



THE GARDENER 



9 ■»* 



CHRONICLE 



"W «" 



The portion at present arr* nged for that 



conaiite of foreign butterflies, foreign Coleoptera, 



British Coleoptera, the distribution to commence 



June meeting, the Council hoping that 



partakir^ in the distribution will in return 



is rarely seen the trees were draping moisture, ^hiIe~Fhe~^w" 

 lay like a rime upon their branches and bended stems A* 

 lh. 13m the temperature was 35'5. and small and fine snow wll 

 again falling, water was dripping everywhere, the birds w*r* 

 sinking jovouslr, and the calm continued. The paper wis 

 illustrated by numerous drawings by Mr. Glaisher. 



otfflfcu 



t. i/r. vaat-j — — © — * 



*ftfc Mr. Janson for the preparation and publication of 



■ding «itoUoff ue of British Coleoptera; and also that 



. bad secured for the British Museum collection the 



-tale of the tvpes of Mr. Woliaston's Coleoptera of 



Sottas; at £oofcs; 



By 



528. 



Madeira. 



D. 



Beitish Meteorological, March 27. — Dr. R. _ 

 Tbo*So>' in the chair. A paper was read u Ou the late 

 mere weather, as compared with that of 1814 ; and on 

 the crystals of snow, observed during its continuance f i - 

 by June* Glaisher, Esq., F.R.S. 



j^eprtitnt year was ushered in with a high temperature, ex- 

 jptdtaffitfl iverage by quantities varying fmin 8° to 12 p daily. 

 Oi J*a- 10 a cold period set in, together with a dense fog, and 

 the temperature which was as high as 49.6 on the 9th, fell to 

 jg*40 jte 1 th ; this diminution of temperature was accompanied 

 |ra change in the wind, which from blowing a compound Irom 

 2i watt changed to a compo — J * iL --- A ' ' " 



txetptioas has so continued « r * v fcM ^ r *w«^..« umc, 

 Jan. 12 and 13 the temperature was about its average value, but 

 after the 14th f when the cold set in, its departures were very 

 eaiwiWe, particularly over the south, west, and eastern parts ol 

 England. Scotland, and the northern counties were frequently 

 from any share in the great severity of the period, which 

 toaeatverely felt at sea-side than at inland places. Ti 



Commentaries on the Productive Forces of Rmsia 

 M. L. de Tegoborski. Vol. I. 8vo, pp.' 

 Longmans. r 



At last we have an account of the resources of the 

 empire with which we are at war, a book which gives us 

 some real information respecting our formidable 

 antagonist How far the facts and figures brought 

 together by M. de Tegoborski can be relied upon we 

 are not in a position to judge, but assuming them to be 



q»alitv) as i to 16.8 ; to Dutch as Jo ,„ j 84 . to 



« 10 to_23_;_ a nd to Ooortomj (the "oh) ^ 10 



per 



38 



up 



present 



con- 



That 

 year, however, commenced with a very low temperature, a 

 ltet having aet in on December 26, 1813. The intensity 

 •f the two periods was about the same ; it ended in 1814, on M*rch 

 Sat, whereas in the present year, with the exception of a *hort 

 Mrmia«ion about the first week in March, it lias continued to 

 the present time. The temperature of the pi at period ha 

 descended lower and more frequently than in 1S14, in which rear 

 thecettest day was on Jan. 10, when the reading was 19.6. The 

 lowest temperature of this year also occurred in January, and 

 was 19.2. In 1814 the lowest temperature in February was on the 

 4th, and was 22*. The lowest reading in this month of the present 

 wm 20.6, and took place on the 18th, and this Feb. was a much 

 awreaevere month than the Feb. of 1S14. The mean temuerature 

 rfFeb. 1814, wasS2 4, and that of the present year was .3. 



.- _ 7 — — — . IH 9mw v . ^»*^ jpA^ov.axu jt-e*i »r an *.<.'. <J . 



me «now ibis year lias been replete with crystallised particli 

 * confound figure, formerly imagined to be 'confined almost, if 

 •otantirely, to tbe PoJar regions. The primary fi-ure or liase of 

 «Mb crystal »»a either a ir of six radii or a plane hexagon. 

