572 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[A 



= " , r-r~Z ^Tk7i B • 1 multiDlvine the number of plants, and of producing 



may be well to obsenre that the growth of a tree is thus . *uiupij ng r 



—^the riugs round the bottom of both stem and branches 

 are the depositaries of dormant buds, which will not be 

 called into action unless the buds above be injured, or 

 unless the sap arise so profusely as to be unable to 

 expend itself by the upper parts, in which case the buds 

 below break out ; though, indeed, they will occasionally 

 do so, as the natural act of the tree, in preference to 

 rising higher. This is more observable in the W lid 

 Rose than almost any other plant, and perhaps may, in 

 some degree, explain the reason why budded Roses are 

 shorter lived than those on their own bottom ; for any 

 one who has at all observed the growth of wild stocks 

 must have noticed that the original head is seen gene- 

 rally on hedges in much worse plight than the shoots 

 which have been subsequently formed at its base. Tins 

 tendency of the Dog-Rose to break out below must be 

 checked in two ways: the first, by destroying every 

 sucker and shoot as it starts ; and the second, by finding 

 full work for the sap above, and by giving it a free 

 passage. If, then, upon cutting in a tree at pruning 

 time, a couple of buds be left on every shoot of last 

 year's growth, or three at most upon a very strong one 

 (with free growers no rule can wejl be given), there will 

 be quite enough to occupy the sap, keep the tree within 

 bounds, make it much handsomer, save the sap the ex- 

 pense of maintaining old wood, and give it a free course. 

 Grafts differ from buds in this respect, viz., that an 

 inserted scion must be considered as a tree which has 

 finished throwing up its suckers, and whose vitality and 

 appearance depends upon the shoots to be produced 

 from buds at the points or sides of the wood already 

 formed. An inserted bud may be considered in the 

 light of a seed sown at the top of a stock, instead of in 

 the ground; it seems to retain the same habits (though 



If the tree be not pruned at all, it will lose its shape 

 entirely in a single year, and become more and more 

 unsightly, each succeeding one. Trimming the shoots 

 has nothing essentially different in the manner of execu- 

 tion to trimming the stock ; in trimming to a bud, barely 

 the thickness of a sixpence should be left above the bud, 



and the excision should form a slant 

 about equal to that caused by dividing 

 a square from angle to angle : if more 

 were left above the bud, it would die 

 down to the bud, and prevent the bark 

 from healing over the wound ; in 

 general, the line of the bud is the slant the knife should 

 make in its passage through the shoot. 



Cutting out old wood should always ta*e place where 

 it is feasible, the desirable point being to keep near 

 home, as it is called ; when, therefore, a tree throws out 

 a fresh and vigorous shoot, close to the base of an old 

 branch which has straggled too far from the graft, the 

 old wood should be cut out in March, close to its base, 

 and the young shoot left to supply its place, and receive 

 its nourishment. This principle, well applied, will 

 always keep the trees in bounds; but as this requires 

 judgment, and cannot well be explained in writing, it 

 may be requisite to take a lesson upon the subject, the 

 first convenient op portunity, from a sc ientific gardener. 



ICE-HOUSES. 

 Perceiving in a late Number a letter from a corres- 

 pondent desirous of building a small ice-house at a cheap 

 rate, I beg to inclose a plan of a very cheap one. It 

 would be better to have three or four such small ice- 

 houses than one large one, as the air gets in, and causes 



the ground; it seems to retain the same habits (though thg Jce in the latter t0 dissolve before a third of it is 

 limited in extent), and to form its roots, as it were, at consumed# The following plan is proved by experience 

 the point of insertion, throwing up suckers from thence • * -& — i *~- **- ™o __ 



as it would have done from the ground. Such large 

 shoots, then, as spring at once from an inserted eye, do 

 not come under the same restrictions as those at the 

 points of old wood, which are necessarily more feeble, 

 and the buds upon the bases of which are in a more for- 

 ward state of preparation for breaking out than the base 

 buds of a vigorous shoot direct from the eye. The 

 latter most be treated according to the position it is in- 

 tended to occupy ; to its strength, and to the state of the 

 wood, and the buds which are upon it. If the buds at 

 the base appear very undefined, and consequently disin- 

 clined to break, cutting it ia low causes a fresh produc- 

 tion of free-growing wood ; while, if the same shoot 

 were moderately shortened, the buds at its summits 

 ■would not only break out freely, and continue the regu- 

 larity of the tree, but, in the event of excess of sap, re- 

 course would be had to the base buds to expend it. 

 Gardeners, in general, trim such shoots as may be here 

 denominated suckers, or crown shoots, low or high, in 

 proportion to the rest of the tree ; but with reference to 

 the health and appearance of the tree, it is only neces- 

 sary to observe that close cutting is calculated to pro- 

 duce wood, and moderate amputation flower. 



If there be more sap than enough, a fresh shoot will 

 likely enough start from the crown of the graft, or the 

 rings upon the first year's shoot, and increase the head 

 of the tree, as well as bring it back with new wood 

 nearer home— a matter always desirable, as tending to 

 keep the head from straggling. 



