5A 
THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 
[JAN. 28. 
a dry gently-manured compost of lime-rubbish and loam, 
although not so big in berry as a Muscle Plum, yet 1b. of 
Grapes so grown will be worth a stone of the “ enormity 
breed,’’ provided palate and not eye is to form the canon 
for supremacy of excellence.—W. Mason. 
Dissipation of Gardeners.—Your judicious remarks, 
at p. 18, respecting the dissipation of Gard , and the 
excellent letter of “ A Gardener’’ upon the same subject, 
must be cordially approved by everyright-thinking person of 
that valuable class who wishes to see his profession elevated 
above the degrading vice of intemperance. The objects 
and associations of Horticulture are so pure and uncon- 
taminated, and afford such a pleasing variety of food for 
the imagination, that it is difficult to conceive how men 
who have once entered upon its pursuit can degrade them- 
selves so far as to seek, in the vice of drinking, for that 
gratification of their inferior senses for which, in their in- 
tervals of sobriety, they must despise themselves. I trust 
that this important matter will call forth an abler pen than 
mine amongst my brother Gardeners, that such mistaken 
characters may see in what estimation they are held by 
those who desire to see their profession elevated to that 
degree of respectability which it deserves. I wish it not 
to be understood that I am inimical to a judicious enjoy- 
ment of the gifts of a bounteous Providence. We all re- 
quire a certain portion for the support of Nature, and 
perhaps a hard-working Gardener may need more than 
some other classes ; but it is the abuse of those gifts that 
I would deprecate. I would raise my voice against the fre- 
quenter of pothouses—who pours downhis throatglassafter 
glass of liquid fire, for no other purpose apparent than to 
deprive himself of that reason which was given him for the 
noblest of purposes, but which he converts to the most 
debasing. Such men should be made aware that they are 
idered by all respectable G as the weeds of 
the profession, and, as such, deserve to be rooted out 
“* pro bono publico.”—J, W. C. 
Calendar.—I am much struck with the familiar and 
comprehensive style in which Mr. Beaton has written his 
second,“ Calendar of Operations,’’ which every gardener 
I think must be pleased with. I am, however, induced 
to ask him, through the medium of the Chronicle, to en- 
large a little on his remarks on ‘‘ The Conservatory,” by 
egging him to name some of the stove plants and Orchi- 
dace, calculated to create the “blaze” of which he 
speaks. I always fancied that stove plants would, if 
moved from their own edifice at this season of the year, in- 
stantly droop, unless a higher temperature was maintained 
than is safe for Caméllias, Kennédias, Acacias, &c., grow- 
ing'in the beds. Of course I am mistaken, and I think 
that a series of papers on the management and decora- 
tions of conservatories in a more full detail would be ge- 
nerally acceptable. Greenhouses of this description are 
now become common ; but few present that constant 
succession of flowers which their character demands: this 
deficiency a series of papers would remedy. Will he also 
kindly say how Hedychiums should be managed? I am 
induced further to trespass on your or his kindness by 
asking how to raise Rhododendron, Indian, or Ghent 
Azdlea seed, both in pots and the open ground. I have 
raised seed-pans full, but they always perished before put- 
ting out their second leaf.—An Inquirer. 
Effect of Light upon Pilants.—I can fully confirm the 
statement of Mr. Beaton at p. 39, ‘“‘that Light is the most 
important agent in the growth of plants.’ I have two 
houses of nearly the same dimensions; one facing the 
North, the other with a South aspect; the former has 
been heated artificially since Nov. 30th, the temperature 
xanging from 39° to 69°, The latter has never had 
artificial heat applied to it, except when very hard frost 
was expected at night, perhaps not half-a-dozen times 
during that period. Both houses are filled with Roses, 
and I have gathered the greatest quantity from the 
Southern house, which of course caught every beam of 
sunshine that was to be had in this dreary season.— Oikos. 
