358 
THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
[May 27, 
grow, with the stalk uppermost. We never wipe them. 
T sent, a few days since, some hundreds, of a kind not over 
good for keeping, to a friend, and have now many hun- 
dreds more. We have kept them till the new crop came 
in. This year we do not consider a good year for their 
keeping.—J. B. H. 
Charcoal.—As I consume a large quantity of Charcoal, 
I should be obliged if you, or any of your correspondents, 
would inform me of the manner of manufacturing it, as 
well as the cheapest, most simple, and most economical 
way, with as little immediate outlay as possible, or in a 
way which might be considered ultimately, and on a large 
scale, the best and the most economical by the outlay of 
capital for any particular construction of works or 
machinery.—J.K. [It must be ground into fine powder 5 | 
that is the main point. 
Sash Bars.—In humid seasons I dare say many of 
your readers have had to deplore the loss of Melon-plants 
in dung-frames, by ‘‘damping off,” caused by the drop 
from the astragals and side-bars of the lights, in conse- 
quence of bad glazing ; together with the vapour arising 
from the vapour condensing on the under-surface of the 
glass, running down the astragals, &c.,and falling from their 
lower edges on theplants. To obviate this evil, I had a 
ar 
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z 
g 
eb urge Ee 
Senn no === a 
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8 
frame made and fitted up with astragals and side-bars, as 
shown in the above section, which requires no further 
explanation than that aa are grooves, which catch the 
rain-water which finds its way inside, and the condensed 
vapour, carrying it to the bottom of the lights, instead of | 
dropping on the surface of the bed. 6b are grooves to 
insert the ends of the glass on Mr. Read’s excellent plan, 
which was published some years since in the Horticul- 
tural Transactions. I may observe, that vapour condenses 
sooner on glass than on wood,; but seldom drops from it, 
but finds its way to the astragals—providing the pieces of 
glass are neither cut curvilinear, nor the under-sides con- 
vex, but flat, and cut rectangular; then the groove a will 
totally prevent dropping in the frame, and the evil con- 
sequences it induces, which 1 have proved this season. 
The frame above mentioned, was placed side by side-on a 
dung-bed with another new one, of the common con- 
struction ; the former is free from drop, the latter shows 
stripes of drops directly under the astragals, &c., all over 
the bed; and as the tank system of heating is likely to 
become general, as it well merits, I have no doubt the 
grooved astragal and bar will in some cases become useful. 
—J. Stevenson, 
Wood-Paving.—In your leading article, May 13, you 
mention Messrs, Esdaile and Margrave’s patent for cap- 
ping the Firblocks with Elm. I would ask what advan- 
tage is contemplated from using two kinds of timber in 
preference to Elm alone ? Elm is nearly the cheapest 
timber to be had, not being worth more than from 1s. to 
1s, 2d. per foot, and it is known to be very durable when 
constantly wet, and probably more so than Fir, when 
exposed to alternations of moisture and dryness.—Lusor, 
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 
Paris; May 15, 1843.—The annual exhibition of the 
Paris Horticultural Society was heldin the Orangery of 
the Luxembourg Palace, on the 10th May and four follow- 
ing days. As heretofore, it consisted of a miscellaneous 
