Dec. 15, 1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



821 



perhaps be partly attributed to the sort of Quince, for of 

 this tliere are several varieties, the influence of which 

 on the graft is as varied and decided as that of different 

 varieties of the wild Pear employed for stock. In 

 general hut little attention is paid to this circumstance, 

 which, however, is the cause of many of the failures 

 which occur in cultivation, and to an extent which, we 

 think, requires to be noticed in a special article. 



The bud, or graft, placed on the lower part of a 

 wilding intended to form a dwarf pyramid, although 

 taken from the upper part of the seedling, must undergo 

 the influence of the young stock on which it is worked, 

 and must produce wood for ^ve or six years before 

 its organs of fructification can be formed. During this 

 interval there is time to ascertain whether the tree is 

 inclined to become a fine dwarf pyramid rather than a 

 tall one. At the end of three or four years we may 

 certainly find out from the more or less vigorous growth 

 of the variety whether it should be classed amongst 

 the sorts which should be trained against a wall, rather 

 than as a pyramid, or whether from its strong growth 

 and hardiness it is adapted for a standard, and for 

 being cultivated on a large scale for orchards. 



From what has been stated, it appears that from the 



time when the tree first comes into bearing till that at 



which a description of the tree and its fruit can be 



correctly and definitely made, a period of ten years 



must elapse ; and before a sufficient number of healthy 



and vigorous trees can be sent out, another interval of 



five years must be allowed, making altogether 15 



years from the time of coming into bearing. Until then, 



only the raiser and a few privileged friends should taste 



the fruits. Before a variety sent out to the public can 



be generally distributed, tried in different localities and 



in various seasons, and its merits generally ascertained, 



a period of 20 years will have elapsed from the time of 



its first fruiting. It was so with the Passe Colmar, 



Beurre d'Hardenpont [Glou Morceau], Beurre Ranee, 



Urbaniste, Beurre Diel, Beurre Bosc, Marie Louise, 



Conseiller de la Cour, Josephine de Malines, Soldat 



Laboureur, Ne plus Meuris, and several others of a 



more or less recent origin. Such will also be the case 



with several more modern varieties of which the 



qualities have been ascertained by competent judges, 



from several years' production. It is much better, we 



think, to rely upon the results of careful examinations 



than to adopt hasty conclusions, not founded on esta 



Wished facts. J. De Jonghe, Brussels. 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY.— No. XCIX. 



398. Sphmgosis* (Ranlcness). — That different 

 varieties of the same species possess very different 

 degrees of fertility is a fact universally recognised by 

 cultivators, nor is it less true that different individuals 

 of the same variety, especially where the plants have 

 been raised from seed, exhibit similar peculiarities. 

 Some plants of the Stone Pine, for instance, as stated 

 by R6, which produces a favourite fruit in Italy, are 

 distinguished by a peculiar green, and by their almost 

 complete unproductiveness. In our more common fruit 

 trees these tendencies may be much amended by 

 adapting the stock properly to the variety, and a further 

 check may be given to over luxuriance by judicious 

 root pruning. Sometimes, however, the evil is of a 

 different description, and depends upon the excessive 

 rankness of particular shoots which increase at the ex- 

 pense of others, are indisposed to bear and destroy 

 that symmetry which is necessary to insure that per- 

 fect exposure of the fruit to light and air which is 

 necessary to insure complete success, and which is 

 justly the pride of the cultivator. Where this arises 

 from the excessive development of particular buds, 

 much may be done by the root pruning mentioned above, 

 and by judicious shortening or removal of the shoots, 

 accompanied by timely disbudding ; but these rank shoots 

 feeding at the expense of others, and known under various 

 names, as robbers, branches gourmandes, wasserreiser, 

 succhione, &c, do not always arise from the develop- 

 ment of normal axillary buds, but from adventitious buds, 

 and in such cases the evil lies still deeper, because they 

 often differ in quality from the normal branches. On 

 the Mulberry tree, for instance, they exhibit sometimes 

 digitate leaves while every other leaf is simple ; in other 

 cases they are variegated, while in others they produce 

 smooth branches where the mother plants have thorns, 

 or branches more highly thorny than the matrix, f 

 Such branches besides are naturally inclined to sterility, 

 and bear sometimes a degenerate fruit. They are, in 

 fact, one of the modes in which variations occur in cul- 

 tivated plants, and sometimes afford objects of cultiva- 

 tion endowed with properties which make their per- 

 petuation useful. What it is which gives them such an 

 extreme degree of luxuriance it may be difficult to say, 

 but their analogy with shoots produced from trees 

 *hich have been headed down indicates some accidental 

 ^crease of nutriment at the point of origin of the 

 mother bud, and it is evident that as under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances multitudes of little twigs are checked in their 

 growth, and ultimately perish in consequence of the 

 superior development of neighbouring branches, the pro- 

 duction of such shoots, especially where they are nurae- 

 r °us, must have a tendency to weaken the more normal 

 portions. It is obvious that the most certain remedy will 

 be to cut off such shoots to their very base, and to dis- 

 bud every new germ which arises from the new bark 



. * From r?pya* t I am of vigorous growth. 



