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and maturity during the summer and autumn than plants of inferior age; and they consequently afford more abundant and more early crops, and fruit of larger size, than is produced by younger plants.

"When I have possessed more of such plants than I have wanted for forcing, I have, early in the summer, planted them closely in contact with the base of my south walls, under the branches of my peach and nectarine trees, where the soil usually remains unemployed; and I have by these means obtained a very early and a very abundant crop of fruit of first-rate quality, which has ripened at least nine days earlier than the fruit of the same varieties in other parts of my garden. The plants of Keen's seedling may with advantage be placed at 3 in. distance from each other, and those of the Grove End, the only other varieties, at 2 only apart.

"If such plants be suffered to remain a second year, the fruit which they will afford will be of smaller size generally, and will not ripen nearly as early; and therefore, as soon as the fruit has been gathered, and the runners, which under such circumstances are produced very early, having taken root, the old plants must be destroyed and the young, which the runners afford, made to occupy their places. The soil will, of course, require to be annually manured; and if the manure to be applied be previously incorporated with some fresh loam, the plants will be eventually benefited. If the weather be dry after planting, water should be regularly and abundantly given, as it is very important that the plants become firmly established in the soil during the early part of the summer."

29. Note upon Cattleya guttata. By John Lindley, Ph. D., F.R.S., &c. Read April 18. 1837.

This splendid epiphyte may be grown to great perfection in a compost of peat earth and broken potsherds in equal quantities.

30. On the Preservation of the early Foliage of Peach and Nectarine Trees. By T. A. Knight, Esq., F.R.S., Pres. Read May 16. 1837.

"I stated, in a communication to this Society, two or three years ago, that my gardener had, with the intention of destroying insects, washed one whole nectarine tree, and the half of another, with water holding in suspension a small quantity of quicklime and of flowers of sulphur; and that the leaves of all my other trees of the same species had become blistered and useless, owing to the injurious effect of frost; whilst all the leaves of the one tree, and half of the other, which had been washed, totally escaped injury. I also stated, that in the following spring I had applied the same wash to all my peach and nectarine trees, and that I had been unable to find a single blistered leaf; and my gardener has recently informed me, that he has been unable to find one in the present year. How this application can have operated in any way beneficially I am wholly at a loss to conceive; but the facts appear very strong, as, during the preceding twenty-five years, by far the larger part of the early foliage of all my peach and nectarine trees, and in several seasons the whole of it, had been rendered wholly inefficient by the injurious operation of frost.

"One of my friends informed me, in the autumn of last year, that a very intelligent and successful gardener, Mr. Pearson, who has the management of the gardens of Mr. Child, of Kinlet, in Shropshire, had adopted the same mode of treatment, with the same results. I, in consequence, wrote to Mr. Pearson; and he, in answer, informed me, that in the season following that in which he had first seen my trees at Downton, he had applied the wash to all his peach and nectarine trees, except two, and that those two only produced blistered leaves, and that he had subsequently washed all his trees, and that no blistered leaves had appeared since in his garden.

"The blossoms of my peach and nectarine trees have set exceedingly well

since my trees have been treated in the manner above mentioned; but whether this has been owing to any beneficial operation of the wash upon the blossoms, or to the more perfect maturity of the wood in consequence of the preservation of the early leaves of the preceding season, I am wholly at a loss to conjecture.

