JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTTJEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ JanuaiT 25, 1872. 



to draw the attention of some of tlie readers of tire 

 • ' — v.H,herto neglected the Bromeliads, to therr 



jonnial who nai^ . ' "^ nlain and practical 



many claims to notice, I pm-pose givmg » .... , • 



descriptions of some of the most ^':^}^'l^^] ^.fjZaLs 

 found in OUT gardens, commencmg with I '■'''■\'«/™; '^/'"S^ 

 This TeiT elegant species has been chosen for the hist plate 

 of the Miseries of the " Floral Magazine," and a Teiy bean- 

 tHul XeTt it is when five or six scapes are seen together. My 

 attention was first called to this pUmt about three years ago 

 when vising some of the piincipal German gardens, and 

 Ilthoug" it was not in first-rate concUtion at that ime, I saw 

 suffic ent of i to induce me to suppose that it would develope 

 heater beauties under a more Uberal course of treatment, and 

 faccordingly procured it. I have now no hesitation m saynig 

 it deserves to be grown in every coUection, however small 



The plant I have introduced to my readers' notice is dwarf 

 and compact in habit; the leaves are Ught green, she^tlnng 

 .at the base, and arranged in a rosulate manner, so as to^ve 

 it a vase-like appearance. The flower-spike is erect, produced 

 from the centre of the plant, and bears upon its summit a 

 Sstichous scape of narrow boat-shaped bidets the upper ha^f 

 of which are dark green with a crimson base. The orange- 

 yellow flowers vary from six to twelve m number are aU longer 

 Ihan the bracts, crimson at the base, and tipped with black at 

 the apex. So persistent are these flowers and bracts, that the 

 plant when in bloom retams its peculiar and striking contrast 

 of colours for many weeks, and may be placed without injury 

 S a vase for the decoration of the drawing-room or a lady's 

 boudou-. I think none can gainsay my assertion that it de- 

 serves the attention of every plant-gi'ower. 



The cultivation of Yiiesia brachystachys hke that of he ma- 

 jority of the order, is extremely simple. They natuiially lead an 

 epiphytal life, and this fact must be borne m mmd by amateurs 

 whL placing them, for their own personal convemence, m 

 flower-pots. In such a state good and thorough drainage is 

 not only essential to their well-bemg, but actually to their 

 verv exiitence, and I invariably find when any of them m pot 

 get' into bad order, that placing them on a block of ^oo^^f^;^ 

 then suspending them in a moist warm atmosphere, is suie to 

 restore them to their wonted vigour. The sod for this plant 

 should consist of two parts good leaf mould, t^° P^/tf P^*' 

 and one part each of light loam and sand. Before leavnig 

 ?Ms subject, however, I must just revert to a practice too much 

 nvo"uewih gardeners, and that is turning the plants npside 

 down to empty the water from the natural receptacles formed 

 Cl^he overlapping of the base of the leaves. Nothing m my 

 estoation ca\f be more prejudicial to the health of .th^^ P an 

 than such a practice, for I find that water standing m these is 

 ihe irtual life of the plant, and therefore I mvariably make 

 the crown of the plant the receptacle for all the water given 

 That v.ortion which runs over and trickles down the plant is 

 usually sufficient for the roots.— Exteeio Ckede. 



THE ACTION OF NITEOGEN GAS ON PLANTS. 

 By CuTHEEET W. Johnson, F.R.S. 

 ■ The action of the nitrogen of our atmosphere upon vege- 

 tation has long been a moot question w^th chemists. That 

 this gas should form 79 per cent, of the an- we breathe tha it 

 should be a constituent of so large a proportion of vegetable 

 substances, and yet that those vegetables should not denve 

 any portioi of it from the atmosphere, has ever been regarded 

 as doubtful. It is true that the most careful chemical le- 

 searches have hardlv detected any absorption of nitrogen gas 

 by plants. The different vei-y valuable researches on this 

 iiiportant inquiry were some time since described by Professor 

 Way IJour. Roy. Ag. Soc, vol. xvi., p. 249) If, however, the 

 absorption of the nitrogen gas of the atmosphere is stdl a moot 

 point there is yet no doubt of the value to vegetation of the 

 ^troien contahied in the nitric acid, and the ammonia which 

 is contained in rain water, and which Way calculates to be 

 annually equal per acre to the manuriiig power of 1 cwt of 

 guano. ' The agricultui-ist, adds the professor " may profit by 

 this newly discovered bounty of Nature if he will take fuU 

 advantage of the atmospheric manure by means of dramage 

 which m-omotes the equal flow of water through, mstead of 

 over his soil, by deep cultivation and thorough pulverisation 

 of the land, which brings every part of it into contact with 

 the au-. The atmosphere to the farmer is like the sea to the 

 fisherman; he who spreads his nets the wide.4 wiU catch the 

 most."— (I6i(J.,p. 266.) 



But then there are certain phenomena which induce the 

 suspicion that in some way, either direct or indirect, the atmo- 

 spheric nitrogen gas is made subservient to the growth o 

 "'nnts Thus nitric acid, which is composed of mtrogen ancl 

 t'— ' • •■-"■. water, and also ammonia (composed 



oxygen, is found in loi." ' ., „„„;ont As, then, 



of nitrogen and hydrogen), is ^^ S^-^^rally pre^vnt, As e 



the combination of nitrogen with oxygen °™«J"'"° ^^^^^ 

 and, when united with hydrogen, ^mmoma bo h very valuable 

 fprt lisprs the iniiuiry naturaUy suggests itself as to wnemer 

 these gases n^"h be profitably combined by artificial means 

 An e^?nt^ivil en|neer, Mr. Jarnes Nasmy h bas la e^y 



hiir naner whi/h is introduced by some remarks by Mr 

 j'tmt^ S?a:d\as appended to it an out^^^^^^^^^^ 



(joo comnressing machme, that Nitrogen, aiinoufen a, ui 

 Sbuncirt consfituent element in our atmosphere do not 

 appear to act so readily as a fertihser '^i.^.^'^^^^J^P^^f "^^ 

 to tV,p roots of nlantsin combmation with some otner suu 

 s?ance from which combination plants abstract the mtrogen 



I^oZm, behig composed of hydrogen and nitrogen 



Il%rnifroSn^SliirasTh^"o^^^^^^ 

 ''^^:^Vm''S^f^ ^orty years ago and con^ 

 BideS^g tdnexhaustibleiess of the store of niti-ogen we 

 nossess ill our atmosphere, it occurred to me that, could we 

 K^somem^s^ofla^gh^d^oft^^^^^^ 



source around us, instead of having to obtain the aesire 

 1 f^CTof^t^o: TMch^^wS1^l:f r fer diser 

 I flwo tW nresence if ammonia, from which the plants by 

 -- iSf iSt^r I Ctii:-^:^r me ^ 

 nrsom mechanici-chemical process - could manage t^ 



'4 hof St^t°s7mTmltttrbS^^^^^^ 

 X^a^^t^hlor^^eral^ubst^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



of the atmospnere i™^ , ^ j ^ percussive compression 



result might ensue." 



BBOCCOLI-The Cornish BroccoH trade .of 1872 has com- 



