604 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



far more from their forms when imprisoned in pots J fastening it down with ropes made of the same material, | have joinecTthe 

 nanv species do from one another. In these felici- then cover them up with earth to the depth of another to the sam* nln 



than many species 



tous Post-office times such tenacious-lived plants may be 

 §ent everywhere. A card pen-box with a bit of wood in it 

 to prevent the stamp from crushing it, would carry 

 three or four species for a postage of as many pence ; 

 and if the kinds were well described, the prices of them 

 would soon be published. I have no doubt that curious 

 and valuable hybrids might be raised from seed ; and if 

 the gravel and peat do well, we are only beginning our 

 exotic civilisation. Nolana prostrata, and many fleshy- 

 leaved plants, of other groups not called succulents, enjoy 

 this treatment extremely ; but even if we are driven by 

 the rain of winter, to keep our plantse succulentae 

 within doors, we cannot do well without an accessible 

 index to them. In fact, the Mesembryanthemum, 

 •which has grown down the wall out of its sheltering 

 alcove, has borne last winter well, and has blown a 

 perfect sheet of dazzling purple bloom for nearly all the 

 summer — must have its worth unrecorded for want of 

 knowledge. — R., County Cork. 



ON THE PRESERVATION OF FRUITS. 



Amongst the different materials for preserving fruits, 

 recommended by different authors, are found the follow- 

 ing : — Charcoal, Sand, Moss, Oat-chaff, the Husks of 

 different Grains, Oats, Sawdust, Paper, Bog-mould, Beech 

 and Hazel Flowers, Bran, Canvas, Sealing-wax, Hay, 

 Straw, and Fern. 



The Husks of the different varieties of Corn, as Oats, 

 Barley, Wheat, have been by some recommended for 

 keeping fruit in ; but I disapprove of them, on account of the 

 obnoxious gases they absorb during the process of kiln- 

 drying; before being ground, however, these, as well as 

 Oat-chaff, answer well for packing, if the fruit has been 

 previously surrounded with fine paper or linen, dried 

 before the fire previous to being used. 



Oats. — I have been informed that in Portugal Apples 

 and Pears have been preserved the whole year round by 

 being packed in air-tight vessels and surrounded with Oats, 

 which received no injury by being in contact with the 

 Apples. This material is not, however, generally used 

 for packing, as the grains of the Oats are apt to bruise 

 the Apples. 



Sawdust. — This should never be used, except it can be 

 procured from hard-wooded trees, such as Oaks, Beech, 

 &c. The sawdust of resinous trees should on no account 

 be used for this purpose, as it is never entirely free from a 

 resinous smell, which gives the fruit a disagreeable flavour ; 

 it might, however, be used for packing fruits in, that are 

 to be sent to a short distance, but each fruit, previously 

 to being immersed in the sawdust, should be well sur- 

 rounded with linen or paper. 



Paper. — This material is employed for preserving 

 fruits, but it becomes expensive where there is a large 

 quantity to be preserved. If charcoal or sand are used, 

 this and all other covering may be dispensed with. 



Bog-mould. — I have been informed that this has been 



tried for preserving Apples during winter, and that it is 



found to answer the purpose ; but having little experience 



with it, perhaps some correspondent that has used it 



will favour me with the results. 



Beech and Hazel Flowers. — I can recommend the use 

 of these for packing and preserving fruits, especii^ly the 

 more delicate kinds. They answer well for packing 

 Grapes, Peaches, &c, first putting in a layer of the flowers, 

 and then a layer of Grapes, or Peaches, until the bor 

 is full ; the fruits will be found as fresh at their journey's 

 end, as when first put in, with the exception that the 

 bloom of the Grapes will be destroyed. However, it may 

 be renewed by dusting some fine flour over the berries, 

 holding the bunch by the stalk, or stem, during the opera- 

 tion. Beech and Hazel flowers can easily be procured ; 

 they should be collected soon after they have fallen from 

 the trees, and put into an airy room to be thoroughly dried 

 before they are used. 



Bran. — When this material can be procured, it will, 

 perhaps, answer equally as well as the former ; and being 

 of a finer nature, it will more readily fill up the crevices 

 between the fruit. 



