THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE 



15 



_Mauritia 



loll 



vinifera, 

 A paper 



B. A. It. 



51* c*ifera, and Sid^.xy: i argan 

 2^2 on tl gum called Bdellium, by 

 ?£ Esc of the Bombay Medical Service, and 

 S^taJSVv John James Bennett , Secretary 

 ^rSJJ -This cum, which ^ mentioned in scnp- 

 £f JK -iC by the name of false Myrrh, 

 Re produce of a species of Balsamodendron. Dr 

 fltocL lm Welv t»«- : lie origin of this gum to a 

 ™£Zb called B. mukul. Specimens of the impure and 

 purified gums were exhibited. 



ject), is time and attention. These constitute the kej 

 stone of success." An interesting and friendly discussion 

 followed the reading of this and the succeeding paper, 

 whose publication want of room compels us to defer 

 until next week. 





Passat-Stauh uiuJ Blut-Regen cin grosses organisehes 

 imti tbares Wirlcn wnd Lebcn in tier Atmosph'drc. 



Dr 

 tab. 6. 



Stoke Newington Chrysanthemum Society, Feb. -, 

 _J Edwards, Esq., President, in the chair. At tins 

 meeting the following essays on the cultivation of this 

 improving autumnal flower were delivered by Messrs 

 James and Taylor. The former described the method 

 adopted by himself for it^ growth and exhibition m 

 pots- while Mr. Taylor's observations were directed to 

 the mode of producing those superb cut blooms which 

 are annually exhibited at the shows of this Society. 

 After one or two preliminary remar! . Mr. James pro- 

 torfed thus :— " The cutti ^s should be clean, strong, 

 and short-joint I ; not suckers, but strit y speakiug 

 cuttings. As soon as a sufficient quantity can be 

 leeured, which should be effected by the i Idle of 

 March or the beginning of ApriL proceed with the 

 Striking as quickly as possible When properl 

 rooted, pot them, either singly or three in a ot, as the 

 varieties may respectively require. In my opinion, 

 some kinds succeed best j I singly, and make 

 finer specimens; while on the other hand, others do 

 best three in a pat ; the variet s I should advise to 

 plant singly, would be, Pilot, Queen of England, Annie 

 Salter, I inee, and Vesta ; of such sorts as Golden 

 Clustered Yellow, Madame Poggi, Gipsy, Madame 

 Cameroon, and Han Queen Victoria, 1 should by 



all means r< >mniend three plants to be placed in a pot. 



I use 5-ineh p s ; when thoroughly established in these, 

 I at one shift them into the pots in which they are 

 intended to bloom, which should eitl rbell or 9-inch 

 pots, according to the inclination or convenience of the 

 cultivator ; if smaller pots are employed, it will be found 

 extremely difficult to maintain a h Ithy and vigorous 

 foliage on the plants, and although a good head of bloom 



secured 



The air we breathe is not that pure and unadulterated 

 medium, even at a distance from the smoke and dust 

 of civilisation, which we might at first sight be disposed 

 to believe. Every inspiration that we make carries 

 into our lungs, together with the proper elements which 

 are to quicken the exhausted blood, a host of more or 

 less gross and palpable matters, which, according to the 

 proportion in which they are present, or their intrinsic 

 nature, are more or less injurious to our frames ; and, 

 doubtless, in many cases, hasten their dissolution. This 

 ;« nntnvinndv the fact with respect to noxious gases, 



also to notice the bl k rain which fell in the south of 

 Ireland, in April 1819, over a district of 700 square 

 miles. The colour was, in this case, due to porl us of 

 decaved plants, probably carried up from the extensive 

 boLrs'of that country, mixed, like the trade wind and 

 Sirocco dust, with Dian laceee and the bodies to which 

 Ehrenberg has given the name ot Phytolitharia. 



