

184+J 



77SRTICULTURAL'' SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



M FXH BITIO^S AT THE GARDEN.-The Second Meet- 

 mi Mke Dlace on Saturday the 15th of June; subjects for 

 JF'hiW o mu be at this Office on Friday the nth ; or at the 

 ? 2 before J-past 9 o'clock, a.m., on the day of Exhibition. 

 G VxhibUor^wm be provided with a printed form in winch they 



"X or the information of the Judges, whether their 

 V!t * lc have been shown previously during: this season. 

 P Sieeates will be opened at One p.m. Tickets arc issued to 

 fpSows at this Office, price 5s. each; or at the Garden, in the 

 rS^n of the days of Exhibition, at 7s. 6d. each; but only 

 fl „rH«»r« from Fellows of the Society. 



N B No Tickets will be issued in Regent Street on the day 

 of Exhibition.-21, Regent Street. 



iti& CfAKDENERS' chronicle. 



371 



©fje <Bfar&enerjs> ©fjtontcle 



SATUR DAY, JUNE 8, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 Whwmdav, June 13 . Society of Arts . . . 8 pm. 



Linnean 

 Microscopical 



8 P.M. 

 8 P.M. 



Ti'iwi'AV, June 18 . 

 Wednesday, June 19 



COUNTRY SHOW.— Tuesday, June 11 — Gardeners* Benevolent Institution. 



The Tulip Season is now rapidly drawing to a 

 close, although there are collections in Lancashire, 

 Yorkshire, and the northern parts of England, 

 where the bloom is still prolonged. ^ The period of 

 blooming has been singularly propitious. Much less 

 damage than usual has been done by either frost or 

 hailstorms; the flowers have consequently been ex- 

 hibited in fine condition — and though in many beds 

 a large quantity of bulbs have not flowered, still, on 

 the whole, our accounts from various parts of the 



country are satisfactory. 



We allude to Tulips at this time, for the sake of 

 noticing the sad confusion that has arisen among the 

 new varieties constantly breaking into colour. For 

 many years past great quantities of Breeders have 

 been raised, and in many instances distributed over 

 the country, without even a number being attached 

 to them. The consequence is, that everybody who 

 has one of these in fine character considers himself 

 entitled to name it: such a bulb, so named, in the 

 course of time gets, often at a serious cost, into the 

 collections of buyers, who, after watching the bloom 

 through its progressive stages of growth with intense 

 anxiety, have the inexpressible mortification to find 

 that they have one or two similar varieties, broken 

 from Breeders already in their possession. 



