11 



THE GARDENERS 1 CHRONICLE 



]<>$ 



got tocoi and the facta of tl observer with the 

 exclusions which he may attempt to draw from 

 hem. There are few things more fatal to the ad- 

 vance of sound knowledge than hasty but ingenious 

 generalisations founded on isolated or imperfect 



experiments. 



COVERING VINE BORDERS. 



At page 54, some remarks are made on the use of 

 materials (in lieu of concrete) for covering fruit tree 

 borders ; and among the articles named, are slate, zinc, 

 and galvanized iron. Zinc, I should say, would be the 

 Irorst metal that could be used ; being so extremely 

 lensible of expansion and contraction. I imagine it 

 would require a covering to protect itself against 

 frost in winter, and the sun in summer. " Galvanize- 1 

 iron," (if we are to have faith in the durability of the 

 u patent process,") I see no objection to ; but if used, I 

 should strongly recommend its_being " corrugated," the 

 shape forn 



series of " ridsre and furro 



or, in 



the 



iMiguage of the carpenter, of " hollows and rounds." 



The slight inclination given to all borders would l>e suf- 

 Scient to bring the rain-water down the " hollows," 

 while the " rounds " would act as so many funnels, ad- 

 mitting air to the surface of the border. This, I thin! 

 would be an improvement upon « drain-pinea. which 

 have been pro posed for 

 the admission of air." 1 f 

 it should be eosisidered 

 that this arrangement 

 would admit of evapora- 

 tion from the border, 

 when such was not wanted, 

 an easy remedy is at hand, 



which consists in placing 

 iron plates with " tunga" 

 to tin m, in front of the 

 corrugations ; this would 

 at once seal up the whole 

 affair into ur-cells, but it 

 will be evident to every 

 one that it might be ven- 

 tilated at pleasure by 

 raising the plates. This 

 plan, too, would not at all 

 interfere with the " mulch- 

 ing" or covering the bor- 

 der, as the corrugated 

 covering could at all times 

 •be removed and replaced 

 with the greatest facility, 

 in Bhort, by any two gar- 

 den labourers, however 

 inexpert; for the "sheets" 

 ■could not be put on wrong, 

 and they would hold and 



fasten each other down m against wind and weather." 



Some idea of the effect produced will be gleaned from 



the accompanying sketch. I imagine its appearance 



could not be considered offensive ; inasmuch as every 



shower would wash it perfectly clean ; and, the season 

 permitting, the whole might be covered with pots ; the 

 corrugated iron possessing such resistance, that a plate, 

 1 1 feet long, by 2 feet 6 inches wide, and supported only 

 across each end, will carry a ton weight ! 



If it should be deemed advisable that the proposed 

 corrugated covering should be altogether raised above 

 and clear of the border, the same simple mode of fixing 

 would equally allow of this ; aud the air above the 

 border might l>e kept confined, or in circulation, at the 

 pleasure of the gardener. John Jones f Harper' s-hi 11 

 Cottage, Birmingham. 



MARKET GARDENING ROUND LONDON. 



No. XI. Water-Crmbes. — When the late Sir Joseph 

 Banks came home from circumnavigating the glob< 

 among the first things he asked for were Water-Cresses, 

 so highly did he value them as a purifier of the blood, 

 and so important did he consider them in this as well 

 as in other respects, relating to the animal economy, 

 that he presented one of our Water- Cress growers for 

 Covent Garden with a Banksian Medal, in order to 

 encourage him in carrying out their cultivation. I 

 vim sorry [to state, however, that notwithstanding this, 

 and although the plant is a native of Britain, and there- 

 fore easily cultivated, it is not half so extensively 

 zrown as it should be, there being only about four or 

 five producers of it for the London markets, the main 

 supplies for which are obtained from Springhead, 

 Gravesend, Kent ; Waltham Abbey, Essex ; and from 

 two or three places in Hertfordshire. The Gravesend 

 and Waltham Abbey Cress grounds are far the best, 

 more 'attention being paid in these than in the other 

 places to its cultivation ; this is apparent in the robust 

 and healthy appearance of the stem, as well as in the 

 leaf, which is broad, and has a brownish-green aspect. 

 The supply of Cresses to Covent Garden every 

 market morning, according to Mr. Steptoe, an old 

 herbalist there, may be estimated at nearly 500 

 dozen small bunches. In the height of the growing 

 ■m every greengrocer buys them for the tables of 

 the rich ; but the great consumers of this useful herb 

 are the middle and lower classes, who get them chiefly 

 through the medium of street vendors, who purchase 20 

 times as much as the greengrocers ; and by taking so 

 pi*ny they not only obtain them cheaper in the first 

 instance, but when they get them home they make every 



market bunch into two or three, and in this wav pick 



up a tolerable living. Cheap, however, as WateM resses 

 are admitted to b . 1 consider them much too dear ; and 

 there is room for spirited individuals to form new ( 'rem 

 grounds, not the beds of small rivulets, but regular 

 plantations on large slopes, with the land eut into 

 canals, similar to the lamb grounds in many places. 

