I 



1855. 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



experienced correspondents, and they have evinced great 

 good sense in separating the alien species now over- 

 running the country from the true original denizens of 

 the land. The book will be read with interest, not only by 

 the inhabitants of Yorkshire and the neighbouring 

 counties, but by all who take an interest in the distri- 

 bution of plants. 



specimens as these, and especially the Palms, we need 

 not say, serve in an eminent degree to vary the appear- 

 ance of the place, and increase its interest. In the 

 borders in front of the shrubs Hyacinths and other 



whole of winter, and to be seen to advantage they should 

 be moved to a greenhouse or conservatory. R. M. 



Fumigatino Soft-wooded Plants. — It may be useful 

 to know that sott-wooded florist flowers and other tender 



spring bulbs have been planted, with a view to keep up leaved plants of all kinds will withstand without injury 

 a little gaiety in the early part of the year. as much tobacco smoke as any person can afford to give 



The baskets of plants suspended from the roof still ( them, provided their leaves are perfectly dry. I have 



" had Cinerarias, Calceolarias, Fuchsias, and the like, 



Garden Memoranda. 



The Crystal Palace, Sydenham. — Many have been 

 of opinion that plants would not succeed inside the 

 palace, and some have even gone so far as to say that 

 the difficulties which beset the attempt would be found 

 to be altogether insurmountable. Such, however, we 

 are happy to report, has not proved to be the fact; in- 

 deed, experience as yet is wholly in favour of the pro- 

 ject ; for the plants of all kinds with which the building 

 as been furnished could not, we think, all things con- 

 sidered, possibly be in better condition than they are at 

 the present time. It is true that some of the Palms and 

 very tender stove plants have suffered a little for want 

 of warmth \ but this has been remedied by partition- 

 ing off the part appropriated to their growth by a 

 canvas screen, and now all is going on satisfactorily. 



As regards Conifers, the building may be said to be 

 rich in Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria excelsa), two 

 magnificent specimens of which, presented by his Grace 

 the Duke of Devonshire, are planted in the centre tran- 

 sept. These are even now too large for any ordinary 

 conservatory ; bat here, we need scarcely say, they have 

 room enough for ample development. In the south 

 transept on the west side are two other specimens of 

 this Pine, one presented by the Messrs. Veitch, from 

 their nursery at Exeter, and the other by the Horticul- 

 tural Society, from its large conservatory at Chiswick. 

 The latter has been but recently planted, and has its 

 trunk and branches covered with damp moss, in order 

 in some measure to prevent exhaustion till the roots 

 have taken hold of the soil. Two more examples of 

 this noble tree from Windsor, presented by her Majesty, 

 deserve remark : they stand near the north-west end of 

 the building, and look as if they had already "taken" 

 to their new situation. In front of the tombs have been 

 very appropriately placed a few plants of the funereal 

 Cypress. 



The noble Orange trees from the Chateau de Nenilly, 

 which line the sides of the transept, appear to be in 

 perfect health, with the exception, perhaps, of a few 

 specimens which have been lately imported, and which 

 suffered from salt-water and other accidents consequent 

 on removal. Most of these trees are of immense size, 

 with broad heads and clean stems, and serve in no 

 ordinary degree to embellish the noble edifice. They 

 are associated in places with standard Bays, and huge 

 specimens of variegated and common American Aloes. 

 A fine plant of the latter, in the " Geographical dis- 

 tribution of plants," is stated to have borne without the 

 least injury 14° of frost, showing that these plants are 

 rather more hardy than many have supposed them to be, 

 and that they might possibly be even employed, if pro- 

 tected a little in winter, for out-door decoration. 



The rocks in the European and Chinese departments 

 are becoming tolerably well covered with plants, and 

 the Hypnum-like Saxifrage, which has been introduced 

 pretty plentifully here, appears to be a good plant for 

 clothing the soil about them with verdure. In the 

 north African and Australian departments a few Ferns 

 are growing in great luxuriance, and in the last-named 

 division we noticed a good plant of the Casuarina toru- 

 losa or Australian Beef Tree. 



