344 
THE JOUENAL OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
THE JOUENAL OF THE HORTICULTUllAL SOCIETY.* 
The July number of this work has several 
very excellent papers. The table of temper- 
atures, for the use of gardeners, arranged 
according to the respective localities in which 
the observations have been made, is a weighty 
affair, making but little show, but requiring 
an immense labour. A description of the 
Kaisha, a new Syrian apricot, introduced by 
John Barker, Esq., of Suedia, is very inter- 
esting, as it opens up a new family, as it were, 
of a fruit of which we had but few varieties. 
A paper, by James Duncan, on tlie subject of 
edgings to flower-beds, gives a lesson that will 
be new to hundreds, altliough the writer seems 
to have practised it for years. He recommends 
very narrow edgings of turf, as narrow as one 
inch, instead of bos or any other of the nu- 
merous subjects which have been adopted 
from time to time. We cannot, in the face of 
a man's declaration that he has tried a thing 
for years, deny that it may be made available; 
but we are more than half inclined to doubt 
the assumed easiness of keeping it in trim. 
It would seem to us, who have not tried it, 
that there would be very considerable difficulty 
in keeping it in order, on account of the dis- 
position it has generally to spread. It is quite 
certain, that unless it be kept in repair it 
would soon be a nuisance ; and however suc- 
cessful the writer may have been, we doubt if 
it would be sound long together in the hands 
of ordinary gardeners. The idea of keeping 
tiirf only an inch broad in good condition 
Avould alarm some men ; at the same time, it 
must be conceded that if it could be kept in 
high condition, nothing v/ould be neater or 
better. The paper is worth reading, and the 
experiment worth trying, though we confess 
we are strong advocates for box. A paper 
on the cultivation of the genus Epacris is a 
little bit of sound practical gardening which 
we subscribe to ; and because all we have done 
with plants of the same habit has pi'oved the 
efficacy of the directions, we shall some day 
extract this paper. The paper by Mr. Fleming, 
gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, on per- 
manent studs on walls for training fruit trees, 
is not new — that is to say, the idea is not new. 
"When the patent leaden wire, or we suppose 
we must say metal wire, was first introduced 
to be used instead of threads, permanent 
studs were recommended, and it has been 
followed with great advantage by many prac- 
tical men. The patent wires wei'e as easily 
* The Journal of the Horticultural Society of Lon- 
don. Vol. IV. Part III. London : published by the 
Society, 21, Regent Street. 
managed as a string or bass tie, and they 
might be removed and replaced several times 
without being the worse for it ; indeed, proper 
studs or neat headed nails were introduced at 
the same time. Mr. Fleming recommends bass 
ties, and the common cast-iron nails, first made 
red hot and then plunged into oil, by which, 
he says, oxidation is prevented, and these are 
to be placed in lines and at proper distances. 
Of course, whatever is to be permanent should 
be uniform ; and this among other matters 
was suggested at the time the wires were in- 
troduced, and we confess we like wires better 
than bass ties. Mr. George Lovell, the gar- 
dener to the Marchioness of Hastings, has 
some observations on the growth and matura- 
tion of the wood of plants. This is a clever 
paper, and can only be done justice to by re- 
publishing it. The writer has some peculiar 
crotchets, but in the main he conveys a good 
deal of good information on subjects which 
are little thought of even by those whose 
practice in a great measure assimilates. "Con- 
tributions to a History of the Relation between 
Climate and Vegetation in various parts of the 
Globe," gives us some valuable information on 
the subjects of vines, figs, and other fruits as 
connected with the climate of Australind, 
Western Australia, and will be read with 
great interest. An excellent paper, by Mr. 
Henry Bailey, of Nuneham, on the proper 
management of fruit-tree borders, Avill be a 
useful study to those who have been hithei'to 
careless in these matters. And an article by 
Mr. Conway, of Earl's Court, on the cultui'e 
and management of the scarlet geranium is 
very likely, from its u^efulness, to be trans- 
formed to our pages. But perhaps the most 
valuable part of the number is Mr. Gordon's 
elaborate notes upon some newly introduced 
conifers, collected by Mr. Hartweg in Upper 
California, no doubt long before the mineral 
productions occupied so large a space in the 
minds of travellers to that locality. Descrip- 
tions of four interesting species or varieties, 
with excellent illustrations, will be highly ap- 
preciated by those who take delight in this 
extensive family. Notices of the new plants 
from the Society's garden occupy a few pages 
profitably ; and the proceedings of the Society, 
though mentioned last, must be regarded as 
the staple commodity in this journal, and per- 
haps in no quarterly part has this portion 
been more important. It records changes 
greatly to the advantage of the Society. We 
cannot pass over the work without giving our 
humble testimony to the great improvement 
