THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



are injured, and C. funebris ; also C. lusi- 

 considerabty, and C. elegans, but I refer to 



nJuu- Libocedrus chilensis is hardly touched ; C. 

 ,B S& and c - Kni-hti, both in a rather sheltered 

 *5J2Thave c tood very well. Juniperus bermudiana is 

 *E% the ground. The following look very well :— 

 •Log tlmrifera, C. glauca, C. Wittmanniana, 

 2*jp*us phoenicea, ^ excelsa, J. oblonga pendula, 



gSpfafo 



truth, I send you an exact copy of the section of one 

 the steins. /. B. R. £., Lynn, Norfolk. [The section 

 question measured 2\ inches across.] 



303 



of 



in 





octettes 



Horticultural, May 1 

 Esq., V.P., in the chair. 



Crjfpton* na 



curucea, 



: Anniversary.— R. Hutton, 



The following new members 



nPiiHna T aurea T flagelliformi* x Council were elected, viz., his Grace the Duke of 



J apu ~ ? i ^ ^ji^.^.1^. --.4 i?~- f. axton, MP. ; vice General Fox, G. Rushout, Esq., 



M.P. ; and J. C. Whiteman, Esq., retired. His Grace 

 the Duke of Devonshire was elected president ; Dr. 

 Jackson, treasurer ; and Dr. Royle, secretary ; and as 

 auditors, Messrs. J. C. Stevens and Henry G. Bohn. 

 The annual report from the Council was read, and upon 

 the motion of Sir P. Pole, Bart., seconded by Lord 

 Ravensworth, was adopted and ordered to be circulated 

 among the Fellows, 



deoi' 



The 



Cephalotaxus pedunculata and For- 



Chamsecyparissiassphseroideaand variegata, Taxus 



r ' * and' Araucaria imbricata. Fitz-Rova pata- 



mng plant put in late in the autumn, has 

 excepting where protected by snow. At 



r M t i Iwve had no success with the P. Grenvilleae, 

 htJepensis, P. muricata (which I believe i *" 



hard;*), P. australis, and P. filifolia. 

 Deodirf, excepting those much exposed to the wind, 

 loot fwy well I venture to add that I must attribute 

 i good deal of damage done in the previous year to 

 hiring pot-bound plants. Plants have grown and 

 thriven here for some few years, and have afterwards 

 bin killed by winter's frost or blown down by a high 

 wind. Tpon taking them up I almost invariably find a 

 r this in the root. In one case a P. insignis, 



which bad grown from 1 f U 

 phjbed 3i feet in one year), was blown on one side by 

 % high wind in the spring, and the following winter 

 Upon taking it up I found plain symptoms of 



" ~ It 



at the roots, all curled up and entangled, 

 hid never taken the least hold of the ground. Wm. 

 Parker Hamond, Pampisford Hall, near Cambridge. 



Benin Geraniums.— C&n any of your subscribers 

 account for the following : — Trained to the wall of my 

 greenhouse is a giant scarlet Geranium of three years 1 

 growth ; about 14 months ago the plant was thinned, 

 and one branch was cut off about 3 feet 6 inches from 

 the ground, and omitted to be taken out. It is now 

 growing vigorously and showing blossom. The branch 

 if about 5 feet 6 inches long. R. D. Nemill, Wellington, 

 Salop. [Perhaps the branch has rooted in a mortar^ 



Mowing Ma m.— Your querist " E. B., Perdiswell," 

 cannot have a better mowing machine than Samuelson's 

 improved Budding's. He says he « has seen this, but it 

 win not suit, m consequence of the travelling wheels not 

 gmg sufficiently near the edge of the waks." If he 

 ^s again he .nil find that for this purpose these 

 waeeis are made so as to be easily removed, after which 

 » machine remains (with the exception of some 

 ■n modifications) one of Budding's old machines, 



to£ a I ? arr ° W b0rder s- The great advan- 

 ce derived from the use of the wheels is in the open 



ie/n^V!!.!.. 1 ! ^ re( l uired to work the 

 fix the 



OMtL \vT J ai ? ne l K ' witnout any care from the 

 ZtoL I'i Ut th f e wheel8 the hei 8 ht cut depends 



•eeorduig 



Unlike the 



cuttin 



ftcbicto** 



A Manual of Elementary Geology; or the Ancient Changes 

 of the Earth and its Inhabitants as Illustrated by 

 Geological Monuments. By Sir Charles Lyell, M.A., 

 F.R.S. 8vo, pp. 655. Fifth edition, illustrated with 

 750 woodcuts. Murray. 



