 


1 
4 
J 


REMARKS ON THE CYPRESS. 175 


produce any thing worthy cultivating? Now, in such places, 
these trees will thrive wonderfully, and greatly add to the pleasure 
of the owner while growing, and afterwards render as much profit 
to his successors, as perhaps the best plantation of oaks.” 

Pliny tells us, that in Italy it was considered amongst their 
most profitable plantations, and was generally cut for poles once 
in every thirteeen years, and that this fall was called dos filie, 
because the profit was reckoned a sufficient marriage portion for 
a daughter. 

This timber is reckoned amongst the sonorous woods ; it is 
therefore used for harps, violins, and other musical instruments, 
and itis said that no wood is better calculated to resist the rava- 
ges of the worm, &c. 

The deciduous cypress tree, cupressus disticha, is a native of 
North America, and it appears to have been introduced to this 
country by Mr. John Tradescant, of South Lambeth, where it was 
planted prior to 1640. We have now two varieties of this species 
of cypress. 

Cupressus lusitanica, commonly called the cedar of Goa, from 
whence it was first brought to Portugal, and is therefore named 
the Portugal cypress. We learn from Mr. Ray’s letters, that this 
species of cypress was cultivated in England as early as 1683, 
but it is not considered so hardy as the common cypress, and is 
therefore less planted ; formerly there were some of these trees 
growing in the Bishop of London’s garden, at Fulham, and there 
was a fine tree of this species in the gardens of the Duke of Rich- 
mond,.at Goodwood, near Chichester, which was killed by the 
frost in 1740. 

The arborvite leaved cypress, or white cedar, cupressus thyoides 
isa native of North America, and Peter Collinson, Esq. had the 
honour of giving it British soil in 1736, This species grows natu- 
rally in China and Cochin-China ; it loves a strong moist soil,and 
abounds in theswamps of New Jersey, and some parts of Penn- 
sylvania and New York. 


By An Horticutrvurist. 


176 ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS, 


ARTICLE ITI. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF ERICAS. 
(Continued from page 132.) 


Ir is long been an opinion, that the Epacris, Helichrysum, and 
some other similar plants of the genera, enumerated at the com- 
mencement of this article, should not be taken out of the Green- 
house during summer, as the majority of plants are. This 
opinion is strengthened, by the success I have experienced, ina 
collection of about three hundred species of the best sorts, so 
managed under my own immediate charge, and much more so by 
observing the practice of those French and German cultivators 
who follow a similar plan, as well as that of the superior manage- 
ment of these plants in the Edinburgh botanical garden, where 
specimens are to be seen grown in tubs, from three to four feet in 
diameter, and the plants from eight to twelve feet in height. No 
cultivator has been so successful in this department as Mr. M‘Nab, 
the intelligent curator of that garden, from whose valuable 
treatise on the subject we take the following quotation. ‘When 
I mention the treatment of heaths when in the house,” he says, “1 
must let it be understood that if I had sufficient accommodation 
under glass, I never would take heaths out of doors, unless it were 
for the purpose of shifting, or taking them from one house to 
another. My practice would be to keep them in the house all 
summer, giving them plenty of air, and to keep them cool during 
winter. I know it is the common practice to turn heaths out of 
doors for four or five months in summer and autumn, and it is 
also a pretty general opinion that by doingso it makes them 
hardier, and enables them to stand the winter better than they 
would do if kept within doors durmg summer. From this opinion 
I must take the liberty of differig, as I know of no species of 
heath that will not bearas much cold in winter, without suffering 
from it if kept in the house during summer, as they do when 
turned out of doors, and many of them, (perhaps all), I know, 
will bear more cold in the winter. For, by the latter practice, 
the young wood gets better ripened, and better able to resist cold 
in winter.” The same excellent authority, in speaking of plants 
in general, recommends, where there is sufficient accomodation, 
to keep all plants under glass during summer, and, in such cases, 
to allow them plenty of room, “‘ for unless they are placed quite 


ON THE CULTURE OF RRICAS. 177 


separate, “he observes,” from each other, sothat a free circulation 
can pass among them, they will suffer much more when crowded 
in the house in the summer, than they will do in the same situ- 
ation during the winter, for in winter they are in a more dormant 
state, and not growing with the same vigour. I would however 
advise every one to keep as many of their best specimens and 
best kinds within doors during summer as they can, without 
having them crowded together. I cannot give better directions 
than to say, that one should not touch the other when in the house 
in summer, and ifthe nearest part of one to the other is two or 
three inches apart, so much the better. The house, however, 
should be ventilated at all times, and, except in cases of high 
wind or heavy rain, both top and front lights should be kept open 
night and day; and besides watering the earth in the pots freely 
when they require it, they should be well watered over-head with 
the garden engine every day ; and ifthe weather is hot and dry, © 
this operation should be performed twice every day, namely, 
both morning and evening.” 

There is one branch of culture in which I differ from the talent- 
ed writer above quoted; he recommends a partial degree of shade 
during the hottest days of summer. In this particular the Messrs. 
Loddiges agree with me as do most of the continental cultivators. 
This however, may be less important in the latitude of Edinburgh 
than in that of London, and is certainly much less so there, than 
in most parts of France, or the south of Germany, and for that 
reason it may not be noticed in the excellent directions laid down 
by Mr. M‘Nab. Messrs. Loddiges follow the continental fashion 
ofshading by means of Jong slender branches of birch or other 
decidious trees, which are laid over the roof of the house, break- 
ing the full force of the sun’s rays, while at the same time air is 
not much obstructed. My practice is to shade by spreading 
netting over the roof, and latterly by having a fine thin canvass 
awning, mounted on rollers, on the top of the house, which is let 
down or taken up at pleasure. 

Air cannot be too freely admitted to heaths, and indeed, to all 
similar plants, and to effect this the upright lights may be left open 
altogether, until the the thermometer, in the open air, falls to two 
or three degrees below the freezing point ; indeed, we have even 
had the mould in the pots frozen pretty hard without the application 
of fire heat. Ifthe house be pretty air-tight and dry, fire heat will 
seldom be required; for we find by Mr. M‘Nab, (TZveatise, p. 31.) 

Vox. VII. No, 78. x 


178 ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 


that he has had no accident in this respect when the thermometer 
out of doors indicated sixteen degrees of frost. The following 
quotation on this subject of temperature is so excellent that we are 
induced to give it at length. 

‘<T have had all the heaths in the house frozen for days together, 
so hard that the pots could not be removed from their places 
without breaking them, and fresh air constantly admitted at the 
time, and I have never seen one of them suffer in the smallest 
degree fromit ; but, on the contrary, found them thrive better than 
under any other treatment. 

**T have several times had the heath house in winter without fire 
heat, when the thermometer out of doors stood at sixteen degrees 
below freezing. But in these cases the house was always shut 
close, and I have never seen the heaths suffer fromthis cold. I 
would not, however, advise any person to risk his heaths in such 
a temperature until he had himself tried some experiments on the 
degree of cold which they will bear, and from that he will learn 
more than he could from volumes written on the subject ; a very 
little observation will soon convince him that his heaths require 
but little fire heat during winter. I have already said that heaths 
suffer from ‘too much artificial heat ; and all that I have read on 
their cultivation seems to concur in this particular; but I am not 
aware that any one has pointed out what degree of heat or cold is 
injurious; and, indeed, I have only been able to ascertain this 
myself, to a very limited extent. The time, however, when these 
plants suffer most from heat is, when a sharp frost sets in, and no 
heat is applied till after the frost has taken effect in the inside of 
the house ; then a fire is put on, and the frost is driven out. It is 
better, no doubt, in such a case, to keep out the thief if you can, 
but if once let in, keep him in, and never attempt to force him 
out. I know that heaths in the open air will not suffer when the 
thermometer stands four or five degrees below freezing ; and we 
know also, that heaths, in the house in winter will bear the same 
degree of cold with impunity. Now suppose the thermometer 
out of doors to fall to twelve or fourteen degrees below freezing, 
and no heat in the heath house ; the thermometer in the inside 
may then be four or five degrees below freezing. 


(To be continued.) 


es 


ON THE CULTURE OF LILIUM JAPONICUM, &c. 179 


ARTICLE IV. 


ON THE CULTURE OF LILIUM JAPONICUM, &c. 
BY W. GRIFFITH, ESQ., BAYSWATER. 


I am of opinion that with many plants they only display proper- 
ties and beauties in proportion to the care bestowed in their 
cultivation, and this principle is of very extensive application. The 
Hydrangea, for instance, as it is seen in common-place culture is 
scarcely deserving of notice, but place it under favourable cir- 
cumstances, and it becomes not only interesting, but even to a 
degree, beautiful. 

I recently saw a number of plants at Gusmenbury Park, in so 
vigorous and healthy a state that I was quite struck with their 
beauty, among them was an equal proportion of fine blue and rose 
coloured heads more than afoot in diameter. The same might 
be said of many other old inhabitants of our gardens aud green- 
houses, who, with every particular of beauty and elegance to 
recommend them, have been suffered to dwindle away, merely to 
allay a thirst for novelty ; I do not condemn the introduction of 
new plants, on the contrary, I would encourage it to the utmost, 
but I certainly do think that the indifference with which many 
plants are passed over merely because they are ‘‘ old,” is very 
much to be regretted. 

It is my intention to describe the mode of culture by means of 
which I have grown the Lilium Japonicum L. longiflorum toa 
state of great beauty. The mode of culture I pursue, is, when 
the leaves and seed (if any) are fully matured, water is gradually 
withheld till the plants are brought to a state of perfect rest; this 
rest is indispensable in the cultivation of all bulbous rooted plants, 
as it tends to strengthen those properties which are to formthe at- 
tractive beauties of the plant the succeeding season. The bulbs 
being thus matured are placed in pots in a cool dry situation 
beyond the reach of frost, where they remain till the middle of 
January. They are then brought into the greenhouse, and mode- 
rately supplied with water for a fortnight. By that time they 
are ina fit state to be re-potted, which is done in the following 
manner. The bulbs are taken out of the pots, and the dry mould 
and offsets carefully removed. They are then re-potted accord- 
ing to their size, the largest in pots six or eight inches in diameter. 
The soil I use is about half turfy peat, a quarter of sandy peat, 


180 ON CHINESE GARDENS, 


and a quarter of well-rotted cow-dung, not sifted but broken with 
aspade. After potting they are removed to the greenhouse ; 
when water is supplied moderately till they begin to vegetate, it is 
then gradually increased at discretion. 

By this mode of treatment, I have had flower stems five feet 
high, and in one pot as many as twenty flowers ; their large pure 
white and lovely blossoms, so delightfully fragrant, amply repaid 
me for mytrouble. The plants are well deserving a place in every 
greenhouse, being easy of culture and sostrikingly and delicately 
beautiful. 


ARTICLE V, 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 

(Continued from page 158.) 
Some of these are very small, sufficient only to contain one or two 
weeping willows, birch, larch, laburnam, or some other pendant 
plants, whose branches hang over the water ; but others are large, 
highly cultivated, and enriched with lawns, shrubberies, thickets, 
and buildings: or they are rugged, mountainous, and surrounded 
with rocks and shoals; being covered with fern, high grass, and 
some straggling large trees, planted in the valleys : amongst which 
are often seen stalking along the elephant, the tin-hyung or man 
bear, the rhinoceros, the dromedary, the ostrich, and the sin-sin 
or black giant baboon. 

There are other islands, raised to a considerable heighth, by a 
succession of terraces, communicating with each other by various 
flights of magnificent steps. At the angles ofall these terraces, as 
well as upon the sides of the steps, .are placed many brazen 
tripods, that smoke with incense ; andupon the uppermost platform ~ 
is generally erected a lofty tower for astronomical observations ; 
an elegant temple, filled with idols ; the colossal statute of a.god ; 
or some other considerable work : serving, at the same time, as an 
ornament to the Garden, and as an object to the whole country. 

They also introduce in their lakes large artificial rocks, built of 
a particular fine coloured stone, found on the sea-coasts of China, 
and designed with much taste. These are pierced with many 
openings, through which you discover distant prospects: they 
have in them caverns for the reception of tortoises, crocodiles, 
enormous water-serpents, and other monsters; with cages for rare 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 181 


aquatic birds; and grottos, divided into many shining apartments, 
adorned with marine productions, and gems of various sorts. 
They plant upon these rocks all kinds of grass, creepers and 
shrubs, which thrive in such situations, as moss, ground-ivy, fern, 
stone-crop, common house-leek, and various other sorts of the 
sedum, crane’s-bill, dwarf box, rock roses, and broom ; with some 
trees rooted into the crevices: and they place on their summits, 
hermitages and idol temples, to which you ascend, by many 
rugged, winding steps, cut in the rock. 

But far the most extraordinary, as well as the most pleasing of 
their aquatic constructions, are the Hoei-ta, or submerged habi- 
tations, consisting of many galleries, cabinets, and spacious halls, 
built entirely under water ; their walls are decorated with beauti- 
ful shells, corals, and sea-plants of all sorts, formed into many 
singular shapes, and sunk into various irregular recesses ; in which 
are placed, in due order, Fung-shang, God of the Winds; Bong- 
hoy, Monarch of the Sea; Shu-Kong, King of the Waters ; with 
all the inferior powers of the deep. The pavements are laid in 
compartments of jasper, agat, and madrepores of Hay-nang, of the 
many extraordinary kinds : the ceilings are entirely of glass, which 
admits the light through the medium of the water, that rises 
several feet above the summits of these structures ; the glass is of 
various bright colours, very strong; and the different pieces, 
artfully joined, to resist the pressure of the fluid with which they 
are loaded. The use of these habitations, is the same as that of 
Miao-ting, before described: they are resorted to, in very hot 
weather, to feast and enjoy; and it is singularly entertaining, in 
the intervals of pleasure, to observe, through the crystal ceilings, 
the agitation of the waters, the passage of vessels, and sports of 
the fowl and fishes, that swim over the spectator’s heads. 

On the borders of their lakes are seen extensive porticoes, and 
many detached buildings, of different forms and dimensions, 
accompanied with plantations, sea-ports with fleets of vessels lying 
before them, forts with flags flying, and batteries of cannon : also, 
thickets of flowering shrubs, meadows covered with cattle, corn 
lands, cotton and sugar plantations, orchards of various fruit-trees, 
and rice grounds, which project into the lakes ; leaving, in the 
midst of them, passages for boats: and, in some places, the bord- 
ers consist of lofty woods, with creeks or rivers for the admission 
of vessels, whose banks are covered with high grass, reeds, and 
wild spreading trees, forming close gloomy arbours, under, which 


182 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


the vessels pass. From these arbours are cut many vistas through 
the woods, to distant prospects of towns, bridges, temples, and 
various other objects, which successively strike the eye, and fill 
the mind with expectation ; when suddenly a farther progress is 
rendered impracticable by rocks, strong branches, and whole trees 
lying across the channel; between which the river is still seen to 
continue, with many islands; whereon, and also in the water 
appear the remains of antient structures, monumental inscriptions, 
and fragments of sculpture: which serve to give an edge to curi- 
osity, and to render the disappointment more affecting. 

Sometimes too, instead of being intercepted in your passage, 
the vessel, together with the whole river, are, by the impetuosity 
and particular direction of the current, hurried into dark caverns, 
overhung with woods: whence after having been furiously im- 
pelled for some time, you are again discharged into day-light, 
upon lakes encompassed with high hanging woods, rich prospects 
on mountains, and stately temples, dedicated to Tien-ho, and the 
celestial spirits. 

Upon theirlakes, the Chinese frequently exhibit sea-fights, 
processions, and ship-races ; also fire-works and illuminations : 
in the two last of which they are more splendid, and more expert 
than the Europeans. On some occasions too, not only the lakes 
and rivers, but all the pavilions, and every part of their Gardens, 
are illuminated by an incredible number of beautiful lanterns, of 
a thousand different shapes, intermixed with lampions, torches, 
fire-pots, and sky-rockets ; than which a more magnificient sight 
cannot be seen. Even the Girandola, and illumination of St. 
Peter’s ofthe Vatican, though far the most splendid exhibitions of 
that sort in Europe, are trifles, when compared to these of 
China. 

At the feast of Lanterns, in ‘particular, all China is illuminated, 
during three days : it seems as if the whole empire were on fire ; 
every person lights up a number of painted lanterns, of various 
beautiful forms ; sometimes of horn, glass, or mother of pearl, but 
most commonly framed of wood, carved, varnished and gilt, upon 
which is strained thin silk, painted with flowers, birds and human 
figures, that receive an uncommon brilliancy from the number of 
lights within : some there are likewise made ike our magic lanterns, 
representing, by coloured shadows, ships sailing, armies marching, 
horses galloping, and birds flying, : others are full of puppets, 
representing mountebanks, buffoons, boxers, wrestlers and dancers 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 183 


which are moved by imperceptible threads, the actions being 
accompanied by the voice of the operator, modified in different 
manners ; all so conformable to the size and gestures of the figures, 
that they seem really to speak. 

There are likewise lanterns made in the form of tigers, drom- 
edaries, and dragons of an enormous size ; which are painted in 
transparency, and filled with lights: these are moved about the, 
streets by men concealed within them, who artfully give to the 
machine every motion of the animal it represents; others there 
are seen floating upon the lakes and rivers, built like boats and 
vessels of various kinds, or shaped like dolphins, alligators and 
porpuses, that swim and curvet upon the water ; others again that 
resemble birds fluttering amongst trees, or perched on the sum- 
mits of the houses, on all parts of their temples, triumphal arches, 
and public structures of different kinds: in short, there is scarcely 
any form that can be imagined, which is not given to some of these 
lanterns ; all executed with the greatest taste and neatness, often 
at a very considerable expence; some even to the amount ofa 
thousand tael, or near three hundred and fifty pounds. 

It is likewise upon this festival that the most splendid of their 
fire-works are exhibited; it would be tedious to describe them 
particularly, as they resemble, in many things, our European ones; 
but what is related on that head, by one of the missionaries, is 
curious, and may here be mead to give the reader an idea of 
Chinese skill, in works of this sort. 

“IT wag extremely surprized,”’ says the father, ‘‘ at a fire-work 
which I saw at Pe-king, representing an arbor of vines; it burnt 
for a considerable time, withcut consuming’; the grapes were red, 
the leaves green, and the color of the stem and branches varie- 
gated, in imitation of nature; all the forms were represented 
with the utmost precision, in fires of different colors; the whole 
was executed with amazing art, and had the most pee effect 
imaginable,” 

Their rivers are seldom straight, but winding, and broken into 
many irregular points; sometimes they are narrow, noisy and 
rapid; at other times deep, broad and slow. Their banks are 
variegated, in imitation of nature; being in some places bare and 
gravelly, in others, covered with woods quite to the waters edge; 
now flat and adorned with flowers and shrubs, then steep, rocky, 


and forming deep winding caverns, where pigeons of the wood, 
and water-fowl build their nests. 


(To be Continued.) 


184 REVIEW. 


REVIEW. 


The Amateur Florist’s Assistant in the selection and cultivation 
of Popular Annuals; to which is added a descriptive cata- 
logue of the more interesting tender Perennials used in 
decorating the Parterre, and a copous list of European 
Ornamental Alpine Planits.—By Grorce WiLLmort, 12mo., 


p.p- 76. 
(Continued from page 160.) 


“Next to slugs, ear-wigs are usually the most pestiferous annoy- 
ance the flower-grower has to encounter; their ravages, however, 
are more confined to certain plants, and are experienced ata 
more advanced period of the season—generally when the plants _ 
are in flower, ornearly so. The best means of getting quit ofthem 
is to lay a few short reeds, pieces of rolled paper, &c., about the _ 
plants, in which they will take shelter during the night, and from | 
whence they may be blown or shaken in a vessel of water in the | 
morning. 

The wire-worm is also very destructive to certain kind of An- 
nuals, particularly French Marigolds, Stocks, China Asters, &c., . 
and attacks them from the period of germination almost to the 
time of flowering. .The hard skin by which this enemy is covered 
effectually protects it from injury by any application that will not 
prove injurious to the plant; therefore, the only means to entrap 
it is to supply it with more agreeable food, such as pieces of 
potatoe, carrots, &c., which may be sunk in the earth around it, | 
near the plants, marking the place, so that it may be withdrawn 
and the worms picked out daily until extirpated. They are most 
prevalent in soils recently brought under cultivation, as old pas- 
tures, &c.; therefore, care should always be taken that they be 
not introduced among borrowed earth from such places. 

The management of hardy annuals, after briarding, consists in 
thinning them out to proper distances, varying from two to six _ 
inches, or more, according to the sizes and habit of the plant; 
removing any decayed leaves or weeds, and supporting the 
weaker sorts by carefully tying them to neat stakes; the more, 
however, that this can be dispensed with the better, for plants — 
never look so well as when left to assume their natural habits. “i 


Prismatocarpus Herit. Venus L.-Grass. Campan. Pentand. Monogynia. 


1 hybridus Heit. hybrid P. °5.09 1 England 7, 
2 pentagonus Hert. five-angled B.p 5..8 1 Turkey 1686 ‘ge 
3 speculum D, common P. (5..8 1 S.Europe 1596 

albo white W:'5..8 1 

pallido pale Li. 5..8 1 

purpureo purple d.P. 5..8 1 


This genus is named, in allusion to the form of the fruit, from o 
the words Prisma, a prism, and carpos, fruit, and chiefly consists 


REVIEW. 185 


of hardy annuals, formerly referred to Campanula; of these the 

‘most interesting is No. 5, which, with, its varieties, are old and 
well-known inhabitants of the flower-garden—esteemed alike for 
their neat habits of growth and profusion of bloom. The name of 
Venus Looking-glass is supposed to have been applied to this 
species from the resemblance, that its corolla bears to the ancient 
form of a mirror, which was round ; whence the astrological sign of 
Venus was made to represent a round mirror with its handle. The 
whole succeed in rich light soil ; and the seeds, which are small, 
should, when sown, be sparingly covered with earth. 


Resepa L, Micnonetre. Resedaca. Dodecandria Trigynia. 
odorata L. sweet-scented St. 6..10 1 Egypt 1752 
Derivation of generic name from the Latin Resedo, to calm or 
appease, the plant having been considered as eHicacious in re- 
moving external bruises. ‘The Mignonette is a well-known univer- 
sal favourite, and occupies a prominent place in every flower- 
garden, where it is especially useful for growing under or amongst 
dahlias, and other showy flowers, which are either devoid of, or 
have a disagreeablesmell. ‘‘ The luxury of the garden says Mr. 
Curtis, (conductor of the Botanical Magazine bearing his name,) 
“is greatly heightened by the delightful odour which this little 
plant diffuses ; and, as it grows readily in pots, its fragrance can 
be conveyed to the house.” Its perfume, though not so refresh- 
ing as the Sweet-briar, is not apt to offend the most delicate 
‘ olfactories. The Mignonette is also universally esteemed for 
growing in boxes or flower-pots, particularly in town windows ; 
and, although generally treated as an annual, yet, if protected 
from frost, and prevented from flowering too profusely by pinch- 
ing off about one-half ofthe flower-spikes, it will attain the size 
and habits of a shrub, and last for many years. Seeds may be sown 
in April; either in a hot-house to force it, or in the open border, 
where it will flower freely and ripen its seeds, by which it will 
perpetuate itself without further care than is necessary to clear the 
young plants from weeds. 


Ruopantue Ld. RuopantHe, Composite. Syngenesia /Equalis. 
Manglesii Ld. Capt. Mangles Ro. 6..9 1 Swan Riv. 1834 
This genus according to Dr. Hooker, seems to be nearly allied 
to Podolepis, but differs in the form of the involucrum ; and has 
gp name given inallusion to the beautiful rosy color of its flowers. 
e only known species is a very handsome annual, possessing 
the brilliancy of the Cape Helicherysum, but without the stifuess 
and formality of that plant. It can be brought to flower in the 
green-house, at almost any season of the year, by sowing the seeds 
about two months previous. It also thrives out of doors ; where, 
however, the delicacy of its form does not appear to such advan- 
tage as when grown under glass ; it should be sparingly watered, 
have a free circulation of air, and be grown in moderately-sized 
pots, well drained, and supplied with rich light soil. 


Vou. VII. No. 78, Y 


186 NEW AND RARE PLANTS, 


PART. ‘Tl. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


 CALLICHROA PLATYGLOSSA. Golden Callichroa. (Bot. Mag. 
COMPOSIT2. SYNGENESIA SUPERFLUA, 


1. This is an annual plant of moderate beauty, quite hardy, and nearly 
allied to Doronicum. ‘The flowers are yellow, with deeply cut foliage. 


EPACRIS IMPRESSA var. PARVIFLORA. Small flowered pitted Epacris. 
(Bot, Reg. 


EPACRIDACEZ. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA, 


2. As the name implies, this is a variety of E. impressa, sent to this coun- 
try by Mr. James Backhouse, who has been engaged for some years tra- 
yelling on a benevolent mission in New South Wales. It is now suspected 
that the genus Epacris, especially the species Impressa, and others nearly 
related to it, are merely varieties of each other. In speaking of E. im- 
pressa, Mr. Gunn, a high authority on this genus, says, ‘* the colours vary 
from a deep red through all the paler shades of blush to pure white, so that 
colour coustitutes no fiatiion ; the size is also variable.’ He distin- 
guishes four chief varieties, viz.—1. Red flowering, tall; 2. Red flowering 
dwarf; 3 White flowering, tall; 4. White flowering, dwarf; in addition to 
which, many others might be named. 


COOPERIA PEDUNCULATA. Pedunculated. (Bot. Mag. 3727. 
AMARYLLIDEZ. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


3. A native of Texas; flowers, white with a tinge of green on the outside, 
it blooms during the night, and has a peculiar primrose fragrance ; it 
appears to require a stove temperature. 


CALADIUM PETIOLATUM. Long Stalked. (Bot. Mag. 3728, 
AROIDEA, MONECIA MONANDRIA. 


4. Tubers of this singular looking plant were sent to this country by Mr. 
Boaltbee, Junr., from Fernando Po; the plant has bloomed in the collection 
of Joseph Boaltbee, Esqr., Springfield, near Birmingham. The tubers are 
similar to the potatoe in appearance, but are poisonous, The spatha is of a 
dark purple colour, and inside of it is a black purple; the anthers are of a 
pretty cream color. 


BLETIA PARKINSONIA. Mr. Parkinson's Bletia. (Bot. Mag. 3736. 
ORCHIDACE£. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA, 


5. Introduced from Mexico by H. M., consul general, Mr. Parkinson, after 
whom it has been named. It is a very singular and distinct kind producing 
flowers much narrower than any other, and of a pale rose colour with the 
column and lip shaded yellow and purple. It is cultivated at Woburn Abbey, 
where it blossomed for the first time in January last, the treatment applicable 
to other species will also apply to this, 


ad 


“! NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 187 


CEROPEGIA VINCAFOLIA. Periwinkle learned Ceropegia. 
(Bot. Mag. 3740. 
ASCLEPIADEZ. PENTANDRIA, DIGYNIA. 


6. A very distinct species of this singular genus was introduced from 
Bombay to the Glasgow Botanic garden, by J. Nimmo, Esq., Bombay, in the 
stove at which place it bloomed in September, 1838. The flowers are green- 
ish white spotted with deep brown, and the upper part of the segments 
wholy brown. 


CYNOGLOSSUM CCELESTINUM. Blue and white Hounds-tongue. 
F (Bot. Reg. 36. 
BORAGINACEZ. PENTANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. ; 


7. A pretty hardy biennial introduced to the Horticultural Societies’ gar- 
den by J. Nimmo, Esq., where it bloomed in August and September last. 
The flowers which are blue and white, are smaller than other species of this 
genus, 


DENDROBIUM JENKENSII. Captain Jenkinson’s Dendrobium. 
(Bot. Reg. 37. 
ORCHIDACE®. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA. 

8. This species bears resemblance to D. aggregatum, both in color and 
shape, but the flowers are larger. 1t was introduced into various collections 
in this country by Dr. Wallich, who received in 1836, from Captain Jenkins, 
of Gualpara, to whom we have dedicated it. Dr. Lindley observes, ‘it is 
more difficult to cultivate than those kinds with long free-growing stems; it 
is frequently seen in an unhealthy state owing to its being grown in a pot, 
and subjected to an uniform high degree of temperature. The best way to 
ensure its success, is, to tie it to a block of wood with a piece of turfy peat 
attached to it, and suspend it from the rafter of the house, there it must be 

_ well syringed at least twice a day, so Jong as it continues to grow, and after- 
wards it may be removed to a cooler house. In fact, it never requires so 
much heat as those species with long trailing stems,” 


EDWARDSIA MACNABIANA. Mr. Macnab’s Edwardsia. 
(Bot Mag. 3735. 
LEGUMINOS#. DECANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. 


9. Sir William Hooker considers it probable that the present handsome 
Species is a seedling variety of E. grandiflora, though it is at once distin- 
guishable from the ordinary form of that species. Mr. Macnab of the 
Edinburgh Botanic garden, under whose directions it has been successfully 
grown for several years, confidentially believes it to be a distinct species; 
from whence it was introduced however is not known. The flowers, which 
are produced upon lateral racemes, are of a bright yellow. During the re- 
cent very severe winter, which effected so much ruin amongst our valuable 
shrubs; this beautiful plant survived much better than two or three other 
Species about the same size and occupying similar parts of the wall; it has 
now a stem whiich measures upwards of eleven inches in circumference. 


EPACRIS COCCINEUS. Scarlet-flowered Epacris. (Pax. Mag. Bot. 
” EPACRIDACEX, PENTANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. 


10. A very beautiful variety raised from seed by Mr. Kynoch, gardener to 
_ Alderman Copeland, Leyton, Essex, in whose calleton it bloomed during 
the early part of this year, and was subsequently purchased by Messrs, Low 
& Co., of Clapton. 


188 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


PART Hl. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


» 


REMARKS, 


On Fucusta Futcens.—This very splendid flowering species has become 
an object of general observation and attraction, so much so, that itis to be 
found not only in every floral exhibition of greenhouse plants, but obtain- 
ing a prize at each. The demand for the plant this spring bas been much 
greater than last year, and so much so that nurserymen could not meet the 
demand. 

The plant certainly merits a place in every greenhouse, conservatory, 
plant room, and flower-garden. It is a plant of the most easy culture, vig- 
orous habit, and a free bloomer; some difliculty however bas been found to 
keep the old stems alive through the winter, but this arises from the circum- 
stance of the wood of the previous season not being well ripened, as in most 
instances small plants could be procured and that late in the spring of 1838. 
But where a strong plant was obtained, and that grown in a greenhouse, &c. 
so as to get the wood well ripened, such plants we have invariably observed 
have retained their branches as well as other woody plants, and we have 
seen plants in bloom this spring four and five feet high, clothed with nume- 
rous clusters of fine flowers at the ends of the lateral branches. Plants that 
are grown in the open border of a flower garden will rarely ripen shoots so 
as to endure through winter, but will generally perish; but if the plant be 
-treated as is done with the Dahlia, Marvel of Peru, &c., it will be found to 
flourish, arid be a highly ornamental plant either for a bed, or grown on a 
Jawn, border, &c., as a single specimen. When the plant has ceased bloom-— 
ing in autumn the root should be taken up, keeping some soil adhering to it, 
pot it, and keep it from frost through winter: early in February tollowing, 
the root should he placed in heat, it will soon throw up a number of shoots, 
one or more should be left at discretion, striking those taken off ; and such a 
plant by the end of May would be fine to turn out, as is done with dahlias, 
A full grown leaf taken off with the bud at its base, inserted in sand, and 
placed in moist heat, will speedily strike root. In fact the plant is very easy 
of propagation by slips, cuttings, leaves, or division of the tubers. 

Conpuctor. 


On Hyertp Prants. &c.—A regret has sometimes been expressed at the 
production of hybrid plants, because they introduce a certain degree of con- 
fusion and difficulty into our technical descriptions and systematic arrange- 
ments. But surely the searcher after truth, the philosphical investigator of 
the works of nature, must greatly rejoice at every fresh and striking result 
(however embarrassing for the moment), which has been obtained by the 
judicious application of a direct experiment. The more our experiments are 
multiplied, and the more precautions we take in securing the accuracy of our 
results, the greater will be our chance of detecting those physiological laws 
which regulate the variations and restrictions of forms in different species. 
One remarkable result observable in the production of hybrid plants is, the 
uniform manner in which several of them refuse to perfect their seed ; and if 
this character were constant in them all, we should possess an excellent law 
for distinguishing hybrids from true species. But itis now asserted that 


ae 
~ 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 189 


many hybrids do perfect their seeds ; still an obvious question presents itself, 
whether we ought not always to consider the parents of such hybrids really 
to belong to the same species, however dissimilar they may be in external 
form, whilst the parents of those which do not perfect their seed should be 
considered distinct. The evidence which is hitherto been adduced militates 
strongly against the existence of any such law; though we may hardly allow 
it to be sufficiently complete and definite to have completely settled the 
question. Besides, the existence of certain hybrids which never produce 
ripe seed, and of others which readily produce them, there are some which 
occasionally, but rarely, do so: and such we find to be the case with the 
present plants. Professor Henslow examined a great many, of its ovaries in 
the Bury Gardens, last summer, in all of which the ovules were abortive, 
and Mr. Hodson informed him at the time, that no perfect seeds had 
been produced ; but since then we have heard from Mr. Turner, (the Gardener 
sn that establishment), that ‘‘ a few good seeds” have been produced, We 
shall be anxious to learn whether plants have been raised from these, and if 
so, what are the forms which they assume. May we not ask whether those 
hybrids which refuse to perfect their seeds in one climate, and under the 
combination of circumstances to which they are now subjected in the present 
state of the earth's surface, might not in another climate, and under another 
combination of circumstances thanthat at present existing, be rendered 
productive, and thus be enabled to assume the character of truespecies Jf 
so, fresh light may be thrown upon the remarkable fact with which geology 
has made us acquainted of a succession of perfectly distinct races of animals 
and vegetables at different epochs of the world’s existence, each adapted to 
some peculiar condition of our planet. Snch a succession of differences seems 
to require us to admit that there must either have been afresh creation, or 
else such a marked transition between the forms of existing species and those 
of their offspring, that we are unable to recognise them any longer as speci- 
fically identical. These speculations are fraught with the deepest interest ; 
thev serve to impress us with some notions of the infinite distance at which 
the human understanding lays behind the preceptions of the Divine wisdom, 
and to humble any petty conceit that we might be inclined to entertain of our 
own limited powers. If there is a certain difficulty, even im preparing a 
mere technical description of the works ot creation, as they may -be seen and 
handled by us, how much greater must be those difficulties which we have 
to surmount, when we seek to inquire into thore laws by which the past has 
heen altered into the present state of things ; and to trace the means by which 
organic beings have been framed, altered, and adapted to the several 
changes to which the earth has been exposed. Here we are trenching upon 
those paths of wisdom which possibly we shall never in this life be able to 
penetrate to any great extent; and of which we must remain content to believe 
that ‘* God alone understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place 
thereof, for he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole 
heavens.” Job, 28th chap. 23d verse. 


— 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS, 
Recently noticed at various Nurseries and Floral Exhibitions. 
(Continued from page 168.) 


Ecurum GRANDIFLoRUM. A fine plant having three spikes of its fine blue 
and purple flowers about five feet gb. 

Gunista PRAGRANS. A very pretty plant for the greenhouse, in addition 
to the flowers being fragrant, they are produced in vast profusion and of a 
lively yellow colour, The plant forms a very neat bush, and may be kept 
from two to six feet bigh as desired. 


190 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Hypranceas. Mr, Mills, gardener to the Baroness Rothchild, exhibited 
six plants of the Hydrangea hortensis, with fine rose colored blossoms, each 
head of flowers being more than a foot in diameter, and six plants with 
equally large heads of flowers of a fine blue color. They had been grown 
to great perfection by Mr. Mills, and the contrast produced, was very 
striking and pretty. We hope Mr. Mills will favor us with his mode of 
treatment for insertion in the ‘ Cabinet.’ 

Ericas. The best collection of eight plants of Ericas consisted’ of the 
following kinds. Erica vestita alba, Harlnelli, splendens, aristata major, 
Ampullacea superba, Wilmoreana, Beaumontiana, Linnzoides superba. 

DAVvIESIA SALIGNA. A very pretty greenhouse plant, blooming profusely ; 
the flowers are of a pretty yellow, with a smail dark centre; very much like 
an Eutaxia. 

Cacti.—This remarkable division of the vegetable kingdom, which like 
the Tropical Orchidacez, has been so long neglected in this country, is now 
commencing to assume the rank and importance in our collections, to which 
the originality and singularity as well as beauty of its members, fully entitle 
it. A few of the Cereus and Epiphyllum tribes, which are remarkable for 
the brilliant flowers which they produce, have long been general favorites ; 
but we are alluding now to to Sections, Mammillaria, Melocactus, Echeno- 
cactus, and a large portion of the Section Cereus, which are distinguished 
rather for their peculiar shape, and the varied colour and position of the 
spines with which they are clothed, than for the beauty of their flowers. 
We recently saw a large importation of these interesting plants, which had 
been received at the Clapton Nursery, from one of the collectors of that 
establishment, stationed in South America, The collections consists chiefly, 
with the exception of a large quantity of Melocactus communis, and pyra- 
midalis, of Cereus, among which are several which it is supposed are new to 
the country. We particularly noticed several plants of a strong erect 
Cereus, most densely clothed with long, compressed, and brilliantly white 
spines. Some of the plants were from four to five feet long, and apparently ~ 
in most excellent condition. But the most interesting species in the import- 
ation appeared to be a Cereus, which is likely to prove a rather, formidible 
rival to the justly admired C. senilis. The specimen we saw, was about ten 
inches long, of a clear light green, with yellow spines, and clothed from the 
base to the summit with a-substance resembling the finest wool, and of the 
purest white. The contrast between the vivid green and yellow, covered as 
it were with a delicate net work of pure white, is remarkably pleasing. We 
believe this specimen to be perfectly unique. We lately saw the fine col- 
lection of Messrs. Mackie’s, at the Norwich Nursery, which very far exceeds 
all other collections that has come under our notice, both as to the number of 
kinds, and in superior specimens. Persons fond of this singular tribe, 
would be highly delighted with a sight of the stock at Messrs. Mackie’s. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Dre.acus puniceus. We were so struck with this very ornamental plant, 
that we purchased a stock of it some time since; it has the habit of the 
old and generally well known Mimulus glutinosus. The plant is a very free 
grower. and blooms profusely, it has been kept in the greenhouse since its 
introduction, but is now found to be nearly hardy, and in the open ground 
during summer is highly ornamental. It deserves a place in every green- 
house, or flower-border. The plant, like M. glutinosus, continues to bloom 
from May to November. 

IsoTROPsis stR1aTUS. This very pretty flowering plant we saw in the 

reenhouse at the London Horticultural Societies’ garden ; it is of prostrate 
shabit, but is conveniently tied up, or trained, so as in each instance to be 
neat. ‘Lhe plant appears to bloom freely, the flowers are produced singly 


Ahurte rgd Shxulonir: 


Afced Adlass. 


hunt engi anand 


fred Adlaxtise 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 191 


on a footstalk about three inches long; if the stems were tied up erect, the 
flowers would be brought near together, and thus congregated would be very 
showy. Itis adesirable plant tor the greenhouse—we believe it was intro- 
duced from the Swan Itiver, by Captain Mangles. 

Tuunsercia Hawronta. A fine plant of this new kind of Thunbergia 
was recently exhibited in bloom at the reoms of the London Horticultural 
Society by Mr. Butcher, gardener to Mrs. Lawrence, of Drayton Green. 
The plant is of vigorous habit, and to bloom freely. We understood it had 
been grown in the greenhouse, if so, its vigorous habit indicates it would 
flourish well in the open border, or against a trellis during the summer 
season. It is a very desirable plant, deserving a place in every collection. 

Rosa Macutata. We procured some roses from Messrs. .Wood, & Son, 
of Woodlands Nursery, Maresfield, Sussex selected by them, amongst which 
was the kind we have figured, and which has recently bloomed. It is a very 
beautiful kind and deserves a place in every flower-border or rosary. 

GompHoLostuM POLYMORPHUM. A greenhouse plant of considerable at- 
tractions. It is of a very neat, slender, and twining habit, rising to two or 
three feet high, and blooming very profusely ; we saw a plant of it in fine 
bloom at the Floral exhibition recently held at Bromley, Kent; it was exhib- 
ited by Mr. Barnes, gardener to G. Norman, Esq., and had been neatly 
trained in the fan manner, so as wholly to cover the same to the height of 
about half a yard, and it was strikingly pretty. We saw a plant tied up 
erect about two feet high, its flowers thus brought in a mass together, and 
forming a spike of some length, produced a most beautiful effect. So much 
pleased were we with it, though very scarce, as to purchase a stock of it. 
The plant deserves a place in every greenhouse or conservatory. 

THUNBERGIA AURANTIA. This very pretty kind we found in the collection 
of Mr. Young, of the Epsom Nursery; it has the habit of the generally 
admired T. alata, flowers equally freely, and as easily cultivated ; the flowers 
being of a fine deep and red orange have a beautiful appearance. Grown 
in contrast with the other kinds, it will give an interesting effect ; it de- 
serves a place in every greenhouse and in every Hower-garden during 
summer, ‘ 


—— 


ap 
FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR AUGUST, 


PeLarcontums.—Those plants that have done blooming should now be 
cut down, this will induce them to push fresh shoots immediately ; when the 
shoots have pushed two inches long, the old plants should be repotted, 
shaking off the old soil and replacing with new. This attention to have a 
supply of strong young shoots before winter, furnishes the vigorous bloom- 
ing wood for the ensuing spring, and the plants are kept dwarf and bushy. 
When the young shoots push after being headed down, there are generally 
many more than necessary to be retained. 

They should be thinned out when aa inch long: the tops now cut olf may 
be inserted in sandy loam, and struck if required. 

Greennouse.—All exotic trees and shrubs belonging to this department, 
that are in want of larger pots, or refreshment of new soil, should (if not 
performed last month) immediately be done. This is the proper time to pro- 
pagate Aloes, Sedums, and all others of a succulent nature, by means of 
suckers or bottom offsets; when detached from the parent, they should be 
potted singly into small pots, using light dry compost, watering sparingly till 
they have taken root. In the first, or second week at farthest, inoculation 
may be peformed on any kinds of the Citrus genus. 

Daucias —Thin out the branches of those kinds which are introduced for 
shows, and if itis desired to increase the stock of any new one, cuttings may 
be selected which will readily strike and form good sized pot-roots ; water 


192: MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


should be given copiously every evening, during dry weather; a strata of 
manure should be laid for three feet around the stem of each plant, which 
will greatly assist in prumoting a vigorous growth, and in the production of 
fine blooms during the ensuing month. 

