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plants, five of which have failed. The last bankrupt notice I had was a few days ago, from the old, and considered wealthy, house of M'Mahon and Co.; an event which has been daily expected since last September. I think we have now touched the bottom, and that our star is again on the ascendant. We anticipate, therefore, the dawning of brighter days. I cannot close this without calling your attention to the tact and talent of the gardeners that are required for this world of labour. It grieves me to see many of our profession arrive without a solitary reference as to their abilities and character, which should be from men of public standing in England to some nurseryman of the United States, who then can with confidence recommend such to situations; which, by the by, are "few and far between," but yet, when obtained, are generally worth keeping. It is working, reading, thinking, temperate men we want; and, as we go on the locomotive principle, they must move actively; and independently of these qualities, if they have not a knowledge of trees and plants, they had better not cross the Atlantic. The period of arrival should be in March and April: at any other time it will be difficult for strangers to find employment. It is a fact, that many come as ignorant of the present advanced state of horticulture, as if they had just emanated from the middle of the sixteenth century in a confused dream of the science of British gardening in the present day.-U. Philadelphia, Feb. 14. 1843.

The Culture of American Vines in Germany. -You will perhaps be surprised when we tell you that, of the American species and varieties of grape vine, there are not less than 200 sorts deserving cultivation for the table or the wine-press, and that we have this month executed an order for 120 plants, of thirty varieties, for the Margrave of Baden.-W. R. Prince and Co. ing, near New York, Jan. 30. 1843.

NEW ZEALAND.

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The New Zealand Horticultural Society. I have the pleasure to inform you that the Jardin des Plantes of Paris has last autumn made a large collection of seeds, and sent them to Mr. Ward, New Zealand House, London, to be forwarded to the Horticultural Society at Wellington, New Zealand. I expect that by this time the word Zoological is added to the term Horticultural, and that the Society will print their Transactions quarterly, and forward them to England. I have no doubt that the settlements which have been made in this island will, in a few years, be among the most important of English colonies. Nelson appears to be backed by an almost boundless extent of country, admirably adapted for English agriculture and gardening, with a superior climate, and land of inexhaustible fertility. The river Nelson flows through a valley of 10,000 acres of rich alluvial soil. — E. W. Blois, March 12. 1843.

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The Wellington Horticultural and Botanical Society was formed at Port Nicholson before that settlement was two years old. It is prosperous, and has already been extremely useful. The secretary of the Society, Dr. Featherstone, is in correspondence with Mr. Robertson, the superintendant of the Botanical Gardens, Sydney, who has already contributed a number of plants and cuttings; and with Messrs. Loddiges, who, in a letter to R. Stokes, Esq., treasurer to the Society, published in the New Zealand Colonist of Sept. 9. 1842, offer to send out boxes of whatever may be required from England, in exchange for the same boxes returned full of native plants, more especially Coníferæ, Orchideæ, and Ferns. Of all the countries that we have ever heard of, New Zealand is the one that a person whose delight is in plants should prefer to emigrate to; because, though its native flora is one of the most limited found in territories of equal extent, yet such is the mildness of the climate, that plants from a greater number of different regions may be grown in it, than can be grown, as far as we know, in any other part of the world. Under the protection of glass, with scarcely any artificial heat, we believe the pineapple, and every other sub-tropical and tropical plant, may be cultivated;

and the mosses of Sweden and Norway may be grown on the mountains. Young gardeners and farmers who can command 1001. or 2007. cannot, all circumstances considered, emigrate to a better country. There may be better bargains got in Canada, and more money to be made there, but the severe winters are great drawbacks to rural occupation and enjoyment. We are happy to think that one very excellent gardener, Mr. Trotter, late gardener to J. T. Brook, Esq., of Flitwick, Mrs. Trotter, and their two sons and two daughters, sailed for New Zealand on the 15th of the present month, May, 1843. Cond.

ART. III. Domestic Notices.

ENGLAND.

