



■ 









■1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



645 



UlMf 



u 



t __ parasites were not previously 



CS/'l'iie conclusion -, then, as Morren well re- 

 ^Sd itipccun^ the former, tliat they must have 

 *** nported, and there is no more difficulty in this 



nor indeed so much, as that of the introduction 

 1#_iA t »,,*ntity of white Clover seed into the tracts 

 _ j^jeTT'1 from the sea. In every branch of natural 



there are difficulties enough, and it would be 

 _i^1iinr indeed if there were none where such minute 

 |2ietions are concerned. The reflective mind will 

 Sa observe with combined wonder and admiration 

 Jithe Almighty produces effects of great magnitude 

 **j importance, which are at the first view altogether 

 •^^ Mfurate with the causes from whence they are 



ORCHIDS FOR THE MILLION.— No. XIX. 



ft B. S- Williams, £r. to C. B. Warner, E«q. Hoddesdon. 



Cu*±* E H° T AND ^ AMP - — Plants which are Grown 

 j5 Baskets with Peat, or Moss and Potsherds. 

 fatUhes macrantha. — This extraordinary plant 

 from theCaraccas, and flowers in May and June, 



£e lip ^ re( *j tne rest °^ tne fl°wer orange-yellow, 

 m&td with dull purple. It remains hut three or 

 far days in perfection. It will grow on a block, but 

 feim'best in a basket, with moss ana" peat, and pots- 

 fcrds, broken very small. It should be suspended 

 that part of the roof wheffe there is plenty of light 

 jad moisture in the growing season. 



Coryantkes speciosa. — This is another singular Orchid, 

 which comes from Demerara ; it flowers in May and 

 Jane, and remains but three or four days in bloom. 

 It requires the same treatment as the former. 



Cmaroti t purpurea, comes from Sylhet ; it flower 



an' March to May, and lasts in bloom two or three 

 veeks. Tin's is best grown in a basket, with sphagnum, 

 pat, and potsherds, suspended from the roof. In the 

 growing season, it should have a good supply ^>f heat 

 lad moisture ; afterwards it may be kept rather dry. 



Houlktia Brocklehurstiana, comes from Brazil ; it 

 towers in October, and remains a long time in perfec- 

 tion. I: docs well In a basket with Sphagnum^ and 

 pit, and potsherds, suspended from the roof, where 

 is a good supply of heat and moisture during the 

 growing season ; afterwards it may be kept rather dry. 



Om dium Lanceanum. — This fine species, from 

 Surinam, will grow on a block, but it does best in a 

 ksket with sphagnum, peat, and broken potsherds, 

 •pended from the roof, where it can have plenty ot 

 ketUnd moisture during the growing season ; its ilowers 

 ftmain four or five weeks in perfection. 



Oncidium flexuosu . — A very neat and handsome 

 towering species, from Brazil ; the blossoms are yellow, 

 ■Bgbtly spotted with brown ; it will last in bloom from 

 lm to five weeks. 



Oncidium flexuosum majus. — This is much finer 

 the former one. It flowers in July, and remains 

 lag in perfection. 



Oncidium Lifo'ium. — An interesting species, from 

 MflBte Video ; the labellum is large, and of a beautiful rich 

 jdow, the sepals and petals being small and brownish ; 

 Ae flowers remain long in perfection. It will succeed on 

 * block, but does best in a basket, with sphagnum, and 

 pat, and potsherds, suspended from the roof, in a shady 

 pwt of the house, where there is plenty of heat and 

 ■ofeture during the growing season ; afterwards it may 

 te kept rather dry. 



Oncidium longifolium, from Mexico. The flowers are 

 ydlow, blotched with brown, and the labellum entirely 

 yellow. It will remain two or three weeks in bloom. 

 It will grow on a block ; but it does best in a basket with 

 •088, peat, and potsherds. 



Brass i a maculata major 9 from Jamaica, flowers in 

 ■av and June ; it remains long in perfection, and 

 Squires the same treatment as the last. 



Actncta Humboldt i 9 comes from La Guayra, and 

 ■ewers in May and June. It grows well in moss and 

 r*t in a basket, suspended from the roof. 



