m*-J 



732 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Nov. J 





_ < 



XX. 



Tilt: ROSE-GARDEN.— Na. 



(Continued from p.6Si.) 



Tfie choice of scions is regulated by the same rules 

 as the choice of buds, only that in choosing scion, 

 some reference must also be had to 

 the wood, which should have a suffi- 

 cient thickness to keep it from getting 

 dry easilv, and to facilitate the opera- 

 tion of sloping the edges. The best 

 huds are generally nearer the base of 

 the shoot than the summit, but two or 

 three scions may sometimes ; ,e ob- V 

 Mined from a single shoot JSo scion 

 should be used when the buds upon it 

 anpear to have shrunk and Jost their 

 fulness from having been laid by, and 

 care should be taken, on passing the 

 bast ligament round the stock for the 

 purpose of fixing the scions, that a 

 piece of the bast be brought between 

 {be scions in such a manner as to 

 protect the cleft in the centre of the 

 stock from the clay, and to leave the 

 vacuum to be filled up with sap. 



Should any graft fail, which will be seen ma longer 

 or shorter space of time, according to the weathei ■ (m. 

 in moist, dull, growing weather it will soon ^how in tat 

 which is dry, windy, or cold there will be delay), the 

 resource is still left of knocking off the clay and reserving 

 for use the fresh buds which start from the stock ; in 

 which case the stock should be cut off immediately above 

 them, and budded in the following autumn as usual. 

 Grafting the Rose, however, leaves a worse wound to 

 heal over than budding, unless the scion be near y the 

 same size as the stock, or two or three scions .of free- 

 growing sorts be entered in the same graft ; there are 

 also these disadvantages, that the portion of the scion 

 which is entered in the stock is smooth, and consequently 

 does not from time to time furnish new wood (whereas 

 in budded stocks shoots occasionally spring from the 

 inserted eye, and that sometimes years after it has taken, 

 thus renewing the tree by preventing it from straggling, 

 as well as giving it a more perfect aud handsome appear- 

 ance), and also that grafted Roses, without great care 

 are liable to lose their heads occasionally in very exposed 

 situations; hence it is desirable to leave a long tongue 

 to the scion that it may take a strong hold of the stock 

 and to take care that all parts of the wound are well 

 covered ower, m order to let the sap insert itselt in the 

 cleft aud with the temporarv ass.stance of the. ligature, 

 fix ihe scion firmly in its place. Alter the first year, 

 Roses budded with a dormant eye should be quite sate 

 from the effects of the wind : gratted ones cannot be con- 

 si-', red to be so. 



arrive at too hasty conclusions, and in obtaining some- together that most of the side b 

 thin- desirable, to forget the other somethings that must 



-id* 



sun reu w uc »«• , , , 



The advantage? of grafting are that it clears the garden 

 of wild growing stocks, promise! fair for instant success, 

 especially when the scions are from hardy .«.orts, such as 

 the Do Roi, Maiden's Blush, &C and the work is com- 

 plete, and tree formed, and in some cases flowers, in a 

 single season. In the event of neglect in procuring 

 Btoclcs, the operation of grafting may be performed 

 equally well with budding upon plants in a neighbouring 

 hedge, and those which succeed can be transferred to the 

 garden at leisure. 



be combined with it. Dipping in the sea was once con- 

 sidered an infallible cure for the bite of a mad dog: and so 

 it was— if the patient was drowned. So Mr. Whitney s 

 fluid makes the calico impervious to wet provided you 

 give it enough to destroy its texture.— t. N.B. 



Tree-pruning.— Voiding personalities, and leaving 

 Dr T. and Mr. B. to fight out their own battle, I would 

 say a few words on the tree-pruning system. Boughs 

 left altogether will shorten the stem, and so spoil timber. 

 Cut off clean at once, they make a large wound, and 

 are long in being healed over, by reason that the part of 

 the stem whence the bough issued stands out to support 

 it. Shortened according to the size and he a 1th of each 

 patient, they grow at their bole or base but little, if at 

 all till the weight of the new foliage, again acting at a 

 long arm, calls for more support. If we now, or after 

 another pruning back, cut clean away, the tree has been 

 making great advance above, and scarce feels the loss of 

 the bouch J the stem has grown upon and moped up the 

 bole of die branch, as may be illustrated by drawing up 

 the forefinger and thumb of one hand (tint placed in the 

 contrary direction round the bole of the other thumb) 

