THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



23 



m fish abounumg - some of the Scottish 

 dace, * , w | 10Se food was considered both by 

 kkes, *" a Datu ralists to be entirely Unknown. 



fi8he ? nel ! ft Aii^ inquirv destroyed the illusion. Dozens 

 %??n^ immediately ou being removed 

 ? ♦» « Ink* bv means of nets, and their stomachs were 



from tne jaKC *v . ..• .1 j~ ~f :~,i:.,:«-i..«i« ^f 



have already seen in the columns of the daily papers. 

 The period of time to which they relate extends from 

 October 6 to November 5, the well-known day of the 

 battle of Inkermann. The author appears to have been 

 a guest of Sir George Brown, and must, therefore, have 

 had good opportunity of seeing what was going forward. 

 He skilfully narrates the stirring incidents which occurred 



fuvaiuvu mm v»~- — ^ 



to be the entomostraca with which 



« v -" rammed with thousands of individuals of w.© oauiuuy iiaix » Lt;o uicsui-rnigiuciueiuB which uccurreu 



found to ' e ^ en tomostraca, or microscopic shrimps, to him, in an agreeable manner, and without dwelling 

 Yarious lu ^ ca j] e( j # The solution of the mystery j upon the dark side of the picture he has painted. 

 JeiSed Imply on placing a portion of the contents of 

 S ctomach under a strong lens. The inquiry was 

 «t extended to the Char, of which some hue speci- 

 mens were obtained from Windermere, and the 



food proved - , 



the lakes abounded. The early spring or Grey 

 Trout of Loch Leven, were, in like manner, found 

 to have their stomach filled with entomostraca when 

 examined in the early parts of the year, though later 

 ♦hey were found to have been feeding on the bucciuums, 

 and the common food of trout. The Herring had been the 

 gubiectof repeated and very extensive investigations. The 

 fish was obtained from the deep sea, and of the hundreds 

 examined, there were only three in whose stomachs 

 found anything but entomostraca of various 

 Of these three, one. had been living on sand 



and striking them singly, as is recommended by some, 



I layer '* "" 



are 



6 



Tit for Tat (small 8 vo., Clarke and Beeton), is an 

 American reply to Mrs. Beecher Stowe and her " Uncle 

 Tom." Those who wish to hear how exaggeration can 

 be met by exaggeration may possibly be gratified by 

 the pages of this book ; for ourselves we have no admi- 

 ration for extravagance and absurdity, to say nothiug 

 of bad taste. The authoress may be u a Lady," which 

 we doubt ; she certainly is not a gentlewoman. 



ver them in the same way as Carnations, &c, 

 done, rounding the pot well up with light gaudy 

 soil, or pure sand, and watering with a fine-rosed pot 

 until it is well settled. I then place them in any close 

 frame, or propagating house, until they are well rooted, 

 which they will be in a few weeks, and ready to pot off ; 

 the largest and best rooted I put into 3-inch pots, and 

 the others in proportion, but always taking care never to 

 over-pot them, as they do better under than over-potted, 

 and never to shift them into larger pots after September. 

 The soil I use is composed ot one-half leaf mould, and 

 one quarter each of loam and peat, the whole being well 

 incorporated with small charcoal and sand. R. F. S. 



Tree Carnations. — Few plants of comparatively 

 recent introduction have proved more useful than these 

 have done. I have a collection of them iu flower now, 

 as indeed they have been all through the winter. For 

 supplying cut blooms they are invaluable. They are 

 easily propagated by cuttings, which should be made of 

 half-ripened wood, like the show varieties, cutting them 



" " " lower leaves. 



were 



species. - . 



eels another on what appeared to be small hem tigs, and 



in the stomach of the third were found the shells of 

 about a dozen small buccinums. When near the coast 

 the herrin* was frequently found not feeding ; thus, in 

 the Forth, in the months of January and February, a 

 very large number examined were found quite 

 empty. After spawning, and while close to the 

 shore, they seem to take to other food, as sand- 

 eels and shrimps. In July fine small herrings, which 

 had been feeding on entomostraca, were found to be 

 of good flavour, while others of the same take 

 which had been living on sand eels as well as ento- 

 mostraca, were insipid and worthless. As to the 

 Salmon, nothing is ever found in the stomachs and 

 intestines of the fresh run salmon but a little reddish 

 substance ; this placed under a microscope was found 

 to be composed of the ova of some species of the 

 echinodei mata. Of the salmon, while in the sea, this 

 was found to be the constant and sole food. From his 

 researches on this subject the author concludes as an 

 established fact, that many valuable gregarious fishes 

 live, some exclusively, others partly, on the entomostraca. 

