1843.] ‘ 
THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
647 
eight prizes. Another (Mr. White), obtained the prize for Barley, 
competing against opponents from the district of the Hutt. The 
tion of the Society. Several additional subscribers’ names were 
received, and Mr. Molesworth has very liberally contributed the 
sum of 5/, for himself and family. His Excellency the Acting 
Governor, during his stay here, also subscribed to the funds of 
the Society. The following is a list of the prizes :—VEGETABLE: 
Firs Prize: —12 Potatoes and 12 Pods of Peas, Dr. Feather- 
ston. 6 Pods of Beans, C. Pharazyn, Esq. 6 Kidney Beans, R. 
Stokes, Esq. 2 Heads of Cauliflower, F. A 5 
4 Cabbages, Mr. James. 4 Lettuces, 6 Carrots, and 4 Turnips, F. A. 
6 Scurlet Runners, H.Knowles, Esq. 6 Onion: 
eks, Mr. R. 2 Roots of Beet, Rev. J 
2 Roots of Mangel Wurzel and Sample of Wheat, 
6 Stalks of Rhubarb, R. Stokes, 
. Barton, Esq. Sample of Barley, Mr. 
n. of Potherbs (9 different sorts), Mr. Scutchings. 
12 Potatoes and 6 Roots of Garlic, Mr. James ; 
6 Potutoes (extra prize), and 6 Carrots, F. A. Molesworth, Esq. 5 12 
P H. St. Hill, Esq.; 6 Pods of Beans and 6 Onions, E. 
Johnson, Esq.; 2 Heads of Cauliflower, Mr. Wilkinson; 4 Cub- 
bages of two varieties and 2 Roots of Beet, R, Stokes, Esq.; 
Onions (extra prize), F. V. Martin, Esq. ; 4 Turnips of two varieties, 
White ; Do. (eatra prize), Col. Wakefield ; 2 Roots of Mangel 
Wurzel, E, Catchpool, Esq.; Sumple of Wheat, Mr. T. Mason. 
Frouirs,—First Prize :—Melon, E. Johnson, Esq. Cucumber, 
(grown in a frame), F. A. Molesworth, Esq.; Raspberries, E. 
Catchpool. Esq. Sktconp Prizk:—Melon, ¥, A. Molesworth, 
Esq. ; Cucumber (grown in the open air), Mr. Scutchings; Cape 
Gooseberries (extra prize), Col. Wakefield. Frowers.-~Firsr 
1zk :—Dahlia, Mr, Brady; Seedling Pansy, 6 Pansies, gna 
i Scutchiugs; a 
oa 
Seedlin, g : : 3 Be 
sams, and Device,Mr. Wilkinson ; 12 Annuals, 4 Stocks of varieties, 
two of each, and Bouquet of two Flowers, E. Johnson, Esq. ; 
Collection of Native Plants, Hu EXTRA 
c 
Picotees, R. Stokes, 
Violet, — Willes, Esq. Suconn Prize:—Bouquet of Flowers, R. 
Stokes, Esq.; Best Collection of Seeds of Native Plants, Mr, 
Hurst; 2d do., H. Tiffen, Esq. Prizes For THE NATIVES :— 
‘ond largest do., Pumepi. Cor- 
ietics of Vegetables, Mr. White ; 
w Zealand Colonist. 
TAcERS’ Prizus: Best four var 
Second best do., Mr. James.— Ne 
Counrry Suows.—Erratum.—In the Berwick Horticultural So- 
ciety’s Show, p. 591, the name of the person who gained the 
prize for the best quart of Green Peas, in pod, should have been 
Mr. T. M‘Dougal, instead of J. M‘Dougal. 
NOTICES or NEW PLANTS WHICH ARE EITHER 
SEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL. 