 There is one of thoee early Grass producing contri- 

 vances at Mistley Hall, nearly two miles in extent, and 

 MMpving about 30 acres. This large space is capable 

 of being all flooded at once, and for any length of time. 

 Now this is the kind of Cress ground that I would re- 

 commend, and in such a place Cresses should be regularly 

 planted, and as much attention paid to their growth as 

 to that of anv other plant. In this way, instead of the 

 Grass and rubbish choked article now sold us, we would 

 have Cress at least as fine again as that we at present 



receive 



I consider that no gentleman's establishment is per- 

 fect without its Water-Cress plantation. There is hardly 

 a park which cannot boast of one of those crystal stream l 

 for which our country is famous, and a small piece could 

 easily be enclosed and protected from cattle for Cremes; 

 but there should be the means of shutting the river off, 

 in the case of floods and heavy storms. The artificial 

 canal system mentioned above would however answer 

 best ; for floods'and heavy waters might then pass on 

 in their natural" course without disturbing the Cress 

 beds. If this plan cannot be followed, then plant the 





1. 1 tilled two zinc boxes with pore sulphate of lime 

 Obtained from the double decomposition of sulphate of 

 soda and chloride of calcium ; in one of these boxes I 

 ■owed some Grass seeds, in the other some Wheat The 



ed under glass shades, in order 

 that all < \ternal influences might be avoided : the seeds 

 re watered every Other day. At the end of a few 

 weeks plants had conic up green and healthy, as in com- 

 mon soil ; but as they developed, their fine appearance 

 diminished, and at the end of a fortnight they looked 



dried and withered. 



2. In boxes similar to the first I placed a mixture of 

 equal quantities of pure sulphate of lime, obtained as 

 before, and clay, and sowed the same seeds as in the last 

 experiment ; the plants came up, but not nearly so well 

 as in an unartificial soil, and they did n«t ripen. 



3. In boxes, and under circumstances the same as 

 before, I sowed the same seeds on dung covered over 

 with a layer of sulphate of lime three-tenths of an inch 

 deep. At the end of a fortnight the plants had come up 

 and grown wonderfully ; they ripened well and were 

 magnificent specimens. 



These facts, though of considerable practical import- 

 ance, would not have shown in what way sulphate of 

 lime really acts, had it not been for the following ac- 



cidt nt : 



Happening to have a glass of muriatic acid in my hand 



one day when looking at box No. 3, 1 accidentally 

 spilled some of the acid on one of the boxes,and to my great 

 surprise the lime effervesced, and on furth. r < xamui ion 

 I was satisfied that the sulphate had become changed 

 into carbonate of lime. I concluded from this that tho 

 carbonate of ammonia, given off by the decomposition 

 of tho dung, being volatilised by the heat of the sun, 

 came in contact with the sulphate of lime, when double 

 decomposition ensued. 



To ascertain how far this was true I got some zinc 

 poiS, with bottoms pierced like a sieve; in the pots I 

 placed some dung, then some sulphate of lime, and then 



i sow I some Grass seed. 







bed of some stream, driving down stakes or laying large 

 stones, so as to impede or lessen the force of the 

 current. They would not be so fine produced in this 

 way, but at the same time they would be plentiful enough 

 to answer every purpose of a small family. Of this I 

 am certain that no gentleman would object to have a 

 Water-Cress bed for the use of his table, knowing its 

 produce to be one of the most efficient purifiers of 

 the blood and the very king of salads ; and as far as the 

 London markets are concerned, I am sure that if 

 10,000 bunches more than they already receive were 

 brought every market morning they would be all sold. 



In forming plantations, it would be necessary to have 

 strong planks to walk upon, a few inches higher than 

 the plants, so as not to trample on the latter, nor get 

 wet-footed in picking them. In case of frost, it would 

 be necessary to have plenty of water at command, in 

 order to cover the plants well. The latter should al ways 

 be raised from seeds, as, managed in this way, they do 

 not "run*' so soon, and by sowing at different seasons, 

 we might have fine young Cresses all the year round. 

 " But," I hear some one say, " you have provided for 

 the wants of the wealthy, where is the amateur's bed V* 

 Well, few small places are without water, and nothing 

 need be easier than to introduce it into a nicely-formed 

 trench, two or three feet broad, and to plant the Cresses. 

 This trench might be hooped over, and covered with 

 Roses, or some favourite creeper, and I imagine few 

 spots in the garden would be found more useful or 

 ornamental. 



