greatly mistaken, this tree remained there against a south wall." (H. C. p. 48.) Salix babylónica. "Mem. Mr. Vernon, Turkey merchant at Aleppo, transplanted the weeping willow from the river Euphrates, and brought it with him to England, and planted it at his seat at Twickenham Park, where I saw it growing, anno 1748. This is the original of all the willows in our gardens. In July, 1765, I measured a weeping willow at Mr. Snelling's, at Godalmin, Surrey, of but fifteen years' standing; it measured 6 ft. in girth, or 2 ft. in diameter, and the height in proportion.' In the first edition of the Hortus Kewensis, on the authority of L'Heritier's Sertum Anglicanum, this species is said to have been first introduced in 1730, but the date in the second edition has been altered to 1692, from a reliance on Plukenet's, t. 173. f. 5. which, on examination of the original specimen at the British Museum, I found to be an entirely different plant. By the Catalogus Plantarum, published by a Society of Gardeners, in 1730, it appears then to have been cultivated in our nurseries." (H. C. p. 48.) Spartium júnceum fl. pl. "Mem. I first introduced the Spanish broom with double flowers; it was sent me from Nuremberg, anno 1746, in a pot nicely wickered all over; it cost there a golden ducat; came from thence down the Elbe to Hambro', and was brought by first ship to London, in good order. I soon inarched it on the single-flowered broom, and gave it to Gray and Gordon, two famous nurserymen, and the public soon had it from them.'" (H. C. p. 52.) Syringa vulgàris álba. Mem. Lord Petre was particularly fond of the white lilac, and directed his gardener to gather none but white seed; he raised more than 5000 plants that flowered in 1741, and out of that number but about twenty came white, the rest all blue, so that white seems to be only a seminal variety from the blue.'" (H. C. p. 54.) Viscum álbum, the mistletoe, has been found by Mr. Knowlton growing on the following trees. "1. On the lime tree at Bone Gate, East Barnett and Cannons, Duke of Chandos, Edgeware. 2. On nuts and filberts at Market Street. 3. On the mountain ash or quick beam. 4. On apple trees. 5. On the crabs. 6. On white thorn. 7. On the acacia or robinia. 8. On the pear tree. 9. On the maple, in Yorkshire and Huntingdonshire. 10. On Aria Theophrasti, or white beam, on Sussex Downs. 11. On the abele or poplar, at Ashton, near Rotherham, and at Lord Holdernesse's. 12. On the ash at Lord Tilney's, at Tilney Park, in Hampshire. 13. On the elm; 14. On the willow; 15. On the buckthorn; 16. On the sallow: 17. On the service; these all were observed at Esquire Blackburn's, and in Lancashire, and in Westmorland, in 1764. 18. On a holly branch, which was at a druggist's in Bow Lane, Cheapside. 19. On a Virginia walnut tree, growing in our fields at Mill Hill. 20. On the oak (which is very rare), Mr. Knowlton has twice seen it. In August, 1765, three plants were found growing on the oak on the estate of White, Esq., at Watling Wells." (H. C. p. 57.) The following are dimensions of trees in the grounds of Flitwick House, the seat of John Thomas Brook, Esq., near Ampthill, Bedfordshire. The circumference is taken at 1 ft. from the ground. Quércus pedunculàta, 17 ft. girth, and 70 ft. high; 14 ft., and 60 ft. high; Ulmus campestris, 18 ft. girth, and 60 ft. high. Fagus sylvatica, 11 ft. 6 in. girth, and 65 ft. high. Acer Pseudo-Plátanus, 7 ft. 6 in. girth, and 58 ft. high. Carpinus Bétulus, 7 ft. girth, and 50 ft. high. Làrix europæ'a, 7 ft. 6 in. girth, and 80 ft. high. Cedrus Libani, planted in 1818, 4 ft. 3 in. girth, and 30 ft. high. Abies excélsa, 8 ft. girth, and 70 ft. high. The following are the dimensions of young trees in the arboretum at Flitwick House, which was planted in the autumn of 1829. Magnolia conspicua, 10 ft. 6 in. high. Length of last year's shoots, 3 ft. Quércus Cérris Rágnal, 2 ft. 5 in. girth, and 20 ft. high. Juniperus sinensis más, 11 ft. 6 in. high; and J. s. fœmina, 8 ft. 6 in. high. Pinus hispánica, 8 ft. 6 in. high; shoots of last year, 2 ft. 2 in. Pinus Pináster foliis variegàtis, 10 ft. high. Abies Douglas, 2 ft. 5 in. girth, and 23 ft. high; circumf. of branches, 17 yds. Araucaria imbricata, 9 ft. high. -J. T. Brooks. April 29. 