THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



The most ancient record of it which 



Cedron, Planch.}- 



I can find is in the "History of the Buccaneers, an 

 old work published in London, in the year 1699. Its 

 use, as an'antidoto for snakes, and place of growth, are 

 there distinctly stated ; but whether on the authority 

 of the natives, or accidentally discovered by the pirates, 



If the former was the case, they must 



for Christmas. Older plants will be in fruit and flower 

 at the same time, in which state they are doubly 

 interesting ; their fragrance, too, is delightful. A 

 collection of neatly trained pot plants in fruit, such as 

 many kinds of dwarf Oranges, Ardisias, Habrothamnus, 

 &c, are objects of much interest at all times ; and a 

 very good effect may be produced by bringing such 



does not appear, n uic wnuw n« «. j —-* ■ — — * .° . * * * - -*r- 



have learned it while on some of their cruizes on the prominently into view, at a time when flowers are 



Magdalena, for in the Isthmus the very existence of the 

 tree was unsuspected until about 1845, when Don Juan 

 de Ansoatigui ascertained, by comparison, that the 

 Cedron of Panama and Darien was identical with that 

 ■of Carthagena. The virtues of its seeds, however, were 

 known, years ago, from those fruits imported from the 

 Magdalena, where, according to Mr. William Purdie, 

 the plant grows in profusion about the village of San 

 Fablo. In the Isthmus it is generally found on the out- 

 skirts of forests in almost every part of the country, but 

 in greater abundance in Darien and Veraguas, than in 

 Panama. The natives hold it in high esteem, and always 

 carry a piece of the seed about with them. When a 

 person is bitten, a little, mixed with water, is applied to 

 the wound, and about two grains scraped into brandy, 

 or, in the absence of it, into water, is administered in- 

 ternally. By following this treatment the bites of the 

 most venomous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and other 

 noxious animals, have been unattended by dangerous 

 consequences. Doses of it have also proved highly 

 beneficial in cases of intermittent fever. The Cedron is 

 a tree, from 12 to 16 feet high ; its simple trunk is 

 about 6 inches in diameter, and clothed on the top with 

 long pinnated leaves, which give it the appearance of a 

 Palm. Its flowers are greenish, and the fruit resembles 

 very much an unripe Peach. Each seed, or cotyledon 

 1 should rather say, is sold in the chemists' shops of 

 Panama for two or three reals (about Is. or 1*. 6d. 

 English), and sometimes a much larger price is given 

 far them. Hooker's Journal of Botany. 



Sale of Orchids.— A few plants of Vanda cseralea, 

 just imported, were sold the other day by Mr. Stevens, 

 at from 1/. Is. to hi. 5s. per lot. Some miscellaneous 

 Dendrobes realised from U. to U. 12s. per lot. At a 

 former sale Odontoglossum hastilabium fetched from 

 11. 10s. to U. 3s., the famous Uropedium Lindenii from 

 U. 18.?. to 3/. 5s. > Oncidium candelabrum from 11 10s. 

 to il, and Odontoglossum nsevium from U. 10$. to 

 «. 5s. Others fetched from U. to 21. 10s. per lot. 





scarce Plants, with handsome foliage, may be made 

 to play their; part also. What is finer than th* Ferns, 

 when well grown ? And the Calathea zebrin^ and 

 Dracaena terminalis are also valuable, on account of 

 their beautiful and highly coloured leaves. Some of 

 the early potted Hyacinths, Tulips, and Narcissus, may 

 now be removed from the bed in which they have been 

 plunged since October, to a gentle heat. We always 

 find them to come strongest when plunged in some well 

 worked horse-litter and leaves. These plants will bloom 

 well with with a bottom heat of 70° to 75°, and 55° to 

 60° top heat, with a little air at all times. 



Currants made 



and they produce the finest fruit ^ much ^i 



State of tbe Wether near London fort!.. _ 



Dec. 



Pineries. 



FORCING DEPARTMENT. 



