THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE 



325 



fr-fc 



*. d. 



Irvine are abundant, but can 

 P ^jT . I«s wealthy people contei 



Cubages, Cucumbers, and different sorts of 



mtg0m ,„ S^^lSTtl tn^Oth of May 

 TS <^ p to i ^ms, Apricots, Cherrief 



GrmP ^ PtewS* P eas > and Haric0tS ' arG - aU 

 j^wjain^ * ' ^ fo Uows a table of the prices 



"* ***|KnW to the accuracy of which we are 



iMPff^ : "~" kopecks. s. d. 



*~* 20 equal 8 



1** Jirtte in siie and qualify 80-35 „ 1 to 1 1 



iEr- ■•• - :::*5-8o 010*1 s 



ii5* - - ::: 1 5 - 20 - ° 6to0 8 



1 C * ffy *Wte such as Grapes, Melons, &c, have no 

 ^•^Pinlapples, alone, are one-third less dear 

 ^"iW The Melons have but little taste ; a fine 

 ^dX^vhitish or greenish, and very juicy dia- 

 -_^ d Ar.t once from our own. Oranges and Emits 



for 



the 



Oni 



We bu& that the veget 

 Petersburgh come, for the i 

 the interior of the Russian 

 &o BuppUed from the en 

 n^rket gardens extend o> 

 and are, for the most part, 

 Roatoff and Hechael, who 

 Peter the Great into Hollai 

 UjjTxing the best method 



lheaSlo--.licious nature ot tne sou, iw n»i, ««* 

 its firmeable subsoil, render it very cold. The 

 ardenTare almost always surrounded by wooden pales 

 2d common plants are cultivated in summer and forced 

 ones in winter The latter are not numerous enough to 

 demand any comment. We shall, therefore, confine our 



remarks to" the former. . 



V have already mentioned that the fine season at 

 St Petersburg is very short; the market gardeners 

 ire compelled to set to work and prepare their soil the 

 moment the frost is fairly gone, and to make the most 

 of the favourable weather which is destined to last so 

 abort a time. At the beginning of May, or even towards 

 the end of April, they level the soil so as to expose it to 

 the action of the atmosphere ; soon afterwards they 





suvio uu», m~, j o u*^ t0 u ; and it a meal- 



worm be given them every morning, the diet will agree 



well with their constitution. Nestlings and branchers, 



however, are alone to be so fed ; and the former must 



on no account be put on such diet too suddenly. Until a 



nestling is at least six weeks old, he must have succulent 



food given him. Then you may mix a small quantity of 



German paste with the raw meat, until he acquires a 



taste for it. We will say nothing about a relish for it ; 



for I am quite sure raw beef is, after all that can be said, 



their most natural aliment. Nestling nightingales ought 



be taken, if taken at all, when about 8 days old, and fed 



with the end of a Stick, exactly in accordance with the 



instructions I have given, under the article,— " Canary;' 



Every now and then, when their rapacious mouths are 



turned up for food, dip your little finger into cold spring 



water, and let a drop or two dribble into each bird s 



throat. It assists their digestion wonderfully. 



When it is a sine qu& non that a fresh caught bird, 

 just arrived, should be fed upon bullocks' liver, bear in 

 mind that raw beef must in the first instance be given 



periment was also tried, died in six or seven minutes ; 

 death was quickest in those cases in which the blood 

 flowed from the puncture slowest. A greenfinch — 

 wounded in the thigh, lost a considerable quantity of 

 blood ; it did not die for 25 hours ; for the last 12 hours 

 it was' in a torpid state, broken at intervals by slight 

 convulsions. We should add that two hours after the 

 poison was introduced, we made the bird breathe a little 



hich seemed to lessen its pain and prolong 



its existence* 



We also made some experiments with larger birds. 



A pigeon wounded slightly in the wing died in 20 

 minutes, after terrible convulsions and alternate para- 

 lytic attacks, which began after the 8th minute. All 

 the birds acted upon by the milky secretion of the sala- 

 mander were seized with epileptic convulsions. 



