

390 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



these interesting plains shown, ami to encouragement 

 afforded to collectors who are only just entering the field. 

 Now as regard* large specimens,*, new collector, let him 

 be ever so rieh,cannot hope to rival the existing specimens 

 of Mr Rucker, Mr. Warner, Mr. II anbury, or Mrs. Law- 

 rence. Now and then an occasion may happen, as at the 

 receutsal^atStevens'^ofMr.Blandy'splants^vhere large 



specimens may be procured ; but it is not every one who 

 can afford to give 60*. or 701. for a good plant of \ anda 

 Batem-inni ; and even if he did, lie would not for some 

 years o-'ertake Mr. Pucker's noble tree, if I may so call 

 it. It would be in vain, even with a very long purse, 

 to ransack the great collections of Messrs. Rolhsson and 

 Messi Veitch for such specimei s (with perhaps a few 

 exceptions), as are produced at these great exhibitions. I 

 am glad to see that \ ou think the taste for the cultivation 

 of this beautiful tribe of plants, is beginning to spread 

 amon^sf fie million. I feel certain, that with increased 

 knowledge, and increased refinement .of taste, these plants 

 will become serious rivals to the Dahlias and Geraniums ; 

 and thr.t before long, we shall see Dendrobium nobile 

 carried about the streets as the Cactus speciosissimus 



now is. Dodrnan. 



Russian mode of Preserving Green Peas for winter 

 <U3e. — The Peas to be preserved are chosen full grown, 

 but beforj they become at all farinaceous ; they are care- 

 fully shelled, and all damaged ones are picked out from 

 the sound ones ; the Peas are then thrown into water 

 whilst boiling on the fire ; the instant the water resumes 



Fl //-papers. — Your correspondent, " Curiosus," has, 

 in his zeal to protect the u poor iiwentor of the fly- 

 papers/' not only " overstepped the modesty of nature " 

 in attempting to prove too much, but he [has put an 

 interpretation- on my remarks perfectly unwarrantable. 

 So far from giving the poor inventor an "ignoble cha- 

 racter," I volunteered the charitable belief that he was 

 "ignorant" of the atrocious barbarities he was the 

 author of, and hinted that if he were enlightened or 

 made " wise " on the nature of the tortures he had in- 

 vented, it would only add to his own. As these senti- 

 ments were dropped en passant^ and savoured strongly 

 of common humanity only, I am at a loss, and so must 

 your general readers be, to imagine why " Curiosus " 

 should feel so anxious to "endeavour to reclaim the 

 reputation of this fellow creature, and set him right in the 

 scale of creation" Had I gone out of my way to injure 

 him (I know him not, even byname), or indulged in any 

 personality, it would have been another thing. "Curiosits" 

 will please to bear in mind, that I do on every possible 

 occasion "examine the mute vegetable kingdom," and that 

 I am quite alive to the " glutinous excretions " he speaks 

 of. I have often admired the wisdom of nature in their 

 creation. These, however, let me kindly remark, do 

 not at all bear upon the question at issue. If winged 

 insects are secured, by the by, under such circum- 

 stances, they are speedily released by birds, spiders, and 

 a variety of other animals ; it being a wise law of 





will 

 Edinburgh . 



Potato Disease. 



are 



T1 ^ follow^ 

 respecting the mode adopted in 

 early Potatoes, and also regarding the 



a few 



c ^tivati n 

 ?*y jffi **** ^ey havrbeen SLET* *h 



L+H 



nature so to destroy superfluities, and to send one 

 the boil after immersion of the Peas, it is expeditiously animal to prey upon another. Let us consider this 



strained off from them, the Peas are then immediately 

 pread upon a cloth and turned over on it till all loose 

 moisture has been soaked up ; the Peas are then dried 

 gently in the coolest part of a Russian oven-like fire- 

 place. Green French Beans are dried in precisely the 



same manner, bat the pods require to be cut into 



narrow strips previously to scalding them. 



P ^ and gtfeen French Beans dried are sold at a very 



moderate price at St. Petersburgh. When either of 



them is to l)c prepared for table they are soaked for a 



short time in lukewarm water, just enough to cover 



them, then gently stewed in it, with the addition of 



either gravy or a white sauce, and seasoned vtfth sugar 



as well as salt and spices. Green Peas for winter use 



have been perfectly kept in England by simply bottling 



them like green Gooseberries, but much care is required 



in the process to avoid different sources of putrefaction, 



such as damaged Peas and moisture. Green French 



Beans may be preserved till winter by keeping them in 



brine just strong enough to float an egg • the Beans 



must be entire and without blemish. In preparing 



them for the table they should be washed in warm 



water ; if then found Salter than desirable, they should 



be soaked two or three hours in lukewarm water, before 



being put into that in which they are to be either boiled 



or stewed. Green Rye is also dried in Russia, is 



esteemed a great delicacy, and sells in St. Petersburgh 



for eight or ten times the price by weight of either 



green Ptas or green Haricot dried. M. 



