

Jan. 25 



5 



and 



(although tii*-- baskets u- 



W matted » «ho ° "7 **?) thf 



they arrived at 



So much 



not b*i«§ 



iatu i ) 4 



re eemptototy ft*n*ti I 



a**- JhHiihUi hj dayi 



th*y Ihiii, *b*t the 

 indw*, *«* apparently mas 



tfe*t«m* had mi 



■ um marnn 



HWihiit top»» for iwreral 



as of ice, an i nearly the 



«f tka tan ba red more or lea*. On the 



^ring :' matssup- 

 wAfe thrown over 



plant* were 

 make 



T 





ported by a t*» r 



tumory sure; a ei 

 ury frame-werk, 

 than, Wattr, ebly removal frpm the freezing tern. 

 *«!*L* wa* freelv *•**» «« die foliage, and no light 

 S& Rl UV P On retnov , the , t* darna^ 

 thay tari MMtaed wan but nominal, -areey a lea 

 hai anffered, • t auch * l*d been bmaed in th- 

 ZmaeHw Every leaf, or part . a leat so damaged 

 wj #o be littw^ed. Another Utttance -On 



' mM-Yvinu-r, th*' pM»i in thflqp 4 



In 



hftfve n< 



h ft 

 rafOTT 



or proeraat atio* 



ary MrfMMal temperature, 

 art in severe rather mi 



thehowea* I o'clock 



OttiUteg to a] y the 



t, u*l th- fr ' (for if hai 



expected! foon i h nti-i 



the morning, that the tend, r plant* were m h I n. 

 He nil ■« t' *» boiler, rained th« mperature a 



JafiTi i r I* free/mc:, and then liberally applied 



c3fl water with the «yrlnge. The reault was tha 

 nrtUag beyond a few leatea on a stray about or w 

 triseed any dnmagt, and by ennri§eall wasMpromhrin 



*M be mhe<l; so completely were the plants 

 ree« that * circumstance* would w?»-r ha 



been n -ted in e CT had not ti Knquent 



r^vtefec) mishap after all danger ■ dote was 

 Mat. >nem<>ie :— A bovtcf Geraniums was p< i 

 tratid by fr«>«t, the plfl wwee tnncfa frown, and the 

 frost was »n the increaae wl the nn mice 



became known in fbe morning. ' i wn was in tin 

 app! !. hut W fl tout tin- precaution of raising the 



taMirAfun abott faeifng pomr. The result of court! 



was tha tl wat . a* M>>n as it fell on the foliar 

 I.e. \me ice, till 'fei plant looked encased in candied 

 sugar. T mofe water the greater t 1. This 

 deter i fire waJ fel the neeessary teni] ra, 



tur ;iiii n the remit was all that eoald be 



wished. Sunlight was prevented read ig the plants 

 till a redrcu' >a of tl Is had takm pine In all 



and alee protect, fliem in a considerable degree from the 



SueSe c ere frosts. When the stalks are dug up 

 in SS, msny of them will have pushed a number ot 

 ."roots into the soil that surrounded them. I may 

 here mention- for the benefit perhaps of f»^~Sif«f 

 myself, never have their eyes glad< ned by the sight of 

 L Whorse load of dung - emptied down (as if it were 

 rJIrrowful) for every 30 feet" of ground^hat these 

 aaid Broccoli stalks make a capital dressing for Potatoes 

 when chopped to pieces and dug in as manure In poor 

 sand v soil I have found gratt manure of this kind mow 

 bMefeU to Potatoes than a dressing of the haU-de- 

 cayed leaves sparingly adulterated with stable later 

 which many gardeners are obliged to substitute foi 



Km &wrino or M+Sing the Soil in Summer -You may 

 have i serv I the practice which prevails in some 

 cmrdens of covering the earth in summer with moss or 

 stable litter. I happened lately to be in company where 

 the propriety of this practice was discussed, and I now 

 trouble you with some of the arguments that were 

 urged for and against its use. One person (Mr. A.) 

