310 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



durability, tor, rai 3 to say, I iia\ ag tan pit within '20 



miles of me- G. R. T. 



Tht %rysant/temu,n.—I do not doubt the correctness 



of .Mr. Coombs'* statement when he says all who have 

 seen his neighbour's Chrysanthemums have admired 

 them ; but this fact by no means proves their superiority, 

 as it is just possible that those who have seen Mr. Ivory s 

 plants have not seen the productions of the metropolitan 

 growers. As Mr. C. is of opinion, however, that his 

 neighbour's Chrysanthemums are superior to those of 

 the latter, with the view of testing the correctness of 

 that opinion, I beg to say that I shall be most happy to 

 show plants or blooms with him, either in town or any- 

 reasonable distance Jn the country. B. James, Stoke 



Neirington. 



Iris Sasiana (Death's-head Iris).— How rarely this 

 is well grown in this country, and not often flowered. 

 I saw, a few .lays since, in the gardens of the Luxem- 

 bourg, at; Paris, large patches of it grown in a cold frame ; 

 there were 10 or 12 dowers (half as large again as any 

 I ever saw in this country) open at the same time ; the 

 plants appeared to be growing in very light soil. I 

 shall try this mode of cultivating this interesting plant, 

 and recommend your readers to do the same. The 

 roots are to be bought with the other Dutch roots in the 

 autumn ; but I suspect that those usually purchased 

 have been too long out of the ground, or have been 

 taken up too early ; and that this- is probably the reason 

 they do not often succeed. Bodman. 



Ridge and Farrow Roofs. — In your notice of the 

 Royal Nursery, Slough, you remark there is "a square 

 conservatory, with a ridge and furrow roof, on Mr. 

 Pax ton's principle," &c. &c* Permit me to say that 

 it waa made by me, and is a copy of one I presented to 

 the Horticultural Society in May, 1846, and which was 

 then, erected in Chiswick Gardens. If you can find 

 space to publish the letter that accompanied the pre- 

 sentation, your readers could then judge who has the 

 better title to originality for this principle of construc- 

 tion ; and, also, who first introduced it to the public. 

 I have failed in tracing the erection of flat ridge and 

 furrow roofs, without lap joints, to an earlier date. 

 James Hartley, Wear Glass Works, Sunderland^ May 13. 

 The following is the letter alluded to :— 



u To the Committee of the Horticultural Society, ChiswicL* 

 — Gentlemen— In consequence of the numberless applications 

 received bj me for information as to the expense of erecting 

 conservatories, I have been induced to design and execute a 

 sort of model conservatory, and which, with your permission, 

 I shall be hap^y to erect in the gardens at Chi? wick, if you will 

 be kind enough to accept it, presuming that the information 

 connected with the construction thereof, is within scope of the 

 objects of-> our Society. My intentions are to show that the 

 erection of a conservatory is far from being so expensive an 

 affair as is generally supposed, and have, therefore, adopted a 

 new principle of construction, as being more economical. At 

 the same time, it will be found more nubstantial. and suitable 

 for horticultural purposes, than the ordinary method, whilst it 

 will be an ornament in any part of a garden or pleasure-ground. 

 My design will, no doubt, appear crude. I only profess, how- 

 ever, to point out a m«re economical application of the mate- 

 rials employed in the construction of conservatories, not doubt- 

 ing that the idea will be worked out and perfected by more 

 competent parties. I send herewith a model of my design ; if 

 you approve of it. and grant permission for its erection, it shall 

 be done forthwith ; and when completed, I shall be happy to 

 give full particulars as t& the cost, and the proportionate sums 

 for larger or smaller sizes, when I houe to show that a c 



calling the 



them. On 



usually make so little as two pennyworth of 



greenhouses 



shopman said, u We do not 



. You 



will find very little, but we did it to please you." I said 

 I was obliged ; and returning opened the paper and 

 weighed the seeds. They weighed exactly six-eighths 

 of a grain, upright weight, troy. Take them as one 

 grain, at 2d. ; that is 10*. per dram : equal to four 

 sovereigns per oz. A tolerable scale of profit in these 

 free trade times. P., Exeter, May 1 2. 