 Tie compound varieties included combinations of spicn 

 IflMDS, and laminae, clustered on and around the radii, and 

 •eemed in their various stages of formation, and almost endless 

 ™*r, to defy any attempt to classify or arrange them ini 

 """"V . tbe cora " ,enc enient of the frost simple stellar forms 

 w«n chiefly prevalent, and tell in clusters of from 10 to 20 in a 

 pap. They descended quickly to the ground, where they lay 

 M««ton raveling* knotted here and there, an effect produced 

 W ,ht | molecule, the centre ef each star. On the morning 

 !» i'i ge "umber of crystals fell intermingled with the 

 •nwr, which continued from early morning till late at night, 

 matemperature of from 29" to 32°. From S to 9 a.m., crysta' 

 ■ewmwent character fell sparingly ; after 9 these entirely 

 «mm, and were replaced by minute and glistening h« ;ons of 



3l , v. f I1lduaI| y gave place to other hexagons com- 

 iwraaen orsohd hexagons set round in groups, and solid. Thes 

 jwn, J is the day advanced, became exchanged for figures still 

 -nerompound, and trom the centre hexagon of which, diverged 

 w?*' w,,1 » Prisms, set on at an angle of 60*. Soon after 

 aZfcl lb « petals ceased falling for a time till 4 p.m., when 

 wmrescent form again set in. and was soon after accompa- 

 TtoLlV^i m, ?8'. in & of "early all the figures which had pre- 

 ^J^yiallen durmg the day. They only ceased with the snow 



On Feb i£h ' ?r T 1 i" d " pon the S rf " ln,i to the depth of 8 ins. 

 obterrJ Z. .'• , ' and J7th - a lar S e number of crystals were 

 •nTn»'JSt!? C . ularly . on ,he 17th - Tbe Prevailing" form was 

 nand B^fV. or h,x radii budded on either sine with prisms, 

 SSted^i k, , eacU otller ' bnt of different lengths ; some 

 «•« A fe UDIe la yerof prisms the one superimposed upon the 



*Bn'hei««rc We ? dlscovered of cruciform figure made up of 

 ■anteiJu C i lnto numerous facets; the^-e last were very 

 »•» JtUVu 7 discer n> h| e to the naked eye. On Feb. 21st, 

 ••lids, loth ,7 S , e " umb «r of very complex crystals made up of 

 todh!.^!, 0mb ' J ' dal and ir«gu!ar figure, cut into manv 

 rof j?iT r ' ne upon the other 5 there were i o a large 



m aMUe crjwtf*, that is, two crystals nnited to each 



* Feb. 23 1"» *, XU 1 at right an g ,es t0 t,ie P lane of each. 

