48—1846.] 
THE GARDENERS' 
CH RO NI 
CLE. 789 
quantity ot rich green fodder, and cannot convert it 
into food for stock. Clover in the aftermath is sub- 
ject to be spoiled by frost, yet we seldom hear that 
urged as an argument against the culture of that 
valuable plant ; no, it is eaten off before the frost comes. 
Gorse is good fodder, but is not only hard as the 
J erusalem Artichoke stalks, but is moreover beset with 
Spines, yet farmers reduce even Gorse to fatten cattle 
with. What would Mr. Mechi say of the farmer that 
‘could not take and use a green crop of 69 tons per acre 
before Christmas rather than let it be frosted and evapo- 
rated? That it will keep green and good for food for pigs 
for some time there can be no doubt if fermentation is 
prevented, which ean easily be done by keeping in tanks 
or tubs under ground, as is done here and elsewhere with 
draff or grains, The ordinary cutters, such as are 
1n use for chaff or Turnips will do for reducing 
the haulm to useable sizes, whether green or dried, 
and as to the idea of this store being, when cut green, 
a very watery article (the editor has inserted in paren- 
theses that it would be two-thirds water), surely the Potato 
and the Turnip are excellent roots for store, and they 
contain no small per centage of water. In conclusion, 
I would advise every cottager and farmer to cultivate 
this plant, and take care of it whilst green, for they have 
little chance of ever seeing it ripen in this country ; and 
as for getting one crop, namely, of tubers, and not being 
able to get the other, or green crop, of haulm, it would 
be indeed extraordinary if a quantity of vessels laden 
with food, or in other words tubers, had been found 
underground, and this food had heen elaborated by 
organs above ground, a waving crop two fathoms deep, 
no body could lay hands on, or appropriate it to the use 
of man or beast, even when it stood before them.— 4. 
Forsyth, Alion Towers. 
Cambridge Botanic Garden.—The publie will be glad 
to know that the syndicate appointed to consider what 
Steps should be taken respecting the ground which was 
purchased by the University for the purpose of chang- 
ing the site of the Botanic Garden have reported to the 
Senate : That the work of clearing and preparing about 
20 acres of the new Botanic Garden, for which instruc- 
tions were given as reported to the senate by a former 
syndicate in June 1845, having been to a certain extent 
executed, the late Vice. Chancellor, with the 
for my extensive machinery at this place, my attention 
was drawn to the accounts of Legg's engine, which 
appeared in your columns some weeks since ; but no 
practical information having been given relative to it, I 
commissioned my agent in London to gain for me full 
particulars, and to send me a detailed account of it. 
I discovered that this new invention is absolutely 
entered upon the books, and acknowledged by Legg as 
old (being nothing more than a water-wheel working 
pumps), and, certainly, from the description forwarded to 
me, so old that I can avouch the first mill-owners in 
this part of the country worked them as successfully as 
they could operate; and surely it is wrong to give the 
title of new invention to a thing so well understood. 
That portion of the invention which Mr. Legg claims as 
being new, viz, the introduction of air vesselsin the 
main, from the pumps to the place of delivery, is just 
as old as the wheel pumps, and certainly, in common 
honesty, ought tohavebeen registeredassuch. Anairves- 
sel on a main of pumps, or any other engine, as placed by 
Mr. Legg, ean have no effect beyond that of producing 
a uniform stream.—A Mill-owner, the Dale of Derby- 
shire. [We know nothing of Mr. Legg, or his sup- 
posed invention, which has been brought into notice by 
* Hydrangea.” ] 
Fowl’s Dung as Manure.—Having recently erected 
a poultry yard, and stocked it with fowls, I am anxious 
to know whether I can turn to any account in my gar- 
den the dung of the animals collected during the week ? 
