oor PRE EN SSE Te 
1843.] THE 
GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
85 
tree ; boast not against the branches,’’ where the Jews 
are compared to the natural branches of the Olive-tree, 
and the Gentiles to those of the Wild Olive-tree, grafted 
in place of the natural ones, which had been broken off. 
The same figure is continued through several verses, and 
again in verse 24. ‘For if thou wert cut out of the 
Olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and wert graffed con- 
trary to nature into a good Olive-tree, how much more 
shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed 
into their own Olive-tree?”’ These passages puzzled many 
t until Bred p ascertained that it was 
the practice in ancient times to engraft the wild upon the 
cultivated Olive-tree. This explanation has also been 
given by the editor of the ‘ Pictorial Bible ; ” but then 
the Eleagnus is adduced as the Oleaster or Wild Olive- 
tree. Theophrastus and Columella are also mentioned as 
describing the same practice. Can any of your readers 
inform those interested in this subject, whether this prac- 
tice is ever followed in the present day with the Olive in 
the South of Europe, or other places where it is culti- 
vated—or is it adopted with any other tree which may 
bear useful produce in a wild state? I believe something 
-of the kind is sometimes practised when it is wished to 
fill up a blank in trees, where branches have been broken 
off accidentally. Would it be useful in cases of decay, 
and would the newly-engrafted parts live longer, be more 
vigorous, or bear more plentifully, than if grafts had been 
taken from the cultivated plant? Or did the ancients only 
adopt the practice because the Wild Olive was abundant 
and easily procurable?—R. 
Timber.—It is well known that when Oak trees are 
felled at the usual season, i.e. the end of April, and are 
stripped, the sap, or outer part of the timber, is quite 
useless; it being liable to decay, even when kept dry, in 
a very short time—in three or four years. But if the 
timber is felled in the winter, before the juices have risen 
at the tree, this sap, or outer part of the timber, is 
nearly or quite as durable as the heart ; this 1 know 
from experience. However, if the timber is felled in the 
winter, the bark cannot be stripped, and is lost. It has 
occurred to me that the trees might be pollarded close in 
the stripping season, and the bark stripped from the 
limbs and trunk of the tree, and the trunk left standing 
till the following winter, when it might be felled. Would 
the juices of the tree return into the ground through the 
stripped trunk, so that the sap or soft part of the timber 
might become as durable as in trees felled with the bark 
on in the winter?—A.H. [It is a common practice to 
strip trees while standing, and to leave them so till the 
succeeding autumn, with a view to the improvement of 
their sapwood; and a good practice it is, it wou id seem 
as if the decay of sapwood arose in part from its con- 
taining much nitrogen, which is very abundant in trees in 
the spring, but disappears by the autumn. ] 
The Baloot Oak.—The name given by your corre- 
spondent ‘* R.’’ to the Holly-Oak of Affghanistan has 
attracted my attention. He calls it Baloot, which is, 
apparently, the local name in the Affghan, or in some 
other Indian dialect, There is a prickly-leaved ever- 
green Oak, resembling a Holly, which is found in Spain, 
and which is said to extend along the coast of Mauritani 
will look a year older. Towards the end of August the 
plants should be budded; in the month of November 
they should be headed down to within an inch of the buds, 
and all thorns and shoots should be removed. They 
should afterwards be potted in 32-sized pots, and protected 
during winter from frost. In the month of January, I 
start them into growth, by placing the plants in a frame 
heated by dung, and as soon as the buds have pushed 
about three inches long, I pinch them back to within one 
inch of the stem. This must be repeated once or twice 
until the plants have formed heads, and if any suckers or 
shoots from the stock appear, they should be immediately 
removed. By giving plenty of air in fine weather, and 
following the above directions, as fine Roses may be ob- 
tained in the month of May as can be grown in the open 
air during any period of the year. In the following 
autumn the plants will require to be potted. After 
pruning them well back, shake most of the soil from the 
roots, and shift them into pots a size larger: under this 
treatment they will stand for several years. The reason why 
I prefer the Dog Rose for stocks is, that the flowers will 
last longer, and will be of a finer colour upon that than 
upon any other stock. Many persons fancy that stocks 
are too weak at so early an age. It is not, however, the 
strongest stock that produces the finest flowers, but the 
one that makes the most roots. Iam certain that no 
stock can be produced from cuttings or layers which will 
root so well as seedlings. Other kinds of Roses as well 
as China will do well under this treatment, but they do 
not require to be pinched back, otherwise they will bear 
no flowers. The following sorts will succeed better on 
the Quatre Saisons than on any other stock: viz. the 
Banksian Rose, R. berberifélia, bracteata, and multiflora. 
