— *S5l.J 



THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE 



were tins turn.- iown in excellent 



is a magnificent variety, robust 



W*iL Urge truaser, and free hlo aer ; colours, 



t, with black blotch in the top petals, 



jfetfed to the raar r i with vivid crir" ' A 



S^dve. 1 aantress possesses 



Pf l* ricl€ > uut * r :S nearly twice the size ; 

 good in habit, and constant Ariadne, rosy- purple, 

 *^" * ' on the upper petals, a free bloomer, 



exhibition plant, Rubens, crimson 



the upper petals, the latter 



* — »' 



the colours and 



wi* 



M 



dark 



with dark blotch on the upper 



nicely margined with scarlet crimson, very 

 Fancy varieties were shown by Mr. Ambrose 

 Salter. Richard Cobden, in die way of Hero 

 JSmrc is a good shaped flower ; Super bum, mottled 

 purple, is good in shape ; Crispinum too much like 



trouble uotai i.ess of th 3— tari and daium 



— impudence and capriciousness— possibh im.iiiabh 

 MS*— narrative f a coadj utor— his ill success— our 

 own— &(fc, &c" This will ahow the st vie of the author '* 

 u construct! veness." 



We have been pigeon fanciers from our youth 



upwards to old age, and must be excused if we take 

 some few of the rev. gentleman's remarks, connected 



itb our domestic pigeons and doves, cu 

 soli*. We do not for one instant presume to call i 

 question the troth of what he states as having occurred 

 within his own experience, — but we demur to the 



•* 



here 



many 

 which 



ytaftj, oui showy ; Symmetry is a nice flower, and 



a showy variety, but defective in form. 



Many others 



rich dark lacing, on the purest white, was Mary evenly 



ed, quite smooth on the edge, and a large first- 



dssi variety ; -*2 blooms were shown, which served to 



Mr. Bragg had several sorts, all 

 less rough on the edges. Mr. 



■row iv 

 of which 



had two seedling Ranun iluses, Madonna 

 both nice flowers. Banks' Verbena "Cynthia" 



ntre. Tansies, 

 whites : Blacl 



bate 



Yams, 



if a pleasing light variety with purple 

 Blanche and Swansdown, two good 

 Diamond, the darkest we have seen ; ami National, a 

 flower described before, were shown in good condition. 

 There was a promising Picotee, heavy purple, large and 

 diftinct, named Fell owes' Prince Arthur. 

 First class certificates were awarded to Mr. Black 



?\ to E. Foster, Esq., for Pelargonium Optimum, 

 nchantress, and Ariadne. To Mr. Turner, for Pink 

 Optima ; ditto, Pansies, Swansdown, and Black 

 Diamond ; and to Mr. Bragg, for Pink D< lemona. 

 Mr. Foster's Pelargoniums also received first, second, 

 and third prizes from the "Seedling Fund." Mr* 



Turner'^ Pinks, first ; Mr. Bragg's, second, from the 

 same source. 4 



Among Fruit, which was very scarce, was a nice 



4i of Black Prince Strawberry, from Mr. Cuthilk nf 



Osnberwell ; a round medium sized seedling St.„„- 



berry, from Mr. Bragg, and some very fine British 



ens, together with a Pine-apple, a few Grapes, and 



a Melon. 



dictum, — "ex wio disce omnts. 

 isolated facts, remarkable to witnaa^ but 

 it would yet be dangerous for us to promulgate 

 as being of common occurrence. Among other inte- 

 resting topic* of discussion, carrier pigeons, and the 

 ca es of their singular powers of traversing such lono- 

 distances, are introduced. The remarks, pro and con, 

 deserve attentive perusal. Dr. Gall consi- rs, that they 

 possess to the fullest extent the organs of * locality,"" 

 and that this natural endowment explains the apparent 

 mystery of their extraordinary "gift," We are quite 

 of the Doctor's opinion ; and can but wonder that the 

 phrenological development, bo A in men and animals, has 

 been hitherto so little considered. There can be no 

 doubt that, in the carrier pigeon, the eye and brain are 

 the principal, — the only active agents— save of course 

 their swiftness of wing. All the known tribe of pigi is 

 are treated of, in turn, and in some instances, thev are 

 "figured "in wood-cut Migrations. We are sorry that we 

 cannot commend them as faithful or spirited delineations 

 of the originals. In a future edition, should such be called 

 for, it will lie advisable to look well to this. Accuracy 

 is of great importance in a subject of such interest. 



