1843.] 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
557 
This method I have practised for several years, and never 
found it fail—_B. C. K. [This is a slight variation from 
the method recommended by Professor Henslow, at p. 637 
of last year’s Chronicle, which is certainly an excellent 
way to destroy them.] 
On Watering Out-door Plants.—On perusing an arti- 
cle at p. 478, on watering out-door plants by “J. L.,’ 
I was struck with the novelty of the subject which he 
therein strenuously advocates. The following week you 
directed attention to the subject, since which time I have 
Waited the appearance of your last Chronicle, to see what 
practical experience would say on a point of such great 
interest to gardeners; but there appears to be an apathy on 
their part to say anything on the subject. 1 do not object 
to watering plants in the morning because it is contrary 
to common practice, but because I conceive it to be unna- 
tural, and in many points retarding instead of accelerating 
the very processes which ‘‘J. L.” conceives to be of such 
Paramount importance—heat and moisture; but he, not 
content with plants receiving the heat which nature intends 
for them through the day, wishes also to preserve as large 
an amount as possible during the night, which is certainly 
contrary to nature. But supposing heat at night to be 
Necessary for out-door plants, night-watering—and not 
Morning—would be the best means of preserving it, for 
these reasons: all bodies absorb heat during the day, part- 
ing with it by radiation at night. Heat is preserved in 
any body so long as the surrounding atmosphere is at a 
higher temperature than the body itself; the body increas- 
ing its amount of heat in an equal ratio with the surround- 
Ing air. Radiation, therefore, cannot take place from any 
Substance till the atmosphere that surrounds that sub- 
Stance is reduced to a temperature lower than the subject 
itself. Now, radiation takes place much more rapidly 
under a clear sky than a cloudy one; in a damp atmo- 
Sphere slower than in a dry one. If the sky be cloudy 
alter a warm summer’s day, and the atmosphere conse- 
quently damp, the earth, water, &c. will appear to be 
warmer than if the sky were clear and the air dry, which 
Proves that radiation is retarded by a damp atmosphere 3 
Were it not so, bodies in contact with the air would 
Yadiate the heat acquired during the day, and quickly 
Correspond in temperature with the surrounding medium. 
If we water plants in the morning, however damp the 
atmosphere may be at the moment, it is constantly 
becoming drier, and before night every vestige of the 
Moisture communicated to the plants is evaporated, 
leaving the soil dry, and affording every facility for 
Tadiation,—the very process intended to be retarded. 
Whereas, if water were given to plants in the evening, 
€vaporation would go on but slowly, a damp atmosphere 
Would surround the plants, and radiation would be retarded, 
and not accelerated, as ‘‘ J. L.’’ conceives would be the 
Case. Night watering, also, is not subjected to so rapid an 
€vaporation as morning watering. As I before observed, 
the air after sunrise is becoming every moment drier, and, 
_ Consequently, the moisture intended for the benefit of the 
plants has scarcely saturated the soil ere it is evaporated, 
leaving them destitute of the agent by which their nutri- 
tion is to be carried on, This, I think, will prove that to 
Preserve by night the heat zcquired by the soil during 
the day, we must create a damp atmosphere around the 
plants instead ofa dry one. Another objection to morn- 
ing watering is, that the dew renders the surface of the 
Soil damp; we cannot discriminate between those 
Yequiring water and those that do not, rendering the per- 
‘Ormance more tedious, and causing a waste of time which 
Otherwise would have been avoided. But laying aside 
theory altogether, and appealing to nature for an answer,— 
are warm nights beneficial to the health of vegetable life 
rnot? I think not. Plants store up at night materials 
Which are to support them under the influence of heat, 
light, &c. during the day, and nature hes so ordered it 
that a certain period is assigned foreach. Nowall animals 
Yequire a period of rest to recruit their bodies, and why 
Not vegetables? And as heat is a principal stimulant to 
Vegetable life, it follows that if, by artificial means, we give 
to vegetables more than a natural quantity, we shall over- 
Work their organs, and consequently weaken them. By 
an unnatural stimulant plants may certainly for a time 
appear to be enjoying good health; but as their organs 
Y such treatment would, in time, become deranged, they 
Would thereby become unable to perform their offices, the 
Plants would be unhealthy, and unless timely steps were 
taken, death would probably be the result; at all events,a 
Otal derangement of their whole system would take place. 