collection of flowers, fruit, vegetables, grains, paintings, 
tools, and other objects connected with horticultural 
pursuits. The weather was favourable each day, and 
nearly all the fashionables of Paris graced the room 
with their presence. Among the earliest visitors were 
the Duke and Duchess of Nemours. The show (with 
some few exceptions) was far from brilliant ; and this 
cannot be wondered at—for what Amateur or Florist 
would subject a rare or fine specimen to the atmo- 
sphere of such a place for five successive days ? Bat if 
there was not much to attract the notice of the connois- 
seur, there was enough to please the sight-gazers of Paris, 
who were daily seen thronging this temple, and offering 
their adorations to the vernal goddess. The hest collection 
was decidedly that of M. Paillet, who obtained the first 
prize for Rhododendrons. His plants of Atro-roseum, 
Comtesse de Vogiie, Glabrum, Triumphant, Grandiflorum 
superbum, Comte de Rambuteau, Altaclerense superbum, 
Lowenianum, Rubrum plenum grandifiorum, Morelianum, 
and album pictum, were grand, and would have done 
credit to an English exhibition. Besides these he had 
several very distinct seedlings, one a dark crimson, and 
another a rose lilac, very deeply spotted. Unfortunately 
they were not numbered, and therefore it will be useless to 
describe them. In his stand was also a fine specimen of 
Azalea indica coccinea grandiflora, such as is seldom to 
be seen on this side of the water. The next most attractive 
collection was that of M. Margottin. This consisted of 
Roses in pots, and was awarded a first prize. The 
varieties were chiefly Bengals, Teas, and Hybrids, culti- 
vated on standards, or half-standards, varying from 1 to 
6 feet high. Most of the blooms were fine, and the plants 
in good health; but, to an English eye, the naked stems 
looked anything but appropriate in a public exhibition, 
Among the best specimens were Reine des Hes Bourbon, 
Clara Sylvain, Bougére, Comte de Paris, Princesse 
Héléne, Duchesse de la Valliére, Adam, Madame Breon, 
Fulgovie, Sulphurea (old yellow), Sisley, Emile Courtier, 
Lady Warrender, Triomphe du Luxembourg, Rose du 
Roi, Melanie Corneil, Paul Joseph, Niphetos, and Comte 
de Paris du Luxembourg. The bright golden flowers of 
the old yellow Provence attracted universal admiration. 
M.M. Cels never fail to send a large collection;—in fact, 
without the assistance of their hot and greenhouses I 
know not what the Society would do on these occasions. 
At this time they furnished 500 or 600 plants, Palms, 
Orchidaceze, Cacti, Ericas, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, 
Conifer, and a multitude of other things, in and out of 
bloom, from all the four quarters of the globe. Their 
Cacti are the best in Paris; they pride themselves on 
their collection, and spare no expense in adding every 
thing rare. Very many of their specimens are large and 
fine, particularly Echinocactus electracanthus, acuatus, 
macrodiscus, aulacogonus, piliferus, cornigerus, Echi- 
nopsis Zuccarini, multiplex, and Melocactus, nova species, 
from Brazil. They also exhibited the beautiful Mammil- 
laria elephantidens, which every collector of Cacti ought 
to possess. Among their Orchidacew were good plants of 
Brassia Cawanii, with its curiously-formed flowers, Tri- 
chopilia tortilis, Oncidium carthaginense and ampliatum, 
Cyrtochilum maculatum, and Phaius bicolor; together with 
a fair specimen of Azalea indica variegata, an Araucaria 
excelsa and imbricata, 12 feet high, and Cedrus deodara. 
