2f4 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



6L 



are so 



readily separated from each other, which can be so 

 beautifully effected by ebullition with nitric acid, espe- 

 cially when a little chlorate of potash is added to it 

 according to Schultze's direction. Ann. der Chem. und 



305 : Reports of the Berlin A cademy, 



Pharrn. lxxv., p. 

 March 1850, p. 102 ; 



in the Chemical Gazette, 



Calendar of Operations. 



(For the ensuing week ) 



PLANT DEPARTMENT 



Stoves. — The increased amount of heat and moisture 

 in these structures, aided by longer days and more 

 powerful sunlight, is of course, inducing a development 



of new growth, and it is the province of the gardener to 

 take care that this should be so directed as to make each 

 individual plant approximate as nearly as possible to a 

 perfect specimen. To this end they should be carefully 

 and constantly watched, as every piece of neglect or 

 mismanagement, however trifling in itself, tends in a 

 proportionate degree to defeat the object in view. To 

 lay down more than general rules is impossible ; but it 

 is necessary to urge three things upon every cultivator 

 of plants ; these are, observation, reflection and action- 

 indispensable at all times, but at no season more so than 

 at present. Premising that the plants have been care- 

 fully potted in suitable soils, the next point is situation, 

 the temperature of which should be in proportion to that 

 of the localities to which the plants are indigenous. 

 Theory points out the advantage of a moderate bottom 

 heat, as the earth is invariably some degrees warmer 

 than the atmosphere ; practice proves this, and proves 

 also that an excess of heat is as injurious to the roots 

 as to the tops. Ample space for every plant is indis- 

 pensable, and it is impossible, if the plants are at all 

 crowded, to make handsome specimens of them, however 

 well they may be attended to in other respects. After 

 securing the largest possible amount of light, as much 

 heat and moisture may be supplied as the plants will 

 bear without producing weak or spindling growths ; 

 taking this as the criterion, any individual plant which 

 seems to require a warmer, or cooler, a moister, or 

 drier situation, should be accommodated accordingly. 

 Plants of a shrubby habit will require, besides the 

 general direction of the shoots, the occasional stopping 

 of any young growths which are unduly taking the 

 lead y and climbers on trellises will require daily at- 

 tention, to prevent their twining about the wires, and 

 reaching the top of the trellis before the bottom is 

 properly furnished. On the other hand it is not a good 

 plan to keep the tender young growths tied in to their 

 extreme points, as the practice has the effect of crip- 

 pling them and preventing their progress ; and the 

 plants, especially of delicate species, soon acquire a 

 stunted appearance. We prefer allowing the shoots of 

 strong growing kinds to keep from 12 to 1 8 inches in 

 advance of the tied-in portion, taking care, however, to 

 prevent entanglement. Mealy bug, scale, and other 

 insects which torment stove plants, increase with fright- 

 ful rapidity at this season, and it is necessary to make 

 great exertions to keep them even in check. Great care 

 is necessary in watering newly potted plants to prevent 

 the fresh soil from becoming soddened and soured. 

 When any plant is observed to be in this state, it should 

 be shaken out, repotted in sweet soil, and more careful! v 

 watered for the future. But if this operation is to be of 

 any service, it must be performed without delay, as the 

 roots of plants are speedily injured and destroyed if 

 flowed to remain in contact with unwholesome soil 

 Thunbergias, Chtorias, and other 



destroying these insects. Melons. — In determining <he 

 number of fruit to be matured on each plant, exercise as 

 much caution as you would in regulating a crop of 

 Grapes ; the proper medium of size, and perfection of 

 flavour, depend on the plants being neither over- 

 stimulated nor over-cropped ; the latter fault should be 

 carefully avoided, as by it, not only are the fruits of 

 the first crop inferior, but the chance of a second 

 crop is rendered hopeless. Admit air freely during 

 warm sunshine, and maintain a moist atmosphere by 

 means of evaporatingfpans, and by sprinkling the paths 

 and soil with water. Strawberries. — Continue to 

 forward successions of this useful fruit, and by fumi- 

 gating or syringing destroy aphides on the leaves and 

 fruit of those which are in progress ; this demands par- 

 ticular attention, as these little pests suck the juices out 

 of the fruit while in its young state, which of course 

 spoils its appearance, and prevents its swelling. With 

 proper attention Strawberries should now be obtained 

 as good as at any season ; and every means which will 

 contribute to produce fine well-flavoured fruit should 

 be put in practice. Placing the plants near the glass, 

 where they can have a free circulation of air, but at the 

 same time be guarded against cold currents, is very 

 important. The small weakly berries should be thinned 

 out, leaving from six to ten of the most promising upon 

 each plant. Up to the time when the fruit begins to 

 change colour, manure water may be applied with 

 advantage once a week, but after that it should be 

 entirely withheld, and even clear water should be given 

 more moderately. The flavour of the fruit very much 

 depends upon careful attention to these points. 



