I 



,0 



1851] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



/ 



8<> 



of 



W** ^ons are deposited, and doubtless various flu 



JtLsbb are thrown off, which, if retained in the tissi 



^thewood would act detrimentally to its durability. 



Organically speaking, the heart. wood of a tree is 



irtieiniportance. If wholly removed no injury would 



^sustained to the surrounding parts. It aids nothing 



•the vital economy. Its formation and consolidation 



^ complete. But if during its changes from the season 



*l its formation to that of the inert condition of dura- 



n any material interruption to the processes by 



which such changes were effected had been given, there 



«m be no doubt but that it would have reached that 



'ate in a morbid condition, and its durability would of 



J^e be affected. Such injury could not, however, be 



IPP reciable to the eye. 



No such injury can be effected by pruning ; every 

 ktnch is connected with a given number of living layers 

 f w00( j. When a branch is removed, every such layer 

 . ^ ff from an amount of leaf surface by which its 

 friportant changes are effected. The result is, that the 

 wood does not attain its natural conditions. Deleterious 

 matters are retained in its tissues, and its organisation 



is incomplete. 



There is a disease to which the human subject is 

 liable arising from an imperfect formation of the 

 icptum of theheart, which allows a portion of the blood, 

 st each pulsation, to escape into the arteries, with- 

 tut having performed the pulmonary circulation. The 

 result is that the whole mass of blood is impure, 

 from the non-removal of the deleterious matters acquired 

 in its circulation through the body. Persons labouring 

 under such a disease may be known by the leaden hue 

 of countenance and their want of vivacity. They are 

 seldom long livers. An imperfect aeration of the blood 



ing the result of trials of seeds made by known persons 

 of judgment. We fully admit that some seeds are dis- 

 graceful i.0 the houses that sell them.] 



Bee Houses. — The instructions for the construction of 

 an apiary given in a Leading Article (at p. 7S •*>), are, on 

 the whole, excellent ; it may, however, perhaps be 

 questioned whether the slanting of the roof from back to 

 front is advisable. T ' ' •*•■•*•» 



> h n to such .su temmi ta. .Vveriiieieas the no** r 

 of this, as well as of the celebrated British Qui <n 



• • * ■ • * ^ « 



must, in Mr. B.'s opinion, be 

 public. Myatfs Globe I 



a vi< niter " of the 

 . _ am not acquainted frith, 

 but 1 have heard it highly spoken of. The Munn th 

 is the only variety that deserves Mr. B.'s condemna- 

 tion, and even this, being vhe largeet of all Straw- 

 It has, indeed, its advantages as welll berries, deserves a further triaL Willmot's Prince 

 as its disadvantages, as ordinarily made. The ad van- ] Arthur Mr. 13. descri 

 tage is that the house, being higher behind, where the 



ni\!ftwftn'r AnA«nliAtio nu/Yl* + +n Via r\nvf/\t»m c±A /an/1 *%*-.#> in 





in animals, and that of the sap in plants, produces 

 analogous disastrous results. The difference in the two 

 cases is, that the one is apparent, the other not. In both 



apiarian's operations ought to be performed (and not in 

 front), he has more head room for working. The dis- 

 advantage is that rain dropping on the roof is liablt 

 to fall or be blown on the bee-boards, even if the roof 

 be extended 12 inches in front, as ■ Y." suggests. This 

 maybe prevented either by having the front entirely 

 closed, with holes only for the entrance of the bees, or 

 by the adoption of a very simple little contrivance 

 which I have observed in the hot houses of my friend 

 W. W. Saunders, Esq , for preventing the dropping of 

 the steam collected on the underside of the frames of the 

 lights. This consists simply in fastening along the 

 under side of each of the frames dividing the panes of 

 glass, strips of thin zinc plate, about an inch wide, bent up 

 at each side, 60 as to form a little gutter, which is to be 

 tacked to the frame, and made at the bottom to conunu- 

 nicate with a little transverse gutter, having an exit 

 outside the house. Thus, for a few shillings, the 

 annoyance from drip may be prevented. With reference 

 to the size of the bee-house, that given by " Y." may be 

 advisable for amateurs and experimentalists ; but for 

 those who keep bees for profit, I apprehend u much 

 larger house would be more convenient. If hives are 

 not kept entirely apart, I know no reason, so far as the 

 natural habits of the bees are concerned, why a hundred 

 instead of four hives should not be kept in one apiary. 