It will be a trying task just now to manage 



these structures with no other heating material than 

 fermenting litter. Every favourable opportunity should 

 be taken to turn the linings, and if necessary to add to 

 them. Let them at least be protected by some kind of 

 covering from the rain and snow ; and if possible, let 

 them be entirely enclosed, that they may of themselves 

 supply a sufficient amount of heat to do away with the 

 necessity of covering the pits during any portion of 



Friday.. 5 



Satur. ., 6 



Sunday . 7 



Monday 8 



Tiies. .. 9 



Wed. .. 10 

 Thur*... 11 



be 



BAROMBT*a. 



Average 



Dec. 



s 



12 

 13 

 14 

 O 



16 



17 



18 



Max. 



Min. 



TKMri KATDE1 



Of the Air. 



Max. 



30.211 



30.22 1 



30.202 



30.214 



30.189 



30.057 

 30.521 



30.928 



30.204 

 30.0f,9 



29.919 

 30.091 

 29.9S1 



30.36C 



Min. Mean i foot2 k«t 



Wi* 



2 



30.235 I 30.122 



5-Hazy ; cloudy ; unifornuTo^e^T 

 6-Overca8t; densely owrr«>. «i 5 1, 



7-Fine; cloudy; .iK^XdJl^ht 

 8-Cloudy ; clear and remarkaKiJ fit, *,** 

 9-F<w; hazy; densely overcast • £n 8 > htfro «. 

 O-Cloudy and mild th,oughou? ; mM at ni *^ 



' * l ~ Clear and ^ry fine ; f owy at nieh . 



Mean temperature of the wS^^ ^ 



State of the Weather aU^lcM^^ . 



enmiingr mrpolr ar,.i;__ t!» tuci «'t do 



•▼eriie. 



Dec. 



Sunday 14 

 Mon. 15 

 Tuei. 16 

 Wed. 17 

 w v „ x Thurs. 18 



these very short days. Young Pines are frequently Jjj^* 19 

 much drawn during winter, and the mischief is not 

 noticed until they are taken out in the spring to be re- 

 potted or planted ; and then it is that the gardener 

 repents not having given more air, and more light, by 

 keeping the glass clean. We have felt this ourselves, 

 and no doubt others have done the same. If the bottom- 



engumg week, endi ng Dec! 20, jk? 7ear, » fo ' 



No. of 

 Years in 

 which it 



Bained. 



T3 

 14 

 14 

 14 

 12 

 13 

 9 



Wlndi. 



1ST* 



r. 



* 





??l£i*\ e V^E"«*l e .i™?*J h ? ""oye period occur,* 



1 6 1 3 8 \ 





i 

 '. 



I 

 1 



deg. 



