





'* 



1844J 



B— 7v SOCIETY, instituted 2d February, 1844.— 

 This Society has been formed upon the principle of the 

 v ramden Sydenham, and other Societies, for the purpose 

 *? T \ne to those attached to the study of Natural History, 

 ° S !unrks on the various branches of Zoology and Botany as 

 ill not be obtained by other means ; and will consist of 

 0011 -oi works- of new editions of works of established merit; 

 °?«r tracts and MSS. ; and of translations and reprints of 

 ? ■ n works Every subscriber of one guinea annually will 

 nVidered a member of the Society, and will be entitled to a 

 nf every work published by the Society. The Council have 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



619 



! 



£° r ^Wered a member of the Society, and will be entitled to a 



nf every work published by the Society. The Council have 



C ° P t nlea^ure in stating that the number of Members already 



S 1 * £ 300, and beg to call the attention of their friends to the 



exceeas ^> sen ding in their names as early as possible, in order 



^iTTthpv tnav be enabled to determine the number of copies of 



u 1'rVs whicli they ought to print. The Council hope to 



KV T two volumes before Christmas, the first of which will 



puoiij-n o j trans i a tions from the German and Italian, of Reports 



COI fhe undress of Zoology and Botany during the last few years. 



Communications on the business of the Society are requested 



T°™ ddr d to the Secretaries, Dr. George Johnston, Ber- 



>k noon-Tweed, and Dr. Lankester, Golden-square, London. 



inscriptions to be sent, by post-office order or check, to the 



Treasurer J. S.Bowerbank, Esq., 45, Park-street, Islingti n. 



GborgbJohnstonb, M.D.-i 



Edwin Lankbstbr, M.D.J aecrelari es. 



%fy Igarftmer g' Cftrom cfo 



SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 1 oat, Sept. 17 South London Floricultural . 1 p.m. 



Sattkdat, Sept. 20 Royal Botanic ... 4 p.m. 



COUNTRY SHOW.— Tuesday, Sept. 17 • Midhunt Horticultural. 



ordinary Pine cultivation. 'We shall, however, sur- 

 prise them still more when we add, that we are not 

 yet satisfied. Great as Mr. Mills's success has been— 

 and too much honour cannot be given to him for it— 

 it is not great enough. Pines may be grown still 

 larger and better ; and we shall never rest contented 

 till we see a Providence weighing 20 lbs. Then, 

 and then only, shall we believe that growing Pine- 

 apples will go no further. 



Now that the Hyacinth season is at hand, it is 

 as well to remind our readers what they are to do 

 in order to obtain good flowers. 



Pick firm, plump bulbs, as round as may be. 

 These are always the soundest, and are not likely to 

 damp off. 



When they are placed in glasses, take care that the 

 water does not come within one inch of the bulb ; 

 put them in a dark closet that is rather warm, or, 

 which is better, wrap them all over the glass and 

 bulb, with old flannel, and keep them in a warm 

 place till the roots are an inch long at least. Some 

 recommend that the glasses should be dark ; but that 

 is of little consequence, provided the place in which 

 the bulbs are set to root is dark. 



The reason for this very important rule is, that 

 roots should always be formed before leaves ; other- 

 wise, when the latter begin to grow they have nothing 

 to feed them. Nature is most careful about this, as 

 we may see when a seed begins to germinate and a 

 tree begins to fruit. But ignorant people pop their 

 bulbs at onceinto a glass of water, place it in a window, 

 or upon a mantel-shelf, where light has free access, and 



Fifteen pounds and a quarter avoirdupois was 

 the weight of a Providenoe Pine-apple presented 

 to Her Majesty the other day by the Baroness de 

 Rothschild ; fourteen pounds and a quarter was the 

 weight of another exhibited by this lady's gardener 



to the Horticultural Society; eleven pounds eight the consequence is, that roots, which abhor light, will 

 ounces was that of a third ; and two others, each not come, while leaves, who love the light, rush for- 

 weighing ten pounds and three quarters, were cut ward to enjoy it. Then follows a long cluster of 

 green, and sent to France. ^ Supposing that each of foliage, and a top-heavy plant, which when it does 

 the latter would have gained only four ounces in flower, if it ever gets so far, topples over every time 



weight (and it would be more reasonable to assume 

 that they would have weighed one pound four ounces 

 more), we have the incredible fact of five Pine-apples 

 weighing sixty-three pounds. 



