PART III.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

ART. I.- Foreign Notices.

GERMINATION of Seeds.

FRANCE.

The presence of oxygen gas being the principal requisite for germination, and chlorine the most powerful agent for developing this gas, it has been found that healthy seeds steeped in the chloric fluid are accelerated in their germination, and that others that appeared to have lost their faculty of germination have recovered it by the same process. (Humboldt)

Forcing Cherries in the Sixteenth Century. At Poitou, in France, the ripening of cherries was accelerated by laying hot lime-stones on the ground under the trees, or by watering the ground with hot water. By these means ripe fruit was obtained on the first of May, and sent to Paris by post. In the following century peas were sown in boxes kept in the gardener's room in the night-time, and in cold weather, and set out in sunshine. They came to maturity about the same time as the cherries; and, in a letter dated the 10th of May, 1796, Madam Maintenon speaks of new peas as a rarity which had been the principal talk at court for four successive days. (Essay, &c., in Oliv. de Serres, edit. 1804.)

Grafting. M. Louis Noisette has published the description of 137 modes of grafting. Most of them are the invention of the late Professor Thouin, and described by him in the Annales du Musée Française, as well as exemplified in the Jardin des Plantes.

Bees. Where the buck-wheat, or, more properly, beech-wheat, Polygonum fagopyrum, is extensively cultivated, there bees collect beautiful wax and bad honey; where the saintfoin abounds, there the honey is delicious, but the wax is very difficult to bleach. (Ann. de l'Agric. Franc. t.81.)

Employment of Bones as Manure. The Chevalier Masclet has addressed a letter to M. Matthieu de Dombasle on this subject, stating how much he was struck with the advantages of manuring with bones, in a tour he lately made in Scotland. He found them equally effective on sandy and clayey soils, and that their benefit was felt for thirty years. On humid and calcareous soils they are of little use; but on grass-lands they are very beneficial. (Annal de l'Agric. Franc. Nov. 1825.)

Influence of Salt on Vegetation. The inhabitants of Camargne in Languedoc have such a dread of the corrosive action of salt on wheat in a dry season, that always when they sow that grain, they sow along with it Salsola sativa; so that if the former is destroyed by the drought, the latter, which requires a saline soil, prospers, and forms the main crop. In good seasons the wheat prospers, and suffocates the salsola. When the latter plant is the main crop, it is burnt for soda. (Yvart.)

Box-tree as Manure. Olivier de Serres recommends the branches and leaves of this shrub, as by far the best manure for the grape, not only because it is very common in the south of France, but because there is no plant that, by its decomposition, affords such a great quantity of vegetable mould.

A Canal-digging Machine, to be moved either by manual labour or machinery, has recently been constructed at Paris. In soil where it is uninter

rupted by rocks or stones, it is said to perform its work with great rapidity, delivering the earth into carts, or wheelbarrows, brought alongside of the excavation.

GERMANY.

Naturalization of Plants. A German author, J. Ch. Lewchs, has lately published a book, in which are some useful remarks on this subject. His work is divided into three parts. 1st. Observations on the climate and soil of Germany, and those of other countries: 2d. Principles of guidance in choosing plants for acclimating: and, 3d. Processes for that purpose.

In choosing plants to acclimate, it is necessary to attend first to their organization; annual plants which terminate their development in a part of the year, are easier acclimated than perennials. Plants which abound in sap, have a spongy porous wood, and much pith, succeed with difficulty. In applying these principles, the author lays it down as a rule, that instead of endeavouring to give to foreign plants their ancient climate, we ought to apply ourselves to make them forget it. He recommends to begin by hardening the seed, and for that purpose to put it in the ground before Winter; to shorten the period of vegetation by increasing the temperature; to diminish the nourishment, but increase its irritation, by employing stimulating saline manures, camphor, &c.; to stop the growth in Autumn, by surrounding the plant with cold; to hinder it from shooting too freely in Spring, by keeping it dry, so as to diminish the quantity of moisture absorbed by the roots, &c.

Means of rendering Pomology more flourishing. The Pomological Society at Guben in Lusatia, having been consulted on this subject, recommended the adoption of the following measures. 1. Instruct youth in the cultivation of fruit-trees: 2. Instruct also ministers and schoolmasters: 3. Oblige ministers and schoolmasters to acquire information on the subject: 4. Render ministers and schoolmasters responsible for public ordinances relative to the culture of fruit-trees: 5. Establish branch Pomological Societies: 6. Establish a nursery and an orchard for the principal society: 7. Plant fruit trees in the public places of villages, and along the high roads: 8. Let every parish (commune) be responsible for fruit-trees planted in public places: 9. Appoint public watchmen for fruit-trees: 10. Increase the penalties for injuring fruit-trees: 11. Prohibit the destruction of small birds, which are necessary for the destruction of caterpillars; but the sparrow is to be excepted, because it attacks both birds and fruits, and only eats caterpillars when it cannot get any thing else: 12. Establish public officers to superintend the execution of pomological laws, and judge petty offenders: 13. Name an inspector-general for pomological plantations for each province. Such is the ardour for encouraging the growth of fruit-trees on the banks of the Rhine.