 The largest of the gregarious fishes he had as yet 

 observed as living exclusively on the entomostraca 

 was the Early Grey Trout of Loch Leven and the 

 Char ; but he had no doubt that on the American 

 continent, there were many admirable fishes of the 

 natural families of Salmonidse, Corregoni, Clupeid®, 

 and even others, whose food, when discovered, would be 

 found to be entomostraca of various species. 



Entomological, Jan. L— The President in the chair. 

 The Secretary announced the list of donations to the 

 library received from various societies and authors since 

 the last meeting, and gave notice of the alterations in 

 the council and officers proposed to be made at the 

 ensuing anniversary meeting. The President exhibited 

 a small specimen ot a new kind of silk, which he had re- 

 ceived irom Vienna, spun by the caterpillars of Saturni 



Australia and its Gold Fields (Ingram), is an account 

 by Mr. Hargreaves of the manner in which he dis- 

 covered the great gold field of Australia, of its extent, . -«. t . -. . . . . • . 

 as at present ascertained, and of other matters relating » *I 08e u b f Iow 1 a joint and removing the lo 

 to the subject. To those who are interested in so great Jf^iS ^1.^11 ^ bmA 4he best meirtbli 

 a question the statements made by the author will be 

 most valuable, considering that they are incontestably 

 authentic ; at the same time his opinions will be received 

 with the respect due to those of a man who, although 

 not pretendng to science, has unquestionably a most 

 extensive practical acquaintance with the gold fields of 

 California as well as Australia. 



meeting 



1 



a 



s 



d 



spun,and forming a felt impervious to wet, the caterpillar 

 wmg placed in confined situations and thus compelled 

 to spin their silk in fiat layers. He also exhibited a speci- 



Taa the s P ecies °* loc ll variety of Helobia, which he 

 had described many years ago, from Ben Nevis, under 

 to* name of H. impressa, and which Mr. Dawson had 

 omitted m Ins recent work on the ground beetles. Mr. 

 JJOuglas exhibited the nidus formed of fungoid matter 

 j* the centre of a decaying Oak by the larva of 

 ratonychus castanipe. PL, a species of Elateridae not 

 uierto recorded as a native of this country. Mr. 

 but?« 6XlllbUed a model bee-hive on the bar principle, 

 tilatio ce . rt . am improvements in the floor both for ven- 



,f'. to recorde d as a native of this country. 

 ■""* exhibited a model bee-hive on tl 

 1 certain improvements in the flo 

 Mr <; and / or cabling the refuse to be easily removed. 



Jm^« n Stevens exhibited splendid specimens of 

 J nmnos Ruckeri ' ~ - — 



India. 



*ne reading of a series of short notes on the 



mSS-i^^ inSeetS hy Mr ' Curtis Was continued, 



Saeri! lT Va ° f SOme s P ecies of Staph vTinus had been 

 Paper h v hi *** earth " worms - Mr - Waterhouse read a 



toon at - ••""■'««» insects uy mr. curtis was continued, 



and thi U WaS recorded that Carabus glabratus 



the BrifJ k elt and Mv ' Jan90n on tlie synonymy of 

 consist i, T CleS ° f the Staphylinideous genus Stenus, 

 tions of 44 s P f>cies - Mr - F - Smith read descrip- 



Brazil bvV Umber ° f new s P ecies of ants collected in 

 kg note BarfS > and accompanied by very interest- 

 swerved ^t °\! the Econon, y of some of the species 

 tf the imJ!,! »tes ; amongst which was the notice 



which 

 . „ ie banks 



^gested th\v l ° r ten mi,es ' Mr ' Edward Bravley 

 ^fowincr p*. Us c ^cumstance was of importance in 



foarilin^i 1 Up()n the occasional accumulation of 

 # v en M, m e remai,,s . of wh ich Mr. Westwood had lately 



Garden Memoranda. 



