1(MS : >'] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



153 



. T si j e# Some experiments were tried with eyes from G or C inches of each cutting should be cut 



*~!L5f A*p lot 1C - vards W,de ' b * V 12 l0nSt raanureci ol,t previously to planting, which prevents suckers from 

 •Jbor-mould and salt mixed, produced 14 cwt. of being thrown out about the roots. When they have 

 "^ roots. Another of same dimensions, manured | been two years in the nursery bed, and have formed 



h^ uid P^ 8 °* hog-inould, salt, and stable manure, heads of four or f 

 I^'ced 17 cwt - » and a tn ' r( *> ™ n * 1 stakte-.vard manure they are intended 

 J7v U pro duced 1 ton 4 cwt. The weights of manures | of 8 inches clear i 

 zf*an each division were equal. Further trials with 

 JJLr fertilising materials supplied by a gentleman who 

 k « much interest in those matters have been made, 

 krtowiog to the lateness of the season when they were 

 the experiments did not get a fair trial. T - u - " 



five shoots, they may be planted where 

 to remain, taking care to have a stem 

 above ground to each plant. 



**, 



Aerefore, reserve making any special report on them at 



JJieiit, "Nd onl ^' etate tbf * * 1 '"" """"*"* f ~* 



^ng considerable stimulate 



g qu 



Mttat&ed t° ti" s . vear - ^ast April the Assistant Secre- 

 tary prnt tome 115 kinds of those seedlings, raised by 

 Mr Anderson of Fermoy, at ages varying from two to 

 four years, all of which had either names attached, or 

 ^tes'describing their merits. It was stated, that Mr. 

 Anderson desired to have them tried and proved in the 

 Botanic Garden. They were accordingly planted with 

 mneh care, and samples of the produce of 109 of the 



> ^ — _ il. n !_, • • lit l-» « 4 * .*■* mm --^ A Ij _....-. 1 — — J _— _ ■ 



TRADE MEMORANDA. 



Bewaue of a man who is representing himself as 

 gardener to a merchant, and who purchases plants and 

 greenhouse work upon false representations. His aim 

 seems to be to live on his dupes a few days, and if he 

 can to borrow cash, and give them the slip without 

 notice. His height is about .5 feet 4 inches, black hair 

 and whiskers, black coat and trousers, black figured 

 waistcoat. Answers to different names. 



You have 



Home Correspondence 



An Irish Loy and the Price of Digging. 



invited from your friends accounts of rates paid, &c, 



for digging. By statements published by the Society of 



-ire __ ; - ^ ™ M _™ „_ . Friends, in the Irish Farmed Gazette of 1849, of their 



the Agricultural Museum of the Society. It affords me 



pit* i to report that there are some first-rate kinds 



imonj them, both as regards quality and prolific yield ; 



tad I have no doubt but they will soon take their places 



it standard varieties for general cultivation ; but, so far 



15 their being proof against blight, such is not the case. 



The haulm of every one of them was cut down in 



common with the ordinary varieties, when the blight 



prevailed in August, but when dug in October the tubers 



oft good many of the kinds were quite sound, whilst 



other* had about one-half diseased. The remarks 



attached to the samples sent to the Exhibition will show 



the effects as they occurred. 



Supplies of plants and flowers have been regularly 

 sent twice in each week to the School of Art ; 750 

 examples from the Conservatories, and 2533 from the 

 oatside grounds, besides private supplies to pupils who 

 came to the Garden and selected for themselves. 



The Professors of the Royal College of Surgeons, and 

 Peter Street School of Medicine, have been supplied 

 with specimens for illustrating their lectures ; and 

 plants and flowers were freely sent to the Museum of 

 Industry, Stephen's Green, for Dr. Allraan's lectures in 

 that institution. 



