1844.] 



-=—""%. i n1to^CT~«idThe frond of the Cibotium 



^ir bo?h from The BoUnic Garden at Birmingham 



Bt M r m Edwa d Forster read the Treasurer's account, 



7te» it Speared that the Society, during the , past year, 



^ received 928/. 16s. 2&* and expended 9o3/., 



^ J^» the payment of two 100/. bonds. 



including the payment ^ ^ ^ ^ account wa§ 



182/. U. U. 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



3.59 



had received —_ v/;„: i hnz hnnds." The balance 



iccount was 



_ _ retary, then 



18 "i\l 5 \rro7nrofTh7member5 who had died during 

 read an account QKinj ^ ^ ^ following ._j. 



mcmaing fc ^^~ _ on the year's account was 

 ? fl ^rJ-Mr. *S2 Bennett, he Secretary, then 



Esq. ; 



Jose 



of the 



Arthur Aikin, Esq. ; J. 



A le H»toy,' E^Tiiev. F. W. Hope ; John Miers, Esq. ; 



Pavon, and Baron Voght. 

 Members of Council removed : 



Professor Owen. The following gentlemen were pro 

 rroressui _ :l Dr. Boott; Prof.Forbes; 



K;:;i e Ed d wai"d7 Lord Bishop of Norwich D D. ; 

 Treasnrer-E. Forster, Esq.- Seeretary-J. J. Ben- 

 nett, Esq. ; Under-Secreta ry— R. Tay lor, Esq. 



NOTICES of NEW PLANTS WHICH are EITHER 



USEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL. 



Rtatice Pskuuo-Armeria. False Thrift. (Herbaceous pe- 

 revmal.) Humbaginaceie. Pentandria Pentagynia. - Kvery 

 3e acquainted with flowers knows the common Thrift, which 

 sows so abundantly on our marshy sea-shores; and the beauty 

 i£d desirable properties of which have rendered it a favourite so 

 generally esteemed and so extensively grown, that few gardens 

 2s unadorned with its simple and lasting flowers Plus species 

 has ma.iv traits of a kindred character. Like it, the flowers are 

 collected' and arranged together in a dense and somewhat globular 

 bead, supported on a scape which raises and shows them promi- 

 nently above the foliage. They also possess the same pleasing 

 colour and enduring nature, continuing unchanged m beauty for a 

 long time. But it is only in some of the varieties of S. armena 

 that the colour of the present is equalled, or even approached, for 

 we mid many with very pale flowers; and none of them under any 

 circumstances rival it in the magnitude of the flowers. In fact, 

 the plant is altogether of a much larger size, and superior charac- 

 ter. The foliage, too, of S. armeria is very narrow, and so thickly 

 arranged that it has become eminent as a desirable plant for border 

 edgings. But a different character is exhibited in the plant before 

 us, and we are not aware of any other species of the capitate 

 flowering section of the genus that lias leaves of equal breadth. 

 As an ornamental plant for the greenhouse or drawing-room, it has 

 considerable merit, being easily grown, and always, flowering with 

 freedom. And there is little doubt but it will also admit of being 

 gently forced into early bloom; if attempted, however, it will be 

 quite necessary to observe a degree of caution, for too high a tem- 

 perature produces weak and drawn-out ilower-stalks, which are 

 unable to support the cluster of flowers in an upright position; 

 and it has also a tendency to detract from the merit of the blossoms, 

 in causing them to be fainter in colour. To the flower-garden it 

 will likewise be an acquisition of some importance, if planted 

 closely in beds. We have not learned that its hardihood in endur- 

 ing the severity of our winter without protection has yet been 

 sufficiently tested, but it is not unlikely that it may eventually be 

 found to need little or no shelter. Respecting its native country, 

 we have been unable to gather any information. Messrs. Rollis- 

 son, of Tooting, received plants of it from the Jardin des Plantes, 

 in Paris, in the summer of IS 11; but these were unaccompanied 

 with any memoranda. Probably, with several other members of 

 the genus, it is a native of the South of Europe.— Pattern's Maga- 

 zine of Botany. 



