THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



g 84 T titj UAKvrjnrjixy ^xxxvv^x,^^ 



_:ii «£* k„ n«<.»iiar« to enter, at ant late for the present, vigorous. 



[Oct. 12, 



improper Biuiauuno. a»w mmm~ questio 

 -will not be necessary to enter, at any late for the present 

 We must now say a few words on a very important 

 constituent part of Fungi, to which attention has not 

 always been paid— I mean that part known under the name 

 of Spawn, or Mycelium, which produces the fruit. In 

 general, the portion of the Fungus which appears ex- 

 ternally, and to the casual eye, the whole Fungus, is the 

 fruit— a fact which has given rise to the notion that Fungi 



J «:« of fructification, and has caused them to 

 consist entiu, ,» famous plajjts, which 



be compared with such ph»u.; auiw ** \ A Raf . 



indeed arc perfectly analogous, as Hydnora an*, 

 flesia. But this portion often exists, even for years, 

 without producing fruit, and either in its normal state, 

 or one of excessive luxuriance, gives rise to various sap. 

 posed genera, which, as they are destitute of fruit and 

 ire mere states of transition, or what have hew called 

 anamorphoses (tnafts, over-luxuriant but incomplete con- 

 ditions)of higber species, will be studiously excluded from 

 .ystematic arrangements by every philosophic botanist, 

 though they arc far from being devoid of interest m 

 other points of view. And even where the fruit has been 

 fully formed and passed through its se*ral stages from 

 the first bud to ultimate decay, the mycelium itself 

 remains to produce again, so soon as circumstances 

 favour the peculiar combination of atmospheric pheno- 

 mena necessary for their dfcvclflpmenr, a fresh crop 

 of fruit. It is thus that the largest trees are infested for 

 T ears with incipient Fungi, without any outward sign of 

 their existence, till unexpectedly the pileus or fruit bursts 

 forth, and the work of destruction is certain and speedy. 

 It is the mycelium which constitutes what is called Mush- 

 room spawn | and the fungous stones of Italy which, when 

 wa'ered, produce at pleasure a crop of edible Fungi. It 

 is this again which in the entophyllous* Fungi traverses 

 the cells° (as represented in the accompanying sketch), 

 waiting only fit propor- 

 tions of heat and mois- 

 ture to make their appear- 

 ance, to the detriment of 

 our harvest. I am not 

 aware that the subject has 

 at present been properly 

 investigated, but there can 

 he little doubt that the 

 tak-coloured plants of 

 corn, which may be pro- 

 nounced beforehand as 

 certain to be attacked in 

 due time by their peculiar 

 parasites, would, if ex- 

 amined as soon as this 

 appearance is manifested, 

 show evident indications 

 of the lurking mycelium. 

 At a later stage of growth, 

 when the enemy is merely 

 waiting for a happy mo- 

 ment in which to declare 

 himself, the observation of 



the mycelium is easy 



enough. 



I have not attempted to 



give any definition of the 



term Fungi. In bodies of 



Opening buds to be cut off 

 and thrown away previous 

 to the insertiou of the scions 

 in the clay. 



Piece or scio?; ? lace<i in 

 the clay to b3 cut off at the 

 time of grafting;. 





1 



such various forms and Pucc 5 nia gra mini 

 habits, it is almost impos- dew), with it 3 



Y 



7 



is (common mil- 



1 mycelium pene- 



Sible to give a faultless trati'rig the subjacent cells ; from 



definition; and however Corcla - 



easy it is to criticise, it is very difficult to improve- 

 Indeed some Fungi and Lichens approach so near to 

 each other, not only in outward appearance but in 

 structure, that it is merely the practised eye which 

 can determine accurately to which tribe certain indi- 

 viduals ought justly to be referred. In following up the 

 subject I sha'l first dispose of those productions which, 

 though classed with Fungi, have really no title to be so, 

 but are mere diseases of the cellular tissue of the plants 

 on which they are produc ed.-— iif. J. B . 



THE ROSE-GARDEN.— No. XIX. 



(Continued from page 620.) 



Grafting.— Where buds have failed, or a good choice 

 of scions be attainable in February, from plants which 

 require pruning, let the produce of each tree be examined 

 after cutting it in, which must in this instance be com- 

 menced two or three weeks before the usual time ; a 

 selection may then be made of those which are the 

 finest, and their thickest ends (care being taken that the 

 produce of each tree be tied in a separate bundle and 

 ticketed) placed in a lump of moist clay an inch deep ; the 

 clay must then be pinched tight round them, and the whole 

 placed in a potful of earth (above two-thirds of the shoot 

 being left free) until ready for use. It must be remem- 

 bered that at the end of each shoot there will probably 

 be one or more buds open ; these must be carefully cut 

 off from the shoot, or they will infallibly exhaust the 



Let the shoots remain for three weeks in an outhouse, 

 or any other place, neither very dry nor very damp, 

 whore neither wind nor sun can come in contact with 

 them ; the cl«y being damped with a sparing hand, if 

 the generality of the scions appear to shrink. During 

 the first week in March the head of the stock (in which 

 the sap should be beginning to rise), is to be cut off hori- 

 zontally ; a slit made in it, straight downwards, of a couple 



of inches, or an inch and a half long, 

 without injuring the sides of the bark. 