Many other kinds also do well upon the Quatre Saisons, 
which I would propagate from layers, roots, or cuttings. I 
prefer the latter, however, which, if taken from the old 
stocks in autumn, and laid in the ground covered to the 
depth of three inches, will in the spring following throw up 
plenty of suckers or plants. These may remain in the 
bed until the autumn, when they should be taken up, 
potted, and treated in the same manner as recommended 
for the Dog Rose. Many China Roses do well on the 
Quatre Saisons, but the flowers do not last so long, nor 
have they so bright a colour. If I wish to grow 
large Standards in pots, I procure in the autumn good 
plants of the Dog Rose from the woods, cut all the 
branches off from the stem, and carefully remove all 
laterals or suckers from the roots. I then put them in 
24-sized pots, and plunge the pots in the ground, where 
they remain until July; at which time they must be 
budded, In the spring they are cut back to about an 
inch above the bud, and are not allowed to flower the first 
year. By pinching off the blooms as soon as they ap- 
pear, the Roses flower much finer the ensuing season.— 
Joseph Baumann. 
Amaryllis Belladonna.—No wonder, though some_of 
your correspondents are surprised at it, that this flower 
is so scarce. I have tried, I believe, every receipt which 
has appeared, as to soil, treatment, &c., and during six 
years I have never had one in flower. Can you add any 
iption to all the former? for I will not throw 
and to be found as far East as Babylon and Mesopotamia. 
This is the Spanish Bellota, more properly, perhaps, called 
the Encina, for Bellota would appear to be the name of 
the fruit, (which is good to eat, and when roasted is not 
unlike the Spanish Chesnut,) and Encina that of the tree 
itself, as we may learn from Don Quixote (Part I., Chap. 
xi.), when the knight at dessert ‘‘tomé un pufio de 
Bellotas en la mano,’’? and commences a eulogium upon 
the Golden Age—a time, he suid, when no food had to be 
cultivated——when all that was necessary was “alzar la 
mano y alcanzarle de las robustas Encinas.” The modern 
Greek oak, ‘‘ Valonia,”’ and the ancient “ Balanos” (Acorn), 
from which it is derived, are not without resemblance to 
Bellota and Baloot; and the Hebrew name for Oak is 
“ Alon;’? but the Affghans, although claiming descent 
from the children of Israel, have nothing in common with 
the Hebrew language. Can you tell me whether the Baloot 
_ of Affghanistan is the same tree as the Bellota of Spain— 
and if so, to what language they owe the origin of their 
names?— Catherine —[The Bellota of Spain is the Quercus 
Ballota of Botanists, a species very nearly the same as Q. 
ilex, the common evergeen ak. There is no authority 
the Holly Oak of Affghanistan to be this, 
y be so, because there exists in the 
Bulloot-ool-mulik.] 
Cultivation of Roses in Pots.—The following plan of 
growing China Roses in pots, which I have successfully 
practised, may be interesting to your readers, and if pro- 
perly followed, the cultivation of Roses in pots will be 
found as easy, and will present as few difficulties as that 
of any other plant. As soon as the seeds of the Common 
Dog Rose are ripe they should be gathered, and in the 
month of February they should be sownona bed where they 
may remain until the following autumn ; _then let ,the 
young plants be taken up and potted in 48-sized pots, pre- 
viously cutting them back to one or two eyes. Plunge 
them in a bed in the open air, where they may remain 
until the beginning of July, when the weakest plants 
should be pinched back to three or four inches above the 
pot, while the strongest may be left one or two feet high ; 
this will cause them to throw out laterals, and the plants 
new p p 
away my bulbs yet. Iam equally unfortunate with A. spe- 
ciosissima, A.altissima, and Crinum capense. I now have 
them all in a warm S. border, but never get beyond leaves. 