New Varieties of Fruits. In the Memoirs of the Pomological Society of Altenbourg, (vol. i.) is a paper by that indefatigable fruit-cultivator, M. Hempel, on the experiments which ought to be made for establishing the influence that climate and soil have in the creation of new kinds of fruits. The processes recommended by Mr. Hempel consist in sowing the seeds of one sort in pots, and raising and growing them in hot-beds of different temperatures till they have ripened their fruit.

Pea Husks. In a German publication it is stated, that these, when green, if boiled in water, with a little sage, or a few hops added, and the whole afterwards fermented, will produce a liquor not inferior to beer.

Timothy Grass. The culture of this dirty grass has been tried in Bavaria, and was found so superior to the old grasses, that horses, cattle, sheep, and even swine, greedily sought it out whether dry or green, on account of its agreeable taste. Horses fattened on the

Notices. Switzerland, Italy, Holland and Netherlands. 325

flower-stems, which were three or four feet long; and long-woolled sheep got fat on it in moist lands, where they would otherwise have taken the rot.(Agr. Journ. of Bavaria; 15th year.)

Tatarian Buck-Wheat. This species, Polygonum Tataricum, is said to be of much more luxuriant growth than the common sort, fagopyrum; it is, therefore, strongly recommended as preferable to it, especially where the plant is grown to be ploughed in as manure.

Advantages of pruning Fruit-trees in Summer. The removal of shoots and leaves at this season, according to M. Hempel, removes also a number of caterpillars and eggs of insects, consequently the birds devour a greater portion of what remains. (Ann. Pomolog. d' Altenb. 1824.) We may add, that wounds heal more quickly in the summer season, and that the cherry is apt to exude gum when pruned at any other period of the year. Summer pruning, however, in many cases, is attended with incon

venience.

SWITZERLAND.

Paragrêles; Thunder and Hail Protectors in Savoy. By order of the Sardinian government, the Royal Society of Agriculture of Turin appointed a commission to enquire into every thing which had been written or done on the subject of these machines. The following is the result of some trials in Savoy. 1467 paragrêles were placed in the neighbourhood of Chambery, on a chain of mountains, from their base to their summits. On the 5th of August 1825, a violent storm took place, which extended beyond the district planted with paragrêles, but which was unattended by hail within that district; but without it, both hail and thunder were abundant. On the 11th of November following, in which hail fell both within and without the district protected, a proprietor who had only four paragrêles, each twenty-two feet high, saved his lands from a violent storm, which fell on those of his neighbours.

ITALY.

Power of Vegetable Life. A branch of the Cotyledon coccinea was presented by Professor Gazzari to the Accademi di Geofiles, in Jan. 1824. Although it had been separated from the mother branch more than sixteen months, during which time it had been wrapped up in paper, and set aside by accident in a dark dry place, yet it was in full vegetation, affording a strong illustration of the vital power of some plants. (Revue Encyclop. 23. p. 75.)

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HOLLAND AND THE NETHERLANDS.

Caterpillars. The injury done by these insects on the continent is much greater than we have any idea of in Britain; probably from their rapid increase during dry weather, the periods of which are of longer continuance than in this country. In the agricultural journal of the Netherlands, accounts are given of their denuding whole forests, and of the poplar tree, as being peculiarly liable to their attacks. They have scarcely any remedy, excepting in encouraging the production of small birds; in gardens, the spray and leaves are frequently cut off, for which purpose, in the case of high trees, they employ the averruncator,(Encyc. of Gard. fig. 121.), under the name of the echènillier.

Single-flowered White Camellia. At the meeting on the 19th of February 1825, of the Society of Flora, at Brussels, the medal of honour was given to M. Vandermaelin, for presenting this plant, which was considered remarkable for its rarity, vigour, brilliancy, and beauty.

Accelerating Culinary Vegetables. The inhabitants in the neighbourhood

of Louvain, even to the humblest cottager, are remarkable for the culture of their gardens. Many of them sow in Winter in pots and boxes, and preserve in their chambers, peas, beans, kidney-beans, potatoes, &c.; and when the weather is sufficiently mild in Spring, they transplant them in the open garden, carefully covering them every evening with straw, or haulm of any kind, to protect them from accidental frosts. The consequence is, crops in maturity nearly a month before those sown in the open ground in the usual manner.—(Bull. Univ., Jan. 1826.)

Employment of Lunatics in Agriculture. Brussels, Antwerp, and a number of surrounding cities, instead of confining their lunatics in hospitals, pension them out among the farmers, where all of them improve in health, some of them make tolerable workmen, and a few recover entirely. (Jour. d'Agr. des Pays-Bas, Jan. 17, 1826.)

Beurré-Delbecq. This is a new Autumn pear, raised by M. Van Mons from seed sown about thirteen years ago; it is named after the editor of a public journal (Messag. des Sci. et Arts), ripens in Autumn, and is said to be a very superior fruit. The tree is more lofty, and of a handsomer form, than any other variety.—(Bull. Univ., March 1826.)

