1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



639 



to impress this on the minds of «;ar(Ioners; be- 

 cause, in consequence of some persons havincjan 

 idea that the corrosive sublimate penetrates to liie 

 very heart of the woo.l immersed in it, they have 

 it kyanized first, and sawn up into the forms in 

 which they mean to use it afterwards. Assur- 

 edly, the wood so treated, if in pieces thicker than 

 an inch, will not be rendered one whit more du- 

 rable by the process, than if it liad never been 

 submitlCLi to it. On the other hand, by preparinjr 

 the wood first, and kvanizing it afterwards, not 

 only a prolon<red durahilify is obtained, but the 

 expense of painliuij rendered unnecessary, unless 

 for ornament. The process of kyanizing is calcu- 

 lated to give much (jreater durability to espaliers 

 for fruit trees; to hot-hed frames and sashes of 

 every description; to all kinds of trellis-work; to 

 rods and stakes of every kind lor tyinff up plants; 

 to tallies, large and small, lor naming plants; to 

 mats and canvass for covering them; to pack- 

 thread and strands of bass mat lor tying them; to 

 baskets lor carrying them; and to hurdles of reeds 

 or straw for protection; and in short, to every 

 thinff made of wood, or vegetable fibre, used in 

 the formation orculture of a garden. It would thus 

 be a great benefit to the proprietors of gardens 

 and pleasure-grounds, if they could overcome 

 their prejudicies so far as to give it a trial. 



From tlie same. 

 FOREIGN TIMBER TREES IN BRITAIN. 



Some years ago, through the exertions of Mr. 

 Lawson, the eminent seedsman of Edinburgh, 

 many thousands Pinus Cembra, raised from seeds 

 imported from Switzerland, were planted in dif- 

 ferent parts of Scotland; and, what is remakable, 

 though this tree, in the climate of London, seldom 

 makes shoots above six inches or eisrht inches in 

 a year, in the neighborhood of Edinburgh it has 

 made shootSj from one foot to two leet annually. 

 A great many larches, raised from seeds received 

 from the Tyrol (see 'Highland Society Transac- 

 tions,'' vol. xi. p. 391,) by Mr. Lawson, have also 

 been planted in Scotland; and the plants, we are 

 inlbrmed, show a deeper green in the foliage 

 than that of plants raised from British seeds. 

 The black pine of Austria, also introduced by 

 Mr. Lawson, has been planted to a consider- 

 able extent; more especially by Sir John Nas- 

 myth, at New Posso, in Peeblesshire. Among 

 the most useful exertions that have been made in 

 arboriculture for the last year, and during some 

 years previously, are those of Messrs. Grigor, 

 nurserymen at Eigm and Forres; who stimulated 

 by the rewards offiered by the Highland Society, 

 have been the means of disseminating many 

 thousand plants of the true Highland pine, by far 

 the most valuable timber tree indigenous or in cul- 

 tivation in Europe, next to the larch and the oak. 

 It may be worthy of remark, that, of all the ultra- 

 European trees which have been cultivated, in 

 Britain, for such a time as to admit of forming an 

 estimate of the value of their timber, there is not 

 one the timber of which is equal to that of the 

 trees indigenous to Europe. The only shadow of 

 an exception is the populus monilifera, which is a 

 very doubtful native of America, and much more 

 likely, in our opinion, to be an improved Europe- 

 an tree. The oaks of A merica, beautiful as they 

 are, are worth little as limber, either in America 



or Europe, when compared with the Brilisli oak; 

 with the exception of the live oak, which will not 

 attain a limber size in Britain. No American 

 pine or fir, that will attain the size of a forest tree 

 in this country, has wood equalling that of the 

 Scotch pine, the larch, or the spruce. We might, 

 in like manner, go through all the genera of Ame- 

 rican trees; but we have said enough, we trust to 

 impress the reader with an idea of the importance 

 of cultivating lor timber, and on a large scale, the 

 improved varieties of European species. Not 

 that we wish to discourage the planting of ultra- 

 European trees on a large scale also; because 

 there may be some of these that will prove far 

 more valuable in this country than we have any 

 idea of; and, also, because they add to the variety 

 and beauty of our general scenery, and may, at 

 some future time, give rise to improved kinds by 

 cross-breeding. 



From the same, 



INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF THE ODOR OF LAU- 

 REN LEAVES ON PLANTS. 



Having read, in the 'Garden er''s Magazine,'' 

 an account of a method of destroying the diflier- 

 ent insects that infest plants, taken from a paper 

 read before the Horiicultural Socieiy, I was in- 

 duced to give it a trial, as the means stated were 

 so simple. I accordingly procured a quantity of 

 laurel leaves; and. having well bruised them, 

 spread them in (he evening on the floor of a small 

 stove. On the following day, at noon, i was sur- 

 prised to see all the young leaves of some vines 

 under the rafters appear as though scorched ; 

 and upon further examinaiion, I Ibund many of 

 the stove plants affected in the same manner: 

 the euphorbias, in a few days, lost nearly all their 

 leaves, and gesnerias, gloxinias, &c., though they 

 did not lose their leaves, yet presented a very un- 

 sightly appearance. I immediately concluded 

 that this was caused by the odor of the laurel 

 leaves, and instantly swept them all out of the 

 house; but, to be sure of the maiter, I took a plant 

 of pelargonium and placed it under a hand-glass, 

 with a quantity of the bruised laurel leaves,, and 

 on the following morning it presented precisely 

 the same appearance as the plants in the stove; 

 which satisfied me of the injurious effects of the 

 laurel leaves upon vegetation ; though, at the 

 same time, they were incapable of destroyintr the 

 mealv bug, which was the msect I was chiefly 

 annoyed with. I send you this account, that you 

 may, if you think fit, publish it as a contradiction 

 to the asssertion, that the odor of laurel leaves will 

 not injure plants; and thus prevent other garden- 

 ers from falling into the same error that 1 have 

 done. J. H. A. ^ 



Bromley, Kent, October 25, 1837. 



From the same. 



TRANSPORTING PLANTS AND SEEDS FROIVr 

 ABROAD. 



The following extracts are from the instructions 

 relative to this subject given by M. Mirbel to the 

 expedition in the ^/s^ro/a6e— "Formerly, in long 

 voyages, it was very difficult to preserve plants 

 alive for any length of time. During the voyage,, 

 they were liable to perish from many circum- 

 stances; and, upon their arrival, it was necessary 



