Pec. 1, 1855.1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONIC] 



789 



the value of one ot these becomes a matter regulated by 

 skilful investigation. Nevertheless, it is necessary to 

 state that these characters are much more prominent in 

 the more recently improved sorts, and are, therefore, 

 more easily recognised and placed beyond doubt. 



An experienced practitioner finds the first indications 

 of a promising seedling in the seed leaves. ]f these 

 have long petioles, and are themselves long, narrow, of 

 a delicate green, and deeply serrated at the margin, with 

 the surface finely and delicately reticulated, there is a 

 good prospect; if, on the contrary, the petiole is short 

 and thick, the leaf round, thick, without serratures, 

 white or cottony, without distinct reticulations on the 

 surface, there is not much chance of the seedling prov- 

 ing good. If the plumule, on becoming a stem, is short 

 jointed and forms wood buds of a conical shape, at one 

 foot above the soil, it is a good sign. If on a grey, 

 hazel, or pale greenish brown- coloured bark, grey ash- 

 coloured specks are here and there visible, it is a still 

 better sign. If, on the contrary, the seedling has a stem 

 which does not bear itself erect, and has distorted irre- 

 gular branches at unequal distances, no confidence can 

 be placed in it. These marks rarely occur at the pre- 

 sent time among seedlings raised from the more recent ly 

 improved varieties of the Pear. A smooth shining bark, 

 soft to the touch, of a brown, hazel, lead colour, fawn, 

 or reddish, the whole sprinkled more or less closely with 

 pale specks, or lenticular glands, is also considered to 

 be a favourable indication; so it is likewise when the 

 mature wood of the one year old shoots breaks clean. 

 It is not, however, in the first or second year that one 

 can judge of a seedling by its characters ; for these are 

 more distinctly marked in the second year after trans- 

 planting. The best time for making comparative obser- 

 vations is at the fall of leaf. It will then be seen that 

 promising seedlings 



tree the more rare the spines, and ultimately they 

 entirely disappear. 



These observations may guide the cultivator iu the 

 selection of seedlings before the third transplanting. It 

 is in the second year after the third transplantation that 

 the indications of the future worth of the tree are dis- 

 played to the close observerjin the most striking manner. 

 In a promising seedling the whole habit of the tree is 

 p'easing to the eye, and clearly indicates that the period 

 of full growth and of fructification is at hand. J. tk 

 Jonahe, Brussels. 





have leaves possessing the good 

 characters above described, and a moderately thick stem, 

 furnished with large prominent well swelled wood-buds. 



It will also be observed that some of the seedlings 

 have produced shoots forming wide angles, or are 

 spreading ; others spurs ; some slender fruit-bearing 

 twigs ; others short spines on the stem and on the 

 branches, which are furnished with four or five promi- 

 nent wood- buds. Two or three well formed leaves, 

 and a large plump terminal bud will be perceived at the 

 extremity of each of the shoots. A disposition to bear 

 spines is, in general, the surest sign of the beauty, deli- 

 cacy, and long-keeping of the fruit. The contrary 

 opinion is generally maintained ; but it can only be con- 

 sidered as an old-fashioned prejudice. In fact, at the 

 present day it is generally admitted that fine, smooth, 

 spineless wood betoken a summer fruit. Spineless 

 wood with thick downy leaves is the sign either of a 

 musky summer Pear, or of a winter stewing Pear. I 

 know of only one exception to what has been stated 

 respecting downy leaves, and that is those of the variety 

 called the Comte de Flandres ; but this variety, on the 

 other hand, possesses all the other characters of a good 

 winter fruit. In this case it may be said there is no 

 rule without exception. Fine spines along the branches 

 and young shoots, the latter weak and twisted, form an 

 assemblage of characters of bad omen, especially when 

 these characters continue to be reproduced in the upper 

 part of the tree. But the worst character of all is a bad 

 habit of growth, either as regards the stem or the 

 branches, and when, at the same time, the latter are 

 straggling, short, weak, and crooked. Luckily these 

 characters do not occur in seedlings from good varieties. 

