20 



THE GARDNERS 



CHRONICLE 



f soil m temperature, 

 » also made opon the »uppo«t 



imate 



the graond Uocenp.ed. But althoogh the coropnU- 



L g n»av ht too & «d "g5*f*2 *££• 

 <3hiiw» Yam coats more to plant than the Pot* to, 



M. SnUfm to. namtheWs vr.vel at 0* conclu- 



aTon that the prodnce of the Dioscorea Batatas will 

 awoed that of the Potato, and that the greater 

 Amcaltr in taking op will he comp nsated by the 

 cteaU-r amount of noanahment which the tubers 

 contain. •- i* in order to diminuh the labour of 

 fakuu; op that he recommends the Yam to be planted 

 en ri.Jgee, following as much as possible the Chinese 

 method described in our former article. The reasons 

 opon wl i this opinion is formed are the following. 

 The tobers of the Chinese Yam were in general 



■»l<1mii more. The 



Par. : it . up -n what was form- ly a subject of ^™^T & - 



not only among those actually engaged in the opera 

 SonVt also among the theoretical investigators o< 



f 







So long as it waa believed that absolute wood ya 

 formed corporeally from above downward,, it was 

 inferred that the lower parts of a plant must be 

 radually encased in solid matter derived from 

 ranches; and that consequently, of necessity, the 

 stock of a plant must be enveloped in layer above 

 layer of the wood of the scion. It is needless to 

 repeat the arguments employed in support of this 





from 13$ to 19$ inches long; aeMom more. 



,per thirl is •mall, perhaps a* thick a the little 

 finger ; thU U in hi* opinion the only part that 

 should ba kept for planting, and, in most cases, three 

 or four slices, large enon-h to form vigorous puts, 

 may t» obtained ; the rest of the tuber may be used 



for fool. .ill. 



It is important hat the entire tuber should be 



token op. especially since its lower extremity i 

 always the largest part, and that which richest 

 in starch. By laying oat the ground m ridges or 

 Birrow bt <U 10 or !*J inrhe* high, the gardener has 

 onf / to dig a spade's depth in the side of the ridge 

 or bed, m order to reach the lower end of the root ; 

 and bv turning over the ridges, so as to level the 

 gr- ad at the same time, the crop may be taken up 

 without difficulty. It is evident, indeed, from what 

 has been stated, that if the sets are planted suffi- 

 ttaatly ckaa, the labour in taking up will not be 

 fiwter than thi' required for the same weight of 

 Fotatoes. M. Dr.-vusK hesitates to settle positively 

 the breadth of the bed*, or the distance from ridge 



grafting led, among other things, to the conclusion, 

 that if a scion would take it would speedily form 

 a sheath of wood over the stock, and thus secure 

 itself for ever. Once to form a good union was, 

 therefore, looked upon as sufficient security for the 

 permanent life of the grafted plant. It is true that 

 cases, apparently at variance with the theory, 

 occurred even- now and then, but plausible explana- 

 tions of such 'instances were readily found. 



It i^ however, now certain that although wood is . # 



formed by a descending process, yet that its descent the above name, which it probably received in India, 



' J -*-*- Fluid matter, out of — A ^*«-^ ■ 



all that we are acquainted with is thelacT! TnTg 



cells of the Red Beet resides a power of Jbrmin. 

 red matter, and in those of the White Silesian Be$ 

 that of forming yellow ; and this peculiarity i s ^ 

 affected by the one growing to the other. R^ 

 forming cells produce their like and yellow-fomr 

 theirs. Thus the limit between the scion and 

 stock is unmistakeably traceable, and notwithstaad* 

 ing the combination of the two sorts inoneeaci 

 perseveringly retains that which is natural to it. 



What is true of Beets is true of all other pUa^ 

 and we shall endeavour on an early day to apply ^ 

 the practice of grafting the unquestionable facts 

 above explained. 



New Plants. 



109. CCELOGYNE PLANTAGINEA. 



C. (Flaccidje) pseudobSffiis elongatis^ teretibus, foliis 2 oblong* 

 lanceolatis 5-costatis tmdnlatis petiolatis patentibus, raceme, 

 pendulo glabro multifloro, bracteis " parvis fuscis acutissimis 

 deciduis, petalis lineari-lanceolatis, sepalis paulo latiorU* 

 carinatis, labello ovato-oblongo trilobo acuminata lamelHf 

 hypocbilii 3 epicbilii 4 fimbriatis. 



