§68 Domestic Notices : — EnglcmJ. 



first frost. He luis not yet eucceeded with the cuttings he has tried : indeed, 

 it is difficult to obtain them from the plants. The plants in the conservatory 

 which bloomed last autumn are now coming into fine flower ; and it is hoped 

 that, the time of year being more favourable, seeds may be obtained from them. 

 The last year the seed-pod formed well, but dropped off before it swelled to 

 any size.— M. T. March 7. 1835. 



The Collection of Pelargoniums in the garden of our correspondent, Mr.Mad- 

 dison, at Wondelghem, near Ghent, amounts to about 300 sorts, many of 

 which, it is considered, have never been seen in England. The dahlias in 

 the same garden are also very numerous. Mr. Maddison has printed lists 

 of his collection, and he is now making extensive exchanges with Mr. Dennis, 

 of the King's Road, and other British nurserymen and florists, and more espe- 

 cially with amateurs. 



Cj/tisus bracteoldtiis is now finely in bloom with us. It is a most desirable 

 conservatory plant, and is loaded with racemes of golden yellow flowers, 

 which are powerfully fragrant. — George Penny. Milford Nurseiy, near Godal- 

 ming, March 17. 1833, 



A Mode of protecting Wall Fruit Trees is now exhibited in the Horticultural 

 Society's Garden at Chiswick, which deserves the attention of every kitchen- 

 gardener : it is simply that of stretching straw ropes in front of the trees, the 

 lowest about 4 ft. from the ground, and about 2 ft. from the wall ; and the 

 highest a few inches under the coping, and from 6 in. to 1 ft. from the wall. 

 The intermediate ropes are about 2 ft. apart. The ropes are kept at regular 

 distances from each other and from the wall, by being tied to cords; one end 

 of each of which is fastened to the nail or hook driven in under the coping, 

 and the other to a stake driven into the ground about 4 ft. feet from the wall. 

 In this way the lines serve as rafters, and the angles formed by the lines with 

 the perpendicular of the wall being about 15 deg., the rough straw ropes, 

 though 2 ft. apart in the direction of the slope, are not above 6 in. apart mea- 

 sured horizontally. It is in consequence of this closeness horizontally that 

 they protect the trees, by preventing the perpendicular radiation of the heat 

 from the surface of the ground j and it is in consequence of their distance ver- 

 tically that they do not injure the blossoms by shading them from the sun. 

 It is clear, from the trial in the Horticultural Society's Garden, that these 

 ropes are just as effective in protecting the trees as netting or bunting ; and, as 

 the cost is so very much less, especiailj' in the country, where coarse wheat 

 straw or litter is abundant, no gardener who is allowed hands sufficient to do 

 the work of his garden need ever have his wall trees injured by frost. 



The Sweeny Nonpareil. — Some remarkable fine specimens of this excellent 

 apple were sent us by Thos. N. Parker, Esq., of Sweeny Hall, near Oswestry. 

 In the first week of April we tried these apples, both raw and cooked, and 

 found them of excellent flavour. 



The Maeshury Red Potato. — Specimens of this potato were also sent us 

 by Mr, Parker. It is red-skinned, round, the eyes not very hollow, keeps 

 well, and is very mealy; but, compared with the red Scotch potatoes sent to 

 London from Fifeshire and Perthshire, and the potatoes grown at Prescot, 

 in Lancashire, the Maesbury may be said to be nearly without flavour. We 

 do pretend to a little knowledge and taste in the matter of potatoes; and de- 

 cidedly the best that we have ever tasted have been those grown at Prescot. 

 We have tried the same sort about London, but found them to degenerate the 

 very first year. There seems to be something in the soil and climate of Pi-es- 

 cot and its vicinity peculiarly favourable to the potato. 



Turnpike Gates and Wickets, it is well known, have occupied Mr. Parker's 

 attention for nearly half a century, and he has effected more improvements in 

 them than, perhaps, any other individual, Mr. Parker has lately sent us an 

 engraving showing his last improvement, by which, in addition to a wicket 

 gate, there is a gate for passing pigs and counting them as they pass. As the 

 subject belongs more to engineering than to gardening, we shall, probably, give 

 further details respecting this gate in the Architectural Magazine. 



