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238 
THE GARDENERS' 
CHRONICLE. 
[APRIL 11, 
mts assinst the diseased part of an unsound one, | but wild Pinks and Wallilowe 
: 2 Ta oye Xii ge aR e 
ewww wga- E "t 
and placed them on a eellar-foor. In à montn, om 
examining them, the sound one was not affected ; 
thinking that the euticle may have been its coat of 
defence, I removed this, and placed the two Potatoes 
as before, I have just brought them under a second 
examination ; the diseased one is thoroughly rotten, the 
healthy one sound still, and although several minute 
specks of the fungus show their attachment to the 
healthy Potato, they have been unable to enter more 
than the fortieth partof an inch. "Phe experiment may 
possibly be worth ing to the physiologist in his 
inquiry after causes. Here is evidence 
that the 
an inroad amongst the cellular 
tissue of the tuber just which way it chooses, but must 
wait to have its sporules cireulated with the fluids of 
the plant in vegetation. Thus distributed the work of 
destruction is easy.— B. Maund, Bromsgrove. 
Garden Gossip.—On the 7th of Ma Isaw a Horse 
Chesnut-tree all out in leaf ; three days ago we had a 
favourite cow bitten in the neek near the head—by a 
viper, the bailiff said ; and when we doubted its being 
caused by that, as it was too early in the season for them 
to come forth, the man said he had already seen several ; 
and to-day I had in my hand a pretty little harmless 
slow-worm, or blind worm, as it is sometimes miscalled; 
and I also found a Morel to-day, so that everything is 
a month or six weeks in advance this spring, and we 
may soon expect to hear the nightingale—indeed, the 
chiff.chaff (willow wren) we heard here on the 5th. 
Bulfinches always do us an immense quantity of mis- 
chief, but this winter they have continued to feast upon 
the seeds of the Ash, so that for a wonder our bushes 
of Pyrus japonica are now most gay, though they have 
just begun to attack the Fly Honeysuckle, Snowy Mes- 
pilus, Chinese Apple, &c. We never before were aware 
of their being so fond of the Ash keys; but one tree still 
covered with them has this winter proved a sad trap to 
the poor bullies, many having been shot in it to give toa 
tame racoon we have; bulfinches, greenfinches, and house 
sparrows being the only birds we allow to be killed, the 
first for destroying all the embryo blossoms, the second 
for picking off all our Primroses and Polyanthuses, and 
the sparrows for maliciously picking off the flower-heads 
of the Wisteria, besides dislodging the martins from 
their nests. In times when the Gardeners’ Chronicle 
treated more on the subject of Ornithology than it does 
now, it repeatedly spoke up for those mischievous vaga- 
bonds the rooks, ‘on whose history and evil-doings I 
could write pages, forI have no patience with those who 
write from their libraries, in some great town perhaps, 
and tell one that the poor persecuted rooks in fact do 
more good to the farmer than harm; those people can 
certainly never have used their own eyes in a country 
where rooks are plentiful; but there is a most useful 
little bird, which has most unjustly got a bad name 
with many who go by what they hear instead uf by what 
they see ; this bird is the starling. We have had 
them build in our roof for some years, and it is highly 
interesting to watch their lively little actions through a 
telescope, though merely on the lawn before the win- 
dows ; but there we see them pick out quantities of the 
nasty soft larve of the erane-fly (father long. legs) which 
are quite as destructive tothe young cornasthe wireworm. 
igs collect little lamps of those pests to the 
d farmer, and when they think they have 
t load, off they fly with them to the nest, 
n any in their struggle to get in at the hole, 
or whilst scolding any observer of their proceedings ; 
but the grubs have each had a pinch from the bird’s. 
pill, so that they can do no more harm. Assoon as the 
first brood has learnt to provide for itself, the old birds 
set about another nest full, so that they not only increase 
very much, but must at the same time clear our ground 
of a vast number of root-eating larvee. The pied wood- 
destructive to the cones of some of our choice 
s, selecting those of the Pinus Teeda and P. 