Maclean ia lonoiflora. Long-flowered Macleania. {Green- 

 house Shrub.) Vacciniaceae. Monadelphia Decandria.— When 

 Sir William Hooker named a plant Macleania, he not only paid a 

 well-merited compliment, for few British merchants have deserved 

 better of Botany than Mr. John Maclean of Lima, but he founded 

 a good genus. A less accurate observer might indeed have r< 

 ferred it to Thiebaudia, a group of plants from the same countries, 

 and very similar in habit ; but each anther of Thiebaudia is 

 divided into two long tubes, which open at their point ; while, on 

 the contrary, in Macleania the anthers have only one tube each. 

 The plant now described is very near M. angulata, figured in the 

 Botanical Magazine; t. 3979, and said to be from Peru. But that 

 species has shorter and broader leaves with manifest stalks, and 

 the floweys are also shorter, contracted at the orifice, and yellow 

 there. Their colour, too, is represented as much more vivid than 

 tti our species. A warm greenhouse shrub, which requires to be 

 sept in an intermediate house during winter. It may be potted in 

 a compost, consisting of sandy loam and peat in equal proportions. 

 vJwing to its producing very fleshy roots, a large pot or tub will be 

 required, or where there is convenience it is probable it would 

 succeed well if planted out in a conservatory It requires a liberal 

 warn y of water in summer, but very little in winter. To have 

 tins plant well furnished with young wood from the bottom for 

 cowering it is necessary to cut it well back early in autumn, in 



rath* l0 i-« ave the lllant cl °thed with leaves before winter. It is 

 E.k „ , ltt0 "multiply, but may be managed under a bell-gla 



the m of S ° v - Note °y Mr ' Harttoef.— This is one of 



with h? e «?° US flcs hy-rooted vaccinaceous shrubs, frequently met 

 snpri P i 1 and ex Posed situations in the Andes; the present 

 at an pi • collected on the main Cordillera near Loxa (4° S.) 

