

1844. J 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



541 



8 





shading. With regard to the Pelargonium, I would state, 

 that to retain the leaves on the cuttings is highly ser- 

 viceable. This, however, does not answer all plants 

 indiscriminately ; for on many of the hard-wooded kinds 

 the leaves have either none or but very short footstalks ; 

 In such cases, then, a few of the lowermost leaves must 

 be taken away ; for, if buried in the soil, they rot, and 

 destroy the cuttings. But, with these exceptions, there 

 is much advantage in retaining all the foliage entire. 

 With respect to charcoal, I may state that, for Salvias, 

 Petunias, Fuchsias, Verbenas, Heliotropiums, Anagallis, 

 &c, together with several climbers, as Cobaeas, Lophos- 

 permums, and the like, charcoal is an excellent ingre- 

 dient in their propagation, when mixed with a portion 

 of good soil. For drainage also its value is well known, 

 as on account of its open, porous nature, it admits a free 

 passage for water. — H. A. Wood, Stalfold Hall. 



Pine-apples. — The perfection of Pine-growing is to 

 produce them throughout the whole year ; and to accom- 

 plish this desirable object is the ambition of all gardeners 

 who have them in constant demand. This regular and 

 continued supply is not to be afforded by subjecting the 

 entire stock to one uniform treatment and temperature, 

 or to have the plants of one age and size. Supposing, 

 for example, a house 100 feet long, and of the usual 

 width, divided into three compartments — plants of the 

 same size are placed in each, and each division heated to 

 the same temperature, and a healthy growing atmosphere 

 maintained; the result, under such circumstances, will 

 be nearly the same, although each of the divisions may 

 be differently arranged, as long as the temperature and 

 treatment nearly assimilate. If "A. B. C." had atten- 

 tively studied this important part of the alphabet of Pine- 

 growing, he would liotnow be livingin dread of all hisPine- 

 plants coming into fruit at once, and in autumn. Had 

 "A. B. C." selected those plants which were likely to 

 come up first, and which the practised eye can easily 

 ■detect, and placed them in one of the divisions of his house, 

 and then maintained a higher and drier temperature, 

 the result would have been other than disappointment. 

 Mr. Macintosh knows, as well as any man, the value of a 

 good Pine-apple at Christmas ; hence the remark alluded 

 to by " A. B. C." applies, in all probability, to such 

 plants as are very small, or mere suckers, as no gardener, 

 in these days, would think of casting to the rot-heap such 

 plants as those described by " A. B. C." merely because 

 they were about to afford him good Pine-apples during 

 winter. — R. Glendinning. 



Pine-apples. — In a late Number are some remarks on 

 the Pine-ayple, by Mr. Roberts, who writes thus : — " I 

 do not agree with a statement in Macintosh's ■ Practical 

 Gardener,' which says, that Pines starting into fruit in 

 August are tantamount to being lost ;" but waving this 

 statement, I proceed to another in the same communica- 

 tion, where Mr. Roberts says that Queens showing fruit 

 in August, would ripen good fruit by the end of October— 

 a space of little more than two months. Now, I beg to 

 say, that neither Mr. R., nor any other person, ever°did, 

 or ever can produce a good fruit in so short a time, and 

 in particular at that season of the year. — M. S. 



Bees.— Amongst the great mass of useful information 

 which weekly issues from your Journal, can you supply 

 a poor persecuted amateur bee-keeper with directions 

 how to make himself more agreeable to his bees ? I have 

 heard that these little vicious creatures entertain strong 

 aversion to some persons, and I am almost constrained, 

 from the sad experience I have had of their attacks on 

 my own person, to coincide in the opinion. I have been 

 stung five times this season; twice for just peeping at 

 them through one of their side-windows, while they were 

 at work, and on the other occasions I was at least a 

 dozen yards from their dwelling. On last Friday, while 

 working in my garden, some 14 or 15 yards in an opposite 

 direction to their straight flight from the hives, I heard, 

 about my head, a fierce buzz, which I was aware portended 

 mischief, and before I could either run, or guard against 

 the impending danger, I received my assailant's venom- 

 ous weapon in the most prominent feature of my face ; 

 the little wretch tugged and tugged to recover its lance, 

 but so deeply fixed was it, that to extract it proved beyond 

 its power. I immediately hastened into the house, and 

 having pulled out the sting, I applied liquor-potassce, 

 which I had seen recommended in a Number of the 

 Chronicle, as a certain cure ; but, alas ! so rapid was the 

 course of the virus that it seemed to have outstript the 

 remedy which I was led to anticipate from the alkali ; for 

 after assiduously applying it till the part was completely 

 blistered, my nose became twice its natural size, to the 

 horror of ray wife, and the scarcely suppressed mirth of 

 my children ; the swelling quickly spread over one side 

 of my face. To market it was impossible to venture the 

 next day, and even on Sunday I fear I was considered to 

 carry a double face in church. Now, Sir, can any of your 

 scientific or learned contributors suggest a remedy for 

 my distressing case ? What can put me on good terms 

 with my bees ? And if this be impracticable, is there no 

 infallible means of counteracting the effects of their sting? 