Mr. Gaines' Nursery, Battersea. — In the show- 

 house here a few plants are now in bloom, such as 

 Daphnes, Epacrises, the Winter Heath (Erica hiemalis), 

 Chinese Primroses, Early Tulips, and Tree Carnations, 

 &c. The last, we need scarcely say, are extremely 

 useful for winter decoration, and for supplying * cut 

 bloom." On the middle of the centre table are Camel- 

 lias, supported on all sides by large specimen Azaleas. 

 Among Rhododendrons, the young plant of R. javani- 

 cum, which was shown in such good condition at a 



of ttt€ Horticultural Society in Regent 



Street last year, promises again to flower finely 

 this season. Several houses are entirely filled with 

 young Pelargoniums, which are very extensively 

 grown here, not only for "furnishing" but also 

 for the purpose of exhibition. Some of the kinds of 

 Pelargonium used here for forcing are already coming 

 into bloom ; they consist of Mrs. Johnstone, Gage, 

 album multiflorum, Phyllis, Surpass Napier, Mars, 

 Gauntlet, and a purple seedling. The various variegated 

 kinds, as Attraction, Mountain of Light, &c, were also 

 plentiful. Of scented Pelargoniums, one of the greatest 

 favourites is Odoratum varie^atum, a sort with small 

 leaves, margined with white, and very strongly per- 

 fumed. The stage of a lean-to house, 70 feet long, was 

 wholly devoted to the growth of Roses in pots, the 

 varieties employed for ihat purpose here being Fabvier, 

 Abbe Moiland, Cramoisie superieure, Goubault, and 

 yellow Noisette. These are now coming into bloom, 

 and some Moss and Perpetuals have just been placed 

 under glass to bring them on to succeed them. Cytisus 

 racemosus is cultivated in quantity, large pitfuls of 

 it being here in different stages of growth. Being 

 ex remely showy, and remaining a very long time in 

 beauty, it is a plant much prized for all purposes of deco- 

 ration in which hardy greenhouse plants are employed. 

 For autumn " furnishing," Kalosanths are found to be 

 invaluable, and therefore stagefuls of them are grown 

 here for that purpose. Double white and pink Primulas 

 have been blooming very finely, and keep up a consider- 

 able amount of gaiety in several of the houses. 

 Calceolarias, Acacia armata, Fuchsias, Myrtles, and 

 Verbenas are abundant here, more especially the latter, 

 of which there are some thousands. Fuchsias 

 have just been pruned, potted afresh, and put 

 into a little heat to start them into growth. Clove 

 Carnations are already in flower ; they consist of 

 some of the most forward layers which had been " potted 

 up" from the open ground and placed under glass, and 

 very useful things they are at this season. Hyacinths, 

 Tulips, Double Jonquils, and Narcissi, have been started 

 into growth, and some of the latter are coming into 

 flower. Of rare plants perhaps the most remarkable 

 was Eugenia Ugni, of which Mr. Gaines has a good stock. 



for putting 

 in a stock for winter blooming, as they will make excel- 

 lent plants during summer and autumn. Although they 

 strike readily nearly all the year round if placed in a slight 

 bottom- heat, the most healthy of the old plants should 

 be selected and placed in a warm temperature to excite 

 growth prior to the cuttings being taken off. By fol- 

 lowing this plan they will be found to strike more freely. 

 The pots should be thoroughly drained for their recep- 

 tion, and a portion of rough sittings or moss placed 

 over the crocks. The compost should consist of one- 

 half light sandy soil and one-half leaf-mould and sand 

 run through a fine sieve and well-mixed together. With 

 this the pots should be filled to within about half an 

 inch of the top, the remainder being made up w T ith 

 sharp sand pressed firmly and slightly watered before 

 the cuttings are inserted. If placed in a slight bottom- 

 heat they will not require any bell-glasses to cover them, 

 for if only slightly shaded during sunny days they will 

 very speedily take root. If any of the Grass should 

 decay it should be removed the moment it is perceived, 

 as it creates damp. As soon as they have become suffi- 

 ciently rooted, pot them into 4-inch pots, still keeping 

 them in a warm moist atmosphere, and stop them, in 

 order to form them into compact bushes. As soon as 

 they have again filled the pots with roots, give them 

 another liberal shift into 7-inch pots, still keeping them 

 in a warm atmosphere, and using the syringe freely until 

 they have got quite established, when they should be 

 gradually hardened off, and finally placed in a cold frame, 

 where they may remain during the summer months. 