 towards the nail ; the wound is now both less and sooner 

 healed. Indeed we have been following Isature, who 

 thus nips up and at last throws clean out the stump of a 

 bough which has done growing and is dead ; and this 

 process has been performed by Nature upon every timoer 

 free that ever grew. The bough thus left on some years 

 longer adds to the strength and vigour of the roots and 

 system, and returns, no doubt, some elaborated sap to the 

 stem. Healthy subjects, as Mr. Punch wittily says of 

 himself and the Whigs, " are for small change, and 

 grow best with a regular but trifling excitement ; un- 

 healthy ones require stronger measures ; but to shorten 

 or cut away much foliage at one time from a healthy 

 tree, prevents the due growth of the stem, and brings on 



disease. - G. U. I see by the Chronicle that 



the controversy respecting the Nerquis plantation is 

 going on still, and that Mr. Billington-if 1 understand 

 rightly— has made " Quercus" a convert to his views. I 

 am glad that the latter rejects the physiological question, 

 and I think he is quite right. The question appears to 

 me to be simply, this :— After 40 years evidence of plan- 

 tations, as to their state of health and growth, is the system 

 that has been pursued in 800 acres of mountain land that 

 which others should pursue, or not ? The statement 

 made by Dr. Thackerav's planter and pruner, &c, who 

 appears to be a plain matter-of-fact person, demands at- 

 tention ; and as plantations are connected with after- 

 generations, and therefore should not be commenced 

 without due consideration, I would suggest, that^ per- 

 sons disposed to enter upon such operations (a bona fide 

 national benefit), should proceed to Nerquis, and judge 

 fur themselves, before they commence planting. Allow 

 me to suggest farther, that individuals visiting Nerquis, 

 or sending others to do so for them, should ascer- 

 tain these points as essentials to forming a correct 

 judgment :— 1st. Ascertain the elevation of the Ner- 

 quis mountains above the sea; 2d, the nature of the 

 soil; and 3d, the original value of the land per acre on 

 which these plantations have been planted, reared, and 

 trained. Without these data, a right judgment cannot 

 be formed on the subject. In addition to this, I would 

 suggest that the quality of the timber itself be examined, 

 as well as the extent of its growth in height and thick- 

 ness, and the number of jears it has taken in these 

 mountains to arrive at its present state. This being 

 done, ascertain where plantations cau be visited, simi- 

 larly circumstanced by position and age ; and if these 

 are found to be more improved than the plantations on 

 the Nerquis mountains, endeavour to ascertain the sys- 

 tem there pursued, and then determine on the course to 

 be followed in a work, t*he profits of which must be more 

 those of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren than 

 our own. '■ Quercus" differs from Mr. Billingtonin 

 this— that Dr. Thackeray's system is not Pontey s, but 



' 



v Vfe ^„wwi v.—* ^.wow v . blJt biuc uranches perish for « 

 of light, or by pruning them away. The first pro 

 that which takes place in natural woods, but the 

 is, that the ends of the stumps, left where the 

 branches have dropped off, rot before the new wo<4 

 time to cover them over, so that wherever a side- 

 has fallen off, there is found a ragged rotten end, i 

 or smaller according to circumstances,* and if the 



b >ughs have been _ 



large, so that water | | I j I 



can lodge in the • I 



hollow, the rotten- I ' ' 



ness infallibly eata 

 into the heart of 

 the tree, and intime 

 totally destroys the 

 timber. When the 

 second method, that 

 of pruning, is ad- 

 opted, and the side- 

 branches are cut 

 off clean and close 

 to the bole of the 

 tree, the new wood 

 grows over the 

 wound before the 

 stump has time to 

 rot, and sound tim- 

 ber is the result. 

 The timber- mer- 

 chant is, after all, 

 the most proper 

 j udge to decide upon 



this point, and I 



think no timber- 

 merchant, on see- 

 ing the annexed 



engravings, would 



hesitate in forming 



an opinion as to 



which represents 



the more valuable 



stick of timber. A 



represents the sec- 

 tion of a fir-tree, 



where the side 



branches have been 



left on and have 



had room to grow 



to a considerable 



size. B represents 



one where the side- 





r* 



Si** 



On 

 spening 



iTarnif 



'ira up 



Cdbepli 



fftben 



' j [mips in 

 p,« i tin 



: -jrooldnol 



'/ :<; ilso.it 



I 



l 



«eds { 



:. : .;::t 



ll 



x'/ 



I 



J 



c. 





Pontey's outdone ; and yet he says, in the line before, 

 " I desire no better authority than that of Mr. Bilhng- 

 ton." Dr. Thackeray's planter, in his letter, mentions 

 that visitors from various parts of England expressed 

 their full confidence in the course that had adorned the 



*ul— and every year 



nd Dr. Thackeray 



Home Correspondence. 



The Polmaise Healing. — Your correspondent, Mr. 

 Giendinning, appears to have profVed a little from 

 my last communication, for in his letter of the 26th 

 October there is no mention of t4 dirty smoky flues or any 

 modification of them;" yet he finds something wrong 

 about M heated air," and M cold air," or anything else to 

 find fault with ; and after all, he appears to be as much 

 in thedark as ever respecting themodein *\hich the Vinery 

 at Polmaise is heated ; but there is a proverb we have in 

 Scotland that sayB— " There are nane sae blind as those 

 that winna see." Only look at the predictions of Mr. G. 