18«-tbn£ 



s 



Out Shooting near Vienna. — When we had quite 

 reached the hunting-ground, I found myself almost 

 alone. Our companions had been dropped by the way 

 agly like Hop-o'-my-Thumb's crumbs, and formed a 

 line ol sporting posts some 20 or 30 yards apart from 

 one another. We then stood at ease for an hour, with 

 a keen wind in our teeth ; while a section of our party 

 took a circuit for the establishment of a circle, within 

 Which the game was to be hemmed. My friend at this 

 tune had an opportunity of introducing me to a few 

 stationary brethren. A fat little Sancho, in dress boots, 

 with a coat much too small for his broad back, stood 

 nearest to us. He was armed with a small Swedish 

 rifle, which %vas loaded with ball. When my friend 

 presented me to him as « Sir Smith," he answered 

 Mr bir, your most obedient servant." The rest were 

 a motley group of officers in uniform, and men in every 

 costume but what we should suppose to be the right one • 

 ime picturesque fellows with sweeping moustaches, good 

 beards s,and gorgeously coloured clothes. A painternfight 

 have been glad of them-though certainly an English 



SS U T V t wonld have grouped them in a sketch of 

 partridge shooting. At length a hum along the line in- 

 formed us that the sport was shortly to be-in ■ and a 



X23\ rDm B T Wh ° had induded En S lish in Ws studies 

 turned to m<> with c^rrm ~ v ™*,™~..z ___ • ., ,-. .« ° 



hXTin ?°r ttlemWllL As *uredly,there galloped 

 Z ! t S nty d0Wn "P°. n as > with their heads tp, and 

 the partridges were darting upward like rockets in all 

 directions. « Lie quiet," said I to the student, ™ for 

 here comes a hare !»-«! f ear me not," was the ret.lv 



tTme S bo d th nt hit 1U b ttiDg , b0th ! li3 T*> * 0*" ^SffiS 



friend's b, II T^ f d a h ° rrid howl frcm ™! 



mend s bull- dog told us the result, which was precisely 



tET ° f that wMch was "^intended oi?des 3 



took 



beside 



victim had his head almost bio 



sieve, our 



sass^ass 



eye upon the 

 My relief was 



gentleman who had just shot the dog. 



rrs: r tr ne of *s kee r s toid m * ^ *«* 



load hi i gS "w h ^^ P d r e e r C „ a n U 10Q h f' in S been taken to 



much of ^-h^^J^y**?* - very 



heat is 80°, the top may be as low as 55° without the 

 plants suffering ; and particular care should be taken 

 that no injury occurs from excessive dampness at the 

 root from any cause. We seldom see plants suffering 

 from being too dry during winter, unless the roots are 

 too near a flue. 



FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES. 



The sooner that all tender plants, such as Tea Roses, 

 are protected with some light warm material, the better. 

 Half decayed leaves answer very well, as they do not 

 become frozen, and the wind does not disturb them. 

 Besides this protection, we stick in among them some 

 short Yew branches, to check the cold cutting winds, 

 which do more harm in the early spring, than even very 

 severe frosts. The pruning and tying of creepers upon 

 walls and trellises should now be proceeded with. Take 

 advantage of frosty weather, when the walks are hard, 

 to convey fresh soil to the flower beds ; or for doing any 

 kind of work in the flower garden and shrubbery which 

 would damage the walks when not in a frozen state. In 

 extensive gardens there is generally much heavy wheeling 

 to do every winter, and no time is more favourable than 

 during sharp frost. All plants of which any doubts are 

 entertained as to their perfect hardiness, should have 

 some kind of protection afforded them ; but in doin* 



ex5emT ^ ^^ n0t t0 S ° int0 the °PP osit ^ 



m ^ • HA ? DY FRUIT GARDEN. 



The dressing of fruit trees against walls, with a 

 mixture of a little lime, soot, and tobacco water (or 

 water m which tobacco has been boiled), with a small 

 quantity of glue to fix the mixture to the trees, should 

 now be proceeded with. No scale or the lame of any 

 troublesome pests can withstand this simple recipe ; and 

 as fruit trees are so liable to the attacks of insects it 

 is we 1 worth the trouble of applying it, even if there 

 are at present no signs of our enemies ; for in this as 

 m all other cases prevention is better than cu're. 

 Some Pear and Cherry trees, which were omitted 



completely denuded m August by the grub of the saw- 

 fly; while the trees to which the mixture had been 

 applied were quite uninjured. After the trees are 

 dressed over, proceed actively with the retraining ; and 

 as soon as Peaches, Nectarines, or Apricots are trained, 

 let the coverings be applied. These should be let down 

 when there is ram or sleet, to keep the branches dry, 

 and thus preserve them from canker and gumming ; Jd 

 also during bright sunshine to prevent the bud s g from 

 being prematurely excited, which is as neceaipv S 



Tto^rfV* : t0 ^ thG bl -som 8 r s pLg 

 thPir ™i of 1 J eache ? and A P ri <*ts in our climite h 

 their early blossoming ; and shadin 



Notices to Correspondents. 



