J.V2 



THE GARDENERS* CHRONICLE. 



. .'...I > 



from the Heather, or such wild plants, an 

 proportion of sand, form the constituents of the peat 

 best suited for gardening I 



ture can be made artificially, it will be just as good 

 as if it had been scraped from a moor. It will have 

 the requisite penetrability ; it will be as rich in 



abound in that humus or black substance from which 

 plants so largely derive their nutriment. 

 The truth of this assertion will probably 



; theyl 



been carting from a distance, under the name of p 

 the very substance which is wasted in the wood-yard 

 at their door. We therefore beg to direct attentio 

 to a case with which we have been favoured by 



that the decayed woody matter of an old timb< 

 yard is in all respects equal to peat for the growth 

 of Rhododvi jo be better; 



because it is just as yielding to the slender 



in°which"hey a greatly delight. ^the* love™ 

 dening would as frequently think for themsi 

 our correspondent has done, they would, we doubt 

 not, discover that the indispensable necessity " 

 peat is only one of the crop of prejudices which 

 progress of knowledge has to trample down. 



DECAYED 



-.ti.u rlut U 



. SUBSTITUTE FOR PEAT, 

 are many horn 

 ;lf, have met wit!: 

 [ plant the Rhododendron, that 

 ce in your Journal, to show by 



its best, never at any period throughout the enti 



sidered an ornamental plant. It was in fact perpetua 

 shabby, from a cause which can admit of no other resu 

 and that cause is— I say is, for the quality is inhere 

 in the species— the flimsiness of its corolla, which is 

 fact as delicate as tissue-paper. In consequence of tl 

 property, the flowers shrivel up rapidly after they e 

 pand ; and instead of forming a compact head, as th 

 should do, to be effective, only two or three isolafr 



flower-head. Another bad quality is that the d& 





who possess the plant, and hope 



tained, I may s 



i large portion 



of deciduous trees,' which shedding thei: 

 r afford a pure vegetable soil, it seemet 



1 from any bed o 

 t by adopting a material a 





made a large bed el 



. brid raised at Exeter, 

 b pink, and occasionally spotted 

 own and yellow. 

 The result has been most remarkable, and I cannot 



j of the plants. Those marked 1847 were leaves of 

 ,t year (formed before November in that year, when 

 bed was made), those marked 1848 were formed 

 : year, and those marked 1849 were plucked from 



The excessive wet of last a 

 to the ripening 

 principally of 1 



hi_-i 



plant. But the Plumbago is said to be a fine plant foi 

 bedding out. I much doubt this ; for the blossoms wil 

 ot bear a moderate breeze without being disarranged 

 or will they bear strong sun without curling up, and 1 

 ave not seen any indications which would lead to the 

 elief that it possesses any merit as a flower-garden 



The plant is best treated as a herbaceous perennial ; 

 le roots being kept moderately dry and cool in winter, 



l h ;T """"fug* oi tbe world in ^V » * * 

 atTon of organs 1 f"' % ^ "Jftfc ^S 

 aemistry is an apt iUuWatt Vt **» : *?£ 

 3sumed ; a noble science franUf P 1 ""** ilL 

 ad, consequently, political advanbT* P«« «w 

 - ""- 1 ' » .mass of cru de aj^' : 



<*ates MttS^.*** 



\ • :■ ; ■'":..".'-;",: ""■'' ■ 



given plant, in the eye of the florist, is a SSL" 1 

 affair from the natural condition of suchiiftf 



-'' ■•-•;■ !•• . .- •: .- . .... '. 



