1844-] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



163 



ii 



7 cK!-|)<— A very liberal Remuneration will 



gLON ^ *•*:„; PERFECTLY PURE AND GENUINE 

 * ***" 'Xr^Emed Melons j or Seeds procured the last 



?2*direct ^^SS'o^tnee. D^r'Geree, Garmek, Melon o 

 S»a : " k !he«2 "weet -Melon of Ispahan, and Italian Green 



tion to Mr. G. MttW, Gardener, Gannersbury Park, 



Acton, 



jjiddlesex 



Cfje ^artrmet^ efjvontcle 



SATURD AY M ARCH 16, 1844. 

 intrrmos for the following week. 



... I Horticultural • - 8 p m. • 



TcBJ^*. March 19 \Linnaean 



( Microscopical 



,v, Mar. 20^ society of Arts 



8 P-M. 

 8 P.M. 

 8 P M. 



A Work has lately been published by Dr. \ on 

 U.?tius on the Epidemic Diseases of Potatoes, 



5 Z ; tins work we shall again have occasion to re- 

 £ d l H enumerates all the* diseases that have been 

 oteerved from time to .time in Potatoes and describes 

 ^particularly two forms which aid extensive da- 

 Zee to the Potato-crops of Germany in 1841. 

 These he calls, in German, Stock-faule, and Raude— 

 in literal English, Stem-rot, and Scab. It is to the 

 first of these diseases, stem-rot, that we wish to draw 

 attention as resembling, in many of its symptoms the 

 mast gangrene we spoke of in our last article. There 

 is, hoi or, this difference between that disease and 

 the one we are about to mention, that the former at- 

 tacked only leaves and fruits, and was accompanied by 

 the presence of a large quantity of moisture, whilst 

 this attacks the tuber, an underground stem, and is 

 characterised by a diminution of water in the tissues 

 of me plant. It is, in fact, a form of dry gangrene ; 

 and Martius calls it, Gangrama tuberum Solani. 



When Potatoes are attacked with this disease, the 

 first thing that is observed is a drying-up or shrivel- 

 ing of the tuber. The skin loses its ordinary lustre, 

 becomes wrinkled, and shows at last little irregular 

 spots, of a dark-brown colour, which, as the disease 

 progresses, run togedier into larger spots. In these 

 places the skin seems thicker, and has the appear- 

 ance of having been rubbed against something. Sub- 

 sequently the tissue of which the skin is composed 

 becomes loosened and torn ; and by the breaking-up of 

 its continuity it assumes the appearance of the bark of 

 an old tree. Sometimes the skin is split up into dis- 

 tinct patches, like scales. At the commencement of 

 the disease, the interior of the tuber does not suffer ; 

 but, at last, a change of colour takes place in the tis- 

 sue under the spots on the skin. Patches of a yellow 

 or brown colour are observed, which are at first iso- 

 lated, but at last run one into the other. These 

 patches are drier than the surrounding tissue; but up to 

 this period in the appearances of the disease, no changes 

 have taken place that render the tuber unfit to eat. J 



As the disease advances, little warts or excres- 

 cences form on the skin, which are of a dark colour 

 inside ; they are at first small, but keep on extending; 

 and at last run one into the other. From the sur- 

 face of these warts a fungus, belonging to the mould 

 trioe^s observed to project. The Potato now begins 

 to emit a disagreeable odour, and its physical charac- 



l- u generall y changed. Its specific gravity, 

 wmch m a state of health is 1.163, becomes 

 successively reduced as the disease proceeds, 

 and at last is about 0.9. When in this state, it is fre- 

 quently attacked by a species of Acarus, the A. farince, 

 jmcn feeds upon the grains of starch. If the 

 i otatoes are planted with this disease, in no case do 

 mey put forth healthy shoots. In the commencing 

 *ages, the eyes put forth shoots which rise above 

 "»e ground, but soon perish. In the latter stages, the 

 wnoie tissue of the Potato is involved in the disease, 

 *w on cutting into it, it presents a dark-coloured dis- 

 wganised mass, very dry, and not unlike the appear- 

 ance of a truffle. The attempt at putting forth shoots 

 «ow results in the formation of little knobs, varying in 



feren a A Uarter of an inch t0 an inch in circum- 

 ence, and having a red or rose colour on the outside. 



