1843.] 
THE, GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
263 
100,000 parts of Vetch-straw contain of mineral sub- 
Stances :— 
0.442 parts of silica’ 
1.955. lime 
” 
0.324 ,, magnesia 
1.810 ,, potash 
0.052 ,, soda 
0.015  ,, alumina 
0.009 ,, —_ oxide of iron 
0.008 ,, oxide of manganese 
0.280  ,, phosphoric acid 
0.122 ,, sulphuric acid 
0.084 ,, chlorine 
5.101 parts of mineral substances. 
100 lbs, of Vetch-straw contain, therefore, more than 
4ilbs. of those mineral substances which exercise the 
reatest influence on vegetation. If we consider, more- 
Over, that in 1,000lbs. of Vetch-straw there is 10lbs. of 
nitrogen, we shall see that one acre of land will obtain 
from 3,000lbs. of straw, besides the 135lbs. of very im- 
Portant mineral substances, 30lbs. of nitrogen, which can- 
hot but assist the growth of crops planted after being 
Manured with Vetch-straw. This straw, however, is too 
good a fodder to be used as litter, so that it is only the 
more woody parts, rejected by cattle, that will reach the 
dunghill. In the field, it is more quickly decomposed 
than Pea-straw. 
2. The Herbage of Potatoes. — 100,000 parts of the 
air-dried herbage of ripe Potatoes contain of mineral 
substances :— 
0.801 parts of silica 
2.918 lime 
” 
0.488 ,, magnesia 
0.138 ,, potash and soda 
0.052 = ,, alumina 
0.058 ,, oxide of iron 
0.044 ,, oxide of mangunese 
0.032  ,, phosphoric acid 
0.245 ,, sulphuric acid 
0.010 ,, chlorine 
4.786 parts of mineral substances. 
Since 100 lbs. of ripe Potato herbage contain nearly 
s, of mineral substances beneficial to vegetation, it 
follows that this kind of haulm is more valuable than it 
has been hitherto considered, and that it ought to be con- 
veyed either to the stables or the dunghill, more especi- 
ally as it is rich in nitrogen ; Boussingault having found 
23 lbs. of nitrogen in 1,000lbs. of dry Potato-straw. 
Therefore, from 3000 lbs. of Potato haulm one Magdeburg 
acre of land will receive 69 lbs. of nitrogen, which, as we 
shall see under the head of mineral manures, is, by itself, a 
powerful manuring agent. The green herbage of Potatoes 
contains still more mineral matter, especially potash. 
The woodiness of Potato-straw renders it difficult to 
decompose. If it is placed at the bottom of the dunghill, 
where it is too wet, and excluded from the action of the 
atmosphere, it will be taken to the land in an undecayed 
state. It is, therefore, better to pack it in the middle of 
the dunghill, so that it may become sooner decomposed 
by the heat of fermentation. eae 
3. Rape-Straw.—100,000 parts of air-dried straw, with 
the shells of the ripe fruit, contain of mineral substances : 
0,080 parts of silica 
0.810 ,, lime 
0.121  ,, magnesia 
0.883 ,, potash 
0.550 ...,,. soda 
0.090 ,, alumina, oxide of iron, and manganese. 
0.382  ,, phosphoric acid 
0.517. ,, sulphuric acid 
0.440 ,, chlorine 
3.873 parts of mineral substances, 
100 lbs, of Rape-straw, therefore, contain more than 
34 lbs. of powerfal mineral manures. It is more espe- 
cially valuable on account of its great amount of chlorine, 
Soda, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, and potash, and 
therefore deserves to be at least added to the dunghill, 
if it is not used for litter. ‘The proportion of nitrogen in 
Rape-straw has not been yet ascertained ; but judging from 
analogy, we may assume, that it will not be less than that 
of Bean-straw. As the straw of Rape is very woody, and 
Consequently difficult of decomposition, it is best to place 
it in the midst of the dunghill alternately with layers 
of dung. 
(Zo be continued.) 
—————— 
AMATEUR’S GARDEN.—No. XVI.” 
