1843.] 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE, 
461 
facility and with as great certainty as by layering. In 
truth, in my opinion, the trouble of layering Carnations 
is a mere waste of time. 
I perceive Mr. Cripps, of Tunbridge Wells, has been 
putting me right about the origin of the black Nemo- 
phila, His statement may be correct; but though nature 
certainly does perform ‘strange freaks,” I think it far 
more probable that this variety should have originated 
from N. atomaria, which combines the two colours, than 
that it should sport from N. insignis, which does not 
Possess either colour.—W. P. Ayres. 
HOME CORRESPONDENCE. 
Hybrid Plants.—Having noticed in the Gardeners’ 
Chronicle of the 8th of last October, that you intend 
shortly giving to the public a Paper on the Muling of 
Plants, I think it may be rather an interesting fact for 
you to know that my late much-lamented father practised 
it upwards of 50 years ago; be confined himself princi- 
pally to Ericas, with a few exceptions, which I shall notice 
hereafter. I have heard him many times remark, that the 
first plant he operated upon was Erica grandiflora, which 
he set with the pollen of Erica vestita coccinea. The 
variety the admixture produced was called by him, ‘“ Erica 
fulgida, or vestita fulgida. Irom the period he com- 
menced, viz., 1790, until 1841, he succeeded in obtaining 
hearly 90 varieties, comprised in the following list :— 
Erica acuminata Erica ostrina 
” 53 longiflora » =perspicua 
»» Ampulldicea rubra » pinea ‘ 
” a vittata * _ 3 purpirea 
»» Ampullaceoides yy Princeps | 
» Andrewsiana ” vy carne’ 
»» Archeriana » pulchérrima 
»» aristata minor ” 
» aristella » tortuliflora 
x5 Batemdnia »» retorta major 
» Beauméntia »»  Rollissoni 
» blanda » Tubrocalla 
»» bucciniflora », Russelliana 
» Carinata xy» Sprengélii 
x Cavendishiana » sptria 
” lsiana xy suavéolens 
x» Clowesiana »» Swainsoniana 
»» Curviflora rubra »» Dunbariana 
» cylindrica »» Webbiana 
” » Témplea 
»» depressa rubra »» translucens 
» €chiiflora cirnea y» tricolor 
vy eximi a » elegans 
» e€xsurgens coccinea ” »>  impressa 
» Favoides am » major 
” ” élegans ” yy superba 
” ” purptirea » tubiflora 
» formosa » tirgiola 
» grandiflora himilis x undulata 
» Hartndliii » vVentricosa alba 
» hybrida i a cadrnea, 
» impulsa = ” nana 
» inflata 3 oe purptrea. 
stellifera 
” o. Fubra ” 
» Jasminiflora nana xy ©=Vernix rubra. 
” ” ‘ubra » vVestita blanda 
1» Lawrenceana a »  Glegans 
» Linnzana superba a » fagida 
” ” curviflora ” ,  incarnata 
» magnifica ms sy rose 
y» metulaeflora >, Ppinifdlia Glegans 
¥ bicolor > py, Cine 
3 matabilis “4 *, coceinea 
I may mention now a few other plants upon which he tried 
the same experiment. From Azalea nudiflora alba, crossed 
With the pollen of Azalea nudifiora speciosa, he obtained 
a variety called the ‘‘ New Pink;’’ from Rhododendron 
Ponticum and punctatum, avery curious dwarf variety ; a 
few plants of which, 40 yrs. old, are not more than 30 inches 
igh, and in habit like Kalmia latifolia. 1 believe also he 
Succeeded in crossing several kinds of Ixia, Sparaxis, and 
Tritonia, but having no memorandum relating to them I 
Cannot give the names of the varieties so obtained. I must 
hot forget to mention that he raised several varieties of 
elargonium as far back as 1796, one of them was called 
“ Pelargonium quinquevulnerum,” a distinct and pretty 
Variety : I believe it to have been obtained between Pelar- 
fonium ardens and Pelargonium triste.— George Rollis- 
son, F.H.S§., Nursery, Tooting. [Our readers will with 
Us regard this letter as one of great interest. It fixes a 
“ate to the first considerable production of hybrid plants 
Mn this country, and is in many respects a valuable docu- 
Ment for reference. Next week, or the week after, we 
Shall offer some observations upon the great question of 
Procuring hybrid plants; of the first importance not only 
iy gardening, but in husbandry. ] 
Gold Fish.—In the Gardeners’ Chronicle of 29th April 
last are some observations on Gold Fish, by the writer of 
this note. In the following No. are some remarks 
thereon, signed “ J. M.” Absence has been the cause of my 
Not sooner replying to those remarks, and to some queries 
that «J, M.”? has put. He asks, ‘Where did I get the 
uphar minima?’ I answer—that Iam not sure that 
wy broad-leafed Yellow Water-Lily is the Nuphar minima, 
Ur running and stagnant waters, rivulets, and meres, in 
this neighbourhood of Woodbridge have abundance of it. 
