300 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



former is too thick, a number may now be cat off; those of the 

 latter will be useful as tarts. In disbudding:, use a small sharp 

 knife, as pinching the shoots off is apt to cause the wound to 

 gam and canker. Where wood is wanted, pinch off the tops of 

 strong shoots, as several good bearing shoots may be thus ob- 

 tained. Where a shoot will be too strong and only one is 

 wanted, cut it back so as to secure one good lateral. Where 

 S'rong shoots appear where they are not wanted, or the tree is 

 over-luxuriant, allow a number of them to run their full length, 

 taking off the leaves from the under parts of the shoots as they 

 advance. They will thus form channels for the extra sap, and 

 will not shade unnecessarily the wood you intend for bearing. 

 In removing shoots at this season, thin them gradually, so as 

 ultimately to leave no more than can be exposed to the sun and 

 air. Many will now be busy, with their snuff and nu* vomica 

 dusters, for banishing, if not exterminating, the green fly. It 

 is certainly a good amusement for those who have the patience 

 to like it. Commend me for dispatch, execution, and economy, 

 to the fingers and thumb of an active man, Reid's patent sy- 

 ringe with the one nozzle for expelling the water, or a good 



garden engine. 



Sow small saladin^ Lettuces, and the different sorts of Broc r 



coli for the main crop, not forgetting as the most useful the 

 Early Purple Sprouting. Chappell's Cream and Bowie's Sulphur, 

 &C. S are fine sorts, when got true, and Knight's Protecting for 

 earlier supply. I have never been able to procure the white 

 Broccoli that appear- in (vent Garden during the winter 

 months; it must be much hardier than Grange's. Sow like- 

 wise Cabt>ag;c and Cauliflower for succession. Routine.— Tie 

 lip Lettuces, stop the shoots of the earliest Beans and Peas, 

 prick out sweet herbs, Celery, &c\j harden off Tomatoes and 

 Capsicums, attend to frames, water what you can, and stir the 



soil where you cannot.— -ft. F. 



VI.— ARBORICULTURE. 



Old Woods.— The timber of oak trees is acknowledged by most 

 persons to be much better if the trees are peeled in the proper 

 season. Where timber of good quality is particularly requested, 

 it would he advisable to lop off the principal branches, peel the 

 bolls Ittndiogj and fell them in the following autumn or winter. 

 Thil method is extensively practiced in some districts. As the 

 season for drying and sveuring the bark is so fine, no precautions 

 on that head appear necessary. 



Coppicr.— The felling and peeling of coppice poles and other 

 wood should be put forward with as much expedition as pos- 

 sible, as vegetation is rapid during this fine weather. As there 

 is so much clear sunshine this season, it would be highly ad 

 visable to plaster * r the cut part of the stools with fresh cow- 

 dung, as recommended last week. 



Young Plant'itions.— The principal work in these, is to attend 

 to all trees planted last season: water any that require it. Shade 

 choice plants and keep them from waving by wind. Keep down 

 and extirpate weeds, Fern, and other stuff, that would overgrow 

 and injure JTOtmg plants. Training and summer management 

 of such trees .is require it, should be attended to. Shorten pre- 

 vious years* shoots, and when those of this season are ad 

 vanced in length and strength, use your finger and thumb in 

 pinching off the ends, which increases the number of small 

 branches, and prevents them from becoming too strong for the 



stem. 



Nursery.— Attend assiduously to the seed-beds and trans- 

 planted young stuff. Water and shade them. Train young 

 plants in rows similar to what 1 have just described in young 

 plantations; but when the side branches are very numerous on 

 young plants, thin out the strongest of them. The progress 

 young plants make in nursery rows is astonishing, when they 

 arc judiciously trained during spring, summer, and even 

 autumn. The summer and autumn training require only finger 

 and thumb work; DO knife should be used.— IV. B. 



Statt of the Weather near Losdoa t>r th*» week ending May 9, 1844, at 



nb«*»rved at the Horticultural Garden, Chiawick. 



May 



*ri. 3 



Sat. 4 



m. b 



Moa. 6 



Tue«. 7 



Wed. | 



ThuTi. 1> 



A verau r 



Moou'a 



ItANOMKriK. 



Thuhmomrtfr. Wind. 



