200 



T II E 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 





=L - ~r~- r^u - v^kirY)nkp to find that the patient 1 this year, it will be evi 



g rall ^l^!u^ b t^d noon the plan? is at balance is against 1855 



^UTbe^idenlln^gh how much the 



care which has been bestowed upon the plant is at 

 last, after so many years, thus rewarded by complete 



8TlC We $ believe that the garden at Syon is the only 

 establishment, private or public, in Europe in which 

 have been ripened Vanilla, ^tmegs, Litchis, 

 Cloves, and, grea test of all, the Mang osteen. 



We find in the Prussian Landwirthschaftliche 

 Zntmig, of March 9, the following highly inte- 

 resting tabular view of the mean monthly earth 

 temperature of Berlin, drawn up by Professor Dr. 

 Dove from the observations of the last five years ; 

 for the convenience of our readers, we have reduced 



it from the scale of Reaumur to that of Fahrenheit 



k*: 



I 



1839. 



1 foot 2 feet 





1855. 



1 foot I 2 feet 1 foot 1 2 feet 



Feb. | 33.98 

 liar. 41.48 



35.66 

 41.46 



40.20 

 41.46 



40.96 

 41.93 



40.57 

 39.24 



41.88 

 41.71 



1 foot I 2 feet 



35°. 25 

 38° .75 



38° 

 39° .50 



except it is Bimply transitional, is attended with 

 or less of danger. There is, however, a great diff ^ 

 between the diseased condition of which we are t^ 1 

 and mere blanching. Shoots whic^ — ■ rettil1 

 the absence of light seldom exhibit 

 and the same may be said of the cc 





Une V™ Ll ^ h . d which might have been 



>- 



I 



4 feet 



above 



the 



On the 



surface 



of the 



At a depth below the surface of 



ground. J ground. 



32.67 

 32.74 

 35.53 

 45.68 

 58.5'. » 

 63.61 

 68.47 

 64.91 

 58.16 

 49.43 

 38.63 



34.43 







83.35 

 32.60 

 36 05 

 44.80 

 57.24 

 60.48 

 65.43 

 6197 

 56.72 

 48.31 

 38.79 

 34.97 



1 foot. 



36.72 



36.18 

 37.33 

 43.72 

 52.13 



57 80 

 62.46 

 60.57 



57.35 

 51.12 



43.94 

 39.20 



37.80 

 37.19 

 38.00 

 43.83 

 51.48 

 58.15 

 61.04 



67.78 

 51.80 

 45.07 

 40.19 



2 feet. 



38.18 

 37.67 

 38.14 

 43.52 

 50.76 

 56.68 

 60.55 

 RO50 



58.10 

 52.25 

 45.68 

 40.68 



2Jft- 



39.02 

 38.23 

 38.54 

 43.63 

 50.72 

 56.66 

 60.48 

 60.66 



58.41 

 52.52 



46.41 

 41.69 



! 3 feet. 



4 feet. 5 feet. 



Differ- 

 ence. 



40.07 

 39.31 

 39.17 

 43.43 

 49.57 

 55.26 

 59.00 

 59.72 



58.01 

 52.97 

 47.43 

 42.59 



^V^comiSSTto the ground till April 



and that nothing except the hardiest kinds can this 

 ana mat t, ^ ^^ gown before the en j 



of the month. For until the earth 

 at 1 foot below the surface reaches 

 the temperature of 46°, a great part 



of the flower seeds which are re- 



n.09 g ar ded as hardy cannot be ensured 

 10,53 from rotting, especially in the pre- 

 sence of wet weather. Physiolo- 

 gists know that seeds have their 

 own specific vitality. The seed of 

 the Nettle will not germinate at a 

 temperature sufficient for Groundsel, 

 nor the Cape Marigold in the tem- 



42.44 

 41.47 

 40.91 

 43.88 

 48.96 

 54.41 

 57.78 

 59.00 



58.01 

 54.18 

 49.55 

 45.00 



! 44.44 

 43.13 

 42.28 

 44.01 

 48.15 

 52.99 

 56.21 

 57.85 

 57.49 

 54.88 

 51.26 





6.23 

 0.79 

 9.09 

 7.49 

 9.22 

 4.12 



0.77 

 6.57 



12.47 



47.09 I 12.12 



January . 



