



1844.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



were still a great number of copies of the " Flora 01 

 Yorkshire" on hand. Such works ought to be encou- 

 raged, as they were of great importance to the botany ot 

 a district. He then made some remarks on the new 

 plants referred to by Mr. Moore, and agreed with him in 

 condemning many of the alterations made in the names of 

 plants published in the Catalogue of a Botanical Society 

 in London. — Professor Balfour also pointed out 

 several errors in the list referred to. lie stated, with 

 regard to the Orobanche rubra, that he kuew that it 

 grew upon the greywacke, and it could not now be re- 

 garded as a plant peculiar to basaltic formations. It 

 was parasitic on the roots of Thymus serpyllum. 



(To be concluded next week.) 



REGENT'S PARK GARDENERS 1 SOCIETY. 



The further discussion of Morphology at the open 

 meetings in the rooms of this Society took place on the 

 evening of the 22d inst. The meeting was very fully at- 

 tended. Mr. T. Moore moved, as an amendment to the 



to Morpho- 



of every well-informed chemist; and who but chemists 



can you admit to be competent judges in questions of 

 this kind :" M 



The great faults of the book are its want of an Index, 

 which very much diminishes its utility, and the slight 

 way in which some of the more practical matters, such 

 for example as the action of sulphuric acid, are passed 

 over. This, which is one of the most important agents 

 that the farmer and gardener can command, is dismissed 

 in something less than two pages. It might very well 

 have occupied twenty. 



719 



To the descriptive Rose Catalogues noticed last week, 

 we have now to add that of Mr. Francis, Nurservman, 

 Hertford. It occupies 18 pages, closely printed, and is 

 divided into, 1. Sorts that flower in May, June and July : 

 and 2. Such as bbssom from July till November. To 

 these are added Climbing Roses flowering early and late. 



original resolution (which was in opposition 

 logy, as propounded in Dr. Lindley's " Outlines of Bo- 

 tany") — "That the objections urged against the doc- 

 trines of Morphology are neitherscientific nor satisfactory, 

 and consequently the principles it maintains are entitled 

 to the further and candid investigation of all those who 

 are desirous of increasing their knowledge of the struc- 

 ture and functions of plants.'' Mr. Caie seconded the 

 amendment. The meeting was also addressed at some 

 length by Messrs. Sherwood, Maher, Ayres, and C. 

 Moore, in favour of the amendment ; and by Messrs. 

 Reid, Fitzpatrick, &c. in support of the resolution. On 

 a division, the amendment was negatived by 18 to 15, 

 about the same number remaining neutral. The resolu- 

 tion was afterwards carried by a small majority. — M. 

 [We are not surprised at this result : the ignorance of 

 the opponents of Morphology has been all along so enor- 

 mous, that it is impossible to reason with them. They 

 are incapable of comprehending an argument ; besides, 

 wiseacres always outnumber men of sense.] 



COUNTRY SHOWS. 



North Dvon Horticultrcral Society, Sept. 18. -This was the 

 Autumnal Meeting:. From the garden or C. Roberts, Esq., was 

 a great variety of plants ; among- which were— Crinum amabile, 

 Achimcnes peduneulata, A. grandiflora, Hibiscus Cameronii, 

 F.pacris variabilis, Fuchsia exoniensis, Rondeletia speciosa 

 Begonia floribunda, Cattleya Forbesii, and Russelia juncea. 

 A tine Ixora bandhuca was exhibited, from Castle-hill. Mrs. 

 Col. Mason sent Brugmansia sanguinea. A specimen of 

 Renantheracoccinea was shown, frcm the garden of E. Roberts, 

 Esq. Several Prize3 were awarded, but we have only been 

 furnished with a list of awards without the names of the 

 flowers lot which they were given. 



Miscellaneous. 



