Sept. S, 1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 













takes place, by which the tissue of the living bark is 

 separated from that of the dead branch, so regularly 

 as to present on a section a concave facet ; the 

 living and dead tissues are separated by a few friable 

 lls°and tne first high wind snaps the wood, so that 

 the branch falls out, leaving a smooth even cup. This 

 process sometimes takes place again and again, imitating 

 on a large scale what takes place in the common stem of 

 the panicle in the Pear tree. Except some vital force 

 were exercised, it is difficult to conceive how the frac- 

 ture should always be so regular. 



362. The disarticulation of Vine shoots, called by 

 Re Phriganoptosis (a word of doubtful origin), which 

 takes place principally when the previous summer has 

 been cold and cloudy, and the wood in consequence im- 

 perfectly ripened, is different from either of the cases 

 mentioned above, inasmuch as there is a distinct tissue 

 corresponding with each eye, in the line of which the 

 fracture takes place. It may be observed most years in 

 small lateral shoots ; the larger ones fail only under a 

 pressure of severe weather. This disease was well 

 known to the ancients, and was called by Pliny after 

 Theophrastus articulatio. As in all cases where mor- 

 bific matter is likely to be communicated to the main 

 stem, close pruning is imperative. It is the practice of 

 some to bury the shoots of their Vines in winter ; but 

 this is in no case a good practice, and where the wood 

 is ill-ripened can only be followed by disappointment. 

 The only remedy which is available is the exposure of 

 the young shoots as much as possible to light and air by 

 thinning out everything which is superfluous, and in any 

 case this is advisable, for good crops or well-flavoured 

 produce can only be expected from perfectly ripened 

 wood. 



363. Larger branches are not in general thrown off, 

 but remain when dead from accident or disease upon 

 the tree till natural decay takes place, which, as in the 

 Elm, is often promoted by such fungi as Agaricus 

 ulniarius. Nature, meanwhile, has not been idle ; but 

 a cushion of healthy bark is formed all round the base 

 ready to close up the aperture by its rapid growth so 

 soon as the decayed matter shall have fallen out. 

 If.J.B. 



597 



NOTES ON TRANSPLANTING.— No. II. 



I have urged early attention to the preparation of 

 the soil for planting, and I repeat it, because I am con- 

 vinced of its importance. I could give many examples, 

 not only of great inconvenience arising from a retarda- 

 tion in the progress of works, but of the waste of much 

 time and money, resulting solely from an indifference 

 to, or a total disregard of, such council. Half the 

 failures in planting arise directly or indirectly from 

 procrastination to this respect, and I shall have effected 

 good service if fortunate enough to convince any apa- 

 thetic reader of the fact. 



In very stiff soils where the spaces for the shrub- 

 beries, as well as those for the smaller clumps, only are 

 trenched, something beyond the general drains (which 

 will be of course laid down before any other work is 

 commenced) will be required, if, as will often be the 

 case, no general drain passes through them. Such 

 spaces, from the compactness of the unbroken soil 

 around, become reservoirs for water unless some means 

 of escape is provided for it. This should always be 

 given. An auxiliary drain entering a contiguous one is 

 easily added, and will be found an effectual remedy. I 

 have seen the worst effects result from non-attention to 

 this. The bed so circumstanced becomes converted 

 roto a quagmire, the roots of the shrubs perish, and, as 

 a natural consequence, the plants sicken and die. 



In planting single specimens on the lawn, too, similar 

 results will have to be guarded against, where the whole 

 area of the grounds has not been trenched. Whether 

 a large or small site is prepared there are few situations 

 where a drain from the bottom will not be necessary. 