Hi to Ac 'sers (See p. 358).— Allow me to thank 

 your correspondent for his kind hint respecting the 

 desirability of advertising my bedding plants early. It 

 shall be duly attended to next spring season. Edward 

 P. I <s, He ofd, 



Eucal '. — The notices of the young trees of thi 

 tribe growing in the open ground 'in Devonshire and 

 elsewhere induce me to mention two luxuriant speci- 

 mens that, for the last five or six years, have withstood 

 some severe frosts, at Combe Royal, the seat of johh 

 Luscombe, Esq., near Kingsbridge, South Devon. The 

 largest is upwards of 30 feet high, and has a stem 

 nearly 3 feet in circumference. Specimens of the leaves 

 are inclosed, as the writer desires to know if it is 

 E. globulus, or not, as it was accidentally met with, and 

 purchased without a name. The smaller leaves' that 

 accompany this communication are from a lower and 

 more slender tree, about 20 feet high, which was bought 

 as L. montana, having been raised from seed brought 

 from Tasmania, by Mr. Backhouse ; it is, howev 

 quite distinct from the plant alluded to in your last 

 number, winch is growing in the private grounds of the 

 Messrs. Veitch, at Exeter, the foliage of that plant 

 bemg remarkably glaucous, and is moreover a stri kin «W 

 ornamental tree, being every year covered with white 



; whereas the plant at Combe Royal has never 



™*i ,i i J f?i P0S \ ° n *° Woom - A Devonwv. [It i s 

 probable that the plant first named in this commun ca 

 tion is E. globulus ; but it would be necessary Tseet?" 

 flowers, in order to arrive at a «*tUfW- Jl'\ . 



point settled. I will now, as the hot season is at hand, 

 put in a word for the poor flies ; and be the means, let 

 me hope, of sparing some millions of them unnecessary 

 torture. Killed let them be, by all means ; but not first 

 "put to the rack." Hearken all ye who patronise 

 these fly-papers ! Hear how they are made. The two 

 Both green compounds are, common resin and sweet oil ; heated, 



could obtain them from the «rdp* ttaek ^*fc» f 

 place in this neighbimrhooS, ?ffj? * ? iJj 

 day. Early in January a bed Z f^J ^« «*2 

 material, consisting of stable-^ 

 to yield a gentle bottom-heat Thl h ?** *2 

 with rather a rich black compost Si™? ?*<*3 

 The Potatoes (good BtroiT£5^ ** m "Si 

 7 inches by 12 inches apX. The Z ^^Z 

 tected with strong boards nailed aD «2 ?** 

 18 inches above the soil, cro^W , *> *m 



the bed to the side board^T^S J*** 

 protected from frost by a covering otmS^n** 

 came up well, were earthed up with 1 U i ^ 

 —tag to that in which thVtd a Wn ^ 

 they grew remarkably health v *Ta V** 

 Saturday, April 19th/ when 'the tJ"S? 

 stems which touched the mats were slirfX • * 

 by frost penetrating the covering. T n °Z 'J* 

 week, and about the 23d of the month, the 2fi 

 first observed dark blotches upon the axil of thi5 

 and stems. This gangrenous affection soon p^2 

 the whole of the stems. On or about the StFrfC 

 digging was commenced, when one-half of the Pn2 

 was found very much diseased, and in the course tft! 

 days more than two-thirds of the crops were quit* J 









similar 



and 



till 



for use. On Wednesday last, when I 



saw 



they 



amalgamated, and spread upon sheets of old newspapers. 

 Thus are they "manufactured." Now for their "attrac- 

 tive " qualities. Wherever flies abound, there it has been 

 deemed advisable to spread out these papers, one, two, 

 three, or more. A little sifted loaf-sugar lightly sprinkled 

 on them, completes the " charm." Let us note the result. 

