468 



THE GA RDENERS' CHRONIC 



therefore, is whether Beech is improved 



[July 1 



at^d^eTandVould have greatly embellished the | ^^J^^ "or Whitethorn by adding 

 ZZ t.H.:. What did appear were excellent, espe- by ^ ddm g er ^ lll a t s et ^ rn a ' 11 thing8j experience is the 



Plants with fine foliage were also produced in 

 inconsiderable quantity, the only exhibitors being 

 Messrs. Veitch, Rollisson, Henderson, and Jackson. 



It would seem as if public taste was still m great 

 want of refinement. The negroes of the Gold Coas 

 are said to admire nothing so much as the most 

 tawdry Manchester goods blotched with the most 

 brilliant reds and yellows and blues ; the delicate 

 tracery of an Indian loom is looked upon with con- 

 tempt. So it is with us and our plants. Unless a 

 flower is as glaring as a Poppy or a Pelargonium it 

 is neglected, and no sale can be found for it ; hence 

 the nurserymen, very properly, direct their atten- 

 tion to fine flaunting sorts— for it is their business 

 to please their customers. And yet we appeal to 

 all persons of good taste who were present on 

 Wednesday, whether the most beautiful by far, in 

 the true sense of the word beauty, were not such 

 plants as the delicate green flowered Dendrochtlum 

 filiforme, or the noble forms of exotic vegetation 

 not in flower, or even the humble but exquisitely 

 marked Fenzlia produced by Messrs. Veitch. 



We should like to see an exhibition on a grand 

 scale from which flowers of all kinds were excluded, 

 but to which fruits should be admissible. Could 

 such an object be accomplished, and the same skill 

 in grouping be evinced as in the case of flowers, we 

 suspect that public opinion would be very consider- 

 ably altered as to what constitutes a really beautiful 

 object in the vegetable world. 



multiplied to excess, as in euch instanceTtB? m^ 



of fructification mav V>a en t^ . W*t* 



organs 



An article on planting in the last number of the 

 " Quarterly Review " was lately selected by some 

 of our correspondents as the ground of certain 

 criticisms upon the construction of live fences. 

 Want of space, and, let us add, the tone of some of 

 the communications, led to a discontinuance of 

 the discussion, in which, indeed, we had taken no 

 part. The approach, however, of the time when 

 Quickset hedges may be planted in favourable 

 situations, tempts us to revive the question, 

 especially since it is evident that by some at least 

 it has been totally misunderstood. 



In speaking of fences the reviewer uses these 

 words : — " In one place a rough stone dyke will be 

 most available, in another a bank of turf ; here a 

 dyke planted with Furze, there a Quickset hedge. 

 If the last be selected it will be rendered more 

 efficacious though less ornamental by mixing Beeches 

 with the Thorns, as these trees when young retain 

 their withered leaves until spring, affording shelter 

 to the plantation during the budding season, which 

 is the period when their services are most needed. 

 The young Thorns, before being set, should be cut 

 down to about 4 inches above the crown of the root ; 

 but the Beeches must be left whole. Both should 

 be planted about 7 inches apart, in the proportion 

 of two Thorns to one Beech. After the young 

 plants have made two years' wood, it is advisable 

 to cut them all down to about 9 inches of the surface, 

 an operation which will have the effect of making 

 them throw out numerous side branches." 



This sounds so like an echo of a chapter in 

 Brown's u Forester," that we are not surprised to 

 find it mistaken for an extract from that useful book. 

 Such, however, is not the case ; the words are the 

 reviewer's own, although imitated from Brown, and 

 we must add spoiled in the operation. 



What Mr. Brown says is that a certain mixture 

 of Thorns and Beeches, " upon high situations with 

 a light soil "forms abetter fence than Thorns alone, 

 because in such places Thorns are "apt to die 

 early," whereas when mixed with Beech " the fence 

 is much improved both in health and appearance." 

 The reviewer, on the other hand, recommends the 

 mixture under all circumstances, which is by no 

 means what either Brown or any other practical 

 man would advise. In one respect both the reviewer 

 and the reviewed agree, namely in recommending 

 the Thorns to be cut down to the length of 4 inches 

 before being planted. Both these practices, that is 

 to say forming a hedge of mixed materials, and 

 cutting down Thorns when planted, have been 

 objected to, as being contrary to sound gardening. 

 They must be considered separately. 



We hold it to be incontrovertible that all hedges 

 should be formed from one kind of plant alone, 

 when land will permit it ; a mixed hedge is excep- 

 tional. If soil is good enough to bear strong White- 

 thorn no better plant can be employed, as is suffi- 

 ciently shown by the noble fences to be met with in 

 all the richer parts of the country. Mr. Brown says 

 nothing to the contrary ; but he says that in poor 

 light land, such as is often selected for plantations, 

 where the Whitethorn trill not thrive, it is good 

 to add one-third of Beech. The first object is to 

 get a hedge of some sort, the second is to have 

 good a one as circumstances will permit. 



