

1851. 



THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE. 



119 



mould, and kept moderately 

 the plants will begin to 

 should remain in the 



damp. 



show 



seed 



Put down a layer 



wh^e~they can have plenty of air. They will there 

 produce abundance of seed, which, when ripe enough, 

 should be sown as soon as it is gathered in seed pots or 

 WS well drained, and filled with equal parts of good 

 C gandy peat, and leaf mould, or well decomposed 



dung, i lie seed 

 covered with mould, and 

 Early in autumn, 

 themselves. They 

 pans till May following, when a bed 

 for them in the following manner :- 

 of well rotted dung 3 or 4 inches deep, and upon this 

 place a mixture of equal parts good loam, sandy-peat, 

 and leaf-mould, at least 9 inches deep. On this plant 

 out your seedlings from 4 to 6 inches apart, protect 

 them by a frame or hand-lights, give plenty of air, and 

 as the weather becomes warm remove the glasses 

 altogether, and during the summer months keep them 

 free from weeds, and water them when they require 

 it. Early in September they should be taken up 

 carefully, and potted into pots varying in size ac- 

 cording to the bulk of the plants. Place them 

 in a warm frame for a short time until they have taken 

 hold of the soil, which should be similar to that men- 

 tioned above, with the addition of one-third well decom- 

 posed dung, and a little silver sand. At the general 

 time of housing greenhouse plants, give them a good 

 airy position in the greenhouse, and in the following 

 spring most of them will yield a fair crop of flowers. 

 Those who have no greenhouse may keep them in a 

 cold frame during the winter months, removing them 

 when they are Elbowing flowers, to the sitting-room 

 window, where, intermixed with Crocuses, &c, of 

 different colours, lifted and potted from the open ground, 

 they will makean attractive display. The Cyclamen should 

 not be forced to rest as soon as it has done flowering ; for 

 in that case the foliage is destroyed before it has laid up in 

 the bulb a sufficient store of nutritive matter to sustain 

 it tlirough its forthcoming trial. When your plants 

 have gone out of flower, place them in a cold frame and 

 pay as much attention to their wants as at any other 

 season of the year. In May turn them out in a shel- 

 tered spot protected from the mid-day sun. In Sep- 

 tember lift them carefully, pot them, and place them on 

 the shelf of the greenhouse or in a frame. As the 

 season advances a portiou of them may be introduced 

 into heat, where that can be commanded. These will 

 blossom earlier than the rest, and in this way a long 

 continuance of flower may be maintained. Some grow 

 their Cyclamens in the same pots without shifting them 

 for years ; but, although they may bloom well under 

 this system for a time, the plan is not to be recom- 

 mended. Beta. 



and fresh for a month or five weeks la r than those on 

 Vines on their own roots in the same house. The 

 bunch of white Tokay was cut from one of the stocks 

 below the graft. Mr. Butcher, gr. to W. Leaf, Esq., of 

 Park-hill, Streatham, furnished a large punnet of 

 Cannon-hall Muscats, which in this case were not so well 

 flavoured as the Muscats of Alexandria above alluded to. 

 A Certificate of Merit was awarded them. Two very 

 fine heads of u Penzance Broccoli " were shown by 

 Messrs. Rendle and Co., of Plymouth, who stated that 

 one of the heads weighed 3| lbs., and was 2 feet 10 inches 

 in circumference ; the other weighed 3£ lbs , and was 

 2 feet in circumference. These weights and measure- 

 ments are without the leaves. They mentioned that 

 they have seen some heads with the leaves on which 

 weighed above 30 lbs. Mr. Tye, of Birmingham, ex- 

 hibited six Hyacinth bottles of various colours, and fur- 

 nished with convenient wire supports for the flowers. 

 These are handsome clever contrivances, and if cheap 

 enough cannot fail to be universally approved of. 