h a L MeTen believes that Gleditschia macracantha and G. ferox 



which covers the wound, for similar shoots often arise | duce, one year with another, may be considerably 

 at this point, and if the disposition still continues severe to say nothing on the point of quality or flavour* 



root pruning and abstinence of all manure must be 

 adopted. As the most useful varieties of trees and vege- 

 tables arise in general from constitutional debility, it 

 is natural to suppose that where shoots endowed "with 

 peculiar properties arise from the over-nutrition of some 

 latent bud, there will be a tendency to revert more or 

 less to the original condition of the plant from whence 

 the variety was derived. 



399. Where the stock is naturally more vigorous than 

 the graft, and at the same time there is a natural ten- 

 dency in it to throw out suckers, adventitious buds are 

 often developed in the stem and roots which, if not 

 timely removed are highly prejudicial to the graft, and 

 may ultimately induce its decay. Though it may be 

 impossible always to overcome this, it is under careless 

 cultivation alone that any real evil can arise. M. J. B. 



TRADE MEMORANDA. 



We have often warned the public against the strangers 

 who annually visit this country to sell their spurious 

 horticultural produce ; but the warning is in vain. 

 People are too much enamoured of what is strange and 

 novel, and low priced, to resist the temptation to buy. 

 Curiosity, moreover, impels them to part with their coin, 

 although they cannot but feel that it goes in a hopeless 

 venture. Nevertheless, we warn them once more to take 

 care of their pockets, and not to believe one word of the 

 pompous announcements which we find are agaiu re- 

 sounding from Southampton to Edinburgh. 





less 

 than 



the trees would be capable of yielding if they had the 

 advantage of unchangeably dry autumns to ripen the 

 wood and roots. Would not, moreover, the result and 

 consequence of the wood and buds being more perfectly 

 matured and hardened in autumn be the production of 

 more vigorous blossoms in spring ; more certain of 

 setting ; more capable of resisting the action of frost, 

 and less susceptible of blight from that or any 

 other cause ! But how is protection from unseason- 

 able moisture to be obtained ? or, restricting the ques- 

 tion to wall-fruit trees, how are the borders to be pro- 

 tected from rain at such times or seasons as it may be 

 desirable that they should be, without depriving the 

 trees of that beneficial element at other times, when it 

 is necessary to their growth and healthful vigour ? 1 

 think the accompanying plan is calculated to answer this 

 end, and might with advantage be applied to walls having 

 a south, south-west,* or south-east aspect, should the ex- 

 pense not be found an obstacle to its adoption. Let W 

 represent the section of the wall facing the south, with 

 the fruit tree trained against it ; P is one of a series of 

 posts fixed along the border, at such distance from the 

 wall as it may be desired to protect the roots from 

 rain ; R is one of a series of thin rafters or 

 plates of wood fixed in the top of the wall, at 

 the distance of 4, 5, or 6 feet from each other, as may be 

 found most convenient, and fastened in front into the 

 plate or beam that connects the tops of the posts. The 

 axes or pivots of the Venetian boards or shutters S 

 work in these plates, having a motion in the direction 

 indicated by the dotted quadrant; by which means, 

 when shut, they overlap each other in the direction of 

 the wall, and form a close roof, carrying off the rain to 

 the back of the wall. The advantages of this mode 

 of protection are — that, being a permanent struc- 

 ture, not requiring constant removal, much labour 

 is saved ; neatly executed and painted, instead of 

 being a deformity, it may be rendered rather an 

 ornamental appendage to a garden — rising in front, 

 it admits li^ht, sun, and air freely to every part of the 

 wall and border ; rain may be admitted to, or excluded 

 from, the border, or from any particular portion of it, 

 according as it may be desired ; and while undue and 

 excessive moisture is guarded against, the border enjoys 

 the full influence of sun and air ; the Venetians being 

 closed, a greater amount of heat may be concentrated on 

 the wall and border and made conducive to the ripening 

 of the fruit and wood ; and lastly, by this means pro- 

 tection may be afforded to the spring blossom. /. B. If. 

 Agaricus cepcestipes. — For the purpose of keeping a 

 Vinery damp in summer, I have built on the floor, with 

 loose bricks, square places which are filled with dead 

 leaves, and soaked with water from time to time. It is 

 about three years since the leaves were renewed. The 

 other day I saw, peeping from among the bricks, just on 

 a level with the surface of the leaves, a white Agaric, 

 •which expanded into a decided specimen of Agaricus 

 cepsestipes. On referring to Berkeley's description, I 

 The bark was removed in all cases, and the wood, after see no habitat but " bark beds in stoves." This raises 

 being split up thin, was baked in a heat of G0° Reaum. a curious question — Where did my Mushroom come 

 In 1851 some one asked in the Chronicle the meaning from ? I have no bark bed nor stove within a long 



that : 



Home Correspondence. 