 Except potting, stopping the shoots, which should only be 

 done when the wood is in a half ripe state, neatly tying the 

 shoots as they progress, watering when required, fre- 

 quently overhead, and occasionally stirring the surface-soil, 



nothing will be needed during the summer and autumn. 

 I have, however, found green-fly troublesome at times, but 

 if the water- pot is frequently used overhead but little 

 need be feared either from them or red spider ; if they 

 happen to be attacked by mildew, apply sulphur as sopn 

 as it is perceived. When cold damp weather sets in, 

 remove them to the greenhouse or conservatory, where 

 they will come into bloom in succession during the whole 

 of the dull winter months ; after they have done 

 flowering, select the most healthy cuttings — the old 

 Dlants should be cut down for another year or thrown 



The stopping should always be regulated by the 





away 



time when they are wanted to be in blossom — lor in- 

 stance, for early winter flowering the plants should not 

 be stopped after July, and so on ; if the plants are well 

 ripened by autumn, they may, by a little additional heat, 

 be had in flower whenever they are required. The soil 

 best suited for their culture is maiden loam, leaf-mould, 

 rotten cow-dung, and silver-sand, to which may be added 

 a portion of mortar rubbish, in order to keep the soil 

 porous ; manure- water, with occasional waterings of 

 soot-water, will be found beneficial during the growing 

 and blooming season. B. 



wzr^ ****** ° f a s P ecies ° f My*** 



°f a x\Z / . Were found h'Mg »» leases on the 



FLORICULTURE. 



Propagating Camfxltas : J II. They are increased by inarching, 

 grafting, and budding on the single red and Middlemas red, 

 cuttings of both of which strike readily. These latter should 

 be taken off in August or September, as soon as the young 

 shoots are ripe. They are prepared by being cut throngg 

 horizontally at a joint, or better taken off with a heel, 

 divesting them of a few leaves at the base, and potting tuem 

 in sand. 



Miscellaneous 



Mr 



•V ,m e curious 



hh 



**th inv.mni 68 Norfo, k were observed to be covered 

 Tanaeeti Iw ? Umber * of <^ad specimens of Galeruca 

 to* vast inn ' \ ren<Wed the coast quite black from 

 1 accu nmlation of them. 



Notices of atooitf 



^bataut (?J t P be f° re Sebast °PoU by a Non- 



Cle ** sketch J i\ Lon S ,nans ), consists of a series of 



™y letters, some of which, we think, we 



The Chinese Primrose. — Allow me to correct your 

 correspondent " R. M." in his statement that his con 

 servatory is as gay as it well can be, with all the best 

 varieties of this useful flower. That his plants are good, 

 I do not doubt, but as he says that he raises them all 

 from seed every year, I imagine that his collection would 

 be greatly improved if he would grow a few good plants 

 of the double purple and double white, as I think them 

 superior to the single varieties, either for the con- 

 servatory or the bouquet ; and as they are as easily 

 cultivated as the latter, I am of opinion that no one should 

 be without them. My method of growing them is as 

 follows. As soon as the plants have done blooming, 

 which is in the latter part of March, or beginning of 

 April, I place them iu any cool pit or house for two or 

 three weeks, to renovate them after their exhaustion 

 from blooming. I then examine them, and select 

 what shoots 1 want to propagate for my next year's 

 [ stock, but instead of cuttingjhem clean h off the plant 



The appearance 



jfreservca vegttaoiesjor utt vnmcu 

 of scurvy and dysentery among our forces at the seat of 

 war, and the difficulty of procuring fresh vegetables 

 there, has led to an inquiry at the Army Medical 

 Department as to the best mode of preserving Potatoes, 

 Carrots, Turnips, aud other common vegetables. The 

 result has been that a large quantity, preserved by the 

 process of Dr. Verdeii by the house of Morel and Co., 

 of Paris, has been sent to the" Crimea. It may be 

 interesting, therefore, to give some account of the 

 process, which is remarkable for its simplicity 

 been long known that vegetables which have been dried 

 with such precaution that they only lose on desiccation 

 the water they contained, return to their natural state 

 on being cooked in water. The unresolved difficulty 

 was to preserve them in the dried state unalterable, for 

 dried plantB, like hay, decompose after a time by a slow 

 fermentative process, which gives rise to a peculiar 

 odour. Messrs. Masson »nd Challet proposed to com*. 

 nrocc Av\ckA v-AootAhlAfl TMiwerfiillv. and so form them 



It has 



