Sept. 29, 1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



647 













on 

 no 



JriJjclTTTiave been making for a coupie of seasons 

 the hardiness of exotic shrubs and trees. I have 

 f ov> -s to show, but if the leaves and branchlets are 

 enowh for identification, I should be much obliged by 

 earning the specific name. The plant came from an 

 Edinburgh nursery, labelled " Eucalyptus glauca." 

 W. S., East of fifeshire, Sept. 24. [The plant is 

 Eucalyptus cordata, a Van Diemen's Land species. 

 The fact recorded by our correspondent is extremely 

 interesting. He should try Eucalpytus coccifera, which 

 stood the last winter near London against a wail unpro- 

 tected, without sustaining any injury.] 



Foreign Correspondence. 



The Delices d'Automne Strawberry. — The following 

 letter concerning this variety has been received by 

 Messrs. Low & Co. : — * As we had no plants left of the 

 Delices d'Automne Strawberry, we endeavoured to pro- 

 cure a hundred with flowers and fruits to send to you ; 

 but to our astonishment they were only old plants which 

 are again commencing to bear fruit ; their flowers are 

 very large, about 1 h inch in diameter. It was only on 

 the 2d November, 1854, that we first saw the Straw- 

 berry, and it had then a remarkably fine appearance. 

 From'- that time till the 20th of the same month, we 

 ourselves saw all the old plants in the open ground 

 bearing from three to ten scapes, with fruit such as we 

 sent you on the 5th November. The raiser, and some 

 amateurs of this town assured us that from the month 

 of September this Strawberry produced fruits in abun- 

 dance until the frosts set in. Now we find, that at the 

 time we write, there are, it is true, some scapes with 

 flowers and fruits, but not in abundance as we had been 

 led to believe. The plants are, however, coming into 

 bearing, but it will be a fortnight before they will be in 

 the state which they ought to have been in the course 

 of the present month. Another important circumstance 

 of which we have just been informed is, that it is 

 necessary to cut off the runners in order to induce the 

 plants to bear sooner ; and as the raiser has allowed 

 them to run, in order to have a greater number of 

 plants, the production of fruit has consequently been 

 retarded. The plants do not bear before they are two 

 years old. It appears, moreover, that runners of the 

 British Queen had, last autumn, got amongst those of 

 the Delices d'Automne, and very probably you have 

 some of the British Queen amongst those sent to you. 

 In short, if we had known beforehand all these disagree- 

 able matters, and also that the young plants of the 

 Delices d'Automne would not bear fruit before they 

 were two years old, we would not have taken it in 

 hand ; and still less would we have recommended it to 

 you. In a fortnight we will send you, gratis, 100 plants 

 in a bearing state, for the satisfaction of your customers. 

 From this date we cease to recommend this Strawberry 

 as really bearing a second crop in September, as we had 

 been assured, and we shall no longer continue to sell it. 

 What pains us most is that you have purchased a lar^e 

 quantity of plants on our recommendation, and that you 

 receive complaints from your customers respecting 

 them. But we will indemnify you, as you will expect." 

 L. Jacob Makoy & Co., Liege, Sept. 19. 



octettes 



able experiments — the first great experiment being at 

 the instigation of the British Association, who appointed 

 a committee, consisting of Drs. Daubeney, Dalton, and 

 Mr. Yates, to investigate the correctness of Mr. Ward's 

 views and statements. A closed house was built in the 

 Mechanic's Yard at Liverpool in 1837 — was filled with 

 80 exotic plants, which passed the winter without 

 injury, and several of them had flowered and ripened 

 seed. Numerous other instances were adduced, the 



Dicomhire and Cornwall, the Other for the island of 

 Skye. The latter, which we much prefer, is furnished 

 with valuable iuformation concerning the geology of the 

 Cuchullin 11 ills and of ] ch Staffin, the first by Prof. 

 James Forbes, the second by the late Edward Forbes. 

 Of these dissertations the last is, we believe, now 

 printed for the first time. 



We have also before us the second edition of Mr. 



w ..- ~ . translat 



ditions of the plants could be strictly fulfilled as re- 



' BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT GLASGOW. 