February 



March . . 



April . . ■ 

 May. . . . 



June . . . 

 July . . . 

 August . . 

 September 

 October . 

 November 

 December 



To adopt the words of the German editor, the 

 importance of air-temperature with relation to the 

 vegetation of plants, and their cultivation, is so 

 universally recognised, that it is superfluous to 

 waste words upon it. Bat the influence on the 



/elopment of the plant, exercised by the relation 

 borne by the warmth of the soil to that of the 

 outer air, is Jess known, although practically ad- 

 mitted, inasmuch as it teaches us to sow different 

 plants at different times of the year. 



It is only, indeed, from a very recent period that 

 even meteorologists have begun to ascertain the 

 varying temperature of that soil in which the roots 

 of plants are placed, and which governs their rate 

 of growth at least as much as any other of the con- 

 ditions to which vegetation is exposed. 



To say, as was formerly said, that the average 

 ground temperature of a country amounts to so much, 

 as is indicated by springs, was wholly without signifi- 

 cation to a cultivator, whatever interest the statement m m 



may have had in the eyes of a geologist. Springs phyll is not formed, the cells are gorged with fluid 

 indicate the temperature of their sources, and little 



else ; and as the roots of plants do not reach the 

 neighbourhood of such springs, to them the warmth 

 of sources is indifferent. When artesian wells were 

 bored in the valley of the Thames, the water rising 

 from the depth of 200 or 300 feet was always warm ; 

 unless our memory deceives us, the temperature 

 was somewhere about 66°, both in midwinter and at 

 midsummer. But the vegetation of neither season 



could be affected by such a fact. 



It was the deficiency of information upon this 



important subject which led to the long series of 



observations on ground temperature which have 



been carried on in the Horticultural Society's 



L are Product m 



and the same may ue sum oi ine cotyledonal uf^ 



seeds before the integuments by which they We \^Z^ 



are ruptured. In these cases, however, the ad^2f 



of light soon imparts their normal colour andtt? 



are in the end as healthy as if they had 'been 



duced at once under the full influence of the r*. 



favourable atmospheric conditions. But this is JkT 



case with Chlorosis. Exposure to light, so far fi? 



remedying the evil, sometimes almost aggravate? 



because the tissues of the affected parts are in ■** 



low state of vitality as not to be capable of wJ 



the stimulus, and unless this condition can be raiaedfc 



the application of external remedies, such as tm 



arising from fermenting manure, a more genertws jW 



or weak solution of sulphate of iron, there is no ho** 



their returning to a sound condition. An except* 



too, should be made where the evil has not existed^ 



long, and become inveterate, in favour of the beneStio 



be derived from the removal of the primary cause * 



! perature that suits the Nettle, nor 



the Cocoa-nut in that which is sufficient for Cape Mari- 

 gold. Horticultural observations are wanting to show 

 what is the exact temperature of the soil which 

 different plants require ; but we think ourselves justi- 

 fied, by what is known, in asserting that exotic annual 

 seeds should not be put into the earth till our 

 weekly records of temperature show that the 



ground has reached 46°. 



It is to the neglect of this, and not to the quality 

 of seed, as is always asserted, that those failures of 

 annuals, of which we hear so much, should be 

 ascribed. Seeds in fact, in nine cases in ten, do 

 not fail because they are bad, but because they fall 

 into the hands of bad managers. 



The Cucumber Disease is already as active as it 

 was last year, as baffling to the cultivator, and as 

 obscure in its origin. All that we know is that 

 from an early stage of growth parts of the cellular 

 tissue are destitute of their proper vitality, chloro- 



or give way under the first burning heat, and ulti- 

 mately decay or deformity are the consequences. 

