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710 
THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
[Ocr. 24, 
on the 4th of September, I am happy to say that I 
saw no disease amongst the Turnips on the Continent. 
Experience has shown that Potatoes thrive best when 
planted in the autumn, and I hope it will not be lost 
sight of this season.—J. T., Oct. 1846. 
Legg's Hydraulic Mackine.—I lately asked for in- 
formation respecting this engine, which '* Hydrangea’ 
has placed in juxtaposition with the hydraulie ram ; 
and who adverts to its great superiority over the 
latter ; and, doubtless, as he has one fixed on his pre- 
mises, and therefore under his immediate observation, 
e has means of judging. Now it was in consequence 
of reading “ Hydrangea’s” statement that I made in- 
quiry relative thereto, but instead of receiving an 
answer to my questions, “ Hydrangea” only reiterates 
his formerstatement, and refers inquirers to Mr. Legg 
forinformation. This is-scarcely fair, because nothing 
is lost by scientific communications, and especially as 
“Hydrangea” took upon himself the task of making 
the engine known. Therefore I ask him again the price 
and power of an engine on a large scale, agreeably to 
my first letter, with this addition: is not this new 
hydraulic engine a water-wheel working pumps? If 
80, this is very old ; has been tried over and over again; 
and will bear no comparison with the ram. All scien- 
tific men are aware that stuffing boxes of pumps, bear- 
ings, cranks, buckets, leathers, packing, &e. &e, re- 
quire constant attention, while in the ram there are 
only two valves, which will work for months without 
the ram ever being seen at all. * Hydrangea” says 
that a ram could not be applied to a 2 feet 6 inch fall. 
I have seen one at work with 1 footfall only ; and rams 
are fixed with not more than 4 inches fall to the 10 feet. 
The greater the fall to the ram the more water will be 
thrown ; as all are aware that fluids seek their own’ 
level. But I would ask, why all this mystery respect- 
ing the nature of this new machine. Many of your 
readers, as well as myself, would, no doubt, like to 
know more about it, that we might have an opportunity 
of judging whether it is a good thing or not; as many 
mew inventions, professedly so, are only some different 
arrangement of an old one, which upon investigation 
has proved to be worse than the original. It would be 
an additional satisfaction if “Hydrangea” would give 
the bore of the conveyanee-pipe, aleo the number of 
yards of 2-inch pipe there is to his machine; for many 
might imagine that he has 300 feet of 2-inch pipe, 
which would cost nearly the 307, mentioned, leaving but 
little for the machine, &c. &e.—James Henson, Tower- 
Street, Lambeth, Oct. 15. 
To prevent Hares and Rabbits barking Trees.—To 
one gallon stale urine add one quart powdered lime, and 
one pint foreign tar ; warm the tar to mix with the 
above, then add as much eow's dung as will bring it to 
the consisteney of thin paint. Apply it to the trees 
with a painter’s brush.—£, M. G.,from the. Observer 
of Dec. 26, 1836. 
Large Fuchsias.—Seeing (p.677) an account of a 
large Fuchsia at Exeter, induced me to measure a shoot 
of this year's growth, and I found it to be 8 feet 4 inches 
long, out of which are several branches, one 3 feet long, 
another 2 feet, the others from 3 to 12 inches.—J. Gy 
Clonmel. 
Seedling Pelargoniums.—To what are we to attri- 
bute the small number of new varieties of this favourite 
flower advertised this season? From those to whom 
we have been accustomed to look for these productions 
there are none. Messrs. Foster and Garth seem to 
have quitted the field. To the uninitiated it would ap- 
pear they had ceased to raise them ; but it is not so. 