Earwigs and other insects begin now to infest the plants, and especial - 
care should be taken to destroy them as much as possible before the plants 
get into bloom, which may be done by placing an inverted small garden pot, 
in which is placed a little moss ; upon each stake, to which the earwigs will 
resort, and may be taken every morning. 


. Auricutas.—Seedlings raised during spring should now be transplanted 
into pots for blooming. 


Carnations.—The blooms are now beginning to fade, and the operation of 
laying should be performed without delay: in doing this, take your seat 
astride a common form, get the pot before you, and steady the layers with 
your lett hand, resting the back of your right hand upon the edge of the pot 
and holding the knife upwards between your two fore fingers and thumb, 
then with a steady hand and correct eye, cut upwards quite through the 
middle of the second or third joint from the top ; the cut may be extended a 
full quarter of an inch beyond the joints; if the joints are wide apart al- 
ways take the second; remove the leaves that ensheath the jomts, and 

*shorten the nib just below them ; be careful not to break off the layers in 
pegging them down, aud cover the joints three quarters of an inch deep; 
remove them into the shade, water them with a fine rosed pot, and repeat 
it afterwards as often as necessary. 


RanuncuLuses—roots should now be taken up and gradually and well 
dried in an airy room. 


Roses.—Budding should be finished as soon as possible. 


Cameciras—auy kinds required to bloom early, should now be removed 
into the greenhouse. 


Mignionette to bloom during winter, should now be sown in pots, 


Frower Garpen.—-Due care must be taken respecting watering” any 
kinds of annual, biennial, or perennial plants that may be im pois. Propa- 
gate by means of slips, and parting the rootS of any double-flowered and 
other desirable fibrous-rovted, perennial plants done flowering. Likewise 
increase by offsets the different kinds of Saxrifrage. Auricnlas should be 
cleared of all dead leaves, and shifted into fresh pots; prick out of the seed 
bed, where it was omitted last month, Seedling Auriculas and Polyanthuses, 
in a shady situation: seeds may also be sown of both kinds in boxes or pans. 
Carnations may still be layered, also Sweet-williams if desired, the earlier 


in the month the better, Those which are layered four or five weeks ago, — 


will now be sufliciently rooted to be taken away. or planted in beds or pots. 
Also plant out pink pipings, which were put out in June. Sow seeds of all 
kinds of bulbous rooted plants in pans or boxes, such as Spring Cyclamen, 
Anemonies, Ranunculuses, &c.,&c. Those kinds of bulbs wanted to increase 
should be taken upif the leaves be decayed, and the oflsets taken off, 
Crocus’s, Narcissus’s, Crown Imperial, and Lillies should only be taken up 
every other year. In dry weather gather those flower seeds that are ripe 
of any desired kinds. Plant out such kinds of avtumn flowering bulbs as 


yet remain unplanted. Heartsease towards the end of the month, should be ‘ 


propagated by slips, put into a shady border, and kept quite moist till they 
have taken root; these will form fine strong plant's for blooming the spring 
following. Chrysanthemums should not have their shoots stopped to make 
them branch, and keep them bushy, later than the middle of this month, as, if 
done later, the lateral produce would be weak and the blossoms small. 

Where the plant has numerous shoots, they should be thinned out to a few, 
to have the plants large and showy, _ 


ey! 
au 
~ 


J 


“,. 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


SEPTEMBER Ist, 1839. 


“_ 


PART |, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, 


_~ 


ARTICLE I. 


OBSERVATIONS UPON THE VEGETATION OF FUNGI. 
BY F. B.S. E. 
In consequence of the communication of Cryptos in a late 
No., I have been induced to prepare the present paper, from the 
desire that the doctrine so pernicious in its tendency as the one 
advocated in it, should not go forth among your readers, without 
such proof of its fallacy, and meet refutation of the inference 
drawn from him by the adduced fact as should remove the im- 
pression in favour of the theory therein raised. I would observe, 
however, that I entirely acquit Cryptos of any error other than 
that of having deduced a wrong inference from an isolated fact ; 


at the same time I would ask him to consider with what jealousy 


the phenomena of any fact appearing to countenance such a doc- 
trine should be examined before we allow ourselves to be con- 
vinced that our inference is true, not only as it relates to the 
philosophical question of fact is the subject of equivocal 
generation of importance, but also as its assertion involves the 
Atheistical doctrine of Materialism in its consequences ; for in 
admitting it we must take up one or two positions, either we 
must consider that the work of Creation is yet incomplete, and 
that each individual plant (we are more immediately concerned 
about the Fungi, I shall therefore avoid all reference to Zoology, 
though the same arguments hold,) is the effect of a special act of 
His hand, or that each is, as the supporters of the theory define it, 
a mere fortuitous developement of vegetable matter. Few will 
Vou. VII. -No. 79, % 


194 ON FUNGI. 


maintain the former position, unsupported as it is by evidence, 
and unwarranted by Scripture, and it will not be worth while to 
take further notice of it. The d priori argument made out against 
the latter is such as no evidence can surmount, for the alternative 
is infidelity. 

Many of the German theorists comprehend all plants, Phanero- 
gamous as well as Cryptogamous, as being the offspring of equiv- 
ocal generation, but as no one among us is very likely to take up 
this ground, I may be allowed to assume the contrary, as respects 
the Phanrogame as matter of fact. This being admitted, gives 
us the argument of analogy in favour of Fungi being propagated 
always by their sporules. Of those who apply the theory alone to 
the Cryptogame, the following are the principal arguments 
against the analogy, or in other words, against the vegetability 
of Fungi. 

1. They grow with a degree of rapidity unknown in other 
plants, acquiring the volume of many inches in the space of a 
night. 

2. They are frequently meteoric, i. e., spring up aiter storms, 
or only in particular states of the atmosphere. 

3. It is possible to obtain particular species with certainty by 
an ascertained mixture of organic and inorganic matter in certain 
states of the atmosphere, as in the process adopted by gardeners 
for obtaining the Agaricus campestris, a process so certain that 
no other kind of Agaricus is ever produced in mushroom-beds, 

4, “Fungi are produced constantly upon the same kind of 
matter and upon nothing else, as the species that are parasitic on 
leaves, cheese, &c.” (Lind. Nat. Syst.) 

5. They often occur in places impenetrable to the atmosphere, 
as in the case instanced by Cryptos. 

The first of these arguments will be at once allowed to be of 
little weight, depending as it does upon a comparative character ; 
for if Fungi be excluded from the vegetable kingdom because 
they grow faster than gourds; on the same principle the latter 
ought also to be excluded, as growing faster than many other 
plants. » 

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, are immediately connected with one- 
another, and a single answer will comprehend all. 

Nature acts according to certain fixed laws ; according to these 
laws a certain effect will always result from the coincidence of 
certain conditions, these conditions not coinciding, that effect will 


ON FUNGI. 195 


not take place. Thus, for example, the germinations of seeds 
will not commence until the concurrence of such quantities of 
water, oxygen, and heat as are necessary to fulfil the conditions 
requisite to their growth, but immediately the conditions are ful- 
filled germination takes place, as a matter of necessity. The 
seed has no option whether or not it will grow, but grow it must 
when the conditions are satisfied ; similarly with the sporules of 
Fungi, until the requisite conditions are fulfilled they do not grow, 
but immediately on their fulfilment, they must grow, and do 
grow. ‘This then will explain why certain Fungi are meteoric; 
at a particular state of the atmosphere only are the requisite con- 
ditions to the growth of their sporules fulfilled, till then they lie 
dormant. 

The 3rd objection merely shews that the conditions of growth 
of the sporules of Agaricus campestris are ascertained to be ful- 
filled when a certain mixture of organic and inorganic matter is 
exposed to certain states of the atmosphere, and that other Fungi 
do not grow too, simply proves that their growth depends upon 
different conditions from those on which the growth of Agaricus 
campestris does. That certain Fungi are produced but upon one 
kind of matter proves that there are, and there only are the con- 
ditions of growth of those Fungi satisfied; and that they are 
produced constantly shews the infinite number of sporules there 
must be distributed over the face of the earth. Fries has counted 
in a single individual of one small Fungus above 10,000,000 spo- 
tules! In some general observations on their number, he says, 
““the sporules are so infinite, so subtle (they are scarcely visible to 
the naked eye, and often resemble thin smoke,) so light, (raised 
perhaps by evaporation into the atmosphere,) and are dispersed in 
so many ways by the attraction of the sun, by insects, wind, elas- 
ticity, adhesion, &c., that it is difficult to conceive a place from 
which they can be excluded.” (Fries, Elevch., 158.) 

The sporules of an hundred different sorts of Fungi may be 
mixed in the matter of which the mushroom bed is made, or on 
the leaves, gr in the cheese, but those only will vegetate whose 
conditions of growth are satisfied, which are different in each 
case. We have exactly parallel instances in Phcenogamous 
plants, where certain plants will grow only on certain soils, as on 
chalk, or in water, we have no difficulty in believing this, because 
we can put it to the test of experiment. We see certain Fungi 
confined to certain substances, and yet we refuse to admit the 


196 ON FUNGI. 


analogy, merely because we are not able to prove the fact in the 
same way. ‘This is surely most unphilosophical, not to say false 
reasoning. ; 
Ihave now to notice the last argument which is more imme- 
diately of interest, as involving the objection and fact mentioned 
by Cryptos. The general argument is no argument at all, for 
first it presupposes a fact, which the investigations of the most 
accurate observers go t6 disprove, namely, that the sporules can 
reach no place impervious to the atmosphere; and secondly; it 
implies that because we do not know how the sporules get to any 
such place, they are therefore not there; hence the inference 
drawn from the particular fact is not d priori, necessarily a true 
one ; and to show that it is probably a false one, merely requires 
that a reasonable explanation warranted by the observations of 
botanists should be given of it, such an explanation Cryptos him- 
self supplies. The Fungus was found in the core of the apple, 
with which there was, in the earlier state of the fruit, a direct 
‘communication from the exterior; and not only a passage, but 
there were pollen tubes passing through it to the centre of the 
germen, which we have no reason for supposing could not have 
been accompanied by the sporules of the Fungus. If the pollen 
tubes were provided with a contrivance for finding their way in- 
wards, why should not the sporules of the Fungus be provided 
with a similar one? Or do we know that the sporules might not 
have attached themselves to the substance of the pollen grains? 
We might as well assert the impossibility of travelling from York 
to London, although there is a direct road, not to mention the 
vehicles continually traversing it! That the explanation does 
not appear plausible is no proof of its being erroneous. It is 
conformable with other observed facts, and therefore not to be at 
once rejected merely for lack of: plausibility; the degree of 
plausibility being a matter of opinion, and dependant much on 
the knowledge of the subject possessed by the observer. Who 
would suppose that the earth moves round the sun? surely that 
fact has little enough plausibility on the face of it! But even 
should this explanation be rejected, there is yet another which 
will sufficiently account for the fact, from the recent observations 
of Bauer, in Germany, and of Messrs. Queckett and Smith among 
us, it appears more than probable that Fungi are propagated on 
other plants by their sporules being imbibed along with water by 
the spongioles of the root, which on further devolopement of the 


ON FUNGI. 197 


plant are carried up by the ascending sap into the leaves and 
flowers, where they expand into perfect Fungi. 

To enter upon the argument against the theory is not my inten- 
tion at present, as it would occupy more room than you, or time 
than I have to spare: but it seems to me an almost conclusive 
primd facie objection to it, that it is so directly opposed to the 
general scheme and simplicity of nature. We know also that 
Fungi are to be propagated by their sporules, for we can raise 
them from them, and to suppose that they can be formed fortui- 
tously with a prospective contrivance for their future propagation 
in themselves, is, either to deny that contrivance proves design, 
and the existence of design that of adesigner, or to throw us 
back upon the former alternative of equivocal generation, as 
given in the beginning of the article. 

I have, though shortly, I hope satisfactorily shown how little 
the above theory has to support it. I shall not trespass further 
on your space than to copy a paragraph from the opinion of one 
of the first mycologists of the age, of one equally excellent as a 
. man, and as a botanist, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley. 

‘Tt is not to be denied that difficulties about the appearance of 
Fungi, as of various other plants and animals, are often great ; 
but it seems to me rash and precipitate in the extreme, because 
of a few points which at present baffle our powers of investigation, 
to have recourse to a principle which its supporters, at least as 
many as are of an humble and submissive frame of mind, dare 
not follow out into all its consequences. For my own part 1 can 
affirm, without hesitation, that I have never read a single essay of 
. these writers without being struck with the utter inconclusiveness 
of their reasonings, and with their strange oversight of points, 
which make against them so plainly and palpably that the most 
ordinary and unprejudiced reader could not fail to seize them.” 
(Berkeley in Hook. Br. H. IT. 2. 7.*) ; 

I cannot refrain from another admirable quotation from an 
equally distinguished botanist— 

“Let us not be led astray by specious theories and imaginary 
facts concerning bodies’ so far beyond the cognizance of our 
senses; but in the absence of demonstrative evidence to the con- 
trary, let us believe the great Author of Nature to be consistent 
with himself in all his works, and to have taken care to enable | 
the most humble seaweed to be multiplied by some means as 
certain and unchangeable as is provided for the most stately lord 


7 


198 ON TRAINING ROSES, &c. 


of the forest. We may rest assured, for all philosophy, and all 
observation, and all reason prove it, that there is no such thing in 
nature as blind chance; but that all things have been carefully 
and wisely designed with reference to the particular circum- 
stances under which they exist.” (Lindley in U. K. Society’s 
Botany, p. 119.) 

In addition to the above works, I would refer Cryptos to the 
latter author’s, Nat. Syst. p. 420, in which, as well as in the 
above quoted works, he will, I think, find sufficient information 
to convince any reasonable man. 

July 10th, 1839, F. B.S. E. 


ARTICLE II. 


ON TRAINING ROSES, AND OTHER CLIMBING PLANTS, IN THE 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
BY A NOBLEMAN’S FLOWER GARDENER. 


Or the numerous forms and modes of growth which plants ex- 
hibit, the climbing or twining habit would seen to be the most 
graceful and interesting. As man is accustomed to regard more 
tenderly and fervently such objects as depend upon, or, as it were, 
cling to him for protection and support; so, in the vegetable 
world, those plants appear toexcite the greatest interest which 
require the assistance of their more robust neighbours to maintain 
them in their needful position, and uphold them from grovelling 
prostration. There is however a general gracefulness and beauty 
in the plants of this class and I have always observed that climb- 
ing plants are acknowledged favourites with persons of refined 
taste and sensitive minds. 

Their sprightly and elegant disposition, the enchanting irregu- 
larity and negligence with which their branches are arranged and 
entangled, and the beautiful manner in which the extremities of 
these protrude so as best to exhibit their varied blossoms, each 
contribute to heighten their attractions. I now allude chiefly to 
their appearance in a natural state, for when subjected to the 
operations of training and pruning, it deprives them of much of 
‘that pleasing simplicity which otherwise characterizes them. 

It is to be regretted that many kinds of vigorous growing plants 
are trained to walls and trellises which oughtnot to be substituted 
for that which nature teaches us is the most graceful and ornament- 


ON TRAINING ROSES, &c. 199 


al with them, and by far the best adapted to the purpose of dis- 
playing their peculiar habits and beauties by supporting them by 
poles. There are others of amore delicate habit which look more 
ornamental, and exhibit their blossoms more to view, such as the 
delicate Tropceolums, &c. The natural habit of every plant ought 
be allowed if to have it in perfection, only toaccommodate it so as 
to be kept in those bounds which other circumstances point out 
necessary. 

The natural habitats of all our climbing plants I cannot describe, 
but most of the readers of the Cabinet have witnessed the common 
honeysuckle twining closely around the stems of trees and often 
interweaving its slender branches with those of the tree to which 
it clings for support. Those plants which have not the advantage 
of trees will attach themselves to the nearest shrub, and there 
exhibit their beautiful flowers among the branches, or if not thus 
privileged will trail along the ground. So far as their general 
mode of growth is concerned, this may be considered a fair type 
of most climbing plants ; all are incapable of supporting them- 
selves in an erect position, and consequently, are not frequently 
met with, except where trees or shrubs exist or abound. 

These circumstances very naturally suggest the idea of encou- 
raging them to ascend poles when in a state of cultivation. And 
though it might be supposed that similar plants require a shaded 
situation: this isnot always the case, at least with those from 
temperate climates. For although found growing naturally 
beneath the shade of trees and shrubs, they are always scen strug- 
gling to obtain an exposure, and either protrude their shoots 
through the opening branches or rise above the summits of their 
supporters. : 

Climbing plants of the honeysuckle tribe are best adapted for 
planting at the base of smalltrees in a conspicious place in the 
shrubbery, and to these they may be allowed to’attach themselves ; 
or, if necessary, can be secured erect till they have embraced 
them sufficiently to render further attention needless. It is par- 
ticularly advisable to permit them to commence twining them- 
selves ; as many of them grow ina peculiar direction, which, if 
altered, would considerably retard their progress and detract from 
their beauty. No just conception can be formed of the great 
additional charms they would impart to the shrubbery ; for when 
they had become firmly established, and had grown to their natural 
size, the trees or shrubs would be seen covered with an extensive 


200 ON TRAINING ROSES, &c. 


variety of showy flowers, and present an appearance at once beau- 
tiful and interesting. The usual sheltered situation of shrubberies 
or the protection which the shrubs themselves would afford, 
rendér it probable that many half-hardy climbers too might be 
grown within their boundary, provided the mode of growth were 
congenial to their habits ; and even with no other variety than the 
hardy species of Clematis &c. presents, these departments might 
be converted into decided and lasting attractions. 

There is another description of climbing plants, however, which 
from their natural disposition to branch, or in which such a tenden- 
cy may be readily induced by pruning, possess peculiar adaptations 
for training to detached poles ; and it is to these species, and the 
mode of supporting them, that I am desirous more especially to 
call attention. No person, but who has seen this system success- 
fully practised, can possibly have any idea of the effect which a 
pillar of roses, or similar plants produces, when all their branches 
are bending to the earth, as it were, beneath the weight of the 
multitudes of flowers with which they are laden, And when poles 
are placed at a convenient distance apart so as to have festooned 
cords to which the shoots are trained, the pendant shoots in pro- 
fuse bloom, give to the uprights an additional interest. 

Their appearance, whether in the flower bed, around a flower 
garden, in the lawn, or whether arranged opposite each other on 
either side of a portico, an entrance, or a walk, or disposed soli- 
tarily and irregularly over any part of the pleasure-ground, is most 
interesting. Roses thus treated have all the concentrated beauty 
of the head of astandard elongated into a pillar, without any 
of the formality of its summit, or the bareness of its stem. When 
growing climbing roses to poles &c, it is necessary that a situation 
be chosen for planting them where they will be slightly sheltered 
from winds ; but at the same time not to screen them from the full 
influences of the stin, otherwise their shoots will be very liable to 
suffer from cold during the winter, on account of not being 
thoroughly matured. A strong loamy soil is the best for growing 
them in, so as to flourish luxuriantly. 

Poles of the requisite size and strength may be easily. procured 
from the thinnings of larch plantations, and they will stand for 
many years without renewal. Itis best to leave some of the 
branches about six inches long, as they will prevent the wind 
twisting the shoots around the pole so as todamage them. The 
bark should not be removed, both for durability and appearance, 


ON THE PLEASURE OF FLOWERS, &c. 201 


it is far preferable to allow it toremain. Care should be taken to 
apportion the length and strength of the poles to the estimated 
height of the plant, for they will look exceedingly clumsy and 
unsightly if too large or too long, and the habit of the plant should 
be known. Pruning, when necessary, must be performed with 
judgment. Many kinds of climbing roses will not bear much 
pruning, while others may be subjected to it to a considerable 
extent. Those kinds with weak and flexible shoots, may be left 
to hang down naturally after they have attained the desired height, 
thinning them only when they are too numerous ; but such ‘as are 
stronger and more luxuriant occasionally need shortening, to pre- 
vent them from growing too spreading. Some of the hardy 
Passion Flowers, Glycine sinensis, Bignonias, &c. are most 
interesting when trained as above and make a splendid display 
when attached to a pole, they require to be freely pruned, as it is 
by close pruning that they can be induced to flower freely. 

In villa gardens, and those attached to the numerous suburban 
residences of gentlemen, in the humble plot of the cottager, or the 
extensive demesne of the nobleman, climbing roses might be 
introduced with great advantage and I hope this commendable 
and interesting practice will soon be extensively adopted. I shall 
forward for September Cabinet a list of the best kinds of climbers 
in cultivation. 


Middlesex, July 3rd, 1839. 


ARTICLE III. 


ON THE INTEREST AND PLEASURE OF CULTIVATING FLOWERS, 
BY FLORA. 

Floriculture, or the cultivation of flowers, is far the most de- 
lightful branch of gardening. Tt is true that flowers are not essen- 
tially requisite for man’s. existence ; but still they were evidently 
given to us by the Giver of all good for some peculiar purpose, 
which purpose is very clear to any unprejudiced mind that will 
give the subject a few moment's consideration. 

They were given, if not to minister'to man’s actual wants, to _ 
minister to his delight, which they do in a very great degree by 
beautifying the earth. 

When I state that the cultivation of flowers is productive of 


interest and amusement, I must observe that there are several 
Vox. VII. . No. 79, AA 


202 ON THE PLEASURE OF FLOWERS, &c. 


kinds of amusement. Some are irreligious, or, at best, immoral, 
and many are debasing ; but that which is derived from floricul- 
ture and botany (which is so nearly allied to floriculture that I 
must be pardoned for joining them together), is not only a ra- 
tional amusement, but is replete with instruction. To the reflec- 
tive mind, the curious structure, the habits, the modes of culture, 
and the distribution of flowers over the surface of the whole earth ; 
“their spontaneous growth on the tops of mountains, in the vallies, 
in the sandy and sun-scorched desert, and on the rugged rock, 
must be full of interest. 1 would ask, is it not pleasing to watch 
the growth of some handsome plant, from the time it just peeps 
above the soil, tillit arrives at full maturity ; and would not its 
beautifully colored and elegantly formed flowers amply repay you 
for all your trouble 2? Again, what can afford amore interesting 
recreation to the person engaged in mercantile pursuits, and shut 
up in a counting house or manufactory the greater part of the day, 
than an half hour spent in a pleasant flower garden ? and to those 
who have not a garden, afew plants in potsin the windows of 
their house are exceedingly pretty and interesting. 

I think no person will deny that floriculture is a healthy pursuit. 
To the person ina robust state of health, who wishes to preserve 
it, nothing can be more subservient to his purpose than excercise 
in a garden ; and the invalid can certainly do nothing more likely 
to amend his health than take gentle exercise in a flower-garden ; 
such, for instance, as tying up Dahlias, Fuchsias, or Roses, water- 
ing them, &c. It may be asked, why give the preference to flori- 
culture, when general gardening, would be equally beneficial ? I 
would answer, because the attractions held forth by flowers are 
generally so much greater than any other species of plant, and of 
longer duration. 

The study and culture, of flowers is instructive. Who can look 
upon a flower, examine its curious construction, and notice 
minutely its various parts, without being filled with admiration, 
and being convinced that ‘‘ it is the Lord’s doing, and it is mar- 
vellous in our eyes. The study of flowers ought to impress 
every one with a sense of thankfulness to the Deity. We are told 
that ‘‘ Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these, ” 
and yet they were not sent for man’s actual wants, but simply to 
render his sojourn here more delightful than it otherwise would 
have been. 

Middlesex, 1839. : 


ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 203 


ARTICLE IV. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF ERICAS. 
(Continued from page 178.) 


If there be no appearance of a change, then it is necessary to 
apply heat to the house ; but all that is wanted in this case, is just 
enough to prevent the temperature from getting lower than it was 
when the heat was introduced. Suppose the thermometer to sink 
to eighteen or twenty degrees below freezing during the night ; the 
instrument inside should range as near as possible to what it was 
when the heat was applied. This however requires very par- 
ticular attention. From what I know, heaths will suffer, if, 
after the thermometer has fallen four or five degrees below freez- 
ing inside of the house, heat be added so as to raise the tempera-~ 
ture, and drive out the frost, during the time the thermometer 
is still sinking out of doors. It would be much better if the 
house were left without fire heat, even with the thermometer 
fifteen or sixteen degrees below freezing point out of doors ; such 
treatment is bad for all plants, but more particularly for heaths. 
If we were certain that the thermometer during the night would 
not sink more than ten or twelve degrees below freezing out 
of doors, no artificial heat whatever would be necessary in 
the heath house.” 

I have made this long quotation, because it is the tried practice 
of one ofthe best cultivators of the present day ; and if acted 
upon, will remove much of the cultivator’s anxiety, so far as the 
true principle of applying artificial heat is concerned, and convince 
him how small a degree of that element is really necessary, in 
greenhouses of the ordinary descriptions. 

During winter, water should be very sparingly applied to heaths 
and in times of severe frost only enough should be given to keep 
the plants from drooping. The case is different however, during 
spring and summer, when they should have it abundantly supplied 
once, and, in some cases, twice a day, at their roots, and two or 
three times during the week over their leaves and branches by 
using the syringe or small garden engine. 

Cape heaths are very liable to be attacked by mildew, particu- 
larly inthe neighbourhood of London: and some collections have 
been nearly destroyed from this cause. Sulphur, applied either 
in a dry or moist state, is the most effectual cure, and should be 


204 ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. ' 


applied upon the very first appearance of the disease, by dusting 
the plants all over with the dry flour of sulphur, or by making up 
a thick lather of sulphur, mixed with soap, and laid on the plants 
with a painter’s brush. It is difficultto trace the real cause of 
this disease ; some attribute it to the practice of exposing them 
during summer to the power of the mid-day sun ; others, to the 
excess of water given them towards autumn ; while many think it 
is an atmospheric disease, and that some situations are more 
liable to.its effects than others. It is said to be of a rare occur- 
ence in Scotland, owing, probably, 'to the summers being cooler 
there' than in England. Whatever may be the cause, the effect 
ig in general fatal, for heaths, once attacked by the disease seldom 
recover. 

It is said that ‘‘the best preventive is placing the plants during 
summer, behind a wall, hedge, or other shelter ; so that they may 
be shaded from the rays of the sun five or six hours in the hottest 
part of the day, without having recourse to awnings ofany kind ; 
likewise, to house them early in autumn, in houses where the 
sashes can be drawn off in fine weather, and put on to protect 
them from heavy rains. For the more delicate species, generally 
kept in pits and frames in summer, the best preventive is to use 
lights glazed with green glass, keeping the lights on from nine 
o’clock in the morning till six o’clock in the evening, and giving 
plenty of air, by tilting the lights up at the back of the pits and 
frames, but never to use shading of any description. The lights 
to be drawn entirely off during the night, except in rainy weather. 
With this mode of treatment, slight waterings over head occa- 
sionally are beneficial.” 

Heaths are not very subject to the attacks of insects ; the green 
fly, however, sometimes assails them, but these are readily got 
rid of by slight fumigations of tobacco. 

General Treatment Out of Doors.—A want of sufficient accom- 
modation induces many to place a part if not all their heaths, as 
well as other greenhouse plants, out of doors ; and habit, we believe 
induces many more. ‘The hardier and more free-growing kinds 
may not suffer much from this practice, but the finer and more 
delicate sorts evidently do. I believe the rationale of turning ex- 
otic plants into the open air, is to adopt the least of two evils ; 
for ifthey be kept under glass during the growing season, and 
closely crowded together, they suffer as mnch for want of fresh 
air as they would do if placed in a sheltered situation in the open 


ee er ea i i 


ON. THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 205 


garden. It would be the most prudent method to adopt, to take 
out only such as are hardy and robust, leaving the more rare and 
tender sorts under cover; in which they will then have plenty of 
room. 

The season for taking heaths out of the house commences about 
the end of April, when some of the hardiest kinds may be set out: . 
the next hardier section in May, and the next in June, retaining 
by allmeans the most tender of allin the house. A dry, sheltered, 
butnot shaded situation should, if possible, be chosen for them,— 
dry, to protect them from a damp and impure atmosphere, —shel- 
tered, to prevent them from being broken or upset by the wind, 
and shaded only to the extent necessary to secure them from the 
full force of the sun’s rays during the heat of the day. A some- 
what elevated platform, covered with coal ashes, should be formed 
for them, upon which they should stand, without being plunged. 
If the spaces between the pots were filled with sphagnum, hypnum, 
or other mosses, the whole might be made ornamental and extre- 
mely useful ; first, by hiding the pots, and, secondly, by prevent- 
ing the heat of the sun, which is very injurious, from acting upon 
the roots, which are extremely fine, delicate, and always placed 
round the extremity of the balls, and in close contact with the pot. 
To avoid this, tosave labour in watering, and to prevent them 
from being blown down, some recommend plunging them in the 
ground, or in the coal ash floor prepared for them ; but this latter 
practice is, we think, objectionable, as the roots are very liable 
to perish from cold and excess of humidity. Lines of cord should 
be stretched along the plant ground, and fastened to neat poles or 
stakes ; to these cords the plants should be individually fixed, to 
prevent their being blown down 

From the end of September till the beginning of November is 
the proper season for removing plants again into the house, anda 
somewhat similar system should be acted upon as recommended 
for taking them out; only, those last taken out should be first 
t¥ken into the house, and the next in rotation. During summer, 
water should be copiously supplied, not only at their roots, but 
occasionally over their leaves and branches, by using the syringe 
or garden engine. But this must only be understood to apply to 
very hot and dry weather. Heaths, and all plants grown in peat 
earth, should never be allowed to become very dry at the root ; 
for, from the nature of the soil, itis difficult to supply a sufficient 
degree of moisture to them after they have become very dry. 

(To be continued.) 


206 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


ARTICLE V. * 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 
(Continued from page 183.) ; 

Both in their lakes and rivers are seen many kinds of reeds, 
and other aquatic plants and flowers ; serving for ornament, as 
well as for covert to their birds. They erect upon them mills 
and other hydraulic machines, wherever the situation will permit. 
They introduce a great many splendid vessels, built after the 
manner of all nations; and keep in them all kinds of curious and 
beautiful water-fowl, collected from different countries. 

Nor are they less various and magnificent in their bridges than 
in their other decorations. Some they build of wood, and com- 
pose them of rough planks, laid in a rustic manner upon large 
roots of trees; some are made of many trunks of trees, thrown 
rudely over the stream ; and fenced with decayed branches, 
intertwined with the convolvulus, and climbers of different sorts ; 
some are composed of vast arches of carpentry, artfully and neatly 
framed together. They have also bridges of stone and marble, 
adorned with colonades, triumphal! arches, towers, loggias, fishing 
pavilions, statues, bas-reliefs, brazen tripods, and porcelain 
vases. Some of them are upona curve, ora serpentine plan; 
others branching out into various directions : others straight, and 
some at the conflux of rivers or canals, are made triangular, 
quadrilateral or circular, as the situation requires ; with pavilions 
at their angles, and basons of water in their centers, adorned with 
Jets d’eau, and fountains of many sorts. 

Of these bridges some are entire, and executed with the utmost 
neatness and taste; others seem in ruins; others are left half 
finished, being surrounded with scaffolds, machines, and the whole 
apparatus of building. 

It is natural for the reader to imagine, that all these bridges, 
with the pavilions, temples, palaces, and other structures, which 
have been occasionally described in the course of this work, and 
which are so abundantly scattered over the Chinese Gardens, 
should entirely divest them of a rural character, and give them 
rather the appearance of splendid cities, than scenes of cultivated 
vegetation. But such isthe judgment with which the Chinese 
Artists situate their structures, that they enrich and beautify par- 
ticular prospects, without any detriment to the general aspect of 
the whole composition, in which Nature almost always appears 
predominant ; for though their Gardens are full of buildings, and 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 207 


other works of &rt, yet are there many points from which none of 
them appear; and more thantwo or three at atime are seldom 
discovered ; so artfully are they concealed in valleys, behind rocks 
and mountains, or amongst woods and thickets. 

There are, however, for variety’s, sake, in most of the Chinese 
Gardens, particular places, consecrated to scenes of an extraneous 
nature ; from whence all, or the greatest part of the buildings are 
collected into oneview, rising above each other in amphitheatrical 
order, spreading out to a considerable extent ; and, by their 
whimsical combinations, exhibiting the most magnificent confusion 
imaginable. Their artists knowing how powerfully contrast 
agitates the human mind, lose no opportunity of practising sudden 
transitions, or of displaying strong oppositions, as well in the nature 
of the objects which enter into their compositior, as in their 
modifications. Thus they conduct you from limited prospects to 
extensive views : from places of horror to scenes of delight ; from 
lakes and rivers to woods and lawns; and from the Germ er 
arrangements of nature, to the most complicated productions of 
art. To dull and dials colours, they oppose such as are brilliant; 
and to light, they oppose darkness ; rendering, by these means, 
their productions not only distinct in the parts, but also uncom- 
monly striking in their total effect. 

The cascades of the Chinese, which are always introduced, 
where the ground admits, and where the supply of water is sutfici- 
ent, are sometimes regular, like those of Marli, Frescati andTivoli; 
but more frequently they are rude, like the falls of Trolhetta and 
the Nile. In one place, a whole river is precipitated from the 
summit of the mountain, into the valleys beneath ; where it foams 
and whirls amongst the rocks, till it falls down other precipices, 
and buries itself in the gloom of impenetrable forests ; in another 
place, the waters burst out with violence from many parts, spouting 
a great number of cascades, in different directions ; which, through 
various impediments, at last unite, and form one vast expanse of 
water. Sometimes the view of the cascade, is in a great measure 
intercepted by the branches which hang overit ; or its passage 
is obstructed by trees, and heaps of enormous stones, that seem 
to have been brought down by the fury of the torrent: and 
frequently rough wooden bridges are thrown from one rock to 
another, over the steepest parts of the cataract ; narrow winding 
paths are carried along the edges of the precipices ; and mills and 
huts are suspended over the waters ; the seeming dangerous situ- 
ation of which, “adds to the horror of the scene, 


208 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


They have likewise cascades, contrived to fall from precipices, 
in large regular sheets, smooth as glass, and forming arches, that 
leave aconsiderable space between the rocks and the water. This 
islaid out in fine pebble walks, adorned with grass plots, and 
borders of flowers of every sort, that thrive in moist situations : 
and in the upright ofthe rocks are hollowed grottos, with many 
little neat recesses, placed at different heigths, and communicating 
with each other by steps or passages cut in the solid stone, from 
whence the cascades, when illumined by the sun, appear like a 
multitude of rainbows, glittering with a thousand colours ; and the 
adjacent trees, buildings or other objects, seen through the bril- 
liant medium, have a very uncummon, picturesque effect. 

As the Chinese are so very fond of water, their Gardeners 
endeavour to obtain it by art, wherever it is denied by- Nature. 
For this purpose, they have many ingenious inventions to collect; 
and many machines, of'simple construction, which raise it to al- 
most any level : at a trifling expense. They use the same method 
for overflowing vallies, that is practised in Europe ; by forming 
heads of earth or masonry at their extremities ; where the soil is 
too porous to hold water, they clay the bottom, im the same 
manner that we do to make it tight: and in order to prevent the 
inconveniences arising from stagnant waters, they always contrive 
a considerable discharge to procure motion, even where the sup- 
ply is seanty ; which is done by conveying the discharged water 
back, through subterraneous drains, into reservoirs ; whence it is 
again raised into the lake or river. They always give a conside- 
rable depth to their waters, at least five or six feet, to prevent the 
rising of scum, and the floating of weeds upon the surface ; and 
they are always provided with swans, or such other birds as feed 
on weeds, to keep them under. 

In overflowing their grounds, and alsoin draining them, they 
take all possible care not to kill many of their old trees, either 
by over moistening their roots, or draining them too much; say- 
ing, that the loss ofa fine old plant is irreparable ; that it impairs 
the beauty ofthe adjacent plantations : and often likewise destroys 
the effect of the scenery, from many distant points of view; and 
in shaping their grounds, they are, for the same reason, equally 
cautious with regard to the old plantations ; carefully observing 
never to bury the stems, nor to expose the roots of any trees which 
they mean to preserve. 


(To be Continued.) 


+ 


a 


tO ita Pom 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 209 


PART IL. 


NEW OR RAREOPLAN TS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


1. LOELIA AUTUMNALIS. Autumnal flowering Leelia. 
(Pax. Mag. Bot. & Bateman's Orchid. 9. 
ORCHIDACEE. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


A very beautiful species introduced from Mexico in 1836; where it was 
found growing upon trees at a considerable elevalion, The flowers are of a 
lovely transparent pink colour, and are produced in spikes of from one to 
three feet in length, according to the strength of the plant. Messrs. Lod- 
diges, Rollinsons, and others, possess plants for sale and every cultivator of 
orchidaceous plants should possess it. Mr. Bateman observes “' it thrives 
best in a moderate temperature, and requires to be high potted, as by that 
means, the roots are more likely to be retained in a healthy state, and are 
better able to withstand the extremes of heat and moisture which will some- 
times occur, and which have been found excessively injurious to Leelias, 
Cattleyas, and species of some allied genera. In winter they should be 
very sparingly watered, and kept in almost a dormant state.” 


2, LILIUM THUNBERGIUM. Mr. Thunberg’s Lily. (Bot. Reg. 38. 
LILIACEZ, HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


This splendid lily was introduced along with various others from Japan. 
by Dr. Siebold; and is now cultivated by Messrs. Rollissons and Youngs, 
The flowers are large and of a splendid orange colour. Jr. Siebold in his 
“Flora Japonica,” observes, ‘‘ that in more than twenty kinds of lilies 
brought by me from Japan to Europe, and deposited in the Ghent Botanic 
Garden, are varieties of L. speciosum. To the one with flowers rose-colored 
blotched with purple, I gave the name of L. speciosum Kcempferi, because it 
was the indefatigable botanist Koempfer, who first made it known to Euro- 
peans. For the second with pure white flowers, I preserve the Japanese 
name Tametomo, which it bears in its own country, in consequence of having 
been first brought by that hero from the Loo chow islands, as the Japanese 
assert. The beauty and fragrance of the flowers of these two kinds rank 
them amongst the most magnificent of their genus; I should even say that 
L. speciosum Koempferi stood at the head of them all, if a variety of L. 
longiflorum, which I have seen in Japan with flowers often eight or ten 
inches long, did not dispute the palm on account of its sweetness. LL. spe- 
ciosum Koempferi, is cultivated all over Japan as an ornamental plant. 
Its true country is probably China, or rather Korii, if we may judge from 
its name Korai-juri or Korai-lily. It flowers in May and June; in the Botanic 
garden at Ghent it did not flower in 1832 (the first time in Europe) till Au- 
gust. Like other kinds of lily it is freely propagated by scales; it does not 
however bear bulbs in the axils of the leaves It succeeds very well in a 
cold greenhouse, and even in the open air if protected. The variety of L. 
tametomo, although it has pleased some botanists to make a peculiar species 
of it, under the name of L. eximium, differs nevertheless, only in its flow- 
ers being quite white, and the leaves rather more distinctly stalked. Ac- 
cording to some of the Japanese botanists it is found wild, not only in the 
Loo-choo islands, but also in the north of Japan; but it has, perbaps, been 
confounded with L. japonicum, which is often wild in those countries,” 

Vor. VII, No. 79. BB 


210 NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


3. GESNERIA STRICTA. Upright Gesneria. (Bot, Mag. 3738. 
GESNERIACEZ., DIDYNAMIA, ANGIOSPERMIA. 


This pretty and very robust growing species was collected by Mr. Tweedie, 
in South Brazil, and forwarded to the Glasgow Botanic Garden, where it 
bloomed for the first time in July 1835. The flowers are about two inches 
long, of a red colour, and the habit of the plant is similar to G. Sceptrum, 
it requires to be cultivated as the other species. 


4, BURLINGTONIA MACULATA. Spotted Burlingtonia. (Bot. Reg. 44. 
ORCHIDACEZ, GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


This very distinct and pretty species was obtained from Brazil, by Messrs. 
Loddiges, in whose extensive collection it bloomed during the spring of 
1838. The flowers are yellow spotted with brown, except the inner part of 
the lip which is of a delicate white. It requires similar treatment to what 
we described last month at page 187, for Dendrobium Jenkensonii. 


5. CATTLEYA CITRINA. Yellow flowered Cattleya. | (Bot. Mag. 3742. 
ORCHIDACEZ. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


A very fine and distinct species grown in the collection at Woburn Abbey, 
where it was received from Mexico in 1838. The flowers are about the size 
of the common Tulipa sylvestris, which it also somewhat resembles in form 
and colour. The plant is of easy culture, and we have no doubt will prove 
a valuable acquisition. 


6, GESNERA MARCHII. Mr. March’s Gesnera. (Bot. Mag. 3744. 
GESNERIEACEZ, DIDYNAMIA. GYMNOSPERMIA. 


A beautiful and distinct variety introduced from the Organ Mountains of 
Brazil, by Mr. Wailes, of Newcastle, in whose collection it has bloomed. 
The stem grows from two to three feet high, producing numerous blossoms of 
a fine scarlet colour. ; 


7. HETEROTROPA ASAROIDES. Asarabacea like Heterotropa. 
(Bot. Mag. 3746. 


ARISTOLOCHIEACE£. DODECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


A very singular and rare plant introduced from Japan, by M. Von Siebold, 
and is cultivated at the Epsom Nursery, where it blossomed towards the end 
of February, It bears great aflinity with the genus Asarum, but from which 
it has been separated on account of the arrangement of its stamens, and 
structure of the anthers, and also because of the nearly superior position of 
the orary. The flower bears a perfume similar to a ripe apple, and is of a 
dull purple colour, blotched or waved with grey towards the throat. 


8. INGA HARRISII. (Bot. Reg. 41. 
MIMOSEZ, POLYGAMIA POLYANDRIA. 


A native of Mexico, from whence it has been imported by Thomas Harris, 
Esq., of Kingsbury, in whose fine collection it has recently bloomed ; many 
of the Mexican plants require a temperature some little higher than a com- 
mon greenhouse, so the present plant appears to require. It is a pretty climb- 
ing shrub, flowering freely; the corollais rose coloured, beyond which the 
stamens protude more than half an inch, and appear like numerous crimson 
silken tassels. It is easy of culture, and readily propagates by cuttings of 
the young shoots. It delights in a fresh and rich soil. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 211 


PART III. 
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


ListantHus RusseLLiANus.—] have purchased on several occasions plants 
of Lisianthus Russellianus, but after trying my utmost to get a plant to 
bloom, I have failed hitherto. 1 have tried to grow it in a cool frame, 
greenhouse, and hothouse, and with peat soil, peat and loam, and rich loam. 
but in every case unsuccessful. 1 shall feel mach obliged to some reader of 
the Cabinet, who have succeeded to bloom the plant, (for | see by accounts 
of Floral Exhibitions, several large plants in bloom have been shown ;) 
would furnish me with the particulars of the mode of treatment through the 
medium of the Cabinet. 