1843. ART. XV. Result of an Experiment made in endeavouring to propagate the Gladiolus cardinalis. By ANDREW MACKENZIE. Is your tour through Scotland in the summer of 1841, when calling at BlairAdam, among other things you observed the Gladiolus cardinalis growing in great perfection, and wished me to send you my mode of culture for the Gardener's Magazine, which I did (see our Vel. for 1841, p.461.); and in that article I promised to give you an account of an experiment which I had previously made, by dividing a large ball of the Gladiolus cardinalis into single bulbs, and planting them in a bed in the usual way. This was done early in the spring of 1841, and that season only two small flowers made their appearance; yet most of them stood the following winter without any protection; but the leaves were much smaller. In 1842 only one half of the bed came up, and all the plants were very sickly, and none of them came into flower; and in 1843 only one solitary leaf came up so that all the bed of single bulbs have perished. Had the large ball of which this bed was composed been planted by itself, it would have produced by this time from fifteen to twenty large trusses of flowers; or, propagated in the manner recommended in your Vol. for 1841, p. 461., would have filled a bed. From the above experiment, the readers of the Gardener's Magazine will see the necessity of adopting the plan which I recommend, viz. of planting the Gladiolus cardinalis in balls or clusters of corms. Blair-Adam Garden, Oct. 10. 1843. REVIEWS. ART. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those considered the more interesting. By John TREATISE on the Management and Cultivation of Forest Trees. &c. 8vo, pp. 164, with seven lithographic plates and several woodcuts. Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London, 1843. We regret we cannot say a single word in favour of this book. If the author had been well advised, it would never have seen the light. Arboriculture: A Paper read before the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire. By James Hamerton, Esq. 8vo. Leeds, Bains. Like us, he does not object to a little pruning when trees are very young; but then only, and in cases of absolute necessity, would he permit it." (Dr. Lindley, in Gard. Chron. 1843, p. 698.) Guide to the Conservatory; being a concise Treatise on the Management of the Hothouse and Greenhouse; the Forcing of Bulbs, Shrubs, &c., and the best Mode of keeping a Succession of Bloom through every Month of the Year, exemplified in a select List of the most admirable Plants of the present Day under the Arrangements both of Jussieu and Linnæus, including their native Country, Propagation, and the Soil adapted to each. By Richard Bainbridge, FlowerGardener to the Right Honourable Lord Wenlock. From Notes of the Author's Daily Practice, and Communications furnished by liberal eminent Floriculturists. 12mo. London, 1842. Noticed as being in the press, in our Vol. for 1841, p. 628. Flora Odorata; a characteristic Arrangement of the sweet-scented Flowers and Shrubs cultivated in the Gardens of Great Britain, with Directions for their Propagation, Management, &c. &c. By Frederick J. Mott. fcp. 8vo. London and Leicester, 1843. A. Paul and Sons' Catalogue of Roses for the Autumn of 1843, and Spring of 1844. Pamph. 8vo, pp. 20. Catalogus Plantarum Cæsarei Regi Horti prope Modiciam ad Annum 1842. Catalogue of the Plants in the Royal Botanic Garden of Monza near Milan in the Year 1842. 8vo, pp. 207. Milan, 1843. M. Manetti, the director of the Monza Garden, and the author of the Catalogue, informs us in his preface that it has been compiled in obedience to the commands of His Serene Highness Prince Rainer, a nobleman of great botanical acquirements, in consequence of the vast influx of plants since 1826, when the previous list was made out. The nomenclature is, for the most part, that of DeCandolle and Sprengel. Want of leisure prevented him from making the Catalogue as comprehensive as he could wish, but he hopes at some future time to arrange the whole on the plan of our Encyclopædia of Plants, and thus render it " a source of pleasure and instruction both to the botanist and the gardener." The Catalogue is in alphabetical order; and after each specific name, the authority, the habit of the plant, whether a tree, whether ligneous or herbaceous, perennial, biennial, with male or female flowers, &c., and its native country. The garden seems very rich in species. On turning to the genus Cratæ gus we find 29 species and 17 varieties. Three of the species, C. coronata Wendl. fil., C. pruinòsa Wendl. fil., and C. sphærica Wendl. fil., we are unacquainted with under these names. The Catalogue has been got up with very great care, and is highly creditable to its author. It will be found useful to collectors in this country, as it contains a number of species little known in England. A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine in Pots. By J. Mearns, F. H. S. 12mo. London, 1843. A Comprehensive Practical Treatise, or a New Era in the Culture of the Vine under Glass, &c. By James Roberts, Gardener to M. Wilson, Esq., Eshton Hall, near Skepton, Yorkshire. 