This extraordinary result has been obtained by 

 Mr. George Mills, so well known for his great suc- 

 cess in Cucumber-growing ; and his name is thus 

 imperishably connected with the history of Horticul- 

 ture, whose annals record no such event in former 

 days. We have heard, indeed, of thirteen-and-a-half 

 pounds having been the weight of one single Pine ; 

 but who before could boast of five huge Pines at one 

 cutting, the lightest of which is almost without a pa- 

 rallel ? Let it be remembered, too, that these were 

 no monsters, half-green and half-ripe, with a swell- 

 ing on one side and a paralytic affection on the 

 other,— with one pound of stalk and two pounds of 

 gills and crown— but honest thoroughly well-grown 

 fruit, with all the parts well-proportioned, and a skin 

 so full of juice, that the pips were puffed and swollen 

 with its enormous accumulation. 



And how has this been done ? By disrooting and 

 re-rooting? By shifting and re-shifting ? By coax- 

 ing the unhappy plants to grow, and then cutting 

 off their means of existence 1 By potting and re- 

 potting, and potting again ? By skinning a rich old 

 pasture and carting the fee-simple of an acre into the 

 potting-shed ? By the aid of succession-pits, and 

 succession-houses, and fruiting-houses 1 Of steam, 

 hot- water pipes, or tanks? Of an apparatus, which 

 no one without the revenues of a Rothschild could 

 dare to think about ? Not at all. By no such ap- 

 pliances ; by nothing more important than a pigeon- 

 holed Cucumber-pit, peat, and good gardening. By 

 ^nat, in fact, every farmer can command, except the 



Wm? ' il must be confessed, is rather important. 

 Without pretending to be better informed than 

 our neighbours, or to have access to information 

 jnicn is not current all round the neighbourhood of 

 wauame de Rothschild's residence, we will under- 

 ■f Ke t0 ff y that the following is very nearly the plan 

 pursued by Mr. Mills. Conceive a sunk brick-pit, 

 f . me ejeyen feet long and three feet wide, built of 

 *-wcn brick-work, and pigeon-holed for three or four 

 courses at the bottom. Let this be covered with 



dun^° n TK UCUmber sashes > and surrounded by hot 



thp P ll en let us suppose that rough faggots or 



ie larger boughs of trees are thrown into the bottom 



is wT E PU t0 the de P th of a foot > over which P eat 

 real t0 the same thickness. And now all being 

 Dlan?\?" PP , ose that a Wealthy sucker of a Pine is 



ber IVrh 111 soil under the centre of each Cucum " 

 hav 1? aiul> unless we are much mistaken, we 

 2v1a ? hole of Mr - Milk s preparation, except the 

 fcooa gardening, which neither bricks, nor faggots, 



niiioiwi nor lleatin g materials, can form, however 

 j Qh the y may assist it 



this 1 \vi 0Ur C0untl 7 readers be incredulous about all 

 vem» we have seen with our own eyes we may 



Posed t Up ° n recor <ling; and yet we should be dis- 



statemp^ P i ard( ? n those who > in the face of such a 

 not ell \ uld exclaim, " I would not believe that, 



inmost? l gh 1 Saw lt m y self V' for u does seem 

 f «nwe to those who have been accustomed to 



it is jarred or disturbed. Get plenty of roots first, 

 and leaves and flowers will take care of themselves. 



