

31-18 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



man 



Jie decomposes tne collective lenns wincn ex- 

 t '} ]f gunl of the necessary conditions into a number 

 ^ - j e conditions, and in bis explanations he substi- 

 ibeae in their proper place, for the collective 

 Wow it is easy to see thai; in all this there is 

 hypothetical. If it be an established truth, 

 tWsoil air, water, and manure exert an influence on 

 £e growth of plants, it is no less certain that (hey can 

 «Jr do this by means of their constituent parts; and 

 Ae'dutv of the chemist is to make known to the 

 w ho is occupied in the culture of plants these consu- 

 tvofo, their properties, and their chemical action or 



behaviour. 



u I now proceed to lay down the following proposi- 

 tions, which contain the views I hold and have taught 



on thifl euI jeel 

 « 1. Hants in general receive their carbon and 



nitrogen from the air, the carbon in the form of carbonic 



nitrogen in that of ammonia. The water (and 



it) yield to plants their hydrogen; the sulphur 

 of ihoee parts of plants which contain that element, 

 ■eh is the sanguigenous bodies, is derived from 



acid. 



greatest changes are those which relate to vitalitv" 



climate, dompstr-ntmn ^ »,+;u*:^-. .. *"»my, 



climate, domestication, ventilation, propagation, pruning 

 resting and sods and manures ; such being the subjects 

 in which practical men are most interested. The whole 

 work has, indeed, assumed such a form as to make it 

 evident that the great object of the author has been, not 

 to produce a work suited to men of science, but one 

 which every well-informed gardener may understand 

 and apply. As the volume concludes with a very copious 

 mdex of matter, there is no difficulty in ascertaining 

 where any given subject is treated of. 



We must not omit the words of the dedication, which 

 are as follows :-« To the Right Honourable Thomas 

 Francis Kennedy, lately one of her Majesty's Commis- 

 sioners of Wood,, Forests, and Land Revenues, who 

 endeavoured to reform a public department in which 

 unskilful management has been most disastrous, this 

 edition of a work on the principles of cultivation is 

 inscribed, as a mark of respect for high official character 

 and ill-requited public services, by his faithful servant, 

 the Author/' 9 



best dark 

 Caliban, 



sorts ; the 



is an improvement ; on 

 with horse-shoe leaves, 



latter 

 Among scarlets -« ll4 uunc-Biiaa ieavr 



f^ r r.?" gel aUC(S Piipcess Ro >' al is dw *rf and usef ' 

 Z w'J g P U ?P°«*, M a» also Pretty Polly, a scentc 



lari? d , ^^ ° f the 0ld Fair Helen class, but 

 larger and much brighter in colour ; and Nutans, a 



crimson flowered kind, which is very neat and dwarf 



T;K^°i ,g r T Conifers were Wellingtons gigantea, 

 Libocedrus decurrens alias Thuja g£antea, Torreya 



ZKT 1 an ? C< * h * 1ot * x ^ «oAJ which ^l 

 stood the winter out of doors in places' near London. 



im£J ? £• an i d &kkim Rhod ^endrons there are 

 great quantities here ; but as yet none of them have 



flowered except R DalhousieaLm and Ed^thi ; 

 hL *T S had 61X , blooms in * truss winch, when 



change 7 \rhK' "" ^ ^ * **™^ "5 

 Out of doors early Tulips were in full bloom, and 

 among hardy plants m pots Primula involucrata was a 

 mass of white flowers. 



2, On the most diversified soils, in the most varied 

 cfimates, whether cultivated in plains or on high moun- 

 tains, plants invariably contain a certain number of 

 mineral nbttanas, and, in fact, always the same sub- 

 stanca; the nature and quality, or the varying propor- 

 tion* of which are ascertained by finding the composition* 

 of the a$he$ of the plants. The mineral substances found 

 in the ashes were originally ingredients of the soil ; all 

 fertile soils contain a certain amount of them ; they 

 are never wanting in any soil in which plants thrive. 



"1 In the shape of the agricultural produce of a 

 field, or in the crop, the entire amount of these ingre- 

 dients of the soil which have become ingredients of the 

 plants; are removed from the soil. The soil is richer 

 in these matters before seed-time than after harvest • 

 r, in other words, the composition of the soil after har- 

 ved u found to be changed. 



