572 Retrospective Criticism. 



Dickinson, Esq. They are growing in the garden of Mr. Carew, at Knight- 

 leys, near Exeter. They are respectively, No. 1., 21 ft. 9 in. high, with the 

 trunk 3 ft. 10i in. in circumference at the hase, and the diameter of the head 

 26 ft. ; No. 2., 21 ft. 9 in. high, with a trunk 4 ft. 4in. in circumference at the 

 base, and the diameter of the head 26 ft. ; and No. 3., 30 ft. high, the circum- 

 ference of the trunk 3 ft. 10* in., and the diameter of the head 30 ft. Such 

 noble trees of this species of magnolia are not, we should suppose, to be seen 

 elsewhere in Devonshire. 



Valiums virgdtus, raised from seed brought from Italy in 1826, and now 

 1 1 ft. 9 in. high, with a head 9 ft. in diameter, is now growing in the garden of 

 Mr. Dickinson, at Knightshayes, near Tiverton. By the beautiful drawing 

 kindly sent us, it appears to be one of the most elegant of bush trees. We 

 are only sorry that we cannot afford to be at the expense of engrav- 

 ing it. — Cond. 



Ccelebogyne (from ccelebs y unmarried, gyne, woman ; male organs not dis- 

 covered) Aquifolium Smith, -Euphorbi«c£-<2?. — This plant was discovered by 

 Mr. Allan Cunningham in Moreton Bay, and sent to Kew in 1829 ; and a paper 

 on it, by Mr. Smith of Kew, was read before the Linnaean Society on June 

 18. 1839, from which the following is an abridged extract. " A short time 

 after their introduction the plants flowered, and, proving to be all females, 

 they were naturally passed over as belonging to a dioecious plant until Mr. 

 Smith's attention was particularly drawn to them by the fact of their pro- 

 ducing perfect seeds. They have annually flowered and matured their seeds 

 since ; and, notwithstanding the most diligent search and constant attention, 

 no male flowers nor any pollen-bearing organs have been detected. Young 

 plants have been raised at different times from the seeds, and they bear so 

 close a resemblance to their parents, that it is scarcely possible even to suspect 

 the access of pollen from any other plant. {Annals of Nat. Hist., vol. iv. 

 p. 68.) 



The gigantic Ctpver (.Melilotus arborea, p. 300.) is now 4§ ft. high, and 

 producing white flowers, and it still continues to grow fast. The side 

 branches are 2 ft. 9 in. long, and many of them showing for bloom. The gi- 

 gantic hemp and the flax (see as above) are also growing vigorously. Should 

 horses and cattle not like the clover, either in its green or dried state, perhaps 

 sprinkling it with salt or with lime water might have a good effect. — H. 

 Baivell, Gardener to Sir C. M. Burrell, Bart., M.P. Knepp Castle, Horsham, 

 Sussex, August 8. 1839. 



Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism. 



The high Keeping of the Sheffield Botanic Garden. — In your notice of this 

 garden, p. 455., particular reference is made to the mode of managing the 

 labour of the garden, the number of men employed, &c. Lest there should 

 be any misconception on this point, I shall feel obliged by your giving inser- 

 tion to the following remarks. It is stated that the number of men employed 

 in the ground is three. Although this is correct, it ought to be mentioned that, 

 besides these, there are also three professional gardeners and a boy employed 

 in the stoves, green-houses, flower-beds, borders, and herbaceous ground, &c., 

 whose time is wholly occupied in these departments. The other three are 

 garden labourers, two of whom are employed by the piece, and earn, on an 

 average, 20s. each per week. Their business is to keep down the whole of 

 the low grass, clip the edges of the walks, flower-beds, and borders of every 

 kind throughout the garden, and to clean up and remove the grass. The 

 third labourer is occupied in hoeing, raking, &c. In this way the labour is 

 divided, and each labourer having a certain amount of responsibility devolving 

 upon him, this operates as an inducement to exertion. By this arrangement 

 a much greater amount of labour is obtained than would be possible, or even 

 reasonable, to expect by employing professional gardeners at low wages. 



