•K 



1851.] 



THE GARDEN KUS' (II RON ICLK. 



4 3 j 



vL SOCIKTY 



Doctor I •■»..«* mwfc 



if (MP *™ 1 



ll «• OaiTt^ w _ kind*? dirre.l tha Groups o 



qM for ill «>f the > itrtrf 



§JS*!5+ Oattfcas at th<? KBXT EXHIBITION', on 

 "^ th» 19TB J l V. Tirkat* are issued at thi^ 



•!•*•*__ «, at tha G»Hen. in tha afternoon of tha 



^ZmSmrrr. "h* wt<l forward - 



Batrtot-atreet, on or ball a Tharad - 

 of Jair, maj obtain from cbat Offietr an authority 



Ticket*. 



£tran£erg qui destreront Be procurer des bille 

 irront en obtcnir dea mandate en s'addressa 

 Aoboiide ou a Jeur Coniulat. 

 B «^^v % treet, T ~*»' lrt "» 



THE LONDON FLORICrLTUHAL SOCIETY. 



T%* ne,c M «"** n * i* 1 ****" in *» Society for the EX Hit,.. 

 \ OF SM»»L1N»*i* of erery claaa of Florists' P lowers, 

 J<lM I <h >wiog for tha under.menuoned Flower*, will take 

 ytTr te* Hall Strand, on TUESDAY, the 2Jd instant 



«jn«T[UM (cut « >weraK in 6 f!la«ses.— Scarlet Flake, 

 ***, Purple Flake, Pink, and Purple izarre, Scarlet 

 and Crimson Bizaire. 



pfCOTFB^ (cat tiowers), in 4 Classes.— Rose edge, Parple 



R#4*d*#» aod Yellow Oroand. 



I* (ro pots), in 3 Clasaasv— Li^ht tube, Dark tube, 

 Corolla*, 

 ygKBESAS cut flowers), in 3 Classes. — Light, Dark, and 



Psaer. 

 ffIt>IAB (cat flowers), in 3 Classes.— Light, Dark, and 



|sjssaad. 



oarers to be ready for the Censors by 1 o'clock. 

 45 Llme.street, July 12. J. W. Jewitt, Hon. Sec. ' 



1 i 



— 



pOYAL SOUTH LONDON FLORICULTURAL 



1 IETY —Under the Patronage of bar M«»«t Gracious 



tba ymm.— Tha FOURTH KXHIBITIOX for the 

 1 be held at the ROYAL, SURREY Z 'iOL0<UCAL 

 4JAR0F -. «'n Tnr»#DAT, i4(h July (open to all Exhibitor*), 

 pwf^s wtll be awarded for the following productions, 

 Ifiteailaii *«ab and Specimen Plants, Cape Heaths. Fuch- 

 ttaa> Boies. Carnations, Piootaaa, Verhemas, Out Flowers, 

 Frit %oA Honey. In addition to the Prizes offered by the 

 Satiety. NV. I iff, Esq., offers a Small Silver Linntean Medal 

 firtfet bast collection of SO cut specimens of Indigenous Plants. 

 Bt Mr* J. Marrenn, of Oracechnrth-strea*, for thu best glass of 

 Haaaa in tba Comb, the Larue Silver Victoria Meual. Also, 

 bf suusaription. prises for Seedling Antirrhinum*, Calceolarias, 

 Carnation* rcotees, and Petunias, in addition to Certificates 

 rrasMfd by the Society,— Lists of Prises and the Rules for 

 EftAtbttora may be obtained from John- Tailor Neville, 

 Ebanezer House, Peckham, Surrey. Secretary. 



ZUt 6arUetterg , Chronicle* 



SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1851. 



MEfcTimss FOU THE ensuing week. 



SATumnAi July 19-Horticu)tuTal Gardens 2r.K. 



i . W SHowj.-Wedne»daj July 16: Arbroath Horticultural.- Friday, 

 Jaly la: Berclea Horticultural. 



It is evident that the history of the rot in Larch 



M not t complete. It is admitted that in wet 



situations the rot is most prevalent, and that Larch 



when planted there has no chance of escape from 



tb« disease. But facts seem to prove that rot will 



*|p«a\r even when drainage is perfect. Cases have 



«i« mentioned where this malady has appeared 



wwhere than in the roots, and where trees have 



beta growing on dry hill sides. We have no doubt 



of it. A storm which loosens and breaks the roots, 



^hailstorm when the shoots are pushing, imprudent 



thinning which leaves the trees top-heavy, have 



been pointed out as other causes ; and we believe 



with perfect justice. 



*> hatever shall produce decay in the tissues will, 

 avour the appearance of dry rot fungi ; dry rot 

 «Ufg» rapidly increase a mischief which might be 

 important in their absence; wet situations 

 iwtaWp brine: on incipient decay, and more especi; 

 woor the protjnw of dry rot fungi ; therefore 

 ataationij. are nece«Brily among the principal cai 

 of the rot in Larch. 



)f course we do not deny that disewe, to be 

 mowed by the rot, may appear in situations appa- 

 rently most favourable for the growth of Larch. 

