33-1 



Notices of Books, 



[Aprii, 



advantages resulting from early publicity, more effectually to secure 

 which, the transactions are published in parts every three or four 

 months. 



The present volume contains 69 original papers occupying the first 

 1£>8 pages ; an appendix; and the remaining portion of the volume 

 (103 pages), under the head of ' Proceedings', gives an abstract of the 

 whole business transacted at the various meetings of the Society. The 

 papers are, as a matter of course, miscellaneously arranged, in the order 

 they were read at the successive meetings. In this notice, instead of 

 considering them seriatim, we will arrange our remarks under separate 

 heads of horticulture and agriculture ; the latter divided into two 

 branches, 1st as applied to the production of food ; 2d to commercial pro- 

 duce—the second occupying by far the larger portion of the volume. 



Of the sixty papers, six only can be considered exclusively horticul- 

 tural, the first is from the pen of Mr. Masters, the intelligent head gar- 

 dener of the Botanic Garden, " On the Propagation of JSscogenom 

 Plants:' 



The term exogenous applies to all dicotyledonous plants 3 but, in the 

 present instance, it may be considered as restricted to trees and shrubs, 

 furnished with a distinct bark, and increasing outwards by annual lay- 

 ers of wood deposited between the bark and that of the preceding 

 year ; in contradistinction to the whole tribe of palms, which never in- 

 crease in thickness from the first, and harden by age from the surface 

 towards the centre. These last, not producing buds and branches, can- 

 not be propagated by any of the methods adapted to increase exogen- 

 ous plants ; namely, grafting, layering, cutting or goothes. The main 

 object of the paper is to make better known, and show the advantage 

 of, this last method over all the others. The operation is a very sim- 

 ple one, and much more practised among native than European gar- 

 deners. " In young branches of exogenous plants the bark is easily se- 

 parated from the wood, and if from a young branch of the Letchee tree 

 (or indeed any other tree) we take off a ring of bark nearly an inch in 

 breadth, at a small distance below a healthy leaf-bud, taking care to cut 

 off all communication between the bark above and below ; and at the 

 same time if we cover the wound with soft well tempered earth, binding 

 it on securely with any soft bandage, and keeping the whole constantly 

 moistened with water ; at the end of about 4 months we shall obtain a 

 strong well rooted plant. As the fibres are emitted from the buds that 

 are above the wound, they will descend into the ball of earth and form 

 roots ; as soon as they are seen protruding themselves through the ban- 

 dage, the branch may be cut off and planted where it is to remain. This 

 method is called propagating by gootties, and appears to be the most 

 expeditious method of obtaining strong well rooted plants," 



