388 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



of Lareli is found in Scotland (that is to say, one which 

 has arrived at a considerable age, and is in a sound 

 •tate), with what I have stated relative to the healthy 

 State of trees of the same species as found in their 

 native regions, will at once see the same circumstances 

 Mting in each case. Thus, in all cases of healthy Larch 

 plantations in this country, where the timber has 

 attained large size, and is sound in quality, we find 

 them growing upon a soil through which the water that 

 may fall upon it can pass away freely ; as, for instance, 

 npoo the slopes of hills, and even* in hollows, upon a 

 strong clay soil, but where there is a proper drainage 

 for the ready and free passage of the superfluous water 

 and I have even cut down Larch timber, of large size 

 and sound in quality, growing upon a light sandy moss, 

 2 feet deep, which rested upon a stiff clay. In this case 

 the moss was drained, and the water passed freely 

 through the light soil ; and the situation being upon a 

 slope, there was a continual circulation of moisture 

 passing along upon the top of the subsoil or clay. ,, 



• In a plantation on a level piece of ground, upon the 

 estate of Amiston, I had occasion to cut down some 

 Larches in the way of thinning. The plantation is 

 about 40 years old, and consists of a mixture of Larch 

 and Scots Firs. I found those which were cut in the 

 central parts of this plantation, without exception, 

 rotten in the heart, which was exactly what I antici- 

 pated, for the soil had never been drained ; while some, 

 which were cut upon one side of the plantation that 

 formed a sloping sandy bank, were found every tree 

 sound, and of excellent quality of timber ; and, at the 

 same time, every tree in this position was at least three 

 times as large as those planted in the interior level 

 parts of the plantation, although all were of the same 

 age. Now, the cause of the superiority of the trees 

 which grew upon the sloping bank may at once be seen, 

 from what I have already said upon the point. Again, 

 another side of this plantation was bounded by a deep 

 ditch, forming a fence upon the edge of a field ; and ail 

 along this ditch, upon the side of the wood, Larch trees 

 of excellent size and quality were growing. Nothing 

 can be more convincing than this, that, in order to grow 

 Larch timber of sound and good quality upon land 

 which formerly grew diseased trees, all that is required 

 is to drain it, when success will be the result." 



The Fellows of the Horticultural Society will be 

 glad to know that, by a recent resolution of the 

 Council, it has been determined that the power of a 

 Fellow to transfer his or her privileged entree at half- 

 past 1 2 on the days of Exhibition to a wile or sister has 

 been extended to a brother, son, or daughter resident 

 in the family. In this, however, as in the former 

 case, the person to whom the privilege is transferred 

 must be provided with an admission ticket signed by 

 the Fellow, 





am very likely to repeat the experiment. With regard 

 to Cockscombs, I have long practised the decapitation 

 system. I allow them, after pricking out five or six 

 round the edge of a 4-inch pot, to grow till they show 

 their bloom, and I then take off the tops of the most 

 promising, so as to have only six leaves above the 

 soil, put them at once singly into 3-inch pots, 

 plunge them all in the tan of a hothouse and shade 

 them for a week ; I then place them as near the 

 glass as I can, keep them well watered, and shift 

 as soon as they reach the side with their roots ; 

 the leaves and flowers grow as freely as in seedlings, 

 but when I give them their first shift, I transfer them to 

 a hotbed, made up on purpose, keeping them always as 

 near the f!ass as possible ; the leaves are of course close 

 down to the pot, grow as large as ever I saw them on 

 seedling plants, while the flower increases to a monstrous 

 size, incredibly large for such dwarf plants. The only 

 condition required is to let there be 2 inches of stripped 

 stem below the six leaves we mean to form the plant, 

 and let an inch and a half of this be put into the soil. 

 They do not require covering with a glass, but there 

 should be a genial heat in the tan ; or if they are struck 

 in a hot-bed, let the pots be plunged until they have 

 struck root, or for one week at least, then they may be 

 placed on the level surface. 