Acineta Barkeri, from Mexico, flowers in June and 

 ;tah\ It will succeed on a block, but also does well 

 Bu basket with moss and peat, suspended from the roof, 

 *fore it can receive a liberal supply of heat and mois- 

 y& during the growing season : afterwards it should be 

 wpt rather dry. 



AngrcEcum caudatiim, comes from Sierra Leone, and 

 *^ers in July and August. The blossoms are of a 

 greenish yellow, mixed with brown ; the labellum is 

 £jj* ^hite, from which proceeds a tail about nine inches 



D ?» of a pale green colour. The flowers remain 

 J?3 m perfection. The plant succeeds well in a basket 



(f th D l 0SS ' pCat ' aml P otsuer<is > suspended from the roof 

 ™ house, where there is plenty of heat and moisture 





widely. Among the multitude of my visitors wag 

 gentleman, who informed me that a friend of his was 

 possessed of a most wonderful bird, that he should much 

 like me to see and hear. I took the address, and went 

 at an early day to view the prodigy. 



On entering the house referred to, and on presenting 

 my card, I was at once ushered into the drawing-room. 

 I there saw two cages — nightingale cages — suspended on 

 the wall. One of them, with a nightingale in it, had an 

 open front ; the other had a green curtain drawn down 

 over the front, concealing the inmate. After a little 

 discourse on the subject of ornithology, ray host asked 

 me — if I should like to hear one of his nightingales sing ? 

 Of course, I was all expectation. Placing me beneath 

 the cage, and drawing up the curtain before alluded to, 

 the bird above, at a whistle from his master, broke out 

 in a succession of straius that I never heard surpassed 

 by any nightingale. Chey were indeed surprisingly 

 eloquent, "j What a nightingale ! " ejaculated 1. 



The rapid utterance of the bird, his perfect abandon 

 to the inspiration of his muse, and his indifference t 

 all around him, caused me to involuntarily exclaim with 



Coleridge 



mission was granted 



u 'Th'it strain again I ! 



Full f;iiu it would delay me." 



And so it did. I stood riveted to the spot, knowing 

 how seldom nightingales in a cagejso deported themselves. 



After listening some time, and expressing my astonish- 

 ment at j the long repeated e Hurts of the performer — so 

 unusual, I asked to be allowed a sight of him. Per- 



; — the curtain was raised, and 1 

 saw before me, — a Robin!! This bird liad been brought 

 up under the nightingale from his very earliest infancy ; 

 nd not only equalled, but very far surpassed, his master 

 in song. Indeed he put him down, and silenced him 

 altogether. This identical bird, I should add, was sold 

 a few weeks afterwards, for nine guineas — he was worth 

 the money. In this case the robin retained no one 

 single note of his own, whereby the finest ear could 

 detect him ; and this paves the way to still more singular 

 discoveries hereafter. 



• 



The above is one curious fact out of very many others 

 that I could cite, if necessary. All birdi wfaote larynx 

 is large, are capable of similar excellence. Even the 

 house sparrow (Passer domesticus) has been known to 

 rival and to surpass the "canary in song. Indeed, if 

 taken very young, and kept in the company of canaries 

 only, he is one of the most apt and ready of pupils. 

 This is no secret to the curious observer. The great 

 difficulty in making these experiments exists in the 

 impossibility, or impracticability, of getting a quiet room, 

 whore no other voices than those of master and pupil 

 c.tn be heard. Thus, many are reared in cellars, by 

 gas-light; and kept there till "true" to^ their Bong. 

 The "principle," however, is still good, let your birds 

 be educated where they may. 



The Hon. Daines Barrington, to^ whom, as a most 

 valuable authority, I shall often have occasion to refer 

 confirms my observations to the full. One, however, of 

 his remarks, shall suffice for the present. Speaking of 

 the education of young birds, he says, * I have educated 

 nestling linnets under the three best singing larks ; viz., 

 the sky-lark, wood- lark, and the tit-lark. Every one of 

 these, instead af adhering to the linnet's song, adhered 

 entirely to that of their respective instructors." A very 

 little reflection will show us how natural this is. 



