THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



,-„fr>rm Seedsmen ariu nuj8ciunvi.vu-.--2 -- • -- 



i TiPMiment of all the usual varieties of the above, which they 

 * fn"e 1 at low prices. The Seeds have been selected with great 

 r»re bv a gentleman long accustomed to supply the trade 

 circulars with a list of the varieties can be haa on application 



Circ 

 as above 



T 



HE LATE Mr. LOUDON. 



the Fr .*-»»-• 



A Public Meeting of 



room of 



S^SsJSe ^eivAmtm of extricaYinghis Widow and Daughter 

 fr'om the difficulties into which they are placed by Mr. Loudon's 



9U ?t d ?Aoped th*t noblemen and gentlemen who patronise Horti- 

 culture aiid also all Gardeners and Nurserymen who are within 

 a reasonable distance, will attend. 



NEWTUCHSIAS, VBRBBNAS, PETUNIAS, ANAGALLIS, &c. 



1%T MILLER'S LIST appears in this day's Paper, 



VV • offering his extensive Collections of the above Plants at 



rervlow prices:— as 12 distinct Sorts of choice Fuchsias, for 



-i f\d ■ 1° fine distinct Varieties of Verbenas, 3s. 6d. ; Anagallis, 



mixed 'Sorts, as. per dozen, Sec. &c. &c. All sent post-free. 



Providence Nur sery, Ramsgate. 



(SratiOmm* <£f)um 



SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEK 



„ . _- f Horticultural . .2 p.m. 



Tumoat, Feb. 20 .{ Linnean . . 8 „.„. 



I 8 pm. 



Wednesday, Feb. 21 . Society of Art* 

 Friday, March 1 • Botanical 



8 p.m. 



Mr. Williams is, doubtless, entitled to the credit 

 •of having taken great pains to explain in a popular 

 manner, and with reference to the actual ordinary pro- 

 ceedings of everyday business, the nature and propor- 

 tions of the different materials which find their way 

 into a furnace, and particularly for impressing on the 

 •consumers of coal the distinction which exists between 

 the earlier and later periods of the act of combustion, 

 or rather of the act of destruction ; for the first step is 

 obviously, as indeed it has been always called, a pro- 

 cess of distillation, in which heat, so far from being 

 liberated, is rapidly absorbed from that portion of the 

 fuel which is in a more advanced stage of decompo- 

 sition. This distinction creates the first difficulty 

 which Mr. Williams proposes to meet ; but there is a 

 second, and perhaps greater difficulty, arising from the 

 liability of the coal to form carbonic oxide instead of 

 carbonic acid, a change which renders a given portion 

 of carbon less effective as a producer of heat, in the 

 proportion of 1 to 2. 



Both these points have long been weil understood by 

 chemists, and in some measure by practical furnace- 

 builders; numerous attempts have been made to 

 diminish the unfavourable circumstances, and to sub- 

 stitute a better state of things ; but hitherto without 

 any decided success. 



rpl!? 6 l m P° rtance . of the first question— that which 

 reates to consuming the volatile products, may be 

 judged of, when it is remembered that each ton of 

 coal produces from 8,000 to 9,000 cubic feet of com- 

 won illuminating gas; the heating powers of which 

 musbe immense, if brought property into action. 



Jcin ^' "? tHiS iS ' H Slnks Int0 in «S" ifi - 



SrhnnT, ™ m ?*«L with the possibility of forming 

 aTaten°f Xld i m lar S e quantities. The published 

 for IcZJ C ° a i aie t0 ° disc <> r <*ant to furnish materials 

 question tn e , ln ^ rence on this sub J ect ; but there is no 

 th vlt the , Carb ° n ^ich does not accompany 

 after the hvH * Tod *«*-*M lotion which remains 

 to renlnr r ° gen has taken with ifc so much as serves 

 which • " luminou *--or, in other words, that portion 



fttort i?rh! Pre?ented bythe coke in a oommon gas- 

 hea" V ™ m constituent of the coal for producing 



W*ed M? fi* ?* P* 1- ^ ing^dient be con- 



carb nic add TpT ° f Carb ° nic ° xide ' in8tead ° f 

 oxygen wWchThp i ^° rn,er converti "S only half the 

 stated i' nnl lH ter re q«i^s-the loss, as. before 

 much of ♦ h? ^ ° f the total heatin £ ^ects in so 



There fc . *?? aS is thus dis P ose < 1 of. 

