228 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTOEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ March 28, 1867. 



a pleasing bright rosy liuk variety ; and Elise, crimson, edged 

 with pale rose. 0£ Tulips there is a tine collection, including 

 the Tournesols, Keizerskroou, Vermilion Brilliant, and other 

 showy varieties, besides several new ones, among which the 

 best appear to be Chrysolora, bright yellow ; Zilvnreeu Stan- 

 dard, rosy crimson, "flaked with white ; Joost Van Voudell, 

 large, crimson and white ; Salvator Eosa, double, rose, striped 

 ■with deeper rose ; and Grand Due, yellow, flaked with red. 



The miscellaneous collection of spring-flowering plants prin- 

 cipally consists of numerous plants of Dielytra spectabUis, 

 which are very effective, Cytisus racemoaus, Deutzias, Acacia 

 Drummondi, Chinese Azaleas, Cinerarias, Mignonette, Gueldres 

 Rose, Lily of the Valley, and the pretty double Prunus sinensis ; 

 there are also some Dracanas, and, as an edging to the whole 

 in front, variegated I'elargoniums interspersed with Isolepis 

 gracilis. We also noticed at one end of the table a plate of 

 Messrs. Cutbush's beautifully marked variety of Lilium 

 auratum, called splendidum, in which the central stripes are 

 dull rod. 



WEEDS ON WALKS, AND HOW TO DESTROY 



THEM. 



Wbatevek difference of opinion there may exist as to the 

 proper materials for making a walk, every one must agree that 

 weeds destroy its beauty. 



Now, as weeds on a walk are unquestionably fatal to its good 

 appearance, their removal or destruction is aimed at by all; 

 but it was not until within the last fev; years that the appli- 

 cation of chemical substances, with the latter object in view, 

 found much favour, and weeding and hoeing were, therefore, 

 the order of the day. A prejudice against the use of one of the 

 most effective destructive agents for a long time kept it from 

 being resorted to, and some people even persisted in the 

 opinion that it would not accomplish the desired end. The old- 

 fashioned mode of employing hand labour was accordingly pur- 

 sued, and resulted in walks being often allowed to become very 

 rough before the cleaning time came round again. 



To remedy this state of things various expedients have been 

 suggested, and different substances tried ; some, and by far the 

 greater number, having for their object the destruction of the 

 young weeds on the spot, without disturbing the walk ; others 

 being designed to render the walk itself impervious to the roots 

 of weeds, or fatal to them. This, in most cases, is sought to 

 be effected by preparing a walk with a hard, smooth surface of 

 asphalt, concrete, cement, or some similar substance, affording 

 no hold for the roots of the grosser and larger vegetation, but 

 net altogether exempt from the attacks of fungi or mosses, 

 when time has changed the obnoxious substances, and ren- 

 dered the surface suitable for such vegetation. Asphalt, and 

 similar materials, however useful for walks, are, nevertheless, 

 not yet sufficiently cheap to allow of their being employed 

 everywhere, and weeds are most likely to grow on such walks 

 as are the least likely to be formed of such materials, for it is 

 on walks in out-of-the-way places, that most weeds are pro- 

 duced, not on those over which there is the most traffic. 



In districtswhere mineral substances obnoxious to vegetation 

 can be obtained in sufficient quantity, there is not much diffi- 

 culty in keeping weeds down, as, for instance, in the case of 

 Eome mining districts, more especially in the west of England, 

 where a greenish grey sand strongly impregnated with some 

 mineral poison is found in quantity. Certain chemical works 

 also furnish a refuse substance, which can be applied to the 

 same purpose. Such materials, however, are not so generally 

 available as to meet all requirements, consequently we must 

 adopt others more within our reach. I hope that in time some- 

 thing better than any substance we now possess may be dis- 

 covered — something cheap, easy of application, effectual, and 

 not likely to injure the walks to which it is applied; but till 

 then I fear we must continue to use salt, of which the only fault 

 is, that it makes a damp walk damper still ; still its use, I 

 think, is extending, for notwithstanding this drawback, there 

 is nothing as yet to be had at so reasonable a rate, and which 

 is so efficacious. The mere fact of its rendering a damp wall; 

 a little damper is not sufficient to cause its condemnation, in- 

 asmuch as some walks are better when a little damp than when 

 too dry, and this is the case with many of those here. I have 

 nsed salt for many years with advantage, and in the past year 

 I employed it more extensively than ever, and I see no reason 

 to regret having done so. 



