10 



1851.1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



149 



isToirered from 86* !., continues when the tempe 

 tare is as low as 57 2% S5-4 # , 536°, 51-8°, but ceases 

 vtoo it is as low as 50° F. 



These results are in every way conformable to those 

 arrived at by Al Chevreul, from his observations on 

 (be circulation and ascension of the sap in plants. 



May, 1822, p. 302.) 



Vegetation 



(« Journal des Savants ; 



3. Influence of the surrowuiing mediu 

 ^\ submerged plants can continue for several months in 



S^eine water aerated and renewed every day. In river 

 water deprived of air by boiling, and containing nothing 

 but carbonic acid in the same proportion as Seine water, 

 and also renewed every day, decomposition is at first 

 very active, but soon grows less so, and ceases entirely 

 at the end of 4 or 5 days. After this time the green 

 colour of the plants is singularly reduced in intensity. 



The phases of this phenomenon are very remarkable. 

 First of all, the gas wnich is produced is mixed with a 

 certain quantity of nitrogen, which diminishes little by 

 little, so that the last portions of disengaged oxygen are 

 nearly pure. The total quantity of nitrogen disengaged 

 is much more considerable than the volume of the plant ; 

 and, if the plant be analysed, it will be found that, taking 

 equal weights, it contains less nitrogen than another 

 portion of the same plant not submitted to the experi- 

 ment. These facts show that, in the vegetation of sub- 

 merged plants, nttro^en is produced from the decom- 

 position of their very elements ; that a fresh supply is 

 therefore necessary ; and that nitrogen, free or com- 

 bined, is an articU of food essential to the life of an 

 aquatic plant. 



We were led by this to inquire into the influence of 

 ammonia and its salts. We found that ammonia and 

 its salts, dissolved in 10,000 times their weight of water, 

 were always hurtful. The decomposition of carbonic 

 acid diminished, and ceased at the end of a few h 

 We therefore think we are justified in concluding that 

 nitrogen, dissolved in water, is directly assimilated by 

 the plants we operated upon. 



4. On the Movements in Plants of the absorbed or 

 txhalcd fc!cm>nts. — It is a fact, of the truth of which 

 any person may easily satisfy himself, that in whatever 

 position leaves of a Potamogeton may be placed in 

 water, carbonate of lime is constantly deposited on thd 1 

 upper, ami never on the lower surface of the leaves 

 (upper and lower being used in their botanical sense). 

 Tii is seems to show that carbonic acid is essentially 

 absorbed by the upper surface of leaves. The oxygen, 

 which is produced by the decomposition of carbonic 

 acid, has a perfectly defined course. It constantly 

 descends from the leaves towards the roots. So that if 

 a piece of Potamogeton, having a few leaves upon it, be 

 placed horizontally in water, the oxygen is exhaled from 

 the section nearest the root end of the plant. Comptes 

 Rendut. 



MARKET GARDENING ROUND LONDON. 



No. X. The Strawberry — This most delicious and 

 wholesome fruit is very largely cultivated for the 

 London markets, and more fruit is even consumed in 

 the villages surrounding the metropolis than in the 

 largest provincial town in England. It is difficult to 

 liscoyer the correct acreage devoted to this kind of 

 crop in the different counties surrounding London ; but 

 at a rough guess it may be estimated at near 100 acres. 



In cultivating Strawberries the runners are generally 

 planted out upon well prepared ground in August, but 

 in the case of dry weather the operation is often de- 

 ferred until about the 1st of September. They cannot, 

 however, be planted out too soon ; and for the British 

 Queen the old-fashioned plan of saving the runners 

 amongst the old plants, or what is better, pricking them 

 out into winter beds 4 inches apart, and planting them 

 out in March between Lettuce or some other dwarf 

 crop answers best ; any blossoms that are thrown up 

 afterwards are picked off. Mr. Joseph Myatt, of Dept- 

 ford, who has been so long justly celebrated for rearing 

 and growing Strawberries, has kindly furnished me with 

 the following answers to questions which I put to him 

 respecting this fruit. 