 Disease occasionally attacks living things, under all 

 <arcuinstances> Cholera prevails in low damp places 



matter 



malignant ; but we know that it also appears in high 

 *y places, amidst an atmosphere not impure. The 

 «t is the rule, the last the exception. So it is with 

 Y*h ; the rot attacks it invariably in ill-drained 

 P*» ; there the malady is inevitable ; rot also 

 "■*< i* in well-drained places, and there the 

 *al% is accidental. 



T r Larch may be affected under circumstances 



iae reverse of wet has been shown by our invaluable 



« ident, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, to whose 



*7f™ we owe the following communication *-> 

 A specimen of diseased Larch has lately been 

 - * me from Wentworth by Mr. Henderson, 

 k appears to be highly worthy of attention. 



* anr/ 66 ? f 111911 ^ 8 * which the disease occurs grow on 

 * of blacki* shale, which is taken out of the 



iEr ne ? its and made into little ™™& Mlls > 



At hi? 6 f terwards Planted. The composition of 

 the di sh . ould seem to msure good drainage, and 



J «ease, indeed, does not seem, as in many cases, 

 ^mmence at the roots, but in the centre of the 



*n V r*i W °° dj in the deca y ed portions, is mottled 



tudiai! e WhUe spots, which often run in lon &- 



retain somewhat of their original rm, wh h v 

 however. »metiim e rated. 



•• Th 



■pots do n«»t consirt) as miizht at first be 



■appose 1, «»t mere mycelium, but of the tissues of 



the plant which are bleached and Burning; and 



whether woedy tittue, medullary ra\ »r dotted tube! 



they are as completely separ 1 from each other 



as if the connecting matter had 

 been dissolved by ne chemical 

 substance. They are, in conse- 



very nice objects for the 



and call to mind the 



fossil wood which 



economy <<f vej tat \ g 



in! nd import 



• 



• * * 



ml, are of i it 



i 







i 



quence, 

 microscope, 

 disintegrated 



occurs in the trap rocks of Tas- 

 mania. Though a common lens 

 fails to detect anything like fungss 

 threads, a very attentive examina- 

 tion exhibits extremely minute fila 

 ments, which are evidently of 

 fungous origin, both in the inte- 

 rior and on the surface of the 

 tissue, but in general so obscure 

 i as to require great caution before f 



coming to any positive decision. Few tissues, 

 perhaps, of decaying or decayed vegetables are 

 without some traces of fungi, instances of which 

 have been published by BiiSBHK aud others, who 

 have paid especial attention to the subject; but we 

 must not, therefore, conclude in every case that the 

 fungi are the cause of the decay. In the present 

 instance we observe the tips of the dotted iibes to 

 be frequently distorted or forked, a circumstance 

 which is worthy of more minute inve on. 



" The specimen is interesting too, as I conceive, 

 in a different point of view — viz., vino; an excel- 



lent instance of the wisdom of not t ting to mere 

 appearance* Ninety-nine persons out of a hundred 

 would at once declare the white sp i to consist of 

 mycelium, and we are free to confess that had we 

 not possessed a specimen of the Tasmanian wood 

 mentioned above, we should not have submitted the 

 tissue to the microscope, but should h ive passed it 

 over as an ordinary case of wood traversed by 

 mycelium. 



11 1 have given in the above figure a representation 

 of portions of two of the dotted tubes, exhibiting 

 mycelium on their inner and outer surface." 



Mr. Henderson adds in a letter which has just 

 reached us, that "the roots of the Larch trees growing 

 on the ironstone hills, as above described, are not 

 exposed to much wet, but on the contrary are rather 

 dry. They grow on little hills, composed of what 

 is called bi?ia, which is brought up with the iron- 

 stone and remains on the suiface after the pits are 

 filled up. It takes some years to decompose, before 

 it is fit for growing trees, and ultimately becomes 

 something like a strong blue clay. Beech and 

 Spanish Chesnut thrive pretty well on it, but Firs do 

 badly, and Larch is subject to the rot. Between the 

 hills, where the trees grow in the natural soil, they 

 are not subject to the disease, although the land is 

 in some places wet and springy ; and he is therefore 

 induced to think, that as far as the Wentworth trees 

 are concerned, a wet bottom is not the cause of the 

 disease, but rather some injurious quality in the 

 soil itself." 



This explanation, received after the previous 

 remarks had been sent to press, may be compared 

 with the view taken by us in the commencement 

 of the present article. It seems to show that disease 

 may appear where land is thought to be well drained. 

 But we doubt whether stiff blue clay, necessarily 

 very retentive of moisture, however dry it may 

 become in the autumn, can be otherwise than wet 

 in the early part of the year, when the Larch is 

 making its growth, and when, therefore, the mischief 

 is done. 



It is an excellent custom in certain foreign 

 countries, and one which leads to very valuable 

 results, to send from time to time scientific men to 

 travel in the various neighbouring kingdoms ; they 

 are sent with a specific object, they carefully investi- 

 gate the matter to which their attention is directed, 

 and on their return, they make a report to the 

 Government who sent them, embodying the facts 

 which they have collected in their travels, and the 

 conclusions at which they have arrived ; these 

 reports, which are generally drawn up by men 

 eminently well qualified for the task, often present 

 better and more impartial views of the particular 

 manufactures of the kingdoms so visited, than could 

 possibly be prepared by any one residing in them. 