«4. After a series of years, an! a corresponding 

 number of harvests, the fertility of the soil or field 

 diminishes. While all the other conditions have re- 

 maiaed the same, the soil alone has not done 

 no longer what it was at first 



Garden 



Memoranda. 



Messrs. E. G. Henderson's Nursery, Wellington* 

 Road, St. John's Wood.— The show-house here is at 

 present gay with Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, Roses, 

 Iropseolums, Verbenas, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Sec. 

 Amongst the Verbenas was a scarlet one called Orb of 

 Day, apparently an excellent sort for pot culture, as it 

 grows little if any higher than common Mignonette, 

 and it flowers most profusely. It is stated to be an 

 American variety, four cuttings of which placed in a 

 pot make a brilliant display. The Rhododendrons con- 



FLORf CULTURE. 



Ranunculuses. 



, „ . , . - , In a dry season like the present, the 

 following advice by Messrs. Tyso regarding the watering 

 ot Ranunculuses will doubtL ss be acceptable :— Genial 

 showers in April and May are essential to a vigorous 

 and healthy growth. The Ranunculus delight* in a moist 

 soil, and it there be a deficiency of rain in May, water 

 must le plentifully supplied, just at the time the flower 

 buds are appearing. This is a critical period, and for 

 Jack of moisture many plants fail to bloom, and send up 

 only an abortive flower stem. • Water from a pond or 



so ; it is 

 tou-i ;l i g , ; — r*~~ The change which is 



hSfdJTl f 1 &?l n its "^Position is the pro- 

 MU cause of its diminished or lost fertility. 



o. By means of solid and liquid manure, or the 



FjKjMhve other propositions follow, which mav be re- 



ffbTlSr^ UP ° n the five here *»* d » and 

 ^cu/rivS-'? he WOrk itself - T » ° u «elv'es it 

 «E £? aCt0ryt ° See thafc Professor Liebig 



^, tnat on the whole there is nothing like farm-yard 



Thesf 



and a mmoni fop 2 500 volumes" (cubic 

 *■*) oi air contain only one volume of car- 



^SSffS^ * im P r -ti C able to obtain 



«St ex * act is ,he fo!lowin S — 



" c acid 6 J2 ?° ntain3 * 7"7 limited amount of 



fcd>i 



^yCStt . f00d COnVejed t0 the P Iants 



•^4 d i t he S ang ? of the strata of air in 



S'^ihcartLte T ? e air which ha « gelded up 



* *■* «r if a f"^ and ammo °ia »«* fe replaced 



»»totIkelt Tr ab T pti0n ° f these consti - 

 *<»«> Ume » place ' T1 »s change of air demands a 



* ^Ction \SL th ! T ght of chemic ^ authority 



£ ■}*. ^hich °t ng ha" ^ m ° re S0UDd 

 10 garden 



(Linumflavum) was also flowering freely here ; it makes 

 a pretty plant for a greenhouse shelf at this season of 

 the year. 



Akind of winter garden has been made here by re- 

 moving the partition between two houses, and thu3 

 throwing them into one, taking away the stages, and 

 arranging the plants in groups on the floor, which is 

 traversed by a 3-feet broad gravel walk that winds in 

 a zig-zag manner from one end of the house to the 

 other. At present Camellias form the bulk of the 

 clumps which, when in bloom, must have had a brilliant 

 appearance, and here and there where they can be seen 

 to most advantage, some very fine standard and pyra- 

 midal Bays have been introduced, as well as Araucarias 

 and other Conifers, among which we remarked a 

 fine specimen of Libocedrus Doniana and L. chilensis 

 grafted on the common Arbor-vitse, on which it 

 was more bushy and healthy looking than plants 

 raised from seed. The flowering plants here con- 

 sisted of the sweet-scented Rhododendron Gibsoni • 



ttt 



c: 



