

THE 



T 



\ 



mm 



GEEAT WESTERN, SOUTH-WESTERN, AND SOUTH-EASTERN SEED ESTABLISHMENT, 



For Supplying* Genuine Home-Grown Seeds Carriage Free. 



Mall 



Growers, Reading, Berk-, being extensive Growers of Seeds, and having 



ami, and Western Counties of England, and in South Wales, hare made arrange- 

 J Railways (all of which converge at Reading), whereby they are enabled to deliver 

 either ot these Lines: or to an\ Railway Terminus in London ; or Packet Office in 



JOHN SUTTON un> SONS, S 

 xntnv Customers in the Sou'herr. 

 dents with the Di 

 their Goods Carriage 



^ n ft°nT TOv'V°VFW PRICED CATALOGUE OF HOME-GROWK SEEDS, beiti* a careful selection of only the very beat 

 Irindaof KTTCHEV GARDEN, AGRICULTURAL and FLOWER SEEDS, with prices affixed to each article, will, it i* presumed, 

 hi fonad tiie most useful and convenient of any yet presented to the public, the prices being remarkably low, while the sorts are 

 the best in caltiTation. It will be sent post paid on application, enclosing me penny stamp. 



SUTTON'S COLLECTIONS OF GARDEN SEEDS. 



For the convenience of G ntlememcho may not be wdl acquaint ul with all the best hinds of Garden Sicds, and the 

 proper proportions of each generally necessary to stock a large or small Garden, Messrs. Sutton have during the last 

 stven years been in the practice of making compUte i flections for one year's supply, the economy and other advan- 

 tages of which system have been fully appreciated by the purchasers, as indicated by numerous recommendations and 

 annual increase of orders. 



The Collections are increased in quantity this year, and are far superior to any others yet offered to the public, 

 quantity and quality. 



No. 1. A COMPLETE COLLECTION of KITCHEN GARDEN SEEDS Foa A LARGE GARDEN, for one year's supply 

 No' 2* A COMPLETE COLLECTION of DITTO, in quantities proportionately reduced 

 No! 3*. A COMPLETE COLLECTION of DITTO, equally choice sorts 

 No. 4. A SMALL AND CHOICE ASSORTMENT OF DITTO 



Persons who are already in possession of several kinds of Seeds are requested to send the names, that they may be omitted 

 in the collections they may order, and additional quantities of other sorts will be given in lieu of them. 



Choice CoTUcHons of Flower Seeds may also be had, either all hardy or half hardy'sorts, and will be sent carriage free with 

 the above, or free by post if Flower Seeds only are required, viz. :— The best 50 Sorts, 10*. 6d. ; the best 3J Sorts, 7s. 6d ; the best 



N.B.— It is not necessary that remittances should accompany orders from Clergymen, Resident Gentlemen, 



or their Gardeners. 



Address, JOHN SUTTON and SONS, Seed Growers, Reading, Berks. 





it need differ in nothing from 



the 



■ • • 



* * 



• - • 



• - . 



• • • 



■ - 1 



. . ■ 



• . • 



• t • 



• •• 



• ■ 



• • t 



both in 

 £ s. d. 



2 10 



1 10 



1 1 



12 6 



greenhouses, conservatories, Vinerie*, and tube rna- 

 tories — to which let us add orchard-houses — a new 



proposed by Mr. Rivera for building! where 

 fruit-tives may be cultivated in pots under glats.* 

 [n comfort and convenience they will prove infi- 

 nitely preferable to the narrow >aces now i cu- 

 pied by greenhouses, because of the facility with 

 which they can be made to extend over a con- 

 siderable area. As to their internal management, 



i what is found neces- 

 sary in tne open air ; gravel walks, lawns, shrub- 

 beries, will be as suitable as in the common flower- 

 garden ? In fact the difference between the Victoria 

 garden, or winter garden, and an ordinary pleasure 

 ground, will consist in the substitution of Camellias, 

 Chinese Azaleas, Indian Rhododendrons, Cape 

 Heaths, Pelargoniums, and New Holland plants of 

 all sorts, for Laurels, Lilacs, and Phillyreas ; in 

 having crops of fruit secured against risk, and in 

 the enjoyment of flowers and green leaves all the 

 winter long, in exchange for mud, snow, hail, frost, 

 and floral desolation. 



