THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



147 



R v N I NCULUSES, ANEMONES 

 i.rnNIUMS, AURICULAS, CARNATIONS, 



•ui»NHJM^ IUM LANC1FOLluM . 



rnAnM riaoham Rise,near London (removed from 



H GROOM, ^"P"™* *,' N T florist to Hkr Majmtt, 

 to inform^ the ^ .l.tr. (j e ^ ^ ^^^ of tbeaboje 

 irooence of the suca » sn« offer them at very moderate 



S5^» •' h, \"o7Srt?c«larly recommend an early application 



•*» Hf/fn RANl'NCUI USES and ANEMONES, as they 

 5 be ni»de for RA>i ^ of March to ensnre a 



^ n l be HsCa^^ 



•^JS ^PLANTS > nSw ready, and will be forwarded by post 



5 cation The Trade_sup plied. 



onappiicR . rFD c __a very liberal Remuneration will 



M EL0 - <o some PERFECTLY PURE AND GENUINE 

 *** l \ en °H,r named Melons or Seeds procured the last 

 SEEDS of the ^unde J£»** \™ d 'candahar, will be given in 

 ye „ direct fro* iChlnj jWM^ ^^ ^^ , 



« x ^J^ r ; Xukshefan. Sweet Melon of Ispahan, and Italian 



G T P -iSon to Mr. G. Mills, Gardener, Gunnersbury Park, 

 l^fc. Middlesex 





Ci)t tifottttnttz' ®t)romcle 



SATURD AY, MARC H 9, 1844. 



mfftiNGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 wVdnmday, March 13 Society of Arts . • 8 r u. 



M ... J Hortii'tihural 

 Tlmuat, March 19 -J Linnwan 



Wednesday, March 20 Microscopical 



3 pm. 



8 FM. 

 8 P.M. 



* With the exception stated below, trees imbibe 

 from every part of them which is exposed to moisture, 

 and give off (transpire) from every part of them which 

 is exposed to drought. The root is the part which is 

 constantly exposed to moisture, and which furnishes 

 the constant supply of sap to the tree. That part of 

 the root which is universally believed to imbibe no 

 moisture, the woody part, is the only part which does 

 imbibe moisture; and that pari of the root which is 

 universally believed to beth3 only part which does imbibe 

 moisture, the unripe ends or fibres ,is the only part which 

 does not imbibe moisture. 11 



Such is the startling declaration of Colonel Green- 

 wood, whose book on planting we noticed a fortnight 

 since (p. 1 18). On the one hand, it is the opinion of 

 a man who has evidently paid attention to practical 

 foresting, and has indulged in the good habit of think- 

 ing for himself; on the other, it is entirely opposed to 

 the views of preceding writers, and strikes at the root 

 of some of the most solid observations in vegetable 

 Physiology. It has, therefore, a double claim on our 

 attention. 



We will not stop to inquire at what time the term 



* spongelet" was first applied to the young and tender 



points of the roots of plants. It will be sufficient to 



state that, with the exception of a few ill-informed 



persons, who fancied the spongelets were special 



organs, everybody from the days of Duhamel up to 



those of Colonel Greenwood, has recognised in those 



spongelets the most powerful of the absorbent parts of 



plants. Senebier, a Swiss physiologist, proved the 



fact by the following experiment :— " I placed," he 



says, " in water, a plant of Radish, inserting only the 



point of the root ; it remained fresh for many days. 



I bent the root of another Radish, without breaking 



jt, and plunged the curved part in water, so that the 



leaves and the point of the root were above the 



edge of the vessel employed : the leaves at first flagged, 



but as soon as the point of the root was introduced 



into a tube of water, they recovered their original fresh- 



I repeated the same experiment, with similar 



* — — •— w v«»£r W * 1111 \~KA%.y TT ALII UAU111U1 



suits, on several other plants, having roots flexible 



ness. 



