356 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 





despair of a s^ isiac w>ry moae 01 preserving the cisely the odour of ripe Apples ; this is evi 



more delicate kinds being discovered, although to the presence of some substance formed by the 



most of th* recorded experiments which have been action of the chlorine. 



made vith. that view are certainly not very en- 



courting. The experiments usually referred to on We have lately received from Mr. Verschaffelt, 



the preservation of fruit by chemical means, are of Ghent, flowers of two tree Paeonies of admirable 



aorne which were made by Dr. Henry in 1776, and beauty. They were intended for exhibition in 



described in the fourth volume of Dr. Priestley's London, but would not keep for that purpose. 

 " Essays on Air." The fruit in these experiments One was rosy pink, large, and uncommonly showy 



because of the verv fine colour of the flowers. When 



was suspended in carbonic acid, so that it was kept 

 in an atmosphere containing no free oxygen.^ A 

 bunch of Grapes exposed to carbonic acid remained 

 fresh and plump for six weeks, whilst a corre- 

 sponding bunch placed near it in a similar vessel, 

 containing common air, was quite mouldy in three 

 weeis. A second experiment was made with some 

 rip? and rather stale Strawberries, which had been 

 gathered the day before ; the following day those 

 which were exposed to the air had lost their taste, 

 whilst the fruit kept in carbonic acid, " had become 

 more dry, but was 'fragrant and well tasted ; their 

 fragrancy was even thought to be improved." On 

 the fourth day, those in air became quite musty and 

 mouldy, whilst those in carbonic acid were some of 

 them firm, and had still a moderate degree of 

 flavour at the end of eight days. 



In this experiment of Dr. Henhy's there are two 

 points which were decidedly against the preservation 

 of the fruit, namely, that the fruit was already stale 

 at the commencement of the trial, and that the 

 carbonic acid employed was not pure, but contained 

 common air. A number of similar experiments 

 have since been made, the general result of which 

 has been, that though the fruit kept well, it wholly 

 lost its flavour; but we do not think that there is 

 any reason to despair of ultimate success. It is plain, 

 from all the trials which have been made, that it is 

 easy to prevent the decay or fermentation of fruit ; 

 the difficulty is rather to preserve its fine flavour, 

 and prevent it from becoming tasteless and insipid. 

 When an Apple is bruised, the part thus injured 

 soon turns brown, decay commences, it becomes 

 mouldy, and the whole fruit soon rots ; and this 

 decay easily spreads from one Apple to another. If 

 a little hole is cut through the skin of a sound Apple, 

 and a small piece of a rotten one is inserted under 

 the skin, the sound fruit will soon be brought into a 

 state of decay ; but if this is done in a jar of car- 

 bonic acid, no such effect will take place— the sound 

 Apple will remain fresh, even though there is a 

 portion of decayed Apple in contact with it. The 



containing glass 15 inches h h 1? n Pr * 



Thft smith * n A ~r i,r_ *», "6 n and \\ j«.L 



k 



groove in it, to allow the water ii"TI ?° uldh *Te* 

 of the bar, where a small "Sn/lT *>** to the 



The south end of Mr. Warner 7 * IT ! l mch * tfft. 



n e »!T th ^! is brick *orMo r d& » **fi 



Orchids. Each s*«k-i— ~* A r c »robin* flZ?** 



*:i 



to catch 

 will drip 



■» 



Venti lation.— This' isTf ' nZY? ' njurious ««(t 

 cold air is allowed to pass & 2 1?*°?*** ; K 

 not thrive, and all £ r ? wWdft? ^ Hh 

 bestowed on them will be in vain vJf**?** £ 

 should therefore be provided for ' near? ° f VeDtil 2 

 to the hot- water pip^s, in order' C t ^^S 

 warmed in entering the house. I n X h^h** 

 are three ventilators on each sinV nf 1 T ^ ^^ 

 the south end in the McW, andTw '** 

 end near the top of the house. 



The 



at the m 

 Hating A^Z 



full blown they measured 7 inches across ; but in 

 this state they showed quantities of stamens in the 

 centre, and some of the petals, though all of good 

 substance, were much longer than the others, giving 

 the general aspect of the flower a somewhat ragged 



appearance. 