I need not point out the advantage of this treatment ; 

 when we happen to have bad seed, yielding a straggling 

 sort (or, as I have had this year, a batch, not two of which 

 come alike), it enables one to select a few of the best in a 

 forward state, and to grow a few tolerable plants, when by 

 the ordinary means there would be a total failure. 

 While upon the subject of Balsams and Cockscombs, I 

 wish to remark that the notion which has long pre- 

 vailed, that Balsam seed should be old to become double, 

 or that old Balsam seed is better than new, is altogether 

 erroneous. I have Balsams whose individual flowers 

 are as double as a Camellia or a Rose, and these from 

 a crop of seed saved by myself in September last ; 

 and I would also remark that they are very nearly true 

 to the varieties they were saved from. My Cockscomb 

 seed was purchased at a London seed shop, and I know 

 nothing of its origin ; but the plants, except those four 

 cuttings, are all heights and colours, from yellow to 

 crimson, and the foliage of scarcely two is alike. Y. 



'CCUni^ 



road,. 



»**! 



doubtedl} 

 house and 



uculia gratissitna, 



6 feet high, and a* 



annually two or three score ofT*' * 

 flowers. The Palm house ha S *??** S£ 

 side, its interior produces I ^ fin ?£"+^ 

 being broken and crossed by w a L •'> 

 Palms and nth** »»— »i-i. J ™ aiKS > winding 



—«—- «"~ *. iwsea t 



1 alms and other rare plants. 



IN 



ei eg f n t Per. t b U r;n e ;: zxs^rfi 



gemmiflora surmounted by a spiK fl * ' 



a rock 



yards high, and situate on the top of 

 a kiosc. r 



Prince Gagarin's.— The garden of p • 

 inspector of the Imperial Gardens .i* 8 ? 

 size, contains several genera f D i' * f th ° u .8 h ^T. 

 plan adopted by Parisian horticulfi 2* * * 

 known in Russia. Independently nf !i • * , Xftr H± 

 Acuity give to their pis fi 7 £^33 

 remarkable in those trained by on. f ^ M 

 Amongst the plants cultivated bv this ?" 8 * rde *l 

 mention the Indian Azalea, Ve^S°£*> 



great quantity in l*!^*^* £ £* 

 with a one-year's shbot of a bud of a * T? ** 

 tree which was no less than 5 feet i„ , "t*^ 

 nobleman assured us that this tree account P\ ** 

 with great ease to the temperature of d*- ■— '** 



which 



km 



planted, they are in full flower. In this' garden^ 

 a curious seed-bed of Pines from the Caucasus. M 



^**J 



FOREIGN GARDEN GLEANINGS. 



(St. Petersbuegh.) 



Amateur Gardens : Count Nesselrode's. 



The 



honour of giving the first impulse to horticulture in 

 Russia is due to Catherine II. Since her time, garden- 

 ing has become more and more fashionable, so that very 

 fine private gardens are to be met with out of the royal 

 domains. Of these, that of Count Nesselrode stands in 



lections of plants of every climate. 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



vv ____ r (Cage Birds, No. 18.) 



_ JNo. XXXI V.— Another needful caution, at than* 

 ;vith respect to nightingales, is,— never to let themS 

 up in the vicinity of fresh paint. Some years since"2 

 house was undergoing repair ; and amongst other 13 

 men, the painters were actively employed. In a tbowk 

 less moment, I suffered my birds to remain out as 

 but I was signally punished for my folly. The wife 

 lead had acted fatally in one short day, upon the \m 

 of two very choice songsters. On the following morZ 

 they were dead ! This was dearly-bought experiaer 

 for my heart was chained to these most affectionate Ltdt 

 creatures. Nor was their's less so to me. 



