THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



229 



cons 



^ . r > ;. rine if the house is wanted for other 



r^^'ttl Grapes will keep until wanted 

 ^'* £tes I b«" found best for early forcing 

 The u harsh Dutch Sweetwater, and Muscadine. 



* l ^K^ •• the E r ri r :; id ot H bers ' 



'Tcdr worth growing, compared with he above. 

 bt y ^ all the delicate sorts, as the Frontignan, 



tre 

 ■re 



and all 



Muscats. > na . , t |n the season, and thus the ama- 



an,,rer 'i T«i who possess but a small extent of glass 

 Uur MdtDo ^ ^ var ieties of Grapes procurable in 



5"? lories at but a trifling additional expense. 

 British norse. *, afc m ,._.•_„ u«„ * rt r «> n Hpr < 



saccliarine ! scales placed near together, but in a regularly spiral man- 

 ner, and each consisting of a thin plate of cells expanded 

 from the surface of the plumule. These are the beginning 

 of new leaves ; they are repetitions, upon the surface of 

 the plumule, of the scales which appeared upon the embryo 

 when it was in process of organisation. By degrees the 

 plumule lengthens, and gradually the tiny almost invisible 

 scales will have been transformed into verdant leaves. 

 If we now examine the state of those leaves, we shall find 

 the first, a, to be a trident-like scale, with a bud in its axil, 

 the side lobes being anticipations of stipules, and the 

 middle prong the beginning of a leaf-stalk — the plant is 

 young and feeble. The next leaf, b, is rather larger ; the 



their 

 again, 



^V.t'.Uernate seasons. Thus those pi 

 ? ■? I in spring may be turned out of their pots into 

 ICder -here fhey will require no farther trouble until 

 ^following spring, when they may be taken up, 

 roots reduced in some degree, and placed in pots ; 

 nWinj: them deeper than they previously were : they may 

 then have the same management as young plants, and 

 will make very strong caues in the course of the summer. 

 I hate Vines in pots now in fruit that have borne three 

 or four previous crops. Where the cultivator prefers boxes 

 to pots they may be used, from 14 to 16 inches square, 

 which will be quite large enough ; they can be packed on 

 shelves more closely together than pots, and are more 

 handy to move about. 



By the above process Grapes may be procured by the 

 «nd of March and April, without interfering with those 

 planted outside, and I would particularly recommend its 

 adoption by amateurs possessing small establishments, as 

 affording them a means of prolonging their Grape season ; 

 besides being productive of gratification and pleasure. It 

 is to this class of gentlemen in particular that I wish the 

 foregoing remarks to be addressed. Although it would be a 

 considerable adddition to small places, yet in the large 

 establishments at Tedworth, under Mr. Sanders, and at 

 Tottenham Park, (Mr. Burns) it is an essential feature in 

 their management, and is followed with the most complete 

 success. 1 imagine the credit of growing plants in one 

 season and fruiting them the next belongs to Mr. Tillans, 

 of Alnwick Castle, who adopted that practice at Wood- 

 Chester Park, when gardener to the late Lord Ducie. — 

 John Spencer, Gardens, Bowood* 





^FAMILIAR BOTANY. 



Morphology. — No. XI. 



Nature, the daughter, ever- changing birth, 

 Of thee the Great Immutable, to man 

 • Speaks wisdom ; is his oracle supreme ; 



And he who most consults her is most wise- 

 Look Nature through, 'tis neat gradation all. 

 By what minute degrees her scale ascends ! 

 Each middle nature joined at each extreme, 

 To that above is join'd, to that beneath. 

 Parts into parts reciprocally shot, 

 Abhor divorce. What love of union reigns ! 



