W-NWK 



116 



T 1 1 E G A R I > E XERS 



CHRONICLE 



b 



qu* 



(or 



tiooable, yet it witty and enter, 

 wry thing that • young man should 



I I 



flisgr* 



bed ; 



MM 



above all 



We have 



Uining 



**d.> 



mended, an if i 



things the moit 



coo Id strive after 

 tod coui only b< 



"^ "ffitT equally entertaining, ana pernap 

 ^ truly onefal book might be written for the us 

 rf^eners, and thote who cultivate the soil gene 

 JT«on the best mode of cultivating weeds ; 

 and thin, perhaps, might be well followed by hin s 

 to landlords how to diminish as much as possible 

 the value of their estates, and to increase the growth 

 of venBta." The idle habits, vulgar associates and 

 animated vices which form the stumbling-blocks of 

 the young ttudent, are not more injurious at the 

 time nor more fatal in their consequences, than the 

 deep-rooted prejudices of sensible practical men, 

 when the old rule of thumb once gets the ascendancy 

 mr their mind*, and leads them to persevere even 

 in what they know to be wrong, merely because 

 u they have always done so." 



When a gardener has some choice and scarce 

 needs or when he is endeavouring to rawe a particu- 

 lar early crop, he takes more than ordinary care 

 with them. He select* some good soil, sows his 

 seeds, waters them enough but not too much, and 



taken. 



n&taro and requirements of the voung plants. If he 

 Si anxioos to hurry on the germination of the seed> 

 so as to bring the youni; plants forward as rapidly 

 possible, he gives them a little bottom heat 

 sowing the seed* in fine mould resting on half rot n 

 dug, because, under those circumstances, the gentle 

 heat of the still fermenting manure, and the vapours 

 which it gives out, are highly favourable to the ger- 



of the seeds. This is one of the best 



plants; for notwith- 



known modes of rawing youn 

 Standing all that has been sai 

 and other wonderful modes 



about seed steeping, 

 of accelerating the 

 growth of plants, we have, at the present time, no ine airec 



e powerful mode of aiding germination, arid b grow i ng plants 

 IBS the crowth of voung plants. This is the : t w h has been hit herto 



with their J ' 



more 



forcing the growth ol young p 



plan adopted by the best 



choicest seeds ; and, strange to say, it is also 



mode very common 



the 



thiui^ySw^w^d with a Urickmass of weeds, 



lowing in the most luxuriant profusion blossoming 

 abundantly, and bearing a plentiful crop of ripe seeds. 

 The man who wastes manure, by letting the 

 volatile portions evaporate in the air, neglects his 

 own interest, but he benefits his neighbours rather 

 than injures them ; on the contrary, he who cul- 

 tivates weeds on his manure-heaps (thus giving 

 them all the advantage of abundant manure and 

 R entle bottom-heat), whilst he injures himself, at 

 the same also injures his neighbours. A single weed 

 is easily and rapidly destroyed ; but when it has 

 been suffered to grow and produce hundreds of seeds, 

 which are then spread over a large surface of ground, 

 its extermination becomes a serious difficulty, we 

 have sometimes seen a piece of ground most care- 

 fully cleansed, and then well manured with a good 

 dressing of rotten dung, containing an abundant 

 supply of weed seeds ; and, if the evil were not 

 so serious a one, it would be almost laughable to 

 see a man thus, in the first case, taking such care to 

 eradicate all weeds, and then, when he had done so, 

 taking quite as much care to ensure a fresh crop of 

 them, reared under the most favourable circumstances. 



An immense deal of unnecessary labour is caused 

 by the spread of weeds all over the country, which 

 are sown broadcast, and carried about by the air 

 over gardens and fields ; a great portion of this evil 

 may be traced to the cultivation of weeds in the way 

 just adverted to, and to the frequent practice of 

 keeping wide and foul hedges. Indeed, it will gene- 

 rally be found that the manure-heaps are made on 

 some small piece of waste ground by the way- side, 

 and surrounded by remarkably high and wide hedges, 

 which serve chiefly to shelter weeds and harbour 

 vermin. The seeds of these weeds must, of neces- 

 ity, fall on the fresh manure placed by their side ; 

 the seeds germinate ; the plants they produce grow 

 with uncommon vigour, and consequently bring 

 forth a very fine crop of seed, ready to be carried 

 out, and sown with the well-rotted manure in 

 which they have been raised. 