—ad Country Vicar. (A. belladonna has been growing 
many years in the garden of the Hort. Soc., at the foot ofa 
south wall, in-common black garden soil. It receives no 
other care than being protected from wef in winter by a 
thatched roof attached to the top of the wall; and it flowers 
beautifully every autumn. A. formosissima (the Jacobea 
Lily) must have two or three months’ drought. Crinum 
capense requires a wet situation. See The Dean of Man- 
chester’s remarks on this subject, at p. 581, of Vol. I.] 
Bees.— Inthe Chronicle, at p. 53, Mr. Grant has given 
an interesting account of the manner in which he ma- 
naged his Bees during the last season, and likewise the 
drawing of a hive on the collateral plan. I have a few 
remarks to makefon both, with the view of adding my mite 
of experience to the knowledge of Bee-keeping. The 
first paragraph I shall notice is, where Mr. G. says, ‘‘I 
am of opinion that Bees will thrive best if left to their 
own natural instinct ;’’ of course meaning not confined 
in their hives during winter. If the instinct of Bees was 
not obedient to the laws which govern the climate whence 
they originated, this might be true ; butas it is so, there 
is sometimes danger in letting them have their own na- 
tural instinct or will, especially in winter; as they are 
often deceived in our variable climate by the fitful warmth 
of the winter’s sun, whose transient gleams cause them to 
sally forth and fall benumbed upon the snow. Moreover, 
if the entrance to the hive be not closed, the large Tom- 
tit, who at this season 1s a hungry spy upon Bee-hives, 
will slily rap at the door and devour the inmates as they 
appear to answer his cunning call. Again, Mr. G. men- 
tions that his ‘‘ Bees left the hive on the 25th of Dec., 
and returned laden with pollen as would have been the 
case in May.” This I do not doubt ; but the Bees would 
have been better at home, for any nourishment which 
they would get at that period. If last season had been a 
for Bees, the present mild winter would have 
am improper time by unseasonable warmth instead of 
Keepin, 
shading is better than to allow the Bees to wander abroad 
at the time referred to. When this plan is adopted,fa 
very small hole will allow sufficient air to the Bees, and 
there need be no fear of their striving to enlarge it, as 
was the case with Mr, G.’s Bees. His remarks on zinc 
not being good for Bees to feed from are very good ; but 
if the condensed steam from the hive had not rested upon 
it, the Bees would have taken no harm; indeed they are 
fond of sipping it with their proboscis. There is danger, 
however, and a great one, when there is much condensed 
steam ; because it makes the hive unhealthy for the Bees, 
and gives rise to the plan of ventilating them in winter ; 
but in drawing off the damp air, there is a danger also of 
admitting more from the atmosphere. The next thing I 
shall notice is, where Mr. G. says “ Up to Dec. 26, I 
only witnessed three dead Bees from my hive, there being 
no Drones to kill.” If the first part of this sentence mean 
that only three Bees died during the season, it is strange 
indeed, for Bees are short lived ; in fact, there must have 
been several hundred dead Bees instead of three. As to 
there being no Drones in the hive, I never knew a hive 
without them at the uswal time. By the bye, Mr. G. 
considered that two of the dead Bees alluded to, must 
have been “strangers or unruly members of the commu- 
nity.”. He was led to think so by seeing them stung to 
death in front of the hive. This, however, might happen, 
though neither was the case, for Bees have a dislike 
towards their sick ; nay, if they happen only to lose their 
wings, they are cast out of the colony. This shows there 
is an inherent enmity in insects towards their sick, as well 
as in some kinds of birds. Mr.iG. truly observes that it 
is a bad plan to lift the hive from the board after the sea~ 
son is past, for the Bees cannot collect propolis to seal jit 
down. Mr. G. observes also that tobacco-smoke is in- 
jurious to Bees. Now, when smoke is used, that from 
large puff-balls is the safest and best; Amateur Bee- 
keepers ought not to be without it when it can be had. 
