1841-] 



THE GARDENERS' CHROiMCLE. 



331 



SHADES FOR GREENHOUSES. 



«-cFk'S & Co , Architects, Hothouse Builders, 



J WEEKS) *^°-^ Chelsea, bep to inform Horticnltu- 



*^.n£ Sdadinf. Thereby the largest or smallest c«n 

 Ud fSSXSmZ ^ uncovered with a sheet of canvas To 

 ^ lnSU ^\ use atmost of the London Nurseries, and at the ffw- 



CHICORY. 



of Dunnington, near York, 



t Makkr. bees to call the at- 



ticui 



rrHOMAS ABBE>, of 



1 AOItlCLLTlRAL IMPLKMKV 



ter* 



Hie SEED 



J^e.power, for cut 



Griodiaf. 



Sthe^wersol Chicory to trie DRILLS for SOWING 

 ■n. «,,d also to his CUTTERS, worked by hand or by 

 '.V..«r for cutting the roots into squares, preparatory to 



Cl)t <5rarfrengrg» C^romcle 



SATURDAY, MAT 25, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 



("Horticultural • • • 3 pm. 



A Hoyal Botanic Gardens • 2 m. 



tl-innean • • • • 8 p.m. 



. Society of Arts . • • 8 pm. 



. Botanical . . • • 8 p.m. 



. Hoyal Botanic 4 p.m. 



TcmI'aT, June 4 



!VFr».x»tnA*, June 5 

 FflMT, June 7 



Satpjuiat, JuneS 



The Exhibition of Plants and Fruit last 

 Saturday in the Garden of the Horticultural 

 Society at Chiswick, proved that the skill of Gar- 

 deners is in general very visibly advanced since 

 last year, and that the fondness of the public for 

 such" meetings is also much upon the increase. 



A bitter North-east wind, and occasional squalls 

 of rain, did not prevent 43G7 persons from assembling 

 on the occasion. On the loth of May, 1837, when 

 the day was equally cold, but quite dry, only 750 

 visitors were present ; and on the lGth.of May, 1840, 

 the wind being south-west, a few showers prevented 

 the attendance of more than 2471. In fact, the 

 number last Saturday was within 500 of that in 

 May last year, when the wind was westerly, and the 

 afternoon perfectly fine. 



A casual observer might not have perceived that 

 advance in Gardening skill to which we have alluded, 

 and might point to sundry very indifferent Pines, and 

 some specimens but ill in bloom, ls indicating the 

 contrary. It should, however, be remembered that 

 the plants for this Exhibition have been preserved 

 through the very worst spring, for such purposes, that 

 has been experienced for years. An unclouded sun, 

 sudden heats followed by as sudden cold, and two 

 months' dryness, would have ruined the plants of any 

 except English gardeners. Their resources, how- 

 ever, proved equal to the demand upon them, and 

 enabled them to produce an unrivalled display 

 of beautiful cultivation, even though they had to 

 bring their tender plants into a cold-bath— we had 

 almost written an ice-bath. 



-JSSJ.?? 8 P arti cularly justifies our opinion that 

 this -.xhibition proved a general advance in Horticul- 

 tural skill to have taken place since last year, was the 

 total absence of bad cultivation. Whenever, on 



Wn Cr °™ S T S > SU( ; h lar S e masses of plants have 

 been collected together, a considerable number of 



^e poor specimens has been found among them. 



