Nov. 24, 1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



773 













worth while to put these two ideas together and set j came up after 85 days' immersion, lti 

 them to work upon some very poor upland pasture, just j differently varieties of the same speci 



TJow, since common salt and certain other salts are jgermin a ted well after 120 days. Seed of Onions, Vegetable 



veil known to stimulate the growth of Agarics, and , Marrow, Beet, Orache and Potatoes, and one seed of 

 since the spawn of this powerful plant is so cheap and ; Ageratum mexieanum jfmw after 100 days. A few. and 

 moreover so active in its operation, would it not be , but very few, seed of Lettuce, Carrot, Crew, and Radish 



, ., *_ — x .i__ m — ja™ i^~-l * --' - ■ — • 'Ms remarkable how 



species have withstood 

 the ill effects of the salt water; thus, seed of the 

 " Mammoth White Broccoli " came up excellently after 

 1 1 days, hut was killed by 22 days' immersion ; rt early 

 Cauliflower H survived this period, but was killed by 36 

 days; "•Cattell's Cabbage v survived the 36 days, but 

 was killed by 50 days ; and now I have seed of the 

 wild Cabbaoe from Tenby growing so vigorously 

 after 50 days, that I am sure that it will sur- 

 vive a considerably longer period. But the seed of the 

 wild Cabbage was fresh, and some facts show me that 

 quite fresh seed withstands the salt water better than 

 old, though very good seed. With respect to an im- 

 portant point in my former communication of May 26th, 

 permit me to cry peotxm ; having often heard of plants 

 and bushes having been seen floating some little dis- 

 tance from land, I assumed— and in doing this I com- 

 mitted a scientific sin— that plants with ripe seed «.r 

 fruit would float at least for some weeks. I always 

 meant to try this, and I have now done so with 

 sorrowful result; for having jut in salt-water between 

 30 and 40 herbaceous plants and branches with ripe 

 seed of various orders, I have found that all (with 

 the exception of the fruit of evergreens) sink within a 

 month, and most of them within 14 days. So that, as 

 far as I can see, my experiments are of little or no use 

 (excepting perhaps as negative evidence) in regard to 

 the distribution of plants by the drifting of their seeds 

 across the sea. Can any of your readers explain the 

 following sentence by Linnaeus, pointed out to me by 

 Dr. Hooker, "Fundus maris semina non destruit" 

 Why does Linnreus say that the bottom of the sea doe^ 

 not destroy seeds ? The seeds which are often washed 

 by the Gulf Stream to the shores of Norway, with which 

 Linnaeus was well acquainted, float, as I have lately 

 tried. Did he imagine that seeds were drifted along the 

 bottom of the ocean \ This does not, seem probable, from 

 the currents of the sea, at least manv of them, being 

 superficial. Charles Darwin, Dorm, Nov. 21. — P.S. In 



to till the land a little where the Grass has scarcely the 

 power to subdue the stubborn materials ! A heap of 

 soil and dung fermenting so slightly as scarcely to be 

 perceptibly warm, would in a few days (say 21), if 

 spawned, become so impregnated with the spawn of the 

 common Mushroom that it would not only produce 

 Mushrooms where it lies, but if broken into innumer- 

 able pieces, and preserved from drenching wet, would 

 retain its vital powers to an unknown period, and this 

 heap of manure (say 10 tons) could be impregnated 

 with about 1 peek of common brick spawn, the value of 

 which at the ordinary market price from the nursery- 

 men would be about Is. 3d. 



That a field should be spawned, or in other words, 

 planted with Agarics, would only be doing on a large 

 scale what is done every day on a small scale, and 

 although in some cases it might not be desirable to 

 impregnate Grass land with fairy rings on account of 

 the patched and spotty appearance that it would give to 

 it, still there is many a lone hill side and stubborn clay 

 field that would take no harm from such a powerful 

 decomposer as the Agaric passing his fairy ring through 

 it ; and should the seasons prove mild, the produce of 

 Mushrooms alone, independent of the Grass, would be 

 no mean recompense for the little outlay at starting ; 

 and, once established, the salt and wood ashes would 

 stimulate the plant, not only to send up its Mushroom 

 fruits, but to extend itself more rapidly, and thereby 

 make green the pnsture for sheep and horned cattle. 