Cutting to the lowest buds always leaves the sap with 

 hut a short channel to pass through, strengthens the 

 branch below the buds, and is every way beneficial, if 

 care be taken that a sufficiency be left to occupy the sap. 



There are, however, several sorts of Roses, which are, 

 with more or less difficulty, brought to flower when thus 

 treated ; and such plants as are found to throw nothing 

 but wood, must frequently be allowed to retain a consi- 

 derable portion of the last year's produce to insure their 

 flowering : in these cases, a much greater degree of ex- 

 perience is necessary, than when a decided rule can be 

 laid down ; the operator must be able to distinguish be- 

 tween flower and wood buds, the former of which are 

 oval, the latter pyramidical : he must learn not only the 

 quantity to be left on each shoot, from the general ap- 

 pearance of the tree, but in a degree also with reference 

 to the shoot itself ; thus, pruning the plant altogether 

 in a different manner to that above pointed out, it is 

 obvious that, under such circumstances, it is far more 

 difficult to keep the head near home than when trimming 

 year after year to a stated number of buds ; the removal 

 of wood which has straggled away is also more frequent, 

 and the form of the head altogether much more difficult 

 to preserve. Whenever a tree is destined to remain year 

 after year where planted, an equal attention should be 

 • paid to the appearance of the future, as well as of the 

 present ; but where the current season only is of import- 

 ance, the plant should be encouraged to produce the 

 greatest possible quantity of flowers ; a mode of treat- 

 ment which has been known to kill fruit trees entirely. 

 Such plants as throw little or no flower, are in general, 

 from the nature of the thing, more healthy and vigorous 

 than when the contrary is the esse, and half standards 

 will therefore be found less productive than whole ones, 

 while the wood is in general finer, the stem more rapidly 

 enlarged, and the head stronger. . The larger the shoot, 

 the more likely are the buds upon it to form wood ; the 

 bolder the buds, the more likely are they to throw 

 flower ; the fifth bud from the base is generally a wood- 

 bud, those above it producing flowers ; with a light soil, 

 however, and a hot sun, flower will be produced under 

 any pruning ; nor is it by any means uncommon to see 

 a brilliant show of flowers upon old shoots which are 

 annuaUv cut down and lavered for the sole purpose of 



to be at once cheap and efficacious for its purpose, 

 B. D. f Greys. 



REFERENCE TO 

 PLAN. 



ABA conical hole in 

 the ground. 



CB. Stones or rubble, 

 to act as a 

 drain, IS inches. 



AD. Slabs, 4 feet hi srh 

 above the sur- 

 face. 



E. Door. 



F. A Trap-door, to 

 answer a simi- 

 lar one on the 

 opposite side, 

 to be opened in 

 a dry air, and 

 carefully closed 

 when the cir- 

 cumambient 

 atmosphere is 

 damp. 



■No. II. 



THE FLORIST REFORMER.- 



THE POLYANTHUS. 



Among Polyanthuses there have not been so many 

 candidates for floral honours as among other florist 

 flowers, consequently there are less synonymes in this 

 class than in any other. The few that have been twice 

 named have been done" so apparently by mistake ; and 

 those few were raised by Mr. Hufton, of Nottingham- 

 shire, well known for having introduced many good 

 Carnations and Picotees, as well as Polyanthuses. It is 

 said that Mr. Clegg, of this neighbourhood, who bought 

 the stock, named them, and that Mr. Hufton also did 

 the same ; they are known principally by the name the 

 latter gave them, in the midland counties. 



The Polyanthus has experienced less improvement 

 than any other class of florist flower, and this is prin- 

 cipally owing to the great sameness in seedlings to the 

 parent from which they were raised. The following list 

 contains the whole of the Polyanthuses cultivated in this 

 neighbourhood ; they are classed according to their 

 merits, and are not distinguished by the colour of the 

 ground — as dark, red, and scarlet. 



First Class. 

 Barrow's Duchess of Sutherland Hufton's Earl Grey, alias Clegg's 

 Buck's George the Fourth Lord John Russell 



Bullock's Lancer Hufton's Lord Ranclifle, alias 



Clegg's Lord Crewe, alias George Clegg's Prince of Orange and 



Home Correspondence. 



Ice-Houses. — Ice being water in a solid form, acquires 

 its solidity by the process of losing its heat. It is a law 

 of matter, that when a mass of ice shall, by absorption 

 imbibe a certain amount of heat, equivalent to that which 

 it has lost during the process of congealing, it assumes 

 its natural or fluid state. If two bodies of equal solidity 

 are placed near each other, the one heated, the other of 

 the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere, it will 

 be found that, after a short time, the heated body will, 

 by the law of radiation, lose its heat, and the cold body, 

 by absorption, will imbibe a portion of that heat until 

 both indicate the same temperature. The more compact 

 a body is, the slower it is in acquiring heat, and it is 

 equally slow in parting with it. Now 1 consider the ice- 

 house and the surrounding atmosphere as two bodies, 

 the one (the atmosphere) being heated, and the other 

 cold ; consequently the colder body, viz. the ice, will 

 absorb the heat radiated by the surrounding medium, the 

 result of which is, that the ice resumes its fluid state. 