«SL year V ld n0t 0bserve one - The si »S le 

 S 6nS) f ° r 1 exam Ple, were nicely grown and 



mo?/ ir n » aged ' and comin g in man y instances from 

 a v bin i haV f n ? 1 the PPortunity of producin 

 an ^ ung else, clearly showed that the great gardeners 

 oi the day W0U ld soon find worthy rivals if oppor- 



namE T^L' U would be invidious to mention 

 readilV.i • t Se , who exam ined the plants will 

 bv m Jn at this our S° od opinion was deserved 



y many men as yet unknown to garden-fame. 



tion of Pin!? fi , ne dis P lav of fruit > with the exce P" 

 thinm P,n! -?, P s; and some highly interesting new 

 beautv olTirJ a sn ow-white Cactus, of wonderful 

 and affl Cre , nat ns, invaluable for hybridising, 

 ultra S a - like P lant with flowers of a rich 

 vioJacea h ' which has been named Hin dsia 



a »'l neatlv »** i*^ R ratifvi,1 g to see how wel1 

 their °* tne collections were ticketed 



exhibition* n,I ? es r~ a great improvement in such 

 . on s, which often lose half their interest 



cr 

 O 



ers 



with 



plants are lln K 0SSlbility of ^certaining what the 

 a«M too Ju° Se bea uty excites attention. We 

 de ner s Who ' t mU i Ch satisfacti ° n > that the gar- 

 Personal ai encled Wer e much improved in their 

 slovenly cl pear ? nce - We saw none of that dirty 

 t0 proclaim W ■ We have ^en f °rmerly obliged 

 ^ra ce to thef ? uisance at such meetings, and a dis- 

 tressed resneti?i thren ' ° n tne contrary, all were 

 m 'as but one ' accord ing to their means. There 

 nirn a pass ti i) ,Tlsnave n man amongst them, and to 

 *** suppose Kn l Was refused ' Unthinking people 

 P°rtance ™ \ matters as dress of very little im- 

 *btth er a ^ ma y fancy that it does not signify 

 on holid avs es nimself and wears a clean coat 



^ Nostr° r n0t ' P rovidetl ne grows his plants 

 T iven r^ instance of false judgment could 

 th emselve s in *i ners are ambitious of elevating 

 V 11 * 8 most rp a i eyeS ° f the world > and wear* at all 

 01n S so • but t f t0 fi glVe them effectual assistance in 



who would rise above the crowd is to be neat and 

 clean in his person. It is not enough to be respect- 

 able — it is necessary to appear so. The world can- 

 not examine people's conduct or skill with much 

 exactness, and is therefore of necessity guided greatly 

 by appearances. Besides this, a gardener is brought 

 much in contact with gentlewomen, and nothing is 

 more unpleasant to a lady than to have constant 

 occasion to consult a dirty servant, or to be jostled in 

 a crowd at a flower-show by filthy ill-dressed people, 

 whose faces are as unconscious of a razor as their 

 linen of soap and water. To say that such people 

 have contributed the beautiful objects that are 

 brought together would be a libel upon all respect- 

 able gardeners, in the shape of an apology for those 

 who are the contrary ; and there are few persons who 

 would not rather be without the flowers, if they have 

 to purchase their pleasure by contact with such 

 disagreeable neighbours. 



But there is another reason why all gardeners 

 should be careful to preserve a respectable, neat 

 personal appearance. Dirty gardeners are had 

 gardeners ; that may be taken as a rule to which 

 there are no exceptions. They may do for labourers, 

 but are unfit for anything more. The reason of this 

 is plain. Neatness is indispensable in gardening ; in 

 the absence of it weeds run riot, insects swarm, 

 and the trim beauty of a flower-garden is exchanged 

 for the shabbiness of a wilderness. He who is slo- 

 venly in his personal habits will be so with the 

 plants he cultivates; while, on the other hand, 

 habitual neatness in one thing renders unneatness in 

 other things too disagreeable to be possible. There 

 is no doubt that much of the difference which exists 

 among gardeners as to skill depends more upon little 

 than what are commonly called great things. An 

 exact attention to minute matters, and great care in 

 details, the practice of which is among the most 

 essential, though often most neglected parts of a 

 gardener's education, will insure to the man of mo- 

 derate abilities a superiority over him who, whatever 

 is his cleverness, neglects them. 



