188 
MAGAZINE OF-SCIENCE AND ART. 
the name immediately written with a black lead pencil, 
before the paint has time to dry. This is a temporary 
mode, but can be made more permanent by substituting 
more durable wood, increasing the size of the tally, 
adding a little more white lead, and charring or 
pitching the pointed end. The name should be written 
from the top downwards, in order that no more of the 
tally than is absolutely necessary should be taken up, 
besides which, the end stuck in the ground always 
decays first, and not unfrequently destroys one or two 
of the letters; and it is of much greater consequence 
to preserve the first letter of a name than.the last. 
For permanent use, however, iron or earthenware 
should be nsed, and of these there is an almost endless 
variety. Tho most approved iron tally for general pur¬ 
poses consists of a cast iron shank of from one to two 
feet in length, with an oblong head, fixed lengthwise on 
the shank, and slightly thrown back to bring the face 
upwards, and made to admit a piece of board, smoothed 
and painted, of a similar shape, and not more than one 
quarter of an inch in thickness, with the name written 
or printed on it; apiece of glass is then placed over 
this and puttied in like a pane of glass in a window. 
This tally should vary in size according to the place it 
would be required to occupy ; but it should not exceed 
six inches in lougth by four inches in breadth, nor be 
less than three inches in length by two indies in 
breadth. When this description of tally came first 
into use (about the year 1820), paper was tried under 
the glass, hut found to be a complete failure, in conse¬ 
quence of tho largo quantity of moisture which generated 
in the inclosure, causing so much rust that the name 
became quite illegible in a very short time. A walk 
to the Sydnoy Botanic gardens will suffice to prove this 
fact, for there these tallies have been used to a con¬ 
siderable extent, with the names written or printed on 
paper, and puttied in under glass. Many of these 
papers have been taken out, tbo iron pannels painted, 
and the names printed, in consequence, 1 presume, of 
the rust having rendered the names on the paper un¬ 
readable. 
_ A very neat and durable tally may be made of 
similar clay to that used in the manufacture of common 
bricks, with a pannel similar to the one just spoken of, 
but as this is intended to stand on the surface of the 
ground, it should not be more than from nine to twelve 
inches in height, and should increase gradually towards 
its base, which should he the greatest breadth to prevent 
1 2 3 4 5 
its sinking in the earth ; the pannel will form the top 
which should bo sloped back about as much as the iron 
tally. " 
Another kind 1 would strongly recommend for per¬ 
manent use is an earthenware slab of sufficient strength, 
haying the name impressed before burning. The slab 
‘‘can then be painted, and to make tho name more 
conspicuous, the letters can be traced in a different 
colored paiut: for neatness and durability this will 
compete with any tally yet known. 
The label .differs from the tally and number-stick, in 
being fastened to the plant with a wire or string; it is 
commonly^ made of pine, by cutting a piece of the 
required size to a smooth surface, then notch, or bore a 
hole in one end for the wire or string: metal or earthen¬ 
ware may also be used for the purpose of making labels 
—the name should always commence at the notched or 
bored end. Small square pieces* of zinc, or lead with 
copper wire, are frequently used for number labels: 
the numbers being stamped upon them. These, however, 
are seldom used, only in Nurseries, and then generally 
for export. The label, besides being tied to a plant, 
may also be naiifed or otherwise fastened to a fence, 
wail, or stake, upon which the plant may be trained. 
There is also a great variety of modes of numbering 
plants, from Robinson Crusoe's plan of cutting notches 
on a stick, up to Seton’s Botanic tally, which, in my 
opinion, is in every respect the best mode yet discovered 
of marking plants, particularly where extensive col¬ 
lections are kept. In carrying out tins system of 
numbering, the Gardener is never at a loss for a tally, 
for tho only tool he requires is a knife, and tho only 
material, a stick; and he is a strange gardener, indeed, 
whose pocket will not furnish the former* whilst a spare 
brand; in the garden wall supply the latter. Indepen¬ 
dent of this advantage, however, this mode is the 
simplest, most comprehensive, and most expeditious. A 
single cut with a knife or saw forms a figure, and in no 
case does it require more of these marks (however high 
the number) than it would figures, written with a pencil; 
some, however, object to these ciphers, on the ground 
that they are apt to confuse, but I really cannot see in 
which way, unless it be with the ciphers four and five, 
six and seven ; and it was with a view of proposing an 
alteration in one of these, to render the whole more 
simple, that I undertook to write this paper. Seton’s 
Botanic tally was devised by Alexander and George, 
sons of the. late Dr. Anderson. 
6.7 8 9 0 
z \ 
It will bo seen by this figure that tho five opens to the 
left, and the four, six, and seven to the right. The 
alteration I wish to introduce is in the seven, which in 
my opinion will be improved by opening to the left. 
1 2 3 4 5 
You will then have the even numbers, four and six, 
opening to the right, and the odd numbers, five and 
seven, opening to the left, as in tho accompanying 
figure:— 
6 7 8 9 0 
7 \ /\ \/ /i \j / \ n 
Bv remembering as a rule that the even open to the 
right, and the odd to the left, a mistake will be very 
improbable; it will also be seen that the first stroke in 
each of the evenfigures is the same, and in like manner 
the first stroke in each of the odd numbers, excepting 
number one, is the same.' The ten is formed by addins 
a small notch to tbe one, immediately above it, and on 
the leftside of the number-stick. These nnmbers can 
be cut upon large pieces of wood, say two inches square 
and eighteen inches in length. If’iroubark tallies of 
these dimensions be proper! y seasoned and charred at 
the pointed end, and the ciphers cut deeply in, I will 
venture to say they will last half a lifetime.* As a proof 
of this, there'are still some tallies of this description, 
with the figures quite legible, in our Nursery, which 
have been m use very little under thirty years. This 
tally, unlike the written or printed cne, should read 
from the end intended to be stuck in the ground; thus 
the pointed end should be held in the left-hand, whilst 
the- ciphers are being cut with the right. 
There is one other numbering instrument, called the 
number-brick. The principal use I should pnt this to, 
would he in numbering bulbs, by placing a number- 
brick at tho commencement of each row (of course eacli 
row being a distinct variety). The figures on this tallv 
should he impressed before bum ins, aud painted, as in 
the ease of the lettered slab. This tally should be from 
twelve to fifteen inches in length, and about three 
inches square at the top: the lower end a little pointed 
to facilitate its driving in the earth. 
In conclusion, I must certainly say I approve of 
numbers, with a catalogue of reference, far before 
