18., 1.1 



THE GARDENERS' (IIROMCLE. 



533 



^» 



■■ 



•!•• 



rtment ; but. of course, they should newr I m 

 see each other. I have given a fair character 

 H both,— have " nothing t \tenuated nor set down aught 

 fc malice ' tlierefore, gentle reader — 



" Utium bonizn mavis tccipe!* 



j t rests with yourself to make a " happy choice." May 

 little friend do honour to his patron's judgment 

 tarn Kidd. 



BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVAXCE- 

 Z MENT OF SCIENCE. 



Sktion D. Monday, July 1th. — Report on the 

 y y of Seeds. — The report this year consisted of a 

 Hit of the seeds, and the length of time they had been 

 kept* which had been sown by the committee during 

 thf past year. The season was not sufficiently advanced 

 lo give any further information. Professor llenslow 

 laid, that as one of the committee appointed to report 

 on this subject, he had planted several seeds this year, 

 and out of these two species had grown. They botl 

 belonged to the order Leguminosae, and one was pro- 

 duced from seed 17, and the other from seed 20 years 

 old. On the whole, it appeared that the seeds of 

 Leguminosse retained their vitality longest Tourne- 

 fort had recorded an instance of Beans growing after 

 having been kept 100 years ; and Willdenow had 

 observed a Sensitive- plant to grow from seed that had 

 been kept GO years. The instances of plants growing 

 from seeds f»und in mummies were all erroneous. 

 Some seeds which had been recently obtained from a 

 mummy toaab, with great care, had been sown, and 

 came up, but turned out to be Maize. This at onc< 

 show 1 that some error or fraud had been committed 

 in obtaining the seeds, as the Maize was a plant of the 

 > jw World. Even in the case recorded by 1 >r. Lindk-y , 

 of a Raspberry seed found in the interior of a soldier's 

 stomach who had been buried* some hundreds of years, 



and which had grown, it was now known that the seed 

 hail l*een introduced into the body after its disinterment. 

 Dr. Lankester hoped that the committee w ould follow- 

 up their experiments by some general deductions with 

 regard toth' rnture of the seeds which resisted the action 

 of external influences best, as well as thenature of the cir- 

 cumstances which were most favourable to the retention of 

 vitality in the seed. He enquired as to whether the origin 

 of the seeds which produced new plants after the clearing 

 of forests, or the digging up of new ground, was known. 

 —Dr. Cleghorn s/ated that he did not know how the 



ow t 



of new plants were conveyed to the spot, but he 

 had often seen after the burning or clearing a forest in 

 India, new plants sprung up which had not been seen 

 in the spot before. — Mr. Babington related a case in 

 which M. Fries, of Upsala, succeeded in growing a 

 species of Ilieracium from seeds which had been in hi 

 herbarium upwards of 50 years. Desmoulins recorded 

 au instance of the opening of some ancient tombs in 

 which seed was found, and on being planted they pro- 

 duced species of Scabiosa and Heliotropium. Recently 

 some seeds from Egypt were sown in Cambridge which 

 were thought to have germinated, but on examining 

 them they were covered with a pitchy substance, which 

 had evidently been applied subsequent to their ger- 

 mination, and thus they had preserved the appearance 

 of growth through a long period of time. 



subject, and 1 liave no desire to regard it as a popular 

 delusion, or to raise any outcry against my over- 

 scepticism b declaring in this case that * seeing Is not 

 believing," as in the viper question. J. \ 1/cnsl 

 ///Vfiam, A ugust 20. 



At the exhibition held in the Surrey 

 Zoological Gardens, on the 13th inst., I noticed 

 interesting collection of Lancashire Gooseberries, con- 

 tributed by Mr. J. Holland, of Middleton, near Man- 

 chester. It consisted of 36 varieties, including green, 

 yellow, white and red kinds ; and as some may be 

 interested in knowing their nanit 1 have ventured to 

 furnish you with them. They were : Queen Vic: 

 Conquering Hero, Snowball, Dublin, Great Britaij 

 Rough Green, Red Robin, General Moore, Thunder, 

 Broom Girl, Birdlime, Pilot, Overall, Oak mere, Cathe- 

 rina, Freedom, Peru, Slaughterman, Companion, Capt 

 Cook, London, Lord Middleton. Morton Hero, Wihnslow, 

 Wonderful, Drill, Eagle, A way- she-goes, Tally-ho, Snow- 

 drop, Leader, Ricardo, Lady Leicester, Lightning, 



White Seedling, and a Seedling. A Medal was awarded 

 them. A. B. 