Fiiuiifjators. — I send you a drawing of a plan I have 

 had adopted here, by which we fumigate our largest 



with the greatest success. We find 

 " Brown's Patent n a very nice little machine for small 

 houses and frames, but it does not produce a sufficient 

 volume of smoke to do the work quickly or with effect ; 

 for as there is always an escape, the smoke must be 

 quickly supplied to fill the house all over alike. I have, 

 therefore, turned my attention to the production of 

 a larger and quicker consumption of the tobacco, by 

 means of a larger and more powerful machine. I am 

 afraid that the plan will give but a bad idea of my 

 scheme, but it will be seen that as the amount of 

 tobacco spread out may be limited to an ounce or 

 extended to a pound by meaus of the regu- 

 lator, the consumption will, in both cases, be econo- 

 mical and effectual. The tobacco is to be placed 

 on a little pile of ignited wood, or set alight by means 

 of a little touch-paper, and the supply of smoke can of 

 course be regulated by the amount of draft given by 

 the wheel going round slow or quick. The machine 

 can of course, like "Brown's Patent," be used from the 

 outside of the house. We have used it now about six 

 times, and we are perfectly satisfied with it. The smoke 

 is not hot, as traversing through a long pipe (15 inches) 

 quite cools it. I am not rich or I would have had a 

 machine made and sent to you for trial. W. Colson. 



!M 



** i; 





in the highest perfectionist nflT^ 

 Wight. I have 'now a tree VS b 

 m flower, and one of its beautif^u * a 

 fnll 5 inches in diameter. This" '^ !"•» 

 planted ont more than 2 years rl ^ ^ *l ■ 

 ceeds perfectly out of door!! 'l £ T^ ^ 

 moment in my greenhouse, measuring u tZ * 

 meter, growing upon a very small *, ***** ■» «. 

 Banes, St. Helen's Home, Isle If SL ^ **" 

 Penny Banks.- T -~ J M% 





In your paper of May 34^ 





Boy" asks for information respectiug^nv &^ 

 has been one established here by tK^- 1V * 

 village in which I reside, and it £ ZS^ 

 indeed. It is really surprising what hast ^^ 



the children who have j oined this « M T„7 * T * * 

 get club," in putting their pence by, 43 ^ ** 



am prepared and willing^ **■ * *** 



them in lollylops and other worthless trash 

 the accounts I 



1QC 



it is traioed oft 





* w » M gc» vr auiauer sues, wnen i noye to sbow tnat a conser- 

 vatory can be t reeled for less money in England than upon 

 any part of the Continent. The model is upon a scale o* 1 inch 



(Sailed) 



Calceolarias.— 



"James Hartley." 



My attention having been] drawn to 

 u M. P.'s » article on the. Calceolaria, and also to Mr. 

 Rumley's comments thereon, I am induced to offer 

 a few words on the subject. I consider that the remarks 



2 f tt *£ F '" aud Mr# R &pply onl y t0 certain localities. 

 ' M. P." perhaps in his locality, like others in less 



favoured spots than that of Mr. R., may find the 



impossibility, or nearly so, of raising plants of chosen 



form and colour from cuttings, as Mr. R. absolutely 



demands; and Mr R., on the contrary, having local 



circumstances in his favour, may find it best to 



raise his stock in that way, but I presume if he 



Had gamed his information in other places than that 



of the north of England or Scotland, he would have 



given some other method than that of raising Calceolarias 



?S f°u u UttingS; and " M - P >" onthe contrarv, 

 would gladly have availed himself of Mr. R's injunctions 



*3Z 3 l •' P;J In ° bJeCting t0 Mr ' R ' S ^gerous 



^VT g fT fiIled with %*» n£™*et 

 other liquid under the plant, my own experience 



taught me that a a -*• - • 



Kto 



or 

 having 



o 



either at the roots or in the house 

 tagious 



superfluity of moisture, 

 e house, induces a con- 



t , r ,> nT' which > thou S h apparently unknown 

 jo -rnr. K., ail the skill of the most eminent cultivators 

 lias as yet been unable to eradicate. Q. 11. 



Aqmtics. —You inform a correspondent that Calla, 

 UUadium, and Nympiujea ccerulea 

 removed in winter." 

 raised in pots. 