 % Mr GlaUho g * ve , way '' but f °rsome hours in the morn 

 "•Me* wa?n»! r WaS abIe t0 continue his ob-ervations. The 

 ' i ^nTmi r ^ CaSt . a,,d ^Im, and snow fell in flakes, accom- 

 "•> W Sh p,C "i 8 ; 800n a ft er 9 o'clock a change took 



European Russia, including Poland and Finland, 

 considerably exceeds half the entire surface of Europe 

 and had in 1851 a population of about 62 000,000 inha- 

 bnants z. c, three times the population of England and 

 Scotland in the same year. The population of the 

 Russian possessions in Asia, whence it has been sup- 

 posed such swarms of troops can be procured, 

 •s estimated at lets than 5,000,000, or scarcely 

 more than twice the population of London. Of the 

 surface of this immense empire it appears that 18 per 

 cent, consists of land in cultivation, 12 per cent of 

 meadow, 35.8 per cent, of forest, and 34.2 per cent' of 

 pastures, marshes, Landcs, heaths, roads, can'als 

 lakes, afters, and grounds ocenpied by buildings. The 

 forests are very unevenly distributed, for whilst in some 

 districts they occupy nearly the whole ground, in others 

 they are entirely absent ; in the Governmentof Taurida 

 which includes the Crimea, only 4 per cent of the 



££"2 nnn 'T^ ° f thC Und fit f ° r cuW ™tion, 

 2J4 000,000 of acres are eminently fertile, consisting of 



a black earth or humus, the like of which is °not 

 found in any part of Western Europe. The natural 

 fertility of this soil is, however, in some districts more 

 then counterbalanced by excessive droughts, which are 

 so frequent and of f.uch long duration that it is nothing 

 uncommon for 20 months to pa^s without a single 

 copious shower of rain. The mineral resources of 

 Russia are comparatively unimportant. Iron of very 



cent 'J" ♦ ef T° r, ' S ' Russian F '^ fetches 



Fn i f than " ,e " exl low «t qualit viz," Irish 



■ iK S a ' hat , En ? ,and 5s chiefly dependent for 



Steffi an "?*** tW * W™ 3 * h ** »«t W ith- 



came from R„« P « P ° rted ^ us in the J**™ ^^9 



saUcboth, and iron -^tfiVSETS^ S 

 to this country are gradually declining P Linseed 2o 



E ' t^SV 6 ' t0 , EnfilaDd ; ^ee.flf,h e s of ^: 



wusbian exported Linked come to this countrv and 

 <9 per cent, of all the Linseed England import's « 

 obtained from Russia. 5 ""ports are 



true, we proceed to select such as ar~e mosUikely to be ; n TflS" 5 ^ ve S etable to animal produce we find that 



of general interest. ' e in .. 1 .. 840 ' according to government returns, there were 25 



" " " nnUion head of cattle in European Rus..:^and the ?Z. 



BiGSZ °\ Z exporled in the y rs ] «^- 48 w« 



3,8-0,000 poods. The quantity of catrle exported is 

 rifliug; and yet m the provinces contiguous to the 



Blaok Sea and Sea of Azov cattle are, re&ti y at all 

 vents superabuiKant-.here being more than onehead 

 f cattle to each inhalitant. With respect to foreign 



whil t'r 1 ' 1 r ? UtCh - ftnd Tjro!e8e — «» ->e«cd 3, 

 whdst EngUah ca.t'e appear to he the worst adapted to 



the Russian climate and Russian treatment Sheen 

 larmmg, owu ,g to the great demand for wool and the 

 exteiiMve pastures of Russia, was and still is v<ry 

 profitable ; but the effect of the enormous quantities of 

 excellent wool imported by England from Australia is 

 cnously felt. The appearance °of Australian wool fa 

 the markets of Germany, and the increasing d.-maud for 

 it there is also calculated to alarm th Ih.ssiai, farmers. 

 Ihe author, however, is far from despairing- as to the 

 fate of his countrymen, p W ed they will pay more 

 attention to quality As it is,> says, « It is notorious 

 that |ke washing and assorting of tt o wool- operations 

 of great imp-rtance-are, with a few laudable excep- 

 tions, performed amongst us with tuch consummate 

 stovenlinesaes to be elsewhere unpnralled ; and what is 

 more, such is the ignorance and absurdity of some flock 

 masters that they speculate on the increment of weight 

 from dirt, and wa>h their sheep in muddy water 

 in expectation that the fleece will thus bring fa more 

 money-.he fact being that the price offered by the mer- 



fine quality, it is true, is exported ; but in the agricul- T n ?~ <actb i einG > ,hattllf . . 



tural districts this metal is so scarce as to be almost a 1 1 ' ul? " V a '' Ve t0 the trick ' is in consequence 

 luxury ; in fact, owing to the concentration of the mines ! ^ T a , t '.', e »«vantage redounds to him and not 



at the extremity of the country, iron is so dear that ' , i, nier/ Unat attention is paid in Eussia to 



more than 9-1 Oths of the cart and wa^on wheels of : * bree(Jlll «' a matter of the highest importance in 

 every description are without iron tire; and, with the r nse( i ,lfr ' ce vt llle large numbers of the Imperial 

 exception of private carriages, all the axles are of wood f : , ^ a,td ot ti,e immense demand for hort i of all 

 The most important agricultural vegetable products | U Purpose f 'f 'utercommunieation. The best 



are,— In the northern provinces Rye, Barley, Oats and b0jSe8 . are re a"d m the provinces of new Russia, and 

 Flax ; in tbe central provinces and in Poland Wheat and ??** ?• ' D 3" Governm ^ts of Taurida, Khereon, and 

 all other cereals, vet-etahles, Hemp and Flax J in the r*** ' S 'p country of the Don and Black Sea 



southern provinces Wheat, wine, silk, oleaginous seeds, 



Tohacco, and several tinctorial and medicinal plants. 



