and bent into a regular form, are fixed over the bed. These bearers are kept in place by the upright parts of them being inserted into two staples, one above the other, driven into the side boards at distances of 2 ft. 6 in. apart, the first being fixed at the end. These bearers rise from the edge of the bed to what may be called the eaves of the awning, 2 ft. 6 in.; and then slopingly upward and over, forming an obtuse angle like a ridge over the middle of the bed. To connect these bearers, fillets of thin deal are fixed along the eaves and on the top or ridge, and thus a frame is formed sufficiently strong and steady to support any covering of mats or canvass which may be necessary for the safety of the plants.

139

α

The annexed sketches of the frame (fig. 139. a) and the strike (b) will assist in giving a right idea of the construction of the former and the form of the latter.

This frame and covering is only intended to preserve the tulips till they begin flowering; after which, Mr. Groom advises that they should be shaded and sheltered by a larger and loftier awning, as is his own practice.

ART. XV. On the Genus A'ster. By T. RIVE'RE, Esq.
Sir,

I Do not recollect seeing in any of your Magazines a treatise on the A'ster; perhaps many readers will say it is not worthy of it, being so common, and to be found in almost every cottager's garden. However, I will endeavour to point out such beauties of the flower as have fallen under my practical observation. Asters which bloom in August, perhaps, may not be worth attention, being eclipsed by a host of showy herbaceous plants and annuals, and above all by the splendid Georgina: but even then they have their own beauties, in which they at least equal most of the flowers at this time in bloom. Their extreme hardiness, their facility of propagation, and their thriving in almost any soil, however poor, are certainly inducements for their introduction into gardens, where the occupiers cannot bestow much attention on the cultivation of flowers: but where cultivation and taste are combined, the Aster, as in other flowers, can hardly be deemed the same, either in the strength of the plant or size of the blossoms; for instance, I have one in my garden, Lácteus altíssimus, or

French white, which is now 12 ft. in height, and the other kinds are in proportion fine. The under-mentioned sorts are in flower from the 12th of August, and continue to the middle of September. I grew one clump of them, and have inserted the height each sort attains for the information of any one who may be disposed to bloom them in a similar manner; of course, the highest in the middle, the second highest next, and so on, and the shortest outside.

Asters in Bloom in August.

Cordatus, small white flower, red stamina

Bellidifolius, small white flower

Latifolius, bluish white

Sibíricus, azure blue

Height in feet.

4

3

21

1

Punctatus, lilac colour, small blossoms indivi-Very handsome

dually, but forms a perfect umbel Corymbosus, large reddish blue flowers

Solidaginöides, small curled white flowers; singular and pretty

But August presents a meagre collection; nor is it of much consequence, for, as before observed, there are then plenty of flowers in bloom. But I presume, when I come to describe the asters in bloom from the first of October, and during the month, I think I shall be able to point out such beauties in the flower, and to convince (I am myself convinced) the lovers of the flower-garden, that there is no herbaceous flower during the month of October to be compared with the A'ster, its species and varieties.

Pàtens, fine large dark blue

Height in feet.

4 to 5

4

3

2

Pulchellus, or globosus, small white flower, red stamina

1

The 10th of October, this season (1829), we had a killing frost. On Michaelmas day, on surveying the numerous tribes of flowers which the day before shone with resplendent beauty, behold the melancholy appearance! The splendid georgina, king of autumnal flowers, turned black and withered, and pretty well all the annuals had shared the same fate. I would ask what flowers the borders produce to ornament the month of October. None but the A'ster, the only hardy perennial which blooms at the beginning, and continues throughout the whole month; and why should one month, and that rather a

Mutábilis, white, changing to red

Comòsus, or umbròsus, small white flowers and stamina
Améllus, purple

Rivèri, small elegant white flowers *

4

There are some few other flowers in bloom contemporary with the asters: the Helianthus tribe, but they are all yellow; a Pyrethrum or two, Phlóx marylandica, Solidàgo sempervirens, and Rudbeckia speciòsa. I know of scarcely any other kinds.

