304 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONIC 



and never alter the beginning of February. 

 time I have never found herbaceous plants in flower on 

 the Grass-land, with the exception of Lobelia gibbosa, 

 which, although wild only in a few districts, springs 

 from the dried-up soil, with its leafless, fleshy stems. 

 On these forms of vegetation, altitude seems to have but 

 little influence. Mount Barker (2000 feet above the 

 level of the sea) is regarded as the highest mountain ol 

 the colony. I have climbed to its summit, and found 



From this the soil Thin the weak shoots, and let all the fruits be 



properly supported upon some hard dry substance, as a 

 tile or smooth piece of board. 



FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES. 



The roots of the Iris, Narcissus, Lilies, and other 

 spring-flowering bulbs, with few exceptions, succeed best 

 if not taken up too often ; and except for the purpose of 

 dividing them to increase the stock, or to plant them in 



m a new situation, they had better remain undisturbed. 



nothing there, which I have not met with, either before When any are taken up for the above purposes, they 



Xanthorrhoaas J should be replanted again as soon as possible, that they 



may firmly establish themselves before winter, as they 

 remain a very short time in a dormant state, before they 



-or since, at the foot of the mountain 

 «nd Epacridea* certainly seem to prefer tlie mountain ; 

 yet rather on account of the stony soil than of the 

 elevation, since I found nearly all the alpine species on 

 the coarse gravelly soil of the plains also. The species 

 of the western plains, on the contrary, and those of the 

 eastern (Murray Scrub), afle almost always different. 

 The fertile land in the Murray valley also possesses 

 many peculiarities, which, however, without entering 

 too much into detail, I am unable to notice further here. 

 But the character of its vegetation differs in no respect 

 from the corresponding districts of the west. A pecu- 

 liar vegetation occurs only in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of the sea, in the woods upon the beach overflowed 

 by the tide, which consists of a Rhizophorea — I believe, 



•Ceriops. This tropical form has a very distinct boun- 

 dary-line on the side of the Scrub, commencing with a 

 shrubby Salicornia, which has taken up its position on 

 those parts of the strand farthest removed from the sea. 

 A much greater influence than that of elevation above 

 the sea level, is exercised by the neighbourhood of man, 

 especially that of a cattle-dealing population. Annual 

 plants seem to be among the first to yield before the 

 foreign influx. I was informed of a pretty flower, from 

 the description, probably, an Argyrophanes, which had 

 formerly covered whole plains of the upper district of 

 the Oncaparinga, and had now entirely disappeared. 

 The Anthistiria, which in the hilly lands formed pas- 

 tures, is now supplanted in many places by new Grasses ; 

 the original vegetation of the more cultivable Scrub dis- 

 tricts, in the neighbourhood of the town, lurks timidly 

 and secretly about the hedges which separate it from 

 the reclaimed districts, and views with terror the de- 

 structive progress of the merciless intruders. The Aus- 

 tralian flora has been but little enriched by any Euro- 

 pean plants, except cultivated ones. We find, indeed, 

 here many that are identical with European plants, but 

 the native home of most of them is a very critical point ; 



' while the Australian burgher-right of others is beyond 



v alt doubt. As might naturally be expected, my re- 

 searches upon this point have not led to any certain 

 results ; the following plants, however, appear to me 

 unquestionable immigrants, viz., Lolium temulentum, 

 Centaurea Cyanus (rare), and Capsella Bursa. — Hooker's 



-Journal of Botany, 



airy 



Calendar of Operations. 



(For the ensuing week. J 



PLANT DEPARTMENT. 



As in spring, a progressive increase of heat and 

 * moisture to keep pace with the advancing season, was the 

 course pursued, so now an opposite or retrogressive one 

 .must be adopted. The healthy state of the plants during 

 their winter or season of rest, depends very much on 

 -their management during the autumn. They must be 

 gradually hardened by exposing them to an increased 

 circulation of air, and a lower temperature, admitting 

 all the light possible. We have frequently urged the 

 necessity of thoroughly watering plants when they need 

 it, in preference to giving a little and often, according to 

 the too common practice. Let it be the rule then, only 

 to give water when it is required, and then to give plenty. 

