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862 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
[Dec. 9, 
account of this plant in the ‘‘ Ladies’ Botany,” I pointed 
out the gradual change of petals into stamens as being an 
excellent illustration of the theory, that all the parts of 
the flower are but modifications of leaves; when my com- 
panion observed, ‘‘ That is very true, but I should like to 
know how the Cactus makes his flower without any 
leaves?”’ I thought this a shrewd uestion, and as I 
am but a Tyro in vegetable Morphology, shall feel obliged 
if you can find space to answer it in the Chronicle next 
week.—A Botanical Student. [It will frequently be found 
that the leaf-organs of a plant are developed unequally 
upon different parts, For example, on some Oaks the 
early shoots have only small scales instead of leaves, and 
it is only towards the end of the season that true leaves 
appear. So with the Cactus. Its first leaves are small 
seale-like points, which soon drop off; when the flower 
begins ,to form, these leaves assume a higher development, 
as is seen at the base of the calyx; then they become 
larger and larger, as is seen in the calyx itself, &c. &c. 
As soon as the year is turned we shall give you such 
reasons for the opinions of Morphologists as we doubt 
not will satisfy you. In the meanwhile read the 
“‘ Theory of Horticulture.’’] 
Cocoa Nuts for Manure.—I have lately heard that of 
the vast quantity of Cocoa Nuts imported into this 
country, a large proportion turns out rotten and unfit for 
the purpose of food. Those who buy them of the captains 
of vessels always require a considerable allowance to be 
made to meet this casualty ; and the nuts which are thus 
rendered useless are burnt, merely for the sake of getting 
rid of them, because their stench, in a state of putrefac- 
tion, is quite unbearable. I cannot but think that a 
large mass of nourishment is thus wasted. There is in 
the Cocoa ;Nut a great quantity of oleaginous matter ; 
added to which, both the shell and the fibrous mass 
surrounding it must contain nutritive qualities. Can you 
or some of your readers tell me whether the value of this 
article as a manure has ever been tested, and if so what 
has been the result? In this age of science so much 
vegetable matter ought not to be wasted.— Asbestos. 
[No doubt the kernel of the Cocoa Nut is rich in nitro- 
gen, and would form excellent manure; the difficulty is 
to get it out of the shell. As to the fibrous mass, that is 
Probably consumed in the manufacture of door mats. If 
would be either to char it or reduce it to ashes. 
former we should prefer. ] 
Temporary Gardens.—Many of the lovers of gardens 
and evergreens will have thanked Mr. Beaton for instruct- 
ing them how to improve the appearance of flower- 
gardens and other places during winter. I have tried his 
plan in several places, and they appear more cosy and 
comfortable, and pleasing to the eye, than they were before. 
Several years ago, when I used to cover tender plants 
with straw coverings, the straw was also covered with 
branches of evergreens, and i atop of s 
was fixed to them, and when neatly done it looked better 
than the straw, and had some resemblance to the clipt 
shrubs in old Dutch gardens.——Peter Mackenzie. 
Italian Fire-Fly.—Let me inquire why, since the Fire- 
fly has been introduced from Ttaly, we may not naturalise 
it, and add to our summer evenings a shower of fire, as 
well as our own fixed stars of the glow-worm? There 
can be no reason from our climate that we may fear defeat, 
and no doubt but it would succeed. During the winter 
we may introduce the animal either in the chrysalis state 
or in the egg.—Questus. [We fear our climate is much 
too cold. The creatures could only live in a greenhouse, ] 
Dodder in Clover.—I send an extract from the ‘“ Gar- 
deners’ Magazine’’ of 1828, relative to the Dodder in 
Clover, which now, unfortunately, occupies so much of 
the attention of the farmers and others. ‘ The seeds of 
Dodder, (Cuscuta europza,) are not unfrequent among 
Dutch Clover seed, the plant being a great nuisance to the 
farmers in that country and Flanders ; but the seeds of Cus- 
cuta not being above a sixth part of the size of those of 
Clover, are easily separated from them by sifting.” —Econom, 
WNeuigk., 1827, No.12. The daily intercourse we haye 
with both Belgium and Holland would enable any one to 
procure some of the sieves used by their agriculturists for 
the above purpose.—Z.C. [The sieves called Number 
17 will probably be found well suited toseparating these 
seeds. ] . 
