542 llemurks on Garden Tallies. 



Art. III. Remarks on Garden Tallies. By W. H. Baxter. 



Kyanising/ot Tallies. — Kyanising, in the case of horticul- 

 tural tallies is altogether unnecessary ; for, however efficacious 

 it may be in buildings likely to be attacked by dry-rot, in the 

 case of garden tallies it is totally useless. I say this to prevent 

 persons going to the expense of Kyanising wood for tallies; for 

 many might think, as I did, that it would give durability to the 

 wood, and thereby prevent so speedy a decay as usual. Had 

 this been the case, the application of it would have been invalu- 

 able to every gardener who has occasion to use any quantity of 

 small wooden tallies for pots, unless he has plenty of help and 

 leisure to restore them ; for, under the present circumstances, it 

 is found that such tallies will not last, if exposed to the weather 

 more than 15 or 18 months. I allude more particularly to this 

 kind of tally, because my observations were made from such ; 

 and I find that, in several situations, those which were Kyanised, 

 and which have been in use now but eight months, are so far 

 decayed that the lower ends may be easily broken to pieces 

 between the finger and thumb; while those of the same date, 

 and in the same situations, which were not Kyanised, are but 

 in a similar state of decomposition. 



The Me?iogramme. — The menogramme of Mapplebeck and 

 Lowe I find equal in durability to any pendent tally, and, for 

 their neatness and cheapness, they must supersede all wooden 

 tallies of their kind for the use of nurserymen, dahlia-growers, 

 &c, and in all cases of trade ; but for private collections they 

 are unsightly, giving the general appearance of business rather 

 than of pleasure. I nevertheless would wish them amply to re- 

 pay their proprietors; for the small space they would occupy in the 

 drawer of the counting-house or seed-shop, and their readiness 

 for use, requiring only to be slightly damped, instead of the 

 usual form of painting the tally previously to writing on it, are of 

 themselves sufficient to recommend them to the use of all who 

 are in constant need of such tallies. 



Conservatory, Green-house, and Stove Tallies for private Collec- 

 tions. — Of the various kinds of tallies for the above particular 

 purposes, none have come under my observation so cheap and 

 neat as those manufactured by Wright, at Shelton in Stafford- 

 shire ; which, when neatly lettered with the generic and specific 

 names in full, cost but about threepence each, and last for at 

 least four years ; and, instead of being unsightly, they rather 

 add to the appearance of the place, and to the enjoyment of 

 such as delight in knowing or in learning the names of plants. 



Tallies for Alpine Rock Plants, fyc. — It is almost needless to 

 say, that none can supersede strips of lead neatly stamped with 