 These remarks apply more particularly to hard wooded 

 . plants, which, to ripen their growth, require a longer 

 season than those of a more herbaceous character, which 

 will continue to grow and; flower some time longer. 

 Remember the value of liquid manure for plants which 

 are flowering freely, and others which it is desirable to 

 invigorate to the utmost We have scarcely a more 

 beautiful or more elegant plant for conservatory decora- 

 tion in April and .May than the Schizanthus ; for this 

 purpose the seeds should now be sown, and at the same 

 -time the different kinds of Lisianthus for next autumn's 

 display. Neapolitan and tree Violets should now be 

 lifted, and potted in 4 or 5-inch pots for winter flowering. 

 As this is a flower which everybody loves, nothing can 

 be more acceptable at that comparatively flowerless 



season. * 



FORCING DEPARTMENT. 



Teach-houses.— As soon as * the crop is entirely 

 removed, any of the trees which exhibit too gross a 

 -tendency in their tops should be partially root-pruned, 

 by forking down, at a safe distance of from 2 to 3 feet, 

 according to the age of the tree, and shortening some of. 

 the strongest roots. Any tree which is very gross 

 should be carefully under-mined, to ascertain if any roots 

 have descended into the subsoil. If such is found to be 

 the -case, they should of course be cut away ; and, to 

 prevent a recurrence of the same, the tree should be 

 hfted out entirely, and the bottom of the border made 

 .impervious, by means of concrete. The trees should be 

 frequently examined, to prevent the establishment of 

 scale, red spider, or other insects. Melons.— Keep up 

 a good bottom-heat, or shanking and canker will be a 

 natural consequence. We are very careful that the 

 proper temperature is maintained, and by this means 

 disease is prevented amongst the latest crops Keep 

 the plants sufficiently thin to allow the air to circulate 

 ^freely amongst the leaves, and to act upon the surface of 



! 



begin to form new roots. These are all deep-rooting 

 plants, and require that the beds should be deeply 

 trenched. The manure should be placed in the bottom 

 of the trench to encourage the downward progress of the 

 roots, and thereby render them more independent of the 

 watering-pot during the scorching months of June and 

 July. The Tiger-Lily is very ornamental at this season ; 

 it is very showy, when planted in straight lines, or 

 amongst the promiscuous masses of large clumps. In 

 the axils of the leaves, if the plants are now examined, 

 small bulbs will be found, which should be carefully 

 collected and planted, about an inch asunder, in boxes 

 of light soil. Many annuals and perennials have now 

 ripened their seed, which should be gathered imme- 

 diately in fine dry weather, and spread out in a cool 

 shed. 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



Let the young and advancing shoots of Peach and 

 Nectarine trees be regularly laid in every ten days or a 

 fortnight, taking care not to crowd the foliage, and leav- 

 ing a space between the shoots, so that the rays of the 

 sun may reach some portion of the wall. It is impos- 

 sible that the fruit buds can be strong and capable of 

 resisting early spring frosts, when light and air are 

 excluded from them during the summer and autumn. 

 The shoots of Pears, Plums, and Cherries, should now 

 be regulated and neatly tied in, both for the sake of the 

 wood ripening better by contact with the wall, and to 

 let the present crop have the benefit of free exposure to 

 light, without which it must be deficient in flavour. 

