

S 1844.1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



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2d. 



TALOGUE of ROSES, FRUITS. TREES and SHRUBS. 



,RIVERS. of the Nurseries, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, 



• has the following Catalogues now ready for delivery on 

 id* of postage stamps as follows :— 

 Klogae of Roses, No. 1, Edition for 1844 . 

 a plement to ditto, containing the new varieties of 

 Roses, with lists of Roses in extra-sized pots, for 

 Exhibition, Forcing, and Greenhouse Culture . 

 atalogi:e of Roses, No. 2, containing the old and 

 esteemed varieties, and Climbing Roses . 



-riptive Catalogue of Fruits 



•riptive Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs . 

 jscriptiTe Catalogue of Pears, with directions for 



ot pruning, three engravings of Pear-trees, trained 

 conically and en quenouille; with supplement to 



F 



731 



2d. 



2d. 

 2d. 



2d. 



?r!?- ; IV 11 ?£ thil i k the ex P ense *©UH soon be credible perseverance in the destruction of caternilUr. 

 sa^ed in the labour, &c which Qnm hnrrW ««»♦ and mui. »k;,k ;♦ k--u- .,J™.°? ?* cater P» ««• 



Catalogue of Fruits 1 S . 



ihe latter is sold also by Messrs. Longman and Co., and 

 f Ker.va.v, 4, Great Russell- street, Coven t-garden. 



•fit ^rartrcncts* ©fjronfcle 



^ — — ^^— ^-^— ^ ■ ^^-^^— ■ ' ■ - ^ — - _ _ _ 



SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 TtBWt, Nov. «/ Horticultural . . . . 2 P.M. 



Satvkday, Nor. 9 Royal Botanic 4 P ' M> " 



Wmsmday, Nov. 13 Microscopical .... 



8 P.M. 



[Now that the Potato-crop is gathered in, and the 

 suit known of any experiments that have been 

 lde upon its growth, we shall be obliged to our 

 lends for such data upon the subject as their experi- 

 ice may furnish. The subject is too important to be 

 isigned silently to the ordinary columns of conf- 

 idence, and we are anxious to have the opportu- 

 By of making some editorial observations introduc- 

 ry to the experiments. As soon as time has been 

 ren for the communication of the returns we 

 licit, the matter shall be taken up and disposed of. 



A fortnight since we described the French 

 thod of forming Tulip-beds: we now continue 



£ translation by giving their system of planting 



em, their diseases, &c. 



"From the 10th to the 25th of November, (sup- 

 ing the beds to be properly prepared,) is the best 

 e to put the bulbs in the earth. This is accom- 

 hed by stretching strings from one end of the bed 



the other, causing them to make slight depressions, 



is forming five longitudinal lines at equal distances 

 the surface. The most expeditious way of crossing 



*ie with transverse lines is to take a piece of wood° 

 exact width of the bed, pressing it down lightlv 

 the soil as often as required at the distance of 



ncnes apart. 



The section of these lines indicates the exact 

 nt where the bulb ought to be planted. At each 

 these points a hole is made with a trowel, about an 

 ich and a half in depth, into which is poured about 

 wine-glassful of very fine sand, on which the bulb 

 Placed. It is then covered with a similar quantity; 

 * permits the wet to filter through it, and is a pre- 

 tove against too much moisture. Each bulb is 

 j n gently pressed down, and covered with a little 

 !ock of earth. It has been clearly demonstrated 

 various experiments, that the plan of many people, 

 » make the holes for the bulbs with their fingers 

 *itli a planting-stick, is altogether preposterous 

 a absurd : by the pressure, the soil is rendered 



, more compact, and less suitable for the proper 

 e'opment of fibres, as well as preventing a proper 



actio a coinci(3es ver V much with our own 

 letv °ii t0 - the Iatter "assertion of the impro- 



blunt setting- 

 our own testi- 



£y as well as impolicy of using a 

 >*e can, from experience, add ou. uwu lC su- 



irlv ' *? weI1 recollect " a °ed of Tulips being 

 her w ! i by P lantin S the roots in stiff loam when 



ihp h il holes were made with a blunt fibber, 



bulh placed carel essly in them. We saw 



lthehni rem0Ve(1 ' and discovered that the bottom 



toed I tr!' aS i^ e11 as the sides » had been so com " 

 Efa fell th £ y actuai ly retained the rain-water 



frts un a Ki° n bed > and in most instances, the 



feof tr . k i? P enetrat e, had turned upward by the 

 [Our \ 5 ulb in search of nutriment. 

