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JOURNAL OF TITE LONDON HORT. SOCrETY. 



meeting no less than 13,121 persons visited 

 the exhibition in a single day, — with its 

 collectors sent to remote and little visited 

 countries, in search of new plants, — with 

 an income of over S30,000, which is chiefly 

 expended in medals and prizes for the en- 

 couragement of horticulture, and in keeping 

 np the garden, — with all this, we say, it is 

 easy to see that the Horticultural Society of 

 London exerts a strong influence on the 

 gardening spirit, not only of England, but 

 of the world. 



These two neatly printed and illustrated 

 numbers, which have just reached us from 

 London, are the commencement of a new 

 work, to be issued periodically by the Soci- 

 ety, In the advertisement to the first num- 

 ber, it is announced that " this Journal is 

 published by the Horticultural Society of 

 London, for gratuitous distribution among 

 its Fellows, and in place of the quarto 

 Transactions, which will be discontinued 

 after the appearance of another part. It is 

 intended to contain scientific and practical 

 papers on horticultural subjects of all kinds, 

 the journals of the Society's collectors 

 abroad, and an account of the proceedings 

 at the meetings of the Society, in London 

 and at the Garden." 



In short, the present work, we presume, 

 may be considered as a change from the 

 somewhat heavy and expensive shape of the 

 old Transactions of the Society, to the more 

 digestible form and moderate price demand- 

 ed by the spirit of the times. 



The first two numbers contain several in- 

 teresting articles. The Potato disease — the 

 wide extension of which in Great Britain, 

 has caused such distress for food in many 

 of the poorer districts of that kingdom, is 

 the subject of the first two articles. " Ob- 

 servations, botanical and physiological, on the 

 Potato Murrain, by the Rev. M. J. Berkley." 

 This writer gives a somewhat detailed his- 



tory of the disease in the potato in various 

 parts of the world. The result of his ob- 

 servations may be summed up in the fol- 

 lowing paragraph : 



"To my own apprehenVion, them, it appears clear, 

 at least, that the cause of the premature decay aiiJ 

 putrefaction of the haulm is to be found in the pa- 

 rasitic fungus, (Botiytis infestans,) in consequence 

 of whose attacks, the tubers are unrii)e and in a baii 

 condition for i)rcscrvalion. Under these circum- 

 stances, if decay takes place, there cannot be much 

 matter of surprise ; and that, as in all cases of decay, 

 various si>ecies of fungi should establish themselves 

 upon the tubers and accelerate it." 



" The disease," he adds, " can scarcely be ex- 

 pected, after having had so extensive a range, to 

 subside all at once. The same atmospheric condi- 

 tions which have favored its progress, are not likely 

 to occur again; but still, I fear that it will be felt 

 directly or indirectly for some time, as, in the 

 human frame, the general prevalence of a particu- 

 lar disease, modifies other diseases for many suc- 

 cessive seasons." 



Article VI., is a very interesting one on 

 "The Mai7i Points oj Vine Cultivation,''^ 

 by Mr. Robert Errington. The author of 

 this article is a very clever, practical man, 

 the gardener to Sir Philip Egerton, who has 

 exhibited remarkably fine grapes, at the 

 shows of the Society. This article is one 

 that we think will interest all our growers 

 of the grape under glass, and as the journal 

 which contains it, falls into very few hands 

 in this country, we shall extract it entire. 

 We must, however, premise that a great 

 difficulty attending the vine culture in Eng- 

 land — the moisture which accumulates in 

 the soil in the damp climate of that country — 

 scarcely exists at all here. Our bright sun 

 soon dissipates all excess of moisture in any 

 soil fit for grape culture. But the practice re- 

 commended, of making deep and very porous 

 vine borders, is not less beneficial here, 

 since it wonderfully promotes the vigour of 

 the vine and tends to prevent its being affect- 

 ed or checked by our sudden fluctuations of 

 temperature : 



In compliance with the desire of the Council of 

 the Horticultural Society, I beg to accompany the 

 late grapes now exhibited, with a few general re- 

 marks on the most important points connected with 

 the cultivation of the vine, especially under glass. 