This great work stands in the foremost rank of those 

 which are devoted to a consideration of the ancient 

 changes which the earth has undergone, 

 author's " Principles," which merely relate to changes 

 of a recent date or now in progress, the volume before 

 us deals with events the nature of which is purely 

 inferential, reveals the causes which led to the formation 

 of the so-called aqueous, volcanic, plutonic, and meta- 

 morphic rocks, and thus carries the reader back to the 

 most remote period of the earth's history concerning 

 which we have any positive evidence. 



It is superfluous to say that Sir Charles Lyell has 

 renewed his task for the fifth time with consummate 

 ability, and that the reader will find in the work before 

 us all that is most trustworthy in relation to its mighty 

 subject. The account of what geologists call the 

 Wealden formation, that is to say, of the region which 

 comprises within it the whole of Sussex, and part of the 

 counties of Kent, Surrey, and Hants, will be read with 

 peculiar interest, all the facts belonging to that large 

 area having been carefully reconsidered, and embodied 

 in a new description, of which the woodcuts, always 

 good in the volume before us, most especially deserve 

 to be mentioned with high praise. The same may be 

 said of the views now expressed concerning the true 

 geological analogies of the Isle of Wight, in arriving at 

 an opinion concerning which the views of Edward Forbes 



are expressed in conjunction with those of Sir Charles 

 Lyell. 



Works of this nature have too little immediate rela- 





gularities of the surface. J. S.. 



Awpi 



ettoq 



w« (see p. 281).. 





'p;erre 



<*m lurmun r Gue 1 rnse ^ where it abounds on the 

 +m^i"S th f *%*« island. It is often 





O* * »»«A^U 



[And so it is.] 



was told it is 



rim*. * u " Iree 



««ama sideroxylon in our lar^e 





*3*» 



a r« 



n , - — — .-..^ tropical 

 ^ '< P^mfield " t0 Lady D ° r0th y Nevill > 



^Zt A ?T gUS - -Having noticed early in the 

 S" * «n adS^ Hp ° ndent < see No- 50, 1845) consi- 

 '£*<* frost lv^'7 ex P° se his Asparagus to the 

 ^•"4 toot 7 S arde ?er concluded to try the effect 



* **C R tort 00 "? 1 * off two 8hort si "8 le rows « 



f"!* 1 * Aft»°M Pan rec °mmended in Cuthill's 

 l^t. ^knoiedge 6 ™ a,, y har ? fr «^t this winter, 



• M 



; but 



that 



^■•'""ioiimw • J , feared they were -much 



5* C 8 u; ffi si thera K on the i3th ** *•« 



Wk^^n covert 'l ,n , the tW ° ad J° ini "g rows 

 EP* ^ is J! ' ! rCely aiJ y were to be 

 St? ^ l^Z {*» or -ot, I leave to 



ES* <* each of 'thV t7 W 08 ? 8endi "g the """' e 

 5^ to the „,„,.*! U ?o> d _s that were frosted and 



seen . 

 wiser 

 "e 



Wi S <*et, next T, g °i the Horticultural Society, in 



C** ! ° Cre of ; day - . At a ^ rate ' * wi » '"'ave 

 2 m ^ty weath°; \ em ™ as a "y anxiet y l mi Hbt 



J**ral x,„ i ■ * beU > Limerick 



tion to the main purposes of this Journal to justify 

 us in devoting much space to their consideration. We I 

 will therefore only add that, upon the vegetation which 

 existed at the period when coal was formed, we are 

 unprepared to acquiesce in the opinions expressed by 

 the learned author. Adolphe Brongniart calls the 

 carboniferous Flora that of the age of Acrogens, because 

 of the great quantity of Ferns and similar plants now 

 found in the coal measures, and the rarity there ot 

 other classes of plants ; and this view Sir Charles Lyell 

 thinks may be justified. But we hold to the opinion, 

 formed many years ago, and once supported by experi- 

 mental investigation, that the remains of coal plants 

 offer no satisfactory evidence concerning the vegetation 

 of England in the remote ages when the beds of coal 

 were formed. All that the remains can be taken to 

 prove is, that at a certain time certain plants existed ; 

 but we are not justified in assuming that at the time in 

 question no other plants existed ; because under the 

 conditions which enabled Ferns, &c, to resist decom- 

 position, other races as abundant, or infinitely more so, 

 may have utterly disappeared. For ourselves, we regard 

 the whole of the inferences concerning vegetation drawn 

 by geologists from the plants now found in the old 

 rocks, as hasty, and unsupported by anything like suffi- 

 cient evidence ; and we entertain a strong belief that 

 the geological world will one day advocate the same 

 opinion. 