DENMARK.

Populus nigra. There is a tree of this species in the south of Zealand, near the school of Herlussholm, upwards of 100 feet high, and a trunk 22 in circumference. It is of great age, very majestic, and in full vigour, without a decayed branch. — (Feldborg's Denmark.)

Bones as Manure. The Royal Society of Sciences of Copenhagen, have offered a prize of 100 crowns for the best essay on this subject, which may be written in Latin, French, German, English, Swedish, or Danish.

RUSSIA AND POLAND.

The Agricultural Society of Moscow, over which Prince Galitzin presides, and to which the late Emperor Alexander gave a considerable grant of land near Moscow for the purpose of establishing a farm, is going on very prosperously. It has already collected in its school above eighty pupils from various parts of Russia, even from Kamtschatka; and the journal of its proceedings has been so much in demand, that it has been found necessary to reprint the volumes for the first two years.

Horticulture in Kamtschatka. M. Fischer, of Gorinka, had sent a particular variety of potatoe to the commissary of the village of Milkowo, which produced an extraordinary crop; and several varieties of cabbage and turnips, never seen there before, have been also cultivated with complete success. Some of the inhabitants are not altogether reconciled to the use of these novelties as articles of diet; while others have disagreed as to the parts of the plants to be used. It is somewhat singular that the foliage of the potatoe should have been generally preferred, and that the red cabbage should have scarcely been reckoned edible.-(St. Petersb. Zeitschrift., Jul. 1825.)

Warsaw. Land is so cheap in the neighbourhood of this city, that it may be purchased for about 40s, per English acre. The market is very imperfectly supplied with even the commonest vegetables, and there is no nurseryman. There is, however, a very large botanic garden nearly completed, of which we hope soon to be able to give a plan and description. (J. L., Jan. 13.)

NORTH AMERICA.

Compressed Hay. Bramah's hydraulic press will reduce 300lbs. of hay to 12 cubic feet. In this state it will retain its qualities for an unknown

length of time, either on land or at sea. A considerable trade in compressed hay is carried on between Northambi in America, and India.

Extract of a Letter from Mr. William Hall, late of Ewell, Surrey, and now of Wanbro, Edwards County, Illinois. Communicated by William Stevenson, Esq. :

"I shall devote the remainder of this letter to giving you some accounts of my practice of gardening in this country, as well as my short experience of it under this climate will allow me. The accompanying plan of my garden, (fig. 59. page 331.) though rude, is accurate; and the position of every tree and crop distinctly marked, and it may serve to give you a tolerably correct idea of the place itself, always bearing in mind, that the upper end where the house stands (a) is elevated thirty feet above the lower, towards which it slopes with a gradual descent. The worm-fence, (fig. 58. page 342.) with its multiplicity of ragged angles, gives it a rough appearance, and could I have introduced the stumps, which had all trees standing on them when we came, and are from one to three feet in diameter, you would have thought it still more so. These stumps are still very numerous, particularly at the upper end; the vineyard alone (d) contains fortytwo of them. Though a great impediment to cultivation, they are not perceptible when the crops get up, and the fence itself, if clothed with vines or fruit-trees, might not only support great quantities of fruit, but be rendered very ornamental. The part intended for the kitchen-garden, you will see, consists of three borders, one of eleven feet wide, and eight chains long, on each side the centre path, and a wide one at the bottom, two rods broad and six chains long. This form is preferred to a square of the same contents, as being more convenient for cultivation by the plough; as affording the convenience of a shady or sunny border, (an object of importance in this climate,) and also for the introduction of four lines of espaliers, by which you perceive the borders are bounded; a double row of strawberries is planted along the lower lines, which, perhaps, you might have been puzzled to make out without this explanation The six squares contain half an acre each, except the two upper ones, which are encroached upon by two rows of vines, and will most probably be wholly occupied by them as soon as I discover what kind of grape best suits this soil and climate: but this I must find out by my own experience, for settlers in a new country can have no benefit from that of their predecessors. These half-acre squares were projected with a view to experiments on the cultivation of flax, hemp, cotton, tobacco, indigo, and various other productions to which this soil and climate are adapted, and particularly to the raising of seed-corn and grasses. To none of these articles have I hitherto applied them, except to the raising a supply of seed-oats of which I had last year an acre from about a tea-cupful of seed, which I received from Mr. Taunton, and which were labelled "Georgian," but perfectly resembling a good sample of potatoe oats. I am glad to say that hitherto they have not degenerated. Had the Spring barley come in time for sowing last year, I should most likely have had a square occupied with it next year; however, it comes up well, and I must wait a year longer before I get enough to sow a square.

"My vines thrive well; they are planted in rows seven feet apart and five and a-half between each plant, and trained upright to stakes seven feet high. This I understood to be the general method in the vine countries; of course the vines must be pruned very low, and the fruit grow near the ground. I feel almost convinced this is not the best way here, several of my vines having made shoots twenty feet long last year. I consider it preferable to plant them twelve or fifteen feet apart, and to train them as espaliers, keeping always two bearing branches on each side of the former year's