THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



55 



bag and Urge 



same 

 ch brighter in colour, 



these gardens 



enUy , rhnUhe Banana nousc l'*^";"' J"J" 

 -Z2£ » earance; h> about 25 feet by 



t "„X,«, but none which they con- 

 _J D th , e5e /Hn,t and good to name. I may 

 -*<*"*. t T, ' iSnina House presents, ust 



-^ iatewting »PP"™£ {„ the open ground, fi 

 r»i^! S " ed B S „o"in fruit. On one of th 



four 

 em 



I 



is 



hardly 



* - ^mW. wbch, when ripe, cannot 



J A o ft,. I the'plants have about 2 

 k» tfc» ^ ° bed of i eaV es. It 



1*0. rt 3Jto aU the Pineries that I have visited ; 

 10 th^s me remarks will apply generally to 



*!ff£Si^i" t0 the §rowers f 7 the 



^X these plaees you nod the open-frame 

 J^aTy for young plants, but continued in the 

 .JT -ncciall y for the hrger kinds. 

 I i2KrfoTe»aid that Peat is the principal soil in use ; 

 1 Wal is this, that among the many public 

 J^tablUhments which I have visited in 

 F««. Ibn never yet seen loam used in any one of 

 iVooe or two you may see a few growing m 

 t» and rotten leaf-mould, and here and there 

 |e.f.mould, but pure peat is everywhere to be 

 the favourite soil ; this may seem strange to 

 r „L-i - roircr8 , who have so long been accustomed to 

 pZrfroo- soils as the Norwood loam ; but, nevertheless, 

 Uh tact U as L have stated. French growers will not use 

 lone have told me that it has been tried upon 

 in d Roaes, and that they have died under it ; 



1 ens know an English gardener living with a lady of 

 titif, aaar Parii, who has adopted the same views, and 



ted bis Camellias in peat, after a trial of three 

 MeaoM in loim. I have endeavoured to convince them 

 tint their wmt of success must have arisen from an im- 



of loam in a sour state, but all to no purpose ; 

 taeir §mur propre is as easily wounded in Horticulture 

 politics. Tuey a=k, are your Pines more healthy, 

 «T war fruit larger, than ours? and wiihout waiting for a 

 reply, tell you that they have seen Mr. Willmot's, Chats- 

 atd other gardens in England and Scotland, and 

 tiaficd that their plan is the best ; this may be 

 unjadi it— perhaps it is so, but 1 apprehend that both 

 Mr. Gknainniug and Mr. Spencer would find some 

 dilealty in combatting such evidences as 10 1b. Pines, 

 which the French growers could produce in its favour. 

 The etttbUebment of Versailles is,as I have before said, the 

 * *d France, but that of Meudon is also remarkable for 

 t culture and the high state of perfection to which 

 \hu fruit is brought. This is one of the King's private 



to; the Chateau is never occupied bv the Royal 



»K. w ' I™ d Pelvillain > the chief gardener, is allowed 

 wWBbeo garden on his own account. The Pine is his 

 *■*, and he spares no trouble or expense in bringing it 

 Wpwfcction ; so ardent is his desire to obtain informa- 

 ".ttaneu learning the English language for the ex- 

 ^urposeof reading our treatises and visiting our 

 fZ£* h / f may be able t0 J*tee for himself of the 



1W ?*, ° f the difFerent modes of treatment. 