 Standard fruit trees and those on trellises must also be 

 gone over, the useless wood shortened, and that required 

 for extending the tree and filling up empty spaces tied 

 neatly in. Fruit trees having no crop upon them may 

 still be root pruned ; and if the soil around them is very 

 dry, it should be well watered, first to prevent check to 

 the tree, and facilitate the operation of opening the 

 trench to get at the roots. Proceed determinedly with 

 the destruction of mildew or any other pest upon your 

 trees, for which purpose we find^ Epps's sulphurator 

 exceedingly useful. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



If our advice relative to the making of new Straw- 

 berry-beds very early in the season has been attended 

 to, a portion of the old ones may be destroyed. Such 

 ground, having been several years almost undisturbed, 

 should be deeply trenched, dunged according to its 

 requirements, and planted or sown with some useful 

 winter or spring crop. Tripoli Onions for future trans- 

 planting should now be sown, and Endive for a late 

 crop. Continue to make successional sowings of Cos 

 Lettuce, and make the first sowing of Hammersmith 

 Cabbage Lettuce to transplant into warm borders for 

 late autumn use. The last sowing of Early Stone and 

 White Globe Turnips should be made this week. A 

 considerable share of attention should now be directed 

 towards securing an adequate supply of salads and 

 other small matters for winter use. Encourage the 

 growth of the Chicory already planted, by hoeing and 

 loosening the soil. The finer the roots, the greater 

 the produce of leaves when forced in spring. 



State of Ae Wether near London, for the week ending Aug. 7, 1851, 

 as observed at the Horticultural Garden, Chiawick. 



Baeomktib 



Tk.mpbkaturb 



FrMay.. 1 



Satur. ., 2 



Sunday . 3 



Monday 4 



Tups. .. 5 



Wed. .. * 



Thura... 1 



4 vP'Rir. 



4 

 5 

 6 



S 

 9 



10 



Max. 



3 .o:u 



3O06 



30..#0 



30.'J9> 

 30.23 i 

 30.056 



I 



29.830 

 29.939 



30.043 



30.102 



30.225 

 30.173 

 30.014 





Of the Air. 



Min. llean 



Of the Earth 



I foot! 2 feet 

 deep. deep. 



Wind. 



62 

 60 

 54 



57 

 53 



53 



55 



70.0 

 69.5 



66.0 

 69.0 

 62.0 

 60.0 

 63.0 



30 091 *>0.0?,n 7=i.* 5*3 1 fi59 



63 



60 



04 



61* 



65 



Clj 



66 



63 



65 



62 



64 



62 



63 



61 



fit. 4 



61 5 



N.W. 



s.w. 

 s.w. 



E. 



E. 



E. 



N.E. 



2 



.02 

 .00 



.00 

 .00 



(0 

 .00 

 .00 



.02 



Aus;. 1— OverCHgt; cloudy a> <1 fiae •, slight ahowers. 



— 2— Very fine; exceedingly tine ; dense y clouded at night. 



— 3~Cl>uiiy and fine: very fine; aligutJy clouded. 



— 4 —Clear and very fiue thr ughout. 



— b -Fine; very fine; clear at nij{ht. 



— 6— Overcast, line; de *e,y clouded. 



— 7— Overcast; fine; clear; luhtnin* at night. 



Mean temperature ol the week. I| <leg. above the averajje. 



State of the Weather at Chiswick, during the last 25 year*, for the 



eatuing week, enuiug lugust 16, 1S51. 



Sunday 10 



Mon 11 



Tues. 12 



Wed. 13 



Thura. 14 



Friday 15 



Satur. 16 



'- 



73.9 



74.8 



72.6 

 72.0 

 72.9 

 73.4 





53.2 



51.7 

 51.2 

 50.2 

 51.0 

 51.2 

 52.1 





4. 3 

 63 8 

 630 

 61.4 

 61-5 

 6i0 



62.7 



No of 

 Year* in 



which it 

 Kained. 



.- 

 13 

 II 



11 



7 



12 

 9 



Greatest 



Quantity 

 ot Rain. 



Prevailing Wind*. 



rf-j?rfLJtfl 



0.35 in. 



0.34 



0.21 



1.14 



0.61 



1 



0.5S 



2] 11 

 — 222 

 -651 



3 3 4 1 

 -221 



»^ 5 



as 



13 

 312 



i 7 

 3 10 



2 6 



3 5 

 3 7 



1 



5 

 6 

 5 

 2 

 4 

 2 



a 



z 



1 

 1 



4 

 4 



1 

 5 

 3 



The highest temperature during the above period nrrm**<i «« «i.~ 

 1842-therm. 93 deg. ; aad the lowest on the \ltVlm^^°l£ B 



10fb, 





honey; perhaps yuur hives 

 pasturage. I" 