The plants in beds have been mostly re-arranged, and 

 apparently replanted us skilfully as it is possible with 

 regard to effect. The Camellias, which at present form 



look green, and some of the climbers trained up the 

 supports are growing freely. A Wistaria brought from 

 Messrs. Loddiges has been replanted with safety, and 

 has now nearly reached the top of the transept roof. 



Preparations are being made for planting the Victoria 

 Regia and other choice aquatics in the water in tlie 

 west end of the house. The soil is put in, the hot- 

 water pipes are laid, and in due time the basin will 

 be filled with water. At the other end of the house the 

 water is already stocked with Water Lilies, among 

 which the blue one is still in flower. 



In the tropical end of the building, some few of the 

 tender Palms and very tender stove plants have, as we 

 have stated, been injured a little for want of warmth. 

 This has, however, been remedied, as we have already 

 stated, by' enclosing this part with a canvas screen, 

 which completely cuts it off from the rest of the house. 

 Since this has been done, any amount of heat can be 

 maintained which is necessary. As regards the con- 

 dition of the Palms here little can be said at present ; 



much injured after smoking through the leaves being 

 damp. Let the plants be next to flagging before you 

 smoke them ; and to convince you of the truth of my 

 assertion, let one plant be gently syringed before 

 smoking, and it will soon be apparent what is the cause 

 of plants suffering from fumigation. C. 0* 



Chinese Pkimula: D W C. Your variety with leav slightly 

 variegated is of no value. There are much prettier variegated 

 kinds already in cultivation.— IK M. All very handsome sorts, 

 more especially No. 1, which measures 1| inch across, and 

 which is prettily fringed and of a brilliant crimson colour. 



Miscellaneous. 



Tlie Bio Tree (WeUingtonia gigantm, Lindl,).— Dr. C. 

 F. Winslow, in the ** California Farmer," a weekly 

 journal published at San Francisco, has given an 

 account of his excursion from " Murphy's Camp/' 

 (2400 feet elevation), to the site of the " Big Tree," on 



they appear to have got well over the effects of removal, the very stump of which he writes his letter (Aug. 8, 



1854), the spot itself being designated, at least by him, 





and to be in good condition to commence growth as soou 

 as spring shall have set in. Among them are some 

 noble specimens which, however, look small in this 

 great glass-house, compared with what they did in the 

 Palm-house at Mr. Loddiges*. The Palmetto, especially, 

 is a very fine example of this fine Palm. It stands 

 conspicuously at the end of the transept, and is planted 

 in a cement-covered brick basin, 16 feet in diameter. 

 The Musas, with their broad leaves, are very effective ; 



but at present this part of the house is rather bare of 

 foliage. 



Out of doors the grounds are fast approaching com- 

 pletion. All may be said to be finished down to the 

 water temples, which are nearly up ; the cascades below 

 them have been formed, and the ground about them put 

 into shape. What still remains to be executed, is 

 the part about the islands where the extinct animals are 

 placed. Water has now been let into all the lakes 

 except the large ones below the cascades. 



FLORICULTURE. 



Carnations. 



u Washington Mammoth Grove." If this account is to 

 be depended upon (and it must be confessed the learned 

 Doctor s style is both flowery and hyperbolical), we 

 learn some new and interesting particulars respecting 

 this gigantic tree : — 1, That the accounts brought home 

 by our sober English traveller, Mr. William Lobb, do 

 not give us the full height to which this Pine attains, by 

 one-fourth ; 2, that the locality seems to be circum- 

 scribed to an area of a few acres ; and 3, what concerns 

 us more, now that Messrs. Veitch and Sons have enabled 

 us to possess living plants, that the soil and atmosphere 

 at the place of growth are singularly humid ; and in 

 this we think the Doctor is likely to be correct. Omit- 

 ting then, the mention of " the 6ublime thoughts, such 

 as have rarely before impressed his soul," — " of such a 

 nature that he often involuntarily surrendered himself 

 to the idea that he was approaching the visible and 

 actual presence of the Great One who revealed himself 

 to Moses on the heights of Sinai," &c. — we shall confine 

 ourselves to the following extracts : — ** The road (from 

 Murphy's Camp) gradually ascending for several miles 

 over a varied landscape, becomes afterwards more level, 

 or rather it undulates and winds for a long stretch 





— Your correspondent's remarks (see 

 p. 839, 1854) respecting the colours running or sport- 

 ing of his Carnations, will doubtless be read with in- 

 terest. I for one am sorry to say that I have had half 



a dozen of my best flowers sport this season, and I am Firs, Spruce, Arbor-Vita;, and other cone-bearing trees, 

