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I 



.1 



THE GARDT NEK 



CHRONICLE 



fwr mveral hows, we b uld Fay it is sup* nor to the 

 British Queen ; it is Urge, oblon or rather teal 

 with the Fi me colour as tbat variety, hut tweeter ami 

 richer. It is said by Mr. Sanders 10 \ an excel nt 

 bearer, and to force'wel : in addition to which 

 reported to be much hardier than the British Queen, 

 nearly ah which perished la-t winter rund Ted worth, 

 wfeile tkis Nimrod sueredin no degree whatever."] 



Igtet* of the W iter about Newark.— In this imme- 

 diate district the frost of the winter has done more 

 mischief than was done by the frost of last year. The 

 common Laurels are killed by hundred*, at least cut 

 quite down to the j. mod. Last year they suffered 

 verv little. The Cupressus I icrocarpa, I fear, i 



the number by procuring 



visit this autumn to the place where 



another supply, 1 paid 



a 



I bad been so 



successful last year, wit 

 relate. Having arrived 

 tor that is the une of the place 



I 1< s 



no time in 

 SSiTpaTrf^ «"5jrt discovery The 

 ' . * «K,U as beautiful an-! symmetrical a 



*** 



as ever, 



tretm were there as beautiful and sy 



tut X.. raining my *« *« W* an hour I could not 

 eet, Ingle one. I returned to the temple and 

 nen nUmy ^ppointntenttothepnests and asked 



them whe 





tilled. The Pinus insignis, which was untouch «i last 

 year, has its spines turned brown half vay thro: ii. 

 The variegated Golden Holly has the white or golden 

 leaves generally tot-Bed brown. The lar Arauca 

 have their leaves tinged with brown many f. I r 



from the ground tlian last year. The Cryptomeria has 

 not suffer : much. 1'inus Kusselliaiia is tilled. In 

 several places the common Yew is burnt on one side, 

 and the C r of Lebanon also. Alto-ether these tw 

 last winters have cut 17 short the catalogue of hardy 



shrubs. D. 



Early Wmlarb (see p. 208).— Your correspondent 

 who says nil gardener la*t October covered Ov< 1 some 

 Rhubarb with cement casks and fold-yard mnnur 

 which was added several times in order to force tlie 

 growth, and again some four months afterwards covered 

 ever, in a precisely similar way, other roots on the same 

 soil, which though last covered we ready first, should 

 remember that be covered op tl .1 time when Rhubarb 

 was wholly t rest, and when it would require »u!de 

 the time W« heat to start it that it would when he 

 cover i his second lot, groi h at that time havm 

 alreadv com need. Uesi , starting to force be! o 

 m winter does not ensure his en ing so much earner, 

 more especially if the Ububarh had not been forced 

 before; if, however, it has once 1 started early it 

 will start about the same time ever after, with little 

 trouble ; but to begin too soon, as your correspondent 

 states, would require something more than merely adding 

 manure « several times," for every gardener knows too 

 well the uncertainty of dung heat in hard w ther. If, 

 on the other hand, your 1 pondent should begin to 



force after midwinter, and continue the heat till he gets 

 a supply of Kbubarb, and the next year commence a , 

 week or two e: rlier, he might not then fail. It must 

 be remembered, however, that different sorts of Rhubarb 

 naturally vary very much as regards earhneas. 7. Divers, j 



Maidstone. 



Does Sea-water Kill Seeds ?— I havebf gun making some 



few experiments on the effects of immersion in sea-waterou 

 tkegerminating powers of seeds, in the hope of being able 



to t\ nv a very little light on the distribution of plants, 

 more especially in regard to the same species being found 

 in many eases in far outlying islands and on th in- 

 land. Will any of your readers be so kind as to inform 

 me whether such experiments have already been tried ! 

 And, secondly, what class of seeds, or particular species, 

 they have any reason to suppose would be eminently 

 liable to be killed by sea-water I The results at which I 

 have already arrived are too few and unimportant to be 

 worth mentioning. Charles Dawn, Down, Famborough. 

 Kent, April 11. ___^, 



Foreign Correspondence. 



