208 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[•July 4. 
well it answered. These tilings done, let the same mode 
of packing, reversed, proceed, until the box is quite 
full; so that the topping-up will be a facsimile ol the 
bottoming, only, as before observed, reversed. And 
now we may fairly nail down or close the lid, and rest 
assured that they will travel well—from the Land’s End 
to London. 
Grapes. —We must now change our tactics, for we 
shall of course require both a deeper box and a stronger 
material; the latter partly on account of the much in¬ 
creased weight, and consequently pressure. Grapes pack 
best, as wo think, in a sort of diagonal position—not quite 
flat, but nearly so; of course the stalk end in the 
ascendant. The box being ready, and sufficiently 
roomy—four inches deeper than the bunch when in 
its recumbent position—two inches at least of the white 
paper shavings may be placed in the bottom, tucking 
them somewhat close, but not tight. If any of the 
paper remains in masses, as cut from the quires, it 
must be separated into individual strips. The best way 
now, in our opinion, is to surround each bunch as they 
are placed in the box with silver or tissue paper; this 
must be placed gently, and somewhat loosely, round the 
bunch, avoiding carefully all friction; and now a little 
extra paper shavings may be so placed as to form a sort 
of nest for the bunch, and this so managed, as that 
when the bunch with its paper is laid down there will 
be no occasion to move or to handle it again. As they 
are thus successively placed, a little paper must be in¬ 
troduced here and there as a wedge, or prop, to prevent 
the bunch from slipping. 
When the bunches are very large, or possess huge 
shoulders, some little pillows or cushions may be intro¬ 
duced between them and the body of the bunch ; occa¬ 
sionally these may be formed by enclosing small portions 
of the paper shavings in the silver paper, thrusting 
such in any situation where a great weight of berries 
are likely to infringe on each other. The bunches being 
all thus placed, some more of the little cushions may be 
thrust here and there over the general surface, so placing 
them as to render it impossible for the bunch to move 
in any direction. The surface being thus brought level, 
nothing remains but to fill up the box with the paper 
shavings, takiug care that it is quite full, so that the lid 
in fastening down will have to be compressed a little. 
The thrashed moss may, if necessary, bo substituted 
for the paper shavings; we are not aware which is best, 
but conl'ess to a partiality for the shavings; such, how¬ 
ever must not he coarse—the finer the better, and from 
thin white paper. 
Peaches. —For these, wo think the soft or rowan hay 
not to be excelled. We have repeatedly sent the large 
peaches before named to the Chiswick exhibitions, with 
scarcely a blemish*; and as such were much admired 
by the public, and on one occasion their packing made 
the subject of a leading article in the Chronicle, we 
cannot do better than detail the precise mode of doing 
so on those occasions. 
The boxes were made exactly eight inches in depth; 
this allowed two inches of the packing material below 
the fruits, and two inches, or nearly so, above: thus, 
four inches at least wero allowed for the thickness of the 
peach. Our boxes wero partitioned-olf into colls, mea¬ 
suring about five inches squaro on the surface; one, of 
course, apportioned to each peach. In the bottom of 
each of these was placed the two inches of rowan hay, 
pressed close, and shaped in a concave manner, so as to 
form a nest for the peach to descend into. Some squares 
of silver paper and cap paper wore now provided ; and 
taking first a square of cap paper in the left hand, 
I another of the silver was placed in it; the right hand 
j then quietly placed the peach on the centre of the paper 
in the palm of the left hand, and now the right hand 
was employed to gently twist tho four corners together. 
Thus imbedded, the peach was lowered into its cell, and 
so on with the whole. The next proceeding was to take 
a long-bladed knife—one of the ordinary dinner knives— 
and with this to tuck in the soft hay in a wedge-like 
character, until each cell was full, close, hut not hard. 
Of course the top of the box received the two inches ot 
rowan ; and the box lid was obliged to be slightly com¬ 
pressed in nailing down, the hay being applied rather 
liberally. 
Now, we do not mean to say that these are the only 
rules for fruit packing—fruit of a tender character we 
mean ; but we do mean to say that they travelled well 
by these modes; and a hope may perhaps be indulged 
in, that our detail of the proceedings may assist in fur¬ 
nishing useful ideas on the subject of fruit packing 
amongst the uninitiated, for whom in a great degree it 
is our duty to write. It may bo observed, in conclusion, 
that such things are not always confined to single 
layers; many of our country gentlemen or noblemen 
who have extensive gardens and forcing establishments 
have tin cases adapted to the reception of several layers; 
of course the packing of each layer is comported to the 
same system—each layer is complete in itself. 
As opportunities occur, we shall feel it a duty to 
return to the subject, and must then descend to easy 
modes of packing our common fruits. 
It. Eiuungton. 
THE FLOWEll-GARDEN. 
Lapageria Rosea. —Those who have friends or con¬ 
nections at Valparaiso might easily receive this beautiful 
plant from thence. It is one of the most beautiful flower- 
garden plants one could possess, and is called in that 
part of the world “ Copigua;” but it was named, bo- 
tanically, many years since, by lluiz and Pavon, two 
Spanish botanists, who wrote a work on the plants of 
Peru and Chile, called “ Flora Peruviana.” There is 
also some account of it given in a work called “ Narrative 
of the Wreck of the Challenger," on the coast of Pata¬ 
gonia. It was introduced to the Royal Botanic Garden, 
at Kew, two or three years since, where I saw the plant 
the other day, and I could compare it to nothing but to 
a Smilax, a common prickly herbaceous climber which 
has been in our shrubberies time out of mind. The 
flowers, which are large and hanging down, are of a deep 
rosy-red colour, and look very much like those of some 
of the twining Alstrcemerias, now called Bomareas. The 
roots are in bundles, just like those of asparagus, and of 
the same quality as sarsaparilla. The fruit is a berry, 
and good to eat—at least they eat them about Conception 
and the southern parts of Chile ; they also send branches 
of tho plant in flower as presents from Conception, as 
far north as Valparaiso; and they are said to last in 
flower some weeks hung up in the rooms, and are known 
as Copigua flowers; so that one might easily hunt them 
out by these descriptions, and, unless we get large im¬ 
portations of the roots or seeds, the plant is likely to be 
scarce and dear with us for some time. 
I believe it will be almost, if not altogether, hardy with 
us. I have been hunting after this beautiful plant these 
six or seven years. I wrote to Capt. G. Broke, R.N., 
about it when he was on the Cape station, expecting then 
that he would have been sent from hence round to the 
coast of Chile, but I have failed, and now I hand over 
these notes on it to all whom it may interest. 
Silver Cedar. —This is another fine plant about 
which I have been very anxious to learn something. It 
will be recollected that I wrote of it last spring, that it 
grows on the southern ranges of tho Atlas chain, between 
Morocco and Algiers; and it has been supposed to bo 
only a variety of the Cedar of Lebanon. I am now 
satisfied in my own mind, however, that the two are 