The reason why the water should not touch the 

 bulbs is, that if the plant is slow in growing, the 

 organisable matter of the bulb is distended with fluid 

 before it can decompose it, and so becomes putrid, 

 when it communicates disease in all directions by 

 virtue of its contagious properties. On the contrary, 

 if the roots are active, and the leaves are beginning 

 to grow, what water is taken up is immediately con 

 verted into some of the matter that Hyacinths 

 feed on. 



After roots have made a fair appearance water 

 may be allowed to reach their tips, but not sooner, 

 and it is only when the leaves are green and unfold- 

 ing that it should be permitted to touch the bulb. 



At that time, that is to say when the leaves are 

 green, a lump of charcoal as large as an egg may be 

 advantageously dropped into the water. It will 

 prevent the water be.oming putrid, and will, besides, 

 act as a manure. 



None of these precautions can, however, be of any 

 avail unless the Hyacinths are kept close to the 

 light continually, from the time when the leaves are 

 first turned green. Thus, and thus only, will a 

 healthy growth be preserved, and a fine vigorous 

 head of flowers insured. Above all things, too, be 

 careful to make the plants grow as slowly as possible 

 at first, so as to accumulate vigour against the 

 blooming season. 



A ENTOMOLOGY. 



Surface-grubs and surface-caterpillars are terms 

 applied by gardeners to the larvae of several night-flying 

 moths, and amongst them are Noctua (Agrotis) exclama- 

 tionis, and N. aegetum, which bear the English appella- 

 tions of the Heart and Dart, and the Common Dart 

 moths, amongst collectors. Aa these caterpillars have 

 made their appearance in great force iu many parts of 

 the kingdom, and numerous inquiries have been made 

 respecting them, I lose no time in addressing the culti- 

 vator upon the subject, hoping that by calling his 

 attention to their economy, his efforts to check their 

 ravagea may be successfully directed. 



All the caterpillars called surface-grubs are exceedingly 

 destructive to various crops, both in the field and garden, 

 frequently devastating entire fields of Turnips and Man- 

 gold Wurzel, and not sparing the Potatoes. The larvae 

 first attack the Turnips in July, and destroy the plants 

 by eating off the crown (fig. 2) ; in the two follow- 

 ing months they sometimes swarm in fields, eating into 

 the bulbs, and rendering them, to a great extent, 

 unfit for use. I have known the Mangold Wurzel 

 Buffer severely in June, from these caterpillara biting 

 through the roots, just below the surface of the 

 soil; and they will attack the Potatoes when first 

 pushing out of the ground. At night I believe 

 I they aally forth to feed upon the leaves, and after detach- 

 ing them they are often dragged to their burrows* which 

 resemble those of the earth-worm, and being drawn in, 

 they are enabled to feed in security, and protected from 

 the rave of the sun during the day— for they shun both 

 light and heat. Having decapitated one young plant, 

 the caterpillar directa his course to another with extra- 

 ordinary rapidity, and thus destroys many more than he 

 can consume for food. Later in the year, when the 

 Turnip crop is more advanced, multitudes congregate 



round the plants, 10 or 12 being sometimes found about 

 a single bulb. 



