THE COTTAGE GARDENEll. 
l)E(.K>IliER 1^. 
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large Peach and Apricot trees, taken up from the ground In 
October or November, and forced, to produce ripe Peaches, , 
itc., in iMay following. Tlie straiglit line shown in the 
sketcli represents an oil paper acieen betwixt the trees and i 
tlie hot manure, very essential when tlie trees are in tlower. i 
The manure is pitched in through arches from beliind ; ))nt | 
a Dutchman seldom renews it. I am not aware that my old ■ 
friend, Mr. Niemnn, ever did when he stood alone with his 
Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Figs, Raspberries, and Straw- 
berries, in former times, at the Shows at the liorticnltural 
Society. The great advantage the Dutch have over us in 
this description of forcing is their untiring, steady persever¬ 
ance,—wliat is generally understood under the name of 
plodding—securely covering up, giving little air, always on 
the w'atch and look out for the frost and sun ; the latter they 
modify by the application of birch. I think I hear some of ' 
my brothers calling out, “ The fruit under this ordeal c.an- : 
not be worth eating.” (Juite the contrary. Mr. Dutchman, ' 
though represented as fond of his pipe, is not behind John ! 
Bull in knowing what is good. Their gardeners, therefore, 
some time before the fruit is ripe, take every opportunity the 
weather will permit to give all the air they can ; and fre¬ 
quently draw all the lights otf; and I need hardly say it 
gives the fruit both colour and flavour. 
No. !) is a Dutch Raspberry Pit, a very simple affair; but ' 
though simple, Mr. Dutchman knows what to do with it. 
Just take a look at my sketch ; tliere is something apparently ' 
loose underneath where the roots of the Raspberries are | 
placed; this is manure, or anything that will create a ' 
bottom-heat. Mr. Dutchman likes a foundation, and here ; 
he lias it. Any one in the possession of a light could easily 
make such an affair, only you must not expect success 
without application. Covering and birch branches are again ! 
brought into action, and by these means he seldom has 
failures ; and I can assure you he is not satistied with 
mediocrity. Such apologies for Raspberries as have been i 
exhibited this season by some of the best gardeners in 
England would only be looked ujion by the Dutch with 
derision. 
A Dutch gardener grows his Lettuce most systematically, 
one under each square of glass only. He prefers lead sash- 
bars for this. AVliatis the reason of it? "Why, to let the rain ' 
reach their roots sometimes; and this is the reason he i 
places the plants in the centre of each square, to keep it 
from their hearts. But Mr. Dutchman will have no more ' 
rain than he considers suflicient. How can he help himself? 
Such covering will not keep it out. Oh ! he knows .a better i 
move than that; lie is always prepared with waterproof outer¬ 
covering, in the shape of what is known as Dutch Reed 
mats, wide enough not onlv to cover his frames, but lininrrs ' 
also. ' 
In conclusion, T have not called the show Orchard-house ■ 
at Sawbridgeworth a toy—though surely not out of place, > 
I saw this house within three days after I road the account, ; 
and though I found it as good ns could be expected, still ■ 
I remain of the same opinion. 
“ Those th.it are convinced ajrainst their will, ! 
Remain of the same opinion still.” i 
The Orchard house at Chiswick did not astonish me, but 
the Beach-wall did, and was a splendid affair. From what I j 
understood from IMr. Thompson had been gathered, there ■ 
must have been upwards of 500 dozen on the trees at one ‘ 
time; and, judging by the epicurean wasps, they .as far 
excelled the fruit of the Orchard-house for flavour as they 
did in colour, and for ripening earlier. How is it that 
Orchard-houses retard in place of ripening ? 
