758 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONIC 



i 



k. by a chI i spring a< it 25 years ago, when, 

 believe, the Plane trees throughout England were very 

 generally kHfeu, or much injure 1. The woo* I that this 

 furniture is made ef is of a yellowish colour (more of a 

 Jenion yellow than the wood of the Maple), mottled 

 and there with brown, and without much figure. 

 It has stood well, and has not hitherto, I believe, been 

 attacked by worms. C. W* Strickland, Tadcaster. 



Hints to l>> ns making a Garden.— A garden 

 calculated to grow not only a variety of plants, but a 

 variety of sorts of plants, ought to contain within itself 

 rock, wood, and water, sand, loam, clay, and a surface 

 undulating or sloping in different directions, so as to 

 give the greatest brie* of aspect. These conditions do 

 not necessarily require a Jarge extent of ground, though 

 space is, of course, desirable. It is also a great advan- 

 tag 



naturally, and have not to be contrived ana patched up 

 fey art. For classing and cultivating plants of particular 

 countries, or of* similar qualities together, each class in a 

 soil and loe&lny the most favourable to it, such a division 

 of garden ground as is above pointed out is indispensable. 

 Space will ultimately be economised by it, and the 

 interest and utility of the garden greatly increased, 

 whether the principle of the classification adopted be 

 simply the constitutional nature of the plants, — as wood, 

 rock, maritime, or desert plants ; or whether it be com- 

 bined with a gtsgraphicftl distribution according to their 

 native countries. The latter arrangement in large 

 pleasure grounds and places where the climate admits 

 of the culture of a wide range of species, might be 

 adopted with success. We see commonly plants of all 

 countries, Fairope, Australia, China, America, and Africa, 



go side by side indiscriminatel/ ; memory would 



assisted and science advanced by grouping them 

 according to their respective natures or natural habitats. 

 It is to be hoped that these hints may be followed up. S. 

 Mm > . Albun's Grape. -In justice to Mr. Thomp- 

 son, permit me to offer a few remarks on this Grape, 

 which has been again brought into notice by Mr. Bailey. 

 When it was first * let out" it had the advantage of a 

 high commendation from Mr. T., which doubtlessly 

 caused a greater sale for it than it would otherwise 

 liave had, from the -fact that Mr. T. is justly regarded 

 as the highest authority on fruits in this country. I 

 believe that I was the first person who drew his attention 

 to, and pointed out to him that I could see no difference 

 between Josling's St. Alban's and theChasselas Musque 

 At the same time I sent Mr. T. fruit of each variety, and 

 he unhesitatingly pronounced that he could see no dis- 

 tinction between them. Extraordinary, however, as the 

 thing may appear, I observed from the same Vines a 

 marked difference between the two sorts this last 

 season, Jos] « ng's St. Alban's being by far the better Grape 

 of the two ; and I am not the only person who has 

 observed the same thing this last season, when both 



I may 



over crown and sheet glass. We are all ready to allow 

 with " An Old Gardener," * that we have none too much 

 of that necessary auxiliary, light, to forcing in England." 

 In this consists the peculiar advantage of rough plate. 

 That necessary evil, shading, which must be resorted to 

 in many cases where sheet glass is used, may be almost, 

 I believe altogether dispensed with, except, perhaps, in 

 the case of Orchids. Now, granted that a gardener be 

 ever so attentive, and that the blind is run up whenever 

 a cloud passes over, there are many bright days, some- 

 times even weeks, when the blind must be lending its 

 protection for several continuous hours ; and if the 

 sum of these be taken, it will be found that plants 

 under rough plate have enjoyed a much larger propor- 

 tion of light during the year than those under crown 

 or sheet glass, accompanied with blinds ; unless it be 

 received as an axiom that diffusion of light of necessity 

 implies considerable diminution. This, however, I have 

 endeavoured from facts to show cannot be the case, since 

 plants the most susceptible to diminution of light seem 

 to thrive as well under rough plate in the winter months 

 as under sheet glass ; and here, I may ask, is it no 

 advantage to have the benefit of this additional light and 

 heat at a time when the plants are carrying on those 

 processes which, in their own bright climes, they perfect, 

 not under a blind, but under the fullest exposure to 

 every ray of light and heat that can possibly reach them 

 during the day \ One word as regards the condition of 

 rough plate, after two years' use ; if there be any change 

 at all, it becomes to the eye somewhat more transparent. 