We have now taken a great step in our subject. We 

 have proved that a leaf is a metamorphosed cotyledon, and 

 that a cotyledon is an imperfect leaf. We have shown 

 that the leaf may exist in two very dissimilar conditions, 

 according to the degree in which it is developed ; and it is 

 easy to conceive that it may equally occur in any number 

 • f other conditions ; as, in fact, is obviously the case if 

 we open our eyes wide enough to look into the great field 

 ' Mature. Instances meet us at every step. In the Scotch 

 5! r ' Ior exam ple, there are two sorts of leaves ; the first- 



a^™k*i!i nUaUjr are ver y thin ' na rrow, colourless, and 

 perishable, not existing in a living state more than a few 

 «*s ; the next-born are stiff, needle-shaped, deep-green, 

 thin 1* mont n» or years. The leaf of Grass is a 

 into Ur rr ° Wribb0a; that of the Horse-Chesnut divides 

 tmiil thart §t0Ut fin £ ers * Mosses have their foliage so 

 the Fan V , can nar ^^7 be seen without a microscope; in 



a howe p7,* tree 0ne Ieaf U Iar S e en0U S Q t0 thatch 

 generally . the Nut-tree and the Sycamore have 



*nd the nth*** es ' but tbe one is 80m etimes purple 

 colours ofri ^ ; * hile the Kail-plant assumes the 



becomes gayest flowers. The leaf of the Beech-tree 

 ii u fl Ps f 8t aa dr 7 «a paper, that of the House-Leek 

 let, es with 88 *" Applc * The Oak-tree has thin, flat 



Stonec'ron th ** Upper and under 8urface 5 but in the 

 ^•tinction f V* c y lindricai and succulent, with no 

 dances • ?h 8Urfaces - It is unnecessary to multiply such 

 •tow that* u- * hich have been enumerated suffice to 



kn °*n tithe h ,S CaHed the leaf 0f a P lant is DOt t0 be 

 ** outline r lU uniform ity in the same plant, or by 



of 'he qualit!?!' ^-T' tCXture ' solid fi g ure > or an y other 

 What tl i„ , ,ch the multitude assigns to it. 

 . then is a leaf ? -*«—•-» .•-. 



| side lobes are broader and a little notched ; the middle 

 prong is, however, scarcely changed — the plant is stiil 

 weak, and incapable of producing perfect organs ; but 

 it is stronger. The third leaf, c, * shows a great 

 advance ; its stipules are perfect ; the middle prong 

 has formed two leaflets at its end, and has extended 

 itself beyond them into a little bristle, which is the 

 beginning of a tendril — the plant has almost gained 

 its natural vigour. At last, at the fourth stage, d, 

 the plant has formed its perfect foliage ; the stipules 

 are larger, the leaf-stalk is complete, the leaflets are 

 notched and spread open to their full extent, and the ten- 

 dril is lengthened, branched, and ready to cling to the first 

 object that it touches for support. 



Now, see what metamorphoses are these ! If you place 

 a and d side by side, you would not believe them to be 

 the same thing ; and yet we have had the plainest possible 

 demonstration that the one is the same as the other in 

 a different state of growth ; that the little three-pronged 

 scale which we hardly see, is as much a leaf as the ten- 

 drilled full-grown organ placed above it. How true, then, 

 is it in fact as well as in theory, that Nature always pro- 

 ceeds from imperfection to perfection ! 



But the vigour which the plant has acquired ceases 

 with its youth. By degrees we shall see it become feeble 

 again, unable to expand its organs of growth, and, return- 

 ing to its early weakness, producing scales for leaves, and 

 out of those scales fashioning its flowers and its fruit. 



for i a (that is to say, in the angle 



***tnext ™a tbe 8tem )- This bein * P remised » I 



• f ^e,occur? V ?« t08how ' not only that many kinds 



* *onderfuUv r« rent P lants » but that *«« leaf occurs 

 ** ir «gular J V ?"* 8tates in the 8ame plant, and that 

 to *«t cause a * pect of fetation is chiefly owing 



ftf* I UkSuseT . eXarnination of the garden Pea, 

 foUo »ing my observati " *™ Xy ° De tbe °PP ortunit y of 



**• *hen the k*.a i l° 8 " , 

 r^rve lhe 2° 8 , W bur8t through the skin, 



* be k*, raLr ? ° f the P lumul '> * "N b * found 



er ^gular, and covered by many minute 



Home Correspondence, 



Gloxinias. — These generally receive the same treat- 

 ment as other tropical plants, and many persons who have 

 not the convenience of a stove, have been deterred on this 

 account from cultivating this lovely genus. Gloxinias 

 can, however, be cultivated where there is only a green- 

 house or a frame, to greater perfection than when they 

 are grown in a higher temperature. The Gloxinia re- 

 quires a season of rest and another of growth ; the roots 

 should be allowed to become quite dry during autumn, 

 and continue so all the winter ; they should not be allowed 

 to become dry, however, all at once, but by degrees. 

 While they are in this state the pots may he laid on their 

 sides on a dry shelf in the greenhouse, until February or 

 March, but February is the best time for starting them. 

 In potting them the earth should be carefully shaken from 

 the bulbs, which should be repotted in a mixture of one 

 half decayed vegetable mould, and one half good rich loam, 

 with the addition of a little sand or charcoal. The pots 

 should be well drained. In planting, press the roots 

 gently on the surface of the soil, and give them no water 

 for some time, as the moisture of the pot will be suflkient 

 for them at first. After they are ail potted, remove them 

 to a frame where the temperature is about 60°, and 

 when they have commenced growing, give them a little 



water, increasing the quantity as they advance in growth. 