 The scion is to be taken in the left hand, 

 three buds, or two if the stock be not 

 large, being left upon it ; the lower ex- 

 tremity must then be cut in 

 the shape of a wedge, the back 

 being rather the thinnest, and 

 the lowest bud about half an 

 inch above the thick end of 

 the wedge. In doing which, 

 care must be taken that the 

 bark be undisturbed ; and each 

 scion so placed that when entered in the stock 

 all the buds may point outwards, or, at any 

 rate, be in such position that the shoots from 

 them may not interfere with each other. The 

 end of a budding-knife, or a little wooden or 

 ivory wedge, may be used to open the slit in 

 the stock on one'side, and the scion, with the 

 thicktst part, or front outwards, must be 



placed in the other, care being taken 

 that the edge of the inner bark or liber 

 of the scion touches the edges of the 

 inner bark of the stock, all the way 

 down ; the wedge may then be re- 

 moved, another scion entered in its 

 place, the slit being kept open by the 

 first ; if the size of the scion be only 

 half the size of the stock, a shoulder 

 may be left to the former, and the 

 chances of success thereby increased. 

 Any number of scions may be inserted 

 in the same stock, but from one to four 

 at most are all that are desirable in the 

 present case, to cover completely the 

 head of the stock,which is apt to receive 

 much injury from the weather, if not 

 carefully attended to. The object of laying by the scions, 

 is that the stock ma y be the forwardest, and be enabled 

 to supply the sa p , and force them forward at once, instead 

 of lingering while they perish from exposure and want of 

 nourishment. But there is this advantage in claying and 

 laying by scions ; viz. the separation of the vigorous 

 from those which are weakly, which latter will sometimes 

 shrivel and go off long before they are wanted, leaving 

 their neighbours sound and healthy; this declension, 

 however, may frequently be ascribed to a deficiency of 

 moisture, from the clay having been permitted to get too 

 dry. When the shoots are on, the whole must be tied 

 up] with a bast ligature, to prevent the scions from 

 shifting, which from their wedge-like shape they will 

 have a tendency to do, when the rise of the sap swells 

 the stock, thereby diminishing the juxtaposition of their 

 respective libers, and the whole beneath the lowest bud 

 covered with grafting clay, totally excluding air, sun, 

 and rain. If the clay crack it must be renewed, not by 

 shifting, but by filling up the crack. In about six 

 months the clay may be removed, and the wound covered 

 with mixture ; this latter on no account must be omitted. 



^ t -^^ v^ ^^ 



parts Of decomposed leaves" (I wish I had done so), 

 u to one of tan ;" whereas I never mentioned the pro- 

 portion ip which they were used at all ; and I may now 

 btate that not more than one-eighth of the mass con- 

 sisted of leaves, and this indeed was only used for the 

 fruiting plants, while the succession ones were planted in 

 what Mr. H. is pleased to designate " pine tan." In 

 truth, admitting the use of tan at all, so suitable did the 

 material appear that I have not the least doubt if Mr. H. 

 had passed by at the time we were using it, he would 

 have said, " You could not make use of a finer article." 

 However, in both cases the experiment is a failure; 

 the fruiting plants were irreclaimable, and have been 

 thrown away some time ago ; the succession plants 

 began to improve as the tan decayed, but they rooted so 

 reluctantly into it that I determined to remove them, 

 and they have been growing in soil for some weeks past. 

 la taking tnem, 2£i ifc was very evident that tan, at least 

 such as I get near the Metropolis, is not suited for the 

 growth of Pine plants. Very few of the roots had ex- 

 extended beyond a few inches from the ball of earth 

 which adhered to the roots at the time of turning out the 

 plants, and these roots had a stinted and very unhealthy 

 appearance ; but, strange to say, the ball of earth was a 

 mass of fibres as fine as the roots of Heaths, and on 

 examination I find these are now progressing freely into 

 the fresh compost which surrounds them. Nothing could 

 more satisfactorily demonstrate the inutility of tan as a 

 medium for Pine plants to grow in than the great differ- 

 ence that was observable between the plants above 

 adverted to and those growing in compost in the same 

 pit. In the tan they were disgraceful, and I should hare 

 been ashamed to have shown them ; only, being planted 

 in a great measure for experiment, I was desirous of 

 showing my friends that the experiment was a failure. 