Friday.. 18 17 

 Satur. .. __ 

 Sunday . 20 

 Alouday 21 

 I'uei. .. 22 

 Wed. .. :3 

 Tfcura... 2* 



29.758 



m. 



IS -Cloudy an i hue; mild- hrTT — r -H 



19 - Fiu„ r , ery fine 0^^"*^ cto ** 

 - 20 - Vrry hue, h*zy ; ra-a commenced ', « 



2- — lima throughout. 



c *' J * ( " > *. above tat ■? 



State of the Weather at ChUwick dur^Tt^ , , 



April 



and May 



Sunday 27 

 Moo. 2» 

 lues. *y 

 Wed. ft 

 Thurs. l 

 Friday 2 

 Satur. 3 





60.2 

 61.5 

 62.0 

 63.0 

 62.6 

 64.2 

 63.0 





37.5 

 37.1 



39.3 

 42.0 

 41.6 

 42.2 

 42.5 



fld 



V 



S£ 



48.8 

 49 .3 

 50.6 

 52.5 

 52.1 

 53.2 

 52.7 



No. of 

 I ears in 



which it 

 Kained. 



13 

 10 



7 



9 

 9 

 8 



12 



Create « 

 Quantity 



p retaiitBf 



The highest temperature duri^~thTabo»T~n*^ n r 

 and 1848— therm 27 df g. 



FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES. 



The evergreens which were placed in the flower-heds 

 during the winter should now be removed to the reserve 

 garden, in order that the ground may be prepared for 

 its summer occupants. The beds which have been 

 filled with Crocuses, or other winter and spring flower- 

 ing bulbs, are generally prepared for this purpose by 

 taking up the bulbs about this time ; such a practice, 

 however, is very objectionable, on account of the foliage 

 not being sufficiently ripened ; and even if the bulbs 

 are left in the ground until properly matured, and then 

 taken up, the flowers are not nearly so fine or so strong 

 as when left undisturbed. Every objection may be 

 removed, and much unnecessary labour prevented, by 

 laying a few inches of fresh soil on the beds for the 

 summer flowers, without disturbing the bulbs. When 

 this operation is being performed, the leaves of the 

 Crocuses should be tied together in knots, that they 

 may have time to mature themselves, without interfering 

 with their successors. In removing the latter in autumn, 

 they should be drawn out of the ground, in order to 

 prevent injury to the bulbs beneath ; at the same time, 

 a portion of the spring top-dressing should be removed, 

 sufficient to leave about 2 or 3 inches from the surface. 

 By this method, gorgeous masses of flowers are displayed^ 

 both summer and winter, without the plants of one 

 season interfering with those of another. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Those who have sown their Leeks in a frame (accord- 

 ing to former directions), with the intention of trans- 

 planting, should now get the ground ready fcr them. 

 To produce this excellent vegetable in perfection, it 

 should be grown as large and as quickly as possible, as 

 the flavour is thereby rendered much milder. As the 

 Leek is fond of moisture, its roots have a natural ten. 

 dency downwards, deriving their nourishment prin- 

 cipally from below the reach of the scorching sun of 

 summer. The ground for this crop should be dug 1 8 or 

 20 inches deep, and the manure laid into the bottom of 



*'*kmC£tf$$ 



5 



P W A. Water Lilies do not product 



sew a* 



""•Cwfcrm 

 rapid mofe, 



e 



, , ,,. * climbing tender 



annuals, should be transferred at once from 4-inch pots U, , , r . . . fJ L 



to those in which they are intended to flower in ornVr the / r f nch > „ whlch should be previously loosened up with 



that they may at once be furnished with a suSe ^ "^ " ~ ' * 



trellis ; the soil for Thunbergias can scarcely be too 



Ipomoeas of the annual kinds should occasionally 



pped, to induce the formation of laterals, and to 



equalise the strength of the plants. Abundance^ntht 



a fork. Of the planting we will speak in a future 



rich. 



necessary, 



when their growth is nearly com^t^Vmdlto'pCte 

 begin to produce flower-buds, the amount of air should 

 be considerably increased, in order to prepare them for 

 the cooler atmosphere of the conservatory. I pom £a 

 Learn and I . ficifolia are excellently adapted for Se 

 autumn decoration of the conservatory ; for thfs pur 

 pose they should be potted in 10 or 12 LhllTJ^n 

 in stove heat till the end of May, and then SemoSS to 

 cooler quarters. The plants will flower ra Sy 



£7.o7 t p t th J he " pot8 ? an ih *y wiI1 if p*K i 



me aoil , but there is an advantage in setting the nots 

 on the surface of the soil, and allowing the plants to root 

 through, as they are thereby enabled to guarS Ihem 



tjyVSX ?he Ci l ental dnH,ght ' and the ™*£S 



rlLuT y Same mean9 tributes to maintain 

 * healthy appearance to a later nm^wl ^*%J^ ™ZT 



fermg 



Vineries. 



