





THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



^(Tlikewise after 30 days in the ice-cold water. 



m Tri folium incarnatum is the only plant of which 

 ™ seed has been killed by seven days' immersion ; 

 ff< ^tj it withstand 30 days in the ice-cold salt water. 

 \ k'idnev Beans have been tried only in the latter 



^Thnt were all dead after 14 days' immersion out of I doors where accommodation is limited alRnTrro^Tr * , — — — ===== . 



*1* W * Bfc -ta after 30 davs in the ice-cold water. | the evil. The result in both cases is that the v&l£! ;° n jfT **? b V">ticed in the P^terres of our nobles 



and all 



Ab 



out of these 23 kinds of seed, selected almost at 

 mw*Td the five Leguminosxe alone have as yet 



lie 1 1* \.auv\.ivu t,**i*b uiv,c^ nvuiu uavc 



It has been really curious to observe 



■• .V • - A _ _ 



^^itilled '(with the exception of the Cabbage seed, and 

 tfe* have survived in the ice-cold water), one is tempted 

 {Jinfer that the seeds of this family must generally 

 Iriuisttod salt water much worse than the seeds of the 

 ether great natural families ; yet from remarks in 



botanical woi " *" * ' 



iorriTed Iodj 



how uniform, even to a aay, me germination nas been 



in almoat every kind of seed, when taken week after 

 week out of the salt water, and likewise when compared 

 with the same seeds not salted — all of course having 

 been grown under the same circumstances, namely, in 

 mkmee on my chimney-piece, so that the seeds from the 

 Jay of being planted have been always under my 

 tjt. The germination of the Rhubarb and Celery 

 alooe ha9 been in a marked degree altered, haviug 

 been accelerated. With respect to Convolvulus tricolor, 

 not included in the above list, I may mention that 

 many of the seeds germinated and came out of their 

 buaks, whilst still in the salt water, after six or seven 

 days' immersion. 



To return to the subject of transportal, I may state 

 that in " Johnston's Physical Atlas" the rates of 10 

 distinct currents in the Atlantic (excluding drift 

 currents) are given, and the average of them is 33 

 ■autical miles per diem ; hence in 42 days, which length 

 of immersion seven out of the eight kinds of seed as yet 

 ' have already 





their foliage, and for a long time look shabby. 



Sailers.— These should be as common as SnowdroDs 

 and Crocuses in every garden where early spring 

 flowers are sought for. They have many recommend 

 tions. Growing but a few inches high, and bearing for 

 the most part blue flowers, they form beautiful beds or 

 margins to beds, in situations where now such plants as 

 Crocuses and Snowdrops are almost exclusively de- 

 pended on for the earliest bloom. The Snowdrop, as is 

 well known, furnishes white blossoms only, and the 

 Crocus supplies various tints of orange, white 

 yellow, and purple ; but in neither is the pure blue 

 colour to be found. Those, therefore, who desire to 

 render their gardens ornamental at the earliest dawn 



in the small gardens of the citiAnTmateur, and T£ 

 borders surrounding the humble cottage ; but owil 

 carelessness or injudicious management 'they are Ln- 

 tl dof ^ ,,emera » duration, although many of them 

 have good recommendations, such as colour, habit and 

 profusion of bloom. The Zmnias even dazzle the 'eves 



gli Uer nf P g T , thm beneath a hot 8umm ^s sun ; he 

 glittering Portulaccas, the dwarf and lovely MeUm- 

 bryanthemum bicoW. th- «;~> r.i.„L.:*?_.™_ e f em 



of spring, should procure and plant Scillas largely • 

 there are several kinds adapted for that purpose! S 

 bifoha grows about 3 or 4 inches high, and when 

 growing freely, throws up several flower spikes, each of 

 which bears from four to eight blue flowers, during 

 April and May. S. verna grows about the same size, 

 and bears a roundish head of purplish blue flowers, in 

 May and June. S. amcena is also about the 



stature, and produces largish drooping light blue flowers 

 in April and May. S. sibirica, another of these dwarf 

 species, has drooping blossoms, of a beautiful clear light 

 blue, which are borne in April. Of S. bifolia there are 

 at least two very distinct varieties, one having white and 

 another blue blossoms. They are easily cultivated. 



CHINESE FLOWER POTS. 



We have certainly made wonderful progress in plant 



culture during these last 25 years, and this may have 



induced us to cling so stoutly as we have done to the old 



stereotyped form of flower-pot ; another reason why 



••:•:■ 



a seed might be 

 readily carried between 

 1300 and 1400 miles. 