Few persons can be aware of the delicacy of Ion 

 peculiar to the summer warblers ; and large numbew rf 



BALSAMS and COCKSCOMBS from CUTTINGS- 



There is certainly no great difficulty in raising and 

 growing up to maturity both these beautiful subjects, if 

 we procure good seed of the best kinds ; because plenty 

 of heat, good compost, and repeated shifts, with the 

 precaution of always growing them close to the glass, 

 wil bring them to perfection. But how often do we 

 find that plants are not naturally dwarf ? that they will 

 ran away faster than we wish I and that the most beau- 

 tiful flowers are occasionally upon plants which are not 

 of the best habit ? On such occasions it is well to prac- 

 tise the plan of lopping off their heads, and striking 

 them : because we are enabled to make our choice 



Of Camellias, espe- 

 cially, there are very numerous and rare species of 

 surpassing beauty ; they form in one (a large house), 

 a sort of hedge, which when in full flower, is extremely 

 magnificent. There are many tropical plants well 

 worthy of notice. The garden is by no means large, 

 but laid out in the English style, with great skill and 

 taste. Few effects are more pleasing than that pro- 

 duced by the trees, shrubs, and bushes, grouped with 

 reference to their size, and the contrast produced by 

 their foliage, and the size and colour of their flowers. 

 We were much struck with masses of Japan Lily covered 

 with flowers, and surrounded by belts of Chinese 

 Pseonies. We saw, too, Datura arborea in the midst 

 of beautiful Scitamineous plants, enormous plants of 

 Erythrina Crista-galli, contrasted with all the blue- 



with the intension of shinin" i 'vossMe in Ft*™ T I ' ?' g ,f^ &C V, the wh ° Ie bein S set off b y beautiful turf > 

 bavin* from various ZZ^ iS'^f ™ ! . but l i tself do " ed he ™ and there with little flowers of various 



forms and tints. 



Thus, these tender little fellows are often domiciled it 



the winter, in a hot, close apartment ; with a ragingfire, 



and sudden draughts, alternating : or, in summer, they i» 



hung in a closely- confined bed-chamber, ready for bog 



put outside the window the first thing in the morning. Ii 



this latter case, the carbon evolved by the sleepers 



the apartment very often materially injures the bird, 



whose health can never afterwards be restored. Let it 



ever be remembered, that birds and plants want u 



much attention as ourselves paid them, in the matt® 



of air, heat, and cold, or they cannot tlirive. Iti 



against nature that it should be otherwise. 



As the season for nestlings is now at hand, I wrali 



call attention to the fact of these birds being, wba 



young, very tender ; they must, therefore, be kept is 



the nest, covered over lightly with a piece of flannel 



until they show signs of increasing strength. They 

 -- - - "the botfan 



packets, all alleged t*> be « the best in England,- and greatly 



SSTt™ d «Wu»V l *"<** a large seed £an to 

 each k nd, and pricked out three of eachfwhich gave me 

 a goodly number ; and having the othWs in the pans! 

 with the view of planting them out in the borders if I 

 should use them *t all ~ " x 



Prince Cochoubet's Garden.— This enjoys a great 

 reputation amongst the lovers of horticulture. The 

 houses are large and numerous, and filled, for the most 

 part, with Leguminous plants ; there are Acacias, 

 Cytisus, Genista, the double-flowered Ulex, Anthvllis 



rm*4 C? A _I nil m _ m %• 



quia 



varieties for 2s^\n^e^X^l JjS^lS ] fn F™^ ^ tr T' the *™ ter r»* * * S 

 of straw-coloured Balsam, also sealed up Kn?I tnol ! n I * "*, gI "° Wn J ? the °P en air > are ke P* in ho »*» 

 Wl . T thesethanothers/orlp&ed themallout i L ? ^ * w *** ™*V°? decoratin g ** interior of the 



* U«u I saw by repotting three of every sort mZvoZl < ™ -' ■ W " n ° t,Ced the CIethra arborea more tha " 



pains 



8 yards in height, and varying in price from 24J. to 521. 