PEAR AND QUINCE STOCKS. 



than such as represent a climate entirely different 



EENE LANGELIER, Nurseryman and Florist, from his own ; hence the tropics are ransacked for 

 St. Helier, Jersey, begs to inform the Public and the „ - . • i unusual or ivirturMnnp in 



Trade that he has the following of very superior growth, to ail inat IS Singular, or unusual, Or picturesque in 



dispose of :— A few thousands QUINCE, very free and healthy, 

 fit to receive the buds next July, at 405. per 1000; also PEAR 

 Stocks, of superior growth, two years transplanted, and very 

 vigorous, at *0*. per 1000; smaller ditto, transplanted, and 

 very vigorous, at 35s. per 1000. 



This is an opportunity R. L. has never before offered to the 

 Public, for his stock is totally different from the French stock, 

 which h *s always given R. L. superior growth of trees. — Orders 

 will be punctually attended to. Reference or remittance from 

 unknown correspondents. 



It is a principle with vegetable physiologists that 

 a tree of any age, or dimensions, may be safely 

 transplanted, provided its roots can be preserved, 

 and mechanical means be found for lifting a mass so 

 ponderous as a forest tree with the earth in which 

 its roots are embedded. But the difficulties attendant 

 upon carrying out the principle are such as to deter 



Cfit ©arOeuersT Cftrotttcie* 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 1851. 



MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. 



«„,.,., T ._ ir| S British Architects .',8 p.m. 



Moidat, Jan. 13[ Geowphlcal ..... , 8jp . M , 



I Horticultural 2 r.M. 



ir nfini . __ 1 1) Syro Egyptian 7i**- 



AffMBAT, — J4 < Civil EnRineert 8 pm. 



Medical and Chirurgical , 8^p.m. 



f Microscopical 8 r.M. 



Wednesday, — 15 < Society of Artt ..8 p.m. 



( K theological 8 p.m. 



t«o.»«. - K^r:!!r..::::::::::::::::::::K 



\ Asiatic 2 p.m. 



Saturday, — J8< Royal Botanic 33p.m. ' 





If the marvellous building now rearing its head in 

 Hyde Park had no other merit than that of exhibit- 

 ing what can be done in England under the influence 

 of a fixed resolution, it would scarcely claim a notice 

 in this part of our Journal ; however worthy of 

 admiration it might be, its structure would neces- 

 sarily be left for discussion elsewhere. But it will 

 be found, beyond all doubt, to have a most important 

 bearing upon Horticulture, as, indeed, its garden 

 origin suggests. When Mr. Paxton constructed at 

 Chatsworth the Victoria House, fully described in 

 our last volume, page 548, he laid the foundation of 

 a series of changes in the plans of conservatories, the 

 end of which will doubtless be the gradual removal 

 of all those lean-to, span-roofed, or upright fronted 

 plant-houses with which gardens are now decorated. 

 It will probably be found, too, that he will have 

 introduced into very general use those winter gar- 

 dens which so many have sought for and so few 

 have found. 



The difficulty that has hitherto been experienced 

 in making a winter garden, has been its expense. 

