32—1846.] 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE, 531 
CHOICE FLOWER-SEEDS. 
ASS & BROWN particularly recommend the fol- 
lowing, which haye been carefully saved from numerous 
varieties of superior and first-rate flowers :— 
Y Per packet—s. d. 
Cineraria .. ae +. 1 0] Ranunculus 
+» 1 0| Heartsease . 
+» 2 6] Alstremosria, from V 
Houtte’s beautiful vars. 1 6 
Per packet—s, d. 
E . 2 
m 
oo 
Geranium ES 
Petunia . 
n 
B oe ed 
Also many others for present sowing, for which see their 
advertisements in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, dated July 11 and 
18. Sent free by post at the prices affixed, with useful direc- 
tions for sowing and treatment, 
A remittance from unknown correspondents is requested. 
Post-ofice orders must be made payable to Winttam Bass and 
}» Brown, 
oe I SI 
OUIS VAN HOUTTE'S Nursery, GHENT, BELGIUM. 
Very strong Bulbs, 
Per dozen. 
25 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 1846. 
We rejoice to find that the opinions of gardeners 
are not so decided as we anticipated as to the ne- 
Cessity of destroying an old pasture in order to form 
a FRUIT BORDER. They all, indeed, maintain the 
excellence of turfy material, in which they agree 
With us, and they seem to think it doubtful whether 
that natural mixture can be equalled ; but then it is 
Admitted that there is no need to attack an old pas- 
ture, and that sods of one sort are as good as any 
Other sort. 
Indeed, our friend * Quercus," than whom it 
Would be difficult to find a more experienced or 
Sensible gardener, seems to prefer the soil of uncul- 
lvated places. He has, however, laid himself open 
to such criticism as the following,which has reached 
us from an unknown hand. 
45. Quercus,’ speaking of his own practice, says— 
I then procured a sufficiency of what I may call 
Yirgin-loam (having never been cultivated), from a 
eathy waste.—I may add the new materials were 
Yough sods hacked up a little in the mixing? The 
latter sentence is. not very intelligible, but the 
whole shows that the advice is not to rob your own 
soil, but that of your poor neighbours, to whom the 
Surface of the * heathy waste" belongs. 1, too, am 
ord of the manor in which I reside; as such, all the 
minerals below the surface belong to me ; but all 
the surface belongs to the tenants of the manor, and 
it ig my duty to prevent anybody from taking 
Tough sods hacked up from the heathy waste.’ 
Quercus,’ therefore, is of the old opinion, for he 
afterwards adds, * though I consider robbing a pas- 
ture (that is his own), quite unnecessary ; yet fresh 
soil (from a poor neighbour's), is next to essential? ” 
But in truth these answers do not touch the 
original question; which was not whether any 
better material than an old pasture could be found, 
but whether a. sufficient substitute cannot be pro- 
vided. Ifthe happy owner of old pastures prefers 
Peaches to butter, c eese, and beef, there can be 
no sort of objection to his following his own fancy. 
€ issure to have Peaches, and to lose rent ; for 
as to the belief expressed by one of our corre- 
Spondents that skinning an old pasture does but 
itle injury to it, we can only say that it would be 
rather difficult to convince us of that. But what 
15 that man to do who cannot get this turf, or who 
thinks it prodigal to employ it, or who—no matter 
Why, is called upon to find a substitute. "That is 
What we have to consider; and a very important 
Subject it is for both master and gardener. 
A We fear, from the nature of some of the preserip- 
tons which have reached us, that the reason why 
Old turf is so valuable is not quite clearly under- 
Stood. One person advises dead animals to be 
Introduced into the exhausted borders; another 
Would trust to guano; a third to rotten stable 
Manure, All such expectations are certainly 
oomed to disappointment. It would be giving the 
trees what the turf does not give them, viz., azotised 
met in excess; and would be not giving what 
e turf so abundantly furnishes, a thoroughly 
Orous texture, and plenty of saline matter. This 
as been well put by Mr. Savr. We have no 
re more close in texture, and therefore more 
d pasty mass that results from the decay of an 
Tt, therefore, can never supply a fruit- 
vu s with what the turf gives, however high its 
ue in some respects. 
ie great points to be attended to in forming a 
substitute fea duct sods are two; l, to abiur 
qauivalent for the roots that penetrate sods in all 
Er ections, forming myriads of fine tubes, which con- 
Y air and moisture through the whole mass of 
earth; 2, to. exclude every kind of matter which 
Les. tankness to growth, as all putrid or putre- 
S This can only be done by 
materials do. 
imitating the roots of the Grass that formed the 
turf; and a neglect of that indispensable precaution 
can only end in failure. 