For this fine species we are indebted* to the Lord 



Bishop of Winchester who purchased it, it is believed, 



I at one of Stevens's sales two or three years ago under 





Li not in an organised state 

 which it h produced, passes, indeed, from abovj 

 downwards, bat the formation itself is wholly local 

 and superficial, and consequently there is no such 

 thing as an encasement of the lower part of a tree 

 by wood descending from above. That important 

 fact having been once established the union of a 

 scion and its stock evidently became a case of mere 

 adhf on, extremely powerful in some cases, feeble 



There are therefore 



and although apparently unpublished, is too appifc. 

 able to be rejected. Tha plant forms a tapering pseudo- 

 bulb about 6 inches long, sheathed at the base bj 

 acuminate scorched scales, and bearing a pair of firm 

 broad leaves, about a foot long, with five principal ribs, 

 and strong channelled stalks. The flowers appear in % 

 long pendulous raceme not unlike that of Cymbidim 

 pendulum ; they are greenish yellow with a white lip 

 streaked with brown. The latter has a taper-pointed 

 middle lobe, and is crested with perpendicular fringed 





and readily destroyed in others. There are therefore plates, of which there are three near the base, and four 

 two essentially different results obtained by grafting upon the middle lobe. It is perfectly distinct from iQ 

 the one permanent, the other transitory. The previously known, but approaches C. jlaccida^ more 



ggests tha 4 a space 20 inches | another occ ion. For the present we confine our- 



br I planted witl 

 answer very well. The furrow or space between 

 the beds thou 1 1 not ba more than a foot wide — just 



He adds that the 



•elves to a ne demonstration that the nature of 

 the union between a scion and its stock is no other 

 than that now described. 



About the beginning of Sep- 

 tember, 1853, Dr. Allah Mac- 



igh for a tn^n to work in. 

 plants should not be staked, because the 

 allowed to spread over the ground preserve its mois- lea.v, of Colche ;r, an inge- 

 tur* ; tod also because they may be made to root nious experimentalist and good 

 by i sort of layeri \ si mils to that practised by the physiologist, grafted a young 

 Chineae, who by that means obtain a considerable \ plant of the White Silesian Beet 

 increase of produce. This mode of Uyeriog is upon a root of Red Beet, and 

 detcnbed in our fo ior articles. \vtce vend. At the time of the 



It should bo utulerstool that M. Dkcaunx only ' experiment the plants 

 •peaks of light free soils, and not of those which are each about as thick as a straw. 

 compact and harden much with the action of the j A complete junction was effect- 

 •n/ The former ar*\ in fact, those in which the J ed ; and when, in 1854, the plant 



In China it is exclusively J of White Beet grafted on red 

 grown in sandy soils where few other greeu crops j was taken out of the ground, its 



y 



nearly than any other. As we have already stated tbe 

 plant has been for two or three years at Farahaa 

 Castle, where, until this year, it resisted all inducement! 

 to flower ; but eventually his lordship overcame its 

 reluctance by carrying the system of starvation to 

 an extreme extent. The specimen with which we tow 

 been favoured was a model of good cultivation ; it had 

 been in flower for a month. The bracts had fallen, and 

 we describe them from information communicated by Mr, 

 J. W. Laurence, the Bishop of Winchester's gardener. 



===== 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY.— No. LIV. 





were 





Yam siiocee I* best* 



( 



\ 



thrive. 



M DaoMUft regards the Chinese Yam as superior 



in quality to the P lata. 





longitudinal section exhibited 



» 



the appearance represented in 

 Although no comparative the annexed figure. There was 

 analysis of the two has heeni ide, he believes that a slight contraction at the line 

 tbe Chinese Yam is much the richer in point of nutri- of junction, much like that 

 tive principles. Its roots are white as snow in the formed by " choking " a rocket 

 interior; they neither contain \ ible fibres nor case ; above the line of con- 

 tough woody matter, and when boiled they become traction the plant Was abso- 

 so soft that a slight pressure converts them into a lutely white, below it it was 

 e, which he cia only compare to that of the j absolutely red. Not a trace of 

 inest Wheaten flour. Cooked by steam or roasted, blendingthe two colours could 

 they look and taste like the best Potatoes. They be discovered. By similar ex- 

 have one advantag * which every one will appreciate, { periments on other vegetables 

 i ynely, the short space of time required for cooking, and plants Dr. Maclean had so 

 Two pieces of tubers, of the size of a hen's eeg, one far assured himself of the per- 

 the Chinese Yam, the other the Batate blanch were . feet independence of scion and 

 both put nto boiling water at the same time with a stock as to acquire the belief 

 Hutch Potato of the same size ; the first and second that neither the colouring nor 

 ere done in ten minutes, the third in 20 minutes. 









i 





\ 









M 



Ground line. 



And we must recollect that the facility with which 

 the Potato may be cooked is one of the causes which 

 hive greatly contributed to the popularity of the 

 Potato in a culinary point of view, as it requires 

 but little fuel. 



