September 30,1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 305 
we obtain chemical action, and it is from this source that vege¬ 
tation derives its primary impulse ; but the manner in wtrch this 
is effected must be left for the present. It will be necessary first 
to consider the behaviour of oxygen and carbon, which latter is 
the main food of the plant, towards each other, as well as their 
conduct generally under ordinary electric treatment. Burn a 
small piece of any animal or vegetable substance, and it will be 
converted into a dark carbonaceous mass. Now this carbon or 
charcoal is the fundamental material which constitutes the frame¬ 
work of every organic being ; and just as the bricks of a building, 
which, when pulled down, may be used over and over again and 
built up in any other form or description, so is the carbon inde¬ 
structible, allowing it to be re-dissolved and wrought up again and 
again into any other being. Take a piece of charcoal and bum 
it a second time and all its blackness will disappear, leaving only 
a small amount of white or grey ash—the earthy part of the 
original substance. The carbon will have been dissolved in the 
oxygen of the atmosphere and passed off into the latter as an 
inodorous and invisible gas, and it is commonly believed that this 
source furnishes the entire food of all vegetable life. There is 
reason, however, to consider this to be not strictly the case, as will 
be seen hereafter. 
If the two terminal conductors from a small battery of several 
pairs of elements be tipped with pieces of platinum wire, and 
these latter be then dipped into a portion of very dilute sulphuric 
acid and kept a short distance apart, bubbles of gas will be seen 
to be given off by each wire. These are the component gases 
oxygen and nitrogen, which, when comoined, constituted the 
water that has been electrically decomposed. This is termed 
“electrolysis—a loosening by electricity, and forms the first step 
in all electro-chemical action. The elements of any compound 
are first loosened from their original attractions, and then re¬ 
assorted according to whatever other elements may be within their 
reach, and occupying the requisite place in the scale of attrac¬ 
tions. Instead of the platinum-tipped electrodes let the copper 
wires be placed in an acid solution of sulphate of copper (the 
blue vitriol of commerce), and one—the positive wire, will be seen 
to dissolve, and at the same time a new fresh coating of bright 
copper will form upon the other wire—the negative. Now, in 
nature there is always this dissolving and reproduction going on 
simultaneously in the growth and renewal of organic forms, and 
it is this process which has to be encouraged by the application of 
all extraneous assistance. 
Carbon being insoluble in water and not adaptable as food in 
its solid state, the provision made is, that it can be dissolved by 
oxygen gas, and in this form is soluble in water. It now enters 
the plant in this liquid state, combined with other ingredients, 
and is transferred to all parts, even the minutest, as nutrient sap. 
Then, in the leaves exposed to the light or sunshine, it is again 
rendered insoluble by the oxygen being driven off. It used to be 
a very favourite experiment to enclose a sprig of Rosemary within 
an inverted jar of water placed in the sunshine, and then to prove 
that the gas exhaled was pure oxygen. It thus appears that the 
oxygen derived from the atmosphere serves principally the office 
of “ carrier,” or as a vehicle for the transport of carbon into aud 
out of the system—into plants and out of animals. But as both 
oxygen and hydrogen enter largely into the composition of 
plants there is every reason to infer that this is wholly derived 
from the water. The oxygen being attracted by the positive and 
repelled by the negative, it is thus driven into combination at 
both ends. By the negative it is recombined with hydrogen, pro¬ 
ducing damp or moisture (which will be again referred to), or the 
hydrogen may v >e combined with carbon, producing the oils and 
resins, &c.; whilst at the positive the oxygen will be united with 
carbon, forming carbonic acid. The nitrogen of the atmosphere 
may be united by either, by one into nitric acid, and by the other 
into ammonia or any other nitrogenous compounds.—W. K. 
Bridgman, Norwich. 
[The Fern fronds accompanying this communication were ex¬ 
tremely fine.—E ds.] 
PRIMULAS DAMPING OFF. 
It will soon be time for our good friends the Chinese Primulas 
to go off from that dreadful malady termed by different gardeners 
“ canker,” “ rotting at the neck,” or “ damping of the collar.” To 
those who may not fully understand the nature of the disease, I 
may say that it is simply the decay of the tender skiu of the stem 
of the plant just at and above the ground level, and that it is 
only in the winter it is seen. For my own part I would not 
know that there was such an affection decimating these beautiful 
winter flowers, were it not that the annual recurrence of remedies 
and modes of prevention given in the gardening journals keep the 
matter before my mind. The reason why so many fail in keeping 
these and many other plants in a state of health during the winter 
mouths is because they forget, or have never realised, the fact that 
the plants must be kept growing freely. Our Primulas are grown 
in a temperature of 50° to 55° throughout the winter. They are 
freely watered with liquid manure when they require it. and instead 
of getting unhealthy they require standing wider apart twice 
during the season. Treated thus we have had plants in February 
and March, grown in 5-inch pots, measuring 18 inches across. I 
certainly do not recommend a lower minimum temperature than 
45° for these plants during the winter months.—B. T. 