The most important to England are corn, Flax, and 

 Hemp. 





Cossacks &c. In the Caucasian provinces and in 

 Georgia there are numerous herds of horses of excellent 

 breed, very suitable for light cavalry. The total 

 number of horses in European Russia (excluding 

 b inland) is computed to be upwards of 18,000,000. or 



The author calculates the mean annual crop of cereals i k «. n 1 r* " ~ r " v ' -r w » vvv t «* 



throughout all the European possessions of Russia at .o 60 ! aDout J . l,or8eB ior ever 7 31 inhabitants, an enormous 



millions of tchetwerta,* equal in value to 144 000 000/ ^ ro P°F tIon ®s compared with France, Austria, and 

 Podolia, and part of Poland, furnish the finest Wheat' "%?**• J x e nu " lber of horses exported w very 

 Rye is the most extensively diffused throughout almost lrin,n »- I lh f author states at consideral>le lenglh the 

 _ -.^^ Barley and 0atg are ako • cuhivated - ! means taken by the Government to improve the various 



singled 



kltf «»ho^lr~the , ' ,, "' Dineri>nsms 



^^'•r^akd tt-uu ™ mon flakes wtac icwci m munuci. ana were 



in ««i?T?! ,m ? rab,e ^ icn! «- These did not fall Bepa- 



^Wr of 7hZl™ Wlth the heav ^ flakes there f tli a large 

 ••tiJr C # k Snow >' ^stals; on examining these with a 



IP^^rLtil*^ found t0 consi ^ of ;l11 assemblage of 

 , * ,,,i Sy b! "n h * c k arrangement, and bristling up (it the 



H*** Im^f/lu ) at al1 an ^ ,es from sorne invisible 

 tfthttn* * h( r r ' nsm « w ere longer than others, but most 



feniaH^JL ere a ? d there, giving indications of the 



ns or Bpknlse. After the lapse of 

 .-^ u Hlin lnmini _ ui were fewer in ntiml , and were 



Iffr^fcL'lSL*! fle€Cy ^PPearHnce to the naked" "eyeVbat 

 I^^wStr^t long . «»d roundel prisms, partaking much 



X fU U»isti»lrkl l - 1Cl °' but aI1 norched and tapering to :i 

 5*^. VtK .'^"ws^MdnsiW^DdtheRiiowwaifall- 

 it this tin T 11 ' e air was stiu calm, and the snow con* 



ZJ* **ermeifet Wft «easv to detect h*-r« and th-™ «i«,,,,i„o 



ft^5«par€ 



IS"* 0** donhir wk r , nple L t3 ^ r " re 5 mey were aborescent and 



*^llfcik^_ «"«*. W aU8tob«ervinfv thorn iharr ohou,^ their 



«e, the 



3>L^ on, the vS\ZL a - WJ,H P STn 8 first, the next in order next. I 

 ^f 1 »nto o^ . rfSr^ ^l ch tii ne dissolving three or more 



fi^fP tothS 1 !^ 1 ^ of ? ver y" angle that remained, and the 

 £ T^*« axesto » rt Dsion and thickening of spicule, which 

 Ci^r half flj,^ ' ? R and which now derived accession 

 C^niieito ex « L d *»>Iving matter. In this manner 

 ftZ^ Qbtii .u. .^^"geoni ;m p ie form for auotht-r yet more 



spicule 





igure more 



^tn*iZ!^2jed .At H crystals wereVallin- of great beauty 



JS? 1 *e ronndfn pre P tr atory tc their dissolving: the Bext 



B^P to that thS ^?* ? very an « le that remained, and the 

 **■*" .« _"« extension and t! kening of spicule, which 



JSSryMil. Atiik •R ropof water °ccupied the site of the 

 Igy .^l <Wibed ti " ^ nnw wag filing quickly in minute 

 ^^•iLr.,.....: ll,e » f rwas genial and mild, the clouds 



preparat.. 