 — From the Garden of the Society came three 

 species of Acacia, eight varieties of Epacris, Styphelia 

 tubiflora (a useful winter and early spring flowering 

 shrub), the two-coloured Corrcea, a Cape Heath, the 

 useful winter plant Selago distans, the sweet-scented 

 Pittosporum undulatum, and Galanthus plicatus. The 

 latter only requires to be known to be generally culti- 

 vated, for it is a great improvement on the common 

 Snowdrop in point of size. The same establishment 

 also furnished the following vegetables : — Navet 



Seeds of this were received 



the birthright of every German, make everything i n t 5e 

 shape of wilful neglect quite inexcusable ; and, if our 

 remarks should be felt to be just, we trust that they will 

 be received with the good-will with which they are 

 offered, and induce a little more deference to author* 

 whose works have been long before the public, and 

 which cannot be neglected without reflection either upon 

 the modesty or information of those who pass them by 

 without observation. 



Miscellaneous 



Jamie de Fhilande. 

 from M. Vilmorin, of Paris, 

 of the Malta Turnip, 

 is used for garnishing 



& > 



It appears to be a variety 

 Variegated Plumage Kale. — This 

 but it is also much esteemed by 

 some, when it is cooked like a winter Green . Corn 

 Salad. — This is the common Corn Salad, which is now 

 more used than it has been in this country; but it is 

 likely be superseded by the Italian Corn Salad, Mdche 

 oVItalie, seeds of which are now amongst those that 

 are distributed to the Fellows of the Society. 



£>ortette& 



Horticultural, Feb. 18.— J. R. Gowen, Esq., Trea- 

 surer, in the chair. Mrs. Lawrence, of Ealing Park, 

 sent a charming collection of Orchids, for which a 

 Banksian medal was awarded. It consisted of a nice 

 specimen of the long-tailed Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium 

 caudatum), the handsome Lycaste Skinneri, Coelogyne 

 cristata, the white-blossomed Odontoglossum pul- 

 chellum, Cyrtochilum hastatum, the yellow Oncidium 

 Cavendishii, and cut specimens of Heliconia Brazil- 

 iensis. From Mr. Ingram of the Royal Gardens, 

 Frogmore, came an exceedingly handsome Begonia 

 manicata. It could not have measured less than 3 feet 

 high, and as much through, and it was loaded 

 with blossoms which had, however, suffered consider- 

 ably from travelling. The same establishment also con- 

 tributed three seedling Cyclamens in the way of persicum, 

 beautifully grown and flowered. A Banksian Medal was 

 awarded for these and the Begonia. Messrs. Lee, of 

 Hammersmith, furnished a small example of Ronde- 

 Ietia (Rogiera) thyrsiflora, which promises to be useful. 

 Mr. Cole, gr. to H. Colly er, Esq., of Dartford, sent the 

 Nerium-leaved A 11am an da. This proves to be a smaller 

 flowered kind than the old A. cathartica ; but it is never- 

 theless handsome, and well deserved the Certificate of 

 Merit which was awarded it. Mr. Gaines, qf Batter- 

 sea, contributed Centradenia floribunda, and Ronde- 

 letia thyrsiflora. Mr. Kinghorn, gr. to the Earl of 

 Kilmorey, exhibited two beautiful seedling Epacrises. 

 One, named Kinghornii, was white ; the other, grand i- 

 flora rubra, was red, tipped with white. A Certificate 

 of Merit was awarded for the white one. From 

 Mr. Hamp, gr. to J. Thorn, Esq., of Mawbey House, 

 South Lambeth, came a large plant of the Tanker- 

 ville Phaius, and a handsome Camellia tree (C. 

 tricolor) some seven feet high, loaded with flowers 

 and flower-buds. A Certificate of Merit was awarded 

 for the Camellia. Blooms of two Rhododendrons, and 

 the Corsican Hellebore, were furnished by the Hon. 

 Fox Strang ways, from Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire. Mr. 

 t leming, gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, at Trent- 

 ham, exhibited two bunches of Muscat of Alexandria 

 Grapes, somewhat shrivelled, but excellently flavoured. 

 I hew weighed respectively lib. 1 oz. and 15* oz. 

 Along with them came a bunch of white Tokay, which 

 was plump and good, and appeared as if it would have 

 Kept sound for at least a month to come ; but it was not 

 comparable with the Muscats, as regards flavour. To 

 tos bunch, which weighed lib. 5 J oz., a Certificate of 

 * — ~vas awarded, on account of its fresh presentable 

 appearance. Mr. Fleming stated that th* M«*n**« 

 were from 



Notices of Books:. 