 Will "Y." be so good as to state his reasons why he 

 restricts the number to four. /. 0. W. 



i as being as hard 



ball; consequent!. Mr. Willmotmust * 

 il victimise!*." 1 have, however, 





cases the system becomes loaded with impurities, which 

 a healthy action of all the organs would have thrown off, 

 and in plants a plethoric condition is induced by an 

 indiscreet removal of the branches. On a future occa- 

 sion I shall endeavour, by a few diagrams, to render 

 visible the condition s I have here descr ibed. G. L. 



Home Correspondence. 



Hints to Persons Making a Garden.— Rock, wood, and 

 water. To begin with the rock. No garden that pre- 

 tends to represent the variety of Nature in her vege- 

 table kingdom can dispense with something in the form of 

 rock— be it natural or artificial; not merely by way of a 

 feature in the pleasure-ground, but as a situation or con- 

 dition almost indispensable for certain plants ; and those 

 plants, it may be observed, are some of the most inte- 

 resting and elegant species that we have in cultivation. 

 Great mistakes are frequently made in the selection of 

 a site for rockwork, as well as in that of the plants sup- 

 posed to be adapted to it. Of course, where the gar- 

 dener is fortunate enough to have natural rock to deal 

 with, he must take it as he finds it ; but that is not 

 often the case. With regard to the proper site 

 for rockwork, a garden, to be complete in that par- 

 ticular, ought to possess two entirely distinct piles 

 of rock, unless the situation and the scale of opera- 

 tions be so extensive as to allow of one pile of rock con- 

 siderable enough to afford a sunny and a shady face, j 

 each large enough for the requisitions of that depart- 

 ment. For the plants that like sunny rocks are chiefly 

 those of warm or dry climates, sea-shore plants, or those 

 of the Mediterranean rocky coasts, or of the arid parts 

 of the east. Those, on the other hand, that prefer moist 

 or shady rocks, are those of the Alps, or of northern 

 moors and mountains, Ferns, &c. The two, it will be 

 evident, are hardly compatible. Primula minima and 

 Asplenium fontanum would hardly assort with Crassula 

 jasminiflora, and Convolvulus Cneorum. The Alpine 

 and the Mediterranean, or maritime rocks, should be 

 considered as quite distinct. On no rocks, unless natural 

 and on a very large scale, should those plagues, the 

 creeping plants, be allowed. They are suited only to 

 banks, generally to the shade. Every gardener will 

 understand that the plants alluded to are such as Money- 

 wort, St. John's Wort, Periwinkles, Lyciums, or Honey- 

 suckles. Trees ought not to be permitted near rocks 

 destined for maritime plants, and but partially near 

 those appropriated to mountain plants, though they will 

 not injure Ferns or Orchidacese. A rocky soil is not 

 necessarily poor ; a good natural soil, unmanured, but 

 well drained, suits maritime or Mediterranean rocks, 

 and a damp, peaty gravel, perhaps with a slight trickling 

 of water /will agree with Alpine rocks. No plants should 

 be grown on rocks but such as are naturally rock 



plants. S. .,.„.,.- 



Bad Seeds .—There is so much difficulty in procuring 



true and good seeds, even from established houses, that 



amateurs are fairly disgusted with the frequent dis- 



appointments they are subjected to, either through 



carelessness or wilful neglect. Can you suggest any 



plan to mitigate the evil % To find your Walcheren 



Broccoli, which you have tenderly nursed all the winter, 



turn out, in spring, useless rubbish, is enough to provoke 



the mildest temper, more particularly as it cannot be 



replaced, and you must patiently wait many months to 



witness another failure, although you procure your seed 



from another house. To have your field of Carrot seed 



unproductive, and your Cabbages run to flower, are 



among the many miseries we amateurs are liable to, 



and we shall never be well treated till the parties who 



fancy they may send us any trash are exposed in the 



The Weather. 



