The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-04-16 00:00:00

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COLUMN,

We have usually each spring written up )n the subject
of suburban gardens, because every season brings its host
of anxious inquiries as to what shall be put in the few
square yards of soil yclept " the garden" of the numerous
houses in the immediate vicinity of towns.
Under the full conviction that those little plots do give
much pleasure, and may with proper directions be made
to give more, we always feel pleasure in recurring to the
subject. We admire the love of nature, whether it be ex-
hibited in an affectionate desire to nurture a few nastur-
tiums, or a little mignonette, in the humble cellar window,
or in the gigantic contemplations of a Newton, a Her-
schel, or a Humboldt; and we believe that the poor and
hard-worked clerk, returning home from the monotonous
drudgery of the soul-withering ledger, feels more of the
sweet excitement of enthusiasm, in contemplating his
miniature garden, than the lordly noble who scarcely
knows the extent of his wide-spread possessions. At
morn he leaves his home as neatly dressed as his circum-
stances will allow, for the lover of plants is very rarely un-
clean or slovenly, his coat decorated with some choice
flower from his little plot ; and how many mental ques-
tions have been asked previous to that flower being
plucked, before he can summon courage to pluck the fa-
vourite pink or carnation ? All, however, is set aside by
the anticipated pleasure of shewing its beautiful properties
to his brother clerks. He expatiates upon its perfections
with earnestness ; to one he points out its beautiful lacings
or stripes, to another its perfect form, and regales the ol-
factories of a third with its delicious perfume : and there-
suit of all this is that his friends applaud its beauties, and
flatter the happy cultivator into the belief that be has
succeeded in raising a miracle of perfection. Oh, human.
nature ! it is in such innocent weaknesses that thou:
roamest farthest from vice: innocent pleasure is next to
active virtue.

. With such sympathies for the small garden cultivator,
we feel the task of direction by no means disagreeable,
although its difficulties are much greater than most per-
sons would suppose. Such amateurs as those we have
referred to usually want a little of everything, but as they
begin with a little space, that is impossible. We will
suppose the plot to be of the smallest dimensions. It is
usually occupied in the centre with a half-dead rhododen-
dron, or some other evergreen, bought in the market, and
totally unfit for such a place : this generally has for its
compan;ons a bunch of the common Michaelmas daisy, a
few wall-flowers, two or three sweet-Williams, southern-
wood, polyanthuses, monkshood, the common blue iris,
and such-like things—all are good of their kind ;
and, with a few annuals, make a goodly show in the
opinion of the possessor ; but a better selection may be
made, the flowers named are net gay enough ; it is true
they will grow in such situations, and that is a valuable
point ; ccuers are, however, quite as capable of enduring
the vicissitades of a town life. We will suppose roona
for two dozen plants of the size of the common wall-
flower, let him choose the following, and a gayer show
will reward his care :—Three wallflowers, one a double
one—this must be perpetuated by a cutting every season,
struck in a pot, under a tumbler, kept through the
winter in the window of a room without fire, and planted
cut as soon as the frost is passed—one or two polyanthuses,
three phloxes (P. Van Houttei, P. longiflora, and P.
verna), and a Canterbury bell, the perennial larkspur,
called Delphinum exaltatum, or D. grandiflorum, scarlet-
lightning (the Lychnis chalcedonica), Stenactis speciosa,
Stachys coccinea, the peach-leaved campanula (C. persici-
folia)--blue and white,—the Christmas rose (Helleborus
niger), a pair of carnations, and the Anna Boleyn pink,
one or two anemonies, the Greek valerian (Polemoniuni
coeruleum), and the white rock (Arabis praecox) ; this
selection would be better than we usually find, and could
be just as easily cultivated. Annuals do not answer well,
they are too straggling and weedy ; a little mignonette is,
however, quite indispensable; and a few bulbs, such as
crocus, snowdrop, and narcissus will grow between the
larger plants. Two or three shillings would suffice for all,
if laid out judiciously.