I have raised from seed, for two or three years past, a great number of asters. I generally sow the seed in April, and most of them bloom the following autumn. This season I have had more than 1000 in bloom from seed sown last spring; from which I have selected about 50 decidedly handsome and distinct varieties, the others, being almost all alike, I generally pull up and throw away as they bloom. I have formed a separate clump of them; and the asters before enumerated do not contribute more, nor perhaps quite so much, to the embellishment of my flower-garden, in October, as the seedlings. There are all degrees of colours, from the dark blue to the most beautiful azure; from the rose to the delicate blush; from the pure white to the French and greyish white, &c., in numberless varieties of shades and sizes; some of the flowers being the size of a sixpence, some an inch or an inch and a half in diameter, and some semidouble. I generally impregnate them, by tying the flowers of the rose-coloured on the white, blue on the rose, &c. It is incorrect to affirm that the afore-mentioned kinds bloom only through the month specified; some of them may be in bloom the beginning of the preceding month, and some may extend perhaps to the first or second week of the succeeding. However, on accurate observation, I can decidedly pronounce them to be in full bloom pretty well during the respective months as enumerated.

* A'ster Rivèri was raised from seed by Rivers and Son, nurserymen, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, three years since, and is one of the shortest; it blooms with a beautiful tuft of small white flowers, and is a very pretty variety. Most of the asters mentioned in the list before enumerated I procured from them, and they likewise possess as extensive a collection of herbaceous plants, &c., as any nurserymen in the kingdom.

Any one who attends to the cultivation of this autumnal flower, instead of having his flower-garden nearly destitute of flowers during one month of the year, may have it highly ornamented with the Aster.

The principal motive of this communication it so recommend flowers for the embellishment of the month of October only; but as I have enumerated the kinds of asters which bloom in the two antecedent months, to wind up I have inserted a few sorts underneath which flower from the middle of November to Christmas; though the same argument will hold good which is applied to the sorts flowering in August and September, as from the middle of November to Christmas the garden is ornamented by that matchless winter flower the Chrysanthemum.

Asters in bloom from the First of November to Christmas.

ART. XVI. On the visible Cause, and easy and effectual Cure, of the bad Setting of some Sorts of Grapes. By Mr. JAMES CRAIG, Gardener to G. Cholmeley, Esq., Howsham, York.

Sir,

I DARE say it is well known to you that a great many of those vines which "have blossomed but brought no fruit" have been hewn down as cumberers of the ground, and probably many more have been condemned before they were fairly tried; and if such there are, I trust that what I am about to state will be the means of saving them from the fatal axe. I have at this place a vine under my care, which is a very bad setter; it is an old plant, growing in a double-pitted pine stove. Previously to my coming here it had been condemned for an apparently good reason, which was, it had never brought to perfection more than about a dozen berries on a bunch; the residue were about the size of peas. I was informed of its faults, but nevertheless respited it, and have been amply rewarded for my clemency. It ripened, last year, a very fine crop, the bunches from 1 lb. to 3 lb., well filled

Tokay. I am not certain of its name as I never saw the sort before; nor could any gentleman or gardener who saw it tell me what it was: but three good practical gardeners, to whom I sent single berries, informed me it was the Palestine. Be it what it may, it is an excellent grape, of good flavour, and one of the best of keepers: the fruit was ripe in July, and I cut the last bunch in Christmas week. The berries are of a dark red colour, and of an oval form.

I presume that the following observations and treatment of this vine will be equally applicable to many other bad-setting

sorts :

On close inspection, when the blossoms are fully expanded, it will be obvious to every observer who is acquainted with the parts of the fructification, that the main cause of their abortiveness is a defect in the filament, and not in the anther, as supposed by many. It will be found that the filaments are very small and recurved, so as to render it almost impossible for the anthers to come in contact with the stigma of the same blossom, and I am persuaded there is a sufficient quantity of pollen on the anther for the fecundation of the stigma; but so awkwardly is the anther situated, that in very few instances can the pollen perform its function on the stigma without the assistance of art. The evil may certainly be remedied in a great measure by suspending over its racemes those of any free-setting sort, when the flowers of both are fully open; or by intermixing with its branches the branches of any free-setting sort that may be expected to flower at the same time: but in many cases neither of these methods would be convenient, nor do I consider them at all necessary.

manner:

About half of the bunches I impregnated with the pollen taken from the bunches of other sorts in flower at the same time, collected with a soft camel-hair pencil, in the following - I took a sheet of white paper, and held it under the bunches from which I intended to gather the pollen (selecting those which were fullest in flower), and then applied the pencil gently to various parts of them; and when the pencil was charged with yellow powder, I took it to the bunches which I wished to fecundate, and touched lightly with the pencil the female parts of the flowers, holding the paper as when gathering the pollen; and what dust fell into the paper I took up in the pencil, and applied it as before. These did as well as I could wish. All that remained (except two bunches) I impregnated with their own pollen, by working the pencil carefully among the flowers, and by that means dispersing part of the fecundating dust, and collecting part of