JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ March 17, 1863. 



About a month ago I crossed Phalsenopsis Sohilleriana with 

 the new Bornean variety, and have a splendid seed-pod as the 

 result of that experiment. There are several varieties of 

 Schilleriana, some producing flowers much more perfect than 

 others, and varying in shades of colour. Some, too, are much 

 closer arranged on the spike, and show at once the correctness 

 of the enunciation that a plant scarcely ever reproduces an exact 

 likeneBS of itself. 



The Bornean variety is much the best of all the grandidora 

 breed. Its flowers are larger, of greater substance, and of 

 inimitable ptvrity of white. Its form is as good as amabilis, 

 both sepals and petals being larger and more full, and the 

 flowers are so closely arranged on the spike, although not con- 

 fused, as to give it a very formidable appearance. Its only 

 damaging point is, that the edges have a tendency to turnback ; 

 and this, in a florist's point of view, somewhat mars its individual 

 beauty. 



To return to the experiments. I was curious to try my hand 

 at hybridising ; and having a nice plant, with a couple of fine 

 flowers on it, of Paphinia cristata, I fixed upon trying to cross 

 it with one of its terrestrial congeners — Calanthe vestita. In 

 this I was also successful, for a fine pod hangs on the plant as a 

 voucher thereto. I also hybridised Limatodes rosea with this 

 same Calanthe, which has been done beforetime, I understand, 

 with success, so that I did not value this hybrid so much. The 

 pod of this is now ripe, and I will be enabled to enter into the 

 second, and, to my thinking, most difficult part of the 

 experiment. 



Now, in conclusion, there are two points that I should like 

 the scientific pen of Mr. Darwin to throw some light upon ; and 

 that is, Why these abortive flowers produce seed-pods to all 

 outward appearance as perfect as those that have been impreg- 

 nated? And why thoBe flowers that never expanded, whose 

 organs of fructification never were under the influence of light 

 and atmosphere in the same way as other perfect flowers are, 

 produced seed-pods at all? — James .Anderson, Meadow Bank, 

 Uddingstone. 



GALVANIC PROTECTOR foe KEEPING SNAILS, 

 SLUGS, &c, OFF FLOWER-BEDS. 



Pbofessoe William Thompson recently, before proceeding to 

 the regular business of tbe natural philosophy class in Glasgow 

 University, said that a very curious application of Sulzer's 

 experiment had been made known to him. This experiment, as 

 they were already aware, was : — When a piece of copper or 

 silver and a piece of zinc are placed one above and the other below 

 the tongue, and then put iu metallic contact with each other, 

 either by direct contact between them, or by wires connected 

 with them, and put with their ends in contact at any distance, an 

 electric current was produced and felt in the tongue, this organ 

 acting aB an electrolytic conductor. He had great pleasure in 

 bringing before them a practical application of this experiment 

 for the purpose of protecting flower-beds from the inroads of 

 snails, slugs, and other kinds of creeping creatures. He had 

 not, indeed, seen it ; but he had been assured of its success. 

 The way to apply the experiment was as follows : — A zinc plate, 

 the upper edge of which was bound with copper, and elevated 

 2 or 3 inches from the ground, was so placed as to encircle the 

 plot of ground which was to be protected. When any creeping 

 thing, attempting to get over this little wall, came in contact with 

 the zinc and the copper, it experienced an electric shock; indeed, 

 it could not be an instant in any position touching the two 

 metals at once without such a result taking place. The question 

 now to be solved was, whether the snail, slug, toad, or frog 

 would be so sensitive as to be deterred and struck back by the 

 amount of the shock which it received under these circumstances. 

 Mr. George Edgar, who was the inventor of this remarkable 

 application, had assured him that he had tried the experiment 

 with leecheB, and that it succeeded perfectly. Mr. Edgar was 

 present and had brought what was necessary to test the ap- 

 plication. 



Mr. Edgar then came forward and made experiments before 

 the class. He placed leeches both inside and outside a part of 

 the (able enclosed by a zinc wall with copper mountings. When 

 the leeches crept so far up the plate that their bodies touched 

 both the zinc and the copper, they experienced an electric shock, 

 and fell backwards. 



