1844.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



651 





GERANIUM " CELESTIAL/' 



CHANDLER and SONS, Nurserymen, Vauxhall, 

 I ondon have now ready to send out young- plants of their 



. Geranium "Cblkstial," which has been so much ad. 



• d The flowers being very large, and with a beautiful white 

 throat it is one of the most conspicuous varieties that has yet 

 Sin raided. Plants, 105. 6d. each. 



C and Sons have also to offer healthy young plants of 

 CAMELLIAS of sorts, with flower-buds, at 30s. per dozen; 

 i TP*r ulants 42s. per dozen ; and good plants of the newer sorts 

 JS per dozen. Also good plants of the best sorts of CHRYSAN- 

 THEMUMS, at 12*. per dozen ; larger plants, 18*. per dozen. 

 The package included in the above prices. A remittance or 

 reference for payment in London will be expected from unknown 

 correspondents^^ 



WOODLANDS NURSERY, Maresfield, near Uckfield, Sussex. 



M. WOOD and SON have the pleasure of offer- 

 ing the following choice CAMELLIAS, which are chiefly 

 strong plants abundantly furnished with bloom-buds. They also 

 be* to inform Amateurs who are desirous of purchasing Camel- 

 lias for flowering this season, that they will now bear the tran- 

 sit better than when the buds are in a more advanced state. 

 Ctndidissima per plant— 5s, 

 Conspicua - • 3 



Coronata . • 3 



Delicatissima • . 5 

 Hetropetala alba • 3 



Imbricata . • 3 



alba . i 3 



AV 



0d< 



6 



6 







6 



6 



6 



Leana superba, p. plant 5s. Od. 

 Monarch . . .76 

 Ochroleuca . .50 



Palmer's Perfection . 7 6 

 Tricolor . . .36 

 Or one plant of each of 

 the above for . . 45 



W. W. and Son have also an extensive collection of new and 

 popular varieties, priced Catalogues of which may be had gratis 

 on application. Plants will be presented to compensate for 

 carriage. A remittance or reference is respectfully solicited 

 from unknown correspondents. 



©0* (fcarfrmirg* Chronicle* 



SATURDAY, SEPTEMB ER 28, 1844. 



MEETINGS1FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK. 

 Tpmuat, Oct. 1 Horticultural .... 3 p.m. 

 Friday, Oct. 4 Botanical .... 8 p.m. 



Any improvement that can be effected in the qua- 

 lity of Potatoes is important. Some observations 

 on the subject, at this season of the year, may possibly 

 therefore have a useful tendency. 



It is well known that in some soils, and in most 

 seasons, the produce of Potatoes is abundant and 

 their quality excellent; while in others, the quantity 

 is not deficient, but the quality is inferior ; and there 

 are situations so unfavourable, that the crop is always 

 bad in every respect. Occasionally, indeed, cold wet 

 seasons deteriorate this important crop, even in the 

 best soil on which the most skilful cultivation has 

 been bestowed. Supposing, however, that all has 

 been done which could possibly be effected in the 

 way of good cultivation, yet, when the crop is fit for 

 taking up, its proper after-management is a most 

 important consideration. 



People think that if they guard their crop from 

 frost, they have done all that can be needed ; but 

 this is a mistake of the worst kind. By improper 

 management after taking up, Potatoes of the finest 

 quality are easily spoiled ; and, on the contrary, by 

 judicious treatment, even such as are watery may be 

 much improved. It is of the first consequence that 

 ight as well as frost should be guarded against, for 

 light renders the tubers unwholesome, and that in 

 proportion to its intensity and the length of time the 

 tubers are exposed to its influence. 