 of their store 



l «re filled 



T 7 S * uur ^ves are too lar,! , *»* ktil* 



If >ou are determined toTJ°u 3 ^i3?* 



- * -u,a, you can smoU ♦£. fbb <b« h*J-!? , N 



combs from each side bu und *** **"« 

 would be no occasion for auch h/r P ^ Ptttt ^^S 

 ceediugs which most nr b abl y Zu^ »**<&** 

 the Stock during the f t dlovvin^n CaUe l »«22S* 

 Buds -The Ccckjo: liuitc^R ,nter a ^n>ri* 7**t 

 wa, not notice last we^y ^^V'i 

 by the delay, ior we have smce *Li?T* huWe *er, bT[ 

 sjderable length. A letter await"? *° U ' >* A 

 Northallerton." We shall »1-t £° u at *'"« "r\ 

 from you on this .7^0^^^^^^^^ 



rest IP.*.-T« Wo^lIkk*: fcf W ***fe 



about to moult. 



ol a li 





sliced and placed in the tin which LuuVf ->—•*.- 

 sometimes a means of prolong tk- "»"»• l£S 

 Gket Pa«ot W.1, the St°lS t IZl TA 1 

 we accidentally met at the " Gr.at fXkv"'* ,u ^H» 

 day last, and with whom w^c „, 'T' «*5 

 kindly oblige us with his name an d ad^" Q f h ""£ 

 pressure of such countless ,i?* t £* «'• ' ttS 

 us, qu-te prevented any profitable talk J? r, i n S*«N 

 him, we will gladly give hini an, advi ct ^ 2****Z 

 ing certain of his -pets " who are sick IvV* "^im. 

 Fanny li. The cause of the ill.behavi u^ f „-rJ BlCu * 

 by a milder term) of your two young bid. ^ 

 mother, arises most probacy IromWr «X* 



properly enclosed. 



Site 



T „ , .-. , J° ur nei -box not u. 

 , . . ,_ Ic should be placed in a <--^ 



chamber ; and the entrance for the pareut> 

 a circular aperture from without, 

 on your loss 



areuts should be ik^ 



your loss; but such dearlj-boDgbVe^KSS 

 vent similar consequences for tbc future. \V e refcr«£ 

 our articles on «'l He Canary." Therein, j, K 

 such casualties foreseen, and provided agaiuiL l£ 

 youn K l mis once leave their nest .farewill to thtir reUnVr 

 Chamomile Flowers: Header. They should b e diUdi2 

 and in the shade. ^ 



Docble Yellow R;se: J. Ferme. Many thanks, but we 4* 

 find anything of the slightest interest in the reoiarkifci? 

 Murray, who seems to know nothing whattv.r liJil 

 subject. **** 



Glazing \ P G. We recommend Hartley's rough pWe, Te 

 may have it of an* size ; but you must take Cire, if \nm 

 large squares to secure plenty of ven ilatioa. Ufc 

 majority of plants shading is needless under this kiadi 

 glass ; it would be well for all if a briak luotiuaof tires* 

 be maintained in the stove. 



Grafting : E R L. It is not possible to bud or graft thtliit 

 and Laburnum together. J— T G. Common T budding ti 

 answer your purpose. The plan is fully descriied at ^m 

 of the current year's volume J 



Insects : J B, We beg to refer you to the articles hetdtifc 

 Diamund-back Turnip moth, ante pp. 484 acd 4$). W.-J I, 

 Ditto.— '/ D (Water/ord). The Turnip leave* rmivtdl* 

 week had one of their surfaces alone eaten, aad tfatir 

 minute ca'erpillars were all crushed to death, so ibit «i 

 were unable to determine their species; some \ve»e, iwf. 

