LIBRARY ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY NEW YorK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HoME EcoNoMICS a University Library i mann SB 98.B72 The Book of g. Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924001335292 The Book of Gardening. LUM LF HSNOH AV/T-MALV The Book - - - of Gardening: - EL Dandbook of orticulture. By J. M. ABBOTT, W. G. BAKER, CHARLES BENNETT, H. Jj. CHAPMAN, JAMES DOUGLAS, . CHARLES FRIEDRICH, A. GRIESSEN, F. M. MARK, TREVOR MONMOUTH, GEO. SCHNEIDER, MORTIMER THORN, J. J. WILLIS, anp ALAN WYNNE, AND Edited by W. D. DRURY (AUTHOR OF ‘“ HoME GARDENING,” ‘‘INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUIT,” r ‘POPULAR BULB CULTURE,” &C.). VERY FULLY ILLUSTRATED. LONDON, ENG.: L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C. NEW YORK, U.S.A.: CHAS. SCRIBNER’S SONS, 153-157, FIFTH AVENUE. 1900. as LONDON : L. UPCOT? GILL, LONDON AND COUNTY PRINTING WORKS, DRURY LANE, W.C. I 2S Preface. Wi ey co im i? os : “ays, built up that to so marshal the various units that they form a fairly compre- hensible whole, of service alike to the amateur and professional, is not by any means an easy task. The fact is, the professional gardener is called upon to play many parts. In some establishments he has not only to prove himself an adept in the cultivation of flowers and decorative plants, but he has also to positively excel in the raising of fruits and vegetables for the table. Indeed, it would not be untruthful to say that in a very large number of places his position greatly depends upon the amount of skill he is able to bring to bear upon the latter departments. In the preparation, therefore, of this book the multifarious duties of the professional on the one hand, and the exacting requirements of the present- day amateur on the other, have had to be kept steadily in mind. As hinted in the Introduction, places have been found for sub- jects which often are neglected, and the endeavour to give prominence to these phases of Horticulture will, it is hoped, proye acceptable to the garden-loving public. Trees and shrubs for instance may be cited as amongst those subjects of which far too little ‘is known, considering their value and importance in the beautification of the outdoor garden, for there is nothing that for permanent effect can compare with them. What trees and shrubs are to the outdoor garden, the Palms and the Bamboos are to the indoor one: their habit and form are as diversified as are the uses to which they may be put. bf x Ni i i ies a) OF so many components is Horticulture He va vi PREFACE. Yet for all that, so far as the first-named are concerned, there is very little information obtainable in a readily accessible form. Then to take a widely different class of plants, what possibilities are there bound up with the hardy and the tender Aquatics— plants which are not half as much recognised as their merits deserve. And similarly with Orchids—at one time popularly supposed to be the exclusive property of the rich—which, thanks to the Gardening Press and the enterprise of importers, are brought to the doors of all who can afford to indulge their tastes for plants under glass. In fact, what at one time was voted a little understood and very expensive hobby, is now regarded to be alike as economical and as easy of achievement as almost any other section of indoor plants. Manures, again, are of the highest importance to the successful cultivator, yet in far too many instances it is to be feared they are employed on the rule of thumb principle, with disastrous results upon the crop they were intended to help. No apology, therefore, is needed for devoting a chapter to their consideration. Of the freemasonry which exists between professional gardeners and nurserymen and their less enlightened amateur brethren I must speak in the highest terms. There is no craft of my acquaintance which has fewer so-called trade secrets. This has abundantly been demonstrated to me during the progress of the work, and I should like to testify to the many kindnesses in the form of useful hints and practical advice which I have received from the profession and the trade. Particularly, however, am I indebted for such help to Mr. William Barr, Mr. George Schneider, Mr. S. T. Wright, and Mr. H. J. Chapman. To Messrs. Veitch and Sons and to Messrs. Barr and Sons I must also tender my grateful thanks for readily placing at my disposal some excellent illustrations, and for the generous assistance they gave our artists on very many occasions, by providing, often at considerable personal inconvenience to themselves, facilities for obtaining drawings from good subjects. Outside the ranks of the profession and the trade, I must acknowledge my indebtedness to my colleague, Mr. W. Baker- Bartlett, for kindly assistance during the passage of the work through the Press. And it is largely owing to the generous help received fromi many quarters that the labour in connection with the book has been so materially lightened. WwW. Dz fe WE fo CLE I.— INTRODUCTION IJ.—-On III.—On IV.—On V.—ON VL—On VII.—On VIII.—On IX.—On X.—On XI.—On XII.—On XIII.—On XIV.—ON XV.—ON XVI.—ON XVIL. - On XVIII.—ONn XIX.—On XX.—ON XXI.—ONn LANDSCAPE GARDENING FLorists’ FLOWERS Roses CHRYSANTHEMUMS BEDDING PLANTs ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS Harpy HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS Rock PLAaNntTs Harpy Buss AND TUBERS TREES AND SHRUBS FERNS ORCHIDS . PITCHER AND INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS STOVE PLANTS GREENHOUSE PLANTS Room PLants Cactl AND OTHER SUCCULENTS Pautms, Cycaps, AND BAaMBOOS Aquatic PLANtTs FORCING Vill CONTENTS, CHAPTER PAGE XXII.—On Pant PROPAGATION 5 : . : 939 XXIII.—On Fruit CuLturr . F ; : . 973 XXIV.—ON VEGETABLE CULTURE ; ; : : 1047 XXV.—On PEsts GENERALLY : : 7 ; . 1078 XXVI.—On MANURES . . : . 2 ; : IIlI4 XXVII.—APPENDIX . : : : ae . 1149 INDEX. F ‘ ; ; : 2 1181 THe Victorty Reearxy House vr Krew, The -~ = Book of Gardening. ae 1.