•j; 



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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



371 



SmcuwoBAL^c. 



SOCIETY, 21, BBGENT 



MR- 



JfOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, 



HOSEA BA WATERER'S 



OF AMERICAN PLANTS, 



JX ^ B THB GARDEN OP THIS SOCIETY, AT 



TCRNHAM GREEN, 

 I, note open DaHy, from 9 A.M. to 6 p.m. 

 #.«.- o~w.tr «re admitted /Vm. Ticket* for other 

 *»- IfflbfaftE 5« -e^t S unda ?S .nd« ll e 6th 



^ o*f 7iw "cm i be poured ia the Society Garden, price 

 •^ha'w'of such a ticket admit, the bearer to the 



Wi.boat the order of a Fellow of the Society 



rri-RMP SEEDS of FINE SELECTED STOCKS- 



I b?.*«' new vsrietv of Stubble Swede ... per lb. 2 



L } VntP^'d Purple. topped Swede, P. bl. 32,. „ 10 

 It^lmm't Lirerpool Swede, per bushel, 24». ... ,, " » 



5tt^^ aSwede • pe^b,l8hel • 9,l * " 



Karfolk White, round 



■ i • 



• ■ • 



• t t 



• •• 







 



8 

 6 

 6 



AIM 



^n^Parple-toppedBailook; Oreen-topped Scotch 

 kiAHfW°,Red Round, Pomeranian Globe, White, lied, 

 Tettiw Tankards, &c. of the best Stocks. 

 M^d Agricultural See«i Lists supplied on application 

 BAH iii Bboww, Seed Establishment, Sudbury, Suffolk. 



Cite ©artJenerjF ©hrmttcle. 



^ TURDAY^JUNE 14, 1 85 1 . 



MllTINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. 



C Chemical. ..••••••••••-•••••••«-•" F»M« 



w iiiT, June 16< Statistical .. * *•*• 



* Q ' I British Architects 8 r.M. 



,,1 Horticultural 3 p.m. 



Tciimt, — *')Liniieiui ... 8 p.m. 



! Royal Botanic ..f 3jp.at. 

 Microscopical 8 r.M. 

 Ethnological » *•*• 



_ - n f Antiquarian 8 p.m. 



TawaisAl, — 19 (Royal 8*r.M. 



SAToanAT. — 2l-Asiatic 2 p.m. 



Coi^Tm, Saows.-Tuesnsy. June 17: Stamford Hill ^ orticult «" 1 1 ri« 



and crimson ; even while the spectator was lookii 



at them, the unhappy ny might be seen entrapped 

 amount the relentless teeth with which the recesse 



The most curious of all, 



the 



Horn cult 



The event of the past week has been the second 

 show of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick. 

 A sunless but dry day brought together 9383 visitors, 

 farming such an assemblage of rank and fashion as 

 fc to be seen in these Gardens only, in the open air, 



of these cups are guarded, 

 perhaps, and the most beautiful in form, was 

 Cephalote, from the Australian bogs, whose delicate 

 goblets reared their richly-carved and many-tinted 

 crests above their bed of moss. No one in the world 

 except Mr. Veitch could produce such an exhibition 

 as this. He had alsoanevv yellow shrubby Calceolaria, 

 with leaves like a Peach-tree ; a curious Aster-like 

 plant from New Zealand, said to be a hardy evergreen 

 shrub; and the Eucalyptus coccifera of .Van Die- 

 men's Land, a tree with glaucous leaves and an 

 abundance of large white flowers, which has lived 

 without injury for several years at Exeter in the 

 open ground, where it is now 20 feet high. 



New hybrid plants are slow in appearing. The 

 only one which caught our eye was a hybrid 

 Pelargonium obtained between the lemon-scented 

 (Citriodorum) and one of the Fancies, by Mr. Thomas 

 Kempstek, of Blackheath. His object was to add 

 good flowers to sweet foliage, and we are glad to 

 see that he is evidently on the road to success ; 

 the specimen exhibited was very pretty, and wa 

 accompanined by a cross between Radula and Rol- 

 lisson's Unique, which we also look upon as a 

 good beginning. If growers would but persevere 

 in this way they would soon strike a rich vein, and 

 occupy themselves more profitably in every sense, 

 than in trying for results which only end in running 

 out their breed. What is wanted among Pelargo- 

 niums is new blood, of which the wild species can 

 furnish an abunda 





pletely to drain the soil of all moisture, as alto- 

 gether to prevent .any further evaporation from 

 its surface taking place, then it is pretty certain 

 that fertility, instead of being increased, will, on 

 the contrary, be very seriously diminished. We 

 _i atly doubt the advantages which will arise from 

 such a general and complete drainage as shall 



remove from the " whole country the 



' Such 



near 



Among miscellaneous objects, w r as a remarkable 

 collection from Syon, consisting of a tree bearing 

 ripe nutmegs; a branch of Vanilla with flowers, and 

 ripe as well as unripe pods ; a Gamboge-tree, with 

 rich orange fruit ; and a piece of the Serpent Tri- 

 chosanth (Trirhosanthes colubrina), loaded with its 

 long striped and twisted Cucumbers. 



