1844.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



851 





r 



; 



»' 





THE FILBY RASPBERRY— On or about July 18, 

 1843, Mr. Henry Youkll came to the garden at Filby, and 

 requested me to give him some fruit of the above Raspberry, to 

 send to Dr. Liwdlby. Mr. H. Youell and myself then looked 

 over the Canes, and gathered some; he said that about two 

 dozen would be sufficient. He then consulted me upon the 

 best way of packing them, and I recommended htm to pack 

 them in cotton wadding or wool ; to this he assented, observing 

 that he thought it would be the best method. 



Signed, William Crisp, Gardener to Rev. G. Lucas, 

 Filby, Dec. 10, 1844. Filby, near Yarmouth. 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING AND GARDEN ARCHITECTURE. 



MR. GLENDINNING, since his residence Dear the 

 Metropolis, has had the honour to be consulted by a 

 number of Noblemen and Gentlemen in the improvement of 

 their Parks and Gardens, end in the construction and heating 

 of Horticultural Buildings in the most economical as well as 

 effectual manner. He has now made such arrangements as 

 will enable him to devote his particular attention to these im- 

 portant subjects; and NobleTien and Gentlemen desirous of 

 consulting him, are respectfully requested to address him at 

 Chiswick Nursery, near London. 



may not be useful to top or pinch off the ends of the 

 shoots of the Potato at a particular season, (see p.293). 

 The idea was that this might give the plants a greater 

 tendency to form tubers by stopping them in their 

 onward course. The only trial that we know of is 

 one of our own. Bread-fruit Potatoes were planted 

 in rows 2 feet 3 inches apart, inches deep, and 7 

 inches asunder in the rows. They produced at 



from both beds were gathered and mixed indiscrimi- 

 nately, any one could, without difficulty, select those 

 grown upon the turf from those raised on the beds 

 covered with the small coal.— John Ilankin, Gardener to 

 Capt. Mitford. 



the following rate : — 



Stems not topped 

 Stems topped 



tons. cwt. lb. 

 . 14 15 go 



II IS 84 



SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1844. 



MEETING FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 Fridat, Jan. 3 Botanical 8 p.w. 



The next point in Potato- growing, which the 

 experiments before us were intended to elucidate, is 

 the effect upon the crop of destroying the blossoms. 

 As the reasons for this operation have been already 

 given at p. 427 of the present "Volume, we need not 

 repeat them here. The results are all that we need 

 occupy ourselves with. 



Our own opinion was in favour of the operation ; 

 and upon the whole, we think that the new evidence 

 before us confirms the correctness of our views. 



Against the experiment , . 2 17 16 



If we are to judge from this apparently decisive 

 result, the experiment is not worth repeating. But 

 the following trial goes the other way. 



Bread-fruit Potatoes were planted singly 2 feet 10 

 inches apart each way. Their produce was at this 

 rate: — 



Stems topped 

 Stems not topped 



tons. cvrt. lb. 

 . 5 6 50 

 . 4 1 



"Falcon]' says, " I have no doubt, from experiment, , --, ™.,« v „ „,^„ 4IJ „ iC 11IO , 



that taking off blossoms, at a proper time, is an ad- 1 from it in our ordinary rainy summers ' 



TTOtlfanra Tf i.ViaiiIiI li <-.... ..__ T .1 __ _ _ .... V17 - .. «.!. f* ._» -. .1 . .1 



In favour of the experiment 1 5 56 



Now, from this we infer that when the Potato 

 plantgrows extremely vigorously, topping is a decided 

 advantage, and the reverse when it grows slowly. 

 This year the Potatoes, on the land where the expe- 

 riment was tried, suffered much from drought; were, 

 by it, checked more than enough, and topping became 

 prejudicial by adding to the mischief. But where, 

 from having a great deal of room to grow, the effect 

 of the drought was hardly felt, and the haulm became 

 very strong, topping produced the result that was 

 looked for in the remarks made at p. 293, If, then, 

 in a dry year like this, it proved advantageous, under 

 any circumstances, how much more may be expected 











DISEASES OF PLANTS.— No. VIII. 



** [AXTKVXAXU.] 



The parasites which form the subject of the present 

 notice agree with the fruit moulds (V.ucor) in having the 

 reproductive organs contained within a vesicle, either 

 formed from one of the joints of the stem or springing 

 from the side of it. This vesicle, however, differs mate- 

 rially in being itself composed of a number of minute 

 cells, which give it a 

 reticulated appear- 

 ance, and above all, in 

 the curious fact that a 

 new individual is pro- 

 duced within it Im- 

 mersed In gelatine, 

 which, when its en- * — Z \~ 

 velope bursts, in- f ^' f •*"") 



creases gradually till V^__^ ( j 



it attains the stature 

 of the parent plant. 