Leaves fbom my Chinese Note-Book : No. 8.— 

 A Journey in sea h of a 'new Cedar or Larch, called 

 Abies Kampjeri. — I have been acquainted with this 

 interesting tree for several years in China, but only in 

 gardens, and as a pot plant in a dwarfed state. The 

 Chinese, by their favourite system of dwarfing, contrive 

 to make it, when only a foot and a ha or two feet high, 

 have all the characters of an aged Ced^r of Lebanon. It 

 is called by them the Kin-le-mng, or Golden Pine, pro- 

 bably from the rich yellow appearance which the ripened 

 leaves and cones assume in the autumn. Although 1 have 

 often made inquires after it, and endeavoured to get the 

 natives to bring aae some cones, or to take me to a place 

 where such cones could be procured, I met win. no 

 success until last autumn. Then, however, I happened 

 to visit a part of the country where I had not been 

 before, and quite unexpectedly came upon some fine 

 specimens of full grown trees covered with ripe cones. 

 They were growing in the vicinity of a Buddhist monas- 

 tery in the western part of the province of Chekiang, at 

 aa elevation of 1000 or 1500 feet above the level of the 



Their steins, which measured fully 5 feet in cir- 

 cumfertrnce 2 feet from the ground, carried this size, 

 with a alight diminution, to a height of 50 feet, that 

 being the height of the lower branches. The total 

 height I estimated about 120 or 133 feet. The stems 



ther it was possible to procure cones from any 

 „her paH of the country. They told me of various 

 aces where there were trees, but whether these had 

 'eTupon them or not they could not say. They 



fetberW>Wd me with a piece ol mform^on winch, 



although I was most unwilimg to believe it, I knew to 

 be most likely too true, namely, that this tree rarely 

 bore cones two years successively, that last year was its 

 bearing Year, that this one it was barren. A respect- 

 able look in* man, who was on a visit to the temple, now 



in whichever direction 1 looked 



iuuuuia.«io V i ,«a* v ^ ..^..^c,., • wms, remind^ 

 the waves of a stormy sea. Far below us i n 

 directions appeared richly cultivated and well ? 

 valleys ; but they seemed so far off, and in somci^: 

 the hills were so precipitous, that it made me rilfe 

 look down. On the ton wher#> we* «. .»^*7^ 



nothing bu 

 where 



On the top where we were th 



1 sad the*, 



and some spots of cultivation. At this height 1 ma J? 

 some Lycopods, Gentians, and other plants not obwny 

 at a lower elevation. I also found a HydrangJ? 

 leafless state, which may turn out a new sp^jl J 



whicn I hope to introduce to Europe. If it 

 be an ornamental species it will probably pro^ 

 hardy in England. 



rih 



ana were grauuany uesceuumg, wnen on rouufc 

 point I observed at a distance a sloping hill covered* 



I 

 I 



the beautiful object of our search ~xne Abies w — ' - 

 came np to me and said that he knew a place where a j Many of the trees were young, and^ all had ap 

 lai number of trees were growing, and that if I would 

 visit the temple to which he belonged he would take me 

 to this spot, and that there I would probably find what 1 

 wanted. I immediately took down the name of Ins re- 

 idence, which he told me was Quan-ting, a place about 

 20 le distant from the temple in which I was 



at a much higher elevation on the 



domiciled, and _ _ _ „ 



mountains. Having made an appointment for next day 



he took his leave of me with great politeness, and 



returned to his home. 