Q. What number of acres have you under Straw- 

 berries ? 

 A. Seven. 



Q. What sort of soil and manure do > r ou use, and how 

 much ! 



A. Sandy loam, horse and cow-dung, mixed, and 

 applied at the rate of 30 loads to an acre. 



Q- How many years do you allow the plants to bear ? 



A. Two, but if the sorts are very productive, three. 



Q. What distance apart do you plant I 

 4' *fy beds contain three rows of plants, which stand 

 18 inches apart each way, leaving 24 feet alleys, and 

 clearing out the middle row after the fruit is picked off 

 the first year. 



Q- At what time do you straw them ? 

 A. As soon as the first fruits are set. 

 Q. Do you use any water \ 



A I have none within a mile of<me, or I would 

 employ it. 



Q. What regulations are observed in the picking 

 season ? r & 



« Am T ! l « b - CSt fruits are P ut int0 l lb - P unnet s ; the 

 seconds into pottles ; the pottles and punnets are 



n^de up professionally. 

 Q Do you approve of sending them to market in the 



* or a lbs. wicker baskets, which are used by some 

 growers ! J 



A . This plan is only fit for hard ones, and Straw- 

 terries for preserving. 



V- How do you transmit your fruit to market ? 



A. To the latter by means of a spring-van ; to shops, 

 on women's heads. 



Q. What sorts do you grow ? 



A. British Queen, Eleanor, Deptford Pine, Com to de 

 Paris, Surprise, Goliah, Keens' Seedling, and many other 

 seedlings. 



Such are the answers of one of the best cultivators 

 we have round London. Having no water near him, 

 Mr. Myatt depends entirely upon the immense quantity 

 and quality of his manure for keeping the ground moist, 

 together with a good coat of straw ; but where manure 

 is scarce, perhaps my plan, which I have practised for 

 many years, would be the best. I always mulch between 

 the rows with fresh straw, mixed with horse droppings, 

 laying it on at least an inch in thickness, just when the 

 plants are coming into flower ; and if the weather is dry 

 I water frequently, but not over the flowers, until all 

 the fruit is set. By the time the latter is ripe, the 



rength of the manure is washed down amongst the roots 

 when they most want it, leaving the straw clean and sweet. 

 Some market gardeners plant the British Queen 2 feet 

 6 inches apart between the rows, and 18 inches plant 

 from plant. By this means large fruit is obtained ; and 

 should the autumn prove so dry as to ripen and set the 

 buds properly, the crop in the following year is very 

 heavy. Keens' Seedling does not require such treat- 

 ment ; if it is planted out in July or August it 

 makes fine plants, and bears a heavy crop the first 

 year, but the plantation must consist of runners from 

 plants that have produced a good crop. And the safest 

 plan is to go over them when they are coming into 

 flower, and before they are mulched, in order to pull 

 up any plants that are unproductive. In some years, 

 acres are destroyed, on account of their not bearing 

 fruit. This happens after a wet autumn, which causes 

 the plants to grow into leaf without forming flower buds, 

 and this occurs oftenest on light land. In the Straw- 

 berry season, market gardeners provide themselves 

 with thousands of pottles, called quarts. These 

 are formed of white Fir, or laths split up very 

 thinly. The length of the London pottle is 11 

 inches. The inside diameter at the bottom is 

 an inch, but it gradually enlarges until it is 3.^ inches 

 wide at the top, which is finished with a handle rising 

 about 4 inches above the rim. This pottle properly 

 filled with fruit ought to weigh from 12 to 14 ounces. 

 For the first early Strawberries, what are called pint 

 pottles are used. These are the same size at the bottom 

 as those just mentioned; but they are only 7 inches 

 long, and not quite 3 inches in diameter at the top, 

 finishing with a handle 2 inches high. They hold, when 

 filled, about from 4 to 6 ounces of fruit. " Punnets" 

 are made of the same material as the pottles. They 

 hold £ lb., 1 lb., 2 lbs. and upwards, according to the 

 purposes for which they are wanted. 



