THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



to 



mv remembrance the oil l that we invite attention to Beech oil, but because of 



mediately brought 

 which had so lately curM my cold, and the easy 

 manner of making it ; surely, thought I, as the 

 substance and taste of these two things are so near 

 alike, their effects can never be so different, but that 

 the Beech must afford as good an oil as the Almond 

 tree. I resolv'd, however, to make an experiment, 

 and took care in my return to get a quart or two of 

 Beech Mast, and having hung it a whole night in a 

 linen bag, near a small fire, to dry away that watry 

 part which you may observe predominant in Filberds 

 and Walnuts till they have been a good while kept, 

 I pounded them in a mortar, and when they were 

 reduc'd with shell and all to a proper substance, I 

 got the apothecary's press, and went to work the same 

 way I had observ'd him take with the Almonds. 

 I was rather pleas'd than surprised to find my- 

 self so far from being mistaken, that the oil was 



i*s apparent value for burning and manufacturing 

 purposes, and for the sake of the cake which remains 

 when the oil is pressed out. On these accounts it 

 would seem to be worth experimenting upon by 

 those who live in Beech countries and can have 



We only regret that our 



the subject two 



access to an oil mill, 

 attention was not directed to 



months ago. 



New Plants. 



Cavanilles 



156. Calceolaria (Jovellana) violacea, 



Be Cand. Prodr. x. 206. 



This very pretty shrub has appeared in many gardens 

 round London during the two last years, having, we 

 believe, been sent to England by Mr. Van Houtte, of 

 Ghent. So little does it bear of resemblance to common 

 Calceolarias that no one can be surprised at its having 

 more in quantity than had been drawn from an been regarded as a distinct genus. But although its 



equal weight of Almonds, and the apothecary not to™™™*}J^\*? . ^™£, ?!\™!!! \l™u°J Q 

 knowing what it really was, after having several 

 times tasted it, declar'd that it was the finest oil of 

 Almonds that ever he saw drawn." 



At this time Hill was at Naples. 



" At last, in the year 1712, some affairs of no great 

 consequence calling me into the west of England, 1 

 returned again about the beginning of September 

 from Devonshire, and taking no direct road came 

 along by Henley and the woodiest part of Maiden- 

 head thicket, where, for 12 or 14 miles together, a 

 man can hardly see any other kind of wood but Beech. 

 It happened that this very year the Beech Mast 

 grew in greater plenty than ordinary, and as I rode 

 among the trees, I observ'd that they were almost 

 bow'd to the ground with their burthens, and hung 



J'ust as I had seen them twelve years before in the 

 :ingdom of Naples. The similitude of the two objects 

 at once brought back to my remembrance the experi- 

 ment I had then made, and I was immediately 

 mov'd with curiosity to try if the English Beech nut 

 might not yield an oil as sweet as the Neapolitan. 



"At my return to London 1 made the experiment; 

 I found it answer the utmost of my expectations ; 

 and having by inquiries of the country people before 

 inform'd myself that there was no use for this mast, 

 but that all which the hogs left undevour'd lay 

 rotting on the ground, and was looked upon as not 

 worth gathering, I made it my next business to 

 trace out the uses of this new oil." 



Eventually, in the 12th year of Queen Anne, 

 letters patent were issued to Hill, authorising him 

 to get up a company for obtaining oil from Beech 

 Mast ; in consequence of which an association was 

 actually formed and shares were sold " at the Beech 

 oil office, which is now kept at the Golden Key, a 

 woollen draper's, in St. Paul's Churchyard, from 9 to 

 12 in the morning, and from 2 to 5 in the afternoon." 



It does not appear that this company was 

 prosperous ; at least we find no further traces of it. 

 Nor indeed was it one which either then or now 

 should have been formed. It is only by the owners 

 of Beech woods on a large scale that it could be 

 made profitable ; but in their hands we should 

 think it ought to be productive enough to deserve 

 attention. That the Beech mast contains oil in abund- 

 ance, that its oil is easily expressed, that it would 

 have a ready sale, and that the residuary "cake" 

 would be applicable to the usual agricultural purposes 

 is certain. That is to say, such is found to be the case 

 in other countries, and there is nothing in the 

 climate of Great Britain to justify the opinion 

 that the case would be different here and else- 

 where. In the passage which has led to these 

 remarks it will be seen that in the North of Ger- 



equal gaping concave lips, yet Mr. Bentham, who has 

 so carefully studied the order to which it belongs, is of 

 opinion (see Be Cand. Prodr. x. 205) that the Jovellana 

 of Cavanilles should not be separated from the Calceo- 

 laria of Linnseus ; the pouch of the latter being analo- 

 gous to the lower lip of Jovellana. 