Although no official order was issued until lately for 

 affording the public access more freely to the Garden, 

 I acted in some degree on my own responsibility, and 

 admitted them (strangers especially) throughout the 

 ttmmer, knowing it to be the desire of the Committee 

 tf Botany, and members of the Society, to make the 

 institution as useful as possible. From 3 1st December, 

 1853, to 3lst December, 1854, thirty-seven thousand 

 ix hundred and thirty-eight persons visited the Garden, 

 exclusive of nearly three thousand who attended the 



Horticultural fAt» 



duj; 



9 inches deep for 9s. Gd. an acre (statute). At the 

 same period other accounts stated that Counaught men ! jured) ; 





last summer. Greatest cold out there (?>., at Belstane, 

 which is 800 feet above the sea) on the 15th inst., 3° above 

 zero. Three other nights 8°, others 10° and upwards, 

 so the trial has been pretty severe." Mr. Graham then 

 notices the following :— Cupressus Goveuiana, as unhurt ; 

 C. Lambertiana, ditto ; Sequoia gigantea, ditto ; Crypto- 

 mena, ditto; Finns insignia, all safe; Abies Menziesi, 

 out of 300 only one injured ; A. Douglasi, out of near 

 J)0 none injured; and all other Pines unscathed ; all 

 the above being in the open ground, m i thou t protec- 

 tion of any kind. At my place here, where I am, cer- 

 tainly favourably located as to climate, never having 

 observed my outside thermometer lower than 17°, 

 though it must have gone down lower during night 

 sometimes, I have had about a dozen of Sikkim 

 Rhododendrons out unininjured. Among these were : 

 Rhododendron Falconeri, R. argenteum— a form of 

 it at least— as if intermediate between the true R. 

 argenteum, which is very scarce in Scotland, and R. 

 Falconeri, but having the bud (like a small cone) of tke 

 true argenteum; R. Thomsoni, seruginosum, Wal- 

 lichi, fulgent, niveum, glaucum, campylocarpum; 

 and the following in a cold frame wholly unprotected 

 by covering of any kind except the glazed sashes : 

 R. Wighti, cinnabarinum, lancifolium, barbatum 

 (several of which I had in the open border all unin- 



R. anthopogon (Hook, pi), &c. All these 



Besides these Rhododendrons I had 



stood admirably. 



other things of a more questionable character, which 



n 



I have agam reluctantly to call your attention to the 

 ^te of the dwelling-house, trusting that for the beaut i- 

 W of your Garden, the comfort of your officer, and 

 w economic considerations, special information may be 



WW for on this subject. D. Moore, Dec. 30, 1854. 





would dig an acre of stubble land when light 9 inches 

 deep for 6s. 8c/., and when heavy for 10s. But 1849 was 



a period of labour deterioration, when men were found I stood out all this severe Reason, viz. : Berberis, sp.'at 

 glad to work even in Leinster for Ad. or 6d. a day, or j 10,000 to 11,000 feet on the Andes; Neillia thyrsi- 

 I merely for their own food, their families being half flora ; EtcalloaU macrantha, foliage browned, but 

 starved and wauderiug beggars through the country. In appears sound otherwise ; Cerasus ilicifolia, slightly 

 ordinary years a very general rate for turning land touched in the foliage, appears quite sound ; Acacia, 

 (as No. 1, see p. 68) by the loy in the mountainous ■ sp. from South Australia, scathed in foliage. The fol- 

 districts of Ireland, where it is chiefly practised, is ! lowing in greenhouse or pot*, often frozen as hard as 

 for stubbles about 10*., and for lea 12s. or 13*. ; bricks -Pourretia pyramidal*, a bromeliacious plant 

 in these cases, however, the laud is not all , from Andes of Quito, at 10,000 and 1 1,000 feet; Arabis 

 turned, the ridges or beds are generally narrow, that ] species, with fine Fern-like foliage, at 13,000 feet on the 



is, including furrows, about 6 feet Andes; Draha alyssoides, a shrubbv species, at from 

 wide, the furrow then is not 14.000 to lo,000" feet, on Andes ; Cremolohus peru- 



vianus at 12,000 feet, on Andes ; Melastomacete, several 

 species, at from 9000 to 11,000 feet, Andes; Ribes, 

 species, at 1 3,000 feet, Andes ; Marguricarpus setosus, 

 at 10,000 feer, Andes—in open grouud till middle of 

 December; Berberis, dwarf species, at 14,000 feet on 

 Pichineha, said to be very pretty ; Alstromeria Caldasi, 



12,000 feet on Andes; besides many 

 oni the same elevations. Isaac Anderson, 



Maryfield, near Edinburgh. 



