774 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



24, 185 



a 



moisten the ground about it. About, a week ag«» 1 dug i ness against other kinds, and found Wanting ; and, con- 

 up the plant, which had made two long tubers — about ; sequently, with a great number of simitar kinds, it has 

 tl:e size of two moderate Carrots, only growing inverted, : been thrown aside as unsuitable for my purpose. Mr. 



Wild describes the flavour as being neither " bitter nor 

 sweet," which is quite confirmatory of my description 

 of it ; for if a Cucumber has not a " smack " of sweet- 

 ness about it, I doubt not that all connoisseurs will set 

 it down as insipid. Just for the same reason that I 

 believe a really first-rate salad cannot be prepared 

 without the addition of a little sugar, so do I 

 consider that a fine flavoured Cucumber must also 

 have a taste of sweetness. It is for this reason that the 

 Syon House and Lord Kenyon's are so much admired, 

 and though it may answer Mr. Wild's purpose to run 

 them down, he may depend upon it that those two kinds 

 will be grown when the Ipswich Standard, the Generals 

 and Colonels before alluded to have passed away and 

 been forgotten. Mr. Wild's twelve diameters, short 

 shoulders, black spine, and fine bloom, may be all very 

 well to look at, but they will not stand in the place of 

 crop and flavour, where Cucumbers are grown to be 

 eaten, and not for sight-seers. With reference to Mr. 

 Wild's challenge, it could answer no good purpose, as I 

 regard the mere production of a brace or twenty 

 brace of fruit at a given time from plants, be 

 it remembered prepared for the purpose, no cri 

 terion of the general worth of a variety ; but to 

 show Mr. W. that I am not unwilling to put his 

 U Standard" to the test, I forward with this a packet of 

 seed of my Perpetual Black Spine, and if he will do 

 the same with his pet kind, I have no doubt that you 

 will place the two varieties in the hands of some gar- 

 dener both willing and competent to decide upon their 

 merits. The same plants of my Perpetual (hence its 

 name) have been in bearing since March last, and they 

 carry good fruit now, aud will until this time next year 

 if I like to keep them ; while all the long kinds in the 

 same house have died out and been thrown away for 

 some weeks past. This is my estimate of the value of 

 a Cucumber, and therefore Mr. Wild must not be sur- 

 prised if I and others who act with me take him at his 

 own standard, and believe that he is only "a bit of a 

 judge." W. P. Ayres, Nov. 20. 



turn from Texas, of the value of which little 



viz., the thick end downward*. I have weighed them, 

 and I find their joint weight is 1 lb 12 ounces ; circum- 

 ference round where thickest, 6A inches. So much for 

 facts — now for opinions; mine is, that although it will 

 neither rival nor supersede the Potato, which no one 

 can desire, yet if grown to some considerable extent, it 

 would be a very good auxiliary to that useful root. 

 I am further of opinion that it is not nice about quality 

 of soil, but it seems essential that it should be deep. 

 On digging mine I found these lower extrrmities from 

 18 to 20 inches below, the upper end forming a longish 

 slender neck. Next spring I mean to plant a row of it. 

 Am I right in believing that the tubers will bear cutting 

 into sets like a Potato? I think some writers said they 



would. Quercus. The following experiment on the 



Chinese Yam in a bleak and backward garden in West 

 Kent goes to strengthen your inference from the experi- 

 ments of Messrs. Henderson & Gordon, that the climate 

 of England is adapted to its cultivation. Of my four 

 small tubers one was as large as a ripe Marrowfat Pea, 

 as heavy perhaps as two of the others, and this made 

 the best plant and produced the largest root. They 

 were planted early in March, sin<;ly, in thumb pots, and 

 set on the shelf of a well ventilated greenhouse without 

 fire heat ; the plants were very slow to come up, and it 

 was not till towards the end of April that a leaf 

 was fully developed on each ; by the middle of May the 

 largest plant had 2 or 3 inches of bine; at this time they 

 Were planted out on the open border, a good sandy loam, 

 on a ed 1 yard square, dug deep, and then shovelled up 

 about 6 inches high. Strong winds and night frosts 

 followed, and the two weakest plants perished, though a 

 flower-pot was sometimes turned over them at night. 

 The two remaining grew .lowly, and as they grew were 

 pegged down upon the bed, which however they never 

 covered. The frost about the end of October, which 

 tilled the common Nasturtiums, changed the colour of 

 the Yam leaves from deep to yellowish green ; a fort- 

 night afterwards they were dead, and the tubers 

 were du_r. They were fully formed ; the largest, 

 when washed and dried, weighed fully six ounces, 

 and measured 4 inches round the largest parts — the 

 smaller weighed 2 oz. No small tubers were found ou 

 the stems where pegged down, perhaps because care 

 had not been taken to cover the axils of the leaves. 