The Cuckoo and Goat-sucker.—In your Number of the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, dated August 12, one of your 
correspondents intimates a wish to know if any one has 
been fortunate enough to preserve a Cuckoo through the 
winter, and if so the method of doing so, I have much 
pleasure in stating that mine has consisted in feeding it 
on raw beef chopped in small pieces about the size of a 
small horse-bean, and also a mixture of bruised hempseed 
and boiled bread and milk. By these means I have kept 
the Cuckoo throughout the winter. ‘The Goat-sucker or 
Fern Owl I have also kept in the same manner, — 
W. Rayner, Uxbridge. g ‘ 
Joining of Pipes.—If J, M.” (at page 842) had added 
a little cotton-wool to the lead and mixed it well together, 
he would have found it of great service in preventing the 
lead from giving way or cracking. This might be used 
either for joining together earthenware or iron pipes, or 
for stopping leaks. 
80 as to cause leaks, this mixture must be applied to the 
place, and with small twine or cord it may be secured to 
ile, 
cheap scale, they should contrive next March, about a 
week or two before the Hawthorn buds have much 
swelled, to obtain young vigorous shoots about the thick- 
ness of one’s little finger, and about two feet in length ; 
these may be inserted to the depth of six or seven inches, 
making the base of the cutting flat. The stems of some 
young trees here were protected with pieces roughly 
chopped off last year. These haye made shoots six or 
seven inches in length, and are provided with good roots, 
What chiefly prevents a “dead staked hedge,”’ as it is 
termed, from growing away in a year or two after it has 
been put up, is because the Hawthorns are chopped too 
much with the hand-bill and axe.— WW, Brown, Merevale. 
Fuchsia Exoniensis.—I1 beg to state that the remarks 
made by Mr, Ayres upon Fuchsia Exoniensis, in a late 
Chronicle (page 821) cannot be allowed to pass without 
a reply. Although I am sure that these remarks were not 
made in any spirit of unfairness, yet they are, nevertheless, 
calculated to make an unfavourable impression in the 
minds of those who have not had an opportunity of seeing 
the many fine specimens of this Fuchsia, which have been 
flowering in the Exeter Nursery during the past summer 
and autumn. These have satisfied all those who have 
seen them that Fuchsia Exoniensis is not only, as Mr. 
Ayres admits, “off the plant the finest Fuchsia in exist- 
ence,’’ but thatit is equally deserving of praise on account 
of its habit, which is equal to that of the best varieties of 
this justly-admired tribe. Iam sure that when Mr. A. 
sees this plant next summer in collections, he will admit 
that he has passed an unmerited censure upon it. As 
many inferior varieties are sometimes offered to the 
public, Mr. Ayres certainly cannot be too cautious in what 
he does recommend, but he should not rashly condemn 
that which is really first-rate.—S. Brown, Exeter 
Nursery. 
Hardy Eucalypti.—Observing the Eucalyptus noticed 
by your Beaminster correspondent as flourishing out of 
doors at Brodwinsor, in D hi nd as having 
attained in seven years’ growth the height of 12 feet, I 
beg to say that upon the northern side of this island the 
Eucalyptus robusta stands at the height of 28 feet, within 
four years from its seed. It well endures our winters. 
I am told by the surgeon of a convict-ship, who has often 
visited Port Arthur, that he has measured a Gum.-tree 
there, and found the following dimensions, viz.,—Cireum- 
ference at 4 feet from ground, 40 feet; from ground to 
first branch, 150 feet; entire height, 381 feet. This 
statement quite corroborates the report of Dr. Joseph 
Hooker, who has described in the last October Number of 
the ‘‘ Botanical Magazine” the forests of Eucalypti with 
which Van Dieman’s Land abounds. ‘he E. piperita 
is a seedling also here, and promises to ibe hardy; but 
a small plant of the E. multiflora, raised from seed ob- 
tained from the Neapolitan Botanist Tenore, 
appears to feel the weather we have as yet had, and it 
seems inclined altogether to refuse our winter.—G, ELK, 
Newport, Isle of Wight. 
Vitality of Seeds.—As there are doubts on this subject, 
I beg to state that about four or five years ago a part of 
the Birkenhead and Chester line of railway was cut 
through poor land, perpendi ly, to the depth 
of 12 or 14 feet. The work was going on at Christmas, 
and the subsoil was stiff retentive loam. During the 
months of May and June following, the slopes on either 
side of the excavation were densely covered with Charlock 
(Sinapis arvensis) in flower; from the regular appearance 
of the soil, and the absence of any ploughed field near, I 
concluded that the seed must have lain there since the 
eluge, J inquired if any seed had been purposely sown, 
and was answered in the negative—Nemo, 
Larch Insects—Amongst the admirable papers on 
insects by your correspondent “ Ruricola,” I do not 
remember that he has ioned that very destructive one 
which threatens to destroy all the Silver Firs in the 
country. I suppose it to be an Eriosoma. It fixes on the 
bark, and I know of no instance of a tree once infested by 
it recovering its vigour. The oldest I have seen attacked 
was about 40 years old. As there are plenty of them at 
present, I had all the diseased ones cut down and burnt 
immediately, to check the spread of the pest; but that 
system must cease, of course, and rubbing with brushes, 
&c. can only be applied to a very few ornamental trees or 
favourites. There is one important question which Mr. 