"I applied the wash in the present season to my apricot trees; whether, with any beneficial effects or not, I am, of course, unable to decide; but I have a very good crop of apricots, of which few persons can, I believe, boast in the present season: it is much better than I have had in much more apparently favourable seasons. I place, however, but little confidence in the wash relatively to its operation in this case, as I am wholly incapable of conjecturing by what possible means it can operate beneficially. I am, however, much too ignorant of the laws of vegetable life to decide that it did not operate beneficially; and as the wash banishes the red spider, the experiment appears to deserve repetition. I employed in covering my trees the same article, which I have used during many years. It consists of the slender twigs of the birch tree, which are attached to the wall, generally by being pushed in under the branches of the wall tree, and made to hang with their points downwards. These branches of the birch tree are about a yard long, and so placed that their points stand out about 18 in. from the wall; and the quantity I employ is about as great as to afford a cover equivalent to that given by a double ordinary net. The young shoots of an elm tree, which has been shreaded two years, will afford nearly as good a covering; and such shoots may be taken off with benefit to the elm tree. I think the covering here recommended preferable to that of a net, as that is usually employed. The expense of it is very small, and the labour trifling; and I think that it is better calculated to intercept the heat, which radiates from the ground; and the effects of such radiating heat are, I believe, in particular states and degrees of the temperature of the night, of no inconsiderable importance. I have, in some cases, applied the wash to my trees before covering them, and in others after; and I think the last-named practice the best. In making the wash, I use equal parts of flowers of sulphur, of quicklime, and of soot."

We have given this and several other communications of Mr. Knight entire, because what they contain, in our opinion at least, is of such a nature that it would evaporate under the operation of abridgment.

31. A new Method of destroying Insects in Stoves and Green-houses. By Mr. James Ingram. Read August 1. 1837.

"It is gratifying to me to be enabled to inform my brother horticulturists of an effective and cheap method to destroy the red spider, scale, thrips, and green fly, without injuring the most tender plant. Where there are but few plants infested with either kind of insect, take a one-light frame and place the plants infested about 4 in. apart, and then procure from one to two gallons of green laurel leaves and well bruise them; immediately place them between the pots and close the frame with the least possible delay, taking care to keep the frame air-tight; at the expiration of one hour take out the plants infested with red spider and green fly, and it will be found that they cease to exist.

"It will take from eight to twelve hours to destroy the thrips and scale; at the expiration of that time take out the plants, place them in a warm and exposed situation, and in a few days the insects will all dry up

and fall off.

"When plants are infested in stoves or green-houses with either insect, the process must be a little varied. A house 12 feet by 20 will require about two bushels of leaves; they can be bruised in the house, and placed in a tub or box, and covered with a sack or cloth until a sufficient quantity is bruised; then they are to be strewed in the paths, and between the pots and other vacant places, and the house must be kept as close as possible for at least

twelve hours; the evening will be found the best time, so that the house can remain closed and covered with double mats all night. I have found by repeated trials that the plan thus described answers better than any I have ever used or heard of."

32. Upon the economical Use of Melon Frames. By T. A. Knight, Esq., F.R.S., Pres. Read June 6. 1837.

"It appears, at first view, a singular circumstance, that the gardens of England are least productive of good vegetables just at that season of the year when light is most abundant, and the weather generally most favourable to vegetation. In the month of June the season of asparagus expires; the potatoes of the past year are greatly deteriorated in quality; the flesh of the turnip, if that plant be grown, is hard and fibrous; and the taste of the cabbage becomes comparatively strong and unpalatable; whilst neither pea nor bean, nor early potato, nor other vegetable of much value can be brought to table, unless in very favourable situations, or raised under glass, and with the aid of artificial heat. Under these circumstances, I have thought that an account of a method of cultivating the turnip, by which that vegetable may be obtained in a very high state of perfection in the month of May and June, worth communicating; particularly as the mode of culture requires but little trouble and expense, and no new machinery.

"I caused a hotbed to be made of oak leaves in the middle of February, and when it had become warm in the end of that month, it was covered with fresh loam, manured with the ashes of burned weeds, to the depth of 8 in. In this, turnips were planted, as soon as the young plants had just unfolded their seed leaves, and for some time treated nearly as tender annual plants are usually treated: but in repeating the experiment, I should sow the seeds in the hotbed.