 I remember an instance — one among many similar ones 

 -— where a number of Conifers were planted singly on a 

 lawn, the soil of which was very tenacious. Holes were 

 properly prepared by deep trenching, and the addition 

 w new soil, and the trees planted at the end of Sep- 



tPf e n - F ° r a time al1 seemed wel1 enough ; but by 

 me following spring many were dead, and others, espe- 

 cially the Junipers, of which there were several, had 

 *»t many branches from sheer rottenness. On ex- 

 aminmg the soil it was found to be little better than 

 ™«n, especially at and near the bottom of the holes, 

 ne autumn and winter had been very wet, and as 



•Au re *^ as no outlet for the watcr » which of course 

 wuected in the i oose so[]j the treeg had 8tood 



IT • r f e or foi,r months with their roots 

 *> w ith what 



in 

 And * ~" "**"" en * ecfc ma y ea sily be inferred, 

 al* ?i? the matter worse, the plants had not been 

 and *h gh enou S h at the collar in th * nrst instance, 

 level ih S0 - 1 havin 8 settled d o w n below the natural 

 alwa ,r nportant part of every plant was nearly 



fihnn!f k SUrrounde(i b y a P° o1 of water - Greft t care 

 ealni * taken t0 P revent thi S and as » is difficult to 

 itiov 1 - t0 a nicety when a tree is P ,anted in newly- 



side b f 01 '' U * nouW » when P ossible > b e allowed to sub- 

 * k e u ^ le tree * 8 P' aced m **• Every specimen on 

 nat * Wl J «*ould stand a few inches at least above the 



accon** J C u Ifc ' S * m P ortant t0 secure this, both on 

 *ko A wel l-being of the plant and its appearance 



^emat ^ standin 8 on a gentle elevation, which 

 has an " 5 p !; ln S na turally from the surrounding lawn, 



hollow ! !!rt. nite,y sl, P erior appearance to one placed in a 

 Of ' ler Clr cumstances being equal. 



course the success of a transplanted shrub or 





tree wjll depend in no small degree upon the condition 

 in which it is removed. A shrub may be planted with 

 perfect success at a period by no means favourable to 

 the operation if it is carefully taken up ; while a 

 similar one will fail at the best of all seasons from 

 damage to its roots by unskilful or careless hands. A 

 plant, it should be boTne in mind, derives the chief 

 amount of the fluids which support it by the agency of 

 its succulent root-tips, and in proportion as these are 

 destroyed so are the resources of the plant cut off till 

 new ones are formed. If I were not convinced by the 

 practice I have often seen that this advice is needed, I 

 would not venture on so common-place an observation. 



Presuming the preparation of the soil for planting to 

 be in every respect perfect, and the season fitting,' sub- 

 sequent labours will be greatly influenced by circum- 

 stances attending the plants to be removed— whether 

 they have merely to be taken from one part of the 

 grounds to another, or at most but a short distance ; 

 or received from a nursery many miles away, and after 

 a journey, possibly, of two or three days' duration — it 

 will be readily understood that the conditions of the 

 respective plants must differ materially, and will conse- 

 quently demand a different mode of treatment. 



I must here beg permission to say, that nurserymen 

 are frequently charged with sending inferior plants from 

 their being found dead a month or two after planting, 

 when, in reality, the person who superintended the work 

 is the guilty party. Having made this charge I must 

 in fairness give the evidence upon which it is founded — 

 evidence, be it understood, by no means circumstantial, 

 but essentially practical, and which I have seen many 

 times confirmed. * 



Well, then, a nurseryman receives an order for a 

 given number of trees and shrubs, with instructions to 

 send them by rail to a certain station, from which they 

 will be taken by the waggons of his customer. They 

 are of course despatched, and in due time reach the 

 ground where they are to be planted, though, thanks to 

 the tardiness of railway transit, they are often a long 

 time on the road. Now, it frequently happens that the 

 weather is very warm and sunny during the whole time 

 the plants are out of the ground, and when they reach 

 their destination the roots are completely dried up, and the 

 plan ts otherwise drainedof their moisture by evaporation. 

 In this condition have I seen plants, and that not seldom, 

 thrown in heaps upon the ground where they were to 

 be planted, with perhaps an old mat or two cast over 

 them as an apology for a covering from the wind and 

 sun, but often with no covering at all, and then put into 

 the ground without any other care or preparation. 