 This is a mode of 

 fructification analo- Antennaria Robinaonil. 



gous to that of the curious fresh-water Alga called Hydro- 

 dictjon, which resembles a netted purse, at first closed, 

 but at length open at either end ; the tubes, of which the 

 meshes are composed, at first contain a mass of granules, 

 which, in process of time, are, by some mysterious law, 

 disposed in pentagons and become grafted to each 

 other by their extremities, and then increasing gra- 

 dually burst the general envelope, each joint of the 

 original net thus giving rise to a new one. 



^ , 



^ 



u 



vantage. 



47& lbs. ; flowers on 

 4]£ lbs. ; flowers off 

 30 lbs. ; do. left on 

 30 lbs.; do. taken off" 

 43 lbs. ; do. on 



It should, however, be so done, as not to 

 give the plants an opportunity of throwing out fresh 

 flowers, which will exhaust the tubers ; the best time 

 is just before the formation of soed-vessels. If the 

 -flowers are taken off too soon, the plants may exert 

 themselves to propagate their species before the tubers 

 are strong enough to consume the extra nourishment 

 provided by the destruction of the blossoms." This is 

 sound good sense, and want of attention to it may 

 account for some statements adverse to the infer- 

 ences drawn from his experiments by "Falcon." 



A gentleman at Norwood gives the following re- 

 sult : — 



No. l, only 9 yards long 



2 12 yards long 



3 do. 



4 do. . 



5 do. ..... ._„. , .. 



This experiment would at first sight seem to show 

 that taking off the blossoms is actually prejudicial, 

 for the greatest weight was obtained from Nos. 1 and 

 5, in which the flowers were left on ; but it is to be 

 remembered that they were outside rows, and there- 

 fore must be left out of consideration. Of the inside 

 rows, which alone can be justly compared with each 

 other, the greatest result was from No. 2, in which 

 the flowers were removed. It is true that this con- 

 clusion is nullified by No. 4, in which the crop was 

 the same as when the flowers were left on ; but we 

 cannot receive such an instance, especially in an ex- 

 periment conducted on so small a scale, as conclusive 

 against the practice. More so is a statement by 

 " F. H. S.," who says, " I caused all my Potatoes to 

 have the flowers removed—reserving, however, one 

 row as a means of comparison, which was allowed to 

 bloom. On lately taking up the whole, I had this 

 single row, with one on either side of it, weighed and 

 measured, and we were unable to perceive any differ- 

 ence, either in point of weight or quality, in the three 

 rows thus compared. They were all of the same de- 

 scription, and planted at the same time." 



In opposition to this is the following statement, by 

 " J. W.,'' a correspondent near Romsey : — 



" Having followed your recommendation, of taking 

 off the flowers of the Potato when in blossom, I wish 

 to add my testimony to the advantage derived from 

 doing so, by assuring you that the crop of Potatoes 

 far exceeded that of former years, both in size and 



We therefore submit that the question is not de- 

 termined adversely to our anticipations; but that the 

 probability of Potato-topping being a good system is 

 so much increased as to render it worthy of more 

 extended inquiry, whenever, and from whatever 

 cause, the Potato haulm is very rank. 



^ 



By the kindness of a friend we have been supplied 

 with information relative to the Heaviest Goose- 

 berry of 1829. It weighed 25 pennyweights ; was 

 the " Roaring Lion," and was grown by Mr. 

 Fardon, of Woodstock. Therefore, our Nottingham 

 friend, Mr. T. Gibson, still retains the " champion- 

 ship " of Gooseberry growing. 



jjjjfC quantity. I had the blossoms left on one row, and 

 I the crop was very inferior, both in size and quantity. I 



prevailed upon a poor neighbour to follow the plan, 

 and the result was the same; and I hope next year to 

 induce others to try it." 



This is all the information we have received upon 

 this point of Potato cultivation. It is much to be 

 regretted that the experiments were not made upon 

 a larger scale, and the results, in some instances, 

 reported with more exactness. At present we see no 

 reason to alter our expressed opinion, that pinching 

 off the Potato flower is a considerable advantage. May 

 we hope that some intelligent cultivators will put the 

 question to rest another year, by trying the experi- 

 ment comparatively on a larger scale, and furnishing 

 us with the actual weights they may obtain ? 



Connected with this subject is another that we 

 Pointed out as worth inquiry, namely : whether it 



NEW METHOD OF GROWING THE MUSH- 

 ROOM (Agaricus campestris). 

 Passing over the various modes of forming or making 

 the beds, which I consider to be of minor importance, I 

 proceed to direct attention to the failures which after- 

 ward take place, and which so frequently disappoint 

 previous expectations. The principal cause of these 

 failures I attribute to the very imperfect methods of 

 supplying water to the beds which are in action. 



