



. 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



293 



-TT^Tbotamcal specimens. 



D-n l.NL Dv d b Bo rat»ists from uie wane c 



^7£Fw»*™ G PLANTS has induced W an 

 -- - fc |,pAPE» i /_^"', hoir sitention to the Manufacture of a 



t*»bl 



d rect their attent 



The greit 



from the want of 



d 



__ an 



T~* ul Vfor the purpose. They n-»w have the pleasure of 

 I rt CJ which theyhope will be fouodto possess all the 

 ofen° fr " ~" " "" 



^ed froro ^ C ! r r " l DectfuVr» solicit the patronage of the Botani- 



•^ df r CC » hnse interests they are endeavouring to serve. 

 ^P^'^nf the Manufacturers, price, per ream, 205.; half- 

 *» * ht <l delivered free in London-size of sheet, 20 inches 

 re »m. 10i. W. . ; « specimens of the Paper will be forwarded 

 by IJiWh e„ folded. » orders proraptl y executed.-Paper Mills, 



E^ffSi. April so. 



L 



SPADES. 



YNDOyS PATENT GARDEN 



lianf Snaries. \ 



and wear ■■JJ^*" ironmonger, Sevenoaks, to whom orders 



n,«P excellent Spades, warranted to bear a knife edge, 

 « lone as three Spades made in the usual way, are 



*** ^ jessed, anrt will receive prompt attention. 



vfV^OUBLE white brugmansia, b. knightii. 



rpHOMAS CRIPPS, Nurseryman, ^ Tun bridge Wells, 



f^Vvlrine Brugm*nsia, at 215. each, in 48 sized pots, cr 

 12? in thumb pots, 15s., with the usual discount to the Trade. 



nectfally intimates to his Friends he has now ready 

 Lf pianN of the above Double and delightfully lr\gt 



for 



grant 



mill in 



etft (Br&titfgntt& Cfpottfcle* 



SATURDAY, MAY II, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 



,, ,_ /Microscopical . . . 8 p.m. 



Wmmnut, May 15 -\ Society of Arts . . 8 p.m. 



Saturday, May 18 . Horticultural Gardens . 1 p.m. 



Tr»DAT, May 21 . Linnaean Anniversary . 1p.m. 

 COUNTRY SHOWS.— Tin rsday, May 16.— Tottenham and Edmonton.J | 



When, during the last war, the united efforts of 

 French excisemen and English sailors succeeded in 

 depriving our continental neighbours of Sugar and 

 I (Fee, the attention of ingenious men was directed 

 to the possibility of substituting articles of European 

 growth for such produce. Hence arose the prepara- 

 tion of Beet-sugar and the cultivation of Chicory : 

 the former is a well-known branch of modern French 

 industry, excluded from this country ; the latter, not 

 being objected to by the Excise, is coming into culti- 

 Tttion with us, and promises to be an article of con- 

 siderable importance. We therefore gladly avail our- 

 selves of the kindness of a friend to publish, in 

 another column, some practical information respect- 

 ing the details of its management. The many 

 inquiries that have been made of us lately assure us 

 that the subject will prove interesting to our readers. 

 Chicory, or, as the French call it, Chicorte, is the 

 Cichorium Intybus, a way-side plant, with beautiful 

 blue flowers, resembling those of the Dandelion, 

 except in colour. It has a stout tap-root, which, like 

 that of the Wild Parrot, seems to improve rapidly in 

 the hands of skilful gardeners. In the winter the 

 i-rench force its roots to produce blanched leaves in 



Mushroom-houses, cellars, and other dark places, 

 wnen lt f orTns a salad ca]led Barhp da Capuchh much 



toobitter for English tastes ; thev have even a variety 

 wnicn forms as good a heart of leaves as Batavian 

 ™i»e. Jt is also, with the French, a common 



^ k°? °^ the saIe of the leaves » which are 



IZ\!\ S n f lng exceIlent for cows, when laid down 

 *ith half Red Clover. 



fJ«l e - Chico 7 thatis cultivated as a substitute for 

 witee is a varietv of this plant, with Iongfleshv roots, 



Th 11 , e Ca I7 0ts 5 the French call it Chicort'e cl eafS. 

 desire f rg l flesh y roots are what th e cultivator 

 taJrL ♦!? ,?'' and a P art of h is business is to 

 tion tn V the P lants which indicate a disposi- 



^en fit°f m W °° dy r00ts are carefull y eradicated, 

 dice *v k se ' tne roots are washed and cut into 



Coffee 1 l*\ dried ' coasted, and mixed with 

 vAmee— to which ir. *v,„ « • • _ ./> 



their eyes and tho<e who do not is at once made evi- 

 dent. The truth is, that knowledge is necessary be- 

 fore correct observations can be made, and that know- 

 ledge must be gained by slow and patient study-not 

 of books alone, but of things, explained by books. 