 Small deciduous plants may, and in a measure do, bear 

 up against such treatment ; but that evergreens should 

 survive it is a standing miracle to any one at all con- 

 versant with the constitution and requirements of vege- 

 table life. Of course very many failures do result ; 

 nothing less could, under the circumstances, be reason- 

 ably hoped for. 



I have no wish to hold up nurserymen as immaculate, 

 or to deny that some of them do not at times send out 

 coarse-rooted plants, and that numerous deaths are the 

 consequence; but I also know that losses arising from 

 the causes above noticed are often unjustly laid to their 

 charge. 1 am sure I shall be pardoned for making this 

 little digression. 



Now supposing a large number of plants to arrive in 

 the condition above described, this is how I would treat 

 them : — Procure a tub or two each a yard or so in 

 diameter, and 2 feet deep. Fill them to within 6 inches ' 

 of the rim with water and loam mixed to the consist- 

 ency of cream. Let the roots of every plant be dipped 

 in this, and immediately "laid in," taking care that they 

 are well covered with soil. For convenience the plants 

 should be placed in rows, and as each row is finished 

 give a good watering, and not only at the root, but by 

 means of a rose to the watering-pot well sprinkle their 

 stems and branches. All the p!ants will imbibe a large 

 amount of moisture through the soft parts of their 

 stems and branches, and the evergreens in addition by 

 their leaves. If in the day, and the sun is at all power- 

 ful, some mats or even straw thrown over them will be 

 very beneficial. At night this may be taken off for the 

 sake of the dew ; but nevertheless another good sprink- 

 ling from the watering-pot may be given them with 

 advantage. By the following morning the plants will 

 be found to have imbibed moisture equivalent to what 

 they lost on their journey. The roots, too, will be 

 moist and in a condition to resume their functions imme- 

 diately. The value of such treatment to exhausted 

 plants can hardly be over-rated, and will often be found 

 the turning point between failure and success. 



Plants which are merely transplanted from one part 

 of a garden to another are always benefited by the 

 application of a few gallons of water at their removal. 

 The best time to apply it is when sufficient soil has been 

 thrown in to fairly cover the roots. If applied then, 

 the mould is washed well in among the fibres, and by 

 filling in the remaining soil upon the wetted portion, 

 evaporation is checked, and the moisture secured to be 

 gradually appropriated by the plant. Mere surface 

 watering is of little avail, unless very carefully and 

 liberally supplied. 



Newly planted trees are, however, often much bene- 

 fitted by mulching, and if employed as an auxiliary to 

 watering, a double advantage is afforded by it. G. W.L. 



last. He was born, I believe, at Ilderton, in Northum- 

 berland, and educated at the Berwick Grammar School 

 until his removal to Edinburgh University. In that 

 city he resided several years as an inmate of the house of 

 Dr. M'Crie, the ecclesiastical historian, and as the pupil 

 and ultimately the assistant of the celebrated Dr. Aber- 

 crombie. About 1820, having graduated in medicine, 

 he returned to Berwick and commenced practice there, 

 carrying with him the love for natural history which 

 he had imbibed at college, and from that time to the 

 end of his active and useful life all the leisure he could 

 command was devoted to his favourite studies. His 

 residence on the sea-coast directed his attention to 

 ichthyology, as well as to the marine worms and insects, 

 zoophytes and sponges; and a series of his original 

 observations and discoveries appeared from time to 

 time in " Loudon's Magazine" and in the " Annals of 

 Natural History , w the value and correctness of which 



have been acknowledged by all subsequent labourers in 

 the same departments. 



His first separate work was a u Flora of Berwick- 

 upon-Tweed » (2 vols. 1829 and 1831), which is not a 

 mere classed catalogue of species, but a truly readable 

 book enlivened, and not overloaded, by valuable infor- 

 mation and appropriate poetical quotations. These 

 volumes are illustrated with drawings of new and rare 

 plants drawn and engraved by Mrs. Johnston, who was 

 indeed a helpmeet to her husband in all his publications. 