The Surface Caterpillara transmitted to me this 

 summer from many different localities were those of the 

 Noctua exclamationis and N. segetum, which are equally 

 mischievous, and very similar in appearance ; they walk 

 very faat, curl themselves up when disturbed, but speedily 

 become active again, and bury themselves in a few 

 seconds. Where the eggs of N. exclamationis are laid 

 has not been recorded, but it is stated that the moth of 

 N. aegetum deposits hers in the earth. The caterpillar 

 of the former ia somewhat cylindrical, but a little de- 

 pressed above, having aix pectoral, eight abdominal, 

 ind two anal feet ; it is of a dull lilac colour, with a 

 broad paler stripe down the back, the margins of which 

 form a darker line along each side, and there ia a 

 double dorsal line extending the whole length ; the 

 head is horny and brown ; the minute eyea and two 

 curved lines, as well as the jaws, are black ; the first 

 thoracic segment ia rather horny and dotted ; the follow- 

 ing segments have four little tubercles on each, producing 

 hairs, aa well aa similar ones on the aides ; the stigma 

 black (fig. 1). "When full fed; it ia an inch and a half 

 in length, and buries itself, forming an oval cell of earth, 

 in which it changes to a shining rust-coloured chrysalis 

 (fig. 3) to pass the winter in, and the following June, or 

 perhaps earlier, the moth hatches. By Linnaeus it was 

 named Noctua exclamationia, and ia now a member of 

 that vast family, but called Agrotis,* and by Engliah 

 collectors the Heart and Dart moth. It is of a clay- 

 colour, the winga reposing hor zontally (fig. 1 ) ; the horns 

 are like bristles, but slightly pectinated in the males ; the 

 tongue is long ; on the front of the thorax is a transverse 

 dark patch ; on the upper winga there are two waved 

 lines near the base; to theaecond isattached a long, longi- 

 tudinal, deep-brown atreak ; above it is a spot varying in 

 size and form, and beyond it a large kidney-shaped one ; 

 then follow a transverse, pale, waved line ; and near the 

 cilia is a more irregular one ; the under winga are white, 

 the upper margin and nervures brown ; but in the female 

 these wings are entirely dark-brown ; their expanse is 

 1 1 inch. 



The caterpillar of A. aegetum is more cylindrical than 

 the foregoing species ; the sides are greener, and there 

 are three black dots by the stigma ; but for the present I 

 must refer the reader to the " Royal Agricultural Journal" 

 for figures and descriptions of this species. f 



It has been pretty well ascertained that salt and water 

 will drive away these caterpillara ; lime-water, and an infu- 

 sion of Tobacco, are also distasteful to them. It appears 

 that soot would be a great protection to Turnips and Cab- 

 bage crops, if applied early in the year, and laid an inch 

 thick on the surface. If 1 lb. of soap be dissolved in 16 

 gallons of soft water, and applied warm to the infested 

 ground, especially round the roots, the Surface Cater- 

 pillars will dart out of their burrow8, and may thus be 

 readily collected ; but no time must be lost, as they will 

 retire under-ground as soon as its effects have aubsided. 

 Hand-picking is alao unquestionably the most effective 

 means of ridding a field of this pest ; it may be carried 

 into effect either at night, when they come out to feed, or 

 by day they may be searched for under stones and clods, 

 and if the earth be scraped away from the bulbs, multi- 

 tudes will be discovered in an infested field. Ducks and 

 poultry would also assist in reducing their numbers. The 

 pupae are so aecurely protected in their tomba that it is 

 perhaps impossible to assail them, and any means of at- 

 tracting the moths at night by fires, by old sugar hogsheads, 

 or boards smeared with beer and sugar, although it might 

 tend to the capture and destruction of vast numbers, yet 

 it would effect little, it is to be feared, as the males alone 

 would thus fall a sacrifice, the females remaining, with 

 few exceptions, in obscurity. — Ruricola. 



ROSE GARDEN No. XVIII. 



(Continued from page 604.) 



Planting Out. — Having thus brought our subject to a 

 close, as to the operative part, in preparing and perfect- 

 ing the tree, it may not be amiss to spend a few moments 

 in the consideration of the effect expected to be produced 

 by it when planted out. 



There are three causes of beauty in a tree— shape, 

 foliage, and flowers. Shape (to a certain degree) is ar- 

 tificially obtained, foliage and flowers must depend upon 

 species ; the foliage is the more permanent, the flower 

 the more striking. Planting out, then, must depend 

 entirely upon the effect desired, and the taste of the 

 party planting, as to variety of foliage, height, flower, 

 its colour, and continuity ; a tree with rambling shoots 

 suits one place, and with a cauliflower head another. 

 Tree Roses never look well iu a round clump ; they must 



* Curtis'a Brit. Ent. f taL and pi., 1&. t Vol. iv. p. 106, pL G. 