That one cannot have too much of a good thing 

 does not justify the system of letting out nameless 

 flowers; and it would be far better if the raisers 

 would name each really good Breeder before they 

 part with it. They would then get that credit of 

 tneir own flower which they deserve, for it would 

 retain its name if broken in fine character; on the 

 other hand, if not worth growing when come into 

 eolour, both the name and bulb would be consigned 

 to oblivion This plan has been adopted by some 

 growers in both the North and South; and if the 

 lar-famed Polyphemus had been named when its 

 good qualities as a Breeder were first developed, we 

 «SigT n0w be P^plexed with such a string of 



th« e .I? Udc u this , flower as acase in P<> in t, ^d 

 there are numbers of others in a similar predicament, 



7ell m l T t0 half -»-dozen names each. We 

 Hfi a f fine ^Breeder raised by Mr. Dixon, 

 stvlP J " A G f Cr ' ^H ch ' before he Parted with, he 

 fiKiff. T' • U is now in the collections of 

 bv \\ t Z—^T^ m > has been broke itt to colour 

 and L^°- lty A° i them ' is known b y no ^her name, 

 have nut'n * fth? "®* 0n the other hand, we 

 count.V, i^ d bulbs of a florist in the midland 

 Tulins J: n0W ? as a suc <*ssful raiser of seedling 

 them nn t h °" hen the y first flowered numbered 

 but th PI ?, e O fu b0Ut tw ° hundred and seventy varieties, 

 and nnw?- t) Slock increased discontinued doing so, 



SlrecSoiT, B l Ceders ' breakin S into colour in all 

 and will fnf* obtainin g fresh names in each locality, 

 to hTmMl f 1 as i nex tricable a mass of confusion 

 growe r ? ld TK d as P ark 's varieties do to the southern 



«non«h will £ n hlS ^ tate of thin 6» & lamentable 

 of it is hit e alIowed on a11 hands ; but the worst 



cate If l GVCry Season the maze S ets more intri - 

 ceived, thev il^ff'- ^ su SS esti °»s are well re- 

 inconvenipn.r • V n a - 2 reat measure remedy the 

 knd should h "\ future - That some plan of the 

 grower than tif ado P t ; ed ^is not less important to the 

 thousands of ?? rchaser > for there are hundreds of 

 'lorn, manv of v!-"^ comin g forward in this king- 

 <listinguished. W m the Breeder state cannot be 



Now that th 



d is acted mf standard of perfection is well known, 



th at all stainpr? CVen m remote localities, we trust 

 petals, will fiT*k Ups ' and varieties with ill-formed 

 Pieties whirh if 0wn aside > alon g with all those 

 factions alZ, u, so lon S retained a place in 

 latel y officiatp?i gtheybavesu ch defects. Having 

 country, we h 7 v a » censor in various parts of the 



how rapid an in! the °PPortunity of observing 



camion i n *! "Pwement is taking place in public 



correct prindni J^f ^ ar ' and how generally the 

 P^ciplesof estimating the properties of a | 



fine Tulip are appreciated by the whole body of 

 Florists. Growers will save themselves an immensity 

 of trouble by bearing this in mind. For it is a 

 terrible waste of time, trouble, and garden-room, to 

 say nothing of the mortification of it, to break a 

 seedling Breeder, with extra fine flame or feather, 

 and then to find that it is worthless, in consequence 

 of having "prick-eared" petals, a foul cup, or some 

 other defect, which cannot now be allowed in a 

 first-rate flower. We have lately witnessed several 

 instances where seedlings (Feathered Byblomens) 

 have, to all outward appearance, been superb— the 

 cup fine in shape, the white pure as snow, the 

 feathering confined to the edge, and the breadth of 

 the marking on Dickson's Trip to Cambridge Picotee, 

 and of a shining jetty black ; but, to our own sorrow, 

 and the mortification of the raiser, the filaments of the 

 anthers were as black as ink, and on examining the 

 Breeder the same defect was observable. IIad\hese 

 flowers, after ten years' culture (which is the time, 

 on an average, from sowing the seed to breaking into 

 colour), been of very worthless, undecided character, 

 the disappointment would not have been so great ; 

 but their being, as it were, within a hair's-breadth of 

 the mark, and only cast for what, in some people's 

 estimation, would be a trifling blemish, proves the 

 necessity of adhering to first principles in the outset, 

 by destroying, as soon as they bloom, all Breeders 

 which do not come up to the standard. — W. 



We have before us an official report, by Mr. 

 Griffith, on the stateof the Botanic Garden, Cal- 

 cutta, in 1843, with a complete list of the plants then 

 actually existing in the garden, and of the library 

 attached to it. Considering the reputation enjoyed 

 by this great establishment, the liberal manner in 

 which the East India Company has maintained it, 

 and the glowing terms in which it was spoken of in 

 1823, by Bishop Heber, who described it as not only 

 a curious but a picturesque and most beautiful scene, 

 which more perfectly answers to Milton's idea of 

 Paradise, than anything which he ever saw * we 

 were certainly not prepared for such an account of 

 its present condition as we find in Mr. Griffith's 

 statement. 



lie describes it as having no proper fence, but 

 being accessible from all quarters; as wanting in 

 methodical arrangement ; as laid out partly in land- 

 scape style, and partly in an old and obsolete 

 artificial style ; as being choked with trees, many of 

 them mutilated and some half-blown down ; and as 

 having an immense extent of borders which u are 

 neither flower-borders nor shrubberies." The tickets 

 to the few plants which are named, are described as 

 being in Bengalee, intelligible to nobody but the 

 clerk who wrote them, so that they are useless to the 

 students of the Medical College in their weekly visits. 