and red Brugmansias are in full flower, as is also 

 Faulovma imperials in the shape of a tree which 

 reaches near the top of the house. The flowers are 

 pale blue, and in form resemble those of a Gloxinia, 

 lne tree itself, we need scarcely add, is perfectly hardy ; 

 but out of doors its wood never sufficiently ripens to 

 enable it to produce flowers. Camellias are still in 

 blossom, and we also noticed several plants of Salvia 

 gesneraeflora covered with multitudes of scarlet flowers 

 of the most brilliant description. This is truly a most 

 useful winter and spring.flowering plant, which requires 

 nearly the same kind of treatment as a scarlet Geranium. 

 Koses are likewise coming into bloom, and trained on 

 the roof was Tropaeolum Triomphe de Gaud, whose 

 scarlet flowers are extremely showy, and even in a pot 

 this is one of the gayest planta we have, and certainly 

 not so much cultivated as it should be. The shelves 

 were also full of flowering things, such as Heaths, 

 Cytisus, Azaleas, and other plants in pots. 



In one of the stoves was the Pilot's cap-like Aris- 

 tolochia gigas, whose flowers, notwithstanding their 

 disagreeable odour, are prized for the singularity of 

 their shape. The plant is, however, difficult to keep 

 except it is raised from cuttings every year. 



In the small greenhouse near the Rose-house a new 

 Clematis, a variety of caerulea, was in flower, and 

 two Sikkim Rhododendrons, glaucum and theseflorum ; 

 the former has small pinkish -salmon flowers, each 

 about the size of a lady's thimble, and 24 or so in a 

 cluster at the end of every shoot ; the latter has larger 

 buff-coloured blossoms suffused with red, and both are 

 spotted in the upper petals. Even should these not 

 flower out of doors they must be ranked as pretty 

 greenhouse plants at this season of the year. The white 

 R. Ginsoni, alias formosum, was likewise in blossom, 

 and in addition to ihe large size of the flowers, they 

 have also the advantage of being exceedingly sweet- 

 scented. Associated with these we remarked the 

 shrubby Calceolaria violacea, a sort with prettily 

 shotted helmet-shaped flowers, quite different from 

 those of the common kinds, and a handsome plant 

 of Imatophyllum miniatum, with a noble head of 

 brilliant salmon-coloured flowers, some 10 or more 

 in number, and these on a plaut in an 8-inch 

 pot. The beauty of this fine plant is not near so well 

 known as it deserves to be. In this house were also 

 some well-grown plants of Schizanthus violaceus, and, 

 what is not often met with, an example of Tropaeolum 



azureum. A small plant of Berberis Wallichi was also 

 in blossom here. 



Among new things were young plants of Wellingtonia, 

 and we observed several of M. Botteri's s eds coming 

 up ; also plants of the Californian Plane tree and 

 Madura aurantiaca or Osage Orange. Some bulbs 

 from Balaklava were likewise beginning to grow, as 

 were plants of Whitlavia and other new annuals. Some 

 seeds from Mr. Skinner were likewise beginning to 

 vegetate. Eugenia Ugni was coming into flower, and 

 we remarked examples of the White Glycine, which 

 will soon be in flower. We also noticed plenty of young 

 plants of the Palmetto Palm, which is reported to be 

 nearly as hardy as the Chusan Palm, together with 

 offsets of the Gynerium argenteum, or Pampas Grass, 

 which had been separated from the old plant, and struck 

 in a little heat. The old plant, it may be mentioned, 

 though much cut up, is not dead ; the outside leaves 

 have been removed, and it is beginning to push again 

 from the centre. 



In E wing's glass wall some of the Acacias and New 

 Holland plants are dead. Tea Roses, however, seem to 

 thrive well in it, and Edwardsia chilensis is now in full 

 bloom. This thrives here perfectly, although it does 

 not succeed on the conservative wall. 



In one of the low span-roofed pits erected for Mr. 

