• 



582 



THE GARDENERS 



CHRONICLE 



(Sept 



£„ now much in the same condition as that of the 

 duality of flowering plants befor. the «»"***« 

 pollen-tubes with the ovules had been satisfactorily 



de Fu°r n tt f ^ents may be adduced from grounds 

 independent of the statements furnished in the report, ta 



Vine, on which I havefe^enOy^nr 

 and emitting their spores- we must ™ 



13, 



fe» 



5* 



cess 

 to its 



parent, 



i r~ o ~** v ** ^ 



on others. Besides, it must b 



*l 



* 



Ending the same views to them ; in which case 



we should have tlie remarkable phenomenon ot a ^ 



compound organism, in which a new individual, two P* ants are. distinct , otherwise the«dSiS? - 

 forcing a second generation, developed ^^ *™™J» ^T^^ 



of fertilisation, remains attached o gamcaiiy 



from which it differs totally m all 

 independent of the statements furn.sneu „. «-££"£ ' TJ a nato mical and physiological characters. It is almost 



and leaf-buds upon the same stem in the Phanerogamia, 



as parts of a single plant, yet possessing a certain *«■*■•*„.* 



amount of independent vitality. These are produced other hand ^ ^abdity to produce a sfc^V£ 

 from each other by simple extension, by a process of | on the Grape Vine, and some other «b.M*L*J* 



is i 



Atee, Lichens, and Fungi, which, « nou f Q f . uw ^ u ;g 

 A ^erfect at' present, lead to the «^^ 

 analogues of the antheridia and pistillidia of the Mosses 

 Song known, will be found in all Oyptogamous p ants 

 % The antl'viiU between the processes of animal and 

 vegetable reproduction, which appear to be offered by 

 thL new views of the nature of the phenomena m the 

 ▼ascular Cryptogams. To this last argument the re- 

 porter only briefly alludes, as it may be considered to be 

 beyond the special province of the vegetable physiologist, 

 yet when we recollect the imperceptible character ot the 

 gradations of the lower forms of the two kingdoms, 

 there seems to be far more solid ground than is admitted 

 by Schleiden, for arguing from apparent analogies be- 

 tween the phenomena presented in the two great 

 kingdoms of nature. Under the second point of 

 view mentioned above, the facts of structure may 

 loon be disposed of, so far as the analogies of form 

 are concerned ; the antheridia of the Mosses, Hepa- 

 tic*, Ferns, and Equisetaceee, agree with the small 

 Bporea of Lsoetes, Selaginella, Pilularia, and Salvinia, 

 in producing cellules in which are developed the moving 

 spiral filaments which constitute the essential character 

 of the organs of the one kind \ while the pistillidia of 

 the Moetea and Hepatic* agree with the so-called 

 "ovules" of the Ferns, Equisetaeeffl, Lycopodiacese, 

 Isoetacese, Rhizocarpete,in general structure, and in the 

 presence of the large central cell, from which the new 

 form of structure originates. The great differences 

 depend on the position, in time and space of the 

 organs, in the different classes, and on the nature 

 Of the immediate product of the so-called "embryo- 

 aac," the large central cell of the pistillidia and 

 "ovules." la the Mosses and Hepaticse, the pistil- 

 lidia occur upon the plant when the vegetative 

 Structure is perfect, and the immediate product of the 

 great cell is a sporangium. If a process of fertilisation 

 take place here, we may regard the antheridia and 

 pistillidia as analogues of the anthers and pistils of 

 flowering plants, the sporangia of their fruits ; or, with 

 Hofmeiater, we may regard the phenomenon as an 

 instance of an " alternation of generations," when the 

 pistillidia would be looked upon as an "ovule," producing 

 (in the sporangium), a new individual, of totally different 

 character from that develoued from the snore ( the leafv 



imura, vi uie .urysipne on the Gooseberr ^ *** 

 Hop differ so remarkably that they ar* *^ * 

 sidered distinct species. This Oidium th ^^ * 

 I am confident is the same on all, mii«* ;* * ' ^ 



possess- * 



This 



germination, while the Moss capsule, 

 theory be correct, is the result of a true reproductive 

 process. Moreover, we have the analogy to the increase 

 by germination in the innovations by which the leaiy 

 stems of the Mosses are multiplied. In conclusion, it is 

 remarked that their anomalous conditions lose their 

 remarkable character to a great extent, if we refuse to 

 accept the evidence of sexuality, which is brought for- 

 ward in the report. If the structures are all products 

 of mere extension or germination, the analogies which 

 have been supposed to exist between them and the 

 organs of flowering plants all fall to the ground. But, 

 believing that the hypothesis of sexuality is based 

 on solid grounds, the reporter is by no means in- 

 clined to allow the difficulty of the explanation of 

 these relations to be urged as valid argument against 

 their existence. He trusts that the present report may 

 be the means of attracting new investigators to a subject 

 which presents so many points of interest and im- 

 portance. 