Bcitr'df/e zur Mycologie^ von G. Presenilis^ M.D. y Frstcs 



lie ft. Frankfort, 1850, 4to, pp. 38, tab. lith. 4. 



These contributions to Mycology, however excellent 

 in themselves, would not demand notice in ourJJoixrnal, 

 merely as descriptions of species, which have little to do 

 directly or indirectly with its objects. It will be enough 

 to say of the descriptions, notwithstanding some species 

 are described as new, though published years ago, that 

 they are, for the most part, good, and accompanied by 

 useful observations, and that the figures, though far 

 from being all that might be desired, have, as far as 

 they go, an air of truth about them, but must be re- 

 garded rather as materials (disjecta membra) from 

 which an idea of a species, is to be formed, than as 

 finished representations. For figures of two or three 

 scattered branches of various forms, as seen under the 

 microscope, will never convey a correct general notion, 

 to which end a certain degree of tact is requisite, which 

 makes all the difference between a first and second-rate 

 observer. If we take, for instance, some of the compli- 

 cated sketches of Messrs. Tulasne, though any practised 

 microscopist will at once allow that such figures are, 

 to a certain extent, ideal, in so much at least as every 

 individual cell and thread has not been copied, for no 

 hand, however delicate, could make such successful 

 sections, yet there is a truthfulness about them which 

 perhaps has never been surpassed. 



It is not however to this that we wish especially to 

 point attention, but to the circumstance that such a 

 work should be undertaken in utter ignorance of almost 

 everything that has been done in other countries for the 

 last 30 years. The latest work of any English mycolo- 

 gist to which allusion is made is that of Grevilie, and 

 the bare existence of such observers as Leveille, Mon- 

 tagne, and the Tulasnes in France, or De Notaris in 

 Italy, is not even recognised. Now we have the greatest 

 respect possible for national feeling and genuine love of 

 one's country ; but when that is carried so far as to 

 create an indisposition to look beyond the limits, how- 

 ever extensive, to which the term of fatherland may be 

 confined, especially in subjects of universal interest, and 

 where the errors or negligences of one are a constant 

 source of vexation and perplexity to every one whose 

 studies run in the same direction, it certainly calls for 

 reprobation. We are far from wishing to assert that 

 such a feeling is common to German naturalists, though 

 we could bring forward many instances to this effect. It 

 is an invidious thing to point out individual cases, and we 

 j the rather avoid doing so, because some who began by an 

 early disregard of a gre-*t portion of what had been pub- 

 lished by their predecessors, have in their later works 

 nobly redeemed their errors in this respect ; and in one 

 instance, which we could name, with a measure of dis- 

 interestedness which is highly honourable both to the 

 head and heart. Nor do we think that the evil is en- 



Tokay 



a Vme grafted on the old white 



«*»*♦■"• bem 6 a ver >' strong grower, and 



continuing to grow late in the season, seemed not 

 °niy to improve the Muscats, but to keep them plump 



tirely confined to systematists ; for we have seen a 

 tendency of a like nature in other quarters. It is the 

 duty of every man, who writes on any subject, to take 

 every possible pains to acquaint himself with the state 

 of knowledge existant on the subject at the time ; or, 

 to use the words of a celebrated lawyer, " to read up to 

 Saturday night ; " but the author of the work before us 

 has, at least, a quarter of a century to make up, notwith- 

 standing the means of information which are available to 

 every German, in suchworksas the "BotamseheZeitung" 

 and many others of a more or less similar character. The 

 native industry and powers of application which seem 



Neus Mode of Propagating Herbaceous Pcezmies. 

 Over a tuft of Pseony with herbaceous stems, place a 

 box or pot without a bottom ; fill the box or pot up 

 with well-worked vegetable mould ; the stems have 

 then to make their way through this earth before they 

 can produce any flowers. If the height of the box or 

 pot is from 13 to 15 inches, it is of no consequence ; 

 the stems always rise through this thickness, and always 

 attain the height fixed for them, and then develop their 

 flowers. The soil should be kept damp all the summer, 

 in order that roots may be formed in a proper way. 

