638 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



u H. L>.»" wbo complains tint turpentine had not 

 killed his wasps, {ante p. 621,) stop up both holes? as 

 ■wasps have generally two entrances to their nest, at 

 without both are closed the fumes of the turpentine 

 could not of course act. I can speak to its complete 

 success if properly attended to. — D. 



Strawlerries. — Respecting the cutting off the leaves 

 of Strawberries, I beg to mention that in a border con- 

 taining 45 beds of the following kinds, viz., Keen's Seed- 

 ling, Downton, Ro»eberry, Wilmot's Superb, Pine, 

 Hautboy, Myatt's Pine, Elton Seedling, Carolina, and 

 Knevet's Seedling, after the fruit was gathered last 

 autumn, I mowed the leaves off every second bed, and 

 raked them off lightly, making straight the sides of the 

 bed*, and hoeing the alleys ; I then threw the soil over 

 the beds that had been loosened with the hoe ; the other 

 beds had nothing done to them except weeding when it 

 was necessary. During this season there was no differ- 

 ence between the crop on the beds that had not been 

 touched, and that on those which had had the leaves mowed 

 off. I have had the management of Strawberries for 

 pearly CO years, and I have for the most part grown them 

 in 4-feet beds, and, except near walks, I have treated 

 the*" as above, and I have always fine crops of excellent 

 fruit. As to manure, I never thought of it, except for 

 AAjAtt's Pine ; I always found my plants to grow quite 

 Strnug though, and even rather more so than I could 

 L»vc wisfr '1. On Strawberries grown in beds the fruit 

 5* always eh *n, which is not the case with that on single 

 fr.ws; be." the small quantity of soil spread over the 



plan's froi 3 alleys, supports and strengthens them, 

 as well as assists the young runners in striking root. I 

 have ssVavs found the produce cf the third year after 

 plar ug the best. I am sure that the bed system of 

 cu.iure is the most suitable in every respect for market- 

 gardeners : the produce is neaily double that of single- 

 row culture. I have read the remarks at p. 555, 1843, 

 which I consider excellent; but as I have always 

 obtained good crops from my old method, I still con- 

 tinue to practise it. — J. II. 



Cats and Valerian.— With regard to Valerian and 

 cats, a correspondent signing himself <« Autumnus," by 

 way of suggestion, writes :— " Might not gamekeepers 

 nse bundles of Valerian to catch wild cats in the cover ? 

 Might not th«5 owners of barus, outhouses, ships, and 

 other places infes'ed with rats, use the Valerian to as- 

 semble their enemies, and our friends the cats ?" 

 I Scorching Effects of the Sun.— In the Chronicle I 

 have read, with some surprise, statements which 1 have 

 thought resulted from want of observation, upon the spot 

 on Vine lraves, &c. Nothing coincided with my prac- 

 tical observation except the paragraph by "Vidimus," 

 p. 540, which I see, unfortunately for my own opinion, 

 you do not encourage. You say, How do the lenses get 

 into focus? Another question appears to me to answer 

 this—Do not the drops of water shift and change their 

 form, and run down the glass before they can act? It 

 is not while the glass is cohered with steam sufficient to 

 form streams, and constant and frequent droppings of 

 water, that the injury is done, for the course of these 

 drops is devious ; a larger drop of steam being added to 

 the current, one hastens as well as directs it progress 

 and the leaves upon which these drops fall bein| still 

 moist, the additional moisture readily spreads nv r \ 

 larger surface than it would do if iney were dry, and a 



K vT B - abs0Ipti ° n S place ; L g Ll 

 nnon if? ° Y f" greeS ; DUt lar * e dr °P s of water will hang 



upuu it l0r a j ong tlme aftef the gun hag dr . ed the gui 



founding surface ; these tremble, oscillate, sparkle like 

 brilliant suns, sometimes drop, sometimes run, and, 

 meeting at the next fold cf the glass a little more mois- 

 ture, or on the flat pane a dew-drop, there stop, either 

 to oscillate into the focus to form a burning-glass under 

 Which the foliage suffers, or, the addition being too great, 

 it runs forward and drops, or is evaporated at a fold, or 

 Stands till it can get through, performing its work of de- 

 struction. My observations were made upon a Melon- 

 pit, 17 feet by 7 feet wide ; and, as I was the sole worker 

 of it, the spots and mildew or fungus proved an annoy- 

 ance ; and when I searched gardening books I was no 

 Wiser. Gardeners said, with great composure, "We all 

 have the same complaint ; there is no remedy but pulling 

 off the spotted leaves ; it may be a flaw in the glass, &c. ;" 