A. II. 



k^ ivuagc \Jk uuutr, iuiu X Utfueve 



[We don't know about Vpono^ 

 by removing Nymphseas, &c* 



require to be 

 But these species are usually 

 . You cannot surely mean that the pot- 



Dail cannot be turned out of the pot, and placed in a 

 basket for submersion, while in a growing state* I s 

 the Aponogetoa duck-proof I Something has cropped 

 off all the foliage of mine, and I believe it is. my ducks. 



m*«,« i xt -* tou - What we 



meant by removing Nymplnsas, $c„ was to remove 



w?n?er g^*** S ° * ta *F» *em against 



■ ~ * ^*.w« lu « iw ;i i ftW varieties of th» 



commoner aunuals, I went into a seed shop to-day Zt 

 qmte a thousand miles from Exeter, and d<.sirL'd^n 

 haye two pennyworth of each of six y !K l 3 { annuals 

 got ready for me, aad I would call a* I retnrnedTor 



Section. 

 Description of Woodcut. — The wheels are leathered all round, 

 whiqh causes them to aqt as with cogs. A small spring 

 (unseen) draws the two wheels together. A, B, a box made 

 of galvanised sheet iron, 18 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 

 8 inches deep> with a moveable smoke tight lid, C ; and D, a 

 smoke pipe, riveted on the box ac D. E is the larger wheel 

 (G the handle), moving the small one, F, on the axle of which 

 is a fan with tour blowers, P P ; M, the drafc aperture ; KK is 

 the grate, made of strong woven wire, about J inch mesh ; 

 II, holes to supply air to the fan ; L are sheets of irou to con^ 

 tract the area of the furnac e grate, as may be required to suit 

 one ounce or a pound of tobacco. 



Hyde Park.— Since the three or four old trees, 

 enclosed within the huilding of the Great Exhibition, 

 were considered by the legislative body of Great Britain 

 of sufficient importance to be made a subject of debate, 

 I trust I shall not be considered^ needlessly encroach- 

 ing upon your time by drawing your attention to two 

 abuses that are now in no small degree contributin 

 the injury and disfigurement of Hyde Park. The 

 abuse first to be animadverted upon (inasmuch as it is 

 committed by that very class of society to which the 

 orators belong who stepped forward as the champions of 

 the community at large) is, the unfeeling galloping 

 over, and cutting up of, the fine piece of Grass on 

 the slope between the Serpentine and the Crystal Palace, 

 one of the most beautiful features of the noble park' 

 which a fortnight ago might have vied in beauty with 

 any lawn in England. Now, these equestrians (equites, 

 or equestres) should remember that they form but a 

 very small portion of that community whose privileges 

 were so eloquently defended by themselves in the 

 senate, and that while they are thus luxuriating on the 

 soft Grass, they are depriving the larger portion°of their 

 fellow-citizens of the quiet enjoyment of one of their 

 favourite resorts, and destroying the very place for 

 which they evinced so much interest. The other abuse 

 is, allowing nuisances of all sorts to be committed 



w!*i tre f 8 . ne « the Cr >' s tal Palace; this has 

 been the case during the whole period of the erecting of 

 the building and if allowed to go on, will (I m * * 



JSLTS i? f endan 8 er the ■**•£< °f thole tS2 



information respecting it .that may be requiS 

 Griffin, Eydon, Daventry. Hwe(l "% 



Ceanothuses.-Among the many recent iatrofcrf. 

 of hardy plants into our gardens, there are noneSl 

 more effective or better adapted for covering iJS 

 the Ceanothuses. We have here (Osborne? fin 

 mens of the following, which were plaatedZS 

 wall in the spring of 1843, and withstood the i2 

 of the .winter of 1849 without protection, unbin2! 

 viz., C. dentatus, C. papillosus, C. rigidus, C cun^T 

 and C. sp. California. I beg to offer a few reni«^ 

 the mode of culture as practised here— 1st, C deS? 

 I consider tins to be the most beautiful of themalHk 

 extreme neatness of its foliage, the beauty and r wJ? 

 of its flowers, cannot fail to render it an object cifnnL 

 versal admiration. Our plant, which is 6 feet ( j 

 in height, is now coming into bloom , .. m t 

 the horizontal system ; the extent of its braodu 

 the bottom is 9 feet 6 inches, gradually decreuiwj £ 

 the point of the main stem. After it lias douefloroL 

 we shorten back the secondary branches to witouTJ 

 inch or so of the main laterals ; this we repeal tu> 

 or three times in the course of the season, according 

 to the growth they make. It may be well to tq2 

 tion that the last pruning must not be performed too 

 late, as on these branches we depend for the principal 

 supply of flowers in the following season. TJiis pUnt 

 matured seeds last season, which were sown early tkis 

 spring, and the plants are now coining through tbj 

 soil. — 2d, C. papillosus : I consider this next u up* 

 riority ; it will endure similar treatment to the m 

 but it is more vigorous in its growth— a great acqui- 

 sition in a> wall plant. Our specimen, which is ; 

