

THE GARDENER 



CHRONICLE 



nt^rtJtta 



** 



Jrtones about an i 

 ur ftwne, laying 



COMMON THINGS. 



About this time collect a quan- 

 ich in circumference, and look 



Violets. 



SI 



nch from 



one stone on each runner 

 its end ; after that mix a 



n 



Mtt* 



ju* in 



l^flj^ftllo 



!l£\Sardfi giving ihem a gentle watering. The 

 2* mar be put on every night, only exposing them 

 -wZidavs and during mild showers. The last week in 

 Swilke'ihe runners up with a ball, and prepare a piece 

 2 *Lund on a north border, with the same soil as used 

 7™ fomie, vi2., equal parts of yellow loam, leaf- 

 well decayed cow-dung, river sand, and old lime 

 Plant them in rows 8 inches apart each way, 

 them in dry weather ; about the beginning of 

 SeDt»** r pwpare your frame in which Primulas or any 

 tUjTof that kind have been grown during the summer 



nwths by ] 

 wUchcoal i_. 



thetop. Then fill up within 5 or 6 inches of the glass, 

 with a fresh supply of the above compost, slightly 

 msed with a rake. After taking up the plants care- 

 fjlybut not with too large a ball, plant them in rows as 

 ihore giving: them a good watering, and shading them 

 from the hot sun for about a fortnight with garden mats, 

 wttiRg the lights on at night. A good thickness of 

 short dun<r should be applied round the outside of the 



to impossible. Nature has given it the faculty of be in v 

 made into an impassable barrier, which, when skilfully 

 and properly made, must from the very formidable 

 nature of the plant, give strength and durability ten or 

 twenty times greater than could be offered by any 

 ordinary Whitethorn or Quickset hedge. But, will it 

 grow— will it succeed in this country ? That's the 

 question. I answer— No doubt about it. I have seen 

 it in various parts of the States, and under various cir- 

 cumstances, and I do not hesitate to state that it will 

 not only grow and thrive here, and make a hedge or 

 means of defence far stronger and more secure than 

 anything we now have ; but for months after your 

 Whitethorn hedge has been leafless and barren, the 

 Bow-wood will be clothed with its beautiful dark green 

 foliage up to the latest period of the year, which I look 

 upon as a point by no means to be overlooked. For 

 railway companies the Madura will be of great value, 

 more particularly for the summit of railway embank- 

 ments.^ Its roots being very fibrous and having quite 

 an horizontal tendency, they* will greatly assist in keep- 

 ing up the soil, and thus be a means of preventing land 

 slips, which often occur. In another number I will say 

 something of the culture of the Osage Orange. I would 

 inform those who desire to know more of this plant, that 

 I have brought over with me some of the shoots of last 

 year. They may be seen at 21, Regent Street, at the 

 Meeting of May 8th. A Gardener. 

 Effect of Gas lime, Sand, and Ashes on Lawns.— 



* * ^u ~i * a <•„ . „-*u a u ii ^ tne ^commendation of one of my neighbours I 



allowed to get to the plants. A few with good ba s f », ^ om o: A ,i +rt i r r *i , . . 



wju»cu w g*v r fe o ( nave a ppi ie( i to m y lawn lime from the gas-works mixed 



mav be taken up even when in full flower large enough > .~:.l. -5i_i .*£ * , . 9 "*f . ul _ Aei 





f 





Id fill an 3-inch pot, to stand in the drawing-room. 



acting on the above plan a continual supply of this 

 favourite flower may be had from November till March. 



The Camellia may be propagated by cuttings, but the 

 usual nursery practice is to graft or inarch on stocks of 

 the single red and Middlemiss red varieties. Cuttings 

 of these root freely, provided they are taken off in a 

 properly ripened state. After being prepare J, and 

 potted in very sandy soil and watered, they should be 

 placed in a cold frame till cicatrised, and then intro- 

 duced into gentle bottom-heat, where they will soon 



form roots. 



( with equal quantities of sand and ashes from the kitchen 

 ] y I grate. From this application I was led to expect a 



Home Correspondence. 