•4 certainut ,, f d °P ts the °r en ground culture, 



" o V T he difficnlt t0 fiQd P la »ts more 



» «nl n ull T ^ ChristmM > tnan ^ produces ; 



Client fl S t0 SGe iQ his houses PrOVi 



<W and E„ vi li es from 8 tQ 1Q lbg> Thg 



2 or 3 Ik on !> ,K not lar S e > certainly not more than 

 dpailr j. J f Q [ V** n & ; these last he g r °ws P*- 

 "*>« k. ^tbel rtpT^f' ; ? f co ^tioners of Paris 



* to ^ke^ny ex 'tr a ?i Uld ' therefore ' bs useless f °r 



^^CTi T trouble hl e ettin * this 



»^n the last founds on- ?H aiSed sewal Seedlin ^ S 

 tw > ■ttions iee / ?£ ° n8 f of , tlletn was "nt out about 



p^improvenaent'iinnn fu n ° '• however > considered any 

 «*k "«ate Qrs an T; a tbe °"P^. I know that many 



Meudon and g t, 6nerS have ^« time to time 



^^i^e entirely f 0r *"[ and J rue ^ut of Versailles 

 ?* *new, but I ,u L , fonncr S r °ws almost 

 2*^^-ml t y e d !!? tthin k his fruit so fine 



SS^oftheU tUedfi P w ; tMs ' howew » ma ? be 

 E**". »eea et e tr df0rheaV y fruits - 1 have, 

 CT^ not8 oldin plri u Speamens in his houses. 

 ^? WicaUr induced Fl"*P h *» and therefore he 



** H * has ; l w t0 - ° btain them above th e 

 , f ™« the Enviir^ -Tf d a great nuraber of 



it it no 



eg 



in fact, he says there would be no pecuniary advantage 

 to him in producing large fruit; he finds a ready sale for 

 ordinary sized Queens at 10 and 12 francs, while the 

 larger kinds are seldom asked for. He, however, is de- 

 cidedly in favour of open frame culture for all varieties 

 of young plants, and for the fruiting of the varieties before 

 mentioned. Such is the result of my observations, and I 

 think it will be conceded by all that French cultivators 

 are entitled to no little credit for the introduction of this 

 system ; it is a common saying in this country, " that 

 the French invent, but the English practise and reap the 

 benefit." I doubt not it will so be in this instance, for I 

 feel satisfied that, malgre the climate, there will be larger 

 fruit produced under this plan by Messrs. Barnes, 

 Spencer, and others, than has ever been seen here. Not 

 only can England boast of the most skilful practical 

 gardeners, but she enjoys peculiar advantages from the 

 great perfection to which her heating by hot water is now 

 brought, and should Rendle's tank system be found as 

 favourable as he supposes, 1 shall not be surprised to read 

 before long of prizes being awarded for Pines weighing 

 12 or 15 lbs. each. 



outitcs, 



MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 

 Jan. 19. — J. H. Bowerbank, Esq., in the chair. There 

 being no paper Mr. John Quekett, the Secretary, made 

 some observations on the structure of a fossil human bone 

 found in a bog. He stated that many attempts had been 

 made to inject artificially the Haversian canals of bone, 

 but had failed ; but iu this instance the medullary canal, 

 the Haversian canals, and the osseous corpuscles were 

 beautifully injected. Dr. Goodfellow stated that he had 

 seen preparations of Mr. Tooms, in which he had suc- 

 ceeded in injecting artificially the Haversian canals and 

 osseous corpuscles. Mr. Dalrymple said, with regard to 

 the structure of the Haversian canals, he had not only 

 seen vessels running through them, but vessels lining their 

 walls. Mr. John Quekett also made some observations 

 on the analogy between the structure of the air-bladder of 

 the eel and the lower part of the lung of the Chamseleon, 

 thus proving the respiratory function of the air-bladder as 

 well as its structural analogy with the lungs. These 

 remarks were illustrated by microscopical specimens. 



pan, which is plunged in fermenting horse-dung, the seed 

 being covered with nearly half an inch of soil, and over 

 this rather more than an inch of dung.|| 



Swan River vegetation. — Labiate, &c. — We have 

 several fine species of Hemiandra, Hemigenia, and Atelan- 

 dra. There is also a species of "Westringia, a Mentha, 

 nearly allied to Pennyroyal, and several showy plants with 

 a calyx like Scutellaria — Dribmrnond, in the Inquirer, 



JANUARY. 



By the Author of " Rural Sonnets," "Spartacus," "Re^ulus," 



and other Tragedies. 