Considerable skill is exercised in what is termed, 

 " topping up of a pottle," so as to give to its top the 

 form of a cone. The first row of fruit sits partly 

 on the rim, and exhibits its best broad side half way 

 round the pottle. The next row occupies the bosom 

 of the last, and so on to the top. The other side of 

 the pottle is then ■ put up" in the same way, and when 

 well done, the fruit is not easily displaced, the pottles 

 are then sent off to market in light spring vans, which 

 hold two tiers of light white wicker baskets; the latter 

 contain 36 pottles, but in the case of the best fruit 

 these baskets are divided by first putting in a layer of 

 1 lb. punnets, and then a division, filling Up with 

 punnets. The supply for the shops is conveyed to 

 them by Welsh or Irish women, who carry them on 

 their heads ; these women being paid for every 

 journey they make, earn a good deal of money 

 at this occupation, in which they often walk 48 miles a 

 day, i. e. 9 three times, say, from Isle worth, and three 

 times back. This is, however, hard work, which I hope 

 some day to see performed by the cheap steam-boats 

 which now ply so plentifully up and down the Thames. 



Market-gardeners exercise much ingenuity, in order 

 to secure early fruit, such as planting closely in beds, 

 and placing frames over them early in the spring ; 

 taking up plants with good balls and putting them into 

 frames, in a little bottom heat ; as well as planting at 

 the foot of old walls, &c. They have also tried all sorts 

 of ways to forward the ripening out of doors, as well as 

 to Jkeep the fruit clean, without encouraging insects. 

 Among the materials used for this purpese may be 

 mentioned slates, tiles, flints, boards, &c. ; but the great 

 fault of all these is, that they breed and harbour insects, 

 whilst they cook the fruit before it is ripe, rendering it 

 spongy and acid. All those contrivances have been 

 abandoned, in order to give place to the much more 

 sensible and economical plan of mulching with litter, which 

 answers every purpose for which it is intended perfectly. 



For private growers, terraces faced with burrs, as re- 

 commended in the Chronicle for last year, would, I have 

 no doubt, be found everything that could be desired. 

 By planting close behind the burrs, the latter running 

 east and west, the fruit would hang over the burr without 

 touching it, and so circumstanced would experience all 

 the benefit arising from the reflection of the sun's rays, and 

 would ripen much earlier than it otherwise would do, in 

 addition to which the free play of air round it would 

 give it a very superior flavour. This plan reminds me 

 of our native banks, where the Strawberry grows wild, 

 and from which such high flavoured fruit is obtained, 

 especially where the situation faces the sun. In small 

 places within the sight of windows such Strawberry 

 terraces would not only be useful but might be made 

 very ornamental and agreeable to look at. James CxUhill t 

 CamberweU. . 



No. XX. 





BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



(Cage Biedi, No. 4.) 



When a bird is about two years old, he is 

 considered a steady" (if he has been carefully < ducated), 

 and may be allowed to hang in the company of any 

 others — however loud they may be. Each successive 

 year tends to his improvement ; for, if he be at all give* 

 to imitation, he will copy no notes but such as are 

 sweet, and essentially musical. No better tutor could 

 be found to instruct young canaries, than a staunch 

 bird in his second or third year. They very quickly 

 forget, in the sweet strains of his melodious voice, the 

 "gibberish" they have learnt, while keeping promis- 

 cuous, and "loose" company, elsewhere. Always let 

 them be much together, if you value a fine songster. 

 When you really do become possessed of a rare bird, 



make much of him. Such are not to be met with every 



day. 



I have, before, given sufficient #asons for not allowing 

 any of your birds to see each other. Only let them 

 hear each other, and you will have unceasing music from 

 "morn till dewy eve." Such is the rivalry among 

 birds that, not unfrequently, the one that is " outdone'* 

 falls lifeless from his perch. His heart has been bro- 

 ken, from the magnitude of his efforts to stand his 

 ground ! In some cases, if death does not ensue from 

 over exertion, the bird's s rit (courage) will have fled 

 for ever. He may " exist" for years ; but lie will never 

 be heard to * sing," from that day forward. Of this, I 

 have had oft-repeated proofs. 