 fcoi« U f thcn Proceeds with the necessary 

 with firi°i r Coverin S the bulbs, « which ought to 

 kinchT. 1™' of an ec l ual thickness, of about 

 fcl off , e L eartl1 round the bed is then gently 



N as nnJJiki aten hard » soas to render it as 

 of a le » and afterwards covered with a thin 



k and *°? mortar made of Pe^-soil, Grass 

 Mfrahlp f i^ e11 beat U P together. Peat-earth 

 f* as loam -i S P ur P° se ' as ^ is not so liable to 

 F «nabl*i ♦ ln dr ying, and the Grass seeds 



Wstencv \ V egetate m °re quickly in it, giving 

 dutiful t f ges of the bed » speedily forming 

 whole 1 and contribut ing to the beauty of 

 yadvantf st0 "e curb or border has certainly 



saved in the labour, &c, which Grass borders must 

 necessarily require to keep them neat and trim, inde- 

 pendently of the cleanliness and durability of 

 slate, &a We find, however, that the system 

 adopted by the most e: * "" "* 

 surrounding the bed wi 

 about 12 inches in depth 



lion; and when these are „ mmMM 



rail about 18 inches high, and "the "whole palmed 

 white (contrasting with the foliage, &c), it has a 

 | very good effect. And as a preservative, and at the 

 same time contributing to the Jinish of the Tulip 

 bed, we would always recommend a neat lattice- 

 work, about 4 feet high, fastened to the upright 

 pillars of the shed, and completely surrounding t. 

 The protection afforded by it is invaluable at *that 

 trying of all seasons, March, in breaking those fear- 

 ful blasts which sweep over undefended beds with 

 untiring energy, and often with serious conse- 

 quences to the ensuing bloom. 



" Exposed to sudden changes of weather, Tulips 

 are liable to injuries which it is necessary to prevent. 

 From the 15th of February to the 15th of April 

 they are generally exposed to snow, frost, and heavy 

 rain, at which time the leaves, just rising from the 

 ground, form a kind of funnel, at the bottom of 

 which is the flower-bud ; these retain the water 

 which niters down, either destroying the root, or bo 

 far affecting it as to seriously injure the advancing 

 bloom ; the extent of the injury depending on the 

 time more or less that the bud has been enveloped in 

 water. Hailstones often cause great damage, wound- 

 ing the petals, and defacing their beauty. Many 

 other accidents to which Tulips are exposed might 

 be enumerated, but the limits of this article would 

 be too far extended, were I to enter into further de- 

 tails in this respect." 



We are sorry that our Author does not enter more 

 largely into the diseases, &c, with the precautions 

 necessary to be observed, as great attention ought to 

 be directed towards the Tulip. As soon as it makes its 

 appearance above ground ; those who would success- 

 fully exhibit will hoop their beds, and defend them 

 from frost with mats ; but a most excellent precau- 

 tion, and one which wt would strongly recommend, 

 is to put fine sand on them, as soon as the plants 

 appear above ground, and before the leaves have 

 advanced so far as to separate, enveloping the rising 

 plant in a complete cone ; this is preferable to cover- 

 ing with soil, as it excludes frost better, does not re- 

 tain wet so long, and is a preventive against canker. 



Should the latter disease, however, attack the fo- 

 liage, we immediately remove the soil below the 

 affected part, and with a sharp knife cut it away 

 altogether. Exposure to the air soon heals the 

 wound, and the bulb is saved. We imagine that 

 the most serious injury which the bloom sustains is 

 when the hollow formed by the rising leaves gets 

 filled with water (as noticed above), which, when it 

 becomes frozen, imbeds the bud in a solid mass of 

 ice, proving highly detrimental. To prevent this, 

 the water must be removed, either by blowing it out, 

 or drawing it up with a syringe. Should the buds 

 escape injury in this manner, they must be carefully 

 defended from hailstorms, which come on so suddenly 

 as sometimes to preclude the chance of protecting 

 them; small-meshed net, or damaged lace, spread 

 over the hoops, will prove an efficient preventive. — W. 



