150 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Mar. 9, 



they look much healthier than when they are grown in The book contains full 



directions for collecting and pre- 



pots. 1 have lost during the present winter six plants in 

 pots for one growing in the border, although the number 

 of plants in the latter is about six times that of the for- 

 mer. There is another advantage also gained, viz., the 

 plants being more vigorous, and also much more moist, 

 thev are not so liable to be attacked in a dry summer by 

 red'spider. I have no doubt that if the above plan is fol- 

 lowed out, the difficulty of growing Polyanthuses near 

 London will be obviated, and this favourite flower will 

 once more adorn the gardens of the metropolis.— John 

 Slater, Cheetkam Hill, Manchester. 



Vineyards. —When we consider the trifling expense of 

 cultivation, and the valueless soil in which the Vine will 

 succeed— (it will ripen much better, and be finer flavoured, 

 on a hot, dry, poor soil than on one rich and moist)— 

 it is certainly very strange that this branch of our domes- 

 tic and rural economy should have been neglected this last 

 150 years. About this time back immense quantities of 

 wine used to be made for home consumption, and by 

 private families; for instance, at Hatfield, Painshill, Arun- 

 dle Castle, Hammersmith, and many other places. On the 

 warm gravels of Hertfordshire, the sands of beds and the 

 chalky hills around Brighton, Dover, Deal, &c, which are 

 exactly the localities and soils chosen in Normandy where 

 the Vineyards are situated, it may be safely asserted that 

 no other crop is so profitable on this description of soils. 

 The Fruit in this country, in the worst of seasons, when 

 not sufficiently ripe to be eaten, will make wine fit for 

 pies, tarts, &c. The following sorts are well adapted for 

 this country — White Muscadine, Burgundy, July, Ver- 

 delho, Turner's Hardy, Esperione, and Black Cluster, and 

 never fail of a crop. A plantation may be made with cut- 

 tings about IB inches in length, of well-ripened wood ; 

 layers the second year, and cuttings the third year, come 

 into bearing, and continue prolific for ages. Herewith I 

 send you directions for making a plantation, which is the 

 result of experience. Plant your Vines 4 feet apart every 

 way ; dig holes, and in each put a very little rotten ma- 

 nure ; place your plant in the centre, and firmly press 

 the soil round the plant ; cut layers down the first year, 

 cuttings the third year, leaving about six eyes only to 

 break from ; this to be performed in February ; select three 

 of the strongest shoots to remain to each plant ; always 

 retain last year's wood for bearing; the summer pruning 

 consists in stopping each shoot when 4 feet high ; at which 



height they must remain, and cutting away all laterals ; 

 the three shoots to be tied loosely, as Raspberry canes, 

 to admit the light, &c. ; the ground to be kept clean by 

 hoeing only. Each plant will produce, on an average, a 

 dozen bunches ; the lowest produce from one acre of 

 poor ground, worth 10s., as follows : — 3500 plants, 

 42,000 bunches of Grapes at one farthing per bunch, 

 43/. odd. — Vitis. [Good wine cannot be made in 

 England ; and lad wine may be bought cheaper than it 



can be made.] 



Pruning Forest-trees. — In the Chronicle for Jan. 13, 



Dr. Thackeray describes his practice on this subject. 

 That gentleman is right in " planting those trees the soil 

 most loves;" but the subject that I wish to advance a 

 fevr remarks upon is, whether curtailing, mutilating, or 

 lessening the head of a tree has a tendency to increase the 

 bulk of its stem — that is, facilitate its growth into tim- 

 ber, which is what is required ? Dr. T. says, speaking of 

 plantations made in 1814, "They have been pruned and 

 thinned annually since that period, by taking off from 3 to 

 5 branches, as before described ; and the result has been, 

 that the sap which the cut branches would have ex- 

 hausted has given vigour and increased strength to the 

 trunk, as is evident from the healthy appearance of the 

 trees, as well as their augmented size." This is founded 

 on the supposition which I have endeavoured to expose 

 from the first starting of the subject in your columns, 

 viz., that what is taken from the head must necessarily 

 be laid on the stem, forgetting the true principle of in- 

 crease namely, reciprocal action between roots and 



branches. The fallacy lies in supposing that the action 

 of the roots will continue the same, whether the head is 

 curtailed or left entire. I by no means disapprove of a 

 little knife-work on young plantations, and highly ap- 

 prove of Dr. T.'s attention to his. Will Dr. T. allow me 

 to ask, how long does he propose his system should be 

 continued — or at what size or age of the trees would he 

 alter or discontinue his practice ? I live among many 

 magnificent trees, and see, in abundance of instances 

 around me, the evils resulting from bad management, or 

 no management at all ; but I never yet saw a magnificent 

 stem that had not a proportionably large head. " Cut 

 wood and have wood," which Dr. T. has adopted as a 

 motto, has also been assented to by Mr. Hammerton ; 

