THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



35 



WHEELER AND SON'S 



SHORT SELECT SEED LIST. 



ttr PRICED LIST OF SEEDS for this season, containing Descriptions and Prices 



a r-T awER SEEDS, will be forwarded free by post. It is our earnest endeavour to send out 

 and FEU w h 



of the best GARDEN 



all Seeds, whether for the 



and rm 



m 



iSfTi solicit the honour of an order from those who have not yet given us a trial. 



pecuy J. C. WHEELER & SON, GLOUCESTER. 



SEEDSMEN TO THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



To Farmers, Potato Growers, and Others. 



JACKSON'S PATENT PREPARATION 



FOR 



PEESERVING POTATOES, WHEAT, AND OTHER SEEDS 



From DISEASE, the RAVAGES of the SLUG, GRUB, and WIREWORM, in addition to which the CROPS are brought 

 forward in HEALTH and VIGOUR, and the yield is greatly increased, in proof of which the following extracts are given 

 from numerous letters received by Mr. Jackson. 



EXTRACTS: 



« One of the fields of this farm, the property of Mrs. Stanbury, 

 wis planted with Regents Potatoes in April last, some of which 

 wpre prepared by you. The result now is, that the whole of the 

 croD from the unprepared sets is thoroughly diseased, and hardly 

 worth the trouble of taking up ; while those raised by the side of 

 them from the prepared sets are not only in a beautiful state of 

 preservation from the disease, but the produce is much greater, — 

 the Potatoes are more numerous than the others; indeed, if there 

 were no such thing as the disease to be feared, it would be worth 

 the trouble and expense of preparing the sets by your process, 

 «ten for the sake of the improved crops. I shall certainly, for 

 the future, prepare all my Potatoes for seed by your process ; and 

 I intend to adopt it for preserving my Wheat from the Smut. 



"G. B. Baxter. 



« Belmont Farm, Eltham, Kent, August 28, 1854." 



"Admiral Sir J. A. Gordon, K.C.B., Marlee House, Blairgowrie. 

 "Sib,— I have received your note of the 16th. The Potatoes 

 that came here from England, prepared by Mr. Jackson, 

 were planted in a piece of new ground, and according to the 

 directions sent by him along with them as to distance between 

 the plants, &c. They came up well, with strong healthy stems; 

 I hare now taken the whole crop up, and there is not the 



slightest appearance of any disease amongst them. They are of 

 large equal size and very prolific. There were long black unpre- 

 pared Kidneys planted in the same patch, and a great deal of 

 them are not fit for use, at least a third part are diseased. I 

 hope Mr. Jackson's process may be widely known, as it is a 

 great boon.— I am, &c, John Shanks, 



"Forester, Kildrummy Castle. 

 " Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire, November 17, 1854." 



" I am very much pleased with the result of the experiments I 

 have made with your Prepared Potatoes; for I planted them, 

 without any manure, in ground where for several years I have 

 hardly had a sound Potato, and I now find the crop perfectly free 

 from disease, and in a very fine condition ; while those of the 

 same sort, unprepared, which were planted at the same time, and 

 next to them, are diseased and eaten by worms. 



"The Potatoes from the Prepared Seed were so remarkably 

 good that I was induced to weigh them, and I found, to my great 

 astonishment, that they were as 200 to 150 of the others, or about 

 25 per cent, in favour of your preparation. 



"T. Austen, Nurseryman and Seedsman. 

 " Blackheath, Kent, 24th August, 1654." 





Sold by Messrs. Charl wood & Cummins, Seedsmen, Covent Garden; and John Kern an, Seedsman, 4, Great Russell Street, 

 ent Garden; all Seedsmen and Chemists; and at the Patentee's, 18, Cannon Street, London Bridge, in Packets of One, Two 



Corent 



Three or Four Pounds, or in Bulk for the use of Farmers and Potato Growers. 



TO THE SEED TRADED AND OTHERS. 



rpHE SUBSCRIBER offers the following SEEDS, 



-*- which have been grown and selected from the best stocks 

 possible. Prices forwarded on application. 



BROCCOLI. 