bo fnn^ aminin ° the tissues under a microscope, it will 

 trancn at the celluIar tis sue of the skin has lost its 

 of th? 'T? and become of a brown colour, and that 

 nokh J i° r J las lost its tightness, as well as its 

 o isture and whiteness. The starch grains gradually 



!*[' and 1 cells fi »ed with air and a yellow fluid 

 Xe iSL i, r P lace ' Man y of the cells are torn, and 



S™? i T* P assa ges are filled with a brown fluid. 



scattered between the cells in all directions will be 



«d ii7P tk d ' ° pac l ue S rains ' of var >' in S form 

 but a lo .u grains do not develop any further, 



*«nm ! .» l St ' and in their appearance and history 

 of IWr " V rotom yces, or' primitive Fungus germs 



we fibr*; rJ 11 °£ tting int0 the httle knobs » masses of 

 make thX a Fun S us ar * observed, which at last 



% orWr y °. th f, surface > and there «ther fruc- 



ti «^tiSfiw p v f ed * nt0 a whitish Ia y er - Some - 



*te and t™ thlS Fnri ^ s ' which are ver y deli " 



wass of thl P r rent ' ,"* found throughout the whole 



«** the* eased tuber - 0n examining these 

 **> «*y present two distinct forms, the one being 



»» 

 »» 



Water 

 Starch 

 Liffnin 



1 probably a variety of the other. Martius has named 

 it Fusisporium sola7ii. 



Potatoes thus diseased have been chemically ex- 

 amined by Dr. Buchner. The starch of the Potato 

 does not appear to undergo much change as long as 

 the tubers are kept from the influence of moisture, or 

 that the dry form of the gangrene does not give wav 

 to a moist one, which is sometimes the case. The 

 albumen of the Potato entirely disappears. The 

 greatest alteration is in the water, which is reduced to 

 half the quantity that exists in healthy Potatoes. 



In healthy Potatoes, the water is . jrj parts 



In diseased „ „ . 35 * 



In healthy Potatoes, the dry matter is 26 



In diseased „ „ . 6 4 n 



The hgnin becomes of a brown colour, and is con 

 verted into humus. A more accurate analysis than 

 the above has not at present been obtained. The fol- 

 lowing, however, is an analysis of healthy Potatoes by 

 Pfaff: — 



• . . . , *6.6 



. 11.2 



__ 7-8 



M ucus and Salts , . 3.7 



Albumen .... 0.7 



These figures are the mean of nineteen analyses:— 

 We are not aware that this form of disease has pre- 

 vailed extensively in England; but we have lately 

 received communications from correspondents com- 

 plaining of their Potatoes, and in some instances we 

 make little doubt that they are suffering from the 

 disease we have just described. We wish our corre- 

 spondents would be more particular in their descrip- 

 tions of the diseases of plants, or, which is far belter, 

 send us up specimens for our own examination. 



With regard to the causes of this disease, nothing 

 certain is at present known. In Germany it has 

 occurred in all soils and in all weathers. It has 

 occurred to almost all sorts of Potatoes, and after all 

 modes of planting and gathering, so that many have 

 been inclined to attribute it to the influence of conta- 

 gion ; whilst those who are advocates of the doctrine 

 that all diseases spring from the sporules of fungi, 

 will at once conclude that the existence of the fungus 

 in this disease is a proof of its having originated in 

 their presence. We shall, however, consider the sub- 

 ject of contagion and infection in their relation to the 

 propagation of disease amongst plants, in a future 

 article J — ^ . 