Aug, 3rd, 1839. Cizricus. 


—s 


ANSWERS. 


~ On Micnaetmas Asrers.—A list is requested by a Correspondent in a 
Jate Number of the Floricultural Cabinet, if the Conductor wishes for such 
a list, he need only apply to Mr. Rivére, for in a small work called the 
Vintor, (of last month) is to be found the following remarks upon that 
flower, ‘‘ attention has lately been paid to the increase of the Michaelmas 
Aster, and already we have for this month alone about a dozen of various 
heights, from two feet high (Aster Amellus) to seven feet high (Aster Roseus) 
and from fine white (Aster Elegans) to bright pink, pale blue and purple 
(Aster Nove Angliz.) Mr. Rivére has been successful in cross breeding 
those flowers, so cheerful at the commencing of our gloomy season, by tying 
together the flowers of the different sorts he is desirous of crossing; such as 
the rose-coloured and the white, the rose and the blue, and he describes his 
seedlings for one season, one thousand in number, as having all degrees of 
colours, from dark blue to the most beautiful azure, from light rose colour to 
the most delicate blush, and from pure white to the French, or greyish white, 
in countless varieties of shades, and of all sizes, some being the size of a 
sixpence, some an inch, or inch and a half in diameter, and some semi- 
double.” 

Such is the report made of the Michaelmas Aster in the above mentioned 
work, and if it should be of use to Mr. Harrison, and procure a list with 
such prices affixed as will come within the scope of a SLENDER PURSE, it will 
greatly contribute to the pleasure of H. M. E., and the beauty of her little 
garden. 

(We shall be obliged if our correspondent would send us the number of the 

Publication to our Publishers, or inform us where to purchase it, as we 

cannot obtain it after several applications.—ConDucror.) 


REMARKS, 


On Hysripisine —It remaineth to be ascertained whether there did exist 
a real natural, and indefeasible difference between plants which could pro- 
dace a fertile, and those which could produce a sterile offspring, by blending 
their races. It was my opinion, that fertility depended much upon circum- 


212 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


stances, of climate, soil, and situation, and that there did not exist any 
decided line of absolute sterility in hybrid vegetables ; though from reasons 
which J did not pretend to be able to develope, but undoubtedly depending 
upon certain aflinities either of structure or constitution, there was a greater 
disposition to fertility in some than in others. Subsequent experiments have 
confirmed this view to such a degree, as to make it almost certain that the 
fertility of the hybrid or mixed offspring depends more upon the constitution 
than the closer botanical affinities of the parents.. The most striking and 
unanswerable proof of this fact was offered by the genus Crinum, which is 
spread round the whole belt of the globe, within the tropics, and within a 
certain distance from them, under a greater variety of circumstances affecting 
the constitution of individuals, which, nevertheless readily intermix when 
brought together by human agency. The plant called Crinum capense, (for- 
merly Amaryllis longifoli,) impregnated by either Crinum zeylanicum, or 
scabrum, both at that time also called Amaryllis, produced offspring, which 
during sixteen years proved sterile, probably because notwithstanding their 
botanical affinity, the first isan extra tropical aquatic plant, and the two 
latter tropical plants which affect drier habitations, and readily rot, at least 
in this climate, in a wet situation. The same C. Capense, impregnated by 
Crinum preduncalatum, canaliculatum, or defixum, produces a fertile cross, 
though they are so dissimilar as to have been placed in different genera ; and 
the author was formerly reproved by botanists, as having committed an absur- 
dity, when he insisted upon uniting them. The reason of the fertility of 
their joint produce, seems to be that they are all aquatic or swamp plants ; 
and it may be further observed, that the crosses with the two former, the 
plants being all extra-tropical, are much more fertile than that between C. 
Capense and defixum, because the latter isa tropical plant. The mules 
Scabrum and Capense having continued so many years with every appearance 
of absolute sterility, without any change of situation or treatment, at last pro- 
duced one good seed in 1834, and another in 1835. These facts were of such 
an overbearing nature, that it become impossible for those who had charged 
the author with absurdity for uniting the parents under the genus Crinum, to 
which even certain other plants were then asserted to be more nearly allied, 
than the species at that time called Amaryllis, to contend any longer that 
they producing a fertile offspring were of different genera, and they will pro- 
bably be never again disunited in any botanical work; but the facts furnish 
much ground for the serious consideration of men of science. It happens asif 
expressly designed to overthrow the theory, that the identity of species is 
proved by fertility or sterility in the mixed issue ; that while C. Capense zey- 
lanicum and Scabrum are very similar in their general appearance, and 
yield an offspring which has been found quite sterile, except in the case of the 
two seeds above mentioned, C. Capense and Pedunculatum, are as unlike, as 
perhaps any two species of any known genus; and if it were asserted that C. 
Capense and Pedunculatum are one species ; and C. Capense and Scabrum 
two species, the assertion would appear to any personlooking at the plants, 
too preposterous to require a serious answer. 


On Mopsts ror Frower Garpens.—At some of the Floral Exhibitions 
recently held in, and about London, we saw several models of flower gardens 
formed with considerable skill, so as not only to be highly interesting objects, 
but very instructive. Green moss was placed so as to represent turf, sand 
for gravel, and flowers of a kind in masses to represent flower beds filled 
with flowers. Persons desirous of seeing something of the effect of a certain 
plan, would be able by such a prepared model to form an idea of its effect, 
if so constructed as a garden; or to see the contrast of arranging the colours 
even ina garden already formed. We think it would be useful to encour- 
age the production of models of flower gardens, lawns with beds, and even 
kitchen gardens, plantations, and parks, by showing the grouping of various 
kinds of trees, &c. If Floral Societies would offer prizes for the construction 
of models formed after this manner, we feel confident it would meet with 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 213 


the approval of visitors, and be found beneficial. Where Dahlias, China- 
Asters, and similar flowers are grown in quantities they afford a profusion of 
materials to appropriate for such purposes.—(ConDvucrTor.) 


—_ 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS, 
‘Recently noticed at various Nurseries and Floral Exhibitions. 
(Continued from page 191.) 


Podelobium storophyllum.—A pretty flowering greenhouse plant, with 
yellow flowers having a reddish keel, blooming very freely. 

Taberncemontania coronaria.—The flowers are white and interesting. 

Dillwynia glycinifulia.—Mr. Butcher, gardener to Mrs. Lawrence, ex- 
hibited a fine specimen of this pretty flowering plant. Its very numerous 
yellow and red flowers giving it a showy and interesting appearance, 

Chorozema elegans.—This new and beautiful species has recently bloom- 
ed in the greenhouse in the London Horticultural Society's Garden. The 
flowers are of a brilliant yellow and crimson, produced in large spikes. It 
isa very desirable plant for the greenhouse. 

Verbena Fergusoni.—This is similar to V. Neilli in habit, and the flowers 
of a lighter colour than V. arranana. 

Stachy’s Coccinea.—This plant is a native of Mexico, and bloomed at 
the Clapton nursery with the Salvia patens, &. The plant grows to about 
half a yard high, having numerous branches flowering freely. The flowers 
are of a dull red, but though not brilliant when grown in masses, produce 
a pretty effect. It blooms in the open border from June to Octoher. 

Echium giganteum.—A fine plant of it was exhibited by Mr. Fielden, 
gardener to J. Linwood, Esq. ; it had fine spikes of blue flowers, very showy. 
Both the kinds here exhibited deserve a place in every collection of green- 
house plants. 

Anthocercis littoreus.—A greenhouse plant, flowers yellow, with dark 
streaks in the inside. 

Pimelea hypericafolia; flowers white, having bright yellow anthers, in- 
teresting. 

Mahernia  pimata.—A pretty flowering greenhouse plant, profusely in 
bloom, flowers bright scarlet outside, and blush inside. 

' Hemerocallis rutilans.—The flower-stems rise about a foot high, having 
flowers of a golden yellow. : 

Lilium longifloram.—A very fine specimen having fourteen large flow- 
ers, of a most pure white, and fragrant. The plant had four stems rising 
about four feet high; it deserves a place in every greenhouse. 

PELARGONIUMS EXHIBITED BY MR. CATLEUGH. 

Victory, lower petals nearly white, upper petals with a large dark spot, 
slightly streaked. 

Florence, lower petals pale rose, upper petals having a large dark spot, 
slightly streaked. The flower is nearly white at the centre. 

Sy!ph, lower petals pale rose, upper petals with a large dark spot, the 
flower becoming whiter at the centre. The flower is very large. 

Stella, lower petals bright pink, upper petals rosy crimson, with a moderate 
sized dark spot. 

Splendidum, upper petals of a bright rosy crimson, having a largish dark 
spot, lower petals rosy crimson. The flewer is lighter towards the centre, 
and of a very superior form. 

Rienzii, the flower is of a beautiful pale pink, with a large dark spot on 
each of the upper petals, streaked with a darker colour, and having a cen- 
tre nearly white. 1t is of a very superior form. 

Una, white slightly tinged with blush, a moderate sized crimson spot on 
upper petals, The flower is of a fine form. 


214 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Magna Charta, white tinged with blush, the upper petals having a large 
dark spot, and streaked with dark. Flowers of a fine form. 

Orange Boven, lower petals of a beautiful rosy pink, upper petals rosy 
crimson, having a moderate sized dark spot. 

Fanny Garth, lower petals of a pretty light pink, upper petals pink having 
a large dark crimson, spot which is streaked and veined with darker; a very 
fine flower. 

Mary of Burgundy, flower of a fine rose colour, having a large dark spot 
on the upper petals; fine form. 

Discount, lower petals pink, upper petals of a rosy crimson haying a dark 
eye. A very profuse bloomer. 

Floribunda, whitish blush, upper petals having a large dark spot. The 
flower is of a superior size. . 

Dowager Queen, lower petals of a pale blush, upper petals having a large 
dark spot shading off to a fine crimson towards the edge of the petals. 

Rebecca, lower petals pink, upper petals crimson, having a large dark spot. 
Flower middle sized. 

Polygonum amplexicaule.—A hardy perennial plant, whose flower stems 
rise to the height of three or four feet, blooming from July to September, 
producing numerous spikes of crimson flowers. It requires, like most of the 
family, to be grown near water, so that its roots may reach it. (Bot. Reg.) 

Medicaso clypeata.—Sent from the north of India, the flowers are uninter- 
esting, but the seeds are curious, resembling those seen in seed shops called 
snails, (Bot. Reg.) 

Phaius bicolor.—Ochidaceze.—Sent from Ceylon to Messrs. Loddiges; 
flowers of a very bright deep red, with a yellow lip. (Bot. Beg.) 

Goodyera rubicunda, Synonym, Neottia rubicunda.—It has the habit of G. 
procera, but rather a less plant. The flower spikes rise about a foot high; 
the flowers are of a cinnamon brown colour, with a white lip. (Bot. Reg.) 

Maxillaria lentiginosa.—The flowers are very like those of M. stapeliodes, 
only the spots are redder. It is a native of Brazil. (Bot. Reg.) 

Vanda congesta—Somewhat resembles V. multiflora in its flowers, being 
of a yellow and brown colour. 

Mr. Hartweg collected in the mountaneous districts of northern Mexico 
seeds of many species of Pinus’s, and Dr. Lindley states in his truly meri- 
torious work, the Botanical Register, that six of them are quite new to this 
country, lengthened descriptions of each are given. 

Pinus Hartwegii.—Found to be a tree rising sixty feet high, the branches 
are very stout, like P. palustris; the leaves are upwards of six inches long, 
produced in fours. The cones of seed are four inches long and ebout two 
in diameter. 

Gompholobium versicolor.—A greenhouse climber, the flowers are of a 
reddish yellow colour, introduced by Captain Mangles. 

Acacia cynophylla.—Introduced too, we believe, by Captain Mangles. 

Grevillia thelamanniana.—-A native of New Holland, which produces ra- 
cemes of fine scarlet flowers, well meriting a place in every conservatory and 
greenhouse, 

Canostylis juncea.—A stiff growing herbaceous greenhouse plant, pro- 
ducing numerous fiowers, well shaped, yellow. 

Thysanotus isanthera.—It is an herbaceous greenhouse plant, flowering 
freely ; the flowers are of a fine purple, much fringed. 

Glaucium rubrum.—Like the horned poppy, but of a deep red colour. 

Centaurea pulchra.—An annual of considerable beauty; the flowers are 
of a fine deep blue, with a purple centre; it has flowered in the garden of 
the Hot. Society. 7 

Gloxinia grandiflora —Introduced from America; the flowers are like to 
G. caulescens in form and size, but of a lilac colour. 

Thysanotus proliferus.—A native of the Swan River, and flowers for sev- 
eral successive months in the greenhouse. We believe it was introduced by 


2 = 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 215 


Captain Mangles; we saw it in bloom at the Clapton Nursery, The flowers 
are of a deep rich blush chocolate colour, having the petals beautifully 
fringed. It is a very neat and interesting plant, well deserving a place in 
the greenhouse. 

Chorizema ovata.—A fine specimen three feet high with numerous branches, 
in profuse bloom, was exhibited by Mr. Butcher, gardener to Mrs, Lawrence. 
lt was a most beautiful object. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Epacris coccineus. We have remarked in a former Number of the Cab- 
inet on this very beautiful flowering plant, where we stated it had been 
raised by Mr. Kynoch, gardenerto A. Copeland, Esq., Leyton, Essex, where 
it had bloomed; we have since that time seen it in as profuse bloom at Mr. 
Lowe’s, as the well known E. impressa. The present plant is of more robust 
habit than E. impressa, the foliage more dense, and of larger size. The 
flowers are larger, and more campanulate; plants are not yet to be pro- 
cured, but when to be obtained, it deserves a place in every collection of 
greenhouse plants. 


GomMPHOLOBIUM VERSICOLOR. This yery pretty flowering greenhouse 
plant we recently saw in bloom. It was introduced from the Swan River 
Colony by Captain Mangles, R. N., and has flowered in the fine collection 
of R, Mangles, Esq., Sunning Hill, Berks. It thrives well in a compost of 
sandy peat and loam, and strikes freely by cuttings. The plant has a ten- 
dency, like G. polymorphum, to grow up with but few lateral shoots, but if 
the leading shoot of a plant be pinched off it causes it to push lateral shoots, 
which if stopped too, will induce a production of shoots so as to make it 
quite a bushy plant. It deserves a place in every greenhouse. 


TWEEDIA ceRuLEA. We have recently seen at the London Floral Ex- 
hibitions several plants in fine bloom. It is a handsome climbing plant, and 
when properly grown is very handsome. In consequence of its high price, 
those who procured plants, and not knowing its peculiar mode of treatment, 
have generally kept it in the hothouse or greenhouse, both of which situations 
are incengenial, and the plant becomes sickly; and in proportion to the 
height of the temperature the flowers become paler; when this has been the 
case, persons have been disappointed with it. It appears to require a green- 
house protection in winter, or a good cool frame, and to be turned out into 
the open border in May, trained against a good aspected wall, trellis, or 
some suitable support, where itis found it will bloom vigorously, and the 
flowers to be of a fine blue colour; it blooms from April to September. It 
has been supposed to be herbaceous, but plants have been kept for two years, 
and have now a shrubby habit. It is easily increased by cuttings; the plant 
deserves a place in every collection. 


EPACRIS IMPRESSA var. PARVIFLORA.—The present kind was sent from 
New Holland by our much respected friend Mr. James Backhouse, to the 
York Nursery, under the name of E. ruscifolia; it is a very pretty and in- 
teresting plant, and like all the family of Epacris merits a place in every 
greenhouse; their neat and handsome flowers blooming from August to April, 
and thus are highly ornamental for winter, adorning the greenhouse. Epa- 
cris’s require to be carefully attended to, they ought not to be allowed to 
flag for want of water, and yet soon sustain injury by an excess; it is ad- 
visable to place the plant rather high in the centre of its pot, as should be 
done with heaths. 

A sudden removal from extremes in temperature is also very injurious to 
the Epacris. 


216 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER. 


Annual flower seeds, as Clarkia, Collinsia, Schizanthuses, Ten-week Stocks, 
&c., now sown in pots and kept in a cvol frame or greenhouse during winter, 
will be suitable for planting out in open borders next April. Such plants 
bloom early and fine, and their lowering season is generally closing when 
Spring sown plants are coming into bloom. 

Carnation layers, if struck root, should immediately be potted off. 

China Rose cuttings now strike very freely: buds may still be put in suc- 
cessfally. 

Dautias—Where the lateral shoots are numerous they should be thinned, 
go as to induce vigorous shoots and flowers. Seed from early blown flowers 
will be ready to gather by the end of the month. 

Mignionette may now be sown in pots, to bloom in winter. 

Pelargoniums, cuttings of, may now be put off; plants from such, will bloom 
in May. 

Pinks, pipings of, if struck, should now be taken up and planted in the 
situation intended for blooming in next season. 

Plants of Herbaceous Calceolarias should now be divided, taking off offsets 
and planting them in small pots. 

Verbena Melindres (chamedrifolia) &&. Runners of these plants should 
now be taken off, planting them io small pots, and placing them in a shady 
situation, It should be attended to as early in the month as convenient. 

Plants of Chinese Chrysanthemums should be repotted if necessary ; for if 
done later, the blossoms will be small. Use the richest soil. Pinch off the 
heads of the plants having only single stems to induce lateral shoots, and 
obtain heads of flowers. 

When Petunias, Heliotropiums, Salvias, Pelargoniums, (Geraniums,) &c., 
have been grown in open borders, and it is desirable to have bushy plants for 
the same purpose the next year, it is now the proper time to take off slips, 
and insert a number in a pot; afterwards place them in a hot-bed frame, or 
other situation having the command of heat. When struck root they may 
be placed in a greenhouse or cool frame to preserve them from frost during 
winter. When divided, and planted out the ensuing May in open borders 
of rich soil, the plants will be stocky and bloom profusely. 

Lobelias, offsets of, should be potted so as to get well rooted before 
winter. 

Tigridia, pavonia roots may generally be taken up about the end of the 
month, and a quantity of soil should be retained and be allowed to remain 
around it to dry, it contributes much towards preserving them through winter 
in a sound condition. 

Greenhouse plants will generally require to be taken in by the end of the 
month, if allowed to remain out much longer, the foliage will often turn brown 
from the effects of cold air. The earlier succulents are the better. 

Plants of Pentstemons should be divided by taking off offsets, or increased 
by striking slips. They should be struck in heat. 

Panzizs.—the tops and slips of Panzies should now be cut off, and be in- 
serted under a hand-glass, or where they can be shaded a little. They will 
root very freely, and be good plants for next season. 

Evergreen hardy shrubs may be planted towards the end of the month, 
puddle and water freely till the autumn rains set in. 

FLower GARDEN.—Towards the end of the month strong winds generally 
prevail, so that all plants should be securely tied up to prevent their being 
broken. 

Seeds of many kinds of flowers will be ripe for gathering this month. 

When Lillies, Crown Imperials, Narcissuses, &c, require dividing, take 
them up now, and replant them immediately. 


THE 


FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


OCTOBER Ist, 1839. 
PART I, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, 


a“ 


ARTICLE I. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF CALCEOLARIAS. 
BY MR. E. BARNET, VICTORIA LODGE, REGENT’S PARK, LONDON. 
Tue admiration of this lovely tribe of flowers, as far as my ob- 
servation goes, has been universal, their delicacy, graceful form, 
elegance, variety, and richuess of coloring, with duration of a 
blooming period of eight successive months, alike combining to 
give them interest. 

At some of the exhibitions of flowers recently held in and 
around the metropolis, there have been some most striking and 
beautlful spotted kinds exhibited, as the Conductor of the 
Cabinet would see, (We did;) white, cream, yellow, orange, 
scarlet, crimson, lilac and pink grounded flowers, charmingly 
spotted with dark. 

I have a considerable collection of my own, and having paid 
more than the usual attention given by an amateur to their culti- 
vation, I forward some remarks on the mode of treatment I have 
very successfully pursued, so as to have plants in pots three feet 
high with a profusion of ftowering branches, so as to compose a 
compact head of ten feet in circumference. 

Propagation.—The herbaceous kinds are readily increased by 
division of the offsets, which will generally be found rooted: in 
order to have plants to bloom vigorous the following year, they 
should be taken off early in August, and be planted in pots about 
four inches in diameter, and be placed in a cool frame, where 

Vou. VII, No. 80. ce 


218 ON THE CALCEOLARIA. 


they may be kept till the following spring, by preserving them 
from frost and being over damp. 

Half Shrubby and Shrubby kinds are easily increased by slips, 
taken off close to the stems they proceed from. Where an op- 
portunity occurs of keeping plants to propagate from closely 
together, and they are placed upon a damp floor, or in a damp 
situation, that has the effect speedily to induce the production of 
small roots at the lower parts of many of the shoots, these shoots 
being taken off and potted in small pots in August or September, 
make fine plants for vigorous bloom the following year. Though 
slips and cuttings destitute of these infant rootlets, will strike if 
inserted in sandy peat and loam and placed in gentle heat in a 
hot bed frame, yet I find the foregoing method much more cer- 
tain and much less trouble is occasioned. 

During the autumn and winter I find my plants, so placed, 
afford me a numerous stock of rooted slips to take off, and I 
keep up my collection of young and handsome formed plants with 
little trouble, and am enabled to turn out into the open beds, not 
only my old plants, but any desired quantity of young ones too. 
During the last three years I have purchased one hundred and 
six of the best kinds I could meet with, and by this most easy 
method of propagation I have not lost one kind, but have a suf- 
ficient stock of each. 

Compost.—I find equal portions of turfy sandy peat, loam, leaf 
mould, and well rotted hot-bed dung, well incorporated together 
for a few weeks before using to be the most suitable for growing 
the plants vigorously, I never have the compost sifted, but well 
chopped with the spade when going to use it for potting. 

Potting.—A very free proportion of drainage is essential to 
their success, and I place in small pots, one inch deep of broken 
potsherds, and one inch of moss upon them, the largest pots I 
give two inches deep of each, upon this substrata the soil is 
placed. The Calceolaria imbibes a considerable portion of water 
by the roots, when it is in a healthy condition, to supply it with a 
fresh element of it, is therefore necessary ; if there be not a free 
drainage to allow superabundant water to pass, the soil becomes 
saturated and sour, which occasions sickliness, and often the death 
of the plant. 

The time I repot my young plants, potted off in August and 
September, is about the middle of February; the most vigorous 


I plant in pots one foot in diameter and ten inches deep. Weakly 


Ls 


ae 


Se 


~ 


a Se 


————————— eee Ce 


ee ae 


5 OF ae 
fT on 


gh 98 ee 


ON THE CALCEOLARIA. 219 


plants I put in pots half the size for a few weeks, and then repot 
them into the larger size, as the circumstances of growth require ; 
in pots of this size I bloom my stock generally, but when I see 
a plant in such a sized pot that would bear a larger I remove it 
into a size bigger. 

After potting I place the plants in a greenhouse upon a move- 
able stage, which is fixed so that the plants may be about a yard 
from the glass; (the stage is raised or lowered as desired by the 
turning of a wheel rack, with notch to secure at each end of the 
stage ;) here I keep them till they bloom, giving them a free sup- 
ply of air, to prevent them growing up weakly. The surface soil 
in the pots is frequently stirred, so as to allow water to pass 
through regularly, and evaporation to rise to the plants. The 
Calceolaria is more susceptible of injury by watering than most 
plants in general cultivation, so that after all attention to draining, 
compost, and stirring the surface repeatedly, it is requisite to 
attend to a due order in giving a supply ; they should be so at- 
tended to as to keep the soil moist, not wet; previous to the 
plants blooming I frequently sprinkle them overhead with water 
early in the morning, this keeps the foliage clean on its upper 
side, and the damp arising to the under side keep the plants free 
from the red spider, as well as promotes the rootlets before 
named. When the plants are in bloom I have a canvas cover 
over the roof of the house where the plants are. By keeping 
them in doors I have an opportunity of impregnating the flowers 
and obtaining seeds. [I have a numerous progeny of seedlings 
now coming into bloom, many very beautiful and distinct. As 
soon as I gather the seed I have the plants placed out of doors 
where they are shaded from the sun from eleven to three o’clock, 
they push again here and bloom for the greenhouse in October ; 
if I want increase, I retain a few plants in a moist situation, as 
before observed. 

E. Barner. 

Victoria Lodge, Regent’s Park. 


220 ON THE HEARTSEASE. 


ARTICLE II. 


REMARKS ON PROPAGATING THE HEARTSEASE, 
BY PENSE. 


My intention in sending the remark on propagating the Hearts- 
ease, is with a view to render an acceptable service to the public, 
for the success of a collection must depend mainly upon this 
process. Ido not share in the fears that have been expressed, 
that I shall make the public so knowing, that they will not only 
strike their own plants, but also supply their neighbours, to the 
injury of the trade. It is no disadvantage to a nursery-man for a 
private person to amuse himself with striking a few cuttings; for 
though it may enable him to keep up his old sorts, he will naturally 
as he grows more and more fond of the fancy, purchase the new 
and beautiful kinds, which are annually raised from seed. Neither 
is there any objection to his giving away a few plants to hisfriends 
for it helps to extend the fancy, and those who began with a stock 
that cost them nothing, may soon become purchasers in their turn. 
All parties must remember, that if they wish to keep pace with 
the improvements that are continually going on, they must be 
always adding a few of the newest and best sorts to their collec- 
tion; for the flower may still be said to be almost in its infancy, 
and what we admire one year is almost sure to be surpassed the 
next. I think, indeed, that novelty is a point to which the judges 
ought to pay more attention than they generally do at exhibitions, 
provided of course, that all other good qualities accompany it. 
And in this respect, as indeed in every other in which this flower 
is concerned, the amateur need not fear to compete with the nur- 
sery-man, for if his stock is smaller, his attention is probably less 
divided. 

I have found there is an inconvenience, and frequent disap- 
pointment, attending the habit of putting in large pieces as cuttings 
I will therefore point out how I have succeeded in various ways 
in the use of small ones. 

If they are intended to be struck under hand glasses, there should 
be a shady situation chosen for them. Then prepare some finely 
sifted mould, consisting of good loam and leaf mould, if it can be 
procured, to which add about one fourth-part of road sand, or 
river sand. Perhaps the best plan is to add the ingredients toge- 
ther first, and sift them afterwards, as this will mix them more 


a —s 
See ee Se eee a 


ON THE HEARTSEASE. 221 


thoroughly than any other method. Then make a bed of not less 
than three inches deep, well pressed down with the hand orspade, 
and leave a margin of two inches beyond the space which the 
cuttings are to occupy. The earth should be watered with a fine 
rosed watering pot a few hours before it is planted, in order that 
the, cuttings may be fixed more firmly in the ground. The per- 
son of course must be prepared with some number-sticks, about 
three inches long and not more than half an inch wide, to mark 
every sort as itis putin. All may begin numbering from either 
side, provided he always keep to the same way ; but it is usual to 
commence counting from the left corner of the glass, to put the 
stick down first, and then the cuttings in succession behind it, till 
the next stick marks the commencement of a fresh variety. Leave 
about half an inch between the rows, and an inch between the 
cuttings in each row. The cuttings themselvesshould be about 
two inches long, taken off just below a joint, and then should be 
inserted about an inch deep, taking special care not to make the 
hole deeper than required, or else to fill it well in afterwards, that 
the bottom of the cutting may come immediately in contact with 
the soil, instead of being suspended in the air with a hole full of 
stagnant water below it. Press the soil gently but firmly round 
the cuttings, and sprinkle them lightly over with water. Then 
put the glass on, and when the sun shines powerfully let them be 
shaded with a mat till its strength is gone by. They will not re- 
quire much water, the shoots being of a moist substance them- 
selves ; and if they are much wetted, or deprived entirely of the 
sun, they will be in danger of suffering from damp. After they 
have been in abouta fortnight, the glass might be occasionally 
removed at night for the sake of catching the refreshing dews, and 
replaced in the morning. When it is perceived that they are 
beginning to grow, and the tops have extended themselves, pinch 
off the extreme points of them, and they will make snug bushy 
plants. Evenif they have notrooted, which is sometimes the 
case after they begin to grow, this practice of pinching off the top 
will help to check the rising of the sap, and cause the roots to 
protrude earlier than they would otherwise have done. Those 
who have no hand glasses, or who have more cuttings to strike 
than their glasses will contain, must prepare a shady border in the 
manner already drescribed, and cover it with a mat, which may 
be removed at night for the advantage of the dews, but the shade 
must be renewed by nine or ten o’clock in the morning, or all the 
previous labour will be thrown away. 


222 ON PELARGONIUMS. 


There is another piece of advice, for which I think the begin- 
ner will be grateful, and that relates to the worms and insects, 
which he will often find very troublesome among his cuttings. If 
the cuttings are annoyed by worms, procure half a bushel of stone 
lime, and put it into a tub with about twelve gallons of water. 
When it is slacked, stir it occasionally ; then let it settle till it is 
quite clear. After freeing the water from the scum that rises to 
the top, sprinkle the cuttings all over with it in the evening, about 
dusk, as then the worms will be either on the surface or very near 
it.. If one watering is not sufficient, it must be repeated in a few 
days ; and it would benefit not only cuttings, but rooted plants in 
your beds, destroying the slugs and grubs, especially if done on 
a moist evening, when they are most numerous and early in their 


appearance. 
PENSE. 


ARTICLE III. 


ON THE CULTURE OF PELARGONIUMS, (GERANIUMS OF MOST.) 
BY A FOREMAN OF A LONDON NURSERY. 


Tue very great addition to this lovely tribe of plants, during 
the present season as has been exhibited at the Floral meetings, 
held at the rooms of the London Horticultural Society, in Regent 
street, at the gardens of the society at Turnham Green, and other 
places, will render it quite unnecessary for me to apologize for 
sending the following remarks on the culture ofso generally an 
esteemed family for insertion in the Floricultural Cabinet, they 
are the results of my mode of treatment with a collection of above 
ten thousand plants which are under my charge. 

Propagating by Cuttings.—Early in June I take a sufficient 
quantity of cuttings of the different varieties, and after carefully 
preparing them, by taking off the lower leaf, and cutting horizon- 
tally through the stem just below a'joint, I insert each sort separate, 
in pots previonsly filled with a mixture of three parts sharp sand, 
and one part sandy loam, using plenty of drainage at the bottom. 
After the cuttings are all put in, I give a good watering, and then 
remove them to a moderate hot-bed, and plunge the pots to the 
rim;I1 keep the lights shut close, except in the morning, when I 
admit a little air, and with due attention to shading and watering, 
I find them to be well rooted in abouta month, Those kinds 


Ww 


ON PELARGONIUMS. 223 


in which we abound I prepare cuttings. as above described, and 
prick them out in a bed of finely sifted soil, in a warm situation 
in the openair. By shading them fora short time they soon strike 
root. Whenthis is perceived to be the case, 1 pot them singly 
into small 60s, shifting at the same time those that were inserted 
in the small pots. In potting I use a compost of equal parts of 
sandy loam, peat, and welldecomposed manure, adding about one 
eighth part sand; when potted, I place them in a frame, where the 
lights are put on in the day time, in order to throw a mat over 
them to shade the young plants from the sun; the lights are taken 
off in the evening, and the plants supplied with water, until they 
have struck fresh root, when this is found to be the case, the lights 
are removed altogether, and the plants duly supplied with water. 
They remain in this state till the middle of August, when | carefully 
examine them, and shift those which have made sufficient roots 
into one size larger pots, being careful in this, as in all other shift- 
ings, to use a sufficient quantity of drainage to carry off the 
superfluous moisture. Those plants not sufficiently rooted by that 
period, I defer shifting till the spring, as they succeed better when 
shifted at that time. After thus looking over all the plants, 
they are replaced in the frame, and treated the same as before, 
with this exception, that the lights are put on at night, and during 
heavy showers. About the first week in October they are removed 
to the greenhouse, where they receive all the air that can be 
admitted with a regular, but moderate supply of water. Fire heat 
is not used except to repel frost, or the dry damps arising from 
watering, or other causes ; to avoid damps ina measure I find it 
best to water in the morning, so that the air admitted during the 
day assists to carry off the superabundant moisture. The surface 
soil in the pot is frequently stirred, and occasionally some of the 
old removed and renewed ; all decayed leaves are removed, both 
on account of the well being of the plants, and to preserve neat- 
ness and order. 

Potting.—The time of performing this operation is partly 
regulated by the state of the plants ; those that were shifted in Au- 
gust, do not require shifting again till the middle of February, and 
again early in April, whilst those that were not shifted in the 
autumn require their first shift in February. In each successive 
shift I use one size larger, taking care to put plenty of drainage 
into the bottom, and to press the soil firm inthe pots. I find the 
following compost to answer well: two barrowsfull of light hasel 


224 ON PELARGONIUMS. 


loam, (from the surface of a rich pasture, which should be collect- 
ed at least a twelvemonth before it is used,) one anda. half 
barrowful of well rotted hot-bed manure, one barrowful of turfy 
peat, half a barrowful of pigeon’s dung, two or three years old, 
and a quarter barrowful of sand, the whole being mixed in the 
autumn, and put under an open shed. In using it I do not sift it 
but it is chopped fine with aspade. As the spring advances I 
allow amore copious supply of water, and I find that by using 
liquid manure once a week after they beginto grow, the plants 
are greatly strengthened, and the size of the flowers increased. 
When the flowers begin to expand, I shade them from the sun, 
by rolling a canvass over the roof of the house, which contributes 
to heighten the colours, and they remain much longer in bloom. 
The plants are placed on stages, which are constructed so that 
the surface ofthe plants are notmore than five feet from the glass 
and a free admission of air being admitted at the sides of the dou- 
ble roofed houses, as well as at the roof, the plants are stiff and 
robust. Attention is paid to placing the plants at a greater 
distance from each other, as they advance in growth, and thinning 
away the shoots so as to leave them regularly placed and proper- 
ly tied to sticks so as to splay around and form compact heads. 

In June the plants are removed from the greenhouses to an 
appropriate situation in the open air, where they receive the full 
influence of the sun till eleven, o’clock and by attention to watering 
many of them continue to bloom through the summer. Early in 
September, the plants are cut down to within a few inches of the 
pots ; and they flower well the second year. 

- On Raising New Varieties.—This department of their culture 
may prove a source of great amusement and gratification to those 
who can devote sufficient time to it. Good varieties may often be 
obtained from seed saved promiscuously from fine flowers ; yet m 
order to ensure success, it is necessary to have recourse to impreg- 
nation, in performing which, the following rules are strictly 
observed. The operation is performed with blossoms as nearly 
as possible, in the same state of advancement. The anthers are 
removed from the flower intended for impregnation in the morn- 
ing, because the pollen is then moist, and not so likely to escape 
by accident, so as to confuse the experiment. A considerable 
quantity of pollen is used in such impregnation, both on account 
of the chance of a minute particle of the natural pollen having 
escaped, and also because it is more difficult to produce fecundation 


ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 225 


with the other. Both before and after the operation, the flower 
_ impregnated is covered with a piece of thin gauze, to prevent the 
bees or other insects from intermeddling and rendering the 
operationvain. The colours ofthe parents are selected as distinct 
and opposite as possible as to colour. The plants after operation 
are placed in a situation in the greenhouse where they can receive 
the full influence of the sun. The seeds are gathered as soon as 
they begin to turn brown, otherwise, being furnished with a downy 
appendage, they are liable to be blown away by the wind; they are 
sown in pans or boxes, in light soil, and covered about a quarter 
of an inch with the same, but finely sifted, and placed in a hot 
bed frame. When they have made two or three pair of leaves, 
they are potted into small pots, kept ina greenhouse. Though 
few of the strongest plants flower the firstsummer, yet the greater 
part do not till the following spring. 


ARTICLE IV. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF ERICAS. 
(Continued from page 205.) 


There is no subject in gardening more difficult to give written 
directions upon, than that of soils, so little, unfortunately, have 
they been chemically studied, so vague and unintelligible are the 
tests by which they are practically known. The soil which the 
Ericez and many other fine rooted plants prefer, is called peat, bog 
mould, heath mould, moor earth, &c., and abounds in sufficient 
quantities in many places, particularly in uncultivated heaths. But 
of this soil there are both good and bad sorts, that is, sorts in 
which plants will grow to perfection, and others in which they 
languish and decay. Nor is it to be taken for granted that that 
peat which produces the finest and healthiest crops of our common 
heaths, such as Erica Tetralix, and cinerea, is always a fitting soil 
to be used for exotic plants of similar habits ; for many, by con- 
tenting themselves with this test, have found out their error, when 
too late to remedy it. That peat is best which contains about one 
fourth or one fifth of coarse white sand, and is taken from a dry 
heathy common, which is never overflowed with water, and off a 
sub-soil in which the recently discovered chemical substance, 
ereasote, which has deleterious effects upon all vegetables, does 
hot abound. It might be well for the cultivator to have a chemi- 

Vou. VII. No. 80. DD 


226 ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 


cal analysis made of his soil, by which the presence or absence 
of creasote would be determined, and which any respectable che- 
mist would discover for him. When abundance of sand does not 
naturally abound in the peat, any coarse white sand, free of irony 
matter, may be added. It appears to be of little consequence 
whether or not good peat be prepared for any previous period in 
the compost yard prior to using; we rather think that the sooner 
it is used the better. Asa substitute for peat, some have recom- 
mended very rotten dung, decayed leaves, &c., having a due 
proportion of gritty sand added; and others have suggested the 
addition of very rotten manure to be used with peat, with a view 
to increase the rapidity of the growth of the plants. The former 
may be used, in default of better, for hardy American plants, but 
the addition of the latter is by no means to be recommended. 

Water.— Soft water alone should be used for watering plants of 
every denomination ; that froma pond or large river, or such as 
is collected in cisterns from the roofs of buildings, to be prefer- 
red. Water pumped from wells, and such as may be procured 
from springs, should be exposed for as long a period as possible 
to the action of the sun and air before it can be usefully applied 
to plants. Water impregnated with mineral matter, such as iron, 
salt, &c., should be carefully avoided; and that containing much 
calcareous matter is injurious to many plants, and to none more 
so than the genus Erica. 

Shifting and Potting.—Early in spring appears, from practical 
observation, to be the most proper time for shifting or potting 
plants of this order that they may make roots during summer ; but 
to this rule there are some exceptions, namely, the state of health 
of such individuals as require shifting into other pots at various 
periods of the year. Allplants whose roots have completely filled 
the pots, and whose balls are hard in consequence, should be 
shifted into pots of one sizelarger. All plants that appear in a 
weak and sickly condition, should be turned out of the pots and 
the roots examined, the dead ones cut away, the sour and exhaus- 
ted mould displaced, and then planted into a pot somewhatsmaller 
than that out of which it was taken. When a pot feels heavier 
than usual, it is a sign that the ball has absorbed too much water, 
either from an excess of that element having been supplied, or, as 
is more generally the case, from imperfect draining. When such 
is the case, reduce the ball, prune the roots, and re-pot it as 
recommended above. The mould should be prepared by being 


ON THE CULTURE OF ERICAS. 227 


chopped fine, or even put through a coarse sieve, of not less than 
one inch in the mesh, unless, indeed, the plants be young; for 
very large plants, the mould may even be much coarser than that 
which will pass through a sieve of the above dimensions. Whether 
for large or small plants, it is absolutely necessary that the mould 
be dryat the time of potting, as should also be the pots into which 
the plants are to be put. It is not always necessary that new pots 
should be used, but care should be taken that they are clean, and 
selected of sizes, to suit the plants to be operated on. 

In potting, draining is of the first importance ; for this purpose 
from one to three inches, according to the size of the pot, should 
be filled with broken pots, cinders, small stones, chippings of 
freestone, or small pebbles, over a piece of potsherd or oyster 
shell, placed over the hole in the bottom of the pot: over this 
drainage a thin layer of dry moss should be placed, to prevent the 
finer earthy particles from being washed down, and to stop the 
cavities through which the superfluous water is intended to pass ; 
and as the various species of moss, hypna, &c., have the property 
of absorbing humidity, and also of retaining it for a considerable 
time, the roots will by this means be kept cool and moist, much to 
their advantage. 

In placing the plant in a new pot, it has been recommended to 
keep the top of the ball considerably above the level of the top of 
the pot; in so far as the plant is concerned, this is admitted to 
have rather an unsightly appearance. The rationale of this mode 
of potting appears to be, that it prevents the plant suffering from 
excess of water, as the ball at the stem of the plant is so much 
above the level of the part next to the pot, that the water, instead 
of finding its way into the centre ofthe ball, passes down between 
it and the pot, where are all the roots that are capable of absorb- 
ing it for the use of the plant ; the superabundant water passing 
off through the drainage 

The balls of heaths, if in good health, do not require to be 
broken, as is necessary with some other plants; itis in general 
sufficient if the sides of the balls be gently patted with the hand to 
loosen the outside fibres, which, in healthy plants, will be found 
in abundance round the outside of the ball, nor should any plant 
be shifted until such is the case. 

It appears to me that the free or luxuriant growing sorts thrive 
best in rather large pots, and in a peat soil not over sandy, while 
the slow growing and slender sorts require much smaller pots, and 


228 ON THE THUNBERGIA ALATA, AND T. LEUCANTHA. 


a soil in which more sand abounds, either naturally or by addition ; 
it is also necessary that the pots into which the latter are to be 
placed should be completely drained. The latter also requires at 
all times much less water, because they are, for the most part, 
found indigenous in soils and on situations where little soil and 
less moisture abounds. 


ARTICLE V. 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF THUNBERGIA ALATA, AND 
T. LEUCANTHA. 


BY ‘CLERICUS. 

Wuerever I have seen’ these beautiful climbers cultivated in 
doors by professed gardeners or amateurs, 1 have invariably 
noticed the speckled, or sickly appearance of its leaves. This, I 
have no doubt arises more from the unsuitableness of the soil in 
which the Thunbergia is planted, than from any difference of tem- 
perature to which the plant is subjected. 

' The beauty of all flowers, especially those of light colours, is 
greatly increased by being contrasted, witha rich deep foliage. 
This desideratum may be obtained in the Thunbergia, by planting 
it, when five or six inches high, ina mixture of cow-dung and 
pure black peat (without sand) : the composition can scarcely be 
too rank, In proof of the efficacy of this mode, I may mention, 
that I have had it with leaves, and grown in asouth window, that 
measured four inches in length. During the last summer [had 
also two other plants, raised from seed ina cold frame, which 
were equally healthy although later in flowering. 

