170 Transactions of the 



XI. Joumcd of Meteorological Observations made in the garden of th& 

 Horticultural Society at Chiswick, during the year 1826. By Mr. 

 William Beattie Booth. ■ 



XII. On Orache, its Varieties and CultivatiotL.\m Mr. William 



Townshend. ^"' ^' 



The herb orache was formerly cultivated as a kind of sum- 

 mer spinach ; but in this country it has long been expelled 

 from the kitchen garden by other kinds. It is, however, still 

 seen in the gardens of France, where it is commonly called 

 Arroche des jardins, being used in that country, both by 

 itself as a spinach, and mixed with sorrel, the acidity of which 

 it corrects. Seven varieties are described, which do not differ 

 in their qualities, but are distinguished by the colour of their 

 foliage. 



XIII. On planting the moist Alluvial Banks of Rivers with Fruit-Trees, 



By Mr. John Robertson. 



The object of this writer is to show that the low grounds 

 that form the banks of rivers are, of all others, the best 

 adapted for the growth of fruit trees ; the alluvial soil 

 of which they are composed, being an intermixture of the 

 richest and most soluble parts of the neighbouring lands, 

 with a portion of animal and vegetable matter, affording an 

 inexhaustible fund of nourishment. In such situations, how- 

 ever, the trees are liable to injury from floods in the winter, 

 unless some means are used of draining off the stagnant water. 

 This is to be effected by digging deep trenches between the 

 rows of trees, casting up the earth from the trenches around 

 the trees on either side, so as to form elevated banks. Such 

 is the practice in Holland, where the western slopes of the 

 dykes are generally covered with fruit-trees, chiefly apples and 

 pears. Mr. Robertson is of opinion, that the banks should be 

 raised, if possible, at least three or four feet above the highest 

 water-mark, and be made eighteen feet broad at the base, and 

 twelve at top ; the trenches should be fifteen or sixteen feet 

 wide, admitting the soil to be three or four feet deep. 



Upon this plan, it is probable that abundant crops would 

 be obtained ; but with regard to the quality of the produce, 

 we suspect it will be quite as indifferent as the apples and 

 pears of the Dutch, which are notorious for their want of 

 flavour. ^■''- ^^^^^-"-^-^ -:?''f'>'^ ■' ^rii V' 



'^IV.'Onmhlids. % Mr. William Smith. '- ' 



This is an attempt to distinguish by words the best varieties 

 of the Dahlia, and to fix the names of those which are the 

 most worthy of cultivation. Sixty kinds are well described, 