For the present we can only say, that for the pre- 

 vention^ of the dry gangrene in Potatoes every 

 precaution should be taken in planting them, to 

 secure their healthful growth. The conclusions of 

 Von Martius are as follows :— The newer the variety is 

 the better. The Potatoes intended for seed should be 

 grown separate from the rest. The seed-Potatoes 

 should not be kept heaped up in damp cellars, and 

 allowed to shoot before they are planted, and they 

 should never be cut for sowing till they are brought 

 into the field.— L. E. 



We are sure that all sensible gardeners who are 

 striving after eminence in their art, will have read with 

 interest the various papers by Mr. W. Wood, which 

 have from time to time appeared in our columns. We 

 would now invite their very particular attention to a 

 communication, nominally on Fuchsias; but really 

 on the whole rationale of potting plants, the com- 

 mencement of which appears in our columns of to-day. 

 They may not, perhaps, entirely agree in all the views 

 of Mr. Wood, but they will find in the principles 

 which he inculcates, much that they cannot reflect 

 upon without advantage. 



We are too well aware that many gardeners disre- 

 gard first principles, and rely entirely upon what 

 they call experience, but what should be named blind 

 chance. It is not, however, the intelligent men 

 among them who do this ; and we trust that the day is 

 near when no one will care to avow it. For however re- 

 luctant cultivators may be to apply thefirst principles of 

 Horticulture to practice ; whatever success may attend 

 the attempts of the ignorant, jealous, or crafty, to throw 

 obloquy upon the advocates of a rational system of 

 gardening; and however difficult it may appear to 

 apply theory to practice ; we may rest assured 

 that the day is near at hand when first principles, 

 though last learned, will be universally recognised as 

 the only guide to be safely followed. 



Gardeners are, as a body, far better informed and 

 more intelligent than any men in their own condition 

 of life ; and it is only necessary for them to turn 

 their attention steadily to an examination of the causes 

 that produce the results with which they are familiar, 

 to win for themselves a really high station in the 

 estimation of the world. It is an earnest striving 

 after perfection that alone leads to distinction. For 

 attempting to inculcate those truths, ourselves, 

 Mr. Wood, and others, have been assailed in the most 

 unworthy manner. The attacks made by a disreputable 

 portion of the press upon the course we have seen fit to 

 take on this subject have been unjust, false, virulent, 

 and vulgar ; discreditable to the taste and temper, and 

 disgraceful to the character of their writers. 



A popular authoress, when speaking of her hero, 



has happily observed that—" The more he learned to 

 see, the more afraid of darkness he became. He was 

 very much afraid of ghosts ; yet the ghosts which he 

 feared have been known among men from time 

 immemorial. Ignorance, a wonderfully large lady, 

 clothed in glittering white texture; Self conceit, her 

 long-necked child, who always treads in the footsteps 

 of her dear mamma; and Boasting, which must be 

 the ghost of an old French language-teacher, who in 

 his lifetime had been connected with these ladies, and 

 often been seen in their company." Let all Gardeners 

 be as much afraid of ghosts as Cornet Charles, and, like 

 him, take for their motto " Forward ! March !" 



FUCHSIAS, 



For easy cul'ure, elegance, and long continuance of 

 bloom, the Fuchsia is probably unequal'ed. Its fitness 

 for growth iu pots or open borders, for portable speci- 

 mens, or for permanent effect, and, above all, its adapta- 

 tion to almost every kind of soil (under proper treatment,) 



give it more than ordinary attraction. Though Nature 

 has omitted to endue it with her most spiritual attribute 

 of odour, she has so mantled it with the " perfection of 

 beauty," that the most fastidious taste could not imagine 

 a more graceful sad brilliant form of vegetable structure. 

 There is scarcely, however, another race so generally 

 grown respecting whose cultivation such opposite opinions 

 are entertained. Whilst one man recommends exclu ily 

 the annual growth from the root, directing each preced- 

 ing season's shoots to be removed, a second as s'renuously 

 maintains the value of the previous year's growth, as the 

 best means of ensuring prolific bloom from the exhausted, 

 but partially renovated source of by-gone vigour. 