Home Correspondence- 



Onions and Celery.— The following is the plan which 

 I pursue in growing these vegetables : — In the month of 

 September I manure the ground with well-decomposed 

 dung, and dig and plant it with Coleworts for use during 

 winter. As fast as it is cleared, it is ridge trenched, 

 and the manure well incorporated with the soil. In the 

 first week in March (weather permitting), I mark it into 

 beds 4 feet 6 inches wide, with 18 inches for a trench 

 between bed and bed, and the same on the outside of the 

 bed. I then take the soil out of the trench to the depth 

 of 10 inches, and place it equally over the bed. I now 

 rake the surface level, and sow my Onions, casting 1 inch 

 of soil over the seed, treading it and raking it ; imme- 

 diately afterwards, I put 6 inches of rotten manure in 

 the trenches, and dig them, which obviates the necessity 

 of making a second disturbance. I sow my Celery in a 



i - other plants. *•__ 



if the sexual most singular *«»t*W;~n tu.- .u r ^ ' w ^l 



renroductive nmv ^ 



equally common to find three distincU^^m 



lpavM. nnmplv Oidium /tnmn,,,-. & . ^OtJ^j 



must singula* l-cBuicuon. inat the Erv I k l 



always succeed the Oidium is remarUble S^l.t^ 



tW 



leaves, namely, Oidium commune, Uredo 



When u 



P 



the Ferns and hcjuisetaceee 



we find the spores producing 

 a frondose structure of definite form, upon which are 

 developed antheridia and pistillidia, or u ovules." Here 

 then we seem to have one generation complete, and the 

 new development from the u ovule" appears as a totally 

 new form, producing stem and leaves, which have a dis- 

 tinct individual form and structure, and produce the spores 

 after along period upon temporary parts of this structure, 

 on the leaves, and by no means cease to exist, when these 

 are matured. Here we seem to have a real " alternation 

 of generations," and Hofmeister compares the whole 

 permanent plant of the Fern or Equisetum, to the 

 sporangium of a Moss or Liverwort. In all the other 

 families, the Lycopodiacese, the Isoetacece, the Rhizo- 

 carpese, the pro-embryo is a very transitory production, 

 and is developed from a different spore from the spiral 

 filaments. This pro-embryo is clearly analogous to that 

 of the Ferns and Equisetacete ; and if the existence of 

 sexes be a fact, we have here a dioecious condition, as 

 contrasted with the monoecious condition in the two 

 families last named, Hofmeister here again assumes 

 that the pro-embryo, developed from the large spore, is 

 an intermediate generation, between the two perfect 

 forms of the plant. It is rather difficult to decide upon 

 the real analogies of these structures with those of 

 the flowering plants. The resemblance is so close 



f Mosses and Hepaticae and 

 , vascular Cryptogams, that 



they must be regarded as analogues ; and then the 

 lormer could not well be conceived to be analogous to 

 the pistils of flowering plants, but rather to their ovules ; 

 it tins be the case the sporangium must be considered the 

 a^logue of the perfect plant of the Fern, &c, and the 

 leafy stem as the analogue of the pro-embryo of the 

 Fern, fte. The waffllidium of the Mosses could indeed 



_ _ us analogous to the pistil of a 

 flowering plant for in that cie the spores* would be 

 ovules produced long after fertilisation ; and on the other 

 nand, if we consider the pistillidium of the Moss as 



ZZ^^V 1 ^^ be ~** a ^us ^ that of tE 

 Conifene, m whlch a large number of 



vesicles or rudiments 



term). In the plants are thinned out to about 2 inches apart, but 



the "ovules 



hardly be 



embryonal 



of embryos are produced 

 bHnched ext 



extremities of the 

 seem to lose the analogy 

 of the pistillidium of the 



suspensors, then we 



between the product 



Moss and that of the ovuleTf tC'FernTnnless we 



consent to regard the entire plant of a Se ™Fot m 



analogous to the ovule of a Conifer. Perhaps the time 



has hardly come for us to arrive at rmv n™ i 



thpsAnlor^a TUni -*iive at any conclusion on 



and toee., less striking!,, ttgS*"-' 



