1844.] 



THE GARDEN ERS' CHRONICLE. 



33.3 



¥k, HoUn.-l" a kite Number appeared a very uiter- 

 ^C; .necuore of an - affectum.,*" robin. Your corres- 

 *^? t H*« however, I would presume, seen little 

 r n e 2 t • *< sunnv side" of thU bird's character. I 

 Ske robin has some very striking good qualities; but 

 f/^'re remains behind/' I have made the study of 

 ,.T a very favourite pastime for the last 14 y-ars. my 

 bl '. Ill Zhlnm average fewer than from 200 to 300 



raoins in cages at one *uu l. « — - — , - — ■ • - 



ti«« durin* the above period, compels me to say that, if 



f these " affectionate n birds, 20 males were let loose in 

 one room, not three would be found alive the nest morn- 

 • • and even these survivors would be desperately 

 in * ' j e j a Their strength alone has saved them (unless 

 indeed they have studied the » whole art of war") ; and 

 oatfirt unity alone is wanting for each one of them to 

 riemve from the other his quietus, which is inevitable, if 

 thev continue together. If robins, confined in cages, 

 are'einected to sing, they must on no. account whatever 

 be permitted to see each other, for their jealousy exceeds, 

 if it is possible, that of women ; and, once provoked, they 

 are nearly as irreconcilable. Thus much for their foibles. 

 I will now give you an instance of their gentler nature. 

 You will thereby see, not only how possible it is to tame 

 a robin, but to mould it to your entire will. In the 

 awtumn of last year I took possession of my present 

 residence, and being alone for a week, until the arrival of 

 my family from town, I rose as early as half-past four in 

 the morning, to attend to my cage-birds, which I fed on 

 a table in the back garden. While employed in this 

 operation, I perceived that I was closely watched by a 

 very elegantly formed, fine, stout, robin, who seemed 

 bent on ascertaining whether or not I was a friend to his 

 tribe. Within three days, his mind, on this point, was 

 set at rest, aud he became my constant guest, in doors, 

 in the garden, on my shoulder, on my finger ; and to sum 

 op all, I taught him, at command, to perch himself firmly 

 on the bridge of my nose, and to take a meal-worm, while 

 thus seated, from my hand. It would often happen, on 

 my return home, that he was in Ravenscourt Park (which 

 adjoins my garden); at such times, I had only to give a 

 peculiar whistle, and he would be at my side in a few 

 moments. Finally, our " engagement for the season" 

 terminated only two months since, when my little friend 

 committed matrimony. He is now teaching his young 

 family, four in number, how to fly, and is in the garden 

 the greater part of the day, singing joyously. His great 

 familiarity, however, is suspended pro tern., and I can 

 scarcely expect that his instinct will permit him to return 

 to his old habits of strict intimacy until August Wil- 

 liam Kidd, New Road, Hammersmith. 



Sporting Laburnum. — Several years ago I purchased of 

 a nurseryman, and planted in my garden, a purple La- 

 burnum, which was grafted, as I imagine, ona common 

 Laburnum-stock ; the tree has never assumed the droop- 

 ing growth of the common Laburnum, nor has it flow- 

 ered very profusely, nor the bunches been so long as 

 those of the Laburnum usually are ; but this year there 

 are three bunches of yellow flowers, one at the extremity 

 of a shoot of last year, and the other two in that part of 

 another branch which was the growth of the year before 

 last. Just below these bunches, and in the wood of the 

 same year's growth, are three shoots of last year's 

 growth, about twelve or fourteen inches long, having 

 throughout the whole length the small foliage and light 

 purple flowers of a distinct species of Cytisus, the latter 

 being single, of a less faded appearance than the La- 

 burnum, with short flower-stalks ; and further up the 

 same bough, on the growth of the same year, there are 

 tiiree bunches of purple flowers similar to those hitherto 

 produced on the tree, and further up the same branch, on 

 ae growth of last year, another bunch of purple flowers ; 