E< g Plants in Pots t<> the opm Air in immer. — 



Greenhouse plants in pots placed out of doors in summer 

 almost invariably get the foliage spoiled, directly they 

 are exposed. The leaves turn reddish brown in lour, 

 or become covered with yellow or red spots, assuming 

 a very shabby appearance until the plants have time to 

 produce fresh foliage adapted to their new situation. 

 I am speaking of plants set in a sunny place ; and if the 

 pots are on b:)ardB, or bricks, they are continually 

 being blown down, and the plants bruised, and often 

 broken. If the pots are plunged t which is the best plan 

 of the two), then the roots get through the holes in th 

 bottom of the pots, and must be cut off when the pots 

 are lifted in autumn, and probably worms will have 

 found their way into the pots, with all the precautions 

 taken to prevent them. It may he urged, why not choose 

 a^shady place for the plants ; but, as th J are turned 

 out to hard- and ripen, is the shade likely to effect 

 that ? I believe that plants are turned out in summer 

 lerely because they will live out, and because it used to 

 be the practice to place them cut of doors at that season, 

 rather than on account of any real benefit they derive 

 from exposure. At least I must say that I have hitherto 

 been unable to discover any beneficial results from the 

 practice. These remarks d<> not apply to Pelargoniums, 

 Calceolarias, Fuchsias, and such like things, which no 

 doubt (after flowering) are the better for l>emg out of 

 doors, previously to being cut down : nor to plants in 

 very large pots or tubs, as they are better aide to resist 

 the variations of temperature that occur in the open air ; 



that my b- - won occupied in resisting the intruders, 



and defending their habitations. Hi\es 2 and 3 were 

 successful in repelling the attack ; but hive No. 1 (that 

 which had been weakened by throwing off two swarms), 

 was not so fortunate. The robbers concentrated their 

 attack upon that bfve. I rendered my bees assistance 

 by making the entrance of the hive very small ; but 

 after several days' hard fighting, the robbers obtained 

 possession of the hii I never kill m\ ses for the 

 sal of the honey ; but I determined to kill the robbers, 

 and not allow them to lord it over my bees and steal 

 my honey. Anon, the brimstone paper was prepared, the 

 hive lifted from the bee-house and plaeed over the fatal 

 pit ; in a few minutes the robbers in the hive were dead, 

 and 1 had 20 lbs. of beautiful honey. O erving that 



other robber bees, which had not been enclosed in the 



hive, still rushed into the bee house, I nut some honey- 

 comb under an empty hive, into which the robbers imme- 

 diately rushed ; when the rush had ceased, I s >ppedupthe 

 entrance of the hive with clay (I have this autumn zinc 

 sliitee to cover the entrances of the hives), and put some 

 lighted brimstone paper under it ; in a few minutes the 

 entrapped robbers were dead. By the time our trap 

 was again prepared a crowd of bees were thronging 

 around it, and as soon as tin 'ay was rcmo> I from 

 the entrance in they rushed, and met the robber's fate, 

 Uy pursuing this plan for a few hours, we led in 



destroying all the robl>crs ; the next morning w were 

 free. If robber bees should again attack m\ hives, I 

 shall r< move the hive attacked, d • tin • nt ranees of 

 all my other hives, and use the trap, and when the 

 robber bees are defeated return the hive to its 



U led place. Mjr two hives have each thrown off a 

 swarm and a cast; the first swarms have filled their 

 hives, and are working for me, and 1 hope to have several 



pounds of honeycomb. CV>f Vrau 



Fuchsia ( vUina. — 1 hasten to correct an error I 

 have made respecting the parentage of this truly fine 

 variety, which in my opinion is the very best dark sort 

 that has yet been raised. It is not a • *s from radicans, 

 which would have given a coarseness it does not possess. 

