seven simple ones (h to k), and is thus planted: b, pinks; c, heliotropes; d, greenhouse plants of various sorts; e, carnations; f, dwarf roses, migno nette, and standard roses, every 6 ft.; g, standard roses and mignonette; h, pelargoniums; i, herbaceous plants of choice sorts, with bulbs intermixed, an equal number for every month of three fourths of the year; k, a collection of cistuses and helianthemums.

There are two pine and grape stoves heated by hot water, by Mr. Cottam; the vines are spurred in, and have produced remarkably large leaves and berries, and a regular and most excellent crop. We do not know that we ever saw the spurring in method of pruning attended with so few superfluous summer-shoots; though we could not find that Mr. Hislop did any thing more than pinch off these at the first leaf, in the usual manner, and always on their very first appearance. He had lately lifted the plants, and placed the whole of their roots in a bed of new soil, on which he has placed turf and a few beds of flowers. We hope he will give us a detailed account of the manner in which he performed this operation. The pines looked as well as the vines. The wood of certain fig trees, trained against a wall, grew so luxuriantly that it never ripened, and of course little or no fruit was produced. Though the trees were covered every winter, the points of the young shoots were generally found rotten when the covering was taken off in spring. Mr. Hislop thinned out the wood of these trees, and cut off and walled up their roots about 3 ft. from the wall; the consequence of which is, that the supply of nourishment being limited, the trees now make but little wood, but that little being perfectly ripened, it requires no covering in winter, and every year a crop of fruit is ripened. The fig trees in the Duke of Northumberland's forcing-houses at Syon are walled in a similar manner by Mr. Forrest. The garden being too small for the consumption of the family, Mr. Hislop is obliged to put slight crops on his borders; but he entirely disapproves of the practice, and would not even dig them, but do every thing in his power to encourage the roots to come to the surface; a practice, as Agronome advises (Vol. IV. p. 478.), which deserves adoption in orchards, and wherever fruit trees are grown on a bad sub-soil. In such a garden as this we think the mode we have suggested (p. 593.) of forming the walks of flag-stones would be decidedly economical; because the stones being laid on brick piers, founded sufficiently deep in the soil, and the surface of the soil being kept or 4 in. under the flags, the width of the walks might be considered as so much added to the width of the fruit-tree borders. By placing the flags a quarter of an inch apart, instead of close-jointing them, the rain would run through the joints to the soil below; and there being no danger of ice being formed in the joints, the stones would not be displaced by the operation of frosts and thaws. In a garden of an acre, with a surrounding walk and two cross-walks, the saving of ground by such walks would often be about one-sixth part; besides the saving of labour in trimming the box or other edging, weeding, and rolling the gravel. We hope some gardener in a district where flag-stone abounds will try this description of walk, and let his brethren know the result. In steep slopes the flags might be laid like broad oblique steps, with rises of half the thickness of the flag, in the manner of the broad staircase to the Monte Capitolino in Rome. A wheelbarrow is easily wheeled up and down such steps, and they are walked over as easily as a common slope.

The borders in this kitchen-garden are without fruit trees or bushes, and wholly devoted to herbaceous and annual-flowering plants, with which they are at present exceedingly well stocked. The soil is particularly favourable for the growth of carrots and parsneps, which attain a very large size, but do not keep. The crops in the melon-ground are good, and the succession pine-plants in excellent health. Every part of the back sheds was orderly and neat, and more especially the tool-house, which is a shed, open in front, in which every tool, and even the ladders were suspended from the back

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128

wall. Mr. Hislop has invented a short grass-rake (fig. 127.), which consists of a piece of thin plate iron (fig. 128.) cut into teeth, with two slips of ash, or other tough wood, between which it is firmly riveted, to form a back, and keep it from bending. When put The wood

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2 ft. 3 in.

4 in.

together, the back is 14 in. thick. is beveled to nothing half an inch above the interstices of the teeth, at which point the iron is slightly bent longitudinally, to admit the thickness of wood underneath, and give a proper inclination to the handle. The instrument serves both as a grass-rake and a daisy-rake, and has the advantage over the daisy-rakes in common use of being easier cleaned, from the wideness of the insterstices between the teeth. We have not time for further details, and indeed have partly forgotten some other things which we intended to notice; but we repeat that we were better pleased with this kitchen-garden than with any other which we have seen on this excursion; in testimony of which we have presented to Mr. Hislop Vol. I. of our Magazine of Natural History, and a copy of the Encyclopædia of Plants.