The gold medal, offered by the Duchess of Orleans, was 
awarded to M. Tripet Leblanc, for a collection of more than 
700 cut Tulips ; these were arranged in glasses, at regular 
distances, between which was moss or leaves, and the 
whole covered with light earth, in a raised bed about 50 
feet long, neatly edged with turf. The illusion was so 
complete as to give them every appearance of being in 
their natural state of cultivation. The varieties were 
entirely confined to Roses and Bybloemens, for Bizarres 
are altogether discarded here : even Polyphemus in all its 
beauty would not be tolerated. I must not scrutinize too 
closely the quality of the flowers; suffice it to say they 
were not cut to appear at Hampton ; and therefore passed 
as a fine collection, M. Tripet Leblanc deserves credit 
for his zeal; for certainly few men beside himself, in 
France, would have made the sacrifice for the sake of the 
prize. M. Dufoy obtained the first prize for Pelargo- 
niums, which he had grown for the markets : most of them 
were old varieties of little merit, save that of blooming 
freely. He also exhibited several very good Verbenas, 
and a dozen Dahlias in bloom. M., Chauvicre obtained 
the second prize for Pelargoniums; among which were 
Priory Queen, Mr. Garth, Flamingo, Onais, Sidonia, and 
Gauntlet; and a prize for seedling Calceolarias and Cine- 
rarias, which, however, would have passed unnoticed in 
London, M. Modeste was awarded the first prize for 
Ponies ; Josephine Imperatrice, incarnata, Victcria, 
Hissiana, triumphans, splendidissima, and splendens, were 
very fine, especially the latter, which has a fine round 
petal, although single. He also obtained the second prize 
for Rhododendrons : his plants of Formosissimum, Lowe 
album, Lady Warrender, and Invincible, were every- 
thing that could be wished. M. Soulange Bodin exhibited 
a large collection of hardy and Indian Azaleas, which fully 
deserved the prize awarded, Versicolor, purpurea gran- 
diflora, i major, ilissi p bilis, formosa, 
triumphans, coccinea maxima, bouquet parfait, tricolor 
perfecta, splendens, fulgens, picta, rubicunda superba, 
pontica alba, Danielsii, and variegata, were conspicuous 
in beauty, M. Jacques, the King’s gardener at Neuilly, 
exhibited several seedlings of herbaceous Peeonies, which 
were also awarded a prize : some of them are pretty and 
distinct, and will no doubt get into the trade. The ama- 
teurs contributed but little, and that hardly worth notice. 
M. Souchet obtained a prize for flowering plants which 
might have been purchased in any market for 100 francs. 
The fruit and vegetables were not at all worthy of a city 
like Paris. M. Gontier (the Wilmot of Paris) was 
awarded the prize for Grapes, Melons, Cucumbers, &c. 
M. Devillenguve sent 40 varieties of Oranges and Lemons, 
in fruit and flower; this stand was always crowded with 
visitors. The speci of Pompel Bigaradier 
Grand Bourbon, doré, violet, Oranger a bois violet, 
Perrette de Florence, and Limonier Incomparable, were 
very fine. There were two or three other prizes given, 
and three or four mentioned as honorables, but the subjects 
contained nothing worthy of particular attention. The 
entire exhibition was composed of about 2,500 plants, 
beside paintings, models, tools, &c. 
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
May 25.—Mr. Edward Solly, in his third lecture again adverted 
to the singular agencies which cause the conversion of such 
products as gum, sugar, starch, &c., one into the other. This 
was shown to be caused, in plants, by the presence of an azotised 
substance, called diastase, which, in germinating seeds, brings 
about with rapidity the same kind of alterations as the chemist 
produces artificially by means of inorganic substances. High 
heat, or sulphuric acid, or caustic potash will, in the presence of 
water, suddenly change insoluble starch into soluble gum; the 
germinating plant, although it has neither high heat, nor sul- 
phuric acid, nor caustic potash to assist it, has diastase, whi 
brings about the same result as those inorganic agents. Malting 
was adduced in_illustration of this. Mr. Solly next directed 
attention to the inorganic matter that forms part of the consti- 
tuents of vegetation, and referred to the table produced last 
week, in- illustration of the quantity that is found to exist in 
plants. These inorganic substances remain in the form of ashes 
when plants are burnt, and then we are able to determine their 
nature: this was illustrated, in the case of ashes from the Beech- 
tree, by the performance of a chemical analysis; when potash 
was detected by tartaric acid, chlorine by nitrate of silver, sulphuric 
acid by baryta, carbonie acid by muriatic acid, lime by oxalate 
f ammonia, magnesia by phosphate of ammonia, earthy phos- 
phates by ammonia, silica by its insolubility, and so on. 