 but its application as a maxim requires some degree of 

 discretion; and Mr. Hammerton's mode of carrying out 

 the maxim is what I should be disposed to approve of. I 

 trust, before another pruning season arrives, those who 

 now so strongly advocate pruning may be induced to con- 

 sider the true principle of increase, viz., reciprocity be- 

 tween roots and branches ; they will then be cautious of 

 interrupting that principle by any system of pruning 

 whatever, and will perceive the fallacy of indulging the 

 idea, that what is taken from the head must necessarily 

 be added to the stem. — Querent. 



The Mistletoe In reference to the article on the sub- 

 ject of this parasite, at p. 85, I observe that your corre- 

 spondent quotes the opinion of S'*r John Colbatch. I 

 presume this must be the same John Colbatch who wrote 

 a treatise on "the Mistletoe of the Oak," London, 1719. 

 He was a Member of the College of Physicians, and found 

 the Mistletoe efficacious against the epilepsy, chorea 

 Sancti Viti, and other diseases of the nervous system, giv- 

 ing half a drachm of the powder every three or four hours. 



paring the plant, which is equally efficacious, the author 

 says, gathered from any other tree, as from the Oak. Does 

 not this tend to prove that the Oak 120 years ago was the 

 principal support of the plant? An example on a large 

 scale of the Mistletoe's affection for the Lime (Tilia), is 

 to be found in Kent, at Penshurst Park, the seat of Lord 

 De Lisle, where in the winter season the very lofty avenue 

 of that tree has, at a little distance, the appearance of a 

 rookery, from the undisturbed and luxuriant growth of 

 the parasite— attributable, no doubt, to its being beyond 

 the reach of Christmas depredators. I have some recol- 

 lection of seeing it on the Elm close to the same locality, 

 but for this I cannot at the present moment vouch.— 



Anonymous. 



Mixture to Heal Wounds on Trees.— I have not found 

 any mixture so good for this purpose as bird-lime ; of 

 course the wound of a tree must be dry when it is applied, 

 and therefore it is requisite that a bough or limb should 

 be cut off, one, two, or three days previous to its applica- 

 tion, and that the wound should be pared and in readiness. 

 I have in June cut off a limb of an Oak, four or five 

 inches in diameter. I first saw half through the limb at 

 aboui six inches from the trunk, with the saw teeth up- 

 wards. 1 then saw an inch or two higher up the limb 

 downwards, until the limb drops. The stump is then cut 

 off close to the trunk, taking care not to tear the bark, 

 and the wound is pared clean with a draw-knife, or paring- 

 chisel. If the weather is fine and dry the bird-lime will 

 adhere on the second day. The bird-lime is in a gallipot, 

 and this is placed in water at the heat of 140° ; the lime 

 is spread thinly all over the wound, and just a little 

 beyond its edge. This material dries of not a bad colour; 

 but if desired to be very nice indeed, it may be powdered 

 over with a mixture of powdered sumac, indigo, ivory- 

 black, flour dried, old tanners' bark, of which or of some 

 of them a mixture may be made to imitate the colour of 

 the bark of any tree. I imagine pitch mixtures could not 

 be applied unless the wound was in a dry state. — J. C. X. f 



Bermondsey. 



Winter -felled Oa/t.— Mr. Billington, in his article on 



this subject, in a late Chronicle, says that " The numerals 

 are thus : 1035, old-fashioned figures," &c. If the figures 

 are Roman numerals, the date may be correct ; but if 

 Arabic there must be some mistake, for the Arabic 

 numerals were not used in this country till the four- 

 teenth century. Of the superiority of winter-cut Oak, all 

 carpenters are pretty well agreed ; it seems to be an in- 

 veterate opinion, as far, at least, as the "sap Oak" 

 timber is concerned. " Heart Oak" is so durable, cut 

 when it may be, that the eight centuries, supposed by Mr. 

