a 
9 
42—1846.] 
t 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE, 
695 
PIER = 
illustrating his excellent style. 
Ing-account of the toad ! 
“For my own part, I can see nothing more dis- 
gusting in animals usually called reptiles, such as lizards 
and toads, than in any other living creatures. A toad 
1$ a most useful member of society, and deserves the 
freedom of all floricultural societies, as well as entire 
immunity from all the pains and penalties. which he un- 
dergoes at the hands of the ignorant and vulgar. In 
hotheds and hothouses he is extremely useful, and 
many gardeners take great care of toads in these places, 
where they do good service by destroying beetles and 
other insects. In the flower-beds, too, they are of 
Similar use, Of quiet and domestic habits, the toad 
Seldom seems to wander far from his seat or from under 
fighting, regardless of the heat, which shrivels up their 
Pu Or of passers by, who may tread on them and maim 
lem, but, cannot stop their fighting. There is more 
character and energy in a toad than is supposed. After 
le young ones have acquired their perfect shape, they 
Appear to leave the water, and frequently the roads and 
Paths are so coyered with minute but well-formed toad- 
ings, that it isimpossible to put your foot down without 
crushing some of them.” 
of Wa scarcely know a- more thoroughly: natural piece 
ae leseription than the following, of one of the most 
arming districts in all Scotland. 
E othing can exceed the beauty of the river and the 
ac ‘ounding: scenery when it suddenly leaves the open 
barren ground and plunges at once into the wild 
ang extensives woods of Dunearn and Fairness. The 
h 0ods at Dunearn are particularly picturesque, in con- 
‘quence of the Fir-trees (atleast those near the river), 
How true is the follow- | | 
lamprey to divine ; but I conclude that their work had 
something to do with the placing of their spawn. 
had, however, a good opportunity of watching them, as 
the water was quite clear and shallow, and they were so 
intent upon what they were at, that*they took no notice 
whatever of me. .I had intended to examine the little 
heaps of stones which they had made, but going from 
home the next day put it out of my recollection, and I 
lost the opportunity. It seems, however, so singular a 
manceuvre on the part of fish to build up regular little 
pyramids of gravel, bringing some of the stones from the 
distance of two feet against the current and rolling them 
to the place with evident difficulty, that the lampreys 
must have some good reason which induces them to take 
particles with the natural glue of his skin, That done, | 
materials, such as. pieces of straw or wood, he arranges 
them with his mouth on his flooring so as to build up 
the walls ; if he finds that he has placed them badly, he 
{ow them. out. again, adjusts them better, turns them 
about, or, if he finds them unmanageable, swims away 
with them and drops them ata distanee. Allthis time he 
takes care to glue every particle together as before. As 
soon as the flooring and walls are up he begins the roof, 
which is made in thesamo way, except thatheleaves a hole 
| large enough for the female to get in at, and into which 
he takes eare to put his head very often, in order to 
see that the sides of the interior are smooth and that | 
| the hole is large enough. For the further details o 
| this curious proceeding we have no space. he reader 
will find it fully deseribed in the Comptes rendus for 
May 18, 1846. 
Garden Memoranda. 
Gosford, East Lothian, the seat of the Eart of} 
Wemyss.—This season has proved remarkable for the| 
| 
aving been left rather farther apart than is usual, and | blooming of exotic trees and shrubs, at periods widely | 
no.tree ad 
Scoth F 
natural shay 
for 
ds more to the beauty of scenery than the 
hape. The purple Heather, too, in these woods 
m$ a.ich and soft groundwork to the picture. What 
Spot. in the world can excel in beauty the. landscape | flower-stem nine feet high, exhibits a£ th 
Com! 
loft; 
Swe 
With their 
the dark Pine-trees ? 