stormy 



cricket^ 



arooogat 

 heard from u *>d 

 authority that this is a good Strawberry, and 1 intend 

 to have a hundred or two of the pkntft. The 

 British Queen is the only fruit Mr. B. seems to 

 care for, as all the other large rarietiea are like eating 

 wool or drinking vim jar. Is Mr. Bailey quit* sure 

 that all these large, wooUy, acid, ill-flavoured, worth- 

 less sorts were raised from crosses from tin Chili Pine, 

 and so become v rthleas! 1 can ure him that 

 the Goliath was not crossed in that waj ; it was raised 

 (without . r roving) from the British tauten. 1 should 

 like to give Mr. Bailey an < rtunit; f t* 

 the merits of the < .<>liath with the Briti*-). Queen 

 next season ; and in order to do that c nVctually, 1 can- 

 not, perhaps, do better than offer t >w a bed « »liath 

 against a bed of Mr. B.'s British Queen, >r * 

 This can very well !>e done, as both varieties arc ripe at 

 the same time. Mr. B. may choose an v number of 

 plants for this purpose, varying from 12 to 100 ; and 

 1 will *taks him" upon the number he may Mak< he 

 shall have liberty to appoint a censor, and 1 will appoint 

 mine ; and provided those two do no! agree, they »hall 

 call a third as a referee. The reap live m< ts of the 

 fruits shall be taken on these •?• potato, viz., flavour, 

 colour, size, produetivenese, and hardiness oi planl the 

 one that gains the most points to be declared the winner. 

 This plan will decide the merits or demerit* f the 

 Goliath much better than anything 1 can say retarding 

 it ; and I will give Mr. IV until the 1st of MXl .June to 



i i .i_ i. iu i.«« Vww*n vomorl-nlklpfar it« low A itlfv. Limcom J ale i> nrsery* Umn. 



England, the past month has been remarkable for its low 

 temperature, comparatively clear skies, and drought. 

 The mean temperature has been six degrees below the 

 average of the last nine years'; and upon reference to the 

 valuable tables compiled by Mr. Glaisher, of the Royal 

 Observatory, Greenwich, and published in the I Jul. 

 Trans., Part 2, 1850, it appears that so low a tempera- 

 ture has not been recorded in November since the year 

 1786 During the present century, the following are the 

 only instances of much continued frost at this period, and 

 which I here insert, together with their respective mean 

 temperature. 



K'tlfy, Lyn mbt Vah Nursery, Bath. 

 Effects of Severe Frost upon more or leu shetore<1 mis. 



—The great injury sustained by E*< lUMM from low 

 temperature in sheltered positions, has been aecribed to 

 their want of habitual exposure to cold. I find that 



er* 



Years. 



18)7 

 1809 

 1815 

 1826 



• • • 



• • • 



• . * 



• . • 



• ■ • 



t • • 



« i • 



■ t * 



• •• 



• • • 



• •• 



• • f 



• - • 



. - - 



- • • 



• 4 t 



. . ■ 



t • • 



Mean Temperature 



of November. 



38.7* 



80.5 



88.9 



89.9 



89.3 



■ • t 



* • • 



• • • 



- . * 



1829 



But the mean temperature of November, 1 37 - 8 

 1851 ha« been only •••' 



It is worthy of remark that much severe weather pre- 

 vailed during the subsequent winter months in every 

 instance. A general idea is prevalent in th.s neighbour- 

 hood that it is many years since there was such continued 

 drought and scarcity of water during the autumnal 

 months. I shall therefore state the fall of ram during 

 Se part nve months, ending November 30th, together 

 with the quantity which fell in the corresponding months 

 of 1847, and the average for the same period during 

 the last eight years : 



Fall or Raiw in Inches. 



1851. 



1817. 



Average of 



- Vtara, 



July 

 August ... 



September 

 October ... 

 November 



Total 



From this table it is manifest, that although the fall 



of rain in the present instance^ » »* er J"^.^ *f? J roo t and branch, 

 inches below the average, yet it » nearly three and a ° 

 half inches more than fell in 1847, proving therefore, Keep out ,. 



that it is not safe to trust to « the memory of man in 

 these matters. O. Lew* Prince M.R. C.S., I «*Wrf. 