Extraordinary Hailstorm.— Mr. Darwin (Researches, 

 £435), gives an account of the destruction caused to 

 &er, ostriches, and other wild animals by a hail- 

 storm in the Pampas, of which he was not indeed him- 



. -^"f 88 ' but of which he saw the results and was 

 Waned that the account he received from those who 

 We eye-witnesses was substantially correct, and the 

 *«e so, inasmuch as a similar account is given by 



bnzhoffer in his History of the Abipores. The hail- 

 yorm of which an account has just been received from 

 *youcs officer stationed at Secunderabad, in a letter 

 ww March 13, is still more striking, and is well worthy 

 « being recorded:-" Vegetation is very abundant 



ft: wS%°h f large i tropical pla, i 8 and ai1 sorts 



"Mil needs. The jungles are very fine. I believe 

 Snl re pI ? ty 0f fm & iu tlie rain y weather, but 



R J™ 10 ? / he kind now - We h * v * had s °™ 



ff SmLV * laru !f. hy the h «»«~eB. The briga- 

 * W^l° L ' Q f\ nS at Bolanim > had t]ie Panels 



^m,5in,hJ °i am ! Bome hails tones came into my 



•A £ £ 5 ^u °f the 8hft P e of an *«*• About 

 ^"tT^:^ the m **? so heUy that it 



beautifully firm and green surface ; but to my astonish- 

 ment the Grass is literally burnt up, and I fear com- 

 pletely ruined. Pray what is best to be done with it ? 

 «/. W. L., Manchester. [Let it alone. It may recover 

 when rains and S.W. winds return. If not you must 

 replace it.] 



Bedding Plants for a Long Border. — Having a long 

 straight border, about 12 feet wide, which I purpose 

 planting this season with flowering plants in continuous 

 rows, but in such a manner as to produce the best effect, 

 I should feel obliged for the opinion of some of your 

 readers, who have been in the habit of planting such 

 borders, as to what plants are most suitable for it. I 

 may observe that at present it is perfectly clear, its front 

 is margined by a broad walk forming an important 

 feature in the place, while a low Laurel hedge runs alon^ 

 the back. I should not like anything higher than 3 feet*, 

 and I do not wish more than six or seven rows of plants. 

 Now what are these rows to be composed of? I am 

 tolerably well off for the bedding-out plants most common 

 in use, such as Geraniums, Calceolarias, Salvias, 



others, coddled and covered with great care at the 

 corners and sides, were much frozen, although adjoining 

 other warm apartments. Sometimes in a walled garden 

 it is colder on the borders under the walls than in the 

 middle quarters. Some greened Potatoes exposed in 

 the middle of our grounds all winter, where ail the snow 

 had blown off, are now perfectly sound, springing mo^t 

 vigorously, whilst others, buried a foot under ground, 

 are destroyed. Hardy «fc Son, MaUon. 



Nursery Treatment oj Young Conifers.— I wish to call 

 the attention both of nurserymen and amateurs to the 

 very careless and injurious manner of growing Pines 

 which prevails in so many nurseries. Thev are care- 

 fully tended for a year or two, and then too often are 

 left in pots of ridiculously small size till somebody 

 chances to buy them. The consequence is, that the 

 roots are to the plant what a child's limbs would be to a 

 man's body ; they twist themselves round and round till 

 all healthy circulation is checked, and when planted out 

 they are unable to take firm hold of the ground, to avail 

 themselves of its nutritive qualities, or to resist violent 

 winds. Such plants often grow for a few years till a 

 gale of wind comes and blows them over, when it will 

 be generally found that the roots are rotten from im- 

 peded circulation. Of course no one who understands 

 these tilings would choose such plants from a nursery „ 

 but when living at a distance from any good establish- 

 ment of the kind, a gentleman sends his order by post, 

 it is so vexatious to have to return the plants, or be 

 content with one's bad bargain, and by careful untwist- 

 ing of the roots, and a few years* attention, to endeavour 

 to undo the mischief which, but for neglect, could never 

 have arisen. The very general admiration for Conifer® 

 which now prevails amongst English amateurs will 

 show how important this subject is ; and I greatly ftar 

 that in many at present healthy-looking Pinetums this 

 source of evil will be, a few years hence, abundantly tell 

 and lamented. Why if the Scotch and Spruce and 

 Larch and Oak that we buy for our plantations were 

 grown in this manner, what would be the result ? Yet 

 the victims of this system of mismanagement are those 

 very plants which we are looking to as the chief orna- 

 ments of our pleasure grounds and woods ! I wish that 

 every Pine grower would devote his attention to (his 

 point ; and by way of putting an end to so great an 

 evil, I would propose that there should be published in 

 your journal the names of all those nurserymen who 

 send out plants iu this wretched " pot-bound" state, and 

 the names of those whose plants are healthy, well-rooted, 

 and in a creditable state. Were this plan adopted, one 

 would always know who were the right men togo to in what- 

 ever district one chanced to be. It has been my fata 

 to form acquaintance with several nurserymen of the- 

 southern and midland districts, and I could tell you 



Fuchsias, &c, but I want to know how to dispose of pretty well who send out properly-rooted Pines, k.,»ii 