dLSS T*, an ! ° g0US t0 , th0Se whi " h ^ve 

 aesenbed under the name of " alternation* *r „ 



k_ _? _M_-j ^pr.i = 



Mosses bear 



been 



they are never pricked out. About the first week in 

 June, they are ready to plant into the trenches. I then 

 cut off the tap roots, but I never cut the leaves. I put 

 two rows in a trench about 6 inches apart, placing the 

 plants triangularly ; I plant a row of Cauliflowers 15 

 inches from the outer trench : these are off before the 

 Celery requires earthing, as I follow the plan recom- 

 mended in your Paper, of not earthing up my Celery 

 till the end of September, which I find an excellent prac- 

 tice. The Onions are harvested before then, conse- 

 quently one crop does not interfere with the other, and 

 both arrive at the greatest perfection. /. Steel, Gardener, 

 Bolton Hall, Clitkeive. 



The Hop Mildew.— Having taken an opportunity of 

 carefully examining Dr. Plomley's drawing of the Hop 

 fungus, I cannot concur in the remarks made thereon in 

 your Paper of July 26, p. 467. In the first place, the 

 natural position of the Oidium is not correctly shown, the 

 upright stems being represented, some vertically, others 

 in a descending direction, and all, if I remember rightly, 

 solitary ; whereas, their usual habit is to issue in tufts 

 from one to five, or more, 

 nearly at right angles with 

 the matrix, thus. This mis- 

 take no doubt originated in 

 the drawing being made by a 

 third party from a prepared 

 specimen, as stated, instead of from the living plant. 

 So far from its showing " in the clearest manner the 

 origin of the Erysiphe from the Oidium," by the 

 * swelling out" of one of the joints of the latter, in order 

 to its being converted into the globular peridium of the 

 Erysiphe, this appears to me to be in reality impossible, 

 inasmuch [as the joint of the Oidium is four times as 

 large as the young plant of the Erysiphe, and for the 

 greater to swell into the less is against the rules of 

 geometry. The two plants are shown nearly of these 

 relative dimensions by Dr. Plomley, and I cannot 

 for a moment suppose it is intended that a mature 

 joint of the Oidium should become a half- grown 

 Erysiphe, while so many plants in different stages 

 of j growth 1 arel springing up around it after the 

 order of Nature— some not much larger than the 

 spondia— others full grown, and bringing forth fruit 

 after their kind. It is true Dr. Plomley 's drawing 

 exhibits certain joints of the Oidium of a darker colour 

 than others, and these have been supposed to swell into 

 the Erysiphe, although the supporting threads charac- 

 teristic of this genus are wanting, and their respective 

 size, shape structure, ami contents differ very materially 

 It is also admitted by all that some of these joints, at 

 least, contain reproductive spores, and if they do swell 

 into an Erysiphe (which I have not been able to 



Aregma mucronatum. This 

 not of much importance ; 



has 



I ^- 

 ** 



<»»,rc«-iri~_ ™ ~~ «« v ^_, _. ucucve, Deiore Dr 



figure, in what way the one ;plant might be' 



p:^ 



shown, I believe, before Dr *** 



one 'plant might be e«___ 

 with the other ; for the Erysiphe and its W» 

 distinctly perfect, without the Oidium, aoi!____. 

 appear until after the other has passed off ftJ?? 

 a week or more after the leaf has h^n «**u J_!??% 



gathers 



mutt 



plants are generically distinct. 