1 He stems, and in fact all the parts of the Potato- 

 piant above ground are; more or less poisonous. 

 thPv IM' 6 occa »°naUy formed along the stem, but 

 emLhf' aS - we allk ? ow - green and bad. This is 

 tC^l°Z 1US ^^ heir ex P°sure to light; for had 

 such 1 b ? n J aid in the ea ' th > so as *> *»ve cov ered 

 crowth T UberS , 1 fr , 0m the commencement of their 

 C nf ti! y W ° U d have been J* ust as good as the 

 comrarv tnl^* 1 under g'°und formation. On the 

 stem beW !f nat «»Uy Produced from a part of the 

 ous co \l he SUrface ' ^though the y raa 7 be of va- 

 ^th?™ °T ardlv ' are Ranched internally, mi- 

 case the y y ? c ? u : r ^ mselv es. out of the soil. In that 

 LI I \ ea green tinge throughout, and with 



it a auaiitv t ;,^ ccu WI1 fe e mrougnout, ana 

 ^SZA*?} h " e f ^ *P~ tube» 



pro- 



It is 



in full A v 1 ""** VA " JC ai'unvua muers 



is C y Ight on the stem ab° ve g™md. 



formeriv in^ y ' not much the P ractice n °w '> but 



heaps of Z^Tpf, in London P^ticnlarly, large 



*°r sale an.l »„ .i. Potat< *s were to be seen exposed 



"ions, occasion T"? °£ Ught ' and in SOme situ " 

 tatoes even " », ? S* 6 direCt ra y s of the sun - P °- 

 considerablv V,'Z *?** s , tate > as taken U P- wil1 be 

 internallv Li d m colour - to* externally and 

 b y a few Llf P ro Portionably impaired in quality 

 although thJv ex P° sure 'o light in clear weather, 



ra ys i but the ff y not be ex P° seu to the sun's direct 

 surface i s wa l , must he much greater when the 

 afforded bv tb- and , de P riv ed of the partial shade 



°» the : paw &£** of s °"- 

 exposure L J L ve ndors, it may be argued that 



*ould soon fill T S f. ry f ° r sale; butthis argument 

 ftat, all oiher JZ ground were purchasers aware 



U * which hlve^T? ^"S tbe same - Pota - 

 an the best fo r fn S ", ffered the le ast possible exposure 



The timl .' and vice ™rsd 



l" 1 * ^read ou^h P ° tat0eS Were in man y in " 

 beh « stor?n„ in tl » .^N? 0rder t0 dr y them 



T *. for treason; ^ N ° , practice <™ ld be 

 he o^ect in v Lr^^IL 8 at ! d J a " d - moreover, 



drier and better in quality, was not attained. On 

 the contrary, although deprived of a portion of their 

 moisture in the first instance, yet this only left room 

 for the absorption of moisture contaminated with 

 gases generated in the cave. Such gases will be 

 generated in greater quantity if straw, or other vege- 

 table substances, apt to decay, are employed as a 

 covering next the Potatoes. Fine white-fleshed 

 Kidney Potatoes have been known to be tinged 

 yellow throughout in consequence of having been 

 covered with straw. The straw was no doubt dry 

 when used, but it soon acquired damp, and the con- 

 ditions of decay, from the layer of earth resting upon 

 it. Potatoes so tainted are said to taste of straw, or, 

 in other words, to possess that well-known musty 

 flavour which decaying straw communicates. The 

 bad quality imparted being so easily traced, to this 

 material, it. is surprising that straw should continue 

 to be so much employed in contact with Potatoes. 



Some persons may perhaps grant that the least 

 possible exposure to light should take place between 

 taking up and storing, and yet may consider it neces- 

 sary that Potatoes taken up in a very wet state should 

 be dried previously to being stored, in order to avoid 

 a greater evil than that resulting from exposure, 

 namely, their rotting. It has, however, been found, 

 that although Potatoes were taken up and imme- 

 diately stored in the earth, in moderate quantities, 

 with the mud so wet as to be dripping through the 

 baskets, yet those Potatoes presented as dry an ap- 

 pearance when uncovered in spring as others that 

 were stored in a dry condition. In the former case 

 it may be presumed that part of the excess of mois- 

 ture would descend ^to the bottom of the pit and 

 there drain off; moreover, that when the covering of 

 earth became colder than the Potatoes and the water 

 on their surfaces, the latter would be gradually con- 

 densed on the particles of surrounding soil, the pro- 

 cess continuing so long as the tubers maintained a 

 higher degree of temperature. 



As the season for taking up the crop is approach- 

 ing, the preceding observations may be turned to 

 account by secluding the tubers from light as expe- 

 ditiously as possible. To do this will require little 

 or no additional expense ; while great superiority in 

 the quality of the crop will be insured. 



