52 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Jan. 27, 



I 



necessary to all atrurtures, and it ill seaaons— by no 

 means ; I would men !y wish to draw attention to what 

 takes place in an early forcing-house (unprovided with 

 Bottom-heat) on a severe night- say in the middle or end 

 of January, and the case in hand, by way of illustration, an 

 early Vinery, depending entirely on flues or piping. If 

 the atmospheric moisture, which must be , ronded by 

 some means, could be kept suspended without condensa- 

 tion at the roof, there would be little occasion to care, in 

 my opinion, about the loss of 5 or even 10 degrees of heat, 

 and the 65° or 70% as recommended by mere prescription, 

 might be allowed to sink quietly to 55° without any 

 injury— nay, with, perhaps, a positive benefit. 



But how is this to be accomplished without roof- 

 coverings, with sn outside thermometer of, say 20°, ar 

 an inside One of Go of 70° ? To maintain these punish- 

 ing temperatures a very strong fire must he kept up, 

 which, from rapidity of circulation, must force some ZU 

 per cent, of heat out at 'he chimney-pot, and exercise, by 

 means of scorching flues or pipes, a powerfully extractive 

 process (if I may use such a term) on the leaves. 



To be sure, we can provide such an abundant supp y of 

 atmospheric moisture as may compensate for the loss; 

 tut can it besupiosed that continual distillation of this 

 kind can afford as genial an atmosphere as one in which 

 the eases from sweet fermenting materials are kept m 

 .uspcnsion, and in which all such distillation is obviated 



by a night covering? • 



It may be fairly assumed, I conceive, that in conse- 

 quence of the great disproportion which light bears to 

 heat in these northern climes as compared with tropical 

 ones, that we are by no means justified in attempting t 

 imitate the extreme points to which vegetation is sub- 

 jected in those climates. The general consequence is an 

 impure atmosphere, which, m conjunction with the want 

 of light before adverted to, produces many and serious 

 evils ; amongat which we may mention, first, long jointed 

 and of course imperfect wood ; and, secondly, a dissipation 

 of vital energies, leading ultimately to abortive results. 



M f.„ ar w.tir^Tof it. intricacies .. the more ei- I sary supply cannot be obtainedby an, of f,,^ 

 perioced veteran, in tbe art; for in this 1 mean to bring 



[he science, or, in other words, all that i. known of garden- 

 ing, to bear so closely upon the practice that gardener 

 amateur, or eren apprentice, may *ow seeds in the right 

 tort of soil at the proper time of the year and for the 

 proper purpose, since every packet of seeds will be en- 

 veloped in the information necessary to rear them ; for I 

 have seen cases enongh where better might have been 

 q.ected of persons sowing such as Lo&saa and Convol- 

 vuluses, of very dissimilar habits, in such a way as showed 

 that they tlought all Loasas were tall twiners, and all 

 Convolvuluses more or less similar ; whilst it is notorious 

 that in both gem ra there are species that grow only a foot 

 hieh, mere tiny herbs, whilst others are giant twiners, 

 requiring two or three fathoms of stick or string to sup- 

 port them. When I saw these sowed side by side, I 

 thought, if there had been black letters on the seed-packets 

 setting forth the character of each, things would have been 

 far otherwise, leaving those who erred quite inexcusable. 

 Those who grow things properly will find the seed-packet 

 cheap enough, and he who sows seeds not knowing what 

 they are, and expects from them what nature never 

 ordained, has " paid too dear for his whistle,' and will find 



nothing remains but to buy a few plants for the pun** 

 In this case, fine ones should be secured, as small .J 

 growers will produce few shoots fit for the purpose, i# 







the plants to give the buds be on their own natural roab. 

 it is necessary to see that they are planted as soonastW 

 have lost their leaves in autumn, in order that tbev 





I have a reach-house under my enre, the night tem- 

 perature of which has frequently, about the end of Feb- 

 ruary, when the fruit was as large as Peas, been as low as 

 4< and, so far from receiving injury, the fruit has been 

 benefited by it, and, grown under those circumstances, has 

 carried a medal six or seven years successively from the 

 Horticultural Society of London. 



