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As some of our readers may have forgotten our description of Perkins's double boiler, we shall here repeat it from the Gardener's Magazine for 1832:Suppose we have a common boiler, such as is used in common wash-houses, and in the siphon mode of circulating hot water; then place another boiler within it, of such a size as to leave only a few inches between the inner boiler and the outer boiler all round, and support it in this position by stays, as shown in fig. 43. let this inner boiler have a hole in its bottom, about one third of its diameter, and let its rim be 2 in. below the level of the water to be heated. These arrangements being made, and the heat applied below, a circulation instantly takes place and continues; the water coming into contact with the heated bottom and sides of the outer boiler rising rapidly to the surface and descending through the inner boiler, which thus necessarily contains the coldest portion of the liquid." (Gard. Mag., vol. viii. p. 28.)

43

Supposing Mr. Penn's mode of ventilating had no other advantages whatever than that of producing a feeling of comparative coolness in stoves, and setting the fruit in forcing-houses, we should prefer it to all others on these Cond. accounts alone.

Mr. Main's Theory of Vegetable Developement. - I feel gratified by the flattering manner in which my essay was noticed by Mr. Main in p. 278. It was necessary to take notice of his theory, because it had been brought forward by Mr. Towers in support of his belief, that no greater vigour was to be expected from varieties of the potato recently from the seed. I think Mr. Towers's inference correct, that if all the parts of a plant are contained in the original embryo, and if even the seed itself is only a further developement of that embryo, then all that can ever be produced from a plant is created at its first existence, and we have no grounds to expect benefit from seedlings; but my experience in the greater vigour of varieties of other plants recently from the seed, and seeing the infinite number of varieties and hybrids produced from seed, have led me to adopt a different opinion. In our researches into the operations of nature, when we fancy we have discovered a law or method by which these operations are guided, we should promulgate it for the guidance of ourselves and others; but, unless we can give demonstrative proof of our opinion, it must still be subject to the inferences drawn from observation; and I hope Mr. Main will excuse me, when I say, I have not yet seen any demonstrative proof of the above theory. The subject of adventicity is involved in mystery; properly speaking, there can be no adventitious buds, nothing in nature can be adventitious, all things are the work of infinite wisdom, which cannot act by accident: but, when talking of the operations of infinite wisdom, we are accustomed to call it nature; and, when we see things take place in a manner we have not been accustomed to perceive, we call it unnatural or adventitious. And certainly, I think, when we perceive buds to spring in uncommon quantities, and from places where such quantities could not naturally be expected from former experience, we are warranted in calling these adventitious; and to infer that, here, the theory of a normal quantity previously existing will not so well account for what we observe, as to confess our ignorance of nature's method, and say the vital energy (a power whose actions we cannot define) has organised these buds from the sap. To say they were generated by the vegetable membrane or plate, is only transferring our ignorance to these membranes, and causing them to perform actions which we cannot define or demonstrate; these membranes are themselves organised from the sap, if we are to believe other vegetable physiologists. To say, again, that this vegetable plate or membrane, and all that may be generated from it, originally existed in the embryo; and that it contains innumerable buds and other members which may never be developed, is a multum in parvo which is nearly incomprehensible. And when we come to the doctrine of morphology, and find that leaf buds may become flower buds; that it needs only to shorten an imaginary axis, and we have whorls of leaves converted into calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistillum; whether are we to believe that these existed in the

one or the other state in the previous embryo? or by what power are they made convertible? The subject is full of mystery; and, perhaps, as in the animal, so also in the vegetable physiology, to call these the actions of a vital energy we are unable to define is all the length we can yet go, and that all our theories will be the better of plasticity. Perhaps, either Mr. Towers or I may have extended Mr. Main's opinions farther than he thinks warranted himself, and, if so, I would be glad to have a proper and correct definition of them. Is the vegetable membrane the liber? or, like central points and axis, difficult of comprehension? R. Lymburn. Kilmarnock, May 13. 1840.

Constitutional Changes in Plants by being grown in Climates not natural to them. Did you notice what Mr. Paxton says in his last magazine (p. 80.) about the correas which are impregnated and raised from seeds in heat? He seems to think that this treatment would affect the future hardiness of plants so raised. I once saved seeds from a cucumber which ripened in the open air, and thought that plants raised from these seeds would prove hardier, as a matter of course. I do not think so now, neither do I think that Mr. Paxton's opinion is right on the other side of the question; but he is perfectly right in giving a candid opinion. Nothing tends more to the advancement of knowledge than that those who can think for themselves should avow their opinions, and not pin their faith to the sleeves of others; opposite opinions are thus brought before the public, who may canvass them till truth is sifted out. I am of opinion, reasoning from analogy and from some practice, that an acorn may be vegetated in a stove or melon bed, and the seedling oak grown there for ten years, and if afterwards it is inured to the open air by degrees, it will prove to be quite as hardy as its parent. Yea, if you could follow up your seedling oak till it produced acorns in the stove, and vegetate these again in heat, keeping the seedlings in constant heat for any length of time, they may be afterwards inured to the open air, and will be found just as hardy as if the mother and grandmother had been raised and grown in the highest latitude peculiar to the species; and that this physiological law holds good in the whole vegetable kingdom, whether hardy plants or otherwise. In thus defending an opinion of mine once hastily expressed in this Magazine, I am sure Mr. Paxton will not be the least offended at it. No one can appreciate Mr. Paxton's useful career better than myself. — D. Beaton. May 5. 1840.