^oSrw ^^^^ the ^^ aIld ^ Vari <»«"li& 



and debited 'inVe ?£u« o?Se «« Jhfc • 

 of no moment to him. If 8ach were T™£. !5 



every joint being capable of producing a seps 

 mt under proper treatment. The young growing 



rather shy in producing "roots. The plant will bear 

 moderate heat in the early part of the growing season 

 without injury, if not with advantage, but a close moii 



The good qualities of the plant are these : Its hab 

 is good, being dwarf and compact ; perhaps, howeve; 

 colour is a very rich and desirable one. These tw 

 qualities may render it useful as a breeder, if ever th 

 genus Plumbago should be thought worth hybridisinj 

 T. M., Chelsea. [Has any one n 

 under a north wall, where Ferns delight to grow ?] 



small flower-garden or borders to 

 ipply every year to procure (which they can do for 

 9s.), seeds of the following plants : 



was unfavourable 



>f the plants flowered well. Many of the specii.n 

 '^o^ » 1DCheS h ' gh ' having been soId at 2 : 

 ! ™!_L' 1 }™ U0W fi °? and bushv ' 8endin g 011*41 



are plentiful and disappoi, 



few, perhaps your notice of 



feeling of"thanks"due J to™ou, Mr] Er?fo?°j 



^LUMBAGO LARPENTjE. 



wad a'« miserable thing, 

 other. Under these cir 



to be forgotten," on tl 

 ;ances, I may perhaps 1 

 e in the matter, and tl 

 a very decided conclusioi 



plant of the Plumbago, 



decidedly good, and the first blossom ttt w^ denned 

 proved that too much had not been STt,™?! 

 the brilliancy of the colour-a rich cTear hh ^ u 

 slight rosy y tinge inthrmouth oftrn^^iuV 

 From about the end of July onwarda forT^ff; 



ubinatiliS^ 

 are branches of his operations in which such , W 

 ledge would greatly facilitate and 

 And on the other hand, the oft r< 

 " sandy," « tenacious," 

 applied to the different 



"friable" Hhv* 

 ^similar -, . 



°p°p I iu;atTo e n. CaPable 



Perhaps in no i 



juggle of soil select 



!•£."£?£ 



Sow them in pots on the 1st of August (every year if 



v:S a e?vt- he T ti ™Y hey ™ il g- -testing 

 varieties, various colours, and successional flowers from 

 April to October. They can be easily kept by means 

 !L»*i. e P rote< ^ lon of a . mat over the glass in frosty 

 weather, and they require very little attention, in order 

 to preserve them through the winter ; if kept dry the 

 pots plunged to the rims in coal ashes or saVdusf and 

 2^HiM e 4S" P° Ssible ' withab -dance of 



^Sa^SK: wiIi flower wel1 ' and make 



wJ o ^ T P 0NDITI0 ^ ^ENTIAL TO THE 

 MOST PERFECT CULTIVATION.!^! VIII 

 ^uT^ S? regr 1 Ued ' eVen in the P^sent dav 

 Wh f - W u reSults of the lab ours of scientific 



mere v- 1 - Id t S ° g enerallv the custom to treat 



n h™ ™„T!!I B ™ emea . ever y pha 



great majority of the « people," are ever received 

 St" a C ty Jn f I™™? at aUJ W i th 8US P icion ^d 

 to their char e on that 1?°™* U&me b ° fairlj 

 selve'sl ^^ JSsSiSSS 



litions which were often employed in this depift 

 ment of gardening, and which would not have diammi 

 the cauldron of the witches of " Macbeth," are, like Ac 

 tors, fast sinking into oblivion. I knewaltv 

 fid a collection of Auriculas, and, like mat 

 florists, she was peculiarly fidgety about the compost* 

 of the soil, and the exact weight of the individul * 

 gredients. At a particular period every season be 

 gardener was ordered to procure Bheep's pamaa, 

 bullocks' livers, the excrements of various anin*»d 



her D Auricuirs hat Now the gaSTrlid t^nS 5 



subject morally), to discard the whole of the djajawg 

 paraphernalia of such materials, and to substitute i 



expected from her variously 



ssaSSt-B- 





soil as a medium; atl* 





ious to vegetable life ex* 



a that medium, it matters 1 







-s more fully the truth 







ogmse scientific truths in c 



n'nection with the poena 



•■■-•■■ 



of mind, toward a more intellectual and betterw* 

 of things ; and I sincerely participate in the P 1 ^^, 

 o wed scientific principles to common i garden gcK« rf 

 egetable chemistry to bear upon the P '^^^ 



DISEASES OF PL ANTS. 

 Genus XI. nS^^^ 1 ^ £$£* 



.,_, • , ' BE ; m me "««— > tt 