 Mr. Griffith states that (in Dr. Wallich's absence) 

 the only person in the garden acquainted with the 

 names of the plants is Buxoo, a head Malee — a 

 person of abilities and extraordinary memory ; but if 

 any accident were to happen to him no evidence of 

 the contents of the garden would remain. Moreover, 

 the seeds for distribution, and the plants in the nur- 

 series, are said not to correspond in names with those 

 used by Mr. Buxoo ; and, finally, it is reported that 

 the collections do not contain above 250 species 

 more than are mentioned in the catalogue published 

 by Dr. Roxburgh 29 years ago. In another place 

 we find the number of species contained in the 

 garden set down at 3500 (p. 108), 



This is certainly, if not too highly coloured, a 

 melancholy picture of the decrepitude of a noble 

 institution ; it is some satisfaction, however, to know 

 that vigorous measures have been already taken by 

 the Government of India to renovate it. The official 

 publication of Mr. Griffith's report indicates the 

 intention of adopting at least the most essential of 

 the measures of reform which he advocates ; and 

 our private correspondence informs us that very con- 

 siderable improvements have already been introduced. 



We learn that a garden on the natural system is 

 preparing ; that the beds for cuttings are rearranged 

 and repaired with brick edgings and sand, and that 

 glazed frames have been constructed for the shelter 

 of those tender seedlings which perish during the 

 cold season. A Teak plantation, described in the 

 report (p. 109) as an entire failure, which has been 

 felled with the exception of a few tine specimens, has 

 produced the sum of 4000 rupees, which it is hoped 

 will be applied to the construction of glass-houses, 

 walls for Grapes, and other useful or ornamental 

 buildings. In short, what with the reformation made, 

 and the improvements contemplated, we understand 

 that the whole features of the garden will be changed, 

 and that in another year it will once more resemble 

 the Paradise that delighted Bishop Heber. 



We hope to be able, from time to time, to acquaint 

 our readers with what is going on in the Calcutta 

 Garden, which it is to be hoped will receive from Mr. 

 Griffith's report as much advant age as has accrued to 



* Indian Journal, Murray's Colonial EunioD, p,40. 



Kew from a similar investigation of the management 

 of that institution some years since. Kew has arisen 

 from [its slumber with more energy and enterprise 

 than ever. May Calcutta do the same! 



REMARKS OX SAVING ROSE SEED, AND 



RAISING SEEDLINGS. 

 The season is fast approaching when the English 

 Rosaries will again present a scene of beauty, and many 

 new and improved varieties of this favourite flower will 

 doubtless meet the gaze of those amateurs who have 

 recently improved their collections, or who may be dis- 

 posed to visit those of more enthusiastic cultivators. la 

 viewing these continual improvements, the result of 

 continental skill, the question may probably have arisen 

 in the minds of many — How is it that the raising of 

 Roses from seed has hitherto engaged but little the 

 attention of English florists ? It is not unfrequently 

 said, that the climate of England is not suitable for this 

 branch of culture, in consequence of the double varieties 

 scarcely ever perfecting their Eeed here. It may appear 

 that if we can only save seed from the least double 

 varieties — fulness being an essential qualification of a 

 good Rose— we cannot reasonably expect any great 

 measure of success. That our climate is less favourable 

 for saving seed than that of the Continent, is readily 

 admitted ; but may we be allowed to ask, if that differ- 

 ence is sufficient to warrant us in concluding that our 

 endeavours would not be reasonably rewarded ? Prac- 

 tically speaking we may presume not ; for the Roses 

 Blairii, No. 1 and No. 2, George the Fourth, and 

 numerous others we might mention, are of English 

 origin. But few very double varieties seed here it is 

 true ; and this may also be said of some parts whtre 

 many of our finest Roses were originated. Some of 

 our best and latest new Hoses have been pro- 

 duced from seed gathered from hybrids — Athelin 

 and Celine — two varieties which seed abundantly here 

 even in unfavourable seasons ; end it is from these 

 have sprung a portion of that beautiful class termed 

 Hybrid Perpetuals. Presuming, then, there are good 

 reasons to believe that varieties of standard merit may be 

 raised here, let us mention a few kinJs which seed freely 

 in England, and appear well suited for female parents. 