Back Numbers : Full price will be ffiven for No 21 iai« 

 and Nob. 38, 42, and 48, 1850. ' D| m 



Birds — Canaries Living in the Open Air: 8 



• 



episode appeared in the Gardeners 9 Chronicle of May 17 

 forming No XXX. of the treatises on " British Song Birds' 5 

 We shall, as we have already said, pay marked attention to 

 this subject at the proper season ; the more readilv, as tin 

 experiment has already been made by our Most Gracious 

 Majesty and Prince Albert, at Osborne, and with success. Of 

 this, more by and bye.— Olney. You may, indeed, anticipates 

 treat ; for however interesting the matters hitherto discussed 

 those which have to follow, as each bird renews his sonr 

 in the coming year, will be even more so. We have, as yet, 

 scarcely jnade a beginning.— J C E. The paper arrired 

 safely. Many thanks for it, and also for the accompanying 

 letter. — Chatteris. We feel obliged by your kind researches, 

 and are glad to have such a watchful eye placed at ourdis- 

 posal.— EC. Your birds have gone into a second moult, It 

 is as bad to keep them in an over-heated room, as it ii to 

 leave them exposed to cold. Reduce the heat gradually, and 

 do not expect any "song " from your little prisoners till next 

 spring. — Novice. The most lively companion we can recom- 

 mend you, is a canary. Hear him sing before purchasing 

 him. Kindness will soon render him familiar,— Jane F. It 

 can only be acquired by long practice. The eye, certainly, 

 has much to do with it.— Canterbury. On the 3d of January, 

 next ensuing; we shall then go on regularly.— Jfaidstone, 

 The feet are diseased solely from dirt. If you wish to keep your 

 birds well, you must keep them clean.— EA H. Tour birdhai 

 the cramp. Give him a little Maw seed, and keep him warm. 

 —Eliza N. The tail-feathers will reappear in the spring, and 

 your little friend's plumage will be bright and attractire as 

 ever in a few weeks afterwards.— Keswick. In about a month, 

 which will be j ust the thing for your proposed trial.-PA. Tbey 

 are very showy birds, and very amusing in their Habits, o« 

 of little intrinsic value.- JVinnt/. They are hardy enough to 

 endure any amount of cold ; but, in confi^nemeat, shouw m 

 kept out of the reach of draughts.—/ F W. A divorce, 

 under the circumstances stated, is w^ l f» a 3"!f! 

 from the peculiar atrocity on the part of the ^ sD ana,- j 



mensa et thoro." Your bullfinches are ''^W^^JS' 



and the necessary consequences are but too obnaw. mthu 



nately for them, the case need not, as with us, t>e cam* 



into 'Doctors' Commons ? Nature has kindly gircn them 



' cheap law ? ' W K. . .. a -^--telr * 



Glass Pipes: RmWFC. We cannot answer letters ^™$' 

 you will find them advertised at page 7/0 of last we« 



Gooseberries; H D. The following varieties will ^afford a go 

 succession :-Early Sulphur, Early Green Hairy, Koo n , j, 

 Early White, Keens' Seedling Warrington ^J* d .J 

 Small Dark Rough Red, Red ^^l^J^m 



Cleworth's White Lion, Collier's joiiy auk**.. 

 Strawberry is later than the British Queen.il f 0Id 



Names of Fruits: W H S. 1, Northern J™™*^ ^ E St 

 Nonpareil ; 3, Hawthornden ; 4, New ; ^^/^nonne; 



1, Court Pendu Plat ; 3, Golden Noble ; 6, 

 10, Minchall Crab ; 30, Beurre Diel.il 



is 



cr 

 6 



Calend 



(For the ensuing week) 



PLANT DEPARTMENT 



The season of the year is fast' »™™„i • 

 everything in the shape of «o^.*E° Mh,,,ff 



scarce, and consequently •»«-* • 



can be had. In the early 



when 

 always most 



that cutting of that c^a^ing It Te^Cct^ 

 Oranp, should be struck, and forC&^^f 1 * 6 

 might come in usefully at this time mmS* « ? ev 

 P^nts suitable for the tables of the 1^1*™°™* 



-A their ttf&ft^t S; 



