August 20. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
027 
M 
» 
w 
D 
AUGUST 20—SEPTEMBER ], 1852. 
Weather near London in 1851. 
Barometer. Thermo. Wind. Rain in Tn. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
il.&S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
26 
Tn 
Prince Albert born, 1819- 
30.104 — 
29.887 
61—55 
s.w . 1 
11 
5 a. 5 
57 a. 6 
0 58 
11 
1 1 
32 
239 
F 
Lady’s Tresses flowers. 
29 . 993 — 
29.889 
68—52 
s.w. 
1.32 
7 
56 
2 4 
12 
1 1 
15 
240 
s 
29 . 739 — 
29 . 6(19 
61—41 
N.W. 
— 
8 
54 
3 14 
13 
0 
58 
241 
|29 
Son 
12 Sunday after Trinity. 
29 . 902 — 
29.707 
59—45 
N. 
07 
10 
62 
rises. 
© 
0 
40 
242 
L 
m 
Althrea frutex flowers. 
30.180 — 
30.024 
63—35 
N. | 
— 
11 
50 
7 a 42 
15 
0 
22 
243 
!si Trr 
Willow red-uiuler-wing Moth seen. 
30.240 — 
30.1/8 
68—51 
W. | 
— 
13 
47 
7 59 
16 
0 
3 
244 
1 
w 
European Thick-knee clamours. 
30.219 — 
30.136 
76—58 
s.w.! 
10 
15 
44 
8 a 15 
17 
0 
16 
245 
in 1850. 
these days are 71.7 ami 49.0 respectively. 1 ne II'r.iiA ^i. net. 
During the period 106 days were fine, and on 69 rain fell. 
t cold, 32°, on the 29 th 
NEW PLANTS. 
Allied Spterostema ( Spheeroslema propinqua).— .-This 
is a curious, half-climbing, ivoody plant, a native ot 
Nepaul, whence it was sent to England, as far hack as 
1828, hy Dr. Wallick. It flowered in 1851, at Ivew, and 
is figured and described in the Botanical Magazine, 
t. 4014. The genus was founded hy Blunie, and is 
derived from sphaira, a globe, and sterna, a stamen. The 
flowers are yellow, unisexual, the male, or stamens, being 
produced in one flower, and the pistil, or female, in 
another. The stamens are collected together in clusters, 
forming a globe-like body, whence the name. The fruit 
is a red berry, tasteless, and produced like currants, on 
long receptacles. It belongs to a small order of plants, 
little known in this country, called Kadsurads (Scliizan- 
dracese), after Kadsura japonica, another half-climbing 
plant like the present, not uncommon in British 
gardens. The structure of the wood of this plant has 
often been remarked as very curious, being destitute of 
the usual annual rings. It is the Kadsura propinqua 
of Dr. Wallick. It was observed hy Dr. Hooker, in the 
Sikkim Himalaya, at an elevation of 0,000 feet. The 
flowers are fragrant, and the shrub, as a whole, hand¬ 
some. The natives eat the berries. Leaves pointed, 
egg-shaped, on short foot-stalks, slightly toothed at the 
edge, milky green below, alternate. Male flowers have 
nine sepals arranged in threes, pale yellow, and like a 
corolla; anthers twelve to sixteen in number, without 
any filament. Female flowers composed of sepals like 
those of the male; style none.—J. B. 
Culture and Propagation .—This has been hitherto con¬ 
sidered as a warm greenhouse plant, hut I am almost 
sure that is a mistake, and it is nearly hardy; at least, as 
hardy as Kadsura japonica, which stood out with me for 
several hard winters without injury. From Nepaul it 
extends to the Sikkim Himalayahs, and we have hardy 
plants from the same range where this was found. It 
grows well against a trellis. The Kadsurads all strike 
very readily from cuttings, and will grow in any good 
garden soil. D. Beaton. 
The hope we expressed that a recurrence of fine dry 
weather at the commencement of August would be 
vouchsafed, has not been realized. On the contrary, 
we speak of the south of England, there has been a 
series of wet mild days—weather the most conducive 
to the occurrence of the potato murrain, aud evidence 
accumulates that it is very prevalent, but not to the 
extent interested parties represent. Letters pour in upon 
us, some stating that it prevails alike in the late aud in 
the early-planted, and others even bring forward evidence 
to prove that the late-planted are most free from disease. 
We will print one of these testimonies from a trust¬ 
worthy correspondent, aud then add our commentary. 
His letter is dated August 14th, and is as follows :— 
“I think there is no point more strongly maintained in 
your publication than the advantage of planting potatoes 
very early; and feeling great respect for the opinions of your 
writers, who are generally professional men, I determined 
to do as they advised. I always plant a few early potatoes 
in my garden, and my main crop in one of my farmer’s 
fields, who never objects to the room I occupy, provided I 
clean and manure the land. My gardener did what I re¬ 
commended at once; but when I told the farmer I wished 
to plant my potatoes in February, or, at the latest, in March, 
and said what The Cottage Gardener had written, he 
laughed, and said 1 He knew better than any of them.’ Ha 
added that ‘ Them men who writes in books about such 
things, don’t know half so well as we farmers, that have to 
pay rents and live hy our farms, and I knows that the 
potatoes planted early is not half so good as them that is 
put in late.’ Well, by a little perseverance, I persuaded 
him to let me plant my potatoes in March, while he delayed 
putting in his until May. Mine, of course, were much for¬ 
warder in growth than his; but I did not find that they 
ripened much sooner. At last, the time came in autumn 
when they were all to be taken out of the ground, and con¬ 
ceive my surprise when I tell you that his tvere far better 
No. CCIV., Vol. VIH 