 Dr. Bevan mentioned volatile alkali as preferable to 

 liquor-potassa: ; if hartshorn be meant, I beg to state that 

 in my case that has failed to afford relief. Pray pity my 

 condition, and recommend an antidote to A u-ould-be 

 Lover of Bees. 



Bedding out Plants.— When I plant out a bed of any- 

 thing, if the season is likely to be dry, I first make a hole 

 for the plant, and in the bottom of this I put some rotten 

 dung, or any sort of material that will retain water ; I 

 water this well, and then put in the plant, filling the hole 

 to withm two inches of the surface ; I again water well, 



n »k fiU Up the hole ' and in this wa y l P r °ceed with 

 ail the rest. If I am obliged to water the plants after- 



wards, I cause the beds to be hoed over next day, as 

 soon as they are dry enough ; plants do better under this 

 treatment than by watering them so much as is usually 

 done ; when there is no appearance of dew I damp the 

 leaves over late in the evening. If I was to plant a bed 

 and water it all over, it is very probable the roots that 

 were deep in the soil would possibly not be touched, con- 

 sequently they would naturally come to the surface in 

 search of food, and next day when the water is all eva- 

 porated, they are left under the influence of a scorching 

 sun. Now, if we can keep roots down until the bed 

 becomes covered with foliage, the shade soon brings the 

 roots to the surface ; for instance, if we take a Pelargo- 

 nium in a pot exposed to the sun, the roots are all at the 

 bottom ; but shade the soil with Moss or a similar mate- 

 rial, they will come to the surface, and so it is with a bed 

 of plants in the flower-garden. — A. Threlkeld, gr. to J. 

 Marshall, Esq. 



Bedded-out Plants. — I beg to differ from the state- 

 ment of " W. P. A." respecting bedded-out plants- in 

 flower-gardens, for at the present time I could not pos- 

 sibly wish to see the beds here, one and all of them, in 

 a more flourishing condition ; the plants are looking 

 well, both with regard to foliage and flower, and that 

 without the use of the watering-pot, which has not been 

 once employed since the time of planting out. The 

 manner in which the beds are prepared is described at 

 p. 619, 1842, and I imagine, if the soil is prepared as is 

 there stated, that even in a season like this there will be 

 no need of the watering-pot, shading, &c, which in nine 

 cases out of ten does more harm than good. — «/. Clarke, 

 Tandridge Court, Surrey. 



Gooseberries. — We have received from Mr. John 

 Fardon, of Woodstock, the following statement of the 

 weight of Gooseberries shown by him at Oxford, for 

 which he obtained first prizes : — 





Red. 



Dwts 



l. Grs. 



Green. 



Dwts. Grs. 



London 



• • 



30 







Peacock . . 



26 4 



Ditto 



Yellow. 



29 







Ditto 



White. 



25 18 



Leader 



• 



23 



14 



Chorester . . 



22 6 



Ditto . 



• * 



22 



4 



Ditto 



21 12 









Total 



• # • • 



200 10 



Growth of Forest Trees. — The following passage 

 occurs in Gilbert White's u Miscellaneous Observations" 

 appended to most editions of his * Natural History of 

 Selborne," and it in some measure illustrates this sub- 

 ject, on which you reply to "A Subscriber" in a 

 late Chronicle. — T. B., Selborne. — "It has been the 

 received opinion that trees grow in height only by their 

 annual upper shoot. But my neighbour over the way, 

 whose occupation confines him to one spot, assures me 

 that trees are expanded and raised in the lower parts 

 also. The reason that he gives is this : the point of one 

 of my Firs began for the first time to peep over the 

 opposite roof at the beginning of summer ; but before 

 the growing season was over, the whole shoot of the 

 year, and three or four joints of the boujbe^ide, became 

 visible to him as he sits on his form in his shop. Accord- 

 ing to this supposition, a tree may advance in height 

 considerably, though the summer shoot should be 

 destroyed every year." — While's Selborne. 