 Besides the favourable signs already enumerated, the 

 follow in £ are found in seedlings of five years old : — 

 1st, A straight stem sufficiently strong to maintain itself 

 in an upright position without support. 2d, Lateral 

 branches and shoots of moderate vigour, without being 

 either too slender or too thick, and of moderate length, 

 with their extremities pointing upwards. 3d, Spines 

 regularly distributed on the stem as well as on the 

 lateral branches ; these spines are long or short accord- 

 ing to where they are produced and furnished with 

 prominent wood buds throughout their length ; they are 

 placed perpendicularly, are well fixed on the surface of 

 the branch, and wrinkled at their bases. 4th, The 

 leaves, either of a light or dark green, are finely shaped, 

 rather long than round, not folded, either perfectly flat 

 or with the margins slightly elevated, and the apex 

 recurved, the finest leaves on the current year's shoot 

 being furnished with stipulary leaves. The tissure of 

 the leaves is compact, the skin thin, the incisions 

 tegular and deep. The nerves are prominent, the 

 midrib strong and straight, extends from the petiole to 

 the apex of the leaf. The petiole is long and slender. 

 5th, The wood buds, which are reddish, brown, or gray, 

 are neither too much nor too little developed, neither 

 too much compressed nor too long, and not placed on 

 the surface, but based on projecting supports. 6th, 

 The intemodes between the wood buds are not long ; 

 but those between the fruit buds are shorter than those 

 others by half, that is about half an inch in length or 

 «ven less. 



The above are all characters of good presage, and 

 «ven of a fine and long keeping fruit ; indeed, it has 

 been established, bv repeated experiments made by the 

 kte Van Mons, that the longer the sowing of seeds of 

 the best of every successive generation of Pears is 

 continued, the greater is the tendency of the fruit pro- 

 duced to keep long, to improve in form, and to increase 

 J u delicacy. 



The spines should not extend on the stem and 

 branches higher than 5 or 6 feet from the ground, 

 especially if the seedling appears naturally inclined to « lorroea was 



Home Correspondence. 



The Osborne Shell Shower. — I should not have 

 troubled you again on tins subject until I had had some- 

 thing new or more definite to communicate, had the 



tone of Mr. Bree's letter (see p. 758) I n less objec- 

 tionable and more satisfactory to my own mind. 1 am 

 as great a lover of truth as Mr. Bree himself and should 

 at all times feel grateful to that gentleman for correcting 

 any error into which I may inadvertently have fallen ; 

 but to do so in a manner in which it requires no v< r\ 

 great discrimination to discern the spirit of ridicule 

 is anything but creditable or pra se worthy. As a 

 naturalist Mr. Bree stands deservedly high, and I 

 would treat his opinions with all deference. In this par- 

 ticular instance, however, 1 must beg to differ from him, 

 and adhere to my original conviction, until I am so Ear 

 convinced of its fallacy as to see its absurdity. Possess- 

 ing a strong predilection for the study of natural history, 

 I am not altogether unacquainted with, or an Inattentive 

 observer of nature. Nature has peculiar charms for 

 me. I have wooed her not only in those grand and 

 magnificent moods in which she as ton Mies the mind by 

 her sublimity, but also in those more humble and un- 

 obtrusive forms in which she excites its wond, r by her 

 minuteness. I did not, as Mr. Bree seems to think, in 

 the short space of "half an hour," jump at the con- 

 clusion that the shells at my feet had fallen from the 

 clouds. It was not until 1 sought to elucidate what 

 appeared so singular and interesting a phenomenon, 

 that I ventured to give an opinion on the subject, 

 which opinion, according to Mr. Bree, is now "blown 

 to the winds." Of this, however, I am not *iuite bo 

 certain as that gentleman ; nor are his arguments 

 sufficiently cogent and conclusive to induce me 

 at present to give up the point in dispute. His commu- 

 nication does not meet all the details of the case. 

 There are some points yet to be cleared up, and I can- 

 not but regard Mr. Bree's letter as somewhat prema- 

 ture. Jn accounting for the sudden appearance of so 

 large a number of m<l<urk<, Mr. Bree overlooks the 

 fact of the dead shells. His remarks apply only to the 

 living ones, and as far as my experience goes the pro 

 portion of the former to the latter was as two to one. 