 Alexander Forsyth, St. Mary's Church, Torquay. 



en its state for generations. At the above ate it was 

 taken in hand and thoroughly repaired, and it fell to my 

 lot to superintend and direct the repa-rs of the grave- 

 yard, one part of which was t » remove the accumulated 

 earth from the wall of the church to the depth already 

 mentioned, and to lower the adjoining ground to a corre- 

 sponding natural- looking condition. Afterwards I was 

 ■or prised to see on the aurface of the ground, after the 

 removal of the superabundant earth, that an immense 

 number of plants made their appearance, which at first 

 1 mistook for common Tobacco : when they had time 

 to develope themselves a little further, however, they 

 turned out to be the common Henbane (Hyoscyamus 

 ninr). Now, from whence c*mc theae seeds! or how 

 long had they been buried I They had doubtb been 

 below ground for generations, no plant of the kind 

 growing in the locality. Again : immediately outside 

 this same graveyard, near ita north-west corner, 

 some five or six years since, a large old Oak 

 was uprooted by the wind, and raised an immense mass of 

 earth with its roots when the tree was removed, and the 

 hole levelled in. It it also produced a crop of Henbane. 

 Now the seeds mue»t have been there before the tree, 

 at least it seems so, for how else could the circumstance 

 be accounte 1 for ? As to the iomiiv instances mentioned 



THE VINE DISEASE IN PORTUGAL. 



We have received the following report from Messrs. 

 "Forrester & Sons, of Crutched Friars 



The disease has been general in every part of Portugal, since 

 the year 1853 ; and during the present ye r, its ravages have pro- 

 ■duced almost a total extermination of the fruit. From the river 

 Minho to the Tagus, but especially in the wine districts of the 

 Bairada, Bucellas, and Lisbon, it may without exaggeration be 

 declared that scarcely a perfect bunch of Grapes was produced 

 this year; and that at the vintage season, instead of the vine- 

 yards being thronged with cheerful people gathering the fruit, in 

 many parts we observed that goats, hogs, and cattle were feeding 

 on the Vines. There is literally no wine for the ordinary con- 

 sumption of the Portuguese people, neither is there wine in any 

 of these extensive districts for distillation. 



The Btocks of old Lisbon wines are much reduced, and 

 their value increased, at the lowest calculation, 100 per cent. 

 Of Figniera wines the stocks are altogether exhausted, and the 

 same may be said of the Muscat wines of St. Ubes. Smith of 

 the Tagus, in the provinces of the Alemtejo and Algarve, the 

 Grapes were likewise destroyed. In the port wine districts the 

 Grape disease developed itself in the month of July, and destroyed 

 between that month and the middle of August, about one half of 

 the fruit, and the heavy r*ins in the month of September nearly 

 •completed the destruction of the remainder; so that according to 

 our senior's calculation, not more than 8000 pipes of wine, and 

 those of most inferior quality, were obtained. The wines accu- 

 mulated in the Alto-Oouro (or Wine-Company's district), consist 

 principally of the vintages of 1854, and may be estimated at 

 6000 to 8000 pipes. These, without reference to their quality, 

 cost the holders about three times the price paid for the superior 

 wines of the vintage of 1851. The total stock of wines on the 

 1st of October last, for exportation in Villa Nova, hardly 

 amounted to the one year's production of the port wine vintage 

 of 1847. Of this stock a very large proportion consists of wines 

 of the vintages 1850, 1852, and 1854, which, notwithstanding 

 their very doubtful quality, cost the holders more than double 

 the price at which far better wines were shipped from Oporto 



four or five years ago. 



Choice old wines in general Rtock may be estimated at about 

 10,000 pipes, the average value of which in the Oporto market 

 Tules from 50/. to 80/. per pipe. This peculiar and limited stock 

 of old ports, it is perhaps unnecessary to remark, can never be 

 increased in quantity, but must daily increase in value, such 

 wines being from 5 to 20 years old. Of vintage wines, for snip- 

 ment as such (and these are principally of the year 1853), the 

 quantity cannot be estimated at more than 15.000 pipes. Ihe 

 stock of brandy in Villa Nova on the 1st of October last, was 

 reduced to one-fourth of an average quantity, and its value in- 

 creased four-fold. As Alto-Donro wine growers, our own indi- 

 vidual stock (with the exception of our choice wines of vintage 

 1853), is almost reduced to our reserves of former years. We, 

 therefore, for the present, limit ourselves to the shipment of our 

 ports of vintage 1853, and to the sale of our assorted stock of 



wines in bond. „ . . 



As there were no Grapes in 1854 and 18-V> worth our making 

 into wine (either on account of their inferior quality or their 

 high price), of course we did not venture to purchase wines 

 made of such Grapes by others ; preferring to continue to limit our 

 business in ports, to wines exclusively of our own making. 