 and I was no better off, but resolved to have some idea 

 of the truth. My pit was constructed with a flagged 

 footway at the back, from which the centre could °be 

 reached ; this I mounted to make my observations, and 

 the result was as above. Then for the remedy. My 

 frames were made so that I could let air or steam out 

 at the upper part, without admitting a thorough draft by 

 «!? l? tr * nce ° f / ir at the bottom ; and by thus permitting 



ffiso whi i Ii WatCred fr ° m * t0 9 °' clot *' A ' M " 



swelling, at 5 or 6 o'c ock and 4 in' 2 T ""1°* ""x 

 never failed having abundant els of 2S ^f' I 

 grown fruit. With the P ers ?an \\l S H 1 *™"* well- 

 same pit I wasequaily succe si, rttefnZT ^ 

 ■bowing themselves. In the same frame I have &? ' 

 the Manchester Green Spine Cucumbe^o it^n? 

 and had six seven, and eight to cut at once of this sifi 

 while my Melons were setting and growing • but J! 

 the Cucumber V.nes began to interfere with the Melon. 

 I cut them up or cut them to one stem, and trained it 

 along the bottom of the pit below where the Melons run 

 I worked my frame with what gardeners called a scald 

 ing heat, but I never had a twig hurt by it, and my pit 

 was never filled till April, yet I could generally obtain 

 two crops of fruit off the same roots.— A. W. 



Destroying Worms. — In the Calendarof Operations of 

 •he 7th, " D. B." directs gardeners to look over all their 

 plants in pots, in order to see if the drainage is right, 

 and that there are no worms in them. This is attended 

 with some disadvantage, especially if the plants have 

 bad large shifts, and have not had time to fill the pots 

 with roots. Let persous be ever so careful in turning a 

 a plant out of the pot, they are sure to disengage the 

 drainage. 1 have been much annoyed by worms getting 

 into my cutting pots, and on turning over a compost 

 heap, on which I had put a small quantity of gas- 

 water, and finding that there was scarcely a worm to be 

 seen, I took four gallons of gas-water and poured it 

 over the bottom of a three-light box, which I was about 

 to use for cuttings ; over this I spread about four inches 

 of sifted cinders, and the result has been equal to my 

 expectations ; not a worm has dared to come through as 

 yet. The gas-water covered over to that depth has not 

 affected the cuttings, neither is there the least disagree- 

 able smell from it. On no account, however, use gas- 

 water in any house, pit, or frame, without covering it 

 over with some kind of material, or it is sure to destroy 

 your plants. When I fill my tan-beds, I intend putting 

 a quantity of gas-water all over the bark, about a foot 

 below the surface, and also below all plants standing 

 out of doors — A. Threlheld, Headingly House. 



Bees. — As the questions put by " A Lover of Truth'' 

 (p. 572) appear to me not to be satisfactorily answered, I 

 beg leave to say a few words on the subject. Dr. Bevan 

 and others say that a queen-bee lays three soris of 

 eggs, and that slie knows what sort of eggs she is going 

 to lay. Ic is even stated that queens commence to lay 

 drone-eggs at certain seasons of the year, and that the 

 great laying takes place about the beginning of May. 

 Last year I hinted that a queen lays only oue sort of 

 eggs, and this I still affirm. In March or April take a 

 strong and a weak stock, containing equal quantities of 

 drone-comb, occupying the same place in each hive ; 

 the strong one will commence to breed drones about 

 four weeks sooner than the other. Exchanging the 

 queens will make no difference. If one hive contain 

 double the number of drone-cells, double the number of 

 drones will be bred in it, even though the queens are ex- 

 changed. If we were to place a bit of drone-comb in 

 the centre of the weak stock, where brood is just hatched, 

 it would breed drones before the strong one. " A Lover 

 of Truth" will now, I think, naturally and justly con- 

 clude that the season of drone-breeding, and the number 

 of drones bred, do not depend on the laying or eggs of 

 the queen, but on the situation and number of drone- 

 cells in the hive, and that if the comb which he speaks 

 of had consisted solely of worker-cells, there would per- 

 haps not have been a single drone hatched in it. It would, 

 however, be uncandid not to acknowledge that a pretty 

 weighty objection can be brought against this assertion, 

 viz , that the queen-bee lays only one sort of egg ; but I 

 imagine that this will not overturn it, and that those 

 who dispute this point will find it difficult to maintain 

 their assertions by fact and argument. — A. Pettigrcw. 



Cape Iridaccce.—l have flowered a few of these for ' 

 several years with uniform success. Mv gia-jj means 

 and directions . rg as f ollow : _ L : sren (o n0 printed and 



reprinted ^stories abcv.t- co ld frames and south borders. 

 The cold frame plan is uncertain at best ; and as to the 

 south borders, look at your Ixias after a thunder shower. 

