4; 



Til 





GARDENERS 



Wtifl 



; ii, place 



state tliat 



CHRONICLE 



i 



Plain 



trees in We garaen naa tne same disease 



-anuiv to the rooti ; but lie does not think it Would do 

 JJjjje Beech trees. /. if. iT., Dublin. 



free Leaves.— It is a common thing for gardeners 

 ited in the orderly appearance of " their grounds' 



H 



gon 



complain about the length of time the leaves han^ _ 



Je trees this year— this complaint has been made by 



If and others year after year ; and though there are 



in which Nature's operations in this respect are 



jjaught sooner ^ ^ f 



^ the difference is less than is often supposed. I 

 ^ot, however, help thinking that this season some 

 Kjnteracting agency must have been at work to retard 

 £pn, as they are certainly 10 days or a fortnight later 

 4m last year ; why they should be so I am unable to 

 gr ; the tine weather we had in August and September 

 iaVup to the middle of October, ought, in my opinion, 

 ttbave ripened them, but such is not the case : that 



locex is now performed 

 •Jard weather " which v 



^J^'m re "Til"""' """"" " C1 lsBB au ">nueiiee uixm 

 vegetable hfe of the same nature as that wli 'i the m 



exe i; cise S .-,M. The tides of the ocean 'a, lue So ! 

 joint influence of the sun and moon ; thev happen 

 twice ,„ the day. They vary as to time au\l deiiee, 

 because he joint influence of the sun and moon is a 

 continually varying quantity. The tide of Testation 

 happens once m the year; being chieflvldependent upon 

 the sun s annual periods, it is less susceptible of hi. dailv 



ones. Nevertheless, these nn> n«t 3t«» Q .i,„- : _• 



ceptible, as ^ ^ 



phenomena of the Passion-flower^ Thanooo'Ti 

 periods are still more perceptible, as is w 

 by every farmer at full moon in the accelerated growth 

 ot Ins plants, and in their speedier ripening at harvest 

 • luring the same monthly period. But it is the sun's 

 annual periods that mark themselves most distinctly upon 

 the vegetable creation. For no sooner does he besin to 



741 



place. Ummmmm* erystalsarelor 1, m the otlwsr 



rait «f"rmed, and „ both cue. tf£ reulte m 



ieposited in obed.ence to ti» law of navi tion. A 



iropof « er pendent from the extrsmitv of an icide 



resembles the fruit of the Vine, and a bunch of 



may be compared with the stalactites of a cavern 



nnght be curious to trace the effect of motion upon the 



conditions required by the law of gravitation/ An 



•rrow, a race-horse • - - - 



It 



r u. e in agination to suppose that the same conditions 

 impose the necessity of a simila ufigur ion upon the 

 fast growing Poplar ; or that tin* is the reason why all 

 plants elongate chiefly during the period of aceel. ited 

 vej:. tation. JR. 







utthe Elm leaves hang on with a pertinacity that would 

 appear to set ordinary frosts at defiance — but it is re- 

 liable what effect that all-powereful agent has on 

 tome kind of trees. I have noticed Horse-chestnuts, 

 ipimore than half denuded, to be completely so the 

 torniiu of the first severe frost, their foliage lying in a 

 as if raked together. It is singular that°frost 

 AoaM have the power of detaching the petioles of this, 

 aid not those of other trees, from the incipient bud ; 

 after all we shall not get the whole of the trees 

 ipped so early as last year, though it may be accom- 

 pfishel about the same time as it was in 1849. An Old 

 (hrdencr. 



TJu Season in the far North. — I have been somewhat 

 anprized to find the frost so severe in the south, as to 

 enable people to fill their ice-houses ; for here, about 

 Fochabers, there has not been sufficient lowness of 

 temperature to kill the Dahlias. There were showers 

 of mow and hail on the 2d and 3d inst., but in 

 sheltered places the Dahlias and Hollyhocks are nearly 

 as fine as they have been all the season. Hybrid 

 Perpetuals and Bourbon Roses are still opening their 

 tads, and the common Chinas are flowering profusely. 

 Potatoes are a good crop in this quarter, and generally 

 free from disease. /. Webster, Gordon Castle. 



