



ih.y ;. i 



THE GARDENERS 



and 



brighter colours are faintly assumed by the 

 ew branches are often produced from their 



CHRONICLE 



453 



COnstitut 



*glf t be true petals of Endogens be taken as part 

 «r Ae perianth, we have multitudes of instances in 



*?,* the lobes of the perianth are mult 



^frequently with such symmetry as to 



of our most beautiful floral ornaments, as in the 

 of the double Poetic Narcissus and Oriental 

 Hrieinth. The multiplication may be so complete as 

 ♦V rr eclade the formation either of stamens or pistils: 



rjL fl° wers IW » however ' fertile > and s ive rise b y im - 



""jn'natior to new and beautiful varieties. The object 

 octal cultivator here is to maintain the peculiarities of 

 each varietv, and, while in the Tulip a rich soil is fatal, 

 by giving a't'endency to produce extra petals or coloured 

 bnirtesde«tructiveofthesymmetryoftheplant,agenerous 

 foil it favourable to the perfection of many double 

 flowers, especially where the tint is uniform. It is 

 pftfH jMwnn'flined that the finest bulbs exported from 

 Holland will not retain their characters in this country. 

 There may be something in the soil and climate of 

 Holland which is peculiarly favourable to the perfection 

 of roch plants, but far more depends upon the treat- 

 Where proper attention is paid to the soil, 

 where some such means are taken to protect from cold 

 as the covering the surface with a thick coating of semi- 

 fluid dung, which is practised in Holland, and where a 

 proper Mil is given to the plants by removing them 

 every year at the proper season and for the proper time, 



will retain their qualities for years. I have 



ment. 



l>e disturbed, and some straw and ears of 



. .- _ - com should 



he scattered about the trap so as to entice them to (ret 



upon it. The best bait is a little malt slightly coloured 

 and scented with oil of carraway. 



The trap (/, fig. 2) should turn on a pivot (h) 9 and 



be counterpoised at /, so as to recover its horizontal 



position after giving way ; and the principal bait should 



be placed at the back of the trap, as is shown by the 



ears of corn at/. The more certainly to deceive the 



rats, it may be as well to set the trap fast for a few days. 



j The counterpoise ought to be sufficient to resist a very 



slight pressure, for rats are extremely wary, and the'v 



try the ground with their fore feet "as they advance. 



The trap ought not to give way until a rat is on it. 



V\ hen a rat is in (c), it runs along the passage (d) ; and 



being attracted by the light at z, jumps on to x, and 



falls into the water. The platform immediately Bprings 



back into its place, and another rat follows. If the 



apparatus is well made, there is no noise whatever. 



The tub has only to be emptied as occasion requires, 



and, as already stated, it is not placed where the rats 



are congregated. 



[We had caused this to be translated from the * Flore 

 des Serres," and the cut to be prepared, before we dis- 

 covered that the original occurs in the « Farmers 

 Magazine," to which periodical the contrivance, which 

 seems an ingenious one, must be ascribed.] 



danger of committing injury to the cutting* bo they 

 ever so choice, as the water in falling on the glass 

 is conveyed over the side of the pots ; whereas in the 

 use of the common pots with the glasses inside, great 

 care is necessary to prevent mischief from the water 

 falling on the glass finding its wav in amongst the voting 

 seedlings, cuttings, or plants. The pans are likewise 

 adapted to the culture of Ferns, Mosses, &c. &c, and 

 manufactured in an ornaments! form (either pots or 

 pans), they would in every wav serve to grace the plant 

 house, conservatory, sitting, or drawing-room ; but as 

 one gentleman observed when the contrivance was sub- 

 mitted to him, to specify all the uses and advan- 

 tages of the pot in question would be to enter into a 

 very lengthened detail, &c. &c. Geo. Fry, Gardener to 

 Mrs. Dent, Manor House Gardens, Lee. 



wptll I 



dkplayed great beauty and quality for a long period 

 without any fresh importations, and that this is possible 

 is plain from the far more difficult case of Tulips. 



333. In the case of Orchids, there is a natural 

 tendency in the petals to assume various forms, as 

 indicated by the multiplicity of configuration assumed 

 by what is called the lip. Such forms were once 

 considered the most certain generic distinction, but the 

 occurreDce of flowers indicative of three distinct genera 

 hi the same stem of Catasetum has rendered such 

 conclusions far less certain. How far it may be right to 

 call such changes diseases, or which are the normal 

 forms it is at present perhaps difficult to say, but the 



bjectat least requires a passing notice. M. J. B. 



NEW GARDEN POTS. 