 Early White 

 Miller's Dwarf 

 Brimstone 

 Chappell's Cream 



Imperial White 

 Dwarf Danish 

 Dilcock's Bride 



CURLED PARSLEY. 



PEAS. 



Victoria Marrow 



Fairbeard's Nonpareil 

 British Queen 



(Very fine samples.) 

 Lord Raglan 



TURNIP. 



Laing's Swede (very true) 

 Red Tankard 

 Early Stone 

 Red American Stone 

 American Strap or Lettuce- 

 leaved Stone. 



White Globe 

 Green Globe 



WURZEL. 



Long Red 



Yellow Globe 



CELERY. 

 Cole's Crystal White 

 Cole'6 Red 



to this circumstance is attributed the facility with 

 which the juice enters into fermentation, and the 

 large amount of alcohol it affords compared with 

 the quantity of sugar directly indicated by the 

 saccharometer. From this it appears that the 

 saccharine matter of the plant cannot be rendered 

 wholly available in the sugar manufactory; for about 

 one-third of it is lost. On the other hand, the state 

 in which that one-third exists is considered the 

 most favourable for the distiller, and for preparing a 

 fermented liquor resembling cider. It is not expected 

 that the Holcus can compete with Beet as regards 

 marketable sugar produce in the north and middle of 

 France ; but in the south of France and Algeria, or 

 indeed in any region between where the Sugar Cane 

 ceases to thrive and the 44th degree of latitude, the 

 Holcus may be profitably cultivated for sugar. 

 Elsewhere M. Vjlmorin concludes, from the results of 

 his experiments, that it will be most advantageously 

 cultivated for its alcoholic products. Its value in 

 this respect may be estimated by the result of some 

 experiments which he has made- 

 He obtained from stems, from which the peel had 

 been stripped, at the rate of from 55 to 60 per cent, 

 of juice. The upper joints and spikes were only 

 cut off ; but by cutting off more, and subjecting the 

 stems to a better process of crushing, he thinks that 

 70 per cent, of juice could be obtained. The 

 quantity of stems employed, large and small 

 together, was 553 lbs., which gave 23 gallons of 

 juice, of the density of 1.052 ; and as the pressing 

 was done in a common cider press, he estimated 

 that upwards of 3 gallons were lost in moistening 

 the large surfaces of the apparatus. The proportion 

 of sugar which the juice contained, as indicated by 

 the saccharometer, was as follows, from plants grown 

 at Verrieres, and taken at different periods : 



October 23d, 1853 

 Nov. 18th, 1853 

 2d trial 



SUGAR. 



• t * 



October 13th, 1854 

 Nov. 14th. 1854 



• * • 



f • • 



t » * 



• • 



• • • 



10.04 per cent, of juice 



13.08 



14.06 



10.14 



16 



77 

 33 



77 

 79 



;of 



ARTHUR HENDERSON and CO. beg leave to 

 inform their patrons and friends that their Stock of VEGE- 

 TABLE and FLOWER SEEDS (containing many choice and 

 new kinds) is now ready for sending out. 



Their Seeds may be fully relied on as being in every respect 

 of first-rate quality, and true to their sorts. Catalogues may be 

 had on application. — Pine Apple Place, Edgeware Road, London. 



Wht @arir gttgrj g > Chronicle, 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1855. 



77 37 



which 11 J were crystallisable, and 4± not 

 crystallisable. 

 The quantity of pure alcohol was determined by 

 the direct mode of fermentation, and the amounts 



the order in which they were 



m 



EPPS, SeedG rqwkr and Merchant, Maidstone. 

 H O 



L C 



U S, 



US SACCHARAT 

 OR CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 



M (See Gardeners' Chronicle, Dec. 30th, 1854.) 