 In an instant some luckless fly descends, in search of a 

 treat. He realises it, by finding either a leg or a wing 

 fixed as in a vice. Escape is impossible. The 





scarcely a sound tuber could be found in the remia* 

 part of the crop, the majority being in a putrid U 

 and the foetid odour emitted from them could be ram 

 nised some yards from the frame. At a distiaw|f 

 6 feet from the back of the above-mentioned bed an 

 south border in the open ground, are Potatoes of fe 

 same variety (Ash-leaf Kidney), and although the w 

 are only about 10 inches high, they are in several pb« 

 very much affected, which would lead one to infertk 

 under favourable circumstances, the disease m 

 contagious. These Potatoes grew in a walled garfa, 

 rather low, lying about a quarter of a mile from fc 

 river Towy , and perhaps 30 feet above the lerel of tfe 

 stream. The soil is very rich, and in both cases &m 





more he 

 struggles, the worse the consequences. Here he must manure was used in planting. These conditions, &ctqj 

 live, here he must fast, here he must linger, here he in connexion, may to some extent account for the earij 

 must "stick" and groan, till starvation and insect appearance of the disease, as well as for its destrocoT?. 

 endurance can hold out no longer. Sometimes the poor ness. I have not heard of any other symptoms of 

 flies are glued down by their hinder extremities, thus having been noticed in this part of the country. Jfr 

 allowing freedom to their head and front legs, which, * - ~ • ■ 



being elevated, give free play to their respiratory 

 organs, and prolong life— to he further tortured by want 

 of food. JEvery person possessing only common feelings 

 of ^ humanity, and who may be halting between two 

 opinions, must feel greatly interested in putting my 

 assertions to the proof. Let such careful \y observe 

 (whilst his thoughtless neighbour is spreading the snare), 

 the almost supernatural endeavours of the poor flies, 

 when inveigled hy them diabolical papers, to extricate 

 their feet from the rivets; and note how, in the vain 

 effort, they tear out in their final agonies each several 

 limb from its socket— their mis-sl pen forms being 

 elevated, after death, to thrice their natural height ! 

 The distinctly-audible vibrations of their wings in their 

 last dying pangs, as they lie one glued to the other in 

 countless numbers, complete this picture of newly- 

 invented horrors (unfit even for Madame Tussaud's 

 "Chamber ")— a picture, alas, but too faithfully painted. 

 These are simple "facts," which, by a few moments of 

 close observation, any I h/ may verify, by gazin* on a 

 well filled "sheet of flies." I have used the word 

 "groan " with reference to their agonies ; and if any of 



your readers have ever chanced to listen to the 

 "hon 



er 



flowers 

 shown 



The other cannot be determin 



Veitch's plant is certainly the Van Diemen's Land F 



coccifera. There is no such plant, that we know £ 



E. montana.] 

 R< gh Plat 



as 



'lass. 



.,, , In autumn T erected a cold pit 



with four l. g hh of rough plate glass. When I P ' 

 safely put our half hardy plants urider a 

 the pit with pots of Strawberr: 



could 



wall, I fllle 



t , -, , • I fiud that thev have 



been scorched by the rays of the s,,e, ,„d I am o£l 



[We presume 



«<££?? SfTVT. 1 W0Ukl take this "Ppoi-tuni,,- of 

 mentioning hat I have a tuft of the Oortem r&ena 



with more than 70 buds preparing to blow ; nearfe io 



ready to expand when the first hot 

 shines upon them. The, are in the open aJS an 

 sheltered occasionally in winter with Sdigfe ™AX? 



Charles Watford, Fozbro' RaU, near Woodhndae 

 resume they were baked, not scorched ] ** 



na nnens.—l would tnl-« *!,;„ „..„-.,_-, 



■ 



of them 



sun 



r 



tl 



when the weather threatened to be severe, iws tm« l .1* -..", . " 



pknt, with such a number of blooms, come oft< n under I « l " n<kr S" nc the process, i»1 

 your observation * [No.] J. P. Under \ Vn ™ «'»* 0x3 n rest, res the odour o 



sHy " peculiar sounds produced by the motion of 

 the prisoners' quivering wings, either by day or by 

 night (the latter especially), one moment's reflection will 

 make them grateful that" Curiosus " should have unwit- 

 tingly drawn forth this exposition from his obliged 

 collulmatev.r in the field of Nature, William Kidd, New- 

 road, Hammersmith. June 19. 



Balsam Seed.-ln at. wer to « R. B.," p. g?6. 1 beg to 

 say that old Balsam seed is the best, and most likely to 

 produce double flowers /. R, Jam 16, 



Prcstrrinr, F, 7«._I an , i iappy that you haye ]ate] 



drawn public attention to the obscure but very interest- 

 In the present 

 something may be 



T . ,, - ward patient inquiry. 