 It has no greater affinity for dirt than any other glass, 

 nor am I conscious of its possessing any disadvantage 

 peculiar to itself. Like all other glass it will crack with 

 frost, if the laps are not puttied : to neglect this is to 

 commit a serious mistake. I do not remember to have 

 seen a leaf scorched or burnt under this glass ; still 1 1 

 can conceive it possible that, by ingenious mismanage- 

 ment, such a result might be arrived at. If any of your 

 correspondents would favour us with their experience 

 and opinions on the application, of glass, whether crown, 

 sheet, or rough plate (without fire-heat), to Peach walls, 

 and describe the mode of application, and the result, I 

 feel sure that many of your readers would feel obliged, 



and none more so than myself. H., Bristol. 1 can 



speak with some confidence of the merits of Hartley's 

 rough plate, from a trial of one year. In September, 

 1850,1 built a new house, and glazed it with Hartley's 

 glass, and it has far exceeded my expectations. The 

 light is gently diffused ; it never scorches, and requires 

 no shading (no slight merit during the last hot summer), 

 and the forced Strawberries in the spring ripened a fort- 

 night earlier than those in an adjoining house, glazed 

 with small sheet glass. I have since built another house 

 this autumn, and glazed it with Hartley's glass, so satis- 



conceive to be jrfi^TIIT^r — - — 



b~^bora£d ft^SrS 5 ^* 



; and when the ri^ec^T l J?J 

 least deranged by the operation ~ 

 pruning performed on this E 



growth ; and whon +1^ ~.„i _ Juater »al of nei ^^ 



be 



■a* 



Th 



satisfactory, and the mo t JL ' ■ 1 > Ve f 

 heads gradually bronghTin a fTX? "! aad - 



form withontVny pf rcep ^i XSTr? 

 jrrowth of the tre* wL .... Ks > the It 



n«B» 



• j- When the wound is ^ 



more m diameter, a little boiled tar or S^Jf* • 

 laid on with a brush, will prevent the ^ T** P* 

 fungus until closed. No doubt the E^^C 



wound does not unite with if. ll 7** **«* 



414, 



consequence when the wound is small and 



m 



t.mber ; and I think the operation £££3* * 

 system now advocated, does not deserve Sj* *» 

 in which « pruning forest trees" ? ££* , ^ 

 some of your correspondents. It is n ^ of V 



that different trees require diferant '° 

 pruning. The Lime and Horse Che<«h.„, 



uiajb, 



llti 



Beech ; then the Elm and Sy^ ^e 'ol * ** 

 milder treatment, the amputation of the two «. IL. . 

 annual shoots of a branch will sensibly checkif ™5* 



be touched. 



[Our 



cwespiniwt 



varieties have been grown in the same house, 

 add that two Vines of each varietv ptow in tl 



I had almost forgotten 



fied am I with its excellence. 



to add, that its rough [surface has no tendency to 



become dirty. My squares are 30 by 11, and I 



^w\- * «uiih>* account ior sucii a marked 



*st»n<tmn existing, unless the age of the Vines ha* 

 ■untiling to da with it. Perhaps some of your 

 cor indents caxi throw more light on the matter. 

 o. twi i, h a*, Anqlesea, Nov 24 



timgh PUOe GtaM—Tbe invitation of your corre- 

 ■pendent, « A <>M Gardener," leads me JoL a few 

 remarks on this suhjei concurring as I do with him in 

 the o,,m ion that ev, thing relating to that useful article 

 <#£), must be of the greatest interest to the horticut 



.sheet 

 glass 



I am acqna, ed wH^as whkh' 5T STJS 



behWe Lt T / MWW ?- e S ardener '* P^pose. I 

 eent ~r 1 r°° 1TeCt m Sa ? in S> tha * many intelli- 



both ? I VV f 6T CTOWn t0 sheet ? las s> having tried 



5S 'J£5££ 2 s& tt r e > g w 



E^iSiMS sTeSi cTm^ainT Ef I "*, CSS^ "* {«**-" wS"^ 

 management, or want ,.fr._ .-. .f. < . JOm, s* pass under that name. Th« n««t »«m ...u-i. * 



ine touowing is an extract h-ora a letter of one of our 

 customers who has used Hartley's rough-plate since 

 1849 :__« I am glad to say that I still more and more ad- 

 mire Hartley's rough plate glass,and have on all occasions 

 recommended it ; many friends of mine have ordered 

 it, and like it very much. I only wish I had used it for 

 all my roofs. I have used it for all sorts of plants 

 raising seeds and cuttings, and find that it requires no 

 shading whatever. It admits sufficient liirht and heat 

 for all purposes, and I am convinced that the true 

 Hartley's patent rough plate must give universal satis- 

 faction ' J. Phillips and Co., BUkopsffate street. 

