500 



THE GARDENERS* CHRONIC 



ing buildings with hot-water, which are well worth 

 the public attention. The pedestal would probably 

 be found more convenient than an Arnott's stove, 

 in many places, even if the Arnott stove is well 



mana 



ORCHIDS FOR THE MILLION.— No. X. 



By B. S. Williams, *r. to C. B. Warner. Esq . Hoddesdon. 



Hot Climate— Plants grown in Pots with Peat. 

 Cymbidium giganteum, blossoms in January, and 

 lasts long in perfection ; it succeeds best in a pot in 

 fibrous peat and good drainage, and requires a good 

 supply of peat and moisture during the growing season. 

 Cymbidium Mastersii.—This beautiful plant comes 

 from India, and flowers in November. The blossoms 

 are white, with a yellow centre, and they last long in 

 perfection. It should be treated like C. giganteum. 



TrlckopiUa tortilis, from Mexico, flowers at dif- 

 ferent times of the year ; the sepals and petals are 

 yellowish white, spotted or marbled with brown ; the 

 lip is nearly white. It succeeds best in a pot well 

 drained and filled with fibrous peat. It should be grown 

 at the coolest end of the house, and, when at rest, it 

 should be kept rather cool ; the flowers remain in per- 

 fection three weeks. 



Peristeria elata, from Panama, usually^ flowers from 

 July to September ; the blossoms are white and remain 

 long in beauty. This grows best in a pot filled with 

 fibrous peat and leaf-mould ; it likes plenty of heat and 

 moisture during the growing season, but afterwards it 

 should be kept rather dry. 



Ansellia africana is one of the few Orchids we have 

 from Fernando Po ; it flowers from January to March. 

 The blooms are green, spotted with chocolate, the lip 

 being pale yellow : they remain [long in perfection. It 

 succeeds best in a pot in fibrous peat, with plenty of 

 heat and moisture during the growing season, but after- 

 "wards it may be kept rather- cool, till it begins to grow, 

 when it should be placed in heat again. 



Mormodes luxatum comes from Mexico, and flowers in 

 October and November. It has large pale lemon- 

 coloured blossoms, which remain long in beauty. It 

 grows best in a pot in fibrous peat and good drainage, 

 and it should be placed at the coolest end of the house, 

 where there is only a moderate supply of moisture. 



Brassia Wrayce, from Guatemala, flowers in May and 

 June. The sepals and petals are yellowish green, with a 

 few brown blotches on them : the labellum is broad and 

 yellow, tinged with green and blotched. The flowers 

 last a long time in perfection. It succeeds best in a 

 pot in fibrous peat and good drainage, with a good supply 

 of heat and moisture during the growing season. 



Brassia caudata, from Guiana ; flowers in May and 

 June, and lasts long in perfection. The kind of treat- 

 ment that suits the last will also suit this, 



Brassia verucosa (major), from Mexico ; blossoms in 

 May and June. The sepals and petals are pale green, 

 the lip being white, marked with green warts ; it lasts 

 long in perfection. 



Brassia Lanceana, from Surinam ; blooms in May 

 and June, and keeps in beauty many weeks. 



Brassia macrostachya, from Demerara ; flowers at dif- 

 ferent times of the year ; the blossoms are yellowish 

 green, dotted with dark brown ; they last five weeks in 

 perfection. 



Zygopetalum Mackayi, from Brazil, flowers from 

 October to December; the blossoms are greenish 

 yellow, spotted or striped with brown and lilac, and 

 they remain five weeks in beauty. It grows most 

 satisfactorily in a pot, well drained, with fibrous peat ; 

 and it likes a good supply of heat and moisture during 

 the growing season, afterwards it should be kept cooler. 



Z ygopetalum crinitum ccendeum comes from Brazil ; 

 it flowers in October and November, and lasts a long 

 time in perfection. It succeeds best in fibrous peat. 



Z ygopetalum rostratum. — This fine species, from 

 Demerara, blooms three times a year. It lasts five or 

 six weeks in perfection. 



Zygopetalum maxillare, from Brazil, flowers in 

 August and September, and lasts long in perfection. 