THE Botanical Section of the Tower Street Mutual Instruction Society hold their meetings one evening weekly, at a quarter past 8 o'clock. The prospectus is before us of twenty-four Lectures on Botany, the subscription for the whole of which is only one shilling. The lecture room is in No. 16. Great Tower Street, and there are several gardeners who attend, though nothing like so many as would do so were they aware of the very moderate charges. Meetings for discussion are held on the evenings of every Monday and Wednesday. The lecturer on Botany is Mr. Robinson, and there are above twelve other gentlemen who lecture on Chemistry, Entomology, Geometry, Drawing, Agriculture, Domestic Economy, and a great variety of other subjects. This Institution was commenced in January 1836, and only requires to be known to obtain the support of the neighbourhood.- -Cond.

Warping Lands on the Thames.-Some months ago, one of the banks which protect Crayford Level, near Dartford, from the overflowing of high tides gave way, and the river flowed over several acres during sixteen tides, leaving a deposit of nearly an eighth of an inch in thickness of rich sediment every tide. Those lands are now let at a rental of from 20s. to 30s. per acre per annum, and I have no hesitation in saying that I would engage to make thein worth three times that rental within eight or ten years, at a trifling expense. I know lands on the banks of the river Parrott, in Somersetshire, let at four guineas per acre, but the sediment floating up and down that river is not to be compared to the rich manure of the Thames, which takes the wash of London. James Easton. 80. Blackfriars Road, May 10. 1843.

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Draining.-The Duke of Hamilton has been making considerable improvements in the neighbourhood of Garstang for some years past, not only in draining but in the fences and water courses. All the unsightly fences and water courses have been removed, and new ones made. Some may be seen, I suppose, half a mile long, and the fields made about 17 rods wide, parallel to each other, which gives them a very striking effect when viewed from a distance. Cross fences are also made at proper distances with great judgement, and there is no doubt that a great quantity of land will be brought into cultivation by these improvements which has lain uncultivated for ages. The following is the plan of the fences and water courses. Fig. 80. a is the water course into which the turf drains run; b, the thorns or hedge; the bank is raised a very little above the field when the thorns are planted, as shown in the figure. When the thorns have stood about a year, the angle c is sloped down to the thorn, as shown by the dotted line. The

Fig. 80. Section of the Hedge and Ditch Fences at Garstang,

reason of the bank being raised at the first

higher on one side than the thorn, is to protect it from the wind, and to give heat to the roots from the sun. When the thorns have got completely established, the other part of the bank, as shown by the dotted line d, is removed; e shows that there are posts fixed, to which rails are attached to protect the thorns from the cattle. On the other side of the fence they are protected by the water course; ffshow the turf drains leading into the main water course. The Duke of Hamilton being very desirous of getting as much fencing as possible finished and planted every year, planting has been in consequence carried on into the month of May. Much doubt was entertained the first year, whether planting in May would succeed, as the thorns were come into full leaf; but that doubt has been fairly removed, as the thorns planted in May have answered quite as well as those planted in autumn, February, March, and April.-M. Saul. Garstang, March 11. 1843. [See F. Williamson in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 325.]

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The Smoke given off from the Chimneys of manufacturing Establishments in the Neighbourhood of the Metropolis has become such a nuisance to the marketgardeners, that they have got up a petition on the subject. The prayer of the petition is, that parliament would pass some legislative enactment by which the nuisance may be abolished, convinced, as the petitioners are, that there are means in existence by which the smoke may be consumed or rendered innoxious, to the great saving of the manufacturer, the advantage of the cultivator, and the general salubrity of the metropolitan atmosphere.-Cond. The Practical and Scientific Association for the Promotion of improved Street Paving. The objects of this Association are: - To form a museum of all the improved systems for making carriage-ways; to collect and disseminate the most correct information respecting them; to invite the cooperation of men eminent for their practical and scientific experience on this subject; to adopt such measures as will insure justice and impartiality to inventors and patentees; to pursue such a course as will lead to the introduction of that pavement, which, for its general utility and economy, shall not fail to obtain the approbation of the public at large; and, finally, to assist the rate-payers, in any locality, in procuring the introduction of wood, or any better system of pavement, in conformity with the wishes of the majority of the residents. The office is at 20. Vere Street, Oxford Street; and the secretary is J. W. G. Gutch, Esq., author of the Literary and Scientific Register, reviewed p. 81. The Association offers the benefit of organised over individual efforts. it proceeds upon the broad principles of public good, eschewing private interests on the one side, and acting independently of personal opposition on the other. Its province is emphatically to ascertain facts, and to demonstrate truths, not to offer an intemperate antagonism to allowed privileges, nor to stop short of its utmost ability to overcome factious opposition. Pursuing this course, the committee have to submit, That wood paving has so far advanced in practice as to make its general adoption in the leading thoroughfares of the metropolis a highly probable event. The committee found their opinion on the following grounds, viz.: 1st. The comparative quiet produced; 2dly, Its greater cleanliness; 3dly, Its greater durability; 4thly, Its greater facility of traction; 5thly, Its economy in point of expense; and, 6thly, Its greater advantages, in all respects, when compared with granite, paved, or Macadamised streets. But this is not all the committee are in possession of the most satisfactory proofs, that, in situations where wood paving is adopted, business increases, and the value of house property is enhanced. J. W. G. G.