Canvas — This material has been strongly recommended 

 by some, with a view to prevent any dust from settling on 

 the fruit ; it also tends to prevent their evaporation, by 

 preventing the air from acting on them. 



Sealing-wax. — This is much employed in France, and 

 other parts of the continent, for preserving Pears. It is 

 applied by sealing up the end of the stalk as you would 

 seal a letter, only not putting quite so much on. In this 

 way fruit is preserved for some time. 



Hay, Straw, and Fern.— These have been used for a 

 long time, for covering Pears and Apples, in the fruit- 

 room, and likewise for packing ; but I consider them 

 coarse for packing, when other materials of a lighter 

 nature can be procured. 



^"l ; ^:7. Appl l S may be ke Pt * n P^s after the manner 



we have seen this practice both in France 



p witn eartn to tne depth 

 foot. This covering will prevent any change in the atmo- 

 sphere from reaching the Apples. The operation should 

 be performed in dry weather. 



Preserving fruits on detached shoots has been adopted, 

 but with little success. The experiment was tried with 

 Grapes, which were detached from the main branch, a 

 piece of the shoot, about a foot long, being cut with the 

 bunch. Some were immersed in bottles of water, others 

 were suspended in the fruit-room, and part was left on the 

 shoots in the Vinery. It was found that those in the 

 Vinery kept as long as the others. A good plan is to cut 

 thebunches, and turning them upside-down, suspend them 

 in a room with a steady temperature a little above 32°. 

 Another method is to cut off the bunches, with a foot of 

 the stem on each side of the bunch, sealing up the cut 

 ends with sealing-wax, and suspending the buncbesin the 

 above-mentioned temperature. The following is a good 

 way of preserving ripe Grapes : — Procure some tin cases 

 of any convenient size, and put in a layer of dry sand or 

 charcoal and then a bunch of Grapes, until the case is 

 full ; seal down the lid and make all air-tight, and bury 

 them to any convenient depth in the ground. This plan 

 will likewise answer for late Cherries, Plums, Goose- 

 berries, Currants, &c. These fruits in some gardens are 

 retarded in their time of ripening, by being covered with 

 mats or nets, which is an excellent plan, and ought to be 

 more generally adopted, as it insures a succession. Grapes, 

 Peaches, Apricots, in the open air, may be kept for some 

 time hanging on the trees after they are ripe, by the same 

 means, but their flavour will not be good. Red and white 

 Currants in the same manner will even keep good till the 

 end of December. Ice-houses have been recommended 

 for preserving fruits ; but they are objectionable, on 

 account of the damp moisture which they contain. A dry, 

 cool, and airy room, free from all atmospheric changes, is 

 the only place where fruits can be preserved for any 

 length of time. 



It will be found that some of the finer sorts of Pears 

 and Apples are liable to crack before they are quite ripe ; 

 therefore they should always be gathered and taken into 

 a hothouse, in order to ripen them as quick as possible. 

 It often happens that one half cracks while the other 

 remains sound. Those that are sound should remain on 

 the tree until the proper time forgathering them arrives, 

 which is known by gently lifting them up, and then letting 

 them down with a slight jerk ; if ripe, they easily detach. 

 I have seen the following plan adopted with success : — 

 When ripe fruit was wanted before it had arrived at proper 

 maturity in the open air, those were selected which ap- 

 peared to be ripest ; they were placed in a hot-house, and 

 suspended over the hottest part of the flue, in a basket, 

 till they were fit for use ; the remainder was left on the 

 trees for a succession. The ripening of Peaches, Necta- 

 rines, Apricots, Plums, Cherries, Strawberries, Goose- 

 berries, Currants, &c, may be accelerated in this manner 

 with the utmost advantage. I am not aware that any 

 method has been adopted for the preservation of the 

 Pineapple, for any length of time. I have seen it cut up 

 and immersed in bottles containing' spirits — as brandy, 

 whisky, &c., to which it imparts a pleasant and delicious 

 flavour ; Plums, Cherries, and Apricots, are used for the 

 same purpose in France. 