The Martlesham, Great Bealings and Little Bealings 
tvers, Rushmere, Loudham (or Ash) mere, and others. 
My Yellow Lily has been some weeks in bloom. Several 
f the blossoms have passed away, others are now out; 
More are coming. ‘There are seldom more than two in 
full bloom at a time. In my tank I have also a yer: 
beautiful White Water-Lily. It has been there I think 
Wo years in a pot. It has now for the first time a single 
This plant is not very rare in the above situa- 
fons ; but it is not so common as the yellow, nor are the 
leaves 8o broad. It has five floating leaves, and others 
Are visible under water ; the blossom is going off. It was 
ag large, when fully expanded, in the two or three warm 
days of last weck, as atea-cup. Its milk-white, waxy- 
looking flower, with the yellow centre, was and is yer: 
iful; so is a yellow blossom, now out, My spreading 
beanti 
| Buck-bean has had many beautiful flowers ; they are gone. 
The sweet-scented Rushes have, perhaps, a dozen or more 
blossoms; they are three or four inches long, prettily 
tapering, nearly as large as one’s little finger. I shall 
gladly assist in furnishing “J. M.” with any of these plants. 
He next asks—‘‘ Does not the stagnant water that for 
four or five years has been in the basin get putrid or dis- 
coloured?’ I answer—no; I am not aware that it does. 
It is at times more or less discoloured ; that is, not 
altogether clear or transparent; dead leaves are removed. 
s I have said, we occasionally start five or six casks of 
fresher water into the tank. None has been put in since 
last autumn ; the copious rains of this spring and summer 
have kept the tank nearly full. ‘* Will the Gold Fish,” 
“J, M.’’next asks, ‘‘live in the water after it is saturated 
with vegetable substances that have been carried into it?” 
To this I answer—what the fish may do after such satu- 
ration I cannot say ; mine live and do well, and seem 
very lively and happy under the circumstances that 
T have described, and while they continue to do so I shall 
make little alteration in my way of treating them. J am 
not aware that I have lost any since my communication 
of April. In warm days the young fishes seem to enjoy 
concealment under the broad leaves of the Yellow Lily ; 
gently moving a leaf will show four or five or more. To 
the last question of ‘J. M.” I can give no further 
reply. The white-blossomed Lily appears healthy, and, 
as I have said, its fully-expanded flower is very beauti- 
ful.— Suffolk. 
Salvia patens.—I observe in a late Chronicle that Mr. 
J. Ross is again carping at a statement made by Mr. W. 
Proctor, maintaining that Salvia patens is not hardy 
enough to withstand without injury, nor to outlive indeed 
the generality of, our British winters in the open ground. 
Mr. P. adduced an instance confirmatory of such state- 
ment, and in instance and affirmation he was quite right. 
Let Mr. R. try the efficacy of his coal-ash and sawdust 
covering to Salvia patens’ roots left over winter in a bed 
cf heavy retentive clayey loam, and in spring he will find 
instead of ‘‘ bursting buds” a ‘‘ beggarly account of 
rotten roots.’? But let him leave others in a well-drained 
bed of light porous soil, and he will find that a very 
slight covering indeed will sufficiently preserve them. It 
is the humidity and changeableness, not the intense cold 
of our winters, that destroy Salvia patens and many 
plants besides. Several plants of Salvia patens planted in 
well-drained pots of light soil, and placed in a situation 
so as to be shaded from the sunshine, but not from the 
weather, have outlived the last winter well with me; and 
others left in the open ground in the situation alluded 
to by Mr. P. have perished, notwithstanding they were, 
what the potted ones were not, well covered.—John 
M‘ Donald. 