All n-iirsa " fnne » and the birds tor a while 

 At I2h hi * een \ ed ^ rejdic the mitigation of 

 7o %Z » R now had all but ceased, and the tern- 



.iM — - e a 



.*t£? d . ««ch oS S f" e * * "fcfcatinVa change ; the 



"""lire b °t the birds was still, aud what 



9 





noticed 



every district. 



abundance. The fluctuations in the price of corn are 

 very great, and their causes are examined at consider- 

 able length ; the most important seems to be difficulty 

 of transit, owing to which a deficiency in one district; is 

 not easily supplied from the superabundance in another. 

 The average quantity of corn exported during the 

 decennial period of 1339—1348, amounted (exclusive 

 of Poland) to about 4,400,000 tchetwerts. The three- 

 course system is still common ; indeed it is almost 

 universally prevalent throughout Russia. 



The total production of Flax in Russia has been 

 estimated at 10 mdl ions of poods (1 pood equals 36 lbs.), 

 and that of Hemp at 6 millions. There were exported' 

 in the years 1847, 1848, 1849, 12$ nrllion poods of 

 Flax, and nearly 8| million poods of Hemp, or about 

 21 million poods of both together, giving an annual 

 average of about 7 millions. This in value may he 

 taken as equal to 2,346,000Z. When it is remembered 

 that Flax and Hemp (including seed) are upon the 

 whole the most important of all the Russian exports, 

 and that more than 61 per cent, of all that is exported 

 comes to England, and that on the other hand 62 per cent, 

 of all the Flax and Hemp which comes to this country is 

 imported from Russia, some idea may be formed of the 

 prejudicial effects of war upon both countries in this 

 one particular alone. The author has not overlooked 

 the rapid increase of the exports of Flax from Ireland, 

 and he examines the probability of a successful com- 

 petition by Ireland with Russia in this article. In his 

 opinion there is no cause for alarm for Russia, at least 

 for the present. In eacli of the years 1846, 1847, 1848, 

 the average quantity of Flax exported by Ruesia to 

 England was about 5J million poods, white in 1849 

 and 1850, when the exports from Ireland greatly 

 increased, the average quantftv supolied by Russia was 

 more than 5| million poods. It is the small cost of 

 roduction which gives Russia the advantage over 

 other countries as regards this important article, for in 

 quality Rtteian Flax stands at the bottom of the list. 

 'lh*' price of Riga Fla x is to Irish (the next worst in 



* 1 tchetwert = 972 imperial quai-ier*. 



breeds, but for these as well as other details reference 

 must be made to his work itself. 



The chief productiors of the Crimea seem to be wine 

 and fruit. In 1840 the mmber of Vines in the whole 

 government of Taurida was 95 J millions. The wines 

 themselves, however, are not much liked by those un- 

 accustomed to them; the prices vary according to 

 quality and ,ort from id. to 10». F er gallon. Apples 

 and 1 ears are the principal fruits ; of the former the 

 rennet, and of the latter the St. Germain and virgouleuse 

 (a winter Pear), are greatly cultivated. The Black Sea 

 and Sea of Azov, moreover, abound in fish of tbe 

 greatest variety. Among* others there are the tunny, 

 the salmon, the sea trouf, anchovies, and herrings 

 weighing as much as a pound and a half. 



We take reluctant leave of this highly interesting 

 work. It is well translated, and will, if furnished with 

 a good index, take the place it deserves amongst 

 standard works of reference. 



FLORICULTURE. 



The Auricula. — Notwithstanding the severity of the 

 winter, I have seldom seen my Auriculas look better 

 than they do at the present time. They promise to 

 bloom unusually well, and in or r to strengthen and 

 increase the size of the truss, I give them now and 

 then a little weak mauure water. In cultivating the 

 Auricula, I have found that the principel care required 

 tsto keep the plant* in a clean and healthy state, by 

 removing ai decayed leaves and keeping the pots and 

 surface of the so. 1 neat and tidy. The compost I use 

 is made-up m the following proportions, viz., 2 barrow- 

 oads of cow dung at least two years old ; 1 do. of 

 eaf mould ; 1 do. o» pure n, t foam, from an old pas- 

 S v , he8e , "?*?« «"««i together, and a sufficiency 



Dur ng November December, and January, if the 

 weather u miUl, I g i ve tbe plants all tbe air I can. 

 VV h.le hey are at rest I occasionally give them a little 

 water to prevent the foliage from becoming flaccid, 