Subterranean Application of Liquid Manure. — Since 



my return from the continent 1 have received several 



ing the sod ; indeed, so well is [ letters from gardeners informing me that a Mr. Wilkins 



had taken out a patent for my invention for growing 

 Celery, and requesting me to inform the public of the 

 number of years I have grown Celery, &c, on that 

 system. In the year 1828 I used pipes for watering the 

 interior of Melon and Cucumber pits and frames, and 

 had excellent crops of Melons of large size and rich 

 saccharine quality ; in proof of which I took the first 

 prize for Melons at the Doncaster Horticultural 

 Society's Exhibition seven consecutive years, and was- 

 never beaten. If Mr. Wilkins will refer to the "Gar- 



stirred, but the edge of the bed 



turned down upon it as by the 



ptongli ; indeed, this turning is 



a close imitation of ploughing at 



about 4 inches deep, and rates 



most commonly about the same 



price as ploughing would. For j from 10,000 to 



this purpose the loy in the hands other things fro! 



of an Irishman is a most efficient 



instrument, it gives him a great 



lever power in raising and turn- 



BO 



it fitted for it, that I think a 

 man with less fatigue would turn 

 one half more ground in the day 

 than he would with the spade. 

 I had one in mv hands a few 



minutes ago 



io 



% 80 



COMMON THINGS. 

 Pruning and Training Nut-hushes.— As soon as young 

 pwjw i are established, some pains should be taken to 

 £"■«* ne »as a proper form, which may be done in a 

 "«f manner to that recommended for Gooseberries 

 J" currants. If it i s intended to keep the plants 

 » f rs y? tem of Pining, they must be kept 

 tedtn* , their u PP er P or tions may be reached 



tomm? 0I \* * g™ und > both for the purposes of 

 STLb Sphering the fruit. Their heads 



to s JJ "P*. thin > shortening the leading shoots 

 ^ * U inches, and cutting out such other 



W*th *f W0Uld if ,eft encumber ihe ] ^ &d - 



<* three ' t Wil1 be also P rodu ced from the two 



inche^T?* b r ancbes ' annually, short twigs of 6 or 



Sata thJ? 1 1 ^ ' w,,ich generally bear a great many 



kt a* I ♦ ng >€ar ; these should be tinned out, 



^rever th ' leavin S them in tolerable quantity 



***imr wiT ^ P roduced > cutting them clean out the 



» hJl T*' aud Jeavi »g others in the same manner 



Ay IRISH LOY. 



better 



__ previous season. In Kent, 



S^and "T, W k m ? naged than in most other parts of 



***ner hint T .? be8 lhere are P runed much iu the 

 *** the m ij 1 ^l } ' their branch€s being wide apart, 

 ^erer deenA bushes very open. Some may, 



*P>Ur wav • k °? much troubIe to prune Nut trees in a 

 ** *»e to ' ou,d this be the case, something still may 

 * hI <* tk» ! f, tbeir rummig into a wild state in 

 r^e first tw y are ' The * "V be ,ooked over 



i 



«,?•»• !t 



form 



would take but little time to have 



my 



its dimensions are, 

 handle and blade, 5 feet 6 inches 

 long, the blade 3 1 foot long, and 

 34 inches wide, aud about }, inch 

 wider at its junction with the 

 handle, the step 6 inches above 

 the blade, and G inches higher is 

 the fulcrum 5 inches deep ; the 

 blade tits on to the handle bv a 

 lapping of the sides for about 

 7 inches, and the handle is set 

 into the blade in a double wed^e 

 form, side and lengthways. An 

 Englishman could make no hand 

 of this tool, and I do not con- 

 sider it well adapted to general 

 digging, although so used, but 

 the narrow and strong blade fits 

 it well for hard, stony land, and the broad, wooden step 

 makes it easy to the foot ; the weight of the blade is about 

 5 or 6 lbs., and the weight of the whole is about 10£ lbs. 

 In 1850, when labour was still low, I dug (as No. 2) in 

 the county of Longford 12 acres of strong clay land 

 (locally called gollagh), mostly stubble, with the spade, 

 forcing it into the ground nearly perpendicularly to 

 9 or 10 inches, but turning the sod over sideways, in the 

 nature of a deep ploughing ; the whole ground was dug, 

 the men were employed at constant wa-es, work or no 

 work, wet or dry, at 8tf. a day ; and in this way one 

 acre with another cost me \L and a few pence. This 

 might have been done for something less f either by task 

 work, or by only paying the labourer for good working 

 days, and for which plenty of labourers might have been 

 got ; but as a man must eat, though he might not be 

 able to work, and as he would be better able to do a fair 

 day's work when he did not fast on the day lie could not 

 work, I thought it only just and reasonable, as well as 

 wise, to have him in attendance at all times, though at a 

 little more nominal cost, J. M. Ooodijf. Scrabby, Co. 