Hardy as yon fresh Bays upon his brow, 



With full-blown Laurustinus interweav'dj 

 Eie yet the husbandmen resume the plough, 



Or festive days by labour are retriev'd — 

 Lo ! January leads the young New Year, 



Happy in welcomes, and with hope elate, 

 Tho' round its form cold winds and clouds career, 



And barren would appear its first estate. 

 Now— if the weather freeze, or bind the ground — 



Manures are carted, and thj routes repair'd : 

 In forest-haunts the woodmen's strokes resound : 



For earliest produce gardens are prepar'd : 

 And here and there just peep above the soil 

 Sigus of the life wherewith vast Nature's womb doth toil. 



J. Jon s, Inner Temple, Jan. 20, 1844. 



*-.;-—« «nut is annarpnf ~™: c3 > tn e same diversity 



Ri l «* time M ^ Sb ° uld have "»ooth leaves ; 

 22*!^ cultivatpH T P erfected » the Cayenne 



mtmSl*- Goi "ier nh. • , the last Paris 8h ~°* in 

 SXt? U ^hnA an ^ ained 'If lar Se s"ver medal 

 - ^ *"* W f tW ,0U . Wl l fi ' id a Ascription of 



fruit, 

 an- 



* • n^ Ki <*= CI P e " od •' amon ? other o 

 wow 7 or ft il 8,In 5. having- arao fln ,l l™~ 



if 



or 8 lb 



aving large and long fruit 



leaves 



iIl^ H meat T \ a i 10ther ™th *m 

 h&fr l AnkW £«*> about 12 i 



Sftt^ ll lh r'> a ^hernaL. 

 **hlV* old \£ f v e ^ ^id to be of 



*M. *?*' a!l ^^ re W f re five or six others 



P a » ent ' M - T^ueff ?r le88 in habit or f ^it 

 ' B,! of ^hich * Ut . fruits ab «nt 400 Pin- 



ooth 



» -- -- inches long, 



i0 »- ; another named Enville 



a finer 



An Introduction to Practical Organic Chemistry. 12mo. 



Pickering. 

 Why this should have been called an introduction to 

 practical chemistry we are at a loss to understand, for it 

 is anything rather than that. It is, in fact, an exposition, 

 in few words, of what the author conceives to be the 

 modern theory of organic chemistry, taken from the 

 writings of the more conspicuous of modern investigators. 

 In some respects the author has performed his task with 

 skill, and has made it a real assistance to those who are 

 labouring to infuse some idea of the nature of chemical 

 investigation into the rising generation. In other respects 

 he has been less successful. For example, the question- 

 able, if not fallacious, doctrine of root-secretions is now, 

 in 1844, treated as if it were a matter beyond all doubt, 

 and the ten times refuted speculations of geologists as to 

 the presence of enormous Ferns in the beds of coal are 

 regarded as so many facts about which no doubt can be 

 entertained. In another place we are assured that pruning 

 fruit-trees makes them bear more abundantly, which we 

 believe is the reverse of the fact. Pruning does not pro- 

 duce abundance, but it improves quality. 



What we most approve of is the skill shown in de- 

 monstrating the truth of the Mosaic history of the 

 creation by the evidence of modern science. "Let us 

 consider," says the author, " the apparent course of 

 creation as these sciences— chemistry and geology — pre- 

 sent it. From the seething matter of volcanoes, car- 

 bonic acid, combinations of ammonia in a gaseous form, 

 chiefly carbonate of ammonia, and aqueous vapour are 

 evolved, i. e., gases composed respectively of carbon and 

 oxygen, and hydrogen and nitrogen, or a combination of 

 both, but none of them capable of maintaining animal 

 life ; and steam, which is a compound of oxygen 

 and hydrogen. Plants sprout from the earth, and find 

 nourishment for the most luxurious growth in the 

 gaseous products of the heated mass. The remains 

 of enormous Ferns found among deep beds of coal, show- 

 ing the latter to be the produce of a former vegetation, 

 prove how immense a portion of vegetable matter was 

 produced from gasea which no animal could have breathed. 