To return, however, to the dust dej sited by the trade 

 winds. In general, it may be remarked that land and 

 fresh-water forms are most numerous in this deposit, 

 with which the samples from the southern parts of 

 Europe agree verv closely in composition. Forms cha- 

 racteristic of Africa do not occur, the greater part being 

 common to manv parts of the world— to Europe, for 

 instance, as well as Africa. Some forms occur which are 

 peculiar to America. The fine deposits of dust in Africa, 

 as far as at present observed, are not red, but white and 



No red dust has been discovered ; and, if it ex- 



i 



but it is possibly no less true with regard to multitudes 

 of other matters which are carried about, by reason of 

 their bouvancy, often for many miles before they subside. 

 The immense quantity of matter bo transported is proved 

 by the various instances of black and coloured rains, 

 arising from smoke or pollen, or other volatile sub- 

 tances, which, in some cases, must have been conveyed 

 from a very considerable distance, and there is no doubt 

 that myriads «f the minute spores f fungi and other i 

 Cry] "gams are thus diffused, to the destruction of any ] 

 we; and languid organisms on which, under circum- 

 stances favourable to vegetation, they may chance to fall. 



But these phenomena, though often exhibited on a 

 great scale, are nothing in comparison of the clouds of 

 dust carried hundreds of miles by the Sirocco and trade 

 winds. Itistothe composition of this dust, that the 

 author, who has devoted so much time to the micro- 

 scopic study of minute Algae and Infusoria, has called 

 attention in the magnificent work before us. 



These clouds of dust, sometimes colouring the atmo- 

 sphere orange or ochre, and whether accompanied by 

 rain or otherwise, covering everything with which they 

 come in contact with a thin red coat of almost impalpable 



expense oi di« m. j ne son i use ana prefi 

 maiden loam and dung, three parts of the former to 

 two of the lat r, with the addition of charcoal dust and 

 coarse sand. Be particular as to drainage, or the 

 foliage will be sure to suffer. With respect to watering, 

 I apply water as often as is necessary, whether it be in 

 the heat of the day or in the cool of the evening. I 

 frequently use the syringe from the tim< y are potted 

 till the time they are in bloom ; its application tends 

 much to improve the colour of the foliage, and has the 

 additional advantage of keeping the plants clean and 

 free from insects. 1 am an advocate for the use of 

 liquid manure, and I give a decided preference to 

 sheep manure water. It may, and I believe it is 

 not so powerful as guano, but I consider it a much 

 Bafer manure, more especially in the hands of an 

 amateur ; I also think that it has the effect of 

 securing a neater and more compact growth, which 

 is of importance in a specimen plant, i would advise 

 the application of manure water from the middle 

 of July up to the time of exhibition. Stopping the 

 plants appears to me to be altogether wrong, although 

 the practice is strongly recommended by many writers 

 on gardening. I have tried it, and can speak confidently 

 as to the result, which has invariably been a decided 

 failure. Be particular in tying out the plants properly 

 in every stage of their growth ; you should begin at the 

 beginning, for if the operation is neglected until the 

 plants have attained t e, it is extren ly difficult to 

 make them assume the desired shape. By tying, 

 in addition to form, you secure the branches 

 from accident by wind or from others causes ; and 

 it also ensures a free circulation of air among the 

 foliage and branches. I find three sticks to each po; 

 placed in the form of a triangle, sufficient ; through 

 these sticks I pass three rings of wire, one at the middle, 

 the others near the top and bottom of the plant; the 

 advantage of this mode of tying is that it does away 

 with the necessity of using so many sticks ; and in con- 

 sequence gives the plant a more natural appearance. I 

 would recommend plunging the pots, but be sure you 

 have a dry bottom ; in such a situation the roots are 

 kept cool without being wet ; plunging has also the 

 advantage of preventing the plants from being blown 

 about by wind ; be careful, however, not to plunge in a 

 wet, cold, badly drained soil. The time for housing the 

 specimens depends very much upon circumstances ; as 

 for instance the weather, the precise date on which they 

 they may be required, &e. Housing will have the effect of 

 slightly forwarding them ; be careful not to shelter them 

 too soon; if you do you will lose in a few days what has 

 been the aim of a whole season to obtain, viz., good 

 healthy foliage. The varieties suitable for specimen plants 

 are the following : _Vesta, Annie Salter, Gipsy, Golden 

 Clustered Yellow, Defiance, Qu< i of England, Madame 

 Camerson, Pi I , Madame Poggi, The Duke, and Har- 

 ttss Queen Victoria. I prefer growing two pots of 

 ^hof the above sorts, which I can with confidence 

 I ^«tnmend. And now permit me to state, in conclu 

 ^J 1 ** * nat tne grand secret of Chrysanthemum growing 

 (tor I would be sorry to keen baek any information 



directions from the coast of Africa, though not always 

 under such circumstances as at Malta, Genoa, Lyons, 



In some instances coloured snow, as in the 



grey. 