e whole are certainly the growth from the scion, and 



XoT^k abud belo *» where the scion was inserted - 

 havJ \ GVer been P rod uced in former years, and I 



eraf ? ay , 8 c °nsidered the scion with which the tree was 

 other C f • ahybrid be tween the Laburnum and some 

 Dublin / us ; * taiQ k I have read in one of Loudon's 

 pucations that the purple Laburnum was ahybrid which 



turning J* CC 7 ,ant 7 of losin § its hybrid characters, and re- 

 mv st -° C °*' 0ne °^ its ori o'i nal parents ; but surely 

 char«pr C,m ! n 13 stiU more extraordinary, from the triple 



grets ofrh era- * sha11 anxiousI y watch the pro- 



ascert- ' -p y eliow and smaller purple flowers, in order to 

 /orcf. Ay hcyproduce any seed.— C. T. IV., Bunting- 

 sionun , must ^fer our correspondent to the discus- 

 1841 l 0X \ S sub Ject, which took place at p. 325, 



Tram U P * 397 ' in the volurae for 1842 'J 

 in tran *? antln 0- — Having had considerable experience 



Pursued' f lng ' l 9hal1 state the method I have always 



form thAV be i? moval of lar S e trees or shrubs - l fir8t 



"be 



ches 



plant 'aJT^T 6 f ° r the welfare of the newly-transplanted 

 again *ot S I lfc room to ext end its roots until it has 

 Wei? I e8tabllsb -ed in its new situation. In lifting 



ro P«S trial*' alwa y sbmd U P the plant with strong straw 

 Dr *tebca i g fk° ne end of the ro P e to one of the strong 



branch V ° entre ° f the P lant ' and » takin S U P a11 the 

 Compaq', CaUSe them to be drawn into as small a 

 thus the o„L P f °. Mlble without injuring the plant, and 

 ease. The Hro t ° f liftin ? can be performed with more 

 to be common t ^ then cleared ? an «, suppose the plant 

 f eet fro m thp Urel > six or ei g h t feet high, begin as many 

 as ^e branch mam Stem ^ S enera »y commence as far out 

 at th e said £*? extend and cut a trench round the plant 



stance from the centre, as deep as it may be 



supposed the roots have gone do*n. 1 then reduce the 

 ball by decrees with a three or four-pronged fork, clean- 

 ing out the mould with a spade as L go on, and taking 

 care not to injure any of the roots or fibres. These I 

 generally tie up in trusses with matting, in order to pre- 

 vent them as much as possible from being injured. I very 

 often clear the roots to within two or three feet of the 

 main stem, and then undermine the solid piece that is 

 left; I, however, do not attach much importance to the 

 ball left at the plant ; the only thing is, that a small ball 

 helps to keep the plant steady until it has again made 

 fresh roots. When the plant is ready for removal, the 

 strength for lifting ic will depend upon its size, and the 

 weight of the ball left, if an v. I have, however, lifted 

 larger plants with three or four men, by keeping all the 

 roots as entire as possible, and paying little regard to 

 balls, than I have seen ten and twelve men lift with balls, 

 the plants having no more roots than what the ball con- 

 tained ; and those I planted without balls grew away 

 vigorously, whilst the others remained in a languid state 

 for years. When the plant is brought to the pit and 

 placed in the centre of it, untie the roots, and dress with 

 a sharp knife any that may have been bruised. I gene- 

 rally shorten strong ones, that they may make young 

 fibres, upon which the welfare of the plant in a great 

 measure depends. After dressing the roots 1 lay them all 

 carefully out round the pit. If there are one, two, or three 

 layers of roots, as is often the case, keep each layer by 

 itself, and lay out the undermost first, taking care to 

 spread out every fibre with the hand. On these spread 

 well broken mould ; but in doing this eare must be taken 

 not to club the roots together. After the first layer of 

 roots is well covered proceed with the next, and so on 

 until all is finished. After transplanting I never give 

 the plants water oftener than once, which is immediately 

 after the operation of planting is performed. I have 

 sometimes given a plant water in dry weather, merely as 

 an experiment to satisfy myself with regard to its utility, 

 and I have always found it injurious to the plants to 

 which it was applied ; they soon began to assume a sickly 

 appearance, and I am convinced that there are many young 

 trees and shrubs destroyed (after havingbeen transplanted) 