Night Temperature of Vines.—If my experience in 
confirmation of your remarks at p. 35, regarding the tem- 
perature of forcing-houses at night, will be of any use 
in assisting to convince those who are still sceptical on 
this important point, they are at your service. When I 
began to force Vines some years ago, 1 was sanguine of 
success, and believed that a strong heat was all that was 
mecessary to ensure it. I commenced with 50° night 
temperature, that of the day of course fluctuating accord- 
ing to the state of the weather, for the first fortnight or 
three weeks ; at the end of the month I raised the tempe- 
rature at night to 60°, gradually increasing it to 75°, 
which I made my standard, allowing myself a range of 3° 
‘above and 3° below that point. The result of this treat- 
ment was the development of weak long-jointed wood ; 
fruitful certainly, but the fruit, like the wood, was weak ; 
the branches were long and straggling ; the berries small, 
and when ripe very imperfectly coloured, and in many 
cases shanking off. I was grievously disappointed, for I 
calculated upon having large, compact, black bunches, 
covered with bloom; instead of which, I had bunches 
that I was almost ashamed to send to table. I was at 
first inclined to attribute it to the border ; but when I re- 
flected that I had taken the greatest care to have it 
thoroughly well drained, I concluded that this could not 
be in fault, and that the error must lie elsewhere. I 
Le my d i toa brother Gardener, a 
clever practical man, who, on observing the state of my 
Vines, (the fruit was then on the point of changing colour) 
inguired what temperature I was in the habit of keeping 
at night. Upon detailing my practice to him, he shook 
his head and said, “ Ah! 1 see how itis, you have kept too 
high a temperature in the earlier stages of forcing ; you 
have given your Vines more food than they can properly 
assimilate, and have thus weakened their digestive func- 
tions.’’ Much more to the same purpose passed, which it 
is needless to recapitulate, as you_have so clearly explained 
the principle in last week’s Chronicle, and in the Theory 
of Horticulture. In summing up, he said, “ Begin with a 
lower temperature, increase it more gradually, and always 
let it at night sink at least 10° lower than what you con- 
sider necessary in the day.’”’ By following this advice, the 
second season after commencing the new treatment I 
succeeded in obtaining from the same trees strong, short- 
jointed wood, and close compact finely-coloured bunches, 
all of which I owe to this timely advice.—J. W. C. 
The Grape Vine.—An extraordinary instance of the 
power of vegetation in the Vine is, I think, deserving a 
place in the Gardeners’ Chronicle. About ten years 
since, it was deemed requisite to enlarge a school-room 
in this town which had a Vine growing at the eastern end; 
but so unwilling was the proprietor to destroy it, that he 
ventured to lay the branches under the new flooring to 
the extent of 15 feet; and, to his surprise and gratifica- 
tion, it has continued to produce fruit, notwithstanding a 
great portion of it is in continual darkness, and conse- 
quently deprived of atmospheric excitement, except by the 
termination of its flexible branches and annual foliation. 
—WN. S. Hodson, Bury St. Edmund's. 
Growing Vines in Frames.—The following system of 
growing the Vine in frames, which is well adapted for 
gardens where the quantity of glass is limited, is prac- 
tised by Mr. Dawson, gardener to Lord Ducie, at the 
Hoo, Hertfordshire. About the first week in April, a 
bed of perily decayed dung, to which a small quantity of 
raw material is added, so as to produce a slight heat, is 
made at about 18 inches from the wall in front of the se- 
lected Vines. This bed is built sufficiently deep to admit 
of its being about 3 ft. high after settling. The frame 
used by Mr. Dawson separates into two portions, so that 
the lower part can be first placed upon the bed. It con- 
tains a trellis upon which the Vines are trained, fixed 
about a foot above the surface of the dung. The upper 
portion of the frame can be afterwards put on and secured 
to the lower by small brackets. The advantage of having 
the frames constructed in this way is the ease and safety 
with which the Vine can be taken in; since, in intro- 
ducing the shoots of a Vine through a hole cut in the 
back of a frame of ordinary construction, the buds would 
be liable to be rubbed off. No more care is required, ex- 
cept in stopping, thinning, &c. Air is given freely, but 
no linings to the bed are required, Mr. Dawson having 
failed in acrop upon which he tried this experiment. In 
severe weather a covering is put on, but this is not gene- 
rally resorted to. By pursuing the above method, fruit of 
good quality has been cut by the latter end of August ; 
for which Mr. Dawson has obtained several prizes at 
local Horticultural exhibitions.—J. 4., Liverpool. 