 There is a good illustration of the truth of this, in 

 the skilful reports lately drawn up by M. Payen, 

 by desire of the Minister of Agriculture and 

 Commerce of France, on drainage, the use of peat, 

 and the employment of artificial manures in England. 

 These reports, written by an excellent observer, one 

 who is intimately acquainted with all the various 

 departments of scientific agriculture, and the 



I -\\ -.a strain visiting England" for ich a 



■pacific pu »se com i with oiaga of t 



unprejudic d and unbiassed judgment, 1 has at 

 the same time the disadvantage at he »s not 



[ways know in how far he m !v rely on the 



statements which are made to him, and he there- 

 fore runs considerable risk of being m I by false 

 or erroneous information. The conclusion which 

 M. Patch appears to have arrived at, from a very 

 careful ludy of the present state of the mauufa ire 

 of artificial manure in England, and of the results 

 of numerous experiments on the practic il applica- 

 tion of those manures, niinht pr ably be expr id 

 as follows. A dozen years ago it was stated by 

 Liebio and his followers that the great object of all 

 artificial manures was to supply certain inorganic 

 matters to growing plants. It was asserted that 

 soils became exhausted from the al ction of 

 potash, phosphoric acid, and soluble silu nd it 

 was therefore said that manures were chiefly valu- 

 able in proportion to the quantity of those sub- 

 stances which they contain I. The experiem of 

 the last few year- has, however, shown that U s is 

 not really the case, for the most careful and sat - 



actory experiments have proved, thai lis are > :y 



seldom Wanting in the inorganic elements of p] , 

 m-h as phosphoric acid and alls ; but that they 



are often deficient in nitrogen, in a s1 e capable f 

 being assimilated by plants. In other words, that 

 ammonia and nitric acid are far more Important 

 components of manure than phosphoric acid or 

 akalies. 



That liinBio did, at one tii \ attribute very great 

 importance to the earthy and alkaline parts of 

 manure, n one will deny ; and, indeed, it is evid ltly 

 proved, by the fact that he even became the originator 

 of a patent mineral manure, which, as Payen remai 

 has for the most part been found of compar; ly 

 little real Value. If, hovwver, it is acknowledged on 

 the one hand, that the valueof these ino micmumr 

 has been over-rated, it must, however, at the same 

 time be admitted that there are circumstances under 



which they produce very remarkable effects ; and 

 that even though it is proved that they are not the 

 only thins, necessary to the growth of plants, or the 

 only things which the cultivator has to add to the 

 soil, it does not, therefore, follow that they are of no 

 value at aVl ; and we ought to take care that in 

 acknowledging our error, we do not fall into the 

 opposite extreme. 



It has been all along known, that the very best 

 manures were those which contained a mixture of 

 organic and inorganic matters ; substances, such as 

 common farm-yard manure, consisting of decomposed 

 and decomposing animal and vegetable materials, 

 intimately mixed together. The error which has 

 been committed consisted in the attempt to com- 

 pare perfectly different and opposite things ; and to 

 decide which of the two was the most important. 

 The alkalies and phosphoric acid are, no doubt, quite 

 essential to the growth and well-being of plants ; but 

 o also are ammonia, nitric acid, and the various 

 other sources of nitrogen. To attempt to compare 

 the two kinds of food, is pretty much as though we 

 were to try and compare together meat and bread, 

 as articles of animal food ; both are valuable, and 

 the two taken together are more valuable than either 

 taken alone. So it is with plants ; it is of no use at- 

 tempting to determine whether ammonia or alkaline 

 phosphates are the most important, as constituents 

 of manure ; they serve very different objects in the 

 nutrition of plants, and when the one is required, it 

 is certainly idle to attempt to supply its place, by 

 giving more of the other. 



There are a number of curious experiments which 

 have at times been quoted, as proving that the 

 organic part of common yard manure is of no 

 value ; and that its virtue consists entirely in the 

 inorganic salts which it contains. Thus, for example, 

 it has been stated, that on manuring two equal 

 pieces of ground, the one with a certain weight of 

 good farm-yard manure, and the other with the 

 ashes of an equal quantity of the same manure, 

 no difference could be subsequently observed between 

 the crops raised on the two fields. The truth of 

 this, again, has been called in question by other 

 experiments, the results of which were just the 

 reverse ; and those who attempted to draw general 

 conclusions from the two experiments, were at last- 

 fairly puzzled how to reconcile two apparently 

 diametrically opposite statements. The real cause 

 of the difficulty, ho wever, was simple enough ; it arose 

 merely from the attempt to compare togetherdi r 



things, which, from their very nature, could not fairly 

 be contrasted with one another. If we admit that which 

 is now pretty well generally acknowledged, namely, 

 that all plants, in addition to certain other sub- 

 stances, require both ammonia and also alkaline 

 phosphates, it is very easy to perceive, not only that 