ously remarked that many plants suffered more from 

 oeing planted under old Elms when they were 4 or 

 oieec oft than when they were close to the trunk; 

 oecause, at the former distance the fine fibres of the 

 nJ?\F ere a ^ le - toexer cise their sucking force, while, 

 near the trunk itself, the old roots were inactive." This 

 J" iact is so well-known a circumstance, that it could 

 nn\\\ u l,a 1 v f. esca P ed observation, if Senebier had never 

 ffi. V s Physiology. Let us take a few instances 



the wan * l iere can be no doubt - In a fruit border 

 off 7h - eS become t0 ° luxuriant ; the gardener cuts 



absorrff p01 . nts 0f the roots where the g reat act of 

 them a 1S g ° lng 0n ' and so for the moment checks 

 is man ° d tree is exhausting the soil; where 

 un th* -i aaded >— r °und the trunk, or by breaking 

 man ! at , a dista »ce from it, and introducing the 

 answ/VV hat place? We think there is but one 

 ignorant i ( l uestion - Jt is true that we have seen 

 old trp P eo P le Paring water round the trunk of an 

 but th m • e , sumtner » in the hope of reviving it ; 

 wa'er f y mig , u alm °st as well have poured the 

 thatnl a m a " i lhe , r count y- And again, we all know 

 plantP l ,.u Ch are g^wing in pots mav be trans- 

 tion^ xL a 1 1 , S . easons with safety, when no precau- 

 of thl e yable the same plants to live if taken out 



Jouiur £T" , In that case > the preservation of the 

 tion of ^,1 "r 61 " ro0ts is undoubtedly the explana- 

 ^ summer! 111 SUC ° eSS attendin S poUransplanting 



Ut ex P eri ment is hardly necessary to show that 



the young and tender fibres of plants are the most pow- ] 

 erful of their absorbing surfaces. It is an undoubted 

 law that all vegetable tissue allows water to pass 

 through it with a facility proportioned to its youth. 

 The younger is vegetable tissue, the thinner it also is, 

 and the more easily penetrated by fluids. As it grows 

 old it thickens, hardens, and even dies : and with that 

 thickening, hardening, and dying, does its power of 

 transmitting fluids diminish. The youngest parts of 

 the roots of plants are the spongelets ; next in age is 

 the part behind them, or the small fibres ; and the 

 oldest are the large thick roots ; therefore the most 

 absorbent are the spongelets, next the smaller fibres, 

 aud last the large thick roots. 



Let it not be supposed from these statements, that 

 w T e deny all power of absorption to the surface of old 

 roots ; on the contrary they no doubt do absorb to a 

 certain extent; and Col. Greenwood is right when he 

 says that " trees imbibe from any part which is 

 exposed to moisture." But the question is not, whether 

 the roots of plants absorb by their points alone, or by 

 their old surfaces ; it is, whether they absorb fastest by 

 the one or the other : and to that there can only be 

 one answer. Col. Greenwood says that in transplant- 

 ing " the supply must be equal to the demand ; if not, 

 scarcity will ensue:" and nothing can be more true; 

 it is the fundamental axiom of transplantation. And 

 that being so, it is obvious that the supply of food to 

 plants will be greatest where the most powerful 

 absorbing parts are preserved. Those parts are the 

 tender fibres and their spongy extremities. 



It is superfluous to examine the evidence produced 

 by Col. Greenwood to prove that all parts of plants in 

 contact with moisture will absorb it, because nobody 

 denies that fact. The true question is, which parts 

 will absorb it fastest, so as to ensure a supply equal to 

 such demand as may be made? Physiologists say the 

 spongelets ; Col. Greenwood undertakes to prove that 

 " roots do not imbibe at all from the small sponges 

 (spongioles) which are supposed to exist at their ends." 

 Let us consider the nature of his proof. 



He begins, as will be seen from the passage just 

 quoted, by denying the very existence of spongelets. 