Epsom Nursery; Messrs. Young. August 18.-This nursery has undergone considerable changes since we last saw it in 1827. At that time it had been enlarged and improved, and one of the foremen, a self-taught drafts

man, had made us a general view of it as seen from the road. (fig. 129.) Since that sketch was made, several plant-houses and pits have been erected, and, as will be allowed by any one who is in possession of Hortus Epsoménsis (vol. iv. p. 260.), the most extensive collection of herbaceous plants, at least in Britain, has been assembled. A great many species have been added since the catalogue was published, and some of very great rarity. The lists of rare plants which flower in the Epsom Nursery, furnished us by the botanist of the nursery, our very intelligent correspondent, Mr. Penny (p. 470.), render it unnecessary for us to enter much into detail, and indeed, if we were determined upon this, we do not know where we should begin. Mr. Penny is a most successful propagator, and the number of young plants, of rare articles, both of the green-house and open air, is sufficient, one would imagine, to supply all the trade, both in Britain and France. Messrs. Young have bought the entire stock of Magnòliz Soulangiàna from M. Soulange Bodin for 500 guineas, in consequence of which that fine tree will soon be

spread over the country. The collection of phloxes here amounts to 60 species and varieties, and of Dianthus to 40 species, one of which, the D. Fischeri, is highly odoriferous. A new hardy evergreen honeysuckle was pointed out to us, which, from its rapid growth, promises to be as valuable an addition to our ligneous twiners, as Eccremocarpus scàber is to our herbaceous climbers. Hardy orchideous plants are grown to an extraordinary degree of perfection, and also such rare bog genera, as Pinguicula, Dionæ a, Nepenthes, &c. In small square enclosures, which they call sanctums and paradises, are many new things not to be shown to the uninitiated till they come into flower, and not to be sold till a number of plants have been propagated; and in several places are beds of green-house plants, to prove how far they will stand the winter. The bed of fuchsias made a very rich appearance, and Mr. Penny thinks that several species will be found hardy enough to stand our winters in a dry soil, and under the provery little protection. tection of a wall, or near a bush with

We are very much gratified to find this nursery devoted in so marked a manner to herbaceous plants, believing this circumstance will further our plan of introducing every where Jussieuean flower-gardens. It will be a great point gained in spreading a knowledge and love of plants, to be able to exemplify almost every natural order by species that will grow in the open air in this country. At the end of our Hortus Británnicus, we intend to state the number of orders that can be so illustrated, and as we think Messrs. Young will be able to illustrate more of these orders than any other nurserymen, we propose ascertaining from them and publishing the price for collections of different degrees of extent; and we shall suggest, probably in our next Number, a more complete and durable mode of naming private collections than has hitherto been done any where, founded, however, on Mr. Murray's invention (Vol. III. p. 29.), and Messrs. Loddiges' name-bricks.

In conclusion, we have to express our highest approbation of the liberality of Messrs. Young, whose collection is at all times open to gardeners and botanists of every description; and who most readily allow specimens to be gathered of every thing that can be spared for such as are forming herbariums. No nurseryman ever loses by this kind of liberality. As the London botanist who would study trees ought to spend two days a week in Messrs. Loddiges' arboretum at Hackney, so he who would acquire a knowledge of herbaceous plants should pass two other days a week in the herbaceous ground of the Epsom nursery.

The fruit-tree and timber-tree departments of this establishment, being at a little distance, we had not leisure to look into ; but all that we saw in the home ground was in as good order, and as neat as the present wet season would permit. Mr. Penny is a most ardent and highly scientific botanist, and ranks as such with George Don and Mr. Sweet, with the prospective advantage of having his mind in a larger body than has either of these botanists. As a proof of the pleasure which we feel in seeing such a man in such a place, and of our personal esteem for him and his employers, we have sent him the First Volume of our Mag. Nat. Hist. and the Encyc. of

Plants.

of

In consequence of the continued rains, a good deal of anxiety was very naturally expressed respecting the getting in of the harvest, and, as is usual, different plans have been suggested for drying corn in wet weather. Our readers have seen Mr. Vazie's plan, and his patent hedge stake. (p. 459.) Mr. Donald, of the Goldworth nursery, purposes to introduce Sylvester's air-stoves in the corn-barns throughout the country, at the expense, course, of the landlord; and some writers in the provincial newspapers, we observe, suggest the Russian mode of kiln-drying, either in the straw or after being thrashed. There can be no doubt that the simplest mode of gaining knowledge on the subject of harvesting in a wet season, is to study the practice which prevails in countries or districts wetter or colder than

our own.

The mode suggested by Vazie, with the exception of the hedgestake, is resorted to in the wet districts both of Scotland and England; but when it is applied to the oat-crop, the ears of the hood or cap sheaf are kept uppermost, instead of the lower ends of the stalks; the latter presenting a broad surface to receive the rain, but the former a cone or tuft which is found to throw it off. In Sweden, where the climate is still more cold and moist than in Britain, and where, of course, evaporation goes on more slowly, the corn is spread out or suspended in small handfuls on frames (Encyc. of Agr. § 683.), by which the rain, when it falls, readily runs off, and the straw, when the weather is dry, is exposed on greater surfaces for evaporation. In that country the corn often remains so suspended till it is dried by the setting in of the winter's frost, and during this often long period it seldom or never germinates. This arises from the coldness of the atmosphere, and from this particular circumstance, that in the intervals between showers the air is not often so charged with moisture, or fog and damp, as in England and Ireland. It is important to mark this difference of climate, in order to account for the seemingly paradoxical fact, that the quantity of rain which falls during the harvest months is not always a proof that the harvest weather has been proportionately unfavourable."