pieking out the seeds in an ingenious man- 
ave a splendid Abies Douglasii, 40 feet high, 
and from which we raised several seedlings two year: 
ago, which are now 6 inches high ; it has still quant 
of cones on it, though we have given several baskets-full 
away,and had a bushel or two gathered, but they are 
so c ed with turpentiue, it is a dirty job getting ont 
the seeds, and even then there is scarcely one good one 
i . though the seed-loving titmice find some 
, for they are constantly hanging about them ; the 
cones of ours are de'ieate green, when young, but I 
know of a much smaller tree which has them of a red- 
brown or purplish tinge, like the red and the green 
fruiting Larch, We cannot keep the Webbiana ; a 
severe winter like that of 1837.38 kills it, anda dry 
summer like 1844 also killed one, but the Deodara is 
most flourishing, of a fine healthy blue green ; our 
oldest is 12 feet high, and some seedlings 2 feet ; our 
P. Cembra had two cones ripen last year, but the seeds 
were empty, though as large as some we brought from 
Switzerland threeyearsago, the nuts of whicharestill good 
to eat, and they vegetated after having been kept a year. 
P. patula has always had its beauty spoilt every winter 
but this, for having a stream run through the garden, 
we suffer much more from frost than our neighbours, 
and for the same reason cannot have any of the 
splendid Indian Rhododendrons or their hybrids out of 
doors, though the common sorts and the Cataw- 
biense as well as Azaleas and broad-leaved Kalmias are 
quite weeds here, sowing themselves everywhere in the 
mossy turf, and as for the Rhododendrons they come 
up and flourish and flower on a bare rock of erumbly, 
| 
am w nve wnraocu wv yvur vormig W vOrresponuecny vira 
he cannot keep his Rhododendrons in health unless 
they have some peat or leaf mould, though that cer- 
tainly is the case with the little Swiss kinds, of which I 
believe ours are finer than are to be seen anywhere 
almost, for they certainly surpass those growing in their 
own country near Chamouni. I am at this moment 
looking through a window into a conservatory, the 
window of which delights my eyes with its gay speci- 
mens of the fine Amaryllis tribe, which are my own par- 
ticular’ favourites, though in Mrs. Loudon's pretty 
volume on bulbous plants, she says they can only be 
cultivated where there is a good gardener to attend to 
‘them. Now our gardener often plagues me half out of 
my life by over-watering them (which is all he ever has 
to do to them.) Those scarcely showing leaf he deluges, 
whilst those in full vigour, which require a plentiful 
supply, he neglects. Well, for my window, first there is 
H. pulverulentum, three bulbs in a pot, two of which 
have sent up a scape of four flowerseach ; the originals of 
these were grubbed up by a captain of the navy on the 
Corcovado mount, near Rio Janeiro. Next is a pot 
with only one root of H. Johnsoni, which has sent up 
three heads, each containing seven flowers, that is 21 in 
all! To be sure my roots of Crinum revolutum, 
brought from the Cape frontier by a relation, send up 
two heads with double that number of their strong- 
scented flowers. Then there is H. vittatum, with ahead 
of 7 flowers, and another scape showing. Then a pot with 
3 buibs of one of the bulbulosum kind, for they 
chicken surprisingly ; I mean they form such a profu- 
sion of offsets ; 1 do not know its name, but perhaps it 
s rutilum; it is of smaller growth, with never 
more than two or three bright orange-coloured flowers 5 
therefore prettier than pulverulentum, which I call 
salmon coloured ; then come a parcel of the handsome 
Jacobo»s, of which I have great quantities ; they take 
such good care of themselves, and give no trouble. 
Afterwards in autumn the purple Cape Vallotas and 
Nerine curvifolias make a brilliant show, i ixed 
add that tlie Vinery stands by 
tered, and is 600 feet above the level of the sea, be~ 
sides, on that night, there were 4 panes of glass broken, 
which were not stopped by anything. These are facts 
that ean be attested by the man who manages the fire. 