Cy’tisus WeLpe/nu. Dalmatian Laburnum. (Hardy Shrub.) 
eguminosee, § Papiliondcese. Diadélphia Decdndria.—This plant 
is obviously distinguished from the Scotch Laburnum by its 
lowers growing in short erect racemes, and not in long drooping 
ones, Although, from its similarity in foliage to the Laburnum, 
hearer Cytisus sessilifSlius, of which it may be almost regarded 
asagigantic form. To what size it will grow is unknown— 
bably eight or ten fect high; but on its Dalmatian mountains it is 
Said to bea bush. The poisonous quality of the common Laburnum 
is still more concentrated in this species, as we are told by the 
German botanists. The General Baron Welden, after whom it is 
Ramed, assuring us that its very flowers produce headache, and 
that the goats which feed on it produce poisonous milk. [Bu' 
how is it, then, that the goats themselves do not die ?]—Bot. Reg. 
ENANTHERA MATUTINA. Morning Renanthera. (Stove Epi- 
Phyte.) Orchiddcee. Andew—Sarcanthide. Gyndndria Mo- 
héndria.— Although this plaut bears no comparison with the 
Magnificent China species on which the genus was founded, yet 
it is very far from being unworthy of cultivation. Indeed, by 
the number of hough not bril- 
liancy, of 
Ronpes’TtA LONGIFLORA. Long-flowered Rondeletia. (Green- 
house Shrub.) Cinchonécez. Pentaéndria Mondégynia,—This is 
ie} 
Phyte.) Orchiddcee § Vandex. Gyndudria Mondndria,—This 
furious little plant, allied to the rare Oncidium barbatum, in- 
habits trees in the forests of the Organ Mountains of Brazil, 
ere it was found in April, 1841, by Mr. Gardner. For its intro- 
duction to gardens we are indebted to Sir C, Lemon, who r 
dit i 
The two lower ones are undivided, and narrow at the base. ‘The 
Petals are similar in colour to the sepals, but rather shorter, and 
almost twice as wide, recurved at the point, and undulated at 
the margin. The plant appears to grow in large masses on the 
moist Stove, suspended from one of the rafters.— Botanical 
egister, 
conjugate spikes, the grain being arranged on the outer 
edge of either spike. ‘‘The ground,’” says Mr. Clarke, 
‘ig cleared for its reception by burning down the copse- 
wood and hoeing between the roots and stumps. It is 
sown in the months of May and June, the ground being 
slightly opened, and again lightly drawn together over the 
seeds with a hoe. In August, when it shoots up, itis 
carefully weeded. It ripens in September, growing to 
the height of about eighteen inches, and its stems, which 
are very slender, are then bent to the earth by the mere 
weight of the grain. The patch of land is then either 
suffered to lie fallow, or is planted with Yams or Cassada, 
in rotation. Experienced cultivators of this Lilliputian 
grain have assured me that manure is unnecessary,—nay, 
injurious, as it delights in light soils, and it is even raised 
on rocky situations, which are most frequent in and about 
Kissy. When cut ‘down, it is tied up in small sheaves 
and placed in a dry situation within the hut ; for if 
allowed to remain on the ground, and to become wet, the 
grains become agglutinated to their coverings. The grain 
is trodden out with the feet, and is then parched or dried 
in the sun, to allow of the more easy removal of the chaff 
in the process of pounding, which is performed in wooden 
mortars. It is afterwards winnowed with a kind of cane 
fanner on mats. In preparing this delicious grain for 
food it is first put into boiling water, in which it is 
assiduously stirred for a few minutes; the water is then 
poured off, and the Foulahs, Joloffs, &c. add to it palm- 
oil, butter, or milk; but the Europeans and Negroes 
connected with the colony prepare it as follows: to the 
grain cooked as above mentioned, fowl, fish, or mutton, 
with a small piece of salt pork for the sake of flavour, is 
added, the whole being then stewed in a close saucepan. 
This makes a very good dish, and thus prepared, resembles 
‘* Kouskous.’”? The grain is sometimes made into pud- 
dings, with the usual condiments, and eaten either hot or 
cold with milk. By the few natives of Scotland in the 
colony it is dressed as milk-porridge. This grain could 
be raised in sufficient quantities to become an important 
article of commerce; and I have no doubt would prove a 
valuable addition to the list of light farinaceous articles of 
food in use among the delicate or convalescent,’’ The 
sample with which Mr. C. has favoured us, is, before pre- 
paration, ofa clear dull brown colour, When cleaned from 
the husks, it will resemble, we imagine, very fine millet. 
