I 



THE GARDENERS* CHRONICLE. 



[ Ja x. 6, 



Hon, au.l n,. i. .ied to keq> it in that coixl. ik i« one of t!i« lower mount ■ or metalliferous lime- 



' i i .*^~~. M ..,.f r .r, fKnii7ii nor more than it vears 



how ran we expect vcget ihi c ami continue 



* >rous and healthy ? The Boil I have made use of 



these last three years is from a hungi utuathn cm a 



i ommon, xchere tome jtoor, a nted Furze* 



< ashes grox om 4 in*, tt 6 \s. high* and some 

 Heath I rambles here and inert ; the sub- 



soil a rank wd clay \ 1 do I know where to took for 

 soil that :■> ail appei e u ft>orer. My system is to 

 cut the surface about or 3ins, in tlueknfcts, with 



a mattock, in so<!s, or turfs, as it is tamed in wme 

 places, with bushes and whatever vegetation there 

 should happen to be growing on it besides, in dry 

 -weather in summer ; taking it home, and stacking it 



snugly together, without adding the least particle of 



manure < anything else whatever. I mak-- use of it 

 in as rovgh a state as possible. Furze bushes and all, 

 without anything whatever being added, ot.lv prefer- 

 ring it to lie together a suffici t time to kill the vege- 

 tation, that it may not become troublesome by grow- 

 i uumgtt the plants, and never by any means 



making use of it when rotted down; i would sooner 



Die it quite fresh and green. M reason for using it 



in a i gA state, and without o. ' decayed to am/ 

 extent, is that the atmosphere, heat t an>t ivat may hm 



tunitif * ■ xng in unison with the salts, 

 Lime*, Ax., of 1 the earth ; and good drainage and me 

 coarse charcoal on the top supply the means of all 

 at Kg together in the healthiest m;*nrur. H 



We. beg the ren r to pay particular attention I 

 these <lir- i. and t<j>ectal'!y to compare them with 



what Mr. IV 1 Is always insisting Upon, viz., the 



Indispensable necessity of a coarse permeable soil. 

 IFe will also ask him to compare th i with the 

 comn ii directions to grow plants \w finely si/ted soil. 

 ( icnt is at pre* necessary. 



We shall resui is » t next week, 



ROT IN LAUCH. 



In the Chmnicle of the I Dec. p. 842, I find Mr. 

 V. ighton, in his observations on the rot in Larch, in- 

 clined to attribute that disease to an excessive, or over 

 rampant, growth of the plant when young ; sod not, as is 

 generally supposed, to the nature of the toils in which it 

 occurs. If, indeed, Mr. Wighton could prove that the 

 growth of the Larch when young, upon soils where the 

 disease shows itself at an earlier or later period, was inva- 

 riably of the rap.d iption he insinuates, or that in 

 such cases it was quicker, or even equal to that of the 

 tree where it perfects Its heart-wood, and shows no signs 

 of decay up to an advanced ag .-, then I confess his hypo- 

 thesis might appear plausible, and to have some founda- 

 tion ia fact. JMy own experience, however, which 

 extends over a period of nearly 10 years, during which I 

 have been a planter of the Larci» to a considerable 

 extent, and >u a variety of soils, leads to a different 

 eentlsaioD, and convinces me that the disease is to be 

 attributed entirely to the nature of the sod in which it 

 occurs ; but whether to an excess of various constituents 

 in such soils, or to a deficiency of some peculiar quality 

 necessary to give perfect maturity to the wood, that is, to 

 bring it to the state known as sound heart-wood, still 

 remains a matter for further investigation; and perhaps 

 is only to be found by a strict chemical analysis of these 

 Jot-producing soils. 



That the growth of the Larch upon land subject to pro- 

 duce the rot is always of the rapid description assumed by 

 3Ir. \V ighton is certainly not the case ; on the contrary, 

 where the disease appears at an early period, say when 

 the trees are from 12 to 11 years old, their growth is com- 

 paratively slow from the time of their being planted ; and 

 the unsuitableness of such land for the production of 

 Larch timber is at once apparent ; even upon soils less 

 deleterious, where the disease makes slower progress, and 

 does not show itself proinine y till a later period, the an- 

 nual shoots of the trees when young areseldom equal, either 



in point of strength or length, to those of healthy Larch in 

 soils congenial to its habit, where it lives to attain maturity, 

 and produces that rich-looking and valuable timber for 

 which it is celebrated. Neither can I assent to Mr. 