 These dead shells surely could not have been out on a 

 foraging excursion ? Neither had their inmates for- 

 saken them on the spot where they were, as in no 

 instance could I discover one of the missing tenants 

 among the many thousands around me. This in my 

 opinion is an important point, and one which remains 

 to be cleared up. I would remind Mr. Bree that the 

 whole extent of surface over which they were scattered 

 had been swept and cleaned daily for months previous 

 to the "memorable day" on which they were firs: ob- 

 served, and had likewise, to prevent the growth of 

 vegetation, been subjected to frequent waahings;with a 

 poisonous acid ; and, further, that there are neither stones, 

 moss, or even crevices under and in which they could 



be removed ; and when the slates were taken 

 com the roof, we found between them w ! m thejr over- 

 lapped heaps of these mollusks, then in an inert stat« 

 but which would afu & warm shower probably crawl 

 out to feed upon the tufts of Moss with which the roof waa 

 sprinkled over. The occasions on which we saw them on 

 of their retreat were not numerous: if we had taken a light 

 on a moist warm night audi xamiucd toe shed, we should 

 iu all probability have seen them much oftener. So the 

 Zua lubrica has been seen in Banbury as well as at 

 Osborne." 



V undo, regalit. — Did you ever see this in perfection t 



At Killarney, the year liefore last, 1 found its fronds 

 7 feet high — more picturesque than any Palm. 1 

 wond t-r the Irish Roman Catholics do net use them 

 dried on 1'alm Sunday. It lias, however, one pecu- 

 liarity — all the finest plants grow in situations flooded 

 in winter, and 1 to 3 feet above water in summer, SO 

 that their roots are always in water. It has all the 

 characteristics of a tree Fern, its caudex often hem 



2 feet deep in the ground ; and in lark' prcimena 5 or 

 i inches in diameter it is extremely difficult to pt up. 

 I succeeded in bringing home five or * \ ul win obliged 

 to be content with small specimens n< ab<»\< H 



in diameter, and these 1 could only k" t out of the bank 

 of a stream where 1 oould t<ar down the soil, a very 

 sandy alluvial loam. It gave me some idea of the 

 difficulty of procuring and importing tree Fern*. R. 



\\'hif(thurn.—Cikn any means be adopted to cause all 

 Win thorn berries to vegetate in the spring after they 



arc gathered ? J. P. [No. But if they are sown as soon 

 as Withered, and not buried too deep, tl greater part 

 will germinate the first year.] 



Effect of Salt Water on the Germinatum of ftud i. 

 In my communication of last week it is printed by 

 mistake that the fruit of * evergreens," instead of the 

 fruit of the Euonymus, did not sink aft. mmersion insalt 

 water during a month. I may add that 1 think that the 

 experiments on immersion of seeds in tea water have 

 some little interest, ss showm-: that we cannot infer from 

 H'H'dfl of eertain orders long retaining their powarnf 

 germination in a dry condition, that these same seeds 

 will retain it under different conditions. Thus the 

 Solanere and Leguminosie are believed to keep longest 

 when preserved in the ordinary way in a dry ate, and 

 the Solanea? seem generally to resist well the salt water, 

 whereas most Leguminosoe resist much worse, as 1 have 

 shown iu your number of the 26th May, than other 

 orders. I have lately tested this conclusion with quite 

 fresh seeds of Tri folium incarnatum and I. . ey Beans. 

 Indeed with respect to some Leguminoaff 1 have reas 

 to believe that a short immersion in plain water will kill 

 them. 9o with respect to the subject late v discussed 

 in your columns, namely how long seeds will remain 

 alive wli i buried in damp earth, I do not see that any 

 safe conclusion can be drawn from the length of time 

 luring which the same seeds can retain their vitality 

 whilst dry. C. I>arwin, Down, Bromley, Kent. 