ART. VIII. Queries and Answers.

ADAPTIVENESS of Trees and Shrubs to Soils. - Permit me to hope to see a few lines from some of your correspondents on the adaptiveness of trees and shrubs (both ornamental and useful) to soils; setting forth, at one view, what would best thrive on clays, on clays with a substratum of blue marl, on Shanklin sand or galt, on firestone, on light soils, on stiff soils, &c.-E. Upper Seymour Street, May 8. 1839.

The Coccus on the Larch. The young larch plantations here, near Melton Mowbray, have been infested by the enclosed pest [a branch of larch infested with Cóccus láricis] during the last three summers; and they are now increased to such an alarming extent that we almost despair of saving the trees. Is it the Cóccus láricis mentioned in the Ency. of Gard. § 6595. as seriously injuring most of the plantations in Britain about the year 1805? [Yes.] Sickly plants of the Scotch pine and the silver fir are also infested by a woolly insect, which I should say is an A'phis; however, it is evidently different from the one upon the larch. To apply means for their destruction we fear would be an operation too formidable to encounter. I trust that you, or some of your scientific correspondents, through the medium of your excellent Magazine, will throw a little light on the subject, that we may be able to anticipate their departure in the same mysterious manner as that in which they arrived; and will also inform us whether there is an instance known of larch plantations having been totally destroyed by them.-F. May 6. 1840.

The Plant Naras 66 was growing on little knolls of sand; the bushes were about 4 or 5 feet high, without leaves, and with opposite thorns on the light and dark green striped branches. The fruit has a coriaceous rind, rough with prickles, is twice the size of an orange, or 15 or 18 inches in circumference, and inside it resembles a melon, as to size and as to pulp. I seized a halfripe one, and sucked it eagerly for the moisture it contained, but it burned my tongue and palate exceedingly, which does not happen when this most valuable fruit is ripe; it has then a luscious subacid taste. Some plants of naras are growing in England (March, 1838) from seeds which I brought home; they are 1 ft. high, and beginning to branch, having two thorns at each articulation, and a stipule, scarcely to be called a leaf, between them, on the axis of which is the bud, but no leaves." The above passage is quoted by the Literary Gazette from Alexander's Expedition of Discovery into Southern Africa. Can you give any additional information about the plant alluded to? — J. B. W.

ART. IX. Contributions towards a Life of Lancelot Brown, Esq., the celebrated Landscape-Gardener, and Thomas Whately, Esq., the Author of "Observations on Modern Gardening."

IN the Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham, just published in four 8vo volumes, there are several letters to and from Mr. Brown, by which it appears that he was a great favourite of George the Third, much respected by the Duke of Northumberland and various other noblemen, and above all by Lord Cobham, to whom, at Stowe, he was many years gardener. It is hardly possible for any individual to have a higher testimony borne to his character than is contained in some of the following paragraphs:

The first is a note to a letter from John Calcraft, Esq., to the Earl of Chatham, dated Leeds Abbey, May 17. 1771. The writer, who was just recovering from a severe illness, after thanking Lord and Lady Chatham for their enquiries, says: Change of air was advised to gain strength, which added to Mr. Brown's summons, who is really exerting himself [to effect some political changes], brought me for two days to the place, which he will much improve.'

Lancelot Brown, Esq., eminent for his taste and skill in laying out gardens and pleasure-grounds, better known by the name of Capability Brown,' from his frequent use of that word, in reference to the sites submitted to his arrangement. In the preceding year, he had served the office of high sheriff for the county of Huntingdon, which county his son afterwards represented in parliament. It has been said of him, that he was not only an able artist, but an honest man; for that, on being solicited by the king to improve the grounds at Hampton Court, he declined the hopeless task, out of respect to himself and his profession." (Correspondence, &c., vol. iv. p. 178.) The next passage is a note to a letter from Mr. Brown to the Earl of Chatham, dated May 3. 1777. We shall first give Mr. Brown's letter.

"My Lord, In a conversation I have lately had [with the king], I was heard with attention. I went as far as I durst upon such tender ground. My reason for troubling your Lordship with this, is owing to a conversation I had with the Duke of Northumberland. I told his Grace the state of your Lordship's health; on which he told me he would immediately wait on your Lordship. When he comes I hope your Lordship will be well enough to see his Grace: no man more truly devoted to your Lordship's interest than he is. There was a meeting yesterday amongst the Lords Rockingham, Camden, Shelburne, Grafton, Abingdon, Craven, &c. - Lancelot Brown, 2"

"2" Capability Brown.' This worthy character came into the service of Lady Chatham's father when a boy, in 1737, and rose by his merit to be head gardener at Stowe, in which capacity he continued till 1750, when, at

the recommendation of Lord Cobham, George the Second appointed him to the same situation at Hampton Court and Windsor. He died in 1783. The following pleasant passage is from a letter, written by Lord Chatham to Lady Stanhope: 'I will not fail to obey your Ladyship's commands by writing to Mr. Brown. I do so with particular pleasure, persuaded that you cannot take any other advice so intelligent or more honest. The chapter of He writes Lancelot Brown, Esq., my friend's dignity must not be omitted.