 a piece. As in all the gardens of Russia, Camellias in 

 espalier are abundant ; there was one of these plants 

 which certainly surpassed anything we had previously 

 seen ; ,t was 6 yards high, and separated the house in 

 — TO » .u™, , wok on ai l the tons cut th»m i f* m !E two compartments. There were a 



tlfl° " ^V? 1 USGd the ordinar v meanTof s IS tSa!!™^ ? f > Rh ? dodendr -' arboreum from 5 to 

 them. I rooted nearly the whole of the choice sorts "n — --- " . he ! ght '■ * h °i h ° Use ful1 of Musada a «™*ed 

 bo tom-heat, n rst picking off all the buds that TcZl fge 



were worth <~.w Woo T n * th « several of the varieties 



JS to St ZTSi buSffi turaed t0 the 8tore 



should then be put in a long, covered cage 



beii ___~_~ _^ 1 ..IS- „ 



dry and sweet. Place them in a sunny spot ; andw 

 sure, when you feed them, that the food is fre8 **f 

 wholesome. They will soon learn to perch ; and tit 

 males will " record " their song before they aie si 

 weeks old. Their early notes are sweetly musical. 



We have, as yet, spoken only of the melodious wj 

 of this bird; but truth compels me to »! "J 

 sometimes, the sounds they utter are harsh, discow^j 

 and incongruous. To create an ugly word, toexp^ 

 their still more ugly vocabulary, I should »)/ 

 " squawk." This, however, is after their song » -j 

 and principally in the autumn. The whole habiw « ^ 

 birds then appear to undergo a change, l J 

 thoughtful, heavy, and happy, by turns ; aD ^* # 



i 



W0 



hold of, and 



miintitv nf a H7 7 um "'vseii m possession of a 



2.to &?h Zf ^ n0t 3 iDches hi 8 h > Potted 



Th« h^^ *« > hand'some. 



Zi^i£T^ : Th . e red p™ 1 walks contr ^ 



curiously with the adjacent green sward. 



Gardens: Prince Wiasinski's. 



Prh 



ATE 



safely say, that nothing striked mZ 7 i ' x * ^ that We found the ' 

 red to this practice T* fu^l^T. freeI ^ * !™ s «*ria excelsa of our own 



succession 



took 



5S* ^ P ractice ^ the ■ result of an attempt last 



of Balsams when the plants 

 i picked off the upper buds, 



die,l. I feel con v S tZ had fe ^ T^ and 

 sharper, they wouldlll W^ooTe'd ^wover T 



expenment ** y ear has so completdv J^^ 



no hWh^th 1S a ^T* T ateur ' admits into hi » gard 

 nothing but the rarest and most beautiful plants ; it was 



i e 2l hat 7 e f ° r Und the y°^er brother P of the ArTu 



may be said to " think, it : 

 caged, and provided you are 



beg*" 



:■ 



grow 'cheerful about' Christmas, who J* 2'£st» 

 often ushers in with a merry song. *M° W 

 chant, — 



almost as large 



r ex , c . eJsa •* our own^inter garden, bought by the 

 Prince h.mself for 280/ Ife possesses an Omnge^tree 



as the connetable of VeraaillM • 



wl ?n eC T nS ,° f Lm T n ° bilis -th Lad Tor 4 

 . ards in diameter, to be found nowhere except in 



Russia ; and a very fine collection of rare Conifers S 



Pinus longifoha, 6 or 7 yards in height ; some fine 

 specimens of Podocarpus, Uacrydium, Dammara, Aran! 



™ ' C G ? anS ' and crassif «»ia of enormous size. Hi 

 houses contain many rare Orchids as yet unnamed 

 But the finest plant tn this magnificent collection is m> 



" When the Chriatmas log is burning. ^ 



The cause of the nightingale singing so mdM ^ 



was his having so large a larynx. His io» ^ 



powerful as it is perfect. All his notes f« a ^ 



and effective. If by your mode ot tre 





.tment, 



Ib»« 



binJr 

 make a " friend" of' a' fresh-caught, n e *'^'"j l - - 

 he will devote himself to you, body ana . ■ 

 you such a friend ! Such I have had ; sun , ^^ 

 no longer ! No value could be put upon - 

 speaking of ; they are inestimable. d f bii* 



There are very many persons who ar ^^ 



;, perhaps, not like m«etf f \* ^ m rfj 

 « enthusiasts." To such I would say, car ^ #> 

 the fresh arrivals i n April, but purch ase eii .^^ 

 or nesUings, in August, of the dealers % ^ 



birds, they wiU copy anything ; and wiw 





and yet 