Of Mr. Hosea Waterer's magnificent display of 

 American plants in the Society's Garden, we spoke 



On this occasion it was open 



at length last week. 



to all visitors, throngs of whom were gratified by one 

 of the most varied and beautiful spectacles which the 

 gorgeous varieties of Rhododendron and Azalea can 



Under the influence of the beauty of so 



At an early hour the Exhibition had 

 the distinguished honour of being inspected by 

 her Royal Highness the Duchess of Orleans. 



In speaking of the objects presented for examina- 

 tion, we can do little more than repeat what we 

 have said on recent occasions .namely , that the great % ^ weather hard , remarked . 



and important feature of the inhibition was tne r* , ***.«. +v, rt «w^ rt f rV»o ™o£>H™ 



total absence of ill-cultivated specimens. There A few hours however after the clos ^°f^.^ eet ^g 



were various degrees of excellence, but everything this awning gave way before a B^*™*>»£ 



was excellent in its way. We may even add lfc became necessary to close the ground for some 

 that the worst plants exhibited last Saturday 



produce. 



grand a scene the clumsiness of the aw T ning which 



would have 



the first 



20 



swept away the iirst prizes 

 years ago. The miserable penny-pressed Pansy 

 flowers, which once collected a crowd of simple 

 admirers, would now be considered a disgrace to the 

 place, and are satisfactorily represented by well 

 cultivated specimens in pots. The gawky straggling 

 half-starved sticks, first exhibited as Roses grown in 

 pots, are replaced by plants of exquisite beauty pre- 

 pared with unrivalled skill. And let us add, in 

 justice to one class of exhibitors, even the Cape 

 Heaths, which were for so many years produced in 

 silly imitation of beehives, or Hottentot kraals, have 

 at last been permitted to assume their natural forms. 

 The pruning-knife, in moderation, has taken the 

 place of the shears with which some innocent 



grdeners thought it necessary to clip their bushes 

 to shape (!), and the genus Erica now merits, for 

 its beauty, the high place in these exhibitions which 

 was once given it merely because of the difficulty 

 attending its cultivation. 



As to Orchids, the fondness for them is evidently 

 extending ; new and good exhibitors are threatenin 

 the ancient lords of the region of epiphytes ; an 

 we have no doubt that in a few years the sanguine 

 expectations of our friend "Dodman" will be 

 realised, through the instrumentality of Mr. Wil- 

 liams's capital practical papers, now appearing 

 weekly in our columns. The continual sales by 

 auction of these plants afford opportunities of 

 chase 



days, till it could be repaired. This has naturally 

 given rise to expressions of surprise, and to inquiries, 

 which w T e take this opportunity of answering, by 

 stating that the awning in question (not furnished 



Edgington) was contracted for bv the 



by 



Mr. 



gentleman lately removed from his office of Secre- 

 tary by the Fellows of the Horticultural Society, 

 at their anniversary meeting ; and that the contract 

 was made, not only without the concurrence of the 

 proper officer, but in opposition to all experience question 

 and remonstrance. 



thoroughly 



igma of unnecessary and dangerous damp, 

 statements as these are evidently intended to catch 

 the million — they do not in any way strengthen the 

 value of the facts themselves—on the contrary, they 

 rather tend to give rise to doubts and questionings. 

 For example, a good deal is said respecting the 

 cool " grateful temperature " of the w^ater, which is 

 stated to have an average temperature of about 50° : 

 then we are told, that by improved drainage the 

 temperature of the soil is to be raised, and evaporation 

 is to be prevented. Why it is this very evaporation, 

 and the low temperature of the soil, that causes the 

 spring water to be cool and grateful ; and it is obvious 

 that when the natural conditions of the soil are 

 altered, all the properties of the water collected 

 from it, and especially its temperature, will like* e 

 he modified. The author appears a little uncertain 

 as to the action of heat upon water, for he says a 

 tumbler of water cannot be exposed for half an hour 

 to the air without its becoming warm. Water will 

 soon become warm, even though hermetically 

 enclosed in glass, if it is placed in a warm situation; 

 and, on the other hand, it will never become warm 

 by mere exposure to the air when the temperature 

 of the latter is near the freezing point. Mere 

 exposure to air cannot make water warm, but the 

 influence of heat -will soon warm it, even though 

 carefully protected from the air. 



