780 



THE GARDENERS 1 CHRONICLE. 



[Nov. 23, 



above the surface ; this will appear much too shallow 

 for the lovers of deep borders, bir. I am borne out in the 

 practice by facts, as trees thus treated have borne all 

 the vicissitudes of hot and dry periods without flinching. 

 Besides, who that understands the permanent character 

 of stiff yellow loams, would fear a period of drought in 

 this case, provided he had it in his power to apply top- 

 dressings ? These last, if rightly applied in emergencies, 

 will, under the ove circumstances, give the trees the 

 most perfect immunity from any evil consequences 

 arising from dry weather. 



I have every assurance that it would be very good 

 policy to mix lumps of stone, mortar, charcoal, orbnekf, 

 in the proportion of one part to three of loam, after Mr. 

 Hoare's manner; but in this case I should increase the 

 depth from one foot to one foot six inches ; the probable 

 effect of which would be to lengthen the durability of the 

 tree Howeter, I will guarantee the trees, without this, 

 to last a person's lifetime, provided the plan is done 



justice to in all respects. ...'. 



Steady, yet permanent action of root should be borne 

 in mind as the main object ; also a free early action in 

 the spring, which is promoted by keeping the volume of 

 roots within the reach of soLr heat, thereby insuring 

 early made wood, together with early rest, and of course 



well ripened wood. 



In adverting to my mode of pruning, which may of 

 course be divided under the heads summer and winter, 

 I may state that it is exactly the same for wall Pears as 

 for espaliers. I have a different mode from most Pear- 

 growers of training my wall Pears, which I will endea- 

 vour to explain ; first, however, disclaiming all idea of 

 wishing it to be thought the only good mode. I may 

 merely sav that it answers most completely in practice, 

 and is altogether as simple as efficient. The difference 

 between drill-cropping and broadcast is quite familiar to 

 all your readers: just such, and for similar reasons, is the 

 difference between my mode of training Pears on walls 

 and that commonly practised. Instead of training the 

 spray all over the wall, I tie it down on the mam leaders, 



using them as a trellis. 



My leading shoots, however, are further apart than is 

 usual, being laid in at the distance of four bricks apart, 

 or, in fact, about 13 inches. This mode exposes a good 

 deal of naked surface of wall in parallel lines to the 

 action of the sun, for the accumulation of solar warmth, 

 which, of course, radiates on the shoots in the immediate 

 vieinitv, as, through copings of s foot, it cannot escape 

 upwards. On this mode I rely, then, for increase of 

 flavour in the fruit, but more especially for the thoroughly 



ripening of the wood, tending to the production and 



pcrfecti of fruitful blossoms. 



I train niv espaliers precisely on the same principle, 



carriitig ir main leaders parallel with the ground sur- 



f at the distance of a foot. The leaders of my espaliers 

 are rath: r farther apart than the wall leaders, aver- 

 aging 1^ in I, on account of the less intensity of light 



in this situation. 



Mv mode of pruning is exceedingly simple: — In the 

 middle or end of July the young spray to be reserved is 

 tied down with matting on the main branches ; the per- 

 son who pen-forms this part of tli2 business is merely 

 directed to tie clown all the Short-jointed shoots, and 

 more especially those which already show signs of ripe- 

 ness by ceasing to extend at the point; and after tying 

 these down, to top all the useless spray, cutting it back 

 about one half its length. This we generally do with the 

 shears : it is soon performed. My object in not entirely 

 removing the useless spray at this period is to prevent 

 the organisation of the embryo fruit-bud being disturbed, 

 as it certainly would be in many cases, more especially if 

 the weather were rainy ; and for this reason I generally 

 embrace a dry time for performing the operation. Hay 

 much sti 1 on the latter point, simple as it may appear, 

 fcr whoever will watch the development of Pear-blossoms 

 in spring, and more especially the tender kinds in bad 

 situations, will find many singular anomalies presenting 



themselves. 



When all danger from the bursting of the embryo 

 blossom is over, or about the middle of August, the dub- 

 bing-shears are once more in requisition, and the useless 

 spray is cut as dose 8s can be managed without injury; 

 for all the solar light that can now be obtained, will be 

 required to perfect both bud and fruit. This, then, com- 

 pletes my su mer pruning. 



