



23— 1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



prfmiatJetoe was regarded was connected with its 

 ^^* - tv >* 



'T^STii*'""* Tr,nra ° f vienna we find with reg p ec t to 



Lortnthus 



■ OnOaka, especially ou **. F cuuutu,aui ** ,,u **• acro,J1 ' 

 inpTteArce. In the Oak forests of Schonbrunn, on the 

 r*Man at the back of New Waldeck here and there, 

 JJJJjMnore common — **» n^mh*™ o«^ ;„ *u~ 



wood* r 



389 





coverers who insinuate that such protection is all wrong, 

 and who have got, mirabile dictu, an accidental crop 

 without even a coping. I have a curious corroboration 

 to give you of the value of your editorial article in April 

 last, which explained by diagram the laws of radiation. 

 An amateur near me (the most successful gardener 



auuujnnce oy purcnasing tlie same plant under different 

 names, I venture to ask for your powerful assistance in 

 putting an end to so great an evil. I therefore call your 

 attention to a case at the Crystal Palace on Saturday 

 last. Three different nurservmen exhibited the same 

 plant under three different names. 



In the 



to the same Flora 



common on 



Ike 

 tad 



on the Hochleiten." In the flora of Niahren the 



is said to occur •" in woods and pastures 



"lr "r? TL7. itsis «£*= SE^s/rr: - -<» =: 





Loranthn 

 on Oaks, 



the ©contains of Polau, and near Blansko." Garcke 

 it is foumi " near Teplitz." Viscum album is also 

 foSd on Oaks, according to Hausmann (" Flora of the 



Tyro)' 

 tamen 



u lost a crop." Now, it so happens that he has precisely 

 carried out your conditions, though perhaps without 

 being aware of his acting so philosophically. His pro- 

 tection is old net, two or three-fold, placed against the 

 trees at so acute an angle as to prevent excessive radia- 

 tion from below, and to intercept all rime from above. 

 He does not use a nail, and his nets, once hung, are 

 not removed till the fruit is of some S'ze. Long Hazel 



hneata I have found on inquirv that it was introduced 

 from Lima by the Royal Garden at Kew, and thence 

 liberally distributed to different nurserymen. 1. It was 

 exhibited by Messrs. Jackson, of Kingston, as Maranta, 

 species from Java ! | 2. It was exposed by Messrs! 

 Kolhsson of Tooting, under the grand name of M. 

 regal.s. 3. It was exhibited by Messrs. Veitch and Son 

 as M. roseo hneata, variety elegans of Kew Gardens. 



. e ■; j — - j»"« ^"* *" ^iuuicu nun an; ptruun doi Beeine tne plants would eaai 



m under the coping; a thinner rod is tied to these "" ' ^ 



'CLIMATE OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



No. IX. 



Having now returned from Nice I can give some few 

 particulars as to the state of vegetation at various 

 places on the journey homewards. I left on the 1st of 

 May, and at that time the white Acacias were in full 

 flower, though here (Chelmsford) they are not yet in 

 leaf. The white Scotch Roses, Pittosporum, and 

 Habrotbamnus, were also in blossom in the open air. 

 Just before I came away I saw a woman with a large 

 tray of Alpine Strawberries for sale in the streets. 

 Ibey were also, I found at Marseilles, sold in the 

 market there in earthen jars ; a striking difference 

 was soon observable in the appearance of the vineyards 

 after leaving Italy. There the Vineshoots were more 

 than a foot long ; but before reaching Marseilles they 

 were hardly visible. The Banksian Roses, were, how- 

 *nr, very beautiful there. 



In the southern pnrts of France the Olive trees seem 

 to have eeverely suffered from the late winter, and for 

 about the breadth of a mile before their cultivation 



parallel to and immediately under the coping ; the nets 

 are tied with bast to this horizontal rod and to the up- 

 right poles ; each tree haa its separate netting, so 

 that in every case there is very free access of air at 

 each side and at the bottom, for the nets do not 

 reach the ground by about two feet. I remember 

 reading in old Forsyth that nets three-fold will keep 

 out any ordinary English frost. I have tried my 

 friend's plan in the last two years, and found it per- 

 fectly successful ; and I may say 

 " where I never had them before." 





I have Apricots 

 Let it not be sup- 

 an individual for 



he has 



locality 



they were killed and quite brown. 