30.2! 



Alio. 

 30.138 



4K. 



Mia. 



45 





15 



55 NE. 



16 



30. 13* 





69 



IK 



.vs. a 



N E. 



17 



JO 000 



29.913 



7* 



43 57.5 



NE. 



18 



29 807 



tt.791 



72 



3'; 54.0 



B, . 



It 



29.968 



29.792 



7 * 



1 43 69 5 



K.W. 



90 



29.947 



29.1*14 



79 



44 



61.5 



E. 



a 



ld!»;j 



29.9J3 



78 



49 



63.5 



S-W. 





30.007 



29-943 



71.5 



44.0 1 



57.8 





Rain. 



.01 



.01 



M&y 3 CI*-ar; excesii vel? dry air; cloudy, with dry air even at night 

 4 Slight rain ; cloudy ; overcast 



6 Uniformly overcast ; fine; cJear and fine at night 

 6" Light cloud*, and fine throughout ; dear 



7 Very fine ; light clouds and variable winds; cloudy and mild 



8 Very fine; dry haze; slightly overcast ; mild and fine 



9 Very fine ; sultry, with du-ky white cloud*; overcast ; clear 

 Hi Mean temperature of the week, 4j deg. above the average- 

 State of the Weather at Chistvick during the lastia years, for the ensuing 



Week end ing May 18, 1844. 



Prevailing Wind; 



I 



May 



Sun. 12 

 iMon. 13 

 Tues 14 

 Wed. U 

 Thur.lfl 

 Fri. 17 

 Sat- 18 



Aver. 



Highest 



Temp. 



64.0 

 64.8 

 64.4 

 66.3 



678 



6*7-8 



65,6 



Aver. 



west 



Temp. 



4u.; 



30 I 

 41.5 

 41.2 

 43.2 



43.7 



No. td 



Mean Years in 

 TeinpJ which it 

 Rained. 



52.3 

 62.0 

 55 



5a.7 



55.5 

 55.8 



7 

 6" 



7 



5 



5 



6 



5 



Greatest 



quantity 

 of Rain. 



0.4° in. 



10 



0.66 



0-41 



0.17 



0.58 



0.14 



a 



l 



3 



i 

 L 



3 



1 

 I 



4 

 4 

 3 

 4 

 3 

 4 

 4 



« 



X 



l\ * 



2 — 



00 



1 

 1 



3 



1 

 4 

 4 - 

 4 2 



3 

 3 

 3 



7 

 2 



1 

 1 



5* 



2 

 I 



3 

 2 



4 

 3 

 4 



I 

 3 

 2 

 2 



1 

 4 



2 



'2 



S 

 1 



1 



'The highest temperature during the above period occurred on thn 15th and 

 I7th # 1832— therm. B&> ; and the lowest on the 15th, 1831*— therm. 26°. 



Notices to Correspondents. 



Aquattcs. — W. T. Walkin.— There is no difficulty about grow- 

 ing tender aquatic plants, if you keep the water warm, say 

 from 70° to 75° in summer, and leave them nearly dry in 

 winter. Nelumbium ipecio»um requites a water-heat of 84°. 

 Cyprrus Papyrus, Kelumhiums, Nymphfeas, Limnocharis, 

 Hydrocleys, Sagittarias, and Pontederias will furnish you 

 with variety enough. 

 Books.— L. D.— A large library, and long study of Botany, are 

 required to gain a full knowledge of the classification of 

 plants, according to the Natural System. Such knowledge as 

 can be compressed into a single volume will be found in 

 Lindley's ,( Natural System of Botany," a work full of refer- 

 ences to other sources of information. You will probably 

 find it to be what you want. Sweet's Catalogue is the best 



we have. A Syrian baa better get M Tenore's Corso delle 



BotanicheLezima" if he wishes for an Italian introduction to 



Botany. t\ C— It is impossible to say what second-hand 



books are worth. You should inquire of a bookseller. 

 Camkllias.— T. A. A'.— We really cannot say why vour Ca- 

 mellK brought Into the hou»e from a frame, should, when 

 it flowered and began to makeiis wood, upon being frequently 

 sprinkled whilst growing with so:t tepid water, have be- 

 come sickly and yellow, except the old leaves, which re- 

 main fresh and green. It is clear that the watei had nothin 

 to do with it. 