The Onion Maggot.—Some few days ago I observed 
that the grub was making sad havoc in my Onion-beds, 
in patches. I directed my man to strew a little nitrate 
of soda on the places which were affected; the result is, 
we lost no more Onions, and_those parts of the beds 
dressed with the soda are of a brilliant green, and much 
finer than any other part,—in fact you can trace to an 
inch where the nitrate of soda had been scattered.— 
Radford. 
Pits for Melons, §¢c.—Vaving several years ago at 
the instance of my master got up a range of pits, &c. for 
growing Melons and Cucumbers, and having had the 
whole construction of them committed to my trust, 
immediately turned my attention to having them con- 
structed in as satisfactory a manner asI could ; and being 
too well aware that pits of which the walls are composed 
of brick or other materials, and having only dung and 
leaves or such like things to constitute the bed on which 
to grow the plants, invariably fall too far away from the 
lass, I thought that I might remedy (at least in some 
degree) that evil, and have made an experiment which 
has given me such entire satisfaction that I feel induced 
to send you the particulars of my plan. There may not, 
however, be anything new in it. I shall just describe my 
progress in it, from the beginning to the end, in order that 
your readers may more fully understand me. Having first 
fixed on the situation and extent of the pits, I had an ex- 
cavation made to a certain depth, and then a foundation 
of flat stones laid all round, on which to build my walls, 
which were of brick. At the same time, I‘had the whole 
range divided into two light compartments; this done, 
the bricks were Jaid on the old pigeon-hole system, keep- 
ing each brick of the first course 5 inches from the other, 
carrying on the division-walls in the same manner and at 
the same time as the other; the second course had 2 
inches at each end of the brick to rest on the under course, 
and so on uxtil I arrived at within 15 inches of the in- 
tended height of my walls, when I had the bricks bedded 
close together with lime, in order to prevent the ingress 
of foul air from the linings outside. On the top of the 
prick wall I had a wooden wall-plate fixed firmly down 
with iron rods, from the bottom of the wall, which proves 
a great support to the walls. The rafters for the sashes 
to stide on were fitted into the wall-plate, having every 
second one portable. The remaining ones were all fixed 
immediately on the top of the division wall, which keeps 
the whole firmly bound together. Ithen had a groove 
cut out of the centre and top of the wall-plate, one inch 
deep and as wide, in which T placed what I have termed 
shifting sides. Having previously prepared them of such 
lengths as exactly to correspond with the length of each 
compartment, these shifting sides, when placed in the 
groove in the wall-plate, were all fixed atthe ends by a 
small notch, which kept the whole range, with the assist- 
ance of the upper rafters, in a firm position ; the two ends 
of course were made to correspond with the sides in re- 
ol 
gard to shifting. My reason for having the shifting sides 
of short lengths, that is, to correspond with the exact 
length of my divisions, was (if necessary) to have 1, 2, or 
3 parts in operation at one time, when I could put on or 
take off, more or less, as wanted. The depth of my shift- 
ing sides are from 8 to 12 inches; and into the top of 
them I have slight rafters fitted, which I can put in or 
take out of their places at pleasure. These last-men- 
tioned rafters are independ of those d for the 
wall-plate, as part of them are there permanently for the 
better strengthening of the walls, and consequently would 
not answer both purposes. Then, before 1 make up m’ 
beds, which are of dung and leaves, I have the portable 
rafters, which run exactly across the centre of the bed, 
removed, in order to let me have the beds made up as 
high as the rafters on the top of the shifting sides will ad- 
mit, leaving as much room as isnecessary for the soil and 
plants, as soon as the beds are in a fit state to receive 
them. Now, the advantage of the shifting sides are, that 
as soon as the beds subside enough to admit of the sashes 
running on the under rafters without touching the leaves 
of the plants, I have the shifting sides, with their rafters 
all removed, and stored by for the season. Then the 
sashes are let down to the under rafter, after which my 
plants never fall too far away from the glass. The pits 
also present a good effect, both with and without the 
shifting sides. The space I have outside the beds, for lin- 
ings, is 2} feet wide, inclosed by a narrow stone wall, not 
quite so high as the brick wall. The space between the 
exterior and interior walls is covered all over with mov- 
able wooden shutters, made of convenient sizes for retain- 
ing the heat in the linings. —A Reader of the Gardeners’ 
Chronicle. [We insert this letter; but we do trust that 
hot dung will be consigned hereafter to the. farm’ 
steward, and that the reign of linings and all their clumsy 
adjuncts is at an end.] 