ers for 



can 

 ve 



be 



never failed to 



«*ly 



rhile Pointing r b 7* I10USes > and more re- 

 cultivat ^ U L.° Ut the .^fitness of Ward's 



h ±*^£. h m£ f ™? ada P ted ^y ™»y 



coin™-, u!.^ 10 - vears a S° ^ was 



■» m th« 



all 





7£ ltor * «oiw 



ith its 



r?-" «ie atmosnlier* «,i : r"" TO lt 4 u "e » continual 

 2! h eMe *ith aniiS 7™c " 6Wr . mn ^ th ^, just as 



*** ^»n to be an evM^ .' Ve Us , a,r or we slla » die ! » 

 Ut, « bad Lv th t,0a ^ hich P ,ants would ^t 



«ito«. l:* y the Power of expressing feeling ; 



hat opinion ; gardeners are 



importance; and the great 



so «ng wa,ted, and still wai ts.fora 



•fcat, f ^ of;-; 'fn T 8re t0 effect tha * ■ oi 



3L¥ i *' 8 work ll\ h ?r q - uotedw ould render 

 ^< f ^er horl ,n C . ep * able even ^« contained 



is 

 To 



:ultural. 



2>itoa. % ^ 



«ion d ou n ^^ 



«a 



frotessor 

 woodcuts. 



matter 



principles and 



ftfe to 8 how how 1 ? e * qU f ntit y °" f Poetical 

 CSl Va «on corresno? ' re ^ 8cientific P rin ^ 

 Sf'i^ ? uch latter Jit V °J Ume cont *ins about 

 S*I* th « author if. M u the first edition , and for 

 ifr d ^ the ^coSe 1 hC , Stat68 in his P refa < 



iiSr ^ yarded a ?° de f^ ° f this Journa » 5 

 rJ**ta»t hi™** as «n abridgment of all the 



ence to be found in 



Jdi»;^" •"*»« system 



'""^ «r ■ — ~~ wp "^ v • » • a • 4 ^> 



i n^ have been wholly 



-.-Proper to say that 





**y be 



Deutzia gracilis, in the form of standards with heads 

 loaded with white flowers; Azaleas, among which 

 the most striking was perhaps Beauty of Europe, a 

 variety in the way of variegata but with more red in 

 it ; Bouvardia longiflora, a greenhouse shrub with snow- 

 white heads of Jasmine-like flowers, which continue to 

 be developed in succession the whole year round ; and 

 some plants of Dielytra placed on rock-work round a 

 cistern in the centre of the house. The above arrange- 

 ment has had many admirers, and at the same time it 

 has afforded means of wintering under glass many tall 

 plants which it would otherwise have been difficult to 

 know how to conveniently accommodate. 



A span-roofed house for New Holland plants has also 

 lately been erected here. It is 120 feet long, about 

 8 feet high, and 11 feet wide, and has a sunk path down 

 the middle. It is ventilated at top and through aper- 

 tures (fitted with wooden shutters) in the brickwork at 

 the sides, and a 3-inch hot-water pipe has been carried 

 all round it. The beds on which the plants stand are 

 surfaced with gravel, which can be moistened and kept 

 cooler in summer than shelves. The roof is upheld by 

 iron supports in the form of arches placed over the foot- 

 path. Among plants in it, all of which are yet young, 

 were some examples of the beautiful Boronia Drum- 

 mondi, covered with brilliant rosy flowers. The 

 common Spirtea japonica was also finely in blossom. 

 This, lifted out of the borders in spring and potted, 

 forces well, and will be found extremely useful where a 

 good ^display of flowers has to be kept up. We also 

 observed here plants of a dwarf-growing Hibbertia called 

 Reidi, gay with a profusion of yellow flowers, together with 

 Pimeleas and other plants more commonly met with. 

 In another house was a sweet-smelling Cytisus in the 

 way of filipes ; also Acacia Drummondi, one of the hand- 

 somest of all the Acacias for pot culture ; and a fine 

 specimen of Hederoma tulipiferura, which has been 

 shown so finely this year. 



In one of the stoves we noticed the Rice paper plant, 

 numerous seedlings of Lapageria rosea, and among 

 other plants remarkable for fine foliage, two Begonias, 

 one called picta, a handsome sort; the other an un- 

 named kind (imported from Java by Messrs. Rollis- 

 son), covered all over so thickly with long red hairs es 

 to give the leaves and stems a rich crimson appearance. 