The fact is, the judicious regulations of the Horticul- 
tural Society, by which the merits of seedling Pelargo- 
niums are fairly tested, first as yearlings and secondly 
as two years old, give a kind of warranty with flowers 
by which purchasers can be guided; and so great is 
the value of this character when obtained in two cur- 
rent seasons, that we need not be surprised at the pro- 
minent place it occupies in those advertisements that do 
appear. Had Mr. Foster or the Rev. R. Garth raised 
anything during the last two seasons that would have 
borne this severe test, we should, no doubt, have heard 
of them ere this. The name.of the raiser will not do 
now, as it once did. Too little care has been exercised 
in the selection of the varieties sent out 3 and great dis- 
ppoi has, quently been entailed upon those 
who, confiding in the judgment of the raiser, have laid 
out their money in these productions. It cannot be too 
often urged that there is now ample protection against 
this error, if amateurs will avail themselves ofit. The 
means of transit from one end of the kingdom to 
the other are so easy that there is no reasonable excuse 
for the non-exhibition of a reall: fine flower at the 
metropolitan shows, because if it be awarded a prize 
there, it adds at once to its value ten times the cost of 
its carriage, If, therefore; raisers keep them at home, 
those who send them out must not be surprised at a 
very limited sale, for purchasers will ask for a character 
beyond that given by either raiser or seller.— Philo. 
Unripe Potatoes for Seed.—1n a late Number it is 
stated as an established fact that unripe Potatoes ‘have 
been found more liable to the disease than ripe ones, 
My experience has shown the reverse of this, On 
reading the statement, I examined the produce of 
three diseased plants, the circumstances of which I for- 
merly communicated, and found it still perfectly sound. 
The tubers are very small, and were taken up on the 
eath of the plantsin July. I have just gone over my 
whole collection, and I should say, decidedly, that my 
ope of preserving the unripe tubers is much greater 
than that of leaving any of the larger and riper ones to 
plant. The whole thing is anomalous, and impossible 
of solution, notwith ling the reports -and 
affirmations that have been published. Though certain 
appearances may be truly reported from one district, 
the reverse may be as truly reported from another ; 
and we know that various circumstances, not always 
sufficiently attended to, affect plants in many ways-so as 
to justify us in hesitating to dogmatise. Those Potatoes 
from which I cut out the diseased portion, and many of 
them no larger than sets with one eye, are keeping 
quite well, All that is necessary is to make sure: that 
none of the: diseased portion is left, and that the wet 
part is allowed to dry on the surface, and the pieces 
kept in a dry place, The Tomatoes which were affected 
in my garden recovered, and there is now a very abun- 
dant erop.—G. 8. Mackenzie. 
Fairy Rings.—The theory of the formation of fairy 
rings proposed by Professor Way appears to me to. be 
open to a fatal objection. He speaks of the fungi as 
seereting a large quantity of the phosphates. Surely 
they can contain none besides that which they have ob- 
tained from the soil, and which on their decay they're- 
store to it. The luxuriance: of the subsequentacrop of 
Grass is rather to be ibuted to the g 
volumes of the Chronicle are to be found Cock’s mode 
of growing from cuttings, also Catleugh’s ; in last year’s 
| volume, insa Leading Article, Beck’s ditto, who also 
published this season a catalogue with directions, &c., 
noticed at p. 483.. We should all read before we write, 
— Veritas. 
Autumn Planting Potatoes.—I fully coincide in the 
recommendation of autumn planting. Invariably this 
year the later the crop was putin the ground, the more 
diseased it proved, and the smaller was the yield. But 
I advise planting about 3 or 4 inches below the surface, 
and easting.as much-earth as the plough will enable you 
to-do upon the rows, forming drills; then roll down with 
a heavy.roller or a Crosskill's crusher, and with double 
breasted plough mould up again ; this is an almost cer- 
tain preventative against the hardest frosts, as the roll- 
ing casts off the wet, and the loose earth last ploughed 
upon the ridges acts as a blanket to the whole ridge. I 
advise also planting them in rows 3 feet apart, and in 
the spring Mangold» Wurzels planted between every 
other row. I tried that plan this year, and have at 
least from 15 to 20 tons to the aere of Wurzel. 