Double Yellow Rose.—In a leading article at p. 811, 
of the Chronicle of 1841, you have mentioned different 
localities in Britain, where the Double Yellow Rose has 
blossomed ; the most northern of which appears to be 
Biel, in East Lothian. As this Rose is undoubtedly a 
native of a warm climate, I am of opinion that, where 
practicable, it should be grown against a wall with a 
southern aspect. A specimen, from 10 to 11 feet high 
and 7 or 8 feet in diameter, is planted here in a similar 
situation, and in connection with a greenhouse. The soil 
in which it grows is of a light nature; and, although so 
far north, two very beautiful Roses were last year ga- 
thered from this plant, and were exhibited at the Gardens 
of the Horticultural Society of Edinburgh, where they 
were greatly admired.—W. Procter, Gardener at Tar- 
bat House Rosshire. 
Celery.—The mode of cooking Celery in last Chronicle 
I have almost daily experience of, but I am desirous of 
having the following problem solved. Though the Celery 
is brought to table as hot as several other vegetables in 
daily use, it becomes cold much more rapidly ; indeed, 
after the cover is removed it is with difficulty that it can 
be served round the table. Why is this?—i/. C.—[No 
doubt there is something in the texture of the Celery 
which renders it a good conductor of heat, and therefore 
it cools down rapidly. Probably this is connected with 
the many large open cavities which it contains. We can- 
not, however, say that we have found it cool inconyeniently 
fast, if covered with good melted butter.] 
Charcoal a Preventive to the Onion Maggot.—At 
p. 165 of the Chronicle for 1841, ‘‘ A. H., Nottingham, 
states that, half-an-inch of Charcoal dust spread over the 
soil ‘and mixed with it just before Onion-seed js sown, 
will be found a’sure preventive against the grub, mouldi- 
ness, &c. He also states that it is a remedy for the 
club in the roots of Cabbages and Cauliflowers. May I 
ask your Correspondent ‘‘as a young practitioner” the 
exegetical reasons why he applied the Charcoal to such a 
purpose, if he knew the philosophy of its results, or if done 
in a hap-chance manner? It is assuredly a simple and not 
less easy way of destroying these pests; and when once 
fully convinced of the philosophy of its nature, I will try 
the remedy, and the result shall afterwards be reported.— 
A Rosshire Gardener. 
Sali as a Manure.—I can bear testimony to the bene- 
ficial effects of Salt as a manure when judiciously em- 
ployed. My garden, when I came to it, was so infested with 
slugs as to render it almost impossible to preserve a vege- 
table from their ravages, more especially from those of @ 
large species, half as long as a man’s thumb, provincially 
termed the herring-back slug. By the advice of a neigh- 
bour, I procured a quantity of Salt, which I kept in @ 
dry shed; and when a quarter of the land was cleared of 
its crop, I sprinkled it all over with Salt, and allowed it 
to remain for a day or two before it was dug in. I like- 
wise on moist evenings, when the slugs were most active, 
went carefully over the garden and gave it a slight 
sprinkling with Salt, even amongst the growing crops. 
This effectually destroyed those pests, without injuring 
the vegetables ; and my garden is now comparatively free 
from them. The {Salt I use is a coarse sort, which I 
purchased at Scovil’s Wharf, in Tooley Street, for about 
18s. per ton. It is that in which hides are imported 
from South America; and is consequently enriched by 
matters which it extracts from the skins. I think if your 
Correspondent ‘ Quercus” will refer to the xivth Chapter 
of Luke, verses 34 and 35, he will there be led to infer 
that Salt, which had noé lost its savour, was formerly con- 
sidered beneficial for dressing land. I have used Salt 
with equal success on heavy and light land ; and the crops 
flourish amazingly from its good effects—C. Wood, 
Clapham. : 
* Lime Water.—Several Correspondents have recom- 
mended Corrosive Sublimate for destroying worms on 
Lawns, &c. ; at the same time cautioning persons against 
its dangerous nature, Why then do they not use the 
more safe, simple, and efficacious substitute—quick-lime ? 
The idea of using Lime-water for this purpose was intro- 
duced about 25 years ago, (I believe for the first time) by a 
gardener named McDougal, who travelled over a great part 
of the kingdom collecting subscriptions of 10s. 6d. each. 