Having thus pointed out one of the sources of 

 deterioration, it may be as well to name a means of 

 improvement. Always dry the tubers before cooking 

 them — still, however, in the dark. If a Potato is 

 weighed when fresh taken up, then laid in a dry 

 warm place for some time, and again weighed, it will 

 be found to have become lighter in consequence of 

 the evaporation of a portion of its water, and it will 

 then in boiling be more flowery. In Ireland, with 

 this in view, Potatoes, when watery, are often taken 

 out of the caves and kept in a dry place for a few 

 weeks, and a great improvement is the consequence. 

 The French are aware of the same fact A writer 

 in the Revue Horticole says — "In unfavourable 

 seasons, Potatoes are often found to be watery and 

 without flavour, although cooked with the greatest 

 care. In this case the mode of effecting an amelio- 

 ration is easy ; it consists in placing them near a 

 stove or oven for about a week previously to their 

 being used. At tbe end of that time they will be 

 found mealy and of good flavour." Objects of vast 

 importance are sometimes attained by very simple 

 means ; and we regard that to which the foregoing 

 remarks apply as one by no means undeserving con- 

 sideration. — JR. 



REMARKS ON Mr. HOARE'S NEW BOOK ON 



THE VINE. 



I have just met, for the first time, with this book ; 

 and, with all due deference to Mr. Hoare, I would wish 

 to make a few remarks on certain passages. Before ven- 

 turing, however, on such a liberty I must observe, that 

 so far from denying any of the first principles in the 

 cultivation of this valuable fruit, on which Mr. H. takes 

 his stand, I would wish to add my testimony to their 

 immense importance. No writer has, in my opinion, 

 ever thrown so much light on the habits of the Vine 

 before, and his work will, I make no doubt, silently effect 

 as great a change in the culture of Vines (confined as it 

 has been to mere rules), as Mr. Hamilton's book is likely 

 to do in the culture of the Pine-apple, when his system 

 shall be thoroughly appreciated. New systems, however, 

 frequently push things to inconvenient extremes j and it 

 is this that I wish to notice. 



Constant and uniform action of root in the growing 

 season is, no doubt, as Mr. H. justly observes, the great 

 desideratum ; the greatest obstacle to this in our climate 

 is undoubtedly those dashing rains which occur in most 

 summers, and by which the ground is saturated and 

 choked for sometimes a week or a fortnight together ; in 

 which case those borders must be well drained and con- 

 stituted indeed, in which the rootlets do not become dis- 

 coloured and lose part of their lively action. Thorough 

 drainage, shallow borders of not more than a foot, a due 

 attention to the mechanical texture of the soil, with a 

 judicious application of top-dressings of rich rotten 



view, that nf r«rwi • ' .t % moreover » manure in times of drought, will be found, I imagine, 

 ' mat 0f rend enng them ultimately the surest recipe in our cool and damp climate. 



damp 



I should recommend those inexperienced in Vine- 

 border making, to compromise Mr. H.'s plan, by using 

 abundance of his materials at the bottom of the compost 

 over the drainage, and uniting the well-known perma- 

 nency of chopped turf from very old pastures, with the 

 porosity of the other materials, for one foot on the sur- 

 face. In this case it would be advisable to use Mr. H/» 

 rough materials in larger lumps. 



At page 21 of Mr. Hoare'sworkhe makes some excel- 

 lent remarks on what takes place in the great majority 

 of cases with early-forced Vines, the roots of which are 

 outside. But here I conceive that in adhering too tena- 

 ciously to his own doctrines, he has, with that ardour 

 peculiar to those who make new discoveries, somewhat 

 overcharged the consequences of the old and erroneous 

 method. Erroneous ! Yet, strange to say, excellent 

 Grapes have been obtained by it, and that in a host of 

 cases. Not that I would by any means advocate it, but 

 all facts bearing on so important a subject should be 

 freely stated. 



Now, Mr. H. seems to consider that it is what he terms 

 " the maturative power " alone that is drawn upon in 

 this case, and that the vegetative power has no 

 part or lot in the affair. Now, the Scotch folk have a 

 saying, I think, that will nearly describe the position 

 such Vines are placed in, viz., " all going out of the meal 

 tub, and none putting in, soon gets to the bottom.'' 