Beech, uci^, «~ — .<-> * .- _ „*. rt i„ 



only sure guide ; but experience is unfortunately 



contradictory. Mr. Brown finds the mixture 

 advantageous in Scotland ; we know it to be pro- 

 ductive of no advantage in our eastern counties 

 where mixed hedgerows are always full of gaps and 

 blemishes, but where admirable fences may be 

 formed from mere Beech or from mere Whitethorn. 

 It is indeed, but reasonable to suppose that a line 

 of trees all alike will be more uniform in every 

 respect than if it consists of several sorts. White- 

 thorn in poor sandy land will not grow with the neces- 

 sary vigour, if at all. Will Beech improve the quality 

 of the land? Surely not. But it is urged that the 

 Whitethorn refuses to grow on such land, not 

 because r of its poorness, but because of its bleak- 

 ness, and that the Beech offers some shelter ; that is 

 a better reason for the mixture of the two trees. 

 But we greatly doubt whether under such circum- 

 stances it is not as well to confine the hedge to the 

 Beech alone. If the Thorns are in bad land they 

 cannot grow fast enough to improve the resisting 

 force of the Beech ; if they are in good land they 

 are best by themselves. Nor can we call to mind 

 anv place, however bleak, in which the Thorn fails 

 if the land suits it. It is one of the hardiest of 

 all trees. Mr. Brown, however, entertains a 

 different opinion, which is doubtless entitled to 

 great respect. Nevertheless we venture to recom- 

 mend the point to his further consideration. At all 

 events he has nowhere advised a mixture of Thorns 

 and Beech in the unreserved manner expressed in 

 the " Quarterly Review." 



The second branch of this discussion is whether 

 Thorns, when first planted, should be cut down or not. 

 The common plan is to cut them down ; Mr. Brown 

 advocates the practice ; the reviewer echoes the 

 advice, and we take their side under certain circum- 

 stances. There is, indeed, no doubt that beautiful 

 hedges have been obtained from Thorns headed 

 down before being planted ; it is also certain that 

 hedges not so formed will often present dead spaces. 

 There are two instances within a short distance of 

 where we are writing, one of which is a hedge made 

 of Thorns 3 to 4 feet high when planted, while the 

 other was headed down. The latter is for its age 

 much the best ; it was formed in September when 

 the leaves were on the Thorns, and it never had a 

 vacant space. The other was planted in winter, 

 when the leaves were off, and several places in it 

 afterwards required mending. The explanation 

 seems to be simple enough, although some of the 

 unpublished communications lying before us treat it 

 as a wonderful mystery. The Whitethorn has 

 coarse roots with little fibre, and they send out fresh 

 rootlets, with unwillingness when transplanted ; so 

 that if any top is left ready to produce leaves the 

 plants are exhausted by the nascent foliage before 

 the roots can act upon the soil. On the other hand, 

 if Thorns are headed down when planted time is 

 given for the development of fresh rootlets before 

 any leaves can come, and then, when the foliage 

 does begin to act upon the system, the roots are 

 already in activity and effectually prevent exhaustion. 



It is evident that this must be the true explana- 

 tion of the practice of heading down Thorns so 

 generally practised and so highly recommended. 

 But is it always necessary 1 Surely not. Every- 

 thing turns upon whether roots can be formed soon 

 enough to feed the leaves when they appear. If the 

 roots are already fibrous, have been carefully pre- 

 served, or by repeated previous transplantation are 

 in such a state that the plants can be removed 

 without injury to them, then to head the White- 

 thorn down is a needless waste of force and of 

 time. It is, however, almost always necessary to 

 head back this kind of fence eventually because the 

 buds on the lower part of the stem have a great 

 tendency to perish, the effect of which is to prevent 

 the production of the undergrowth required to give 

 the hedge closeness near the ground. And such 

 being the case it is the best practice to head down 

 at first, except in those instances where an imme- 

 diate barrier is wanted. 



We should have thought that this was a very 

 plain matter. Let us hope that it will be considered 

 so in future. 



rated as to make the collection of seed a work of^ 

 difficulty. In all such cases the multiplication «?? 

 petals is more perfect, in proportion as the *fl • 



», 



as 



^VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY.— No. LXXX. 



334. Petalomanxa (Multiplication of Petals). — In 

 almost every plant there is a normal number of petals, 

 from which, however, there are occasional deviations 

 either by suppression or multiplication. In some genera 

 the number of petals is far more inconstant and un- 

 certain than in others, especially where the petals and 

 stamens gradually pass into each other. In such cases, 

 however, though the ordinary number of stamens and 



within certain limits, generous ; a barren iqQ 

 cause a reversion to the original condition. aiilL 

 variety may thus be rendered worthies* p^* 

 however, may be produced where there is no 2 

 of stamens, but these may be impregnated from fw2 

 plants, and new varieties arise. Where the it5!_ 

 is perfect propagation can only take place by cnS 

 but in this way a variety may be preserved i2 

 indefinitely. Seed, however, from double flow«i4^ 

 not necessarily produce flowers of equal merit in fc 

 eyes of the florist, any more than seed from apefele* 

 flowers, such as the Sweet William* (described 6Wi 

 Chron. 1351, p. 550), does not necessarily repro<ben 

 single similar plant amongst hundreds of seedling 

 Where seedlings are absolutely necessary, or what 

 they are much wanted, the surest way of obuinu* 

 them is by withholding all forcing nutriment, & 

 some cases seed may be obtained simply from allow, 

 ing the plant to run itself out. In the Balsam, far 

 instance, though the first flowers of the finest Tahiti* 

 produce scarcely a trace of fruit,, after a time, vk* 

 Jthe plant is a little exhausted, feebler flowers wiB fe 

 produced, from which seed may be obtained. In tkfc 

 case propagation could not be maintained very long |j 



mere cuttings. 