[the

en titre d'office. Please to consider, he shares the private hours of · king]; dines familiarly with his neighbour of Sion [the Duke of Northumberland], and sits down at the tables of all the house of Lords, &c. To be serious, madam, he is deserving the regard shown to him, for I know him, upon very long acquaintance, to be an honest man, and of sentiments much above his birth. As he lives at Hampton Court, and has many calls upon his time, he may not be at liberty.' (Chatham Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 430.)

The following note to a letter from John Calcraft, Esq., to the Earl of Chatham, is dated Sackville Street, January 22. 1771. It is extremely interesting, as showing that Mr. Whately was appointed to a situation somewhat analogous to his taste, and as fixing the year of Mr. Whately's death. The passage in Mr. Calcraft's letter, to which the note is appended, is as follows: -"Bathurst is chancellor, De Grey is chief justice of the common pleas, Thurlow attorney-general, Mr. Wedderburn solicitor-general and queen's chancellor. Good Mr. Whately, for his services, has the choice either of board of trade or green-cloth."

"I Thomas Whateley, Esq., at this time under secretary to Lord Suffolk, and member for Castle Rising. He had held the office of secretary to the Treasury, during Mr. Grenville's administration, and was that gentleman's private secretary when he was one of the secretaries of state, at which time Sir Philip Francis [author of the Letters of Junius] held a situation in the same office under Lord Egremont: this contiguity of station,' observes the author of Junius identified, affording him frequent opportunities of acquiring all that intimate and oracular knowledge of Mr. Whately," which is evinced This poor man, with the talents of in the following extract from Junius: an attorney, sets up for an ambassador, and with the agility of Colonel Bodens, undertakes to be a courier. Indeed, Tom! you have betrayed yourself too soon. Mr. Grenville, your friend, your patron, your benefactor, who raised you from a depth, compared to which even Bradshaw's family stands on an eminence, was hardly cold in his grave, when you solicited the office of You could not, in my eyes, be more contemptgo-between to Lord North. ible, though you were convicted (as I dare say you might be) of having constantly betrayed him in his lifetime. Since I know your employment, be assured I shall watch you attentively. Every journey you take, every message you carry, shall be immediately laid before the public. Tom Whately, take care of yourself.' (Vol. iii. p. 310.) Mr. Whately was the author of two pamphlets in defence of Mr. Grenville's financial measures, and also of an ingenious work, entitled An Essay on Design in Gardening." [This is a mistake; the essay alluded to is by Mr. George Mason. Mr. Whately was the author of Observations on Modern Gardening, the first and the best of all the works on landscape-gardening that have ever appeared.] "In January, 1772, he was made keeper of the king's private roads, gates, and bridges, and conductor of his person in all royal progresses, and died in the June following." (Chatham Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 75.)

In the notes to these Letters, the excellent taste of the Earl of Chatham in laying out grounds is repeatedly mentioned, more particularly by Bishop Warburton. The places on which he exercised his taste are the South Lodge on Enfield Chase, noticed in our preceding volume, p. 513., and Hayes in Kent, noticed in one of our earlier volumes as being the place where Brugmansia sanguínea was first raised from seed.

THE

GARDENER'S MAGAZINE,

JULY, 1840.

ART. I.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Notes on some Country Seats and Gardens in Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, and Middlesex, visited in May, 1840. By the CoN

DUCTOR.

HARLAXTON MANOR.-May 20. We had heard much of this place from various architects and amateurs for several years; and an accidental circumstance having brought us in communication with its proprietor, Gregory Gregory, Esq., that gentleman kindly acceded to our wish to see the works going forward on the new site chosen by him for the family residence. Mr. Gregory resides at Hungerton Hall, about five miles from Grantham, and his building and gardening operations are carrying on in a striking situation on the side of a hill, between Hungerton and Grantham, near the ancient village of Harlaxton, as well as in that village. The improvements consist of the erection of a large mansion in the style of James I., the laying out of gardens around it in the geometric style, and the picturesque decoration of the village. As Mr. Gregory superintends every part of these improvements very much himself, both as respects the design and detail, he has been obliged to confine the admission to these works, during their progress, to his own immediate acquaintance; both for the comfort of his own privacy, and on account of the disadvantages that would arise from the interruption of successive visiters.

The parish of Harlaxton would appear to have been the residence of wealthy persons at a very early period. Had there been no other circumstances to prove this, that of an ancient manorial dwelling, called the Manor House, now existing in the village in a state of great dilapidation, although partially inhabited by persons placed there to take care of it, would have been sufficient. It seems to have been a part of a mass of property in this neighbourhood which has frequently been a portion of the jointures of queens of England; and the great natural fertility of the lands around this old mansion, with copious springs of water under its foundations, are additional attestations of its early selection as an abode for persons of wealth.