 B. for the duration of his Oak beam, are very likely. Two 

 summers ago I met in Normandy with a well-carved in- 

 scription, in old French, thus [Mccc&hout] on an Oak 

 beam that had been a chimney lintel. There can be little 

 doubt that, if preserved from wet, it would last five 

 centuries more. The soft or sap part of Oak timber is 

 soon eaten up by the worms, unless winter-cut. I have 

 seen timber taken out of old buildings with the bark still 

 on it with some worm-holes in it; but I believe the pre- 

 judice in favour of such timber is founded in fact and ex- 

 perience. I have lost an authority, which some of your 

 readers will probably help me to again, in regard to the 

 fact, that the gates of Constantinople, which were put up 

 by Constantine, were still hanging when it was captured 

 by the Turks. I thought it was in a foot-note of " Gib- 

 bon," but I do not find it there. But these, like the gates 

 of Somnauth, I believe were of Cedar, or some such 

 Oriental timber. — P. P. 



New Heating Apparatus. — The invention described 

 under this title at page 806 of the Gardeners* Chronicle 

 for 1843, and said to be constructed on an entirely new 

 principle, will be found to be the same as the hot-air stove 

 known as Boyce's patent. Their mode of action is pre- 

 cisely similar — a current of air being admitted into a kind 

 of chamber surrounding the furnace — which after being 

 heated by the thick iron plate of which the furnace is 

 composed, passes off in pipes communicating with the 

 chamber and opening into the apartments intended to be 

 warmed. In Boyce's patent the furnace is fixed in such 

 a manner as to preclude the possibility of any danger 

 arising from the tire, or from the pipes becoming over- 

 heated. The latter in fact never can be the case, as the 

 pipes are merely conductors of the heated air, and have no 

 connection with the open fireplace. They are generally 

 made of thin copper, and are about four or five inches 

 diameter. The circulation is regulated by ventilator, 

 which admit of its being increased or diminished at 

 pleasure. For warming large buildings, I have reason to 

 know that this kind of stove answers the purpose most 

 completely ; but I very much question whether it will be 

 found so well adapted for Horticultural purposes, as the 

 heat obtained from it is always dry compared with that 

 derived from the circulation of hot water on the tank or 

 open-gutter system. — W. B. Booth. 



Budding and Inarching. — In your Paper of the 27th 

 ult., there is an article on this subject, signed " W. G." 

 If I understand the writer correctly, he cuts off a growing 

 bud or shoot, when the leaves do not exceed two inches 

 in diameter, and inserts it in the usual method of budding. 

 Will " W. G." state how much of the bark he cuts with 

 the young shoot ? — A Subscriber, Maidstone. 



Bees. — Mr. Pettigrew has now presented you with his 

 animadversions on. the *' Honey Bee, w and his lucubra- 

 tions on Bee culture in general, and brought both to a 

 conclusion. But I feel by no means disposed to enter at 

 any length upon a reply to him. It would be almost tan- 

 tamount to undertaking the task of publishing a third edi- 

 tion of the M Honey Bee," which I must be impelled to 

 by some stronger inducement than Mr. Pettigrew has held 



out to me. To my readers and the followers of the sys- 

 tem of management, recommended in that work, I ought 

 perhaps to say, that the opinions and the statements it 

 contains remain unshaken by anything advanced by Mr. 

 Pettigrew. Any inquiries, however, from whatever quar- 

 ter, as to the rationale of that system, shall at all times be 

 fully replied to, as they always have been. This Mr. Pet- 

 tigrew, as a constant reader of the Gardeners 1 Chronicle 

 must be aware of. — Edward Bevan, Esgair Evan, Mont- 

 gomeryshire. 



Societies. 



HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 March 5. — R. W. Barchard, Esq., in the chair. Col. 

 W. Mason, J. Dixon, G. H. Hooper, J. Dearden, and 

 A. G. Fullerton, Esqrs., were elected Fellows. From 

 S. Rucker, Esq., were two exceedingly handsome large- 

 flowered varieties of the Lycaste Skinneri, differing in 

 colour, the one being paler, with a more distinctly 

 marked lip than the other, which was of a deeper purple. 

 Along with these was Phalaenopsis amabilis, a plant of 

 great beauty, having a fine bending raceme of large showy 

 white blossoms ; also a specimen of Cyrtochilum macu- 

 latum, having two pretty spikes of brown and white blos- 

 soms ; and a plant of Cypripedium barbatum, which con- 

 siderably resembles venu<-ttim. From the same collection 

 was likewise the scarce Galeandra Devoniana, and a cut 

 spike of Coryanthes maculata, curious on account of 

 having its lip gathered up into a kind of bucket, which, 

 serves in the economy of the plant to hold a sweet fluid, 

 which slowly drops into it from two processes or secreting 

 glands that are situated immediately above it— a large 

 silver medal was awarded to Mr. Rucker for this collec- 

 tion.— Mr. Robertson, gr. to Mrs. Lawrence, sent a well- 

 grown plant of ^Eschynanthus maculatus with dark fleshy 

 leaves, among which its numerous clusters of gorgeous 

 scarlet blossoms produced a pretty effect. Also plants of the 

 pretty Schomburgkia uudulata and S. crispa, having tall 

 flower stems bearing rich heads of showy blossoms. From 

 the same collection was likewise a pretty plant of Cama- 

 rotis purpurea, growing in a basket, and a well-grown 

 specimen of Styphelia tubiflora, a greenhouse plant 

 of a gay graceful appearance — a Knightian medal was 

 awarded for the Schomburgkias, Camarotis, and Styphelia. 