 by the frequent application of water in dry weather. My 

 method is, after the roots are all well covered to leave the 

 pit three or four inches unfilled, and I apply the water 

 according to the state of the soil and size of the plant. To 

 a shrub that covers about 4 square yards of ground (if the 

 soil is not very moist), I generally give about eight com- 

 mon sized watering-potfuls, and so on for every square 

 yard of ground covered. Some writers recommend pour- 

 ing the water over the roots through besoms, &c, but I 

 pour it in at once from the pot, and as soon as it subsides 

 a little, I fill up the pit. The only treading I ever give 

 the plants, is merely what may take place in going round 

 them, in taking away the rope, and spreading out the 

 branches in their original position. The above remarks 

 apply well to the common and Portugal Laurel, and also 

 to deciduous trees and shrubs in general. I shall now 

 mention a few kinds that are difficult to remove without 

 balls, when they arejlarge plants. The Holly is one that 

 is impatient of being removed without a ball, and in free 

 light soils it will not lift with one. The method I adopt 

 with it is this: — two years before removal I generally open 

 a trench round the plant, about two feet from the main 

 stem (more or less according to its size) ; two feet will do 

 for a plant six feet high. I go as deep as I find roots, and 

 cut clean off all those outside of the ball, and again fill in 

 the mould. In about two years afterwards, the cut roots 

 shall have made firm young fibres, which supply the plant 

 with food when it is transplanted. In lifting them I 

 always try, if possible, to get a good ball at them. By 

 this method 1 have succeeded beyond expectation. The 

 Laurustinus is not very fond of being removed without a 

 ball, when it is large ; but as it is in general not so large 

 as the majority of evergreens, it is more easily lifted with 

 a ball. In one year I transplanted about 100 after they 

 had attained a considerable size, and very few of them had 

 good balls ; but I kept all their roots as entire as possible, 

 and by so doing I only lost one plant. There are but 

 very few of the Fir tribe that can be transplanted after 

 they have got to any size. The only kinds I have lifted 

 after they have attained the height of from six to sixteen 

 feet, are the Silver, the Spruce, and the Weymouth Pines ; 

 with these I have been very successful. The Silver Fir 

 bears transplanting tolerably well, provided care is taken 

 not to injure the top roots, which run horizontally near 

 the surface. I have lifted and replanted Silver Firs from 

 four to fourteen feet high. The Spruce lifts well ; I have 

 transplanted them sixteen feet high. I have also trans- 

 planted the Weymouth Pine from ten to twelve feet high; 

 of these kinds I have never lost a single plant. In lifting 

 them I always tried to get as good balls as I could with 

 them. I have, however, transplanted them without balls, 

 and treated them in the same manner as evergreen shrubs, 

 keeping all their roots as entire as possible, and making 

 the pits wherein they were to be planted large, so as to 

 get all their roots spread out as regularly as possible ; 

 when covered, they were watered in the same manner aa 

 the shrubs. In lifting and transplanting hard wood, such 

 as Oaks, &c, I seldom leave any balls at them ; I merely 

 keep their roots as entire as possible, and shorten in any 

 strong ones; they should be well watered. It is very 

 essential to the welfare of plants that have been trans- 

 planted, to have them well supported, to prevent them 

 from shaking with the wind, &c. For trees from 10 to 20 

 feet high, I generally use three poles, set up in the form 

 of a triangle ; I roll a straw rope round the stem of the 

 tree (at the height which I consider will be necessary for 

 keeping it steady) for the poles to rest on, as it prevents 

 them from hurting the bark ; then, after tyine the noles 



firm to the tree, and fixing them in the ground, the work 

 is finished. For plants of smaller size. I generally use. 

 small rope, tied in the same manner to the tree, and fixed 

 to stakes driven into the ground. With regard to the 

 season for transplanting evergreen shrubs, I can scarcely 

 give any correct opinion, as I have transplanted ever* 

 greens in every month of the year, and never lost a single 

 ant. No doubt, the summer n onths are not proper for 

 such work, therefore ic should be avoided, if possible. 

 From October to April all shrubs, &c. f may be lifted with 

 safety. I prefer the month of November for lifting large 

 plants, if I can get it done, as those planted about that 

 time always send out young roots during winter ; I have 



amined them frequently in February, and fouud them 

 to have made young roots from 1 to 3 inches long. 

 Nothing need be said regarding American shrubs, &c, as, 

 if care is taken, they can be lifted with propriety at any 

 time. Healthier and finer specimens of tree and shrub* 

 than those I have transplanted are seldom to be met with. 

 — A Caledonian. 