 Great attention will sometimes palliate the evil; 

 but we have never seen a plant which has been 

 once seriously affected recover. Foreign seed un- 

 fortunately produces plants quite as unhealthy as 

 our own, and we can suggest only one remedy, 

 which, indeed, we have suggested before. Have 

 recourse to the oldest seed which can be procured, 

 and from this save the healthiest plants, for the 

 sake of producing, if possible, a healthy stock. 

 Reject every plant that shows the slightest tendency 

 to sickliness or deformity, and allow all the best 

 fruit to ripen. A stock may thus be saved which 



for instance, where bad draining, cold winds, o. 

 other outward agent have produced a chlorotic condifi 

 of the tissues. Where it is purely constitutional, . 

 the most unmanageable of all disorders, fo tm 

 where outward agents are at work, if the older par 

 are sacrificed, the more recent produced under m 

 congenial circumstances may be altogether unaffecte 

 as we see every year in Wheat crops, Vines, &c. j fe 

 where the constitution is affected, the new parts will be 

 affected as well as the old ; and though there miy be 

 nothing present to aggravate the evil, it may be ia itst 

 so virulent as to admit of no palliation. 



301. From whatever cause Chlorosis may arise, fte 

 effect is much the same upon the plant itself, {hoogt 

 according to the peculiar circumstances of eachs^ 

 it may be slightly different. A portion of the plait 

 greater or less, according to circumstances, does not 

 assume its natural green hue, but acquires instead i 

 vellow tint. This spreads to neighbouring tissue* or 

 remains isolated. No chlorophyll is formed; fc 

 walls of the cells become flaccid ; their content! 

 undergo chemical change ; and the whole either drfa 

 up, leaving additional work to be done by those taw 

 which remain healthy, or the walls give way, de- 

 composition takes place, the putrefying mass spred 

 its contagion in every direction, and the la- 

 bouring structures are involved. Where the tea 

 dry up, the effect may be slower, but it may nt 

 be less sure, and every part of the plant is •"*«•« 

 affected ; and even the tissues of the seed, if tttjttm 

 be produced, may be unhealthy, and capable of ctRft 

 on the evil through succeeding generations : : and jtoj 

 what was at first accidental may eventually beeoac 

 constitutional or hereditary. , 



302. We will first notice such instances as mj w 

 deemed to be constitutional. These, indeed, may wt 

 arisen in remote external causes ; but inasmuch as w 

 are not in a position to ascertain what these are, m 

 the plant— either from seed or otherwise, wittoJJ 

 assignable reason-exhibits such phenomena, je^ 

 compelled to regard them as constitutional, iuc. 

 plants from their very infancy appear viHcp«V 



on m 



garden since 1838, and which have since been — rrv j j ~ » 



the subject of inquiry in other countries. Angstrom the experiment answers, it will be easy, with a 



;hy 



baffle every attempt » - 



a iu„, tottered seWW 



tin'* 



will be found in almost every paten «^ 

 numerous individuals which are m this BKwe. t ^ 



patch 



Copenh 



Xeilgherries, Hooker atDorjiling,Captain Newbold 

 at Bellary, and Caldecott at Trevandrum, have all 

 published observations, more or less complete, which 

 tend to illustrate this department of knowledge, and 

 Professor Dove's new contribution is a most welcome 

 addition. What the more important inferences are 

 to which the experiments now on record lead, need 

 not be here examined. For to-day we confine our- 

 selves to asking whether the cause of the present 

 singular! v late season is exnlained b 



facts. 



will supply every want for years to come ; and if j only is this true of individuals where .^, 



• ■ — • " * A som 



delic 

 t fou 



its allies ; and, indeed, it is notorious that som ^ 



little attention, to keep it up. If the produce, 

 however, should still prove diseased, provided the 

 seed is old enough to remove any suspicion of its 



being itself tainted with the malady — which is, we 

 believe, of very recent origin — we shall then have 

 simply to submit to an evil which does not admit 

 of remedy, and conclude that there must be some 

 atmospheric cause at work which we can neither 

 discover nor control. M. J". B. 



seedlings is healthy, but some ™^l3S 



by nature so delicate as scarce 



of cultivation. 



hybrids, are by nature so delicate as, ~~- * s 



"Mr. Herbert found th, L tobe ft the wtal 



variifr 



of fruits are tar more airncuu " l A \ &&1 % 

 others, because they have such a tendency ^ 



chlorotic condition. It is not merely t hatlD J ^ 



That it is most unusually late 



y ascertained 



of »«■>** 



shown 

 (Ra 



cuius ficaria), which near London . ^ _ k 



first flowers in the very beginning of March, was 

 cot thi£ year to be found in blossom till the 15th 

 April, six weeks after it was due. 