Carnations. —R. P. //.—The luxuriance of your Carnations 

 may be attributed to two separate cttftMfc Your seed was 

 sown too early, and your soil is too rich. It is best to sow 

 the seed the latter end of May, so that your plants will not 

 get so very strong before winter. It is not a necessary con- 

 sequence that your floweis will be all single because they 

 throw up many steins. Seedlings are always more vigorous 

 than those tnat have been in cultivation for a length or | me. 

 — fV.— A Subscriher.—\t is not usual for Carnations and Pinks 

 to bloom the first season. When the seed is sown early, 

 flower stems are occasionally thrown up late in the autumn, 

 and are destroyed by frost. The better system now to adojit 





a- 



I 



will be, to plant them out as soon as they have six leaves 

 (choosing a damp day for the operation) in beds, about 6 

 inches plant from plant. The soil ought to be poor, and, if pos- 

 sible, a north-east aspect, in order to counteract the luxu- 

 riance which early sowing has a tendency to promote. In 

 these beds they may remain till next year, when they will 



bloom.— W. 



Climbing Plants.— W. T. W.— You cannot have finer climbers 

 than Clematis azurea grandiflora, Dolichos lignosus, Harden- 

 bergia macrophylla and monophylla, Mandevilla suaveoiens, 

 Bignonia Pandorea, and Bugainvillea spectabilis ; but you will 

 probably not be able to flower the latter. 



CoMFKn.K.— Deodar.— You may add to your collection of Coni- 

 ferse, Pinus taurica, nigricans, Laricio, Pinea, excelsa, and 

 Cembra, Abies Cephalonica, and Morinda, which ought not to 

 be expensive. The new kinds are necessarily very dear, be- 

 cause they are in few hands, and difficult to multiply. Why 

 not apply to some respectable nurseryman for his price list, 

 and take what you do not think too dear ? We should be 



happy to advise you more particularly if we knew how. 



J. A'.— You may easily get a new leader to your Deodar to 

 supply the place of the injured one, by tying up one of the 

 best shoots near it. The Deodar grafts well upon the Larch. 

 It may be done now, or in August. If done now, it will pro- 

 bablv begin to grow before autumn j but if done in August, 

 the scions may remain dormant until next spring. The scion 

 and stock should be pared, so as to fit together accurately, 

 and should be bound together firmly, without being crushed, 

 by a piece of worsted thread.! 



Flowers.— Lockhwt and Co.— Your Lupinus formosus is too 

 like L. tomentosus to be worth preserving. 



Garden-Ground.— Tyro.— You will find some information 

 about " ' ' J "*" "° 



of vol 



inches of clay _ 



the soil, especially if you can add a good dressing of lime. 

 As for manure, one never has too much of that in a garden. 

 In turning over your soil, take care that the good upper soil 

 is not mixed with the lower stratum of gravel; but be sure 

 that there is not a hard pan below the peat. If there is, you 

 must break that through, so as to secure a free communica- 

 tion tor water both upwards and downwards. 



Grkknhoi/sk. -A Lady Gardener. — Peaches are so excitable 

 that it is impossible to keep greenhouse plants with them in 

 winter without injuring the former, if fire-heat is used more 

 than is necessary to exclude frost. But you do not want 

 artificial heat beyond this, for Geraniums and such things. 

 The same observations apply, though in a less degree, to a 



Vinery. Cavanensis — Your house is hardly wide enough 



for a conservatory. You will probably find it best suited for 

 a greenhouse, especially if it has a lean-to roof, as we 



presumed 



Hard Water.— Cambriensis.— We cannot answer your question 

 as to whether the constant use of carbonate of soda in tea- 

 water will injure the constitution. It is possible, but your 

 medical attendant alone can judge of that. It may be ad- 

 vantageous to the constitution. 



Heatino.— P. A'.— On no account use open tanks ; you will be 

 parboiled. A slate cover is better than one of tiles. It does 

 not matter how the connection is made between the tanks 

 and boiler, provided it is a sound joint, and the return-pipe 

 goes into the lower part of the boiler, while the flow-pipe 



passes out from the upper. Mavhaon. — The Olmstead 



Stove is in principle a modification of Dr. Arnott's stove, but 

 professing to expose a much larger heating surface to the air. 