By the way, we must, whilst noticing the woo ute 

 direct special attention to one of them, on tho 58th nam 

 designated "a pigeon chick a day old." f V 

 the reverend author, when he limned "so "remarkable" 

 a creation, must have done it in a most happy mo- 

 ment. No person can say that, in making this " graven 

 image,^ h h *s Jn^any way infringed upon 1 e "second 



mi ,- , noticed 



x«imi m uie pots occasionally turned rouud ; water- 

 mg at tins critical rime 1 u>lh,i§ of the bu 



Hhred of great importance, and Reives much 

 attention- weak liquid manure bein* used once or 

 twice a * , Hiese is every appearance of a good 

 bloom, but it will be as late a>^ the 20th o :*0th of July 

 Ifae operation of piping these flowers, as well as Pinks! 

 had commenced, under -lasses, about 1 foot square! 

 with small holes for ventilation in their tops. These 

 are placed ou raised hofrfe 5, with considerably men 

 lieat in them than would be desirable with Smaller 



Da hi' 



glasses. Dahlias are planted in larg.. mMwm 



are looking robust, but rather late. Hollyhocks 

 will be very attractive next month, when the 

 Carnations and Picotees are in bloom. A lane 



house Of Snecimpn ' Fiif»heiaa <\f ih* lno^; n » i.:„.i. __■! 



some 



seedlings 



raised by E. Bank 



are 



tooming into bloom, and will soon be worthy of inspec- 

 tion. The sorts are not sutth ntlv forward to report 

 m them at present Vollfeeur and Expansion were 

 the best ; and CJant des B ailles here, as wmwlumi 

 else, was the gayest of the to 







m 



Miscellaneous. 



* on Mush . m Groul^ (By Mr. J. Murray, 

 ..«.u..anby Hall ; i I to the Caledonian Horticultural 

 I Society).— As Uie Mushroom is in i 



giv.it measure 



VmoNAL Floricultural, Junc26.— Several periodi- 

 cafcwere presented on tins occasion. Interesting 

 steads of seedling Pansies were contributed by Mr. 

 Hunt ; collections of Pinks by Me n Turner, Edwards, 

 Aorman, Bragg, Ellis, Ward, and Newhall ; Antirrhi- 

 ■MM by Mr. Joy, of Oxford ; and Petunias by Mr 

 1 vim. Certificates were awarded to Pelargoniums 

 Optimum , Rubens, Ariadne, and Enchantress, descrip 

 W»s of all winch will be found in our report of the 

 Iteyal South London Floricultural Society of to-dav. 

 fnese were shown by Mr. Black, gr. to E. Foster, Esq. 

 Mr. Rogers ,f fttoxeter, had a Pansy named Kossuth, 

 Jbich received a certificate. It is a lai -. rich, glossy 

 dark purpl if, of pood wbstance.-Mr. Ambrose's 

 fancy Pelargonium, Richard Cobden, was also dis- 

 trngOMfced by a certificate ; as was a lilac-blue self 

 voroena, named Orlando, from Mr. Smith of Tollman 

 Mirsory, Horns road. This is a showy large flowered 

 ar.et\. The same grower likewise sent a good red 



ll™^ ?l k '\ Koh - i - noor > wlli <* wa% we believe, 

 commended by the censors. 



m 



Kcbieb) 



E. S. 



Tm 



ifovecotc a: the Aviary. By the Rev. 

 Dixon, M.A. ; pp. -„•!. Murray 



revewnd author of this ,od!y tome tells us. in 

 ta preface, that his object has been w to ascertain fh 

 W»cc winch certain genera and species are likely event- 

 «01y to take, in respect to their association with mankind 

 «d to obtain a cognisance of the circumstances most 



•mediately connected with that relationship " Heal-. 



informs us. that "three of these essa? have already 



>/r*Weei < Mmengm /»» and he attaches 



peat apparent importance to the remarkable fact of 

 '«» being "immediately transferred to the Movni, 

 Jgrfi and, perhaps, to other prints.' In pursuance 

 r' "qnirieajie hasinfro-luced multitudinous extracts 

 »om all quarters, and from nearly all sources; so that the 



32LK r ;a - d, , on the wholc - rat,,er ' as a c «> m - 



K ml 111 AU :VS^ ^eatise. So many authorities, 

 JMso many opinions, collected together, must nece, 



Eto £r V ^Vu tGnt ' P1 *°r e readable a,,d interesting, 

 into Kf ' however ' tha l the " » thor does not enter 



«S^LS Je " n a '- WrC •' tbat is t0 wy* he is diligent 

 gwpa itetekmg in getting his materials together, hut he 



l? ^rches after "facts " in natural history. 



aviary include curassows, guans. crested turkeys, wntor- 



hen8,kiiigfi8herB > orto]aii8 l gulIi*, quailg, 4c. Of these latter 

 some interesting details are given. They are horrfWy 



pugnacious animals, if allov I the range of a room, though 

 perfectly tame when confined in a store-cage. 