Thunbergiasare readily raised from seeds, which shouldbe sown 
singly in pots three inches in diameter; these may be placed 
within a cucumber frame, kept moist; and have as much air as 
possible. When the runner is six inches high, prepare a compost 
of equal parts, cow-dung and peat ; shake the plant and ball entire 
out of the small pot, and insert it in the centre of one seven inch- 
es in diameter, previously partly filled with the composition ; then 
add more of the moist compost, not pressing it too close, that the 
roots of the plants may work through the interstices to the sides of 
the pot ; dredge a little mould or sand on the top, to prevent too 
rapid evaporation ; and then the plant may’ either be returned to 
the frame, or placed in a south window, until fairly rooted, and the 


ON WILLIAMS AND CO’s. BOILER. 229 


weather be suitable to place it out of doors. It will bloom in about 
ten weeks from the time of sowing the seed. For a window or 
otherwise, the plants looks and thrives best if the three leads be 
allowed each a small neat stick to climb up, which at a yard high 
may form a pyramid, and the plant be stopped when at the top; 
pendants will then be thrown ont, and flower beautifully. 

If the red spider ever attack a plant, I turn it upside down and 

immerse it in soap suds for a few minutes this never fails to 
destroy the insect. 

Thave grown bcth the kinds very freely in the open air, planting 
them against a wall which has a south-east aspect. I turned them 
out of pots the last week in April, sheltering them a little with a 
net till the end of May ; the soil in which they grew was a mixture 
of peat and rich loam, I had some planted out into my flower 
beds, which are well sheltered from the prevalent westerly winds, 
and they too bloomed admirably ; I allowed the plants grown 
against the walls to twine around upright wires, placed at an inch 
from the wall, the shoots reached nine feet high last season and 
bloomed most profusely, and I scarcely need add, produced a very 
pretty appearance, more especially so when I had a plant of fine 

_ blue purple flowered Maurandia Barclayana planted, between the 
buff and white Thunbergias, the contrast was pleasing: the plants 
I had in the open flower beds I had trained up acentral wire stem, 
two feet high, having a head resembling an umbrella of three 
feet in diameter, the shoots soon covered the surface, and hanging 
pendant at the extremities were very interesting. 


Northampton, July 2nd. 1839, CLERIcUs., 


ARTICLE VI. 


WILLIAMS AND Co’s. PATENT WROUGHT IRON BOILER FOR 
HEATING GREENHOUSES, &c. WITH HOT WATER. 
BY W. GARDENER, KNAP HILL. 
Presumine that all subjects connected with the construction or 
heating of horticultural buildings will be acceptable to your nu- 
merous readers, I beg to direct their notice to the accompanying 
drawing of a boiler invented by Williams & Co., which in my 
estimation appears to possess merit peculiar to any other boiler 
used forheating greenhouses and other erections with hot water. 
The chief feature in the plan is the simple and easy mode adopted 


230 ON WILLIAMS AND CO’s. BOILER. 


for cleansing the inside, which appears to have been overlooked 
by makers of other descriptions of boilers used for the same pur- 
pose ; the boiler is very compact, and every advantage appears to 
have been taken for the enconomizing of the fiel, which from the 
way in which the heat is caused to act upon every part of the 
boiler must be a very considerable saving of fuel. 

Several of these boilers were erected last winter, and have 
given the greatest satisfaction from the testimonials which I have 
in my possession. The price of the apparatus does not ae | 
any common plan of hot water apparatusses. . 


Saal Dy 


= 


1 


WIHT 


—<— 


ii 


\\ 


A A the flow pipes. B man-hole. C C apertures of three inch square | 
pipe, nine inch long with cocks. DD fixed on to the front with a moveable 
flange, to clear out the dirt, &c,, from the inside. E the fire place. F the 
outside of the boiler forming the side flues, where the fire panaea round. G 


the top of the boiler, H the return-pipe. 


(We admire the plan adopted by the patentee in offermg to 
guarantee the success of the boiler for five or more years. 


See advertisement. —Conp.) - 
W. GARDENER. 


Knap Hill, July 20th. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 231 


ARTICLE VII. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 
(Continued from page 208.) 

In their plantations, the Chinese Artists do not, as is the prac- 
tice of some European Gardeners, plant indiscriminately every 
thing that comes in their way; nor do they ignorantly imagine, that 
the whole perfection of plantations consists in the variety of the 
trees and shrubs of which they are composed: on the contrary, 
their practice is guided by many rules, founded on reason and long 
observation, from which they seldom or ever deviate. 

‘« Many trees, shrubs and flowers,” sayeth Li-Tsong, a Chinese 
author of great antiquity, ‘‘ thrive best in low moist situations ; 
many on hills and mountains: some require a rich soil ; but others 
will grow on clay, in sand, or even upon rocks ; and in the water ; 
to some a sunny exposition is necessary ; but for others, the shade 
is preferable. There are plants which thrive best in exposed 
situations ; but, in general; shelter is requisite. The skillful gar- 
dener, to whom study and experience have taught these qualities 
carefully attends to them in his operations ; knowing that thereon 

_ depend the health and growth of his plants ; and consequently the 
beauty of his plantations. 

In China, as in Europe, the usual times of planting are the 
autumn and the spring ; some things answering best when planted 
in the first, and some in the last of these seasons.. Their Gar- 
deners avoid planting, whenever the grounds are so moist as to 
endanger the rotting of the roots ; or when the frosts are so near 
as to pinch the plants, before they have recovered the shock of 
transplantation ; or when the earth and air are too dry to afford 
nurture to them ; or when the weather is so tempestuous as to 
shake or overturn them, whilst loose and unrooted in the 
ground. 

They observe, that the perfection of trees for Ornamental 
Gardening, consists in their size ; in the beauty and variety of their 
forms, the colour and smoothness of their bark, the quantity, 
shape, and rich verdure of their foliage ; with its early appearance 
in the spring, and long duration in the autumn; likewise in the 
quickness of their growth, and their hardiness to endure the 
extremities of heat, cold, drought or moisture ; in their making no 
litter, during the spring or summer, by the fall of the blossom; 


and in the strength of their branches, to resist, unhurt, the violence 
of tempests. 


zoe ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


They say, that the perfection of shrubs consists not only in most 
of the above mentioned particulars, but also in the beauty, dura- 
bility, or long succession of their blossom; and in their fair 
appearance before the bloom, and after it is gone. 

““We know,” say they, ‘“‘that no plant is possessed of all good 
qualities ; but choose such as have the fewest faults; and avoid all 
the exoticks, that vegetate with difficulty in our climate; for 
though they may be rare, they cannot be beautiful, being always 
in a sickly state ; have, if you please, hot-houses and cool-houses, 
for plants of every region, to satisfy the curiosity of botanists ; but 
they are mere infirmaries: the plants which they contain, are 
valetudinarians, divested of beauty and vigour ; which only exist 
by the power of medicine, and by dint of good nursing.” 

Amongst their favourite trees, is the weeping willow, which they 
cultivate with great care, and plant near all their lakes, rivers, 
fountains, and wherever else it can be introduced with propriety ; 
dwarf kinds of it are raised in pots, for the apartments. 

The excessive variety of which some European Gardeners are 
so fond in their plantations, the Chinese artists blame ; observing, 
that a great diversity of colours, foliage, and direction of branches, 
must create confusion, and destroy all the masses upon which — 
effect and grandeur depend ; they observe too, that itis unnatural; _ 
for, as in Nature most plants sow their c wn seeds, whole forests 
are generally composed of the same sort of trees. They admit, 
however, of a moderate variety ; but are by no means promiscuous 
in the choice of their plants; attending, with great care, to the 
colour, form, and foliage of each ; and only mixing together such 
as harmonize and assemble agreeably. 

They observe, that some trees are only proper for thickets ; 
others, only fit to be employed singly ; and others, equally adapted 
to both these situations. The mountain-cedar, the spruce and 
silver firs, and all others whose branches have a horizontal direc- 
tion, they hold improper for thickets; because they indentinto — 
each other: and likewise cut disagreeably upon the plants which 
back them. They never mix these horizontal branched trees with 
the cypress, the oriental arbor vite, the bambu, or other upright 
ones; nor with the larix, the weeping willow, the birch, the 
laburnam, or any of a pendant nature ; observing, that the inter- 
section of their branches forms a very unpicturesque kind of net- 
work. 


(To be Continued.) 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 233 


PART II. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


GESNERIA ELONGATA ; var. Gesnera elongated, var. (Bot. Mag. 
DIDYNAMIA GYMNOSPERMIA. GESNERIACE. 


This plant was received at the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in September, 
1836, from the Messrs. Young, Nurserymen, Epsom, under the name of G. 
oblongata, perhaps by an error in the transcriber. It flowers most freely, 
exhibits a long succession of blossoms, and is therefore very desirable in 
cultivation. It differs from G. elongata of Humboldt in its much shorter 
peduncles, in the more obtuse base of the leaves, in its less angular branches, 
in the colouring of the veins and lower surface of the leaves generally, and 
in the subulate segments of the calyx. In these respects, it more nearly 
agrees with Gesneria mollis, but from this it differs again, and agrees with 
G, elongata, by its four flowered umbel and much shorter pedicels, and tie 
bracteze opposite at their origin ; the length of the peduncle being interme- 
diate between its state in these two species. There are very many forms of 
Gesneria from the tropical parts of :\merica, but [ cannot think they ouglit 
all to be considered as species. This opinion is strengthened by the figures 
and descriptions of Humbolt, and the inspection of our present plant, which 
leads me to suspect that it may connect together as varieties G. mollis and 
G, elongata. 

Whole plants villous. Stem (five feet high) shrubby, mach branched ; 
branches ascending. Leaves (three to six inches long, and one and a quar- 
ter to two and a quarter broad) opposite and decussating, petiolate, lanceo- 
late, acaminate, neatly and subequally serrated, somewhat harshly pubescent 
and bright green above, white with soft tomcntum below. Umbels four 
flowered, villous, shorter than the leaves; peduncle shorter than the petiole; 
pedicels about two thirds of the length of the peduncles ; bractez two, 
opposite, lanceolate, at the subdivision of the umbel, Flowers unilateral. 
Calyx with small, spreading, ovatosubulate segments. Corolla (one inch 
Jong, half an inch across) tubular, clavato-ventricose, dilated and somewhat 
fleshy at its base. Stem contracted, and after being dilated, again slightly 
contracted at its mouth; villous on the outside, glabrous within; limb 
spreading, lobes subequal, rounded, crenate. Stamens inserted into the base 
of the corrolla, and rising to the throat; filaments pubescent; anthers dive- 
ricated at the base, where the connective is dilated, cucullate and fleshy, 
fifth stamen rudimental. Pistil pubescent; stigma minute, truncated; style 
bent at its base, compressed; germen more than half imbedded in the ad- 
hering calyx, and surrounded at its free apex with five glands. Ovules 
numerous, and mipute. 


ONCIDIUM PULVINATUM. Cushion Oncidium. { Bot. Reg. 42. 
GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. ORCHIDACES. 


W., Harrison, Esq., sent this charming species from Rio Janeiro, in 1834, 
to R. Harrison, Esq., of Aighburgh, near Liverpool. It is equal to Oncidium 
altissimum in stature, producing a panicle of numerous flowers, three yarda 
long. The flowers are one inch across of a golden yellow, marked and spot« 
ted with blood colour, It is a very desirable species, 

Vox, VII, No. 80, BE 


234 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


PART III. 
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES, 


On Pansigs.—When is the time to increase Pansies, so as to have them in 
a condition the best adapted to endure the winter? Is it usual to keep them 
through the winter in the open air, or to preserve some of the choice kinds 
in the greenhouse? Pe 


(Thrives best in pots, kept in a cool frame.—Conp.) 


On Gerantums, &c.—Having a little collection of plants growing in beds, 
but which are principally Geraniums, would you, or any of your readers, be 
so obliging as to inform me, through your Magazine, how I can preserve 
them in the winter, having neither frame nor pot. Do you think cutting 
them down as soon as they have bloomed, and, about October, burying them 
in saw-dust, would succeed ? Louisa, 


(We have seen that mode tried and the roots kept alive, but they grew 


very weakly the following season. It is far preferable to take the plants up, _ 


and place them as close as possible in a wicker basket, or box, and after 
filling up with soil, water them, and they may be kept in a cellar or kitchen, 
where it is cool; and plant eut in spring.—Conp.) 


ON THE CRITERION OF A DAHLIA FLower.—The Gonductor of the Cabinet 
would oblige many of his readers by informing them whether it is proper to 
take out the eye, (centre) of a Dahlia flower, before shewing it at an exhi- 
bition, and whether a flower so treated should be disqualified or not ? 

The question is asked in consequence of a dispute about the matter; one 
party considering it right to ‘‘take as much of what is judged to be defective 
from a flower as the person pleases, but, add nothing to it; whilst the other 
party contends, “let the flower be as it naturally grows, to be so taken from 
the plant, and thus exhibited. 

If the latter be the condition, not even a defective petal can be allowed to 
be taken away without violation of the rule, in which case a pan of flowers 
in a perfect state would very rarely be seen, An answer in the September 
Cabinet will be esteemed a favor by Hore, 


(It is certainly not only our own decided opinion, but one, we believe, 
pretty generally admitted amongst growers, that every Dahlia bloom having 
the centre taken out is totally disqualified, and that a bloom having only 
some one or two defective petals extracted is not disqualified, and for seve- 
ral reasons, a primary one of which, is, that there are several kinds of 
Dahlias very rarely producing blooms without an imperfect centre, the taking 
out of such, and causing the inner petals to close over and conceal the hol- 
low made by taking out the eye, deceives the spectators in a very material 
point, being an artifice, which, (from the circumstance of their being pro- 
hibited to touch a flower,) they are not likely to discover. By the deception 
thus practised, a false impression of the qualities of a flower is received and 
subsequently a number of plants are ordered, in many cases, solely to grow 
for competition, at exhibitions, these when blooming, not only create much 
dissatisfaction, but, depending upon what appeared possitively to be a good 


1 
7 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 235 


flower, the parties being misled are thus prevented having desirable flowers 
to shew, and thereby excluded from having a fair chance of obtaining the 
prizes. We have known several instances of this sort. 1f the evil was not 
even of a greater extent, than an attempt by disguise to deceive the censors, 
as it might do in instances where the exhibition is of great extent, and suf- 
ficient time is not allowed, so as to have an opportunity of minutely exami- 
ning into the centre of each bloom. Not only the bloom so operated upon, 
or stand containing such bloom or blooms, should be rejected; but the 
exhibition of such ever after excluded the society, if it is ascertained he 
previously understood such proceedings would not be tolerated. In order to 
prevent any disputes of this kind, there ought to be a rule relative to it, and 
embodied in the general rules of the society, and also printed on the schedule 
of particulars. 

With respect to extracting defective petals, it is perfectly admissible, and 
to which no individual can reasonably object, as it does not make any ma- 
terial alteration whatever in the general character of a flower. Every 
grower knows that in the most desirable and perfect kinde, imperfect petals 
are from some causuality frequently produced, the removal of which adds to 
the symmetry of the bloom, whilst at the same time it does not give a false 
impression as to its real character. When such a deformed petal is discov- 
ered in a bloom intended for exhibition, it is usual to remove it immediately 
and not leave it to remedy when about to be shewn.—Conp.) 


REMARKS, 


On Cuinese GArpens.—The article on the Chinese Gardems is entertaining ; 
when you have given us the whole; let me suggest to you the Gardens of 
another country which it would not only be entertaining but useful to obtain 
very minute particulars of. 1 allude to the winter gardens of Russia: with 
the few hours of day light and their severe winters, how are they managed ? 
what degree of heat compensate for want of sun? and what plants are placed 
in them? these are particulars which you could obtain for us: would be most 
highly welcome to every gardener we should acquire more information in’ the 
department of forcing than we now possess. And every person of large 
fortune would be desirous of possessing a conservatory so constructed that 
he could walk or sit there, surrounded by shrubs and odriferous plants, in 
the chill, damp and dreary days of December and January when no comfort 
could be found ont of doors, in the streets, or fields. Or lighted up in the 
evening it might be made delightfully attractive by blending with plants and 
flawers, beautiful statues, vases, &c., in another retreat, the open fires that 
heat the flues may form a room surrounded with cases of staffed specimens 
of Nature, history, Books &c-on the subject; in another, fossils and mine- 
rals. The centre colonade would admit of any degree of Length, or width 
for a promenade of affording plenty of exercise. 

A WorkING GARDENER. 

(We will attend to the suggestions of our Correspondent.—Conp.) 


it has often struck me, that fruit and seeds might be protected from the 
depredations of birds, by placing imitations of cats and hawks, made of 
wood and painted in proper colours, with glass eyes, under the bushes; and 
if the heads were made (like the Chinese images) to nod with the wind, it 
would give the appearance of life. 


Crematis, StesaLpii and CLematis CaruLea GaANDIFLORA.—Are found 
to be perfectly hardy, both kinds having stood through winter, planted at 
the foot of a south aspected wall, and not having any other protection- We 
have seen plants pushed three or four feet high this season May 30th, and 
in profuse bloom, Such valuable acquisitions to our hardy climbers deserve 
a place wherever practicable. They grow freely and bloom profusely. 
Nothing more is required in their treatment than to be planted on a dry 


236 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


sub-soil, and have a rich loamy soil. We have reeently seen some fine 
specimens grown in the greenhouse, and trained to various formed. wite 
trellis’s, they had a beautiful appearance; one plant, G.Siebaldii, had near 
three hundred flowers upon it. Trained up a post to a wire frame in a flower 
garden or along a fence round a flower bed it would be beautifully neat. 

The most common method of propagating these plants is by layers. By 
securing each bud of the shoots to be layered at a trifling distance below the 
surface of the soil, they will soon push root, and by the severance of the shoot 
between the buds, a quantity of plants, equal to the number of buds, will be 
obtained, A very quick mode oF increase however, is that of grafting, them 
into the stock of the common kind of clematis. A young shoot (not too ten- 
der) inserted into a strong stock, soon unites and grows rapidly. Inarching 
the kinds upon a common and vigorous sort is the most certain and quickest 
mode of increase, and where practicable should be resorted to. Cnttings of 
the old shoots are struck with difficulty, and young ones often damp off ; 
when plants are obtained by cuttings, they are not so liable to be lost as 
grafted or inarched ones are, for if even cut down, by a very severe winter, 
or other casuality, to within a few inches of the ground they will push again, 
but when a plant raised by the other modes dies down to hae it was insert- 
ed the kind is lost.—(Conp.) 


VEGETATION OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE AND VAN DIEMAN’S 
LAND, 

How I thought of you at the Cape, that Paradise of fowers! though the 
first bloom was over on our arrival, yet enough was left to show what had 
been, nor without seeing can you imagine the profusion ; there are actually 
no weeds. Our favorite little blue Lobelia is the chickweed of the place 
the ditches and all damp places are filled with Cape Lillies, Heaths of all 
colours, the Erica, I believe coccinea, growing very high, Diosmas, Crassulas, 
&c. &c. I saw a great deal of the Cape, we were above a fortnight there, 
and travelled above a hundred and eighty miles into the interior. With the 
general appearance of the country I was disappointed, there are no trees. 
The silver tree, a Protea, is the highest indigenous plant that I saw. There 
are oaks in and about Cape Town, Constantia, Wyneberg, &c. and indeed 
wherever a house is built, a few trees are planted for shade, butthe country 
for miles has nothing higher than heath, and for the greater part ofthe year 
is sterile looking. But in the season the whole face is covered with flowers ; 
and sucha face! fancy acres of heaths, of all colours, interspersed with 
Gladioles, Ixias, Watsonias, Babianas, Lachenalias, &c. without end, all 
growing and flourishing in their native luxuriance. Some bunches of Mes- 
embryanthemums near Sir Lowry Cole's pass were actually too bright to look 
at. Ilived in one constant whirl of delight, that extacy in which we behold 
perfection. I could not see fast enough. Most of the Ixias were out of bloom, 
but their remains were like patches of a hay-field in seed, only the stems 
closer together. Mrytle hedges were eight and ten feet high; the one I saw 
at Sir John Herschell’s must have been more, and as close and substantial 
as our best holly hedges. We visited Villette’s and Baron Ludwig,s garden, 
but where the whole country is a garden, these were of less interest. The 
Melia Azedarach, with its sweet lilac blossoms, is a beautiful and ornamental 
tree which I did not see wild. We visited the Constantias; Great Constantia 
is beautiful, the soil is white, and looks like lime and sand intimately 
mixed. I thought of our gardener’s recommendation of lime rubbish for 
vines, : 

- To the Cape, Van Diemen’s Land isa direct contrast. This is acountry 
of hills, fringed to the very top, and perhaps about the thickest vegetation in 
the world. Allis evergreen, and one dense mass of gloom. At first sight it 
is sombre enough, but hike a dark beauty it has its charms: the wood is chiefly 
“‘eum” (Eucalyptus), growing tv an immense height, and throwing its long 
white arms about in a wild Salvator style. The young “gums” are beantiful, 
and their new shvots of reddish brown lightening into a paler hue, and deep- 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 237 


ening into myrtle green, with the light new shoots of the ‘‘ wattle” (Acacia), 
give a rich beauty of colouring, delightful to the eye of a painter. Nature 
here must be painted to the life, there is nothing to soften. 

There is a harshness and dryness in the texture of vegetation here that 
is very peculiar ; even their kangaroo grass (Anthistiria australis }, which is 
considered so nourishing, is hard and hairy, or rather wiry. The flowering 
shrubs are extremely pretty, but the flowers are very small. The Epacris 
impressa is in great quantities every where; but Heaths have not as yet been 
successfully cultivated here, and there are none native. The soil is very dry. 
But cultivation of any kind is only creeping in; a Horticultural Society has 
this last year been formed at Launceston, and it is to be hoped knowledge 
and emulation may thus be excited ; hitherto sheep, sheep, foes one end of 
the country to the other, with little more cultivation than each farm requires, 
land cheap, and labour dear, have caused this state of Henne 3 but the mini- 
mum price of land is now raised, and most of it is so bad that its value is 
far below that. Settlers must now rent from the great landholders, and the 
rescources of the country must be made available. With science and 
judgement every thing and any thing may be done here: wherever English 
trees are planted there they flourish, but they ere few andfar between, The 
Sweetbriar is now seen in the woods, and grows to animmense size. The 
quantity of flowers and fruit, such as they are, is beyond belief, but there 
are none of the best kinds. Think of grafts here bearing the first year; an 
earnest of what might be. I succeeded in bringing here alive, but in bad 
health, the Lillies of the Valley which you gave me; four leaves are green, 
the only morsel in the Southern hemisphere. 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS, 


Ttecently noticed at various Nurseries and Floral Exhibitions. 
(Continued from page 215.) 


Acacia cuneata—This plant, from the Swan River, has been raised at 
Vienna by Baron Hugel. It appears to have glaucous wedge-shaped trun- 
cated phyllodia, and solitary yellow capitula, whose peduncle is nearly half 
the length of the leaf. It does not entirely agree with the definition given by 
Mr. Bentham, both the angles of the phyllodia being tipped with a spine, the 
midrib forking above the middle, Back of its arms being directed towards an 
angle, and the peduncles being much longer than the stipules, as well as much 
shorter than the phyllodia. 

Conostylis juncea,—A rigid herbaceous plant, with leaves from six inches 
to a foot long, at the base of which grow heads of campanulate erect flowers. 
The tube of the perianth is yellowish green, covered with harsh hairs ; the limb 
is divided into six, equal, acuminate segments, deep yellow at the base, 
whitish at the point, the stamens are six, and inserted equally into the throat 
ofthe perianth. It is a pretty greenhouse herbaceous plant, found on the 
south coast of New Holland by Baron Hugel, and raised at Vienna, where it 
has flowered. 

Centaurea pulcra.—This most beautiful annual has been raised in the gar- 
den of the Horticultural Society from seeds collected in the north of India by 
Dr. Falconer. The leaves are narrow and hoary. The scales of the invo- 
Jacre are green, bordered with a silvery pectinated margin ; the flowers are 
the deepest blue in the circumference and violet in the centre. No plant can 
be more worthy of cultivation as a hardy annual, 

Dichza ochracea.—A small Demerara plant, with narrow leaves, and 
pale yellow-ochre-coloured flowers, Messrs. Loddiges obtained it from 
Demerara. 

Epidendram Candolleii—The flowers are of a dull brown, with a dull 
yellow lip, striped with the same colour. It is a Mexican plant. 


238 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Erysimum Perofskianum.—This very pretty hardy annual plant, with bright 
orange sweet-scented flowers, has been raised in the garden of the London 
Horticultural Society, from seeds collected in the north of India by Dr. Fal- 
coner, 

Grevillea Thelemaniana.—A beautiful New Holland shrub, with numerous 
racemes of crimson flowers, and narrow pinnatifid leaves. It has recently 
been raised at Vienna by Baron Hugel. 

Glaucium rubrum.—This plant, a native of Asia Minor, and of Rhodes, is 
now a common biennial, under the name of G. elegans, It has handsome 
popes ed flowers, not so large, bat much richer than those of the common 

orned poppies. 

Malva mauritiana.—This beautiful hardy annual, a native of Algiers, has 
lately been recovered by the French, who histe dispersed it under the name 
of the Zebra Mallow. It has pale blush flowers, deeply stained with rich 
purple veins. 

Oncidium unicorne.—This is a pretty little species, with a compound 
straggling raceme of pale yellow flowers, The singular horn on the lip, to 
which it owes its name of: the ‘‘ Unicorn,” at once distinguishes it from all 
Species previously described. It has bloomed at Messrs Rollinsons. 

Papayer amcenum.—A beautful annual poppy, raised by the Horticultural 
Society from seed sent from the north of India by Dr. Falconer. Its leaves 
are smooth and glaucous : its petals a most brilliant vermillion pink with a 
whitish base. , 

Pimelea prostrata.—This is a little shrub, with small decussating glaucous 
smooth leaves, hairy branches, and little lateral heads of white flowers, called 
in the gardens P. nove zelandice. It is said to be a native of arid 
mountains in New Zealand. Its appearance is neat and pretty, but by no 
means showy. 

Saponaria perfoliata.—An annual, with small pink flowers. 

Veronica formosa.—This pretty small-leafed shrub, white-flowered, ever- 
green and hardy, inhabiting the highest mountains\of Van Diemens Land, 
has lately flowered in the gardenof the Horticultural Society. Its power 
of existing in water only is quite extraordinary. 

Wistoria atrosanguinea, synonym, W. floribunda.—Seeds of this new spe- 
cies were sent to this country from Australia, by Mr. Drummond; we have 
not heard of its blooming in this country yet, but specimens of its flowers 
have been recieved from Australia, and were in form like the W. Sinensis, 
but somewhat larger, and of a deep blood colour. It will doubtless prove 
a valuable acquisition to that class of plants; we saw a fine plant of it at 
the Clapton Nursery. 

Czeloquesia aromatica.—A greenhouse plant of some merit, not yet bloom- 
ed in this country that we have heard of. Mr. Low possesses it. 

Banisteria tenuis—A greenhouse climber with yellow flowers, and is 
showy when in bloom, it is well deserving a place with that interesting tribe 
(climbers) of plants. At Mr. Low’s. 

Kennedya inophylla.—Plants of this new and fine species are now to be 
had at one guinea each. [Its fine coloured flowers, produced plentifully, 
recommends it to every collection of greenhouse plants. All the Kennedyas 
are most desirable plants for training up pillars, or over a wire frame of in- 
teresting form. At Mr. Low’s. 

Epacris onosmifolia.—This new species has not bloomed in this country 
that we have heard of, we saw a plant of it at Mr. Low’s. 

Fabiana imbricata,—This new plant very much resembles a white-flower- 
ing Erica, somewhat resembling E. Boweil, or a white flowering Menziezia 
pohfolia alba, but having larger flower. The habit of the plant is that of the 
latter; at present it is very rare, but when seen in profuse bloom it is very 
interesting, and will merit a place in every collection. We saw it at the 
aoonnes nursery, it is also in the collection of Messrs, Lucombe and Pince, 

xeter, 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 239 


Anigozanthus Manglesii.—We saw some fine specimens of this interesting 
plant in bloom at Mr, Henderson's, Pine Apple Nursery. Captain Mangles 
Rt. N. has greatly enriched the collections in this country by many valuable 
acquisitions from the Swan River, and other places; and the floriculturalists 
of this country are under great obligations to that Gentleman for the disin- 
terested zeal, and great expence, that he has incurred, therein. The flower 
of this species we saw in bloom, and referred to above, has a green coloured 
limb, and the tubular part is of a bright scarlet, and very densely clothed 
with red hairs. It is ornamental for the greenhouse, and equally so when 
grown in the open bed during summer. 


Dilwynia Speciosa.—A very showy flowering new species, well deserving * 
to be in every greenhouse ; the neat yellow and red flowers produced ; being 
very showy. 

“Lillium Tenuifolium.—The flowers of this species are of a deep-red, each 
blossom being about two inches across, of the turban form. The plants we 
saw at Mr. Low’s were grown in the Greenhouse, and the flower stem about 
half » yard high ; butit is very probable that it flourishes in the open border 
during summer. The small, neat, and fine coloured flowers, strongly re- 
commended it: to any collection. ; 

Lillium Thunbergianum.—We saw this new species at Mr. Low’s but it 
was not in bloom. 

Arbatus procera.—This fine leayed species, Mr. Low informed us, is quite 
hardy, it merits a place in every shrubbery, its leaves being not only large, 
but of a fine green. 

Arbutus tomentosa.—This is found to be hardy, it is very singularly 
covered with hairs, plants are offered by Mr. Low at two guineas each, 

Peeonia festiva albiflora.—Mr. Low possesses this new and fine plant, the 
flowers are delightfully fragrant, very large, and showy, they are white, with 
a tinge of crimson on the edge of the petals, The price per plant is twelve 
guineas. 


Kennedya Nova spec.—Some time back we received seeds of this new spe- 
cies from Edward Young-Esq., Caddington, near Newark; and have been 
successtul in raising a plant. We have been informed by a gentleman 
who has seen the species in bloom, that the flowers are of a very large size, 
and of a fine scarlet colour ; the plant is a very vigorous grower, with the 
habit of the K. rubicunda, but of morerapid growth, and producing numerous 
branches, It is said very far to exceed in beauty auy other species yet dis- 
covered. Its large fine scarlet and numerously produced flowers, rendering 
it very showy. 

Tweedia grandiflora,—The plant in its appearance is very like Pceonica 
tenifolia. The flowers are of a pale blue rosy purple. 

Rossiz.—Mr. Henderson had in bloom three new species of this neat and 
interesting tribe, the flowers of one was entirely yellow, another, nearly all 
of a dark brown with a yellow keel, each kind is very pretty and when to be 
purchased deserve a place in every greenhouse. 


Nuttallia cordata—This pretty species has bloomed at the Nursery of Mr. 
Young’s Epsom. The flowers are of pretty rose colour and when grown in 
contrast with the higher coloured kinds, produced a pretty effect. 

Nattallia Malvifolia —Mr. Young also possesses this new species, but we 
understood it had not bloomed with him. 

Epacris ceriflorus.—This very ueat flowering species produces its beautiful 
white flowers in a dense mass, in spikes of a foot or upwards long. It ought 
to he in every greenhouse. 

Viburnam Japonicum.—A very fine species, with leaves about ten inches 
long, and four broad, of a fine deep green. If this prove hardy, it will be a 
fine addition to the shrubbery. This species is growing in the collection at 
the Epsom Nursery. 

Ruelzia fragrans.—A hardy evergreen Shrub. The plant bas a powerfub 
scent like Pot Marjoram, ‘This is in the collection at Epsom, 


240 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCK. 


Bauhinia forficata.—A leguminons flowered plant, recently bloomed in the 
stove at the Glasgow Botanic Garden. The flowers are about six inches 
across, of a pure white, produced on a pendant raceme of ten or twelve on 
each. 

Clethra tomentosa.—It appears to be known too as.a variety of the Clethra 
admifolia, that kind it appears inhabits the middle and northern states of 
America, whilst the present kind is only found in the southern states. Itisa 
pretty flowering hardy shrub producing numerous erect, long racemes of 
white flowers; It well deserves a place in every shrubbery, as does the C. 
Admifolia. The flowers are not only pretty, but very fragrant. The shrubs 
grows about a yard high, bushy ; and blooms from July to the end of the 
summer. 

Dendrobium bicamuratum.—Has bloomed in the collection of George 
Barker Esq., Springfield, Birmingham. It had been collected in India by Mr. 
Gibson, for the Duke of Devonshire, the flowers are produced in fours, small, 
of a dull yellow, spotted and streaked with purple. 

Gongora nigrita.—Imported by S. Rucker, Junr. Esq., Streatham Hill, from 
Demerara. The flowers are in colour of a deep puce coloured velvet. 

Spirea cuneifolia.—Discovered in the cold parts of India, and seeds sent 
to the Hort. Society. Itis found to be a hardy shrub, producing numerous 
compact, corymbose panicles of white flowers. 

Spirea vaccinifolia.—Also obtained from India and found to be hardy pro- 
ducing compact panicles of white flowers, 

Spirea laxiflora.—Also from India and hardy. The flowers are white but 
are produced in loose shagey panicles, 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER. 


Prant stove.—Plants of Cactases that have been kept in the open air or 
greenhouse, now put into the stove, will bloom immediately. 


GREENHOUSE-PLANTS.—Those plants that were removed into the green- 
house last month, should have plenty of air given them every mild day ; 
but the lights should be close shut up at night, also when cold, damp, wet, 
or other bad weather prevails, excepting a little at the doors about the middle 
of the day. The plants should not be watered in the broad-cast manner, 
as it is termed, but should be attended to singly, so that no plant may be 
watered, but what is actually dry. To water in the evening is detrimental 
to the plants and ought to be avoided. Camellias, if wanted to flower early, 
should now be placed in a stove. 

FLOWER GARDEN, &c.—-Auriculas must now be removed to their winter 
quarters and all dead leaves picked off. Carnation layers potted off should 
be placed for ‘protection during winter. Offsets ofthe herbaceous kinds of 
Calceolarias in beds or borders, should now be potted of. ‘Cuttings of all 
greenhouse plants that have been grown in the open border, in bed, &c. such 
as Heliotropes, Geraniums, shrubby Calceolarias, should be taken off as early 
as possible in the month, and be struck in heat, in order to have a supply of 
beds, &c. the next year. Hyacinths and other bulbs, should be potted early 
in the month for forcing. Seeds of Schizanthus, Stocks, Salpiglossis, and 
similar kinds of plants wanted to bloom early next season, should be sown 
the first week in the month in pots, and be kept from frost during winter. 
Perennial and biennial flowers may be divided, and planted off where in- 
tended to bloom next year. A cover of soil round the roots should be given 
to Dahlias, lest a sudden frost coming should injure the crown buds. Seeds 
of all kinds of flowers not yet gathered, should be collected early in the 
month or they will be liable to injury by frost. 


(REFERENCE TO PLATE.—See next month.) 


THE 
FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


NOVEMBER Ist, 1839. 
PART I. 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, 


~~ PPE AR 


ARTICLE I. 


REMARKS ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 
BY CLERICUS. 
Tuerre is perhaps no season in which the fiowering shrubs of Bri- 
tish Gardens make so brilliant a display as in May, June, and July, 
particularly in the latter month, from the addition of the rhodo- 
dendrons and roses. In this respect we have great advantages 
over our ancestors, for rearly all the most beautiful of our 
flowering shrubs are of modern introduction. The different 
ornamental kinds of Ribes, the American barberries, and many 
other of our most beautiful shrubs, have been introduced since 
1824, and two thirds of the remainder since 1810. It is amusing 
and scarcely credible to see how very few ornamental shrubs and 
low trees were known to our ancestors. In the days of Queen 
Ann, and of George I., almost the only ornamental trees and 
shrubs were variegated hollies, and a few of the commoner kinds 
of roses. What our ancestors wanted in the varicty, and, we may 
add, quality, of their shrubs, was however, made up in the great 
quantity of each sort that was planted. High box, yew, or holly 
hedges, wildernesses of hornbeam, and bowers of roses, were 
the staple ornaments of their pleasure grounds, and a few lilacs 
and laburnams were introduced by those who wished it to be 
thought that they possessed a taste for botany. During the whole 
reign of Ann, according to Loudon’s *“* Arboretum Britannicum,” 
not above half a dozen flowering shrubs were introduced ; and in 
Vou, VII. No. 81 FF 


242 ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 


the reign of George I. not above nine or ten more. Aboutthe 
middle of the century, the American rhododendrons and kalmias 
began tobe planted in English gardens ; and from that period to 
the present time, the taste for, and, consequently, the importation 
of foreign trees and shrubs have increased so rapidly, that be- 
tween 1811 and 1830 above seven hundred new ornamental trees 
and shrubs were introduced into British pleasure grounds. The 
finest trees and shrubs of these introductions have also speedily 
become well known and in general cultivation, and instead of 
lingering for a century or two as formerly, in the hands of a few 
individuals, they are now found to spread in a few years, even be- 
fore they have lost the first freshness and bloom of their novelty, 
into cottage gardens; and the demand increases so fast, that 
collectors are at this moment in almost every unexplered region 
of the globe catering for the vigorous appetite that has been 
created, 

One of the most beautiful, and, at the same time, one of the most 
numerous, families of flowering shrubs now cultivated in our gar- 
dens, consists of the numerous’ species bélonging to’ the genus 
Ribes. Nearly all the ornamental species of this genus are of 
quite recent introduction. Till lately, but few persons had any 
idea that the genus Ribes included any plants worth cultivation 
but the common gooseberry and the red and black currants; for 
though some few other species were introduced about the middle 
of the last century, they were not sufficiently ornamental to attract 
general notice. In 1812, the first really ornamental kinds of Ribes 
were introduced, viz. those with yellow flowers. The handsom- 
est of these (Ribes aureum) has large golden yellow flowers, which 
generally appear in May, and which are succeeded by blackish 
yellow fruit, very inferior to the common currants of our gardens 
in size and flavour. The shrub grows from four to six feet high. 
The common yellow-fowered currant is one of the earliest flow- 
ering kinds, but there is a variety of it which does not flower till 
the middle of June. 

In 1822, Ribes multiflorum was introduced; and though its 
flowers are green, they are, perhaps, more beautiful than those of 
any other species, on account of the long and elegant drooping 
racemes in which they are disposed. This species flowers a 
fortnight or three weeks later than the other kinds, and it is one 
of the very few species of this genus that are found wild in Europe, 
it being a natiye of Croatia. Though a most abundant flowerer, 


mm | 


ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 243 


it Seldom produces fruit: and the fruit, when it does appear, is a 


red currant of small size and very little flavour; the leaves are 
large and handsome ; and the whole shrub, though seldom grow- 
ing to a large size, forms a vigorous, healthy-looking and compact 
bush. It is comparatively little known; but it is sufficiently 
common in the nurseries to be sold at a low price: while, as it is 
quite hardy, it requires very little care in its cultivation. 

Ribes sanguineum, the red-blossomed currant, was introduced 
in 1826 ; and when we look at the immense number of these shrubs 
lately planted in the Horticultural Society’s garden, aud consider 
how many are scattered over the country, it seems scarcely cre- 
dible that so short a time has elapsed since its introduction. The 


- history of this shrub is rather curious; it was discovered about 


fifty years ago on the north-west coast of America, by Archibald 
Menzies, Esq., who was surgeon and botanist to the expedition 
under Captain Vaucouver. But though this gentleman brought 
specimens of the flowers to England, no farther notice was taken 
of the shrub; and it was never introduced till seeds of it were sent 
home by Donglas.in 1826. There is a variety of it now sold with 
flowers of a fine scarlet colour. Ribes speciosum was discovered 
by Mr. Menzies in the same manner, and specimens of it brought 
home, though the living plant was not introduced till 1829. The 
flowers of the latter plant are scarlet, and bear a slight resemblance 
to those of the fuchsia ; but they are too small, and too widely 
apart to make so brilliant a show as those of Ribes sanguineum ; 
the fruit of Ribes speciosum is a gooseberry, but it has no flavor; 
that of Ribes sanguineum is a black currant, resembling in appear- 
ance and taste a bilberry. Ribes glutinosum is only a variety of 
R. sanguineum, with paler flowers, and a slightly viscid stem. Ribes 
malvaceum is another variety, with flowers that have a lilac tinge ; 
and there is another variety of Ribes sanguineum, which is always 
acknowledged to be such, and which has deep scarlet flowers. 
Ribes niveum, introduced in 1826, and Ribes cereum, in 1827, 

have white ewes those of the latter species being sufficiently 
large to be showy. The leaves of R. cereum are round, and 
covered with a white waxy substance, whence the plant pias its 
name. Ribes nivum is almost the only ornamental species of the 
genus that has a palatable fruit ; it is one of those species which 
form a link between the currant and the gooseberry ; it resembles 
in form, colour, and manner of growth, a black currant, but when 
cut open itis decidedly a gooseberry. Ithas a very agreeable and 


244 ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 


somewhat perfumed flavour ; and though rather tooacid to beeaten 
raw, it is excellent in pies and puddings. 

Ribes punctatum has bright yellow flowers, and fragrant ever- 
green leaves. It is a native of Chili, introduced in 1826, and is 
too tender to live without a wallin England. It is yet scarce, and ~ 
it has never ripened fruit in this country ; though, as it throws up 
suckers, which no other gooseberry does, it is easily propagated. 
It is very ornamental, and in warm sheltered situations it is cer- 
tainly well worth cultivating. 

The Escallonias are pretty little shrubs, introduced since 1827; 
the flowers of which, taken separately, bear some resemblance to 
those of the currant. Escallonia rubra has red flowers, produced 
singly, or in very small side bunches ; and E. montevidensis has 
white flowers, produced in a large handsome terminal bunch- 

The family of flowering shrubs which may be considered next in 
beauty to the currants consists of the Barberries and Mahonias ; 
these are very numerous, and they are all beautiful, though not 
half so much cultivated as they deserve to be. Every body 
knows the common barberry, (Berberis vulgaris), though but few 
persons are aware of its numerous varieties, the fruit of some 
which is sweet,—of others, seedless,—and of others yellow, white, 
violet, black, or purple. The barberry bears rather a bad repu- 
tation, from its alledged power of infecting corn growing near it 
with the mildew. Modern botanists have, however, proved that 
the parasitic plant, vulgarly called the mildew, which attacks the 
barberry, is of a different genus to that which attacks wheat. 

The pretty South American barberry (Berberis dulcis), which 
was introduced, in 1831, from the Straits of Magellan, has droop- 
ing, bell-shaped, yellow flowers, hanging on long footstalks, The 
berries are sweet, round, and black, not unlike black currants. 
The plant is quite hardy all evergreen. 

The Nepal barberries (Berberis floribunda, asiatica, and aris- 
tata) are all very handsome bushes, and produce abundance of 
flowers. The fruit of Berberis aristata, called Chitria by the 
natives, is dried in Nepal, as grapes are in Europe to make raisins. 
Berberis dealbata is a Mexican species, with evergreen leaves, 
which are of a glossy greem above, and white below, and scarcely 
any spines. This species is very scarce and dear, it being sold 
last year at a guinea a plant. 