Guano ; its Action upon the Growth of Various 

 Plants, Fruits, etc. By J. E. Teschemacher.— The 

 ultimate object of vegetable life appears to me to be the 

 production of seed ; to this purpose, and to accumulate 

 the properties and ingredients for the formation and per- 

 fection of this seed, the root, stem, leaf, and flower are 

 devoted, each performing its destined gradual part, until, 

 by their united efforts, brought into action by soil, light, 

 heat, and moisture, this object is attained; exteiior 

 vegetable action then declines until anoth r season. 

 Experiment has shown that plants grown on mere sand. 

 with the assistance of water, will throw out stem, leaf, 

 and flower, nay, even the forms of seed, but these will be 

 mere integuments, empty vesicles or little bladders ; also 

 that by constantly stimulating, with peculiar manure, we 

 can throw plants into such uninterrupted luxuriance of 

 shoots and foliage, that often the flowers, and more often 

 the seeds, do not appear within the limits of the season. 

 Combining these views with others on the production of 

 double flowers, and with some suggested by varior. 

 experiments on guano, it seems to me highly probab! 

 that certain manures are particularly conducive to a lux- 

 uriant growth of stem and foliage, while others are pecu- 

 liarly so to the production of numerous and well-filled 

 seeds. Suppose the nitrogenous (ammoniacal) and alka- 

 line (potash and soda) manures to be those chiefly in- 

 strumental in producing stem and foliage, then nitrate of 

 soda will be valuable for this purpose, and if the soil 

 itself contain the ingredients of the seed in a fit state for 

 absorption, the plant thus thrown into a state of luxu- 

 riance will be enabled to draw from it sufficient to make 

 plenty of good seed. But if the soil in itself contains 

 them very sparingly, then this excess of stem and foliage, 

 although containing a quantity of nitrogenous and palat- 

 able food for cattle, will be deficient in rich seed. Now 

 we know that phosphate of lime and of magnesia, with 

 sulphurous compounds, exist in all seeds useful to man 

 and animals ; these, however, do not form part of nitrate 

 of soda and potash, hence the latter can only assist the 

 plant in extracting them from the soil. Suppose, se- 

 condly, we use a manure combining the nitrogenous 

 principles in the shape of urates, &c, with the alkaline 

 phosphates, sulphates, muriates, &c, then even on the 

 poorest soil, while the ammoniacal portion is performing 

 its office of causing luxuriance in foliage and 6tem, the 

 ingredients of the seed are offered in abundance to the 

 root. This is exactly the predicament of guano — most 

 of the salts in which are soluble in water — and those 

 which are not, such as the phosphate and oxalate of 

 lime, become so when combined near the roots with the 

 carbonic acid furnished by the humus as well as by oilier 

 portions of the manure. The use of a solution of guano 

 in water is therefore good, when the seed is not required; 

 but where it is, the deprivation of the insoluble phos- 

 phate of lime is very injurious. Hence, from the proper 

 use of guano, a luxuriant vegetation is followed by the 

 production of a large crop of fine seed. As a farther 

 elucidation of my views, I will state that the manure 

 made use of for the purpose of producing double flowers, 

 is the highly nitrogenous stable manure, which is used in 



Qff in a nim! rtn. l /. V" 7 T""' r "~ such quantity as to prevent the roots from coming into 



^rousani* , A.* 1 > Vh r at reall y h , a PPens is this : carnt- contact with that part of the soil containing the ingre- 

 acid from fh. C (^example) derive phosphoric dients of the seed— this manure being then chiefly favour. 



terbivo^n».«1.i 0n i; s i nd ^ s ^ ^ oth *^ ,II11 ? ,ll8 °{ the !able to the production of foliage alone, if continued 



