perhaps will not object to insert another recipe for destroying them, in addition to the many which have already appeared in the Gardener's Magazine. In all the recipes for destroying Acari which I have seen, sulphur is an ingredient; this, in its crude state, will not unite with the liquids used for that purpose, and therefore it can have little or no effect, except when applied as a wash on the heated flues of a house. In order to make it unite with soapsuds, tobacco water, and other liquids usually made use of for destroying insects, it must be converted into a sulphuret, by boiling it with lime or an alkaline salt, as in the following mixture, which expeditiously and effectually destroys the red spider, by merely immersing the plant, or part infested, in the mixture:

Common soft soap half an ounce, sulphuret of lime * one ounce by measure (or two table spoonfuls), soft water (hot) one ale quart. The soap and sulphuret to be first well mixed with an iron or wooden spoon, in the same manner as a mixture of egg and oil is made for a salad; the hot water is then to be added by degrees, stirring the mixture well with a painter's brush, as in making a lather, by which means a uniform fluid will be obtained, like whey, without any sediment, which may be used as soon as it is cool enough to bear the hand in it.

This mixture will destroy every insect usually found in the green-house, by mere immersion, except the Coccus, or scaly insect, which adheres so closely to the stem, or under side of the leaf, that the mixture cannot reach its vulnerable parts; therefore, in this case, the mixture must be applied with a brush that will dislodge the insect. If the mixture be put into a wooden bowl, or any other shallow vessel, small plants in pots, and the leaves and branches of larger ones, and of fruit trees, may be easily immersed in it by pressing them down with the hand.

The above mixture will not destroy the black A'phides of the cherry tree, nor the green A'phides of the plum tree, by immersing the leaves and branches in it; there being an oiliness on these insects which prevents its adhering to them. It will destroy them by applying it with a brush; but this is too tedious a process. It has been recommended, by writers on horticulture, to wash these and other fruit trees against

The sulphuret of lime is easily made in the following manner :- - Take of flour of sulphur one ounce; fresh lime, finely sifted, two ounces; soft water a quart; boil the mixture in an iron vessel about a quarter of an hour, frequently stirring it after it begins to boil; let it stand to settle, and pour off the clear liquor. If it is not used on the same day, it must be put into a bottle filled with it, and be well corked; for, if it be exposed to the air, it will soon attract oxygen, and will then curdle the soap, and smear the plants with a white substance, which is not easily washed off.

walls, before the leaves and buds appear, with mixtures which cannot be safely applied after; for which purpose the above mixture, with the addition of spirits of turpentine, is likely to succeed as well as any other, or better: but I have not yet had an opportunity of giving it a trial. Half an ounce, by measure, of spirits of turpentine being first well mixed with the soap, and the sulphuret and water added as before; or the wash may be made stronger, by adding twice the quantity of each ingredient to the same quantity of water.

For destroying slugs and worms there is no recipe so simple, attended with so little trouble, and, when properly applied, so effectual, as common lime-water. The plants on which the slugs are found must be watered with it twice at least, at an interval of three or four minutes. If you place three or four slugs on the ground, and pour lime-water on them from a watering-pan, you will soon perceive them throwing off a kind of slough, and after that crawling away; but if you sprinkle them again with the lime-water, they will not be able to throw off another slough, and soon die after the second operation. When a person has therefore watered as many plants as takes up the time of three or four minutes, he must turn back to the place where he began, and water them again.

Lime-water, for this purpose, may be easily made so as to be always ready. Into a trough, containing about fifty-five gallons of water, throw in two or three shovelfuls of lime, stir it up three or four times on that day, and the next day the liquor is clear and fit for use, and will continue to answer the purpose for some time, without adding any fresh lime, by stirring it up again before it is used, and letting it settle. If the lime-water be of sufficient strength, it will destroy the large grey snail with twice watering, and all worms that are out of the ground at the time of watering, and it will not injure the most tender plant when used in a clear I am, Sir, &c.

state.

February, 1830.

N. T.

ART. VI. On the Birch Rind of the American Indians, and the Uses to which it might be applied in Gardening. In a Letter from Mr. HAWTHORN, of the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, to Mr. Baillie of Dropmore Gardens; with a Note by Mr. BAILLIE.

Sir, HAVING Some time ago spoken to you on the subject of birch rind, and suggested its application in horticultural prac

tice, I venture in a simple manner to relate what I have witnessed with regard to the usefulness of this rind, and in my humble opinion the many ways in which it might be applied in our gardens.

The settlements of the Hudson's Bay Company are supplied with this rind by the Indians. The Europeans never venture to peel it from the tree, for in this process much skill and ingenuity must be displayed, otherwise the trees soon become weak, and in a few years perish.