—J. S. Winton. 



Hyacinths.— Senex.— You will find excellent practical direc- 

 tions for their management at p. 107, f ,ir ' 812. There can be no 

 doubt that it is better to prevent a Hyacinth flowering 2 years 

 successively, if the bulbs are to remain very strong ; but, by 

 observing the directions given in the place above alluded to, 

 they will flower well year after year without considerable de- 

 terioration. Gentiauella prefers very stiff soil. 



Insects.— R. T. — The brown Caterpillars, so destructive to the 

 Cherry blossoms this spring, will change to small moths ; the 



species we hope to determine by rearing them. R. M. W. 



A". — If the ants come from under a wall pour down boiling 

 water, and by repeating it they will soon disappear. If a 

 phial containing some crumbs of bread and brown sugar be 

 afterwards laid down near the spot, the stragglers will con- 

 gregate in it, and may be easily destroyed. R. A Sussex 



Farmer.— If you will send us specimens of the Hop-flea we 

 will make it the subject of an Essay. Great numbers might 

 be collected by a trap made of canvass, and strained on a 

 frame, like an umbrella reversed, with an open space in the 

 centre, and a slit on one side, to admit of its encircling the 

 whole, or a large portion of the Hop-plant ; the inside should 

 be painted with tar, or some adhesive liquid, whenever it is 

 to be used. Where this trap has been placed round the plant 

 the poles should be struck, or the leaves may be brushed with 

 a few birch twigs, when the insects will leap off and stick 

 to the tar. It would be undoubtedly a tedious operation, but 



very effectual. R. C. T.'s little pest belongs to the genus 



Poduraof Linnaeus. It is a species often complained of by 

 Floriculturists, bet little of its economy is known to natural- 

 ists. It delights in damp places, it is believed, and retires bv 



day into the loose earth. R. K. 0— We regret not being 



able to suggest any remedy beyond those we published last 

 year, in oescribing the different scale insects, and all that we 

 know relating to the Aphis lanigera has lately appeared in 

 this journal, when we described and figured that insect. 

 Surely by repeating the remedies already err ployed the 

 Aphides must be extirpated. R. 



Manures.— A. E. F.— Bone-black consists of bone earth 

 coloured biack by charcoal; when mixed with sulphuric acid, 

 superphosphate of lime is obtained, which has a black colour 

 from the charcoal. The value of such a superphosphate will 

 of course depend on the quantity of superphosphate ol lime 

 which it contains ; tie more charcoal the less valuable will it 



JJl ?'? in tP bone -° ,ac k contains about 10 per cent, of 



" ' " A Lady.- Guano is best used in a fluid 



charcoal— A". 



state. Superphosphate of lime should be dug in ; the others 

 may be used in the way most convenient. They will pro- 

 bably be found useful to all plants except Coniferas ; but no 

 fluid manure will act well on clay. Before manuring it, you 

 should improve it by acting on its mechanical texture, 

 tirst dram it well, then apply plenty of cmder-siltings and 

 old pxaster-rubbish, or the refuse mortar, and other cah-a- 

 reous matter, to be obtained where houses are pulled down. 

 W hen these are well incorporated, and the land is in good 

 tilth fluid manures will act; till then, you had better 

 employ stable manure, or s-uch coarse materials as will 

 loosen the soil as well as enrich it. If stable- manure is scarce, 

 it would in that case be necessary to make a compost heap of 



o 



to and, but the others are better. For immediate effect, the 

 sifungsothouse-cinders, soaked with a»y strong manurin 

 liquid, may best be used. 