T^St is f found i h ep ^ '^tL£S£ 



Itl 8 l ! °- a u? g00d kLnds of Pear ™* Apple which 

 may be desirable to increase, and lay them well into 



the ground on the north side ofawall. The wood for his 

 purpose should be the well ripened shoots of last year 



» J ITf T* / ^^ ^Provi^leonly such as are healthy! 

 and perfectly free from all kinds of insects. Cutting 

 of choice Gooseberries and Currants should be nut in • 

 and the Bur Apple, which is a good stock for dessert 

 Apples, should also be struck from cuttings, lemovC 

 all buds except three or four at the top, so L toTet rid 

 of suckers. Handsome standard Currant 3m« 



:z: m S ob iak d e j tV 9plittin ? 1 oM ^^sz 



many stems. Take them up wholly with plenty of roots 



thelhUr in .! 0Sing,e Stems ' trim the rLts,Ld spur 

 * e , t°?ly.. th , e st f ra ' as ^ "HI bear all the way up ; 



Names of Plants : A 

 for the cup, and Ceraton 

 Carob tree, for the seed. 



f 



infectorift 



4 Conttant Subscriber. Q^. tree r 

 Ceratonia siliqua, tbeLocw ^^ 



There is do good doo* 



varuu tree, ior ine aeeu. iu c,t ., 4 li Cottage •**" 



Bubject; Loudon's "Encjclopsedia, \ a f* atioD .-^^ C ' 



Yilla Architecture," contain some in J or "^ ide8 . 3, Pba r - 



• Hibiscus acerifolius; 2, Nicandra pbys» oiu , .^^ 



is d> veTsifolia.— W C C. Pistacealentiecus, ™* fa bett€r 



biti 



Seeds ; P N. The pulp is useless to them, and is ^ geed5 

 away, if they are packed as we haye adrls ^ d iQt0 the kegs* 







in dry loam, and then ram the mass — 



Sugar : C R D. We do not believe that lea ^" u a t rwhieh J oa 

 at present in purifying sugar in the ^"^coiitiiB* 1 

 refer. It is true that common treacle 8on ^"rL de n vessels, 

 minute trace of lead, derived from the use 01 ,^ detdf an a 

 white paint, &c, but the quantity is ver/ 8 ^ 

 you need not be afraid of its injurious e » e % wer§ , »nd »J 



Supebphosphate : C E W. Cabbages, WW a0 dappUef 



like it, if dissolved mJ a J. e T r ' itt0 other', 



now aD fl *»*■? 



aorts of root crops like it, if dissolves m *- .^ 

 to the soil while they are growing. J ? ^"i nc 

 you must dilute it largely, and apply * eve J - 



like other liquid manure 



Made as "yours is, there 



is dm* 

 Mr. 



and tie them to a stout straight 



«andard at once. We haye 



ire to form l 



ant in good rich soil 



a 



of its burning the roots. — ^^.a bottom' * * 



Vine Bobdebs : WF. Chalk wake8^Tei7j^ h ^ ni bM » 



.dttS«» °[ 



broken b .nes and cow-dung. Drain weii, *^ ^ 90 in 



hnrdpr \» maA* rnvpr the Surface m 



Mitchell, the celebrated Grape ^°^ er ' K „, k f the cp^pw 

 borders on nothing else. The main du'k ^^durt °' 

 should be rich turf, to which may be ad aea ftftef j0 ar 



some yery fine standard 



border is made, cover the « . 



material that will throw oflf heavy wet. f 



, ■ receive - 



*♦• As usual, many communications have been heDe cess*ry 

 late, and others are unavoidably d«X A or the indjftg 

 inquiries can be made. Wemust ^°^Strtion of w^ 

 of those numerous correspondents *u« 

 interesting contributions ia atill delayeu, 