It was therefore, we repeat it, a source of the most 

 sincere gratification to us to witness the highly re- 

 spectable appearance of the gardeners collected at 

 Chiswick last Saturday. 



We once more return to the subject of Landscape 

 Gardening. 



Besides the power of vision, properly so called, and 

 which makes us aware of the presence of objects, there 

 exists a peculiar faculty which takes cognisance of 

 colour. We have known persons, who, not possessing 

 this faculty in a sufficient degree, mistook one colour 

 for another, and could not distinguish them. Some 

 persons, again, have so strong a passion for colour 

 as to delight in its contemplation, without any regard 

 to harmony or iitness. The Dutch are examples of 

 this. The Landscape Gardener must possess this 

 faculty in a proper degree ; he must have not only a 

 quick perception of mere colour, but of harmonious 

 arrangement, and the effects of shade, and of one 

 colour upon another. The vegetable world presents 

 every variety of colour ; but the Landscape Gardener 

 has to do with but a small number, and chiefly with 

 varieties of green, and the varying hues of spring and 

 autumn. Nor is this all ; he must be acquainted with 

 the season at which each tree or shrub puts forth and 

 sheds its leaves. This requires not a little study. 

 Then comes the selection of shades of foliage, and 

 styles of growth adapted to various situations and 

 special scenery. Nature tells us not only in what 

 situations certain trees will live and grow, but she 

 suits these to the situation with unerring hand. She 

 has genera and species for every climate, so that few 

 positions suited to the dwelling of man are without 

 something that is gratifying to the eye, and where 

 there is deficiency it is in his power to supply it. 

 Man was not created to be idle, and every inducement 

 has been held out to him for exercising the powers 

 with which he has been endowed. The wildest wastes 

 of our island are capable of improvement, and the only 

 obstacle to its being effected is to be found in the 

 want of means, created by the artificial state of society, 

 leading the rich to squander their wealth on what may 

 produce momentary gratification, but which ends in 

 ruin. Wealth is necessary to reclothe the surface ; 

 but, alas ! where wealth should most abound, there 

 does poverty extend the farthest. Were riches ex- 

 pended on the improvement and embellishment of the 

 land, instead of being scattered abroad, as they too fre- 

 quently are, on useless and unsatisfactory luxury and 

 gambling, poverty might disappear, and competency 

 be enjoyed by all. 



The variety of green tints is very great, and their 

 disposition of importance. Green is a mixture of 

 blue and yellow, and the predominance of either 

 must be studied. A different suit of colours appears 

 in the autumn, the yellow prevailing, but mixed with 

 red, instead of blue, which seems to disappear from 

 the tints of autumn. Some trees change colour early, 



Oak. Advantage should be taken of this, and trees 

 arranged accordingly. Evergreens should generally 

 be so disposed as to form a mass when other trees are 

 naked ; but in some situations, single Pines and Firs, 

 if room be given to them, -produce a fine effect. 



When a house is to be built where trees already 

 abound, difficulties will occur in choosing a site. It 

 is dangerous to cut down trees before the building has 

 been erected ; and yet effects may not be broughfout, 

 so as to assist in the choice without thinning. It is 

 also difficult to conductroads where trees stand thickly; 

 in such a case the landscape gardener should proceed 

 with great caution, removing first such trees as are 

 not in themselves worthy of a place. 



The disposition of water, where sheets of it are to 

 be interspersed with trees and shrubs, has fine effect 

 in certain situations, when managed with judgment 

 But we cannot teach judgment, any more than taste, 

 both being gifts of Nature. 