 Those planted in soil grew as luxuriantly as could be 

 desired, the roots ramifying through the soil in every 

 direction, and many of them were as thick as the pen with 

 which I am writing. No w, judging from this experiment, 

 Mr. Hamilton is surely mistaken in supposing that a 

 small quantity of leaves mixed with tan would injure it. 

 If Pines will grow in tan, which posesses no fertilising 

 properties, as is proved by the analyses of Sprengel 

 a-id other chemists, they will grow much better by an 

 admixture of leaf-mould with the tan, which is known 

 to contain most of the essential elements of vegetable 

 organism ; indeed, one of the most successful Pine- 

 growers in the country, viz., Mr. Malleson, of Clare- 

 mont, fruits all his plants in half-decomposed leaves, 

 and few persons grow Queen Pines, as a general crop, 

 iu better style. We have also the evidence of Mr. 

 Fleming, of Trentham, to the same effect Mr. Ilushton 

 is surely mistaken in his notions regarding the fertility 

 of tan : the very fact of his Fig having produced so great 

 a mass of roots in it, proves that it was not rich n 

 nutriment, or why did Nature provide so many mouths 

 (roots), with which to feed the plant ^«*>*~» 

 proves that when plants are growing in poor so 1, they 

 Lke a greater quantity of roots than wheii ^growing upon 

 a dunghill; and hence the propne y ""J*""! 

 in propagating, and of picking out p ant , 1 tended 

 for l transplanting on light sandy soil. This 1. a 

 law of nature, and therefore i«nmn.ab le. I doubt 

 not but Mr. H. has been successful w the tan 



of his neighbourhood, but he »«V^nt tan yard*! 

 curing of hides differs so much in ^.^^^^^ 

 that what may be suitable for plant culture ^ ° ne J ^ 

 in another may be poisonous to them ; and there ** as 

 we have no means of ascertaining he : purity ot tan z 



will be better to ^j^Z^Sl^^ * 



proper compost, than ran 1 Mr ; H .', letter, and 



proper comp-..., . 



Ming an improper material ^--^ fe . Q 



also from the *? nclQ J^ 



^ZSZ ^n^s^m^^tothe propriety of 



is used, 

 a concern 



congenial^ ^-heat can be — .cated ^ 

 ndeatly of ferment 8 mate " a,s > * l * ould recommend 



T St ? buf br ok. X P ck7 and Vesh sods ronghjy 

 thing but Droaen u ^ betl m 



opped, of «qa.l q-ant^',*bchjm ^ 



others. 



The exact time for removing the scions from the 

 parent tree, must depend upon the season. Some time 

 during the first three weeks in February is the usual 

 period. There does not exist an actual necessity for 

 cutting the scions until they are required for use, but 

 then if will be more difficult to select the number re- 



Home Correspondence. 



Planting Pines in Tan. — One of the greatest misfor- 

 tunes of almost all horticultural discussions is the want 

 of the disputants being just to each other, as we are too 

 frequently more desirous of obtaining a personal triumph, 

 than of yielding to the triumph of truth. From Mr. 

 Hamilton's reply to my remarks on the above subject, a 

 stranger would suppose that I had passed unmeasured 

 censure upon his whole work, whereas I have merely ex- 

 pressed my doubts, and doubts warranted by experience, 

 as to the propriety of adopting one part of the practice 

 which it inculcates. For venturing to do this, Mr. H., 



-A - * 1 11 II. 



re 



CO 



no 



chopped, oi equ«. H"""- w tll atmosphere 



a porous .tote, and al low be a P ^^ 



access to every P«* °» " » » than in compost, yet 



plant will grow quicker in I Jf" _ l * is ob , iated by the 

 when the deficiency of bottom "«" u as 



proved system of common* *n* that £ * (he 



V& SXS5 ^rSlence of bis favour- 



I compost.— Judex. b led t0 sup- 



Cabul Melons.-\s many P c0 P* e m ^ tbU , wh ich has 

 .«. from an advertisement by Mr. UWJ * the 



nuirediua state fit for use, and there is a greater chance instead of commiserating my misfortunes, lays all the 

 of their eoine off, if the weather remain cold, or the sap fault to my having used a small quantity of half decom- 

 be not immediately supplied. Scions cut when the sap posed leaves with the tan. He also misquotes my 

 is nuite down carry better and are in every way more article, and makes me say that which is not to be found 

 q '—TQiortnS inside gf leaves. lin it. Thus I am represented to have used -three 



same sort wnicu » 5' — " -- nn .r that i ne ver hcaro o 

 have not distributed ^any seed and ™^l Mclon ,, 



such a Melon as "Fleming Tre ^w it advertised, 

 until to my great surprise, at p. 649, 1 saw 



r Fleming. Trentham Gardens. ru :_ 



-L* ' &«.-Th. ^|^ u ^VcS led r me 



lalethes"on Rose-Growers Catal ^ e8 ' fpears irrecon- 



to compare them. I find ^^fj.'iSniitted to be 



i citable. But if inaccuracy of names is au 