In reference to the specimens of garden pots repre- 

 sented below, perhaps I may be permitted to state, that 

 in the first instance they were intended to be used for 



Seakale in winter. They 

 consist of two parts : the 

 one having the double rim, 

 so as to form a groove or 

 gutter, is that wherein the 

 plants or crowns are planted ; 

 the other, which is inverted 

 and fits into this groove or 

 gutter, forms the blanching 

 pot. In using these pots for 



NEW RAT TRAP. 

 The accompanying sketch represents a rat trap, 

 which is regarded as superior to any trap now in use. 

 It possesses the advantage of not getting out of order, 

 Md of not requiring to be often looked after, and con- 

 sequently of not rendering the rats suspicious and timid. 

 4 to aught rat is forced to go to such a distance, that 

 when drowning he will not alarm the others. The 

 jW*ratus is so contrived, that even a rat which has 

 ^■caught and let go will not be able to avoid being 

 ?rf *£*""> as tner e is nothing whatever to arouse 

 "•picion. The truth of this has been proved by catching 

 rtta, marking them, and finding them in the trap again 

 w they had been set at liberty. 



To insure success, the apparatus should be placed out 

 «me way of children and other persons likely to meddle 



■TL * 2 e J trUnks and branches of trees are piled 

 ■P»o as to afford a cover for the vermin, and to enable 



Ell ^ 1 IP t0 the board (")> which is P laced hori - 



STShp^i ? ^ (figS ' T and 2 ) let int0 Jt ' Thia 



fcl /I I rats ruQ on U > 8 ives wa 7 as «h°wn at 6, 

 gl (it ought to be 12 or 15 inches long, and 3 or 4 



well ii^V! a C TP artment m *k w ith diverging sides, 



pom'bi S P r ' so that a rat Xn ** catmofc b y an J 



En?/? U P a S ain 5 d * a passage leading to a 

 J^istance from c;g i 8 the pile of wood already 



"HqaTwm* P^ge d leads into a tub (e) contain- 

 **U or r*rt v *!? placed at a short distance from the 

 to lift ST " ? ( } " A ,ittle P^tform (x), so slight as 





growing and blanching Seakale in winter, by having the 

 plants taken up in the autumn as soon as they are 

 thoroughly ripened, and planting them thickly in any 

 mould in a shed or some sheltered place where they will 

 at all times be ready 

 to hand, a very nice 

 succession may be ob- 

 tained throughout the 

 winter. If the pots 

 are filled with plants 

 (the number of pots 

 depending on the con- 

 sumption) in the first 

 week in November, 

 and introduced suc- 

 cessively into the forc- 

 ing department, say 

 one each day, or at in- 

 tervals of two or three 

 days, by the time the 

 last pot is taken in the 

 first will be fit for use ; 

 and as the Kale is 

 being cut, so the pots 

 should be filled with 

 and a constant 



these 



fresh plants from 

 supply maintained , 



reserve 



New Plants. 



135. Pinus Beardsleyi. A. Murray, in Edinb. new 



"* Ph'd. Journal, i., 286, t 6. 



"The tree is of great beauty and size ; one which 

 was cut down measured 123 feet in height, and 44 inches 

 in diameter at the stump. Another tree near it 

 measured 17 feet 4 inches in circumference at ;> feet 

 from the ground. The stem was a rerv handsome 

 column about 30 feet to the first branch ; timber good 

 and clear. It was found on the top of a mountain, in 

 lat. 41° N., at the same altitude as Pinus Jeffrey* and 

 monticola, and Abies grand is, and higher than /.Ben- 

 thamiana and Lambcrtiana. 



" This and the following species (Craigana) seem to 

 have more affinity with P. Bcnthamiana than any other 

 described species. Bat the present species has the 

 points of the umbo of the scale pointing towards the 

 base of the cone, while in Benth ami an a they point to 

 the tip ; the cone of Bcnthamiana is 5 inches long, while 

 Beardsleyi is only 3 inches. The leaves are 1 1 inches 

 in length, while in Beardsleyi they are only 6 inches. 