Oak Galli.—\ believe that it was « la vear that 

 the attention of the Entomological Society of London 

 was called to the existence of the hard Oak gall, Cynips 

 Quercus-petioli, Linn., in this country, though pre- 

 viously noticed by Mr. Weetwood. But surely it must 

 have been of rare occurrence in this country until of 

 late years, or it would have been observed before ; and 

 even now 1 believe it is confined to the southern coun- 

 ties of England. At all events 1 have never seen it in 

 the midland counties, or indeed north of Som ^etshire, 

 and 1 should much wish to know if anyone has hitherto 

 »pn this rmll.niit further inland than I have mentioned. 



i 



oossibly find a refuge from the attacks of their natural This may be important to know, as I believe the range 



v . J *«• • i i .i l.j i„f.«i.„;.^«L« A»mA 00 Mi. fl »r 4 u- it „.,»:« AvtATwlino' And with obvious ininrv to 



enemies. If, indeed, they had left their rocky or mossy re- 

 treat in quest of food, and had wandered to this particular 

 spot, they had certainly left the land of Canaan behind 

 them to roam over what to them would be but 

 a foodless waste. Instinct in this instance appears I 

 have been at fault. Again it was but a short time 

 (about half an hour) previous to that on which they 

 were first observed, that not one shell living or dead 

 was to be seen. If then they had come from some 

 neighbouring rocky or mossy retreat, and in so short a 

 time had scaled walls 4 or 5 feet high, and scattered 

 themselves over so large a space, they must have pos- 

 sessed a power of locomotion, a quality of which I know 

 no antecedent in the snail kind. This is another 

 important particular, and one, too, which remains to be 

 investigated. In conclusion I beg to assure Mr. Bree 

 that I have frequently sought for the Zua in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Osborne, but without success, and that 

 whatever may be the result of *<X D.V' inquiries I 

 shall in no wise be astonished thereat C. Winchester. 



The Osborne Shell Shower.— The editor of the Banbury 

 Guardian takes the same view of this case as Mr. Bree; 

 and he illustrates it by the following statement :— " We 

 had on our premises some years since a shed abutting 

 on a tall warehouse, which was on the south side of it, 

 while on the east there was another building ; the two 

 keeping off the sun's rays, excepting late iu a summers 

 evening. The position was therefore cool, and usually 

 moist. The shed was roofed with Stonesfield slates, a 

 heavy coveriniz-in fact, a stone which by exposure in 

 the winter splits into lamina On more than one 

 occasion after a shower, we found the roof of this shed 

 which was about 10 yards in length, covered with the 

 Zua lubrica ; there were thousands o them, and tc ran 

 ordinary observer they would appear to have fallen wUh 

 the rain, but there were none upon the ground. We 

 entertained no doubt as to their origin ; and the opinion 



of the gall-nut is extending, and with obvious injury to 



young Oak plantations, so that the gall-fly that produces 



the nut is becoming: an absolute pest in Devonshire and 



Somersetshire, and 1 am led to inquire if anything can 



be done to arrest its progress. It is very different from 



the innocuous soft galls upon the leaves, seldom very 



numerous, and dropping off with the foliage in the 



autumn. But these gall-nuts of C. Quercua-petioh are 



mostly persistent upon the tree, and continue there for 



a long time hard as bullets. They seize upon the young 



shoots of the year, often the leading shoot in young 



trees, and cluster at its termination, thus stopping the 



expansion of the bu Is by taking up their nutriment and 



keeping the trees in a dwarf slate I have now before 



me young shoots that are terminated by eight or nine 



of these hard brown galls clustered together; and I 



recently noticed in the Oak plantations on Work* Hill 



near YVeston~su per- Mare, that many young Oaks had 



been quite ruined by their leading ^**»»f * J 



loaded, and some were absolutely dead, ho* I have 



reason to believe that this attack upon the Oaks, 



at least in this plantation, is of recent origin. Four 



*~» ago 1 first observed a few on two r three 



and looked upon them as a curiosity last 



trees 





present autumn in walking through one portion of the 

 plantations only, and without going out of the j»th I 

 counted n trees that were more or less subjected to 

 this scourge— for thus it has become, fc me, it .« true, 

 had only about a score of galls or so upon them, but 

 many had hundreds clustered upon their branches tluc* 

 as (.'rapes, and the smaller trees were evidently droop- 

 ing and checked in their growth by the ab«rb»g 

 villainous galls. Some of the trees were actually 

 Ji'hered and dead, and other, had their k^**"** 

 killed with the evident cause burdened upon tltem. it 

 i* clear to me that fresh trees are attacked every vear 

 by the increasing insect that produces the gab's and 



^ can be done to stay their a-wlt. I Though 1 only 



