286 



FOREIGN NOTICES. 



cale " piulillc planting;'* but on what principles I 

 never coiiliiilis(!ovor. Wliy not " i>iiilillc potting ? ' 

 Certainly it is better to puilillc a lar>,'e si)ecinien 

 than ti) totally iiejilcct it in re;^aril to moisture. 

 My pructict- is this: To open a liole much larp^er 

 than the ball of earth or volume of roots about to 

 be inlroilnceil, laKinnf care not to make the hole 

 any ileejier in general than the surface-soil extenils; 

 then to saturate the subsoil with water, anil next to 

 pulverize the soil thoroug-hly. inteniled for filling' 

 in round the roots. After this is eompleteil, I in- 

 Mu-iably rake together a boJy of tree-leaves (if at 

 ))an(l,) weeiis, sticks, &c., anil throw three or four 

 inches (sometimes a foot,) in the bottom of the 

 hole, to set the ball or roots on, putting little or no 

 soil beneath the tree. The tree being carefully 

 removed — not a fibre sulleied to dry, if possible, 

 during the operation — is placed on the leaves, and 

 the process of tilling up commences. I invariably 

 mix deca)-ed vegetable matter with the common 

 soil; this is sometimes obtained on the si)Ot by 

 raking or paring the surface of the ground conti- 

 guous. The soil being in a mellow state, is slightly 

 trod as the filling proceeds; and when filled level 

 with the ball or rather above it, the whole receives 

 a thorough watering, using several cans of water at 

 slight intervals. The next business, and a most 

 important affair, is to thoroughly stake the tree to 

 prevent wind-waving. When this is comi)leted, a 

 thick mulching of half-rotten manure or leaves 

 will finish the process. Such trees should have one 

 thorough soaking of water in the early part of 

 April; afterwards they may be safely left to them- 

 selves. — Gard. Chron. 



Abies Dougi.asii. — The size and growth of the 

 Abies Douglasii in the fine climate of Dropmore 

 antl Carclew, having been noticed, it may not be 

 uninteresting to know how it has prospered in a 

 comparatively ungenial climate, and at a height 

 of 750 feet above the level of the sea. I have just 

 had mine measured; the height is 40 feet, the cir- 

 cumference at two feet from the ground is 3 feet 

 6 inches, the length of some of the lower branches 

 nearly 14 feet, and the circumference of the 

 branches on the ground about 90 feet. It is thick- 

 ly clothed with luxuriant branches from the ground 

 to the top. It would certainly have been 5 or 6 

 feet higher, but from the misfortune of having 

 twice lost its leading: shoot; three years ago a shot 

 from a gun pierced the leading shoot, and this year 

 a severe hailstorm broke it down. In one respect 

 I am more fortunate than Sir C. Lemon, at Carclew, 

 for I have 50 fine young plants raised from the 

 seed of last year, but which had a narrow escape 

 from death by the same hailstorm that broke the 

 leaiting shoot of their parent, and were only saved 

 by the ganlener rushing out with a hand glass; 

 they would otherwise all have perished, along 

 with other plants that were cut down in great 

 numbers. I have two or three fine plants raised 

 from layers, which seem to be putting out shoots 

 on all sides, and growing well and upright. There 

 are no cones upon the tree this year. — Ailliam 

 Ord. Gardener's Chronicle- 



A SpECIKS ok AlMKUICAN Al.OE IN Fl.OV\KR. — 



There is now in fiower in the Dotaiiical Garden of 

 this University, a fine specimen of I''urcru;a cuben- 

 sisor Cuba Aloe, raised from seoil sent to the gar- 

 den about i I years ago, since which time it has 

 been constantly kej)t in the stove. 'I'he lirst indi- 

 cation it gave of flowering was early in the month 

 of August of the jiresent year, and since that time 

 the stem has made so rapid a growth as to have 

 attained the height of 23 feet, and has i)roduced 28 

 branches, which are again ilivided into many 

 branclilets, on which are suspended about 1400 

 bulls and blossoms; these are of a greenish-yellow 

 color, and, when fully expanded, rather more than 

 2 inches in diameter, very' fragrant; but, viewing 

 each flower singly, by no means showy. Although 

 this species was introduced into England so long 

 ago as 1739, this is supposed to be the first time 

 it has flowered in this country. Furcrcca gigantea, 

 a species very similar to the above, flowereil in the 

 autumn of 1S20, in the garden of the Right Hon. 

 Earl Powis, at his seat at Walcot, in Shropshire, 

 and is figured in the " Hotanical Magazine," v. 48, 

 t. 2250. Another very fine plant of the same spe- 

 cies lias recently flowered in the Royal Botanic 

 Garden at Kew. — Oxford Herald, Oct. 17. 



Beet-root a Substitute for Potatoes. — 

 Beet-root cannot be too much recommended as a 

 cheap substitute for the Potato. Hitherto the red 

 has only been used in England as a pickle, or as a 

 garnish for salad; even the few who dress it gene- 

 rally boil it, by which process the rich saccharine 

 juice is in a great measure lost, and the root conse- 

 quently rendered less nutritious by the quantitj' of 

 water which it imbibes, as well as by parting with 

 the native syrup of which it is thus forcibly »le- 

 prived; it is, therefore, strongly recommended to 

 bake instead of boiling them, when they will be 

 found to afford a delicious and wholesome food. 

 This is not an untried novelty, for both red and 

 white Beet-root are extensively used on the Conti- 

 nent; in Italy especially, they are carried about 

 hot from the oven twice a day, and sold in the 

 streets, giving to thousands, with bread, salt, pep- 

 per and butter, a satisfactory meal. There are few 

 purposes, for which baked, or even roasted, or 

 fried Beet-root would not be found preferable to 

 boiled. If these roots were so universally culti- 

 vated in England for human food as they are on the 

 Continent, and baked and sold as cheap, as they 

 niiglit easily be, many a poor person would have a 

 hearty and good meal who is now often obliged to 

 go without one. — Torquay Directory. 



Supherphosphate of Lime. — When a small 

 portion of superphosphate of lime is mixed with 

 seeds when sown, in sufficient quantity to give 

 them the appearance of being limed over, the seeds 

 germinate quicker and stronger, more especially in 

 the case of old seeils; and it is also found that the 

 plants are less liable to damp off, or be injured by 

 insects. — Journal of Horticultural Society. 