 and which ,L uH Uestion which is sometimes raised, 

 there are nn 7 b . e , of con siderable consequence, though 



is ^ated t hat ftS K ^ X P™ nt * on the subject. 1 1 

 P^per arlmivT Mrogen be not consumed by the 



t0 cosine 2S* ° f 0X >* en > k wil1 have a tendency 

 th « Portion I • SOme of tbe nitrogen liberated from 

 suiting com ° ai . acted on b y the carbon, and the re- 

 is apposed ?° Un , d WOuld of course be ammonia, which 

 in Jurio US in ! WC , 0W not llow tmly), to be positively 



lost Ae unhn CP f l d T of the ne S ative evil of having 

 This i s no ? nt ty^Sen- 



the nydro^en • P ? s ^ of much importance, because 

 r eason • an/1 ;**??"? turning to account, for the first 



faU " to the gro U nd accom P lishea > the third point 



^nay^ l?*! 1 ^ is subjected in a furnace, 

 I s ' *» the fi™ \ briefl / de *cribed : The fresh fuel 

 ?* at alreadv ;i? S ^ nC , ea heated at tbe expense of the 



,nto a "laterfKPf- 111 the furnace; k is then P ut 

 ex Penditu re nf i tlllatlon > occasionin " * 



a M the so-callJn a ! 5lnaBl V Uchasthis process uemanus 

 f^S the hvdl m CaI ? ric for the P«'P«« of vola- 

 this expendit r! gGn ; *? d alt bough it is possible that 



**** the comhn^ 7 £ i repaidj if care be taken t0 



combustion of these volatile matters before 



99 



ney are out of reach, there remains still the difficulty f shrubs and trees, 

 before alluded to, of a very different, and, indeed, ' 

 almost opposite state of circumstances at different 

 periods in the same furnace. 



This is the point at which all the inventors start. 

 Some (but these are a minority) propose an apparatus 



capable of being modified by hand, so as to be" adapted 

 to the different stages of fresh, half-burnt, and incan- 

 descent fuel. To do this effectually, however, requires 



In this country nil the forms of 

 gangrene are frequently called canker ; but this term is 

 more especially confined to a peculiar disease of the 

 bark and stem of Apple and Pear-tree?, to which alone 

 we think it ought to be applied, and on which we 

 shall hereafter have occasion to make some remarks. 



We shall speak first of moist gangrene, as we 

 have recently had some inquiries made concerning its 

 attacks. Of the families in which this disease occurs, 



more skill ami more attention than can be reasonably it is probably most frequent in the Cactacem and 

 X, fin R J2L%*5!^ f ° r a «S»"» M-embryacei ; it is, however, not uncommon in the 



which shall he the best for an average state of things, 

 and submit to a little loss at the extreme periods. 



To begin with carburetted hydrogen. It is certain 

 that, in order to consume it advantageously, an ade- 

 quate supply of unvitiated atmospheric air must be 

 supplied to it. Some have contended that this may 

 be done by freely supplying air at the ash-pit, so that 

 more shall pass through the fire-bars than the carbon 

 will take up, and they presume that the remainder 

 will go to combine its oxygen with the hydrogen. 

 Others have supposed that if the door above the fuel 

 have an opening, air may there be admitted in proper 

 quantities, and passing unaltered over the fire, will 

 burn the rising hydrogen. A third class requires 

 that the air destined to burn the hydrogen shall never 

 pass within the sphere of the influence of the burning 

 coals, but shall be admitted behind or beyond the fire. 