"Plants of any of the varieties of dwarfish early turnip may be placed with advantage in rows of 14 in. distance, and with intervals of 4 in. only between the plants in the rows. I raised at the same time an equal number of plants, in small pots of 4 in. external diameter, and 5 in. deep, to be placed between the rows above mentioned, and to be planted out in the open ground in the first week of April. At that period the frames and lights were removed, the plants having been gradually exposed to the open air and light, and another hotbed of similar form and size having been prepared, the frames and lights were put upon it. Potatoes were planted in it, which had previously been made to germinate. These remained under glass till the 20th of May, when they had acquired a large size; and they are now as mature as potatoes usually are, in favourable seasons, in the beginning of July. Upon the 20th of May, the frame was removed to another hotbed, in which I had intended to put melon plants of a month old; but owing to some seeds which I had sowed not having germinated, I have been obliged to use younger plants; and my melons consequently, which would have ripened early in July, will probably not ripen till near the end of that month.

"The turnips which remained permanently in the hotbed became fit for use in the middle of May, and have all been consumed, having proved very excellent, for any season: and those which were planted in the pots above mentioned, and removed to the open ground, are now fit for use. Some of these might probably have been placed with advantage under the shade of a north wall, but it did not occur to me to try the experiment. The mould in which all the plants above mentioned grew, and particularly that of the hotbed, was permanently kept very moist, with, I have reason to believe, very beneficial effects. A thin lining of hay, presenting the appearance of the commencement of a bird's nest, was put into cach of the pots, as is always done in my garden with all plants which are to be repotted or moved within a short time. Amongst this substance the fibrous roots of the plants interweave

themselves, and they can at any time be taken out of the pots without the least danger of their losing any part of their roots or mould.

"In the management of my melon plants, I have during several past years adopted a mode of treatment which I have found very highly beneficial; and which I shall take this opportunity of describing and recommending. I use pots of about 5 in. wide and as many deep, but without any bottom. These are put to stand upon a piece of tile or slate, and are lined with hay in the manner above mentioned, the plants being always put into them as soon as the seed leaves have become unfolded. When the plants are transferred to the hotbed, the piece of tile or slate is taken away, and the pot is immersed to half its depth in the soil. Water is given to the mould in the pot, till the roots of the plant have extended themselves in the mould of the bed, but not afterwards; and the base of the stem in consequence not being ever wetted, never cankers, or becomes diseased."

34. On the Propagation of Trees by Cuttings in Summer. By T. A. Knight, Esq., F.R.S., Pres. Read April 3. 1838.

"When a cutting of any deciduous tree is planted in autumn, or winter, or spring, it contains within it a portion of the true, as it has been called, or vital sap of the tree of which it once formed a part. This fluid, relatively to plants, is very closely analogous to the arterial blood of animals; and I shall therefore, to distinguish it from the watery fluid, which rises abundantly through the alburnum, call it the arterial sap of the tree. Cuttings of some species of trees very freely emit roots and leaves; whilst others usually produce a few leaves only, and then die; and others scarcely exhibit any signs of life: but no cutting ever possesses the power of regenerating, and adding to itself vitally, a single particle of matter, till it has acquired mature and efficient foliage. A part of the arterial sap previously in the cutting 'assumes an organic solid form; and the cutting in consequence necessarily becomes, to some extent, exhausted.

"Summer cuttings possess the advantage of having mature and efficient foliage, but such foliage is easily injured or destroyed, and if it be not carefully and skilfully managed, it dies. These cuttings (such as I have usually seen employed) have some mature and efficient foliage and other foliage, which is young and growing, and consequently two distinct processes are going on at the same time within them, which operate in opposition to each other. By the mature leaves, carbon, under the influence of light, is taken up from the surrounding atmosphere, and arterial sap is generated. The young and immature leaves, on the contrary, vitiate the air in which they grow by throwing off carbon; and they expend, in adding to their own bulk, that which ought to be expended in the creation of shoots. This circumstance respecting the different operations of immature and mature leaves upon the surrounding air, presented itself to the early labourers in pneumatic chemistry. Dr. Priestly noticed the discharge of oxygen gas, or dephlogisticated air (as it was then called), from mature leaves; Scheele, making, as he supposed, a similar experiment upon the young leaves of germinating beans, found these to vitiate air in which they grew. These results were then supposed to be widely at variance with each other; but subsequent experience has proved both philosophers to have been equally correct.