It would appear that experiments were made in it by 

 Couverschel, who employed nitrogen, and } 



suggest, carbonic acid. They : 



in his « Chemistry of Vegetable Physiology," pV e 793 

 But other gases besides car' ' ' " l ° 

 particularly ammoniacal 



tried ; and it seems almost unnecessary' to' ndd'hZ 



tween Dr. Draper 



inquirer would even subject the exnern^nt t„ *i 



different rays of light (of {he calorific "] "he 0or ifict 



« SiSies 1 ' e b l0SS ° f flaV ° Ur ' l *-> -in'onf of 

 n I , Mi overcome ; y et it must not be pro- 



nounced hopeles,. If as you state, the flavour in some 

 degree returns to the fruit after an interval it is dTffi 

 cult to say what might not be the effect ;rf ^un^gt, 



oxycren. We 



own frame Potatoes were never finer, and the garfi 

 and field crops look healthy. Henry Bund^fiymt 

 Castle 9 Llandilo. [What else was to be expect^ 

 strong rank manure having been used ?] 



Pear Tree Astyages. — In reply to the inquiry of A. 

 Hemmings on this subject, (p. 373), I am not afar? 

 that any peculiar remedy, beyond hand-picking, *» 

 applied to the Pear trees in the Horticultural Societ 

 Gardens at Chickwick last year, whereby the Dnmkrsof 

 this species has been so much diminished thissewoi, 

 which seems to me attributable rather to some nattml 

 cause, as I suggested in my paper on this species. Tta 

 particular trees infested last year are, howerer, attack* 

 this year by a much greater number of insect enemw 

 than any of the other Pear trees in the Horticulttw 

 Gardens, and I believe there is some peculiarity m to 

 border where they are planted which has affected them 

 in some manner, ami so rendered them more agreeable 

 to the insects, as I believe it may be set down *s a 

 general rule that healthy trees or plants are mucU » 

 subject to the attacks of "insects than such as arem sow 

 way or other unhealthy, and hence probably toe rw 

 trees of "A. R. 11./' having been so recently V^wum 

 not yet in full health, have been so infested. </• V. *> 



Fleming's W l\Destroyer.— At the present tune, wj 

 arts and manufactures are making rapid progress to^ 

 the utmost development of which they are sos^m 

 through the aid of machinery, it is gratifying to owj 

 that distinguished horticulturists are endeaTOjifll 

 benefit the gardening profession by means ot tne * 

 great and all-powerful agency ; and I am jc > opmio , ^ 

 Mr. Fleming's laudable exertions m that mrei 

 not entitled to the warmest thanks of garde n^» 

 least, worthy of fair, candid, and impartial ^ 

 tion. Mr. Bailey's communication of the / tn •• 



J different spmt. i^J 



ever, certainly c\inced a very 



soggeBt, carbonic acid. They are menSoned°by MS 



hardly hare believed that any gara- - ,^ 



- * ■ • • • - the way of the a 



ment of horticulture ; but this, I **«^*J5Jj %^& 



if 



sought to intei-]>ose obstacles in 



a 



•onic acid and nitrogen, an 

 "d sulphurous acid, might h 



d 

 be 



Following up the controversy be. 

 and Mr. Hunt, a very curious 



attempted to do. On Mr. B.'s own ad mission 

 more labourers employed at Tren ham J a " ^ 

 majority of other places proportionately w u ^ 

 There is, therefore,' presumptive e "^' Ic . ttbe 

 without being fully cognisant of thematt er, ^^ 

 sa d by machinery is expended in law yb0 * 

 mental to the operative than weeding. ^« ^^ 

 employers; gardeners, and labourers, m i j n j s kept 

 the first, from having their gardens a nd P m 

 in a higher state of embellishment ; t ne ^ ft 



deriving more satisfaction from then ,aD d ° ucive w ti^ 

 last, from pursuing employments more w ^e 



health. I visited Trentham m£*g^ ! ^timony »*J 



f essential oil 



has been used there, audi can Dew ^ ^ #m 

 uninjured condition of the edgings, ana l eflfc> Jl 0^ 

 of management observable m ever > foeming ; ^ 

 whieh reflect the highest credit on Air. in0til e 



imagine, that if a similar system ^^f P" icll iture f* 

 lai eesti lishmenta, the pi :ress or ^^ c \^ 



Unr-li no tiw.c/* ^r t 4 1 . , w in ^Hseiuiai oils, lai^e estai)iisnmenc8, wie '*"-' — - #1|P 



I such as those of Lemon and the like, as your rea fcra'be more rapid, and the principles of «* 