Section D. — Zoology and Botany. — On Vivaria. — 



Mr. N. B. Ward commenced his paper by explaining 

 his reasons for appearing a third time before the British 

 Association ; these reasons being — 1st, the misappre- 

 hensions of the public respecting the growth of plants 

 in closed cases ; and 2d, the statements of the editor of 

 the Gardeners 9 Chronicle, which statements Mr. Ward 

 proceeded to show were unphilosophical and untrue ; and 

 3d, to give a plain history of the origin of the Vivaria, which 

 arose out of the experiments on the growth of plants, 

 the success of both depending upon the fulfilment of the 

 natural conditions both of the plants and animals. As 

 it was possible that many of the audience might not 

 have heard of these cases or their applications, Mr. 

 Ward then went on to detail the accidental commence- 

 ment of his inquiries, and to point out, by reference to 

 his writings, his entire conviction, that to command 

 Nature we must obey her laws. The opinions of the 

 learned editor were then considered : tiiese opinions 

 being chiefly that plants could not grow in the closed 

 cases, in consequence of the stillness of the atmosphere, 

 which did not allow superfluous moisture to be carried 

 off, and that in them one mode of death was only super- 

 ceded by another ; that the plants died of dropsy, 

 instead of perishing by thirst ; and the conclusion 

 *t which the learned Doctor arrived was, that the 

 Wardian 



cases 



— .-«.« v« oca , although he allowed they had their 

 value as a means of transporting plants, yet as a 

 jneans of their growth they were utterly value- 

 less ; that they could only be considered in the light 

 °/ tripe de roche to a starving person; and that the 

 tune would come when people would wonder at the 

 delusion which led them to believe that plants could 

 3rov> in a Wardian case. To rebut those opinions, Mr. 

 Ward exhibited specimens of plants growing in quiet 

 *nd disturbed media, observing that the amount of 

 Moisture was always at the command of the experi- 

 menter, and that it was quite as easy to destroy plants 

 bv thirst in a closed case as to kill them by redundance 

 °| moisture. 



garded heat, light, moisture, and periods of rest, the 

 quiet condition of the atmosphere, so far from being an 

 injury, was of great service, enabling them to bear 

 variations of temperature which would be injurious to 

 them in their natural situations, and in some cases to 

 attain an unwonted luxuriance. The complete success 

 of the plan in the conveyance of plants to and from 

 distant countries was next adverted to, there not being 

 a single civilised spot on the surface of the earth which 

 had not benefited by their introduction. Twenty- 

 thousand Tea plants had been introduced into the Hima- 

 layan Mountains, and several hundred plants of Cin- 

 chona into the forests of Java. Mr. Ward referred to 

 communications he had received detailing experiments, 

 from which we extract the following : — Dr. Alfred Smee 

 had favoured Mr. Ward with an interestin : statement of 

 bis experience in cultivating plants in the Wardian case. 

 The advantagesof such cultivation he stated as follows : — 

 " Plauts in a Wardian case grow, ripen, and decay without 

 being touched with wet or rain. From this cause the leaves 

 present an unsullied freshness ; for dust never incrusts 

 them, wet never damages them, nor does the blasting 

 easterly wind ever wither them. Such advantages give 

 the closed case much claim to our attention ; and we 

 have only to avail ourselves of its capabilities to obtain 

 that which may gladden the eye by its beauty." Dr. S. 

 had cultivated Stanhopeas, Oncidias, and other orchi- 

 daceous plants, as well as Passion-flowers, Ferns, &c. 

 " I am satisfied (he added) that in every situation where 

 the light of heaven shines, some plant may be cultivated 

 in closed cases, and therefore I hope that every year 

 they may become more extensively used. 1 ' Dr. J. D. 