As to the mode of obtaining bottom-heat, it appears to 

 me that although the tank-system is destined to supersede 

 the old modes of bottom-heat, (and as a general principle 

 deservedly does so,) yet a little consideration is necessary 

 before those enthusiastically inclined towards the new mode 

 discard entirely the old process of fermenting materials. 

 A question arises about the character of the tank covering 

 with regard to the admission of so much moisture as may 

 be necesssry, and no more ; and a second, more important 

 itill, whether the gases produced by fermenting matter 

 can or ought to be entirely dispensed with. 



I presume that the gaseous products of fermenting mat- 

 ter are a very different thing from the mere steam of water, 

 which, although gaseous, is not so rich in constituents. 

 Without chemical knowledge, every gardener knows that 

 what is technically called M a sweet bottom-heat," such as 

 a well-wrought Cucumber frame, is just the sort of place 

 for certain quick-growing plants to make the most rapid 

 advance in ; therefore it seems to me to be something 

 more than a mere question of heat and moisture. 



The sweet bottom-heat of fermenting materials u well- 

 wrought " approximates the conditions of moist tropical 

 climates, about which I beg to quote Mr. Solly's remarks 

 in "Rural Chemistry * (p. 368) which runs thus:— "In hot 

 moist regions of the tropics, plants grow with far more 

 rapidity, and vegetation is more vigorous, than in tempe- 

 rate regions. In tropical countries decay proceeds far 

 more rapidly than it does in our own country ; carbonic 

 acid and ammonia, the food of plants, are produced in 

 greater quantity than here, whilst, from the greater power 

 of the sun, plants are able to assimilate more of those sub- 

 stances than they can in colder countries." 



Something, therefore, yet remains to be done before we 

 entirely resign the use of fermenting materials ; perhaps 

 the time is not distant when, from repeated analysis and 

 extended physiological knowledge, we shall be able to im- 

 pregnate the atmosphere of hot-houses with the necessary 



gases by a regular system. 



As to plunging or planting out in a bed of fermenting 

 materials, we acquire still further powers in combatting 

 low temperature, leading ultimately, in-doors, to economy 



in fuel. 



In confirmation of this I need only refer to the "Theory 



of Horticulture," (p. 105,) where, in a note at the bottom 

 of that page, is fully shown how this principle, which is 

 universal in Nature, or nearly so, acts ; and which is 

 amply borne out by facts in every-day practice. The 

 frequent depression of atmospheric temperature out of 

 doors, by winds and otherwise, must very frequently leave 

 the bottom-heat much more than is commonly thought in 

 advance of that of the atmosphere. 



Great anxiety is manifested on all sides to obtain clear 

 "i°*9 for hot-houses, and very properly, however, not so 



* - : *" "i»«n afterwards. 



that seeds alone are useless and even too expensive, how- 

 ever cheap, without a sy m to grow them by. But 

 some will, no doubt, ask how this very desirable informa- 

 tion respecting all our most interesting garden-seeds is to 

 be Obtained? Gardening books abound with such in- 

 formation ; but as no living man appears gifted with such 

 extraordinary intellect as to be able to retain it so clearly 

 and fully as to bring it to bear upon his practice at a 

 moment's notice, and amid the bustle and toils of the day, 

 I propose to save racking the brain unnecessarily ; and 

 more effectually to serve the purposes of gardening, to 

 digest into the form of a label, and under the head 

 « directions for use "—in plain English, a treatise on the 

 character and culture of the contents of the packet. Mrs. 

 Loudon's "Book of Annuals" would give in simple, 

 popular, and scientific terms the sort of information 1 

 speak of for Annuals ; and so of other books for the 

 culinary seeds, Sec. But for the most part I have another 

 plan, and that is a sure one, to come at the practical points : 