 Finally, Mr. Williams says that it is not enough to 

 admit the air at this place; the air must be split into 

 small streams to secure its rapid and intimate 

 mixture with the hydrogen, or else combustion will 

 not take place. 



Whether it be true that no air will pass through the 

 burning coal (retaining its oxygen), however freely it 

 be supplied, we cannot pretend to say ; nor can we 

 assert that it will be sufficient to introduce it in front, 

 but over the fire, as secondly proposed. Neither are 

 we disposed to deny that there may be a decided 

 advantage in breaking up the admitted current into a 

 number of small streams, presenting, it must be 

 allowed, a greater quantity of surface to the act of 

 combination than would be afforded by suffering the 

 air to enter at one large aperture. We think, indeed, 

 that, with reference to the place of admission chosen 



by Mr. Williams, this division is good; for although ___, _ rt ... . raww , -.«**•. 



we cannot agree with his reasonings upon the subject, body was cylindrical, tapering at both ends, and hav- 

 we think that this arrangement gives the inflammable ; ing the movements of a minute Gordius. We can 



Cucumber and Melon and other fruits, and attacks 

 the Balsam and other succulent plants. On its oc- 

 currence in a plant, as in the species of Cactus, the 

 stem is found in different parts to have spots of vary- 

 ing size, which at first have a darker green colour 

 than the surrounding parts. The centre of these 

 gradually changes colour, becoming first yellowish and 

 then of a dark brown or black colour ; whilst the cir- 

 cumference of thespot goeson increasing till it embraces 

 the whole of the ste.n, the same changes of colour 

 being observed. At first the affected parts appear 

 slightly swelled ; but they at length contract, and the 

 epidermis bursts, and from the opening thus formed, a 

 dark fluid oozes, which has a fetid, disagreeable odour. 

 If allowed^ to go on, the disease spreads to the whole 

 plant, the tissues become rapidly disorganised, and an al- 

 most entire decomposition of them ensues. On examin- 

 ing under the microscope the tissues of a plant thus af- 

 fected, before its organisation was destroyed, we found 

 that the greatest difference that existed between the 

 sound and the diseased parts was in the colour of the 

 cells. The diseased cells were much darker in colour, 

 arising from containing in their interior a number of 



dark granules. They were most abundant near and in the 

 bark, indicating that the disease commenced at this 

 part. They* were also more evident in the sounder 

 parts around the hardened masses which are so 

 common in the tissue of Cactaceae. The fluid which 

 oozed from the diseased parts was filled with irregular- 

 shaped dark granules, of the same size as the regular 

 transparent granules of the fluid of the healthy tissue. 

 In some specimens of the Cactus speciosissimus 

 attacked with gangrene, which we recently examined, 

 we found in the diseased fluid a number of animal- 

 cules, apparently belonging to the genus Vibrio. Their 



a still greater 

 process demands 



Or 



O 



. igement giv 

 gases a better chance of being burnt before they leave 

 the furnace, or its immediate neighbourhood. 



Mr. Williams's arguments for thus minutely 

 dividing the currents of air we must consider on a 

 future occasion. — A. 



In speaking of the particular Diseases of Plants, 

 we are not prepared to give a classification of them 

 according to the principles on which systems of Noso- 

 logy are ordinarily constructed. We shall, however, 

 be obliged frequently to make use of terms which are 

 employed to designate the diseases of animals; but we 

 must warn our readers against supposing that there is 

 any similarity between many of the diseases of plants 

 and animals which have a common name. The im- 

 portant part which the blood-vessels and nerves play 

 iu the economy of animals must always produce a 

 great distinction between their disturbed functions 

 and those of the vegetable kingdom. At the same 

 time, we must draw attention to the important fact, 



that the tissues of both animals and plants originate in the 



cell, and that probably no disease takes place either in 

 the one or the other without one or more of the cells 

 of which they are composed being more or less altered 

 in structure. 