 The distress in the wine districts of Portugal may be more 

 easily imagined than described ; and more especially so in the 

 rugged and rocky mountains of the port wine demarcation, 

 which beine an exception*! territory— adapted almost exclu- 

 sively to the cultivation of the Vine and the Olive is inca- 

 pable of producing com. From this narration of facts the wine 

 merchants of this country will be able to form their own opinion 

 ** to what may be the probable future state of the port wine 

 trade. i ~. , 



We learn that a Silver Medal of the First Class has 

 been awarded to Messrs. Forrester for their port wiues 

 exhibited in the Universal Exhibition at Paris. 



of Charlock making its appearance, 1 would beg to 

 remark that Charlock is, 1 b« lieve, an oil producing 

 seed, and all Ifteda containing Oil, if buried away from 

 the air, will retain vitality a Ions I me. 1 have myself 

 niscd Melons from seeds which I had kept for ten 



years. Qtiercus. 



Larches.— The distance at which Larch of about 45 

 years' growth should be left apart to grow to the 

 greatest profit per acre must be decided by the situation 

 and present Stat* of tbe plantation. If the locality is 

 high and exposed the trees may not have attained the 

 dimensions that would have resulted fr m more favour- 

 able circumstances, and therefore th« \ would require 

 to be left nearer e*ch other than those of greater size. 

 My system of thinning is to regulate the distance apart 

 by the height of tbe trees, leaving a space between 

 each, varying, according to situation, of from one-fourth 

 to one-third, or little more, of the height of the trees. 

 The distance at which Larches may be left apart at 45 



superficial. Charles Darwin, Union, Jyov. zi. — r.o. m \ t,» : MHpet * R G C" 



my' communication on Charlock seed lately printed by ( ^*™$> TZ^Zl^loLe S^tree. 



you, there is a misprint of " 6 plants " for " 6 plots of 

 ground," which makes nonsense of the sentence. 



The Late Winter in South Devon.— I have not given 

 my experience of the past winter until now, because it 

 seemed doubtful what plants would ultimately recover or 



yield to the effects of the coM. Anion* the latter is a , - ™ ~ - ~, ._ — g ^^ of ^ 



magnificent Eucalyptus glabra .which was he P r, e of ^ndedto d« £* ^«J„, 



also asks if it woul I be advisable to have the trees 

 "primed up." If pruning be what he means, it is 

 decidedly objectionable to do more than clean ofT 

 thoroughly all the dead branches. The quality of the 

 wood is much improved by removing all branches as 

 soon as they become deadened, and tin y should be 



A mong other 



my shrubbery ; it was more than SO feet high, with a 

 trunk upwards of 3 feet in circumference. It never lost 

 a leaf from frost before, and was covered with flower 

 buds, but must, I fear, be numbered with the dead, for 

 though it has thrown out numerous weak shoots from 

 the main stem, they are all withered. Eucalyptus 

 radiata, a few yards off, about 30 feet high, is unscathed, 

 as is a fine Acacia dealbata, still taller, which braved the 

 frost and bloomed beautifully ; it is now a mass of 

 flower hurts, and is one of the most graceful trees I ever 

 beheld. A smaller plant of this species has also survived, 

 yet Acacia moesta, against a south wall, is all but dead. 

 The Indian Rhododendrons and hybrids did well, and 

 flowered finely, especially Arboreum roseum, and a fine 

 variety of Cinnamomenra. A larue plant of Dracaena 

 indivisa appeared unaffected by the winter, hut declined 

 during the summer, and is now quite deid. The Chusan 

 Palm is evidently quite hardy. One plant of Phillipoden- 

 dron regium, in a shrubbery border sheltered from the 

 east, is unhurt; while another trained asrainst an east wall 

 was much injured. On a south wall the Chinese Cleroden- 

 dron foetidum has proved perfectly hardy, and bloomed 

 freely, but though interesting it does not merit the eulogy 

 of M Van Houtte, at least in mv opinion. Habrothamnus 



life*. «-«. m. ~^: #££."&£, **3E=Sj £ siiT&var jt $ 



plantation. A. Patterson, Mansion. 