 at a loss to what to attribute it. I certainly cannot say whose magnitude perceptibly increases with the altitude 

 that high manuring is the cause of the evil, for in my of the locality. The whole surface of the hill-sides is 



among hills and valleys thickly wooded, and fit for 

 farms and deer parks. During the last three miles the 

 ascent is steady and through a virgin wilderness of Pines, 



case 



hav 



-viug nothing but green manure by me, 1 had covered with herbage or plants, more or less verdant, 



them potted without any manure at all ; high manur- and in spots* there is a freshness to the verdure which 



ing cannot, therefore, be the sole cause of flowers reminds one of spring, and which contrasts strongly 



sporting, although no doubt more flowers run from that with the arid and dusty plains and hills of the lower 



cause than any other, for they are not so liable to sport sections of country. The wild Raspberry, Strawberry, 



in the open borders in common mould as in rich soil. 

 I have generally noticed that in hot dry summers the 

 flowers are very apt to sport ; and I have no doubt 

 that the season, as well as the soil, has a great deal to 

 do with the evil : we generally find that Scarlet Bizarres, 

 Purple Bizarres, and Scarlet Flakes are the classes that 



Pea, and Hazelnut mingle their humble or more pro- 

 minent foliage with the diversified undergrowths of the 

 forests ; and here and there new and attractive 

 flowers struck my eye so pleasingly, i that I was 

 compelled at times to stop, gather, examine, and admire 

 them. The charm of these regions to the botanist 

 would be in the freshness and luxuriance with which 



are most liable to run, being very rich and high in 

 colour. I am of your correspondent's opinion that j Nature elaborates her vegetable forms. The vital prin- 

 manure water should not be applied until the pods begin ciple, stimulated by the condensing vapours of the cool 

 to burst ; but it is a good plan to water them with a little fresh air of night, and nourished by a suitable pabulum 

 clean soot water, in order to keep the foliage of a good \ in the decomposing soil, acts with a steady energy, and 



the bulk of flowering shrubs of any size in the building, dark colour. The following compost has been recom- ! thousands of stately trees stud the hills in all directions, 



are well set with buds, and therefore a grand display of 



this glorious flower may soon be expected. White 



Chinese Azaleas, too, of which there are some hu^e 



specimens, promise to blossom well ; these are planted 



in peat, among masses of roots, which form as it were a 



sort of pot for them. Scattered throughout the beds are 



such plants as Dracaena indivisa, Yuccas, New Zealand 



Flax, Hedychiums, and even Palms, all of which serve 



to give au exotic appearance to this the cool part of the 

 house. " 





Of Hakea Vic tori ae there is a fine plant, as well time is as gay as it well can be with well-grown plants 

 as of Acacia grandis and decurrens ; indeed the latter of all the best varieties of it. Some of my sorts, all of 

 are, perhaps, the largest specimens of the kind in the ; which I raise from seeds every year, iiave flowers which 

 country. Aralia crassifolia stood 14° of frost here, as measure upwards of an inch and a half across, and in 

 did also Stadmannia australis. Berberis nepalensis colour are of a deep glowing crimson. The beauty of 

 grows uncommonly well here, as do also Fieuses of all 

 kinds, whose ample foliage is vary ornamental. The 

 two £reat EpacrUes, bought at Mrs. Lawrence's sale, 

 have been planted out and promise to do well. Inter- 

 mixed with the above are smaller specimens of many 

 interesting plants, amona; which we remarked the 



so lofty as to amaze the observer, and to compel him 

 when near them to strain his eyes to catch a view of 

 their topmost off-shoots. But the most amazing of all 

 thehe vegetable productions are here ; and Nature, by 

 peculiar geognostic arrangements, seems to have isolated 

 them to startle and arrest the attention of mankind, 

 and to strengthen scientific truth touching the special 

 distribution of organic races. So far as known, the 

 vegetable growth to which the name of c Big Tree ' has 

 been attached, grows in no other region of the Sierra 

 Nevada, nor on any other mountain-range of the earth. 