 * *- . ■, ^^ effect to be produced who do not ; I have now come to reside in a di- trice 



where nurserymen are scarce, and good ones almost 



unknown, and I am sorry to say I could now give y< u 



the names of two or three whose plants are a perfect 



It lias a strong ; disgrace to them, and I am, therefore, obliged to s«nd 



to the south, or to the neighbourhood of London,, in 



I had a quantity of the 



^ tree 8tbroug 



*y otT'Zt! 1 la , s,ed " th ™ da >' s: A native ™ the 



•beiTS' T Sa ^ ,ne ^S a P iece of lc *. 

 4 "»»tt larLl g00 1' Hnd ^mediately took up 

 11 W K but"** .* P'8? 0, J'« egg and tried to swallow 





fcba fj 



J t stuck 



*tt his throat and he was very 



save 



J?*^'up 6 tomT ? ? , !.. ,U, ?« ice befo re,and onfof 

 "J .** cold, S!' ? £****** tu * d *. sal"b,' W 



ie ^ififeajsai ***** - 



ccmun 



^Tnrfc!!* 1 ! Q America, is a native of 



to 

 L.7™ u wmest trPAa ;„,r"'" 6 ""' " ,,u ,s co "siaered 

 SL^-WeZi d ! g f' ,0 " S , t0 that country. The 



[?« fromTo ^roTi; r h f re \ is ^orescent, and 

 ^<W,t™' / e< l hl « h > »nd is considered one of 



them to the best advantage 

 beingr for the present season only. N. W. 

 ^ Percepier. — * At Cainsham, on the west bank of the 

 river Avon, about 5 miles above Bristol, grows wild the 

 plant Percepier, peculiar to England, 

 bitter and sharp taste, and never exceeds a span in the 

 whole year, having no stalk but herbaceous flowers. It 

 is a powerful and quick diuretic, and water distilled 

 from it is useful in many cases." — Camden's Britannia. 

 In a foot-note it is said, u Mr. Ray says it is not un- 

 common in foreign countries. Hist. Plant. IV. 14. 

 Nor is it uncommon in England." Would you have the 

 goodness to look into Ray, and see what is meant by 

 Percepier, and let us know what is the real name of 

 this strange plant A. F. [The plant is Aphanes (or 

 Alchemilla) arvensis, a common weed iu gravelly places, 

 and commonly called Parsley Peart, a corruption we 

 suppose of Percepierre.] 



Gas from Green Wood. — Can any of your correspond- 

 ents (scientific men) inform me what that gas is which 

 escapes from green wood freshly put on the fire. It 

 may easily be perceived if prevented from escaping up 

 the chimney by a side draught or cross current of air, 

 and it is unaccompanied by smoke. It is peculiar, but 

 not disagreeable. It comes abundantly from green 

 Apple wood, but is not, I think, peculiar to that. X Q. Q , 

 Leysters. 



Fruit and Potatoes uninjured by Frost (see p. 262). — 

 The cistern in your correspondent's iruit-room doubtless 

 first attracted the frost, and therefore his fruit and 

 Potatoes escaped injury. Our fathtr for many years 



order to procure plants that 1 can be sure will be aent 

 in such a state as to give me a hope that my Pinetum 

 will prosper. If I could draw, I would give you a 



picture of a Pinaster supplied by Messrs. - of 



which would amusingly illustrate what I have said, 

 4 feet high in a 3-iuch pot ! But enough. Pinetum. 



Gooseberry Caterpillar. — The following facts may, 

 perhaps, not be without interest. Gooseberry cater- 

 pillars have been in past years particularly destructive 

 here ; last y^ar they were very numerous* and although 

 various methods were tried for their extirpation, tbey 

 were of Utile avail. This year I determined to stop 

 their ravages if practicable, and so far, I am happy to 

 say, I have been successful. Knowing that the chrysalis 

 is deposited in the ground — where it remains during the 

 winter — and that the first few warm days in sprint: 

 cause the fly to emerge, I kept watch to note their first 

 appearance, and by employing an hour or two in the 

 morning for a few days, I caught several hundreds' of 

 flies. Each of the females, at a rou^h average, I c - 

 eulate contained fifty eggs — probably many more. 