Of the substances used to destroy weeds on walks, one of the 

 be»t I have seen was a sort of crude arsenic, which was em- 



ployed about a dozen years ago, and applied, I think, cither 

 pounded or in a diluted state. This left no trace behind it, 

 and the walk was clean, and looked as if it would take a long 

 time to return to a state fit for vegetation ; but I only saw the 

 effects of the application on one occasion. I have, however, had 

 more than one trial with copperas as a weed-destroyer, but it 

 left a dirty stain, and was so difficult to apply that I cannot 

 recommend it, whereas salt is cleanly, and all trace of it is re- 

 moved by the first shower. In some places it has been used 

 dissolved in hot water, but the latter is inconvenient to obtain, 

 and I imagine salt acts quite as well without it. Salt, it is 

 true, ought not to remain on a walk when there is company 

 at a place, but by taking advantage of showery weather, it will 

 speedily disappear. Of course, care must be taken in applying 

 it that none be thrown on the edging, otherwise it will kill it ; 

 but a little practice will enable any one to do this without 

 danger of such a result. The quantity to apply must depend 

 on circumstances : if the walk is one passing through a meadow 

 where grass seeds abound, and where it is, perhaps, but little 

 used, weeds will grow rapidly, and salt may be more liberally 

 applied ; but where there is only a Uttle moss to destroy, a 

 very small dustiug will suffice. The best plan for the inex- 

 perienced to adopt is to use very little salt at first, to be careful 

 not to scatter any over the roots of Box, if such is grown as an 

 edging, removing the weeds from that part by other means, 

 and if the quantity used do not effect the object, to repeat the 

 application after a time, taking care not to salt too much. 



If the keeping down of weeds were the only advantage of 

 using salt, its adoption might be open to many objections ; 

 but it likewise keeps worms away, and destroys the weeds with- 

 out loosening the gravel or other materials composing the 

 walk. This advantage is of the greatest importance where the 

 number of persons who traverse the walks daily is small, for 

 however carefully weeds are picked up by hand, or forced up by 

 the hoe, some disturbance of the sm'face must be caused, and 

 before that can be fairly remedied, the operation has to be 

 repeated, and a loose, unpleasant surface is the result, or con- 

 stant rolling becomes uecessai-y. Now with salt nothing is dis- 

 turbed, the weeds wither and disappear in a few days, and even 

 if they are deep-rooted ones, such as Dandelions and Docks, 

 an extra pinch over the crown will generally kill them. 



The substances of which walks may be formed having been 

 treated of in this Journal, I need only remark that where very 

 indifferent materials are necessarily used (which is often enough 

 the case, and yet with such a tolerably good walk may be made), 

 it is of the greatest importance not to disturb this rough ma- 

 terial by hunting after weeds ; salt is then of the utmost conse- 

 quence ; and where the soil is rich, and wormcasts are trouble- 

 some, salt effectually keeps them down. Some examples of this 

 kind we have had here, and the more we use salt the more it9 

 benefits appear, for after applying it for two or thi'ee years W9 

 find a less quantity effect our object, and the advantage of not 

 having the walk disturbed is of consequence on hilly ground,, 

 where heavy rains do such injury to walks having a loose sur- 

 face. I may add that most of our walks have a slight coating 

 of shells, which being broken fine are easy and smooth to walk 

 upon, and after rain the walks are more firm than in dry weather, 

 excepting such as are distui-bed by storm-floods, and salting 

 renders it unnecessary to loosen such a Ught material. Taking, 

 therefore, salt with all its disadvantage.'), I should be sorry to 

 have to do without it. If, however, any one can discover an 

 agent superior to salt in respect to cheapness, efficacy, and 

 ease of application, I shall be glad to hear of it, and will give it 

 a trial. — J. Robson. 



ACCTTMULATED HEAT, 



I HAVE heard that Mr. Scott Russell has given his opinion 

 that the fire at the Crystal Pa )■ e was caused by an explosion of 

 gas in the flue of the hot-water apparatus, which to me appears 

 very improbable. Accidents from the explosion of gas were 

 very common, when the old smoke flue was more generally em- 

 ployed to heat glass houses. 



One of the first lessons a yoimg gardener received was, to 

 push back the hot coals well into the flue, and to put the fresh 

 fuel in front of the fire. The fire then burnt gradually towards 

 the door, and all gas given off by the heated fuel was obliged to 

 pass over the fire, and was, of course, consumed. If, on the 

 contrary, the fresh coal was thrown beyond the fire, the gas 

 was wasted, and might cause mischief. 



A mixture of coal gas and atmospheric air is explosive. Gas 