It is part of the Indian's study (unless when signals are made), and particularly of the inland tribes, to watch with care the growth of this beautiful tree, the height of which may be judged by the circumference, as the first-rate trees measure from 18 to 20 ft. round. The rind, on an average, is half an inch thick, and this is reduced in a most scientific and easy manner by a people whom we are accustomed to call savages. They begin by separating the outside rough and knotty parts from the more delicate, which, when prepared, tney use for tentings or tent coverings, small and large baskets, and various other utensils. The rind next the outer bark is principally used for large and small canoes: the latter will carry 20 cwt. They also construct measures of it, which will hold from one to two bushels, and are exceedingly light and durable. But as that part which is used as tenting appears to me of most importance to the horticulturist, I will endeavour to explain how the tenting is formed, and its use amongst the Indians, and leave it to the decision of the amateur and gardener how far it might be useful in our gardens. I have frequently seen the Indian, his wife and children, forming this covering, which generally consists of four lengths, each length 12 ft., and the width 4 ft. The making is simple, but no European was ever known to me that could finish off one to answer the purposes with the readiness and nicety of the natives. The women sew the lengths together with roots which the children procure in the woods: these undergo the process of barking, cleaning, and dividing. The men frame each separate length at both ends, so that any convenient length or breadth might be obtained. The utility of the rind tents is acknowledged by the hunter and traveller of North America. They are used throughout the year; but during the hot months of June, July, and August they are found particularly comfortable, and are easily removed from place to place. The rain may descend in torrents, but all beneath are safe from the storm.

I have seen an Indian tent forming a circle of 60 ft., and 10 ft. high, covered in the short space of half an hour; so that flower beds containing choice roots or plants might thus be

defended from frost and heavy rains, particularly the latter, which do so much injury to our half hardy shrubs and trees. There are many other purposes in gardening to which this rind might be applied that will readily suggest themselves to practical men.

My motive in bringing this article into notice is to serve the public, trusting that it will one day or other become a national benefit. I am, Sir, &c.

Mr. Baillie, Dropmore Gardens.

Sir,

HAMLET HALSAY HAWTHORN.

HAVING mentioned this article to several of my friends and acquaintances, they, as well as myself, were of opinion that the rind might be highly useful in horticultural practice, and applied with advantage in a great many ways not enumerated in the above communication. From many that suggest themselves the following are abstracted:

1st, As a durable substitute for the portable marquees in use in the pleasure-grounds of British gardens; the materials of which, as at present constructed, being inadequate to the purpose to which they are applied, viz. to repel heavy rains and intense sunshine. These tentings may also demand the particular attention of the florist, as affording, in my opinion, excellent materials for protecting tulip beds from heavy rains in winter, by rolling them up and down, as circumstances might require. To stages of carnations, auriculas, &c., they might be applied with advantage either for shade or shelter.

2dly, Ranges of pine and melon pits and frames might be safely defended from rain and frost by a roll of this kind, as also pots of alpine and other plants that suffer more from wet than cold during our winter months.

3dly, Portable copings for garden walls might also be constructed of this article, which would defend peach and apricot blossoms from rain and spring frost. This rind might also prove a good substitute for the wicker protectors now in use for half-hardy trees and shrubs. In the kitchen-garden its utility is also apparent. Beds of such vegetables as are readily injured by frost, by being previously arranged and planted so as to admit of two rolls of this kind, of 4 ft. wide and of any given length, being run along a few hazel or other rods arched across them; rows of early peas and beans; beds of cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, potatoes, &c., might be readily and securely protected in this way; and a few square yards of this rind, placed in a favourable quarter of the kitchen-garden, would assist in ripening abundance of tomatoes for a large

family, and obviate the pernicious practice of planting them near choice fruit trees, &c.

In order to ascertain whether this birch rind could be obtained through means of the Hudson's Bay Company, and, if attainable, the price per yard or cwt., so as to warrant its application to the purposes above stated; and whether its durability would render it superior to the various coverings now in use; an application was made to the governor of the above company, by Mr. Hawthorn, for a sample of this rind, before the sailing of the company's ships for the Bay last season; and, as portions of this rind are generally kept at the company's forts, a small quantity, for examination and trial, was confidently expected, and the return of the ships to Britain was looked for with much anxiety. The ships returned in November last, however, but without the much wished for sample of the birch rind. Our hopes are therefore completely frustrated for the present, but we still entertain the hope that, at no very distant period, enough may be obtained to make the experiment.

I am, Sir, yours, &c.

Dropmore Gardens, Dec. 22. 1829.

WILLIAM BAILLIE.

ART. VII. Remarks on planting Trees and Shrubs in Masses of one Species. By WILLIAM SPENCE, Esq. F.L.S.

Sir,

I Now perform the half promise which I gave you, to lay before your readers the impression made on me by the various examples which I have seen, in the course of several extensive tours in Germany in the last three years, of the new plan of planting trees and shrubs in pleasure-grounds, in masses of the same species: premising, that neither my health nor acquaintance with the subject permits me to attempt to go deeply into it, and that I do not mean to enter into any controversy concerning it; my sole aim being to state my own feelings, without at all setting them up as a standard of taste, or even always pretending to give critical reasons for them.

Formality and insipidity are so often the characteristics of the old style of planting trees, designed for ornament, in a regular and uniform intermixture of the several species employed, that I approached the first examples of a different system with a strong prejudice in its favour. But I must frankly confess that, after examining a great variety of speci