 From these remarks it would appear that one great 

 object in the preservation of ice is to exclude the air by 

 every possible means. Many do take this precaution; 

 but in contradiction to this, I beg to mention the prac- 

 tice of a gentleman who frequently, during the warm days 

 of spring and early summer, (for he never has any ice 

 afterwards,) orders the ice-house doors to be thrown open 

 for a few hours, to dry, as he expresses it, the ice 

 and walls of the building. This he denominates the 

 American mode ; and, for those who wish to hasten the 

 departure of their ice, a most efficient mode it is. With 

 respect to the situation of the ice-house, if the place is 

 dry and well screened from the sun, little importance is 

 to be attached : the great secret lies in the body of ice 

 being compact, in order that it may resist, as much at 

 possible, the absorption of heat ; and, for becoming as 

 solid as possible, there is no substance so good as snow, 

 which possess all the qualities of ice. I am sure that if 

 snow was well beaten and trodden until the ice-house 

 was quite full, beginning the treading at the bottom, 

 and gradually proceeding, making quite firm each thin 

 layer, to the top, the body of snow would acquire such 

 compactness as would resist the heat of our summers. 

 For instance, how often do we see the snow-balls which 

 the schoolboy makes, resist the action of the open air 

 and sun for days, while a heap of ice of equal size would 

 disappear in half the time, from the fact that it is less 

 compact, and therefore absorbs heat more readily ? If 

 ice could, by any means, be reduced to powder similar to 

 snow, the result would be far better than under the pre- 

 sent method, although the water, which is necessarily 

 mingled with it, would, in some measure, spoil its keep- 

 ing. In Italy, where ice is looked upon not only as a 

 luxury, but as a necessary of lile, the inhabitants of the 

 mountains, in order to meet the demands of the valleys, 

 collect the snow, and, packing it into the fissures of he 

 rocks on the shady side of the mountains find no diffi- 

 culty in keeping a supply when the heat of summer has 

 arrived. From this source is derived al he snow which 

 cools the drinks of the thirsty Neapolitan and which 

 enables him to wash down his favourite dish of macca^ 

 roni, or cool his palate beneath a cloudless sky .-Waiter 



W £fs-The history of the bee has been ******* 

 so mu n'ruth by Huber, that little is left for inquiry 

 I know but of one error, which is, I presume, by the 

 translator. The extraordinary fecundity of a queen is 

 stated to be 200 eggs a day. A queen which deposited 

 no more eggs than that, could never produce a swarm 

 on TcoUfof the daily loss of bees which go out t0 *e 



the glasses aje one inch and a half apart, whicn c p 

 that knowledge acqu.red ? Whit difference i 



can 



ovary 

 Guano. 



Canning 

 Crownshaw's Invincible 

 Collier's Princess Royal 

 Cox's Regent 

 Eckersley's Jolly Dragoon 

 Gibbon's Sovereign 

 General Bolivar 

 Fletcher's Defiance 

 Hilton's President 



Beauty of Coven 

 Buckley's Squire Starkie 

 Burnard's Formosa 

 Dew's Britannia 

 Faulkner's Black Prince 

 Fillingham's Tantarara 

 Queen's Earl Fitzwilliam 

 Hepworth's Elizabeth 

 Jolly Sailor 



Clegg's Golden Hero 

 Hufton's Lord Lincoln 

 Maude's Beauty of England 

 Nicholson's Bang Europe 

 Ollier's Beauty of Over 

 Pearson's Alexander 

 Saunders's Cheshire Favourite 

 Wood's Espartero 

 Goud's Independent, 



Second Class. 



Nicholson's Ranger 

 " Nonsuch 



King 

 Sir Sidney Smith 

 Head's Telegraph 

 Turner's Emperor Buonaparte 



" Princess 

 Timm's Defiance and 

 Yorkshire Regent 



fhT I saved a fair quantity. Having good taitn 

 £id Manure, I gave Lh of them one good dose of* 

 Z notwithstanding the dry weath er I have ad a * 

 better crop than I expected I cut atead w 



:ighed31bs.,and another s.nce^dressea in 



,n g ner for cooking-which weighed^ lbs. £ 



of Hqu id 

 The plants 



which wei 



usual manner for cooking 



measured 10 inches in diameter, and 



conference ; this is a proof of the value 



John Slater, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, 



cumrerencc, *•«« »- r - o<rpf _ hle The plants 



manure for this much esteemed vegetable. .IF ^ 



were not over-grown, but were close and ^^ble- 

 were not attacked by grubs, which were ™l^ m of 

 some during spring and summer. I *™ ^ would bc 

 any effectual mode of destroying hem, a w 



glad to receive a hint on the subject. 









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