>Tyro. 
Improved Gurden Pots.—The Improved Garden Pots 
Tecommended by Mr. Rendle, at p. 519, have been made 
by Mr. Croucher, of Clapham, for the last two or three 
Years, and answer remarkably well.—A Subscriber. 
Fuchsias.—1t may, perhaps, be interesting to some per- 
Sons to know that some varieties of the Fuchsia are more 
hardy than is generally believed. There is in the Flower- 
Sarden of Colonel M’Douall at Logan, Wigtonshire, a 
Fuchsia about 10 feet high and 40 feet in circumference, 
orming a compact bush, which is annually in the months 
of July, &e. richly covered with its elegant flowers, and 
Mpening its seeds in the autumn, from which there are 
annnally raised seedlings without number. Some of these 
ae nearly attained the size of the parent plant, and grow 
eed in any soil or situation in which they may chance to 
where few other 
Shrubs will grow, and on exposed situations without any 
Protection, blooming freely, to the great ornament of the 
Srounds, from July until November. The above parent 
Plant has-been said by several individuals, who have visited 
8ardens in many parts of Britain, to be the largest 
ey have seen. But your widely-circulated Paper may 
Possibly be read at some gardens which neither of these 
persons have happened to visit, and where there may be 
Fuchsias as well acclimatised and larger specimens. If 
So, a statement to that effect would, I presume, be grati- 
fying to many of your readers, as, by bringing them into 
more general notice as hardy shrubs, they may become 
more universally cultivated, as they undoubtedly deserve 
to be. I may also state that there is a considerable variety 
among the seedlings, as regards the size of the flower, 
habit of the plant, hardiness, &c.—G. Williamson, Gar- 
dener, Logan. [It is a pity our correspondent does not 
say what species of Fuchsia it is that he describes. 
Support for Orchidaceous Plants.—1 herewith send 
you a sketch of a simple and efficient method of support- 
ing suspended Or- 
chidaceous 
whereby they may 
be introduced into 
the drawing-room 
with the same ease 
as those under pot- 
culture ; andassome 
of the most curious 
and desirable of the 
tribe produce pen- 
dulous flower-stems, 
their beauty cannot 
thoroughly be dis- 
played without being 
mostadvantage, dis- 
plays as much art 
as their superior 
culture ; and in no 
class of flowers can this be more apparent than in Orchi- 
dacez ; for when so situated, their singular habits, their 
curious form, and gaudy colours, cannot fail to attract the 
admiration of those who are least interested in floral 
beauties ; and as many of them can have no rivals as draw- 
ing-room flowers, on account of their delightful fragrance 
and their long duration of bloom in such situations, the 
following means of making them portable may prove 
acceptable to those who wish to see them oftener than by 
visiting the Orchidaceous house :—Make choice of a flower- 
pot according to the size of the suspender required, and 
get a piece of strong wire, (say a quarter of an inch in 
diameter ;) place the end of this in the bottom of the pot, 
and turn it sharp over the rim ; then proceed to shape it in 
the form of the annexed representation. Turn the top down 
so as to form a loop, bring it close at the shoulder, and form 
the other side to correspond 3 this will compose half the 
frame. Make two more sides of the same shape, with a turn 
at top to meet close toits neck ; make this fast with a piece 
of wire, then with a brad-awl perforate two holes below 
the rim of the pot, and two at bottom for each side ; pass 
a piece of wire (copper is best) turough to the inside, and 
twist the ends with plyers tightly over the uprights, which 
will complete the suspender. ‘he pot may be filled with 
sand to give greater stability to its basis, and as well as 
the suspender, may be painted green. It may then be 
placed either in a flower-stand or upon the drawing-room 
table—J. W. 