 But we presume that fibres must have an extremity ; 

 as they grow by additions to the extremity, that part 

 must be the youngest; and as spongelet is merely the 

 technical name of the young point of a root, a sponge- 

 let must have a real existence. We may therefore 

 consider the existence of spongelets to he sufficiently 

 proved. The next argument is founded upon the 

 roots of Horse Chesnuts growing in water. It was 

 found that " where the root was cut off when several 

 inches long, the plant would still grow, and would 

 continue to throw out fresh roots as fast as they were 

 cut off." But this proves nothing further than that 

 the Horse Chesnut seed, when in contact with water, 

 is capable of absorbing fluid fast enough to live until 

 the loss of the rootlets can be repaired. It surely 

 does not prove that the young fibri-s had no action. 

 Then it was found that "if the plant was divided 

 from the seed, by cutting the umbilical bands, it died, 

 though the root was perhaps twice the length of the 

 plant." We are not sure whether we understand what 

 is meant by " umbilical bands ; " but if the bases of 

 the seed leaves (cotyledons) are intended by the 

 expression, we still find no proof in support of Col. 

 Greenwood's theory ; for we all know that seedlings 

 are incapable of living in the absence of their coty- 

 ledons. The experiment shows that roots cannot live 

 in the absence of leaves, or their equivalents, which 

 the cotyledons are ; but by no means that the young 

 fibres of roots are useless. 



Beyond this experiment we find nothing in Col. 

 Greenwood's book in support of his novel views, 

 except the well-known fact that trees may be trans- 

 planted successfully when the fibres are for the most 

 part cut off. In those cases, however, it will be found 

 that, in the first instance, the wounded ends them- 

 selves absorb fluid until the organ isable matter lodged 

 in the vicinity is called into action and has formed 

 fresh fibres. And the notorious danger of trusting to 

 the transplanting of trees with greatly mutilated roots 

 lies in the chance that the leaves will draw upon the 

 roots for fluid faster than the roots can provide it, 

 and that thus the supply should not be equal to the 

 demand. 



Let no one therefore imagine, because it is possible, 

 under very favourable circumstances, to transplant 

 trees with few small fibres attached to them, that it 

 is a practice which can be in any way recommended for 

 adoption. We must ne\er neglect the probable, from 

 a blind reliance upon the possible. 



BARRENNESS IN THE FIG. 

 Much inquiry has taken place lately about the manage- 

 ment of Fig-trees in our moist climate, and I do not won- 

 der at it ; for of all our fruit-trees the Fig seems most diffi- 

 cult to bring under system. When, however, the bright 

 and dry climate of the East, where it is indigenous, is taken 

 into consideration, and compared with the climate of 

 Britain, together with the rapidly-absorbing powers of 

 both the roots and leaves of this plant, the wonder will be 

 much diminished. 



Short-jointed wood is allowed on all hands to be'the 

 criterion of fruit fulness in most fruit-trees; this is parti- 

 cularly so with the Fig, and of course is quite incompatible 

 with luxuriance. Now, few persons that have any prac- 

 tical knowledge of its habits will venture to put manure of 

 any kind within its reach in open-ground culture ; animal 

 manures, especially, are entirely out of the question. 

 However, it is not enough to refrain from the use of 

 manures ; even plain loam, with liberty to range, is by far 

 too powerful a stimulant for the average heat of our 

 summers. I have some Fig-trees on a south wall that were 

 old trees when the following detail of operations took 

 place : they had grown with excessive luxuriance for many 

 years, and seldom bore fruit ; the leaves were twice as large 

 as they should be, and the internodes between the buds on 

 the young shoots were from four to six or eight inches in 

 length, whereas in fruitful Figs the internode is sometimes 

 barely perceptible. These Fig-trees, in consequence of alter- 

 ations, had to be removed, and when they were replanted I 

 placed a temporary wall at two feet distance from the 

 trees, and filled the inclosed space with maiden soil — not 

 the turf, bu l taken from under the turf; and in addition 

 to this, I formed a substratum of bricks, allowing only 

 nine inches of soil in depth. The Figs were taken up in 

 November, and laid in amongst some rubbish until the 

 end of March ; it had been a most severe winter, and the 

 trees when planted were to all appearance nearly dead — 

 the bark was much discoloured. However, they grew after 

 some weeks, and they are now again too luxuriant, 

 although they have borne much better since the operation. 

