THE CULTIVATION OF THE FILBERT. 



457 



most be secured. Unusual warmth of the 

 air would have the effect of stimulating the 

 buds, and would cause a premature appear- 

 ance of leaves, which would be anything 

 rather than conducive to the success of a 

 cutting. If soil were to be kept at 33°, and 

 the air at 84°, leaves would form, but no 

 roots would be emitted under ground, how- 

 ever skilful the operator; and then, unless 

 roots were thrown out above ground the 

 cuttings would speedily exhaust themselves. 

 On the other hand, if the soil were kept at 

 84°, and the air at 33°, leaves would cer- 

 tainly be formed as soon as the roots had 

 struck out, although in a pinched and shiv- 

 ering condition. 



A proper degree of bottom-heat, then, is 

 the first point for consideration, for all other 

 processes are subservient to that fundamen- 

 tal requisite ; and the rule is, that it should 

 always be higher by several degrees than that 

 to which plants are naturally subject. Un- 

 fortunately, we have very little evidence to 

 show what that is ; but a rough estimate of 

 it may be formed by regarding it to equal 

 the mean temperature of the summer : hence 

 the great value of good meteorological ob- 

 servations to gardeners. Suppose, for ex- 

 ample, that it is required to strike a cut- 

 ting of some plant from Algiers, and that 



the mean temperature of the summer there 

 were 70° — which is, we believe, about the 

 truth — the safe course for the gardener to 

 take would be, to plunge his cutting in soil 

 warmed up to 75°. 



It is very much to be regretted that no 

 one should have as yet compiled a set of 

 meteorological tables for the use of garden- 

 ers. They would be invaluable ; and we 

 live in hope that some public body will, ere 

 long, take up the subject. Scattered through 

 books, there is a vast quanty of evidence 

 which, although imperfect, is of great val- 

 ue, but nobody knows where to look for it 

 when it is wanted. If such a work were 

 once compiled, evidence would quickly ac- 

 cumulate, for inquirers would learn what 

 to observe. With that evidence, gardening 

 would assume more and more the condition 

 of a science ; for there is no doubt a correct 

 knowledge of the heat, light, and moisture 

 of different climates is, next after the laws 

 of vegetable physiology, the surest guide to 

 successful cultivation. — Gardener^s Chron. 



[Amateurs who find it difficult to propa- 

 gate certain stubborn kinds of hardy trees 

 and shrubs, may obviate the difficulty by 

 planting them at this season, in a hot-bed, 

 properly shaded and ventilated, instead of a 

 common shaded border. — Ed.] 



THE CULTIVATION OF THE FILBERT. 



[FROM THE LONDON HORT. IMAGAi:iNE ] 



[Filberts are grown with ease in any suita- 

 ble soil in the northern states ; and we com- 

 mend to such of our readers as wish to at- 

 tempt their cultivation, the following ex- 

 cellent advice. Ed.] 



It is not generally known, except to pro- 

 fessional gardeners— or, if known, the know- 

 ledge is seldom acted on — that a filbert tree 

 VOL. II. 58 



may be rendered productive in almost as 

 small a space as is occupied by an ordinary 

 gooseberry or currant bush. In fact, un- 

 der favorable circumstances, the produce 

 of these neat bushes is astonishing. We 

 propose, therefore, to explain this mode of 

 cultivating the filbert ; and in doing so shall 

 avail ourselves of some excellent directions 