 The absorption of carbonic acid, with the consequent 

 return of a large quantity of pure oxygen to the atmo- 

 sphere ; the greater affinity of hydrogen for the oxygen 

 thus presented than for nitrogen, especially when heat 

 acted in the decomposition of ammonia, which would then 

 set free its portion of nitrogen— brought the atmosphere 

 apparently in the course of time to its present compo- 

 sition ; and animals then stepped forth upon the earth, to 

 breathe the air, and consume the food already prepared 

 for them. Such is the account which science would give ; 

 it differs in nothing from that of Moses." 



To our minds nothing can be more satisfactory than 

 this, with the exception of the romance about Ferns, and 

 we accept it as a sufficient atonement for errors on other 

 points. 



***W '--cat. M. Trupff J ^ ln habit or f ™ 



2 of *Wh w *r7 ruits about 400 Pin. 



^ fi?^cr2 e ^ exception ° f a fe 



^ k ^diL ren S r ound,b u t T ^' ieenS; about 10 ° a 

 QlWtT ^ betw^. Ut l do not perceive anv ve, 



ea 

 w 



are 



*« e ° them a nd'huT e ' Ve any T " y 



ueens in pots ; 



Miscellaneous. 



Mode of ascertaining the Quality of Seeds.— Such seeds 

 as do not naturally require a very long tune to germinate, 

 are sometimes readily examined, as regards their good- 

 ness, by being placed in hot dung. The following parti- 

 culars of the mode indicated by General Ygonetis recorded 

 in the ''Revue Horticole." A pinch of seed is sown in a 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 



For th e ensuing Week. 



I.— HOTHOUSES, CONSERVATORIES, &c. 



This is a good time to remove dormant bulbs and tubers to a 

 forcing-pit, such as the many varieries of Hippeastrum. If these 

 have been put to rest in their pots it is best not to disturb their 

 roots at present ; if they want larger pots shift them when they 

 are in full growth next month. Some of the different Gloxinias 

 and a few of the Achimenes may also beset to growing; these do 

 best potted at the time they are started. Some of the Gloxinias 

 are apt to damp off, if water lodges in the crown of their tubers. 

 Seeds of stove plants or from foreign parts may now be sown in 

 well- drained pots in peat and sand ; the soil for valuable seeds 

 ought to be prepared after Mr. River's manner, if only to kill 

 eggs of insects, seeds of weeds, and to expel dampness. Look 

 over all plants regularly, and let everything be clean about them. 



Conservatory.— Where forced flowers are introduced less air 

 should be admitted than for a collection of conservatory plants. 

 See particularly that Orange-trees, Neriums, and other plants 

 are clear of insects before they begin growing, as young wood 

 and foliage arc very difficult to clean without injury. Most con- 

 servatory plants, being in la-ge pots and boxes, require less water 

 than those in smaller pots in the greenhouse. Rhododendrons 

 and Azaleas are among the finest and easiest plants to force for 

 the conservatory, and seeds from forced plants of them crossed 

 are always more to be depended on for novelties than those from 



the open ground. 



Greenhouse.- Seeds of Heaths, and of all woody half-hardy 

 plants may now be sown and reared in hot-beds or stoves j but it 

 is too soon to sow them where such conveniences are wanting ; 

 this is also about the best time to sow Rhododendron and 

 Azalea seed, especially the finer s ->rts ; seedlings of them of last 

 year might now be forced, and afterwards hardened off before 

 next May, when they might be planted out in cold frames 

 or sheltered beds. This treatment brings them sooner to a 

 flowering state, they also make finer plants. Keep greenhouse 

 plants from growing yet as much as possible. 