The direct absorption of putrifying organic matter 



is another and curious sub- 



tend 



contain a small quantity of such poisonous - 

 And if so, whether, though it is not enough to* 

 fere with the growth of the plant, it may not t 

 render it less wholesome as an article fT ta 

 When a plant grows naturally, it generally [* °J 

 entirely to decompose such matters, but when v 

 over-manured that is no longer the case • * 

 though a healthy animal may receive no 'J* 

 whatever from eating such food, yet it i s p3*J 

 that during the prevalence of any di$ea$^ 

 epidemic, over-manured and rapidly forced v * 

 tables, containing a portion of putrescent matter b£ 

 produce serious effects, by introducing into'*? 

 systems of animals matter which is nnwholesoiay 

 not poisonous- ™* 



FOREIGN GARDEN GLEANINGS. 



St. Petersburgh Public Promexades.— fta 

 mer garden is the most remarkable of any j 



fe 



but 



amined. 



the country 



partially ex- 

 It is well known that plants are 



what are termed 



very 



strong 



for some can endure almost any quantity 



differently affected by 



for the ciltivaiion and encouragement of the most ^Tot only without injury, but are even all the 

 troublesome weeds ! - ' J ' *' 



The management of manure heaps is, no doubt, 

 my important affair to all who occupy themselves 

 with the growth and cultivation of plants, whether 

 On a large or small scale, and we are much obi ed 

 to the chemists who have pointed out the importance 

 of fixing ammonia, and told us how that desirable 

 and can be best obtained. But there is another 

 niattr equally important, to understand which we 

 Med no * ntific knowledge, a little plain common 

 se being all that is required, and that is, thi 

 growth of v*e*ds on m lure heaps and mixens. A 



xposed 





changes tf Km weather, sad placed, as is frequently 



*t. ,,„.„ _. + t * - i il- i_ j • H ^"vij i/ui5uuou3 mciuere dv means 01 tneir roots, it not 



the case, so that any water which drains away from m/^^ii i, ±u *. i * \. • t / \ 



It i. a.fcg.Her ,„., , «, mger inj „ ry „ t L C "l^T'li'S £ L° J^K^ }™.± 



portant points ; the volatile matters produced 

 during the fermentation of the dung will be carried 

 away in the air, whilst the soluble substances which 

 it contains will be washed away by rain. Arthur 

 Youn<; says somewhere, in one of his numerous 

 books, "He who is within scent of a dunghill, smells 

 that which his crops would have eaten if he had 

 permitted it Instead of manuring his land, he 

 manures the atmosphere, and before his dunghill is 

 finished turning, he has manured another parish 

 perhaps another country." There is a great deal of 

 truth in this remark. 



.It is the custom in Cornwall to plant Cabbages on 

 the dunduUs ; the plants grow often to an enormous 

 .size, and, though they generally have a bad flavour 

 being more or less tainted from the gross matters in 

 which their roots have been feeding, yet it is found 



better for it; whilst others are at once damaged 

 when their roots come in contact with such manure, 

 and are soon killed by any large quantity of it. 

 Plants, to a certain extent, possess the power of 

 selection by their roots ; that is to say, they absorb 

 different substances, at a very different rate ; and it is 



therefore presumed that, under natural circumstances, 

 they only absorb those substances which are of 

 service to them, and reject any others which are 

 presented to their roots, and which are useless or 

 hurtful. This may be true to some extent, but 

 there are evidently limits to this power of selection, 

 for plants are readily poisoned by the absorption of 

 poisonous matters by means of their roots. It not 



sorbed a considerable portion of strong manure, 

 continues nevertheless to grow in the most healthy 

 and luxuriant manner, although the manure which 

 it has absorbed would have killed a more delicate 

 plant. This is especially the case sometimes with 

 highly manured vegetables, which even acquire a 

 distinct flavour or taint from the manure used. 