 _ Rhododendron J aim u cum.— This fine Rhododendron 

 w now in flower at Killiow, near Truro. One spike has 

 la flowers on it, of a beautiful bright orange It is I 

 am told, the first plant of the kind that has blossomed 

 m Cornwall. Edward Randall. 



What is Pruning ?-This is a question which, in the 

 discussions on that subject, has been little attended to 

 1 Here are two operations on forest trees, very different 



understands this subject as we do, and he will 

 referring to various leading articles pubY^d iToS 

 columns, that when we have exclaimed « Pmi*natil 

 all," it has always been with reference to the ba*I2 

 process of hacking and lopping.] 



A Destructive Snow Storm has lately occurred in tfr 

 part of Norfolk. On the 18th inst. the grounds we» 

 strewed with branches and limbs of trees, manv of fas 

 being of great size, and the damage done in the pi 

 grounds is great. Amongst timber trees, Oaks km 

 been the principal sufferers, and it is distressing to m 

 so many fine trees which have long been admired far 

 their size and beauty, so ruthlessly shorn of their f« 

 proportions. The storm commenced on the nicdit of tb 

 16th. ^ At half-past 10 the thermometer stood at 31* 

 the wind being north-west. It was squally 

 through the night, gleams of lightning beinj seen, with 

 sleet and snow falling, according to the varyia* ol __ 

 temperature. At mid-day, on the 17th, the snow** 

 9 inches deep ; about that time the havock among 4e 

 trees began ; the cracking and occasional falliif «f 

 branches gave warning that it was unsafe to pass feterth 

 them, and this morning (the 18th), a doe was killed by 

 one of these falling limbs. Many of the smaller orna- 

 mental trees have been laid prostrate with the slur. 

 The damage done amongst the shrubs cannot jiet W 

 ascertained, but some of the larger evergreens hi* 

 suffered severely, especially the Cypress tribe ; one fa 

 red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), a tree of great size, is 

 almost completely destroyed, three large limbs h«vkg 

 been torn off, one of which was some 3^ feet in cir- 

 cumference. The damage done in the open 

 much less than that in the pleasure grounds and shwb- 

 beries, where it is more sheltered. Previously to the 



moisture, and mMf 



■ 



5K th ' ng . C °? id «"»*' fn ** «" be attrn; el 



2S S 'thafwh'iur> e tH K d the n r ° U u gh P' ate > "rflSe 

 wiu, mat Mutet it combines all the advantage of +i-,o 



you •A&ZrfJ'SS, 6 * dle tW ,° ¥* n «™«d- i>o 

 plants whien Ce Wn : ™ y ^ is ~ look at *he 



h»^ certainly diM^SJ 7 J l, . ght » * he hnca w ould 



-nth. J the tWed Seiv 3 2f, ^ ™° r 

 so rn.jr.ly an am**™,,. , ' 7 d not have assumed 



fruit, whvStiSi ' aVC ? r ° duC . ed ,eaves and *ood, and 

 practical an^fgZ a ^,raUon and commendation of 



*ove plants 4 "hS f rden 5 s - S^e of the many 



rough ph*, 7S, w^ *~ ,faB * d frft ™ ^ee* ti 

 «fufferin«, had tli^JZl dou 1 btie8S proclaimed their 

 &>m this being thl^^i*^ 5 . 8 ° for, however, 

 ™ appearance, and n^L ma J 01 % improved 

 exhibited suffering. It ££***? be *** *o have 

 whatever theoretical dtsadvTL then be avowed, that 



pass under that name. The most common, which' mav 

 more properly be termed « lopping," is the rude practice 

 ot cutting off branches large and small indiscriminately 

 to mcrease the length of the stem ; the other, which is 

 properly • pruning," is the stopping or slmrtenmg 

 gradually by successive annual amputations, such 

 branches as we tending unduly to enlarge tliemselves • 

 and^ by diverting the sap from the proper central leading 



™* to T *, s P readi,, g and unsighUy head. This is an 

 operation winch, if commenced at an early period of its 

 growth and completed before the age of 20 Z£ 

 connot be injurious to the tree or derange its econoZ' 