A Prolific Potato.— One tuber weighing about 8 oz. was 

 cut into eight sets and planted in the spring of last year ; 

 Ae produce raised last October, free from disease, was 

 pUnted this spring ; the produce this year, just dug up, 

 ^thout cutting or pulling the tops off till the beginning 

 f October, amounts to 34 sacks, weighing 698 lbs., with 

 ■ly 6 or 3 slightly infected with the prevailing disease. 

 &e quality is very good, but much better later in the 

 ttson. The sort is a Red Kidney. J. Alloway, Tat- 

 mgston-: House, Bari stead. 



w Manure.— We beg to inform you that this sura- 

 ■er we have used the new patent Kopros, prepared 

 from nitrogenous matter in combination with super- 

 JOBphate of lime, and we find it very excellent, causing 

 *e plants to grow rapidly but robustly, and turning the 

 Wage to a beautiful dark green colour; it is altogether 

 m adapted for plants generally, but for those grown 

 a pots it is invaluable. /. Weeks, and Co., Chelsea. 



m Cuckoo.— I am very much surprised to find Mr. 

 todd again asserting that the female cuckoo utters the 

 wll-taown cry of the male; he might just as well assert 

 ■w the female nightingale sings, for the crv of * cuckoo" 

 ■toe iwijf, and not the call-note of the bird; both sexes 

 ■je the latter in common, but the song is peculiar to 

 ™le, and I distinctly affirm that the female cannot 

 ww "cuckoo." The throat of the male is capable of 

 r|« distension ; and when singing, this part is swelled 

 ■« as large as a hen's egg; but the throat of the female 



"capable of similar distension, and, as a matter of 

 J***, she cannot produce the same sound. There is 

 oe least difficulty in distinguishing the sexes when 

 7*' bv the structure of the throat. I must also ex- 

 J?" m y ut *er disbelief that the cuckoo, under any cir- 

 ^tances, feeds its own. Ruricola, November 18. 

 ■ '™Wts in relation to a Theory of Vegetation. — Re&i- 

 ? . n y oup paper respecting the sleep of plants, certain 

 T" ns which I have entertained for many years as to 

 Roving cause which starts and sustains vegetable life, 

 JJ" themselves upon me ; and I solicit the privilege 



**T*fH ^ em k e *° re your readers, in the hope that they 

 .J nd sympathy from some one who thinks for the 

 *****<* thinking " - ....... .s 



ascend in the heavens, in the A rf^JK wimTt, TiTLZ 



vegetation also prepares to start ; and shortly after he 



has attained his annual meridian, vegetation ceases to 



make further efforts, and the juices of plants are ma- 



tured into fruits, or fall back again into decav. The 



traits of autumn may be compared to the produce of the 



secrets of the deep, which occasionally float upon its 



surface, and are either cast out upon the beach or swept 



back ;am by the receding tide.— 3d. A belief in the 



(Tliorn) and Fruit-tree Planting 



r 



torn article* written h\ Mr. 



influence of moon and planets upon vegetation has 

 been more or less prevalent in all a-es. In ancient 

 times it occupied so prominent a place in popular belief, 

 as practically to influence cultivation. It is onlv in these 

 latter tunes, when the evidence of things not seen exert 

 so little control over the human mind, that the notion 

 of planetary influences has been classed among opinions 

 which characterise an infantine state of mental attain- 

 ment. Surely Sir Isaac Newton, who sought to trace 

 the influence of the planets upon the destiny of mankind, 

 could not be sceptical of their influence upon vegetation. 

 But which of us now cares about knowing the ordinances 

 of Heaven ? To which of us now do the sweet influences 



of Pleiades convey an idea of good or evil ? Or what 

 man out of all our enlightened guides of modern public 

 opinion would attach any value to the bequest of a bless- 

 ing "of the precious things put forth by the moon.*— | not 

 4 th. The fame of Sir Isaac Newton is associated chiefly 

 with the discovery of gravitation by the fall of an Apple. 