Having procured a guide for Quan-ting, I set out 

 earlv next day to visit my new acquaintance. Leaving 



he temple of lian-te&g, our way led up a steep pass, 

 waved with granite stones. On each side of the road 

 were forests of fine Bamboos— 4he variety called by the 

 Chinese Mo ou, the finest I ever saw. 1 he forests are 

 very valuable, not only on account of the demand 

 for the full-nrown Bamboos, but also for the young 

 shoots, which are dug up and sold in the markets in the 



■arly part of the seasoiu Here, too, were dense woods 

 of Cryptomeria, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Oaks, Ches- 

 nuts, and such like representatives of a cold or tempe- 

 rate clinr.te. The Chinese Chesnut appears to differ 

 slightly from the Spanish, but it is superior to that 

 variety. A very pretty small one, about the size and 

 form of the Hazel Nut, is much esteemed ; both, I think, 



I have sent them both 



_„ r „ r — ir as l could ote* 



they had nothing of a natural forest character ii** 

 them. One tree in particular seemed the queen of fe 

 forest, from its great size and beauty, and to that* 

 bent our steps. It was standing all alone, m-^ 

 8 feet in circumference, was fully 130 feet high, and a 

 lower branches were nearly touching the ground. \ 

 lower branches had assumed a flat and horizontal^ 

 and came out almost at right angles with the »stem, ht 

 the upper part of the tree was of a conical shape, 

 bling more a Larch than a Cedar of Lebanon. Bit 

 there were no cones even on this or on any of theotka, 

 although the natives informed us they had beeakwU 

 with them on the previous year. 1 had therefore to 

 content myself with digging up a few self-awn jruag 

 plants which grew near it, and which I shall encatfOv 

 to introduce to England. 



I now parted from my friend M r. TA'ang, who 11. 

 turned to his mountain home at Quan-ting, while I ui 

 my guide pursued our journey towards the temple t 

 which I was staying by a different route from thaiW 

 which we had come. The road led us through fc 

 cnip Linrl nf fwenerv which I have endeavoured ti 



I 



were pertectly straight throughout, the branches sym- 

 metrical, slightly inclined to the horizontal form, and 

 having the appearance of something between the Cedar 

 and Larch, The long branchless stems were, no doubt, 

 the resuU of theur growing cl 3 t ler and thickly 

 surrounded with other trees, f or I have since seen a 

 single specimen growing by itself on a mountain side at 



a much higher elevation, whose lower branches almost 

 touched the ground. 



worth introduction to Europe. 



to India, and I am happy to hear that both are now 

 doing well on the Himalayan mountains. Chesnuts have 

 long been a desideratum in India ; many fruitless 

 attempts have been made to introduce them, but with 

 Ward's cases we now work wonders. 



Our road was long and rugged, and we were gradu- 

 ally attaining a higher elevation. We reached the 

 temple of Quan-ting at last, and had no difficulty in 

 finding our acquaintance of the preceding day, Mr. 

 Waog-a-nok, as he called himself. It now appeared he 

 was a celebrated cook— the Soyer of the district— and 

 had been engaged on this day to prepare a large dinner 

 for a number of visitors who had come to worship at the 

 temple. He told me he would be ready to accompany 

 me as soon* as the dinner was over, and invited me to be 

 seated in the priest's room until tbat time. This little 

 temple has no pretensions as regards size, and was in a 

 most dilapidated condition. In one of the principal halls 

 I observed a table spread and covered with many good 

 things, which were an offering to Buddha, and before 

 which the visitors, as they arrived, prostrated them- 

 selves. As the valley in which the temple is placed is 

 fully 3000 feet above the sea, I felt the air most 

 piercingly cold, although it was only the middle of 

 October, and hot enough in the plains in the day time. 

 So cold was it that at last I was obliged to take refuge in 

 the kitchen, where Mr. Wang was busy with his pre- 

 parations for the dinner, and where several fires were 

 burning. This place had no chimney, so the smoke had 

 to find it* way out through the doors, windows, or broken 

 roof, or, in fact, any way it could. Sly position here 

 was, therefore, far from being an enviable one, although 

 I got a little warmth from the fires. I was therefore 

 glad when dinner was announced, as there was then 

 -une prospect of being able to get the services of Mr. 