Of all things connected with Landscape Gardening, 

 buildings are often most offensive; and we find the 

 grossest defects of taste frequently displayed, both in 

 their style and position. Many persons are apt to 

 associate external Nature with the state of society in 

 times long past. This is an error tjiat has led to raanv 

 trespasses against Nature's rules. A man will build 

 a castle, because the situation he fixes for it is a com- 

 manding one, and would have answered all the 

 purposes of defence in a rude state of society. His 

 taste leads him into expense, and to the sacrifice of 

 convenience and comfort. The adoption of former 

 styles shows taste m some instances ; but we rather 

 think it an indication of want of invention. The 

 country is covered with new residences in the Eliza- 

 bethan style, and there is a sameness that is rather 

 tiresome, and far from being so picturesque as the 

 castellated with all its modern incongruities. Dwell- 

 ing-houses should be arranged for comfort ; and where 

 means are at command, alnj for elegance and grandeur, 

 both internally and externally. The ruins of ancient 

 buildings produce a most pleasing effect; and they 

 ought to be preserved, but it would be preposterous, 

 hi our flay, to build that which is felt to be impressive 

 only when in a state of ruin. This is a subject not 

 altogether separated from Landscape Gardening. 

 When a professor finds buildings in his way, it is his 

 I business either to hide them, or to exhibit them to 'the 

 best advantage. 



We have now touched, though lightly, on most of 

 the subjects connected with Landscape Gardening. 

 On such a subject it is scarcely possible to strike out 

 anything new ; and our Chronicle is the site of busi- 

 ness, and not the field over which Imagination can be 

 permitted to spread her wings. We now, therefore, 

 for a time at least, take leave of the subject, and of 

 the reader; repeating that a man must be born a 

 Landscape Gardener ; pocta, for he is a poet, nas- 

 citur, nonfit. — G. 



U1 e brst step that any man Must take as the Horse Cfcei it; ethers late, as the Beech and 



ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PEACH-TREES. 



In answer to "' Omikron" (see p. ) I am of opinion 

 that the chief cause of the lamentable state of his 

 Peach-trees is to be sought for in the soil, together with 

 the attacks of insects. I have had a very close acquaint- 

 ance with the Peach-tree, and I am familiar with its 

 habits, both in northern counties and around the metro- 

 polis ; and the result of my observations has produced in 

 me a decided impression that at least nine-tenths of what 

 is called disease in the Peach, is clearly traceable to deep 

 and stagnant soils, to deep digging over the roots, to 

 over manuring, and to insects and iil-ripened wood. The 

 chambering system, as it was called by Mr. Mearns, 

 together with the mode of forcing employed by Dutch 

 gardeners, of removing their trees every year, or in other 

 words the root-pruniug system, tends to illustrate the 

 point I would wish to press. 



I will now examine the matter, and afterwards relate 

 what I consider to be principles essential, nay indispens- 

 able in the cultivation of the Peach. <w Omikron" says, 

 that one consequence of the disease is the attack of aphides. 

 Is he well assured that they do not rather partake of the 

 character of adjuncts to the original cause, instead of 

 bein^ merelv an effect? The next point to which I would 

 advert is " Omikron V plan of placing what he terms 

 virgin loam, and in another place mould, on a bottom of 

 cement. Now, I should have no objection to place 

 chopped turf, fresh from the pastures, on a bottom of 

 cement, but placing an under-spit of friable soil in im- 

 mediate contact with the cement is quite another thing. 

 In the latter case, stagnation would ensue betimes, nor 

 would the *' sloping outwards" by any means perfectly 

 obviate it. 



" Omikron" proposes to make experiments with dif- 

 ferent sorts of M mould." But it is now high time that 

 the grand difference between mere mould and chopped 

 turf were well understood, although Mr. Barnes advises 

 that turf be taken from the road-side, or the margin of a 

 common. I do not mean to assert that what is culled 

 " mould," will not grow the Peach. I merely iusJotBB the 

 preference for the chopped turf, where steady darabiJity is 

 the object. As to the presumed change taking f>iace in a 

 tree removed from a shady quarter of a nursery, to a 

 south wall, I am not disposed to doubt it J*uc 

 what change? From bad to worse? By no means— the 



char- is alto-ether for the better. Purely, a Peach m 