 It was obtained from F. Fxoniensis, fertilised by mon- 

 tana, which is, I believe, a Brazilian species: this 



information has \ n kindly communicated to me by 

 Mr. Pince, who raised the variety. I thank W T. S." 

 rr his hint respecting a r« ust light variety of Fuchsia. 

 Is Sidonia, of which I hear much, likely to suit me also ! 

 A Patonian. 



Potato iHmsm. — Mr. CuthuTs cure for the Potato 



disease is all a mistake. There is no connexion what- 

 ever between tine wintering of the sets and that diro 

 \isitation. At this place our Potatoes are wintered in 





but nothing in comparison to choice greenhouse plants 

 in small pots. Thomas ]> 7, Ami 'ton Hall. 

 Seedling P r& — Most people arc of opinion that 



they are at liberty * to do what they like with their own," 

 and I know of no good reason for disturbing tl hui£ 

 recognised custom. If Mr. A. purchases the stock 

 of a seedling flower from Mr. B., and Mr. B. 

 does not stipulate to the contrary, Mr. A., or rather 

 say Mr. Faul, has certainly a right, both by law and 

 by custom, to add his name to that of the variety, as 

 in the case of the Roses alluded to by " Enquirer " in 

 your last Number. If, however, the raiser sells his 

 stock, with the understanding that his name is to be 

 Home Correspondence. retained, then few would, I hope, care to break 



Vitality of Seeds. — In your leading article, at p. 61 5 j faith. I could enumerate many instances in support 

 ou ay I have called in question the accuracy of a story ; of Mr. Paul's position ; the well known Pansy, 



about a Roman, who seems to have died of a surfeit of j Duchess of Rutland, was raised by Mr. Hale, of 



Raspberry jam, or, at least, of some complaint for ) Hillingdon, and the stock was purchased by Mr. Thomson, 



which Raspberries had been prescribed, about 1600 



years ago, in Dorsetshire, The record of this fact is 



supposed to have been preserved by the unimpaired 



vitality of certain seeds, which were disentombed from 



the very spot where his digestive apparatus had left 



them whilst it was passing into decay. I see no objectionJ assumed the right of "calling itself the raiser. But 



to admitting the fact, if it has been duly authenticated, (although such cases might be multiplied ad infinitum 



^4 «~* ^ 1* A —.,-.. _ A At * _ A . -.__!•! V m * I 1 • i *1 a ■ . • * . 1 I* » 1 £* 



such things as these, however, suffer in some degree, large caves scooped out of a sandy bank. On the dry 





of Iver, but the variety is only known as Thomson's : 

 again, the fancy Dahlia, " Mrs. Hansard," was raised 

 from s< i of yellow standard by myself ; the parent 

 root was parted with to a firm trading under the deno- 

 mination of the Metropolitan Union, which by custom 



at our late meeting at Ipswich. If any one will take 

 the trouble to refer back to the Gardeners" Chronicle 

 for 1846, p. 757, he will find an early intimation of 

 tny opinion, that the carefully-performed experiment 

 in which a grain of Wheat from the Catacombs of 

 Egypt was supposed to have germinated, is not suffi- 

 ciently trustworthy, for the reasons there stated. But 

 neither there nor elsewhere have I asserted the impos- 

 sibility of seeds germinating after a lapse of hundreds or 

 thousands of years. I conceive it to be an unsettled 

 point under what precise conditions seeds may be able 

 to retain their vitality for any lengthened period. Any 

 experiment tending to prove that Wheat from the Cata- 

 combs can germinate, ought to be placed above all 

 suspicion. The so-called mummy-wheat has become 

 • marketable commodity ; and I believe few persons 

 have now any faith in its parentage having been 

 Wch as the experiment alluded to would have us 

 believe. It was in alluding to the doubts I had pre- 

 viously expressed on this point, that some one referred 

 to the Raspberry case. I bad formerly heard, as well 

 ** yourself, that some fraud had been practised md I 

 Merely asked whether any one present was sufficiently 

 Acquainted with the particulars of the case to substantiate 

 or to contradict the story. Other cases were mentioned 

 ll * which buried seeds had germinated long after the 

 Period when they must have been deposited in the 

 f*9tind. ' " 



I 



officially, as required by your corrc -spondent 



that the officers of the National Floricultural Society 



imagine 



bottom of these the tubers are spread, from 1 to 2 fleet 

 hick, according to the quantity we happen to have ; and 

 as the arrangement affords ready access to them at all 

 times, they can be sprouted whenever necessary. In 

 spite of "these favourable conditions, however, our 

 Potatoes are as subject to disease as our neighbours', and 

 I can only manage to supply a large demand by plant- 

 ing largely such sorts as ordinarily ripen their tubers 

 before the disease sets in. J. D. W kiting. 