At first the plants round London were small and 

 wanted vigour, and the violet colour of the blossoms was 

 so faint and tarnished that gardeners formed an unfavour- 



many it is largely employed, even as food, although 

 it is certainly not on account of its fitness for ali- 

 ment that it seems to merit attention. On the 



* 



able opinion of the plant ; but restored health and 

 better treatment brought out its real colours, gave 

 brilliancy to their tints, and so increased the number of 

 the flowers as to raise it very much in estimation, so 

 that it now ranks among the best of second-class green- 

 house shrubs, requiring precisely the same treatment as 



Parsnip, Onion, Lettuce, French 

 germinate. 



Bean, &<^ 



ever 



Roots also are a sad disappointment • we h 

 been able to import Snowdrops, Aconite* n neve * 

 Violets, Fritillaries, Scillas, English or S^iT^ 

 and very rarely a Crocus. Last year I recei TJ* <T* 

 Crocuses, every one of which was dead H • 

 come better, so do Narcissi and Tulips. The / ac,ntha 

 tribe all die, Anemones and Ranunculus are mT^! 118 



sometimes all are perfect, at others all are a m > 

 Last year the same nost conveved fmm rv,« ._ eca yed. 



year 



post conveyed from me two 



corresponding orders; the one tradesman 



nearly 



ordinary shrubby Calceolarias, and like them striking 

 freely from cuttings. It flowers in April and May. 



Our own wild specimens are from Conception in 

 Chili, near which and the city of Valparaiso it appears 

 contrary Guibourt (Hist, des dr. simp., II. 600) to be common, forming a small entangled bush. The 

 expressly declares that in the East of France, where | very hot summer of that country shows how careful we 



vw**cpv*iu.x,g uiuwo; me one tradesman desnat v j 

 the order four days after its receipt in September k 

 other in December, or three months afterwards • a! 

 goods from the latter were all rotten, while those f 

 the former were all good. This result might have fa 

 anticipated. The one order was executed while tU 

 weather was dry, and the roots experiencing th 

 summer's rest or inactivity ; the other when the dam* 

 weather of November had filled them with moistu^ 

 and when their natural season of growth had alread ' 

 far advanced. ' 



Some persons have advised roots and seeds te h 

 packed in sugar, others in charcoal, some in damn 

 earth, others in some porous material which would 

 admit a passage of air, but of course this is of no value 

 [when they are inclosed in a tin case. Most persons 

 advise phials to be used. I have tried and seen all 

 methods, and the result of my experience is, that phialg 

 appear to be the best, or if sent by post quills sealed 

 with sealing-wax are as good. Berries must be sent 

 thus to keep their moisture from rotting what they 

 are in contact with. Sugar, by keeping off rancidity ig 

 very beneficial in preserving Acorns, Chesnuts, Walnutg. 

 and similar seeds. Walnuts always become rancid 

 Chesnuts change into a dry powder or dry rot, so much 

 so that of 1 sacks sent not as seed but as a commer- 

 cial speculation, not one among the whole quantity has 

 been good for food, much less for seed. Yet packed in 

 sugar I have received them safely, and so rare i8 the 

 fruit that two years ago they were sold at 5* each 

 Chesnut. Last year I sent to England for a case of 

 living plants, and directed the seeds of trees of various 

 sorts and certain bulbs to be scattered in the mould of 

 the case ; when it arrived I had a perfect forest of Oaks, 

 Birch, Ash, &c. The bulbs also were good, and if 

 living plants are sent, the most perfect manner is to 

 have the plants regularly and properly plmted in 

 6 inches of soil, as close together as yau like. Let 

 the earth be covered over with moss, and wooden, bars 

 or wires put above it to keep the whole steady ; such a 

 case should always have berries or slow growing seeds 

 scattered throughout the mould, they may perhaps grow 

 during the voyage if near the surface ; if not they will 

 grow directly the mould is taken out and properly 

 scattered and covered. Lily roots, Fritillaria (Crown 

 Imperials especially), Lily of the Valley, Alsfcroemeriw, 

 Tropseolums, and Cyclamens always carry well in 



this way. 