12mo. London, 1843. Culture of the Grape Vine in Australia and New Zealand, with Remarks on the Vineyards of Europe, Asia, &c. By George Sutton, F.L.S. 8vo. Lond. 1843. Elements of Practical Agriculture, comprehending the Cultivation of Plants, the Husbandry of the Domestic Animals, and the Economy of the Farm. By David Low, Esq., F.R.S.E., Professor of Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh, &c. &c. London and Edinburgh, 1843. 8vo, pp. 817, and numerous wood-cuts. In the present edition the author informs us he has "entered somewhat more than in the previous ones into an explanation of what may be termed principles." The soil, the external agents which influence it, and the nature of those substances which, when added to it, increase its productive powers, have been enlarged on. In various parts of the work it has been endeavoured to show "the mistaken applications which may be made of principles to the practice of the farm, and the errors into which persons little conversant with practice are apt to fall, with respect to the kinds and degrees of knowledge required to be possessed by the practical farmer." The author has evidently been roused by the attention recently paid to the chemistry and geology of agriculture by the English Agricultural Society; and by the very remarkable fact, that the agriculturists of Scotland have joined together, and agreed to give an eminent chemist 500l. a year for analysing soils, besides an extra payment for each analysis. It would thus appear that the practical men are taking the initiative of the professor. In the chapter on the Chemical Analysis of Soils, after enumerating the various matters which enter into their composition, " soil being in fact one of the most compound substances in nature," the following conclusion is arrived "The farmer is able to determine the nature of his soil by its texture, its depth, its productiveness of plants, and other sensible properties, and, happily, the knowledge so attained is sufficient for all the ends of useful practice.” at. "A knowledge of the intimate chemical constitution of the soil is highly worthy of being obtained, and the subject would deserve to be pursued by men of science, were there no other aim or result than the resolving of chemical and physiological questions. But too much must not be looked for from such enquiries, as teaching the farmer new methods of practice. The farmer knows, for the most part, better than the chemist, when a soil is good or bad, when it is improvable by ordinary means, and when it is too barren to repay the expenses of culture; and he knows better than the chemist how to keep it clean, dry, and as productive as the means at his command will allow, with a due reference to return as compared with the expenditure. But this latter knowledge is not derived from the laboratory, but the fields, and is a branch of a practical business, in which chemistry can render little aid. Whatever results chemical analyses of the soil may hereafter conduct us to, it must be admitted, that as yet they have been interesting to the scientific enquirer rather than useful to the farmer. Every garden and well-cultivated field shows that the soil may be brought to its maximum of fertility without dependence on any conclusions yet arrived at by the physiologist and the chemist. Perhaps not more than a dozen of chemical analyses of soils have yet been made in Europe, sufficiently exact to aid the purposes of science, while the great mass of those which are made, and communicated to farmers as something necessary or useful to them, are equally worthless for science and practice." (p. 23.) The chapter on the Geological Relations of Soils is entirely new, or at least it is not in the second edition (the third we have not seen). After going over the different formations, and showing that the soil of any tract may be totally different from what the rocks on which it rests, or