tl o? if ^T^ de ? l " iYing U 0i l ^ brands in } a 



bf^ T?^ and under ' tre ated in this manner,may 

 be destined to be eventnally removed when the flow of 

 sap to them has been eufliciently deadened, and the stem 

 of the free sufficiently enlarged to render the wound 

 relatively small. But in by far the creator n„lT 

 probably 1 8 1 in "20, the branchfwhen £&££<£££{ 

 by a clean diagonal or slanting cut, at a properly P W 



J >J*f** one Has yet I^SSL??. *L ^^ STISS" ^ H JSCS *t >T™W£ 



won ofmiifflk .1-*.. #JL i . r^* ***^! in the 



r*W. It —-- , 



of the Oaks were covered with leaves, which may* 

 for the greater destruction among them. From the m 

 of sleet and snow, and the temperature varying M 

 little from 34°, an enormous weight of snow and ice 

 adhered to the trees ; and such being ike case, it fe-ijjC 

 surprising that many should have been laden bejm 

 their powers of resistance, and that results such as I 

 have described should have taken place. The lom <■ 

 valuable property here by the occurrence is confided 

 able ; several fine Oaks are so much disfigured thatR 

 will be necessary to take them down, Th&H* Wm^ 

 Elmham Hall Gardens, Norfolk. , 



Potatoes in Perthshire.— The disease has touched me 

 crop more lightly here than in most places ^P erted V^ 

 my farm, in gathering and subsequent turning ■» 

 picking, about four bolls out of 80, or five per cew^ 

 diseased tubers were found. The report in the ^J~Z 

 Chronicle of an experiment last year with diseas*. ** 

 induced me to give it a trial on a snaU wate. ^^ 



tubers appew- 



an ex 



jAavrvautJC ^YVllIUIl ± prCSei'Ve iOr tK5CU"^-» 



3 bushels, out of which only 10 diseased 

 J. S. H., Perthshire. 



•bsierve that you W* fr* *£* 



inters 



season, 1 hez to ask if anv one can expl» B 



tru6 



— — — — - vw «. « 



from DickeniiB 



and as the 



Hotnahold Words 



&t thii 

 flibject is particularly interns ^^ rf 



toe tobr*®& 



attempt to mauerve ice in w . ^ m 

 member, 1849, I obtained P^^JJ^rf 

 x«j employer to make an ice-house, the SfJ^^J^ 

 which was furnished by the Gardener* ^Tlljig. 

 years ago. A spot was selected where the p ^ ^ 

 somewhat alanine «n ( ] n />;foI« marked out i* ,^ 



posts 



high 



and at tlie distance of 



placed upHgniF^ „ # 

 F of 2 feet apart ; * -^ 



within this was 



strong 



the poets 



ytm 



stik^ 



$ 



rther than this, if the ^^^ 

 ^jbut asmyoUjeetita 



rasli 





g**S8, 



\»fte 



• t * i i . f '^ A **a«*f IXJli I,. 



. v ~r, * . S P artlcular 'y »"ited to hedgerow and 



»venue trees, where elevated heads and clean <ZL, a 



*»m are important ; but may be oc c; ,iSl v tSSft 



park trees, to stop an ambitious or unruly limb ^ „i 



but there very sparingly, in plantation ^i^Zl 



he , m f 2 !^: th .. of J he v [ ™ di «^ to the S;S 



circular straw 



._ 4.an nlSB 6 * 1 



firfl* 

 i wail 



stem, the after 



k***, sparingly required 



um 



2 feet thick ; a layer of small roots was f e ^^B0 

 the ground inside,and on these a layer oi stra .^ 



thick ; 20 cart-loads of excellent ice were tw^r ^ 

 well broken and rammed down, and the ^ ^ 

 covered with a thick coat of straw. 1** ^ jjj* 







put on : strong rat 

 posts joining togeti 

 with straw 18 



thick : die whole 



v. v —a^ij' mm wiiii straw io incnes ukcr. , »«- * — ; *«„^inff 



•est season for pruning I substantial a manner that the house is standi^ 



oo^? 