 Another season it is proposed to plant sets in the open 

 ground of this garden about the middle of April, a con- 

 siderable degree of warmth being apparently necessary 

 to start the bine. S. S. — — Having purchased four 

 small tubers of this new esculent, the same size as those 

 sent out by Mr. Henderson, they were potted singly and 

 placed near the glass in a late Peach-house, where they 

 remained without fire-heat till the last week in May, 

 when they were set out in a sheltered place for a fort- 

 night, and were then planted on a ridge 3 feet wide at 

 the base, such as is usually prepared for Cucumbers, &c, 

 at that season. They were covered with hand-^jassestill 

 the middle of July, when the glasses were removed, and 

 it then showed evident symptoms of having suffered from 

 cold and wet ; indeed, it had an injured appearance during 

 the whole season of its growth, even in the Peach-house 

 the temperature appeared too low for it — one of the 

 plants died in August. At the end of October, how- 

 ever, when the tubers were lifted (which was done in 

 presence of Lord Lovat and Sir William Gibson Craig, 

 Bart.), they measured respectively 



^octettes. 



Horticultural, Nov. 20. — J. J. Blandy, 



the chair. Baroness L. de Rothschild, Sir 

 Bart., M. P., W. H. Solly, Esq., S. Piatt, 



Esq , in 

 R. Peel, 

 Esq., J. 





Length. 



Circumference. 



No, 1. 



1H inches. 



4 inches. 



2. 



*3 „ 



84 n 



3. 



8 v 



24 n 



No. 3 produced two tubers. It is evident, as remarked 

 by Mr. Nutt, that the new tuber commences to form at 

 the top of the old one, and grows downwards, which 

 serves to teach us that a deep soil is required for its cul- 

 tivation. A row of Holcus saccharatu* was planted on 

 each side of the Dioscorea bed ; it grew about 18 inches 

 high, but the first frost killed it. Neither sheep, horses, 

 or cows would eat it. W. Baxter, Riccarton, near Edin- 

 uunjh. 



Durability of Timber. — Last night a fire broke out in 

 Stirling Castle, which has destroyed gome of the oldest 

 buildings in the garrison. I was in Stirling to-day, and 

 went and saw part of the ruins ; there was no admission 

 into the Castle, but it looked bad enough from the out- 

 Bide. Many of the burning rafters were thrown over 

 the Castle rocks ; the Ivy in some places was much 

 scorched, and it had a strange appearance, from the 

 number of articles upon it that had been thrown from 

 the windows of the buildings, such as papers and books 

 that had not reached the bottom of the roeks. People 

 were collecting the choicest wood that had been thrown 

 over the rocks, or had fallen from the burning, and were 

 cutting it up for firewood. It was surprising to witness 

 the freshness of the Oak timber that had been in use 

 for centuries. 1 secured a small portion of it, supposed 

 to be part of the well known * Douglas room." I have 

 enclosed a chip of it for your inspection, hoping you 

 can tell what species of Oak it is, that can resist the 

 teeth of time so long. P. Mackenzie, Nov. 19. [The 

 fragment sent us is bo small that we cannot say with 

 confidence. But we believe it to be Qu. pedunculata. 

 Could Mr. Mackenzie procure by favour or purchase a 

 good piece of an old beam not less than 6 inches cube.] 