Comparative Value of the Timber of our two Native 

 Oaks. — In common with every one connected with 

 foresting, I am glad to see that this vexed question is at 

 length to be settled. Have you happened to notice that in 

 Dr. Th. Hartig's work on « Forest Trees," the details 

 are given of an experiment to ascertain the weight of 

 the timber of the two kinds ? The results of that 

 trial go far to confirm what you have so often stated 

 regarding the superiority of the white or Btalkless- 

 fruited Oak. A tree of each kind was selected of the 

 same age, 130 years, and growing near one another in a 

 close wood on a strong loamy soil with clayey subsoil. 

 The (Rhenish) cubic foot weighed in pounds : 



White or stalkless- 

 fruited. 



Ked or stalked- 

 fraited. 





Heart wood from lower 

 end of trunk 



Sap wood from lower 

 end of trunk 



Heart & sap wood from 



upper end of trunk ... 



Branch wood, S in. diam 



5 in. diam 

 3 in. diam 





n 



it 



Fresh.) Thoroughly Fresh. 



dried. 



» 



46.4 



38.7 



44.3 

 42.0 

 39.0 

 38.4 



62.0 



Thoroughly 

 dried. 



39.4 



56.6 



33 4 



58.0 

 53.5 

 55.1 

 54.5 



40.3 



36.0 



36.8 



1 32.0 



of the word Durmast : if a reply was given to 

 question, I have failed to notice it. Is it the name of 

 a place, or is it a descriptive word applied only to the 

 Oak ? The last half of the word is apparently Saxon, 

 and mayhap the common German word, durr, has 

 something to do with the first half. IP. S. 9 Kirkaldy. 



Protection of Wall-fruit Borders.— It is perhaps as 

 desirable that the roots of fruit trees should be shielded 

 from the chilling rains of autumn as that the nascent 

 bloom and foliage should be protected from the nipping 



distance of the shrubbery, from which these leaves were 



They have also been three or four years in the 



Is it 



swept. 



frosts of spring. The prospect of a good yield in the 



Vinery without any appearance of this Agaric 

 possible that if the spores had germinated in the open 

 air, instead of under glass, they might have produced 

 the allied forms known as Agcricus procerus or cris- 

 tatus ? Can we conceive a plant, whose original parent 

 is as old as the creation, inhabiting only artificial 

 glass houses 1 These are questions easier asked than 

 answered, but still deserving consideration. G. S. 



Heating.— Yom " Constant Reader, Bentley," at page 

 806, cannot do much with his hot plate, seeing that the 

 utmost effect derivable is only equivalent to 6 feet in 

 length of 4-inch pipe of the same temperature. I pro- 

 pose a very cheap experiment : let him set a sheet iron 

 plate the same area as his chamber, say 30 inches by 

 30 inches, have 4 or 6 inches of its depth turned up- 

 wards |in front ; lay four half-bricks on his present 

 hot plate, and* then slide in this sheet iron plate to 

 within 6 inches] or 1 foot of the back of his chamber. 

 My idea is that of splitting his 4-inch aperture into two 

 of 2 inches each. The air of his house would go in at 

 the under side of this new sheet, getting warmed in its 

 passagejand return by the upper channel into the 

 house. I believe this very inexpensive experiment 

 would give him all he could get, but let him not expect 

 too great results ; he cannot have more than what add- 

 ing 3 feet to his flow return pipe would effect. If he 

 tries this will he state the result ! Oranta. 



The Osborne Shells.— I am sorry that Mr. Winchester 

 was displeased with the tone of my last communica- 

 tion. I can assure him that I had no intention that it 

 should be considered offensive, neither do I deny the 

 fact that the appearance of these snails may be difficult 

 to account for, more particularly in the absence of any 

 precise description of the spot in which they were found. 

 But Mr. Winchester must bear in mind that before we 



ben a r 96n ln this w * y from G - triacantha. It U, however, 

 exfr^- that tnese P lants Ar « of Chinese and not of American 

 traction. Both are probably forms of G. sinensis. 



.he.JLd^ ^/-""p-^i^r^ arc "hSkss elks &S&& 



rest : but in cold and wet autumns tins can naraiy ue u«i m* * « Winchester to 



the case and consequently it has been observed that the of this kind, and I need only «fer Mr. WmcbMttf w 



failure. 



majority of autumns in this uncertain climate me roo» <h *» ""^ ™"~ 1 " r» " t li wi«d 

 fruit trees, at least the more delicate kinds, are so well evidence we can get must be used, 

 ripened as they might be ; and hence the average pro- 1 will not entertain the proposition that they came 



«M 