 New Stra«berria.-VLr. Bailey has stated, at p. .40, 

 that the Black Prince is not worth cultivating. Now this 

 variety is very early, an abundant bearer, and fine in 

 flavour • and it is most useful, inasmuch as it ripens 

 soon" han any of the large-fruited kinds. I imagine 

 therefore, that Mr. Cuthill has not much « ^imised 

 the public in sending it out. In like manner Mr. B. 

 says the Goliath is° acid, insipid, coarse and a shy 

 bearer (Can a thing be acid and insipid at the same 

 time? Now, according to this account I am one 

 of those who, Mr. B. insinuates, has ^""^g 

 public. Mr. B. must have grown this vanetj under 

 lory unfavourable circumstances or he could not have 

 formed such an opinion of it. But without offermg a 

 wordmyself as to its merits, I will refer Mr B .to what 

 has been said in favour of it, m 1849, 18o0, • «J ^{ 

 by the best authorities on fruits in the d fferen 

 weekly periodicals of the day ; and in add.t.on to such 



those wno i»v« «^~ » '." ^ . can a white 



B. says,is;only valuable for its colour 



fruit be valuable on that account! Mvats L eanor 



ous to use rei nil during winter in low protarttd 

 situations, than in 1-ftior and colder plactt. If lh 

 pinion be well founded, them may be, in the caaeof the 

 plants, something beyond the effect of mcr< habit. A. 



The 0«fnV/-.— 1 am sure that your amumng corrc- 

 .pondent Mr. Kidd, will not willingly libd any - f hi» 

 feathered friends; and, theref e, I am certain that he 

 will not be angry with me, for correct 

 he has made at p. 740, respiting 

 accuses that bird of a want of parental f >g, but 1 

 think, after what I say, he will fully acquit one parent of 

 that offence. I have had an opportunity of watching the 

 South American ostrich on its native plains : the hens all 

 lay to one nest (like guinea hens), but one hen mu them, 

 and after the young leave their eggs, the cock bird takes 

 charge of the family. When he meets with another 

 cock similarlv employed, he attacks him, and in case of 

 victory, takes charge of the other's family : so that in a 

 short time a strong bird may be aern with three or four 

 united families together. 50 or more in number, and 

 they will follow him in a long string, as orderly as a 

 charity school, led by a parish beadle. OhtervaUyr. 



Vacca Vinery (see p. 744).-In reply to your corre- 

 spondent's inquiries, 1 beg to say that the cows are now 

 n the Vinerv again for the winter. 1 he \ inea have 

 crown remarkal.lv well, ami 1 believe 1 must let them 

 bear a few bunch* next summer ; at present, >traw- 

 berries, scarlet G eraniums, Calceolarias, \e , are thickly 

 stowed away, or ards placed aerosa the beams above 

 the cattle, for the winter; and the front walk is (or 

 rather was) looking very pretty with a fine scarlet 

 Geranium, planted in the border, in full blossoni , and 

 a large quantity of Chrysanthemums and two Orange 

 trees were trained along the wall. I say were, tor, alas, 

 the fat pigs have just made their way m and ^oyed 

 root and branch. I think the warmth of the cat 1c will 

 keep out frost ; if not, I shall add a small Potaaise 

 stove at one end. For three nights wel.ave had the 

 thermometer, outside, down to 1 8° of Fahr. ; in the 

 cow Vinery it did not go below 37°. Ttrydail. 



Bats and F «.-It were to be wished that our 

 scientific writer on « Song Birds" would erase ^from ha 

 last paper the anecdote of the bats and fireflies. The 

 centlernan who first gave the strange story to the public 

 must have been under a delusion. Zoologically shaking 

 itis a blot from thecleverpen which has ^M«M 

 it,and astain upon the instructive page ^jj^*™ 

 it It will not do. It is a nursery tale from hs t 

 eastern regions. Defends, est. CharU* Watcrton, 9 «***- 

 hall, ntar Wakefield, Dec. 8. , , . 



How to Crop a Small Kitchen ^T 1 ^™ 

 advise any one to grow Early Peas and Beans on a 



south boroer where there are J?*^*^ 

 unless the border is at least l- * eet ' T BW% - 



!£A?aM?i* • *-j£ ' 'Sd'S 



ver ; »» c * u, y I *"*-" „. n ifc m « v he trenched and 



between the latter and theaalk mi M trra 



„ nnn »<\ with Karlv Peas, or any other cro F^™ n l 







„«•, tieaoor 0,1 . border, or on a W. »p £ rf ^ 



