ture from England, and the time of his death, enriched our collections with an unusual number of entirely new plants.

In the spring of 1823, Mr. John Damper Parks was sent. to China, and obtained a great many plants of novelty and interest. In June 1823, Mr. David Douglas was sent to the United States, where he obtained many plants which were much wanted, and greatly increased our collection of fruit trees, by the acquisition of several sorts, only known to us by name. In July 1824, Mr. Douglas sailed for Colombia, on the north-west coast of America; a country rich in plants which will endure the open air in our gardens. His return is expected in 1826. In September 1824, Mr. James M'Rae was sent to the Sandwich Islands. The Society "has always evinced a becoming liberality in transmitting to various places abroad, such seeds and plants as were known to be wanting to the comfort of their inhabitants; and it has had the gratification to find, that in every quarter of the globe to which its influence has reached, these efforts have been duly appreciated, and met by a corresponding feeling. Indeed, there is scarcely any portion of the civilized world, in which there is not some one labouring with good will, to promote the interests of the Society." Pref. p. vii..

The library of the Society is increasing by gifts and purchases, the collection of drawings and of models in wax have become of considerable magnitude.

In the garden of the Society " the collections of fruit trees, and of hardy trees or shrubs, which it contains, may be pronounced the most complete that have ever been made in this or any other country; and although much remains to be done, the value of that which has been accomplished, in a period of little more than two years, must be evident to every one who visits the garden. As far as the general arrangement and formation are concerned, the works may be said to be nearly finished. Additional walls, however, lodges of entrance, and ranges of houses for the reception of plants, yet remain to be built. For these further expenses, it is hoped that sufficient funds may be provided." Pref. p. viii.

The number of papers in this volume is eighty-two, and two Appendices, by forty-four authors. The first, and one of the most valuable is,

On the different Species and Varieties of the Genus Brassica, and of the Genera allied to it, which are cultivated in Europe, &c. By Professor Decandolle.

We have noticed M. Decandolle's arrangement of the cultivated species, in the Encyclopædias of Gardening and Agricul

ture, and adopted it with some variation in the Encyclopædia of Plants. The most original part of his communication is what respects those varieties which are cultivated for their seeds, to be crushed for oil, from which it appears that, in Britain, we are not possessed of the most valuable variety for this purpose. This variety is the colsat or colsa, of the Flemish, and the brassica campestris oleifera, of Decandolle. "It would be desirable for agriculture," Mr. Decandolle observes, "that in all countries cultivators would examine whether the plant they rear is the brassica campestris oleifera, or the brassica napus oleifera, which can easily be ascertained by observing whether the young plant is rough or smooth; if hispid, it is the brassica campestris; if glabrous, the brassica napus. Experiments made by M. Gaujac, show the produce of the first compared to that of the second, to be as 955 to 700." The true colza or B. c. oleifera, is in Belgium generally sown about the middle of June in a piece of well manured garden ground, from whence it is transplanted after harvest into fields in good heart, which have been once ploughed after the corn has been removed. It is kept clean and topdressed, or watered with liquid manure in November, after which it stands the winter, blossoms in the spring, and soon after runs to seed." Decandolle. Radcliff's Flanders.

We hope soon to hear of the seed of the Colsa being on sale at the shops of our agricultural seedsmen, and of trials being made with it against the common rape, which is the brassica napus oleifera of Decandolle; the B. napus of Linnæus, and of Eng. Bot. 2146.

In comparing the oil-bearing cruciferous plants together, Mr. Decandolle has the following observations:

"Most of them, and perhaps the whole number, are susceptible of two different variations, the one having a thin, slender, slightly fleshy root, the other a thick and fleshy root: in general, those of the first kind bear a considerable quantity of seeds, and are cultivated throughout Europe as oleiferous vegetables; the others, on the contrary, bring few seeds to perfection, and are cultivated in general for their roots, as excellent for field or garden vegetables. So in the brassica oleracea, the varieties that have a thin stalk are cultivated for their seeds; and those that have swelled radicles are reserved for food. Among the varieties of the brassica campestris, which, by reason of its large seeds, appear to be eminently oleiferous, the colsa is the most productive, and has the thinnest root; for the produce of the oil, the ruta-baga and common napa brassica are much less useful. In the brassica rapa, the navette with a thin root is cultivated for its oily seeds, whilst the turnip, or brassica rapa depressa is used for food. In the brassica napus, the navette with a thin root is cultivated for its oil, and the

navet for the sake of its root. Lastly, in the raphanus sativus, the same circumstance again appears; the thin roots constantly belong to the many seeded varieties, whilst the thick fleshy roots are cmployed for culinary purposes only. A similar law may be observed in other cruciferous plants. The cochlearia armoracia (horseradish,) which has a very large thick root, rarely brings any seeds to perfection, whilst every other species of cochlearia produces them freely; this observation may be useful to guide cultivators in the choice of the varieties proper to try as oleiferous plants. If taken in a more extensive sense, it may serve to throw some light on the laws of vegetation in general, for we know it is not confined to cruciferous plants alone." Hort. Trans. vol. v. part 1. page 42.