The common ash barberry (Mahonia aquifolium) has glossy, 
helly-like leaves, and upright racemes of rich yellow flowers ; it 


ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 245 


is a native of North America, and was introduced in 1823. This 
Species was ten guineas a plant as late as 1830, but plants may now 
be procured in the nurseries at 3s. 6d, or 5s. each. This rapid 
fall in the prices of new plants, and, in short, of every thing that 
is new, is one of the most striking effects of the diffusion of know- 
ledge. Formerly, even so late, indeed, as the beginning of the 
present century, rare plants were only bought by wealthy indivi- 
duals, and they retained the high prices at which they were 
originally sold for many years afterwards, because there was not a 
sufficient demand for them to make it worth while to propagate 
them extensively ; now, no sooner is any thing new introduced, 
than it is known to every body, and every body wishes to possess 
it. 

There are several other species of ash barberry, all of which 
are in the gardens of the Horticultural Society at Turnham Green, 
and all of which bear their large branches of brilliant yellow flow- 
ers in May and June. 

The thorns begin to flower early in April, and continue till the 
latter end of Junie, the different species producing their flowers in 
succession ; the earliest is Crataegus purpurea : this is not a hand- 
some tree ; on the contrary, it hasa miserable, and rather astunted 
appearance, but its flowers are remarkable for their black anthers, 
and the fruit for the variety ofits colours, white, pale yellow, red, 
and purple haws being found on the same tree. C. nigra is an- 
other early blossoming kind, with very small black fruit; this tree 
is said to attract nightingales, because, according to Mr. Loudon, 
it is particularly liable to be attacked by insects, and because 
numerous caterpillars are to be found upon it about the time that 
nightingales are in full song.” 

In May and June appear the blossoms of the common hawthorn, 
and those of all its numerous varieties. Perhaps no tree has pro- 
duced more varieties than this. Loudon enumerates thirty kinds, 
and we believe thereare many more. The most remarkable of 
these is the Glastonbury thorn, which is generally in flower at 
Christmas. The Glastonbury thorn is, indeed, in leaf, flower, or 
fruit almost all the year ; and it has, generally, all three at once on 
itat Christmas, The original tree grows at Glastonbury; and, 
according to the legend, was the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, 
which being stuck into the ground on Christmas day miraculously 
took root, and instantly produced leaves, flowers, and ripe fruit, 
Queen Mary’s thorn has drooping branches, and long fleshy fruit, 

. 


246 ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 


which are good toeat. The original tree is said to be still stand- 
ing, and, if this be true, it must now be nearly 300 years old. 

The other varieties of the hawthorn have probably originated 
from seedlings observed in some hedge, and transplanted into a 
nursery. In this manner the new beautiful bright scarlet hawthorn 
was discovered, and also the double-flowered pink kind, which is 
so ornamental in our shrubberies, both when its blossoms first ex- 
pand, and are of a pure white, and when in about a fortnight they 
begin to take a pinkish tinge, which deepens gradually as they 
decay. Some of the varieties have bright yellow fruit, and in some 
it is quite black ; in some the leaves are shaped like those of the 
oak, and in others they are slender and deeply cut, like those of 
the fern. One kind grows stiff and upright, like the Lombardy 
poplar, and the branches of another kind are curled and twisted 
together like gigantic ringlets. In some the leaves are variegated, 
and in others smooth and shining: in short, it is scarcely possible 
to set any limits to the varieties. The red-blossomed hawthorn 
was one of the earliest discovered, it having been found in the time 
of Ray ; and we may easily imagine what a valuable acquisition it 
must have been to the slender stock of flowering shrubs posses- 
sed by our ancestors. It is somewhat remarkable that all the red- 
blossomed hawthorns have not been propagated from the same tree 
but that several red-blossomed seedlings have been found at 
different times, and at different places. Nearly all the other 
varieties appear to have been discovered accidentally ; and their 
number is accounted for by the fact of more plants of the hawthorn 
being raised from seed than of any other tree, from the great 
length of time that the hawthorn has been used for a hedge plant. 
There is a double white blossomed kind very handsome. 

The cockspur thorn is a noble species, and it has some singular 
varieties. One of these C. crus-galli salicifolia has a flat head, 
spreading like aminiature cedar of Lebanon. A dwarf sub-vari- 
ety of this, which does not grow more than five feet high, is well 


adapted for planting in children’s gardens. C. coccinea, or the — 


scarlet fruited-thorn, C. glandulosa, and C. punctata, are all well 

‘worth growing in a shrubbery, or on a lawn ; and whenseen to- 

gether, they will be found very distinct. 
The principal large-fruited thorns are Crategus Azarolus, C. 


Aronia, C. orientalis, or odoratissima, and C. tanacetifolia. These — 
plants are all late in flowering, seldom expanding even theirleaves — 


till the latter end of May or beginning of June, and being some-— 
é 


ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 247 


times much later. The fruit of all of them is not only eatable, 
but very good. C. Orientalis and C. tanacetifolia have both 
whitish leaves ; the fruit of the first is of a brilliant coral colour, 
and of the latter yellow. There isa variety of the first species 
with fruit of a port-wine colour; and Lee’s seedling variety of the 
latter is one of the handsomest plants of the genus. Notwith- 
standing the resemblance of the leaves, these two species are 
easily distinguished, not only by the colour of the fruit, but by 
their habits of growth ; C. orientalis being a handsome spreading 
tree, and C. tanacetifolia upright-growing. 

One of the late flowering varieties is C. parviflora, which does 
not flower till late in June, and which bears pear-shaped green 
fruit. The leaves of this species and its varieties, and of C. 
virginica, are very small, C. cordata is the latest flowering of all 
the kinds, as itrarely produces its flowers before the middle of 
July. There are many other species, and among others C, mi- 
crocarpa, with its brilliant bright scarlet fruit, and C. mexicana,. 
with its large yellow fruit, looking like golden pippin apples ; but 
we have said enough to show what ornamental plants the thorns 
are, not only in their flowers, but in their fruit. Crataegus, or 
mespilus pyracantha, may be added to the above, as it is a very 
ornamental shrub, not only from its evergreen leaves, but from 
its brilliant scarlet berries, which are so abundant as to occasion 
the French to call it buisson ardent. In short, every tree belong- 
ing to the genus is worth growing ; and I am glad to see that Mr. 
Loudon in the ‘Arboretum Britannicum,” and Dr. Lindley in 
the “ Botanical Register,” have contrived within the last two or 
three years to bring ornamental thorns into fashion. 

The amelanchiers, the commonest species of which is wellknown 
under the name of the snowy mespilus; the coteneasters with 
their coral berries ; the ornamental kinds of pyrus, including the 
mountain ash, the Siberian crab, the garland flowering apple-tree, 
and showy Chinese crab-tree ; the Photinia serrulata, with it large 
showy bunches of flowers, and beautifully-tinted leaves in spring 
and autumn; the loquat-tree, with its large woolly leaves ; the 


’ Nepal white-beam tree, and many others, deserve especial notice 


from the planter and landscape gardener. 
Among the flowering trees of May and June may be reckoned 
that splendid climber Wistaria sonsequana, or, as some call it, 


Glycine sinensis. The flowers of this tree resemble those of the 
laburnam in form, but are ofa delicate lilac. Nothingcan exceed 


\ 


248 ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 


the vigorous growth of this tree, or the profusion of its blossoms 5 
the specimen in the Horticultural Society’s garden at Turnham 
Green extends nearly eighty yards along the wall. This splendid 
plant is a native of China, from which country it was brought in 
1816. At its first introduction, and for a year or two afterwards, 
plants were six guineas each ; but they are now to be had inany 
nursery for a shilling or eighteen-pence. 

Next to the Wistaria may very appropriately be placed the la- 
burnums, which, notwithstanding their beauty, are now become so 
common as to be little valued. Some of these are sweet-scented 
and remarkably long in their drooping racemes of flowers. The 
purple-ftowered laburnam, as it is called, though in fact its blos- 
soms are of a dirty pink, is ahybrid between the common laburnum 
and the purple cytisus, and it possesses the extraordinary power 
of reproducing its parents. Trees of this kind in different parts 
of the country have bee:. Known to produce a sprig of the purple 
cytisus from one branch, and of the common laburnum from ano- 
ther, without any grafting, and yet each quite distinct. 

The Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) is another ornamental tree 
belonging to the Leguminose. This tree produces its pretty pink 
flowers on its trunk and thick branches, and the flowers have a 
slight acidity that makes them form an agreeable dish, when dip- 
ped in batter and fried as fritters. The tree takes its name from 
its being supposed to be that on which Judas hanged himself ; but 
Gerard gravely assured us that this was not the case as he hanged 
himself on an elder. 

The peat-earth plants belonging to the order Ericacee are a 
host in themselves. The rhododendrons, the kalmias, the arbutus, 
the heaths, and their allied species, are all so beautiful that no 
garden should be without them. The rhododendrons, it is well 
known, vary very much in the colour, though not much in the 
form, of their flowers, and some of the hybrids between the Nepal 
tree species andthe common kinds are extremely splendid. The 
rhododendrons are generally considered American plants ; but one 
of the commonest kinds, R. ponticum, is a native of Asia Minor. 
The number of varieties and hybrids of this species almost exceed 
belief ; between thirty and forty named kinds are in the nurseries. 
It has been said that honey, which Xenophon tells us produced 
so injurious an effect on the Greeks in their celebrated retreat, 
was produced by the flowers of this shrub ; but others attribute 
this poisonous honey to the Azalea pontica. 


ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 249 


Rhododendron catawbiense, so called from its principal habitat 
being near the head of the Catawba, is the most common American 
- species, and it is a great favourite, from its hardiness, and its 
being an abundant flowerer. The hybrids raised between this 
species and R. Aboreum, the Nepal tree rhododendron, are not 
only very handsome, but they are much hardier than those rais- 
ed between the Nepal species and R. ponticum ; and they stood 
out without protection during the severe frost of 1837.8, when all 
the hybrids raised from R. ponticum were killed. 

R. maximium is the tenderest of the American rhododendrons, 
and the longest before it flowers. The plant also is not healthy 
looking. It was introduced in 1736, but did not produce any 
flowers in England till twenty years afterwards. There are two 
varieties of this species, one with pure white, and the other with 
fragrant flowers. Besides these there are several dwarf rhodo- 
dendrons with leathery leaves, and small brilliant coloured 
flowers. 

Some of our modern botanists include the azaleas in the genus 
rhododendron ; and it is certain that the two kinds hybridise 
freely together. The commoner kinds of azalea, A. pontica, A. 
nudiftora; and A. viscosa, have produced almost innumerable hy- 
brids, some of which are very beautiful. Rhodora canadensis, 
another plant belonging to this order, is worth cultivating for the 
earliness of its flowering. 

The Nepal rhododendrons, and the Indian and Chinese azaleas, 
are very beautiful, but they require the protection of a green- 
house. 

The kalmias are called by the Americans, Calico flowers ; a 
name admirably adapted to express the peculiar appearance of the 
flower, which is more like an artificial flower cut out of cambric, 
muslin, or calico, than areal one. The different kinds of whor- 
tleberry and cranberry, the heaths, and all the newly made genera 
formerly comprised under the genus Erica, the Andromeda and 
the Arbutus, complete the list of these plants, all of which are 
splendid ornaments to the British gardens in June and July. In 
some places the rhododendrons and azaleas have been sown in the 
woods, as at High Clere and Bagshot Park. At these places and 
at Waterer’s nursery at Knaphill near Bagshot, these plants in the 
flowering season are completely a blaze of beauty. The rhododen- 
drons, grafted standard high in Waterer’s nursery, so as to form 

Vou. VII. No. 81. GG 


250 ON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 


small trees with drooping branches, are particularly beautiful, and 
would be very ornamental on a lawn. 

The roses are the last of the flowering shrubs that we shall here 
notice, and their beauty is so universally acknowledged, that itre- 
quires very littlecomment. The number and variety of the roses 
are not, however, generally known ; but it is a fact that Messrs. 
Loddiges, and Wood, of Maresfield, possess nearly two thousand 
named species and varieties. 

Amidst this wilderness ofsweets it would be difficult to choose, 
had not the whole mass been arranged by Messrs. Wood, Rivers, 
and others, under seventeen or eighteen different heads. Of the 
moss roses, there are twenty-four sorts, including the white moss, 
which is very delicate, and extremely difficult to keep alive, and 
the dark crimson moss, called the Rouge du Luxembourg. Of 
the cabbage or Provence roses there are twenty-five sorts ; these 
were the hundred-leaved roses of the ancients ; and as the flow- 
ers are, perhaps, more fragrant than those of any ‘other species, it 
is from these roses that rose-water and oil of roses are generally 
made. The perpetual roses, of which there are fifty kinds, are 
most beautifully tinted with a rich glowing colour ; and they are 
valuable for the great length of time that they continue producing 
flowers. There are eighty-nine sorts of the hybrid China roses, 
seventy of the China roses, fifty-one of the tea-scented, and twenty 
five of the white roses, all very beautiful and tolerably distinct. 
The conserve of roses, and other medical preparations of this 
flower, are prepared from the damask roses, of which there are 
twenty-five sorts, and the French or Provins roses, of which there 
are ninety-nine sorts. The French rose has less scent than most 
of the other kinds, and yet is often confused with the fragrant 
hundred leaved rose, from the similarity of the words Provins and 
Provence. The former of these names only signifies, however, a 
small place near Paris, where roses of this kind are grown in large 
quantities for the use of the Parisian druggists. 

Of the climbing roses there are fifty-three superior sorts ; and 
these, when trained on a wooden frame, or pegged down to cover 
a sloping bank, have a beautiful effect. The fairy roses, of which 
there are sixteen sorts,are very delicate and pretty ; and the 
noisette roses, of which there are sixty-six sorts, are very beau- 
tiful. Besides these, there are Macartney roses, musk roses, Isle — 
de Bourbon roses, Scotch roses, sweet briars, and many others. — 


ON THE DOUBLE YELLOW ROSE. 251 


One of the prettiest of thenew roses, of 1838 is the double yellow, 
or rather cream-colour sweet briar. There are many other 
flowering shrubs well deserving of notice, which I shall notice in 
subsequent papers. ’ 


August, 20th 1839. Crericus. 
ARTICLE II. 
ON THE DOUBLE YELLOW ROSE.—(Rosa suLPHUREA.) 
BY ROSA. 


On this most beautiful Rose Mr. Rivers, in his Rose Amateur’s 
guide remarks, ‘‘ The origin of this very old and beautiful rose, 
like that of the moss rose seems lost in obscurity. In the botan- 
ical catalogues, it is made a species, said to be a native of the 
Levant, and introduced into this Country in 1629, and never to 
have been seen in a wild state bearing single flowers. It is pass 
ing strange, that this double rose should have been always con- 
sidered a species. Nature has never yet given us a double flowering 
species to raise single flowering varieties from; but exactly the 
reverse. We are compelled, therefore, to consider the parent of 
this rose to be a species bearing single flowers. If this single 
flowering species was a native of the Levant, our botanists, ere 
now, would have discovered its habitats ; I cannot help, therefore, 
suggesting, that to the gardens of the east of Europe we must look 
for the origin of this rose, and to the Single Yellow Austrian Briar 
(Rosa lutea), as its parent : though that, ina state of nature, seldom 
if ever bears seed, yet, as Lhave proved, it will, if its flowers are 
fertilised. I do not suppose that the gardeners of the East knew 
of this, now common, operation; but it probably was done by some 
accidental juxta-position, and thus, by mere chance, one of the 
most remarkable and beautiful of roses was originated. From its 
foliage having acquired a glaucous pubescence, and its shoots a 
greenish yellow tinge, in those respects much unlike the Austrian 
Briar, I have sometimes been inclined to impute its origin to that 
rose, fertilised with a double or semi-double variety of the Damask 
Rose, for that is also an eastern plant. 

As yet, we have but two roses in this division ; the Double Yel- 
low, or “ Yellow Provence,” with large globular and very double 
bright yellow flowers, and the Pompone Jaune, or dwarf Double 
- Yellow, beth successively shy of producing full-blown flowers, 


208 ON THE DOUBLE YELLOW ROSE. 


though they grow in any moderately good soil with great luxuriance, 
and show an abundance of flower-buds ; but some ‘‘ worm 7’ the 
bud” generally causes them to fall off prematurely. To remedy 
this, various situations have been recommended ; some have said, 
plant it against a south wall ; others, give it a northern aspect, un- 
der the drip of some water-trough, as it requires a wet situation. 
All this is quackery and nonsense. The Yellow Provence Rose 
is a native of a warm climate, and therefore requires a warm situ- 
ation, a free airy exposure, and rich soil. 

At Burleigh, the seat of the Marquis of Exeter, the effect of 
situation on this rose is forcibly known. A very old plant is 
growing against the southern wall of the mansion, in a confined 
situation, its roots cramped by a stone pavement ; it is weakly, 
and never shows aflower-bud. In the entrance court is another 
plant, growing in front of a low parapet wall, in a good loamy soil 
and free airy exposure ; this isin a state of the greatest luxuriance, 
and blooms in fine perfection nearly every season. 

Mr. Mackintosh, the gardener, who kindly pointed out these 
plants to me, though the latter a distinct and superior variety, 
as it was brought from France by a French cook, a few years 
since ; but it is certainly nothing but the genuine old Double 
Yellow Rose. 

In unfavourable soils it will often flourish, and bloom freely, 
if budded on the Musk Rose, the Common China Rose, or the — 
Blush Boursault ; but the following pretty method of culture, I 
beg to suggest, though I must confess I have not yet tried it. Bud 
or graft iton some short stems ofthe Dog Rose ; in the autumn, 
pot some of the strongest plants, and, late in spring, force them 
with a gentle heat, giving plenty of air. By this method the dry 
and warm climate of Florence and Genoa may, perhaps, be par- 
tially imitated ; for there it blooms in such profusion, that large — 
quantities of its magnificent flowers are daily sold inthe markets | 
during the rose season. 

The Rose has very much engaged my attention for several 
years, in order to ascertain by what means the evil of the buds 
being injured, and dropping off might be avoided, and I am now 
enabled to state that if the following treatment be pursued a 
splendid bloom may certainly, and invariably, be obtained. 

The plant requires to have a good loamy soil, upon a dry 
substratum, moderately enriched. It must be planted against 
good aspected wall, either full south or as near as circumstance 
admit of the latter. 


~~ 


ON THE DOUBLE YELLOW ROSE. 253 


The plant must be trained as is done to apeach tree, and early 
in summer, when the shoots are young, a suitable portion must 
be secured by the wall, as is done to the peach, and all others be 
taking clean away. 

As soon as it is perceived the shoots have embryo buds upon 
them, a cover of canvas, or something that will cause shade, 
must be fixed so as to cover the entire plant. 

This shading is essential to success. Ifthe covering is placed 
so as to keep the rains from the border, recourse must be had to 
watering, also an occasioned sprinkling by means of syringe must 
be given over the foliage. 

When the blooming is over, the shading is no longer requisite, 
and its removal is necessary to palitate the ripening of the shoots 
for next year’s supply, which is an essential point to be obtained. 

My first success with blooming the rose successively was by the 
following circumstance. A plant was growing at the south side 
of avase placed on a pedestal, around which the branches were 
trained. At the blooming season I found all the buds on the 
South (sunny side) went off in the usual way, but all that portion 
of the plant which was on the shady side produced perfect bloom 
in perfection. 

It appears to me to be essential to obtain well ripened wood, 
and then to give shade during the period from buds being form- 
edtoblooming. These being obtained success is certain. Ihave 
a plant which now annually produces a profusion of fine flowers 
treated in the manner above specified. 

During the first summer that I trained the plant against the wall, 
a considerable quantity of young shoots was produced, in order 
to assist the shoots that had buds upon them, I cut off all others, 
which amounted to three parts of them, so sudden a destitution 
caused all the buds to drop off, but when the shoots are stripped 
off at an early stage this evil is entirely obviated. 


Sept. 4th, 1839. Rosa. 
ARTICLE III. 
ON THE CULTURE OF CLIANTHUS PUNICEUS, AS A STANDARD 
PLANT. 


BY CLERICUS. 
Tue Clianthus Puniceus is well worthy of a place in every col- 
lection, both for its beautiful foliage and pendant racemes of red 
flowers. When grown as a standard, it far surpasses in beauty 


Oba, ON THE CLIANTHUS PUNICEUS. 


and elegance any plant I have seen of its kind: I shall mention 
a few words regarding its culture as a standard. Select cuttings 
from a plant about the beginning of May or June; the cuttings 
should not exceed four inches in length, and taken from the same 
year’s growth ; recollect that the extremity or poimt of the cut- 
tings must not be pinched off. After making the cuttings, allow 
them to remain for a day or two before potting, to dry some of 
the superabundant moisture from them, which is an advantage 
gained by the cuttings rooting two days sooner. A 32-sized pot 
should be filled with white sand, and the cuttings inserted therein 
to the depth of two or more inches ; they will strike readily ina 
heat of 70 or 75 degrees ; if they are covered with a bell-glass the 
strike will be more successful. After struck, they should be 
potted off separately, in thumbs or small sixties, amongst a com- 
post of sand, leaf, loam, with a little well-decomposed cow-dung 
all well incorporated together ; when potted, they should be placed 
ina bottom heat tillthey have matured roots enough to support 
themselves. Then theyshould be removed, toa more airy situa- 
tion, either to a greenhouse or conservatory, and great care and 
attention must be paid to the repotting and watering, or without, 
the plants will soon form a sickly, stinted appearance. For to 
make good standards, all side-shoots must be pinched off as soon 
as they appear, training the plant up with a clear stem to the ne- 
cessary height required; then, after they have attained the required 
height, the tops should be pinched off; and that causes them to 
throw out latterals, and these latterals again stopped, makes them 
still to throw out the more, till at last the plants attain a most 
luxuriant head, richly decorated with thick but dense pale green 
foliage. When treated after the above method that I have laid 
down, then planted out in a conservatory, amongst good rich 
mould, one-half fresh loam, one-quarter leaf mould, and one- 
quarter decomposed cow-dung, along with a little vegetable mould 
and sand; all these to be well incorporated together, and a pit 
made for the reception of the plants three feet square, by two and 
a half deep, filling it up with the above composts, then insert the 
plant, putting it about an inch deeper than it was in the pot; then 
there should be a stake of durable wood procured to fasten it to. 
When planted out, it grows more luxuriant than in pots, and has 
always a more healthy appearance. When in flower, what can 
surpass it ? the bunches of pale red flowers hanging the one upon 
the other, out of a dense thicket, as it may be termed. 
CLERICUS. 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS, 255% 


PART IL. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


AGAVE SAPONARIA. The Soap Aloe. (Bot. Reg. 55. 
HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


This species, unlike the gigantic kinds A. americana, &c., flowers very 
freely and does not then perish. The blossoms are produced on a long spike, 
and before opening, have the appearance of a tuberose spike, they are green 
outside and yellow within; each flower is about an inch across. 

In Peru the plant is used as a substitute for soap. It requires but a sim- 
ple treatment to induce it to bloom freely. It must be kept in the greenhouse, 
dry in winter, and watered on the return of spring ; equal portions of loam 
and sand form a suitable soil in which it grows satisfactory. Agave, from 
Agavon, Admirable, alluding to its many useful purposes. 


AMYGDALUS INCANA. Hoary leaved. (Bot. Reg. 58. 
1COSANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


This species has been confounded with A. mana, but it is very different 
its leaves being thickly covered with hoariness beneath, whilst the A. nana 
is smooth on both sides; the leaves of the latter are finely serrated, and the 
other coarsely. The flowers are of a pale rose, each blossom being about 
half an inch across; the shrub is quite hardy, middle sized, and has bloomed 
in the shrubbery of Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart., Rolleston Hall, Derby. 


ANGELONIA GARDNERII. Mr. Gardner's. (Bot. Mag. 3754, 
DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. 


Mr. Gardener sent seeds of this pretty flowering species from Brazii to 
to the Glasgow Botanic Garden in 1838, and plants have bloomed this sum- 
mer in-the plant stove ; the plant appears to be half shrubby, growing erect 
to abont three feet high; the flowers are produced at the ends of the 
branches, in long fracteated racemes, they are of a fine purple, each having 
a white centre beautifully spotted with red, and being about an inch across. 
It is very probable it will be found to flourish well in the greenhouse, if so, 
it will be highly ornamental through the summer, Angelonia, from Angelon, 
the native name of one species, 


ARISTOLOCHIA CILIATA. Fringe flowered. (Bot. Mag. 3756. 
GYNANDRIA HEXANDRIA. 


Seeds of it were sent by Mr. Tweedie, from Buenos Ayres, to the Glasgow 
Botanic Garden, where a plant has bloomed; it appears to flourish in the 

reenhouse; the stem is weakly, vet not climbing. The flower is of a green- 
ish yellow outside, and internally of a deep purple brown, with yellow reti- 
culations, which produce a very pretty effect; the edge of the flower has a 
fine fringe near half an inch long which bas an interesting appearance, 


256 NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


BURRIELIA GRACILIS. Slender. (Bot. Mag, 3758. 
SENECCOIDEZ. SYNGENESIA SUPERFLUA, a 


This genus is nearly allied to Lasthenia; the present and two other spe- 
cies were discovered by Mr. Douglas, in California. ‘the present species is 
sometimes grown in our flower gardens under the name of Lasthenia Califor- 
nica; it is a hardy annual, flowering for several successive months. The 
plants rise from six to nine inches high, producing numerous solitary flowers, 
of a fine yellow, and when in masses has a very lively and showy appear- 
ance ; each blossom is rather more than an inch across, It is very useful as 
an edging for a flower bed or border, where the plants in the bed are of an 
opposite colour. 

‘ 


DANBENYA FULVA, Tawney colored. (Bot. Reg. 53. 
LILIACEA. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


A bulb of this singular flowering species had been sent from the Cape of 
Good Hope, but had probably been collected in Madagascar, or the East 
Coast of Africa, to Robert Barchard, Esq., of East Hill, Wandsworth. The 
flowers are produced in a central scape, and on a dense raceme, they are of 
a tawny colour, and produce little show. 


ERYSIMUM PEROFSKIANUM. Treacle Mustard. (Bot. Mag. 8757. 
CRUCIFERA, TETRADYNAMIA SILIQUOSA. 


A native of Persia, and is either annual or biennial ; the stem rises about 
half a yard high, branching, each branch terminating in a long spike of fine 
deep orange colored flowers, similar in appearance to a single flowered wall- 
flower; each blossom is about three-quarters of an inch across. The plant 
is found to flourish much better when grown in the open ground, being rather 
languid when grown ina pot. It is highly ornamental, and deserves a place 
in every flower garden or greenhouse; we recently saw some fine specimens 
of it in bloom, and doubt not but it will soon become general. 


ONCIDIUM TRULLIFERUM. Trowel-lipped. (Bot. Reg. 57. 
ORCHIDACEH, GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA, 


[Imported from Brazil, by Messrs. Loddiges’, where it has bloomed; the 
flowers are produced numerously upon a stiff and erect scape, they are yel- 
low, marked with red; the lip very much resembles in form a hricklayer's 
trowel. It is an interesting and pretty species, growing freely when culti- 
vated in the damp stove, either in a pot or secured to a piece of wood. 


LUPINUS BARKERI. Mr. Barker's. (Bot. Reg. 56. 
LEGUMINOSEZ. DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA. 


This new species was obtained by George Barker, Esq., Springfield, near 
Birmingham, from Mexico; the flowers are produced densely upon a long 
spike, and are of a mixture of lilac, blue, white, and rose, in the same flow- 
er; it may be treated asa half hardy annual or as a biennial. It continues 
to bloom trom June to the end of the season. 


LELIA ALBIDA. White flowered. (Bot. Reg. 54. 
ORCHIDACE®. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 


A native of the head quarters of Mexican Orchideaz, viz., Oaxaca ; it is 
the only Loelia which has white flowers. It has bloomed with J. Bateman, 
Esq., and Thomas Harris, Esq.; each flower is about two inches across. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 257 


PART IIL. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. 


On certain Hersaceous PLants.—A Correspondent would be glad to 
know where the following plants are to be obtained, and would feel obliged 
to any Nurseryman who may have them for sale, to state in the Floricultural 
Cabinet the prices. : 

Claytonia virginica, Trillium grandiflornm, Rhexia virginica, Gentiana 
Saponaria alba, Pulmonaria dahurica, Dodecathon gigantevm, Statiee sinuata, 
Alstreemeria ovata, Lilium catesbzea, Lilium Philadelphicum. 

He would also be very glad to know how Belladonna Lilies can be made 
to bloom well when cultivated out of doors. 


September 23rd, 1839. 


ON PREVENTING BULBS THROWING OUT SHOOTS DURING A Voyace.—Will 
you inform me throngh any of your correspondents, in what way roots, such 
as dahlias or bulbs, may be conveyed to the Antipodes, a four months 
voyage, so that they may not throw out any shoots in the intrim. 


August 26th, 1839. - S. 
P. S. I suppose the voyage to commence about February or March, 


On THe CuLTURE OF GeraniuMs.—In the Floricultural Cabinet for July, 
you promise your Subscribers to place before them the method of management 
of the splendid Geraniums exhibited at the Horticultural Exhibition the 
May preceding. 1 have been in anxious expectation of seeing the accom- 
plishment of your promise in one of the two successive Numbers, but with- 
out success, Will you permit me to remind you of this engagement, which 
is looked forward to by, doubtless, many of your readers, and by no one 
with greater desire than, yours very sincerely, 

A Subscriber from the commencement of your Work. 

September 25th, 1839. 


{Will be given in December Number.—Conp. ] 


REMARKS, 


Birmincham Grand Danita SHow.—The fourth of these annual exhi- 
bitions took plage at the Town Hall on Wednesday and Thursday the 11th 
and 12th of September, and for the number of exhibitors, the distance from 
which the flowers were brought and their great excellence, it has never, we 
believe, been equalled in the kingdom. ‘The entries for showing exceeded 
one hundred and fifty in number, and eighty-six stands of flowers (exclusive 
of seedlings) were slacad for competition. Mr. Edward Davis, of Bath, an 
amateur, was the successful competitor for the premier prize: the blooms ex- 
hibited by Mr. Sadler, gardener to Sir Charles Throckmorton, Bart., being 
the next best. The weather was unpropitious, hut the show was attended by 
@ very numerons and highly respectable company, ‘The following were the 
successful exhibitors : 

VoL, VH. No. 81. HH 


258 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Premier Prize—Silver Cup, value £20 manufactured by Messrs. Horton 
and Son, High-street)—Mr. Davis, Bath, for Diadem de Flora, Bowling-green 
Rival, Stuart Wortley, Evans’s Wallace, Royal Standard, Contender Clark’s 
Julia, Rosetta, Eva, Ovid, Marshall Soult, Lady Flora, Grace Darling, Topaz, 
Conductor, Lewisham Rival, Dodd’s Mary, Springfield Rival, Lady Dart- 
month, Climax, Unique, Ruby, Sunbeam and Horwood’s Defiance. 

Amateurs, 24 Blooms.—1i. Mr. Davis, Bath; 9. Mr. Sadler, Coughton Court, 
Warwickshire, for Royal Standard, Virgin Queen, Ringleader, ‘Topaz, Mar- 
quis of Lothian, Gaines’s Victoria, Essex Riva), Copland’s Linnzeus, Knight’s 
Perfection, Welbury Rival, Suffolk Hero, Eva, Rienzi, Unique, Springfield 
Rival, Climax, Dodd’s Mary, Bontisholl, Forsyth’s Anlaby, J.ewisham Rival, 
Rival Sussex, Ne plus Ultra, Conductor, and Duchess of Devonshire ; 3, W. 
Searle, Esq., Cambridge, Sarah, Middlesex Rival, Countess of Torrington, 
Cambridge Hero, Royal Standard, Victory, Miss Johnstone, Marguis of Lo- 
thian, Essex Rival, Springfield Rival, Lady Kinnaird, Suffolk Hero, Glory of 
the West, Dodd’s Mary, Clark’s Julia, Bowling-green Rival, Lilac Perfection, 
Lady Homer, Lewisham Rival, Rienzi, Unique, Hedley’s | erfection, Mar- 
chioness of Lansdowne, and Robert Buist ; 4. Mr. Hillier, Oxford, Metropolitan 
Yellow, Royal Standard, Virgin Queen, Suffolk Hero, Ruby, Alpha, Miss 
Johnstone, Unique, Mrs, Pierpont, Bontisholl, Lady Kinnaird, Sir H. Fletcher, 
Eva, Springfield Rival, Queen of Jesmond, Victory, Dodd's Mary, Middle- 
sex Rival, Warminster Rival, Conductor, Topaz, Rienzi, and Kosalie; 5. 
Mr. £. Philips, Birchfield, Birmingham, Etonia, Don John, Ovid, Phillips’s 
Marshal Soult, Jeffries’s Triumphant, Duke of Rutland, Purple Perfection, 
Conqueror of Europe, Conductor, Hope, Scarlet Perfection, Lord Byron, Eva, 
Springfield Major, Mackett’s Helena, Egyptian King, Middlesex Rival, 
Sarah, Rienzi, Sir H. Fletcher, Ruby, Glory of Plymouth, Oxford Rival, and 
Berkshire Champion ; 6. Edmund Peel, Esq.: Mackett’s Helena, Yellow 
Perfection, Middlesex Rival, Gaines’s Victoria, Stuart Wortley, Tamworth 
Hero, Etonia, Topaz, Major Peel, Eva, Grant Thornburn, Dodd's Mary, Ox- 
ford Rival, Marquis of Lothian, Queen of Scuts, Suffolk Hero, Cambridge 
Hero, Royal Standard, Springfield Rival, Conqueror of Europe, Knight’s 
Victory, Unique, Bowling-green Rival, and Triumphant. 

Amateurs, 12 Blooms—1. Mr. Davis, Bath, for Western Rose, Springfield 
Major, Eva, Amato, Dodd’s Mary, Grace Darling, Springfield Rival, Rosetta, 
Climax, Suffolk Hero, Julia and Royal Standard ; ¥.,Mr. Lawes, Salisbury, 
Hylas, Bowling-green Rival, Knight’s Victory, Sir F. Burdett, Queen of Sa- 
rum, Dodd’s Mary, Cupped Crimson, Fisherton Champion, Duchess of Rich- 
mond, Ruby, Lewisham Rival, and another ; 3. Rey. A. Newby, Tillbrook, 
near Kimbolton, Bedfordshire, Countess of Torrington, Amato, Dodd’s Mary, 
Knight’s" Victory, Unique, Hope, Suffolk Hero, Conductor, Rival Sussex, 
Gaines’s Primrose, Glory of the West, and Fisherton Champion ; 4. W. C. 
Burman, Esq., Arden House, Henley-in-Arden, Hope, Sir R. Lopez, Con- 
queror,of Europe, Marquis of Lothian, Unique, Duchess of Richmond, Purple 
Perfection, Eva, Lady Kinnaird, Sir H. Fletcher, Compte de Paris, and Coro- 
nation; 5.Mr. Burbury, Stoneleigh, Royal Standard, Cambridge Hero, Stuart 
Wortley, Sir J. Astley, Conductor, Hope, Ringleader, Etonia, Virgin Queen, 
Topaz, Suffolk Hero, and Duke of Devonshire ; 6. Mr. Hillier, Oxford, Ruby, 
Suffolk Hero, Rienzi, Metropolitan Yellow, Unique, Rosalie, Conductor, Eva, 
Springfield Rival, Frances, and Middlesex Rival. 

Amateurs 6. Blooms—1. Rev. A. Newby, for Dodd’s Mary, Sir J. Astley, 
Conductor, Climax, Rival Sussex, and Caliope ; 2. Mr. Davis, Bath, Lady 
Flower, Horwood’s Defiance, Julia, Springfield, Ovid, and Grace Darling ; 
3. Mr. Lawes, Salisbury, Dodd's Mary, Topaz, Queen of Sarum, Springfield 
Rival, Rival Sussex. and Lewisham Rival; 4. Mr. Sharp, of Stoke, near 
Coventry, Climax, Suffolk Hero, Sarah, Ne Plus Ultra, Topaz, and Rienzi ; 
5. Mr. Kimberley, of Pinley, near Coventry, Royal Standard, Cambridge 
Hero, Queen of Sarum, Ringleader, Suffolk Hero, and Advancer; 6. Mr. 
. of Bedford, Ruby, Climax, Eva, Mary, Glory of Kilbert, and Suffolk 

ero. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 259 


Nurserymen, 24 Blooms—i. Mr. Shepherd, Bedford, for Ovid, Dodd's 
Mary, Victory, Royal Standard, Hope, Gaines’s Queen Victoria, Amato, 
Cambridge Hero, Diadem de Flora, Lady Dartmouth, Conductor, Rival 
Qaeen Superb, Horatio, Springfield Rival, Unique, Coriolanus, Glory of 
Plymouth, Diomede, Climax, Ruby, Egyptian King, Eva, Bowling-green 
Rival, and Marquis of Lothian; 2. Mr. Mitchell, Piltdown, Sussex, Advancer, 
Diomede, Lady Dartmouth, Climax, Miss Colt, Grace Darling, Hero of 
Wakefield, Lewisham Rival, Springall’s Conqueror, Antiope, Queen of Sarum, 
Invincible, Duchess of Richmond, Ovid, Rival Sussex, Unique, Egyptian 
Prince, Jones’s Frances, Pilate, Rienzi, Royal Standard, Maresfield Hero; 
3. Mr. Catleugh, Chelsea, Climax, Ellen of Eaton, Eva, Ne Plus Ultra, Lady 
Partmeuth, Springfield Rival, Unique, Columbus, Bowling-green Rival, 
Superb Yellow, Ovid, Hope, Mount Blanc, Metropolitan Yellow, Dodd's 
Mary, Egyptian Prince, Masterpiece, Knight's Victory, Flavius, Duke of 
Wellington, Topaz, Lord Byron, and Amato ; 4. Mr. Widnall, Cambridge, 
not named ; 5. Mr. Pamplin, Hornsey-road, London, Clark’s Julia, Suffolk 
Hero, Contender, Premier, Victory, Royal Standard, Rosa, Virgin Queen, 
Ne Plus Ultra, Ruby, Don John, Ion, Duke of Sussex, Sir F. Burdett, Unique, 
Lady Dartmouth, Hope, Lewisham Rival, Rienzi, Amato, Mount Pleasant, 
Riyal ; 6. Mr. Bates, Oxford, Knight’s Victory, Virgin Queen, Souter John- 
ny, Masterpiece, Cambridge Hero,. Topaz, Hope, Marquis of Lothian, Hor- 
wood’s Defiance, Evans’s Wallace, Eva, Rienzi, Ruby Superb, Conductor, 
Frances, Springfield Rival, Unique, Ringleader, Pre-eminent, Dodd’s Mary, 
Saffolk Hero, Duchess of Richmond, Magician, and Egyptian King. 

Nurserymen, 12 Blooms—1. Messrs. Brown, Slough, Julia, Annot Lyle, 
Eva, Amato, Contender, Lewisham Riyal, Ruby, Climax, Grace Darling, 
Unique, Springfield Rival, Hope ; 2. Messrs, Mountjoy and Son, Ealing, Rival 
Granta, Royal Standard, Ovid, Amato, Rosa, Dodd’s Mary, Lady Kinnaird, 
Springfield Rival, Beauty of Wandsworth, Rienzi, Unique, Egyptian King ; 
3. Mr. Willmer, Sunbury, Frances, Egyptian King, Dodd’s Mary, Sir R. Lo- 
pez, Hero of Nottingham, Sir F. Burdett, Eva, Don John, Hope, Conductor, 
Duchess of Portland, Unique ; 4. Mr. Shepherd, Bedford, Royal Standard, 
Dodd's Mary, Victory, Lady Dartmouth, Middlesex Rival. Eva, Rival Queen 
Superb, Hope, Conductor, Climax, Gaines’s Queen Victoria, Napoleon ; 5. 
Mr. Bates, Oxford, Unique, Suffolk Hero, Mary of Burgundy, Hope, Eva, 
Vanguard, Topaz, Cupped Crimson, Rienzi, Yorkshire Hero, Springfield 
Riyal ; 6. Mr. Earl, Bristol-road, Birmingham, Duchess of Portland, Hor- 
wood’s Defiance, Ovid, Topaz, Don John, Conductor, Lewisham Rival, 
Egyptian King, Perolla, Rienzi, Eva, and Ringleader. 

Amongst the Seedlings there was one which attracted the attention of the 
growers as having the requisites, of a most superior flower, but, on inspection 
by the judges, it was found to be gummed in the eye, which, had it not been 
detected, would have deceived the public, and therefore it becomes the duty 
of the committee to expose the fact, An exhibitor was also seen on the 
evening of the Wednesday, whilst the committee and greater part of the 
exhibitors were at dinner, to select some of the best flowers, from different 
stands and carry them away, and as the flowers exhibited are considered the 
property of the committee, a resolution has been passed by the committee 
a neither of the aforesaid persons be allowed to exhibit at their future 
shows. 


Warwicksutre Frorat and Horricutrurat Sociery’s Exarsirion.— 
The third exhibition of the Warwickshire Floral and Horticultural Society 
took place, at the Town Hall. The attendance on the occasion was numerous 
and highly respectable, and it must be a scource of great satisfaction to the 
Society to find that their exertions to afford the admirers of flowers an oppor- 
tunity of viewing some of the choicest floral productions, are fully appreciated. 
The exhibition is considared to have surpassed any of those of this Society on 
former occasions ; and we believe that so fine a display of roses was never 
before seen in this town, 


260 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


The following is a list of the prizes awarded on the occasion. 

Roses—Premier prize, Great Royal, J. Pope, and Sons. : 

Purple, Scarlet, and Crimson—-1. Grandiflora, Mr. Tew, gardener 1o Edmund 
Peel, Esq. ; 2. Ranunculaflora, Mr. Beach ; 3. Boquet Royal, J, Gough, Esq. ; 
4. Violet Blue, J. Pope and Sons; 5. Cormin Feu, Mr. Tew; 6. Bonnie 
Genevieve, Mr. Coudrey. 

Blush, Pink, and Lilac—1. Duke of Devonshire, J. Pope and Sons: 2, La 
Tourterelle, E. Hill; 3. Belle Helena, Mr. Moore ; 4. Ruga, Mr. Phillips; 5. 
Cabbage Provence, J. Gough, Esq.; 6. Blush Provence, Mr. Coudrey. 