 asserted that mulshing or covering the earth in summer 

 whs good practic justified by experience, and based on 

 sound principles, because, as he alleged, the temperature 

 of th -round was thereby more uniformly maintained, 

 trtporat n lessened, and the plants benefited by the 

 "radual decomposition of the coverinir 



stated, that plants received the greater part of their 



nourishment from the atmosphere, and that they are 



less indebted to the earth for their nourishment than is 



only supposed ; and sustained his argument by 



tating that Wheat, or other seeds, placed on glass, and 



tffered with raw, vegetated luxuriantly. On the 



ntmty, (Mr. 13.) asserted that covering the ground in 



summer was bad both in practice and principle, because 



c was, in that case, impossible to stir the earth, and 

 beep it open to the solar and atmospheric influences, 

 which invigorate the roots, and consequently benefit the 



he plan . He, moreover, observed, that these cover- 

 ing in summer kept the roots of plants in a cooler 

 H than their I, and thereby interrupted the 



.-.(liable flow of sap, from which cause both the flowers 

 and fruit were often damaged. He also remarked, if 

 plants are so little indebted to the earth for their 

 nourishment (as Mr. A. had alleged), why then were 

 alter ms of crops necessary ? For if plants mainly 

 received their support from the atmosphere, it would, 

 , in that ca , be unnecessary to remove them into fresh 



He further 



wi 



sim.lar casts light shou! if j ' , 1* e- ed ; in ' ground, as the atmosphere might supply their exigencies 



fart, every re to a rapid reaction of f ' vital 



pow.fg anotold be applied only in the most limited 



gn reasin tunuli \\ i the requirements of 



the plants r ng ratlmr than accelerating vital 



atffen. As regards the action of light on plants, a ^ e 

 Beld k the ingenious experimentalist I a 



gjtvn muni f plants be fn n ; admit to some light 



ti * or ar n, from others e hide th 



chemical ra » ; from n . both t! hemical and heat 

 j ra to uth.TS only admit the iurnii , or vary its 

 at>t u in the many ways which will occur to the 



SMn Tl suit mst be of importer alike to the 



ga* or the ptti of aci. >■}. ft. I.. 



/ I i* since the p of the 



i itieS, 1 have 1» \ 





tisiui: c . in the hope that so ■ spirit 1 mauu- 



fiwrt r would j de sundry us. \ and ornamental 



r piired in ;ard- K What an excellent mate- 

 rial w« baked • arth be for the architectural balus 

 trad of gar i terraces in var sty] . lecially 

 thatwhi. is now so common, t! F.li/'abtthan, soli 

 cheap, ami in good tasie. How often are we in want of 

 1 ped *a!s to raise up choice plants and flowers to 

 th * in i n wall and what use might we not 



in one place as well as in another, an assumption, to 

 Inch world-wide exj ience is opposed. A learned 

 pi ian, who was one of the company, here startled 

 y saying that by covering the earth, electric action 

 was promoted, which is always beneficial to plants. 

 Now, in these discrepancies of opinion, and " oppositions 

 of science, falsely so called," we, " simple " amateurs, 

 who look up to yon as our "guide," respectfully re- 

 quest you to inform us which is the true philosophy 

 and right practice In this case. An Inquirer. [We refer 

 yos to what we have said in a recent Leading Article on 



this point.] 



Fruit Tree Borders — As concreting the foundation 



and surface of the borders of fruit trees appears to be 



g in vain \ r adver- I recommended on good authority, I think the object would 



I 



be better attained in point of ease, economy, and appear- 

 ance, by the use of either slate, zinc, or galvanised iron, 

 and drain pipes for the admission of air. To concrete 

 the foundation and surface is more expensive than 

 appears at first sight, on account of the time and labour 

 requir I ; and either slate, or sheet zinc, or galvanised 

 iron, laid on the surface could be easily moved, and would 

 not look unsightly. In some districts slabs of slate would 



Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.— Having observed 



Mr. Balfour s letter, in your last volume, respecting the 

 liberality of admission to this Botanic Garden, I beg to 

 state the following fact. Being in Edinburgh, with my 

 family, the summer before last, I took them to the 

 Botanic Garden. I asked for admission to the houses 

 and was refused, as they were not open without an 

 order, except on Saturdays. I was referred to the 

 curator's house in the garden, but there I could not 

 procure an order, and we did not see them. It is, I 

 believe, a condition on which a grant of public money 

 for the support of those gardens is made, .that they shall 

 be open daily to the public. If so, we do not thank the 

 curator much for that. But when we come to the part 

 under his control, and find that the houses are only open 

 to the public for three hours in winter and four hours 

 in summer one day in the week, and that strangers are 

 treated as I have 'above stated, we, on this side of the 

 Tweed, cannot give him credit for much liberality, how- 

 ever we may admire his admirable treatment of plants, 

 if we have an opportunity of visiting his garden between 

 12 and 4 on Saturdays -no easy matter for tourists. I 

 have seen Heaths and Stephanotus better managed in 

 those houses than anywhere else that I can remember ; 

 but if the public pay for their culture, they ought, I 

 think, to be allowed to see them. A. L. M., Lincoln. [We 

 insert this and similar letters because we agree in opinion 

 ith the writer, that what the public pays for should be 

 freely open to the public at all reasonable times.] 