I shall now notice Mr. G.’s hive: the important feature 
of it over the common collateral one, is, that the central 
part is made of straw instead of wood, and that the end 
boxes are lined with India-matting. This is an improve- 
ment, for straw is a bad conductor of heat, and is of course 
more congenial for Bees than wood; but I question after 
Mr. G. has tried his hive a season or two more, whether 
he will tell us again that it prevented his Bees from 
swarming, and obviated the complaint of a ‘‘ despairing 
Bee-keeper,’’ viz., that Bees kept in boxes generally die 
during the winter. This too common complaint is not 
owing to the wooden boxes, but to the brood being una- 
voidably destroyed when the honey is taken ; many of the 
Bees left being of an age to die before the following 
spring.—I may subjoin that at p. 69, “W. W.,”’ in no- 
ticing the advantage of straw hives in preference to 
wooden ones, says, ‘‘In the former, the atmosphere pene- 
trates at innumerable orifices, and in small quantities, 
without draft.” In a strong hive, however, this will nat 
long be the case, for the inmates will soon seal or rather 
glaze with propolis the inside of their dwelling, to make it 
air-tight. ‘“ W. W.’’ also recommends robbing Bees at 
night ; why not do it in the middle of a fine day when 
many of the Bees ,are abroad? However, with his Bee- 
dress and glass eyes he may face Bees both by night and 
day.—J. Wighton. 
Gold Fish.— Having latterly observed in the Chronicle 
some interesting communications relative to the preserva- 
tion of Gold Fish, or I believe, in more scientific language, 
Cyprinus auratus, Lam desirous of adding my mite to 
the fund of general knowledge already possessed respecting 
it. As the incident to which I am about to tefer is so 
much at variance with what appears to have been the ex- 
perience of previous correspondents, it may be proper that I 
should first assure those who are interested in this matter 
that my object is not to call in question the veracity of 
their statements. I wish merely to direct their attention 
to a circumstance which would seem to show that the 
habits, or rather the hardiness of the fish in question, is 
but imperfectly known. The circumstance to which I 
would refer occurred during the winter of 1825 and 1826, 
which has not since been surpassed either in severity 
or duration. At Bretton Hall, near Wakefield, in what 
was called the plant-ground, and on a level with a gra- 
vel walk, stood a semicircular stone cistern ; being on the 
straight side, about 44 feet in length, and 2 feet in depth. 
The plant-ground being frequently visited by the family, 
and the stone cistern being near the edge of one of the prin= 
cipal walks leading through it, three of the finest of the 
gold fish were taken from one of the ponds in the pleasure- 
ground, in which they were preserved, and placed in this 
cistern. Here they remained during the summer, ani 
were entirely forgotten, until some ume after the 
frost had commenced; and, indeed, until the ice on the 
cistern had become so thick that no doubt whatever was 
entertained that the fish were already dead 5 and therefore 
no further attention was then paid to them. The frost 
continued about three months, and during the greater 
part of that time, certainly very little, if any, of the 
water in the cistern could lrave remained in a fluid state. 
The expansion of the water in freezing (it being confined 
by the sides of the stone cistern) occasioned the ice to be 
thrown upwards, and rent and broken in many parts of 
jts surface ; whether by this means the fish were occa- 
sionally supplied with air, I shall not venture to state; 
my own impression, however, must be, that the exclusion 
of air by the ice was as complete as the nature of ice could 
render it, as the parts which were thus. broken up were 
again immediately united by the frost. At the end of 
about three months, when the frost subsided, and the ice 
had nearly disappeared, I examined the cistern, and 
found the fish not only alive, but in excellent con- 
dition; certainly, not at all in less vigorous health 
than when placed there at the commencement of the 
preceding summer. That all gold fish are equally 
hardy, and that in all cases and under all circumstances 
they are capable of enduring similar treatment to 
that which I haye described, 1 do not by any means 
pretend to affirm. I am, however, quite sure that the 
gold fish in Yorkshire, which perhaps do not differ in 