White, Cream, and Yellow—1. White Hip, Mr. Dickenson; 2. White 
Blush, Mr. Coudrey; 3. Madame Hardy, Mr. Tew; 4. Unique, H. Pope; 5. 
White Damask, J. Gough, Esq. ; 6. Camellia Blanche, Mr. Tew. 

Shaded, Mottled, Striped, or Edged—1. Royal Crimson, Mr. Dickenson ; 2. 
Ornament du Parade, Mr. Moore; 3. One Hundred Leaved Rose, ditto ; 4. 
Le Triomphe, Mr. Dickenson ; 5. Rosa Mundi, Mr, Moore; 6. Royal June, 
Mr. Beach. ; 

Moss—1. Crimson, Mr. Moore; 2 Provence, Mr. Phillips; 3, Blush, J. 
Gough, Esq. ; 4. Crested, Mr, Phillips. 

Cluster —1. De Meaux, Mr. Moore ; 2. Duke of Tuscany, ditto ; 3, Purple 
Grevillea, Mr. E. Hill ; 4. Grevillea, Mr. Phillips. 


Roses, in pots—1. Seven Sisters, Mr. Moore ; 2. Provence. Mr. Coudrey ; 


3. Sebastian, ditto; 4. Tourterelle, Mr. Dickenson; 5, Unique, Mr. Moore ; 6. 
Moss de Meaux, Mr. Phillips. 

Pinks—Premier prize, Duke of St. Alban’s, Mr. Coudrey. 

Purple Laced—Duke of St. Alban’s Mr. Coudrey ; 2. Sir J. Banks, Mr. 
Walthew ; 3. Omnibus, Mr. Coudrey ; 4. Lord Codrington, Mr. T. Barker ; 
5. Brilliant, Mr. Coudrey ; 6. Prudence, Mr, E. Hill. 

Red Laced—}. Bossom’s Elizabeth, Mr. Coudrey ; 2, Seedling, Mr, W. T. 
Barker; 3. Admiral Codrington, Mr. Coudrey; 4. Lord Althorp, Mr. W. T. 
Barker ; 5. Criterion, Mr. E, Hill; 6. Burton’s George the Fourth, Mr. W. 
T. Barker. 

Plain—1. Seedling, Mr. Brittian, ; 2. Seedling, Mr. W.T. Barker; 3. Seed- 
ling, Mr. Brittian ; 4. Union, Mr. E. Hill. 

Ranunculuses—Premier prize, Lucas’s Stripe, Mr. Phillips. 

Purple, Crimson, and Scarlet-—1. Premier, J. Pope and Sons; 2, Emiling, 
Mr. Phillips ; 3. Naxara, ditt. 

White Ground, Spotted and Edged-—1. Thomson’s King, Mr. Phillips; 2, 
Seedling, ditto; 3. Ditto, ditto; 4. Carlo Dolci, J. Pope and Sons. 

Yellow Ground, Striped, Spotted, and Edged—1. Orange Roven, J. Pope 
and Sons; 2. Seedling, Mr. White ; 3. Seedling, Mr. R. C. Brown; 4. Quaker, 
J. Gough, Esq. 

Stove Plants—1i. Clerodendrum speciosum, Mr. Dickenson; 2 Bignonia 
grandiflora, ditto; 8. Pancratium speciosum nova, D. Houghton, Esq. ; 4. 
Hemanthus puniceus, ditto ; 5. Calathea Zebrina, ditto; 6. Rusellia juncea, 
Mr. Dickenson. 

Greenhouse Plants—1. Pimelia decussata, J. Gough, Esq ; 2. Nerium splen- 
dens, Mr. R. Tongue; 3. Anigozanthus coccinea, J. Pope, and Sons; 4. 
Siphocampylos bicolor, Mr. J. Moore ; 5. Swansonia galegifolia, J. Gough, 
Esq. ; 6. Dipsacus puniceus, Mr. J. Moore ; 7. Boronia serrulata, Mr. Dick- 
enson; 8. Erodium incarnatum Mr. J. Moore; 9. Cactus Jenkinsonia, Mr. 
Jagger; 10. Nierembergia filicaulis, Mr, J. Moore. 

Orchidezee—1. Cattleya intermedia, J. Pope and Sons; 2. Epidendrum fra- 
grans, D. Houghton, Esq.; 3. Oncidium papilo, J. Pope and Sons; 4. Bletia 
tuberosa, Mr. J. Moore. 

Ericas—1. Gemifera, Mr. W.T. Barker; 2. Ventricosa superba, Mr. White, 
8. Osbornii, Mr. Dickenson; 4. Odora rosea, ditto; 5. Vestita, fulgida, Mr. 
H. Pope. 

AS eee Arborea maculata, Mr. Jagger ; 2. Fine Lake, Mr. Moore; 
3. Mirabilis punctata, Mr. Phillips ; 4. Fulgida, Mr. J. Moore; 5. Guttata, J. 
Gough, Esq.; 6. Virgin Queen, Mr. Jagger. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 261 


Geraniums—1. Jewess, Mr. Dickenson ; 2. Prima Donna, ditto; 3. Fosteri 
rosea, ditto; 4. Foster's Alicia, Mr. Moore ; 5. Chef-d'ceuvre, Mr. Dicken- 
son ; 6. Garth’s Perfection, ditto ; 7. Oliver Twist, ditto ; 8. Invincible, ditto; 
9. Miller’s Adonis, Mr. Moore ; 10. Alexandrina, Mr. White. 

Herbaceous Plants—1. Alstroemaria aurea, 1). Houghton, Esq. ; 2 Spirea 
arancus, Mr. Moore ; 3. Delphinium Barlowii, Mr. Dickenson; 4. Mule Pink, 
Mr. White ; 5. Phlomis Semia, Mr. J. Moore ; 6. [ris Clarimond Mr. Dicken- 
son. 

Frame Plants—1. Lillium eximium, Mr. Phillips; 2, Campanula muralis, 
Mr J. Moore ;3. Verbena Nivenii, Mr. Jagger; 4. Lychnis fulgens, Mr. 
Moore: 5. Campanula garganica, Mr. Gough; 6. Verbena Tweediana, Mr. ° 
Dickenson. 

Tender Annuals—1. Thunbergia Alata, Mr. Baylis ; 2. Rhodanthe Man- 
glesii, J. Gough, Esq. ; 3. Martynia proposidea, Mr. Izons; 4. Clintonia pul- 
chella, Mr. H. Pope. 

Hardy Annuals—1. Collinsia bicolor, Mr. Coudrey ; 2. Cladanthus arabicus, 
ditto ; 3. Schizanthus Priestii, ditto ; 4, Iberis umbellata ditto. 

Pansies in Pots—1. Fair Maid of Perth, Mr, Earl ; 2. Raphael, ditto; 3. 
Edgbaston Hero, Mr. Coudrey ; 4. Royal Purple, ditto ; 5. Lilac Perfection, 
ditto ; 6. Helena, ditto. s 

Panzies (collections), 24 Blooms—1. Mr. Earl, Diomede, Cupid, Widnall's 
Belzoni, Widnall’s Eliza, Chimpanzee, Lilac Perfection, Earl’s Beauty of 
Edgbaston, Lady Ann, Purpurea grandiflora, Earl’s Cerulea grandiflora, 
Lord Napier, Lord Warwick, Widnall’s Don John, Venus, Apollo, Raphael, 
Earl’s Laura, and seven Seedlings ; 2, Mr. Coudrey, Edgbaston Hero, Beauty 
of Edmonton, Clara, Thompson’s Victoria, Lady Sondes, Juliet, Royal Purple, 
King of Pansies, Masterpiece, Hamlet, Duchess of Kent, Crocea superba, 
Admiral Codrington, Dauphin, Lord Calthorpe, Lilac Perfection, Lady Peel, 
Thompson’s Venosa, Rainbow, Lutea purpurea, Pluto, Corinne, Premier, and 
Queen of Heartsease ; 3. Messrs. Pope and Sons, Seedling, Tamworth Hero, 
Camilla, Goliah, Purpurea grandiflora, Sultan, Maria, Beauty of Ealing, Sul- 
phurea elegans, Maria (new), Rainbow, Seedling, Victoria, Masterpiece, 
Seedling, Climax, Vesta, Carlo Dolci, Silenus, Miss Malcolm, Betsy, Belzoni, 
Diomede, and Othello; 4. Mr. Walthew. 

Ditto. 12 Blooms—1. Mr. Earl, Chimpanzee, Lilac Perfection, Apollo, Ra- 
phael, Earl’s Cerulea grandiflora, Thompson's King, Fair Maid of Perth, 
Purpurea grandiflora, and four Seedlings ; 2.Mr. Condrey, Hero of Edgbaston, 
Masterpiece, Daphne, Lord Calthorpe, Thompson's Victoria, Clara, Venosa, 
Lady Sondes, King of Pansies, Pluto, Beauty of Edmonton, and Corinne; 3. 
Mr. Walthew; 4. Mr. E. Hill, Seedling, Warwickshire Lad, Widuall’s Amato, 
Widnall’s Eliza, Dauphin, Purpurea grandiflora, Lilac Perfection, Cupid, 
Widnall’s Victoria, Zoe, Duchess of Buccleugh, Queen Adeliade, Widnall’s 
Guido; 5. J. Pope and Son's, Seedling, Tamworth Hero, Camilla, Goliah, 
Beauty of Ealing, Maria, Climax, Purpurea grandiflora, Masterpiece, Bel- 
zoni, Dorothea and Alpha. 

__ Ditto, 6 Blooms—1. Mr. Earl, Earl's Beauty of Edgbaston, Lord Napier, 
Antionette, Purpurea grandiflora, Bellona, and Seedling; 2. Mr. Coudrey, 
Page's Eclipse, Edgbaston Hero, Lady Sondes, Lord Calthorpe, King of 
Pansies, and Beanty of Edmonton; 3. Mr. E. Hill, Daphne, Widnall’s Amato 
Widpall’s Eliza, Widnall’s Victoria, Cupid, and Purpurea grandiflora; ff 
Messrs. Pope and Son’s, Sutton, Tamworth Hero, Seneca, Camilla, Hero of 
Surrey, and Apollo; 5, Mr. Phillips, Lord Warwick, Raphael, Lady Anne 
Rotundifolia, Phoebus, and Fair Maid of Perth. : 

Cut Specimens—1. J. Gough, Esq.; 2. Mr. Dickenson; 3. Mr, White; 4. 
J. Gough, Esq. ; 5. Mr. Coudrey ; 6 Mr. Dickenson. 

Nosegay, or Groups of Flowers—1 and 2, Mr. Coudrey. 

Plants not in Bloom, but remarkable for fineness of growth, &c,—1, Cycas 
a” J. Pope and Sons ; 2, Charlwoodia Australis, ditto; 3. Aloe Africanus, 

itto. 


< Aw) 
: we he 


262 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


Unclassed Specimens—1. Cytisus nigricans, Mr. Dickenson; 2. Azalea 
(early red), Ditto; 3, Rhododendron hirsutum, Ditto ; 4, Buddlea globosa, J. 
Pope and Sons. x ae 


On an American Axoz, &c.—If you think this worth putting into your 
pleasing publication, I beg you will; Mr. Bamford Hesketh, of Gwrych 
Castle, eighteen years ago, pulled down an old hot-house, in whieh there 
was an American Aloe, (then about sixty years old,) not considering it any 
ornament in the new house, it was laid against a south wall in the garden 
in its old decayed box, where it has remained ever since withont ever having 
been matted or covered; lest winter, 1838, it was a little pinched, but it 
quite recovered its appearance in the summer, and is now as healthy and 
vigorous as it ever was. 

Can the following be accounted for? I sowed sixpennyworth of Hollyhock 
seed, and transplanted them, they all turned out yellow and double. An 
answer is solicited from some reader of the Cabinet. 

Abergele, August 19th, 1839. J.B.H., 

NEW PLANTS, 

Angraecum armeniacum.—Orchidacez.—A native of Seirre Leone, bloomed 
at Messrs. Loddiges ; the flowers are of an uniform apricot colour, produced 
closely, arranged on a horizontal lateral spike. (Bot. Reg.) 

Malachenia clavata.—Orchidacee.—From Rio; it has bloomed with R. 
Bateman, Esq. ; the flowers are of a dull green, spotted with purple. The 
scape rises about nine inches. (Bot. Reg.) 

Senecio odoratus.—Why called “‘ Sweet scented” for itis scentless. The 
leaves are like an evergreen shrub; the plant rises to two feet high; the 
flower heads are yellow, small, rayless, and arrangéd in corymbous panicles. 
It is a native of New Holland. (Bot. Reg.) 

Eurybia glutinosa.—From Van Dieman’s Land; it is an erect growing 
shrub, much the appearance of the Rosemary; the flowers are produced in 
corymbous heads, the starry ray of each blossom is of a clear pale violet 
colour. It is a good additional conservatory plant. 

Portulacea grandiflora; rutila—A beautiful variety of this pretty flowering 
greenhouse perennial plant; the flowers are of the richest crimson, more 
bright than P. Gillesii, and about as large as half-a-crown when full blown. 

Stenochilus longifolia.—From New Holland; it forms a small bush ; each 
flower is about an inch long, of a dullish green-red colour. 

Stenochilus incanus.x—From New Holland; it forms a grey bush, looking 
like an olive, or some leafless acacia; the flowers are solitary, a little more 
than an inch long, of a dull green colour. 

Asteracantha Jongifolia—A handsome flowering greenhouse herbaceous 
perennial plant ; it forms a bright rich green bushy plant, bearing numerous 
whorls of gay blue Jabeate flowers. 

Cytisus Weldenii.—The flowers are produced in erect racemes; they are 
of so deleterious a quality that the scent will produce headache. 

Nepeta salvicefolia.—An Himalayan perennial plant, producing its flowers 
in long stalked cymes, they are white, and of little beauty. 

Ipomea longifolia.—Stems erect, not twining, the flowers grow singly in 
the exils of the leaves; they are white with a delicate noyea scent, and as 
large as one of Calonyction bona nox, The plant is a perennial, with fleshy 
tuber like root, and if treated as is done with the dahlia root, will bloom 
freely in the open border. 

Solanum candidum.—A noble looking shrubby plant, with leaves a fout 
long and nine inches broad, producing clusters of large and handsome white 
flowers. It has bloomed in the collection of George Barker, Esq., by whom 
it had been received from Mexico. 

Nuttallia Malveflora.—The flowers are of a pale pink colour; The plant 
grows about half a yard high, and deserves a place in every flower garden ; 
it has bloomed in the Epsom Nursery. é 


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KI LTURAL CABINET, WOV?11859 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 263 


REFERENCE TO PLATE FOR OCTOBER. 


wy LLA ELEGANS.—The plant grows about nine inches high, bushy, and 
. yoms very profusely ; the beautiful and numerous flowers produce a very 
fine effect, no collection of stove plants, or in a warm greenhouse, ought to 
e without it; it blooms for nine months in the year. 
a Our figure represents only a single branch, but the plant seldom exceeds 
nine or ten inches in height, and forms a peculiarly neat and symmetrical 
object. Although its habit appears to be herbaceous, we have never obser- 
ved it destitute of stems or leaves, so that these are evidently produced in 
constant succession. It is probable that the plantis suffruticose ; but neither 
its superficial aspect nor a close examination warrant us in making such an 
assertion. 

As its general mode of growth seems to be different from most other her- 
baceous stove plants, some variation from the usual course of treatment is 
necessary in its cultivation. With regard to svil, it prefers a sandy loam, 

with a very trifling additiow of heath-mould. The smallest pot into which 
the roots can be inserted, without undue compression, will be the most suitable, 
as too much pot-room is decidedly prejudicial. As with other stove plants, a 
period of dormancy is beneficial ; still it must be supplied with water during 
the entire season, and will not be injured by being continually subjected to a 
moderately high temperature. Indeed, if kept in a hothouse, it will flower 
during the whole of the winter months. Especial care should be taken to 
place it in a position alike free from the shade of other plants and the drop- 
pings from them or from the roof of the house, caused by the condensation of 
vapour, or admitted from the exterior surface. It should be kept on a dry 
stage or shelf; but a slightly-humid atmosphere will be rather propitous than 
otherwise. ; 

Seeds are liberally matured, and germinate successfully if sown in very 
light soil in shallow pans, and these plunged in a moderate bottom heat. 
Cattings also succeed very well under the ordinary treatment, with all due 
precaution in preserving them from superabundant moisture. 

Fucusia WormaLpii.—A very pleasing plant of this celebrated family ; 
we have never seen it bluom in the open bed, there it grows too much into 
foliage, but in a pot, rather confined, it blooms freely, if kept in an airy part 
of a greenhouse, 

SALVIA CONFERTIFLORA.—A native of Brazil. The flowers are of the 
wooly section, and are produced in a pendant raceme, and though small, 
being bright, are pretty. The plant grows several feet high, having large 
woolly leaves eight inches long, and five or six broad. The plant wil flou- 
rish either in the greenhouse, or open border in summer, but blooms best in 
the former, being of a very vigorous habit; in the open border it produces too 
much foliage. 

Loseta Ramosa.—A very highly ornamental plant for the greenhouse or 
open border in summer ; it grows to four or five feet high, produces very 
numerous spreading branches, which flower profusely. It deserves a place 
in every collection, it grows rapidly and is easily propagated. 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Hisiscus viotacea.—Another of the fine introductions into this country 

from the Swan River, by Captain Mangles, R.N. We recently saw it in 
fine bloom at Mr. Henderson's Nursery, Edgware Road, London; it was 
grown in a cool place in their plant stove, it appears that it would flourish 
and bloom well in a greenhonse, and would be one of the most interesting 
plants for culture there; the plant is very neat in its growth even without 
flowers. 
_ SipHocaMPyLus sPicaTa.—This species is much neater in growth than the 
S. bicolor, it blooms much more abundantly, and its bright yellow flowers 
are very showy. The plant deserves a place in every greenhouse; it will, 
as well as the other species named, thrive in the open air, trained against a 
trellis or south aspected wall, and are well worth cultivating. 


lt Well 


a area 


264 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


PENTSTEMON GENT{ANOIDES var CoccINEUs.—This splendid kind has been 
raised by Mr. Lowe, of the Clapton Nursery, from Mexican seeds, and of 
whom we procured plants, being so superior a variety. The plant is as 
hardy as P. gentianoides, and blooms as profusely ; it deserves a place in 
every flower garden, ' 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR NOVEMBER. 


All greenhouse plants should now be housed without delay, and air admit- 
ted, except when itis frosty. The plants should not be watered in the even- 
ing, but in the early part of the day, so that the damps may be dried up 
before the house is closed, as they are during the night prejudicial to the 
plants. The soil in the pots should frequently be loosened at the surface, 
to prevent its forming a mossy or very compact state. 

The plants of the Cactus that have been kept in the open air during the 
summer, may be brought to bloom successively, by taking such as are desired 
to bloom immediately into the heat of a forcing pine house. Other plants 
- bloom afterwards, should be kept in a greenhouse protected from the 
rost, 

The plants of the Calceolaria that have been grown inthe open borders 
during the summer months, should now be taken up and potted, afterwards 
kept in a cool frame, or cool part of the greenhouse, being careful not to 
give too much water, just suflicient to keep the soil moist will only be ne- 
cessary. : 

The Chinese Primroses that have been grown in the open borders, will re- 
quire to be taken up. 

The plants of some of the Chrysanthemums that are grown in pots, and 
taken into the greenhouse, will be found to have pushed a number of suckers. 
If the offsets are wanted for the increase of the kind, it is advisable to pinch 
off the tops, so as to prevent their exhausting of the plant to the weakening of 
the flower. If the offsets are not wanted, it is best to pull up the suckers 
entire. Attention will be required to watering, as the roots absorb much if 
given. Ifthe plant is allowed to wither, it checks the flowers, whether in 
bud or expanded. And so much do we admire this handsome genus of flow- 
ers, that we are fully pursuaded their beautiful blossoms, exhibited in form 
ce olan, wil] most amply repay for any labour that may be bestowed on 
the plants. 

The Dahlia seed, if not cut off by frost, will now be perfected. They are 
hest retained in the heads as grown, spread singly, where they will not be 
liable to mould, and keptina dry, but not too hot a situation; being thus 
kept in the chaff, the small seeds will not shrivel, but be kept plamp. The 
roots will now require taking up, if not done last month. 

Dutch roots may in this month be successively planted, (see Articles on in 
former numbers. 

Fuchsias and greenhouse piants intended to be inured to the open air, will 
require to have protection at the roots, &c. 

Tubers of Commellinas, and bulbs of Tigridias, should be taken up and 
preserved dry through winter. 

Newly planted shrubs in exposed situations should be secured to stakes, 

Herbaceous border plants may still be divided and replanted. 

In taking and potting greenhouse plants &c. that have been grown in the 
open ground during summer, do not head them down entire as it would cause 
a production of fresh shoots, which being weak, from the season of the year, 
often perish during Winter, it is best to head them only partially. 


Plants of Rhododendrons, Persian lilacs, Azaleas, Roses, &c. intended to 


force into bloom by Christmas, should immediately be taken in for the pur- 


pose. 
Neapolitan Violets should be placed in a cool frame to get into bloom early. 


As should be done too with pinks, &c. 


THE 
FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 


DECEMBER Ist, 1839. 


eee 


PART 1, 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 


ARTICLE I, 


ON TAKING IMPRESSIONS OF FLOWERS, &c., BY THE PHOTOGENIC 
PROCESS. 


BY FLORA. 
Tis new mode of taking drawings of flowers having created con- 
siderable excitement in the floral community. I forward the 
particulars of it (as given in the Magazine of Natural History), for 
insertion in the Floricultural Cabinet. I have tried it and find it 
give a very correct representation of the specimen. 

The operation is a little tedious as to its chemical preparation, 
but when once practised is done very readily, it is well worth 
adopting, especially to obtain a correct form ot what is desired. 

The mode of fixing the images of the camera obscura, and 
copying engravings, by means of the chemical action of light on 
paper prepared with a solution of chloride of silver, has attracted 
so much notice, and produced so much popular excitement, that 
a few observations on this interesting process will not perhaps be 
considered out of place in your magazine. I venture to occupy 
your pages with the less reluctance, because I feel that the appli- 
cation of this heliographic or photogenic art will be of immense 
service to the botanist, by enabling him to procure beautiful out- 
line drawings of many plants, with a degree of accuracy, which, 
otherwise, he could not hope to obtain. 

That light will act on chloride of silver is by no means a novel 
discovery, and paper prepared with it was long ago,used by Ritter 

Vou. VII. No. 82. II 


266 ON DRAWINGS OF FLOWERS, &c. 


and Wollaston, in testing the chemical action of the rays of the 
sdlar spectrum ; still, in this country it was not, I believe, applied 
to any purpose likely to be of use to the naturalist and traveller, 
until brought into notice by the researches of Mr. Talbot. It is 
not a little amusing to observe how many pretenders to the dis- 
covery have started up since the announcement of Mr. Talbot’s 
discovery, and that of M. Daguerre in France. The latter gen- 
tleman has, through M. Arago, at a late meeting of the French 
Institute, announced his mode of preparing a sensitive paper, far 
exceeding that of Mr. Talbot in delicacy, but otherwise possess- 
ing the same property of indicating intensity of light by depth of 
colour, and consequently differing from that marvellous prepara- 
tion which he is said to possess, and which represents shadows 
by depth of colour, precisely as in nature. 

M. Daguerre prepares his heliographic paper by immersing a 
sheet of thin paper in hydrochloric ether, which has been kept 
sufficiently long to be acid ; the paper is then carefully and com- 
pletely dried, as this is stated to be essential to its proper prepa- 
ration. The paper is next dipped into asolution of nitrate of silver 
(the degree of concentration of which is not mentioned,) and dried 
without artificial heat in a room from which every ray of light is 
carefully excluded. By this process, it acquires a very remark- 
able facility in being blackened on avery slight exposure to light 
even when the latter is by no means intense ; indeed by the dif- 
fused day-light of early evening in the month of February. This 
prepared paper rapidly loses its extreme sensitiveness to light, and 
finally becomes not more readily acted upon by the solar beams 
than paper dipped in nitrate of silver only. M. Daguerre renders 
his drawings permanent by dipping them in water, so as to dissolve 
all the undecomposed salt of silver. 

This process is very inconvenient, for many reasons, among 
which are the difficulty of procuring, as well as the expense of 
hydrochloric ether ; on this account I prefer Mr. Talbot’s process, 
although it is to be regretted that this gentleman has not stated 
more explicitly the proportions in which he uses the ingredients 
employed in the preparation of his sensitive paper. I have per- 
formed a set of experiments on this subject, and can recommend 
the followimg proportions as the most effective and economical. 
Two hundred grains of common salt are to be dissolved in a pint 
of water, and sheets of thin blue wove post paper saturated with 
the solution, which, for this purpose, should be poured into a dish, 


ON DRAWINGS OF FLOwERs, &c. 267 


and, the, paper being immersed, the application of the solution to 
every part should be insured by the use of asponge. The paper 
is then to be removed, drained of its superfluous moisture, and 
nearly dried by pressure between folds of linen or bibulous 
paper. 

Two hundred and forty grains of fused nitrate of silver are then 
to be dissolved in twelve fluid ounces of water, and this solution 
is to be applied by means of a sponge to one side of each sheet of 
the previously prepared paper, which side should be marked with 
a pencil, so that when the paper is fit for use the prepared side 
may be distinguished. The sheets of paper are then to be hung 
upon lines in a dark room to dry, and when nearly free from 
moisture, their marked sides are to be once more sponged over 
with the solution of silver, and finally dried ; they are then to be 
cut into pieces of convenientsize, and preserved from light, oreven 
too much exposure to air, by being wrapped up in several folds of 
brown paper, and kept in a portfolio. 

The proportions above recommended are sufficient for the pre- 
paration of a quire of the kind of paper alluded to; if more of 
the salt of silver were used, the paper would indeed become dark- 
er by the action of light, but its expense would be proportionally 
increased; and when prepared in the manner directed, it assumes 
by less than a minute’s exposure to the rays of the sun, a rich 
mulberry brown tint, of sufficient intensity to define an outline 
very beautifully, which indeed is all that is required. 

To use this paper, the specimen, of which a drawing is required, 
is removed from the herbarium, placed ona piece of the paper, 
and kept én sttw by a pane of common glass pressed by weights; a 
piece of plate glass, however, is preferable, as it is sufficiently 
heavy topress the plant close to the paper. The whole is then 
placed in the sunshine, and in less than a minute all the uncover- 
ed parts of the paper will assume a rich brown tint. The paper 
should then be removed from the direct influence of the sun, and 
placed ina book until the drawing be made permanent : the spe- 
cimen, quite uninjured by the process, may then be replaced in 
the herbarium, and the drawing of another taken, and so on. So 
rapidly is this process executed, that twenty-five or thirty draw- 
ings may be obtained in an hour, providing we are favoured with 
a direct sunbeam; if, however, we have only the diffused day-light 
five or ten minutes, and sometimes even more, are required to 
produce a drawing with well defined outlines. 


268 ON DRAWINGS OF FLOWERS, &c. 


If drawings of recent plants be required, specimens of proper 
size should be cut, and if not too rigid, placed on a piece of paper, 
and kept in a proper position by means of a pane of glass, as in 
the case of dried specimens ; but if the plant be rigid, the speci- 
mens should be placed for twenty-four hours between folds of 
blotting paper, under a heavy weight, before placing them on the 
Sensitive paper. Having obtained as many drawings as are re- 
quired, the next thing is to fix them, so that their otherwise 
evanescent character may not deprive them of their value. For 
this purpose place them ina dish, and pour cold water over them ; 
allow them to soak for ten minutes, and then transfer them to, or 
sponge them over with, asolution, made by dissolving an ounce 
of common salt in half a pint of water, to which half a fluid ounce 
of the tincture of sesqui-chloride of iron has been added, The 
drawings thus prepared may be dried by pressure between folds 
of linen, and exposure to the air; and may then be examined 
without danger. On looking at them, every one must be struck 
with the extreme accuracy with which every scale, nay, every 
projecting hair, is preserved on the paper; the character and ha- 
bit of the plant is most beautifully delineated, and if the leaves be 
not too opaque, the venation is most exquisitely represented; this 
is particularly the case with the more delicate ferns, as Polypodium 
Dryopteris. Among those classes of plants which appear to be 
more fitted than others for representation by this process, may be 
ranked the ferns, grasses, and umbeliferous plants ; the photoge- 
nic drawings of the former are indeed of exquisite beauty. 

The fact of the object being white on a brown ground does not 
affect the utility of this mode of making botanic drawings ; indeed 
I almost fancy that their character is better preserved by this con- 
trast to tint, than by a coloured outline ona white ground. Every 
one will be fully aware of the value of this process to the botanist, 
in obtaining drawings of rare plants preserved in the herbaria of 
others, and which he would otherwise have probably no means of 
obtaining. 

If the drawing of atree or a large shrub be required, a box 


blackened inside, having a hole at one end about one anda quarter — 


inch in diameter, must be provided ; in this hole should be placed 
a lens of five or six inches focus ; if one of longer foeus be used, 
the dispersion of light becomes ce great to insure an accurate 
representation. When the tree or shrubis well illuminated by the 


solar beams, the lens should be presented towards it, at a distance — 


ON THE HONEYSUCKLE. 269 


varying of course with the height of the object. A piece of card- 
board should then be placed in the box, a little beyond the true 
focus of the lens, and the former until a well-defined bright image 
of the tree, etc. is formed on the card, of course in an inverted 
direction. The box is then to be placed on any convenient sup- 
port in this position, and a piece of the prepared paper fixed on the 
ecard, the lid of the box is then to be closed, and the whole left 
for halfan hour, at the end of which time a beautifully accurate 
outline of the object will be found on the paper, which is then to 
be rendered permanent in the usual manner. It is obvious that 
this plan is unavailable on a windy day, on account of the branches 
of the tree, &c. being continually moving, so that it is of far less use 
to the botanist than the above described process for obtaining 
drawings of small specimens. 
FLora. 


ARTICLE II. 


LONICERA PERICLYMENUM.—HONEYSUCKLE or WOODBINE. 
BY CLAUDIA. 

It received the generic name of Lonicera, as a compliment from 
Plumier to Adam Lonicer, a physician at Frankfort. We name it 
Woodbine, because it winds itself as it were in wedlock to every 
tree and shrub in its neighbourhood, which it graces by its well 
attired branches in return for the support it borrows; from hence 
it is styled the Bond of Love. 


“The woodbines mix in am’rous play, 
And breath their fragrant leaves away.” 


In the time of Edward the Third, it appears to have been emble- 
matical of true love, as Chaucer, the father of English poetry, 
says, 


“ And tho that were chapélets, on her hede, 
Of fresh wodebind, be such as never were 
To love untrue, in word, in thought, ne dede ; 
By ay stedfast ; ne for plesance ne fere. 

Tho that they shulde hir hertes all to tere, 
Woud never flit, but ever were stedfast, 
Till that hir lives there asunder brast.” 


This climbing plant always turns from east to west, and so firm- 
ly does it hold its supporter in embrace, that we often see young 


270 ON THE HONEYSUCKLE. 


trees and branches indented like a screw by the pressure. As the 
gentle Desdemona clung to the dark warrior, so have we seen the 
delicate and supple stalks of the woodbine endeavour to embrace 
the trunk ofthe sturdy oak, and in the bold attempt it is often seen 
thrown off to perish on the ground, unless caught by humbler 
shrubs, who seem proud to display the flowery festoons which the 
monarch of our woods had rejected. So have we seen modern 
Desdemonas turn from support within their reach, aspiring to 
climb by means too large for their grasp; they have been drawn 
up, in weak hopes, by a slight hold, which the first winds severed 
throwing them to the earth, too feeble to catch the most lowly 
plant. 

We love to seeshrubs “‘o’er-canopied with luscious woodbine,”’ 
but in the oak of the forest its beauties wither in the shade of its 
too grand supporter. 

The name of Honeysuckle, we presume, was given to this plant, 
from the trick of children, who draw out the trumpet-shaped 
corollas from the calyx, to suck the honey from the nectary. 

This flower is what is termed a tubulose nectary, and the sweet 
liquid laying at the bottom is secure from the reach of the indus- 
trious bee ; but the hawk-moth, a species of the sphinx, hovers 
over these flowers in the evening, and with its long tongue extracts 
the honey from the very bottom of the flower. Other insects that 
have not the advantage of so lengthened a tongue, tap the bulbs of 
the flower, by making a puncture towards the bottom, and then 
revel in the luxurions s weet. 

The nectary of a flower is that part of the blossom which con- 
tains a liquid honey, and we are inclined to think that this sac- 
charine juice is distilled from the plant, and conveyed to the 
nectary for the double purpose of giving nourishment to the parts 
of fructification and decomposition to the farina. 


‘“‘ These, nature’s works, the curious mind employ, 
Inspire a soothing melancholy joy.” 


The woodbine has a light and elegant, but negligent air, better 
calculated to ornament rural groves than to embellish stately gar- 
dens, and a more suitable climber for the rustic porch than the 
modern portico. Cunningham has given it tothe Cottage of Con- 
tent. 

** Green rushes were strewed on her floor, 


Her casement sweet woodbines crept wantonly round, 
And decked the sod seats at her door.” 


7 
i 
« 
> 
“~ 
‘« 
. 
he 


ON THE HONEYSUCKLE. 271 


The perfume of the honeysuckle being of the most agreeable 
kind, it should be frequently met with in the shrubbery; when 
planted near the fore-ground it ought to be kept as a shrub, 
which, as well as giving neatness, ensures a succession of flowers. 
In the wilderness walks, it should have liberty to climb the trees, 
and hang its wreaths from branch to branch; and where the ivy 
gives verdure to the bare trunk, there should the woodbine display 
its blossoms and shed its odours; as also over the rural arbours of 
the present day, as it did o’er those of Shakspeare’s. 


“ Beatrice, who e’en now 
Is couched in the woodbine coverture.” 


Mucu Apo, 


The nurserymen ofthis country now offer us many distinct spe- 
cies of the lonicera, besides many varieties of the common wood- 
bine. The dutch honeysuckle, Lonicera Belgica, may be trained 
with a stem, and formed into ahead like a tree; the flowers of 
this variety are of a reddish colour on their outsides, and yellowish 
within, of a very delightful odour. There are two varieties of the 
Dutch honeysuckle, one of which is called the Long blowing, as it 
blossoms in June, July, and August ; the other succeeds it, and is 
therefore called the Late Red-blowing Honeysuckle, L. serotina. 
Both of these should be planted in considerable quantities. The 
latter kind has only been introduced about a century ; for in 1715 
it was esteemed a great curiosity, and is supposed to have been 
first brought to this country by the Flemish florists, who were 
then in the habit of coming over annually with plants for sale. 

The Virginia trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, 
was cultivated in this country by John Tradescant, jun. as long 
back as 1656, and although it is without odour, it is a desirable 
evergreen climber, the bright scarlet flowers being so ornamental 
from May to August. There is anew scarlet flowered variety 
very superior to the old kind which deserves a place in every 
shrubbery, trellis, or harbour.. This kind of honeysuckle requires 
a south aspect, and a sheltered situation. The branches being 
weak and rambling, it is generally trained to a wall ; but it hasa 
better effect when its branches are interwoven with the cypress, 
or any other evergreen, which will shelter it, fromthe north, and 
support its gay trumpets to advantage. 

The common honeysuckles will grow in almost any soil or situ- 
ation, and there are few inmates of the shrubbery more desirable 
than these odiferous stragglers, which perfume the air to a great 


272 ON THE HONEYSUCKLE. 


distance, particularly in the morning andevening. They are easily 
propagated, either by layers or cuttings; but the latter are pre- 
ferred. The cuttings should have four joints, three of which 
should be buried in the’earth, and the fourth above the surface, 
from which the shoots are produced. September is the best 
month for planting the woodbine cuttings. How greatly would 
our hedges be improved bya few cuttings being stuck in the 
ground ; how little the trouble, the expence none,—but the de- 
lightful air would well repay the labour. ° 

We should have passed over the medicinal qualities of this 
plant, had we not accidentally opened the work of a student in 
physic, who ftourished in London, in the year 1681 ; and as we 
conclude it is but little known to the students of 1839, we extract 
it for the sole purpose of benefiting the faculty—by a laugh. 

This learned A’sculapian author says, under the head ‘ Wood- 
bind,’ “‘ Itis a plant so common, that every one that hath eyes 
knows them ; and he that hath none cannot read a description if k 
should write it. Doctor Tradition, that grand introducer of errors 
that hater of truth, that lover of folly, and that mortal foe to Doc- 
tor Reason, hath taught the common people to use the leaves of 
flowers of this plant in mouth waters ; and by long continuance of 
time hath so grounded it in the brains of the vulgar, that you cannot 
beat it out with a beetle. All mouth waters ought to be cooling 
and drying, but honeysuckles are cleansing, consuming, and di- 
gesting, and therefore no ways fit for inflammations ; thus Doctor 
Reason. And, if you please, we will leave Doctor Reason awhile, 
and come to Doctor Experience, a learned gentleman and _ his 
brother. Take a leaf and chew it in your mouth, and you will 
quickly find it likelier to cause a sore mouth, or throat, than to 
cure it. It is an herb of Mereury, and appropriated to the lungs ; 
the celestial crab claims dominion over it, neither is it a foe to 
the Lion ; if the lungs be afflicted by Jzpiter, this is your cure.” 

The leaves of the woodbine are the favourite food of the goat 
hence the French have named this plant, Chevre-feuille (Goat’s- 
leaf.) 


ON PINKS. 273 


ARTICLE III. 


REMARKS ON SUPERB PINKS. 

BY MR. BENJAMIN WILLIAMSON, MANOR STREET, CLAPTON, 
Havine frequently seen applications in your Floricultural Cabi- 
net, fora list of the best Florist’s flowers, and where they may be 
purchased ; in reply to which, I beg to state, that Iam a great 
admirer of Florist’s flowers in general, but a principal object of my 
‘attention is turned to that beautiful flower the Pink (which I am 
proud to see taking so prominent a station in the minds of the 
Floricultural World,) and which I spare no trouble to obtain, as I 
generally endeavour to procure every good sort. Having visited 
many places and having had an opportunity of seeing many grow- 
ers, I can safely state, that I never met with any to excel what are 
grown at Woolwich and its Neighbourhood, either as a Collection, 
or for Blooming : as a proof of which, I beg to refer to the Me- 
tropolitan Show on the 26th of June last, when three prizes out of 
four, where taken by the Woolwich Growers, the first was award- 
ed to Mr. Norman ; the second to Mr. Ibbett; and the fourth to 
Mr. Ward; all of whom reside at Woolwich. Being myself an 
Amateur Grower, I consequently grow none for sale, and when in 
want of any Plants, I apply to Mr. Ibbett of Woolwich, who inva- 
riably is sure to supply me with the best sorts, and perfectly cor- 
rect under their proper names, I can therefore without hesitation 
recommend him. The following are the best sorts in cultivation 
that 1 can recommend to notice, and can be obtained of him at the 
proper season, from the latter end of September till the begin- 
ning of November. 


Creed’s President. 

Deakin’s Burdett. 

Knight’s Lady Auckland. 
‘¢ Emma. 

Bexley Beauty. 

Norman’s Queen Victoria. 
si Defiance. 

Knight of Henley. 

Miss Cheese. 

Ward’s Queen. 


Weeden’s Queen Victoria. 


Young’s Joe Miller. 
Clark’s Roseana. 
Barrett's Conqueror, 


Von. VII. No. 82. 


Dry’s Earl of Uxbridge. 
Cousin’s Victoria. 
Knight’s Lord Brougham. 
Bridge’s Queen. 

Ibbett’s Triumphant. 
Clark’s ditto 

Marshall’s Defiance. 
Barlow's George IV. 
Mann’s Dr. Summers, 
Aker’s Lord Brougham, 
Unsworth’s Omega. 
Hopkin’s One in the ring. 
Earl of Cheltenham. 
Seal’s Miss Austin. 


KK 


274 ON CARNATIONS, 


Hardstone’s Adelaide. Eldridge’s Superb. 
a No. l. Smith’s No. &8. 
Wilmore’s Queen Victoria. 


Any of the above can be obtained from Mr. Ibbett, (Florist,) 
Mount Pleasant, Woolwich, as also a splendid collection of Carna- 
tions, Picotees, Ranunculuses, &c. 


Should you think the above worthy your notice in your Cabinet, 
I shall feel great pleasure at all times in forwarding ‘any useful 
information, 


B. WILLIAMSON, 


[We shall feel much obliged by any further communications our 
respected Correspondent may favor us with.—Conp. | 


ARTICLE IV, 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE CARNATION, 
BY DIANTHUS. : 
I nave been a grower of that lovely plant the Carnation (for 
showing at competition) for upwards of twenty years, during 
which time, I have had an opportunity of ascertaining what mode 
of treatment is required to grow it to the best advantage; I 
therefore offer the following remarks for insertion in the Cabinet, 
for November or December, as it is the period when the best 
layers may be obtained, having established themselves after re- 
moval from the parent plant. 

When the plants are about mid-bloom I perform the layering 
in the usual manner, and as soon as I discover they are sufficiently 
rooted, which varies, some kinds being much longer than others, 
as season and situation too operate to create a difference ; I take 
the layers up carefully and put four plants into each twenty-four 
sized pot, placing the layers near the side of the pot, but not for 
the stem to touch it, for I have found many of the tender sorts 
die from that circumstance. 

The compost which I use is light; as soon as potted, they are 
well watered, and placed in a close frame and shaded : to those 
who have not the the convenience of a frame, a shady sheltered 
situation should be selected. After having been shaded about ten 
days, they will bear full exposure to the sun ; but to prevent inju- 


a 


—————E 


ON CARNATIONS. 275 


ry from heavy rains, the glass should be placed over the plants 
during the night. 

On the approach of winter, the pots are plunged in coal ashes, 
this is, of course, within the frame, and has the effect of prevent- 
ing the pots from drying, as well as to guard them against severe 
frosts. They remain in this situation till the following March, and 
are then more. fully exposed to the air, about the first week in 
April, they are finally removed into the pots in which they are 
intended to flower, viz. twelve inches deep and ten across, and 
others, fourteen deep and twelve across. In the former, I only 
put two plants, and in the latter I put four; I however, very 
much prefer the former, as the roots run much more freely in 
pots comparatively small, when they can easily reach the sides. 
Drainage is an essential consideration in the culture of the Car- 
nation; in order, therefore, that the water may escape from the 
earth in the pot with great readiness, I use about three inches of 
broken pots or stones; these are first placed in the bottom of the 
pot, and to prevent the earth mixing with this drainage, it is cov- 
ered with an inch of moss. When all are potted, I then remove 
them to a situation where they are sheltered from the north winds “ 
as the season advances, and the rays of the sun become powerful, 
I remove the pots where they receive partial shade from the mid- 
day sun, and in this situation they are allowed to flower. As 
soon as the flower stalks begin to grow, the stakes are placed in 
the centre of the pot, and the stems secured by ties of matting, 
according as at the time the buds begin to be formed, I place 
some finely broken manure on the surface of the pots, being 
watered through this, it greatly invigorates the plants and 
strengthens the bloom. When the buds are nearly ready to ex- 
pand, I assist them by using a sharp knife, to part the extremities 
of the calyx, they then burst much more freely. I also find it to 
be of the utmost consequence to protect the calyx from bursting, 
by tying a piece of matting neatly round its centre ; some flowers 
will bloom,without this precaution, but by far the greater number 
require it. As soon as the blossoms begin to expand, I shade the 
flowers with paper covers. Sometimes the flowers are in danger 
from earwigs, these I prevent from getting to the flower by a 
small gauze bag being placed under each flower to stop their pro- 
gress up the stem, which is quite effectual. 