I will conclude this 

 too lengthy communi- 

 cation by observing 



thatall the 40-30 seeds 

 which I have as yet 



tried sink in sea- water : 



this seems at first a 



fcUl obstacle to the dis- 



•Kaimtion of plants by 



•tt currents; but itmay 



be donbted whether 



most seeds (with the 



exception of the winged 



kinds), when once shed, 

 we 10 likely to get 

 **ked into the sea 

 * are whole or nearly 

 »Me plants with their 

 ™t by being carried 

 J*n rivers during 



8^, by water-spouts, 

 *™nds, slips of 



™d during the long 



2* of geologically 

 adages. i tshon] J d 



be born 



licrhf m«« *t t? A ™t"6 woo « o j uic ncn aarK ana 



light blue of Eutoca viscida, and Nemophila insignis 

 die splendid Piatystemon caiifornicum, Phlox Drum 

 mondi, Campanulas, Stocks, Lobelias, Gil ias, Asters 

 Indian Pinks, and a great quantity of' oth«? ariseTn 



Zv m r°7 and s Cl t im a n ° tice ' but Particularly the 

 truly handsome Sphenogyne speciosa. When well 



managed, a bed of this plant cannot be equalled for the 

 richness of its peculiar colour— viz., orange yellow, with 

 a dark eye, each flower being larger than a half-crown 

 piece. Annuals are too often sown so thickly in the 

 open border that the plants choke each other in growing 

 and are starved into a premature maturity. In 

 this case the real resources of the plants are not 

 developed, and premature decay is the natural result • 

 the blossoms are no sooner partially produced than their 

 career is run. The duration of some annuals, I must 

 acknowledge, is brief, and to have a summer's display 

 constant forethought must be exercised to keep up a 

 succession, but still they are capable of a much greater 

 degree of usefulness than they in general afford ; many 

 of them being of easy culture and soon out of bloom, we 

 are careless in recognising the fact that they demand 

 attention to induce them to fully develope their beauties. 

 It often happens that annuals sown early under the 

 protection of frames are kept too warm and thereby 



x rendered weakly, and 

 they are mostly too 

 thick and in small pots ; 

 those placed in the bor- 

 ders or beds are either 

 sown and left to grow 

 without attention, or 

 are transplanted from 

 the frames in weak 

 tangled masses, unable 

 to struggle successfully 

 with their change of cir- 

 cumstances, which ren- 

 ders their brief duration 

 a great deal more 

 limited. As a general 

 rule, annuals should be 

 treated as individual 

 plants, at least this 

 course should be 

 adopted in the early 

 stages of their growth ; 

 the greater length of 

 time they flower, size 

 of their blooms, strong 

 and healthy habit are 

 the best recommenda- 

 tions I can offer 



2 Zhli ho z b , ea l utiful 'y p° ds > ca P sules ' &c -> and 



*» wet e! y a * ? f a ? de i heads of the Composite close 

 «M«tfe Z \Ia «» e Ter y P ur P°9e of carrying the 



can oner in 



favour of such a system. 



For some of the later 



sow their seeds in some 



ii 



*** their ^ . r T!, ""^ w,u ar Y> ana opening will 

 **£ZZ5>1 *?%*"* ™" then be ready for all 

 htad ttiJr!?5 V*P* rsal b y which Nature sows her 



^ *_nicn have excited the admiration of 



tfut when the seed is sown in its new 



believe, comes the ordeal ; will the old 



'great struggle for life allow the new 



^* ften, as 

 r>*ts in ft 

 Salary in 



we have confined ourselves so much to that kind of pot ! annuals a good plan is to sow umr seeas m some 

 may be the great convenience it affords in shifting convenient situation, in a light shallow soil, well incor- 

 plants from small pots into larger ones, and also the j porated with fine leaf mould in order to induce an 

 facility it furnishes of examining at any time the state of | abundance of fibres. It is well to render the natural 

 the roots. Besides there may be another reason, the surface perfectly solid, and add artificially all the soil 

 most potent of all, for using almost exclusively our required. As soon as the plants are of sufficient size. 



common form of flower pots, and that is their inex- 

 pensiveness. For some purposes, however, they may with 

 advantage be dispensed with ; cultivate plants in them 

 if you please, but keep them out of the drawing-room, 



they should be transplanted into a situation similarly 

 prepared to that where the seeds were sown, and at 

 sufficient distances from each other, to allow their re- 

 moval with as little mutilation of the roots as possible. 



THINGS. 