[We have elsewhere suggested that wood pavement is well adapted for the ground floors of schools and labourers' cottages; and we understand that it is already being adopted even in the floors of kitchens of street houses.]

Tile Draining in Northamptonshire. The ground can be opened to the depth of 18 in. for the reception of the tiles at 6d. per chain; and the soles for the tiles, and the tiles, laid in for 3d. per chain. The cost of the tiles is 30s. per thousand, and of the soles 20s. per thousand; and three tiles and

three soles are required for each yard, consequently 66 of each for a chain, at a cost of 5 d. per yard in the one case, and 33d. per yard in the other. Total expense of tile draining per chain in Northamptonshire, 21s. Moving soil in the same county costs, for a distance of two chains, 6d. per cubic yard, and the price of labour is 9s. a week.-J. M. Northamptonshire, Dec. 1842.

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. In the course of the last winter many trees have been planted along the principal roads, and in many of the open spaces belonging to the town, thus contributing materially to its ornament, and to the production of shade and shelter, and at the same time employing labourers who could not otherwise have got work. The expense was defrayed by subscription, and two of the most active gentlemen on this occasion were Mr. Hitchman and Mr. Cullis.

Gigantic Raspberries. When I altered Walton Hall, I destroyed the finest garden, for its size, in Yorkshire. But there was no help for it. I was absolutely forced to turn Vandal, and blot it out from the face of the earth. The raspberries in it always grew to the height of 14 ft. Situation caused this growth. I once, in my rambles in Lancashire, fell in with a like situation, and there I found wild raspberries growing fully as high. To obtain this luxuriant growth, the situation must be low and rich; and the raspberry plants must be shielded from the noonday sun by trees, or a high wall. Trees, I should say, would be better. We had always wooden steps on purpose to reach the fruit. My father sent plants of these raspberries to his friends in Yorkshire, and in the county of Nottingham, but they answered not the expectations which had been formed of them. When I destroyed the garden, I saved a sufficient quantity of plants to be cultivated elsewhere. They are still in existence, and their puny growth informs me that I must never more expect to see them in their former luxuriance. When I removed the soil on which they had flourished so surprisingly, I found stony fragments at the bottom, through which there ran a stream of water which got vent from the mouth of a drain at the opposite side of the garden. — Charles Waterton. Walton Hall, May 19. 1843.

Victoria Rhubarb produces by far the largest stalks of any of the new varieties, and it is scarcely too much to say that it is equally superior in flavour and suitableness for culinary purposes. In this respect it may be compared to some of the largest Lancashire gooseberries, the flavour of which is not always deteriorated by size. Cond.

SCOTLAND.

The Kirkintilloch and Campsie Horticultural Society has been instituted chiefly for the encouragement of horticulture among cottagers. Prizes are given for the best kept cottage garden in a particular parish or district. The intending competitors give in their names at the beginning of the season, and their gardens are visited, from time to time, by the officers of the Society. Miss Horrocks, a very young lady, who is an enthusiastic member of this Society, has offered a prize for the best essay on the culture of any flower, by amateur cultivators and cottagers; and also for the best canary-bird, goldfinch, and the best three singing birds.