Ipswich Standard Cucumber. — Permit me to inform 

 your correspondent (see p. 758) that I have spoken of 

 his Cucumber according to its merits. It has been 



weighed in the balance for flavour and general useful- 



Clou^h, Esq., Mr. John Spencer, and Mr. Arthur 

 Henderson were elected Fellows. Subjects of exhibition 

 were so numerous on this occasion that not only was the 

 meeting room full, but the library, council room, 

 and secretary's room, together with the passages leading 

 to them, were also literally filled with flowers and fruits, 

 many of them of the most choice description and all of 

 them possessed of rare excellence. Of newly intro- 

 duced plants, that to which perhaps the most interest 

 was attached was the singular lace-hke water plant from 

 Madagascar, called Ouvirandra fenestralis, of which a 

 full description was given in our number for Nov. 12, 

 page 740. This was furnished by the Rev. Mr. Ellis, of 

 Hoddesdon. Messrs. Veitch also showed a handsome 

 j -chynauthus, called fulgens, a sort whose flowers 

 resembled JE* macuiatus or grandiflorus, but it was 

 reported to be shrubby and upright in its growth, 

 characteristics sufficient to distinguish it from the last- 

 named kind. From Mr. Sherratt, gr. to J. Bate- 

 man, Esq, came cut flowers of Paphinia tigrina, 

 a handsomely spotted brown flowered Orchid from 

 central America; and from Messrs. Rollisson, of 

 Tooting, came a pinnated shrub, from Australia. The 

 last-named nurserymen likewise eent a collection 

 of plants remarkable for fine foliage, in which were 

 various Dracaenas, Crotons, Rhopalas, Aralias, Brexia, 

 Oldfieldia and other plants, most of them with very 

 handsomely divided leaves. A similar collection was 

 also furnished by Messrs. E. G. Henderson, of Welling- 

 ton Road, the most remarkable objects in which were 

 perhaps Cissus discolor, Pavettas, Caladiums, Aphelan- 

 dras, the Rice paper plant, Aralias, Rhopalas, and 

 examples of the pretty little Sonerila margaritacea, 

 which in addition to the beauty of its flowers has leaves 

 so profusely covered with small round white spots as to 

 look as if they were thickly sown with pearls. Mr. 

 Ingram, gr. to J. J. Blandy, Esq., likewise showed a 

 fine specimen of the last named plant. Of Orchids 

 Messrs. Rollisson sent several kinds, among which the 

 most conspicuous was Lselia Perrini, a Brazilian 

 species with handsome rose coloured flowers. Soph- 

 rouitis grandiflora, in the shape of a single speci- 

 men, with five vermilion coloured flowers on it, came 

 from High Grounds, Hoddesdon. It was stated respect- 

 ing this charming little plant that it is one of the hardiest 

 of Orchids, being found growing wild on the branches of 

 trees, in a climate where the Grass about them is 

 oft-n covered with hoar frost. In the same class Mr. 

 Phillpotts's gardener, Rhodes, showed Leschenaultia 

 formona, well grown and flowered considering the season 

 of the year. Six Chinese Primulas, single fringed sort- 

 came from Mr. Windsor, gr. to A. Bligh, Esq., and 

 Messrs. Rollisson had four nice little standard Myrtle- 

 leaved Oranges loaded with fruit. A bouquet of flowers 

 of the blue Vanda (V. eeerulea), highly coloured and 

 extremely beautiful, was furnished by Messrs. Maule & 

 Son, of Bristol. Messrs. Veitch also contributed a 

 hybrid Veronica, which was said to have been a cross 

 between V. speciosa and Andersoni ; and from the 

 Royal Gardens, Frogmore, were branches of an Agera. 



can be 



said at present, few of the flowers on the specimen 

 shown being fully expanded. From her Grace th 

 Duchess Dowager of Northumberland came Nyctanthet 

 arbor-tristis, an East Indian plant now little cultivated 

 but still worth attention on account of its fragrance. * 



Of Chrysanthemums there was a glorious display 

 Large flowered sorts, magnificent plants in 1 1 -inch 

 pots, we refurnished by Mr. James, of Stoke Newington 

 The varieties were Defiance, white ; Pilot, purple • 

 Dumage, yellow ; Vesta, white ; Annie Salter, yellow* 

 and Christine. Another group of large flowered varieties 

 was exhibited by Mr. Shrimpton, gr. to A. J. Doxat 

 Esq , but it was disqualified on account of its containing 

 one of the Pom pone or small flowered kinds. Of the 

 last named class of Chrysanthemums Mr. Wetherill gr 

 to D. M'Neill, Esq., produced admirably grown plants 

 of Cedo Nulli, white with a pink tinge in it; Bob a 

 brown kind ; Drine Drine, yellow ; La Sultana, pink* 

 La Gitana, and Requiqui, purple. In this class ifo 

 Doxat's gardener exhibited Madame Rousselon, pink • 

 Pompone d'Or, yellow ; Autumni, orange ; Requiqui' 

 purple ; Drine Drine and Helene. Of other small 

 flowered Chrysanthemums, Mr. Oubridge, gr. to J. 

 Foster, Esq., and Mr. Windsor, gr. to A. Bligh, Esq., 

 also showed collections. Cut flowers of large kinds 

 very fine specimens, were contributed from the garden 

 of Mr. Foster, of Stamford Hill, and Mr. Salter, of 

 Hammersmith, also showed handsome blooms oi his new 

 variety called Alfred Salter. 



Fruits of various kinds were both plentiful and ex- 

 cellent. Mr. Tillyard, gr. to the Right Hon. the 

 Speaker, showed beautiful bunches of Mill Hill and 

 Black Hamburgh Grapes ; and famous examples of 

 the last-named Grape were exhibited by Mr. Hill, 

 gr. to R. Sneyd, Esq., of Keele Hall, Staffordshire, 

 who also sent a collection of Muscat, Black Prince and 

 Black Hamburgh Grapes. From the last-named ex- 

 hibitor likewise came three magnificent bunches of the 

 old Tokay, two of which weighed 4 lbs. each, and the 

 three together weighed lOJlbs. Mr. Hales, of North 

 Frith, near Tunbridge, sent handsome specimens of the 

 valuable late Grape Black Barbarossa ; and Black Ham- 

 burghs were contributed by Mr. Shrimpton, Mr. Mar- 

 cham, Mr. Beer, gr. to Captain Smart, R.N., and J. G. 