The roots of Grass are merely underground 
straws, of a more compact texture than usual. The 
two are chemically, as well as organically, the same, 
so far as any possible question of cultivation is con- 
nected with them. Why not replace roots, then, 
with straw? Stable litter, but little fermented, 
contains all the equivalents that seem needed— 
organie matter, saline matter, an absence of azo- 
tized matter in excess, and mechanical properties, 
Providedeproper soil is procurable, everything else 
seems to be thus furnished, without a need of any 
other material. And we hold this litter to be 
better than charred sticks, or the half-decayed 
plashings of hedges, or even decayed leaves, be- 
cause it keeps the soil more open, and is at the 
same time more prone to slow decay than any 
material to which the process of charring has been 
applied. 
The true difficulty appears to us to consist in 
the thorough incorporation of the requisite mate- 
rials, not in procuring the materials themselves. 
Herein the gardener must exercise his ingenuity. 
We all know how extremely difficult it is to incor- 
porate Jong litter with anything. But why need it 
be dong? It could easily be forked out from the 
other part of the manure, and shortened by chop- 
ping, or by being passed through a chaff-eutter, and 
then the difficulty would vanish. Suppose the 
straws were cut to 3-inch lengths, the thickness of 
asod,ethere could be no difficulty then; it would 
merely require time and labour, and not very much 
of either. 
If we were to advise as to the way of preparing 
a substitute for a turf border, we should procure a 
light calcareous loam, if it were to be had, and in- 
corporate it with a quarter of its bulk of tolerably 
fresh stable litter and horse droppings. This incor- 
poration eould be effected by turning the mass over 
a few times during the three or four months which 
would be required to reduce the straw to a proper 
state of decay ; and. we are of opinion that success 
would be more likely to attend this plan than the 
use of dead dogs and cats. If it were thought ad- 
visable to add anything to the mixture, it should 
be such materials as coarsely-crushed boiled bones, 
or bones that had been well fermented before being 
introduced into the soil. 
Of course this plan would require modification 
according to the nature of the soil itself. But this 
is a point which hardly requires discussion. We all 
know that the soil for Peach-trees must be some- 
what calcareous, not too stiff nor too light ; but the 
artificial processes by which it may be modified are 
familiar to everybody. We need only remark that 
if sand is used as an adjunct it must not be road 
sand, which is angular and “cakes,” but should be 
it or river sand, which consists of particles 
rounded by being rolled in water. 
We have to thank many correspondents for their 
obliging replies to our inquiry of last week. It now 
appears that the tendency of the new Porarorzs to 
grow again is so very general, that this circum- 
stauce must also be taken into account whenever 
an attempt shall again be made to account for the 
prevalent disease. It is clear that the Potatoes are 
excitable beyond ‘all precedent ; and, in fact, they 
are unable to sink as usual into a state of torpor. 
Some of our correspondents connect this tendency 
to sprout with casual showers after long drought. 
We, however, fear that it is a new condition of the 
constitution of the plant. 
We also learn by a letter from Mr, Gooprrr, of 
Granard, printed in another column, that bog land 
has ceased to protect this crop ; and we have West- 
meath intelligence to the same effect. Here is 
another curious problem to solve. How is it that 
this kind of land, in which disease was almost un- 
known last year, is among the first to suffer now ? 
A letter from Mr. Moore, of Glasnevin, pub- 
lished in the Irish Farmers’ Journal, tells us that 
he has at length adopted the views of the Rev. 
Mr. BznkzLEY and Prof, Morren, who ascribe the 
disease to the fungus called Botrytis infestans. 
Mr. Moonz's name cannot fail to give new weight 
to the high authorities with whom the opinion com- 
menced, and we look with much interest to his 
further explanations. We admit that his experi- 
ence and intelligence are such as to demand the most 
respectful attention. Nevertheless, we are as much 
unconvinced as ever ; and still, after the most care- 
ful examination of the progress of the disease since 
last December, and the examination of, we believe, 
every accessible statement that deserved notice, 
we are obliged to express our firm belief that the 
Botrytis is only, what we have always regarded it, a 
follower of the malady. 
THE AMATEUR GARDENER. 
Ox Buppine Rosrs.—The desirableness of budding 
being decided upon, the selection of proper stocks is the 
next subject for consideration. Every gardener should 
keep a small stock of Briars in some retired place, ready 
for use when buds of valuable plants eome into his pos- 
session ; and these, of course, require winter treatment, 
which need not now be explained. If you have Briars, 
examine them immediately, and see how many are in a 
proper state for budding. The long drought this year 
has been very unfavourable, having checked the growth 
of young wood, and hardened prematurely that which 
was produced. Unless the bark rises quite freely do 
not attempt the operation. It has no chance of suc- 
ceeding if a succulent juicy state is not manifest on cut- 
ting the stem, and this will only occur in young wood. 