 neafpft tlon of about 8000 feet above the sea, where it forms a 

 inhaw? pact ever sreen shrub, live feet high, and is called by the 

 "'habitants *&J>*.-Bt>tantoli Renter. ° 



wreaths of snow throughout the year. Passing I 

 from the bouse to the garden, we cross a steep 

 declivity by an easy pathway. This bank continues 

 through the spacious lawn for at least a mile, and in some 

 parts it is finely broken into rude natural shelves, that 

 somewhat resemb'.e the artificial terraces of the present 

 day. It is richly decorated with large trees, that rise 

 from among underwood, consisting of Laurels, variegated 

 Hollies, Rhododendrons, and other_ evergreens. Some of 

 the Laurels measure 30 feet in diameter, and are not 

 more than 6 feet high. Roses and hardy Heaths occupy 

 the front of the borders next the walks, intermixed here 

 and there with patches of Violets. Throughout this bank 

 American plants grow remarkably well, and produce an- 

 nually young shoots nearly 3 feet long. These are pegged 

 down close to the ground ; they are covered with hroad 

 healthy foliage, and the flowers are of surpassing richness 

 and beauty of colour. The soil being naturally a mixture 

 of peat, sand, and loam, is particularly suitable for Rho- 

 dodendrons. The kitchen garden is a parallelogram, 

 and contains about 4 Scotch acres of land. The walls are 

 covei^d with fruit-trees, many of which, in the middle of 

 April, appeared as sheets of blossom. Apricots, Plums, 

 Figs,' Almonds, Cherries, Mulberries, and even the best va- 

 rieties of Pears ripen well here, and Peaches bear abundant 

 crops of excellent fruit. This is somewhat remarkable, when 

 we take into consideration the fact that Tarbet is 700 

 miles noith from London. The greenhouse was gay with 

 Camellias, Heaths, Pelargoniums, Hoveas, Chorozemas, 

 Pimeleas, and other plants. On the walls were Roses, 

 among which was a fine specimen of yellow China. A 

 slip of ground round the garden is planted with shrubs 

 and trees, among which are some beautiful Weeping Ashes, 

 above 25 feet high, with long streaming branches sweeping 

 the ground. On the east of the gardens is a range ot 

 pits, set on arches, and heated by means of hot water, 

 occasionally aided by dung-heat. Mr. Proctor, the 

 gardener at New Tarbet, is a successful grower of Coni- 

 ferae, and had, in pots, as many as 500 young plants, 

 which he had raised from seeds. Among these 1 observed 

 Pinus Gerardiana, P. cembra, P. ponderosa, Abies Deo- 

 dara, and many other good species. Timber-trees, such 

 as Beech, Elm, Ash, Yew, &c, grow remarkably fine at 

 New Tarbet. Some of the Beeches are nearly 100 feet 

 high, with clean stems. The gardener's cottage deserves 

 notice, as being very ornamental ; it is in the Gothic style, 

 and neatly finished both outside and within. Among 

 other books on science and gardening, its library con 

 tained three volumes of the Gardeners' Chronich 

 handsomely bound, having been supplied to the gardener 

 through the liberality of his employers. In conclusion, 

 I would state that the whole place is in good keeping, and 

 reflects much credit on the gardener.—/! Visiter. 



consider the rot to proceed from the wirewcrm ; I am 

 not disposed to adopt this opinion, but think the inci- 

 pient rottenness of the Potato attracts it. Two crops of 

 the Potato are obtained annually, the first, sown in July 

 or August (which, months are here considered the win- 

 ter months, the thermometer in the country ranging from 

 55" to 60°), and gathered in December anil January; the 

 seeond crop is usually planted in January and February, 

 summer months, when the thermometer ranges in the 

 country from 70° to 75°." Does any one know of such 

 a disease in this country ? 



The King of Saxony. — Our readers may not be aware 

 that His Majesty, now on a \isit in this country, is not 

 only a botanist but a botanical author ; having published 

 an aci'ount of the plants in the neighbourhood of 

 Marienbad. The king is said to h ave acquired very 

 considerable practical kuowledge of the science by long 

 pedestrian excursions on the mountains of Germany. 



Garden Memoranda. 



JVew Tarbet Gardens.— -New Tarbet, formerly the 

 ■eat of the Earls of Cromarty, is situated about four 

 miles north from Invcrgordon, and about a mile from the 

 pubic road. Where the approach branches off the 

 road there are some cottages whicli, from their being 

 completely covered with Ivy, would not be unaptly named 

 the Ivy Cottages. The Ivy appears to keep the walls 



ery dry at all seasons, and when it is neatly clipped and 



P close the healthy foliage has a neat appearance. 



these cottages the approach sweeps through thriving: 



Plantations, UQtil [t reaches the house, which is situated 



hniU f- u pi<rCe of ground, and is a modern structure, 



uut ot hewn freestone. It has a flat loof, from which 



and't "f lve . vievr ot the surrounding country is obtained, 



to tne lover of Nature in her wildest grandeur the 



deiuT Ur ^ Und New Tarbet must afford admiration and 



gut. On the east is the broad expanse of the German 



*n; on the south-east the Moray Frith; on the 



Sort, i *, Dunrobin Castle, the seat of tho Duke of 



Castle aml J ° hn ° ,Groat,s coast *' Balnagowan 



Miscellaneous. 



The Upas Tree.— A living plant of this celebrated tree 

 has been lately presented to the Horticultural Society by 

 the East India Company, and is now growing in the 

 Chiswick Garden. It is in perfect health, and, notwith- 

 standing the fables of Dutch travellers, perpetuated by 

 Darwin, may be approached with safety. It is, however, 

 so virulent a poison that no prudent person would hand) 

 it without proper precaution. Along with it tote 

 Comp tny also presented a new species of Cycas, and a 

 voung plant of the Durian fruit. 