Another subject I must allude to, as itso fully confirms 
3. pro- 
ducts of the decayed fungi, which are actual additions 
to the soil. Professor Way does not seem to be aware 
of the explanation given by botanists «of ‘the -eause of 
is pl The ti ificati 
c 
E 
of the fungus, and are produced at the growing border 
of the underground thallus or spawn, which grows-only 
at this border, radiating in every direction from the 
centre, where the spore originally germinated. This 
radial growth clearly explains the increased diameter,of 
each successive circle or crop of reproductive organs. 
The shedding of spores would not be likely to effect a 
reproduction taking sucha definite form and occurring 
in sueh regular succession, since we know of nothing 
more irregular and uncertain than the germination of 
the spores of the higher fungi.— Arthur Hen, rey. 
Gardeners’ Capes are frequently advertised in your 
columns; but most of those I have seen are open to 
the same objection as the aprons of the stage coaches, 
viz., that from their stiffness they are liable to crack, 
and thus admit wet. In the 26th vol. of the * Trans- 
actions of the Society for promoting Arts and Manufac- 
tures," &e. &c. (page 136), is an account from Mr. An- 
derson, of the dockyard at Portsmouth, of the mode 
adopted by him for painting canvas for the navy, which 
from the testimonies there given, appears to answer all 
the purposes of giving plianey: and preventing cracking, 
andis at the same time so cheap and simple as to de- 
serve being better known, and more generally adopted. 
Mr. Andersonsays : * To 1 Ib. of yellow soap I add 
pints of water ; a few minutes’ boiling will dissolve the 
soap, which is to be added while hot to paint prepared 
as under. To 96'Ibs. of English ochre, ground in 
boiled oil, I add 16 lbs. of black paint, being one-sixth. 
This, when mixed, forms an indifferent black. The 
solution of soap and water is to be added to this paint, 
and be well united therewith ; and, without the canvas 
being previously wetted, this composition is to be laid upon 
the canvas as stiff as can conveniently be done with the 
brush, and this will form a tolerably smooth surface. 
The second coat is to be formed of the same proportion 
of English ochre and black, without any soap solution ; 
the third, or finishing coat, of black paint as usual. 
There should be an entire day’s space between laying 
on the first and second coats, anda day or two between 
the second and third ; so that the paint may have time 
to harden,” Mr. A. used black paint, as that is. the 
colour the hammock-cloths for the navy are painted ; 
but it may be presumed the soap solution is equally 
applicable to any other colour.—Anon. 
Pelargoniums.— When I commenced reading “ Philo’s” 
letter (p. 678) I was all expectation, the opening para- 
graphs were so promising, but woeful was my disappoint- 
ment when I found queries which I should have ex- 
pected from the merest novice alone, not from one who, 
“for many years has selected the Pelargonium as his 
pet flower.” Iam the more surprised because there 
has appeared in your columns from time to time the 
mode of cultivation adopted by the most successful 
growers. Every one of *Philos'' questions ought to 
have been answered by his experience. No man will 
make a first-rate cultivator that works by written rules. 
His fate will be the fate of the inexperienced com- 
mander’s, who was tacking ship by the printed direc- 
tions. He had the helm put down all right, his’ head 
sheets let go all right, hauled his main yard very pro- 
perly, but unfortunately turning over two leaves at 
once, instead of getting his head yards round, he sung 
out “Let go the anchor.” Now, let me answer the queries 
seriatim as I best may. Ist. Pelargonium cuttings are 
better struck on gentle bottom heat, though it is not 
absolutely necessary to do so. After being potted off, 
1 
e 
he of many of your correspondents, ias to 
the advantage of salt. My crop was grown-on an old 
Grass field, the turf burnt in the spring, and -ashes 
spread, but on-a portion: of the field the turf or sods 
were carted off, the weather being too wet to burn them. 
On’the land-where the ashes were spread, I had not one 
tuber in 200 diseased, whilst on the other they are 
nearly all worthless, the salts in theashes no doubt.pre- 
serving the crop. Ihave about 150 bushels of these 
Potatoes to sell, which I refuse to sell for consumption, 
as I think them so well calculated for seed, grown as 
above, and off fen land.—Curator. 
