May 6, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTIODIiTDRE AND OOTTAGE GARDENER. 



353 



Superstition has given birth to a legend, at one time prevalent 

 in the Highlands of Scotland, and thus told by Mrs. Hemans. 

 The Cross — 



" Was form'ii of aspen wood : and sinoe that hour 

 Through all its race the pale tree hath sent down 

 A thrilliog consciousness, a secret awe. 

 Making them tremulous, when not a breeze 

 Disturbs the airy thistle-down, or shakes 

 Ihe light lines of the shining gossamer," 



In dry soils it does not attain a greater height than 50 feet, 

 but in moist situ- 

 ations it is often full 

 80 feet high. It is 

 not a long-lived tree, 

 usually begiuning to 

 decay when seventy 

 years old, and this, 

 with its tendency' to 

 produce numerous 

 suckers, renders it 

 not desirable for or- 

 namental planting 

 near a lawn or flower 

 borders. The wood 

 is white, soft, and 

 light, and is used by 

 the turner for form- 

 ing bowls, trays, and 

 other utensils. It 

 was so valued for 

 making arrows that 

 in the reign of Ed- 

 ward IV., 1164, a 

 statute was enacted 

 from which the fol- 

 owing is extracted : 



" Patten makers 

 may make pattens of 

 such Asp as is not 

 fit for shafts. 



" Asp timber is 

 the best and lightest 

 timber, thereof to 

 make pattens and 

 clogs, most easy fcr 

 the wearing of all 

 estates, gentiles, and 

 other people, of any 

 timber that groweth. 



" Turners, carpen- 

 ters, woodmoDgers, 

 and cole-makers do 

 occupy, expend, and 

 waste yearly in their 

 occupations a great 

 quantity of all man- 

 ner timber of .4sp." 



POPULCS NIGKA,the 



Black Poplar, pro- 

 bably so called be- 

 cause of its darker 

 tints than those of 

 the White Poplar. 

 Its bark is browner, 

 and the leaves ha^e 

 no white down on 

 their under surface. 

 It attains a height 

 of 80 feet, and its 

 wood is one of the 

 best for making tur- 

 nery ware. It has been much used for flooring, and Mr. 

 Young tells that it is so slow in taking fire that the flames 

 were stayed at that part of a building on fire constructed of 

 this wood. It affords pasturage for bees, both by its catkins 

 and the honeydew which is freely secreted on its leaves. 



Fig. 85.— The aspeh's oegans of EEpnoDtJcxios. 



1. 



Shrot with leaf buds and male catkin. 

 2 and 3. Stamen'i on bractiform disc. 



4. Female catkin. 

 5 and 6. Female flower, base and side view. 



7. Fruit perfected. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



The following information for intending English exhibitors 

 at the forthcoming International Horticultural Exhibition 

 AT Cologne, to be opened on the 2.5111 of August next, has 

 been sent to us for publication. The Netherlands Steam 



Navigation Company and the Belgian Company, whose steamers 

 ply respectively between London, Rotterdam, Dover, and 

 Ostend, as well as the Rhenish Railway Company, have re- 

 duced the freight on goods to be sent to the Exhibition by 

 50 per cent., and no duty will be charged on such objects un- 

 less they should be sold in the country. 



On April 7th a deputation of the subscribers to a 



testimonial ao Mr. Lees, late of Tjnningham Gardens, met 

 with him in Edinburgh, and presented him with a handsome 



gold watch and chain 

 and a silver tea-ser- 

 vice, as a manifesta- 

 tion of the high es- 

 teem in which he 

 has for many years 

 been held as one of 

 our very fort most 

 cultivators of plants 

 and fruits, and of 

 his exemplary cha- 

 racter as a man. Mr. 

 Methven, nursery- 

 man, occupied the 

 chair on the occa- 

 sion, and the formal 

 presentation was by 

 Mr. Thomson of 

 Tweed Vineyard. We 

 trust Mr. Lees may 

 long be spared to 

 enjoy the articles of 

 presentation as well- 

 deserved tokens of 

 ability and charac- 

 ter.-(T/i« Gardener.) 



Two Useful 



Books have just been 

 published. One of 

 them is " The Nar- 

 cissus, its History 

 and Culture, with 

 coloured plates, and 

 descriptions of all 

 known species and 

 principal varieties." 

 The author is Mr. 

 F. W. Burbidge, and 

 there is added a 

 scientific review of 

 the genus by Mr. 

 J. G. Baker, of the 

 Royal Herbarium, 

 Kew. The coloured 

 plates are excellent. 

 The other book is 

 " Pruning, Grafting, 

 and Budding Fruit 

 Trees." The author 

 being Mr. D.T. Fish, 

 insures that the de- 

 tails are reliable. 



The follow- 

 ing tells the WAGES 



OF A HEAD GABDENER 



503 ago. In 1872 

 John of Gaunt issued 

 a warrant, which is 

 still in existence 

 among the archives 

 _. ^ _. It is addressed to his Receiver- 

 General, and having recited the engagement of one Nicol Gar- 

 diner as •' nostae gardyner"— the surname and the oflice being 

 differently spelled— for " nostre manoir de la Sanvoje," it pro- 

 ceeds to define his duties and emoluments. Nicoi, we observe, 

 is to have all the fruits and "herbages" for his own profit, 

 saving only what is required for the household, but is to 

 manure and work the garden at his own cost and charges, 

 and to provide all things needful, " busoignable," for its due 

 cultivation. The Duke, on the other hand, stipulates to pro- 

 vide him with rails and fences for the railing season, '_' en 

 temps de raillement," and for wages commands the Receiver 



8. Piece of a fruitful catkin. 



9. Fruit burst open. 



10. Peed with its feathery awn. 



11. Point of a leaf shoot. 



of the Duchy of Lancaster. 



