70 



THE GARDE N E R S' C II R O X I C L E. 



C F EB. 3, 



none, no more than in the pot. culture. It is attended 

 with little trouble; the saving of" labour is very great, ami 

 there is alio a fating in pott. Prom the time the tuckers 

 were planted to the time the fruit was cut the plants we 

 never lifted, but a few of the lower leaves were removed 

 and a little of the top soil was taken away and filled uj» 

 again with fresh soil ; this was done about March and 

 again in September. Between these times I loosened the 

 surface-soil occasionally. — It. M,, a Landscape Gardener. 



The Love Bird, — A. correspondent wishes to be in- 

 formed if the Love-bird (Agapornis pullaiia) has been 

 known to breed in this country ; as, he says, a few years 

 since three eggs were laid by a cage bird bel 4'\nz to a 

 lady at Cambridge who had kept these birds for a consider- 

 able period. 



Larch Trees.— My attention has been called to a 

 proposition which your correspondent, Mr. YV. Billing- 

 ton, states interrogatively as to the propriety of fal 

 Larch and other resinous trees in the early part of 

 summer, on the ground that at that period " there is 

 more of the resinous fluid afloat, or at least it is snore 

 regularly dispersed la the wood." I have frequently 

 heard this idea broached, and am glad of an opportunity 

 of contradicting it froen experiment, as I have always done 

 from theory, it being at variance wirh all correct prin- 

 ciples. Every physiologist must be aware that the 

 *• resinous. fluid " is a product of the plant itself, aftrr 

 the elaboration of the sap in the leaf, and, owing its 

 existence to that elaboration, can only be met with in a 

 descending or half-deposited atate. We know that the 

 first sap which rises in the returning aun.mer unites with 

 a port i of this deposit, causing the germination <»f ti 

 earliest buds ; but in so doing; it only dilutes, not i> 

 creases, the quantity of the last year's manufacture, so to 

 call it ; and by so doi only loads the titi r with a 

 quantity of water, the gradual evaporation of which <:r 

 ti.e timber is f« products sun-cracks, and an evident 



predisposition to decay. If your correspondent will try 



the periment, he will soon be satisfied of the error of 

 this notion — which has become almost a popular one— 

 that resinous trees should be felled in summer. Let a few 

 Larch be cut down in March, and an equal weight cut in 

 the following June or July (and it is by this that 1 have 

 proved it), and lei them be weighed against each other 

 again, after lying in the timber-yard a twelvemonth ; 

 he will ftnd that the summer-felled trees have lost 

 weight sgainst the others to a very considerable degree, 

 besides the cracking and warping exhibited by all 

 summer-felled timber. In fact, the sooner this opinion is 

 exploded the better ; for it arises from an entire want of 

 acquaintance with the distinction between the rising; sap, 

 which (for our purposes at least) is little else than water ; 

 and the elaborated juic, or cambium, of the plant, which 

 is, of course, saost plentiful in the stem just at or befor 

 the fall of the leaf, and most ct tually consolidated an I 

 dispersed in the timber m the winter. With regard to the 

 lat'er part of the prop that it ll nt that period, viz., 



in June, " more regularly dispersed in the wood," the 

 supposition is purely conjectural ami empirical. Nothing 

 can be more perfect or more equable than the disposition 

 of its elaborated juice, which the plant itself has made ; 

 and the rising sup rather disturbs and deranges this dis- 

 potition; of course, for an obvious and active purpose; 

 which, however, being unfulfilled at the time of falling 

 the tree, it lies in a state of arrested vegetable energy, so 

 to speak, extremely favourable to early decay. Whilst I 

 am on this subject, I am anxious to say one word on the 

 pruning of resinous trees, about which such conflicting 

 opinions are observed in the works on Arboriculture ; some 

 advising the excision of the bottom tier of lateral branches 

 each year, but the generality forbidding all pruning what- 

 ever, and advocating their being allowed to prime each 

 other by proximity. Like the umpire in the Fable of the 

 Cameleou, 1 am obliged to say, "both are wrong." If 

 one tier be taken oft* each year, it will be sometimes too 

 much, sometimes too little, accor< to the growth and 

 peculiarity of each tree ; if they he allowed to prune each 

 other, they leave dead snags sticking out in the stem, 

 which the descending sap is obliged to surround, but 

 which if cut off close to the stem it would have ov pped, 

 and preserved from decay; and completing the annularity 

 of that year's layer of new wood, would have made the 

 timber stronger and more regular. Pruning is a matter 

 not of rigid rules, but of principle. Let the pruner look 

 at the internode above and below the branch in question; 

