180 
TflE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Decembkr 11. 
Prince Albert.—A distinct variety from the pre¬ 
ceding ; distinct in colour, for it is a crimson-purple, 
and l)as a small recurved petal in the centre of each 
llower. It is a most abundant bloomer, good form and 
substance. Though so good, it is not generally known 
at a distance from London, but X can safely say is 
worthy of general cultivation. 
Shrublanb White.— The true species. Petunia nycta- 
qiniflora has white flowers, and produces them true 
from seeds, but they have generally a greenish cast 
witli them, and produce an immense quantity of foliage. 
The Shruhland variety, on the contrary, is pure white, 
I an abundant flowerer, and has small foliage, yet is 
equally, if not more, hardy, and propagates so freely 
from cuttings, that it may be had in great numbers 
i from a small stock of plants carried safely through the 
j winter. T. Appleby. 
I (To he continued.) 
Sale at the Surrey Zoological Gardens. — On 
Tuesday, November 27, the entire zoological collection 
of the Surrey Gardens was disposed of by ]\lr. Stevens, 
preparatory to alterations necessary in consequence of 
Mons. Julien becoming the Lion of the place. It may 
jiossibly interest some of our reader's to know the expense 
of forming a Zoological as compared with that of a 
I Horticultural Garden; and we therefore quote a few of 
j the prices. The elephant realised 320 guineas; a 
I giraffe, 250 guineas; pair of camels, 110 guineas; a 
{ lion, 200 guineas; lioness, 120 guineas; a tigress, 79 
I guineas; a male ostrich, L'27 ; a pair of emus, L19 10 ; 
pair of porcupines, L8 15; a single pelican, i.T8 10; 
5 boas averaged ^4 each; Gold Pheasants, about TO 
per pair; and Silver, about .£2 10. Many of the lots 
sold at very low prices, partly in consequence of the 
season, andf partly from the forced sale. The elephant 
was purchased by Mr. Batty, of equestrian notoriety. 
WOODS AND FORESTS. 
THE NURSERY DERARTMENT. 
Every good forester will, if possible, have a piece of 
, ground set apart for a nursery. The usefulness of such 
a plot is, undoubtedly, great, so much so as greatly to 
overbalance the expense. IMany owners of large estates 
have found a nursery for forest trees indispensable. One 
of the best I know belongs to the Duke of Norfolk, 
at Norwood, near Sheffield, in Yorkshire.j The Duke 
has large tracts of moorland, and every year plants 
many acres. It was found, when trees were had from a 
sale nursery, that the trees were so nursed, by being 
! sheltered, and grown thick, that many of them perished 
on being planted out on a bleak, barren moor; hence, 
the forester thought it would be advisable to purchase 
small plants of a sale nurseryman, fence in a piece of 
I ground, bring it into cultivation, and plant the young 
i trees (two or three years old) in it thinly, and thus insure 
I trees for his new plantations of stout, robust habit, 
well rooted, which of course, were found to do much 
' better. Another advantage was that of not taking up 
j too many trees at once. If a certain number of acres 
I were set apart to he planted, and no nursery near the 
I plot, the trees were ordered, as many as were needed, 
I from a nursery, they were all taken up, bundled, and 
sent off, perhaps, a considerable distance. The roots, 
as a matter of course, got very dry; the trees arrived, 
and were laid in by the heels, and then planted as con¬ 
venience and the weather allowed. The consequence 
might be easily imagined. One-third, or nearly so, died, 
and the rest had to struggle hard for life for two or three 
years before they made any growth. Hence, the owner 
was dissatisfied, the forester and nurseryman blamed, 
and much time and loss incurred. Besides that, in 
order to secure a crop, at least double the quantity of 
trees were required. All this loss and disappointment 
might have been avoided by doing as the above-named 
Duke’s iorester did, that is, building a wall round 
a plot of ground, say four or six acres, in a part of the 
ground intended to be planted, having it well dug and 
cleaned, and the trees planted in it in nursery rows, 
not too thick, and kept clean till they were fit to plant 
out. 
There may be many persons, owners of large tracts of 
waste lands, that would like to follow such a praiseworthy 
example. X’or their benefit and direction T am now 
writing. My subject divides itself into the following 
heads. 1st, The situation of the ground. 2nd, The 
preparing the ground. 3rd, Procuring .and ])lanting 
the trees; and 4th, 'J’heir after management, till finally 
fit for planting out to form the intended forest. 
Private owners of such tracts will find many great 
advantages in adopting this plan, but more especially 
the great national forests would be benefited thereby. 
I do not know whether any of the Deputy Surveyors of 
I the royal forests have a nursery so managed, for such a 
purpose; but this I do know, that if they do not have 
such a training nursery they ought to lose no time in 
establishing one. 
1st, The frofer situation of the Nursery — Sup¬ 
posing a clever intelligent man was engaged to cover 
a certain tract of country with a forest, and that 
' district was a wild, bleak waste, he would immediately 
j take a survey of it, and choose a small plot for a 
I training nursery; the situation should be neither too 
j much sheltered, nor too much exposed; that is, he 
! would not choose it in a warm valley, nor adopt the 
spot on the top of a mountain. Extremes, even in the 
choice of the site for a nursery, are dangerous. Choose, 
then, the happy medium between the two extremes. 
The aspect is of little consequence, though a sloping to 
the west would be most advisable; the north is too 
cold, the south is too hot, and the east has the disad¬ 
vantage of being exposed to the early rays of the morn¬ 
ing sun, which are injurious to the young shoots of 
trees after a frosty night, early in spring, or late in 
autumn. In a few words, then, choose the site mode- 
I rately elevated, and gently sloping to the west, 
j The soil is also of little consequence, so that it is 
not all clay, all sand, or all gravel. Young trees grow 
fast enough in very moderate soil. 
2nd, Preparing the Soil. —The first thing requisite is 
to have the nursery well drained. Generally, moorland 
is stony; hence, in digging the drains plenty of stones 
will be dug out to place upon the drain-tiles. 1 always 
advise drain-tiles to be used in all draining operations. 
Any other material soon becomes choked u)). 
While the draining is being done the fence may be 
proceeded with. I consider it absolutely necessary that 
the nursery should have a good fence. Close paling, at 
least three feet high, will answer well for several years; 
but a wall of stone or brick is the best, and cheapest in 
the end. The entrance gate, too, should he a close one. 
The great object of this fence, and close gate is to keep 
out hares and rabbits, both very injurious to young 
forest trees. After the fence and the drains are com¬ 
plete, then proceed to put the ground in order. Roads 
and walks, at convenient distances, should bo set out. 
The soil, if any, should be thrown out on the quarters, 
and all stones that may be dug out of the ground will be 
useful to form the walls. Dig or trench the ground over 
as deep as possible, and finish the operation early in 
autumn. It is then ready for planting,—the directions 
for which I must reserve for the next opportunity. 
T, Appleby. 
{To be continued.) 