 • Strawberries. — In all probability it is mice that have 

 cut off " erpecpoz/V' Elton Pine Strawberries, while green, 

 close to the calyx. If he examines them he will find 

 that they are divested of a great portion of their seed ; 

 I have suffered this season from the same depredators to 

 a considerable amount. The remedy I employed was 

 kitchen droppings mixed with arsenic : spread this on 

 thin slices of bread, cut in small pieces ; late in the 

 evening lay it round the beds, and on the following morn- 

 ing pick up what is not used. With one application only 

 I have got clear of the pests. — R. Allan. 



Wasps. — These are very abundant this season, and 

 great is the havoc they are making amongst the fruit. 

 I have already destroyed upwards of 70 nests. My 

 method of destroying them is very simple and effectual. 

 I mix sulphur and gunpowder in about equal quantities, 

 with a little water, to the consistence of a thick paste, 

 and while this is soft, I cut it out into pieces of about a 

 quarter or half an inch thick and an inch long, ani 

 when dry I roll each piece in a bit of match-paper. In 

 applying it to the nest, I take a piece of stick and cleave 

 it at one end ; in this I fasten one end of the match 

 paper, ignite the opposite end and hold it to the hole of 

 the nest, and, allowing it to explode, I stop the hole with 

 a clod or my foot, in order to prevent the smoke from 

 escaping. In an instant the wasps are suffocated. I 

 then dig out the combs and mix them up with the earth, 

 for if they are not dug out and destroyed, they recover 

 from their suffocation. — R. Allan, Drumbanagher. 

 [Turpentine is a far better remedy, as Prof. Henslow 

 stated last year.] 



^octettes. 



HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 'August 6th. — R. W. Barchard, Esq. in the Chair. 

 The Marquess of Titchfield, Lord Saltoun, Sir F. Good- 

 ricke, Bart., Sir J. W. Guise, Bart., Sir H. Webster, 

 Colonel R. Ferguson, G. G. Kirbv, Esq., H. R. Yorke, 

 Esq., M.P., T. Kelsall, Esq., W. Williams, Esq., T. 

 Rawsthorne, Esq., and F. L. Popham, Esq. were elected 

 Fellows ; and Dr. T. Cantor, of Penang, a Foreign Corres- 

 ponding Member. The Exhibition included several objects 

 of great interest. Two magnificent specimens of Fuchsia 

 exoniensis were contributed by Mr. Ayres, gr. to J. 

 Cook, Esq. This Fuchsia is well known to produce 

 flowers of the finest colour and best form ; but when it 

 was shown at a former Exhibition, some doubts were en- 

 tertained with respect to its habit of growth. Mr. 

 Ayres's specimens, however, furnished ample proof that 



this kind has not only the finest blossoms of any sort we 

 yet possess, but has also an excellent habit. These 

 plants were upwards of 5 feet high, and their gracefully 

 drooping branches covering the pot, were loaded with 

 blossoms, and were clothed from top to bottom with 

 abundance of fine healthy foliage. — From the same 

 gardens were Pentas carnea and Achimenes multi- 

 flora in very fine condition, and also another sort 

 named Beatonii, bearing much resemblance to the old 

 A. coccinea ; together with a most beautiful Cleroden- 

 dron pauiculatum, in a state of great perfection, pro- 

 ducing a spike of flowers fully 18 inches long. A 

 Knightian Medal was given for this, and a Banksian was 

 awarded to the three first-mentioned plants. — Mr. 

 Mountjoy, of Ealing, was awarded a Knightian Medal 

 for a most beautiful specimen of the red-flowering Lilium 

 speciosum, having 4 branches, bearing no less than 70 

 of its showy blossoms. From the same collection was 

 also Pentas carnea, a Gladiolus named Glory of Ghent, 

 with large vermilion and yellow flowers, and apparently 

 raised between G. cardinalis crossed with psittacinns, 

 and specimens of Phlox Van Houttii, which, on account 

 of its beautifully-striped flowers, is so great an acqui- 

 sition to hardy herbaceous plants. Mr. Mountjoy also 

 sent Gloxinia cerina, flowers of a seedling Loasa, and a 

 Plectranthus with pale-blue flowers. — Mr. Edmonds, gr. 