 The very term winter garden implies the enclosure 

 of a considerable area beneath a glass roof ; but the 

 moment a large area is spoken of, the architect casts 

 his eyes upwards, and insists upon the height bearing 

 a certain proportion to the base. Tied down by the 

 rules of his profession, he is unable to acquiesce in 

 anything at variance with what he calls principles ; 

 he finds it indispensable that a greenhouse of any 

 magnitude should be constructed upon the same 

 rules as a Gothic cathedral, or a Greek temple ; 

 and the result is a large outlay, not for the benefit 

 of the plants to be cultivated, quite the contrary, 

 but for the support of a professional reputation, the 



their vegetation ; but such plants insist upon a high 

 temperature and a very peculiar atmosphere, in 

 the absence of which they refuse to exist. And 

 this compels the further introduction of costly heat- 

 ing apparatus ; so that between massive brickwork, 

 ponderous iron work, and a labyrinth of hot-water- 

 pipes, it is fortunate if the building is prepared for 

 receiving plants at a cost of less than a pound sterling 

 per superficial foot of the area. We entertain no 

 doubt that, in general, the expense is far greater. 

 At this rate, a plant-house, 100 feet long and 30 feet 

 wide, would cost 3000/. at the least ; and it would 

 require nearly 44,000/. to cover an acre in like manner. 

 But when w r e look at the Victoria House in Hyde- 

 park, we find that about 18 acres are covered for 

 less per acre than a quarter the sum above men- 

 tioned; and of this sum we apprehend that more 

 than half has been on account of the galleries and 

 aisles, required to produce the magnificent effect 

 which we all so much admire. It is not heated, it is 

 true, and for that an allowance must be made ; but, 

 giving any reasonable margin for heating, still the 

 difference of cost is excessive. And it is to this that 

 the attention of the country should be directed. 



The true principle to observe in the construction 

 of plant-houses should be, as we think, to depend for 

 a fine effect upon the vegetation they enclose, and not 

 upon the roof that covers it. If a grand architectural 

 display is required, there is the mansion in which 

 it may be properly sought ; to attempt it in a plant- 

 house, is a misapplication of skill, which usually 

 ends in a costly abortion, too solid for plants and 

 too flimsy for anything else. That being so, high 

 roofs, with a w r ide span, should be discarded ; the 

 immediate effect of which is to obviate the necessity 

 of massive walls and foundations. If in their place 

 is substituted the cheap horizontal ridge and furrow 

 roof, proposed by Mr. Paxton, with the light columns 

 that carry it, the main elements of expense dis- 

 appear, heating becomes needless, perhaps, or, if 

 needed, unexpensive contrivances may be substituted 

 for the numerous water-pipes now in vogue, and an 

 acre or two of winter garden- beneath a Victoria house, 

 falls within the means of every wealthy person, and 

 of every large city, in the United Kingdom. Nor is 

 the reduction of cost the only gain to be expected 

 from these Victoria houses. The cost, such as it is, 

 is reduced to a sum which is liable to no error. The 

 price of one " square" being known, the exact cost 

 of any number of similar " squares" is ascertainable ; 

 and thus we are left in no uncertainty as to whether 

 the expense of our undertaking will be half as much 

 more than the estimate, or .twice as much. 



To tenants the Victoria House will be peculiarly 

 valuable ; because it can be removed in pieces, and 

 put together again with the same ease with which it 

 was fixed. Whereas, from the manner in which 



most persons froiji trying the experiment 



indeed, like Louis XIV., were at 



since, 

 changed. 



true na+ f -- - r .v.v W .v»«* 4v F uvttuvn ; mc wcKs iiAtJu. »t ncicds, liuui uic maimer HI wmcil 



necwi-5 % • 1S m ! staken / The supposed plant-houses are now built, they are practically irre- 



neces&ty of 



securing 



loftiness in a large con- 



sen atory, renders great strength indispensable in 

 tne roof and m the walls that support the roof ; 

 this involves much cost, which being once incurred 

 of course leads to stone pavements, and carved 

 ; o tn ^ a * d such other expensive adjuncts as are 



S red '° re T? le the interior with the magni- 

 ficent exterior of the building. But that is no means 



cath^.i rge .° Ut1 ^ havin g been Permitted in a 



StnSf ° r u mple ° f « lass > the Proprietor is 

 naturally unwilling to fill it with any other plants 



movable, and become the property of the landlord, 

 in the absence of some special agreement to the 

 contrary. 