Singular Tree Ml New Zealand.— One of the most 

 extraordinary trees of the forest is the Rata, which, 

 originatng in a parasite, grows to such a size as to rank 

 amongst the giants of the forest. It first makes its 

 appearance in the form of a tender Vine, clasping the 

 trunk of some huge tree with its long tendrils, and grow- 

 ing both upwards and downwards, and increasing in bulk 

 at the same time. After a while the parasite, having 

 killed the parent trunk, establishes itself upon its roots, 

 sends forth numerous branches aloft, which again send 

 forth aerial roots clasping the neighbouring trees— and, 

 ultimately, the Rata occupies a larger space than any tree 

 of the forest. It is under this tree that the curiosity so 

 well known as the vegetating caterpillar is found ; and 

 instances have occurred of natives lying down to sleep 

 under the Rata having been found dead. The tree is 

 uow always carefully avoided by them— Simmowls' Co- 

 tanial Magazine. [The Rata is the Metrosideros ro- 

 busta, a very handsome plant, and of singular habits, by 

 no means satisfactorily explained. If natives have been 

 found dead beneath it, their death was owing to any 

 cause rather than the Rata, which is as harmless as a 



Myrtle.] TT 



Rot in the Potato. — We learn from our St. Helena 

 correspondence, that the Potato crop in that island has 

 of late years been visited by a disease of a most destruc- 

 tive character. In a letter now before us, the writer 

 states that " the rot in the Potato continues, but has 

 not been so prevalent during the past year. Many ex- 

 periments have been tried to arrest the evil, but with 

 very partial success. Deep trenching and planting with- 

 out manure have in several instances been of great bene- 

 fit, but in other cases they have failed. Using seed from a 

 crop n. t ripe has also succeeded ; but although these ex- 

 periments have answered on some grounds, in others 

 they have utterly failed. The guano, as a manure, na 

 been used, but no results have yet been obtained. 

 The rot generally begins when the Potato crop is n 

 flower, the stems being then strongest and apparently 

 out of danger. From the mo*t luxuriant state ot vege- 

 tation, the crop, when taken with this disease, will diy 

 up and disappear in the course of a few da?*; 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 



For the ensuing Week. 



I.— HOTHOUSfc, tt >KKVATORIES, &c. 

 CI.SRODKMIRIIXH, V i \ < is, and other sto\ lants intended 

 to flower in the conserrntory through the summer, should now 



be removed to the coldest part of the house, < r, v t Is better, 

 into a late vinery. 1 hardly know of a sto w-plant which may not 

 be thus inured in summer to flower in the conservatory. All 

 the Orchidaccre are well suited for this purpose, and as few 

 ladies can endure the close heat of our sto. dess the in- 



mates of these houses are so managed their beauty is in* great 



raeisurc lost. 



Conservatory .-—New conservatory s, where a collection of 

 climbeis has been planted this spring, should now be kept as 

 hot as a Stove, and as damp as water can make them day and 

 night; it is bad Dolicy to use the common routine for such a 

 house the first season. We often hear of large conservatories 

 getting too hot ami iijurii g the plants in summer : but it is the 

 want of moisture in the atmosphcie, and not the heat, which 

 causes the mi-< f ; and when this becom b< tter understood, 

 designers of these structures will make better provision for 

 moisture than has hitherto been done, except in a few instances. 

 All spare places and under the stages in any conservatory, 

 should now scarcely ever get quite dry. 



(j.ecnhouse.— Keep this house moist by frequent sy rinsing ; 

 turn the specimen- plants round from time to time, that they 

 may not get one sided, and allow them to have plenty of room 

 on all sides, which is the grand secret in growing these plants 

 to perfection. The flower buds of such young plants as are in- 

 tended to become specimens ought to be picked off, in order to 

 encourage their growth, and few of the best old specimens 

 should be allowed to ripen se . 



Forcing I'its.— l in cuttings of Neriums about this time, to 

 be forced next spring for early bloom. Let such as arc going 

 out ot 11 >wer be tut to the second pair of eyes next the bottom, 

 and plunged in bottom-heat. Force them rapidly h.rtv months, 

 and then inure them by degrees to stand the greenhouse, and 

 afterwards out of doors till the frost conies. Keep them as cool 

 as possible, and nearly dry through the winter, and I will 

 come in for facing early in spring j they r. ay be made ^ower 

 all the summer. There is hardly a plant m cu nation more 

 capable of improvement than the Oleai r.— I). U. 