 —the man that grows seeds, first flowers the plant and 

 then fruits it ; he, therefore, may know if he pleases more 

 of it than the gardener, who only flowers it. If, there- 

 fore, the seed- grower would set forth in writing on the 

 seed-packets the character and culture of them (a theme 

 which must be familiar to him) instead of giving their 

 good properties and details of their uses vivA voce to the 

 seed-buyer, the chain of information would be complete ; 

 it would come direct from the man who perfected the 

 plant, flowered and fruited it, to the man who was about 

 to commence more or less of the same process ; and if 

 seedsmen were only to buy seeds from such as knew what 

 the nature and uses of the seeds were that they were selling, 

 we should soon reform our seed- packets, and equal or sur- 

 pass the men of Birmingham or Manchester in the beauty 

 of our labels and the details of our manufacture ; but this 

 is not all in the systematical arrangement of seeds, for if 

 it be necessary for the butler to have binns and a well- 

 furnished pantry appropriate for his business, and the 

 housekeeper to have ranges of shelves and drawers, and 

 other stowage for her paraphernalia, each according to its 

 kind, surely there is something more appropriate for 

 valuable seeds than to be tossed in loose papers in the 

 bottom of an old hamper, which I am sorry to see is too 

 generally their locality. I would therefore arrange them 

 in trays, each tray to be a drawer, and fit into slides form- 

 ing a nest or chest, the top being a table or counter, the 

 laboratory of the seed department. One tray would hold 

 200 separate packets of the size of the percussion-cap box, 

 which holds 2 oz. ; and this tray would only be 40 inches 

 long and 20 wide : and, mark well, every packet would be 

 open to view, and might be as easily opened and some 

 seeds come at for sowing and the remainder secured as the 

 grocer comes at his Congou Tea for the ready money 

 customer and secures the remainder in his well-ordered 



canister. 



Now, let any one put 200 papers of seeds, untied, in a 



drawer 40 inches by 20, and let him look them over once 



or twice to sow small moieties and replace the remainder, 



and see the result — the working of the medley ; and if he 



has the bump of order in his head at all, he will thank any 



one to lend him a hand to set his seeds in order. Begging 



pardon for this lengthy document, which I could not 



abridge and render the meaning clear, I hope seeds may be 



respected, saved, preserved, and carefully distributed, and 



then our waste lands would wear a warm and wealthy 



aspect when the myriads of seeds of all kinds that are 



annually wasted should be gathered into barns and put 



forth to usury in the spring in the bank of Earth. — A. For. 



syth, Alton Towers. 



get well settled before the spring ; but if it be desire* i, 

 secures good supply, a strong-stemmed standard Rosen 

 two should be purchased at a nursery, and such oth 

 chosen as have plenty of young wood, and are in ' 

 By choosing them without reference to shape, and _.. 

 on account of the buds they are expected to jieldj 

 autumn, those may be obtained which have been reject*" 

 for a season or two by other buyers, and are vigorous sai 

 well-rooted. They should be planted with good 

 round the roots in November, and care taken to r 

 any leaves there may be on the trees previous to plaauat 

 If well staked and trimmed, as subsequently directed,! 

 more regular and certain supply of buds will be procwf 

 than in any other way ; and, provided the trees be a Lttk 

 favoured, they may get over the injuries inflicted byn. 

 moviDg their best shoots, especially if two or three bofe 

 be left at the base of each shoot thus removed. 



Choice of Stocks.— The proper time to procure stock 

 is during the month of November ; (the period, howenr, 

 may be delayed until the 1st of February, hut it is not de- 

 sirable to do so, for plants procured and planted in N • 

 will be found to produce much finer shoots than tho* 

 planted later ; the shoots upon them are also bette 

 placed, two rarely starting from the same eye, but spring 

 ing from following knots, and are opposed to each otic 

 on the stock ; and if three shoots push, they are in get*. 

 ral from the three upper rings on the stock, and erestf 

 triangular. November plants seem to accumulate tew 

 strength, and, as above mentioned, forming (heir bods a 

 the nearest possible points to the extremity of the ito 

 start and continue their growth with unabating ligosr, 

 and at the end of May an unexperienced eye would a 

 once discern the difference between a body of stocks* 

 tered in November and the same quantity placed -st 

 ground in January or February, although an untqai 

 strength in single plants might render the differeuce a* 



so perceptible. 



Four objects are gained by early planting : viz., lsrs 

 shoots— well-placed shoots, with reference to each otber. 

 both in proximity and position—the formation of thai 

 as near the extremity of the stock as possible— and, oa 

 the whole, a more vigorous plant. Late plants, on tfct 

 contrary, are uncertain as to the places where they si 

 push ; a part of the stock is frequently lost from this ct- 

 cumstance. A greater degree of trouble is incurred fc 

 removing useless shoots straggling about the stock: stf 

 the shoots which are eventually retained are faulty mo* 

 or more of these particulars, viz., of a more unem 

 growth, much smaller than is desirable in circumference, 

 fewer in number, or backward in their growth. 