Disease in. Fir Trees.—Some of the old Scotch Fir 
plantations here are more or less attacked with an 
insect, as ‘per specimens sent, and by splitting up the 
piece of wood you will see the effects, and probably an 
insect at work. You will observe that it bores through 
the bark and eats out the wood, and the consequence 
is, that the last.and. present year’s growths, as the case 
may be, break across where most bored,—sometimes 
fall at once to the ground, aud sometimes hang wither- 
ing for a short time, and then fall to the earth, where 
they may now be raked together in considerable quan- 
tities. I first observed the trees partially diseased 
about a month ago’; but.as it was confined to the rough 
natural wood proposed to be taken down, I thought 
little about it, and it was only within the last few days 
that I have discovered the extent of injury done to 
other plantations, I find that thriving trees with the 
tops standing erect, and quite green, are attacked like- 
wise, in proof of which the specimen sent only fell 
to-day, and appears to have been fed upon. for a few 
days. As to the extent of injury done, I may report 
that the trees most affected are the rough natural 
| wood in old plantations; and part of an Inverary 
|plantation of 148 acres and 70 years old, more 
especially on the side.next the old wood, is more or 
less touched. The other woods and the young planting 
| are not much affected. I can assign no reason for. this 
extraordinary occurrence unless the excessive heat of 
the past summer ; though I may mention, that the trees 
are worst where growing on a wet moorland pan. 
This I believe to be the same insect nurserymen are 
afraid of attacking young plants put into a plantation 
recently eut down, and which they all guard against in 
becoming bound to uphold a plantation planted under 
these circumstances. It may be caused by the 
numerous trees cut down this season; but again, why 
should not this have happened before—say in 1838, 
when there was double the quantity of wood lying — 
Walter Dingwall, Oct. 5." [This insect is the well. 
known Hylurgus piniperda.] 
Mebietvs. 
Observations on Natural History. By the Rev. 
eonard Jenyns. 
We remember hearing a once zealous collector of 
British plants remark “that he had ceased caring for 
botany since he had dried all the species within the 
range of country he had the opportunity of examining." - 
Such was the unsatisfactory result of his labours toa 
mere collector. Essential as such materials are to the 
study and progress of natural history, they will cease to 
interest the collector who shall value his herbarium or 
his museum only in proportion to the number of its 
rarities, or the amount of expence or trouble it may 
have cost him in getting it together. Mr, Jenyn’s bool 
is caleulated to instil a much more healthy taste for 
natural history, by inviting mere collectors to become 
observers; and by directing those who are willing to 
observe how they may do so with best advantage to 
> 
they are better placed in the g , protected 
from heavy rains and hot suns, but with abundance of 
air day and night. 2d. Do not water over the leaves 
in the autumn, except when shifted from one pot to 
another, then doit through arose. Cleanse the p'ants 
also with the syringe after fumigation, Let the water 
be clean and soft, 3d. Let the plants grow until De- 
cember “if they will, and they will do so if properly 
treated. Keep them quite still all that month if you 
can ; a time of perfect rest is very beneficial. The next 
time any one tells you he ‘never waters at any time of 
the year without watering over the leaves,” listen to it 
very respectfully, but donot believe-it:or-aet upon it, 
unless for experiment, and then please to give us the 
results as an answer to query the 4th. In the early 
, and greatest benefit to the progress of 
natural science, He has remarked (page 10), that “it 
is doubtless in a great measure owing to the influence 
which * White's Natural History of Selborne’ has ex- 
ereised on the present generation, that the science has 
had so many followers in this country of late years. It 
is not that his work carries us any great way in un- 
ravelling the mysteries of nature ; but it is the spirit 
which it breathes that so strongly recommends it to our 
notice, He has induced others to follow up the same 
sort of life which had such charms for himself ; and to 
him we are indebted for many volumes besides his own, 
of which the authors by their own acknowledgment, 
were first excited and trained to habits of observing, 
by the perusal of his work,” This book of Mr. Jenyns 