New shoots are now being produced, which will be fit 
for working in about a fortnight, and I would recom- 
mend that the briars be cut down to these shoots, and 
all the hardened branches be removed. An oppor- 
tunity will thus be afforded for budding before August 
is closed, and although rather too late, suecess may yet 
be expected. 
But if you have no Briars, budding may be advan- 
tageously performed on other stocks. Boursault Roses, 
Climbers, such as Adelaide d’Orleans, and many others 
of free growth, generally throw up fiue shoots from the 
root; and if all the old wood is eut away, these may be 
budded on with every prospect of success. I have 
found more certainty attending the operation with this 
class of stocks than any others, and where you have 
common Climbers, you may easily replace them with 
ood Rosesin this way.  Inferiorhybrid Chinas also 
make good stocks, such as Celine for instance ; and as 
these throw up young wood very freely, the gardener 
will easily find depositaries for his buds if he has any- 
thing of a collection. I budded Pau! Joseph on 
Celine in this way a few weeks back, and the buds have 
shot half an inch. There is another economic mode of 
securing stocks I will mention, having found it of great 
service myself. Your Briars which have been budded 
on will often throw up suckers at a little distance from 
the parent stem, so that they may be cut off in the 
winter with a portion of root. Bud on these, and care- 
fully remove them at the proper season. As, however, 
trees well established in the ground throw up these 
suckers very luxuriantly, they must be watched, and all 
new shoots carefully stopped after the budding is per- 
formed. If this is neglected, the strength of the shoot 
will run away with the juices necessary for the bud, and 
it will perish. 
A damp, dull day is preferable for budding, but not 
necessary, for great numbers have succeeded with me 
during the hottest of the past months. But precau- 
tions must be observed to counteract the effects of heat 
and drought. Bud on the north side if possible, and 
seek for the shade of some neighbouring foliage. Even 
the ends of the bass with which the bud is tied in, may 
be made to hang over it so as to save it from the direct 
beams of the sun. In all these matters, a common- 
sense view of the affair in hand must be taken, and this 
will lead to the adoption of the best methods for seeur- 
ing the object. We do not transplant in hot sultry 
weather if it can be avoided; but if it is necessary at 
such seasons to remove anything we shade and water 
more carefully. Now, if it is remembered that in bud- 
ding, a wound is inflicted, and that the part inserted is 
very thin and delicate, it will be evident that success 
cannot be expected in the absence of thoughtfulness, 
similar to that which transplanting requires. 
It is often affirmed that anybody may bud ; and so 
anybody may cut a bud from one tree and insert it in 
another ; but anybody cannot make the inserted bud 
to grow. The operation is purely mechanical, and 
therefore a mechanical aptitude is necessary to perform 
it well. Perhaps it would be more correct to call it a 
surgical operation, since it requires the nicety of touch 
nd p ption o hanieal adj ts which surgery 
demands ; like that, too, it is am operation performed 
onaliving subject. Many clever people could never 
bud well, from an inability to perform any nice manipu- 
lation. Are you able to bind up a cut finger tenderly, 
neatly, and securely? Then you can bud, and may 
proceed with hopes of success. Steadiness and patience 
are demanded here, and temporary inconvenience 
caused by stooping, and occasional scratches, must be 
thought lightly of. —— 
Much has been written respecting budding-knives, 
but I think most practised budders will agree that this 
is a matter of less importance than at first sight appears, 
as a little use of almost any appropriate instrument will 
make us think it the best. I have long used a sur- 
eon’s lancet, and defy any one to discover a more 
efficient tool. The steel of lancets is sure to be good. 
I have used mine for three seasons without sharpening, 
and it is as effective as ever, The pieces of tortoise. 
shell composing the handle do admirably for opening 
the sides of the bark. I am not advising others to get 
lancets, for, in the hands of some persons, they might 
not answer so well as I have found mine to do. I only. 
mention the ci as illustrative of my state- 
ment above,—H. B. 
[) 
ON THE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS WHICH CON- 
STITUTE THE NUTRITIVE PORTIONS OF 
THE POTATO. 
By the Rev, Prof. HzNsrzow. 
(Continued from p. 517.) 
DzxTRINE, Sugar, and alcohol are not the only articles 
peculati factured from. Potato- 
starch, I find also a syrup and an oil enumerated 
S 