which abound in its vicinity, might lead us to suppose, from the intermixture of soils or debris of rocks brought from a distance by the action of water, the professor concludes with the following paragraph: "We see, therefore, that the mere knowledge of the geological formations of a country does not afford the data for determining the nature and properties of the soils in the manner required for practice. Speculative writers, indeed, have maintained that a knowledge of geology is not only eminently useful to the practical farmer, but even necessary to enable him to distinguish soils, and adopt the suitable means of improving them. It is surprising that such statements should be hazarded. The farmer, as all experience shows, can distinguish soils by their agricultural characters much more certainly and readily than the geologist can by their geological; and it does not appear in what manner geology can give that knowledge to a farmer which can enable him to cultivate and improve his land. The farmer, it is manifest, must regard the soil which he has to till, not in its relations with a whole district, but with reference to its own characters and fertility. He may find the soil, not only of a single farm but of a single field, varying in every degree; and it will be necessary that he adapt his management to these variations, whatever be the geological formation in which he may be placed. It were greatly to be desired, indeed, that the practical farmer would acquire a knowledge of geology, and learn to read a portion of that marvellous history which is written on every rock and mineral bed around him. Such a knowledge would give a charm to rural pursuits, and connect a liberal and interesting study with the observations of daily life; yet such a knowledge, however excellent, will not enable the farmer to discriminate soils better for the ends of practice, much less enable him to cultivate them with greater skill, which is knowledge he must derive from agriculture, and not from geology." (p. 45.) With a view to the immediate application of knowledge to practice, we entirely agree with Professor Low. No chemical analysis or geological section of a soil would induce us to take a farm on the strength of the data they afforded; but, if we saw or had a list of the plants either indigenous or cultivated which grew on the soil, we should offer rent for the land without the slightest hesitation. But we have already stated this in the Encyclopædias both of Agriculture and Gardening. Nevertheless we readily acknowledge that it would add to our confidence in the productiveness and improvableness of a soil, and perhaps lead to improvements that we do not even contemplate, to know that it contained a considerable proportion of lime and other alkaline earths and mineral salts; and we think the importance of this kind of knowledge, in connexion with that of the analysis of plants, has not been overstated by such agricultural chemists as Professor Johnston and others, though this knowledge may not yet be in such a state as to be available by the rentpaying farmer. There is a very short method of improving the agriculture of England, if landlords would agree to it: that is, granting 21-years' leases, and requiring at least half the rent in kind, or kind's value; but for this the landlords must first be visited by such a degree of poverty as will render a greater income from landed property necessary, or such a degree of liberality as will induce them to treat their tenantry as independent men, and not, as at present, as a set of political slaves. Illustrations of Indian Architecture. By Markham Kittoe, Esq. Parts IX. to XVII. inclusive. Oblong 4to. Calcutta and London, Our notice of this work in our Volume for 1840 will show the favourable opinion which we have of it. The numbers before us increase in interest as they proceed; they abound in a great many curious specimens of Indian design, which are calculated to assist the inventive powers of the artist not only in Indian architecture, but in architectural composition generally. They are particularly rich in specimens of parapets, and what are called jali, or stone trelliswork. Many of the latter designs afford excellent hints for flower-gardens. We are sorry to find that the talented and industrious author of this work was in bad health in Calcutta, in December, 1841; he was then about to depart for Europe, with the intention of finishing the work in Lon lon. We |