190 



JOUKNAIi OF HOBTICTJLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ September 10, 1868. 



Teloped cells in due order of enccesEion. Geminnles wbich do not 

 become developed may, according to his hypothesis, he trnusmitted 

 through many sncceediug generations, thus enabling us to understand 

 many remarliablo cases of reversion or ntaxism. Thus, according to 

 this hypothesis, not only have the normal organs of the body the re- 

 presentative elements of which they consist diffused through all the 

 other parts of the body, but the morbid states of these — as hereditaiT 

 diseases, malformations, &c. — all actually circulate in the body as 

 morbid geminnles. As with other hyrotheses based on the assumed 

 existence of structures and elements that escape our senses, by reason 

 of their minuteness or subtlety, this of Pangenesis will approve itself 

 to some minds and not to others. To some these inconceivably minute 

 circulating geminnles will be as apparent to the mind's eye as the stars 

 of which the Milky Way is composed ; others will prefer embodying the 

 idea in such terras as potentiality, a term which conveys no definite 

 impression whatever, and they will lil:e it none the lesson this account. 

 "Whatever be the scientific value of these geminnles, there is no question 

 bat that to Mr. Darwin's enunciation of the doctrine of Pangenesis 

 ■we owe it. that we have the clearest and most systematic r.-.-j^z/jt' of the 

 many wonderful phenomena of reproduction and inheritance that has 

 yet appeared ; and against the guarded entertainment of the hypo- 

 thesis, or speculation if you will, as a means of correlating these phe- 

 nomena, nothing can be urged in the present stat^ of science. The 

 President of the Linuean Society, a proverbially cautions naturalist, 

 thus well expresses his own ideas of Pangenesis : — ' If,' he says, ' we 

 take into consideration how familiar mathematical signs and symbols 

 make us with numbers and combinations, the actual realisation of 

 which is beyond all human capacity ; how inconceivably minute must 

 he those emanations which most powerfully affect our sense of smell 

 nnd our constitutions ; and if, discarding all preventions, we follow 

 Mr. Darwin step by step in appl}-ing his suppositions to the facts set 

 before as, we must, I think, admit that they may explain some, and 

 are incompatible with others ; and it appears to me that Pangenesis 

 will be admitted by many as a provisional hypothesis, to he farther 

 tested, and to be discarded only when a more plausible one shall he 

 bronght fonvard.' " 



POMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS. 



Thebe ia a new Nectarine raised by Mr. Rivers, called 

 AiiBEET VicToit, which belongs to the Stanwick race, and 

 has some resemblance to Victoria, another of his seedlings. 

 We have had frtiit of both of these, and the Stanwick fla- 

 vour is distinctly traceable in both, but the faults of that 

 variety are wanting ; there is no cracking of the fruit, or of 

 the stone. 



Messes. Bcntabd & Sons, of Maidstone, have sent us a 



marvellons little Apple, of which they say, " 'We beg to enclose 

 four specimens of a seedling dessert Apple, which has been in 

 use about a month, and those sent have been gathered three 

 weeks." The flavour is rich and sweet, with the fine high 



aroma of a Nonpareil. Such an Apple so early in the season 

 is a great acquisition. The fruit is small, roundish, and 

 rnssety, with a flush of orange on one side. The flesh tender, 

 very juicy, and richly flavoured. We hope to hear more of this 

 iruit. 



Keeping Fkcit. — To secure the long-keeping of fruit, a 



cool and dry atmosphere is indispensable ; not so cold as to 

 freeze, nor so dry that the fruit will shrivel. When winter 

 Pears are wanted for the table, they should be brought into a 

 ■warm place, where, after a few days, they will become fit for 

 eating. Apples will ripen well enough in the cellar. Grapes 

 will keep well where the temperature is favourable to the 

 long-keeping of other fruits. A cool, dry temperature is the 



special merit of the patent fruit ho\xseB.—{America7> Jmirnal of 

 Ilurticulturc.) 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAnDEN. 