For the compost I take equal portions of fresh loam, rotted cow- 
dung, a year old at least, river sand, and leaf mould; I have it 


276 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


looked over to see no wire worm is in it, when I apprehend there 
are small ones which escape notice, I have some fresh lime stonés 
thrown into a tub of water, have it well stirred up, and after con- 
fusion has subsided, and the water becomes clear as at first, I pour 
it in its clear state over the compost, this effects the destruction 
of any remaining. 

DiantTuus, 


ARTICLE V. 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 
(Continued from page 232.) 


Neither do they employ together the catalpha and the acacia, 
the yew and the willow, the plane and the sumach, nor any ofsuch 
heterogenous sorts ; but on the contrary, they assemble in their 
large woods, the oak, the elm, the beech, the tulip, the sycamore, 
maple and plane, the Indian chesnut, the tong-shu, and the west- 
ern walnut, the arbeal, the lime, and all whose luxuriant foliages 
hide the direction of their branches ; and growing in globular 
masses, assemble well together ; forming, by the harmonious 
combination of their tints, one grand group of rich verdure. 

In their smaller plantations, they employ trees of a smaller 
growth, but of the same concordant sorts; bordering them with 
Persian lilacs, gelder-roses, seryngas, coronillas or sennas of 
various sorts, flowering raspberries, yellow jessamine, hypericum 
or St. John’s wort, the spireea frutex, altheas, roses, and other 
flawering shrubs peculiar to China; such as the moli-wha, the 
quey-wha, the lan-wha, and the wen-quang-shu ; intermixed with 
flowers, and with the tallow-tree and padus of various species, the 
tse tang or rose tree, elder, mountain ash, acacia, double blossom- 
ed thorn, and many other sorts of flowering trees : and wherever 
the ground is bare, they cover it with white, blue, purple and 
variegated periwinkle, the convolvulus minor, dwarf stocks, vio- 
lets, primroses, and different kinds of creeping flowers ; and with 
strawberries, tutsen and ivy, which climbs up and covers the 
stems of the trees. 

In their large plantations, the flowers generally grow in the 
natural ground ; but in flower-gardens, andall other parts that are 
highly kept, they are in pots, buried in the ground ; which, as 
fast as the bloom goes off, are removed, and others are brought to 


ON CHINESE GARDENS, 277 


supply their places ; so that there is a constant succession, for al- 
most every month in the year ; and the flowers are never seen,'but 


in the height of their beauty. 


—— 


Amongst the most interesting parts of the Chinese plantations, 
are their open groves ; for as they spend much of their time there, 
care is taken to situate them as pleasantly as possible, and to 
adorn them with all kinds of natural beauties. 

The ground on which they are planted, is commonly uneven, yet 
not rugged: either on a plain, raised into many gentle swellings ; 
on the easy declivity ofa mountain, commanding rich prospects ; 
or in vales, surrounded with woods, and watered with springs and 
rivulets. Those which are in an open exposure, are generally 
bordered with flowery meadows, extensive corn-fields, or large 
lakes ; the Chinese Artists observing, that the brilliancy and gaiety 
of the objects, forma pleasing contrast with the gloom of the 
grove; and when they are confined in thickets, or close woods, 
the plantations are so contrived that, from every approach, some 
part of the grove is hid; which opens gradually to the eye of the 
passenger, satisfies his curiosity by degrees. 

Some of these groves are composed of evergreens, chiefly of 
pyramidal form, thinly planted over the surface, with flowering 
shrubs scattered amongst them: others consist of lofty spreading 
trees, whose foliage affords a shady retreat during the heat of the 
day. The plants are never crowded together ; sufficient room 
being left between them for sitting or walking upon the grass ; 
which, by its shady situation, retains a constant verdure; and, in 
the spring, is adorned with a great variety of early flowers, such 
as violets, crocus’s, polyanthus’ primroses, hyacinths, cowslips, 
snow-drops, daffodils and daisies. Some trees of the grove are 
suffered to branch out from the very bottom of the stem upwards ; 
others, for the sake of variety, have their stems bare ; but far the 
greater number are surrounded with rose-trees, sweet-briar, honey 
suckles, scarlet beans, nasturtiums, everlasting and sweet-scented 
peas, double blossomed briar, and other odoriferous shrubs, which 
beautify the barren parts of the plant, and perfume the air, 

Sometimes too their open groves are composed of lemon, orange, 
citron pompelmose, and myrtle-trees ; which, as the climate varies, 
either grow in the earth, or in buried tubs and pots, that are re- 
moved to greenhouses during the winter. They also have groves 
ofall sorts of fine formed fruit-trees ; which, when they blossom, 
or when their fruit is ripe are exceedingly beautiful; and to add to 


278 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


the luxuriance of these scenes, the Chinese Artists plant vines of 
different coloured grapes near many of the trees, which climb up 
their stems, and afterwards hang in festoons fics’ one tree to ano- 
ther. 

In all their open groves are kept young broods of pheasants, 
partridges, pea-fowls, turkies, and all kinds of handsome domestic 
birds, who flock thither, at certain times of the day to be fed ; 
they also retainin them, by the same method, squirrels, pe-che- 
li-cats, small monkies, cockatoos, parrots, hog deer, spotted ca- 
pritos, lambs, Guinea pigs, and many other little beautiful birds 
and animals. 

The trees which the Chinese Gardeners use in their open groves, — 
and also for detached trees, or groupes of two, three, or four toge- 
ther, are the mountain-cedar, the spruce, silver, and balm of 
Gilead firs, the larix, the smooth stemmed pine, the arbor vite, 
and cypress ; the weeping willow, the u-kyew-mu, the birch, the 
maple, the western walnut, arbeal, tulip acacia, oak, elm, and all 
others that grow in picturesque forms ; and whenever they loose 
their natural shape, either by too quick vegetation, or other acci- 
dents, they endeavour to reduce them to an agreeable form, by 
lopping off their exuberances ; or by forcing them into other direc- 
tions. The Indian, or horse-chesnut, the lime, and some others 
of a stiff, formal growth, they never use detached ; but find them 
on account of their rich verdure, their blossom, and abundant, 
foliage, very fit for thickets, woods and avenues. 

They have particular plants for the dressed gay parts of the 
Garden ; others in their wilds and scenes of horror; and others — 
appropriated to monuments and ruins ; or to accompany buildings — 
of various sorts ; according as their properties fit them for these 
different purposes. 

In planting, they are nicely attentive to the natural size of their 
plants ; placing such as are of humble growth in the front ; and © 
those that are higher, gradually inwards : that all may be exposed : 
to view at the same time. They appropriate certain plants to low 
moist situations; and others to those that are dry and lofty ; 3 
strictly aeaeiieie therein to Nature: for though a willow, say they 
may grow upon a mountain, or an oak in a bog, yet are not these 4 
by any means natural situations for either. j 

The lakes and rivers are well stored with fish and water-fowl ; 
all the vessels are contrived for fishing, hunting, and other sports. i 


‘! 


that are profitable as well as entertaining ; and in their borders — 


ON CHINESE GARDENS. 279 


they plant, instead of flowers, sweet herbs, celery, carrots, pota- 
toes, strawberries, scarlet beans, nasturtiums, endive, cucumbers, 
melons, pineapples, or other handsome fruits and vegetables ; while 
all the less sightly productions forthe kitchen, are carefully hid 
behind espaliers of fruit-trees. And thus, they say, every farmer 
may have a Garden without expense : and, that if all landholders 
were men of taste, the world might be formed into one continued 
Garden, without difficulty. 
_ Such is the substance of what I have apes collected relative 
to the Gardens of the Chinese. My endeavours, in this Article, 
have been to give the general outline of their style of Gard- 
ening, without entering into trifling particulars, and without 
enumerating many little rules of which the Artists occasionally 
avail themselves ; being pursuaded that, to men of genius, such 
minute discriminations are always unnecessary, and often preju- 
dicial, as they burden the memory, and clog the imagination with 
superfluous restrictions. 

The dispositions and different artifices before mentioned, 
are those which are chiefly practised in China, and such as best 
characterize their style of Gardening. But the artists of that 
country are so inventive, and so various in their combinations 
that no two of their compositions are ever alike: they never 
copy nor imitate each other ; they do not even repeat their own 
productions ; saying, that what has once been seen, operates 
feebly at asecond inspection ; and that whatever bears even a dis- 
tant resemblance to a known object, seldom excites a new idea. 
The reader is therefore not to imagine that what has been related 
is all that exists ; on the contrary, a considerable number of other 
examples might have been produced: but those that have been 

ffered, will probably be sufficient: more especially as most of 
them are like certain compositions in music, which, though, sim- 
ple i in themselves, suggest, to a fertile imagination, an endless 
“succession of eompliated variations. 

To the generality of Europeans, many of the foregoing descrip- 
_tions may seem improbable ; and the execution of what has been 
described, in some measure impracticable : but those who are bet- 
ter acquainted with the East, know that nothing is too great for 
Eastern magnificence to attempt ; and there can be few impossi- 
Dilities, where treasures are inexhaustible, where power is 
‘unlimited and where munificence has no bounds. 


4 
Ae] 


280 ON CHINESE GARDENS. 


European artists must not always hope to rival Oriental grandeur: 
they will seldom find islands for ostriches, or forests for elephants, 
where property is much divided, where power is confined, and 
wealth rare: men of genius may often conceive more than it is 
practicable to execute ; yet let them always boldly look up to the 
sun, and copy as much of its lustre as they can : circumstances will 
frequently obstruct them in their course, and they may be pre- 
vented from soaring high; but their attention should constantly be 
fixed on great objects, and their productions always demonstrate, 
that they knew the road to perfection, had they been enabled to 
proceed on the journey. 

Where twining serpentine walks, digging holes and crooked 
ditches for earth to raise mole-hills, scattering shrubs, and ringing 
never-ceasing changes on lawns, groves and thickets, is called 
Gardening ; artists will have few opportunities of displaying their 
talents; it matters little there who are the Gardeners ; a cabbage 
planter may rival a Claude, and a clown outwine a Poussin ; the 
meanest may do the little there is to be done, and the best could 
reach no farther. But wherevera better style is adopted, and 
Gardens are to be natural, without resemblance to vulgar Nature, 
new without affectation, and extraordinary without extravagance ; 
where the spectator is to be amused, where his attention is con- 
stantly to be kept up, his curiosity excited, and his mind agitated 
by a great variety of opposite passions, there parts will be neces- © 
sary; and Gardeners must be men of genius, of experience and — 
judgement ; quick in perception, rich in expedients, fertile in — 
imagination, and thoroughly versed in all the affections of the 
human mind, 


On Cainese GARDENS. 


ARTICLE VI. 


ON THE CULTURE &. OF THE TULIP. 
BY MR. J FORBES, STANLEY, YORKSHIRE. 
As the period is approaching for planting this long admired favor 
ite, the Tulip, I forward for insertion in the Cabinet, some 
remarks upon its history, descriptive properties, and” mode 
culture, extracted from the observations of a Continental Growe: 
of celebrity, (M. Trippet,) who forwarded me the same, along 


. 


ON THE TULIP. 281 


with a fine collection of splendid kinds of Tulips. He observes 
that the Tulip grows naturally on the Savoy mountains, and in 
the neighbourhood of Nice. It furnishes varieties of which the 
two principal are, first, Bizarres, and second, those ona white 
ground. ‘The first are those which have a yellow tinge, mingled 
with other colours, but entirely exclude white. 

They were in great esteem forty or fifty years back, but are look- 
ed onless favourable at present. Many persons, however, culti- 
vate them still, to form acontrast, by their dark shades of colour, 
with those on a white ground. The last named kinds, on the 
contrary, have not the slightest trace of yellow. Sometimes, 
indeed, at the moment of blowing, a few exhibit a pale shade of 
yellow, put the rays ofthe sun soon render them of apure white. 
These are again sub-divided into two classes : the first into tulips, 
on a white ground, streaked with red, pink, crimson, &e. ; and, 
secondly, those on awhite ground, streaked with violet, amaranth, 
purple, lilac, &e. The tulips, commonly called Dutch, are the 
only ones now admitted into a choice collection, and of these 
there are about 700 good varieties. 

In order to be admitted into this privileged class, certain con- 
ditions have been laid down by lovers of the flower, which the 
tulip should fulfil, and to fail in even a single regulation is sufficient 
to cause it to be rejected. These conditions are, first, regularity 
of form ; secondly, harmony of proportions between the several 
parts ; thirdly, firmness of the stalks and petals ; and, fourthly, on 
each of these a union of at least three colours clearly defined. 

With respect to the first condition, it is indispensible that, from 
the point of junction, the petals should bend themselves gracefully 
about a third part of their height, and then describe a straight line 
to the top, so asto forma sort of cup with acircular opening. The 
summit of the petals must not be in the slightest degree, blunt or 
jagged at the edge. 

Referring to the second condition, the width of the flower ought 
to be about three-quarters of its height. The nicest harmony of 
proportions ought to reign, not only in the different parts of the 
corolla, but also between this latter and the stem. The bulk of 
this ought to be co-ordinate, both with its own height, and with 
the colour of the corolla, Thus a flower, with breadth equal to 
its height, a long stem supporting a diminutive flower, or a fine 
corolla inserted into a weak, bending, or ridiculously short stem, 

Vou. VII. No. 82. LL 


282 ON THE TULIP. 


are blemishes which the severe taste of good judges proscribe as 
fatal. . 

As to the third law, we may remark that strength and straight- 
ness of stem are indispensible. Here the petals must be well fur- 
nished, for they then resist more easily the power of the solar 
rays. 

To satisfy the fourth condition, it is necesssry that at least three 
colours should appear, harmoniously combined, so that the eye 
may love to rest ori the union. They must be well defined, bright 
and formed into regular designs—they must continue perfect up 
to the time of the ftower going off, without running into each other 
from the effects of rain, or becoming weak and dried from the 
rays of the sun. 

Tulips are obtained in two different manners—by seed and off- 
sets. Experience proves that any variety of tulip is not re- 
produced by seed ; and hence amateurs always have recourse to 
this mode of propagating it, when they desire to obtain new kinds 
which kinds they denominate Conguests.. In order to obtain the 
accomplishment of their wishes with more certainty, they take 
care not to employ any seed but that which comes from tulips 
having the bottom of the petals ofa pure white, because the 
colours of tulips proceeding from such seed develope themselves 
more rapidly than those produced from other seed. Tulip seed 
ought to be placed in the earth about the month of October, in 
ground well prepared for its reception. It should be protected 
from the frost by layers of leaves or mats. When carefully at- 
tended to, the plants will appear above ground towards the end 
of February. From the size of a pea the first year, the root 
will increase considerably in the two following springs. ‘‘ At 
each of these periods, when the young leaves are faded,” I spread 
over my plants about an inch of earth, such as covered the seed 
originally, and the bulbs remain untouched. This! allow asecond 
winter, when the bulbs being a good size, I take them up and 
afterwards treat them as others. When,I replant I place them 
ata depth of three inches, and two or three inches apart. Lat- 
terly, each year, I replant them in fresh ground; convinced by 
experience, that they reach perfection sooner by changing the 
soil, particularly if it has been well manured and fertilised by ha- 
ving grown other plants. No matter what care may have been 
devoted to the seed, few perfect flowers are obtained in the first 
blow, which does not usually take place before the fourth year; in 


———————————— ss CULT 


we. re eee 


ON THE TULIP. 283 


the following years, gradual amelioration of the colours take place, 
and those which at first were vague and indeterminate, finish at 
last, though in no fixed time, by assuming clear and distinct cha- 
racters, uutil they reach all the perfection of which they are 
capable. Every tulip produced by seed, and as yet ina state of 
immaturity, is called a breeder, and in this state may continue 
from two to ten years. From the first blowing all flowers whose 
form is ill made, or whose petals are thin, or whose stem is weak 
and bending, or is tinged with yellow, are thrown away. When 
the petals fall, the seed vessels are broken off in order to give 
more strength to the root. After the fourth year, the roots are 
treated as those of a collection already formed. The offsets of a 
tulip always re-produce a plant identical with that from which they 
proceed. The period of their coming into bloom is from the first 
to the fourth year. They are planted in September, about three 
inches apart, in proportion to their size, in ground prepared the 
month before. A great number would -perish from being dried. 
up, if plarting them was delayed to November. In taking them 
up and replanting, the same order is observed as is followed in an 
established collection. The advantage of offsets is great, as they 
serve to repair losses which a severe season or accident may 
cause to the old collection. In a tulip collection, the size of the 
roots is a matter of importance. It has been remarked that some 
of them, of a large size, produce petals which are not properly 
proportioned. Most frequently they become open and loose, 
whilst when the roots, are of moderate size, the flowers are per- 
fect. Experience, however, is the safest guide in selecting the 
roots. 

It is not sufficient to unite the most beautiful tulips in the same 
place, as ifthey are thrown together by chance or without harmo- 
ny Not only must the heights agree, but also the colours. Art 
in this respect comes to the embellishment of Nature. In order 
to display as much as possible the richness and value of a fine 
collection, the following precautions ought to be attended to, as 
they will be found to facilitate the labour in a high degree. 

If, for instance, I have 300 tulip roots to plant, whose height 
and colour I am perfectly acquainted with, I provide six drawers 
with fifty compartments in each. In these I place the roots, in 
some position where the air will have a free access. I place the 
drawers in a case, one over the other, with a space between to let 
in the air, and the whole is surrounded with a wire grating, to 


284 ON THE TULIP. 


keep away rats and mice. As I know accurately the classification 
of my tulips, according to height and colour, yet I place the roots 
in proper order in the compartments. Its first series hold those 
whose stem is highest, and which are planted on the top of the 
bed: the other compartments hold others less high, until all are 
filled. The colours alternate as symmetrically as possible, so that 
the same colour never appears twice together, either longitudi- 
nally or transversely. It will result from this disposition of the 
plants, that, in looking at the the bed obliquely, they appear like 
a draught-board, with lines formed of an uninterrupted colour. 
When | have properly arranged the roots in these compartments, 
the next step isto choose out a piece of ground, not moist, open, 


exposed to the south-east in preference to the south west, and dis- ‘ 


tant at least fifteen feet from any wall, or hedge, I find it best to 
give the bed a certain inclination, in order first to see the position 
of the flowers more easily, and next to facilitate the flowing off of 
rain or other moisture. When I make a second bed, I place it 
opposite and parallel to the other, with a walk of about four feet 
between, and with the lower part of one bed next to the lower part 
of the other. By this means the two beds incline towards each 
other. In order to renew certainly the principles which are indis- 
pensible to bring tulips to perfection, the earth is changed every 
two years ; and in order to preserve to the plants, the second year, 
a vegetation as favourable as the first, it is well watered with liquid 
manure, poured over the ground in July or August ; and in order 
that every particle of the earth should be impregnated with it, the 
whole soil is dug up in a month after, and well mingled together. 
This is far preferable to mixing up dung with the soil as is usu- 
ally done, I find the flowers are equally fine, and of much clearer 
and finer colours. When the earth is properly prepared thus, 
from the 12th to the 20th of November, the planting of the roots 
' takes place. The bed is carefully measured, and the roots placed 
at equal distances. A small portion of sand placed at the bottom 
of each hole, and the root covered with alittle, allows the moisture 
to pass through it quickly, and the roots are protected from 
insects. When the roots are placed thus, they are covered by 
the hand with a small quantity of earth; not pressing it too closely, 
as if done so, the earth is rendered too compact by the pressure, 
so that the roots do not vegetate easily, and the plant is liable to 
be injured by moisture, which finds some difficulty in passing 
through, The edges of my beds are supported, with stone, which 
keeps out all insects. 


: 


ON THE TULIP. 285 


Tulips, from being exposed to the intemperature of the atmos- 
phere, are subject to certain diseases, which it is of consequence . 
to prevent. From the middle of February, to the middle of 
April, they have generally to encounter snow, hail, and cold rains. 
The cups formed by the young leaves, at the bottom of which the 
bud lies shut up, get filled with rain, and the result is, that the 
water remains there until it insinuates itself into the interior of 
the root, and often spoils it, or impedes its opening. To obviate 
any inconvenience arising from exposure to the weather, it is ne- 
cessary to shelter the flowers with a covering of canvass, which, 
by means of cords and pullies, I can extend or roll up at will. 
The bed is covered with this in unfavourable weather, but exposed 
to the rays of the sun, and to gentle rain. When the flowers are 
open the covering is kept over the bed during rain, and from nine 
to four o’clock in case of sun, by this means the duration of 
blowing, is prolonged, and the beauties of the flowers can be ad- 
mired without any exposure to rain or sun. 

When the flowers are open I take a particular survey of my 
stock to see that each kind is true to the catalogue register, and 
regulate if required. When the bloom is over, the seed vessels 
are cut off, in order that the roots may profit by the sap, which 
otherwise would have been absorbed. The time for taking up 
the roots is easily ascertained. When the stems roll themselves 
round the fingers without breaking, then I am certain that the time 
for taking up has arrived. This takes place generally towards the 
end of June, and I am careful to observe the same order as was 
adopted in planting them. Too tender to resist the action of 
the sun after being taken from the ground, the roots are liable 
to perish by being exposed to its rays, so that care is taken to 
avoid such injury. 

In taking them upI gently uncover the ground at the sides of 
the roots, and then uncover them ; after they have been depri- 
ved of their shoots, of their dry skins, and separated from the 
offsets, I place them in cases destined to receive them. I then 
leave them to dry in the shade from morning to evening, for four 
or five days. During a month, I occasionally expose them to the 
air, in order to guarantee their perfect dryness, and thus con- 
tribute to their better preservation. Some other remarks on 
Florist’s flowers are sent me which I reserve for future occasions, 


JAMES ForBEs. 


286 NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 


PART II. 


NEW OR RARE PLANTS. 


(Noticed since our last.) 


x 


BAUHINIA CORYMBOSA. Corymb-flowering Bauhinia (Bot. Reg. 47. 
FABACEX., TRIANDRIA, MONOGYNIA. 


A very pretty climbing shrub, introduced from China some time ago, 
but we believe all attempts to bloom it had been unsuccessful, until Septem- 
ber 1838, when a plant under the treatment of Mr. Wells, of Redleaf, pro- 
duced an abundance of flowers, which are of a delicate blush color. In the 
Linnean classification this plant suits, equally well, no fewer than eight 
classes or orders. Jt succeeds best when placed in a cool part of the stove, 
and planted in a fresh and rich soil composed of peat, loam, and decayed 
manure, 


CORYANTHES MACULATA, var, PARKERI. Spotted lipped Coryanthes, 
Mr. Parker’s variety. (Bot. Mag. 3747. 


ORCHIDACEZ. GYNANDRIA, MONANDRIA, 


Introduced from Demerara, and cultivated by C. S. Parker, Esq. ; the ra- 
ceme produces numerous flowers, each is about three inches across, yellow, 
with a labellum of a brownish purple, spotted with darker purple spots. 


OXALIS BARRELIERI. Barrellier’s Shrubby Wood Sorrel. 
(Bot. Mag. 3748. 
OXALIDEZ, DECANDRIA PENTAGYNIA. 


A hothouse species, growing about a foot high, each branch bearing seve- 
ral flowers of a pretty yellow colour, spotted with brown. Eaeh blossom is 
about half an inch across, 


TOURRETTIA LAPPACEA, Bur-fruited. (Bot. Mag. 3749,” 
BIGNONIACEZ, DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. 


A native of Peru, introduced in 1837 into the Glasgow Botanic Garden, by 
J. M‘Lean, Esq., of Lima, where it has bloomed. The plant is annual climb- 
ing to five feet high; the flowers are produced in terminal spikes of about 
ten blossoms on each; the calyx is at first of a bright red, changing to green; _ 
the corolla is of a dark purple, slightly streaked. Each flower is about half 
an inch long. 


ODONTOGLOSSUM ROSSI. Mr. Ross's (Bot, Reg. 48. 
ORCHIDACEXZ, GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. : 


Mr. Ross the collector for G. Barker, Esq., sent this very pretty flowering 
plant from Mexico; each flower has a bright white lip, lying, as it were, in 
the centre of a rich green, yellow, and blue star of three points, and pro- 
duces a beautiful and interesting appearance. Each flower is about two 
inches across; the flower scape rises to about six or eight inches high. 


NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 287 


RHODODENDRON CAMPANULATUM. Bell-flowered. 


(Bot. Mag, 3759. 
ERICEZ. DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


This very fine flowering species has rarely bloomed in this country, it has 
however, flowered with Mr. Dickson, at the Newton Nursery, Chester; Mr. 
Dickson states, that the plant has been growing in the open ground for seven 
years, and during the severest winter has been uninjured; that gentleman, 
having to remove the plant from its situation, placed it in a tab in Novem- 
ber 1838, and put it in a greenhouse, where it bloomed the last spring. The 
plant is near five feet high, and bushy, and when in bloom was a most splend- 
id object ; the flowers are of a very delicate rose colour, dotted with a rosy 
purple, and tinged with yellow inthe tubular part. Each blossom is about 
two inches and a half across, of a bell shaped form, and are produced nu- 
merously in fine heads. 


CLEMATIS LATHYRIFOLIA. Large flowered erect Clematis. 
(Bot. Reg. 61. 
RANUNCULACEA. POLYANDRIA POLYGYNIA. 


A very showy hardy perennial plant, the stems grow erect to about four 
feet high, producing a profusion of white blossoms frum July to the end of 
the summer. 


DENDROBIUM FORMOSUM. Beautiful Tree-bloom. (Bot. Reg. 64. 
ORCHIDACEZ. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA,. 


Collected on the Nepal Mountains, by Dr. Wallich, who observes that it 
grows in large tufts upon trees or rocks; it is a magnificent flowering spe- 
cies. The flowers are produced on racemes, each having from four to seven 
blossoms ; the flower is about three and a half inches across, of a beautiful 
_ delicate white, having a large yellow spot on the labellum. It has a very 
agreeable perfume. ; 


FABIANA IMBRICATA., Imbricated. (Bot. Reg. 59. 
SOLANACBA. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 


This very neat and pretty flowering plant was originally discovered in 
Chili, it has very much the resemblance of some of the profuse white flower- 
ing heaths ; the blossoms are produced in spikes of six or more inches long ; 
each flower is near an inch in length, and as a very neat and delicate 
appearance, The plant is shrubby, having a bright green foliage, rather 
resembling in form the Tamarisk; the shrub, however, forms a pretty bush, 
and when grown in the greenhouse, is loaded with blossoms. It thrives well 
in sandy peat, and may be kept out of doors in summer, as is done by some 
with Heaths, but requires a little shade from mid-day sun. It has bloomed 
in the collection of Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, &c., Exeter, and Messrs. Rol- 
roe, Tooting. We have seen it exhibited at the Hort. Societies’ Rooms, 

ondon. 


PATERSONIA SAPPHARINA. Sapphire. . (Bot. Reg. 60. 
PATERSONIA. IRID#A. MONADELPHIA TRIANDRIA. 


A native of the Swan River, and introduced by that indefatigable florist, 
Captain Mangles. The plant is of the Iris tribe in growth, but the flowers 
have more the appearance of the Tradescantia; the stems rise to about two 
feet high, and terminate with a spatha of numerous flowers. Each blossom 
is about two inches and a half across, of a most beautiful violet blue, shaded 
with darker. The flowers are of short duration, but are produced in con- 
tinued succession. A greenhouse or cool frame treatment we judge to be 
suitable; it is well worth growing. 


288 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


PART III. 
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


QUERIES. o 


On Bioomine TROPHOLUM TUBEROSUM.—Having been a Subscriber to 
your Floricultural Cabinet for some time, | take the liberty of stating that I 
have grown the Tropceolum tuberosum for two years, both in the pot, and 
turned out in the open ground; in the former way I found it did not grow 
very strong, but in the ground it grew very vigorous, and covered an im- 
mense space of the wall against which it was placed, it was twelve feet high, 
but I cannot get it to flower, it grows on until the frost takes it, and never 
shews the least inclination to bloom; nor am 1 singular in this, as several of 
my friends have tried it with the same result. Now, if you can give me 
a reason for this, or directions for a more fortunate cultivation of this plant, 
in your next Number, you will confer a great favor on Ww.R, 


Liverpool, October ist, 1839. 
P.S.—I raised it first in the hotbed and turned it out in May. 


[We never saw it grown and trained against a wall, but it is very probable 
that the heat of the wall, as well as situation, would encourage the plant 
to grow too quickly, and run into shoots too weak to bloom, though ex- 
tending considerably in length. In such a situation a good supply of © 
water would be required, to have vigour to extent of shoots. 

When grown in the open border where the plants have the sun most of 
the day, we have seen the plants bloom freely ; they were planted in good 
rich soil, and had some branching sticks placed around them, so that as 
they extend, they formed bushes about the size of a moderate sized 
gooseberry bush. The open situation would prevent the over-rapid 
growth, and have a tendency to promote blooming; the plants we saw 
were tolerably good ones when turned out in May. 

We hope that any of our Readers who have bloomed the plant success, 
fully when trained, will forward us particulars of situation and mode of 
treatment.—Conp.] 


On BioomMInG TECOMA JASMINOIDES, AND IPOMZA HEDERACIFOLIA.—! have 
had a plant of- Tecoma Jasminoides and another of Ipomea hederacifolia in 
my possession for about twelve months, and have had them kept in a green- 
house. They have each grown to six feet, and are in excellent health, but 
have not shown any symptoms of flowering ; they were grown in peat, but 
I have lately transplanted them into a richer soil, with no better effect as to. 
blooming. I should be obliged to any of the Readers of the Cabinet who 
would furnish me with any information on the culture of the above named 
plants, so as to succeed in blooming them. M.L. R. M. 


October 5th, 1839. 


[Tpomea hederacea, and Ipomea hederifolia are annuals, and usually bloom, 
whether grown in pots or planted out into the open border. It is probable 
the Ipomea named, is not correct as to kind ; if it be a greenhouse spe- 
cies it will very probably bloom next season, sometimes the removal of a 
plant from a warm to a cold temperature will prevent its blooming the first 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 289 


Séason, or its tuber, (if of that class) may not be large enough to give 
vigour for blodiing the first season. If it be a hothouse species, it will, 
of course, require such a temperature. The Tecoma does not usually 
bloom till it has got well established, It is highly probable it will bloom 
next year.—Conp. ] 


Ow & Secect List OF TuLirs.—If some of your numerous readers would 
furnish a list of some realy good, but not high priced Tulips, such as come 
within the reach of Amateurs of moderate means. The colours also, and 
any observations which would be a guide to the purchase of a small collec- 
tion, it would I am confident be useful to many of your readers, and more 
particularly so, to E, N.N. 


[The following is a selection of superior kinds grown in the splendid col- 
lection of Messrs. Lockhart's, Seedsmen, Cheapside, at their grounds 
Fulham. 

TULIPS.—Biys.oems anv Roszs. 


8. d. 8. d: 

Ambassaduer de Hollande 7 6 | Imperatrice Romaina 2 6 
Bienfait Incomparable 5 0 de Maroc 5 0 
Cerise Prine ; 2 6! Dolittle . : 2 6 
Grotuis . 5 0 | Comte de Vergennes ° ( OT 
La Majestueuse 5 0} Armida . - 5 0 
L’arbre de Diane 5 0 |} Abigail F ‘hae 
Roi de Siam 7 6 | Belle Jacomine . 1 6 
Washington 2 6 ‘* Judaique . . ie 
Rose Hébé : 1 6 | General Woronzow . 2 6 
‘« Reine des Fleurs . 3 6] Maitre partout . “1 Sa 

“ Pretiosa : 2 6] Bacchus . . 5 0 

‘© Miniature . + 1 6] La Sultane 4 *taie o 

* Vestalis’ 5 3 6 Princessd’Austria . 2 6 

BIzarDs. 
Aeolus a 3.6 | Gargantua LinG 
Asdrubae . - 2 6! Gordianus 2 6 
Charbon Noir . 2 6/ La Lueur 5 P 3 6 
Feu de Courtray s 2 6 | Mallagrida . F 2 6 
Francis des Princes 5 0 | Pontifex Maximus F 236 
Gloria Mundi 5 5 0 | Prince de Roebec , 2 6 
Kirrhus A 2 6 | Mount Vesuvius 1 6 
Goud beurs 1 6 | Goudberg . ; 1 6 
La Mignonne . 1 6 | Passe d’Alost , é 5 0 
Le Devil 1 6 | Brisson . a 10. 6 
Trafalgar 1 Abbé de St. André Ind6 
Surpasse Catafalque , 1 Electeur de Cologne . 1 6 
Caravuta . 3 Incomparable Premier 2 6 
Conp.j 
ANSWER, 


ON SENDING DaHLIAS TO THE ANTIPODES.—In answer to S., who wishes to 
_ know how to send Dahlias to the Antipodes, I beg to say, that in November 
1838, I dispatched a collection to Bombay which were remarkably long on 
the voyage, exceeding four months,. and they arrived in very fine preserva- 
tion, The method is simply packing them in pounded charcoal in a deal 
box. I hope soon to give you an account of their altered nature; in August 
j heard they had grown to the height of twenty feet, with a stem the thick- 
n®*8 of a man’s arm, and covered with bloom; they flowered during the 
ya's. Is it probable they may become perennials? (the Dahlia 18s—Conp.) 
Vou. VII. No, 82. MM 


290 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


Narcissus and other bulbs were dispatched in the same way, and haye suc- 
ceeded equally well. But I should particularly advise S. not to wait till the 
Spring, but send them when in a state of rest. I sent at the same time a box 
of plants packed by a Nurseryman in dry moss, which he expected certainly 
to succeed, but they arrived a mass of rottenness; I should be glad to know 
from any experienced exporter, if he has succeeded in any way besides that 


of sending them in those small greenhouses now used by Messrs Loddiges, 
&e. J. 


REMARKS, 


On THE TRANSMISSION OF SeEDs FROM Remote Countries. &c—London 
Horticultural Meeting, September 18. 1838. Extracts were read from a let- 
ter, addressed to the Vice-Secretary, by Dr. Hugh Falconer, Superitendant 
of the Botanical Garden of Saharunpur, and dated Cashmeer, January 24. 
1838. 

‘* T have been gratified to find that the Himalayan seeds, sent by me, suc- 
ceeded so well with the Horticultural Society. 

“ As the result seems to have interested you, I may mention the mode in 
which the collection and package were managed. The seeds are collected 
generally on a march along an extensive tract of country ; as a general rule, 
the pericarps are not detached, but the fruit and seed immediately packed up 
in paper ; the closed paper packets, especially those containing baccate or 
juicy fruits, are daily exposed freely to the sun! and, to increase the 
heating effect of the solar rays, the packets are spread out on a black blan- 
ket, and kept so till the paper of the packets feels dry, a man being em- 
ployed in turning them occasionally : the paper inbibes moisture during the 
night, and the process is repeated til] all moisture is thoroughly dissipated. 
In the rains, which embrace about half the seed season in the Himalayas, the 
sun is not available, and the packets are daily dried before a gentle fire, till 
the same effectis produced ; but the result is much more uncertain as regards 
subsequent germination, In packing up the packages for transmission to 
Europe, the little packets are folded up looselyin a couple of envelopes of 
paper ; and an invariable caution is given along with them, never to let the 
packages get into a box or trunk, much Jess into the ship's hold ; but to sus- 
pend them loosely from an airy corner of the cabin, free from the risk of 
moisture and spray. 

“ On a march, where you move daily under canvass from place to place, 
the amount or duration of shade required for drying seeds, or their fleshy 
coverings, is not unavailable, or I should certainly never torrefy the packets 
in the sun ; all that can be said of the method is, that it speedily dries the 
seeds without killing them. The management on board ship appears to me 
to be every thing; loose wrappers, free exposure to the air in shade, and 
exemption from boxes, trunks, or the hold. ' 

“The exposure to the sun, with the augmented heatmg effect produced 
by radiation on a black blanket, is perhaps interesting with reference to the 
conditions mentioned by you at p. 304. of your Introduction te Botany, 2d 
edition; but the effect is probably merely a heating one, as the opacity of 
the paper, and the reflecting purity of the light colour, must prevent the 
luminous rays being transmitted to the seeds. I should certainly expect a 
different result in the end, with reference to germination, if the seeds were 
directly exposed. 

«© On one occasion, I received from England a large investment of garden 
vegetuble seeds from a London seedsman. They were packed in the thick 
dark brown paper which is generaily used hy grocers and scedsmen, and 
which, for the facility of folding, is usually in a somewhat damp state. The 
packages were nailed up in a large wooden box, with numerous folds of this 
paper, and the box then hermetically sealed in a tin case ; it then found its 
way into the ship's hold. The damp paper, which, in the temperature of 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 291 


England, say at 59°, would have mattered little, became an important agent 
when the ship got into the tropics ; at about 80° the damp became a hot va- 
pour, and, when the seeds reached me, I found them all in a semipulpy and 
mildewed state, in fact parboiled by the steam process ; and, out of a 30). 
investment, not a seed germinated. i 

“¢T shall soon have the pleasure of sending you another collection, made 
on the hills to the westward, and in Cashmeer, where I now am. 

“T have found the Prangos pabulbaria growing in the valley.” 

With reference to this communication, it was stated that by far the greater 
part of the seeds alluded to by Dr. Falconer were in a fresh state when they 
reached the Society, and presented a remarkable contrast with those which 
usually arive from Calcutta and elsewhere. There can be no doubt, that the 
most important precaution to observe, in conveying seeds safely through a 
long voyage, consists in exposing them freely to the air ; because, if thatis 
aitended to, the damp, which, when in combination with a high temperatare, 
contributes so much towards destroying the germinating power of seeds, is 
dissipated as fast as itis formed. It was added, that, in the experience of 
the Vice-Secretary, no better plan was known for sending to great distances 
most kinds of seeds, than, after being well dried, packing them loosely in 
common brown paper, and enclosing them, without pressure, in smal] coarse 
canyass bags, suspended from the sides of the cabin, where they could he 
kept dry. The society has tried various other methods, such as packing in 
sugar, and in charcoal : enclosing in tin cases, in bottles sealed up, &c.; 
and all such plans invariably proved unfit for the preservation of the germi- 
nating principle of seeds ; especially the two last, which had long been known 
to be a means of destroying, rather than preserving, life, although still per- 
severed in. 

It was added, in illustration of these observations, that the most successful 
instance of introducing seeds of the deodar cedar, from India, ocurred some 
years since ; when a plan, similar to that now recommended for adoption, was 
adhered to. In the year 1831, the Honourable T. Leslie Melville, on his re- 
turn to England, brought with him some cones of the deodar, thrown-loosely 
into a drawer in his cabin ; these were presented to the Society, by that gentle- 
man, and were so fresh, that nearly the whole of them germinated immedi- 
ately upon being sown ; and, in fact, furnished the principal part of the plants 
which the Society has been for some years distributing of this most valuable 
tree, 


On a New Metuop or WriTiInG on Zinc, FOR LABELLING PLants.—Mr. 
Henry Braconnot, the celebrated French Chemist of Nancy, to whom we are 
indebted for the curious transformation of rags and other similar vegetable 
substances into starch, gum, ‘and sugar, by the agency of oil of Vitriol, and 
whose name is well known in the chemical world for various researches con- 
nected with the analysis of vegetable substances, has given in the last num- 
ber of the Annales de Chimie et de Physique, a preparation for writing on 
plates of zinc to Jabel plants. The writer having a dislike to painting in oil 
which is often inconvenient, and never endures a long time, resolved to turn 
his attention to some other way which would prove both ready and durable. 
The system of writing on zinc with a black erayon, which was accidentally 
discovered by M. Symon an Amateur at Brussels, and noticed in the Revue 
Horticole for October 1832 and the Bon Jardinier, for 1832, possessing many 
imperfections, Mr, Braconnot to try some experiments, being anxious to ob- 
tain a liquid, or a species of ink, which’ would be perfectly durable when 
exposed to the changeableness of the weather, and also one with which, he 
could write with ease. This end, after several proofs, he is induced to be- 
lieve he has in a great measure attained. If it answers he will have done 
yore the botanists and amateurs a real service. The preparation is as fol- 

Ows :— 
Take Verdigres in powder one part, 
Salamoniac in powder one part, 


292 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Lamp black (Mori de Fumea) half a part, 

‘Water ten parts ; : 

Mix these in a glass or pot Mortar, at first only adding as much water as will 
mix it well, then add the remainder of the water, when placed in a vessel, let 
it be well shaked up from time to time and in a few days it will be ready 
for use. This is not only excellent for labelling plants, but also for marking 
objects it is wished to preserve in low, wet, situations, and for marking key, 
becoming quickly dry and being very durable. 


: 


FLORAL EXHIBITIONS, 


We have had numerous accounts of the Floral exhibitions held throughout 
the country, forwarded to us. In several instances, however, the names of 
the persons winning prizes were only given, and not the names of the flowers; 
from the first of our commencing the Floricultural Cabinet we have refused 
to insert such accounts, vot having in them anything to benefit our readers. 
Where the names of the flowers are given we consider it of interest and 
value, inasmuch as it shows which kinds are most superior for the desired 
purposes, especially with what are usually termed Florist’s flowers, such as 
Dahlias, Carnations, Pinks, &c. 

Hutt anv East Ripine Fiorat anp Horticutturay Socrety.—This 
Society held their fifth exhibition on the 15th of Angast at the Public-rooms, 
Jarratt-street. The flowers possessed most superior excellence of quality ; 
the piccotees upon yellow grounds surpassed everything hitherto exhibited 
in this place, particularly the pans shown by Dr. Horner, and Mr. H. S. Nor- 
man, ‘he plants, by Mr. Simon Appleton, gardener to Avison Terry, Esq., 
merit great praise. A pan of Seedling Carnations and Piccotees, raised by 
Dr.-Horner, and bloomed this season for the first time, were of superior 
quality, and many of them offer as first-rate flowers. A stand of very beau- 
tiful and rare flowers were exhibited by Messrs. Forsyth and Ward, of 
Anlaby, as also a fine tray of splendid Panzies, all from their nursery. The 
whole exhibition was most pleasing and gratifying to the numerous visitors, 
and reflected great credit to the members of the Society. 