At Grenoble, which is surrounded by splendid ranges 

 of mountains covered with snow, on the 5th May the 

 Lilacs were in fiue bloom on the Bastion Hill, and a 

 large plant of Wistaria sinensis in the Jardin des 

 Plantes, also Spiraea prunifolia, and Magnolia purpurea ; 

 as these are now only just in flower here, it would seem 

 that Grenoble 13 -about a month forwarder than this 

 £rt of England. Here I first recognised Gooseberry 

 owes, which had not been seen in Italy. In Switzerland, 

 between Lausanne and Fribourg, there are Gooseberry 

 hedges by the road-side. The Judas trees, which grow 

 wiW in the vjcinity of Grenoble, looked very gay. 



On crossing over the high hills on the south side of 

 ^neva, May 8th, the blossom of the Apple and Pear 

 2 which had continued from Nice, gradually dis- 



m*S*' * ?,. w there ver y cold > and there was 



ST!*- u Dy 1 ge ° n the trees > whi,st aroun <l the 

 «C B T l i nd warmer, spring was again in 

 W K n th t B ° tanic Garden the°various green. 

 ^ plants were being placed on stages out of doors, 

 ™the large collection of Peonies, &c, was in full 

 RhoTand L a 6 me * dows > near the junction of the 

 andi h^l 1 ,^ Ve ^ arcissus Poeticuswas found wild, 

 were Z 7^ Cotone ^ter. Lilies of the Valley 



*** tha ™JT°™ ' and likewise at Berne - Th ^e 



*Wfl£ I T 1 T J n the va,le y s of Switzerland was 

 hft weeks before that of England. 



^£wSwT iTy9 ° n the German side of B*de, 



St, f i tS v are extensivelv g^wn, consider- 



posed that the continuous success of 



35 years is owing to some favoured 



lived during that time in various places. I can state 

 that in his present residence he has made a productive 

 garden out of a bare unpromising field, on high ground, 

 with no natural shelter. And now a word to your cor- 

 respondents of May 21st and 28th. May we not from 

 the success of this airy covering, and of Dr. Lisle's 

 pantile re of, unriddle what to them is so mysterious, 

 and suspect them very gently of "coddling" their 

 trees ? I infer from what one says so carefully of his 

 canvas, and another that even * double mats " did not 

 keep out spring frosts, that open netting placed steep 

 enough before the trees, and left there day and night, 

 would have procured a crop in 1853, and many pre- 

 vious years. I have heard that in villages on the 

 Wiltshire Downs wall trees are safe under a projection 

 of a foot of thatch ; this would corroborate Dr. Lisle's 

 idea ; acting upon it, I last year placed deal planks as 

 an additional coping of about a foot over two trees, and 

 with great success. One, an old Greengage tree (after 

 having its decayed trunk almost cut through and "col- 

 lodionised "), bore me a crop for the first time since I 

 have lived here, 19 years, and this year it is again 



I 



covered with healthy fruit. G. W„ Bradford, Wilts. 

 I am induced to bear testimony to the utility of Dr. 

 Lisle's plan of protecting wall trees, having ripened an 

 immense number of Peaches and Nectarines under a 



I have 300 



sider them to be three distinct kinds, and buy perhaps 

 one of each. It is too much the habit of some men to 

 give grand names to mere varieties, treating them as 

 species. But my opinion is that while we have 

 botanists in England such as Sir William Hooker and 

 Dr. Lindley, willing at all times to determine the 

 names of new introductions, there is no excuse for 

 furnishing plants with names which only lead to annoy, 

 ance and confusion. The object is evidently to catch the 

 eye or ear and so the pocket of unwary purchasers, 

 among whom is to be included One who has Suffered. 



Grape Growing.— I have been waiting 12 long years 

 for Grapes, and had only two bunches about three years 

 back. My gardener promised me Grapes this year for 

 certain, but alas 1 there is not a Bingle bunch. There 

 are shoots from 3 to 4 feet long, and plenty of wood 

 but rather weak : the roots are good— I have had them 

 brought to the surface three times. My gardener pro- 

 poses turning the Vines out until this time next year. Do 

 you approve of this ? M. K. [Discharge your gardener.] 

 Fcm Judging at the Crystal Palace &&010.— There are 

 several of our British Ferns that are not hardy. Among 

 these I will confine my attention, for reasons to be men- 

 tioned presently, to Adiantum Capillus Veneris, Asple- 

 nium marinum, and Trichomanes radicans ; neither of 

 these will bear the brunt of exposure to the climate of 

 London at any rate, nor have 1 either heard or read of 

 their being found or planted in such situations as would 

 entitle them to the designation of hardy plants. Mr. 