All this showed that plants obtain their food either from the 
air or the soil, which were next proved to be capable of yield- 
ing it, In addition to oxygen and nitrogen, which by their 
mixture form the atmosphere, it was shown that there is 
constantly suspended in it, water furnishing hydrogen, car- 
bonic acid, and ammonia, The latter compound is not, 
ever, discoverable, because it is dissolved in water as fast as 
it is formed, and therefore only occurs in the water precipitated 
fi 
fact its presence may be detected for four 
ours after such an experiment. It is probable that soda is 
volatizable in a similar manner. The fact that it is so, was 
proved by an instance which Mr. Solly had obtained from the 
Horticultural Garden. Two ints of a Catasetum were taken, 
one growing in earth, the other in air, Their analysis gave the 
following curious result :— 
rowing in air, Growing in earth. 
Pseudo-bulbs , 465 parts of solid matter. 488 
Leaves 794 798 
N ‘o be inferred that in such a case the solid matter must: 
have been supplied as abundantly by the air as by the soil. (Chis 
is a most curious, and in practice a most important fact.) 
With regard to the soil, it must be evident that it is capable of 
supplying all earthy substances found in the composition of 
plants. e great difficulty of comprehending how such earthy 
substances get into plants consists in the supposition that they 
are insoluble. But their solubility was proved in the 
of flint, or silica, by the condition of that earth (or acid) in 
combination with alkalies ; silicate of potash, for instance, being 
shown to be perfectly soluble, and the flint in it being separated 
instantly when brought into contact with acids. The solubility 
of sulphate of lime (the earth called gypsum) was also demon- 
strated by apretty experiment. Carbonate of lime was formed, 
by driving the carbonic acid of the breath through lime-water ; 
this rendered the water turbid. A few drops of sulphuric acid were 
then added, which expelled the carbonic acid, and seized upon the 
lime, necessarily forming sulphate of lime, which, however, 
remained dissolved in the water. This experiment, and that of 
yolatising potash, were both capital. 
Chiswick Show.—By accidental oversight the collections of 
Roses in pots were not noticed in our report of last week. Tt will 
be seen by the list of prizes then given that the judges did not 
award the principal one, it not being thought to be merited. The 
winners of other medals will also be found in that list. On 
account of the first prize not being given, we reserye all remark 
on the plants till the June show, when we intend referring to 
them amply. 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 
A WEEKLY Council was held at the Society’s House, in Han- 
over-square, on the 17th of May, the Marquis of Downshire in 
the chair, Nineteen gentlemen were elected Members of the 
Society. i 
he Marquis of Downshire gave notice that he should 
call the attention of the Council at their next monthly meeting 
to the question of taking into consideration the propriety of the 
Society’s recommending a course of public lectures to be gi 
jn London by Mr. Smith, of Deanston, on the subject of Thorough- 
raining and Subsoil-ploughing, similar to those he had recently 
delivered with so much success in Ireland.—A lettet was rea‘ 
from Mr. Kerr on the subject of grated tiles to prevent the 
entrance of vermin into drains; and a specimen of the mode of 
preparing tiles for a similar purpose suggested by Mr. Barton, of 
Threxton, was exhibited to the meeting.—Mr. Clive expressed. 
his intention of exhibiting at the Derby meeting a cheap fire- 
engine of simple construction, throwing 25 gallons of water each 
minute. Mr. Dayenportinformed the Council that he had formed 
a fire-engine on reweather’s construction, very cheap and 
effective ; and Col. Challoner stated that Mr. Sherborne, of Bed- 
font, employed a single-actioned engine with fly-wheel to prepare 
his manure with water in the sammer.—The Marqui 
shire presented the yearly Report of the Royal Agricultural Im- 
t Society of Ireland; and Mr. Butsford, of Portland- 
place, a specimen of the Guinea-Grass from seed sown last 
spring at Hampton Lodge, near Farnham, Surrey, Mr. Butsford 
stating that this grass in Jamaica grows to the height of five 
et, and is considered as unrivalled for cattle.—Mr. Whitlaw 
offered some remarks on the distemper among stock, 
ORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Arthe general meeting for the exhibition of Tulips and Hearts- 
ease, class-showing and seedlings, there were no Tulips from 
mateurs, and the following is a list of the remainder:—Class- 
showing, Heartsease, AMATHURS : a prize to Mr. Bragg for—Curion, 
edged; Sulphureaelegans, yellow; Bragg’s White, white; Jewess 
superb, dark. Tulips, NuRsERYMEN : Mr. Brown’s Flamed Rose, 
1st, Triomphe Royale ; Orson’s do., 2d, do. Mr. Brown’s Feathered. 