Another point of great importance to cultivators 



is, that it may be kept easily for a year, and perhaps | each afterwards producing its own colouring 



formed 



any of the specific characters of 



the one or the other would or 



could be altered by their union. The result of the 



trial wholly confirmed that view, and demonstrated 



that the White Beet adhered to the Red Beet by mere 



junction of cellular matter; that of the scion and 



hmgar. We all know that the Potato is certain tc 

 sprout in soring. The Chinese Yam is wholly free 

 from this disadvantage ; it is neither affected by 

 coll nor heat, and perhaps not even by moisture, 

 Left in the ground, it remains alive through the 



Winter without ininrw «o ),*« Koon hfAta/l kir n w*~* 



the red cells adhering to the white cells whil 



e in 



th 



which 



puscd there tha last 



Wideat acceptation of the term. 



Somk discussion ivwvuung xne ettect of oraftin 

 RuaooDKNoaoNs has lately found its way into our 

 columns, and it is desirable that at the approaching 

 grafting season those interested, either practically or 

 theoretically, m that operation should consider well 

 the real nature of the process. So large a number 

 of facts has now been collected by the united obser- 

 vations and intelligence of modem cultivators that 

 it has become perfectly safe to speak dogmatically 



They 



nascent <tate t but retaining each the peculiarity 

 belonging to it, without any interchange of contents 

 through the sides of the cells in contact. 



This is entirely consistent with all that has been 

 discovered by the modern physiologists who have 

 applied themselves to a study of the nature of the 

 individual cells of which plants consist, 

 have clearly shown that each cell has its own special 

 inherent power of secretion ; as indeed may be seen 

 by any one who examines thin sections of variegated 

 leaves or other parts. It will then be seen that 

 some cells are filled with a red colouring matter 

 others with yellow, others with green. In oth-r 

 words one cell has the power of secreting red matter 

 another yellow, and so on. The colours do not 

 run together, but are contained each within the 

 cell that produces it Why this is so no one knows • 



239. Sterility.— It was stated (see p. 231, 1854) that 

 the same effect in vegetable pathology may arise from 

 very different causes, and though the ultimate injur? 

 may be identical, the diseases which produce it mays 

 reality be altogether unallied. Such effects may son* 

 times in point of fact be mere symptoms rather tha 

 specific maladies. In a treatise, however, like fc 

 present intended for general use, it would not be prudat 

 to draw too nice distinctions, but to treat such subjeefe 

 as may arise simply and practically. In many instance 

 therefore, such symptoms will for practical purposes k 

 regarded as disease; and to concentrate attention oneai 

 subject, it will be necessary to keep together as muchu 

 possible all that bears on one particular point, for nntes 

 some such mode were adopted, reference must be mi« 

 for information to more than one division, and son* 

 times to every distinct head under which disease n»J 

 be classified. Where a disease, therefore, arises fro 8 

 constitutional causes and those functional, proper notift 

 will be taken of it under the particular head which tre^ 

 of such diseases ; but if in any case it arise also ffl 8 

 other causes, information on such noints will be gi^ 



I reference, preventing needless repetition, and facilitate 

 comparison of matters similar, though possibly J* 



identical. 



240. The disease with which we commence «* 

 specific notices, sterility, is a case exactly in point* * 

 though sometimes purely constitutional, and ujj 

 functionally or organically, it may be equally in<te* 

 by external causes, and those of various kinds, 

 ever induced, it is in most cases a formidable misfor^ 

 to the cultivator, and unhappily is at present* too ofl* 

 beyond remedy. ^ 



241, Sterility. Constitutional and functional- -WJ 

 in the animal and vegetable world, wherever copij 

 varieties and races have been produced by long d°^~j 

 cation or cultivation, there are marked constituJf|j 

 differences as regards sterility. In the poultry-)**** 



Ho* 



i 



qualities, is notoriously unproductive. The same » ^ 

 good with the vegetable world ; while one ™* l *h 

 extremely prolific, another of better quality P* rh5 j* t is 

 under whatever circumstances it may be pl ftced ' * #* 

 commonly called a shy bearer. If, however, our atte ^ 

 be turned to individuals, we shall find i» 8tanC f ^ 

 absolute sterility — in the animal kingdom * 

 absolute, in the vegetable perhaps only for ** ofl \ 

 inasmuch as new organs are formed every y e * r j^g, fcf 

 least preparations made, though possibly not comp ' 

 their formation. I am not speaking now of that temp ^ 

 sterility to which every plant, whether of short x. 



duration 

 a state 



disease 



tenals, out of which the exigencies of a term e *^ 

 can be supplied, have not at present been £ , 