As the article on the “ one-shift system’? of potting 
plants appears to be exciting attention, I thinkit right to 
State, that so far from recalling anything that I have 
Written on the subject, I am daily more convinced of the 
Superiority of the practice. The only point that I need 
Notice in the remarks of ‘* Observator’’ is his objection to 
the use of the small inverted pot in the draining of the 
arge one. The same objection was urged against it by 
Several of my friends before the article was written ; but 
as I have used it during the last seven years, to the extent 
of some thousands of pots, and in various sizes, from 
large Orange-tubs to small cutting-pots, without in one 
Instance finding a plant injured from being water-clogged, 
IT think I am justified in recommending it. A few days 
back I had an opportunity of examining some Pine plants 
that in the autumn were drained with the inverted pots, 
4s a guard against worms, and I never saw plants better 
rooted, or roots in a more healthy state. In this case the 
Inverted pot was used without any other drainage, and 
Indeed, I doubt whether we yet fully appreciate the utility 
of the inverted pot ; and while Observator and others 
may remain sceptical, I am sanguine in being able to prove 
that small hollow cones, passing nearly through the soil, 
will be of the greatest utility in large pots. 
While on this subject I may state that I did not re- 
commend it as a cure for all sorts of evils, nor with the 
expectation that every one who tried would be successful. 
Certainly, the man who cannot grow a plant tolerably well 
In a small pot, or does not understand the why and where- 
fore of ‘his p dings in the of the large 
One, will never perform any extraordinary feats with it; 
but I believe that any person who will take the trouble to 
make himself thoroughly acquainted with the principles 
upon which success is founded, as I have endeavoured to 
explain them in my former article, and as they are exem- 
plified in some leading and other articles, will grow plants 
better than they can be grown in any other manner. 
That many will fail, I am fully prepared to hear, and 
should a majority not succeed I should not be surprised, 
but this will not be from any fault in the system, but from 
its not being properly carried out. All good cultivators 
acknowledge that it is a good system for most plants ; 
every day experience proves \to us that plants grow the 
best when planted out; therefore, that system which 
approximates the nearest to nature, which gives a fine 
porous body of healthy but not stimulating material for 
the roots to work in must be the best, because it is the 
Nearest approach to nature that we can make in our pot 
management. It is of the first importance that the pots 
should be properly drained, and the soil used rough and 
turfy. If these things are attended to, and the plants 
cautiously but properly watered, there is no fear of failure. 
—W. P. Ayres. 
TRELLIS FOR CLIMBERS. 
e 
TREATMENT OF ROSE DE LISLE FOR 
STOCKS. 
Axovr the first week in August cuttings of the half- 
ripened wood should be inserted in equal proportions of 
finely-sifted leaf-mould and sand, placed on a gentle hot- 
bed, and shaded from the sun, When firmly rooted, they 
should be potted into large sixties, in a soil composed of 
chopped turf, leaf-mould, and sand (in equal proportions, 
and not sifted), and plunged in bottom-heat in a close 
frame, giving them but little water, and completely shading 
them from the sun until they are firmly rooted in the new 
soil; air may then be given by degrees, with more water 
and less shading ; and when the plants can bear the sun 
without their leaves becoming flaccid, they should be 
placed jn a cold frame, from which the lights are removed 
during the day, and tilted, both at back and front, by 
night, when the weather is favourable. a AS 
“Phroughout the winter they will require protection in 
severe frost, and towards the latter end of April they 
should be planted out in rows in rather poor sandy loam, 
having their roots barely covered. The plants must then 
be pegged down, which will cause them to send up suckers ; 
the strongest on each plant must be secured to stakes, 
and all the rest cleared away. The soil from both sides 
of the rows must be taken out about a foot in width, and 
two inches deep, close to the plants; its place must be 
filled with rotten dung, beat firmly down, and covered 
ne aiee this treatment the plants will grow freely, and 
make numerous fibres. Early in the succeeding spring, 
the tops of the branches must be cut back, more or less, 
and the ends of the young shoots pinched off, so as to 
cause numerous leaves at the extremity of the stocks. As 
soon as buds can be procured, and the bark separates 
freely from the wood, the stock should be budded in the 
the soil filled in to the bottom of the pot, and there was 
NO appearance of stagnation of the water in the pot. 
common way; and three or four days after, the ends of 
a cord to be fastened one foot below the inserted buds, 
and after the extremities of the stocks ‘are bent down, the 
other end of the cord is to be affixed to them, so as to 
form a semicircle, with the buds in the centre on the 
upper side. By this concentration of the sap, the buds 
are almost immediately excited, and if neatly inserted and 
carefully bent, nineteen out of twenty will succeed. 
Two or more varieties can be grown with equal success on 
the same stocks, by merely giving them a wider circle. 
When the buds have formed about five leaves, the head 
of the stocks should be cut off close to the buds ; they may 
then be tied up perpendicularly. The young shoots 
must be compelled to form heads, by pinching off their 
extremities. The bandages should be loosened by degrees, 
to allow room for the stocks to expand. 