In this variable climate, you must take special care 

 never to leave your birds in a cold room, or in a room 

 without a fire. Keep them at one equable warmth, and 

 they will thrive — neglect them in this matter, and 

 their feathers will become ruffled ; their head will find 

 its way behind their wing ; and their dissolution will 

 lie speedy. In an aviary, this precaution is unnecessary. 

 No birds "winter" better in an aviary, than canaries ; 

 but this is owing to their never being used to a fire, and 

 also, to their being gradually inured to the succession 



of the seasons. 



The " habits'' of the canary are no less remarkable than 

 they are diverting, and his natural disposition is truly 

 amiable. He bears no malice — entertains no resent- 

 ments that cannot be coaxed away by a single Hemp 

 seed. "Semper idem" is his family motto ; and it is well 

 chosen. He is never so happy as when he is in your 

 company, and he will chatter to you by the hour 

 together. It is no punishment for him to be in his cage ; 

 though he loves occasionally to hop on the table, and 

 help himself to a morsel of sweet cake. He is of all 

 birds the least shy, and the least suspicious — so tho- 

 roughly does he confide in the good-faith of his master 

 and mistress. Would that such confidence were never 

 misplaced ! If you feel inclined to humour him in 

 his little visits to you on the table, provide him 

 regularly every morning with a square china bath t 

 half filled with water; first placing it within a 

 deep wash-hand basin, to prevent damage to your furni- 

 ture by his splashing. An "invite" of this nature is 

 irresistible, and he will soon be seen immersed to his very 

 throat. On his return from the bath, his appearance will 

 be found ludicrously comic. His sly look of self-satfe- 

 faction, and assumption of importance, whilst nearly 

 drenched, and in a state of utter helplessness withal— are 

 "as good as a play." Touch him, if you dare ! With 

 extended wings, and unrestrained fury, he will resent 

 the iudignity by pecking fiercely at you with his open 

 beak, and he will often give you, in addition, "striking" 

 proofs of his anger. These "airs of state" are very 

 frequently practised. I merely throw out a " hint" for 

 my readers to improve upon ; for you may teach these 

 "Majestic" birds anything. 



In my early days, I was never without the company 

 of some half-dozen canaries. They were allowed free 

 liberty during the day, and they would fly after me 

 from room to room all over the house, perching on my 

 head or shoulder with the familiarity of a pet child. 

 While making my toilet— a grand " study" with a gay 

 young man — one or other of these little fellows would 

 sit on my forehead, and seeing himself reflected in the 

 glass, he would incontinently dance a hornpipe there— his 

 little throat the while distended with song, and his 

 trembling wings describing the arc of a circle. 



How often, too, have I taken up a book to read, and 

 found one of my little friends speedily perched on the 

 summit thereof, bidding me defiance to say him " Nay S" 

 All my remonstrances have been silenced by a flood of 

 harmony, and in every instance I have "gone to the 



wall." 



Were I to go on thus leisurely particularising the 



many little tricks I have witnessed, as practised by 

 my winged minstrels, I should exceed the bounds of 

 propriety. One, however, of our joint performances, I 

 must, through favour, record ; enforcing, at the same 

 time, the necessity for extreme care, on all who may 

 hereafter try the experiment. It is not quite free from 

 danger. Aware of the perfect understanding existing 

 beween myself and little family, I was in the constant 

 habit of playing them off some " practical joke," re- 

 warding them afterwards with a Hemp-seed, by way of 

 compromise. The sight of a Hemp-seed, therefore (of 

 which my mules and canaries were inordinately fond}, 

 was a signal for some favour to be granted— some 

 " game to come off." Taking up four or five duodeci 

 volumes of printed books, I opened each m the mido*, , 

 and placing them in a line on their front ^W 8 *" 

 slanting position, there was formed, beneath, an avenue 

 throughout their entire length. It was "e awilwgr 

 tunnel on a small scale. In this opening, I placed some 



M(» 