through many generations will by degrees convert the 

 stamens, pistils, and the parts destined by nature to pre- 

 pare the seed, into leaves or petals, and finally obliterate 

 the seed. These flowers, if grown in a poor soil, scarce 

 in nitrogenous substances, will again, as is well known, 

 revert to their normal single seed-bearing state. Several 

 of my experiments with guano proved to me that it 

 shortened the internodes, or portions of the stem between 

 each leaf; this was particularly evident in seedling 

 Orange and Lemon trees, and is a sure indication of fruit 

 or seed-bearing ; indeed the spurs, which are well known 

 as the fruit-producing parts of many trees, are but 



will merely add farther, that I should consider it advis- 

 able, in all experiments on fruits, to trv both the guano 

 itself as well as a weak solution of it in w r ; it is 

 highly probable that the solution will be eflicacious where 

 the receptacle or the exterior of the seed is most I aluab>, 

 whereas in Corn, Peas, Beans, &c, those phosphates 

 wh-.ch are insoluble in water, and are verv n sary, 

 would be thus lost to the plant.— Ilovcy's 'Magazine of 

 Horticulture. 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 



For the ensuing Week. 



2Rebtetos. 



Lectures to Farmers on Agricultural Chemistry. By 

 Alexander Petzholdt. 8vo. Taylor & Walton, pp.300. 

 Among the crowd of books which the present demand for 

 information upon the Chemistry of Farming has brought 

 forth this may be recommended as one entitled to atten- 

 tion. The author does not overload his subject with 

 needless details, which is the vice of some such books, 

 out he confines the reader to those points only which he 

 ought to be well acquainted with, and these he explains 

 la a clear and simple way. He has also selected his 

 experiments judiciously, so that a person who desires to 

 master the elements of the subject may do so without 

 assistance, if he can command a small supply of common 

 "gents and (inexpensive apparatus. 

 The author's clear way of treating chemistry may be 



i««r fr ° m the follo * in g extract :— 



tli I th respect to the option that the phosphates of 



ne soil owe their origin to manure, -and especially to 



nes, I may first inquire whence do you suppose the 



pnospnonc acid of manure, or rather of animal bodies* to 



f . me ; In answer to this, some may say that it is derived 



om the aliments of which animals partake ; others may 



tJ P °vf e l l 1S actual, y created in the animal body. If 

 ™ phosphoric acid of the animal body be derived from 



stituent of those 



in nlan* • """ " J " 0b 8° DacIi t0 tuat contained 



ceedinJ .*L°5 rat, . ler in - the soil > and this is mereJ y P ro " 



theal 



an™ r, ntS, . how does U become a consti 

 t. J You see we must eo back to 1 



unon *? U i S dass which thev devour, these from plants 

 and"h they feed ' aQd P Iants draw [t from the soil J 



to the H- lre8enCe ° f P hos l )horic acid in the soii is owing 



Phosnho 1 - mtegrati ° n ° f r0ck8, Thus y° u P erceive t,iat 

 *titueni nc - acid » as wel1 as sulphuric acid— essential con- 



th e m i , or S an ised beings— are derived originally from 

 hrin? n n v eral . kln 8 d om- The fact that in bone manure you 



validafp ,u? 0ric acid int0 y° ur fields > does not at a11 in * 

 bone o £ onclusi on, since all the phosphoric acid of 



derived f 6 lon & ed to vegetables, and was by them 



ration f * he soil ' and came into the soil bv its se P a " 



that th/°? minero1 masses. If, however, it were granted 



bave ha/ phoric acid of the animal kingdom could 



circuit me ° ther ° risin ' lhis would not explain the 



nianu 



which have never received 



T ated co T^ r " those growing wild upon soil never culti- 

 ultimlf.?" m . Phosphoric acid : this must be referred 



"Fman l V he disinte S rati on of rocks, 

 the ««.:./.', anv of y°n gentlemen should have embraced 



tran 



in 

 n °tion that 



I.— HOTHOUSE, CONSERVATORIES, &e. 



Orchidacea. — The summer culture of these plan: * so uni- 

 form, and so well explained in former Calendars, that 1 have 



id little about them during: this season. Now, however, their 

 winterti ment begins. Toe night teroperatnr may be from 

 00°to6i till the middle or end of November, when it should 

 ot exceed 60°, for two months at lea^t. Where tanks or 

 gutters have recently bci ii put up to heat this house, a little 

 more heat will be ne< i > during the first winter, in i that 



air may be adm 1 for a few hours every day to dry up the 

 mi. ire, which is g< ally plentiful until w work is 



seasoned. Our gutters here (now three years old) give no trouble 

 In this respect ; indeed, I ■> for letting oui v. i in 



summer are not ye nut i With no other system oi h - irg 



have I seen Orchid je do better, and with so little t. >le. 



after growing these plants rather exten rly i ntjr 



years, and after trying all tlu- material* 1. ha' >m- 



mended for growing them in, 1 hi tad nothing in which 



they are more easily managed than in good fresh moss. 