Since writing the above, the idea struck me that 

 Water-cresses might be cooked like the tops of Ra- 

 dishes, and that they would make a useful addition to 

 our delicate culinary vegetables. I therefore tried the 

 experiment. The first time I cooked the stems and 

 leaves together. They required but a few minutes' boil- 

 ing, but the leaves were done long before the stems. 

 The second time I had the leaves only, with a small pro- 

 portion of the top stem, boiled in a little salt, and the 

 result was a very delicate dish ; but, like Spinach, it takes 

 a good basketful to make one. For invalids and im- 

 paired constitutions, I am of opinion that it will prove 

 a first rate vegetable. James CuthilL CamberwelL 



When tfae plants had appeared and become tolerably 

 developed, I watered them abundantly for a quarter of 

 an hour, and in the liquid which flowed from the 

 bottom of the pots I found sulphate of ammonia, whilst 

 on the : rfacc of the pots there was evidently carbonate 

 of lime. This continued the view I had adopted. 



I then made other experiments, which do not how- 

 ever bear upon the last-mentioned facts. For example, 

 I watered Grass seeds sown in manure, in pots with 

 pierced bottoms, with water containing one of the fol- 

 lowing substances, viz., sulphuric acid, muriatic acid, 

 nitric acid, acetic acid, Bulphate of iron, sulphate of 

 potash, chloride of manganese, phosphate of soda, sul- 

 phate of magnesia, nitrate of soda. 



With all these substances the Grass grew well, and 

 from the bottoms of the pots I obtained salts of ammo- 

 , which are not volatile at the ordinary temperature* 

 From all these facts 1 think we may conclud 



1. That gypsum has by itself no fertilising power, and 

 is alone use less as a manure. 



2. That gypsum is only useful in agriculture when 

 mixed with substances containing ammonia ; in which 

 case there is a double decomposition, and the ammonia 

 is stored up for the use of the plants. 



3. That for gypsum may be substituted any other salt 

 which will fix ammonia, and render it not volatile at 

 the ordinary temperature. 



It is my intention next year to repeat these experi- 

 ments on a large scale, in order to ascertain their real 

 practical value. ( mptes Rendus. 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



(Cage Bisd*, No. 5) ' 



No. XXI. Let us now briefly comment on some of 

 the little ailments of our winged friends. u Prevention 

 being better than cure," we will hope that, by due care, 

 we shall seldom have occasion to call in the aid of a 

 doctor — my aversion always, excepting only in extremis* 



The diseases to which a canary is subject, are but 

 few ; and they are, any of them, easily got rid of. The 

 husk is a <l dry cough," caught from an undue exposure 

 to cold and damp. Sometimes it is brought on by 

 giving your birds Hemp-seed ; the husk or shell of 

 which, adhering to the lining of their throat, causes in- 

 flammation. Never, therefore, give your canaries any 

 Hemp-seed, without first bruising it. Half a dozen 

 seeds per week, observe, are more than sufficient, under 

 any circumstances. To cure the husk, feed your birds 

 on yolk of egg, boiled hard, and diluted with a few drops 

 of cold water. Mix with it a small quantity of sponge- 

 cake, rubbed fine. Instead of spring water to drink, 

 give them, for a couple of days, boiled Linseed - 

 tea, flavoured with liquorice-root ; or boiled milk, 

 fresh each morning. By keeping yourbirds warm, and 

 covering them over to prevent excitement, they wiil 

 soon rally. The "pip " and other minor maladies, to 

 which all birds are occasionally subject, will be treated 

 of in a separate chapter. I need here only speak of 

 « mo ulting." _ 



* The accumulating correspondence which 1 am daily re- 

 ceiving, renders it needful for me to remark, once for al, that 

 I uever give advice on subjects with which I am not con- 

 _.„-«,* r>* « X* *ntsvr iJ/r/x /•r/tiwiim f 9 The diseases pecan ar to 





INFLUENCE OF GYPSUM ON VEGETATION. 



By M. C. Mene. 

 Ever since Franklin's great experiment, gypsum or 

 sulphate of lime has generally been considered as pos- 

 sessing much fertilising power, and of being of great 

 importance in agriculture. Having paid some attention 

 to this substance, I make known my results, in the hope 

 that they may be found of value to the public. 



vers ant. 



tutor ultra crepida 



parrots, macaws, ana tne wnoie of that tribe, are to me a 

 "sealed book." The 'principle' of greneral treatment whicn 

 I recommend for • Song Bird*/ applies ho ■ ever, '«"•«" J 



lass 



neglect of their proper and natural requirement^ "Jf.^ d 

 i.*for the most part, made toothm ; u^ om ™£j£ 

 they are tormented into "talking, when ^ ^^ 



"Nayl" Their masters persist In this course, weir «« 



die : €i hinc ilia lachrym* I 