 These all reouire nearlv flip oamo Hn«l ^ +«. A0 4- m »r.+ 



establishment of the last-named gentleman they were 

 sent, with their roots exposed, on the 28th to London, 

 where they remained some time, and did not arrive in 

 St. Petersburgh until the end of May, after being detained 

 for five or six davs in the snows at Cronstadt. We were 

 there when they arrived, and helped to unpack them; their 

 roots were immediately moistened, and we again laid them 

 by their heels, where they remained until the 12th June. 

 They were then potted, but showed no signs of life, yet on 

 20th of the same month, under the genial influence of 

 a'sun which remained 20 hours above the horizon, all 

 the 'eyes were developed, and soon succeeded by flowers. 

 This appeared so astonishing that many people came 

 from a distance to see these plants, which had, as it 

 were, been suddenly brought to life. It would be a 

 great improvement, in our opinion, if, instead of muti- 

 lating our Roses by pulling off their leaves, we could 

 keep their vital powers dormant, and excite them when- 

 ever convenient to ourselves. We leave to other more 

 experienced persons than ourselves the task of accom- 

 plishing this desired end. 



The care bestowed by the Count on his Roses does 

 not cause him to neglect Hyacinths, Amaryllids, Tulips, 

 and Lilies. The plants generally come by thousands 

 from Haarlem, and we have seen the most beautiful 

 specimens in his town garden, in the open air. The 

 cultivation of these plants, perfect as it is, would be still 

 better if the bulbs were not placed so deep in the ground, 

 which retards their flowering. In this same garden is 

 the finest Chestnut in St. Petersburgh. In this rigorous 

 climate the young shoots are annually nipped off by the 

 cold, which leaves nothing but a withered stick to ex- 

 tend the stems and branches. To the same generous 

 nobleman is due the introduction of a great number of 

 flowering plants, cultivated for the purpose of internal 

 decoration. In the garden of his neighbour, Prince 

 Woconsky, we were surprised to see a gigantic pyra- 

 midal Oak which cost no less than 500 roubles. 

 ^ Finland. — The Horticultural and Agricultural Institu- 

 tion of Finland is situate a few wersts from St. Peters- 

 burgh. The soil is flat, light, sandy, like that in most 

 parts of the country, and capable of sustaining but few 

 plants. The farm is divided into seven parcels, and 

 upon each one are cultivated those plants which are the 

 most fitted for it, and to the real wants of the place. 

 Early cereals, such as spring corn, Buckwheat, the 

 black Oat, &c, the nutritive qualities of which are so 

 celebrated, are in greatest abundance ; the winter 

 cereals may be said to be reduced to Wasa Rye, which 

 grows pretty well on the sandy soil of Finland. We, 

 however, saw, to our great astonishment, a field of 

 bearded corn, which had, for the first time, resisted the 

 intense cold of the winters. Amongst the edible roots, 

 we may mention Raves d 1 eau and Finland Turnips ; 

 Potatoes are much cultivated, and we were shown no 



less than 250 varieties of them, collected from/all parts 

 of the globe. 



_ The course of education consists of four years' prac- 

 tice, theory being looked upon as of secondary import- 

 ance, and introduced by way of illustration only. The 

 grand object seems to be to turn a set of thorough 

 pract teals. The pupils are taught for two years 

 all necessary mechanical operations ; the third and 

 fourth years are occupied in the same way, with the 

 addition, however, of two weekly lectures, in which 

 theory is a little gone into. The principal farming 

 operations are performed by the pupils in turn. The 

 dairy is especially attended to and uncommonly well 

 managed. Here we saw the fine breeds of Holgomor, 

 Berne, Styria, Leicester, Caucasus, and Tyrol. The 

 milk from the last breed is remarkable for the large 



The best breed of 

 that of Caucasus, 

 land, woods, aud 

 useful 



whatever \vasadv^n7ed tli^Tr^^ 

 satisfactorily they receive 5*£V«*« 



In this way the whole em^^H^SL^ 

 with a constant supply of I ? conll nuallyjE* 

 thoroughly understand S&^'ZZ* 



BIRD 



s 



No XL —We ( 1° AGE B,RDS No ' *- 



August, which has brougnJlith* S ° n *• 

 heat, drought, and languor. n J * e ^ 



" 5 alf l n a blush of clustering Pn.l x 

 »ew.droppin g Coolness to fh^^M 



There, on the verdant turf « r « de retire « I 

 By gelid founts, and careless rmT* bed . 