FORCING DEPARTMENT. 



-in- . 1 * earlier houses , use the utmost 



duigence to keep down insects, especially the Ted 

 •pider ; this attention will be particularly required 

 in houses where the ripening of fruit rendTs it 

 necessary to maintain a drier atmosphere 



number. aiot tins time it is better to sow Lettuce 

 where it is to remain. The drills should be drawn 1 

 or 12 inches apart, and a few seeds dropped in at 

 intervals of 8 inches ; these patches, as soon as they are 

 fairly up, should be thinned to one plant. It is better 

 to avoid transplanting Lettuces in summer, as the tap 

 root is liable to get broken in the operation, and the 

 plants have to depend for their support on the surface 

 soil, which for this crop is too much exposed to the 

 drying influence of sun and wind. The plants are thus 

 rendered deficient of that crispness and succulence 

 which is so indispensable in this salad, and are much 

 more liable to run to seed. In hot summers, trans- 

 planting will only succeed in such ground as that of a 



London market gardener, where the soil is very rich 

 and moist. J 



w n * HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



Wall trees on which the fruit is set, should have their 

 covering of Spruce or Yew branches gradually thinned 

 particularly where the latter is used, ts the CTzcon- 

 fcnue there much longer than they do upon the aJ«S 

 Commence the disbudding of PeihesJdKec^^Vv 

 removing the foreright and back bud, 1 2 ?K ??JZ 



Notices to Correspondents, 



Asphalte : E YL. We object to this, becnus* of th«K 

 and smell it communicates to water long after it ** 

 Gotta percha is much cheaper than lead • but » A M '*** 

 their relative price. You will learn by Lppljin, 2 M * 1 * 

 of the thousand dealers in the former. Wt bare iooBil! 

 to it. *V>l 



Aquatics 

 ponds. 



and can only be cured by putting the water 

 or by keeping ducks and such birds to eat it. 

 Bees : Anna. The last named bive by all means, andthtiflU 

 by Milton is the best we have seen. The mhen u%Zl 

 very costh, and they rarely answer. Y.—P TO. U the hiwl 

 a wooden one, take out all the old comb, and it mar beuS 

 again ; but if it is a Btraw one, it is better to put it M jfr nj 

 use a new one, Y. 

 Books : J H S. Dr. Lindley's "School Botany*'} 

 Cinerarias : Oxon. The colour you name is by no muni i 

 scarce one among Cinerarias. We have thtm not of iU 

 shades ot blue. 9 

 Clematis : Anon* What is C. odoratissima ? If by that niv 

 you mean CI. montana, then we presume that its roots sa 

 too much confined; it is a very rank grower, and wantii 

 great deal ot food at the root. 

 Fancy Dahlias : E II. You will find a list of the best of thai 



at p. 72 of the current year** volume. J 

 Gardeners out of Place : G KeUy. It is unreasonable of j* 

 to expect €uch letters to be answered. Tbe absenct tf i 

 reply is in fact an answer— in the negative. You can hn 

 little knowledge of the world not to know that tins i 

 England is too precious to waste in needless letter witty, 

 As to putting a penny stamp in 3 our letter, that ii wfcty 

 unnecessary : nobody expects you to do so. 

 Horse Chesnuts: J N V. The deformities are caused by tin 

 young branches having been injured last year ononetidr; 

 probably about midsummer. In attempting to repair tb 

 injury k»y rapid growth, the wounded side bas lengthened 

 more than the sound side, and hence the curves. Whataij 

 have produced the injury we have no means of judfiaf. 

 Has any one been firing shot among the branches! 

 Insects: J N C. The insects in your Cucumber frame are 1 

 very minute species of mite (Acar.ua), which bare, moito^ 

 bably, been reared in the vegetable manure. It wooldh 

 well to take up the plants, and paturate tbe earth w eilfM 

 boiling water; and each plant might then be > Te 7«Jf 

 covered wiih a *m%ll frame, and well fumigated. wV« 

 The Peas sown are sadly infested with a species of ■» 

 pedes, or thousaad legs (Julus pulchellusj. ™ pj» 

 must have been very foul ; it would be well to serrei til* 

 commended in the last answer, and then re-sow it wwrm 

 for a later crop. You may also entrap > he mW£» 