 if the one below is considerably larger in girth than the one 

 above, then the branch may come away with advantage, 

 provided the plant be vigorous; and in the following year 

 he will find the pr -portion between those two internodes 

 of the stem more equable. If the two, or even three, 

 bottom tiers have a disproportionately thin internode 

 above them, and the stem be large and tolerably even in 

 size between and below them, then those two or three 

 tiers may all come away. But if the stem preserve a very 

 regular proportion all the way up, then the tiers should 

 only be taken oft one by one, beginning at the bottom, as 

 they begin to cease growing. If one branch of a tier, whether 

 high or low in the tree, be exuberant, let a part of it be 

 taken off. The best time to prune the resinous trees is 

 either in October — wirh the view of the wound being 

 covered by the turpentine before the frosts come, — or in 

 March after they are gone, and a month or six weeks 

 before the spring sap begins to rise, that the surface of 

 the wound may have time to harden so as to destroy the 

 elasticity of the mouths of the sap-vessels, and prevent the 

 escape of the rising sap. — C. Wren Hoskyns y Wmxhall. 

 Domestic Yeast. — Persons who are in the habit of 

 making their own bread can easily manufacture their own 

 yeast by attending to the following directions. Boil one 

 pound of good flour, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, 

 and a little salt, in two gallons of water for an hour when 



milk-warm bottle it and cork it close, and it will be fit ] An old tree was felled in 



a 



for use in 21 hours. One pound of ytast will make ingham Forest, and in the centre of" the old ■* 



• single individual of Cynoglossum sylvaticuaa^ 



18 lbs. of bread.— J. J\fc /., Hillsborough. 



Rats, — The great increase of rats in the present day is 



«.«.«. »..w b .*« " - - - - " " — # — — r . »««..... " .- .- y< 



partly owing to trapping the domestic cat close to the ) ti 

 labourer's cottage. I am, myself, no very great friend to 

 the feline race ; indeed, at one time, no animal ever raised 

 the bristles of my temper half so frequently as poor puss ; 

 but since I began to place cheap netting over my newly- 

 sown flower-beds, Tom and I have been on pretty good 

 terms. Nevertheless, villages are ransacked, and in which- 

 ever direction you ride the sixpenny prize is too frequently 

 exp I upon some wall or paling. Here we see the pied, 

 the sable, the tortoiseshell, and the old maid's tabby, ar- 

 ranged as trophies of victory. What a deprivation must 

 it be to the cottager on his return home from labour to 

 miat the greeting of puss ! how annoyed must he feel at 

 no longer hearing his favourite purring round his legs ! 

 Many of our peasantry (thanks to an increasing love of 

 gardening, and less fi lent calls upon John Barleycorn) 

 are now enabled to keep a pig ; such at least was the case 

 in the neighbourhood in whit b 1 sojourned during the past 

 summer. The sty soon becomes infested with the above- 

 mentioned vermin, which partake of the food given to the 

 grunters, and if not destroyed they soon betake themselves 

 to the hedges and ditch-banks iu large hordes. We now 

 see fields completely overrun by rats, and burrowed more 

 like the works of rabbits than those whiskered gentry. 

 The sporUm.in will doubtless argue that the cat, it once 

 given to ramble, kills a large quantity of game ; but 1 

 much doubt if the cat really destroys game equal to th« 



rat, partici ;\y in the breeding season ; for the latter 



no' only feeds upon the young birds, but also on the eggs 

 of p ridgeS and pheasants. These observations have 

 been elicited by seeing several accounts in the Chronicle 

 of the d niage occasioned by rats ; such statements at first 

 appear almost incredible, but unfortunately there can be 

 no doubt of their truth. I my-- If saw, only a few month 

 buck, hundreds of rats slaughtered in one field alone. — A 



Quiet Observer. 