The sweating of Apples is not to be recommended, as 

 the flavour of the fruit is much deteriorated by it. The 

 less fruit is handled the better ; and the less it is exposed 

 to atmospheric changes, after being gathered, the longer 

 will it remain plump and sound, without becoming dry 

 and mealy. 



Green Fruits— For preserving, must be gathered when 

 quite dry. Having provided some wide-mouthed bottles, 

 or tin cases, cornmence by cutting off the berries, one by 

 one, from the stalks till the bottles are full ; cork them up 

 tight, and seal them over with some wax, then place them 

 in some cool, airy room, or, what is better, plunge them 

 into the open ground, surrounding each bottle with some 

 charcoal, or dry sand. 



Shell Fruit, as Walnuts, Nuts, Chesnuts, &c, may be 

 preserved for a year or two by being divested of their 

 outer shell, and thoroughly dried. In jars, or tin cases, 

 put in a layer of charcoal or dry sand, then a layer of 

 Proceed in this way until they are full, properly 

 securing each lid, to prevent the admission of air ; when 

 | finished, bury them in the open ground, or in some cool 

 and dry cellar.— J. Mcintosh. 



to the same place, and thus linked 'the l^L*^ 

 and stock to the single bark of the IV^*' 1 " ° f *>2 



v at uciv iu me single bark of h# «^„„i . B Ql ' 

 The edges of the vertical slit in he ^7 the °- 

 by attaching themselves to each t S 1° Dot h ** 

 the bud underneath them forms a ' ♦' the h ** of 

 the edges above mentioned perish insenTh mg ,bk ' -* 

 mg little or no scar behind. The second ^"^ ,f «* 

 becomes more perfect, the extraneous par i^H thetree 

 if any remain, are cut off, as well as th * oft £**» 

 and the head so arranged as to he Bho °ti, 



throw its buds where they are 

 wanted to make it round, even 

 and handsome. If, however,' 

 some shoot be obstinately bent 

 on growing in any direction, 

 spoiling the appearance, and 

 crossing the others, it should by 

 no means be removed on that ac- 

 count alone ; but if a little twig 

 be placed across from it to any 

 other convenient branch, to con- 

 fine it for the season in the place 

 desired, the ligature may be re- 

 moved in^ the succeeding spring, 

 or even in the same autumn, 

 when the sap is down, and the 

 shoots preserved. 



Lastly, the third spring the T. Tn order to keep them 

 tree should show itself with all d,8t »>ct and clear, the un- 

 its wounds nearly closed, its buds ThooK «?! J h °w W8 the 

 strong, full, and healthy, and it ^^TtT^ 

 should look perfectly natural, than they will in reality 

 those parts of the shoots upon ?*' th u buds thejr 9 ' ,riD * 

 which the bud, were placed being SSS&£K,£SE 



incorporated with the stock. The near to it as possible, 

 bark clean ; no dead wood ; and wherever a shoot hai 

 been shortened, the place so grown over as to leave no 

 blemish, which will be the case for some time wherever 

 any wood more than one season old is cut away, and a 

 thin shoot of a single year springs at the end of it. This 

 is the reason why forest-trees look so ill if shortened 

 when old, viz., the taper appearance is destroyed, 

 wood of five or six years' growth is continued by the 

 shoot of a single spring, and thus a piece of wood, of the 

 diameter of half a dozen inches, has a little mean-look- 

 ing shoot, or in all probability half a dozen, not thicker 

 than horsewhips, at the end of it. 



Whatever it is worth while to do, It is worth while to 

 do well ; work properly commenced does not require 

 that constant superintendence which a bad beginning is 

 certain to render necessary, and which eventually involves 

 a much greater expenditure of time than any labour be- 

 stowed at the outset could have demanded. 



in 



Nuts. 



THE ROSE-GARDEN: 



of Potatoes 



and England with success ; but the fruit does not keep 



long after ,t ,, taken out; consequently, only a smaU 



quantity should be taken out at one time, and the pit 



should be instantly closed up, to prevent the adtnL 



siori of air. Apples kept in this manner will be found 



quite sound and good in the months of May and June or 



even July if they have been pitted in a careful manner, 



all bruised ones being rejected, which would destrov the 



others. A little powdered charcoal should be carefully 



sifted over the Apples as they are laid up, which should 



be done in regular layers. The charcoal absorbs any 



moisture that is given off by the Apples, and keeps all 



cool. After this is done, take some cleaa Wheat- straw, or 



Hay, and lay it over the fruit, to the thicknoss of a foot, 



-No. XVII. 