 Cavan. 



I 





! 



^u 0Ve _ ; - - - — - The Winter and its Effects in Scotland.— I was anxious 



2* **lws and ithin } T.u ° n \ th J S t,me ' t0 u Cl ? ar t0 learn from Mr ' Graham, of Belstane, who grows 

 Jj**e* the latter!" - ^ ** * ' ^T^ 6 ™* >&>*&*» »^gely, how a plant I had given him some 

 Effective, excel ?T Wlth *°° d the C ^°P ^ >' ears a 8°> of the Coniferous tribe, which I supposed might 

 riches ; on i/J Pf^aps, near the extremity of { be an Athrotaxis, but which vou su-ested might be a 



T *«*• are ijenerlL r ,% ^l iere the bushe8 *** Mic ™cachrys on examining a sprig »hich 1 sent } 011, and 

 JpVtWum * of p"l 8°? d and abundant. the seeds of which I had received from South Australia, 



JJ> only where 7 a ^ "~"i 1 / re mcreased b y had withstood the recent severe frost. Mr. Graham 

 L 1 :^ For this i«£ handsome bushes are writes me about that and some other of the numeral- 



%**#* which P^P^.^^gy^^g shoots should bribes of Conifene which he grows, as follows: 



nt Part of Zl x g n ^ a l ndabout 12 inches of; wrote to ask about the Microcachrys, and to-day 



4 *acn should be made use of. The (26th Feb.) have a report that it is as fresh as it was 





deners' Magazine" of 1820, he will find something said 

 about my system of watering the interior of pits or 

 frames. After being so successful with my pipes in 

 conveying water to the roots of Melons and Cucumbers 

 I employed the same system for supplying liquid 

 manure to the roots of Celery and other horticultural 

 produce with the same success, aud I have continued it 

 ever since. Surely, therefore, my using pipes for apply- 

 ing liquid manure to the subsoil under the roots of 

 Celery, &c., for 26 years ought to convince Mr. Wilkins- 

 that his system is not novel ; and I should like to know 

 why Mr. Wilkins should wish to levy a toll from the 

 public for that which is not his own. James Stephens,. 

 28 years 9 Gardener and Steward, Carr House, Doueaste^ 



Yorkshire, March 6. 



Tepid Water for Water 'nig Plants. — "Be sure you have 

 some water in your houses for watering plants in winter,*' 

 is a general cry with gardeners; and although it may be, 

 and doubtless is, a good plan to adopt in the case of stove 

 plants, it is quite unnecessary for those which usually 

 occupy a greenhouse, t e., provided you have access to 



a well of any depth. During the late frost, I found by 

 experiment that the temperature of the water from a 

 well \G feet in depth wan 46° Falir., while some water 

 that had been standing all night on the flue of a green- 

 house had a temperature of only 42°, the temperature of 

 the greenhouse being 40°. This proves that even during 

 • he most severe weather the temperature of the earth 

 undergoes but vtry little change, and I have seen it 

 stated that the heat increases gradually the further we 

 go below the surface, though I do not remember iu what 

 proportion. A. A. 



Ihe Ldc Frv.-t. — The following observations were 

 taken with a >i\*s thermometer, in exposed N. E. 

 aspect, at 2 feet from the ground. The lowest points 

 registered were : — Jan. 19th, 5° ; 2lst,9°. Feb. 11th, 



1°; 14th, 7°; UUh, .5°; 19th, 3°; 22d, 8°. The 

 highest points registered were :— Jan. 24th, 36° ; 25th, 

 m» ; Feb. 3 1, 36° ; 5th, 39". The.e returns are from 

 Jan. 19th to Ftb. 19th inclusive, the minima represent- 

 ing the lowest temperatures of the preceding nights, 

 The following are the means for ihe same dates : 



Mean 



Min. 

 17/28 



Mean. 



Lowest 

 1* 



But the frost began some days before Jan. 19ih, and I 

 think an additional table or two is necessary. The first 

 frost of any strength was on Jan. lltb, thermomett-r at 