Names oe Plants.-//. H.-U will be labour in vain to search 

 lor solid distinction! between P.unus spinosa and insititia 

 %hnh are doubtless the same specie.*, notwithstanding 

 that Botanists separate them. Their fruit offers the only 



* ur « di ; rre " ce \ B - T - *';-List«a ova*, or Tway-bl.de. 



r. if. i.-Wedo not attach imponanc- to slight varieties- 

 there is not a plant in which rome deviation or another from 



its habitual condition may not be foind occasionally 



r<*#5* f . -Dolichos purpureus. E. T. 0.— Either Epiden- 



drum virgatum, or a new species. Etytnology.— Vke never 



heard of such a plant as Mam de Lion. Z.— Menyanthes 



trifoliata. It will not grow, except in^aleT^rilTT^ 

 plenty of it. It is quite common. You hav» .«!• . ,lkes 



a Banyan tree that the Chinese have dwarfed bat th S 0ot 

 nitida, a very different thing from the Banyan ——4 n 

 — Linum trigynum, and an Acacia near A.'oxvced^l < l? m w n, 

 at present unknown to us. We will search for 'its nam ' 



Jacques. — A variety of Gesnera Douglassii. p„L ' 



Allium album. Stura. — Eria floribunda. * — 



Onions.— Cumbriensis .— The wet season— your ground h«- 

 naturaliy loose, and rendered too much so by trenchinj - S 

 the application of stable manure— has probably prevented h!* 1 

 formation cf bulbs, thick-necks, or scullions only beinp- «!* 

 result. || D s tae 



Pink-Support.— Youell and Co.— Mr. Hatch's invention in i» 

 present form, appears to be admirably adapted for sapnortint 

 Pinks and keeping them in form. It could no doubt beeasihV 

 applied to Carnations and Picotees : the wire in thia cm* 

 would require to be firmly fastened to the stick.* 



Pouanthes ti'berosa.— A Reader.— \f the soil is damp and 

 warm you need not water these until they begin to grow ♦ 



Roses.— T. A. A'.— You may syringe your Roses in the evemn* 

 Do not yet cut away the " sap buds '* close to the buds that 

 were inserted last year, but top them a little above the latter 

 leaving a few leaves to draw up the sap. When the bud<! 

 become established, and fully able to support themselves 

 then that part of the stock above the buds may be deprived of 

 leaves and used to tie the new shoots to till theyhardeD t 



The Strawberry.— A. B.C. — In taking runners for new plants 

 it is of no consequence whether you take them from plants in 



bloom, or from others. Cavanensis. — It is advisable to cut 



off the runners from Strawberry rows, composed of snoh 



'"">•" ■•»« ««« i"«m»i »it npi iu uic vju 1,1 w mter, it is nest to 

 follow the plan by which you state you obtained good crops 

 of Myatt's Pine— that of allowing a sufficient number of the 

 first runners to strike root, and remain to produce the crop 



in the following season. || J. K.— Water to the roots, not 



the flowers, is all that Strawberry plants want now in order 

 to make their fruit swell. Manure will not now act on that, 

 but will merely invigorate the plants against another flower, 

 ing season. No sort of manure seems to come amiss to 

 Strawberries, but they are particularly fond of bone fragments. 



Vines.— An Old Friend.— If yourgardenerplantedhis Vines onthe 

 top of his border, the raising it to the level of the sill would have 

 been an advantage rather than a disadvantage; but if he 

 planted them in the usual way. and then heaped earth over 

 the roots and stems till he brought the border up to the level 

 of the sill, that would account for your Vines being uniformly 

 barren, because of the coldness of the soil at a distance from 

 the surface, and the great exclusion of air from the roots. It 

 is possible, however, that we have misunderstood you ; and 

 if so, it would be as well to state the case very exactly, men- 

 tioning the way in which the drainage of the border was pro- 

 vided for, and how the border was made, when we will either 

 auvise you again, or print the statement, in the hope that it 

 may catch the eye of some one acquainted with some other 

 instance of the same sort. Roberts's book on the Vine is ex- 

 cellent of its kind. Cavanensis. — Varieties for growing 



under the nine rafters of your greenhouse should be such as 

 will bear with close pruning— 5 Black Hamburgh, I Black 

 Prince, 2 Royal Muscadine, 1 Sweetwater. Your other plants, 

 will not be much injured if you dress the Vines so as to 

 extend but as little as possible under the glass. The border 

 for the Vines need not be more than 6 feet wide at present, 

 and 2£ feet deep. 6 feet more should be added to the width of 

 the border as the roots extend. You may plant the Vines 

 turned out of pots in the end of this month. \\ 



Miscellaneous.— Orchis.— Both Orchis mascula, morio, and 

 latifolia vary very much in the colour of their flowers, from 



white to deep purple. Cambriensis .—If you will watch our 



Notices you will see that we do exactly what you wish, in a 

 quiet way. The difficulty about giving questions as well as 

 our answers lies in the want of space. "Bevan on the 

 Honey-Bee " will probably answer your purpose best. Some 

 day we will think about a glossary, but fear it will be much 



too long for a newspaper. Other answers elsewhere. ■ 



Simplex. — We are really very much qbliged to you ; 

