and of IRural Imj^romment generally^ during 1838. 549 



during the preceding summer. Thus the Magnolm tripetala 

 and the common catalpa, both of which, in our gardens, make 

 long shoots of soft spongy wood, which seldom thoroughly ripen, 

 if planted on the sides of hills or mountains, where the soil is thin 

 and dry, and the air dry and clear, would produce shoots only 

 a few inches in length, and ripen them thoroughly. On the other 

 hand, there are spongy-wooded plants which belong to climates 

 having mild winters, and these it is impossible to acclimatise in this 

 manner ; because, however well ripened the wood might be during 

 summer, the severity of our winters, if the plants stood in an 

 elevated exposed situation, would destroy it entirely. The 

 common fig, and the different varieties of i?6sa semperflorens, 

 are plants which belong to this class. Supposing both of 

 these to ripen their wood in dry soil, on a mountain side, they 

 would not be able to resist the winter there ; but, if they can 

 be made to ripen their wood (which they do) in plains, they will 

 live through ordinary winters in such situations, without any 

 protection ; and through severe ones, with a slight covering, or 

 when closely trained to a wall. 



The common mode of acclimatising tender exotics is, to plant 

 them against walls ; and this is undoubtedly preferable to every 

 other mode ; because the wall, in the season for ripening the 

 wood, affords greater heat, and the shoots being spread out against 

 it, their leaves are more completely exposed to the light. But, 

 to render a wall effective in the process of acclimatising, two 

 things (unfortunately generally neglected) are essential: 1., to 

 employ such a soil as will not cause the plant to produce much 

 more wood than it will ripen ; and, 2., to have such an arrange- 

 ment as will give the power of preventing rains from falling on 

 the soil in which the plant grows, during great part of the autumn 

 and winter; in short, which will enable the gardener to retain no 

 more moisture in the soil, when the plant is not in a growing 

 state, than may be found necessary to prevent the spongioles of 

 the fibrils from shriveling. 



It is almost unnecessary to mention, that, by the expression 

 " acclimatising," we do not mean to infer that it is possible to 

 alter the constitution of the species, but merely the habit of the 

 individual, so as to render it somewhat hardier. Thus, common 

 hardy annuals sown in the beginning of autumn in rich soil, in 

 a sheltered situation, Avill produce plants much more easily in- 

 jured by the winter's frost, than if they had been sown in a dry 

 poor soil, and in an exposed situation. In like manner, annual 

 plants raised in autumn, whatever may be the soil and situation, 

 will, if repeatedly transplanted, through the check they receive by 

 that process, grow slower, and become less spongy, than if al- 

 lowed to remain undisturbed. This is the whole extent to which 

 the process of what is called acclimatising can go. No species 



N N 3 