Fai black and. deep pools, connected with each 
Which in the fine pure evenings you may see the sal- 
in making curious leaps. shal 
queression this scenery made on me when I first saw it. 
the ore of the Dulsie, the dark-coloured river, and 
9n the 
ture which will never be effaced from my memory. I 
Sanno conceive a more striking coup d'œil, nor one | of the 
On these rocks | season z A 
whose | extensive plantations made during the last forty years 
3ppearance, with their shaggy hair and long venerable have produced complete shelter from the Sea-breeze ; 
vi The | and the mildness of the climate of Gosford is strikingly 
Fas worthy the pencil of an artist. 
small flocks of long-horned, half-wild goats, 
beards, adds much to the wildness of the scene. 
ackeock and the roebuck now succeed the grouse and illustrated by 
sididoen, The former is frequently to be seen either 
ing on the trunk of a fallen Birch-tree or feeding on 
mos] aniper-berxies, while the beautiful roebuck (the 
«xb perfeet in its symmetry of all deer), is seen either 
gaging on some 
wading through a shallow part of the river, 
jeune wh 
athing nymph 
Passer by, 
hk of the riy, 
A moment o, t 
Plunges into t 
When disturbed by the appearance 
er, and after standing on the summit for 
wo to make out the extent of the danger, 
he dark solitudes of the forest.” 
Be ed the many interesting facts with which Mr. St. 
of the d abound is the following singular account Potato. 
“One y in which fish make their nests ! 
su y 
o m 
pam ing water near my se. 
Pencil 
anxious] 
stones, 
Sue About the size of a 
ve a larger ‘ston 
deavourin ù ii 
sionall, 
ir, when it has room to. spread out into its | Gosford house, 
Yards, with clumps of the ancient Weeping Birches | plants, so as to b 
gnarled and twisted stems, backed again by instead of the summer 
The river here forms.a succes- growing on the 
Y foaming and whirling falls, and currents, up | contrast 
never forget. the | Ligustrum lucidum floribundum, is here to be seen 
lovely woodlands as I viewed them while stretched ornamental shrubbery plants cultivated for flowering at 
short green sward above the rocks formed a pic- Christmas, are 
rassy spot. at the water's edge, or | than 50 feet high. 
looking | recently r à a 
hen half way through as. timid and coy as a | (among the latter the Pinus apulcensis and Teocote) are 
he bounds lightly and easily up the steep | feature to the landscape, - 
At 
four magnificent specimens of —— 
sa, or superb Adam's Needle, are now to be seen, | 
in various stages of flowering. One specimen, with a 
s time upwards | 
different from those observed in ordinary years. 
glor 
prising the old bridge of Dulsie, spanning with its | of 600 blossoms. As July and August are the months 
y arch the deep black pool, shut in by grey and fan- | in which the Yucca generally flowers, it would appear 
astic rocks, surmounted with the greenest of Grass | that the late unusual summer beat has forwarded these 
ring them into bloom at this period 
of 1847. "These noble plants are 
> grassy banks of the beautiful i 
| ficial lake near the mansion-house, forming a stri 
with the large masses of rich foliage of 
ies behind them. 
@ 03 
The rare: Chinese Privet, 
shrubb: 
flowering freely as a standard. The Strawberry-tree 
(Arbutus Unedo) and the Laurustinus, two of the most 
already in full beauty. These, with 
ombined with the high keeping 
grounds, render. Gosford at this 
year a most attractive spot. The 
a 
other rarities, 
whole 
of the 
the circumstance of the Sweet Bay 
(Laurus nobilis, the true Laurel-bay,) being here seen 
in flower as a standard tree ; and the still more remark- 
Beetroot would not be found preferable to boiled.. If 
these roots were so universally cultivated in England 
for human food as they are on the Continent, and baked 
and sold as cheap, as they might easily be, many a poor 
person would have a hearty and good meal who is now 
often obliged to go without one.— Torquay Directory. 
Superphosphate of Lime.—When a small portion of 
superphosphate of lime is mixed with seeds when sown, 
in sufficient quantity to give them the appearance of 
being limed over, the seeds germinate quicker and 
stronger, more especially in the case of old seeds ; and 
it is also found that the plants are less liable to dam: 
off, or be injured by inseets.—Journal of Horticultural 
Society. 
——————— 
Calendar of Operations. 
(For the ensuing Week.) 