Receipt for making Grape Wine.—Water, 4} gallons, 
beer measure; Grapes, 5 gallons, beer measure, crushed 
and soaked in the water seven days; sugar, 174 lbs.,at 104d. 
per lb.—the Grapes, perhaps, 5s. The cask in which it 
was made held exactly 6% gallons, beer measure, and pro- 
duced 34 bottles of wine clear. A bottle of the above 
wine kept ten years, and proved very good.—Loudon’s 
Gardeners’ Magazine. 
Improvement in the Cultivation of Hops.—The Rev. 
Mr. Formby, vicar of Frinsbury, has the credit of sug- 
gesting this, which consists in stretching a stout wire 
along each alley, to which wire the poles are fastened. 
The advantages are, that poles of much less value than 
those usually employed may be used ; that. injmy from 
gales of wind is avoided; and that the alleys being open 
to the influence of the sun and air, the mould, that fatal 
disease of the Hop, is prevented. At Halling, near 
Rochester, a garden of nine acres thus cultivated affords 
a most pleasing sight.— Country Paper. 
Dr. Joseph Hooker.—We, have great. pleasure in 
announcing the safe return of this excellent Naturalist, 
after all the perils of the adventurous voyage of discovery 
in which he was engaged. We understand that his 
collections in Botany are ample, considering the poverty 
of the countries he visited. Among other valuable plants 
which he has already been the means of introducing, are 
the Tussack grass of the Falklands, with the Winter’s 
Bark and Evergreen Beech of the Straits of Magellan. 
GARDEN M&#MORANDA. 
Windsor.—For the first time in my life, I have been sojourning 
for a few days in the good and loyal town of Windsor. As Thad 
heard much of the castle and its noble and commanding terrace, 
I first directed my steps thither. I will not attempt to describe 
xperienced as I traversed the magnificent 
hundred times, and if nothing be so ‘ tedious 
tale,’” it would be very bad taste in me to launch out upon atopic 
which has been so often exhauste Let us turn then to a sub. 
ject which combines within itself all the charms of novelty, and 
jin which nature an seem to vie with each other, in their 
endeavour to excite our admiration and surprise; and such a 
subject was brought under my notice by a visit to the new Royal 
Gardens, situated at Frogmore, about a mile from the castle. J 
had often heard of the great operations which were carrying on 
within this spacious area; but I confess J was not prepared to 
expect such a coup-d’@il as greeted my approach to the forcing 
department of the gardens. Let any one imagine a range of 
Horticultural buildings, upwards of 900 feet in length, all com- 
posed exclusively of metal and glass, and presenting the elegant 
and fairy-like appearance peculiar to these structures, although 
united at the same time with real strength and durability. Then 
let him enter this noble range of forcing-houses by the door at 
the eastern end, and, looking directly before him, he will com- 
mand a vista of 400 feet, comprising a greenhouse, two pineries, 
two peach-houses, and a vinery, each one communicating with 
the other by means of a glazed corridor or lobby; and all the 
doors being stationed exactly opposite to the one by which the 
range is entered, an effect is produced which no words can ade- 
quately describe. Then, as the visitor leisurely walks through 
the range, let him narrowly inspect the details of the buildings, 
e sashes or lights 
of rolled or wroughtiron, But another and more striking pecu- 
liarity which he cannot fail to observe is, that the whole range of 
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from 24 to 30 inches long, and of such @ thickness as to obviate 
all danger of breakage from ordinary causes, whilst that which 
arises from the action of frost is effectually prevented by the 
curved form in which the ends of the panes are cut, and by the 
insertion of an ingeniously contrivedlead-lap between each pane. 
e particulars which I have thus noticed with reference to the 
occur.— C. Thomas, Aug. 24. 