 Fortune's Pseonies, were plants of Forsvthia viridissima, 

 literally one mass of yellow flowers ; these were quite 

 striking, even at a distance ; where this plant can have 

 the protection of glass merely to keep its flowers from 

 getting tarnished by the weather, it is certainly one of 

 the most ornamental early flowering shrubs w< 

 Camellia reticulata, iu a two-light box, has also had 

 some hundreds of blooms on it. 



possess 





^hed Z "X fl»*-In addition to the 

 * the open air t t In S ram . of hi s early Mush- 



Garden Memoranda. 



Horticultural Society's Garden, Turnham Green. 



— No one can doubt that vegetation this spring is 

 at least three weeks or a month behind what it usually 

 is in ordinary years, and therefore there is even thus 

 late in the season little out of doors yet to attract 

 especial notice. The Horse Chesnut is almost the only 

 tree in full leaf. Lime trees have scarcely begun to 



J**i *i k' ie °P en a ir I lipw * • r — J ■"*" C11 " lxcc 1U 1UI1 ,cai « -Lame trees nave scarcely Deguu 10 



V3fcjJ IDR t0 &ow somf g ^J A >nn y . ou that last move - Hawthorns were not in leaf before the 20th ult , 



Im 



* 



^ » Bii 8 ht s b°oto™S; t c r un,ber8 under 



*f**. into which r u ? m - heat > I made a bed for 

 li^L Ponced me ft ^ 5 ? n ! e Mushro " m spawn, 



a moderate 



JUL**** 



^ "Pi;; ..* w » surprised to~ see a crop of Mush- 



» JJ* * d'stributpT'CuT 11 ™ ed,u, » size. Early 



* e "*- J In ! the bed f,,r m ™ 



I T. :™} abo ^ half the old bed with. 



:^ 



garden 



'"ce. 



over 



?**red 



and « east . ha : If a P eck » one Present exists greatly assists in retarding growth. 

 ** several 6 and 7 inches **-* i _ . .. . . 



*•*£? * ver y resTo^K. 11 V n , the 2,8t <* April 

 OVecJ^S^fe »««kctfu!. Since that 



^ I ^nt r i and - f W 1 ™*^ 



5^ 





tJJ - / »' inches; 



^ you m av 



and it was the 16th before Standard Almonds were in 

 flower, while in early seasons they are often in blossom 

 in the month of January. The pale variety of Cvdonia 

 japonica on the conservative wall is in full flower, and 

 very showy it is, as are also one or two of the earlier 

 hybrid Rhododendrons ; but with the exception of these 

 and the red flowering Currant, little else in the open 

 grounds is yet in flower ; for although the sun has now 

 become powerful in the middle of the day, easterly 

 winds prevail, and the nights are cold and mostly frosty, 

 while the excessive dryness of the ground which at 



In the orchard-house the young trees in pots are 

 progressing satisfactorily. The red and v bite flowered 

 Chinese Peaches are in blossom, and very ornamental 

 they are. Apricots, Peaches, and Nectarines are 

 setting their fruit, and the two Tatter are being dis- 

 budded in such a way as to keep their branches near 

 " at home.' 5 Figs have a plentiful crop on them, and 

 Cherries and Pears are in flower, as are also Currants. 

 Gooseberries have set their fruit, and appear to be free 

 from both Gooseberry caterpillar and a little red 

 Acarus which has been so destructive to Gooseberry 

 bushes in the open air this year iu the neighbourhood 

 of London. 



In the Orchard department care is being taken to 

 keep the Peach and Nectarine blooms from frost ; in 

 addition to 9 inch coping boards, straw protections, about 

 4 feet in width, are put under the boards along the top of 

 the wall, off which they are kept by strong twine fixed to 

 the wall at top and to pegs driven into the border about 

 4 feet from the bottom of the wall. The Harrison 

 woollen net and others of a lighter description are also 

 employed, which will, doubtless, have the effect of saving 

 the bloom, of which there is a fine show. Apricots owing 

 to the late season are not more than 10 days out of flower. 

 I Pears on walls are full of blossom, although the latter 



i 



see I 



unuer glass, However, things now beam to wear 



am not exceeding the ! different aspect. 



has been greatly thinned, in order to strengthen what 



^ is wanted to remain, and altogether there is every 



la the great conservatory both white appearance this year of a prolific crop of fruit of ail 



