THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COIL 
VARIETIES. 
A Monster Petrified Tree, 700 or 800 Feet Long!— 
1 Some doubts having been expressed as to the truth of the discovery 
i said to have been recently made in the Black Rock region, of a 
petrified tree of some 700 or 800 feet long, J. E. Stevens, the 
Captain of the late silver prospecting expedition in that region, 
and who fathered the wonderful story, writes to the Marysville 
Democrat on the subject. He says—“ Our party of thirty-five 
men encamped at the lower end of what we termed the Little 
Canon, about three miles from which we found this famous petri¬ 
faction, and which is truly a great curiosity and a wonder of the 
age sufficient to arouse the credulity of those who passed through 
the ‘ High Rock Canon in 1849.’ At a short distance from this 
monster of a former age, it seemed to us to be a well-defined line 
of drift wood deposited along the line of high water mark of some 
ancient river whose bed is now an elevated mountain ridge; but 
on closer inspection we unanimously pronounced it one tree, as 
we found it distinctly marked from the upturned roots to its 
forks, and its tw o well-defined forks to what was, when standing, 
an altitude of G66 feet, or 222 such steps as a western frontier 
man takes when stepping off his distance to shoot at a target, or 
any man would take in pacing off a Turnip patch. At about 
400 teet from the roots the tree is divided into two parts, or forks 
about equal in size; and at 520 feet from the root I took off a 
specimen from one of these forks, having on its surface at the 
time the outer and inner bark of the tree, and which specimen is 
now in the office of Dr. Thompson, on D street, between Third 
and Fourth. From the curves of the lines of growth, we esti¬ 
mated the diameter of the branch from which it was taken to be 
from 8 feet to 12 feet, and this, bear in mind, at a distance of 
520 feet from the root of the tree, and only half the tree at that. 
This estimate may be too high or it may be too low, but in the 
height of the tree we cannot be far at fault in saying that it 
measured when standing some 700 feet or 800 feet in height.” 
Captain Stevens adds that J. B. Dorr, lumber-dealer, Captain 
; McKenzie, formerly of the steamer Petaluma, and several other 
gentlemen of undoubted integrity, who reside at San Francisco, 
will not only confirm the truth of the existence of the petrified 
tree, but show specimens thereof. It was the general opinion of 
the company, looking at it, that it was from 40 feet to 60 feet in 
diameter. Enormous tree! Captain Stevens thinks it is of the 
same species as the trees of the Mariposa. Fragments of other 
trees of the same kind, but smaller, are visible here and there— 
stumps and butts of 30 feet in length—all petrified; and it is 
more than probable that a little excavation would discover a vast 
primeval forest there buried. It seems strange that the remains 
of a great forest should thus be found in a country now wholly 
destitute of any sort of living growth whatever, except Sage, Brush, 
and Greasewood, for a hundred miles around. In the same place 
the company found the shin bone of a man petrified, and the upper 
jaw of a grizzly bear, but twice as large as the jaw of any grizzly 
bear ever seen in modern times.—( Boston Cultivator .) 
TEADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
A Descriptive Catalogue of Conifers, Ornamental Ti ees and 
Shrubs, Sfc., by John Cranston, King's Acre, Hereford, is a 
capital Catalogue, and contains all the newest introductions. 
A Catalogue of Poses and Nursery Stoclc, grown by Dillistone 
and Co ., Stunner, Essex, contains a good selection of good things. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
BupiiAne disticha (IV. W. B .).—If true to name it is liardly worth the 
trouble of growing. It is a mere old-fashioned botanical bulb from the 
Cape, and requiring a cold frame treatment, beginning to grow in Sep¬ 
tember or October, and resting from May. But the easiest way to kill such 
bulbs is to grow them in strong heat. TJse a sandy loam only for it. 
Camellia Leaves Blackened (P. J. JET .).—The black gummy matter on 
the upper surface is most likely caused by the aphis. Fumigation will 
probably destroy the insects; but the black matter should be washed off 
by tepid water applied by a sponge. 
Report on Cucumbers (J . Korthwood ).—In consequence of the cold, 
ungenial summer the trial of Cucumbers at Chiswick proved a failure, and 
the Committee thought that under such circumstances correct observations 
could not be made. 
Cottagers’ Kale—Standard Roses (S. S -, Belper ).—We only had 
the Cottagers’ Kale one season, and shall never have it again. What you 
want for your cold exposed situation are standards of the very strongest 
Hybrid Pe'rpetuals, such as Baronne Prevost, Madame Laffay, Duchess of 
Sutherland, Gendral Jacqueminot, General Simpson, Lord Raglan, Jules 
vTRY GENTLEMAN, November 27, 1860. 125 
Margottin, Evequc de Nimes, Auguste Mie, Madame Masion, Mathurin 
Itegnier, and Robin Hood. 
Weevil in Wheat (J. C. H .).—When two questions are included in 
one letter, each having to be submitted to a different authority for au 
answer, one of them often is overlooked. The Wheat Weevil eCurculio 
granaria) may be destroyed by subjecting the Wheat to a temperature not 
less than 135°, nor more than 140°. We know of rooms heated by hot- 
water pipes for the purpose of thus freeing gram from that insect pest. 
After being so heated the grains unattacked by the Weevil are uninjured 
either for the baker or for sowing. After clearing out the Wheat we would 
fumigate the granary with burning sulphur, as recommended to-day for 
destroying red spider. Then good ventilation and frequently turning the 
Wheat ought to keep away the Weevil. 