 Delicate plants, under such circumstances, are 

 either at once killed, or they are poisoned by the 

 introduction of putrid matter into their systems, 

 and die after a short time. Examples of this sort 

 of poisoning of plants are by no means nncomnibn 

 and indeed, the Potato blight is of a somewhat 

 similar nature ; for whatever may be the primary 

 cause of that disease, there is no doubt that the 

 proximate cause of the destruction of th* r>] a ^ 



putrescent matter. 



presence 



is 

 of 



town. This beautiful piece of ground is more Z 

 800 yards long, and is bounded towards the wesU 

 the Champ de Mars, and towards the north by fc 

 Neva. On this side is the magnificent iron 4* 

 erected by the Empress Catherine. It is 350 ^2 

 long, and is supported by 36 columns, each consisting! 

 one solid piece of polished granite, resting on as 1^1 

 granite pedestals, and surmounted by urns with go2 

 handles : the three large gates which are in it are* 

 beautiful as anything can be conceived to be. The jk 

 tribution of the garden itself is simple ; a carriage nr 

 surrounds it ; two alleys, shaded by old Lime trJ 

 cross it from end to end. It is here that the inhabit^ 

 and beau monde assemble in innumerable numbers ■ k 

 the place is deserted the moment hot weather sets k 

 and remains so until the spring of the following year 

 Islands in the Neva. — The Neva, which runs throri 

 St, Petersburgh for a distance of about fourmil^ 

 surrounds a dozen islands, which were formerly lifl 

 better than quagmires, but were drained and laid in 

 in 1720 ; they are now beautiful gardens, and are doty 

 here and there with elegant country houses of sod 

 diversity of architecture that almost every style may b 

 seen amongst them. Nowhere that I know of * 

 there so many beautiful villas, fine groves, and deligbtb 

 grounds ; nowhere, in short, so much luxury for tbi 

 or four months in the year. But I must leave thee 

 general features, and describe what is more interests 

 to gardeners in general. 



Yelaguine Island. — To the left of Kameni-osW 

 and a mile and a quarter from St. Petersburgh, is sitap 

 Yelaguine island, the private property of the Empra 

 who has converted it into a fine English park, fc 

 palace, situate in the middle of the park, and of mods 

 date, can be seen through clumps of Weeping Bint 

 Larch, Scotch Fir, and Abies taxifolia. The placei 

 crowded with visitors in the fine season. The garden 

 front of the palace is worthy of notice ; its circular mk 

 carefully covered with red sand, contrast strongly ▼M 

 a thick turf broken here and there with small bedsi 

 bushes and herbaceous plants in full flower ; the gab 

 and its hothouses are under the care of a M. Boucfy 

 German gardener. 



The hothouses are, for the most part, filled sf 



young and healthy tropical plants : there areagrt 



many Camellias, but they are small ; theRhododendnft 



on the contrary, are remarkably fine. M. Bouch f 



peared to us to be eminently successful in the cula» 



tion of small ornamental flowering plants ; he rears fi 



the greatest success several varieties of Antirrhintt 



Verbena, Calceolaria, Wallflowers, Petunias, Phte 



and particularly of the pink Drummondi and f» 



Drummondi, which, grouped in masses on the GftJ 



plots, produce a very pleasing effect. We may » 



mention the small Chinese Dianthus, Eutoca, Barton* 



Coreopsis, and Gilia. The turf is remarkably close * 



fine. Instead of Lolium, which perishes annuallj, * 



Bouch chooses fine but common Grasses, which * 



better suited to the climate and do not trample do*& 



the Grass, in fact, appears to us to be perfection.-' 



Masson's Report. 