I have fruit-trees of all kinds ; also Rose-trees, and the 
usual plants and flowers that are to be found in pleasure- 
grounds. If the dung possesses any fertilising proper- 
ties, I am anxious to learn to what trees or shrubs in 
particular it can be most profitably applied. Perhaps 
you will oblige me with a hint ?— William Kidd, San- 
ders’ Cottage, New-road, Hammersmith. [If kept dry 
it is excellent, and may be applied for all the purposes 
for which other manure is applied ; but, being of a hot 
nature, like pigeon-dung, it must be applied in small 
quantities and mixed with the soil, or some other mate- 
rial, so as in some measure to counteract its burning 
effects. ] $ 
Early Spring Greens.—1 beg to direct the attention of 
all who are trenching ground, whether field or garden, 
to the advant: that might accrue by planting the 
of the other trustees of the Botanic Garden, in order 
that no time might be lost, gave directions that 7 aeres 
of this ground should be trenched as a preparation for 
planting trees to form the belt whieh is necessary for 
the shelter of the garden—sueh trces being so to be 
grouped as to constitute an arboretum, as shown in the 
sketch which will be laid’ on the registrary's table.— 
That in doing this and in building a tool-house an ex- 
pense of 290/. 11s. 9d, has been incurred, which sum 
the syndieate beg leave to recommend the senate to 
authorise the Vice-Chancellor to pay.—The syndicate 
are informed by the curator that the trees which 
it will be necessary to purchase for. the belt will 
require a sum not exceeding 707; and the syn- 
dieate are further informed by the Professor of 
authorised to expend a sum not exceeding 707. in the 
purchase of the trees required, in order that the curator 
may proceed to plant them without delay. This report 
was signed by the following names :—H. Philpott, Vice- 
Chancellor ; G. Thackeray, W. French, R. Tatham, 
Robert Phelps, W. Wheweil, J. Haviland, J. S. Hen- 
slow, W. H. Stokes, Charles C. Babington ; and the 
Vice-Chancellor has given notice that a grace would be 
offered to the senate to confirm the above report. 
lave a care of the Water-pot.—A short time back, 
calling on a friend and looking through his houses, 
Where a considerable quantity of Pelargoniums are 
raised and grown, I observed a fault in management, to 
which if I advert it may lead his gardener and others 
to consider the error of a too liberal and erroneous use 
of the water pot. It was in the beginning of this 
month, the weather was and had been dull for some 
days previous; it was evening and am uncomfortable 
one. Yet on rapping the sides of the pots there was no 
ring, and on lifting them they were like lead ; they had 
just been watered, and I pitied the poor things from 
my heart. Now here were present two great errors. 
First they did not want water at all; second, they 
ought not to have been watered in the evening. That 
they did not need water at all was evident by their 
Gropsical shoots and foliage. That they ought not to 
ave been watered at this time of the year in the 
evening I presume every gardener knows ; if he does 
not, the sooner he pulls off his blue apron and puts on 
à green b one the better for his employer ; for it 
would be wiser to clean knives and shoes well than ruin 
a set of expensive plants. Let any one that has not 
duly idered the evil of ing plants at this 
time of year try the simple experiment upon a soft- 
wooded one of withholding water even to death. Let 
him see how long it will do without, If he sees it flag 
when the sun appears for an hour or two, let him visit 
it before he goes to bed and see how it will have 
stiffened up again. He will soon be convinced that at 
all times and seasons, whether for giving or withhold- 
ing, he should “have a care of the water-pot." — 
Veritas. 
. Hydraulic Machines.—As I take a peculiar interest 
in all that relates to hydraulics, from the fact of m 
having been for many years engaged in the endeavour 
tops of the Swedish Turnip, wherever they can be pro- 
cured, as an early Spring Green, not bitter, like that 
from the common Bullock or white garden Turnip, but 
sweet and tender as Brussels Sprouts. What a pity it is 
to seea valuable article, as this might become, lying 
about the fields, as is the case in this neighbourhood, 
utterly neglected. A thousand tops might be planted 
by one person in half a day, as they need only to be put 
into the ground almost in any way, and almost as close 
together as possible. "They make no root, and cannot 
therefore exhaust the soil Ihave planted more than 
a thousand where nothing will grow but these tops, 
that is, under large branching trees.— Anon. 