 On examining the Gooseberry leaves now 1 find but 

 very few eggs deposited, consequently they are easily 

 removed. 1 am persuaded that the above method is 

 the easiest and surest way of getting rid of the ravages 



> ■ •* ■ All • t * , » 4fc. 



jy^ofth 



*i* .***** yellow. 



great 



The 



^*™"-m»hed wi,h"tT- -"- * "^ ? ' 08Sy prt ' en - 



6 Ghdhs ^. The fruit is lav^Trm^ 



au f ° ro ® scarcely less formidable 



«* 



tiZ7.^n8iv"el v ^ s :;7" 1,I 'y' * nd »' ««e southern 

 J* H»« 0.1, ' ^ Sed f °r sh.p-buildi 



or Quercut 



*"»• in the t 



ror "» of timl 



• f ° rniture ™ also made of the B^ 



bedsteads, tec, 



e main 

 purpose. 



Wr* v»k or Q Ue V";/" , l , - oull<I, ng'n preference 

 C° 8ln ^softl : . t,,nber used 'or that 



^ ^ en, !?"' the . »™«h and west to the 



Madura becomes a 





draw 



i oiatoes escapea injury, uur fattier for many years trie easiest and surest way of getting rid or tne ravages 

 adopted the practice of placing pails, basins, or dishes of of this voracious grub. The following description of 

 water in his Iruit-room during intense frosts, thus pre- the fly may be of Uhe in identifying it : — Wings four, 

 venting his fruit from being frozen whilst the vessels j quite transparent ; the head aud antenna? black, the 

 contained water, which always attracted the frost before thorax yellow, with a huge black spot above and below, 

 anything else in the room ; when all the water had the upper spot generally divided into three ; the body 

 become ice, of course it was necessary to replenish it. is of a delicate yellow colour ; the legs yellow, and the 

 Of late years we have been more successful by intro- feet black. Robert Grty> Haeh.r Gardens, Droiticuk. 

 ducing something larger, such as wash-tubs or milk- 

 pans, filled with water, in the most draughty part of our 

 Iruit-room. No doubt, therefore, tubs of water placed 

 in greenhouses, and probably under or near wall iruit 

 trees, would prove useful. If frozen Apples or Potatoes 

 before they are thawed are put into cold water for a few- 

 minutes it will extract the ice from then) to a degree 



'ers 



cast 



■*» «- <C^** d *$ as" a hedge plant ; but^ 



1 



Si 



My ;l>* is, and 



must be wherever it will 



<* 



fr« 



Nature/ Miuhroi 9 in April. — I beg to send you 

 basket of Mushrooms gathered from an exposed Aspara- 

 gus bed, and a sample of Mushrooms from a Mush- 

 room-house. A circumstance so unusual as a crop of 

 Mur brooms out of doors at so early a period in the' 

 \ear exposed to the opposing influences of severe night 

 ,. w „ _ & Irani and dry dewless weather, appears to me to-be 



remarkable, inasmuch as they may be taken out, all sufficiently singular to merit remark ; the superior 



sticking together, a complete mass of ice, and if they excellence of the natural Mushrooms will be evident 



are then thawed slowly in the water, and afterwards by comparison. By way of explaining tiie appearance 



dried, most of them will be as good as ever. 



frozen plants might sometimes be saved by the fcuue 



practice. The middle of a room is the saiest place for 



preserving fruit, &c, from frost, the sides being the obliged to make the beds of materials borrow* 



Doubt'eas ot the Muthroou s 'on an Asparagus bed, I m&) stat* 



thrit having occasion to form a new Asparagus quarter 

 last year, and the natural soil being cav. I was 



W |** <kfiance '^oai nmde of lt doe8 t »n- | most draughty and cold. We had Potatoes this winter irom \arious places. A layer of the leaves and mg 

 >0 8 h **» and to climbs ° r ^ llirnal * Notllin g slightly covered with a cloth in the middle of an out- uom my Seakale quarter formed the bottom, th© 



over it would be next I house, opposite the outward door way, uninjured ; whilst top Grassy suds of a pasture, followed iy a quantity 



