188 



THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE 



[March 



cauing -«SSS5 the use of which is limited to 

 ZrtSm, is the pruning knife ; and that they cannot 

 fuy. To be sure we «ee in every cutler 8 or even 

 3 m**T>* «hoo. thiiwrs called prnmng knives ; 



of iron. 



heavy 



©amonger'a ihop, things 



awkward, Ul-contnved pieces 

 admirably suited for bending or snapping or conver- 

 son into primitive saws, after half a day s pruning ; 

 imt if we aik for a pruning knife that will prune no 

 such article can be found. 



Seriously speaking this is not only a great evil, 

 but indicates a state of trade discreditable to the 

 cutlers of this country. It is also quite a modern 

 condition of things. A few years ago every nursery- 

 man could supply his customers with knives that were 

 faultless and at a price within the means of those 

 who had to use them. Now it is so far otherwise 

 that people to whom a good knife is of the first 

 necessity may travel from Exeter to Inverness with- 

 out finding such a thing. We do not mean that no 



knives are procurable for money ; doubtless 



diseased action to neutralise or decompose 

 matter applied, it will form a permanent pellicle 

 upon the plant, and like the carbonate of lime which 

 is in some districts so copiously deposited from the 

 water, will soon act as a mechanical obstacle to the 

 due respiration and perspiration of the leaves, and 

 in consequence induce serious malady. 



When the tissues of plants themselves are in the 

 first instance affected, it is often difficult to ascer- 

 tain the cause, but every gardener who wishes to 

 take an eminent position in his profession must 

 make himself master, at least, of all external 

 affections. There is, in fact, no excuse for him, if 

 he is not able to combat such attacks where the 

 remedy is in daily use amongst the more intelligent. 



M.J.B. 



At the close of the article in the Gardeners 

 Chronicle of the 10th inst., on M. Godron's Experi- 

 ments on iEdLOPS, we observed that neither he nor 

 ... , .., r , M. Jordan, who has filled 100 pages of the 



me great cuuera will supply you with a perfect 



instrument if you will pay an exorbitant price for it : 



i-i J..* .•. -Z^j Jit Li:- :- — JLa . Mr* lauons upon i 



explain what the origin of Wheat has 

 is not a domesticated condition of 



t; 



the I the microscope it has a gKSeiomj^S^fr^ 

 ? - 1 - I appearance not unlike that of some thin goon ^ 

 quence of the frequent lacunee and spicul»f« ge,,n 

 -**"■ ~~ nect the linear bodies into which *'"** 



In some cases also the lamina i 8 n i** u 



divided. 



'£ 



but is composed of two or more distinct lav *** 

 whole substance appears to consist of starch f 

 application of an aqueous solution of iodine' t *** 

 the most beautiful blue, and on the addition ofVri^ 

 sulphuric acid gradually dissolves, assuming *Z%* 



The columnar structure, if 80 it mav yj*** 

 resembles very closely that of the curious formal jr> 

 on the stems of certain plants, which was lately d* 

 in the Gardeners 7 Chronicle (1854, page 74m &_ 

 paper by Dr Caspary, and may perhaps be JSj 

 with the _sort of spurious crystallisation which 



tint. 



was made 30 years ago at the same price as was 



Kppn 



then demanded. That we cannot have : or at least ^ .,' 



attempted tc 



if it 



we 



are whollv unable to discover its whereabouts. 



We 



JEgilop 



lathe days if the late Lord Vkrnom there was a th f is 1 ^ h LH'™»™Jt iC ^w^ri^%W 

 eanital maker at Derbv. one of whose knives now att . em P l > but n a manner so new and original that 



.pital 

 before us is still fit for excellent service, although 

 it has been but indifferently treated for a dozen 



J ears. If that maker still exists he may bring the 

 orticultural world to his shop, provided he has not 



it is not worth referring to it, even as an instance of 



the absurdities into which we are led by the modern 



theory, that all varieties or races of plants of any 



degree of permanency are true species. This doctrine, 



which threatens to plunge the science of botany into 



4 . • .- . , ,~, .. .. 7 . .,. , . inextricable chaos, would scarcely be deserving of 



ApnimDg-kn.feshouldbel.ght,nottooth.ckat :geriou8 refutation ' were it not that its advocates 



the back, forming two gentle curves at the back ' 



lost his art or unreasonably raised his price. 



fdge, and with a handl 

 enough to enable the operator to have a firm grasp. 

 The hook-pointed knives now so common are very 

 objectionable. In temper it should be tough, and 

 so hard as to keep a keen edge, with no more trouble 

 in sharpening than is demanded by a good chisel. 

 If too hard it breaks at the edgp, or snaps short near 

 the neck or middle of the blade. 



to be sold retail for 1*. M. or 2$. 