 'VVighton's assertion, that the best and most durable 

 Larch wood is that produced by trees of the slowest 

 growth, and upon poor soils ; on the contrary, I find that 

 the finest specimens of Larch timber are the produce of 

 trees not only of the largest dimensions, but of such as 

 have grown rapidly and luxuriantly from their earliest 

 youth up to an advanced age. At Dunkeld and other 

 parts of the Scottish Highlands, where the finest Larch 

 timber is produced, it might be supposed from what Mr. 

 "Wighton says, that there the trees were of tardy growth ; 

 but let any one go and examine the noble Larches which 

 shoot up in towering spires in the deep glens and moun- 

 tain declivities of that interesting and romantic country, 

 and knowing their age, then say that their growth has 

 been slow, or inferior to that of the Larch in rot-pro- 

 ducing soils. Neither can the soil at Dunkeld, and other 

 Highland districts, be deemed of the poor description 

 inferred by Mr. Wighton ; on the contrary, it is in many 

 parts deep and good ; not that it contains much vegetable 

 matter or humus, but is composed of the disintegrated 

 Tocks and liehris of the older series, which is more con- 

 genial to the habits of the Larch and others of the Coniferee 

 than formations of a more recent period. In respect to 

 my own Larch, I know that the finest trees producing 

 the soundest timber grow upon ground of good quality, 

 provided it be not immediately incumbent on sandstone 



of reccut formation. Ia a deep dene or glen, where the J quitejipe, they are in are fly kgreater pwfeotktt "than 





stones, many Larche , thoi not more than 47 years 

 old, have attained a height of 80 feet and upwards, and a 

 circumference of bole, at two feet from the ground, of 

 nearly six feet. Of two trees (by no means the largest in 

 the dene), cut down about a fortnight ago, the length of 

 one was found to be nearly 69 feet — of the other, about 73. 

 '1 ..c sap-wood was not more than three inches thick, the 

 rest being heart-wood, of a rich colour and excellent 

 quality. When squared and sawn up, planks of 18 feet in 

 length and a foot in width were obtained from the but- 

 euda. It is almost unnecessary to add, that these trees 

 1 grown at a rapid rate from the time they were first 

 I lanted, much more so than others upon ground where 

 the taint begins to show itself when they reach their 16th 

 or 20th year. In the " History of British Forest Trees," 

 published by J. Van Voorst, an enumeration of the dif- 

 ferent descriptions of soil in which the Larch is liable to 

 the heart-rot is given, drawn as well from the observa- 

 tions of Mr. Matthew, as from those of the author him- 

 self. Upon such it would be in vain to plant the Larch 

 in the expectation of obtaining large and sound timber ; 

 nevertheless i still advocate its liberal insertion in planta- 

 tions upon such soils, as it is, even uuder these circum- 

 stances, the most profitable temporary occupant that can 

 be planted, affording at the various thinnings, a supply of 

 valuable material for minor purposes, provided it be taken 

 down before the disease has advanced too far. In con- 

 clusion, I would say, let not the planter (provided his 

 ground be sound, that is suitable to the habit of the tree) 

 beat all alarmed at Mr. Wighton's declaration, that a 

 rapid growth of his Larch is only laying the foundation of 

 useless timber. — P. ./. Selby. 



THE SEEDS OF GARDENING.— No. I. 



Of all the systems by which ants are obtained there 

 is none so beautiful or »o perfect as their development 

 from seeds ; yet, assuredly, none so much neglected, I 

 might say despised, as this primeval plan of propagating. 

 The exquisite delicacy of the workmanship that folds the 

 future plant in the small cell of the seed must be evident 

 to all; the globular form that many seeds take, and the 

 general contour and character of all, show how admirably 

 the seed is adapted to transport the species and secure its 

 welfare. 



The extent to which certain valuable plants may be 

 increased by merely depositing seeds in the earth without 

 further care or trouble, is truly marvellous ; witness the 

 vast forests of Fir-trees from seeds strewn on the mountain, 

 and the fields of yellow Corn from grain scattered on the 

 fallow ground ; and at this season of the year, when the 

 Yew-trees are laden with their rosy fruit — the inglorious 

 prey of the greedy mouse and undomesticated fowl, the 

 unbroken sunbeam, and the hurricane unchecked pass 

 over the treeless strath and lone bill side, where the only 

 shelter is a fox's cave, and the only shadow that of some 

 ruthless crag. And how little of human aid is wanted to 

 enable the 1 ew, that truly British evergreen tree, to extend 

 itself by thousands in such situations, at no expense save 

 the labour of the patriotic hand that strews the high 

 ground with a basket of Yew-berries ! and though years 

 must elapse ere this verdure arise, yet, assuredly, it would 

 come, and that not for a season or an age, but for a thou- 

 sand years. If your readers would only look over their 

 Yew-trees whilst the twigs are yet laden with their rosy- 

 cupped seeds, requiring no further culture than a clear 

 space of earth as large as the nail of the finger that depo- 

 ts them, I think many would be induced to remove the 

 beautiful germ of the Yew-tree, with its ruddy chalice, to 

 a spot where it might dwell and become the parent of 

 myriads, to the credit of the hand that gave it place, and 

 the landscape which it and its progeny would adorn. 



