772 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICIE. 



("Nov. 24, 1S5 



a. 



and 



gam such power in his eyes as 

 to see distinctly that which is certain ; ana on 

 which the phenomena of life essentially depend. 

 Cytoblasts, cistomes^and protoplasm ; nuclear, fissi- 

 parous or circumferential development ; and the 

 origin of those things which he knows only by their 

 action when of perfect growth, are matters with which 

 he need not concern himself. We think, indeed, that 

 it is better not to put into the hands of a young 

 student the means of inquiry into such subjects ; he is 

 easily led away into their pursuit, in which he cannot 

 succeed, instead of fixing his attention upon simpler 

 but far more important matters ; and thus his time is 

 unprofitably consumed. How desirable, for example, 

 it is that a gardener should have the clearest possible 

 knowledge of the structure of the mildew plants 

 which ravage his crops, and of the tissues among 

 which they develope, and of the bodies by which 

 they are multiplied. But in what way is he con- 

 cerned to know how the mycelium (spawn) was 

 originally formed, or by what means the spores 

 (seeds) are generated in their cells 1 How useful 

 it is to have a certain knowledge of the structure of 

 the greenfly, and the scale, with which he is eter- 

 nally at war, and to see with his own eyes their 



but it is a 



mode of feeding and of multiplying ; 

 waste of time for him to count the 

 their 



eggs in 

 bodies, or to strain his eyesight in 

 looking for the exaftt structure of their ocelli, 

 hairs, or wing nerves. How advantageous 

 again is it to know how the pollen is formed, and 

 by what marvellous contrivances it is able to operate 

 upon the seed, producing hybrids on the one hand, 

 and legitimate offspring on the other. But of what 

 earthly importance to him is it to ascertain the 

 shape of the cells on the surface of a pollen grain, or 

 of how many layers, one, two, three, or four, its skin 

 consists ? What he really wants to see the micro- 

 scope before us will show him. What it will not 

 show him he may very safely remain 

 ranee of. 



m lgno- 



One day last March we took an opportunity of 

 pointing out the disgraceful state of the Cutlery 

 supplied to Gardeners. We told how it was soft 



as lead, or hard as flint, no-tempered or ill-tem- 

 pered, bending like a hoop or snapping like glass ; 

 and we presumed to ask the makers whether they 

 intended to force us to the United States or Canada 

 for our pruning knives as well as our axes. 



How just were these complaints all are aware ; and 

 we repeat that at that time neither we, nor any one 

 whom we knew, had an idea where to purchase a 

 knife worthy the name, except at an exorbitant 

 price. It is with no little satisfaction that we have 

 now to withdraw the charges then made against the 

 whole cutlery trade, and to announce that one firm 

 has proved to our satisfaction that they can and 

 will meet the wants of horticulture. 



In June last Messrs. Saynor and Cooke, of the 

 Paxton Works, Sheffield, sent us a set of pruning 

 and budding knives for trial. Three of each were 

 given to as many working gardeners ; the same 



.ster gardeners ; the rest 



and 



number to experienced 



we tried ourselves. In every case they were found 

 to be all that could be desired ; as is seen by k the fol- 

 lowing reports : 



1. In the pruning knife the steel is good, bears 

 sharpening to an edge that cuts a hair like a razor, 



id maintains it very well. The budding knife is 

 well finished as regards workmanship, and is made 

 of excellent steel. 



2. The large clasp knife is a most excellent one. 

 The budding knife is a very gool blade; and if not 

 so good iu quality as the large knife, is still very 

 superior to tie best kinds obtained in the ordinary 



.hops. 



3. Saynor s budding knife is a good knife for 

 budding and all light purposes, but will not stand 

 rough work. The large clasp knife is a good handy 

 and useful knife. 



4. The large clasp knife is a remarkable good one, 

 the best knife I have had for a long time. The small 

 knife for cutting is better than any we have had 



htely, bat is not so good as the large one. 



tional establishments. In how many gardeners' 

 reading rooms, for example, can it be found at 

 present ? We fear in none. 



It will be observed that in the microscope now 

 brought under notice none of the refinements, or 

 luxuries, of optical science are introduced. There 

 is no polarising apparatus, no eighth and tenth ob- 

 jectives, no variety of oculars, no camera lucida, 

 no micrometers, none of the hundred and one in- 

 genious contrivances with which a microscopical 

 philosopher, or, as the lovers of new words delight to 

 call him, histologic, supplies himself. And we think 

 so much the better ; the ordinary observer does not 

 want to be a philosopher, he has no ambition to pene- 

 trate the depths of visual obscurity ; all he needs is to 

 such Dower in his eves as will enable him 



5. I don't know how knives are to be of better | 

 quality than the clasp and budder you gave me, 



6. That was a famous good knife, sir. I wish a 

 poor man could always get such a thing ; for I have 

 been a good many shillings out of pocket by the 

 rascally rubbish bought in the shops. 