Artificial Glazing.—As a covering for flowers, &c., 
nothing can be better than the varnish or solution of 
caoutchouc, spread with a clean brush upon fine holland— 
not calic! ‘When the linen is properly strained upon 
frames, it is as tight as a drum-head, and is nocontemptible 
substitute for glass ;—indeed, its chastened light renders 
it sometimes preferable Prodeus. 
Shade and Shelter for Plants—The foliowing is an 
account of a contrivance for shading or otherwise protect- 
ing various outdoor plants, which answers the purpose so 
admirably, that I think it worthy of publicity. It is 
simply half a common garden-pot (the pot being bisected 
before being submitted to the kiln), twelve inches in dia- 
meter, and fourteen inches high (but the dimensions, of 
course, may vary according to convenience), of the same 
width from top to bottom. It may be used in various 
ways, either erect or longitudinally, so as to afford a 
complete shelter to anything newly planted, from scorch- 
ing sun, driving winds, or beating rains. In some cases, 
where required, it will be found advantageous to place 
two with their mouths together, so as to entirely shut up 
the plant. Their application is universal, their useful- 
ness endless, and their cost so trifling, that no garden 
ought to be without them. Whilst I am on this subject, 
I may mention a simple, but, I believe, effectual, method 
of protecting tender Roses in masses, as practised at Ash 
Grove, near Halifax, the residence of E. Rawson, Esq.; 
which came under my notice during my visits there ia the 
winter months. It was done by merely pricking branches 
of common Whin between the plants, deep enough to pre- 
vent the wind from blowing them about 5 these branches 
stand very little higher than the Roses, and not so numer- 
ously as to crowd them. In this way at that season of 
the year, the groups presented an improved appearance 
rather than otherwise. This simple method of protection 
ay be applied with advantage to many other tender 
after the roots have been covered with decayed 
Where the Whin is not very 
plentiful, common Heath or spruce ¥ir-branches will 
answer quite as well—Joshua Major, Knosthorpe. 
Forcing Pears.—I have tried to bring Pears to bear 
forcing, but cannot succeed. The red spider took pos- 
session so strongly of the leaves, that for the preservation 
of the Vines from their ravages, the Pear-plants were taken 
out of the Vinery.— WS. D, 
Mulberries.—I beg to state, in answer to “ Anonymous,” 
at p. 545, that Twas reading some years ago of an old 
man who was planting a Mulberry-tree being ridiculed by 
three young men, who asked him if he thought that he 
should ever taste the fruit; his reply was, that his tree 
would live when they were rotten : and they all three died 
in the same year. Upon turning the subject over in my 
own mind, I fancied that Mulberries could be reared and 
brought to perfection much earlier than by the usual way. 
I therefore obtained a branch from a tree, about the end 
of December, and laid it on a grass-plat, where it was left 
until early in March following, when I cut from the branch 
30 small pieces from 6 to 9 inches in length, and planted 
them in the garden 8 inches apart. In dry weather I gave a 
little water, and watched the progress of growth, which 
was slow. At the following Michaelmas I lifted them, 
pruned the roots, and planted them again, giving them 
more space to grow in, At the end of two years I had 
upwards of 20 small but healthy plants; I selected four 
of the best, and again pruned the roots, so as to get them 
into a small pot, and placed them in a Vinery, where they 
continued to do well all the summer, but did not increase 
in size. Iput them in the openair all winter, and early 
the next season I returned them again to the¥Vinery, 
where they soon showed blossom, and produced a few 
fruit, which ripened well. The following year the plants 
grew, and on one of them J had 103 very fine fruit, which 
ripened by the end of June. I was led into this experi- 
ment as well from the story of the old man and his three 
visitors, as from having some years ago grafted a small 
seedling Apple-plant only two years old, and put it into a 
very small pot under glass; the second year from grafting 
it ripened two Apples, which were excellent.— WW. S. D. 