 Carefully- conducted experiments render an acquaint- 

 ance with both indispensable, and are sure to entice 

 people to use their reasoning and observing powers. 



There is no limit to the field of experiment ; on the 

 contrary, its horizon recedes as we advance; and 

 hence, one of its peculiar charms. It is alike open to 

 the occupant of a cottage, with a rod or two of ground, 

 and to the holder of many acres. The chief expense 

 it necessarily incurs is that of time and attention. If 

 success brings its gratification, failure produces no dis- 

 appointment, for something useful is learned in either 

 case ; some fact being obtained which may be after- 

 wards applied in other experiments. 



_ As a specimen of a good experiment of a simple 

 kind, and which it is desirable to work out more fully, 

 we will take the following singular results, obtained 

 by a friend near St. Albans. 



His object was to ascertain whether or not the enor- 

 mous expense of carting manure could not be dimi- 

 nished. All those who live near London know that, ex- 

 cept within a few miles of the metropolis, stable litter 

 is not worth carriage, and that a distance of 20 miles 

 is as effectual a barrier to its use as 100 miles would 

 be. But that would not be the case if its bulk could 

 be materially reduced. Our correspondent, therefore, 

 tried the effect of burning it ; and, if his experiment 

 can be trusted, the results are of considerable import- 

 ance, because it shows that stable litter burnt to 

 ashes is nearly as effectual as the common bulky 

 material. 



The trial was made, as all trials should be, on an 



exhausted soil, consisting of a heavy loam. Turnips 



were sown on the 21st of last June in drills, 27 inches 



apart; and the space occupied by each experiment 



was exactly the same ; viz., about the thirtieth of 

 an acre. 



No. 1.— No manure 



No. 2.— Horse dung, 4 cwt.; lime, half a 

 bushel ; the lime was slacked, and 

 mixed with the dung 6 weeks before it 

 was put into the soil ; this was for the 

 purpose of driving off the Ammonia . 



No. 3. — Horse dung, 4 cwt. ; sulphuric 

 acid, 2 lb. ; applied 6 weeks before it 

 was put into the soil ; this was for the 

 purpose of fixing the Ammonia . 



No. 4. — Horse dung, 4 cwt.; thrown into 

 a heap about 6 weeks before application 



No. 5. — Horse dung, 6 cwt.; same as last 



No. 6.— Horse dung, 8 cwt.; same as last 



No. 7. — Horse dung, 5 cwt. ; burnt to 

 ashes, with free access of air 



No. 8. — Dung, 5 cwt.; burnt with a very 

 limited supply of air, until the vegeta- 

 ble matter was converted into charcoal 



No. 9. — Dung, 5 cwt. ; sulphuric acid, 

 5 lb. ; the acid was mixed with the 

 dung, and it was then carbonised like 

 the last 



No. 10. — No manure .... 



No. of 



Turnips 



230 



Gross 

 Weight. 



881b- 



308 



4G2 



323 



2G1 

 306 

 321 



285 



282 



444 



392 

 429 

 518 



429 



455 



267 

 180 



417 

 70 [ 



thevc-ftmlL 1 *- ' in tne opinion of many persons, 



at iSTT^ a Very a £ reeabI e flavour. ™*> 

 tarv thpir i • n ' at thev do no narra » on tne con " 

 Wiorne terness wil1 probably render them 



^ ico ry/ a a r n y i PU h licatio " we sha11 state the dutv on 

 change ' wn ; i e £xc ise regulations, when the 



Q adenro bS We Ulld erstand they are likely to 

 g0 ' ,s d eterrnme dupo n . ' 



Cx perimem<*!vf n ° other reasons f or multiplying 



18 a mean, «*? Would ** of the utmost value 



ot i^ing gardeners the habit of ob- 



'0 servin 



Ioc * after jf • gs than the y are accustomed to 

 for intr^.:' .... n w ere possible to infuse a taste 



possible to infuse a taste 



s of those 



£ ^ore thin 



■w investicroHn^xT"^ F us »iuie 10 miu 

 *ho have of ^i g Naturc into the mind " - -— 

 '"Swing her it m *i' the best °PP or tumties of inter- 

 i? Un cea«ini * Woultl De at once a gain to science and 

 The habit of pl° UrCe of S ra tification to themselves. 

 mean s to effect t ?? Imentin g is one of the most likely 

 ** inducted \'h ob J ect> P rov ided the experiments 

 , l ece »arilv «. «i scru Pulous accuracy, because they 



tp * ' - - - 



Ew^ u nervation. 



arily fi x 



^ ""nd to obs» nti?n Up ° n minute detaiIs and train 



^JStT tt ?^ ly " thinks himself an observer, 

 r hat th *y see t " Slng how few rea lly understand 

 te nths of modAnT ? mp ^ the mea g r e Pages of nine- 

 and th ^iffer no^ raVeIlers with *o« of Humboldt, 



e bet ween those who know how to use 



Now, if these results can be relied on, we shall come 

 to the conclusion, 1st, That 5 cwt. of stable litter when 

 burnt is as good for Turnips as 6 cwt. of raw manure ; 

 and 2, that after all that has been said about the im- 

 portance of ammonia in manure, the crops are as 

 good where that principle is driven off as where it is 

 retained by fixing. W e do not in this case say that 

 we trust the results that were obtained ; but as we 

 know that they are perfectly genuine, we would re- 

 commend a repetition of the experiment to others, 

 especially to gardeners, who can easily renew it on the 

 crops under their care. 