CJ. * m ( tontinued f r omp.572.) 



Shape of Trees.— A tree well formed, with a pro- 

 mising head, and in health, ought, the 

 spring succeeding the budding, to have 

 a clean, straight stem, no lumps nor 

 knots, one shoot quite at the summit, 

 and two, or at all events one other 

 shoot as near as possible also to the 

 top; if there are two shoots only, 

 at opposite sides to each other; if 

 three, forming a triangle ; if more, 

 as nearly equidistant from each 

 other, m the diameter of the stock 

 as possible (and here be it observed 

 that the more shoots, at the top of the 

 tree, the handsomer and quicker is the 

 head formed,) each with a bud inserted 

 in it, close to the stem : and at the 

 cross cut, where the bark of the bud 

 usurps the place of the original bark of 

 the stock, a sufficiency of sap ought to 

 have exuded, not only to have joined the bark of the bud 

 with the unmoved part of the bark above it, but also to 



Home Correspondence. 



Provincial Horticultural Societies. — Your remarks 

 on these, p. 499, are well-timed. All country societies 

 of the kind move, as it were, by fits or jerks ; and there 

 will, of course, be no permanent cure for this fitfulness 

 until we are well acquainted with the causes. I have 

 attended many Shows of the kind for the last 10 or IS 

 years, sometimes as exhibitor, and frequently as judge ; 

 and have therefore had a little experience in the matter, 

 the result of which I hope may be of service in the in- 

 vestigation. Fashions, we all know by experience, will 

 change ; therefore I am afraid it is useless to expect that 

 the public will long patronise one 6et of objects, however 

 dazzling their appearance or high their cultivation, with- 

 out a relief of some kind. This seems to point out a ne- 

 cessity for variation in the objects of societies, year by 

 year ; which change, of course, rests in a very consider- 

 able degree with the respective Councils. Now, without 

 wishing to cast any imputation on any given society (a 

 thing I will endeavour studiously to avoid as quite 

 foreign to the purpose), I must say that the Councils ot 

 provincial societies are frequently very inefficient in cha- 

 racter, as to the objects sought to be attained-viz., tho- 

 roughly satisfying that portion of the public which pos- 

 sesses a more refined taste, and so remunerating e 

 various grades of exhibitors as to send them home satis- 

 fied, and eager to show their faces at the next meeting. 

 Now, whence the inefficiency complained of? A spri S 

 meeting is convened to arrange the future campaign ; 

 Council meet, and instead of being composed of one-nau 

 practical gardeners, is chiefly made up of tradesmen an 

 mere florists, who care little for the progress of S ener 

 horticulture : the former esteeming a huge Caulincrero 

 Cucumber, and the latter a bed of Tulips, to be tne in 

 plus ultra of all gardening. Something more oenni 

 should be observed in regard of these Council?, e*t 

 cially as to the number of their members. They are g 

 rally too few in number ; there should be seven at i 

 least, in my opinion, which might be thus constituted . 

 two respectable tradesmen ; two florists or amateur 

 good standing ; three general gardeners ; at these m 

 ings, the general awards should be classified u 

 tinctlyas to what portion of the funds should Deio » 

 to the amateur, what . to the florist, what to 

 general gardener, and also the cottager; last, t nog 

 not by any means least, a proper arrangement of 

 mode of competition ; for it is found in gardening « ^ 

 horse-racing, that if the company is too good ther 

 small chance of competing with success. The seer 

 should, by all means, be a paid officer— what is » 

 without stipend, is sometimes half done, and mutu 

 pends on the secretary's punctuality and courtesy 

 taking care to make all parties, more cs P ec,alI 7 # 

 scribers, acquainted with every move of .the socie j^ ^ 

 that nothing appear to be done in secret. To tn 