 such things do not strike us as they strike othe "j 

 There are, however, many tastes to consult. We shall 

 keep an eye upon the points you mention; one of ttiera 



is nearly brought to a close. J. Smythe.—K is impossible 



to answer your question without seeing the excrescences you 

 mention. Violets, like other plants, are subject to various 

 orgauic deformities and changes. 



SEEDLING FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



Auricula.— J. C— Your Self is a neatly-formed and Pretuij- 

 shaded flower, and will do for the borders ; the yellow paste 



• excludes it from Show varieties. * — J. H. T.-Your collec- 

 tion of Alpines is extremely good j they are large and snowy 



flowers, very varied in colour. * ... fft 



Calceolarias.— J. B.-There is nothing in your seedling ro 

 distinguish it from a great many raised by other growers. 

 T. C.- No. 1 is Dretty from its marking; 2, very common;*, 

 curiously and very prettily marked,-it is also an appro « u 

 to a good form ; they are all defective in the outimeoi i«« 

 flower, being deeply indented at the bottom. *-T"f ' „ - 

 No. 1 is a prettv Self, and a well- formed flower; jui ?«> 

 seedlings do not differ sufficiently from the varieties raiseu j 



other growers. * . ^tween 



Cereus.-C. J.— " Flowers of a Cereus originated o«ww 

 sp«cosissimus and flagelliformis, the former species, dmi* 

 tbe seed, and the plant also having its furrowed habits, wu 

 pendulous growth of the male parent." The flowers o. 

 hybrid are of a deep bright crimson, enriched in the in« ^ 

 a beautiful tinge of blue ; if a free bloomer, it will mane 

 sirable variety in this class. * . n f a rich 



Cinerarias.— J. B.— Your best seedling, the Fairy, \ is ° tfe 

 colour, and a good size. Village Maid, Aurora, ana o»j y^ 

 small, and in colour they have all been anticipated 0. 



growers. * . deficient 



Pansies.— 2J.— Your seedling is extremely pretty, t>ui " ^ 



both in form and substance.* R. i?.— Neith e «" ' in 



Pansies are worth preserving; they are small, co ^^ 



colour, and poor in substance.* V. E.—A '» s vhit- 



formed flower, of good substance, large P u u r P le . e Jei' tir) g of 

 ground, deep purple upper petals, with a broaa . g off 



the same surrounding the lower ones ; the belting "« # , 



lather too soon, but it is uniform in the three pet {om . 

 II. B.— N« ne of the seedlings you have sent are e"o°" __y ur 

 generally they are too long and under- sized.* — 7 a J ears to 

 bloom was injured by being too much pressed. 1 ^T be ning 

 be of good form and substance, upper petals and nro» ^^ 

 of the deepest purple, with large eye of tnP . f f a " fi ' e dark 



filling up the shield* C. H.— No. 1, white, with a n^ ^ e 



eye; petals too much puckered at the edges; *' ka biy 

 flower, of good sub.stance; three lower petals [ e lie fl a t; 

 fine; the upper are rather large, and not disposeu ^ 



3, a large, compact, and flat flower; the edges 01 . r uni , 

 are too much serrated, and the giound colour* n.^je, 

 formity; 4, a fine deep purple Self. These flowers are ai 



and of good substance.* i nr rje " read 



Eerata.— In "Insects." p. 275, line 34. for arv ^^ 

 " larva."— —In "Notices to Correspondents, v : * '[j«tof 

 the head '« Plants," by a mistake in the punctasti on, d of 

 Aquatics was called Rock Plants. The ™Upo»i* w» H aod 

 being placed after" plants, " should be put before . ^ 



.« For rock plants see p m hf 



the sentence should be read, 



1844." 1 



" Observer 



n p. 261, line 20, under the hejd £^ ey ." 

 J-4," ior " Lord Audlcj," read Lore *» 



