Horticultural Society's Garden. 213 



small door or opening in the side, for the inspecting the temperature; and 

 pointed at the lower extremity, to be the more 

 readily thrust into the tan or earth ; and h garden 

 hammer, with a stud protruding from the head ( 

 in the direction of the handle, to serve as a ful- 

 crum in drawing nails from wall trees, {fig.51.) 



A double white seedling camellia was exhibited, with some succory, 

 cucumbers, apples and pears ; among the last were some fine Uvedale's 

 St. Germains. There were some large shalots, said to be of superior 

 quality, sent by Captain Owen from the Cape of Good Hope, distributed ; 

 and some seeds of the Altringham carrot, rose coloured turnip radish, early 

 frame scarlet radish, and Wellington pea. Notice was given that grafts of 

 certain sorts of apples, pears, plums, &c. designated in a list, might be had 

 upon application at the house of the society. 



March 7th. The communications read by the Secretary were ; one from 

 Mr. Stewart, Gardener to Sir Robert Preston, Bart. Valleyfield, descriptive 

 of a vegetable pit ; and one from Mr. Aeon, Gardener to the Earl of 

 Surry, on training the vine; and another describing themethod of cultivating 

 the celariac as practised in Germany and Denmark. The things exhibited 

 were some apples and pears, some sea-kale, and as a novelty, a few blanched 

 shoots of the Symphytum officinale, to be used as sea-kale or asparagus. 

 But that which attracted most attention, was a beautiful variety of the 

 primula sinensis, with white flowers, raised by the Gardener of Mr.Delafield, 

 of Kensington. 



March 2lst. Various papers were read, on asparagus, blacking ofgardea 

 walls, &c. The articles exhibited were seven varieties of camellia japonica; 

 three sorts of tart rhubarb ; and some very good sea-cale from the garden of 

 the society. A ripe loquat from the stove of Captain Carmichael at 

 Twickenham, and some pears, apples, and strawberries. A blanching-pot for 

 sca-cale, differing from a common flower-pot, in having aknob,instead of the 

 hole, to serve as a handle, and a perforation under the knob to admit air 

 to the plant. There was a blanching-pot on a similar plan for endive, of 

 course a great deal smaller than the other. A spike of ripe fruit of the sagus 

 ruffii, upwards of six feet long, attracted considerable attention ; it was 

 sent by Charles Telfair, Esq. of the Mauritius. 



Horticultural Society's Garden. February 16th. The severe frost of 

 January, during which the thermometer here was as low as 15°, has killed 

 some of the exotics, which had stood the two preceding winters uninjured. 

 We allude more particularly to some species of Eucalyptus, and Metro- 

 sideros, trees of New South Wales and Van Diemens Land, which were 

 trained against a south wall, and which from their being said (by Evans and 

 others) to constitute the principal timber trees of that country, we fully 

 expected would have been acclimated here. We still think the thing very 

 probable : but we have our doubts whether training against a wall be the 

 best mode for acclimating trees : it is certain the trunk and main branches 

 of a tree so trained, are more exposed to the cold than if the plant had 

 been a standard, and clothed from the ground upwards with side branches 

 furnished with abundance of spray. Perhaps if a clump of eucalyptus were 

 planted on very dry soil, and in a situation well sheltered from the north 

 and east, they might stand our winters ; their tops might be killed down a 

 few inches ; but the main body of the plants, we think, would be safe. Plant- 

 ing such exotics in a thick natural coppice wood, would also be a good place 

 of trial ; for every one, on entering a coppice wood in the winter season from 

 an open field, must have felt a striking difference in the temperature, as well 

 as seen there several plants, as the snow drop, violet, cowslip, &c. in flower 

 before they had appeared in adjoining gardens. It is also afact, that certain 

 rare plants which have their habitation in woods, have disappeared entirely 

 when the wood has been cut down, and re-appeared when it has grown up 



Vol. I. No. 2. ^ 