Forcing P its.— Many other plants besides those for forcing 

 might be brought to make an early growth in these pits. The 

 Paulovnia should now be set to growing as a forcing plant; as 

 soon as the blooms are ready to expand the plants should be 

 removed from close heat to a more airy situation for a day or 

 two before they are brought to the conservatory or sitting- 

 rooms ; syringe this pit at least once a day, keep the plants 

 free from insects, and introduce as many plants as you can spare 

 for experiment. There are many plants probably that will 

 force well which have not yet been tried.—/). B. 



II.-FLOWER-GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES. 



Out-door Department. 



Never had wc such a fine season for out-door improvements 

 or alterations ; but tender plants are in a very forward state, 

 and it is necessary to keep them securely protec;ed at night, as 

 frost nwy come upon us when we little expect it. Many plants, 

 such as the Tree Paeony, Magnolia conspicua, and some of the 

 more hardy of the Himalayan Pinuses, are in a very forward 

 state, and will require watching, or we may lose a season's 



growth. 



Reserve- Garden.— A part of this garden should, m all large es- 

 tablishments, be devoted to the rearing of evergreen shrubs, 

 such as Laurels, Rhododendrons, Kalmias, Yews, Laurustinus, 

 &c, which mav be propagated at home, or bought in from 

 the nurserymen when a year or two old, at a very trifling cost. 

 They come in very handy when making improvements, andarc 

 sure to grow from being habited to the soil and climate of the 

 place. There are not many places where a few thousands of 

 these might not be planted with great improvement to the 



grounds. . 



Pit and Frames.— Protect securely at night, but give all the air 

 possible in the dav-timc. Calceolarias, Hcliotropiums, &c, may 

 be p'ttcd off preparatory to being hardened for the flower- 

 garden. Should roe weather send the men in doors, a few 

 barrow-loads of pegs may be cut, of various sizes, ready for peg- 

 ging down shrubs, Roses, Verbenas, &c. &c. Besoms may also 

 be made of various sizr s. and flower-sticks pointed, stra-ghtencd, 

 tied into bundles, and laid up to dry.— W. P. A- 



1 1 1. -FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 

 Auriculas mav now be top-dressed, removing carefully the 

 surta-c-soil, and substituting some two-year decayed hotbed 

 manu.c and It i. Avod all hot, stimulating composts, for 



though thev may increase the size of the flowers for the present 

 season, yet it is *■ a food " so uncongenial with the nature of the 

 ulant that the foundation of future disease will be most assuredly 

 l ' i 



p'uluanthuses grown in pots may be kept moderately moist, 

 and a similar top-dressing as that recommended for the Auricula 

 will be of infinite service to them. They are, however, grown 

 on beds, with a north-east aspect, with great success. A cool 

 bottom, either natural or artificial, it must be borne m mind, is 

 a sine qua non for their perfect cultivation. 



Carnations.- Still give all air possible. If the green-fly begins 

 to be troublesome, remove it with a camel-hair brush. 



Pinks.— An spring advances the wire worm gets more active 

 and mischievous. If you have reason to suspect that any of 

 fiese lurk in your beds cut a Potato into quarters, inserting a 

 skewer in each ; place them in various parts just below the soil, 

 and examine them daily. This is an effectual trap. 



Tulips— We have as yet had but little frost or wet to affect 

 these flowers. As they advance they will require strict attention 

 to the precautions before directed. .. 



Ranunculuses.- In selecting roots for blooming choose those 

 with a high crown in preference to sire. The following are a 

 few that will make an improvement in any collection :— Tysoe s 

 Edgar, yellow, edged with puce; Cnstar's Apollo, crimson sell ; 

 Mr. Welch, white, edged with deep pink; Madeline, white, 

 beautiful rosy edge ; Bartlett's Charlotte, superbly mottledjanj 

 Esther, white, purple edge. The old flowers-Naxara, sp endid 

 daik : Socrates, olive; and Le Temeraire, pink str.pe-stiU con- 

 tinue the best in their respective classes, most of the new seett- 

 lings being either edged, spotted, or mottled. 

 Pansies are showing a tendency to bloom, arising from the 