The medical man divides diseases into functional 

 and organic ; and under the former head places all 

 those diseases in which he cannot detect an alteration 

 iu the structure of the diseased organ ; but this arises 

 from his want of the power of observing the minute 

 changes of structure on which the diseased function 

 depends. There is no such thing as function inde- 

 pendent of structure, and there is no evidence to 

 prove that a function can be deranged whilst the struc- 

 ture is quite perfect. From the simple forms which 

 the tissues of plants assume, we can much more easily 

 detect slight alterations in their structure than can be 

 done wiili those of animals. We shall therefore as- 

 sume that there is no such thing as functional disease 

 in vegetables, and that when disease occurs amongst 

 them, it depends on altered structure, however little 

 this alteration may be observed. 



In the great majority of the diseases of plants, a 

 change of structure may be easily seen, and in no case 

 more evidently than in that form which we shall call 

 gangrene. This is a term used in animal pathology to 

 indicate the first stage of mortification or death of a 

 part, and may be appropriately applied to the same 

 occurrence amongst vegetables. Gangrene is most 

 frequently met with in the leaves, fruits, and stems of 

 plants, and of these parts, those which are most suc- 

 culent are most liable to its attacks. It is divided by 

 German writers into moist and dry gangrene; the 

 moist occurring in the succulent parts of plants, and 

 the dry attacking the woody parts, as the stem, of 



draw no conclusions from this observation in a single 

 case, but it is interesting in connection with the fact 

 that an animalcule belonging to the genus Vibrio pro- 

 duces the disease known by the name of u cockles" 

 in Wheat. 



With regard to the causes of this disease, both cold 

 and moisture will produce it. Succulent plants are 

 susceptible of the action of cold, and if this is long 

 continued the processes of- life are no longer carried 

 on, and the laws of chemical action begin to prevail, 

 and the consequence is the departure of vitality and 

 the appearance of this disease. Moisture, either in 

 the soil or in the atmosphere, in too great quantities, 

 will bring on gangrene, and more especially when 

 combined with a low temperature. A too great 

 quantity of water in the tissue, which may occur 

 either from there being too great a supply to the 

 root, or too little facility for getting rid of it by exha- 

 lation, will deprive the plant of vital power, and ex- 

 pose it to the destruction of its tissues, from the pre- 

 valence of the laws of chemical action. 



Such being the cause of this disease, the treatment 

 must always be directed to the immediate removal of 

 them. The diseased parts should be cut away, and 

 every precaution taken to insure a proper amount of 

 temperature, a drier atmosphere, and drier soil. But 

 it should be remembered that these are only relative 

 terms, and that what may be an excess of cold or 

 moisture for one plant, so as to produce gangrene, 

 may be for another plant of the same genus only that 

 which it requires for the performance of its healthy 

 functions. — L. E. 



BEES.— No. VII. 



{Concluded from p. 83.) 



The Destroying of Bees and the Uniting of Swarms. — 

 The time of taking or harvesting honey depends upon the 

 locality, the state of the weather, and the lateness of the 

 season. The proper time is when the Bees begin to 

 eat more than they gather ; and this, generally speak- 

 ing, takes place about the 1st of September. In ordi- 

 nary fine seasons your second swarms and turn-outs 

 will weigh from 30 to 50 lbs. From these you should 

 select some for stocks, the first swarms being generally 

 too heavy. Choose those that have bred well in July and 

 August, that are full of combs which cons 

 If you should select a first swarm 

 its queen is not three years old. 

 put a young one in its place; for 

 queen to die a natural death, ine 

 that is, if your hives are large, 

 second swarm or turn-out, that h 



timely-impregnated queen, destroy hWr, trnttpii la wkil 



' kit*. Tm amijti 



swarm with a good queen into th^liiw. T4* »»iiiH£ 

 swarms is a very simple concern, klim hrrimg ir* 

 the Bees out of one hive into arf<e«pty tit, iVivtrt tker 

 hive into which they are to be put, and tkrew Uem en 