 The place for the delicate and lovely little things is the 

 greenhouse, where their frail beauty will bloom unruffled, 

 and will be, as it invariably is, the attraction of all eyes 

 on entering the house. Purchase selected roots from a 

 respectable seedsman every year ; get them as soon in 

 the season as you can, and pot them immediately in any 

 of the prescribed composts, provided it be turfy, sandy, 

 *nd peaty, and mixed with cow-dung. — Micklewtll. 



Sulphate of Iron. —Your Leading Article of some two 

 or three weeks since, on this subject, has misled some 

 men who pin their faith on your judgment. You stated 

 it could not cost more thin 41. 4s., but I find from my 

 invoice that a ton costs 51. 11*;; and one of the first 

 manure merchants in London writes — "I am of opinion 

 its general application or its cheapness cannot be put in 

 competition with sulphuiic achl"— Suffolk. [We re- 

 peat that sulphate of iron can be had of Mr. W. North- 

 cott, 13, Rood-lane, Fenchurch-streeD, at from 3/. 15s. 

 to 4/. 4s. a ton, according to the quantity taken. It is 

 much more convenient to employ than sulphuric acid, as 

 well as more useful; because it decomposes sulphuretted 



hydrogen and removes bad smells, which sulphuric acid 

 will not do.] 



[ S »T. 21, 



was awarded to Lady p a «, ef r . ~ 



Burnham Hero, WuLnT^ *? -""P** ** 

 Sir Robert Sale, Mrs. SheheV Ad ^i^ *** 

 Antagonist, Aurantia, Uod™tF'™? lnl Su >I>C 

 Prince of Wales-Mr. Bushell Tk^ 1Dd *« 

 tained a small Silver Medal for the foSo ^"' * 

 Emma. Hamnstead Rival. A^;'i £ e foI1 °»»l". rb„ 



H 



rsonpare.i, Uxbridge Magnet, Beauty of 



Mrs. Hanley -To other stands no names were attach 

 Several seedlings were MhiKiK^ u... _ . a «*chei 



Sussex, tai 



quality. Several blooms of a very fine seed In J*^ 

 named Pizarro, was exhibited by Mr ThoTotn* r> 

 to which a first class Certificate was awarded Th '•*' 

 well- formed flower, of considerable substance 11* 

 clear yellow with good eye ; the top petals aw of ?2£ 

 bronzy purple with a broad margin of the same colS 

 surrounding the ower petals ; the side petals mt«Z 

 above the eye, where the belting joins, nfaking 3^2 

 of the ground colour complete ; a rich and fine flo^r 

 A very pretty variety of the Petunia was shown na^ 

 'nvtnctble having a light rosy-lilac ground, with ,£* 

 throat, and a broad margin of rose colour on the marrin rf 

 the corolla : if amntiint thi« »;n f e ? ar 8 ,n * 



Misce 

 fa 



' l — » — -1-'. ■7-"7 ° IU1 6 C onver Medal for 



well-grown specimens of Achimenes longiflora, t faZ 

 plant of Crowea saligna, in good health, but sarceS 

 bloom; a neat specimen of Erica rupestris, a dwarf- 

 growing species, having small white flowers, and a prettv 

 dark-green foliage ; together with ClirTortiana, covered 

 with a profusion of slender white blossoms, delicately 

 tinged with pink ; and cruenta, a very useful autumn- 

 flowering sort. Mr. Bruce also sent several species of 

 Clerodendron, among which was a beautiful speciaien of 

 squamatum, having a fine head of scarlet flowers ; an 

 excellent plant of Erythrina Crista-galli, having eight 

 stems loaded with bloom; a large Ixora coccinea, Justicia 

 oblongata, and a plant of Pancratium fragrans, well 

 managed, together with some others, in equally good 

 condition. — A Middle Silver Medal was awarded 

 to Mr. Hamp, gr. to J, Thorn, Esq., for a second 

 group, comprising among others a small but healthy 

 specimen of Gardoquia Hookeri ; a good Crowea saligna ; 

 Achimenes grandiflora in good condition ; and Portulaci 

 splendens, producing beautiful purple flowers ; together 

 with a pretty plant of Angelonia salicarisefolia, and a 

 specimen of Lilium lancifolium album. — In the Nursery- 

 men's class the best collection was sent by Mr. Jennings, 

 of South Lambeth ; it consisted chiefly o( Petunias and 

 Fuchsias, among which was Exoniensis in fair condition, 

 along with the different kindj of Achimenes, and some 

 Roses. — Mr. Jennings also contributed a group of 

 Fuchsias ; the sorts were Exoniensis, Halley's King 

 John, EnpeUj Epps's Bridgroom, and Kentish Bride ; 