Opium Growing in England [J. AT.).—The large white Poppy (Papaver 
somniferum) is grown largely in Essex and Kent for the production of its 
capsules, or heads, used for medical fomentations. It has been tried to 
obtain opium from these heads, but with no success as a profitable pursuit. 
The opium is neither produced so abundantly nor is it so narcotic as in 
tropical climates. The wetness of our seasons is also against its successful 
collection. In the “ Quarterly Journal of Science,” published some 
twenty-five ago, edited by Mr. Brande, there are full directions for wound¬ 
ing the capsules, and collecting and drying the drops of juice. 
Heating a Greenhouse by a Retort (JY. Crawford).—We wish you 
had given us a rough plan of the relative positions, and described the sort 
of retort you proposed using. You would see how Mr. Fish proposed 
heating from a kitchen fire in a late number, and Mr, Allen will give an 
account how to heat such a place by a fire. We have doubts if you will 
manage such a large house from the back of your parlour fire without 
considerable trouble, and, perhaps, such an emeute as Mr. Allen refers to. 
Certainly, if practicable, we would prefer a small flue, or a small boiler, or 
even a moveable stove inside, as frequently recommended, and of which 
more details appear to-day. There is no particular attraction in 
your plate-glass for cold, but the more glass there is in the house, the 
colder will it be in winter, and the warmer in summer. If we do not meet 
your case write again, and give more particulars. 
Early Peas (A Young Gardener). —You may grow Peas in pots in a 
cold greenhouse to turn out into the open ground in early spring ; or you 
may sow a row inside near the glass of an orchard-house to remain ; or 
you may cut strips of turf three inches wide, turn them roots upwards, cut 
out a gutter along their centre, sow the Peas in it, cover with a little com¬ 
post, keep in a cool greenhouse or orchard-house until early spring, and 
then plant out in the open ground the slips of turf in rows where the crop 
is to be grown. The latter is the method we adopt. Those grown in a row 
in an orchard-house come into production about ten days before the others. 
We always sow during the first fortnight of January. 
Fruit Trees for North Border — Curate’s Vinery (It. A.). —You do 
not say what kind of fruit you want, whether Apples, Pears, Plums, or 
Cherries, or part of each. Neither do you say whether you live at Land’s 
End or John o’Groat’s, or only midway between. For Apples you may 
choose Early Harvest, Kerry Pippin, Ribston Pippin, Cockle Pippin, and 
Nonpareil. Pear —Jargonelle, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Seckle, Baronne 
de Mello, Marie Louise, Josephine de Malines, and Beurre de Ranee. 
Plums— July Green Gage, De Montfort, Jefferson’s, Kirlce’s, Reine Claude 
de Bavay. Cherries— May Duke, Elton, Belle d’Orleans, and Bigarreau. 
The Vines in the “ Curate’s Vinery ” are not to be trained leaning on the 
slates, but in mid-air between the ridge of the frame and the base of the 
furrow. 
Names of Fruit (£?.).—The Pear appears to be a small Duchesse 
d’Angouleme. It certainly is not Beurrd d’Aremberg. The brown Apple 
is Pile’s Russet, and the red one King of the Pippin?. 
Tomatoes on a South Border (A Reader). —They will ripen there in 
rows very well. Buy our No. 482, in page 185 of which you will find a 
column of directions. 
Ether Residuum for Destroying Weeds on Gravel Walks. —In 
reply to your correspondent’s query as to where the above can be obtained 
cheaply, I can only say that I procure it from a neighbouring chemical 
manufactory; and if he resides near any of the large towns he may easily 
discover the address of a manufacturer of ether from the retail chemists. 
I pay one halfpenny per lb. It is a thick liquid weighing somewhat heavily. 
The difficulty is that the price is too low to make it worth the while for the 
chemist to make it an article of general sale ; and if it were dearer it would 
be too expensive for general use, as it requires a considerable quantity to 
do thework effectually.— The Cottage Gardener’s Friend. 
Heat for Very Small Greenhouse (An Amateur).— To exclude frost 
from such a structure as a greenhouse 6| feet long, no oil lamp or lamps 
would be sufficient, unless in such number as to contaminate the air. You 
had better rely more upon covering the whole with frigi domo, and putting 
a four-gallon stone bottle of boiling water inside during severe weather. 
Keeping Hares from Barking Fruit Trees ( Dibinda’e ) —Nothing is 
so effectual as smearing the stems, as high as a hare can reach, with a strong 
mixture of night soil and a little clay made into a paste, with drainage from 
the stable or cowhouse. 
Calystegia (G. It. B.) —Pray exohange pieces of the roots of your single- 
flowered sport with Mr. Beaton for his simplex, to see if there be any 
difference, and say what is the aspect and height of the wall and how you 
manage to train. Verbena teucrioides is of all others the sort we want 
most, because it is the sweetest of them all, and because, also, that is the 
right strain to cross with Verbena venosa, they being the only two good 
garden sorts from the wilds of nature with upright spikes of flowers. A 
parcel sent to Mr. D. Beaton, Surbiton, Surrey, will reach him. 
Geranium Gauntlet Shedding its Lower Leaves (Gauntlet). —That 
is just the way of Gauntlet, and no kind of treatment will ever alter its 
nature in that respect. If Gauntlet were not gawky as much as a beauty, 
ten thousand plants of it in pots would be sold in Covent Garden alone 
every winter. Fulmer’s Early Forcing and Newington Wonder have been 
the two most favoured sorts of dwarf Beans for forcing in private families 
for some years past. 
Names of Apples (V. F. Z.). —£8, Ord’s Apple; 2, Nonpareil; 57, 
Waltham Abbey Scedlii g; 7, Winter Greening ; 42 and 45, unknown. 