 It exists here only, and all the individuals of its kind, so 

 far as I can learn, are localised to this vicinity. They 

 are embraced within a range of 200 acres, and are en- 

 a fine head of such blossoms may therefore be better closed in a basin of coarse silicious material, surrounded 



Fine blooming plants of the 



mended by an eminent grower for flowers apt to sport, 

 or we may say for the more delicate kinds, which are 

 the most likely to sport : — 3 barrows full of good loam ; 

 I ditto old rotten cow-dung ; 2 ditto ditto horse-dung ; 

 i ditto sand ; ^ ditto lime rubbish, or old plaster, to be 

 mixed well together 12 months previous to its being 

 used. E. B. 



The Chinese Primrose. — What more useful flower 

 have we than this ? My greenhouse at the present 



nagfned than described. 

 Chinese Primrose, that will continue in flower through 

 the whole of the winter months, may be produced as 

 follows :— In order to obtain strong plants, the seed 

 should be sown not later than the first of Mav in a 



Camphor tree, Olives, various Eucalypti, Gardenia j m __ „__ „ 



Rothmanni, Franciscea confer ti flora, and other plants I into a cool frame, as near the glass as possible, 

 which are usually kept in stoves,, all apparently in a 

 healthy condition. 



Among the Palms which bid fair to succeed in the 

 temperate part of the building, where the thermometer 

 has been down as low as 36°, are Arecasapida, Corypha 



australis, Latania borbonica, the Wax Palm, Chamaa- _ _ , 



dorea eiegans, Cocos plumosa, Chamserops Martiana, j S pttmber. The compost in which I 

 babal Blackburniaua, Seaforthia elegans, and one or two plants to thrive best has been equal 

 others. Caryota urens has been tried, but it is evidently 

 sufiering from cold. Near the above are some immense 



well-drained store pan, in a light sandy soil, and put 



When 



large enough to be pricked off into store pans the young 

 seedlings should be allowed a square inch between each 

 plant ; when that space has been filled, let them be 

 potted singly into 3-inch pots, and as the pots become 

 tilled with root?, shift into a size larg 

 their final shift into 6-inch pots in 





by a sloping ridge of sienitic rock, wh h in some places 

 projects above the soil. The basin is reeking with 

 moisture, and in the lowest places the water is standing, 

 an some of the largtst trees dip their roots into the 

 pools or water-runs. The trees of very h.rge dimensions 

 number considerably more than one hundred. Mr. 

 Blake measured one 94 feet in circumference at the 

 root ; the side of which had been partly burnt by con- 

 tact with another tree, the head of which had fallen 

 against it. The latter can be measured 450 feet from 

 its head to its root (!) 



specimens of Elephant's Foot, imported from South 

 Africa, and associated with them is Khipidodendron 

 phcatile, an Aloe-iike plant, also of great size. Such 



parts turfy loam 

 and leaf-mould, and a little sharp sand. While grow- 

 ing, a cool pit or frame suits them best ; give plenty of 

 air, and be careful not to overwater them. Treated in 

 this way the plants will be in flower by the middle of 



November, and will continue in blcssom through the 



A large portion of this fallen 



pot, giving them monster is still to be seen and examined; and by the 



the early part of j measurement of Mr. Lapham, the proprietor of the 



have found these | place, it said to be 10 feet in diameter at 350 feet 



from its uptorn root(!) In falling it 'had prostrated 

 another 1 irge tree in its course, and pressed out the 

 tar th beneath itself so as to be imbedded a number of 

 feet into the ground. Its diameter across its root is 40 

 i'eefe. A man is nothing in 



parison of dimensions, 



while walking on it or standing near its side. This to 