A rather important fact may be deduced from 

 some of the statements contained in this part of 

 Mr. Napier's essay, though it is not one which he 

 endeavours to make out ; he shows that the quan- 

 tity of water given off by the various springs on the 

 ides of a hill at Farnham is much greater than the 

 whole quantity of rain-water which falls on the 

 surface of the hill itself: from this he naturally 

 concludes that it must in part be derived from the 

 drainage of other and more distant parts of the 

 country. It is perfectly plain then, that if in any 

 way the outlet for these springs is increased, and 

 especially if any perfect mode of drainage is applied 

 to this hill, not only will the hill itself be affected, 

 and the proportion of spring and surface waters 

 materially altered, but also at the same time the 

 outflow of water from these more distant places 

 likewise will be proportionably affected. It is 

 necessary to bear this fact in mind in considering 

 the general relations of the subject, for it is evident 

 that new considerations will arise, if, besides drain- 

 ing the gathering grounds, as they are called, the 

 surrounding country also, to an indefinite extent, is 

 likewise to be drained ; and it is to this point that 

 we would particularly draw the attention of the 

 gardeners and farmers resident in the districts in 



Amongst the host of books, pamphlets, and news- 

 paper letters, which have recently appeared on the 

 supply of water to London, there are two Jmore 

 especially deserving of notice, the one by the Hon. W. 

 Napier, the other by Mr. Prestwicii. The former is 

 entitled " Suggestions for the Supply of the Metropolis 

 from the Soft Water Springs of the Surrey Sands ;" 

 it is addressed to the Board of Health, and by them 

 presented to both Houses of Parliament ; it may, 

 consequently, be considered as a fifth appendix to 

 the report of last year, upon which w r e have already 

 made a few remarks. We shall, therefore, now 

 draw our readers' attention to one or two of the 

 subjects treated of by Mr. Napier, whose main ob- 

 ject, in the first instance, appears to have been the 

 examination of the gathering grounds, as they are 

 called, a district of about 150 square miles, south of 

 London, and from the drainage of which it has been 

 proposed to draw the requisite supply of water for 

 the use of the metropolis. The simple fact, as 



Mr. Napier has taken some pains to prove that 

 soft water is very greatly superior to hard water for 

 all domestic purposes ; and he is evidently displeased 

 that Messrs. Brande and Taylor confess that they 

 could not find any very great difference between 

 river water and distilled water in the preparation 

 of tea. In the same way he is eager to show that 

 the best beer is always made with soft water, and 

 he asserts that all practical men are well aware of 

 this. We must, however, confess that his argu- 

 ments have failed to convince us, not merely on scien- 

 tific, but on mere practical grounds. We have often 

 heard excellent brewers state that the superiority of 

 their beer in great part depended on the gypsum pre- 

 sent in the water which they used. We believe it is 

 an acknowledged fact that the water at Burton is a 



water, and contains a tolerably large 



The remarks of Lord Bacon 



of buyers, and it is not extravagant to predict that stated by Mr. Napier, divested of all arguments, is, 



** " day 



and Pelargoniums. It is not impossible indeed 

 that they may dislodge the latter, admiration of 

 whose tawdry charms is more and more clearly on 

 the decline. 



As usual Messrs. Veitch. of Exeter, stood rrre- 



that a sufficient, nay, abundant supply of pure water 

 may be easily obtained from the district in question ; 

 and he further observes, that it would obviously be 

 better to collect the water immediately as it issues 

 from the various springs, than to allow it first to 

 become contaminated by contact with various soils. 

 This is so far satisfactory ; but we should like it still 



Their exhibition of Pitcher plants was one of the better if he did not go on to expatiate upon the 



piost remarkable sights that have yet been chronicled 

 -a the annals of Horticulture. Some, the Ne- 

 penthes, from the forests of the Indian Ocean, threw 

 abroad their tendrils, and suspended their curious 

 bags of green and crimson and white by whatever 

 they could cling to. Others, the Sarracenias, from 

 the swamps of North America, stood erect, like 

 l " trumpets, or imitating ewers and jugs of green 



" great and scarcely estimable benefits/ 1 which would 

 in consequence accrue, not merely to the soil, 

 but also to the inhabitants of the district itself. 

 As for the calculation, that there is fifteen hundred 



decidedly har 



proportion of lime. 



upon this subject do not possess any very great value, 



and we cannot help thinking they had better have 



been omitted. 



However people may differ as to individual facts, 

 there is no doubt about one thing, that pure water 

 is better for most purposes than that which is im- 

 pure ; and we cannot but admire the assertion that 

 the Surrey waters are too pure, because, in con- 

 sequence of their purity, they will cause the corrosion 

 of leaden pipes. We own our inability to see that 

 this is a reason for not using pure water, though it 

 would be a good reason for discontinuing the em- 

 ployment of leaden pipes, w r hich, if they are really 

 unfit for the conduction of pure water, should 

 be got rid of, and the sooner the better. 



1 » 



, Ainwuuiy cie long new ngni win oe thrown upon 



and twenty-nine tons of water on every acre of the the whole of this important and complicated sub- 

 ground, which impedes cultivation, we must say, ject ; some points will certainly be decided by careful 

 that although the statement maybe curious it is experiments — such as the action of water upon lead * 



one of very little value. If it be intended so com- | but there are other questions, such as the amount of 