 A little air should be given them in fine weather. By the 

 middle of May they will have attained a good size, and 

 some of them will be showing flowers, when they may be 

 removed to the greenhouse, where nothing, except proper 

 attention to watering them, is required. When the plants 

 have done flowering, water should be gradually with- 

 held. It often happens, however, that some of the 

 species continue in a growing state all winter ; for 

 instance, G. caulescens, which is unlike any of the 

 others in habit and manner of growth. The Gloxinia 

 is readily increased by seeds and cuttings ; the seeds 

 should be sown very thinly as soon as they are 

 gathered, in pans that are well drained, and filled with a 

 mixture of fine peat and sand ; the seeds should not be 

 covered ; they may afterwards be placed in a frame where 

 the temperature is about G0°. When they have acquired 

 one or two leaves they should be potted off into small 

 pots, and not dried off until the second year, as the small 

 fibres are not sufficiently strong to cause them to grow- 

 vigorously in spring. This remark is also applicable to 

 young plants raised from cuttings. Gloxinias are readily 

 propagated even by a single leaf pressed firmly into the 

 soil, which may be the same as is used for seeds. I have 

 struck them, but with difficulty, in bottles of water, in the 

 following manner : — Having detached a leaf from the stem 

 with the bud entire, I immersed the leaf -stalk in the 

 water, and placed the bottles in a temperature of 80°. In 

 a few days there was found at the base of the stalk a 

 curious protuberance from which the roots issued, which 

 were extremely fine and delicate. After the roots had 

 grown a little the plants were potted off in the same 

 mixture as is mentioned above for seeds. With regard to 

 kinds for a private garden the following may be 

 recommended : G. coccinea, Youngii, Manglesii, rubra, 

 maxima, speciosa, and Candida. If the above directions 

 are attended to, these beautiful plants will find their way 

 into many gardens in which they are at present strangers, 

 — J. Mel., Hillsborough. 



The Forget-me-Not. — There is a little common plant 

 which grows in our woods and adorns the banks of our 

 rivulets, the unassuming beauty of which is acknowledged 

 by all; I mean the common Myosotis, or, to give it its 

 more familiar and more expressive English name, the 

 Forget-me-Not. There is a charm about the very name 

 which tells of friendship and constancy in a fickle world ; 

 and though Shakspeare asks "What's in a name?" and 

 adds, " A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet," 

 yet there are many of our common plants which, if they 

 were divested of their old names, would with them lose the 

 power which they possess of calling up old associations, 

 to which very much of their interest is owing. But what 

 I wish to call attention to now is the fitness of this plant 

 for bedding out, for planting in masses in the front of 

 Shrubbery borders, and more especially for winter forcing. 

 It has long been used for bedding out at this place with 

 1 the happiest effect, and where masses of blue colour are 

 required icW phr.^ excel it. It costs little trouble, and 

 continues in flower nearly fill the summer. While the 

 almost countless varieties of Verbena furnisiti US ^Ith every 

 shade of red, plants of a blue colour fitted for small beds 

 are scarce. No plant better repays the trouble of forcing 

 than this. It is only necessary to take up the roots from 

 the border where they are growing, divide them into small 

 pieces, plant them five or six in a small pot, and place 

 them on a spare shelf in any house that may happen to 

 be at work. In three or four weeks afterwards they will 

 begin to display their pretty little blue and yellow flowers, 

 which in a nosegay greet us like old friends, and by their 

 associations with pleasant rambles, shady woods, and sunny* 

 skies, give rise to pleasurable sensations in the mind, 

 which are not produced by the more gaudy colours of 



exotics FT. H. A/., Trentham. 



Annoyances.— About 10 years ago a neighbour of 

 mine (and a very good neighbour he was) kept a large 

 quantity of pigs, which were in the habit of finding their 

 way into my nursery, particularly on Sundays. Whenever 

 my good neighbour met me, he always apologised, and 

 said he had given strict orders to his bailiff to take care 

 the pigs did not trespass again. The way in which the 

 pigs got into the nursery was through gaps in the hedge 

 which were made by my men •• creeping " out and in. 

 When I found that I must either lose my good neigh- 

 bour's friendship, or allow his pigs to have part of my 

 property, I adopted the following plan. One day we met, 

 I said *' You are just the gentleman whom I wished to see. 

 You and I are very good friends and neighbours, and also 

 our families ; and I should be truly sorry to be the first to 

 give any offence." He answered, u If it did not begin on 

 my side it should not on his." I then informed him that 

 I had sown some seed of Oaks and Hazel, but found 

 the mice so troublesome,^that I had put down some 

 Beans and Peas, which had been steeped in arsenic, and 

 if your pigs should come and eat the poisoned material it 

 will be no fault of mine. My friend gave me a look, but 

 made no reply. From that time I have never seen a pig 

 enter the nursery. If your correspondent, who is 

 troubled with rabbits, was to crop some ground near the 

 fence where they come through, with Potatoes, or have a 

 strip in fallow, and in different parts of the fallow have 

 squares of choice Turnips, &c, that would be guarded 

 with hurdles or nets ; and if a tenant has a fancy to put 

 down a little arsenic on a dewy evening on the ground in 

 order to kill slugs or insects, and rabbits come and eat up 

 the food where the fence was taken away, who could help 

 it ? One thing is certain, the rabbits would never come 



again. — J. - n „. 



Durability of Oak.-l beg to state that the date I Wo, 

 mentioned by me in a former article on this subject, 1 have 

 since found, upon close inspection, to be wrong. I He 