The average ground temperature of Chiswick this 

 year has been, at 1 foot and 2 feet below the surface, 

 as follows : — 



In February 



In March 



35°.25 and 38° 

 38°.75 and 39°.50 





In April (to the 12th) 43°.38 and 43°.12 



whereas, on an average of 10 years, it has been 

 found to be — 



39°.74 and 40°.51 



In February ... 



In March .. 40°.96 and 4l°.57 



?™ a 7 i ig 4 *° and 2 *°' and March aboat 2 *° 

 and 2° below the average—an enormous difference, 



when it is considered how much the roots of plants 

 are affected by small differences in temperature. 

 In fact, our February has been littl 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY.— LXVIII. 



299. Chlorosis. — This term has been long in use to 

 designate that condition of vegetables in which those 

 parts which, under the influence of light, are normally of 

 a healthy green, varying in tint according to the several 

 species, though still properly illuminated, exhibit a 

 pale yellowish tint with only a very slight admixture 

 of blue. The name is evidently given from a supposed 

 analogy between the affection known to physicians by 

 the same denomination and that to which plants are 

 subject, but inasmuch as it rather indicates an acces- 

 sion than a diminution of the green tint it has been sup- 

 posed to be not strictly correct, and the word Pallor has 

 been substituted by some. As the term 

 well understood to 



they are possessed of such a low aegi i ^ # 



sometimes, under circumstances apP» .tf^* 

 favourable, to defy the utmost pains ; ana 

 be brought to bear upon them. M. J- #- 



: ■ — — - — - — «y ffif 



EFFECTS PRODUCED » $ 

 FROSTS OF FEBRUARY; . ^ fll 

 ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY'* OAK" 



ON THE 



BETXa A PArER bead by d. moobe, ks _?1 * t . makCB 



NEVIN 



OP THE 



In furnishing details 



tbe 



56 a 



door plants by the late severe frosty > ^ ^ 

 Garden. T Rhali first make a iew $0 



J* 



scarcely 



it 



less 



climatology of Ireland^ as well as °» r ^ pi** f 



in several parts of Europe, m 



affected bv it. . , r ,_i;**e I & l Jfr 



lam* 



I to indicate this peculiar condition, 



worth while to change it, and the lt^ »™ WI „ w — v — * , » he w i * 



p6r V sis used by Hippocrates in the smse temperate, climates of the g loDe 'JL jn lt&** 



The word Icterus has been nrnnn^ f,^ w uu ««„„i i« v «riance as there arc e m 



area will so many exotic pl&» 





tnoae cases wnicn are not constitutional, but the term 

 appears unnecessary, and I know of no advantage that 

 can arise from its adoption. It is properly only a 

 synonym of Chlorosis. 



ground than Berlin in January. * "" T * 30 "' * fc w f ahown abore , P>7) that a green tint is 



If we contrast the three first years in which no ** b ^ la ^ ncc ^y ^ the health of every vegetable, 



wi in equal iuauh»"^ ~~ . j t\ x e u 



green grassy sward of E p n ', majority 

 shrubs, are more admired by w *££* eh 



wanner 



VlSlt us 



than almost anj 



else tW^. 



an 



lit us man »'i« w - : u e n i w t 



dible exclamations "***, bv ^ 



who 



The ouuiuio * a** ■•*«•- — - ,,+tpreu -v -n*^ 



nifique!" which one »•«» "^ „, evtf^i 

 pa*siii« some fine Arbutus, Y"**^ 00 * ^ 

 Ut.rel, proves how much their ^ 



by the beauty of those plants as they f 