"I possess many young seedling trees of the Ulmus campestris, or suberosa, or glabra, for the widely varying characters of my seedling trees satisfy me that these three supposed species are varieties only of a single species. One of these seedling plants presented a form of growth, which induced me to wish to propagate from it. It shows a strong disposition to aspire to a very great height with a single straight stem, and with only very small lateral branches, and to be therefore calculated to afford sound timber of great length and bulk, which is peculiarly valuable, and difficult to be obtained, for the 1840. SEPT.

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keels of large ships; and the original tree is growing with very great rapidity in a poor soil and cold climate.

"The stem of this tree, near the ground, presented, in July, many very slender shoots about three inches long. These were then pulled off and reduced to about an inch in length, with a single mature leaf upon the upper end of each, and the cuttings were then planted so deeply in the soil, that the buds at the bases of the leaves were but just visible above the surface of the soil. The cuttings were then covered with bell glasses in pots, and put upon the flue of a hothouse, and subjected to a temperature of about 80°. Water was very abundantly given; but the under surfaces of the leaves were not wetted. These were in the slightest degree faded, though they were fully exposed to the sun; and roots were emitted in about fifteen days. I subjected a few cuttings, taken from the bearing branches of a mulberry tree, to the same mode of management, and with the same result; and I think it extremely probable, that the different varieties of camellia, and trees of almost every species, exclusive of the fir tribe, might be propagated with perfect success and facility by the same means.

"Evergreen trees, of some species, possess the power of ripening their fruit during winter, The common ivy, and the loquat, are well known examples of this; and this circumstance, combined with many others, led me to infer that the leaves of such trees possess in a second year the same, or nearly the same, power as in the first. I therefore planted, about a month ago, some cuttings of the old double-blossomed white and Warratah camellia, having reduced the wood to little more than half an inch in length, and cut it off obliquely, so as to present a long surface of it; and I reduced it further by paring it very thin, at and near to its lower extremities. The leaves continue to look perfectly fresh; and the buds in more than one instance have produced shoots of more than an inch in length, and apparently possessing perfect health and much vigour. Water has been very abundantly given: because I conceived that the flow of arterial sap from the leaf would be so great, comparatively with the quantity of the bark and alburnum of the cuttings, as to preclude the possibility of the rotting of these.

"The cuttings above described present, in the organisation, a considerable resemblance to seedling trees at different periods of the growth of the latter. The bud very closely resembles the plumule; and the leaf, the cotyledon, extended into a seed leaf; and the organ, which has been, and is, called a radicle, is certainly a caudex, and not a root. It is capable of being made to extend, in some cases, to more than two hundred times its first length, between two articulations, a power which is not possessed in any degree by the roots of trees. Whether the caudex of the cuttings of camellia, above mentioned, have emitted, or will or will not emit roots, I am not yet prepared to decide; but I entertain very confident hopes of success."

35. Notes on the Cultivation of Chlidanthus fragrans. By the Rev. F. Belfield, F.H.S., of Primley Hill, near Newton Abbot, Dorsetshire. Read Septem

ber 5. 1837.

Nine middle-sized roots were put into dry earth, and placed in the hottest part of the stove in December, and kept perfectly dry, "till the latter end of the month of March, when three roots were potted, watered, and kept in the hothouse; of these two very shortly showed their blossom buds, but only one came to perfection, and did not seed.

"In the end of April the six remaining roots were planted in front of the pine pit, and in the following month three of them flowered in the greatest perfection, but did not show any disposition to form a seed pod.

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In the same border, I have another bulb, which has been growing there two years, quite unprotected in winter. This in the month of June surprised me by not only throwing up a noble flowering stem, far exceeding any of the

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