 But what was it that raised the Apple ? Might it not be 

 a modification of the same law I The law is the same 



Cut nil, and amongst them that on Ike preparation of 

 land for forest tree*, &c, which J think good. But 1 

 cannot speak so favourably of his 1 .serration* upon the 

 cutting of young Quick bed Mr. C, says theyshould 



not be cut down till the s. md year after planting. \ , 

 what would be the result of such a pmctice I V|, y , a 

 dwindling, miserable plant the b»t year, and little letter 

 the second. The method generally practised il to cut 

 down close to the ground at the time of | lai i- : this I 

 consider obiecttonabl, , as it deprives the your^ , ,t* of 

 too many leaf-buds at once, which are n amable 

 agents to call the roots ink :,on. My plan is, to plant 

 at the usual time, but not to cut down till the young 

 buds are fairly started, say the beginning of May. Tl2 

 operation is then easily accomplished with a pair of 

 strong shears. By this method, the roots are call*** 

 immediately into action, and bj reducing tb ps to - 

 few buds, they are enabled to send up strong shoots the 

 first ^ , r . Mr. C. also remarks on the planting of 

 fruit-trees, and seems to infer that thev -hould not be 

 headed down at the time of planting. Now, according 

 to physiologists, and * practictb/ 9 the head of a tree 

 should always be reduced in proportion to its roots, at 

 the time of planting ; this operation is, i wever, 

 often attended to with the care which it de- 



s rves. My practice is merely to light* n the head, 

 by cutting back the extreme points to oth« r well- 

 placed shoots. By which means the top mav 1* 



top may 

 - , c . .„ , , -- ■ proportionately reduced, and, at the same time, leaving 



for apples as for plants. We know that it is one ami the a good supply of buds, to call the roots into actum ; and 

 same law which causes the ebb and flow of the tides, their the result is a healthy growth the first season, whereas, 

 motions being occasioned 111 the same manner, as we on the other hand, by leaving the ton « ntire. the result 

 may make the beam of a balance to move either way by 

 the transposition of one of the weights. We know that 

 every particle of matter obeys the law of gravitation j 

 and we know also, that all particles do not obey it 

 equally. Letus conclude then, that this balancing between 



the earth and the heavens takes place with regard to 



every particle of matter. In a change of substance 



there will originate a necessity for a change of position, 



and change of position will again necessitate a change 



of substance; so that, by the simple law of gravitation, 



modified by the motions of the heavenly bodies, we 



have a source of constant activity kept up on the surface 



of our globe. If we have evaporation obedient to the 

 call of the heavens, and the dew and the rain acknow- 

 ledging subjection to the earth, why not also admit that 

 the juices of the Apple are carried up by the influence 

 of the same law which occasions the rise of the tide and 

 the ascent of vapour ; as we acknowledge that the Apple 

 itself, when in a state of maturity, falls in obedience to 

 the same law which occasions the descent of a drop of 

 rain ? — 5th. What is it that supports the Rose which I 

 now see in the air \ The law of gravitation, according 

 to the popular notion of that law, is fearfully hostile to 

 it ; it threatens every moment to crush the flower in 

 ruin upon the earth, yet there it hangs, a beautiful ema- 

 nation from the earth, and held in momentary equipoise 

 by the law of gravitation. It is as a snowflake upon 

 the great river of vegetatmn, a " moment white, then 

 lost for ever." What is the resemblance between the 

 growth of a Rose tree* and the ascent of vapour I Both 

 ascend towards heaven in in im percept ible manner, and 

 in an attenuated form. By the law of gravitation, the 

 particles of vapour agglomerate and fall in rain upon the 

 earth. In obedience to the same law the juices of the 

 Rose tree ascend. So long as vegetation is young and 

 vigorous, these juices take the form of leaves, and spread 

 themselves out towards heaven. But so soon as these 

 juices are matured, they take the form of seed or fruit, 

 and become Dendent towards the earth. — 6th. It has often 



t^ , . "-"B- My theory is this, that the same been a matter of curious speculation with me, to ascertain 



0^ lcn c auses the ebb and flow of the tides, also the reason why the fall of forest trees Bhould be so 

 **rd iiTl t j le ^ n f anc J of vegetable life — carries it for- frequent in March, when they expose so little resistance 





aturity 



^ „ 7 ^ *« wot,_ w w vllc MIW7 ,ou« ~ v *— v ... «<*.~»— ., .... — - j expose 



***ietv f ot ^ er w °rds, my opinion is, that the infinite so much canvass in the shape of leaves for the wind to 

 ktsn ♦"« _ ve getable life which we see, results directly act upon. We cannot account for it, but by supposing 