335. Though the greater part of a tree may prodw 

 normal flowers, a few branches, the Midsumw 

 shoots, for instance, of the Pear, may produce Mi 

 and sterile flowers. These are generally so nortto 

 that no attempt is made to propagate them ; but it ■ 

 very possible, if there were any merit in the prod* 

 tion, that the qualities might be propagated by rattan. 



336. As in the endogens [mentioned in No. 334, tat 

 petals also of exogens occasionally assume ch&raeta 

 quite at variance with the genera to which the? 

 belong. This is especially the case in imgate 

 flowers, as in Labiates and Linariads. The termW 

 flowers of such plants as Stachys not unfreqw^f 

 assume a salver-like form, quite at variance with thor 

 normal aspect ; a remarkable modification of the flow 

 of the common Foxglove attended by multiplication ■ 

 figured Gard. Chron. 1850, p. 435 ; a regular co wfci 

 Calceolaria appears in the same volume, p. 389 ; mm 

 instances are not very unfrequent in terrestrial Ore 

 and in some other flowers in which one or more of •» 

 petals have a spur the change is still more smgnte i 

 appearance, as in the pelorioid varieties of AntiiTha* 

 and Linaria. Such flowers may be scattered amocji 

 others of the ordinary structure, but sometimes «£ 

 flower in the spike is pelorioid, and the plant will » 

 retain its characters when cultivated. 



337. Antheromania (Multiplication of Stati 

 The number of stamens is generally dependent «■ «■ 

 of the sepals and petals, and if they are in*** 

 within certain limits the stamens are mcr^toa ■ 

 irregular flowers, as in Orchids, the addition l of oy 

 more anthers may derange the whole structureot^ 

 flower. Additional stamens may, however be p*»£ 

 without any accompanying increase of peta s, an 

 the structure is normal, the practical effect totMJJ 

 vator is immaterial^ The transition be ween sUWJ fc 

 petals is so gradual in many cases, as for ^TV^ 

 common Water Lily, that it may not always w p-jj 

 to say whether the multiplication in ^Weflo 

 due to mere repetition of petals, or to ^J^ m 

 stamens. Traces of anthers may wmebm« °e fc 

 the side of the petaloid expansions, > ndicatl ^ d gUB * 

 nature of the transformation is, or pe»« ^ g 

 may be multiplied simultaneously. J\ su ftf( jb 

 anthers are formed there wffl *f°*™ i0 l> ** 

 pollen, and so much nutriment » ^"^jf for** 

 plied and hypertrophied organs that the ^ t ^ 



will generally be barren. In ^TJ^^ 

 stamens are occasionally produced m t he tern ^ 

 and thus fertile seed maybe formed . eten m ^ fy 

 without the presence of plants of bom - ^ 



■ 



presence 



•to* 



^of Hemp, <***>%& 

 are confirmed by the notorious instance 



M. J. B. 



NEW GARDEN FERNS. 



No. II. 



4. Pycnoftebis, T. M. gt 



- -,rv Urge, ^f^Z^ **25 



tie -^ 



serial near the costa, «""»«««■• - Ue i-curvea, 



Veins forked ; venules «><>»fMKped W«°< 

 nating near the margin in cluD-sr »i of 



anterior and posterior ones (sometimes 



m Hort Vtf^^ 



T. M. 



Houtte 



Cat; 



;mooth ; pW* : 



fe* 





pistils may be deranged, there is seldom any decided 

 abortion or imperfection in those organs. This how- 

 The ever, is far from being the case where the petals are I stead of one. 





fascicle soriferous. 



Pyc.voptejus Sieboldi, 

 (Aspidium Sieboldi, Van 

 Sieboldi, T. M. in Herb). 



ronds leathery, broad P> nn8 £' ^iy' «w£ ; „|* 

 oblong-lanceolate, f f, lcate ','[rft the base, ***£<& 

 stalked andjine<^ally_cord^^ 



^rTh^eld^rSir^rielf^s 1 argely ^ 



producing a single apetalous P' al £ erat i onS *»[« T $ili« 

 t It is often said in such con* era «w»I» * *&* 

 bud in its axil normally; sucl » *«£ \,, d F«£J, ft* % 

 branches in the varieties d™$? of ressel* PJJJ, M * 

 above, f 331. Wherever a bundle ^ $**£* 



axis, buds or new organs ro»y inexplicable. « ^f-S 

 the mysterious connection is qmte « v ^ f ^ 

 its origin may have wwg 1 ^ oceM««* ,y 

 bundle, and two organs or buds 