—lntroduction. NVI L at ine CrenTuRIES have elapsed since the first book devoted to the culture of gardens appeared, and with the efflux of time the changes wrought in actual practice have been almost as great as those which have marked the contemporary political eras. Naturally, ‘“‘the old order changeth,” and on every hand there are indications of the great advances made in the study of Horticulture, even as compared with those of our fathers’ days. For all that, we look back with ‘pride, nay, with veneration, to those remote ancestors who were instrumental in laying the foundation for that super- structure of knowledge by which we have been enabled to build up, as it were, by degrees, the practical and popular Science to-day recognised as Horticulture. That it is a practical Science few will attempt to deny; and that it is popular is abundantly evidenced by the number of recruits which are daily being enlisted in its ranks. Gardens are not the introduction of to-day, nor even of a few centuries ago, nor yet again of this country. Their origin is lost in the mists of ages. It was Lord Bacon who said that “God Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.” In the Bible we have ample testimony that gardens existed; while those who are acquainted with the Greek ‘and Latin Classics are aware of the scale of magnificence which B 2 THE BOOK OF GARDENING. Sallust, Lucullus, Seneca, and many another planned their gardens, and thus laboured for Horticulture in those far-off days. Again, from time immemorial, gardens have been associated with progress, and they were wont to be regarded as civilising and refining influences. In fact, we are told upon excellent authority, that it is only among the most brutal and degraded races of savages that gardening is unknown. So far as England itself is concerned, Horticulture made but very slow progress until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries— a time when Gerard, Gervase Markham, and John Parkinson began, by their writings, to make their influence felt. How far we had advanced prior to this, is shown by the restricted list of subjects then known to cultivation. It is, however, the last fifty years that mark an epoch in gardening. During that time Horticultural Science has advanced by leaps and bounds, but at no period has it been so practically understood, or had so many workers in its ample field, or even offered such scope for enter- prise, as now. Treated commercially, it is, of course, not a field in which those who, having been unsuccessful in other walks of life, can embark with safety, though popularly it is supposed to be so. Yet for the man of intelligence, enterprise, and dogged perseverance, the possibilities are great indeed. And what, too, of the educational value of Horticulture—of its refining, influence? Money, it is true, will purchase all the products of a+ garden, but it cannot purchase the pleasures — connected with their raising. Each intelligent worker in the field of Horticulture finds that gradually those difficulties which appeared insurmountable are overcome as if by magic. What looked like hidden mysteries stand out as plain truths. Thus is Nature revealing her choicest secrets. As, too, the store of knowledge increases, so is the interest quickened, until the guiding principles of the Science are in the proverbial nutshell. Much of the popularity Horticulture now enjoys is due to an intelligent Press, to the fostering influence of those societies which have sprung up all over the country, to the yeoman service rendered by the Parish Councils, and, lastly,.to the many excellent handbooks which have been published. The Literature of the subject is vast, and_ increases with the growth of knowledge; but the information is not always in the most accessible form. Books on special branches of Horti- culture are issued in great profusion, but the all-round gardener is not and has not been at all well catered for. Books devoted to INTRODUCTION. 3 general gardening are unaccountably few, and the majority not of recent date, and therefore not in accordance with modern thought and the progressive spirit of the age. The fact is that gardening is such a many-phased subject, that it is impossible - for a man, be he never so enthusiastic or never so energetic, to excel in every branch. The man who essays, for instance, to become a specialist finds, as a rule, that the subject he has on hand engrosses all his time and attention, though for all that he may be a fairly good all-round gardener, but not the best of teachers on subjects outside the one which he has made specially his own. And thus it is that many of the books on general gardening, launched with the best of intentions, fall very short of the ideal of perfection aimed at by their promoters. It has therefore occurred to the writer that a book which would fairly well cover the field of general gardening in a practical manner, and at a moderate price, would be useful. The main idea embodied is to have each subject dealt with as far as possible by a specialist. By this means one is able to command the most up-to-date ideas in respect of the various branches of gardening, as each contributor gives of his best in the space allotted. The field covered is, as already intimated, a very wide one, and herein lies the chief difficulty. It is not of course pretended that in the comparatively small space allotted one can exhaust subjects like Propagation, Fruit Culture, Orchid- Growing, or even Manures. What is possible is to give the marrow of each subject in such a simple yet concentrated form that it will be readily assimilated by those who seek after knowledge. Every phase of Horticulture is treated, from Land- scape Gardening and Orchid Culture to Plant Propagation and Aquatic Plants. These latter have hitherto been dealt with in the most cursory fashion, being in most works on general gardening dismissed in a very few lines. Here they will be treated with that prominence which, by reason of their beauty and decorative value, they deserve. They are rapidly coming to the fore, and promise to become still more widely known, and therefore more highly esteemed. As regards insect and other foes, these must necessarily be briefly dealt with, The aim will be rather to give guiding principles, enabling the gardener to combat, at any rate, the most formidable of the pests, both animal and vegetable, which he finds arrayed against him. B 2 4 THE BOOK OF GARDENING. To the nomenclature employed, due regard will be paid, and an endeavour made to bring generic and specific limitation so far up-to-date. At the same time, in a work which claims to be popular, it has not been thought desirable to altogether ignore purely trade names. Where, therefore, a plant is familiarly known in commerce by a certain name, this will be given as a synonym. For instance, few amateurs would recognise by the name of Fatsia japonica the very familiar Avralia Sieboldit ; or in Pieris floribunda the almost equally common