 arnica Veritas.- 



ceresung and fontfifc 

 Amicus Plato «J mk 

 F. J. Graham, Cramford, Sept j. ^ 

 vumius jfian of Wintering Potatoes (see pi * 

 I have never read Mr. CuthiU'a book, but from qZZ 

 and remarks upon it whioh have come under myoW 

 vation, I apprehend that the principle of hiameCrf 

 wintering Potatoes consists in keeping them <fo ^ 

 cool, and rubbing off the sprouts before they ha 

 long enough to abstract much of the nutriment 



in the tuber. Now, although Mr. Cuthiirspre8cn|iiiaj 

 not have been followed to the letter in the way P^ 

 have always been wintered here, yet I maintain dttfc 

 conditions he insists upon (if I rightly understand 1^ 

 have been sufficiently observed to warrant my 

 that u there is no connection whatever between 

 wintering of the sets and the Potato disease 

 consequently, that a remedy founded upon I 

 tion that there is such a connection, is "alia wit* 

 " Chynoweth " also has fallen into a slight eirorfltn* 

 this expression is not too strong for him), in kfang 

 that because our Potatoes are laid in heaps from net 

 two feet thick, they must necessarily be injured fy if. 

 mentation. Nothing of the kind can take pke,is fcy 

 are always dry when stored, never covered wrthaylia| 

 to exclude the free access of air, and always spwated 

 soon as that process is required ; in short, it is sawdy 

 possible for Potatoes to be wintered under more fm* 

 able circumstances than they are here, and yet n it 

 equally as subject to the disease as our neighbors. I 

 shall perhaps be told that all this amounts to wkii$, 

 inasmuch as Mr. Cuthill's system has not been tficty 

 followed ; but will any disinterested person (girag m 

 name and address), come forward and ajtbtfcygi^ 

 tising Mr. C/s plan he has preserved bis crops mm 

 disease \ A few authenticated cases of this kad *** 

 prove that the mistake is on my part, and not on M 

 Cu thill's. At present, however, I see no re«» 

 change the opinion I have always held— that tte m 

 of the Potato disease is wholly atmosphenc. lMipj 

 of Mr. Cuthill's remedy, as propounded by ' thjw^ 

 is, in my opinion, erroneous. By prevent*? •" 

 exhaustion of the seed tuber, which is all tW" 

 effected by any method of wintering it, *' e T"rj 

 obtain a more vigorous plant; but has it ever W 

 that luxuriant growth insures freedom ^ fflt JTJ 

 under consideration. On the contrary, I M^r 

 observed that the strongest, and consequently wn»~ 

 culent, vegetation, is the most severely affectea^o 

 the poison begins to spread. J. B. Whl ^™J^ 

 [We regret to be obliged to observe, Wlthr ^fe 

 communication from so respectable a pe ^ 

 Whiting, that it is unusual to criticise boo* 

 reading them, and unfair to condemn ^y^TY f* 

 without having tried it exactly as it u d«n ^ 

 regard to the theory of Mr. Cuthil s pract^ 

 add that it is by no means what Mr. w . » nr- 

 be. As for atmospheric causes, tney - v^^ 

 lunar influences, electrical conditions, ^fT^k 

 sions- phrases which simply indicate tn» 



unknown.] x , . Tj ftrflQ H^* 



Gardening News.-We learn that WW ^ 



sold all his plants and houses, &c., to a ^ 

 who has a fine estate at Florence, wherej^ 





transp«r 



,c s» 



will be sent. It is considered »» «■ 



will cost about 2500/. sterling ! A Vim 



Cuthill's System of Growing Po^ rf p** 



• ,me remarks on my pW» ' rf & 



early Potatoes, I shall take this JJJJSW 



having offered some remai 



- " • * i inw «frv ,A.~,k,i . 



Touring to maKe mm uenci »^-— , _ af , n< i3i> or ' 1 *M 

 for it il evident that he neither ^^pble. <•£ 

 lowed my system, as laid down in ^J^^JJI 

 Potato. I first began to think ^^s^dK 

 managed when I lived with the late i»_- ^ ^ pr 



m 



ston. It was customary m those *P!»&1* 

 oune and Deanston to give then g 

 h\\ sum of money for a pie« > « 

 on, the farmer to work tlie 



le to find dung and sets. I ' 



s of this ■- • M 

 which he thoug 



kind, eaca ^ 





ovules 



the other families, we] .can hardly 



to the 



discover) this must in return -produce the Oidium. But using that kind o! manure -.-•-. . and ^-^ 



L ■ u ^ theSe ^" k J° lnts on P lan t« on which the his L favourite variety of P« ^ nliU1 '5 ^ 



seen- for instance, on the Grape time, 30 j ;rs bc<>, I ,i; ' ve , 8e t^ the c 1 " 4 ' 



" ^HT" cone up well, while anothers bna 





more 



ntainicg 



