Janaary G, 1876. 1 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



Bimply Byuonyma for one and the same plant found in all these 

 countries, but differing only in a slight degree from each other 

 from causes owing to their sojourn in their respective homes, 

 but which, when exported to others, revert into one and the 

 eame form ? I wish some one would enlighten us on this head ; 

 it would be acceptable information to the general public, while 

 to the ardent cultivator of ornamental varieties it would damp 

 his ardour for improvement to be told his varieties had only 

 one parent. Recent investigation points to more thinga than 

 Cyclamens having only one parent stock. In asking for the 

 information alluded to, I think also that some further remarks 

 on the culture of these plants may possibly turn up during 

 the inquiry. — J. Kobson. 



PABSLEY. 



Pabsley retains the character and uses which it had among 

 the Romans. Pliny eays, " Parsley is generally esteemed ; 

 sprigs of it are floating in the milk given for refreshment in 



Fig. 1. 



country places ; as a seasoning for sauces it is especially fa- 

 voured ;" and he then commends it as a poultice for weak 

 eyes and tumours. It is needless to particularise the various 

 kitchen uses to which it is now applied, but it may be not so 

 ■well known that in England it has been worn in the hat " in 

 a braverie," which seems a remnant of the practice of making 

 wreaths of it to crown the victors at some of the Grecian 

 games. 



Phillips says that Parsley was not cultivated in England 

 until 1548, the second year of Edward VI.'s reign. This may 

 be so, but we know that it is mentioned as a garden plant in 

 our earliest books, and nurserymen have been specially assidu- 

 ous to raise handsome curled-leaved varieties for garnishing 

 purposes. The best we have seen is that recently introduced 

 by Messrs. Carter & Co., High Holborn. This is represented 

 in the above woodcuts, but they only approach to the minute- 

 ness of the divisions of the leaves. Mefsrs. Carter & Co. have 

 .named it " Fern-leaved Parsley," but "Fimbriated" or "Moss- 

 like " would be a more truth-suggesting name. 



LAEGE VERSUS SMALL SEED FOR PLANTING. 

 Db. Gustav Maeek has recently published a very valuable 

 monograph on this important subject, embodying the results 

 of a great number of experiments and observations made by 



him at the experiment stations at Halle and Leipsic. _ Most 

 convincing proof of the superior value of large seed is fur- 

 nished by the results of some of his experiments in the field. 

 Beans and Peas were planted in the garden, small and large 

 seeds of each kind being planted on adjacent plots, the Beans 

 12 inches apart each way, and the Peas in rows 10 inches apart 

 and 2 inches apart in the row. Not only was the crop care- 

 fully harvested and measured when ripe, but the progress of 

 growth was closely watched during the season. The larger 

 and more uniform growth of the plants from the larger seeds, 

 from the beginning to the end of the season, is very plainly 

 exhibited in the condensed tabular form in which we have 

 arranged the results of these experiments. Height is given in 

 inches and weight in ounces, if not otherwise specified. 



Plants from 



LarKe Small 



BEiNS. Seed. Seed. 



May 23ra.— Height of plants 6—8 3—6 



Average number of leaves 8 6 



Jnne 9th.— Height o( plants 12—5 19— IJ 



June 11th. — Number of plants in bloom] 45 12 



Jane 17th.— All the piantw in blossom. Ten average plants 

 taken up from each plot. Average height of 



plants 24 20 



Average number of leaves on each plant 13 11 



Aggregate weight of the ten plants when dry, in 



grains ^^7 "'^ 



July 8l3t. — Pods fully formed. Whole number of pods 3,138 2,799 



August 6th.— Crop harvested. Total weight of vines and 



pods 219 183 



Weight of seed, first quality 162 121 



Weight of seed, second qaaHty 6 -5 



In whatever way the plants are compared, and however 

 minute the measurements that are made, the advantage re- 

 mains always with the plants from the large seed. The much 

 greater uniformity of growth cannot be shown in the table 

 without taking too much space, but it appears all through the 

 details given in the original paper. To give one or two in- 

 stances : Of the ten plants taken up Jane 11th all but one of 

 those from the large seed had its leaves as given in the table, 

 and the odd one had twelve leaves ; on the other hand, of the 

 plants from the Email seed some had ten, some eleven, and 

 some twelve leaves, and one had thirteen. The uniformity of 

 the plants from the large seed was marked. At the rate given 

 in the above table the increased yield per acre of seed of the 

 first quality that may be obtained by the use of large seed 

 rather than small would be 250 lbs. A similar course of 

 experiments with Peas gave the following results : — 



Plants from 

 Large Small 

 Seed. Seed 



PE4S. 



6—8 4-5 

 18 10—12 



44 34 



15 13 



11-6 9 



2 1-6 



201 



48-5 



19 



192 

 19 

 37 



May 23rd.— Height of plants 



June 6th. — Height of plants 



June 19th. — Ten average plants token up from each plot 



Average height of these plants 



Average number of leaves 



Average weight of the ten plants, green . . . 



I>itto, dry 



July 26th. — Crop harvested : 



Total weight of vines and pods 



Weight of seed, tirtt quality 



Ditto second quality 



In the case of the Peas as well as of the Beans, the plants 

 from the larger seed are better throughout the season than 

 those from the small seed ; the superiority of the former is 

 specially marked in respect to the quality of the seed har- 

 vested, as shown in the table. 



Prof. Lehmann of Munich carried out a somewhat similar 

 course of experiments with the same plant, and with still 

 more striking results in favour of the use of large and care- 

 fully selected seed ; and in his experiments not only did the 

 larger seed yield a larger crop from the same number of 

 plants, but a much larger proportion of the small seed failed 

 to germinate in the field, or at least to send the young plants 

 to the surface of the ground, than of the large seed. — {New 

 York Tribune.) 



THE POTATO. 



I KEMEMEER it was the late Dr. Lindley who despondently 

 prophesied the decadence of the Potato altogether, and it was 

 this which caused mo to first rush into manuscript and to 

 write as follows : — 



" Notwithstanding the general failure of the Potato crop 

 this year, what I have privately urged relative to its culture 

 I still maintain. Perseverance in its cause must be insisted 

 on ; and in defiance of all that grim foreboders may sing or 

 say against it, I for one intend to plant Potatoes. Let men 

 say all they can possibly say in foretelling its certain destruc- 