At the end of the book is a chapter on " the NiVh tingle " 

 the natural history of which is now being treated %i in 

 another part of the 6 </< n $" Chroni , by an amateur. 

 Although little conversant with that branch of know- 

 ledge oui lives,— yet, as we have carefully perused both 

 we may remark that there seems to be a littU difference 

 m the sentiments of the two writers ; for Mr. Dixon 

 peaks of them with much gtfj, as being a fine relish for 

 the dinner table. " Were they," he says, "to become 

 the fashion at London dinners, they could be supplied 

 during their season by the poulterers, at a rate not 

 dearer than is paid for many delicacies, especially those 

 out of season." lie then launches out in praise of 

 "singing birds" generally, as being most eligible for 

 e s, or the spit. By the way, even his favourite 

 pigeons he does not spare. He advocates their bein 

 shot at, for wagers ; and he thinks the amateur spoils- 

 man has a right (as well as the poulterer) to take their 

 lives ad I f um. What about the « wounded ? " On 

 this point, deponent sayeth as little as may be. The 



"scouts" sometimes ^k\\\" what have been already 

 " wounded ! " * 



Despite these and sundry other moral blemishes which 

 disfigure the work, it will be perused with interest It 

 is well and handsomely printed. 



Memoranda. 



Exotic Nursery, Ki> s Road, Chelsea.— We un- 

 derstand that the Victoria Regia in Messrs. Knight and 

 Perry's very interesting Afiarium, opened its first 

 blossom on Wednesday last, and that three more flower- 

 buds are appearing. Nyrnphica rubra, sanguinea, and 

 cyanea are also, we believe, in bloom, as well as dentata 

 and cserulea. The two latter grow and flower in the 

 greatest luxuriance here, conditions indeed common to 

 _ all the plants which the tank contains. Some verv fine 

 In pursuance new herbaceous Pseonies are also in flower, and well 

 mmiRiafMiW. ^'0^ inspection. \ 



Royal Nursery, Slough.— Pelargoniums and Pinks 

 are now at their best here : the former are blooming 

 profusely, and the plants are very dwarf and bushy. 

 The Fancies give life to the other kinds, which with- 

 out them, would present too much sameness. Some of 

 Mr. Foster's seedlings are very beautiful. Several of 

 the Pinks raised by Mr. Smith were in excellent con- 

 dition. mt ' " " ' — ' 



^B take it. rtZ '• \r Vu UMeni * w y «seful,and it 

 MarZl M aCe m tl^ library ; but it is not a work 



•kpted 



?k»c M^irfTZXTS^^ 1 ^ 1 ^ Witude, Perhaps the most interesting subjects' here"; at^resZt, 



kook nf ^r:;; 1 7 " f s m ~™ j ^tor y . As a 



ce,it will be undeniably useful, and it 



for th< 



*ffligUtV:SlV S |r 1W ^"'« vw™* ^a qoves ; and yet 

 .5'" easily be made so. 



to th e VJT • re a !; e devoi l to tl,e " »«vecote'» and 1 8 



e^h JvSf ?' W '^ *tT 1 BBnoin « teW* of intents 



MedinfiJ/r m w, ^»»»»'ler a distinct head, is 



r natne habits and diet— our own mishaps- 



This was the case with Huntsman, Whipper-in 

 ad a seedling. The following were also good in 

 colour and size: -Lola Monies, Sappho, Criterion, Nar- 

 horough Buck, Countess Rossi, Kossuth, Pindar, Double 

 X, Diana, Queen of England, Harriet, Great Britain, and 

 a seedling named Optima, the finest in tlie collection 



i 



are the Carnations and Picotees, which are 

 now coming into bloom. The greatest vigilance is 

 employed to keep down green fly ; continually brushing 

 turn from the points of the .hoots is considered to be 

 the mos* effectual remedy ; this is performed by boys 

 with small brushes. The principal object is to keep 

 these pests down ; if they once get ahead the mischief 

 is done, and the chances of a good bloom are dimi- 



nished. Now, that the weather lia et 



in warm, Mr. 