Byblcemen, Ist, Franciscus Primus ; Mr. Orson’sdo., 2d, do. Mr. 
Brown’s Flamed Bybleemen, 1st, Salvator Rosa; Mr. Orson’s do., 
2d, Rubens. Mr. Brown’s feathered Bizarre, 1st, Ulysses ; tr. 
, 2d, Chadwick’s Trafalgar. Mr. Brow: 
Bizarre, Ist, Strong’s King; Mr. Orson’s do., 
Heartsease, Mr. Brown, yellow, Sulphurea elegans; edged, 
‘urion; white, Brown’s Maid of the Mill. Mr. Cook, Longwick, 
dark, Black Bess, Seedling Tuli Mr. Brown’s Ulysses, 
Feathered Bizarre, 1st class. Heartsease, Mr. Cook, Delight, 1843, 
1 bloom, Ist class; Mr. Bragg, Elizabeth, 1843, 1 bloom, ad 
class: these three flowers were noticed last week. Rejected— 
Mr. Cook’s Paragon, Lady Jane, and Miss Betsy. 
BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, 
May 19.—J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., &c., President, in the chair. 
The following donations were announced:—A collection 0) 
plants from Western Australia, from Mr. John Turner: this col- 
lection comprises many duplicates. British plants from Mr- 
Edwin Lees, Mr. A. Henfrey, Mr. Freeman, and Miss Twining+ 
Various donations to the library were also announced. Mr. 
A. Henfrey, A.L.S., exhibited specimens of Leucojum zstivum, 
collected in Greenwich marshes, He also presented specimens 
of Dentaria bulbifera, collected at Haretield, Middlese Mr- 
William Andrews presented specimens of varietie f Sa 
i i ies were thickly surrounding 
imens were collected at the Great Blasquest 
Island, coast of Kerry, Ireland. ‘There was read a ‘Notice 0 
the discovery of two species of Fungi, new to the British Flora, 
y Dr. Philip B. Ayres;’’? Peziza corticalis, found on Woodbine, 
between Stokenchurch, Oxfordshire, and Cadmore End, and 
Hystericum rubrum, found on Bean-stalks at Aston Rowant, and 
‘Tetsworth, Oxfordshire. Specimens of these new species Re, 
presented to the Society by Dr. Ayres. The commencement ¢ 
a paper by Mr. Edwin Lees, F’. “fon the groups into which 
the British Fruticose Rubi ar 
= 
FE 
e divisible” was also read. Tbe 
paper was accompanied by drawings and specimens, 
ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
This Society held their first garden exhibition iD the 
ircle, Regent’s Park. ‘The morning of the day Wee 
extremely threatening, and the rains which fell so saturated ue 
ground with moisture, that planks were obliged to be Jaid ; 
some of the show-tents and on the tarf for the company to W 
9 o’clock, however, the weather cleared, a 
exhibitors bringing the same plants. 
such as Orchidacese and Azaleas, it was much below the 
‘ . 1. + e se 
Chiswick gathering; but the collections of stove and greenlowty 
plants, and particularly the Pelargoniums, were abundaD at 
splendid. As we fully reported the plants which were Rae 
Chiswick, we shall not repeat the description of those whic ave 
ing 
brought forward again on this occasion, confining oUF ‘abe 