In the month of December the matting is all cut 

 which fa ns down the young spray, and the primer 

 cuts a^ay all the old stumps and snags which were left 

 by the dubbing-shear*-, as well as the old spurs which 

 have ceased to bear : these are not merely shortened 

 back, but cut entirely away. No more is done to them 

 at this time, the final pruning being reserved for the 

 period when the blossom swells, and when every blossom- 

 bud can be distinguished, as many kinds, when dwarfed 

 especially, form abundance of buds on the young wood, 

 and as these swell rather later thun the spur-blossoms in 

 some esses, much loss might ensue from an earlier prun- 

 ing. The spray is now thinned out, leaving a regular 

 sprinkling of the shortest-jointed shoots all along the 

 stem ; the rest are cut clean off, not spurred back, and 

 the remainder are tied close down with matting. This 

 completes my course of culture, with the exception of 

 covering the blossom; and to effect this I use canvass on 

 the walls, and stick Spruce-fir boughs amongst the espa- 

 liers, as no pains should be lost in this respect. 



Those who live in the southern parts of the country 

 will think some of my practice superfluous ; 1 have, 

 h ever, had the Pear to deal with in the neighbourhood 

 of the metropolis, and I can bear ample testimony to the 

 difference in climate.— /?. Errington, Oulton. 



SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NAPOLEONA. IMPERIALIS. 

 Of this plant, the following account his been published in a late Number of the M Botanical Register." W e 

 have merely added to the Editor's remarks a cut, to show the structure of its curious flowers : 



the middle on each side, aad a 

 foramen next the base, the 

 nucleus being curved like a hone 

 shoe, so that its base and apex 

 are both nearly in contact; 

 the style is 5-angled, or rather 

 5-winged, and terminated by i 

 table-shaped stigma, with five sides, 

 five rays, and a small elevation at 

 each angle, which elevations are 

 perhaps the true stigmatie sur- 

 faces. The fruit, according to De 

 Beauvois, is a soft spheric*! berry, 

 surmounted by the calyx, one- 

 celled, many-seeded, the seeds 

 lying in a fleshy matter; this is 

 evidently incorrect. Mr. Whit- 

 field found it to be as large aa 

 a Pomegranate, and very like one, 

 containing a mucilaginous pulp 

 which is eatable, and a rind so full 

 of tannin, that the natives make 

 an ink from it. The seeds (of 

 which I have seen one, dead and 

 without its skin) are large amygda- 

 loid bodies, kidney-shaped, and 

 as much as l£ inch long, with 

 the taste (in that state) of a 

 Spanish Chesnut, but with a 

 bitter after-taste ; at their con- 

 traction the plano-convex coty- 

 ledons hold together by an axis 

 whose radicle and plumule are both 

 immersed in the substance of the 

 cotyledons." 



"Among the most remark- 

 able plants that have hitherto 

 been discovered ranks this 

 rare species, of which living 

 plants have been lately 

 brought from Sierra Leone 

 by Mr. Whitfield. That in- 

 defatigable collector having 

 given me a dried specimen 

 with a seed, and the Earl of 

 Derby having most kindly 

 placed in my hands a bottle 

 containing the flowers in 

 different states,an opportunity 



has arisen for clearing up the 



history of one of the most 



obscure genera in the records 



of systematical Botany. 

 M Napoleona was so named 



by the late M. Palisot de 



Beauvois, who first found it 



in the kingdom of Oware, in 



Western Africa, where it was 



common, especially in the 



woods behind the King of 



O ware's residence. From 



fragments preserved by that 



naturalist a good figure, so 



far as general appearance 



goes, was published, but with 



extremely inaccurate and 



incomplete details. The 



flowers were represented as 



being sky-blue, with a sort of 



5-rayed star, of a pink colour 



in the middle; and upon the 



whole, the account which he 



gave of it was so unsatisfac- 



torv, that the very existence 



of the plant has been doubted 



by some people. In what De 



Besuvcis was right and in 



what wrong, the following 



description will show : — 

 44 It forms a bush about as 



largt; as a Camellia, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Whitfield. The 

 wood is soft, whitish, with 



large medullary rays an . . « Tn th P total absence of all cor; ect information as to 



abundance of dotted vessels, intermingled with brittle. In tl le t ota aose ?» ™ • botanists have 



acicular tubes of woody tissue, very like what is found in he ^^£™ * a any" ^ aftory conclusion as to 

 the germinating radicle of a Mangrove. No hairs are to been unable to a ive at any Bali stac y 



be found on an°y part of the plant. The leaves are alter- its «^£«V All ^"^J™^ Order. Palisot 



nate, leathery, between 3 and 6 inches long. "" j £^ 



hnceolate, tapering to an obtuse point, and narrowed at , De Beauvois statea \i _*> , . r u . t _ mJ 