His medical skill and pheasant friendly manners had 

 in the meantime gained for him a large and increasing 

 medical practice ; and the active interest he took in the 

 welfare and progress of society led to his being appointed 

 a magistrate, and on different occasions mayor and 

 sheriff of Berwick. 



It was during his mayoralty in 1838 that he brought 

 out the first edition of his "History of British Zoophytes." 

 In the preface he observes (in reference to his studies 

 in the midst of occupation) that €l idleness has no 

 leisure." He was again mayor in 1841, when the 

 Highland Society held their show at Berwick, when his 

 hospitality and urbanity and varied powers of mind 

 had full room for their display, and were gratefully 

 acknowledged both by his townsmen and by strangers. 



In 1842 appeared his "History of British Sponges 

 and Lithophytes ;" and in 1847 an enlarged edition of his 

 " Zoophytss" in two vols. This is not only the standard 

 text book on the subject, but is distinguished by its 

 literary excellence no less than its scientific merits. 



In 1850 he published an " Introduction to Concho- 

 logy," describing not only the shells but their molluscous 

 inhabitants. It was reviewed by the late Professor 

 Edward Forbes in the " Westminster Review," and 

 hailed bv him as a most delightful addition to the litera- 

 ture of natural history. Its merits are also recognised 

 on the continent, and it has been translated into German 

 by Prof. Brown, of Heidelberg. 



Of his last work, " The Natural History of the 

 Eastern Borders," only the botanical " portion has 

 appeared. This was evidently to its author a labour of 

 love, his last-born child, and it affords ample proof of 

 the eager delight which he took in the beauties of 

 nature, and of his genial sympathy with all those pur- 

 suits and aspirations which constitute the true happiness 

 of man. We may particularise (what may appear to 

 some a superfluous addition, but forms a yery charming 

 episode) a lecture read before the Berwick Mechanics* 

 Institute on " Our Wild Flowers and our Pastoral Life," 

 full of kindly feelings and beautiful images. In this 

 work he refers to the assistance received from the 

 members of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, a local 

 association which embraced several distinguished 

 names, but of which he had been the originator, its 

 secretary and treasurer, in fact its life and soul, for 

 more than 20 years. The transactions of the club, 

 printed yearly for private circulation, contain many 

 valuable papers from his pen, such as descriptions of 

 rare plants and animals found in the locality, and com- 

 plete monographs of the Sepite, the Mollusca and the 

 Acarides of Berwickshire. The monthly excursions of 

 the club during the summer months to places within 

 25 miles of Berwick, leave a grateful impression of 

 pleasure enjoyed and information acquired in the 

 memories of all who had the opportunity of attending 

 them. T.fi. 





DR. JOHNSTON, OF BERWICK-UPON-TWEED. 



This excellent naturalist, I regret to announce, died 

 from the effects of a paralytic attack on the 30th July 



Home Correspondence. 



Sulphured Hops.— Having read with considerable in- 

 terest your opinion on this subject, I trust you will 

 allow me to make a few remarks. I am a grower of 

 Hops, as well as a consumer, and I state, without fear 

 of contradiction, that I have used many tons of Hops 

 which have been sulphured without any loss or injury, 

 and this over a space of six years. It is a well known 

 fact that Goldingsare more susceptible of mould than any 

 other sort, and that they also are the best when grown 

 freefrmn disease. I therefore consider it of importance 

 to the brewer that this sort should be grown more ex- 

 tensively, which can be done if sulphur judiciously 

 applied to them, when in a growing state, can be proved 

 to be of no injury to the beer. To make this apparent, 

 I offer to any of the leading houses in London, Messrs. 

 Barclay in particular, as they have suffered from the 

 use of sulphured Hops, that I will supply them with a 

 sufficient quantity for a brewing, and if at the end of 

 three or six months they consider the beer injured by 

 the quality of the Hops, I will not only forfeit the Hops 

 but any loss they think has arisen from the use of them. 

 I will also pay a man, whom they shall depute, to see 



that they have been sulphured, picked, packed, and sent 





