CONTEMPORARY WRITINGS. 
237 
weeds were almost unknown, at least botani- 
cally, and when there were but miserable 
originals of our splendid florist's flowers. " A 
great variety of Heartsease," says the author, 
"adorned the sterile plain." If the writer 
could peep out from his grave and see the great 
variety of Heartsease that adorn our gardens, 
great would be his astonishment. The book 
must be amusing in the present day. 
Pyrus nepalensis. — The fruit of this is 
said to be good when baked, though in a raw 
state only fit for pigs. 
Rain. — The rain during the last year dou- 
bled in quantity the fall of 1847 — viz. the 
year to December, 1847, 21 in. T 9 ^, the year 
ending December, 1848, 45 in. ^ 4 ~. 
Experiment on Grapes. — An anonymous 
correspondent says that a gentleman, in the 
neighbourhood of Oporto, split a vine-shoot 
(white grapes) very carefully down the middle, 
cutting the bud in half, and then split a cor- 
responding shoot on a black vine, and united 
them as in common grafting, and the produce 
of the vine was white and black grapes on 
the same bunch, and on others variegated 
fruit. It is a curious experiment, and we 
should blame nobody for trying it. 
Fruit under Glass. — A novel plan of 
treating fruit-trees consists of growing on a 
trellis, under glass. The novelty consists of 
making the trellis of rough wood, merely 
crossed and fastened, without mitreing or 
carpentry, but with a top and bottom rail. 
These trellises are not to be upright, but 
sloping from the ground in front, to two feet 
or two feet six inches at the back ; upon this 
a rough, heavy frame, that will hold glasses a 
foot from the trellis, is placed, and lights or 
sashes, made in the roughest possible manner, 
and glazed, complete the affair. By keeping 
the wet off after the fruit is gathered, the 
wood ripens better, and by the preservation of 
the tree from frosts, they bear better than when 
exposed, or at least ripen the fruit better. 
Pentstemon speciosum. — A writer says : — 
" Nothing can be more charming in the 
flower-garden than a bed well filled with this 
plant, properly treated and in full bloom." 
The seed is to be sowed in sandy loam in 
the autumn, and placed in a cold frame ; in 
March to be removed to the greenhouse, where 
they may remain till May ; then potted singly 
in 60-sized pots, in soil of three parts loam 
and o^e part cow-dung ; to be shifted and 
shaded occasionally till October, and then 
planted in a bed of rich compost. Protect 
them in the winter, and they will bloom abun- 
dantly in the spring. 
Plants from Leaves. — In the striking of 
leaves of the Lemon-tree, we are told that 
" the leaf must be the produce of the same 
spring, and be healthy and full-grown when 
detached from the branch, and particular 
attention must be paid that not the least sign 
of an eye or bud is perceptible on the angle 
formed by the stalk of the leaf and the branch, 
in which case the leaf is perfectly useless for 
propagation. If a leaf of the above descrip- 
tion is obtained, it is put into a flower-pot, 
and a slow heat and continual and even mois- 
ture supported." It is added that, " when 
due attention is paid to the above, you may 
be sure of success." It is inferred from this 
that the bud at the base of a leaf is formed by 
the leaf and from the leaf, and that if the bud 
has begun to form the leaf will not strike. 
Indian Azaleas. — To propagate thesp, 
strike cuttings when the plant is in the 
most vigorous growth, re-pot them after 
blooming, when they begin to make their 
growth, and keep them warm and moist 
under glass until the growth is completed, 
when they may be placed on an east or west 
border till the autumn. 
Vegetables. — The following have been 
recommended : — Beans, early Mazagan, long 
pod, and broad Windsor ; Peas, early Kent, 
early Charlton, Fairbeard's Champion, Au- 
vergne, Woodford's Green Marrow, Knight's 
Dwarf Marrow, and Tall Marrow; Cabbages, 
early York, Vanack, Pomeranian ; For Pick- 
ling, the small dark red ; Brocoli, Grange's 
early cauliflower, Hammond's fine white Cape, 
Knight's Protecting, Walcheren, and Snow's 
superb white ; Lettuces, white Paris Cos, 
green ditto, brown Dutch, Malta and Ver- 
sailles, the artichoke-leaved lettuce ; Kidney 
Beans, Wilmot's true forcing, cream-speckled, 
early Dutch, black Belgian, or the Negro, and 
Shilling's new French bean ; Onions, Dept- 
ford, Beading, yellow Spanish, Strasburg, 
blood-red, and James's keeping ; the Nocera 
for pickling. 
WinterTemperature for Stove Plants. 
Mr. Spencer says that he keeps the winter tem- 
perature of his stove from 40° to 50° by fire 
heat, and the plants grow all the better for it 
in the spring. There is no doubt of this. 
But the real use of stoves is to supply us with 
flowers in winter, as well as to preserve the 
tender plants that require protection, because 
we have abundance of our own flowers for 
the spring and summer. 
Horse-Chestnuts as Food. — The disco- 
very of the fact that horse-chestnuts may be 
applied as human food is claimed for Madame 
Bernhardt, who discovered what is called " the 
secret" before M. Flandin, who communicated 
it to the Academy of Sciences at Paris. 
Ice-house. — Oak slabs are recommended 
for the sides of the well rather than bricks, it 
having been found that the ice had disappeared 
in one with brick sides, while it was preserved 
in one with oak sides and puddled outside. 