Planting Evergreens. — After all that has been said 
about spring planting of greens, or even midwint 
Iam persuaded that no part of the year can equal the 
autumn—say from the middle of October until the end 
of November. I have moved hundreds of large Ever- 
greens, at all periods within the last 20 years, and I * 
have invariably realised the greatest amount of success 
by autumn planting. Much, however, depends on the 
character of the soil, as well as on the mode in which 
the operation is conducted. Some persons advocate 
* puddle planting;" but on what principles I never 
could discover. Why not puddle potting?” Cer- 
tainly itis better to puddle a large specimen than to 
totally neglect it in regard to moisture. My practice 
is this :—To open a hole much larger than ihe ball of 
earth or volume of roots about to be introduced, taking 
care not to make the hole any deeper in general than 
the surface-soil extends ; then to saturate the subsoil 
with water, and next to pulverise the soil thoroughly in- 
tended for filling in round the roots. After this is com- 
pleted, I invariably rake together a body of tree-leaves 
(if at hand), weeds, sticks, &e., and throw three or 
four inehes (sometimes a foot), in the bottom of the 
hole, to set the ball or roots on, putting little or no soil 
beneath the tree. The tree being carefully removed— 
nota fibre suffered to dry if possible during the opera- 
tion—is placed on the leaves, and the process of filling 
up commences. I invariably mix decayed vegetable 
matter with the common soil; this is sometiines ob- 
tained on the spot by raking or paring the surface of 
the ground contiguous, The soil being in a mellow 
state, is slightly trod as the filling proceeds ; and when 
filled level with the ball or rather above it, the whole 
receives a thorough watering, using several eans of 
water at slight intervals. The next business, and a 
most. important affair, is to thoroughly stake the tree 
to pr. vent wind-waving. When this is completed, a thiek 
mulching of half-rotten manure or leaves will finish 
the process, uch trees should have one thorough 
soaking of water in the early part of April; afterwards 
they may be safely left to themselves. ¥ 
CONSERVATORIES, STOVE, &c. 
Conservatory.—The climbers here, at least some of 
the most ratabling, will now want a smart dressing 
where they obstruct the light in any material degree. 
Such as flower on the young wood, and which are now 
in a ripening state, or approaching a state of rest, may 
be pruned in exceedingly ¢lose. Such as the late- 
blooming. Passifloras, the Combretums, Echites, Ipo- 
moeas, Stephanotis, Thunbergias, Pergularias, Mande- 
villas, &e. &c., which are still thriving, must be regu. 
lated with a more gentle hand ; cutting away merely 
barren shoots, and drawing the remainder into some- 
what, closer festoons, in order to throw sun-light into 
the interior of the house. Stove and Ore 
somewhat warm temperature may still be maintained in 
the stove, in order to consolidate as much as possible 
immature growths. When this is accomplished, there 
will be less necessity for strong fire-heat in the dead of 
winter. hids as in last Calendar. Mixed Greenhouse. 
—Some skill will be necessary here, at this period espe- 
cially; there will be so many candidates for admission 
that confusion and, consequently, failures will be in- 
evitable, unless some things be dis ed or removed to 
a cold pit, or plant hospital. Better grow a few things 
* 
able fact of the sweet Spanish Chesnut being now 
loaded with full-grown fruit, some of the trees not less 
It may be added, that many of the 
introduced Himalayan and Mexican Conifers 
here in a very thriving state, and will soon give a new 
Miscellaneous: 
Beel-root a Substitute for Potatoes. —Beet-root cannot 
meal. There are few 
well than many badly. Let winter stuff have every 
attention 
KITCHEN GARDEN FORCING. 
See that the linings of Pines grown in dung-pits are 
kept in good repair, A sudden drop in temperature, at 
this period, when the summer’s growth is scarcely solidi- 
fied, will be very prejudicial. Vines,—Now begins the 
conflict in many gardens between the desire to preserve 
the late Grapes as long as possible, and the attempt to 
house a great many plants. The Ds peer required 
of a gardener in this respect is of a most painful nature, 
and cannot be carried out without a sacrifice on one 
side or both. - No pots, with the exception. of rest bulbs 
or Cacti, should ever be allowed to stand ina house of 
late Grapes, after the end of September. In such a 
ease a very small amount of firing will suffice ; whilst, 
where plants are crammed in such houses, the conse- 
quence js that much watering, and a-considerable amount 
of fire-heat is necessary, in order to expel the great ac- 
cumulation of moisture. Early Vinery.—As a pre- 
paratory step, I would advise the borders to be covered 
forthwith with at least a foot of dry litter, or any other 
light and porous body, to prevent the escape of warmth. 
« Lock the door before the steed is gone.” In cases of 
early forcing, where the roots are inside, the borders 
hitherto kept dry on rest principles, may have a 
thorough watering with clear manure-water. Take 
even roasted, or fried | every care of autumn Cucumbers ; if in boxes, let them 