The other was French white, shading off into rose 

 at the base of the petals, and rather smaller, but 

 more double and regular, and consequently more 

 compact, holding together well, even after it had 

 been cut a very long time. Both kinds were 

 exceedingly handsome, as all tree Pseonies are. A 

 well grown specimen ornamented with such flowers 

 in even tolerable profusion must produce a magnifi- 

 cent display. 



We understand that these were produced by Mr. 

 Charles Goethals, a gentleman residing at Ghent. 

 The darker kind, called Gloria Belgarum, is de- 

 scribed in the " Journal d' Horticulture Pratique," 

 as a seedling which, in 1844, had flowered for five 

 successive years, and at that time was producing 

 blossoms at least 10 inches in diameter ; a single ^ , u ~ i ~x ±u * w w '., ? - 



plan, bearing seven of then,. It wonM seem ,Lt £ £" * Z£"ZZ J ft. »£-* 



Verschaffelt having been able to forward four *- - --~ ~~ ~rr"V~~? «■* 'eep them fat 



of them. 



and hinged ; there should be two gl asa vent L !°' ** 

 south end near the roof, aa the top hS?? ?*» 

 are not made to slide. F g a of *• ^ 



The best material for shading is canvass *wi a 

 should be blinds on each «™» ^~ home^A^ ^ 



lath at the top to nail the canvass to, with a mlL. 

 the bottom. The canvass must be nailed to the^T 

 bu care should be taken in doing this that the blind 2 

 roll up regularly from the bottom to the top- ?Z-T 

 however, allow the canvass to be down, excent »h-£ 



much shide % 



also be useful in the winter season for coverin? &! 

 house during a frosty night, being a great prowfe 



injurious to most kinds of Orchids 



they are now appearing in great abundance, Mr, 



Certainly these Moutans are among the 

 finest we have ever seen. 



flavour of fruit is apt to be spoilt, not merely from 

 the loss of the peculiar volatile oil which it contains, 

 but likewise from the absorption of other volatile 



reportable power of absorbfef flfe *£J ve ^ f 

 various kinds. 



Amongst the many plans for preserving fruit 

 which have been described, and which more or less 

 depend m principle on the exclusion of air, such as 

 packing it in close sealed vessels, wrapping in fine 

 paper, covering the ends of the stalks with sealing- 

 wax, or arranging it in boxes filled with thoroughly 

 dry sand bran, straw, Fern, or other similar sub- 

 stance the greatest care in all cases must be taken 

 that the packing material has no odour : for if it 

 has, the fruit, besides losing a portion of its own 

 natural aroma, will acquire some of the odour of the 

 packing material, and the delicate flavour of th- 

 truit and consequently its value, will be destroyed' 

 On the other hand, when fruit is preserved by cold, 

 and especially when for this purpose it is gathered 

 before it is perfectly ripe, it is often found^hat on 

 removing it from the ice-house or cold well in which 

 it has been preserved, though at first it has but little 

 flavour, yet that on gently warming it and keeping 

 it a few days, the flavour improves and decidedly 



eadToV ThiS a 3 d °. ther T i,ar faCts ^ 

 in cTblc^il S ** been P res erved some time 



really altogether d^d • Sd wWi^' ? "^ 

 not be possible to recow Ctu r ?, m,ght 

 portion, of the lost flavour 1 ' " - kaSt a 



whTcl%tn t?S n °f f r nUre ' ° r ^ her the ma ^«r in 



IvtJt Jf T h ^ a ?-° n Z ^"^ acquire 

 a peculiar and often very disagreeable flavour in 



consequence ; and also the curious way in whTch the 



odour of flowers is sometimes modified by the ab 



ORCHIDS FOR THE MILLION.— No. IV. 



By B, S. Williams, gr. to C. B. Warner, Esq., Hoddesdon. 