The Late Lieutenant Waghorn.— On mentioning the 

 deaths of distinguished men during the year 1850, a 

 morning journal mentioned "Poor Waghorn 1" The 

 sound jot" the name should make Enghshmen blush, and 

 cause the ears of those in authority, both in the British 

 Government and the Company's service, to tingle when 

 they think of the manner in which Lieutenant Waghorn 

 was treated whilst living, and how little his family have 

 been considered now he is dead. If we turn to the his- 

 tory of men who have benefited their country by their 

 talents, industry, and perseverance, we shall find few 

 who have greater claims on our gratitude than Wag- 

 horn. It is quite unnecessary to enter into a detailed 

 account of his exertions on behalf of his fellow- 

 It will be sufficient to state that he brought 

 India .within six weeks of England. Surely all classes 

 havii friends in India must value the advantage of a 

 quick and certain periodical communication with the 

 East. Fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, and 

 sisters, should vie with each other in paying a tardy 

 tribute to the memory of the unfortunate and ill-used 



m. by immediately entering into a subscription 

 for the purpose of placing his family above want. Horti- 

 culturists must 'not be omitted in the list of those who 

 have been gainers by shortening the passage to India, 

 Seeds and plants arrive in half the time they used to 

 do, and are of course in better condition than when 

 their journey occupied four or five months, and some- 

 times even more. I shall be happy to put my name 

 down for 11, Is., and I trust the love of justice so charac- 

 teristic of Englishmen will induce many to follow my 



example. Falcon. 



Preserving Timber. — Observing that an enquiry has 

 been instituted upon the influence of paint upon out-door 

 work, I am quite of opinion, as now applied, it in many 

 instances is useless, and in many others injurious. 

 Every description of timber work will last longer without 

 paint than with it, unless the painting is doneupon one side 



If an oak gate, for instance, however well seasoned 



creatures. 



Waghoi 



* 



i - , „ , - . , . «=. i cost very Ittle, in others zinc or iron would not now be 



J^^/J*!!!"! rdermga, curved and straight, expensive. H. T 9 Bristol. 



u Pact€t$" of seeds. — The number of garden and 

 flower-seed purchasers is increasing every year. Rail- 



but 



to ados* a nti with tlie glowing masses of our 



Jfcwerbed. in the \V all know that some 



h art frred in artificial i ne, iron, and zinc ; 



are enided by the lamp of trm ablv held 



1 n by Mr Ru9kin,we * Uturu . * *iatn Sfane 



tn r : *yof m and the ha ess and w» f 

 fulness of iron. Real 1 ^ tone is i admirabh 



but b ar r most pei , particularly wh there 

 no stone in t natural s >ta near at hand. Th* are 

 » I garden seats, in the manner of the 



< im perf ited squar . ma by Mi n, in the 

 J lUrieS and there Iw n some el ant corni $ 



and of r arch aral ornaments pr> v some 



patentees at Tun^tall ; but the wants of gardens have 

 lot be* reepou 1 to ; and there yet remai noci 

 I ■ d an extensive field of speculation toad;*! terra- 

 la hortieult rposes. W. If. B.. i, r e 

 finite agr ith our correspondent. In fact, the repeal 

 Of the brick c ies has hard! been felt as yet.] 



Mart up regcttUUir-Mr. Cuthill, in his very* in- 

 teresting and instructive papers on « Ma et I .ardenin<r 

 round London,-' as that Cabbage plants "are ne^ 



earthed up— a bad practice for almost anv crop." The 



i principal use of mould $j up to 

 s to stead v them, and where the 



ways, and the general advance of civilisation, have 

 multiplied the cultivators of both culinary and ornamental 

 plants. Amateur gardeners, in the lower ranks espe- 

 ctall appearing on every side. Now it is of con- 



sequen -h, and to many others, that they be able 



to purchase small quantities of seeds. But in the seed 

 lists, below a q\ r of an Ounce, or a quarter of a pint, 

 no weight or measure is to be found but the unsatisfactory 

 quantity, * packet." A " packet" means anything, from 

 a pinch to an eighth of an ounce. Now, I conceive 

 that it would be useful to the public, and not unprofit- 

 abl to the seed-sell 



only. 