 Moore, speaking of the first named (" Handbook of 

 Ferns;' p. 198), says :— « Adiantum Capillus Veneris.— 

 This Fern does not bear exposure, but flourishes in a 

 confined damp atmosphere, attaining its greatest luxu- 

 riance when supplied with a moderate degree of warmth." 

 Mr. Williams, speaking of the same plant (" Hints on 

 the Cultivation of British and Exotic Ferns," p. 36), 

 says : — " A rare species, found growing in moist caves 



"I ■ b m a a ._. & _ _ 



very similar covering. I have 

 the manner he recommends. 



feet protected in 

 The walls, which are 



able 



quant 



TBJury frL 1 Was ! tated that these had sustained much 



i^nbeim, on the Rh 



oardl 



ine, the Horse Chesnuts 



J yet out. 



'aces 



1 



- 

 1 



n 



2 



3 

 4 



5 



6 



7 



8 

 9 



10 



11 



13 



14 



15 

 16 



ir 



18 



• • t 



• •■ 



• ■ . 



Nice 

 Jatreiieg 



faience 



Grenoble 

 Ditto , 



Ditto 



A- - *'• ••• 



£* le Bains 

 geneva 

 Ditto ... - 



Jeanne "* 

 ^ r ne ... 



Basle .. 



Ditt ;;; - 



^ ai »nhei m " 



Cologne 



<*nent. 

 Dover"" 



• •• 



• •• 



• •» 



• » 



7 A.M, 



56 



49 



56 



57 



57 



54 



53 



53 



46 



45 



49 



45 



47 



50 



48 



50 



47 



47 



• • • 



• •* 



«•» 



• » • 



Draguignan 

 Marseilles ... 

 Valence 



Grenoble 

 Ditto 



Ditto 



Aix le Bains 

 G eneva 

 Ditto 



Lausanne 

 Berne ... 



Basle 



Ditto 



Mannheim ... 

 Cologne 

 Ghent ... 

 Dover ... 

 Chelmsford... 



• •• 



• t • 



• • t 



*t« 



• • * 



• • t 



* « • 



• •• 



• • a 



.. . 



• • > 



• • • 



10J P.M 



52 



56 



56 



56 



56 



49 



52 



49 



42 



49 



46 



45 



49 



50 



48 



44 



44 



44 



m £. a 



ft? *£ 7oZt r J Vali Fruit *>- 1 ™ s dually 

 L^^en^HLn ^ t0 the Volume for 1854, 



St** l ZSri n \ y Ckron{de h y this m »™ : 



2 rfD ^Sn ,a you had reproduced the 

 2? wh «* a cSil P ? le c °P in S *»■ fr°fc walls 



Cn* ^ a?S JL? ?*™ ld th * experience 

 £1?** P^tmioi V f A a ^ life > of *e ad van. 



****** fi^e^re a™* r?^ 



J w De led away by the dia- 





2 feet thick and 12 feet la height, are built of rag or 

 refuse from a slate quarry, faced with bricks. The 

 canopy or bonnet (as I term it) is 4 feet 6 inches in 

 width, and projects 2 feet on the south side, and 6 inches 

 on the north, in order to carry the drip well off. The 

 brackets or supports are .9 feet apart, 4 feet long, and 

 secured by a bolt to the covering, and a long nail to the 

 wall ; the wall plate on the north-side is fixed by means 

 of clamps, 15 inches long and 15 feet apart. On the 

 under side of the projecting edge of the canopy there 

 are small hooks, 15 inches from each other, for the pur- 

 pose of hanging a net on, which is of twine, inch-mesh, 

 4 yards wide. It is put up in the latter end of March 

 and taken down as soon as the weather will permit. Being 

 suspended 2 feet from the wall, it does not afford 

 sufficient w r armth to encourage insects or weaken the 

 voung shoots, and, at the same time, plenty of room is 

 left for working under it, such as disbudding, nailing in, 

 or thinning fruit, all of which are immediately attended 

 to when required, every lateral that may be considered 

 unnecessary for future purposes being removed by the 

 thumb nail, leaving as little as possible for the knife. 