What seems most wanted is a knowledge of the result 



of different methods of carrying seeds and roots to 

 foreign countries ; for example, an essential oil will 

 prevent white mould, contact with air prevents dryrot; 

 but air is always moist, and to prevent this evil rotting 

 is occasioned. Now what material might be mixed 

 with seeds to generate air without producing moisture I 

 Would a mixture of black oxide of manganese and com- 

 mon salt ?— would chalk and sal ammoniac ?-would cnJo- 

 ride of lime \— would any easily decomposed °* ideov 

 salt ?— would bi-carbonate of ammonia, or otner 

 material effect this ? Then if seeds arrive in a langiM 

 but still living state, what soaking or other treatmen^ 

 save that generally pursued of a hotbed, will aum» 

 them ? I have myself found charcoal and f 

 watered with the drainings from old stable m^^ 

 a little muriate of ammonia mixed with it t or e ^ aa 

 impregnated with a very little pigeons' .&Q eof( . c yf. 

 excellent mixture to grow languid seed ^ n ; {Maide* 

 Francis, Superintendent of the Botanic Qaram, a 

 August, 1855. 



the mast is utilised in pretty large quantity, the oil, 

 when fresh, contains an acrid principle which 

 renders its use as food injurious, and that it is 

 necessary to drive this off by gentle boiling — an 

 operation of some difficulty. 



And this is confirmed by the authors of the 

 Maison rustique, who speak of it thus : — " The 

 Beech deserves to be more extensively cultivated, 

 on account of the oil which it produces. This oil 

 is good for eating, or frying, and for* burning in 

 lamps. It will keep for many years, and even 



should be to give the plant a long season of warm rest. 

 When at home it flowers in October, which corresponds 

 with our April, long before the dry season sets in. 



TRANSPORT 



OF ROOTS AND 

 AUSTRALIA. 



SEEDS TO 



I imagine that it would be worth knowing whether 

 in the case of roots and seeds any method of pack i no- 

 could be adopted better than the present one of paper 

 in tin cases, and how best the expiring vitality of some 

 of them could be thrown into an active state. It is all 



improves by age, if after being clarified it is put very well to say that oily seeds get rancid and'that 

 into pitchers well luted, and buried in sand as in a berries get mouldy; this is well known, but the obiect i* 



cellar. Some, however, say that when fresh it dia- i how to counteract this, and of course first'lo inquire 

 orders the head and stomach. In order to make into the cause - 1 have K, »t to England for seeds 

 good Beech oil, the mast should he collected as it and r ° ote for 8everal y ears > and if I get one seed to 

 falls, and put into an airy room ; but not thrown in '■■ F™™™ five ordinary packets I am satisfied. I have 

 heaps for fear of heating. When it is quite !!*t JZ, ^J 81 " - Q , ,-° r n * *"" e , aeed in the «nie 

 dry, it is shelled and ground for the purpose of y -' "? me,y the pic J klm * P" 100 ' and altogether 1 have 

 -trading the oil, Be^ch-cake fatted' ^ckly ~^ ™ «?^. £ ~V ' *-" 



From 1 5 of my most promising *»™"8 * ~j ^ 

 were best adapted for the purpose, 1 took go - at 6 

 the third year, and worked them on strong ; * ,„ 

 or 7 feet high ; I also took six buds of eacn d 

 <w, pigs, and fowls." * ' ZT "£ "7~X"^if 7™' * ' rame > or a hot -^d. A worked them ou the Quince stock ; and I » ^ 



ON HASTENING THE BEARING OF SEED- 



LING PEAR TREES, 



seedling 



I 



More than once on seeing my n ^ €r f supe rficial 

 Pear trees, inexperienced amateurs, fall ° Y aevcflj 

 knowledge, have said to me, "What ! you ™ rin _ 

 eight, or ten years before your trees come i ^j 

 That is too long to wait ; this is the ^ eth ^ has made 

 take to hasten their bearing : when a seed » 8 ft }t ott 

 a well ripened terminal shoot, I would bud or ^ or 

 the Quince stock, and thus have fruit m l mtnen d 

 fourth year after the operation." Others ^^j 

 grafting or budding on standards,^ or on f|S 



branches of strong pyramids in bearing. * ^y^ by 

 always, " Have you tried it I Have you« sl lt , ^^e 

 experiment the superiority^of ^ Y h ^ ffi> **} 



ever ventured in the affirmative. 



that it could be done. A prejudice. I w ^jed, 

 years ago, or more, similar experiments nau ^^ 

 but without success. Desirous, howeve r, oQ # 

 sure on this point, I renewed the expen ine d: 

 extended scale. The following was the result m _ h u 



seedlings 



uch* 





r 