 The notions he has formed respecting the Polmaise 

 system made him exclaim that M such an arrangement 

 would be fatal to any system ;" but what has the decree 

 of fale been in regard to the Grapes at Polmaise ? 

 Buuches of Black Hamburgh weighing 5 J lbs., with a 



flavour declared to be excellent at the Edinburgh Horti- uicxr luuwmiucuwj m ura ^«'^ "»» 

 cultural dinner. Can Mr. Giendinning do better with Flintshire mountains with beautiful 

 anv other system 5 If he can, the Vine-growing Bacchus increasingly profitable— woods ; an( 

 would take him for an apprentice any day. "Why," says himself invites all planters to com 

 Mr G., " anybody can do that without any heating 

 apparatus at all." Indeed ! I did not before know that it 

 was so easy to produce clusters of Grapes weighing 

 5* lbs. »• without any heating apparatus at all, m the 

 latitude of Stirling Castle.— Peter Mackenzie. [We 

 have been obliged to omit some part of this communica- 

 tion, for the discussion is becoming personal and unpro- 

 fitable. We have stated what the Polmaise system is, 

 and what the results have been. Correspondents have 

 given their opinions upon the subject, and have placed 

 Jookers-on in a condition to form their own conclusions. 

 Until new evidence arises, or arguments take a new 

 direction, it will be better to let the subject drop. Our 

 own opinion is not unfavourable to the Polmaise appa- 

 ratus or rather contrivance — for apparatus there is 



hardly any]. 



Whitney's Composition.— This has been to me a very 



expensive failure. AH my frames, made purposely for its 



application, are quite useless. A piece of the calico in its 



undressed state, which has been wet and dry, and lying 



about, is perfectly tough and sound : that upon the 



increasingly pruuuiuic — nuuua , «"" -»-•- - 



himself invites all planters to come and judge for 

 themselves ; and I hope that in so important a matter 

 as forming plantations, the invitation will be accepted 

 by those who intend to plant. We are, I trust, in va- 

 rious parts of Ireland, in earnest in our hopes of improv- 

 ing our country, and employing our poor by covering 

 its mountains with trees that shall on some future day be 

 a national benefit.— C. C. L. D., IVicklow Mountains 

 —The subject of the pruning of timber-trees is one of 

 so much importance, that, notwithstanding the numerous 

 communications on that subject lately inserted in the 

 Chronicle, I am induced^) add one more short one to 

 the number, more especially as I think the main point 

 has been generally either overlooked, or not duly dwelt 

 on by your correspondents. The true point for decision 

 is, not simply what system of management will produce 

 the greatest bulk of timber— but what system will pro- 

 duce the greatest bulk of serviceable shape, and freest 

 from knots. Every one must be aware how much 

 numerous knots impair the value of timber, but every 

 one is not aware, or does not bear in mind, that each 

 side-branch causes a knot, and that the only way to 



.... - 1 ^C -.^ai-nlia fiUlP- 



: 



branches have been A. . "' , ^2^ 



pruned off while young. A eonUme . greater balk 

 timber, yet I presume it cannot be denied that sad 

 stick as B is decidedly the more valuable ol the I** 

 C represents the appearance which timber assume, wh. ■«, j Bt 

 grown in a close wood, so that the branches decay . 

 drop off, containing numerous small knots more or M*^ 

 decayed at the ends.— Beobachter. *l» t 



Zateurf Forcing-pU.-ln hopes that »>»*f >««* 

 readers will take the matter up, I send my ■ »j%« 

 best forcing-pit for amateur gardeners of no greet Br ^ 

 i e a pit sufficiently warm, at the least expense „ 

 working It would take too much room I tori, W 

 we to describe the common brick-flued I*. '^1* 

 m »"k trench .11 round it ; so I must .uppose tW^ j, 



;;vzrr, a ass s=r.«;; 



filling in on three several occasions aum K 



muck trench. I he steam 01 j w 



be cutoff from all com = cat,onw 1 th t Jm 



run round the bed as betore. i » i a 



[her a good lining of Furze, placed all ri ^,^ 

 ur, upon it, would not answer as .^* ^^S 



half the' muck of the four « one , we £ -^J 



the bed would draw from only half t he m B ^M^ 



r than each, and therefore all, of the >,. 



a 



half the caloric would be lost m je w|hf 



poio 1 



cr 



S5 



g Kepi »k "i -•- .empero^i 

 ~ a s by four narrow ones. Now, suppose the ' e J^C 

 ^ Jul. together in the two cases, and an , .,-£ ^ 

 fresh lining to be added to e«b, the « ^ { ^kL , 



half as much 



in the bed only the same, the new „ ..„.* ^ § fl 



i„ it than the other; and I conceive________ 



avoid numerous knots, is to get rid of numerous side- T^^lti^nl^M' be aecn 



- " Now there are two ways in which this my . Ins ances £ ««• £g£ wood . 