 First among the hybrid Chinese are — Athelin and Celine, 

 Ne Plus Ultra, Duke of Devonshire, Chatelain, Princess 

 Augusta, Henri Barbet, Globe White H ip, General Allard, 

 Aurora, and others. These might be crossed with some 

 of the freest-blooming Damask Perpetual or Bourbon 

 Roses, to endeavour to obtain an increase of, and an 

 improvement among the hardy autumnal Roses. The 

 Ayrshire and Sempervirens, among which there is a pau- 

 city of high-coloured flowers, might be fertilised with the 

 farina of some dark varieties, selected from those sec- 

 tions which approach nearest to them in natural character. 

 Here Ruga, Splendens, and Leopoldine d'Orleans, might 

 form the female parents. Among the Moss, the single 

 Crimso.i, Du Luxembourg, and Eclatante, occasionally 

 seed. Among the Briers, the Double Yellow and Har- 

 risonii. Among the Bourbons, the Old or de Lisle, 

 Augustine Lelieur, Dubourg, Gloire de Rosamenes, 

 Emile Courtier, and Bouquet de Flore. Among the Chi- 

 nese, Camellia blanc, Fabvier, Thercse Stravius, Alba, 

 Belle Elvire, Henri Cinque, and Madame Bureau. 

 Among the Tea-scented, Odorata, Jaune, Hamon, Lyon- 

 nais, Hardy, Lady Granville, Caroline, Goubault, Belle 

 Allemande, and Bardon. Many of the least double 

 Gallica Roses also seed freely. These, and many others, 

 which, by seeding, have doubtless at some time struck 

 their possessors, may be taken as female parents, and 

 crossed with whatever varieties the fancy of the operator 

 may suggest. How far the experiment of crossing the 

 different sections may be carried into effect, it is not easy 

 to determine ; but the peculiarity of certain features 

 existing in some varieties, and readily traceable to their 

 parents, leads us to think the scene of action will not be 

 found very limited. 



As the female parent will in many cases be but semi- 

 double, we should endeavour to counteract the probable 

 results of this, by crossing with farina gathered from 

 the most double varieties that we can collect it from. 

 The plants intended to seed should be selected in a good 

 state of growth, and never allowed to suffer from drought. 

 Where they bloom in trusses, the backward flower-buds 

 should be cut out, leaving not more than six of the 

 plumpest and most perfect buds on one flower-stalk. 

 We are no doubt indebted to accidental crossing, in a 

 great measure, for the various novelties and improve- 

 ments in the Rose tribe. Artificial crossing, however, 

 appears the only probable method of obtaining an end in 

 view ; and although this is at first somewhat tedious, it 

 will be found to increase in interest as we become fa- 

 miliar with its application. Just as the flowers intended 

 to be crossed are expanding, it will be necessary to re- 

 move the anthers, or they will burst, and the flower thus 

 become self-impregnated. They may be removed early 

 in the day, with a small pair of scissors ; and in a sunny 

 hour, flowers should be gathered from the variety we 

 intend to cross with, and the pollen dusted on the stigma 

 of the flowers of the opposite parent. A truss of flowers 

 may be crossedVith one kind, and a gauze bag drawn 

 over each truss when the operation is completed, to pre- 

 vent the perversion of our designs by the countless 

 millions which swarm in the air at this season of the year. 

 The dusting of the pollen may be repeated once or twice, 

 to make our purpose sure. If we wish to know tne 

 results of our crossing, and whence the seedlings spring, 

 leaden numbers may be attached to e * c \ n £ weT '*** f '- 

 and corresponding ones with the names of tne pwenw 

 affixed, be written in a book. Probably after crossing, 