 to the Duke of Devonshire, received a Knightinn Medal 

 for an excellent Cattleya crispa, in good health, and 

 having 5 fine spikes loaded with showy blossoms. — 

 From Messrs. Henderson, of Pine-apple Place, were 

 Cleome pentaphylla, Linaria triornithophora, called fissa, 

 and a fine mass of Achimenes hirsuta, in profuse bloom, 

 growing in a shallow pan. Messrs. Henderson stated 

 that they grow all the varieties of Achimenes in shal- 

 low pans, and they imagine that the plants flower 

 much better under such treatment than when they 

 are planted in deep pots. It is probable that this, as 

 well as some of the other sorts which are apt to be- 

 come too luxuriant, and consequently flower but sparingly, 

 would do better if they were grown on blocks, and were 

 treated similarly to Orchidaceous epiphytes. This has 

 been r*rtly proved in the Garden of the Horticultural 

 Society, where a bulb of A. pedunculata accidentally got 

 into the Moss on a block along with one of the Orchida- 

 ceous plants, where it is now growing, and although 

 one of the worst of them to flower, it is quite a mass of 

 bloom. Messrs. Henderson also sent a new Heath, 

 named Hendersonii, with bright pink flowers ; and 

 a fine specimen of Babingtonia camphorosmse, a fine 

 autumn-flowering plant, with Heath-like foliage, and pro- 

 ducing fine spikes of delicate pink blossoms; a Banksian 

 Medal was awarded for the Heath, Babingtonia campho- 

 rosmce, and Achimenes hirsuta. — From Mr. Jackson, of 

 Kingston, was a Lobelia-looking plant, with dark purple 

 flowers, belonging to the genus Tupa, but named a spe- 

 cies of Cristaria. It was from South America, and is 

 new to gardens. — Mr. Robertson, gr. to Mrs. Lawrence, 

 sent a plant of the very useful Niphsea oblonga, Onci- 

 dium Papilio superbum,volubile,and Stanhopea gra veolena, 

 called a variety of oculata ; the pale variety of Cattleya 

 Mossiae, with large showy lilac blossoms ; the insignificant- 

 looking but rare Epidendrum glaucum, and another 

 Orchidaceous plant, having small green flowers, with the 

 lip striped with brown ; several fine specimens of 

 Heaths, and a magnificent Cuphea Melvilla, covered with 

 blossoms, for which a Knightian Medal was awarded.— 

 From the garden of G. F. Cox, Esq., of Stockwell, were 

 some good Orchidaceous plants, including Cymbidium 

 lancifolium, Cycnoches ventricosum, Catasetum Etussellia- 

 num, with watery-looking pale-green flowers ; the rare 

 Sophronitis cernua, Eulophia cochlearis, small, but in 

 good health ; Oncidium Papilio, and the red and white 

 varieties of Lilium speciosum, together with the beautiful 

 Dendrobium chrysanthum,and the true Stanhopea oculata, 

 for which, as well as for the Dendrobium, a Banksian 

 Medal was awarded. — Good specimens of Fuchsia 

 exoniensis were contributed by Mr. Kendall, of Stoke 

 Newington, and Mr. Chandler of Vauxhall, confirming 

 the fact so abundantly proved by Mr. Ayres's pi mts, that 

 this Fuchsia has an excellent habit. Mr. Kendall also 

 sent a seedling Pelargonium, named Warrior. — From 

 Messrs. Lane and Son was a seedling Fuchsia, named 

 Beauty Supreme ; and another, called Pickwick, was from 

 Mr. Cormack, of Deptford.-— A specimen of the pale 

 variety of Catasetum maculatum was sent from the 

 garden of J. H. Schroder, Esq., of Brixton. — Messrs. 

 Veitch and Son, of Exeter, exhibited what they considered 

 to be a new species of Cyrtopodium, sent from Peru by 

 their collector, Mr. Lobb, but which appeared to be only 

 a pale variety of C punctatum ; and likewise Torenia 

 asiatica, not of sufficient beauty to render it of 

 much moment in a horticultural point of view. — Of 

 Fruit there were some good specimens. Mr. Hender- 

 son, gr. to Sir G. Beaumont, Bart., was awarded a 

 Knightian Medal for two fine Queen Pine Apples, weigh- 

 ing 4 lbs. 5 oz. and 4 lbs. 6 oz. They had small crowns, 

 were perfectly ripened all over, and although not so large 

 as some that have been formerly exhibited, they were 

 excellent specimens of good Pine-growing. Mr. Hender- 

 son also showed another, called a Globe Pine, weighing 

 4 lbs. 5 oz.— From Mr. Fish, gr. to H. H. Oddie, Esq., 

 was a Providence Pine, said to have been produced 

 by a plant only 15 months old ; it was not a remarkable 

 specimen of growth— the weight, which was Tibs. Loz -}*" 

 its principal merit. Mr. Fish also sent specimens or ms 

 hardy green-fleshed Melon, the heaviest of which weighed 

 6 lbs y lM, Povey, gr. I* the Rev. J. Tornycroft, 



received a Knightian Medal for a P"" den ~ *^ 

 weighing 8 lbs. °13 oz., and measuring 22 m .round, 

 and 7J high-the number ofp.ps in height was 10. 