 coming into bloom, is 9 feet in height aud 10 feet in 

 extent of branches at the bottom, gradually diminish^ 

 to the summit. Seeds of this also ripened last yeai, 

 and are in the same stage as those just menti< 

 3d, C. sp. from California : This is more vigorous i 4 

 growth than papillosus ; it produces later; freely, but 

 not secondary branches. Our plant, which is 13 feet 

 in height and 11 feet in extent of branches at the bottoo, 

 has not flowered with us yet, — 4th, C. rigidus : This ii 

 a charming species. Our plant, which is 6 feet Dindio 

 in height, and in extent of branches 8 feet 6 inches, h* 

 been a dense mass of bloom, the beauty of which is not 

 past. It does not produce laterals .so freely as the other 

 species, nor does it show any disposition to prodaee 

 seeds, though it has flowered two seasons.— 5 tii,C.c»- 

 neatus : This has not flowered with us at presec >n- 

 sequently we cannot say much respecting it, l>ut ite 

 appearance is very promising. This plant is < ftet m 

 height and 8 feet in extent of branches at the bottom. 

 In its growth it is similar to rigidus aad sp. from 

 California. C. Windteater, Osborne Gardens. 



Cucumbers.— My plants having been unusually lux* 

 riant tins year, perhaps some account of the waya 

 which they have been treated may be acceptable, la* 

 pit in which I grow my early fruit is heated by tot *** 

 on the tajik system; the soil I use consists of three p : 

 Wimbledon loam, one part well rotted dung, wufti 

 portion of half decayed leaves and charcoal, the totter* 

 the proportion of 1 to 10 of the whole mass, 

 put 4 inches of charcoal in the bottom of the oed^so^ 

 to ensure good drainage and to allow hot air to w 

 freely from the tanks. The soil is toned ^f^JL 

 twice, in order to mix the whole well together. ^ 

 loam should be mellow aud in a rough state. h 

 the young plants in decayed leaf- soil, until sucai , j. 

 they are fit to be planted out. Only a little cMjt 

 used in the bottom of the pots, in order that m* 

 be nothing to abstract at planting out time. Uue stop 

 must be paid to stopping aud training- J f\J z [ u 

 when the plants have made two leaves aho ut " J^ 



ty%v fhnrafc - fhoconrmd tiro ft I stOD at the tOUM O ^ 



I also 



in your 



Having occasion. ^ for a few varies 



_ think, be avoided by putting up proner 



places near the Exhibition. Such places are ver/much 



serious disorders. A Constant Header. i 



■ aVnBl t f t aU r- T In the lis * ^ awards advertised 

 v ■ w ,1 Number, I notice two errors 



S inMS i V tate< ? t0 haVe been S%a for Cine- 



n as also Z r " !' "^ * f i,TW ***«» for Cine - 

 llT' t - m 6 "" ,ch P ots ' but the ^ct is that botli 



SSSTSZ Pr T' laCed " 8 - inch P«'ts ; and thecd 

 plants in other sized p j. (. r ^ w 



Chth °f Gold Jiose.— Perhaps it may be interestin-r'to 

 1 growls of Roses to know ti J the Cloth of Gold tloonS 



my thumb ; the second time I stop 

 joint, according to the strength of the P la ° l, . eceaff c 

 way I insure strong fruit bearing wood, mtu ^ 



of the bed well furnished. I water liberally" ^ 

 period of growth. The temperature of ttoe **■ ^ 

 be equal to that of the pit in which tne P _ 

 Plenty of air should be admitted on all fa y0ura ?j £ 

 tunities. I would, however, recommend an ^ w 

 be placed across where the air is adm ltt e a » Ur ^jtd 



maintain fjj 



prevent the ingress of sharp cutting winds 

 A Silver to heat, that should be kept steady ; 1 **■■-- ^ 

 ' ~ bottom, w i t h a top heat at night ot from o » ^ 



75^ to W through the ^^^U Spu 



ment I liave this sea n g! 



one p\ 



rr 



the improved Sion House, and a Wh.te . n y ^ ^ 

 with uniform success. John Kmn>;. ffflJiW" tee ^ 

 of Cottmhum, at Copse J/Ul. l^ he lr "V lt we h»Te 

 was one of the finest and best gpftTO 

 ever. seen. J 