Rust on Grapes.—Having sometimes seen remarks in 
your Paper respecting the rust on Grapes, it will probably 
confirm the supposition of some, when I state that I am 
quite satisfied that one cause is greasy matter having come 
in contact with them. I found in’ thinning some this 
spring, that those berries that had unavoidably touched 
the hair of my head were the next day covered with rust, 
and appear as though they would never get clear of it. 
Ferns.—It may be useful to inform your correspondent 
“« Gallicus”’ that several of the London nurserymen are, 
through collectors abroad, paying attention to exotic 
Ferns ; also that two or three well-engraved figures of 
Ferns, most of them late introductions, have appeared 
every month of late in the ‘‘ Floral Register,” attached to 
«« Maund’s Botanic Garden.’ If worth notice, I could 
send you some particulars respecting a few of the newly- 
introduced species of this tribe—one, by-the-bye, which is 
rapidly gaining on the affections of the more scientific 
cultivators. ‘' Gallicus” should remember that dried 
specimens generally afford the means of propagation.— 
Cryptus. [Pray send them.] r 
New Anagallis—Observing a blue, Anagallis adver- 
tised by Mr. Brewer at 5s. each, and as large as half-a- 
crown, I send you two flowers of the now old A. grandiflora 
which, as florists measure, are as large asa five-shilling 
piece. This being the case, people may buy for 5s. a less 
flower than they can get for 6d.—/'lora. [Quite right. 
A crown-piece exactly covers the flattened flowers.] 
Gas- Water upon Grass.—In the beginning of April I 
watered half a clay-land meadow of 5 acres with ammoni- 
acal liquor, diluted with 5 times the quantity of clear 
pond water. In three days I perceived that all the moss 
and many of the finer blades of grass close to the ground 
were destroyed. The bulk of the herbage, however, 
appeared to be unaffected ; but in a week’s time there was 
a decided improvement on the portion manured, and from 
that time to this there has been an increased quantity and 
a very improved quality of grass. Its colour is darker 
than the other, and my stock prefer grazing on that side 
of the meadow. In the last week in May, I mixed one 
part ammoniacal liquor with ten of liquid manure from 
an open cesspool,—which receives all the rainwater and 
drainage from my fold and dwelling-house,—and watered 
the half of a second meadow. The effect is extraordinary : 
the herbage is much improved and thickened, the colour 
a healthy dark-green, and the growth materially acceler- 
ated. There is double the quantity as compared with 
the unmanured portion. The cattle, sheep, and horses, 
prefer the former. Had my cesspool been a covered one 
I think ] part to 10 would have been too strong; but I 
am this week building an inclosed tank, and intend making 
other experiments.— Monmouth. ‘ ‘ 
Vines.—I think ‘A Subscriber” is quite wrong in 
attributing the failure of Mr. Querill’s and his own Vines 
to the difference of temperature between the house and 
border; for, if this be true, there would be very few 
grapes grown in the north of England. TI have for man 
years began forcing my Vines early in January, and ¥ 
generally cut ripe fruit about the latter end of May, with 
very little covering on the border. Knowing from expe- 
rience that there are more bad-coloured grapes from 
covered borders than from any other source, I am fully 
persuaded they have both planted their Vines too deep, 
and began forcing them before they had fully established 
gh in the borders. T think, if they will each of them 
take one of their Vines up, they will find them decayed 
at bottom, and nearly without roots. I bave seen Vines 
more than once in ‘this state—A Subscriber from the 
beginning. ‘ic 
Hedge Sparrows. have this year, for the frst time, 
observed a Hedge Sparrow busily engaged among the 
Rose-bushes, and collecting the small green aphis for its 
young in her nest close to the spot. The above fact proves 
that such a useful and harmless little bird should be pro- 
a OT 