Curtis has not alluded to—do these and similar insects, 
such as the Scolytus of the Elms, &c., attack healthy 
trees, or those only in which the elements of disease are 
already present? This is worthy of careful investigation, 
as the ravages of the insect may be the result, and not the 
cause of the weakness; in which case we must go a step 
further back, and investigate the very origin of the bad 
health of the tree. I much wish that Ruricola’” may 
have leisure to give his opinion upon the subject.—S. C. 
African Kidney Beans.—Reading lately in ‘* Moffat’s 
Missionary Labours and Scenes in South Africa,’”’ I found 
the following in a foot note :—‘ Maize I found abundant 
among the Matabele, where it does not require irrigation ; 
also a fine large species of Kidney Bean, the pods of which 
grow underground, and are earthed up like Potatoes.” 
The account of the Kidney-Bean rather surprised me. Is 
any such thing known of, or has it ever before been heard 
of in this country? Moffat himself was bred a gardener, 
and I wonder he was not a little more explicit. The part 
of Africa in which these Matabele were located is known 
as the Bakone country, themselyes a tribe of Zoolus, 
The natural beauty of the country, its richness in woods 
and metallic ores, as well as fertility—when cultivated— 
are described by Moffat as extraordinary. Dr. Andrew 
Smith conducted an expedition through it for the purpose 
of scientific research. Moffat led him into the country of 
the Matabele, which is intersected by the Limpopo river. 
Mozselekatse, the Matabele Sovereign, though a powerful 
and savage tyrant, never saw an African ox-waggon till 
Moffat went to his capital, when he drew back with fear 
at their approach. He is so friendly to the Missionaries 
that any one recommended by Moffat would travel safely 
in his domini Qu . [This und d Kidney 
Bean is no doubt either the Voandzeia or Arachis. Both 
are too tender for this country. 
Material for Potting.—The following material, which 
is within the reach of most gardeners, will be found 
highly beneficial to the culture of plants in pots generally, 
viz., the decayed matter found beneath Fern and Furze. 
On account of its permitting water speedily to pass 
through it, it will form a valuable desideratum in the one- 
shift system; this system, through the perseverance of 
individuals, is daily progressing. In most professions 
there are to be found some who will, despite of everything, 
scoff at modern improvements, and persist in adhering to 
old practices; and if you ask the reason why they do 80, 
the answer is, simply, Because our forefathers did the 
same. The above material will be found, in addition to 
potsherds, to produce a good effect on many Orchi- 
ace ; incorporated with turfy loam and_river-sand, 
Anemones, Ranunculuses, Dutch bulbs, &c., may also be 
grown in it to great perfection. It will likewise be 
found a valuable compost for that beautiful tribe of plants, 
the Tropzeolums. The season for planting is at hand, an' 
by coiling the first two or three feet of the stem the tuber 
may emit,on the surface of the pot, covering it with @ 
little soil, young tubers will be produced by the time 
the plant has completed its growth. It would be useless 
for me to enumerate any more genera that are particularly 
benefited by it; suffice it to say, that I have applied it 
incorporated with various substances, and its use has far 
exceeded my most sangui i George Bishop, 
Buckland. 
Araucaria Seed.—I think one of your correspondents 
made some inquiry as to the mode of raising the seeds 0! 
the Araucaria. Tlost a great many fine fresh seeds 0 
the A. imbricata, from Chili, by imbedding them t00 
deeply in the mould, where they all rotted. I was not 
aware at the time of a secret, now perhaps generally under- 
stood, that these large seeds ought to be merely laid upon 
the surface of the soil, with, perhaps, a little earth raised 
round the edges, but not so as to cover them. Treated in 
this mode, I have now some very healthy young seed- 
lings ; and it may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to you 
to have a sketch of their appearance, as the plants ex- 
hibited different stages of germination in July last.—Adlas. 
Germination of the Seeds of the Araucaria imbricata, from 
Chili, 20th July, 1834, 
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
ec. 5.—R, W. Barchard, Esq., in the chair. Sir J- iN 
Lubbock, Bart., and the Earl of Zetland were elected Fellows: ei 
paper was read respecting the cultivation of Oxalis ade 
A specimen of Whitney’s (of Shrewsbury) protecting mate 
Ww. 
Ofae 
is not very common, and is a good species of thal sent Sten0- 
andio spikes 
jendro~ 
ablock 
zy 