Another useful experiment is suggested by the 

 observation of a correspondent at p. 267, that 

 "moulding up Potatoes retards the formation of the 

 tubers." Is that true? We think not. But, if it 

 be true, then a great deal of labour is annually ex- 

 pended unprofitably. The theory of earthing up Po- 

 tatoes is this: Potatoes are stunted and swollen 

 branches proceeding from the sides of the main 

 stems, which alone rise into the air, clothe them- 

 selves with leaves, and so convey their food to the 

 underground progeny. This is sufficiently proved 

 by such instances as that represented below, where, 

 owing to accidental causes, all the growth was 

 effected in the dark, and the formation of the tubers 

 took place in every direction among the branches. 

 Now the quantity of lateral branches will be in pro- 

 portion to the quantity of earth through which the 

 main stem passes ; tubers are lateral branches, and 

 therefore the quantity of tubers will be regulated by 

 the same cause. Moulding up is a contrivance to 

 increase the quantity of earth through which the 

 main stems have to pass, and should therefore, 

 according to theory, be a beneficial operation. Ne- 

 vertheless, the correspondent above alluded to denies 



its utility, and, in fact, pronounces it t 

 tageous. Experiment must be the j 

 him and others. 



to be disadvan- 



udge between 



not find in books anything very positive 

 point. Mr. Towers,* indeed, mentions a 



We do 



upon this poi 



case in which, after carefully layering the haulm, 

 and covering it with soil as the shoots advanced in 

 their growth, he obtained no tubers from the layers, 

 although from the main stem he collected 7 J lbs; 

 but then his layers grew with excessive rankiiess— a 

 circumstance most unfavourable to the produce of 

 the Potato, that is, to the formation of those stunted 

 branches which become tubers. Had he stopped or 

 checked his layers, the result might have been 

 different. 



And this leads us to suggest another experiment 

 with the Potato, which is the pinching off the end of 

 the stems for a quarter of their length, when they 

 have made about half their growth. This would 

 indeed destroy a portion of the leaves, whose action 

 swells the tubers and causes their starchy contents to 

 form ; but then it would also temporarily arrest the 

 flow of sap, and might compel it to direct itself 

 towards the lateral buds of the underground stems, 

 forcing them into the state of Potatoes. The ques- 

 tion is, whether the plants would suffer more by the 

 loss of their leaves than they would gain by the stop- 

 page of the sap. It may be that many small and 

 useless tubers would be the consequence of the ope- 

 ration. It may be that the other tubers would be- 

 come larger. It may be that no effect would be pro- 

 duced. This, then, is also a fair subject for ex- 

 periment. 



The spot on the leaves of the Pelargonium 

 is one of those diseases which nobody seems to under- 

 stand. Last year our columns contained some dis- 

 cussion upon the subject, but nothing satisfactory was 

 elicited. Cold, bad soil, the attacks of insects, are all 

 suggested ; the former appearing to gardeners, though 

 not to us, the more probable. Mr. Ayres stated that 

 he stopped it by pricking the infected part with the 

 point of a penknife (p. 428), and Dr. Ingle mentioned 

 his having recovered his plants by watering them with 

 a dilute solution of nitro-muriatic acid (p. 541). This 

 evidently leaned to the correctness of our own view 

 that it is the soil which produces the mischief. We 

 should be much obliged to our correspondents for the 

 result of their observations since that time ; and we 

 are sure that hundreds of Pelargonium growers would 

 be equally grateful. 



In the meanwhile, for their guidance, we beg to 

 give the following case, which has occurred to our 

 correspondent " Winton : ''— " This season I have 

 generally adopted the one-shift system into No. 16 

 pots, in a mixture of leaf-mould, loam, and peat, 

 with a somewhat liberal proportion of charcoal. About 

 six weeks since I applied, according to your advice, a 

 wine-glass of superphosphate of lime as a top-dressing. 

 Nothing could exceed the beautiful appearance of the 

 plants, until about ten days ago, when I first per- 

 ceived a few spotted leaves,' since which the disease 

 has been rapidly advancing throughout my collection. 

 I may say I have scarcely one plant, o ut of about one 



Domestie Gardeners' Manual, p. 20/. 