Some of your correspondents think the erection of a 
stove would eost nearly as much as a hot-water appa- 
ratus, and much more for repairs. I am informed by a. 
hot-water apparatus manufacturer that it would eost 
from 257. to 307. to heat this house by hot water. Now; 
Iam not quite sure, but I think about 107. was the 
cost of the one here ; then comes the repairs, of which 
I cannot speak, for the one here which was put up in1840, 
from appearance is as good as the first day it was put up. 
Iam not atall surprised at the opposition with which 
the system has to contend from hot-water apparatus 
makers, But Iam astonished that gardeners should 
say that no benefit is derived from a circulating atmo- 
sphere, when it is the language of all “to give air on 
with the two kinds of Belladonnas, pale and dark, and 
other varieties of Nerine, We liave at this moment a 
Hovea Celsi, which is a beautiful sight, 6ft. high, and one 
mass of long slender blue wreaths ; it is planted in a 
border. There is also a Euphorbia jacquinifiora, much 
taller, and such a gay bush, though quantities have been 
cut from it all the winter for bouquets, and to ornament 
the hair, for which it is very useful; it keeps so well, 
and mixcs advantageously with the white Daphne 
odora, I never saw so fine a plant, and its history is 
rather curious ; we had some plants in pots that had 
become all arms apd legs; these long straggling limbs 
were cut off, and the handful all laid in by their heels 
in a border, intended to be made into cuttings ; but they 
were forgotten and soon got overgrown by giganti 
Strelitzias, Calla Etbiopiea, Cannas, Hedychiums, a 
Ismenes, &e. ; but after a time we observed a fine bush 
of large deep green leaves had pushed up from the 
neglected cuttings, and the last two or three winters. it 
has been a splendid object. By the way my horse (a 
thorough-bred mare), who is very much pleased when 
I take her a red Carrot, yet turns her lips inside out 
when I give her a white one, and spits it all out. When 
people inquire for preservatives against the attacks of 
hares and rabbits, why do you not recommend encir- 
cling the bed or plant with greased or tarred twine ?— 
they cannot bear its sticking to their fur.— L. J. V. 
Polmaise Heating.—It seemed to me that some of 
your correspondents did not fully know the expense of 
making a stove to heat a Grape-house on the Polmaise 
plan. I madeinquiry, and I find that the house at Pol- 
maise is 25 feet long, 11 feet high at back, 10 feet wide, 
and lfoot 9ins. in front—a mere box ;and I have 
ascertained that a stove like the one at Polmaise would 
cost 30/. exclusive of brickwork, Now, let the advo- 
cates of this system get an estimate from any hot-water 
apparatus maker, and compare that with these facts, 
before they put forward ag; statements about the 
great cheapness of the Polmaise system as regards cost 
of construction, Ihave an offer to heat a Grape-house 
with a double row of 4-inch pipes back and front and 
ends, 55 feet long, and 15 feet wide, clear inside mea- 
sure, 14 feet 6 ins. high at back, and 5 feet 6 ins. in front, 
for the sum of 60/7. A double row of pipes is quite 
sufficient, as I am informed by practical gardene: 
This house is more than double the length of Polmaise, 
and costs a little under twice as much. Again, there 
in this house four times the number of cubic feet more 
than in the Polmaise-house. ‘Therefore, it follows that 
any hot-water apparatus will heat twice the number of 
cubic feet of air that a Polmaise-stove will at the same 
ccst; or, in‘ other words, it will cost twice as much to 
have a good-sized house heated on the Polmaise plan 
as by hot water, as regards first cost, With respect to fuel, 
vear, and tear, I know but little—An Inquirer. 
Mr. Meeke has fallen into an error respecting the 
quantity of iron pipe a stove 30 feet long and 18 feet 
wide requires for heating it. He states the quantity at 
104 yards, when between 40 and 50 yards of 4-inch 
bore will be quite sufficient, making a difference of one 
half the cost for pipe Mr. Meeke has estimated it. 