The following is a list of prizes, and to whom awarded :— 

Premium by Joseph Sykes, Esq.—Carnations.— Dr. Horner, Ely’s Lovely 
Ann ; Ditto by J. C. Parker, Esq.; Dr. Horner, Horner’s Judith Ann; ditto 
by Mr. Wm. Bursta)] ; Dr. Horner, Ely’s Mango; ditto by a friend, Dr. 
Horner, Ely’s Lord Milton, 

Pink Bizarre—}. Dr. Horner, Ely’s Lord Milton; 2. Mr. Burman, ditto; 3. 
Dr: Horner, Paul Pry ; 4. and 5. ditto, ditto ; 6. Mr. John Hodgson, Ely’s Lord 
Milton. 

Scarlet Bizarre —1] and 2. Dr. Horner, Ely’s jolly Dragoon ; 3. Mr. Ogles- 
by, Ditto: 4. Dr. Horner, Seedling, 1839, Horner’s Thunderbolt ; 5. and 6. 
Mr. Burman, Ely’s Jolly Dragoon. 

Purple Flake.—1. Dr. Horner, Ely’s Mango; 2. Ditto, Lascelle’s Queen of 
Sheba; 3. Ditto Turner’s Princess Charlotte:; 4. Ditto Leighton’s Bellerophon; 
5. Mr. John Hodson, Ely’s Lady Hewley ; 6. Mr. Burman, Ely’s Mango. 

Pink or Rose Flake—1 and 2. Dr. Horner, Ely’s Lovely Ann ; 3. Mr. Bur- 
man, Ditto; 4. Dr. Horner, Ditto; 5. Mr. Burman, Ely’s Miss Molly ; 6. Dr. 
Horner, Seedling, 1839. ; 

Scarlet Flake.—1. Dr. Horner, Wilson's William the Fourth ; 9. Mr. Bur- 
man, Cheshire Hero; 8. Dr. Horner, Seedling, 1839, Horner's Firefly ; 4 and 
5. Ditto, Wilson’s William the Fourth, 6. Mr. Burman, Taylor’s Festival. 

Self—1. Dr. Horner, Horner’s Judith Ann ; 2. Ditto, Seedling, 1839, Horn- 
er’s Miss Fanny ; 3. Mr. Burman, Purpurea ; 4. Ditto, No. 145; 5 Dr. Horner, 
' Seedling, 1839; 6. Mr. Burman, Beauty. ‘ 

Piccotees—Premium by William Lowthrope, Esq. ; Dr. Horner, Bemming- 
ford Beauty ; Ditto by William V. Norman, Esq.; Dr. Horner, Seedling, 
1839, Horner’s Dewdrop ; Ditto, by Dr. Horner, for the best Pan of Yellow. 
—Piccotees, not less than six, Dr. Horner, ? 


_ MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 293 


Parple-edged or Striped—1. Dr. Horner, Seedling, 1839, Horner’s Dew- 
drop ; 2 Mr. Burman, Ely’s Dr. Horner; 8. Mr. Bell, Wood's Agrippina ; 4 Mr. 
Burman, Star of Brunswick ; 5. Dr. Horner, Hufton’s Miss Willoughby ; 6. 
Ditto, Ely’s Vanquisher. 

Red Scarlet, or Pink-edged or Striped—1. Dr. Horner, Hemmingford 
Beauty; 2. Ditto, Hogg’s Miss Campbell; 8. Ditto, ditto ; 4. Ditto, Ely’s 
Criterion ; 5. Ditto, Geddin’s Miss Desbrough ; 6. Ditto, Hemmingford Beau- 


ty. 

"Yellow Ground edged or Striped—1.Dr, Horner, Rosalie de Rohan 32. 
Ditto, Princess; 3. Mr. H. S. Norman, Ugolina ; 4. Dr. Horner, Ariel, 5. 
Ditto, Rosalie de Rohan ; 6. Dr. Burman, Barron’s Queen Adelaide. 

Yellow Self—1, Mr. H. S. Norman,No, 1, 2. Ditto; 8. Dr. Horner, Golden 
Drop; 4. Ditto, Goldfinch ; 5. Mr. Burman; No. 1; 6, ditto, No. 1. 


A NationaL ARBORETUM.—We have been informed that a National Ar- 
boretum is about to be planted in the New Forest, Hampshire, by Mr, Page 
of Southampton. 

The ground being national property is under the direction of the commis- 
sigaers of Woods and Forests. It will be situated about two miles from 
Lyndhurst. ConDucTor, 


A Susseription Borantc GarDEN—is in contemplation, by taking a 
considerable quantity of the grounds at White Knights. Of the specimens 
of rare trees and shrubs, in what is termed the wilderness, many of them, 
are unequalled in this country. 


Royax Boranio Soctety.—The ground at the circle Regent’s Park ig in 
rapid progression for its object. A charter of incorporation has been 
granted to the society ‘for the promotion of Botany in all its branches, and 
its application to medicine, arts, and manufacturers ; and also for the for- 
mation of extensive botanical and ornamental gardens.” President: the 
Duke of Richmond ;—Treasurer: Mr. Majoribanks—Council: the Duke of 
Norfolk, Earl of Albermarle, J, Rushbrook, P. Barnes, and J, C. Sowerby, 
Esqrs. 


On INCREASING THE NUMBER OF FLOWERS ON THE Cuinese Primrose.— 
When the first flowers appear in autumn Pinch them off, this induces a more 
vigorous and numerous production to follow ; I have practised this mode of 
treatment for the last two years with astonishing success, A.A. 


prosperity ; upwards of three hundred Gardeners and workmen are attached 
to it. Numerous travellers are employed by the Company, to traverse, the 
extent of the country subject to its domination, with a View to add to the 
collection of plants, and which have considerably enriched the science of Bo- 


294 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 


Allthe species are arranged under their different families, and each family 
is sent to the Botanist who has given proof of his peculiar fitness for its 
examination. Mr.G. Bentham, the Caryophyllea and Labiatez ; Dr. Lind- 
ley the Roseacee ; Mr. De Candolle the Umbellifera, Caprifoliacezee, Loran- 
thee &c ; M. A. De Candolle the Campanulacee ; And M. Choicy the 
Convolyuli. Each of these gentlemen receives the first disposable duplicates 
in the portion confided to him, and is to make them known to the Public. 
The other specimens are to be divided into collections and distributed into 
the different countries, so as to prove most efficient in extendinga knowledge 
of the Botany of India. 


NEW PLANTS. 


Lonpon Horticutturat Socreties GArDEN.—The first portion of the 
very splendid conservatory is rapidly progressing, it is glazed, and the in- 
terior in a very forward state. It has the advantage of a greater portion of 
light than any other erection of the kind we ever saw; its construction, ele- 
gance, and utility are admirably combined. The portion now in progress 
forms the west wing of what is ultimately to have attached a circular centre, 
and an east wing. The length of the west wing is one-hundred and eighty- 
three feet, in breadth thirty feet, and height to the centre of the roof thirty- 
two feet, forming already a necessary and valuable appendage to the 
gardens, and we hope the liberality of those gentlemen who have duplicates 
of new and fine plants, will be extended to furnish it well at an early 
period. We were much gratified on examining the plants trained against 
the south wall of the arboretum, several, which are usually grown in the 
greenhouse, we found growing and flowering freely against the wall. 

A plant of Leycesteria Formosa had extended five feet high, and spread 
widely, it had numeroas heads of flowers, the red, purple, and whitish ca- 
lyxes producing a very pretty effect. 

Cercis Siliquastrum.— We saw in May and June, clothed with thousands of 
its lovely rose colored blossoms, this plant covering the wall to a great ex- 
tent, and now appearing like a large trained fig tree destitute of its foliage, 
it isnow, November, loaded with seed, which gives it an interesting appear- 
ance. The plant -deserves a- place wherever it can be introduced, its 
charming blossoms somewhat the form of those of Rose Acacia, but not on 
long racemes, it has a most beautiful appearance when in bloom. ‘The tree 
grows rapidly. 

Brugmansia Sanguinea.—Several plants had extended some distance, and 
were then in fine bloom. 

Solanum Jaciniatum.—This was nine feet high, equally extended; its fine 
stags horn looking foliage giving it an attractive appearance. The flowers 
are tolerably sized of a pretty lilac, and are succeeded by fine red fruit 
having the appearance of good sized capsicums. 

Physianthus Albicans.—This plant extended ten feet high by ten broad ; 


the foliage is very pretty, the flowers are white, much the appearance of 


those of a Syringa; these are succeeded by large green fruit, each about 
four inches long and three indiameter. It blooms profusely, and is a liberal 
fruit bearer. 1t merits a place wherever practicable. 

Lavatera Trilobata.—Extending nine feet by nine, its fine rosy pink 
flowers (each about three inches across) giving it a very showy and beau- 
tiful appearance. 

Ceanothus azareus, ©. azareus palligus.—The former with its numerous 
and beautiful blue heads of flowers; and the latter with those nearly white 
were objects of attraction. The plants are neat and rapid in growth, free 
in blooming, showy and handsome, and ought to be grown wherever they 
can. Description of many more will be given in our following numbers. 
A temporary construction, for covering the plants, was erected; a wooden 
coping extended a foot from the wall, with sloping supporters in front, 
against which canvass, or woolen netting can be spread, as found necessary. 


MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 295 


REFERENCE TO PLATE. 


Erysinum Perorsktanum.—Orange flowered Treacle Mustard. This very 
handsome and ornamental plant is said to be a native of Persia. Seeds of 
it were sent to the Edinburgh Botanic Garden in 1838. Lady Mary Cath- 
cart, of Cathcart, received seeds of it from Caboul, and with them a state- 
ment that it was a native of Persia. Her Ladyship has observed upon it, 
that when grown in pots the plants are weak, but when in the open border 
they are vigorous as the common wall flower, and produce numerous heads 
of flowers in succession. We have seen it grow in the open borders in vast 
profusion in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and there it 
produced a fine effect. The plant appears to be annual, seeding abundantly, 
and self sown, produces a host of plants around it, similar to the well known 
Candy Tuft. The plant grows about half a yard high, with numerous shoots 
each having a fine spike (some near a foot long) of its showy blossoms. It 
deserves a place in every flower garden or border, as it blooms freely, is 
very showy, and continues for several’months in bloom. We have procured 
a stock of it. 


Fuscnia Cuanperit.—This very striking kind has been raised by Messrs. 
Chandlers of the Vauxhall Nursery, London. It is a production between 
Fuchsia Fulgens and one of the older kinds, probably globoso. The seed 
was from the latter. It is stated by persons who have had ample means of 
aScertaining, that fuchsia fulgens impregnated by the other kinds produces 
plants with flowers similar to the small kinds, but the smaller kinds impreg- 
_ nated with fulgens produces plants having flowers partaking of the form 
and colour of the latter. 


Portutacca GRANDIFLORA RaTiLA. This appears to be a variety raised 
from grandiflora impregnated with (probably P. Gillesia) some other. It is 
a very beautiful flowering plant, well meriting a place in every flower gar- 
den during summer, or to be kept in pots in'an airy greenhouse. The plant, 
like the other kinda, is difficult to keep throtgh winter, frequently dying of 
by being kept too damp; it requires to be planted in pots with a good deal 
of drainage, and be placed high in the centre Of the pet, and with any com- 
mon care may then be easily kept. ach 


FLORICULTURAL CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER, 


Pxant Stove.—Roses, Honeysuckles, Jasmines, Persian Lilacs, Azaleas, 
Rhododendrons, Carnations, Pinks, Primroses, Mignonette, Stocks, Aconites, 
&c. required to bloom from January, should be brought in early in the pre- 
sent month, the plants should be placed at first in the coolest part of the 
house, never allow them to want water. Pots or boxes containing bulbuous 
rooted flowering plants as Hyacinths Narcissusses, Persian Irises, Crocuses, — 
&c., should occasionally be introduced so as to have a succession of bloom, 
AH stove plants will require occasionally syringing over the top in order to 
wash off any accumulated dust from the foliage. Cactus plants that have 
been kept out of doors or in the greenhouse, should occasionally be brought 
into the stove for flowering, which gives a succession, If any of the forced 
plants be attacked with the green fly, a syringe with dilated Tobacco water 
will destroy them. If the leaves appear bit, and turn brown the effect of da- 
mage by red spider, a syringe of soap suds at the under side of the leayes is 
effectual to destroy them. The glutinous substance remaining not only kills. 
those it is applied to but presents others returning there. nes 


Greennovse.—As much fire as will barely keep out frost will be necessary 
and for the purpose of drying up damp arising from foggy nights, or from 


296 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE, 


watering ; all possible air should be admitted in the day time, but mind to 
keep the plants from damage of frost. Chrysanthemums will require a very 
free supply of air, and a good supply of water. By the end of the month ma- 
ny will be going out of bloom, such should be cut down and if any kind be 
scarce, the stalks may be cut in short lengths and be struck in heat, always 
cut the lower end of the cutting close under the joint. If greenhouse plants 
require watering, or syringing, over the tops, let it be done on the morning 
of a clearday when air can be admitted, and towards evening a gentle fire 
heat should be given. 


Frower Garpen.—Be careful to protect beds of, what are technically 
called, Florist’s Flowers, should severe weather occur. Calceolarias that 
were cut down and repotted last month will require attention, not to water 
too much or they will damp off, keep them in a cool and airy part of the 
greenhouse or pit. Whilst in a cool and moist atmosphere the shoots will of- 
ten push at the underside numerous rootlets, where such are produced the 
shoots should be taken off and potted, they make fine plants for next season, 
and are easier propagated now than at any other season. 

Auriculas and Polyanthuses will require plenty of air in fine weather, and 
but little water ; the like attention will be required to Carnations, Pinks &c., 
kept in pots. Dahlia roots should be looked over to see if any are moulding 
or likely to damage, let the roots be dry before they are laid in heaps. New- 
ly planted shrubs should be secured, so that they are not loosened by the 
wind. The pots of Carnations.and Piccotees Chava be placed in a situation 
where they may have a free air, and be raised above the ground ; if they are 
under a glass case, it will bemuch better than when exposed to the wet and 
severity of the winter, or many will, in all probability, be destroyed Where 
it is desirable to leave patches of border flowers undistributed, reduce them 
to a-suitable size by cutting them round with a sharp spade, When it is 
wished to have a vigorous specimen, it is requisite to leave a portion thus 
undisturbed. Ten week stocks, and mignionette, in pots for blooming early 
next spring to adorn a room or greenhouse, must not be overwatered, and be 
kept free from frost. A cool frame, well secured by soil or ashes at the sides 
and plenty of mats or reeds to cover at night will answer well. Tender ever- 
greens newly planted, would be benefited by a little mulch of any kind being 
laid over the roots. During hard frosts if additional soil be required for 
flower beds, upon grass lawns, advantage should be taken to have it conveyed 
at that time, so that the turf be not injured by wheeling. 


aA een een ee 


EN DEK. 


A. 
AUTHORS. 

Page 
A.B., query by . - 5 104 
A Botanist, on the germination of seeds by - . 76 
‘A Constant Reader, answer by ~ : 118 
on the cultivation of the dahlia by ol QT 
———— — query by : : . 141 
A Correspondent, query by : 4 ° ead 
A Country Subscriber, query by “ : : 80 
A Cultivator, on the aloe variegata, by |. - 4 81 
A.E., on raising seedling heartsease by * 8 

A Foreman of a London aa aitpe on the cultivation of Ericas 
by : . 127, 176, 203, 225 
pmeeeee ) on the cultivation of Epacris’ s by 103 
—_——_—_—_—-——— 0n the cultivation of Pelargoniums by 222 
An Amateur and Constant Reader, query by. : 67 
An Horticulturist, on the Cypress by 152, 171 
A Nobleman’s Flower Gardener, on Training Roses by ‘ 198 
A Practical Gardener, on the green moss of Rose- trees, &e. 105 
on the management of Hot- house Plants by 145 
A Subscriber, query by - c : - 19, 257 
Audate, query by . : - 19 
A Working Gardener, remarks by : - 235 
A.X.Z., query by ? - ‘ A 90 

ORIGINAL. 

Aloe variegata, on flowering the ; ; 5 81 
Auricula, on the Br 2 : 5 149 
NEW PLANTS. 

Acacia cuneata . s 2 “ : 237 

cynophylla ;. . - 214 
ZEschynanthus grandiflor us : . 0 18 
Agave saponaria ; : ‘ 255 
Amphicome arguta, refer to plate . A “ 168 
Amygdalus incana 3 : ° 2 255 
Aneimopsis Californica ; : ° 66 
Angelonia Gardnerii - ; . : 255 
Angrecum Armeniacum 5 262 
Anigozanthus flavida, var. bicolor. . : 17 

— Manglesii : : ; : 239 
Anneslea tomentosa ; ; ‘ : 18 


Anthocercis littoreus 5 , 4 g 213 


2 INDEX. 


Arbutus procera ° 5 - . 
Arbutus tomentosa . é . 
Aristolochia ciliata e : . - 
Aristolochia hyperborea C c ° 
Asteracantha longifolia. “ 4 . 
Azalea Gledstanana . . - : 


REVIEWS AND EXTRACTS. 
Amateur Florist’s Assistant, review of 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


American Aloe, remarks on the 
Ants, answer on destroying 
remarks on 5 ; 


April, floricultural calendar for 2 : 
Arnott’s stove, query on : ; . 
August, floricultural calendar for : ° 
Auriculas, query on . . . : 
B. 

‘AUTHORS. 
Barnet, Mr. E., on the culture of Calceolarias by . 
Bealey, Mr. Richard, on Stove Cacte by . : 
Bentham, G, Esq., remarks on Salvia patens by . . 

ORIGINAL. 


Boiler, on Williams and Co.’s Patent Iron 


NEW PLANTS. 


Banisteria tenuis : : : : 
Bauhinia forficata : - 

Beauty of Edmonton Pansey, refer to plate 

Bifrenaria longicornis 4 

Bletia Parkinsonia 

Bolbophyllum cupreum 

Brassavola cuspidata 

— Martiniana 

Burlingtonia maculata 

Burrielia gracilis . 


REVIEWS AND EXTRACTS. 
Boquet or Lady’s Flower-garden, review of 


MISCELLANEOUS. 
Brunsvigias, query on blooming : . 
Bulbs, query on . : . . 
C. 
AUTHORS. 


Camellige, a descriptive list of Camellias by ‘ 


262 
92 


158, 184 


262 
90 
90 
94 

117 

191 
19 


238 
240 
120 

21 
186 

21 
140 

41 
210 
256 


109, 135 


90 
257 


56 


INDEX. 0 


Page 
Cives Mundi, query by : f d 119 
Claudia, on the feat sticks by ; : i 119 
Clericus, on Cape Heaths by 82 
- on the cultivation of Thunbergia alata and Thunbergia 
leucantha by. . 228 
on the culture of Clianthus puniceus by : 253 
—-— on the effects of situation on Plants by ‘ : 97 
remarks on flowering Trees and Shrubs by é 241 
remarks on the Jasmine by : . : 1 
Conductor, answer by the . - : ¥ 141 
—-——- remarks by the - : 188, 212 
Crowfoot, on the Ranunculus Asiaticus by : ; 25 
Cryptas, queryby . . , - 164 
ORIGINAL. 
Cactus, on the culture of Stove species : 5 102 
Calceolarias, on the culture of . A - : 217 
Camellias, a descriptive list of . . < 56 
Cape Heaths, onmanaging . ; E : 82 
Carnation, on the culture of the < 274 
Chinese Gardens, on. 12, 37, 61, 85, 107, 132, 155, 180, 206 6, 231, 276 
Chinese Gardens, remarks on 5 : 935 
Chlidanthus fragrans, on the cultivation of : : 58 
Chrysanthemum Indicum, on the cultivation of 83 
Clianthus puniceus, on the culture of - ; 253 
Cypress, remarks on F $ A z 152, 171 
NEW PLANTS. 
Cacti, Nov. spec. . - P “ A 190 
Caladium petiolatum : : : - 186 
Callichroa platyglossa . - : : 186 
Canospylis juncea - : : : 214 
Catasetum poriferum . 7 - 21 
Cattleya citrina . é Z : S 210 
guttata . - 3 “ Lye 
Centaurea pulchra . : ; ‘ 214, 237 
Ceropegia vinceefolia : : . 187 
Chilodia scutellarioides, refer to plate . ; 2 72 
Chorizema Ducksonii : a - : 70 
elegans : : A : 115, 213 
— ovata . . ° 2 ° 215 
—— ruscifolia ° < : : 168 
—— ovaria, reference to plate : - ; 143 
Clethra tomentosa : . - 240 
Coelogyne barbata . ‘ : 116 
— maculata : 22 
_ ovalis A ° . : : 21 
Coeloquesia aromatica . ‘ 238 
Collinsia heterophylla , ‘ 17 
Comparettia coccinea s ‘ 17 
Conostylis juncea. ; ‘ . 237 
Convolvulus pentanthus, refer fo plate ° ° 168 
Cooperia pedunculata . . ‘ . 186 
Correa rosea. . =A ‘ 91 
Cyanotis axillaris. . : 21 


4 : INDEX. 


Pag 
Cynoglossum ccelestinum . : = ¥ 187 
Cytisus nubigiensis . . 5 ' : 21 
Weldenii ; 5 f cae yo, aye 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Calceolarias, query on : ° : 42 
Chrysanthemum, query on the ; : 42 
Clematis Siebaldii and C. Coerulea erandifiora, remarks on 235 
1. 

ORIGINAL. 

Dahlia, on the culture ofthe . : : 4 73 
NEW PLANTS. 
Danbenya fulva . . . : . 256 
Dariesia saligna A : eos) 
Dendrobium, Aureum ; 3; var. pallidum : : 116 
bicamuratum . - : - 240 
—crumenatum . 3 . ° 116 
—_-————- formosum . . ‘ ape o 
—— Jenkensii : ; - ‘ 187 
- sulcatum - - § 18 
Dianthus, on the Carnation, by - . F 274 
Dichoea ochracea c : . : SEY 
Dillwynia glycinifolia . : . : 213 
speciosa : . . - 239 
Diplacus puniceus, refer to plate . ° 7 190 
Dr. Horner Picoste, refer to plate 0 : : 90 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Dahlias, answer on raising : 5 A 42 
Dahlia flower, query on the criterion cf a 3 234 
Dahlia show, remarks on the Birmingham : SM 
Dry Rot, query on the : 2 : A 141 
E. 

AUTHORS. 
Edinensis, on striking plants from cuttings, by ; : 29 

ORIGINAL. 

Epacris’ s, on the culture of A ‘ é 103 
Ericas, on the cultivation of ‘ : 127, 176, 203, 225 
NEW PLANTS. 

Echium giganteum - ‘ - : 213 
——— grandiflorum . : “ ; oars? 
Eclipse Pansey ; refer to plate : : 3 120 
Edwardsia Macknabiara ; 4 : Heel 87 


Epacris ceriflorus : : 5 - 239 


INDEX. 
Epacris coccineus, 187; refer to plate . : : 
——— Copelandi . : : ‘ 

impressa, 186; refer to plate : ° . 

onosmifolia : _ . . 
Epidendrnum bicornutum é 3 . . 

Candollei . “ . 

Ericas . A . : . . 

tricolor. ° : . . 
Eryssimum Perofskianum 5 : . 238, 
Euribia glutinosa : : ° . 

F., 
; AUTHORS. 

F, B. 8. E., observations upon the Me ang va of Fungi, by . 
Flora, on the Auricula, by . : . 


—-——, on the culture of florist’s flow ers, by : 
——v—, on the interest and pleasure of cultivating flower 's, by 
——-—, on Photogenic drawing, by : : 
Forbes, Mr. J., on culture of the Tulip, by. p 
Forest, Mr. John, on the present style of gardening, by. 
Freestone, Mr. R., on the cultivation of the Chrysanthemum In- 


dicum, by 5 . huis : . 
ORIGINAL. 
Florist’s flowers, on the culture of c . . 
Flowering trees and shrubs, remarkson . : ‘ 
Flowers, on the interest and pleasure of cultivating . 
Fungi, observations upon the vegetation of 2 - 
NEW PLANTS. 
Fabiana imbricata - ° e 
Fuchia Wormaldi; refer to ‘plate “ ° ° 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Fairy rings, remarks on . < 5 e 
February, floricultural calendar for . : . 
Firs, remarks on the Seotch and Larch 5 
Flower gardens, remarks on models of : j 
Flowers, query on a priced list of é 3 3 
Flower seeds, remarks on : A é ‘ 
Fuchia Fulgens, remarks on : : 4 
Fungi, query on : ‘ . ° ° 
G: 
AUTHORS. 

Gardner, Mr. W., on Williams and Co’s. patent iron boiler by 
Geldert, Mr. G., on the Gallardia picta by ? 5 
G. G., on foreing the Lily of the ae by . i 


-——, query by 
Griffith, W., Esq., on the culture of the Lilium Japonieum by 


5 
Page 
215 

91 
215 
238 

18 
237 
190 

65 
256 
268 


193 
149 

31 
201 
265 
280 
121 


83 


31 
241 
201 
193 


238 
263 


91 
47 
68 
212 
164 
21 
188 
164 


229 
50 
34 
90 

179 


6 INDEX. 


ORIGINAL. 


Gallardia picta, on striking the, from cuttings 
Gardening, on the present style of 
Germination of seeds, on the 

Geraniums, a list of the most beautiful 
Greenhouse plants, a list of the most splendid 
Green moss on rose trees, on the E 


NEW PLANTS. 


Galactodendron utile . 2 P 
Gardoquia betonicoides ; A 
General Wolfe pansey; refer to plate . 


Genista fragrans 3 ; 
Gesneria elongata F P : 
— marchii : . 
stricta ‘ . 
Giadiolus ramosus; refer to plate . 
Glaucum rubrum ‘ ° 
Gloxinia grandiflora F 


Gompholobium polymorphum ; refer to plate 
Gompholobium versicolor, 214, refer to plate 


Gongora nigritia : ’ A 
Goodyera rubicunda ‘ 
Grevillia thelamanniana : 


REVIEWS & EXTRACTS. 


Gardeners’ Gazette, extract from F 


MISCELLANEOUS, 


Gardens of the Horticultural Society, remarks on the 
Royal Botanic Society, remarks on the 


Geraniums, query on : . 
Grafts of trees, remarks on 
Greenhouse, query on a 


H. 
AUTHORS. 
Hirst, Mr. James, remarks by . : 
H. M. E., answer by 3 5 
Hope, query by : . 
H. W., query by . e ° 
ORIGINAL. 
Heartsease, on raising seedling . A 
remarks on the propagation of 
Honeysuckle, on the . : 
Hot-house plants, on the management of 
NEW PLANTS. 
Hemerocallis rutilans . : 
' Heteropha asaroides ° 


Hibiscus. violacea, refer to plate . 


43, 69, 92, 
234, 


Page 


50 
121 
76 
57 


5 
105 


161 
116 
120 
189 
233 
210 
210 
143 
238 
214 
191 
215 
240 
214 
238 


118 


119 
113 
257 
68 
89 


INDEX. 


Hovea manglesii, refer to plate 
pungens, 116, 143, refer to plate 
Hoya coriacea . 

Hydrangeas 


MISCELLANEOUS, 


Herbaceous plants, query on. 


Horticultural Society of London, remarks on ‘the exhibition of the 


Hyacinths, remarks on raising native r 
Hybridising, remarks on. : 
Hybrid Plants, remarks on : 
Hygrothermanic apparatus, remarks on the 


I. 
AUTHORS, 


e 


Ibbett, Mr. T., on the culture of the Ranunculus, by . 


ORIGINAL. 
Jxia, on the culture of the . 5 


NEW PLANTS. 


Inga Harrisii a 
Tsotropsis striatus, reference to plate ° 
Ipomea longifolia ° . 

(unnamed species) : ° 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Ink suited for writing with upon metallic labels, query on 
_  —,, aiswer on 


J. 
AUTHORS. 
J. B. H., remarks by - ; 
ORIGINAL. 
Jasmine, remark on the é e 


NEW PLANTS. 


Joan of Are Pg Armerne refer to plate 
Jonopsis teres . 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


January, Floricultural Calendar for 
July, Floricultural Calendar for 
June, Floricultural Calendar for 


49 


106 


210 
190 
262 

91 


90 
118 


262 


8 “INDEX. 


Page 
KK. 
AUTHORS. 
Knight, T. A., Esq., on propagating Trees by cuttings, by . 53 
NEW PLANTS. 
Kennedya inophylla . : 5 . . 238 
(new) . . . . 239 
King of Heartsease, refer to plate . . . 120 
L. 
AUTHORS. 
L. C., answer by c 3 . 90 
London, Mr. R., a list of Geraniums by . : 57 
Louisa, query by : 7 4 . ° 234 
ORIGINAL. 
Lilium Japonicum, on the culture of the : : 179 
REVIEWS AND EXTRACTS. 
Little English Flora, review of . ‘ - A 138 
NEW PLANTS. 
Lagunea Pattersonii ° : : ° 91 
Leonotis nepetefolia 3 ¥ s s 41 
Leycestoria formosa ; . 41 
Lilium lancifolium roseum, ‘refer to plate . . 48 
_ longiflorum j ; : : 213 
tenuifolium . 5 : : 7 239 
Thunbergium ; 5 : : 209, 239 
Lipusis pendula 5 . - : : 22 
Lobelia ramosa, refer {o plate ‘ ; : 263 
Leelia albida 5 A : : - 92,256 
= autumnalis 4 . . 139, 209 
Lord Durham pansey, refer to plate ° : ° 120 
Lupinus barkeri. 5 5 : 256 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Lisianthus Russellianus, query on ° . . 211 
M. 
ORIGINAL,! 
Mimulus, on the treatment of the, in pots : . 151 
NEW PLANTS. 
Mahernia pimata  . . ; : ° 213 


Malachenia clayata : j * 262 


Page 
Malva Creeana, refer to plate ? : 4 23 
maritima 7 : 5 : 21 
mauritiana. 5 . ‘ : 238 
Matthiola odoratissima . : ; : 139 
Maxillaria lentiginosa 5 , : A 214 
macrophylla 2 : . . 22 
porrecta . . é 5 . 22 
tenuifolia c s é ; 65 
Medicaso clypeata . ; . . : 214 
Mormodes pardina . : : : 2 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Malva fulleriana, query on : c : 3 90 
March, Floricultural Calendar for . 5 F 71 
May, Floricultural Calendar for ; . - 119 
Michaelmas asters on _ 5 5 A 211 
~~, N. 
NEW PLANTS. 
Nepeta salviefolia  . ae: . : - 262 
Notylia Barkeri . ; o a 46 
incurva - : : ite C 22 
micrantha 4 ° . - 46 
punctata ° « . ° ° 46 
tenuis, . 2 ; A 46 
Nuttalia cordata ° - ; . - 239 - 
malveeflora A : A - 263, 239 
MISCELLANEOUS, 
November, Floricultural Calendar for A 5 : 264 
O. 
NEW PLANTS. 
C£theria oeculata ; “ 5 ie 21 
Oncidium Forbesii, refer to plate : : : 72 
pulvinatum : : : : 233 
trulliferum F “ - . 256 
unicorne F 5 ; 238 
Oxylobium capitatum “| ; 5 70 
: MISCELLANEOUS.! 
October, Floricultural Calendar for - . ° 240 
i a 
AUTHORS. 


P., query by : : ‘ . : 235 
Pense, remarks on the propagation of Heartsease, by : 220 


10 Z INDEX. 


ORIGINAL. cay 
Pelargoniums, on the cultivation of . : 3 229 
Photogenia, drawing on f : ‘ ‘ 265 
Pinks, remarks on superb . 273 

Plants and Flowers, on the pleasure and profit Oe "from 
cultivating . 169 

, cbservations on the effects of situation and exposure on 
different kinds of : ‘ - . 97 
,on striking from cuttings : : ‘ 29 
, on the food of “ : : : 9 

NEW PLANTS. 
Peonia festiva albiflora ° : E . 239 
Palemonium pulchellum * F : 91 
Papaver amoenum 7 : 5 238 
Penstemon gentianoides, refer to plate ° ' 264 
Phaius bicolor . : . : 214 
Pharbitis diversifolia, refer to plate . : 96 
Philibertia grandiflora, refer to plate c ~ FS 96 
Physolobium elatum - 3 - = 70 
Pimelia Hendersoni . ° : : . 140 
hypericafolia . ° . Fi 213 
incana : : . : : 116 
prostrata . - 4 # 238 
Pinus Hartwegii : : . . . 214 
Pleurothalis muscoidea . . F . 46 
Podolobium storophyllum . . : “ 213. 
Polygonum amplexicaule . A . ° 214 
Portulacea grandiflora . . : : 262 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Pansies, answer on — < : - e 14) 
, query on . . : . 141, 234 
Pelargoniums, a listof 20% . A ° 213 
Plantain, remarks on the . ~ 119 
Plants, remarks on retarding the blooming (0) a : 94 
Polyanthuses, query on . : . ° 67 
R. 
AUTHORS. 

Rosa, on the double yellow Rose by : 251 
Rutgar, Mr., on the culture of the Ixia and Gladioli by . 106 
ORIGINAL. 

Ranunculus Asiasticus, on the culture of the ° : 25 

on the culture of the - 2 : ~ 49 

Rose, on the double yellow : : : : 251 
—— on the ever-blowing China - ° ; 15 
remarks on the ° : J 14, 35,59 


— s, on training ° : ~ - 198 


INDEX. 
NEW PLANTS. 
Rhododendron Osbornii, refer to Plate. 
Roella elegans, refer to plate E 
Rosa maculata, refer to plate 
Rossie . A : 
Ruellia ciliatiflora : ; 
Ruelzia fragrans . . 
Russelia juncea, refer to plate - 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Ranunculus, remarks on . ° 
Rosa Hibernica : < 
Ss. 
AUTHORS. 

S., query by 5 ° 
Scotus, answer by = - 

query by 5 . 

remark by . - 

ORIGINAL, 

Salvia patens, remarks on . . 


NEW PLANTS. 


Salvia Confertiflora, refer to plate 263 
Salvia patens, refer to plate : 
Saponaria perfoliata . : 

Senecio odoratus 

Siphocanipylus spicata, refer to plate 


Solanum candidum j : 
Sophronitis grandiflora ° . 
Spirea cuneilfolia . . 
—— laxiflora : - P 
——— vaccinifolia 5 7 
Stachys coccinea : : . 
Stanhopea tigrina - . 
Statice arborea : - 
Stenochilius incanus : 4 
—— longifolia c . ° 
Sterenlia acerifolia . 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
September, floricultural calendar for 4 
hs 
AUTHORS. 

Terra, on the food of plants by . 


Tillingtoniensis, query by . . 3 


ll 
Page 


168 
263 
191 
239 
140 
239 

48 


68 
42 


257 
42 
42 
43 


ol 


216 


47 


=- 


12 INDEX. 


ORIGINAL. 
Thunbergia alata and T— ieucantha, culture of : 
Trees, on the propagation of by cuttings in Summer . 
Tulip, on the culture of the . 3 . 
NEW PLANTS. 

Tabernz montania coronaria ©. : . c 
Thunbergia aurantia, refer to plate . . 

——— Hawtownia, 46, refer to plate s 5 
Thysanotus isanthera : : - P 
_— —— proliferus . 3 : : é 
Trichinum alopecuroide : : 
Trichocentron iridifolium a . : 
Tropzolum brachyceros . 5 . . 
— tricolorum 
——_——— tuberosum : = : : 
Tweedia coerulea, refer to plate ‘ - ° 
—— grandiflora. - : . 

V. 


NEW PLANTS. 


Vanda congesta ° : . - . 
Verbena Fergusoni ‘ . : 3 

pulcherrima . : ° ote 

teucroides, refer to plate: : Z 
Veronica formosa ° . . ; 
Viburnam Japonicum . . ° : 

MISCELLANEOUS. 
Vegetation of the Cape of Good; aoe and Van Dieman’s Land, 
remarks on - F i nue 
Vieusseuxia pavonica, query on : ‘ 
Ww. 
AUTHORS. 


Williamson Mr. Benjamin, on superb Pinks by 

W. J. C., a list of the most beautiful green-house plants by 

W. Mz P., on the treatment of Mimulus in pots by . . 
Woodmansey Mr. W., on the pleasure of cultivating plants by 


NEW PLANTS. 


Wisteria atrosanguinea : : : . 
MISCELLANEOUS.” 
Warwickshire Floral and Horticultural Society’s exhibition, re- 
marks on A : : é 


Watering plants, query on : . 


Page 


228. 
53 
280 


213 
191 
OR 
214 
214 
139 

18 
142 
142 
142 
215 
239 


INDEX. 13 


Page Page 
¥ 
AUTHORS. 
Y.M., query by . : 3 - : 90 
PLANTS FIGURED IN VOL. VII. 
1839, 

Amphicome arguta . ; 3 ° 145. 168 
Beauty of Edmonton Pansey - - S720 
Chilodia seutellarioides : a 4 49. 72 
Chorizema ruscifolia : : ; LAS Ce 1G8 
varlum ss, 5 5 : NON a ag LG 
Convolvulus pentanthus 5 : 5 14542 EGS 
Diplacus puniceus, . a < 169 . 190 
Dr. Horner’s Picotee : 6 Ages 5 
Eclipse Pansey 5 ; : - S78 FZ 
Epacris coccineus : F . 1OBF 205 
impressa; var. parviflora : ° UB RI 

Erysimum Peroskianum . : : 205 
Fuchia Wormaldii : : ZS 26s 

Chandlerii s 5 ae 265 
General Wolfe Pansey - - A Sin 120 
Gladiolus ramosus é 5 * 121 , 148 
Gompholobium polymorphum_ , i ° 1G9e%. 5 196 
—— versicolor . - : NOS) CMS 
Hibiscys violacea . ° ° 5 Zl. 263 
Hovea manglesii . - : 4 73) ee 96 
pungens . . : . 145 . 168 
Isotropis striatus : 3 “ 1697.) §190 
Joan of Are Pelargonium : . é 121. «143 
King of Heartsease are Fs : 97 = 120 
Lilium Cancifolium ; var. roseum - . 25 . 48 
Lobelia ramosa . - - 218 . 263 
Lord Durham Pansey 5 : ‘ Dee 220 
Malva Creeara  . a A 6 1 Oem ae 
Oncidium Forbesii . ° ° . EC pea 97 19- 
Penstemon gentianoides : : : 241 . 264 
Pharbitis diversifolia . . - 3 Go s<- & 9B 
Philiberta grandiflora . 5 - 7s 2 196 

Portulacea grandiflora; var. rutila 0 c 265 
Rhododendron Osbornii : A 5 145 . 168 
Roella elegans A ° ° . 218 . 263 
Rosa maculata , > - : 169R. 090 
Russelia juncea “ . : : 25 . 48 
Salvia confertiflora : : - Dee. 263 
patens . 5 . . iS oS: 
Siphocamphylus spicat : . : 24l.. 263 
Thunbergia aurantia . : 5 . 69). aot 
Hawtonia 2 : : 169) 56 Lou 
Tweedia coerulea ° 5 : 193; 2 SOs 


Verbena teucroides F : - ee 


rs : = | My ane eee fae, anne 
ct : en eapanrat seine) 744 
) % Pei o, he Ie ao eer . J 


ta 5 melee " ere i were i 
isa 


. 
, . 
hah Paks ‘ 
; 
< « 
. 
Pas 
. 
ey 
. 
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ADVERTISEMENTS. xvii 


BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION 


FOR THE 


RELIEF OF AGED AND INDIGENT GARDENERS. 


Ata Meeting of the Committee, holden this day, the Accounts of 
the Institution were examined; and the Committee are happy in 
informing the Subscribers that they intend, at the General Meeting 
in January next, to give notice that an Election of Pensioners will 
take place agreeably to the regulations. ‘The Committee, therefore, 
request that persons desirous of voting at the ensuing Election will 
forward their Subscriptions. 


Wright’s Hotel, Strand, 2\st November, 1539. 


DE CANDOLLE’S BOTANY. 


On the 16th of December will be published, in Two Vols., 8vo., 
in cloth, lettered, with near Thirty Plates, price 28s., 


VEGETABLE ORGANOGRAPHY, 


Or an Analytical Description of the Organs of Plants. By A. P. 
De Canvo.itz. Translated by Boucuton Kinepon, Esq. 

This is the only Translation of this celebrated Work which has 
been published in this country; and it is universally acknowledged 
to be more practically useful for the Botanieal Student than any 
other in the English Language. 


« An indispensable addition to the botanical library..”—Literary Gazette. 

“Tt cannot fail to prove acceptable and highly useful to the English student 
of botany. It is vigorously translated, and got up in a handsome style.”— 
Monthly Review. 

«This has long been a desideratum to the English botanist.”—Tait's Edin- 
burgh Magazine. 

“ We are glad to see this translation, it will indeed be a great desideratum to 
the English reader.”—The Botanist. 

“This is a valuable addition to our botanical literature.” — Gardeners’ Gazette. 

“We most strongly recommend this work to all who have a taste for plants.” 
— Gardeners’ Magazine. 


London: Houlston and Stoneman, 65, Paternoster-row, and 


Houlston and Hughes, 154, Strand. 
b 


xviii ADVERTISEMENTS. 


JOSEPH HARRISON, 


PROPRIETOR AND CONDUCTOR 


OF 


* HARRISON’S FLORICULTURAL CABINET,” 


Reseeervely invites the attention of Readers to the very peculiar 
adapted medium which his Publication offers for advertising Books, 
Plants, Seeds, Roots, Horticultural and Agricultural Implements, 
or any other advertising conmunication requiring extensive pub- 
licity. He announces with pleasure that the FLioricuLruraL 
CaBINET now enjoys a circulation unequalled, and far more exten- 
swe than any other similar work ever yet published, having a 
monthly sale of near Jen Thousand copies. This circumstance 
alone renders the Advertisements which appear in its pages quite 
efficient for all the purposes which they are intended to serve, and 
clearly proves that the Cabinet possesses additional advantages to 
which no other Floricultural Publication can yet justly lay claim. 


TERMS. 
Llased 
Six dhinesvanckhunder, (ict Ss eititecte cu OL S16 
Oneshird of a Page. eo.) seve 2 ry. OO 1276 
Half a Page atasatlad) tok fuisus ee eee 
ACEAGE 5 9 « iil ~ Waele intl STE Gag 
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Do. Four Pages, do. a») eNO ae 
Do. Ten Pages, do. Pa: ia apt) 


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*,* Advertisers should send their Communications by the Twentieth — 


Day of every Month. 


~ = 


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