Professor Thompson remarked that Mr. Edgar had tried the 

 experiment with snails and slugs, and found they were more 



sensitive to the shock than leeches. As he had already remarked, 

 the question to be solved was whether the creatures were strong 

 enough to persevere in getting over the wall, notwithstanding 

 the shocks they invariably received. He might add that it was 

 not necessary that the bottom of the plate should be buried in 

 the earth, as it was enough if the plate was so placed in the 

 ground that the creatures whose inroads were to be prevented 

 could not get under it. To prevent the zinc plate from oxidising 

 by damp, &c, the lower part of it might be protected by a 

 coating of paint, pitch, or some similar substance. Indeed, the 

 plate might be completely insulated from the earth, all that was 

 necessary for the electric effect desired being, as he had stated, 

 zinc and copper in metallic connection with one another, so 

 placed that the marauder could not get into the guarded precincts 

 without touching the two metals simultaneously. Of course, if 

 the zinc is well polished, the shock given is greater than with a 

 tarnished zinc surface. If, therefore, this plan of protecting 

 flower-beds and other plots of ground produced all the results 

 which were desired and anticipated, it was possible enough that 

 one of the duties of a gardener in a morning would be to go 

 about and polish his zinc and copper snail-guard. 



[This is no novelty. It was invented by Mr. W. Walker of 

 Hull, and communicated by him to the Society of Arts as long 

 ago as 1839. A full description with illustrative drawings are 

 in Loudon's " Gardener's Magazine " for 1841, showing how it 

 is adapted to flower-pots and other garden uses. The metals 

 becoming oxidised, and then ceasing to galvanise, require often to 

 be rubbed bright with sand-paper, and this trouble has caused 

 their disuse. Two or more makers advertised these plant-pro- 

 tectors at 14*. per dozen in the periodicals of 1841. — Eds. 

 J. of H.] 



ARRANGEMENT OF TURF IN FORMING A 

 GARDEN. 



Grass lawns are such indispensable features in modern 

 gardens that few, if any, can be said to be complete without 

 them. Sometimes a broad sweep of lawn is made the principal 

 feature ; but more frequently grass forms the groundwork to set 

 off others, and well it is adapted to the purpose. 



The time is at hand when lawns will give unmistiikeable signs 

 that they require attention, that the scythe and the mowing 

 machine must be set to work to keep them in order. This also 

 is the time when many small gardens are laid out or altered ; 

 and as, more or less, grass enters into the composition of all, 

 or nearly all, of them, a word on the subject may not be 

 inappropriate. 



It cannot but have struck many working gardeners that where 

 anything has been attempted beyond the ordinary level grass 

 plat and grass verge one important point has been entirely 

 overlooked, or at least not sufficiently taken into consideration, 

 and that is the time and expense necessary to keep it in proper 

 order during the growing season. Large quantities of turf are 

 laid in such a manner that neither scythe nor machine can be 

 used on it. It is formed into such sharp angles, both horizon- 

 tally and vertically, bo thickly planted with shrubs, &c, or roots 

 and rocks form such intricate passages, that nothing but the 

 small hand-shears can be used to cut it, and this, it is well 

 known, is a very slow method of grass-cutting. 



I once knew an instance where a gentleman, who had an eye 

 to the fanciful in gardening, had his garden laid out in such a 

 manner that, although nearly half of it was turf, there was 

 scarcely a part where anything but the shears could be used on 

 it. It looked very well while the grass was inactive, but when 

 the growing season arrived it was found that the ordinary 

 labour was not sufficient by two-thirds to keep the garden in 

 order; and as he had not calculated on the additional expense 

 of employing another man merely to Clip the grass, he found 

 that he had committed a grand error, fur cf all things that tend 

 to make a garden unattractive nothing is more effectual than 

 neglected turf, and that still more so when formed into steep 

 banks, narrow windings, and fanciful edgings. 



In very small gardens which take less time to manage, 6uch 

 intricacies of turf may be excusable, as it can be mure easily 

 controlled ; but even here some consideration ought to be given 

 to tbe time that can be spared during the summer for keeping 

 it close and neat, as, where this can be done, some of the 

 prettiest effects can be produced by a well-planned mixture of 

 turf, shrubs, and flower-beds. 