 Protection of Frama, <tc, from 

 protecting materials one of your correspondents has 

 lately accorded the preference to a covering of boards ; 

 but I am, however, inclined to think thnt there is a 

 more effective material than any he has referred to, and 

 to which the covering of boards itself in some degree, 

 perhaps, owed its efficiency, as well as to its own non- 

 conducting properties. The material I mean, is an en- 

 closed stratum of still air, between the glass and the 

 external covering ; and if the stratum ot air be 6 or 

 more inches in depth, I doubt whether a more effec- 

 tive and desirable means of excluding frost is to be 

 found. In the practical employment ot this medium, it 

 is requisite that the external covering should be close 

 and impermeat.le by the surrounding air, irt order to 

 prevent any current or motion being introduced into 

 the enclosed air, through crevices or other communica- 

 tions with the external atmosphere, by which its tem- 

 perature would be speedily reduced to that of the latter. 

 The covering material might be either wood or glass, 

 according to choice or circumstances ; but apart from 

 the question of expense, the latter would certainly be 

 preferable, as the glass covering mi^lit be kept mi night 



throu * " - .— - -» • ««.. . 



Lemon, and Citron trees on south walls, protected by 

 wooden or straw frames, stood the winter well, a few 

 unripened shoots only being hurt, and they have all 

 crown luxuriantly this summer; one rather rare 

 species, the Egg Orange, was injured, but is recovering. 

 Among the few new Pines that I possess, P. Russelhana 

 is dead, and in a very high part of the grounds, open to 

 the east ; insignis became very brown, but all the plants 

 have now recovered their verdure. Cupressns macro- 



Home Corres 



carpa is certainly an unrivalled species, being abke in- 

 different to wind and frost ; and on a high exposed 

 terrace my plants, which were raised from the seed 

 imported by the Horticultural Society, are strikingly 

 beautiful Tasmannia aromatic* and Garrya macro- 

 phylla are both safe, while plants of Phormuim tenax 

 are much injured. Many things that we deemed as 

 hardy as our Snowdrops and Primroses have mani- 

 fested theT exotic character by disappearing altogether 

 from our borders ; among them may be specified a 

 large collection of Gladioli, Lobelias, &c This can 

 As scarcely excite surprise when our common shnr s, men 



the Arbutus and Buddies were injured, and whole 



never be deprived of the natural light of day, as they 

 must be during periods of hard frost if a boarded 



C ° y S™\T£V«t' Cucumber.-Mv. Ayres spesks of 

 this variety in terms of disapprobation Being the raiser 

 f it and having successfully competed for three years 

 against other good sorts, at the horticultural show at 

 Plvmo-ith, I am led to suppose that some difference in 

 [he" treatment of the plant must be the ca^Mr. 

 Avwm not havine more success. Being, like mmseii, 



e pleasure to compete i 

 i, Plymouth, or elsewhe 

 ourselves with others th 



fail. 



III 



Wl 



numbers of your Paper specul - 



beg to offer you the following facts, which came under 

 my own observation, and for the truth of which I can 

 voU. Our parish church , whic -s . ^ ^ 

 structure, was, previous to the year joou, 

 dlpid«ted stati, and the e-hi^^^mrroundmg 



r o . v _u„*.<a wa fail I have within the last 



mmA fruitt e inch W e e s long,of uniform thickne*, 

 Th flower attached, young, crisp, and well flavoured ; 

 but such fruit ss described, 20 mcnes long, ,f in form, 

 and only 1 inch in diameter, I should very much like to 

 see Ri'hard £y«cA, Port Eiot. 



bi^corea fiSo/i-After what I formerly riated 



conceniing this Yam, I think it no more than right to 

 concerning » Mm otnl^fpH that. I had 



so. 



^va-WBlCI^ jUU IIi»y J.i^ltin.p^ j*«w -— t 



details, the final results of my experiments 

 Capsicum, af.er 137 days' immersion, came up well, for 

 30 out of 56 planted germinated, and I think more would 

 have grown with time. Of Celery only 6 out of some 

 hundreds came up after the same period of immersion. 



One single Canary seed grew after 120 days, and some 0,,li »"»-«"' -'-'^ ""- ;"" ^ t i ts south wall w »j»- -* — _ u — . .„. L . in „ of w »ter 



Oats halt germinated after 120 ; both Oats snd Canary *»«7»rd had accum vXmA***^ ^ 



**d came uo orettv well after only 100 days. Spinach | depth averaging rather more 



Atip nlant. a tu»)«-r aoout uit? »<*c *^ «* »«*o ■ — ~- » 



Ttw« started in the spring in a very mo erate 

 heat and when pushed a considerable length it »as 

 "n'ed out (1 have'forgot the date, but nearly ) To 

 rive it depth of soil, which I understood to be a requisite, 

 framed a' sort of flatti.h hillock on a garden border and 

 turned the plant out on the top of it. 1 »« stema ^ e ™ 

 So a 3 4 P feet stick, but had no other care except on 