/' anthus. — I found seedlings from Alexander very 

 variable and uncertain. Those from Lord IlanclifF gene- 

 rally resembled the parent, and there were many pretty 

 varieties, but with small flowers. Those from Tantarura 

 were like the parent. From Collier's Princess Royal I 

 had round fl wers with many petals; but by far the best 

 were raised from fine-eyed seedlings, impregnated with 

 Buck's George IV., RanelitT, or other good sorts. Among 

 these I had varieties of all shades ; and latterly I have 

 saved seed from the tine-eyed ones only — propagating the 

 best for that purpose, and nipping off the flowers from the 

 named sorts when I have got their pollen. Loudon and 

 others have .*• 1 that this plant is much hardier than the 

 Auricula : the very contrary is the fact; for in 1S38 I 

 ■aw both in a fi e — of which many squares were out : 

 the Auriculas all survived, nnd seemed little worse ; the 

 Polyanthuses were all killed. Over-poiting is very bad 

 for them ; a little heat in early spring seems to help them 

 to root; they should have timely attention in autumn to 

 get them established early, and a situation kept regularly 

 moist by shade and shelter from all drying winds. — O. 



Dutch Cl< r. — The sudden appearance of Clover 

 in pastures after some particular top-dressing, or in cer- 

 tain moon after the ling has been burnt, has often excited 

 the surprise of observers, though perhaps without induc- 

 ing them to make any accurate investigation of the cir- 

 cumstances under which it is produced ; and it is probable 

 that, in some cases, there has not been an acute discrimina- 

 tion of species. Observations by some competent person 

 on this point would certainly not be without interest, and 

 might lead to more important results than might at first 

 be anticipated, both in a scientific and economical point 

 of view. A still more curious and inexplicable instance 

 of the sudden occurrence of a large natural crop of White 

 Clover is that which so commonly takes place whtn large 

 districts, as on the Lincolnshire coasr, are rescued from 

 the sea by embankments, and fertilized by the admission 

 of the tide after the embankment has been completed, until 

 the tract of country is in a proper state for cultivation. 

 Some one conveniently situated for such observations, 

 with a very slender botinical knowledge, but with a turn 

 for patient and accurate investigation, would, by com- 

 mencing from the moment of the final exclusion of the tide, 

 most probably be able to clear np this very perplexing 

 matter. As regards the appearance of Clover in pas- 

 ture lands, there is by no means the same difficulty ; 

 for, not only will the seeds lie dormant for years where 

 they are out of the influence of air from the presence 

 of a thick vegetation above them, but it is very pro- 

 bable that in certain cases they may be propagated by 

 the little tubers which are so general on the roots of 

 Clovers, Vetches, and many other leguminous plants. 

 These, indeed, in general appear to be mere reservoirs of 

 nutritive matter, for they often run through their phases 

 of developement very rapidly ; but in other cases it is far 

 from improbable that, when they are not demanded by 

 the exigencies of the plant, they may be capable of repro- 

 ducing it, as we know that such bodies may lie dormant 

 for years. Everyone must have observed, after the 

 periodical felling of woods, what a quantity of herbaceous 

 plants appear, of which there has not been a trace for 

 years, merely from the clearing of the surface of the soil 

 from its thick coat of underwood. And this is not only 

 the case with plants which spring from seed, but with 

 others ; as Orchidaceae, which spring more generally from 

 bers. In certain woods which abound with the Fly 

 Orchis, just after the periodical felling, not a trace is to 

 be found for years after the underwood has once re-es- 

 tablished itself. A very curious instance of the 

 appearance of a plant hitherto unknown in the neigh- 

 bourhood hss lately fallen within my observation. 



peared 



A large crop has sprung up from this individua 

 probable that it is now completely established, 

 many other curious facts of a similar nature m.^Jj " 

 sionally excite our surprise ; but it seems most unne 

 to have recourse to any notions 60 wild as those of 

 neous generation. The circumstance of the appearance oT 

 species of Acarus during the course of certain chemical^ 

 perimei.ts instituted by Mr. Crosse, was laid before uV 

 Trench Academy, and they were, I believe, unanimone* 

 considered quite unworthy of attention as connected m 

 the question of spontaneous generation. In the instsasm 

 which have given rise to the present observations, taae 

 ought to be some pretence at investigation before explss» 

 ations of such a nature be adverted to. For my *■* 

 part, I should not think the appearance of a flock of lWj, 

 by spontaneous generation in the Lincolnshire marsatu 

 matter at all more marvellous than that of a crop of Clswr 

 springing up without any pre-existent germs, fortheaoW 

 tation of the several organs to the purposes for what 

 the object was created does net show the wisdom iad 

 power of the Creator less in one case than the other.— If 

 T. Berkeley. 



Gold of Pleasure. — An oil is expressed from the 

 In France, brooms somewhat resembling our carpet. 

 brooms, are made of the dry plant after the seed* st* 

 been threshed out. — M. T. B. 