Treatment of Fresh-imported Plants. — These, when 

 newly imported, should be sponged over every leaf and 

 bulb, and all the old decayed parts taken away. There 

 are many insects that will harbour in them, such as the 

 cockroach, and the different kinds of scale, which are 

 great enemies. After they are clean they should be 

 laid on dry moss and placed in some shady part of the 

 house, where it is rather cool and dry. Too much light, 

 heat, and moisture at first is injurious to them. The 

 moss should be gradually moistened, and when they 

 begin to grow and make roots they should be potted or 

 put on blocks or in baskets, but care should be taken 

 not to have the pots too large ; for over potting is 

 dangerous. 



As soon as they begin to grow, those which come 

 from the hotter parts of India should be put at the 

 warmest end of the house, but they should not 

 £««« too much moisture at fiwfc* those which come 

 irom *]}« niore temperate regions should belfeprat the 

 coolest part ^ ±h* nouse, and they should not be al- 

 lowed to stand under any drip, as this frequently rots 

 the young shoots as soon as they appear. Such plants 

 as Vandas, Saccolabiums, Aerides, Angreecums, Pha- 

 leenopsis, are fastened on blocks as soon as they are 

 received, and I place them so that the plants hanr* 

 downwards, in order that no water may lodge about 

 them, till they begin to grow and form new roots : this 

 is much the safest mode of treating these valuable 

 Orchids. This is also the mode adopted by Mr. Rol- 

 lisson of Tooting, who is one of the most successful 

 growers of these plants. 



Mr. Warner's house stands north and south ; it is 

 60 feet long, with a span-roof, 24 feet wide and 13 feet 

 high ; in the centre is a glass division, so as to make 

 two houses, one for those that come from the warmer 

 parts of India, next the boiler, and the other for those 

 which come from cooler climates, and which require 

 less heat and moisture. There are two middle tables, 

 each 4 feet 7 inches wide, 2 feet 8 inches high, for 

 plants, and a path 3 feet wide runs up the centre of 

 the house.^ Along each side are slate cisterns for 

 holding rain-water, and under these are three rows of 

 4-inch hot- water pipes ; on the top of the cisterns is a 

 table for plants, and up each side of the house there is 

 a path 3 feet wide. York stone suits best for the floor 

 of the house, because it holds more moisture than slate, 

 but slate is best for tables ; the latter should be made 

 with ^a ledge so that they can hold water during the 

 summer, but m winter they should be dry : the water 

 should never be permitted to be long on the shelves at 

 a time. I change it once a week. I put a laver of 

 small stones in the water to set the pots™, and £ this 

 way a good drainage is maintained 



For heating an Orchid-house nothing is better than 

 J*u r i three rows of 4 " in <* P^e should An 



ZZ ^!\T *> aDd tW ° r ° Und each ™** table" a™ 

 ausuru oaorous substances Tnnr^™;» TuT^ I Tl . d be an °P en ^"k in the centre, with means 

 mation of odours by IX Y ™ } ^ g - ^ ^ \ o{ *\™S off the water, when moisture Is noT re! 

 t™™ Tw. ... L piants > ver 7 ^ttle indeed is I ^ired- &«iaU iron ventilators, made to^pen a^d shut 



should be inserted in the brickwork on eJ^„ t to 



being exposed to the wet. 



Slate cisterns are very important in a houn far 

 collecting the water which falls on the roof. We bin 

 cisterns on each side of the house over the hot-wit* 

 pipes, which keep the water at the same temperate* 

 as that of the house. . 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



No. XXXIII. 



(Cage Birds, No. 17.) 



;htingale, is 

 yet with us ; and 7 ere his sweet voice ceases to beheiri 



in our latitudes — in a few days more, parental cares, ai* 

 will silence him for the season, — I am most particularly 

 anxious to clear him, once and for ever, of the ridio 

 lously false charge of his being a " melancholy bird, 5 ' aad 

 his song indicative of" grief." Surely not,— surely not, je 

 lovers of melody. Whence this strange and uniur 

 reading of my " pet's " musical voice, I know not Whet 

 he sings, all nature is "happy. 1 ' When silence prevail 

 throughout the night, and his love-chant is not 

 upon the breeze, — are we not u melancholy " from 4e 

 loss ? Assuredly, yes. 