The cultivated cabbage, brassica oleracea, according to M. Sageret, a correspondent of Mr. Decandolle, a zealous cultivator, presents a singular phenomenon; that of being incapable of receiving fecundation from any but its own species. M. Sageret tried in vain the pollen of the brassica campestris oleifera, or colsa, as well as that of every other species of brassica; he then found out that it had a natural tendency to fecundate several other species of cabbages, and even the cultivated black radish, but it could not be impregnated by any except its own varieties. The colsa, the chou-navet, or white ruta-baga (Brassica campestris napo-brassica), and the navetjaune, or common yellow ruta-baga (Brassica campestris napobrassica, var. ruta-baga), appear to be hybrid products of the cabbage and turnip (Brassica rapa), taken in different degrees of culture and domestication; they are none of them capable of crossing the true cabbage, but may all become fruitful by its means; they can produce amongst themselves other cross races, which bring their own seeds to perfection. This manner of mixing in artificial breeds, shews that it forms a type sui generis.

The allied genera which are cultivated for oil plants, are sinapis, camelina, and raphanus. Sinapis alba is cultivated in the Vosges as an oleiferous plant, under the name of navet d'été, and sometimes it is called grain-de-beurre. The camelina sativa (Eng. Bot. 1767.) is cultivated in some provinces under the same name, and next to the true colsa, is the most productive among the oleiferous cruciferous plants. The radishes M. Decandolle divides into three races; the round, the long, and the oil-bearing. (See Encyc. of Plants, gen. Raphanus.) The Raphanus sativus oleifera, is a native of China, and is cultivated in Italy for its seeds. Instructions on the manner of cultivating it, have been published by M. Grandi, in his Istoria Cultura, 1807.

VOL. I. No. 1.

F

The succeeding papers to No. 54, have, as before observed, been noticed in their proper places, in the last edition of the Encyclopædia of Gardening.

54. On the Cultivation of the Yellow Rose, and of the tender Chinese Roses, by budding on the Musk Cluster Rose. In a letter to the Secretary. By John Williams, Esq. Corresponding Member of the Society. Read July 13. 1823.

The double Yellow Rose, which does not flower with Mr. Williams as a standard bush, flowered freely from buds inserted on strong shoots of a musk cluster rose, trained on the east front of a house. The buds were inserted ten feet from the ground; the same plan succeeded with the sweet scented and dark Chinese Roses; the blossoms of the latter were larger than usual, which Mr. Knight thinks is owing to "the distance the sap has to pass from the root before it reaches the flower buds." At Cobham Hall, in Kent, the sweet scented Chinese rose is also found to do best on the musk species. In a note by the secretary, we are informed that in the garden of T. C. Palmer, Esq. of Bromley, in Kent, the double yellow rose will not live on its own roots, but budded on the common Chinese rose in April 1822, it grew so well as to produce upwards of thirty flower buds the following season. The bud put in in April had a little of the wood attached to it in the French or scollop manner of spring budding.

55. On the Cultivation of the Arachis Hypogea. In a letter to the Secretary. By Mr. John Newman, Gardener to the Hon. Robert Fulke Greville, F.H.S. at Castle Hall, near Milford, South Wales. Read Aug. 17. 1823.

The Arachis Hypogaa is a leguminous plant, a native of Africa, but now naturalized in most of the European settlements of America. It is cultivated for the seeds, or nuts, as they are commonly called, which are roasted and used as chocolate. In China they extract an oil from these seeds, which is used both for lamps and for the table. The plant is annual in duration, and has herbaceous procumbent stems, with pinnate leaves, and gold-coloured axillary flowers on long peduncles. As soon as the flower begins to decay, the germ of the seed-pod thrusts itself under ground, and is there grown and ripened. Hence the reason why the seeds are called ground, or earth nuts. In our stoves Mr. Newman directs the seeds to be sown singly in February, and the plants, when six inches high, to be turned into the tan-pit, just after

the pines have been shifted, a little below the surface of the tan, close to the curb of the pit. They will then form a beautiful edging without injuring the pines, as they seldom grow more than a foot in height. They should be taken up in the autumn, and the pods washed, and dried in the shade. One plant will produce from twenty to thirty pods.

56. On the Treatment of the Banyan Tree (Ficus Indica), in the Conservatory. In a letter to the Secretary. By Peter Rainier, Esq. Captain R.N. F.H.S. Read Jan. 20. 1824.

The Banyan Tree, in its native woods, sends down fibres from the under side of its horizontal branches, which reaching the earth increase in size, and ultimately become so many props, or additional stems to the tree. In captain Rainier's conservatory, these fibres damped off before they reached the soil; to prevent which he conducted them to it in rocket cases, filled with equal parts of white sand, and sifted loam. When the fibres had established themselves in the soil, the cases were removed, and the fibres soon increased to stems of the size of a quill, and were covered with bark the first year. In his conservatory at Southampton, Captain R. has now a Banyan tree with thirteen stems, the only one which he has seen in this country exhibiting its native character.

57. Further Notes on the Utility of the Grafting Wax, described in a former paper. In a letter to Charles Holford, Esq. F.H.S. By David Powell, Esq., communicated by Mr. Holford. Read Nov. 4. 1823.

This grafting wax is composed of 1lb. of pitch, 1lb. of resin, lb. of beeswax. lb. of hogslard, lb. of turpentine, melted and well mixed together. This composition is kept in a fluid state, by putting it in an earthen pan over boiling water; with a brush it is then spread evenly on sheets of moderately thin brown paper, which, when cold, is cut into slips about three quarters of an inch wide. The scion being fitted to the stock, take one of these slips; warm it by breathing on it, and bind it round the graft, when it will be found to serve the purpose both of matting and claying. The neatness and convenience of this method, Mr. Powell thinks, will recommend it to amateurs, and its cheapness and rapidity to practical gardeners.

The grafting wax was used in the comparatively infant state of horticulture, both in Britain and on the continent, but it is now every where giving way to grafting clay, as a substance