Ashleavvd Kidney Potatoes. — I bastard trench i 

 piece of rich light sandy ground, about 18 ins. den, 

 and break it well with a spade. At the bottom tf 

 each trench is spread some half-decomposed horse-das;, 

 about four inches deep, and on this I plant the sets who*, 

 cutting a small piece of the nairow end off, as I coniisa 

 it is useless, and placing them upright, the ground a 

 planted as the trenching proceeds ; the tubers are laid a 

 lines fully nine inches deep and nine inches apart in tat 

 rows, which are UJ inches fiom each other. I cover th 

 sur ace of the ground for about three inches deep via 

 dung, similar to that which is put into the trench. Tan 

 receive one moulding up when the Potatoes are about ■ 

 inches high ; a little damaged salt is mixed with the Mi, 

 which causes the Potatoes to be well flavoured. 15 y adopt- 

 ing this plan an excellent crop may be produced early s 

 June if the tubers are planted between the 25th and 3tn 

 of January. In taking up the crop select the best ripens 

 ones, and let them be thoroughly dried in the sun uau 

 they become shrivelled ; these will always come earliat 

 — Anonymous. 



2Ubtetos. 



The Botany of the Voyage of IT. M.S. Sulphur. Edits 1 

 by R. 15. Hinds, Esq. ; the Botanical description! b 

 George Benthara, Esq. 4to. Part I. Smith, Elder. 

 and Co. 



The voyage of the Sulphur occupied a period of six yean. 

 during which time the south-east of South America, tat 

 whole of the west coast of that continent, some of tfcf 

 islands in the Indian Archipelago, and eventually v 

 coast of China were visited. Mr. Hinds, who was « 

 surgeon of the expedition, was a zealous naturalist, m 

 lost no opportunity of forming collections, especially s 

 Conchology and Botany. His Herbarium was placed s 

 the hands of Mr. Benthara, and the new plants wbicM 

 contained are to be published in the present work, usm 

 the authority of the Lords of the Admiralty, the B° ttB j* 

 descriptions being written by Mr. Bentham, and * 

 general observations by Mr. Hinds, whose attention •» 

 particularly turned, during the whole voyage, to Bounaa 

 geography. . 



The Number before us contains the commencemen^ 

 the Californian Flora, and is illustrated by 10 lithograf* 

 plates of remarkable plants of merit. Mr. Hinds gi«* 

 graphic account of the general nature of the ve ^!\ 

 and especially of the Russian settlement of Sitka, watc* 



must extract. ^ 



" The number of rainy days in the year is ™ T ]J!Z 

 and at Sitka only 37 really tine clear days were reconjj 

 throughout this period. At this Russian settlement Mj 

 extended observations gave the mean temperature 

 year as 45° 5', and the range from "2° 3' to 81° . * 

 whole country is bold and mountainous, interseC iUi 

 deep and moist valleys, and is everywhere covered ^ 

 gloomy forest of Spruce. These vast forests offer a s«J 

 which powerfully arrests attention. The trees are ^ 

 of enormous dimensions ; stretching upvrardSt^^ 

 scarcely a branch, to where the eye almost ^ a '!?. t ? f0 -k 

 them, with enormous trunks, very deceptive till D «r 

 within the scope of our experience by means oft ^ 

 line ; beneath, a most luxuriant undergrowth cvCl J^| 

 abounds, and has an exuberance and charm * ^ 

 which is rarely supposed to be possible beyo ^ 

 tropics. But over these the influence of tM ^ 

 climate is unceasing. It most probably nurr "j 8 - ls ^s* 

 a rapid existence the more lowly shrubs, and i ^ 

 on the trees is very marked. None are seen to a ^ 

 great age, that is, none have that appearance; " ^ 

 the vigour of life is past, they rapidly yield to i the ^ 

 influence of the moist atmosphere, soil, and in ^^ 

 of Mosses and Lichens, and soon fall to the 8^ ^ 

 which iu some places they occupy in great num j^ 

 as is everywhere observable where the climate is ^ 

 the variety in species is not great ; and some --us 

 with multitudes of individuals covering a very larg »r^ 

 The account of Upper California is not less ,nI " ^ 

 " It was late in the autumn of 1837, when an ^ 

 tion up the Rio Sacramento penetrated from 