Geraniums for Bedding. — The 



JW • COMMON 



^O been 



2 ,twtto ftreatm„k"i^ wu " ,tr mai tne usual routine 



T* F ew hL= 1 g P,antS has been completely 

 fe** con &, haVe yet been P ,anted out, and 

 fe fte * i .„ * ble - care has b«n required 

 £$ ^hm^L m A a r tb ™g state. To give 



Si** ^ £^ nde , d f ° r beda artificial hea * a fter 



-•^"*te u>» «- j ~— J r »«-'; mai wouia very ,„„ V u 



ought to have in 



.... — — j „._ „. v v .„„ 6 „„» u .„ uv . w „» kiol^i nun mac ii a tuiioiitni suucesaion 01 pianis is proviaea in tnisway 

 a lesson from the Chinese. In the accompanying sketch they can be moved at any time in the summer months, 

 vou have a oersDective drawinc of a common Chinpsp nnH nfiim miilmn) <■ i 00 ffl»«„:„» *„_„_**. c « _„_ 



to 



Sfc.S Pul^^od cultivator 



K b ^« W,l,r ^ eleaa y Wealthy 

 ?*«», " a : u . rall y increasing warmth 



Jjfcce 



»eco 



?%h»rd 



4e 



h 



K* 



nionth: 



a chert f 0r L. aa 1S t0 ° ^^ently the 

 ■ Tf i °, m which St teke8 them a long 

 f h» P nta "• ke Pt cocI and Pro- 



^ * : ~ ZStzl th t weath - , wii1 ^ 



kid £j* plants J T° Wera , in P ro P<>vtion to the 

 w^"*ite,k:\ . . 1Q June thun ;™:i.... ^^.. __i_. » 



t^mj^^ject €f i ♦? t, June than similar ones "which 



St 



^^"Pplicabl P , eat ,, WOU,d in JuJ y- Th e same 

 >* for bediinl ****■ ki ? ds ? f P lants ke Pt 



Purposes. Iu short artificial 



in rt'Warv ^v£>„ r r,f"° ca ' J " snori arunciai 



£?\^ill a U, ? u 8 h th e plants had been 



" f the sprine ? 1 1 dur,D S win ter and required 

 '"reinff .u.5 ' tUl8 can be ea»ilv «» nnmn i;<>i.^ 



they 



can be easily accomplished 

 »ed bpflT I,:e P reinature g rowth ^ which 



^e & plantin g tim «. Too much 

 e P* in temporary quarters out of 



you have a perspective drawing of a common Chinese 

 garden flower-pot, which was sent me by Mr. Fortune 

 embedded in the soil of a; Wardian case, having some 

 seeds sown in it When cleaned it appeared to me to 

 be very superior to our common pots. It is very smooth 

 on the surface, and the colour that of a cake of Indian 

 red paint. The ornaments are white and very agree- 

 ably relieve the tone of the Indian red ; in fact, in 

 point of form and finish it is an exceedingly tasteful 

 article and fit for any drawing-room window. I am 

 aware that attempts have been made to improve our 

 common garden pots, but the forms hitherto recom- 

 mended, and the offensive colour of the clay of which 

 they were manufactured, rendered them anything but 

 drawing-room ornaments. If something more classical 

 and artistic in design were invented worthy of a place in 

 a lady's sitting room, we should soon see the ugly green 

 baskets with their covering of yellow sickly moss now 

 employed vanish. Besides such huddling of plants 

 together and smothering them in sphagnum is altogether 



as unnatural as it is at variance with good taste. JL 

 Ofendinninr/. 



and often without a leaf flagging. Asa matter of ccurse 

 a cloudy day is desirable for the operation, but if they 

 are grown as I have suggested, bright weather need be 

 no obstacle to their removal. Leaf-mould is the best 

 soil for growing them in until their final removal, as the 

 fibres ramify so thickly in the decaying leaves, that in 

 the process of shifting to their final destination little or 

 no damage is sustained, and where a few beds or 

 vacancies in the borders have to be filled up, a couple 

 of young men with trowels and hand-barrow will soon 

 accomplish the desired effect. Annuals that are re- 

 quired to remain as long a period as possible in bloom 

 should never be allowed to perfect seeds ; it should be 

 remembered, as a physiological fact closely bearing upon 

 practical gardening, that the great end of all organic 

 life is to perpetuate its kind, and that by taking advan- 

 tage of this principle and retarding such a consummation, 

 a more protracted existence can be procured. By this 

 practice plants naturally annuals are often rendered 

 perennials. John McArdell, late Or. to H. Sharpies, Esq. 



If 







corre- 



The Vinegar Plant (see p. a 6b.) — it your 

 spondent will try the undermentioned receipt he will 

 find it answer. To three-quarters of a pound of coarse 

 sugar add half a pound of treacle ; put them into a stone 

 or glass pot that will hold about two gallons, and is about 



Home ^ 



Annuals. — A few words respecting this useful class 

 of flowers may probably not be out of place, as I am of I foot in diameter ; its mouth should not be less *u«~ 

 opinion that they are not encouraged as their merits 8 inches in diameter with a rim, for the convenience of 

 deserve, chiefly perhaps from the almost general im- tying down. Having prepared the above, pou 

 pression that their blossoms are but short Jived. It I gallon of boiling water on the sugar and treacle 

 cannot be denied that such is often the case, but I wish well to dissolve them, and when cooled down to 



part 



one 



it to be known that this is owing more to mismanage- 

 ment than to the real deficiencies of the plants. Some 



from the parent uppermost. Then get a piece 