Deducting 117. 14s. from 307. 18s. the expense will be 
about 187. 14s., leaving in the favour of the Pólmaise 
method only 4l. 14s., and it is doubtful whether this 
may not be only an apparent and not a real advantage 
(as far as cheapness is concerned), that the Polmaise 
method possesses over hot water. When so many items 
are named requisite for the construction of the Polmaise 
E 
a 
yellow, shravey stone, where you would think nothing method, it is{more than likely the estimated ex- 
every opp „and to guard against cold currents 
of air.” Now, here is a strong current of warm air. 
But then the reply is, it is mot pure ; it is mixed with 
bad gases, by coming in contact with the stove. To the 
minute chemical analyser, it may be so; but I can as- 
sure them to the senses it is not, as it feels as pure as 
the air out of doors, But to prove that it has no bad, 
but good effects: last year, and the year before, right 
above, when one of the covers of the hot-air chamber 
was lifted, I observed the foliage was much longer, and 
the foot-stalk of the leaf remarkably strong ; also two 
bunches of Grapes, with berries of very large size ; I 
shut down that cover,and lifted another, and the effects 
became visible in about two weeks, evidently showing, 
that the stronger the current of air, the greater is the 
growth. The bad effects of a stagnant atmosphere 
must be evident to all who have grown Cucumbers in 
winter, when for weeks the sun has remained clouded, 
with a cold external atmosphere, to admit the smallest 
portion of which required the greatest caution, and even 
that, rushing in on the tender foliage, often caused 
mildew and other diseases, which are not confined to 
the Cucumber alone, but affect also Pines, Vines, Straw- 
berries, and, in fact, all forced fruits and flowers. Now, 
however, a circulation of heated air can be easily ob- 
tained, merely by a chamber surrounding the boiler, 
and pipes communicating with a cold drain from the 
back of the house. Be sure, however, that the hot-air 
chamber is at least 6 inches above the level o 
the cold-air drain, or it is possible there may be no 
circulation, however well the other parts may be con- 
structed. One stove will do just as well as another + 
Haydon’s, White's, Meeke's, or any other. But the one 
that gives off most heat, with least waste, and which is 
the most economical as regards first cost and durabi- 
lity, is the one to adopt.—Alew. Shearer, gardener to 
the Marquis of Tweeddale, Vester, Haddington, April T. 
Maize Cookery.—None of the recipes published in 
this country give an idea of the excellent way in which 
Maize flour, or Polenta, is used in Italy. The only fault 
of the Italian method is that one eats too much, as I am 
ashamed to say has been my case at the Hotel de la 
Couronne, at Brides, near Moutiers. The landlord is 
renowned for his culinary skill, but could he only make, 
or had he never made any other dish than Timballe de 
Polenta à la Savoyarde, that alone should render him 
immortal. ‘Take Polenta, perfectly dry and fresh, moist- 
ened with boiling water, and perfectly mixed by stirring 
with a wooden spoon until the mass is reduced to a 
thoroughly smooth paste, of consistence to admit boil- 
ing. Keep it just below a boiling temperature until, 
by tasting, you find it to be perfectly homogeneous 5 
about 10 minutes suffice : stir the whole time. Remove 
it from the fire,and add much fresh butter, strong 
brown gravy, grated ‘Parmesan cheese, and as much 
garlic as suits your palate ; grated ham is an excellent 
adjunct. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring the whole time 5 
pour or turn the mass into a. well-buttered mould ; 
serve with brown gravy. If you publish this, you 
will merit a statue in the new Houses of Parliament, 
for I defy the world to produce its equal as a farina- 
ceous dish. "Twould make a skeleton corpulent.——— 
Polenta gnocchi ave also capital. Stir in hot water and 
simmer till of a consistence which just allows it 
to run from the pan. Pour the mass on £2 
board, and when cold cut it into diamonds 
of an inch square. ‘The thickness of the paste should 
not exceed three-eighths, or half an inch. Put the 
squares close to each other in a dish, but they should 
not touch. Pile layer above layer, a little butter and 