As the De Lisle Rose is easily propagated, no lover of 
standards should be without it; it is, mareover, quite as 
hardy as the common Dog-Rose, but superior to it for the 
above purposes, as it can be budded from six inches to six 
feet high, with more certainty of success, and it is 
also less liable to send up*suckers. It answers equally 
well for forcing, and for growing in the open air.—Robert 
P. Drummond, Foreman, Minto House, Roxburghshire. 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE ORANGE-TREE 
IN FRANCE, 1n rue l6ru, 17TH, anv 18Ta CEN- 
TURIES. 
Durine the eighteenth century, the art of gardening 
made considerable advances under the especial patronage 
of Louis XV. This prince, who was fond of botany, in 
which science he had acquired much knowledge, formed 
at Trianon a private garden, composed of valuable plants 
and shrubs, which he amused himself in cultivating. This 
taste in the king raised a spirit of emulation among the 
royal gardeners, which became of the highest service to 
the art. Every year, by his orders, seeds, new trees, and 
vegetables, were obtained from England, Holland, and 
various parts of the world; and France, perhaps, acquired 
more in this way during his reign alone than she had done 
under those of all his predecessors put together. He also 
established near Paris, and in all the provinces, royal 
nurseries, cultivated at the expense of the State; from 
whence, with the consent of the superintendents, were 
distributed gratuitously to private persons such seeds, 
plants, or trees, as were considered. beneficial, or most 
proper to bring into general use. It was in his reign that 
the hothouse and the stove were first brought into full 
operation. These are sufficiently curious to deserve a 
more detailed account. The great expense of the war in 
1781 caused many of the above establishments to be 
given up, that at Vincennes only remaining at the end of 
the eighteenth century. 
The inhabitants of the South of Europe must of neces- 
sity rank first in the art of pleasure-gardening. Nature 
having given them a more serene sky, a milder temperature, 
a beautiful verdure, both early and continuous, seems to 
have left nothing to the attention or care of man but the 
taste for decoration. Thus, almost everything has been 
invented that could enhance the graceful or luxurious 
ornament of those delightful spots. But the more useful 
discoveries have been made in northern countries, and it 
is easy to conceive that the necessity experienced to 
struggle constantly against the severity of a cold climate 
and uncongenial soil required the greatest industry. 
When the Orange-tree was first introduced into France 
and attempted to be cultivated, it became a matter of 
serious consideration as to the best means of protecting it 
from destructive frosts during the winter. It was then 
planted in tubs, in large boxes, or in glazed earthenware 
pans, which were placed in store-rooms or cellars as soon 
as the cold weather commenced, This mode, however, 
entailed considerable expense and inconvenience; and it 
had become so desirable to induce this fine tree to grow 
freely like others, without extraordinary care or attention, 
that some persons were found sufficiently enterprising to 
plant them in the open ground, in the form of groves or 
thickets. The warmth of the climate 30, ines South of 
riments to succeed. Beaujeu, in 
France caused these expe! ye esiiles die Puaae ct 
ange groves. The same custom 
districts on the sea-coast, cultivate 
s as formerly, in the open ground ; and it is 
=| e: i 
Orange-tre s are able to bear a severe frost without 
said that those tree: 
ini injury. 
Rar eEeenae Beek Provinces who attempted the 
same cultivation found that much care was necessary, 
and that they must be protected under huts covered. with 
mats, or under conical coverings made of cork, “ Good 
gardeners,” says Liebaut, “ always took care, previously 
to covering them up for the winter, to cut off all the 
flowers, buds, and even the new and tender branches.” 
There were some groves of Orange-trees in the garden 
at Trianon, at the end of the seventeenth century, which 
had been planted there in the preceding century, and were 
considered great curiosities. La Quintinye observes, that 
they had succeeded in giving to the cases used in covering 
them forms and shapes of the most pleasing decorative 
character. Experience nevertheless proved that such 
means were not sufficient to protect the plants in hard 
winters, and that the case, besides the inconvenience of 
excluding the revivifying influence of the sun, had also the 
effect of smothering the plant, by entirely depriving it of 
air. . It was not easy at first to find a remedy for these 
disadvantages. The Elector Palatine, however, in the 
sixteenth century, applied one of a very expensive 
character. He built a large movable wooden gallery 
in his gardens at Heidelberg, within which was inclosed 
the entire range of his Orange-trees : this gallery was fur- 
nished with glazed frames or sashes, through which the 