I have recently been asked to give my opinion, as to 

 whether young birds, if confined in a cage, and allowed 

 to hear no bird whatever sing to them, — would, or would 

 not, themselves use the note peculiar to their parents \ 

 My reply to this question is, — that they would most 

 assuredly "record" the song peculiar to their own 

 tribe, and none other ; under the circumstances stated. 

 Gilbert White, in an experiment he made with some 

 chaffinches (too long to quote here), sets this question 

 quite at rest, nor can there be any reasonable doubt 



about it. 



If we narrowly watch the ways of Nature in all these 

 matters, our reward will be great. We shall find her on 

 every occasion consistent with herself ; and that so ^r 

 from there being any one thing left to " chance," all is 

 " well ordered and sure." It is only when we mortals 

 interfere, with our (so called) li improvements," that we 

 find " exceptions " from'general rules. And in no case 

 do we more offend against Nature's laws than in our 

 "improvement" on the early education of the innocent 

 little creatures about which we are now discoursing. — 

 William Kidd. 



without this covering I * removed ; when u is. the 

 damp is found to be making sad havoc ; a little air is 

 given, which, with the feeble heat of the sun, causes the 

 plants to flag; and well they may, for the soil in the 

 pots is very dry, but no water can be given, it would so 

 fearfully increase the dampness of the pit The month 

 of February is reached, mildew is spreading iu all 

 directions, and continues to do so, in spite of sulphur or 

 any appliance whatever, until at last a third of the plants 

 are found to be dead, and the remainder so muck 

 diseased, that half of them at bedding-out time are 

 valueless ; in consequence of this, the flower beds*are 

 so thinly planted that it is late in the summer before 

 they are covered, and hence arises one of the principal 

 objections to this mode of flower gardening. Now, con- 

 sidering the expense of building these pits, the space of 

 ground they occupy,' the cost of mats, the frequent 

 breakage of glass, and the amount of labour involved in 

 their management, with the unsatisfactory result of their 

 use, it must, 1 think, be admitted that the contrivance 

 is anything but a good one. This being my opinion, I 



have for the last three years ceased to store flower 



garden plants of any kind in pits, using in preference a 

 small greenhouse. In this house (the dimensions of 



which I am unable to furnish, h: ing now left the 

 place), I had a trellis made marly on a level with the 

 bottom of the front lights, these being hung on hinges 

 were capable of being raised by weii:- to admit air, as 

 circumstances might require ; this trellis was fill* I 

 with - r )-inch pots, in each of which about 20 cut- 

 had previously been struck. Now, as 49 of 

 ots, containing together 980 plants, would stand 

 saeh square yard of trellis, ample means were 

 thus a fiord ed of keeping an immense stock of Verbenas 

 and plants of similar habits, independently of the stae 

 which was kept for Geraniums and Calceolarias. Under 

 the stage I made a Mushroom bed, and under the trellis 

 I placed, for rooting, the potted bulbs intended for 

 winter forcing, My mode of treatment with the plants 

 thus preserved, was to make the cuttings a little 



t earlier in the season than this, choosing the poind 



to strike them 







tings 

 th 



upon 



watering 



i 



daring the 



growing season. 



BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



N °. XLIX, 



(Cage Birds, No. 33.) 



, . Having now disposed of a variety of 



cresting matters, particularly relating to the season 

 ^autumn, and the time for the migration of our 

 of ^ V vis * fcors > we w iH return anon to the consideration 

 *ie more weighty topics, as promised. Previous to 

 ««, nowever, we will resume the subject already intro- 

 ^ of a bird's early education. 



most remarkable instance I ever remember to 

 r*' e met 



to Jp^ sup P assin g "is tutor^ ™** about nine years ago 

 " theT n i" Street > Haymarket. At that period, I revelled 

 _. "disturbed enjoyment of a large aviary, num- 



mth f of a young pupil not only imitating 



Vk tfft » - m— _ m. 



•M 





Home Correspondence. 



Flower Garden Plants. — There are few things con- 

 nected with gardening which require more, or receive 

 less thoughtful attention than the management of flower 

 garden plants, during the winter and spring months. 