These, and thousands of other familiar examples, might 

 be mentioned to show the immense importance that a right 

 method of saving, preserving, and distributing seeds 

 would be to mankind in general, and to gardeners in 

 irtieular, whose livings mainly depend upon plants 

 of which seeds are the primary stock. I flatter 

 myself, therefore, that the time is come when neat- 

 ness, order, and system, may, and indeed must be, 

 introduced into the seed department of gardening, lest 

 Chaos should come again £for if we average two thousand 

 as the number of species cultivated in a modern garden 

 of moderate extent, and conclude that one-half of these 

 are either produced or produceable from seeds, we have 

 a thousand separate moieties of plants in the germ to pre- 

 serve from injury, arrange in order, and distribute with 

 judgment, in time and place appropriate to their welfare 

 and the wants of a family. 



The coatings of most seeds, or, in other words, the 

 inner • icking-cases, assigned them by nature, are 

 for the most part air-tight ; and we frequently find the 

 germs sealed up as it were in little bags or husks, in a 

 sort of membrane, containing ingredients more or less 

 soluble in water. Hence the necessity of keeping such 

 seeds free from damp till they are wanted to germinate ; 

 yet it must equally be borne in mind that excessive dry- 

 ness proves injurious to the vitality of seeds; for when 

 the oily or glutinous matter in the coating of the seed 

 gets dispersed, or drunk up by heat and dryness, the 



inclosed germ can no mor* live in thar. arid atmosphere, 



than a plant plucked up by the roots could live exposed 

 to the heat and drought of sun and wind. 



Now, although plants might, and indeed often do, 

 endure exposure to the air, &c. in transplanting, and 

 survive the shock, yet the infant germ, if stript of its 

 mantle, or of that property which made its mantle weather- 

 proof, soon shrivels, snd after a time gets parched, and 

 becomes in miniature "a dry tree." When seeds are 



they can be afterwards ; for the tales of old Melon seeds 

 being superior to new ones, and such-like theories, are 



dw pretty nearly exploded. Indeed, new seeds are found 

 to resemble new eggs so much, that the systems resorted 

 to by cunning housewives when eggs are cheap, to ket 



.em sound till the price rise, are excellent and sim . c 

 illustrations of the principles of preserving seeds. E 

 immersed in lime, or smeared with butter, and the cask 

 in which they are packed occasionally turned to keep the 

 yolk from settling, will preserve eg^s marketable fur 

 many a day. 



Now seeds of the Brassica tribe, of which more than one 

 sortcan hardly be saved in the samegarden unadulterated in 

 any one year, require some pains to preserve them, and a very 

 simple and effectual method of doing this is to oil their outer 

 coats by giving them a good shaking in a rough woollen 

 bag made slightly greasy with oil of Turnip-seed or salad 

 oil ; this operation being to them a regular brushing and 

 polishing, not only preserves the seed, but brightens the 

 sample and makes it more marketable and sleek in the 

 coat, which sleekness, it is well known, is one of the testa 

 of new and fine seeds — the coating of lime by excluding 

 air and preserving uniformity of temperature and dryness, 

 is perhaps the simplest safeguard that could be used in 

 the sound keeping of seeds. — A. Forsyth, Alton Towers* 



(To be continued.) 



Dr. THACKERAY'S WELCH PLANTATIONS. 



The following authentic account of the places where 

 Dr. Thackeray's plantations have been made will interest 

 everyone who has an opportunity of visiting North Wale 

 We hope to be soon able to lay before our reuders a full 

 account of the system of management observed in them. 

 In the meanwhile we may state that nearly .5000 beautiful 

 Oaksof five years' growth have been this autumn transferred 

 from Dr. Thackeray's nurseries to vacancies in the woods, 

 and that all boughs are left in the plantations for the poor, 

 who carry them away. 



PLANTATIONS.- Mr. WILSON JONES. 



Denbighshire, 1804 and 1805. 



a. a. p. 

 Bwlchy Pare • • 1112 

 Gcllygymum . . 21 38 



Merionethshire. 