 While tyrant Heat dUnrlVI rill \ ton ^w : 

 With ra'p-d ^%iX^^^^ 

 On man, and beast, and herb and W tFt| 



stream 



birda 



thickets, and for a season beSe tosTto si,*, * 

 tiny vo 1 ees, too, are now silenced and A ^ ** 



-r wisdom h 

 T . . , , .. , moulting 1 



It is beyond all question true, that in a. 



Acnn wlian internet U AA x i_ __• 



necessary for their welfare. 



N 



season, when intense heat brings on a slow f "^ 

 partially consumes and fintiroii, ai, . Iev **fa 



quantity of cream obtained from it. 

 pigs is that of Jutland, and of sheep 

 In addition to the art of manasinsr 



each 



an 



taught all 



accessory 



FOREIGN GARDEN GLEANINGS. 



(St. Petersburgh ) 



Private Gardens — Alexis Bobrinski. —We now have 

 to give some account of a horticultural establishment, 

 which will, no doubt, have a great and salutary effect on 

 Burdening in Russia ; this garden is but a year old, but 

 the power of wealth has made it the most perfect model, 

 as well as the most magnificent production of modern 

 horticultural art. Not only has Count Alexis 

 Uobnnski devoted all his leisure moments to horticul- 

 ture, but his whole family has taken a zealous part in 

 the same pursuit, and it may be confidently expected that 

 from their exertions great progress will be made in this 

 science : to show that this expectation is not unfounded 

 we may state that Count Bobrinski and Prince Basile 

 Cochoubet were among the first to introduce into privat 



\^%ltt!f%* ?T* budded standard high. 

 [n 1346 the latter nobleman obtained a collection from 



M-Jerdier, which we saw in full flower, whilst S 

 former is now m possession of 7000 m^ft^i 

 of the most beautiful ^stmlj^Xs^Z^t 

 observe that it would be very potable if French and 

 Pans gardeners could with economy retard the perl" ' 

 of flowering and then bring it on suddenly, as is don 



*- Ul b y the hee„ b .J L,K f &£-. *»- 



e 

 crin<?- 



gardens, each pupil is 



branches of knowledge, such as carpentry, masonry, 

 shoemaking, &c, so that he is always able to turn his 

 hand to anything such a person can be reasonably 

 expected to do. 



The art of cheese-making is by no means neglected, 

 and indeed the brie cheese is so well imitated that the 

 best connoisseur might be deceived by it. To this esta- 

 blishment is attached a museum, both horticultural and 

 agricultural, which is continually augmented by gifts 

 from the Government and the pupils ; every thing is to be 

 found there, from the most simple to the most compli- 

 cated and improved instruments. We were much struck 

 with the collection of ploughs, 54 in number, represent- 

 ing the .54 governments of the empire. There is also a 

 remarkable collection of Chinese agricultural implements. 

 Threshing machines are here in great perfection ; there 

 was one, invented by a pupil of the establishment, costing 

 about 24/. or 2V>1 ., requiring only two men to look after 

 it, and capable of threshing a large quantity of grain 

 daily. We were much pleased, too, with the fine collec- 

 tion of different Russian textile threads, and of other 

 articles manufactured from the textile plants of the 

 empire. 