isted, there is no trade wind in the interior oi Ainca 

 which could carry it out to sea. The existence oi 

 American forms, which increase in number with repeated 

 observations, make it probable that they are borne by 

 an upper current, and sinking down through tins in the 

 course of their passage into the lower current, are car- 

 ried back again towards their 1 tive American coast. 

 It is, indeed, at present only n : of conjecture that 

 such an upper current exists, except the strong south- 

 western wind which Humboldt experienced at the top 

 of the Peak of Teneriffe, and Glass notices as existing in 

 the most elevate & parts of the Canaries, whilst nil other 

 portions of the islands are under the sway of the trade 

 wind be considered decisive as to the point ; in confirma- 

 tion of which is the fact of ashes from the eruption of 

 the volcano in St. Vincent in 1812 being carried to the 

 island of Barbadoes contrary to the direction of the trade 

 winds The examination of the trade-wind dust assumes 

 a very interesting form when taken in connexion with 

 these curious phenomena ; and it is well worthy of ob- 

 servation, that (however imperfect our knowledge ot 

 exotic Diatomaecie may be) no light could have been 

 thrown upon the subject without the minute and exten- 

 sive researches which have for so many years engaged 

 the attention of Ehrenberg, as the discrimination oi in- 

 dividual forms and local species is an absolutely neces- 

 sary element in the data from which the desired in- 

 ferences were to be made. The objection of " cm bono, 

 often alleged even at the present day against devoting 

 much time to the examination of such minute organisms, 

 is, perhaps, more triumphantly overthrown by the work 

 before us. than bv any other collateral and accidental 

 use which has been derived from their study. The inves- 

 tigation even of the meanest works of the Creator can 

 never be without its use, so long as truth is the mam 



The despised conchologist, lor m- 



Siiesia. &c. 



Tyrol/ has fallen, which has evidently been due to the 



same cause with coloured rains. The dust in all cases object of research. , rt^w«f„W,il fellow 



is of a very similar condition, consisting of various . tance,* *£0~S«-* « M>n*«f A. ««*»£""£ 



Diatomaceje, the flinty spicules of sponges and other 



zoophytes, pollen grains, fragments, in a more or less 

 comminuted state, of Pluenogams, sometimes portions 

 of their intimate tissues, sometimes parts of their 

 external coats, as hairs, scraps of cuticle, crystals, 

 morsels of insects, comminuted vegetable and miner, 

 matter, &c, and in a small porportion, spores of 



labourers of the geologist, a science winch has in our dajs 

 assumed an importance which places it on a level with 

 the most honour 1 subjects of investigation. Other 

 points of interest might be mentioned as the connexion 

 of the deposits of du>ts with meteoric phenomena, the 

 season in which they are most prevalent, the peculiar 

 character of certain deposits, &c. ; hut for these and 

 other noints we must refer to the work itself, as we 



fan ri mostly resembling more or less those of Ma- other points we must reter to tne won. itsen, « we 



with the peculiar objects which we have in view m such 



D In conclusion, it may be remarked that Ehrenberg 

 has collected with the utmost diligence almost every re- 

 corded instance of these phenomena, from the earliest 

 times, up to that of the publication of his book, and a 

 very curious and interesting mass of factsh thus been got 

 together, extending through nearly 70 pages of his work. 