AGRICUI

L TUR AL

Plants differ widely from one another in the encourage.:
ment they give to the growth of weeds, which either
smother useful vegetation or rob the soil of nourishment.
The cereal plants take precedence of all others in this
respect ; since their tall slender stalks and long narrow
leaves but very partially shade the ground, and not only
permit such weeds as are natural to the soil to spring up
in their intervals, but also encourage their growth by the
protection which they afford to them against the heat
and winds. Herbaceous plants, on the other hand,
their stalks rising only to a moderate height, and their
leaves covering the entire surface of the soil, effectually
prevent the growth of everything about their roots, and
consequently the soil is kept clean and free from weeds.
T -st. - r 'vaCt —ll

It mus, nowever, be remarked that the latter effect wu
only be produced where the soil is suited to the growth
of the plants, and at the same time abundantly supplied
with manure, so that there shall be a vigorous and luxu-
riant vegetation ; since in cases where these favourable
circumstances do not exist, we shall observe the same
plants to be in a feeble and languishing condition, so that
they gradually become overshadowed by others of a more
sturdy and less useful character, until at length they are
entirely displaced by them—Rural Cyclopcedia.

MISCELLAP

Mr. J. Smith, of Kew Gardens, speaking of the disap-
pointment so often caused by the non-germination of
exotic seeds received from abroad, says—" For safety-
they are often packed in a close tin case, or wrapped in
oil cloth or other close material, but it has been invari-
ably found that when they have been so sent, there is less
probability of success in raising them. The mischief gen-
erally takes place on board ship in coming through the
tropics, for, on account of the moisture contained in the
seeds, the heat produces a degree of fermentation which
destroys their vitality. This is more particularly the case
in large seeds and in such as contain much albumen, espe-
cially if they are of an oily nature. In preparing seeds
for transmission through the tropics our experience leads
us to recommend that they should be wrapped in a paper
parcel, and placed in the cabin or other cool part of the
ship, but not in a place that is too airy and dry. In.
recommending this we must be understood to refer more
especially to small seeds, for with all care we do not ex-
pect much success with acorns and other large seeds."
Some cultivators have adopted the system of draining
pots by means of broken or crushed bones, which having
the same qualities as the pieces of brick, even in a higher
degree, are still more susceptible of gradual decomposition,
especially after they have been treated with sulphuric acid
and water. The bones thus throw off or disengage a por-
tion of am moniacal gas, and furnish a quantity of sulphate
and calcareous phospate, all of which are essential to the
nourishment of plants. Even for plants which admit
only of being► grown in peat, the beneficial effects of bro-
ken bones have been fully proved to be considerable.—
Gardeners' Magazine.

April meeting :—This meeting was most numerously-
attended, and several objects of interest were exhibited.
A beautiful specimen of Physurus pictus, with several
spikes of bloom, excited much attention by the extreme
beauty of its foliage ; it was from the collection of Henry
Sharpies, Esq., grown by Mr. Richardson.—A fine va-
riety of Indian azalea, well bloomed, from the collection
of Harold Littledale, Esq.,—Mr. Taylor, gardener, who
also exhibited some beautiful cut flowers.—A fine seed-
ling Cineraria, from J. Cropper, Esq.. grown by Mr.
Lloyd, gardener, who also exhibited a brace of brocoli,
which received considerable praise.—The most interest-
ing portion of the evening's entertainment was the lecture
given by Dr. Inman, upon the elementary structure of
plants, illustrated by several powerful microscopes. The
talented lecturer completely explained all that is known
of the cellular and vascular structure of plants, the phy-
siology of the leaf petals and other parts were described
with great clearness and minuteness; several beautiful
preparations of the Stomata of leaves rendered that beau-
tiful physiological organization perfectly clear; the differ-
ence between the structure of exogeus, eudogeus, and
TN acrogeus, was -

_
also demonstrateu. indeed the lucid style
of the lecturer, and his splendid collection of microscopic
objects, left nothing to be desired. After the lecture, Dr.
Inman kindly gratified the members with an exhibition
of numerous beautiful microscopic preparations, illustrat-
ing various branches of scientific research.