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To return to your arrangement again, you have in the beds from 34 to 38 inclusive five different shades of blue, without either yellow or orange to support them; and at the back of these, from 18 to 24, you have seven kinds of verbenas in succession, which has too much the character of a generic arrange

ment.

I could name other discrepancies, but perhaps placing the coarse Stenáctis speciòsa in 60, to correspond with Enothera Drummondii in 13, is the greatest error. Stenáctis, in my opinion, is altogether unworthy of a bed; but, if it must have a bed, and have a "corresponding one," I should say "none but itself can be its parallel."

In conclusion, I may remark that the most certain mode of securing harmony in the grouping of a garden is, to make the arrangement during the time the plants are in flower, by placing the flowers on a sheet of green or yellow paper, as the garden may be on grass or gravei. In this way the most harmonious arrangement may be made; but, in the absence of flowers, pieces of card, of the form of the beds, and coloured to represent the flowers, will be found the best substitute.

Subjoined is a list of plants with which I propose to stock the garden. Some of them, as the ageratums, will probably require pegging down, to keep them to the proper height; but of that the superintendant of the garden will be the best judge.

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35. Petunia hýbrida, purple.
36. Anagállis Monelli màjor, dark
blue.

37. Lobèlia bícolor, pale blue.
38. Pelargonium, Smith's emperor,
scarlet.

39. Agératum grandiflòrum, pale blue.
40. Petunia purpurea, purple.
41. Anagállis Phillipsü, dark blue.
42. Lobèlia grácilis, pale blue.
43. Pelargonium, Shrubland, scarlet.
44. Pelargonium compáctum, rose
scarlet.

45. Heliotropium corymbosum,violet.
46. Verbèna teucrioides, white.

47. Petunia hýbrida, purple.
48. Nierembérgia intermèdia, purple.
49. Sanvitàlia procumbens, yellow.
50. Sálvia pàtens, &c., same as No. 3.
51. Campanula Barrelièri, pale blue.
52. Verbena multífida, pale pink.
53. Pentstèmon frutéscens, scarlet.
54. Verbèna Hendersònü, purple.
55. Calceolaria integrifòlia, yellow.
56. Same as No. 3.

57. Campánula gargánica, blue.
58. Verbena teucrioides, white and
pink.

59. Bouvárdia spléndens, scarlet.
60. Same as No. 13.

Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, Sept. 13. 1842.

[We agree with Mr. Ayres in almost every thing he has said in the above communication, and take much blame to ourselves for not having prepared with greater care the article which he so justly criticises. The truth is (though this is not a sufficient excuse), the list was got up by an assistant, on account of our extreme ill health at the time. We differ from Mr. Ayres, in thinking the retention of the small beds desirable, because, by contrast, they give effect to the large beds; and we prefer the wire framework on the gravel, rather than on the grass, because it is more architectural, that is, it rises out of an apparently more solid foundation. On referring to our Volume for 1836, p. 526., it will be found that the walk round the beds is not properly a main walk, and that, though wider than the cross walks, it is not intended for two persons walking abreast. — Cond.]

ART. VI. On the Culture of the Garden Pea, Pisum sativum.

By JAMES DRUMMOND.

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THE order Leguminòsæ, to which the Pisum sativum is allied, is large, beautiful, and very natural. The plants in this order are characterised by their pinnated leaves and papilionaceous flowers. Many of the trees and shrubs in this order are unrivalled in beauty; such as the following tribes: Cytisus, Robínia, Colùtea, Amórpha, Wistària, Glycine, the beautiful coral tree Erythrina, Cliánthus puniceus. The graceful trembling foliage and golden tufted flowers of the Acàcia and Mimòsa radiate their charms even amidst the sandy burning deserts of Africa; or what can be more gay, on the sloping banks and rugged hill-sides of our own country, than the furze and broom, the Lotus corniculatus, the Vicia Crácca, with its tufted peduncles of flowers of the gayest violet overtopping the hedges by the waysides, and several others of the same and of other tribes of the leguminous order, bespangling their banks? The moving plant, Hedysarum gyrans of Bengal, near the Ganges, is very wonderful on account of the voluntary motion of its leaves, which takes place without the least touch, irritation, or movement of the air. The meadows and pastures of Brazil, on account of the numberless plants of Mimòsa sensitìva and M. pudìca, assume a curious animated appearance, shrinking from the steps of the traveller. Some of the plants of this order are valuable timber trees, the wood being very hard, heavy, and of a beautiful yellowish green with dark brown streaks, such as the laburnum and Brazil wood of commerce. The leaves and pods of the Cássia Sénna, C. lanceolata, C. emarginata, and of Spártium purgans, act as brisk purgatives; the juice of Coronilla vària as an emetic; the juicy pulp of Cassia fístula, Tamarindus índica, and Ceratònia Síliqua, as gentle laxatives, purging without the least pain; the decoction of the roots of Galèga virginiana

is considered by the Americans as a very powerful vermifuge; the green leaves of Ornithopus scorpiòides blister the skin; the seeds of A'rachis hypogæ a contain a large portion of fixed oil; the seeds of Dípterix odorata, or Tonquin-bean, is used for perfuming snuff; gum, balsam, resin, tannin, indigo, &c., are also produced from leguminous plants. Many of the seeds of this large and beautiful order are very farinaceous, and very nutritive, and compose a considerable portion of the food of man and of animals; such as Phaseolus vulgàris and P. multiflòrus, and their varieties; Dólichos Catiáng and Soja, Láthyrus tuberòsus, Vicia Fàba, and varieties; Pìsum arvénse and P. sativum, the latter of which, with its numerous varieties, is the most common and useful of our culinary legumes.