We also tried the effect of the secretion on small 

 mammals, such as mice or guinea pigs, by inoculating 

 them in the thigh. They all experienced great torture 

 at the end of 10 minutes. They breathed with difficulty 



him, or he will inevitably die. 



and by fits ; they continually fell asleep, and as con- 



.« u_. 1.- Z~ - «■ ■ • « 1„:« M „ rUnllai' fn tllASA 



The 



planks 4 feet wide, which occupy the places of the 

 trenches of the preceding year. In this way the soil is 

 Always worked after being rested, perfectly heated by 

 the sun's rays, and drained of the quantities of water it 

 at first held. When this operation is completed, the 

 planting and sowing commences, generally in the middle 

 of May ; and in four or five days from that time, if there 

 be ever so little heat and moisture, the whole ground is 

 sown and planted. Cabbages, Onions, and sometimes 

 even Potatoes, are placed next the planks ; Carrots, 

 Spinach, Rape, Radishes, Turnips, Cucumbers, Lettuces, 

 and Beet, occupy the middle. The Cabbages, Cauli- 

 flowers, Lettuces, Onions, Cucumbers, and Beet, are at 

 first placed under sashes ; the others do not require this 

 protection. 



Asparagus, Artichokes, and Cauliflowers, are objects 

 of a special cultivation and luxury ; so are Water Melons, 

 which are better in Russia than in France. 

 -*' Strawberries also form a special branch of cultivation. 

 M. Saracelotsol, gardener at Ropcha, near St. Peters- 

 burg, grows no Strawberry except the Roseberry, and 

 for this he has a verv large demand. Masson's Report. 



dually be introduced in his food, so that he may get an 

 acquired taste for it. By degrees, the quantity of beef 

 must be lessened, and the liver increased— the former, 

 eventually, being discontinued altogether. 



The proper place to get your bullocks' liver, well 

 boiled, is at the tripe shops. Ask for a pennyworth of 

 the " nut " of bullocks' liver. See that it is quite fresh, 

 and grate it fine on the smaller-sized holes of a bread- 

 grater. A little stale sweet bun may occasionally be 

 rnbbed in with it. If your birds thrive on this— and I 

 have known some remarkably fine birds do so— you will 

 be spared a world of trouble and anxiety. Grate your 

 liver every morning, and see that is sweet. The blow- 

 flies will do their utmost poison to it, the moment they 

 can get at it. When this occurs, change it directly. 



The food on which nightingales live, being an animal 

 substance, causes, when digested, a very offensive smell 

 in their cages. This renders it a matter of imperative 

 necessity to clean and scald their trays regularly every 

 morning. When dry, cover them thickly with fine red 

 sand. This will prevent the woodwork from being 

 unduly tainted. You will never regret following out 

 this instruction, to the very letter. 



Many, novices, imagine that because nightingales are 

 caught with meal-worms, of which they are remarkably 

 fond,- that th fore they should be abundantly supplied 

 with them. This is a palpable mistake. It must be 

 borne in mind, that these birds, like many others, when 

 in confinement, can get little exercise. Consequently, 

 their digestion is comparatively feeble ; and, if fed upon 

 much live food, they would be liable to fits— perhaps 

 to apoplexy. I should recommend, not more than one 

 daily. Still, meal-worms should always be kept in the 

 house, in case of sickness. When one of these « birds 

 of passage " is ill, nothing is so good as a meal-worm 

 to restore him. It acts beneficially on his system. I am 



^ 9 similar 



produced by electric" shocks. But 'after some hours 

 these symptoms ceased and the animals recovered. 



It seems, then, that a quantity of the milky substance 

 which is sufficient to kill a pigeon has only a temporary 

 effect on a mouse. Now, inasmuch as a pigeon is much 

 larger than a mouse, this difference in the effect pro- 

 duced can only be referred to some difference in their 

 nature and organisation. The mammals experimented 

 upon suffered convulsions, but were not killed. 