 Towards November or December, the stems may be 

 cut off flush with the bottom of the box or po*, for 

 they will be found furnished with roots throughout 

 their entire lengths. The same stems may be cut into 

 lengths, and each length, having a bud and some roots, 

 will, if placed in well-worked soil, produce a new plant. 

 In planting these lengths, each should be covered with 

 earth, about 2 inches deep, so that the plant may draw 

 nourishment from the soil, and not be killed in frosty 

 weather. In this way the stems of the double- flowered 

 f'feonia officinalis, which are commonly annuals, become 

 perennials, by the absence of light, and the obstruction 

 artificially applied to their growth. All my experiments 

 have been made on this plant, but I am convinced that 

 similar results could be obtained from others of like 

 nature. Although the common Preony is exceedingly 

 hardy and strong in constitution, no mode of mul- 

 tiplying it has been hit upon, except by dividing 

 its roots, which greatly disorders the course of 

 its vegetation. By the new process, many plants 

 can be obtained, and the large roots of the original one 

 remain undisturbed. Propagation by dividing the great 

 roots is exceedingly easy, for each piece carefully 

 treated gives in time a plant, but the plant thus ob- 

 tained does not bear any flowers for the first three 

 years, after which time development proceeds rapidly ; 

 the new process above described is much quicker. 

 Chinese Paeonies, which have been hitherto universally 

 propagated by the division of their under-ground stem, 

 may, I have every reason to believe, be multiplied in 

 the new way. The common purple Preony and its 

 varieties are often planted in the most unsuitable situa- 

 tions ; they are put under trees m large parks, or in 

 clumps in pleasure gardens ; their stems are conse- 

 quently poor, and their flowers not half so large as they 

 should be. Placed in proper situations the common 

 height of the purple Poeony and its varieties is about 

 three feet. In order that a tuft of Pseony may grow 

 well, it should occupy a circumference of two jards, and 

 be placed where the gardener's spade can never wound 

 its roots. The plant likes to be left alone and undis- 

 turbed ; it does not like to be placed near other plants 

 with long roots which intermix with its own, and de- 

 prive them of the moisture they require. It is only 

 when these conditions are observed that fine Pseonies 

 are produced ; if they are put under the shade of a 

 large tree, their stems are weak, aud are beaten down 

 by the first storm of wind and rain. The space of two 

 yards may Eeem unnecessary in the eyes of many ama- 

 teurs, but let them recollect that it will soon be filled 

 by stems themselves a yard long, and which spread out 

 from a common centre ; besides the roots are longer 

 than the stem , and ought not to be interfered with. 

 There used to be, many years ago, in M. Mold's 

 park, at Meri-sur-Oise, a horse- shoe plantation of 

 clipped Yews. Between each Yew there was a Pseony ; 

 there was plenty of room lor the growth of the Peeonies ; 

 they had plenty of air and light, were never disturbed 

 in any way, and bore magnificent flowers which pro>> 

 duced a very fine effect. I have never since seen s*. 

 beautiful a plantation. The ground intended for 

 Peeonies must be well dug and loosened at least 3 feet 

 deep, so that the roots, which spread in every direction, 

 may act freely and for a long time ; for these plants will 

 continue to flourish for 40 or 50 years without showing 

 any symptoms of decay, provided always they are never 

 disturbed. The Pseony is one of the few plants not 

 attacked by grubs and insects ; this is true of all its 

 varieties. The earwig alone is sometimes found among 

 the petals ; but they do not stay long, as the first fall of 

 rain or heavy dew causes them to decamp. What we 

 have said about the preparation of the earth is of 

 special importance when we are dealing with the 

 Chinese Peeonies, for their roots are as long again as 

 those of the common variety, and their stems cannot 

 acquire their proper height ; nor can their flowers attain 

 perfection unless there is a plentiful supply of nourish- 

 ment. Pseonia edulis requires peculiar attention, for its 

 stems naturally grow 3, 4, or A\ feet high. Peeonies 

 are extremely useful for decorating gardens, as the 

 quality of the soil is not of great consequence, and the 

 beauty and odour of the flowers are of the highest degree 

 of merit* Duval ; Flore des Serres. 



Calendar of Operations. 



(For tJie ensuina week.) 



PLANT DEPARTMENT. , 



l as the newly potted plante begin to grow 

 Attention Iia naid to the training and stopping 