 Wang. The priests and some of the visitors now came 

 and invited me to dine with them, and, although I was 

 unwilling, they almost dragged me to the table. In the 

 dining room, which was the same, by-the-by, in which 

 they were worshipping on my arrival, I found four 

 tables placed, at one of which I was to sit down, and 

 was evidently considered the lion of the party. They 

 pressed me to eat and to drink, and although I could not 

 comply with their wishes to the fullest extent, I did the 

 best I could to merit such kindness and politeuess. But 

 I shall not attempt a description of a Chinese dinner 

 which, like the dinner itself, would be necessarily a long 

 one. and will only sav that, like all eood thincrsv it came 



describe — mountains ; nothing but mountains, 

 valleys, and granite and clay-slate rocks— now 

 and barren, and now richly covered with forests cbi^ 

 consisting of Oaks and Piues. We arrived ilfc 

 monastery just as it was getting dark. My fri«J 

 the priests, were waiting at the entrance, and anxiflj 

 inquired what success had attended us during tbe% 

 I told them the trees at Quan-ting were just like tie 

 own— destitute of cones. "Ah!" said they, for Bj 

 consolation, " next year there will be plenty." 



I cannot agree with Dr. Lindley in ^Hj^* 

 A hies, unless Cedars and Larches are also referred^ 

 the same genus. It is apparently a plant «**."£ 

 mediate between the Cedar and Larch ; tW V*" 

 deciduous scales like the Cedar and deciduous mm 

 like the Larch, and a habit somewhat of the one ■ 

 somewhat of the other. However, it is a nobie w. 

 it produces excellent timber, will be very onaaj^ 

 park scenery, and I have no doubt will prove pen^l 

 hardy in England. R. F. 







&ot\ztu$* 



Entomological : April 2*- J. Cur tis, &4'**S 

 in the chair. Donations of books from & 

 Society, the Society of Arts, the ?>*»$*£ 

 of Stettin, Berwickshire Naturalists Club, « 

 announced, as well as an extensive . c « l "™ Q : r «^ 

 mens of aphides preserved in Canada tiaisa y ^ 

 by Mr. F. Walker, and a number of »£. <*i 

 doptera by Mr. H. Doubleday. Mr. b* int0B 

 with reference to tlie discussion respecting 

 of the pins wit!- which insects are »*%£&!& 

 only observed this to occur in one specie ^ 

 (N. Acetosse), and from the acid natur 

 upon which it fed it might be considered tw rf „ 

 sion was attributable to the nature ot t ^ 



the transformations of the spec e rf ^ 

 had been observed last year by Mr. an -^ ^ 

 Mr. Foxcroft exhibited specimens ot 1/ ^rf 

 Lepidoptera which he had reared from ^ v^i 



year in F.feshire ; he also ** blb ^ i€ £lA«* 

 Papilio Machaon reared from two ver 7 f Sp il^ 



Mr. Bond exhibited a van ety ^ ^ 

 i Mr. Edward Shepherd e* ^ 



5*« 



larva 



of larvee. 



MenthastrL 



mens of Donacise, some stuck w 



coDimonr^, 



i 



Jatter remained uninjureu. » x \-"'. ~ lonp^^M 

 specimens of the very rare Lucinr |* Madim ePg 



latter remained uninjured. M * S *^ s i ngto**5 



t dAn*5«i* 

 and female, brought to ^i™""'^*****- 



hi nisei f ready for my servii 



Our road led us up to the head of the valley in 

 which the temple stands, and then it seemed as if all 

 further passage was stopped by high mountain barriers. 

 As we cot nearer, however. I observed a n«t.h winding 



read a note on the species 01 v ? ^gting 



■titers 



Scarcely m m „_ 



covery I had made," or with what delight, with the 

 permission and assistance of the good priests, I pro- 

 cured a large supply of those curious cones sent to 

 England last winter. 



up round the mountain, and by this road we reached 



the top of a range of mountains fully a thousand feet 



higher than any we had passed, or 4( feet above .the 



. sea. When we reached the top tlie view that met our 



- o g 2 *** regret I read in I eyes on all sides rewarded us richly for all the toil of 



this paper, and in a letter from Mr. GiendinnLng, that so j the morning. I had seen nothing so grand as this since 

 few of these seeds had vegetated, and in order to increase | my journey across the Bohea mountains. On all sides 



Of tl 



bor 



history 



wotf 



# 



on* 1 ' 



a/^iai£ l* VV/uuu v***~-~ — 



vatory hive, which had gamed « 

 by the Society on that subject. 



>* 





i 



cate insects in their collection for 



wed * !£:>*" 



distrib* 1 * ^ 