I have seen an old Willow truncheon as thick as any 

 ordinary-sized tree, lie in a humid situation after being 

 felled, and there vegetate for several years. However, had 

 this Willow carried annually many pounds weight of 

 fruit in such a situation, it would, I have no doubt, 

 received its quietus betimes. 



If, therefore, the following quotations be correct, a 

 Vine truncheon would force as well as an established 

 plant with roots. Thus, Mr. H. on this subject says :— 

 " Unless, therefore, artificial means be used to make the 

 roots move before their natural time, an early-forced Vine 

 will present the very singular anomaly of having produced 

 a vast mass of foliage and a matured crop of Grapes, 

 before the roots can have contributed anything towards 

 their support." 



I have been thus prolix merely to exhibit the case 

 fairly, and to say in conclusion, that in my opinion the 

 reciprocal action between root and branches is much 

 greater than Mr. H. supposes ; or Vines that have come 

 * within our ken " could never have existed as they have 

 done, and yet carry crops. The vital energies of plants 

 are amazing, or how could they contend with the various 

 difficulties with which they are beset ? 



Mr. H., at this section of his book, speaks of short- 

 jointed wood, the well known criterion of fruitfulness in 

 most trees. In allusion to a bundle of Vine cuttings re- 

 ceived from Spain, he most judiciously describes, and 

 proves the influence of heat (day ?), and more especially 

 light, in producing such wood. This is all excellent ; and 

 I could only lament one thing, viz., his omission of the 

 injurious effects of overhigh night temperature, about 

 which he has said nothing. Now, the matters of heat 

 and light being entirely relative, are not to be handled 

 in an abstract and cursory way. However, we have 

 been so long hedged about with mere rules, that we dare 

 not boldly descend to the night temperature which Na- 

 ture herself prescribes ; and why ? If we should fail, all 

 the world would laugh, while our employers would frown. 

 Now, having less solar light in the day than in tropical 

 climates, there exists a greater occasion for even less 

 night heat than nature points to, in those climes where 

 the Vine in indigenous. 



At page 15, Mr. H. says: — " In no part of the world 

 can a Vine be made to produce a single Grape more than 

 it otherwise would do, by the exclusive agency of any- 

 thing added to the soil, in the shape of a stimulant, ex- 

 cept under the circumstances hereafter mentioned." 

 Admitted : but stimulants may, in this case, yea, and do 

 increase the size of the berry, and consequently the ulti- 

 mate produce ; and fine swelled berries are, and perhaps 

 ever will be, highly esteemed. 



I have much doubt about the utility of Mr. H.'s 

 cylinders, or columns, of which he treats at page 64. 

 This mode, by its simplicity, may recommend itself in 

 some of the southern counties, but can never spread 

 very far. Absorption of heat during sunshine, and the 

 consequent radiation after, enhancing the value of the 

 atmosphere in the immediate neighbourhood of the ab- 

 sorption, is of such value to tender fruits, that no plan 

 by which the solar heat may be dispersed as fast as it 

 accumulates, can be expected to answer ; and this objec- 

 tion I imagine the column would be liable to. Blow 

 from what quarter it choosed, the wind would eddy round 



the column. 



I feel assured that shanking, shrivelling, want of colour, 



and a host of other evils, are produced by irregular and 

 imperfect action of the root in the growing season, chiefly 

 through glutting rains causing for a while utter stagna- 

 tion in soils of bad mechanical construction, almost im- 

 pervious to the atmosphere, and of course averse to the 

 passage of moisture. I care little in comparison about 

 the imagined evils of inside temperature, only do not 

 burn the leaves for want of air, or keep too high a night 

 temperature, and the rest I would regard as secondary 

 considerations. — Robert Errington, Outton* [We are 

 glad to find an experienced gardener like Mr. E. enter- 

 tain opinions so similar to our own, which were printed 

 before the above observations re ached n s.] 

 PRUNING FOREST-f REEsTas PRAC1TSEIV BY 



Dr. THACKERAY IN HIS PLAMATIO.NS 



AT NERQUIS, IN FLINTSHIRE. 



A great deal having lately been written in praise of 

 these plantations, and about the mode of pruning them 