Caidifloiccrs, examine the plants for next year — namely, those 

 still in the seed beds, those pricked out, and especially the 

 plants from the last sowing. Kidnry Bcims, a quantity of the 

 Early Dun, Cream-coloured, or Speckled Dwarf China, may be 

 sown in pots in a warm place to perfect their produce under 

 the protection of a frame or pit. No more need be sown where 

 the plants cannot have the advantage of fire heat. Onionn 

 should now be dried and cleared off the ground as soon as pos- 

 sible. The ground should then be well dug, and with the ad- 

 dition of a little dung it will bo suitable for the main plan- 

 tation of spring Cabbages, which had better be put in without 

 much further delay. The last crop of autumn-sown Onions 

 may now bo put in. Lettuces, the last sowing of Brown Dutch is 

 generally made by the middle of this month. They generally 

 keep well through the winter, because they come up slowly, 

 and become stocky during the cool of the autumn. Mushrooms, 

 there is little difficulty in procuring Mushrooms from this time 

 till May, in houses where a suflicient heat can be commanded, 

 either by a thick covering of fermenting material inside the 

 house, or by flues or hot-water pipes. If in a house with shelves 

 upon the Oldaker system, the depth of the bed must be regu- 

 lated by the quantity of materials at command, and the period 

 at which the produce is expected. A dung bed of 5 or 6 inches 

 in thickness may be expected to produce for six weeks, and if 

 scarce of material, as soon as the bed has ceased bearing pro- 

 fusely, the top part is removed, fresh droppings added to the 

 depth of 2 or 3 inches, the old and the new mixed together, and 

 the bed spawned, and earthed at the proper time, the same as 

 a fresh bed. It is not of much consequence whether the ma- 

 terial of the bed is rather dry or rather wet, only in the first 

 case, after spawning, a covering ef wet cow or horse dting is 

 added, and in the second case, the spawn should be wrapped in 

 a handful of dry litter before being inserted. In all shallow 

 beds the earth should be put ou after spawning, or as soon as 

 the state of the bed will permit, making the thickness of the 

 earth from 1 to 2i inches, according to the thickness of the 

 bed, and the time at which it is to produce, as the thinner 

 the covering of earth, the sooner the Mushrooms will appear, 

 at the expense, in general, of the solidity of the Mushroom, and 

 the permanence of the crop. Both with the in-door and out- 

 door beds the heat should be rather on the decline, and just 

 about milkwarm before spawning, and then, if after earthing-up, 

 the heat should not be sufficient, you may throw what heat 

 you wish into the bed by covering. Before you can remedy 

 too much heat the spawn is worthless. Sjnnaeh, the Winter 

 Spinach, Onions, and Carrots, sown in rows, should have the 

 ground well stirred between the rows as soon as the surface is 

 dry, after every rain. Tomatoes will now require considerable 

 attention in order to ripen the fruit well. Stop the shoots, 

 and cut off the leaves very liberally, so as to expose the fruit 

 fully to the sun. V'utercre^ses, these will grow just as well on 

 a damp, shaded border in the kitchen garden as along the 

 brook side, and will be safer for use from such a place than in 

 the natural way, where they are always more or less sown over 

 with the eggs of insects frequenting pools or running streams. 

 Now is the best time to plant slips. 



FECIT G.iRDEN. 



In paying attention to the fruit at this season do not let the 

 trees be forgotten, but take every opportunity of hastening the 

 maturing of the wood. The points of the shoots of Peach trees 

 might now be shortened. Tho shortening of the shoots will 

 cause the buds left to swell better, and unless the trees receive 

 too much assistance at the roots, there will be no danger of the 

 buds then bursting. In extreme cases of luxuriance the stronger 

 roots might be pruned with advantage. The principal opera- 

 tions to which attention is now to be directed, are the protec- 

 tion of Grapes and the gathering of fruit. The Grapes, which 

 should now be swelling fast, had better be put into small gauze 

 bags to preserve them from the attacks of wasps, which are 

 now troublesome. With regard to the gathering of such fruit 

 as Apples and Pears, great care is necessary to keep them from 

 being bruised. They ought to be handled like eggs, in order 

 to insure their keeping. The time when tho fruit is ready for 

 gathering is indicated by its beginning to drop of its own 

 accord from the trees, by its parting freely from the stem on 

 being slightly moved, or if, on cutting open one of the fruits, 