the base into a thick channelled petiole about a quarter 

 of an inch long ; there is no trace of stipules. 1 he rlo *ers 

 grow in threes, sessile in the axil of the leaves, and are 

 surrounded at their base by several round imbricated 

 scales, as in Camellias; when expanded, they measure 

 2 inches in diameter ; 'Mr. Whitfield states that when 

 decaying, they assume a bluish tint, whi-.h has probably 

 led to De Beauvois's error in representing them as almost 

 wholly blue in their perfect state. The calyx is a thick 

 leathery cup, divided into five ovate segments, having a 

 perfectly valvtte rettiv*tion. Within this is placed the 

 corolla, which consists of three distinct rings, each of 

 which is monopetalous. The first ring is Apricot-colour, 

 divided into five lobes, each of which has seven stiff ribs, 

 between which the texture is membranous ; the lobes 

 have seven broad teeth, corresponding with the points of 

 the ribs, and much curled and crumpled. By means of 

 the libs and intervening membrane, this part of the 

 corolla is strongly plaited both before and after expan- 

 sion ; when fully blown, it turns quite back over the 

 calyx, so as to hide it completely. The second ring : " 

 very small and thin ; it if, in fact, a narrow membran 

 stationed at the foot of the first ring, and cut into an in- 



Pa"ifloracea: ; a view that was probably taken in con* 

 q, ;nce of tle'double-ringed eoroHa, which i, ana.ogou, 

 le coronet of the Pa-ioo-flower, and th e,,.a d oroll. 



with an inferior ovary, which brings to mind the flower. 

 of the Gourd tribe. DesfoMame., , on the c^/Of ^ 



refers it, a 



Iff* ,>>i<. "*•«-*■. :?!"> BSaJTB 



>rd tribe. Desfor.tainei, on the contrary im** 

 nd another genu, which he calls Asteranthns, 

 iy doubt, to Symplocacea, because o. t mo- 



S£ putslTnext 8jMlo~; 



r " the Endhchcr puts it ne«o, » <^ « previo usly known of I 

 |M is siflora e, adding to what hsci oec i probably J 



originated in D^ ^^^ SC fc; I myself, feeiii 

 in pulpa carnosa mdulant.a. rin j. . . . 



definite number of fine narrow sharp-pointed segments, in pulpa carn ° sa n * ^ a " t9 7,ue affinities, placed it in the 

 This ring was overlooked by De Beauvois. The third that tuese ^ fcg of at j ou bt. J 



J -- l - i - J u-.-*!. «rki.«-M n^n- Campansl alliance, wun og description, that «. 



is obvious, from Hie lon.go z th /orders 

 ona has nothing to d< ►with .0 J. «-U ft 



ring is rich crimson, according to Mr. Whitfield, mem- 

 branous, but erect, and assuming the form of a cup, 

 whose edge is cut into many fine segments, turned down- 

 words, so as not to be at all conspicuous. De Beauvois 

 makes this a flat star of many point", which is altogether 

 an error. The stamens are in number 20, standing e.ect 

 in the form of another cup, of a rich Apricot colour, and 

 unequally united at their base ; they have linear-lanceo- 

 late filaments, which are much thinner next the anthers, 

 and ate there turned inwards; the anther itself is ob- 

 long, 2-celled, and erect ; it is difficult to conceive how 

 De Beauvois could have made out of this five petal-like 

 filaments, each of which bears two anthers. Next the 

 stamens comes a deep fleshy cup or disk, standings* 

 high as the stigma, and having ten sides, of which 

 the narrowest are alternate with the lobes of the 

 stigma, and two-ribbed in the inside. The ovary 

 is buried beneath the mass formed by the base 

 of the corolla, stamens, and disk, so that unless 

 you cut into the very base of the ovary the cells 

 may be overlooked ; it has five cells, in each of 

 which two ovules hang from the top of an axile 

 placenta, which is so attached to the partitions that 



pa 

 "It 



that 

 to 

 tfers 



Napoieona n» "-»"»; Cucurbitace* 



which it has been referred. *rom uuc , tatio n, 



ntterly in its hermaphrodite f ^;^^ 1 . it has in 

 highly' developed corol la and wl lole h ^ rftCfB .esm 

 fact no resemblance to that Order. 1 ^ hi . bo- 

 at first sight to, cairn a much nean* "J^^rfd* 

 cause of the triple-rowed corol ^p^n-nower ; bu 

 much resembles the coronet of a Pe« ion ^ 



th-re the resemblance ceases. The tenun » r 



; en * free ovary, distinct styles, jWj^ 

 Imbricated calyx of Morace* .re »" f ^ , fcr 

 at variance with the genus. Symplocacese ftnite 



better guess, for the "°™V**\™"^ £ sV 

 enioetal ms stamens, exile place nf, ^ent ^ 



J;-: nouedisi. the calyx is -Ivate. a^- U 

 /o albumen, to say nothing of ^^^^ b ■ 

 the corolla, which is not to be who 1 yd. eg ^ 

 consideration of this kind To me it a, pe e , 



true aflhrty is in the neighboured of he ofaf y 