Cwn Caith . . 10 28 



Cyfty . . ..733 



DoUriog . . .626 



Denbighshire. 

 Bwlchy Pare . . 2 20 

 Brynhelle . ..002 



Merioneth .shire. 

 Cwn Caith & Doll no£ 9 





Denbighshire, 1806 and I807. 



Cmirfelo . . . 15 1 10 



Cytuant . . . 1 2 16 



Merionethshire. 

 Cwn Caith . . 40 



Oellyrln . ..700 



Cyfty • . .320 



Pcnylan . ..120 

 Ca.- (das . • .010 



Wenaalt * . ..1320 



Denbighshire, 1807 and 1808. 

 Gellygynnau . . 36 

 Bryncaredig . . 8 



Denbighshire, 1808 and 1800. 

 Bwlchy Pare . .400 

 Gellygrynnan . . 3 3 1 



Camudwr . . 30 



Merionethsh ire. 



Caer Lion . ..209 



Denbighshire, 1809 and 1810. 

 Camddwr . . 30 



Bwlchy Pare ..420 



R. 



P. 



3 



Sf 



2 











D 



3 







3 







A. 



Gcllygynnan . . 37 

 Merionethshire. 



Reval . . . . 

 Caer Lien . • 2 



Cyfty . . . . 9 

 Dolfriop ... 46 



Denbighshire, 1810 and 1811. 

 Gellygynnau . . 28 2 17 



Merionethshire. 

 Town of Bala . .331? 

 Dolfriog . ..520 

 Cwn Caith . .12 10 



Denbighshire, 1811 and 1812. 

 Gellypynnan . . 3 2 



Merionethshire, 1812 and 1813. 

 Tytlden Bach . .12 

 Rhydyrefel . . . 2 1 li5 

 Talybont . . .230 



Denbighshire, 1813 and 1814. 

 Bryncpredip . . 4 2 17 



Merionethshire, 1813 and 1814. 

 Maesy Caire . . 1 3 25 

 Custyllen Bach . . 2 1 9 



* Flintshire, 1814 and 1815. 

 Nerquis . . . 103 23 



Denbighshire, 1818 and 18 19. 

 Bwlchy Pare . . 76 2 



Denbighshire, 1826 to 1S28. 

 * Llanarmon Ma, .143 15 

 Llanarmon Mn. . 75 1 13 



* Flintshire, 1834 and 1835. 

 Wern . . . 8 3 24 

 Comron . . • 11 2 



Those plantations marked with a * in the counties of Denbigh 

 and Flint, and Wennalt, in Merioneth, beloDg to Dr. Thackeray. 





TURF ROASTING. 

 Aboot twoyears ago, when conversing with a cnltivator 

 respecting the best compost for China and other Roses in 

 pots, he mentioned that he had found thin parings of 

 turf dried in the sun in summer, so as to kill the roots of 

 the grass, a most excellent compost. T tried to bear this 

 in mind as an excellent hint, but in the hurry of business 

 it escaped my memory till the commencement of the 

 summer of 1843, when, owing to the continual wet 

 weather, I found myself unable to carry out the idea; 

 drj'ing the turves in an oven then occurred to m?, but this 

 happened to be inconvenient ; a temporary furnace then 

 struck me as being an efficient method, and this I quickly 

 made by placing some loose bricks into three sides of a 

 square about two feet in diameter and 18 inches high y 

 leaving one side open for the admission of fuel : on the 

 bricks I laid a stout piece of sheet-iron, so as to* form a 

 kiln; under this I made a brisk fire with wood, and then 

 commenced kiln-drying. My pieces of turf, which were 

 one inch or a little more in thickness, and about a foot 

 in diameter, were suffered to remain in my temporary 

 kiln nearly two hours, during which time they were turned 

 several times : by this operation they were slightly 

 blackened and charred on both sides, and every fibrous 

 root completely killed ; the turves were taken hot from 

 the kiln, immediately chopped into pieces, from half an 

 inch to an inch in diameter, mixed with an equal quantity 

 of rotten dung, and used for potting- Roses, with pleasing 

 results ; for their roots in a v^ry .short time penetrated 

 every part of the compost, and the plants assumed a 

 healthy and vigorous aspect ; the drainage is also quick 

 and complete, contributing in no small degree to the well- 

 doing of the plants. 



I need not point out to the cultivator the advantage of 

 this simple process in destroying every wire-worm and 

 grub that so often infest the finest turfy composts ; the 

 comfort and security felt in being certain that your com- 

 post is free from these plagues is worth something ; and, 

 indeed, it has been the only inducement for my troubling 



you with this detail, _ la large establishments a large kila 