As the permanent character of plants may, to a great 

 extent, be determined by their capability of accumulating 

 such an annual supply of sap as may be sufficient to 

 maintain their fertility unimpaired in successive seasons, 

 it may be confidently assumed that the constitutional 

 vigour of all plants is impaired in proportion to their 

 excessive fertility, which being the ultimate function of 

 vegetable life, can only be continued by the reproduction 

 of the organs (or buds) essential to the formation of 

 bloom. The Fuchsia is one of the most striking instances 

 of fertility in plants ; and, apart from other objections to 

 the modes of cultivation just mentioned, which however 

 will be productive of favourable results by good manage- 

 ment, it may be stated as certain, that a better method is 

 to be expected for managing all plants whose tendency to 

 bloom is strictly commensurate with their annual amount 

 of growth ; a habit which is strongly characteristic of the 

 present genus. The management of Fuchsias, to which the 

 present remarks are introductory, commenced from their 

 first'stage of growth in the 2d and 3d weeks in March 1843, 

 To successful cultivation the following qualifications 

 appear requisite : — A knowledge, 1st, of the constitutional 

 habits of the plants to be grown ; 2d, of the nature 

 of the materials (soil?, &c), best adapted for their growth ; 

 3d, of the extent to which such soils, &c, can be applied ; 

 4tb, skill to maintain the means essential for growth by a 

 due regulation of light, air, heat, and moisture. 



Before proceeding to practical remarks, it will be as 

 well to refer the reader to opinions given in a previous 

 Paper, viz., that 1st, — " It is the elementary condition of 

 an organised being, which favours the ultimate development 

 of its parts. „2d, That a uniform circulation of the 

 fluids necessary* for the highest objects in Horticulture, is 

 the result of adapting the arrangement, proportions, tex- 

 tures, and qualities, of the materials employed in cultiva- 

 tion, to the organic structure of plants, and to the external 

 agencies which operate upon them throughout their entire 

 growth."— {Gardeners 7 Chronicle, IMS, p. 820.) 



Admitting the correctness of these conclusions, the fol- 

 lowing inference is clearly to be drawn from them, namely: 

 that there is no arrangement of soil essential to the per- 

 fect condition of a plant, which is not proportionately 

 essential throughout its whole period of growth. That 

 the fertility of plants is regulated by the modified action 

 of atmospheric and solar agencies upon other elements in 

 Nature, is too well known to require proof; but it is 

 equally certain that the most fit medium by which such 

 agencies can be applied is not equally well understood ; or 

 why is it that opinions are still given, that the condition of 

 certain plants has been caused by the presence or absence 

 of some single substance ? Why is it that we hear of such* 

 various combinations of matter for the conveyance or sus- 

 pension of the elements of food for plants ? Why is it that 

 so many ingenious external contrivances are sought out and 

 applied as attracting influences and channels to convey the 

 vital elements of Nature to every organised being, however 

 diversified its structure ?— as though a perfect system of 

 cultivation would be found in connexion with the greatest 

 extent and influence of atmospheric agency. The next 

 generation wiiljmile at the fact that their predecessors, 

 with all their skill, were advocates of such internal 

 materials for the growth of plants as would most readily 

 imbibe the vivifying influence of atmospheric and solar 

 agency, in connexion with external structures which would 

 be the least pervious to them. 



The first general truth in the department of Horticul- 

 ture, to which the present subject refers, is, that every 

 operation of art implies a limitation of the agencies of 

 Nature ; the successful application of the former being 

 exactly in proportion to the correct recognition of the lawi 



of the latter. . 



In illustrating these remarks I must once more advert 

 to the primary truths upon which a correct arrangement 

 of soils depends in artificial cultivation ; and the reader is 

 particularly requested to compare the principles stated at 

 p. 848, (1843), with the following ;— 