We also tried some experiments with the milky 

 secretion contained in the dorsal and parotid pustules 

 of the common toad (Rana bufo). This liquid is thick 

 and viscous, its colour is yellow, its odour strong and 

 acrid its taste intolerably bitter. One of us having by 

 accident tasted more than he intended, experienced no 

 pain ; we, therefore, think that its acridity must be 

 owing to some other liquids mixed with it, and which 

 we propose to examine. Like the secretion of the sala- 

 mander, it has a strong acid reaction. 



We tried the effect of the secretion of the common 

 toad on several small birds ; they all died in five or six 

 minutes, but without convulsions. They opened their 



mouths, tottered as if drunk, and had evidently lost the 



7 - - • _- .- Attheendofa 



precise 



When I first 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



(Cage Bikds, No. 15.) 



No. XXXI. — We last week introduced an extraor- 

 dinary episode in the history of the Canary, — an episode 

 which will be carefully treasured up by all admirers 

 of that elegant and truly fascinating bird of song * I 

 now keep faith with my readers, by returning at once 

 to a further consideration of the claims pressed upon us 

 at this season by the nightingale. His charming voice 

 is, I rejoice to say, still heard in the favoured spots 



where he loves to dwell. 



Now that the nightingale is keeping us awake the 

 live-long night, with the music of his celestial voice, — 

 while every grove and every thicket echoes to his song, 

 — small pleamre is it to me to sit down, and plan in cool 

 *blood how we may hold him a prisoner for life,— how- 

 confine him by bars of wire, and walls of wood I Yet, as 

 duty and pleasure are not inseparable, and I have under- 

 taken the task,— let me to it with all the nerve I can 

 muster. So now to descend at once, to plain prose. 



Many persons refuse to keep nightingales, because of 

 the trouble incurred in procuring them fresh meat, twice 

 daily. It may be some relief to such individuals to 

 point out a substitute for raw beef. 



I have been acquainted, in my time, with several first- 

 rate nightingale fanciers ; and by interchanging " notes " 

 with each other, we have picked up many facts worth 

 recording. Among others, it appears, that the 

 nightingale will live and thrive both upon German paste 

 and bullocks' liver. 



The former, however, will suit "branchers" and nest- 

 tings only. By * branchers " I mean young birds bred 

 here, and caught soon after they have left their parents. 

 By accustoming them, by degrees, to German paste, and 



• 1 am as feed by several parlies if 1 can introduce them to a 

 aight of what I spoke of, last week t I must politely but firmly 

 decline iuttrfering in this matter ; as it would be ungrateful in 

 me to attempt to invade the privacy of any family, from whom 

 1 have received such marked attention. II thtr 



structions with respect to these birds, 

 commenced treating of ;them, I thought, and hoped by 

 the way I expressed myself, that I should deter many 

 persons from attempting to keep them. It seems, how- 

 ever, that the effect has been the extreme opposite from 

 what I intended ; and I am, daily, urgently entreated to 

 n-ive the fullest possible instructions for their being kept 

 in a state of health and song. It fortunately happens 

 that I am well and deeply read in all that concerns the 

 nightingale. As, therefore, it would be unkind in me 

 to withhold the knowledge of what will benefit my little 

 « pet,"— seeing that he is " doomed" to be immured in 

 a cage— I will continue to speak clearly and kindly of all 

 that will tend to his well-being in confinement. Let me 

 hope, in return, that my advice will be strictly followed. 

 William Kidd, New-road, Hammersmith. 



power of regulating their movements, 

 few seconds they shut their eyes, as if to sleep, and fell 

 dead. Comparing the above experiments, we fan d that 

 the milky secretion of the salamander and the toad have 

 an equally poisonous effect on birds, but that the hrst 

 also produces .terrible convulsions, which is not the case 



with the second. . , 



The secretion from the toad killed birds after it ad 

 been dried-two milligrammes oT the dried poison killed 

 a chaffinch in a quarter of an hour. The poisonous 

 quality of this secretion is not destroyed even though 

 its acidity be neutralised by potash. We have not as- 

 certained what internal derangements are produced by 

 these poisons ; but we constantly found in the birds 

 which were killed distinct symptoms of apoplexy in the 



rCg The above experiments, which have been confirmed 

 by M. Chevreuil, show that the popular belief in the 

 poisonous qualities of the salamander and toad has at 

 least some truth, and is not, as has been of late asserted, 

 wbollv without foundation. Comptes Rendus. 