Stocks, however, procured even so late as the 5th ortt 

 of April, will occasionally succeed, and nothing more ■ 

 necessary than to send to the nearest wood-cutter, or m 

 headsman of a farm, and desire them to make a collecw 

 either from the woods, or to save a supply when nj 

 grub up a hedge : in the former, many single P)«»Jr 

 be procured ; in the latter, most of those which •« 

 from a clump-root. This latter is a matter of smsU » 

 portance, as the wild stock will flourish with hardly * 

 root, and indeed often strike without a single m 

 although plants with fibrous roots are much to be preien* 

 In all probability, following the ^ directions wwire^ 

 sorts 





ashed 



All pits and frames should be 

 •v. w .. r aAy February and Ucto 

 ?*XrZ£- ™err Erring ~ - 



IU 



great benefit will 

 Gni 



SEEDS OP GARDENING 



No. IV. 



•laded from p. 35.) 



But I must not - — »"™ nt d » smlM 





THE ROSE-GARDEN.— No. II. 



(Continued from page 36.) 



Securing a Supply of Buds. — It is necessary, at the 

 commencement of the following observations, to remind 

 the reader that ex quovis ligno non fit Mcrcurius : 

 Anglice, — Good work will not spring from bad materials. 

 Previous, then, to making any other preparations, it is 



— - « sunply of buds against the time 



desirable to «*~~ - - .. . . ' ' ***** from 



when they will be used, either by having y y -" , tQ 

 which they are to be taken, in the garden of the operator, 

 L promise from that of a friend, or by purchase from 

 a nurseryman who can be relied upon. (It may be 

 as well ^remark here, that if either of the latter be the 

 case it will be well at the time of use to see that the 

 shoots on'which the buds are be quite fresh, or, if pos- 

 sible, to cut them on the spot.) If, however, the neces- 



although they differ both in size and sorts w dine^> 

 places ; the red have the hardest and firmest wood, J 

 have least pith ; the smooth green are the easiest 

 on the stem, and the green and brown striped are o« 

 the two. Some sorts, as the red, do not take freeij, . 

 as budding should be done at a time when sotcc- 

 almost certain, this is a matter of less consequence 

 the appearance of the future tree; the clean. "fJJJ 

 sizable stock, therefore, should be chosen without ttm 

 to the colour. If, however, there be large choice^ 

 green, green and brown striped, and grey, are q 

 less the best, the red having a tendency to go ott, «P 



when transplanted. „„ f ; n «e to * 



It is true that the size of the stem will contin« J^ 

 crease after grafting, but not in the same ratio as $ 

 have done with a wild head ; the free * r0 *fr u <& 

 course, increase it much more rapidly than aeuc 

 and if the roots are freed from rotten wood in i > 

 and transplanting, and the shoots above wei | 

 there is no fixing the size the stock will attain w- 



(To be continued.) 



ON THE CULTiyATiwToF]^ 



I send you a description of the house m _ 



Persian Melons lately exhibited l ° tD ,jL re j,iioiW 

 Society were grown (see p. 543 and 66-). i not | 

 novel or remarkable about it, and 1 sno ^ w 



thought it sufficiently interesting for »« 1 * 

 Chronicle, but that I see a great diversity ot <H> ^ 

 vailing as to the best method of affording w ''^^ 

 One gardener advocates steaming the roots ot p ^ 

 open troughs of hot water; anotW prefers ^^ 

 obtained by lighting 5 r llie beneath the bed .; » l ^ 

 1 tv-t .**-??£ tankTsystem will not do sfo. : Mrion j. ^ 

 tTe'steam'reduces the soil to the conation of m ^ „ 

 a fourth asserts that the soil is then m the J 

 dition for the growth of these plants. , sup por^ 



Amidst so many conflicting theories, •» ^ ^ £ 

 experienced men, who I have no doubt c ipt ,of» 



own way obtain success, I think that 