The Pisum sativum is of great antiquity, its native country being unknown; but it is supposed to be the South of Europe. The varieties of the garden pea are very hardy, and not particularly adapted for forcing, but may be accelerated by sowing in pots, in boxes, on pieces of turf, drain-tiles, &c. ; and placing them in a peach-house, glazed pit, or frame, and, when from 4 in. to 6 in. high, planting them out on a warm border along the south side of a wall, and protecting them with yew, spruce, or silver-fir branches, or covering with a pea-case, as described in M'Intosh's Practical Gardener. [Copied by our good friend Mr. M'Intosh, from our Encyclopædia of Gardening, 3d edit., p. 824., without the slightest acknowledgement, though the case was invented by us, and not previously described in any other work.]

I have practised the following method for at least twelve years, and find it far preferable to sowing in pots, boxes, turves, or drain-tiles. When I commence forcing the early peach-house here, which I do about the beginning of February, the border inside the house is covered on each side of the pathway to the depth of 3 or 4 inches with short dung (commonly cow-dung gathered from the park); over this are laid 2 or 3 inches of half-decomposed tree leaves, put through a very wide sieve, raking level, and beating it lightly. with the back of the spade; upon this the peas are sprinkled as thick as they will lie, so as one seed may not lie above another, and covered with leaf mould 2 in. thick. In the course of three weeks or so, the peas are fit for planting out, being from 4 in. to 6 in. long. A border on the south aspect of a wall is chosen for the first planting; and, the ground being dunged, and digged deep and fine, the line is stretched in a diagonal across, or in a parallel direction to the wall along, the border, according to circumstances; a deep perpendicular cut is made along the line. The peas are then raised from the peach-house border with a three-pronged hand-fork, in large turves, and carried in a basket, barrow, or sieve, to the prepared drill. They are then divided with the hand into small patches, drawing each patch longitudinally, then placing it in the cut, in the manner of planting box-edgings, letting the roots hang as perpendicular as may be. By this operation, very little of the dung and leaf-mould falls from the roots. The earth is then pressed firm to the roots, and another drill planted in the same manner 9 in. from the former, thus forming a double row; the earth is drawn up about them with a draw hoe, and staked pretty closely.

I have been long in the practice of planting and sowing my peas in double rows, with the rows from 20 ft. to 30 ft. apart, and cropping between with dwarf vegetables; such as cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, leeks, onions, turnips, scorzonera, salsify, &c. I find by experience that the peas pod far better, and are not so apt to mildew, when the rows are considerably detached; and they are excellent shelter for the dwarf vegetables between them; and also, that transplanted peas do not grow so tall, and are more productive than most that are not transplanted. This may be attributed to sowing in the leaf-mould, where a greater ramification of the roots takes place than in common mould; and in addition to this, in the act of transplanting, each of the main or tap roots becomes a radix præmorsa, and the consequence is, after being transplanted, a further multiplicity of the rootlets ensues. Peas sown in the peach-house on the 1st of February, and transplanted as described above,

are fit for gathering about the same time as, or even sooner than, those of the same sort sown on the 11th of November preceding in the same situation. I gathered excellent race-horse peas on the 26th of May last which were sown the first week of February preceding in the peach-house, and transplanted as described above: this may be considered very early for the climate of Scotland, and this is none of the warmest corners of it.

By the accelerating and transplanting method there is a great saving of seed, especially if the spring months are wet and frosty; and it is more secure against the attacks of mice, pea-fowls, pigeons, and pheasants, the latter of which are among the most infernal depredators that ever entered the precincts of a garden. On making a large sowing of peas, and on passing them a morning or two afterwards, I have been mortified on seeing them ploughed up and masticated by these voracious depredators, notwithstanding the seed in the rows being closely covered with whin croppings. Since I adopted the above plan of germinating and transplanting my peas, my losses in seed have been comparatively trifling, as I make successive sowings of peas, beans, and French beans, till the middle of May, in the peach-houses, for transplanting, when, for two months after, I get the principal late crops of peas and beans sown in the open garden without much molestation, as the pigeons and pheasants commit their greatest ravages in the spring months, before they begin hatching their young.

To the gardener who has the superintendence of extensive vineries, peachhouses, flued pits, &c., the above method, coupled with that of a correspondent in the Gardener's Chronicle for 1842, p. 22., will, I presume, be a little interesting.