 R. JOHN HENDERSON, formerly of the firm 



r» «A JoHK A< Hender son & Co., Pine Apple Place, London, 

 m** « L * nr t0 a , nnoun ce that he is prepared to supply Gentle- 



SS ^ at £ urs \ and Professionals, with seed of this most valuable 

 ana estimable plant. 



deto!^™? ™? Batatas seems well adapted to make good any 



XS /i Sin , g / r ? m faiIure in the Potato cr °P 8 ' so this appears 

 it Sav h*,f al ?L ,ate 2 t0 roeetmany wants of the present day. That 

 mwlvl fK • the , Ptoses of distillation, and may therefore 

 the W «nS e f rai ? ? f tl,e c °untry, is not less certain than that 

 coni?* « i m (after the saccharine matter has been extracted) 

 Plowd m ♦ ge am r 0UIlt of fi kre, of such a nature as can be era- 

 points ft , ™ n man <! f *ctiire of every kind of paper. In both these 

 tion of A-^ n S ] n many othere » tMs P lant demands the atten- 

 ftemorP K nacV a 5 and Amat «»r throughout the country; 

 Production n? fik J? 16 necc [t y that at Present exists for the 



«Wttu*SSton - V - may be used in P a P" r m a ™facture a due 

 Plant hi «*T y ( airly ex P ec *ed by growers, even after the 



extracted from it * * Paid itself by the saccbarine matter 



Press a Sotp w*v 0pe !» in a few da 5" s > to have ready for the 

 Ptete statement if ♦S ne , d accoilIlt of this plant, as well as a com- 

 Dioacorea Eatat« f 8t ex P er iments in connection with the 

 W ' J >H.canIi\ there are many varieties of the Holcus 

 which he is nrpnJ S res P° nRil >te for seed forwarded by himself, 



w *£ #S S££ sealed packets ' at *■ *• "• ** 



flts D£BS0N 5? . ac <*>mpanied with a remittance to Mr. John 



P.S p r "f" wswell, Newton Abbot, South Devon. 



mpf»n ^r-^i!2il l e Trad e can be had on application, 



? NATu R i T G ^ SS SEEDS (Carriage Free). 



Pa STUR Es i L ^ KASS SEEDS FOR PERMANENT 



-Megsrs. Sct™* rate J or mixed, expressly to suit the soil. 



^P^ial attention ♦ ^ BoHS 1,avin G for m *«y Y-*™ pai< 

 the collecting J?JV be examination of Natural Pastures, and 

 Great Britain an?? G , ra8 ? es w *»ch thrive in the various soils of 

 Entities of So* .' are enabled t0 supply the sorts and 



^tended, Th7 v *ned to suit the soil for which they are 



*T^ n S to th U'rU r\ l Var - V - fr ° m 24s - t0 3 °S- P« *ci*. 



a,? Ne UW\rt > * , ? 1 ? Quantities the soil requires. 



S d L **ns nrL ? ASS SEED S, for making New or improving 



JFfotohel.' ForfJM 1 ? Per pound ' 2s - 6d ' P er g a H°n, or 20s. 

 ^^itvrennir.T 1 ^ new L *™s, 2J bushels, or 50 lbs., is 

 FINE Gra3« d per acre - 



r^ PA STDRES X^S L ? VER SEEDS FOR W«OVIH« 



*n ed Per acre Viw s Renovating Mixture). Quantity 



prL B ' l l * W££ 8 k n° 12 l£ P rice 9d. per lb . 

 CT^onpGri 8 H^ a , bo IS. that ^ hav«»rreat1y reduced the 

 W and ' moS? l th,S SeaSOn ' specially the tine Lawn 

 ^2 8aBd *a^^ Mixture" tor improvin 



of c duce a more Z' , we doubt not thaf our liberal charge 

 Gra ss Seeds. general Practice of sowing our superior kind 



At page 835 of the volume for last year some 

 account was given of a so-called " Sugar Cane/* 

 from the North of China (Holcus saccfiaiwtus), and 

 of experiments made in France with the view of 

 ascertaining its value for the manufacture of sugar. 

 In that article the exaggerated accounts which had 

 appeared respecting it in foreign journals were cor- 

 rected on the high authority of M. Louis Vilmorin, 

 who has paid much attention to the cultivation and 

 properties of the plant in question. In some of the 

 English newspapers erroneous statements have also 

 appeared, and so recently that they are probably 

 even now in circulation. According to some of 

 these, the plant yields 80 per cent, of sugar ; whereas 

 that is only the amount of juice which may be ob- 

 tained, the greater part of which is water. The 

 nature and proportions of the substances that the 

 plant contains will, however, be best understood 

 from an analysis which has recently been made, the 

 results of which are as follows ; 



Per cent. 