Ginger.—After the first crop is gathered, which will 
be in the space of ten or twelve weeks from the time of 
planting, replace the old sets, and they will produce a 
crop for seed the following year. have some now that 
are very promising.— W. Brown, Merevale. 
Botanical Destruction.—I1 was in hopes that the absurd 
outcry about ‘ radical Botany ”’ had died a natural death ; 
but I observe, at p. 501, that such is not the case. Not- 
withstanding your correspondent’s formidable signature, 
his letter is devoid of sting, and is in want of those facts 
which shou!d support his conclusions ; indeed it would 
not require notice, but that well-meaning people who do 
not investigate for themselves might be misled by it,— 
I believe that the only authentic case of ‘‘ extermination ”” 
is that of Menziésia caerulea (said to have been the work 
of an Edinburgh nurseryman); as to the Orchidaces, 
although roots of Orchis fusca are hawked about London 
in the spring, I found it abundantly near Cobham this 
year. O. hircina, perhaps, is gone; Ido not know of its 
having been found since the time mentioned by Mr. Peete, 
in a late Number of the ‘‘ Phytologist.’’ Now, I, for one, 
would rather that so rare a plant, as it has always been, 
should be preserved in the Herbaria of the celebrated 
Botanist, whom Mr. Peete names as having found it, than 
that it should be left to the mercy of promiscuous passers- 
by, who, ignorant of the interest attached to it, would 
nevertheless be attracted by the singularity of its appear- 
ance. Althea hirsuta, about the loss of which so much 
lament was made last year, is this year as plentiful as ever 
in the old locality; this is the case also with Salvia pra- 
tensis. ‘* Nettle’? does not appear to understand any 
distinction between rare and local plants. I consider 
that, if I have a local plant growing abundantly within 
my reach, I owe it to my brother Botanists to collect 
for them as well as for myself, as it is not every one 
who can make a pilgrimage to the locality. The imputa- 
tion of greediness must certainly rest with those who 
think otherwise. ‘‘ Nettle ’’ says that he has been told 
that a member of the Botanical Society of London has 
transmitted plants to head-quarters by the hundred. I 
must frighten him still more—I know that several have 
done so. I have even heard of a member of the Edin- 
burgh Society botanizing with a cart. Possibly your cor- 
respondent may be a follower of the Botanist(?) who 
travelled all over Europe with a sandwich-box and a pair 
of scissors, by means of which he obtained a splendid 
collection of specimens, each five inches long. For my 
part, until we can altogether dispense with roots In our 
specific descriptions, I shall stick to the trowel.—Dockleaf 
The Cuckoo.—I see, at p. 519, that ‘A Subscriber’ 
is rather astonished at having heard the cuckoo singing on 
the last day of June. In this part of Suffolk I have con- 
stantly heard him up to the 12th day of July, but never 
later than that period. “A Subseriber’’ also states that 
a friend of his has a young one, which he hopes to keep 
through the winter, and which I hope he will, as many 
more of your readers beside myself would like to be 
acquainted with a method of doing this. Many of my 
friends, as well as myself, have tried several times to do 
so, but have never yet succeeded.—J’inbroensis, Stow- 
market. 5 
Birds.—Many gardeners adopt the motto, and act up 
to it to the very letter, of killing every bird that enters 
their gardens. Now, leaving humanity out of the question, 
such a practice cannot be too highly censured ; and could 
they for one moment reflect on the injury they were 
inflicting on themselves, they would instantly abandon the 
practice. To induce such a reflection is the only object 
of this essay ; and should it be the means of producing 
it in but one individual—should it be the means of saving 
the life of but one innocent bird—I shall be more than 
amply recompensed. ‘To say that gardeners do not 
receive extensive injuries from birds, would be to speak 