When he had collected as many as he could, he divulged 
the secret to his subscribers, and to myself amongst the 
number. His secret was merely to put some quick-lime 
into a tub of water, to stir it up well, and when the lime 
had subsided, to water the lawn, &c., with the clear 
liquor. This is an infallible remedy, although some of 
your Correspondents have stated otherwise ; but I appre- 
hend that their failure has arisen from their having made 
use of stale or slack lime; that is, lime that had been 
slacked either from having had water poured over it, or 
from having imbibed atmospheric moisture. A bushel of 
quick-lime is sufficient for an acre of ground.—F'..S. 
To destroy Rats.—At page 853 of the Chronicle of last 
year, there is a description, by J. Parks, of a trap for 
catching rats, to which I beg to offer the following im- 
provement. Instead of the hole being left open in the lid, 
a light tin trap-door should be fitted to it, and this should 
be fixed with a very weak wire spring, just strong enough 
to raise the door to its proper place whenever a rat drops 
into the hogshead. This door must, for a few days at 
first, be fastened up with a button, during which time 
some food should be placed upon it, to induce the rats to 
frequent it, Afterwards, the bait should be secured to the 
trap-door, so that it may not fall off when the rat drops 
into the water—D.M.C. 
Gold Fish.—At p. 857 of last year’s Chronicle a cor- 
respondent inquires as to the best way to keep Gold Fish 
alive through the winter. I therefore take the liberty of 
making a few remarks on the subject. Your corres- 
pondent appears to bestow much unnecessary trouble upon 
the Fish ; for I consider once in a week, or a fortnight, is 
quite often enough to change the water; for which pur- 
pose pond water is preferable to rain, which, when taken 
from a tub or tank, supplied from the roofs of buildings 
where there are chimneys, must contain particles of soot, 
and these are no doubt injurious to the Fish. The reason 
why they so often die when kept in glass globes is owing 
to the change of water from warm to cold. The globes 
are commonly placed close to a window, where the heat 
of [the sun in summer and of the fires in winter must 
make the water warm, and I believe the general prac- 
tice is to change it about once ina week. As the tempe- 
rature of the fresh water must therefore be a great deal 
lower than that removed, it is no wonder that persons so 
often failin keeping their Fishes alive. It would be a 
better plan to raise the water to the same temperature as 
that which it is to replace. I am not aware whether it is 
generally known that there are two varieties of Gold Fish ; 
one the Chub Headed or Dutch, the other of a brighter 
colour, and more tapering shape. The latter is bred by 
several persons in this neighbourhood, who keep them in 
ponds during the winter. Perhaps the Dutch Fishes 
are more tender than the other variety, as a correspondent 
at p. 6 says, that he lost all his which were of that kind. 
My pond is rather singularly situated ; being in the high- 
est part of my garden, which has a steep slope towards 
the north-east. It is, therefore, one of the coldest as- 
pects that can be; particularly as this part of the country 
is very elevated. The depth of the pond at this season is 
about three feet, and its dimensions 14 by 12 feet; the 
waste water being carried off by a drain. It is formed out 
of the solid clay, and is supplied entirely by the rain, 
which filters through the clay, and which being impreg- 
nated with iron, is very hard; since the sun scarcely ever 
shines upon its surface for two or three months in the 
winter. About four years ago I stocked it with twenty 
brace of Gold fish, of various sizes. I have never 
Since fed or removed them; all that Ido in frosty weather 
is, to break the ice every morning, or, if very severe, 
twice during the day. I have only lost three, and that 
was from my neglecting to break the ice one day when 
the frost was very intense. The ice does not require to 
be broken more than three or four feet square in one 
place, unless the pond is of a large size; it should also be 
thrown out, in order that it may not again congeal toge- 
ther. I ought to mention that my pond is formed in the 
centre of a hollow space, having a narrow path round its 
margin, and a sloping bank five feet wide, which prevents 
its being dried wp in the summer. There is a white 
Water-Lily in the centre, and the Fish are very fond of 
collecting under the shade of its beautiful round leaves in 
hot weather. My Fish are at this time from two to nine 
inches in length ; and, of various colours, from the brown 
to the finest gold and scarlet: and in a sammer’s day, 
they are one of the prettiest objects ina garden. They 
thrive well thus treated, and breed every season. Your 