Germinating peas for transplanting, without either pots or boxes, in the manner I have described, is attended with less labour than one who has not practised it would imagine. The border of one of the peach-houses here will contain a sowing of two pecks: the extent of the borders on each side of the pathway is only 200 square feet. The following are the sorts of peas generally sown here, with the height of the straw; a sowing of which is made every fortnight from the 1st of February to the middle of July, sowing in the order they stand in the list, or nearly so.

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Blair-Drummond Gardens, Perthshire, near Stirling, Dec. 1842.

[The following is the article in the Gardener's Chronicle referred to by our correspondent.]

Peas in Pots.-I have found the following method very successful for having early peas ready by the 1st of May, and I think it may be advantageous for gardeners who have extensive vineries under their care. The peas are supposed to be ready for transplanting by the 1st of February; so that the same sowing does for the first out of doors as well as for those I am about to mention. The seedlings are removed from the boxes or pots where they have been thickly sown, when about 4 in. in height, and are planted thinly into large pots (twelves) which have been filled with good soil, not too rich. They are staked with moderately strong willows, and run round at distances of 3d Ser. - 1843. II.

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6 in. with small twine, which has a neater appearance than, and does not shade so much as, common pea-sticks. The situation I have found quite suitable is at the back walls of the late vineries. The pots so filled and staked are placed on the top of the back flues, elevated to the glass as near as the stakes will permit; where they are to remain till the crop is gathered, which will be from the 1st to the 15th of May. It will readily be seen that the peas are certainly kept from the frost and severe weather, and have always plenty of air when the weather is fine. They are watered rather sparingly at first, but plentifully as they advance into bloom. The following is the result of two years' expe rience on the above method:- In 1839 and 40 I gathered a peck of peas on the 1st day of May; on the 11th of last May, above two pecks; and a peck on the 15th, 20th, and 25th days of the same month. The whole was gathered from pots standing on the back flues of two vineries, each 40 ft. in length. I have tried the early frame pea, the Warwick, and Thompson's early dwarf; but I have found very little difference as to earliness or produce. I have tried to force peas in pits and various ways, and have found that they will not bear forcing till they are out of bloom, and the pod set; then they will bear it, and be forwarded admirably. I have tried them in the autumn on the same principle, but could not get them after the 20th of November.N. Wilson. Gopsall.

REVIEWS.

ART. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those considered the more interesting.

ICONES Plantarum rariorum Horti Regi Botanici Berolinensis. By Link, Klotzsch, and Otto. Nos. IV. V. and VI. 4to, from p. 49. to p. 94. inclusive. Berlin, 1841 and 1842.

The plants figured are: tab. 19. Pentapèra sícula K.; Erìca sícula Cus. Ericaceæ. Sicily.-20. Tigridia violàcea Schiede, Irídeæ. Mexico.-21. Olínia acuminata Kl. Olíneæ, C. G. H.—22. Pròtea longiflòra Lam, var. Múndü, Proteaceæ. C. G. H. — 23. Higginsia mexicàna Lk. et Otto, Rubiàceæ. Mexico.-24. Olínia cymòsa Thunberg, Olineæ. C. G. H.—25. Pitcaírnia rígens Lk. et Otto, Bromeliacea. South America.-26. Linnæ'a robinioides Lk. et Otto, Leguminòsæ Papilionàceæ Lòteæ. Mexico. A very handsome shrub with pink flowers, and probably hardy.-27. Echeveria bracteolàta Lk. et Otto, Crassulaceae. South America.-28. Sálvia tubifórmis Lk. et Otto, Labiàtæ. South America. Suffruticose with scarlet flowers.-29. O'xalis discolor K., Oxalídeæ. Chili, Brazil, &c. Flowers dark and pale pink, and the leaves dark pink beneath.-30. Commelina scabra Benth., Commelínea. A perennial from Mexico.-31. Scelochilus Ottonis Kl., Orchidea. Caraccas. -32. Hibiscus Camerònis Knowles et Westcott, Malvàceæ. Raised by Mr. Cameron of the Birmingham Botanic Garden, from Madagascar seeds. -33. Lobèlia texénsis Rafin., Lobeliàceæ. Texas. Flowers deep scarlet. 34. Tigridia lùtea Lk. et O., Irídeæ. Chiloë. Readily propagated either by bulbs or seeds. 35. Lycopersicum peruvianum Miller var. commutàtum Spr., Solanaceæ. South America. Flowers yellow, and larger than those of any other species. 36. Epidéndrum (Osmóphytum) marginàtum Lk. et O., Orchídea. Caraccas, in woods. 37. Schistocárpha bicolor Lessing, Compósitæ. Mexico. The plate of this species will appear in Part VII.

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The figures are executed with the very greatest care, and evidently faithful representations of nature; and the letterpress is copious, scientific, and also popular. Under every species the generic character, and what belongs to the genus generally, are stated; next the section of the genus to which the species belongs is described; then the specific character; next the synonymes, and re

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