As regards Geraniums, after trying all the variegated 

 varieties for bidding, Messrs. Henderson have arrived 

 at the conclusion that Silver Queen is the be-^t; it 

 grows and flowers freely, and its leaves do not crumple 

 up so much as those of the others ; its flowers are rosy 

 pink. Cloth of Silver is one of the best light fancy 



xr -- v ^ -* ~,v,..,« 6 , muumug IU lilt* SWie 01 



the temperature) between the rows, from a spouted pot, 

 and not over the foliage, except in cloudy and showery 

 weather. It may appear an anomalous direction to 

 water in wet weather, but advantage should be taken of 

 a shower falling to give a generous watering, as the 

 plants are then naturally in a better state to receive 

 moisture than in dry weatlur, when their pores are 

 contracted. As a general observation, it is better to 

 water copiously three ;times a week, than to administer 

 a small quantity every morning and evening. To obtain 

 fine blooms for exhibition a little weak manure water 

 may be occasionally given. We have tried numerous 

 natural and artificial guanos, &c, in some instances 

 without perceptible benefit, and in others with positive 

 injury. The most simple and useful agent we know of 

 is superphosphate of lime, reduced to fine powder, and 

 mixed with the water. We are aware that many 

 connoisseurs have been at first delighted with the 

 luxuriant foliage of their plants, traceable to potent 

 doses of liquid manures of varied name, but the 

 apparent benefit has in almost all instances been realised 

 at the future risk of the health of the tubers. We are 

 not adverse to novelties, because they are such, but to 

 the experimentalist we would speak the language of 

 caution. Try your hand on a small scale only ; never 

 apply a new nostrum on a larger portion of stock than 

 you can afford to lose. 



Running of the Carnation. — The experience and 

 observation of some years incline me to reject the idea 

 that compost can in any material degree either induce 

 or prevent the propensity to sport observable in the 

 Carnation, which we term running. I have, by way of 

 experiment, grown them in soils of various degrees of 

 richness, from pure sandy loam to unalloyed decomposed 

 animal manures, with about equal results in that respect. 

 Take a given number of plants propagated from the 

 same original, pot them in the same pot, and some will 

 probably be run. I cannot, therefore, understand why, 

 if the compost were in fault, the effect should be 

 partial. I have also observed, that in some summers 

 the complaint of an unusual number of run flowers 

 will be pretty general in a particular district ; and it is 

 scarcely possible to suppose that the composts used by 

 several growers could all be precisely the same. It 

 appears to me that we must look elsewhere for a 

 solution of the mystery. I view it simply as a natural 

 tendency to sport (observable in other flow*: rs I esides 

 the one in question), and though that inclination most 

 frequently is to return to the natural self colour of the 

 original type, yet instances are not wanting of ita taking 

 an opposite direction. Thus Ely's Lady Ely (H.F.) 

 is a sport from Ely's Duke of Bedford (C.B.),as Fletcher's 

 Duchess of Devonshire (R.F.) is also from Gregory's 

 King Alfred ; while Puxley's Prince Albert, classed 

 as a P.B., is often a very high coloured C.B., and 

 has positively sported to an S.B. Moreover, it does 

 not follow that because the one or two leading blooms 

 which the plant is alone suffered by florists to bear 

 happen to run, that the lower ones, if they had been 

 permitted to remain, would have beeu in that condition. 

 I have seen a leading bloom of Beauty of Woodhouse 

 (P.F.), a purple self, or clove, and the second flower on 

 the same stem a pure white ; I turned out, a season or 

 two ago, into the border what I supposed from the bloom 

 in the pot to be a run Ward's Sarah Payne, but late in 

 autumn it produced a bloom low down on the stem per- 

 fectly clean. Flaked flowers are not to be condemned 

 as run if you can perceive the smallest stripe of pure 

 white in them. I have observed that the progeny of 

 such is usually finely marked the ensuing season. Do 

 noT, however, mistake white spots caused by thrips for 

 the natural white of th< flower- Many 





the . varieties of the season, and Evening Star one of the to be run will return ; this has happened with Martin's 