 The well-known fact of Verbenas and many other 

 bedding plants being half hardy, ha%encouraged the idea 

 of a slight protection, only, being necessary for their 

 preservation from frost ; and the only provision made to 

 secure this has, in many places, been the erection of 

 ranges of brick pits with glass lights; and as any means 

 of applying artificial heat was considered unnecessary, 

 none have been employed. As I have for several years 

 watched the effect of this treatment, I will just describe 

 what I have seen. About this time, or a little earlier, 

 the cuttings are struck, after a while they are potted 

 singly in small pot*, and then placed in the pit, where 

 they enjoy plenty of air and light. For a time they 

 row most vigorously, but then comes short days and 



of short jointed healthy shoots ; to strike tnem in 

 close frame without heat, gradually harden and 

 fop them, then fully expose them to the wcSther, 

 when at all* fine, till the middle of October, the 

 time of housing. After this, I regularly dusted a little 

 sulphur over them once a fortnight, brushing it well 

 about the leaves, and attended very particularly to the 



for I am convinced that nothing tends more 

 to the increase of mildew and the injury of all plants in 

 pots than dryness at the roots. By strict attention to 

 these points, and by 1 i-ping the house both cool and 

 airy, the plants made but little growth, and were always 

 healthy and hardy. About the middle of February th* 

 points of all the shoots were taken off and struck in an 

 early Vinery. Early in April all the Verbenas I had 

 wintered wore turned out of their pots, carefully s« pa- 

 rated, and planted deeply in the newly-dug flo beds 

 at once ; here, for about six weeks, they made no growth ; 

 I did not expect they would. Then why, it may be 

 asked, were they planted so early * Because at that 

 time they were very hardy, and I considered that the 

 longer they remained in-doors the more tender they 

 would become ; besides, * made room on the trellis for 

 the newly-struck cuttings, then in small pots, to grow 

 and acquire strength, before they were planted out 

 between the old ones, about thejniddle of May. By this 

 method, the beds were always well filled, and the house 

 (the like of which any builder could erect and heat for 

 50/.) was available for the cultivation of Fuchsias, and 

 other plants for the conservatory, during the summer 

 and autumn months. IF. Sterwood, Mr. Kendall's 

 Nun y, Stoke Newingi'm. 



IVvododendron JJalhousia and F'/Iconeri. 

 grown tliese plants for some time in a late Vinery, I have 

 since removed them to a cool Orchid-house, such as suits 

 Lsclias aad Cattleyas. A very speedy and marked im- 

 provement has taken place in their appearance, and 

 they promise to do well. Is not the plant distributed 

 from Chiswick as Rhododendron cinnabarinum, It. 

 Gibsoni I It does not resemble R. cinnabarinum of Dr. 

 Hooker. Ifrseems a very free grower, in an atmosphere 

 whiclyloes not suit the other Himalaya species. W hat 

 treatment best suits R. javanicum, especially in winter ! 

 I fi I it grows very strongly in a cool Orchid-house, and 

 does not seem excited too soon by the warmth in spring, 

 but it has not flowered with me as yet Its foliage is 

 remarkable for the enormous size of the stomata, which 

 are visible to the naked eye, and thrips seem to have a 

 special affection for it. J. R. [The plants are distributed 

 from Chiswick with the names borne on the seed papers. 



Having 







Until they are older, it is impossible to determine them 



with accuracy.] . 



Carrots and Onions.— \ am obliged to Mr. Steel for his 

 article on Carrots and Lettuces, which appeared at 



and, being interested in the matter, I beg to ask 



P 



G2D 



are wanted. This state of things led me to be more 

 "■V*** ; and my lame as an amateur had spread Sometimes a day or two, occasionally a vv eek passes l sa^ ea *>me mj sen, 



him a few questions respecting early Carrots. Like others, 

 I have been in the habit of sowing Early Horn, and 

 sometimes " Orange " Carrots on a warm, dry bonier, 

 at times varying from the middle of August to the 

 middle of September ; and, in most cases, I have got 

 erf cood plants for standing the winter, i>ut they 

 invariably run to seed in June. My first impression wai 

 that the seeds might be old or unsuitable, especially as 

 the Carrots never exhibited their proper colour even 

 before they ran to seed,being so white and sticky, that they 

 useless for all purposes for fjiich young Carrots 



were 



* 