 Young, Kennington, wrote — " Its advantages, in my 

 mind, are so great, its extension to practical purposes 

 so numerous, that I am inclined to say its utility is still 

 in its infancy. You know how I have struggled for 

 many years, under difficulties of almost an insurmount- 

 able kind, to keep alive some of our most delicate plants, 

 surrounded by smoke emanating from gas-works, a 

 pottery, &c. And yet I find they flourish. I have 

 closed cases in which the Triehomanes and the Hyme- 

 nophyllum have for years grown without any change of 

 soil." The same writer expatiated on the pleasures and 

 advantages of the invention. The Vivaria in the 

 Regent's Park originated as follows :— Mr. Ward stated 

 that Priestly was the first to discover the counter- 

 balancing action of plants and animals upon each other 

 in water as well as in the atmosphere ; that these expe- 

 riments were followed up by others, and mentioned by 

 Brande in one of the early editions of his Chemistry ; 

 and that the use of the Limnseus in removing decaying 

 portions of vegetable matter was pointed out by Jeffrey 

 in the Transactions of the Linnsean Society for 1830, 

 who calls these animals " the scavengers of the waters," 

 and likewise in the journal of the Microscopical Society 

 for Sept., 1841. With the knowledge of these facts, 

 Mr. Ward, being well convinced of the application of 

 the same principle applied to animals as well as to plants, 

 filled a large earthen vessel, holding about 20 gallons of 

 water, with fish, plants, &c, &c, in the year 1841, in 

 his Fernhouse, in Wellclose Square, with the view of 

 determining whether the volume of air surrounding 

 this miniature pool would be sufficient for the well- 

 being of the new occupants. In this pool they lived 

 and flourished for years, the water never being 

 changed, but retaining its purity in consequence 

 of the conditions above alluded to. Very shortly, 

 however, after the commencement of Mr. Ward's 

 experiments, Mr. Bowerbauk pursued the same plan 

 in a large glass jar ; and it was this jar which gave Mr. 

 Mitchell the idea of tie Vivaria in the Regent's Park, and 

 to him the sight-seeing public are under the greatest 

 obligations. Mr. Ward then directed attention to some 

 most interesting original observations by Mr. Thvnne, 

 which the late ever-to-be-lamented Edward Forbes had 

 intended to publish, but which he allowed to Mr. Ward 

 the privilege of using in a lecture by Dr. Stephen 

 Ward at the Royal Institution. Mr. Ward then pro- 

 ceeded to urge upon the members of the British 

 Association the necessity of prosecuting their inquiries 

 among the higher members of the animal kingdom, as 

 he felt well assured that the same principle was 



-even to man 



live Microscope (ilighley, 5s.) This work was favour- 

 ably noticed by us on a former occasion (1853, p. 7*26) ; 

 we have now to announce that many very useful addi- 

 tions have been made to the present edition, in part by 

 the translator and in part by the author himself. Now 

 that fine microscopes are booming cheap, and accessible 

 to all educated persons, works of this kind increase 

 greatly in value ; for the young ol Tver, placed by 

 himself, with the best instrument in the world, will see 

 little, and that not very correctly, in the absence of such 

 practical instructions as Schacht supplies. 



Page's valuable little Jntm, / Textbook to Geology 



(Blackwood's, Is. thl) has reached a second edition. 



applicable to the entire animal kingdom— c»cu w i Ut *», 

 " the great master of all." Mr. Ward had stated, in his 



Garden Memoranda. 



C. Loddiges, Esq., Hackney — Our readers, like 

 ourselves, must see with regret the announcement in 

 our advertising columns that Mr. Loddiges is about 

 to part with his Orchids, of which we need not 

 say he has a most extensive and valuable collection, 

 the gathering together of which has occupied the 

 greater part of the last half century. The announce- 

 ment must be looked upon with regret in two way 

 first, because the present state of Mr. Loddiges' health 

 will not permit him to stay sufficiently long in his houses 

 to enjoy the beauty of his plants, as he has been 

 accustomed to do, and which we understand is the only 

 reason for his parting with them ; and, secondly, because 

 it is just possible that this magnificent collection, which 

 it has taken so many years of activity and trouble to 

 bring together, may be lost to the country for ever ; 

 for we understand that offers to transfer it to the con- 

 tinent have already been made to Mr. Loddiges. Let 

 us hope, however, that some spirited individual may see 

 the advantage of still retaining it, entire as it is, in 



England. 