P H.-1M .OWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES. 



Out-door Department.— &» we have at length got a soaking, 

 though a very cold one, of rain, it will not be necessary for me 



this week to do mote than direct attention to former Calendars, 

 and urge the necessity of bringing the work up .as fast as 

 possible. Where the Grass on lawns is much burnt by the late 

 weather it will assi-t it much in recovering Us ve.dant hue to 

 dress it either with liquid manure, or some ot the new concen- 

 trated ma , ores considerably m.xcd with light sandy soil. A 

 ittlc laTi Grass and Dutch Clover seed, thrown on previously 

 to cover ng with soil, will do much good, especially on s ,u n g 

 laid turf, where soil to fid up the cracks is "^"^l,.^ 

 roll, and sweep lawns and walks, and keep every thing and ei .ery 

 nTace as clean and tidy as possible. Annuals may now be 

 idvantag^ thinned; and The thinnings if not too large may 



be used for **« of '^g^ffSSSwi^ *' 



Auriculas.-S^n^ mu.t he shaded from the flare ofjhe 



moist a rouim >-• fCtartb. "on the offset beds wdl soon 

 f tre :'"v C !otaVeu "should d?y weather continue. Ranuncu. 

 £ i^lnvc'miplaints reach me of roots rotting in the ground. 

 In experlmeoting'tins season ■ w™ a, stvoved a valuable bed. 



&,-U*e every • mean. ^^SSK^S 

 USStSr %T oV-iltiS? -"top-dress with some very 



severely. Tie 



nks do not' appear Saliabis to^grean-flj 



rotten manure. * «« » ™ ""V-»* Watch FOU r seeulings, and 

 as the before-mentioned J° w ^ratcd leavw "pull up." They 

 *e which are single or with J*™^"., wil T benefit those 

 not only wort M^s, b« ^^^ put Ln cutting ; those 



those 



are 



which remain 



"■» - , t i rnnt succeed best. The thinner they are 



£?£££££ r«7s°~ ,„aRe SOOU Plauts. _ «£- 

 The stakes ou; 



St to be "put down without delay, and the plants 

 I rtn p mulched with rotten manure. — J^F. IK. 



• «. Whether the plants intended for ripening their 

 r ♦ . nm'The beginning of October through the Winter, are 

 fruit, iron «2^toa>l«t> or in a pit by themselves, they 



a i re "?fn ftW be f tire fully exammed, to see if any of them are 



should now be /-an ^.^ ^ . g fouad tQ 



Kfthfc-e- 11 be benefited by being either top-dressed with 

 'on e rieli '' turfy-loam, shifted into larger -pots, or turned 



Pineri 



fruit, from 



and it 





frequently occurs that not a vestige of the Potato is to 



which C R n0rth " We6t ™«*tainou. scenery prevails, in be found ; when not destroyed, the .^^" B r ^ Cra ^ 

 "tochBea WyvU stands pre-eminent, streaked with a foetid rotten ,tate, and covered with wireworm. Many 



on the 



overtops ..thriving woods on the north ; and 



ails, in 



adopt mysci*. •>'»* ™- 



about hall a bushel of chopped 



mould round the ball, for the roots to strike into, and give ore 



"ood" watering, after which they only require to be occasionally 



S: L-Io removing partially the *™*^££& 



of the early Vineries, 1 find that the roots »a*e run cons 

 ably into the decayed part below, wincn has notl « reg ^7 

 uied with the other. As this is not ^^'^ \ eep the 

 advisable in turning that on the ^ter Vine border^ J*^ 

 littery part next to the surface of the »™ae£ t( to Mr ve 

 the covering, leave three or four incl ^ ^ s ncar the sur- 

 as a mulching, as the roots will be u-J from the effect8 of 

 face, and should be not only 1*2*" ssiule to remain there 

 drought, but encouraged as ro*^ J * s ' » reqlJ jre thinning. Let 

 1 he beincs in the late b*« Wop the laterals as soon as 



this have timely a*eution, and stop 