 In my opinion the ripening of the young wood is the 

 principal object to be attained ; that done successfully, a 

 crop will naturally follow. I would likewise mention the 

 treatment my border receives, as gardeners appear to 

 differ respecting the disturbing of roots; it is about 

 10 feet wide, and the 3 feet nearest the wall are kept 

 at rest, and constantly covered with saw- dust. The 

 remainder is manured and cropped with small 

 vegetables^ Under this management we have an 

 abundant crop every year, and although we have had 

 the past winter and spring very severe, the whole of the 

 trees are covered with fruit, not hung in bunches, here 

 and there, at the points, but distributed all over equally, 

 and the trees are looking clean and healthy, without 

 insect or curled leaf. The soil is what is called rag. 

 The varieties grown are the Noblesse, Royal Kensington, 

 Royal George, Chancellor, Admirable, Harrington, &c, 

 Peaches and white Nectarines. They are mostly trained 

 on the fan system. Henry BeUew, Oakhampton House, 

 Somerset, June 5. 



Mineral Coal Tar. — I received for many years from 

 Messrs. Cassell, Mill Wall, Poplar, the above tar in 

 casks of from 360 to 410 lbs., containing about 30 

 gallons, and costing about 125., but since the destruction 

 of their manufactory by fire some years since, I can 

 learn nothing of Messrs. Cassell. Can any one inform 

 me where such tar is to be had 1 Its great merits are 

 that it is laid on well in temperate weather without any 

 heating, and retains a good black colour. L. 



Nursery Names of Plants.— Having often suffered 



and on damp rocks by the side of the sea. It is rather 

 tender Jand should be planted in a sheltered part of the 

 fernery, similar to the stations in which it is found wild." 

 And Mr. Newman ("History of British Ferns, ,, p. 7) 

 says : — * It grows freely in a greenhouse, without any 

 artificial heat beyond that which the protection of the 

 glass supplies; it should never be exposed to the rays 

 of the sun." Of Asplenium marinum, Mr. Moore 

 writes (p. 161) : — " No one, as far as we are aware, has 

 been successful in cultivating the Sea Spleenwort in the 

 open air in the climate of London, exposed unsheltered 

 to which it perishes." Mr. Williams says (p. 33) : — 

 * This is a tender species, requiring to be planted in a 

 sheltered part, as, for instance, in a cave." Mr. New- 

 man says (p. 241):— "This is a most difficult Fern 

 to deal with in cultivation, unless carefully pro- 

 tected from exposure ; n and page 242, " I find 

 this plant invariably killed by severe frost ; I lost 

 every plant in the frost of January 1854." And 

 of Trichomanes speciosum, Mr. Moore writes (p. 202), 

 " This Fern requires a damp calm atmosphere, without 

 which it will not thrive, hence all attempts to cultivate 

 it artificially, other than under close confinement, have 

 failed." Mr. Williams (p. 37), ■ This is a tender ever- 

 green species." And Mr. Newman (p. 294), u The 

 main object to be achieved in the cultivation of this 

 beautiful Fern is an atmosphere loaded with moisture. 

 In the drier counties of England this can only be main- 

 tained by a constant covering of glass." The experience 

 of every cultivator of Ferns fully bears out the state- 

 ments of the above writers, so that the fact, that the 

 above-named plants will not bear exposure to our 

 climate, may be said to be fully established. These 

 remarks have been provoked by the erroneous decisions 

 of the judges of the Ferns at the Crystal Palace on 

 Saturday last. First, second, and third prizes were 

 awarded to collections containing each of them the 

 above-named plants, while a fourth collection containing 

 none but the most hardy kinds was entirely passed over, 

 for you will recollect that in the schedule of the 

 Company collections of hardy (not British) Ferns 

 were invited. Now in order that you may be assured 

 of the perfect hardiness of the plants in the over- 

 looked collection, I will insert the names of those of 

 which it was composed. Athyrium filix-foemina,Lastnea 

 dilatata, L. filix-mas, L. spinulosa, L. Thelypteris, L. 

 rigida, Polypodium dryopteris, Asplenium Ruta- 

 muraria, Ceterach officinarum, Polystichium aculeatura, 

 Blechnum spicant, Allosorus crispus, Scolopendrium 

 vulgare, var. crisjum, with the seven following North 

 American species : — ABplenium Thelypterioides, Aspi- 

 dium acroatichoides,Osmunda cinnamomea,0.uiterrupta» 

 Onoclea seitsibilis, Lastrsea intermedia, and Strutbiopteris 

 pennsylvanica. Possibly the judges were unacquainted 

 with the North American species, or might have thought, 

 because they were foreign, they must necessarily be 

 tender* William Watty, Stamford Hill. 