 Retpei ogihecultu f this tribe I shall 1 e souk; hing new 

 to recommend by and bye. 

 Cuntet> ,ry.~ Formerly this house used to be crammed 



about this time with large specimens of ci ami t put in 



to winter j but now it is found that largi s , ,„ ten rary 



structures, with very little glass, is good ight i v c 



Myrtles, Rhododendrons, Chinese Azaleas, Camellias, and a 

 hojtof other plants with dry or thick leave- from the i 

 perate pari lobe, and theo r 



all plants I 11 flower or that call he f» reed to (lower in 



winter. T preseut superior s> : ke< ng the conserva- 



tory close in winter dates its origin from Mr. V d's discovery 

 of growing i Ian' Cuses, and nvre es; ally Iran the 



ai trance of the "Theory of Horticulture, " which indirectly 

 ridicules the old mode of fanning plants la winter, so to speak. 

 About this time 1 year 1 planted a stout Clei mlron fra- 

 grans in a b< in the cing-pit, with the new C. splendens 



de <it it; the latter 1 inarched on the former, and last 

 May 1 removed theinarched plant to the conservatory, where it 

 now logics as well as the patent plant in the stove. ' m tne 

 hardiness and strong habit of the stock, and being wrought two 

 feet from the ground, I have little doubt that this flue winter- 

 flowering climber will answer my expectation. Tne circum- 

 stance is worth recording, as this is a branch of gardeuing 

 which i ill in its infancy with house plants. 

 Pits, t', ■ a met, —Whenever the weather is mild and dry 

 erhead let tne lights be < ff half hardy plants all day, and leave 

 tlum tilted at night, to let in air. I -.e confinement is injurious 

 to these plants at all seasons, and more so now, when newly 

 brought in from the open air. Iridacca: require very little water 

 after the first d.se when they were potted, until they appear 

 above ground ; and Oxalists and all bulbs newly p d require 

 the same treatment. A few Amaryllis (Hippea«trunv may 

 now be brought into the forcing-pi; ; and see that all of I mthat 

 art* to flower on this side of February arc not left in e iset*. 



These bulbs require more heat when at rest than while they are 

 growing; there are many bulbs which will do in tt.e open 

 b rders in summer, that go to rest now, and are benefited by 

 being dry-wintered in the stove. Ismeue Amancaes (the Peruvian 

 Daffodil) is one of them ; • s S i rekelia, or the old Amarylh rmo- 

 BUsima, is an. ther. Some ot the Coburghias are very diffi-ultto 

 flower, and I believe tiiis would be a good treatment for them : 

 indeed, all bulbs aud plants that are difficult to flower shoud be 

 ti it ci widely different to the usual routine. Surely all plants 

 flower freely enough in their native places: the difficulty is, to 

 know the circuit - which they are surrounded.— D. D. 



II.— FLOW Lli GARDEN AND BHRUBBERJE3. 



Out-door Department. 

 Those plants which require protection from frost through 

 the winter m son should now have the frame- work ol the pro- 

 tective structure placed over them ready for immediate use, in 

 case of a change of weather. Alats are generally used for this 

 purp , but a good covering of r^ed or straw is preferable to 

 them, and not nearly so expi ve. The patent A- Ue is 

 also exct nt when made last to frame-work, and w.U last for 

 several seasons; and the roofiug material called vVat< oof 

 Felt, would no doubt answer the protective purpose admirably. 