 ever, much more hairy than the full-grown larvae of Tim 

 xylostella (or, ra her, cruciferarum). The leaves wot tki 

 week have holes gnawed entirely through them,Mdtki 

 insects are certainly the caterpillars of that species. Itii 

 possible tbat the young caterpillars adopt the iormw wfc 

 of attack, which they change as they increase in s:i\ If 

 not, we have two different species ot small raotns, eoppi 

 in the destruc ion of the Turnip crop at the preienttaii 

 W.—J O. Your account of the young of the earwig \»H 

 brought fonh in pairs, from the centre of each iega« 

 of the abdomen from the tail to the throat, m be errv 

 neous, the young of that insect b=ing produced in th 

 ordinary nay; most probably you have mistaken vm 

 para-ite for the young. We shall be obliged to you t,rfc 

 specimen. W.-J H C. The caterpillars on the C»Mwjli 

 identical with those on the Turnip. Oneof themnasaifaj 

 produced a moth of the Tinea xylostella, so that nup 

 time to take measures against this brod of *«"•!£ 

 Edinburgh. We believe the flies found in the Rose trWJWi 



been attacked by plehora. \V. v~ri» 



Kail: Edinburgh, Asparagus Kail is the same . a^ MOTJ 



Jerusalem, and Buda K*il. They form good tenta -mm 



when blanched like Sea-kail, by placing a garden pot oiera 



Melons*! G. Your on'y remedy against the t^l^JJ 

 Ration. The leaves are in a bad state, omog to ™a£g 

 ment of some kind. It is impossible to give plants toon- 

 air, provided it is not cold air. g 

 Sic* Plants: W C AUton ^^^l^ 



Asplenium($I)areajfl» 



Sfeethixb ; « *» apparently Aiptonium l^ouju 

 few inquiries stand over for further cou-d« ao* ^, 

 Ok^oe Teees : J. Abett. If your plant m « '<>. £,,„ 



does so because it has more t, nan . nc ^cal h.aodW* 

 to be objected to. Keep the piant in e^^&rf b* 

 fruit take Its chance. Your tree was probnWJ 



last year. . fl 011 bt pro*^ * 



Pelakgonicms : Header. Damp has no oouoti 



appearances which jour leaves exhibit.^ , ^ w ^ 



Rhubarb : J. Riley. The preserve U estremelj gw, 



better than o;ljer well-made samples. 



Na 



Myriophyllum spieatum 



Cuphea Tl»co»issiina. -QmraM. *T?™, .^.i » 

 cidium, Forst, New Zealand.-^.'- roor g> „ 

 |„ too young a state to be determined !«t MM 





Carnations 



SEEDLING FLOWERS. 



Carnations : & *. a ae»'"""» 



Well worth preserving.* „ rn „ n d varieij- i ! J* 



Paries : J Q P. A very good light P™™ ~ b J utt hean 

 sent the bottom petal has too much indentauua , 



.1 «....* fc 



may not be permaneut. * d theflow^j 



» — „..« . n j? J? Rnr crushed to pieces, » . h - t ; t ij 



1XU „„„,.- eh^nnh the pest that U^ 



sible to offer 



Petunias : G B E. Box -»» 



much injured to oomiag ^tbgg» *? &*--?- *+ 



flowers, which 



of its fine colour. It is, however a , Utile £ ^ » 



Puaiooiuox*: J W. Your "F ^anolee hea ^M 

 pieces and the petals had mued witn 



Bees 



I 



Notices to Correspondents. 



Korthwood [It ^is to be regretted that wooden hives are 

 used at all, as the frequent want of success with them doe* 

 much to prevent the more general keeping of bees among 



reached us.* , , for u3 to be able* 



Picotees : EH C. Too much faded tor i» 



any correct opinion of their merits. ^ h \ic. ^ 



Roses: C G W. 1, a pretty pmk Kose, 1 1 . g g0od . .- 



medium-sized and yery sweet. L™ ^ ^ 



not expand with us.* , ranariensis, « .^ 



Tiqr.d.Is : if. Your seedling, n ^«* C " n chiflot«,**> p 



flower, clearer yellow and larger ' nan 



spotting better defined than in that vi »* y e fc g ^ «J» 

 Verbenas: J W. Brecta, rosy ««™^ Tn e others 



appears to be the best and mast disuni, ^ 



V C ffSi. many co^cat^ V^gfi 

 late, and others are unavoidably ^w for the mf S 

 enquiries can be made. We must al 6 ° ^e^oa ^ f 

 of those numerous correspondents, *- 



interesting contributions is still oeiaj* 



t0 