Meudon Pine Apples.—1 have not read the remarks 
respecting these Pines with the confidential interest I 
would have done had the writer's name and address 
been appended ; and I should not have made any obser- 
vation on the matter had I not observed, in the leading 
article, that you had procured one of these Meudon 
Pines, which weighed about 8 Ibs. when cut, and now 
that it has lost some of its weight, is far heavier than 
the finest Queen ever cut in this country. Now this is 
evidently a mistake ; for Pines exhibited in London are 
not exactly a eriterion whereby to measure the produc- 
tion of the whole country ; besides, accounts have been 
published in your columns of the present volume of 
heavier Queen Pines than the Meudon Queen which 
had been cut and produced by a Briton. [Where ?] Itis 
well known that I have eut Queens exceeding that weight, 
I have cut a Queen which measured in circumference 
23% inches. I have also cut a Queen that measured in 
height 14} inches. Nevertheless I did not for a moment 
imagine those productions could not be excelled by 
others, or improved on by myself, as I could always ob- 
serve sufficient imperfection to induce me to strive at 
improvement, and this I have but little doubt I shall 
me day plish. Previous observati on the 
cultivation of the Pine will surely to some extent bear 
out these facts, but I will leave others to judge how 
much we poor Britons have to learn to be upsides with 
those great guns of Frenchmen.—James Barnes, Bicton 
Gardens. 
Silkworms.—You enquire, p. 759, whether any of 
your readers have seen or heard of a certain gigantic 
silkworm common to the southern parts of the United 
States. It may not, therefore, be unacceptable to your 
readers to learn some particulars of a silkworm in- 
habiting the banks of the Doce (a tributary of La 
Plata), even if it be not the one mentioned by your 
correspondent as having been seen by the late M. 
Audouin. Three or four years since, in my search after 
persons keeping silkworms in England, I heard of a 
gentleman at Southampton who had some, and went to 
his house. Mr, Humphreys told me that when em- 
ployed in his profession as a civil engineer to survey 
the Doce, to discover if it were practicable to remove 
some rocks in a reach of the upper parts of the Rio 
Doce, in order to render it navigable for the purposes 
of commerce, he found on the banks a large silkworm 
feeding on the Palma Christi, and brought some of its 
cocoons home with him, The chrysalis turned to moth, 
m 
$ 
E 
deposited its eggs, which were hatehed in an attie of 
Mr. Humphreys’ house, and I saw from them a beau- 
tiful race, such as I had never seen before, of a bright 
to overcome some natural obstacles in raising water|emerald green, considerably larger than the Italian 
silkworm. Some of them were feeding on plants of the 
Palma Christi (raised by Mr. Page, the celebrated 
landseape gardener and nurseryman at Southampton) 
and some inclosing themselves in their cocoon by wrap- 
ping the leaf of the Palma Christi around them, which 
they do in a curious manner. These silkworms differ 
from all.I have seen, not only in colour but in habits ; 
the Italian moth deposits its eggs soon after quitting 
the cocoon, and dies, the eggs are kept six or eight 
months until food appears for them in the spring. 