 great quantities, by laying slices of Turnip on or ^ 

 surface of the ground. W.-W 8. The nuuo;e^ ^ 

 under-side of the Camellia leaf may V^^^T^ 

 punctures of some in.ect (none of which are noif nsioie, m 

 I we apprehend, rather from atmospheric causes. l«r 

 no insect in the quill, rroin the Cucumber frtmi. od « 

 corka bavin* K ot loose ; but see the two y^^^k 

 Mistletoe : l> T O. It wilt take and groir *"££* £ 

 or the T horn, Slit the bark an 1 insert a se^ J . < ^ 

 and there, where you wish it to establish "^^1^*1 

 be on the under side of the branches, or the biros win 



seeds.! _ : „. a nn 4 OocidiflB 



Names of Plants: O IK Gongora .truncaU an^ 



V ube*.-Erzeroum y 939, Cakile maritima ; M, £* ^ 

 D*2,Vitex Agnus Castus ; .931 • Phytolacca >ff nlf + 

 Piantago Psyllium ; 918, Siegesbeckta or enta > I|B|UlB 

 cratium illyricum ; 794, Hy^pecoum ereemm,^ , ^ ?; 



strumarium ; 894, Linaria dalmatica ; 89o, W** ^ 

 860, Prunella vulgaris; 813, Serapias . « n ^J' btJB1 CettUJ 

 germanica; 85*, Berberis vulgaris ;**»££ vulgar*;* 

 rium ; 838, Tiiia euro, sea ; 835 ^odi^mj J ^ 

 PolytHchutn commune; 830, Rifecut tfjpogiu 



Aristolochia Clematiiis. the blue SaMft^ 



Salvias : Tyro. Ic is doubtful whether two ^ ftffl|( n 



succeed treated in ihe manner ^ nUon ^Zf 



-' - " -1 try the experiment.^ 



You su 2 *•£ " [L°l *W 



Ii 



however, be worth while to try the e*Pf"^f 00 g as M 



Constant Header. You state , tbat^o ^ 



border, the vme* bore ince tfc 



Vines: 



beds were made on the border, tne V1U *V d tbat since \m 

 the surface was as hard as if concreua, ha§ ^ 



baacb* 



removing the foreright ana oacK buds now ; but defer 

 the final arrangement for 10 day 8 or a fortnight longer 



been 



Where to 



this 



is or 



luw been neglected, the gardener will stand a chance of 

 seeing the leaves r.pen as soon as the fruit, and, of course 

 he must expect only a limited quantity ot pi.h„~T. J 

 y for the benifit of the future c?op !'Xl lyS^S 

 of sulphur to the hot water pipes V to the urfale o 

 the flues, is the easiest and quickest method o[ 



KfcS If fi ar - faU ' ljr ^ advantage should be 



taken of a fine morning to wash the trees with the 

 engine, for the double purpose of removing decayed 

 blossoms and destroying the green fly. Be eyeful not 



. «?J , h % tre ? s t *? thick of wo °d; but ifThey are 

 plentifully furn.shed with blossoms, thin out some of 

 last year's shoots, wherever there is' a superabundance 

 of them ; taking care to remove side shoote only, and in 



a n w g 8 to7 t0 rn a Ih ethe ^ ^ °" each *£*•£ 

 anew shoot. In this manner, voung wood may be 



barren "l Ir**" >! "* F? Would be "*°™£ 

 barren. Let particular attention be paid to hand- 

 picking, and destroying catcrp liar?. * a 



great falling off in produce, it ? »•-- „ eim n re«"" 

 curling up and proving blind, liae the sp« otia » 

 tfaat &er? mu.t be a fault "me-her.. I« ^^ 

 ^. .„„, n fih.hnin(i. for according to;, jndM j, 



tcr- 





management of the house, for 

 that is proper enouah ; nor is » "» '-" "; „ r oce*» ' 

 dressing of the hardened border, lor tn "^e**- _ 

 beneficial. But your Vmes were 1***' b«« *S 

 warmth at root from oong-bed.-^ e^^ ciQ« 

 tinued ; and no improvement, in other re K w tte ^ 

 make up for the loss of beat. J™* "ft, flow of«* J 

 not bleeding when you tried to wc*f*» , to no oftf-JJE 

 cutting after the buds had bw.«MJ» Iw'-.fSSh* 

 tbe.r b* ing in bad health, for the «^» tI «•» J",5 

 appropriate all the sap, even when tn t** d * lte t»* 



tion, which cannot be the «••• J^Bon, <***] 

 much colder than the house, ^'"^edy io '«j u ">4 

 or j our complaint, you w.l. douotle" r i***^* 



WaiOEt* aosta : Aott$. Cutting* * ™ th \ M H»* 

 iu *ilver sand now, and coverea 

 fouud to strike root freelj.J 



with 



