It is a strange fact, that many of our best poets I»ts 

 ranged themselves together on the dark side of to 

 lovely bird. Pollok, for instance, whose inspired powffs 

 none can dispute, apostrophises the nightingale thus :— 



" Sad bird ! pour through the gloom tby weeping song; 

 Pour all thy dying melody of grief,— 

 And, with the turtle, spread the wave of woe" 



Thus gloomily, too, sings our sweetest of bards,— 

 Milton : — 



M Hail, lovely nightingale ! 

 Most musical, —most melancholy bird! 



Indeed, nearly all the Heaven-born poets follow, as if 

 by mutual compact, in the same morbid strain ; wnicn 

 to me is marvellous. Let us charitably hope, out 

 of deference to the taste of the older poets, that our 

 modern nightingale is quite a different bird from w 

 immortalised in days of yore. It must be so. J£ 

 me confirm the thought, by quoting from one of our aw 

 poets, Coleridge. His ideas gf love and music- s™* 

 association ! — are very closely akin to mine :— 



" List! to the 'merry nightingale,' 

 Who crowds, and hurries, and precipitates 

 "With fast thick warble, his delicious notes , 

 Fearful, lest that an April night 

 • Should be too short for him to a"?*; ™. 

 His love. chant,— and disburthen his fall *otu 



Of all its music V* ^ 



This view of our hero is graphically correc • ; 



ought to be the popular one,— for cannot we aii » ^ 



never was bird more merry , bird more hap pj , ^ 



Unlike us ernngniorta 



In a little b<».,k f lransUted from the ^ e "°,^ b V>k,*7 

 i« nnrl Mitftlflri "A Stor? without an i^na^ ^ fifld 4 



affectionately joyous !* 



•articular 



exam 





odorous substan 



which vegetables 



curious 



Wn TWe are, ho^ ^ of 

 facts bearing upon the subject * n * I ■ , 

 volatile odou g rs, Lsely rSS^X^SJiZ 

 plants, are sometime formed & thTm^f 7 



pected manner. *»— * - he most un ex- 



plants, are sometimes formed 



frequently happens that the bleached pSpffi^ 



feZred At K TfV ^ S into the house when 



t Jil ?* ' p r° V,ded W! * a dWingdoor, large enough for 

 • man to enter under the tables, to examine the pipes at 

 any time when the latter might be out of order. 



% w f WO, ~ J , e , ,ap8 L here are c,ose - The 8< l ua res are 

 6 leet long and 1 1 inches wide, sheet class. 22 oz. to the 



Austin, and entitled "A Story -...— -- . -- ll( , art _ W e v»" - 

 the way, which erery body should get J? ",' t tic innoeew* 

 youne and noble child wandering about, m ec« „„, 



and delight, among birds MiJ^i'^lW! 

 are very delightfully recorded. Ai they rerer y aDJ timi| 

 .he nightin^ie'a joyone habits, and prove him w g ffl ^ 

 tot a melancholy bird, they could not be i otro^w e g 



appogite teason. " There was no end *o™^ h ppe( j »D«f. 



little birds warbled and sang, and ^ att f r ^XZ^ K 

 and the delicate wood-flowers gave out theu ^oe^ ^^ ^ 

 odours. Every sweet sound took a sweet o - m w « 



and thus walked through the open door ot t ^ nif . W aP* 

 and held a joyous nuptial dance therein, wu tfgWt* 

 and the lily of the valley led the^ dance , ^ D()ueh , to- 

 sang of nought but love, and the M»*£S. was -h» *£ 

 innocence ; and he was the bridegroom ana . |fc# „g 



And the nightingale was ne«r weary of^p ( f ,„„ ,w" 

 sentiments a hundred times over, for »• '^ » 1Uy \&*i *, 

 gushed from his heart was ever new , a Heart- ■ 



nead bashfully, that no one might see her £0 ^t *• * 

 yet the me lived so »oWy and *>"**» ™ff, «et* f£$ 

 could see whether the notes of the ,^ « ^ w ^WP'/ rt * v 

 lilies, or the l.liea visible notes,-/^'"^^ of j* "£* 

 nyhtingcM* throat. The Child's heart was ru q( N ,„rsv 



( he brim " • *-No doubt it was. That boy was 

 own children. 