 It°is curious that he still adheres to his original notions 

 as to the animal nature of Diatomaxsece, notwithstanding 

 the discoveries of Mr, Thwaites, which have been con- 



stances is nigm* urv^v.c « w - ««■ ™ v v firmed by other observers, and which were placed 



recent fossiUpecies 5 «** a * P^sent certain forms seem before Ehrenberg at Oxford, though apparently they 



. r . .. * ... • j- *• *„ *i u r.,„*u^ f„iy~A nt «u»H»/»t;ntr i« attention or interest very deeply. 



crosponum. It does not appear certain 

 any case the spores of moulds were present, though 

 in some latitudes they must be wafted about in 

 mvriads. It is evident that the full investigation of this 

 subject may throw much light upon the direction of 

 ferial currents, but the proper deductions cannot be 

 made, at least so as to carry full conviction of their 

 justice, until the Diatomaceoe of various parts of the 

 lobe have been more carefully compared; the ma- 

 ?rial«, indeed, for anything like a complete comparison 

 scarcely existing at present. That these forms are 

 widely diffused is well known, and that the same speei* 

 may be capable of existing under very different circum- 

 stances is highly probable from the identity of many 



to be characteristic of certain districts, though further 

 investigation may show that their geographical distri- 

 1 bution is as wide and indefinite as that of many of the 

 lower fungi and lichens. Very shortly before the com- 

 pletion of his work, materials came into the author's 

 hands from the Bonny river, on the western African 

 coast, but they did not agree with the spe s occurring 

 in the dust from the Atlantic. Perhaps no organisms 

 are so capable of enduring extremes of heat and cold as 

 the Diatomacece. Myriads occurred in the Pancake 

 ice and in deep 



failed of attracting his attention or interest very deeply. 

 For our own parts, we have never entertained the least 

 doubt as to the vegetable nature of these bodies, and* had 

 we done so they would have been completely dispelled 

 by the convincing observations of Mr. Thwaites, even 

 without ocular demonstration. 



Lovers 



Garden Memors 



Messrs. Chandler's Nursery, 

 uyrnas occurro in HR , * ™™ of Camel! as will be glad to learn that the extensive 

 souSngs in the high* St latitudes collection of this favourite Jtaft*. for which this nursery 



° b _ . t» . . . . , • i^i — „j.,.,i ;*, « rt „. ,^ full l>ir»rmi \V ipn wo state that 



ulated to enlighten you upon the sub- paste made with ground 



reached by the Antarctic expedition, and it has lately 

 been discovered that vast numbers flourish on the 

 branches of trees in the virgin forests of South America. 

 Every, so called, shower of blood is not, however, 

 due to the presence in the air of these bodies, mixed 

 with mineral colouring matter. It is an old opinion, 

 which has been taken up in modern times with refer- 

 ence to the cholera, that epidemic diseases have been 

 preceded or attended by showers of blood. Such appear- 

 ances are sometimes due to the well-known Palmella 

 cruenta, which may be found at the base of damp walls at 

 almost all seasons. Stains were shown to us two years 

 ago, as portentous, which were clearly the mycelium of 

 some Epicoccum ; and, in Prussia, in the year 1848, bread 

 and other provisions were extensively spotted with little 

 masses, due to the presence of an organism which was 

 named Monas prodigiosa. Specimens of this production 

 were forwarded to us, but we did not succeed in propa- 

 gating it, though a mould with which it was accom- 

 panied (Ascophora flora) grew with gn at luxuriance on 



is celebrated, is now in full bloom. When we state that 

 they form a bank, 160 feet in length, and some 8 or 10 

 feet deep, some idea w ill be g red of the kind of 

 entertainment which it may be expected a visit to so 

 large a display will afford. Red kinds this year are 

 abundant and fine ; but the white sorts have not sue- 

 ceeded so well, their buds having dropped more plenti- 

 fully than usual before they expanded. The whole 

 collection is neatly arranged, and in excellent order. 



Miscellaneous 



Oa rdeners 1 Benevolent] dution 



We understand 



that Mr. Paxton has kindly consented to be chairman 

 at the forthcoming anniversary dinner, which will take 

 place on the 9th of June next, in aid of the funds of 

 this Institution. In consequence of the celebrity Mr. 

 Paxton enjoys, aud the day being the Monday after 

 the middle Chiswick fete, when a large number of the 

 friends of the charity will be in town, we have no doubt 

 that he will be well supported, and that this deserving 



It may be interesting j Institution will derive much benefit from the selection 