spiders, which it buries underground to support its 

 offspring ; and as one egg only is laid in each victim, 

 and the Sand-wasps are very numerous, the amount 

 destroyed by them must be very great.* About the 10th 



delight, which caused a distinct buzzing, like a large 

 blue-bottle fly in a spider's web ; every second she 

 brought out a morsel of earth or a little pebble, which 

 she threw down several inches from the hole, wnilst on 

 the wing ; having at last excavated so far that we lost 

 sight of her, we left the place, and found it so admirably 

 closed the following day, that it would have been utterly 

 impossible to discover the spot, if previous observations 

 had not been made ; two or three pebbles had been laid 

 near the aperture, one of which, being flat and white, my 

 friend very happily designated the gravestone, for upon 

 d »ggmg we found a ceil about two inches from the 

 entrance, where a fat green larva, probably of some 

 INoctua, was entombed; and on one side, close to a 

 spiracle, upon the segment preceding the first pair of 

 abdominal legs, was attached by one end a long elliptical 

 egg, looking like a little fish's bladder, without any 

 appearance of segments. In all probability it is not 

 long before the trophi are developed, and the larva per- 

 forating the blackened end of the egg, the organs of 

 manducation are inserted, like the seta of Scolia flavi- 

 frons, into the caterpillar, after which it rapidly increases 

 in size, the extremity first dilating, the segments becom- 

 ing visible in a few days, and in a week the spiracles, at 

 which period it was about f of an inch lone, cy- 

 lindrical, shining, and of a whitish colour (fig. 2) ; the 

 viscera were constantly in motion, undulating Like yellow 

 waves ; the head was small, round, and armed with jaws 

 and minute palpi ; at this time scarcely anything but the 

 skin of the caterpillar was left, with the exception of the 

 anal legs, which remained of a green tint ; but the ani- 

 mal was alive a few days before, and evacuated several 

 pellets of dung after it was buried. The extremity of the 

 maggot is conical, and I could not detect the slightest 

 deposit from it. On the 19th every vestige of the cater- 

 pillar, not excepting the horny head, had disappeared ; the 

 head and thoracic segments of the maggot became attenu- 

 ated, the sides exhibited a thickened margin, and a limpid 

 drop exuded from the tail ; it now began to spin an oval 

 cocoon of the finest texture, shining, and resembling oil- 

 case or gold-beater's skin, of an ochreous colour, and 

 having a few loose woolly hairs on the outside, adhering 

 to the surrounding particles of earth ; within this was a 

 narrower detached case forming the pupa, of a substance 

 resembling the inner bark of a fir-tree, and not unlike it 

 in colour; it was wrinkled longitudinally, but very 

 smooth inside, appearing varnished, and of a rust colour, 



the exuvia lying at the lower extremity, which was pitchy 

 externally. 



We doubt not that a letter, in another column, 

 from New Zealand, written by a gardener there to 

 the late Mr. Loudon, and received since that gentle- 

 man's death, will prove highly interesting to our 

 readers, who have to thank Mrs. Loudon for the 

 kindness she has shown in allowing it to be made 

 public. It is so difficult to judge correctly of the 

 condition of a distant colony from the representations 

 made by interested parties, that documents of this 

 sort are invaluable. To us, the letter in question is the 

 more acceptable, because it completely confirms all 

 that we have constantly asserted regarding the cli- 

 mate and capabilities of that colony, which has 

 nothing to dread except the mismanagement of the 

 British Government. 



7 aUVamta a> ~v,»v*^» uaa i^i lawny 



°*iou s in 86S ' affordin £ no protection to snails 



nation ^hfu?A M e 1 conomisin ? «™ in 

 ^ acree u£i i beds ' but the cost is B reat -" 



erable • " riter that the first °"tlay is 



e which i \ mV \ ng beds ed S ed " ith ston eor with 



J atter description of curbing we should 



-"* ENTOMOLOGY. 



Ammophila. sabulosa {the Grave-digging Sand- 

 wasp). — The economy of insects its so marvellous and 

 interesting, that the introduction of the histories of those 

 which may not be directly concerned in the destruction 

 of our crops, needs, we hope, no apology ; and as it is 

 absolutely necessary that the gardener and farmer should 

 be as well acquainted with their friends as with their 

 enemies, we shall from time to time treat of the parasitic 

 insects — most extraordinary agents which are employed 

 by the Ruler of the Universe to subdue those plagues 

 which without His interposition would despoil this fair 

 earth of its beautiful vegetation, in spite of the best 

 efforts of man. 



I have therefore much pleasure in recording the history 

 of a Sand-wasp, which labours incessantly and with in- J 



On the 30th of July, a female Sand-wasp issued from 

 the case, and it proved to be the Ammophila sabulosa of 

 Linnaeus (fig. 1). It is dull black, clothed with soft 

 brownish hairs ; head and thorax covered with shallow 

 punctures ; the former is large and furnished with long, 

 powerful jaws, the maxilla? and labium forming a beak, 

 with four slender palpi :f the eyes are large and lateral, 

 the ocelli placed in triangle on the crown ; the antenna; 

 are rather short, curved at the apex, and 12-jointed ; the 

 trunk is oval; the scutel and metathorax are finely 

 striated ; the extremity of the latter and a spot on each 

 side of the medipectus are of a yellowish satiny hue ; 

 abdomen long and clavate, forming a very long, slender 

 pedicel at the base, and a stout oval mass at the ex- 

 tremity ; the second joint of the petiole is red, except at 

 the base ; the following segment and the basal margin of 

 the fourth are of the same colour; the four wings have a 

 smoky tinge, forming a border at their extremities, and 

 the third submarginal cell is not peduncled ; the legs are 

 powerful, the four hinder elongated ; the tarsi are spiny, 

 especially the anterior. It is 10 lines long and 12 in ex- 

 panse. The male is much smaller, has 13-jointed an- 

 tenna? ; the face is silvery ; the third abdominal segment 

 has an elongated black spot on the disc, and the tarsi are 

 much less spiny than in the female. 



I wished to have entered upon a comparison of our 

 larva with that of Scolia flavifrons, of similar habits, and 

 so ably ill UBt rated by Professor Passerini ; but I can only 

 observe that the Scolia egg is laid upon the larva of 

 Oryctes nasicornis, and that the head of the maggot is 

 furnished with a long seta. The curiosity of the reader 

 may he gratified by a reference to the two Memoirs lately 

 published at Florence.— Raricola. 



* Vide Curtis's Brit. Ent. fol. 601, for a similar account. 



t Vide Curtis's Brit. Ent., pi. §04. 