After four years of study each pupil is examined ■ the 

 examination, which is at once simple and satisfactory 

 takes place as follows : When two pupils have finished 

 their apprenticeship they are furnished with two ploughs 

 two horses, two cows, a house and a piece of ground 

 proportioned to their means ; they have, moreover, 

 201. m money, some seeds, &c, advanced to them to 

 enable them to set to work. From this moment nothing 

 more is given them, and for two years they have to pro 

 vide for their own wants, and those of their establish- 

 ment. At the end of this time they are called upon to 

 account for what they have done, to return to the school 



system " of the feathered tril^^^ * 

 banishes himself, as if by mutual compac f ** 

 place of his former rendezvous, and coUiffaS 

 artfully from the eye of man, until decked b|S 

 and becoming apparel Equally true is it, thattS 

 himself unclean "until such change shall ha v uZ 

 effected ; and that by an unerring instinct he aW 

 solitude, and with patience worthy of imitatioTtit 

 many little nameless ailments and trying sickneaeiii!! 

 are inseparable from this annual visitation vJ2 

 walk the fields « from morn till noon, from noai 

 dewy eve," at this season, and find « all silence." 



There are, of course, some solitary exception^ fe 

 general rule,— as in the case of the yellow-hamnw Z 

 instance, whose monotonousbut far from disagreeable** 

 may be sometimes heard very late in the seasonal!* I 

 pre-eminence, when he can obtain it ; and seemstoki I 

 his element, when he is left master of the field. AsbJ 

 lark may also be occasionally heard " trying " his mier 

 iu a subdued tone ; and a few indistinct twitters are k 

 audible among the brushwood. In all other respectitb 

 month of August, as regards vocal melody in the wool f 

 and fields, is a blank, — an a aching void." Ail naomi j 

 in a state of lassitude ; and inactivity prevails on ctw J 

 hand. 



Until now, the black-cap has been heard singm:. .- 

 and late ; and his mellow, joyous voice, occaaoorfr 

 responded to by some happy warbling blackbird, seifei 

 on the summit of a distant tree, has afforded the for 

 of nature an exquisite treat. Within the last fewdti* 

 we have listened — but in vain, for his flute-like straim: 

 and tried to catch a glimpse of his neat, trim little penor. 

 but alas 1 u he has gone from our gaze," and we M j 

 see him no more till he has donned his new livery. 

 the way, he is one of the very few warblers, who, h 

 recovered from his moult, treats us with an occMkd 

 renewal of his song before taking his final leave of of 

 country. He likes to have " the last word; '-and k 

 shall have it ! 



A more thoroughly domesticated bird than the bbi 

 cap, there cannot be. Never did bird evince grertr 

 reluctance to quit the land of his birth than doesfc; 

 but his tribe being gregarious in the autumnal km* 

 and instinct teaching them to keep together when ** 

 to 'decamp, he sacrifices all to the necessity of* 

 occasion. As for his return in the spring -I can J« 



have noticed the armalof* 

 ,« +i,«™ fal-P nossession of w 



> red. 

 ibsemSf* 



year 



to a point about that. I 

 same birds, and ha 

 same territories, y 



them by the singularity of certain notes,- ., 



them, but not in their tribe generally ; and by m 

 peculiar mode of giving utterance to the notes to w^ 

 particularly allude. I havemade similar accurate ^ 

 tions with respect to the nightingale. A ™ w, 5^ 

 these pleasing facts causes me always to looo io 

 to the month of April with real delight 1M J^ 

 with such lovely visitors, is a treat ™™™™L± 

 The male black-cap is distinguishable fron ^ 

 by his hood, or cap, being jet black. ^Ine . 





the most 



pl*i 



Their natural** 



texture so silky,— that when caug 



a cage, they often disfigure themselves 



only be valued for their song. Tlieu - ^ 



consists of flies, gnats, spiders, caterpillars, 



generally. , r0P A in efr 



Like the nightingale, these birds never *** ^i 



finement. It would be contrary to nature, ^ 



do so: but their innate disposition w ^J^^l 



consider it, of the two, far less cruel t0 h ^ er f u !> v 

 cages. They feel happy any where -are^ ^ 



haus 



of amiable habits ; and if " petted," whicli o 

 should be, are staunch in their attach inenis. 

 mt i ' T /. _ j xi.„ „«ftmn history < 



*?S\ 



I 



g 



e5ttm& ie w 



attempt to do so. * T 



if I only tell one half what I know, 1 

 ready entrance into all families who ca 

 value. William Kidd. 