Our own trials confirm these reports, except that 

 we found the budding knives as good as the others 

 if used only for the light work for which they are 

 made. Rough work they will not stand, and for 

 rough work they should not be used. Either ought to 

 be sold at from Is. 6d. to 2s. 6d. a-piece, according 



to their pattern. 



Some of the reporters objected to the form of the 

 knives furnished to them; and with reason, for 

 they happened to get patterns that were ill-suited 

 to the work they had to do. A woodman does not 

 like a Peach-pruner ; that is not to be expected. 

 But we should say that among the 10 or 12 patterns 

 in the sample which we received, there was every 



form except one, 

 To that 



one we 



which any workman can require, 

 would call attention. What is 

 required for most purposes is a 

 knife that is strong, stiff, slightly 

 curved, thin at the back near 



the point, and not 

 in short, formed like 



which 



hooked ; 

 the 



company ing cut, 

 sents a famous blade 



made for 



ac- 

 repre- 

 in our 

 possession, made ior the late 

 Thomas Andrew Knight. It is 

 exactly one-tenth of an inch 

 thick at the back, which thins 

 away to the point from about the 

 middle. The edge is just curved ] 

 enough to prevent its slipping 

 when making a strong cut ; and in 

 order not to diminish the strength 

 of the back, the slope forwards 

 towards the edge does not begin 

 at the back itself, but about a 

 tenth of an inch within it. This 

 form has the additional advantage 

 of rendering the blade a better 

 wedge than the ordinary knives. 

 We have used it for all sorts of 

 work for many years. It will 

 insert a bud, prune a wall tree, 

 make a craft, or sever a stout 



that is 



a graft, 

 branch at a single draw 

 to say, if the operator knows 

 how to make a clean drawn 

 cut. It is possible that the care necessary in grind- 

 ing such a blade into proper proportions may render 

 it more expensive than ordinary pruning knives, but 

 it is well worth the additional cost, and we recom- 

 mend it to the notice of Messrs. Saynor & Cooke. 



little craters of eruption in the tips of the cones, the 

 tissue of which in such instances could not be derived 

 from the buds themselves. In some cases the buds 

 themselves may die, and so ultimately be inclosed in the 

 tissue proper to the trunk, in which case there will be 

 little dead nuclei, from which decay may spread in every* 

 direction, and in consequence of which the wood of such 

 productions is seldom perfectly sound, causing con- 

 siderable annoyance to the artificer. 



385. Swellings of a very similar appearance are not 

 always due to this cause. In the Birch, for instance 



occur of a comparatively large size in pro- 

 portion to the branch on which they are developed 

 without any appearance of buds, consisting of unusually 

 Urge concentric layers, with the general surface corru- 

 gated. These layers are developed round a central 

 nucleus which appears to be due to the puncture of 

 some insect, which has stimulated the tissues and pro- 

 duced extreme hypertrophy, as in the formation of galls. 

 No external aperture, however, appears, and we must 

 be contented, therefore, for the present, with a simple 

 conjecture. A beautiful specimen of such a branch is 

 represented in the memoir of Trecul quoted above. 



386. Protuberances of the same nature exist occa- 

 sionally also on the roots of trees. In the Ash, for 

 instance, they occur of large size, projecting greatly 

 beyond the true surface of the root.f The cause of 

 them is as obscure as of the warts just mentioned, and 

 may either consist in some external injury or in consti- 

 tutional derangement. True galls, however, occur on 

 roots, as in the Oak, but in these the presence of larvoe 

 at once settles the point. £ 



387. Warts of a different character often occur on 

 the small twigs of Birch trees, in which the buds are 

 developed, and in consequence the mass has the appear- 

 ance of birds' nests suspended amongst the branches. 

 The cause of their formation is, I believe, unknown,, 

 but it is very possible that they may be of insect origin. 

 Such productions are not confined to Birch trees. It 

 is probable that the curious variety of Scotch Fir known 

 under the name of PinusClanbrassiliana has been raised 

 by cuttings from such a mass, and I believe that cutting* 

 of the Birch-nests retain their fine twiggy character- 

 when grafted. It is said by Loudon that trees in a 

 boroy soil are far more liable to produce these twiggy 

 tufts, but we have seen them abundantly on trees 

 planted in very dry ground on a gentle declivity. The 

 knots on the trunk are for the most part free from twigs.. 

 It is possible, however, that the origin of both may be 

 the same, the only difference consisting in the deve- 

 lopment of a number of adventitious buds in the one 

 case, while in the other no buds are produced. The 

 witch-knots in the Elm which look like masses of en- 

 tangled cord are probably of the same character. 



FAIRY RINGS. 



their 





VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY.— No. XCVI. 