Ihe Bear-walls excelled anything for crops that I have 
seen; ^ such as the Beuvre Ilancc, Gloiil Jlorccoii, Hnstev 
Beurri, }Iarie Louise, itc., Ac., bad evei’y branch covered, 
like ropes of onions. The unassuming iMr. Thompson gives 
what appears to me a good, common-sense reason for ob¬ 
taining such a regular croj). He prefers the old horizontal 
system of training, and, in place of commencing at the 
ground with the summer pruning, lie begins at the top, 
prunes about a third, waits a fortnight, then another third, 
and finishes a fortnight afterwards. By this means he be¬ 
lieves he is enabled to regulate the sap, and give the lower 
branches their share; and, certainly, there was ocular proof 
to show they were in hands that had not to learn how to 
treat them. 
Let it be remembered, that great credit is due to 
Mr. Rivers for being the means of bringing the pot- 
culture of Beaches into notice; but he must allow me to 
state, that Peach-trees in pots, after all, will never talve the 
place of established trees in the ground, though vei-y useful 
in their own place.—D. Ff.kgvson, Stowe, Buckingham, 
DO FISHES HEAR? 
As vivariums, filled with water, and made to imitate 
natural streams, with gravel, sand, shells, and weeds, have 
been of late much employed for keei^ing alive both fishes 
end insects, a few observations orr the habits of fishes may 
be interesting, esj)eci.ally as made by one who has for some 
time kept one of these ingenious contrivances. It has, 
perhaps, never occurred to many i>eopb' to entertain a doubt, 
whether fishes hear or drink. The latter may form the 
suliject of a future coiamunication ; but, at present, it may 
be sufficiently startling to many to question whetlier fishes 
))ossess at all the faculty of hearing. We have often he.ard 
of fishes coming up .at the sound of a bell, and being 
disturbed at the approach of footsteps in the dark. Never¬ 
theless, that fishes are deaf, ,appp.a,rs to be the belief of 
some of our best naturalists, and of the celebrated anatomist. 
Dr. Monro. Of his opinions, however, as I have not his 
writings to refer to, I cannot sjteak with as much certainty 
as 1 can of the opinion of my father, who assisted him in 
some of bis experiments on fishes and reptiles, and who 
maintained that fishes do not hear. One of his experi¬ 
ments was firing off a gun near to fishes, but out of their 
sight. In this case, they took no notice; but when the 
experiment was made in their sight, at the same distance, 
they where startled. 'They were equally frightened at a 
clap of thunder; but, in that case, their fright proceeded, 
probably, from feeling the \ibration of the air rather than 
from the sound of thunder. 
'These experiments have led me to the opinion that fislies 
have no perception of mere sound, though they are very 
sensible of sight and vibration. 'Fhat <a trout will start 
from under a bank, when the bank is trodden or stamped 
upon, is no more a proof of their hearing, than the fact of 
the mole ceasing to throw up its hillock at the least shake 
of the earth, from the tread of a foot out of hearing as well 
as out of sight. T do not affirm, however, that moles are 
either deaf, or blind, though the latter is a common notion 
with ignorant people. 'Their eyes are very small, for their 
protection under ground ; but, in the case above supposed, 
they are alarmed by the tread, though it be too distant to 
give any sound. It has been supposed that fishes have 
come up at the sound of a bell. I have before me a 
vivarium, with fishes of various kinds olive and active. 
Some of them will come up when they sec my hand moving 
over the water as if ready to drop them some food. If I 
held a small bell at the time, a bystander might suppose 
that the sound of it attracted them. But if I were to ring 
the bell, standing behind the door, they would take no 
notice, r’ishes may have been fed after ringing a bell; but, 
in that case, they were attracted not by the sound, but by 
the sight and movement of the bell. Much, also, will 
depend upon the reflection of objects in the water, and the 
state of the we<atber; and it must always be borne in mind, 
that the sight of fishes is very perfect, especially in those 
which, like the pike, have their eyes placed more in the 
upper part of the head, and can, therefore, see very keenly 
in an upward direction. 'There is no appearance of any 
organs of hearing in the head of a fish, and I have found 
that when I rapped loudly on a shutter behind my vivarium 
the fishes took no notice whutever; whereas, the least tap 
on the window-sill on which it stands put them all in 
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