 The sheath of the leaf in Benthamiana is an inch long, 

 while in Beardsleyi it is only an eighth of an inch. The 

 wing of the seed of Benfhamiana is much larger and 

 longer than that of Beardsleyi. The timber of Beardsleyi 

 is homogeneous all through. The heart of Benthamiana 

 is redder than the sap-wood, and the sap-wood occupies 

 a great breadth of the stem. Beardsleyi grows much 

 further up the mountains than Bcnthamiana. The 

 distinction between the cones of these trees will be 

 sufficiently seen from the rou^h etchings which I have 

 given. Tiie figure of the cone of Bcnthamiana is copied 

 from that c;iven by Hartweg. Like all that gentleman's 

 figures and descriptions, it is very characteristic of the 

 cone as it is generally found, but it is inaccurate as a 

 representation of the cone in its complete state, in so 

 far that it represents the hooked um'j > as pointing to 

 the base. In point of fact it does take a bend in], that 

 direction, but the prickle which terminates the umbo 

 takes a sudden turn backwards, and points to the tip 

 like the following species (Craigana). The prickle in 

 the specimen, from which Hartwcg's figure has been 

 taken, has previously been rubbed off, which gives a 

 false impression of the direction of the umbo. There 

 can be no doubt about this, because my brother found 

 all Hartweg's localities so strictly correct that he could 

 recognise the very patches of different trees that he 

 describes having met ; and he took his observations on 

 the cones, &c, of Bentha ana from the very clump of 

 that tree described by Hartweg, as found by him near 

 Santa Cruz. There was no other tree, or clump of 

 j trees, for a great distance, with which it could be 

 confounded. 



" There is also some resemblance between this Pine 

 (Beardsleyi) and P. ponderosa, as was well suggested 

 to me by Dr. Lindley ; but the shape of the cone and 

 the size and shape of the seed and wing sufficiently 

 distinguish it. \n P. ponderosa the cone tapers to 

 both ends, while in this it tapers to the point. Its 

 seed does not appear to be speckled in any figure 

 I have seen (l have not seen any specimen of 

 the seed itself), while this is. The sheath of the leaf 

 in P. ponderosa is smooth longish, fine, and tightly 

 fitting, whereas in this it is short, corrugated, and 

 rough ; and the ponderosa is nearly twice as long, being 

 9 to 11 inches in length, in place of 6 inches. Its leaf 





•^« Vth^ ' * fa « te ned to the inside of the tub 



bed, 



can be grown in 

 where the temperature 

 the plants into growth. 



used the pots can be partly plunged in a bed of coal 

 ashes in sojne sheltered corner or shed, and covered, as 

 in the ordinary way, with leaves, &c. Much less space 

 is occupied, the temperature is more uniform, and the 

 bed easier of access in bad weather, as it need not 

 necessarily be exposed to wind, rain, snow, and frost. 

 When the pots are not required for Seakale they can 

 be used in every way in the cultivation of flowering 

 plants as common garden pots, or for sowing in, or pro- 

 tecting seedlings from frost, rain, and vermin. By 



the Kale a ^ so wants ( or nearly so) the projecting points which 



roughen that of Beardsleyi, so that the leaves can be 



*% • • ■ • ■ * .ft A 1 ■ . __.*__ 4K m«w* +s-K-m—M-mvrx «asftM 



If fermenting material is between the fingers. 



136. Pinus Cratgana. A. Murray, in Edinb. new 



Phil. Journal, i., 288, t. 7. 

 « It differs from P. Beardsleyi (the preceding species) 

 in having the prickle of the scale pointing towards the 

 tip instead of the base. The prickle, too, is strong and 

 firm in Craigana; in Beardsleyi it is small and weak. 

 The apophysis, or excrescence on the exposed part of the 

 scale, is smaller in point of space, but more prominent 

 in Craigana than in Beardsleyi, which has the exposed 

 part somewhat flat, while in Craigana the tipper part 





I 



i: *\ 



ttouth of the passage (c). Above the 



platform there should be a 

 small hole (z) in the side of 

 the tub to admit a little 

 light, which induces the rats 

 to jump from the end of the 



^ *ak into°the eanh tf0rm ^ ^ tUb shoaM be 



placing the blanching pot over any choice seedlings thev projects over the lower, 

 are secure from injury ; dashing rams are rendered 

 perfectly harmless, as no wet whatever can reach the 

 young plants, it being carried off by the inside rim, 



which is higher than the outside one. These pots are 



and pans sheath of the leaf 



The wing of the seed of 



is finer than that of Beardsleyi, and not so Ion 



»• 



The 



H» 



great 



" PNlatai1 shoE n< L U - *° Cl ? 009e * Sood situation. The 



u ne m a pUce where the rats will not 





also intended to be used as propagating pots 

 — the glass shade instead of being placed 

 pressed into sand in the groove ; by adopting this mode 

 the condensed vapour is conveyed into the groove, 

 the cuttings can be inserted close to the edge of the pots, 

 where they are found at all times to emit roots the 

 most readily. In syringing or watering there is no 



* Craigana was found on the same mountains 



Beardsleyi, but growing lower down, and below it again 



and appeared Benthamiana. It spreads its branches wider 



om the stem than Benthamiana, and sheds its seeds 

 _ month later. My brother and I have dedicated this 

 handsome Pine to Sir William Gibson -Craig, Bart, 