Edmunds.—Amongst the young trees at 
this place are some which seem worthy of notice. In none 
Donglasii noted as having been at all equal to what has been 
witnessed here. Sir Henry Bunbury received from the Horti- 
cultural Society a little plant in a pot, in March, 1830; in the 
spring of 1831 it was planted out. It is now, as nearly as can be 
ascertained, 35 feet high: the spread of its branches 13 feet 
and the girth of its stem, at one foot and a half from the ground, 
30 inches. This summer, for the first time, this beautiful tree is 
bearing cones. Next to the Douglasii, P. Coulteri has been 
the most rapid in its growth. But a young P. insignis is 
now growing at a prodigious rate. One of the finest trees here 
inata, which was planted in August, 1925. It 
rs. There is no such symptoms here in those growing on 
clay with the greatest vigour and beauty. Possibly in the former 
cases the roots have got down to hard chalk. 
Mebiews. 
Dr. Justus Liebig, in his Relation to Vegetable Physi- 
ology. By Dr. Hugo Mohl. (Dr. Justus Liebig’s 
Verhiltniss zur Pflanzen-Physiologie.) Tubingen, 
Frues. 1843. ¥ 
(Continued from page 632.) 
The assumption (continues Dr. Moh!) that the organ’ 
of plants consist of gluten, albumen, and wood, and that 
other constituents, like sugar, starch, &c., are mere secré- 
tions, is decidedly wrong in an anatomical point of view, 
for the solid substance of all organs consists of woody 
fibre alone, and all the other ingredients are merely pre- 
served in the cellulaz substance, &c. The same objection 
may, be raised against the opinion, that starch, gum, &c., 
preserved in the cells, are mere excrements, and not con- 
stituent parts of the organ. On the other hand, Dr. 
Mohl considers Liebig’s opinion, that a greater amount 
of nitrogen is required for forming woody fibre, than 
sugar, gum, starch, &c., as perfectly true. This is cor- 
roborated by the experiments of Payen, who found in all 
young organs, while in a state of vigorous development, 
an abund of nitrog jui hich leads to the 
conclusion that nitrogenous substances are essential to the 
development of new elementary organs, a position fully 
borne out by recent microscopical experiments on the 
formation of the cellular tissue in plants. If this is the 
case, we may also assume that the formation of substances 
nearly related to woody fibre, suchas sugar, gum, and starch, 
requires also a certain amount of nitrogen; and that a less 
amount, although it may suffice for the abundant forma- 
tion of those substances, will only produce a small amount 
of woody fibre, is an opinion adopted by Liebig. It may 
be also assumed, that if such an amount of nitrogen as 
is sufficient for the formation of a moderate quantity of 
woody fibre, is to be divided between the formation of 
gum and other similar substances (composed of carbonic 
acid and water,) and that of woody fibre—the same 
amount of nitrogen might suffice for the formation of a 
greater amount of woody fibre, and therefore, for 
the more vigorous growth of the plant; in those cases 
where the plant has already absorbed part of its food in 
the form of substances, which (being composed of carbonic 
acid and water) have also attained the first degree of vege- 
table assimilation. 
Liebig believes, that, in this case, the function of the 
leaves will be impaired. This, however, it is impossible 
to decide, ‘‘ as we have not even an idea of the variations 
which the assimilative process may undergo, according to 
the difference of the substances on which plants feed. 
It is also, in most cases, less essential to know whether 
plants absorb only organic substances and water, than 
whether it is necessarily in conjunction with inorganic 
matter, that such absorption takes place ; in which case, 
the digestion (Verarbeitung) of inorganic substances would 
no! ded; but, in j ion with this assimi- 
lative process, another and different one would make its 
appearance.” To decide on the existence of these pro- 
cesses, it would be necessary to know the metamorphoses 
which food undergoes in plants. But this is not the case, 
as we neither are aware of the manner in which gum or 
Saussure, which have not been hitherto disproved. The 
theory of Liebig, therefore, is untenable, and is equally 