 From this, and many other observations I have made 

 for years, I have no doubt that it would be much better 

 for the Fig out of doors, as well as for some luxuriant 

 Pears, to mix a very considerable portion of stone, in 

 masses of some size, with the soil, when the border is pre- 

 pared. I should think that equal portions of sound loam, 

 rough lime-rubbish, and masses of stone, trod well together 

 when dry, would be an excellent compost for Figs, or even 

 for many tender Pears. The rapid action of the root must 

 be impeded by some means — and what more in accordance 

 with nature than acting thus on the texture of the soil ? 

 If this were done, we should not hear so much about dis- 

 budding and systems of pruning. The Thorn tree, with 

 its profusion of fruit, ought to teach us a lesson — growing, 

 perchance, on a solid and shallow bank of dry soil ; here 

 the annual growth is in proportion to the light and heat 

 of the climate, and the consequence is, extensive and per- 

 fect elaboration of the sap. — Robert Errington, 



ON TRAPPING VERMIN DESTRUCTIVE TO 



GAME. 



Some gardeners have to act as gamekeepers, espe- 

 cially those who are employed by gentlemen whose in- 

 comes are too 6mall to allow them to keep men for the 

 sole purpose of preserving or of killing game. Though 

 many gardeners can kill, yet they sometimes cannot pre- 

 serve game ; that is to say, they do not know how to 

 destroy vermin. To such, a few remarks on the trapping 

 of vermin that destroy game may be useful. 



They are generally taken in what gamekeepers in the 

 north call u wears." A wear is only a few twigs stuck in 

 or laid on the ground around a bait and a trap, so that 

 the animal to be taken cannot reach or take away the bait 

 without going over the trap. When a wear is against a 

 wall, fence, tree, or bush, it is 

 usually in the form represented 

 in the accompanying figure. If it 

 is made in an open field, it is 

 oval. I have said that a wear 

 is made of twigs, but it must be 

 made of whatever is about the 

 spot on which the bait is laid, 

 whether it is Chickweed, Rag- 

 weed, Ling, bushes, or rotten 

 branches. A wear, about a foot 



long, 9 inches broad at the back or wall, 6 inches at the 

 mouth where the trap is set, and 6 or 7 inches high (unco- 

 vered), is large enough for the polecat, weasel, &c. ; 

 but one to entrap a fox ought to be 2 feet long, 13 inches 

 broad at the back, and one-third narrower at the mouth. 

 Almost all sorts of carrion may be used as baits, which 

 ought to be pegged down ; the traps should be covered 

 with the same material as that amongst which they are set ; 

 that is to say, if they are placed on sand they must be 

 covered with sand ; if on Moss, with Moss ; or if amongst 

 rotten branches, with them. 



The Fox is exceedingly wary and subtle, and avoids 

 everything that has any appearance or shadow of danger. 

 On the side of an avenue or in a strip of plantation, if 

 there is a foot-path running from the one end to the other, 

 it is a 'good place to form a wear for this animal. He 

 may also be taken in wears near rivers, streams, standing 

 water, spongy marshes, or Furze covers : and without 

 wears, by hanging a bait against a wall, fence, or tree, 

 within his reach, and setting a trap 15 or 18 inches from 

 the wall, &c. Several traps around the mouth of his 

 hole or " earth " may likewise take him in going in ; and 

 if it is certain that he is in, a trap ought to be set inside, 

 and a few branches put over the mouth of his "earth," 

 that he may come upon the trap before he is aware. If 

 the hole is not darkened, it is probable that he will come 

 out under the trap. When it is known which way he 

 comes from his cover, the best plan is to fasten a bait of 

 an animal that has been some time dead, so that the 

 effluvia may be smelt at a distance, to a 6tick or string, and 

 trail or drag it round a field, and then into the centre of 

 it, where the bait ought to be half buried, pegged down, 

 and three traps set around it. This plan is often attended 

 with success. Foxes, badgers, and other veimm 

 sometimes taken in pitfalls, but as it requires a htiie t 

 and labour to make them, and as men and cattle may fall 



are 

 me 



