192 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ August, 
his own mode of cultivation as follows :—In March we open a trench 2 ft. wide 
and 1 ffc. deep ; this we fill up and raise to the height of 18 in. from the surface with well- 
decomposed dung and leaves, the whole being trod well together ; the line is then put down 
G in. from either side of' the ridge, and the whole covered up with soil, thus forming a good 
ridge 18 in. wide on tho top, with the centre 3 in. lower than the sides and ends, thus forming 
a kind of basin for the water. In planting, we select some straight roots from 9 in. to 12 in. 
long, which wo plant with the setting-stick, in holes 1 ft. deep, and slanting to the interior of 
the ridge with the crowns 1 in. below the surface. Wo plant two rows on each side. We 
make one ridge every year GO yards long, on which wo plant two rows in tho way above 
stated, and are amply rewarded for our trouble with sticks varying from 18 in. to 30 in. long, 
and from l£ in. to 2^ in. thick. 
- ®£nder the title of High-class Kitchen Gardening (London : Bradbury 
and Co.), Mr. Earley lias published a handy volume of some 238 pages, in which 
the cultivation of the various esculents grown in this country is treated of in a 
brief and thoroughly practical manner, tho best sorts to grow, the quantity of seed required, 
and the whole process of cultivation being noted down. It is an excellent book for young 
gardeners to study, as they are apt to think vegetable cultivation almost beneath their con¬ 
sideration, whereas it is the foundation of a gardener’s reputation; and it is no less useful for 
amateurs who care to make the best of their garden space. One brief quotation will show tho 
practical bearing of its teachings :—■“ Always be particular to pick the young pods off imme¬ 
diately they are fit for use. Do this, whether tho crop is in demand or not. To permit them 
to remain but a few hours longer than is necessary is to greatly impoverish the future bear¬ 
ing capacity of the plants.” This is said of French Beans, but it is sound advice in the case 
of all successional bearing plants. 
©fcttttatg. 
— in. Gustave Adolphe Thuret, of Antibes, a botanist of the first rank 
in tlie department of sea-weeds, died suddenly in May last. He was an enthusiastic 
gardener, and his garden was full of interesting plants. He was the first to dis¬ 
cover that the spores of certain Algae—whose spontaneous movement had been long observed, 
although its cause had not been ascertained—are provided with locomotive organs or cilia 
differently arranged in different genera. In conjunction with M. Decaisne, he ascertained that 
the conceptacles of Fucus , in which large brown sporangia and smaller sporidia had been 
found, either contain at one and the same time both sorts of organs, or contain each kind 
in a different conceptacle on tho same or on different plants; they made out subsequently 
that the sporidia set free a number of mobile transparent corpuscles which do not germinate; 
while the sporangium is divided into two, four, or eight parts, each of which constitutes a 
spore capable of germinating. Tho facility with which large quantities of spores and of 
antherozoids may be obtained from the dioecious species of Fucus enabled M. Thuret to give 
in 1853 the experimental demonstration of the sexuality of the Fucacese : kept apart, the two 
organs decomposed without germinating, but mixed together, the spores surround them¬ 
selves with a membraneous coat, and germinate. Since that time the nature of tho relation 
between the male corpuscle and the spore at the moment of fertilisation has been more com¬ 
pletely determined, but nothing essential has been added to the clearness of M. Thuret’s 
demonstrations of the sexuality of these plants. 
- PfR. William Rollisson, of the ancient firm of Rollisson and Sons, 
Tooting, Surrey, died on June 18, in liis 73rd year. Tlie Tooting nurseries were 
at one time noted for the numerous first-rate varieties of Cape Heaths raised, and 
for the orchids and new plants imported and sent out from thence. Mr. W. Rollisson was a 
genial, kind-hearted man, considerate towards all about him, and though advancing years 
had for some time prevented him from taking an active part in business matters, ho will be 
deeply regretted by a wide circle of friends. 
- ^Hr. George Edward, of York, died on June 10, in his 59th year. 
He was an enthusiastic florist and seedsman, and a frequent exhibitor of florists’ 
flowers, such as Pelargoniums, Dahlias, &c., at the great shows of the North of 
England. 