In price it ought 



If a clasp knife ! 

 it would we suppose be worth something more : but 

 ft true gardener is content with a fixed blade in the 

 old fashioned paper sheath, or "shade," as it used 

 to be called. If fine gentlemen earning 12s. a week 

 think it vulgar to wear such a knife in a slit on the 

 right hand of the trousers, as their fathers did, they 

 will of course not object to paying the price of being 

 genteel and set themselves up with a " clasp." Can 

 no one indace some skilful artizan to turn his atten- 

 tion to this subject ? or must we go to the United 

 States or Canada for our pruning knives as well as 

 oar axes ? 



No principle is more generally recognised in the 

 treatment of human maladies, though few perhaps 

 are less attended to by the majority, of every grade 

 of education and indeed of natural intelligence in 

 other matters, than the necessity of ascertaining 



accurately the nature of any affection before an ! lor their support, were saved. It must be supposed 

 attempt is made to apply a remedy. Where a con- j that they also saved with them seeds of various 



trary practice is adopted, people must be prepared ! plants which they sowed again on the subsidence of 

 ♦„ _« ,11 *w- _r- ^_x ___.. ... . the floo(]< Iq t - h 



are daily increasing in number, especially on the 

 Continent, and they seem generally to recognise 

 M.Jordan as an able and talented expounder of 

 their views. 



We have not access just now to the u Lyons 

 Transactions," but in a detailed abstract in Schlech- 

 tkndahl's "Botanische Zeitung" we find the 

 following passage : — " If, therefore, all these sup- 

 posed races of our domesticated plants are true 

 species, how can we explain the fact of their being 

 in cultivation, unless we assume that they either do 

 now or did once exist on our globe in a wild state ? 

 But they are now nowhere to be found. From his- 

 torical traditions we know that almost all our fruit 

 trees, vegetables, and cerealia came to Europe from 

 the temperate regions of Asia. Their cultivation in 

 Asia appears to date from the remotest antiquity. 

 Asia must, therefore, have been the country where 

 they once ^ grew wild, but are now no more to 

 be found in that state. The same uncertainty 



frevails with regard to many domesticated animals, 

 t appears, therefore, that these plants and animals 

 are in direct connection with the origin of mankind. 

 In the Bible we read that a fearful catastrophe once 

 overwhelmed the earth — the Deluge — on which 

 occasion only a small number of persons, with the 

 animals and plants which they especially required 

 for their support, were saved. 



place in Wheat starch, as prepared for comm^ 

 though the condition of the two is totally differmK 

 quantity produced on the single leaf in my poa«Jj 

 for which I am indebted to the kindness of DrTu2j 

 is considerable, and must be highly injurious toSteS* 

 and a very curious chemical condition must havenS 

 in the plant to cause the amylaceous matter to floti 

 in such a form. It is very probably in a state of 

 tion into dextrine,a transformation which is veryfreo^ 

 during the process of vegetation. Under the tSt 

 has a harsh consistence, something like that of tha til 

 of pith known under the name of Rice Paper, both* 

 evidently no form of cellulose, as it at once attorn* 1 

 fine blue with iodine, without the admixture of m 

 sulphuric acid. I have in vain searched for any&o(b 

 of a similar phenomenon, and regret that I am not alb 

 to do the subject more ample justice, both from wutrf 

 materials and deficiency of chemical knowledge.* 



287- Starch granules are sometimes ejected bofi? 

 from the cells of plants, without any transformtfci. 

 During the prevalence of the Potato disease, it wig « 

 uncommon to find tubers which were studded witbWi 



glistening white patches, consisting entirely of 

 grains. When it is considered that there are not ot 

 many layers of muriform cells immediately beneath tb 

 cuticle, but that the first layers which follow are defia* 

 in starch granules, it is evident that a considerable orgufc 

 lesion must take place before the grains themselves m 

 be ejected, and at the same time there must be agrat 

 pressure on the walls of the cells themselves. Thai 

 heaps of starch granules are not to be confounded with 

 the curious appearance described in this Journal 1841, 

 p. 555. The white granules of which the little hop 

 consisted in that case, instead of becoming blue wiA 

 iodine, assumed a brown tint. They were, in fad 

 oblong cells adhering very loosely to each other, ai 

 were evidently of the same nature as the ordinary ceb 

 of the tubers, as they assumed, when exposed to ligii 

 and air, the cinnamon tint which is usual to the ta 

 under similar circumstances. The cuticle was split ia* 

 irregular stars, in order to make way for them, ni 

 when washed out they left pits similar to those w» 

 are produced by the scab. I have not myself had 

 opportunity of examining this disease, which hasmiDJ 

 points about it of considerable interest. The figure* 

 here reproduced in order to draw attention once mow 

 to the subject. t 



to run all the risks that wait upon empiricism, and 

 much more if they are not content to let well alone, 

 but will be using all sorts of nostrums, where there 

 is scarcely a trace of disorder. These remarks are 

 quite as applicable to horticultural pursuits as they 

 *re to other cases in which men are victimised by 

 the bold assertions of empirics. It is, in fact, a far 

 more easy matter to use a dozen different remedies 

 than it is to ascertain with precision the disease to 

 which those remedies are applied, or the cause from 

 which it spring*. A case has just been submitted to 

 ns respecting a disease the history of which is pretty 

 well ascertained, and for whi^h tWo ;<. * JL*^i 



way the domesticated plants 

 disappeared in their wild state, and only remained 

 as cultivated. Thus, therefore, is the Biblical 

 narrative confirmed by science, as the phenomena 

 can only be explained in this way." 