^ th ""•*;"■"■« 111C wjhpd w« »cc, rcsuiia directly 



e operation of a primordial law of the universe, 

 the language of astronomy is called gravitation, 



attraction ; that 



*•** in 



**Ht of cllemistr y affinit y ° r attn 



t*tt]\ an( * ! leat °* tne sun P er f° rra a ver y secondary 

 log 'J/^' in first originating, and afterwards sustain- 



*(!{• jf e n * e > th*t these may be compared to the 

 *&d caresses of a mother upon her infant, which 



? "«tieed 



My 



necessary 



t^ u t ^.° not sustain its growth and vigour 

 p^ resolves itself into this ; that vegetation is a 



^froll *t\ gous to that of crystallisation regulated and 

 **°yed ^ > accelerated or interrupted, matured or de- 



^ th ' ^- e * aw °^ a con tinually varying gravitation. 

 eor y is suggested to my mind by the following 



act upon. 



that the leaves contribute to give stability to the tree 

 in the same manner as its fins contribute to give 

 stability to a fish in the water. The leaves are of 

 air in the same sense as the flakes of crystallisation 

 of the solution which contains them. Being of the air, 

 they take hold of the atmosphere in the same manner as 

 the roots, being of the earth, take hold of the soil. A 

 little acid dropped into a solution of certain salts will 

 give no inapt outline of a tree in the full pride of vegeta- 

 tion. But the resemblance is not confined to the appear- 

 ance — the processes of formation in both cases have a 

 family likeness. At first we have in both cases thin 

 substances waving uncertainly in the element which 

 sustains them. By-aud-bye an agglomeration takes 



is a great proportion of dead shoots, and those which are 

 alive are miserable, half-starved things, each contending 

 for a portion of support, which the roots, from being 

 overdrained by an unequal head, are unable to supply 

 them with. As to Mr. CVs hints wmectin- Roses, it 

 certainly would be bad practice to cut down at the time 

 of planting. My plan is to leave the heads until the 

 sap is in motion and the buds beginning to start, at 

 which time the operation # may be performed with 

 safety. Wm. Cox, Strensham Court, Nov. 19. 



flow to Crop a Small Kitchen Garden (see p. 726.) 

 — I have to thank " Vectis"for answering my questions, 

 but it still appears to me that by his mode of cropping, 

 the greater part of our most useful vegetables must be 

 banished from the garden altogether, such as Brussels 

 Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflowers, Spinach, &c, as no 

 allowance is made for them, and he evidently does not 

 grow them, or he would have had no occasion to say he 

 had only Cabbage sprouts now, when he ought to have 

 Cape and Walcheren Broccoli, Borecole, Brussels 

 Sprouts, and Spinach. I do not see how these could 

 be grown by his system of cropping without interfering 

 with the rotation next year, as he could not well avoid 

 having one of the Brassica tribe on the same spot where 

 one of the same family grew this season, a circu m stance 

 which it seems to be his chief aim to avoid. Mow if he 

 can afford to dispense with these useful vegetables, I 

 can assure him I cannot, and I think that the generality 

 of your readers will be of my opinion. I stated that 

 he had made a step in the right direction, becaus- I feel 

 well convinced that if cultivators of small gardens wish 

 to grow every kind of vegetable usually grown in larger 

 ones, they must adopt a system of placing one crop 

 between another, as open ground is not always at c 

 raan d — a system which I pursue on a large scale ; but 

 before anyone can adopt such a plan with success, they 

 must well understand the nature of the vegetables they 

 wish to cultivate, which knowledge is only to be 

 obtained by years of practical experience, or else by 

 receiving instructions from one who has had such ex- 

 perience, without which they would be liable to fall 

 into extremes, either by placing their crops at such 

 distance that no ground would be saved thereby, or else 

 they would put them so near that one would spoil the 

 other. /. Steel, Clitheroe, Nov. 19.— In my former article 

 on this subject at page 726, after " I certainly only at 

 present have the sprouts from the Cabbages/' read 

 and a good crop of Broccoli. This was omitted to be 

 mentioned by me last week. Vectis. 



Glass for Horticultural Purposes 

 the time in which most garden structures were glazed 

 with the old-fashioned common glass, with its undulating 

 surface, and opaque appearance ; after that came crown 

 glass, first in large squares, and then iu small ones, and 

 to such an extent did the small square mania rage 



1 •• 



remember 



1 11 1& 



ears ago, that a glazier's bill presented a formidable 

 array of figures for squares put in ; this mode continued 

 with but little variation up to the period when sheet 



came into use 