Home Correspondence. 



Orchid Shows.-! am not sure that the plan of the 

 Horticultural Society, as well as that of the Regent s- 

 Park gardens, as regards the prizes for Orchids is in 

 all respects the best ; at present the prizes are all for 

 large plants, that is, as showing good cultivation, and 

 no one who sees the collections that are .exhibited, but 

 must be convinced these shows, and the substantial 

 rewards, have led to admirable cultivation ; but the im- 

 pression is, that only large specimens are fit to compete, 

 and also that the judges award the prizes with especial 

 reference to the largeness of the specimen ; and a 

 cultivator having 29 well grown plants, if they were 

 not large would not think of sending them to be pitted 

 against the gigantic specimens of Mr. Rucker, Mr. 

 Warner &c Now this leads to much sameness lh what 

 is exhibited, and those who for the last few years have 

 attended the shows, can pretty well divine what will 

 ness ofThe C ^amMdeTbv Ib^mg'l^^ome frogs be the plants shown. Mr. So-and-so's large Dendrobium 

 l^d in a tut w^some y salamande« died at the end nobile, &c. &c, are sure to be on the tab e and most of 

 of a week and without any assignable cause. Having the specimens are kept back for another show, or at 

 subsequenrty 2»me healthy salamanders, we determined least make their second appearance in the park. And 

 ifXaj by experiment, whether our doubt was or an intelligent an ^ , nc ; ,* grower, observ^ to m 



ON THE POISONOUS QUALITIES OF THE TOAD 



AND SALAMANDER. 



Br MM. Piesbe Geatiolet and S. Cloez. 



It was formerly the universal belief that the land sala- 

 mander (Lacerta salamandra L.), possessed a subtle 

 poison ; this belief has been of late years abandoned, 

 although a great acridity is still attributed to the viscous 

 and milky liquid secreted by the pustules of the skin of 



this hideous animal. _ 



harmless 



re were many 



made, a gentleman' 



eeaie to be M his castle." 



was not founded upon truth. 



The liquid obtained from the cutaneous pustules ot tlie 

 salamander is perfectly white. It has a strong acrid 

 smell. When quite fresh it flows like milk, but after a 

 short time it coagulates ; this coagulation takes place 

 instantly if alcohol be added to the liquid ; it has a strong 

 acid reaction. A small quantity of this humour placed 

 under the skin of the wing or thigh of a little bird at 

 first produced no visible effect whatever ; but in two or 

 three minutes the bird grew uneasy, ruffled its feathers, 

 tottered, soon showed signs of great suffering, opened 

 and shut its mouth convulsively ; at the same time it 

 stretched itself more and more, threw its head back, 

 uttered cries of distress, became agitated, turned over 

 several times, and then died. m 



A greenfinch (Bruant), wounded in the wing, died 

 after a struggle of two or three minutes. A lark (Pmson), 

 also wounded in the wing, died in 25 minutes, after two 

 epileptic attacks. Several other birds, on which the ex- 





the other day, « After all, one sees year after year nearlj 

 the same plants." Now I believe that these shows have 

 entirely led to the admirable cultivation which one sees ; 

 to plants in large masses covered with flowers, instead 

 of the few straggling ones which formerly used to be 

 seen on the best grown plants ; but I think variety migbt 

 be encouraged by having one or two prizes for smaller 

 nlants which were well grown, and those of tne nu " 

 sorts ;' there is something of the same kind, as regards 

 size, in other classes of plants, as Roses, Cinerarias, *c 

 I, who am a beginner, at either of the last shows could 

 have sent 1 5 or perhaps 20 well grown spe cimens but 

 the plants were mostly small, and would ovrebeeu 

 eclipsed by specimens of the commoner kinds, *"» 

 or 20 spikes of flowers ; but there would l^^ d 

 eight or 10 kinds which were not shown m the gr» 

 collections. I throw this out for cons>deration. 

 possible that what I propose is impossU Jj« ^ ^ 

 attempting, and moreover it is probable tnai u« » 