 I last season tried a composition of India-rub' er, which was 

 strongly recommended as a substitute for other waterproof 

 materi. \ it wore excellently through the winter, but the heat 

 of summer has cracked and torn it in a thousand places. Any 

 material that is waterproof, even though it be common tar- 

 paulin, will be preferable to mats, because the pre.v i of 

 plants Irom frost depends quite as much upon their being kept 

 dry, as upon their being guarded against the cold embrace of 

 the " Ice King." PI - in borders, such as tender Lobelias, Ti- 

 gridias, &p. should be-removedtoa back shed, and covered with. 

 sifted ashes or old tan, or the Tigiidias maybe j. d thinly 

 under the greenhouse stage. It is a bad plan to dry these 

 roots, as is the case with imported bulbs, becau rarely 

 arrive at full maturity in this country, and therefore to dry 

 them is to materially injure them. Ueds of Fuchsias and 

 Salvias, which are not intended to be taken up, should have their 

 roots covered six or eight inches thick with dry peat earth or 

 leaf-mould, which in ordinary winters is quite suffic t for 

 their preservation. Fuchsias, more than almost any other 

 plant, deserve proper protection through the winttr, for they 

 make magnificent autumnal beds. 



Pits and F .es. — See to the proper protecting of these 

 structures, and let the plants be kept as dry us possible 

 throughout the winter : give abundance of air both by night 

 and day in mild weather, but do not allow a drop of rain to fall 

 upon the plants.— W. P. A. 



III.— FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 

 Should the weather prove favourable, the main bed of Tulips 

 may be planted, tl igh, in fact, any time between now and the 

 first week in November will do. It is possible we may have 

 continuous rains shottly, and bulbs are better in the ground a 

 rtnfght too SOOD, than a week too late. We presume that if 

 our advice has been f llowed, all offsets and se> tigs are 



phosphoric acid could be formed by the 



shortened branches where the internodes are reduced to. .. .... .. , ,. „. L , ^ . 



.1- , , .. ., ii _: already planted. Polyanthuses.— Where plants have been per- 



a mere nothing, and where, consequently, the axihary i mitted to reake thiee or four crown8f sU nding high out of the 



action is concentrated into a small space. I have, there-, ground (which they will do if not divided yearly , emitting 



fore, no doubt of the beneficial action of guano on fruit 



trees. Many experiments are, however, yet desirable. 



Such as whether guano acts beneficially on the receptacle 



of the seed, which is the fruit of the Strawberry and 



Raspberry ; whether on the exteriorcoveringof the seed, 



which is the Apple, Peach, Plum, &c, or on the kernel 



or nut, or on the pulpy envelope of the seed, as the 



Gooseberry, Grape, Melon, Gourd, &c. I hope that 



these ideas will give rise to numerous experiments this 



that such a 10 " ° f S ° me 0ther substanc e, let m e assure you 

 ex perimenr n a !! SUm P tior » is altogether unwarranted. No 



leas t confiden a " y VaIue ' n ° observations worthy of the 



fatter. ^irTth^^f If ^ °A "^ * i **aIZ " " - ™° "T^ K^""*-'" TT" r-fTTTT iTH '"tended for next vear ing, will be bctl r for having 



•ton and error t \A ' *? ■ * y on year ' e w ° m hesitate hoC! tretchcd OT " pr thcaif on which mats m )e thrown, 



» ana justly excites the ridicule and scorn .freely to communicate them for the general benefit. I her in very wet or severe weather. Carnation*.— There has 



roots from the neck of the plant that have assumed a green tint 

 by exposure to the air— these, if worth the trouble, be 



parted, and reset without delay. Auriculas— May bow be 

 pi 1 where they are to winter. If protected by frames, they 

 should have bricks placed at each corner, raising m from 

 the gr.-und, to allow, at all times, a free circulation of air 

 amongst the pots. If the frames arc of brickwork, sliding- 

 rs mua -made In the sides fir the same purpose. An 

 Alpine plant, like the Auricula, detests r'amp and c< nfined 

 situations. Pansies.— Though these flowers, when piopcrry 

 managed, are seldom affected by cold, still bids of choice sorts, 