HOLIDAY NOTES. 
Your able correspondent, Mr. G. Abbey, at page 43 publishes a 
truth that employers would do well to consider—viz., that they 
advance their own interests when they give their gardeners an 
opportunity of visiting places of note. Such a holiday freely 
given is a gift doubly good, for it benefits both they who give and 
they who receive. However, as I do not intend to draw out these 
notes to any length I will briefly state what I saw at 
GARSTON VINEYARD, LIVERPOOL. 
This noted place continues to rank foremost amongst the Vine 
and Grape-producing nurseries of the United Kingdom. That 
Mr. Cowan is a master at the cultivation of the Vine in pots 
is amply demonstrated by the thousands of strong, clean, and 
healthy Vines 10 to 12 feet high now to be seen in the large 
house. These, at the time of my visit (August 3rd) were ripen¬ 
ing in the most satisfactory manner canes the thickness of a 
man’s forefinger and of the desirable firmness of character, and 
all raised from eyes this season ! for if 1 remember aright Mr. 
Cowan stated that he had not a “ cut-back ” on the place ; indeed 
the pot Vines alone are well worth a journey of a hundred miles 
to see. A house 150 feet by 32 feet, span-roofed, formerly occu¬ 
pied by fruiting Vines, chiefly Muscat of Alexandria, is now filled 
with Vines in pots. The old Muscat house is filled with as good 
a lot of Grapes as it contained twelve and fourteen years ago, 
which is saymg a great deal; in fact the Vines are as vigorous as 
ever they were, the causes not being far to seek—viz., judicious 
cropping, generous feeding, and constant introduction of young 
wood as the old stems deteriorate. The extension system is being 
carried out there with very favourable results as regards its 
application to the Vine. In a small house, which was formerly 
the early vinery (and which, by the way, is considerably elevated, 
the pathway and surface of the border being nearly 6 feet above 
the ground level), is a fine plant of Gros Guillaume, which has 
produced and finished a crop of 175 bunches averaging 2^ lt>s. 
each, and now covers, including this season’s extended growth, a 
superficial area of 1200 feet. This case is worth the consideration 
of those who find Gios Guillaume to be a shy bearer when grown 
on the short-spur and single-rod system. That grand midseason 
Grape, Madresfield Court, is another good example of extension 
at Garston, where it nearly fills what were formerly tw r o Peach 
houses ; it has produced this year 270 bunches of good size and 
quality. I think this Vine was planted ten years ago. 
I noticed in one of the plant stoves two good varieties of 
Croton C. Duke of Buccleuch and C. interruptum aureum, each 
very distinct in character, and will be very valuable for table 
decoration or exhibition purposes. There is a large number of 
clean healthy plants suitable for market in the other plant houses 
and pits, and Mr. Cowan thinks of destroying the Vines in the 
famous north vinery and filling it with Ferns, a class of plants he 
requires by the thousand every week in the year. 
The notorious lime kiln is still engaged in heatiDg nearly all 
the glass structures on the place. In spite of all that has been 
written about it, and judging by what I heard and saw, will con¬ 
tinue to do so, as the lime sold nearly clears the cost of all the 
coal consumed in the Vineyard. In conclusion I may say the 
fame of Garston Vineyard is in safe keeping whilst it is in the 
hands of Mr. Cowan.—J. U. S. 
The Palm Gardens of Elche. —These gardens are far-famed. 
Although the Dates are inferior to those of Africa and the East, 
they have a ready sale throughout Spain, where the other products 
of the tree are also largely utilised. The small leaves, which grow 
on the top of the tree, are tied for several months, till they blanch 
and lose all colour ; they are then cut and sold, to be dressed with 
ribbons and blessed, carried in procession upon Palm Sunday, or 
hung for the rest of the year on the balcony of a house. Other 
leaves are used in the manufacture of spurious cigarettes ; while 
the timber of the trunk, a firm, hard wood, is in request among 
the carpenters and handicraftsmen. But the Date fruit is the 