 Smith's Paragon, Dalsicr.".. Stanwelliana, Brockmanii, 

 Gem, Compacta, excelsa, and Ivcryana.— The large 

 Silver Medal offered for the best specimen plants of six 

 distinct Genera, was awarded to Mr. Bruce, for a beauti- 

 ful small plant of Erica Aitoniana, heari -,g a profusion of 

 pretty white blossoms; Ixora grandiflora ; a fine Clero- 

 dendron squamatum, and a plant of Pentas carnea in 

 good condition ; together with Russelia juncea, and a 

 plant of Siphocampylus betulifolius. Mr. Bruce also 

 showed, as a single specimen, a magnificent plant 

 of Witsenia corymbosa.— G. T. Cox, Esq., of Stock- 

 well, received a Middle Silver Medal, for plants of 

 Angelonia salicariee'olia, Justicia oblongata, Gompho- 

 carpus salicifolius, and a plant of the showy Aphelandra 

 cristata.— Collections of Orchidac se were exhibited Dy 

 Mr. Schroder and Mr. Cox. In Mr. Schroder s group, 

 which was the best, we observed good specimens ox 

 Odontoglossum grande, and Stanhopea Wardn, the latter 

 producing a fine spike of flowers ; along with tattieyi 



intermedia, in fair condition. Mr. Cox sent, aoong 



^ L .i tj«,-:«,«r,if« in n creditable 



others, the showy Cattleya Hairisonise, in a creditawe 

 state; Cymbidium giganteum^ and a plant wJ^JJJ 

 tricolor.— Mr. Groom, " *" f """" 



Sbocfete*. 



ROYAL SOUTH LONDON FLORICULTUIUL 



SOCIETY. 



^: i 1 . 7 -T T y s Eshib »tion, the last for the season, 

 was h.ld in the Surrey Zoological Gardens. The display 

 of Dahlias, which always form the principal feature of 

 the September Meeting, was not upon so extensive a 

 scale as on former occasions. The Chelmsford Show 

 having been appointed for the same day kept some of the 

 usu.l exhibitors away; but the genera! appearance of 

 the stands was good, and several of them excellent 

 The Silver Cup, vdue 5/. 5s. presented by the Committee 

 for the best 24 Dahlias, was awarded to Mr. Cook for 

 Princess Roy d, Perpetual Grand, Phenomenon, Prince 

 of Wales, Mrs. Shelley, Model of Perfection, Widnall's 

 Queen, Admiral Stopford, Competitor, Essex Triumph 

 Burnham Hero, Nonpareil, Standard of Perfection' 

 Queen of Trumps, Victory of Sussex, Indispensable," 

 Crimson Perfection, Beauty of Sussex, Hero of Stone- 

 henge, Blje Bonnet, Lady Antrobus, Pet Rival, Favourite 



and President of West. — Among Amateurs the 1st Prize ^ shown by Mr. Chapman. 



of Clapham Rise, pro 

 several small but handsome specimens of Lilium lancifo- 

 lium rubrum or speciosum, which is one of ^the mfl in 

 beautiful of our autumn-flowering plants.— 1 he iarg 

 Silver Medal given by Mr. Groom to amateurs for »c 

 best specimen of either variety of Lilium lanci:olium , was 

 awarded to Mr. Schroder, for a plant of L. lancifolium 

 album.— Among miscellaneous objects was a cone - 

 tion of well-bloomed Cockscombs, from Mr. Scorer, 

 and another was contributed by Mr. Atterton, who aw 

 showed a group of Globe Amaranth us.-Mr. Jennug 

 sent some dwarf Cacti; and Mr. Bridges obtain 

 a middle Silver Medal for the best twelve Asters. 1 

 first prize for the best collection of cut flowers among 

 amateurs was awarded to Mr. Davis ; among ^genW 

 men's gardeners to Mr. Bruce; and among nu serym 

 to Mr. Wood. Mr. Parsons obtained a middle SiW 

 Medal for the best twelve bunches of cut Roses , an 

 the nurserymen's class Mr. Paul was awarded la mm 

 Sdver Medal for the same.-Of Fruit and Vbgetabu; 

 some good samples were exhibited. Among gentle me n 

 gardener. Mr. kay obtained a -iddle Sdver ^ £l£ 

 the best four sorts of fruit ; and Mr. Atte on w 

 awarded the same for vegetables. Among nurs.ryni 

 Mr. Bursill and Mr. Gaines were first. Mr. rar 

 received a middle Silver Medal for good ;P« C1 »£* 

 Black Hamburgh and Muscat of Alexandria G^ 

 and fair bunches of Black Hamburgh Grapes were v 