 —From Messrs. Rollisson, of Tooting, were beautiful 

 plants of Dendrobium densiflorum and D. Cambridgeanum, 

 the latter with handsome racemes of bright orange 

 blossoms, having a pretty dark velvety spot on the 

 labellum. In the same collection was likewise Phalav 

 nopsis amabilis in good condition ; also Ccelogyne cristata, 

 a scarce plant, having pretty fragrant blossoms of pure 

 white, except the lip which, in the centre, is covered with 

 bright yellow fringes; also a beautiful large-flowered 

 variety of Oncidium papilio, much superior to the old 

 one, both in point of size and colour. Messrs. Rol- 

 lisson likewise sent a variety of Cattleya Mossise, a Maiil- 

 laria from Guatemala, and a new species of Miltoniafrom 

 Brazil, having handsome brown and white blossoms ; t 

 Knightian medal was awarded for these. — Mr. Kennington, 

 gr. to F. Cox, Esq., of Stockwell, exhibited Stanhopes 

 quadricornis, having a fine spike of flowers ; Zygopetalum 

 rostratum, Oncidium papilio, and Dendrobium Pierardi, 

 on a block, in good condition. — From Messrs. Veitca 

 and Son, of Exeter, was Lycaste Skinneri, and Barbacenis 

 squamata, with red star-like flowers, and a small hard dry 

 foliage, that was lately introduced by Mr. Veitch s col- 

 lector ; a certificate was awarded for it.— From Mr. Jack- 

 son, of Kingston, was a cut specimen of Inga pulcher- 

 rima, a pretty stove plant, having charming tassels 

 of bloom, which are formed by the long crimson filaments. 

 C. B.Warner, Esq., sent a collection of cut flowers, among 

 which were Dendrobium densiflorum, Camarotis purpu- 

 rea, a Bletia, &c— Mrs. Marryatt sent a cut &»*** f 

 Schomburgkia marginata which, although not so showy as 

 others of this genus, is nevertheless pretty.— Mr. blenanv 

 ning, of Chiswick Nurserv, sent a beautiful plant of £ r . l0S "" 

 mon buxifolius, of which he writes as follows :— " » u. o 

 of the prettiest plants we have, and may be forced in 

 flower at any period during the winter months. W 

 dark green foliage, and neat habit, combined witn . n 

 abundant snow-white, sweet-scented blossoms, re nd e 

 an object of much interest. It will stand a good 1 deal i oi 

 forcing without the least injury, and remain in biossu 

 for a considerable period. It is, therefore, a plane n - 

 only desirable for summer exhibition; but more espc 

 cially for decorating the conservatory or drawing- r 

 in winter. Cut sprigs of it are very useful in maw * 

 bouquets." Mr. Glendinning states that this plant, w j" c u 

 now in good health and covered with bloom, was or ^ 

 size, growing in a small pot about six months ago, a 

 bad health; but that one large shift and a m B , 

 temperature had brought it to its present) heal t ny 

 luxuriant state ; a Banksian medal was awarded ton 

 -From Mr. Hamp, gr. to J. Thome, Esq. was a dusj 

 plant of Epacris nivalis, a large specimen of Fnaius 

 kervillse, and a small plant of Franciscea Hopeana,^* 

 with Erica transparens, which was in good conditio . 

 C. Monck, Bart., sent specimens of Forbidden *ru ^ 

 exhibition. From the same gentleman was alaO l 

 lowing communication respecting the destruction oi 

 scale on Orange-trees :-" I ascertained by e x P er,m 5£ n ,e- 

 an infusion of Camomile would serve to clear ur 5^ 

 trees of their most baneful pest, the brown scale, 

 confirmed in the opinion ; my trees are^clearecf , ari ^ 

 proportionably recovered their health. The Ir , t0 

 bited were in good condition, and were » l ate ^ 

 have been gathered from a small tree which had n.^^ 

 more accommodation than was afforded by a sna J ^ rom 

 in summer, and the same sunny Vinery in winter. q{ 



Mr. Dunsford, gr. to W. Everett, Esq., was a v 