The principal requisites for the successful culture of 

 the Mushroom are heat, light, air, and a damp atmosphere. 

 In the first place, with me, the dung is collected fresh 

 from the stables, particularly from horses that are fed 

 upon dry food, such as corn and hay. It is thrown into 

 a shed to dry, a little before it is made into beds; my 

 boxes are trellised at the bottom, which allows the heated 

 air to penetrate through the mass of dung easily ; a little 

 hay or rough litter is spread over the bottom of the box, 

 in order to prevent the dung from passing through the 

 trellis work, and every two or three inches of dung that 

 is added is beaten hard with a wooden mallet, until the 

 layers reach within 1J inch of the top of the box. As 

 soon as the heat of the dung falls to a proper tempera- 

 ture, I insert large pieces of spawn into the bed at the 

 distance of about eight inches square. I rarely make use 

 of spawn less than 12 months old, and the less that it 

 is broken I find that it produces the better crops. 



In about a week or 10 days afterwards, I finish off the 

 beds with green turf \\ inch in thickness, making thebedt 

 in my boxes in all about 9 inches in depth. I beat down 

 the turf very firmly with the back of a spade in finish- 

 ing; afterwards I have no farther trouble, except in 

 paying attention to the fire, and in admitting fresh air as 

 it may be required. The house is heated by open tanks, 

 which run through the centre of it, and which return 

 again into the boiler, giving out a sufficient quantity of 

 moisture for the necessary development and growth of 

 the Mushroom. During night the Grassy turf becomes 

 copiously loaded with moisture ; and should the following 

 day prove fine, I never omit giving abundance of fresh 

 air by the door-way. The temperature of the house 

 ranges from GO to 65° during the day, and at night it is 

 frequently allowed to fall as low as temperate. 



The great advantage of growing the Mushroom upon 

 fresh Grassy turf is obvious to any one accustomed to its 

 cultivation. I have been in the habit of growing it, and 

 with great success, upon coal refuse for the last two years, 

 and at present I have two boxes at work, one covered 

 with coal-dust, the other with turf; the produce of these 

 shows the relative advantages of the two methods, for 

 although those from the coal-dust are large and of good 

 flavour, they are decidedly inferior in both respects to 

 those produced by the Grass-covered beds ; indeed, such 

 is the superiority of the latter, that if the Mushroom a 



1. Portion of full-grown plant. 



2. Portion of a joint in which the granules have commenced 



to dispose themselves in pentagons, the rn laments of the n«w 

 plant. 



But not only is the plant rapidly increased by this ready 

 formed race of new individuals, but every portion of the 

 thread easily vegetates, and even the little cells of which 

 the wall of the fructifying cyst is composed are them- 

 selves also viviparous, and hence these parasites overrun 

 with their black soot-like, or woolly masses, the leaves 

 and shoots of such trees and shrubs as are subject to 

 their attacks. In some spec ; es the threads form little 

 more than a black velvety down, covering principally the 

 young shoots, disfiguring and very materially injuring 

 them ; in others they produce a cloth-like felt, com- 

 pletely investing the whole plant, and in one case the 

 threads are much elongated, and anastomose, so as to 

 form a black spongy mass. They exist in various parts 

 of the world. In Scotland young Pines are very subject 

 to be attacked by Antennaria pinophila. In Perthshire 

 especially they have been observed to be much injured 

 by it. In the South of Europe the arboreal Heaths and 

 Cistuses are frequently covered in consequence with a 

 dense black coat. One species, which is figured above, 

 runs over the fronds of Ferns in Juan Fernandez; Mr. 

 Gardner gathered a species investing trees in Brazil; and 

 in the Antarctic Expedition Dr. Hooker observed one 

 very general, on the species of Dracophyllum, especially 

 D. macrophyllum, and the same species apparently 

 has been gathered in the Swan River district of 

 Australia, and in South America. All alike prove 

 injurious, by clogging up the stomates and veiling 

 the young shoots and leaves from the influence of 

 light, which is so essential to the health of vegetables. 

 In a specimen from Perthshire, sent by a gentleman of 

 the name of Drummond to Sir W. J. Hooker, in 1840, 

 and submitted to me, I find other parasites intermixed, 

 but all of nearly the same colour and producing the same 

 injury. 



The dark olive-green coat, which is so common 

 upon Orange-trees in Madeira, and which may be ob- 

 served also on them and other plants in our conserva- 

 tories, and on various trees, especially Plum and Lime, 

 in the open air, must not be confounded with the An- 

 tennariae, being of a very different construction, however 

 similar in appearance. Of this we shall have to speak 

 when we come to the Mucedines. The productions now 

 before us do not, it would seem, like them, spring from, 

 any glutinous deposit on the leaves or stems, as is the 

 case with the mould of Plum-leaves. At least, nothing 