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Pine Cones a valuable Fuel. Dr. Howison, lecturer on botany in Edinburgh, met with the following occurrence in Fifeshire, during one of his botanical excursions. Calling at the cottage of a medical practitioner, a former pupil of his, he found the Esculapius going to mount his pony to visit his patients. Upon the two friends meeting, the practitioner remarked, Doctor, it is not every day I see you, we must go in and have a haver." Upon entering the parlour there was no fire. He rung the bell; his housekeeper came in carrying in her white apron a quantity of dried pine cones and a lighted candle in her hand. She threw the cones into the polished grate, broke a coal into pieces, and laid them over them. She then applied the candle, when almost instantaneously they broke into a beautiful strong flame,

from the great quantity of turpentine they contained. They soon set fire to the coals, and in a few minutes a delightful warm fire was the result. A few blasts of the bellows might be an improvement. Next followed the decanters and glasses; and, it may perhaps be unnecessary to add, the two doctors made themselves comfortable in front of the cone fire. The practitioner obtained this knowledge in the following manner. He was attending a poor woman residing close to the forest. She could not pay him. With the gratitude of the rural population, next morning her two daughters came to his house, each carrying a sack filled with dried pine cones collected in the wood. They told him they were for kindling a fire, and if he had no coals they would make an excellent durable fire of themselves. The cones of the Pinus silvestris, or Scotch fir, contain a great quantity of solid woody matter in addition to the resinous, and are excellently adapted for fuel. They are used over Italy, Switzerland, &c. This circumstance is little known; and the intention of these remarks is to recommend their use to the poor population of Scotland. -H. Edinburgh. Dec. 1842.

Remarkable Mountain Ash.-There was cut last week on the estate of Ochtertyre, belonging to Sir William Keith Murray, a mountain ash, or rowan tree, which measured 96 in. in circumference about 7 ft. from the ground, the branches covering an area the diameter of which was upwards of 46 ft. This remarkable tree was upwards of eighty years old; but the wasting hand of time having at last seized upon its aged trunk, the forester was under the painful necessity of cutting it down. (Caledonian Mercury, Nov. 26, 1842.)

ART. IV. Retrospective Criticism.

IMPROVING Churchyards.—I read your articles in the Gardener's Magazine (p. 93. 141. and 215.) with great interest. We may be pretty sure that a disposition to rescue churchyards from their now generally ruinous and disgraceful condition will become more and more prevalent. The self-evident improvement in every way, the force of example, and the progress of taste, in accordance with the attention bestowed on church buildings, will induce people to put these depositories of our forefathers into a more decorous condition. We ought to get rid of the nuisances of cattle in churchyards. Sheep are the only animals permitted by law; but I have seen the law evaded, and cows and horses turned in. Our grasping churchmen will give up nothing, if they can avoid it; and, I dare say, would make a strong fight to retain their right of turning sheep into their freehold. However, I am one of those who look upon their property as national property placed in trust; and very bad trustees they make so that I hope to live to see the nation resume possession of it all; investigate it rigidly, reform the disposal of it, and place it altogether on a different footing.-H. A. M. May 3. 1843.

The Volume on Cemeteries. (p. 314.)—-I have now read your volume on cemeteries and churchyards, and I sincerely hope you have made a great step towards rescuing us from a barbarism which does not exist among Turks and Chinese, of leaving the depositories of our dead in at once a disgraceful and pestiferous condition. I dare not venture to offer any ideas upon a subject which you have so well considered and explained. It will certainly take hold of the public mind eventually. There is, however, a fashion in these matters, as in most others. No doubt, the Duke of Sussex's interment will give an impetus to the fashion of cemeteries; and I hope ornamental churchyards will follow. There is a difficulty in the latter case. At whose expense can the improvement be effected? Not one out of twenty of our parsons will stir; and, to effect your proposal contained in the note to p. 80. at the end of the volume, we should have to apply a very considerable lever to bishops and archdeacons. The churchwardens, who misspend a good deal of money, and

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