by exposure previously, is kept constantly painted, it 

 will become rotten, especially at the joints, laps^ and 

 mortices. Upon my farm the outer gates were kept 

 painted, they are every one decayed ; those put down at 

 the same time not painted are perfectly sound. The 

 black Huntingdon Willow will make paling almost as 

 durable as Oak itself, if not painted ; but if painted^ 

 soon becomes rotten. Laths made from this Wil- 

 low are more durable than Fir, or even Oak, as i 

 rough cast laths. I can point out places where it has 

 stood upwards of 40 years and is still sound. 

 Stockholm tar is better than paint upon farm buildings 

 nd fences, and there coal tar will suffice. But if paint is 

 applied it hermetically closes the external pores of the 

 wood, and the fixed air acts internally (especially if 

 assisted by moisture entering at the joints, or by having 

 communication with the earth) exactly as dry rot. This- 

 is not the case with resinous woods. Paint preserves 

 them greatly, and therefore all Fir sashes and frame- 

 work of every description should be kept well painted. 



V.\n* i*o «r^„ U,.U1~ *~ J 1__ A _ .• t * j:«~ la 



ellera, to ivmove the word packet Elm is very liable to decay, but as weather-boarding is 



tfteir hsts. TJrhy not, m weights, use superior to Fir ; and if kept tarred with Stockholm ttf, 



ise drachm? And it les« than a sixteenth will last, a wnfmnr rui, „„*^ :f __:_.i..j «„i„ „ n one 



•vvtng plants 



,, *»il is light and 



theom.a ,» expoied to strong win hat i %» is 

 »h M >lnt,lv ~— -ay. mt JeMti [ find it * B(l haye 



absolutely nee 



entirely from 



the avoirdupoise uraenm f Ana it Jess than a sixteenth 

 of an ounce is sold, let there be half and quarter drachms. 

 But, perhaps the seed merchants will object to the 

 rouble of weighing such small ([uantities. Let them 

 then imitate apothecaries in their prescriptions, and 

 have recourse to fluid ounces and fluid drachms. 

 table for the latter will stand thus : 



The 



pint 



f. ca. 



f. dr. 



1 : 



a 16 



256 





1 ■ 



* I« 



e 



practice 



never obmmtA it in smy way injurious to the Cabbag 



tribe. Late Broccoli 1 mould up with a vengeance, my mien a 



Now a fluid drachm will bo less than half a teaspoon- 



ful, and, of course, no farther division will be necessary 



U complaints are made of the expense of attending to 



mich a quantity of small parcels, let the * dsman 



eharge 



will last a century. Oak gates, if painted only on one 

 ide, would be benefited, and the same of Oak weather 

 boarding would be benefited. The main point to^ be 

 looked to is, to paint the tenons before they are put into 

 the mortices, or by tarring them the same object will be 

 attained ; and whether painted or tarred, or not, after- 

 wards, the parts requiring preservation will be preserved. 

 A friend of mine used to say, painting- an Oak gate was 

 like painting an old woman's face— it might make her 

 hanusomer, but could not make her vounger. Robert 

 Baker, Writtle. Nothing can be more erroneous than 



tiien 4 feet apart, have the soil from between the rows 

 banked up (like earthing Celery), so aa to cover the 

 whole of the stems up to the lower leaves, which enables 

 toe plants to stand erect even in the roughest weather 



to suppose that the application of tar is injurious to 

 wood. If applied to "sappy" WO od, or even to dry 

 wood during damp weather, the effect produced will 

 certainly not be beneficial, but will, in fact, be injurious, 



H tending to awn rot by shutting op damp within IM 



for one of "their packets, after it hastravpHpT^'T"' '' ' P ° reS ° f ^ e . tiraber » and excluding the air. I w«uW 

 byrailwavi 8 divwibythe»im^dL«?^tK r ?~ e nd that all wood intended to be tarred, be 



i^«I-^-wiiSS m S^. m ^ W |iSX to J*?"* *?«&* *y before anyWr* 



price, ngma. ! paint be applied, even if it takes a year or two tobecoiu* 



abolition of "packets" woold be 

 especially profitable to the principal seed merchants • 