The grand objects to be attended to in harvesting corn in a wet season are, to cut down only when the corn is dry, to dispose of it so as it may throw off the rains which may afterwards fall, and to tie it in small sheaves so as to preserve the largest evaporating surface. Small sheaves and shocks with hood-sheaves will suffice under all ordinary circumstances, and Mr. Vazie's mode, with small sheaves, in difficult cases. We cannot think it can

The following judicious remarks on this subject are from the Scotsman: -In some of the newspapers attempts have been made to trace a relation between the quantity of rain which falls in August, and the injury done to the harvest. "If in August 1828, when less than three inches of rain fell, the crop was considerably injured, how much more must it be injured in August 1829, when upwards of five inches of rain have fallen in less than twenty days! This mode of stating the question certainly has, at first sight, a very formidable appearance; but the damage done to the harvest is by no means in proportion to the quantity of rain that falls whilst it is in progress. The worst harvest during the last twenty years was undoubtedly that of the year 1816, and perhaps the best in the year 1822; and yet a greater quantity of rain fell in the harvest months of 1822 than in those of 1816. According to Hanson's Meteorological Chart, the rain in the months of August and September 1816, which entirely ruined the crop of that year, amounted to less than four inches; whilst in 1822 it amounted to five and a half inches. If the month of July in each year be added to the statement, the fall of rain in the three months in each year would stand thus :

In July, August, and September, 1816, 8 in.

In July, August, and September, 1822, 13 in.

Yet the harvest of 1816 was the worst, and that of 1822 the best for many years past. The fact is, that it is not the quantity of rain, but its continuance, that is most detrimental to the harvest. A drizzling rain, that lasts a whole day without producing any sensible effect on the rain-gauge, will cause greater injury to the crops than a short and copious shower, though the latter may bring down ten times as much water as the former. The rain during the present month has generally fallen in heavy showers, which have been speedily followed by brisk drying winds; and hence the injury to the crops, so far as we have had an opportunity of observation, has been much smaller than might reasonably have been expected from its quantity. (Scotsman, Aug. 26.)

ever be worth while in Britain to build stoves, or form any other erections for drying corn, because what would be gained to the farmer in a bad season, would be lost to him by the capital thus employed, which would be unproductive in good seasons. If an extraordinary exertion were to be made for drying the corn crop, a temporary structure of poles, to be covered and uncovered at pleasure, with rolls of canvass, in Mr. Forrest's manner (p. 510.), might be erected in a twenty-acre field, and the corn either placed in shocks under it, or spread in layers on hurdles, supported from the ground by other hurdles. But even this plan could never become general in a corn country, and-we think it would be a folly to introduce any thing of the kind in Britain. The circumstance of such plans being thought requisite, in consequence of the wetness of our seasons, affords an additional argument in favour of free trade; in which case corn would only be grown in those countries where the climate was most favourable to all the operations connected with its production. Comparing one country of Europe with another, nothing can be more certain than that the British Islands, both in soil and climate, are formed by nature for the growth of the pasture grasses and herbage plants; and hence we have always said, that beef, mutton, and horses will one day be the staple produce of the country.

It is a common and well-meant remark of town's-people, that a bad harvest, by requiring more labour for getting in the crop, is better for the labourers; but in proportion as it is good for the labourers, it must be bad for the farmer and the consumer, and surely no good is worth much that is not good for the whole. With respect to the advantages which labourers now derive from the extra-labour required at harvest, we should not be surprised to see them reduced in a very few years, at least in the northern counties, to little or nothing, and the scythe and the sickle laid up in a corner, as well as the spinning-wheel and the flail. In Scotland, where men of large capital have embarked in agriculture, it will probably not be long before this result is realised. Various reaping machines have been produced from time to time during the last 15 years, and the approaches have been nearer and nearer towards perfection. In September, 1828, a reaping machine, invented by Mr. Peter Bell, was tried at Powrie, in the county of Forfar, before the member of parliament and the sheriff of the county, and forty landed proprietors and practical agriculturists, all of whom put their names to a declaration which is given in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture for Nov. 1828. This declaration states, that the machine cut down a breadth of 5 ft. at once, was moved by a single horse, and attended by from six to eight persons to tie up the corn; and that the field was reaped by this force at the rate of an imperial acre per hour. The cost of the machine is 30%., unquestionably too much for a small farmer; but if such machines were to come into general use, a class of men would arise who would hire them out to be worked, or probably work them themselves; and should this last mode become general, we have no doubt Finlayson's harrow (Vol. II. p. 250), and a portable threshing and winnowing machine, would be worked by the same persons. The declaration mentioned thus concludes:-"We consider it unnecessary to advert to the advantages attending the introduction of an efficient reaping machine, as these advantages are universally acknowledged; but we beg leave to express our conviction, that Mr. Bell's reaping machine will come immediately into general use; that it will confer a signal benefit on agriculture; that his invention is of national importance, and that he deserves the highest encouragement for his active and strenuous exertions for the public good."

Notwithstanding the very unfavourable weather, and disappointments at Dorking and various other places, we have not passed these fifteen days without instruction and gratification. The wheat crop appeared in general to be at least of the average quantity and quality; in some places, as between Godalming and Haslemere, and from the last place to Midhurst on