383. Exostosis. — (2. Warts).— In our last article 

 attention was drawn to the fact that the woody matter 

 proper to the imperfectly developed buds from which 

 Knaurs are generated is not always deposited separately, 

 so as to nestle within the bark and ultimately to become 

 perfectly free from all attachment to the axis, but from 

 the first is applied to the axis itself, so that a little more 

 or less irregular cone is formed upon it, rendering the 

 surface uneven wherever one of these buds occurs. Now 

 if a multitude of such buds are produced on a given 

 area a protuberance will gradually be formed, which 

 may in process of time acquire a considerable size. In 

 the Elm, for instance, warts some feet in circumference 

 are not unfrequent, and in consequence of their compli- 

 cated knotty structure are sought after by the cabinet- 

 maker for veneering, and in fact produce articles of 

 furniture of extreme beauty.* 



384. The warts however are not always, in the first 

 instance, due to the simple production of adventitious 

 imperfectly developed buds. They frequently com. 

 mence where a branch has been cut off. In the lapse of 

 years the wound is closed over, the successive layers of 

 bark leaving a cushion-like swelling over the spot. Buds 

 are formed in these young layers, forming numerous 

 impediments to the descending course of the eap, which 

 is delayed iu its progress at the base of each bud. Fibro- 

 vascular tissue is generated, which follows the tortuous 

 course of the sap, and is more abundantly deposited in 

 consequence of its longer detention. That portion of 

 the trunk, therefore, grows more rapidly, and the result 

 is a convex mass projecting beyond the general surface, 

 consisting internally of highly complicated tissue. 



It is evident that such masses are due partly to the 

 proper tissue of the semi-latent buds, and partly to the 

 true tissue of the trunk, for the buds are often sunk like 



| I | | | | |, | , | - '" ' ■ — I— ^ — — — ' - ■ ~ ■■ I ■ I MM ^— "^■^■— — *— — .!■■»■ -I Ill— ^^» 



•In consequence of it« close and Intricate texture the wood of 

 these knots takes a high polish, insomuch that no one from mere 

 acquaintance with the general appearance of furniture made 

 from Elm would recognise the relation. Pollard Oaks, from the 

 development ot numerous twigs on the surface, sometimes afford 

 a highly ornamental material, of a somewhat similar character, 

 for veneering. Elms which have been frequently pruned yield 

 beautiful wood, and the Bird's Eye Maple probably owes its 

 qualities to the production of numerous adventitious buds on the 

 surface of the 'trunk. In France, indeed. Elms are purposely 

 lopped, and repeatedly headed to produce knotted wood. The 

 twisted Elm, or as it is called in some parts of the country, locked 

 JSlm, aff£*« irom a different cause, 



There are 'few plants more mysterious in 

 workings or more marvellous in their works than fungi. 

 It would scarcely be credited that the contemptible 

 threads of the Merulius or dry rot would so completely 

 destroy the woody fibre of timber as to render the best* 

 British Oak as brittle as the earth from which it sprung ; 

 and when we look at the fairy ring in the pasture 

 field we marvel to see how inadequate to all appearance 

 the means are that nature employs to bring about such 

 important ends ; a few white threads or a little niouldi- 

 ness are all that we are able to detect as the perfect plant 

 in full working order, and yet from this laboratory, with 

 a rapidity like magic, the Agaricus sends forth its fruit 

 white as the Lily and fragrant enough to be inviting, 

 but of such surpassing excellence to the palate as to 

 have scarcely a rival in the vegetable kingdom. 



That Mushrooms should be obtained from a bed of 

 the richest manure is not so much to be wondered at,, 

 any more than that the highly-flavoured Onion or the 

 Celery plant should be found luxuriating in rich mud;. 

 but when in the middle of a very poor pasture field we 

 find a green spot, not in the form of a dot as if so me 

 manure had been dropped there, but in the shape of a 

 regular ring, there is no denying the fact that the 

 Agaricus is regularly rotting down the ungenial earth, 

 and tilling himself a garden, extending his holding 

 where first he has been planted, and as occasion offers 

 sending up his fruit, and finally scattering his spores tc 

 produce dots and fairy rings to the end of time. 



But it is not to the production of Mushrooms that 1 

 would now beg leave to eall attention, but to the beauti- 

 fully green herbage that arises from the soil where the 

 Agaricus is subduing the materials beneath. ■ 



Having had occasion to manure a pasture field wit - 

 artificial manure and requiring some ingredient to gi vc 

 it bulk, a quantity of old Mushroom dung and soil m& 

 sown with it, and although there had always been 

 fairy rings in the field they had hitherto attracted Ijttte 

 attention, but when this stimulant was added the rlD S* 

 not only assumed an unwonted greenness but produce 

 an early and abundant crop of Mushrooms. 



~t I regret that lam v. able from personal analysis to *J*JjJJ? 

 these more closely, as I have parted with the mtt S n ^° cen Y/JL i 

 men which came into my hands some years since. The exten . 

 appearance was very like that of the Birch wart figureu »j 

 Trecul. llw | 



! 



to the radical swellings mentioned above, or simple cas*i ^ 

 hypertrophy, induced as Re" supposes by excessive J 11 "" 1 ?;" I in 

 very doubtful. In the former case decay soon takes mw, 

 the latter abundant resin is deposited, and the tendency 

 accumulate the secretion is gradually communicatee! i° 

 trunk. 