• B u Ut ^ 0t ° n,y are we unable to recall any passage 

 in the Mosaic account of the Deluge in support of 

 the gratuitous supposition that the waters destroyed 

 vegetable as well as animal life, or that Noah laid 

 m a stock of seeds to restore vegetation on the face 

 of the earth, but we actually find that the Olive- 

 tree at least was not destroyed, for the first evidence 

 INoah had of the abatement of the waters was the 



.00. Oliviline, which is associated by Dr. ThotfJ 

 with amylaceous matters, is discharged with the gu 

 the Olive tree. The most recent chemats ««» 

 its nature as doubtful, and its occurrence is, t&em - 

 simply mentioned in this place. M. J* B. 



reraeay, as may be ascertained with ease by any one 



who will take the pains to look over the indices of our in her mouth. Moreover 

 last two or three volumes, without having recourse 

 to any anti-blhjht composition, however hi hly it 

 may be vaunted. 3 



j? 



ENTOMOLOGY. 





THE 



BRITISH INK GALL. ^ . 



It was the opinion of a fanciful naturalist J* ^ 



Natural 



one 



The 



mse, even without a microscope, by its mealy aspect, 

 which is totally different from any other affection, and 



ily similar in appearance to the mildew of 



ea, Hawthorn, Peaches, &c, with which every 

 cultivator must of necessity be acquainted, and if 



£1 T of \ iQia]l y different natnre > <w ™t, 



21 wiS?"*; & £' be mistaken for k > the ase °f 



S tr "f^ forGra Pe mildew, which are totally 

 inapplicable in the other <•»». ,.*« „.i„ „„j iTZYl 



appointment. 



n her mouth. Moreover, does M. Jordan suppose 

 that the Deluue destroyed only the wild originals of 

 domesticated plant-*, or the entire vegetation ? and 

 in the latter case, did Noah carry with him into the 

 ark seeds of one or two hundred thousand species 

 (or if we adopt M. Jordan's views, one or two 

 million species) in order to replenish the earth after 

 the flooo' was oyer ? We think that either he or 

 his disciples should answer that inquiry before thev 

 carry their speculations any further. 



d» 



klets-wdt*: 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY. 

 286. A post *x is. 



- . . No. LXIV. 



Lowtituttoncd or Accident 



Dis- 



. , j „„„ .„ ,„,. charge of Starch.— Amoncst the colWrinn. m„j 



though it is just possible that some fiftieth reined v 

 after 4!) unsuccessful r» * "ueui femeay, 



effect, there is a fearf_ 



Universities, that the peculiar forms ot gai« 

 rent trees and plants were owing to thenftturftl iL otf tt 

 of the sap of those plants to develop f° ra9 J^7Siff 

 those of the galls in question ;— thus the n 

 of the sap of the Rose tree is to form P^'^JTjM 

 sequently the galls of the Rose tree, comm< ^.^ 

 Moss balls or bedeguars, are all over Bt ^ ll[tt0 (^ 

 pricklets. This pretty theory might be difflcui ^ 

 throw if it happened that each plant producea < ^ 

 t • , . ■■ ™ - --^ { tree, es^l 



iistinct specter; 



rest, it becomes J^ 



Oak, bears a great number of 

 each of a distinct form from the 

 evident that some other influen* 



£"■» No- <71 is a most curious and SJK" 



jaer; 49 ^ -succeS^^omSSr^^e ! ^^ , ^^-«-X?Jffi ?* 

 effect, there i„ a Wf„l ™i. * "° ns >, m V Uke The substance consista of fUbelliform fl«U yP U °; 



occasionally with a „» concentric loneJtSoSj'of 

 interruptions in the process of formation «„^ l 



Jf«% -d r.gu.ar./nssured, Sg *££&"£ 

 a rad 19 t,ng d.rection from the wedge-shaped £e Under 



Ci the natural tendency of the sap. # 



Now nothing is more remarkable in 

 plants, as well as of insects, than that 

 so nearly resembling each other in sizejt 

 as to be scarcely distinguished even with ^ 



by puncturing the leaf or stem of a P Ian ?l'^c* # 

 totally different galls, varying not only in 



the phH^ 



form, * A j5 

 i leas, *»r 



fc? QtMUMii 



1 



i* W 



- 



tionnmyt*"*' 



oi* 





Of 





amy la© ia matter in the plant, for I know oi tb||tt «iie 

 animal secreting aUrch, though therein nr*'ini»«»- s - 

 record of the presence of cel?u! a their org 



£ 



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<&Jit&iaign 



w a 