We had lately an opportunity of observing 



curious example of this kind of action, in the 



destruction of some ft-rit trees in an orchard 



worth „....„ Wftlv ,* mem ums, ana ior some pur- 

 poses they answer exceedingly welL The Coraish 

 farmers are often censured for this practice, as it is 



«aid tnat the manure must be greatlv injured a wit «-«U^« t IT *£ xT~* w J /* wa 11X au orcnara, 



part of iu goodness being extScte/bvZ TcabbL es mtl ^ the t actl0 A n * putrefying vegetable 

 before it is, in fact, used It is nlain »h,f »7? ? • ? the . ir roots> A W™^ of Grass cuttings 



siderahlp iLrtia* «t*u j P ? , 3 con " ^vintr been heaneri ™ „J .rf~-~i .„ r... feS 



wderable portion of the goodness of the manure 

 must be absorbed by the Cabbages ; but it is quite 

 S?ttL qU 3S? ^! th , er ^ lo- "ecessariJy results. 



ing been heaped up, and allowed to ferment 

 and heat, in an orchard, it was subsequently 

 proved that whenever the liquor which drained from 

 the heap soaked into the ground, and came 





which the Cabbages absorb, and which 

 contributes to the.r growth, cannot be said to oe 



lost, though it u very doubtful whether it wnnlrfl+i,,™ ; * j ""•"""" ' "" •/ «.««cu mem, ana ty 



not, for the most part, be really bst and drSd ^Lf Cmg ST?°f matter ^to the system 

 nway in the air, if it were not for Xh< TLbhZes ' ' **' "^ ^ deatL If rf » h n ~ M 



Z^lt S! tr y '/ here CaQ A e Q0 maMer o* doubt 



1/ ^- ter *? *">* Cabba « e8 tb -aa to grow 

 eeds, and this unfortunately is too often the case • 



for in many parts of England it is the conS 

 practice to leave manure-heaps untouched so long 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



[Cage Birds, No. 3.] » 



No. XIX.— The average duration of a c**^** 

 in the hands of a kind master, is from 1 6 to 20 J* 

 With me, the "oldest inhabitant " lived 15| yew- J 

 long since, there was one to be seen, at the house ot 

 William Spooner, Wood-lane, Shepherd's Bm ^ 

 and vigorous in his 21st year. He was even then 

 in song; but, about the middle of that year, his le? 3 ^ 

 getting gouty, and his sight was beginning to ti- 

 died before he had attained the age of 22. *■ 

 remember to have seen a finer bird, in every "^ 



His affection towards his master and mistress «&,* 



They *> r 



birds, firm to the last 

 mourned his loss. 



c& 



w 



contict witli iU* Z^t ~~c fCT* , .*T~ WMUe in In order to secure longevity for your birds, hf "^ 

 Sim?bm?«»W 'A n th 1- fru V rees > ^ gave in the selection of you/cages. «— « *• the ^ 



tnem a blue colour ; evidently diseased them, and bv " ' "" 



llfirtrr nniPAh/»,, n . ii--, * j ,i . «' 



into the systems 

 If plants are able 



ZhZClu * i*T? qflanllt y ot P^refying matter, 

 which, though it does not kill them, is/nevertheless 

 poisonous, and would kill more delickte plant it 

 becomes a Question wr.rfli ;«««♦:_*:« ^v i /, 



nvT«r v i? Ue i W ° rth lnv ^tigating, whether 

 plants which are cultivated for food may not some- 

 times, especially when they are highly manured 



rvux uo^cb. Herein lies 

 generally in use, are altog el ^ 

 adapted to comfort ; being open to the air » ^ 

 point, and admitting a succession of draugnw * 

 morning till night. Hence the cause of so in^ d 



ness, and of so many deaths. Birds so 



attend 



speedily become asthmatic ; and seldom H^J 



years, as daily experienc 



# 



* A •• Naturalist "asks me, why I consider thecjoft^ 



•st brought over to this country, was «• t * n * er *?tnticd& 

 ar?" In addition to its being recorded as an "n» w 