: « -*<"-^* » «■■»» prouuetittn, especiallv when com- 

 pared with other vegetable*, it follows, that thing 

 likely to throw a ray of light on its more eaay or certain 

 culture, will be acceptable to manv of your readers 

 more especially to those who are rerjuii to grow 

 Mushrooms for their employer*' t ;i§ fce. 1 may premise 

 before detailing my method, that 1 have nothing particu' 

 larly new to offer, there being only a slight difference 

 a my mode of management, from that generally followed 

 by most gro rs ; but from apparently trifling differ- 

 ences, in the mode of growing many crops, very different 

 results often follow. Even the different inferences men 

 draw from th meaning of a word or sentence, mav be 

 productive of good or evil to th crops under treatment, 

 just in proportion as the operator leans to the right or 

 wrong side of nature's law. The truth of this appean 

 to he obvious when we see seme men fail under equal 

 advantages, to bring some plant, fruit, or flower, to the 

 same perfection which others have arrived at even 

 though they are to all app ranee completely initiated 

 in the art. This certainly proceeds from only following 

 the leading features of the method, and neglecting that 

 which is of the first importance in the working out of 

 any plan or system, complete attention to its minor 

 details. In preparing dung for the Mushroom bed, it 

 should be got with a sufficiency of short litter to keep i 

 open, and spread or ridged in the common way, in an 

 open airy shed for a few days, to divest it of its super- 

 fluous moisture ; but by no means to expose it until it 

 becomes dry to the look, as much of the success of tho 

 grower depends on his retaining a suflici fc natural 

 humidity in the dung. When a sufficient q tntity has 

 been collected and has undergone the necessary prepa- 

 ration, it should. he shaken up into a conical heap with 

 the dung fork, and all long and unnecessary litter shaken 

 out, leaving it in the proportion of one-fourth short 

 litter to three-quarters of droppings. This operation 

 completed, the bed should be made up without delay to 

 any required length and breadth, and 10 or 12 inches 

 deep at least, as shallow beds are liable to get too dry. 

 Beat every layer of dung as it is laid on, but not to that 

 degree as to render it hard ; it is sufficient that it be 

 slightly firmed. There should be no earth mixed up 

 with the dung, neither for the purpose of rendering the 

 bed more compact, nor with the idea of benefiting the 

 crop thereby ; at least, so far as my experience goes it 

 serves no purpose. Such beds as I have had beat in tho 

 usual way, and mixed with a small quantity of mould, 

 were decidedly inferior, regards the size and quantity 

 of Mushrooms, to those that were composed solely of 

 dung. and more sparingly beat. A slight top-dressing 

 of droppings two-thirds, and fresh mould one-third, may 

 be practised with advantage, provided the covering f 

 mould be light. To prevent the dung taking a burning 

 heat, make it only 9 inches deep or so at first, and allow 

 some of the heat to pass off quickly, then add other 

 3 inches. The spawn should be prepared by steeping it 

 in water at a temperature of 65»; the time it should 

 remain in the water depends very much on whether it 

 absorbs water readily or not. There is therefore no 

 rule for this operation, farther than allowing it to 

 remain m the water until pretty well moistened, then lay 

 it on the surface of the bed until required for spawning 

 On the third or fourth day after being put up, the bed 

 will m all probability have taken a pretty strong heat • 

 it should be bored as soon as the heat is up, 8 or 9 inches 

 apart ; but if the heat is likely to be very violent it 

 should be gently eased up with a fork for a short time 

 until the heat has considerably declined, then press 

 back to its former solidity, and bore as before A 

 burning heat must be particularly guarded aga'inst, 

 or the bed will lose substance speedilv by evapora- 

 tion, and in all likelihood prove all'but a failure. 

 When the heat is about 70°, and on the decline, 

 the bed may be immediately spawned, by introducing 

 mall pieces into the holes made in boring. A few 

 pieces may also be crumbled down by the hand, and 

 spread over the surface of the bed, then give a light 

 beat with the back of a spade. It will now be necessary 

 to give a light coloring f fresh moiM, if from a heap 

 that has lam for two or three years, so much the better ; 

 it may either be sifted or I; I on after I ing well broken 

 with the sppis to the depth of about one inch at most. 