 Nash, Esq , of Bishop's S tort ford. The last-named 

 exhibitor also furnished Muscats, but they were not 

 nearly so fine as have been shown from the same place 

 in former years. Of the last-named Grape the best 

 exhibition came from Mr. Clarke, of Turnmoss, near 

 Manchester, the bunches being large and handsome, 

 and the berries possessed of that fine golden tinge which 

 they should have when in perfection. Muscats little 

 inferior to the last also came from Mr. M'Ewen, of 

 Arundel Castle; and the same variety of Grape was 

 furnished by Mr. Clements, of East Barnet; Mr. Thomson, 

 gr. to T. Morris, Esq., and Mr. Miller, of Eardiston. 

 Mr. Ingram, gr. to J. J. Blandy, Esq., showed well 

 ripened specimens of Royal Muscadine. 



Of Pine Apples Mr. M'Ewen, gr. to the Duke of 

 Norfolk, at Arundel, showed a collection of eight sorts, 

 all of them well grown and ripened. Mr. Fleming, gr. 

 to the^Duke of Sutherland, at Trentham, also produced 

 some good Pines, the heaviest of which, a Queen, 

 weighed 4 \ lb. Mr. Jones, gr. to Lady Charlotte 

 Schreiher, furnished a Cayenne and two Black Jamaicas, 

 and Mr. Clark, six specimens of Montserrat. A smooth 

 Cayenne came from Mr. Joy, gr., Roundaway Park, 

 Devizes, and the prickly variety of this fruit came from 

 Mr. M'Ewen, gr. to Colonel Wyndham, of Petworth. 

 Mr. Tillyard showed two Queens, the heaviest of which 

 weighed 4 lbs. 12 oz., and Mr. Bray, gr. to Captain 

 Lousada, a Ripley Queen, weighing 3 J lbs. Mr. Forbes, 

 of Woburn, also sent an example of the last variety of 

 Pine Apple. 



Pear exhibitions from various parts of the country 

 were numerous. Mr. M'Ewen, of Petworth, contributed 

 a collection, in which were very fine specimens oi 

 Beurre" de Capiaumont, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Mane 

 Louise, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Beurre Die!, and 

 Napoleon. Mr. Whiting, gr. to H. T. Hope, Esq., of 

 the Deepdene, near Dorking, also sent fine fruit ot 

 Duchesse d'Angoufeme, Beurre Diel, Beurr* Bosc, 

 Althorp Crassane, Marie Louise, and Van Mons Leon 

 le Clerc. Mr. Ingram, gr. to her Majesty at Frogmore, 

 also contributed a collection, in which were Marie 

 Louise, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Flemish Beauty 

 Duchesse d'Angoulerae, Knight's Monarch and Se^y: 

 From the Right Hon. the Speaker's garden at HeckneW 

 came Beurre Diel, Beurre Spence (?), Brown Beurre? 

 Devices de Hardenpont, Beurre de Capiaumont, Winter 

 Nelis, and Forelle, or Trout Pear. Other collections ot 

 Pears came from Mr. M'Ewen, gr. to the Duke of Nor- 

 folk ; Mr. Salter, V. Fenn, Esq. (whose fruit vf$& 

 very fine, but came too late to be noticed by tn 

 Judges), J. Ailport, gr. to H. Akroyd, *•*!•> 

 Mr. Robertson, gr. to Lady Emily Foley; *J 

 Saul, gr. to Lord Stourton; Mr. Beer, gr- T # 



of this 



HL Treeve, Esq., of Coie House, Jersey (some oi w* 

 ion was very fine, but others were interior); an • 



Captain Smart ; Mr. Thomson, gr., Stanstead 

 J. R. H 



collecti™ „ w Tvm/ ,. MV , mrmmw v _„ ,. 



A bell, Esq., of Limerick. From the latter came J<**j 

 phine de M alines, Beurre Diel from a south-west* 

 and from a north-west wall, those from the latter be"* 

 brown, nearly like a Guernsey Chaumontel, and li- 

 nearly so la.ge as those from the more southern a *P e # 

 Of Kitchen Pears Mr. M'Ewen, gr. to Col. Wyndnam* 

 sent Uvedale's St Germain, Black Pear of Worcester, &n 

 Catillac. Mr. Ingram, gr. to her Majesty at Frogn^ 

 contributed Uvedale's St Germain, Spanish Boncnre- 