In inspecting this collection the other day we found 

 that it contains some 1200 species, numbers of which 

 have not yet bloomed in this country, and therefore 

 their names have never been determined. Conspicuous 

 among rarities was a Dendrobium in the way of 

 speciosum from the north coast of New Holland, but 

 said to be very different from that species ; also Den- 

 drobium bigibbum, a kind with rose-coloured flowers, 



and many others. 



In a lean-to house 150 feet in length we re- 

 marked fine masses of Lycaste Skinneri ; also 

 plants of Cattleya Loddigesi in bloom ; various 

 Oncids, among which O. bicallosum and Cavendishi 

 were conspicuous ; Odontoglossum grande showing 

 flower, and two fine plants of Lrelia superbiens. 

 Of these Lselias, one has flowered this summer, the 

 other is now showing for bloom. They were both 

 growing near an open tank, the evaporation from which 

 Mr. Loddiges finds beneficial to their health. This house 

 has always been kept very cool, a fact which will be 

 apparent when we state that as yet no fire heat has 

 been applied to it this autumn, and even in 

 winter the temperature is seldom above 50°. Yet 

 under this treatment, and frequent bedewings over- 

 head in the summer and autumn evenings, the plants 

 are maintained in excellent health. In a warmer span- 

 roofed house were some fine specimens on blocks of the 

 handsome Brazilian Sophronitis grandiflora ; and in 

 the show-house we noticed Oncidium purpuratum, a 

 pretty species intermediate between Lanceanum and 

 luridum, but possessed of gayer colours than the latter ; 

 this was beautifully in flower, as was also Oncidium 

 Barkeri, a sweet smelling kind with a large yellow lip. 

 Cattleya Harrisonise and bicolor were likewise in bloom 

 here, as was also the charming little C. marginata and 

 others. Associated with these were some extremely 

 handsome Ferns, especially Mertensia flabellata and 

 Gleichenia scandens. The latter is about 4 feet in 

 height, beautifully furnished with leaves, and is alto- 

 gether perhaps one of the best plants of the kind in the 



In a span-roofed house leading out of the show-house 

 were some fine specimens of Vandas, including Bate- 

 manni, violacea, suavis, tricolor, with its many varieties, 

 and others. We also noticed here a large plant of the 

 black-lipped Ccelogyne pandurata, the true Phaloenopsis 

 amabilis, which is now getting scarce in collections, 



« * * H___ A AAA .A MA M. A^. A, \- - -» «M A. L I — . A MA , J 



work published in 1842, his idea that, by a combination P. grandiflora having become more fashionable, and 

 - * . . > ..,'.•', raan ^ r k - nds f Dendrobes and Aendes. Among the 



It does not appear from Dr. Lindiey's 



^ aper that he had instituted a single experiment to test 

 the valueof his hypothesis. Mr. Ward then proceeded 



of the growth of plants and by chemical agency, any 

 required atmosphere might be obtained for remedial 

 purposes, and proceeded to explain the method by 

 which Payeine purified the atmosphere in his submarine 

 vessel. He concluded by some observations on the all- 

 important subject of the fulfilment of the laws of God, 

 and the wretchedness and misery consequent on their 

 infringement. Communicated by the Author. 



case as proved by innumer 



^otfms of SooHs. 



Since our last we have received two more of the 

 Messrs. Black's useful little guide books- one for 



latter was poiuted out to us a variety of quinquevulnera 

 named superbum, which is said to be larger and darker 

 than the species. Of other conspicuous plants, one of 

 the most remarkable was the white flowered Indian 

 Cymbidium eburneum. This was a magnificent speci- 

 men, which will soon be in blossom, 8 flower spikes fast 

 approaching that condition. To attempt, however, to 

 direct attention to even the best plants in this collection 

 would be a tedious task ; it may therefore be sufficient 

 to say that, in regard to all of them, a marked 

 improvement has taken place since they have been 

 brought from the old houses in the nursery (no 

 vestige of which now remains) and placed in their 