Fleming's Salting Machine.—! beg to inform Mr* 

 Bailey that I have had one of these machines in opera- 

 tion 10 days during the present month, and I am 

 highly pleased with the satisfactory and effectual 

 manner in which it performs its work. The quantity 

 of gravel already operated on is nearly two acres ; the 

 cost for salt, coal, and labour is — Two tons salt, at 22*., 

 2L As. ; half a ton coal, at 22*., 11*. J man 10 days, at 

 Is. 6d. 9 155. : total, 32. 10*. The extent of walk* here, 

 when completed, will be about four acres ; and the 

 annual cost for cleaning, according to the above esti- 

 mate, will be 11. Previously to the employment of this 

 machine they were a perfect turf of weeds and moss, 

 notwithstanding the constant labour of four people on 

 them, viz., three women and one boy. The expenses 

 for nine months cleaning in this manner last year were 



able condition. 



that the cost 



doubly counter- 



cders here will 



probably be more profitably employed otherwise. 

 Trentham is universally admitted to be one of the best 

 have no more right to question the exhibitor of a seed- ! managed places in the kingdom ; but this is only 

 ling upon the terms existing between buyer and seller, ! effected by great skill, assisted by Shank's No. 1 Grass- 

 than it would have to ask Mr. Turner whether or not* cutting, and, according to Mr. Bailey, Fleming's No. 2 

 he bad paid Mr. Hoyle for the Pelargoniums about to I salting machine ; the latter is suitable for every de- 

 be let out, or whether Mr. Keynes had paid Mr. Dodds ! 

 for certain Dahlias long since sold out. In the case of 



time, the system of turning walks, which a few years ago 

 was not unknown even at Nuneham, would be obviated, 

 and his present hostility to the unlucky machine, I 

 venture to surmise, would soon vanish. R. Rtberism, 

 gardener to Lady Emily Foley, Stoke Edith Park, Here- 



ford, A ugnst 20. 



Garden Walks.— Does Mr. Thorold (see p. 518) mean 



! 



the stock of a flower being sold, say to two different 

 parties, however, then the raiser's name should cer- 

 tainly be retained, as any other course might be pro- 

 ductive of much confusion. /. Edwards, Wace Cottage, 

 Holloway. 



Bees. — In your Paper of the 18th January this year, 



a correspondent, under the signature " II. M.," sought 

 for information " how to defeat the attacks of robber 

 bees." I have not seen any satisfactory answer to his 

 inquiry ; and as the season when hives are generally 

 attacked is at hand, I venture to offer the following 

 remarks : — " Robber bees " generally attack hives rich 

 in honey, weak in be . I had a hive which swarmed 

 on the 16th May, 1850, and again ten days afterwards. 

 Hie swarms were large, and consequently the parent 

 stock was much weakened ; but my bees worked busily 

 till the end of August, when I observed they were 

 much disturbed, flying about their hives, but not going 

 off to gather food, I soon detected the presence of 



scription of garden, more especially where the hands are 

 limited. If Mr. Bailey had one in use for a short 



■ 



that marl and coarse gravel will make a w r alk so firm, 

 dry, and hard, that no weeds will grow on it ? If so, I 

 must beg to differ from him. Marl is an unctuous sub- 

 stance, anything but sterile, and its exposure to the 

 atmosphere must soon render it as fertile in weeds as pit 

 gravel becomes under such circumstances. I have heard a 

 great deal about concrete walks, bu 1 1 have never seen them 

 in good working order at all seasons, except when they 

 have been made at much expense ; and, even then, it 

 seemed doubtful whether they would be as durable 3 

 was expected. Walks formed of the waste material 

 of certain poisonous substances, as copperas, sal ammo- 



1 am glad you have invited attention to the | « stranger bees " to be the cause of the commotion, and niac, soda, &c. (which are only to be had where suck 