63.88 

 18.64 



1.06 

 0.50 

 15.41 

 0.27 

 0.23 

 0.01 



are given 

 ascertained. 



Juice from plants grown at Verrieres :• 

 Sept 28th, 1854 ... 4.1 per cent, of pure alcohol. 

 Oct. 4th, 1854 ... 5.4 ditto ditto. 



Juice from plants grown in Algeria :> 



FIRST FERMENTATION, OCT. 17th, 1854. 



7.0 I by Salleron's 

 Second trial ... 7.4) ratus. 



7.0 to 7.2 by distillation. 



SECOND FERMENTATION, OCT. 18th, 1854, 7.952 peb Cent. 



Juice from plants grown at Verrieres : 

 Oct. 20 

 Nov. 16 

 Nov. 17 



appa- 



# ■ 



• • 9 



• V V 



• • • 



• ■ ■ 



7.251 by distillation. 

 6.326 panicles cut. 



t • • 





* ▼ 8 L"IT *»• •*• • • • • • « « • • 



Sugar, crystallisable and not crystallisable 



• t • 



• • 



• • • 



• • • 



• • • 



. . - 



Nitrogenous substances 



Resinous, fatty and colouring matters 



Woody fibre 



Salts soluble in water (sulphates and chlorides) 



Insoluble salts (of lime and oxide of iron) ... 



Silica ... 



# • « 



• i« 



* t • 



8tJTT 



ON & 



Sons, Seed Growers, Reading, Berks. 



100.00 

 The above analysis was made from the middle 

 portion of a stem : but, in consequence of the plants 

 having been injured by carriage, it was found 

 impossible to separate the crystallisable part of the 

 agar from the uncrystallisable. At all events, it 

 appears that the richness of the plant in sugar is very 



remarkable. 



The juice of the Holcus furnishes, M. Vilmorin 

 observes, three important products : — Sugar, alcohol, 

 and a fermented liquor analogous to cider. When 

 the juice is obtained from peeled canes it is almost 

 colourless, and may be said to consist of merely 

 mi r and water. Its density varies from 1.050 to 

 1.075, and the proportion of its sugar from 10 to 16 

 per cent. Sometimes, however, as much as a third 

 of the total amount of sugar is not crystallisable, and The quantity of spirit, however, far exceeds that 



6.467 panicles not cut. 



Omitting the results of the trial made on the 28th 

 of September, when the plants were evidently too 

 young, and those with plants grown in Algeria, it 

 appears that the average quantity of alcohol for the 

 climate of Paris is about 6.3 per cent., or at the 

 rate of 6-^ gallons of pure alcohol from 100 gallons 

 of juice. 



This per centage is considered very satisfactory, 

 especially M. Vilmorin observes, when the excellent 

 quality of the spirit is taken into account. The 

 best idea of the value of the plant will, however, be 

 obtained by calculating from the results of the expe- 

 riments the produce per acre, according to which 

 the yield is as follows : 

 Stems and leaves 68,938 lbs., or upwards of 30 tons. 

 Stems only . . . 43,984 „ .. 19 



Juice, at 55 per cent, of weight 

 of stems 



)} 



2415 gallons. 



■ • • 



• • - 



• • • 



• • • 



• • • 



Sugar calculated at 8 per cent. 5 1905 iij a 



\J I \AlKj\S ••■ ••• ••• ••• ••• 



Pure alcohol, at 63 per cent, of ) lg2 ffa |j ong# 



JUlCtJ ••• i« a ••• •«« ••• j 



For comparison with the above, the average pro- 



duce of Beet-root is per acre : 



Roots 40,147 lbs., or nearly 18 tons. 



Juice, at 80 per] 



cent.of weight > 32,118 lbs., or upwards of 14 tons. 



of roots . . . ) 



Sugar at 6 per £ 1927 lbs< 



cent, of juice J 

 Pure alcohol, at 



cent, of 



3 per 

 Beet 



120 gallons. 



« « • 



It will be observed that the quantity of sugar from 

 the Holcus is estimated higher than .that from the 

 Beet-root ; but the small difference would not com- 

 pensate for the extra labour required for preparing 

 the canes, and for the greater difficulty in extracting- 



