EXPERIMENTS IN SOCIETY'S GARDEN. 



35 



In the garden of the Horticultural Society it is found to be 

 very easily cultivated. It grows without much care in a loamy 

 well-drained soil, and strikes freely from cuttings. It may pro- 

 bably succeed well if grafted on the deciduous hardy kinds of 

 Daphne. The main points in its cultivation, however, are a well 

 drained soil, full exposure to the sun when forming and ripening 

 its wood during the summer months, and rest during winter 

 when the leaves fall off. Attention to these matters will always 

 secure a fine show of bloom in the early part of spring. If it is 

 allowed to ripen its wood and lose its leaves in autumn, I have 

 no doubt that it may be brought into flower at any time during 

 winter by the application of heat, and is consequently well 

 adapted for forcing. 



It is impossible for me to say whether this plant will be hardy 

 enough to endure our English winters, although there is some 

 probability that it may. Its companions in the north of China 

 are such things as Macartney roses, Glycine sinensis, Chinese 

 pine, &c. The thermometer (Fahr.) on the Chekiang Hills 

 often sinks to within a few degrees of zero, and I never met with 

 the species in the southern parts of the Chinese empire. It is, 

 however, planted out in the Society's Garden, and its hardiness 

 will be proved during the present winter. Whether quite 

 hardy or not, it will always be a favourite amongst spring 

 flowers in the greenhouse, where it richly merits a place in every 

 collection. 



V. — Report on Experiments made in the Garden of the 

 Society, in 1 846, with Seeds prepared by Mr. Francis Henry 

 jBickes, of Mayence, on the Rhine. 



It having been announced that superior crops had been pro- 

 duced on very poor land, without the aid of manure, from seeds 

 prepared by Mr. Bickes, considerable interest was in conse- 

 quence excited. It was stated that favourable results were ob- 

 tained from the discovery in Prussia, Austria, Germany, Hol- 

 land, Belgium, France, and latterly in England. 



Mr. Bickes having offered to prepare seeds for trial in the 

 Society's Garden, various kinds were supplied to him for the 

 purpose. The seeds for the experiments, when taken out of the 

 respective packets, were separated into two as nearly equal por- 

 tions as possible ; one portion was forwarded to Mr. Bickes for 

 preparation, the other was retained for sowing unprepared, for 

 comparison. 



A piece of ground, 133 feet in length and 31 feet in breadth, 

 was uniformly prepared. In this the seeds were sown in rows 



D 2 