These South Americans, on the contrary, fold them- 
selves up in their leaf (evidently a wise provision of 
Nature for their protection) and the chrysalis remains 
within the cocoon until the appointed time when they 
should come forth, they then deposit their eggs, which 
are immediately hatched, and the cocoon made and 
wrapped up as I have said. Mr. Humphreys was kind 
enough to give me a specimen ; the colour is a dull 
pale brown silk, of a coarse texture; the cocoon measures 
4 inches long by 34 in circumference ; it is not round 
but has four flat sides ; the ends instead of being round 
and compact like the Italian, are pointed and loosely 
formed, so that the moth can escape without perforating 
the cocoon. Mr Humphreys was kind enough to 
promise me some eggs, but during a temporary absence 
his colony was neglected, and he lost the race.— 
M. S. V. Whitby, Newlands, near Lymington, Hants, 
= 
Cultivation of the Jerusalem Artichoke.—Not haying 
sufficient roots to plant my ground after supplying the 
requisite wants of the family, I collected all the bottoms 
of the stems of those I had taken up in 1845) that part 
which bears the tubers), and kept them in a damp place 
till March, 1846. ‘They were then planted in rows 
2 feet apart, and 15 inches in the row ; they were 
manured with a light strawy substance, the soil being 
of a strong alluvial nature, with the idea of keeping it 
ight. These sets were covered 3} inches in depth 
with the soil, and they have proved to be an excellent 
crop ; some of the roots producing 13 good sized tubers, 
one measuring 10 inches in length, and 12 inches in 
circumference, with stems upwards of 13 feet in height, 
By this practice all the eatable part of the root may be 
consumed, and there will still remain sets for a further 
supply. It seems to be immaterial what sort of soil it 
is planted in. I have grown it with manure and with- 
outit; on old land and on new ; on a stiff soil and on 
a sandy one; on a black soil and on a light one ; and 
from each success has been obtained.— 4. A., Helming- 
ton Hall, Nov. 16. 
Heating.—The following may bear on Mr. Meek's 
plan, and the objections to the fact of the amount o 
heat lost in the flue, as supposed by “J. H. H., B—k,” 
and as stated by Hazard. A well constructed Arnott’s 
stove, made and used strictly according to his direc- 
tions, radiates or gives off nearly the whole of its heat 
from the body of the stove, so completely so that the 
iron flue would be so cold, 4 feet from it, that the hand 
may grasp it with impunity. This is fact; at least 
when anthracite coals are used, such being the case 
when I observed the fact.—A Practical Man. [Cer- 
tainly. ] 
Over-potting Pelargoniums.—Last year I had an op- 
portunity of seeing in different parts of the country 
plants in cultivation and in bloom that had gone out 
from here, and in every instance I found the same error 
to exist, viz. over-potting, and that too late in the 
season. The consequence of this was seen in great 
leafy plants, succulent shoots, and feeble bloom often 
overrun by the foliage. It is to be hoped this error 
will be avoided in the coming season. it must be borne 
in mind that if Pelargoniums are to have a good head 
of bloom the pots should be full of roots before the 
flowers appear. Every one must have noticed when 
the fancy varieties are turned out of pots and placed in 
the borders what luxuriant foliage they acquire, and 
how very unsatisfactorily they show colour. Itis just 
the same on a smaller seale when over-potted. Nothing, 
in my opinion, could have saved our flowers from con- 
demnation last season but our own exhibitions, the re- 
sult of which I hope justified their being sent out— 
Edward Beck, Worton Cottage. 
The Coping of Garden Walls.—Walls for horticul- 
tural purposes may be of different heights, according to 
the extent, level, or inclination of the ground, or as may 
suit the fancy of the designer, or as it may be intended 
the trees shall be trained ; for instance, walls say 8 or 
9 feet high have a better appearance than walls 12 or 14, 
if the horizontal or pendant modes of training are to be 
adopted. However, for general purposes walls 12 feet 
in height are what I have always recommended, as 
upon these you can plant dwarf trees as permanent 
plants—maiden or trained as the wish may be—with 
tall standards between, four, five, or more years, trained 
to clothe the top part of the wall. Such standards would 
come early into bearing ; they should be reduced as the 
dwarfs progress, and ultimately cut away. Such a 
wall could scarcely fail to give satisfaction for the little 
extra expense incurred as to the difference in height. I 
have always as yet been located where what I consider 
the best and most durable material for coping a sub- 
stantial built wall existed, viz., good freestone and not 
porous. The coping I made use of some years ago for 
a common 18-inch garden wall, or say a south wall, 
flued of 23 ins., was 5 ins. in depth at the face or south 
side ; it was worked perfectly level on the under side or 
bed, then worked off on the top, so as to incline 3 ins. in 
depth on the north side of the wall, throwing all the 
water that fell upon it to that side, and thus the trees 
on the north—an unfavourable aspect as to damp, &c. 