Spring Planting.— I doubt not that your observations 

 on the superiority of autumn planting are unquestionable; 

 yet, as far as my experience goes, I have always suc- 

 ceeded better with the coinmou Laurel, by planting in 

 spring. In any attempt to move Laurels 3 feet in dia- 

 meter in the autumn, I have generally lost the greater 

 part of the wood. But, by planting with care, and 

 paying a good deal of attention to moisture in spring, 1 

 have invariably succeeded in saving the whole previous 

 growth. I do not notice this fact in opposition to your 

 statement, but with a view to obtain an explanation of 

 the anomaly. — E. C, Chipperficld House. [It is not 

 possible to explniu this without knowing more about the 

 manner in which the autumn. planting was effected. We 

 can state, that in stiff clay, the worst of all soils for a 

 planter, autumn-moved Laurels are far more successful 

 than the spring-moved.] 



Durmast Oak. — " Rufus," in a late Chronicle says, 

 that the wood of this is soft and brittle, which is at once 

 a contradiction. The remarks relating to the length of 

 the stalk of the Acorn being indicative of the species, are 

 uncertain ; the only correct means of ascertaining this is 

 by the flower. I have frequently marked this species 

 previous to felling, and in no instance have I been mis- 

 taken. The superiority of the timber of the white-hearted 

 species over that of the red, for all purposes, except per- 

 haps for furniture, is well known to persons in the habit 

 of purchasing the article. The trunk of the former is 

 generally of larger dimensions, and is of a rough and. 

 gnarled nature, admitting of its being split into rails, &c. 

 The red-hearted species, on the contrary, is brittle as 

 glass. Serious losses often occur to merchants, who 

 frequently pay from GO/, to 100/. for a single stick, 

 imagining it to be the Durmast ; but on felling it they 

 find it to be the red-wooded, which at once condemns it, 

 this species being from 50 to 75 per cent, less in value. 

 About 40 years ago the late W. Morrice, Esq., was 

 employed by the Government to purchase Oak timber of 

 large dimensions in Holland. Having to float it down 

 rivers and canals it was found that the Durmast on 

 account of its great weight would not swim, and they 

 had therefore to fasten two pieces of Balk to each stick 

 to enable them to float it along with the red-hearted r 

 which required no such aid. The requisite quantity wag 

 collected ; but previous to its being imported the French 

 beset the place. Before this occurrence, however, the 

 timber was safely secured in deep mud at the bottom of 

 the canals until 10 or 12 years afterwards, when it was 

 taken out and found to be perfectly uninjured. — W. R. f 

 Stoney Cross, New Forest. 



Rats. — Much has lately been written about rats ; I 

 have had troublesome ones to deal with, yet my simple 

 plan has always caught the intruder. Get an iron slam, 

 and should it have been used before, put it on the fire, to 

 remove all smell from rats previously caught, or the smell 

 from the hands of the rat-catcher. Get a piece of new 

 and white calico rather larger than the trap ; after set- 

 ting, place calico all round and tuck in the corners. 

 Place it in their runs. I have caught so many this way, 

 others may do the same. No bait on top. — G. C. 



Bourbon Roses. — If cuttings of these are put under a 

 hand-glass about the end of this month, and struck with a 

 little bottom-heat, they will be fit to be potted off in Au- 

 gust, in large 60-pots ; let them be kept in a cold pit till 

 January, and then brought into the forcing or green- 

 house ; they will continue flowering from beginning of 

 May, till late in autumn. Armosa, Augustine Lelieur, 

 and Prince Albert, ar« the three best for forcing, as 

 they bloom very freely, and are exceedingly sweet- 

 scented. — Charltoniensis. 



Morphology. — Having read in the Chronicle of 

 plants under certain conditions forming flowers instead 

 of leaves, I beg to state the following, which by accident 

 came under my notice. Having several large Fuchsias 

 in my greenhouse of a very old kind, 1 resolved to turn 

 some of them into the flower borders. Accordingly the 

 first week in March I took some of them out of a house 

 to make room for other plants, and placed them in aa 

 old lodge to protect them from frost, where they were 

 almost entirely excluded from both light and air. Ex- 

 amining them about three weeks since, I was quite sur- 

 prised to find that one plant was full of flower-bnds, witk 

 scarcely a leaf on it, whilst those which were left in the 

 greenhouse were in full leaf without flowers; I **** 

 back to the greenhouse again, and in a few days it wili 

 be one mass of blossom. Can any of your correspond 

 ents explain the cause of this ? - A Young Gardener. 

 [" R. E." will probably explain this some day. J 



Abies Religiosa.-The hardiness of this graceful Rr 

 is a verr imnortent sn** rpm*rV»ble fact, after so muck 



