172 Mode of protecting the Crocus from Sparrows. 



I should also say, from my own experience, as well as from 

 the practical instruction I received from the able curator of the 

 Edinburgh Botanic Garden, that no heath ought to be put out 

 of the house, when there is room to keep it in so that the plants 

 may stand clear of each other ; as, by being exposed in the open 

 air, they are liable to get drenched by the heavy rains so frequent 

 in the summer months, and which can only be avoided by awn- 

 ings of canvass being erected (this, too, at a considerable expense), 

 to protect them from the rain as well as from the scorching rays 

 of the sun. 



Milton Bryant, Feb. 20. 1837. 



Art. VII. On protecting the Crocus, tvhen in Blossom, from Spar- 

 roivs. By William Anderson, F.L.S., &c., Curator of the Chelsea 

 Botanic Garden. 



A BLACK thread, tightly stretched over an edging of crocuses, 

 when in flower, completely protects them from being eaten by 

 sparrows, as they generally are in the neighbourhood of Lon- 

 don. The thread must not be nearer the crocuses than 10 in., 

 nor higher than 1 ft. ; as the scare is effected by the sparrows 

 not seeing the thread until they alight on the ground under it ; 

 when, seeing something artificial, they think it is a trap, and fly 

 oflF without waiting to examine whether it is so or not. Black 

 threads are equally effectual when stretched over newly-sown 

 seeds; but I find that the threads, in that case, must not be more 

 than 3 ft. or 4 ft. apart; though this may only be applicable in 

 the case of our cockney sparrows, which, you may have ob- 

 served, when they alight on horse droppings on the public road, 

 turn up one eye to see that all is safe. When they do this in 

 gardens, they see the thread, and fly off. 



Botanic Garden. Chelsea, March 13. 1837. 



Art. VIII. On the Management of the Vine. By A. Forsyth. 



Let the Vine-bed or Border be made of the following earths : — 

 Loamy turf that has been pared quite thin, and stocked in nar- 

 row tiers, for one year at least, three parts ; and one part of the 

 following mixture : any dry, well aerated animal manure that 

 can most conveniently be got, such as horse droppings, or those 

 of cattle, deer, or sheep, without litter, laid in alternate layers 

 with old plaster or old building lime mortar (the older the 

 better): no matter if there be a few brickbats in it. Let the whole 

 be well pounded, and mixed with the dung, which ought to be 

 in a proper state as to moisture, to ferment a little ; after which, 



