July 28. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
319 
to graft, and that they have all failed; and that failure, 
I have not the shadow of a doubt, arises from grafting 
them upon a stock too far removed from the original. 
To shew that this novel and rare plant may he propa¬ 
gated by grafting, I need only mention, that the day 
before 1 wrote this paper I was in Mr. Jaye’s nursery, 
at Northampton, and saw six established plants of it, 
and these had been grafted upon the original species, 
Abies Douglasii —another lesson for the grafter of these 
plants to study. 
Preparing the Stocks. —These should be potted very 
early in the autumn, in as small pots as the roots can 
be got into without cramping, in a good loamy, rather 
sandy, soil. Plunge the pots in coal ashes, behind a 
north wall or dense hedge, where no sun can reach 
them; here they must remain till the grafting season 
arrives. The best season for that delicate operation is 
the latter end of September, though it may be per¬ 
formed all through the winter months, even up to the 
growing season in spring, but autumn-grafting is the 
most likely to succeed generally. 
The mode of grafting is a rather peculiar one. Having 
fixed upon a stock and a suitable-sized scion or graft 
for it, then shorten in the top of the stock, and make a 
cross section with a very sharp knife. Then cut a lon¬ 
gitudinal incision on one side of the stock, correspond¬ 
ing to the corner of the horizontal division; let this 
upright cut be long enough to receive the graft, and cut 
a parallel one to the first on the other side. These two 
cuts will form each side of the graft when it is inserted. 
Take off the bark between the two cuts; and, if the 
graft is rather a thick one, take out, also, a portion of 
wood, enough to allow the scion to be put in exactly 
level with the bark of the plants grafted : the scion will 
then stand, as it were, upright, within a niche made 
for its reception. There are various materials for tying: 
some use the old material—the garden-mat; others use 
the new Cuba matting; and others use cotton or worsted- 
thread of a considerable thickness. I believe the two 
last are the best, and, perhaps, the cotton better than 
the worsted; whichever is used, let the scion be tied 
in immediately after inserting it. That is an important 
point; the scion then catches, as it were, the rising sap, 
and immediately receives life from it. I am pretty 
certain, that if a graft does not take in twenty-four hours 
it will not take at all. 
The Situation in which to place the grafted Plants .— 
If this work is done in September, they may be placed 
in a cold frame or pit, and shaded from the sun. In 
winter-grafting, a warmer place might be desirable; 
and if delayed till spring, they ought to be placed in a 
temperature of 55° or (10°. When Messrs. Knight and 
Perry held the Chelsea Exotic Nursery they had a 
large collection of Coniferse, and grafted great numbers 
of the rare species. They were placed under a span- 
roofed, glazed, frame, standing upon a platform in a 
span-roofed propagating bouse. In this frame I have 
seen almost every one growing; but such complicated 
machinery is not necessary; the close pit, or frame, 
properly shaded, will answer this purpose equally well. • 
I never tried to bud this tribe of plants, and 1 fear it 
would not answer, because of the exudation that always 
takes place when a bud is broken off accidentally, or 
cut off purposely. Some of the smaller-growing species 
would, 1 have no doubt, grow from buds, because in 
them the resinous sap is not so abundant, and the bud 
inserted would, consequently, not be drowned with it. 
T. Appleby. 
JOTTINGS BY THE WAY. 
For the last year or two I have had the privilege of 
visiting various gardens; and, whilst enjoying such a 
treat, I took notes of the most remarkable objects. 
These notes I embodied into short Essays, and sent 
them to our Editor, to be insetted in The Cottage 
Gardener. The effect of their being published I feel 
now. Whenever and wherever I call, I am welcome, 
and every improvement in practice, or addition to the 
stock of plants, pointed out to me. In such Essays I 
sometimes ventured to suggest improvements, and have 
the pleasure to find them often carried out and put in 
practice. Such being the fact, and being now on a 
short journey, the object of which will again give me an 
opportunity of seeing gardens, I shall follow the same 
plan, and send occasional notes, under my old title, 
“Jottings by the Way.” 
I am now on a visit to my friend, Mr. Catling, the 
intelligent Curator of the Botanic Gardens at Birming¬ 
ham, and shall try to give a report on these gardens. 
They are situated about two miles from Birmingham, 
on a rather elevated part of the country ; the grounds, 
generally, slope to the south-west, and there are very 
fine views in that direction from the noble terrace-walk, 
the country being clothed with wood, and studded with 
country residences. The soil of the district is a red 
sandy loam, with a subsoil of clear red sand. This is 
the soil, also, of the Botanic Gardens, which causes the 
surface to be always dry, and the turf of the lawn of a 
fine character. Many trees and shrubs in this soil 
appear to thrive well, and withstand the frosts better 
than on a more clayey soil or subsoil. The situation 
of the gardens, in these respects is favourable. For 
several years back they seemed to have lost favour in 
the eyes of the inhabitants of Birmingham. The late 
Curator, Mr. David Cameron, was a very excellent bota¬ 
nist, and endeavoured to keep the gardens subservient 
entirely to growing plants of a botanical character. Fie 
had, with the exception of Ivew, perhaps the finest col¬ 
lection of F’erns in England. 
Now, a public garden, conducted on such a method, 
or principle, is not the establishment to induce the 
middle classes of a large manufacturing district, like this, 
to subscribe and support it; and wherever the curators, 
or committees, of Botanic Gardens confine themselves 
strictly to keeping them as Botanic Gardens they fail, 
or, at least, are not well kept, and cannot progress for 
want of means. Several spirited gentlemen, subscribers 
to these gardens, having, for some time, observed this to 
be the case, set themselves to work, obtained the services 
of the young and talented present Curator, and, acting 
by his advice, have endeavoured to give the gardens a 
more popular character; that is, instead of a great 
number of starved examples of botanical curiosities, 
handsome, free-flowering shrubs and plants are culti¬ 
vated throughout every department, preserving, of 
course, all that were sufficiently interesting in character 
to attract the mere lover of beautiful objects in a garden. 
This system has been acted upon for the last six 
years, and the consequence is, the funds have at least 
trebled in amount; and the committee, with a liberality 
very commendable, have opened the gardens to the 
public every Monday, during the summer season, at the 
small charge of one penny each person, for the working 
classes only — thus giving them the opportunity of 
seeing the beautiful gardens, enjoying the refreshing 
and invigorating breezes, and, no doubt, improving 
their taste ; and—for the time, at least—drawing them 
away from the stifling workshop, and the more demoral¬ 
ising beer-house. Such has been the attraction of the 
gardens to the inhabitants of this large town, that on 
Monday last there was, as the Curator informs me, no 
less than 4,911 visitors. This looks well; and the 
liberality exercised in opening the gardens to this class 
of visitors has been rewarded, by adding considerably to 
the funds, even at that very low charge of admission. 
Such a practice is worthy of imitation; and the Botanic 