It may be true that Victoria Houses are not appli- 

 cable to all the objects of cultivation. Perhaps not. 

 But there can be no doubt that they will answer 

 perfectly for four-fifths of the purposes sought in 

 gardens. 



Sove- 

 reigns, inaeea, iiKe l<ouis aiv., were at one time 



supposed to be the only persons able to undertake 

 such costly operations ; and hence, notwithstanding 

 the occasional adoption of the process, the trans- 

 plantation of large trees may still be called a rare 

 occurrence, even in this climate, which is so espe- 

 cially favourable to its success. 



That there really is no difficulty in the matter, 

 except such as skill and adequate means can wholly 

 overcome, is sufficiently proved by the extent 

 to which the transplantation of large trees has 

 been carried at Elvaston Castle, of which some 

 account has been given in our columns. But people 

 evidently think that Lord Harrington's success is 

 an exceptional case ; they do not put entire confi- 

 dence in Sir Henry Stewart's results, and they feel 

 alarmed at what that writer says of the issue of a 

 great experiment tried at Edinburgh some years 



when the site of the Botanic Garden was 

 In the first place, as to the expense of 

 the experiment, this writer says it would be need- 

 less, as well as invidious, to investigate that, as it 

 could be no object in a royal institution; and, 

 secondly, he speaks rather coldly of the result, when 

 he merely says that "the removals were executed with 

 a safety which could scarcely have been anticipated " 

 The meaning which this was intended to convey 

 is now explained in the notes to the third edition of 

 the * Planter's Guide," page 386, where we are dis- 

 tinctly informed that although some things had 

 succeeded well, yet that " the ordinary forest-trees 

 on the other hand, such as the Lime, the Birch, and 

 the Walnut, appeared by no means so successful, 

 although powerfully supported with cordage." Faint 

 praise like this, from the pen cf Sir Henry Stewart, 

 it must be acknowledged, was not calculated to 

 hold out great expectations of success in trans- 

 planting large trees, considering that the late Mr. 

 APNab was the operator ; and it must have greatly 

 contributed to damp the ardour of those who would 

 have been otherwise encouraged by the success said 

 by Sir Henry to have attended his own proceedings. 



How general the feeling is, that no certainty 

 attends the removal of old trees, was shown by the 

 manner in which the public received Mr. Paxton's 

 proposal to remove the old Elms in Hyde Park, 

 which are now enclosed in the building there. 

 It evidently was thought by some that the proposal 

 was a boast, hazarded for the sake of removing an 

 impediment in the way of the structure. But the 

 thing might have been done last September just as 

 easily as raising the first column of the building ; 

 that is to say, provided the rotten old trunks would 

 have borne the strain that there must have been 



upon them in the act of removal. 



The practicability of this has been finally set at 

 rest, in a manner open to no question, by a large 

 (experiment in transplanting trees from 10 to jQ 

 feet in height, at Amport House, near Andover, 



Marquess of Winchester. Mr. 



the 



in height, 

 seat of the 



They will not do for propa ating houses, 

 nor for growing the difficult kinds of Orchid-, nor 

 for some of the more delicate operations of the gar- de f , ri tlon 

 dener ; but they will make admirable forcing-houses, so next week" 



Joseph Holmes, the gardener there, has published 

 an account of the operation in a highly instructive 

 paper in the new number of the Journal of the 

 Horticultural Society. In this communication he 

 describes with minuteness the method he pursued, 

 the difficulties that occurred, and the final result of 

 transplanting about a couple of hundred trees ot 



» We have not space on the pr - ut occasion to go into sny 

 «criptloo of these orchard-nouses, but *e stall certsiuiy «* 



